When I left the BYU testing center for the last time this quote from "While you were sleeping" came to mind (cute Sandra Bullock movie). "Life doesn't turn out the way you plan. I just wish I had known he was talking about my life". I think most of us find this statement to be incredibly accurate as we go through life, but somehow when we start out toward some goal we always think we will be the exception. When I was in high school I had my educational goals completely mapped out and I knew exactly what I wanted. I didn't see the point of counseling, and having a plan B. Then in life I've learned not only do you need a plan B but sometime C,D, and all the way to some letter that would be beyond Z. Never did I think I would be completing my education with a child, but that is what life dealt me, and I can now say officially I DID IT. When I was pregnant I don't know how many people told me I was crazy and there was no way I could go back to school with a new baby. I wouldn't be able to leave the house for a month. Having a C-section I would never be able to walk all the way to campus. I maybe should be thanking these people though because really they gave me the drive to go back as soon as I could. Seriously though I can't take all the credit, so here is where I give the sentimental shout out to my husband. For those of you who hate reading about other people's wonderful significant others you may stop reading the rest of the paragraph. I could never have done it without Jeff. He has been incredibly supportive and never doubted that I could go to school with a baby, or at least never said that he did. He accepted what I wanted to do and did everything he could to help me accomplish it. He has been fantastic with watching Liam, quizzing me on language disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, and dysphagia just to name a few of the things he has helped me with. You never do something completely on your own its all the supportive people around you that make it possible.
So yes I have graduated from BYU with my bachelors in Communication Disorders, so Speech Pathology and Audiology. Is this the end of my schooling? Potentially, no. I might apply to the U's or the Y's masters program in a couple of years depending upon what is happening in life, but for now I will be staying home with the not so little Liam. Everyone says that being done with school should give me a rest, but I will be honest, I find staying home all day to be much harder. When I could have a couple of hours to myself it was really quite revitalizing even if it involved homework and tests. When I was finished I was actually kind of sad. I have loved school at BYU, it was such a great and rewarding time and when I was done I just thought "now what?". So now I create lists of projects and things to do as I stay home which I enjoy. I just made Liam his first cardigan onesie (those of you who frequent pinterest probably know what I'm talking about. I will have to post pictures, he looks so cute in it). Motherhood can be isolating, and sometimes you think you are the only one in the world who feels that way, but in reality I have just joined the group that pretty much every other mother is a part of, but then Liam is an amazing baby. Every time he does something new or gives me his toothy grin it makes it all worth it, most of the time :).
So as for the Liam, he has been doing great. He is now almost 10 months, has a mouth full of teeth, and loves creating chaos. So here is what he has been up to...
-Social Skills: He loves to show off and smile around other people, particularly young, attractive women. He is extremely sociable, and refuses to go to sleep with other people around, so at church we have to run somewhere to be isolated.
-Sleeping: I never know whether to call him a good or bad sleeper. I am kind of indifferent about the subject. It's one of those things if you tell someone he is a good sleeper and explain they'll say well MY child slept from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m and never woke up, and suddenly my child is a terrible sleeper, and pretty much the same thing if I say he is a bad sleeper. So here is how he sleeps he goes to bed at 7 p.m and usually wakes up once right before I go to bed and I feed him. After that he usually wakes up at 2 and 5 and then wakes up all the way at 7 or 7:30. So you be the judge as whether that's good or bad. In regards to sleep training, not a fan of cry it out because I'm a pansy, and the other methods just seem to be things that I already do like having a routine and such.
-Eating: From the start Liam has not been a fan of baby food, applesauce being the exception, but how can you ruin that. Liam loves real food, or whatever I'm eating. Maybe it was my attitude that made him not like the baby food, but seriously have you smelt that stuff...YUCK. I had a hard time wanting to feed it to him. I haven't found any food that he hasn't liked and I have just fed him off my own plate. Mash up whatever I have with my fork and let him go to town. He loves rice, pasta, broccoli, carrots, and his favorite would probably be apples or oranges, actually I have yet to find a food that he hasn't liked.
-Motor: He is fully crawling everywhere! He stands up on everything and walks along the furniture. He also has a very cute bouncy dance that he does whenever I play music. He also did this in front of the whole relief society during the hymns while I was conducting the music.
So a very long post as it has been so long. Hopefully now school is done I can blog more frequently.
