Naughty Mozzie

I can't believe we have only had Mozzie 3 months...or I can't believe it has already been 3 months.  I can't decide.  hmm Either way Mozzie has changed so much already and he is almost 5 months old!  We are going to have to get him fixed soon and I feel so bad.  I think it is really important to spay and neuter animals but now that I have my own I have the hardest time looking into those cute black eyes knowing what is going to happen. Not only allowing it but I am paying for it.  Poor Mozzie, will you ever forgive me?  

A little bit ago Mozzie got a hair cut and I was devastated.  Good bye fluffy puppy and hello skinny, naked, dog.  I was pretty sad but now that I am used to it I am willing to post pics.  It took some convincing from others and time to let the shock wear off but he is still cute.  He actually has some pretty cool colors under all that fluff and a long dark stripe on his back.  He is also so much cleaner and I don't have to worry about his hair getting matted.  Also with summer I think he will stay a lot cooler so it really is a good thing.  I am just terrible with change and seeing how fast Mozzie is growing makes me realize Liam is going to grow up fast too and I just can't take it!  Can't they stay my babies forever?  Please?  Pretty pretty please with cheese and a cherry on top?!  Ok fine!  I will just have to enjoy every minute while I can!

Here is Mozzie when we first got him!  He is tiny!!!

 "awww"

 "Ohhhh"

 Here is a pic of Mozzie the other day!  Growing like crazy!

 Mozzie LOVES his toys!  They are scattered all over our yard and he doesn't like you to move them!  It is really entertaining to look outside and see him biting them and throwing them in the air then chase them!  Also his favorite seems to be whatever is the newest.  The neighbor kids love to come over and play with him and all his toys.  Below is Monkey and turtle and he is trying to carry both unsuccessfully. 

 

 Also Mozzie is starting to lose his baby teeth!  Except I am not sad about this at all, I am thrilled!  Mozzie thinks when you are walking your feet are toys trying to play with him to he tries to chew on you while you walk!  Puppy teeth are sharp and this hurts!  So I am grateful these little guys are coming out and his adult teeth will be in soon!  

We sure do love our Mozzie, but he is still very naughty!  Potty training has regressed since Liam is born.  This is mostly our fault because he did really well for a few weeks and I think we just assumed he was potty trained.  Apparently not so I am trying to do better.  Especially because my friend just cleaned our carpets so I have been watching him like a hawk!  Oh Moz, I don't know what we would do without you but I am sure happy we have you!

Sorry I have to throw in this last cute one before the hair cut!  Oh Mozzie!  I love you!

One Month Old, Camera practice, 1st time at church, and a beautiful sunset!

 Our handsome little guy is over a month old!  It has flown by and makes me a little sad.  I love seeing all his little changes but its going way too fast!  It makes me very grateful for technology though so we can document every minute of it!  Literally!  We have thousands of pictures of this little guy and I have already made 3 shutterfly books.  Maybe I'm a little extreme but I just can't help it and neither can his Daddy!  

I have been trying to learn more about the manual setting on my camera and was practicing the other night.  Here is a shot of the roses in our front yard.  

 We went on a walk around our neighborhood and I love when the sun sets.  It creates the most beautiful lush colors!

 My mom, Jason, and Liam going on a walk.  For some reason Mozzie is being carried?  haha I think this is when a car was coming.  Oh and Liam is in the stroller being pushed by grandma so you cant quite see him.  

 I think silhouette pictures are so much fun!

 On fathers day Jason was asked to speak in the Chinese branch and I really wanted to go so it was Liam's first time at church!  It was an awesome little branch and the members were so welcoming.  I even brought my friend Sharon that I met in one of my classes last semester.  She is from China and translated for my mom and me.  It was a really cool experience and Jason gave a great talk on the importance of fathers.  

There was such a beautiful sunset the other night...but it seems like there is a beautiful sunset every night and I can't help taking pictures every time.  It was gorgeous!

Life can be so hard sometimes and I just have to make myself stop and look around at all the beauty!  I truly believe Cache Valley in the summer is one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Eating chocolate while Breastfeeding causes gas...Myth or Fact?

Last week Liam was really fussy and had a hard time sleeping.  He would try to relax then wake up 15 minutes later screaming.  My mom was staying over and thought it was probably gas, so we started researching how to soothe him as well as what could cause it.  I had heard from a few people that if they ate chocolate and were breastfeeding this happened to their babies.  I tried to ignore this but knew I had eaten a good amount of chocolate lately.  I cut it out of my diet to see what happened and he seemed to do better the next few days.  Yesterday I was making some homemade OREO type cookies to take to neighbors that brought me meals after I had Liam and I thought it couldn't hurt just to have one!  Just one!  If you know me you know this is amazing because I could eat them all!  Sure enough a couple feedings later Liam was screaming!  Even today he seems to have an upset tummy and this morning he was especially gassy!  

Does anyone know if this chocolate myth is true?  The nurse at my pediatrician says there is no evidence but I have talked to some woman that say they couldn't even have chocolate shavings on a piece of pie. I am a die hard chocoholic and I am so depressed but it's not worth what it does to Liam.  This is a testament to how much I love this kid because I thought chocolate was worth anything!  Thank goodness for gas relief drops or the poor thing would never be able to relax.  Also does anyone know how long it takes to enter your breast milk, as well as exit?  

He sure is a handsome little fella!  Here he is at 4 weeks old!  I love this outfit and he looks stinking adorable in it but it is the most impractical thing for a new born!  It's a pain to get on and doesn't seem very comfy.  At least it made for some cute pictures.  

Sleep Deprived

Oh what I wouldn't do for a good 8 hours of sleep...i would even take 5 or 6 continuous blissful hours of uninterrupted sleep.  aww it sounds so nice.  It's weird to day dream about sleep, but it's probably one of my favorite day dreams.  I have had a few people tell me it's possible to have Liam sleep 5 or 6 hours straight even this young!  I have been trying their methods with little success.  A good night seems to be if Liam will go back to sleep within 20 minutes of waking up being fed and changed.  These times are rare but cherished.  He is more consistent waking up every three hours to feed at night than he is in the day time.  I am not one of those people who functions well at night.  I have heard some mom's talk about how much they love the time they spent with their babies in the middle of the night.  I wish I could be one of those mom's but instead I am half mom half zombie.  I usually have one eye half way open, and can only grunt.  For example when Jason asks if I need help I respond, "ugh."   A lower pitched ugh means no and a higher pitched ugh means, "yes, help please!!!"  Ok I am not always this bad but its not pretty.  Still every night I go to bed with hope that maybe this will be the night that Liam sleeps more than 3 hours.  Ha and it's funny what rules you break in the middle of the night.  For example I have been told over and over don't let the baby sleep in your bed because it starts bad habits.  Well at 3am Liam can sleep in our bed until he's 18 for all i care!  Fortunately Liam does spend a good amount of the night in his crib lately.  As long as he has his binky he doesn't seem to care where he is but when your the one having to hold in his binky or keep replacing it, you would rather be lying down. 

Even with a lack of sleep I can't express how much I love that little boy.  I don't I could understand this kind of love until I had a baby.  I was thinking about the different relationships in my life and the different degrees of love I have for people.  There is the love I have for my parents and family, then the love I have for my friends, the love I have for my amazing husband, and then I had Liam.  A whole new type of love develops within you where you know you will do anything and everything to give them the most wonderful life you can.  Your world just revolves around this precious little person and you dedicate your life to them.  Even when your covered in poop, pee, and spit up.

Here are some pics of our Handsome little man!

 Love that yawn!

 Liam always has to have his arms out of the blanket and around his head and face.

 and they say babies can't smile?

 Love this pic, with our neighbors beautiful flowers.

 On a very very sad note Mozzie has had some trauma.  Against the advice of my mother I cut Mozzie's hair short because his hair was getting matted and he hates getting brushed.  I dropped Mozzie off at the groomer and when I got back there was a rat in his place....  This is the last cute picture I have of him all fluffy... so pictures of Moz may be limited until his hair grows back.  Jason insists it's not as bad as I think but every time I see him now I let out a sad sigh. Don't worry I still love him all shaved and naked looking.  I also blame my bad decision on sleep deprivation.  ) :

Our New Life!

Oh my goodness we have gone through some changes these last few weeks.  It is amazing to be a new parent and definitely the hardest thing I have ever done!  I have always said though the hardest things in life are the most rewarding and that is the truth!  I never knew it was possible to be this in love with your precious child.  Even after being covered in spit up, poop, and pee I couldn't be happier.  He is the most precious little guy and I wish I could just cuddle with him all day.  It is breaking my heart to see how much he has already changed in just a few short weeks.  It makes me more aware I need to savor every second with this handsome little guy.  I try to remember that in the middle of the night when I think I am going to fall over I am so tired and just praying he will go back to sleep.  I keep thinking of that country song, "Your gonna miss this."  The lyrics go, "You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back, you're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast."  Its true.  I already recognize that I will soon miss these days, no matter how hard or exhausting they may be.

Our little boy is pretty amazing.  I can't believe how strong he is.  I am pretty sure if we arm wrestled he would put up a good fight.  This of course makes getting him dressed and changing his diaper difficult.  He can kick like a horse!  He also makes it his personal goal to try and pee on you every time you change his diaper!  and he is usually successful.  No matter how you try to outsmart him he figures out how to soak you.  Sometimes you don't even know how or when it happened.  You think you succeeded and hold him up all clean and look down and see your shirt is drenched.  If that's not a prodigy in the making I don't know what is.  I am considering investing in some ponchos, and creating a blue (wet) zone around his changing table.

I have also been learning to avoid getting spit up all over me.  I am usually unsuccessful but am making progress.  Between the spit up, pee, and occasional poopy blow out Liam and I go through a few outfits a day.  I think our record is 5 for him 3 for me.  This is especially difficult for me because I don't fit into my clothes yet and my outfits are limited!  Let me just say laundry has become a daily routine!  Jason also has received his fair share of spit up, pee, and poop on him.  When it does happen to him I usually laugh my head off and less than ten minutes later the same thing happens to me.  Karma!  The only one who has seemed to escape is Mozzie.  

I definitely couldn't have survived these last few weeks without the help of my incredible husband, and mother.  Jason has been wonderful to help me in the middle of the nights.  Even though he can't feed Liam.  He still helps with diapers and trying to get Liam back to sleep.  It means so much, and is a huge blessing for me.  Also my mom has been a life saver.  I have learned to appreciate mothers so much more through my pregnancy and the birth process but its amazing to see how much my mom still helps and does for me.  I promise I have the best mom in the world!  

We have been lucky enough to have lots of family come visit us including Jason's parents for a couple of nights.  They were wonderful to also help us out and let us get a few more hours of sleep.  Liam is so blessed to have loving grandparents on both sides that think the world of him.  I love seeing him with them and am grateful for both our parents and all they do.  Jess, Joan, Gary, and Chris we love you and don't know what we would do without you!  You are all amazing, thank you for everything you do!

On a sad not one of my best friends in Logan moved today.  Stephanie and her husband are off to Minnesota for grad school.  I am so excited for them but don't know what I am going to do without Stephanie.  We have gotten very close the last 3 years and will miss her like crazy.  She has taken all our wonderful pictures the past few years and we hurried to make sure she could get some of Liam and the family before she left.  The good news is Jason has business in Minnesota so hopefully we will go out and see them soon!  Can't wait!  Good Luck Stephanie and Jon!  Thanks for your love and friendship and soooo many fun memories!  

Here are some family pictures in a poppy field Stephanie found in the Island.  If you don't know what the Island is it is in Logan south of USU.  We were lucky because similar to our family pictures in the fall in front of the colorful wall of leaves these poppies only last a few days!  It was so beautiful!  

 Here are some of our handsome little guy at 1 week old.  Stephanie is amazingly patient to get some of these shots because he is pretty stubborn and like I mentioned before strong!  It can be really hard to pose him and get him to stay that way.  It took many hours!

 And what may I ask is even harder than posing a newborn?  Posing a newborn and a puppy!