Swing Love

As much as I want it to get really cold, Liam and I have been thoroughly enjoying this unseasonable weather by taking advantage of the baby swings at the park. He absolutely loves to swing as well as stare at all the other kids at the park.

Scary Sunday

Yesterday was tough. I debated whether or not to blog about this, but in the end I felt that I wanted to share with everyone and my mom, just how much she means to me.

Yesterday I received a call from my sister around 12:00PM that my mom had fallen down the stairs at my parent's house and was unconscious. Immediately my heart stopped and I began shaking and crying. She went on to tell me that she was on her way over to the house and that my dad told her the paramedics were on the way. The next 20 minutes or so are kind of a blur. Josh and I were not home when we got the news, so we drove straight home and I just panicked while I waited to hear back from my sister. What seemed like an hour later (but was probably 10 minutes), my sister called to tell me that she had woken back up and was responsive. They took her to North Fulton hospital (because it has a trauma center) and I headed straight there.

The rest of the day was spent with my mom, dad and sister in the ER. Miraculously she had no broken bones and only a few scratches/cuts here and there. The CAT scan did show some blood on the brain due to the trauma so they kept her overnight to monitor her and make sure the leak stopped. As of this morning things are looking good. She is still feeling pretty good, all things considered, and the bleeding has stopped. Looks like they are going to keep her one more night to monitor her and then hopefully she can go home tomorrow.

I always say that I hate it takes something like this to put things in perspective, but sometimes it does. Yesterday was such a scary day for me. My mom has endured so much over the past few years and to see her remain so strong and positive is not only amazing, but inspiring. Now that I am a mom myself, I appreciate everything she has done for me on a whole new level. She is truly an inspiration and I am so happy that Liam is able to know and love his Grammy as much as I do. The fact that my mom is ok, is the best Christmas present I could ask for. I love you mom!!


My mom, my dad and their five grandsons :)

My Next Adventure

2 days ago I ended a four year career at 22squared. I have nothing but amazing things to say about 22, but unfortunately I've reached a point in my life where I am less career-minded and more looking for a great work/life balance in order to a) share in all the special milestones Liam makes and b) spend as much time with my family as possible. While 22 is a fantastic place to work, they do not offer any part-time possibilities. I was able to work out a 3 month part-time option with them earlier this year, but that has now ended.

So, moving forward in my life, I have taken a part-time position as a project manager at a small agency right around the corner from my house. Most likely I'll be working three days a week and the other two days will be staying home with Liam. I'm very sad to be leaving 22, but at the same time, very excited at this new opportunity. The flexibility is amazing and I feel fortunate that I have been able to find such a job.

My new job does not start until January, so for the next three weeks I will be enjoying the holidays, friends and family!

8 months, an ear infection and a cold

Not exactly the title I was hoping to use for this post, but sadly it is true. Liam turned 8 months old on Tuesday and that same day he was also diagnosed with an ear infection and a nasty virus. Liam has been having interrupted night sleep for about a week and then Monday night he literally only slept for a total of 3 hours. The rest of the time the poor guys was up screaming and crying but every time I would pick him up, he would fall asleep on my shoulder :( I knew something was going on and decided that laying down must be bothering him in some way. I finally got smart and around 3 in the morning put him in the car seat in the crib. That helped and he finally was able to sleep from about 3AM-6AM. When he woke up in the morning he was also running a fever of 101.7. We went straight to the doctor as soon as they opened and our suspicions were confirmed....our first ear infection. On top of that, the Dr. also noticed he was coming down with another cold. Here we are 4 days later, the ear seems better, but the cold is in full force....coughing fits and all. I've stayed home all week and have been giving everything I have to help my little guy, so to say I'm exhausted is an understatement. There have been some benefits though...lots of cuddling, videos and just wanting mommy to hold him. Today he seems worse than yesterday, so I'm actually hoping this means we nearing the end as things always seem to get worse right before they get better. Poor guy :(

As soon as we are in better spirits I will take his 8 month pics to share.

Here's where we are at 8 months:
- Drinking from a sippy cup (see video). Not a pro yet but at least its something. I can't wait till my bottle washing days are over!
- Rocking like crazy on hands and knees. Also goes from sitting position to hands and knees and wants to do this ALL day long.
- Waves bye bye (every now and then)
- Starting to try and pull himself up. Gets about half way then falls.
- Loves to stand with support
- Still no table food...going to wait till we are all better so will prob start trying in a few weeks. Loves his jar food though!
- Smiles and laughs whenever Polly walks in the room
- Really starting to like books
- Thinks peek-a-boo is the coolest game in the world
- Loves to make an "O" face with his mouth
- Still no teeth and really no sign of them

Only 4 more months till his 1st birthday!

Videos

I haven't posted many videos in a while so I felt it was about time. Here's two of my recent favs. The first one is Liam belly laughing for the first time (please excuse my nastiness in this video). Whenever he laughs it usually is a little shrill, but I was FINALLY able to get a good one out of him the other night. The second video is showing Liam's new favorite pastime....sitting in the shopping cart. He is now big enough and sturdy enough to sit in the cart himself, and he loves it. I think he truly thinks he is on a roller coaster.

ENJOY!