Yummy food

Today I was able to ask the pediatrician if I could start Eric on solid food. Since Eric is now 5 1/2 months old, the doctor said:"yes and have fun with it."
So I went off to the store and bought some rice cereal and some special bady spoons and bowls.
What a fun time it was!
As you can see from the pictures, Eric didn't look to thrilled with this "new type of food".
The doctor said it should take about 2 weeks for him to get used to eating from a spoon. Also, I will need to introduce each new food slowly because he might have an allergic reaction.

"You call this food?"
"Where's my bottle?"
"Mom, can I have some mashed bananas please?"

A new day

Today I woke up and felt better. That usually happens. I have an awful, teary, sad day and then I have a better day. I think it's because I am able to sleep and in the morning I realize that the sun is shining and that life is not all the bad. Also, I got some great encouragement from you guys. Thank you!!!!! I need that a lot. I really appreciate it.

I was able to hang out with a friend of mine at her house today. It was so nice to talk and get a different perspective on things. It definitely helps to talk to someone about things and just let it out. I think women need that from time to time.

I still do feel a little depressed about my current situation but this evening when I got back from shopping, David was holding Eric in his lap. As I walked into the door with groceries in my hands, He gave me a big 'ol smile. Just for me. I love that! Also, I listened to the radio on my way home and I heard some awesome praise and worship music.
There was one song with the words "Lord, reign in me, reign in your power, over all my dreams, in my darkest hour... etc". That is so awesome. I felt like yesterday was one of my dark times. Those words really spoke to me and encouraged me.

The drama of being a Stay-At-Home-Mom and other things

I am depressed today. It feels like the post pardum crap has come back. I thought it went away. I don't want to use this post as a sad, venting, hormonal post but right now I need to talk to someone.
Yes, I have joined a MOPs group and yes I have a few things lined up this week but......
I still feel stuck and lonely.
My husband works at home in our 1 bedroom apartment. We have both been praying about moving. It's been on the back burner for a while because Eric came along and I've been busy taking care of him. But really, we need to move.
I have been struggling with waiting on the Lord for him to give us some directions. But I don't know how long we are suppose to wait. The "In His Time" thing is really difficult.
I am having such a hard time with this. But I feel like I can hardly breathe and I'm really starting to feel clasterphobic in my apartment.
I have an exercise mat on the living room floor and sometimes I lay on that and try to work on my still ugly, flabby abs. Ick. I am dreading the swimsuit season.
I could go for a walk but basically I have to drive somewhere first to walk to somewhere. I live in a very busy area with a bunch of punks and other guys who always look like they're up to no good. I don't exactly want to take Eric out there.
I'm complaining. I'm sorry.
I try to get out but it seems like I end up getting stuck in this cycle of feeding, changing, sleeping and trying to entertain a baby. No time for getting outside and enjoying the fresh air.

David and I have looked at some of our options and have discovered these things:

1.Southern CAl is WAY TO EXPENSIVE TO LIVE IN. Especially for a small family.

2. We have to move out of Cal if we want to even THINK about buying a house.

3. Rent is going to continue to climb as well as housing prices.

4. I may have to put Eric in day care and some how find myself a job. (I'm not ready to put Eric in day care and get a job.) Besides from what I've heard, it's not worth it to do that. Day care is expensive and if I do get a job, I would be using all my money to pay for the day care.

As I was changing Eric's diaper today, I cried. He smiled at me with one his sweet smiles but I only cried louder.
Maybe hormones and PMS has something to do with it. That's another thing. Ever since I've given birth to Eric, my cycle has been cuckoo. I guess it just takes a while to get back on track.

Lord I need your help!

rolling over

Eric has now mastered rolling over both ways. And in his crib. Yesterday, I put him in his crib on his back and then I went in the kitchen. A few minutes later I went back to check on him because I heard some funny noises. He was on his stomach... ! :-)
I was so amazed that I yelled quite loudly when I was talking to my mom on the phone. I couldn't believe that he did that. It was the first time he rolled over in his crib. Eric looked up at me as if to say "Look what I did!"
Ok, so it may not be a big deal to some people but to a first time mom, it's a very exciting thing. Anything is exciting when they do it for the first time.
I'll have to keep my camera ready from now on. I never know what new thing he's going to do next. It's so fun to watch him. But now I realize that I have to watch him more closely because he may start crawling soon and that could be dangerous. I guess it's exciting and scary at the same time.

a few pics of some very dear people

I'm trying to figure out how to use this thing called Picasa web. My brain isn't working too well right now. I think I need to call it a night and go to sleep.
For now, here are a few other pics that I took when I went on my trip to Northern Cal.
The first one is of my brother and his lovely new wife Reada. She is so sweet. She is such a loving Christian woman. I am so happy to have her as my sister in law!
The other pic is of her holding Eric. Eric is such a happy baby.

serving

Today I served at a Women's Tea which was at Calvary Chapel. Since it is Spring time, it was very fitting to have this tea. A lot of the ladies who attend the Church had brought their best tea sets with cute little tea cups and tea pots. The decorations on the tables were beautiful and I admired all the different colors and designs of the different tea sets.

I signed up for this a little while ago and at the time I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Today I arrived at the Church around 8am. That is a big thing for a stay-at-home-mom like myself. (David was able to watch Eric since it was a weekend. That made it nice for me to be away for a while. :-)
When I got there, I was immediately put to work getting the tables and food ready. There were several other women who had signed up to help who were there already hard at work. There were some tables set up outside of the main sanctuary. A lot of us ended up running back and forth to the kitchen to bring out some last minute supplies or to bring out more food etc.
Without giving too many details, it turned out to be a long and tiring day.

There was a speaker who shared her testimony and who overcame cancer. It was very encouraging to listen to. It is amazing to see how God works in different peoples lives. God is so good!
I am glad that I had the opportunity to serve today.

Trip to the North Coast

For some reason I can't put all of the pictures onto one post. Apparently Blogger can only allow so many pictures at a time.
Anyway, here are some of the pictures. I was able to visit one of my friends from school, go to the zoo, and go to my brother's wedding reception (he got married in South Dakota).
Well, it looks like I have to make this a super short post. Eric is crying. :-O

I'm back

I got back from visting Northern Cal this morning. I had a very early flight and when I got home, Eric and I slept a lot. We were both very tired. Eric did really well on the plane. He slept most of the way. He is such a good baby.
I am just posting to let you know that we both arrived home safe and sound.
I will post some pictures later.

flying

In a few hours I'll be off to LAX to fly to Northern Cal. I'll be taking Eric with me.
I don't know if I'll be able to blog from there or if I'll have time. I hear there will be many relatives and friends to visit. Yippee! I'm actually a little nervous about the flight. I hope Eric doesn't cry too much.

I'll let you know how it goes. I plan to take pictures.

Could he be teething?

For the past few days Eric has not been himself.
He's been drooling, sucking on things, losing interest in eating (now that is not like Eric. Normally he has a big appetite) and unusually fussy. Also the other day, I noticed his cheeks were red. I thought he had a fever but when I checked it, it was normal.
Today was even more bizarre. He woke up around 8am crying. He tried to soothe himself by sucking on his thumb but that didn't work. Something was obviously upsetting him. Since David and I have been putting him to bed at 8pm, we have both noticed that he has been waking up in morning with a smile on his face. He seems to be well rested and cheerful. But not today. I think he woke up on the wrong side of the crib today.
So as I was about ready to cry myself, I took a deep breath and changed his diaper and fed him. That seemed to work. One other thing I've been noticing recently is that he doesn't seem to want to nurse first thing in the morning. When he's too hungry, he can't get enough from me to be satisfied so that he stops crying. It could be a growth spurt or maybe my supply is decreasing even more? I don't know right now.
What I used to be able to do is to nurse him first thing in the morning for about 30 minutes. Then I would sit him up in his infant rocker chair and let him play with his toys. He would be fine for a while, or at least long enough for me to take a shower or have some breakfast. Then I would feed him a bottle of formula.
For the past 3 weeks, it has been different. He doesn't want to nurse as long.

After I fed him this morning, I burped him and put him in his chair. I ate some breakfast and I had some bottles to wash so I started doing that. After about 20 minutes later, I looked over at him and he was asleep. He fell asleep in his chair again. (This is something that this one strict book that I've been struggling to get through, frowns upon). So I put him in his crib. That was about 10:30am. And he's still asleep. This is the longest nap he has ever taken during the day (except for when he was a newborn). Maybe he's putting himself on his own napping schedule.

I guess now is the time for me to fold the laundry and finish washing the dishes? Ha!

God is good

I went to a MOPS(Mother's of Preschoolers-although that's not what it's limited to. I'm not sure what the starting age limit is but I was able to bring Eric. :-) group today. MOPS is a group of moms who get together in the morning and meet every 2 weeks. Today we had breakfast and then we listened to a guest speaker. The speaker talked about eating healthy and what kinds of foods to eat to be healthy and to have healthier lifestyle. She says it works and she even wrote a book about it. It was so interesting that I felt like I wanted to go home and clean out my refrigerator and cupboard and throw everything in the garbage. Then I wanted to go to the health food store and buy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. I guess that's why they call these people "Motivational speakers".

When I first walked into the room today of the MOPS meeting, I could sense the warmth coming from the other women who were there. They all seemed so loving and friendly and I didn't know anyone except one person who goes to a fellowship meeting where David grew up in. (That is how I found out about MOPS). I felt so encouraged. I am so glad that I was able to go.