B-Boy finishes his swim class

B-Boy finished his swim class. His class is at the aquatic center near my work. It has been fun, especially since we would have some family time just after work two times a week.

He really enjoyed the class, swimming with the other babies, and playing with Mom and Dad in the water. I think he also REALLY liked his teacher, who reminds me a bit of ChiggerButt.

Hi Mommy! Isn't my teacher cute? I think she likes me!

When the lesson was finished, B-Boy looked exhausted. True to form, he slept REALLY well when we got home.

Mommy, can I use your purse as a pillow?

Not to worry, our neighborhood pool offers lessons. Neb signed us up to start in August. B-Boy will be a little fish by the time we are done!

Bye-Bye GranE!

This was a fun visit GranE!

GranE has gone home. :(

B-Boy will miss her, but we are excited that she will be coming back to visit in November for Thanksgiving.

Before she left, we took a photo in the same place we always do. It's funny to start with the first one, to see the progression. As B-Boy gets bigger (and that is a shock to see), you will notice that Neb and GranE look like they have more energy. Go figure.

:)

October 2009 (approximately 1 month old)

February 2010 (approximately 3 months old)

April 2010 (approximately 6 months old)

July 2009 (approximately 9 1/2 months old)

The Nebelito Gazette gets an award...

When Neb's aunt (AuntJ) was visiting, she presented me with an award for the Nebelito Gazette. I am a champion Nebelito Gazetter!

If you read my recent post about getting a trophy as a kid, you will understand why it made me laugh. The award (aka trophy) had a winged golden woman who looked very similar to the one from my past.

The award has been on the mantle since... where it will remain until Neb builds me a lighted cabinet! :)

Hee hee. So thanks AuntJ for the support, I sure appreciate it!

AuntJ and Limby come to visit!

Today, GranE's sister, AuntJ, came to visit with her daughter Limby from Georgia. They played with B-Boy, who is still trying to figure out why all these new folks are here.

We took him to the pool and had a great time. (It was VERY hot, but we made do!) B-Boy showed them how he can go under the water, kick his legs when his Daddy pulls him through the water, and splash!!!

Faster GranE Faster!

I know one of you is about to dunk me, I can just tell!

The water is nice and cool AuntJ! You should get in!

Before Limby and AuntJ left, we took some time to snap some photos. Limby was sweet to play along with me wanting to take so many...

Before they hit the road, I told AuntJ that she had to take another photo with B-Boy. I told her he needed to be in the same position he was in the photo from the last time she visited. It took her a moment to remember... she had held him out at her side. Yikes!

But she was sweet to do as I asked, especially since I promised she would not have to do it again.

October 2009, B-Boy at just about 2 weeks old

July 2010, B-Boy at 9 1/2 months old

We will have to find another pose for her. Did I mention B-Boy is HEAVY????  Could you imagine me having AuntJ and B-Boy do this pose when he is 12? HA!!!!

GranE comes to visit!

B-Boy is all excited... his GranE is here! She is amazed at how big he has gotten.

Um, GranE, I am not a ventriloquist dummy...

I can prove it. You drink some water and I'll talk.

GranE had a ball playing with B-Boy, and a bigger ball playing with Neb. He took off of work so they could play golf together while she is here. It is good to see them together, they both make each other laugh.

GranE and Neb even figured out how to set up the Pack-N-Play. YAY! B-Boy did well in it, but he did not like being CONTAINED! He is so tall that he can peek over the top rail.

Yep, Daddy's excited... he doesn't have to chase me in here.

B-Boy is happy to see GranE... It was clear that he remembers her on some level... he is looking forward to playing with someone new.

Mmmm... that is yummy GranE!

Grandbaby boxes

There were seven of them.Seven large rubbermaid containers filled with gifts for B-Boy from my mom.

Over ten years ago, my mom started purchasing gifts for her grandbaby. Nevermind that neither my sister nor I was pregnant, let alone married, but my mom wanted to be sure that when that grandchild did come, he or she would have some presents from her.

It started with one rubbermaid container... You know, the REALLY big ones that can hold a large comforter and maybe a pillow or two? Big. Once she filled that one, she got another. The next thing we knew, she had seven.

Oh, did I mention that seven was for B-Boy? Oh yes, there were seven more for my sister's child. Fortunately for my mom, my sister had her first child eight years ago. My mom drove to Tampa from Louisiana with all boxes in her car before her baby was born. How she managed that in a Honda Accord is beyond me. All I know is that she was happy to have the space back in her house.

The advice my sister gave me afterward? (And no, it wasn't NOT to have kids!) She told me not to open them in one sitting. Cuz there was a lot!

The boxes for B-Boy moved with my mom to North Carolina in 2006. Somehow my mom talked Neb and I into taking custody of the boxes, and they sat in the garage for a very long time.

Then one day, we knew B-Boy was coming... and I took a box to my mom's to open. We would do a box or two until I got tired. Each gift came with a note, telling her grandbaby what she was doing, and that she was looking forward to meeting him or her.

My mom took some photos of the presents. Some we kept, and some were donated. Some were touching, like the white afghan she knitted with georgous trim that hung down like a shawl. A favorite for me was a book I loved as a child that I completely forgot about... it was a scratch and sniff book called "Little bunny follows his nose" by Katherine Howard. I don't know where she found it, it is out of print now. I remember as a little girl I loved to scratch and sniff the peanut butter page, and I thought the roses stank to high heaven.

Other gifts made us laugh, like the Baby Einstein musical toy which came with software for Windows 98. Yep, it was THAT old. There were LOTS of Eeyore and Tigger items.... and lots of Eric Carle books. Oh, and Beanie Babies! Lots and lots of Beanie Babies.

I decided that there were more beanie babies than I could possibly ever need, so I chose one to go with each book my mom gave B-Boy. That way, when we read the book, he will be able to hold and play with a character. The rest found good homes with other children.

Some gifts I donated right away. Others I thought I would be donating, but was not sure. In retrospect, I am glad I hung on to them, because B-Boy currently loves a lot of those toys!

I hope this post doesn't come off as me poking fun at my mom. I want B-Boy to know how much he was loved, even if it was 12 years before he came into this world. So thanks Mom, your generousity has made for a happy grandbaby.

Neb's first trip away

This week, Neb had to go to San Diego for work. This was his first trip away since B-Boy was born.

I know how hard that can be, on both of us. So this week, I was on my own. B-Boy and I did fairly well, but he sure did miss his Dad. Every morning when B-Boy is getting changed, Neb will peek his head in the door and make a silly face at B-Boy, and then duck out. After a few moments, he will repeat the peeking. B-Boy is always thrilled, and gives a high pitch squeal every time.

Every morning this week, he looked for his Dad. :(

But he was fine, and did really well while Neb was gone.

 

One of the things we did was to go to 2 more swim lessons. Whew! That was fun, but I sure wished I had 2 more arms! We started using pool noodles, putting them under the baby's arm pits and looping the ends up toward the sky. We then held on to the noodles and pulled them around the pool, getting them used to less support and not looking at us.

Faster Mommy, faster!

B-Boy loved it. He kicked like crazy, resembling a frog. It was a lot of fun, but I will say holding an almost 25 pound child in the water by the ends of a noodle is not easy! He got heavier and heavier, and my arms are still sore! But as long as he was enjoying himself, we kept at it. I can't wait for Neb to get home to get THAT workout.

Water resistence + 25 pound weight = tired mama.

The good news is that once we got home, all I needed to do was:

1. give him some solids to eat
2. give him a bath
3. give him a bottle
4. read him a story
5. put him to bed without ANY trouble

The pool has a magic power, that zaps B-Boy... so it was quite easy to get him to bed. The unfortunate part is that the four steps before bed take some time... and so he was often a bit fussy. Not that I blamed him.

When Neb landed after a crazy flight that involved a Red eye to Newark, running to catch his flight to Raleigh, his plane turning around midflight due to a landing gear issue, and then having fire trucks line the runway while they landed...

He eventually made it home. B-Boy was napping at daycare, so we met for a nice lunch. It was nice to eat with Neb and to hear all about his trip. We then headed to the daycare so Neb could see B-Boy.

It was a touching reunion, and we played together for a while. Neb started getting really tired and so I sent him on home.

Holy cow, his hair grew! It's so long now!

Daddy, you look tired... want to use my crib?

My Daddy is home! YAY!

Knock knock... who's there?

My Daddy! He's home!

So happy to have him back, and B-Boy is back to his old self, squealing in delight at seeing his Dad peek in the door while he gets his diaper changed.