Cali

At the last minute I was told I needed to make a trip to one of our offices in CA - to do more layoffs. Not fun. Add to that the fact that I've never left poopster overnight (or even with a babysitter) and the tears started flowing (damn hormones!). Thankfully I was alone at my desk when the waterworks started, otherwise it would have been worse. I called the hubby and at his recommendation I started looking for flights for him and we ended up going out early, making a weekend trip out of it and having a ball!

We got to take poopster to the beach...

He ate some sand...

Played in the pool for the first time...

And just generally had a great time. Yet another reason why I love my husband so much - he made something that could have been so horrible for me into a fantastic weekend with the family.

He's crawling all over the place now - has pretty much given up on the scooting as he found that he moves more quickly when he gets up on his knees. When he gets on tile it's even better - he gets in a downward dog pose (hands and feet) and walks/crawls like that. It's hilarious to watch and I think it's because he doesn't like how the tile feels on his knees. Either way he's adorable.

MIA

So, I've been missing in action for the past few months - It's been hectic with the holidays, the babe's sleeping habits (which are finally getting better!), and all the crazy things going on with my job. So, to recap breifly, we moved the poopster to his own room right after Christmas :(. He actually started sleeping much better pretty much right away which means that PB was right when he said we were probably keeping him awake at night. Sleep has been touch and go but for the most part it's significantly better than it was from months 4-6. He's also now napping in his crib thanks solely to my superhero husband and fab stay-at-home-dad. I can't take any credit for that one.

We had visitors and went to Tulsa for a short weekend. It has been fun but honestly I'm looking forward to being just the three of us again for a while.

We switched to cloth diapering at 7 months and haven't looked back - I love it! It is saving us time and money, and poopster hasn't had any issues. While the initial start up was a couple hundred, we won't have to buy any more diapers - ever. These will last him until he potty-learns. So, we'll definitely be saving money in the next few months.

We've had the mildest winter that I've seen in Colorado in a long time, and I must say I'm pretty thankful. I'm not sure I'm digging the snow and cold much anymore especially now that I'm worried about how warm poopster is when we're out and about.

Speaking of poopster - he's getting bigger and cuter every day (if that's even possible). He is a total ham and loves the camera!!

Family

My mom was just here for a visit - it was wonderful to have her here. She really helped with poopster and it was great to see her with him. Hubby and I went out (first time leaving poopster) to my company holiday party. It was nice to get out and we are looking forward to establishing some kind of date night in the near future.

Poopster is 6 months old today. I can't believe how time flies. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital; a tiny 6lb 1oz when we left, he's now a healthy 15lbs. I love watching him grow, learn and experience new things. He's still rolling like crazy, laughing, and is very interested in the world around him. Everything catches his eye and he finds the funniest things amusing/interesting. When we rock in the living room and I hold him on the right side he stares up at the ceiling and just smiles. Every time. The ceiling is blank so we aren't sure what's making him smile but something is. It's like he has a secret picture that only he can see when he looks up there.

I love his smile. Not only is it the sweetest image on the face of the planet (who could resist that gummy smile???) but it means he's happy and that melts my heart. In general he's a pretty happy little guy, and hubby and I love to think that he's happy with us as parents... I guess we won't really know the answer to that one until he's a teenager :)

Santa Baby...

Sorry for my prolonged absence from the blog. It's been extremely hectic at work as the transition is taking quite a bit longer than I had initially anticipted. I'm still doing at least two jobs, and don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon. I'm excited about the new opportunities, and as soon as I have time to relax a bit, may even be able to do some work trips to Alaska, Hawaii and Guam (crossing fingers...).

We moved as well... about a month ago and are now trying to settle into a house much much closer to work. Once we made the decision that PB would stay home with the little guy we decided it was time to cut my commute time - it's now under 15 minutes in rush hour!

We started solids, oatmeal speccifically, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Buster loved it! He knew exactly what to do immediately and was quickly leaning in to reach the spoon, trying to grab the spoon out of my hand, and crying when he finished all the oatmeal! I am still amazed everyday by my beautiful boy. We've successfully introduced carrots (last week) and tonight proceeded to sweet potatoes. He wasn't a big fan of the carrots initially, but I think he's come around. He liked the sweet potatoes pretty well right off the bat. I can't believe how much fun each new thing is.

Buster is rolling over consistently whenever we put him on his back - it's right to grabbing the feet, rolling on the side, and moving onto the belly... he's also putting everything in his mouth and is ready for his teeth to cut through the gums... as are mommy and daddy :) although I still can't get over his gummy smile - which I now get whenever I walk in the door after work. It's the best thing in the whole world and melts my heart everytime.

This week my building at work had a holiday party with a very realistic looking Santa. Buster was fascinated by Santa. He didn't cry and could not stop looking at Santa - I wasn't sure if it was the beard (which he grabbed), the hat or the big red suit, but he was in a trance... we are really looking forward to Christmas this year with our little guy.

Promotion

So, it's official - last week I was offered a promotion at work; a nice jump that takes me at least two levels higher than I am now... so this re-org is working out in my favor. The final details have yet to be ironed out, but it means that Chris will be a stay-at-home daddy and I will stay at work. For now. While I know this is the right decision for our family financially, it's one that weighs on my heart. PB is a great dad, and baby boy isn't in daycare which is the most important thing to me, but it is still hard to not be the one home with Colin each day. It's been a rough time being back at work - pumping, stressing, not getting as much quality time with my little guy as I was when on maternity leave... It's still for the best. I should know soon about the salary increase that comes along with this promotion, and it will allow me to get the global certification I want. It will also give hubby time to go back and get his master's, so that when we are ready for baby #2, he'll have the master's and I can stay at home with both kiddos while he goes back to work. Sigh. I'm actually really excited about the work opportunities but I can't help but feel sad about the timing.

We don't have all the answers so we're just taking it one day at a time. I'm so thankful for both of the boys in my life - they make everything worth it.

Autumn

It's fall here. I'm really not sure when that happened, but the seasons have changed and summer passed me by. Perhaps I was just too busy spending time with Colin, but I'm really shocked that so much time has passed. How is he almost four months old? I can't believe that it's October... and that we're thinking about Halloween. How cute is our little monkey??? I haven't found one that quite fits him yet, so even though this one is 12 - 18 mos I couldn't pass it up.

To try to get out and enjoy the beautiful Colorado colors we took a drive this weekend. We originally headed up to the Estes Park area, but soon realized we'd become one of the dreaded "leafers" and quickly turned back. We ended up at Lion Gulch Trailhead and had a wonderful time hiking and enjoying the fall colors and crisp air.

My beautiful boy

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because I am swamped at work and when I'm not at work I want to spend 100% of my time with my beautiful boy... I am so lucky that my husband is a phenomenal dad and that while I'm at work he is the one at home with our little one. They come to visit me at work and we have lunch at a park nearby - it's the highlight of my week and I love being able to relax at lunch with my baby. I still can't believe how big he's getting! He's now in size 2 diapers, loves to suck on his hands, talks and coos whenever he gets the opportunity and is so happy the majority of the time. His gummy smile melts my heart.

I love to see the change in my husband as well. Being the primary caregiver during the weekdays has given him a new confidence with Colin. I know it's semi-unsual for dads to be the stay at home parent, and I know how lucky we all are that they are getting this incredible bonding time.

Work is going through a global reorganization in the coming year - and our department is already starting the process. If I didn't know that my tiny department is already extremely overworked and overwhelmed I would be worried. Instead, I'm actually excited about the new possibilities that this re-org brings. While I would love to be the stay at home parent full time, if I get promoted and make enough for Chris to stay at home then it's the sensible thing for our family if I'm the one that works full-time. Anyway, it's still a bit earlier to talk about as nothing has been announced yet. However, the rumor-mill is going full strength and if they hold a minute aount of truth to them, my department is going to go through a major over-haul, my boss will be shifting to a new area and it could get interesting. I'll keep you posted...