Laura (Mama) posts

The most gut-wrenching thing happened yesterday. It was only a matter of time before it happened and it finally did. I work 3 days a week at UIC, near downtown Chicago (a good ride from home). Yesterday, while I was at work, I got the call I have been dreading since I started back at work 9 months ago. My sitter calls me at 9:45 am. I see the name on the caller ID and have a knot in my stomach. You see, Joshua had been acting a little weird for about a day and a half. I chalked it up to post-birthday party letdown and over stimulation since his schedule was not normal for last weekend. Yesterday morning, he was SUPER sad. Very clingy and odd. Nothing seemed to be severely wrong, however, and so Andy dropped him off at the sitters. So when I saw her name on the caller ID I knew it was because he was sick and I was a TERRIBLE mom for going to work anyway.

Now, back to that phone call. The sitter tells me that Joshua has had 2 watery diarrhea diapers so far that morning. He also been more lethargic than usual (odd for Mr. Destructo). I freak out. I let her know that I will be there ASAP, find a few people at work to tell where I will be (since I am leaving), call the doctor, make an appointment for the afternoon, all while beating myself up for working and not being there to take care of my little guy. I had a sad and self-incriminating drive to pick him up.

When I get to her place, he looks really tired, but happier than when I left for work that morning, yay! We drive up to my folks house and chill there. He gets happier and happier and by after the afternoon nap he is his normal self again. I go to the doctor anyway, get reassurance that he will be fine and to be careful what I feed him for a few days and make sure he doesn't get a temperature. So overall it turned out OK. Last night he was back to squirming and discovering everything to make a mess in our house again.

I am sure there will be many incidents like this in the future as I balance being a working mom. I am trying not to beat myself up about this and feel blessed to have such a conscientious caregiver, great family, and flexible and mostly understanding work. But oh, I was so sad :(.

Urban Cowperson birthday fun

So what is with the PCness of the title? Well, mom is too lazy to type out both cowboy and cowgirl as I got to celebrate this fun day with my girl Annikah!

I had a great time hanging out with family and friends. My uncles Tom and Jon even came in for the occasion. I didn't remember who they were at first, but I warmed up to them as you can see.

Although it was cloudy, we didn't get rain until after the party. Mom keeps telling me she can't believe I'm already 1! She tells me I have changed a lot and she and Dad love me more all the time. Praise God for a great birthday party and a fun time!

Over two weeks since an update, oy!

Never fear loyal readers and fans of Joshua, we will be updating again soon. Our home computer broke so we did not have the ability to download cute pictures or write about my adorable exploits. New pictures will be posted after this weekend, when I celebrate turning one with Annikah, family and friends!

Another milestone passed

As of last weekend, I have officially gone off the bottle. Mom forgot a bottle when we went up to Minnesota to visit family (stay tuned for that posting), so she and Dad decided to see how I did drinking out of a sippy cup for milk as well as water. Pretty well as it turns out as she has now banished all bottles to a distant unknown land.

Storytime in the park

Yesterday afternoon mom and me met up with Charlotte and Nicole for Storytime in the Park. There were people telling a story (see above), but Charlotte and I didn't pay too much attention. Insted we had a blast standing up using the stroller and sharing food. Okay, okay, we didn't so much share as I mooched from her!