The Bug is Gone!

On Friday Daniel woke up as usual at 6 in the morning. When I went to get him I saw that he had thrown up in the nig ht and realized I did not hear him. Obviously it did not wake him up either but I felt horrible. I remembered him having the hiccups but that is all I heard. I called Brian to let him know and to tell him how bad I felt. After that I decided to give him a bath and clean everything up. He played as normal so I figured it was just a fluke. I have him some banana for breakfast and he ate a little but was not his usual hungry self. I decided to call Mimi and let her know I would probably need to just keep Daniel home.  The rest of the day he seemed fine just a little clingy and I stuck to the BRAT diet. On Saturday we went to breakfast with Santa as planned and then went to a friend's birthday party that afternoon. Since Mimi didn't get to keep Daniel on Friday she offered to watch him while we went to the movies. We decided to just spend the night with them too. After the movie I began to feel nauseated. As soon as we got back to their house "the bug" began! I have not been this sick since I had a bad case of vertigo 6 years ago. We were supposed to go over to Jessica and Chris's for the Saints game on Sunday but I stayed in bed with my ginger ale and everyone else went. We went home Sunday night and I was still extremely weak. At about 3 in the morning Brian got "the bug"! Ahhh On Monday Jessica and Susan got it and then Logan and Ronnie. So far Chris is the only one who has bypassed "the bug". Brian was better yesterday afternoon so we disinfected the house and are proud to say..."The Bug Is Gone"!

Christmas Cards

We ordered our Christmas Cards from Shutterfly and I am happy how they turned out. However I wish we could have gotten a picture with Daniel smiling!

Merry And Bright Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

We had Breakfast with Santa this morning!

 Daniel's school had an event where we could have Breakfast with Santa and get pictures made. Breakfast was at 8:30 and they handed out pagers to let us know when it was our turn to see Santa. 9:15 rolls around and we had eaten breakfast and Daniel was ready for a nap. Our pager was still sitting on the table as quiet as it could be...we decided that we would just go see if we could cut in and get the picture. Daniel was falling asleep in the stroller and we new we had a matter of minutes before we would have to leave. The nice lady directing the line and collecting pagers said it was not a problem. About 15 minutes later we finally got to see Santa and by this time we knew there was not going to be any smiling for Daniel. Oh well, he probably would have screamed even if he wasn't tired. Here are some pictures from our exciting morning!

Our Family Santa Picture ( I thought he might do better if I was holding him...guess I thought wrong).

Turkey, Dressing and Croup!

This Thanksgiving things did not go as planned...the original plan was to go to my grandparent's house for lunch and then to head over to Chris and Jessica's to watch the Saints game and have Thanksgiving dinner. On Monday Daniel started acting like he did not feel well. I associated it with teething and gave him Motrin. Well, on Tuesday he was really not feeling well. I could not get him to sleep or quit crying. We decided it was time to go to PAMPA Pediatrics to get checked. I called my mom and asked her to go with me (since she was off work for Thanksgiving). We saw Ms. Debbie and came to the conclusion that Daniel had Croup. She informed us that he did not need to be around any babies or other high risk people. Well, that meant we could not go to my grandparents house or to Jessica and Chris's house. We decided we would just cook at home and be lazy. Daniel continued to not feel good and wanted me to hold him ALL the time. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful to be able to do it. At the same time though it was exhausting and I was starting to not feel well. Mimi sent me an email Wednesday afternoon asking if we wanted to come over and spend the night and celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Chris and Jess were going somewhere else for the first part anyways. I was so happy! I think I forgot to mention Daniel had been awake for the morning at 4am since he had been sick. Mimi offered to get up with Daniel and let me sleep! It was wonderful! So Thanksgiving went on, we had awesome food and wonderful family time. After that we headed home. Shortly after getting home I went to my mom's to spend the night so we could go shopping for Black Friday! We shopped from 12am - 5am! I was, sick exhausted and stood out in the rain to get into Target...it was crazy but it was so much fun. My sweet husband kept Daniel and took him to work with him on Friday morning. Then Brian and Daniel came over to my parents and spent some time with them since we did not get to see them on Thanksgiving day. My parents watched Daniel and let Brian and I take a nap!

I am so grateful for wonderful family! I am not sure what we would do without them!

My boys working on their laptops!

Sick boy eating dinner..

Poor baby trying to play.

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14 Months Old!

Whoever said time starts to go by faster once your child hits a year old was so right! 14 months?!? That just sounds so big! I know he will always grow and get older but when it is your kid it is just unbelievable how it happens so quickly! He is really a "walker" now! He walks about half the time and crawls the other half. I had this idea in my head that once he figured out how to walk he would just take off...boy was I wrong. It has taken him 2 months! He is the most careful child I have ever been around. If he can hold onto something when he is walking he will. For instance, he keeps a hand on the wall when walking down the hall and uses the cabinets when walking around the kitchen. He has perfect balance and can squat and stand multiple times but still feels the need to hold on. Hopefully this carefulness will  extend into his teenage years!

• This month he has started walking and talking so much more! 
• He has also learned how to fake cough and laugh! It is hilarious. My friend Alycia told me today that he sounded like he was "quacking" when he does it! HAHA It is just fun to see him try and interact with other and have conversations.
• He likes to be a big boy and laugh at things when other people laugh. 
• He has really gotten into the Veggie Tales and 321 Penguins episodes this month.
• He will sit still and watch a full episode or more if I let him. 
• He loves playing with puzzles now and can (kind of) put the pieces back where they go.
• He claps when he thinks he has done a good job! Like for instance, when he puts a puzzle piece where he thinks it goes or when he takes it out. It is so cute and he is so proud of himself.
• He now takes a VERY LONG time to eat. It can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes for him to eat a meal. He does eat a lot but he likes to look at his food and pick out what he wants at each bite. He is also realizing when he is thirsty more often and drinking water between every few bites. 

Watching TV very intently!

I am so thankful God has blessed us with our little boy! Life truly does not begin until you have kids.  I love my husband, Brian and am thankful that he is such a great dad. He is just as proud of Daniel as I am and if he had the time he would probably write about him too.

Time for Christmas Cards!

I can't believe it is already the middle of November! It is time plan for Christmas!  Ever since we have had Daniel I am all about ordering cards/invitations with pictures on them. I also love receiving cards with pictures! Sometimes it is the only way I get to see how our friends and family have changed. Last year we ordered Daniel's birth announcements and our Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I have since then ordered a couple of photo books, a calendar and lots of prints. I am very happy with the quality of their products as well as the turn around time to receive them. I do not think I have ever waited more than a week anytime I have ordered. I am working on a photo book right now from Daniel's first year. I can't wait to finish it and see the finished product. Once we get our family Christmas picture for the Christmas cards I will be ordering them from Shutterfly.


I have been looking at all of the new Christmas Card designs for 2010. They have so many to choose from that it is really hard to decide. I really love the single picture cards because the pictures are bigger but I found this one and I like it because it lists "Reasons We Loved 2010". I think that is a fun idea.

Love 2010 Christmas Card

Here are a couple more I really like...

Retro Metro Christmas Card

Scrapbook Style Sage Christmas Card

I guess you guys will see which card we pick when it is completed!

I seriously do LOVE Shutterfly and they offered me 50 FREE Christmas cards to write this post! And you can too! Right now Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: Click here to find out more.

13 Months - Week 4

What Happened? This was a busy week! On Friday we hung out with Jude and Jessica and went to La Bamba for lunch. We also stopped by a consignment store. When we came home I was coughing and knew something was going on. Daniel and I went to Target and Belk with Mia that evening and Mia volunteered to keep Daniel so I could get some rest! On Saturday we went to the Holiday Market at Daniel's school and to Will and Jack's birthday party. Sunday we went to Aunt Jess and Uncle Topher's house to watch the Saints win a football game. Monday Daniel went to school and daddy came home not feeling well. On Tuesday we played with Jess and Jude in the early AM and then met Alycia, Cael and Josh at the mall to let the boys play at the indoor play area. Daddy stayed home again sick. On Wednesday, Daniel went to school and when we came home Jess, Jude and Jaime (Jude's nurse) came over and we played outside. Jude had never played outside before so he had so much fun!!

"This is cool!"

Daniel trying to push Jude around!

"YAY!"

"Hmm, how does this thing work?"

Finally, yesterday Daniel, John and I, went and visited Memaw and Paw-paw Pete in Gainesville.

Daniel and Paw-paw Pete (his great-grandfather)

Daniel and Memaw (his great-grandmother)

Daniel playing at Memaw and Paw-paw Pete's

Words? da-da, bye-bye, ma-ma, hey, day-dee (he is getting better at daisy), nigh-nigh and I think that is about it.
Food? He loves to eat... sweet potatoes, chicken, mac and cheese, pb&j, spaghetti, applesauce, yogurt, sweet potato pancakes, cereal bars, peaches, cheese, bananas and much more...
Activities? He can now climb up the stairs and turn and slide down on his tummy at the playground at the mall. It is so funny to watch him!
New Things? He LOVES shoes! This morning he started waving bye-bye and grabbed my purse and his shoes, lol!
Developments? He is walking more. He still loves to crawl!
My Toddler This Week? At 13 months, many toddlers have full-blown separation anxiety. Yours may become upset when you leave him, even with friends or family members he sees relatively often. The intensity of his attachment to you is hard to resist – and he'll probably never be as unquestioningly devoted to you again. On the other hand, kids this age can be very, very clingy and you may find yourself wishing your child was a little less focused on you. There's nothing more guilt inducing than leaving your crying child with someone else when he wants only you. Five minutes after you leave, though, your little one's likely to have dried his tears and be perfectly happy.
Be as patient as you can during this tender time. Like all normal phases, it will pass. Separation anxiety typically peaks between 10 and 18 months and then gradually fades away.

 

No More!!

Tonight was the third night in a row Daniel has not had a bottle! YAY! No more washing bottles for mommy! He is such a big boy now. It is just amazing how much he understands and what he tries to do. He knows how to take his shoes off and what a DVD is. He listens to everything you say so you have to be careful. He was eating the other night at my mom's and I was telling her how he likes to take his little turkey sticks and squish each piece before eating it. He then started doing it with his carrots as I was talking about it. He has started laughing in conversations when other people laugh. I know he probably doesn't understand why he is laughing but it is just so cool to see him interact like that.

My baby has just grown up so fast into this smart little toddler that is becoming more independent each day. I know most people say and I have said before that "I can't believe how fast they grow" and "I wish it would slow down". Well, not right now. I am loving this age and seeing how much he knows. Brian and I have so much fun with him right now and I am excited to see him do more!

Sweet boy!

He looks so big!

Smiling...kind of

See all my teeth! 3 more are coming in!

Love this face!

13 Months - Week 2 and 3

What Happened? First of all, I am so behind in blogging and I want to apologize. Mommy and daddy went on a cruise a couple of weeks without Daniel. We missed him so much and decided that we will NEVER leave him for that long or be that out of contact with him again. We enjoyed ourselves but it took a couple of days of depression to get there. When we came home, Daniel had grown so much. He had fun with Mimi, Pops, Aunt Jess, Uncle Chris, Logan, Mia, Poppy, Uncle John, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Kayla! So much fun in fact I don't even think he knew we were gone for very long. Thanks to all of you for helping watch him. We had missed our neighbors, Jessica, Jude and Jonathan so we spent some time with them when we got back.

This past weekend I had a baby shower for my soon to be niece, Rachel It turned out wonderfully. We are counting down the days now until her arrival. Daniel can't wait to meet his new cousin!

Brian and I took Daniel to a Trunk or Treat for the first time and also went Trick or Treating! He got so much candy that he cannot eat and lets just say, mommy and daddy just can't let it go to waste!
Words? He said "Jude", "Night Night" and uses multiple words now when trying to say something. (ie. da-da- bye bye)
Food? He is eating us out of house and home! There is not really anything he does not like, however he prefers certain things depending on what he has a taste for at time. 
Activities? He loves to take things out of containers and put them back in. He claps for himself each time! LOL
New Things? He knows what his shoes are now and relates them to going "bye-bye" He also waves when he hears the word. He knows what a banana is by hearing the word. Whatever you do, do not say banana when he is eating something else!
Developments? He is walking more, but still prefers crawling as his main mode of transportation.
My Toddler This Week? Whether your child's a social butterfly or more reserved, you can help him develop social skills with these fun activities:

• Hide-and-seek: Chasing you and hiding from you may be some of your 13-month-old's favorite activities. Hiding behind a chair, a book, or even a dish towel, giggling endlessly as you pretend you can't find him, could be the best game on earth. Or you might be the one who hides.
• Fetch: Throwing stuff out of his crib or play yard and watching you retrieve and return it is great fun for a 13-month-old – if you agree to participate. He may also enjoy handing you toys, books, and other objects, expecting you to hand them back. This kind of give, take, and give again is actually a social game, a way of interacting with you and learning how to interact with others.
• "Watch me, Mom": Your child may love an audience and repeat any "performance" that elicits a positive response, especially applause. Take care to reinforce behaviors you want to encourage, not negative ones like throwing food.
• Mirror me: Have your toddler sit across from you. (This is a great game for the highchair.) Do something simple but eye-catching, like waving, clapping your hands, reaching up high, flapping your arms, or covering your face. Applaud and cheer for him if he does the same thing, but don't worry if he just laughs.

Nothing beats Superman!

It has been a great Halloween! We first went to a Trunk or Treat with Jessica, Jude and Jonathan and got lots of candy. Daniel was not sure of some of the people in costumes but he did lots of people watching!

 We came home and took some pictures with the pumpkin and then headed out Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. We had a blast!