December 16, 2009

Day 2

Last night went MUCH better than expected. Gabriel did wake at 9:45pm and chet had to go in and comfort him (in his crib) but he quieted down easily. I had my IPod up loud and had started doing dishes and cleaning like a maniac to keep distracted and it really worked to keep my mind off of Gabriel. After quite a while I went in to the doorway/hallway of Gabriel's room to see what Chet was doing because he had been in there for well over an hour. I thought maybe chet had fallen asleep on the floor;) He came out because I didn't dare go in...that's the second part of my plan...DON'T GO IN BABY'S ROOM! Chet said Gabriel would continue to wake up and give a little cry and that all he needed was a "hug" from the side of his crib and he would lay back down.

I finally went to bed after 11pm. At 7:30AM my guys crawled into bed with me and we all had a nice little sleep/cuddle for another two hours (well Gabriel and I did but chet was off to work).

I am very impressed with how well we all handled our new plan and i'm really looking forward to [eventually] having a date night with my husband-that's my prize;)

December 15, 2009

The End of Co-Sleeping

December 15, 2009

Day 1

So, tonight is the first of many nights where Gabriel will be sleeping in his own bed in his own bedroom. I am sad. I am trying to find ways to keep my mind off our new sleeping "arrangement" hence the blogging. I am sitting here with my IPod cranked and listening to One Night in Bangkok and other crazy/loud songs that keep me distracted. So far it's working:)

Chet rocked him to sleep at 8:20 after I gave him a bottle. Somehow he managed to lay him down in his bed without him waking up & crying...MIRACLE! It's now 9:30pm and he's still sleeping or at least I think he's sleeping (my IPod is really up loud). Until tomorrow.

DaDdy & GaBrIeL

I'm afaid Gabriel is going to think I was never around because i'm never in the pictures...ha ha!! It's just so difficult for me to pass up any opportunity to take pics of Gabriel and Chet together because they are so adorable. I think they have a special bond.

This is the reason we still co-sleep. Generally it's mommy and Gabriel snoozing in the bed while Daddy studies/reads on his laptop in the other rooom but on weekends Daddy gets a turn to take a cuddle nap. Our son is so cuddly. He always wants to be held against our chest and nuzzle up to our neck. Sometimes it's like he's a newborn all over again. It can be tough at times when we are exhausted and he wants to sleep right on top of us or in our face BUT we know this phase will not last forever so we try to remember how lucky we are to have a little luv bug.

A glimpse into the future-Gabriel and his Daddy putting furniture together. Chester is so patient. Gabriel crawled all over the pieces and ate power cords and basically was into everything but Chet was so easy about it. I hope that Gabriel learns patience from him because he sure will not get it from his mommy...ha ha!!

I took a nap (on my own) and when I emerged from the room Chet informed me that Gabriel fell asleep in his tent and took a nap in there. Here's the pics to prove it. Chet is determined to make Gabriel LOVE sleeping in a tent!

Gabriel's new fleece from Grama. We are off to Gabriel's FIRST Tarheels Basketball game thanks to Dr. Thakker for giving us his tickets. We had a great time! More pics to follow.

HaLLoWeeN CaNdY

We made a last minute change to our Halloween night plans and took Gabriel trick or treating to a nice neighborhood in Chapel Hill that I read [randomly] online was a festive neighborhood. It sure was FuN! All the people were out on their porches chatting with their neighbors and sipping Wine. Chet and I had never seen anything like it. It was a warm night (about 73 degrees). Trick or treating in NC is a lot different than in WA. All the families were so happy to see Gabriel and said the nicest things to us about how lucky we were and how much we should enjoy him at this age. It was a really nice night for our little family:)

Gabriel got lots of candy! We let him chew on the wrappers and shake the boxes of Nerds and other treats. He really seemed happy:)

Here he is "counting" and "sorting" his treats. Mommy and Daddy ate most of it;)

So, as I said, he liked to chew on the boxes but once they got soggy we took them away so he couldn't actually eat the candy that was inside. I went into the other room (I was sick so I have a good excuse for not paying attention to him) and Chet said that he'd keep an eye on him and that "there was really nothing he could get into." I came out of the bathroom and around the corner to find my husbands back turned to the sink and my son eating Nerds off the floor.

I hate it when i'm right [like ALL the time!].

Me: 'Um, Chet, our son is eating Nerds off the floor.'

Chet: "Oh my gosh, Gabriel, how did you get them open?!"

Gabriel thinking to himself: How many Nerds can I get into my mouth before these get taken away?! Yum, these are really good. It pays to have early fine motor skills;)

more PuPpY

TrUnK or TrEaT & PupPy

Our neighbors & good friends invited us to their church for a chilli cook off and "trunk or treating" so ofcourse we accepted the invitation. This is a picture of our "trunk" decorated in a spider theme. We had a drop down spider and a strobe light so it was pretty cool...if I do say so myself;) We all had a lot of fun!

The following morning (10-25-09) we tried to put Gabriel in his puppy costume that we were sure wouldn't fit (which is why we bought the lion costume) but IT FIT and we were so excited! We took him out strolling in it and then to costco and finally had a little photo shoot in front of the office at our apartment complex. He's the one in the middle...ha ha!!

Forget about the pumpkin patch-Gabriel had so much fun chewing on these pumpkins and eating little pieces of Hay in front of the office.

BoUnCe HoUsE

Little Lion

Happy little Lion with his egg from the hunt.

Gabriel loves to be outdoors and he especially loves to crawl around.

Gabriel with our neighbor/his good friend Kylene. She's so sweet with him. She takes away his toy and then tries to feed it back to him;) She also thinks it's her "job" to make sure he has his pacifier. She's such a sweetie pie! Gabriel is very fond of her.

October FuN

Gabriel is in [usual] happy mood. Yes, he's wearing a hat indoors because one of his favorite activities is crawling outside on the [fenced in] patio and it's a little chilly out there.

A candy egg hunt at our apartment's HalLowEen party.

The little Lion "finds" and egg with daddy's help.

HFDC Final Message

Happy 1st Father's Day Chet aka Daddy!

Chester-Gabriel, Louie, Callie, and myself love you soooo much! I hope you know how much we appreciate all that you do for us and the sacrifices you make to keep us happy and well. I cannot believe we've been parents to a beautiful son for 5 months. I am looking forward to watching our son grow and seeing him take after you.

Happy Father's Day!

LOVE, Jamie (& Gabriel)

HFDC Part 6

Don't take life too seriously! Forgive easily! Laugh & smile often! Just have FUN & enjoy!!

Gabriel's mommy takes life a little too seriously at times and that is why her husband is her "better" half-he is so easy going. I hope Gabriel takes after his father and becomes a kid that can just enjoy life and not worry about things too much.

HFDC Part 5

My Daddy taught me...

How to stand [and eventually how to walk].

To enjoy sports and most importantly, Carolina basketball.

To "read" medical journals...ha ha!!

Chester, I look forward to seeing Gabriel learn from you. I know that you have so much knowledge to pass on to your son. I think that you will be able to teach Gabriel the value of adollar, how to treat women with respect, how to steer clear of trouble & stay on the right path, how to love, to be patient and to be kind.

HFDC Part 4

Like Father like Son.

One of the things I enjoy most about having a baby boy is seeing the likeness to his father. In utero we were already making guesses as to who our baby most resembled and my thoughts all along were that our baby would be like Chet or maybe that's just what I hoped since Chet has so many great qualities and is a phenomenal person.