Our Family-July 2014

This month started out very quiet and peaceful as we slipped into our simple life. I can't say I've got the cooking and cleaning down, or even the trophy wife job description, but I have been learning to embrace the stay-at-home Mom profession.

 We have been brave enough to take short field trips to walk around the mall, the antique stores, or anywhere else we can find air conditioning and family restrooms.

We have been so grateful for the packages received from family members who have sent Otto little outfits and toys this month. His Grandma Becky sent some fabulous scrapbooking items for a baby book I only hope I can live up to creating something worthy of such nice things.

 Matt's time has not been so pleasant as he has been battling with several afflictions: his broken tooth and stiff neck. He had to take a some time off to visit the dentist and have his poorly treated tooth pieces removed. Apparently, the problem stems from a previous route canal and crown that the tooth was not properly prepared for and the entire top of the tooth suddenly broke off. Pictures were taken, and the dentist made a statement documenting the mistake of the new dentist that had put in the crown so we may have to take action to get the tooth replaced with an implant. Just as he was recovering, he kinked his neck one morning and has been working on being able to turn his head ever since.



Otto has been filling out his cloth diapers and growing more every day.


The rolls in his arms, legs, and chin have made a beautiful appearance. To my great sadness, I have permanently put away all the Newborn size sleepers and onsies and replaced them with 0-3 or 3 month sizes. His legs now hang out of the sides of the front carrier instead of tuck in froggy position inside.

 Here are a few things I learned about Otto this month:
1. When Otto wants to sleep for the night, there is nothing or no one that can get him to take his bedtime bottle.
2. When Otto doesn't want to nap during the day, he wants to be held in a standing position all. . .day. . .long.
3. Field trips out of the house are fun and exhausting for everyone.
4. Otto and I have worked hard to get on a regular feeding schedule as to make our lives more manageable and help with planning of outings.
5. Otto has worked on getting down to one feeding at night. It has slowly worked it's way from midnight to 3am. This, he did all on his own.
4. If you take Otto to the antique store, several elderly people will make offers to buy him.
5. Otto doesn't handle digesting the mountain of free samples of formula that the hospital gave us, as well as all the coupons and free samples that were given us in the mail. His stomach prefers the kind we bought ourselves (darn!).
6. He found his fingers and his fist. . .and he loves them!
7. When Otto smiles and makes cooing noises, the whole world stops for just one moment.

I had time to read a few books and one in particular that I highly recommend to new parents. My cousin, Nicole, recommended it to me: Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman is a very interesting read. I learned a lot about parenting theories as she compares the American culture with French from being an American parent in Paris. I won't go so far as to say we should all be like the French, but I do think there is definitely something to be learned when we get the chance to peek into another culture's views. I learned that we, as Americans, might put too much emphasis on competition and sacrifice. It is almost like we are competing to show we are the best mom by how much we sacrifice ourselves to our children and how advanced our children can develop. It might not be the best way to enjoy our life. The French are more focused on teaching their children to be stimulated, self-assured, self-reliant. In this way, they are able to enjoy their adult time and live more peaceful existence with their children. I am all for that. If you ask me, teaching our children to be more self-reliant is one of the best things you can do to prepare them for Kindergarten. I should know!

I was delighted to have some of my All Aboard family over for lunch. They were kind enough to bring the food and visit with me. It may be pathetic to admit this, but I appreciate the socializing more than anything. I am sure they got a sense for how much I loved the book I had just finished reading.




We were so happy to get a visit from my folks and sister. This was Otto's first time meeting Papa Ross.
He loves him, of course. Although, he may not fully appreciate his harmonica playing just yet.
Nana and Aunt Megan were happy to see him again and we were excited to spend a whole fun week together. We took a trip to the antique mall The Brass Armadillo.

While they were visiting, Otto had himself his first little fever. It wasn't too bad but he got to see the doctor anyway and find out he has grown over 10 lbs now! Then, the most amazing thing happened. The doctor came in and started cooing at Otto and trying to get him to smile. I was about to say, "Ah, we've been working on smiling but he hasn't really started doing it yet." He had been close so many times (you know, where there's a smile right under the lips but they don't quite curl up yet?). Then, suddenly, he just looks at him with sunshine eyes and a big gummy smile! It lasted a long time and the doctor got him to do it 3 more times! I was in tears it was so amazing. I got it on camera the third time.

We took Otto on his first mini-road trip to Jerome. Not only was it cooler, but I loved showing my family around one of the coolest historical towns that Arizona has to offer.  We ate lunch at their great little Italian restaurant, Grapes. We even took a one-car-width road up to the Grand Hotel which was very neat and very spooky. Note: Do not take a stroller. Strapping Otto up in the front carrier would have been preferable to walk from store to store and up and down hills.

On Thursday we spent the day walking around Scottsdale's Fashion Square Mall. The last time my family had been there was five years ago on Black Friday so I think this experience was preferable. That evening we were fortunate to have dinner with my cousin, Jeremy, and his family. I always love visiting with him because he has great family history stories to talk about.

Friday was the day my family was to start heading home but not before our very special lunch date with Otto's Tummy Mommy and to meet his "Big Brah" (birth father) for the first time.
 It was a very special occasion. We ate at Green and enjoyed a purely vegan meal. Marissa presented us with a special gift she had been working on: A scrapbook/album for Otto about herself and her pregnancy. It was so well done and I am excited to share it with Otto as he grows so he can know what a beautiful family he comes from. I knew that Big Brah Trace was nervous and excited, but it was so nice to see him hold Otto. It was unfortunate that it was Otto's nap time and we didn't get to show off our new found smiles he had been practicing all week. We got to chat about what physical features we think Otto shares with him. He sent me a text afterwards about how happy he is that we get to be Otto's parents. We hope to have many more meetings in the future.


We were sad to say good-bye to Nana and Papa and Aunt Megan, but it was such a great week while they were here.
You would think I would be getting used to being an unemployed SHM now after a whole Summer of practice, but something in my body's clock tells me that this is when I'm supposed to go back to work. I had waited years to be free of work commitments and focus on my own little one and now that it is finally here I realize how much I am going to miss being a teacher at All Aboard. The teachers went back to work this week and I couldn't help think of all that I was missing. I wouldn't trade my current situation for anything in the world, and please don't misunderstand any of this as complaining or regret. I think it is healthy to think fondly of every time and stage of my life. I will miss:
1. Our meetings, because I got paid to hang out with my friends and discuss teaching and topics that are always fascinating to me while also joking and laughing and having a great time. -Socializing with adults.
2. The mental stimulation of figuring out the best strategies for teaching lessons and organizing my very own classroom.
3. Being a part of a team, a group, and working together on something I feel passionate about.
4. My students- The sometimes frustrating, but mostly darling interactions I have with 5 and 6 year olds.
5. Feeling everyday that what I was doing mattered to more than just me and my family, but to everyone I worked for, with, and all the families of the student's I taught.
6. When walking through the playground during morning recess, I was a ROCKSTAR!
I prefer not to mention the things I won't miss about working, but there are a few of those too.
This did not stop us from fulfilling our commitment to volunteer every Wednesday at school. Otto and I got up early, dressed and fed (and changed) we went off to work. We had a great time helping prepare the classrooms for school to start next week. I think the ladies at school didn't mind having Otto there either.
As Otto approaches his 2 month anniversary of his delicate arrival into the world, we are looking forward to what comes next. Cooler weather so we can take trips out of the house. Regular nap times so I can get more things done around the house and possibly even take on projects of my own. Sleeping through the night (I think it will happen sooner rather than later)!
My current project is trying to organize a weekly social group I call, "Art Time" where local moms or ladies can get together at my house and work on any creative projects they happen to enjoy. I hope to get some interest and as it gets off the ground, we can have art activities for the kids as we socialize and get to know each other while sharing our hobbies and interests.

June 2014 Productivity

In retrospect, I do suppose I have accomplished quite a lot this past month. However, when you have so much on your list and are used to being in constant movement and socializing, it can feel as if time stands still. I am still trying to get used to my new role. There is a war inside myself between my need for going out of the house to see people and have adventures and my debilitating fear of taking my newborn son and his entourage of baby items with me into the hot Phoenix Summer. Also, I might be a little more than addicted to TV and I need to get it under control.

We started out this month welcoming our son, Otto, into the world and home from the hospital. I was recently re-watching the entire The Office series and the episode where Pam and Jim just had a baby was almost a re-enactment of our first few days home. Our conversations were something like,
Courtney: Do you think he's gassy?

Matt: Does he need to be fed or changed?

Courtney: No, I just did that. You need to swaddle him tighter. He likes it when the swing goes faster. 

Matt: Wait, so you wanted me to bathe him AND put him to bed? What are you going to do?

Courtney: Shower.

The first few nights was an all-night "Get to Know You" session.We discovered that it is not conducive or beneficial for anyone to have him sleep in his bassinet by our bed as I had previously thought. The first night I slept with Otto on the recliner, him in the bassinet and me in the recliner, Otto in the swing and me on the couch, Otto in the pack-n-play and me on the couch, me on the couch and him in the infant chair. Meanwhile, Matt sawed logs comfortably in the bed. The next few nights he slept in his bassinet and me in my own bed. I call that progress!

Luckily for us, my Mom was coming in on the Friday after he was born to stay for a week and help out. When she got here I met her at the door and let her in and just as I was closing the door behind her, it was pushed open again by my sister Megan! Surprise! They brought us hand-made blankets. Megan was staying for a few days and flying home on Monday. Matt, having spent his week off work already, was reluctant to return to work on Monday.

I am so grateful to have had my Mom to help us. We spent the week taking turns holding, feeding, changing, and spending a lot of time sitting on the couch catching up and re-watching shows we each thought the other would enjoy. We made a trip out to Target and Micheal's to pick up supplies and Otto's first official outing.
We played photographer and got newborn photos of Otto and a few family shots done while she was here (See Otto's Newborn photos in the pages link to the right). She gave us a much needed night out so we could go have dinner before she had to leave. I know she didn't want to leave, but I'm glad that Otto is an excuse to get my family to visit more often.

When she left, we had to find out what our everyday life was going to look like. Matt goes off to work early in the morning, and it is Otto and my job to fill the hours. He is getting on somewhat of a routine and most nights he only gets up once to eat at about 12-1 am. He is getting a little better at getting back to sleep. If he gets up at 5, we can get ourselves ready to go for a walk before it gets too hot.

Also, I am proud to say that Otto has not had a disposable diaper since he got home from the hospital. I admit I've used the disposable cloth inserts from time to time. I have discovered that it is really not nearly as scary or hard as I had imagined. I won't say that it isn't icky, but no more so than a disposable diaper offers. I might have to change diapers more often, but they are bought and paid for! Also, I am making good use of the hot Arizona air and hang dry. I really love them. They looked a little big at first, but he is growing into the newborn sizes quite nicely. How are we going to use them when on vacation? No idea. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Matt and I got brave enough to take Otto to the Phoenix Art Museum. I wanted to see the Hollywood Costumes exhibit before it moved on. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures so I have no proof that I saw the costumes from Oceans 11, Fight Club, and my favorite was the royalty section. I also loved that they had excerpts from the costume designers explaining their choices. I had no idea so much thought went into each and every piece. Otto was perfectly pleased to sleep through it all.


Our first grocery shopping trip we had a few items on our list. It was my first time taking him out by myself, other than the doctor, so I was incredibly nervous. Looking back, I honestly don't know why. I brought the car seat carrier into the store and put it in the basket of the shopping cart. I got a few essentials in produce and some staple items and ran out of room in the cart. Otto was starting to wake up, so we made a bee-line for the check-out line and headed home. The whole event lasted maybe 20 minutes.

My wonderful friends and away-from-home family at All Aboard Charter School planned a fun baby shower for us. We made it a formula party, as there are few things left I needed at this time and I am already using cloth diapers. Sonia's mother, Rosa, knit him a lovely blanket and hat (see his one month photos). I feel so loved and I am going to miss seeing and talking to them every day in the next school year.

 We enjoyed some lovely cake pops (thanks Laurie) and sandwiches from Costco (thanks Shannon) and had a lovely time. I thought Marissa deserved to enjoy a gift, nothing too grand. We had talked about the movie Newsies and her desire to see it so I got her a copy of the DVD. I gave her one of my favorite drawings of henna tattoo hands done with crayon and sharpie. I think it matches her beautiful nature.

We had a nice visit from Tummy Mommy as she came to hang out and join us for the baby shower. We got to coo over him and take more pictures. I really love that there is one more person who can love his pictures and get excited about his crazy faces as much as I do. I cannot tell you how much I love this girl. Otto and I talk about her every day.

As the month comes to a close, we are finally ready to start working on a daily routine. As my nature dictates, I had to sit down and create a spreadsheet of our daily, weekly, and monthly schedule. This may seem like a silly thing to do and I know stay-at-home moms out there would just roll their eyes at me. I can assure you, I don't intend or expect to keep on the schedule strictly. I am just one of those people who needs direction and focus. Also, I am currently seeking other stay-at-home moms that would be open to forming a group in my area for socialization purposes. It is incredibly hard to be cooped up in the house all day, every day, looking for reasons to gather up Otto and his baby items and pile into the car.