Countdown to a new start

So in exactly one week we start over. If everything goes as planned , closing for our house is scheduled for the 12th of January. We had a bit of a mix up in the last weeks leading up to now. Long story short, we have a lot of packing to do. The home buyer had an appraisal done long after the due diligence period had passed and to our surprised the house was appraised at 4 thousand less than what our final settlement price was, Our Realtor called me to tell me that unless we were willing to drop the price on the house the deal was a no-go. But since they waited until after the due diligence period we get to keep their earnest money deposit if they decide to back out. I asked a few Realtors I know for their opinion on what to do and most agreed to stay firm and keep the deposit if they don't come through. At the end of the day they did wait too long to have the appraisal done.

So this whole time I've been thinking it's a no deal, but I had doubt that the buyer would walk away from the house and lose the money that they've invested thus far, so I called my Realtor and asked him what would happen if the buyer did buy the house and we haven't moved out yet. So he kindly informed me that I better be out of the house by the 12th. Pretty much until we hear otherwise the deal is on. Now we're in a fenzy, packing and needing to put everything in a storage unit to empty out the house.

I think its all going to be very surreal until we turn in the keys. I'm sure we will feel some sadness to go but I'm really excited to have a new start. I have a few Zillow searches going and can't wait to start house hunting.

 I had a funny conversation with another firefighter that is also selling his house. He asked what size house we're looking for and I told him about 1500 to 2000 sqft. He kinda chuckled and said that was too small for a family. I realize it's not a mansion but how big of a house does a "family" really need? (Small rant ahead) I'm sure that 2nd family room and 3rd office really comes in handy but C'mon (sarcasm). If anything, I think that oversized houses are a huge contributor to crappy family atmospheres. I grew up in apartments where I had to share a room with one or both of my siblings at times and even though the lack of privacy was inconvenient but the small space forced us to INTERACT with one another. If we didn't like something the other did, We told them and we disagreed and we fought but then we made up and laughed about it.

 I saw a documentary about tiny houses that people are building over trailers. They live really simple, are debt free and have realized the difference between a necessity and a luxury. That's too extreme for me but I saw some interesting facts that made me think. The average american family has gone down in size while the size of the average american home keeps going up. Somebody they interviewed mentioned they remembered growing up, their friends had huge houses but their parents were never around because they were working to pay the house off. That's not what I want Micah to remember about us. Just to throw out another observation ; I get to work at many firehouses across the city with lots of different crews and I've noticed the closer knit ones are the ones that work in older stations that are alot smaller than the new firehouses that are triple the size and house half the people. We'll see what we come across when the time comes.

Speaking of a new start...... Laura is prego again. Yes you read correctly. She's 12 weeks right now. This one was planned unlike the first one. When we talked about more kids in the future we both knew we would have another but were undecided as to when. If we waited too long it would be like starting from scratch and if we waited too little we would have alot on our plates. Around the time that Micah was going to turn 1 we kinda knew we wanted another sooner then later and just let it happen.

It's funny how fast this pregnancy has gone by so far. With having a toddler to look after we sometimes forget that Laura is pregnant. Sorry, I mean I forget that she is Pregnant because according to her this one feels totally opposite than the first one. She is super tired and nauseous and always at the most random times.  I try to help, mostly by keeping Micah off of her. A few people I've talked to say that the difference in symptoms probably means that this we're having a girl but it I know it doesn't. We both feel a lot more relaxed this time around and hope we can keep the chillness running when we have to Babies crying at once.

Coming July 2015!

When Micah was sick for those few weeks I had read that babies that get those fever blisters turn really emotionally dependent after they recover since they're always being carried and cared to when they're sick. Micah is no exception. He hates being put down now and starts to throw down a tantrum. This is making it extremely hard to pack and finish what we have to do around the house. The funny thing is that when we leave the room he's in he stops crying and follows us to where we're at and then continues his tantrum. But we now have a secret weapon for when Micah is getting rowdy or at least needs a distraction. Baby Einsteins, I am fully aware that this is lame cop out and always told myself to I wasn't going be that dad that gives my son an electronic device to get him off my back he loves them! We do make sure to sit down and watch them with him and sign the animals and pictures with to make sure he is learning. 

Happy Baby

Hi everyone. Just want to take time to update everyone.

At the doctors office with that little smile.

Micah had been a little sick the past few weeks. First with a stomach bug that gave him the runs for a week straight. We didn't know if he had developed an allergy to something, but after switching up his foods repeatedly, a trip to the Doctors office pinned it to a stomach bug. Then the fever started. We don't know if it was related but a few days after he started to get better, we noticed he was getting warmer and warmer. That turned into fever blisters that made it hard for him to eat or drink anything. I felt so bad for my little guy. he would wake up and sign for milk but after attempting a few sips he would throw the bottle and cry. It was really hard to watch, knowing that there was nothing we could do and to top it off, he didn't understand why his mouth hurt and why it wouldn't stop. The blisters lasted for about 4 days and while he was tossing, turning and crying at night we stayed up and tried to soothe him back to sleep.

During one of his late night crying sessions, I had a Deja-vu moment of the first couple months when we couldn't get him to nurse. You really do find your role as a parent. Even though the crying and the powerless feeling was frustrating, Laura and I both handled it pretty well. Alot better then a year ago that for sure. Makes me think were ready for number 2 ( wink wink)

One thing that I love about Micah is how happy he always is. Even though he was sick he always managed to give off a smile when he could.

Off to Hunt!

And Sold!

I'm at home right now and Micah is asleep so its the perfect time for an update. Micah is still growing at a 100mph. Some of the parenting websites a glance at from time to time informed me that around the 1 year mark babies tend to go through a separation anxiety stage. Of all the stage that Micah has gone through, let me just say that this is probably the most annoying one. Yes my son,  you are so annoying right now. I love my little guy but it seems like I can't set him down for a second without him crying and going into a tantrum. Hey buddy, how about I'm going to get you a snack. Micah has also started taking his first true steps which is awesome and worrying at the same time. I don't know how we'll manage to keep up with him.

No don't leave me!!

All the baby sign language that we taught Micah is working great. It is definitely helping him in communicating himself with us. He is starting to also point at things and grunt or mumble to let us know he wants it. That gives us a great opportunity to say the name of whatever item it is and teach him to talk. He has already said certain words other than the usual mama , dada. The other day he called out for my dad and yelled "Abuelo!'.

Now that he is a year old the Doctor has given us the ok for different foods that Micah can now eat. Real Milk, Honey, etc. He's been doing great and hasn't found a food he won't eat. He still makes sure to save a small portion of whatever is on the menu so he can hand feed the dogs. Now that he is drinking real milk, I've now learned how disgusting real milk smells when vomitted. A couple nights ago, I woke up to Micah struggling to breath and immediately woke up to check on him. He was fine but had thrown up a zippy cup of milk he had drank a few hours earlier. I don't know how but it came out in chunks, almost as if it was turning into cheese inside of him (ok sorry, that was TMI). So we bathed him, and washed all his sheets and clothes thinking that was the end of it. Well the next day the sitter told us he wasn't eating and had thrown up as described a few sentences ago. Well that night we went to our bible study and had sat him down on my lap when I smelled throw up milk from the night before. So I grabbed a couple wipes and cleaned his mouth and hands and handed him off to Laura. That's when I noticed that my pant leg was wet but it was too late by that point and Laura had sat him down on her lap. It was coming out of both ends on this little dude.

All of that got me thinking about how much a parent truly spends on their children. Not just the direct expenses like formula, milk, diapers, clothes...... But also indirect expenses, like baby proofing, Special shampoos, and now dry-cleaning for my dirty pants. I know its a lot in the long run. Kinda makes you appreciate your parents more.

Sometimes When I stay home and watch Micah I take him to a play area at a Mall nearby. I know its a little germ fest but it would be good for Micah to socialize and more importantly tire himself out.  Micah is a very social baby. Much more than others in fact. When he meets other babies and toddlers he likes to reach out and play. I just learned that when first meeting other babies he has to be carefully supervised. I was watching him reach out to another baby today and smiled at the scene of him being friendly. Then had to run and stop him from slapping the other baby ....... repeatedly. Hey, but the other baby took it like a champ. He's gotta a bright future ahead of him as a punching bag.

On a brighter note, Just wanted to let everyone know that our house in under contract. Laura and I had just talked about how right now is probably a bad time to sell a house because no one is buying or looking for houses since we're in the holiday season. But later that day I got a call from our agent telling us we had a great offer. The home inspection was done today so I'm guessing we'll be working out the details about what we need to do. This is the first house we've owned and sold so I really nervous about the next few steps. The house is in great shape other than a few details here and there but its nerve wrecking to get a home inspection done thats going to throw all the imperfections you weren't previously aware of in your face. Hopefully its nothing to major. I know obviously that no Home seller wants to lose more money on repairs for a house they're wanting to vacate and a home buyer will try to get everything move in ready so Im curious to know what the report finds. With this in mind, Can any of you share any thoughts and experiences on what a Home seller should fix? Or if you've found yourself in a similar situation drop some advice!

Where's my hair?

Hey guys, How's everyone doing? Micah hit the 3 month mark this month and the parent life is pretty good. I've read in different places that the 3 month mark is a milestone because your baby falls into a routine and will begin to sleep and eat better. Micah is doing that for the most part. He has been sleeping for at least a good  5 hours straight, occasionally waking up once for a quick diaper change or feeding. Our schedules have changed alot. For the 3 of us. Laura is getting used to working full-time again. I'm sure this is probably the biggest change. She is working on going part-time in the next couple months. We're hoping that everything will work out.

            Micah is getting used to others taking care of him. We've been so fortunate to have family to watch Micah while were working. My mom watches him 1-2 days a week, one of my aunts takes care of him -1-2 days a week and I have reduced my hours at my part-time to be able to take care of him once during the work week. Keeping up with this schedule is pretty time consuming. It requires alot of preparation. We have to get his clothes and diaper bag ready at night. We now have to wake up earlier to get him whoever is taking care of him and still be able get to work on time. Blah blah blah..... It's not that bad. It's all part of being a parent. 

        My days with Micah are awesome. I enjoy almost every minute of it. We have our good and bad moments. Yesterday I had to take the dogs to the vet for their vaccines. So I got everyone ready early and we were off. Micah fell asleep on the way their and was calm all the way home until I walked through the door with him in one hand and the dogs in the other. He must have figured he had given me long enough of a break and started to squirm in his car seat. It's all good. I got this. I look down at my watch and see it's time for him to eat. I got this. We always change his diaper right before he eats so he'll eat more comfortably. I took off his little pants and felt the back of his chubby little knee was wet. At first I thought it was sweat since it was a little warm and he had a blanket on. But I looked down at my hand and saw it was green , and it wasn't sweat, and his diaper wasn't sealed on right, and now the bed sheets were dirty because I had laid him on the bed to change him instead of his changing station, and now I was gagging.  

Yea it was gross.

Confused and Worried....

I've written about Micah's hair before. It's so long and it keeps growing. I used to say to myself that I wouldn't cut it until it got ridiculously long. That was before I actually met Micah. I never realized he was going to have so much hair. Most babies are pretty much bald or have little hair. The funny thing about Micah's hair is that it is about the same length all around. From the back to the front to the sides. I couldn't even see his ears. And that Mullet, Oh that Mullet! That thing was creeping down his back. So enough was enough. We decided (I decided, Laura wanted to let it keep growing) to cut it. I did it all with scissors and cut mostly the sides. It was pretty special. his first haircut, and we took plenty of pictures. He started off worried, then cried and after it was done and over he was pretty grumpy. He normally reaches up for the hair above his ears and twiddles it once he is starting to go to sleep. That night he reached for it and it was gone. He had a somewhat confused look on his face like where's my hair? How am I supposed to get to sleep? He looks like such a little grown up now. Like a little latino Benjamin Button.

Get off me! Im gonna put you in a home when you get old!!!

Me llamo Benjamin Boton.

"Micah quiere leche de mami!"

Hello Everyone! Remember me and this blog? I know it's been a while since I last updated but I've been a little busy with a newborn baby and what not. I would love to say that we have the hang of this. But we don't completely. I say this in a humorous way because when my wife or I are up at night and switching bottles because Micah refuses to eat out of anything we give him, or when I change his diaper right after having just changed it, and after all that realize he's pooped again, or when he cries because he loves being in his parent's arms and hates his bassinet, I think about how I was as a baby and the loud sleepless nights I gave my parents. From all the stories I have heard of me as a child , I understand completely why Micah is a little troublemaker at times. When my sister was being  born, my parents left me under my aunt and uncle's care. I guess I must have missed my parents because I am told that I cried and cried like there was no tomorrow. So in a last ditch effort to quiet me, my uncle put me in a closet and closed the door. Now I know that sounds cruel and you won't find that kind of parenting advice in the books but I'm sure I was being a brat. So I had been in the closet for a few minutes when I go quiet. My Uncle came back to check on me and found me peeing in all of his shoes. True Story. So whenever I feel frustrated I smile because I know. I know this is my son (if you dont believe me, check out the picture below) and I will give him the same love and patience that I was given. (By my parents, not my uncle.)

Now please don't misunderstand me and think that we're losing it over here. We are enjoying every bit of being parents. Micah is so alert. I play games with him where I kiss his nose and make little noises and when I come off he smiles and coos. Sometimes I just talk to him and ask him how his day was and if he gave mommy a hard time while I was away. He responds and coos little noises and expressions like he is trying to tell me what he did that day. I've read that most things just click and fall into place around the 3 month mark and that seems to be the case. At times he still gets a little fussy when I feed him but it's only for a few seconds and then he just drains the bottle. He's sleeping longer too! Last night I think we got a good 5 and a half hours of sleep. I know that sounds like a stupid thing to get excited over but you have to remember that he normally wakes up about 3 times to eat or needing a diaper change. It felt so good but I couldn't enjoy it because I kept waking up wondering if he was ok because he hadn't woke me up first.

Around this time we were expecting Micah's hair to fall out since that what everyone told us would happen. Not the case with this little guy. His hair looks like its here to stay. It's getting so long that if I trimmed the sides a bit he'd go straight mullet. I'm tempted to do it for the laughs but then I'd come home to him driving a John Deere tractor, in a camo cut-off t-shirt and bottle filled with budlight in his hand.

Then again, Joe Dirt was a funny movie...

Laura and I have decided to talk to Micah in Spanish as a primary language until he gets older. We figured that he will learn English eventually through school, his friends and tv but we don't want him to forget or not pick up Spanish. We're also trying to teach him a little Sign Language. Laura's sister is deaf so Laura learned how to sign to communicate with her. I only know enough to ask "What's your name?" and that's it, at that point I would probably have to hand the person I signed to, a letter apologizing for wasting their time. I got the idea to teach Micah Sign language from a video I saw on youtube. The link is below. Its amazing what an infants mind is capable of. According to some information I read, the baby probably would sign back until the 6-9 month mark but we should start teaching him as soon as possible. If I'm not mistaken, In deaf culture, a deaf person has to give you your deaf name in sign. The sign is normally a mix between the first letter of your first name and quality or characteristic you have. Laura's sister has given us all our names. Mine for example is the letter in A in sign and a brush against the side of my head as if I was putting on glasses. Laura's is the letter L while she signs cute which is a flick of her chin with the her index finger. Micah's is pretty cool. It's the letter M coming away from my eye representing his long eye lashes. You can see me signing to him in the video below.

Laura has done an awesome job in her new role as mommy. She can tell the difference between his cries and knows what each one means. In a few days she will exchange her role as stay at home mommy and get back to the work grind. Staying at home has not been a vacation for her. I sometimes thought to myself that she had it good, being able to stay home and "play" with Micah. "Play" ha, it wasn't until I actually took care of him by myself while she went out grocery shopping that I realized there was no playing involved. I was quickly calling her up, wondering how far out she was because I couldn't get Micah to stop crying. All joking aside, Baby, you have done a wonderful job these past couple months taking care of Micah while I'm at work and away from home. I know it wasn't a vacation and it was hard at times but you've stuck through it and now Micah is a momma's boy because of it. Thanks. I wuv you.

A Pomengranate

Little baby Micah is now the size of a pomegranate and weighs about a pound. My wife feels her baby bump but it's not really showing. We find ourselves having to show people a picture of the ultra-sound to convice them that we're not playing a joke on them when we tell them Laura's prego. But everyonce in a while something happens that lets us know there's still a growing baby in there somwhere. For example, the other morning my wife woke me up to show me her belly, it was literally bulging on the left, It was a little bulge but it was noticable. I guess she had slept to one side and her uterus creeped down and stayed there for a bit. It was pretty weird but kinda cool too. And guess who's had some foot swelling? Yea, it's Laura. It doesn't happen alot but we've noticed it especially after a long day of her standing at work. One of the Pregnancy forums I keep up with said the best thing a daddy can do is massage his baby momma's feet. So I guess I'm gonna have to go buy some scented lotions for the next swelling episode.

I'll just pretend these are my dog's ears.....Whose a good boy?!?!?

Here's the coolest thing that blew my mind. Today, June 20th, 2013, Laura felt Micah moving. She said she felt it around lunch time. Just a little wiggle, but it was out of the blue. It wasnt expected. At first she said it was random and kept doing what she was doing but she felt it again a few hours later. How awesome is that? I can't wait to put my hand on her belly and feel Micah kick.

I mentioned in my last post that we we're gonna take a tour of a Maternity Center. Well we did, and we we're definately impressed. First of all the Midwives had a extensive experience in the medical field. Most of the them got into Midwifery after long careers as Nurses in the delivery room or the ER. As Midwives many of them have delivered 400+ babies. They're trained to spot any signs of complications. There is a hospital nearby and an ambulance service at throwing distance if needed. Another thing we liked was the atmosphere of the rooms and facility. These weren't ordinary delivery rooms. They were all out suites with king sized beds, showers and tubs that just put me at ease. I've been inside hospitals hundreds of times and the rooms, the staff, and the thought of having my wife hooked up to a bunch of cables is frightening. I wasnt 100% convinced going in but talking to the midwives and asking ALOT of questions and doing ALOT of research I feel better about it. It seems like a great, natural alternative to the hospital setting. My wife loved the idea and at the end of the day its her decision and I support her. We go for our first appointment next Wednesday. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Goodbye

How do I Say goodbye to yesterday? It's quite sad, parting ways that is. We've all had to say goodbye to friends, family, pets, or any object that is precious to us. I too have said goodbye recently. To what you may ask? To something very dear to me. I said goodbye to my motorcycle. It was hard I'm not going to lie, but a man has to recognize his priorities in life and mine have changed. I sold it and watched as a stranger rode it away into the sunset and as the shine of the modded grips glistened and the loud rumble of my custom exhaust faded away and I couldn't hear it anymore, a single tear rolled from me eye down my cheek. 

Now I am completely exaggerating guys. I sold it to my dad, so I'm free to ride it anytime I please. But with our big change in lifestyle I knew I didn't need an extra expense at the moment. Now just to put it out there, the wifey did not push this decision. It was completely my idea. I felt It was the best choice. Once we talked about it she did give me permission to buy one in the future. (Did you see what I did there?). And even though I only sold it to my dad, it still stung a little to part with and if I don't ever purchase one again, I can still check it off the list of a childhood dream I always had. If you happened to have played the video at the begining if this post then by the end of this paragraph you're probably saying to yourself that the Boyz II Men song was a little too much (especially if you're weeping, then we'll give you a minute).

Ok, now changing the subject. My family has fallen into a full frenzy buying baby clothes. It's all pretty cute, especially some of the peices my wife has bought that are firefighter themed like the one below.

The funny thing is that a CO-worker of mine told me that we would probably recieve so much clothes at the baby shower that any clothes we bought would probably never get used besides the fact that the baby would probably wear a select few items of clothes. And even though I explained this to my wife and sister, It doesn't seem to make a difference because apparently to them Micah is out to make a fashion statement. But I found what has to be the coolest baby onesie out there, and yes, Micah's has already been ordered. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you ......the Baby turnout gear onesie.



Will baby Micah save somebody's life one day? I can't make any promises ..... but yes.



A Peach

Look how are baby has grown! The baby is now as big as a large peach. How crazy is that! It amazes me how fast the baby is growing and I can't even see it. I was talking to a friend at work about the baby's growth and he mentioned how if I think its growing fast now, just wait until I'm holding him/her in my arms (I really think it's going to be a her). Anyways that shock and awe will come at it's own time.


We had our second sonogram last Wednesday. During the second visit the Doctor normally takes blood samples and test for several diseases and birth defects so it was pretty nerve wrecking. Fortunately everything is looking good so far. So we finally get around to the sonogram. I was excited to see how much the baby had grown and developed and I was not disappointed! The doctor zoomed in little by little to finally reveal the Baby. What a difference a few weeks can do. The baby had little arms and legs and was not happy that it was woken up. It jumped from one side to the other and all I could think of was "Parkour!"

Just like this except in a uterus.

One of the test the Doctors perform is measure the skin on the back of the neck of the baby to test for down syndrome. Don't ask me how it works but to do it the baby had to have its hands down. The Doctor wiggled the Baby for almost 10 minutes trying to get it to put its hand down. She even asked my wife cough to see if it would budge. It was so funny, almost as if the baby knew because it immediately threw BOTH hands up to it's nose kind of like saying "No pictures please!". What a little celebrity.

On another note, I'm learning more and more about pregnancy everyday. For example, how it changes a woman's taste and preferences including her favorite ice cream flavor which would have been nice to know when I was trying to calm a serious case of BMR (refer to previous post). Now,  I'm working on a theory and plan to submit it to a scientific institute for further review. Woman obviously gain weight during pregnancy. They have to! Especially when they're lugging a 12lb baby like my mom did with my "little" brother. But why do some men gain weight? Well it's all related to the woman's changes in taste of course! Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago we went to Moe's for a quick bite for dinner. I love Moe's and so does my wife so I thought. So were in line picking and choosing our toppings and fillings for our meal and then go sit down at a booth. That's when my wife looks down at her food and says "I'm sorry but this looks disgusting." She totally lost her appetite. It wasn't her, it was all part of the first tri-mester changes. Either way I felt bad, but MO' MOE'S FOR ME!!!!

He gets it

I have to admit, I've had a serious case of writers block ever since I made this blog public. I'm glad I've had great feedback but I don't know if it's that these past few weeks have been a little more uneventful and we've hit a slump or I'm trying to match or out-do the popularity of the first posts or maybe just maybe it's just all the Moe's giving me brain farts.

A peach.