Sweet dreams!

Thusfar... Operation Big Boy Bed is a success! We started it on Saturday night... and Travis lasted mere minutes before needing to come into bed with us. Sunday night, a tiny bit longer...

Monday night....




and last night...



Yep, he slept in his big boy bed all night in his own room, all by himself!! Two nights in a row!! :)

We've employed lots of positive reinforcement.. we let him pick out big boy bed sheets... (he chose Diego) We've used tons of praise, a sticker chart, and the promise of ice cream a Ghirardelli when he get 3 stars in a week... he already has, we gave him 1 for trying each night over the weekend, and of course for Monday and Tuesday, too. So, tonight, we're going to have a sundae to celebrate! :)

I am so proud of my Little Man.

Naptime!

No match for a beach cruise!

Cold, wet, whiny...

Apparently, staying well is too much to ask. Case in point... sore throat, sinus pressure, stuffy,coughing... general malaise.. Ugh.

Lovely, no?

Yeah... and SOOO needed, cause, really? We haven't been sick in DAYS!

But, otherwise... I guess we're good. We took the Neon up to the Bay Area over the weekend, so that's finally done.

This weekend... we REALLY plan on putting Travis' bed back into his room, as well as making a storage run.

I want to get the infant carseat out of storage, and wash the cover, install it into the van... and put the extra base into Jeff's car. That way, we'll be prepared for whenever this baby comes, and Travis will have a visual reminder that the baby will be here SOON - as well as the fact that we're switching his carseat to the opposite side of the van.

In all reality, we still have plenty of time... I'm only 33 1/2 weeks - but still, it will make it easier for later.

Oh, it's raining... AGAIN... yay! We literally haven't left the house in 2 days... so I really want to go somewhere today. Easier said than done... I don't want to go exposing anyone to these cold germs... but I think a Starbucks/Target run is definitely in order. I haven't had any coffee since Monday... just tea. So, yeah, that would be nice... except for the inevitable heartburn.

Plus, I probably should make a Trader Joes run, to stock up on milk, yogurt, and SOMETHING for tonight's dinner. Wish me luck...

Recovery?

Well, after yesterday's ALL DAY puke-fest... Travis is seemingly better. Absence of vomit = better in my book.

He only ate a total of 5 grapes yesterday - and not until 6:00-ish pm, and also a waffle at like 10:30 pm last night. Well, the grapes stayed down.

Today? Vanilla yogurt, water for breakfast. He wanted his usual blueberry as well, but I nixed that idea. Just in case.

He also had a few tenative sips of the milk from my Raisin Bran.

Lunch: 1 Cheese stick - cut into bits, to mask the fact that it was only 1 cheese stick, and not his usual 2. 6 grapes, cut into little pices to mask the fact that there were only 6 grapes on his plate, and a pouch of Trader Joe's Cheese crackers.

Afternoon snack: 3 Brownie Bites, and most of a short kid's milk @ Starbucks.

And NOOO puking! Woohoo!

COnsidering that yesterday, even two tiny sips of water made him hurl, this is a marked improvement, to say the least!

Crossing fingers that Jeff and I will remain unscathed. 'Cause, really? Don't need it. Don't want it... and really - really hope it's gone.

It's gonna be a long day...

Travis woke up barfing at about 5:00 am. All over our new 400 count sheets, of course. It was mostly water, but still. So far, he's done it 4-5 times... Poor guy. :(

Wish us luck.

Choose Wisely....

Most days, I'm all about offering choices to Travis whenever possible. Choices empower kids, and it's good for them. Part of it, I suppose, is also selfish. Especially on non-essential matters, choices make MY life easier, most of the time. I will admit, that often times... the "choices" offered are both things that I want... for example...

"Okay, you can either put your shoes on first, or your jacket."

"You can eat your yogurt first, or have cereal."

Or, things they are things that get the job done, regardless of the "choice." And MOST times, they diffuse potential conflicts before they can start.

"You can get into your carseat yourself, or Mommy can put you in."

"You can hold my hand in the parking lot, or mommy will carry you."

I let him choose between two pairs of shoes and I let him choose between two different shirts when I get him dressed. I've been known to give him a choice between two different designs on his diapers. He chooses between Mickey and Little Einsteins on Tivo. Sometimes, he decides on Blues Clues instead.

There are times, though.... when Travis comes up with his own choice. One that was clearly not offered. Bargaining.... like he'll ask for the shirt that's in the dirty laundry pile after I've already given him the option between two clean ones. Or, worse, still... the shirt he outgrew however many months ago... 'cause his memory? It's like STEEL!

I asked him today, "Would you like waffles and eggs for breakfast this morning or Yogurt"? He counters that he wants Brownie Bites from Starbucks. At 8:30 in the morning. Um, nope. Nice try, bucko.

The real problem is that he's incessant! He'll repeat his request.... scratch that - his DEMAND no less than 850 times.

"Want brownie bites!!! Waaaant brownie bites!!!! Go byebye! Get brownie bites!"

And NOTHING will sway him. He goes on, and ON and OOOOONNNNN, until I nearly lose my marbles.

He finally relented on the breakfast this morning.... (waffles and eggs, by the way) but only after an HOUR of alternating (in his whiniest voice) ....

"Brownie bites? Where'd Daddy Go? Go bye bye!" in an endless, yet varyingly-worded loop.

AN HOUR!!!

Seriously.

Tell me this gets easier? Please? Feel free to lie to me.... if you think it will make me feel better! :)

Back together again....

I'm far too tired to post a real update from the weekend.... but we had a great time eating, sleeping, just being together. You know, like enjoying a leisurely 2-hour-long dinner.... and a lazy Sunday, with no responsibility.

But, with all that - at times, we still missed Travis terribly. When I got up to pee in the middle of the night... he was not there in the bed next to us, sleeping peacefully. He wasn't there at breakfast, enjoying his pancakes, and complaining loudly about the 15-minute wait.

How funny, that once upon a time, and for many years - we were this young couple... selfish, carefree... and now we're suddenly parents. There is no magic switch you can shut off... now it's always there, no matter what. And, yes, we did miss our boy. The void was there, obviously, cause damn, was it entirely too quiet.

Feeling the burn.

I just got up from a nap. Hooray! Travis is still snoozing, at least until I hit Publish. So nice, considering it's been like pulling teeth to get him to nap. And then he's just so tired, cranky, and unreasonable. And yet, he JUST WON'T go down!

I DO have a terrific case of heartburn right now, that I can do NOTHING about. Apparently, it was a supremely BAD idea to make apple pie today. And to have Honey Dijon chips with lunch. Oh, and mayo on my sandwich. Yay!

I can't take Tums because the calcium in them apparently interferes with the absorption of the beta blockers in my blood pressure meds. Lovely, no? Also, I went in on Wednesday and my bp was 140/70. My dosage has been upped to 200 mg of Labetalol 3 times a day. I was already taking 200 mg twice a day.... but the last couple of days I have felt really crappy.... nauseated, headache, while my body adjusts to the new dosage.

Also, I started prenatal yoga this week. It's 1 hour on Tuesday and Thursday. I like it, but it's kicking my ass! Oh, my arms, chest, abs too! OUCH! At least it's also an hour of QUIET twice a week while Travis is down the hall in the Kid's Zone. Yay!

So, this weekend, we have a birthday party to go to for one of the kid's from our Parents Place class. They are doing some lavish thing at Pebble Beach... cause they have $$. So, that should be nice to go have a catered lunch tomorrow. Although, I still haven't found a good gift yet, I am leaning toward a gift card for Thinker Toys. Plus, we can stop by and pick it up in the morning with our Bucks run. :)

Tonight, we're having dinner with my dad.... although I don't know where yet. Crossing fingers that Travis behaves himself..... because last week at El Torito his behavior left much to be desired for the first half of dinner. We shall see....

Wordless Wednesday!

Asleep. In his own bed. Since 1:00am., originally uploaded by tjsmommabear.