October is Halloween/And you might be a beauty queen

I'm going to go ahead and make a quick but very heartfelt apology for the writing on this blog. I just reread some of it, and it's terrible. Thanks for not pointing that out. Please keep in mind while you're trying not to cry from it that all of it is written in the wee hours of the morning. I, also, admit, that, I'm, comma, happy.


4 Months Old-
Un-freaking-believable. She sits unassisted. She rolls over. She makes two of the strangest sounds anyone has ever heard. She grabs for things. She tries to eat the dogs. All in all, she's amazing. 25 1/4 inches long, 17 1/2 lbs which is 90-95% in height and *cough cough* 95-woops...off the chart% in weight. Kid can eat.


So here's how it plays out:






 If you give her a slight angle, she will pull herself (with her ridiculous abs of steel) into a full sitting position, and can hold that for however long she wants. It's amazing to watch. She just pulls herself up to get her toy, grabs it, and plays with it like sitting up is no big deal at all. Like she could do it all along and just didn't feel like it.


When she was 3 months, 3 weeks old (ish...?) she was in her room on the tummy time mat, having some tummy time while we were in our (connected and only about 15 ft away) room. She started to cry, and when I went in there lo and behold she had rolled herself over. No problem. Thinking that Cliff was trying to make me jump up and down like an idiot for no cause, I didn't believe she had done it so I flipped her back over and waited. And she did it again, without batting a lash. Then we whipped out the cameras and got her third roll on camera for the world to see.


One day she started making this sound. I would describe it, but unfortunately its probably not a sound you've ever heard before so it would be futile for me to try to. It's a back of the throat, Darth Vader kind of sound that makes you stop for a moment and wonder if maybe she really is part dinosaur. Then last Friday night I went to work with her making just that sound (in addition to her other adorable baby noises) and when I came home she had discovered that she loves zurburts. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go back, find some nick at night and watch The Cosby Show. Its also a raspberry. So know, ALL OF THE TIME that's what she does. She alternates between those two sounds. It's hysterical, and she knows it. She cracks up at her self when you laugh at her for it.


Everything is at risk of her grabbing it. The poor dogs are losing fur because she wants to pet (and eat) them. I honestly don't know who I feel worse for though. The dogs, for getting yanked at all the time, or us, because she lights up like a Christmas tree every time she sees one of them.


So the highlight of our month: Halloween. Every good parent's excuse to buy an adorable outfit and steal their kids candy. Cliff and I were bananas and June was a monkey. It was as awesome as it sounds. We went to the neighborhood that had good loot when Cliff was a kid and all of the 15 year old girls said that we were "like, the cutest things ever". Not to brag, but seriously, June was THE CUTEST THING EVER.




One more thing: I MADE HER LAUGH! It was freaking awesome. I was sitting there, holding her up on my knees "airplane" style bouncing her around, when all of the sudden she was not only smiling as wide as she could, she was laughing. Per usual, I cried.




Sorry about the title. It's from a poem I wrote who knows when and is the first thing that popped into my head.

Recently...

It's amazing how when you're young, time seems to drag by while you're waiting to become an adult. When you're an adult, however, time seems to fly by.


Lets see, what hasn't happened recently?

In her dress, made by mommy!

First and foremost, our little girl is 3 months old. She's graduated from being a newborn and is officially an infant who's age is measured in months, not weeks. My mind keeps going back to our time in the hospital though, when she wasn't even three days old. I have a wonderful memory of her getting anxious, but calming down and falling asleep instantly when her dad started to reflexively stroke her forehead and nose.  That is the moment I go back to so many times a day when I look a her and see her so much bigger, but still so the same. She was, and is, so incredibly perfect.


So how much bigger is she? I weighed and measured her at home (she's easy to measure- just take her diaper off and she immediately does the biggest stretch anyone has ever seen) the other day, and she came in at a whopping 15.6 LBS, and 25 inches long, which translates to being 95% in weight, and 90% in height. With Cook and Wilson genes, we couldn't expect anything else!

 On top of all of that, June has decided that she really loves to talk to her daddy. Every night before bed, she sits on him and goes all out with conversation. The only other...one (?) she will talk to like that is Mr. Sun, who is actually a yellow and pink flower that hangs from her carseat. If I could think of a way to accurately express my jealousy about this I would, but nothing good enough comes to mind.


She is also a fantastic supported sitter, and is advancing into sitting all alone! Her bumbo (the pink thing she is sitting in in her pictures) is our favorite thing so far because it lets her be completely upright without having to be held. It's not that we don't love holding her, its that she doesn't love us holding her. She would rather be on her own, doing her thing.

Do you have more?

Just shovel it in...

Speaking of Bumbo, she has starting eating that oh-so-tasty rice cereal in her favorite chair. Actually, eating isn't the right word for it. Engulfing is more accurate. I had to buy her a spoon that you put the rice into, and then squeeze right out because she started getting so upset when you took the spoon away to put more food on it. Cliff always thought I was a beast when it came to food, but she puts us both to shame.










What else...

Future Besties?

June had another playdate, but this time it was with even more of the Homewood babies! The baby count was 6, which isn't even close to how many babies there actually are. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more born since I started writing this update, actually... Anyways, we all enjoyed a fantastic afternoon at Grayson's home full of poopy diapers and spit-upped on floors.

Justin and Sis were so, so against this.

June also had her first trip to the lake, and in turn, her first boat ride! Cliff's late grandfather (We miss you, Papa C!) had a ridiculously beautiful house on Lay Lake which Cliff's mom takes care of now. She was nice enough to let all of us go down for the weekend, so we brought Justin's baby (his boat) and our fur-babies for a really nice get away. Justin was terrified to have June in the boat, thinking that the loud motor and choppy waves would upset Bug, but of course, our zen baby didn't bat a lash.














On a much sadder note, I got an awful email from Memo yesterday that Sophie passed away. I love my dogs so incredibly much, and can't imagine how much she must miss her sweet girl. Sophie was the sweetest puppy, and a part of the family. We are all going to miss her so much.


I think that takes care of it, so I'm off to bed. We love you all, sweet family.






One last, quick thing: Apparently June absolutely hates me singing to her.

Lovely Things

1) I'm starting to really dislike coke. No, not *snort* coke, but *gulp* coke. It honestly makes me feel a little sick to drink it, which when you think about it, says a lot about my addiction to it that I still do, despite the grumps that it gives my stomach.

2) It's the little things you do for people you don't know. I was working a couple of nights ago, and found myself talking to an older couple celebrating their 40-something anniversary. They asked me all sorts of questions about my life (of which I excluded June, because if I mention her the conversation always seems to come to an awkward halt...) and at the end of it, the man told me two things. One was that he thinks that I have a pretty soul, and the other was that he felt compelled to tell me that all of the things God has promised me will still be fulfilled, and that I shouldn't worry. Everyone knows my current religious beliefs are most easily summarized as "looking", but it still felt so good to hear.

3) June is ten weeks old. Ten weeks ago I got the most rewarding gift anyone could ever ask for. That blows my mind. I have never wanted a child, and I have never wanted to be settled down, but this is the best thing that has or will ever happen to me. You should be so lucky, is all I'm saying.

4) Rings don't make families. Ring's don't make families anymore than flapping your wings makes you a bird. I have the most beautiful, complete, functional family anyone could ever ask for. Most people in our situation don't get this lucky, and I realize it, but we are more of a family than most people dream of having. 

5) Grey's Anatomy is a fantastic show. Believe it.

This Summer Sun

Going back to school makes me want to just sit back and listen to the Avett Brothers for hours on end. If you haven't ever listened to them, I highly recommend you do. It's folksy and wonderful.


In other news...June's two month shots were yesterday, which was just about as bad as it sounds. Having her there and screaming almost makes me want to go get in the picket line and yell with the ladies against all vaccinations, just to avoid her being so upset. On that note, I do think that Jenny McCartney and Jim Carey are crazy, and to their efforts I say this: My old manager refused to get his son vaccinated, and 3 years later, he still wasn't speaking and was Autistic anyways. But to each their own, I guess... At least with all of the screaming I can rest assured she won't get Rotavirus and start poohing everywhere. 

To counteract her horrible shots, June did her first pool time, which she absolutely loved. Cliff and my little water baby splashed around for a few hours, while I took more pictures than I know what to do with. 

Tomorrow: More pool time, and back to work for Grace! Thank goodness.

Happy Birthday, boys!

June is about a good of a sleeper as I am, which means that she just doesn't really care for sleep at night, except when she does. Right now, for instance, she doesn't at all so we're up and at em' at 2 AM on our tummy time mat. 

The other night, however, she was out like a light. She fell asleep for a 'nap' around 8:30, and didn't wake up until 9 the next morning. You would think I would be thrilled, but my sleep schedule is so off now that I spent the entire night desperate to not sleep, because I was absolutely convinced that she was just about to wake up. In the words of Winnie the Pooh, "Oh bother..."

Daddy and June time

Kangaroo daddy at the mall

It's been a very busy few weeks here, as June keeps growing like a Wilson and I get ready for school and work to start back. The mini vacation into stay-at-home momdom was nice while it lasted! For those who haven't heard, Cliff and I have been talking it over and have decided that the best plan for us right now is for me to put my bachelors degree on a temporary hold while I pursue a nursing degree so that after I graduate I can actually get a job. Not that I don't love the idea of having a degree and still waiting tables, but I'd prefer that my investment in school actually pay off eventually. So, night program, here I come! Bachelors degree, I'll see   you in a couple of years when I can afford your impracticality.

June, her papa, and great grandmother

In other news... tomorrow will be my little boys 2 year old birthday, and yes, there will be cake. These sweet boys almost top my list. :)

3 AM is a fast friend

Tummy time at 5 AM? Absolutely.

You never fully understand how amazing it is to sleep for more than 3 hours at night until you have a kid. The little naps that you get throughout the day are absolutely nothing in compared to even a halfway decent stretch during normal sleeping hours. That being said, our little... angel decided for a few days last week that not only is she nocturnal, but she doesn't really like sleeping at all. Ever. Period. The schedule I last mentioned went completely out the door that same night; she went to sleep at 5 AM that night, 3 AM the night after, and the next night she didn't sleep for an extended period at all. In fact, in the that last 24 hours I would say that she maybe has slept 6 hours, all of that being broken up in to very short naps. Thankfully, a few days after this little fiasco, she resumed a decent schedule for me, falling asleep by one or two and sleeping till noon or so the next day, only squirming awake to eat every 3ish hours. The next thing we're going to work on is the length of time she sleeps...someone that is eating as much as a 6 month old should be sleeping like a 6 month old, as far as I'm concerned.

Little Maggie and JuneBug

June has also had 2 play dates this month! Thankfully, I'm not the only one who has recently had a drink of the obviously tainted Homewood water, so babies and friends abound. Claire brought 6 month old Maggie over last week, and day before yesterday we went over to their place, along with Anna and Layla, Emily and Grayson, and Samantha and James. The ten of us sat around for a couple of hours exchanging horror stories and eating the cookies that were made for the bigger babies. Good times.

All of the pollution in Birmingham
does make for some epically
fantastic sunsets.

As for Cliff and I, we enjoyed a fantastic date night while June stayed at Gram's house. There is nothing quite like Surin and an amazing sunset to make you completely at peace with life. That little bit of peace might be out the window next month though, with school and work both re-entering the picture! Que the ominous music, please.

One month down

One Month means one thing: shots. Thankfully, we have a rockstar for a child, and she was upset for maybe five seconds before she was completely over it. Doctor Hodges also said she was remarkably healthy, coming in at the 95th percentile for height and weight (and brilliance, if it was measurable, I'm sure). Our little chunky monkey weighs 11 lbs 7 oz, and is 22 inches long. Cliff's whole family on his father's side is extremely tall, so I told Doctor Hodges that she would probably be very big too, to which she replied that I wasn't so tiny myself. For my mental health, I'm saying that she meant I was tall. Aside from that, I also ran into a friends younger sister and her daughter in the waiting room, whom I have never met before. I was so surprised to see someone I (kind of) knew, that I introduced myself as her sister's friend, who stalked her daughter on facebook. Couldn't have been any creepier.

June has been putting herself in a schedule recently, which is one that I'm completely in love with. Now that I've said that, I'm sure she'll change it today. She has been waking up for the day around noon or so, staying up until 11ish (with very, very short naps in between) and then sleeping relatively soundly from then on, waking up only to chug the same amount of food that people twice her age eat. Since she's been out like a light at night, we tried to let her sleep in her own room again, and this time I didn't feel like the worst mom ever. In fact, I felt like a mom who had her own bed back! Minus the other person and 4 dogs in it...

In other news, tomorrow is our first playdate! Meg, Claire, and her daughter Maggie are all coming over so we can feel how old and boring we really are.

Photobooth evolution...I'm so bad at this that I can't get them in order.

1Weeks

19 Weeks

13 Weeks

4 Weeks

 9 Weeks

7 Weeks

3 Weeks

6 Weeks

 2 Weeks

 

My own personal "Cops" episode

So, apparently the new parenting no-no is responding to your baby's cry. You're supposed to just let them scream. In fact, there is an iPhone app that will time for you exactly how long you're supposed to let them scream before you go to them so they can learn to comfort themselves. I brushed this off as something totally stupid until tonight when Dad got really serious, looked me dead in the eye, and said that I really should do this. Then he looked at Sav, and all of a sudden all of the memories of Savannah screaming when my dad tried to leave her room at night came rushing back. He would literally have to sleep on her floor so that she, and the rest of us, could sleep. Now it's 1:42, June is freshly changed, fed, swaddled, and in her own crib for the very first time. Her monitor is right beside me and every time she screams, the monitor goes bright red, making the entire room feel like the middle of a cop show, where I'm the bad guy. Hopefully she comforts herself soon.

On a side note, I discovered that when our monitor is on channel B, we can listen in on our neighbors.

June also made her first mall debut today, which I'm guessing went well but I couldn't say for sure since Grandma stole her for most of the time. I'm pretty sure that everyone only invites us places to see her, which is fine because I'm all for showing her off.

Cliff has been a tad sick all day, but tomorrow if he doesn't have to work we're tackling his resume so he can start looking for a new job. Hopefully something really good comes our way! Why can't you get paid to be a professional dad?

I was about to end this by saying that there hadn't been any bright red flashes in a while, but June had to prove me wrong, so instead, goodnight.

The first of many...hopefully

Well, its 2:49 AM and everyone is asleep, which made me think that its the perfect time to start a blog. I have an awful fear that, like everyone says, we're going to wake up tomorrow and June is going to be going to college, so I'm going to try to start managing this little blog so that everyone, including me, can keep up.


As a recap...

June Monroe Wilson was born on June 17 at 4:35 in the afternoon, after a relatively short induced labor. Apparently, I wasn't really even supposed to be induced that day, but thankfully I never answer my phone or check my messages, so I had no idea that they had rescheduled our appointment. They felt obligated to admit us since we were already there, so we checked in to our huge birthing room and got ready for an amazing (and amazingly exhausting) day. My water was broken and the pitocin was administered around 8 AM, and then I got my epidural a few hours later after I was finally willing to admit that, yeah, this didn't feel too great. I dilated up to 5 centimeters quickly, but after a length of time with no change it was time to roll over (or be rolled over). Only a few minutes later I started feeling a kind of pressure that made me want to launch an "Adopt for your own good" campaign and as it turned out, that little roll was all June needed to get going. All of a sudden the room was ready, the stirrups were up, and Cliff and Shey, our nurse, were giving me the go-time faces. I realized, as did everyone else, that my epidural wasn't working quite the way it was supposed to when I noticed that "Why yes, I do feel that", and even in my only-clear-enough-to-scream state of mind I knew that everyone was trying to look overly calm as they called in a nurse to bring in lidocaine (NOW!)...But all in all, 30 minutes and one "Just grab her by her hair and pull her out!" comment later, June Monroe Wilson came into the world, sideways and holding her hand by her head at 7 lbs, 13 oz and 20 inches long.

These 24 days  have been a crazy blur, and in one way it feels like all of that was years ago, and in another it feels like yesterday. We have been blessed with having an amazing little girl who has the most beautiful temperament. She is so alert and interested in everything! Nothing seems to phase her, including the puppies who want to constantly check on her with every sound she makes. At her one week appointment she had regained almost all of the weight that she lost in the hospital, putting her at 7 12.5, and at her two weeks she was 8 13. Like mom and dad, June can eat like a champ and is already putting away 3-4 oz every 3 hours. She lost the final bit of her cord at 14 days exactly, and has discovered that baths are about the greatest thing ever, which means that I finally have someone who can appreciate how great showers are with me. Her first trip to the dog park was at 3 days old, which I wish I could say that she loved, but it honestly probably didn't seem any different to her than home. What else...she's incredibly strong. She was picking and holding her head up the day she was born, and is getting progressively better at it every day. She sleeps with her hands up in the air by her head, which Grandma says is a sign of confidence. She already likes sleeping unswaddled, but when she is swaddled she loves it. Cliff actually ties her up like that, which makes her so cozy that she always instantly falls asleep. The other way that she loves to sleep is right on your chest. She could stay there forever, and I wish she would! She makes the best sounds, too...I think there is a possibility that she is part baby doll, and part dinosaur.

Alright...its  4:30, and she just ate and fell back asleep, so I'm going to take advantage of the next three (hopefully!) hours and close my eyes a bit....

                                                    

Photos:

Top Right: JMW- 2 days old

Top Left: JMW staring at daddy, 1 day old

Second Right: JMW a few minutes old

Second Left: JMW 3 days old, getting ready to go home!

Third Right: JMW's Nirvana album shot, somewhere around 5 days old

Third Left: JMW and Papa, 2 days old

Fourth Right: JMW and Papa C, 4 days old. We're always going to make sure she knows what an amazing great-grandpa she had.

Bottom Center: JMW 24 days old, passed out on her daddy's chest.