Snuggles

I got to snuggle my boy today. Sometimes when he wakes up from a nap a bit early, if I'm quick, I can get him up and then whisk him into bed with me and he'll fall back asleep. Today was one of those days. When he was little, that was the #1 piece of advice that people gave me, "Be sure to sleep when he sleeps!" and I see no reason not to take it now, even though he's over a year and a half old. It was awesome! I LOVE snuggling him. I hardly ever get to though because normally when I lay down with him, he's too excited to have company to actually go to sleep. It didn't use to be that way - he slept in bed with us until he was 10 months old! Most people think we're crazy (ok, I'll admit it was mostly my idea - Sean thought it was cute for about three weeks and then he was over it) but I wouldn't change it if I could and I hope to do that with every kid I have! When we first brought him home from the hospital, it just seemed natural. He slept all the time anyways, only waking up to nurse and it was much more convenient to have him there. Plus I remember putting him in the Moses basket when he was a month or so old - it was on the floor next to our bed, and he looked so tiny and cold and far away down there I brought him back into bed with me! And there he stayed. He slept between us mostly and then as he got bigger and kicked more, Sean flat out refused to sleep next to him so I was in the middle and he was on the edge (he was blocked in, don't worry!). He normally sleeps right next to me, with his head on my arm and his legs all over the place. I don't know how he can take up so much room actually! But these days he's always on the go and hardly ever sits still for too long so it's nice to be able to just lay there with him, and smooch on him. I don't know what it is about a sleeping baby but there really is nothing quite as cute. And I always thought people who said this were crazy but I can just sit there and watch him sleep for hours! As much as I love him getting older and doing more fun stuff, a part of me will always wish he stayed little... when I could hold him all the time, and take every nap with him, and when all he wanted was stuff that I could give him. *sigh* I'm sure every mother feels that way though!! I think that's why I enjoy sleeping with him so much! It reminds me of when he was still a baby and lets me enjoy it just a little bit longer.

Awesome stranger at the airport

So me & Blayne flew down to Florida a couple of weeks ago for Jordan's graduation (yay!) and then we went to the beach for a week and then flew back to Atlanta. I was a little nervous about flying with Blayne because I didn't want him to be one of those terrible toddlers driving everyone else on the plane crazy and I didn't know how I was going to keep him entertained in a small space for an hour and a half. But (thanks to Sean's video ipod) he was wonderful and quiet and did awesome. Here's the thing though, when people see you coming towards a gate or terminal with a toddler most of them give you a look. I don't know how to describe it, it's sort of a mixture of fear and annoyance mixed with a little bit of "why are you out in public with that thing much less flying with it?!?" After that they attempt to avoid eye contact altogether. Anyone who's ever flown with a baby or small child has probably gotten "the look." For me though, that look doesn't really make me want to keep my kid extra good so he doesn't annoy you. Contrary to popular belief, I'm probably more worried about how my kid is gonna behave than the random stranger who may or may not be sitting by me for an hour and a half but when you give me that look it makes me want to kick you in the shins, flick you in the forehead and then sneak a stinky diaper into your carry on. And then it makes me secretly pray that we ARE sitting by you and that my kid will be obnoxious during the ENTIRE FLIGHT - just to drive you crazy!!!! One day some mom is gonna snap in the airport and smack a stranger and we'll all know why. And another thing that bothers me about that look - the person is directing that "eat poo and die" stare at MY BEAUTIFUL SON!! The cutest kid ever!! My smart, funny, adorable kid!! Don't you people know not to ever make a mom think you're insulting her kid?!?!? Geez. But I digress... in the midst of all these looks there was an amazingly nice stranger. A couple in fact but this lady sticks out. We were coming back from Sarasota to Atlanta and I got to the airport like two hours early (thanks mom) so we we're just stuck there and I was trying to keep Blayne happy. The airport was practically empty so I just let him run around and climb on the chairs and do whatever thinking that he'd get all his energy out and then he'd be ok during the flight. It worked btw, he slept for most of it! But as Blayne is running around I got a couple of "looks." Most people were pretty nice though -the Sarasota airport is MUCH nicer than the Atlanta one so I guess people weren't as pissy in general. Then Blayne hears a little crinkle-crinkle-crunch-crunch going on nearby. This kid (probably in high school) has just opened a bag of chex mix or something and Blayne locked in on him. He seems to think that no one should eat alone. So he heads off for this boy (before I can catch) him but then freezes when he realizes that he doesn't actually know this person. But the boy offers Blayne some of HIS OWN snack and then when Blayne gets all shy and won't take it, he actually takes some out and hands it to him!!! Blayne ate it of course. =) A few min later as I'm following him down another row of chairs this lady smiles at him and tries (unsuccessfully) to get him to give her five and then she tells me, "You know, you're a really great mom." Huh??? Me??? She said she was the mom of the nice boy who gave Blayne snacks and she thought it was awesome that I just let him run around and didn't try to keep him all stuck in a seat and that most people were too worried about stuff like that and that it was great that I was letting him have a little fun before the flight. Wow. That totally made my day!! My week even!! Actually, here it is two weeks later and I still think of it every now and then!! Not that I think I'm the greatest mom ever mind you but that this woman would say that to me - that she didn't ask me to keep my kid quiet or sit him down and she didn't give me or Blayne the looky-look either. So thanks, awesome stranger in the Sarasota airport. You'll probably never know how much that meant to me.

A few of my favorite things

Blayne does plenty of cute things on a regular basis but here are a few of my favorites:

1) Snuggling him at night or when he first wakes up - it's not often that he sleeps in bed with us anymore but when he does, he's like a heat seeking missile and will spend the whole night curled up right next to me. I love that! And he's kind of a slow waker-upper and will sometimes let me snuggle him for 15-30 min after he wakes up from a nap - it's awesome!

2) The way he shakes his head when I ask him for a kiss - but I know that he secretly wants me to chase him down and steal a smooch!

3) How he asks to watch SpongeBob SquarePants - it sounds more like "Spons Bah Bah Bah Bah?" Too cute!

4) How he sleeps with 14 binkys on or near his person. He's a total addict!!

5) That he says I Love You now - it sounds more like Iluhyoo (all one word) actually but its pretty stinkin adorable nonetheless.

6) How he becomes almost spastic when we chase him around the house, he bumps into things, falls all over the place and can't run in a straight line to save his life - its hysterical!

7) Sometimes he'll put this purple garbage can on his head (don't worry, I clean it regularly!) and will just walk around the house with it on. Strange I know, but very funny!

8) He loves Pete' and is always petting him and giving him treats. Awhile ago he picked up on me calling for Pete' and so now he'll walk around saying, "Ohhhh Teeetsieee, where aaaahhhhhh yoooo??"

9) He also loves to read and will bring me books, turn around and back himself into my lap (btw, he refuses to read books now unless he's IN my lap!) and then turn the pages while I read. =) Just like his momma!!

10) His laugh. I don't know how to describe it but it's amazing. He's got all kinds of laughs too - a full belly laugh when we tickle him, or a giggle when we chase him around or a little laugh while he's watching SpongeBob and something is funny, or how he laughs when Sean or I get home and he's happy to see us... there are a million of 'em and I love 'em all!!

About Me, Part Deux

So I haven't even been a blogger for a day yet and I'm already getting complaints. Complaint #1 was logged by my husband who wanted to know why I didn't say more about him. And complaint #2 came from my mother who wanted to hear more about Blayne. And she wants pictures of him too. So here goes!


More about my hubby: Sean and I met while working at Harvest Restaurant almost 5 1/2 years ago. I was actually dating someone at the time (eek!) but he won me over quickly. I think the first thing that attracted me to him was his adorable smile. And his awesome green eyes. We met a few weeks after Thanksgiving and by Christmas we were an item!! After dating for a year and a half, we got married in Sebring on May 21, 2005.Sean is my best friend and the first person that I want to tell things to and making him smile and laugh is one of my biggest goals in life. He's seen me at my worst and loves me anyways and for that I am eternally thankful and grateful. Oh and here's the funny Handsome Prince story - a few months ago we were having dinner at my brother's house and talking about princes and princesses and then Amy said something about how Sean was my Handsome Prince. And my 4 year old niece Hannah said (in a tone of complete disbelief), "That's your Handsome Prince?!?!?!?" while staring at Sean in utter shock and a bit of concern. After we all composed ourselves, I assured her that yes, he was indeed my very own Handsome Prince. =)


Then about 9 months after we got married, we found out we were preggers! Blayne was born on November 2, 2006. It was not really part of our plan to have kids so quickly but our lives have changed 1000x for the better since Blayne got here. Our first few weeks with him were a little tough, he was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease when he was only a week old and had to have major surgery when he was 8 days old. I look back at pictures of him and of us in the hospital and I just can't believe how tiny he was when he went through all that. And when I see little week old babies, I can't help but remember all that Blayne had to go through when he was so young. Although actually, he handled the whole thing better than I did. I pretty much cried for the first week and a half straight and he was so brave. He has had to have a couple minor follow up visits and procedures but for the most part he is CURED!! Yay! You'd never know that he was so sick or that the Drs were worried that they might not be able to "fix" him. He's absolutely perfect!! Not to mention that he's so stinkin' adorable. Here's a recent pic so you can see for yourself. Some of his favorite things are flags, balloons, and SpongeBob SquarePants (he sings the song all the time and asks to watch it first thing in the morning). I'm not sure what the deal with flags is... even when he was much littler he used to like them. He'd point them out in the car and that was probably one of his first words. It sounds more like "fllllaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh" though. Obviously he likes sea shells too. We just got back from a week at the beach and he had a great time. Except for the whole getting sunburned thing. I know what you're thinking but it really wasn't like I was a slacker mom or anything, I put spf70 all over him (70! I didn't even know they made that!!) and he still got burned AND we were only out for like and hour and a half. He's just rather pale. Pasty some would say but I prefer to think of him as a fair skinned, blue-eyed, red(ish) haired Irish Boy. He talks ALL THE TIME, is learning words like crazy and it seems like he says something new every day. My favorite new phrase is "iluhyoo!" He knows the names of all sorts of things and he (finally) knows Mama!! For the longest time he would say everyone elses name (including the dog's - Teetsie) but no Mama. He's got it now though. That's probably one of my favorite things, when I walk through the door and he sees me and he starts smiling and says "Mama!"

Start at the very beginning...

I just want to begin by saying that I got suckered into this by my mother. I've heard about blogs, I've read blogs but I never had any desire to have a blog of my very own. I have serious doubts about whether or not I will have interesting things to say on a regular basis but I also doubt that anyone besides my very own mother will read it. So I guess it doesn't really matter. =) But she guilted me into it by suggesting that I make it to keep track of the cute things my adorable son does on a regular basis and since my son is SO adorable and does cute things like every HOUR (at least) I thought she might have a good point. So here it is! My very own blog. It's actually kind of cool to think that the whole world (if it so desired) could read about me and my life right here. I guess I better give you the basics just in case anyone besides my mom does actually find their way here. My name is Bianca. I'm 28 years old. I live in Atlanta, GA. I was raised in Sebring, FL and left there almost 10 years ago (*gasp* I'm getting old...). I work as a Microbiologist (hence the 'Micro' in 'Micro Mamma') for a university in Atlanta. I won't tell you what I work with because you'll just be disgusted. Suffice it to say that it is sorta gross and you probably don't want to have what I'm studying. Ever. I'm married to my very own Handsome Prince (funny story about that later) named Sean. We have the cutest kid ever (sorry all you other moms, but it's true) named Blayne. He's 20 months old now and makes me laugh all the time. He's learning new words every few minutes or so (at least it seems that way) and he is so much fun all the time! We also have our first "son," a miniature dachshund named Pete' who is about 15 years old now and acts exactly like a crotchety old man. But I love him! I have two brothers, one 7 years older than me and one 10 years younger. So even though it doesn't really count cause we were so far apart, I play the middle child card as often as possible. My big bro Michael lives just up the road from me (only 15 min away - in Atlanta that's practically like being next door neighbors!) with his wife Amy and their adorable kids Ethan, Hannah, Natalie and Ely. And my little bro (who is currently a head taller than me) just graduated from high school!! Woo Hoo!! Let's see here, what else do you need to know about me... oh geez, I should've put this first probably but God is pretty high on my list of things that are important to me. Like right at the top. I go to an AWESOME church in Atlanta led by Andy Stanley (seriously, if you're ever in Atlanta, go to Buckhead Church!) and I've met some great people there. I spent a lot of years trying to act like God wasn't really that important to me and I definitely regret all that wasted time. But He finally got my attention back where it belongs - on Him - and I'm so grateful that He didn't give up on me. I still have lots to learn and I know I don't know much yet but I think the most important thing about a person is whether or not they know Jesus. And once you know Him, I mean the real Him, not necessarily the one that some of the TV preachers talk about, it's hard to go on acting like He doesn't exist and pretending like He doesn't love you like crazy. 'Cause He does. Just so you know. So what else makes me me?? I guess part of it would be that I grew up in a small town with a lot of family around. Growing up, my cousins and I were more like brothers and sisters. We spent crazy amounts of time together and still make it a point to get together as often as possible (especially for our Cousin's Christmas Party!!). Oh and I supposed my padres had something to do with how I turned out. My Dad is awesome, he's totally the strong silent type but being the only girl, I pretty much had him wrapped around my finger (love ya Dad!). He used to take me hunting and fishing and is responsible for my tomboyish, outdoor tendencies. Because of him, I know the names of lots of birds and fish and how to call a turkey and hook a worm and to tie a slipknot (plus a million other things I won't mention here). And I love him for it! My mom... well... she's uh... kinda crazy (but in a good way!) and as much as it pains me to say this #1) she's one of my best friends and #2) I'm totally turning into her!!! I don't know how it happened actually. It seems like one day a few years ago I found myself saying things that she would say and doing things that she would do. You have to be a daughter to understand the amount of fear that this will inspire. I mean, I love my mom, but to turn into her?!? That's taking things a bit too far. But it's happened and it's as if I have no control. The older I get the more I notice it. And the whole bff thing - when did that happen?? Do you know how many years I spent trying to avoid conversations with this woman?? Now I call her once at day (at least!) and I actually miss her if we go more than a day or two without talking. Furthermore, the thought of hanging out with her (like face to face) isn't a scary thought! It's a great one!! We've always talked about taking a long vacation together, just the two of us, and I actually can't wait for that to happen!! Crazy, I know.

So I guess that turned into a rather long first post (and I was worried about running out of things to say!) so I'll sign off for now. Next time, I'll talk about my kid more - since that was the whole point!