Layla's first Halloween

Layla Bean's first Halloween... she dressed as a little devil. Perfect! Dad was VERY excited to hand out candy and show off our little devil. Fun times.

I have TWO kids!!!

SERIOUSLY, having a 2yr old german shorthair and a baby IS like having TWO kids. Hudson is like a frickin' toddler. Constantly demanding attention and pulling funny stunts. On Sun a.m., dad slept in after pulling the night shift w/Layla. I was up feeding Layla, which meant Hudson was being ignored. I got up to look outside and saw Hudson sitting in the yard, along with BOTH of Jake's slippers, right next to each other, my jeans, and two of my shirts. The only thing missing was our underwear. Then the neighbors really would've thought Jake and I had a successful date night on Saturday! But that was his way of getting us outside. It worked, so props to him. Today, he REFUSES to come in the house.

Last night, Layla had a good night, so of course, HUDSON had to have a bad one. He woke me up by SITTING ON ME, literally. That means, "mom, move your ass, I have to poop or puke immediately." I couldn't do it. I'd just laid down after fighting w/ Layla for an hour and a half and told Jake to take him out. He did and back came Hudson. Not long later, he was up and making that barf noise that dogs make... I got up and let him out. Of course, I COMPLETELY forgot that it happened until just now as I was putting laundry away... there it was, staring me in the face. I pile of Hudson's barf w/ some doll parts in it (I gave him his own baby doll and he took his aggression for Layla out on it, apparently). Great. I bet this stain will come right up, since it's been there for about 9 hours now.

I've been organizing all a.m. and am ready to attempt taking a nap since Layla is out cold and Hudson keeps coming in and out, in and out, pretty much head butting me to come with him. Poor dog. I've already walked him and had one round of ball fetching, but that's not nearly enough. If only I could get him to work on the house cleaning.

Thank You's

Layla has lots of thank you's to send out this week!! First, thank you to Kelly, Matt and Teagan for babysitting for me for the very first time I've ever been left without mommy and daddy!! Mommy and daddy were able to get out of the house and now realize that Layla will not explode without them! I had a great time and am glad Teagan could come too!

Also, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Sherman! They came to stay with me on Saturday night so mom and dad could hit the Best's Badger party in Madison. It was good to see the Best family and even get out of Washington county for a bit!

Finally, thank you to Auntie Theresa and Uncle Brian for the cute outfit (I'm wearing it in one of the pics you see posted here). I love it, and of course, so does dad... since there's a deer on it! Thank you for sending mama her next, "What to Expect" book too! She plans on using it as her baby raising bible. :)

Yes, she's wearing camo...

Yes, my DAUGHTER is wearing camo in the video we posted. Lovely, isn't it? It was a gift from a neighbor. Cute, but scary. Now she has a real gun AND camo. Mother of God. That will be the last you see of that... from now on, ALL GIRLY stuff. Pink, flowers, dancing, lace, etc.

Back to my busy day. Layla and I have lots to do. That's sarcasm.

Layla's Video Debut

Boo! Thank you Auntie Megan!

Here's a pic of Layla just chillin' in her very first Halloween outfit. She loves it... Thank you Aunite Megan!!! Even though it's supposed to be for a much bigger "little girl", it fits Layla perfect. She's no small fry, that's for sure. How could she be... she eats ALL THE TIME!!!!

Friday... that's all I'm sayin'

As I mentioned, I'm not going to do anything further on this blog that may jinx how things are going w/ Layla... with that said... it's Friday, which is a good thing. That's all I'm sayin'. :) Let that smiley face be a hint to you all ... and that's all I'm sayin'.

Latest and greatest pics of Layla... which will also give you a hint as to how she's doing. She's getting more and more wide eyed every day. Very curious and doesn't like to sit in one spot for too long... sounds like her mom and dad. Oh, and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of the pick of Layla and her dad... this is dad on one of his night shifts. He's MUCH more relaxed than mama.

Consistency? Whatever.

Ugh. I'm no longer going to post hopeful blog entries about our progress w/Layla. Every time I do, I jinx it and crap hits the fan w/her. Last night, and the night before, for that matter, were awful. Layla's newest thing, falling asleep before her last feeding of the night (yes, we'd normally wake her for her feeding but she gets so fuming mad when we do that it's just not worth it). So, she's up for her "final" night feeding at about 10:30 or 11:00, just when I'm into a deep sleep. Then, she's up at 2:00 a.m., and decides she doesn't want to sleep anymore for the night. I get so mad and frustrated, and the sad part is, I really don't think it's her fault. I think she's got tummy troubles again and have called the dr today yet again to see if there's ANYTHING we can do. We were out at 4:00 a.m. driving around aimlessly today... hoping, wishing that she'd fall asleep. She screamed for most of it, fell asleep and as soon as I got her back into the house, she was up and yelling at me again.

Right now, she's in her Moses basket sleeping on top of the stove. Yes, on top of the stove. She likes the sound of the fan. And there it is... her uncomfortable cry... Now she'll be up for hours, screaming, crying, kicking, and will then sleep for 1 hour tops. Then it all starts again... at 4:00, her SUPER fussy, never ending scream time starts. Just in time for dad to come home. So, not only am I stressed, he's stressed and doesn't even have a chance to wind down for the day. He tries his tricks, I try, he tries again, blah blah blah. We give her baths just to distract her from whatever it is she's crying from.

My eyes are burning out of my head, I have cabin fever like you wouldn't believe, look like hell, want to clean the house from top to bottom, have a poor sad dog that doesn't understand what the hell is going on, and can't stop thinking about being on the beach in JAMAICA w/ a stiff drink. ALONE.

Serenity now.

1 Month old, and smiling!

Well, time flies... as you can see by the lack of posts. Layla turned 1 month old on Saturday and on that day, she smiled at me. And no, it wasn't a "gas" or "I farted smile". I know those... she actually looked up at me and smiled... giggled a bit, then did it again. It was awesome. She's done it a few times since then, once a bit for daddy last night. Makes the insufferable sleepless nights and days A BIT more tolerable.

The pics are: of Layla and her big brother, Hudson. He's very much in love w/her and is very protective of her. The one where Layla is being held sideways are her on her 1 mo bday. Nani Jennifer is holding her. Also, one of Layla meeting cousin Jada for the first time and another of bath time.

Well, Layla is in the baby bjorn, just hanging out w/ the hiccups. A good time for me to get some stuff done... or maybe just walk to the neighbor's house for a visit. Can you say, "CABIN FEVER"?!

God listens... and our doctor rocks.

First, let me start by saying THANK YOU to all of you who read yesterday's post and have called / emailed, etc. So sorry to make you worry and think that I was close to jumping off a bridge... well, actually, I think I was, but in any event, sorry to make you worry.

We spoke w/our dr yesterday who told us that Layla shouldn't be eating more than 6oz in a 4hr time period (yes, she was eating more than that and I thought it was insane too, but then thought that you couldn't over feed a baby...and was wrong). In short, we've rationed her over the past 24 hours and have seen some much needed improvement. Got a fairly good night's sleep in, Layla has napped well today (see pics of her napping, in purple) and the house is being cleaned. Thank the good lord, I may survive after all.

I've also posted a pic of Layla in her Packer gear, courtesy of Aunie Megan and Uncle Jeremy. Go Pack Go!!! Also a pic of her and Nani Jennifer.

Spoke too soon... SAVE ME!!

Ah yeah, I spoke too soon with the whole, "she sleeps" post. I've pretty much jinxed it for us. Since then, things have taken a turn for the worst. In fact, I called the hospital yesterday seeking advice on what to do for Layla. Any advice would've done just fine... if it had been advice that would've provided instant relief. But it wasn't. I am fairly confident Layla has colic, and know for sure she's not adjusting to her formula. This causes her pretty bad tummy aches, which in turn keeps her awake at all times. If she does fall asleep, it's for 20 min. Then, she wakes up screaming, wanting to be held and have a bottle (the nurses say she's not hungry, she just thinks that a bottle will make her tummy feel better. It's a never ending cycle because the more she eats w/out needing it the worse her tummy feels, the less she sleeps, the more she cries, the more I cry, the less I sleep, etc., etc.) I am completely confused, terrified, sad, stressed, tired and overwhelmed. I just wish I knew what to do to help her. No one seems to know, not even me and I just want to crawl into a hole and pass out for a year.

:(