Ben and Joanna's "Happenings"

The Wiggle Worm

2008-04-14T14:10:00.003-06:00

He can now take his baths in the "big boy" tub, and REALLY enjoys it. He loves to watch me pour water with a cup and tries to "catch" the water falling in his hands.

He's a pretty good eater, though lately he's gotten a bit fussier about what goes in his mouth. Sweet potato fries are the new favorite thing, but carrots are still a no go.

When he was first crawling it was all in reverse, so he would occasionally get stuck and get pretty upset about it too!

But then he finally got the forward gears working!

And then all of a sudden it was "let's stand up all the time!", and anything he could climb up against was fair game!

He's now 8 months and two weeks (but who's counting?). He's also turning into quite the wiggle worm. It seemed like he was going to get stuck in reverse for the longest time but then all of a sudden he figured out the whole going forward thing and it was over from there. He was crawling really well and then before I knew it he was pulling himself up on his little car, the sofa, anything he could reach and grab hold of. Oh, and the other big development (drum roll please........) he's finally sleeping at night!!! He's actually had one or two nights where he went 12 hours straight! Lately it's been more like: down at 7, up at 4:45 for a quick bite and diaper change, back down til 7-7:30. I must say I feel like a whole new person with all this extra sleep I've been getting! I don't know how I ever managed (barely is how!). Now hopefully our travels in May won't throw everything for a loop. We're going to see my parents in Puerto Rico and then head out to Orlando with them for a week of fun in the sun (and a cousin's wedding). It should be......interesting. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed for good nights of sleep!

SIX months

2008-02-07T10:07:00.000-06:00

Sean turned 6 months on the 30th of January. It hardly seems possible! We go in to the Doc's tomorrow, so I don't yet know how much he's gained or how tall he is yet. My guess is he isn't that much bigger (at least he doesn't feel much bigger in my arms!). He's probably in the 50th percentile still (I can hope), and still fits into most of his 6 month clothing, though we're starting to break out the 9 month stuff too. I had so many people tell me he would grow out of his clothes so fast and many got me winter clothing in 12 month size. Well, I don't know if we're quite going to get there, maybe for the next baby (whenever that may be!).

He's finally rolling over on his own, though he usually does only when he sees something he really wants (a bit lazy I guess). And we've now started on some rice cereal mixed in with mom's milk to practice eating from a spoon, and tried some banana and sweet potato. I can say without question that I've got a baby with a good appetite. He gets mad at me when he finishes up the cereal and so we usually top it off with a little drink of water from a cup, which he thinks is just the greatest.

I've had to give him another hair cut (his fourth), though I don't have pictures of him yet, he's starting to look like such a big boy now, it kind of makes me sad. But he's so much fun, and he's starting to play more and interact more, so it's almost a new experience every day!Can you believe we had 70+ degree weather in February? Well, it is Oklahoma. We got to go outside and enjoy the nice warmth. And he got to wear his cute sailor suit his grandma got him.
So now that he's six months we're going to get to join a mommy-baby swim class at the Y. Should be fun (I hope), and maybe it'll get him tired enough he'll want to sleep through the night (yes, that's right, still not making it all the way through)!

Whew, we're back!

2008-01-07T16:54:00.000-06:00

We went to Oregon for Christmas to visit with my side of the family (both my mom's and dad's). We got to stay with my sister and her husband, and my brother, and my parents (it was a full house, but lots of fun, especially in the mornings when Sean would wake up....I had someone I could "dump" him on and get some extra zzzz's, yey!). It was the first time since Sean was 2 weeks old that my brother and parents have gotten to see him. Of course they were excited to spend Christmas with him, and mom especially tried to take in as much of him as she could! We also did alot of visiting with uncles, aunts, cousins, and great-grandparents (Sean's that is). After we got back we turned right around and headed out to see Ben's family for the New Year's (Ben and his dad went to AZ to watch OSU play in their bowl game). Our car died as we were rolling into town, so we ended up having to bring back one of Ben's parents' cars (hopefully it'll be fixed by this weekend, so Ben's mom can bring it out to us). But we are finally back home after what feels like forever, and now it's time to try to get back into some kind of schedule. Sean had a few rough nights while away, and it seems as though he's still recuperating from all the travelling...which of course means a lot less sleep for me (sigh)! Well, here are some snapshots of the last few weeks.... enjoy!

Whew! We're back! cont....

2008-01-07T16:05:00.000-06:00

Opening up presents...
with dad, enjoying gumming on a cucumber (he's going to be a great eater!)... with grandma, drinking from her glass... grandma loved giving Sean his bath..

he's been sitting up so well!
In front of Aunt Danya and Uncle Paul's Christmas tree...
Wearing his hat from St. Croix that he got from Grandpa and Grandma...

With his great-grandpa Stone (my dad's dad)... With great-abuela Pita (my mom's mom)...
With grandpa and his second cousins (from both sides' of my family!)..

Happy Four Months!

2007-11-30T13:11:00.000-06:00

Today is the big 4... months that is. We went to the pediatrician and found out he exactly in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. Not too surprising considering neither Ben nor myself are that gigantic. I just hope Sean gets to be, at the very least, his dad's height. So this week we've been dealing with Sean throwing up (that would be in addition to the regular spitting up he does all the time). We're having to up his antacid medication so that he won't be in pain from all the spitting up he does. But it doesn't seem to bother his sparkling personalitly! He smiles and coos, and laughs on occasion, I'm finding that he's my most favorite person in the world (it could also have something to do with the fact that I spend most all of my waking hours, and then some, with him!). So here are some of the more recent pics, enjoy! He loves his rings! What a ham....
And here we are freezing our buns off in the snow! Poor baby....

3 months old!

2007-10-30T09:39:00.000-06:00

Today Sean is 3 months old. Sometimes it seems like it's been much longer, and then I remember that only a year ago I was blissfully unaware that my life would change so much. His dad gave him his first haircut on Sunday (trimmed around the ears and the back), that was quite the harrowing experience (those scissors are sharp, and it's not like Sean can keep his head still!). It's definitely not a professional job, but he looks less like a girl now : ) We're still trying to figure out what eye color he's going to have. We're thinking maybe hazel, since somedays they look almost brown, and others they look almost blue. They even look almost green on other days (who knows?). He's certainly "talking" and smiling quite a bit more (which is fun). We'll even call up grandma and talk to her on the phone (which she gets a big kick out of). He's also gotten to where he doesn't like to be held lying down, he wants to sit up so he can look around. Luckily he's got pretty good head control, so I don't have to constantly be holding him up. And now he's even laughing from time to time, yey (that one was a surprise when it first happened, and now it's like a game to try and see if we can get him to laugh, sometimes he'll even oblige us!). So now it's going to be interesting to see what the next three months bring ... crawling? solid foods? sleeping through the night? (that's the one I'm really hoping for!!!) Here's Sean and daddy on homecoming day (the biggest homecoming celebration in the nation is here in Stillwater for the OSU Cowboys...Go Pokes!). The family all dolled up for church. Sean really enjoys going since he likes looking at the stained-glass windows and all the people "ooh" and "aah" over him. There's one elderly lady in particular who's just in love with him and wants to hold him all the time. He doesn't seem to mind, though he usually comes away smelling a bit of perfume!

How time flies...

2007-10-17T09:13:00.000-06:00

Whew! 11 weeks old and still growing... We're going in for his shots tomorrow, yey. So he's hit a few more milestones: Sleeping in his own room now in his "big boy" crib; staying home with grandma and grandpa while mommy and daddy went out for dinner (I wanted to put my head down and sleep on my plate I felt so tired--but it was at a Mexican restaurant and you know how hot those plates get, so I thought better of it!); taking longer naps during the day (hooray!); and flirting with the pediatrician (so she said). Speaking of which, he is now 24" and 13.9lbs! Big boy. Oh, and apparently enjoys watching tv with daddy (great).

6 hours straight!

2007-09-19T09:45:00.000-06:00

Yes, you read that right, 6 hours. On Sunday night, an event of monumental proportions occured......Sean slept for 6 hours straight....without waking up....not even once! I was truly ecstatic, even at 5 in the morning when he eventually woke up. It happened like this: He got his bath (which he still enjoys tremendously), we cuddled a little, he got his last meal for the evening, we sang our song and then said our prayers, he got his kiss and then into bed he went where he shortly fell asleep....and slept....and slept some more.....and then SLEPT some more!!! I don't know when the last time was that I got SIX hours of sleep at one stretch (when I was pregnant I was having to get up every few hours to use the restroom, so it's been a LONG time). For those of you without children, you probably don't quite get the excitement. That's fine....it'll happen soon enough I'm sure. So anyway, the excitement was short lived however (isn't it always?), as Sean developed his first head cold....hurray....from one milestone to the next. So now I'm dealing with those stupid rubber sucking devices that are supposed to get the mucus out of his nose, ha, fat chance. How the heck are you supposed to get it in the nostril in the first place, and then once you manage that feat, where exactly do you aim it to get the most snot? I have yet to master the SRSD (stupid rubber...etc). Luckily, thankfully, graciously, it seems to be a minor head cold, so the worst is that his poor little nose is stuffed up and so he has a bit of a hard time eating, and lying down, poor guy. Any suggestions on getting rid of the congestion would be appreciated. Well, that should do it for now. Enjoy your week! ~Joanna

2007-09-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Well, Sean will be 6 weeks old tomorrow! I can hardly believe it! He went in for his one month check up on the 30th and the doctor said he looked great. Of course, he weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 2oz! That's at the 90 percentile (my little porker!)! She asked what I was feeding him (facetiously of course). I like to say it's the "breakfast of champions", although she insists I'm making half and half! He is having to take medicine for "GERDs", which is basically just a problem spitting up alot, which causes irriation to the esophagus, but it's obviously not been a problem for his weight gain! He's also smiling a lot and started to do a cute little cooing sound. He also likes to stand (yes, while being supported) alot, and can hold his head up pretty well. He does the "bobblehead" thing after a bit when he gets tired which is kind of funny. Now I'm looking forward to when he can hold on to toys and do more to entertain himself, although I don't want him growing too fast! It's just amazing how much babies grow!

Yes, I know.....look at all that hair!

He really does enjoy his bathtime, which he takes at night. It seems to help having a nighttime routine. He really has been good at sleeping, and doesn't get up too often at night, although I'm still waiting (and hoping) to get 6 hours straight!

Baby Update

2007-08-25T17:27:00.000-06:00

Well, so far so good! I'm feeling much better now, although not getting as much sleep as I would like (does any new mom?), and Sean is certainly growing! He'll be 4 weeks old on Monday! When we took him for his 2 week check up he had gained a whole pound from the previous week! We go again next week and I'm interested to see how much more he has gained! And some exciting news, he smiled his first real smile two days ago! Okay, maybe that's not as exciting for some of you (except for maybe the grandmas!), but it was certainly a big hoopla around the house. You know, when taking care of the baby seems to be all about poopy diapers, feeding, spit-ups, it's quite the occasion when you get a little response back from him! Ben has gone back to school, this last week was his first. So now Sean and I spend most of our days here by ourselves, and Ben tells us he misses us (although I can imagine that's theres a "little" part of him that enjoys getting away, just a little though!), and I'm getting to where most days I'm out of my "pjs" by 10 (am that is!). Little by little it feels like things are normalizing...for now!

Pictures of Sean (and one picture of the dogs)

2007-08-06T20:46:00.001-06:00

Sean Foster

2007-08-01T13:43:00.000-06:00

Sean joined the world at 8:25pm this past Monday, July 30. At birth he was 7 lbs 12.7 oz and 21 in long. He has been very active, just as he was in his mommy's tummy. Currently, his favorite thing to do is to suck, which leaves his mommy sore! He also likes to move his arms and legs around. Mommy and Daddy are entertained by all the goofy faces he makes.

No baby yet.....boo

2007-07-28T21:10:00.001-06:00

That's pretty much it...... sincerely, Joanna

Another "baby" update

2007-07-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

Well, the doctor's appointment went well on Wednesday. I'm between 2-3 cm dilated, and definitely 50% effaced and the baby was at -1 station (so he's "dropped"). The doctor basically said "all we're waiting for now is for you to start having some contractions"--which of course means that it'll be another two weeks........ *sigh*. Let's just say I'm ready to get this thing started. I'm definitely feeling the baby sitting low, lots of pelvic pressure, having to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes, etc. But no "real" contractions. Hardly even the "fake" ones. Stinkpot (as I have come to lovingly refer to the mass of baby inside) is running out of room, but he doesn't seem too interested in finding more space. Again....... *sigh*. Of course, technically the due date isn't til next Wednesday (the 25th), but it feels like I'm carrying around a ton of bricks already, and the idea of having to carry around all this weight for several more weeks is depressing (putting it mildly). Anyway, my Mom got in yesterday and is actually headed to Texas for a couple of days before coming back. She's hoping there'll be a baby for her to meet when she gets back! Yeah, me too!

Doctor's update

2007-07-12T13:41:00.000-06:00

For anyone keeping up..... I went into the Doctor's yesterday for the 38 week check-up, hoping to hear some good news. I've been feeling so much heavier and really exhausted lately, and so I keep thinking.. "there's no way I can do this for four more weeks!" So Ben and I went in with fingers crossed, hoping the doc would be able to notice a little something going on. And there's definitely a little something going on! He said I was about 2cm dilated and between 25-50% effaced! Yey, that means SOMETHING is happening. Of course, he did add that I could stay like this for several weeks (that was a bit discouraging), but then he said I really could "go" any day now! Let's hope for that one! We're pretty much all set to go, and Ben't getting a bit of cabin fever not having much to do around here! So c'mon baby, let's get this show on the road!

Recent trip, cont..

2007-07-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm still figuring out how to put more pictures on the same post, so here are some more pictures from the trip. Did I forget to mention that Ben, Allan, and Dad got to go waterskiing? Yeah, I wasn't even allowed on the boat! I guess nobody wanted any chances of having a baby born too early!

Recent trip

2007-07-02T13:44:00.000-06:00

So we took a trip at the beginning of June (much to the dismay of many older ladies at the church I might add!) out to Charleston, SC. The doctor had given me the go ahead the day before we took off, so it seemed as if all would go off without a hitch! And it did for the most part. Of course it took a little longer, considering all the stopping we had to do. Let's just say that having a baby boy's head sitting squarely on your bladder doesn't exactly make travelling any easier! But we managed to survive. We got to visit the beach, visit two plantations (Boone Hall with a friend of ours from SC, and Magnolia Plantation with Mom, Dad, Allan, and his girlfriend Jessica), stay in downtown Charleston for a night (pretending to live the "high life"!), and even attend a free orchestra concert (They were having the popular "Spoleto Arts Festival" while we were there, so that was rather neat). But most of all we got to enjoy spending time with my family, since Mom and Dad flew out (they were anxious to "see" their grandson, even though he's still safely tucked away), and of course Allan was there. We were sad Danya and Paul couldn't make it, but all in all we had a nice time together. Anyway, now we're back at home. Ben's working on some more housing projects (kitchen floor is done, whoo hoo!). I'm waddling around trying to find things to keep me busy, and taking more and more naps (which I'm finding I'm enjoying!), and continuing to be amazed at how big a pregnant belly can actually get! But mostly we're just getting excited and thinking ahead to when we finally get to hold our little guy. It's getting close...........!

Update

2007-06-29T21:27:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since last writing. Let's just say things have been busy. Ben graduated with his master's in math on May 4th. His family was able to come out and celebrate.

We also got to enjoy some time with the "kids" on Mother's Day.

Then I also turned 29 this year.

Then of course there's been all the baby stuff going on. Luckily it's been slowing down a bit lately. Now I just have to come up with stuff to do until the kid gets here!

Nieces and Nephews

2007-04-26T21:01:00.000-06:00

We had a visit from Ben's sister, husband and their kids a few weekends back. It was really cold that Saturday, but we still managed to have a good time. The kids seemed to be enjoying my expanding belly, and even the 20-month old had to get in on the fun!

Hi All

2007-04-26T20:26:00.000-06:00

Welcome to what is my poor, small attempt at sharing a little piece of what goes on in our lives. I'll be honest and say that I'm probably not going to get around to writing much on here, but I thought this would be an easy way to share pictures, and the occasional good story for those of you interested.

(My tulips actually came up! Spring finally came)

Of course, there are still three months to go until "baby" gets here, so there's not really that much to talk about (am I that focused already???). Actually, the most exciting thing that has happened (other than "baby boy" finding new places on mommy to kick) is Ben being accepted into the Phd program here at Oklahoma State. Yup, that means we're here for at least 4 more years, so feel free to look us up whenever you happen to be "driving through".

Here's the "granddaughter" to my Grandfather's spider plant. He had given an offshoot to my mother before he died, and then that one had "babies", and now mine is having "babies" of its own (ah, the circle of life). Mom, what do you think?

And here's our Easter picture. I've actually gotten bigger since then. It's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" kind of things, it's a little crazy. We'll have to take more pictures before I get too much bigger, though it seems to happen almost overnight!