The Peanut Gallerie

We are in the land of teething, colds and growth spurts. James has been sick for a while now (hence the limited posts), but is on his way to recovery.

His snot is clear instead of that thick green yellow stuff... in case you were curious, lol.

He's in a much better mood and is back to sleeping through the night. He can now breathe while he eats (thanks to our trusty booger sucker and nose spray and vaporizer... and baby crack (aka tylenol)... yeah, we went all out) so he's not so mad anymore. 

Austin and I bought the boy some teething biscuits. He loves them. They melt in his mouth... literally. They are good to naw on for his teething. And even though it's not a cookie and really has no taste to it, Austin and I still run around the house screaming "coookieee" like the cookie monster. 

I think he's ready to move onto fruits with the netting thing. I've tried it before, but I think his taste buds weren't ready for it. Strawberries, here we come.

We also tried some apple juice and he seems to like it (no worries, it's the non-sweetner kind).

It's so amazing seeing him grow, trying new things and discovering different talents. Today he learned how to sit back up after he was crawling. 

A-mazing.

I had James all day and he was a very unhappy baby. For the first time ever, James cried and cried and cried all day long. I felt like the worst mother in the world. Nothing I did helped. Nothing I did made the pain my child was experiencing any less.

Bless his little heart. It hurts to see tears in his eyes.

By the end of the night, I was done. Completely exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. I was out of ideas. I gave James baby Tylenol. The most the doctor said I could give. It seemed to work and James knocked out. (and was a very happy baby the next morning :)

Before the fiasco with James, Austin had planned such a wonderful night.

(I'll be honest. I get moody. I know, such a shock. Normally, a day like that with James and I would have to call it a night. Everything would have been ruined. Normally, in any other relationship, I would have fought with my significant other out of exhaustion and stress. Sounds silly, I know, but it's what I knew. It's how I handled things. I would have went to bed angry. No... not this time.)

As I got James to bed (and my head thinking clearer) I found Austin in the kitchen and gave him a huge hug. We sat down and had a very personal conversation about how we wanted to handle nights like these. It was deep, so I won't get into it. 

After this conversation, it seemed like the air had been cleared. (Not just us pushing things under the rug, but actually talking things out.) We were able to leave the mood behind to move forward and enjoy the rest of our night.

It was real life.

As we sat down to eat the dinner Austin had prepared for us, I couldn't help but smile. (It might have been the three lemondrops.. man, those were amazing... or the movie "The Goods".. have you seen that movie? Seriously, some really funny parts in it.) I smiled out of happiness. That I'm not just in a relationship, I have a partner that wants to put in his 100%.

Ha, the things God brings to the table.

Okay, so before his haircut and when I last had him. I sat James in his crib and stuck this toy in front of him. I just want to thank his auntie Kelli and uncle Philip for getting him this Christmas gift. He seems to really enjoy it... well, you can be the judge.

Oh, and they also got the sippy cup. He is still figuring out how to get it right side up, but he's close, I just know it.

One night, Austin and I drove down to drop off the Peanut. We went back to my house to pick up a few items, but as we tried to start my car again, it decided otherwise. The car wouldn't work. It just died.

We had it towed to Austin's where a neighbor of his told us he could look at it. He did. For days. I'm not sure what he found (I'm such a girl) but I know I paid some money for some part. So, it worked... until the car heated up and it died again.

So, we took it elsewhere. They found something else wrong. Something with the computer? But it was under warranty. So we took it to a dealer. There was a short in the battery? So they had to fix that and then fix the computer problem. I think that's how it went. I just know I paid money and now my car is working. I'm so glad we got that all done.

Now, mind you... when I say "we" I really mean, Austin got off work and handled everything, lol. (Yeah, still dreamy.)

Last night, Austin and I planned to attend the bible study at Skyline. Only when we went to leave my house, we (and by 'we' I mean 'he') discovered I had a flat.

'We' are working on it.

It started with a funeral on Friday.

It wasn't too bad. I think James lightened the mood a little blowing raspberries in a catholic church.

After the funeral, Austin and I took a drive around the delta. I like taking drives with him.

Only I got cranky because I was tired and hungry. Hm. I have to work on that.

Austin took us to Wonderfuls. It was.

Saturday we gave James a mohawk. He got tired of his preppy do, so we shaved his little head. Austin thinks he looks more sophisticated. I think he just looks cool. 

It's hair. It grows back.

Sunday, James and I went to church. As always, pastor Ken had me cracking up, but that wasn't even the highlight. The best part was setting James down on the chair next to me and watching him play with his paper for a bit. He then looked up and put his little arms out to reach for me. It was the most precious thing so I picked him up and hugged him.

That ones going in the vault.

Monday, Austin and I took a walk. I said I wanted to do more walks and he actually listened. He makes things happen. He's dreamy :) We also took a stroll at the bookstore, got some coffee and hung out and played video games. It was a good ending.

Now, I'm just counting the days until I get my baby back.

Two more nights, Janette, you can do this.

I missed him so much.

The five days was hard, but knowing that I don't have to give him up for five more days makes some of it worth it.

I'm just going to try to kiss him as much as I can... if only I could get Austin to stop taking him from me :)

The current one had us running back and forth everyday. I watched James in the morning and at night. The plus side was that, at the time, it worked for us. We both got to see him every day. The downside was how much time it took out of our day to make that happen. For me, it was also becoming a daycare issue. James is getting older and more mobile. He deserves more attention and I wasn't able to give it during the day.

Our new schedule seems like a better opportunity. 

I get to have James Thursday (after 3pm) to Saturday night every week. This leaves me with one day for daycare (Friday) which isn't a huge deal since Fridays are my slowest days. It seems more manageable. Plus, I get to have James every Saturday. We get to go on trips and on outings on our weekends! If I ever want a 'date night' with Austin on that night, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind watching him. The other half of the schedule is that I get him every other Sunday. So, some Sundays James can come with me to Skyline and get involved with the other kids and some Sundays I can go alone and concentrate on the message. That works for me :)

The major downside to this schedule? I am without James for 4 days.

For 4 days, I keep pictures of my little honey to remind me of what I'm missing, how he smiles and how cute his little face really looks.

For 4 days, Austin will bring his hands up to his mouth and laugh like little James. Remind me how he looks in his walker as he's running around trying to get into the cabinets.

For 4 days, I think about holding my baby, making him laugh, and soothing him while he's crying.

For 4 days, I am heartbroken.

...

Today is day 4.

One, visit the Elizondos.

We started off the day with Philip and Kelli at BJ's. We think it's awesome that they drink beer at 12 in the afternoon on a Sunday. Definitely people we would like to party with someday.

Two, go to San Francisco.

Penny Arcade! Let's see. I got to hear a barbershop quartet (love that), play a pinball machine and beat Austin (200/150) at some game I've never played before. How awesome am I? Austin did get to play his helicopter game and baseball game. I'm in such awe at these machines. The time and detail that went into them. I wish they still made some like that. We also got to take photo booth pictures. We've been searching for a photo booth ever since we got together. I think every couple should take some, but nowadays, they are really difficult to find. Especially the old fashion black and white ones. (Now it's all digital and really crappy.)

Three, walk out to the pier and see some sea lions, have a drink at a bar (I had the most amazing lemon drop that kept me buzzed for a while.) and eat at a really great restaurant, Houston's. I love their Oak Grilled Artichoke and French Dip sandwiches made with thinly sliced prime rib. Amazing!

Four, take a carriage bike ride to the cable cars. 

The guy had a bell, but just yelled out "beep, beep" as he came close to running over people. It was fun. The cable car was cold, but luckily I was wearing a tank top, long sleeve shirt, hoodie, scarf, winter coat, beanie and gloves. Yes, that's what it takes to keep me warm. We made our way to the Cheesecake Factory where we ate... cheesecake. It was good.

My favorite part was walking back the pier. Which I didn't discover we were actually doing until halfway through the marathon. (Austin is sneaky like that.) I pouted some of the way to remind Austin of how spoiled I am. He should know.

As we drove back to Sacramento, and Austin went on about his amazing childhood and I reminisced of the fantastic weekend I just had, I realized it's been a long time since I've been this happy. No, I can't remember when I have actually been this content.

Sure, things are still going haywire (like my car breaking down). It is my life after all, but having gone through (what seems like) the worst time in my life and still coming out okay on the other end, plus having someone to share all of it with, makes all the little crazy things seem manageable :0)

Here's how it started. Austin's cousin, Kayla, got married this past weekend.

Yeah!

The wedding was intimate and the bride.. adorable. I've never met her before, but she seemed so sweet and so happy on her big day. 

(The groomsmen seemed a little nervous though, lol.)

Austin and I stepped out to the car for a moment and found someone in his cousin's, Cody, car. Austin thought it was Cody or his girlfriend at first, but as we got closer, he noticed it wasn't someone he recognized.

The guy pulls up next to us and asks us for jumper cables.

Lol.

Honestly, I was dumbfounded. I must have starred at him with my head tilted forever thinking, "Why do you need jumper cables if your car is running?". Austin, being a bit quicker on his feet, asked the guy if he was in that truck. The guy responded "Yeah, it needs a jump". Still, stuck on stupid, I opened my mouth with nothing coming out and continued to question in my head, "but that's Cody's truck?". Lol, luckily, Austin spoke up to question the guy again, "But were you just in that truck?". Noticing Austin pull out his phone to take a picture, the guy took off... rather quickly up the road.

At this point, Austin asked me to watch which way the guy headed. I think that's when it clicked in my head. "Did that just happen?"

While Austin spoke to the cops on the phone, I walked into the reception, as the father was giving his speech, and asked Cody and his girlfriend to come with me. Turns out, the guy made off with their iPods :(

Who breaks into cars at a church? During a wedding? In the middle of the day?

Jerk.

The incident sucked. I was so bummed for them.. and strangely a little excited?

...

I have always been the strong one in my romantic relationships. The quick thinker. I had to be the one responsible in these types of situations. If anything went down, it was up to me. Emergencies were solely my burden.

Now?

Ha. I have a partner in crime :)

It's only when you have crossed that line with me... that point of no return... then we have a problem.

This is James.

This is James playing with his favorite Giants cup.

Yep, that just happened.

He likes to blow raspberries, smile a toothless grin, laugh at the baby in the mirror, grab for toys, sit up, play peek a boo and crinkle paper.  (Which is good entertainment for when I need him to be quiet in church, but bad when you are at the bank and filling out checks while he rips them apart)

He does not like green beans.

He is ready to crawl at any moment and now has the stance down for it. If only his legs would agree that he wants to move forward.

Austin noticed he is beginning to point at things.

Tigger makes him laugh. No, that would be an understatement. The boy cracks up in his presence. Like he cannot contain his laughter and it comes out like coughing because he is so excited. The strange part is that it's just Tigger. I attempted to get James to laugh with other dogs, but there is something about the stuff and fluff that gets that boy going :o)

He has teeth coming in... for realsies this time.

He has more play time, has a set eating schedule and can now go to bed at a decent hour. More pluses... his food now goes (and stays) inside his mouth. He likes sweet potatoes the best. He can also spend hours entertaining himself.

He talks. Not exactly words, but no longer just noises either.

For some reason, he thinks Austin and I are hilarious. I'm pretty sure he is laughing with us, but he has this twinkle in his eye that might say otherwise.

Every time we are apart feels like an eternity. He comes back a little older, a little more stable, but all the more cute. I miss him, but am just excited to, not only, be a part of his life, but guidance as his mother.