Missing Melissa

Hello faithful readers who probably no longer bother to visit my blog! Yes, I apologize for being AWOL for so very long. If you would like to keep up with the lives of the Linenberger family your best bet would be to catch the sentence or two that I manage to post on Facebook each week. Yep, that's about it.

Oh, and you know those great photos of the boys I took for Christmas? The ones on the nice Christmas cards I had printed at my wonderful photo lab online? Well, they are still sitting on my desk. Labels, photos, and envelopes, all sitting there bundled together waiting to be put together and mailed. I do not think they will make it by Christmas. Sorry to burst your happy bubble! I kept thinking they would be out in time. I took the gorgeous photos of my young, handsome sons, placed them in a nice mpix card that was perfect, order the cards, the cards arrived, Christmas came and went. I'm really not sure where the past few months went. It's crazy! One minute it was summer. The next it is almost Spring. Well, at least that means we had a fast (although very snowy) winter. Maybe I will post those photos on Facebook now that I have announced that the cards will not be sent out... Hmmm... Maybe it can be time to update my family photos on Facebook so that you can see how wonderful our brown-eyed boys are doing. Yes, it is a plan.

I will post photos to Facebook sometime soon. But probably not tonight. Nope, not tonight. I just got home from Logan's parent/teacher conference (he is doing spectacular and they soooo adore him, who wouldn't!). Shaun dropped the boys off at scouts. I am just snuggling in bed for some reading...homework reading that is. I get to read three long articles and write one big message board post tonight. On the bright side I have finished all my other homework until this weekend. Also, Shaun and AJ are making a trip to Best Buy to shop for a new printer/scanner/fax for the downstairs office. I have the house to myself! Ahhh, the peace and quiet. I will enjoy the next hour of reading transformative mediation materials. All. by. myself!

If you are not my friend on Facebook yet... well, maybe you are not my friend then. Just kidding! Please be my friend. I love you all! Hopefully I will write on my blog again before another few months passes me by. I have so much to say and so little time.

Just Popping In

I just wanted to say a quick "HI!" It's been a while...I know. Life has taken off and we're crazy busy, as is usual for this time of the year. Here are a few reasons why:

Logan is playing football- two practices and one or two games, each week.
Logan's scouts and church activities
Shane's scouts and church activities
My church activities
My book club
Shaun's Primerica stuff (or rather the lack of business the past few weeks as he struggles to keep going)
My work
Shaun's work
My master's degree program online (VERY DEMANDING of my time)
AJ- enough said- We love the little guy and he goes everywhere and does everything with us. I'm surprised that he doesn't demand even more of our time. We've been blessed with such a carefree baby.

There's more...I'm just too tired to remember it all. Oh, and one sick kid a week for the past three weeks does not help. Mainly they have been sick for a couple days on weekends, but it does spill over a bit and causes us to get behind on, OH, HOUSEWORK. Yep, I'm not sure what that word means at the moment. It's not getting done. It hasn't been a priority. The house is messy but not dirty and gets picked up whenever we have friends over for any reason (photo sessions, dinner, visiting, etc.). Well, at least the rooms to be seen by guests get picked up. The other rooms are invisable so they don't really matter.

Yep, that pretty much says it all. Busy! One day I will have time to blog about my daily joys and rants once again. Today I will leave you with this beautiful little tidbit:

AJ SINGS! He has for the past two months- since about 7 1/2 months old. He started to sing at church when the congregation sang. Then he would sing when he would hear the organ or piano start. Next he started singing in the car/truck with the radio. Now he'll sing just to sing, even without accompanyment. Oh, and whenever he is in a large and excited crowd (football games especially) he sings because he thinks that is what they are doing and he wants to join in. It is soooo cute! Everyone notices and smiles and laughs. The funniest thing is that he has recently decided he needs to be just as loud as the people around him, which can mean that he gets VERY loud. I LOVE it! It melts my heart every time I hear him. This brings so much joy to my heart! I just listen and give him lots of hugs and kisses. At times he gets so into it that I have to hush him quickly when everyone becomes quiet at the end of a song. :)

AJ's Development Over the Past Month

He's on a roll! He was already rolling around well. About three-four weeks ago AJ got his first tooth. I noticed it on a Sunday. That Tuesday he crawled. That Friday I noticed another tooth coming in. The next week he was crawling even better (of course). A week later he was growing in a third tooth. I can see more on their way. Now, over the past few days, he's sitting up from the crawling position, on his own. And he's pulling up on shorter items and anything he can get a good hold on. Which means NOTHING is safe. He's really on the go now and developing quite rapidly.

At this rate he'll be walking by nine months. Noooo! I'm excited for him, but not for us. The race is on with crawling. I'm not ready for walking and running. Nope. I want him to wait. And the thing is weren't not even encouraging it. He's just doing it all on his own. He's even tried several times to cruise furniture but luckily once he takes a step he falls. He's never too happy about that but he does try again, and again, and again. If we stand him at the coffee table he lets go with one hand and reaches for anything close by. He's tried to go from the coffee table to the couch but only gets half way- one hand on each- before loosing this balance. The little rascal is getting to coordinated and too smart!

I do love his smile though. He's always so happy. He rarely gets upset. He's become pretty attached to me recently and does not like when I leave the room, even if his dad or brothers are near. Also, when he's crawling around and getting into something new he makes a laughing "k-k" sound. It's so cute! Of course this means that if we can't see him we have to look right away. He finds all kinds of stuff, anywhere. OH, and shortly after he started to crawl we had to rearrange the living room. Yes, I rearrange each season but this was a totally new layout. We now have the sectional put together in a way that puts its corner in the walkway near the stairway, thereby blocking the walkway, stairs, and stair railing. I'm creative.

The short part of the stairway is blocked by the ottoman with pillows on it creating a sitting area in the corner, with the little electric fireplace and lamp in the corner. Logan has dubbed this area the "kids area" but I have to remind him that we can hear his music a foot away on the couch, too. Very funny. He uses the area to listen to music, draw, and read. It's just big enough for him to lay on the floor. Aj likes that spot, too, because it's the only place that the outlets are being used where he can see and reach them. Sigh.

We also added a gate between the kitchen and living room to ensure AJ can not get to the stairway through the kitchen. I'm not sure what we'll do when he starts to climb on the couch. At that point we'll have to move the couch away from the stairway and railing again so that he does not launch himself over the couch and down the stairs.

Here's a recent photo taken before we headed to the rodeo. He loves animals so the horses captivated him there.

Giggles

Last night Logan and I made some monster cookies and bars to give to a friend and for us to snack on. They have oatmeal, 3/4 bag chocolate chips, 1/2 or less bag peanut butter chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter and everything that an oatmeal cookie normally has except for the raisins and half the amount of cinnamon. Logan does NOT like raisins. Although I added peanut butter I did not take out the real butter, which I think made them even better. Butter always= better. Here's what they looked like: After, well, there were a few cookies left...and a friend and his kids will enjoy some of the bars while his wife is out of town. Also last night, Logan was enjoying playing with Aj. When Aj is tired he is easy to get to giggle. I took this video with my cell phone (same with the photo above) so it's not the best, but you can still here Aj giggling if you turn your volume up-way up.

AJ Stats Update

Today was AJ's "almost" 6 months doctor appointment. I had scheduled it a week early because my boss will be out of the office for a couple weeks so I need to be here as much as possible during that time. I'll also be out of the office for two days while she is away.

Aj is now:

Height: 25.5 20% of peers
Weight: 15 lbs 14.5 oz 23% of peers
Head Circumference: 44 60% of peers

What can I say? We have big heads in our family. I think the other two boys did, too. The doctor says his family is the same, which he pointed out makes us smart.

Aj sat for more than five minutes at one time last night. Soon he'll be sitting up all the time and it won't seem like a big deal, but it was. He was so happy and playing and then finally toppled over. He wasn't happy about that so we sat him right back up. He's funny- never cries because he fell, just gets upset a bit because he wants to be sitting up. He sat and played on the floor in front of me while I folded laundry and then while I sorted and put stuff away that we'd taken out of the car.

Tonight's agenda- Shane's first baseball game of the season. Tomorrow's- Shane's second game and Logan's first of the season. Saturday- Logan's pack fishing trip, cleaning at the church, and IF I feel up to it- a hike on the Konza Prairie. Heck, I'll probably go just because I've recently enjoyed the hikes I've been on and need to do more. Maybe I'll get Shane to tag along (willingly or not!).

Love My Baby!

Having quiet children has its advantages, most of the time. Aj is often so quiet that we have little scares and have to make sure he's still alive and ok, and often he's just sleeping or playing quietly in the next room. At this point I think we'd be happy if he'd just talk more so we knew that he was there. Of couse usually we're in the same room anyway, but when he's in his crib or playing in the living room while we're in the kitchen it would be nice to hear him once in while, just to remind us that he's there. Should I even think of complaining that he's so quiet? Probably not, but it's sometimes concerning. He does "talk" and seems to be on track with all his motor skills but we've recently decided we'd like to hear from him a little more. So, we tickle him, play with him, and talk to him even more than we were already doing, just to get him to giggle and talk to us. It's a lot of fun and who wouldn't love to just sit and play with such a cute baby? Aj also LOVES to be read to.

Oh, and he's sitting up now! We've been practicing and he's getting better at it each day. Yesterday, when we had photos taken at Penny's he sat for a couple of them. He'll sit for anywhere from a few seconds to a couple minutes before toppling over. Ut-oh! Baby goes boink! He loves it. He smiles and makes sounds and movements that obviously mean that he wants to sit back up and so we start again. He's such a fun little boy. He's been sitting up more straight since last Friday or Saturday, instead of sitting forward with his little hands by his feet. He's now able to hold a toy while sitting, at least for a few seconds at a time. He's growing up so quickly. I wish I could spend every moment of every day with him and his brothers.

Since I now have "so much extra time" I have been editing some photos. Here's one I did tonight. It was taken in March, either by Anna Freeby or by my putting the camera on the tripod that same evening. I turned the entire background black and enhanced the lighting and such a little bit in raw format. I think it turned out very nice.



If my family or friends want to download this one go ahead. Click on the photo and then right click on the larger view to save it. I think it would be a good one to frame. I wish Shaun was in it with us.

AJ at Three Months

This past Thursday, Anna Freeby and I took photos of AJ, and a few of all three boys. Here are a few of my favorites from my camera. Anna probably took more than I did as she took them while I tried to keep AJ happy some of the time. I can't wait to see what she got!

This first picture is especially for Jeff, because he likes monkeys so much. ;)

Three Months Old and Traveling Again

AJ is now three months old! He's growing quickly and is more expressive everyday. Almost everytime we look at him he's sliming or soon will for us. It doesn't take much to see that beautiful baby smile. Now of course it's followed by coos and throwing his head back because he's excited. So cute! Whenever he sees or even hears us he gets all giddy. Ever since he first smiled he's been quick to smile, for any reason. We love making faces or talking to him just to see the smiles.

Of course, like any baby, he has his upsetting moments as well. He still gets gassy, still taking Mylecon with every feeding, and takes Gripe Water when it's really hurting him. Some nights are better than others. He hasn't been sleeping through the nights as well recently. He's been up with gas and has been a little fussy on and off over the past few nights. I'm really needing my sleep now that I'm working and taking classes at the same time. I get tired very easily. Luckily I'm always busy so I don't fall asleep. Once I hit the pillow at night I'm out fast. I hope this doesn't last too long!

AJ is also having a hard time with being bottle fed at daycare. I didn't realize it was still such an issue until this morning. When I dropped him off I found out he had taken two bottles yesterday morning without crying. I didn't know he'd been crying with every bottle! Poor baby. I'd much rather breastfeed him all the time but that's not possible. So, instead I'm pumping three times a day and freezing it. I'm currently making more than he's eating by bottle so we have a drawer full of milk in the freezer at home. I know at some point I'll not be making enough for him so I am storing it up while I can. We do bottle feed AJ in the car during trips and sometimes when we're out so I knew that he didn't particularly like bottles but I'm sad to hear that he's still having such a hard time with them at daycare. I purposely gave him bottles at times over the two months before he started daycare to try to get him used to them. I guess that didn't work. This next week, while I'm off work and school for Spring Break, I plan to try a couple other bottle nipples to see if we can find something he likes better. These nipples also seem to fast for him so I'll be looking for something slower.

About next week...when I agreed to come back to work earlier than my planned 12 weeks I asked for Spring Break off. This will give me a full week with all three boys. I've been looking forward to this. I don't know when I will get vacation time again since I've used all of mine for maternity leave so I plan to enjoy every moment. We are planning to visit my grandparents in the Dallas, Texas area. My grandmother met AJ when he was about ten days old but my grandpa wasn't able to visit us then. While in Dallas we're planning to find some fun, but inexpensive, activities to do. One each day. The rest of the time will probably be spent hanging out at my grandparents house and doing anything they want to do. Of course we plan to include them in any and all of our activities as well. This will be the first time we've been to Texas in several years and just had time to have fun. The past couple times, which were of course fun as well, we've had other plans, such as Thanksgiving dinners and wedding dress shopping for my youngest sister.

I'll be posting some pictures of the boys and AJ's three month photo shoot at home tonight, either later this evening or in a few days. You'll love them!

Back to Work and AJ Update

Today was my first day back to work after my nice long 10 1/2 week maternity leave. Most of that was unpaid of course, but totally worth it. It was a hard day for me, to be so far from AJ for so long. It's going to be a hard week and I can't imagine it getting any easier for a while. I LOVE babies and especially my own. Who wouldn't? The bond between a mother and her baby is indescribable. I wish I could describe it because it's AMAZING. You carry a baby while it develops within you and then give birth to it, spend lots of quality time with it, and will never loose that bond. I have spent nearly a year with this little guy one way or another so it's very hard not to be with him now. He's perfect too. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. We are VERY blessed.

AJ did very well at day care today and did ok with bottles although he probably would have been a bit happier if he'd eaten more. He takes bottles once in a while but will now be needing to take them all day while we're apart. Of course that means I'm taking breaks to pump. Fun! It is nice to have breaks from my work. I hadn't really taken planned breaks previously.

Last week AJ had his two month checkup. Newest stats:

Height/length: 23.25 inches _____%
Weight: 11 lb. 7 oz. ____________%
Head Circumference: ____ _______%

Uh, yeah. I don't remember! I'll fill in the blanks later.

Today's First: First full day at daycare. Beginning the first week of full-time daycare. (Sniff, sniff)

Below is a photo taken by my dear friend Terrie when AJ and I visited her at work last week. She sent this photo and one of her with AJ to me this afternoon to lift my spirits. She's so wonderful!

Two Month Old

AJ is now two months old! I'm sure I'll repeat this-often- time is going by way too fast! Here are some little informational tidbits about AJ:

Smiles - a LOT - and has a beautiful smile

Coos - a LOT - whenever he's awake and happy and especially when his parents or brothers are talking to him. He smiles and coos and has conversations with us.

Loves people- at this point just about anyone who smiles at him. He gets LOTS of attention everywhere we go. Strangers smile at us all the time just in passing because he's so darned adorable.

Loves to get his diaper changed. Smiles and coos then too.

Does not care too much for getting into his carseat but once he's in it doesn't mind it too much. Naps there very well and travels well. Doesn't like to be put in his bear coats either. They make him look like a little teddy bear- again more smiles from strangers and friends.

Has grown out of three or four sleepers/outfits already. Sad!

Wakes up happy every morning- we wake him up to change him before seven everyday because otherwise he'd leak. He fills every diaper (all day). He then lays in his bed (cosleeper) beside mom and smiles and coos until he happily falls back asleep about 30-60 minutes later. He sleeps on and off all morning. He's more awake in the late afternoon, evening, and late at night. He has gassy evenings and other times on and off.

Likes his swing. Likes his playpen. Likes his crib- especially the mobile Aunt Betsy is letting him use. It plays night and jungle sounds as well as music while the leaves go in and out covering the little animals. When it stops (automatically) AJ cries! He REALLY likes it. He also likes his mobile which clips onto his carseat or playpen.

Absolutely LOVES his brothers. As soon as they get home from school they run to say Hi to him. When AJ is awake he's smiling and cooing and making happy noises right back. He really responds to them. He also likes for them to hold him and play with him. He's got them wrapped around his little fingers. :)

Aj is finiky. Ok, so he takes after his mom there. No matter what mom eats (which is sometimes everything in site right now) he gets gas. However when she eats anything even the least bit spicy or something that might give anyone a little gas, that's when he shows off his gas abilities- and gets extremely fussy. Poor guy! Mom tries to be good and eat only foods that won't produce as much gas but that's hard to do! He doesn't seem to have any problems with specific foods at this point.

Sleeps a lot still. Yay!

Has good days and bad days. Who doesn't?

LOVES baths and showers. So relaxing!

Much prefers being held to being laid down- even to sleep. He does best when swaddled to sleep. Likes to be rocked and sung to when tired. Likes to be gently bounced when awake and fussy.

Gets passed around at church and other times we're around friends- a lot! Who can resist holding him?


I'm sure there's more but that's a good start! More pics to come in the next few days. AJ is awake and fussy now!

Shane and AJ- 8 Weeks

Oops! I somehow forgot to upload Shane's photo! Thanks, Kara! :) You probably can't see it -the first zit- but it's there under his lower lip.



Here's a couple more photos for your enjoyment. I love taking photos of my youngest subjects! Logan was at scouts tonight when I took the last picture, of Shane with AJ.

Special Days

Over the last week...

Shane got his first zit (a HUGE excitement for him)
AJ is now 6 weeks old
Logan turned 8 years old
Logan was baptized and confirmed a member of our church
Heather, Jeff, and their 6 week old, Garrette, visited
AJ got his baby blessing (now named in the church records as our son)
I got nothing done (hmmmm, nothing new there)

Oh, but I did have a book club meeting at my house and we did cookbooks and had lots of yummy food. That and cleaning half the house should count for something.

Here are the pictures to go along with the events:

Colorado Pics

These are all from January 1st and 2nd. Enjoy! As you can see the boys had lots of fun ice skating and sledding. AJ also had his first bottle on Jan 1st.

One Month Old

AJ is now 5 weeks plus two days old. He was one month old last Saturday. I can't believe he's already that old! On one hand it seems like he has been part of our family forever but on the other hand it seems like he was just born. This past five weeks have flown by! Here are AJ's statistics as of today's doctor appointment:

Height/length: 21.5 inches 38%
Weight: 9 lb. 15 oz. 45%
Head Circumference: 38 45%

The poor little guy got his second Hep. B shot today too so he's been sleeping most of the evening. I hope he sleeps well tonight!

AJ also had a "first" today (that was his second doctor appointment). Today, for the first time, he stayed with a baby sitter. He is going to his daycare (an in-home provider who I've kinda known for several years) while I go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45 so he's there about 9:00 to 11:15 two times a week.

Before this I had only left AJ at home, I think twice, for short periods of time with his dad. Today I left him for a little longer, with a stranger. Well, a stranger to him and someone I know but was only slightly acquainted with before now. Good thing I trust him and his wife! Randall is the daycare provider and stay at home dad- his wife works at K-State in IT and sells Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. I met Randall through his wife and have a least one friend who had brought her kids to Randall's daycare for a while. Anyway, Randall seems like a great guy. I left AJ with him with no reservations. It was a little hard for me, but I was in a hurry so I left quickly. When I got back Randall said AJ had done well. He had a couple dirty diapers, drank his bottle, and slept. He only cried for a short time when he needed to be changed or was hungry. Overall it sounds like AJ did great. Whew! I can now breathe a sigh of relief. That's one first I don't want to worry about again. It's always a little nerve racking to leave a baby for the first time!

On another note: Logan's new favorite saying is "i-yi-yi" (pronounced eye-igh-eye) or however you'd spell that...whenever he's annoyed. He says it A LOT!

Shane's news: he's going on a Klondike Derby campout- camping in freezing temps tomorrow night followed by some special cold activities on Saturday which include packing a sled and mushing it (his friends will be the dogs). Shaun is going too. Fun for him! Logan, AJ, and I will be home and cozy in our beds.

Christmas Photos Part 1

We've been having lots of fun with visiting family and enjoying some wonderful food. Here are a couple pictures taken over the weekend. More to come later this week!


This picture includes my mom, her husband Lester, and my grandma.


I put together some Christmas photos I'd taken of AJ for a Christmas card to be sent out next week (I just got around to making the card and ordering them yesterday). This photo didn't make the cut but it makes us smile so I wanted to share it on my blog.

Little Brother Gets Ready to Meet Big Brothers

Here are a few more pictures from Wednesday and today!


This is how the older boys first saw their brother about an hour after he was born. Very hard moment for me!


Shane


Logan


Flowers from my family and the Provost's office at work lined my wall and were noticed by everyone who stopped by (doctors and nurses)!


Me a couple hours ago with AJ. He's now in his "going home" outfit.


Earlier this afternoon.

Now in his outfit:



Shaun and the boys picked out the outfit a couple weeks ago. They had fun doing so!

We'll be heading home in a couple hours and hopefully we'll take lots more pictures. I'm sure we'll have a busy evening once we get home too!