The Reasons That I've Been Hiding

     For the past couple of weeks, months even, I've hidden from everything and everyone. Blinds closed, curtains drawn, hardly ever leave the apartment, deactivate my Facebook kind of hiding. I'm not really sure when it started but something triggered it. Something that to anyone else would be trivial and petty and easily brushed off and ignored. But here's the thing, when you are battling depression that is so physically, emotionally and spiritually crippling you can't separate the little things from the big things because they are all big things.
     I've dealt with depression since I was a teenager. I've been on this medication and that one. In fact, I've pretty much been constantly medicated in some form or another for nearly the past 15 years - pregnancy and breastfeeding aside. I've been seen by psychologists and psychiatrists. I've been to family therapists, trauma therapists, LDS therapists. For those of you who don't know much about my life I suppose you could say that I sound like a crazy person.
    Through all of that though, I have never felt as low as I do lately. I've somehow gotten myself into a place that is so dark and twisty that I don't even recognize myself anymore. I feel broken. Like all of my past and all of my present have flooded every inch of me with negative self doubt and insecurity. Why? I don't know. It could be a postpartum thing. It could be a PTSD thing. It could be a two-years-away-from-turning-thirty thing. Who knows?
    If I examine all of the things in my life that I regret or that I am afraid of or that I usually try not to remember, the running theme seems to be that I have felt that I have been unheard. And I'm angry about it.
   My solution? Hide from the world and isolate myself. Drive my husband crazy with worry with uncharacteristically impulsive decisions that are harmful and damaging. Appear unapproachable and prickly. Flake on friends and family just to lay on the couch all day and eat candy and get fat. Obviously it's not a good long term plan.
    My father-in-law said something to my husband that made a lot of sense to me. He said that dealing with depression isn't as simple as we think it should be. Just taking an anti-depressant isn't the answer. That's only twenty percent of the answer. Going to therapy is maybe another twenty percent. Eating healthily and exercising often is say fifteen percent. Making time to do things you enjoy is another ten percent. Getting enough sleep - fifteen percent. Spending time with people who make you feel good about yourself is twenty percent.
    I've got a lot of work to do to pull myself out of this. I guess what I'm saying is please be patient with me.
   

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Playing Catch-up

    I haven't posted anything new in a quite a while. We've been so busy. Let's see, in chronological order:
    I recovered from surgery really well. If only I could recover from the surgery's sticker shock. Ha. We could easily buy a new car with the money we have to put towards paying it off. It's worth it though. I can bend and twist and tie my shoes without wanting to cry. I'm slowing working up to exercising regularly. Michael and I invested in a spin bike and we love it.
    Several young moms that I attend church with started a weekly playgroup. I was invited when Emerson was first born but I was always a little too shy to attend so I made up excuse after excuse. When I was recovering from surgery I decided that I should just try being brave and host a playgroup get together at my house. I really needed to make some new friends. Seriously the best thing I've ever done. I love my playgroup mommies. We've turned it into a bi-weekly thing. We have also started exercising together. And we go out for ladies night whenever one of us has a birthday. Michael and I hosted a Christmas party at the lake house for all of the girls and their spouses and it was so much fun! I love sharing a comradery with girls that can relate to everything that's going on in my life. I feel so supported and loved and it's so great.
    I celebrated my 27th birthday at the end of October. I'm way closer to 30 than I'd like to be but there's a real sense that I'm settling into my life and it's nice. Michael is great at birthday surprises as always. I had class the night of my actual birthday so we celebrated a few days before. Even though that was really wonderful I did feel a little gloomy on my actual birthday because the day felt so unimportant. When I got home from class that night I walked into our bedroom and there were flowers on my nightstand. What a romantic guy!!!
    Two weeks later we celebrated our 2 year anniversary by going out to dinner and picking out new sheets and a new duvet and cover. It's kind of fun that we didn't do individual gifts but instead invested in something nice for the both of us to enjoy. It felt very grown up.
     Finals week was the at the beginning of December. It was stressful for both of us but we both did really well. I had been working hard for weeks on my final project for art class - the alphabet project. It turned out really well and I got the highest grade in the class on it. Was pretty proud considering I was on crutches for half of it and the other half had to drag the baby around with me. For those of you who haven't gotten to check it out you can look at it here.
     Christmas was absolutely my favorite thing ever. We stayed home for Christmas this year and spent it with Michael's family. All of his siblings and their families were able to come  - with the exception of his sister's husband. It was so fun to play games and visit with everyone. I really felt at peace. And so happy. It felt like how Christmas with family should feel. It's probably the first Christmas since my mom passed away that I felt whole. I still missed seeing my family but it was really comforting to know that I fit in so well with Michael's. Emerson didn't really get as excited about opening gifts as we did picking them out. We spoiled him rotten, of course. That's what first Christmases are all about, right?
     Michael and I decided to use the Christmas money we got this year to buy a used DSLR Canon Rebel so that I don't have to rent one from the school anymore. I am so excited. We got such a good deal on the camera we picked out. Can't wait for it to get here!!!
     I'm taking winter quarter off. Last quarter was really hard on Michael with my surgery and having me go to school 4 nights a week. I also am having trouble getting in-state tuition. We moved here in November 2012 but I can't actually legally prove I lived here until February 2013. I didn't want to get a new license when we moved because I was a huge pregnant balloon. We also didn't register our car in Washington until the tabs expired in February because we were lazy and cheap. Paying for that mistake now though. I have had to come to terms with the fact that I won't be getting my AFA degree before Michael gets into vet school and that's okay. His education is most important and I'm in no hurry. I will be starting back up in the spring however and sticking to mostly online classes. The photography classes will have to be on hold but that's another reason we got the camera now. I can work on developing my skills outside of class and be that much more prepared to resume taking them in the fall.
     Michael and I were recently called to teach primary together. It's nice because we are able to trade off who teaches the lesson and who gets to entertain Emerson. The baby still has a hard time with 3 consecutive hours of church - it always seems to be right in the middle of his morning or afternoon nap no matter when we go. Teaching the 9 and 10 years olds is really humbling. They teach us more often than we teach them. It's fun to have a calling together though.
     I'm travelling to the Tri-Cities this weekend to visit my family since I was unable to see them at Christmas. It'll be just Emerson and I going since Michael has already started school. I haven't had to be completely on my own with the baby for 4 days straight so we'll see how that goes. I also haven't been away from Michael that long since we've been married. Should be pretty interesting.
    Speaking of our little guy, Emerson is almost 10 months old!!! Can't believe how much he's grown. He has two top teeth and two bottom teeth now. He eats solid food pretty regularly. Loves graham crackers and Cheerios. He's so close to being able to crawl. He rocks back and forth on his hands and knees but doesn't have the confidence to push off and go just yet. He sleeps in the nursery at night now. He takes his baths in the big tub. He outgrows clothes faster than we can buy them. He can say "mama" and "dada" and generally gets them right when addressing us. He likes to squeal when he's happy and he sometimes growls to get our attention. He likes to flirt with everybody and will smile at anyone who looks at him. We sure do love our little monster!!!

This last series of black and white photos were the photos I submitted for my photography class final project.

Intro to Photography - Class Projects

    This fall I am taking an "Intro to Photography" class at the local community college and I am having an absolute blast. I love every second of it. I'm also taking an art class called "Intro to Design" and although I am rubbish at "hands-on" art I really enjoy learning about the organizational principles and design elements of art as it correlates directly to the concepts I'm learning in photography  - color theory, white-light theory, the rule of thirds, effective use of line, shape, space, value, etc. Just really glad I decided to take the classes in the same quarter. Makes everything make so much more sense!!!
    Anyway, in photography we've been working on two big projects these last couple of weeks. It's been rather tricky to get the type and quality of photographs that I want since I'm still dependent on crutches to get around but all and all I can say I'm pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish in spite of that. It helps that we have learned a few basic editing techniques in PhotoShop throughout the quarter that I've been able to utilize to make my photos even better.
    I'm sure that no one really cares about my school projects but I want to put them up on the blog anyway since I'm pretty proud of them. I'm not saying I am a great photographer and these probably aren't impressive to any one else but I feel like I've come pretty far already.
    So for my own ego and enjoyment:

Depth of Field

The purpose here was to take a photograph with sharp focus throughout - total depth of field.

Unedited:

Edited in PhotoShop:

The second portion of this project was to take a photograph using selective focus (shallow depth of field) making the focal point of the photo sharply focused and the surrounding environment a little out of focus. 

Unedited:

Edited in PhotoShop:

Motion & Time

The first portion of this project was to take a Stop Action photograph - using a fast shutter speed to freeze a motion scene without any blur. The professor challenged us to capture a photograph of something that appears impossible. 

Unedited:

Edited in Photoshop:

The second portion of this project included utilizing a technique called panning. The point is to take a photograph of an object moving at a high speed, keeping the object (or most of it) in focus and the surrounding environment blurred to depict speed and passing of time.

Unedited:

Edited in PhotoShop:

The last part was to use intentional blurring to create an interesting image. The object had to be stationary. Using only a long shutter speed and camera shake I had to try and make something interesting.

Unedited:

Edited in PhotoShop:

It drives me crazy that these photos don't center up on the blog but I have to make them big in order for anyone to be able to really see them so this is my inner perfectionist loosing a bitter battle. 

    Anyway, like I said, I've been having a lot of fun with this. We've got two more big projects left this quarter. Excited to get started. I also have a big project due at the end of the quarter in my design class that will enable me to use this newfound skill set. I have to take photos of everyday found objects (I can't create them) that look like letters of the alphabet. I have to find all 26 letters AND have a theme for the entire project. Some kid found the entire alphabet in various plants. Other example the teacher showed us involved reptiles. I'm thinking I might try and do a hipster husband theme. Michael's not really on board but I'll have to just talk him into it. The letter B can be his RayBans. I can rotate the photo vertically. The Q can be the back tire of his road bike. If I frame it correctly I can make the headstock of his guitar look like an E. Can take a photo of him wearing earbuds for a Y. Close up of his hand holding a vintage typewriter mug - the handle will be the letter D. I can get the letter L from taking a side picture of his legs and feet (wearing chucks, of course). O can be him holding his favorite Bon Iver record. I think I'd also like to do the whole thing in black and white. Anyway, I have a lot of ideas so we'll see. 

Bones, Blood & Boohoos - Surgery & Recovery

    It's been a very drug-induced hazy couple of days. Here's what I can remember:
    Last Thursday, my mother-in-law (bless her heart) drove me to the surgery center at 5:45 am after I kissed my little family goodbye. I was the first scheduled surgery of the morning. The whole preparation process was pleasant. We chatted away while the nurse came in several different times to hook me up to an IV, have me sign some paperwork, ask me about my medical history, mark the hip where I would be having the surgery, etc. I wasn't nervous or anxious. My mother-in-law was great at putting me at ease. The nurse had me take some morphine (in pill form) so that when I was done with surgery it would have had time to work its magic. The anesthesiologist came in and asked me a few questions and then gave me an antibiotic through my IV line. A few minutes later, the surgeon came in and asked me a couple questions and gave us an estimate on how long the surgery would take. I was starting to have a hard time concentrating on what he was saying. The room started getting a little fuzzy around the edges. I hadn't noticed that the anesthesiologist had snuck back in and had given me a "happy" drug. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled out of the room and into another, much larger, room full of a lot of scary medical equipment and a lot of friendly nurses. The last thing I remember is . . . well, I actually can't remember much more after that.
    In the blink of an eye I woke up and I was in SO MUCH PAIN. The worst I've ever felt. Worse than labor. Worse than my first hip surgery. I was angry. I couldn't think straight and I was angry at the nurse who kept telling me to open my eyes. I wasn't ready to open my eyes. I wasn't ready to move. I wasn't ready for how much pain I would be in. I asked for my MIL. They said she left to go eat something to eat. They wanted to move me into a recovery chair on the other side of the room. I wanted to punch them in the face for thinking that was a good idea. They manhandled me out of the bed and into the chair. One nurse brought me an english muffin with pb&j and some juice. She told me I had to eat it before I could have any medicine for the pain. I really hated her. I ate it as fast as I could which wasn't very fast considering I fell asleep between each bite and woke up in horror all over again. About that time my MIL came back and she sat with me and held my hand. Once I had eaten everything, the nurse gave me a couple of pain pills to swallow. They weren't working fast enough. Furthermore, what was the point of taking morphine before the surgery if it was doing absolutely nothing for me?! After a while she gave me a fast acting pain medication through my IV (FINALLY) and I slowly started to feel better. After a couple more doses of whatever that magic liquid was, I felt good enough to get dressed. The surgeon came in and talked to me a little bit about what he found and what he did to fix it. Apparently he had tried to tell me all of this earlier but I was completely out of it. I don't remember it at all. He gave me some cool pictures that he took with his little camera while he was fixing me up.

In this first series you can't really tell much about what's going on. The top left photo is what's interesting. When he got down into my joint he couldn't see anything because it was full of blood. That's not normal. It took him 30 minutes to just to flush it out. He also flushed out the extra cartilage caused by synovial chondromatosis. You can't really see that from the photos unfortunately. 

All of the feathery looking muscle tissue in the two left photos is my torn labrum. It should be completely connected to my femur but it is obviously not. 

Here you can see the bone shaving process. Ouch!

The bottom two photos show the drill and the anchor (screw) as it is going in to my femur. The screw is permanent.

In these photos, the surgeon is threading through the anchor and tying down that labrum so it will heal properly.

This is what it looks like now that it's been repaired. That stitch will eventually dissolve. 

    He did a couple more things while he was in there that aren't in any of the photos like loosening some of my tendons to give me a larger range of motion. 

    I was worried about the drive home from the surgery center. It's a 30 minute drive on a good day with light traffic. I am really sensitive to anesthesia. It makes me incredibly nauseous. I didn't want to throw up in my MIL's car. She has leather seats. I also wanted her to still like me after this whole ordeal and you just can't come back from being in close proximity to an upchucker. Your relationship will never be the same. The night before surgery, one of the surgeon's assistants suggested I put a prescription strength motion-sickness patch behind my ear. It worked wonders. I didn't feel sick at all on the way home. With that fast acting magic stuff I wasn't in that much pain either. In fact, we ran a couple errands on the way home (good errands like getting a chocolate milkshake and picking up my son). My MIL got me all settled in bed and then took Emerson home with her so that I could rest. Michael came home from school after about an hour and waited on me hand and foot. He's such a good husband.
    Going to the bathroom was quite the ordeal. I don't know if it was because I just put my body through a lot of trauma or because I was high on pain medicine but I literally forgot what muscles you use to pee. I sat on the toilet for 30 minutes trying to make myself go. I could tell that I really had to go but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't pee more than a trickle here or there. I was seriously terrified that the doctor had crossed some wires while he was down there and that I would never be able to pee normally again. This lasted for days! (For the record, I worked really hard and I can now pee like a normal person.)
    The next few days were more of the same. I slept a lot. My MIL watched the baby while Michael kept me company and worked on his homework and cleaned the house. I have to have my leg in a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine for 6 hours (3 sessions of 2 hours) a day. It basically just lifts my leg up and down. Prevents scar tissue build up in the joint. It can get pretty boring but I usually watch a movie or work on some homework while I'm passing the time.

    On Sunday, I was finally allowed to take the bandages off. I was a little scared at what I would find. When I took the bandages off after my last surgery I was surprised to find a HUGE incision with 25 staples. 

    The moment of truth came AND . . .

TA-DA!!!!

Only two tiny incisions. 4 stitches total. 

(My leg is swollen. Not fat.)

    On Monday, some girls from church came over to visit me and they all brought their little babies. It was really fun to have visitors. I loved it. They're going to come every Monday for the next little while. Really looking forward to it. 

    People have been so great about volunteering their time to watch Emerson while Michael's at school. Michael's cute little cousin comes over in the evenings and plays with the baby so Michael can get some homework done. 

    It's been really great having a little break from life. I get to be lazy and no one can judge me. :-) It also has been great to hear Michael acknowledge that taking care of a baby is so much work. I think he appreciates what I do even more. 

     Parts of this recovery are really hard though.  

1. Pain. That's obvious.
2. Not being able to hold, play with or pick up my baby whenever I want to. I'm jealous of all of these people who get to spend time with him. I can't have him on my lap more than a few minutes without getting really sore. 
3. Sleeping on my back. I hate sleeping on my back. I hate it. hate it.
4. Sleeping with Luna in the bed. She doesn't mean to but she often kicks me or tries to cuddle with me right where my incisions are. It's a horrifyingly painful way to wake up. 
5. Keeping up with school. I'm missing more than I planned on missing. I'll still be able to get things done on time I'll just have less time to do them and that stresses me out.
6. Physical therapy. It's brutal. I know the whole point is to build up your muscles and it goes hand in hand with the recovery process but it hurts. I didn't cry before or after the surgery. I didn't cry when I got home. I didn't cry when I threw up in the car two days ago BUT I sure did cry after just one exercise during my first PT session.

    It is very probable that I'll have to go through all of this again for my other hip. That is absolutely terrifying but how blessed am I that they have finally figured out what's wrong with me and how to treat it?! I am so amazed by the modern medicine and technology that made this surgery possible. It could have been a lot worse.

    I've still got a little over 3 weeks left on the crutches. I'm already starting to get super buff. I have lost 5 pounds since the surgery. Go me! I wouldn't suggest it as a mainstream weight loss approach however. There have got to be less expensive and less painful options out there. :-)

     Well, got to go. It's time for more pain pills and a nice long nap. 

Six months, Surgery & School

    I haven't updated the blog in a while. Emerson's closer to 7 months than he is to 6 months now. But life has been life lately which means I've been busy busy busy.
    Little guy had his 6 month check up yesterday. He's 19 lbs and 28 in. Doctor was concerned about his eczema (it's baaaaad) so we've changed his diet in hopes that it isn't caused by allergies. We're basically not buying the cheap stuff anymore. Ha. She said we could start him on mushed up big people food as well since he's got great muscle control. We tried some yesterday. . . he didn't like it.
    He's being stubborn about not wanting to hold his own bottle lately even though he's more than capable. He also isn't interested in sitting by himself because it's so much easier to lounge around. We've got him some toys that will hopefully spark his interest that he can only play with if he is sitting up. We'll see how it goes. He's going through a phase now where he likes to scratch everything. When he's ready to get up for the day he'll scratch the sides of the pack'n'play to let us know. He also prefers to scratch his toys rather than actually play with them. What a weirdo. He also scratches his face all day and all night long. No matter how short I keep his nails he looks like Edward Scissorhands all of the time.
    He likes to cuddle with blankets. But only fleece ones. It's so cute that he has developed an attachment to the ugliest blanket he has. It came with his crib bedding but it's something I didn't like from the beginning. It's yellow with a monkey on it. I mean, he has MUCH cuter blankets I would rather he love. But it is adorable that he has a preference that I can't do anything about no matter how hard I try. He will go to sleep on his own now though. Hurray! We just have to lay him down in his bed and he'll fall asleep with his blanket without crying or making much of a fuss. I'm in heaven about this. Naptime and bedtime were always such a battle. We had to let him cry it out a couple of times and now he's absolutely great at doing it all by himself.
    What else? He loves to suck on his toes. He giggles for us all of the time. He is addicted to TV. I'm not kidding. He loves Baby Einstein so much. He'll cry if we don't have it on nearly all of the time. I'm not sure if he'll turn out to be a genius or if we're rotting his brain out extra early. We try and get him out and about or focused on other things because we are legitimately worried that we are horrible parents because he watches so much TV. And it's the same 5 or 6 episodes over and over and over. Michael and I have them practically memorized. It could be worse, right? Right?!
    Most exciting of all, Emerson cut his first tooth TODAY! It's coming in on the bottom left. Michael felt it first. I'm a little jealous. It wasn't there yesterday!

    

    Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen?! Took this today while we were out on a walk. I had to take landscape pictures for my photography class and he was such a little trooper even though it was cold and windy and we were out there forever.

    Photography class, you say? Yeah. That's because I decided that being an accountant would be boring. So, I'm going to try my hand at photography and see if I have the talent to turn it into a career. With all of this hard work and sacrifice we're putting forward for Michael to have a career that he really enjoys we decided it was only fair that I get the same opportunity. I know a lot of SAHMs are photographers who start their own businesses. And I think all of those ladies are extremely talented. I'm not saying that everyone needs to go to school to learn how to take great photographs but I happen to be in a position where I can go to school for it. So I am. Not only that, I want my children to know that college is important and how better to show them than by example? I know I've said that before but I really think that it's important. So, I'm taking a photography class, an art class and a math class this quarter. I love getting to go to school in the evenings. It's so fun to do something for myself completely by myself. I've already made a few friends in the photography program. Homework is something to get used to again but I love having something productive to work towards during the day.

    Michael is also busy with school. He's taking three really hard classes this quarter and has quadruple the amount of homework that I do. He is also still working as much as he can on the weekends. We don't really get to spend a lot of time together just the two of us but we're making it work. He has been so great with the baby in the evening while I'm at school. I always come home to a clean house, a baby in bed and dinner waiting for me. He makes me look bad sometimes. I never cook for him. Ha. 

   Our lives are about to get even busier because I'll be getting surgery next week. I'm really nervous. It's going to be a lot more involved that we originally thought. And a lot more painful. When I met with the specialist last month he confirmed that I do indeed have synovial chondromatosis in addition to several other problems. After looking at the MRI he also discovered that I have a labral tear, impingement and snapping tendon syndrome. So, although the surgery will be done arthroscopically and I will have minimal incisions (4 at the most but no wider than a thumbnail) a lot will be going on under the surface that will be intensely painful. From what I can understand, the doctor will flush out all of the foreign bodies (synovial chondromatosis) and then cauterize the surrounding tissue to hopefully prevent my body from making more. Then he'll do some bone shaving on both the head of my femur and pelvic socket (impingement) to keep the bones from tearing up the surrounding tissue. Then he'll repair the labral tear by anchoring to the bone (with a metal screw). Finally he'll lengthen the snapping tendon by making small cuts into it (but not all the way through) so it won't be as tight. They're going to have me on morphine for 5 days after the surgery and a bunch of other heavy pain meds for up to an additional 3 months. I have to put my leg in a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine for 6 hours a day for 3 weeks. I'll be on crutches for at least 4 weeks. I'm not allowed to drive for at least 3 weeks. I have to do physical therapy 3 times a week for 6 months starting 3 days after surgery. It'll be a year before I'm back to 100%. 

    I'm terrified about how we'll make this work with Emerson. Michael has school all day and I can't be left alone with him because I'm not even allowed to pick him up the first couple of weeks. My mother in law will be around to help the first couple of days but then she has to go to out of town for a week. We're going to have to rely heavily on our friends and members of our church to help us out. And through all of this I still have to go to school. We thought long and hard about putting the surgery off until Christmas break. But I am in so much pain on a daily basis that we both decided it can't be put off any longer. We'll make it work somehow. 

    I've stocked up on diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, you name it to make it easier on Michael and whoever we will have around helping us out. I'm worried that Emerson will be really negatively affected by this because I won't be able to play and cuddle with him very much. I'm scared that I'll go through all of this and I won't get any better. I'm worried that my school work will suffer or even worse that Michael's school work will suffer because he'll be so consumed with taking care of both the baby and me. 

    Gotta stay positive about it all though. Happy heals, right? 

    Look at the time! Between writing this update and stopping to entertain Emerson every 5 minutes I've wasted an hour and half when I should have been doing homework!!!

5 Months Old - Teething, Weaning & Solids

     Emerson will be 5 months old tomorrow. I can't believe how time flies. I'm sure I say that every time I write a monthly update but it really does. I had to pack up even more of the clothes he's outgrown. I know it's silly but it makes me so sad. I want him to stay a little baby forever. I love his little gummy smile.
     We've had a rough go of it the past few weeks and even more so in the past few days. We've entered the dreaded teething stage of his development and he's miserable. I mean miserable. To add insult to injury, I've recently started taking a medication that makes it impossible for me to breastfeed anymore so now we're also weaning. He's not too happy about it. And neither am I. Naptime and bedtime are especially hard. Although, because he hasn't been napping for very long during the day he's definitely sleeping longer at night. Slept for a good 10 hour stretch last night. He's never done that before.
     It hasn't all been bad though. Some really great things have happened recently as well. We have started Emerson on solid foods. Hurray! The doctor said he was more than ready to start when she saw him at his 4 month check up. We wanted to wait a couple of weeks before we introduced him to anything new so we just started this past week. He has taken to it like a champ. All the books say start off with runny rice cereal and do that for a couple of weeks before you introduce canned baby food and then only introduce one new food a week. We thought that was kind of silly. We did start with the rice cereal. He had that for a couple of days and we kept making it a little thicker each time and he had no trouble adjusting. We introduced canned baby food - a new food each day - and he hasn't had any trouble adjusting to that either. The little chunk didn't need to wade into this one - he just jumped right in and is doing just fine.
    He's also becoming a lot more mobile. I'll put him in his crib one way and come back a couple of minutes later and he's turned a complete 180 degrees. He's also rolling over more. Both from his tummy to his back and from his back to his tummy. I've haven't actually seen him roll from his back to his tummy yet but I'll put him on his jungle gym mat on his back, throw a load of laundry in the washer and when I come back he's just chilling on his tummy like it's no big deal.
    He has also recently developed a fascination for Luna's toys even though he has toys galore. Luna likes to put her toys next to him in the hope that he'll throw them for her to fetch. It's the cutest thing. Instead of throwing them though he just holds onto them. Luna will try and take them back and he won't have it. Screams and screams if she takes them away. The kid needs to learn how to share! :)