Happy Birthday, David!

I can't believe my baby is one! We celebrated his birthday with my family on Sunday and he had a fun time. The smash cake part was pretty funny to watch! He was very cautious at first, taking tiny little tastes with his fingers.

As soon as he tasted the sweetness, he was grabbing the cake by the fistful and trying to stuff his mouth.

He didn't finish the cake, but did a pretty good job with it. Here are the before and after of the smash cake:

David opening his presents and partying it up!

Puppy Love

We dressed David up as a puppy on halloween and at least for that day, Billy got his wish...a puppy of his own. We didn't go trick-or-treating since he's still too young to understand that part, but instead went to a barbecue at one of Billy's fellow marines's house. There, David became the greatest drummer in the world, no lessons! They had the game, Rock Band, set up and he got mad at me if I tried to help him out with the drumming. I guess he's starting to show his independent streak...sigh.

In other news, we decided to have Billy reenlist. There are numerous reasons why we made this decision and who knows if it's the right choice, but many signs pointed toward that decision. It's scary and hard for me to think that he'll be deployed again, but I'm sure we'll be able to get through it. It's just another 8 years, right?

Utah Vacation.

Billy's family was here from Iowa for a week and we went to Thanksgiving Point to see the Dinosaur Museum. We watched a 3D dinosaur movie that scared David a bit.

I got to see a lot of Utah that I'd never even consider seeing. It was pretty fun finding out all that Utah has to offer. We even bought a new hiking backpack that we (or rather, Billy) can carry David in. Now we can't use David as an excuse not to go hiking.

David got to go on his first ATVing experience. Mine, too, for that matter. He did a great job. I thought the bumps would be too much for him, but all it did was lull him to sleep. He slept for 3 of the 4 hours that we were out.

David was so good for the week. Everyone was amazed at how good a baby he was. He rarely cried or made a fuss when we put him in his car seat, but I think he had had enough by the end of the week. Now, it's a struggle to get him in the car.

Curious George

Now that David is crawling, he is getting into everything.

Here he is trying to touch the wall sockets.
One of these days, our curious George is going
to discover why mom keeps saying no, no.


Here he is getting into his dad's socks.


And here he is helping his cousin, Nathan,
open up his b-day presents. What a bundle
of energy!

Tiny steps (or crawls)

David has been trying to crawl for the last couple of weeks. He'll get on his hands and knees and make the cute rocking motion, then he'll collapse and end up scooting backwards. I've tried to capture it on video, but as soon as I get the camera out, he stops. I finally got a video of him crawling (army crawling) toward his dad's cell phone. Here it is. Sorry about the rocky bits in there. I was trying to video tape and entice him at the same time with the phone.

Water fun

We took David to "The Canyons" in Liberty Park to see how he would react to cold water. He hated it and everytime I place him in the water, he would protest. The water there was too cold for him. I thought for sure that he would hate the pool, but I took him to our apartment pool this weekend and he loved it. Thankfully, the sun had warmed up the water a bit so it wasn't as cold as Liberty Park and he had fun watching his cousins and friends playing around.

Tagged

3 Joys:

My Family: My two guys are the greatest. Billy is a great husband and father. It's so nice to have him home and help out with our active little boy. David can be a handful, but it's amazing to watch him grow and re-experience everything for the first time again.

Traveling (especially anywhere with a beach): I haven't been able to do much traveling since David and I didn't realize how much I missed it until now. I'm looking forward to taking trips around the world with David and Billy.

Reading: I missed reading books that aren't textbooks. Now that school is done, I can get back into the reading groove again! Starting with Eat, Pray, Love and Fearless Fourteen. I have been so out of the loop with books that I completely forgot about the Evanovich books in June. Thankfully, Kristine reminded me about it.

3 Fears:

Creepy crawlers: Things like worms, centipedes, and other long critters frighten me. Its weird, but true. I'm okay with spiders, but can't stand the longer looking bugs. I think it stems back to when I was younger and my older siblings told me that the caterpillars that were prevalent on Marshall Islands would jump out at me and attack if I walked by them.

Public speaking: I hate it! When I was younger and just learning English, I was always self conscious about my accent. Its faded with the years, but when I have to speak in public, I am not very eloquent.

That David has some dreaded disease: At first I would check on him frequently for fear of SIDS, then I got worried that he was going to be autistic, then he got a slight sunburn and I worried about skin cancer...and it goes on. Talk about being neurotic. I'm probably messing him up with all these pesky worries.

Goals:

Buy a house.

Home improvements: First I need to buy a house, then I'll see what home improvements I need to make.

Current Obsessions: Real estate sites and watching House Hunters on HGTV.

I tag Dana, Lana, and Kristine

Eat and play

We started solids on David a few weeks ago and he loved it. So far, his favorites are carrots. What a messy process!


David love his horse bouncer that his Grandpa bought for him. He loves to bounce and I put him in it hoping to get the wiggles out of his system. It doesn't really work. I've come to terms that he is the wiggliest baby in the world and there is no cuddling with him unless he's super tired.

Uh oh

Uh oh! Looks like we'll have to start the child proofing soon. David hates being on his tummy, so I don't think he'll be crawling anytime soon, but he sure loves to stand!

Iowa

We went to Iowa for a few days after Billy got back so David could meet his other grandparents. Here are the four generations. They all loved the little guy and he took in all the attention.Grandpa Dave was always offering to babysit David if we wanted to go off somewhere without him...that is until the night David was being fussy while Billy was holding him. Grandpa offered to take him to see if a change would help calm him. Needless to say, David decided to show grandpa how purple his face could turn and how loud he could scream. After that, there were no more offers of babysitting. Who could blame him, though. He didn't get the nickname Purple Face for nothing.
David loved his Uncle Mike. He even fell asleep in his arms one night much to Billy's chagrin. Billy had been trying for several nights to get him to fall asleep for him, but Purple Face was not having it.
David and I went shopping one day with Grandma and Aunt Nancy. He wasn't that cranky for being out for so long. I was on edge the whole time, waiting for Purple Face to show up, but thankfully, he didn't. Aunt Nancy even mastered shoe shopping and feeding him a bottle. Now, I just need to get her to change diapers...

Daddy's home!

Billy got home on the first. The homecoming was a bit anticlimactic because I completely missed the part where they released the marines to their families. All thanks to the lovely traffic on Bangerter highway and Redwood Road. It's okay, though. He's home for a while now, I hope. We never know with the military.

A shout out to my sister, Grace, my nephew, Nathan, and my niece, Kaitlyn for making this banner.

David's reaction to Billy was a blood curdling scream. Seriously! I thought stranger anxiety didn't begin until he was at least 8 months old! Poor Billy was hurt, but like the reunion and reintegration guide says, it will take time for the two of them to get used to each other. To be honest, though, David hasn't had much interaction with males and so having a total stranger come into his home and speak in a loud, deep voice kind of threw him for a loop. Billy's been doing great playing games with him and getting him to laugh. In fact, there are just some games that only daddy can play that will make David laugh.

The first night was kind of funny. Billy was holding David and my wiggly boy was holding so still...almost like a prey playing dead for the predator, hoping with all its might that the predator would just go away. After a while, he just looked resigned to his fate, whatever that was. The look on his face was so sad and funny at the same time. I felt bad for him, so I went and held him for a minute. He was resilient and back to his normal, wiggly self in no time. Each day gets better and David is starting to get used to having his dad around.

Four months

David turned 4 months old on the 22nd. He had another five shots today. Poor baby! I can't believe four months have gone by already! He's laughing and talking all the time now. The recent greatest moment was when he woke up and instead of crying, he grinned. There is just something about a sleepy-faced baby grinning at you. It just erases all those grumpy, sleepless moments. This is one of my favorite photos. As I was taking his picture, an orange light turned on and it surprised him. I laugh every time I see it.

It's crazy to see him holding his head up when he's on his tummy. Tummy time is not such a chore anymore. He knows he can roll over, so he doesn't cry as much. Don't you love his colorful outfit? This was his third of the day and I quit coordinating the colors. Who would have thought that such a little being could produce so much poop. I have dubbed him Sir Poops-a-lot.

Soaking Up the Sun

Finally! Warm sunny days! On Saturday, rather than sleeping after my shift, I went to Logan to watch my sister's rugby game. It was so nice and the Sheryl Crow song, Soak Up the Sun, was running through my head the whole day. David loved being outside. He didn't get fussy for a whole two hours! Here he is with Camilla. Look at the beautiful, blue sky! Not a cloud in sight!

Move over, Jason Castro!

That's right! David Lyman is vying for the coveted spot of America's Idol. Here is a clip of him singing right along with Jason Castro.

David was singing right along with all 8 contestants. Actually, just seven. By the time it was Brooke's turn, he was over it and cried through her song. Unfortunately, I was only able to catch this one clip of him singing. I would have to say it wasn't his best of the night, but it was, as Randy would say, "just ok, dawg." Simon would call it "atrocious" and Paula would probably disagree and say "you are a star and you looked...absolutely...adorable." So, watch out idols! This baby has got my vote!

Rolling over and reflux

David rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time a couple of days ago. A complete fluke, probably, but he did it. I think he hates being on his belly so much that he used whatever strength he had to get off it. The little stinker has been struggling with my mom while I'm at work. He cries and screams so much that it makes me feel guilty. I've resolved not to call while I'm at work. It's much easier on my emotions.

In a previous post, I wrote that David slept for five hours. Not so much anymore. I think he was having reflux because everytime I'd set him down to sleep, he'd wake up an hour later, screaming like he was in pain. We went and saw his pediatrician, Dr. O'Mara (I like her so far) and she prescribed Zantac for him. Seriously, though, couldn't they make the medication taste like bubble gum like all the others? He hates it, but so far, it seems to be working.

In other news, Billy should be getting home soon! Yea! Due to security reasons (he isn't able to tell me when on the phone or e-mail), I don't know the exact day, but he told me one of his fellow marines stationed here in Utah will get a hold of me to let me know.

Happy Easter and 3 Months Old Birthday

I started back at work last Thursday. I had been feeling slightly under the weather, but I didn't want to be a big pansy and call in on my first day back. I should have, though, because at the end of the shift, my temp was at 38.5 C. Early in the shift, I called my mom to see how David was doing and I could hear him screaming. Apparently, he was inconsolable. My poor mom sounded so worn out and I felt awful for them. I guess it gets easier after that initial day.

For Easter, we didn't really do anything. I was still feeling a little sick and didn't feel like driving to my mom's place. I did dress him up in his little suit that my mom bought for him. Here is my baby GQ.

Hallelujah!

David finally started sleeping in his crib for longer than 3 hours! The first night he did it was one of the happiest and most anxiety-ridden nights of my life. I didn't sleep the whole five hours he was asleep and kept on going into his room to check and make sure he was breathing. I was still tired the next day, but happy. Now according to the experts (the pediatricians who are making bank writing books for anxiety-ridden mothers), five hours is sleeping through the night. So, technically, he slept through the night.

He's starting to laugh a little. Occassionally, when he's smiling, you'll hear a little laugh burst out of him, which will startle him, but it is so cute. It makes all the nights of sleep deprivation so worth it!

So cute

I just had to post these pictures because he looks so cute in them. Yes, he's drooling...gross, but still cute.

Rainy Days and Kisses

March came in like a lion and we weren't able to go for a walk. No more sun. That's all right, though. We enjoyed the last few days with it and there are more to come. Instead of walks, we stayed in our humble abode and played. I got him to smile and laugh some more and I think he got sick of my kisses. He'll just have to get used to it because I ain't stoppin'.



We also did tummy time. He hates it. I try to let him stay on his tummy for as long as I can, but he screams and I can only let him cry for a little bit. I guess he's not crawling anytime soon. Good thing, too. The place is not baby proof yet. I'm leaving that for my husband.