11 months old!

I can't believe Gus is 11 months old. He is only weeks away from being a one year old!

Moving away to be closer to my parents is the number one good thing I have ever done for Gus. The situation back in Virginia was what you would call suboptimal. I know I don't talk about how I am a single mom on this blog, but it is a fact. I made a mistake with someone who I thought I knew and trusted. Alcoholism is a bad disease.

So, there I was, 5 months pregnant and on my own. I had a good job, owned my own house, and had money in savings. I guess if I had to, I could have sucked it up and survived by myself. Truth is, when my parents suggested I up and move out here, it wasn't at the top of my list. I had made a home in Virginia. I had friends, I had a job and I had roots. Once Gus came along, I realized that life with an infant was much more difficult than I could have ever anticipated. And no, his father never even bothered to contact me after the birth of his son, much less offer to help out. You could even say I had no other option but to uproot my entire life, leave everything behind and start over. Easy? No. I just had to do what was best for my baby boy.

Funny how things tend to work out for me. Check this out. I move across the country and because I am a nurse I instantly get a job (that was a given). I move in with my parents and I tell myself, "Connie, you can live with your parents for ONE YEAR". I moved in December 6, 2008. This quaint little 3 bedroom house goes up for sale right across the ally from my parents. I knew I couldn't afford it and didn't want to be a home owner again. What happens? This nice lesbian couple from Nebraska buy it in hopes of retiring here in 5-10 years. Their relator is my neighbor and he told them how I wanted to move out but somewhere close to my parents. Bam! I have an affordable house across from my parents. And I moved in December 1st, a week from my deadline.

My passion for being a bedside nurse is dwindling. This spring, I called up the local nursing school and told them I had a Masters and wanted to teach. They let me teach some classes adjunt but told me they wouldn't have any full time positions for another few years when the older faculty would retire. Bam! A new full time professor got pregnant with her 2nd child and she quit. Bam! I now have a full time teaching job.

Back in nursing school in December of 2000, I was looking for a new car. I really wanted a Jeep and bought a Cherokee. By the way, the last year Jeep made Cherokee was 2001 and I purchased a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. Now, it snows out here in the mountains a lot. My 4 wheel drive jeep takes me everywhere I need to go. Who would have ever thought that 9 years ago, I bought my jeep for the very purpose of living and working out here in the mountains?

Things have a way of working out.

Okay, now to Gus. He is a growing boy. He is also perpetual motion. I swear that kid never stops. Sometimes I just sit and watch in total awe. He sits, he stands, he lays down. He puts the ball in the cup, he takes the ball out of the cup. He lays down, he stands, he sits. OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

He knows where his ear, his hair, and his foot are. Many people (including my brother) teach their babies sign language. Kind of reminds me of Meet the Fockers. From my research, the main reason for teaching infants sign language is that, in theory, the terrible twos come from kids being frustrated that they can't verbally express what they want. Having seen both my niece and my nephew go through the terrible twos, I have come to realize that the tantrums do not come from not being able to express what they want. It comes from them not being able to get what they want! Anyway, I have chose not to teach Gus sign language. He is just going to have to come up with his own way to express himself.

Little Gus is settling into his new home just wonderfully. I love how babies adjust so easily! Gus is on the waiting list to be in a day care center at the local elementary school. He has to be at least one years old so I have another month or so. I am crossing my fingers that BAM! he will be offered a place.

Cheese Face

Gus has, in the last couple of weeks, developed this cheesy grin whenever I take a picture of him. My niece loves to pose for cameras, too, but I didn't think at 10 months he'd develop this characteristic so soon!


It is getting cold here in the mountains. The normal temperature when we get up is 5 degrees! That is cold I am not used to. Gus's main mode of transportation is the stroller. In order to keep the little boy warm, I invested in a bunting bag for his stroller. I don't like to advertise for companies, but this thing is awesome. It is called the JJ Cole Bundle Me Arctic for toddlers. He had an original Bundle Me for when he was an infant. However, this particular Arctic version is awesome. It is wind proof and water resistance. I put him in this bag in the stroller without a jacket in 5 degree weather and he comes out sweating. I will post pictures later of Gus chilling out in stroller.

Good news! I got the teaching job! Starting January 4th, I will be a full time Faculty instructor for the school of nursing! I went up and met the director of the program. She showed me my new office. I have always been a shift workers and have never had an office. I get a locker (usually have to share that) and a mailbox. In my office, I have a window, a telephone with my own number, and a business card! This is very exciting for me! Another great thing about my job is that is is only August-May. I have 2 months off during the summer.

Anyway, I am going to go keep my Gus warm in these frigid temperatures.

I'm Still Here!

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged. I had a busy fall but that is no excuse. I am so behind on documented all of Gus's accomplishments. About a month ago, he really hit his stride. While he is not officially crawling, he gets around with his military-style crawl. Within the last week, Gus has even begun to pull himself to standing!

I have really enjoyed this year with Gus. While my job working night shift as a nurse has really allowed me to spend the maximum amount of time with him (while still making money). These night shifts with lack of sleep during the day has really worn me down. I am not sleep deprived because of my baby: I am sleep deprived because of my job! Next week I will start working two 12 hour day shifts a week. This will be difficult because it means I will two days a week without even seeing my baby boy! Gus doesn't wake up until 8am and is asleep usually by 7pm. I will work 7am until 7:30pm. The day before Gus turned 9 months, he went on nursing strike and has never nursed since. This will make it easier for me to work days because I don't have to pump anymore. It was always so hard to find time to pump on day shifts!

What a sweet kind boy my Gus is, though.

Her rarely cries and even then it is always a sign that he needs to go to sleep. Otherwise he is happy go lucky and pretty much anything flies. He has no real "schedule" which means I can take him out with me and he adapts.

Gus and I have been winding down taking him to "chat time". This was a group for nursing mothers but it was really a good time to talk to other moms of babies. Now that Gus is not nursing and is getting bigger, we are weaning ourselves from this group. Instead, we have started going to a toddler story time at the library. This saint of a lady leads the group and she has the patience of Mother Theresa. Toddlers, if you don't know, are extremely impulsive. The fact that she can keep them (for the most part) entertained for nearly 30 minutes is a miracle! She sings songs with them and reads them books. At the end there is an arts and craft session that matches the theme of the day, but it almost always involves painting. I fear giving paint to Gus who puts everything in his mouth.

I was told that I am to read to Gus everyday from the day he was born. Sad to say, I am not the best at this. He is a very active, busy boy and the reading sessions end quickly when he tears the book out of my hand and tries to eat it. Gus doesn't get the book part of story time, but I am doing my motherly duties by at least exposing him to reading!

I guess I digressed because I was talking about my job and how I was going to work 2 days a week as a nurse. Well, I have also been teaching as an adjunct professor at the local community college. Because I have a Masters in nursing, I can teach at the nursing school. Well, a full-time position has opened up starting in January, and I applied! They have it narrowed down to two people, me and this old lady who has taught nursing before. So cross your fingers for me! If I get this job, it will be a full time, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm job. No weekends, no holidays, no nights, no summers! I've never ever had a normal, non-shift work type job before and the prospect of being so "normal" overwhelms me.

I know I have so much more to update, but who wants to read pages and pages of me rambling? I will try to be better about posting more often and maybe if I remember some stories, I can go back and write that in too.

Video of Grandpa always teaching Gus new tricks!

Busy Boy

"Key Play"

My little Gus is such a busy little bee these days. He does the "wounded soldier" crawl when there is something beyond his reach that he really wants. He also likes to roll around the floor which is main mode of transportation. Other than that, he has no interest in locomotion. He does, however, like to sit and play with toys (his toys include Mommy's cellphone, remote control, lap top, etc). Grandma bought some new shoes and put a bunch of Gus's toys in the box. Turns out one of his greatest joys is taking toys and putting them in and out of the box. His face is so determined, like a boy doing a very important job. This activity is a breath of fresh air for me. I can finally put him down and he will play independently for almost an hour. Relief! I can get some work done! Please don't get me wrong. I love my son and I love playing with him. But sometimes I have to go to the bathroom. Or take a shower. Or write on my blog. And now I can do that while he plays with his boxes.

Sippy Cup

Here is Gus drinking from his sippy cup. It invovles eating so he is good at it. Still not trying to crawl though!

The Chunk

Sorry I have been a bad blogger this summer! Gus is now a week from being eight months old!

Things have been really busy around here. Plus there is Gus! I started teaching one day a week at the nursing school at local community college. It is only one day a week for 3 hours but it is A LOT of work. First I've never taught the class so there is a ton of prep work, and also we are having weekly tests. I have to say that I am more of a "practicing" nurse and less "academic." I'm trying to catch up with the terminology, but I think I am studying more than my students!

On top of teaching and working two nights a week, my parents have been gone since August 28th and they will be gone until September 20th. You could say that I am running the show on my own. It is overwhelming at times. I don't know how I thought I could have done this on my own in Virginia! Some days when I am completely sleep deprived from working all night (my shift is 7pm to 7:30am), my main goal is survival. If Gus is fed and clean and the animals have eaten, then I feel like I have won that day. Some days I actually getting to eating myself and if it is a REALLY good day I get to brush my teeth, too!

Gus is adapting to not having 3 people tend to his every need. He is playing by himself on the floor a lot. He loves my little cat Zach. Both Zach and Gus love attention and being touched so they are like two peas in a pod. The fawn over each other caressing and rubbing. Gus pulls on Zachs ears and Zach purrs in appreciation. I really thought Gus would start crawling now that he isn't held all the time, but he is a very stubborn child. On a good, he'll roll around and around and around and eventually will end up on the otherside of the room. Even though Gus lacks the gross motor skills, his strong suit remains sleeping and eating! In fact, we went back to see Dr. David and Gus was up to 17 pounds! And 29 inches! I swear all the food I give him goes to heighth and not weight! Dr. David was happy with Gus's accomplishment and we will go back the first week in November for his nine month.

You might be wondering who is watching Gus when I work nights and when I'm teaching. A neighbor watches him on night shift. He is an easy baby to watch at night since he goes down at 7pm and sometimes isn't even awake when I get home after my shift. But Cindy does an excellent job and I am at total peach when she has him because I know that he is well taken care of. When I teach from 1pm to 4pm, a girl from my chat group takes Gus. Jackie is wonderful! She is a really chill mom (a lot like me). She has two girls ages 3 and 1. Gus is totally in love with her 3 year old, and her 1 year old loves being the older woman in Gus's life. Of course you can guess what Gus thinks about all three girls giving him all their attention! He loves it at Jackies.

Last, I went to see my brother his wife and their kids this weekend. My hope is that Gus and his cousin Eli (2 years old) will be best buddies later on in life. There is only 1 1/2 years between them.

Happy baby with his sippy cup

First Hokie Game!

Jackie's baby Ruby (AKA Gus's older woman) taking away the pink doll he was playing with

Zach and Gus

Eli & Gus

Cousins!

Gus eating

Here are some videos of Mr. Gus. I finally figured out my computer and the videos. The first one is of Gus feeding himself. Usually once he gets the food in his mouth, he swallows. However, in this video he saw me with the camera and with the grin so he decided to perform. I just think the hand eye coordination for the little kid is awesome. Of course, when food in involved, Gus can do anything.

The second video is of Gus waving. Isn't he adorable?



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Gus, the traveling baby.

So much has happened since my last blog. Gus and I have been moving and shaking from one side of the country to the other. We went camping twice and made a trip to Virginia for the wedding of good friends Kent and Katie. Along the way we met up with old friends and Gus had plenty of babies to learn from.

First, we went on our second camping trip but first real one. It was just my dad, me, and Gus. Grandma stayed home with the old dog. Gus went swimming. Gus went hiking. He even stayed up for the camp fire.

That is Gus asleep while I hiked

Gus and I then trekked to Virginia for a tour around the state and to meet up with old friends. I lost my camera the day of the wedding and did not get any shots :( But I had a blast at Kent and Katie's wedding. Thanks to Heather for babysitting, I was able to enjoy my time at the wedding without worrying about Gus having a good time too.

We flew into National Airport where Emily greeted us. After spending the day with her and Geoff, we rented a car and headed to ole Cville.




In Cville, Gus had the opportunity to meet his Granddaddy for the first time. From the picture, it is hard to tell who loved who more?

Thanks to Grant and Erin, Gus and I had a place to stay that was fully equipped for baby-mania. They have an awesome baby girl named Chloe. Chloe is a couple of months older than Gus, so she showed him the ropes. Of course we had to do the obligatory naked babies in the bathtub picture:

I had to also meet up with my dear friend Theresa Love. We went out to dinner and then went back to her house for some good bonding. Gus loves her husband Chuck. In general, Gus loves tall men with booming voices. Here is a picture of Gus with T Love's daughter Mckenzie.


As I said earlier, I lost my camera for awhile so there are pictures I wish I had taken. I got to hang out with my Hokie friends like Chris Geiman (Uncle Geiman!!), Dave Johnson, and of course the couple we traveled across the country for. We got to meet up with Alison and her daughter Marley. Marley is 1 year old and she had some majorly cool toys that she shared with Gus.It was nice to visit with Heather (Gus got to stay in Heather's baby's nursery. . . thanks Avery for not getting out of your mom's bed yet!). Heather and Blain hung with Gus and were impressed by how much food that boy can eat. Since my breast milk I had left from April went bad, Gus had his first taste of formula. According to Heather, it went down like he had been drinking it his whole life.

Which brings me to my next point. Gus is pretty slow at many milestones. He only started turning over at 6 months. He refuses to "creep" or try to crawl. He can sit, but that is about it. However, Gus EXCELS at eating. It is almost scary how much he can throw down. I will try to post a picture of the boy feeding himself. Yes, he feeds himself now, too. It is a good thing that I am not a neat freak because a 6 month old feeding himself is a scary sight.

Back to our camping trips. Again, Pop-pop Gus and I went camping yesterday. This time, Gus refused to sleep and kept us up all night. It might be his last trip for awhile due to sleep deprivation.




I wanted to post pictures of Gus feeding himself and his new skill -the wave. I am still having trouble with the whole video thing so look for it as a separate post!

Gus is 6 months!

My little Gus is 6 months old now! It is amazing how fast (slow) time flies by. I can't believe the achievements he has made in this short little time. When he was only a few days and weeks old, I was worried that he:

1) was blind because he would not look at me
2) that he didn't know he had hands because he wouldn't use them
3) that he was going to sleep in my bed forever because he would not sleep in his own bed
4) that he would stop breathing any minute (this worry was brought on by the incident in which he did stop breathing and had to be hospitalized so I don't feel to bad about it)
5) that he would never take a nap . . . WAIT! He still doesn't
6)that he would not rollover

I think I get the worry-gene from my dad. I am thankful that Gus finally started rolling over. I was beginning to think if he stayed on that path, I would have to come to college with him just to roll him over. He also has started to sit on his own for long period of times.

For Gus's 6 month birthday, we had a little party in the yard. Our neighbors came and we ate cake and ice cream.

I c


Gus also loves to look at himself in the mirror. I guess this is common amongst infants. To be honest, I think he doesn't understand that it is himself, but he thinks it is one great looking baby. I see him smiling and saying to himself, "That baby is GORGEOUS!"


Finally, we went to the pediatrician today for his 6 month check-up. Dr. David thinks Gus is a very happy child who is hitting all of his milestones. In fact, Dr. David was not even upset that Gus fell off his growth chart. His current stats are :

Weight: 15pounds 1.2 ounces (10-25%)
Height: 27 1/2 inches (75-90%)

If you remember, Gus was following the 50% curve for weight, and now he has dropped off the curve. I still exclusively breastfeed him along with some supplementation of solid foods. Because I feel like my milk supply is down and now in light of Gus not gaining weight at the same rate, I was ready to throw in the towel and to start using formula. Dr. David had a lengthy conversation with me about how breastfed babies don't always follow along the chart like they should. He asserts that Gus will probably even drop to the 3% for weight before finally catching up at 2 years and this is NORMAL. He recommend that I make no changes because he is happy and healthy. I found this to be a relief and will forge on as I have. The only change I will make is I will make his food fattier by adding olive oils and butter. Lucky baby. I am to report back to the pediatricians in 6 weeks for a re-weigh. I will keep you posted!

Next week: Gus is working on his beauty queen wave. I will try to perfect it for the next blog.