Next Blog

Have you ever hit "next blog" from a blog on blogger? Try it. Can be quite interesting.
One day I hit next blog and was introduced to a man in the midwest who was selling horses. That one then led to more horses being sold, horses being born. YES, being BORN. Omg, I wasn't expecting that and it was a bit disturbing at first. I know, I know, I've talked about nursing and milk and all of that stuff. But, I wasn't expecting horse births. I still don't quite get why one blog about horses led to another about horses.
Anyway......
On the "next blog" tonight was a story about a little girl who got a bean stuck up her nose. Her grandfather used a baby suction to squirt water up the clear nostril to blow out the bean. The next one was about a guy fussing about facebook so he deleted his profile (all the while spray painting something mean about fb on the sidewalk). Then there was a lady who returned from a trip to Taiwan and posted photos of food she saw while there. She had to have posted at LEAST 50 photos. No, I didn't look at all of them.....random stuff, I know!
I am working in Mobile this week. I'd say this is my 5th or so time out of town this year (overnight). When I stay overnight more than one night, I usually start web searching, take my sewing machine or bring a book I have been meaning to read for a while. Yes, Brian, I have DEWEY with me! Nope, I haven't opened it again.
Dewey is about a library cat who "changed the world" or something like that. B gave it to me Christmas before last and re-gifted it to me this past Christmas. I thought I'd start reading it on the way to Big Sur in April BUT I didn't. I smocked!
So while I'm dying to hear all about Dewey and how he changed the world, I am sticking to searching random blogs, listening to So you think you can dance (dance, dance....).
Last night I assembled half of the 3 outfits I'm trying to finish. I'm about to finish what I can. Didn't bring any buttons or snaps. Darnit!


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Troy's Nine Month Update

Troy had his 9 month appointment yesterday. His weight at the doctor's office was 24 lbs, 2 ounces. The day before at the hospital it was 24 lbs, 10 ounces. So, I figure he's somewhere in between (maybe). Height: 29 inches. Head: 18 inches. He's in the 90th percentile for everything. He's still a big boy. Loves to eat pretty much anything. I haven't been very creative with his main meals (meats, fish) and I think he gets bored with what we give him. But, we have given him spaghetti which he loves. Oh, and grapes. He seems to like those also. I haven't allowed him to take the spoon yet....not ready to start cleaning up those messes!
He's definitely in 12 to 18 month clothes. He is VERY mobile and has started "letting go" and standing up on his own for several seconds at a time. I am not thinking he will be walking too soon but maybe before he's a year old.
He loves, loves, loves Abbie. She still despises him and since he's gotten much faster and can catch up with her, she began hissing at him again. Poor thing! She just doesn't realize he isn't going away.


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Father's Day

We had a fantastic Father's Day. B decided he wanted to spend time with his folks and celebrate his FIRST Father's Day (as a baby daddy). We were supposed to head to Niceville for Memorial Day but Memama got the flu and we had to cancel.

Gratefully we were able to leave Thursday night. We thought that if we fed Troy and left shortly afterward, he would sleep the whole way there and we would have a smooth, quiet drive. Not! Sleeping was not on his mind so we sang, talked, read (well, I read) and about 45 minutes from Memama and Grandy's house, he fell asleep. Thank goodness.

Anyway, we had a great weekend. Lots of eating, sleeping, playing in the pool and hanging out. Jeff, Amy and their kids made their way over on Saturday. We all made it to the beach on Sunday.

B, thank you so much for what you do! You work so hard to provide for us, you play great with Troy. I love how he gets so excited to see you home each and every day. When I'm working overnight or take some girl time, I love it that you are so willing to step in and take care of our little boy. Even before he came, you were so great. And, thank you for making me breakfast and coffee every morning. Yes, EVERY morning! Changing those dirty diapers is a nice chore you've taken over, too.

B got a photo book I created on smugmug and he says he loves it. I'd say it's priceless when the father of your child tears up while reading a book made by his wife recounting the first few, precious months of his own child.

Happy Father's Day!

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Tragedy

I was hoping to post about Father's Day weekend but I feel compelled to write about what I learned today.
The H's are close family friends. Mrs. H has two children and 4 grandchildren. The H's have considered Brian one of their own. Brian and their son, Chad, grew up together, were best friends, played sports together, same grade, etc. The H's are best friends with my inlaws. They threw us a wedding shower, then a baby shower. In fact, last weekend we saw them and Mr. H shucked the stew out of some oysters. His hand probably still hurts from all of those suckers. The H's were one of the first families I met when I visited Brian's parents for the first time. At the Cannons for a fish fry during a 4th of July weekend, I believe. Or, at the old Mexican restaurant their group of friends used to frequent on Friday nights. I've known them for years and I've seen what wonderful, caring, sweet, funny, spunky people they are. They love their grandchildren dearly.
I met their oldest grandchild, A, when she was just a tiny thing. We played Barbies together. I think I met her shortly after she was born. She has been spunky (like her mother and grandmother) since she was able to talk I believe. A is special. I've seen her relationship with her mother which seems more like a friend relationship. I saw her about a year ago at the baby shower her grandmother threw for our family. That was the last time.
Brian called me this morning and said she was driving home, just a few feet from her parents driveway. She had her brother, M, in the car with her. A man driving a car, rumored to be drunk, ran a stop sign and t-boned A's car. She died. M is going to be okay - physically. She died. I cannot believe it. Allegedly her positioning saved her brother's life. Wow. I don't remember knowing anyone personally whose child died unexpectedly. A's parents were both out of town, her grandparents heard that there was an accident, headed toward her home and saw her. It makes my heart sink. I cannot imagine what this family is going through. I don't want to imagine.

As soon as I got off the phone with Brian, I couldn't hold it back anymore. I hit my knees and prayed. For what? What do you pray for in this situation? I prayed for God's grace. For his magical Grace to do what it needs to do. I prayed for M. He's 13. He was in that car with his sister. Their family has been forever changed. I prayed that there will be some good that comes out of this? Can there be? I prayed for that guy. He's someone's son, too. What he did is horrible. Horrible. I prayed that he will repent and be redeemed . What else do you do? I want to be mad at him but is that right? I don't know. What's done is done. This family will never be the same. Ever.
H's, I hope this is okay that I posted this. I love you guys. More than you know. Yes, unemotional me! I really do. I'm so, so, so sorry about what happened.

.....I am so sorry.


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Troy at Nine Months

Troy is an active nine month old. He weighs over 24 pounds (his 9 month appt is this week so I'll have to update the true weight soon). Cruising is his thing. Within a week of crawling, he was pulling up and another week later, he was crusing around furniture. We've had to put locks on the cabinets since he has discovered not only how to open them, but to pull stuff out of them. He is a very busy bee. He can crawl from his room, through the media room, kitchen, living room, hallway and into our bedroom. It's a good little trek but he seems to know where he's going!

Although we don't have stairs at our house (beside into the garage and on the deck), he has mastered climbing up stairs. Must not be that hard for babies.

He loves pretty much anything to eat. His favorites are yogurt and just about any fruit. Don't give him fruit first or he'll throw a fit. And, when he finishes yogurt, he throws a fit - every. single. time. It's just part of what he does.

Diapers: Size Medium gdiapers but we're gradually getting him into large gdiapers. He still wears some size 3 disposable diapers because we bought a box almost 4 months ago and he's not finished with them. We'll keep trying to squeeze him into them until either we can't or he's out of them.

Troy loves his music table and loves to dance. If he hears music ANYTIME (on tv, the radio, in a restaurant or at the grocery store), he gets to dancing!

Here he is in his room while we were trying to get a photo of him in his bed......

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Here's the Story

About two cousins. Taking a trip in the wagon. Here is before we left:


Apparently Colt was sleepy....

Bless his heart!

I was by myself so I felt like I needed to get Troy out first. Here's what happened.....
SO sad! I don't think Troy expected Colt to get upset. LOL!

P.S. I picked both boys up and rocked them right after this. They were fine....almost 50 pounds of them combined!

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Weeding

Do you have something you enjoy doing? Not like sewing or running. Something you'd rather not do for anyone else but gives you complete pleasure? For me, that's pulling weeds. I love them. Well, it's a love-hate relationship. I don't like them in my yard but when I see them, well I LOVE to pull them. If you came to my yard, you'd see that we have a lot of weeds. Remember, I have a baby....and a few hobbies, a job, other things, etc. Anyway, when I'm outside, I ALWAYS pull weeds. There's something gratifying about successfully snatching up one of those little boogers by the root. Miss the root and it's devastating.

This afternoon, we had some visits from our cousins Becky and Hank. After a great visit, they headed on their way. I was holding Troy and walked outside with them so he could wave goodbye. Then, I saw those crazy weeds just dangling themselves out of the grass. Of course I had to pull some! I set Troy on the grass and while I stayed in the front yard, I looked at him every couple of minutes. While he pulled on the grass, I proudly plucked several weeds from our yard. The oblivious crabgrass caught my attention and I pulled away. After a good 3 to 4 minutes, I noticed Troy was on the sidewalk (no, he wasn't near the road) patting the ground. As I walked over to check on what he was doing, I saw his hands in the small, muddy, watery hole in the pavement. I ran to grab the camera and caught this:

LOL! I did laugh out loud. He did, too. Don't you just LOVE boys! He was eating grass, probably a little mud, but having the best time doing it!

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Jogging Stroller lesson learned

I feel remotely safe posting this now that 1: I have confessed to my husband what happened AND 2: I won't do it again.

Our neighborhood has a pool very close to our house. When I take Troy, I load up the jogging stroller to get to the pool. Last week, me and my little tiger were on our way home from the pool when my friend called and said she and her mother in law would like to get some hydrangeas (yes, please come and get some, we have hundreds).

She met me at the house and we all walked to the backyard. The backyard slopes downward on both sides of the house, then it levels off a bit where it remains grassy for several feet. Go down a few feet and there is a natural area with a steep slope downward leading to the neighbor's yard. Well, I strolled Troy (still in the jogger) down to the backyard and was talking about the hydrangeas. My friend made a very unusual sound and pointed behind me. Guess what?!?!?! I forgot to LOCK THE STROLLER!!!

You know what happened - you got it, there goes the bob....bobbing down the hill....with my child inside. Ugh. Insert sinking feeling here - and the quick realization that my flip flops would not allow me to catch up to the stroller. I rapidly prayed that the stroller would stop before it dashed through the neighbors yard, into another yard and then into a pond. Ugh.

A quick right turn and a small ditch later, the bob tumbled on its side. When I caught up to it, there was Troy, neatly strapped in with a handful of leaves in his left hand. My hand grabbed his right before he put the leaves in his mouth. He cried for a couple of seconds, I got him out and he was fine. Not a scratch, red mark or anything on him. Thank goodness for the 5 point harness!

That incident cost us $25. Why? The pool key was in the stroller....and is now gone. Brian found a snake in the same area on Monday when he went searching for the key. No key was to be found.

So...to you mothers out there, please remember to lock your strollers.


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Cousins

Last weekend, we celebrated Colt's first birthday. These 2 cousins are only 4 months apart....one day they will be the same size. Hard to believe!!! They did interact a little but for the most part, they are pretty much into toys and moving around. Colt is a walking champ! He loves, loves, loves the pool, too. Mary and Josh better watch out! Lol!

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