Hard to Feed a Baby When He Licks the Spoon

Tommy continues to stick out his tongue all the time and to be honest, it never gets old.  It's possibly funniest though when you are trying to feed him.  Obviously he is still a healthy boy (look at him!) but it's hard to get him to eat when as soon as the food goes in....the tongue goes out! 

I got another video (surprise, surprise) of Carol feeding him at our reunion.  It's longer but he's a hoot!

Grandma Feeding Tommy Video

Stremlow Reunion

This weekend we had our family reunion in Coleman, MI which is just East of Midland...just about a two hour car ride.   We all camp out on my uncle's farm and spend the weekend laughing, playing and eating....what all good get togethers are for!  My dad has 8 brothers and sisters and all but one have kids and those kids have kids so needless to say.....there are a lot of us!  This was the 21st reunion we have had at my uncle's house.  It's pretty amazing!  I can remember so many games of tag, playing Monopoly at 2am, riding the horses, gathering eggs from the chickens, playing with barn kitties, watching my uncles set off fireworks in the field, hayrides, s'mores, swimming at the watering hole, chatting around the fire for hours and so many more priceless memories!!  Although not everyone goes anymore, I am excited for when Tommy will be able to participate in the madness.  It's truly my family at it's best!  It may make us sound very country but that's fine.  We may be a little country but we are A LOT of fun!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Checking out the chickens.

Resting with Grandpa.

Tommy had his own rice cereal picnic.

Only some of my cousins....we were missing a lot of people!

Tommy got a lot of attention!

Playing in the water with Robin.

Last year my grandma bought shirts for everyone and purchased a few extras for upcoming babies. He'll take a few years to grow into this one.

Tommy and Ava are the newest Stremlow additions.

Four Generations: Tommy, Mom, Grandpa and Great Grandma.

Tommy was having a great time!

He was covered in kisses this weekend!

His new hat was a big hit!

Every kid gets a chance to drive the tractor  Of course I had to put Tommy's overalls on.  :)

We had a great weekend and I appreciate my family so much more after all that they did/all the support I was given during my pregnancy.  They are pretty amazing people!  :)

Tommy's First Car Ride

This weekend was the annual Stremlow family reunion in Coleman (which is just east of Midland).     Since the reunion and Nicky's wedding a few weeks ago are my only "vacations" this summer, I decided to just extend my drive a little bit longer by leaving a day early to spend the night at my friend Lacey's apartment for some much needed girl talk and laughs.  When I made plans with her for Friday night I didn't quite realize where Howell was.  When I found out that it was about 3 hours from Traverse City I was a little nervous about how Tommy was going to do.  This was his first car ride longer than just across town and even with short trips he can be extremely difficult.  I was not looking forward to three hours of crying.

To prepare for the long drive I first took Tommy to the pool to wear him out a bit as well as making sure that I fed him a full 8oz bottle before we left.  While he took his first nap, I packed the car and I swear I took half the house with us!  Since this was our first trip I had no idea what exactly he would need and with my luck, I wouldn't pack enough formula/onezies/diapers and that's when he would need them the most.  I also made sure to take baby Tylenol and Oragel with me just in case.  Luckily I didn't need it. 

I changed him one last time and off we went!  I put a basket of his toys in my front seat so that I could pass new toys back to him when he started to get fussy.  He did pretty well for the first hour and a half and even took a little nap.  Then it got a little bit rocky.  That's when he was basically covered in toys!  I ended up using my "big gun": the light up snail.  It was a desperate plea when I gave him that toy because for the rest of the drive all I heard were loud "wahoo"s, "ha ha ha"s, and random noises.  He ended up falling asleep again for a little while, which was nice except the toy kept going off because it was stuck between Tommy's foot and the back seat. 

I desperately wanted to travel 100mph (of course I did not!!! Don't worry, I stayed a responsible mommy) during the last 30 minutes of our drive when he was screaming at me and completely done with our drive.  I was tempted to stop but I knew that if I had it would have been HORRIBLE to get him back in his seat.  I've been there before....it's not pretty!  Since we were relatively close I kept going.  Once we arrived he was so much better!  It helped that he was being adored by my friend Lacey.  He has a thing for pretty girls.....I'm in trouble!

The rest of our drives went about the same.  He was good for most of the trip but the end would be taxing.  I was proud of how well he did overall but I don't plan on attempting any drives longer than 3 hours by myself for a while longer.....and even that is pushing it!!

You can't see it but our car is packed full!

He was overall not enthused with being strapped in the car for a few hours.

Going For A Walk

I love taking Tommy for walks!  My neighborhood is pretty small so we walk up the the next street and from there we just go up several tree covered streets.  It's very quiet and peaceful.   They are especially wonderful because Tommy usually falls asleep for a little nap so I like to take him after dinner when he's cranky but not tired enough to go down for the whole night. 

We haven't gone for walks for a while because of the immense heat!  I tried to find a battery operated fan to use for him for our walks but wasn't able to so we stayed inside where it was cool and comfortable.   Tonight I decided to take him out for a few reasons: he was cranky and I have only about a month to fit my preggo butt into my pre-baby clothes when school starts up again.  I've enjoyed spending my days in swimsuits, dresses and comfy shorts.  Real clothes just don't seem appealing! 

So tonight we walked for over an hour, enough to give him a little nap and for me to work up a decent sweat.  My IPod makes it much more enjoyable as well....although I was sort of dance/walking...sort of a strut I guess.  I can't go out anymore so I guess I have a dance party wherever I can get it now. 

I'm not sure what we're going to do once I get back to work...especially in the winter...but for now I'm going to try to get in as many walks as I can.  It's good for both of us!! :)

Play Time

Tommy has been on a kick lately where he doesn't like to be in anything long.  He will play in his exersaucer for a while but gets sick of it pretty quick.  I have had to start hiding from him if I need to make food or do any chores because once he sees me, he will cry until I pick him up...and we're talking really mad screams!  (Hence why my house is a mess!  Oh well!)

Today during one of our play times, he was in a really funny mood.  He was screeching and flailing his limbs.  I love when he gets so excited about things.  He gets himself so worked up that sometimes it seems as though he holds his breath only to make a louder screech when it comes out! 

Playing on his Boppy Pillow.  He looks so funny.  :)

Making Noises Video

Watching DVD's

I put together a DVD of Tommy's videos (well those up to July 23) for his family both far away and those who will never see them either on here or on YouTube.  Haha, I don't even think that any of them even read this (I hope they do!) so this might be a surprise!  :)

Before sending a copies to his dad and grandparents I put them in the dvd to make sure I wasn't sending blank copies.  (That would be a surprise for sure....I would hear about that!)  It was so funny to watch Tommy watching himself on the tv.  He was playing in his exersaucer and immediately turned to the tv.  He was mesmerized!! This boy loves himself, who doesn't! 

As I was creating the dvd I was just in awe of how much he's grown.  It is amazing to look back at the first video I ever took when he was only 6 days old, still in the NICU.  What a different baby he was! He now looks like he might have eaten that baby!  I really wish I would have taken more videos of those earlier moments but I make sure to do so now, especially since is doing so much more!! Those early videos would have a lot of snuggle moments with mom, now he's on the move! :)

Who is that handsome boy on tv???

A Silly Dinner Time

Tommy has been sticking his tongue out and playing with it a lot lately.  One friend said that her son did that both times before his teeth broke through.  Seeing as Tommy is also a leaky faucet of drool, I would imagine that any day I will see a little tooth in his mouth.  (He's growing so fast!!)

Well tonight he was pretty silly during dinner time.  First of all, he was eating his cereal like a cat, lapping it off the spoon.  Then he would stick his tongue out while he had a mouthful of food.  I couldn't help but laugh at him but secretly I hope that he will outgrow this. It would be a very awkward first date for him (YEARS from now) if this is how he eats.  Haha.

Dinner Time Video

Bedtime Lessons

Tommy and I have worked out a pretty good routine for bedtime.  I give him rice cereal (sometimes he wants nothing to do with it...those times are usually when I've waited too long to feed him and he's just tired),  a quick bath....especially during those hot nights to cool him down before bed, put on diaper, pjs and bedtime lotion (it's supposed to be calming but if nothing else, it makes him smell good), then we rock while I nurse him to sleep.  I love that time with him and it was particularly nice after I went back to work and would only get a few hours to spend with him.  The only downside to bedtime was that by the time I got bottles washed, a few chores done and a quick shower (not to mention a quick check of email and Facebook), he was awake again.  He would usually wake up about 2-3 times in the night. 

Well something fantastic happened last Thursday night.  I put him to bed as usual and went to bed myself expecting to be awoken in a few hours.  Amazingly though it wasn't until 7:30am when I heard those cries!  He has slept through the night two other times before so I figured it was another rare occurrence until he slept in until 5:30am on Saturday!  The past few days he hasn't woken up before 6am and many times at that point I bring him into my bed and he'll sleep another few hours after a quick feeding. 

I made a foolish mistake last night though.  It was a little cooler so I put him in regular footed pajamas instead of the onezies that he had been sleeping in.  He woke me up about 4:30 screaming and grabbing his feet.  Another teacher had mentioned how her son had a hard time sleeping in foot pjs because he liked to play with his toes and so immediately I realized that the pajamas were the problem.  Tommy wasn't mad because he couldn't get to his toes.  He gets so hot normally that I learned that I can't put him in anything that cover him completely at night because he gets uncomfortable.  I always sleep with at least one foot out of the covers so I should have known better with him.  I took them off and put on a onezie and it made a huge difference.  I brought him in to nurse and he fell right back to sleep and didn't wake back up until I went in his room at 7:30 to check on him.  He was so quietly playing I was a little worried.  Poor guy I check on him ALL the time since putting him in his crib. 

I am SO happy with his new sleeping habits.  It will be so much easier once I go back to school to have a full night sleep instead of only a few hours.  I haven't had a restful night's sleep since I was pregnant...as restful as that could be.  :)

A Special Outfit

Last year, after I found out that I had landed the kindergarten position at Eastern, I made a trip to Kohl's and bought A TON of new baby clothes to celebrate.  Since traditional ways of celebrating were off limits, I had to put my energy elsewhere....and I decided to do so in the baby section.  At the time I was so convinced that I was having a girl that I bought at least 10 frilly, colorful outfits (including one fantastic zebra print one!).  Just to be safe, I also bought a few pairs of shorts and one blue polo outfit. 

Well, I found out on September 29th that I would need to make a few returns because my shopping instinct was wrong.  Instead of floral and pink I would have to exchange them for blue and sporty.  Today I found that blue polo outfit in Tommy's closet and decided it was time for him to wear it! 

It's funny how it was almost a year exactly that I got that call and bought that outfit and now my little chunk is wearing it and making it look cuter than I could have ever imagined!!  Pretty amazing! :)

Another Wonderful Sunday

Tommy and I usually spend Sunday afternoons at my parents' house.  We go to church in the morning and then head over to play (and sometimes I even get a nap!).  Today I dropped Tommy off at Grandma and Grandpa's because he was getting pretty tired and I just didn't think he was going to do well if I dragged him along with me to the mall. (I had Gymboree bucks that expired today....of course I had to go!)

I ended up getting a few great deals on clothes for next year. :)

New swimsuit (I love how the Gymboree suits fit!)

Alligator vest for winter, white vest for spring and my favorite, plaid vest for Christmas!

1st Birthday onezie for less than $4!! He can get it as messy as he wants!

While I found a few new things for Tommy, Grandpa and Uncle Joe also had a treat for him.  They found him a camouflaged hat, just like Uncle Joe and couldn't wait to give it to him!  It's a little big but he'll grow into it. 

While I was gone, Tommy took a really long nap which meant that he was ready to play when he woke up.  He was playing with Grandma when I came home. 

Lastly, before we came home, Tommy and I played in his kiddie pool for a little bit to cool down (and Tommy got a quick bath too!). 

Playing in the Pool with Mom Video

We had another great Sunday afternoon with wonderful family.  Tommy is very lucky to have such loving people looking out for him. 

It would be cuter if Uncle Joe wasn't covered in paint.  :)

Sleeps All Night.....Awake ALL Day

I have been putting Tommy to sleep in his crib for about the past month (he got too long for his bassinet and would get stuck in the middle of the night) and he's been doing pretty well only waking up about 2-3 times a night.  I was so surprised when Thursday night Tommy fell asleep about 8pm and slept all night until 6:45am!  It was great......until he refused to nap yesterday!  I think over the course of the day maybe he slept for 45 minutes....maybe! Needless to say he was a cranky mess!

My family loves to tease me that Tommy has my temper and boy did I see a few hissy fits yesterday!  Combine extremely tired with teething and it was not the easiest day! 

Not a happy baby!

It seemed as though nothing was making him happy yesterday.    He was fed, changed, rocked, sat in front of the fan....nothing was working! I have been told by doctors and other moms that he's supposed to start soothing himself but it's so hard! We were both getting worn out and frustrated to say the least.  Just in case anyone wondered what a "Tommy Temper Tantrum" was like, I got a little video of it.  It will come in handy when he has a baby of his own.....YEARS down the road.  (I apologize for the darker hue; we were in my room and the curtains make everything look blue.)

Hissy Fit Video

 
Now, don't think that I am a neglectful or horrible mom, he only screamed for a little while and I did everything I could to calm him down.  The easiest way to quiet him is to nurse him but as much as he would prefer it, I just can't have him attached to me all day, it really hurts after about 30 minutes or so.  I really wish that I would have been able to just nurse instead of having to split with formula because he does prefer it so much more to the bottle.   Maybe when/if I have another baby it will be easier then. 

After another feeding, he was more playful with his new pacifier.  I got a video of that too (see, he can be a happy guy!).  It's fun to watch him play with these new toys.  He's quite inquisitive!

Playing with his Pacifier Video

Needless to say, I was pretty relieved to take him to Grandma and Grandpa's for a few hours so I could go to dinner and a movie.  I think we both needed a break!  He did end up taking a nap at my parents' house (of course) and was awake but in a pretty good mood when I came to pick him up after the movie.  I'm happy to say that he slept all night again from 11:30pm to 9am!  He's tired again though and I put him down for a morning nap because he was falling asleep with the bottle in his mouth but from the sounds of him in his crib now, it might be another napless day. 

I love that he is sleeping throughout the night more; it will be wonderful when I go back to school this fall.  However we still have a little over a month before that happens and I would like to have some daytime naps back!  Wish us luck!

Playdate While The Roof Gets Fixed

Ever since I put an offer on my house my friend Zane told me that he would come out to fix one spot on my roof...I can't really tell you what he fixed but something with the heating vent.  Well fast forward about 9 months and one New Year's Resolution and he finally made it out tonight!  While he worked on my roof (and cut down a few limbs), I played in the air conditioned living room with Tommy and his three kids.  It was funny to watch the Zack and Kyler play with Tommy, they were giving him just about every toy they could find! 

A few pictures from our evening. 

Notice all the toys on Tommy's exersaucer!

Tommy loves the ladies!

In another year Tommy will be able to hold his own much better!

One of my kindergartners bought this turtle for Tommy.  It shines stars on the ceiling in either orange, blue or green.  The boys loved it!

Kyler was trying to give kisses.

Tommy was up way past his usual bedtime and passed out shortly after they left but it was a great time!  I hope to get together with them soon. Zackary and Kyler told me that they would come back for another playdate.  :)

Playing Leads to Rolling Over

A few months ago I saw Tommy roll over from his belly to his back during his 4 month doctor's appointment (of course he waits until the nurse asks about his development to do it in front of me!).  Since then he'll twist and rock to his side but usually doesn't go much farther than that.  Tonight however while having dinner with my Grandma, I looked down to see that my baby who had was playing on his back was now flipped over on his tummy!!!  I made him roll over a few times so that I could finally get it on video. 

Rolling Over Video

The end result!

During one attempt to get him to roll again, I got a video of him just playing around.  Lately he is fascinated with his feet, especially his toes!

Playing on the Mat Video

Pool Playdate

Tommy and I had a playdate today with a few of my best friends from high school and their kiddos.  We spent a few hours trying to stay cool at Kathy's mom's pool, which is so gorgeous (I had to go down the slide a few times before we left).  I was really nervous to come back to Traverse City but it's been so wonderful reconnecting with old friends.  Kids seem to be a great ice breaker.  :)

Here are a few pictures of our fun afternoon. 

Taking the car for a ride around the pool.

I tried another raft with Tommy...he doesn't quite fit yet.

Pool party with Kathy, Tommy, Kathy, Julia, Hannah and my Tommy.

Haha if looks could kill!!

He was sound asleep within 5 minutes of leaving.  We both got a little nap.

We had such a great time, I look forward to our next playdate, hopefully soon! 

Tommy's Evening at Grandma and Grandpa's

I have so much fun spending my days with Tommy so I decided to start a blog to write about some of our adventures so that I could update friends and family sooner than just once a month in a mass email.   For those of you who are also my "Facebook friend", it will be sort of an extension of the Project 365.  This way I can expand more on our events without posting really long statuses or lots of emails.  I can't promise how often it will be updated but I'll do my best!

Today was another hot day in Northern Michigan.  The thunderstorms last night helped to cool it down a little but it was so muggy which meant a cranky, tired baby.  We have been taking extra naps over the past few days in part because he hasn't been sleeping well (which means neither has mom) but also because the heat just wears him out.

Watching tv and taking a nap with mom.

We did have to leave the house today, unfortunately.   I had a doctor's appointment so my dad offered to watch Tommy for me (I am SO lucky that my parents help me out in pinches like this...I'm sure my doctors appreciate it too!)  I met up with them at my parents' house after my appointment and we spend the rest of the night there.  He loves playing with his grandparents (and they are pretty fond of him as well!)   Here are a few pictures of our night. 

Playing with Grandpa Jerry.  He gets so excited!

I drank so many Slurpees during my first trimester.  They were a lifesaver!

Tommy loves to watch Grandma Carol's (ugly) fish.

Rockin' his denim diapers.  A Grandma splurge!

He loves hanging out with Uncle Joe.  It makes me laugh at how tan Joe is compared to Tommy.

One of the best moments of the night was when Tommy was introduced to his baby pool (another Grandma splurge!).  The water was just too cold this weekend when they tried it with him but it was pretty perfect tonight.  He wasn't quite sure about it at first but ended up loving it!  I'll have to get a few floatable toys to make it even more fun.  Grandma made sure to get a pool that is big enough for baby and an adult so we might be over there a few more times this week. 

Haha I love this look!

He loves it!

Grandma just couldn't resist getting in and playing with him.

Playing in the Pool Video

Since we were there all evening, I decided to give Tommy his rice cereal there before heading home.  He is getting much better at eating with the spoon but has started to also eat off the table.  I think it's because he is really teething but nonetheless it's funny to watch him chomp on the table.  He does the same thing on his high chair. 

Dinner Time Video