WARNING: Baby on the Move!!

Ok, so London is oficially mobile! He can get across a room in a matter of seconds and of course his favorite attractions~ DANGER! He is obsessed with the fireplace, computer cord, trying to fit his head under the couch, climbing under and around the papazan, and trying to pull up on the baby gate. So, no longer can I walk into another room to get coffee, it's time for constant mommy watch. He also has an incredible grip and trying to pry something out of his hand is quite difficult.
London has had a rough week. He has 5 new teeth coming in and last night he smacked his face on the floor in an exhausted attempt to reach a toy. When I picked him up his mouth was bleeding. He had hit his gums with his binky, making them even more sore. The poor little guy was up every hour on the hour and poking out his top little lip in pain. I rocked him, gave him tylenol and even let him sleep in bed with me for a bit (bad habit but he was miserable and hysterical)The teeth have pushed through and we are just hoping that in a few days or so the pain will be gone and he can just concentrate on cruising around the house causing ruckus!
London had another DOC band appointment this week. I was pretty annoyed with how the last appointment went so I was dreading another visit where they tell use he needs another band and that his head will be forever deformed. However, the tech said his head grew 2mm since last week and that there is enough room in his band for him to wear it about 2-4 more weeks. I have been crazy strict about the helmet and only take it off for maybe 15 min a day (we're allowed an hour) As much as I want to kiss that little head and play with his fuzzy blond hair, I have to get the most I can out of this helmet. The bummer part is that the elongated part of his head cannot be fixed and that was from the vacuum they had to use to get him out, which didn't even end up working. But, I think as his head fills out over the next few weeks and continues to grow, it may not be that noticeable. I think I am now just obsessed because my child's head has been analyzed so intensely over the past 4 months.
Some exciting news is that we have started thinking about buying a house! We were not sure if we wanted to stay in Charlotte or NC for that matter but for now we decided our best bet was to settle here for a bit and find a place where we can enjoy the amazing weather NC has to offer. We are waiting on a pre-approval from the bank (eagerly!) and if all goes well we will officially start our search. We have looked at a few neighborhoods that are very close to where we live now and they are super cute. Our main priority is a nice backyard for the dogs and baby (and US!), a family-friendly neighborhood with preferably a pool (playground would be a plus!) We'll just have to see what happens. Hoping to have some good news soon!

Stay-at-Home Mommy, Crawling, 5 New Teeth, Daddy's Day!!!

I am now home with London for the summer and I am LOVING it! When I had to leave him in January I could not wait to be together all the time again and now it's here! He is now a permanent fixture on my hip...when he's not crawling around and exploring of course. It seems like he waited for me to start doing all these amazing things. In just the past few weeks he is saying so many new sounds. He says "da da" and makes all kinds of other crazy sing-song sounds. He even sings along in the car if a good song comes on..haha. He is also starting to pull himself up on furniture and is finally crawling! We knew he'd be a little late on the mobility due to his chunkiness but he has it all figured out now. He is fast too and it's quite a wake-up call to parents who are used to placing their baby in one spot and him staying there.

He always lunges for stuff he can't have and now has started tantruming if we take it away. His tantrums consist of fake crying and jerking his head back. He also tantrums when we change his diaper, get him dressed, strap him in his car sear, put him in his high chair or put his helmet on. All these activities are keeping him from exploring and that pisses him off! The worst part is that he is so used to the helmet and slams his head back. This will be a problem when he gets his helmet off. It sucks when he gets hurt but it is so cute when he has a little lip quiver and reaches up for me. I snuggle him and do the perfect combination of, you're ok big boy and come here my sweet little injured baby face.

London has 5 new teeth. He is actually doing ok despite the pain. We are giving him tylenol a few times a day and the drool is insane. His sleeping has been pretty crazy too but we know he's in pain so I've been pretty lenient with the sleeping routine. I am a sucka! His new teeth are just in time to try tofu, lentils, and chunky baby food next month! We tried little finger food "puffs" but he is not quite ready and tries to swallow them whole. We'll wait a bit longer on those.

Sunday was Father's Day and it was Kary's first with London on the outside ;-) We woke up daddy with waffles, orange juice, and coffee. I ordered him a tie with London's picture all over it and a card that London signed. Unfortunately I had to work my online job a few hours in the morning so we didn't do anything too exciting :-( But Kary enjoyed his baby all day, despite the teething crankiness.

D-Band Update (and drama...)

I took London to his helmet appointment on Thursday. It has been a while since I have been there. We got a new lady that has never seen him before. I didn't really like her. She measured his head and informed me that his head did not grow at all in 17 days. Then she told me to feed him wheaties and laughed. Hmmm, considering he is 8 months old, I think I will refrain from feeding my baby dry corn flakes. And really?! He is not growing fast enough for ya, eh?! haha...the kid is HUGE! Anyways, the reason I am getting feisty is because she informed me that his head just isn't taking to the $3,000 helmet and that they recommend he get fitted for an additional helmet that will indeed cost another $3,000. Then she asked if I had a husband or something (not sure what something is) I told her I did, indeed have my child in wedlock and proceeded to inform her that he will not be purchasing another helmet. She responded that his head is wide in the back, a-symmetrical, and still slanted. Well, isn't that your helmet's job?! ugh! Anyways, I took some funny pictures of him as I had to entertain him for 20 minutes with a foam cast of his flat head on a stick...yeah pretty creepy. He still wears this helmet for about 2 weeks and then he "graduates." But apparently without honors since he'll still have an "imperfect" head. Rubbish! My baby is perfect!
Just another day in the life of London. He is Kary and my baby so it is a requirement to be high maintenance~ and cute, of course.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life...

I am trying to make this my motto...and it's always fun to sing along with Monty Python. "Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it, but always look at the bright side of life."...haha.
I have had a very emotional few weeks as far as my job goes. I have taught at the same school for 7 years and teach 2nd grade. I really do love this grade but was feeling ready to move on. While on maternity leave I was out 3 months and came back, jumped right in, and rocked it for the last 5 months of school~all while raising an infant and only sleeping a very few hours a night. I requested a change in grade level, and all I got was an 8th year sentence in 2nd grade and kicked out of my awesome, big, classroom that I have worked hard to make my own over the past 7 years. Yep. moving to a trailer classroom. I am not going to go any further with this topic because my motto is now, "always look on the bright side of life." Even though things aren't handed to me, like some people, I shouldn't be surprised and really prefer it this way. I always work for what I have and don't kiss ass to get ahead. Rebel at heart. Always. The most important thing I need to remember is that the kids I teach love me. I hold a special place in their hearts and touch their lives. Today was the last day of school and every single child cried when I showed them the special movie of memories I made for them. They kept telling me how much they love me and how much they were going to miss me. It is great to feel that important and always reminds me why I do what I do. I work with a challenging group of kids and despite all the stuff I deal with, I am always proud that I have a job that is so inspiring, difficult, and only a few people can do it successfully.
With all this said, I decided to stop being so negative about stuff, I mean, come on, I have the world's cutest baby, a great husband who spoils me, a good career that I love, 2 adorable boxers, and a place to live, food to eat, a nice car to drive and an amazing family. Besides, the name of my blog is "I am the luckiest." I am not going to let my resentment issues with my job get me down. I have the next 2 months home with my amazing son! I remember last year thinking ahead about how wonderful my next summer would be with a baby. He makes everything so much better. It is amazing to have someone make you feel so loved and important. When I am not with him I always picture his adorable little face and his squishy thighs and arms. Now I will actually be able to kiss and squeeze him whenever I want to! He is my everything.
We have noticed a lot of people commenting on how cute London is out in public and just this week a bunch of people have admitted to stalking him on my facebook page...haha. There is something really special about him and I'm glad the rest of the world sees it too.
London is zooming along in his language and motor skill development. He is making the craziest sounds lately and Kary swears he said, "Fred Savage" the other day. It is funny to take his sounds and translate them into random words. He is also now getting up on his knees and rocking...no actual knee crawling yet but he can get across a room fast with rolls. We are going to stock up on baby proofing supplies this weekend. This summer should be exciting and crazy! I am thrilled to be with him everyday to experience all these changes...life is good!

8 Months of Craziness!

London turned 8 months today. He has the best little personality these days. He loves to babble and scream and loves to see our reaction to his sounds. He loves to free play with toys on the floor and is working on his rolling/ crawling. Right now he mainly rolls and scoots from place to place. His back legs just aren't quite ready to lift him up yet. But, he's working on it...but very frustrating when he can't get what he wants. He grabs for things he shouldn't have such as keys, remote, phone, cords. He now also throws tantrums when these things are removed. I can see his future tantrum face and it's not pretty. (actually it's adorable~I don't think this kid is capable of being unattractive, gonna be the end of me, I know)
We have been trying lots of new food combinations with London. We want to make sure he will be open-minded about all kinds of foods once he starts eating a "real people" diet. We're raising him vegetarian and I bought him his first vegetarian book from amazon.com. It's super cute. I have to read it from afar though because he'll tear it apart. London's sleeping patterns have been all over the place. Some nights he'll sleep 10 hours in a row, other nights he may wake up 2-3 times screaming for a bottle. He's a bit up and down (just like mommy and daddy)
I took London to the pool for the first time on Memorial Day weekend. We went 3 days in a row for almost 5 hours each day. He loved swimming with mommy and hanging out on the lawn chairs with all the big people. He ate lunch poolside and even got to sport his super cool Finding Nemo "little swimmers." Daddy came this past weekend and got London a floatie...unfortunately his chunky thighs didn't quite fit...haha. Only one more week and I am will be home with my baby for 2 months! I can't wait!!!!! I may never want to go back to work!