Tater's Place

Haven't left yet!

2011-04-16T21:21:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I've had a few people miss us. It's nice to know a those few people at least noticed I might stop. So, there may be a little blogging left in me. Plus, little Tater gives me lots to write about. So stay tuned...

I feel it coming to an end.

2011-03-10T20:55:00.003-06:00

Yep, I am thinking about leaving the blogging world. It's too time consuming. That's all I have to say tonight...I'll be thinking about it. Of course with a little begging, I'm sure you could convince me to stay, then at least I know someone out there is interested in our life :) It is a wonderful, blessed life! Nite nite!

Heavy heart

2011-02-10T20:25:00.002-06:00

First of all, let me say...I am SICK of SNOW!!! We have had more than our fair share the last week and I am SO over it! I would love to see the green or, well, brown grass in my yard! :)

On another note...a sad note. I have a heavy heart today. You know those stories, the ones that just hit too close to home and occupy your thoughts often? Well, we learned yesterday of a tradgic car accident in Springfield. A young mother (29) with her two children, ages 6 & 4 were driving on the snow covered road when she lost control. Ultimately, the mother passed on impact while her children witnessed the most horrific event of their lives. Later in the day, we learned that we knew the young mother. Tater & I attended a storytime regularly at a local toy store, Gold Minds . It was one of our most favorite things to do each week. Tater gets to run through the store which has the most unique fun, educational toys...ever and then we got to listen to Miss Crystal read stories.

You know those people you meet, who instantly you have a connection with? Well, she was one of those people. She always knew Tater's name the minute he walked in and would greet him with a huge hello and smile. She had a way of making him feel special. And well, if you make my kid feel special, then I think your pretty special. She had a contagious laugh and a huge spirit that filled the room. She was so animated while reading her stories, all the kids were intent on listening to her. We sang songs, and danced and she would get right in there with our kids and lead them in all these activities. Such a fun person.

It's too bad that her young life ended so abruptly and tradgically. I am reminding myself often that God has a plan, even if it's really hard to understand. So, if you have a minute, please say a prayer for those two young children who witnessed the unthinkable yesterday, pray that God erases the bad they saw yesterday and replaces it with the loving, beautiful memories they have of their mother. Pray that their father can get through this time and be the daddy they need right now. Oh, and if your in Springfield, go to Gold Minds during the next week and 30% of their proceeds will go to the family! How awesome is that! Thanks blogger friends. And give your sweet kids an extra hug & kiss, and your hubbies too. I know I have.

18 month stats

2011-01-17T21:45:00.002-06:00

Tater had his 18 month check-up the other day. I'm happy to report that he has been doing awesome. The weird every 3-week fevers he was getting for quite some time have subsided, ear infections still occur frequently, even with tubes, but they are way easier to treat. He was defiantly more aware of where he was this time and what was lurking in his future...shots!

He did great though, took it like a champ. The little trooper he is. Here's his stats:
Weight: 25.11 lbs. - 50%
Height: 34 inches - 95% (although we think they measured him wrong)
Head circumfence - I don't remember! I know, terrible mother.

There isn't a lot he can't do at the moment. He is B-U-S-Y!! Keeps us on our toes at all times. He can keep a beat to music, and his started to mimic just about everything we do. Great. Guess we better watch ourselves ;)

He's very loving, cuddly (I love), and enjoys watching Handy Manny or "manny" as he calls it. He's also very responsible, throwing away "trash," making sure Wiley has food in his bowl and picking up his toys. He loves to climb, everything! Spin in circles, weird! and can say way more words than I can count. He is very analytical, so far pretty patient and has great focus. He enjoys reading books and is obsessed with playing with his kitchen he got from Christmas. He makes us cookies several times a night and he'll even pretend to eat them...way cute. He is super smart (and I'm not saying it because I'm partial)!

Can. not. move!

2011-01-12T22:06:00.002-06:00

In my last post I mentioned that we were hunting for a new gym. Well, we've signed up for a free week pass and have gone several times this week. We like it and Tater had a ball in the child care area!

I, however...can. not. move! I joined my dear friend Kara today in a strength training class and every muscle in my body is screaming! Tomorrow is not going to be good. I'll be lucky if I can bend my rear down to sit in a chair! Not to mention we played volleyball at church last night too and I was already slightly sore from that!

But! It does feel good. My body thanks me and in a few months that swimsuit will be even happier :)

Happy 2011!!!

2011-01-06T20:41:00.005-06:00

Wow, it is true. The older you get, the faster time goes. We had a wonderful Christmas. Lots of new memories were made and I love to make memories! I get it from my mom, she always wanted everything to be a memory and many time would say (when things weren't going as planned) "Oh well, we're making a memory!" She was right, most memories I have were off the wall things and never completely picture perfect. That is what makes them special.

We celebrated Tater's half birthday on the 23rd. He enjoyed a Christmas cupcake this year and loved every bite. We also let him open one present, just to spread out the Christmas joy.

For Christmas, we spent lots of time with family, celebrated Jesus's birthday and we opened lots of presents, Tater enjoyed opening his and everyone elses gifts. Really into ripping that paper up! His favorite gift was from Santa, of course. His very own wooden kitchen which he adores. He makes us cookies daily, actually multiple times a day and tells me over and over again, "It's hot" with a cute little lisp.

We spent New Years Eve doing...NOTHING! Welcome to the life with children :) We were alright with that. Had Tater's best friend Ethan over for pizza and playing, then it was off to bed for Tater while we watched a movie and barely stayed awake to ring in the New Year. It will get exciting again, someday.

Now were on the hunt to find a new gym where the plan is to go workout. So far, we've visited several but haven't pulled the trigger. It's a big commitment. Most make you sign a one year contract! I don't want to put my money somewhere I'm not going to be happy with. We were offered a free pass to one, so I think we'll go try that out and then take the plunge. I'm excited. I'm ready to have more energy. That's my goal. I know the weight loss and feeling better about myself will come with that, but right now, momma needs energy to keep up with a running, stumbling, climbing, temper tantrum (only occasionally) throwing 18 month old!

I can't wait!

2010-12-22T20:46:00.003-06:00

I LOVE Christmas. Other than the month of May, this is my most favorite month. It has snuck up on me this year. Along with all the sickness the first of the month that is still lingering a bit, I've had a hard time getting it all together. This week though things are falling into place and if I could just get the gazillion gifts we have wrapped, I think we'll be good to go!

Twelve years ago to the day almost, my sweet husband proposed to me. Every year we try to re-live the moment by going to dinner at the same restuarant and out to the Precious Moments chapel where he proposed. It's kind of become a little tradition. We didn't make it last year and so far haven't made it this year, but there's still time. I think Tater will get a kick out of all the lights they have displayed there. But, it is a drive for us now, so we'll just wait and see if we make it.

We took in some lights around town tonight and that was really fun. Tater was amazed at all the stuff we saw, we even let him out of his carseat to get a really good view. People really go all out these days. Used to be we were just excited to see houses with Christmas lights, now we expect music and a theme to go with an array of blow up santa's and choo choo trains!

Tomorrow is Tater's half birthday. Yep, 18 months old. So I'll be getting him half a cake and I might just let him open one present :)

I can't wait to share his joy and excitement Christmas Eve and morning. Last year was awesome and this year I know will be even better! Merry Christmas!!!!

Maybe blogging isn't my thing

2010-12-12T13:17:00.003-06:00

I've been no good at blogging lately. I can't even remember the last thing I wrote about, I think it was Halloween??? Oh well, let's put the past in the past and I'll get you up-to-date in our world.

- Sold my best friends house. Whew, that was a nail biter! No pressure or anything, but we got it done!!! Now I have another good friends house listed. Real estate has kept me busy.

- Tater got a new playroom! What can I say, he's an only child and if I had to look at those toys lining my living room one more day I was going to go nutso! So now there is a room to contain all the fun. I, however, no longer have an office which is alright because I usually use David's anyway!

- First experience selling on Craigslist...my desk & chair! Woohoo! SOLD!

- We enjoyed Thanksgiving at my sisters, it is fun to see Tater with his cousins, he loves to play with them.

- Decorated for Christmas the best I could with a very curious 17 month old.

- Lots of Christmas shopping, that makes my heart smile :)

- Story time has become our favorite Monday morning treat!

- Breakfast with Santa at Tater's school, I'm on the committee and somehow was in charge of the silent auction - it rocked!

- We sent one of our fur babies to live with Aunt Joan :( Super tough decision, but he is getting WAY more attention that way and he's safe from an almost 18 month old who loves to torment him. Still miss my little Tuckaroo. I'll see him soon.

- David's birthday - pretty uneventful I'm afraid to admit, it was a really busy weekend, we had the fundraiser above and went to SDC with his parents. SO cold, but we had a lot of fun.

- More Christmas shopping :)

- We have a new nephew...our ninth! His name is Logan Murphy :) Cute huh? David's step brother's baby.

- We spent three weeks trying to match the existing wood in our home, but instead...WE got new carpet in the upstairs of our house. So exciting, soft, warm and we LOVE it!

- I was sick with strep, Tater has a touch of pneumonia :( and has been sleeping like a 2 week old. Not good for a sick momma, I'm back to praying for a full night of sleep.

- We had a super fun Christmas party for our church group that we facilitate. We are blessed.

- Had Christmas pictures taken a week ago and still haven't seen them, I'm stressing about getting my card in the mail!

- Off to see Santa tomorrow and enjoy a day off with David.

- Finish up Christmas shopping. It has been fun buying for Tater and all our family.

Well there's my list of highlights.

Of course I have a gazillion pictures I could post, but, I don't have the energy at the moment. Let me get back into the groove of things first. Oh and it snowed today! Woke up to thin layer of snow on the ground :)

Oh wait!!! I had to re-share this photo because of how precious it is to me. Tater fell asleep under the Christmas tree last year...he was 6 months old.

A new level of busy

2010-10-18T21:25:00.002-05:00

I'm coming up for AIR! Oh. My. Goodness. The level of busy that I've been at, is a whole new level for me. Let's just say, 65 homemade Halloween costumes and 5 (yes, 5!!!) contracts later, I'm wiped! Tater has missed his mommy, and I have missed him! So, the costumes were a HUGE success and I'm already gearing up for next year (in my mind) and have a couple of new ideas that will bring in some extra cash. Dave Ramsey would be proud :-) The real estate market in my world has been ninety to nothing and I've been teased at work how quickly you can go from the outhouse to the penthouse. I don't care, I'll take it! I feel incredibly blessed by all this success. Now I'm ready to go back to being boring and having nothing to do. Oh wait. The holidays are coming up, so no chance of that! I'll be around more unless my clients continue to think it's a good time to buy/sell!

15 Month Stats

2010-10-02T22:35:00.002-05:00

Can you believe Tater is already 15 months old! He's busy. Busy getting into everything he's not supposed to! Our living room officially looks like we run a daycare and that has prompted me to declare my office as Tater's playroom. Just as soon as I'm through with my new Halloween costume business :) I decided we have three rooms, hardly used to their potential and one overflowing living room, it's just time. So, I'm now starting to find little things to put in this new playroom, so Tater will think it's FUN and maybe I can keep it as a room I won't want to shut the door on everytime we have company. It may be a playroom, but it's got to look presentable :)

So, Tater went Friday for his 15 month check-up. Following a week of bronchitis, he was not real happy to be at the doctor...again. You think he would be used to it, but I think he sensed he was getting those dreaded shots. So here's the latest stats:

Weight: 24.10lbs (50%)
Height: 31.5" (75%)
Head: ugh, I can't remember! (60%)

Anyway, still growing like a weed and happy as ever! He's enjoying climbing a lot lately, turning light switches off/on and pulling Wiley & Tucker's ears!

Campbell Farm

2010-10-02T22:12:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Check It Out!!!! Tater is featured on Parenting.com!!!!

2010-09-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Buying Guide: 40+ Cool Homemade Halloween Costumes - Parenting.com

Remember last Halloween?? Did I have this blog then?? I can't remember! Well anyway, our little taters was a Sack O' Taters! David has been trying to get me to make these and sell them since I have received so many compliments. Well, one night I decided to give it a try and opened up shop on http://www.etsy.com/. If you've never visited etsy.com, well you should. The whole website is handmade items. I've bought several things there, because I like to by atypical items for my little one that you can't find at Target or Babies R'Us :-) I'm weird like that. Besides tons of childrens stuff, they have everything you can imagine and people are really creative. It's fun to browse around, espescially if you are looking for a particular item.

So, I opened my shop on August 10 and I've had a lot of views and a few people have hearted my shop, but...yesterday I got my first order!!! Then, later in the day I get an email from Etsy saying that my costume was chosen to be featured on Parenting.com as a top 40 Handmade Halloween Costume! Say what?!!! I was shocked! Then it was featured on etsy's fall page and now I've gotten another order!

So since last night, I've been learning everything I can about how this Etsy works exactly so that I can leverage my free publicity and possibly make enough money to buy little Tater some fall clothes and have money for Christmas!!! Either way, I'm totally honored they chose his costume and it is the first one you see! So if any of you know someone who would really like their little one to be a Sack O' Taters, Sack of Potatoes or a Tater Tot (as parenting.com called it) then have them visit my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tatersmom

Who needs a housekeeper?

2010-08-25T09:25:00.002-05:00

No need for me to hire a housekeeper when I've got Tater!

Lately he has been helping me water the plants...

Mop the floors...

And feed the dogs...yes, chocolate syrup :-)

Busy, busy, busy. He is SO much fun at this age, learning and mimicking something new every day. I'm on the lookout for a little broom, he is obsessed with the broom, but it is huge. But, it's really hard to find a mini broom, anyone know where I can find one?

Beach Baby!

2010-08-11T09:59:00.014-05:00

I feel like I have SO much to post, but, I'll just start with Tater's 1st Vacation! He was a maniac! He had a blast! Everyone LOVED him. He charmed them ALL! Mommy needs a vacation, from her vacation, that is how much time was spent watching over him like a hawk! No, I'm just kidding, I did get some R&R too :-) Let's just say no where we went was even slightly baby-proofed...NOTHING! Our hotel was in concrete heaven and was built in the 50's, but we did our best and he stayed safe...shew!

Tater LOVED the beach...after about 3 days. It took that much time to "warm" up to it. After he did, he had waves crashing in his face, sand up to his knees and a BIG smile the whole time. It was so cool to experience all of this with him. I have been to this same beach/hotel since I was 7, so there are LOTS of great memories and to share all my favorite things with him there, was priceless. We joined 55+ of our family members for one week of beach bliss. David and my cousin won the annual paddleball tournament once again :) (long story, but it's a HUGE deal in our family & they don't win unless David is there...ever, so when they do, they really rub it in) They've actually gone so far as to have a dinner show we attended announce them as the winners! There is a trophy and everything, with names engraved...silly, but funny too.

Tater has grown up a lot in two weeks. Being with him every second of every day, I could see some big changes. He has started saying his first real word (other than mama & dada), actually associating it with something...Ball. David thinks its ironic, I think he's crazy. No hunny this doesn't mean he is going to be a star, although he might be ;) He's mimicking everything we do, also started saying PaPa, he's getting around on those two feet pretty well and has developed quite the personality, can we say determined & persistent? Wonder where he gets that from? :)

Well enough chatter, here's some pics of our trip. I took over 1000 pictures (I know crazy, huh?) so these are a few of my favorites.

He's not stupid...wherever this suitcase is going, I'm going with it!

Notice Tater laying on the ground :-) Center of attention.

And...the 2010 Paddleball winners :-0 See I told you there was a trophy, there are 10 years of names engraved on it.

Tater, his g-ma & his great-great aunts. These are my g-ma Ann's sisters. Spending time with them this week was as close to be with my g-ma as I could get. It was wonderful, they are very special & they adored Tater.

Not crazy about the sand or ocean, he warmed up eventually.

The Fab Five, can you tell they have been in the sun all summer?

Tater kept pushing David's face towards mine, over & over, it was cute.

And last but not least...my favorite picture. Loving the sand & all.

Going to the beach, woo hoo!!!

2010-07-23T14:01:00.002-05:00

I've just completed like oh 10 loads of laundry (ok I'm exaggerating a little), cuz I got to pack! We haven't had a vaca since before Tater was born and I couldn't be more excited. Tater & I are going early with my mom & nephew and then David and the rest of my family will meet us in a week to head to the BEACH!! It's SO fun. 20 years or so at the same location, same hotel, same family (+ or - a few people) and lots of fun, fun, fun! Seriously, there are about 55-60 Italians and then there is us...from Missouri :) If you didn't know, my g-ma was Italian and has 6 sisters, ALL there families live in NJ, except us. Somehow my g-ma let my g-pa talk her into coming back to his "home" all those years ago. However, we have maintained a pretty tight relationship and look forward to this time of year. I am super excited for them to meet Tater, he is going to charm them for sure. I'm sad too, cuz it's the first time we have ever been without my g-ma and well it's just not fun.

I'm hoping and praying Tater does well on the airplane and the lack of structure in our schedule from day to day. I also hope he doesn't get sick and that he is the happy-go-lucky-baby I know. He is going to experience so many new things...sand for one and many other things he's going to love. I am seriously going to be on overload taking pictures & video.

I'm also trying to prepare myself to not be a freak everytime my baby falls. Yes, he's walking, but not real good and the hotel we are at is like concrete heaven. ugh. Would it be too protective if I just make him wear a helmet? :-) No where we are going is baby proofed...at all so I'll be on my toes 24/7.

I better get to packin' I don't have a lot of time and I have to work tonight! Leaving town is a sure-fire way to drum up business in the real estate department...seriously. Luckily I have a back-up person!

Sweet little boy

2010-07-11T21:25:00.009-05:00

I meant to share this in my last post, but forgot. I think it's precious, daddy of course, well he's a man, you'll understand when I tell you.

I think I mentioned we're taking a swim class with a few friends. Well on our first day, the teacher lined up a bunch of toys along the edge and had the kids "scale" the wall and choose their favorite. Tater chooses a baby doll, awwww. There were ducks, frogs, rings, boats all sorts of stuff, but he wanted the doll. So fine. Well he is in the pool with his daddy and the baby doll, hugging the baby, patting the baby and giving it kisses, just loving this little doll. It was so sweet. I think it shows that he has a sensitive side.

Then at church last Wednesday, there was another baby doll, and he went right to it and gave it a hug and loved on it. However when we went to pick him up from the nursery, the baby doll was in the sink of his workbench while he was building with his tools, so there, he's defiantly a boy!

Oh and I thought I should post a few pics of the two new post birthday toys Tater got. One of which is Taters new "ride." A brand-new 2010 red Cozy Coupe! He loves it, but isn't the best driver. And he got a new water table to play with outside, also a lot of fun!

Hugs, awwwwww.

Kisses, so sweet.

Uugh, not again!

2010-07-09T22:12:00.003-05:00

Tater has once again, had a fever now for FOUR days! I'm exhausted and need a break! He really has no other symptoms other than being tired and run-down, so we and the doctor decided we'll just wait a couple more days to see if it doesn't go away. The dr. suggested running a couple of tests, but we both agreed that we didn't want to go that route quite yet. So we just wait. Tonight he has been feeling pretty good, we'll see how tomorrow goes.

I've got lots of pics to post. Just haven't had enough energy to download them. I'm behind on making his 9-12 month photobook and haven't even touched his first b-day pics yet. Heck, I just ordered his 9 mth pics from the photographer the same day I had his 1 yr. pics taken. I think they turned out so sweet, I'm really anxious to see them. Oh well, better late than never.

Tater with his new Cozy Coupe car is adorable and he has started saying "Uh-oh" all the time! It's precious...really. Except it's a little hard to get the "oh" out sometimes :)

Well, just thought I'd post a quick update. Good nite!

Happy 5th of July!

2010-07-05T20:44:00.002-05:00

Since I missed posting on the 4th of July, Happy 5th! We had a wonderful lazy weekend. It was the first long weekend we've had in about 6 months where Tater wasn't sick! Woohoo!! We shopped in Branson, went to the Farmer's Market, helped Grandma & PaPa build a fence, played outside & slept! We were pretty low key for the 4th. For the last 16 yrs. we have spent the 4th with my nephew b/c it's his b-day, but now some family dynamics have changed so for the last couple of years, we haven't been at a birthday party. So this year we had my parents over for some delicious steak & crab legs, fresh tomatoe & mozerella salad and homemade blackberry cobbler. Yummy!! We shot a few fireworks off and called it a day. Tater loved the fireworks, just kept kicking his legs and talking lots while watching them. Tucker on the otherhand hated them. Poor thing shook like a leaf and couldn't relax. It was actually quite sad.

Today we went to our first new water class with a couple of our friends. Daddy was able to go since he was off today and I think it's going to be lots of fun. Tater is the youngest in his class, but is already very advanced with his water skills since he's had a couple of classes before. So that's what we get to do everyday for the next two weeks :-)

Hope everyone had a happy 4th! I must say, I love fireworks, but am so happy to be sitting here not listening to them. It was really sounding like a war zone in our neighborhood.

Birthday Fun!

2010-06-27T21:25:00.009-05:00

What a great few days it's been! We celebrated Tater's b-day on the actual day, June 23 with a small party with just a few family members. Here are some pics from the day.
Tater hanging out with Wiley before the party. He uses Wiley as a foot rest :)

Birthday hat I made for Tater. See my cake creations in the background? Yummy!

Tater's little cake. The big one was just like it, but well, bigger!

Look at the mess I made!

Then we had a BIG party with all our friends and family on Sat. It ws so special to have so many people come to celebrate such a special little boy!

These are the take-home favors I made for Tater's friends. They were soft & yummy!

Cake #2, not made by me, but it turned out awesome and was delicious!

Another cake for Tater. And another mess for mom! Overall, two cakes = 4 baths!

Next year, I think we'll just go to a park or something. It was really fun, but not a party meant for every birthday. We are blessed & now are parents of a ONE year old. Wow.

Happy Birthday Tater!

2010-06-23T21:40:00.003-05:00

June 23, 2009 at 6:26 pm, weighing 7lbs. 3oz. 21 inches long, our little boy entered the world! It is about 9:40 right now, and it was about this time one year ago that I met him for the first time. I didn't truly greet him and hold him until about 3am the next morning. Wow...we've come a long way. It has been an amazing year.

David and I were reflecting upon the last year the other night. Laughing about all the fun we've had and sharing how much we have all grown. I mentioned that in the last year, we have all received scars. David for having his gallbladder out, me for having a c-section and Tater for the surgery he had. None of us had any scars before. Now I'll admit, David's wasn't quite the same, but all in all it's kind of ironic in my eyes. We've been through a lot the last year and we all have something to show for it, kind of like battle wounds. But, they have all healed and we've healed. We've become a strong family because we have each other to lean on and learn from. I told Tater's story to a girl I know the other day who is expecting her first son. Her reply to me was, "how can you be so positive and sound so calm about all that has happened?" I told her, none of what happened with Tater, whether it was his birth or the surgery was easy. They were both very trying moments, but honestly we have faith and that is totally what got us through. So it proves that no matter what battle your fighting, God is there and his plans are much greater than anything we can imagine.

My hope for Tater this next year well, and forever is health and happiness. I always pray that we will be guided to help him become the person he his meant to be. To help him find his passion. Because, as I've said before, this little guy is a miracle and he is going to do something great!

Enough mushy stuff...(b/c I am printing these posts and one day my son will read them and think I was silly.)

We went to splash time at the pool today and then had a picnic with some special friends. Tater loved the pool. Then we had a little party for Tater tonight. My cake turned out GREAT! Cute & delicious. Tater loved it and he made sure to let me know by smearing it everywhere, I mean everywhere. I gave him a double bath just to get it all off. It was a great memory and we get to do it all again on Saturday! I'll try and get some pics posted soon, I only took a couple hundred ;)

Happy Birthday Tater!! XOXOXO

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T21:01:00.003-05:00

Today is Father's Day. It's David's very 1st and I think he had a great day. Tater made him a cute little handprint picture at school and we got him a golf towel with his picture on it. But the best present was that Tater took his very first steps!!! David was the first to witness and quickly called me in to see for myself, but of course, Tater wasn't walking. So, I was only going to believe it when I actually saw it. So we tried for a while to get him to do it, but of course he wouldn't. Later in the day my parents were over and Tater wanted to show me PaPa's sunglasses so he just walked on over to me. We all cheered and a few tears were shed. Tater didn't even care, he acted like, "what are you people so excited about? You've never seen any walk before?" What a great moment!

The countdown is on. Three days till Tater is ONE! Can you remember what you were doing on this day last year? Well, I can. I was VERY pregnant and we had walked and walked and walked some more to get that little man to arrive. Only to find out on our Drs. appt. Monday, that I really shouldn't have done all that walking because I had very low fluid levels and it had been really hot. I've found myself reminiscing a lot. What hasn't changed in the last year? It's all been for the better. I am excited to celebrate his actual birthday on Wednesday with just a few family members. I want it to be such a happy day for him and us and remember all the good that happened that day, not the yucky scary stuff.

I had planned to purchase him a cake for his birthday, but, now I have the big bright idea to do it myself. So my friend loaned me her cake decorating supplies and I'm going to attempt to bake & decorate a cute little cake for my Tater. I'll let you know how it goes. I also purchased the cutest Happy Birthday banner on etsy.com and of course a photo op is running through my mind. If it turns out as cute as I think, I'll be sure to share my pics!

Well Happy Father's Day to all you dads. I am blessed to have a husband who is as great of a father as the one I have. The men in my life are great examples to my son and I couldn't ask for anything more!

Lovin' Summer

2010-06-16T21:29:00.003-05:00

It has been steamy outside lately. I detest HOT! I would rather be cold any day, really a nice 70 degrees with a breeze is perfection for me, but it's summer, so I guess I'll have to endure the heat for a few more months. Since last year at this time I was about ready to have Tater and then, well once he came I didn't see the outside of my house until summer had passed, I'm in desperate need of some SUN! David and I put Tater out in his little pool in the yard on Monday and he loved it, so I thought I'd give it a try today and soak up some rays at the same time. Not happening. All he wanted to do was get in and out of his pool and he only lasted about 10 min. Oh well, maybe this weekend I'll have a chance to find a pool or something.

In exactly one week, my little 7lb, 3oz. bundle of joy will be ONE! Can. not. wrap my mind around how fast it went by. I finished his first birthday video this afternoon and the grandparents got a chance to preview it. Rave reviews of course! It will be great for him to watch when he gets older. My dad's comment to me at the beginning was "I thought this was about Tater?" My response to him was, "well, dad, we did have a life before he arrived and I'd like for him to see that we were "real people" not just mommy & daddy :) Thank you very much. There was a whole 12 yrs. of pictures I had to sort through, but I did a pretty good job. However, it's a little long, the video I mean, but you know me, picture-a-holic, seriously. I forgot how much work that was when I made my nephews, so it's a big relief for me to have it completed. Now just have to get my head on straight for next weeks festivities. We will be having a small intimate b-day celebration on his birthday, just us and my sis & her family since they won't be able to make it to his BIG party. Then Saturday, all our family comes into town and friends will be here, we are going to Celebrate! I can't wait. I'll be sure to share a few of the hundreds of pics I'm sure I'll take :)

We're here!

2010-06-08T21:58:00.003-05:00

Oops, I did it again! Hehee. We've just been so busy, really. But we're back! I know I'm going to have so much to post on here soon. Someone has a big birthday coming up and mommy has been consuming her "extra" time planning and prepping. My biggest challenge right now is finishing up his 1st b-day video. It's really for David and I and for Tater one day to watch, but we will show it at his big party. I debated making one, but, I made my nephew one, so got to make my own baby his! It's been fun, but it is time consuming and I haven't had a lot lately!

Thankfully, I've been pretty busy with work selling and listing houses. Yippeee! I wish I could say Tater has just been free from sickness this whole time, but that ain't true. He had tubes put in his ears 3 weeks ago and last week, he got a-nother ear infection! Wait a minute, wasn't that the point of the tubes? That's what I thought, but otherwise, I can tell a big difference in him. He's talking a lot more, I think b/c he can actually hear himself now and he's got much better balance which should help him take off walking any day now, and I do mean any day now. He uses anything he can as a walker, his high-chair or his little table & chairs we bought him, he's quite creative. Almost every morning you can find him in the kitchen with three boxes of ziploc baggies strung out all over the floor, then he moves on to the tupperware cabinet, then the basket of eggs I keep out for him. David has changed his nickname from Tater to "tornado". I just think he's keeping himself occupied, so I'll clean up the mess later.

He's been absolutely precious lately. Waving bye-bye, blowing the best kisses and the cutest is the little hug and pat he gives me almost every time I pick him up from a nap and school. It truly melts my heart and I just hug him as long as he wants. He's also quite social. He waves at anyone, the other morning he just waved himself into church as if he was announcing his arrival to anyone that would notice. I bought myself a journal so I could start writing down everything super cute he does that I know I'll forget one day, then as he gets older I can write down all those funny things he says.

Stay tuned, there's a lot of excitement ahead. I can't believe he'll be ONE! This has really been the fastest year of my life. It's bittersweet :)

God's Plans

2010-04-23T21:07:00.003-05:00

Whoa! Have you missed us? It's been quite a while and many of you know why. I think I have several posts leading up to this one about how sick my little Tater had been. Well after five (yes, five) long weeks of ear infections, stomach bugs and diarrhea, (lots of it), my little Tater proved to us once more how much of a trooper and fighter he is.

During week four of his sickness, Tater started really acting strange. It all started with a screaming fit to which had me calling my mom in a panic because I couldn't get him calmed down. Then just like that it was over and he napped. This went on for the next few days and a after a trip to the doctor we decided a stool culture was needed. Then Thursday of that week, I picked him up from school and was told he really wasn't acting himself, so back to the doctor we went. By this time, it was our 8th trip in 2 weeks, I truly think they were starting to think I was a little crazy, but I knew something was "up" with him. Boy was I right. The next morning (Good Friday) he was in pain, it was very obvious. Every 30 min. or so, he would scream and claw at us and then literally pass out in our arms. This went on throughout the morning and I called the doctor...again. As I was waiting for a call back I noticed a strange something in his diaper and when the doctor called back, that was all the confirmation they needed to kick things in high gear and send us to the hospital.

We notified our family that Tater was going to have a radiology procedure because the doctor suspected a condition called Intussusception. A calm came over me. Instead of worrying about how he was going to handle the procedure, I just prayed. I called everyone we knew to pray too. Throughout the next few hours, it would become very evident who was really in control in this situation.

I really didn't think they would find anything. I also didn't think the test would be that bad, but I was wrong. It was awful. Awful for Tater and awful as a mother. All I could do was sing to him, over and over "You are My Sunshine" and "Jesus Loves Me." I'm sure the radiology staff enjoyed my singing :) but I didn't care. The test confirmed it was Intussusception. This is when their intestines telescopes in on itself and Taters was telescoped pretty far. They attempted to reduce it with the Barium Enema, but it didn't work, Tater needed surgery. At this point, we weren't so calm.

This was one of those moments, being parents was put to the test. David and I had a really difficult time making the decision about where and who would do the surgery. It was Easter weekend, so of course the only Pediatric Surgeon in the whole town was on a plane. Our pediatrician was ready to helicopter Tater to Columbia only to find out the two pediatric surgeons there were not on call that weekend either. We didn't have much time and I felt like there was so much riding on this one decision. What if we made the wrong one? Of course our biggest fear was an adult surgeon operating on our tiny little 9 month old. This is where we were really reminded that there is a God whom loves Tater even more than we do. The series of events that followed made that so clear.

It became evident we would need to stay put. We found out the surgeon would be one we were actually familiar with (he removed our best friends colon just last year) and our minds and hearts eased a little. By this time, we had a room full of family and friends to support us. Our pastor and our very special friend Miss Brenda from church (whom totally adores my son) were right by our side. God worked through Dennis (our pastor) all night. When the surgeon who we thought was doing the surgery came in to tell us he wasn't, my heart dropped. "Are you kidding me?" might have been my words. He explained that there was another surgeon who was more experienced. Well of course, I started second guessing our decision immediately, only to be comforted by our pastor that this surgeon actually performed hernia surgery on his one month old daughter (10 yrs. ago). I was instantly comforted. Every turn we took and every nurse, doctor or anesthesiologist we met had some connection to either Dennis or someone we knew. It always make you feel better to have a connection, especially in this situation. God was with us, he cradled Tater in his arms the whole night. As parents we asked all the right questions and made all the right decisions.

So as were ready for surgery, only David, I and Tater could go wait in the surgery area, but they decided to let Dennis back with us too, so we were more relaxed. I was allowed to carry Tater into the operating room and lay him on the table. He was so brave and he wasn't scared at all. He was mesmerized by all the stuff in the operating room and the anesthesiologist (whom we found out had three children of his own and David knows his wife) talked to Tater in silly voices. Then they all recited the story "Good Night Moon" (which I read to Tater every night) and he drifted off to sleep. I left him and never prayed harder in my whole life. Not a fun moment, but I knew he was safe.

I came across a saying right after this experience that seemed so fitting, "If God leads you to it, he'll help bring you through it." So true.

We spent four long days in the hospital, but now my little Tater is back. I sure missed him. So in nine short months of life, my little man has overcome two HUGE things, this and his traumatic birth. More than I've dealt with in my almost 31 yrs. of life. I admire Tater, he is strong and a fighter. As parents, we have passed another test, he is a gift and I've been telling God, I get that, I don't need anymore big reminders. I am certain God has HUGE plans for him. Now we need to come up with a good story for him to share about where is scar came from, any ideas? :-)

9 months stats

2010-03-27T20:09:00.004-05:00

Tater turned 9 months old on the 23rd, which was Tuesday! These past nine months have gone by at lightning speed compared to nine months of pregnancy. It's unbelievable how much has changed. He's crawling everywhere, starting to pull himself up and cruise between furniture. He's bumping his head often and I think he'll be walking very soon. He's obsessed with opening and closing things, doors, cabinets, etc. He has dada down great and has started with baba now, still no mama :( But we're practicing! He's waving bye bye and giving LOTS of slobbery kisses. He's a very lovey little boy and has become quite attached to his mommy. His mommy has become quite attached to him as well. What can I say, he's a great little boy, very laid back, happy, content and truley the biggest blessing of our lives.

After three sick visits to the doctor last week, it was nice to go in for a well check-up and see how he is doing. So here's the latest stats:

19lbs. 15 oz.
29 inches
He's in the 40% on weight, 75% on height and 80% on head circumferance.

Poor thing has lost about 2lbs. from the yucky sick bug that paid a visit during the last week. I thought he had lost weight, you can tell in his sweet little baby rolls, that they just aren't as pudgy :( He's been feeling better, so hopefully we'll get that weight back on in the coming weeks.

XOXOXO from Tater

2010-03-25T20:15:00.003-05:00

I have to share these adorable pictures of my cute Tater bug. The X's & O's are very sentimental. My Grandma Ann that recently passed away always signed every birthday, christmas, anniversary, etc. card with X's & O's, always. So it's a big deal to us. Well for Valentine's Day my mom found these cute giant X's & O's in a gift shop and bought them for my sister and I as a reminder of my beloved Grandma Ann. I love them! Of course, I'm always looking for a photo op. with my cute little Tater and he's always happy to oblige, so here's the cuteness!

A visit from the sick bug

2010-03-22T21:04:00.005-05:00

In my last post I mentioned how busy we've been. Well, we're paying for it now! Poor Tater has been sick for a week with another ear infection and a super yucky stomach bug that had mommy calling the doctor at 3am. We've made three trips to the doctor in the last week, just because I was worried he was getting dehydrated, but he's been a trooper, still has a little yuck and we'll miss another day of school tomorrow, but I think we're on the backside of this sickness. Tater wasn't the only unlucky one to catch the yuck bug, mommy got it too and I don't know if ear infections are contagious, but well she got that too! Daddy had touches of the yuck bug and is doing better also. So it was our first weekend sick, all of us, and I'm glad everyone is feeling better. Really not a fun way to spend time together. But, hey, at least the weather was cruddy too :)

Tater turns 9 months old tomorrow! So, this means one more trip to the doctor this week for a well check-up. Can't wait to get his new stats. I'm pretty sure he's lost weight this week, you can just see some of the baby fat has dissappeared. But don't worry, momma will chunk him right back up as soon as he gets his appetite back!

Now that Tater is crawling, we are finding him in all sorts of silly places. He loves to explore everything and is very fond of opening and closing anything he can, espescially Wiley & Tucker's kennels. He's also learned to pull himslef into a standing position, so cute, but he still loves to play on his knees. I thought you would get a kick out of these pics in the places we've found him.

Coming & Going

2010-03-15T09:57:00.003-05:00

This may not be the most exciting post, but hey, at least I'm posting something! Shew, I just sat down! These moments are so far and few between anymore. Not only are we trying to keep up with a now mobile Tater (yep, he's crawling!!!), but we thought it was a great idea to fill up every breathing second of our lives with some sort of activity! We are now re-thinking that thought. The last two weeks have been b-u-s-y!!! Here's a run down of a list of things occupying our time the last couple weeks:

- Tater started crawling
- Work, work, work
- Grammy & Papa came to visit for a whole weekend (mom & dad got a date night!)
- Tater started swim class (I've got to figure out how to get the video loaded, he went underwater!)
- Church (we started Dave Ramsey's FPU, going great so far, even cx a vaca to FL to stay on track, now that's commitment)
- Tater's school (I'm on the parents board now)
- Digital scrapbooking (I'm totally addicted & can't wait to get my new creation in the mail!)
- Easter pictures (Tater had pics with live bunnies, waaaay too cute)
- Church (mom's group & Wed. nights)
- Couponing (seriously, I saved $45 at Walgreen's Sat. while spending only $25 on things we use!)
- Playdates & dinner with friends

Well, now that I type out a list of all the activities occupying our time, it doesn't seem so bad. However, everything is on a different night and we literally were not home one single night for 8 days! We finally but the cabosh on things and stayed in one night when we were both supposed to do something, I was supposed to go to a mom's group & David was supposed to play poker. Both things we wanted to do, but it was a great idea to stay in. We felt Tater just needed time at home, to play and unwind and we were right.

We are SO ready for Spring in our house! Since we had Tater in June and we were homebound practically for the entire Summer and we have had a SUPER LOOOOONG Winter, we are ready, NOW! We missed Summer last year, completely and feels as if it has been Winter for 9 months, seriously. So bring on the brisk spring air, walks, longer days, we are ready! It is my favorite time of the year and also the busiest, so while we've been busy already, we know it's getting ready to kick up a notch, so we are prepping now. I'll post some pics very soon, I've got some great ones lately!

Right now, I'm hearing a knocking on the walls from Tater's room, he's awake and learned how to hit his binkie on the crib, it sounds awful through the monitor :)

Ladies Man :-)

2010-02-20T08:33:00.004-06:00

In my last post I announced the arrival of our new best friend. Well last night we got to meet her and a hang out with her brothers. They were so excited to introduce us to their new baby sister. Of course we had to take the opportunity for a couple of photo shoots, couldn't pass up all the cuteness between these four awesome blessings!

After looking at and holding that little girl, I can't believe Tater was ever that little and it wasn't that long ago. Now he's huge! He was actually a whole pound smaller than her and although it was fun to hold a sleeping newborn, it's a lot more fun now that he can interact and giggle and clap and all the things he's doing. Everyone keeps asking if he's crawling yet, well, he is...backwards! Yep, can't figure out how to go forward, he just rolls when he needs to go that direction. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough. Also, no teeth...yet! We've been saying for months that he's teething, but no pearly whites yet.

Had to post a few pictures of our night last night. Note the cute shirts Tater has on, in honor of Valentine's Day. His aunt Stephie bought him the "Ladies Man" shirt and his other shirt says "The Ladies Love Me" and that they do! Since he was going to meet his "valentine", it seemed appropriate, although her dad may not agree with his clothing choice.

And as if all the other pictures weren't precious enough, this one melts my heart! Let's hear it, awwwwww :-) Isn't it sweet?

Another friend for Tater!

2010-02-09T21:50:00.004-06:00

Well, the future Mrs. has arrived. Our very best friends, Mark & Marci welcomed their little girl into the world on February 8, 8lbs, 7oz. 21.5 inches. We have been teasing since the day we found out she was a girl that the name needed to go well with our last name, because these two are destined to be together ;) But, now we've just decided no matter what, they will be GREAT friends! She's beautiful and I can only hope that her and Tater's friendship is as long lasting and wonderful as mine and Marci's.

She is my oldest & dearest friend. Yep, our mothers were pregnant with us at the exact same time and well, the rest is history. We've been there for each other through a lot. I find her one of the most amazing women. She has lost both of her siblings at young ages and yet still is one of the strongest Christians I know. She's a great mother, wife and friend, and I'm lucky to be one.

So right now, she is weighing heavy on my heart. We couldn't be happier for her and Mark and their new addition, but also I'm aching for her. The baby is currently in the NICU for fluid in her lungs and low blood oxygen. She is improving and her outlook is great, but I can't help but feel for her and the days she will endure the life of the NICU. As many of you know, my little Tater spent 5 loooong days in the NICU for hypoglycemia, birth depression & acidosis (official diagnosis). I still spend time reminiscing over those days, because it was such an impactful moment in our life. Tater couldn't be healthier now, but remembering back to those first few days, he was very sick, and I was very sad that I couldn't be with him, espescially after carrying him for nine months. So that is why Marci is heavy on my heart, because I understand her aching to hold and love on that new gift. If you would, please say a little prayer for their sweet girl. We said earlier, that one day her and Tater can swamp NICU stories...see the connection is already starting :)

Since I know you only look at my blog for cute pictures of Tater ;) here is him and his latest idea of "fun."

Snow day!

2010-01-26T20:23:00.004-06:00

I have to post some pics of Tater's 1st & 2nd snow day. They are adorable. The 1st was Christmas Day, the 2nd was early January. He loved it! Even ate some of the snowball we made for him. Now we just need a little sled so we can pull him around the yard.

Random stuff

2010-01-23T15:56:00.004-06:00

I have totally been meaning to get something on here, but we have been busy!

Just when I start to get geared back up and really, I mean REALLY get back to work, I'm faced with a decision! Well, since Tater arrived, decision making has been, hmmm, not so good on my part. I was offered a job by on old employer, without even applying or knowing a job was open! I was flattered. We spent two loooong days agonizing & praying over this decision. To make a long story short, I decided to take this part-time position, but God proved he has other plans for me. When I called to take the position, I was informed that the part-time schedule we had worked out would not work after all for the employer, so I took that as a sign, a sign that I needed to stay right where I was and just get my business geared back up!

So that's what I was ready to do this week. I had a plan, went to the office, was working (and not socializing :) sometimes I like to chit-chat too much with the people in my office). Well while I'm in the "zone" I get a call from Tater's school, another fever :( So, there went my day and the rest of my week, cuz poor guy has a-nother ear infection! I'm thinking it's the original 1st ear infection that never went away, because my son is VERY talented at NOT getting all his medicine down his throat. He's good and I'm not the only person to have tried. So we are now back on a different antibiotic and have developed a new system to get it down that throat!

We are also busy getting our house "baby-proofed." He's up on all fours, ready to take off at any moment! And rolling everywhere! If you have every tried to "gate shop" you know that the options are not really attractive and match hardly any person's decor. So I happen to have a super talented Dad (and Mom, she helped in the design work), who was also worried about how dangerous the stairs are for Tater and this is what he made for us:

Isn't is awesome? We're trying to talk him into starting a business, but he's too busy with the job he has and then he wouldn't have time to make us wonderful things like this.

And just for fun, here are a couple of cute pics of the 7 month old Tater. Such a happy boy!

Today Tater and I went to a baby celebration for our dear friend, Miss Marci, while daddy had a "daddy day." We are super excited to meet the future Mrs. Tater :) Just kidding, no pressure! They'll be great friends. Well, I have to share a couple of pics of the diaper cake we made for her, pretty cute if I say so myself. We had such a great time visiting. Now were just gonna take it easy the rest of the night.

6 month stats

2010-01-07T20:54:00.002-06:00

Tater had is 6 month check-up today. He's growing like a weed and getting cuter every day. He's such a sweet, good-natured little guy and will melt your heart with his charming smile.

Here's his current stats:
19.5 lbs
28 inches
He's in the 80% on weight, 95% on height and 75% on head circumferance.

So, still above average! The doctor said if he's gonna have rolls, now's the best time. Plus, they are super cute. He looks like he has little rubber bands around his wrists :) I love my little chunky baby! It makes him squeezable, kissable & loveable!

He's learning new things all the time. His latest is clapping his hands and he has to make sure they both line up just right to get the right noise. He's shaking his head, like he's telling you "no." He's started to roll over, back and forth, back and forth. Wears me out watching him. He's pulling his body up and started to balance on his knees, any day now and he'll be crawling, I'm sure. And he is quite the noisemaker. Blowing rasberries, squealing and making some funny hissing noise like a snake. He's very entertaining and he thinks so too, because he's always making himself laugh.

Tater is eating well, still nursing and starting to try new foods. So far he has enjoyed sweet potatoes, applesauce, bananas, oatmeal and juice. Tonight we tried sweet peas and yep, he liked those too. Hopefully, he's not as picky as his daddy.

We're still waiting for those toothers to pop through. Any day now.

He was so brave getting his shots. He hugged his puppy as tight as he could and hardly even cried. Such a big boy, made his mommy & daddy proud :)

Yummy!

2010-01-05T20:54:00.003-06:00

Well with a new year brings new beginnings and those things they call "resolutions." I usually try not to make too many "resolutions" because it's just too much pressure. But, in the past when we've made them we have stuck to them so we have decided again to jump on the bandwagon and make some "resolutions."

We tried to keep it simple. For me, it's to stop biting my nails :) I've done it my whole life and it's a nasty yucky habit I'd love to break. We of course, like everyone else are trying to be healthier, working out and eating well. And lastly, we are trying to cut back on spending and this will be much easier if we quit eating out.

I've been to the gym twice this week so far.

I also started the week with a bunch of new menu items to cook up to help in the healthy eating department. I thought I would share with you a recipe that I discovered on a website called Tasty Planners. We made Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches today and it was oh so yummy! I even froze a batch for another day and have enough for another meal this week. Oh and did I mention it was EASY!

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 boneless pork shoulder roast (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), netted or tied
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed French Onion Soup
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
12 round sandwich rolls or hamburger rolls, split

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned on all sides.
Stir the soup, ketchup, vinegar and brown sugar in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the pork and turn to coat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours* or until the pork is fork-tender.
Remove the pork from the cooker to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Return the pork to the cooker.
Spoon the pork and sauce mixture on the rolls.
*Or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

My sister has got me on this coupon craze. The goal is to get as much stuff as you can for cheap or FREE or close to it. It has been a challenge but so far, I've made out like a bandit. Wal-greens & CVS are the best. Today I purchased: JIF Peanut Butter, Smuckers Jelly, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Robitussin Cough Syrup, Visine, Reynolds foil, 3 cans of Progresso soup, Clorox wipes & Clorox toilet bowl cleaner. My total = $14.31!! I saved close to $28!!! Woohoo! Tomorrow, I'm going back to get two children's Tylenol for FREE! Cuz that's the way we roll :) I'm not as good at the deal matching as my sister yet, but I'm getting close. It's amazing how many coupons and deals are out there that you can get if you take a little time.

Christmas = FUN!

2010-01-04T20:44:00.005-06:00

Well, finally getting some pics from Christmas on here. It was great. Even though Tater was under the weather. He still loved being around all his family, cousins & friends. Here is a timeline in pictures of our 1st Christmas as a family :)

Christmas Eve-Eve after we returned from the Dr. with an ear infection. Just getting prepped for the activities.

Tater trying to get Wiley & Tucker in the holiday spirit.

Christmas Eve morning. Tater loved all his presents from mommy & daddy. He was a blast, loved opening everything and really acted interested in each present. It was adorable and an awesome memory we will cherish forever.

Christmas Eve festivities at Grandma & PaPa's. He charmed everyone. We had our traditional italian feast. As many of you know my beloved Grandma Ann passed away a few months ago and she was as italian as they get & the best cook. I think we did her proud, everything was delicious!

Our traditional Christmas Eve picture made better this year with Tater!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, nother tradition we've done since I was little. It's always a race to blow out the candles first.

Tater had enough Christmas. I think he was ready for Santa.

Christmas morning. Tater was up all night, either from his lingering ear infection or being so excited that Santa was coming, who knows? But, Santa came and brought Woody from Toy Story and a new drum!

Tater playing Santa. Isn't he cute? Once all his cousins arrived Christmas morning, we opened presents, ate breakfast and went home so we could all take a nap and get Tater feeling better.

The day after Christmas we drove to Columbia to be with Tater's other Grandma & PaPa, aunt, cousin & Great Granny & Grandpa.

We ended the day with some more pictures, go figure :) Tater with his cousin, it was his 1st Christmas too, he's 6 weeks older than Tater. They'll be great pals.

We went home that night so Tater could get a good night rest and get better. He's now all healed from the yucky ear infection and cute as ever.

Half way to a year!

2009-12-29T21:11:00.003-06:00

I have so much to post, but because it's been crazy in our life, I'll start with Tater turning 6 months old. It seems like a milestone, maybe a small one, but I felt it was worth celebrating. A friend of mine gave me the idea to celebrate 1/2 birthdays, so we did! Remember when you were young, you were always sure to add in that 1/2, like when someone asked you how old you were, didn't you always reply, "I'm 5 and a half?" It is momentous in a child's life to add in that 1/2, because it means you're halfway to being a year older!

I didn't really know how I wanted to celebrate and since Tater had been really under the weather, we just kept it very simple. Daddy brought home a little cake and we gave Tater 1/2 of a cake. NO, he did not eat it! What kind of mother do you think I am? But, we did let him smash his little hands all in it and then once they started heading to his mouth, got him all cleaned up. We really didn't think this through, because it was a much bigger mess that we anticipated, but Tater had fun and dove right in to make a huge mess.

Enjoy some pics of Tater's 1/2 birthday and I'll update you on Christmas later, it was great!

Sickness, sickness, go away!!

2009-12-22T21:40:00.003-06:00

Wow, what a last five days it has been. David started his two week holiday vacation Friday and we had big hopes for the weekend and days ahead. But, as we are finding with this new parenting thing, those hopes can change quickly. Tater slept ALL night Thursday and woke up Friday with a 102 temp. and it's just gone down hill from there. Took a trip to the dr. on Sat. and nothing, we were told he was "teething," great. Well we've spent the last four nights tending to him about every hour during the night and trying to make an unhappy baby happy for most of the day.

He seemed o.k. this morning, so we took him to school with high hopes of spending the day together...alone. Getting last minute errands run, having lunch and going to see Tater's Christmas program at school. Then, we got a call from his school that he wasn't feeling well, cranky and two super yucky diapers, they were sending him home right after the program :( Poor thing. He participated in the program like a trooper, ringing his bells with all his friends and then we went to the doctor who finally confirmed what I thought, he has an ear infection. So, now we have him pumped full of stuff to make him feel better and so far, so good. He's been asleep for almost an hour. So hoping that he can at least get a couple of good stretches of sleep tonight. I know he wants to be better for Santa's visit!

So amidst all our craziness & sickness, I do have a couple of funny stories about the klutz's (I don't know how to spell this) the two of us are. David thinking that he was being helpful (which he was) by fixing dinner last night took the marinating chicken out of the ziploc full of italian dressing and managed to spill it ALL over my oven, fridge, floors, dishwasher, well just about everywhere. Nice one honey, that was real fun to clean up chicken guts and dressing! Then, as David was playing with Tater on the floor, he got a surprise. Tater who was sitting on his daddy's chest spit up ALL over his face and yep, in his mouth! So gross & funny! Next, Tater decides it's a good idea to spit up, again, ALL over mommy & daddy's comforter which is only cleaned by the dry cleaners, eeewww! And to top it all off, once we finally got the little guy to sleep, I needed chocolate! Cookies to be exact, my fav so I baked us up some yummy cookies, two each, warm and fresh from the oven along with two glasses of milk. Well as I was carrying them down the stairs, they fell, ALL of it! At this point the two of us were laughing and decided we just needed to call it a day!

So, tomorrow is a new day. And Christmas is almost here, can't wait!

Santa Claus is comin' to town

2009-12-12T21:34:00.002-06:00

Tater met Santa for the first & second time today! His first meeting was at his "school" where we had breakfast with Santa. He didn't cry, wouldn't smile, was pretty much frozen. Then, we got one of the last openings at a photographer where he enjoyed Santa much more. He did smile, laugh and even pull Santa's beard. Can't wait to get the pictures back.

And just for sentimental purposes, we will be seeing Santa again tomorrow at Bass Pro. Were just tracking him all around town! The picture tomorrow is really for my mom who has a picture with Santa every year since my oldest nephew's first Christmas,15 yrs. ago. In that 15 yrs., more nephews have been added and well, now that it is Tater's 1st Christmas the tradition must go on. I have to say though, it will probably be the last since it's already not cool for a 15 yr. old to go see Santa, I'm sure it will be unheard of for a 16 yr. old to next year. So we'll take what we can get. It should be interesting to get all 5 boys to take a decent picture.

We've got almost all our Christmas shopping done, yippee! Now just need to finish wrapping and mailing out presents. Tater and I went to the mall yesterday, just to "walk around." Can you say, busy? Sheesh, was it black Friday or something? Oh well, despite the large crowds, we had a ball. He was such a good baby and we walked, and walked until we hit Kirklands, where we found our groove and lots of great deals! This is where Tater decided to charm everyone waiting in line with his super cuteness. Laughing, talking, clapping his hands (this is new and way cute),and blowing rasperries (also new and messy). This kid is way too stinking cute and I'm not being completely biased, he just is!

What a great day!

2009-12-06T20:36:00.003-06:00

We've had a great day. Well, actually a great weekend full of memories, family and firsts. We started our weekend with a great date night to celebrate David's birthday. Then we enjoyed spending time with Tater's Grandma J & PaPa M, cousin Noah & Aunt Jessie. We braved the cold and the enormous crowd of people at Silver Dollar City. This is always one of my favorite ways of celebrating the season.

Today, Tater was bapitzed. It was a great moment and memory that we made with him. We had lots of family, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as well as a few friends to celebrate the moment with us. Tater was adorable in his "special" baptism outfit.

Not only was it his baptism, he also rolled over, completly for the first time, he also had his first taste of rice cereal. Let's just say that is going to take a little bit of practice, he spit more out than I think he got in his belly, but we gotta start somewhere!

Busy, busy, busy

2009-12-02T21:46:00.002-06:00

There. is. too. much. going. on! I thrive on having lots of things going on, but with the holidays, and parties and shopping, cooking and everything else, I'm tired! It doesn't help that Tater has developed a not so welcome new sleeping pattern :( Yes, I spoke too soon about those wonderful nights he slept through. Now were back to 4,5 sometimes 6x getting up with him. We've gone back to partially swaddling him and even feeding him sometimes in the middle of the night, so basically back to square one. No fun, we all need our sleep. When I say Tater's prayers at night, we pray that God helps him sleep peacefully because he needs his sleep to grow that little brain! I think God heard me last night, because he only got up once! Thank you!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed eating and decorating for the holidays. Our tree is up, lights are hung outside and all I have left is to decorate the second tree I decided we needed to display all our cute sentimental ornaments. Now we are busy getting ready for David's birthday (Friday), Tater's baptism and staying ahead of the craziness of the holidays. The shopping is almost done and tomorrow I'm going to get everything ready for the festivities that will take place Sunday. I'm so excited for all our family to share his baptism with us and to eat lots of yummy food, again.

We have someone coming to take pictures of Tater tomorrow, a date on Friday and Saturday will be full of cooking and one of my most favorite things, Silver Dollar City. Then Sunday is the baptism and a couple dozen people joining us for lunch. Shew! Before you know it we'll be ringing in the new year! Wish me luck that I can get everything accomplished without completly losing my mind!

Blessed

2009-11-20T21:06:00.003-06:00

Tater is fast approaching 5 mths old. Still seems like yesterday, really that we found out he was on his way. He is really a happy baby and very easy going which makes me feel so blessed. As this wonderful season begins, I am finding myself more blessed everyday and thankful for so much. I can't wait to share this holiday season with my new family! It feels so much more complete to have him in our lives and I have this need to make everything simple and special for him. Even though Thanksgiving is a week away, I'm ready to put up the Christmas tree, hang the stockings and decorate! Maybe we'll get on that whole decorating thing this weekend since we have no big plans! Makes my heart sing, to have no major commitments!

We still desperatly need to switch out our closet, should be easy for me, since it will consist of putting away the maternity clothes and hanging up the few pieces of clothing I have. Oh well, I did say I was trying to keep things simple, right? Who needs a closet full of the latest fashion? Actually I have a closet like that, in the basement anyway, none of which fit at the moment. So really the switching is more for David, so he doesn't have to live out of two closets.

On another note, we traded in our super cute sporty little SUV (with only two cupholders) for a much larger rugged SUV that comes fully equipped with 12 cupholders! I can easily fit a stroller and a slew of groceries in the back, yippeee! So much happier with this decision.

I'm losing it!

2009-11-10T21:57:00.002-06:00

I just realized I haven't posted in a while. I think I forgot I have a blog and a faithful audience hanging on my every word! Ha! ;) It's been that way a lot lately, forgetting I mean. I've left multiple things behind, forgot certain things - even when they are on my list and the big one, I've lost my keys, apparently for a couple weeks and just realized it! Ugh, so frustrating.

Good things that have happened though are the fact that David and I had our first official "date" since Tater arrived. Thank you to a very dear friend who was kind enough to keep him one Friday evening while we enjoyed a wonderful dinner that my tummy is still thankful for.

I'm officially back to work. Yup, listed a house last night that unfortunatly is WAY overpriced :(
So, I guess you can't have it all. Who knows, maybe someone will come in and decide to NEGOTIATE. That's what they are hoping for. I'm hoping for a reality check, for them that is.

Tater is good. He's been a little under the weather with his first cold. I doctor him up often with Vicks and anything else to help him feel better. He had his second visit with the Parents As Teachers lady and she says he's doing great. She observed that he seems to be pretty easy going and go-with-the-flow.

It's deer season and David is going hunting this weekend while us girls hang out. I'm so not excited about the possibility of him bringing bambi home to store in my freezer. So secretly I'm hoping he just has a really great time and has a bad aim :)

Well that about wraps it up, we are officially boring! We are however super excited about the upcoming holiday season and can't wait to kick off the festivities. I'm on the hunt for some cute stockings to hang on the fireplace. As a kid we had the coolest stockings. They were handmade by a lady at church and our names were knitted on them. The great thing about them was that when you put anything in them, they stretched waaay out, so I think you got more stuff because Santa had to fill it up! We bought the neatest Advent Calendar the other day too. It's made of Legos and I think it will be a great fun tradition for when Tater gets bigger. For now, mommy is going to have fun playing with it.

Bye for now!

Sack O' Taters

2009-11-01T21:02:00.003-06:00

Tater's 1st Halloween was great! He was adorable and loved his costume. We started the day off with a walk in the park, carved & painted pumpkins and then greeted a few trick or treaters. We ended the day at some friends house. After a full day we were ready to call it a day!

HE DID IT! HE DID IT!

2009-10-31T14:16:00.002-05:00

I'm still in shock! Tater slept ALL NIGHT LONG!!! Holy Moley!! I'm talking an entire 12 hours! 8:30 pm to 8:30 am. He awoke happy and goofy and of course ready to eat! Now for momma on the other hand, I was awake much of the night anticipating him waking up any minute.

See the night before we expermimented with the "Cry It Out" method. It was rough, real rough, he wasn't the only one who shed some tears. I can't say we failed, but I'm not sure we were successful either. He cried, well more like whined, for about and hour and a half. Of course we kept checking on him and eventually after he was quite for a little while fed him. David and I think he was on to us, because we were really prepared for last night, we had a plan to go in at 30 seconds, 1, 5, 10 & 20 minutes for as long as it took him to go back to sleep all on his own, but we didn't have to, he chose for himself to just sleep and unswaddled even. Crazy!

Today is Halloween and I can tell you he makes the cutest sack of Taters ever! Sleep well everyone!

4 Months Old

2009-10-26T21:27:00.004-05:00

Tater had is 4 month check-up today. He's doing great! He was so brave getting his shots & so were mommy & daddy who got their H1N1 vaccine :-)

Here's his current stats:
16lbs. 11oz.
26.5 inches long
He's in the 75% on weight, height & head circumference.

Yes, he's a big boy, but well proportioned and slightly above average. What can I say, I grow a healthy boy! He's still nursing well and has discovered his voice and feet in the last week. Were still struggling with sleeping at night and still praying that he learns to sleep through the night.

We've been interviewing lots of new potential babysitters and thought we had decided on one until today. We got the call we have been waiting for. A church daycare whose wait list we have been on for quite a while has an opening! Woohoo!! We're going first thing tomorrow to check it out and if we approve he can start asap.

We're also in the process of planning Tater's baptism. We had settled on a date, but it's difficult to choose a date that works for us and all our family, so now we are trying to find a new date. Hoping to have the date nailed down in the next couple of days and hoping that he still fits in the cute little outfit I bought for him to wear on his special day.

Mommy is still taking the photography class, here are some "practice" shots I took the other day.

Back on the hunt

2009-10-16T20:56:00.003-05:00

Well I guess all good things must come to an end, but in this case, it didn't last very long. Tater started going to his new babysitter, Miss Heather about 3 wks. ago and it has been great. She is wonderful and he comes home every day with a progress report and an arts and craft project. He's already painted, held a crayon and made a cute little handprint project all which are displayed on our refrigerator. Well, last week Miss Heather informed us she has decided to take a directors position at a local daycare and we are just bummed :( It was really hard to find her and we are just starting get into a new groove and now were back on the hunt for a new babysitter and a new routine. Yuck! We've interviewed a couple ladies and just aren't "sold" on either of them yet. No fun at all! Praying that the next perfect babysitter presents herself soon.

I've been busy with work, yes, work. And am hoping that a contract is in my near future to replenish our bank account. We are on the hunt also for a new car. Love the car we currently have, it's just too small to hold all this baby stuff and groceries at the same time. Not to mention the lack of cup holders!

Halloween is right around the corner and I've created a costume for Tater that is so fitting. Can you guess what it is? It's a sack of Taters! So far I've sewed up a sack and made some taters out of panty hose. Tomorrow we're going to stencil the sack so it will read "Jacobson #1 Taters." I'm impressed with my creativity and am hoping that it actually turns out to look like a sack of taters and that people aren't looking at him wondering what the heck he is. We also have a cute little lion costume for when we are passing out candy. I promise some really cute pics when it's all complete. Good night!

The latest style

2009-10-13T21:26:00.004-05:00

Tater is just now fitting into his 3-6 month clothes. They are still a little big, but I'm sure he'll grow out of them soon enough! If you haven't been paying attention to the latest style for little boys, let me share with you what it is...Racoons, rascals and cute little booties! Our little Tater is up on the latest styles. We wouldn't want him to be "last season." Here are a few pics of our cute little rascal sporting the latest style.

Cuter every day

2009-10-05T21:29:00.004-05:00

Tater gets cuter every day! Taking pictures of him has become somewhat of an addiction. I was the lucky recipient of his first laugh the other day. I don't know what I did to get it, and I wish I did, because we haven't had another since. David was bummed that he didn't get it out of him first, but what can I say? Tater thinks his mommy is really funny :)

He is a really good baby, so far he seems to be really laid back. We went to his cousins football game this evening and he just sits and watches the whole time. Obviously he will be like his dad and enjoy football. He will even sit and stare at the game on TV!

It was a success!

2009-10-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

Tater's first day of "school" was a success! We didn't quite make it at 9am, but rather 9:30, pretty good if you ask me. I dropped him off, gave Miss Heather a quick rundown of Tater's schedule and then left him happy and smiling. Then I got in my car and drove away as the tears started rolling. I was sad to leave him and also happy at the same time to have a little me time. I was very unproductive. Since I was feeling a little down, I did the one thing that usually cheers me right up...shopping. Tater now has several new books and a couple of toys the Parents as Teachers lady recommended. As for me, well I tried to buy something for myself, but after trying on a bunch of clothes left empty handed. Had lunch with my mom and some friends and then went for my much anticipated massage.

Holy cow it was awful! How can a massage be awful you ask? The two words massage and awful don't even belong in the same sentence, but in this case it was true! The lady was nice, but smelled of a nasty covered up smoke smell, it was hot and there was NO privacy! Seriously, it was in a hallway with dividers between me and the next person and she left the curtain open while I was being massaged. There was no relaxing. I just couldn't wait for it to get over. I left feeling like I needed to go jump in the shower, yuck! I will not be recommending this place where students practice their techniques. Next time I will not go for the budget massage!

I ended my day with my first photography class. Yes, we got the camera! You know, the fancy camera I talked about in an earlier post. It is awesome and I can't quit taking pictures of my cute little model. But, I'm frustrated because this fancy camera has lots of buttons and things I have no clue what they are. So, I decided to learn something new and sign up for a class at the community college. I'll be professional in no time! I promise to post some new pics soon.

Tomorrow's the BIG day!

2009-09-30T21:21:00.003-05:00

Bath. check. Diaper bag packed full. check. Bottles ready. check. Outfit laid out. check! I think everything is ready for Tater's first day with Miss Heather. I have good intentions of having him there by 9am. Sounds easy to an ordinary person, but we haven't both been dressed, fed and happily out of the house before 10am since Tater arrived. Not to mention daddy has to be out the door earlier than usual tomorrow. I've been really excited about this new found freedom of two days to work and take care of mommy stuff. But, now that the day is here, I'm nervous and thinking maybe he should just stay with me.

First of all, it makes me sad, because it means he's old enough to go, second, it means I've got to get my heiny in gear and get back to work! Three months off has been wonderful and necessary, but now I'm praying hard that I will seamlessly enter back into the world of real estate as if I never left.

I'm considering tomorrow to be a "trial day." That means Tater goes to Miss Heather's and mommy is going to take a day to herself :) Seriously, I can count on one hand the number of hours I have been A-L-O-N-E since he arrived. I just hope I can make good use of my time and pick him up refreshed. Lot's of things sound like fun, but if you remember me talking about the decision making skills I lack recently, I just can decide what to do. I don't think I know what to do with myself. I did come across a gift certificate that my hubby bought me...two christmases ago with no expiration date for a massage. So, I scheduled that and really can't wait. I'll probably run a couple errands and maybe come home and just take a nap. Who knows? We'll just see how it goes.

I do know one thing, I must refrain from shopping or anything that involves spending money! Being home these last couple of weeks has cost us a lot. At this point Tater takes a nice nap in his stroller and we walk around the mall or TJ Maxx and I find lots of great deals. I must stop! If anyone needs anything it's me. My wardrobe currently consists of three shirts and two pairs of capri pants, all maternity clothes. I just really can't get myself to try on anything, but I really need to since I'm starting to look like a dumpy new mom and I can't go selling too many houses looking like this. Sad thing is, my old clothes do not fit and probably won't until the next season is here. That's a whole other blog though, excercise and diet, ugh! Looks like that's where were headed. Weight Watchers is calling out my name :)

Brilliance must run in the family :)

2009-09-28T19:56:00.002-05:00

Today we met our Parents as Teachers lady. Her name is Miss Francis and she was very nice and oohed and aahed over my little man. We already knew he was brilliant and she confirmed that he is hitting all his developmental milestones just as he should, might even be a little ahead on a few! Were happy to hear this and will continue to watch him closely :)

On another note, I took Tater for some impromptu pictures last Friday. They turned out soooo cute and now I have to choose. Uugh, I hate choosing. Lately me making a solid decision is like trying to get Tucker (our poodle) to not poop in the basement :) Let's just say were both struggling. There are several cute ones and it is on my to-do list for the next couple of days. As is ordering the pictures from his 3 wk. photo shoot. Yes, I said 3 wks. I'm terrible, I haven't ordered them yet either. Once again, because I couldn't decide and we have had a lot going on. It is however, probably the last time I decide to take Tater to get pictures all alone. It's a lot of work to get them to look so cute and position them and make them smile all by yourself. I was doing a pretty good job until the photographer thought it was a good idea to take a cute little naked picture of him. I too thought it was a great idea until I felt something warm and wet on my shirt. Yes, he peed all over me! Of course smiling the whole time.

So along with not being able to make decisions very well, taking him to get pictures alone wasn't my best idea, and either was sweeping the front porch after planting some mums with my little man sitting so nice on the porch. Needless to say, he needed a bath because mommy's sweeping blew dirt all over him. He was covered in dirt, happy of course, because he usually is. I'm chalking all these "bright mommy ideas" up to lack of sleep.

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin!

2009-09-22T21:37:00.002-05:00

We've hit another milestone people! Tater rolled over for the first and second time last night. When he did it, David and I cheered as if it was the most wonderful thing we had ever saw, he was like, "what is all the excitement about?"

Tomorrow, he is officially 3 months old! So hard to believe! We are more in love with him everyday! He's showing us all the time that he is growing and learning. He has suddenly decided he would no longer like to be swaddled. Daddy and I are very hesitant of this, since we have swaddled him pretty much from day one. I guess we'll let you know how it goes, tonight is the first night we have put him to bed without it. He has also discovered Baby Einstein (thanks to mommy) and he is in absolute awe of these videos. We only have one right now and he loves it! This particular video talks in lots of different languages, interesting and annoying because we have no idea what language they are speaking in, nor what they are saying! But seriously, if you've never seen a Baby Einstein video prepare to be amazed. They are the most basic videos with the most simple things and yet it captures the attention span of a 3 month old for 30 min. If only I had thought of it!

Next week is a big week, Cole starts going to his new "school" on Tuesday's and Thursday's. We searched high and low for the perfect person and I think we've come close. I am praying that Miss Heather finds my little man charming and loveable and that she takes really good care of him. I am also praying for myself, because this means I will be starting back to work and at the moment I have nothing in my "real estate funnel." Hoping this transition is easier than I'm making it out to be.

Tater Lovin'

2009-09-21T21:00:00.003-05:00

We've had some exciting visitors the last two weekends. It's always fun to have friends and family over and even more fun to show off Tater. First, my dear friends of 22 yrs. were here for a Saturday morning breakfast. Haleema and her boyfriend Brendan were driving through from Pheonix to D.C. and Holly and her husband Shawn and Jamey joined us too. We visited, laughed, reminisced and ended our day with a little Andy's frozen custard! They were so excited to meet Tater. He charmed them with his cuteness.

Next, David's dad, stepmom, sister and our new nephew Noah came to officially meet the new addition. David's parents met Tater the night he was born, but only for a brief minute in the NICU. He's sure changed since then. We took lots of pictures, David got to play golf in the rain with his dad and us girls made a trip to the outlet mall in Branson (in the rain of course!).

We had a great time with everyone, here are some pics of our visitors:

Tater TV

2009-09-17T19:50:00.003-05:00

Like Father, Like Son

2009-09-11T21:32:00.003-05:00

One of the first things I hear when people first see Tater is, "Wow, he sure looks like his daddy!" then we hear, "he is sooo cute!" Well, David takes this as a HUGE compliment, since one, his son looks like him and two, if they think Tater is good looking, then well, you get the point. I however am pleased that he takes after his father, but hopeful that some of his mommy will show in him soon. He does have my lips and according to David and my Dad, my "pouty face," whatever that means. Hey, you got to be cute when your getting ready to cry, right? I like to think he also has many personality traits of his mommy and that's a really great thing!

I have included a few pictures to compare the resemblance, can you guess who's who?

A Special Life

2009-09-03T20:49:00.010-05:00

It's been a rather sad week for me and my family. Last Friday, my Grandma Ann passed away. She was diagnosed with cancer in March, but her passing was still very unexpected. What I mean is, we didn't expect when she went into the hospital Thursday night, that we needed to say good-bye forever before we left. This has been the hardest part. She had just finished her 7th round of chemotherapy. She had handled all the meds and chemo as good as expected, although which each round you could see a little piece of her dwindle away. They took all her energy and made her feel lousy for a few days and then she would bounce back. We don't feel it was the cancer that took her, but rather some blood clots she had been developing off and on.

Saying good-bye to her has been very hard. She was very special and one of the most influential women in my life. Growing up, I knew of no one else who had a grandma that was as involved as mine was. She was with us every weekend. We would shop till we dropped every Saturday, after we cleaned the house of course. My grandma was the strongest woman I know and endured a lot of heartache in her life, though you would never have known it. She was a friend to everyone, never would say anything bad about anyone and was always able to see the good in everything. She was so proud of her Italian heritage and so were we. I'm going to miss her cooking, the special way she did laundry and ironed (yes, there is a process!). Everything she did came out so much better because she actually took her time and it drove her crazy when I would rush through things. I'll miss the way she hummed while doing everything and most of all I'll miss all the time we spent together. My most favorite thing to do with her was to spend a Saturday afternoon shopping and having lunch. I have SO many wonderful memories of her.

My last memory of her is the most special though. The Tuesday before she passed, she spent the entire day at my house, holding Tater and helping me get caught up on laundry and housework, her specialty. She held Tater so much that day that she was sore she told my sister! I hope I can pass on the special things she did for me to him and tell him all about how special she was. I made a video for her funeral. Everyone loved it, but my true intention of the video was to show the legacy of my grandma's life so that Tater and my youngest nephew can see how much she meant to us. It turned out so awesome and will be a great message to them some day.

I am so comforted knowing that we all have another angel to watch over us. I can only imagine the stories her and my other grandmother are sharing right now. My other grandma passed away two years ago. Both grandmas were best friends. Not because their children were married, but because they truly enjoyed each other's company. This was awesome growing up, because they were both always there. So if your saying a prayer, please add my family today. Time is the best medicine for healing.

Tater's 2-month Stats

2009-08-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

We went to the pediatrician yesterday for Tater's 2-month checkup. Mommy prepped Tater for the appointment, I'm sure he understood! You can't start too young! I thought he deserved to know that he would be getting his shots and that they were to help keep him healthy. I told him I knew he was brave and strong and would do great. He did do great and so did mommy & daddy. So here's the latest stats!

Let's review where Tater began:
June 23
7lbs. 3oz.
21 inches

Two months later:
August 27
12lbs. 7 oz.
23 1/2 inches
He is in the 75% in both height & weight

He had five shots, all super quick thanks to the nice nurse and only a brief period of being upset. He was quickly calmed by mom & dad :)

Oh yeah! And the dr. seems to think it looks like we'll have a blue-eyed handsome boy. She thinks they'll only get lighter. Interesting, since both mom & dad have GREEN eyes! I have been informed that my grandfather & great-grandfather both had beautiful blue eyes. It's so exciting to see him transform into a little person.

Here are some pics of his day:

Two months old!

2009-08-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tater is officially two months old, as of Sunday anyway. It took me two extra days to realize it! So, we have a big week ahead of us. Two months means we get to go back to the dr. and find out how he's doing. I'm excited to get the latest stats and not so excited, because it also means he'll get his first round of vaccines. :( He's already proved to us how brave & strong he is while he was in the NICU. They did some not so fun things to him there, so I think he'll do just fine.

It's a good thing I guess that I was in such a fog while in the hospital, because looking back I realize I wasn't fully comprehending all that was going on with him (thank God for my mother, once again). Now when I think about our time in the hospital I have many more questions and think how yucky it was that he spent those first five days there. We for sure had a super rough start and mommy is still coping with some things that happened at the hospital. But! He's happy and most importantly healthy!

He has been doing so great. The last couple of weeks I can really see a difference in him and how he is adjusting to life outside his momma. He's starting to get a little personality (I think he's a charmer). He's getting all his kinks worked out and getting on somewhat of a schedule. He eats great and is growing like a weed. We're still breastfeeding despite all the challenges we've had and I think he's getting it figured out. We saw a speech language pathologist and she gave us some exercises to try to get his tongue/suck to work better. We're giving it two weeks.

He's really close to sleeping through the night, I can feel it! Right now he's waking once between 2-4 and is getting better at going back to sleep until sometime between 6 & 8. Although we broke out the swing the other night to buy us a few extra hours of sleep, that is becoming more rare. Poor thing, I feel bad letting him sleep in it for so long, but hey, it works!

That's another funny thing David and I talk about a lot. No one told us all the crazy things they did to get their kids to sleep. The most popular advice we got, was to catch up on our sleep. Well to my pregnant friends, guess what my advice is? Do whatever works in the first few weeks and you'll save yourself some heartache and get some extra sleep at the same time!

Wow !this is becoming a really long blog. I'm sure my three readers are bored to death. If there are more out there, please let me know. I like to know I'm appealing to more than a few people. You can post a comment below the blog and/or you can even become a follower of my blog. It's nice to know your out there anxiously awaiting my next post :)

Next blog to come: 2-month stats and who does Tater look most like? Mommy or daddy? Ha! Who am I kidding? But I'll have a fun comparison.

Poor Wiley :(

2009-08-22T18:56:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, David & I are pretty nutso over our puppies. They have been our babies for a long time and are a little spoiled. They are both great dogs and bring us SO much joy. Wiley was my buddy while we lived in California, so far from our family and Tucker is my little snuggler. Before Tater arrived everyone kept saying, "just wait, they won't be your babies once the baby arrives." Well, I disagree, they are still our babies. I still love them and worry about them. They have however, taken a back seat to Tater and are coping with this enormous change rather well. I keep telling them, they are really going to love him once he gets older and can throw those toys! They'll figure it out soon enough.

Well we finally broke down today and decided to use our last resort to end Wiley's barking. We've tried everything, I mean everything and now it's time to get serious. Really it was more David's idea than mine, but we bought him a bark collar. Poor thing. He does not like it and neither does his momma. David on the other hand tried it on himself (such a dork) and thinks it's a little amusing. I admit, I can see why he finds it a little funny, because if you know Wiley, you know he's a great dog, but very stubborn. He isn't an obsessive barker, more like an 'annoying, I got let you know I'm here barker.' He barks when we get off the couch, close our computer, move our arm, say PaPa, door or hello. He also barks when we come home and now that we have a sleeping Tater occasionally, we aren't too happy with the barking. Now if only we can find something to keep Tucker from his obsessive licking...

Same ole' thing

2009-08-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

Hello! Sorry for not posting anything sooner. Here I entice you to my new blog with the promise of pictures and lots of updates and then I leave you hanging. It's harder than I thought to "blog" and really there isn't a lot that has changed in one week.

However, we did finally get that uninterupted night of sleep thanks to my parents. (Do you think my mom read my last blog and took a hint?) Either way it was wonderful to sleep! Tater did great at his first sleep-over, there really was no worrying had by mom or dad. We prepped and prepared my parents, but as my dad has stated before, "this isn't our first rodeo" and he's right, tater is grandson #5 for them and they've had their fair share of sleep-overs with our nephews. It's really fun to see them with him and the love they have for him. It makes me appreciate my parents even more now that I have a different perspective as a mommy myself.

On another note...my husband and this new role he has as daddy, has to be the most amazing thing ever! I've just witnessed him confidently swaddle, rock and gently lay Tater in his bed (of course hoping he's really going to go to sleep). I am well aware of how lucky I am to have a husband that equally shares in the responsibility of being a parent. He is a wonderful dad & husband. He is my rock and as I explained to him tonight, I seriously might be in the crazy bin if I hadn't had him the last eight weeks. Not only did he treat me like a princess during pregnancy, he has continued this treatment post c-section and managed to learn all the ropes of being a dad. It's great to see what he comes up with to keep Tater entertained or how excited he is to teach him something new. After just being the two of us for 10 years it's so cool to see him transform instantly and to know that there is nothing he wouldn't do for us.

Sorry I don't have any recent pics this week. See we had borrowed this really awesome camera from our friends Mark & Marci and now when I pull out my little point & shoot camera to snap pics of Tater, it just isn't the same. The lighting looks funny, Tater's cuteness doesn't come alive and so I've been avoiding my camera, hoping that one of those fancy camera's I love will appear and then the pictures can return ;)

Last time I ended my post with a wish of sleep and it came true, so you never know, right? Good nite!

I knew time flew, but please, slow down!

2009-08-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

Tater is officially 7 weeks old today. I can't believe it was only a short time ago that he was still growing in my belly. I loved being pregnant and miss the excitement of feeling him move and preparing for his arrival. We've come a long way in 7 weeks, all of us. While pregnancy was wonderful and flattering to me, post-pregnancy hasn't been so kind and I am thankful to see glimpses of my old self appearing. Honestly, the last 6 weeks have been a blur. Adjusting and learning about Tater has been so exciting yet exhausting, therefore creating a state of "survival mode" that we are just now climbing out of. For weeks we've listened to everyone say "It will get easier," I was beginning to lose hope, but, my friends never fail me and they are right, it has gotten a little easier, just a little, but enough to give me sanity! So, how and why does time have to go by so fast? Well in this case it's bittersweet, I want nothing more than for Tater to sleep through the night (in his bed), yet, I want to cherish every moment of his littleness, because I am all to aware that he will grow up too fast. So instead of pushing & praying for the next stage, I have decided to cherish the 3:00 a.m. feedings because they will quickly be gone and we will move on to another new stage with new challenges and all through his life this will repeat. It's exciting to see him grown and change every day. He's has started smiling and cooing, which melts our hearts and makes the last 6 weeks of sleepless nights totally worth it! I hope I'm not giving you the impression that I enjoy sleepless nights. Right now, I would give anything for one uninterupted night sleep. It's been a long time, 11 months to be exact that I have slept peacefully ALL night. And if you know me at all, you know that I love SLEEP! I should be sleeping now actually, so I will leave you with these:

Here I am!

2009-08-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

Well I've stepped over to the other side and decided to create a blog! I've enjoyed following several of my friends blogs so much that I decided we needed one of our own. It seems even more necessary now that little man, (who we will refer to as "Tater") has arrived and there are a lot of people who can't be in his life every moment, yet want to know more about him. I hope this blog can reflect our life appropriately and offer you joy, faith & laughter. Check back often, I'll do my best to keep it up-to-date. Love to you all!