dont fall for it!

For the second time in my life, I've had a sketchy man try and get me to get out of my car in an unsafe location by telling me I have a very low tire. The first time this happened more than 10 years ago and I had just gotten new tires so I knew the Guy was full of it. The most recent was Monday night when I drove to marks to meet my mom. Now my new car tells me when I have a low tire, but I wouldn't have fallen for it anyway based on my previous experience. I saw the minute this Guy saw me and changed course to come annoy me. I already had the doors locked when he knocked on my window and I rolled my window only low enough for him to hear me. Not low enough for him to reach a hand in. He gave me the low tire story and I told him my dad was on his way and would take a look for me. He started walking off at this point only to come back to start giving me a sob story about his health and tubes in his head or something. Thank goodness Freddie and mom pulled up just then. Of course he tried to bother them too but Freddie eventually got rid of him. I was asking Daniel yesterday what he thinks these men plan when they do this. I was in a well lit gas station parking lot. Would he have tried to rob me? Take my car? Worse? Next time, instead of rolling down my window, I'm going to let a Smith and Wesson do the talking. The first time this happened my little sister said she probably would have fallen for it and gotten out of the car. So ladies, I'm sharing this with you so you don't fall for this. Better to ride on rims to a safe place then get out of the car! Be safe. Sad that I even have to share this.

PS this is my first official post from new phone!

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So behind

I've gotten on here several times over the last month to blog, but just haven't felt the motivation.  There has been a lot going on, but I often just feel like it would be too hard to try and sum it all up here.  Since it's too much pressure to try and blog about all the things I've missed, we'll just start on clean slate from here.  I will include a few photos from big events, but that's about it.

My baby sister, Anna, got married!  Woohoo!  She and Ricky got engaged this summer and were in the middle of planning a lovely Seattle wedding for next summer when God decided to change things up a bit for them!  They are expecting a little bundle of joy in June!  So instead of a summer Seattle wedding, they had a fall Cleveland wedding!  Anna made the most beautiful bride!  The wedding festivities were Delta fabulous, as always, and I wish her and Ricky a lifetime of happiness together!  They are actually looking into moving back to the Oxford area in the next couple of months, so if you have the hook up on a job for an awesome speech pathologist, let me know! 

The beautiful bride!



The happy couple at their wedding rehearsal!

I think I'm still fighting so part of the same cold I've had for about 2 months now, and the cold medicine has just completely blanked my brain. No idea what other 'big events' I was going to share with you. This is pretty typical these days! Sullivan and I have been passing a cold back and forth and are looking forward to days when we are both well!

We had a 'photo shoot' a couple of weeks ago since I haven't had any 'professional' photos made of Sullivan yet. We had a great time, and I think the photos turned out well! Below are a few of my favorites!

Sullivan has been doing great and is so much fun! He's walking/ running all over the place! We struggle to keep him contained for even a few minutes so we can get things done around the house. He is most definitely testing the boundaries. He knows all the places that will earn him a 'NO', but he will still sneak over to those places and then look back to see if we are watching. Sneaky little sucker! If we do catch him doing something he shouldn't be, he'll either throw us an 'innocent' grin or scurry off!

He is able to find even the tiniest speck of dust, dog hair, dead bugs, you name it, on the floor and immediately puts them in his mouth. He requires constant supervision! He's put so many needles from the Christmas tree in his mouth, I'm certain he will be pooping a wreath one of these days. That being said, he is a very picky eater when it comes to real food! He'll still eat any pureed baby food out of a jar, but things with texture typically get spit out. He especially seems to spit out meat which makes me wonder if this preference has always existed for him since meat totally grossed me out while I was pregnant with him. Some of the 'big boy' food items he will eat: chopped fruit (apples, pears, bananas, etc), rolls/biscuits/muffins, cooked chopped carrots, and turkey meatloaf?! Well, he ate a few bites of meatloaf one night, but didn't touch it the next, so that may have been a fluke. He is slowly learning to eat some of the Gerber graduate type meals, but is still very picky and will basically throw it up if he doesn't like it. Super fun, huh? How can any child of mine not LOVE ALL FOOD? Probably better for him in the long run!

Sullivan currently as 4 teeth full in and 2 more coming through. He typically sleeps from 7:15 pm to 6:30 am, but whenever the teething hits, he sleeps horribly and ends up in the bed with us. He is almost totally OFF the bottle! The only time we have trouble with this is if he wakes up in the middle of the night. He wants a bottle to go back to sleep at those times, and my tired self usually gives in. When you get used to real sleep, it's hard to go back!

He is trying to say lots of words and will try and repeat things you say. He still points and says 'Dat' for most things, but says 'da' for dog and 'bow' for bowl and ball, and i think i heard 'bat' for bath last night. He still loves his mommas, dadas, nannas, etc. He has started this new talking gibberish that reminds me of how the ewoks talk in Return of the Jedi. He sticks his tongue out a lot while jabbering. It's hilarious. Things he will do if asked: stick out his tongue, touch your nose, give you five, patty cake, look at your belly button, peek a boo. It's so nice that he can understand some phrases we say now, too! He LOVES Bailey and Sophie. Besides letting Bailey lick all over him, I frequently catch him holding out his food for her to have a taste! Anything he doesn't want to eat, goes straight out to Bailey or on the floor for her. I've had to really start working on explaining that we don't share our food with Bailey. I'm glad they love each other so much though. Not sure what other things I wanted to get documented here before my feeble brain forgets! I'm sure you've had more than enough for one day (if you are even still reading at this point!). To sum it up, he's wonderful, we love him, we are very happy and lucky and blessed.


 

Help Someone

My Rotary club's primary service project is The Christmas Store.  Each year we fundraise and buy toys and books for children in Lafayette County who wouldn't have a Christmas otherwise.  We have already purchased toys and books for over 700 eligible children this year.  This year there has been a definite increase in families emailing us asking for help.  Each of these emails just breaks my heart.  Granted, I've become extremely emotional since having Sullivan, but just imagining what these parents must be feeling when they write to ask us to please provide some toys for their children for Christmas is heart wrenching.  I recently read online about families who are drying and re-using disposable diapers because they cannot afford more for their children.  There are so many families living paycheck to paycheck or worse who are struggling for just the most basic necessities.  I know all my friends who read this blog probably already give during the holidays, but if this post will encourage just one more person to give, it will have been worth it.  We take so many things for granted in our daily lives.  If you want to make a donation to The Christmas Store, you can go online here or find a child in need in your area using the Angel Tree online form here or help provide diapers here.  I hope you will each thank God for your many blessings and pass on some of your good fortune. 

Happy 1st Birthday Sullivan!

Sullivan's first birthday has come and gone as quickly as the year has passed!   I've been extremely sentimental and emotional over the last few weeks leading up to his first birthday, but it's very hard to document all of that here.  I am very thankful to have this blog to document the milestones we've achieved over the last year.

After re-reading my post about Sullivan's birth a year ago, I realized there are a few other things I wanted to document, so this will be a random list!

• My labor and delivery nurse, Jennifer, shares Sullivan's birthday
• I listened to track #4 (possibility) on the New Moon soundtrack on the way to the hospital pretty much on repeat.  I'll bet Daniel knows that song by heart now!  I found it calming. 
• As I was wheeled to my room after delivery, several of the nurses greeted me as 'super woman'.  I guess my quick, drug free, tear free labor was the big news that night!  I'm actually hopeful they greet every woman like that since any Momma is a SUPER WOMAN!
• I loved being pregnant and giving birth.  Both definitely have their negatives, but it is also such a miracle.  I feel so blessed that I have been able to experience both.  I would have a soccer team of kids if I could! 
• I never knew true love or real fear until I had Sullivan.  The maternal instinct is a powerful thing.  There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep my little Pooh safe.  I also spend way too much time thinking about all the bad things in the world that could hurt him.  At the same time, I want him to experience all the wonderful things this world has to offer!  It's so hard to sit back and let him experience even when there are risks!
• Parenting is the hardest job in the world. I have so much respect for stay at home parents.  the pressures to love, educate, entertain, stimulate and get anything else done are enormous!  I actually think working makes me a better mom in a lot of ways.  I definitely appreciate the time I get to spend with Sullivan.  Although it would be easy to let work and life stress interfere with our time together, we make a point to use the hours after work to have quality time with Sullivan as a family.  (and then he goes to bed and I fix a glass of wine :))
• I made a red wine beef stew the day I went into labor.  It wasn't that great, but I had considered starting a tradition of making it every year the day before Sullivan's birthday.  It didn't happen this year, so I guess I'm off the hook for that.
• I'm STILL working on Sullivan's stocking!  I have made lots of progress and am determined to have it ready for Christmas this year!  I actually brought this to the hospital thinking I might have time to work on it before labor got going or maybe after the baby came?  HA!  How clueless was I?
• Daniel and I forgot camera chargers when we went to the hospital, so our video camera and regular camera were both dead!  Thank goodness for cell phones with cameras! 
• I sent Daniel to Newk's to get me a Margarita pizza after my water broke.  I stayed home and showered and packed and attempted to rest.  In actuality, I was so full of nervous energy, I called Daniel about 5 times while he was gone.  I should have had someone come sit with me while he ran to town I guess because I got PARANOID when he left. :)
• We had a baby pool at work to guess the delivery date.  Everyone was WAY OFF since Sullivan came 3 weeks before his due date.  I'm pretty sure that means that I should have gotten the money.  No idea who actually got it??? DANIEL?! :)
• After Sullivan was born and they put him on my chest, I kept trying to see his face!  I had only seen it for a second before they lay him on me and I just wanted to study the heck out of his every feature.  Instead, all I could see was mainly the top of his head and an ear.  It was more than enough for me to see that he was the most beautiful, perfect thing I had ever seen though.

So, what is the birthday boy up to these days?  We had a big family birthday party last weekend at the cabin for him.  I think he was totally overwhelmed by the number of people we squeezed into Bebe's cabin, the balloons, the noise, the children, the presents, the cupcakes!  He was in good spirits as usual though!  His first taste of his red velvet cupcake icing made him shudder from the sweetness!  He enjoyed smashing the rest of his cupcake with the plate rather than eating it.  As the weekend progressed, his aversion to cake was lessened since we gave him a bite of many leftovers!  We had a small (Sullivan, Daniel, and I) celebration Monday evening with another small smash cake.  Sullivan has enjoyed playing with all of his new toys and books!  *an aside here* have any of you read the book I'll Love You Forever? I seem to recall reading this book before, but holy moly!  SO FREAKING SAD/EMOTIONAL!!!  I've cried every time I've read it.  I couldn't barely speak when I tried to read it to Sullivan.  It's a doosy!  I guess I recommend it, but don't say I didn't warn you. 

Sullivan is doing great with his walking!  He'll go 5+ feet between Daniel and I regularly.  We've seen him take a few steps towards things he wants even if we aren't there to encourage or catch him.  Totally shouldn't be in a hurry for this, but it's still so amazing to watch him learn and to watch his excitement over his new tricks!  He has started to motion with his hands to show things he wants and says 'dat' or 'da' to indicate something he sees and/or wants.  He will repeat Momma and Dada on command and correctly associates those most of the time.  He can identify all of the following items if you ask where they are: spoon, bowl, dog, cat, momma, dada, bottle, juice, cup, ball, diaper, nose.  He can splash on command, clap hands, patty cake, peek a boo, give eskimo and open mouth kisses.  He loves to pick out his books off of the bookshelf each night.  He also loves to remove every book on the shelf if we let him!  He likes to flip through books and turn pages and often gets cracked up when we are reading a book at who knows what. He will eat absolutely anything off the floor, but usually won't take food you try and put in his mouth.  He wants to pick it up or take it from you himself.  He has so many new tricks that I couldn't probably keep going and going here forever!  I suppose all parents are that way.  Every stage of the last year has been special in it's own way, but I really love Sullivan's ability to express himself now.  I love that he loves us and wants to hug and cuddle us! 

We had a follow up appointment with the ENT on Sullivan's birthday and it was decided that he did need tubes in his ears.  Since the ENT does this procedure every Tuesday, we went ahead and went in yesterday.  It is incredible how quick the procedure is!  I had made it through 1 article in the magazine before the doctor came out and said he was finished! 5 minutes tops.  Having seen some of the yucky junk draining out of Sullivan's ear yesterday, I'm glad we went ahead had had the tubes put in.  I can't imagine how it must feel to have that in your ear all the time!  YUCK and annoying!  Glad everything went smoothly and hopeful for a full and quick recovery.

I love you sweet Sullivan!  You are the best thing I've ever done! 

A gata' ate my baby! or 11 months old!

You have to say the title in a Southern/Cajun accent.  You know, like 'a dingo ate my baby' in an Australian accent?  Random, but that's what popped into my head when I noticed my poor baby on the bar at the top of the page is heading towards the mouth of the gator as the year progresses. 

11 months!  Cue minor freak out.  Less than a month until my baby is a year old.  I'm beginning to believe the shock of how quickly children grow and time passes will never wane. 

What is Sullivan up to these days?  He's a busy bee!  He is a VERY fast crawler.  When we pick him up from daycare, if he is across the room when he first sees us, he squeals and crawls sooo fast to the door to see us.  Can't take your eyes off him for a second or he'll be making the rounds to all the places that earn him 'no' from us.  A few of his favorites: the rocks in the gas fireplace, the leaves that have fallen from the ficus, Baileys' bed and toys, the bar stools in the kitchen, any bug or thread or piece of whatever on the floor! 

We are getting much closer to walking.  He can now get from sitting to standing without pulling up on a piece of furniture or us to hold on to.  He will frequently let go and stand on his own and will attempt a step on his own but only if there is something to grab close by.  I think we'll see some steps before his birthday, but I'm in no rush!

Sullivan is eating many more solids and will try most things we give him.  This week he's been doing great with chunks of cooked carrots, apples, avocado, and toast (cheese or jam).  He still really likes his pureed baby foods, but is much more accepting of the chunkier varieties now.  I still struggle to cook meals we can all eat/enjoy and in time for him to eat them.  Work in progress!  Sullivan still gets 3 formula bottles every day- 2 during the day and 1 at bedtime.  I've tried adding whole milk to these to start the transition from formula, but he got really bad diaper rash that week, so I stopped the milk.  I'll probably try to add it back next week and see if that is what triggered his diaper rash.  Might be using soy milk if so!  I dread trying to get him to cups instead of bottles.  I'm open to any advice!  He is not crazy about his sippy cups, but regular cups end up spilled all over the place after a few sips.  I don't have a clue how we will get him to sleep without bottles.  I guess everyone makes this transition though. 

Sleep is much improved lately.  We get a full nights sleep most nights!  He is usually in bed by 7:30 at the latest and sleeps until 6:30 or so.  When he's teething he definitely doesn't sleep as good, but we'll take it!  As for teeth, he still has the 2 on the bottom all the way in and looks like a third on the way.  He did end up in the bed with us early this morning, but he's so sweet to snuggle up to, I don't mind having him visit on occasion! 

Sullivan is a Daddy's boy!  LOVES his Dada.  He's going through a little separation anxiety phase, so if we go to a new place with lots of new people...he wants his Dada to hold him.  I think he likes being so high up above people!  He typically wants me when he's hungry or tired.  The life of a Mom, huh?  I love rocking him to sleep, so I don't mind. 

We are getting many more 'words' these days.  Sullivan will jabber on all the time, but still says mama, dada, says 'mau' for cat and some form of 'doh' for dog and 'hey'.  He uses his milk sign for any drink I think.  He knows nose and we are working on other body parts.  He claps hands when you say clap your hands or patty cake.  He waves regularly.  He gives fives.  Tries to say bowl and repeat other words he hears frequently.  Can look to many different things when you say their name.  It is so much fun watching him learn new things every day!

Sullivan still loves his bath and naked play time after baths.  He's gotten much more affectionate and really wants to hug you, rub your arm, lay in your lap.  He'll even give sloppy open mouth kisses and eskimo kisses.  He always has a big smile for us when we pick him up from daycare or get home from work.  He is just so sweet and calm, curious, and good natured!  We are so blessed and in love! 

Wonderbar update

A few of you had asked for a Wonderbar update, so here goes.  I ordered the bigger bar.  Over the last few weeks, my stress levels have been through the roof and I've not been using my bar as you are supposed to.  I could instantly tell when I wasn't using it enough/properly.  Over all, I've been very happy with it!  Skin is definitely smoother, clearer (except for last week), and just better overall.  I'm really trying to sustain good habits with regard to diet, exercise, and taking care of me!  We'll see how long I'm able to keep it up! 

Sullivan and I took another stroll yesterday after work.  My neighborhood is very hilly, and getting my own body, much less a heavy stroller and Sullivan, up those hills is no easy task.  I was thinking about how much walking I did while pregnant on those hills- even up to the point when I my water had broken and I was having contractions.  It made me sad to realize I was in better shape then than now! I'm pre-pregnancy weight, but not pre-pregnancy fitness levels. GOT TO GET TO WORK!  Going to be much harder when it begins getting dark before I get home, but I'm determined to find a way!  So anyways, I'm trying to keep myself motivated.  The more stressful work and life get, the more important that I find a way to take care of me!  Fingers crossed!

I've been working on my knitting and stocking just about every evening lately.  I'm making great progress on both, although, I doubt I'll have the stocking finished by Sullivan's first birthday as I had hoped.  I suppose as long as I get it done before Christmas, I'll be doing good.  My 'spa cloth' is about halfway done.  I try to pick it up every few days, so I don't lose all I learned in my knitting class while I'm focused on the stocking.  It's definitely coming more easily and I look forward to sharing my progress with you all.  I'm going to be taking on a big/more complex project next, so we'll see how that goes! 

This weekend I believe we will head to the lake for a relaxing/work weekend out there.  I'm hoping to maybe sneak away to Tupelo by myself for a couple of hours.... we'll see if that happens.  It will be nice to spend a fall weekend away with Bebe and FredDaddy regardless.  Come on Friday!

getting close

Sullivan is a cruising machine lately, and is starting to let go and stand on  his own pretty frequently.  Of course, catching that on camera is just about impossible!  I was lucky to get what I did!  I'd also love to show you a photo of his two teeth, but I haven't been able to catch that either!  Oh well. 

So my earache from last week turned out to actually be a severe sore throat (on one side).  I went to Urgent Care Friday morning and they gave me meds instead of the steroid shot.  After spending the next 24 hours doped up, but still in pain, I went back to Urgent Care for the 'magic shot'.  Sure enough, by 5 that afternoon I felt well enough to attempt the Ole Miss football game.  I was very nervous about dragging Sullivan out to such a late game, but he did great!  We trekked to the grove just long enough to grab our tickets and say hello to some family before making our way to the game.  I must admit, the first loud cheers scared the heck out of Sullivan, but he was happy the rest of the time.  I think the people around us enjoyed getting to watch him as well.  At 3rd quarter we had a tt diaper blow out that required a change of clothes and it was definitely past Sullivan's bedtime, so we headed home then.  It was a great first game for him, but I'm not anxious to go back necessarily.  Even with our cushioned seats, bleachers just aren't that comfy!  Especially while holding a child.  Guess we'll have to upgrade to box seats ;).  I'll post pics from the actual game when Daniel sends them to me from his phone.  Of course my camera battery died after our one photo in the grove.

Happy Monday.

Falling apart

I'm having one of those months where suddenly being 30 something is making me feel old. I remember too vividly the days of running on little sleep, junky food, and probably lots of booze and still being healthy as a horse. Now...not so much. The past week I've been told my bad cholesterol is high, prescribed glasses for reading/computer/etc, suffered from an earache and discovered I've got the early stages of glaucoma. GLAUCOMA!! Ok, seriously, this is something you hear about your grandparents having, not people in their 30s! Anyways, it's symptomless, so I guess all the new technology to detect it means more people are actually diagnosed in the early stages. I just have to take some vitamins for the cholesterol and glaucoma, but still. Depressing. Having a child has definitely affected healthiness in our house, and not for the better. I no longer have the time or the energy to cook a healthy dinner every night. I no longer have the time or the energy to exercise all the time. This working all the time business is really interfering with my health! Hahaha. Oh well, I suppose I shall have to make more of an effort to figure out quick, easy, healthy dinners and how to squeeze in more exercise without sacrificing the little time I actually get to spend with Sullivan each day.

On a side note, I would like to mentioned something I find a little crazy. Why does the opthomalogist send you out to pick up your glasses as your eyes are dialating? Besides being totally overwhelmed by all the choices, I was half blind by the time I made a final decision. Needless to say, I ended up with one of the most expensive brands they carry, and who knows if they actually looked cute on me! I guess we'll see in 7-10 days when they arrive. After the amount of money I spent today after what my insurances covered, I think I shall direct Sullivan towards the eye glass frame or opthamalogist careers. Highway robbery! :)

knitting and other stuff

I attended my final knitting 101 class last night. I definitely learned a lot and feel more comfortable with the basics. In our last class we learned binding off, weaving our excess yarn into our projects, and how to fix mistakes. I attempted to put my 'how to fix mistakes' knowledge to use last night when I got home and continued my newest project. I say 'I attempted' because I quickly became confused and just frogged the whole thing. I was only 3 rows in, so not too terrible. Definitely need more practice on how to 'fix' things or un-knit to get to the problem areas. Since it was our last class, I had our instructor snap a few pics and then I snapped a few more to give you a peak into our class and the lovely shop, knit1 oxford!


From left to right we have, Beryl, me, Pam, and Carly! I should have taken a photo when we were finishing our first samplers rather than casting on for our newest project, since it doesn't look like we are doing much in the photos. Regardless, I have proof of our hard work and lessons learned which I shall post later!


And now one with our fabulous instructor, Meredith!

I wanted to take a few shots of the shop and projects to encourage anyone in Oxford to drop by! Lovely, lovely yarns and many beautiful 'finished objects' to inspire even a beginner like me!




This past weekend we had a visit from Daniel's brother, Zach. He hasn't seen Sullivan since Thanksgiving of last year, and needless to say, Sullivan has changed just a bit since then!



This last photo I took on the one day we had cool weather this week since I bought this outfit for Sullivan when I was pregnant and I assumed, mistakenly, that 1. he would only be 9 months old in September, and 2. that at 9 months old you can actually fit into 9 month old clothes. Regardless, I forced him to squeeze into this outfit, took his picture and dropped him off at daycare where the AC ended up going out and they changed his clothes anyway. At least I have photographic evidence that he wore it. More than I can say for quite a few things in his closet!
"why do you do these things to me Mama?"

HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU ALL!

10 months old!

Sullivan celebrated 10 months yesterday! Two more months until his first birthday! I'm completely freaking out. This year is just flying by! The photo above is the only one I could snap yesterday before my camera battery died, so not the greatest, but any pic with my baby is cute to me!

Sullivan is all over the place these days! He's fast and will be from his play area in the living room to Bailey's dog bed in about 10 seconds! I have no idea why he loves Baileys dirty, dog hair covered bed, but when he makes it over there, he just buries his whole body in it and rubs his face all over it. Probably not the greatest thing for a kid who has to take Zyrtec twice a day, but it's hard to stop him every time! He is still enamored of Bailey and Sophie and really any dog or cat he sees. He'll follow Bailey around and Bailey will bring her toys to him and drop them for him to 'play with her'.

He's definitely getting a lot more attitude and is typically unhappy having his diaper changed or his clothes changed unless you have something really interesting for him to hold during. He is still a good eater, but will let you know if he doesn't like something!

He is waving and saying Bye, giving fives still, says Hey sometimes, lots of didi and dada now that he's finally made it to the d's. Most mamas these days come when he's really upset. If you ask him where certain things and people are, he will turn and look at them like: fish, dada, bailey/dog, mama. Trys to say words like bottle and bowl.

Sleep is still touch and go. Last night he slept through the night, Sunday he was up every 2 to 3 hours. No method to the madness, but I guess we are used to it now.

He had his first fever last week, and I was a total new mom about it. Made Daniel get up and read in the baby book about fevers. it took two doses of Tylenol before his fever came down, and we didn't get to sleep until 5 ish. LONG NIGHT. Felt so bad for my poor Pooh. I knew as soon as I picked him up he had a fever. It was a dramatic difference to his usual hot head. Hopefully next time I'll be a little less freaked out/panicky. Doesn't help when your husband says, does his neck look stiff? Hello, thanks for making me even more paranoid about meningitis!

He is still happy and cheerful 98% of the time. Loves to go to his daycare and just grins at the ladies there. Loves to dance to the ABC song and just about any other music he hears. Loves his musical instrument toys and animals that sing. After bath each night, we spend about 30 minutes having naked baby play time in his room. Daniel and I will usually lay on either side of him to watch him play, and he has started sitting up and spinning in a circle, typically holding a burp cloth or diaper. We joke that he's cleaning the floor. I need to get it on camera because it's hilarious. He's wearing 12 month clothes for the most part, although he can still fit into a couple of his knit 9 month things. I only buy 18month clothing items now since he just grows so fast! STILL NO TEETH, although, about every other day someone remarks he must be teething. I swear he's been teething since 4 months. I guess they are all going to come in at once. I don't even look anymore. A watched pot never boils, ya know?

Newest trick: hamming it up for the camera. I don't know what started this, but when my Mom was taking pics of him at Gigi's house over labor day weekend, every time he saw the flash, he would make the face below. There is a video showing him in action doing this below as well.





Here he is napping in his Bebe's lap Saturday morning. Sweet angel!


We went out to the farm to visit Daddy during his break from dove hunting, and Sullivan got to see/meet baby cows for the first time!


Love my sweet boys!

On a non-baby note, I have my second knitting class tonight! Looking forward to it! Last week served as a refresher for things I had learned years ago, so I'm looking forward to learning some new things tonight! Yay for knitting!

You are a knitting queen, young and free, only 17!

So I bit the bullet and signed up for a Novice Knitting class yesterday afternoon. The class meets for an hour and a half for the next three Thursdays. I was with Sullivan when I went to sign up, and they immediately started talking about me knitting him sweaters. LOL. We'll see if I have the skill and the time to get to that point! I'll keep you all posted.

Sullivan and I are heading to Cleveland this weekend to spend time with Mom, Freddie, Sherri, Madeline, and Avery! I know Daniel is going to enjoy his weekend alone! Although, I'm sure he'll miss at least one of us! I'm hoping these sunny, cooler days continue, so we can spend some time on the porch and deck!

So far, so good!

Week 1 of the Wonderbar as gone smoothly! Had some slight redness, very slight dryness around mouth, and very slight itchiness the first day or two, but nothing since. I've worn Covergirl Clean liquid foundation for sensitive skin 3 times with no adverse affects. I use CeraVe lotion on occasion after my Wonderbar treatment. I definitely think my skin has a much more even tone, pores are smaller, skin is softer. Here's hoping the benefits continue! I never thought I'd be comfortable going to work without foundation or powder during pms week, but here I am!

In other news, Sullivan finally said Dada yesterday! Daniel was giving him a bottle and when he finished, he looked up at Daniel with a milky, slobbery grin and said, "Da..da". After that first time, he said it several other times throughout the day. Needless to say, Daniel is extremely excited! I've been working with Sullivan on several words, sounds, motions, so I'm glad some of it is sticking!

Saturday we all drove to New Albany for my grandfather's 89th birthday! We had a great lunch at Vanissi's and then grabbed some cupcakes to go from next door at Sugarees! Yummy yummy! It was great to spend some time with Gigi and DaddyTim! Sullivan had a great time at the restaurant and at their house playing with old toys! Wood blocks and toy phones never go out of style; even if the phone is a rotary phone as opposed to the toy cell phone we have at our house!


I don't know why, but I'm suddenly feeling rather industrious. Soooo...I'm got several things I'm going to try and accomplish over the coming months. 1. finish Sullivan's Christmas stocking! 2. start playing my violin again 3. take knitting lessons at the new knitting store in Oxford. As with my violin, I'm a super beginner and would love to improve! I have no idea how I plan to accomplish these things other than replacing most of my reading time at night for a while. We'll see!

wonderbar, wonderbar, we're on our way...

So I started using the Wonderbar yesterday. Before you click the link to learn about it, let me start by saying, 1. I'm out of my regular cleanser/lotions, so was looking for something new 2. i'm gonna be mad if this tiny, expensive bar doesn't do something positive. Ok, you can go look up the wonderbar now. Back? Yeah it's stupid expensive for a tiny little bar. But if it truely does replace cleanser, toner, moisturizer, yada, yada, yada, then it's not that bad. The biggest headache so far as been that you can't use mineral foundation with this bar. I LOVE my bare minerals, so this was sad news for me. Fortunately, I had recently watched an episode of Dr. Oz where he talked about the fact that mineral makeups work so well because the particles are so tiny (the reason it interferes with wonderbar) that you can breathe them in and they can like stay in your lungs. Icky. Other drawbacks to the wonderbar, the mysterious 'healing crisis' where your skin gets rid of all the toxins and can cause dryness and breakouts temporarily. Also, they discourage the use of any makeup until after the healing crisis, so today, for the first time in a LONG time, I am without foundation/concealer/powder what have you while at work. I did wear eye makeup and lipstick to hopefully take the focus off the rest of my face. I need to remember to take a photo of this sort of before phase and then document how my skin reacts to it. I can already feel a sort of tightness to my skin and maybe some slight itchyness? I could just be totally paranoid. So, for anyone else interested in the wonderbar, I'll be posting my personal experiences with it here. My fingers are crossed that it will do at least some of what it promises! We'll see!

And now, some videos of Sullivan interacting with Bailey (dog) and Sophie (cat). The video with Bailey is not really the highlight of their playtime, but is better than nothing!





P.S. the title of this blog comes from the cartoon the wonderpets. all i watch these days are kids shows, and that one just fit and got stuck in my head.

9 months!

I'm way behind on my blogging, and just realized I never did an 8 months post. Oh well. What is Sullivan up to these days? * Well, crawling obviously. He is pulling up on anything he can get his hands on and trys to cruise from different pieces of furniture. * The sounds he most frequently makes are Mama, Baba, FaFa and then just general babbling. He really trys to say Bottle, so I'll have to try and get that on camera. He'll get the ba- part, and then strains to try and get out the rest. * Last weekend he started sticking his tongue out like crazy! He hasn't done it much this week, but he wanted to stick it out constantly last weekend. * He can clap his hands, 'give 5s', wave bye bye on occasion. *He loves his musical instruments set and moves from the piano to the drums to the marracas to the tamborine. Loves them all. He loves to hear us sing 'Loving You' to him. The Lalalalala part gets his attention every time! * He's really started to get a kick out of animals- live or stuffed. He'll laugh and get so excited when he sees a dog or a stuffed animal. *He loves books! We often pick him up from daycare and he'll be off by himself flipping through a board book. He absolutely wants to help turn the pages, so I typically give him his own small book to hold while reading to him, so he can be steady turning pages. * Speaking of daycare, he still loves the ladies there. There have been some changes lately at the daycare. They moved his nursery to a larger room, so he has lots more room to crawl around. His 'girlfriend' Harper, an older woman, got moved to the 1 year old room this week for about 3 days and then decided she missed her old pals and came back to Sullivan's room. It is usually Harper, Sullivan, and Hunter (the 3 oldest kids in the nursery) hanging out together. * He's drinking out of a sippy cup on occasion, but preferst to drink out a regular cup or glass. He'll eat just about anything, but if he doesn't like something, he'll make himself gag and spit it right back up. * He weighs just over 22lbs and is 28 inches long. * He still gets up once a night most nights. We have discovered he will sleep through the night if given Ibuprofen, so I don't know if that means his teething pain is waking him up or what. Either way, we don't give him any unless it seems like his gums are bothering him. * Still no teeth popping through yet. * He has decided he doesn't want to be on his back to be changed or have his clothes changed. I have feeling he associates having to lay on his back with getting yucky medicine or having the nasal aspirator used on him, both of which he hates. If he's in a good mood or you distract him with something he'll lay there happy as can be, but most times he crys and kicks at you. Getting a bit of an attitude, although, I haven't a clue where he gets that! ;) * He's still just so happy 99% of the time! We are so blessed and fall more in love with him every day. This age is definitely fun since we get to watch him learn so many new things every day!

Crawling!

I finally got a video of my child crawling and with clothes on too! He is loving his new mobility. Starting to follow us into the kitchen if we leave him on the floor in living room or his bedroom. I've got to remember to run the roomba each evening when I get home from work! The dog hair is out of control!

I'm very tired today and not at all inspired, so this is all you get. I'll try and do better later. :)

and now for some videos

Random assortment of videos, that most will find quite boring. The first was taken after bath time last night. I apologize for the nudity, but I had to get this on camera. We are definitely progressing from the downward dog/roll to something much closer to an actual crawl. Sort of a frog hop at this point!


The next video is just Sullivan jumping in his Johnny Jump Up. Not exciting necessarily, but don't want the grandmas to miss out on anything!


This last video is just Sullivan playing peek-a-boo and playing with one of his toys. Besides the new frog hop/crawling technique, this morning Sullivan clapped his hands during breakfast! I guess he's getting used to me clapping when he eats all his food! Hope I can get that on camera at some point.


This weekend I shall begin an early celebration of my birthday, by doing nothing but stuff at home! Cooking, cleaning, gardening, relaxing! We've been on the go since Memorial Day and I'm ready for a break! The girls and I will be celebrating my official birthday on Monday with a lovely dinner and girls night out! Looking forward to it!

Happy Birthday today to my god daughter, Lulu! Can't believe she is 5 years old!

What did we do before camera phones?

All the photos below were taken with cell phones over the last week.

Newest napping spot. You'll notice Sullivan's left arm is up by his head. When he starts to fall asleep, that arm goes up and he runs his hand through his hair or scratches his head til he falls asleep. Looking back through photos, I realized he's put that arm up from the beginning! Even when swaddled he would work that arm out. Adorable!




Hanging at Aunt Nina's house. This photo was taken AFTER he had tt'd all over Nina's brand new bedspread. Good timing Buddy.


Naked Yoga. Pretty sure he naturally (and more easily) does more yoga poses than I know. I really need to find a baby and mommy yoga class.


Showing off his blue jean diapers. Apparently, the only goal of these diapers is to look cute because I've found they don't fit well and they leak. We are now trying to use these up, so we can get back to the good stuff. Cute is over rated when it comes to diapers.

good for the soul

Something a big more upbeat today. How about some baby giggles and Daniel's famous 'Baby Sandwich'!

Glutton for Punishment

First, a warning. This post is going to be fairly depressing. I don't recommend you click any of the links I provide unless you seriously want to do some crying.

A little history on where this blog post is coming from. My friend Corinne's sister lost her sweet baby just days after he was born. Lindsey and I were pregnant together, both expecting boys, and she was actually due before me. Our paths were so similar and then suddenly her path took a horrible detour. Both Corinne and her sister have blogged about the experience and life since. The words and emotions and experiences in those blogs are beyond heart and gut wrenching.

In the months since, I have been exposed to many other 'babylost' blogs through friends and friends of friends. I've also come across many blogs written by parents whose children are suffering from terrible illnesses or diseases. These blogs would be hard for anyone to read, but, as a new mom, I find myself drawn to them. They make me cry, they make me so scared for Sullivan, but they do help me appreciate the huge blessing that Sullivan is to me. I tell Daniel about these blogs and he doesn't understand why I keep reading them if they upset me so much. I don't really know either. I think part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop in my happy little life. My family are no strangers to random, sudden losses. I read these blogs about people who were so happy one day and then these unthinkable things happened to them. I almost feel like if I can journey with them through their struggle, if it happens to me, maybe I'll be better prepared. Crazy, huh? I walk a fine line between wanting to shut us all up in a protective bubble and wanting to experience as much as we can...just in case.

I never knew real fear until I had Sullivan. I suppose that's because I've never loved anything as much as I love him. The thought of losing him or him suffering in any way is agony. These blogs are like driving by a wreck. I CAN'T LOOK AWAY! I find myself asking the same questions the Moms on these blogs ask...why? Why would God allow such terrible things?

Anyways, I read these blogs, have my cry, and then try to lock those feelings away so they don't drive all my decisions and thoughts. I refuse to be ruled by fear, even though I feel it in my gut and my heart so frequently. It is a very hard thing to know you can't control everything. Can't prevent bad things from happening. Every time I hold Sullivan and rock him to sleep, I say a prayer thanking God for him and the time he has given me with him. I want all the suffering Moms out there to find some peace. I want to thank them for sharing their stories. I want to look away, but I just can't.

Some of the other blogs I follow:
One Good Thing
Williams Family Blog

4th of July

Note to self: don't travel with Anna! Anna and Ricky have had issues everytime they've flown from Seattle to Memphis for a visit. The first time, they lost her luggage. The second time, their rental car got screwed up and they had to borrow a car from one of my aunts. This last time, their flight was initially delay several hours and then their connecting flight out of Houston was cancelled due to Alex induced storms. They ended up having to rent a car and drive the 14 hours from Houston to Memphis. They got up on Friday morning at 2:30 am in Seattle and finally made it to New Albany at about 11 am on Saturday. LONG DAY of travel! We were very glad they finally and safely made it! It was wonderful to spend the weekend with both my sisters! As usual, I didn't take enough photos! I did take some with a water proof camera, but haven't developed those yet. Below are a few hat fashion show/modeling photos! We had a wonderful time at the cabin. Lots of good food and family time! Below is a video of Sullivan and his attempts at crawling. I'll say, on a bed, he can hop from one side to the other in seconds. On a hard surface, he has a bit more trouble. He's slowly getting there though! Once he can hold up that big, heavy head of his, there will be no stopping him!

Mama and the Beach

Although the video above isn't the greatest example, Sullivan has definitely got the mama sound down pat! He pretty much says this whenever he wants something- particularly to be picked up. Of course, I fall for it every time!



We had a great vacation, but I must say vacationing with a baby doesn't really include much relaxing! I did read whenever Sullivan was napping, and I got a little alone time on the beach. Most of our time was spent applying sunscreen, putting on swim diaper, putting on swim suit, gathering all the bottles, diapers, gear, etc to go to the beach or pool. Of course, by the time you get there, you've got about an hour of happy baby time before he's ready to eat again or maybe nap or cool off. Still better than being at work though!

We ate some wonderful food (lots of seafood of course) and had great family time. The beaches were beautiful, as was the water. There was a good bit of seaweed the last day, but we'll take that over oil any day! I'm glad we got pictures and videos of Sullivan's trip to the beach since who knows what things will be like next year. Don't even get me started on BP. Our condo was wonderful! Had a huge pool that was 4-5 1/2 feet throughout except for one tiny part. It was great for kids and parents having to hold/swim with kids. Huge balcony with plenty of room for everyone to sit. Great bar/restaurant right on the beach for grabbing drinks or snacks. There were several pools on the property and we did try one at the spa one afternoon when it rained. Had the place to ourselves and it was great! I saw the gym the through windows and it looked great. That's as close as I got to working out despite grand intentions. :) On the same topic, I actually purchased and wore a bikini for the first time in I can't tell you how long. Sherri and Mom convinced me, it's basically only going to get worse from here on, so I might as well enjoy what I've got at the moment. It didn't kill me, so maybe I'm turning a new leaf. Still have plans to get back to the gym though!


Daniel loves to dress Sullivan just like him. It's cute.

Chilling with his Bebe!

My sister Sherri and her girls. My nieces kept Sullivan so entertained! They were a great help!

Lunch at the beach snack bar.




Yeah I still have my linea negra to some degree. Super cute.

Sullivan trying his first cracker. Can you tell how thrilled he is?

What happens when you say no dessert.



After Florida, we traveled over to Ocean Springs for a friend's wedding/reception. It was held at The Old Place in Gautier. Absolutely beautiful old home and grounds full of gorgeous oak trees right on the river. It was great to see old college friends!

Now for my usual baby updates. Sullivan is practically grown. He's getting so big! He was 20lb 2 oz about 2 weeks ago. He's had his first official earache and antibiotics treatment. He loved the bubble gum medicine. I'm pretty sure that was another food group when I was a kid. Tasty. He has been sleeping through the night (except for while on vacation of course). He is sitting up great and only occasionally falls when reaching for a toy, etc. He is ALMOST crawling. It is definitely more of a scoot still. He begins in downward dog position and uses his feet to push him along. Funny to watch. I'll have to try and get a video of it. He loves to watch the fish swimming in the tank by his highchair. The fish usually check him out as well. This does make it a little difficult to keep him on task though! He's still just about the sweetest thing in the world. Such an easy disposition. Calm and happy and we just love him more than anything! We are so happy and blessed!