Big Boy Food

    Baby Owen has started transitioning from baby food to big boy food, or as my Grandma said "Oh, he can eat human food now!" In this adventure of trying new foods I have found that Cracker Barrel is a baby friendly restaurant. I can just order extra food for Owen and I to share. The other night we ordered from there and Owen ate some green beans, mashed potatoes, and a little macaroni. The next day Marcus was watching him while I was at work and here's the phone conversation that we had...

Marcus: Have you fed Owen this macaroni before?
Me: Yes, he had a little bit last night
Marcus: Well he loves it! He has it in his hair and everywhere! I thought he was finished eating so I cleaned off the tray and got ready to get him out of the highchair and then he found some leftover macaroni in the pocket on his bib and started reaching in to eat that too!
*In my mind I just had a mental picture of him reaching in that bib pocket super fast like he found a little treasure, so I made Marcus take a picture

 Here's a pic of my little mac and cheese boy

Getting Old

It's finally happened, I realize that as I'm quickly approaching the big 3-0 that I'm getting old! Here's the story of the most recent reminder of that. When baby Owen is riding along with me in the car we normally listen to my iPod. We'll listen to Jazz music, Celtic lullabies, or Hushabye Baby George Strait...but when he's not in the car I sometimes feel the need to rock and sing along to some more current music. Yesterday on my way to work I heard a song by the band Foster the People. I hadn't heard it before and I really liked the beat! I was humming/mumbling along, as I always do when I don't know the words (don't lie I know you've done it before too!) and I caught the chorus. I thought, maybe I didn't hear that right and waited on it to come up again. The words kind of made me stop and think about how younger kids really shouldn't be listening to that song. The part said, "All you little kids in your pumped up kicks you better run baby run, faster than my gun." Well I work hard so that hopefully someday Owen can wear pumped up kicks and hate to think that he would need to run from anyone because of the clothes he wears. Maybe I don't know the whole story to the song and I very well could be wrong, but just a reminder that children are always listening.

Life Lesson #15: Music and other media have a great influence on children.

A New Hairdo

Baby Owen is rocking a new big boy harido! I must admit it was a little nerve racking for me, but we made the decision to cut (or trim) his lovely auburn locks because he has Santa pictures next week...and also because he keeps getting called a "she". I will never understand why when my son is dressed in boy clothes and a bib with a football he's still called a "she". Sorry, got a little sidetracked there, Owen did great for his first haircut. He sat in my lap and just looked around, not one little tear. Of course you know that I took pictures to share, ENJOY!



Before:

After:

Bathtime for Boys

Marcus ran Owen's bathwater and started giving him a bath the other night while I cleaned up the kitchen from supper. When I went in to take over bath duty so that he could get ready for work, there was a good bit of water in the tub. So I asked Marcus why he ran so much water here's the conversation that followed...

Me: Why did you run so much water? He's just a baby and doesn't really need that much.
Marcus: Well, if I'm giving him a bath he's getting this much water.
Me: Why? That seems like a waste of water to me.
Marcus: He needs enough water to cover up his little pee-pee. Have you ever tried taking a bath with a cold pee-pee?
Me: Well actually, no I haven't...
Marcus: Well it doesn't feel very good.

Life Lesson #14: Mommies don't know everything about baby boys!

Baby Songs

Night before last Marcus was holding Owen while I got Owen's things ready for bed. This is the conversation we had...

Marcus (Bouncing Owen on his knee and talking to him): Walk a spider, walk a spider, walk a spider...don't fall down!
Me: Umm...I think that you're combining the best of two baby songs there
Marcus: What do you mean? (Yes, he was serious! Even though he's seen me do the Ride a horsey thing a million times.)
Me: Well, It's Ride a horsey, ride a horsey, don't fall down and then Walk a spider, walk a spider, get Owen right there and you tickle him.
Marcus: Oh well, now I know!

We both had a little laugh and Marcus learned some new songs for Baby Owen. I thought it was a little heart warming just to overhear him trying to sing with Owen....even if he got the words mixed up :)

That's Not Chocolate Cake...

I had to bake a cake for a family get together and it was cooling on a rack while I fed Owen supper. After he ate I sat him in the floor with some bowls to beat on while I was icing the cake. When I finished I saw Chloe (our dog) licking the floor and I thought, "Oh no! I dropped chocolate cake batter on the floor and she's going to be sick!" As I got closer to clean it up I realized that it was not chocolate cake...it was coming from Baby O's diaper! Then I remembered that we had a struggle to get his diaper on straight since he was trying to sit up and crawl away....and I do seem to recall some grunting in the highchair now that I think about it.

Life Lesson #13: Dogs mouths are NOT clean!

To Crawl or Not to Crawl, That is the Question!

I've been waiting for Baby Owen to start crawling. He could sit up and then he started scooting around on his bottom, but no crawling. So I have been working with him and I realized that he is very stubborn! Every time I try to help him get his legs up to crawl, he either falls flat or will get his legs under him and sit up. So after all that practice I'm still waiting on Baby O to decide if he's going to crawl or not, and then this morning he decided he wanted a toy and instead of crawling...that little stinker just rolled and rolled and then pushed himself up to a sitting position to get what he wanted. So I guess that he doesn't need his Mama to help him crawl, he'll just get their his own way in his own time (did I mention he was Marcus' son, I mean stubborn)!

Life Lesson #12: Sometimes it's best to let people figure things out on their own

*Update: Baby Owen is now crawling like crazy! He's even started doing a little ape crawl where he crawls on one knee and then one foot like he's trying to stand up.

Time Flies!

Time flies when you're having fun...or just being lazy all summer long! Owen and I enjoyed summer break so much that we slept and laid around in our jammies all day. Well, now that we're back to the real world of work, I figured that I could take a time out to blog a little. The most recent thing that has happened in our lives is that Marcus has had a permanent grin on his face for the past week or so. Owen has started saying "Da Da" and while I still don't think Baby O realizes who his Daddy is yet, Marcus answers him every time he says it! I can't believe how quickly Baby O has changed in just a few months.

Life Lesson #11: Time flies when you're having fun (so enjoy it!)

Stop Smoking Silly

Baby Owen asked me to write this blog for him, so I did. It explains why he thinks you should not smoke, especially around him, and why his mom doesn’t like to take him to smoky places or houses. All this info was found from the cool websites listed below the facts, check them out!

·         Since 1964, there have been 94,000 tobacco related fetal and infant deaths in the US.            

o    http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2004/pdfs/whatitmeanstoyou.pdf

·         Maternal smoking during pregnancy and exposure to second hand smoke in infancy double the risk of SIDS.     

o    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9487351

·         Maternal smoking during pregnancy and exposure to second hand smoke in infancy result in the deaths of 776 infants every year in the US.

o    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5745a3.htm

·         Smoking causes impaired lung growth during childhood and adolescence.

o    http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2004/pdfs/chapter4.pdf

·         In just one year, cigarettes leave about 12,000 kids motherless. That’s 33 mothers a day.

o    http://leistikow.ucdavis.edu/BereftYouths.pdf

·         In just one year, cigarettes leave about 31,000 kids fatherless.

o    http://leistikow.ucdavis.edu/BereftYouths.pdf

·         In the US tobacco kills more Americans than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, drugs, and fires combined.

o    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5745a3.htm

o    http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf

·         Of current smokers in the US 2,633,000 have chronic bronchitis from smoking.

o    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5235a4.htm#tab

·         In the US, 35,326 die from cancers other than lung, trachea, and bronchus caused by cancer.

o    http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5745a3.htm

·         Cadmium is found in cigarettes. Cadmium is also found in batteries.

o    http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/13/m13_complete.pdf

o    http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=47&tid=15

·         Geranoil is found in cigarettes. Geranoil is also found in pesticides.

o   http://www.pmusa.com/en/cms/Products/Cigarettes/Ingredients/Tobacco_Flavor_Ingredients/default.aspx?src=top_nav

o    http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33336

·         In 1989, millions of cases of imported fruit were banned after a small amount of cyanide was found in just two grapes. There’s 33 more times cyanide in a single cigarette than was found in both of those grapes.

o    http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/rsc80a99/pdf?search=%22chilean%20grapes%22

o    http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/llh36e00/pdf?search=%22chilean%20grapes%22

o    http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/psc80a99/pdf?search=%22chilean%20grapes%22

o    http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/rpw28a99/pdf?search=%22chilean%20grapes%22

o    http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx000260u

www.thetruth.com/facts

“According to the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report, each year secondhand tobacco smoke is associated with an estimated 8,000 to 26,000 new asthma cases in children, an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 new cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in children younger than 18 months (7,500 to 15,000 of which will require hospitalization) and about 789,700 cases of middle ear infections in children.”

Secondhand smoke chemicals settle on everything – even if someone is not presently smoking in the room, the chemicals remain for a great length of time," says Watson-Stryker. You can probably see this (and smell this) firsthand if you or someone you live with smokes. Curtains and upholstery become yellowed, mirrors and windows become cloudy with smoke residue and walls need to be repainted more often. "One extra benefit of quitting is definitely less housework," says Donna Vallone, associate vice president for research at the Legacy Foundation. But although the aesthetics might be annoying, the resdue can be downright dangerous when babies or children are around. Children who play on the floor, for instance, can pick up chemical residue from carpets. It's also important to remember not to smoke in the car, as children can get as much exposure here as in the house. This is important for grandparents who smoke to note, especially if the grandkids visit their home regularly. Just because a child isn't in the room while you are smoking doesn't mean he isn't being exposed to a danger. 

http://no-smoke.org/document.php?id=212

http://www.toddlerstoday.com/articles/general-safety-issues/smoke-into-the-mouths-of-babes-4501/

http://www.toddlerstoday.com/articles/general-health/cigarette-smoke-and-babies-3527/

Please stop smoking. It’s best for your health and those around you. Here’s a link to the CDC’s resources to help people quit smoking

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/index.htm

Life Lesson#10: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Lovin' the Outdoors

With a tear in my eye, I confess that my Baby O is getting big! In two weeks he will be 6 months...half a year has passed since he made our lives so fantastic. I can see him and Marcus enjoying the outdoors in a few years, while I rest in the air and bake cookies...or some other motherly thing. We got Owen a sunhat and will take him for walks around the yard throughout the day. He loves it every minute of it. He looks around at everything and tries to grab the flowers. For the past few days now when we've come back in (because it's so crazy hot) he's started crying. If you take him back out, he's happy again. Watch out world, you're gonna have 2 wild deer huntin'/go cart ridin'/4 wheeler drivin'/bass fishin'/mustang racin' boys soon...well maybe not the mustang racin' part, unless Baby O has a helmet and Marcus promises to go only 35 mph.

Life Lesson #9: Boys will be boys

We also got Owen some sunglasses to wear outside

Life Changes

So I'm sick with a sinus infection and Baby O had to travel with me to CVS Minute Clinic this morning because Marcus had to sleep from working 3rd shift. I got there at 9:00, as soon as they opened, and was still 2nd in line. As I sat there, praying that my baby keeps on smiling and giggling at the sick girl beside us (while I was also praying that whatever she had wasn't too contagious...) I realized that my life has changed in so many ways. There are no more get up and go trips unless Owen approves, no more sleeping in until 9:00 am, no more going to bed at 9:00 pm, no more sit and chat dinners with my husband, no more clean house, no more time to just sit and read (unless he's asleep), no more far away vacation trips (at least for a little while)... BUT I have the sweetest, cutest, funniest little man in the whole wide world and I think that's a pretty good trade off!

Life Lesson #8: God always knows what he's doing, even when we don't understand!

You're Never Too Far Away!

   At work last week a fellow mommy was talking about how her daughter is learning to walk. Then, another teacher with older children said "It's only the beginning. It seems like from the moment their born they're trying to get away from you!"
  That comment made me think and I realized it's true! They learn how to roll away, crawl away, walk away, go out with friends to get away, go off to college away....and it made me a little more appreciative of the small moments Owen and I have together and I realized another life lesson...


Life Lesson #7: Never let your babies get too far away, no matter how hard they try (or how old they get)!

Family Traditions

So as I was shopping for Easter gifts for a 4 1/2 month old I started thinking about how the Easter Bunny visited us when we were younger and I thought of all the things that Owen will get to enjoy thanks to my wild and crazy family :) I realized that growing up we had it pretty good, probably a lot better than we thought at the time, and we also got to do a lot of cool things with our family. Here are some of the things that Baby O will get to enjoy...

*Alabama Christmas...need I say more?!? Every Christmas morning we were lucky enough to enjoy listening to the Alabama Christmas tape (and then CD) while we were opening gifts and eating sausage balls for breakfast. This year while I was baking and Owen was only 10 days old he got to hear his first Thistlehair song!

*Early Christmas Calls: My sister and I would sleep together on Christmas Eve because she'd never wake up early and I'd always want to be up and opening presents at 2 am. We'd sneak in the living room, crawling on hands and knees, to see what Santa had brought. We'd always be the ones to wake up our parents, and many times they'd make us go back to bed and wait a few more hours. I remember the excitement and closeness we felt. I also remember that our Grandma would always call us to see what we got, she also calls to sing Happy Birthday on our birthdays :)

*Colored Christmas Lights: This tradition is thanks to my family and Uncle Sean. We are good ol' traditional colored lights family...except that each year I have to fight with my husband over it and this year I lost the battle because we bought a pre-lit tree with white lights...I'm still trying to find a way to blend in some colored ones! We also always enjoyed going to look at the lights at Hollywild and other places. I still remember this one house that had pigs in the yard (yes, Christmas pigs)

*Ironing Clothes: Somehow my sister did not inherit this trait, but I did. I can't stand for my clothes to be wrinkly and I have to iron everything I wear, poor baby O is in trouble!

*Wake Up Call: My dad has this crazy way of waking people up. You're in a dead sleep, nice and cozy, and all of the sudden you hear a high pitched voice yell, "Rise and Shine!" as the lights flicker off and on. So annoying, yet effective at the same time

*Sunday dinners: So we don't do it as often as we used to, but I really enjoy those Sunday dinners with the family. We always have good home cooked food (Grandma's hamburger and gravy with mashed potatoes!!) and we sit around all day nibbling on food and enjoying each other. I hope that Owen will get to enjoy this for years to come!

*Vacations: Every year my dad would try to think of a new place to go for vacation. As a young child we went all over the Southeast and at the time all I could do was think about how I wish I could have invited a friend along. Looking back I realize that we were blessed to get to travel to so many places and experience so many things (Even if I haven't been to Disney yet), but one of my favorite places was Garden City. We always got to go there and stay near the Pier. I have so many fond memories of Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream from the Yum Yum Shop and of course shopping in Waves...or Wings....or Pacific....for special gifts. I will never forget my sister's plastic seagull that squeaked when you squeezed it and of course her added sound effects made it so much better!

  I hope these memories help you think about moments you treasure with your own family and remember...
Life Lesson #6: Cherish life and those you share it with



Top 5 Reasons You Should NOT Come to Church With Me at Freedom Fellowship

So I've been thinking about how our Preacher Cliff said to tell your  own story to your own people about church and Jesus and here's what I came up with :)

Top 5 Reasons You Should NOT Come to Church With Me 

5. You have to get up early every day through the week and the thought of getting to church by 10:30 makes you sleepy

     Truth: I can handle it with a 3 1/2 month old and only manage to be about 5 minutes late. Plus, you can wear your jeans so you don't have to iron. My new motto is better late than never! Did I also mention that I have to drive 25 minutes to get there?

4. It'll be boring
     Truth: Our preacher is too funny and always manages to preach on my level and connect things from the Bible to my own life. Our church is far from boring, check out some of our messages online! http://www.freedomfellowshipsc.com/#/home  (Then click on the listen/watch tab)

3. You're worried about childcare
     Truth: I personally know the ladies and gents that work with the kids and they are all wonderful and have a heart for kids. Plus do you think I'd leave Baby Owen there if I didn't trust them? (they do have a pager system just in case...)

2. You can't sing at all, let alone remember the words to those good ol' hymns
     Truth: Only my first graders think I can actually sing and at church I sing with all my heart. I figure that Jesus doesn't really care how well I can sing as long as I'm worshiping him! Plus, we don't really sing those good ol' hymns, sometimes we sing some revamped versions! Our band (guitars, drums, keyboard, etc.) rocks out every Sunday morning and I dare to say they are sometimes better than the original version I hear on 96.7!

1. You won't know anyone there
    Truth: When I started at Freedom Fellowship I only knew my mom. Now, I know lots of people and have made wonderful friends. You will always know me and may even find someone else you know. I am often sitting alone when Marcus is working Sundays and I could use the company :)

 So hopefully my title drew you in and my truths helped convince you that I'd love to have you come to church with me next Sunday! If you have any questions about church or my relationship with Jesus feel free to call, email, text, or visit with me!

Life Lesson#5: (Stole from Preacher Cliff) Share your own story about Jesus with your own people!

It's dyn-O-mite!!

Warning: This is a post about my son's explosive diapers...If you get grossed out by this thought, STOP here...it only gets worse!
 So I've come to the conclusion that Pampers are the only diapers for us (Yes, if the big Pampers corp sees this post and wants to send some free diapers my way, I don't mind at all!). I've tried to be frugal and look at other brand and without fail my son's #2 diapers explode and leak all over his clothes.
  I am still amazed each time I change one of those diapers at how his poop gets in places I'd never think to look. I wipe him all nice and clean and get ready to put on a new diaper and then I see a spot on his leg or some random place. The attempts to change it quickly are foiled because he loves to kick around and stick his foot in it and then there's another place to clean! I am trying hard to convince my husband that he should be in charge of stinky diapers because he can't smell that good, but when I asked him he said "I can smell those diapers, especially when they're up close!" Hey, at least I tried :)

Life Lesson#4: Stick with what you know works best!

Superhero Mommy, Somebody's Gotta Do It!

    So my new motto is, "Superhero Mommy, Somebody's Gotta Do It!" I've been amazed over the past three and a half months at the things I have been capable of. I have worked full time, cleaned house, tried to cook, take care of a baby and sometimes take care of myself....all on way too little sleep! I've done things I've never thought I could handle, all because it had to be done. While overwhelming at times, I love every minute of being Owen's mommy and I wish that I could stay home with him everyday!!
   This past weekend I got up and fed Owen and put him back to sleep, leaving Marcus to get him ready and fed again for church. As I'm getting ready to leave (I had to be there early), Marcus says "I think you did this on purpose. You left him for me to get ready on my own and try to get ready myself too." As I give him the stare down, I think I see a little bit of his foot sticking out of his mouth...but it was already too late! I just smiled kindly, as a good wife should, and reminded him that I have to do it all the time. When he is working third, I'm on my own to get ready for work and get out the door by 6:40 AM. Needless to say, he and Owen did not make it to church that morning. As I'm thinking about how frazzled Marcus gets sometimes and how he still hasn't fully grasped life with a new baby like I've had to do, I realized another life lesson had taken place...

Life Lesson #3: You are always capable of much more than you think you can handle.

O'Reilly, the Fighter!

Every night starting around 8:00 there is a fighting match in Inman, SC starring O'Reilly, the leprechaun fighter! He comes out in his silky green robe with his arms waving in the air dancing to an Irish jig. His blazing red hair sparkles in the spotlight as his dad yells at the competitor "Do you wanna get whupped tonight?" (That's a PG version of the trash dump story!). He has a mean uppercut that can take you by surprise and he practices his aim daily with his playmat toys. The only problem is the competitor is always me, his mom!
 You see my son is not a literal fighter, like the one handsome Mark Wahlberg portrays in the movie The Fighter, but instead we have a SLEEP fighter. When he starts getting tired he gets fussy. You're alright if you're walking him around or feeding him, but once that stops he's at it again. I'll lay him down and leave him (for no longer than 10 mins) and he'll start up ready for Round 2. I've finally figured out that he wears himself out and will eventually fall asleep around 10:30. Gone are the days of 9:30 bedtimes....So last night while the battle is drawing to a close I realized life had taught me another lesson...

Life Lesson #2: Enjoy the simple things in life (like those few extra minutes of sleep!)

O'Reilly warming up for his fighting match



Paranoid Parenting

I never figured I’d be a paranoid parent, but that’s what I have become. Truthfully, I figured my type A personality could be nothing BUT a paranoid parent…but I digress. Baby Owen has still been sleeping in a bassinet in our bedroom until last night. It has brought me comfort to know that he’s right beside me and if I need to feed him in the middle of the night I can just sit up, feed him, and put him back to bed or if I need to make sure he’s still breathing I just pop my head up and I can see his little chest moving up and down. Yet, I realized that I wasn’t just being paranoid, I was being a little selfish. Here’s my little 15 pound baby squished in a bassinet where his feet touch the bottom and his arms can stretch out in his touchdown sleepy pose he loves. Then and there I decided it’s time to train him to sleep in his big boy crib. I just knew that it was going to be a horrible, cry all night kind of deal so I waited until my Spring Break to attempt it. Last night was the big night and I laid him down about 10:30 and I checked on him 500 times before I went to bed, and much to my surprise, each time I checked he was sleeping comfortably…all stretched out! I had to go in a wake him up at 8:00 this morning to eat…not even one little peep out of him all night. This morning as I’m looking at my little sleepy head boy I realized life had taught me another lesson and here’s what I learned…

Life Lesson #1: Even babies deserve a little freedom and independence…even if it means just stretching out their arms in a big boy crib

Baby Owen in his touchdown sleepy pose

Sibling Rivalry

So my younger sister has started a blog and it makes me a little happy to read all her posts. Since she's moved to NC it is a great way to feel connected to her little family. I decided to create my own blog in hopes that others can feel connected to our little family too :) Not to mention, that I can not be outdone by my sister!