You Come Up With a Name This Time

Alright, so Zach is asleep so I'll try and get this started. It's been way too long. Zachary has unfortunately been waking in the middle of the night for about the past week. For a while it was 3, then 4, then 5, now 4 again. It really sucks. We can't really figure out why. We had been pushing his bedtime back to about 7, so we're trying to go back to 6:45. I also didn't know if he was naturally waking up but couldn't go back to sleep because he was hungry. So I've started giving him a little more solid food during his day (a little bit for dinner). He also started cottage cheese the day that he started this waking thing, so I'm also wondering if that has anything to do with it. He didn't show any signs of allergy to the dairy though, so I'm not sure. He does like cottage cheese, though.

I'm still making Z's food. Our freezer is so full, we've been casually talking about buying a small one to put his stuff in. Seriously no room left. I made peas and green beans the other day. Tell you what, between real peas and canned green beans, can't tell the difference, taste-wise.

We also had our first battle over food last week. Zach, like most people, likes his fruit more than he likes his veggies. I had been giving him grains, veggies, fruit and occasionally a protein (egg yolk or tofu) for lunch. Well he would know there was a fruit you were holding out on him and wouldn't take anything but that. Then he would just cry and fuss. For two days he did that during lunch - wouldn't eat any of his food but his fruit. And what did I do? Let the kid starve :). When he's hungry enough, he'll eat it. And it's not like it was food that he just didn't like - he had eaten it fine in the past. So we tried eating his lunch again a half hour later - still didn't want any of it. Then a half hour after that. By that time he had decided that it really wasn't that bad. So he ate it all up and then he got to nurse. After that I cut out fruit from his lunch so he just gets that during snacktimes. He's done great for lunch ever since. He even ate some butternut squash straight (the 2nd half I had to mix with his carrots) and has been doing great with his peas. He really does eat very well, except for those few days.

My neck still hurts. I'm doing physical therapy now. Since I've started I've had a decent headache every day. So my therapist isn't quite sure what to do. Oh, and btw, a bulging disc is something that insurance companies will disqualify you for - I can't get individual insurance until 6-12 months after this has been cleared up. Great, huh? Especially since Jason just signed up for insurance through his work last week. We had decided we'd just get individual for half the price. That didn't work out so well. So I'm on a short term plan with Anthem, which is kind of a skeleton plan. But it's something for now.

Every Sunday I get the paper (and then recycle!) to get the coupons and check the ads. I need to start using the web coupon sites, but I'm afraid our computer will crash because of the download so want to back everything up first. Not that Jason would mind, we'd just buy a Mac and call it good. Speaking off, does anyone know why a computer would all of a sudden start changing the create date on pictures when you copy them? Before it didn't mess with it, but now when I copy a pic it makes a new create date. It's really quite irritating. But anyway...this is what Z likes to do with the paper.

And not because our old pediatrician told us (who are now fired), we started brushing Z's teeth a while ago. For some time it was just with a rag, but now we have a baby toothbrush with little ducks on it (on sale plus a coupon!). At the beginning he really liked it and would chew on the brush forever, but now he's getting more feisty. He'll only let me brush them for a little while.

Naked! Well, almost. Z is so cute, and he's even cuter naked. The kid has some muscles, too. His abs are so strong, and if my neck was that strong we'd be doing soooo much better. He was chewing (of course) on the side of his crib.

When we go in to get him from naps he's usually standing up now. He's actually learning to get himself back down, which is something very helpful. Sometimes he'll get stuck standing up with the coffee table.

This one came out blurry but it was a great idea, I think. I'm pretty sure by this time he didn't want me to take anymore pictures, he just wanted out :).

We don't have a whole lot of pictures of me and Z, but this one turned out okay. Not great, but alright.
Jason's mom came to visit us for a little while. She actually grew up about an hour from here (half hour?) and had a class reunion. So it worked out well. Z loved to play with her suitcase, but there's nothing quite as fun as a shoebox. Except now he has teeth and will actually get pieces off of the corners, so I have to rotate them.

He also loves to explore his car seat. He just loves the straps. Loves them. The car seat rocks back and forth, and this time he actually got all the way in it. He got out all by himself, though.

These pictures are from the Steven Foster Musical. Apparently he was the dude who came up with the "My Old Kentucky Home" song. Everybody around here knows what it is. He also did the "Oh, Suzanna" song, I think. Anyway, there was a heap of people and they performed the musical. Jeanie had been before, but J and I hadn't - we had really low expectations. It was really much better than we thought it would be.

Here's Jeanie with Jason's cousin Marie - who actually lives like 15 minutes from us.
This one seems pretty washed out, but I don't think we got a better one. I'll tell you what, at least with our digi camera the lighting isn't always what it turns out to be once you get the pics on your computer.

This one is washed out too. We have another that has better lighting, but Jason doesn't like how he looks. Ironically enough, I look pretty good in the other one...that's always how it goes, isn't it? :)
Here's some pics of the show. It was outside and I was afraid of being eaten alive by bugs, but I don't think it was bad at all - I'm not sure if I even got one bite. There was a lot of dancing and, obviously, singing. They had old school costumes as it is set a while ago. There was one dude that had the fakest German accent ever, it was really funny. At one point he said "It is kaput!" and now Jason likes to say that.

Another funny thing about the show - over and over again they say "Steven Foster." As opposed to just Steven. Like his girlfriend would actually use his last name too. It's like the writers didn't want you to forget where you were...how often do I actually call Jason "Jason Upchurch?" "Leave me alone, Steven Foster!!" It's kind of funny. Maybe you had to be there, though... :)

On a different note Zach loves to look in the mirror. He'll actually open his mouth and go straight for the mirror - I'm not sure if he's trying to taste the mirror or do something with his reflection, but it's cute nonetheless.

Every now and then I have to go through Zach's clothes. Man, if the people who make clothing could just decide on standard sizes. He's still wearing some clothes that are 3-6 months, and then he's got some out now that are 18 months. So I'm putting them in boxes according to what they REALLY are, not just what they say. Anyway, we have to try on hats to see if they fit (even if they are the wrong season - I want to only organize them once). This hat I didn't remember I had, and it's so cute. Too bad it's the wrong time of the year. Maybe it will fit later (doubt it, right?). He liked the strings hanging down, though. He also liked climbing around in the pile of clothes.

I had to click fast because the hat didn't last long. I got about 5 pictures before it was off. He'd rather eat things that have them on :).

Zach is still so bendy! How he does what he does, I'll never know. Although I've decided little kids have to be bendy because the positions they get themselves into because they aren't super stable...it's crazy. It would really hurt if he wasn't so flexible.

When it's been warm and hasn't rained (they don't cover the pool) the temperature of the water can be pretty nice. We went a couple of weeks ago and it was actually quite nice. Zach has gotten much more used to the idea of being unsupported in the water - he actually let me float him on his back for a while! And he's not scared of the other people in the pool anymore - now he likes to watch them.

Jason actually got in this time. What dad would be a dad without throwing the kid in the air? Why would it be different in a pool? Zach really loved it, though, and was laughing a lot.

We almost let Jeanie leave without getting any pictures of her with Zach! That's the only problem about taking all the pictures, you don't end up in many of them. A problem I have all the time...Anyway, we got a few good ones although Zach was pretty tired and ready for his nap.


And on a totally separate note, we had to buy new sheets the other day. King size is great, but not for the wallet when you have to buy sheets. We found some green ones at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Tell you what, we (and by we I mean Jason, although I agree) decided that to buy anything there without a coupon is pretty stupid. It's tantamount to saying "Please, rip me off." They always give out 20% off coupons. And you can use Linens 'n Things coupons there too. You can use up to 5, and you can always use expired ones. So really, people, save some dough and use those coupons! It's just like free money! We saved almost 20 bucks from our blanket, sheets, and BBQ tool set.

And I bought some new contacts the other day online. The first time I'd done that, but they are cheaper. It's like in You've Got Mail...buying from the cold cash cow as opposed to the little guy. But I don't have 60 bucks to throw around, so I went the cheaper route. You can blame me (and by you I mean Sean :) for the demise of our civilization later :).

Alright well I'm going to go check Ebay for toys. I've been looking for a few particular things. It's kind of stressful bidding though. I went garage sale-ing the last few Saturdays and that's pretty fun. Although it's very easy to get sidetracked and come home with stuff you didn't intend to buy. But I got some sweet mega blocks (2 different sizes) for a buck a bag and a table to build stuff on. I also picked up an inflatable Star Wars chair for Zach. It'll be a while before he can sit and move around enough to use it, but it's pretty cool. I'll have to get a picture of him on it. He seems to really enjoy it.

I know there's other stuff I wanted to mention, but it's gone now. I already have enough pictures for another post, so I'll have to go through those and can add the stuff I forgot.