My, how the time does fly...

Yesterday, after about a week of attempting, he finally figured out the light switch. Every time we leave his room, he wants to turn the light on and off a few times before we go. I get such a kick out of watching him concentrate so hard on the switch, and when he finally gets it he turns around with a huge smile to see the light on!

His dad just came in to tell me he stood up on the porch just now. I've been thinking a lot lately about how, just a few months ago, he was still mastering the crawl and rolling over, and now...he's a cruising, climbing, rumble-tumble, stair-navigating, balancing acrobat! I mean, sure, he still falls and takes a bump to the head at least once a day, but that hasn't stopped him from trying! I've seen him stand myself, for about 5-6 seconds, while fully engrossed in the leaf he'd picked up. He's only 8 months old, but I fully expect him to be walking by Thanksgiving. It'll be such a relief! (For the first week or so, anyway...I've figured that out already) :)

School is school, it's all I can do to keep myself organized and on track, but so far, so good. I'm looking forward to the holidays, and I'm already waiting for next spring, when I'll finally be planting my garden, and hopefully some herb beds along the front of the house. I feel isolated and constantly on the verge of depression...but I'm not giving in without a fight. The most recent thing I've learned from my son is that patience seems easy, but sometimes we (or maybe just some of us) need to constantly remind ourselves to relax and take it one thing at a time.

I don't know if anyone is still checking in on me, but if so, it's nice to see and be seen by you. Peace and blessings, Heather

Solstice

Yesterday, Dylan figured out how to get up on his hands and knees and push with his feet, although he wasn't getting anywhere. Just now, when he woke up from his nap, he got up on his hands and knees and started rocking back and forth. I can't believe it - four and a half months, and he's almost crawling! Yay!! :)

Today, the town of Blacksburg is holding their first annual Summer Solstice Festival, from midday to midnight. There will be midway games, a sustainable energy parade, several contests for charity, even a flea circus! Since it looks like the weather is going to hold up, it should be a great time. More on that when we return!

Jesus Camp

So I'm sitting here with my husband and a friend, watching Jesus Camp, and I swear, I want to move as far away from America as possible. These people make me physically ill. I can't even speak...I'll have to try and formulate words to fit my feelings once this experience is over.

Four-month checkup

Dylan has started doing one of the cutest things I've ever seen him do - when he sees me, he will reach out for me, and when I come close enough, he will grab my face (sometimes pretty hard, lol), pull me in, and give me a great big open-mouth kiss! Sometimes, if he's in a particularly good mood when he does it, I can kiss him under the chin and make him giggle!

He's rolled over both front to back and back to front, although neither Chris nor I have actually witnessed it happen yet. We've put him down to play, on the floor or in his crib, and when we come back, he's flipped over. When I put him down on his back, he has started rocking back and forth and pushing with his feet - he isn't crawling yet, but I think he probably will soon.

At four months old, he's learned the sign for "eat". He doesn't give it consistently yet, but he knows what the word means and will give the sign to me about half the time. He also knows what "up" means - When I say it and hold out my thumbs, he will grab them both and pull himself into a sitting position almost entirely by himself! We're also giving him "diaper" and "more", but he doesn't seem to have figured them out yet.

He loves to bounce! He's very strong, and his legs are HUGE, so bouncing seems to come naturally to him now. We were home visiting our families two weeks ago, and my mom pulled out the Johnny Jump-Up I (and my sister, and my brother) used when we were babies:




He's burbling, mostly open vowel sounds, although since about two months old he's consistently made one that sounds awfully close to "oh, good". He's also learned how to blow raspberries! Those are always fun in public, lemme tell you :)

Stats: as of two weeks ago, he is 27 inches long, 17 lbs and 4 oz. His length is off the charts, and his weight is in the 95th percentile. Some people don't believe me when I tell them he's only four months old! He's gotten heavy enough that I can no longer carry him to the store, although I still carry him around the house and if we take the bus downtown.

And, of course, he just keeps getting cuter every day!

New kid in town

My sister, who is a practicing Pagan, has started an online journal to discuss the state of religion in America. It's fairly new (there are only two entries so far), but worth a look, and I know she welcomes comments from all viewpoints. Check it out!

Two years and counting...

I just realized I've had this blog now for just over two years, and I've written some pretty damn good posts. I'm going to have to try a little harder to stay on par, because I've also realized that I'm so wrapped up in my son that I hardly think about anything else that happens to me anymore. It would be nice to have the kind of clarity of thought I seemed to have in the past. So with that said, I intend to write a little more regularly, and on a slightly more diverse range of subjects...but not tonight, since it's after midnight and I should have gone to bed an hour and a half ago. Goodnight, all! :)

Three-month checkup

School's out! I finished two classes this semester with A's in both and a 3.88 overall GPA for the year. How I managed it while simultaneously learning to be a mom is beyond me, but I must be doing something right!

Dylan is now three months and ten days old, well over fifteen pounds, grabbing his toys with a fair degree of accuracy, vocalizing like crazy, and generally charming the hell out of everyone he meets :) Here are some pictures:

What big eyes you have!

Hangin' wit my homey!

What a big smile!

Sitting up well, but not yet on his own

There really isn't much to say as far as his development....he's a baby, doing baby things, you know? He takes up most of my time and I'm constantly behind on everything I want to accomplish, but I don't mind. I'm pretty patient.

Until next time...

It's a boy!

Hi all! Sorry I've been away for so long, but it was all worth it.....say hello to Dylan, the newest addition to the Taylor clan!


Dylan Thomas Taylor, born February 6, 2008 at 12:27 p.m.
8 pounds 7 oz. and 21 inches



Going home from the birthing center two days later



I'm so handsome!



Four days old and I'm already smiling!


He's a great baby, very alert and (mostly) calm, and he's already sleeping 3-4 hours at a stretch during the night. He was back up to his birth weight by day five. Breastfeeding has been challenging and we still don't have it down perfect, but we're working on it, and it's going well. Some labor and delivery highlights: I was in labor for a total of 15 1/2 hours, from my first contraction to Dylan being born. The only drug I had was a combo narcotic/antagonist called Nubain (it's like Demerol, but weaker and without the potential harmful side effects). I went into labor at 9 pm on my due date, so by the time I went into the birthing center, I had been up for about 24 hours and I was exhausted. I could still feel the contractions, but the Nubain let me rest during the active phase of labor. I went through transition and pushing completely drug-free. I only pushed for about 15 or 20 minutes because once I found a good position Dylan went from a +1 station (that's just past the center of my pelvic bone) to a little bit of head showing in one push. I watched the birth in a mirror, which really helped me concentrate on pushing him out, and my husband cut the cord afterwards. The only hitch came at the very end; Dylan's shoulders didn't rotate all the way and they got stuck coming out, so I ended up with three major tears (none of which, according to my doctor, were as bad as an episiotomy would have been). Oh well, no delivery will ever be perfect!

I'd love to tell you all about my experiences as a new Mom, but right now I'm just too tired :) I'll try and catch up again soon, but for now let me say I am loving (almost) every minute with my son!