Recent photos

Micah keeps getting bigger and growing up! He's rolling over from front to back and back to front. He's getting strong on his legs, and he can even stay sitting on his own for a little while! He's pretty wobbly, though, and falls over quickly, but he's doing great!

Micah went to his very first Mariner's baseball game (on opening day!) on Monday. He screamed along with everyone else, but he's got to learn the cheers are supposed to be happy! He would cry every time the crowd made noise!

He was pretty tired after a long day.

These next photos are from a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, Micah can't have a little slugger bum without having a soccer bum!

Beautiful baby boy!

I just can't get enough of this little guy! He is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen (but of course, I am quite a bit biased!). He has been flipping over from his back to his front, but he still doesn't know how to turn himself back over. So, in the mornings he wakes us up by crying because he's done doing his push-ups.

On Saturday night we went to an auction at the Christian school that David does work for. He had to make sure that the computers were working well all night. So there was a silent auction at first and then a live auction with a real auctioneer in the latter part of the evening. It was a lot of fun! We won a couple things in the silent auction - a bunch of Dr. Seuss books and also a professional photography sitting, which we're excited about since we haven't had professional shots of Micah yet.


We had Amy and Bryce, friends from my college down to visit on Thursday evening. It was great to see them again and hang out even just for an evening. Amy was in my wedding party, and I really wanted to see her shortly after Micah was born, but I couldn't make the drive up to Vancouver. They live farther north, but she was working in Vancouver for a week back in October. Anyway, we saw them this time, and it was great because they could see our house and our baby, and have dinner with us.

Getting stronger!

Micah is getting stronger all the time. He's just about sitting on his own. He can do it mostly by leaning forward, balancing his belly on his legs. He's also getting stronger on his legs and can stand for a few seconds by holding onto something. He's not pulling himself up to either the sitting or standing positions yet, but he sure tries, working those abs like mommy wishes she could with pilates!

We are borrowing this swing-thing for Micah to bounce in and push off his feet. It's super cute when he gets going on it!

Procrastination

I've been wondering lately what women decades ago did to procrastinate from housework. Or were they all June Cleaver-type mothers and wives who did all the work first and then sat down to a nice book, their quilting, or their knitting? There are so many things these days that divert my attention from keeping my house clean that I wonder if those women ever had days where they just didn't want to do it. If I were to do everything I should be doing, I wouldn't have any time left to keep my faithful blog readers updated on my life, or to read my next book club book. But I would be happy with a clean house. And probably, if it were mostly clean in the first place, I wouldn't have such a hard time keeping it that way.

Now, please don't mistake our house for a slob-fest. Since we do have people over occasionally, the main part of our house is usually pretty clean. It is hard for me to keep the counters in the kitchen cleared, though, and especially now since I am home all day and eating or feeding my baby. This, I predict, will only get worse as he starts eating solids. However, the upstairs of our house, mainly the office is the hardest to keep clean, since it is where all of the papers-to-deal-with-later are shoved.

My husband, bless his heart, has been going through room-by-room cleaning and getting rid of things. So far, our bedroom is clean and the master bathroom is (mostly) done. Our closet was next on the list, but since he has been getting busier with work, it has been on hold. Over the last week or two he has been working on the office by reconciling our bank accounts and tossing some papers or putting them into a To-File pile, which I am going to get to one of these days. It will feel SO GOOD when we get through everything and have a more organized home!

It seems difficult to do the extra things when the laundry and dishes always need to be done. Besides the fact that I want to get out and exercise now and then, or visit with friends, or hop in the shower when my baby is napping! How in the world did those ladies of old do it when they had to wash dishes and laundry by hand!?!!

Being a Stay at Home Mom

So I have made the decision and it's official as of yesterday that I am not going back to World Vision. Micah will have to put up with me all day everyday! It was something I was going back and forth in my mind because I want the best care for my baby, but it was hard for me to give up that aspect of my life. I enjoy working. I enjoy doing a job well, and being appreciated for what I can offer. Being a mother is THE most important job I could ever have, but there's something different about going to a job amongst peers and having that competitive edge to do the best job you can do. I've noticed, for me, that recoginition is an important part of being in the workforce, and I vainly love to be praised for a job well done. Being a mother is often thankless, and you don't see the results of your hard labor for a long, long time. But, it sure is rewarding watching a tiny baby grow and develop, and I'm sure it will be even more rewarding watching him turn into a fun-loving boy and young man. I like working, but I love my son!

I need to make a point to get out of the house every day, whether it's going for a walk or to the store, or visiting with friends... or having friends in. Otherwise, while Micah is still a baby, I can get into the bad habit of staying in my comfy clothes most of the day.

David has shown me some things to do for his business, so I have started learning how to update some of his client's Intranets as well as helping a bit with billing. Soon he will be showing me how to update their websites. It's great to be able to have the choice whether or not I want to work, and also to have an option of working from home. World Vision may eventually be able to accomodate people working from home, but for now, this works well because it frees David up to be able to do more important things for his clients. It's great to be able to do this work from home, but another thing I will miss about working, besides the fact that it was World Vision and I could feel really good about what we're doing around the world, I will miss the friends I made there. I am thankful that a bunch of us still get together for a book club about twice a month, so I am still able to see some of them.

One of the things I am grateful for with being at home is being able to enjoy and celebrate the tiniest moments in my baby's life: his first smile, his laughter, his holding his head up and rolling over for the first time (which just happened, from his back to his front, on Friday!). Probably only those mothers of small babies who read this blog can understand and appreciate how fun it is to celebrate these tiny milestones in the lives of our babies.

Micah has recently been sick (again) with a sore throat, a cough and a stuffy nose, so this is another reason why I am glad to be home with him, and not have to balance finding a sitter, or calling in sick to work.

My Cousin, Jonathan Charles Bishop, 1985-2007

My cousin, Jon passed away Monday morning, February 12th from a brain tumor that took his sight, his balance, his speech, his independence, but as his brother Dave says, it NEVER took his spirit. He was an incredible, handsome young man, always up for a game or telling a joke, and never one to complain, no matter what was happening to him. His brother, Dave, has a wonderful tribute on his blog that I suggest you check out. I was able to see Jon at Christmas and am so thankful for that time. When I saw him he wasn't feeling very well, he was in a wheelchair, but he still had a smile on his face and a willingness visit. I can't imagine what he was going through and how he dealt with it, but from what I saw, he sure handled everything with incredible strength.

I feel so blessed to be a part of a strong, Godly, close-knit family. Most of the family from out of town made it in for the funeral. Sadly, I couldn't be there for the funeral, but as I have heard, it was wonderful. Jon's parents shared from their hearts, his brother, Dan shared how they had a special time these past couple of months first bowling (in which Jon would usually win, even though he couldn't see!) and then later meeting to talk about some seriously deep issues. Dave also shared his thoughts and memories, and Jon's girlfriend shared how they had met and how much love they had for one another. I thank God for giving them strength to get through their speeches so that others could be encouraged by Jon's life.

Jon taught us all a great number of things, including how to handle challenges with strength and dignity. He was the youngest of all the cousins and he will be sorely missed. As much as we wish he was still here, and can't understand why this was his time, we are thankful that we will see him again someday in no pain and with a new, glorious body.

The poor little guy got his 4 month shots today, but he did great! He's a stud. :) Nothing much is new. He has laughed for me a couple times now, but he still prefers to laugh for daddy. He even laughed for the doctor today, and awhile ago he laughed for the Costco checker (before he laughed for me!). But he was cranky, and he sometimes laughs when he's cranky. We are very blessed with such a happy baby. He is so much fun to be around.

Six things my baby does that I'm thankful I don't...

6. Discovering my voice at any given moment.
5. Letting my food run down my chin, into neck crevices and onto my shirt.
4. Laying on my back all day unless someone picks me up or turns me over.
3. Crying out in discomfort before relieving the pressure of gas.
2. Soiling myself loudly during a quiet moment in church.
1. Peeing in my bathwater or on my face.

Tummy Time

Micah is growing stronger and stronger every day. He is starting to prop himself up a little on his elbows and he's able to stay like that longer than he used to. Pretty soon he'll be motorin' all over the place!

Snow!!

Micah's first real snowfall happened here instead of in Canada. Last night the snow came down in beautiful big flakes and covered the ground so we woke up to a wonderful winter wonderland this morning!

Last night David was so excited for the snow he bundled Micah up and had some fun. He even helped Micah throw his first snowball!






Here's Micah all bundled up and ready to go.

And here's Micah making his first snow angel!

No rest for the weary

This boy does not sleep! Micah is a very awake and alert baby. He's a lot of fun! But when I'm tired and want to sleep, it just doesn't happen. He tried to make it to 12:00 on New Years but fell asleep by 11:30. He was up again around 4 am. Since going back to Canada we've got him into the bad habit of sleeping inbetween us so we (and everyone else in the house) could get our sleep. He sleeps much better that way. He sleeps in his crib most of the night and then after his 4 am feeding he will sleep with us for a couple more hours until he's up for the day. Yesterday Micah and I tried to take a nap. The first time he fell asleep he was awakened by the telephone. After that it took almost two hours for him to fall asleep. Then when he finally did, he only slept for about 40 minutes.

Lately, he's been doing much better at night. He actually went from 10:30 pm until 6 am between feedings last night! He woke himself up a few times with his breathing, but he's starting to eat more and have longer periods between, meaning he can sleep longer through the night! Yay! :)

Both Micah and myself have been a bit under the weather since our trip. Micah has had a really stuffy nose and even wakes himself up trying to breathe sometimes. Babies don't know how to breathe through their mouths. David took him to the doctor on Saturday the 29th just to make sure everything was okay. He's fine. We just need to clear his nose with a suction when it gets stuffy, but he does not like it! The doctor also said we could try putting something under his crib mattress so his head is elevated just a little. At first we had a pillow under the mattress but it was much too high, so we put a towel under there. In the morning, David went to get him when he woke up, but he was laying sideways at the bottom of the crib! We're not quite sure how he maneuvered himself into that position and we didn't think the towel was making the mattress too high, but somehow he wiggled his way down there! Needless to say, we're a little worried about putting anything under the crib now and we just try and rock him back to sleep when he wakes himself up with his boogies!

He is 12 weeks old now, and 3 month old babies are soon able to roll themselves over one way. If they are on their stomachs they are soon able to roll themselves onto their backs. The first time they do it, it surprises them. But we're pretty sure Micah isn't that advanced and that he hasn't learned to roll himself over both ways by rolling to the bottom of the crib! He must have wiggled... :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Daddy and Micah on Christmas day

Uncle Greg and Micah snoozing before brunch


Our family on Christmas 2006



Micah grabbing daddy's nose. Who cares about the rattle!



We actually had a little tiny bit of snow on Christmas evening. We had walked over to my friend's house to visit for a little bit.


Grandpa and Micah


Auntie Mandi and Micah on Christmas Eve



Uncle Greg and Micah on Christmas Eve


Great Gran with Micah


Great Grandpa and Great Aunt Karen with Micah

We had a very busy Christmas this year. We were in Ontario visiting my family. Everyone was very happy to meet Micah. He's not sure what to do with himself anymore since there's not 20 people gathered around him!

We stayed with my parents at their new house. They have a beautiful home, much bigger than the old condo. There were 8 people staying in their house until the 24th. My mom's sister Enid and her husband from Indiana had come up with her family - her daughter, husband and their 4 children. It was a full house! On Christmas day my brother and his wife were going to stay at my parents house also but they ended up going home to take care of their dogs. There was a bit of a drainage issue with the amount of people staying at my parent's house too, but I just got word that it is now fixed. On the last day we were there, we stayed with my grandparents. The 26th, Boxing Day was my dad's family dinner and it was going to be held at my parents house, but with the drainage problem it was held at my grandparents house. So David, Micah and I stayed with them that night and then left for the airport from there.

There were a lot of people to see, and a lot of dinners to attend... and a lot of food to eat! It was fun seeing everyone and everything was delicious, but we are thankful to be home again and rest up. I got a bit of a sore throat and stuffy nose and Micah has had a stuffy nose as well. We stayed in for New Years and watched a movie together.

Ladies Man

Our friends Nate and Brooke were passing through the area from Oregon and stopped in for lunch before Thanksgiving. Baby Adell is a few months older than Micah, so she's taking initiative and trying to hold his hand! Micah looks like he's wondering if it's okay.



Micah and Grace are only 4 days apart in age. It was fun visiting our friends Tom and Lindsay and seeing how similar the two babies are. So cute!



The Santos family welcomed us into their home overnight and each of their kids had a chance to hold Micah.


Here's Micah sitting all by himself on the couch, surrounded by the ladies!



Below is a short clip of Micah totally entranced in his mobile friends. There's no sound because our camera doesn't have that option, but we recently got a video camera so we will soon be showing clips of him talking!

All Smiles

Our little bundle of joy is now smiling at us. He has even chuckled a few times... his shoulders went up and down and he laughed. It was the funniest and cutest thing ever!!

Baby Language

Six weeks have gone by since Micah was born and things are starting to get a little more under control.... finally! I just have to have the mindset that nothing can get done around the house with a newborn. Micah was having trouble gaining weight in the beginning, so we were going to the doctor every week to check his weight. I have been nursing him, but we are also supplementing with formula because I wasn't producing enough. Thankfully he takes both, so it's the best of both worlds. The doctor had wanted me to feed him every two hours, supplement after every feeding as well as pump so that I would produce more milk. I have learned to take what the doctor says and modify it a little so that I can stay sane. That every 2 hour thing was tough because I would just get done with all of it and have to start over right away again. So, we're doing better now, he's getting fed and I'm staying sane... which is important!

Micah is now doing pretty well at holding his head up on his own and he seems to smile sometimes when we talk to him. At this point, though, it's still hard to tell if he's just doing something in his pants or smiling because we're talking to him. :)

I am getting a little couped up since most days are raining and cold now and Micah sometimes seems to need to be fed every hour or so... But there are days when I get out to go for a walk with him in the stroller, or we get to the store, or out to his doctor appointments. Most of the day I'm reading a good book or watching TV. Micah likes to be held a lot. Even if he's sleeping in my arms after a feeding and I try to put him down in his crib or bouncy seat, he seems to cry. I'm learning what his cries mean. I've been learning the secret language of babies... something I learned from Oprah, who's quickly becoming my best friend during these monotonous days of breastfeeding and changing poopies.

A few days ago Oprah had a lady on her show who has studied the language babies use. It was incredible! There are 5 distinct cries a baby will make when they are trying to communicate with us. These cries are only made by babies who are 0-3 months old. Take a look!

Oprah Show about Baby Language

• Neh="I'm hungry"
• Owh="I'm sleepy"
• Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"
• Eair="I have lower gas"
• Eh="I need to burp"

This was timely news for me! Micah really doesn't cry very much, but I can definitely distinguish the "neh" cry when he's hungry. Some of the other ones are a little more difficult to distinguish.

Anyway, we're doing really well so I thought I should finally add some meat to this blog for all you friends who check it out! Thanks for reading and posting a comment.