I officially tender my resignation....

I officially tender my resignation as the spelling and grammar nazi. It's official, my brain is nothing more that a pile of gray mush. Neural connections that were once taught and rapidly firing action potentials now sluggishly sputter messages along sagging axons. How have I come to this conclusion? Well, I was making a Christmas gift for my parents and on the cover I shamefully wrote, "Oh how are family has grown." What's worse is that I must have read it over at least 10 times before I caught the egregious error. How embarrassing. My writing also seems to have an inordinate amount of commas when I go back to edit - maybe it's just because my brain pauses more often than it used to. In addition, I have lost the ability to discriminate between correct and incorrect compound words. When in doubt, I just fuse the two words in question together and hope for the best. Thanks god for spell check these days. I am in the process of trying to write several grants and let's just say that I am very nervous.

Truth is, Julian doesn't sleep much. Never has. Before we had him, I used to say, "Whatever, no big deal. I was in grad school. I can handle it." Well, it's a different kind of no sleep. In grad school you get to sleep eventually - for as many hours as you want. There is a reason that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture.

Long before we were parents, every time I saw someone on TV pour milk from their baby's bottle into their coffee, I always said to myself, "Yeah right, like that really happens." That was, until I poured water into my salad instead of salad dressing, before I put my dinner in the cupboard instead of the microwave, closed the cabinet door, and then stared at it as if it was cooking, and before I tried to open the door to my office with the automatic door opener from my car. I just keep pressing the button while pointing the car door opener at the doorknob, cursing the damn thing for not working properly.

And then...Julian smiles at me. He is amazing. Sleep deprivation and all, we wouldn't trade this experience for anything....is anything one word or two? Seriously.

Here are some videos for your viewing pleasure:

Hallelujah: Sleep, Teeth, and Pre-Pregnancy Pants!

Hallelujah (skies part, insert organ music and choir singing). Julian Walker Von Bork slept for 7 HOURS STRAIGHT!!!!!!!! I haven't had that much sleep since the beginning of my third trimester! When he started to fuss I awoke in a panic, looked at the clock, and could not believe my eyes. 7 HOURS IN A ROW!!!!! Funny thing is that today I feel as if I had too much sleep - as if my body is rejecting it somehow because it has been so long. Last night was in stark contrast to the nights prior when he was waking every hour or so and needed to be nursed back to sleep almost every time. Please, please, please let this not be a one time thing.

Lately, while he is awake, he is a little fussy pants. Luckily, he has been taking some long naps during the day. Poor guy has obviously been experiencing some discomfort. He has been eating his hand so much he is starting to get little sores on his tiny fingers. On Sunday, on our way back from Boulder City, I noticed his two bottom teeth trying to poke out. I can see them in there, raised up, like little white blisters. We are hoping that they will poke through any day and that Julian will get a little break from all this teething pain (he has been teething since 8 WEEKS!).

I would like to share another seemingly momentous occasion with everyone. I finally fit back into a pair of pre-pregnancy pants! Glory be! I have to credit Julian for the most part. Without my new diet, constant breastfeeding, and non-stop bouncing, I am not sure I would be celebrating this early. I haven't really gotten much exercise since little one hates his stroller (I blame the car seat), since we haven't really been able to put him down for more than a few minutes, and since I get most of my sleep between 6am and 8am (which is my ideal and preferred running time).

I am back at work and am able to have Julian here with me. I have to give my supervisors props for being so family friendly! The thought of dropping Julian off at daycare, even part time, is daunting. He continues to amaze and charm Brian and I with each passing moment. Everyone at work is in disbelief at how quite and well behaved he is for such a young baby (boy does he have everyone fooled - wink, wink). He is full of smiles and chuckles for everyone. My mom, my sisters, and my mama friends told me that 12 weeks was the magic age and they weren't kidding! Like night and day!

Developmentally, he is changing every day. He is gaining so much dexterity in his hands and is becoming more coordinated by the second. He loves to stand so his chubby little legs are becoming so muscular. We figure he'll be ready for soccer in a few months ;p. Tummy time isn't so bad now that he can hold his head up pretty well. He is also finding new (and loud) ways to express himself. Of course, the laughing is our favorite. There is nothing sweeter than his cute little giggle.

In case you couldn't tell from his videos and pictures, Julian is teeming with personality and is pretty much the cutest baby that ever lived. We are SO lucky. We are so in love with our handsome little dude:)

p.s. We added a new album to our shuttefuly page so check it out when you get a chance!