Visits and Bye Bye Maternity!

Troy has been spending more time with Goli this week and it's given me a chance to get caught up on some stuff. I've got quite a few sewing projects going on right now. I start back to work next week so I need to get things in order. He is such a good baby and I feel so wonderful with her taking care of him. She probably does a better job than me!

Troy and I have been going to a nursing support group since he was 11 days old. It's been very neat having a group of people supporting one another. There are a lot of babies! If you click on the photo, you can see I'm smiling and my baby is screaming! Is this bad of me? I thought that my happiness would spread to him. Didn't quite work that way.

Me with Troy at the nursing support group party.Does it look funny that I pull his socks up to his knees? I don't know why but I like to do that? It reminds me of High School when I used to pull my socks up to my knees for every sport I played and while wearing shorts. Why? I don't know! It took me a while to start wearing ankle socks because of my monster calves. Yes, monster calves - I've always been self conscious of them and somehow, to me, pulling my socks up higher concealed them. In reality, it probably made them look larger. Anywho...

Laura and Alan came over (with Jack and Laura's grandmother) to trick-or-treat.

Here are two rascals who came over at Halloween. They were a hoot!

Dustin and Michelle came to visit this past weekend. They are our first friends from B'ham to visit. Troy says thanks for visiting guys!I took this video of Troy on his changing table this morning. I haven't been very good about catching him in action. He's so happy in the mornings. He wakes up with a smile on his face and is so darn sweet! We put his changing table in front of the window and he will lay there for a long time and "talk" to the sky. It's amazing how much this little thing will entertain adults! Yeah, it's a minute and 1 second long. I know, too long!

Did any of you who were pregnant borrow clothes from friends? If you did (or are), you know what a lifesaver it can be! I just went through my closet and got the borrowed clothes out. I mean, there is a LOT! Definitely more than I could have worn but I wore them like crazy. Don't worry guys, I didn't destroy anything :o) Thanks again to Cynthia, Mary, Meredith, Laura and Pam. I'm passing the ones I bought onto a friend to borrow. You should, too. Here are some photos of the loot.

I think this photo of Troy is hilarious. He's probably wondering why I keep putting him in awkward positions and take pictures of him. It's just so darn fun!

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Halloween and Swimming

So you probably noticed (or probably didn't) that the Halloween day post was all about Auburn. Yes, we were super excited to see Auburn beat Ole Miss. Brian and I made it to the game and decided to leave after halftime. Uh, we shortly learned that we should have stayed. If I were superstitious, I would think that us leaving had everything to do with Auburn's win. Anyway, it was exciting!
We also had a fun Halloween. The city of Auburn dictates the day that Trick or Treating occurs. That happened the Thursday before Halloween. In our neighborhood we get a LOT of trick or treaters. It's very fun and we had a great time. Last year we cooked Chicken Taco Soup so I made that again and it was delicious (not because I made it but because I followed directions)! A couple of friends came over and brought their children. They don't usually get many folks come to their homes so they had a blast handing out candy to our trick or treaters. When they got good and sugared up, the screaming began and it was hilarious. Troy slept through the whole thing and we even had him in the middle of the chaos. We are hoping for as much fun and excitement next year!
On Friday, we went to a Halloween party. Dress up, of course. If you saw my Happy "Meoloween" note on an earlier post, you saw Abbie and Troy's cosumes. I was't going to buy Troy an outfit for Halloween. Mainly because he's so little and I didn't want to pay much money for a costume for a baby. Next year will be different. Anyway, one day Brian came home with a rooster hat for Abbie. I thought it was hilarious and decided that I could make Troy one to match. My mom came over a couple of days after that and we worked on it. I wasn't going to line the hat (where you can't see the seams) because we were making a ROOSTER hat - who cares, right? Well, she is a perfectionist when it comes to sewing so she lined the thing. I added the top stuff. And, I made a rooster applique one a onesie for him. Well, for the party I decided that Brian and I would go as farmers and take our "rooster" baby with us. See below! Please disregard the pacifier in the rooster's mouth. That rooster loves a pacifier.


Before Troy's umbilical cord fell off, I was chomping at the bit to get him in the water. A couple of days after it happened, I put him in the tub with me. I quickly found out that babies float! I'm sure the rest of you moms know that but it's the coolest thing to me! Every now and then I'll put him in the water so he can enjoy it like he does. He just loves it! Please check out the videos below. After Brian stopped filming, the little rooster started kicking and it was hilarious.

War Eagle!!!

We beat Ole Miss! As I'm sure you can tell, Abbie and Troy are very excited! Abbie's shirt says "I eat Elephants"!

Happy Meowloween!!!

Our two little Roosters! Ha!

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Six Weeks and Several Firsts

WARNING: This is a long post. We've had a busy weekend and week. Since the last post, Troy has been to: my grandmother's house (including to see my dad) in Hope Hull twice; the Syrup Soppin' festival in Loachapoka; church for the first time; a pumpkin patch; the church's Trunk or Treat; his sitter "Goli" for a couple of half days; and to the Mart in Atlanta.
Below are some photos I took of Troy the day he was 6 weeks. He is such a joy, loves to smile, laugh and "talk" baby talk. He's still sleeping about 8 hours a night. Praise the Lord!

This is what I wake up to every morning: Brian has made me coffee. Very sweet!

Going to Grandma's. She watched Troy while I went to the doctor. Since I am documenting our lives, I have to admit that my arthritis is slowly creeping back. Being pregnant, I was in remission and felt wonderful. There is very minimal pain, thank goodness, but I needed my knee to be drained and a cortisone shot. It was the trick and I'm feeling much better now. Those of you who have been diagnosed know that you have to exercise to feel good but you can't overdo it. This means I won't attempt a full ironman in my lifetime. But, other things are possible. That being said, I'm back running, too. Yes, running is safe for arthritic patients. You have to do things right: eat right, stretch and exercise. So, I'm up to about 3 miles by myself and around 2 miles pushing Troy in the jogging stroller. I weighed him today and he was 13 pounds 3 ounces. So, he's a growing boy! Pushing him in the stroller is fine but the rolling hills are taking some getting used to.

Grandma and Troy:

My dad fell asleep holding Troy :o)

My grandmother made this quilt for someone else in our family. She is supposed to go and visit her sometime soon and she will receive it. Isn't it adorable? I love the cats. My grandmother quilts - by HAND. Nothing is done by machine. She's an incredible quilter. She gave me and Brian one when we got married and I sleep with it every night. I absolutely love it. Hopefully she'll have time to make Troy one someday. Of course, you don't ask for them, all you can do is hope!

At the syrup soppin' festival.

With our friends the Pettey's. They were kind enough to invite us to go. Glad we did. Troy snoozed the whole time. Mrs. Pettey is expecting a little girl next year. The guys think they're going to set our children up one day. I think they'll be friends - or enemies, like siblings.

Pumpkin Patch Photos:




He was so happy outside!

Our first photo together as a family at church:

Goli is the lady who is keeping Troy. She's taking great care of him! I've taken him to her twice this week so he can start getting used to her a little. She's been great for him.

The Trick-or-Treaters are coming tonight so I'm getting our soup and candy ready. NO, we're not giving the trick or treaters soup. That's for us!

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I'm THAT Mom!!!

You know what I'm talking about. The one who is always trying to catch each of my child's "firsts" even if it means creating them myself. After lunch with Laura and Alan today at Momma G's, I'm heading down Glenn toward Brian's work to take him something he left this morning. I see a human-sized cat wearing a police uniform on the corner of Glenn and Ross. I wave, of course and am on my merry way. Then, suddenly it dawns on me that Troy hasn't met Aubie yet! My car makes a u-turn and heads back to the police station. I think, "how in the world am I going to do this?" I had to leave the restaurant earlier than I wanted because Troy was getting fussy. After trying to feed him, to no avail, I put him in the carseat and he fell asleep while driving down the road. "Am I really going to wake this child up to try to get him with Aubie?" I pull into the station and they're leaving. I think, "Crud!" They just happen to walk closer to my car, I roll down the window and scream, "Hey, will Aubie take a picture with my baby??" What? Did I just say that? That's totally NOT me! He and his assistant looked at each other and she said, "really quick". I put the car in park in front of the police station (not in a parking spot), run to the back, take him out of his car seat, hand him to Aubie and snap the photo. Ha! I thanked them profusely, quickly got in the car before I got a ticket for parking illegally on the street and went back on my merry way! It was fun! Troy didn't scream like I thought he would. Here's his first photo with Aubie:

Here's his first lunch "meeting" with Alan:

And, I also made a video the first week we were home. He dreams really funny stuff when he first goes to sleep. I'm sure everyone's baby does this. I think it's hilarious. His eyes are open and everything. WARNING, it's a VERY long video, almost 2 minutes. Ugh, I didn't want to shorten it. Yes, I'm THAT mother!!!

One Month Checkup

Troy had his one month checkup yesterday with Dr. A. Carter. She was wonderful! She said he looked absolutely perfect AFTER she said she could tell he wasn't having a hard time eating at all! And I thought breastfed babies were supposed to be smaller - uh, this one isn't! Neither is his cousin, Colt. I love me a chunky, healthy baby, though.

I think he's hitting a growth spurt. He was sleeping a solid 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours and then another 3-4 hours through the night. Now, he gets hungry after about 5 hours. It's a bit tiring! He's eaten only 4 times since 7:30 this morning (it's not even noon)!

Troy's info:
Weight: 11 lbs. 12 ounces (90-95%)
Height: 22 1/2 inches (90%)
Head: 15 inches (75%)

What he wore to his first doctor's appt.

Relaxin' in the yard.

Our chunky monkey spo[rting an outfit made by KK.



He also has 2 storkbites (birthmarks) - at the nape of his neck and on his pinky toe. I will take photos of them soon. Yesterday, the doctor thought he was stuck too hard at the hospital on his pinky toe. I told her that we thought it was a birthmark and her husband (also a doctor) agreed. She said it looked exactly like that but was in an odd place! It's on the bottom of his pinky toe.

We're off for our first lunch date with Laura and Alan.



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New Outfits

So I made an outfit for my friend's son who will turn one later this month. Of course Troy told me while I was sleeping that he gets jealous when others get new outfits. So, I had to make something for him. My sewing blog has the new stuff I've made. Here is what I've made for Troy. Now, I'm working on Christmas. It'll be here before we know it!

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One Month Today!

I cannot believe my little boy is a month old today! He's been such a joy. Over the past month, he has become more and more alert. When he was born, he was pretty alert and holding his head up from the time he was born. He started making baby "cooing" noises when he was 5-6 days old. As of 4 days ago, he was 10 lbs. 15 ounces which means he's gaining about a pound a week so he's probably over 11 pounds now. His first month doctor's appointment is next week. He absolutely loves going outside and loves the mornings! He enjoys laying underneath his Baby Einstein entertainer and "talking" to the musical and colorful things. He also loves to be held but will tolerate being in his swing and bouncy seat. He's also very patient when I put him in his bouncy seat and sew. I think the sound of the sewing machine must be a white noise!

He's consistently sleeping at night anywhere between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 hours! To make up for that, he eats a lot during the day

Here are a few photos from today.

KK made and gave him the first few outfits. The last outfit (KissyKissy), which is so soft and a favorite, was given to him by Memama and Grandy.

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Colt's Baptism

My nephew, Colt was Baptized yesterday at Covenant UMC in Dothan. I am so grateful to God that my sister and brother in law are raising their son in honor of God. He is SO good, ALL of the time! Colt is their precious miracle and it is so wonderful that they are grateful to God for their wonderful blessing!!!
The Corbitts made it there, just in time....and Troy decided it was time to eat! We didn't get to see the service but at least we could hear it. Brian and I walked to the front of the church right around the time that the offering was being taken. Troy decided he wasn't interested in attending church inside so Brian took him outside. Of course, he was as happy as a lark! Josh and Mary had the family and a few of their friends over to their home to celebrate. We had a wonderful time. Traveling with Troy was effortless. We hope he keeps it up. Below are a few photos of everyone. Josh had to leave and go to work (he's a HS coach) which is why he's not in the photos. I wasn't able to take any photos at the church, unfortunately.
Colt in his gown, made by KK.

I love this photo of Mary and Colt!

Auburn played Arkansas on Saturday. Troy sported his new Auburn garb made by KK. I was hoping it would bring the Tigers good luck but it didn't quite work out the way I wanted! What is up with that? They played awful. Hopefully it'll be better this weekend against Kentucky. Brian and I are looking forward to going to our first game of this season. We'll be introducing a bottle to little T-man this week in preparation for us being gone a few hours on Saturday.

Troy will be ONE MONTH old tomorrow. It's hard to believe! I'm going to try my best to update the blog tomorrow with his one month photo.

I love this photo of Troy and Brian. Brian doesn't know I snapped this while we were in the lobby at the church yesterday. Troy loves to be held. He is wearing a cream linen outfit which has a round white linen collar with his initials in shadow work including cream tatting made by KK. I'll get a photo of him soon. It wasn't long after we got to Josh and Mary's that we had to change him.

We tried...

Troy is thinking about how Auburn could have saved the game!

We had to get a photo together, too. Troy is in a white gown with tucks, feather stitching and blue bias binding around the neck and sleeves (made by KK).

In other great news, our President, Barack Obama, won the Nobel Peace Prize. As I've stated before, I'm documenting Troy's life (for now) on this blog and need to keep up with current events for his sake. Although it is a huge honor for him to win this award, many are puzzled by the reason behind the award. I still don't get it (and no, I'm not getting into politics here) but will say that I find it very interesting that this award was given to him, as President of the USA, from a nomination made when he had been in office for only two weeks. Hmmmm...

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