Signing off...for awhile

We are leaving for vacation tomorrow so I will be signing off for a little while. Though I am bringing my laptop and I have a ton of pictures and videos that need to be posted so you might see some old stuff on here when I am taking some quick breaks which Murdoch is sleeping. We are crossing our fingers for nice weather. We have had so much rain lately so we are hoping for some sunny days to get out and enjoy the summer days a little bit. Hopefully that works out for us. I hope you are all enjoying your summer and we will talk to you soon.

11 Months!

Through the magic of technology your child can age a month in just two days! Or it is just a Mom who is way behind on the posts! Murdoch will be a year two weeks for today - seems crazy! So long and so short at the same time. This one is a little long. I have another shorter one but he stands up in this one - that has been hard to capture on film.

10 Months!

Murdoch is going to be 1 in about 2 weeks so I thought it might be a good idea to catch up on all of his videos before then. I was having technical difficulties getting the videos from the camera onto my laptop so we have a build up of about 2 months worth of videos. This one isn't all that exciting - we have some eating and a little bit of talking.

Right now we are very busy with the house - the electrical for the bathroom and family room was completed yesterday along with the tile floor in the bathroom. Andy trimmed out some of the windows and later this week hopefully the plumbing will be done. So it is going to be a busy week house wise and we are going on vacation next week so we need to get ready for that and the arrival of the STL grandparents.

Visit to Georgia - Finally!

Our visit to Georgia was almost 2 months ago so I am a little behind on those pictures. Either way here they are. You have already heard about the trip so I won't go on about what a great time we had.

An update on the screaming baby - he was screaming at 12:30 AM and he didn't want to be held and rocked. Not as much fun. Going to need some caffeine today! Oh well. We are hoping for a nice weekend without too much rain.

Anyone want a screaming baby at 3:45 AM?

I DO! Murdoch woke up on Tuesday morning at 3:45 AM screaming - both the early wake up and the screaming was not normal for him. It turns out he had a small fever which is probably because of teething. 3:45 AM is not exactly my favorite time of the morning but I got to go in and rock my baby back to sleep which never happens anymore. These days he is a little wiggle worm that doesn't want to be held so he goes to bed wide awake sitting up with no rocking from me. Though this is great because he is learning to put himself to bed it is also another thing I am losing as he grows up. So though I don't want to be up at that hour I just reminded myself how nice it was to hold him and rock him back to sleep.

I thought these pictures were cute - he kept crawling toward the camera while I was trying to take these. You can also see on his right eye - a small yellow mark - that is as close as we have gotten to a black eye so far - a little bum from the chair and he didn't even cry! Sometimes he is a tough kid. In the past week he has stood up from a squatting position by himself, crawled down the stairs, and taken 2 steps before falling down. I think we are in big trouble!

A terrible loss

Yesterday we found out that Andy's grandmother/Talli's Mom passed away. I think it was very shocking news for all of us. We went down to see Midge in March while visiting Andy's parents and it was a great visit. We got to see 4 generations of the family together and Murdoch loved all of the attention she gave him.

She was a very independent and with it. She would email me often with updates of what she was doing, she checked the blog, she was very involved with the community and she was a very accomplished painter. She was planning on coming up to the area in August for a visit so we are really going to miss her next month and the many months to come.

I didn't know here that well so if you would like to post a comment with some memories that you have they will be kept for a later date for others to read and hopefully it will bring a smile to their face.

We will miss you Midge!

Long time no blog....

It has been a little while since my last post. We have been very busy - I had a wedding shower/bachelorette party on Saturday that I was organizing and then we went to the George Michael concert on Sunday night so it was a packed weekend for us. Plus videos aren't downloading onto my laptop - I need to fix that and I just haven't been motivated to do so. But my Dad called saying that he had some pictures from our trip to STL back in May ready so I thought why not post those. Murdoch already looks so different so I thought it was good to see these. I hope you enjoy them and I will try to post more pictures soon - I just need to get those on my laptop!

I have been nominated!

My friend, family by marriage, fellow blogger, and fellow Mother, Ellen, has nominated me for an award! This is so exciting! I don't feel like my blog is all that groundbreaking it is more to chronicle Murdoch's life and then other things that happen to our family. And also it is for the grandparents and other family members to see the progress of Murdoch - we don't have local family, except for Uncle Hugh, so this way people can see what we are up to and I don't need to write a ton of emails and send pictures every other day - because that just isn't happening!

So now that I have been nominated I must pass on the love to other bloggers.

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.

5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Here is my list (okay so I don't have 7 blogs so this is the best I can do):

1. Byron Ladybugs: Okay so this may seem a little silly because Ellen nomiated me but I go to her blog every single day, at least working days, to read about what is going on down in Georgia. Ellen is married to Craig who is my husband's cousin so we know each other via the guys and the fact that we married them. I think the first time I met Ellen was at the rehearsal dinner for her wedding - though I could be wrong but I think that is correct. Obviously being her wedding weekend and all I didn't get to talk to her much but over the years we say each other more and more at family events. I think the first time it really clicked for me that we would really get along was in Maine when we discussed having children and the struggle that we were both having about do I want them, if I don't have them and then I change my mind, what is life going to be like if we have them, etc. And now years later Ellen has two gorgeous, intelligent and strong little girls and I have one little guy with some crazy hair. So obviously we both made the decision to have kids but we still struggle with issues around kids, life, husbands, etc., and I feel like we see a lot of these issues the same way which makes Ellen a good sounding board - she always takes the time to listen/read about my issues, has good advice that isn't judgemental, and at the end of the day she is a lot of fun to laugh with over a glass of wine. The only thing I would change is that she lived closer - being about 1000 miles or so apart makes it tough but it is an important bond to me so I will make sure that I see all of them at least once a year!

2: Mary/Mean Mommy: I met Mary through my husband - he grew up with Tony, Mary's wife and they have been good friends for probably almost 30 years. I met Mary about 10 years ago - they came up for a visit and I instantly loved her! She is funny, I love that she uses a lot of bad language, she can drink, and she is so easy to talk to! Again this is another person who is not close which makes it hard but I feel like I know what she has going on in her life because of her blog. She writes exactly what I am thinking but I can't get it down on paper - thanks for making me laugh outloud so many times and for being such a great Mother and wife!

3: Kristina Young: I met Kristina through my husband who works with her husband. Kristina is a mother of two and looking to start her own business doing photography - which is what she really loves and is her passion. Kristina was kind enough to take pictures of me when I was pregnant and I thought they were awesome! I really admore her because she has found something that she loves, she is going after it, and to top it off she is really good at it. Visit her site and check out the photos!

I know that isn't 7 but those are really the only blogs that I visit on a regular basis so I didn't think it would be a good idea to just find a blog to nominate that I don't know that well. Enjoy!

A Glimpse into the Future

Andy has been saying for awhile that Murdoch is looking less and less like a baby and more like a little kid. I agree but at the same time he still appears to be a baby - my baby. Well when we arrived home today from work and daycare I got him out of the car in his car seat and set him down on the driveway while I got all of the bags together, I glance over at him while he played with his maraca and he was a toddler sitting in Murdoch's infant seat.

I thought to myself 'Where has my baby gone?! I have started to understand more and more over the past couple of months why people have more kids - a baby is an addiction, an addiction that is then taken away from you and that you can't get back. But you can get it back - just get pregnant again. At times it is like a drug - it clouds your mind - of course just have another kid, you forget about the lack of sleep, the crying, etc. It is a completely irrational thought at times but it is such a strong feeling in your gut! Andy is going to be my rational side when my gut wants more babies.

I think my baby turning into a toddler is the start of some lasts. Ellen had a good post about first vs lasts - as parents we are always looking for firsts in our child, but we tend to not notice the lasts. We need to get a toddler seat for Murdoch - so we will no longer bring him in asleep in his infant car seat - I loved the way he loved in there especially when he was zipped up in his little 'sleeping bag'. I know there are a lot of exciting things ahead but seeing a toddler in my son made me realize how quickly he is growing up and that I will never have that time back.

On a separate note we have a charger for the battery again so we will have pictures again soon. We are off to Maine this weekend to visit Bob and Talli - we will definitely have some pictures after that so we will start posting those again soon. Enjoy the weekend.

Camera Down!

I have the camera, I have the battery, but I don't have the little thing that the battery fits into in order to pull it into the wall to charge it. So we are running on empty right now. I want to save the little bit of battery life just in case something big happens and I don't have enough battery life to get the photos from the camera to the computer. So right now I have a few videos but that is about it. Hopefully I can find one of these chargers soon! I have a lot of photos on that camera and I would like to get them uploaded.

On a positive note it looks like we might get insulation today which means that walls aren't far behind! I can't wait for this house project to be over!

Congrats Hugh & Karen!

We just found out last night that Hugh and Karen got engaged on Sunday! We couldn't be more thrilled! I don't have any details or pictures or anything like that but I wanted to throw this post out there so people would know - not like it isn't traveling like wildfire on the Sutherland side of the family!

Anniverary & Holiday Weekend

Thursday was our 4 year anniversary. Hugh came over to babysit Murdoch so we were able to go out to dinner. We went to Sibling Rivalry in the South End. Hugh and Karen gave us a gift card so we used that for our meal (thank you Hugh and Karen!). The traffic was horrible getting there - you think I would have thought about the fact that it was the day before 4th of July before I started driving! We left early to have a drink before dinner and ended up getting there right on time. No matter. The dinner was awesome - I had soft shelled crabs and Andy had lamb and tenderloin. I had two drinks which were awesome! And we had a nice molten lava cake. Once you had a kid it is so nice to get out and enjoy yourself without looking at your watch thinking, when did he last eat, how much time do we have until he needs to eat again or nap or is he close to a nap so he is going to have a melt down!? It was rough the next morning because the Man woke up a little before 5 but it was worth it to get out of the house and have a conversation that didn't involve Murdoch.

The rest of the weekend was nice - I loved that it was a 3-day weekend! Work has been very busy, and is only going to get worse so any little reward like a 3-day weekend is great right now! Most of the weekend was spent working on the house - Andy installed more trim, ran most of the speaker wire in the TV room which means that we should gett insulation and then walls relatively soon, and we started using the master bath! We went to Hugh & Karen's for a BBQ on Saturday which was nice - it forced us to get out of the house and be social.

I have a feeling this week is going to be a long one - work wise so I will try to keep the posts up while sucking down caffeine to get through the day. Enjoy the week!

Fun with Craig!

As you can see I am catching up - now I am only about 2 weeks behind on videos! :) This one is from Georgia. Murdoch was in love with Craig when we went down there for a visit! He would follow him all around the house and wanted to be in his lap all of the time. Maybe there was just too much estrogen in the house so it forced these guys to bond, I don't know. Either way it was so cute!

Giggles

I think this video is so funny! At times it is hard to tell if Murdoch is laughing or crying unless you are really looking at him. In this video he is laughing. At times he find Deucey really really funny and this is one of them. He was squealing even more before we turned the camera on but I think we got some of it.

Enjoy the week!

PS - Murdoch slept without his pacifier again last night! But Andy had a rough morning with him - he was up early, a little cranky, and the diaper didn't hold - enough said :)

9 Months!

Considering that I did Murdoch's 10 months video this past weekend I thought it would be a good idea to get this one on the blog first. Obviously we are far behind on videos and pictures. I downloaded all of the videos to my laptop last night so this week should be filled with video updates.

Please ignore me in this video - I keep saying 8 month video - it is actually 9 months.

I know this is not the end...

...but I am happy to report that I just put Murdoch down for bed without his pacifier - this is the first time! He cried for about 2 minutes which could occur with the pacifier. Now he is face down talking in his crib so he doesn't appear to be too upset. I know he is going to need it again but this gives me hope that we can get rid of it by his first birthday. For some reason I am really stressing about getting rid of it - in the end if the worst thing that happens in the first couple of years is that he still uses a pacifier life is good. I need to learn to keep thing in perspective. I get a little obsessed about one thing and then it becomes the center of my life.

This is way more important than Murdoch using a pacifier. Those are the things that keep me up at night.

Rough Week

I got a call from daycare on Tuesday that Murdoch had a fever. I picked him up around 1 PM and tried to make him feel more comfortable. His fever went over 103 that day so I knew one of us wouldn't be at work the next day. Andy's Mom randomly wrote about wanting to see Murdoch so I wrote back and said he would definitely be at home the next day. So she drove down from Maine the next morning to help us out. Andy was home in the AM and then went to work. Talli had a lot of rocking and soothing - the man was clingy and cranky. Not a good combo! I stayed home from work on Thursday. The fever was definitely better but Mr. Crankypants was still with us. Talli was with me for most of the day so I was able to get some work done which was so nice - thank you so much! Now Andy may be at home with him. The fever isn't an issue but he still isn't himself and I don't think we should send him in when he needs to be held and rocked - too many other things going on at daycare. So Andy is going to make a game-time decision. Hopefully this is it! We have been so lucky health wise so far - Murdoch has been sick very often especially considering he goes to daycare so I am thankful but still worn out and tired. Maybe he will sleep past 5 this weekend - I could sure use that extra sleep!

Can someone say hair product?

We thought these were pretty funny pictures. Murdoch's sunscreen has a lot of zinc in it so it doesn't rub in that well and it gives him funky hair when we put it on his scalp.

I've got everything I need....

It looks like Andy and Murdoch have everything they need - a Blackberry, a bottle, and the remote control - it doesn't get much better that this!

Working 9-5

I have a huge backlog of pictures and videos so some of these are a little old but at the same time cute so I am going to post them.

Murdoch absolutely loves playing with our laptops. A toy laptop just doesn't do it - those are okay but the real ones are the best. Here are a few pictures of him working away.

Hopefully lots of posts to come. Probably not too much commentary - I am exhausted so just getting the pictures online will be my goal.

We're Baaaack!

We returned Tuesday from an awesome weekend in Macon visiting Ellen, Craig, Grace, and Julie. I haven't downloaded any of the pictures from the weekend to my laptop but Ellen did so you can take a look at those pictures.

We had a 6 AM flight on Saturday morning - Murdoch was awesome. A little fussy but not too bad. I was so thankful for that! I was really nervous about traveling alone with him and would I be able to handle the luggage, the stroller, him, etc. but it went really well. Plus we didn't have to bring as much because Ellen provided us with food, diapers, wipes, etc. That was a huge help!

Murdoch had such a good time - he loves Grace! He would just sit and stare and smile at her - she would talk to him, get him toys when he cried, etc. She was great! I think Craig was Murdoch's favorite. By day three he was crawling everywhere Craig went and he would cry if Craig left. It was so cute.

We took a tour of Macon - which is a gorgeous city if you have never been there. We took walks and we went to the pool - We used their floaty and Murdoch was in the pool for over and hour.

We returned Tuesday evening and it was depressing - one because we left the Byrons and I had such a great time and because we returned to construction - half of our second floor is gutted and there is that layer of construction dust everywhere.

Thank you so much Byrons! I can't say that enough. It was so much fun. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you did for us. It was so nice knowing that it was okay not to talking when I was tired, if I wanted to stay in my PJs until noon that was fine, if Murdoch cried that was just something else that happened. I could go on and on but thank you for the general sense of welcome and calm in your house - I can't wait to come back.

Hopefully this weekend I will catch up on videos and pictures because I have a lot of them!

Very Busy!

We have been very busy over the past couple of weeks so the blog has been neglected. All of the trim in Murdoch's room was finished so we are working on getting all of this painted. We completed the baseboard over the weekend so we put his new rug out and it is starting to look like a real nursery. There is still a long way to go but at least that is something.

This Saturday I am leaving for Georgia to visit the Byrons but we are also having out family room, hallway, and one bathroom gutted while I am gone so we are working hard to get everything out of those rooms and get it covered up so there isn't too much dust.

By the time I leave work, pick up Murdoch, maybe go for a walk, get him off to bed, do something on the house, and eat there isn't any time for blogging. I have a lot of pictures and videos waiting to be posted but no energy to do it. I am sure we will have a lot of pictures and storied from our trip to Georgia. Until then enjoy your weekend and I will talk to you when we get back - maybe I will sneak in a post or two while I am down there.

Memorial Day Weekend

As you can tell from this pictures and our other ones we were on the move over Memorial Day weekend. The weather was gorgeous so we tried to get outside as much as we could but at the same time working on the house. I think we did a pretty good job of balancing the work and relaxation that weekend. We tried to do the fun stuff in the morning like going to the dog park and taking a hike, then some work, and we finished off the day with a BBQ at someone's house so it was a good weekend. And we got a day off of work.

If only we could all sleep that soundly while in a backpack walking through the trees!

My fellow bloggers

My co-worker gave me this article on blogging this morning and I wanted to pass it along to all of you. I thought it was pretty interesting and thought you guys would enjoy it as well.

I am not the best at writing down all of my feelings in the blog, mine is mostly about Murdoch, but I know a lot of you out there really put your heart and soul into your posts so it is nice to hear that you are improving your health! So take that 30 minutes or so every day or a couple of times a week - it is like free therapy!

The nursery...

...almost 9 months later. Andy has been working really hard to get Murdoch's nursery ready. The crib was taken out of the guest bedroom last night and put into his room for the first time! The room consists of a crib and trash bags taped to the windows but it is something! Now I just have to paint all of the trim, get the rug down, order something for the windows, get his changing table in there, put some stuff on the wall, etc. So not complete but it was a big step. Now he doesn't have to go back in the pack & play when people visit which ends up being a horrible sleep for him and us!

Shake Your Groove Thing

Murdoch really enjoys music so we got him a music table which sings in English and Spanish - somehow thing that are very repetitive are much less annoying in Spanish so we keep it on that setting. Now when certain songs come on he shakes his bum back and forth - we interpret that as dancing and we really get a kick out of it. You can kind of see it on the video - like most things it is much better live.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend. I for one can't wait. For some reason this has been one of the longest weeks ever! Not sure why. I woke up Wednesday and Thursday thinking it was Friday and I was very disappointed. So this morning I was very happy when I woke up and knew that it was actually Friday so maybe the sun will be up before me the next couple of days. I need some sleep! I can't sustain the 3-teas-a-day for very long!

And a quick revision to my email about Emily - it turns out that she got straight A's! What a smarty pants!

Talk to you next week.

Swimming Lessons

These pictures aren't that great - I think I had the camera on the wrong setting or the auto-focus was focusing on the water instead of Andy and Murdoch but I wanted to share these pictures because they are cute if you can get past the blur.

Murdoch took 6 weeks of swimming class which was really more about us getting used to holding him in the water and him getting used to the water - read between the lines - not screaming while in the water. I think it was a success. We didn't have to leave early because he was crying or screaming and at the end he seemed to enjoy jumping off the side and splashing a little but in the water. We might do the class again when he gets a little older - the next level is for over 18 months. We were thinking that he might get a little more out of it next time.

Nothing else going on here. Andy gets back from Florida today so that will be nice. And I am really looking forward to the 3-day weekend. Hopefully Murdoch sleeps past 7.

Congrats Emily!

Emily, my sister, completed her first year of PT school last Thursday! She has two more years to go but so far she is near the top of her class! She got all A's and one B in her classes and now has a 6 week break until she goes out to Colorado Springs for summer internship - that isn't quite the right word for it but I can't remember exactly what they call it.

We are very proud of her - when we were in St. Louis we heard several stories from other people in her program about how they look to her for advice because she has the ability to put people at ease right at the beginning of a session. And she studies her butt off - so much that she won't even admit how much to her other classmates but it is clearly paying off. She even got a scholarship at the end of this semester.

Emily - get some sleep and enjoy your time off before you are back to work again! We are thinking of you and we miss you lots! Kisses from all of us! We are so proud of you - keep up the good work!

8 Months!

I have finally downloaded the 8 month video to my laptop! It is a little long and honestly not that exciting but he is still cute even if he is just standing around. There is a lot more pulling up and standing than crawling. The crawling is definitely there but he doesn't seem all that interested in it. He would rather pull-up and stand at a table and play with toys up there. I really hope he doesn't walk early. I am still not adjusted to the crawling. Enjoy the video and your weekend. I am looking forward to some sleep! Murdoch had a fever this week so he was a little cranky and didn't sleep very well which lead to less sleep for us. Maybe he will sleep past 6 this weekend, but I am not holding my breath.

Our visit to St. Louis

We went to St. Louis two weekends ago to visit my family. We arrived late on Thursday night - Murdoch was great on the plane. On Friday Murdoch, my Mom, and I went to the zoo while Andy played golf with my Dad. Then on Saturday we went to visit people and on Sunday we drove down to Columbia to see Aunt Emily. We had a really good time. The weather was awesome and Murdoch loved being the center of attention. We don't have many pictures because a lot of them are on my parents camera but here are the ones we took.

Thank you to my parents for everything - they were very accommodating!

I am raising a ham

It has become more and more apparent that Murdoch has a very good idea of what is going on around him and how he affects people around him. He is definitely no longer a little blog that requires feeding and diaper changes. He loves to smile and loves other people to smile at him. Anywhere we go he will pick out a person, smile at that person until they smile back and give him the attention that he needs. From what I can tell he loves the attention! I think he must have gotten this from his father or my sister because I don't like to be the center of attention at all.

When we were in St. Louis we went to a Mexican restaurant on Sunday to have a margarita and some food outside because the weather was gorgeous. Everyone else had the same plan especially since it was a day before Cinco de Mayo so we had to wait a little while. We sat around talking and Murdoch got to work on all of the people around him trying to find that special person that would smile at him and say oh you are so cute! While I was parking the car Murdoch was sitting with Andy looking around. He had his pacifier in so the smile wasn't quite as cute and charming. He found a woman to smile at and when the pacifier smile wasn't working he took it out of his mouth, flashed the woman a huge smile, got the reaction he wanted, and then put it right back in his mouth. Andy was dying laughing. Right then and there Murdoch was no longer a flirt, he was a ham.

The birds and the bees

I took Deucey out this morning before work to go to the bathroom. It hadn't started to rain yet and it was about 50 so it was much better that the early mornings in the winter. She was running around trying to find 'the perfect spot' and she started to smell something on the ground. I thought initially it was a packing peanut but then I looked closer and it was half of a bird's egg. There is a bird's nest in our gutter right above there, which I hate, but I had to smile and I thought to myself how nice, Spring is here! Then Deucey turned around and took a huge dump right on the egg. I actually laughed out loud when she did that and then turned around and trotted inside for her treat.

I know this is an odd post but I thought it was funny. Hopefully new Murdoch pictures and videos will be posted soon.

Enjoy the Spring!

Traveling with a baby

Or kids for that matter though we haven't graduated to kids so I don't want to speak for parents that travel with kids any age above 8 months.

We flew to St. Louis this past weekend to visit my parents. Murdoch was great on both flights. He had about 10 or so minutes of being fussy but he was just tired and he never started screaming. Andy and I were both grateful! I hate the looks and whispers you get on a flight when your child is screaming. I can accept that from someone who has no kids but from people that have them - I think you should get at least some sympathy!

What I actually find even more disturbing after this weekend of flying is the reaction that you get if your child doesn't cry to the point that people don't even know if a baby is on board the plane. And let me just say that I prefer this scenario because it is much less stressful but I found the reaction odd. I didn't find the statement, "What a great baby. I didn't even know there was a baby on the plane." I was fine with that. What I found odd was when someone said "What a lovely family you have!" So we were basically being judged on the fact that Murdoch was quiet which made us a lovely family though if he had been crying the whole time would have been the horrible family.

I know people mean this in a nice way but it was one of those statements that stuck in my mind. We don't have total control as far as how Murdoch is going to be on a plane. If his ears are killing him then he is going to scream. This time he was exhausted so he slept most of the time so we were lucky.

And one other point - now that I am complaining I can't stop! I really miss flying without a baby! I used to enjoy flying. The engines would go on and I could barely keep my eyes open with that white noise! Love it! Now at least one of you is forced to stay awake and entertain the baby when you can barely keep your eyes open yet you must - one of my least favorite feelings! So here's to the day when Murdoch is old enough to hate me so that he wants to sit in a different row because I am ruining his life! :) Andy and I can drink a glass of wine and take a nap!

We are off to St. Louis!

We are off to St. Louis today to visit my parents. Our flight is at 5 PM this evening and Murdoch's bedtime will happen while we are on the plane so we are crossing out fingers that it will be a quiet event though it could involve a lot of screaming and ugly looks from other people on the plane. Oh well!

We are hoping the weather will be nice - we are planning on going to the zoo and Andy may get in a round of golf. I hope you all in enjoy your weekend. I will return next week with some new pictures and videos - at least that is the plan. They may not surface for another week or so after I get home - I need those things to be wireless! The cords and all that wait time for the downloads is killing me!

Look Mom I'm crawling!

Hopefully you haven't had enough of the Murdoch videos. I obviously just got a whole bunch of these downloaded onto my computer over the weekend and I picked out my favorites. The crawling shots aren't great in this one but it makes me smile to see Murdoch and Deucey playing together. At first Deucey takes the toy away from Murdoch but then she brings it back and drops it in his lap. She is such a great dog! I know she is going to take some abuse as Murdoch gets older but I love seeing the two of them together. When Murdoch cries Deucey races into the room and sits next to him. She is always trying to steal his toys, which can be annoying at times, but how can she really tell the difference between her toy and one of his. And I have to say that I love bath time - while Murdoch is in the tub playing with his toys Deucey comes in and 'sits' on my lap. Too bad she doesn't race in with that much excitement for her own bath! Now that would be great! Another crawling video coming soon.

Crawling and little bit of soccer

This video is probably from the same day as the last one - or at least I hope it is because the poor kid has the same outfit on. You can tell when it is at the end of the clothing and you need to do laundry when you are wearing a Christmas outfit in April :)

This one has a little more crawling and even a little bit of fun with a soft soccer ball. And again I think he is just so cute that I thought I would post another video. Enjoy!

Crawling Practice

I am way behind on the posting lately - work has been crazy and Andy is traveling a lot so right now we are in survival mode - make sure the bottles are clean and sterilized, food is ready, we have clean clothes, and that is about it. Cleaning is not happening and many times food is ready is take-out for me.

I have several videos of Murdoch practicing crawling. There isn't much crawling in this one but I thought it was cute so I am posting it. Now he is in full crawl mode so I will have to post those soon - I just thought you should see the pre-crawl before the crawl.

Gone Hiking

I just got an email with this picture attached from Andy with the following in the subject:

Guess where we are right now. Jealous?

Murdoch has gotten a little too heavy for the Baby Bjorn unless it is a quick walk which usually doesn't happen so we decided to invest in a hiking back pack. This way Deucey and Murdoch can go to the dogpark and on a nice hike with just one of use instead of both.

So while I work away in the office they are out enjoying the nice weather. Not sure that is fair - I guess I could have taken the day off though, maybe next year. The rest of the week is supposed to be gorgeous - sunny and mid-60s. Maybe we will go for a few walks after work.

Going Green - New diaper trial

Ever since we had Murdoch I have been feeling very guilty about the amount of trash we produce on a weekly basis. Before Murdoch we would have maybe one bag of trash and our recyclying pile would be larger than our trash - I am a bit of a recyclying freak. After having Murdoch our trash count when to 2-3 bags a week, most of this being his diapers. We were using a variety of diapers - basically whatever was on sale and anything that we had a coupon for.

I started to do a little research on the web about being a little more green when it came to your kids. One thing that kept coming up was diapers. I read all about the cloth diapers - I just wasn't ready to make that commitment and I felt like it would waste a lot of water. So I decided on a compromise - Seventh Generation Diapers. We have had some issues with leakage overnight but in general I really like these diapers. They don't smell like baby powder, which I like, the smell of baby powder and poop makes me gag. And I also like the fact that Elmo, Cookie Monster, etc. aren't on the diapers. Murdoch has no idea who those people/characters are so why have them on there. These diapers are a nice khaki color and may I say they are kind of stylish - I know this may sound weird but they are. Seeing a little khaki bum crawling around is much cuter that the other diapers - at least to me. So while we may still buy some other diapers for the overnight we are definitely sticking with the Seventh Generation diapers for during the day. They are a few pennies more per diaper but you can buy them at http://www.diapers.com/ and you get free shipping if you spend more than $50 and the prices there are great - they are the same as the price at CostCo. I figure this is another small change that I can make now to have a better world for Murdoch when he gets older.

Avocados - Food or Fun?

Murdoch has slowly started to move into the world of solid food though I think he still prefers his bottles - if he seeing a bottle he hyperventilates until it is in his mouth. We started with rice cereal which was okay and he loves his sweet potatoes and carrots. I tried avocados the other night and I think they were more fun to play with instead of eat. Oh well maybe some day. It gave me something to eat while he was having some fun.

Deucey Memory Post - Stand by your Woman

I want to make sure I remember this - especially when Deucey becomes a little annoying! :) When we picked up Deucey from the kennel in March after we got home from Florida one of the women working there had a great story for us. The first day Deucey was at the kennel she was out for a group play and there was a large golden retreiver jumping up on the lady. I guess Deucey took offense to that because she went over and put herself between the dog and the woman so he would stop jumping on her and then sat there to make sure it didn't happen again. So for the rest of the week they were best friends - Deucey made sure that no dogs were jumping on her.

It sounds silly but I almost cried - she is such a great dog and at times I forget that when she is annoying - like when she puts her toys under the furniture over and over again and you have to go over and get it for her. Pretty soon she will be defending Murdoch when he is crawling and walking - can't wait for those pictures. :)

7 Months!

So we have made it to 7 months which I can't believe! Last month was a tough one - Murdoch was sick and then Andy and I both got the flu but we have survived and now we are ready for Spring and the warmer weather! I am looking forward to taking a walk after work every day like I did last summer. This time it will be a little harder with the stroller and Deucey but I am sure we can make it work.

Mur congrats on the 7 months - you have been such a joy for the last 7 months and I can't wait for the next 7 years! Andy and I find you a constant source of entertainment - if we are bored you are usually doing something that immediately entertains us and makes us laugh or smile. I am thinking that your 8th month may involve crawling - something we aren't ready for but at the same time are you ever ready for that. I love you more than I could ever express and I hope you know that. I couldn't ask for more. Happy 7 months!

Deucey memory post

Some of you that don't have dogs or even some of you that do have dogs may find this a little gross but it is something I will miss at some point in the future.

Every morning I get up early for work - it is dark out, cold out, and I am usually not in the best of moods. But every day when I open my bedroom door Deucey gets up off of her bed and comes downstairs with me and keeps me company while I am getting ready. Yes she wants to go go the bathroom and get some food so there is definitely something in it for her but without fail she gets up.

While I take a shower she comes in and sticks her little head in as if to say who is in there and what is happening in there? Too bad she doesn't have the same attitude when we are trying to get her in that same tub for her bath! She usually leaves during the shower but as soon as I turn the water off and get out of the shower she is right there. She licks my legs from the knee down - I guess she likes the water and then she does the same thing after I put lotion on. Yes I know this is kind of gross - trust me I try not to think about where her mouth has been, but by now I have just given in and accepted that she will do this each morning and I now find it endearing. I don't look forward to the morning when I get up and she doesn't follow me downstairs.

4 Scores and 5 years ago...

...I was in Turks & Caicos. I got up early with Andy to go diving - I think early was probably around 6:15 - still early but now 6:15 is not the same type of early that is once was. We went diving, probably came back to our condo, had something to eat, sat by the pool, and then around sunset on a hammock on the beach we got engaged. If Andy logs onto the blog he can insert the story because he loves to tell it - it basically involved me saying thank you, never yes I WILL MARRY YOU and tears, and then asking to go back inside because I was cold. So it wasn't quite the reaction he was expecting but I don't really like surprises and I don't react well to them so it wasn't my best moment.

But here we are 5 years later. Seems like a long time again and yet not a long time ago all at the same time. Since then we have finished a house, sold it, bought another one, gone through a horrible renovation project in our current house, got married, had a kid, I got a new job, and we entered another decade. After listing that out our next 5 years may be about the same though I won't enter another decade though Andy will :)

We were told during our renovation project on our first house that if we could live through that then we should get married because we would survive that as well. So far so good. I am sure I would change things that have happened over the last five years but honestly I can't think of anything right now. I really like where we are in our lives right now and I am very happy with the choices we have made.

Andy has helped me become more fiscally responsible - not all of your savings should be in a shoe collection, now I actually have a savings account with money in it! He also taught me that games are not necessary in a relationship - now we usually air our thoughts relatively quickly instead of being passive aggressive - I still am from time to time but it doesn't seem to work on him so I come back to the direct approach and it works.

Andy is a great husband, Dad, friend, and business partner and I am looking forward to the next 5 years to see what we can do together. Maybe we will have to renew our vows at some point so that Andy can get those tears that he was expecting!

Happy 5 years Babe!

Swim Lessons!

Mur and I went to swim lessons yesterday for the first time. I guess at this age lessons really isn't the right word. We went at 10 AM on Sunday which seemed like a good time - early enough so your whole day isn't ruined and late enough that you don't have to set your alarm to get out of the house. He did great - he didn't scream when he was in the water and the water was pretty warm which is really the only things I can think of that could have gone wrong. I sang some songs and he chewed on a toy and that was about it. His face got in the water a little bit one time and he coughed a little bit - but he seemed fine after about 30 seconds. Andy was taking care of Deucey so we don't have any pictures. Hopefully one weekend we can go and take some pictures so that you can see him in his cute surfer shorts.

Visiting the Grandparents in Florida

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Florida to visit Bob and Talli in their new house. They bought a house outside of Orlando in the Spring of last year and this has been the first winter they spent in Florida.

This was also Murdoch's first plane flight. We were expecting the worst but he really wasn't that bad - only a little bit of crying on 2 out of the 4 flights. We did have a really bad experience traveling down there - a lot of weather problems - Murdoch was probably the happiest out of all of us. We had a good week down there - the weather was a little chilly but we still took some walks and enjoyed it because it was warmer than Boston, and we traveled down to Vero Beach to visit Murdoch's great-grandmother - 4 generations went out to lunch at once! And Andy and I managed to get a few days at the beach by ourselves which was nice. I think Murdoch had a great time - I am sure he loved all of the extra attention. Here are the rest of the pictures from our trip.

Trying to be more green - Paper Cups

The topic of the environment and global warming is very important to me so I thought I would publish a post every once in awhile on this subject.

I feel like there are a million articles and show out there on how you can become more green and more environmentally friendly. Sometimes I find the volume of this information overwhelming to the point that I feel like I am just not doing enough. I also find some of the suggestions are very expensive and time consuming. I know what you are saying - if something is important to you, you will make the time and make the money portion work as well. In some cases this is true but others it is not. Because of this I have decided to make one environmentally friendly change a month that is relatively easy, does not cost that much money, is free, or could actually save you money. This way I can focus on a positive change I am making instead of feeling like I am just not doing enough.

For this month I am starting the use of my own tea cup. Instead of going to the cafeteria every morning and getting a paper cup that I fill with hot water for my tea I brought a travel mug in from home. I started this on Monday so I have saved 4 cups from being used, and actually probably more - I have been pretty tired this week so there has been some afternoon tea consumption as well. It is a small change that was pretty easy for me so I should be able to stick with this. Over the course of a year I will save hundreds of cups and that feels like an accomplishment.

Mur Memory Memo - Hand Kisses

Another memory post! I am starting to realize all of the things that I am going to miss if I don't write them down. When Murdoch is having a bottle or when he is going to bed he likes to reach his hand up to my face. Sometimes this results in hair pulling or scratching my face but a lot of the time he puts his hand to my mouth I give him a kiss and then he puts his hand back down. I don't know what this means to him but to me it means that he is looking for a little comfort and I am able to help him out - maybe I am looking into it too much but I don't care. I don't enjoy the scratches or the hair pulling but when that little hand springs up to my face, I give him a kiss on his palm or finger tips, and then he drops it a little relaxed it makes me smile. I know this won't last forever - he is already starting to feed himself so he is using both hands and I don't know how long I will be rocking him to sleep so that will end at some point as well. I will also miss him opening up his eyes briefly every 30 seconds or so while I am rocking him to sleep as if he is checking to make sure I am still there and if I am it is okay to fall asleep. I love those two little eyes that look at you with such trust.

Mur Memory Memo - Kisses in Bed

This is another post for me so I don't forget this. Sunday morning Murdoch woke up a little earlier than normal so I brought him into bed with me because I didn't feel like getting up. I was laying in bed and he was sitting with his back to me playing with some toys. After playing for a little while he started turning around as if he was looking for me and when he turned to the right I gave him a kiss and he smiled. Then he turned to the left and I gave him another kiss on the cheek. Then he turned back to the right for another kiss and a smile and we did this for about 30 seconds. It was the cutest thing - after that I felt like I could get out of bed and start the day.

6 Months Part Two

I took this video about 30 minutes after the other one. I brought Murdoch downstairs and put him on the floor with some toys and left the room to put on some clothes to take him to daycare. I came back to just a little head and hands sticky out from the ottoman. Pretty soon I am going to come back in the room and he will be in a different room or he will be right behind me when I turn around! We are in trouble!

6 Months!

So we are catching up on videos and other blog-related activities. Here is the first of two 6 month videos - thought I should post this since he is going to be 7 months old in about a week :). Poor Mur was woken up for this video - I was sick so I wasn't sure if I would be motivated later to do his video.

Here are the 6 month 'stats':

Height - 29 Inches - 98%
Weight - 19 pounds, 12 ounces - 84%

Enjoy!

Baby/Murdoch Massage

This post is more for me but I thought I would share it with you as well. I realized that I need to document the cute things that Murdoch does while he is doing them because I will soon forget them as time marches on. Murdoch has started doing his own form of massage - or at least that is what we call it. He puts his knuckles down on something and then 'kneads' the area in a circular motion with his wrist. Of course he doesn't pick the most comfortable places like my sternum or Andy's throat but it is cute so we just move his hand to another area. He also tends to do this to objects other than the two of us like to the couch for example. Seems silly but it is just one of those small things that I think is really cute and I don't want to forget.

Photos from day care

I think the top picture may be my favorite picture of Murdoch. The second picture is of Murdoch and Allyson - his primary teacher from our old day care. Allyson was kind enough to send us some pictures from day care. Here are the rest of them.

Where are the baby gates?!

Well it looks like thing are just about to change at our house. I woke Mur up this morning around 5:40 to feed and change him. He was in a great mood which is always nice especially early in the morning. I put him back in his crib and changed for work hoping that he would fall back asleep. Well he didn't, he was up on all 4's rocking forward and backward squealing with delight. He eventually settled down but it was pretty funny. I went back into our bedroom and Andy was awake from all of the noise and asked what was going on in there. I told him and he is nervous - the crawling may start soon and we aren't ready!

Then I got an email from Andy later in the AM. Andy puts Mur in his bouncy seat while he takes a shower in the morning. Well while Andy was in the shower he heard a crash, some barking, and then some crying. He went back into the bedroom and said that Murdoch looked like a turtle with his house on his back. So I think we may have to break out the pack & play or he is going to have to play in the bathroom while Andy showers. I just thought this whole scene, at least in my head, was funny so I wanted to share it with you.

We better go out and buy some baby gates!

On the brighter side...

I realize that a lot of my posts have been me complaining and such. It has been a tough couple of weeks but at the same time the blog could use something positive. I don't have the six month videos uploaded yet so this one will have to do. Enjoy!

We have the flu we feel like poo

Wednesday night I called Andy in Orlando and said pray for me I think I have the flu. He told me to go to bed and hopefully it would pass. I had a sore throat and just felt a little off. Well after waking up every 1.5 - 2 hours all night starting around 9 PM due to a whining dog that needed to go out let me tell you I didn't just feel off I felt horrible! I got up the next morning sent a note saying I wasn't coming in, somehow got Mur to daycare and then went back home to pass out. Well Deucey wasn't having any of this - she wanted to go to the bathroom. Finally the dog walker picked her up and I got some sleep. Then I began to think if a person has to go the bathroom that much that is a UTI correct?! Oh god!!!!! Call the vet - they can get me in that night at 6:40 which seems like so far away at this point. Go back to sleep, wake up to pick Mur up, go home, get Deucey, put her in the car go to the vet (without the urine sample because I just couldn't get down the stairs fast enough to get it) and we are there for an exam. We walk out with antibiotics and pain killers for her and I have to produce a urine sample by tomorrow.

So we go home. I put everyone to bed, washed some bottles, gave Deucey her meds, and actually debated taking some of her pain meds because I thought they might work better than the Motrin I was taking on the pain in my joints - I don't of course because that would be cruel to Deucey and kind of weird on my part. So we all go to bed, with less wake ups compared to the previous night, though I was out there around 3AM in my bathrobe trying to collect a pee sample. It was hard though - I can barely get out of bed because I am in so much pain and she is running as fast as she can to get outside so I am collecting drops at a time for the vet.

Friday, drop Mur off, drop the urine off at the vet - they said that they didn't think it was enough - I said it took me three shots just to get that so hopefully it was because I had already started her on the antibiotics - it seemed cruel to wait just because they needed a good sample that I was unable to produce. Back home, more sleep. Me to the doctor - gets some antibiotics and some stuff for my eye - yes I have pink eye as well! More sleep, pick up Mur, wait expectantly for Andy to get home.

Andy has the flu and pink eye as well. So his last message of I am almost home there is a light at the end of the tunnel really never happened. So we survived the weekend, Mur doesn't seem sick, except for a running nose and maybe pink eye, and Deucey is much better.

And on top of that my Mom was supposed to come this past weekend but moved her visit. I don't know that I would want to walk into a house with the thought that I could walk out with the flu and pink eye. Plus she was feeling a litttle off herself and didn't really want to travel if she was about to get the flu. She is coming for a visit it three weekends though which will be really nice - Andy is going to be in England that weekend for a boys weekend so it will be us and the two troops. And next week we will be in FL visiting the other set of grandparents. A little sun to help burn this flu off!

I have his 6-month video but it will have to wait - at this point I don't even know what I taped because I was in such a fog. Going back to work tomorrow. Hopefully that is a good decision. Hope you all are well.