yuck

today i had poop in my hair

i could make a flip book

i love these pictures.  there are actually more because we have a fancy camera that takes like a million shots per second.  here are four which capture the essence of the "event":

hey look at me i'm cute

hey now...wait a minute...

i don't have this sitting up thing down yet...

darn it.

on a related but not related note...here are some pictures with said camera of me taking my first and last taste of scotch when jason and i were in scotland on our honeymoon:

i can do this but i don't like the smell already

hmm...not sure about this...

yikes that's awful!

little man had surgery

this little boy right here looks super happy, right?  that's because he has no idea that he's about to go into surgery for a certain procedure that normally happens to little boys a day or so after they're born.  because of this little boy's early arrival into the world he was too small to have this certain procedure that normally wouldn't require being put under general anesthesia.  the new jersey doctors told us we had to wait until he was at least 6 months old.  the california doctors say fooey to that but he's already 8 months old so whatever...

this is cash and jason.  he was quite a handful (cash was...not jason).  i forgot my camera too!  so we used jason's iphone which doesn't take action shots very well and cash was really in the mood to wiggle.  in fact, they gave him a sedative to calm him down before they took him from us and that boy resisted it for about 45 minutes.  it had no effect for quite a while!  when they took him and sent us to the waiting room he was on this crib with wheels on all fours.  the nurses told him it was a choo choo train and he just looked up at them in awe and went along with no fuss.  i think maybe the drug had taken affect by then.  

he did well in the surgery and was a bit cranky off and on for a few days but he had some good drugs to help him out.  he's back to normal now (less than a week later) .

yeah...you would never know this boy had surgery on a certain part of his body that makes grown men cringe just thinking about it.

kernersville

from june 22nd to july 1st cashel and i were in kernersville!  yahoo!  he did great on the planes. when he wasn't sleeping, he was charming everyone, but it is exhausting traveling solo with an almost 8 month old!  thank goodness for my ergo.  cash did have complete mommy attachment and it took a few days before he would let me out of his sight - an only when he was in a good mood.  as they say, i need a vacation from my vacation!  here are some pictures from our wonderful time in beautiful north carolina.

(above) mimi and papa

great grandmother and mimi with cashel's tree

cashel loving on great grandmother

cash loved his pool that became his bathtub

i'm gonna get your food!

reagan, addison and cash

reagan, addison, emma, cashel and molly - the cousins
  

the georgia bryant's, molly, mary and emma

love and miss you mimi!

at this moment...

...i am letting my sweet little boy cry his tiny lungs out.  

as a result of a horrible night (last night) of trying to get him down - with the help of one grand dad and one uncle - i have resigned myself to the fact that i have to, at least try, to let him cry it out.  i am philosophically opposed to this for myself - i don't care what others do - but i never wanted to have to do this.  i truly believe his cries are not manipulation but he is trying to communicate with me.  what he says is this:

cashel:  yo, mom, i need help getting to sleep and i'm hungry in the middle of the night and i love sleeping with you and pops

i want to help him get to sleep - i enjoy helping him get to sleep (most of the time) - i love that he needs me....but....he'll never learn to self soothe if i don't force him to.  this sucks.  writing this helps keep me occupied as i hear him screaming.  

the rule is to go in after 5 minutes...but don't touch him...tell him it's ok to go to sleep.  he just needs to know i'm close.  then go in again after 10 minutes, then 15 and so on until 1 hour - wait...that can't be right....i didn't buy the book i got this from...i just sat and read it in barnes & noble today...maybe i stop at 15 minute increments...yes...regardless, that's what i'll do.

he's a pitiful sight. he has red, blood shot eyes, tears streaming down his face, drool, his onesie is soaked and if he could talk he would surely not have a voice tomorrow.  it breaks my heart but part of me can't help but laugh at him....go to sleep dude...i promise....there's no party going on here that you're missing out on.

even more fun will be when this happens in the middle of the night.  i have to wean him from the bottle.  this kid - this 20 pound kid still wants a bottle in the middle of the night - my fault - I know.  so, tonight he gets 5 ounces at 1am, tomorrow he gets 4 and so on until he's weaned.  i hope this is as easy as it sounds because right now, he's still screaming.  

oh...and if he wakes around 4am like usual, i know he's not hungry which means i get to do the whole 5 minute, 10 minute, 15 minute thing again - AT 4 AM!  this will be no fun for anyone in the house.  hopefully it's as they say - the first day is the toughest then it gets easier from there - and hopefully within a week.....

...to be continued...