WTF Preggo Brain-still after 8 months

I still have Preggo Brain/Mommy Brain. WTF Its been 8 months since I delivered my baby. Where is my brain!!

My co-worker came up to my desk to ask a question about his vacation days. I looked at him and while he was talking to me I was just thinking please God let me remember his name!!! How embarrassing!!! I had to ask him his name wow!!! That was the 1st!!! Seriously I want my brain back.

My little Sunshine!!!

I love how my baby loves animals. He puts a huge smile on his face.

I will be missing him today. He is spending the day and night at Grandma and Grandpa Andonians while mommy and daddy go to a wedding. Can this be considered a date night?

No more late afternoon nap

Its official ever since Alexander turned 8 months old he has decided he doesn’t need a 3rd afternoon nap anymore. I have mixed feelings about this no 3rd nap situation.

Why this sucks: Alexander needs to get to bed at an earlier time 7:00pm vs. 8pm. This sucks for mama because by the time I pick him up from Grandmas and come home its 6:15pm I have very little playtime with him.

Why this awesome: He is happy and well rested.

A letter from my Aunt.

Last week we went on our first family airline trip to Chicago to visit my Aunt, Uncle and their kids. Alexander did pretty well. he slept 1.5 hours each way. Played and cried but overall it was manageable. My Husband was totally helpful.

After our return my Aunt sent me the most beautiful email I wanted to share part of the letter with all of you. (note Char Mama means bad mama and my aunt said that to me as a joke). I love you Auntie!!!

"I also wanted to let you know I think you are an awesome mom. It's amazing how grown up you are and how well you're handling having a child. Wow, Lucy! I'm really proud of you! I can say char mama all day long, but the reality is you're a great mom! Raising children is the hardest thing I have ever done, there is not manual that tells you exactly what to do, you're always second guessing yourself. But you've got a good sense of who you are and that itself is huge. Hang in there, you're doing a great job!"

August: SMA Awareness Month

August is SMA Awareness month. (SMA=Spinal Muscular Atrophy.)

What is SMA?
SMA is a terminal degenerated disease called Lou Gehrig's disease of babies. It is inherited and it kills more children than any other inherited disease. SMA babies are born healthy. SMA will impact every muscle in the child's body hindering the ability for the child to sit, walk, stand, eat,breathe, and swallow. The mind stays unaffected and children with SMA are bright, sensitive and playful.

I never knew what SMA was until one of my friends Molly and her husband Chris went through this with their beautiful daughter June (who lived for three weeks after birth). Molly's blog has a ton of info about SMA and June's story can be read on her blog: bootsieandbull.blogspot.com.

To honor Molly and her family and to honor the memory of June, I am posting this so my friends and family can make themselves aware about SMA.

Teething Party

My baby got his first tooth a month ago and in the Armenian Tradition we throw a party called agra (means tooth) hadig (refers to a traditionally cooked wheat dish eaten on this occasion). When I told some of my co-workers they looked at me with such a shock. Who celebrates the 1st tooth. =)

Since I was a little kid I loved this Armenian Tradition so I have decided to throw my son a Agra Hadig next month. I just made cute invites and will post pictures after the event.

Here is some info about the Teething Party tradition written by: (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CA/200002748.html)
"Armenian First Tooth
The centuries-old Armenian tradition agra hadig is celebrated worldwide by Armenians, no matter where they live -- Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, or the U.S. Agra means "tooth," and hadig refers to a traditionally cooked wheat dish eaten on this occasion. The agra hadig celebrates the appearance of the baby's first tooth. The mother props the infant up on a table or on the floor and places five objects in front of the child; the first object the baby selects predicts his or her future occupation. Before the child makes the selection, its head is covered using a veil or a scarf, onto which some hadig is sprinkled to signify a wish for fruitfulness.
If the child picks up a book or a Bible, s/he will be a scholar, teacher, or clergyperson; if the child chooses money, s/he will become a banker, financier or wealthy person; if the baby selects a hammer, s/he will be in the building trades; a knife symbolizes a doctor a surgeon; and scissors foretell a life as a seamstress or tailor. In afternoon celebrations, only females attend and only sweet foods are served. When the party is held in the evening, males also attend, and a full Armenian buffet dinner is served. Although merriment prevails, underlying the gaiety is a genuine concern for the future well-being of the child, its social status and its economic prosperity. While the first tooth sets the timing for this divinatory event among Armenians, in other cultures, it frequently occurs when the child is one year old. Storytelling is an integral part of "first tooth" celebrations, and gifts are brought for the baby."

Sleep Train

A lot of my friends ask me how did you get Alex to sleep through the night? Dr. Ferber is my answer and this book is my sleep bibble.

Some parents are lucky and their babies sleep through the night without any parental assistance. I was not so lucky. For all those moms not breast feeding you must read Dr. Ferber's book. He made motherhood so much better for me.

This is a cry out method so this is not for everyone but for my family this method was great.

Alex now knows how to put himself to sleep and sleeps through the night from 7:30pm-6:30am. He wakes up very happy (koos until I pick him up).

Alexander’s 1st professional Haircut

Weekend was full of fun but Saturday was super cranky day for Alexander. He seems to be teething badly. He woke up at 4:30 am (the last time he woke up at 4:30 was before I had even sleep trained him). What a disaster!!! He was up from 4:30-8am at 8 am he slept for 30 min and was up for another two hours. He was cranky and cried the entire day. At 7pm he was in bed for the night. He slept from 7pm -7:30am. Thank Goodness

Happy baby and Mama and Daddy decided to take Alex to his 1st professional haircut at the Mall on Sunday. He did so well.

Check him out in the Rocket