Are you there, Spring? It's me, Sara...

So, I'm either nesting (which better not be the case because I'm certainly not pregnant) or Spring cleaning (which is weird because it's only January - wishful thinking?). When we moved into our house I would clean it all the time. I remember wondering if there would ever come a time when I wouldn't clean it so obsessively.

Hahaha

Enter - getting knocked up. Cleaning definitely took a backseat to baby belly. I used every pregnant excuse I could come up with (tired, heartburn, big ole' belly, swollen ankles, can't hold a broom and a blt at the same time...) I mean, I would clean, as in pick up here and there and dust off every once in awhile, but 102 was definitely in need of a life-altering top-to-bottom cleaning. I guess watching Nathan laying on his belly and 'almost' getting into crawling position made me take a second glance at my floors and not at the spots that get swept over every now and then, but the spots that a baby might crawl to and the things he might pick up to put in his mouth.

Oh, pleeeeeeease. I challenge you right now to look around your floors, in the tiny corners, under the edge of your sofas or the edge of the bottoms of your cabinets and not find something a little yucky. Please don't tell me that I'm the only person out there who let's these things slide a little.

I guess it hasn't been done much because since pregnancy I've had a 9+pound load to lug around when I'm here. He loves being held and since Jason's gone alot, I end up not having an extra set of hands to help me out in this department. (Of course, he says that I could do it when I'm not blogging or Facebooking - but, come on! That's my social life! haha, not really....well, kinda.)

My parents kept Nathan for us Saturday morning so I could work and Jason could get some stuff done around the house. They had to run some errands, so they decided to take Nathan with them. Well, he's obviously got his mama's charm, because he talked his Big Daddy into taking him into Babies R Us while Memaw was at the Dollar Store. Oh lord, I wish I had been there to witness this. How many grown men do you know would take a baby into Babies R Us by themselves?? So, not only did Nathan talk his Big Daddy into taking him into the biggest Baby store in the world (or at least Newnan), but he looked up at his grandaddy with those big baby blue eyes and batted them to the exact tune of, "please buy me a walker and a new highchair to keep at your house, Big Daddy, please..." It took me several years to perfect this look, but my son's a quick learner. Do you know that they actually came home with a walker AND a new highchair. I couldn't believe it. My dad is already spoiling his grandson. Next, it's going to be the latest fishing rods, four-wheelers and b.b.guns. Sweet ole' Big Daddy....

So, back to the original story, it was GREAT because I brought the walker over here and was able to put him in it while Jason and I cleaned (I added his name so he wouldn't get his feelings hurt, but he really just made me think he was helping by staying out of my way. Don't tell him I know his secret....) Nathan adores his walker. Hasn't quite figured out yet why he's moving around or how to get from one place to the next, but is interested in it happening. It's particularly funny when he scoots in front of the oven and catches his image (now that you can actually see a reflection in it). He starts smiling at himself and cooing. Just precious...

So, I started by going through the piles of mail, books, magazines, etc. and put all of it away. Took everything off the countertops and scrubbed (with clorox anywhere spray) them all down. Put dishes in dishwasher and kept laundry going. Wiped all surfaces including kitchen table, chairs and legs. Re-organized my pantry. Swept, swept, swept. Vacuumed the rugs and mopped. Oh, and scrubbed the bathroom down with every anti-bacterial product I could find. I think that if Nathan all of a sudden started crawling across the floors I would actually be able to enjoy watching him and not cringe at the thought of what he was crawling around on. I can't tell you how good this feels to my soul to clean! Spring better be on the way here with a quickness now that I put in all this hard work.

P.S. I think the Chinese definitely have the right idea, no shoes beyond the front door...
OH! And P.P.S. We were fixing to leave my parents' house the other night when Memaw started making Nathan belly laugh. It was absolutely the sweetest sound I have ever heard and luckily, my dad was able to grab his camera in time to catch it. So, here it is. Be sure to check out his little bald head...

Cue ball?

One of my favorite things about my son has been his hair. I've thought how convenient it is for him that he has such great hair and his mom's a hairdresser. I've loved hearing everyone say to me, "look at all that hair!" He was born with it parted perfectly on the side. It's beautiful, thick, dark, slightly red, curly when wet....

Until now. Now, I've got a cue ball. Well, that's not true. I've got a cue ball with bangs and a mullet and a weird curl on one side. His hair has been falling out. As soon as I can snap a good picture, I'll post it. Bless his little heart. Apparently it happens sometimes because babies hormones are getting all straightened out and it's just part of the process.

Hmm... maybe that's why mine's been falling out, too? Or we have some strange epidemic happening here in the Dewberry house. I mean, falling out by the HANDFULLS. Every single time I run my hands through my hair. I can't tell you how much there is. Like, everytime I brush my hair after getting out of the shower, I fill up a hairdbrush. Y.U.C.K. This is definitely not something I was expecting, especially 4 months later.

Have I told you lately how much I love my little pumpkin? I honestly remember feeling during those first several weeks like I just wasn't cut out for this. I felt a little overwhelmed and sad because it was hard to figure out what he wanted and he seemed sad so much because he wasn't smiling. Holy cow. I've definitely been bit by the love bug. I'm obsessed with him! He makes the funniest little faces and the huge smile he gives me when we make eye contact is enough to melt my heart forever. I have so many dreams for him. On the one hand, I don't want him to get ANY bigger, but on the other hand, I can't WAIT for him to start really talking and crawling and calling me mommy... Oh, good grief.

Speaking of him getting bigger, we went to his 4 month doctor's appointment. He weighs almost 16 pounds! That's CRAZY! I just can't believe he's gotten so big. I feel like we just moved into size 2 diapers and are almost ready for size 3. I've felt like he was never going to make it into 6 months clothes, but all of a sudden he's fitting comfortably in 9 months. Oh me. This is what I have to look forward to, right?

Have I mentioned that I quit breastfeeding? It was just really hard to continue doing with my work schedule during the holidays. I had the opportunity to work through my lunches to make extra money and decided that it would be better for us if I did that. So, it messed up my supply and I was getting ready to give it up anyway, so figured I'd go ahead and wean. This wasn't so bad. I never had any kind of pain and am really glad I decided to do it. We are both more independent and I can really make sure of how much he's getting which makes life much easier. We made it to 3 1/2 months, though, so I feel pretty proud of myself. He's started eating solids and LOVES it. He hasn't disliked anything I've offered him (which is all of the stage 1 foods). Still getting cereal in all of his formula bottles and staying really full which helps him stay happy for longer period of time (and sleep longer, too - woohoo!).

We haven't seen Jason since 2 days after Christmas and he's coming home tomorrow. I can't tell you how excited our house is to have our daddy coming home. Let me end with that because it reminds me of all the housework I need to do...

someone actually reads this?

I am so honored to have received a blogger award from a savannah redtop ! It always surprises me when someone mentions to me that they've read my blog. It definitely keeps me on my toes.

So, I'm passing this award along to the following bloggers:
McKinley's World
The Wooten Family
Greenway Baby
Caldwell Crib
Crazy Mama
The Professor and Sarah Mae
Boswell

Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE!
Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

???

Just so you know, I have tried several times to edit that last post so that the paragraphs are separated correctly. I know I'm not perfect with my punctuation, but I did try to break it up a bit. Blogger must be on the fritz because it won't allow me to do it. Oh well....at least I tried!

nursery rhymes

Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Of course, I've heard this nursery rhyme a million times. I've even sung it a time or two to Nathan. But, I've always wondered why this nursery rhyme has to be so sad? I mean, who wants to sing to their child a song about a baby falling out of a tree? Who made this stuff up???

Well, I can tell you who. A woman who is at her wit's end from having a 4 month old baby who has been an excellent sleeper, but all of a sudden has forgotten how to - is who wrote that song. A woman who has been up every hour and a half listening to her child giggle to itself knowing that in a minute, it's mama is going to have to crawl out of her warm bed to turn him back over because he's flipped. A woman who's child has only taken one 30 minute nap all day long and who should be sleeping fabulously, but is strangely wide awake. That's who.

That's what has happened to me at least. Ever since he was about 2 months old I could tell people that he was the perfect child. I could see the envy in people's eyes when I honestly told them that he goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until 7 or so in the morning. I've known how very lucky I am.

When he was really young, we started a bedtime routine of getting in our pj's; turning on our sound machine, humidifier, and night light; reading a story; having a bottle; saying good night to special things in our house and the people we love; and going to bed. Now that he knows the routine as soon as I lay him down, he sticks that cute little thumb in his mouth and goes right to sleep without fussing or anything! It's so great. Well, I've read about the 4 month wakeful period. Medically, it's litsted as something that happens they become so alert that they don't want to sleep. It can last a week or two and often happens when they are around 4 months old. I'm afraid that's what we're in. Nathan did just turn 4 months on Monday. He seriously only took one 30 minute nap yesterday and woke every hour and a half last night. He's learned how to scoot around in his crib, so he woke up once with his face pressed against the crib rails (thank goodness my mom had lowered the bumper!) and then again when his arm was stuck in the rail and he couldn't get his thumb to his mouth. Poor little pumpkin.

I'll keep you updated on how tonight goes. He's had a pretty busy day being back at Miss Jennifer's after having 2 weeks off for Christmas and he's had 3 naps that each lasted longer than 30 minutes. Thank the Lord! I just hope I don't climb up in a tree tonight and throw him from it... (just kidding, sort of)

Happy New Year!

It's 2009! Can you believe it?

I have so many fun memories of New Year's past. From the year that Rebecca, Charlotte and I stayed up late and threw confetti all over the playroom. To the time my sisters came to my apartment and we littered the yard of the apartment complex with new year's decorations. To the several new years' that were spent at the Delt house in LaGrange. But, my favorite new year's was 2006.

It was the first time I'd spent New Year's celebrating it right. My good friends, Philip and Carl and I went to Atlanta and went to an awesome party at the Hyatt. It was formal so we had to dress up and one of my favorite bands, Zac Brown Band, was playing. It was so much fun to stay in downtown Atlanta and to be celebrating the New Year with some of my favorite people. I'd spent much of 2005 single, trying to focus on my career and myself. I had wanted to truly experience being single and dating before I settled down, but I was beginning to get a little lonely. Just before midnight, I'd received a phone call and stepped out onto the balcony to take it. There were lots of people around and I felt sure that my group of friends were just inside the doors. All of a sudden, everyone around me started counting down. I rushed inside and realized that my friends were nowhere to be found. So, as the clock struck midnight, I sat drunk and alone wondering if this was what my year had in store for me.

Ha!

The next weekend, Zac Brown was actually playing in Newnan. One of my friends had asked me if I cared about going to see him, but to be honest, I was partied out. I really wasn't in the mood, but she insisted that I go. So, I went without putting too much interest in what I was wearing or how I looked. I was surprised at how many people were there. The parking lot was full and there were lots of people I knew from high school milling around inside and out. We'd gone inside and gotten a fairly good table where we could see the band playing, but I realized that I had left my cell phone in my car. So, begrudgingly I headed back out into the parking lot to get my phone. When I was coming back inside, there were a group of guys standing by the front door. I recognized them from high school, but didn't know them well enough to speak. One of them, however, stopped me and said, "Hey - how do I know you?" And I said, "you should know me, Jason Dewberry, I'm Sara Perkins. We went to school together." He nodded and sort of laughed a little. I went on inside and couldn't believe that he'd actually talked to me. I thought he was so cute and said to my friend, " you won't believe who just stopped me...." Later that evening, because we had such a good table, his group of friends came and sat with us. I knew some of his friends better than others, so it wasn't strange for them to ask to sit with us. Jason ended up sitting next to me. I remember that he was sitting to my left and another one of his friends was sitting to my right and there was a man sitting behind me that had already offered to buy me a drink or two. But, I just remember being drawn to Jason. He was so handsome and funny and seemed to really be interested in me! After my weekend in Atlanta, this was certainly refreshing. We danced a little (even though he was recovering from a broken ankle) and I remember drowning in his smell. He gave me goosebumps by just brushing his hand against my arm. We talked about people dating and I remember him saying, "everybody needs a girlfriend to keep them in line." I felt like I'd known him forever. Our friends call him "Dewberry" and at one point, I said, "Dewberry...." to him, he quickly stopped me and said, "I'd rather you just call me Jason." Thinking back on this night and our first few months together makes me blush, still. I am so in love with this man and truly believe that God sent him to me. We met 3 years ago on January 6th. So, even though I spent that New Year's sad and depressed and lonely - 2006 turned out to be a really good year. 2007 we finished our house and moved in and 2008 our baby boy was born. I can't WAIT to see what 2009 has in store.....