Milestones: 8 Months Old

Oh Austin, how much you have grown! Last month you were our sweet baby who sat there contently playing with your toys, too lazy to really go anywhere unless you really really wanted to. And even then, you found it just as appealing to lay there and cry for someone to come pick you up rather than expend any energy of your own in crawling.

That was last month.

This month it seems like someone sprinkled adventure dust over you while you slept and you woke up a new man! You are everywhere! If I want to go to the bathroom I have to choose between leaving you alone for a minute and hoping you don't do too much damage, or locking you in the bathroom with me and going about the fun job of simultaneously trying to pee while keeping you out of the garbage, toilet bowl cleaner, etc. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer because the second I turn around to wash my hands, you are instantly in the toilet!

Getting into everything!

The word "NO" is a joke to you. I know you understand me because the second I say it you turn around and give me that mischievous smile, think about it for a moment, and then you go right back to what you were doing!

That mischievous face I'm talking about!

You love pulling all the DVDs off the bookcase, which isn't that big of a deal. Except for you insist on grabbing the DVD that's totally out of your reach, resulting in you falling, smacking your head on the corner of the bookcase, and crying like someone just shot you. We blocked off that bookcase with the Love-Sac which resulted in you finding the window sill and pulling on the blinds. I opened the blinds and allowed you to stand there looking out the window while I went about my business of doing dishes. Then I noticed you were chewing like there was something in your mouth. I went over to check on you and saw that you were chewing on the wall! You had chewed through the paint and the plaster, clear down to the metal and dry wall! I spent the next five minutes fighting you to get all that stuff out of your mouth and with the amount of struggle you put up, it must have tasted good! I closed the window, put you in front of your toys, and went back to my chores. Less than two minutes later you were right back up to the window eating the wall again! I couldn't help but laugh when I heard myself say, "Austin! Stop eating the walls!" It just sounded so ridiculous.

Pulling all the  DVDs off the shelf

Look what you did to our brand new walls! Now I get to add painting to my to do list :(.

After that, I spent the day keeping you from turning the Playstation on and off, and tearing apart the cute decorative basket it sits on. Of course that went along with trying to keep you away from all the electrical cords. I love you kid, but I find myself getting excited for Dad to come home and give me a second of peace!

Getting my two second cuddle in :).

I keep telling myself I need to get up before you or Dad wake up so I can get ready for the day and perhaps even exercise. But that thought flies out the window by 4:00am when I fling myself back into bed after being up with you at least four times throughout the night. Last night it was literally every hour starting at midnight. Judging by the low grade fever and your sudden desire to chew everything like a puppy, we think you are teething.

Waiting for Dad to get home.

You have so much fun playing with your Daddy! He does fun things like make box-cars and pushes you around the house!

It is so funny to me that you love trying new food so much because just two months ago you wouldn't give anything but breast milk the time of day! You are supposed to continue breast feeding until you turn one but this is suddenly a huge struggle! You are way too interested in your surroundings and can't seem to sit still long enough to nurse! My milk supply is already starting to dwindle so I've got to make a change somewhere. You don't mind taking a bottle because it allows you to sit up and watch everything while you eat so I think I'm just going to have to start pumping all throughout the day and giving you bottles..... great :(. I hate pumping and it is especially annoying now that you are into everything and I can't pump longer than a minute without having to stop and go rescue you from whatever situation you have gotten yourself into! But I am determined to not give you formula so you better thank me someday!

I turned around for a second and you had gotten into the Edamame I was going to snack on! I laughed so hard because you had them all shoved in your mouth and they were scattered all around you!

We give you bits and pieces of our food when we eat (usually only mashed potatoes and bread) and you love it. I decided to give you Cheerios the day you chewed on the walls, hoping that would be a good alternative. It was an instant success! I bit them in half at first, making sure you could swallow them and now you are eating them whole. It is so cute watching you try to use your chubby fingers to pick them up and shove them in your mouth. You use both hands to grab one Cheerio and then try to fit both fists in your little mouth, which results in the Cheerio getting dropped in your lap without you noticing it haha. I get a kick out of watching you :). You also love Greek Yogurt more than anything else we have given you! I have been sharing it with you, but yesterday you ate the entire container by yourself!

Eating your Cheerios for the first time!

The weather has been perfect for taking walks and you are loving it! Besides hating the sun because it makes you sneeze and making me constantly shade your eyes, you sit contently while we push you around and look at all the beauty around you :).

 

Taking a walk around the neighborhood with Dad after work!

Soaking in the sunshine!

Here's a little photo dump of the past month:

You amazed me when you started pulling blocks one by one out of that bucket! I then put them back in and put the lid on and you proceeded to take the lid off and pull each block out again! You're too smart!

Cheese!

Eyes are still blue!

I am starting to see more of your Dad in you as you get older. You definitely have his chin!

Chillin' in your stroller while Grandma P. took you for a walk.

Grandpa P. bought you that Star Wars onesie and you are finally big enough to wear it :). It says, "I'm small but I know things." It's perfect! haha

learning how to sit up and play

hanging out with Dad while Mom was working. This was taken when you were just barely 7 months. It's crazy how much you've changed over the month!

 

Birthday Weekend

We had originally planned on going to San Diego for my birthday weekend, but since I quit my job, it didn't sound like a very financially smart decision. So we headed out to Logandale! Josh had taken Thursday and Friday off so it was a nice long weekend of relaxation and outdoors fun! This is basically a photo dump because the photos say it all. We had a blast and were so sad when it came time to go home :(.

Grandma and Grandpa Porter found this high chair at a yard sale, SCORE!

Everyone had fun taking their turn to feed the baby :)

For some reason Austin gets scared whenever Grandpa tries to hold him. That all changed the night he had some Veggies and yogurt on his lap! Austin was all over that!

Grandpa dipped the celery in the Greek yogurt and it was an instant success! He was devouring it!

Playing Grandma's piano and singing. I'm not kidding, he was actually singing! It was so cute!

This kid was in heaven. Grandma's house is like Disneyland!

We had a bonfire out in the backyard and roasted hot dogs/made s'mores.

passing along the baby

roasting our hot dogs

The weather was perfect!

This was Austin's first experience with fire, and once Grandpa got home from work, he got his first experience of listening to ghost stories too! It was so much fun :).

On Saturday we had our traditional family birthday party out at the Valley of Fire. We BBQ'd, talked, and went hiking. Actually, I was having so much fun talking that I skipped the hiking part. My parents took Austin and reported that he had a great time putting his feet in the soft red sand and trying to climb the rocks.

My sweet little sister.

My Momma worked hard to make this party perfect, and it really was!

Mid 70's and sunny! Only in Nevada!

Austin kept wanting to hug Uncle Brian. It was so sweet!

The three amigos

Great Grandpa Porter

My Uncle played a huge part in my childhood. He is only 11 years older than me so he was more like a big brother. I love him so much :).

Austin was mesmerized by Great Grandma Porter's hat.

two cuties

I love this man more than anything in the world!

playing games with Great Grandma Weigel.

So  many Grandma's, not enough time!

BBQ'ing it up!

My yummy birthday cake. When we went shopping for ingredients, my mom accidentally picked up candles that said 36 instead of 26. It's a good thing I caught it before she bought them! We got a good laugh out of it ;).

Immediately after we sang "Happy Birthday," Austin decided to grab the first piece of cake! I guess the red cup just wasn't doing it for him anymore. Little stinker!

Mmmm.... cake!

I have the greatest family and I feel so blessed and so loved. Thank you to everyone who came out to help celebrate! It was the best birthday weekend yet!

My 26th Birthday

My birthday this year was amazing. I quit my job a few days prior, which was the best present I could ever receive. That allowed me to spend my actual birthday at home hanging out with my little dude.

I got to use my new juicer to make my birthday breakfast! Pretty yummy :)

lazy day...

We couldn't wait for Daddy to get home so we could start the party!

Once Josh got home from work, we headed out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner! That is my favorite restaurant. I have to practice self control when I am there or I would eat at least five baskets of bread! Austin did really well for a 7 month old. He even got to chew on his own little piece of bread which kept him entertained for a whole 10 minutes. Josh and I split our usual and then got a piece of cheesecake to go. We couldn't wait to put Austin to bed so we could dig into it!

MMmmmm

Red Velvet Cheesecake, my fav!

The night ended so perfectly. As I was rocking Austin to sleep, he sat up in my lap and gave me a big smooch on the lips and then laid his head on my shoulder and gave me a sweet little snuggle. I died. Then, because he had gotten such a good response the first time, he decided to make a little game out of it! He kept kissing me and hugging me over and over until my face was completely covered in baby slobber and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. That was by far the best present I had gotten all day, even better than the cheesecake that was waiting for me downstairs ;).

Since this was my night, I chose to make a bed on the living room floor with Josh and cuddle under a blanket while we watched THE OFFICE reruns and ate cake.

 

Birthday #26 = Perfection! 

Precious Moments

Josh went to the Queen concert last night with my Step-Dad, which meant Austin and I were on our own. We read stories, ate baby food, and Austin used me as his jungle gym to climb  all over while I attempted to watch a movie. I'm not going to lie, I was excited when 8:00 rolled around and it was bed time! We did our tradition of putting on jammies, dimming the lights in his room, and nursing while I sang songs to him. Then it was time to put the sweet little guy to bed so Mom could get back to her movie! However, just like earlier this morning, I had forgotten that it was Daylight Savings Time :(.

 

He cried and cried and cried.

 

It went on for about 25 minutes during which I attempted to continue watching my movie and had gotten out the ice cream ;). But then I started hearing strange noises and decided to go check on him. Apparently, all that anger towards me sparked him to learn how to stand up in his bed! I was totally shocked as I stood there with him staring right back at me. He had tears rolling down his face and he was panting from crying so hard. So I gave in and decided to bring him back downstairs to join my little party.

 

He was much sweeter this time, now that he knew what was at stake. He kept trying to eat my ice cream so I put it away and got out a Greek yogurt instead. Then I put him on my lap and there we sat on the floor, sharing a yogurt and watching a movie.

 

I was in heaven. He just sat there (which never happens) and let me spoon feed him as he watched the TV. The yogurt actually tasted better than the ice cream so I owe him for the pound of extra fat he spared me from ;). 

 

It was a sweet Mommy moment. My baby is getting so big and I can't help feeling sad about it. But at the same time I am so in awe of his growth and the little personality he is developing. Josh and I lay in bed at night and laugh about all the silly things he did that day and talk about all the ways we have our work cut out for us in the future. Let's just say he has his Momma's stubborn side and his Daddy's sense of entitlement. Not a good combo...

 

Then his eyes started to droop and he wasn't as interested in the yogurt anymore. I scooped up my sweet little bundle and carried him up to bed. I sang and rocked him to sleep once more, but this time he didn't protest when I laid him down in his crib.

 

I love being a Mom! Nothing could be more rewarding than this!

 

This morning I went into his room to get him ready for the day and again, there he was, standing there waiting for me! Standing is his new trick and he has been doing it all morning. We struggle each day trying to keep him away from the electrical cords so I got smart this time and put a chair in the way. That was just fine with him! He used it as his prop for standing!

I love how tiny his little legs look!

Our "big boy"

Now we need to add lowering his crib mattress to the list so he doesn't fall out of the bed... If you could only see how long that list is getting!



I Did It!

Well, I did it! I quit my job! My last day was on Saturday and I turned in all my stuff today. It feels bittersweet because I had a love/hate relationship with my job, but in the end, I know we are making the right decision and I couldn't be more excited! I took Austin with me to the office to say goodbye to everyone and it felt a little awkward. I felt like I was betraying them by quitting and for some reason I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. I even forgot to ask about my last paycheck and had to turn around and go back!

 

Austin fell asleep in the car on the ride home which was nice because it gave me a chance to think. Basically what I came up with is this is going to be a big transition and I can't expect to feel 100% sure about anything right now. I just need to practice some faith and trust God as he leads us along this new road. A part of me feels sad that I am not going to be practicing nursing for a while because it is something that gives me purpose and it is something that I am good at and take pride in. I just don't want to feel like I am now insignificant and have nothing to show for all my hard work. I know that sounds terrible, but it is something I've been thinking about a lot.

 

Once we got home, I carried sleeping Austin up to his crib and then proceeded to put away all my nursing stuff.... uniforms, stethoscope, supplies I carried around with me to every hospital.... and then I got to working on my new life! I made a gym calendar to keep us motivated on staying fit, and I printed off a meal plan calendar for all the cooking I am now going to do! And with that sparked a light of excitement.

 

I am not going to be some ordinary house wife. No, I am going to be extraordinary!  

 

I'm sure my children will take advantage of all the hard work I will be doing, just like I took advantage of my own mother. But in the end, I will die knowing that I put aside my pride and did my best to raise those children in the best environment I could possibly make for them.

 

This isn't the end of my life as a nurse. I have many options I've been looking into for when my children grow up and I find myself with more spare time. This is just a little time out for Ashly-RN so that Ashly-Stay-at-Home MOM can take her full form!

 

Tonight is Monday night which means I will actually be home for family home evening! Time to get working on some treats and a lesson :).

Last day of work! Goodbye Nurse Ashly!

First day at home! Hello Momma Ashly!