I can't wait!

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

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

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

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

Click here to view these pictures larger

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

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?

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!

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!!!

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.