Well, it seems like forever since my last post and it has been - 24 days! (I should fess up at this point - I've been working on this for 5 days now...) Wow! No wonder I'm not sure where to begin...This will be a long post. Feel free to just look at the pictures:) I've uploaded pics to the WebAlbums, too. That was part of the delay - too much to say and too many pictures!
When last I spoke, JHP had cut one tooth, been to 2 days of Mother's Day Out, and his nose was running occasionally. AND Nana and Papa Jim had been here and Grandma was coming. We had a nice visit with Grandma the weekend before the storm hit. As you can see from this picture, Grandma must have been telling John she'd buy him anything he wants when he gets older (from Beech's (sp?) maybe - a Pitcher tall tale reference). Actually, she was just getting some lovin' in on those sweet cheeks!
Later, as we were showing off our before bath routine, we found a new item to put on JHP's cute little head - a pair of his shorts. Daddy commented that he looked like a catholic cardinal.
And after Grandma left that Sunday, we found a real hat for JHP to wear. And we had to add some sunglasses to make him look really cool!
The week rolled on and JHP was a real trooper when I had lots of running around to do the Wednesday (9/10/08) before Ike came. He even fell asleep in Target. I had him in the shopping cart seat sitting up and he started to doze. So I put the softest thing I had in the cart, which happened to be baby wipes refills, in one corner of the seat, he leaned over, and he snoozed. With the cutting teeth and the cold he hadn't been sleeping too well and Target wore him out.
Thursday, 9/11, JHP cut his second tooth, right lower front. And John and I worked diligently to get things put away and get things together to make the short trip to Spring to RNR's house where we decided we would stay for Ike. They had called for an evacuation of our zip code and we had decided that if they called for one, we would leave. We had no boards for the house. So we just picked up all we could from the yard and hoped out neighbors did the same. And we moved important stuff up off the floor inside. We did find out later that we are the highest point in Clear Lake at 25 feet. But, you know, water can still get inside if a tree falls on your house or you lose shingles. There are lots of folks around here in that predicament. Anyway, we left and took the back roads to Spring. It took us about 1.5 hours and it would have taken less if the two school zones we went through weren't letting out at the time (and if we'd left when we planned on). But we made it and got settled up there on Thursday evening. I don't remember what exactly we were doing here before bed, but Daddy decided it was a good picture.
RNR have a pool. So we took JHP swimming for the first time. He loved loved LOVED IT (although this picture doesn't seem to show the LOVE)! He's got this little floatie and was really enjoying himself. He doesn't mind getting this head wet and would even lie back when Daddy held him out flat in the water. And he went swimming again on Friday morning. I'm sure we'll make another trip to visit RNR before the pool season ends.
The rest of Friday was rather lazy as things got a little cloudier and breezier. John helped Renee' mow the back 40 - both of them couldn't stand just standing around waiting, I think. So we waited and watched TV. We put JHP down to sleep around the normal time and John and I hit the sack around 1030p or so. JHP woke up around 130a and the power when out shortly thereafter. It was windy and rainy outside, but we felt secure. We all managed to get back to sleep to be awakened again about 500a or so. At this point I felt the need to sleep on the floor. I guess I was spooked. John later asked me why and I told him I needed to be on the floor. I had covered part of the pac-n-play up with a quilt to protect JHP and I felt like I needed to be on the floor. John asked why it was OK that he slept in the bed. I dunno. I guess I was just looking out for myself and JHP. I guess I figured Daddy could take care of himself.
It continued to rain all the morning and into the afternoon. It was still windy and that made the day bearable. After it stopped raining and it got still, it became slightly uncomfortable for us. JHP, however, became the little white trash baby as we stripped him down to his diaper. He fussed quite a bit and managed to nap, but in a pool of sweat. We did give JHP a little bath that evening before we laid him down and he even managed to fall asleep. But it didn't last long and he was awake again in a pool of sweat after only 45 minutes. I had spoken with a friend in another subdivision in Clear Lake and had made arrangements to go there on Sunday and stay with his family as they had room and power. Since JHP was not dealing with the heat well, we decided to go south Saturday night. I made the call and we started packing. Traffic was light on the interstate and we made it back the CL in a reasonable time. Going down I-45, you could see patches of light and patches of dark, an obvious show of who had power and who didn't. Our decision turned out to be a good one as parts of I-45 were flooded that night and prevented our friends from coming home the next day. And it was good in that once we got JHP back into some AC he returned to his normal cheerful self, kicking his legs like he was ready for a swim meet.
John went to check on the house the next day. We had had reports from a couple of folks that our house was in good shape with only minor tree issues and a portion of the fence down. Our neighbors across the street got power back on Sunday. We rescued some items from the freezer and stayed another night at our friend's. The front blew through that night and made it bearable with windows opened so we moved home on Monday. By then, there were only 6 houses in our neighborhood without power, of which we were one. We didn't get power restored until Tuesday night around midnight. That was 4 full days without power. We were very blessed to have had little damage, good friends to take us in both in Spring and Clear Lake, and an early cool front (for those of you up north, it's normally still humid this time of year here).
It has taken a while for things to get back to normal, of course. We didn't have cable until Saturday morning - which should explain WHY I didn't post two weeks ago when I had an extra pair of hands helping me out. John didn't work again until this past Tuesday, 9/23. The grocery stores, once they finally got power back, took several days to look like they were fully stocked and stayed that way. At HEB, pretty much as soon as they stocked the shelves of perishables, they were empty again. Some stores are still closed. Mother's Day Out did return to partial operation last week, which was good for me. JHP seemed to enjoy it and I certainly enjoyed the time away from him. He's been very trying recently. His sleeping habits are out of kilter and he gets bored easy. He's been waking up too early (for me, anyway) and oftentimes in the middle of the night. We've tried limiting his naps during the day, but he's actually just fussier at night and doesn't sleep any later. So I guess we need to try something a little different...
JHP has found a new thing to chew on in the bath. He evidently believes that the rubber duckies are like bath pacifiers. He can fit the whole head in his mouth!
We really enjoyed the cooler and drier weather and spent a lot of time taking JHP out for a walk after the storm. This always seems to quiet him down. He's an observer by nature, I guess. So he had lots to look at with all the activity in the neighborhood. Hopefully, the weather will continue to be milder and the mosquitoes will go away and we will spend more time outside.
Last week, JHP managed to pull himself up at MDO. Shocked the teachers! Daddy had seen him trying the day before and on Thursday he managed it! So he's been trying here at home on this little table we have. Here he is on his knees...
and then as I'm taking the picture, he's on his toes!
And here is all of him! Usually, he'll look over at you with the biggest grin once he realizes he's standing!
Here's that grin! I'm actually holding the toy with my foot so he's steady enough to stand. Otherwise he'd be face-planted in the carpet!
And finally a picture of those toofies! If you look closely, you'll see the two little white teeth out front.
JHP is getting more mobile by the day. He's practicing the army crawl and will MOVE when he wants something. He's fascinated with newspaper, especially the large recycle pile. I know that one day soon I will find him covered in that pile when he pulls it down on himself. And he can now sit himself up if he's got a foot underneath him and/or something to prop himself up with. But he hasn't quite mastered getting from his belly to a seated position without some outside help. He's into squealing when it suits him and he loves to flap his arms. He'll flap with a toy that makes noise, slap his legs in the high chair, slap the water with his hand to splash, or hit one stacking cup against another. He'll eat turkey and chicken now, alone or mixed with something else. He's still not a big fan of cereal, unless you mix it with something more tasty. And we introduced yogurt last night.
Our biggest obstacle these days is sleep. We seem to be caught in limbo. Recently, if he slept too much during the day, he'd be up for a couple hours in the middle of the night. So we started limiting his naps. Then he wouldn't nap well, would be fussy all evening until bed, and still wouldn't sleep later in the morning. He's dropped from 13-14 hours of sleep a day to 11-12. We are still trying to get him to bed about the same time as before 800p , but then he's getting up between 530a and 630a. Thanksfully, it's not a fight to get him to sleep most of the time (naps or bed). But I sure would like it to be more stable than it has been of late. We'll take any suggestions you seasoned mothers may have...
I think I've babbled enough. I promise the next post would be this long...
-EBP-
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We always take a picture when they get together because June wants to hold JHP. Well - JHP is getting a bit big for this. June only weighs 10 pounds more than he does!
I've also included a picture of when Jimmy was 4 months old. And pictures of June at the same age are very similar, too. I guess the family genes can't be denied on the Buckley side.
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