I hear the sounds of "Taps" being played. Our cloth diaper journey has officially come to an end. Not only our usage of cloth diapers, but the presence of cloth diapers in our home. Thanks to an awesome website, I was able to sell all of M.D.'s cloth diapers (and supplies) to the highest bidder.
This is very exciting for me. When I embarked on the cloth diaper journey I was fully aware that it might not work out. My fear was making an investment that I would not get any reimursement for. I did try to be smart about my spending. I only bought items on sale, and only bought the basics to start out the journey. The only "extra" item I purchased was an additional blue cloth diaper that I put in M.D.'s Easter basket. Lucky guy :)

My sister in law, Meghan, informed me of a great website for cloth diaper items. She actually told me about a few, but one stuck out when I realized our cloth diaper tour was wrapping up.
ClothDiaperTrader.Com. I HIGHLY recommend this website to anybody who is using cloth diapers, wants to use cloth diapers, or doesn't want to use cloth diapers anymore. She originally suggested the idea when we were in the full-swing of cloth diapering as a means to purchase additional items at a reduced cost. It works sort of like an eBay, minus bidding. You post items that you would like to sell, give pricing info, condition of the items, etc. and then wait to see if you hear back. I posted a lot of M.D.'s cloth diapers about 1 month ago.

I got a few emails at first, but nothing came through. I dropped the price of the lot by $25 and have gotten many responses just in the past few days. Included in my posting were 7 gDiaper shells (and liners), 22 gDiaper inserts, 2 wet bags, and 6 Bummies cloth inserts (they work pretty well for the gDiaper brand). I just received payment via Paypal yesterday from a woman in California and will be shipping her items out to her on Monday.
The best part of this transaction, I was able to get a FULL return on investment. My total cost for the items I sold (out of pocket) was around $150. I sold her the lot for $125. Figuring in that we used the cloth diapers for around 3 months (and thus, did not purchase disposable diapers), I not only made back my full $150 but made some additional return (diapers usually cost us around $40 per month (we buy from Costco). BAZINGA!! :)

In other news, M.D.'s top two front teeth popped through overnight last night. I could tell one was about ready to come through before I put him to bed, but had no idea the other would be joining us! Imagine my surprise when I woke up to find him smiling at me with TWO top teeth broken through. This explains SO much about this past week I can't even tell you. Between the sleeping problems, biting, and general crabbiness, I now understand what was going on. I'm also excited because the more teeth you can squeeze into one teething session the better! His bottom two came in within 3 days of each other so now we've gotten 4 teeth out with only 2 weeks (total) of awful teething time.

TGIF! I'm so excited that it's Friday, not only because it is the weekend (which is always exciting) but also because next week I only work 2 days (HURRAY!!) I have Wed-Friday off next week for my birthday & the 4th of July so this is more like a 7 day weekend with 2 work days stuffed in the middle.
This weekend M.D. and I are (hopefully) going to a party at my Aunt's house in Sandstone, MN with Grandpa John E. and Uncle Mark. I say "hopefully" because I refused to make definitive plans this past week with M.D.'s rollercoaster personality :) It's looking more hopeful now that we've discovered the cause, and that cause has been resolved!

I hope all of you have a wonderful

Things have changed in the D household, obviously, since having M.D. It's messier, we run on less sleep, it's filled with board books, toys that make LOTS of noise, spit up, drool, boogers, etc. There's also lots of baby babble, exploration, and snuggles. There's also something else that changed. Something I would have NEVER predicted. I hate our dogs.

I've always been a BIG pet lover. I wanted a dog from the day I was born, Mom always said "no". Then, we finally got one when I was in middle school. Ginger. She was a great dog, until she wasn't. She started acting out. Digging through the garbage, eating my clothes, she got separation anxiety when we'd leave her and she would act like a lunatic. We ended up having to give her away to someone we knew who stayed at home during the day. I wasn't sad. Isn't that sad?

When I graduated college my dad gave me money for a graduation gift. He said, "Use this to buy yourself some nice clothes for the working world." I bought a dog. Lily. A miniature schnauzer mix. She was a nightmare, BUT I trained her myself and she turned out to be a great dog (after some time). She knew commands, was potty trained, she didn't chew my heels anymore, life was good.

Then, when Steven and I were engaged, we decided to get another dog. He had always wanted a pomeranian, that was sable coloring, to remind him of his childhood orange pom (Morris). We found a champion breeder who had a 5 month old puppy she was intending to show, but decided to show another dog from the litter instead. We bought Mila. She was, and remains to be, a terrorist. Her bad behaviors actually caused Lily to revert back to some of her previous bad behaviors, namely-potty training.

Before M.D. we could handle the naughty dogs, actually, I should say "I" could handle the naughty dogs. I had the time to work with them to work on bad behaviors. Times they are a changin'.....

I tell Steven at least once a week that I hate our dogs. I don't have the patience. I don't REALLY hate them (well, sometimes I do). I just think that I use all of the patience & understanding I used to give to these two naughty dogs to M.D. now. There is little to none left for these 5  & 3 year old dogs who still manage to have "accidents" on a regular basis. I need help.

NAME: Lily Bean
ALIAS: Hers, Beaner, Lil
AGE: 5 Years
BREED: Schnauzer Mix
OFFENSES: Accidents in the house, running away to the neighbors' yards, not coming when called, running away from M.D. when he even looks at her.
SAVING GRACE: She only runs awy from M.D. because he's pulled her hair, I can't really blame her for that. She protects M.D. when Mila starts barking at him by runninAlso, she was my first dog and I KNOW she can be a good dog if she really wants to be.

NAME: Mila
ALIAS: Meems, Memasalama, Mimi, Guff Guff, Dumb Dumb
AGE: 3 Years
BREED: Champion Line Pomeranian (though you wouldn't know it...)
OFFENSES: Accidents in the house, running away to the neighbors' yards, not coming when called, 
barking at M.D., barking at Steven & I, carrying diapers around the house, carrying clothes around the house, complete disregard for authority.
SAVING GRACE: Steven's in love with her. She is one of the cutest (looking) dogs in the world.

So, what is there to do? We're not getting rid of the dogs, but they need some SERIOUS help. Any and all ideas/suggestions are welcome. UGHHH...................

First of all, let me address the silence that followed my blog post yesterday regarding M.D.'s TV debut. I never figured out which station (if any) aired the story...I know that multiple media outlets were present at the awards ceremony so it may be aired at a later date as well. The report came back that M.D. was a STELLAR field trip taker. Board members & media members alike were complimenting Miss Michele on how well behaved our little man was during the whole proceeding. We are very proud of him :)

It has come to my attention that I forgot a very important step post-blogging about M.D.'s awesome bedtime routine...I forgot to knock on wood. Damnit. He has a new habit that has formed which is both hilarious, frusturating and heartbreaking all at the same time. Let me explain....
M.D. still goes to bed REALLY easily. It's still usually around 7:00-7:30pm. The problem is that he doesn't STAY asleep. His new habit involves waking up (usually between 9-10pm) and crying until we go into his room and hold him. He then decides it's play time. We don't let him "play" but usually bring him to our bed to read a book or have another (small) bottle. He thinks it's awesome. He laughs, talks, bounces, tries to pull the dogs' tails (another blog post in the making...) etc, etc, etc.

So there's the new habit, in action. The frusturating/heartbreaking part is what happens when we try to put him back to bed. It doesn't matter whether this is immediately after he starts screaming the first time in his crib, or after 5 minutes in a rocking chair, or after 15 minutes playing in our bed, it's always the same...blood curdling screams & sobs. It's AWFUL! I can't handle it. So what have we been doing? The easy answer would be to give-in. He wants to be in our room, with us, all night. That's not happening. But we also aren't letting him sit in his crib and scream all night long. I don't want to pay for that much therapy for him when he's older. The compromsie is a sort of dance. We let him be in our bed for a short time. We read a book, we sing a song, whatever comes to mind. Then, he goes back to the crib, and we listen to screams that make me want to sob. Then, if the screaming doesn't cease, he comes back into our bed for an even shorter amount of time. Then back to the crib. I don't know if this is the answer...all I know is that he ends up in his bed sleeping before 11pm (knocking on wood right now). In other words, it's nothing we can't handle. Is it ideal? No. Is it do-able for now? Yes.

Moving on to other habits...I want a new one. Or I should maybe say a "hobby". I never took home economics in high school. I remember my high school guidance counselor giving me a HUGE speech during registration that I needed to take the class. I then gave him a HUGE speech about how I felt he was being sexist by forcing a home economics class on me, a young female, while none of my male friends were being pressured into taking the class. He dropped the subject, I never took the class. I'm seriously regretting my Eve Ensler inspired moment right now. The problem: I never learned to sew. I don't mean sew by hand..I can sew a button on that has fallen off a shirt any day. I mean SEW sew. Particularly...I want the "make things I see on Pinterest" sewing skills. Not the hard things...but the things that say "SO EASY" and "NO SEWING SKILLS NEEDED" in the bullet point lines. I want to sew. I never learned now. I don't have a sewing machine. These are my roadblocks. SO, I'm bound and determined to figure this out (one way or another). So if any one is willing to lend their advice (or skills, or old sewing machine you don't use anymore) PLEASE let me know :) I'll take all of the help I can get.

M.D. is going on his first field trip today. No, he's not going to the zoo. He's not going to the museum, not even the park (he does that every day at daycare). His first field trip will be in Stillwater and he will be accompanied by news crews. He's finally made it to the big time.

Okay, part of that was a little bit exaggerated. M.D. IS going on his first field trip today, it WILL be in Stillwater, MN, and there WILL be news crews there. But it's not for him. Miss Michele will be given the Washignton County Daycare Provider of the Year Award today! We are so excited for her, and after 4 months at her home with understand why she is being given this wonderful award.
I'm not sure what news crews will be present, but I do know that I had to sign a waiver before M.D. could go so that his image could be used. I will get the update from Miss Michele when I pick M.D. up this afternoon and will post to my Facebook if there is a particular station that is going to be airing the story tonight. We are so happy & proud of her. Also, I think she's proving her cahunas but offering to take a handfull of the kids along for her awards ceremony. She's loading 5 daycare kids (plus her two kids) and driving them to the ceremony, keeping them happy & attentive DURING the ceremony, and then driving them home & completing a full day of care (yes, she has an assistant..but c'mon this is still a pretty big undertaking!).

We had some bummer news from Miss Michele a few weeks ago. She had an assistant quit on her and so she's having to cut-back to 4 day weeks. I completely understand why...I have no idea how daycare providers have the energy to provide care 5 days a week. Her drop-off and pick-up times range between 7am-5:30pm so those are her hours. Plus at least an hour afterwards cleaning up and prepping for the next day's activities. 12 hour days are hard on anybody, I know I couldn't do it! The silver-lining is that M.D. will now be going to Grandma Barb's on Fridays! They are both very excited :)

M.D. had his 9 month check-up yesterday with Dr. Barry. Everything went very well. He's 100% on track for all of his growth, motor skills, verbalization, etc. Visits with M.D. are always hilarious. He gets so antsy before Dr. Barry comes in, and then once she arrives he acts like the biggest show-off I've ever seen. It's like he knows that she's checking on how much he's developing. He reached for her when she walked in the room and gave her a big hug, he talked the ENTIRE appointment (we had to try to talk over him to discuss everything), then, she asked me if he was making any action to show he was interested in walking yet. I said no, he hasn't. I try to get him to push some of his standing push toys but he just would rather play with them...and I'd rather not push the walking if I can! She grabbed his hands and set his feet on the floor and INSTANTLY he started putting one foot in front of the other until he had walked all the way to me (with her holding his hands). I about died. What a little stinker! The shots were...well...the shots. It's only awful for about 10 seconds. He's screaming, I'm feeling like the worst mom on the planet for purposefully making my baby cry, and then it's done. We went to Target afterwards to pick up formula & baby food and I gave in (to my own guilt) and bought him a new toy. Dumb. Oh well!

That's all for now! Stay tuned on Facebook for an update on the news story about Miss Michele :)

Nope, not the kind that make you think you're having the best time of your life, but inevitable are causing you to act like a fool and will make you feel like you got hit by a truck the next morning. No, not those kind of shots. M.D. and I get to head over to Dr. Barry's office today to get the even less fun type of shots...9 month vaccinations. Typically, little ones don't get shots at their 9 month appointment. They usually get to to show up, show off how big they've gotten, how many teeth they've grown, all their new skills (fine motor, movement, etc) and head home. Not M.D. It's his own fault. He went and played "sick" the day of his 3 moth appointment. He didn't have any symptoms of actually being sick...no fever, acting normally, eating, wetting diapers, but there was one SMALL symptom that caused him to have to miss shots....throwing up. ICK. I still remember it. I had never heard of a baby actually throwing up. Spitting up, yes. Throwing up?! It was so gross (and sad). He would heave and puke everywhere. So they didn't want him to have shots, obviously. Today he's making up for it. ANND we're flying solo. Steven is swamped at work so I get to be the lone ranger to hold my screaming son down while he gets needles poked into his thighs. Grrreeattt..... :(

We had an awesome weekend. Steven & I were able to have a date-night out on Saturday while Nana babysat. We headed out for some italian food, a little bit of shopping, and icecream. M.D. was waiting up for us when we got home...not really, but we woke up when we walked in the door so he stayed up for a little while past his bedtime :)

Here's some pictures from our weekend. I also included a couple from M.D and my beach trip on Thursday afternoon!

I'm waiting for something to go wrong. With M.D. Not anything you'd normally fear when it comes to babies. No, I fear it will come back. Why? Because I don't understand how it went away. The Colic. I get that it only is SUPPOSED to last for a few months. I guess we just got so used to the idea that our child was going to be an emotional mess. He was the equivalent to a teenage girl with PMS 24/7. Everything set him off. He didn't even like us. US. HIS PARENTS. He'd scream and scream and scream. I can now admit that I dreaded picking him up for Grandma Barb's. Not because I didn't want to see him, but because every day. Every Single Day. He would scream the ENTIRE drive home from Grandma Barb's house. He hated the car. Every Single Day from 4pm-4:15pm I would listen to blood-curdling screaming in my car. Every Day. Without fail. And add that on top of screaming around 5-6 hours of his day away ON TOP of that. We had to accept the fact that we were going to raise a very unhappy, emotionally sensitive baby boy. We accepted it. We didn't always love the idea, but we loved him, so we figured it out.

Now, everything is different. Like, not a little bit different. 100% opposite different. M.D. has become THE HAPPIEST baby I have ever met. In fact now, when he cries, we say, "Uh oh...what's wrong?!" because we know it MEANS something when he cries. He does it SO RARELY that this "new" baby only cries when something is actually wrong..which, thankfully, is rarely.

He doesn't have a "fussy time". He used to scream all evening. Mornings & afternoons it was sporadic. Evening...we just PRAYED for him to fall asleep to stop the screaming. Now, he plays & talks & we read books. Then, when he starts to act sleepy, I make him a bottle and we sit on the couch and he eats. I get to watch T.V. We relax. He gets tired, starts to fall asleep. I give him his "binkie" (pacifier) and lay him in bed. He rolls to his side & falls asleep. It's magical. It doesn't make sense.
How did we go from this:

And this:

To this:

And this:

It doesn't make sense to me. Steven & I actually describe our previous high-strung child as "laid back". I never thought we'd use those words. When Steven drops M.D. off at daycare now, he smiles at Miss Michele. The other day he even gave her a hug & kiss when Steven handed him off. When I show up to pick him up, his eyes light up, he jumps up & down and I get a giant hug & kiss. Apparently, M.D's little baby-buddy at daycare (who is also 9 months old) has a fit every day when his parents drop him off. That's normal to me. This is not. M.D. goes with the flow. He's happy. He's content. You see why I'm nervous? He's not even fearful of things. Sometimes people, but only when he's tired and being passed around from person to person. Loud noises don't frighten him, he loves getting BIG kisses from Uncle Matthew's big dogs (who almost knock him over every time). To be honest, I'm not even sure what his "scared" face looks like, because I've never seen him scared. Whatever situation life presents him with, he adapts and finds a way to be content with it (he must get this from his father).

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy & excited about this "new" baby that M.D. has become. That is why I'm fearful. I don't want to go back!!!! :

Today is my Friday, sort of. I will be coming to work tomorrow, but only for about 2 hours. Tomorrow is the day some of my coworkers and I are volunteering at the MN Special Olympics Summer Games. I helped out 2 years ago, I didn't last year, I was WAY too pregnant and overheated to stand outside for that long. I'm excited. The games hold a special place in my heart now. I realize that I have no idea the feelings of a parent who has a child who actually has downs syndrome or other special needs, however, I understand how quickly their lives changed with that diagnosis. When we were told that M.D. showed a symptom in-utero that sometimes can be attributed to having downs syndrome I felt the world caving in. It wasn't even a definitive diagnosis, and yet I racked my brain to figure out how we would cope if it was going to become a true diagnosis. Thankfully, our little boy is healthy & happy, but I don't take for granted the idea that our lives could have gone in a different direction.
That being said, I won't have time to post tomorrow.
Steven & I are VERY excited for this weekend. Nana Joanne called and asked if we would like her to come up this weekend so we can have a date night. (She must have read my intervention blog post) :). So she is going to come up on Saturday so Steven & I can go out to dinner. We are psyched. We can't even figure out where to go because we have so many restaurants in our head that we haven't been to since M.D. was born. It will be awesome :) *Thanks Nana*

Our little man is 9 months old TODAY! The bummer...9 months = more shots...but, we don't have those until next week so we can still party today! :)

Name: M.D.

Age: 9 months

Weight: 19 lbs
 
Length: 29" (est)

Eye Color: Bright Blue

Hair Color: Blonde

Favorite Food: Anything & Everything (especially Gerber Puffs and pureed fruit)

Favorite Toy: Anything musical, cars/trucks/etc

Favorite Game: "Crash" he likes to watch me smash two toys together and yell "crash". He laughs every time.

Teeth?: 2 on the bottom

Mobility: Can sit up on his own, Army Crawls (can hands-and-knees crawl but prefers the army version), tries to pull himself up (can pull onto his knees sometimes). He can also feed himself now (

Likes: Talking, crawling, exploring, playing with things that are not intended to be toys, dogs, other kids, snuggling, singing, reading books.
 
Dislikes: Not much...he's honestly a very happy baby at this point (we paid our dues *colic*). He definitely doesn't like me sucking the snot out of his nose...which has been happening daily because he is teething, but no baby likes that.

It's finally summer, I think. M.D. had a great weekend FINALLY getting to enjoy some beautiful weather outdoors. We spent some time up at Grandma Barb's house and he was able to have lots of playtime with his cousin.
Father's Day was wonderful as well. It was beautiful weather, we ate steaks on the grill. M.D. bought Steven a new grill for Father's day and we are LOVING IT. It's amazing how much easier cooking is in the summer when you can grill!
Grandma Barb and I also hit up some garage sales this past weekend. I think I'm officially addicted. We almost bought-out the entire kids section of the first sale we went to. I made Barb take most of it to her house (hee hee) but I did find a few electronic toys, a GIANT box of Duplo blocks AND some really nice clothes for him to wear & tear through :)
Uncle Mark came up for a visit on Saturday and M.D. loves "showing off" for his Uncle Mark. He showed him his new dance skills, his talking abilities, and how he can play with ALL of his toys at once. He also tried to show Uncle Mark that he's too cool for a bedtime, but Mommy won that war.
Sunday was SO WARM and humid that I turned into "that mom". The one who decides the less clothing, the better. M.D. wore shorts, a diaper, a sun hat, and about 2 lbs worth of sunscreen. That's it.
Here are some pic highlights from the weekend...pictures are always more fun than writing anyways :)

M.D. and I went swimming in his new pool yesterday after work. I'm so blessed to have a job that allows me to be at my son's daycare by 3:30pm every day to pick him up. We have a lot more afternoon play time than other working parents and I'm very grateful for that!
It was FINALLY beautiful outside so I put on our swimming suits and we headed out to the deck.

A few notes:
1) I purchased a $12 blow-up pool from Target. I realize it will probably pop. That's why I only spent $12 on it. I was going to get the one for $4.99 but it wasn't big enough to fit both M.D. and me in it so that was a no-go.
2) AWESOME trick I learned on Pinterest. We put the pool on our deck, which is made of wood (obviously not comfortable to sit on for long periods of time). I put some of the foam puzzle pieces from his floor mat on the deck and set the pool on top. Now it has a super-cushy bottom!
3) I bought this really awesome swim diaper for M.D. We've steered away from the actual cloth diapers, however, I'm a big fan of this. It's a reusable swim diaper. He can wear trunks over it, or just wear the diaper itself. It was the same cost as a small pack of "Little Swimmer's" disposable diapers. Not a bad deal :)

Here's some photos of our swimming adventure :) We had filled the pool the day before so it had sat out in the sun all day. I was going to add warm water to it from the sink, but when I put my foot in it was already warm as bath water! We have it VERY shallow because M.D. likes to crawl around in the water!

Steven and I probably need an invervention, but we don't want one. What, may you ask, are we addicted to? The answer: M.D. This sounds really stupid, I get it, but it's honestly true. The addiction has evolved over the course of the last 9 months. In the beginning, it was bad. I was completely 100% unwilling to spend 1 second away from M.D. it just wasn't going to happen. Ever. Steven was working so he had his days away, and in the beginning he would ask if we could have a weekend evening away. I said no. I still remember the first night we had Grandma Barb watch M.D. It was Steven's work Christmas party. I think M.D. was around 3 months old. I had recently gone back to work (that was a whole other struggle). He didn't stay over night. I don't like nights away. Then we had a dinner/movie date night about 1 month later. Then, the big one, we had a wedding in Duluth. My best friend. I was her bridesmaid. We had Nana come up and watch him at our house while we were gone. 2 whole nights. At least we were VERY distracted. :)
It sounds weird, but there's this MAJOR comfort in knowing that M.D. is at our house, even if I'm not there. I dont' know why, maybe it's because I know it's baby proofed to the MAX, I know he has everything he would possibly want/need in reach, maybe...I know how why.
We had our first ACTUAL overnight stay last month. Our daycare text on Sunday evening, her daughter had pneumonia and she was not opening the daycare the next day. We had to find other care. Thankfully, Grandma Barb was able to step in. She suggested we could let her have M.D. overnight that same night so Steven wouldn't have to drive him up to her house in the morning before work. I told Steven he could decide. Firstly, he was the one who would have to drive him in the morning & secondly, I knew I didn't want M.D. to go overnight somewhere other than home, but I also realized he was 8 months old and it might be time for him to have his 1st night away. Steven decided it was a great idea, which it was, for a sane person. Let's just say, I was almost in the car about 4 times that night to go pick him up before I finally fell asleep. There were tears. Steven was patient. We made it through. And M.D. had a great time :)
Fast-forward to Tuesday night. Steven & I were watching "Family SOS with Jo Frost". I'm not sure how I feel about this show. We DVR'd the episode. It was about a family with 5 kids, one of whom had down syndrome. The Dad was basically a HUGE douche bag. When his down syndrome son would poop his pants the dad would either spank him or take him out in the yard and spray him off with the freezing cold garden hose. Yeah...I struggled through that episode. Anyways, Jo Frost gave the husband and wife "homework" where they had to plan date nights. All of a sudden I hear Steven say, "I want to plan a date night!". Well, my heart pretty much stopped beating...I haven't heard that phrase before :) "Okay!" I said, "What do you want to do?" Steven said he wants to go to "our restaurant" for dinner. "Okay!" I said again, "So you do realize that planning a date is more than picking a restaurant, right? You have to plan a day, time, find a babysitter...." Steven interrupted me, "WHY CAN'T M.D. COME TO DINNER WITH US!?"
Oh lord...we need an intervention :)