Half a year old

Wow...so my little boy will turn six months old tomorrow. Six months of the best part of my life so far. It's so weird to think that it's only been six months- but then again it feels like yesterday that he was born. It seems that I fall more in love with him each and every day. I keep waiting for it to get routine- but it doesn't. My first thought in the morning is still, "Yay! Anson!" 

I know that many moms get sad with every size bigger they buy their little one, and that part is sad- to think how quickly they grow up- but he just keeps getting more fun with every stage. 

He's so animated and engaging now. He's also an attention hog. Literally, he will look all around a room and start smiling and cooing complete strangers. We cannot go anywhere without people stopping and talking to him. I didn't realize how much he thrived on this attention until we were at the doctor's office yesterday. Dr. Cooper was examining him and Anson simply couldn't stand the fact that Dr. Cooper wasn't smiling and talking to him. He intently stared at him and started cooing, smiling, and doing all his tricks. Dr. C wasn't deterred from his mission of listening to his lungs. Anson simply did not understand. What was wrong with this man? Finally, after the examination, Dr. C smiled at Anson and he was pacified...but it was kind of scary how intent he was on getting that attention. Do I have a future Broadway star? 

He now has two big teeth on the bottom row. Teething has been surprisingly easy so far. He gets a tiny bit fussy, but hardly anything anyone would even notice. He still sleeps well during the whole process and just wants something to chew. He's very strong and can stand up if he's holding onto something. He can sit up unsupported, but tends to fall over quickly because he lunges for some toy. He gets bored easily and has to be entertained all the time--a trait certainly inherited from Ben. I can already tell he's super intelligent--he notices EVERYTHING and is so curious. I anticipate he'll be a Rhodes Scholar. Weight is currently 20 lbs. 3 oz. and we need a new car seat. He's comfortably wearing 12 mo. clothing and rapidly outgrowing everything. His favorite foods are bananas and carrots. Here are some pics from our trip to Orlando- Anson got some new clothes!

We also had a great time during Halloween! We went over to the Zak's house and went trick-or-treating. We also took Anson and Leighton to the pumpkin patch. Here are some of those pics

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Sick baby, sick mommy

So Anson had been working on a cold for about two weeks and it finally arrived in full force this week. He's had horrible congestion that's making him have a 90 year old man smoker cough. I swear, that's exactly what it sounds like- poor guy. He started throwing up last Sunday as we were walking into church, right on his beautiful Feltman outfit. Apparently Ben already has him trained. The puking has continued throughout the week. I never thought I could be so blasé about getting covered in puke...but I digress. We took him to the doctor who said "Yep. Congestion. Use saline and the aspirator. He's fine." This was not my normal doctor, btw. Ben took him, which was nice, but that also meant he couldn't answer my litany of medical questions. By Wednesday, 90 yr. old smoker was sounding like he was on the road to emphysema, so we went back. Different doctor and she prescribed amoxicillin and an inhaler but basically told me the snot has got to work itself out. So here we are on Saturday with no improvement and I'm about at the end of my rope. We've done the cool mist humidifier, we've done the warm vaporizer-nothing makes a difference. So, brilliant and experienced mothers out there- what is going to help my angel? We will try anything at this point. It absolutely breaks my heart when he gets in the coughing fits. He gives me this look that clearly states "Mom, please fix it!" Oh it kills me.

So Murphy has been following me around like my poor, neglected Pip and decided that one sicky wasn't enough. By Thursday night I was up puking. Hard headed me thinks I can push through and go to school, but that didn't last long. Thankfully, Murphy gave me a break and I seem to have made a recovery, but I'd gladly take puking if it meant Anson would get well. Please say prayers for a speedy recovery for him. Update: I'm finishing this post on Sunday now and he's doing better today. Much less coughing and a lot of gunk is coming out of his nose, so I'm praying we're on the mend!

I knew sickness was a big part of having a baby, but I never imagined how hard it would make every aspect of life. Welcome to working motherhood, right?

But in other news, even with being sick little man is doing new and exciting things! This week he's really discovered that those things attached to his shoulders are his arms and those peculiar protrusions are fingers! He's absolutely fascinated with his hands and uses one to investigate the other. He's grabbing everything in sight and putting it to his mouth. He loves playing with his little blankey animals. See below :-)

Now when I hold him over my shoulder he puts his hand in my hair and rubs my neck. It might be the best feeling in the whole world. Yep, it definitely is! He's rolling over even more fluidly and has decided he prefers to sleep on his stomach. That's fine except for the fact that he's somehow forgotten how to suck his thumb and is waking up looking for something to pacify him. His preference seems to be mom's chest...all night long. So much for thinking we've got this sleeping thing down! But I'm determined to be positive and banish Murphy back to hell. This week has got to be better, right? 

P.S. Thank you so much to my wonderful family for helping this week. We are truly, truly blessed to be surrounded with so much love and help. We love you guys. 

P.S.S. He weighs 16 pounds. What a chub-o!

Baby mobile

So the whole time I was pregnant I was adamant that I could defy the odds and make my beloved two door Acura the new trend in soccer mom rides. That delusion finally came to a grinding halt after a month of taking Anson to daycare. I knew what would happen the moment I admitted defeat to Ben and, sure enough, within the hour I had six new emails in my inbox with links to Jeeps on Autotrader.  I'll save all the gory details and just state that I (Oh, excuse me; "We," as Ben keeps reminding me) are the proud new owners of a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 

I must admit, the navigation system and ten disc CD changer are big bonuses, not to mention the seemingly infinite amount of space (which I'm sure will not be enough quite soon), but big fat tears were shed as I drove it down the road. This meant goodbye to my beloved...the sleek beauty that responded effortlessly to my every touch or thought...hugged turns, flew by unsuspecting tourists, and positively beamed when I used her tiptronic shifting to pass someone in the dust. I shed another tear as I drove the new Jeep down Lawrence road and remembered taking the Acura for the same cruise and marveling at the raw power that was now mine, all mine. Sure, the Jeep has all the power of a V-8 engine, but if I took turns the same way as I do in the Acura, the Jeep's tires would have a nice view of the sky. 

Ben's face fell as he saw my tears fall. "What? You don't like it? Look, it's got a place where we can hook up a DVD player and I'll get the plug so your ipod can work with the radio. What's wrong? You got a new car!" But once I expressed that giving up the Acura for me was like him giving up the Scrambler, he was quick to sympathize. I know it's selfish, but the Acura was the last vestige of my pre-baby days. I've gladly traded my cute purses for a bulky diaper bag and accepted my new size in pants. I feel no shame in the extraordinary amount of pleasure I feel at the sight of Bailey Boys, Carter's outlet, Baby Gap, the baby aisle at Target. Ann Taylor who? Babies R Us sale?! We're there. But my beloved car--that one just isn't easy. 

So goodbye my friend, my first car that was completely of my choosing. Take your lustrous curves and raw muscle to some other lucky driver, but don't forget our good times together. I'll miss you. 

Almost four months old

So Anson turns 4 months old on the 15th! We can't wait to see how much he weighs now...he certainly feels extremely heavy! He talks so much--his favorites are "a-goo" and "wuv you!" He can push up onto his elbows and holds his head up really well when he's on his stomach. Last weekend he got his legs up underneath his hips and started propelling himself forward. He really wishes he could crawl, but thankfully he's still got awhile! He's starting to reach and grab, especially in his play gym. However, his obsession continues to be his thumb....any moment that it's not in his mouth is a wasted moment in his opinion. He smiles and goos at everyone- especially Ben. He's already associated Ben with playtime. He's doing great sleeping. He hasn't woken up (during the night) in four weeks. He also likes to sleep in--I have to hold back from waking him up on Saturday morning when I'm ready to play! All his teachers at daycare report that he's such an easy baby and only cries when he's hungry. He really seems to like daycare and is always happy when I drop him off and pick him up. We're really lucky to have such a great place to take him. The following are pictures that I took last weekend:

Beginnings

So the cliche about how quickly it all goes by is certainly true in the Galland household. I've taken roughly two million pictures and videos of Anson, but I rarely find time to sit down and write in the beautiful leather-bound journal I bought. Oh yes, I had high hopes of sitting in the nursery journaling his every move...well it's not hard to imagine how that went. So as I find myself checking several of my friends blogs about their pregnancies and wishing I created one for mine, I have the brilliant idea of creating a blog about all the things Anson is doing. So here it goes....my valiant effort at chronicling every move he makes! Enjoy!