Rice Cereal

Tonight was Toby's first experience with rice cereal in the hopes that he will sleep for longer stretches at night. I used a bowl and a rubber covered spoon and got it all ready to go. Toby took right to it. He in fact got mad when when the spoon didn't get to his mouth quick enough! Tyler was underway so we set up Skype so that he and Grammy Mar could be part of it all the way on the east coast. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will sleep through the entire night tonight and that this will be the "magic" thing that will help him sleep longer at night. I can't believe my little guy is almost 5 months old. He has recently discovered his feet and are grabbing them and playing with them, and so excited when he realizes again that they are his feet! He loves his time at Billies and laughs when you ask him if he got to see Billie that day. He's vibrant and full of life, smart and full of personality. I think that when he's 5 years old we're gonna have a little ball of energy and challenge on our hands because he's gonna want to know about everything and go everything and be everything and explore everything. Parenthood is such a new thing every single day, and just when you think you've got it all figured out, there's something new that pops up.

Milestones

Toby rolled over from his front to his back the other day. And it struck me... how quickly these things go. Just a few months ago he was a sleeping eating little creature that was trying to figure out all the small things. To the curious little guy that he is now. When we eat dinner he tries to grab at my plate, my fork, my cup anything he can get his hands on. He wants to grab and feel and see EVERYTHING! He has started this new thing when he's in the bath. He sticks his foot as high up in the air as his little body will let him and waits for me to pour water over his foot. He will leave it in the air until I pour water over it and then he just stares at the water as it covers his foot. He cries when he's tired, he cries when he's hungry, and he cries when he thinks that maybe I forgot about him laying on his mat playing. He's got so many cute things going on right now that when it's 3 in the morning, I haven't slept for longer that 45 minute stretches because he's struggling with the sleep thing and all I want is to crawl into bed, throw the covers over my head, and sleep for about 5 hours (I would kill for 5 straight hours of sleep, this coming from a woman who used to need like 11 hours of sleep a night). Then I remember that soon he'll be asking to go ride his trike around the driveway, or wanting a ice cream bar, and my little boy will grow up to be a man before I know it. I look at Griff and I look at Toby, as I stand next to my husband, and I realize that this... this thing we call family is really the core foundation to life, to everything. That without this solid foundation in our lives, everything else becomes so much more difficult. I only wish that everyone could have a family full of love and support, and commitment to each other that I share in my family. Life is not just about what I want to do on the weekend anymore, it's not about things that a while back seemed so important... now I look at the needs of Griff and the needs of Toby and those matter so much more because I know they depend on me. Just like I depended on my parents.

Life with out the Hubby

Well I've officially survived the first week without Tyler being around. The Coast Guard has claimed him once again. Thankfully we are still able to talk on the phone while they are only in Baltimore getting the boat ready to be back in the water. Skype has been a true blessing because Tyler is able to still see Toby and Toby (though I am not sure he really fully realizes what's going on) is still able to see his daddy. I have a new found respect for single mothers truly. Realizing that I am on my own for the most part (although Griff is a tremendous help) I have so much more respect for the women, and teens that do this on their own. I am so blessed with the resources that I have, financially and emotionally that I can't imagine doing it one my own. Toby is going to be 4 months here shortly (just two more weeks) and he's growing so much every day it seems. He now sits in his play thing in the kitchen with me while I cook dinner. And he almost no longer fits in the top part of his bathtub, which when he was born he was tiny in it. Now he big ol' legs splash water all over the place and he likes to grab at the red cup that I use to scoop water in and dump on him. The other night he grabbed the empty cup from me and put it up to his mouth like he was drinking from it. It was very cute because this big ol' cup with his tiny little hands, and his precious lips trying to suck on the edge of the cup.

Parenthood truly is like nothing else in this world. My perspective at work has changed, because when I look at Toby I think about all the hopes and dreams and good things that I want for him. I had the realization one day that the students that I work with, their parents probably had the same thoughts about hopes and dreams for their kids that I work with now. It changed the way I look at the students that I work with and the approach that I want to take in my counseling techniques. As my principal Mr. Lockett says "being a parent changes everything" and boy does it ever. But I would not rather find myself on any other ride right now in life. As exhausted as I am, and as hard as it is not being at work a full day, and having to let go of so many responsibilities, and knowing that I am in fact replaceable at what I do... I look at my little Toby, and I realize I have more time with Griff and all the sudden some things don't matter as much as they did before, and it's easier to let go of things I didn't ever think I would be able to let go. Not to mention my house is a disaster, the laundry hasn't been done in days, the living room looks like world war 3 with burp rags, toys, and everything else in the house strewn across the floor and couches. But that's okay because I've got everything I need under this roof. And I have never been happier (now if I could just have my husband back from the Coast Guard sooner, than later, I would be 100% content)!

The Little Things....

There are so many moments in my day where I just want to sit and watch what my little boy does. Some of my favorite things about having him around:
1. The way he smiles as he is falling asleep, warm and bundled up with his mommy, he looks at me as his eyes drift closed and smiles. And it is a beautiful smile.
2. When he wakes up from a nap and he stretches his arms above his head but his little butt is still curved like he was sitting and he grunts little grunts as he stretches.
3. When we take him out of his swaddle in the mornings he stretches both arms over his head in a triumphant "freedom" stretch.
4. After getting up with him all night, his 5:30 am cry I nudge Ty and ask him to go get him. I listen to Toby cry as Ty changes his diaper and here they come through the door, his little head tucked into Tyler's neck as Toby is still whimpering, his little diaper is all he is wearing. He lays down next to me to eat and as he drifts back to sleep I love to just lay there and look at my little boy.
5. Watching him laugh at Griff, and watch Griff where ever he goes... but more so watching Griff play with Toby.
6. The way his little lip tucks into his mouth and his eyebrows furrow before he gets all pissed off because he is hungry.
7. Watching Toby sit on his daddy's lap, and I swear he is the happiest most content little boy I have ever seen.
8. One time we put him in the bath and he started to pee right afterward. We grabbed the towel and started to pull him out and the look that he gave Tyler we he lifted Toby out of the bath is one of those looks I would have killed to catch it on camera. He proceeded to give us his "pissed off" cry until we got the bath water switched out and put him back in the tub.
9. The way he lays in bed with us in the morning and giggles at every little thing or stares off all around him with a look of wonder and amazement at what he is seeing like he is seeing it for the first time.
10. The way he looks into my eyes while I talked to him and when he talks back. It is true genuine love.

Toby's First day of being with the Baby Sitter

So Today was the first time that I had to take Toby to Billie's. Now even though Billie is an amazing person and I am totally comfortable with her as our day care provider I couldn't help but feel the "mommy guilt" as I like to call it about leaving my little boy so I could go to work. Thank goodness I have a job that involves changing the lives of our youth or I think I would really hate myself if I was leaving my little boy instead of staying and playing with him all day. This morning Griff was such a great help by hooking Toby into his car seat and then rode with me to drop him off comforting me as I was being a crazy mom crying as we drove away. He sat in the passengers seat not making fun of me but making me laugh. I'm so lucky to have such a great 13 year old. His mother did so good with him, she raised such a kind and loving kid.

Course nothing beats coming home, pulling around the corner into our street and seeing my husband carrying my baby boy while checking the mail. So I successfully survived one of the hardest days of being a parent "SO FAR". Now to conquer working three full days this week while having my baby boy at the babysitters.

Oh and never did I think that I would find myself one day not bothered by the fact my shoulder is covered with baby spit up, I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast, and the house is a mess... but that's all okay because I'm with my family.

Almost 3 Months old ALREADY?!?!?

Toby is rapidly changing and growing into such a fun little boy. He laughs so hard when Griff talks to him and gets so excited he flings his arms and legs all over the place when he sees his daddy. He loves his bath time. Our tub for him sits on the counter in the bathroom in front of the mirror and he sits and watches himself in the mirror the entire time he is in the bath checking himself out! It's so funny. He loves to lay on his mat and play, and listen to music. I'm getting better at getting up at 1:30 in the morning and getting back to sleep when he's back to sleep. We keep the lights low and don't talk to him at all so that he gets up he eats and he goes back to sleep. Honestly some nights I won't change him in the middle of the night for fear of waking him up and him not going back to sleep, terrible I know but it's a survival instinct I think :)

Watching Tyler with Toby reaffirms so many reasons why I fell in love with him. If you would have asked me when we were dating if I would love moments like this I would have thought you were crazy. But there are moments where I can't take my eyes off of my husband and my little boy. Griff and Toby truly are two of the biggest blessings in my life and having Tyler by my side makes a huge difference when it comes to parenting.

Toby starts day care tomorrow as both Ty and I will be at work. Billie will be taking care of us for him and she is going to be amazing. Of course I'm struggling with the jitters of a first time parent getting ready to take her child to day care for the first time. Ya know, will he notice that I'm not around? Will he miss me? Will he be mad at me when I pick him up after having to work for a full day? Will I miss a big first, like his first word, or steps or anything and everything?!? But Billie is such a great person I have no fear that she will take such great care of our little man.

Finally... Life after Baby

Well, before Toby was born I had all intentions of trying to blog every day to share our experiences of having Toby in our lives. Well I failed! Life has been so hectic with family visiting, surviving having no sleep, and all the while keeping up a house hold and keeping a 13 year old occupied. So here are some things that I can remember over the last two months of having Tobuius Kenneth Jerry Thomas in our lives.
* When we first brought him home from the hospital I don't think we could put him down. It was just too amazing that this little thing came from the two of us.
*Griff stayed the first night in the hospital with us. I can't even begin to explain how much it meant to me to have Tyler and Griffin in the hospital room with me.
*I quickly learned that even though I was exhausted there were moments where I couldn't sleep because I just had to check and make sure he was okay sleeping, not to mention how fascinating it was to just sit and watch him sleep.
*I am learning that love is deeper then I had ever imagined. Not only for my child, but for everyone in my life.
*Mornings are Toby's favorite time. We lay in bed and talk and laugh with each other. Weekends in the morning are my favorite time because Tyler and I are both able to lay in bed and play with Toby between us.
*Watching Griff "walk" across the living room with Toby makes me laugh so hard my sides hurt.

Being a parent truly is something you can't fully understand until you are a parent yourself. It has already been one of the most awarding experiences of my life in the last 3 months. And I can't wait to see what the next days bring.