Teeth!!!

Nikolai had his first tooth a little over two weeks ago. The left central incisor on the bottom.

This week he has been fussy beyond belief and I could not figure out why! I kept looking at his right central incisor (on the bottom) to see if there was one coming through, and nothing. I thought those two were the ones that were to come in first.

Well, today I took another peak all around his mouth and what do you know? The Left central incisor on the top broke through! My little guy now has two teeth! I am so excited that I can start feeding him real food other than mush soon (well... hopefully!!!)

I need to post about his birthday and Christmas, which will be two separate posts... I just hope that I can get it done before the 1st of the year! Busy, busy then cause of work and everything.

Until then, I am off to bed because it is 1:45 in the morning.

Thanks for reading! :)

Oh goodness, and he has taken up to 10 steps by himself! Wont be long now!!!

Dec 9th, 3 years ago...

On Friday, December 9th it was our 3-year anniversary of when Brandon asked me to marry him. :)

I don't have pictures to share. :( But we did have fun. It was nice to take a somewhat break from life and just enjoy each other...

Family Pics ...

A Big Huge THANK YOU! goes to Beth for being so kind as to take some shots of us up on the Mountain! I know the purpose of going up to Inspiration Point was for her birthday, so I am greatful!

Matching hats... I am cheesy, I know it! But it is so fun being cheesy! :)

First Thanksgiving

And what a busy day! Nikolai let us sleep in a little bit, we played in bed for about an hour, got up and ate breakfast, made 3 dozen deviled eggs (that is 72 halves!), went to Brandon's Grandparent'e house for about 3 hours, went to my mom's until we were to leave for shopping at Babies-R-Us, then went home and to bed!

A Family Halloween...

I know this is a bit late, and I apologize...

We were Vikings for Halloween! And the costumes, the whole of them, were hand made. Well, that is aside from Nikolai's pants. I just used some gray sweats that we had for him. That was easier...

NaNoWriMo

Ok, I know, not another project. There is no reason that I should be taking on another project, especially seen as how I cannot seem to finish any. And I still have yet to post about halloween.

But, Thanks to my friend Angel, from high school, and the wonderful being of Facebook, I have learned about nanowrimo.org.

One Step Forward...

And yet, no steps back...

I love the little walker toy that we had gotten from Amanda. Nikolai seems to really enjoy it too. It definitely is helping him walk, and saving my back!

Say What?!?

Nikolai still never ceases to amaze me! I love watching him grow and listening to his baby babble. It is amazing the developmental feats an infant makes during their first twelve months! I cannot wait to see what Nikolai has in store for us between now and the month and a half until he turns 1!

As for right now, I have some amazing things to say, that is if I have not said them already. I have no idea because of work. I guess I should go back and read my posts! LOL, then I might actually have some readers too! LOL

A Working Mother

I am super psyched that I got this teaching job! The first week has been great! Though a little slow, I am thankful that they are easing me into the position gently. I have been a little bored with feeling like a glorified aid. But, at the same time I am getting teacher pay so I really cannot complain too much. :)

My Monkey

Did I ever say that I have a monkey for a little boy?  Well, I do. He cannot yet walk, but he sure can climb onto anything! He can climb onto the dishwasher door if you're not careful when loading the dishwasher, he can climb onto boxes (aka the one we put in the way of the XBox, so much for that). And, he can climb over the rungs on the dinning chairs. Now that is entertaining because he cannot get himself out!

Nothin' too New

This is my first post for this month? We are already a whole week in! Time just seems to go by faster and faster, and it is just crazy! Honestly though, nothing is really going on right now to talk about! At least nothing too much that nobody doesn't already know...

9 Months

We have reached the 9 month mark and are on our final stretch to 1 year! This time has gone by so fast! He is such an amazing little dude, so relaxed and well tempered! I am so lucky that he is who he is, and to have him in my life!

Almost...

Never heard back from that job. That is a little depressing. It would have been perfect, part time still teaching and able to actually use my teaching certificate before it expires. Not to mention actually renew it. Bummer...

But Nikolai is making advancements... and I need to get this out before I forget!

8 Months - Pictures

Nikolai's 8 months snuck up on me and I really didn't get to sit down and take pictures of him like I have been. I cannot believe that he is 8.5 months now and almost 9! Gosh time goes by so quickly! Of course, a missing camera doesn't really help that out any. These were a few shots that I managed to get in though...

Waiting Still...

And so I think I may have lost the opportunity for this job. No response from the school, and no response from one of my references. I am totally bummed. Why does employemnt have to be reliant upon a person who will not contact anyone?

I was trying to stay positive. But, it is really hard to do so.

Awaiting a Phone Call....

My nerves are going haywire! I think my interview had gone fairly well, and apparently the interview team thought so too! I had gotten a call back from the principal a half hour after the interview saying the teachers wanted him to pursue the application process further! That means background check and verifying references! So excited! He said I could expect a phone call no later than Thursday, with a possibility on Wednesday...

Well, today is Wednesday and I am waiting...

Fingers Crossed and Cleaning...

I am so excited about Friday! I am bummed about today, but it ended well. I need to do so much work in the house for a party from 2 months from now. Why do I do this to myself? Oh yeah, I get stir crazy and then everything I do to keep from going insane happens all at once. I think I need to learn moderation...

Busy, busy...

I am still working on applications. I finished one for Vail and am working on one for Marana. I am nervous, but at least now I have my transcripts in. And, I have managed to make a much better resume for teaching versus a 3 page chronology of general job history. At least that seems more professional...

Official Transcripts...

They are my enemy. Why we need them is beyond me. It's not like I don't have work experience. I should have ordered them a year ago after we first graduated. I knew we were going to need them for getting a job, but given my circumstances (the pregnancy) I figured it would be a while before I would need them. And now, I need them...

Weekend in Heber, AZ

So a week ago, Brandon and I packed clothes, games, fishing poles, sleeping bags, pillows, a pack'nplay and Nikolai into the car. We were only gone for 2.5 days, but it was a nice get away. Granted it did not rain and it was slightly warmer than I had hoped it would be, but it was nice all the same. It was good to spend time with members of Brandon's family with whom we do not normally spend time. Nikolai, as we have soon discovered, does not enjoy the car as much as he did on our previous trip. Of course, this time we had more ups and downs to drive through!

7 Months - Pictures

For Nikolai's baby book, I have been taking pictures of him every month. People think it is ridiculous to have pictures taken of a baby every month, but it isn't that bad if you do them yourself. Well, I got lucky that one of my friends takes pictures for a side business and took some of Nikolai for fun and for practice. I am using them for his 7 month pictures. I got 81 of them, so the hard part is picking out my favorites!

Peek-A-Boo

Nikolai is so funny! We don't say 'peek-a-boo'. Instead we play like they do on Ice Age! "Where's the baby? There he is!"

The 'Alphabet' Songs

Today, I pretty much repeated the alphabet over and over again today. Only one thing, I didn't sing it the normal way every single time.

We also are borrowing a standing, walker toy thing that is kinda like an exersaucer but the seat swivels and moves forward and backward over these giant piano keys. The piano keys make noise when pressed or stepped on. We also spent a lot of time playing with that today.

This Weekend: A Catch-Up

I am so exhausted trying to keep up with Nikolai! He is non-stop go, go, go! The boy is probably going to be walking soon, according to people that see where he is right now in terms of development. But, he is so much fun to play with, to hear him laugh, and to take into the pool to swim! (we did a lot of that this weekend!)

Spelling It Out...

I had been pondering a way to create a song for the spelling of Nikolai's name. My cooperating teacher when I was doing my student teaching in special education had said that she had made up a song for the spelling of her daughter's name. To this day they still remember it. Since we discovered that Nikolai was going to be a boy (we had both a boy and girl name picked out by then) I wanted to have a song for the spelling of his name...

Shopping for Groceries

Wednesday, my day for grocery shopping. For one thing, it is the best day for ad matching at Wal-Mart (el super and food city usually have some pretty good Wednesday only sales on produce), and no one is usually at the super market on that day. That makes for fast lines because no one is in them, and no one gets behind you. So it is ok to take your time at the register and load up the belt with all the yummy goodies!

Identity Juggle & Parent in Training

So, I have not found a way to juggle the mommy, wife and me identities. In fact, I still feel like I do not have the chance or opportunity to be me on top of being mommy and wife. I feel sad because of it, and yet when I try to talk about it I cannot. Why do I have these problems? It's not like I do not have projects that I enjoy doing. And in the process of being mommy, I think we may have missed some parent training for Brandon and myself, the ability to do things with or without the other...

4th of July Weekend

First off, I hope that everyone had a good 4th of July! Ours was pretty eventful and I enjoyed it. We stayed busy almost the whole weekend!  Stuff every night, but at least we were able to nap during the day!

Meet Savanna...

Nikolai's 2nd cousin just had a baby! I think that is what she would be. Brandon's cousin's daughter had a baby two days ago (6-29-2011) at 9:30pm 6lbs 5.5oz and 19 1/2 inches long! 2 hours of pushing! Poor thing! And the baby is adorable!

Asparagus - A First Food

I love asparagus. But it is so easy to make it gross. I prefer my asparagus crunchy, it doesn't matter how it is prepared as long as it is not limp and soft. Brandon had never had asparagus until he had met me. Crazy, that he had not even tried it. But I guess it is like brussel sprouts. Most people don't even want to try it because it is a bitter vegetable. When Brandon tried the asparagus, I had made it with pasta and a ricotta cheese sauce. It was so good! Brandon was surprised that he liked the asparagus. I am still working with the brussel sprouts. I keep telling him they are so much better raw than cooked, I prefer those in my salads...

But because Brandon liked the asparagus from when we were dating, he decided that is what he wants Nikolai's first food to be. I told people this, and the responses were "What?!?" Yup, you heard me, asparagus...

Sitting Up

Nikolai can put himself into a sitting up position from his tummy! All by himself! I am so proud!

6 Months - Rice Cereal!

Wednesday we started feeding Nikolai solids. Well I guess you can't really call runny rice cereal a solid, it is more like a semi-solid. But still, it is more than being breastfed! I was so excited! The doctors appointment was at 2 so that way when we did the solids Brandon would have been home and showered.  We set up the highchair near the dinner table so that the lighting was good for not only pictures, but the camcorder! Had to get that first on video! :)

California Trip Part 3: The End

Part of conversation with my Uncle prior to Thursday's eventful day was where some Redwood trees were located. We had hoped that maybe we could have gone Tuesday, but the drive time was too much, and so was the Golden Gate Bridge.  But after the Beach on Thursday, my Uncle led us to Muir Woods, then surprised Brandon by traveling to the Golden Gate Bridge!

California Trip Part 2: Beach Time

A couple days after a few of our cousin's left my Uncle John drove us up to Stinson Beach. We did much more that day, but the beach requires a post all of it's own. I took the most pictures there and the water was super freezing. Lets just say poor Nikolai! But mostly, Poor Gatlin!

California Trip Part 1: The Beginning

I am so glad that we took this trip. It was so much fun, we stayed pretty busy with both relaxing and sightseeing. I got to meet my cousin's boyfriend and their adorable little boy. I also got to meet my other cousin's wife. She is sweet and they will make cute kids once they start having them. Because there are a few interesting stories, I am going to do this in separate posts.

Crawling

Over our vacation, little man started working on his crawling skills. He is not yet a master crawler yet, but he has this thing down where he gets up on all fours, rocks forward a few times, then does this roll thing. He can do legs and arms separately, but has not yet figured out getting them coordinated.

Celebrations!

I still don't feel in tip-top shape. I just slept and relaxed last week until Friday. We had our dinner and movie night at Larry and Sheri's. That is always nice. Then Saturday we had dinner at Olive Garden for my Grandparent's 61st Wedding Anniversary. Sunday was crazy. We were at my Mom's by noon to celebrate Dylan's 3rd birthday, Peter Piper Pizza for Elizabeth's 1st birthday, Wylie's for a bbq and finally made it home by 10:30pm. Monday was nice and relaxing, then Tuesday Nikolai and I had a play date with two of the other mommies and their babies. Later Tuesday we had dinner at Brandon's cousin's house. Now, I have some hefty cleaning before we leave for northern California on Friday after Brandon gets home from work...

Sickly

... and taking care of Baby. It's difficult, it's hard, and you are only waiting for the next opportunity to take a nap. Yeah, no fun...

Congrats to the Grads!

Congratulations to the Friends and Family who graduated this year!

5 Months...

my feet look so old!

Man how time flies by! Which puts the Keith Urban song in my head! Makes it difficult to think...

Anyhow.... We had the doctors appointment yesterday and Nikolai is not at 14 pounds yet. But the doctor is satisfied with his growth and happy about his development (not like I thought it was a problem). But no worries! We do not have to supplement, which was what I didn't want to have to do. Mommy's milk is so much better than formula. And to add to it, some formula has been recalled! Why would we want to even chance that?

Diaper Blow-Out (or) Officially Size 2

And a major one at that too! I had bought one of those big boxes of diapers from Babies-R-Us not that long ago because Nikolai was still pretty small, well smaller than he is now. I emptied half the box (126 diapers) into the diaper holder and figured we would still have time to use them, especially if he was gaining as slowly as he did between 2 and 4 months. Can I say that I was wrong?

Mommy Paparazzi

Oh no! The paparazzi is here!

Easter & 4 Months ... Pictures

Just got the our family pictures from Easter. Aunt Doreen takes good pictures. We are so lucky we have so many people in our family with camera talent! :)


And, I have finally edited and chosen the pictures I took for Nikolai's 4 months. Took me a while, but I got that done! :)

Mother's-Birth Day

My first Mother's Day, and my birthday fell on the same day. We did not plan it to happen that way. We celebrated all weekend pretty much, and that seemed to make it all the more special! And we were able to sleep in on Sunday morning, which was nice.

Room Transformation

2-16-11

Nikolai's room has been a hassle, though fun as it was, to transform from a craft/storage room to a nursery. It has taken us so many months to change it over, I think it has been fairly close to a year! Since we started moving things out a shortly after we discovered the pregnancy! But the room was a disaster before we started. I am a pack rat, Brandon is one too, and because we didn't rearrange things as we got them, the room became storage for random items. Since we have come closer to finishing the room, I am proud of the transformation and am sharing it with you...

Myearly



Don't you just love baby feet?



Well, I had to go in today for a routine doctor's visit and I am super stoked! I have the weight results in for how much of the baby weight I have lost and lets just say I am so excited! It's not like I have been excerising and I have been eating, so it's not like I have been starving myself...

Dr. Jack Newman: Breastfeeding Pet Peeves

My breastfeeding pet peeves restated and a couple more

I just wanted to share this. I found it on Facebook through Bradley Method's page. It is from Dr. Jack Newman's facebook page and here is his website http://www.drjacknewman.com/. I used this website for some ideas when looking for ways to vamp it up... I don't know what good it does to share, but it sure does make me feel a little better that there are people out there that are irritated with things. How can we go about making a change? I have no idea.

Stepping it Up

These last few days I have been attempting to build up my milk supply and have no idea if it has helped any, if it has worked at all. I have been making sure and doing my best to feed Nikolai every two hours and from each side. I sure hope this has helped, and I got to make sure I do this every day until his doctor's appointment at the end of this month.

Push Ups

I was getting Nikolai ready for bed when he decided he wasn't ready. He wanted to do some push ups first. It was pretty cute because his body was so wobbly and he was making little grunting noises because it was taking a lot of work. He is a strong little boy!

4 Month Well Baby

I don't get what is with sucking his lower lip!

What is the point of a well baby visit? Immunizations... Weight & Height comparison to other babies his age...

So it starts, the competition of one needing to be just as good as the other. I don't care what is weight is as long as he is healthy, shouldn't the doctors do the same?

Easter

Nikolai is now 4 months. He has rolled over both ways, is sitting up supported really well, and still loves standing! He grabs and pulls, especially hair, and seems to enjoy marking up glasses. He did that to Bekah the other day. Went for her glasses, then decided to stick his fingers in his mouth and go for her glasses again. It was cute and a little funny. Gosh Easter went by fast. I didn't have anything planned for it, figured this is our last Easter where we really didn't have to do anything. Next year, we will...

My Little Roller!

I think it is now official! He is a both-sides Roller-Over-er! :)

One Tiring Weekend

And poor Nikolai! He probably had more fun Saturday then Sunday seen as how Sunday we were at the hospital most of the day. At least Sunday he got to spend time with people. Poor thing spent most of his time in the carseat and stroller than anywhere else!

Troubleshooting Baby

I will say this first, this is not going to be a manual for troubleshooting a baby, partly because every baby is different and partly because I really have no idea what I am doing (despite the appearance of my handling Nikolai...). And I can say, Poor Brandon. But, I am not here to hand the baby off to once he starts getting fussy. Every now and then, a mom needs her break from work just like you need yours. (so I guess this is a little bit of venting time, sorry...)

Roll Over Rover - Part 2

before rolling over

Well, you can probably guess what happened today by the title...

That's right, Nikolai rolled over. Not from tummy to back because he does that already, but from back to tummy!

Project 365

I have started a project. Something to do when Nikolai is napping. I am going to take a picture a day for a year with a goal: improve my ability to take good pictures.

http://jessiberry-project365.blogspot.com/

I have also started a quilt for Nikolai. I hope that I do not have too many projects going on at one time! I just need something to do for me time! Something to do when Nikolai is napping and I can relax... So we will see!
  



The Fabrics for the Blocks



Tentative layout plan



Backing and Border Fabrics



Today...

WIC... we qualify. Not that I am proud of it necessarily, but that I am thankful we can receive the assistance. It just makes it easier, is all...

Blue Eyes

I just love his blue eyes. I hope that they stay that way.

A Story to Tell

This was pretty funny and I wish that I had a picture of it, or at least captured it on video. Nikolai was very intent on telling me a story and I was not allowed to look at anything except for him. That made it difficult because I was checking email and talking to a friend, trying to get votes so her dog can win a contest, checking blogger, and DPS.

Nappy Time

The schedule is changing again! Or either he is fighting sleep. I have no idea, but I feel exhausted!

"Changing Nikolai's Diaper"

Nikolai has started to wiggle almost it seems uncontrollably once I set him down on the changer. So, I have created a song that seems to help him wiggle not so much on the changer. I know it's a little gross, but that is how these Mommy things go sometimes. And whatever works, use it! ...

Roll Over Rover...

Nikolai rolled over today! I am so proud of my little boy! And, he did not do it off of me, he did it on his play gym. He only did it once, and I did try a few times.

4th Trimester is Over

Nikolai was three months yesterday! Time has gone by so fast. It seems just yesterday we were bringing him home and taking him to see family. He is becoming more alert, grabbing at stuff a whole lot more, and has gained new interest in his feet (so forget sitting!).

And, because he is now 3 months, I figure now is as good a time as any to start sleeping in his own crib rather than in the pack-n-play's bassinet. I am going to get my side of our bedroom back! Hurray!

A Joyous Outburst

Nikolai had a giggle of a laugh for the first time today!

2 Year Anniversary - F-or-F

It really hasn't been that long. Not in comparison to others (like our grandparents), or in the grand scheme of things, 2 years is nothing! But still, it has been two years! We talk about it and it feels that is has been much longer. Not as a bad thing, but that we feel comfortable together. Russel tells Brandon to never tell a woman it feels it has been forever. But I guess some people can take it the wrong way, but to us, it is like we've known each other for longer, that we are comfortable together, and can keep going. And that is a good thing. So the 17th, St Patrick's Day, it was 2 years from the date we were married and 4 years from the date we met face to face...

Sleep Solutions for Babies - WhatToExpect.com

Coping With Crying -- Sleep Solutions for Babies -- WhatToExpect.com

I think I am lucky that Nikolai sleeps so well at night. But I am thinking that we need to move him from the bassinet to the crib soon. That means I need to hurry and get the bedding washed. Hopefully we haven't made the habit of him sleeping in the bassinet an actual habit. I just hope it isn't going to be too difficult.

Diapers, the Rashes and the Magician

Poor little Nikolai and his little tushy! He just cannot get a break! My Uncle was in town a couple of weeks ago and that, I think, is the worst his diaper rash has been. At least his reaction to diaper rashes has drawn me to that conclusion...

And his faces when he is busy doing his business! (he is going to hate me for this later...)

Grocery Shopping Horror

Well, actual all out shopping. I've done quick runs to the store for one or two items with Nikolai, and without Nikolai. But never really with the intent of going shopping for the non-perishable stock up we do every now and then, at least not by myself anyway. It is too difficult to do that intensive shopping by myself with the little guy. His car-seat doesn't fit upfront, only in the main portion of the cart. So there is no room for food. Well today, I used my sling and carried him throughout the store. It reminds me of being pregnant and didn't like it, but at least I had access to the cart!

First Shots

Today was our 2 month well baby visit to the doctors office and this time Nikolai did not pee on the doctor. I would have thought it would be funny if he did because this was the day he got his first shots too. We declined the first Hepatitis B shot at the hospital, so these shots were his first ever!

Is It Enough?

I always ask that of myself and ...

You never know...