Sick Baby, Snuggle Baby

What do you get when you have a sick baby?

Vomit.  Everywhere.
Getting kicked in the face.
Getting kicked in the gut.
Getting kicked in the throat.
Absolutely no sleep.

But you also get...

Baby snuggles.  Lots and lots of baby snuggles.  All worth it, right?

Tyler came home last Wednesday with a "tummyache."  He had a low-grade fever and he just felt super crummy.  We kept him home on Thursday thinking he would get a 5-day weekend to recover since Fridays are Grandma Geri Buddy-Fridays and Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. day so his daycare is closed.

On Friday he was jumping in his bed and then he threw up.

Saturday he was jumping on our bed and then he threw up.

He also slept with us from Wednesday night to Saturday night and it was really difficult.  He felt awful and it was obvious.  He was constantly waking up, upset that he couldn't breathe because his nose was all stuffed up, and trying to kick me out of bed.  He always started off the night snuggling with Mommy, asking Mommy to put her arm around him, being all sweet and cuddly, and then it's all over.  He's asleep, lying on Daddy, and constantly kicking Mommy.  None of us slept well.

Now Tyler is on the road to recovery and guess who caught his cold...Mommy and Daddy.  Poor Ryan also tweaked his neck.  The cold is hitting me full-blown today.  I can't breathe out of one nostril and I forget how much that sucks.

So now I'm trying to remind myself that this stage does not last forever.  That I should soak in every minute.  So here is me focusing on the silver linings:

-  Rocking Tyler to sleep and having him pressed up against me.  I'm not going to be able to do this much longer, not when he's fifteen and way too big to sit in my lap.
-  Tyler saying that he only wants Mommy to hold him, Mommy to lie next to him, Mommy to sing to him...It makes Mommy so tired but it also makes Mommy so happy!
-  Sleeping in with the baby.  This baby generally does not sleep in so it's a happy day when he sleeps in until 8!  It's not exactly a win when he didn't go to bed until 11 though...

I'm sure there are other silver linings but as I said earlier, I am sick.  My head feels cloudy and I don't think I'm thinking clearly.  So let's get to our selfies.

1.12.15 - In his favorite "Cars" jammies!  He asks to wear them every night.

1.13.15 - If he can't wear his "Cars" jammies, then it's a "Cars" shirt!

1.14.15 - We had already gone to bed when we realized we hadn't taken our selfie yet.  That flash is bright.

1.15.15 - Too tired to attempt a family selfie this day.  As evident by the sleepwalking Daddy.

1.16.15 - Burrito baby!

1.17.15 - When you have a sick baby it is too difficult to remember a family selfie when he's actually awake.

1.18.15 - Tyler didn't want to take a picture so he hid.

1.19.15 - Hopefully this will be the last "family" selfie without the baby...

Cuteness Overload 1.0

Umm, have I ever told you how super cute my child is?  You know what's even cuter?  BFF weekends.

Last weekend we took a trip to Eagle Crest with our friends, including Tyler's bestie Declan.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Cuteness overload.  Don't believe me?  See for yourself:

Tyler had such a fun time.  He didn't want to go home.  When it was time to go he walked off pouting and sat down on the sidewalk looking all forlorn.  We managed to cheer him up and give goodbye hugs to everyone but when we got back into the car he was back to he looked pretty sullen.

I have more cuteness but for some reason Ryan's phone refuses to release them to me.  It's coming though, don't you worry.  Them cuteness is coming.

Because his phone is not cooperating, I am unable to share our family selfies as well so I'm going to cut this blog short.  Which is fine for me because I'm finally catching up on "Top Chef" and my Portland chefs are representing!!!  Important things are happening, people.

Good night all.  Sweet dreams of all the cutesy things in your life.

I Dream of Spa Days

Thank goodness the holidays are over.

I love the holidays.  I love every holiday, honestly.  I love buying the perfect gift for absolutely everybody.  I love wrapping presents.  I love all the get-togethers and family time and socializing and FOOD!  I love food.  I especially love the food you eat during the holidays.

What I don't love is the stress.  And like an idiot, I decided not to take time off for the holidays this year.  So instead of spending time with my family and hanging out with the cutest baby in the whole world, I got to spend it at the call center.  Not that I can complain, I have a really awesome call center.  But do they hold my hand and say, "Mommy, I want to play with youuuuuu?"  No.  They do not.  It would be strange if they did.  Call center peeps, don't do that.

Needless to say, I'm glad the holidays are done with and we can get back to the daily grind.

I'm also excited to finally use my gift card to Epic.  I've been begging Ryan to take me to Epic for a couple's massage.  I've had this card since July and we still have not gone.  I am determined to go this week.  I need it.  I need it bad.  And if Ryan doesn't deliver, it is bad news for him.  Hear that, Ryan?  Bad.  News.

I'm also looking forward to some time off.  We're taking an extended weekend on the 23rd and going to Eagle Crest with some of our friends.  It's going to be beautiful, Tyler gets to spend three days with his best friend, and the girls are going to go shopping and get our nails done.  I cannot wait.  I am seriously counting down the days and it's not even a real vacation.

So as much as I love Christmas and getting super, super fat, I'm looking forward to some down time.

This weekend was nice.  We visited my parents in Tigard, spent some time with Uncle John, finally satisfied my craving with che from Bambu (thank you John, thank you, thank you, thank you!), and pigged out at a buffet.

I might need to redo my resolutions.  I should probably try to get rid of all this extra holiday weight.  But it keeps me warm during the winter months.

In Tyler news, we once again spoiled the kid.  Not only did he get a Woody doll from Uncle Linh already, Mommy and Daddy bought him Jessie as well.  And then he got a new Dusty airplane with Grandma Geri, his Friday buddy.  And then Daddy bought him some new "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" figurines and Shellington from the "Octonauts."  He is a lucky, lucky baby.

But he is also such a sweet baby.  How can we not spoil him?  Just see for yourself.  You can't say no to that face.

1.07.15 - That collar is detachable.  I thought that detail was important enough to share.

1.08.15 - We nearly forgot to take our selfie this day.  Tyler's standing in his crib.

1.09.15 - His latest thing is, "Ta da!"

1.10.15 - We did forget to take our selfie this day.  That's why Tyler is completely passed out.

1.11.15 - A car selfie when nobody else is paying attention...

1.06.15 - Familiar Failings

So, we fail.  Already.

Remember how I said I was going to blog every single day?  Obviously that didn't happen since that was 5 days ago.  Apparently we are much busier people a year later.

Not to make any excuses, but I've been working at home in the evenings (once I ended up working until 1 in the morning, because I make poor choices), we actually like spending time with our kiddo, and we are incredibly competitive and this reading challenge that we're doing is making us go crazy.  Correction, it's making Ryan go crazy.

Ryan and I have committed ourselves to a reading challenge along with some other friends of ours.  We are to read 50 books in 50 different categories (one of the categories is to read a trilogy so technically 52 books) in 2015.  Ryan, the spreadsheet nerd, created a nifty Excel document so that we can track the books we read and see which category it fits.  He also has the majority of his books figured out.  I, on the other hand, am reading whatever floats my boat and whatever comes my way.  Towards the end of the year I'll see what categories I still need to complete and finish them then, but for now I'm reading for pleasure.  Which is why I've rated 3 out of the 4 books I've read so far 5 stars and Ryan's given the same amount of books a 5-star rating yet he's read 7.  The other 4 received 1-2 stars.  And before you say that maybe I am generous with my ratings, I assure you I am not.  I gave one of my favorite authors a measly 3-star rating.  3 stars to Lisa See!!  But anyways, Ryan is determined to get 10 books under his belt before January is over.  Considering that it's only Day 6 and he's already finished 7 books, I don't think he has anything to worry about.

Since I missed the last 5 days, we have 5 family photos to share.  I've also decided that there's no way I can maintain blogging every single day.  Our life is not that entertaining.  To us it is, but not to anyone else.  Honestly, this blog is the closest thing we have to a baby journal, which is why we continue it.

On that note, here are some Tyler translations:

Baba milk = morning milk (which is the same milk he drinks at any other time of day, but because it's morning it's called "baba milk")
Cakes = English muffins
Daddy Airplane = Ripslinger, his toy airplane
Daddy Car = Finn McMissile, his toy car
Hot cocoa milk = chocolate milk (and no, it does not need to be warmed up)
My-my = pacifier
Puppy snacks = he used to pretend to be a puppy so I once wrapped up some crackers in a towel for him like the basset hounds get as a treat and now he calls all snacks "puppy snacks," the towel is no longer necessary
Spicy = what he calls foods he doesn't want to eat/try

Now please enjoy these family photos.

1.02.15 - Tyler decided he wanted to show off his stinky feet!

1.03.15 - "I am Tyler, hear me roar!"

1.04.15 - He's such a little poser.

1.05.15 - Tyler with his two "Daddy Airplanes."

1.06.15 - I love this kid.

01.01.15 - Friends & Football

The Amans are back and we are going to be blogging with a vengeance this year!  Everything's getting documented--everything.  You, dear readers, are going to get sick of our family.

But not yet because this is the first post.  Of the year, I mean.  We've obviously posted on this blog before.  But we were not able to complete our mission in 2014.  This year we're sticking to it.  Or at least, we'll make it past three months.

Today was an awesome day.  Adam spent the night, which was good since we came home around 3 in the morning.  That's much too early for someone to drive all the way back to Roseburg.  It's so far away.

Grandma Geri was kind enough to watch Tyler this morning so Mommy and Daddy could sleep in.  We slept in until 10!  10!!!  That never happens!!!  Tyler, amazingly, slept in until 8!  That never happens either!  It was a good morning for the whole Aman clan!

Then we spent the rest of the day watching college football (holy heck, Michigan State, that was an exciting game!) and hanging out with Adam.  It was nice that he got to spend a day with us, relaxing, snacking, getting catered to...I should have taken a picture of Riley, the basset hound, snuggled up next to Adam on the couch.  Riley found a new best friend.  But as a result, Adam was unable to move easily, hence the getting catered to.

Then Declan came over for an impromptu playdate with Tyler!  We introduced him to the Octonauts, attempted to share our toys (it's a work in progress), and got to spend more quality time with the BFF.  He loves hanging out with Declan but it always takes him a while to warm up.  I'm excited for the Eagle Crest trip we'll be taking in January with the gang, he'll get a lot of Declan time then!

This holiday season has been crazy and super busy.  I haven't been able to take as much time off as I normally would have in the past and it really bummed me out yesterday.  I don't think I have the balance quite figured out yet.  When I spend too much time at work, I feel guilty that I'm not home with the baby.  When I'm home with the baby, I feel like I should be working instead.  There's a lot going on at work and I really need to find some time to just buckle down and do it.

So I'm making myself some job-related resolutions for the new year:

-  Delegate more.  I need to trust in my leads, I know they will do a good job so I need to share more responsibilities with them.
-  Focus on the big picture.  Let my leads handle the small, day to day stuff.
-  Work hard, play hard.  Work is important but so is spending time with my family.
-  Stop with the guilt.

For now, Ryan and I are sharing a late night PB&J sandwich, a frothy glass of milk, and "Doctor Who."  We're finally catching up on the Matt Smith seasons.  I loved David Tennant but Smith is growing on me.

And here is the first selfie of the year:

We tried to do some selfies earlier while Tyler was finishing up his dinner.  They did not turn out so well...

Good night everybody.  May 2015 bring you lots of happiness and love.