First Trip to the BeachHouse!

The beach house has been in our family for years. My grandfather bought it long before I was thought of, when his children were very young as a place to get away from work. It is still a place to get away and I think almost everyone of his grandchildren have honeymooned in it, that's how much we love it. As a child with a summer birthday I had them all at the beach house. When my 2nd grade class was studying Tide Pools we took a field trip to the beach house to see them! It is my favorite place in the world and while we all must take turns and share it - when we do have the opportunity to use it, we are thrilled. Last week my Dad had his turn and since we weren't able to take our annual vacation to Oklahoma we quickly jumped on going to the beach house and joining him! It was very nice of him to share his time with us and give us a chance to introduce our favorite place to Erik.

We left on a Friday morning with Mike driving and me sitting in the back with Erik - on our way down south we stopped in Santa Cruz for a while so Erik could hang out with Mike's parents for an hour. Which was a good way to get out of the car seat and stretch before that very long drive ahead of us. Erik is in that adorable stage where he smiles at everyone so he was really charming Mike's folks!

After a fun filled visit off we went with me in the back (my new riding space) Erik asleep, and Mike driving. I decided this would be a good time to pump (the breast pump fits into the cigarette lighter..handy!) and assumed the back windows were tinted enough that no one would notice. I don't think anyone saw anything - but one truck driver with a load of strawberries looked awfully happy!! Oh well, they're just boobs.

We left our house at 7:30 and arrived at the beach around 4:00. This is usually a 5 hour trip for us so you can see that baby makes it a longer - but that's OK! We got in, unpacked and settled in to wait for Dad and Liz who were flying in the next day. This would be Mike's idea of settling in.

Mine is sitting outside, sipping a cool drink and looking at this.

We couldn't have asked for nicer weather - and as my cousin says " ANY day is a good day at the beach - no matter the weather!"

We waited and geared up for "Papa" to come and meet this little guy. I was wondering how Erik would take to him - he tends to scowl at strangers. I shouldn't have been worried. My father has now been proclaimed the "Baby Whisperer" Erik adored him - and I think he adored Erik! They were constantly together. I got up with him in the middle of the night....umm Dad I guess the Baby Whisperer is off the clock between 11:00pm and 10:00am? But other then that - wherever Papa was, there was Erik - he even preferred Papa to Mommy! But that's OK. I'm glad they were able to make such a good bond. WE also got to visit our friend Bonnie who is an amazing photographer and have our first family portraits taken! You can see them here. (click on View/Order and the password is Mooers). And we just had a lovely time! Here's a little video of Erik's first trip to the beach.

We had fun visiting my Great Grandmother - who turned 96 last month and doesn't seem a day older then when I was little. Every now and then she'll tell me her brain went away - but I couldn't tell, she was adorable as usual.....and as usual had all her make-up on and there she sat chatting away with us! We so enjoy the time we spend with her. I hope Erik gets to have many more visits with her, she is an incredible lady.

Mike had to return home early (thank goodness it's only 40 bucks on Southwest!) so he came home on Monday and Erik and I stayed for 5 more glorious days and then packed up and came home Friday morning. I was a little scared at how that trip would go with no one in the back seat - but after a stop at Target in some town called Atascadero, halfway home, we were equipped with all car related baby toys that sing, light up and entertain. I didn't hear a peep out of him after that! 50 bucks well spent! Don't tell Mike it was 50 bucks...it was less for him to FLY home...oops!

When we left the beach house I cried, not just a little tear goodbye cry but that ugly-can't catch your breath cry. It could have been a bit of the lingering baby blues - but I think more it was that my child absolutely adored his grandfather and it makes me sad that my family lives so far away and after visits like that I understand really how important family is.

So...Erik and I made it home on Friday.....Saturday as I was sitting at the computer listening to the horrendous music coming from the very loud party next door I see a car pull into my driveway and I get ready to give the "you can't park in my driveway" speech when I look closer and it's my DAD!! He missed Erik too - Liz said he was moping around the beach house after we left so they came up to visit me. They stayed until Tuesday and we had a lovely (albeit cramped time in my teeny house) visit. We did San Fransisco and Shopping and just enjoyed each other's company even more.

We also got sick...very sick. Some horrible head cold, brain busting. sniffling, sickness. I thought my head might split in two yesterday. Oh and this morning I woke up with pink eye - in BOTH eyes! Now I am paranoid I am going to give it to the baby. I did take him to the Dr. for his sniffles and got a look like "really?" for the sniffles? She told me to suck out his nose....oh and he weighs 17.5 pounds now! Although I took this picture yesterday - same day we went to the Dr., this is what the Dr. saw - He sure made a liar out of me! Not looking sick at all! Tomorrow is Halloween! I wonder what tricks and treats it will bring....I'll post pictures of the "official" Halloween costume....oh no you haven't seen it yet!

OW!

Yesterday Erik had to have his 2 month shots. We've already lived through the nightmare of no insurance for this little guy so we have finally squared that away. I don't want to start the whole 'to immunize or not' debate with anyone - but IN MY OPINION I think there just might be something with those shots, combined with our environment and a child's genetic make up that just sometimes doesn't all mesh together so we had chosen no immunizations in the hospital. My grandfather who was a Dr. had always told my mother that an infant has enough stuff to deal with without adding more medications to their body. He told her not to do anything until the kids were at least 2 months old so I took that same advice. He now has his newborn shots and we will get the others in small doses as we go along. I'm not doing 6 shots in one visit. However, that was a horrible thing to go through! I've heard so many mothers say how awful it is - but I always thought - ya ya it's a shot - they cry for a second and it's over. I wasn't prepared for HOW they cry. I was holding Erik when she stuck him - and the cry of pain he let out was something I have never heard from him. That cry combined with the look of complete shock at me that I had allowed this to happen to him really tore me up. I cried right along with him. I almost took him out then, but he still had two more to go! We got through it - but it was awful. I told Mike he had to do the next set when he quickly reminded me that he held him during the circumcision - so I guess we're even.

I was concerned about fever and grumpiness especially because I had to go to school last night and take a midterm and he had to spend his first ever night with a babysitter (which was my dear friend Diana who he knows). I had told her before I left how much he likes the ugly ass 70's wallpaper in the bathroom and if he was sad just take him in there. She called it is "happy place" and after seeing his reaction to the wallpaper she said it was like Quaalude for babies......it really does make him just as happy as can be. The nights Mike has to babysit I think they may spend lots of time here.

Nana has gone to OKC to visit the other grandkids - he misses her. He's funny when I ask him "Where's Nana?" he does a big smile and a squeal. We get to go to the beach house this week and meet Grandpa (my dad) for the first time. I hope he's as happy for him.

Here's a picture of what we do to make this child sleep. He likes to feel 'closed in' so we have to roll up blankets, cover them with his silkies and then put them around him so he can feel them. I know I know 'nothing in the crib!" Believe me I know, I've been preaching it to other parents for years. However - my tune has changed. but, I promise the send he is asleep we remove EVERYTHING and then he's fine.

Oh - I'm typing this at 4:00am. He fell asleep at 8:30 last night and slept for 6 hours....yea, you do the math. He was up at 2:30. Mommy didn't go to bed however until 11:30! So while he has 6 hours of sleep (and is happily cooing beside me) I got 3......and here I am. Oh well.

Crying and Laughing

This baby is so funny. We thought it odd when we brought him home from the hospital and his little newborn cries sounded like talking. We thought he'd get over it and they would turn into full fledged cries. Nope - when he cries it sounds like Ay Ya Ay Ya mixed with Na na Na Na with a couple little sobs mixed in. It's very interesting! We are sure his first word is definitely going to be Nana. He's a very vocal little boy, when we put him on the floor he chats with the toys and Danny the cat.

Danny adores Erik (as you can see in this picture). And where ever Erik is, there is Danny. Erik chats with Danny more than he will engage with anyone else. He has long conversations with him!

Today we went to a Sweet Adeline show that my chorus is putting on before they go to competition in Nashville next week and he had such a fun time cooing and laughing at all the ladies. He was ALL smiles for them! But for Mom - Nada!

Tonight I coaxed some smiles out of him while I was filming him. If you can handle listening to me make an idiot of myself for five minutes to get him to smile you can see it here. The beginning of the video he is crying and you can hear the Ay Ya and Na Na if you listen carefully!

He's a hoot this little man!

2 month check up!

Can you believe Erik is 2 months old? It seems that just yesterday he was inside my tummy kicking around and now here we are with laughter and smiles and colic and coos!

I am still having my ongoing fight with Kaiser about their decision to not cover Erik, so while we wait for the appeals process we have to pay for everything out of pocket. His Dr. appointment today was $125.00 just to walk in and then $100.00 for each shot - of which he needed 4! YIKES! We had no idea we'd have to pay for the shots as well. When the Dr. told us that we decided to wait on those immunizations and go to the county health department where they are free - I'll be checking that out tomorrow.

Our big boy now weighs 15.1 pounds and is 26 inches long! That would explain why he is wearing 6mo clothes. He is in the 99th percentile in everything except his head which is still only in the 50th.

I love the fall, I love the cold weather and all the lights that begin to show up (Halloween didn't have lights when we were kids but now there are ORANGE lights everywhere!) and you can just feel the excitement coming from children. What they have planned all year to be for Halloween and they know Christmas is right around the corner! I have been having SO much fun dressing Erik up in the cutest Halloween outfits. I'm sure it won't last long so I'm going to dress him up for all the holidays until he is able to stomp his foot and say MOOOOM!!! Then I'll stop...but for now, bring on all the cheesy holiday clothes! I love 'em!

As we get ready for Halloween, Mom and I were in the Disney store the other day and I noticed they had the PRINCE dolls on sale (you can never find just the Prince's anyway - but to have them on sale as well!), and ever since my niece Ava learned Erik's name she has called him "Prince Erik" - she likes the Little Mermaid and he's the Prince. So, I found a Prince Erik doll!!

I was so excited to show it to Mike who was of course appropriately horrified in his fatherly reaction. As any father without a child development background would be at the thought of his wife buying their SON a doll. I think I convinced him that dolls are fine for boys because it teaches them how to be caregivers, daddies and sweet big brothers, besides how could I NOT buy the Prince Erik doll for my sweet little prince?

Here's some pictures of cheesy Halloween outfits! And the new masthead is the mantle in my living room all decorated for Halloween. Erik loves to sit and look at the lights.

I know we shouldn't be matchy matchy but we both have a shirt with a ghost that says "Boo!"

Happy Fall!!