Happy 3 Months Pearson!

Happy 3 Months Pearson! I can't believe you are a quarter of a year old! You weigh almost 16 lbs now, and are in 6-9 month clothes. Many people have told us that you are the size of their 6 or 9 month olds. It feels like you just continue to grow out of your clothes- we had to make a run to the Carter's outlet in Dallas to get you a few play clothes that would fit you! I've officially retired your 3-6 month clothes. I tried to make them last and some of them are so cute, but they are so hard to get over your head that you usually start crying because I take too long doing it, so it's just not worth it. Now that we have some new 9 month clothes you are much happier when it is time to change your clothes! Little boy, you are sleeping very well at night. The longest stretch you have done so far is 9 hours, and usually you average around 7 or 8 at night, and then do a quick feed and go back down for another 3-4 hours. Sleeping during the day is a different story. You are just not that into it. I've tried all kinds of different methods and schedules hoping to get you to nap a little more, but you fight off sleep during the day like nothing I've ever seen. It seems like you try to use all your strength to keep your eye lids from closing when you get tired. You are still taking a little cat nap between each feeding, but it usually lasts for only 30-45 minutes. You are eating about ever 3 hours, but I notice that if I am the one holding you after you wake up from a nap you want to eat sooner. I think you must smell your food and you get hungry a little earlier. Some of your favorite things to do are go for walks, ride front ways in the sling, lay on your play gym and look in the mirror, and take baths. You are smiling and cooing a ton now and your newest trick is sticking your tongue out at Daddy after he sticks his out at you. We are having so much fun with you and can't believe how much you change from week to week. Dad and I pray for you every night that you would love Jesus with all of your heart, and that you would whole heartily accept His love for you. You are such a joy and delight to us and we are confident the Lord has great plans for you! Happy 3 months sweet Pearson, we love you so much!

Pearson goes to Texas

Well, we got back a few days ago from a week long trip to Texas. Besides the trip home, which you might have read about from a previous blog entry, we had a great time. We spent the first 3 nights at Gammy and Doc's house and the next 3 nights at Pammy and Papa T's house. While in Dallas I learned that Pammy wanted to change the spelling of her name from Pami to Pammy and all of a sudden Papa T is questioning his name. Any suggestions you have you can leave in the comments section and I will pass them along to him. Some of the highlights of Pearson's trip were meeting Aunt Natalie and Uncle Sterling who recently moved down the street from Gammy and Doc. He also hung out with Aunt Alli and met Uncle Blake for the first time. We took him out to Royal Oaks for the first time which he seemed to like pretty well. Lucky for him he did not order the NY Strip special. I cannot say the same thing about the rest of us. We then moved over to my parents house and Mr. P got to meet his Uncle Chris, Aunt Jenny, Aunt Amanda, and Uncle Tom. He was also reacquainted with Aunt Mary who he had met previously in LA and also met his great grandfather Papa O. Pearson seemed to enjoy meeting everyone and was giving out smiles very generously. Stewart headed back on Sunday and Pearson and I stayed in Dallas for another few days and I got to see my friends Berkeley, Lucy, Karen, and Mindy and enjoy a delicious dinner at Mi Cocina! It's funny the way a baby really changes things in a family. There were many times during our time together where Pearson would be smiling or cooing and everyone would just stop what they were doing and want to stare and just talk about how cute Pearson was. I can only imagine how much fun it is going to be as Mr. P gets older and we add some little cousins to the fun!


Doc puts Pearson to sleep.


Pearson enjoys bathtime at Gammy and Doc's


Sweet pic with Daddy


Uncle Sterl and Aunt Natalie





Pearson family photo.





Wade Family photo with the newest member



Pearson meets Aunt Lulu.

Travel Day from You Know Where

Today was a memorable day in my life of motherhood. It was the day I was set to travel back to LA from Dallas all by myself. I had a little bit of anxiety about this trip. Traveling with an infant isn't exactly a piece of cake to begin with, so it certainly is nice to have an extra set of hands to help with all the gear that's involved with traveling as well as to have someone there who can provide moral support in case things don't go well and baby gets upset. So, I show up at the airport and check in with a nice lady at Virgin America who "courtesy blocks" the whole row for me.

Excellent.

Now I have plenty of room to spread out and don't have to worry about nursing on the same row as a middle aged man. Going through security was a breeze, I had about 3 TSA workers that assisted me with the car seat and stroller. So far, I'm off to an perfect start. After going through security I put Pearson back in the stroller and walk the terminal trying to get him to take a nap. Little man is too excited with all the bright lights to sleep so we head back over to our gate.

As I'm walking back over I hear the lady at the gate say something about a delay. I find out then that the flight is delayed 1.5 hrs due to the plane being rerouted to OKC thanks to a big Texas thunderstorm. Well 1.5 hrs turns to 3.5 hour delay and my bright-eyed peaceful boy quickly turned into an exhausted and unhappy baby. Pearson is pretty laid back, but when he gets tired he gets cranky fast and the sweet little guy fights off sleep like nothing I've ever seen. I tried everything to get him to take a nap: strolling him, putting him in the swing, slow dancing in the terminal to the sound of some gently lullabies sung by yours truly. I was so desperate at one point that I laid him on the airport floor (gross!) so that I could swaddle him. All these strategies provided short term relief for Mr. P, but eventually he was back to expressing in his loudest cry possible that he was tired and was ready for a change of scenery from Terminal E at DFW.

I kept passing this one airport security lady as I would walk him that would look like she had a sense of dread when she would see me coming and at one point Mr. P was crying so loud I was worried someone was going to call child protective services on me due to the loud volume of my child's cries. At about 9:20 I was talking to the Lord and told him that if Pearson does not stop crying by the time I walk to Gate 20 then I'm done, will go home, and take the 7:00am flight out in the morning (which also seemed pretty brutal). I couldn't wait until Gate 20 and called Mom at Gate 21 in tears telling her to come and get me.

I then went to the Virgin counter at Gate 20 and told the gate worker that I needed to get on another flight. He asked me why and I burst into tears, at which point he called for backup to deal with the crazy mom and I was escorted to another counter where it seemed they gave me a mini mental status exam to be certain I was with it. They then told me that they would change my flight, but that if I wanted to get back to LA we were about to board. I looked at Mr. P, who now was as calm and peaceful as could be - definitely the Holy Spirit at work. So I thought what the heck, I've made it this far, let's get home!

The Virgin attendant felt so badly for me that she made an announcement to stop the boarding on my flight and she walked me onto the plane all the way to my seat. After I got settled I started nursing Mr. P who nursed all the way until we started to take off. I was a little nervous that he would be upset on the way up, but he passed out and is still asleep although seems to be rousing a little. I think we have about 2 hours and 45 minutes left, so I'll write another update after we've landed to let you know how the rest of the flight went.

Update:
It is now midnight Dallas time. According to the map on my TV screen we are over the middle of Arizona going 444 mph and have 451 miles to go. I think we will land in an hour and 15 minutes. Mr. P has really been a trooper. He has been snacking for the majority of the trip and I'm pretty sure one or two flight attendants have seen my boob. Sorry Stewart. I can't wait to land.

Update:
We are now about to start our descent. A wave of relief has passed over me. Pearson has made it through without any incidents and soon I will get to see my hubby and sleep in my own bed tonight. Hooray!

Pami and Papa T

Pami and Papa T came to visit for the tail end of Stewart's trip and provided some much needed relief as I had been on my own for about 4 days before they arrived . Pearson had a great time getting to spend time with his grandparents and I enjoyed having some extra hands around and having some delicious meals. Stewart got back last Friday and mom and dad were nice enough to take care of Pearson while Stewart and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at Bandera's. Thanks Pami and Papa T! Papa T, sorry I don't have a pic of you and Pearson on my iphone!