The Aboussie Family

MLK Movie Day

2012-01-17T09:51:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I haven't documented some "kinda" important things--oh SLP Fall Festival, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Sheesh. I'll get there...maybe...
But, here's a quick little post...
Jack and I both were out of school yesterday for MLK Day. I've wanted to be able to take him to a movie, but didn't think we were "there" yet. If you know my child, 1) he's loud, and 2) he doesn't sit still. However, he's been good at watching Toy Story and Cars 5 million times either on TV, the iPad or his iTouch. So, I thought I'd give it a whirl. My attempt was to go early for a number of reasons--matinee movie time (and cost) and maybe a low crowd, so if Captain Loud was too "verbal", it wouldn't tick too many people off. Well, $12 for two tickets (seriously?!) and a fairly full theater made me a little anxious. We went into Theater 12 to see Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, and let me tell you--my little guy did AMAZING!!! He sat in his own seat the entire movie and lasted the entire time! I couldn't believe it! I figured we'd at least have to go potty once, but nope--he absolutely LOVED it. Here are 2 dark pictures from my phone, but you can get the idea. Yay for new experiences, and for a fun Date Day with Mommy!

Waiting patiently for the movie to start...liking the previews, or the "commercials" as he called them. :)
"I love it, Mom." Made my heart smile :)

I'm A Big Kid Now!

2011-11-21T17:54:00.001-06:00

Potty talk...
Just wanted to document...Jack had an accident-free weekend, then came home in the same pair of undies he went to school in!! AND pooped in the potty at church yesterday for Leigh Robb, then pooped at home tonite!! We're only in pull-ups at night now. I may be completely jinxing myself, but today was GREAT!! Yea Jack!!!

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Corn Maize

2011-11-14T15:07:00.000-06:00

We went to Kilgore the first weekend in November to celebrate my mom's and my birthday! We had not been in a while, so it was a nice treat to have a little East Texas time. One of the fun things we got to do with Jack was to take him to Danville Farms. I always went there as a kid in the summers to pick blueberries and peaches, and in November to pick out our Christmas tree. They have now added a corn maize to the farm, and it was the perfect fall weekend to go. Jack absolutely loved every minute of it.
We rode on the barrel train, took a tractor ride through the entire farm, fed the goats, played in the corn box, looked in an authentic chuck wagon, played on the little toys and saw the corn. We did not go through the maize...but we did everything else! :) It was too cute. It was fun to be back there, after so many years, and to let Jack experience it.
Happy Fall Y'all!
Oh--and Wichita Falls had an earthquake (yes, an earthquake) on Saturday, November 5 while we were in Kilgore. Craziness.

Fall Means Flu Shots!

2011-10-21T10:06:00.002-05:00

Ice Cream always makes "flu shot owies" better! :)

1st Day...

2011-08-22T16:41:00.001-05:00

Was a success!!

Thanks Daddy for remembering to take pics at the school's front door, then text them to Mommy!!

Here's to a great year!

Jon-Jons

2011-08-14T11:00:00.007-05:00

I know this is the most ridiculous post, but it's my blog, and I can write what I want! ;) Plus, I'm sure the three people that actually read this nonsense won't be bothered by it! Ha!

Okay, so I'm a pretty traditional girl, I'd say. I think a lot of that comes from being raised in a small town in Texas. I'm big into traditional-type things: churches, names, and most importantly, children's clothes (haha).

I seriously do not think there's anything cuter than a girl in a smocked little bishop dress (with a big ol' bow) or a boy in a smocked little jon jon (preferably with knee socks and saddle oxfords)!!

So, the minute Jack was born, I think my entire paycheck went to formula and smocked/appliqued outfits!!

On the other hand, my husband was not exactly a fan-ESPECIALLY of the knee socks. The main reason being that he was dressed in jon jons until he was about 5! (nothing wrong with that-I'd do it with Jack if I could!!) However, he'd suck it up each week at church, birthdays, and especially around the holidays when I'd be BEYOND ecstatic about finding the perfect harvest and Christmas outfits!!

As Jack grew older, though, Jimmy wasn't as tolerant about the Jon Jons.

That was okay, because my scheme was to put it off until the next holiday-just one more Easter or July 4th outfit, and then I'd REALLY be done.

My plan was working fabulously until Jack decided he was becoming more on his daddy's side about these precious clothes.

I knew it was starting to become a downhill battle when I was packing his suitcase in June and he picked up a precious green one and said, "No Mommy-I not wear that dress." (the crotch buttons weren't snapped, so yeah, I guess it kinda did look like one). Well, Jimmy heard this comment, and you can imagine his reaction. It was like I told him the best news of his life. Grrr. I'm also a little strong-willed, so I was not going to be defeated by both my boys. At least not yet. :)

So, that trip to Kilgore didn't exactly go as planned wearing the outfits. It seriously was like I was putting an outfit of razor blades on him. High drama. Every time. He gets the drama from his daddy-not me, of course. :)

So, I threw in the towel. I admitted defeat. However-the smocking and applique is not gone!! We'll just wear the shirt and shorts/pants sets now!
I think it's kinda more like a rite of passage. Jon Jons are so little boy, and I feel like that was the last element of my baby left!! Now at church it's polos/button-down shirts and khakis. SUCH a grown-up boy outfit!!
I packed up the last box of his summer Jon Jons last night so I could get over this "loss"! If I don't see them hanging in his closet anymore, maybe it'll be easier on this mama!!
It's been fun Jon Jons...thanks for the memories, and for making my "little" boy look so sweet!!

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2.5

2011-08-12T16:58:00.001-05:00

Jack is 2 1/2 today!! We measured him and he's 37" tall!! He's grown 2 1/2 inches since his birthday...just 6 months ago!! Growing boy!!

Back to Life-Back to Reality

2011-08-12T09:59:00.001-05:00

Where in the world did
summer go?! I can't believe I start back on Monday. It's bittersweet.

I do so much better on a schedule,

so I do like the routine of the school year. However, it's been great having Tuesdays and Thursdays home with Jack.

It's been great not having to wear makeup. It's been great letting Jack be my alarm clock. It's been great watching the Today Show-mainly the 4th hour with Hoda and Kathie "hot mess" Lee. It's been great knowing I could do as much or as little as I wanted each day. It's been great having morning Bible Study on Thursdays. It's been great being able to walk in the mornings. It's been great bonding so much with Jack on "our days" together. Don't get me wrong-there were days that I thought I would lose my mind-especially since it was sooo unbelievably hot this summer. It's been hard because by 10:30am, it was so.darn.hot. We've had to be quite creative playing indoors. I laugh/cried the day I saw on the news that THREE times in July, Wichita Falls was the hottest place in the NATION. Holy geez.

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary at the end of July...in a way it seems like it was 5 minutes ago, and a way it seems

like 55 years ago! We've been together for almost 11 years, so that could be why! :)

It's been a fast and furious summer...I'm so thankful that I have a job to go to, but I'm surely not looking forward to hearing that alarm clock to go to said job!

I hope this school year is a great one...for my 6th graders, as well as for my nugget who is officially in the "preschool" part of school now! Yikes!! Here's hoping cool weather and Thanksgiving Break will be here before we know it!

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Angel Fire, NM

2011-07-13T10:21:00.001-05:00

We headed down the afternoon of the 4th to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Sweet Kara Jane chose to get married there, so the Lebanese Griswalds headed on down for the week!
I forgot my camera, so I only have my iPhone pics.
I must say, I was quite anxious about how all this was going to work with traveling so far. I'd been told, "oh you must travel at night," then by others, "oh you must travel 1st thing in the morning," so I had zero expectations. We let the kids wear themselves out at the CC pool and got on the road about 2:30pm. We stopped in Amarillo to grab a quick bite, then kept on trucking. Jack finally went to sleep about 10:15 (11:15 NM time) and we arrived at the house at midnight. So, you know, a good power nap is JUST what Jack needed to act like a crazed monkey when we arrived. Luckily, his 2 cousins had done the same thing, so it was a 3-ring circus. Literally.
We finally corralled them and got them all down about 1:45am. The rest of us were all in bed by about 2:30. And, they all were up by 6:30. I thought I had died and gone to hell Tuesday morning. With the altitude and pure exhaustion, Tuesday was a long day for all of us!!

Haley and Grayson

Jack and Haley-too fast to snap a picture!!

Tuesday we went and rode the ski lift and of course loved seeing the beautiful mountains and scenery. Wednesday, Leah and I took Haley and Jack to this cute little park that was in the resort. It "did the trick" and entertained them for a while. We had dinner that night at Roasted Clove, and it was fabulous. All I can say is thank you God for the iPad.
Thursday we took the kids horseback riding. Jack loves horsies, but I wasn't sure how much he'd love getting on one. He rode with Jimmy, and I rode by myself. He did great!! He started getting a little cranky after the 1st 30 minutes, so Jimmy switched him to side saddle the last 30min...he even started falling asleep toward the end! It was great and relaxing!!

Jack and Jimmy rode "Cinnamon" and I rode "Sandy".
On Friday, Jack, Beth Barnard and I drove to Taos. We had lunch at a great little place, then went to the cutest toy store called Twirl. It had an outdoor playground, so Jack was in heaven getting to get in the big sandbox and play with the dump trucks with Mrs. Merrill's nephews! Then we had a major meltdown when I (gasp) dared to take the dump truck away to change his poopie diaper. People in WF probably could hear his screams. So, he was DONE. We ended up just driving on back because he wouldn't even sit in the stroller, or walk, so there was no way I could carry that 32+pound toot from store to store! Oh well...next time, no kids invited! ;)
Rehearsal dinner was great until Jack kept yelling, "AMEN!" after the prayer and would not stop. Seriously. Then, Joey got up to give his toast, and jack was quite excited to hear him, so as he kept yelling Joey's name, I decided it was time for our exit. The iPad didn't do the trick as well that night!! Jack then was verrrrry entertained by all the golf carts outside the cart barn. That did trick and wore him out-and mommy too!!
The night of the wedding, I decided there was no way Jack could attend the ceremony. I could picture myself running through the golf course making divots with my heels, running though sand traps, etc. So, one of my sweet former students, Maddie Royal watched Jack at the house, then I picked them both up and took them to the reception.

He loved the "party" and wanted to keep looking at KJ's bridal portrait, although he kept asking, "mom, what's that on her head?"(her veil!) He loved watching dancing and his favorite part was the lemonade! Truly! ;)
It was a great getaway, and the weather was definitely a nice change from the 105 here in WF. Jack did amazingly well on the way back home-was awake from AF to Burkburnett, then crashed for 15min til we arrived home! Oh well!!
Congrats Kara Jane & Michael-thanks for giving us a reason to vacay in Angel Fire!

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Kamp Kilgore

2011-06-28T20:17:00.005-05:00

For as long as I can remember, my family always gathered in the summer to have Kamp Kilgore. We had fun activities, lots of food, and of course, some serious fun with cousins!
As we got older, Kamp Kilgore kinda tapered off, as everyone's summer schedules seemed to get busier and busier. Time has passed, the majority of us are married and have babies, and I knew it was time that we HAD to start this up again-especially for the next Wylie generation of kids!
The 2nd week in June, Jimmy, Jack and I headed down to Kilgore Thursday afternoon after 1st Pres Vacation Bible School. Everyone arrived on Friday night, and we all gathered at my mom's for cocktails and let the kids warm up to each other. We then headed to dinner at a Mexican food restaurant and the kids really started to come out of their shells! They all did great and pretty much wore themselves out (and their parents too!)
Saturday we had breakfast at mom's and the kids played and played and played.

My cousin Leigh Anne and her mom made darling shirts for all the kids. We even got a group picture before lunch-pretty amazing that everyone was looking...oh, and yes, that's 8 kids (and one still baking in Allison's tummy) that are 2 and under and they ALL got along the entire time. Seriously. It was amazing.

We had a great Italian dinner Saturday night, and everyone headed home Sunday. It was so amazing to have the majority of my Wylie cousins together for a weekend, and for Jack to be able to create memories like I have of Kamp Kilgore! He had a blast, and we did too! Can't wait for next summer!

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Easter-Yes, Easter in June

2011-06-28T20:14:00.005-05:00

Yes, I'm blogging about Easter at the very end of June. Ridiculous, I know, but hey-better late than never!
So, we headed to Kilgore for Easter this year. The day before we left, Jimmy woke up feeling horrible. I basically told him to put his big girl panties on and suck it up, then I gave him some DayQuil and went on about my day. He texted me that afternoon and said he had just left our Dr's office. The verdict: 101 temperature, tonsillitis AND bronchitis. Oops. So much for my diagnosis of chronic hypochondriac disease.
So, Jack and I made the haul to East Texas and had a very laid-back Easter weekend minus the sickly one. Jack did so well and the Easter Bunny came to Janny's--so glad he was able to track us down!

Jack was a HUGE fan of his galoshes (aka "green frog boots") that weekend. So, yes, he's wearing them with his jommies while in the back yard hunting eggs.

We woke up and hunted eggs, went to church Sunday morning, then to the country club for lunch afterward. The Easter Bunny made his big debut while we were eating, and Jack was adamant about seeing him...until we got about 10 feet from him--that was as close as he was gonna get! I wasn't going to torture everyone while they were eating and force my child to take a picture while screaming, so, there are no pics with the Bunny this year. Plus, Jack kept saying, "no mommy, he bite you." Yeah, not exactly sure why he thought that, but whatever!!

It was a great weekend and Jimmy was on the mend once we returned home...I'm sure you were anxiously awaiting to hear his condition. ;)

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A Hunting We Will Go

2011-04-21T12:28:00.001-05:00

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Working From Home

2011-04-17T15:47:00.001-05:00

Who knew the old computer that was in a box in the guest bedroom could be so fun?!

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So Long, Farewell: Part II

2011-03-23T14:57:00.003-05:00

We hit another milestone and transitioned Jack from his crib to his big boy bed. Well, not really his all-the-way big boy bed, but the toddler bed.

We started it during Spring Break, and really, it's been great. The first night, he slept the entire night without getting up! We were thrilled!! He has better nights than others, but I know that's to be expected. He'll go 3-4 nights in a row without getting up, then he'll have a night or two where he'll start crying, come to the hallway where our room meets the living room, and stand there and cry. Jimmy or I walk him back to his bed, and he'll go back down until morning.

So, like I said, some nights aren't great, but I can't complain too terribly much, considering. I took a few pictures of the little nugget in his bed--they were taken with my phone, so the quality is poor, but you can see him being oh-so-big! :)

Sweet Sit-Sit

2011-03-22T08:58:00.003-05:00

This is a very late post...
On Sunday, February 20, all of Sitti Margie's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren headed to Dallas to surprise her for her 89th birthday!! We had a great Lebanese lunch and a fun afternoon of playing and visiting. Sitti (or as Jack calls her, Sit-Sit) was SO surprised, and that made it even more wonderful! We are so blessed to have her in our lives...she loves us well!
Happy 89th birthday, Sit-Sit, and many, many more! We love you!!

Sitti Margie and 11 of her 12 great-grandchildren! I hope I can live long enough to see lots of my own great-grandchildren!!
Note: This was the eve of the Paci Fairy coming to take away Jack's pacis...and he was very much "DONE" by this point in the day, as we were about to head back to WF and he only wanted his Jiddo. :)

So Long, Farewell!

2011-02-23T06:48:00.001-06:00

It's been almost 48 hours since Jack had his beloved paci. I was so nervous about how this was gonna work, but it's been fine! O heard from lots of people that it's harder on Mommy than baby, and I must agree. It was a little bittersweet throwing away all those pacis...so I saved just one. ;) Hopefully we're over the hump and we've tackled the paci. Now on to the next transition: big boy bed!

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Jack is TWO!

2011-02-14T09:26:00.009-06:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jack!!

Jack turned 2 on Saturday, February 12.

We had a few of his friends over to decorate Valentine cookies and have birthday cake!

About 4:30 that morning, I questioned myself on why in the world I thought it would be a good idea to have 15 kids decorating cookies at our house!

But, it ended up being great. The kids were fantastic (as were their parents!) and it was super cute.
On the invitations, we asked that in lieu of gifts, each child bring a donation to the Children's Aid Society of Wichita Falls (it's the Children's Home and the Teen Shelter). Jack has WAY more than enough toys, trains, etc., and there are lots of little boys and girls in our community who do not. So, we'll be taking our LARGE donation envelope (thanks everyone!!!) this week, and I look very forward to doing that.

I seriously started crying after counting the money.

Back to the Birthday Boy...We had a great family dinner at Pasqual Friday night with Janny, Sitti and Jiddo, Uncle Fun (Kenneth) and Leah, Greg, and the kids...that I must say I was very concerned about--we haven't taken Jack out to eat in a while because it usually ends up with Jimmy or I eating by ourselves, because the other one of us is dealing with Jack who isn't a big fan of sitting in a booster seat/high chair for more than 5 minutes.) But, I had my "bag of tricks" with me (iPad, coloring book & crayons, truck books, etc.) so we persevered. Barely. Just barely.
Saturday morning, we woke up and Jack had two muffins, of course, with a candle in each! :) We had breakfast, then got busy situating things for our guests to arrive! Needless to say, after the party, we had a massive sugar high...then low...so he took a 2 1/2 hour nap! That night, Janny took Jack over to Sitti and Jiddo's for dinner, and to play with Grayson and Haley. Jimmy and I went to the Straight Street dinner, and had lots of fun. Maybe waaay too much fun! :)
It was a great day celebrating our sweet boy. Lots of memories were made, and I look so forward to many, many, many more birthdays! We head to Dr. Yap on Thursday, so I'll post his stats at some point!
Happy 2nd birthday Jack!! We love you to the moon and back!! xoxo

What a Difference a Year Makes!

2011-02-11T21:56:00.001-06:00

Jack's 1st birthday party outfit, and his 2nd birthday party outfit. I'd say he's grown. Happy last day of your 1s, sweet boy!

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Prayers

2011-01-24T08:56:00.003-06:00

We didn't do much this weekend-we're trying to get our little one back to 100% healthy. This time of year, and with all the fun germs going around, it's tough! Jack had a cold and an ear infection starting last week, so we're wrapping up antibiotics, continuing to clear yucky noses, and hopefully getting back on track. Unfortunately, I think Jack has "shared the love" with the rest of us...Jimmy's not feeling so hot, and I'm hoping I'm not getting it! Oh well!!
I just had to share a couple of things lately that have made me smile. I've tried to start incorporating bedtime prayers into our nighttime routine. I just thought a simple, "Thank you God. Thank you Jesus. Amen," would be sufficient for now. Jack will sit with me in his chair, fold his sweet little hands and say, "Geenk goo Gah. Geenk goo Je Saw. Ahh mane." It's too funny, and too precious!! I can't help but laugh every night! Then we sing "Jesus Loves Me," which sometimes Jack says, "No Mommy. No Je Saw." Hmmm...maybe I need to work on my vocal skills.
The other night, when Jack was not feeling too hot, we snuggled down in the chair in his room, and I told him it was time to say his prayers. I said, "Okay, let's fold our hands to say our prayers," which he replied, "No hands. No prurs, Mommy." I let that one slide since he didn't feel well. :) Last night, we got into the chair, he takes out his paci, hands it to me and says, "Mommy, no paci. Geenk goo Gah. Ahh mane. Paci peese?" HA! So, at least he's associating prayers with his bedtime routine!
Have a wonderful week...can't believe this toot will be TWO in 19 days!! (*tear*) xoxo

It Pays to be a Stalker

2011-01-12T07:59:00.005-06:00

I was fortunate enough to be a winner of one of DeEdra's 12 Days of Christmas giveaways! I never win ANYTHING, so needless to say, I was thrilled! She did a fabulous job of putting together our album, really capturing our little family. Here's a look...

Holidays

2011-01-02T13:26:00.014-06:00

Happy New Year!! Wow--how is it already January?! Much less 2011?! Time absolutely flies. The holidays were a blur...but were great.

Jack and I headed to Kilgore the day I got out of school, and had a good, long visit. Daddy stayed here because he was headed to the Cowboys game early Sunday morning, and logistically, it just didn't work. It was fast and furious while we were there. The best part was Candlelight at my hometown church--it was so special getting to take Jack (again this year) to the church that I grew up in, and we were married in. It's so beautiful, especially at Christmas, and there are lots of meaningful memories there!
Jack with Janny--the only picture I took the entire time! Oops!

Once we got back in town, we got to spend time with family and friends. We celebrated Hudson's 2nd birthday at Jump For Joy, and had an absolute blast!

Jack and Madeline Barnard

Counterclockwise: Jack, Hudson, Carson, Cohen. Quite the foursome!

Christmas Eve, Jimmy, Jack and I went to Candlelight at our church, then headed over to Bobbie and Joey's for Mexican food. Nothing better on a cold winter night!

Mommy and Jack before church

Christmas morning, we got up and headed down to Sitti and Jiddo's. We opened presents, had brunch, then came back and did our family tree.

Grayson and Haley excited about Christmas!

Sitti and Jiddo's last big surprise after presents...

Jack just wanted to be driven around in Haley's car...what a prince...

Jack was much more interested in the "big wheels" than the car. Go figure. Grayson leads the pack!

Jack attempted to take a nap-which means he was in his crib for 2.5 hours, however, after taking off his pants, putting his socks on his hands, and screaming out HO HO HO for about 1.5 hours, he finally went to sleep...for 30 minutes. We had to be back at the in-laws for dinner at 5, and by 8, Jack was a monster. He was on holiday-overload. The cousins were going to look at lights, but we knew our little guy would've put quite the damper on the festivities, so we headed home.
The only picture I took Christmas night...oh well, it shows off his darling outfit! :)

The next day my mom came into town, so it was nice to have help! Jack LOVES his Janny, and he was thrilled to see her again, after just being in Kilgore 4 days before! That night, our family, Leah, Grayson and Haley, all went with Sitti and Jiddo on a carriage ride. Jack LOVES "nays" so, he was thrilled to meet Dixie and pet her soft mane. It was super cold, but beautiful, and very enjoyable. Jack wouldn't wear a hat or gloves, so I'm just waiting on that cold to hit!

Santa brought Jack a playhouse, which has been quite a hit.

He also got a small train table, and he is constantly wanting to "play choo-choos" in his room. Santa was also kind enough to bring an iPad to us, and that has definitely been a whole-family gift. Jimmy can do his stuff on it; I can do my important stuff on it (i.e. blog stalking, facebook, etc.) and Jack can watch the SAME Chuggington episodes over-and-over, so everyone wins!! It came in VERY handy when TCU played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl yesterday, so Jimmy and I were able to watch the entire game while Jack played with his trucks, trains, and the iPad. It was FABULOUS--especially since the Frogs WON! Woo hoo! We would've loved to have been in California with many of our TCU friends, but it wasn't bad sitting in our living room, with my sweet little family, watching it on TV. BUT, when the Frogs go again (do you like that optimism?!), we WILL go! I know I said it before, but I cannot believe it's January 2. I cannot believe that Jack is turning TWO in a month and 10 days. Incredible. I'm in birthday party planning-mode, so that will consume my time now. Along with life, and everything else in between.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and got to celebrate the REAL meaning of the season. It was so nice having time to spend with family, and most importantly, Jack. It's a little bittersweet knowing he and I are both headed back to school tomorrow!

Happy 2011, and I hope the new year brings you many abundant blessings!

BIG!

2010-12-08T08:47:00.007-06:00

If you've met my child, or even been in contact with him for more than 0.5 seconds, you know he's loud. And extremely talkative. And it can sometimes be quite embarrassing! Trust me, by no means am I saying that I don't love that he's a Chatty Kathy 24/7--it's hilarious, and amazing, to see what all he picks up on, and has put into his vocabulary. Jack's latest thing is "big" before any and every word. If a room is dark, it's "big dark." When we open the door to go outside, it's "big cold." When we pass a house decorated for Christmas, it's "big lights." It's funny. However, the other day he and I were in Toys-R-Us. He LOVES trucks/trains/etc. We came to this dump truck and he SCREAMS out, "BIG DUMP!!!" He continues on saying "big dump" for all of Toys-R-Us to hear, and you can imagine the looks I'm getting as people are walking by, glaring at me for my child's inappropriate comments. Little do they know, he's not being crass, he's referring to the big DUMP TRUCK on the shelf! Oh well. I must say, it made me laugh. Here are two pictures of "BIG JACK" from the past few weeks! :)

~They took pics of the kids in Jack's class at school, put the pics on a sleigh, and they're on their classroom door. SOOO cute!!

Sweet boy!

Where Has Time Gone?!

2010-11-18T09:15:00.007-06:00

I cannot believe we're already half-way through November, and that I never posted pics of Halloween! (I'm continuing that "Mother of the Year" status...)

So, Jack was a monkey for Halloween. Actually, we referred to him as an un-monkey because he never would wear his head piece, so he just looked like a reject in a brown bodysuit. Sigh.

First, we started out with the annual School for Little People Fall Festival! It was darling, as usual, but that's when our whole "we-don't-like-to-wear-or-change-clothes phase" started. GOOD TIMES! So, he was kinda ticked that his sweet teachers had the audacity to change his clothes at the end of the day, much LESS that they changed him into a costume. Gasp. But, he walked in the parade--can't believe he was our little duck last year being pushed in the stroller!--carrying (of course) his monkey head piece.

Halloween night we stopped by the Barnard's to play, then headed over to see Sitti and Jiddo, then Sitti Sit and Bobbie and Joey. We had to run by and say hi to Lynn and Kenny too, and then we called it a day.

Fall has been so fun with Jack. He is SO busy, and just LOVES LOVES LOVES to be outside! He loved "puntins" so we had to take our picture with some on our front porch! Happy Fall Y'all!

Jack & Janny

2010-10-18T09:03:00.002-05:00

There's nothing like a mother's love...or a grandmother's love! My mom came in town this weekend, and she and Jack had a great time together, as did we! He will still walk back to the guest bedroom and say, "Janny??" So sweet. Come back soon!! xoxo

Janny and Jack before she left yesterday morning!

Quick Quote

2010-09-09T09:29:00.003-05:00

I'm stealing this from a friend's blog--I love it, and had to share!

"The way I see it, either I can get out in the fresh air and enjoy myself well equipped, or I can sit in the stale house like a wimp and sulk about a path full of hazards. Throw me a shotgun. I'm not missing life over snakes." Beth Moore

Have a great day! xoxo

Oh wow...

2010-08-27T11:08:00.004-05:00

I ran in Jack's room last night to pick out his outfit to iron for today. As I was leaving his room, I leaned down to give him a kiss, and saw he was sleeping like this...omg...

I Cannot Believe...

2010-08-14T21:20:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe that Jack is 18 months old. I cannot believe that half of a year ago we were celebrating his first birthday. I cannot believe that summer is over and school is about to start. I cannot believe that I had to buy Jack a NAP MAT for him to sleep on at school in his new "big boy" class. I cannot believe that time passes so, so quickly. I cannot believe that I love this little boy more and more each day...

So I decided to try and do another chair picture (yes, I know, 2 days late) to commemorate 18mos. I'm glad I don't still try and do those monthly anymore...geez. In a nutshell, Jack does not SIT for longer than .5 seconds. I swear. He is SUCH a busy boy!! Anyway, he's so big! I think he weighs about 27 pounds--we don't go for his 18mo appointment until September 14, so he'll actually be 19mos at that time, so we could be hitting the ol' 30-pound mark by then! He's wearing pretty much 24mo/2T clothes--definitely in tops/john johns, but some shorts are still 18mo. He wears a size 5 shoe, but I think for fall, we may be up to a 6. He has TWELVE teeth! AHH!! 4 top, 4 bottom, 2 upper molars, 2 lower molars. Crazy. He's still in a size 4 diaper, but I think we're moving to 5s this week. Jack LOVES to be outside more than anything. Loves balls, loves cars, and LOOOOOVES golf carts! That's his FAVORITE thing EVER!!! He loves his dogs Cooper (Be-bo...not quite sure why) and Maggie (Mah-dy), and has really found quite the interest in Mickey Mouse, which he refers to as Minnie. He loves "Pets" (The Wonder Pets) and the Backyardigans.

He is also our little mynah bird. He will try and repeat ANYTHING that we say, or do, for that matter. He's hilarious!! His favorite words are: HI!, bye bye, car, golf cart, weee (slide), wing (swing), mama, dadda, jiddo, outside, ball, knock-knock, duck, chickie, dog, cat, peeese (please), pathi (paci), wovie (lovie), bah-bah (bottle), baa (sheep), nay (horse), water, ... too many more to list... He's just so chatty, and SOOOOO loud. OMG...

We are having so much fun with Jack. He's ALLL boy; he's exhausting; he's loud; he's a toot; but he can be so darn sweet, and SO darn cute, and holy cow, we love him more than we ever imagined! Happy year-and-a-half sweet boy...and many, many, many more! xoxo

Woo hoo!!

2010-07-13T12:32:00.001-05:00

So I finally downloaded the blogpress app, and I'm hoping this will make me better at blogging. When I said this outloud to Jimmy, he just stared at me then burst out laughing. Whatever!! :)
A quick post and recap since I last blogged, May 24. Jack is 17mos old! Whoa!! He's busy as ever, and LOUD. We've decided that a Walmart greeter is in his future, since he says hi to EVERY person who walks by him in a restaurant, grocery store, pool, etc. It can even be a little embarrassing at times!!
We just got back from a week in California and it was great. Here's a pic from Legoland:

He did unbelievably well on the flight to and from San Diego, and adjusted fine to the time change. I'm in the process of uploading pics, so I'll post more once I'm finished.
Yea for blogpress!! It's the little things, I know...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lovin' the Lake

2010-05-24T09:19:00.009-05:00

We headed down to PK for the weekend for a family lake weekend. Sitti and Jiddo, Leah, Greg, and the kids, as well as Kenneth, were all there...and we all survived! :) It was a lot of fun. I must say, I was a little anxious about it all--Jack sleeping in the room with us in the pack-n-play; trying to keep to somewhat of a schedule; all 10 of us under one roof...yikes! BUT, it was great, and it was a good trial-run for when we all go to California for a week in July!!

The lake water was FREEEEEEZING cold, so Jack never even got in his swimsuit. Even the hot tub was cold, so that didn't work either. But that's okay--it was fun just letting the kids play. If Jack and Haley could've just gone up and down the stairs all day, they would've been content! It's the little things! :)

Jack did great, though. He only slept in the room with us until he was a few weeks old, and every time we put him in the bed with us, he thinks it's play time--banging on the headboard; messing with the curtains; trying to crawl off the bed, etc. So, that's ONE battle we don't have to fight--him not sleeping in our bed. But, it would be so nice to just have him lay down and take a nap with me...but no. Oh well! Anyway, his pack-n-play was beside our bed, and he did fine. I, of course, woke up to EVERY noise he made, EVERY snore his daddy made (so that he wouldn't wake up Jack), so needless to say, I'm pooped!! But, it's a good tired!

Saturday, after a long day of playing, Jack woke up from his nap and was hungry. We gave him a snack, but that didn't seem to do the trick. So, we decided that maybe this would be a good time to take him on the boat--you know, to distract him. We first put his new life jacket on him...which now they have these "hood" things that will push their head out of water if they fall in. Well, we stood him up, and he face-planted because he was so top-heavy! HA! (sorry, but it was funny). Well, this REALLLLY ticked him off. So, we put the old-school life jacket on him, and this was better--at least he could stand up on his own. Jimmy said he looked like the kid from 'A Christmas Story' when he's all bundled up to go outside! He couldn't really move his head...again, hilarious. So, he's pretty ticked off by this point. We make the haul down to the dock, expecting the tears to fade away. W.R.O.N.G. He despised the boat. I truly think it was because of the fact he was starving, he was so tired, and the wind/water in his face just did him in. Oh well--it was a beautiful evening, but I had to document his 1st boat ride!

It was a great weekend, and fun was had by all. I look forward to making many more memories with Jack at PK!!

Rites of Passage

2010-05-05T10:58:00.007-05:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but seriously, there are not enough hours in the day! Plus, I'm the WORST about uploading pictures, having the patience to deal with Blogspot not getting on my nerves, etc. I'd rather do important things in my free time, you know, like catch up on Real Housewives (of ANY city), Tori and Dean, The Hills, and the list continues. I love me some trash tv. Omg. Ridiculous.

Anyway, there have been so many things lately that have just pulled at my heartstrings! Jack is NOT a baby anymore, and it's so sad! Well, not sad, just bittersweet. I love how fun he is, but it's just crazy how old he's getting. I think the thing that "did me in" the other day was when I picked him up FROM THE PLAYGROUND at school. I nearly died. There's just something about pulling up, seeing him playing in the gravel and on the slide, and going to get him...geez. Time flies. Also, he got his 2nd haircut yesterday. He plays HARD, eats as much as I do, is basically RUNNING EVERYWHERE, and is just ALLLLLLLL BOY. Holy cow. Another rite of passage was buying him Lunchables for school. I mean really--don't like 5-year-olds eat those?! Isn't Jack WAY too little to be eating "big boy" food? Um no. Also, seeing him running around getting filthy, getting his tennis shoes dirty, having grass stains in EVERY outfit, and on and on...wow...the life of being a mommy to a little boy! I'm going to REALLY have to get used to the whole "dirty" thing...yikes.

Well, I'm not good about pictures, but here's one from this morning. My mom needed one to see his haircut, so this was from this morning, and the other one was from a week or two ago. Sorry if you're my facebook friend because you've seen that one! He likes to ride on his bubble lawn mower...hmmm. Have a great week!! xoxo

~oh and p.s.--Jack DOES get out of his pajamas...just the past 2 pics I've taken with my phone he's still been in them! :)

Bountiful Blessings

2010-04-16T10:43:00.003-05:00

Our friends The Whitmires had their precious babies on Tuesday. Check out their blog for lots of pictures. It's so fun to think about all the fun their family is about to have! Congratulations~Wichita Falls is anxiously awaiting the return of the four of you! xoxo

Easter

2010-04-13T10:34:00.000-05:00

We had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend. Jack and I both were out of school on Good Friday, so we got to spend the day together. Janny and Poppy got into town about 2:30 that day, and it was great getting to see them and spend time with them! Friday was the first day that Jack hadn't had a fever (due to yet ANOTHER ear infection), so we laid pretty low. He still wasn't 100%, but he was getting there. We had dinner with my parents, and just hung out...it was great.

Saturday morning we were supposed to go to the farm in Healdton, but since Jack was just starting to be on the mend, we didn't want to chance it...or infect any of his precious cousins. I know it was a wonderful time, and we missed seeing everyone. I know Jack would've loved hunting eggs with his cousins! Last year he was only 2 months old when we went!!

This year, the country club had Easter brunch on Saturday AND Sunday. So, we decided to do that instead. We had a great brunch, Jack got to meet the Easter Bunny for the first time (not sure how he felt about that one), and watch the kids do some fun Easter activites. He ate a ton, and enjoyed taking it all in! He napped for FOUR hours after that, so Jimmy and I decided to have a little adult time and go visit with some friends at their crawfish boil. It was great getting to catch up with the out-of-towners! Again, we had a laid back evening and dinner with my parents and got ready for all the festivities Sunday had in store!

Not quite sure about the Easter Bunny...but he did like him more than Santa!

Poppy and Janny

Janny taking me to walk around...I don't really like to sit still anymore!

Sunday morning we went to church--Jack stayed in the nursery--and then went to Bobbie and Joey's for lunch. It was good. Jack really needed a nap after church, but he was a trooper. Then we went to Sitti's and had an egg hunt and got to see what the Easter Bunny left for him there! By this point he was REALLY done, and the pictures kinda reflect that! :) We got home about 3:45 and just hung out the rest of the evening.

Cousins Grayson and Haley with Jack...getting ready to hunt eggs!

I've got this hunting thing DOWN!

Poor babies didn't get ANY eggs from the Easter Bunny! :)

Found one!!

Jiddo helping me out...

Pretty much done and ready for a nap here!

Last Easter! (exactly 2 months old that day!) What a difference a year makes!!

It was a wonderful weekend for all of us. It was so nice having my parents here and I know Jack loved every minute of being spoiled by them too! He is RISEN!

On The Move!

2010-03-23T13:49:00.001-05:00

I'm such a bad blogger. I mean really. I love when I see that my friends have new posts, and I wonder WHY I do not make the time to update so frequently?! Ridiculous.

Anyway, Happy Spring!! I love this time of year--all the newness of everything. There are new things going on at our house ~ Jack is WALKING! I'd say 90% of the time he walks. It's so funny. He would take steps for quite some time, but I didn't want to say he was walking when it was just some steps. But now, we are on the move! I love it! It keeps me MUCH busier than I thought it would, though!

So I have to admit a little something. I DEFINITELY deserve the Mother of the Year award for this one. It's embarrassing, but I thought I'd share:
Jack had been in these cute little tennis shoes for a while. He wore those, a pair of brown shoes, or a pair of dress shoes, and that was really it. (You know, little boys don't exactly have lots of options like little girls!) Anyway, he had been trying to walk at this point, taking a few steps, but that was really it--he was instead crawling everywhere. So, I was working on his outfit for Easter, and while I was at Storkland, I thought I'd go ahead and get his foot measured. Some of the shoes he was wearing weren't actual sizes, they would be "6-12 mos" or whatever, and I needed to order some shoes that were in "real" sizes. So, I took his little foot out of his shoe, and the saleswoman says, I would go with a Size 5. Um, that's fine and great (and large!) but the tennis shoes he was wearing were SIZE 3!!!! OMG! Poor baby had been wearing shoes TWO SIZES too small! Wow. I was absolutely horrified. So, needless to say, I bought the poor child several pairs of shoes that fit him...in a 5. When we went home that day and I put him in some of the shoes to show his Daddy, I realized that he'd curl his toes up when his shoe was go on, and that's why the 3's were still fitting. But, how AWFUL that must feel all day at school! The WORST part about it, is that once he was in the shoes that actually fit, he WALKED! Duh--can you imagine how much easier it would be to walk without your toes curled up?! Omg. So, since this great mama put him in shoes that FIT him, he's been walking ever since. Wow. Like I said--Mother of the Freaking Year.

Other than that, we're having a great time with our little 13 1/2 month old boy!! He loves anything to eat; he says mama, dadda, bah bah, nunna, ball, uh oh, yeah yeah, and some jibberish that's supposed to be Maggie and Cooper (our dogs). Jack has 5 1/2 teeth--2 on top and 3 on the bottom. The 4th on bottom has just poked through the gum. He LOVES to be outside; he LOVES to play with the Sparkletts water bottles as well as the water cooler; he loves to push his train (or anything that will move for that matter); he loves to stack blocks; he LOVES to bring you a book, sit in your lap and have him read it to you; he loves to throw everything out of his crib (all the pacis, the stuffed animal and his lovie). So far, he's done great with whole milk, so I'm thankful for that. He did have an ear infection in BOTH ears :( last week, and has finished antibiotics for that. Here's hoping we don't have to deal with that again. Like I said before, I love spring, but I'm not sure how much it loves me...or Jack either!! Our allergies are killing us both, but oh well...hopefully summer will be here before we know it!

We love you sweet Jack~thanks for making our lives more complete!! xoxo

Playing with the water...SO fun! Haha

Okay, so I have to explain these two pictures...this is from a few weeks ago--I had a meeting at school, and Jimmy texted me asking if we had any more diapers. I told him to check 2 different places, and there were none! So, I left and ran by Walgreens to get some more, but in the meantime, this is what Daddy did for a temporary diaper before Mommy got home! Seriously?!

Car seat is FRONT-facing! Woo hoo!

St. Patrick's Day!

Jack's New 'Do!

2010-02-20T14:24:00.001-06:00

On our way to our first haircut! (And the "before" picture of his hair.)

Daddy even played the "My First Haircut" song on the way there...apparently there is one--Jimmy searched iTunes kinda more as a joke, but actually found a song...and yes we listened to it. On a sidenote, I don't recommend spending the .99 to download that one for your playlist...

This car is pretty cool!

Wait mom, you didn't mention I had to wear an apron...

Getting ready...

The first cut!

This looks like he's fussing, but he's not...he's just trying to see what the electric razor noise was!

Handsome boy!

~I'll get an "after" picture as soon as he wakes up from his nap...getting beautiful is exhausting, you know!

Jack had his first haircut today! Wow--what a milestone! He was just starting to get that baby-mullett, and it was getting long over his ears. When it was wet, he looked like he had a rat tail (remember those?! or maybe that was just in East Texas where people sported those), and I just couldn't take it any longer! So, we went in for a little trim and "shape up" today! I was a little anxious, because I seriously thought this may send him over the edge. I don't know why, but I did. However, he did great! We went to Kids Hair Safari, because I have heard such good things about it. It was cute--and very kid friendly. Since I thought he'd have "issues", I didn't take him to the salon where I get my haircut...mainly so I wouldn't be embarrassed! HA! Anyway, it was great, and his stylist's name was April. I don't think she liked her job very much, though, but that's okay. Jack loved sitting in the little car, and didn't mind her cutting his hair at all. He just smiled and hung out while she did her thing. Here are some pictures from today...and yes, I have a lock to put in his "first haircut" limoge! (that makes me a little teary!)

1st Birthday Party

2010-02-16T15:53:00.000-06:00

12-month chair picture...the LAST one!

Sweet Boy!

Jiddo lovin' on me! I surely love him!!

I love to stick out my tongue!

So we had Jack's first birthday party at our house on Friday, February 12, and it was a lot of fun! He's so lucky to have so many people that love him in his life.

Grayson giving Jack eskimo kisses! He is pretty impressed by his older cousin!

He started the day with a late-start to school since the weather was bad, so it was nice being able to spend extra time with him on his birthday! He wore his "Birthday Boy" outfit to school, and took darling cookies that his girlfriend Ella's mommy made! Janny and I picked him up when I got out of school, then we got ready to par-tay!

We had dinner (lasagna, salad and bread) and birthday cake--simple and good. The kids ate goldfish and colored while dinner was getting ready, then we ate and had cake, then we opened lots of wonderful presents.

The kids' beautiful artwork!

Jack "helping" Eddie play the guitar!

Jack wasn't a "smasher and smearer" on the cake--he just kinda picked at it, and prefered that Mommy feed it to him...what a little prince! :) But, he really liked it. We gave cute cupcake cookies as favors, and then we called it a night.

The cake that matched the cupcake on his invitation...

Jack's own birthday cake

Our cupcake cookie favors!

It was a great weekend, and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays!

Oh--and his 1-year appointment went great! He's 22 pounds 12 ounces, and get this: 30 3/4 inches long!!! He was 6 pounds 5 ounces, and 20 1/4 inches when he was born! What a difference a year makes! WHOA!

Happy Birthday Jack!

2010-02-12T10:04:00.000-06:00

I wanted to write a quick blog before the day got away with all the festivities of Jack's first birthday!! Pictures will come later! :)

Here's what's going on with our 1-year-old!!
You weigh 23 pounds. Omg. (I will have more stats after our 1-year-checkup on Monday). You will pretty much eat anything. You love balls. You have 5 1/2 teeth (2 on top, 3 on the bottom, and the 4th one is tryyyying to poke through). You are starting to kinda get a baby mullet, so a trim may be in the near future. You love your doggies Cooper and Maggie, and think they are pretty darn funny. You love to dance. You wear 12mo clothes, but 18mo in some brands because you are loooong. You have a morning bottle, a night-night bottle, and maybe one bottle during the day--otherwise you're eating table food. You still wear a size 4 diaper. You go to bed around 7:45 and get up around 6:30 on the weekdays and 7 on the weekends.

We had his one-year pictures taken by Bev Long. She's great. Unfortunately, our house got the stomach bug that day, so Jack wasn't too interested in having his picture taken. But, Bev does an amazing job. She is actually a Labor and Delivery nurse at URHCS, and she was my post-partum nurse for only about one hour, but she is FABULOUS. If you're about to have a baby, I hope you're lucky enough to get her...she's the best. Also, her photography is amazing as well...check out her blog--it's under my links--B.Long Photography.

We're having his birthday party tonight at our house with family. I'll post pictures at some point this weekend. We're excited to celebrate!

To our precious Jack...I cannot believe the day has come that you are ONE! This has truly been the best year of our lives, and we thank you for that. We love you more than life itself, and you truly make our hearts complete. We love your smile, your laugh, your fun personality, and it has been such a great joy watching you grow from a newborn baby to a darling boy. We love you to the moon and back!

Prayers

2010-02-10T12:07:00.000-06:00

I always try to know that God has a reason and a purpose for everything that He does. Sometimes it's harder than others to accept that, though.

One of my 7th grade student's fathers was killed in a car accident this morning. He worked for Time Warner Cable and was up in one of the bucket-things working on a line. A drunk driver hit his truck, and it ejected him from the bucket, and he died at the scene.

Life is just so short, and this is an unfortunate reminder of how we need to treasure every second with our loved ones.

My heart is absolutely breaking for Kristian and his family...as well as for the man that hit Mr. Becker. I pray that God is giving the Becker family much comfort during this terribly tragic time. I ask that you please remember all of them in your prayers today. Thank you.

~And I just found out that today is Kristian's 13th birthday...

Bittersweet

2010-01-26T13:18:00.000-06:00

I'm having such a hard time trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Jack's turning one in a few short weeks. I just cannot believe it, and as exciting and fun as it is...there's also that element of sadness. I feel like I don't even remember him being that 6 pound 5 ounce baby that looked like an 80-year-old Lebanese man!!

It's just little things that kinda make me sad, like the fact that he uses the medicine spoon-thing when he takes his cough medicine and not the syringe. The fact that he's really not wanting bottles--he'd rather have people food throughout the day (with the exception of his night-night bottle). The fact that he uses a sippy cup. The fact that he can't walk by himself yet, but he loves to push things (while "walking") all over the place.

I feel like I don't remember the time when he was so tiny, and he'd just lay swaddled in my arms for hours. Or the time when he would lay on his activity mat, and he could just barely swing his arms to reach the toys hanging down above him. Or the time when I cried when I heard his laugh for the first time! Where has it gone?! Does it continue to go this quickly for the rest of his life?! Yikes. I feel like I need to treasure every single feeding, every bath time, every tickle time, every outfit, every toy, so that I will never forget the time I have! I know I'll never truly forget, but I guess it's just that I want to hang on to every single minute...taking it all in!

As I prepare for February 12 to arrive, I do know that these past twelve months have truly been the best of my life. I love you to the moon and back, sweet Jack!

11 Months!

2010-01-13T11:47:00.000-06:00

This is my favorite picture! He's laughing while playing with Daddy--warms my heart!

You LOVE playing in your kitchen...

Banging two random things together!

Still love to read!

Exploring ANYTHING that's in sight...or reach!

Chair pictures this month...hmmm...not so much!

This cracks me up...looks like he's nervous! Ha!

And no, his crotch isn't buttoned. His Daddy acts like that's the hardest thing to do!! And, I didn't even notice it for pictures...oh well!

So I'm a day late...and millions of dollars short! Ha! And, I know...as of right now, no pictures, but that's my plan for this evening...here's hoping, anyway...

So our sweet baby Jack is ELEVEN months old! OMG! Where has the time gone?! I'm having SUCH issues with him turning a year old next month. It's like my life has flashed and time has disappeared! It is so bittersweet. I think back on last January and it truly seems like 10 minutes ago.

Here's what's going on with our little guy these days:
You weigh 21.4 pounds. I know this because we were at Sick Clinic last Saturday and you were diagnosed with bronchitis...again. But, I think it was very early stages of it, because you acted totally different, and recovered much quicker. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself right here.)
You are going to eat us out of house and home. Omg. You can seriously eat about as much as we do. And you'll eat anything. It's unreal. I'm not sure where you're storing it, but geez, child, you can put away some groceries...
You love balls. Love, love, love them. Any size, shape, color, etc. You love to crawl with them, bang them on things, anything. You also love the dishwasher. Your favorite part is flipping the lid where the dishwashing liquid goes. You love to get any two things that are around you and bang them together...two toys, two measuring cups, a tube of diaper rash cream and a shoe, ANYTHING! I'm embarrasssed to say this, and I can't even believe I'm typing this, but you also love to play with your Daddy's empty Skoal cans. Wow, do we sound white trash or WHAT?! The dishwasher, measuring cups and Skoal cans?! Yikes...
You have FIVE teeth now! Your top front left tooth poked through on Dec. 26, then one right next to it poked through a few days later. So, you almost got your two front teeth for Christmas!
You crawl everywhere, you cruise around everything, and you'll sometimes forget you're not holding onto something and stand by yourself. When I try and make you stand by yourself, you freak out and won't do it! But, you're close! You love to push your walker, and it's fun to watch you do that...to see how you'll eventually walk!
We fall in love with you more and more each day, and you are just transforming from this precious baby into an adorable little boy! We love you so much and treasure every moment with you!! ~pictures to come... :)

Holiday Season

2010-01-01T11:42:00.000-06:00

Where did December go?! I've been so bad about not posting, so please get ready for a novel of a post. I think I have a million pictures to upload!

The month of December has been so much fun! Jack made us his very first school ornament that we hung proudly on our tree! It was wonderful finally having HIS stocking with Jimmy's and mine (and of course Maggie and Cooper's too) this year. It definitely made it more "complete" in my eyes!

We went to Kilgore to do our Christmas there the weekend before Christmas. We had so much fun. Janny had a little car for Jack that he L.O.V.E.D. They strolled around the neighborhood, and around the house, and every time he'd see us in it, he'd clap like crazy! So cute! We had a wonderful time while we were there getting to celebrate Jack's first "official" Christmas and present opening! It was fun. He got lots of wonderful clothes, books and toys!! We also took him to my church for Candlelight where he stayed in the nursery. It was so weird taking him to my old Sunday School classroom...then the room where I'd sometimes watch the babies...now my own baby was one of the kids in there! It was a strange feeling! (But a great one!)

We got back in town on the 23rd and I'm so glad we got here when we did...the "Christmas Blizzard of 2009" (that's what the weathermen were calling it) was UNBELIEVABLE!!!! We had almost a foot of snow...and a WHITE CHRISTMAS! WOW! I couldn't have asked for more for Jack's first! It was a little tricky, but it all worked out. We had a great dinner with family on Christmas Eve, then went to breakfast at Sitti and Jiddo's on Christmas Day, then came home and napped like crazy, then went back for dinner. It was great. Jack got more toys, clothes and books, and it now looks like FAO Schwarz in our house!

Jack has become quite the "reader" lately. He loves to look at books...he'll pick it up, hold it like he's reading it, then put it to his face--every single time. It's hilarious. He even has bathtime books that are waterproof, and he can't get enough of those either! There are some bath pics of him with his hair all "alfalfa" from his earlier nap. So funny. These will be great rehearsal dinner pics one day!

Jack hasn't been to school during the holidays--he and I have just been home together hanging out, and really it's been great. He definitely keeps me busy...I don't know how his teachers do it all day with 7 other kids! Wow!

We had lots of fun last night--we headed over to our friends' house for a little Mexican fiesta, and Jack got to attend his first New Year's Eve party. He wasn't the biggest fan considering his afternoon nap was about 10 minutes...and should've been about 1 1/2 hours. Oh well. Note to self: schedule babysitter for NYE muuuuuuuch earlier next year! Ha!

We wish you all the best in 2010. May this year bring you much love, laughter and happiness, and abundant blessings! Happy New Year!

Double Digits!

2009-12-13T15:17:00.000-06:00

Happy 10 month birthday, Jack! (Yesterday on the 12th, anyway!)
Here's what you're up to these days:
You wear 9-12 month clothing, but mainly 12-month because of your length! You're eating pretty much anything, but new things really seem to upset your stomach (example: Thanksgiving day I gave him turkey, dressing, some Lebanese food, etc...I can't imagine why he had gas!?!) You love fruits, yogurt, veggies, vanilla wafers, goldfish, and really anything you try you don't seem to mind. You're now in the Infant II class at school and seem to be loving it. You're SOOOO busy--crawling and cruising EVERYWHERE! You've been starting to forget that you're standing without holding on to something pretty often lately. You still only have 3 teeth, but you're drooling and chewing on everything in sight. Maybe Santa is going to bring you some more?! You've started to H.A.T.E. having your diaper changed and changing clothes. The changing table may soon be a thing of our past. It's quite the battle when you immediately try to flip to your stomach and crawl.
You are pretty much saying the same words you've been saying--with the addition of gaga, no (Jimmy and I nearly died when he said that...although it's only been once), and eh. It's pretty much still mama, dada, ma, da, baba, bah, and yaya. I think that's it.
I've been a terrible mommy photographer considering I have 3 pictures to post...and they were all taken TODAY!!! Yikes! It's just been so busy, that I haven't taken any. Here's hoping when school is out on Friday, I'll get my act together!
We went to see Santa today, and that was NOT a hit. I snapped one quick picture, and I don't even need to put a caption with it. Oh well...maybe next year!
We're having such fun with our little monkey each and every day. It's so fun preparing for the holidays with him--we're so excited about starting traditions and making memories with him! I hope each of you have a wonderful holiday season~enjoy every minute of it!
(not exactly sure why that posted blue and underlined, but oh well...i'm not technologically savvy!)

These aren't outstanding, considering I have about all of 15 seconds that he's going to stay seated in that chair...

He looks like he's planning something...

Doesn't even need a caption...

Thankful

2009-11-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We started out the holiday getting to attend one of Jack's Musikgarten classes. He goes each week with Mrs. Kristen, and finally Jimmy and I got to attend one! They combined all ages into one class, so it was pretty wild, but so neat to watch. Jack wanted to crawl around more than he wanted to sit still and sing songs, but oh well!

Wednesday afternoon, Janny got into town, and we were super excited to have her here! It's always fun when Janny comes!! That night we had Jiddo's 65th birthday party, so that was a lot of fun. Why I took ZERO pictures, I have no idea--especially since there were lots of Jack's friends in town!

Thursday we went to Sitti and Jiddo's and had an intimate 52 for lunch! HA! It was great. It was all family, so Jack got to see lots of his cousins. We also took a picture with Sitti Sit and her TWELVE great-grandchildren! Talk about blessed!! I hope I live long enough to be able to have lots of great-grandchildren!!

Friday, my mom and I actually did some shopping! We've never done the whole Black Friday thing, but honestly it wasn't that bad. We didn't go until late morning, so maybe that helped. We went to Sitti's for dinner and for Jack to play with Grayson and Haley. Haley and Jack are 11 months apart, so it's so fun now that they can actually play.
Saturday we slept in...finally...and then Janny headed back to Kilgore. We had lunch, then Christmas pictures at Storkland. Jack did great for the ones by himself. We tried to do one with his cousins...that was a different story--he was really ready to go home and take a nap! So, we'll see.

But, I did stop (even in the craziness of it all) to stop and reflect about how truly thankful I am. I have such a wonderful family, a great husband, and a precious child. I am blessed.

Jack and his Sitti Sit!

Sitti Sit and all of her great-grandchildren!

Just a swingin'!

Daddy, Mommy and Jack

Crawling, crawling, crawling!

Jack dancing with Mrs. Kristen

And he's off...

Beating his bell on Daddy's hand...and he had to sit by his girlfriend, Ella!

Clapping with Mommy

Lots of kiddos!

THREE

2009-11-21T22:07:00.000-06:00

So, while Jack was eating pancakes this morning, I noticed something else going on in his mouth...his 3rd tooth has appeared! It's the third one on the bottom, and it's just poked it's pearly white head through the skin! Here all along lately, I've thought he was working on some uppers...little did I know another one was going to pop up on the bottom! I'll have to be quick and get a picture at some point!

Also speaking of 3's...our good friends Adam and Lisa told us a few weeks ago that they were pregnant! Of course, we were thrilled! They took out one sonogram picture and showed us...then another one...then ANOTHER one...they're having TRIPLETS!!! Talk about triple the blessings!!! So, we are beyond thrilled for them, and are looking so forward to watching this incredible experience take place. They've started a blog, so you'll have to check it out...
http://web.me.com/adamwhitmire/The_Whitmire_Chronicles/Welcome.html

9 months!

2009-11-16T15:13:00.001-06:00

Pretty fall day...had to take some pictures outside!

Silly mom...you took my picture in this outfit LAST month! That's probably why it's too short in length for me to be wearing, anyway! :)

Sacked out with daddy...

Not a baby any more!

Lovin' on Uncle Fun at the Old High/Rider game!

Jiddo keeping me warm at the game!

Cousin Eddie and me at the Old High pep rally! I was more interested in getting my glow stick back than posing for a picture.

Daddy and me watching the pep rally...or probably the cheerleaders! :)

Cousin Joseph and me before the pep rally...

Hey! I'm 9 months old!! Yea!!!

I cannot believe that Jack has been alive the length of my pregnancy! Gosh, 9 months sure goes much faster once they're here, and not in your belly!

What are we up to these days? Wow...we are EVERYWHERE! Jack started crawling on November 5 (even though I think Daddy saw it a day or two before...we're gonna go with the date MOMMY saw it happen!) and things haven't slowed down a bit! He spent several weeks scootching...mainly backwards...but then finally realized how much easier going forward was! Once he figured that out, there has been no stopping him. He's pretty darn fast--especially for just only doing it a little over a week! Jimmy went in to get him out of his crib the other day, and usually we see him sitting there...not this time; he was standing! He has figured out that he can pull up on everything, using WHATEVER is around him to help him stand (our faces, our hair, our clothes--even my neck...the other day I looked like I had a ginormous hickey on my neck after he grabbed my neck to stand up). So, the baby proofing has begun. Well, sort of. His crib is lowered all the way, which just blows my mind--where did my little 6 pound 5 ounce baby go?!

Speaking of that, we had our 9-month checkup on Friday and had a great report. He weighs 20.1 pounds (50th percentile) and is 30 1/4 inches in length (95th percentile)!!! WOW! He has now been ok'd to eat table food, which Daddy and I are THRILLED about! (Life will hopefully be easier without baby food!)

Jack got sick last Tuesday afternoon, so we went to the pedi on Wednesday morning...he had bronchitis. So, he and I stayed home together on Wednesday and Thursday, then he was kinda tossed around on Friday so I could go back to work. Poor guy. He had to have breathing treatments every 4 hours (which last about 20 minutes each) on Wednesday and Thursday, then we graduated to every 6, then 8, then we stopped Sunday. It was exhausting. First of all, trying to get a 9-month-old to sit in your lap and put a big "smoking" tube right in his face is a challenge in itself. He did great, though. Normally, he would sit in my lap in his room and play with a toy or the Tylenol bottle (who would've thought THAT was a fun toy?!) and it would go well. During the nighttime treatments, he actually slept through them, so we would just put the tube right in his face in his crib. And, if you've ever heard a nebulizer, those things are NOT quiet!! So, we were super proud of him, and hopefully we won't have to do that again. But, we got a cute little blue train nebulizer out of the deal, anyway! Dr. Yap said that his lungs seemed really good on Friday when we had our appointment, so that was a huge blessing.

As of now, Jack still only has his bottom two teeth, but I'm thinking maybe something else is brewing. He's back in teething-mode (fussiness, chewing on EVERYTHING again, King Slobber, etc.) so I'm thinking another one is on the horizon! He is eating whatever we give him...which the only table food he's had so far is Sitti's stew...and loving it all. He says mama, dada, gaga, yaya, baba. He sleeps from about 8pm to 6:45ish and is just so fun! He will be moving from his Infant I class to the Infant II class at school the last week in November, so we're excited to see what all that will bring! We're loving every (busy!) minute with him, and cannot believe how quickly he's growing. We're looking so forward to the upcoming holiday season and all the joys that will come with that.

Jack, you are absolutely precious in every way, and you make our lives better each day! We love you to the moon and back! Happy 9 months!

We Are Family

2009-11-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

Our little guy made the news! :)

www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/nov/06/aboussies-a-football-tradition-at-wfhs/

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T10:43:00.000-06:00

Mommy and Me

Daddy and Me

Hanging out watching the trick-or-treaters!

But not for long...I'd rather go somewhere...

Jack's first Halloween was super fun! It was a long day for Mommy and Daddy because we went to Dallas to celebrate Daddy's 30th birthday! So, Janny and Poppy came to stay with Jack, and they had lots of fun. We trick-or-treated at Sitti and Jiddo's, then went to our sweet friends' house to celebrate for a little while longer. Needless to say, that didn't last very long--between being exhausted from playing with the grandparents, to daylight saving beginning, to the whole dressing up and getting in-and-out-of-the-carseat-a-million-times, all three of us were pooped! So, unfortunately, it was an early night for all of us! But, here are a few pictures of our little duck...or our Jack Quack...or our Chick Magnet...

Hope you had a happy one as well!

Oh~I finally updated the previous post and uploaded pics...check 'em out!

Fall Fun!

2009-10-28T09:35:00.001-05:00

Daddy and Jack

Little Legacy!

Sportin' my Shady Oaks Country Club hat! Thanks, Andrew! :)

Take One: The Aboussie/Rosell Families~2 generations

Take 2: Better!

At the picnic after the SLP Fall Festival...Kohen's not so sure what Jack is gonna do next!

Kresee hanging out! Happy and content, as usual!

Oh, I love the pretty ladies!

Miss Presley "Strawberry Shortcake"

Cute Kate

the back of Kohen the Pirate...he was too quick for me to get a front shot!

Sweet Mary Clare

Duke the Lion

Jack the Duck and Cohen the Tiger

All the dads ready to capture the big moment!

October has been so much fun with our little pumpkin! Jack has had his Fall Festival at school, we've taken family pictures in the park, and visited the pumpkin patch. We also made a trip to Fort Worth for Jack's cousin Charlie's first birthday! We had to make a quick stop by the TCU bookstore, of course, to get some "frog gear" for our tiniest frog...and Daddy wanted to show Jack the Sigma Chi house as well...that was quite the experience~as usual!! :)
We're looking very forward to celebrating his first Halloween on Saturday (and of course Daddy's 30th birthday, too!) I will upload pictures this afternoon (here's hoping) of some of the fun we've had over the past few weeks! Sorry for the overload of pictures...hey--at least I'm uploading them, right?!

Better Late Than Never!

2009-10-17T12:59:00.001-05:00

My first school artwork! It's on our fridge...we're so proud!

Take One for chair pictures~didn't go over so well. This is seriously the best one! Ha!

WHERE has she been!?!

I'm coming to get her!!!

Take Two: seriously, we're doing THIS again?

Nah, I think I'd rather get Sophie back from you than just sit here...

Okay fine, just one...but I'm not gonna smile...

Playing with an empty wipie container--SO fun!

I've decided that I need a personal assistant just to keep up with this blog! I love blogging, but finding the time to do it is another story. Plus it seems that every time I'm ready to post something, the camera battery is low/dead, our sweet internet is acting goofy, and the list goes on.

ANYWAY, Jack turned 8 months old on the 12th! Yes, I know it's the 17th, but whatever. He had an upper respitory infection last Saturday, accompanied by the start of an ear infection, and a 101.9 fever. Good times. I've decided there's nothing much worse than your baby being sick. He would just lay in our arms and moan--poor little guy! He felt awful! But, by mid-week he was back to our normal Jack. I'm hoping sickness stays away for a while! I would just stand over his crib and bawl when he'd fall asleep~I know, a little ridiculous, but it's just heartbreaking to see them feel so bad!!

He's growing like crazy. He was 19.11 pounds when we took him to the doctor!! And long--that boy is a mile in length! He's the same length as his changing pad on his changing table!! Unbelievable! Apparently his daddy was the same way when he was a little boy...long and lean! He wears a size 4 diaper (yes, you read that correctly) because he is so long. 3's fit him, but not in the stride. He wears 9-12mos in clothes, but the majority of 12mo pants fit him because of his length.

He's still doing great with eating. He's actually started feeding himself Gerber puffs and yogurt melts. He loves, loves, loves them. Still loving the paci, and of course his Sophie. He loves to talk (mama, baba, gibberish, etc.), he loves to play, loves to jump, loves to wave, and really would like to crawl. He'll put that knee up like he wants to go somewhere, but just can't seem to figure it out yet. Just still the two bottom teeth as of now. :)

JackJack, you are just precious to us, and make our lives worth living! Each day is even more fun than the last, and just when we think we can't love you anymore than we already do, a new day arrives and we do! We are so, so blessed, and you are our everything! Like we tell you every day, we love you to the moon and back...and then some! Happy 8 months (a little late)!

Proof

2009-10-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

I was finally able to snap a pic of Jack's 2 bottom pearly whites!

That One Word...

2009-10-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

First off, I cannot believe I've posted twice within a 24-hour period! It's just been a big weekend in the Aboussie household!

In a woman's life, there are always words or sounds that just absolutely warm your heart. From the first "I love you," to the "Will you marry me?" to the "I do," those are just a few words that just melt your heart. As you grow in your marriage, other things just do it to you--"Yes, you're pregnant," hearing your baby's heartbeat for the very first time, hearing "It's a BOY!" and then hearing the precious cry the minute they're born are all just inexplainable. Once that precious angel grows, you hear wonderful sounds such as their first laugh, finding their voice, their little babbles, etc. But...I heard a word from my child's mouth yesterday that I've waited almost 29 years to hear..."mama". It was very clear--I wasn't just imagining it! Hearing that simple little word literally made my heart stop. You go through the motions of becoming a mother, but to hear that word for the very first time by your child ranks right up there with hearing his first cry--for me, anyway. So, this is just one very proud "mama".

Front and Center!

2009-10-02T19:40:00.000-05:00

So, the other day when I picked up Jack from school, his progress report said this:

You could feel a tooth, and just kinda see it. Well, that was last Tuesday, and now he has BOTH of his bottom two teeth coming in together! WOW! You could really see them the other day, but by yesterday it was very obvious that they had cut through! He's not a big fan of you messing with them--I'm sure that area is pretty sore! So, I can't snap the picture fast enough to show them to you, so that's my goal for the weekend! Ha!

Jimmy and I went to Kilgore for my 10-year high school reunion last weekend. We had SO much fun, and Jack was incredible. He did so well in the car to-and-from, and he did well at night too. He had so much fun playing with Janny and Poppy! Here's a picture of him before going to his first Kilgore High School football game to cheer on the Bulldogs!

7 months!

2009-09-15T17:34:00.000-05:00

This is how I'd prefer to have my "chair pictures" taken...with my paci and my Sophie.

Okay, are you gonna give those back?

Heyyyy!

Okay, one little grin...

This is how he took a nap the other day on our bed...

Waving hello!

Blurry, but cute!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since his 6-month post! Ridiculous! Anyway, here goes...

Where has another month gone?! Well, our little guy is just growing like crazy. He's eating meats, fruits and vegetables, which we haven't found anything he doesn't like (yet!) so that's been great. He is eating a jar of combined meats and veggies, and a jar of fruits, and STILL taking a 7 1/2 ounce bottle! Oh well...we'll get to that whole "more food than bottle" at some point! And no, still not a tooth in sight. Ugh. But, he has come to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a paci. I mean seriously. I think he likes to chew on it more than he does suck, but hey--whatever the prince wants the prince gets...for now, anyway...

And, I think you get heavier and more curious every single day. You love to grab ANYTHING that's in your sight and shake it in the air! This has almost gotten us in trouble a few times!! You love being outside, and you love to sleep on your side. It cracks us up!

You are just so fun, and we look forward to our days being over so we get to spend time with you. You are just growing and changing so quickly, but it sure is fun!! We love you to the moon and back! Yea 7 months!

(I have been SO bad about taking pictures this month. There are seriously none except his 7 month chair pics. Bad mommy.)

6 months!!

2009-08-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

Pictures...finally! So, we went to the doctor for his 6-month check-up and everything was great!
He was 17.13 pounds and 28 1/4 inches (95th percentile!!) Healthy, growing boy! Sorry for the delay in pics, but at least I got the post below on his actual 6-month birthday! :)

I prefer to have my feet in my mouth at all times...soooo attractive! :)

I'm half a year old!!!

We've seriously gotta do this again?!!?

Getting ready to leave for my first day of school!!!

Jack is so lucky to have his great grandmother living in the same city!

This is the way he prefers to sleep now! (No his face is not actually IN the bumper pad!)

Jack's baptism day!

Mommy and Jack--we forgot to do one with Daddy because he had already changed clothes!

Precious cousins Haley and Grayson having lunch with Jack after his baptism.

Happy Half, Jack! I cannot believe half of a year has passed since you were born. Where does time go? What an incredible six months it has been. You're such a sweet baby, and you're growing like crazy. We go on Friday for your 6-month appointment, but I'm gonna guess 18 pounds and 26 inches. We shall see! You're eating rice cereal (and liking it much more than you did) and veggies. So far, there hasn't been one you haven't liked--carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, avocado (which kinda upset your tummy a little, so we're gonna hold off for a little while longer on those!) I'm assuming we'll get the go-ahead on fruits after Friday's appointment, so I'm anxious to see what all you'll like! You can sit on your own for a little bit, but you still love to "stand" and jump. OH how you love to jump! Even when you're not in your Jumperoo, you still like to jump when "standing" in our laps. It's so funny!

Right now, you have a summer "bug" so you're super congested and coughing, and you had to be picked up from school on Tuesday because of a 100 fever! But, you haven't had a fever since they took your temperature, so here's hoping this will quickly be behind us. It's no fun when you don't feel well.

You still haven't had any teeth come through, but definitely in the teething process. My GOSH, how long does this last before you see anything?!?! By the way you drool, you should have a mouth-full by now! Oh well...Sophie the Giraffe is saving our lives! (See previous post if that doesn't make sense.)

The first Sunday in August you were baptized. It was an incredible day and so very meaningful for us. We originally were going to baptize you on Father's Day, but our pastor got very sick, and was out of the pulpit until August. We had lunch at our house afterward with many of our family members and it was a great day to celebrate with them.

Jack, you truly make our lives happier each and every day. Your smile and eyes light up when you see us which absolutely melts our hearts. Thank you for being our everything, and we look forward to celebrating many, many more "half" birthdays with you! We love you so much!

(for some reason it won't let me upload pictures...will try again tomorrow!)

Bittersweet

2009-08-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that summer has come to an end! I know it always seems to fly by, but this year seemed faster than ever!

I start back to work on Tuesday, so Jack will be starting school tomorrow! It's very bittersweet. I've become so used to spending all day every day with him, and honestly, I'm gonna miss it! I always said that there was no way I could be a stay-at-home-mom. I just thought I'd get bored, overwhelmed, etc. I've definitely had those feelings this summer, but I can truly only count on one hand how many times! It has been so amazing watching him grow from a 3 1/2 month old to almost 6 months...so many changes, so many "firsts", too many things to list. I don't understand why I have some of the sad feelings that I do--he went to a sitter when I went back to work after maternity leave, so it's not like this is the first time! But, I think it's just because we've had SO much togetherness that I'm just gonna miss it! And, I think I now realize how quickly they change, and how quickly they can do new things, and that there's a very good chance that Mommy is not going to be the first one to see it happen anymore! (Now I understand how Daddy feels! ha!)

But, I'm glad to get back into the swing of things--I'll be at a new school this year, so I'm excited about that. Plus, I like a schedule, and it will be nice to be back on one. (And Jack will meet new friends, have lots of things to play with, and it'll be good for us to miss each other!)

Anyway, here's our little guy swimming with his Daddy last night. He'll be six months on Wednesday, so hopefully I'll be able to post that day. To all the stay-at-home mommies, enjoy every minute of your little one(s)!

New Addition!!!

2009-08-05T17:45:00.001-05:00

No, I'm not pregnant...!

So, Jack is teething like crazy (still nothing yet...ugh!!) and I went to Storkland a few weeks ago to literally buy every teething product they offered. (It had been a rough few days, which now I attribute to a growth spurt, not so much teething.) Sweet Vickie told me about Sophie the Giraffe, which she said they can't keep on the shelves in the OKC store because they sell out so quickly! She said that I was going to think that she was selling me a $20 dog toy, because that's what it looks like--a rubber, squeaky giraffe! Anyway, it has been a SAVING GRACE. OMG--if your child is teething, it's a MUST. I got the Land of Nod catalog in the mail a few days later, and Sophie is for sale through them, too (but cheaper at Storkland!!) She's actually been around since 1960, and originated in France! Anyway, here are a few pictures of Jack and Sophie--he just LOVES chewing on her face-yes it looks like he's making out with her half the time-and he loves the squeaking noise. It's the best teething purchase yet...now if we can just get them to pop through!

Sophie the Giraffe!!!

Always chewing on her face

Sacked out with Sophie...and nobody's gonna take her away while I sleep!

5 months!

2009-07-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

Holding still for pictures is NOT my favorite thing...

But, here's my foot that I love!!

5 month "chair picture"

Proof that I can sit all by myself!

I still CONSTANTLY chew on my fingers!

At the lake in my raft...never made it down the steep trek to the water, so the hot tub had to do instead!

Ummm...seriously Mom...

This is my favorite position--to be STANDING. Jimmy's and my arms are going to be toned like crazy from doing this all the time! :)

Hanging out on the bar at the lake patiently waiting for my food...

I am OBSESSED with my feet...all I do is grab on to them and try and put them in my mouth!

I am also obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba (which is by FAR the WORST show EVER...)

I forgot to post this after his 4-month check-up. I was fixing him a bottle, and literally turned around to him asleep! Worn out after those shots! Hilarious!

Sweet Cooper loves Jack, and vice versa...he loves the activity mat as much as Jack does!

So our little guy turned 5 months old today! Where does the time go? I mean, really?! Jack is growing like crazy, and continues to amaze us daily. He actually sat without falling over today--mainly doing a balancing act to hold himself up, but hey...another milestone! He is eating rice cereal, carrots, squash and green beans. So far, he likes all of them. Jack has been swimming at his Sitti Sit's pool and at the Country Club, and went to Possum Kingdom Lake for the first time for the 4th of July. Fireworks didn't seem to bother him too terribly much--he started getting fussy before the ones at the Country Club because he was hungry, but the ones at PK didn't bother him at all! It's amazing how one little guy changes so much in just 21 weeks! Wow. We've had a fun summer so far...now if it would just cool down a little bit! Sorry for the overload of pictures--I need to be better at blogging and uploading pics as things happen rather than one big post. Oh well--Happy 5 months sweet boy--it sure has been happy for us!

Big Boy!!!

2009-06-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

My very first bite of food!

I'm not sure about all of this...

So I haven't posted since Jack's 4-month appointment, so here are his stats: 15.8 lbs and 26 inches! He's growing like crazy, so Dr. Yap said that we could start on rice cereal, then incorporate vegetables into his meals next week. We started the cereal last night, and it wasn't too much of a hit. He was somewhat okay about it, but took maybe 3 "real" bites. This morning was better-maybe about 5 bites, then just now at lunch, he took about 7 or 8 bites! It's new, so he's not the biggest fan, but at least (for now) he seems to be liking it a little more each time. We shall see. We'll start carrots next Monday, so that should be interesting. Here are a few pictures of his first bites of food! They're blurry because I'm taking the picture with my left hand, feeding him with my right, and Jimmy was videoing, so we were all one big hot mess last night. Just had to capture the moment in ALL ways possible!! AND, Jack rolled over today! He has done it once or twice on our bed, but I never would officially say that he did it because I thought it may be falling into the incline of where Jimmy and I would be laying. BUT, today he was on his activity mat and did it!!! There's no incline there, so I'm a believer! I tried to run and get the video camera, but he decided he'd rather just have a few minutes of tummy time, then take a nap! But, I will try and video and/or take pictures of the next time. :)

4 months!

2009-06-16T12:56:00.000-05:00

Can we PLEASE be done with these pictures?!?!

Chewing those fingers!!

4 month "chair picture"

I love to stand!!

Loving that Bumbo...and my fingers too!

Hello!!

Sacked out in my carseat and holding my burp cloth like a "lovie"

I know, I'm such a bad mother for being 4 days late on this post, but whatever...better late than never, right?! :)

So, our little guy turned 4 months last Friday the 12th. It has been SUCH a fun month! He is really turning into a little boy, and that infant stage is long gone! Jack has found his voice just recently, and it is hilarious to listen to him "talk" and have "conversations" with you--you mock him, then he'll mock you! He loves standing up (obviously with help) and can be propped up to sit up, so I don't think we're too far from being able to do it on our own--still pretty wobbly, though! He is enjoying being in the Bumbo and now his Jumperoo...although his feet don't completely touch the ground, he doesn't mind it too much! We go for our 4-month check-up (and shots...ugh) on Thursday, so I'll be interested to see how much he's gained, and how long he is. I'm guessing about 16 pounds and maybe 27 inches? I have no idea--just a guess (obviously I do not measure him...or anything else for that matter)! He is starting to teethe because he is drooling GALLONS at a time! Nothing poking through yet, so it will be interesting to see when that does happen. Bathtime is MUCH more enjoyable now that we bathe him in his Bumbo in the sink versus laying down in the infant tub. He just never really liked that-I think because he's too busy and will miss something if he lays down! He has also started something that we call the "Jack Smack" where he gets his tongue and pulls his top lip down making the loudest smacking noise! Jimmy recorded it on his phone--I need to post it on here. It's hilarious!

Jack and I had our first road trip with just each other to go to Kilgore for Janny's Sip and See. It was lots of fun--we were there for 4 days and 3 nights, and he did just great. He had lots of fun spending time with Janny and Poppy, and look forward to going back to see them again soon. I was a nervous wreck about driving the 4 1/2 hours home, but it was okay. On the way down, he slept for about 2 1/2 hours, then woke up and was screaming. We stopped at a Starbucks in Arlington and I fed him a little bit of a bottle, changed his diaper, then had to strap him back in that "chair" that he's come to not enjoy very much. He then screamed for about another 30 minutes and then fell asleep for about 45. We made it to Tyler, about 20 minutes away, and he screamed the entire rest of the way. Needless to say we were BOTH VERY ready to get out of the car! The way back was better...I think I was less anxious because I was going home. But, I just think he gets so bored facing backwards for so long, and I was by myself, so I had no one to vent to! Oh well...all three of us are going to Austin for a wedding in July...maybe that will be better!! :)

There's an overload of pictures, so please excuse. I couldn't just choose a few to post. The chair pictures aren't just great--he was definitely not in the mood for posing. I think he just LOVES the camera about as much as his Daddy does! Ha!

Anyway, here's our sweet Jack in a nutshell for this month. His adorable giggle, grin and eyes make every day brighter!

Play Date

2009-06-04T16:55:00.000-05:00

Just swingin'!

Now that it's summer, Jack no longer goes to the babysitter, so he and I have LOTS of time together!!! We went over to Jack's friend Cash's house today to play with him and Kresee. It was really nice to be able to enjoy the company of Lacee and Kendra, and to just be able to get out of the house--especially on a beautiful day like today. Cash's pool was a little too chilly for the kiddos to get in, but we enjoyed being inside just as much! Here's a picture of the three of them--they're all almost exactly stairstep in age--Cash (born 4/6), Kresee (born 3/5) and Jack (born 2/12). It's amazing how much they grow between 2 and (almost) 4 months of age!!

Power of Prayer

2009-06-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

As you know, the power of prayer is amazing. Right now, that's what the sweet Denman family needs is your prayers. Please go to www.supportsasha.blogspot.com and pray for Sasha and the doctors.

Cutie Pie!

2009-05-19T11:37:00.001-05:00

This is dark because it was taken with my phone, but I just had to post it! He loves to sit in his Daddy's lap and be pulled up to a sitting position. He thinks it's so funny! Happy boy!!!

3 Months!

2009-05-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

3 month "chair picture" ~ he is SO long!!!

HELLO!!!

I LOVE my activity mat ~ grabbing ALL the toys!

Sweet boy!

Where does time go?! I cannot believe three months (and one day!) has passed since Jack was born. Although I know that's not a super-long time, it really is--it's longer than summer vacation, it's the length between spring and summer, it's the length of a pregnancy trimester...it's long!!!
Anyway, Jack has really transformed from an infant to a baby, we feel like, this month. He's almost holding his head up, he's grabbing onto things (extremely tight I might add--especially my hair...ouch!), he's sleeping 6-8+ hours at night (thank you God!) and is starting to maybe even giggle a little! He also has started a new thing where he must either hold a big chunk of my hair, or hold my chin while I give him a bottle! It's too funny, and of course, I don't mind!
Picking him up from the babysitter each afternoon is absolutely the highlight of my day, and spending Saturdays and Sundays just hanging out with him is just priceless. My favorite thing is catching him looking at me and having the biggest smile on his sweet face! Or when he wakes up from sleeping and is grinning like crazy, or when he falls asleep on my shoulder and has that deep breathing...I could go on for hours about all the things I love about him, and words just can't do it justice!
I read one woman's blog, whom I do not know, that just lost her 11-month-old little girl. She has been in the hospital pretty much since she was born because she was very premature, weighing only 1 pound. The doctors told the parents that she was brain dead a few days ago, then she passed away yesterday. After seeing pictures of that sweet baby, and reading about all the trauma she has been through, it truly makes me grateful for every minute we have with Jack. Life is so precious, and we all take it for granted. My heart just bleeds for that family, as I cannot imagine a more terrible loss than the death of your child. I just felt the need to comment on that...
On a lighter note, Jack is the light of our lives and continues to make us better people, and parents, every day. I look forward to summer vacation (12 school days and counting...ugh...) so we can spend time together and get to experience new and fun things!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

Sitti Donna Jack Janny

(Jimmy's mom) (My mom)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms (especially our two)!!!
Unfortunately I did not take one picture yesterday, so I have nothing to post. I do have a picture to upload of our FABULOUS mothers the day that Jack was born, so I will do that later...
We had a great Mother's Day celebration with my parents, Jimmy's parents, and our niece and nephew on Saturday night at our house. We had dinner, visited and it was so much fun! I am so ready for Jack to get bigger to be able to play with Grayson and Haley. They're going to be quite the trio!!
Yesterday I never got out of my pajamas and just spent the day with my husband and son--it was a GREAT way to spend the day!
We are so blessed to have such incredible mothers in our lives that are such wonderful role models. If I can be half the mother each of them has been, then I know that I've done a good job.

"All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my Mother"

-Abraham Lincoln

All Boy!

2009-05-04T20:45:00.000-05:00

I went in to check on Jack while he was taking a nap the other day, and this is how I found him! He kicked all the covers off of him, scooted way down, and was completely sprawled out! It just cracked us up--he already looks like a little man...all relaxed!

And yes, there are 500 blankets in his bed--he LOVES to be all tightly tucked in, so every blanket he has is around him to make him feel all snuggly, now that he's in his crib. I know, I know, I shouldn't have all those blankets in there, and I will definitlely take them out once he's able to roll over so that it's not a suffocation hazard.

Also, I had to turn the flash off of my camera, so forgive the darkness of the picture...

Other than that, things are great! Loving that sweet baby boy!!!

Cute Couple!!!

2009-04-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

Here are Kresee and Jack last Thursday at his Sip and See. They are exactly three weeks apart (Jack's older) and will be friends forever...whether they like it or not!
They actually "posed" for these pictures for quite a while--until Jack started slowly leaning over on her and they both almost fell over!
It will be fun watching the two of them grow up together!

Checkup and Shots and Big Boy Bed, Oh My!

2009-04-20T11:52:00.000-05:00

Well it was an eventful week and weekend in the Aboussie household. Thursday we had a Sip and See for Jack at his Sitti Donna's house, which was lots of fun! I can't BELIEVE I didn't take my camera, but my mom did, so as soon as she can learn how to email pictures, I will post some! Jack's best girl friend, Kresee came, and we have some adorable pictures of the two of them. I will post them as soon as I receive them!
Friday we had Jack's 2-month checkup and shots...ugh. I now completely understand the saying, "it hurts me more than it hurts you." It was HORRIBLE watching that! He got three shots in his poor little thighs, and one that they give orally. I cried. I got home and rocked him and cried some more. I just felt so sorry for the little guy! However, his appointment went well. He is now 11 pounds 3 ounces and 24 inches in length! He's growing like crazy. I can't believe we don't go back until mid-June, and that he'll be 4 months old at that time.
Saturday he wasn't the greatest of days to say the least. Jack was pretty fussy, I'm assuming from his shots, and really just wanted to be held and not much more. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to go to his friend Kohen's 3rd birthday party, which we were all very sad about. We would've loved a little bit of a break, and to have some adult conversation with Kohen's mommy and daddy! :) But, I think it would've been pretty miserable for all to endure his crankiness that day! Yesterday was much better, and he seemed back to normal. Hopefully we're at the end of all of that...until the next round of shots...
Also, another accomplishment for the weekend was that Jack now sleeps in his crib! He's officially out of the bassinet and sleeping in his big boy bed. We're so excited! He got to the point where he pretty much filled up the entire bassinet, and now he looks SO tiny in his crib! But, we're excited, and he seems to be enjoying it!
I will post some pictures soon, but that's all for now!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

Easter afternoon

Can I please take my nap now?

Precious cousins Grayson and Haley Gaither

My 2-month old "chair picture" on Sunday, April 12

(Can't get this to rotate!)

Sweet Pea...waiting for the Easter Bunny to come Saturday night

After a long day at the farm on Saturday

Our little "Jack Rabbit!"

Seriously, Mom?

We celebrated Jack's first Easter with lots of family and fun! Saturday, we went to Healdton to the farm for his first Easter Egg Hunt, which he slept through, but he sure did look cute! We went to church for the first time as a family on Sunday, which he also slept through, but we were thrilled that he behaved so well! Sunday afternoon we spent at Jimmy's parents house where Jack slept through yet another egg hunt, but still ended up getting a basket full of eggs! He got to see lots of his cousins, aunt and uncles. My parents were also here to celebrate, and it was a wonderful weekend for all! Here are a few pictures over the weekend. For some reason it won't let me rearrange the pictures, or move this text to the top! Oh well...

Things I've Learned: Part II

2009-04-08T11:11:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that Jack will be 8 weeks old tomorrow! I PROMISE I will post pictures tomorrow (or at least very soon) because he doesn't even look like that baby in the main picture at the top anymore!!!

He is growing like crazy-we go to Dr. Yap for our 2-month checkup on the 17th (he'll be 2 months on Easter) and I'm anxious to see how much he's changed! He is so precious, and becoming more like a little boy, more than an infant, each day. We're just head-over-heals in love with him and can't wait to see what another month holds!

I did want to post some more things that I've learned this month:

~It's amazing that you can give your child the most thorough bath, and there's still a spot that smells like sour milk...and you just can't seem to find that spot...
~Zippered onesies can truly be the best things in the world when you're changing a late-night diaper...my blood pressure can start to rise when I can't get the snaps matched up...
~When my child sleeps 6+ hours at night, it's such a huge accomplishment that I almost cry
~My husband can toot and it's disgusting...my son toots and it's sweet and cute
~Do the lungs and vocal cords REALLY develop this month?!?!?!
~No matter what, now that our sweet boy can look up and smile at us, it melts my heart like nothing else!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2009-03-17T21:51:00.000-05:00

Hope you had a wonderful day!

One Month!

2009-03-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

I know I should've written this yesterday, but time got away from me...it's unbelievable how quickly time passes with a newborn! Yikes!
So, Jack was one month old yesterday! I cannot believe it's been a month. I feel like it was just yesterday we were playing the waiting game anticipating his arrival. He's changed so much in the last four weeks, and is growing like crazy! His umbilical cord fell off this morning--yea!--so I can finally schedule his newborn pictures. It's amazing how such a tiny person, who's only been in this world one month, can truly change your life. I've heard so many people say that they can't remember life without their babies--I totally understand that now. I know there will be SO many new experiences within the next 11 months (and of course the rest of his life!) and I just cannot wait to see what each new chapter with Jack holds!
The last two feedings have been a little strange--projectile spit-up 2 out of the last 3 bottles. Fun!! I've called the Pedi to see what we need to do. Nothing has changed--no new bottles, no new formula--but he is eating 5-5 1/2 ounces, so I'm just wondering if maybe his tummy is getting too full too fast? Maybe I need to burp him more? I give him Mylecon or Gripe Water as needed and I also keep him upright for about 15 minutes after each bottle. So, I have no idea!!! I just hope he isn't having tummy "issues" and that it was just a fluke thing that will go away...fingers crossed!
Other than that, it's been a wonderful month. We look so forward to each day experiencing our Jack Journey! (I promise I will post more pictures soon...please forgive the blurriness of the big picture--it was taken with my phone. I've GOT to learn to keep my camera with me at all times!!)

Things I've Learned So Far

2009-03-04T14:08:00.000-06:00

Jack will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, and I can't believe how quickly time passes! I know it's only been a short period of time, but there are several things I've learned in a short amount of time...

1. There is no sense in trying to grow my nails out--especially when you somehow get poop underneath them after changing a blow-out diaper (and then of course getting the poop all over the wipes container when trying to get a wipe).
2. That you can change your baby 4, yes 4, times in one day--hat and blanket included. Wow, I had no idea how far their little tee-tee can spray!!
3. That somehow you can stay calm when you have projectile spit-up sprayed all over you at the end of the 2am feeding.
4. That there's at least one load of baby laundry that's able to be done pretty much each day.
5. That no matter how hellacious the day has been, when that sweet boy nuzzles his little face into my neck when I'm holding him, or when he grabs my finger and looks up at me with those big blue eyes, it makes it all worth it!

It's About Time!

2009-02-21T13:46:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it's taken me so long to finally post, but time sure does get away from you with a newborn! Wow!
Things are going well in our household--adjusting to life with the three of us. My mom left yesterday which was incredibly hard. I was surprised how emotional I was, but I think it's the reality of not having an "experienced mother" to say, "yes you're doing that right," or "why don't you try this." I explained it to Jimmy last night that basically that I was just scared, since there's no rule book to go by, and that every day can be so different, and it just makes you emotional. But, I know that it's all normal, and that every parent goes through this--it just takes time.
We've had lots of visitors, and lots of "firsts" for Jack--his first outing (to Dr. Lamar's office for me to get my staples out from my c-section), his first checkup at the hospital (which went very well), and his first bath (which was much more difficult than I thought it would be!) I can't believe we will have been home a week tomorrow. In a way it seems like 4 months ago, and in another way it just seems like yesterday!
I'm trying to get some good pictures of him to post, so as soon as I remember to charge my camera battery that's dead (after taking lots of pictures from his first bath!) I will post some of him.
I know I've been bad about not returning phone calls, emails, texts, etc., but please forgive--I think next week I will be feeling more up to doing that. Looking forward to sharing just a piece of our lives through this blog!

Sweet Boy!

2009-02-15T10:45:00.001-06:00

Katie and Jimmy will get to bring Jack home today...They are hoping around lunchtime...I know they are very ready to be in their own house with their sweet new baby boy:)

Introducing......

2009-02-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

JACK ELLIS
February 12, 2009
1:02 pm

6 lbs. 5 oz.

20" long

As you can see Jack decided to arrive today and not yesterday:) But he was worth the wait. After many hours of being in labor, they decided on a c-section around lunchtime today. Mommy, Daddy and Baby Jack are all doing great. They will most likely get to come home on Sunday.

Jimmy bringing Jack out for everyone to see...

This is the first picture of Katie getting to hold her sweet baby boy.

First Aboussie family pictures.

Jack and his Daddy:)

Jack Is Coming!

2009-02-11T18:47:00.000-06:00

**UPDATE**
The nurse checked Katie again around 7:00 pm before she left work. She was still only 1-2 cm, but was now 80% effaced. She is maxed out on the level of pitocin at 60. Dr. Lamar will be back to deliver a baby and will check on her at some point this evening. Her contractions are getting pretty painful, but she is trying to hold out for any pain meds right now.

Hey Everyone,
This is Kendra posting for Jimmy and Katie because they are busy in the hospital having a baby!!!!
I will bring you up to date as best I can and I'm sure I won't get it all correct, but I will try.

Katie went in for her weekly appointment yesterday. Her blood pressure was crazy high. So the nurse took it again and it was still very high. So she had to lay down and hang out for awhile to have some more readings. Dr. Lamar checked her and she hadn't really made any more progress, but that was OK with her knowing she was going to be induced next week if Jack didn't come on his own. Her blood pressure did go down enough for her to go home, but was still really high. He would never even tell her how high it was. He ordered some labs for her so she went upstairs to do some bloodwork and she got to do the lovely 12 hr urine sample. She started that at 7:00 last night and had to collect her urine until 7 am this morning.
She went to work this morning and call around at 8:45 because they wanted her to schedule her induction for next Wednesday the 18th. They hadn't got the results back from the lab yet and so she waited on them to call her. Around 9:45 they called and she got to speak to Dr. Lamar. He did her labs didn't look too horrible but they were considered abnormal and since she was 39 1/2 weeks, he said "Let's go ahead and do this."
SO she headed home to pack her things. They got to the hospital around 11:30 this morning and got all checked in and hooked up. They started the pitocin and magnesium (for her high blood pressure) around 1:00. The nurse checked her and reported that she was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced which was a surprise. She said the doctors are usually pretty generous because she was told just yesterday about 1.5 cm and 80-90% effaced. Dr. Lamar was unable to break her water and so he went and delivered a baby and was able to break it around 3:00 this afternoon. I got up there about 3:45 and stayed until about 5:45. At that time, her pitocin was being increased every 45 mins-1hr. The max they will do is 60 and she was at a 48 when I left. They were checking her magnesium levels like every 4 hours to make sure it was at a therapeutic level.
When we left she was definately having some pretty good contractions. They were consistently coming about every 2 minutes. Her pain level was probably around a 3 at that time but they seemed to be getting stronger. The nurse said she wouldn't check her progress again until she was in a lot more pain and was wanting meds. So hopefully the next time she does get checked, it will be enough for an epidural!!
SO basically, looks like Jack will probably make his appearance sometime after midnight tonight and will be a February 12th baby!! I will keep you updated when I can......

Kendra

The Waiting Game...

2009-01-30T08:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had our second weekly appointment (it was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but because of the bad weather I was moved to Thursday) and unfortunately, there's not much to report! I'm only dilated to a 1...ugh...but I am almost completely effaced. So, we'll see what the next few weeks bring. Dr. Lamar went ahead and let us pick out our date in case I need to be induced, so that was interesting. It's stressful enough picking out a name for a child, then to pick out their birthday as well--very strange!! Since he will be named after both of his maternal great-grandfathers (Jack was my grandfather's middle name, which he went by, and Ellis was Jimmy's grandfather's middle name), we decided to choose February 18 as the induction date, which is Jimmy's paternal grandmother's (Sitti Margie's) birthday! So, if our little "Love Child" doesn't arrive on Valentine's Day, then at least we know he will be here the following Wednesday the 18th! I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, which is nice/scary/exciting/overwhelming!
Also, I think I've tried EVERY old wives tale in the book, and every suggestion that ANYONE has given me, and nothing seems to bring on labor or help me dilate, so I'm just going to try and be patient (which is VERY hard for me!) and let things happen when and how they're supposed to! So, now we just wait...
But oh, how worth the wait it will be to see that sweet face!

Here We Go!

2009-01-15T13:27:00.000-06:00

We've enjoyed reading all of our friends' blogs and decided to start one of our own. I thought I'd wait until Jack was born before starting this, but I just couldn't wait any longer--plus it makes the time pass faster when I have something to do other than obsessing with his nursery, etc.!
So, as of today, I have 30 days to go until he's born. We're as ready as we think we can be. The nursery's done (except for framing and hanging 4 prints), the clothes are washed, and now it's just the waiting game. I start my weekly appointments with my doctor on Tuesday, and I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone.
Sunday, a week ago, my Braxton-Hicks contractions started getting really strong and were coming really fast. So, I referred to my little packet that Dr. Lamar gave me a few months ago, and it said to call if the contractions were less than 4 minutes apart for an hour or two. So we waited two hours, and they were 2 minutes apart, so we decided to call. Another doctor was on call, so he advised us to come on up to the hospital to be checked. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and Dr. Godfrey came in to check me. I wasn't dilated, but I was 80% effaced. (At this point I'm 34 weeks and 1 day.) So, he gave gave me a shot to stop the contractions and they monitored me for about two hours. He gave me a prescription to be filled, and I would take the medication 4 times a day for 10 days. Considering we left the hospital around 2am, I didn't feel like running to Walgreens to fill it! So, I left school around 9 the next morning to do so. I took the pill with my lunch around 11:15, and by noon, I knew something was wrong. I started getting very anxious, I couldn't really breathe, and my skin turned bright red ALL over my body. It looked like I had been out in the sun all day long and fried myself. So, I called my doctor and talked to (what I didn't know at this time) a fill-in receptionist and told her I thought I was dying! She was a complete idiot and gave me the run-around, so I called Jimmy and we went back to Labor and Delivery. Ugh. Long story short, (not really--I'm never good at making anything short) I had an allergic reaction to the medication--obviously! It's actually a heart medication they give patients to slow their heart rate down, and they've found that it can also work for slowing contractions in pregnant women. Needless to say, I'm off that medication and will not be taking it again. Dr. Lamar put me on 24-hour bed rest until he saw me for my scheduled appointment the next day. Once I saw him, he said he would not have even given me the medication--that I'm at the point in my pregnancy that if I go into labor, I go into labor. So, I'm just sitting around having contractions all day every day, pretty much! But, now I have a "point of reference" as he puts it, and I know when to go to the hospital--maybe, anyway! He said we did do the right thing by calling and going in to get checked, and that I may have to do that 10 more times--hopefully not! Some of my friends that have recently had babies say that it's like having miserable cramps and that your sense of humor is completely gone! So, I'm going to follow that rule of thumb!
So, I probably won't be posting too much more until Jack's debut, but we'll see. 30 days to go...and counting!!! I'll definitely keep you posted. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks for an easy delivery and healthy baby boy! The best is yet to come!