Mama moments

So my first moment to write about is my panic attack yesterday. I had an "off" day because I was feeling shaky, weak- probably low blood sugar. Well, I had finished eating and James finished too. I looked away and then looked at James and I swear he was purple! and shaking! His finger was in his mouth. I screamed and screamed for Jim but he didn't hear because he was in the garage. I couldn't get James out of the highchair fast enough. I pulled his finger out of this mouth and ran with him to the garage. James was perfectly fine and normal looking when we got to Jim. I think Jim thought I was crazy.

I laid down on the floor, my heart beating too fast, and I just cried. James was fine.

My nice Mommy moment today is just the pride I feel looking at James, not just today in particular. I am especially proud of him now that he is standing on his own and scooting around with his walker. He is a little man!

Please see our new pictures. The pictures of James trying on his snowpants and his new coat make me laugh! I thought of the movie "The Christmas Story" because of the little boy who was bundled up so much that he couldn't put his arms down or move! James reminded me of that little boy. He couldn't do much besides roll over. I don't know how he is supposed to PLAY in that gear! Oh, and please see the video below :) James is standing on his own!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ladies' man

James has the girls fighting over him already. I already told Grandma Laura this story because we saw her walking in the neighborhood. James and I were on the way home from daycare.

Anyway, when I picked up James today, I asked one of the little girls if she would get James' pillow from the other room. Two girls went running and fought over the pillow. One girl won and brought it to me. The other girl had a fit and started screaming, "I wanted James' pillow! James! James! James!" I didn't know what to do! Sandra calmed her down, telling her to use her words, and then asked her if she would like to take James his blankie, that he left in the playroom. She very nicely brought the blankie to James and said "Bye James!"

I guess they love James!

Mama's birthday

James and his Dada were very good to me for my birthday. James even signed my card! Jim gave me the most beautiful locket necklace, with James' picture in it- so its close to my heart :)

We went out for dinner, but it ended up being a short time out because James was not happy. He didn't people watch as he normally will do, and he didn't want to eat any of the food I cut up for him. Oh well. He wasn't misbehaving, but it was unusual for him. We still had a nice meal and margaritas :)

We had good news yesterday that Jim sold his car! We are buying Tia Ana's car, and she will be getting a new one too. My car is being fixed today, while Jim has taken the day off. I hope our car is done in time today to pick up James- since that is our only car seat! Well, once we buy Tia's car and get a second car seat, it should be a lot easier for Jim and I to share the responsibility of picking up and dropping off James. I will be able to attend early morning school meetings again. I have been avoiding them so far this year.

Well, it should be an uneventful day. I hope Jim manages to relax today because he's been up since 3am! He could not sleep. When that happens, I can't sleep either because I am worried about him. Let's just hope that James is well rested later today or we're in trouble!

We are thinking about my family in California. I know that my Dad/Julie, and my grandparents are safe but its really scary to think about all of those poor people who have lost homes or who have had to evacuate! I haven't talked to my Dad yet (I missed his call last night) but I hope to talk to him later today.

First steps!

James took his first steps last night! I thought I was just wishful thinking the first time he did it. But then the second time (witnessed by Dada Jim) we both agreed that they count! I was balancing James so that he was standing on his own, and he would do that for 5-10 seconds each time. And then all of a sudden he would take tiny little steps forward and then fall. Yay! He's almost walking :)

Of course it happened so fast that I wasn't able to capture it on video. I didn't want to miss a second so I didn't tear myself away to get the camera. Next time!

In other news, James slept through the night. I figured out that he does have a molar tooth coming in on the top. Poor baby- I think those are painful. So last night, even though he seemed fine, we did give him a bit of baby Motrin to ease his pain. He also sucked on ice cubes earlier in the evening like a crazy, frantic baby! They must have felt good on his sore gums.

Oh! And James said "goodbye" (more like "gooodbah") to his Dada this morning as we left for daycare. We both heard it and thought he is an amazing, smart baby! Okay, so maybe he doesn't really know what goodbye is, but we still think he's amazing!

Happy Birthday to me. We are going out to dinner and will have much fun celebrating :)

Rough night

We had a very nice afternoon with Tia Ana and Tio Rich. James amused us all!

It seemed like a normal night, until 10pm when James woke up crying. (He did this the night before too, but after a shushing and patting he went to sleep within a minute.) Jim went to check on him this time, picked him up and he stopped crying. But he continued to cry after he was put down. He cried for an hour and a half. I changed his diaper, checked on him every 15 minutes, changed his pajamas (maybe he was uncomfortable?)- but nothing worked. He wasn't cold and didn't feel warm. Jim wanted to give him a bottle, thinking he was hungry, but James hasn't needed a bottle at night in months. Also, I didn't want to start that habit. With "Cry It Out" you don't pick him up, you check on him every 10-15 minutes until he stops crying. Jim couldn't take it so he went downstairs, where he couldn't hear James as well. I had the monitor turned down really low but I watched the monitor light up with every cry. He wasn't screaming or doing the ugly cry, but just a constant sad cry. Believe me, I was worried about James and couldn't sleep until I knew he was okay. Eventually he fell asleep on his own, but it took too long. I felt like a terrible Mama but I think in the long run, it was for the best. I don't think I can go back to waking up in the middle of the night to give him a bottle, etc.

Of course James woke up promptly at 6am! I was exhausted but I got up and dressed him, and took him downstairs for a bottle. Luckily, he cooperated and held his own bottle as I rushed around and got dressed. He was happy as can be this morning. I don't think he remembered last night.

I told Sandra this morning that James had a rough night and he might be a little tired this morning. I think he'll be fine!

Well, wish us luck for tonight! We're going back to our bedtime baths, so maybe that will help. His diaper rash and his back have cleared up.

Fun at the Park

All I wanted to do today was take James to the park. I'm so glad we made it there and the weather cooperated! It was actually great weather- the right temperature and blue skies.

Sandra has told me that at daycare they visit the park often and James likes to climb on the equipment. So I was eager to see what he can do. He did great! The first picture from our park adventure is the greatest- Jim caught James by the foot before he went too far and down the slide! I think James could have climbed all over that toddler playground for hours. He kept going back and forth, up and down. He did so well going down the stairs- it must be a skill gained at daycare because we didn't teach him how to scoot backwards and then down a stair. He hardly needed us!

It was a fun adventure- please see our pictures and the video clip below.

We have another adventure tomorrow when Tia Ana and Tio Rich come over to help me celebrate my birthday a little early! (Oh, and watch the Vikings game too.)

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Our Friday off

James and I had a great visit with Katy and Esme! Esme was the cutest little girl! James wasn't his usual self (bad naps?) so it took a while for him to really notice her. She is about 7 1/2 months old, so getting ready to crawl herself. Katy wanted Esme to watch James and learn from a pro :) She seemed like a really happy baby- and Katy seemed like a happy, proud Mama.

We also made it to El Burrito Market to buy pinata candy for my student party on Tuesday. I think James really liked the bright colors and the people at the market. I showed him the pinatas, the pottery, and the blankets. He was a good Mexican baby :)

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Our Thursday off

James and I had a pleasant day. After his morning nap, we went to the library for new books, to get his haircut, and finally to Target to get a gift for Owen (Esme's brother). James also picked up a little something for himself. He liked a toy so much in the store that I did buy it for him. Of course he's less than enthusiastic now that we have it home! Ha.

Jim surprised us by skipping pool tonight so we had a nice night at home, the three of us. There are some pictures of Jim and James in the photo album. You can see that James likes to bite his Dada. I think that picture is funny because it really was the precise moment that James bit Jim, too bad Jim's face was out of the picture but he yelped quite loudly! You can also see all the slobber marks on Jim's jeans. I don't know why James likes to bite his Dada on the leg. With me, James bites my shoulder. Surprisingly, James does not have a biting problem at daycare!

Well, we have a problem. James' rash has come back on his back. He also has diaper rash. The diaper rash is bad enough that he's crying at diaper changes and as soon as his bottom hits the bath water. We're applying diaper cream, so hopefully it will go away soon. As for his back, I've switched his bath products and we're going to go without baths for a couple of days to let it clear up again.

James has stood twice on his own! He looked as surprised as I was! It was too cute.

Check back tomorrow for pictures of our visit with Esme, Katy, and Owen.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Grandma Laura!

Update 10/18: I just added some pictures from this morning. James and I are enjoying a pajama day on this rainy day :) After his morning nap, we're going to get dressed and run errands and get his hair cut. Enjoy the pictures :)

(A day late.)

James and Jim had a great night, taking out Grandma Laura for her birthday dinner. I, unfortunately, was stuck at work for parent/teacher conferences. I heard that James was very well behaved and very interested in people watching. He usually eats well and I think he did for that dinner. I'm sure Grandma Laura enjoyed the time with James.

I missed being with James yesterday! I only really saw him in the morning, before work. Jim dropped off and picked up James yesterday because I had an early morning meeting and then the conferences after school. It was a long day, made even longer by not seeing Jim or James very much.

I don't have school tomorrow or Friday though! James and I will enjoy some time at home. Tomorrow I plan on taking James for a haircut. On Friday we finally will be meeting Baby Esme, my friend Katy's daughter. They came back from Columbia more than a month ago, but we haven't been able to coordinate schedules. Finally on Friday! I think James will enjoy seeing Esme, she has big brown eyes like him :)

Jim thinks that James is enjoying plenty of female attention at daycare. Most of the other kids are girls, and they LOVE James. One little girl refers to James as "Pete"- no reason why. Sandra corrects her and tells her that James is James, and she's learning, but she kept saying "Pete, Pete, Pete!" when I picked up James. It was cute.

No recent pictures. I don't know why I keep forgetting to take pictures.

I hope that James and I enjoy our days off and the weather cooperates!

The Pumpkin Patch

The morning started off late. We all slept in until 7:30am. I turned the baby monitor down too low at 2am (the first time James woke up) and then didn't hear anything else until 7:30am. I jumped out of bed, thinking that James probably really needed to be up already. When I got to him, he was sleeping peacefully. He must have needed to sleep in too :)

So I went to get my haircut (it turned out just okay) while Jim and James had breakfast and got ready for the day. After that we headed out to the pumpkin farm in Wyoming. I've always passed the farm, thinking it was just a christmas tree farm, but it turned out to be so much more! They had a pretty big petting zoo, a tractor trolley ride to the pumpkin patch, and old-fashioned games for kids- like pumpkin cannonballs, apple cannons (3 shots for $1!), tractor tricycles, hay mazes, etc. We were pretty impressed. Please see our pictures :)

After the farm, we ran an errand and then went to the nearby Toys R Us for fun. James was such a good boy and took his bottle in his stroller. He's been holding his bottle for a while now and he did very well on the move. I reclined the stroller seat down to almost laying down and he happily held the bottle as we shopped. This could make traveling so much easier! I stress about finding a good place to give a bottle when we're at the mall or wherever, so if he takes a bottle like this- I'm thrilled!

It was just a very happy, pretty day.

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11 months!

James has been 11 months old for a couple of days now. Jim and I had our romantic Duluth weekend and so we actually missed the 11 month birthday day. I haven't taken my usual pictures but I hope to this weekend. The weekday nights are just too full and short to take the time I need to get James dressed, clean, and posed. He is a squirmy baby and doesn't sit still long enough for a series of pictures :)

At 11 months James is still busy crawling (fast!) and cruising around the house, holding on to the walls, cabinets, or furniture as he walks around. He also loves his push walking toy but gets really, really frustrated when he walks into the wall and can't steer away. I'll go over and steer him towards empty space and he's happy again.

Also at 11 months: James can hold his own bottle, says "Da Da" a lot, claps his hands, holds his arms up asking to be held, can repeat back some sounds- like Da, Ba, Bee, Muah, etc. I'm not sure if he associates "Da Da" with his Daddy, or Ma Ma with me yet. I'm sure that will come soon!

I took a couple of pictures tonight of a messy spaghetti dinner. He is definitely a big eater when the mood strikes him. Tonight he had whole wheat spaghetti and sauce and then peas. He amazes me by how much he can eat. It was especially funny tonight to see him with spaghetti sauce everywhere! I thought he looked like an Ooompa Looompa with his red/orange face. Haha.

We have great weekend plans! We plan on going to the Mall of America and a pumpkin patch! We're starting to think of James' birthday next month and we must hit every toy store in the state! (Jim, don't be scared.)

Check back often :)

Love,

The Tauer family

We missed James!

We missed James terribly this weekend! Jim and I had our weekend away in Duluth while Grandma Rosie and Tia Ana took care of James. I know they had a great weekend and kept James very entertained and happy. I don't think James really noticed we were gone! All weekend though we missed him, and thought about what he might be doing at those exact moments. We knew he was in good hands but I worried about him being "off" because he's still getting over his cough. He was fine though!

Duluth was rainy and overcast the entire weekend. We drove up the North Shore and did a little sightseeing, stopping at the resort that we stayed at for our first anniversary. We did quite a bit of shopping and picked up some early Christmas presents for James. (It was all about James!) Overall, it was a quiet weekend and we got lots of sleep!

It was so exciting to see James yesterday when we got home. I expected a huge greeting but he was busy with his bottle so I got a big smile only. I think Jim got a bigger greeting because he was a minute behind me. James sat up and squealed for his Dada. He was in a great mood all day up until near bedtime. He didn't eat much for dinner, but then guzzled his bottle at 7pm. I guess he was hungrier then and that settled him down because he was happy again.

Being away from James was probably a good thing. We always are aware of how much we love him but I think I appreciate the time we have with him much more now. He really is a loveable, fun little kid! His smile is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

Sorry! No new pictures. Jim and I didn't even take any pictures on our trip. I will have to take some tonight, especially since I missed his 11 month birthday on Saturday.

Anyone know a good lullabye?!

That Baby James has an internal clock that is so reliable! He has been waking up at 3am on the dot for the last couple of days. Last night was no different. At 3am I heard James "talking" and playing. We didn't make a move to get him so after a while he must have got bored and started to whine. Cry. This went on for about an hour. We felt like cruel parents letting him get back to sleep himself, but we don't want any 3am habits forming. The nights before we did go in to soothe him because he was sick. He doesn't seem sick any longer so we have to let him cry and get back to sleep. It was just so sad. I knew that if I went in his room, and if he saw me, he would cry harder. I was probably awake for an hour, listening to him talk to himself, cry, and crawl around in the crib. We turned down the monitor so we didn't hear everything- but I stayed awake and watched the monitor lights go up and down with the sound of his voice. Here's hoping that tonight is a better night. This Mama needs a good night of sleep!

I'm also worried about this weekend- if Jim and I are away, what will happen? I don't think Grandma Rosie will be able to stand James crying at night. Well, I hope he breaks this habit before then.

Can you see the new football theme? This babysite finally updated itself with new themes, a wider screen (?) and soon they'll have new photo tools.

Sorry there are new pictures. I have some new ones in the camera but I haven't had the time or energy to upload them.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Can you believe that both Jim and I forgot this morning?! My Mom called to wish me a Happy Anniversary and it occurred to me that Jim and I didn't even remember! Well, we had a busy morning so that's our excuse. James is feeling much better but didn't sleep well. He woke up several times again last night, and at 3:30am Jim took over.

James just didn't want to sleep! He cried a lot but I think because we wanted to get him back to bed, and he was wide awake. I heard the crying and Jim tending to him, so finally at 5:30 am I gave up on sleeping. James was wide awake and playing with his Dada. Dada looked wiped out and was laying on the ground, with James climbing on him and playing around him. We made the decision at 6:30 to take James to daycare. He doesn't have a temperature anymore and seemed so normal. Slight cough and runny nose, but mellow and happy.

James fell asleep in the car, on the way to daycare. Sandra gladly accepted him and James seemed to perk up at the sight of the other kids playing.

School in lockdown!!!

I had to leave for a bit because my school had a practice lockdown. I had to lock my office door, turn out the lights and the computer, and sit on the floor. And then there was a medical situation where a student was taken away in an ambulance. I don't know if it was related to the drill.

Anyway, James is at daycare and I'm sure he's fine- but for being really tired. I hope he gets a good nap. Yesterday he did not want to nap! I laid him down twice for naps and got maybe 10-15 minutes at each nap, and then at 3pm he did finally sleep. I woke him up at 4:15 so he wouldn't sleep the night away.

Poor little Baby James. And poor Parents! We're just glad that James is feeling better. We hope to celebrate our anniversary with a nice dinner tonight. We'll see! I'm sooooooo tired right now- I hope I feel up to cooking and can stay awake for it! I'm sure Jim isn't feeling so hot either!

Sick and tired

James is sick and tired, probably of me! I'm the mean mommy trying to give him foods (refusing), trying to get him to nap (twice, each only 10-15 minutes long), and then wiping his nose with soft kleenex. James is not digging me today!

Well, even though he's not napping or eating foods- bottles are fine and his mood is improved. His temp is also almost normal at 100.9 (100.4 is normal, ummm, rectally).

I'm pretty tired but not sick myself. James woke up every 1-2 hours last night, with his cough. He's still coughing but its not as bad. He's much improved but he's still not a happy baby. He cheered up when I put his Baby Einstein DVD on. Well, that lasted for about an hour.

Back to James. He is starting to cry :(