Diapers.com

Okay, I am obsessed, I know, but Diapers.com has saved us tons! We are now even using Soap.com!

I am taking part in their refer-a-friend program where you get $10 off your first purchase of $49 or more, and as a first time user, that will also get you free shipping and probably half a million other discounts. We just got a ton of diapers for $80! I'd guess around a 4 month supply.

So go here:

use code: STAC1659

Not valid for existing Diapers.com, Soap.com or BeautyBar.com customers. Some restrictions apply.

and save!

Also, for every time you go through this referral, they are donating $30 to Best Friend's Animal Santuary! SO GO!

5 months

I had 3 different photographers take Easter pictures for us.
For the 1st, it was $100 for 8 prints. It would have been $300 for the rights to the pictures. No.
For the 2nd, the shots sucked, the photographer DOUBLED the price when I went to go pick them up and she made it clear that we were not as important to her as her client who had an appointment after us since she pushed us out the door when they showed up early.
These pictures are from the 3rd who was very patient with our boy and who only charged $125 for prints and the rights to these pictures! Guess who has already had 3 people book with her because I raved about her? I am a mom. Hear me roar!

The biggest thing George is doing at 5 months old? Eating! Go watch!

We are doing Baby Led Weaning. He eats what he wants by grabbing it (In the video the banana slipped from his hand so I helped him out...bad mommy) and getting it in his mouth.

He also weans off the breast when he is ready. Which will hopefully be in a few years. Yep. I hope to breast feed my boy as a toddler and tandem nurse if I am lucky enough to get pregnant before he self weans.

Activities:

• He loves his piggies (toes). He has to be swaddled to sleep because the moment he is laid down, his pigs go in his mouth and he can play with them for hours. Without falling into a full sleep. For hours. Swaddle him and he is out in minutes.


• He loves to nurse. Duh!


• He leans for what he wants. Running water? Lean. Grandma? Lean. Daddy? Lean. Moose? Lean.


• He sits up by himself for over a minute when he wants to. Do not try to get him to do this for pictures. He refuses because he can.


• He rolled over 5 times so he could get from one side of his playmat to the other (we have a 5 foot by 5 foot alphabet puzzle that he plays on and I can disinfect if anything....wonderful...happens on it)


• He has a bi-weekly shopping date with his Grandmothers. My mom and grandma take us out and we shop until we drop. Unless Great Grandma (Graham Cracker for future reference) has to have a blood transfusion. Then we make them drop us off before they head to the hospital.


• He grabs my hair or ears or skin and pulls me in for a smooch! Very sweet. In a forceful kind of way.


• He loves to bite. Totally teething. My knuckles seem to be his favorite thing to bite and they feel sore constantly.

Likes:

• Broccoli


• Sweet Potato (but we think it aggravates his reflux)


• Patty Cake


• Honeydew


• Cats. Even though they avoid him like the Hair-Pulling-Plage-He-Is.


• Dogs. He loves to pet them and pull their ears. Moose is very tolerant of this but doesn't hold still. My mom's beagle will hold still, but she has very sensitive ears and although she tolerates it, we know it is too much for her and try to prevent him from doing it. Other dogs? No. They aren't fans. But he will yell at Moose if she walks away from him.


• Kids. He loves watching kids play. Or eat. Or cry.


• His frog. Stuffed Frog that ribbits.


• Fish Tanks. He likes to watch the colorful fishies.


• Momma.


• His Daddy. George told us about his horrible work day one night and Huddy laughed hysterically after every sentence.


• Johnny Cash. Always has. Always will. I can sing every song from his greatest hits, word for word. All the songs in order.


• Bath time! It is the best time! I can't wait to take him swimming!


• Walks! We walk twice a day. Once for coffee and once to watch kids play.


• Books! He loves to look at them, be read to and "read" them himself.


• His Graham Cracker. When she was at my Uncle's for a few weeks after her blood transfusion we went to help my mom clean her house (84 and still lives on her own) and he looked at her chair, where she ALWAYS is when we walk in and she wasn't there! Huddy says that isn't acceptable! He hasn't gone over 2 weeks without seeing her in his entire life. Pretty proud of that. And she even picked him up from my lap and held him! She gets lots of smiles too.

Dislikes:

• Being Swaddled. He is okay once it is over. But he hates that I take away his piggies and make him hold still.


• Mommy studying. I am headed back to school in June and he can't stand to watch me prepare for my pretest.


• Dogs barking. Who isn't annoyed by this?


• Sitting back in his carseat. He will sit in it. But sitting back to get strapped in? AWFUL!


• His stroller. If he has to ride in just the stroller part and can't see me? End of the world!


• Car rides when he isn't sleepy! We are attempting to time our life around naps. Otherwise I get the screaming baby in the back. I guess once you learn to move, sitting still sucks.


• Daddy being a bed hog. After sunrise, Huddy thinks he needs to be awake. But he is still too tired (he goes down with the sun and tries getting up with it) so I bring his butt into bed with us so he will see me sleeping and sleep all snuggled with me (he is my snug-a-bugga). But if Daddy doesn't work, we don't have much room. So he doesn't sleep as well for the last 3 hours (he usually isn't ready to get up until 930 or 10) and tends to be a bit cranky.


• Moose walking away from him. If he is talking to her or petting her, she had best stay or he will call her mean names in Baby Language.


• Mommy walking out of the room. I thought he was too young for this, but since he also picks things up with just his thumb and index finger, I guess all kids just do things when they want to. He always wants me, my mom or George.


• Shots. I can't handle them. He stops breathing, turns colors and then when he does start breathing again, 30+ seconds later, he screams bloody murder. It tortures my Mommy Heart.

Something I want to remember:

When I tell him I love him I say "I love you with all my Mommy Heart. On the day you were born, my heart grew to twice it's size and became a Mommy Heart so I could love you twice as much as anyone else."

George says it sounds like it is from The Grinch but I love it and have said it since we came home from the hospital.

Today

Today marks 44 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed for demanding Equality.

As a mother, equality has become so important to me. With so many teenagers committing suicide due to bullying, I am scared. If we do not acknowledge every single person's human rights, which I believe the right to join lives in marriage is, these children will continue dying. We must show our children that everyone has Equal Rights so that we are not segregating our LGBT youth any longer. We need to show this by allowing marriage for all. We need to show this by always reminding ourselves to only judge by the content of someone's character and not by their religion, looks, physical capabilities or sexuality. We should not speak down to others, even our children. We should never put someone down, it may be as low as they can go. Some days, I think we should all begin our day with THIS to remind us of what this man was calling for.

Justice should be a reality for ALL of God's children.

I knew...

I knew I would make a good mother. I am not being conceited. I just knew.

I knew I would give my heart and soul to this little boy. And I think I always knew I would have a boy first.

I knew I would be the mom who couldn't wait for nap to be over so I could kiss my son's perfect cheeks.

I knew my child would be spoiled.

I knew I would be a very independent mother. I was raised by a single mother.

I knew I would be fiercely over protective.

I knew I would love him so much it hurts.

Parenthood has a lot of unknowns, so sometimes, I want to remember that I always knew the important stuff.