Anyway, a lot has happened in the last 12 weeks. It just amazes me how quickly Micah has changed (and is changing!). Just in the last 2 weeks he has started interacting with his toys, playing with his hands, turning towards my voice (& Daddy's), and today he rolled to his side! He is a lot of fun to interact with, and it is already difficult to remember the way he was in the beginning!
Micah has also taken 2 trips to Boswell to see Gramma & Grampa King (we are actually on the 2nd trip right now) and 1 trip to NJ to see Grandma & Grandpa Goldstein. In NJ he got to go on the boat (during which he slept the entire time) and experience the feel of sand, even though the beach was quite chilly that day!
I am also noticing that the older he gets, the less he is able to handle a lot of stimulation - or new places. He screamed for over an hour before we left NJ, and has spent most of this weekend crying here at my parents' house. I also think that he is going through another growth spurt, which doesn't help matters. I just feel bad because he is typically a very happy baby!
Thankfully Micah was able to take a bottle without any problems as I headed back to work on May 21. It was quite a challenge to pump while at school, but I made it through. I have to say that after having to do that for 18 days, I was more than happy to put that equipment away! (Although I should probably still try to build up a supply again for the fall.) It worked out that my sister, Brittany, or my mother-in-law were able to come and watch Micah at least 2 days each of the full weeks of school that I had. That gave Mike a few days to work without having to worry about childcare. Then the other days Mike was on duty! I never heard of any difficulties and I think Mike enjoyed this bonding time. In fact, we are thinking of continuing this pattern in the fall (partly also due to cost): putting Micah in day care of some sort (still working on that!) for 3 days and keeping him at home with Daddy the other 2 days. Knowing that Micah was at home made going back to work a LOT easier! (although those were still the longest 18 days of work in my 8 years!!)
Now it is summer vacation and so far Micah has learned the sound of the vuvuzela quite well as I am finding it fun to watch the World Cup games. He has also walked through what will - hopefully - become the house that he grows up in. We signed a contract with HUD this past week and, if all goes according to plan, we will close on the property in late July. In the meantime, I hope to get the apartment we are in now as close to being rentable as I can with us still living there. The new property is in Manheim Township, but just outside of the city and easily accessible. It sits on about an acre of land and has a beautiful in-ground pool along with a large yard, plenty of space for a vegetable garden, a wrap-around porch, and plenty of off-street parking!
Oh, dear, Micah has woken up and is screaming terribly. I think he is partly exaggerating, but I think he is also over-tired, hungry, growing, and possibly having some digestion issues. I have no idea what I have eaten that could've caused the pain, but I also don't know what else could be causing such screaming. That is the worst part so far about being a mom - not knowing what is wrong or how to solve the problem...I just hate seeing his little tears...
I do not want to end this post on that note, but I really must go. If I don't get a chance to post pictures, check out this link.
