12 Months 10 Days - Christmas!

Today is Christmas Day! Technically, it's my 2nd, but I was only 10 days old last year, so this is the first real one for me.

We started out the day at about 9:00. Daddy got me up and then we all opened presents from each other. Mommy and Daddy gave me a Little People's Ramps Around Garage, a Playskool Busy Ball Popper and a toy cell phone. Mommy gave Daddy a $100 gift card to Sears for some Craftsmen tools and the University of Tennessee Football Vault...The History of the Tennessee Volunteers from 1891-2006. Daddy got Mommy some Ralph Lauren Blue perfume, the Kodak printer dock and carrying bag that goes with the Kodak camera he gave her for their anniversary and an Ice Age DVD.

We then had breakfast. I had my usual fruit cereal and then some applesauce. Daddy went to Hardees and got breakfast for him and Mommy there.

Around 11:00 or so, Granddaddy came over. However, it was naptime and I was cranky, so I took a nap. Mommy, Daddy and Granddaddy exchanged gifts while I slept. Mommy got a Bath and Body Works gift card, a picture frame for my school pictures when I'm older and $100 cash to spend on herself. Daddy got a subscription to Sports Illustrated, $100 cash to spend in himself and a pair of Bushnell binoculars. He gave the both of them and me a portable DVD player that can be mounted in the car.
I woke up around 2:00 and then opened my gifts from Granddaddy. He got me books (some for when I'm older), a VeggieTales DVD, a 4-pack of Bible CDs, a camouflage outfit and a Radio Flyer wagon.

Sometime while I was sleeping, Daddy started dinner...a deep fried turkey. We all ate around 3:00 or so.

Granddaddy went home later in the evening and Mommy, Daddy and I just lounged around the house.

Yesterday (Christmas Eve), we went to church in the morning and then to see Grandma, Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Mindy in Tullahoma. We exchanged gifts when we got there and then we ate dinner. From Grandma, I got a flashlight, a phone and a toy box (the kind that won't pinch my fingers!). Aunt Mindy gave me a Playskool Swing 'n Score Baseball toy.

12 Months 6 Days

We went today for Christopher's 12 month check-up. Here's his stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 4 oz (no change from his last check at 10 mos)
Length: 28.5 in
HC: 45-3/4 cm

His weight hasn't changed at all since his follow-up weight check at 10 months and it's dipped on the chart again, so instead of the regular 18 month check-up, the pedi wants to see him at 15 months for another weight check. She's not too concerned and says she sees it quite often in breastfed babies. She also said that he might just be taking on a new path on the curve. She wants me to stress the solid foods and whole milk more than the breastmilk at this point.

As for length and HC, he's just below average in those areas, but is staying on his own consistent path, so all is well there.

She did mention, however, that she's detected a heart murmur. She said there's nothing to be concerned about at this point as she more often sees it in babies than she doesn't see it. She said there's nothing wrong with going to see a specialist now, but she's going to check it again at the 15 month check-up. If it's still there and we're worried about it, she suggests going to a specialist at that point. DH found a website about it and, according to that website, it's extremely common and that many kids are found to have a heart murmur at some point in their lives. I'll ask more specific questions about it at the next appt since I know what to ask.

He got 2 more shots: the MMR and the Chicken Pox/Pneumococcal Conjugate (combined). One was in the leg and one was in the arm. He screamed harder and louder than he's ever cried for them. I almost cried this time. He was okay after a few minutes but was a complete sourpuss on the way home. As soon as we got home, he went down for a nap.

Our follow-up appt is on March 22.

12 Months 5 Days

On Monday, we went to my dad and Patti's to see them before Christmas. Mindy was driving down and stopped in, so we all did our Christmas thing then. Patti wanted Christopher to have his 1 year pictures taken, so we did that on Monday evening at JC Penny's. Despite being extra clingy and only wanting me, we were able to get some good shots. We're expecting them to be in sometime in early January. I'll try to post some whenever we get them.

1st Birthday Party

We had Christopher's first birthday party yesterday. Just about everyone expected came. The only ones who weren't able to were Ms. Judy and Mr. Larry. They weren't able to get back from Huntsville in time.

He wasn't in the best of moods. To start things off, he didn't take his usual 3 hour nap...it was only about 1-1/2 hours long. Therefore, he was pretty grumpy by the time everybody showed up at 1:00. Despite being a little fussy, he made it through the whole party. However, he didn't want anything to do with his smash cake. He even cried! Here's a picture of him:



All the other kids were out in the yard playing and he wanted to be out there too!

He got lots of nice gifts. Some of them included: a couple of bath toys, some clothes, Linkadoos and accessories, a toy phone, a toy keychain, a jack-in-the-box, a teddy bear, some balloons, a toy tractor, a Little People Firetruck, some Winnie the Pooh blocks, a gift card to Toys 'R Us, a walk 'n ride toy and a Peek-A-Block Shape Sorter.

Here are a few more pictures from the party:

Alanna and Lilly
















The Birthday Cake
















Tami Holding the Jack-in-the-Box















Christopher Opening Gifts

The Birthday Boy















Jenn, Jenn, Alanna and Lilly

1st Birthday!

Wow! I'm a year old today! We don't have anything special planned for today since Daddy's working during the day and Mommy has to work in the evening. We're having my birthday party tomorrow, though. Mommy has invited Granddad, Grandma, Aunt Cheryl, Paw Paw and Nana Patti, Ms. Jenn, Mr. Bill and Lilly, Ms. Alanna, Mr. Jeff and Journie, Ms. Judy and Mr. Larry, Ms. Sebrina and John Ryan, Ms. Jenn and Jackson and Ms. Wanda and Mr. John. Aunt Mindy will be travelling home from Pennsylvania that day, so won't be able to make it. Not everybody that was invited will be able to make it either. So far the people coming will be: Granddad, Grandma, Ms. Jenn, Mr. Bill and Lilly, Ms. Alanna, Mr. Jeff and Journie, Ms. Judy and Mr. Larry and Ms. Jenn and Jackson.

We're going to have everybody over to our house. Mommy and Daddy have ordered Slick Pig barbeque and a cake from Kroger. I'll get a free smash cake from Kroger, too.

Mommy will post more after the party tomorrow.

11 Months 3 Weeks 1 Day

Wow! It's been a month already since I last posted! I can't believe time has flown by so fast! Christopher is now less than 2 weeks away from his 1st birthday. I've been slowly getting everything ready. I sent invitations out yesterday and have bought a few party things. I still need to buy his birthday and Christmas gifts, which I'm going to (hopefully) do this week. I've almost got everything picked out and just need to make a trip to Toys 'R Us. His party is going to be on Saturday, December 16 at our house. I'm not throwing anything big. I sent out 8 invitations that covers a total of 13 adults and 4 kids (plus Christopher, Shad and myself). I'm pretty sure that a few of them won't be able to make it. I need to order the cake and his smash cake. That's the part I can't wait for! I just know he's gonna LOVE digging in! I haven't allowed him to eat any cake yet so that his birthday will be the first time. We'll definitely be taking lots of pictures!

Shad and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last Saturday (Dec. 2)! I can't believe it's been that long already! This time 6 years ago, we were nearing the end of our cruise to the Bahamas. I believe we returned on Dec. 7. We had so much fun and would like to go on another one someday. Who knows when that will be, though.

We still haven't put up Christmas decorations...inside or outside. Even at 9 months pregnant last year, I had everything done before now! It's been hard, though, since I'm now working a part-time holiday job at Zale's. I've been working every weekend since Thanksgiving. We can't do much during the week since Shad doesn't get home until after dark. It's going to be fun setting everything up this year since I'm going to have to find a new place for all of Christopher's toys. We just don't have much space in our house for everything! I really hope we don't have a problem with Christopher and the tree! I'm planning on not putting any lights down low and only putting ornaments that he can play with within his reach. Everything else will just have to be put up high.

As previously mentioned, I'm now working part-time at Zale's. It's been very stressful and not the most enjoyable of jobs, so I doubt that I'll ever work there again. I worked at the one at Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville 7 years ago and had a TOTALLY different experience! It is definitely all in the manager and how he/she runs everything! This one I've got doesn't seem to know what she's doing. Plus, for all the "duties" I'm supposed to have (but am still learning), the pay is CRAPPY! I made a LOT more when I worked with them before! Speaking of pay...I've been working there for about a month now and STILL haven't received my first paycheck! Grrr!

I'm finding with this job that I do not want to work retail! Especially during the Christmas season! I know we've made it almost a year without me working, but I'm still going to have to find something at least part-time after New Year's. I'm thinking that I'll look into either working at a daycare or keeping 1 or 2 kids in my home. I'm really hoping come next Fall that I can get in with my church's preschool program. Christopher will be old enough and if they have any job openings, I can work there and get a discount for him. If he'd been born in August instead of December, he would've been eligible to start this year. And they DID have an opening that I could've taken.

I haven't completely decided yet, but for Christopher's birthday and Christmas gifts, I'm planning to get him the StepStart Walk 'n Ride by Playskool, the Laugh & Learn: Home Phone, a piano of some kind and hopefully a Little People's set. We've decided not to go overboard since (1) he doesn't know what's going on anyway and (2) other people will be getting him stuff. As previously mentioned, we don't have much room (if any), so we need to keep things limited.

Christopher's milestones include pulling up and cruising very well. He's stood on his own one time, but in the last couple of days, I've been working with him. He CAN do it, but he's just not confident enough to try more often. Anytime I get him to stand by himself, I cheer and make a big deal out of it hoping that will encourage him to keep trying. He walks very well holding our hands with both our fingers (1 from each hand), but is a little wobbley still when only using 1 finger. I'm still working with him, though, so he'll get there eventually. Several people have said that they think he'll be walking by Christmas, but I think it'll be more like after New Year's. I'm looking forward to it, yet at the same time don't want to rush him. I'm afraid once he starts walking...and then running...there'll be no rest for me! LOL! It's not so bad right now with him crawling. His main problem area is our tv and dvr. He likes to turn the tv on and off (the front panel except for the power button is locked) and press the buttons to the dvr. He's already messed up a program that I had set up to record. We probably need to find some kind of baby-proofing that will keep him away from those buttons.

Christopher just went back to the doctor's office on Monday for the 2nd flu shot. He cried, of course, but was fine after a few minutes. He didn't want anything to do with the nurse afterward, though! We go back for his 12 month check-up on December 21. One year ago from that day was the day we brought him home from the hospital. It all seems like it was just yesterday! Wow!

Well, Christopher's finding trouble, so I'd better go tend to him. Plus, I think I'm in store for yet another dirty diaper! PU!

10 Months 3 Weeks 3 Days

We're slowing getting over the initial shock of losing Brinkley. I still get sad thinking about him, and really, really miss him a lot, but I haven't cried in a few days now.

I went to Tullahoma yesterday to visit my mom and aunt. While down there, my mom gave me a memorial plaque for Brinkley's grave. I just have to wait for a time when Wanda's home so I can go over there.

I don't think I ever posted the stats from Christopher's weight check on Halloween: he has gained 1 lb 6 oz in 6 weeks and is now 18 lbs 3 oz!!! YAY! Dr. Tammy is VERY pleased, as is Mom and Dad! All we had to do was increase his solids, so nothing else needs to be done at this time. While there, he also got the 1st of 2 flu shots. He goes back on Dec. 4 (1 month later) for the 2nd shot. He has his 12 month appointment on December 21 where he'll get MORE shots. Poor baby!

I can't believe it's November already! Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner...in addition to Christopher's FIRST birthday! This year has gone by SO fast! I was originally thinking of traveling to Pennsylvania with my dad and step-mother to visit relatives over Thanksgiving, but have decided against it since that's a really long trip (approx. 10 hours) for Christopher to endure. I think we'll wait until the next one, which will probably be in the Spring. Hopefully, he can handle a trip that long at that age (15-18 mos). I just hope my grandfather will still be around then. He's over 90 years old, so can't be sure he'll still be with us tomorrow, much less 6 months from now.

Since we won't be going to PA, we'll probably do our usual of going to Shad's grandparents' in West Tennessee. That's only a 3 hour drive and Christopher can handle that much better. I don't know what to expect over there, though, either since Shad's grandfather is now in a nursing home. None of the relatives seem to think he'll recouperate and come home. Last I heard, though, he's slowly starting to walk again.

Shad once again reminded me over the weekend that we'll be staying home for Christmas starting this year. All of our relatives are invited to spend the day with us, though. That was the agreement we made when we got married: we'd travel to see relatives until we had a baby, then we'd stay home. He had to travel a lot as a child and absolutely hated it. I, on the otherhand, hardly ever left home for the holidays, so don't mind it at all. I understand him not liking it since he would get up Christmas morning and be gone for several days. He didn't get to play with his new toys as a kid. However, our relatives are only 1-3 hours away, so not THAT far. Christopher would have plenty of opportunites to play with his toys on Christmas Day! I told my mom yesterday about that arrangement and she's not too happy. It's getting harder for her to make the drive and it's only going to get worse as the years go by. I'm afraid Shad's not going to get his way every year. I guess that's something we'll have to deal with as we cross those bridges.

As for shopping for Christopher and his birthday and Christmas...I've started a Wish List on Wal-Mart's website (https://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registry_id=26772916384). It's mostly toys since we're loaded down with 12 month+ clothing and don't need anymore. I've been given stuff all the way up to 5 and 6T!!!!! Most everything, though, is 12-24 months. I'm looking at getting Christopher some kind of ride & push toy. He recently started walking with a little rolling push toy at church, so I think he's ready for one of those at home. Other than that, I have no idea what Shad and I will get him. For my first Christmas, my mom and dad gave me a Fisher Price Christmas. I got the set of Little People (the old version!): the house, vehicle, camper trailer, airplane, merry-go-round record player and barn, along with all the people, animals, etc. My mom still has that set at her house for grandchildren/great-grandchildren to play with.

I'm so glad the elections are over with! I got so sick of hearing all the negative tv ads and getting tons of junk mail, phone calls and traveling campaigners! Shad and I took advantage of early voting last week. I learned a long time ago to do that! It made it that much nicer that we didn't have to fight the HUGE crowds and the bad weather! We're both big conservative Republicans and are very pleased with our state's results! Nationally, though, is a little different. Only time will tell. I keep hearing all the Breaking News on tv today... there's so much going on post-elections! I think Bush has given 2 press conferences just this afternoon alone!

Christopher's napping right now and should be waking any minute. I still need to eat some lunch so I can focus on him when he eats his. I think I'll have leftover Hamburger Helper (Jumbalaya) and some green beans. Yummy!

10 Months 1 Week 6 Days - Goodbye Brinkley!

We lost our beloved baby, Brinkley, today. He was next door at John and Wanda's house (his 2nd home) when he jumped the fence to chase another dog and got hit by a truck. He was dragged underneath the front wheel, but got up and ran into my neighbor's yard. The driver must've seen Brinkley run off, so drove on and didn't bother to tell anyone that they'd hit the dog. There really wasn't much injury on the outside, so it had to have been internal injuries that killed him. I'm thinking a collapsed lung since he went so quickly. I guess the good in this is that he didn't suffer long. I just wish that I could've been there to tell him goodbye. I was inside my house, so didn't see it happen. Wanda knocked at my door and I just thought that she was bringing Brinkley home since that's what she does when she has to leave her house. I remember her telling me, me screaming, "NO!" and running over to where he was laying. In spite of being so upset, I was angry at him for running into the street. I tried and tried to teach him to stay out of the road, but when he's chasing after something, he doesn't care. I just wish he could've learned without actually being hit.

Since we don't own our house and because he was as much John and Wanda's dog, we buried him next door. I guess we could've had him cremated, but that would've cost money. Plus, I don't think I could've handled seeing his ashes everyday like that. I can't see how in the world people have their pets STUFFED! I just couldn't handle that!

Shad got Brinkley for my birthday right after we were married. Brinkley was 10 weeks old then and would've been 6 years old this December. I was looking forward to Christopher growing up with Brinkley. Several people have already told us that an easy way to get over Brinkley is to get another dog. I just don't think I could do that right now. I really want another Jack Russell someday (one that DOESN'T jump the fence!), but until Christopher's older, that's probably not the best breed. We'll see later on down the road. I just can't imagine everyday life without our baby Brinkley!

Photobucket

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

9 Months 3 Weeks 6 Days

Ugh! Today's a rough day! I don't know what Christopher's problem is, but he's been fussy almost all day and refuses to take a good nap! My first attempt to put him down was around 11:15. He fussed for 30 minutes before I gave up. I let him play for a while until about 1:00 when I fed him lunch. Well, only a few bites into it, HE FELL ASLEEP!!! Yep, in his high chair! So, I put him in his crib where he slept for only 30 minutes instead of his usual 2-3 hours. After getting him up, I finished feeding him, but he was fussy the entire time! I was so frustrated that I just put him back in his crib and let him cry it out. He finally fell asleep after about 30 minutes of crying. I hope he sleeps longer than 30 minutes this time! I felt so bad for letting him cry so hard, but my nerves were so frazzled that I needed to just leave him be. I ended up going outside for a few minutes just to get a break.

Christopher had a clumsy day on Tuesday...and it was a Bad Mommy Day for me. He ended up falling and hitting his head TWICE. He now has a small scrape and a couple of bruises to show for it. He's doing very well at pulling himself up nowadays, but can't quite figure out how to get back down. I've tried "teaching" him, but it's going to take a little time before he gets it. I did notice, though, today while he was crying in his crib that we went from standing up to laying on his stomach, so he got down on his own somehow.

Fall is definitely here today! It was 75 degrees yesterday, but not even 50 today! Brrr! I like it though. It means that I can pull out my sweatshirts and sweaters. Some that I haven't been able to wear in 2 years since I was pregnant.

I'm still playing softball. This season feels like it's never going to end! All of our games are either at 8:30 or a double-header at 7:15 AND 8:30. Those are the nights that Shad gets to put Christopher to bed. Why is it that he seems to have an easier time at it than I do? Lately, Christopher's been fussing for a minute when I put him down, but goes right out for Shad. I told him that he'd earned the job of putting Christopher to bed from now on. LOL! So far, we've won 9 games and lost 2. I think that puts us in 2nd place. However, because of a situation a few weeks ago involving an umpire who didn't want to stay, we're shown as having 3 losses. The other umpire that worked our game has written a letter contesting it for us and our coach has to do the same. It's very ridiculous! All because the one umpire didn't want to work!

Last Friday, a friend and I took our kiddos to a local pumpkin patch in Smyrna. It was so much fun! I think we're going to go again next week. Here's a link to some pictures and a couple of videos from our visit:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/Walden%20Farms/.
(Blogger isn't letting me upload photos, so the link will have to do instead.)

I'm still trying to find a part-time job to work in the evenings. I hate that I'm going to have to give up my evenings with Shad and Christopher, but it's the only option we have without putting Christopher into daycare. A couple of weeks ago, I submitted applications to several stores in the local mall (decent closing hours ), including Bath and Body Works. I haven't heard back on any of them, so I've been calling to follow-up today. I know that Bath and Body Works is hiring for the holidays and I'm really hoping to get on with them. I love that store, so think I'd enjoy working there. Of course, I'd be very tempted to spend my paychecks there, but I'll have to have some self-control!

This past weekend, Richard gave us a GT Xpress 101. I've been having fun this week making breakfast and lunch stuff. I made a ham and cheese omelet one day for breakfast...a chili cheese burrito for lunch once...and a ham and cheese burrito for lunch several times. It's SO neat!

This weekend is a free weekend for us as far as football games go. This is the Vols only Saturday off during this season, but we've got everything else planned instead. We've got a friend's birthday party for their 3 year old in the morning and then a Fall Fest gathering for Shad's company in the late afternoon/evening. I think we'll be able to fit a nap for Christopher in the early afternoon.

Speaking of naps and Christopher...he just woke up, so I'd better go get him now. Until next time, here's a link to Christopher's First Website: http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/christmas05/. It's an ongoing project that I've been trying to keep updated...especially the milestones...so please check back on it every now and then. I'll try to remember to post when I've updated something major. Thanks for looking and please sign his guest book!

9 Months 2 Weeks 3 Days

We're about 2 weeks into giving Christopher babyfood 3x a day now. It's definitely very time consuming trying to keep up with that AND breastfeeding AND naptimes! I want to continue breastfeeding Christopher for as long as possible...probably start weaning at 1 year old...but it's hard trying to continue nursing and feeding him babyfood. I feel like he's eating ALL DAY long!

In these last couple of weeks, I'm finding that Christopher doesn't have a HUGE appetite. Sometimes he gobbles down breakfast, which is rice cereal mixed with a fruit, but it's usually hard to get him to eat all of his lunch (a Stage 2 jar of veggies mixed with rice cereal) or dinner (a Stage 2 jar of a meat and veggie). I keep hearing about these babies close to Christopher's age eating 3 jars per meal! I know that's a bit excessive, but Christopher should at least be able to finish 1 jar per meal.

My personal weight gain goal for him at our next visit (October 31 - Halloween) is between 12 and 24 ounces...or not more than 1-1/2 lbs. That's a healthy gain, so we don't need to push it. That would put Christopher between 17 lbs 8 oz and 18 lbs 4 oz. If the pediatrician has issues with that, which I hope she doesn't, then that's too bad. This child is NOT malnourished and I'm NOT giving up breastfeeding. Yes, he's small, but if he was malnourished, he'd show other signs. Other than his weight, he's a healthy and active baby BOY and is doing everything he should be developmentally.

Speaking of developments...nothing really new going on, but he's perfecting his skills at pulling himself up and crawling. He's doing better at crawling with both knees instead of one. Every now and then he does his one-legged crawl. It's still hilarious to watch! He's still not cruising the furniture as his feet are still too clumsy. I'm not in a hurry for it, though! That would mean walking won't be too far behind! We really don't have much for him to cruise in our house anyway. He could on the couches, but he has a hard time pulling up on them since he can't get a good grip.

Christopher experienced Chuck E. Cheese for the first time last week. We went with our next door neighbor, Wanda, and her great-nephew, Jordan. I could tell that Christopher had a blast! It wasn't very crowded, so I was able to put him down and let him crawl around. He rode a couple of car rides...got his picture taken...and had a sketch made of me and him. Here are a couple of the pictures:


Shad says that this picture of Christopher looks just like him when he was a baby.


Yeah...not the best of either of us, but I thought Christopher sticking his tongue out was funny!

Shad and Richard bought Christopher a UT jersey a couple of weeks ago. I took it to a local shop to have his last name printed on the back of it. It's too cute! Here are a couple of pictures:


Front


Back

Our plans for this week include going to a pumpkin patch in Smyrna with Alanna and Journie. I really wanted to go with the MTM group online to Gentry Farms in Franklin, but we've scheduled it for October 14, which is the Vols only Saturday off. Therefore, we have everything else planned for that day. I can't wait to get pictures of Christopher! I think they'll be so cute!

Well, Christopher has now been napping for 2 -1/2 hours and I haven't eaten lunch yet. Better go do that before he wakes up!

9 Months 1 Week Old

Christopher turned 9 months old last Friday. I know I keep saying it, but I can't believe time has gone by SO fast! We've got a birthday party to start planning soon! Especially since December's such a busy month for us! Not only do we have Christopher's birthday, but our 6th anniversary is December 2. Plus, there's Christmas! Whew! An expensive month for us!

Christopher had his 9 month check-up this past Tuesday (September 19). Here's his stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz (less than 3rd %)
Length: 27" (7th %)
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm (17.5") (21st %)

He only gained 1 lb 2 oz between his 6 month and 9 month visits. We're increasing the solids and adding a vitamin w/fluoride and going back for a 6 week follow-up weight check on October 31...Halloween.

We've been keeping busy with football games on Saturdays. There have been 3 home games so far and the 4th is tomorrow. I went to the first game, but stayed home with Christopher for the 2nd and 3rd games. I'll be going again tomorrow and dropping Christopher off at my dad's.

I've also been keeping busy with co-ed softball. We've been playing games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for the most part. So far, out of 6 games, we're undefeated! We do really well when we keep the bats going! We had an interesting game last night. We were short 1 guy when the game started, but had 9 players. Our 10th guy showed up while we were on the field. The other team argued that if we started with 9 players, we ended with 9 players, which is incorrect. The rule says that the 10th player can be added, but not in the middle of an inning. Later in the game, the coach of the other team was STILL arguing about that call. It got pretty heated, so the umpire threw the guy out...quite dramatically, I might add! Nothing else was said about it until we had about 5 minutes left in the game. We were ahead 13-3 when it was the other team's turn to bat. THEY QUIT...just walked out!!! Such a wonderful example they set for their church and for Christians in general!

I had a crappy game, though. First of all, my coach put me in as catcher instead of the outfield. I am NOT a catcher! I'm scared to death of being that close to the batter without any protection! I ended up doing okay, though...no foul tips or exciting plays for me. However, as far as batting goes...I got walked once and had 1 single. I actually STRUCK OUT once, too, and hit a blooper to the infield and was thrown out. I haven't struck out in AGES! That pitcher figured out that I don't like outside pitches, though, so she had my number from the start. Thankfully, it was a guy pitching when I got my single.

Christopher's crawling around like crazy now. He's doing this one-legged crawl most of the time, but will crawl "normally" while on carpet. I'm pretty sure that hardwood/tile is not fun for him since it probably hurts his knees. I moved him up from the Babies to the Crawlers in church last week. I work in there during the 2nd session, so it's interesting to have him in there with me. He's definitely a Momma's boy and doesn't really want to get down and play much. That's something we have to work on. Hopefully it'll get better after I wean him off the breast.

Speaking of crawling...Christopher's just made his way to me and is fussing, so it must be naptime! Time to go! I'll update again later.

8 months 3 weeks and 4 days

Well, I'm sitting here at just after 11:00 pm waiting for Shad to get home from the UT ballgame. I probably won't make it until then, though, since it'll probably be around 1:00 am. UT played Air Force and barely won...31-30. I stayed home with Christopher since the game didn't start until 6:00 central. Plus, I agreed to work the church nursery tonight.

Christopher and I made the 6 hour trek last Saturday, though, when UT played California. It was such a GREAT game! We won 38-18! California's 18 points mainly came in the 4th quarter against our 2nd and 3rd string players. Since the game started at 4:30 central, we had plenty of time to tail-gate. Then, my dad and Patti took Christopher with them to their house while Shad, Richard and I went to the game. The next game I go to will be in 2 weeks against Marshall. It's UT's homecoming, too.

Christopher's sleep has been wobbley over the last couple of weeks. I don't know if it was teething or not, but he kept waking up once in the night and wouldn't go back to sleep without eating. He's been back to sleeping through for a few nights now, but I don't hold my breath either. Last night, he went to bed at 9:30 and slept until 7:00 am! Yay! He had a rough time going down tonight, so I hope he does okay.

Last night, Richard came down and actually paid US to go out on a date so that he could baby-sit Christopher! LOL! Shad and I went to Toot's, which we never do with Christopher since it doesn't have a separate smoking/non-smoking section. Then, we went to a late movie and saw Invincible with Mark Wahlberg. It's based on a true story about Vince Papale who played football with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a really good movie! We definitely enjoyed our date night!

I'm fighting off allergies again! Grrr! This is at least the 4th illness that I've had since Christopher was born back in December! I NEVER get sick this often! In addition to losing some brain (memory) cells, my figure and my hair, I think I've also lost some of my immunity! The last issue was strep throat about 2 months ago. I've had the normal scratchy throat, runny/stuffy nose and head and chest congestion since Wednesday. Today, however, I noticed my throat was sore again, which doesn't usually happen after it quits hurting. I looked at my tonsils and sure enough...there are 2 white patches back there! Ugh! I'm thinking it's Tonsillitis, though. I also think that's what I had to begin with last time, but didn't see a doctor soon enough, so it turned into Strep Throat. I'm planning to go to the doctor on Monday, if possible, and get on some more antibiotics.

Poor Christopher has a cold now, too. I'm sure he caught it from me as Shad started complaining today that he's not feeling too well either. Of course, he has to BLAME me for getting him sick! As if I PURPOSELY pass it on to him so that he can suffer, too. Anyway, Christopher's runny nose started on Thursday and has turned into nasal congestion. It doesn't sound like it's moved into his chest, but I'm keeping a close ear out for it.

Tonight in the nursery at church, Christopher scared me to DEATH! I was in the process of opening a jar of baby food and had given him a Gerber Star to keep him occupied for a minute. He started making little gagging gestures, so I quickly proceeded to do the swoop-thing to get it out. HOWEVER, it was in further than I thought and I think I actually pushed it in further and COULDN'T GET IT OUT!!! I started to panic and asking for help. Then he started coughing and then crying, so I knew it went down okay. Poor baby cried so hard! I wanted to, also, but held it back as best as possible. I sure was shaking, though! Thankfully, one of the other ladies that works in the nursery with me came to us really quickly, but wasn't needed in the end. After crying for a minute, Christopher was okay and ready to eat his mixed vegetables! I'm SO glad he won't remember stuff like that for a long time! This is such a scary time with him learning to eat solid foods!

Shad finished working all the overtime last week, so now he's been instructed to go back to 40 hours a week. That means that I HAVE to find a part-time job now. Ugh! I went to the mall here in town and started applying for evening positions. I'm going to have to give up softball and I won't be putting Christopher to bed except on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. I don't like that one bit, but it was either that or Shad getting a 2nd job and him being extremely worn out, not having a life and us not getting to see each other much. We're still not going to see much of each other if I get a job, but I guess until he starts making a lot more money, it'll have to be this way. Sometimes I hate what life deals us!

Well, that's about all going on around here right now. We'll be starting another semester of Discovery U at church, so will be busy on Sunday evenings in addition to Wednesday evenings. I refuse to give up that time to work, though, so can at least look forward to that!

It's now time to hit the sack for a little bit before Shad gets home and wakes me up. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day at church...regular church stuff in the morning...working the nusery for the new members class from 12 - 2...then working the nursery for Discovery U from 5 - 7. Uff da...but good money!

I'll post another update after Christopher's 9 month check-up on September 19.

Video of Christopher Crawling

http://smg.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/Digital%20Video/Christophercrawling9-5-06.flv

Advertisement

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've added the advertisement bar at the top of my blog. I'm supposedly going to get some money for each click. SO PLEASE CLICK AWAY!

Thanks for your help!

8 Months 1 Week 4 Days

I'm so sorry to let so much time go by before updating this thing!

We've been keeping busy over the last couple of weeks. Mainly church on Wednesdays and Sundays. Shad's been working late at work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He's been leaving the house at 6:00 am and not getting home until about 8:30 pm. It's good for the finances, but it really stinks that he's gone so much! Christopher's still asleep when he leaves. By the time he gets home, Christopher's fussy and ready for bed. I know that Shad would rather be home than at work, too.

I started playing softball with our church's co-ed team this week...no practices beforehand either! I got a phone call a few days ago from the coach asking me if I could play this season because one of the women will not be able. Normally, Shad and I are back-ups (but still get to play quite frequently). So, I'm going to try to play in each game. It'll all depend on Christopher. Our first game was this past Thursday evening at 7:15. I brought Christopher with me where a teammate's mother watched him. Shad was able to get off work early so came by to watch about 1/2 the game. We won 8-5. I did okay batting but am really rusty out in the field! They had me playing left-center. I've been really sore the last couple of days, but, surprisingly, am not as sore as I was expecting to be!

Christopher waved bye-bye for the first time Thursday evening! Shad didn't think much of it until he waved to me Friday evening. He doesn't use just his hand. Instead, he waves his whole arm up and down. It's so cute! I should try to get a video and post it on here.

Christopher's now got a total of 6 teeth that have come through and is working on at least 1 more. He's got 4 bottoms and 2 tops. The one that's trying to come through is another top tooth. Up until recently, I don't think teething has been bothering him. However, over the last couple of weeks, his sleep patterns have been messed up. He's now waking up around 4:00 or 4:30 am and wanting to eat! He normally would go from about 9:00 pm to 6:00 or 7:00 am. Plus, he's been boycotting at least 1 nap per day. It's not consistent or I'd just drop that nap, so I don't know what his deal is. I sure hope he goes back to sleeping longer soon!

I'm finally getting to go for an interview with Shop At Home. It'll be this Tuesday in Nashville. This is the position that I've really been wanting to get for a while, but have been unable. They went out of business a while back, but were bought out by someone else so are back and are hiring again. A friend of mine from church works for them and has been keeping me updated. It's going to be good because it's a 3rd shift telecommuter position, so I'll be able to stay home with Christopher, plus make a little extra money on the side. From what I understand, I'd probably be working 15 hours per week or 5 hours a night for 3 nights a week. The downside, though, is that I'll have to go to training and then work in the call-center (in South Nashville...about a 45 minute drive one-way) for the first 45 days. That means finding childcare for Christopher, which I'm not fond of! I know it's only temporary, but I still don't like it. Plus, I'm afraid that working away from home like that might affect my milk supply. I've used my frozen supply and am working on building it back up. I can probably supplement with formula for a short while, but I don't know if I'll be able to pump while away. I plan to find out at the interview.

Speaking of breastfeeding...for the first time in 8 months, I'm having a problem. In the beginning, I never did deal with sores or blisters or pain of any kind. I said that I had "nipples of steel!" LOL! Well, now that Christopher's got his top teeth, I've got 2 tiny sores. Thankfully, he's not been biting; it's just from his teeth rubbing against me. I called a lactation consultant who advised me to get some Neosporin without lanocane and some Hydrocortizone cream, mix them together and use them 3x a day after he nurses. It's to keep the bacteria from infecting it and possibly causing Mastitis. I used the first dose yesterday and noticed the relief right away. It doesn't help while he nurses, though. However, I'm trying him in different positions so that his teeth won't rest right on top of the sores. So far, one particular position has helped a little. It's still sore, but as long as Christopher doesn't pull and tug, it's bearable.

A few weeks ago, during a heavy thunderstorm, our roof started leaking and broke through the ceiling in our living room. The landlord had a new TIN roof put on a couple of weeks ago. This week, we've had a repairman here replacing the ceiling where the water leaked through. He had to cut out a 3x3 section, put new sheetrock up and mud it. He came back a couple of days later and re-mudded it. Then, he came back this morning and mudded it again! He'll be back on Monday to paint the whole ceiling.

While the repairman was ripping out the old ceiling, he found Carpenter Ants, so I've got to call an exterminator to have them taken care of. We sure don't need the wood in the roof giving out and caving in! After all this mess AND the whole water heater leaking and ruining the kitchen floor about 5 years ago, we're so glad that we're renting and don't own this house! Some people may consider renting to be throwing their money away, but I don't! When something goes wrong, I just have to call the landlord, who's really good about fixing things, and they take care of it instead of us! I found out that the landlord's insurance is covering the new roof and ceiling since it was supposedly caused by hail damage. We've had some hail over the last few years while living here, but nothing that I thought would cause damage. Certainly no damage to our vehicles. So, I was surprised to hear that the shingles were missing some gravel as a result of the hail.

Shad's gone to play in the church golf scramble today. He hasn't played since the Spring scramble and asked me if I'd mind him playing in this one. I told him to go ahead as he deserves it with all the time he's been spending at work. He left around 6:00 this morning and probably won't get home until early afternoon. I just wish that I could have a getaway like that on occasion. Unfortunately, I won't be able to until Christopher's weaned.

Football season starts 1 WEEK FROM TODAY!!! YAY! I'm so excited! We're still planning to take Christopher with us and drop him off at my dad's house. I'm interested to see how it all works...will I bring enough milk?...when will I actually be able to nurse him myself?...how's my body going to do without me being able to pump?...how's Christopher going to do getting home so late? I don't think I'll have to worry about how he'll do while at my dad's...he's usually pretty good. Patti will probably be the main one taking care of him and she knows what she's doing. I just hope that I bring enough milk and don't get engorged while away!

Tonight we're having a cookout here at our house. I've invited some online friends and some real-life friends. Plus, Richard will be here. I think we'll have a total of 8 adults (including Shad and me) and 4 kids/babies. I've been busy last evening and today cleaning house!

Speaking of cleaning...I'd better get back to it while Christopher's napping! I'll try to update after the ballgame next week!

7 Months 3 Weeks 3 Days

Wow! 1 week from today, Christopher will be 8 months old! Time is flying by SO fast!

Two weeks ago, I spent two nights at my mom's house with the 5 dogs (+ Brinkley) while she and my aunt went to a funeral in Georgia. Boy, was that fun and interesting! Please remind me to never have more than 2 dogs at a time...especially indoor dogs! Pretty much every nap Christopher took was cut short because of dogs barking! Grrr!

Last week, Christopher and I spent a night at my dad's in Knoxville. My sister, brother-in-law and 2 nieces were down from Pennsylvania for a few days. Since the last time I saw them was 3 years ago, and because they haven't seen Christopher yet, I decided to make a quick trip over there. It was really nice getting to see them all again. I just wish we didn't live so far apart. The girls are growing up SO FAST! Courtney will be 11 in October and Kaitlyn will be 8 in October. Courtney's now involved in modeling and has head shots and everything! I remember when she was a baby and now she's modeling??? Before I know it, Christopher's going to be that old!

While we were gone, Christopher said his first word...Mama! Actually, it's more like ma ma ma ma ma ma. He doesn't use it in context yet. Shad's not pleased since he's been trying to get Christopher to say Dada for a long time now! He he!

This past weekend, Shad noticed that 2 more of Christopher's bottom teeth had popped through for a total of 4 bottom teeth. I noticed today that 2 TOP teeth are starting to come through, too! That's going to be a total of SIX teeth by the time he's 8 months old!!! All of these are coming in without any change in behaviour, so I don't think they're bothering him too much (THANK GOODNESS!!!). So far, he's not really biting me much. I hope that stays the same while all these teeth are coming in!

Football season starts in less than 1 month (specifically 25 days 0 hours and 15 minutes)! You can bet that I'm going to be there since I missed all but 1 game last year! PawPaw and Grandma Patti are going to babysit Christopher for me. It's going to be quite interesting to see how things go since it's a 3 hour drive over there and a 3 hour drive home. PLUS, the game doesn't start until 5:30 EST, so we'll be getting home pretty late. THEN, we have to get up early for church the next morning. Uff da! Unfortunately, future games for me will probably depend on how things go at the first one. The plus side of a late game, though, is that we get to tailgate, which we didn't get to do at all last year. That's always lots of fun, too!

No crawling yet. That's not to say he's not mobile, though! He pretty much gets to wherever he wants by rolling and scooting! Shad seems to think it won't be long before Christopher's crawling, but I can't really tell. He's gotten on all fours once or twice, but that's been over the last month or so. He hasn't really progressed in that area. He IS able to pull himself into a standing position when he holds our hands. He won't try it when holding on to anything else, though...just our hands. Watch him start walking before he crawls! One day last week, I walked into his room to get him after a nap and he was sitting up waiting for me. That was the first time that happened, but he hasn't done it since then.

As far as solids go...since my last entry, I've introduced him to Peas, Turkey and now Beef tonight. He LOVED them all! He seems to really like pretty much anything I've given to him, so don't really know what, if anything, are his favorites. I assume we'll determine that over time.

Speaking of eating...it's time for him to eat now, so better end here. I'll try to update as more milestone's start happening.

7 months 1 week 2 days

In the last week, I've introduced Oatmeal and Pears. He accepted the oatmeal, but it wasn't his favorite food. However, he LOVED the pears, of course! Last night for dinner, I mixed rice cereal with pears and he loved that. Today for lunch, I mixed rice cereal with some sweet potatoes. He doesn't really like sweet potatoes by themselves, but he really liked them mixed with cereal. I think we'll try that again for dinner tonight...if Shad will ever get home from work.

For the past 2 weeks now, he's been working a lot of overtime. It sucks not being able to see him much and not knowing when he'll get home for dinner, but the bigger paychecks are nice! Starting in August, he's going to have to work some Saturdays, too. Apparently, working more than 40 hours a week on Monday through Friday just isn't cutting it!

I had another crappy weekend. Last weekend it was Christopher who was sick. This weekend, it was me. I started getting a sore throat on Wednesday evening and it's only progressively gotten worse. Finally, Saturday morning I couldn't stand it anymore and went to the local walk-in clinic. Of all things, I have strep throat!!! Just where that came from, I have no idea!!! I haven't had that since I was a kid...probably 15-20 years ago! To top it off, I've got a mouthful of canker sores that make swallowing/eating that much worse. I started taking an antibiotic on Saturday and was told that I'd start feeling better in 24-48 hours. Sure enough, I woke this morning feeling slightly better. It still hurts to swallow/eat but it's getting a little better. I'm hoping to be completely over this in a couple of days.

I'm going down to stay with the dogs at my mom's while she and my aunt go to a funeral in Georgia. I'll be going down on Wednesday and returning on Friday. I just hope Christopher doesn't catch this strep throat! I guess we can both suffer down there as well as we can up here, but down there we'll have 6 indoor dogs (5 of theirs and 1 of mine) to deal with.

Well, Shad's finally on his way home from work and it looks like we'll be having Subway for dinner. I've got a show on tv that I want to watch and it starts soon, so don't want to be cooking in the middle of it. I'll leave you with a few words from Christopher:

" pvbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbgjxycb cdf b bvb
h tfdzx "

7 months 2 days

Wow! I really need to update this thing more often! I didn't realize that it's almost been a month since I last posted! Sorry!

Let's see...what's been going on...

We had a nice 4th of July. We invited some friends and family over to grill out, watch MTSU's firework show and then shoot off our own. Richard stayed at the house with Christopher while we went to a nearby ballfield for the fireworks. Before all that, though, one of the guys decided to shoot of what he thought was a no-noise firework in our backyard. Unfortunately, it had a VERY loud whistle! We found out really quickly that Christopher didn't like it! Poor baby!

Christopher's now sitting up on his own very well! He's been rolling around like crazy for quite some time, but still not much sign of him crawling anytime soon. Not that I want him to stay immobile forever, but I'm enjoying not having to tag along behind him everywhere to keep him out of trouble!

On Thursday, July 13, we had Christopher's 6 month pictures taken by a friend of Richard's. Yes, I realize that he was 2 days shy of turning 7 months old, but better late than never! We were given 2 cd's FULL of pictures...well over 100 of them! Now, we have to choose what we want printed out! That's gonna be a hard decision as there are a lot of really good pictures! Here are a few of them:







On Friday night, I went to a friend's house for a scrapbooking party. It started at 8:00 pm, so since Christopher's bedtime isn't until 9:30, Shad got his first chance at putting Christopher to bed. Everything went just fine and Christopher went right to sleep! I underestimated him!

On Saturday morning, though, we woke up to a VERY crabby baby! He was fussy both Saturday and Sunday, ran a low-grade fever of 100.2, and didn't want to sleep or eat. I just assumed it was teething. However, we also noticed that he was playing with his left ear, which made us think he might have an ear infection. On Saturday, he also started getting a diaper rash. However, on Sunday, it started spreading to his arms, legs, back and torso. Saturday night into Sunday morning was really bad! He woke up every 1-2 hours between 9:30 and 3:00! After staying awake for about an hour, he finally went back to sleep until 7:00. Shad and I decided to stay home from church, though, since Christopher wasn't wanting to eat and was being so fussy.

Last night was a lot better and he seems to be eating almost normally now today, but I still went ahead and made a doctor's appointment for 2:40 today. Dr. Tammy said that it is not an ear infection...yay! However, she said that he has some nasal congestion. With that and the rash, she thinks it's something viral. He's been a lot better today, so it seems he's getting over it. She said that the rash should go away in 1-3 days. So, Christopher's now had his first illness! Poor baby (and Mommy and Daddy)!

As far as solids go...he has now had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, applesauce, carrots, bananas, squash and peaches. He accepted everything, but seemed to enjoy applesauce, carrots, squash and peaches the most. I think we're going to introduce oatmeal tomorrow.

6 Months 2 Weeks

Yay! Christopher is starting to sit up by himself now! He can last for about 15-20 seconds at a time with an occasional 30 seconds or more. He's also becoming MOBILE! No, he's not crawling yet, but he is rolling from side to side like crazy! There's no keeping him on the rug or blanket anymore! And the hardwood floors don't stop him like they used to either.

Tuesday will be Christopher's 1st 4th of July! Every year since 2000, I've bought myself a Flag Tee from Old Navy. I don't intend on this year being any different. Plus, I'm going to look for a flag onesie or tee for Christopher, too.

We'll be doing our usual tradition...having friends and family over to grill out, shoot off a few bottle rockets in our backyard, walk across the street to a nearby elementary school ball field to watch the MTSU firework show and then shoot off all the rest of our fireworks until everybody decides it's time to go home. Only this year, I probably won't be watching the guys shoot off the fireworks as I don't think Christopher will like that too much. I might try to see how he does watching the MTSU firework show, but don't count on staying out there for long. He doesn't like when Brinkley barks too loud, so I don't expect him to "enjoy" the fireworks.

Our friends, Bill and Jen, had their baby girl, Lilly Jane, this past Saturday (June 24)!!! Jen was induced on her due date. Lilly was 7 lbs and 20 inches. We've already arranged for Christopher and Lilly to get married when they grow up! LOL! J/K! Apparently, Lilly's going to have to fight off the boys in our church since there are several close to her age.

Well, I started Christopher on some fruits and veggies last Friday (June 23). The first thing we tried were sweet potatoes. He did okay with them, but he didn't gobble them up like he did with cereal. After trying those a few days, I moved onto applesauce, which he LOVES. There was a major difference in reaction between the sweet potatoes and the applesauce! I think we'll be trying squash next starting tomorrow.

Shad went on a mission trip to New Orleans. They left last Friday and returned on Monday...a day earlier than planned since they finished the job early. Their task was to completely tear out the inside of a house ruined by the flooding. The eight of them that went from our church finished the job in 1.5 days when it normally takes a group of 20 people 3 days! Since they finished early, they were taken on a tour of the city and got to see all the damage. Let me just say that it was HORRIBLE. I thank God everyday for everything I have...even if it's not much!

Still no news on the job situation. I've submitted applications online to several different jobs. One includes a few positions with the State of Tennessee. That would mean going back to work full-time and putting Christopher into daycare full-time, but the money would be pretty good and would help us out tremendously! Out of all those applications I've submitted, though, I haven't heard from a SINGLE one of them! How frustrating!!! I'm also considering cleaning some houses. That would allow me to bring Christopher along and to somewhat set my own schedule. Hopefully something will happen soon as it's VERY stressful right now!!!

I'm so excited...Richard has a photographer friend who's agreed to take Christopher's 6 month pictures for us!!! We'll have to wait until after the 4th of July, though. Christopher will actually be closer to 7 months old than 6 months old. Oh well... it'll be the first formal pictures taken of him. I hope to get some more done after Christopher starts walking or after he turns 1. Then, it would be nice to get them done once a year, but that's too far down the road to think about now! Money-wise, it's expensive, so I don't know how often we'll actually get to do it.

I'll post pictures after we get them back in a few weeks!

6 months 5 days

Christopher had his 6 month check-up yesterday afternoon. Here's his stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 10 oz (20/25th percentile)
Length: 25.25 in (can't remember percentile)
Head circumference: 43.25 cm (50th percentile)

His weight isn't where I expected it to be by now. I was expecting him to be at least 16 lbs. The doctor said it's nothing to worry about right now since he's still within the normal range. She'll see how he's doing at his next visit.

He got 3 more shots yesterday. :( They're the same 3 that he received at his 2 previous appointments. He only whimpered with the 1st shot, but let loose with the 2nd and 3rd shots! Poor baby! I was able to nurse him right afterward, though, since it was time for him to eat. So far today, he seems to be doing okay.

We were given the go-ahead to start regular baby food. He's already been eating rice cereal. We haven't tried oatmeal or barley yet, but want to introduce those sometime soon. My original plan was to first try a green veggie, then a yellow/orange veggie and then a fruit. However, the doctor suggested we hold off on the green veggies until last as they can be hard to tolerate for some babies. So, I think we're going to start off with carrots or sweet potatoes. I'm planning to make my own baby food, but have been advised to NOT make carrots as they can be high in nitrates. This ought to be a fun journey! We've loaned our video camera to our friends who are about to have their baby, so I can't use it at the moment. When we get it back, we'll have to get some video of Christopher trying some foods for the first time!

That pretty much sums up his doctor's appointment. Everything went well and our next visit is scheduled for his 9 month check-up on September 19.

We finally fell victim to OPS (Over-reactive Parent Syndrome) on Sunday afternoon...Father's Day! We think Christopher had a tummy ache. He literally screamed for about an hour straight and nothing would calm him down. Shad finally gave him some Mylicon, which seemed to help after several minutes. He eventually fell asleep on Shad, but while asleep would have these breathing "attacks." I really don't know how to explain them. It was almost like he was still sobbing, but he wasn't since he was asleep. He's never done anything like that before, so we decided to get a video of it using our digital camera and e-mail it to our pediatrician, who we also go to church with. By the time we got off the phone and got it e-mailed, Christopher woke up. Since it was past time for him to eat, I went ahead and fed him. Soon after, he was acting just fine...all happy and normal. Shad called the pediatrician back to let her know that he was okay and to apologize for calling her at home on Father's Day. She told us that between talking to us, her mom had called (whom we also know from church), so she told her mom what was going on. Her mom said, "Oh! I know what that is! It's called Snubbin!" It's when babies/children get so worked up from crying that it's a residual effect. Our pediatrician said that after 20 years of medical school, she learned what Snubbin was from her MOTHER! Too funny!

Well, it's time to get Christopher up and feed him now, so I'll end here. I'll leave you with a couple of somewhat recent pictures of Christopher:


6-2-06 (5-1/2 months old)

6-2-06 (5-1/2 months old)


5-29-06 (5 months old )


Christopher's Dedication/Mother's Day

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day...Shad's first! We went to Nashville yesterday to use our Babies 'R Us gift card and our movie theater coupons that we've had since CHRISTMAS. We bought Christopher a new car seat...an Evenflo Titan Deluxe. Here's a picture of it:
















I think I'm going to wait until Christopher's sitting up on his own before installing it. Right now, I'm still able to use the infant carrier when we go shopping. I won't be able to do that once we switch, though. Hopefully, this seat will last us until he needs a booster when he's about 4 years old.

After shopping, we dropped Christopher off at his granddad's house. From there, we went to the movies to see X-Men 3 and then to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Let me just say that their food was DELICIOUS! I LOVED the grilled shrimp! We'll definitely have to go back there sometime!

I guess that was Shad's big Father's Day celebration since we're not doing anything out of the ordinary today. Went to church, came home for lunch and are now just relaxing for the rest of the day. We need to go grocery shopping, but I'll probably do that sometime this week.

Shad leaves on Friday to go on a mission trip to New Orleans. Our church has already been several times and has several more trips planned. First, they're helping to tear down some houses and then they're going to re-build. They're in the tear-down process right now. He'll be gone for 5 days, so won't be coming home until Tuesday, June 27. I'm NOT looking forward to that time AT ALL! I'm used to spending all day by myself but not 24/7! I'm going to be SO lonely! Plus, there are just some times when I need him to take Christopher so that I can have some ME time. I've asked my mom to come stay with me, but I don't think she will. Or if she does, it'll only be for a night or two.

Our friends are due to have their baby this Saturday, June 24. She said that her doctor told her that if she hasn't had it by her appointment this coming Wednesday, they're going to induce! They're having a girl...Lilly Jane. We've already pre-arranged for her and Christopher be married some day! LOL! Just kidding!

Okay, I've babbled enough. I'll update after tomorrow's doctor's appointment.

23 Weeks 6 Days

I believe we've successfully moved Christopher from his bassinet to his crib! He's been sleeping ALL NIGHT LONG for the past few nights now! Last night was the FIRST night since before he was born that I, too, slept straight through! Yippee!!! Before, even if he slept all night long, I would wake up automatically. Pretty much any little noise from the monitor would wake me. I must've been exhausted last night since I didn't wake once. I'm sure Christopher stirred some as he doesn't stay in one place all night long.

We're finding that Christopher's a stomach sleeper. As soon as I lay him down, he immediately rolls over and stays on his stomach the entire night. He's so cute when he wakes up in the morning! Shad was up getting ready for work this morning, so I had him go get Christopher and bring him to me to eat. He had flipped over onto his back and was just laying there talking away. He must've been having a conversation with the Blue Jean Teddy mobile that I have attached to his crib. LOL!

He's also doing great at napping in his crib instead of his swing. He always has to CIO, though. It's usually not longer than 10-15 minutes, thankfully. I just wish he could go to sleep during the day without crying. He does fine when he goes to bed.

He's getting better with the cereal. I think he's getting the hang of things. He goes for his 6 month checkup on June 19. We'll probably start vegetables then. Can you believe he's going to be 6 months old soon??!! Time sure is flying by fast!

Job Update: I found out this past Friday that the 2 part-time positions at Bank of America that I interviewed for were filled internally. I kind of feel like they wasted my time and hopes by interviewing me. I didn't have much of a chance against someone who's already employed there. I'm now looking for something else. It's almost a waste, though, to work part-time when having to pay for childcare. Most of my paycheck will be going to a daycare/childcare provider! I'm actually looking forward somewhat to getting out of the house for a few hours each day, but I dread handing Christopher over to someone that I don't know. If I'm only gone for a few hours, I don't think I'll miss much, but I'm so leary of trusting some stranger with my child! Ugh! Parenthood is so stressful!

22 Weeks 4 Days

Well, I've re-introduced cereal to Christopher. We first tried when he was 4 months old, but I never got into a habit. Now that another month has gone by, I've decided that I better get more strict about giving him what he needs! He's still gobbling it up! He's even trying to grab the spoon and feed himself! When I try to keep it away from him (so as to not cause a bigger mess), he only gets mad. Mr. Independent ALREADY?! I thought that came much later.

He's still working on those 2 bottom front teeth. I guess they've come through a little more, but it's still so slow! He's still drooling like crazy and practically keeps his fist/fingers in his mouth all the time. I finally bought some Baby Orajel, but I can't see that it helps him any. I don't know if it's the teething or what, but his sleep routine has been completely messed up the last week or two. He's back to waking about 3x a night. Yuck!

I'm once again attempting to move Christopher from his bassinet in our bedroom to his crib in the nursery. We've gone farther than our first try a month ago...2 somewhat successful nights so far. The first night (Saturday), I ended up bringing him to bed with us around 2 am since he was FREEZING. On Sunday night, I dressed him warmer and left his bedroom door open a little bit, so that helped. He didn't wake up until 4 am and then, after nursing, went right back to sleep...in his crib. Yay! He then slept until about 7:30! It was so nice to sleep childless for a while longer! He even slept through a rough thunderstorm. Shad and I both thought when the thunder woke us up that it would surely wake up Christopher, too. I never heard a sound from him, though.

Something else I'm trying to change is where he takes his naps. Ever since he was born, he's taken his naps mostly in his swing. Since he won't be able to fit in it forever, I'm trying to get him to take his naps in his crib now. So far, we're on Day 3 and he's doing great! I still have to let him cry-it-out a little, but it's usually no longer than 10-15 minutes. I'm finding that he likes to sleep on his stomach instead of his back. In the bassinet, he was pretty confined, so didn't have room to roll over. Now that he's got plenty of space, though, that's the first thing he does.

Speaking of rolling...this child is rolling around like crazy now. I lay him on his back on a blanket on the floor and it doesn't take long before he's on his stomach OFF the blanket! The bad thing is that we have hardwood floors so when he rolls off the blanket, he's on the hardwood, which I know doesn't feel good! I dread when he starts crawling! Oh, those knees! I wish so much that we had carpet throughout the whole house!

Speaking of crawling...he's already trying to bring his knees up! I'm sure it'll still be a while before he completely gets the hang of it, but it shocked me that he's already trying!

Right now, he's playing in his Johnny Jump-Up. He's been in it for quite some time and is STILL happy. I'm impressed! He spends most of his awake time either on the floor on his blanket, in his Bumbo seat, on my lap or in his Johnny Jump-Up. I wish we had an Exersaucer, but they're too expensive. Maybe I can find one at a yardsale or something.

Okay, Christopher's finally tired of being in the Johnny Jump-Up, so I'm going to end here for now. Until next time...

21 Weeks 2 Days (almost 5 mos)

Christopher will be 5 months old on Monday. Wow! Time is flying by so fast!

I had some gift cards to use, so Christopher and I went shopping on Thursdsay. First, we went to Bath and Body Works where I bought a couple of body sprays. I LOVE shopping there, but haven't been in forever! Then, we went on to Target where I bought Christopher a Bumbo seat, a 3-pack of Avent bottles and a couple of extra nipples. I almost bought an Exersaucer, but decided against it. Here's a picture taken of him yesterday in his new Bumbo seat:















His teeth are still at about the same position as they were a week ago. Boy, are they slow coming in! He's drooling so bad that he easily soaks 3 or more bibs in a day!

Tomorrow is my first official Mother's Day! Last year I was pregnant at this time. The only plans that we really have are to have Christopher dedicated in church then possibly go to La Siesta for lunch. The only time we've been able to go out to eat in quite a while is when someone else has paid. Since (1) it's Mother's Day and (2) we haven't been in a couple of months, we decided that we're going to go there on Sunday. Richard's going to come down for Christopher's dedication, so he'll be celebrating with us.

This past Wednesday (May 10), we took Christopher up to Richard's church in Nashville. He's in the choir there and wanted to show Christopher off to everyone. He's been asking us to come for quite some time now, so we were finally able to get away from our church for one Wednesday. Boy, is Christopher famous around there! Richard also works there, so has his own office. On his door are two 8x10 pictures of Christopher and a cut-out that says #1 Grandpa! He isn't proud at all!

I still haven't heard back about the Bank of America job. I called to check on the staus and was told that the lady who did the interviewing was out on vacation this week. The guy who answered the phone took my name and number and said that he'd give my message to the lady when she returned. So I wait some more!

Here's a video of Christopher "talking:"

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/Christopher/?action=view&current=VideoofChristopherTalking5-12-06001.flv

20 Weeks 4 Days

Christopher's now about 4 1/2 months old and he's TEETHING! We started noticing his two bottom teeth poking through about a week ago. Of course, he's been drooling like crazy since he was about 2 months old, so I figured it was coming soon. He hasn't really seemed like he was in much pain...except for possibly overnight. His sleeping pattern has been messed up the last several nights. Last night (Sunday night) was a little better, but still not the best. He woke up at about 3:15 am, so I fed him and put him back into his bassinet. He then woke up again at about 5:15 am, so I just stuck the pacifier in his mouth. He still hadn't really settled down when Shad's alarm went off at 5:30, though, so I brought him to bed with me where he had NO problem falling back to sleep. Go figure! We've got a teething "hand" that he doesn't seem to like, so I bought a softer teething ring at Wal-Mart. So far, he's mouthed it for a little bit, but not long. He prefers his or our fingers instead.

He's now perfected his rolling skills from back to stomach. However, since he started that, he's not been rolling from stomach to back. When he rolls from back to stomach, he gets mad and waits for me to come get him. I don't know if he's forgotten or just doesn't like doing it himself.

Christopher's now also "talking" and squealing a lot. And boy does he like the sound of his voice! Shad's been saying "Dada" to him a lot trying to get him to say that first when the time comes. I keep telling him that he doesn't have to help Christopher on that one since he'll probably say it first anyway! Of course, I'm hoping he'll say "Mama" first instead.

This past Wednesday while at dinner at church, he started grabbing at things within reaching distance. That meant my food tray and anything I had in my hands! Yikes!

Something else he's started doing the other day was arching his back to look at everything upside down! We couldn't understand at first what he was trying to do, but then, when he got to where his head was upside down, he stopped squirming and just looked around. It was too funny!

On to other news...I had a phone interview with Bank of America last Tuesday and an in-person interview on Thursday. I have mixed feelings about the job. I'm sure I would get used to it and probably enjoy being a Teller eventually, but if I didn't need this job so bad, I would probably turn it down if accepted. I found out that I would have to work EVERY Saturday. I wouldn't mind 1 or 2 Saturdays a month, but NOT every Saturday! The weekends are our family time since Shad works during the week. Plus, I've been looking forward to getting to go to UT football games this season since I missed all but one last season. If I don't get this job, though, I don't know what I'm going to do end up doing. We've gotten to the point where we don't even know if we're going to be able to pay the rent in June! We've given up our satellite tv and gone to basic cable, we've cut down our phone line to the basics plus caller ID, and we've cut down our DSL internet from Ultra to Lite. We may end up having to cut that out completely too. It's pretty much to the point of, "What's the point of being a stay-at-home mom if we can't get out of the house and enjoy life!" Ugh!

Video of Christopher Laughing

Click this link to view the video:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/Christopher/?action=view&current=Christopher4-24-06003.flv

18 Weeks 4 Days

Shad and I had a very nice Easter. We ended up inviting my mom, aunt and father-in-law over for a ham dinner. Since Christopher's still too young, we didn't do any special baskets or treats. I guess we'll start that next year!

My 28th birthday was this past Thursday (April 20). Boy, was it a crummy day! We were supposed to meet some friends for a picnic lunch at the park, but it rained all morning, so we had to cancel. Then, one thing after another kept going wrong. Christopher was having a fussy day...I was in a funky mood...Christopher had his first fall...off the couch! (he's okay!). DH was supposed to have his first softball game double-header that evening, but it was rained out. I was actually looking forward to going and watching him. We were surprised that it was rained out since it had quit raining shortly after lunchtime and the sun came out for the rest of the afternoon. There must have been too much water standing on the field, though.

This past weekend was a very nice and relaxing weekend. On Saturday, Shad worked out in the yard while I kept busy with Christopher. That evening, we used our gift money at our long awaited visit to The Melting Pot. Oh my goodness!!! It was DELICIOUS!!! I'm normally stuffed by the time we get to dessert, but not this time. I actually made it all the way through the meal! I guess I have nursing to thank for that. I've been eating so much more lately...even more than when I was pregnant! Thankfully, I haven't had any problems weight-wise. I've been back down within about 5 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight for quite some time now (and fitting quite nicely into my regular clothes!). I'm not concerned about losing those few extra pounds since I was trying to gain about that much before I got pregnant.

Sunday was just a lazy day after church. Since we're trying to save money, we've cut out our weekly after-church trips to La Siesta. Instead, we came home and Shad made leftover ham and greenbean casserole with mac & cheese. It's not the same as our usual, but it was still yummy!

Okay, Christopher's fussing, so it's time for me to go now.

17 Weeks 5 Days Old

Here are the updates that I said I'd post about:

Introducing Cereal
Christopher seemed to love rice cereal on his first attempt. I waited until Saturday evening (4/15) at about 7:00 pm when Richard was visiting. He literally lunged forward to get the spoon in his mouth! We tried again on Sunday at about 3:30 or 4:00 pm and he had a complete opposite reaction. He didn't seem to want anything to do with it, so I didn't push it. When I tried for the 3rd day (Monday), I waited until about 7:00 pm like the first try. Once again, he seemed to love it! However, this time he was trying the HELP me with spoon! LOL! I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until he got older! It's funny...even though we're using the spoon, he doesn't quite grasp the concept of how it works. Instead of letting the spoon go into his mouth, he tries to lift his tongue up so the spoon would go under. It's quite funny!













Converting to the Crib
This didn't go over as well. He went to sleep just fine...that was the easy part. When he woke up at about 4:00, though, I didn't hear him until he was crying really hard. We're not willing to sleep with the baby monitor since it has a lot of static, so I'm just going to wait until Christopher's consistently sleeping through the night before I try again. The bassinet will hold up to 25 lbs, so we should be able to wait a little while longer.

4 Months Old!

Christopher is 4 months old or 17 weeks and 2 days.

We've got bad news and good news. The bad news first... we've had to switch from satellite tv to limited basic cable to cut costs. We had the cable hooked up on Wednesday and then it went out both Thursday and Friday! After calling Comcast, they were able to send someone out within the hour on Thursday. However, when I called on Friday (Good Friday), they weren't going to be able to send someone out until this morning. Thankfully, they're giving us a $20.00 credit. We ended up using the rabbit ears to watch the local channels Friday night, so it wasn't too bad. When the technician came out today, he told us that the filter keeping us from getting expanded basic cable was bad. The good news about the bad news is that the technician took off the bad filter, so we're now getting expanded basic for the price of limited basic! Yay! Shad's happier since he'll be able to watch baseball and football on ESPN and ESPN2. There were a couple of channels that I would miss that we now have, but it was mainly Shad who was going to miss all the channels.

The other part of the bad news was that we're also going to have to cut our home phone service down to the bare basics. We're going to try to keep our DSL, but that may have to go, too. We're definitely keeping our cell phones as we consider those pretty important (what DID people do without them in the past???). We would even cut off the home phone completely, but we need it for Internet service. It's kind of a bummer to be staying at home with Christopher without much to do (besides housework, which gets old fast). I'm so thankful when the weather's nice so we can get outside! But even then, I have to be careful how much sun Christopher gets since he can't use sunscreen until he's 6 months old.

Okay, the good news... since Christopher is 4 months old today, we're crossing 2 milestones. The first is that we're going to start him on cereal today! Shad's going to videotape and get pictures of our attempt, so hopefully I'll be able to share them afterward.

The second milestone is that we're switching Christopher from the bassinet to his crib tonight. At least, we're going to attempt to make the switch! I just hope now that he's typically sleeping until at least 4:00 am (6.5 hours), he doesn't revert back to waking several times! It's going to be harder for me to get up since I'll have to go into another room instead of staying in the same one. It's all for the best, though. It's time for him to be in his own room now. I'm tired of having to walk and talk quietly in the bedroom at night. I'll post an update in my next entry.

Here are a few of pictures of Christopher taken 4/10/06:


















































Milestones: Christopher has now rolled both from his stomach to his back AND from his back to his stomach! He did back to stomach this week! He's playing with his feet a lot more, still drooling a lot, and now gumming things frequently. I'm sure those teeth are going to start poking through pretty soon! He also has been "talking" more often.

Job Update: The last thing I heard was that Bank of America hired someone from another branch, so that option is gone now. However, there's still supposed to be a couple of part-time openings at a couple of other branches here in town. They have yet to be posted, though, so I'm STILL at a standstill! Hopefully, something good will come out of this VERY soon!

16 Weeks 2 Days Old (4 Month Checkup)

We had a very interesting doctor's appointment yesterday thanks to some very bad weather! The storms started up in West Tennessee around late morning. By the time we got out of the car at the medical clinic for Christopher's appointment at 3:30, our city tornado alarm was going off! Apparently, a tornado was spotted right above the Church Street overpass of I-24! Thankfully, though, nothing touched down! We got as far as waiting in the exam room for the doctor (measurements had already been taken) when we were instructed to go down to the basement. Poor Christopher was in nothing but his diaper! After getting downstairs, I proceeded to put his clothes back on when we were given the okay to go back upstairs (where I undressed Christopher AGAIN). We were only downstairs for about 10 minutes at most. The worst that we got was some large hail, which didn't damage anything of ours, thankfully.

Okay, here's Christopher's stats and other pertinent info:

Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz. (50th percentile)
Length: 24.25 in. (50th percentile) - Yay! He's finally caught up!
Head: 41 cm (50th percentile)

Of course, there were more shots. It's so hard to have to hold your child down for those! What made me feel even worse was that he was in such a good mood beforehand! He's been doing okay with them. Surprisingly, he hasn't been cranky at all. When he's awake and not sleepy, he's been in a really good mood. He's napping right now, so we'll see if the trend continues this afternoon.

The doctor has given the okay to start cereal. Since Christopher won't actually be 4 months old until April 15 (next Saturday), I'm going to wait another week or so. As for fruits and veggies...she doesn't like to start those until around 5 1/2 or 6 months, so we're waiting another couple of months for that.

I think I'm going to make our own babyfood. It doesn't sound hard at all...just cook the veggie and puree it, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it, then store the cubes in a freezer bag until ready to use. It will also end up being much cheaper, too. I meant to talk to the doctor about it at yesterday's appointment, but with all the excitement, forgot about it. I'll bring it up at the next appointment, which is his 6 month checkup in June.