February 13, 2014:

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I remember last year going to the NICU and the nurses had made a Valentien's card with RJ's footprints on it. It was so adorable. I'm so excited to be spending this Valentine's Day with our baby home!!! I'm actually up in Chesapeake, VA visiting my sister and her husband for what turned out to be a longer wknd than planned due to the crazy weather across the east. RJ has been quite the trooper traveling the past couple days. It was great being able to stay in one place today. Whew.... I've been meaning to post this blog for wks. I keep thinking about it at the wrong times and then before I know it, it's already the next day. So, here's a very long list of RJ events. :)

Jan 22- finally caught RJ on video saying "dada" repetitively  while Robert was watching him!! Took 3 great naps today. First one was w/ me. He's such a snuggler.

Jan 23- so cute to hear RJ say "dada" repetitively throughout the day. He was more fussy today and not wanting to eat. It's been awhile since he popped so I ended up giving him a suppository. We had results. He's teething and ended up waking up a couple hrs after I put him to bed. Robert fed him some milk w/ Tylenol. I hope RJ can sleep the rest of the night.

Jan 24- RJ was trying to crawl all over my lap but still needs help changing positions. At one point we went to the floor and he laid his head on the blanket. I laid mine next to him. Then he put his hand on top of mine. Melted my heart:).

Jan 25- love it when I can make our lil guy laugh. He also did really well in church. He did get a lil excited chewing on the giraffe and gagged himself a lil during prayer. Had to emergently get the wipes.

Jan 26- staying up late Sat night always gets me. RJ decided to wake up at 5:30am!! Then after eating decided he wanted to be held in his rocking chair. Oh mercy. So much for a relaxing lazy Sunday... This teething thing is making him more fussy today :/. Poor baby.

Jan 27- not a happy camper that RJ ended up being constipated and teething all in the same night. I slept in the recliner w/ RJ all night. This morning right before Robert left we moved to our bed. I was hoping RJ would sleep in some after eating, but it was only about a 45 min nap. Thankfully he slept for 2 hrs later in the morning so I could take a nap too. His poor butt is all beat red again. Hopefully after multiple poos today he can sleep better tonight. I tried giving him prune juice in the bottle and that was a fail. I did get some in using a medicine dropper:). I keep forgetting to mention RJ thinks it's hilarious when the lotion bottle makes that empty squirting noise when I try getting the last lil bit of lotion out. It's adorable.

Jan 28- RJ was the most giggly tonight while we were eating supper and then in his bath and changing table. I even caused him to get the hiccups right before bed! It was hilarious and adorable to hear him laugh at my silliness!! Love that boy!!

Jan 29- RJ's a pro now at rolling to the left when place on all fours. He can almost roll back to his belly again. I tried getting him to roll to his right, but not as fluid. This morning he was playing w/ the monkey ears on his feet while sitting in my lap. Adorable!! It's incredible to see his lil fingers work to hold onto things. He's talking up a storm now saying "dada" a lot more throughout the day. I'm humbled to think I helped create him. He's so perfect:)
This evening while I was making supper RJ was reaching behind to get his bib hooked to the chair. He was eating his arm and whining. I'd just fed him some milk so thought maybe he wanted real food. After getting it ready I brought the spoon of sweet potato to his mouth and he opened wide!!! This was a breakthrough!!! He ate carrots and some apple sauce too!! Maybe a switch clicked in his brain today. We shall see!!

Jan 30- RJ went from a kneeling position to sitting w/ the aid of my leg for back support. He's growing up!!

Jan 31- RJ has been enjoying my animal sounds the past couple days. He gets big smiles on his face. He likes the kitty, birdie, frog, and cow best. He gnawed on my dried mango and loved it this evening. He ate his first sweet potato puff!!

Feb 1- RJ ate cornbread at lunch today mashed up! He also slept in till 8am!! He ate maybe 4-5 sweet potato puffs this afternoon. Now that he's tooth is getting more pronounced he wants to chew more. Tonight I had much help getting the house ready and food cooked for RJ's bday party tomorrow!!

Feb 2- RJ's bday party went great!! Had a fantastic turnout!! I've never planned a party for 30 people before, so I way over estimated food. Oh well, Robert will have snacky food all wk!! RJ seemed to enjoy playing w/ his giant cupcake, but didn't really want to eat it. Robert shoved some icing in his mouth:). RJ did really well w/ all the stimulation and noise. It was tricky getting pictures of him w/ all the guests, but he survived. He had a 1.5 hr nap in the morning, then refused the afternoon nap. He didn't want to miss anything going on downstairs:). The grandmas were gracious enough to put him to bed in the evening so Robert and I could oh watch the Super Bowl at some friends house:). It was the first time RJ was out to bed without mommy or daddy around. He's growing up...

Feb 3- RJ had a synagis shot scheduled today. We braved the snow and slush to get there. Once there we were told the medicine wasn't there!!! So annoying!!! We had to skip putting RJ down for a nice nap at home. He fell asleep in the truck. RJ was put to bed by another grandma tonight. I was told he did pretty good but had a spit up episode all over him and grandma before bed. He was resting peacefully by the time Robert and I got back from our first date night since RJ came home. It felt odd bit having our lil appendage around, yet a nice change of pace too. We are taking baby steps to break free from our parenting routine:). Oh RJ got into this giggling fit while I was holding him this afternoon. He gave himself the hiccups. It's sooooo funny. He actually threw up some when he did it this morning. His lil personality is coming out more. Love that boy so much!!

Feb 5- Called and synagis shot still hasn't arrived. Grrr. They called late this afternoon saying it finally came in. We have to be there at 8:30am tomorrow morning. Poor RJ has been out at the doctors almost every day this wk. Next wk should be better. We went to the Grad Clinic today and it was very informative. Seems that RJ has some motor planning delay. He struggles w/ planning his next move. I know the wheels are turning, but something is holding him back from moving to the next step. He's resistant I'm making some moves too. PT worked w/ him today and felt he'd benefit from clinical PT/OT a few times a wk for a lil while to work on his movements. He was making some improvements in the few min she was working w/ him, so she felt very optimistic about further therapy. Speech wasn't there today, so he'll get that eval when we go back in March. The doc thought RJ might have some oral aversion which is why he hasn't caught onto the eating thing very well. They wanted to put our minds at ease that they don't think RJ has full on developmental delay which could mean cerebral palsy or autism. He doesn't have any of those signs. Once we get more info from the clinical PT/OT and speech, we can get a better picture of what RJ needs the most to be successful in his continued growth. I guess the lil stinker wants more attention. We have to pray that all the paperwork will get processed smoothly.

Feb 6- Up bright and early for an 8:30 am appt for RJ's synagis shot. He took it well. I guess he's gonna be a two napper kind of guy. This morning it was only 30 min. Not long enough! This afternoon was 1.5. I feel semi-accomplished today:).

Feb 7- RJ found my phone in my pocket and was trying to figure out how to get it. It was pretty funny. Maybe next time:). Did excellent at his first big boy eye appt and no glasses needed at this time!! The doc said she's usually able to predict but couldn't w/ him:). He's good for another year!! Last night was we were waiting for his bottle to warm up we were looking in the mirror. RJ shook his head no and I mimicked him. We went back and forth. First time I realty recognized this behavior. So cute!!

Feb 8- RJ hasn't been sleeping through the night this wk. I guess w/ all the hustle and bustle of last wknd it's thrown him off. He woke up at 5 am today. Even after eating was whiny. Has a temp about 100. Gave some Tylenol. I have to teach SS so Robert will stay home w/ RJ. We had a tickle fest w/ RJ. I was holding him and Robert would come up and tickle him. He was the tickle monster. RJ laughed and would turn into me for safety!! We kept doing it over and over and got some great laughs out of RJ. So adorable!!

Feb 10- I'm making RJ exercise and work for his next move. He's not the most excited. Extra whiny this morning. Did a good job pulling himself up holding onto me!!

Feb 11- RJ did fairly well on our road trip to VA. It cut into his normal bedtime, so I was a lil worried, but he finally was in bed around 9pm and slept through the night till about 7am!

Feb 12- RJ did some good crawling stance and rolling over to his back this morning. He did better going from a crawling stance to a sitting position. RJ had another good travel day. Trying to beat the bad snow/ice weather. Made it to my sisters before RJ's bedtime. Whew...  He had his first dog is from their dog Jacks:). RJ gave a look of disgust!

Feb 13- RJ is so silly and seems to only want to say "mama" when he's upset or wants me to pick him up. What a goober. :)

Hope you enjoyed!! Thanks again for all your prayers, support, and love. It's greatly appreciated!!