How I Get Work Done

It's so funny....just this afternoon, I posted at how long it took me to get one post done...partly because little Michael was being kind of in a testy mood....but then, voila! Daddy Michael comes home and 1) Little Michael is on angelic behavior and 2) Suddenly my unproductive day turns wildly productive! I got laundry done, finally got my shower in, made dinner, and baked banana bread! How nice it is to have such a wonderful husband who our son adores! I don't know how Moms do it without a Daddy to come home and take over!

I can't tell you how good it is for my own feeling of self-worth to know that I have more to show for my day than a trash can full of dirty diapers I changed and a son who is several ounces heavier I'm sure than when the day began. Even though I know even that is something to be proud of, after all, taking care of him is exactly what God is calling me to do with my life right now, but still...it feels good to say I did this today. Ah...I never thought chores would be so good for my self-esteem!

Meeting the Great Grandparents

Last Friday, Michael Jr got to meet two of his great-grandparents: Great Grammy and Papa Gilmore!!

It was so much fun to drive up there and introduce Michael to people who have been so important in my life.

Michael will get to meet his other great grandparents, Gramma and Papa Wade next week at his baptism! We can't wait!

Another HUGE Thank You!

Now that Daddy's home and is entertaining Michael Jr, I'm going to steal away and write another big Thank You to Michael's mom for staying with us and coming to help.

Little Michael's Mumma helped so much! From helping give the baby a bath, changing diapers, holding the baby while I got some much-needed rest (EXTRA THANK YOUs for that!!!), doing laundry, going grocery shopping, driving me around, even enduring a long car ride up to Anaheim with an unhappy baby...getting us dinner, again, the list goes on and on!

The weekend she was here was the weekend of the Catholic Family Conference and Michael was away for it and I missed him terribly. It dawned on me as I was pining the absence of my beloved that she went without HER beloved for an even greater amount of time...so for her sacrifice and Papa's sacrifice of being apart for several days....THANK YOU!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful parents on both sides. And of course, little Michael to be blessed with four amazing grandparents! What a lucky kid!

Even though we would have muddled by, to have you there kept our wits in tact, gave us expert advice, and kept us smooth sailing. If you weren't here, I would have SO exhausted, who knows if we had made it to week 3! Thank you!!

Three Weeks Old Today!*

* Alternate title for this post: "The Post that Took All Day to Write"

Well, Michael Jr. is three weeks old today, and to commemorate this landmark, he's been keeping Mommy going all day long. It's funny, I noticed from the earliest part of this morning, Michael has seemed to want to spend every bit of this day not sleeping.

In fact, I couldn't help but noticed that Michael made sure he was awake for the very minute of his third week birthday: 4:53 am.

Since that time (barring a nice little nap he let Mommy get until 7:30 am), he's been a little bit on the moody side today, which means that every time I got myself situated with pictures and the like to write this post, he needed my attention. At times, desperately it would seem.

But, despite having a day that wasn't quite as peaceful as yesterday, but not quite as moody as the day before, I have to say, three weeks out of the starting gate, the Barbers are still doing extremely well.

Michael Jr. and I were discussing today all the things he has accomplished: he's learned to eat, he knows his Mommy and Daddy very well, he knows his grandparents and all his aunts, uncles and cousins...and he's met a good handful of people. He's had a VERY busy three weeks!

He has also learned to sleep in his crib!! BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT!

He's gotten several baths, gotten his nails trimmed (a task I would be happy to not have to do again...but alas, comes with the territory!), and dirtied countless diapers. It's hard work being a baby!

But Michael Jr. has continued to bring joy and love in abundance into our home. From the quiet morning feedings, where even though I'm tired, I still take joy in looking down on this little boy who looks to me for his sole source of sustenance. Who, even though he has particular demands, is communicating, in the only way he knows how that he needs something, and he knows Mommy and Daddy are there to provide for his needs.

It's adorable how Michael Jr loves to be danced to sleep by Daddy who can quiet him down in a snap of the finger, and it's amazing how watching Michael Sr. dance him to sleep just makes my heart overflow with love for both of them.

It has been a busy three weeks, but it has been great! Happy three week birthday, Baby Michael! We love you more and more each day!

A HUGE Thank You!!

This is a little post that says a huge Thank You to my Mom. She stayed with us for NINE days after Michael Jr. came home to help us with him. Her help was unbelievable...we don't know what we would have done without her.

She cooked, she cleaned, she did laundry, changed diapers, drove us around town..held the baby while I slept, helped during a medical "crisis"....the list goes on and on and on.

And let's not forget Poppy's sacrifices too...I know it's not easy to have your beloved gone for any period of time, let alone 9 days!! His best friend was gone for over a week...and little Monstie too! Thank you, Dad, for sharing Mom with us!!

Little Michael is so blessed to have a Grammy and Poppy like you!!

(A post is forthcoming for Michael's parents too...Stay tuned!!)

Meet the Cousins!!

A week ago, Monday, Michael Jr, Jack, Thomas and Peelo met each other for the first time. It was SO much fun.

It was so neat to see my sister, the newly minted "Aunt Wheetah" hold little Michael, and it was also really fun holding Peelo for the first time without a huge baby in my tummy kicking him at every opportunity.

Jack and Thomas were so good and so excited to meet little Michael. They showered him with love and attention. We got some great pictures, and even Jack, the little amateur photog snapped some great pictures of everyone. It was so much fun.

Unfortunately, I was a little wiped out...little Michael was still in his "I don't want to sleep in a crib" phase, and he was eating basically the ENTIRE time I was over there. It was kind of a bummer because he wouldn't really do anything other than eat and when he was not eating, he would fuss until he was fed.

Don't get me wrong, I still had a blast, but it will be nice when he gets a good eating schedule when he doesn't have to eat at every waking moment. It will be nice for both him...and most especially me!

Here are some pictures of the cousins meeting one another!

And I LOVE this one...it's so great!

Need to Update this Blog!

There are so many things to update you on...I had been blogging so regularly before, and now it has been a week since my last post, and I feel so behind!

Michael is now just over 2 weeks old, and I have noticed several changes in the past couple of days...our little boy is growing up!

First and most joyous: Little Michael is sleeping in his crib!! The first two weeks were difficult because our little baby is very cuddly, and likes to sleep in someone's arms, and not alone in a crib. While this is very cute and endearing, it doesn't make for a good night's sleep. Prior to Friday night, every time we would get him fed, changed and ready for bed and then lay him down in his crib, he would be asleep for about 15 minutes and then he would wake up...Doh!

But as of Friday, I was able to get him to sleep in his crib, and he actually stayed asleep for at least two hours. Then he got up to be fed, but after I fed him and changed him and re-swaddled him, he would fall right back to sleep in his crib. He also would stay asleep during the day when he would go down for his nap. I can't tell you how happy I was! Even though my six hours of sleep was broken up by intermittent feedings, it sure felt great!!

Little Michael is also spending a lot more time awake these days. It's really cute. No longer is he just a sleepy-head who goes between eating and sleeping, he now has several minutes, several times a day of wakefulness when he is not hungry, but he is not sleeping either. It's so cute. So we have been trying to interact with him, and give him colorful things to look at to stimulate his little brain. It has been a really fun development!

Also, we went to the doctor on Thursday for his 2 week check-up and everything is doing great! He weighed 9lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches long. Our little guy is growing up!

In the past week, we have been really busy. We went to the Catholic Family Conference Speaker's Dinner and little Michael was perfectly well-behaved and rested in his Daddy's arms the whole night and hardly stirred, even when very loud and enthusiastic speakers took to the podium. He was the admiration of everyone there of how cute and well-behaved.

Next, on Saturday, we went to a wedding of one of my friends,and again, little Michael was a perfect gentleman. He needed to eat once during the wedding, but he did so quietly and didn't even cry..he just munched on his hand for a few seconds and was patient with me while I got ready to feed him. He was such a good baby.

Today, we took him to his second Sunday Mass, and once again, he was perfect!

Little Michael is such a good boy! I know there may be all sorts of struggles and difficulties ahead, but for now, it appears God is allowing us to ease into this whole parenting thing by giving us a very easy-to-satisfy baby!