Names

I love being able to name our child but at the same time it can be hard to find the right name. The boy name that I like is Miles Elliott and the girl name is Scarlett Rose. The only problem is that my friend Michele has already said that her girl name is Maria Rose. My friend is married but they are not pregnant and as far as I know are not trying to be. I know that she wants to be pregnant but her husband thinks they should wait a little while. Michele told me a couple of weeks ago that a single mutual friend told her that she likes the name Rose as well. Michele thought that this was really weird and it made her mad. At dinner the other night I casually said that we liked the name Scarlett Rose right after she told us her baby names for the 100th time. She just got this weird look on her face and did not say anything. I started saying some other middle names and then everyone started giving me their suggestions. I just do not think it is that big of a deal to have the same middle name. I could see her being mad if I wanted to name my baby Maria but Rose is becoming so popular right now I don't think she has any right to be mad. I did not want to tell her we are thinking of that name but I guess I really don't care if she is mad. I guess I just do not understand the idea that once you pick out a name or name your child no one else can use it. I personally would be happy is someone named their son Porter. I think it is a great name and should be used more. I love the name Amelia and my sister used it and I was happy.
Friday night we went to Pasta Espresso in PB and it was so good. Jason bought some new Converse at a store there and we went home. Saturday we went up to Krakatoa and got some coffee and food but there were no empty tables so went to the park. There is this huge tree in Balboa Park that we used to be able to climb on as kids. The ground was getting to compacted and it could not get enough water so they had to gate it off. There is the same kind of tree at the park so it was fun to let Porter climb on the huge roots. I wish I had better shoes on because I would have loved to climb up on the branches. We cleaned the house and I washed all of my maternity clothes. In the afternoon we went to my parent's house to go swimming. Sunday we went over to Hillcrest for bagels and coffee. We were supposed to go to the beach in the afternoon but my friends said it was overcast so we did not go. I made a late lunch/ early dinner and then baked a cake. I just love white cake with butter cream frosting. I am probably going to eat the whole cake by tomorrow. I thought that I had gained a few pounds already but when I got on the scale today I found out that I only gained a 1/2 pound. I gained 3 pounds in my first trimester last time and I have three more weeks so I hope I start gaining some weight. I firmly believe that if you do not overeat your body will gain what it needs. I can't wait for my next appointment on the 11th.

Mojave Resort

We went out to Palm Desert for the weekend and had a wonderful time. I wish we could have stayed for a week. Things are good here. We have started working on the yard and it is a little stressful trying to figure out how the new retaining wall is going to be. I just hope it looks good and is what we want in the end. There is so much going on but I guess I am just not in the mood to write about it.

All the things we did

Friday night we had my sister's family and another couple over for dinner. I made a bunch of food that turned out alright. I did not love it but I did not hate it either. Saturday we went to Balboa Park for Bowie's 1st birthday party. We only stayed for a little while but it was fun. After the party we went to a fake wedding. Jason's friend is in a movie and they were shooting the wedding scene so we went to be a guest. It was fun and Porter was being good. Saturday night we went to The Fish Market with my family and our friends from Malta. The food was good but it is a little stressful going to dinner with a baby. Fortunately they put us in a room just for large groups so Porter and Henry did not disrupts the other guests.
Sunday we went to the Crest Cafe for breakfast. It took a while to be seated and by the time we were eating Porter was tired and ready for a nap. Sunday afternoon we went to a house warming party for our friends. It was nice but uneventful. Sunday night we went over to our neighbor's house for pizza.
We had such a full weekend I hope this next weekend is not as full.

I am still pissed of about the cat situation. I just do not know what to do about it but I know that I should not have to live like this.

Over it

I am tired of feeling like my house is not mine. I am tired of not feeling comfortable in my own home. I am tired of smelling the litter box every time I go into the bathroom. I am tired of having a litter box in the bathroom. I am tired of seeing little blue and white pieces of litter on the floor. I am tired of hearing litter crush under my shoe. I am tired of having to find a place on the couch to sit that does not have hair. I am tired of having to close our bedroom so the cat does not get in. I am tired of having the cat rub hair and dirt on everything. I am tired of having dirt marks on the cupboards in the kitchen from the cat rubbing against them. I am tired of having cat food scattered all around the food bowl. I am tired of her throwing up on the floor. I am tired of Zoey. I have not told Jason to get rid of her because I don't want to make him have to do that but I can't stand her living in this house anymore. I really admire my sister for making her husband get rid of his cats. I wish I had the ability to do that. I guess I just hoped that Jason would want to get rid of Zoey eventually. I just can not take 10 more years of this. I don't even want another minute of this. Zoey has thrown up right here in the dining room so I put a paper towel over it. Just doing that made my gag so much I almost threw up. So until Jason comes home to clean it up Porter can not crawl around and play in this room. Porter can not crawl and roam the house because I have to be constantly watching him. I don't want him to crawl into the litter box or eat Zoey's food. Zoey is a mean cat and hisses at everyone. There is only a little love in her and it is for Jason. I wish I could just take her to the pound or try and find a new home.

There is so much more I could write about but I am so mad I will just have to do it later.

Weekend

Saturday we went to Porter's swim lesson. He loves swimming so much I wish we did it more than once a week. This summer we will be in my parent's pool a lot and I can't wait. We went to Beverages and More after swim lesson and then home. We went to my parent's house Saturday afternoon since we were not going to go on Sunday. It was fun to hang out with everyone on such a nice day. John made the most delicious margarita with blood orange juice. Sunday Jason had some friends over to play Axis and Allies. They came over at two and did not leave until nine. My friend Kelli and her daughter Olivet came over because her husband Cliff was playing the game. I made enchiladas, rice and beans for dinner so it was a fun night. Porter and Olivet were playing together well so it was really nice.
Today I went to story time in the library. Porter just wants to crawl around all over and he loves this huge stuffed cow. I spend most of the time trying to keep him from eating the disgustingly dirty tail. I am okay with him hugging and touching the body but I don't like it. A high school classmate was there with her daughter who is a few weeks younger than Porter. I invited her to our playgroup so I hope she comes.

three cupcakes

Ever since I watched Victoria Gotti eat cupcakes on her show I have been craving them. I made some delicious coconut cupcakes a while back that filled my craving for a while. If they did not take so long to make I would make a batch every week. Last night I made some Betty Crocker silver white cake with coco butter frosting. I ate three if them last night and three today. I am kind of taking advantage of the fact that I am still brest feeding. I can still eat so much and not gain any weight but I know that will end soon. Porter is starting to eat more solid food so he should stop nursing as much.
I went to Walmart today with my sister. The last time I was there was when I bought my bike about two years ago. It was actually a nice Walmart because it was new and clean. I bought a pattern to make a skirt, a blue ball and an outfit for Porter. I wonder if it will be another two years before I go back. I will probably buy some of Porter's play clothes there since they are so cheap.
Tonight Jason and I are going to go out and I just can't wait.

Knitting circle

My neighbor and I started a knitting circle. We met last night for the first time at a coffee shop for a couple of hours. It was really nice and I ended my one month of not knitting by starting a washcloth. A washcloth is the most basic thing you could make and a project for a new knitter but I just had never made one before. I finished it tonight and it was a fun little thing to knit. My whole goal for February was to stop knitting or making anything so I could read more. The month started out with my trip to NY so I did not start reading anything for a while. Well I am always reading something but never finishing anything. Jason and I used to go to a coffee shop on the weekend and just sit and read for hours. Now that Porter is here we just can not do that anymore. I wonder how old he will be when we get to do that again? I hope that he will be a good kid and be able to entertain himself well. I am sure he will be since most likely he will be our only child. I am still not 100% sure but I know it will be better to only have one child. Anyway I read the da vinci code and I did not really like it that much but I could see it being a good movie. I still need to finish Our Babies, Ourselves but I read at night and there is so much info in that book I end up just going to sleep. I am really excited to be knitting again. It just feels so good to make things and hopefully I can start on my goal of making an article of clothing this year. I think I am going to make something for Porter. I really should make something for myself but it will be quicker to make something for Porter. I feel like making something for Porter is an easy way out. I set this goal for myself to make an article of clothing and I am kind of coping out by making it for Porter. It will be way smaller so it will not take as long that is why I want to do it. Oh well, maybe I will make him something and want to make myself something too. Today I went to the Science Center because it was free and they have this new exhibit called Kid City. Shauna, Amelia and Henry came to my house and she fed the kids so there was a huge mess afterwards. Henry pulled a bowl of apple sauce off the table and on to himself and Amelia was running around chasing Zoey the cat. Kid City was fun, but Porter wanted to play with the big kids so I had to keep on picking him up and bringing him back to the little kid area. I would not mind letting him play with the big kids but they try and talk to him like he understands. So I just move him because they are rough and he does not need to be playing with them yet. He can play with my niece and my friends older kids but not strangers just yet. I have no plans for tomorrow but I think that Shauna and I might go have a picnic with the kids.

trip

The flight to to NYC went well. Porter was good and only cried once because I pinched his finger when I put the arm rest down. The seat next to me was empty so Porter got to move around a little bit. It was cold when we got there but the rest of the week it was nice in the 40's. There was so much packing to do and my sister has so much stuff. Growing up I was known as the messy one and Shauna was known as the clean one. I am a lot cleaner than I used to be and Shauna is still clean but she has so much stuff. We filled so many boxes and had to go back to the store twice for more. It was nice though to spend some time with them before they moved out here. We did go to the city one day to shop. They have this store called H & M that has the best baby clothes ever. I bought so much for Porter he is not going to need clothes for a long time. I bought him some Swedish slippers and some dishes from Fishes Eddy. We spent two days inside packing and Porter got sick with a cough and a runny nose. Porter also had eczema on his cheeks and Shauna said that it is from being inside in the heat. The eczema cleared up once we got back to San Diego but he still has a runny nose and a cough. The plane ride back was good and the flight was not full so we got a whole row of seats. It was nice because Amelia sat with me for a while and Shauna played with Porter while Henry was sleeping. I was so happy to be back in San Diego with Jason.

Sick and a tooth?

Friday we went to playgroup at Lilliana and Paulina's house. Porter had fun pulling himself up and crawling around on the patio with the other kids. Porter took a nap and when he woke up I gave him some avocado and banana but he did not want very much so I put him in his room to play. I was in the kitchen and I looked over at Porter and he spit up and some of it was coming out of his nose. He was crying and just not happy at all so I nursed him. When he was done nursing he threw up all of the milk and continued to throw up all night. It was the saddest thing I have ever had to see. Early Saturday morning I woke up having to go to the bathroom and throwing up so all day I felt like crap. Jason took care of Porter and I just tried to sleep as much as I could. Three other moms, two dads and two other kids in playgroup had the same thing. It was so crappy I hope that we do not have to go through that again soon. I was feeling better yesterday so we went shopping. Jason got some new shirts and I got a shirt and a pair of jeans. I took a bunch of clothes to Buffalo Exchange and got $62 so I went back to Nordstrom and bought a sweater that I really liked. I am feeling a lot better today but I still do not feel like cleaning the house. Maybe I will do it after I go to the grocery store.
Porter is getting his first tooth so he has been fussy all day today. He let me put my finger in his mouth once today and I think I felt something hard but I am not sure. He has just been so sad and I have given him some teething tablets but I am not sure if they are working.

thunder storm

Porter experienced his first thunder storm last night. I don't think he knew what was going on but it was fun. When Jason came home last night he fed Porter some rice cereal and pears. Porter ate almost all of it, nursed form both breasts and slept in his crib almost all night. I woke up at 3AM with my breasts full so I brought him to our bed to nurse. I was just going to let him sleep in our bed after he nursed but he was wrestles and tired so at 4AM I took him back to his bed and he sleeps until sometime around 7AM. I hope we have another good night tonight. I wonder if the rice cereal in the evening is what helped him sleep? I am going to try and feed him twice a day now because I think that is what he is supposed to be eating by now. I tried to give him some banana today but I don't think he liked it that much. Well I am going to go to a LLL play group today with Sara and Athena. If I have time I am going to go buy a Stokke seat for him since I am just feeding him in his little baby chair.

6 months, food and a good Christmas

Porter turned 6 months on the 23rd and I sang happy birthday to him. My sister called and sang happy birthday to him too. He is not doing much more than he did at 5 months. He will get up on his knees and rock back and forth but it is moving around more now. He is not crawling but he can get to where he wants to go. He did not go to sleep last night until we turned the lights off at 11PM. I hope he does not make a habit out of it. Right now I am struggling to decide if I want to start having Porter sleep in his crib. He was sleeping in the co-sleeper next to our bed but this last month he has been waking up a lot more and sleeping in our bed. In the middle of the night I just want to sleep and don't want to get up. I don't mind having Porter sleep in our bed but I would much rather sleep next to Jason. I am hoping that the solid food will help him sleep longer. One week before his 6 month birthday I gave him some rice cereal. I think he liked it alright and today he actually ate most of it. He did not like the avocado very much but I think he liked the sweet potato. Today I gave him some rice cereal and some Organic Morning-O's (Cheereos) in a bowl. He ate two Organic Morning-O's but like playing with them more than anything. I think that I am going to try some pear and yogurt next. This solid food thing is a lot harder that I want it to be. It is just so easy to nurse but I know he needs the food so I have to do it. Christmas was a lot of fun with Porter. Having a baby makes Christmas more special. I can't wait for my sister to move out here and to watch Porter and Henry celebrate Christmas together next year.

busy busy

I am so busy. This week we went to story time at the library, the R.H.F. Space Museum in Balboa Park, parent movie day to see Shall We Dance, met some other moms for lunch and we are going to play group today. Porter has only rolled over a couple of times when he is reaching for something but not on purpose. I don't know if I don't put him down enough or what. I think I put him down a lot but when he is starting to get bored or fussy I pick him up. I think that he is just not that interested in rolling over. It is not really a milestone so I am not that concerned about it. This weekend we are going up to Upland for my cousins birthday party. Next weekend we have a naming ceremony for one of the girls in our play group. The weekend after that we are going to Saint George UT with my parents to visit my grandma. She wants to show off Porter to all of her friends at the retirement community. The weekend after that we are going to be in Portland for a week. I am not really sure how December looks but it will probably be filled with lots of shopping and shipping. Oh Porter had his 4 month check up last Friday and he is 18 lbs. 5 oz. and 26 1/2 inches long. His pediatrician said that he is the weight of a 6 month old and the height of a 7 month old. He is just a big strong boy. Most people think that he is older and some people comment that he is really advanced for his age but I really don't like to say that. I mean yeah he might be advanced right now even though he can not roll over he can get up on his knees and sit up but in a few years I think he will be where other kids his age are. Anyway I don't know if I am making any sense at all.

roll over

So Porter rolled over yesterday afternoon for the first time. The sad thing is that I did not get to see it. I was at a friends house and I was sitting on the ground next to him and when I looked away he rolled onto him stomach. My baby is all grow up. Porter has a new sound. I first heard it a couple of days ago but last night at the child development class he would not stop. It is a mixture of gurgling and a high pitch shrill. It is so funny I can't help but laugh when he does it. At first I was not sure if he was mad when he did it but it seem like he has just discovered a new sound and likes to make it. Today it was raining and I was just going to stay in but I had to go to Target. Sometimes they have great deals on children's clothing and today I bought Porter a jacket for $2.50. Anyway when I got home I was missing an item so I had to go back. I was annoyed at the whole situation and felt bad that Porter had to be in the car for so long. He just sits in the car seat and looks bored but he is over the screaming so it is not that bad. Tomorrow is craft day at play group and infant massage.

A busy Porter

Porter has been so busy it is hard to keep track of everything he does. He has two play groups, infant massage class, free museum Tuesdays and story time at the Library. This is all for Porter and I just have to go along as is escort :) I am glad that I have found so many things to do and I am not just sitting in the house all day. I was afraid that I might do that before he was born but it has been so easy to meet other moms and find things to do. Our Thursday play group is for parents that are into attachment parenting and our Friday play group is with moms that I met at infant massage class. We are going to Balboa park today to the free museums with some other moms from the play group. I think we are going to have a little picnic afterwards. This afternoon I am going to go with another mom to a child development class at a local community college so they can observe Porter and ask us questions. It should be interesting and hopefully I will learn something from them as well.

weekend

Porter does not know about the weekend. He has his routine and he is going to stick to it no matter what. I want to sleep in but Porter is wide awake ready to start his day at 7:30AM. I am tired but at least he spent most of the night in his own bed. I went shopping with my friends yesterday and I bought a new pair of shoes. When I was pregnant most of my shoes did not fit an now most of them do but I still needed a new pair of converse. We saw Jason at the mall and he bought me a new ipod. I love it! I am so excited to have my own so I do not have to listen to the radio anymore. I am going to meet some friends in the park for lunch later and Jason went in to the office to work.

massage

My yoga teacher is teaching the infant massage class now. We went on Thursday and I really liked it a lot. Porter was more into standing up watching everyone else than actually getting a massage. That is what he wants to do most of the time but I am hoping one day he will let me do a full massage. Liliana and Paulina are going to go with me to the new play group. I think it will be fun! Hopefully Rebecca and Audio will start going as well. We need more boys! Right now I think there about 6 or 7 girls and two boys. This afternoon Jaime and I are going to go to the yarn shop in PB. I am going to teach her how to knit. I got a new pattern http://www.helloknitty.com/booties.htm so I want to buy some yarn and start it.

Travel

We are going to the East Coast next week and I am a bit nervous about flying with Porter. We are taking a night flight so I hope that he sleeps the whole time. I need to get some natural teething tablets and ear plugs before we go. I bought Porter a baby book so I have been working on that today. I have already forgotten a lot of stuff so I don't know how good it will be.

Dirty Rotten

We went to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Old Globe today. Sara babysat Porter and he was good. Porter was asleep for two hours and drank a bottle when he woke up. After the play Jason and I picked up Porter and went back to Balboa Park to have dinner with my family at the Prado. Mom, Dad, Nick, Luz, Jessica, Jason and I all had a great time and Porter was great. He was up and happy for a while and then fell asleep in Jason's arms.