Finally starting as a nurse!!

I am finally going to be a real nurse! After 2 years of worrying if I'll ever get hired, I finally am starting my journey! Although I am very excited about this new adventure, I am also very scared. I feel like I've been put back into nursing school again. After 2 years of being out of nursing school, it is a weird feeling to have to think about all of these things again. I hope I'll get the hang of things soon. I'm also kinda sad that I won't be able to spend as much time with Rhys. Let's face it...I'm really sad.

All I wanted to do today after I came home was hug him and kiss him. I don't know what I'm going to do when I won't be able to see him for more than a day because of my schedule!! I have been with this kid non-stop for the past 15 months! And now I'm spending a lot of time away from him. I just hope that he adjusts well to being in Daycare. Oh man I love that kid so much!!!! Sniff Sniff...

It sounds weird, but I'm already thinking about baby number 2! I mean, we're not gonna have a baby any time soon, but I am thinking about when the right time may be to start thinking about having another baby.

But first, I need to make sure that I can make it through these 90 days out alive! I can't even miss more than 2 days of work without an approval. That scares me a little cuz it's almost like a 3 strikes you're out deal. Hopefully Brian and Stephanie can help out during the next 3 months if we come across any emergencies with Rhys.

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning is not something I'm looking forward to...

I better go pray for a good day tomorrow and then hit the sack!!

Here is a pic of Rhys sleeping with his Tigger.

19 Kids and Counting

So I've been pretty much obsessed with the TLC show, 19 Kids and Counting. They are the Duggars and they live in Arkansas. You could say that I watch it all day long. I have it on on my ipod that is hooked up to a speaker in my kitchen so I listen to episodes while I cook, eat with Rhys and so on. I dunno what it is about this show but I love watching them just live their lives! All of their kids' names start with the letter J and they have 9 girls and 10 boys! They are: Joshua, Jana, John-David, Jessa, Jill, Jennifer, Josie, Jordyn, James, Jason, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jinger, Justin, Jackson, Josiah, Johannah, Joy-Anna, and Joseph! Whew!! The statistics worked out correctly in the long run! haha. They are a very religious family with very conservative values. Some of their values I don't think I could stick to or have our family stick to like the idea of courtship where instead of dating, you ask permission from the girl's parents and you basically court the girl you want to marry. You also can't kiss until you are married. I respect their values and they seem to have what it takes to keep a beautiful family and marriage together so they must be doing something right.

There is such a thing called "Duggar time" where they always have to tack on at least 30 mins to an hour when they are getting ready to leave to go somewhere. Since there are so many people, it's just too hard to get everyone out the door on time. I love it that they call it Duggar time. hehe. I would like to have a big family and have the home be bustling with people...but at the same time it is a lot of work. So I think I'll just live vicariously through the Duggars.

Playdates

Rhys at the park on one of our playdates

Rhys and I have been trying to go to more playdates these days as Rhys has gotten more active. Rhys enjoys going to the park and looking at the birds. He is OBSESSED with birds. He loves watching them and asks to be taken to the birds if they are far away. He mimics the cawing sounds that the birds make (we have mostly crows in our neighborhood). So we both are getting to enjoy more of this early fall San Diego sun. Rhys likes to bit and pull at other children, I believe as a show of his excitement...but it usually scares the other kids. I've actually started to worry about his biting. He will come charging at another kid with his mouth open and proceeds to grab the kid's face, arms, clothes...whatever he can get his little hands on. It feels like after every playdate, I'm telling Stephanie about how Rhys tried to bite yet another kid today. Earlier this week, I went to go meet a woman I became friends with at a playdate and he ended up biting her boy's fingers! I saw Rhys bite the kid and he bit hard! The other kid had a delayed reaction to the bite, but he cried a lot. I felt so bad that Rhys was the bully. I know he doesn't know that what he's doing is wrong, but I can't help but be a bit more stern when it comes to his biting. I really hope that this is a phase and he will grow out of it soon. 

More~!

Lately I've been teaching Rhys some sign language here and there so I can better communicate with him. I've started with a few simple words: More, Eat, Milk, All Done, and Car. So far he's signed back More and All Done for sure. He signs more when he wants more food or when he wants me to do something fun again for him. I'm having a lot of fun signing with him because I really can sense that he wants to communicate with me. These days in the mornings, Rhys does this game where he rolls a ball under the crib and then grabs my hand and pushes it under the crib toward the ball, basically asking me to get it for him. He also will ask to be picked up and then proceed to point to where he would like me to take him...(it is usually outside that he wants me to take him to). It's fun and exciting being able to understand him more, but I can't always do what he asks me to do (like give him a mini twix bar) so he gets frustrated too. But overall we have a great time with it. He understands the word milk as well. When I ask, "Do you want milk?" He stops what he's doing and walks over to me with a BIG smile on his face. Love that kid!

Mind Blown...?

Well, it's more like eyes opened I guess. So when I was a kid/teenager, one of the things I did not like was my mom watching me eat. She'd make food for us and then just sit there at the dining table and just watch us eat. I'd get annoyed at her and ask her why she had to do that. Her reply was, "I just want to see you eat." Well I finally figured out why she loved to watch us eat...

Everyday, I think about what I am going to feed Rhys today and if he'll like my food. Many times I put a lot of effort into making something and Rhys wants nothing to do with it and would rather eat fish sticks. So when Rhys actually likes something that I make for him, I can't help but watch him eat his food. It brings me such joy and pleasure when Rhys uses his chubby little fingers to grab the food and bring it to his mouth. But I realized that I was sitting there...watching him eat. I imagine that I would probably watch him eat for years to come just out of habit. But I hope that Rhys doesn't get annoyed at me for watching him enjoy my cooking. I hope he will just continue to put on a great eating show for me and make me feel so happy.

Planning planning

I'm not much of a party planner of any sorts. I definitely don't have the arty crafty side in me. I think I may have when I was younger, especially with making clothes and sewing bears/pillows/bags. But these days I think the craftiest thing I do is knit...but even that has taken a back seat to Rhys. Is cooking considered being crafty? I don't think so...

Anyways, I have two parties that I am kinda sorta planning. I have Ruby and Raf's baby shower that will be happening this Saturday. I have to buy some of the food and decorations and the cake. I'm a little worried that some of the decorations that I bought from Amazon have still not arrived yet...but it's okay because I know that I can go to Party City and get any emergency decorations if needed. I also have Rhys' first birthday party to kinda plan as well. It's pretty much the decorations and the cake/favors...but I feel like I need to make it look pretty since it is a big event. I custom ordered some blocks with Rhys' name painted on it. I also ordered a Happy 1st Birthday banner, and....wait...that's all I have. I probably will be ordering a cake and Stephanie said that she would be making some sort of sweet treat for our favors. I also have to buy some cute balloons.

I also have started to think about making a simple quilt to put over Rhys' door to try and reduce the outside noise from bothering him when he sleeps. I have to first check to see if my sewing machine even works...haha. I was initially going to replace the door from the current hollow-core door to a solid-core door, but I feel like that is a lot of money and it may not even fix the problem. I should try a cheaper alternative before going for the big change. So I have to be more crafty these days....for my sanity's sake. Otherwise, I will just become a meaner and grumpier mommy who gets mad at her husband for coughing and farting too loud! Yes...that is me....sorry Brian.

I'm writing this as I sit in my bedroom with the baby cam on, watching Rhys fidgeting while he takes his first nap of the day. I hope he sleeps for 15 more minutes!! please!!!

Oh yes, I read my sister's well being blog the other day www.thewellbeingproject.blogspot.com and found out about this app that you can install on your smart device and it can adjust the light setting on your device so you won't have to strain your eyes! I have the baby cam on pretty much all night and it tends to be pretty bright when we are sleeping. After installing a similar app (mine didn't have f.lux) I can sleep without the big white glare of my screen. Thanks Carol! Keep up the good work!

I think I may go rollerblading with Rhys and Julian. I am a bit hesitant because it is 5 miles long but I think I will feel better afterwards.

Rhys after eating spaghetti and some cake
 (weird combo, I know)

It's picture time!!

Rhys is 9 months old already! I can't believe that in only a few months, he will be 1 year old! Time seriously flies. It was like yesterday when we brought him home and put him in his crib that looked like it was just so big for him. He is so big now. Whenever I tell people how old he is, they say that he is so big! I still remember spending my days sitting on the couch with him in my lap and watching TV. I can't really watch TV while he is awake these days because you will see his eyes glaze over and he will stare at it for a while. I still manage to watch my Long Island Medium episodes on Mondays though...I can't miss that. 

I can't believe I've been unemployed for so long. I was so hoping that I'd be able to find a job by now, but things just haven't worked out for me. It's come to the point where I think I may have to take a refresher course so that I am even eligible for these positions. But on the plus side...I don't miss a single moment of Rhys growing up. I don't have to get a report of all the wonderful new milestones that he is meeting from a nanny/babysitter. I get to see it all and record it all. These days, his thing is clapping. He is starting to clap when he is excited. It is just about the cutest thing in the world!! He is also blabbering a lot more these days. His favorite word these days is "Daddae". He makes poop faces like a real human being, making grunting noises that go along. Rhys is also very much interested in food. I've been feeding him Cheerios and freeze dried baby yogurt chips so he can work on his fine motor skills. In about 2 weeks, his ability to transfer food from his hands to his mouth has increased drastically. He's figured out that in order to get the food in his hand into his mouth, he has to open his hands to release the food that he has just grasped. I've also been feeding him more foods that the whole family can eat. I've given him Chicken Pot Pie and Meatloaf. Of course, it is baby friendly with very little salt. But I have to admit...it tastes pretty good! 

He is also very interested in whatever I am eating. If he spots me drinking a glass of water, he will stop what he is doing from across the room and quickly make his way over to me and try to grab it. He is getting pretty good at drinking from a straw these days...although most of what he sucks up ends up on his shirt and his pants. I figure it is good practice. I can hear loud GULP noises when he drinks and I am so sure that he is drinking way more that he can handle. You know that feeling when you drink too much in one gulp and it hurts your throat...that happens to Rhys often. After a few sips from his cup, his face gets red and he lets out a loud grunt. It's quite funny. 

I'm so blessed to be able to be there for all of these precious moments.