Diapers Advice & a Few More Pics

I've been meaning to ask the experts (and by experts, I mean y'all, just to clear up any confusion) where the best place to buy diapers is. We like Pampers Swaddlers, and it seems like all the coupons I come across are to receive a discount on the diapers if you buy the wipes. Well we use a different brand of wipes, so I'm not able to use the coupon. Where do you guys get your diaper coupons? Or is it better to buy them at SAM'S and not mess with trying to collect coupons?

Here are a few more pictures I wanted to share from this past week. My nephew's favorite book when he was a kid was Chicka Chicka ABC, so he bought it for Manny...aren't these pictures of him reading it to him precious?! Manny LOVED it!! :)

And here is my wonderful sister Jenny with Manny. We had so much fun and he is still sad they left!

We have a busy weekend ahead. We are having E dedicated Sunday at church, and also they are having a baby shower for us. I can't wait to have him dedicated - this is a day I've dreamed of for quite some time. :) Have a great weekend!

Fun times!

This last week has flown by. My sister and her son came to visit us last Thursday, and just left this morning - we had SO much fun! Unfortunately I started getting sick on Friday, and it went downhill from there. I started feeling much better yesterday, and am almost back to 100% today, so I am thankful for that. We still managed to get out and have some fun despite me being all congested and having a voice that sounded like I've been smoking 20 packs a day my whole life. :) It was so nice to have my sister here to help out, plus Manny enjoyed having the company and loved playing with his cousin...they were so cute together!

We have a great drive-in theater, so we took advantage of that and went and saw Grown-Ups one night, and Eclipse the next night. Yes, I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never, right? Here is my nephew as we were headed to load up on concessions before the show started. :)

We also took advantage of my neighbor's amazing pool a couple of times. Manny didn't come swimming, but he was such a good boy while we were there. Hayden had a blast, and I was glad to have the chance to swim and relax a little with some help from my sister - thanks Jen! :)

We also did some shopping, and unfortunately during one of our stops at Target I locked my keys in the car. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd lost them or locked them in the car, so I was hesitant to call a locksmith. Turns out I put them in the diaper bag, but left the diaper bag in the car. I honestly have no recollection of this whatsoever. (I'll blame it on the head cold.) Needless to say, we spent even more time shopping while waiting on my husband to save the day and bring the spare set of keys. This is how Manny felt about this:

But then when he heard daddy was on his way, he mellowed out.

Thanks Jen & Hayd for coming to see us - we had so much fun and miss you already!

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2 months

Emanuel, you are 2 months old! My how time flies when you're having fun. Here's the latest with you!

• You weighed 12 lbs, 7 1/2 oz, at your doctor's appointment today. That is the 66th percentile, and less than I thought you'd weigh, but you're still a big boy! You're getting a little harder to lug around all day but I still love to do so!
• You are 24 inches long, which is the 83rd percentile. Can't say I'm surprised as I could tell you were a little on the long side. Which leads me to...
• You mostly wear size 0-3 month clothes, though there are a few (large sized) newborn clothes that still fit you. I'm afraid the 0-3 month clothes won't last much longer because as previously mentioned, you are one long little guy. They fit width wise, but some of your onesies & rompers are a little too short and sometimes give you a wedgie. Sorry buddy. Momma's just trying to get her money's worth out of those before moving on!
• You finally love your swing, and this makes mommy so happy!
• You are still nursing every 2 - 3 hours during the day, though you don't nurse as long as you did last month. I think we will try to give you your first bottle this month. I've been saying I'll do it for awhile, but just haven't tried yet. Hopefully you'll take to it well! You are sleeping better at night, and usually go to bed around 8 o'clock, then wake up between 3 - 5 to eat. We still have some crazy nights thrown in there, but you're definitely getting better!
• You gave us your first social smile the day you turned 6 weeks, and it was magical! You get better at smiling with each passing day, and I just love it.
  
• You still enjoy staring at lights and ceiling fans, and it often calms you down. In fact, last Sunday when you came to Sunday School with me you started fussing a little. I asked the girl sitting by the switch to turn the fan on, and you instantly noticed it and calmed down. Everyone got a kick out of it! It's like it hypnotizes you or something.
• We put you in the Bumbo for the first time last week and you really liked it - for a little bit anyway. It makes you look like such a big guy!
• You stare at me & follow me with your eyes now, and it just melts my heart! It also makes me feel guilty when you do this if I've set you down, though I know it shouldn't since it's good for you to not be held 24/7...at least that's what your daddy tells me. Sometimes I beg to differ though. I'm not so sure you'll want to cuddle like this once you hit middle school. But who knows...maybe you will - we're pretty tight. :)
• You love the bubbling brook noise on your sound machine. Since your pack & play is in our room, I've even gotten where I like falling asleep to it too. Maybe I'll move in your room with you once you move out of ours?
• It's hard to believe it, but you have rolled over 3 times already! It's always when you're doing tummy time...but I have yet to witness it...I'll just find you like this when I turn back around. You are quick! But don't you know you're supposed to be doing tricks for me?! You are my little show pony, after all.
  

  

• You still have a variety of nicknames, with the newest this month being Bubba Bear and Mr. Bibbles.
• You do not like a dirty diaper, even if it's just a little dirty. The great thing is as soon as I undo your diaper, you stop crying because you know what's coming. You do this no matter who's changing you, and I think it's so funny. You really are a (male) diva sometimes, Bubbers.
• You have found your hands, and love to chew on them, or anything else you can get your hands on...as evidenced in this picture where you're chewing your monthly sticker. Silly boy!
• You're also quite the chatterbox, and you and I have some great conversations! I love to talk to you about everything...you're a great listener, and give input at just the right times. I swear you recognize the camera too, because you often grunt when I pull it out. However, you grunt a lot in general...so perhaps it's just a coincidence. :)
• Here you are with your 2 month birthday gift from my friends in Waco. I am so excited that you will have a gift to open from them each month! You loved the cute socks and cool carseat toy they got you this month. Perfect timing because some toys are really starting to interest you. :)

Our second month together went by faster than the first, if that's even possible. I am cherishing every day we spend together, and love seeing your personality start to develop. I know this next month will hold many more changes and adventures, and I look forward to all the fun we'll have together! I love you, my precious baby boy. XOXO

Love,

Mommy

Video: Bumbo Time

I decided to put E in the Bumbo today to see if he could handle it & how he liked it, and he loved it!! He smiled and laughed the whole time...and of course, my video camera was nowhere to be found. :( So when Patrick got home from work I thought we'd give it a shot again. He wasn't as big of a fan this time, but I still happen to think it's pretty stinkin' cute. And yes, you will witness how we think every.little.thing he does is fabulous. Cause it is. :) Enjoy!


P.S. Does anyone know why the video quality is poor once you upload to YouTube? It was super clear on my computer but it looks grainy once I upload it. Or do you have another suggestion for uploading videos? I tried doing it through blogger but that was going to take fo-ev-ahh!!

E's First Owie

E's fingernails grow crazy fast. As in, they need to be cut like every other day or he claws the heck out of my chest when he's nursing. So I try to stay on top of it, and have managed to do so without incident. Until yesterday.

I was talking to my friend Kellie on the phone, and E was just chilling on his playmat, so I thought it'd be the perfect time for a little mani. (Yes, I know it's better to do it while they're napping, but I always swaddle him to put him to sleep, and I kept forgetting to leave his hands out so I could trim his nails, so it was now or never. Okay maybe not never, but much later - and patience isn't one of my strong points.)

As luck would have it, as I was getting ready to clip his pointer nail, he jerked his hand away and let out quite possibly the saddest cry known to man-kind (with Kellie as my witness - I swear, it was heart-breaking.) His finger started bleeding, and I felt horrible!! I can't believe I hurt my little buddy. :(

He didn't cry for long, but just kept whimpering in pain - he was probably too weak to protest! :( About 5 minutes after the "incident", Patrick called me and he could hear E whimpering, so he asked what was wrong. I go into the whole sob story and how I feel like the worst mother ever, and he just laughs and tells me not to worry; it's no big deal. But of course he can't pass up giving me a hard time, so he says he'll bring his suture kit home so he can stitch E's finger up. Haha, very funny...

While he didn't bring his suture kit home, he did bring this:


Yes, that would be a get-well card for Manny. He thinks he's sooo funny.


Of course it was all in good fun, but just to make sure his little joke didn't land him in the doghouse, he brought mama some flowers. :)


I have a good man. :)

Now I'm off to buy a fingernail file so this never happens again. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mommy Moments: Vol. 1

There's no denying that this little cutie keeps me on my toes. That being said, with each passing day I feel like I'm getting the swing of this whole "mommy mode"...and I think a big part of that is realizing that every day is a new day. I love that he's getting to the point that I can usually tell what he wants/needs...still yet, we have our surprises and special moments in the mix. :) They aren't kidding when they say being a parent will keep you humble!

Moment #1: About 2 weeks ago we had one of the worst nights ever. He has always been a pretty good baby and sleeps through the night occasionally, and if not, usually only wakes up once. Wellll that night all that went out the window. He was up basically every hour, and from 3 am on wouldn't go back to sleep. It was exhausting and frustrating because I literally had tried everything I knew to do and couldn't make him happy. Well about 5 am I cried uncle and woke Patrick up to take over. So he takes E and sits in the glider while I crawl back into bed. I hear him over there talking to E, asking him why he's crying and telling him he shouldn't be giving mommy a hard time. :) I start to drift off to sleep and all the sudden Patrick's like, "Babe! He's smiling!" So of course I had to get out of bed to go witness his first "social smile"...so stinking cute!! He knew just the right time to pull that out and I'm glad Patrick got to be there to witness it as I know E will have many first's that I'll get to see before him.
Moment #2: The next few days after that were very difficult. He was fussy, and many of the things that had worked before with him just suddenly stopped working. So I decided it might be time to break down and read a book or two on how this whole baby raising business works. I've heard great things about several books, so decided I would just check a few out from my local library before buying anything. I looked at the library's website, and the branch in my town didn't have them in, but they were available via the inter-library loan system. E was sleeping soundly in my arms, so I decided to just call the library and request they hold the books for me. I dial the number, someone picks up...and I kid you not...cue screaming baby.

I calm him down to where she can at least hear me, and give her my library number. He's getting worked back up, but I was far enough in that I didn't want to give up at this point. So she asks, "What book would you like to request?" And I say, "The Happiest Baby on the Block"....to which she says, "What?? I can't hear you over the baby crying!" So I proceed to yell "THE HAPPIEST BABY ON THE BLOCK!!!" into the phone, she says okay, and I hang up. I'm sure they got a great kick out of the desperate mommy over here. Needless to say, I know she heard me because I got a message on our answering machine today saying it is available for pickup. I'll let you know if it's a miracle worker. :)

I do feel it's only fair to add that we seem to be through that phase...not sure what caused it but he has been doing much better this last week or so. He is becoming much more predictable...but I know as I type this, tomorrow could be full of surprises anyway. But he is sooo much fun and is it weird that I think his cry is cute?! (In moderation, of course!)
Moment #3: Remember my changing woes when E was just a little guy? Nearly every time we changed him he thought it was time to go pee. Well as many of you promised me, that passed quickly and we haven't had an accident in awhile. Until last week. I was changing his diaper and talking to him and actually said out loud to him as I was wrapping up his dirty diaper, "Mommy is getting a little too relaxed changing your diapers, huh?" as I hadn't put a new diaper on him yet. Sure enough, within seconds he starts pooping AND peeing and it's spraying everywhere! So what do I do? Run and take cover, of course! As I'm sprinting off into the corner, it hits me - oh wait - I need to stop this from becoming a bigger mess than it already is! So I ran back over to the changing table and quickly got him covered up with a burp cloth and it definitely minimized the damage. I just have to laugh when I think of me initially running away...being the mom sure changes things. :) But at the end of the day...

looking at his sweet little face, cuddling him, and squeezing those delicious cheeks just never gets old! :)

Fourth of July Fun

We had a great time celebrating the 4th! We spent the weekend at my parent's house with our family, and just enjoyed being on the lake & eating LOTS!! :) We didn't let the rain ruin our good time...at least Sunday & Monday were nice - I ended up with quite the sunburn! Check out my little man...couldn't you just die from the cuteness?! He didn't actually swim or get in the lake, but he decided to dress for the occasion anyway. :)Saturday morning we took all the kids to a local parade as well as a frog jumping contest. It was so funny to watch! Here are all the kids before the parade, then my niece Ellie with a frog - eeck, and some pictures from them watching the parade. Manny did great, and slept most of the time. The sirens from the firetrucks woke him up, but he didn't cry and quickly went back to sleep...I guess I lucked out!When we got home, the little man decided to show-off what a big boy & handsome little thing he is!It was rainy most of the day, but that didn't stop our fun! The boys decided to go out on the Sea Doo, but had a little mishap and tipped right after they pulled off the dock - too funny!Some of us opted to stay dry up at the house. :) My mom and niece Olivia watched from the deck, while E and I caught a nap inside.


That night we went and watched some fireworks, and also stopped by a firework stand to get some stuff for the kids to shoot off at home. The next night they put on quite the show for us!

It was such a fun weekend, and Manny did really great and even slept through the fireworks that were being shot off til 1:30 in the morning. He's still only sleeping through the night occasionally, but at least it's some! I have a post coming on all this mommy business. :) Hope everyone had a lovely 4th!

In honor of Cohen

Love & prayers to Megan & her family