Sunshine

this was Luke yesterday on the back porch, sans clothes. Who needs clothes when you look like this?

He is suddenly 100% intent on getting around. He gets up onto all fours and rocks back and forth....I bet that within 2 weeks he is crawling.

In other news I think that he is working on his first tooth in earnest....He is a drool machine and fussy at night.....sleepy mom takes on first flight today.

Stay tuned.

So this goofball

And I are leaving tomorrow to visit Jen and Mike, Julia and Will for the next 5 days. I cant wait! My house is a mess and I have not started packing...and I'm sitting here on the computer putting it all off until later. Wise.

Its Luke's first trip on a plane....and it's just he and I.....I'm a little nervous. I just hope that Luke is his usual cheerful self and does not have any crying jags during the flight....less worried about dealing with him crying than I am keeping my composure if I get any dirty looks from the people sitting around us....I'm not always kind and generous when I get dirty looks. I will update on Friday when we return. Minnesota here we come...........

Synopsis

It was another great weekend at the beach, albeit one without much sleep for Luke or myself. Ear infection # 2 struck. I knew it on Friday, this sounds crazy, but his left ear SMELLED funny. No fever, or tugging at the ear, or anything like that, but when he slept horribly that night I knew that my gut was right and he had an ear infection. called the Dr's office and they advised us to go to urgent care. Went, was right (Dr said that he had no idea how I could have possibly "smelled" and ear infection, but that he did, in fact, have one in the ear I thought he did). Got on the lovely pink stuff again. Luke is a total junkie for it by the way. When I pull the medicine and the syringe dispenser thingy out of the fridge he starts literally opening his mouth and sticking out his tongue over and over, he tries to pull the dispenser further into his mouth suck on it before I can even get it near him ~ so Pavlovian. He has turned into a little Houdini in the Bumbo and has decided that being upside down is WAY more fun than seeing the world in the conventional way ~ Hence the picture above.
We caught another weekend of just perfect weather at the beach ~ and Luke went on his first carriage ride around CM courtesy of Aunt Becca and Sterling the wonder horse. It was great, we clearly had the best tour guide in town ;) Luke really has beach life down, he loves the sand, naps very well, and is generally just easy and fun to spend the day with. If not for being up so much at night because of the Ear, it would have been a perfect weekend. This week is busy, playgroup, Dr's appointments for me, BF Group on Thursday etc etc.......and then we leave for MN~ I simply can't wait to spend the week with Jen, Mike, Julia and Will!

101 Ways to Stop Enabling Your Serial Killer Son

I made the mistake of wandering into the parenting section of the bookstore yesterday. As Luke is beginning to venture into the wide world of food, I wanted to buy a good book on making my own baby food. Don't laugh you been there, done that Moms who read this! I well know that this may be a great idea for, like, 2 weeks, then I will tire of it and just get the premade stuff at the grocery store ~ but humor me here. I just may like it.

Anyway.

I have to say that this was my first experience wandering around the parenting section. My jaw was on the floor. I simply had no idea. I know I'm a parent now, but apparently I am supposed to know exactly what SORT of parent I am. I am supposed to have a SYSTEM, a THEOLOGY of parenting, I am supposed to belong to some METHOD. Who knew!? In case you don't know what I am talking about, let me fill you in on a couple of titles:
*Connection Parenting
*The Science of Parenting
*Sacred Parenting
*Parenting your Children: Systematic Training for Effective Parenting of Children Under 6 (this also works for puppies ;)
*Positive Parenting
*Revolutionary Parenting (how very WILD :)
*The Attachment Parenting Book
*Grace Based Parenting
*Playful Parenting
*Unconditional Parenting
*Parenting beyond Belief
*Scream Free Parenting

And that's just deciding on your parenting GENRE!~ Once you do that there is still the "raising your child" section, for example:

*Raising Good Children
*Raising Kids You Can Live With
*Raising Resilient Children
*Raising Children who Think For Themselves
*Raising Charitable Children
*Raising Children Compassionately
*Raising Children Bilingually
*Raising Vegetarian Children
*Raising Confident Boys
and who could ever leave the classic "Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment" on the shelf? Now, is is just me or is your first thought also ~ "Well, um, how about you just get them out of the socially toxic environment???

Don't even get me started on all of the "How to fix your child once your THEOLOGY didn't work" books ~ by the time I got to that section I was covering Luke's eyes in the Bjorn (I don't think that he can read yet, but I wasn't taking any chances). I want him to have no advance knowledge of all of the ways I am apparently on the brink of damaging him for life due to my lack of a parenting philosophy.

Am I terribly naive or just achingly normal? I think that parents have been raising children from the dawn of time. Do I have to attach a label to my desire to love and cherish my Son? Do I have to sign up for a special magazine or book on tape to want him to love family, to be a good friend, to work hard and play just as hard? Do I need a "systematic training" method to want him to love God, be confident and outgoing and maybe play in the PGA tour someday? Just kidding on that last one of course. Right now I could use a book on "How to Get your 5 month Old to Get Over His Fascination With the Keyboard in 12 Easy Scream Free Steps". Guess I better head back to the bookstore.

The Shot Heard Round the World

My husband is a very lucky guy. Not just for being married to me (of course) but just one of those general, all around, rather lucky people. He, however, does not even hold a candle to the luck of my Dad. If there is the chance of winning something involved, I'm betting on my Dad. Whether its hitting a hole in one on a hole with a big fat cash prize during an outing, or getting his name picked in a charity drawing for $10,000 (after calling that he was going to win it), Dad is the Man.

That said, the world briefly stopped spinning on Saturday afternoon at Applebrook.

Long story short, Nate hit the shot of his life. In a move that will go down in DiLullo/Mangan family lore, Nate hit his driver off the deck 251 yards to about 10 feet from the pin on the first hole at Applebrook (we had started the outing on 2, so 1 was our 18). Now, granted, it didn't count. We had already played the hole once you see. Nate had TRIED the shot as we were playing the hole, against all popular wisdom and the gut instinct of my Dad, my Mom, and I. He shanked it about 100 yards left. We shook our heads, and all wondered why the heck he tried that. My Dad went so far as to say something along the lines of "I could give him that shot 100 times and he wouldn't hit it" ~ Which Nate overheard, and said "I'll take that bet". Nate went on to hit his 3rd shot to just off the green, and then proceeded to CHIP IN for one of the more unconventional birdies ever seen. As we were walking back up the fairway to head in to the clubhouse, Nate got that dangerous glitter in his eye. I knew exactly what was coming.

He placed the ball approximately where it had been, got his Driver from Mike the Caddy, and proceeded to hit his shot, 251 yards, off the deck, a perfect fade like the hole required........onto the green and near the pin. He simply turned around, laughed that wicked little Nate laugh of his, and started walking. None of us could believe it.

So he didn't need 100 tries to hit the shot. He only needed two. I know that this is supposed to be Luke's blog, but the very first thing that Nate said to me after hitting she shot was "Now, THATS going in your blog". So there it is. It happened. Personally, I don't even think that it has to do with luck, I think that its all about stubbornness. If someone tells Nate he cant do something, sheer force of will will enable him to. We are very similar in that regard. I already fear the "I can do it Mom" and "I Know HOW" or "Let ME do it" that I bet we will hear out of the mouths of our children for their entire childhood. We are in for it.

In other news, Luke is Peaking. I cant imagine how he could possibly get much cuter or more endearing than he is right now. You cant even make eye contact without him smiling at you. His laughs come more frequently and predictably. Going in to get him in the mornings or after a nap makes me feel like I am the best person on Earth, he looks up at me from his crib and just starts laughing and waving his arms around. He constantly has one or more body parts shoved into his mouth, but no teeth yet. I am in no rush to see those little razor sharp pearly whites appear as that simply sounds like a huge nursing liability. He is just so free of guile or manipulation, he simply is this big sweet lump of kid right now. I am loving this stage so much.

PS. We came in second in the outing. The winning foursome came in 10 strokes under us and the rest of the field *Coughs, SANDBAGGERS*

Canine Superiority Complex

So it was a typical afternoon. Luke sitting around gleefully drooling on himself as I ran around doing things ~ we had Katie and Mike's wedding last night and I had to get ready for Brook to babysit and get myself relatively put together. Luke was following Mulligan around with his eyes and screeching at him trying desperately to get Mulligan to acknowledge him. A bit of background here, Mulligan is gentle, sweet and almost pathologically submissive. He was honestly depressed when we first brought Luke home from the hospital ~ the combination of winter weather (which meant less walks and trips to the dog park), the constant stream of guests (Mulligans one real flaw is his "Wheaten Greetin'" whereby you might think that he had not had any human contact for about a year each time someone arrives at the house ~ very annoying in a small house with a new baby, its fair to say that he got yelled at a bit) and the fact that we were enthralled with this new feeble little creature just drove him into a state of despair. The 10 minutes at night and in the morning when we used to let Mully into our bed to cuddle up in between us in dog bliss were gone ~ Instead the tiny intruder was in his spot, fawned over by us. As I think back on it, its really no wonder that he was depressed, if Nate came home with a new, cuter, needier wife one day I would be pretty down too. It was much like that for Mulligan.

Anyway.

Mulligan has gotten over the dog blues, but I believe that his coping mechanism is to pretend, at all costs, that Luke does not exist. He will not make eye contact with the baby, he will not even TRY to play with Luke's toys (which shocks me as most baby toys are no different than dog toys....its as though Luke's toys have the "taint" of the intruder). Its a game I play at this point, to try to make the dog look at or in any way recognize the existence of the baby. The pics above are how it usually goes ~ Luke pathetically begs with his eyes for Mullys acknowledgement, I MAKE the dog come lay near the baby (note the baleful look Mulligan is giving me) and then a moment later Mully can take it no longer, sits up, and looks away. Its sweet, and sad, and I just cant wait to see what happens when Luke is more mobile and chasing Mulligan around the house. Someday I know that they are going to be good buddys. Right now, its a standoff. Mulligan seems to think that if he is steadfast in his refusal to recognize the baby as part of the household, one day Luke might just not be here anymore, and Mulligan can resume his rightful place as prince. Poor dog.

5 Months Old!

Here we are big guy, you are 5 months old. You had your first "solid feeding" last night, for a multitude of reasons that I will get into later we have decided to intro solids now rather than waiting until 6 months. You have been so interested in food for some time now, grabbing and staring at ours when we eat.......and you did just great last night eating. We fed you organic baby oatmeal, my lactation consultant recommends it over rice cereal, so we gave it a go. You were reaching for the spoon between bites, and didn't make the "ick face" once. A lot came out, but a lot went in, too. We fed you in your bumbo this time, although Dad later put the highchair together and gave you your first spin in it, you seemed to like it just fine. (The highchair is on wheels, so you literally got a spin in it).

I have to admit that I cried afterwards. I'm so enjoying watching you grow up, but there is something so heart wrenching about no longer being your sole source of food. Isn't that horribly selfish??? I can't help it. I mean, its not like I planned on nursing you as you walked out the door on your way to college, or during a time out in your high school football game, but this point has just come too fast. Nursing has been one of the most intimate and enjoyable experiences of my whole life, and in a totally selfish way I loved being the only one who could nourish and sustain you. Its like one tiny step away from me, and I miss you already. Hormones. I'm crying as I write this. If you are reading this you are probably thinking that I am a nut, but I cant quite explain how it feels unless you have nursed a child yourself. Even then, maybe you don't understand how I am feeling, I have lots of friends who hated nursing and could not wait to stop. Personally, I loved it, and took pride in how effortless it was for us, and I'm going to miss it once we actually stop. Right now we are just doing one solid feeding a day. We will go up to two in about a week. I could go on and on about this, but there is no point~ Luke is growing up, and I am so utterly proud, and just a little, selfishly, sad too.

I know that Luke is wearing a JETS onesie in this pic, it's just me humoring Nate until football season starts. Then its all E~A~G~L~E~S on the child. Lookout.

Slugger

So Luke has HANDS!!! And TOES. And he can even use them with some degree of skill! While those of us who know and love Luke have been aware of this for some time now, he seems to really have woken up to the reality of all that is attached to him (well, not ALL that is attached to him, but that awareness will come all too soon I imagine....). Appendage adoration. He has a whole new fascination with all things BODY. If his entire fist is not shoved down his throat to the point where its making him gag, his toes are. Included in this body love is his new obsession with other peoples faces. His latest trick is to grab on to both sides of my face, as though to pull me into a passionate kiss, but instead of the kiss he pulls me to him and starts sucking on either my chin or my nose. He did it to Aunt Becca yesterday at the gym and made her laugh out loud. I guess that this is a precursor to those baby kisses where they just lean towards you with their gaping, gummy, wet mouth and plant one on you. While I nurse him his free hand turns into a roving menace ~ his interest in my mouth knows no bounds. He very impolitely grabs my lips, my nose, and occasionally throws an eye gouge in there for good measure. The free arm is a terror! And those nasty little baby claws ~ No matter how frequently I attend to those fingernails I cant stay ahead of the game. Nothing is safe. Not my hair, not my jewelery, not my other breast *wince*. I spend half of our nursing sessions defending my parts. Very relaxing.

We had a great time up at Amy and Gary's house on the 4th, despite the less than seasonal weather (think fall). Amy, Luke started crying when we tried to take a pic and then we never got back to it ~ Blame my bad baby for your pic not being plastered to the top of this entry :). Thank you again for having us.

The beach was wonderful. Luke is utterly spoiled with love and attention by his Mom Mom and Grandpop, and we had a great time. No one has Grandpop's touch when it comes to putting Luke to sleep on the beach. No one. Not even me. Which means.........it's now Grandpops J O B !!! We caught 3 fantastic days of sun, and managed to keep the kid relatively un~sun~damaged. No small feat.

Somehow, while I wasn't really looking, Luke seems to have gone and established a SCHEDULE on me. He wakes up between 7 and 8, naps for an hour, sometimes 2 starting around 9.30, naps around 1 for maybe two hours, and then throws in a little cat nap for good measure around 4 or so. That gears him up to pass out around 7.30 for the night. Its fantastic. I like schedule. Good work Luke.

PS, the pic is of Luke with his very first baseball bat. A real Louisville Slugger, from the factory, courtesy of Becky and Milt. I swear, by the time his teeth actually come in he will have that thing ground down to nothing ~ Its his new favorite chew toy. Thanks guys!

Dog days of Summer

Much to post about but no time right now ~ We have been away for almost a week and just got home to an empty refrigerator and a mountain of laundry. Luke had a wonderful time at the beach and is leading quite the charmed life ~ all sorts of new skills like sitting in a highchair, sitting up while playing for long stretches at a time, and he even had his first bite off of a spoon ~ Mashed up cantaloupe mixed with breastmilk. Mmmmmmm milky melon. Anyhow. Will catch up soon.

Belly Laughs

Had to add this ~ My new fav pic of Luke and Nate. They were laying on the couch last Friday and Luke kept pulling himself up closer and closer to Nate's face, laughing the whole time. They were both just cracking up. I love my boys.

How Sweet It Is

So Luke got to spend a wonderful three days at his grandparents house this past weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and he even got swimming lessons from his Grandpa. He took two long naps nestled on Grandma's chest, and had plenty of opportunities to show off all of his new tricks. We spent a few hours at the dog park with Matt, Janine, and Sal as Mulligan, Rosie and Bauer ran around like dervishes for two hours. We also got to see Joey and Erin, who are welcoming another baby in January. Other than that we were spoiled with lots of home cooking, rest, and movie watching. Thanks again for treating us to such a wonderful time!

This is a hectic week and I already feel it taking its toll on me. Its hard to have the baby out of his rudimentary routine for a full week. It can get frustrating and make me feel like we are going backward sometimes ~ when he is sleeping in our room like he does when we are in the Burg or at the Beach it can get difficult as I try to find a place to nurse him in the middle of the night, try to allow Nate to keep sleeping, try to change his diapers in the dark etc etc....I have to do a better job of realizing that sometimes I simply can't keep everyone happy all the time, and when Luke is in our room it will just mean less sleep for both Nate and I. The hard part is that I think that it means less sleep for Luke too, and that worries me and makes me wonder if we are too "on the go" right now while he is still so little and trying to establish routines. I know that come Fall things will settle down some (Well, except for Myrtle Beach in Sept and Italy in Oct). In the meantime I need to keep on loving my baby and staying as calm as I can. He is probably more adaptable than me at this point.

I am learning a lot about what it means to have a baby in the summer. I had never in my life thought about whether or not the windows in my house being open was an issue or not. If it was really hot, down went the windows and on went the AC. If it was cooler, the windows would all be wide open and the breeze and night air welcomed into the house. Now, with the baby, the first thing I think if I hear him wake in the night is "are the windows up or down??" ~ The last thing I want is to disturb the sleep of our neighbors. It's a bit annoying. The window status dictates how long I let the baby fuss for before going into his room. When the windows are open I also find myself wincing every time a big truck drives by, or someone honks their horn etc etc.....Last night I was nursing the baby around 2 am, and an airplane was seemingly spiraling around directly over our house. (the windows are currently open, of course) I have never heard anything like this, I swear. It sounded like ice cubes in the cuisinart, or wooden blocks in the dryer. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have a true talent for taking a small, normal thought, and, like a squirrel with a nut, taking that simple thought down a long and winding path that most frequently ends in some sort of horrid death or dismemberment. This unusual talent is only exascerbated in the middle of the night, alone, in a quiet nursery, in the dark, with nothing to distract me. So last night this plane had me so pissed off I could hear nothing but the plane, it seemed as though its stupid engines were right there in the nursery with us. I had bizarre thoughts, like, maybe the nuclear bombs are on their way and the government sent out these horribly loud planes to wake up the whole nation, and get us to turn on the TV to find out that we had our last hour to do whatever it is people would do in their last hour on earth. You know, make love, call your mom, get your soul right with God, gorge yourself on chocolate or heroin or whatever it is you would do if nothing mattered anymore. I pictured the plane crashing into the nursery in a blaze of fiery glory. I imagined that the whole rest of the world must also be awake like me, perhaps mobbing the streets, staring up at the sky, wondering what the heck was going on. Luke somehow seemed pretty unconcerned about the plane (or the fact that his mother is borderline insane) and finished eating. I put him back in his crib and went back to my room, where I tried to get back to sleep. All I could hear was the plane. I got up, pacing around the room like a caged animal, looking out the windows as though visually identifying the offensive plane would quiet it. I glared at the blissfully snoring Nate. I honestly had to fight the urge to wake him up, as though sharing the horribly annoying experience with a grouchy, tired, angry at being awakened husband would somehow make it better.
In the end, the plane eventually flew off to bother other sleeping Americans, and I pretty much tossed and turned for the rest of the night. If this entry makes no sense, please understand. I was tortured last night.