Bumper Bender

This morning I took Zeb to work so that I could keep the car in order to go to DFS and the local food banks.  Well, I picked a bad day because a) it's pouring rain now and doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon, so I'll have to go in and out of businesses and carry groceries and a baby in the rain  AND b) I was involved in a minor car accident on the way home. 

I was driving down the street... seat belt on, headlights on, driving the speed limit... when I see a small dog (an ugly ass Boston Terrier) starting to cross the street in front of me.  He looked RIGHT AT ME as I slowed down.  He hesitated, but continued to cross the street, forcing me to either hit my brakes HARD or end his life with my VW.  {In retrospect... I should have killed the damn thing}  Well, there was a woman in a gold SUV behind me and whether she was following too closely, taking a swig of her coffee or other beverage, or just what, she rear ended me.  (I was not speeding and my brakes/tires didn't even squeal, let alone leave marks on the pavement, so there is no reason she shouldn't have been able to stop before hitting me)  Anyway, everyone is okay, and the car isn't TOO badly hurt.  I was able to drive away from the scene at least.  Now, knowing the financial struggles that my family often faces, you can probably guess that I don't carry insurance... not even the liability that is required by law.  I also recently misplaces my driver's license, and even though I'm in the system as having a valid driver's license from the state of WA, I didn't have it on me.  I didn't want the tickets for driving without a license and insurance.  (I could have gone to court and all that and probably not had to pay much or even got the no license dismissed once I proved that I AM legal to drive)  Not to mention that our tags are expired and I may possibly have a warrant for my arrest in Douglas County (Yes, they WILL extradite from Springfield/Greene County).  We paid a big chunk toward my old check fines when the taxes and school money came in, but we didn't pay it off and haven't made any payments since March.  They haven't sent me a letter notifying me of a warrant (which they usually do) but they aren't required to.  Sooooo... given all these circumstances, I did not want the police called to the scene.  The lady understood and called her brother, who just so happens to be her insurance agent as well.  He informed her that if she wanted the insurance to handle it, then a police report would have to be filed.  So now, I am faced with either A) leaving my car as is unless and until we can afford to fix it ourselves B) filing the report after the fact with the local police department and praying they don't cite me for the violations and/or find a warrant or C) pay out of pocket to take her to small claims court for the damages.  I'm going to talk to Zeb when he gets home and see what he thinks, but I don't think it's wise to risk filing a police report when it's possible that I have a warrant.  She gave me her name and 2 phone numbers before she called her agent/brother, so I have that information if I need it in the future.

I've been in fender benders before, so I knew by the impact that no one was hurt.  Me, Mike and Billy were all in the car.  Once Mike realized we'd been hit he FREAKED out!  lol  "OMG, Billy, are you okay?!!"  Billy immediately started WAILING from the scare, but he was secure in his seat and once he saw me and Mike standing over him he went right back to sleep.  Mike and I were a bit shaken, Mike due to worry over Billy and me due to wondering what the hell I'm going to do about the car.  Take a look at the damages...

Driver's side rear - The bumper isn't loose, nor does it scrape the tire, but it looks like shit.  Everything got pushed forward a bit, so now the rear passenger door behind the driver's seat gets stuck.  We managed to open it at the scnene and one other time, but it's got a "trick" now and the last time we tried to open it, we couldn't quite manage.

Here's the rear view -  The trunk is pushed in and locked down too.  I have yet to be able to open it since the accident.

Passenger side rear - This just shows how the skewed bumper is off it's clips on both sides.  Other than sticking out there is nothing wrong on this side. 

Here you can see that the bumper actually cracked and some of how it's pushed in.  The tail lights didn't even crack.

You may be able to tell here that the trunk is pushed in.

I should have known not to keep the car and run errands today.  I started the day with my face in the toilet and joked with Zeb about how I was going to cut "it" off if he knocked me up again and I've got morning sickness.  LOL  I really don't think that's what it was.  For one thing, I'm still not feeling well and for another I've been very careful and calculating my cycle and ovulation.  We are being as "safe" as a married couple that doesn't use pharmaceudical birth control can be.

Well, that's enough excitement for one day, tomorrow I plan to post about my "favorite things" as suggested by one of my baby update emails. 

Thanks for reading,

<3 SuZ 

More Comparisons

When we returned home from Omaha, there was a card and pictures from Kay (Zeb's mom) waiting for us.  So now it is time to do another comparison that includes pictures of Daddy as a baby! 

Here's a recap of me and Mike as babies

Now here is Zeb...

These were taken when he was probably a few months old.  The newborn pictures she sent were either too small or at odd angles to really show comparisons at that age.  But, Billy is starting to show more and more resemblance to Zeb.  I just wish his hair would thicken out like this!  lol

Now here's Billy...

 I can see some definate resemblance.  Like I said, I just wish Billy's hair would thicken up like Zeb's! 

Here's Daddy giving Billy his nightly bottle.

Last night, Billy was playing in his bouncer and he fell asleep.  I decided it was a perfect oppotunity to practice some zoom shots.  Here are the results...

This one isn't zoomed, I just got in close with the camera

Tiny tootsies!

Little hands

The face of an angel!

And here are some pictures of Billy's newest developments. 

See how much he holds his head and body up now?  He can hold this for 5 full minutes and sometimes even longer!

And here is one of him "blowing bubbles"

I tried to get one with a little more zoom on it and ended up with this...

"Yo Adrian!!"  LMAO

Thanks for reading,

<3 SuZ

Billy is 7 Weeks Old Today!

He has a couple of new milestones to report also.  For several days he's been making bubbles with his drool and last night Daddy and I got to hear him coo for the first time.  He's always cried or made grunting sounds.  Then, he began to sigh and make pleasant vocal sounds, but they always sounded like a sort of grunt.  Well, this was a very high pitched "oooh".  He made it 3 or 4 times and even followed me when I mimicked him. This morning I caught a smile on film.  I went in because he was grunting in what sounded like a not too happy way, so I checked on him.  He was pooping.  lol  Well, he finished and looked at me with wide eyes.  I had the camera in hand because I wanted a photo for today's post.  Well, as soon as I held it up to focus the shot he closed his eyes and went right back to sleep.  I snapped a shot anyway and he just so happened to be cracking a smile.

I tried to get another one, but he just stayed asleep.  Here's a further away shot to see all the moving and grooving he did in the night.

When I put him to bed he was in the middle and laying the other direction.  I've been laying him in the crib sideways because now that he can roll onto his belly, I've found him with his face up against bumper pad.  Well, laying him the other direction doesn't help!  He ends up facing the bumper anyway!  lol  I'm considering a sleeping wedge, but Mike didn't really like his and I'm thinking Billy won't either.  I used some pillows when I was in the room and alert during a short nap of his yesterday and he fussed when he couldn't curl and roll the way he wanted to.  A wedge might be more comfortable than soft and bulky pillows, but I'm not making it a priority.

Tucker is backsliding.  I expected that there might be some jealousy when the new baby came, but I was fearful that he'd be mean to the baby out of jealousy, I never even thought that he would revert backwards.  For about a month now we've been having trouble with him getting out of the yard when we leave him outside while we are away from the house.  He even gets out when we are home, but we are there to notice right away and get him back in the house or yard.  The day we went up near KC for my friends' wedding reception he got out and the cops came and tied him up in our yard.  The neighbor found him because we had messages from him and 24 pet watch stating that they'd recovered him and to call the neighbor.  Well, we didn't come in until late that night, so I immagine they got tired of holding him for us and called the police to see what to do about the situation.  Our gate was locked, so the guy couldn't just bring him back himself.  When we arrived home the dog was tied up with a long extention cord to a pole in the carport and the carbage receptacle was in front of the gate.

We have about a 6 inch gap between the two sides of the gate.  There is plenty of room for Tucker to slip his head through and then follow with his body.  I let him out this morning and after about 20 minutes I heard the chain on the gate rattling.  I looked over and there was Tuck, half in and half out, walking through the gap.  I called to him, "Tucker, get your ass in here!"  He immediately came into the house and layed down on the livingroom rug.  I told him to go to bed and zipped him in his crate.

That's not his only problem.  Lately, if we leave him in the house (even if we have the back door open for him to get outside) while we are gone, he will grab something that is not his and chew on it.  Now, I understand that this is a normal puppy behavior and Tucker is 7 or 8 months old now, but from the day we brought him home he has never chewed on anything that wasn't his.  He started to a few times, but we stopped him and told him "no".  He learned what his toys were and never bothered anything else other than sticks in the yard... until about a month ago.  In 3 to 4 weeks time he chewed up 2 Pez dispensers, a lighter, an ink pen, legos and his most recent... a baby carrier! (similar to this one only a different brand that had no pocket)

It looked salvageable when we came home, but what he chewed up were the clips that attach the "seat" part to the straps.  So... no way to use it.  He chewed on the straps a bit too, but I could have repaired that.  The clips, however, cannot be replaced.  Thankfully, it was an item I'd recieved from Freecycle and not something that me or a friend/family member spent a bunch of money to purchase, but it's still a loss.  Now, if I want to use it I WILL have to go out and spend money for it.  I was thinking of going to a different type anyway, but I don't have the money for it right now. 

Tucker has also been peeing and pooping in the house overnight.  So, starting last night we are crating him when we go to sleep.  We will crate him when we leave too.  I don't know what we are going to do if we plan on all being away from the house for more than a couple of hours. 

Mike has a new job dogsitting.  My folks' dog, Raven is tearing up their house when they go to pool.  It started with messing on the floor when they left, but they thought she just had spent too much time outside and needed to be house trained.  Well, then she broke out a window pane while they were gone, so they purchased a large metal cage/crate for her.  We told them they could use ours (Tucker hadn't started misbehaving yet then), but they put her in it and she went spaztic.  They figured she would just claw and chew it to shreds until she got out, so they bought one.  Well, she tore up her own snout and the carpet getting out of the metal cage.  It has a few design flaws that allow each panel to disconnect from the others at certain points, expecially if they aren't locked into place just right or the dog throws a fit and unhooks them in her spazoid hopping around.  So, 2 nights a week Mike is staying at my mom and dad's so that he can be there with the dog.  She really doesn't need much looking after.  She will go outside to potty and not tear things up as long as someone is there.  It's when she gets left alone that there is a problem. 

If I had to resort to always having someone home, I'd probably get rid of Tucker.  I'm trying the crate thing, but if he tears it up ...  I just may have to consider it.  He hasn't even attempted to so far, but he never attempted chewing on shit that wasn't his until recently either.  Mom and Dad are basically retired.  Dad works part time and Mom is disabled.  They are only gone 2 evenings a week unless on long trips and so far they have been able to take Raven along for those.  We have a much busier life.  We have school and work schedules to contend with as well as running errands and going out for family entertainment when we have the chance. 

Ooopsy... Billy is waking up again, so I'd better go and feed him his breakfast.

Thanks for reading!

<3 SuZ 

Just One More Day

Every time we make a weekend trip to Omaha or Kansas City (even an extended weekend) we always wish that we had more time to spend with everyone.  Well, this time our wish came true, though not under pleasant circumstances.  The battery AND alternator in my parents' van shot craps on the way home and nearly had us stranded on the highway.  Luckily, we weren't too far south of Kansas City, and long time friends who now live in Peculiar came to rescue us from Garden City.  Just so that everyone knows... Cass County Sheriff deputies are total f'ing pricks.  No one was stopping even though they saw my white haired, limping dad looking under the hood on the shoulder, so Mom called 911 to have officers come give us a jump start.  (At that time we thought maybe it was just the battery)  Well, supposedly they aren't "allowed" to give any roadside assistance other than calling a tow truck.  I guess people have sued the department for various reasons after getting assistance.  Well I think that's bullsh*t.  We couldn't afford a tow service and didn't know where to tell them to tow it to anyway, but we got hold of some friends who attempted to jump us.  Well, they DID give us a jump start, but it didn't last long.  We had to call them back to have them jump us again so the van would make it to a farm house where the people allowed us to leave the van until we could make repair/tow arrangements.  It set the folks back over $365 with alternator, battery and labor costs.  That will definately be a big blow for them.  They had it in the account to pay, but now part of their monthly bills will not get paid until next month.  I'm sure they didn't have "room" for more than the cost of gas that they planned for.  I wish that we could help them make up for it, but we are behind ourselves already.

The good news is, Billy, Mike and I got to spend the night at my friends' Todd and Rachael's house who we hadn't even alotted time to visit.  Sunday night we watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and while the van was being fixed on Monday we played Wii.  I had my camera with me, but for some reason failed to snap any photos while we were there.  At least I have some recent ones from Lyn and Lacie's reception.  I don't think I got any of little William though.  (They have temporary custody of one of Racheal's nephews and his name is William).  And the one shot we got of Jeremy is on Mom and Dad's camera, so I'll have to get that from them later.  Anyway, it ended up being pretty fun even though it would have been better if we planned on visiting them and the folks didn't have to shell out hundreds of unplanned dollars for car repairs. 

I have lots of photos from the trip uploaded at MySpace and Facebook, but here are some choice shots...

This is Billy the morning we left.  He was fading in and out of the sleep I woke him from with a diaper change.  LOL  It looks like he has just outgrown his first outfit to me.  This shirt is a bit on the short side and a little snug around the thickest part of his ribs and belly.

Friday afternoon at Janelle and Larry's house.  Pictured here (left to right) are my cousin Mike, Aunt Sherry, Mike's middle son Holden, my counsin Shawn and Uncle Byron.  I haven't seen any of them for about 5 years when Mike and Wendy got married.

Here is Mike's wife Wendy and their youngest son, Brecken

This is my Dad's cousin Steve, his daughter Doreen, and her son Paxton.  This toy was one that Janelle had picked up at a garage sale for Billy, but Paxton had so much fun with it that we passed it along to him.  It will be several months before Billy is ready for something like this anyway and I'm sure that by then we can find something.

Here is Billy in his 4th of July outfit that Janelle bought for him.  It has a little teddy bear on it and says "I Love the USA" in case you can't quite make it all out.

From left to right... Wendy's mom Arethea (not sure of spelling), Brecken with his back turned, Holden and Sherry.

Here is my aunt Janelle, her son/my cousin Ray, and Sherry's brother-in-law Chris.  As usual, Janelle had all kinds of items for Billy and I.  We were loaded to the hilt on the way up, so many items had to stay behind, but we repacked and were able to bring a lot home.  There's a bug and shade canopy that fits over a playpen or blanket in the yard, a musical caterpillar toy, a shopping cart basket cover that is also a tummy-time playmat, a bedding set with matching wall hangings, a toddler size winter coat and all kinds of things.  She also sent me home with a set of corning ware. 

Here is Janelle's husband Larry, My uncle Byron and my cousin Mike.  He and his wife gave us a baby gift also.  There was a matching layette set and a toy hammer.  The hammer has a light on the claw end and makes sounds when you swing it around.  The layette was baby blue and white with a stripes and elephants design that said "mommie's little boy" on the onesie.  It include the onesie, pants, a bib, a sleeper and a recieving blanket. 

Mike's oldest son, Anthony

my cousin Shawn (Mike and Wendy in the background)

Finally!  A good shot of my son Mike!  We were playing photo tag.  Every time I tried to get his picture he turned away and then he started laughing at me and I finally caught him.  lol

Here is me with Billy.  We were in Janelle's neighbor's driveway watching fireworks.  Billy fell asleep sucking his thumb and watching fireworks.  When I asked Mike to take a picture Billy's hand moved, but still it's a shot of us together!  Oh yeah, the neighbor, Myrna was a real treat.  She allowed my folks to put Raven in her fenced area when needed and when we left her there alone she got out and Myrna brought her to her enclosed porch area.  THEN, she invited us to watch and shoot off fireworks with her and her family in their driveway.  They visited with us and were very hospitable.  They offered me a wine cooler (I declined) and Myrna gave us an outfit for Billy.  It is baby blue and shades of camo brown with vegetables on it and says Home Grown.    

Ahhhhhh.  home again.  Billy was all smiles for Daddy when we got home.  I wasn't able to capture it on film, but it was such a touching moment that I cried.  (My emotions are still a bit out of whack since the birth, but I'm handling it okay)  I had never seen Billy smile so many times in a row or for so long.  By the time my eyes could focus and dig out the camera he was more relaxed, but he still didn't want to look away from Daddy.

Mike spent last night at my Mom and Dad's place, so tucker was super excited to see him when we got home. 

Semi-Smiles

These were taken at Larry and Janelle's place.  They are pretty smiley, but I've yet to capture Billy's big smiles. 

Well, I guess that's about it for today.  I've got to put all of our crap from the trip away and do laundry.  Not to mention showing Tucker a little extra love because we've been gone so long.

Thanks for reading,

<3 SuZ

6 Weeks old and traveling... (edited)

Today Billy is 6 weeks old!  Yee haw!  (Now all I need is a check up from the doctor and I'm officially DTF    lol)  It's amazing what a difference a single week can make at this age, and especially comparing him now to birth. 

Ways he has grown and developed: 

His newest develpment is turning completely from back to belly.  Today and one other day this week I answered Billy's "serious" cry to find him rolled over with his face on the matress.  He already knows to turn his head when he's on his belly, but he really doesn't like it and can't roll himself back over yet.  He is also learning how to use his facial muscles.  He's constantly moving his mouth and brow in a new way.  I've tried to snap some photos, but so many of his looks are so brief that by the time I snap the shot it's changed to a look he makes all the time. He's also getting more coordinated with his arms and legs.  He has figured out how to move his legs in turn (like bicycling) as well as stretching them out and bringing them back in together.  He more frequently finds his mouth with his fist and occasionally the thumb.  Up until this week, when he makes a fist his thumb is tucked into the palm and the fingers wrapped around it.  Well, now he makes a "proper" fist with his right hand and his thumb is usually tucked between the fingers on his left hand (like the "I got your thumb" position... or letter T if you know sign language).  He enjoys tummy time, but likes to have his upper body elevated instead of flat on the floor.  This is probably because it takes more muscle to hold his head up than he can really handle when he's flat on his tummy.  If his chest is on the boppy pillow though, he can hold his head at least part of the way up the whole time he's on it.  Even if he lets his head rest, he can still see things around him.  But flat on the tummy it takes a lot more strength to get his head up and keep it there.  When he rests, his face is in the floor or he has to turn it all the way to the side and he doesn't seem to think that is very comfortable for long.

Schedule: 

Billy is settling into a more regular schedule.  It still varies from day to day, but really not by much lately.  His usual "bed time" is around midnight.  That's when he settles in for his first long stretch of sleep.  It can last anywhere from 2-4 hours.  He then wakes up between 2 and 4am for a diaper change and feeding then returns to sleep for his longest stretch that lasts at least 4 hours and often up to 6 hours at a time.  He wakes up again in the morning around 8am for another feeding and change, then he's down for the count again until noonish.  Then, he eats again and then is up for a couple of hours straight.  During this time he is held by Me, or Mike or Zeb (on weekends) or maybe sitting in his bouncer, in the boppy pillow, laying on his Gymini mat or lying on a couch cushion looking around.  He takes "naps" after each feeding throughout the day, but almost never for more than an hour at a time until after 8pm.  I give him his bath sometime between 8 and 10pm and a bottle before bedtime around 10 or 11 pm.

Oh yeah, beginning Saturday, Billy has been having one 5oz bottle of formula per day.  I'm not planning on transitioning him anytime soon, but I've been having a little trouble with nipple soreness at times when Billy is wanting to nurse for short times frequently instead of longer meals less frequently.  I have lanolin, but they aren't at all dry, just sore.  The lanolin doesn't seem to do a thing for it.        

Likes:

• Faces!  These are still his favorite thing to look at.  He is also occasionally facinated with high contrast colors from accross the room, but he's much more interested in what's going on 2 feet from his face right now. 
• Fingers and Hands!  Whether it's his own or someone else's, he loves having something in his mouth to chew on and he prefers fingers and hands to any toy or pacifier I've tried to give him.  He doesn't really have the hand to eye coordination to get toys to his mouth, so I can only give him soft things and he wants something with a bone in it I guess.  LOL  A pacifier only pacifies him if he's tired and wanting something to suck on to help him fall asleep.  In those cases it's just as easy to breast feed him unless he's been gassy or just had a large meal. 
• Tummy Time!  Billy is starting to really enjoy tummy time on his boppy pillow (as pictured above).  Sometimes he will play there for 30 mins. to an hour completely content unless he scooches himself into a bad position and needs a little help.  He has played flat on the floor a few times, but he is only content with it for about 15 minutes. 
• Burp Position!  I don't know if it's gas pain (he doesn't always pass any) or just a position that he likes, but sometimes the only thing that makes him happy is being slung over a shoulder so that he can hold himself upright and look around.   

Dislikes:

There really isn't anything he seems to particularly dislike except being on his face.  He doesn't really like having lotion put on, but he doesn't cry about it.  He just squirms around and makes "stop that" faces.  LOL

(Edit)  I forgot to mention this, but Billy HATES having any part of his clothing wet.  Whether he pees out the top or side of his diaper, or spits up, or even drools too heavily he will give a good hard cry until you take his clothes off! 

~*~ Traveling ~*~

I guess you could say that Billy likes car rides... He falls asleep fairly quickly and stays asleep for long periods of time in the car.  We took one longish trip already.  When Billy was 3 weeks old we drove 2 1/2 hrs away for a wedding reception and drove back the same day.  This weekend we are going on another long trip, this one even further.  We are driving from Sprinfield, MO to Bellevue, NE (near Omaha).  It's aproximately a 6 hour drive with bathroom stops and staying within the legal speed limits.  We are leaving sometime after Midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning.  We will be staying with my aunt Janelle Friday night and Saturday night, and returning home sometime on Sunday.  I don't know what all of the plans are, but I hope we have time to stop in K.C. on the way home Sunday.  I have some photos that I'd like to get to Lyn and Lacie.  If I could think of a good public place to accomodate lots of people and kids that was free, then I'd try to plan a short meet and greet with all the people I've found on Facebook and didn't get to see at the reunion.  Hmmm... maybe I'll talk with mom about that tomorrow.  Christy told me about some events going on at Crown Centre... if there is anything special on Sunday that would be a great place.  Even if there isn't anything additional, they have a Lego exhibit going on until Sept. 7th.  Meeting at the fountain and then seeing the Lego exhibit would be a fun outing, I think.  But, I don't know what all Mom and Dad have in mind and they are providing the transportation.  Everyone except for Zeb is going, he has to work.  It will be me, Mike, Billy, Mom, Dad and their dog Raven.  Tucker is staying here with Zeb. 

Well, Billy is fussing and he hasn't had a bath yet, so I'd better go.

Thanks for reading!

<3 SuZ