Ben

RSV

Wednesday night Owen was running a fever of 102.7, we gave him some Motrin and he slept with me while Danny slept in the guest room. Around 4 am I reached over and noticed he was soaked and his fever must have broke. Yesterday morning he was real lethargic and just wanted to lie on the couch. He kept telling me he was sleepy. This is not typical behavior of Owen (or any other 2 year old), so I knew he must be feeling bad. He rested for a little while and then fell asleep. When he woke up, I noticed he was really warm, pale white and his cheeks were blistery red. I took his temp and he was 103.7. I gave him more Motrin, and called Danny to see if he could come home so I could shower and take Owen to the doctor. He did and we actually all went as a family.

As soon as we walked into the doctor's office, he (Owen) was a totally different child. No more fever and tons of ENERGY. We wanted to have him listened to anyways, but boy we really didn't want to waste a co-pay.

When the doctor finally came in, he listened to Owen and said he sounded normal, but he did have a little fluid in one of his ears. We mentioned that we had all been sick and just couldn't seem to get it out of the house. He then listened to Ben and he actually sounded like he had RSV, so Dr. Love thinks that's what we have and it just keeps circulating around the house.

So, we're all snotty, coughing and just having to work our way through it; I guess.

(The battery in my camera is dead, so new pictures until I can get to the store. It's payday, so maybe I can get one tonight.)

Tag

Heather tagged me a few days ago and I figured it was time to finally play along so here goes.

Rules: Write 6 random things about myself, link the person who tagged you & post the rules. Tag six people and link them. Let them know they have been tagged.

1. I really want one more baby!
2. I stare at Ben when he's sleeping. I am so afraid I'll forget what his hands & feet look like, what his hair feels like and what he smells like.
3. As much as I loved teaching, I really wish I had gone to school to be a L & D nurse.
4. I read your blogs, your friends blogs, people who stalk your blogs blogs and feel like I know them all.
   
5. I like to dance in the car to cheesy pop tunes, but would never dance in public (especially since falling at our wedding.)
6. If I were brave and daring and could live farther than 3 hours from my mom, I would like to live on the west coast.
   

I don't know who all is still reading, but if you wanna tag yourself, lemme know so I can read your randoms too.

He said #1

Owen has had a very mild diaper rash the past few days, so we have been putting Boudreaux's Butt Paste on with every diaper change. I guess the tube resembles toothpaste a little, because he started asking for "paste" when we change his diaper. I made the mistake of saying butt paste and now when I change his diaper he'll say, "Mama, butter paste."

Shower for Baby Mackenzie

This past weekend Ben and I traveled "home" to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my cousin Lesa's little girl, Mackenzie. Danny and Owen stayed home to have some "guy" time. they cleaned the house, went to Lowe's and got "i ream cones" from McDonald's (Owen expects these every time we see a golden arch.)

Lesa's shower was on Saturday. She was showered with tons of fun and useful goodies for the baby-to-be while we all snacked on yummy food and cake.

Mom and I got her a diaper bag, blanket and gift card to Target.

Don't you just love this blanket! Caroline at www.soshinyonline.com made it.



The diaper bag is one that me and several others have and seem to love! It's the Do-it-all diaper bag from Land's End.


I wish you could see Lesa's bump here. It's too cute!!!
(I made the diaper cake closest to her...it was my first one)
Gramma Karen and Ben...
Grandpa Bip (or Baw Baw) and Ben. Ben is really into grabbing and sucking on faces. It's too funny!
Now, I am home...sick...Ben's sick...again...Owen's sick...again! Will it ever go away???????

"Just for Laughs"

bare with me on this one

Every Monday me, Danny and the kids meet our good friend Julie at Moe's for $5 burritos. It's something we all look forward to, especially Owen who has a HUGE crush on Julie! Thankfully for us, Julie loves our kids almost as much as we do. She made this hat for Owen and Ben; it was too cute!

Ben had received his shots earlier in the day and was a little fussy, which is not like him at all. He started feeling even worse the next day and I ended up taking him to the doctor on Wednesday for Croup and Strider cough. Thankfully the doctor prescribed a steroid that he took for three days. We were a little concerned since we were planning to leave for Florida on Thursday morning to attend our friend Jenny's wedding.

Mom and Chip made it to our house late Wednesday night to watch Owen for us. We decided to not take Owen in order to avoid having him in the car for so long (9 hours). I think it was good for ALL of us!

We got a late start on Thursday and left for Orlando just a little after lunch. We made it a few exits and realized I had left my make-up and we had to turn around and go home to get it. Once we finally got on the road, we only had to stop a few times to eat, get gas and calm Ben. He was still fussy and had only taken one dose of the steroid at this point. Poor little guy! We almost didn't go, but Jenny is one of our BEST friends and we had been looking forward to her wedding for so long!

We had planned on driving to Orlando and staying with Julie's parents, but we decided around 9pm that we would stay in Jacksonville and get a good nights rest and then make the final drive to Orlando in the morning.

We really wanted to stay somewhere with comfy beds, so we searched for a Hampton Inn on the Navigation System. When we got there, their rate was $149 and the guy would only go down to $129 for me. I so should have sent Danny back in; the guy looked as if he might have been persuaded more by the male gender... There was a Marriott next door and I went in to ask there rates and the lady gave me the same as the Hampton. I told her our budget was $100 and if she was going to charge the same, I was staying next door since I knew they had really comfy beds. As I was leaving, she yelled "I'll give it to you for $99." Deal!


Danny got us some snacks (bugles and donut holes) to enjoy...


We made it to Orlando mid day on Friday and headed to the Mall near Julie's parents. It was HUGE!!!! We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and walked around for FOUR hours and only spent $9. Julie's mom calls it the Gucci mall. I am almost positive we weren't dressed appropriate for most stores!

That night we stayed with the Wunder's and they treated us to a great dinner at a really cool little cafe near their house. After dinner, me, Danny, Julie and Chris went to get Jenny's wedding gift at Potterybarn and then came back to play gestures. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time!!!

On Saturday, Danny and I checked in to the Grand Bohemian, had lunch at a place called Urban Flats and then began getting ready for the wedding. And guess what????? I had left my make-up in the car, which was valet parked for us when we got there. Good lord, Crystal!!!!

Here's Danny on our way to the wedding...
and little Ben...
the beautiful Church in Winter Park...
The BEAUTIFUL couple, Mr. and Mrs. Seaburg :) I can't wait to see those babies!!!!!
The reception was at our hotel, which was really nice!!! There was a cocktail hour by the pool and then a dinner and DANCING reception in the ballroom. Everything was just perfect and Danny and I, although we have been to many wonderful weddings, rate this one as one of our favorites!


Poor Ben was struggling to hang in there. Here he is with Jenny. He would get totally freaked out every time there was loud clapping, and there was a lot of loud clapping!
and Julie and Chris. Danny and Chris hit it off REALLY well. We had no idea. Perhaps they should have went as dates to the wedding (just kidding).
a very clean cake exchange. Jenny is actually saying, "Please don't" as Matt teases her.
Sweet Ben, still hangin in there a little after 10pm.

We had to leave Sunday morning to head back, so it was a short trip with a long drive, but very worth it and we are so glad we went!

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Yesterday, I gave Ben his first puree. He did really well and is really taking to eating with a spoon. His diaper that evening, well... I won't go there!

Ben's first puree... green beans

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We also had a little snow last night, so we bundled Owen up and let him play for a few minutes. It was cute, but way too cold for us!

Snow Day

(I promise he had on mittens, he had just taken them off.)

Don't give up

on me... I'll be back soon (lack of posting is not because I am preggers....) We've had a house full of sick babies, a sick dada and a trip to Florida for a good friends wedding. Lots to say, so I'll be back soon :)

Ben's 6 month Well Visit

I took Ben for his 6 month well check today. Dr. Love said his growth curve looked great and Ben is right on track with other babies his age.

His stats:
weight- 17 lbs 2 oz (50%)
length- 27 in (75 %)
head- 45 cm (80%)

Dr. Love suggested we start feeding Ben three meals a day now and to begin introducing purees. Have I mentioned I am not ready? I know Ben is and I should want him to reach all his milestones normally, but I just want him to be a baby for a little while longer. Just a little.

Ben also is sitting up now. He has been trying for the past few weeks, but this morning I sat him up and he sat there for a good 20 minutes. I know he'll enjoy the new view and soon will be gone the days of playing on the play mat and swinging in the swing. I know this little guy is well on his way to exploring new things!

"I ream cone"

We stopped by McDonald's on our way home from dinner last night and Danny and I each got an ice cream cone. Guess who ended up with mine?



This was his very first ice cream cone (or as he says, "i ream cone") and I think he liked it!

6622...

that's the number of pictures I have taken with my little camera since Christmas 2003.


I would venture to say, the majority of them were taken between Nov 2006-now :)

6 months

What a month for milestones!

12/22 grabbed feet on his own (now they are constant entertainment!)

12/23 rolled over from back to front. He’s a little rolling machine now (except when I try to get him on video…then he just stares at the camera)

while on his back, he pushes off with his feet

has really gotten good at grabbing and holding onto dangling toys, teethers and other small toys.

He can reach for toys placed in front of him and bring them toward him.

enjoys being on his tummy more and more

12/25 celebrated his first Christmas

12/29 started eating rice cereal daily

is showing more and more interest in the jumperoo and bumbo seat

LOVES bath time, being read too, and music

Has the softest skin! I LOVE it!!! Owen's skin has always been so rough, so it's nice to be able to use baby scented lotions and to be able to love on his baby soft cheeks!

Lights up when Owen is near. He watches him very closely

We are down to the last few size 2-3 diapers and then he’ll be in size 3

Busting the seems in size 3-6 mo clothes, so I am packing those up and getting out all the 6-9 mo clothes…

is showing signs of wanting to sit up on his own. I don’t imagine it will be long (however, Owen was 8 mos before he sat on his own.)

LOVES to look out the window.

LOVES to be held and thinks he should be at ALL times.

Still doesn’t have his first tooth, but he is drooling and chewing on his poor fingers like it won’t be long before one appears

Refuses to take a paci, but has really taken to Owen's old Classic Pooh Lovey

Rolls his tongue, blows bubbles and babbles more and more than before

Is showing interest in different textures. He especially likes the couch cushions and pillows. And he likes to feel our faces.

He just started taking his wash cloth from me to chew on while he's in the bath. I remember Owen doing this at this age too. This means I'll need to have 2 wash cloths ready for bath time.

He is such a happy baby! I can't believe we're already 1/2 way to his 1st birthday!!!

Click Here to see Owen at 6 months.

2 years 2 months

My sweet sweet Owen is a tad under the weather today. He started showing signs of not feeling well yesterday. He was a little raspy, had a cough and very little appetite. When I put him down for his nap, he started coughing and throwing up. He went to bed a little early last night and today he has just been taking it easy. He didn't nap today either. I think he is having a hard time with drainage, which is causing an awful cough, and making it hard for him to lye down. When I noticed he wasn't napping, I went to get him and he said, "mama, chew ice." I figured then, he must have a sore throat. Poor little fella!



Owen is really starting to change so much! He talks NON STOP and is now speaking in 2-3 word sentences and speaks very clearly. We love it now that he can communicate with us and tell us what he wants. He said his first full sentence today, "Mama, are those crackers?" I got so tickled that I had to call his Gramma. He has started memorizing his books and will sit and read to himself now or help me when I am reading to him. I will usually read and pause from time to time and he will fill in the blanks. He is also a little song bird and dancing machine! He is really into building things (towers and bridges), he loves to draw and color and he is still all about letters and numbers. We have been working on opposites and directionals. He finds them to be pretty exciting (especially whisper and shout). He's starting to get a little picky about what he'll eat (GREAT), so I bought the Deceptively Delicious Cookbook hoping to sneak in some veggies here and there. We started with pumpkin french toast... next, cauliflower mac and cheese... Wish me luck!



and I just wanted to share this adorable shot of Danny and Ben.

and he rolls

This little guy is a rolling machine these days! He rolled over a few weeks ago, but he seems to just want to stare at the camera if I try to capture him in motion. I did manage to get a quick video today; Sam and Molly also make a cameo appearance. (There's no sound, so no need to adjust your volume.)

My New Year's Resolutions...

1. Get organized...starting with the Christmas decorations, outgrown clothes and toys and then move on to the closets and garage!

2. Spring Clean the house. What I really want to do is move all contents onto the front lawn and hose out the house. Is this possible??? I am in search of the perfect cleaning supplies. Any suggestions? I tried going green, but I just didn't get that fresh-sterile clean that I desired. So today, I went back to the good ol open a window and turn on the fan type cleaning supplies.

3. Start making lists again. I used to be so good at doing this. I need to schedule certain chores for particular days (so they actually get done) and hold myself accountable. For example, no chocolate if the laundry isn't folded and put away.

4. Put forth a little more effort in redirecting my redistributed weight.

5. Get Ben's clothes and things into his room, so his current dresser (the pack-n-play) can be used for him to sleep in (rather than in our bed) and eventually get him sleeping in his room.

6. Go to a movie with Danny (the last movie we saw together was The Pursuit Of Happyness in December of 2006.)

7. Plan out meals, cook more, clip coupons (remember to use them before they expire), etc., in order to eat out less and save a little money.

8. Recycle.

9. Potty train Owen (anyone else want this one?)

10. Spend less time on the computer, so I can actually tackle the said resolutions!

It's a start.... Right?


Happy New Year!

First pics of the

New Year