Our Bundle Of Joy & His Little Tummy

Hmm, what's been happening in the Desch household as of late? Well, here's some big news... Josh and I are making our return to the kitchen. Seriously, up until now we've had meals from people at church almost every night since we got home from the hospital, which has been nice. It felt a little strange to get back into the saddle last night, but I did get dinner on the table before 9:00 and it was actually decent, which is a small miracle all things considered. Since I'm nursing Howie and we've found him to have quite a discriminating, sensitive little tummy, my diet is somewhat limited. So this was my thought process when deciding what to make for dinner last night.
"Hmm, some kind of pasta?"
"No, Howie doesn't like garlic."
"Hmm, how about something Chinese-y?"
"No, Howie doesn't like garlic or anything too crazy."
"Hmm, how about something Mexican?"
"HECK no, Howie does NOT do spicy."
We ended up with plain chicken, sweet potatoes, and snap peas. Yummy? Yes. Crazy? No. I've learned that food experimentation and breastfeeding are NOT good companions. It's not worth trying a bite of that taco if that one bite is going to haunt you for the next several hours in the form of lots of crying and excessive spitting up. So if you're making taquitos and looking for some people to invite over, pass us by for the next several months. Howie says he'll pass.

Have a great day!!

The Little Man Who Is Currently Running Our Lives

These photos explained, in order of appearance. This is Mama's interpretation of what is going on in Howie's head.

1. Howie following a successful bathtime. Clean, dry... what more can you ask for?
2. Our toweled bedouin. Howie's impression of a wandering shepherd sucking on his paci.
3. Naptime. When Howie is truly asleep and not just snoozing, he sleeps like the dead. Josh did all kinds of sure-fire annoying things to test how asleep he really was, and this was the real deal. Howie has a vice-like grip even when asleep... we knew this boy of our's was destined to have a finely-chiseled, heavily muscled physique. I mean, look at us! (oh, wait. That's ridiculous.)
4. Howie learning to suck his thumb. "Mama, what do I do with these other fingers? They're really getting in the way!!"
5. Howie with his mama. "She's pretty cool."
6. "Teacher, pick me, pick me!!"
7. "Alas, it's hard to be a baby."
8. Howie with his grandpa during our week in Peoria.
9. Howie with his grandma, after a long day of greeting his adoring fans.
10. Getting his hair washed by Grandpa. "Ooh, that feels good!!"
11. Howie in some rocking train pajamas.
12. Hanging out in the Boppy. "Mama, the matching pajamas are a great touch."
13. Getting his hair shampooed in our kitchen.

We're doing well getting to know our little boy!! Hope you enjoy the photos!!

Funny Things Happening at Our House

1. Howie is developing a disturbing habit of pulling his own hair. On 3 separate occasions we have heard a shriek from our sweet baby followed by lots of frantic crying, only to find that he is holding a little handful of his own hair in a death grip and pulling for all he's worth. He does have a strong grip, and I feel so sorry for him! He's yet to figure out that he's the source of all that pain. Until he makes that connection, Josh and I will be particularly vigilant to prevent any more hair-pulling traumas.
2. Seeing as we live in a quite wooded setting, we have more than our fair share of critters around our apartment. We've had dead scorpions find their way into our kitchen 3 times, the same teensy frog come inside our apartment twice, and all kinds of other creatures around. We have the distinct privilege of becoming acquainted with some kind of bug or amphibian who lives in the garden outside our window. This bug/other sort of creature seriously sounds just like a sheep when it makes its bleating-type sound, hence the name we gave it, the sheep bug. But the incident the other day truly took the cake. I was home alone with Howie and heard a noise at the windows on our patio.
I looked, and lo and behold, a squirrel was crawling all over the screen of the window. Never have I been so close to a squirrel. There seems to have been something tasty in the window sill of our window. That was truly disturbing. I had to wait until the squirrel left before I could go outside, lest it should join the rest of the wildlife inside our apartment and cause some serious problems. Thankfully we have yet to spot any roaches. I can deal with most bugs now, but roaches are beyond my scope of tolerance. They are truly the scum of the earth, in my humble opinion.
3. Josh and I are quickly becoming seasoned professionals in the biohazard clean-up department. Howie is quick to dirty diapers, burp cloths, and clothing (both his and our's), and we are quick to clean it up. I'm finding that one of the most important accessories for parents is a washer and a dryer. I think that sometimes Howie makes almost an entire load by himself in just a few short hours.
4. Josh and I are watching the reality show "Age of Love" on NBC where a 30year- old bachelor has to choose between a woman in her 20's and one in her 40's. This show is desperately bad, but somehow we are totally hooked. OK, more like I'm totally hooked and I rope Josh into watching it with me. There's just not much happening in summertime TV.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I know there are other things that I wanted to mention, but my brain is fried. Have a great day!

Back & Better Than Ever

Alright, I have returned to the blogging world from my extended maternity leave. Let me tell you, becoming a mother is no small adjustment. I have left the 9 AM to 5 PM world for the 24-7 world, where the work never stops. Feed Howie, burp Howie, feed Howie some more, burp Howie again, change Howie's diaper, figure out why Howie is a little fussy, put Howie on the floor to play, pick Howie up, swaddle Howie in a blanket, put Howie in his crib for a nap, check on Howie... in between all of that I'm trying desperately to find time for the most mundane things such as, well, going to the bathroom, showering, brushing my teeth, doing dishes, making phone calls, getting a drink of water... whoever said being a stay at home mom is an easy job has obviously never tried it. Then you throw in laundry, grocery shopping, bill paying, exercising, and things just go from crazy to insane. But Josh and I are really happy and are learning to adjust to this new little person being in our lives. Howie really is a sweet baby.

I have spent this past week in Peoria with my family while Josh has been in Canada on a youth missions trip. Howie coming to Peoria has made as much of an impact as a visit from the Pope, seriously. He has had many well-wishers coming to see him, and seeing me has become somewhat of an afterthought... it goes like this. "HOWIE!! YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!" And then five minutes later... "Oh, hi Betsy. How are you doing?" Now just so you know that is a little exaggerated, but there's definitely more truth than exaggeration there. I don't blame anyone- I would do the exact same thing in their shoes.

Well, I wish each one of you a wonderful weekend! It's good to be back!!

Howie In Photos

Announcing Jordan Howard Desch

Welcome to our world, Howie!!!!!

More to come... for now, click on this link to see some pictures taken at the hospital...
http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage.asp?UrlID=2O0G9S2B7Q