Weekend at Nonni's

OK, so it wasn't the weekend. Semantics.

I wrote that line when I started this blog on 9/16. Today is 9/29. Luke started teething and stopped sleeping and started crying and stopped smiling for a while. I think the worst is over, but we'll see what comes next! So I didn't have the time/energy/proper attitude to write anything. Sorry for the delay. Grandma Jeannie and Papa Jim are coming on Wednesday, so there should be more updates the next couple of weeks.

Now, back to the quickest trip to Sacramento I have ever taken. Luke and I flew (yup, we sure did!) there on Monday morning and flew back home on Tuesday night. It was just a test run to try out the whole "flying with infant" thing and test how we would both do without daddy for a night. The flight there was fantastic. Luke is usually really happy in the morning, so I thought it would be a good time for us to head out. He sucked on a bottle during takeoff and landing and didn't have any ear issues the whole time. He slept a little and we played a lot of peek-a-boo. He was the toast of the plane.

He decided not to nap all day; I chalked it up to excitement over seeing Nonni (I mean, who wouldn't be excited!). We spent the evening with the Sheehan family and were very excited to see my step-sister Ashlynn and meet her boyfriend, Nick. Pictures to follow. However, that night proved to be a difficult one. Luke slept (so I slept) in 20 minute increments. Then 2 hour increments after 2 am. Teething had begun. The next day was filled with a couple of grumpy Johnsons and a scream-filled flight back to Sacramento. I was so stressed when I got off the plane that I almost cried when I saw Matt. This did not make me super confidant about our October trip to Sacramento. But I will be armed with teething gel and tablets and baby Tylenol and mesh bags for ice cubes.

All will be well, I'm sure. I'm all about the power of positive thinking these days. Here are some pics.

Luke and Uncle Mattie playing with an App that makes farm animal noises. Luke wanted to eat the phone.


Kenzie wanted to read to Luke, but he kept touching the book.


So she read it to him from very far away.

But they love each other!

Two little sweet faces.

Rice, Rice Baby or One Step Closer to Cheese Fries

We couldn't decide on a title. Thank you husband for both little gems.

Luke is about to be 21 weeks. Is that crazy to anyone else? I know everyone said that time would fly after Luke joined our family in person, and I try to enjoy each day for the new and mostly fun things that come, but wow. He is one week away from the 5 month mark. ("Wait," you say. "I thought he was 21 weeks? Isn't that over 5 months?" No. Those of us who think of 4 week months are wrong. You don't have any reason to really notice that until you start counting how pregnant you are or how old your baby is.)

Luke had an appointment with his pediatrician Dr. V at the end of August and he said it was time to introduce rice cereal. I had planned on waiting a little longer because of a bunch of articles I read about infants and food and blah blah blah, but when the Dr. gives you the go ahead for something fun like this, it's hard to say no. So we waited until the following weekend and gave it a try. It was kind of a letdown. He didn't make that big of a mess and really he just kept spitting it out and looking at me like I was crazy for putting this stuff in his mouth. But the next day was a little better and the third day was great. He started opening his mouth for the spoon and actually got a little bit down. But there was a lot of spit up. A LOT. Like, enough for me to call the Dr. thinking he might be having a bad reaction to it. And I hadn't called the Dr. for any reason up to that point, so you know I was concerned. He assured me that all was fine and to just keep trying. I wasn't feeling it, but gave it a try anyway. For the next three days Luke cried when I tried to feed him. He fussed and tried to escape and wanted nothing to do with the food. The last thing I wanted was for eating to be a stressful situation, and that's exactly what I was creating.

I decided to trust my instincts that were telling me that Luke wasn't ready for solids yet, so we went back to the bottle for a week. Then yesterday Luke was watching Matt eat a bowl of cereal and he opened his mouth when Matt would take a bite. If that's not my child telling me he is ready for real food, I don't know what is! So we gave it a second try this morning and it was fantastic! He opened his mouth when he saw the spoon and ate the whole bowl of cereal! And he was excited about it, which was the best part. Here are some of the favorite pictures from this morning.

Biased, shimiased. Man, that's a cute kid.

A Beautiful Memory

This is kind of amazing! It is a picture of the newspaper that ran my mom and dad's wedding announcement on February 6, 1969. If you click on the picture you can see a close-up. What a beautiful bride and handsome groom. My brother looks so much like my dad, it reminds me of Matt and Luke! While the marriage may not have lasted a lifetime, it did bring my brother and I into this world, and eventually Luke and Mackenzie. What a wonderful result! Thank you mom and dad for finding one another!

Just Sittin' Here, Being a Bad Mommy

This morning Luke happily swung in his swing as I sat down with a cup of coffee to watch a little "Good Morning America". Soon enough though, he turned himself sideways to try and see the TV. I made sure he wasn't going to tip over and thought for sure he was going to fall asleep any second, so I wasn't really concerned about the TV watching. However after 5 minutes of craning and awakeness I thought I'd better put on something a little kid friendly. Goodbye GMA, hello Harold and the Purple Crayon.

This caused him to not only twist in his seat to see the TV, but now he started to cry because he didn't have a good view. We've been up since 5:15am and have already eaten and walked and played on the floor and practiced crawling...and momma's tired. So in the hope of having 22 minutes of peace and quiet I just turned the swing to face the TV.

I am wracked with guilt, however, I just might finish a hot beverage today.