CIO sucks. Anyone not know the famous acronym? Cry-it-out.... where you let your baby cry until they fall asleep. Nap time for the past month or so has been really hard. Owen wants me to nurse him to sleep and when I don't he gets ANGRY. He thrashes and scratches and cries and arches his back - all while I try to hold him and love him. It was getting to the point where it'd take an hour to get him to sleep. And no, it's not that he's not tired because he's obviously tired. I was getting angry, he was getting angry, it just wasn't working.

So, I started thinking about cry-it-out. Several people we know have done CIO at night. Mike wasn't on board with that idea and I respect that. But, I had to do something for naps or I was going to pull all my hair out.

I read (skimmed) the sleep-easy solution and decided to give it a try on Wednesday. The first nap we attempted resulted in about 40 minutes of crying/grumping/unhappiness. But, there have also been several successful naps where he's grumped/whined for about 5-15 minutes, fallen asleep and slept for 1-1.5 hours. Last night (Friday), I wanted to give up. He was SO unhappy and it was making me feel really sad for him. I ended up getting him up after 30 minutes of crying/grumping because it was getting late into the evening and we were risking messing up his bedtime. Today (Saturday) has been a little better. The attempt at nap #1 resulted in 10 minutes of mild grumping and then sleep for 1.5 hours. When I put him down for his second nap, he cried/grumped for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep and has been asleep for just over an hour. He rarely takes an afternoon nap longer than 45 minutes so this is a very good development.

I'm sure you can see how I'm contradicting myself ... CIO sucks, but it might work, but it sucks, but I think it might be working, I hate, it's not so bad. I told myself I'd give it a week and see what happens. Right this minute, I feel like it was a good decision.

Not sure if we'll ever apply it to bedtime, though.

Things are quite different around here as of late. For one, we started Owen on solid foods. He was excited the first few days of cereal but now he could care less. Perhaps we'll spark his interest with some sweet potatoes later this week.

Even more interesting is how mobile Owen is now. I put him down on the floor and within minutes, he has rolled to the edge of the rug, somehow with his toys in hand, and is banging them on the hardwood. He has also rolled under the loveseat a few times. This time, he was held up by his chubby arm.



In other news, I've been looking for a source of income. We plan to send Owen to "school" when he's about 16 months and in order to do so, I need to make some money. Next week, I'm talking to one of my fellow ECFEers (baby class) about the possibility of watching her daughter in my home. Her daughter is such an easy baby and is the same age as Owen so they should be doing similar things at similar times. Some moments, I think I'm crazy for considering this but the alternative is to get a job out of the house and that would require care for Owen, being organized, and realizing that I would quit that job when it's time for baby #2. We'll see what happens next week. (am i nuts?)

For the past three nights, Owen has been sleeping in his crib at night. WOO! Until now, he's been in a cosleeper and then a pack n play next to our bed upstairs in our room (and often in bed with me). While we're making the transition, Mike and I are sleeping in the guest room so that we don't have to go up and down the stairs all night. Much to our surprise, Owen has been doing great. Last night, he woke up at 12:30 and then 5:00 (because Murray was loud) - quite a difference from every 2 hours! Hopefully he'll keep it up and I won't have to come back and say I spoke too soon. We still struggle with getting Owen to fall asleep but at least that once we do get him to sleep, he stays asleep longer than he used to!

This morning, Owen rolled on to his tummy and then rolled on to his back (a very new development) and on to his tummy again - moving half way across the room! Scary! Yesterday, I put him down on the living room rug so I could use the restroom. I walk about 4 steps and I hear a bunch of commotion. He had scooted himself over to the pile of mail left of the rug and was tearing up a flyer. We need to start thinking about baby proofing - pronto.

Want to know my best money saving tip? Go shopping with a 5 month old.

Perhaps it's just my 5 month old but I'm guessing that's not the case. Errands used to be so easy with him because he'd sleep the whole time. Now he doesn't sleep when we're out and about unless we're on a walk outdoors. Now, my shopping consists of planning a strategy for getting in and out as quick as possible. And, if a meltdown occurs, I'm out of there.

Since Owen's maximum for shopping seems to be about 30 minutes, I have to act quick. I pretty much race through Target to get my grocery shopping done. And I realized today at Kohl's that looking at clothes for me while with Owen is impossible. I'll have to do that alone.

But, since I usually only get about 1/2 of the stuff done that I was thinking of doing, I spend a lot less money. I guess it's a good thing?

Owen is 5 months old today!

His newest trick - sitting up with support from the boppy.

Murray is home! He's looking sad and pathetic but he's home. We're not really sure what the deal was/is. Maybe the butter? Maybe he ate a chipmunk? Who knows. But, I'm really glad we avoided surgery.

Let me count the ways the last few days have sucked.

1) Oreo barfed all over and then demanded more food. I had the pleasure of cleaning that up.
2) Murray ate a stick of butter (plus wrapper) that was softening in preparation for some cookie making.
3) Murray puked (very large amounts) around the house. Both Mike and I got to clean that up.
4) Mike's guitar fell and hit the hardwood floor, breaking the neck.
5) Murray kept getting sick and refused to eat (that has never happened - Murray will always eat).
6) Murray can't keep anything down and is puking water back up - we are worried about pancreatitis, so I take him to the emergency vet last night at 2 am. They did tests and it's not pancreatitis. They decide to wait on x-rays and send us home (5am) with special food.
7) Owen and I get up to check on Murray (Mike went to work) around 7 - Murray looks awful and I had a hard time waking him. I end up yelling his name to wake him, after seeing that his eyes were rolled back and he wasn't waking. I really thought he was dead for a minute. He can barely get up. I call the vet and Mike in a panic. Then I call Mike's parents to see if they can come watch O while I take Murray to the hospital.
8) The vet takes x-rays and there is a "suspicious" area in Murray's intestines. We talk over our options and review estimates (OUCH). He's now at the vet's on an IV and under observation and they will take more x-rays this afternoon. Surgery is still a possibility.
9) We'll definitely be eating Ramen for a few months now.

Please keep Murray in your thoughts. *sigh*

Owen and I have "Moovin' & Groovin'" class on Fridays. It's a fun time - with lots of singing and music. The instructor is great and sings almost the entire class. Owen seems to enjoy the sounds and loves watching the other kids. There is one other 5 month old in the class but otherwise it's mostly kids between the ages of 1 and 3. The only downside to the class is that I always seem to have a kid's song stuck in my head. It's driving me a little crazy. I put on some Lily Allen today and yet I'm still singing in my head... "bumping up and and down in my little red wagon [our alternate... "Chariot"], bumping up and down in my little red wagon, bumping up and down in my little red wagon....

We're going to dinner with the Haights tonight which could be interesting. We'll be out past Owen's bedtime and thus we will likely have a meltdown. Poor Owen - we expect too much from him sometimes.

So much has happened in the past day - I don't know where to begin!

- Owen has learned to blow raspberries. As if the drool running out of his mouth wasn't enough, now it comes spraying out! I have one word to describe this development - EW.

Here's the proof:




- Since Owen has started rolling, he rolls over when we put him to bed. As everyone knows, you are supposed to put babies to bed on their backs to prevent SIDS. I did some quick googling and I read the handout from our doctor (the one they gave us at the 4 month visit) and it says that once they start rolling, you don't need to flip them to their backs when they are sleeping. It still makes me nervous. Last night, Owen ended up sleeping, on his tummy, one 3.5 hour stretch, followed by a 4 hour stretch - both in his pack n play! Then he slept two more hours in bed next to me. WOOHOO! I know that tonight may be completely different but this is a huge change. I think he may like tummy sleeping - his Mom and Dad does, so why wouldn't he?

- Owen is grabbing everything which means I can't sit with him on my lap and do something else. For example, I can't type on the computer while he's on my lap because he grabs for the computer cord, the keyboard, etc. Multi-tasking is getting more difficult.

- Owen now joins us for most of our meals by sitting in his high chair. He looks so small in the chair but I think he really enjoys being up near the action. Pretty soon, he'll be eating with us! We're thinking of starting solids sometime after 6 months. There are several schools of thought on how to introduce solids so we're figuring that out. One thing we have decided is that we'll be making our own baby food. It should be especially easy with our crop share - since we'll be getting an abundant supply of fresh veggies and some fruit, too.

Here's his concentration face:





- Mike got a backpack carrier for his birthday and Owen seems to like being in it. We hope to take him on a hike sometime soon. You can use this carrier for quite awhile. Mike carried our friends' child, Lane, in the same style carrier when he was 3.



Today (Wednesday), we go to an Early Childhood Education Class in the prestigious suburb of Edina. I have mixed feelings about the class but overall I think it's worth it just to get out and for Owen to see some other kids. There's one super annoying Mom in the class and I try not to let her drive me crazy. Last week, she informed her class that her 5.5 month old said his first words, "Thank You" and "Bye". HELLO PRODIGY CHILD. Yah right, Lady.

Last night, we went to wedding #3 of the season. It was a beautiful wedding - the nicest I've ever been to. Lots of champagne and great food. We took Owen with us and it was a rough night for him. We were wishing we had a sitter for the night and I think Owen was, too. He was not a happy camper. We stayed through dinner and cake (can't leave before the cake is served!) - which lasted until 9. On the way home, we talked about how we wished he would sleep well and that it could be his birthday present to Mike - a restful night. Then we laughed it off.

We got home and put Owen down for bed at 10:15. He didn't wake back up until 4:05... that's almost 6 hours! It was heavenly! I saw Mike have an "where's the baby?!" moment around 3:30 - neither of us could believe it. But, the sad news is that we know it won't last and that anything goes tonight. The good news is that we're going out for Mike's birthday tonight and Grandma and Grandpa are watching Owen. So, at least we get some alone time before another potentially rough night. I just keep telling myself that when he's 13, I'll be waking HIM up and telling him that he's sleeping too much.

Here's Owen in action! He rolls so quickly now it's hard to catch it on tape!

What started off as a rough morning (Owen was not feeling the need to stay asleep last night) turned out to be a really exciting morning. Owen was on his playmat as usual and I was checking my email. When I looked over to check on him, he had rolled over - from back to tummy! He has only done this twice before and I had yet to witness it. I rolled him to his back and went to warm up my coffee. I came back to find him on his tummy! This time I was determined to see the roll in action! I got out the video camera and of course he wouldn't roll for the camera. But I was patient and finally got a roll on camera. Now if he'd just roll from tummy to back, he could really get going!

Just today, I remembered how I used to blog. Thanks to Betsy and the rekindling of her blog. So, I decided to try and log in to blogspot and after many attempts I figured out what my username and password were. Then, I discovered not only did I have one blog - I had four! What the crap? Anyway.... it's time to consolidate and run with just one blog so I decided to save the original "ovi" blogspot. I have some old posts on here about our wedding (almost five years ago) and rather than delete them, I'll leave them so that I can go back and read them and laugh.

Times have changed since then! We now have a wonderful son (almost four months old), Owen.



I'm guessing this blog will mostly discuss Owen and adventures revolving around Owen but that's okay, right? Until next time! (hopefully it won't be five years)

Long time no write. Again, we have been very, VERY busy.

Our officiant cancelled on us but we were able to find a replacement right away. We have met with the florist and reception site to finalize details. Now we have a bunch of details to take care of. Currently, we are finishing up the invites...they will be sent out next week. We have had some bumps in the road but I think they'll turn out pretty nice.

We found an apartment in Michigan and will be moving there on June 23rd (yipee!).

We've been very busy with wedding stuff and non-wedding stuff as well! We are currently working on all the little details. We think we have found a tux shop to go with and now we just have to pick out the actual style of tux.... we are working on our invitations. They take a long time to do but I think it will be worth it!

I'm taking another trip to Michigan this week but most of my time will be occupied with school (I got into U of Michigan!) stuff and apartment searching (yuck!). Our last trip to Michigan will take place in May... we have to meet with the reception hall to finalize our menu, meet with the officiant to finalize our ceremony, meet with the florist to discuss flowers! It will be a fun-filled long weekend. :)

Stay tuned! The time is ticking away!

Our website is UP! Well, it has some errors and omissions... but you can at least take a look!

Well, we had a wedding planning extravaganza last week. We met with our baker and had a cake tasting...it was delicious! We have decided to have both a chocolate layer with ganache filling and a vanilla cake layer with raspberry. Yummy!

We also met with our wedding coordinator at the church. She was very helpful and went though what we should expect the day of our wedding. She covered a bunch of stuff...good thing I took notes!

Mike had a chance to go look at The Earle (where the Groom's dinner will be held). It looks very nice and I'm sure it will be very tasty!

I ordered most of my assessories last week and am happy with most of them. Now, I just have to figure out if I'm going to wear a necklace or not. I also have to decide what shoes I want to wear for the reception.

My Mom and I went shopping for Mother-of-the-Bride dresses. Some are hideous! Kitty (Mike's Mom) had suggested wearing black ... many mothers are doing so this day in age. So, they will most likely be wearing black. I think it will look very classy and it will make it easier for them to find a beautiful dress!

We are now working on the design and logistics of our invitations... we are making our own. I'm sure this will be quite a production... good thing I have nothing better to do!!! :)

This is old news but... we picked out the bridesmaid dresses! They are celedon (somewhat sage) with some beading over the bust. They will look great on Leah and Tinesha.

At least one more trip is planned to Michigan before June. I will HOPEFULLY be attending U of M's open house in late March. I will also be taking care of some wedding planning at this time. We need to make a trip in May as well to finalize details with the reception hall and the florist among other things. I hope we can swing it!

I think we are both starting to feel the stress associate with moving, changing jobs/schools, and getting married all in a matter of weeks! Wish us luck! Until next time...

We are still working on our website - it should be up and running by next week. Wedding planning was put on hold over the holidays so now we have to get going! We still have a bunch of things to do - mostly details.

Last week we booked our wedding day transportation - a '57 Thunderbird convertible. We aren't really limo people, so we thought this suited us. We will have the car for the whole weekend!

Tomorrow, Tinesha (my Bridesmaid) and I will be going bridesmaid dress shopping. I hope we find something! Going to the shops and looking at the endless rows of dresses always seems to be exhausting!!

I'll let you know how it turns out...

We finally finished our save-the-dates and have mailed them to everyone. It's nice to have that out of the way. After the holidays we will begin registering and looking for bridesmaid dresses. I hope it's fun! Until then...

We are STILL finishing up our save-the-dates and website. They should be done VERY soon! Exciting news - my dress is in! I can't wait to see it again and try on the correct size!

We are soooooo close to finishing our save-the-dates. I hope to send them out by the end of next week!