Fussy Baby & The World of Blogs

Well, we'll start with The World of Blogs. haha, I know I'm too funny!!! My first blog was made my sophomore year of high school (1998). It was an anonymous blog with everyone's names changed full of my high school drama. That was the best part: changing everyone's names. My 2nd blog was in the Fall of 2003 right after Eric and I got married. I never really did too much with that. There were a few more in between those, but nothing of note. So, this month I decided it was time to jump on the blog bandwagon again. I love to write & am faithful with keeping my journal up-to-date (most of the time). But, the thing that motivated me the most was someone asked me the other day what my hobbies are. HOBBIES?!?! Umm, changing poopy diapers, laundry, entertaining Judah. So, I decided to that when Judah's napping I can spend my time thinking of him and share it on the WWW. So, this isn't necessarily about Judah. It's just whatever I feel like writing about!!



Judah was a having a hard time with the teeth coming in yesterday. He wanted to be held all day and would not let me put him down. I was tired and he was cranky. Finally, I decided that I needed to get something done around the house. I pulled his high chair up to the sink so I could do the dishes and gave him a handful of cheerios. I DID IT!!! I had been holding off feeding him finger foods because I know it means that MY BABY IS GROWING UP!!! Of course he loved them and only gagged once.
Before trying the cheerio thing we I decided we would have a "photo shoot" so that's what these pictures are from. He's naked because I tried putting him in the pool (yes, I tried my hardest to keep him happy) but I had to sit in the pool with him and hold him. The pool is about 3ft in diameter and 4 inches high, so that was not a pretty sight. Good thing noone else was home.
Oh yeah, and Judah officially hates spinach. It's really the only thing he won't eat other than peaches.

Swimming Lessons

Well, the first day of swimming lessons were...interesting. It started out with them sending us to a different pool than we had thought. We thought it was in the one in the shade, but nope we were in the sun. Fortunately, I had brought sunscreen because it was already in the bag. Jenna & I lathered the babies up (she forgot hers) and we both said we'd bring their hats next time.
Judah really liked it at first, but after the songs, splashing, kicking, especially back-floating he did not know what to think. There were no tears, but no smiles either. Although, there were a few of his signature high-pitched squeals. He was definitely more interested in the toy that he gave him than any of the activities. He spent most of the time chewing on a little ball, then a dolpin until I pried them out of his hands.
The water was a HOT 90 degrees. I guess it's supposed to be comfortable for the kids, but I was sweating. I wanted to get out and cool down. haha Next time Judah gets to go underwater....

Politics

Your Political Profile

Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal

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Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal / Conservative Are You?

Our Baby Boy is Growing Up!

Well, today is Judah's big day: his first swimming lesson. He's been taking 2 hr naps in the afternoon, so I'll have to wake him up early. He usually sleeps until about 3:30. Swimming lessons start at 3:30, but we have to be there at 3 today. I hope he's not too cranky too enjoy it. I think once he gets in the water he'll love it. I'll bring the digital camera and try to snap some pics to post tomorrow. Eric is going to come next week to take pictures/video, so we'll have plenty to post then.
Also, this morning I discovered two TEETH coming through Judah's little gums. Both of them at the same time...how exciting! I've heard that babies sometimes get fussy/feverish but I haven't really noticed anything different going on. I hope I wasn't just too oblivious to notice.

Love and Marriage: A Reflection

On June 7th Eric & I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. Before getting married we dated for a year and were engaged for a year. So, our total relationship has been 4 years. A lot of stuff has happened in the past 4 years, much more than we ever imagined. We've been on 4 airplane trips, many road trips, 4 apartments (together since being married), 3 vehicles, 1 baby, started 2 businesses, thought about moving to 2 different states, decided to stay in Chico, etc...
Eric and I met in June of 2001. He had mad wakeboarding skills and I looked hot in a swimsuit. (haha) Anyway, we hit it off and started hanging out a lot. We "officially" started dating July 7, 2001 hence the significance of "the 7th." Our dating relationship was like most others. Full of fun, excitement, romance nothing too significant. Eric started to establish a real relationship with God. He'd always been a good boy, but those first 6 months he started to develop a love for reading the Bible, prayer, and the lost. He couldn't get enough of God and it was an incredible thing to watch. This was who he was created to be, a lover of God, and he was like a flower finally blooming. (Ok, I know that is so cheesy, but I couldn't think of any other way to put it. I'm sure Eric won't like being referred to as a flower...) Anyway, after those first few months we both felt like God was calling us to do a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. Separately.
Eric went to Montana & New York City and I went to Australia & the Cook Islands. Most of the time we couldn't even talk due to the time change and me being out in the middle of nowhere. We knew that these 5 months wouldn decide where our relationship was going. If anywhere. Well, we prayed and fasted and asked the Lord for direction and He gave it.
Three weeks after I got home Eric took me to the gazebo (where our wedding ended up being) at 4am, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. Of course I said YES!! We then went to Denny's with Scott to celebrate.
Our engagement was long and difficult. We had planned to get married that September, but needing to work through issues we postponed it to June. We went throught a lot, but God taught us how to hide under the shadow of His wing. This would build the foundation of having "OUR" family. We were leaving our families and becoming one.
Well, we got married on a beautiful afternoon on "the 7th." After a week of 100+ weather it was a perfect 80-something day. We then headed off for a 10 day honeymoon in Catalina Island.
After returning home the honeymoon phase was quickly over. Eric and I come from very very VERY different families. This sometimes makes things difficult, but most of the time keeps things interesting. One of our first dinners together the phone rings and Eric says we can't answer it. "What the heck? Why are we even eating dinner at the kitchen table, anyway?" I spent most of my dinners in high school in my room, on the phone. Things went from bad to worse, until 8 months later I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant.
Time to get our act together. Shortly after we started to attend Zion Worship Center. We both went to an encounter and God completely freed me of all the rejection, abandonment, anger, etc.. that I had been holding onto for the past 21 years. I let go of that hurting little girl and allowed God to come and heal me. I was a new person!!!!
Our marriage was completely healed also. Not only was Eric my husband, but my bestfriend. I could tell him anything and I felt so safe being with him. I've always referred to Eric as my rock. Of course Jesus is THE rock, but then there's Eric completely relying on him. He's not swayed by circumstances or emotions. Eric is strong and secure.
And baby makes 3!!! After 16 months of marriage our baby boy was born. We absolutely love being a family of three. Judah has added to much joy and laughter into our family.
Year 3 of our marriage we look forward to growing even closer to God and to eachother. Judah will continue to develop at a rapid pace and should be crawling and then walking in no time. We want to save for our own home and maybe even add another member to our family. :) God has blessed us indeed!

Eric's Photography

Marshall 6/25/05, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Here is one last picture Eric took today of Marshall, Thom & Laurie's son. It turned out really great & should be in a magazine!

Jordan's Birthday Party

Eric & Judah, Thom & Zoie, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

A birthday party!!!

Morgan & Judah, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Today we went to our pastor's son's birthday party. Jordah turned 11 years old. It was Judah's first time attending a birthday party and he had a lot of fun. He was extremely entertained by the kids going underwater and then coming back up. It was taking peek-a-boo to a whole new level. The pastor's daughter, Olivia who is 6 kept doing this for Judah. He wouldn't stop laughing.
I have never seen little kids so adamant about what color frosting they want on their cake. When it was time to cut the cake all you could hear is "I GET THE RED!! I CALL BLUE!! NO, I HAVE DIBS ON THE BLUE!! I WANT PURPLE!!" Note to self: when Judah gets to this age, get a cake with only one color of frosting.
Eric had lots of fun takinig TONS of pictures, as always. We'll spare you and include only two here. The first is of Judah & I by the pool and the second is of Eric & Judah and our friend Thom with his baby girl Zoie who is 16 months.
Jordan got a mini motorcycle type thing, but didn't really get a chance to ride it too much. The adult men were way more interested in it. It was hilarious to watch them ride it around the yard. Especially as the birthday boy just stood there watching.
Well all, hope you're all have a great weekend. As for us, we just got Season 3 of 24 at Costco and as soon as we put Judah to bed that's what we'll be watching!

Blogs & Comments

FathersDay_05, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Comments make the blogging world go round. They give you motivation to keep blogging. Good thing I have pictures to show, they keep me motivated. Anyway, thanks to Scott & Caroline, our bro & sis-in-law for the comments. Visit their blog at http://scottfairchild.blogdrive.com
Anways, Judah is SO CLOSE to crawling. He can push up on his knees, rock back & forth, and even slide backwards. He hasn't quite got the hand/leg motion down yet, but he's close. Of course we're excited that he's almost crawling, but I'm also a little nervous about having to babyproof our house and watch him every second. I guess this means we'll have to sweep & mop the kitchen more often. I vacuum the livingroom all the time, but the kitchen...that's another story.
Also, wanted to show you all this picture. It was one from Father's Day on our "regular" camera. I think it turned out really great, especially for using the automatic timer thingy.

Judah is 8 Months Old!

Father's Day 6/19 #3, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. I can't believe that 8 whole months have flown by with our precious little man. He came home a 7lb, 11oz eating, sleeping, pooping maching. Now he is doing SO MUCH. He can smile, sit, play, crawl, sing, he's just a little social butterfly with so much personality.
Today we went to Walmart to get some sippy cups, but mostly get out of the house. We saw Josh, Eric's old roommate, and Tara, my bridesmaid & friend from high school. Judah really liked Tara and kept smiling at her. She leaves for her dts on Monday.
Wow, hearing about her going to dts reminds me of my dts adventure to Australia and the Cook Islands. Unfortunately I spent most of my time alone reading my Bible and missing Eric. It was an awesome time spending pretty much all of my time with God, but I wish I would have made more time to make friends. I had one friend in particular, Laura, who really wanted to get close to me, but I just didn't make the time. I feel really bad about that and Laura -if you happen to read this- I'M SORRY!!!
The Cook Islands are absolutely gorgeous and I definitely want to go back someday with my family.

PS I love flikr.com You can go there and upload your pics onto flikr and post them onto your blog AND submit an entry without ever visiting blogger.

Happy Father's Day to Eric the best Papa in the whole world!!!

Father's Day 6/19 #1, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Today is Eric's very first Father's Day. We've had a fun day. We went to church (of course!) and then brought home lunch from the taco truck (Eric's favorite) while Judah napped. Then, we went to 5-mile in the park to take some pictures. The pictures of Judah are from 5 mile. We took most of them on our regular camera and are hoping they turn out as great as the ones on the digital camera.
Then we went to Dutch Bros for some iced milky ways and to ross. Now Eric is off to church again. Just wanted to show you these new pictures of Judah.
Happy Father's Day to ALL the fathers our there! (And, especially my dad)
<3, Morgan

Father's Day 6/19 #2

Father's Day 6/19 #2, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Judah's Birth Story

I know this is a little late, but I thought you all might be interested.

Labor started a few weeks before Judah was actually born. I started having mild contactions and 3 weeks earlier I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. The next week I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. That was on a Monday and the midwife was sure I would havine the baby (we didn't know the sex yet) by the weekend. the weekend came and went and still no baby.
The next Wednesday morning while I was asleep Eric got a call from the midwife. She told him to bring me up to Paradise so she could check me. We packed up all our stuff (just in case!) and headed up there about 10:30am. When she checked me I was 4cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was still having mild contractions, but definitely nothing painful.
The midwife, Cheryl, told us to go for a long walk, eat lunch, then come back. We went to a little cafe in Paradise, had sandwiches, and walked for over an hour. I came back tired, but not much had changed.
So, they hooked me up to some machine to monitor the baby (he looked great) and gave me the option of breaking my water or giving me a suppository to induce labor. If they broke my water and labor didn't start they would have to give pitocin to induce (which I did not want). With the suppository I could always change my mind and take it out. So, we put it in at about 3pm. The nurse, Keri, a friend of mine from work had Eric and I walk around and around the hospital. I was still having steady, mild contractions but still nothing was really changing.
Cheryl came back to the hospital at 9pm to check me. I was dilated to 5cm, so she said she couldn't let me leave the hospital at 5. By this time my mom & sis were at the hospital, even though I told them not to come because I didn't think anything would happen. Cheryl decided to break my water and within minutes I was having hard, painful contactions. When she broke my water it didn't hurt, but Miranda & Mom were still in the room. I told Mom to take Miranda out because she looked freaked out and was making me nervous.
It took awhile for Keri & Cheryl to figure out how to hook up the tub and fill it up, so I was laying on my side trying to deal with the contractions in the bed. Very painful! I had decided beforehand that I wanted a water birth (and no drugs!, so we had a room where they could hook up the tub right there. Finally after about 15 min (it felt like a lot longer) I was able to get in. I sat on the bottom of the tub (instead of the seat) so the hot water could be up to my neck. It felt a lot better!
As the baby was falling into place I felt like I had to poop. Although, I'm sure they wanted to laugh they let me sit on this portable toilet on the middle of the room. I had to sit on it butt naked. At the time I didn't really care about anything else, but looking back I'd have to say that's one of my most embarrassing moments.
Anyway, of course I didn't have to go the bathroom, I needed to push so I got back into the tub. They told me to keep pushing and it felt like it was all happening really quickly. After a few pushes Cheryl asked me if I wanted to feel the baby's head. I said no, but did anyway. After I touched the head Eric said I relaxed a lot more.
A few more pushes later our baby was BORN!!! Keri asked Eric what is was and he said "A BOY!!!" Then Cheryl put him on my chest and had Eric cut the umbilical cord. They wrapped Judah all up and handed him to Eric. I remember seeing Eric sitting in a chair holding him while they helped me get out of the tub and all cleaned up. A little while later Mom & Miranda came in to meet our baby. Afterwards Cheryl told me I had one of the quietest births she'd seen in a long time. I knew that screaming couldn't help and I just wanted it to get over quickly...and it did!!
Judah Paul Fairchild was born October 20, 2004 at 11:14 pm. The whole labor was only 1.5 hrs including the 14 minutes of pushing. Eric prayed all the time for a supernatural delivery and we definitely had one. We know our prophetic, miracle baby will grow up to be a mighty man of God!

Judah & Papa

Judah & Papa, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Eric decided when Judah was about 2 weeks old that he didn't want to be called "Daddy." Instead he would be called "Big Papa." This name started as a joke several years before. I called him Big Papa and would sing the song that goes "I love it when you call me Big Papa..." Most of you have probably not heard of it, it's some random rap song.
Anyway, after Judah was born this name came back to Eric's mind and he decided that he didn't want the same name as the billion other dads in the US. At first this bugged me, I guess because I just care too much about what people think. I've always admired the fact that Eric does what he wants to do, not based on what other people think of him. He is secure in who he is and really does look to the approval of God and not man. That is something I'm striving for.
Eric and I can be in a certain situation. Somebody will make a comment and I come home crushed. When I mention it to Eric he has no idea what I'm talking about. Or, if he does, he's just lets it slide off. Wow!
Back to the topic of Big Papa. I've decided to shorten it to "Papa", so it sounds more Little House on the Prarie, rather than gangsta rap.
I really do think Judah calling his dad Papa is cute. I used to babysit a little girl named Hannah who would call her dad Papa. When he would tell her to do something she would say, "Yes sir, Papa." Too cute!!
So, my confident husband can be called whatever he wants. He knows who he is and I'm so proud of that!!!

Judah after a bath.

Judah after a bath., originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

We have soooo many pictures of Judah. Here is another cute one!

Being A Mom

The past 7.5 months have been filled with thoughts like "Am I doing this right?" Being a first time mom I never really know if I'm doing things "right." People love to give their two cents, which only make things more confusing. One person will say one thing, which sounds right. Then someone will tell me the exact opposite thing I should be doing. And, it sounds right, too. What the heck?!?!
Finally, after months of taking in all this "advice" - from friends & family, lots of books, the internet, etc... I've decided there really is no "right" way to parent your child. As long as you aren't doing anything dangerous or unhealthy there are many ways to raise a happy, secure child.
Judah, at the ripe old age of 7 months, is one of these children. He loves to smile and laugh and play with anyone who will pick him up.
I've recently decided to broaden his horizons. We've been spending a lot of time at home, going for walks, and doing errands. With his schedule getting more reliable we've decided to add in special Judah activities. He will be starting swim lessons on June 28th. It's a parent/tot class and our friends Jenna & Ellianna will be joining us in the pool. We're so excited! Also, in the Fall we plan to sign him up for Kindermusik.
He already has a love for music just like his Papa (that's his dad, by the way, more about that in a future entry...) We put on music and he will bang on his tambourine or xylophone. And he loves to be sung to and will even sing along with music in the car.
Peace out, Morgan

IMGP0786

IMGP0786, originally uploaded by thefairchilds7.

Here is our little man swimming in his new pool.

A new blog for the Fairchilds

Well, we've known for quite some time that having a blog is the "cool" thing to do. "Come on Eric, we HAVE to have a blog." I'd tell him. But, his reply was "No, I'm not the blog type." So, I've decided to start this thing and hope he catches on. He'll see how cool it is and have to join in on the fun.
For real though, our baby is already 7 months old. He will be 8 months on the 20th of June. Time flies!! And, many of his good friends and special family members live so far away. They've only gotten to meet him once or twice (if that). So, come here and watch him grow up on your computer. Right before your very eyes. Judah Paul, the little computer genius that he is also has a webpage. What's the difference you may ask? Well, his webpage has pictures and is update only once in awhile. You can't post the day to day stuff. And, the webpage is ONLY for Judah. He's decided to share the blog with mom and dad. So, you can hear about the adventures of the whole Fairchild family.
Hope you've enjoyed post #1. Stay tuned for more.
<3 Morgan