Cloudy Skies

I had so hoped it wouldn't happen this time, but it has ... the cloudy skies of postpartum depression have settled over me once again. It came on with a vengeance in the hospital, a whole week ahead of when I got it after I had Baylor. This time, I immediately contacted my therapist and the hospital helped me up my dosage of antidepressant.

Still ...

Everything has a haze over it right now. I feel so incredibly out of control, and yet so responsible for two little lives. It's an overwhelming, crushing feeling, and I'm trying to figure out how to reconcile all of my emotions and find my new normal.

So, that all being said, I'm sorry if I haven't responded to any of the well-wishes and love you guys have sent out to me and my little family. I have kinda drawn into myself and haven't quite figured out how to keep up with friends and family while doing this whole mom-of-two thing. I'm sure I'll get it eventually. Until then, I apologize for any lack of communication on my part.

For Those of You Who Don't Know ...

I had a baby girl yesterday! Her name is Amalia (pronounced "Ah-MAH-lee-ya") Jean, and she weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 20.5 inches long. Quite the peanut compared to my 10 lbs. 10 oz. boy!

Here she is!

I had actually woken up at around 4:30 to use the bathroom and I was so incredibly hungry I thought to myself, "Whatever you do, just don't have the baby today ... you have GOT to eat something!"

Ah, the irony!

My water broke, as I previously mentioned, at around 5:00 a.m. That was a fun, messy surprise! We quickly got ready and my in-laws made the three-door trek to our house to be there should Baylor wake up.

I thought I had been contracting, but I wasn't sure if it was a dream or not, so I didn't bother to time them. As it turns out, by the time we got in the car they were three to four minutes apart, but they weren't hugely strong or long-lasting. At the hospital, we found out I was only 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

I know this is going to sound weird, but I was so excited that I got to experience labor at least a little bit. Yeah, the water breaking and leaking with every contraction was gross and the contractions weren't fun, but I so wanted to know what labor felt like and it was thrilling to have a little unexpectedness at the end of our pregnancy!

By 7:30 I was back in the operating room getting my spinal block, which went miles better than it did last time, and after a quick bout of nausea I started feeling pretty calm. Bryson came in and settled down next to me with the video camera. They actually let him film her being born, so I'm hoping to put that up here at some point. It's pretty graphic, lots of blood, but it's also kind of amazing.

Anyhow, Bryson got to announce that she's a girl and we quickly found out her weight. I have to say, I was more shocked by her weight than I was that she was a girl. I have never held a baby that small! She's just so tiny!

After the surgery was over and I was all sewn up, they took me back to triage to recover and her to the nursery to get cleaned up and checked out. Recovery for this c-section went so much better than the last one; I didn't have nearly as much nausea or sleepiness, and I actually remember most - if not all - of the day! Oh, and I only threw up once after I drank some grape juice too fast, so that was a vast improvement over last time.

Baylor got to come to the hospital to meet his little sister, but he was much more interested in all the electronic gadgetry in the room than he was in a sleepy little baby. I cried a lot when they left for the night, more for my sake than his ... I knew he was in good hands and would be well-cared for; I was just going to miss him intensely. And I did. But, I have my little girl to look out for now, too. So at least I had a little distraction to keep me from missing him to the point where I couldn't function.

Amalia and I had a decent number of good feedings yesterday, but she has since grown very sleepy and reluctant to wake up to eat. We'll get the hang of it eventually.

Anyhow, I guess that's all for right now. There will be many more pictures and stories to come, I'm sure. Thanks for all the well-wishes!

Have a wonderful day!

Soooo ...

My water broke! We're on our way to the hospital and I'm typing this on my hubby's phone. I'll post more later. Baby time!

One Week and One Night ...

Tonight marks one week before we put Baylor to bed at my parents' house, leaving him with them overnight for the first time so we can wake bright and early for the c-section.

Tonight, as I was giving him his milk and recounting the day's events, he looked at me, put his little hand on my cheek near my nose, smiled, and said, "Face." First time I've heard him say that. Then he nuzzled his head into my chest and smiled, saying, "Mama. Mama." He patted me on the shoulder and looked into my eyes.

I cried for a while after I got him down for bed tonight.

I am going to miss him so much.

Stairs: Did You Know You're Supposed to WALK Down Them?

Yeah, falling down the stairs while pregnant is not a good idea. I did that this morning, and let me tell you, it's not fun.

I was following Bryson and Baylor down the stairs, when my sock slipped against my compression hose and made my foot slip out from underneath me. I grabbed onto the railings on each side of me, gripping for dear life as gravity took me down the stairs. Unable to regain my balance, I hit a few stairs with my rear end, settling finally on the third stair from the floor. Since my doctor said to call if I fell at all, I called up their office and they told me to head to the emergency room to get checked out.

That was not what I had planned for today, to say the least.

After getting Baylor fed and dropping him off at my parents' house, we made our way to the hospital. Upon our arrival, I told the guard at the entrance that I was 38 weeks pregnant and had fallen down the stairs. Apparently they take that sort of thing very seriously, as she came out from her booth and quickly got me into a bariatric-sized wheelchair. They bumped me ahead of the lady who came in just ahead of us, but when they realized I wasn't having any pain or leaking any sort of liquid things slowed down a bit.

I got checked in in the ER and was wheeled upstairs to maternity triage with another pregnant patient. They got us situated in our respective rooms, told us to get into gowns, and informed us where the bathroom was if we needed it. The nurse also informed me that they like to monitor pregnant fall patients for FOUR HOURS afterwards ... so we called my sister and let her know that it was going to be a while. After using the restroom, I got out of the compression hose I had so carefully squeezed myself into this morning. Then it took my husband and I, two college graduates, a few minutes of analysis before we could figure out how in the world the hospital gown went together.

Once I finally got into the gown, they hooked my belly up to the machine and I sat for a few hours. With nothing to do. I tried to sleep a little, but the bed was really uncomfortable and I was starving. Bryson took out his old cell phone and his new work phone and started entering in all his old contacts into the new phone. I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but that was all the action I saw. Finally, at around 1:30, I was deemed safe to leave and we headed home.

Today's lesson: wear shoes all the time. Especially when going down the stairs.

One week and one day left ...

38 Week Photo

I realize my goal of weekly photos has long gone by the wayside, but I thought I'd give you guys an idea of what I look like right now. Everyone loves a good belly bump picture, right?

Enjoy!

New Compression Hose ... The Saga Continues

Well, remember how I said I put a hole in my compression hose the other day? Sadly, shortly thereafter, I put another even larger hole in the thigh of the other leg. It was time for that pair to go, backwards legs and all.

I had gotten another prescription from my doctor just in case something like this happened, so once the little man was asleep and my mom was over to "watch" him I headed out. Usually the Women's Health Boutique is pleasantly not busy, but Friday afternoon was a bit of a madhouse. I thought I'd just be in and out with a new pair of the same compression hose, but I got a different person this time and, unlike the first time I went in, she decided to do measurements.

Now, when you're swollen and pregnant, the last thing you want to do is be measured. Trust me. Then I found out that the last thing you want is someone analyzing said measurements. The certified compression hose measurer took out her little tape measure and got measurements of my thighs, calves, and ankles. Awesome. She wrote down the numbers and marveled that my right leg was smaller by a half an inch than my left leg at the thigh but bigger than my left leg by a half inch at the calf.

Yeah? Jealous?!

Once she was done with her analysis of my misshapen legs, she grabbed the proper size of a new brand of compression hose and started to get me checked out. Unfortunately, though very sweet, this woman thought my name was "Jacquie Bryson" and had a terrible time trying to find my chart. Eventually, we got that straightened out, and I headed home to relieve my mom.

The new hose are fine, pretty much like the last pair. I'm really hoping the legs don't reverse themselves this time, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm trying to give up on the anger towards them and just be grateful that they're letting me continue to wear normal maternity pants and move about like I'd like to ... mostly, anyways.

Ahh, There It Is ... Bummer

It was snowy out today, so Big B, Little B, and I went for a walk in the mall tonight. We checked out a couple stores then made our way around the wings, weaving our way through the crowds of teenagers and families. About halfway through the third wing, I felt a familiar pain shoot up the right side of my belly.

Yup, the round ligament pain I felt so frequently while pregnant with Baylor was back. And with a vengeance, too. Just a few steps into it and I could barely stand up straight, the pain crept around to my lower back, and I was breathing hard ... really hard. We finished wings three and four, and then I had to sit down. Sadly, the seat was still really warm from the previous occupant, and I have to say it was pretty unsettling.

Anyhow, I digress.

I was pretty happy that I had avoided round ligament pain so far this pregnancy, so I was quite disappointed when it reared its ugly head tonight. Up until now I have been pretty mobile; the last time I went for a mall walk I was able to make it through three laps. Yeah, that's unlikely to happen again. Whether it's the way the baby's positioned or his/her size, my round ligament pain is likely to stick around for the next nine days whenever I walk any distance at any pace.

And now I kinda wonder what else the next nine days have in store for me.

Whew. Deep breath, Nicole!

Saturday Doings

Delighted that Daddy was home, the little man has had quite the day. After getting dressed, he immediately asked for water, so we made our way downstairs.


Once he enjoyed his banana breakfast, he got down and had the run of the house. This, of course, included climbing up on our green office chair to have a look-see. Oh, the things he can reach now!

My mom came over to borrow our wallpaper steamer and was reeled in by Baylor's baby blues. They played a rousing game of hide and seek, and the little man came up with this clever hiding spot all on his own.

After she left, we read some books and then it was time for lunch. We got him into his hippo chair, and he instantly made a grab for my camera. To appease him, I offered to take his picture. Here's Baylor's cheesy fake smile he sometimes flashes when he sees a camera.

Apples and a grilled cheese sandwich on wheat was on the menu today for Little B, and I must say it certainly seems like he's enjoying learning how to feed himself. Sometimes he has to put food on his fork with his free hand, but hey, he's only one and a half!

The NCAA basketball tournament is on right now, so we watched that during lunch today, a real treat for Little B since we never have the television on during the weekdays. Both Big and Little B were mesmerized.

In preparation for Paco's arrival, we decided to get Baylor a new big boy high chair/booster seat. And, boy, does he love it! He can climb into it by himself and takes a lot of pride in doing so. It wasn't even mealtime, and he wanted to be in his new high chair. Funny little man!

It certainly was a nice morning!

Ten Days

Ten days left. Yup, just ten days.

In ten days I'll have two kids ... whoa. Isn't that amazing? Two whole kids. A boy and a ...?

Ten days feels both so incredibly short and like it is an eternity stretching ahead of me. I have so much to do in ten days; my tick tock list is still hanging out there, waiting for me to complete it, and all I keep doing is adding to it. It probably won't be finished before the kiddo comes, but I'm just going to have to be okay with that. And I will be, so long as some of the items get done for sure.

I only have ten days to enjoy this life I've gotten used to over the past year and a half. One week and three days to soak up my time with Baylor, hugs, kisses, tickles, and all, before my attention is divided forever. In just ten days, I have to start finding my way to a new normal. It won't necessarily be worse, most likely it'll be better, but I've never been comfortable with big changes like this so I'm feeling nervous. I keep telling myself that it'll be okay, that not so long ago I made another huge change very similar to this one and look how wonderful it turned out, but deep down I'm terrified. My thoughts are plagued with questions like "how do you take care of two kids", "how can I possibly love another kid as much as I love Baylor", "how do help two kids thrive ... won't one fall by the wayside", "what if it's a boy", "what if it's a girl", etc.

Even happy moments with Baylor feel numbered, and I feel both intensely protective of them and horribly guilty for not being over-the-moon excited for Paco like I was for Little B. It's not that I'm not happy to have another child, but life doesn't happen in a vacuum; things are different now than they were when Baylor was born and emotions change with life. Will I love this child? Yes, without a doubt; I already do. But the carefree elation I felt when I was pregnant with Baylor has been overshadowed by the knowledge of what will happen in the days ahead. Newborn time is not easy time, at least it wasn't for me, and I'm trying to keep as hopeful as I can for a better experience this time around.

And then there is the eternity ... ten days of poor sleep at night, Braxton Hicks contractions, swollen legs, compression hose, waddling, round ligament pain, anxiety, anticipation, and the cruel combination of exhaustion and an overwhelming urge to get things done. This week has dragged on like nobody's business, so the next ten days are a bit daunting. I want the day to be here already, the anticipation and anxiety to be behind me. I want to not feel nervous to start the new normal ... I just want it to be here already!

My doctor has all but assured me that it will be ten days and no less, so I also have begun to grieve a bit for the birthing experience I had hoped for, full of anticipation and unexpectedness. In ten days I'll be cut in half again and have to deal with all that entails. Hopefully I'll remember Paco's first day. Hopefully I won't feel like throwing up until I feel ripped in two all over again. Hopefully I'll be able to hold my baby sooner than I did Baylor. Hopefully.

In the end, all I can do is breathe deeply, try to get as much as I can done, let go of the rest, enjoy the time I have with just Baylor, and remind myself that he'll love having a sibling (hopefully sooner rather than later).

*I realize this post is probably horrible and scattered, but I guess that kind of reflects my mood and thoughts right now so I'm okay with it. I hope you will be, too.

37 Week Doctor Visit

I had my 37 week appointment today. Here are the stats:

Starting weight: 128 lbs.
Last week's weight: 178 lbs.
Current weight: 179.5 lbs.
Blood pressure: 106/66
Belly measurement: 40 to 41 weeks
Dilation: didn't check

To sum it up, I'm huge and the baby isn't coming early. I'm sleeping rather poorly, and I'm a little on the cranky side. Still starving. Still exhausted. And the water retention is amping up (today it feels like my calves are about as big as they can physically get), though I thankfully only gained a pound and a half this week.

In celebration, I'm going to eat a bowl of Mint Cookie Crunch ice cream before bed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the little man and I donned green and had a jolly good time today.

After my mom was so kind as to pick up cheese and Baylor's vitamins at the grocery store, we stopped by their house to pick them up. We ended up staying longer than I had anticipated, in no small part because they were interested in helping me get some cookies made to keep in our freezer. So, we set forth with our cookie task!

Little B even got to see the action from atop a step stool!

And he got to help shut the container of sugar!

"Hm ... what's in there?"

In this picture he is asking for the mixer to go "fast" ... one of his favorite words!

He decided to spice things up a bit by tearing little bits of paper off the top of the salt container and throwing them in the mixer. Luckily, Mom and Christine were able to fish them all out before they got mixed in.

Then he got to help put in the M&M's, and he didn't even try to eat one!

His little hands are generally moist (borderline sweaty), so the M&M's started sticking to his wee paws. To help solve this problem, he started picking up the candies with his right hand and transferring them to his left. It was an inexact science, to say the least.

Toward the end, he started telling us what color M&M he was putting into the bowl.

He is endlessly fascinated with the mixer ... I really should bake more.

My parents recently got a new oven, and the little man is still getting used to it. So, as usual, he had to inspect it and try to figure out how to make it beep.

Once he got down from the kitchen island, it was time to play.

First stop, under the bar stools to check out the tags.

Next up, a big, shiny, blue ball from Target.

He especially liked it when he'd run into us hard enough to knock himself over and we'd say, "Boing!"

He's also all about climbing; even if it's just atop his little Ikea step stool, he wants to see the world from a new perspective.

Oma opened a blank Microsoft Word document, and let him press on the keyboard. That was a huge hit with him!

On a sadder note, I put one of my fingers through the upper left thigh of my compression hose and now have a wicked run in them. Grrrr. I was so hoping they'd last this last week and a half!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

"Lightening"? Really?!

Whomever came up with the term "lightening" for when a person's baby drops into their pelvis should have their head examined. Or it was a man.

If you couldn't tell from the previous statement, I'm pretty sure the baby has dropped. It's a lovely, pelvic-breaking, back-aching, pee-inducing sensation really. Over the last few days, my body has gotten increasingly more uncomfortable, and as unprepared and overwhelmed as I feel I'm kinda getting ready for Paco to make his/her appearance.

I honestly don't remember this happening with Baylor; I don't remember feeling so much bodily discomfort at the end of my pregnancy with him, other than the intense swelling of my limbs. Maybe that distracted me from this whole "lightening" process, who knows?

It'll be interesting to see what my OB has to say this Thursday at our appointment. Last week she made it seem like the baby was still pretty high up, so hopefully she'll be able to let me know if this is all in my head or not.

If this is the baby dropping, I'm not enjoying it much. Oy!

Here Comes My Sun

I was all prepared to write a ranting, raving blog post about things that were irking me (e.g., how much I hate blow drying my hair, how it pisses me off that every time I turn on or off said blow dryer it smells like garlic for no apparent reason), and then he woke up.

And my internal sun woke up with my son's happy smile, and all was right with the world. Some days, that's all you need. A happy little man who just wants to hug and be hugged.

Messing With Time

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Usually I have no idea why I'm a smidge on the cranky side; it just happens and it fades away as I move through my day. Not today, though. No, no, today I know precisely why I'm pissed off.

I hate daylight savings time.

And no, it's not just a spring thing; I hate it in the fall, too. It's not like you're actually gaining an extra hour of your life; it's just on loan until they want it back in the spring. Jerks.

I personally think the whole daylight savings thing is a co-conspiracy between the watch/clock manufacturers and the people who write owner's manuals. It makes you pay attention to them twice a year. I have no idea how to change half the clocks around my house, so every half year I am forced to find the owner's manual and go through step by step trying to figure out how to change the time. However, I do feel like I have thwarted their plans a little bit; I no longer wear watches, so I don't bother changing them back and forth.

The thing that really gets me is that now they're not just messing with me; they're messing with my kid, too. He has no idea what is going on, so his schedule gets all confused and forcibly adjusted and the poor guy just has to deal with it. Spring or fall, the schedule I have so carefully crafted for him gets all thrown off, and it is so irritating!

Also irritating: I have to do math all day long. I avoid doing math as much as I can; it's not my strong suit, and I just generally don't enjoy it. So, being forced to figure out what time it "really" is all day gets really old really quickly. And really confusing. Here's how it goes in my head:

"So I know I'm supposed to subtract an hour, but doesn't everything just jump ahead? Wouldn't that make Baylor get up an hour earlier, rather than later? Wait, what's my name again?"

See how things just snowball?

Did we learn NOTHING from Back to the Future?! You shouldn't mess with time, McFly! You just shouldn't.

Okay, onto my day. Luckily, one thing that doesn't get messed up is my meal schedule; I'm hungry all the time so it doesn't matter what time it really is. I'm just plain hungry. Speaking of which ...

Climbing, Ohhh All the Climbing!

He finally did it. He got himself onto the green office chair. Oy!


Little did he know, if he just stood up he could have reached his beloved thermostat all by himself!

I'm so thankful he didn't figure that one out ... yet.

Random Act of Terrorism?

Where were you between 1:15 and 1:20 a.m. EST early this morning?! I certainly hope you weren't the jerks egging our house ... then I'd have to not like you anymore.

Apparently, some people - we're assuming kids because, really, who else would do this - drove up to our house, got out, chucked a few eggs at our walls and windows, then hopped in their car and sped away. My husband was the one who heard it and went downstairs to check things out; he tried cleaning some of it up, but it being so early in the morning that was a bit difficult.

Here's some of what we found:

This happens to be Baylor's window, the main brunt of the attack. We think the concentration of egg here may point to the real target of the act of terrorism. No, not my year-and-a-half old son; the former owner's teenage son used to reside in this room. So our only lead is that this may have been directed at him, though he hasn't lived here for four years.


Splat ... ugh. Soooo glad our screens are on the outside.

My husband trying to clean up the mess. He still has yet to get to Little B's window; he didn't want to start it and be working during the little man's nap.

So that sucks. I felt bad that Bryson had to go out and clean up a mess from some random person, but leaving it to cook on our house this summer just didn't seem like a good idea. Hopefully the rest of it will clean up easily, and it won't happen again.

36 Week Doctor Visit

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 36 week visit. Here are the stats:

Starting weight: 128 lbs.
Last week's weight: 172 lbs.
Current weight: 178 lbs. (sigh)
Blood Pressure: 104/? (either 60 or 80 ... the computer screen was far away and I couldn't really read it)
Belly Measure: 38 weeks
Dilation: 0 cm

Oh, and the Braxton Hicks contractions are really amping up. Yesterday morning I had 13 of them in an hour and a half, so I called the doctor's office and they told me to go to the ER. I sat there and debated it, then decided to wait to see what happened. They, of course, stopped and later on I found out that I'm not dilated at all, so it was a good thing I didn't rush off to the hospital. Regardless, my uterus is freaking out, and I can't say it's overly comfortable.

In spite of wearing my lovely, insane compression hose, I have still managed to retain a lot of water in my legs, a fact that irritates me to no end. By the end of the day, walking up the stairs to bed makes my knees feel like they are going to explode from all the water pressure. But, thankfully, my hands haven't puffed up too much yet, so I'm not suffering from the carpel tunnel syndrome I experienced while pregnant with Baylor. I hope that bit of it stays away for the duration.

So that's about it. I'm hungry all the time. I'm gaining weight like it's my job. I'm exhausted, stressed, worried, yet still trying to remain excited. Oh, and I started taking Zoloft (an antidepressant) this week to help combat post-partum depression, since I experienced it pretty intensely after Baylor was born. Hopefully things will be much more happy and joyous this time around.

Hope you have a wonderful morning!

Hair Cut Number Four: That's My Boy!

Lately, we've been noticing Baylor's hair looking a little long. It started hanging over his ears, and the other day during dinner he got it caught in the snap of his bib. It was time for another hair cut.


Because of hair cuts two and three, Oma and Grandma weren't willing to join us for the event this time. It was time, though, as I could see it start to creep towards his eyes even on Monday when we went to pick up my parents and sister from the airport.

So yesterday I bit the bullet, armed myself with distraction tools and bribery, and took him to Snip Its for his fourth hair cut all by myself.

After initially freaking out at the mere sight of the chair, I offered him an animal cracker if he sat in it, and he took the bait. I had my in! From there, we looked at pictures of him and Daddy playing with the Wii from the night before. Eventually, he remembered that they have a video you can watch there, so he asked to have that turned on. And I was able to snap a few pictures of my little man looking content ... since I was sure no one would believe me.

She even used the electric clippers on him, and he didn't freak out! I think it helped that she told him they buzz like a bee, and she tested them on her hand, then mine, then his before jumping in.

His hair cut came out great! So cute! He didn't thrash around, and I think that really helped her get it even. She even said he was the first customer of the day that didn't cry through the whole thing! That's my boy!

Ahhh, so much better!

The little prize he got after his hair cut actually had two stickers in it, so he got to wear one on his sweatshirt as we went to the grocery store! The other I'm saving for later when he actually appreciates stickers and doesn't just try to eat them.

I'm so happy to say, it was a very successful trip to Snip Its! Yay!

Toddler Nightmares

Well, we're pretty sure Little B had a nightmare two nights ago. We had put him down not 45 minutes prior, when he all of a sudden started crying and screaming. I ran upstairs as quickly as I could (which, by the way, isn't very fast) and went into the little man's room as calmly as I could muster. In the dark I searched his crib and found him lying there on his side, sobbing and clutching his blankie. His little body was shaking ever so slightly, and I could tell, even in the pitch blackness of his room, that he was terrified. I wasn't sure, however, if he was awake or not, so I opted not to pick him up. Instead, I put my hand on his back and told him everything was okay, and he instantly calmed down. After a few moments, I tried leaving, but he started sobbing again the minute I left the side of his crib. Hoping that his bear would offer some comfort, I searched the crib for Mr. Bear, found him at the opposite end, and handed him to Baylor, who seemed relieved to have his old friend back.

Feeling he was sufficiently reassured and calmed, I left as quietly as I could and headed back downstairs. Within minutes, however, he was crying and screaming again. My husband thought he was just over-tired, so I sent him up instead of going myself, in hopes that he'd understand what I was talking about. Using his cell phone as a flashlight, Bryson found Baylor in the corner of his crib, sitting up, wide-eyed with terror. After picking him up, calming him down, and putting our bathroom night light in his room, Baylor was okay enough to leave him. He cried a bit more before he fell back asleep, but he had stopped the frantic sobs and heart-breaking screams.

We both felt certain he'd had a nightmare but very uncertain of how we handled it. After googling "toddler nightmares" we found we'd done an okay job, but I'm still wondering ...

To all the moms and dads who have toddlers, how do you handle nightmares?

The Perfect Storm: Day 5

Baylor woke up all sweet and happy yesterday morning, excited at the news that we were going to go see butterflies after breakfast.

We were all out of bananas, so he got to have an orange for breakfast. Eating an orange with a fork is kinda difficult, but he made it work ... that's what that other hand is for, right?

Time to put on the shoes! (Like the total mish-mash outfit? Yeah, he outgrew four pairs of pants yesterday and was a little short on clean laundry, so stripes, camo, and trucks it is!)

We got to the Gardens, and though he freaked out when we first got into the conservatory because of the extreme heat and humidity, he soon fell back in love with it and enjoyed seeing the butterflies.

I know, I know, he's not supposed to touch the plants. But he just touched it ... and this was the only one. I swear!

For some reason he didn't want to get down and walk on his own much ... of course, we required that he hold hands with one of us, so that might have had something to do with it.

After we finished up with the butterflies and visited the turtles, we headed home for play time and some lunch. He decided that his peg board was a little too big, so a good sawing was in order.

After lunch, we put him down for a nap, but he decided he wasn't going to sleep. I have no idea why.

So after an hour and a half of hearing him play in his crib, happy as can be, we scooped him up and took him to the mall. Stride Rite is having a buy one pair get the second pair 50% off sale, so we got him a couple new pairs of shoes. Size 7 wide ... can you believe it?! He wasn't too thrilled about getting his foot measured, but we dangled an animal cracker in front of him and he was golden. I hate to bribe him, but he was just scared and needed to get over that first hurdle. After that he was fine.

Then we walked the mall and ducked into Younkers to see if we could find some new work pants for my husband. While we were cruising the men's section, Baylor kept saying, "X, X, X". I couldn't figure out why. Then I looked a little closer ...

All of the tables had x's on the ends! What a funny little guy!

Bryson went into the dressing room to try on the selection of pants he had found, and Baylor and I hung outside and waited for the fashion show.

After the purchase, we hopped in the car and drove to Red Robin for a little dinner. Baylor got kinda tired by the end of the meal, though.

Those stinkin' eye teeth! If only they'd come in.

And, tired again.

And smiley! I know I am totally biased, but he has the most adorable smile ... it just lights up the room!

He, of course, fell asleep on the way home, and stayed asleep on Bryson's chest for about a half an hour once we got back.

Once he got up, though, he was ready to go! He really wanted to steal some of my Fiber One bar, but I kinda doubt he'd have liked it.

Then he was all over his blocks ... but he eventually helped me clean them up! Yay! Big step for the little man!

We had a good last full day of the Perfect Storm.