The Moses Family

"Oh"

2010-03-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

This is the first letter my child has learned. Don't know where or how he has learned it, but he can and WILL spot an "O" anywhere we are! I made this discovery a few weeks ago right before bathtime... We got this stepstool for Zachary a few months ago to assist at toothbrushing time. On this particular day, he proceeded to pick it up and bring it to me (as he often does, because then he gets on it and jumps off!). Then he pointed at the little yellow "o" by the big "C" and said it- "OHHHHH." I thought that was totally random and had no clue how he could've randomly pointed to that and said it, but then he pointed to the other "o" between the A and B Elmo's and I knew he knew!

So now anywhere we go, he is pointing out "ohhhh's" for us. Passing the Food Lion- "Ohhhh." On the cereal box-"Ohhhh." On the Dora plate-"Ohhhh."

My child is learning letters. WOW!

He Speaks!

2010-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

I know, I am the worst blogger ever. Actually, just really bad during the Winter. I guess I'm just too bummed about the crummy weather this year to write much during that time.

Anyway, back to what you're here for...Zachary news! Zachary has been a slow to speak kid so far...and not in the Biblical sense. At his 18 month check-up last month, I was so frustrated that he wasn't talking that we brought up our concerns to Dr. Burton (who is expecting her first child this Fall!). I mean, we knew he wasn't stupid, because the child understood EVERYTHING we said to him, he just was not communicating back to us much with words. Well, whadda you know, right after that appointment, where she assured us he would start speaking in no time, he did. He is up to about 30-40 words now! Among his favorites are: clock, moon, dog, BALL, Mo (Elmo, of course!), hot, gone, God, and Bible. The last 2 make a Momma super proud!

Zachary is already attempting to become our little church leader. He is constantly singing-and leading it from his songbook (which consists of anything from his Bible to the phonebook.) At church he leads singing throughout the whole service sometimes. I think he is just about ready to take over upfront! He also is like the prayer Nazi and if we are praying and people around us do not fold their hands and bow, he will give you THE look. Silly boy!

Zachary now has 16 teeth and is a very active little boy! He loves his balls (the toy ones...well, yeah, all of them), LOVES Elmo still, LOVES his "Frog" & "Monkey," loves to read, sing, and play with cars..and of course makes the Vroom Vroom sound with it! He loves sleepovers at MomMommy & Brapaw's house ( a BIG MomMommy's boy) and play days with Memaw & Papa. He also REALLY loves to play outside when it is warm enough. Last week we bought him a swingset for his birthday. Sure, it's 5 months away, but he doesn't know that! This way we will have it for use all summer...that is, if Daddy ever gets it put up! Just kidding, hon! I will post pictures when that does happen!

Zachary's favorite foods are chicken (with ketchup), FRENCH FRIES, spaghetti, Nilla Wafers, Goldfish, bananas, pudding, and just about any type of breakfast food, especially EGGS! Oh, and he will also FINALLY drink juice (watered down, of course.)

That about does it on the Zachary update...until next time, here are some fun pictures to leave you with you.

Uhh...someone's a little gassy!! TeeHee!

NO MORE SNOW!!

Cousin lunch date at the BK.

There he is: our little song leader! And yes, that is the phone book.

Fridays at the Gym

2010-03-01T06:30:00.001-08:00

Back in November, when Zachary moved down to one nap a day, we started a new Friday morning tradition. Since Daddy has court just about every Friday morning, we started going to the Gymnastics Center in town where cousin Matthew had his 2nd Birthday. On Fridays, they have a toddler/preschool open gym from 10:00-12:00. The cost is $5, but for kids under 2 it is FREE!! And, it is only about 5 miles from our house! So Zachary and I go and play while Daddy is at court until lunchtime.

The trampoline, or really JUMPING in general, is Zachary's favorite thing about the gym. A lot of the floor has built in trampolines that he just loves to go through and jump his whole way around the gym.

He also loves the big balls he can chase everywhere and the mats he can climb up on and jump off! It has been a great place for us to play this Winter, especially since it's been such a cold one!

New Year, New Do

2010-02-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Not too much exciting has happened since the start of the new year for us. We've had a lot of cold, rainy, and sometimes even snowy days, so we've been stuck in doors most days and trying to go to different indoor places to play (more on those later!)

However, I had (reluctantly) promised Daddy that after Christmas we would schedule the Z-man's first haircut. Most of us didn't think his hair really called for it yet, but Daddy has been begging for it since his birthday.

I found this place called Tiki Cuts for Kids on my friend Dana's blog she took her little cutir J.Hogan for his first cut and decided we'd give it a try, too.

Here is a "before" shot. See-NOT that bad, but getting a little long in the back.

The first cut!!

Zachary was so busy occupied with the car,

I don't think he even realized he was getting his hair cut.

There's his neck!

Big boy hair. Mommy likes it. And Daddy is pleased.
Zachary...well, he has no clue.

But we have a lock of his hair to remind him one day of his first hair cut!

Twas the Day After Christmas...and we were still Celebrating!

2009-12-28T07:10:00.001-08:00

The day after Christmas the rest of the Moses clan came to Chattanooga to celebrate. Ken's brothers don't have children, so Kyle and Kevin (now Zachary and Matthew) are spoiled like if they did have children. Kim fixed a delicious Christmas dinner and this year we all ate in the garage so everyone would have enough room and not be squished! Ken spent the last few weeks clearing up the garage, painting, buffing, you name it! They put a heater out there so everyone stayed warm and of course Kim had the tables fixed up very pretty.

Of course after we ate it was time for presents-again! Zachary was taking his afternoon snooze during most of these and joined us at the end. Here are some of the highlights!

The 3 oldest of the Moses generation.

Matthew opening his BIG gift.

Kim and all her Pandora bracelet loot!

Sam, Kevin & Jamie's dog.

Matthew enjoying the big gift box!!

The BIG gift! A Pottery Barn chair!

More Elmo DVD's--WAHOO!!

We all stocked up big and after this one we were definitely all Christmased out!! We all got lots of nice things, and were blessed beyond measure for sure! But I definitely think Zachary scored the biggest...here is most of his Christmas loot!

Now, where do I put all of this?!

Merry Christmas Day!

2009-12-28T07:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve night Zachary and I headed over to MomMommy and Brapaw's house since Daddy had to work. I helped them do some baking and wrapping before heading to bed to wait on Santa. (BTW, Santa got in about 3:00 and had a big, icing COVERED cookie from the Piece-of-Cake Bakery waiting on him. Santa liked. =)

It has become our tradition that Christmas morning, we all go to my in-laws for a Christmas breakfast and then open presents. Kim fixed the traditional breakfast casserole and Ken made the gravy. I think Bi-Lo made the biscuits. =)

Breaskfast was delicious as usual, but not without incident. Matthew got choked on a piece of bacon and Brapaw had to do the hind-leg remover on him. A little scary...but we all recovered enough to go open presents!

This is me acting really excited for Zachary's new Elmo toy.

This is definitely the year of Elmo (in case you didn't know!)

This picture CRACKS ME UP!

He loves to prop up his feet, just like his Daddy!

Matthew was very excited to open all his gifts, and was even excited for Zachary's, too.

Zachary got en Elmo shape-sorter, some much needed new socks, puzzles, a Little People play house, an Elmo driving toy, and a Little Tikes tool workbench.

I got the latest Nicholas Sparks book (finally!), a giftcard to Victoria's Secret (bye-bye nursing bras!), and moo-la.

Kyle got some incredibly soft and comfy pajama pants (which I will be stealing ASAP), a TN shirt, a TN nightlight, and more moo-la.

We also got lots of fun stocking stuffers, including a giftcard to Barrel of Crackers. The best stocking stuffer was this....

Zachary's first sucker!

He wasn't real sure about it at first, but once we hid the M&M Mini's and he saw cousin Matthew going to town on his own sucker, Zachary didn't put it down! They played and looked at all their new presents, all the while making a terribly sticky mess!!

After the Moses Christmas, we all went home to take naps before heading out to Kyle's grandparents house for the Wilkerson family Christmas. I have no pictures of this. Mainly because once we ate, Kyle had to leave for work and I couldn't take pictures and keep up with Zachary at the same time! Needless to say, we ate a WONDERFUL dinner, had LOTS of family, and opened even MORE gifts! I think the highlight from this evening was watching Matthew and Zachary play together, and Zachary getting his new baby Elmo doll! He took it, layed down on the floor on top of it, and kissed it all over! Christmas was a very fun-filled, food-filled, present-filled day, but the best part was spending time with the family.

Twas the Day Before Christmas...

2009-12-28T06:45:00.000-08:00

Kyle was on his 7 days the week of Christmas, so since we would be busy with all our other Christmas celebrations Friday and Saturday, we decided to do our family Christmas a day early so we could take the time to enjoy it!

As promised, a picture of the completed tree!

We woke up Thursday morning and made a special Christmas Eve breakfast: pancakes from scratch that we cut into fun Christmas shapes, turkey bacon, and Zachary's favorite-Eggs!

Yay, good breakfast Mom & Dad!

(I think he ate 3 or 4 pancakes that morning! With syrup, of course!!)

After we cleaned up from breakfast, we opened up our presents from each other, much to Kyle's disappointment. He likes waiting to open them on Christmas Day, but like I said, we would be so busy the next few days, we wouldn't have time to at home! I thought maybe this year Zachary would be more interested in tearing open the wrapping paper, but he still had to be prodded a lot and Mommy ended up opening up most of his gifts for him!!

From us, Zachary got a Tool Box with some tools (plastic, of course!), a shopping basket with play food, his own broom and dust pan, and a gas pump to use with his big present...

Kyle got me several picture frames, which he had filled with Zachary's special pictures from Reflection Riding.

I got Kyle some long johns he needed for work, so he can stay warm this Winter! And I also got him a 4 disc set of the Police Academy movies! Speaking of cops...THIS is Zachary when he saw his BIG present for the first time!!

Complete with the big red bow!!

I think he likes it!!

Creating and Discovering...for Free!!

2009-12-28T06:33:00.001-08:00

Zachary has had a very big and busy past few days! The day before Christmas Eve, the Creative Discovery Museum downtown had free admission for the holidays, so since Kyle and I are both home during the day on Wednesdays, we took Zachary to go play for awhile. You can't pass up free!! This was Zachary's 2nd trip to the museum. The first time was right after his first birthday, a few days before he really started walking, but I had forgotten to bring my camera that day.

There is plenty to do at the museum, but some of the events and activities are for kids a little bit older. However, there is one section called The Little Yellow House that is perfect for toddlers, so that was where we spent the majority of our time. It is set up just like a huge play house, with all the rooms like a kitchen, playground, tool shed, dog house, flower garden, etc.

We ventured out of the Little Yellow House for a bit, and let Zachary lead us to where he wanted to go. We had planned to avoid the water area this day, but that was not the case!! He loves the water and loves to play in it! I think he looks so cute in that little smock!

Back at the Yellow House, Zachary gets busy doing his chores: sweeping, cooking, and then both at the same time!! He loved those little brooms, which was great since Santa was bringing one for Christmas!

Zachary loved playing at the Museum and we plan on using some of his Christmas money to get him a year membership so we can go play whenever we want to, especially while it is too cold to go outside!

snow...Snow...SNow...SNOW!!!

2009-12-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

(In case you couldn't hear me singing the title for you, it was supposed to get you singing from "White Christmas!")

We were given an early Christmas present here in South Tennessee this year! The first weekend in December we woke up to a beautiful blanket of SNOW! Zachary's first REAL snow!

We had all slept in that morning, so when I woke up and saw that the weatherman was really right this time, I quickly got some warm muffins cooking and woke the rest of my sleeping beauties!! We ate quickly so we could go play before it all melted away!

Zachary was none too impressed with the snow. He just wanted his swing!

I sure do love his little hat!

Not enjoying the cold and wet snow!!

He was ready to go inside rather quickly, but he did have to wait for Mommy and Daddy to take a few minutes to play in the snow! Maybe next year (if we get any) he will enjoy the snow! I'm hoping this early snowfall is a sign for a snowy Winter for us!!

Trimming the Tree....Part 2!

2009-12-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

Apparently we were not finished decorating the tree before! One day while laying on the couch, I looked and noticed there was an ornament WAY back in the tree and thought that unusual. When I looked closer, I realized it was one of Zachary's toy trucks. =)

I have also found wooden nesting blocks and plastic toy dishes in the tree, too! Such a helper!!

Trimming the Tree

2009-12-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

We were good little boys and girls and waited until December 1st this year to put up our tree. We weren't quite sure how it all was going to go with a little toddler this year!

Here is a look at our tree when Zachary first saw it. While he napped, we put it on the stand, got the lights on, and decorated it with bows.

Checking out the tree...quite mesmorized!

Getting ready to hang his first ornament on the tree-with Mommy's help!!

Not the finished product...but close!

We didn't put near as many ornaments on our tree this year. And we kept the bottom third of the tree all soft ornaments-for Zachary's sake AND the cats! Zachary got to help decorate the tree, too! I unwrapped the ornaments, he took them to Daddy, and Daddy hung them up-it was so much fun having him help us this year!! I know lots of special memories are being made this Christmas!

We Are Thankful

2009-12-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

Kyle had to work on Thanksgiving this year, so since we couldn't travel to be with the family on Turkey Day, I decided last minute to prepare my first Thanksgiving feast for just the 3 of us.

I made a quick, last minute trip to Bi-Lo and found a huge turkey on sale for just over five dollars. I had no clue how to cook a turkey, but thought for 5 dollars, we could give it a shot! Along with the turkey, we fixed dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and apple pie from scratch. Kyle actually ended up fixing the turkey, and even though it was still partly frozen when we put it in the oven, it turned out pretty good for two first-time turkey cookers! We all really enjoyed our small little Thanksgiving together!

Thanksgiving leftovers?

This was the only picture I got...bummer...Zachary LOVED getting to eat his first Tukey dinner FIRST-hand and we were fortunate enough to drive up to Knoxville the next day to join the rest of Kyle's family for a second meal. Again, no pictures...bad Mommy!

Reflection Riding

2009-12-14T07:08:00.001-08:00

When we were choosing where to have Zachary's one year pictures taken, this one of the top places on our list. Even though Kyle has lived here practically all his life, he'd never even heard of it. My boss told me about it and it's Beautiful! Especially in the fall. So we decided to go out and try some not-so-professional photography shots with Zachary. Out of about 150 pictures, here are a few of my favorites (mainly because these are the few you can actually see his face in...kind of...)

He had no idea we were trying to take pictures. He just thought this was a super big playground!

Little blond head!

Yes, he has his paci in every picture! Would NOT take it out that day! Probably a good thing, though. That week he had fallen two different times and gotten big boo-boos on his mouth. The paci actually kinda helped to cover them up!

All he needed was a little fishin' pole in his hand!

My two favorite boys. This picture is priceless to me.

If you'd like to check out more about Reflection Riding, or visit it sometime, go visit their website here: http://www.reflectionriding.org/

Halloween in December

2009-12-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

So, yeah...I've got some catching up to do! Back in October, we were invited to the Annual Appleby Halloween Party. Because they are trying to sell their house, she held the party at one of Chattanooga's great parks. I had been to Vandergriff park on a field trip a few years ago, so I knew my little spider would love it!

He wore his costume the entire time at the park!

This was the only picture I could get of him looking. I yelled, "ELMO!" really fast, and he looked right as I snapped this picture. Being extremely active and Elmo are pretty much two of Zachary's favorite things these days! The Appleby's had yummy Halloween treats for the party, but my little spider was happier to be running around and climbing on all the equipment, rather than sit down to eat!

Our first stop trick-or-treating was MomMommy and Brampa's house! Last year, cousin Matthew was the spider and kindly let us borrow his costume this year. Why not?! They have no idea yet!

Having a meltdown because he had to be still for a picture!

After the boys got special treat bags from MomMommy, Aunt Jamie and I (both Daddies had to work) took the boys to the mall to go eat some supper. Then we visited Memaw and Papa's house for some more trick-or-treating fun. When we got there, the boys just thought we were there to play. I don't have any pictures from there because my battery died, but Zachary just climbed on their rocking horse is his cotume! Once we left there, we were heading home to go trick-or-treat around the neighborhood, but my little spider man fell asleep on the way home! So, that was the end of our trick-or-treating experience this year! Oh, and let's just say Zachary LOVES M&M's!

CHEESE

2009-10-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, one of my friends from college came to Chattanooga to take Zachary's 1 year pictures. (A little late, but we had to reschedule twice-once, because a leak, and another because of rain). Anyway, Starla has really taken off in her photography business since college and I was just so glad she was willing to make the trip out to Chattanooga to come take pictures of my baby! We were also very excited to get to go out to our friends, the Parker's, house to do these pictures. This is the same location Kyle and I had our engagement pictures, so this was pretty special for us. Here are a few of the sneak peeks!

We hadn't really intended to stay at the fountain, but once he saw all the water he was pretty excited to get to play in it! Thankfully we had packed several changes of clothes!! There are some great ones on the site that show just how wet he ended up getting!

One of the special things we did in this shoot was try to capture some of his Daddy's career. We had just gotten this police motorcycle the day before, so Zachary was pretty enthralled with it! He is pretty stinkin cute wearing his Daddy's uniform shirt in this one, but I must admit he looks a little like Harry Potter, too!

My blue-eyed boy! I always wanted blue eyes growing up. I'm glad both my Mom and Kyle's Mom were able to pass this on to him! (BTW, this is one of the very few shots of him being still! Poor Starla! I tried to warn her that he was VERY active!)

The leaves weren't quite to the BEAUTIFUL point of changing yet, but we did manage to get this shot. Again, I have no idea how! As soon as he threw those leaves he took off running again!

Don't you love the pout?! It was definitely past his nap time at this point, but I really wanted some in his dressy clothes, too.

If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from the shoot, please visit:

http://www.starlaphotography.com

Once you are there, click on "Proofing." Then go to "Search" and type Zachary Moses. The password is Moses, and it is case sensitive.

Let me know what you think, because this Momma sure is going to have a hard time deciding which ones to buy! Be sure to check out some of Starla's other work while you are there!

Sorry

2009-10-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

There's one thing I love about the Internet and Facebook and that is being able to re-connect with so many old friends. Growing up a preacher's kid of an Englishman and a girl from South Texas, I have moved to my fair share of places in my short little life. So it is nice to know how all these people are who I've wondered about for all these years.

But then I get on their Facebook pages. And I see, nothing has really changed. Most of them are still single. Most of them have not pursued a respectful career. Not that these are the things that are the most important....Several have kids (that were born while they were in high school or to Daddies who are not their husbands)...and that they are letting other people raise for them. They are still spending their time drinking, and partying, and "living it up." Woo-hoo. And I look at these pictures and wonder how I was ever jealous of these "pretty" people. What have they made of their lives? What do they have to show-at nearly 30 years old? That they are out doing the same things they did in middle school?! I just feel sorry for these people now. I'm sorry that they were not lucky enough to grow up in a loving, Christian home like mine, whose parents taught them right from wrong, even if it wasn't the "cool" thing at the time. I'm sorry they were not taught to make goals and do something important with their lives. I'm sorry that despite how many people they have watched die from accidents of drinking and driving, drugs, and etc. that they spend the majority of their time engaging in these activities. I'm sorry their life doesn't have a Higher meaning, a Higher purpose.

And I look at their lives, and it makes me so thankful for mine now.

Boo at the Zoo!

2009-10-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

Friday night Kyle, MomMommy, and I took Zachary to Chattanooga's Boo at the Zoo. This was actually Zachary's first trip to the zoo (I know it's a shame, we have one 20 minutes from our house and are just NOW going...) Anyway, Daddy didn't get to stay the whole time because of work, but while he was there we used him to take some pictures of Zachary's first trip!

For Boo at the Zoo, kids come to tour the zoo, but there are also crafts, games, and prizes going on. Most kids wear their costumes, but we didn't bother with that! And since Zachary is a little too young to participate in any of the games, we just went around to each zoo exhibit. While visiting each exhibit, you were to locate the character there to get a letter to a puzzle they gave you at the entrance. They also gave out candy!

Zachary's favorite part of this was when he got to get out at the petting zoo area and pet the goats. I was worried he would be afraid of them, especially if they started to nibble! But he LOVED them!

He even wanted to give them sugars! But since they wouldnt be still for that, he just blew them some instead!

We ended our trip at the zoo with a ride on the carousel. Zachary was so cute. He even gave the dollar to the man at the cashier! He wasn't sure what to think at first, and almost seemed scared for a second, but enjoyed it when it got going!

We really enjoyed Boo at the Zoo, and hope to make this a yearly thing...well, at least while he is young enough to enjoy it!

Z Didn't Start the Fire!

2009-10-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Zachary went on his first "field trip" today to visit The Chattanooga Fire Department, Firehall #8. Zachary's Grandpa Moses was employed by the City for 30 years as a Fire Captain before retiring in December 2007. This was the last firehall he worked at.

Thank you, Firehall #8 for letting my little boy come play today!

Playing with the Boys

2009-10-05T12:28:00.001-07:00

Last Friday Kyle took the night off so he could work a late extra job (and get paid double!). So we invited cousin Matthew over for the evening so his Mommy and Daddy could go out on a date. We started the evening with dinner: chicken fingers, french fries (Zachary's favorite), corn (Matthew's favorite), and peaches. After dinner we left everything on the table so we could rush to the playground to get some quality playtime in before dark!

It is great because we live in walking distance of the Elementary school we are zoned for. There are lots of slides, things to climb up and down, and lots of space to run! And at nightime we don't have to worry about any big kids getting in the way!!

It is so great that these two can play more now that Zachary just gets about anywhere he wants to. It will be even more interesting once Zachary starts talking bunches (that is, bunches that we can understand ;)

Don't worry, I caught him at the bottom!

After about an hour of heavy playing, we gave the boys the option to go to THE Sonic for some ice cream, but Matthew decided on a wagon ride around the neighborhood instead. Zachary really didn't get a say, but if he couldv'e, I'm positive he wouldv'e picked the wagon, too. Every time we go outside, it is the FIRST thing he goes to.

We ended the evening with the boys first bathtime together! SO CUTE! We had to clean their grubby little paws...I mean, their lightly soiled bodies. Zachary enjoyed having a bathmate!

I hope these two grow up to be the BEST of friends, just like their Daddies are. =)

Noah's Police Car

2009-09-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm gonna let Kyle be the writer and share his not-so-fun story of rolling down the river...

Rain. Rain! RAIN!!! I have never seen the rain this bad. Streets were flooded all over the place. Ok, so I was headed to a call at 222 N Lyerly St (for those of you familiar with Chattanooga) where there were children stuck in a house where the waters were rising into the house. En route to the call, I went through standing water at 900 N Orchard Knob Ave. As I went further south, I happened upon the newly formed (in the middle of the road) Lake North Orchard Knob. Being smart, I was not going to traverse the waters with my car. So, when I went to apply my brakes, nothing happened. I went on off into the "lake" and my car said, "Hasta Lavista, Popo!" As I was sitting in the lake waiting on the city tow truck to rescue me, I saw refrigerators, trash cans, and trees floating down the lake and hitting the front of my car. As the waters rose, I felt my vehicle begin to rock. I quickly got out of my car and tried to go to the hill over to the side. As I stood on the side of the hill watching the lake rise, I saw my car float about 50 feet up stream. The waters rose about a foot in about 5 minutes time. WOW! I was scared to death! I am safe and going home. I was almost washed away into the deep ditch and could have been hurt, but I was safe. Lesson learned: Do not attempt to do swift water rescue unless you are a fireman, Do not attempt to drive into water, Do not lose your brakes when approaching a lake, and Do not let your GPS drop off of the windshield into the water in the floor board of your car. Lessons learned and taken to heart. D2.........

All I can say is, THANK GOD he is alright. Unfortunately, our GPS did not survive this outing... =(

The best 5 Dollars and 90 Cents of My Life

2009-09-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Kids toys cost so much money-why is that?! They outgrow them just as fast as they do their clothes! I've been Craigslisting lately, trying to sell some of Zackie's old toys to replace with new, more age-appropriate ones, as well as some of my old Vera Bradley bags. However, I have had no luck yet. Sad. (Let me know if you might be interested!)

However, I have found some new toys for him that were MORE than quite a bargain. Ever since Zachary learned to grasp, he has loved balls. I mean, give this kid a ball to hold in each hand and he is happy. But now that he is walking and loves, and I mean LOVES playing outside, I wanted him to have a bigger ball he could play with out there and we could kick, bounce, and throw.

So a few weeks ago I begged Kyle to take a quick run to Wal-Mart with me to look for a ball, plus we needed to get gas in the car for in the morning. Well, while Kyle pumped the gas, I went inside to look for a ball and couldn't find one anywhere-what?! So, we came home without said ball, and late for Kyle to start Fantasy Football...boo-hoo, honey. ;)

So my wonderful Mother-in-law suggested we try the pharmacy stores in town. So while we were waiting to pick up our $5.00 Papa John's Pizza (YUMMY) I ran into Rite-Aid quickly, found a 3 dollar and some-odd-cents ball that was marked 50% off, and headed to the check-out. Already super excited I finally found a ball AND a great deal, I was even more excited that the ball was marked down even more and came to the total of 90 cents including tax. Instant wonderful new toy for Zackie!

So now you may be asking, what about the other 5 dollars? (Well, you probably aren't, but any-who...) Saturday my sister-in-law and I had planned to go outlet shopping in Dawsonville, Georgia (Actually, we had planned to go to Nashville to see Wicked, then those plans got butched due to ticket issues. Then we had planned to go shopping in Gatlingburg, but that got butched when we realized we would hit the crazy football traffic in Knoxville. So we settled on Dawsonville about 9:00 the night before. =) Anyway, Jamie picked me up not-so-bright, but very early Saturday morning to get a good start on the day. I mean, we were getting to go shop KID-FREE, potentially all day if desired. We had to make the most of our time. When I got in the car Jamie told me there was a yard-sale starting a few houses down and they had one of those Little Tike climbers with a slide and asked if I wanted to go look. We had been at her house the previous night and Zachary had taught himself to climb up the slide in about 15 minutes, so she knew I was wanting one.

I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, but figured it would be more than I was wanting to spend that day (Hello-I was prepared to buy clothes, and lots of them! For Zachary, of course =) So we drove by and I rolled down my window and asked how much they wanted for it. And the lady said, "Oh, that thing? 5 bucks." SERIOUSLY?! Those things run like $130 at least brand new. So ignoring the fact that it was faded and dirty (who cares!) or that my husband was still asleep in bed, I pulled out a 5 dollar bill before anyone else could steal that deal! And then I immediately sent Kyle a text telling him he had some things to take care of when he woke up. =)

Let's just say, Zachary loves his new toy!

Peek-a-boo!

This keeps him pretty busy!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

When God Fearing Women Get the Blues...

2009-09-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

This is the story of my happy pills. Not sure that I'll even publish this post yet...but wanted to get it out there in writing. Guess if you're reading this, I gave in.

I've always wanted to be a Mom. I used to spend hours when I was little oohing and ahhing over the JC Penneys Catalog, deciding what I needed to purchase when I had my baby. You would think a 6 year old would have better things to do...Anyway, Kyle and I started trying to conceive about a year after we were married, with no luck. In fact, when I went off birth control, it totally screwed with my hormones, and I quit punctuating all together. Ok, I know-TMI. Needless to say, my body was not cooperating in the baby making progress and I was probably already chemically imbalanced at this point.

Then we moved back to Tennessee and were busy getting settled in to new life here. Apparently my body likes Tennessee better than Texas because "things" turned back "on" and whaddya know? A few months later I am holding 6 positive pregnancy tests. Ok, I lie. I didn't hold all 6 at once-but I did take 6 to believe it! We were so overjoyed, and understood that God's timing was best and we were so thankful that we were close to our families when this miracle was to enter our lives.

And then the fun came. And came and came. Remember how I had issues with hormones? Yeah, apparently the new baby hormones didn't agree with my body too much and I got sick. No, not morning sickness. All day, 9 months sickness. I tried very hard to be a happy (and grateful) pregnant person, but it was so hard when I spent most of my free time barfing. It eventually got so bad that I was hospitalized for fluids and started taking Zofran 3 times a day to ease the quese.

When Zachary was born, I finally quit puking-hah!-but I was very overwhelmed emotionally. As you will remember I mentioned here that the day I told my parents we were expecting, I also received some upsetting news about my Moms health. Then a month before Zachary came, Kyle graduated the Police Academy and we moved out of our apartment into a house (in the same week) meanwhile I was beginning a new job which I would be working part-time. Not just a new job, a new career. Same for Kyle, too. It was all a lot for me to take in, especially adjusting to a newborn at home on my own in the evenings while Kyle was at work.

I don't really know when it started getting bad. Obviously long before I realized it. But with Kyle's schedule, I didn't see him much and when I did, we were always tired. You'll remember our months of not sleeping here and here and I probably would've blogged about it more, but I was too tired to! Anyway, between sleep deprivation, not seeing my husband much, working part-time, nursing full-time, and all the life changes, I was quickly becoming depressed. They say when you get the "baby blues" if you're not feeling better by about 2 weeks of settling back at home to call your doctor. Well, I was fine during that time. I'd even re-read Brooke Sheilds book "Down Came the Rain" about her journey through post-partum depression. (I highly recommend it, too-great read!) But I think mine really started to come together sometime after Christmas (I don't know...maybe Kyle would disagree?) Anyway, I didn't feel a need to see my doctor after Zachary was born, suffice it to say.

Maybe it was around March when Kyle started asking me to go talk to my doctor, and see if he could help. I was very stubborn and embarrassed to do this (yes, I admit it!) and didn't call at first. I knew I was sad, but mainly because I felt so isolated, especially in the evenings because I was still not used to being on my own like that. I just really didn't see how taking medicine could replace adult conversation.

After we finally got Zachary sleeping through the night again, I was still feeling sad and so I reconsidered Kyle's offer to call and we made an appointment for the day before my birthday, also known as My Inbetween Day. We talked with my doctor and agreed that I was probably just dealing with all the big changes, especially the lack of adult converastion in my life, and he put me on a low-dosage of anti-depressants. Since then, Zachary has been sleeping well, Kyle's shift got changed to where he goes in later, so he is home longer and off every other weekend (which means I see him more) and I've gotten involved in some activities with Zachary and made some new friends around here. In other words, it's working and I'm happy.

Some days I think that if we lived in a small town like Henderson, it'd be easier to make friends and not feel as lonely in such a tight-knit, Christian atmosphere. I mean, my college years were some of the best of my life. But I'm also very happy we are in Chattanooga to stay, and that Zachary will grow up having a "hometown," something I am still trying to get the grasp of...but that's another blog in and of itself!

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born

2009-08-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about giving birth. Probably because of my friend Kim and everything she has been through with her baby William. (I don't know how to post a link to previous blogs-or else I'd do it here...can anyone help?!) Anyway, William passed early Friday morning, and was delivered Saturday, 8/15 at 12:40. Kim and her husband were able to spend some time with him & a non-profit organization, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, came and took pictures for the family. She is home now recooperating, and really needs our prayers as she goes through this extremely difficult greiving process.

I've also been thinking about birth a lot today, as one of Kyle's cousins (by marriage) is about to become a Daddy, and we are also waiting to hear back from 2 friends Doctor's appointments who are close to delivering.

Since Zachary's birth last year, I've meant to take the time to write down everything I remember about the experience, because I knew I'd forget all those little details...like the pain of labor-oh wait-I didn't have any! (YAY C-Sections!) Anyway, like I said, I've been meaning to. Well, hopefully 375 days later I can still remember enough to one day read this and recall that day God brought the most precious baby into this world...

Let's actually start 374 days ago, August 7, 2008. We had met with our doctor, Dr. Shull, that Monday and had decided that it was time for Zachary to make his debut, no later than Friday. Dr. Shull thought that he might be 8 pounds or more (and it really was a good chance, considering Kyle and I were both nearly 9 pound babies!). Plus there was concern that my pelvis was small and he might not be able to be safely delivered vaginally. So he gave us 2 options: 1) Be admitted Thursday night to the hospital, and run Cervadil through me all night to try and induce labor and attempt a vaginal birth (Did I mention that I had not begun to dialate AT ALL?!) or 2) Plan a sceduled C-section for Friday. We chose 1, but with the understanding that a C-section was still very possible.

That Thursday afternoon Kyle and I had our last "Just the 2 of us" day together. We went to see The Dark Knight, courtesy of free movie tickets from my MIL. And then we went to eat at Macaroni Grill, which I had not been able to eat (keep down) the whole pregnancy, courtesy of my Mom. Then we came back home, re-checked our packed bags, made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some Ben & Jerry's and a People magazine, and headed to the hospital. And let me tell you, I am GLAD we did because I didn't get to eat again until Saturday morning-UGH. I hate to say this, but I don't really remember much about when we got to the hospital. I guess I was so preoccupied with what was about to happen that everything else left my brain! I do remember being FREAKED out about getting my IV in, especially after the last IV I had. Early in my pregnancy I was not keeping anything down, and eventually had to go to the hospital for IV fluids. It took them over an HOUR to get the IV in, partially because I was so dehydrated and partially because I have uncooperative veins. Anyway, they got me on the first stick-hooray!-and THANK YOU! Then Kyle went out to the car to unload all our junk before they put the Cervadil in and we got settled for the night. So, while Kyle's out and I'm all alone in the hospital room, hooked up to all the machines, I completely realize that WE"RE ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY and feel the need to use the bathroom, if you know what I mean...So I get out of the bed, drag my IV with me, and head to the bathroom. When Kyle returns, he finds me still there, because I am unable to wipe with that stinking IV in...Bless his heart. I'm sure I'll have to return the favor one of these days in our old age (but hopefully not!)

I don't remember much else about that night except 2 things: 1) The Cervadil being put in (can we say uncomfortable?) and 2) Calling my Mom to tell her I was scared, and realizing they were in the car already on their way, justincase the Cervadil did its thing. I was so happy they would be there for the whole thing!

**In case anyone is actually still reading this, you might want to go take a restroom break, grab a snack, or do something to wake you up. Like I said, I wanna write down everything I remember, and y'all know I can tend to get wordy!**

Okay, back to the story now. I woke up on August 8 after a very restless nights sleep hopeful that the Cervadil was doing something, but also realistically planning to have someone CUT MY TUMMY OPEN. Hell-o. The doctor was to come by about 8:00 a.m. and check if I had dialted any. Well maybe closer to 9:00 it was decided, nope, this baby is in no hurry to get out of me! So, C-section it was. We planned it for noon. What to do for 3 hours while you wait to have a human being pulled out of you?! Worry and go CRAZY, that's what! Because I certainly couldn't EAT, ya know! Again, I really don't remember what I did all that time, but let me tell ya, I had more than a 3 hour wait. Because 8-8-08 was obviously the coolest day to have your baby last year, my delivery kept getting pushed back. And just as I was getting ready to get prepped for delivery at 2:00, someone needed an emergency C-section. So I was pushed back-again. Finally I decided I would take a nap to pass the time, and believe it or not, I was actually able to! And when I was snoozing away they decided to come and tell me then that it was time to have this baby!

Don't know exactly what time the prep actually begun, although I do have some pictures of the clocks, thanks to my husband.

I do remember they gave me this anti-neausea drink that was EXTREMELY nasty and then they took me back to the operating room where they proceeded to give me my spinal, as Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" played in the background. How ironic. Meanwhile Kyle and his Dad (who was joining us in the operating room in case Kyle passed out-seriously!) were playing around with their own operating room apparel.

As my body was quickly becoming a massive piece of jello-like substance, my birthing buddies came in and the doctors got to doing their thang. Don't know much what happened for the next several minutes, except that it kept feeling like I was being tickled and I was FREEZING. One time I said, "Ooh, that feels funny!" And Kyle was like, "Yeah, that should!" because he could see everything that was happening behind the curtain. I kept checking to make sure he wasn't going to pass out (like he nearly did at our first ultrasound). Finally the doctors said it would feel like they were "tugging" on me, and I did feel that! But, no baby! So, they re-worked some things and tried again. Tugging began one more time and "I can see the head!" And there it was, the first cry of my precious baby. The happy tears just began instantly flowing from me and Kyle, while Grandpa went to take pictures of Zachary as he got weighed, poked, and prodded. Unfortunately, I was not able to hold Zachary back in the operating room, but we did get to spend a good bit of time just staring at him. I was the last C-section planned of the day, so they took their time putting my tummy back together. One of the assissting doctors was so short, and we kept offering to get him a stool so he could reach me better!

During this time, Kyle, my FIL, and me just kept staring at Zachary in awe and crying, we couldn't believe he was finally in our arms. And he was BEAUTIFUL. I know this is nonsense, and so stupid and vain, but before he was born I was so scared I would have an ugly baby. I mean, I know all babies are precious, but some are just not pretty! I know that is awful to say...any other Moms have this fear before yours was born?!

It was also very emotional because Zachary was born on his late Great-Grandpa Moses' birthday. So we had 3 generations of Moses men in the room on the 4ths birthday-pretty special. Some people might think it is totally weird that my FIL was back there and not my mom, or at least my MIL. But my FIL is a certified peramedic and would be able to help Kyle if he passed out OR me if I freaked out back there because he has helped to deliver babies in emergency situations before. And it really didn't bother me. I joke with him now that he has seen more of me than I've seen of me!

After what seemed like FOREVER, but a wonderful forever, they took me to the recovery room where I proceeded to freeze to death, but here I was finally able to hold my baby boy. And so was everyone else. Who had been waiting forever while we took our sweet time in the operating room. Family got to come in by 2's and see him, while I was going, "Hey! I just gave birth here-I wanna hold him!" Not long after they took him to the nursery to be bathed and the like, while I recovered a bit and was moved to my room for the next few days. I remember when they moved me from the operating bed to the hospital bed I about freaked out when I saw how much blood was coming out of me! Thankfully I was still drugged up and couldn't feel a thing! That came the next day! UGH. While I was waiting for Zachary in my room, I BEGGED mercessly for food, but was denied everything but ice chips. Congratulations-you had a baby! Now, here's you some delicious ice chips! Ha!

Finally late that evening (maybe 9 or 10?) they brought Zachary back to the room to be with his Mommy and Daddy and the nurse stayed to help me nurse him for the first time. I still really don't know why I had to wait SO long to nurse him, but when I did finally get to, it really did feel so wonderful and natural that first time. And I felt like a Mommy. And it was wonderful.

A Heavy Heart

2009-08-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

The last few days my heart has been very heavy. There are several people I've had on my mind that have made me want to be in a constant state of prayer the last few days. If you would, take a few minutes to read each of their stories, and then add them to your own prayer lists. Thanks!

1) I found out on Monday through the wonderful and informative world of Facebook that a friend from college has breast cancer. 27 years old. Her name is Kara VanSandt. She and I both worked at the nursery school at Freed-Hardeman while we were students. She grew up in Mississippi, has a twin sister named Kasey in Tennessee, and currently lives in Alaska because her husband is in the military and is currently serving overseas. I can't imagine the health scare she has gone through lately. She had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor and they are pretty confident that it has not spread and was a successful surgery. She will still undergo chemo treatments as part of her recovery. Her husband was able to fly back to be with her this week, but I'm unsure how long he will be able to remain in Alaska with her.

2) My boss' Mother has been going through a lot with her health over the past several months. Her name is Nadia Horton. She has colon cancer, which was cured at one point, but has come back and is not clearing. She was on chemo for it, but it now trying an experimental pill for it. However, that has been put on hold due to several issues of infection from an inproper stint surgery-two times. They re-did the stint yesterday (new Doctor) and are hopeful it went well this time. Please pray that she will be able to gain some weight (down to 88 pounds now) and that God will just comfort her and give her peace.

3) This last one is a LONG one, but SO heavy on my heart. Please read it, and also ask everyone you know to pray for Kimberly Mccloskey. She dated my brother back when they were in high school together, which is how I know her. She tells her story best, so I am going to copy it here with her permission.

John and I found out in January that we are expecting in late September, it was unexpected but certainly good news. We will be married 8 years just before the baby is due. At my 18 week ultrasound my Dr. saw some things he was concerned about with the development of Williams bones and referred us to a specialist from Forsythe. When I saw him he was brutaly honest with the prognisis and told me that there was only a 40-50% chance of me even being able to carry him to term and that he would only live a few hours after his birth and then told me a bout all of my "options" meaning as he put it "early termination". I do not believe in abortion under any circumstances and told him that I've seen to many miracles to give up hope and that it is not my decision if this child lives or dies and that God's timing is perfect and I would deal with the loss if and when it happens but not contribute to it. That as his mother it is my responsibility to give him the best chance possible at survival.
I did not go back to that specialist but I am now seeing one from Duke, she is amazing. William has an issue called skeletal displasia (sd) or dwarfism, there are over 300 types and it can come from a mutated gene or a fluke recessive gene and the chances of occurrance are very slim. There are 300 types of sd, his appears to be Thanatrophic type 1 and most are considered to be lethal meaning the pregnancy would end in stillbirth or the infant would only survive a very short time. The measurements and ratios comparing different parts of the body are what determine the severity of the condition. His measurements are all borderline to severe and even with minimum differencials there is an average of 30% who live past the neonatal stage and those have very aggressive medical care and minimal quality of life.
It was very simple for me to decide and for John to support my decision for organ donation. It was the first thing that popped into my head when they told me he would pass a few hours after his birth. The specialist I am working with now is setting up a meeting with a transplant specialist so we can find out how many weeks pregnant I need to be in order for the most of his vital organs to be transplantable without running the risk of losing him before birth, thus risking the organs.
We are planning on doing an amnio in a few weeks so there will be some genetic testing for research and they will run a type & cross match for organ donation. That way no time is wasted waiting for tests to be run when he is born and the organs can be on their way as soon as he passes. HIs lungs will be underdeveloped due to the size of his chest cavity likely leaving him unable to breath on his own and we do not want a life of machines doing it for our son. As far his heart, kidneys, liver, spleen & pancreas, they are all developing normaly, that's 5 babies that can go home with their mothers, I can't imagine it takes much for a bone marrow transplant so that could be several more then if they can use them there are his corneas and other parts that can bless other families.
If we were going to raise him we would want him to be a selfless giving and compassionate person so we believe this decision is the best way to honor his life and to show Gods mercy and grace to others who can be touched and blessed either by receiving the gift of life from him or by hearing this testimony. I would never wish this situation on anyone but if I knew going into this that this would be the outcome and that other lives would be saved & I were given the choice to get pregnant or not, I would choose to do it.
Our plan is to have a scheduled delivery most likely at Duke. We would like to dedicate him if there is time but other than a pastor or church leader we desire to be very selfish with what little time we will have with him and our desire is to keep it very private and intimate. There will be pictures taken by a non-profit service "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" they are a group of professional photograpohers who volunteer their time and talent and provide lots of pictures to the family at no charge. We will share the pictures but the time with our son however much it is is ours. Not that we want to deny anyone being there but we feel it is difficult to allow one and not another and it will be an extremely emotional time for us without the emotions of others for us to worry about. We want to spend however much time we have with him without interruption and we are sure we have everyones understanding and support in our decision.
After I am home depending on the type of delivery and John's schedule following the event I will appreciate the outreach of my church family, family, and friends but will not feel up to long telephone conversations or long visits. Because we are planning on donating as many of his organs as possible and because the National Skeletal Displasia registry requests (but not requires) three ribs, a skin, and tissue sample there will not be much left of him so we will cremate his remains and there will not be a funeral service. If anyone wants to honor him they can do so by a gift in his name to the mission fund at Green Street Baptist Church, Little People of America, or to the National Skeletal Displasia registry's research program.
I take comfort in Rom 8:28 and Jer 29:11 and I know without doubt that God chose me to carry this child because He knew I would choose the right thing and see HIs potential to work in this situation for a purpose much greater than my desire to have children. Our prayers at this point are that we will have some time to hold him and love him before he is taken from us and that his organs will be viable and be used to give life to others so their moms and dads do not have to share our grief and so they will know in a very real and personal way the blessings and mercy of our Heavenly Father.
Please continually pray with us and for us and for the families and babies Williams small life will effect in such a big way.
In Christ,John & Kimberly McCloskey
*****Just this week she had her latest Doctors appointment and was told that most, maybe all of his organs would be rejected because of the DNA they carry. They are very upset by this news, but are currently seeking other options in which to carry on Williams memory. If you would like to send Kimberly and her family a message or a card, please message me and I would be glad to give you her address. Thanks again for remembering this precious and corageous family in your prayers.

Last night I got a notice on Facebook that Kimberly was at the hospital and they were planning to induce because baby William's head was already measuring at 40 weeks. However, a few hours later I got another notice saying that they were delaying the induction in order to get some more things sorted out concerning the delivery and what will follow after.
I cannot imagine being in her shoes, and I am SO proud of the decision she made to carry this baby full-term knowing God gave her this baby as a blessing in which to bless others. How many people do you know who would've done the same? Of course, Kimberly is sure in her decision, but as you can imagine, going to have a LOT to deal with emotionally. PLEASE pray for this family. And for you parents, hold your baby a little tighter and thank God for your healthy blessing!

One more request...My mom is having some blood-work done today to determine how she's doing since she ended Chemo back in May. Please pray she has good results. Also pray for her as she goes back to work next week.

Thank you all for taking the time to read these heavy things on my heart. Remember, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16.

You've Got A Friend in Me...

2009-08-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Before Zachary was born, I had seen in several Parents magazines about documenting your child's growth each month by some form or fashion. One idea I saw was where a Mom used Puff Paint and decorated a plain onesie each month with her child's weight, length, and age. I thought that was cute, but too much like work! As Zachary was approaching his 1 month birthday, we still had not decided how we were going to document his growth each week. Well, don't know if I've blogged about this or not, but Zachary's nursey is a Toy Story nursery. Toy Story is his Daddy's most favorite movie of all time, so that's how we got the idea. Anyway, at one of his baby showers he received a Woody doll to put his in nursery on his toy shelves. Daddy thought using Woody would be a great way to show how he has grown each month, and I must say, it turned out to be a great idea. Not only has it shown how he is growing in size, but in ability, too! We actually have taken several pictures each month, but I've just selected one to show. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we have!

Zachary at 1 month

Just learned how to smile!

Zachary at 2 months

Putting on some weight.

Zachary at 3 months

I love how he is sucking in that bottom lip!

Zachary at 4 months

It looks like he was waving!

Zachary at 5 months

This just might be my favorite Woody picture! They look like the best of pals.

Zachary at 6 months
He looks so handsome dressed for church.

Zachary at 7 months

Woody finally looses the hat.

Zachary at 8 months

They just keep on getting better from here!

Zachary at 9 months

Zachary at 10 months

Zachary at 11 months

Zachary at 12 months

The big ONE year old!

One Singular Sensation

2009-08-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

Exactly ONE year ago today, I was preparing to leave the hospital to come home with my husband and my new baby boy. That's right, folks-we have made it one year as parents! Yahoo! Since Zachary was born on the coolest day ever 8-8-08, we were able to celebrate his first birthday on an almost as cool day, 8-8-09. It still really hasn't hit me yet that my baby is one. Here are some of the highlights from his big day.

The awesome cupcake cake I made for the guests. We used pictures of Zachary from each month of his life (that we documented with his good pal Woody) as cupcake toppers. We kept the party small, mostly family and a few friends. The party was held at Brampa and Mom-mommy Moses' house. Guests were served hamburgers & hotdogs with all the trimmings, baked beans, potato salad, chips, homemade strawberry icecream, and of course these adorable cupcakes!

Zachary enjoyed being at his grandparents house and playing with his friend Sophie (they have an arranged marriage planned for them!) and his cousin Matthew. Other guests included Mom, Dad, Gram & Grandad Chumbley, cousins Thomas and Gabrielle, Memaw & Papa Wilkerson, Uncle Kevin & Aunt Jamie, Great Aunts Cindy and Becky with Great Uncles Doug and Stanley, and Sophie's Mommy and Daddy.

Zachary thought the ribbons were amazing. Otherwise he wasn't even all that impressed with the wrapping paper, let alone the gifts. Psst, silly boy. He did play with the gifts when we got home, FYI. His gifts included lots of $$ for Kindermusik (we start TOMORROW!), new Toy Story & Policeman pajama's, A Toy Story backpack, wooden nesting & stacking blocks, clothes for the winter, rescue cars, a bubble-lawnmower, shape-sorting blocks, and his red wagon.

But I do believe Elmo was his favorite gift (of course, it was from Brampa & Mom-mommy.) As mentioned in the last blog, we had considered getting him an Elmo for his birthday, but decided on the wagon instead. This Elmo talks when you squeeze his hand and will blow kisses with the other hand. As you can see, Zachary didn't even wait until it was out of the box to start giving him sugars all over-so cute!

After presents came cake time....gonna save the best for last. Or so we thought. Apparently Zachary partied hard because by cake time (which happened WAY before his normal nap time) he was already crying and ready for a nap. Well, we went ahead anyway with the cake. Stripped him down and put him in the highchair. He stopped crying long enough for us to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, but as you will see below, that was all he stopped for!

Now, if you know my husband, you would know that cake and icing are his weakness. In fact, I had to threaten him several times to stay OUT of this buttercream icing I had made earlier in the week. He inherited the love of icing from his Mommy, so we thought this would run in the family. Apparently not. Zachary did not want ANYTHING to do with that cake. He screamed and cried, even after his cousin Matthew showed him how to eat it and Mom-Mommy helped. Oh well. Guess he already has an opinion about some things!

(By the way, gotta love how Daddy left the knife right by the cake in that shot! Thankfully Z was too upset to notice!)

Little Red Wagon

2009-08-03T08:29:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Kyle and I took Zachary shopping for his first birthday. WHAT?! How did this happen already?! Anyway...we had kinda been looking around at different places and things over the last few weeks and had basically decided to get him something he could use outside so that we could do more outside.

So off we go to Toys R Us, or We B Toys (as Kyle likes to call it) and begin the extravaganza. Of course, we have to stop every 3 minutes to remind Kyle that we are shopping for Zachary-not him! We brought Zachary along so we could "test" things out on him and see how he liked it, because, hey, he won't remember seeing it in the store! Anyway, we found one of those Elmo Live dolls that talks and laughs and Z LOVED it. But it was 50 dollars. For a toy he MIGHT play with a few months. And, not an outside toy. Just couldn't justify that. So we went to the section of BIG toys for outside and there it was-the perfect little, Radio Flyer, red wagon. It was a plastic one with flaps that fold up and down to make it a two-seater. It even had seatbelts and drinkholders. Fancy. Best part? It was marked 20 DOLLARS DOWN! We took Zachary for a "test-ride" around the store, and he had a blast. So, we decided that was it. Unfortunately for us, the store decided that was not it, as the display wagon was the only one they had left. And that was the last day of the sale price. Off we left VERY sad. Until...hey, we live in a big town. With another We B Toys across the city. Quick call the store #2 and whadda ya know? They have exactly ONE red wagon left! HOLD FOR MOSES, PLEASE! The wagon was now ours again, WITH the sale price!

So, if you know me well at all, you know I am horrible with surprises and have no patience to wait for them. So one afternoon a few days later Zachary was being kinda cranky, so I suggested to Kyle that there was no sense in that wagon sitting in the box in the garage when this kid could be out riding it! I twisted his arm far enough that he drug the box out of the garage and began putting it together (with Zachary's help, of course!)

Helping Daddy push the wagon outside for the very first time!

This is relaxing!

I think he likes it!
(Sorry, these are not our best shots, but our Internet has been down, so you're getting to see the 'ol cell phone shots!)

So, now the wagon walk has become a new ritual at our house. Since Daddy is at work 5 nights a week, Mommy and Zackie (and Daddy when he's off!) are now going on wagon walks after dinner and before "Wheel" comes on. (He LOVES Wheel of Fortune! He is like mesmorized by it and will play quietly while it's on. It's a good winding down activity for him, and it allows Mommy to get some stuff done before bath and bedtime.)

A Deep Breath & Baby Steps

2009-08-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

So, I have failed again as a Blogger and gotten WAY behind. Don't say I didn't warn you!!! But with the BIG birthday approaching, I know I will KICK myself later if I do not capture these precious moments before they pass me by.

So, last week I'm at work when Kyle calls and says, "Guess what Zachary just did?" And not even thinking I'm like, "What?" "He took 2 steps all by himself!"

HOLD UP!

Didn't he know he was NOT supposed to tell me that?! Isn't there a Daddy manual somewhere that says that you do NOT just tell a Mommy she missed the beginning of a MAJOR milestone in a childs life, and when the baby does it later in front of her, you act like THAT was the first time?! Huh?!

Anyway, I was kinda crushed the rest of the day. But at the same time, I'm glad his Daddy was there to see it (and his Papa Wilkerson) and not just some stranger at a daycare. Luckily for Kyle, Zachary delighted us again by taking another TWO WHOLE STEPS ON HIS OWN!

Thankfully, he has not just started taking flight after that, and has only taken some here and there. I'm glad he is taking his time, because this Mommy is NOT ready to let her baby grow up so fast!

Okay, so this is NOT the day he took his first steps...but you can at least see him standing by his big boy self!

Moses Family Beach Pictures

2009-06-10T13:48:00.001-07:00

Wednesday night was our last night at the resort. Chattanooga has a big summer festival every year called Riverbend and cops are not allowed off days during this time. Riverbend started on Friday, and we didn’t want to try and make the trip back in one day with Zachary. Before we had even left for vacation, we had all talked about doing the traditional family beach pictures. You know, wear matching outfits of khaki and white, take a gazillion shots of the family sitting by the sea oats…well, cheesy as it may be, it was probably one of the best moments of the trip. It was very special to have all of the Moses family there and watch the boys playing in the beach. (By the way, this beach was a different one that you had to pay to get into, but it wasn’t crowded at all and the sand was beautiful!) This time, we let Zachary play more in the waves and he LOVED it-he got soaking wet in his clothes and didn’t even care! Obviously we took about a million pictures, but these are some of my favorites.

The Moses Family

Our little Moses family.

It's so much fun watching the waves. Such special moments.

Soaked and lovin' it!

What are cousins for?!

Matthew is enjoying every bit of it! And Zachary's eating the sand, AGAIN!

Walking in his Daddy's footsteps. :)

Beach Baby, Beach Baby There in the Sand...

2009-06-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we had dinner right by the beach, so naturally we took the boys to see a quick peek at the ocean. But the real beach fun came on Monday. After lunch, we brought Zachary down to play in the sand and water. Of course it was quite crowded, so he was a little intimidated by all of the people and we didn’t spend too much time in the water because of that. He did; however, enjoy playing in the sand (and eating it, too!)

The sand is so much fun!

And tasty, too!

First time in the ocean.

For once, a good picture of the two of us!

It's a Hard Rock Life!

2009-06-10T13:36:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night we headed down to Broadway at the Beach to go eat at the Hard Rock Café. I have actually eaten at this one before a few years ago with my brother one vacation, but no one else had been to this one. Thankfully our wait was not too long, and we were seated, much to Zachary’s delight, close to one of the many TVs they have around the restaurant playing old music videos. We all had a great dinner and enjoyed all the time together as a family!

He looks like he is playing the piano!

Watching music videos!

Love that grin!

New Experiences

2009-06-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

On Vacation, Zachary got to try several new things for the first time. Some are just small snippets, but I still want to have memories of them, so I’m writing them down.

On Sunday after Zachary’s wonderfully long nap, we decided to try the kiddy pool again. I’ve been to lots of resorts growing up, but let me say that this resort (Plantation Villas in Surfside Beach, SC) has one of the best kiddy pool areas I’ve ever seen! Normally there is always a small kiddy pool right next to the big outdoor pools, but at this one the kiddy pool was completely by itself. They had one big pool that started at 6 inches and eventually graduated to 18 inches, perfect for little babies. Across the way was a great set-up for kids Matthews age. They had all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that sprayed and dumped water over an area that was about a foot deep of water. Then, in between and around ALL of this was the lazy river, my personal paradise for the week. It was 3 feet deep and they provided tubes for you to float around in it. Well, Zachary loved the water-it was like a glorified bathtub for him! He spent some time splashing, some time floating in his tube, and we even took a spin on the lazy river with him (also a great nap-inducer!) Seriously, can someone come build me a lazy river in my backyard?!

Down at the kiddy pool area.

Just floatin' in the water!

Kevin, Jamie, and me floating in the lazy river.

Monday night was another night full of new experiences for Zachary. We met up with some of Grandpas friends who were also on vacation in Myrtle Beach at a restaurant called Thorny’s. The food there was great and we let Zachary try his first French fry, which of course he LOVED. Also, this place had a separate play area in the restaurant, which Jamie and I quickly called on the Daddies to take the boys to play while we waited for our food. Why doesn’t every restaurant have one of these?! When we went to go tell them dinner was ready, I found Zachary playing with a big truck! I couldn’t believe he was big enough to play with something like that! Well, guess what Daddy went and bought him that night? You guessed it! He loves his new toy!

Playing with his truck in front of those mirrors!

After dinner, Kyle, Zachary, Grandpa and I went to Dunkin Donuts to get sandwiches, I mean, donuts. While we were waiting, we walked around the store which had all sorts of games and play areas, kinda like a mini arcade or sorts. I walked passed one of those quarter pony rides and thought, I wonder if Zachary would like this? So I popped in a quarter and put him on to try. Wish I would’ve had about 20 more quarters because this boy loved it! We rode it twice! And he looked like such a big boy sitting up there, it made me sad. I thought I would need to hold onto him the whole time, but he held onto the handle all by himself, no problems. It just made me realize that he is really growing up quickly, and no longer a little baby who needs me for everything anymore. :(

He looks so serious, but I promise he was having a blast!

Not really a new experience, but always an experience, Zachary cut a tooth on vacation. I believe it was Sunday night, the night after all those GREAT naps. He went down no problem but then woke up after about an hour just wailing. We went in a few times and loved on him and after about the 3rd time gave him some Motrin and Orajel (we weren’t sure if it was his gums, but it was worth a try). Well, we didn’t hear from him the rest of the night, but in the morning we found a new tooth. So, I guess you could say that cutting a tooth without loss of sleep was a new experience…for Mommy and Daddy!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

2009-06-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am finally back to blogging again…after a week away at the beach! Last Fall, Kyle’s Mom and Dad decided to take the whole family on a vacation together and we decided to head to the beach! We wanted to go to Charleston, SC, but were unable to find a condo available, so we found one at Myrtle Beach and decided that was close enough!

We left last Friday morning and traveled half of the way to North Augusta, conveniently where my Mom and Dad live. So it worked out perfectly to break our trip up by staying there for the night, and of course my Mom and Dad were thrilled to see Zachary. He was very excited to be out of the car for awhile and was right away busy crawling and seeing what fun new things he could get into. That night we had a traditional English roast lamb for dinner, which we don’t get very often because I don’t know how to cook it. After dinner we had one CRANKY baby because Zachary is not a very good car sleeper and therefore had not slept much throughout the day. He went down to bed no problem in the pack-and-play, but woke up after 45 minutes just screaming. I think he was scared because he didn’t know where he was (or teething, or a combination of both). So we played the cry-it-out, go in and reassure game for about 45 minutes and finally he went back to sleep (and thankfully slept ALL night after that!) I was so worried he would not sleep good on this trip after we were sleeping so good at home. Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy slept horribly (my Mom and Dads guest bed is just NOT big enough for the two of us!). But, my mom had fixed her delicious coffee cake for breakfast in the morning, so it was all good! Then it was back on the road again and straight on until Myrtle Beach! (Well, minus a few gas, lunch, and diaper changing stops).

Zachary driving to the beach!

We checked into our resort Saturday afternoon and again, Zachary was ready to get out of the car and play! He was quite enthralled with the sliding door mirrors on our closet and that kept him busy until everyone else arrived! He was sooo glad to see his Grandpa and Mom-Mommy, I think it made him feel more secure about the new place. By the time everyone got settled in, Matthew was ready to hit the pool, so we took the boys down to the kiddy pool to splash around before dinner. Unfortunately, Zachary was not so ready to go…he was SO sleepy. He just cried and cried, so we came back up and Mom-Mommy was able to rock him to sleep and buddy, he crashed! We eventually had to wake him up for dinner (and so he would sleep that night—which he did ALL night, no problems. Hooray!)

Our resort-it was wonderful to go out back in the mornings and see all the geese and turtles in the morning-so relaxing!

Our bedroom at the resort. Did someone say jacuzzi?

Sunday morning we were all very tired, especially the babies, so we decided to have a devotional worship at the resort (we had bought crackers and juice at the store). It was probably a good idea we stayed in, too, because apparently Zachary did not get enough sleep and took a 3 hour morning nap! Wow! What a great start to vacation!

My "In Between" Day

2009-05-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today I'm celebrating my "in between" day, that is, the day between Mother's Day (my first!) and my Birthday. My birthday has always fallen at a great time of year because it was never combined with Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday. Well, that is until this year. Fortunately because of leap year, my birthday never actually falls ON Mother's Day, but it has always been around it. I used to say I was my mom's Mother's Day gift.

Yesterday Kyle was supposed to work, but he used a pay day so that he could be with us all day for my first Mother's Day. I got cards from Zachary and Kyle in the morning before church, and Zachary presented me (okay, well Kyle AND Zachary) with my gift. Daddy had very bravely taken Zachary and had him make his handprint on a canvas and added the following poem to it for me:

"My Handprints"
My little hands play patty-cake.

They peek-a-boo and wave.

They catch me while I learn to walk,

And splash me as I bathe.

My little hands reach up to you

For hugs before I sleep,

And fold together when I pray,

"The Lord my soul to keep."

My little hands are tiny now,

But yours will serve to guide me.

And when I'm grown I'll still reach out

And know you're right beside me.

~Unknown

Zachary and Mommy on Mother's Day

After Sunday worship and Bible class, we went over to Mom-mommy's house for a big family Mother's Day lunch of grilled burgers, baked beans, macaroni casserole, and homemade strawberry ice cream--YUM! (The burgers were Mom-Mommys choice). After lunch Zachary was in very much need of a nap so we came home.

Also, Mother's Day marked 3 years ago we took home our two, precious and crazy kitties. Can't believe they've been part of the family for so long!

Cinnamon and Sugar, the night we brought them home. (Mother's Day 2006).

Well, today for my in between day, we had a busy day full of appointments and spending lots of money (unfortunately). I had a check-up Doctors appointment this morning and after that we went and dished out some of our savings to buy a new stove, because our oven part quit working a few weeks ago. :( Then we headed to HH Gregg where we bought the exact same stove we had when we lived in Texas, so we already know we like it. Then it was to Babies R Us to buy a 2nd car seat for the Civic, some things for our beach vacation, and baby gates because SOMEONE is CRAWLING now.

Zachary, crawling after his kitties. He hasn't caught them yet.

After that we grabbed a quick bie of lunch at Steak -N- Shake and rushed to Zachary's 9-month check-up appointment. And, YEA!, no shots today! Although, he did have to have his finger pricked to check levels in his blood which was absolutely NO fun and Zachary was NOT happy to wear a bandaid on his finger, even for a few minutes. (BTW, his blood was fine). Zachary now weighs 20 pounds even and is 28.5 inches long, average in height and weight. Everything checked out great, so hopefully we don't go back until after he turns 1 year old!

We'll see what tomorrow holds in store for my birthday (besides getting older!)

Great News!

2009-05-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

This will be a short, but sweet entry. My Mom had a follow-up appointment today with her chemo Doctor and he says her numbers look good and he doesn't plan to see her for 3 months for blood work! Mom thinks she is feeling better, but is ready for school to be over so she can rest a little better. It is so good to finally hear some positive news from the Doctors about my mom because most of it has been bad in the last year.

Also, I got a call from my youngest older brother today and it turns out he will be making a trip up from South Carolina to come see us this next week because he has a job interview here! (Well, not here, but in East Ridge, which is also a suburb of Chattanooga). My brother has been without a job for awhile because his last job asked him to report incorrect numbers and so he was let go. Then the economy took a nose-dive as we all know. So, this is a great opportunity for him and hopefully it will work out. It would definitely be weird to have some of my family in town, but it would also be good for Zachary to have more cousins in town (his cousin Evan was 1 in November).

What I've Been Waiting For...

2009-05-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today I got something I've been waiting my whole life for...Zachary's first word! And it was...Drumroll please....MAMA! (What else did you think it would be, Dada?!) I had just picked him up from spending the day at his grandparents and he just started babbling like crazy! He has been a big talker for a while now, but not so much with the babbling. Then all of a sudden, we heard it: "Mamamamama!" Of course as soon as I got in the car I had to call Daddy and brag, and then next important was to update my Facebook status (of course!) and share with the world my wonderful news. Now, mind you he hasn't said it again tonight, but that is beside the point! It was definitely the best Mother's Day/Birthday present he could have ever given me...music to my ears!

Speaking of music to my ears, I am looking into signing Zachary up for Kindermusik this fall as part of his birthday present. Kindermusik is a great program that introduces children to music at all stages of early life, and involves Mommy (or whoever wants to tag along with baby). I got a coupon to try a free class, so we are planning on going at the end of the month when the summer session starts up. My best friend does Kindermusik with her 2 year-old and they love it. So, hopefully I will have nothing but good to say about our preview class later this month!

In other Zachary news, I think he is ready to be weaned....off of baby food! (No, I am not ready to wean him off of me just yet!) He is getting very good at eating all sorts of finger foods I have given him over the last week: bread, pasta noodles, green beans, more bread, Cheerios, and did I mention bread? But by far, his favorite was PANCAKES. Over the weekend I made some and thought I'd let him try it after he'd already finished his oatmeal and fruit. Buddy, he GOBBLED those pancakes bites up! So I think we will be taking up stock in Bisquick soon!

Eating some "O's."

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-30T05:54:00.001-07:00

1. I am thankful for my healthy baby boy. We have been blessed that Zachary has been so healhy; the worst he has had was that short case of croup a few months ago. But no ear infections, stomach viruses, or anything! Thank God! I am especially thankful because a few weeks ago, a girl from college gave birth prematurely to her little boy, Daniel. Please keep them in your prayers, and check here www.caringbridge.org/visit/danieldodd for more updates on the Dodd family.

2. I am thankful for my in-laws. They take such good care of us and help with Zachary so much. I'm pretty sure we'd be living in a cardboard box withhout their help!

3. I am thankful for FREE People magazines. This is the second time I've gotten something in the mail giving me a free 6 week subscription.

4. I am thankful that the leak in our roof is fixed (thanks Kyle, Kevin, and Ken!)

5. I am thankful that my mom makes all of Kyle's boxers, it saves us a TON of money! Oops-just gave away the answer to boxers or briefs, huh?

6. I am thankful that I have been able to nurse Zachary for almost 9 months now, and that he has grown and developed so well because of it! (Even if it is like wrestling an aligator at times--see previous post!)

7. I am thankful that Kyle and I got to have another date night last Friday--two in one month! Kinda helps that he has been on his weekends off right now, though.

8. I am thankful for my work, who gave me a giftcard to use at Ghengis Grill for "Professional Assistants Day," which we used on said date last week!

9. I am thankful that we finally broke down and let Zachary cry-it-out because he has been sleeping so much better since, which means we have, too!

10. I am thankful that tomorrow begins the month of May-my favorite month! Spring is in full, bloom, my birthday, my first Mother's Day, and WE ARE GOING ON VACATION! More blogging on those events to come...

What are you thankful for?

My 25 (In Other Words, I Spent WAY too Much Time on This Blog and PLEASE Someone Waste Your Time Reading IT!)

2009-04-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

No, this is not the "25 Random Things About Me" post that everyone started a few months ago, although I have done that...maybe I'll post it another day. However, if you're on Facebook at all, you've probably recently seen these Top 5 lists that people keep doing. Sometimes I see a list someone else has done and create my own top 5, just for the fun of it (and random memories).

So, in honor of my 25th Blog, I now present you with My Top 5 "Top 5" Lists: (BTW, it would not easily copy and paste over from Facebook, so I am painstakingly taking the time to re-create them. Yes, because I really have THAT much free time, haha!

5 Jobs I've Had:

1. Picture Framer-My very first job, Jessie's Art Gallery and Custom Framing. I learned how to frame pictures. It was awesome. Definitely not your typical first job. After my first week I had a bandaid on every finger and some with two from cutting myself on the glass. But I got a lot of cool things framed while I worked there. And they had a store next door that selled Beanie Babies, which at the time was a great way to blow my paycheck. I had to quit because we moved. :(

2. Winn-Dixie cashier-THE. WORST. JOB. EVER! Thankfully I only had to work it for a summer (the summer before I left for college). All I remember about it are the cheesy training videos they made you watch that were from at least the 80's and the dreams, or should I say, nightmares? Rolling conveyor belts full of hot dogs, beer, and icecream, rolling in my brain, over and over and OVER.

3. Daycare Center Assistant-Ok, this is a job I've had more times than any. First, I volunteered almost every day for a year at a daycare. Then, I worked another daycare one summer while I took classes. Take a group of kids to Chuck E. Cheese...go take a final 30 minutes later...UGH. I also worked at both preschools at my college. These were much more pleasant experiences, and those kids were absolutely precious!

4. Kindergarten Teacher-3 years. 1 bad experience, 1 good (well, except for being incredibly sick most of the year due to the growing fetus in my uterus!) ALL precious children, even little Jose who spat on me, cussed at me, and kicked me. I often had, still have a love/hate relationship with teaching. I'm sure I'll go back one of these days...maybe...

5. Accouting Assistant-My current job. Most days, I have NO idea what I'm doing. But, I do know a lot more about how to read a bank statement and can even reconcile your bank account, although I have no idea what that really means!

Top 5 Places I Have Lived:

BTW, this is not a list of ALL the places I have lived, only 5 that have had the most significance or importance in my life.

1. Mathis, Texas-This is the first place I ever lived, and also the first placed I lived after I got married. Same house, too.

2. Peterborough, England-This is the longest I ever lived in one place (7 years!)

3. St. Albans, West Virginia-The awkward teenage years occurred here. But I have so many great memories despite that, and I still keep in touch with a lot of the people.

4. North Augusta, South Carolina-Although I technically only lived here 1 1/2 years, it is the place where I graduated from High School AND my parents still live here, so we do return some.

5. Ooltewah, Tennessee-Obviously my current location. And where I plan on staying for a LONG, LONG time. It's also the place where Kyle grew up.

Top 5 Toys from My Childhood:

1. Barbie Camper-The best Christmas present. EVER. The camper came apart and transformed into a jeep with REAL seatbelts. There was also a REAL dinner table in the camper with REAL kitchenware. I would seriously give anything to have this back. Oh, and it was PINK.

2. My Little Pony Castle-I spent many hours playing with my ponies in this castle.

3. Puppy Surprise-How many puppies are there inside? There can be 3, or 4, or 5! Boo ya-I got ALL FIVE PUPPIES! I feel bad for the people who only got 3, they totally got jipped!

4. Sylvanian Families-Don't know if this is only an English toy set or not...they are small, figurines or different animals that made up different families in a community. Kinda like Richard Scarry books, but different.

5. Quints-These dolls were like 3 inches high, and no, you couldn't get jipped on this toy because everyone got 5, that's why they call them Quints, people! The best thing about this toy was when you gave each Quint his or her bottle (with REAL water) they would pee and the number they were (1-5) would show on their diaper. And it would be wet.

5 Movies I Grew Up Watching:

1. The Sound of Music-Only the best movie ever. Honestly, I learned to use the VCR as a child because of this movie. This was back when it was on 2 VHS tapes. As soon as the almost 3 hour movie was over, I'd rewind it and watch it again. Did I mention I was 3? I would love to have a daughter and name her Liesel, or Gretal.

2. Mary Poppins-Do we see the Julie Andrews theme? She is my idol! And Mary Poppins is a close 2nd. It is the perfect combination of childhood splendor and grown-up themes. I still break down like a baby at the end when Mr. Banks finally takes the children to go fly a kite. Seriously. I lose all control.

3. My Fair Lady-What can I say, I love musicals! Did you know Julie Andrews was the original Eliza Doolittle? But, Audrey Hepburn did a great job, too! Another movie that takes place in England, I could probably relate. But why was a 5 year old watching this movie and enjoying it?

4. Top Gun-This is my brother's doing. He was obsessed with flying and airplanes, and I knew Tom Cruise was doing something dirty in that bedroom, but I had nooooooooooo idea back then what it was! Oh, and I read today that the "girl" he was in the room with is now a lesbian. Wonderful.

5. Dirty Dancing-Okay, technically I was not allowed to watch this movie growing up, but I somehow found a way to sneak in when my older brothers were watching. Because nobody puts baby in the corner.

The Final 5....these were not posted on Facebook. I just made them up. So there. My Top 5...Yearbook Pictures!

1. Senior Year-Okay, this is actually probably the only good one I'm going to share. The rest are a joke.

2. 4th grade-Don't you love the big ribbon bow ON THE SIDE OF MY HEAD?!

3. 6th grade-Gotta love those big BLUE glasses. Yeah, I did, too.

4. Preschool/Kindergarten-Not really sure what "year" this was, because I was still in British schools then. But check out my right eye. Lovely, puffy red from my giant cornea scratch that has literally scarred me for life.

5. 5th grade-Yes, I am guilty. I took the scissors to my hair. What can I say? I wanted to be a hairstylist for a day.

And because I can't figure out how to delete a picture and it's LATE, you get a double shot of the bang trimming gone bad!

Happy Blogging!

Today I Wrestled an Aligator...

2009-04-30T05:52:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's true, folks. I officially wrestled an aligator, and his name is Zachary Moses. You see, a few months ago my sweet, calm little baby disappeared and in return I was given a wild, baby aligator. Seriously, why do parents practically beg their children to hurry and learn to crawl, pull up, etc.? Don't they know that once this occurs your life will change FOREVER?! For example, giving a bath to Zachary=wrestling an aligator. Getting Zachary to sit still for a diaper change=wrestling an aligator. Getting Zachary to sit still for a diaper change AND clothes on=wrestling TWO aligators! Getting Zachary to nurse uninterrupted=THROW ME INTO THE SWAMP!

Seriously, trying to nurse Zachary these days is impossible! He is constantly doing one or more of the following: sitting up every .02 seconds; talking to himself, me, other people in the room, or his kitty cats; trying to pull up on me (sometimes by biting my shirt); sometimes just biting my shirt, or the chair arm, my arm, whatever he can get his teeth on; or sometimes he even will not lay to nurse, but insists on sitting up, facing forward to nurse, and then twisting his head so his mouth is angled correctly on the boob. Luckily, this still only takes about 10 minutes and he usually gets his full SOMEHOW in between all of that. Oh, and he also likes to stick his fingers in my mouth and feel my teeth.

This often makes me think back to the early days of nursing and how HARD it was. This week I checked out a book from the library called It Sucked and I Cried written by Heather Armstrong, who apparently is like, THE original Blogger or something. Anyway, despite her REALLY bad language (she grew up Mormom and then like, completely revolted after college) I am really enjoying the book, and can totally relate her on so many levels. I particularly liked the way she described the early weeks of breasteeding. (I will not describe it here, if you want to know, go read the book!) Anyway, we've definitely come a long way since those early days when all I wanted to do was sleep and why in the WORLD did I have to wake up every two hours to feed Zachary AGAIN when I knew it was going to hurt so bad I'd end up crying. Seriously, some days all that kept me from giving up was the fact that I am NOT a quitter and when someone asked me if I breastfed I was NOT going to say, "Well, yes, I tried, but it hurt too bad and he ate all the time so I quit." (Not to mention that I knew breastmilk was best for Zachary). But, just like they said it would, it got better. And now I'm wrestling an aligator 6 times a day. Well, really 5. Our bedtime feeding is the only one where he will just sit and nurse and be so content. They used to all be that way (well, once we got the hang of it and I wasn't in agony anymore).

In other news, Zachary has been pulling up in the bathtub since last week, and this week he decided it was much better to bathe standing up the ENTIRE time. And today he has figured out that he can pull up on other things besides the bathtub. Currently, he has just pulled himself up on the Cruise and Crawl. Thankfully he has not figured out the "cruising" part yet, but buddy, is he CLOSE on the crawling part. He no long goes backward, but can move himself forward, just only a few "steps" at a time, then stops and sits up. And then he does it some more. So I'm pretty sure we are going to have to ourselves get on our hands and knees this weekend and look for everything we think he can possibly get into because that day is coming quickly.

Well, it's time for me to go wrestle the aligator...

A Day In The Life

2009-04-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes being a stay-at-home-Mom is hard, and I work part-time, so I'm not even home 7 days a week! There are some days when it's all I can do to make it through the day, between horrible naps, grouchy teething, and fussy nursing, and clingy-baby-syndrome--sometimes all in one day!

Most of the time, though, it's a happy, busy, playful day, though sometimes quite monotonous. Here are some pictures of a typical morning at our house.

One of our favorite shows on PBS, Sid The Science Kid. We don't get cable, and sometimes that can get really boring. But PBS does have some cute, and even educational shows on. I'm not a big proponent of letting babies watch lots of TV, but I'm not one to never use it, either. This show is so weird and funny all at the same time and just makes me laugh a lot. Especially at the fact that there are only 4 students in the class who are all perfect angels...

Our messy house with toys EVERYWHERE. Oh, and Sugar, the kitty, bathing. Self-explanitory.

Laundry. Another story of my life. Who would think only 3 people (and one who wears a uniform everyday) could make so many dirty clothes?! Unfortunately, our couch often looks like this because we are always working on folding something, and I don't have the luxury of a big laundry room.

Zachary with his messy toys, watching Sid. What is not so typical about this picture is that he is practically laying on the floor, watching TV. Normally he is sitting up, scooting all around getting into things.

And there you have it--my typical, sometimes boring life. It took me a long time to realize that while there are days it's important to be at home and have these kind of days to get things done, it's also important (for my sanity's sake) to just get out of the house.

Some days, I just have to remind myself of these words, from a Trace Adkins song:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days

Hadn't gone by so fast.

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-22T05:54:00.001-07:00

Well, this Wednesday we will not be wordless, but next time we'll shoot for it.

Several of my blogger friends participate in Wordless Wednesday, but I'm not exactly sure where it originated in order to give credit. Anyway, it is pretty self-explanitory, but nevertheless, I will explain. You post a picture on Wednesday on your Blog that has no need of an explanation, hence Wordless Wednesday. Because, a picture's worth a thousand words, right? (Or is it a million? I can't remember...)

And I just realized that I typed WORLDless Wednesday every time above instead of WORDless Wednesday. Oh well, not as bad as signing my intials yesterday as EW.

Anyway, here is my WORDLESS Wednesday, with no further explanation!

Teething: The (Never-Ending) Story of My Life

2009-04-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. We are teething, yet AGAIN. Since the beginning of March, Zachary has cut a tooth every 2-3 weeks, only he cuts just ONE tooth at a time. All the signs are there: not wanting to eat his solids sometimes, not nursing off of one side (which can get REALLY frustrating!), and the tell-tale (is that right?) sign: WAKING UP ALL THE TIME. Sigh...Zachary does NOT get fevers while teething, and he does NOT get nasty, runny, diapers, he just WILL NOT sleep unless he is being held.

So, after he cut his last tooth (that would be his 4th, the top front right) on April 15th, yes that's tax day, the busiest day of the year for me at work, we got a 4 day break of really good sleeping...and then it started all over again. By the way, shout out to Daddy for getting up with him all night when he cut that tooth so Mommy could get some sleep.

Anyways, last night I'd just had it. He woke up at 2:00 and would not go back to sleep, even after Motrin before bed, Orajel, and rocking for almost an hour. So, I put on my big girl panties and decided we were gonna let him cry it out. We have tried this before, but normally after 10 or 15 minutes I just can't take it anymore, because Zachary does not "cry" it out, he SCREAMS it out. Heartbreaking. But last night I felt it neccessary. So I laid him in his bed, told him it was night-night time, gave him his paci (which he really is not fond of at night when he's teething) and left. Of course he immediately begins screaming, so there's no need to turn on the baby monitor because we are literally in the next room and it sounded like we were in the same! So, I let him cry (scream) for 10 minutes, went back in, picked him up, let him clam down, gave him his paci, and then put him back to screaming (bed). This continued for about 45 minutes, and I didn't know how much more I could take because he was still screaming, not down to a wimper at all. But, I'd never stuck it out this long so I figured I better stick to it now.

Then, out of nowhere, the screaming stopped. I held my breath. For like, 5 minutes. Seriously. And I never heard him again. So I tiptoed into his room, put his blanket back over him (bless his heart, he was all turned around in his crib-does anyone else ALWAYS lay their babies facing a certain way?) and put his paci near him in case he wanted it later, and most importantly made sure he was still breathing after all that screaming (He was). And then I didn't hear from him again until 7:30 this morning for breakfast! Hooray-we survived our first REAL night of Crying (screaming)-It-Out. Now, what will we have in store tonight....? Luckily for me, Kyle has in-service all this week, which means he has class everyday from 8-5:00 and does not work his normal 4-12:00 (and normally way beyond that) shift. Which means, we get to suffer through this together this week! Say a prayer for us!

***Oh, and I have NO pictures to go with this post, because despite Zachary having 4 teeth he will not show them off long enough for us to take a picture of them. Maybe after tooth 5, which will probably be at least another 2 weeks...***

100 Days...

2009-04-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at a calendar (while I was bored, pumping at work) and thinking about Zachary's birthday. I realized that in 100 days we will be celebrating his first birthday--how is that possible?! I know it seems like a long time still, but when 265 (or is it 266? I think leap year was last year....anyway) have already passed, it's not much!

This means I only have 100 days left to call my baby a "baby." After that, I'll have a toddler, a "big boy." This makes me sad.

This means in 100 days, I can "technically" stop nursing Zachary and give him cow's milk. While parts of this makes me happy (no more pumping-yay! no more nursing bras-double yay! [sorry, guys] it also makes me sad, because Zachary will no longer rely on me physically like he does now. Sure, he still will for other needs, but right now it's nice to know that only I can provide him with that and he is dependant on me constantly. I know I could keep nursing him for as long as I want, but it's not something I planned on doing past 1. Plus, who knows how long it will take to wean him....

In 100 days, I will probably have a walking child. YIKES. Those days of letting him sit in the bouncy for hours, just sleeping and playing, while they might have been very sleepless on my part, sure were blissful just watching him be so still and content.

Where, oh, where has the time gone?

Zachary (2 days old)

Things That Make Ya Go Mmmmm

2009-04-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

So, I've had a rough last few days and am trying to stay positive by thinking of some things that make me happy, so here it goes!

1. Zachary's belly laugh-There is no sweeter sound than that. Well, that is until he says, "Mama," and then, "I love you," and then when he begins to pray....you get the picture!

2. Beautiful spring and fall days-I love just riding in the car on these days, listening to old music, and thinking about absolutely NOTHING.

3. My kitty cats, Cinnamon and Sugar-Even though they drive me CRAZY sometimes, I love it when we can get some quiet moments and just snuggle up and take a nap together. Or watching them be absolutely weird and crazy makes me pretty happy, too.

4. Friday night dates to Barnes & Noble-Kyle and I used to do this almost weekly when we lived in Texas and pre-Zachary. Now we don't get to because he works every Friday. But I sure do enjoy sitting in that big 'ol store and getting lost in a good book!

5. Dairy Queen Blizzards-Need I say more?!

6. SHOPPING-I mean, I am a girl after all. Although these days, it is much more fun (and less stressful) to go clothes shopping for Zachary. I hate trying on clothes! Speaking of which, I am going consignment sale shopping tomorrow night for him while Kyle puts him to bed--yay, nice break for me!

7. Disneyworld-Again, need I say more?

8. People Magazine-I know, some of you may think it's trashy, but for me, it's 10 minutes to not think about anything that's bothering me. Hey, and sometimes they have good articles in there!

9. Hanging out with People My Own Age-With Kyle's and my work schedule, I spend most of my evenings alone with Zachary. I love the kid, but sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk WITH...

10. Adding to the above thought, A Good Conversation-Not so easily done with an 8 month old.

11. Musicals-Nothing better than a cheesy movie full of cheesy songs to put a smile on your face (and a song in your head!) Favorites are The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, although Enchanted is becoming a new one!

12. Thinking Back on My Teaching Days....The Funny Things Kids Say-Quick Story:One day, one of my twins, Andrew, kept complaining he had to go to the bathroom. So, I'd send him and he'd come back a few minutes later, crying. This shenanigan went on all morning until I sent him one more time, getting quite frustrated. This time when Andrew walked out of the room he left crying, saying, "I have to poo and I can't wipe my butt!" At this point I was very thankful I was reading my class a story at the time because I immediately put my head behind the book and died laughing!

13. Rainbows-Or Animals taking care of there babies, the changing of the seasons. Any of these reminders that God is in control and His creation is amazing.

14. A Clean, Organized House-Simple thing, but I just FEEL better when the house is clean and things are where they are supposed to be. Sometimes I'm a little OCD about it.

15. Road Trips-Again, something Kyle and I used to do a lot pre-Zachary, and pre-Police Dept. I know lots of people hate riding in the car, but I think getting there is half the adventure. I grew up traveling a lot, so to me, it's fun!

16. Old People Holding Hands-There is nothing sweeter than seeing two elderly people who are still in love after all that time! It amazes me. I can only hope and pray for the same for me and Kyle.

17. Old Pictures-Looking back on the past can be embarrassing at times, but it is fun to remember those times. I know one day I will really treasure all the pictures we've taken of Zachary and remember the great times (and maybe some of the not so great AKA teething times we shared).

18. Good Deals-I have never been a great "bargain hunter" so to speak, but since we have become parents and a 1 1/2 income household, finding deals and saving money is essential. So it has become fun to see how much money I can save with coupons or when I find great deals!

19. Getting snail mail-In this technological world, no one has time to send "real" mail anymore. So getting something in the mail besides bills and junk is a treat! **Hint, hint**

20. Speaking of that technology...the Internet (& Cell Phones)-Some days I feel like they are my only escape to what is happening outside my little house. And, I hate to say it, but without it, I probably wouldn't be very good at staying in touch with friends. And I wouldn't have this Blog to write some happy thoughts to cheer me up for a bit!

Now, what are some things that make YOU happy?

Hoppy Easter!

2009-04-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Zachary's first Easter. He was very excited, I'm sure....Anyway, he slept in Sunday morning, so we rushed to get him ready in his Sunday Easter clothes (dress shirt, khakis, and his first tie!) so we could get to worship services on time, so we had to save pictures for after church.

After church we went to Mom-Mommys and Grandpas house for a family Easter dinner. When we got there, cousin Matthew and Zachary got their Easter baskets from Mom-Mommy and Grandpa and then (as best they could/would) posed for some pictures. The boys got matching outfits they could wear this summer on our vacation and Zachary got some new bath toys. Then Uncle Kevin "hid" some eggs around the yard so the boys could go on an Egg Hunt. Matthew kept finding eggs and "cracking" them, like you do with a real egg--so cute! Of course, Zachary needed Mommy and Daddy's help to find his eggs. He got some money for his piggy bank and some candy, which he shared with Mommy! Zachary also got an Easter basket from us: some bendable bunnies (which have made for great teethers!), some new blocks for stacking and, again, teething, and his first Bible!

Afterwards, we all went inside for a big Easter dinner: ham, green beans, baked beans, homemade macaroni and cheese, yeast rolls, coleslaw, deviled eggs (that were forgotten until after the meal--oops!), and peach cobbler for dessert....YUM...sorry, Zachary didnt get to eat any this year! He is just starting on some finger foods, like crackers and Gerber puffs, and some cereals, too. But it won't be long because that boy is eating!

He had his 8 month birthday Wednesday, and I took him to my nursing group and he weighs 19 pounds now! We can't get an exact measurement, but he is (we think) 28 1/4 inches long. Speaking of how big he is getting, Zachary finally has shown an interest in crawling and pulling up. He has been sitting up on his own for over 2 months now, and has been able to scoot around...backwards...if we lay him on his tummy. But this week he has been paerfecting getting from his bottom to his tummy without falling and spent almost the entire day yesterday pulling up on Daddy (notice I said Daddy, he didn't want Mommy to do it!) As soon as he did it, he would just giggle like crazy--he is so proud of himself! Another one of his new tricks is waving bye-bye. He has probably really been doing this about 2 weeks now, but I wasn't sure if he understood what he was doing, but now I know he knows! He even waved bye-bye to me last week before I left for work--so cute, but heartbreaking, too! Well, that is all. Hope you and yours had a great Easter, too!

Mommy and Daddy Take a Night Off

2009-04-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Kyle was on his 5 days off. He only gets this "special" set of days off every 3 months (which means, 4 times a year). Otherwise, he ALWAYS works Fridays AND has court every Friday morning on top of that! Well, not this weekend! So, we asked Mom-Mommy and Grandpa to keep little Z so that Mommy and Daddy could have some special time to themselves. I told Kyle to plan something good, and he outdid himself!

Friday afternoon we took Zachary over to his grandparents house and when we left it started storming REALLY bad. It was actually some wind from a tornado that was sweeping through parts of TN (and I'm sure other places). So, off we go driving through near-tornado like weather to downtown Chattanooga and we arrive at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast, just as the storms are clearing up. I didn't really want to leave further from Chattanooga since I'm still nursing Zachary and didn't want to have any major problems come up that we couldn't get to him quickly! The B&B is in an old house, known as the Mayor's Mansion, and it was just beautiful! The room we stayed in was covered in floral wallpaper with high ceilings, and the bed was made into a canopy with the same material as the wallpaper. We got checked into the room and about that time we had pizza delivered for a night in with pizza and Marley & Me. May not sound very fancy for a B&B, but it was a perfect night in for us, with no interruptions. By the way, Marley & Me was good, but the book is SOooooo much better. I reccommend you read it!

After the movie we ran out to a downtown coffee shop for dessert and then returned back to the B&B to relax in the 300 gallon bathtub--you read that right, 300 gallons! I'm glad we didn't have to pay that water bill because we ended up using it twice! So relaxing....I hope one day we can afford to get a big bathtub like that in our house!

Of course, we slept wonderfully that night (and surprising, Zachary did, too, at his grandparents!) and we woke up to have a special breakfast before we checked out. After we left, we went by the mall to finish shopping for Zachary's Easter basket and stayed and ate lunch at Red Robin (it's a great hamburger place that serves endless french fries-two of Kyle's favorites!). After lunch we rushed to go pick up our baby who we missed sooooo much, and of course, he was still taking his morning nap when we got there.

It was a wonderful weekend for Mommy and Daddy (and I'm sure Zachary had fun, too!) With mine and Kyle's work schedule, we don't get to see each other very much at all, and when we do, we always have Zachary, of course, so it was a special treat to get to do that.

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

1. I am thankful for a week of pretty decent sleep. It's amazing how refreshed you feel when you're not up every other hour! We have had a pretty rough last 2 months, and it feels like we are finally having a turn-around. Although, we are working on tooth #4, so I'm pretty sure we've got some rough nights ahead!

2. I am thankful for Aunt Jamie who let Zachary borrow Matthew's lion. He has been riding that thing all week and LOVES it!

3. I am thankful for my little boys precious hands....he learned to clap this week! Sunday during worship, in fact! Ha! He thinks it is great and claps all the time....luckily for us he's not able to make much sound with it yet!

4. I am thankful for good authors...I have only recently jumped on the Bandwagon of Twilight....and I can't put it down! I absolutely LOVE to read, and am enjoying having good books to read (especially since Zachary has been napping well!)

5. I am thankful for my in-laws, who do soooooooo much for us, we could never re-pay them! They are celebrating 32 years of marriage today!

6. I am thankful that Kyle caught a burglary in progress recently...and earned a FREE day off! We are hoping to take advantage of that soon! I am also thankful that Kyle is on his 5 days off soon, and that it falls on Easter!

7. I am thankful I don't have to cook tonight! We are going to Kyle's Memaw and Papa's house for my favorite dinner-goolash!

Ode to the Snot-Sucker

2009-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago I came home from work and Kyle had Zachary in his lap, just relaxing. As I step closer, I notice that Zachary has, of all things!, the snot-sucker in his hand and he is just going to town playing with it! Immediately, I'm freaking out that my baby is playing with a snot-sucker (I mean, we DO have real toys for him!) but Kyle just simply says, "He likes it." So the more I think about it, it is a great toy. First of all, either way you hold it, it's easy to grasp. Second of all, it's been a GREAT teether/chew toy. And hey, it is kinda of cute! So the snot-sucker (which is clean and has actually never been used to suck snot) now stays in Zachary's toy basket, and is almost always one of the first toys he pulls out to play with. In fact, lately he has even taken a few naps with his beloved! So, thank you snot-sucker, for bringing so much joy to my little boy!

Two year celebration

2009-03-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

My how time flies! Today we celebrated my nephew Matthews 2nd birthday, along with his cousin Luke (the boys were born exactly one week apart). Two years ago Kyle and I were still living in Texas, but starting to get homesick. When Matthew was born Kyle was able to fly up to Chattanooga to be with the family & while he was in TN he took a test for the TN State Troopers. Thus, our decision to move back home was eventually made. That July we packed up things, our kitties, and a lotta prayer and moved to Chattanooga. We had no jobs, no house, but we were very prayerful that God would take care of us and that we would be okay. Of course, we both found jobs pretty quickly and became settled. Anyway, Matthew's birth was a big reason in our deciding to move back.

Matthew has brought a lot of joy to our lives over the last two years. We have watched him grow from a baby, to a VERY active toddler with loves to be in control and "doo-ed it" himself. (As he would put it!) It has also been a joy watching Matthew and Zachary. They are both enamored with each other and I hope that as they grow older, they will be the best of friends, like their Daddies are.

Now, back to the party! It was held at the Ooltewah Gymnastics Center....which was great because the kids could run around, jump, play, and entertain themselves (well, at least the walking kids could!) It wasn't too shabby for the adults, either. Except for the giant sea of blue foam cubes....let me just say, appearances can be deceiving! It looked like sooo much fun! Remember when you were little and you'd go to McDonald's or Chuckie Cheese and there would be those pits full of balls you could jump into? Well, this is basically what this was, except the pit was full of these foam cubes, and it was DEEP, too! We jumped in (me and Kyle that is...and a few others) and started throwing cubes, wading around....it was all great, until I tried to get out! Talk about closterphobic...I thought I'd never get out of there! Obviously, I did live to tell and write about it...but let's just say, never again....

After all of that fun, it was time for cake and presents. Matthew and Luke had a big Thomas the Tank Engine cake which was chocolate and very delicious....poor Z. He just had to watch everyone else eat....oh, but his time is coming. By the time we got to presents we decided to go on and leave because Zachary was more then ready for a nap and Kyle needed to get back home to get ready for work. We were all quite exhausted from our day!

Thankful Thursday

2009-03-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

1. I am thankful for a safe trip to and from South Carolina, and time spent with family.

2. I am thankful for Facebook because it helps me connect with old friends. One of my best friends when I was little found me the other day and we have enjoyed catching up!

3. I am thankful for my husband, who sacrificed A LOT of sleep to take us to SC.

4. I am thankful for my nephew Matthew who has brought a lot of joy to our lives. He is 2 years old today! (Happy Birthday, Thew!)

5. I am thankful that Tooth #2 has come through and that possibility of better nights (seriously, I am really thankful for this!)

6. I am thankful for life and health. We had a client at work who was killed over the weekend and it just reminds you how short life really is.

A Visit to South Carolina

2009-03-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night (or super early Friday morning, however you want to look at it) we traveled to SC to visit my Mom. Since Kyle works until midnight we just left then since we thought it would be best to travel through the night with Zachary. Mom & Dads house is about a 4 hour trip, but if you've ever traveled with a baby you know everything takes longer. So by the time we arrived it was almost morning. Z did pretty well on the trip and ended up sleeping most of the way, like we had hoped. However, once we arrived at about 5:30 he had no intentions of going back to sleep! But that was okay since he got to see his Gram for a bit before she had to leave.....See, there was a reason for our trip. About a year ago my Mom started having a lot of health problems, among them anemia, severe back pain, and on top of that and several other things was diagnosed with lukiemia. They told her it was the "good kind" and that there was really no need to treat it at the time. (Did I mention she told me all of this right after I told her I was pregnant?! Talk about an emotional roller-coaster!) Anyway, a year has passed and now they have decided to try and treat it with Chemo. She goes every 3 weeks on Fridays, and is about half-way through her treaatments. Well, my Dad is in England doing mission workand would not be there to take Mom to her treatment last weekend. So...Kyle and I got to planning and he arranged to take a day off work so we could travel down and be there for her over the weekend in case she got sick. Plus it gave her time to spend with Zachary. (He has not been able to see her much, since Mom is not up for much traveling right now). So Friday Kyle took Mom up to the hospital while Zachary and I stayed at home trying to catch up on sleep. Mom was through by about 4:00 and was feeling okay so we went out for Japanese that night.

On Saturday, Kyle had to return back to Chattanooga to work, while Z and I stayed in SC. We got to visit with my brother, his wife, and their kids Thomas Andrew, Gabrielle, and Evan. Thomas and Gabby are 9 and 10, respectively, and Evan is 15 months old. So they got to play with their cousin and Zachary was so good for his aunt Yulia.

By Sunday, Mom was feeling AWFUL, so we stayed at home all day and helped her out day. Zachary celebrated his 7 month birthday that night by waking up every hour screaming....oh, how we missed Daddy that night! By Monday, Mom was feeling much better and was back at school (she is a middle school teacher) so Zachary and I went to go see my good friend from High school, Kim, and her little boy Ethan, who is almost 9 months old. We met for lunch, let the boys play for a bit (Ethan is crawling and going everywhere and Zachary just watched him!) and then we took the boys and her doggies on an afternoon walk (it was almost 85 degrees out there!). North Augusta has a beautiful, shaded walking path that is about 7 miles long and stretches throughout the city. I used to love going on walks on it in high school. One of the starting points is right by Kim's house. After the walk, we returned home to cool off and go meet Daddy. Kyle was back to bring us home Monday evening, and again, we were going to travel through the night so Zachary would sleep.....well, it worked until about half way on our trip. Then the screaming began....UGH. We stopped several times to console him, but every time we got back in the car, it started again. He finally quit and fell asleep about 45 minutes from home and didn't even stir when we moved him from his carseat to his crib. Found out the next day why he was screaming.....Tooth #2 has arrived. FINALLY!

Zachary and Ethan

***OK...so, anyone who wants to coach me in uploading pictures on here, I'm all yours!***

Melt Away

2009-03-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

No, I am not talking about snow. (Which, by the way, we got virtually NONE of this weekend, although the rest of the country did!--I'm not bitter ;) I'm talking aout me when I look at this picture of my baby boy. Now that he is 6 months and getting into everything it is sometimes hard to get a good picture of him, but I think this one we had taken at JC Penneys a few weeks ago captures just how preicous he is! Those eyes make this Momma melt away, and I love that you can see the drool on his overhauls and his chapped upper-lip!

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well now that I am getting back into blogging I want to participate in something several of my Blogger friends do:Thanksgiving Thursday, a time to remember blessings we have been given each week. I have several things to be thankful for today.

1. I am thankful for Doctors and hospitals that work all hours of the day. Without them, we couldn't have gotten the medicine my baby needed last night to help him start feeling better.

2. I am thankful for family who are willing to come help us anytime of the day, or just sit with us at the hospital in the middle of the night.

3. I am thankful for jobs that are understanding of having sick kids!

4. I am also thankful for my job. Our taxes are already done (for free!) and we should be getting our refund check tomorrow! Hooray!

5. I am thankful for my husband who will get up in the morning and go get me a milkshake for my sore throat.

6. I am thankful for my little boy, who, even when not feeling well, finds small things to delight in and brings a smile to my face.

7. I am thankful for my mother-in-law who is on her way to bring us some Cracker Barrell for dinner! Yum!

An Unplanned Trip

2009-02-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last night we got to go on an unplanned trip. Zachary has not been sleeping well lately & when I put him to bed last night all I was hoping for was a decent nights sleep. Well on my 3rd trip back to his room about 1:45 I noticed he sounded wheezy and felt warm. Sure enough he was running a 102.3 fever. Kyle got home from work about this time so we called the Dr. And he wanted to get him checked out considering his symptoms & the time of night it was. So about 2:30 off we trot to TC Thompson Childrens Hospital. By the time we got checked in his fever had already come down, almost back to normal thanks to Tylonel. After what seemed liked forever (maybe it was) the Dr came in & diagnosed it as croup. Apparently the cold I developed the previous day spread an infection in him and got him sick. :( It's an awful feeling knowing you got your baby sick! Z had to take a dose of steriods and then we were allowed to come home once they were sure it had stayed down. He was so good during all of poking, prodding, and examining. He even started motorboating to the Dr. and trying to take away his stethascope! We finally got home about 6:15 this morning. Hopefully my little baby will be feeling better soon!

Read All About It!

2009-02-23T12:58:00.001-08:00

So, a few weeks ago, Zachary made his first debut in the Chattanooga Times Free Press! We were in an article about breastfeeding and society's views on it.

Each week on Wednesdays since Zachary has been born we have been attending a breastfeeding support group. No, you don't go in and say, "Hi, My name is Ellen and I'm a breastfeeding Mom." (This is what my boss thought! ha!) It's a group where nursing Moms can come and go, weigh their baby, feed them, and weigh again to see how much milk is being taken at a feeding. It is also a chance to sit and chat with other nursing moms and a lactation nurse is on hand to answer any questions or concerns. While Zachary and I have not gone EVERY week, we do try to go regularly, and it was really great at the beginning because it gave me lots of reassurance that my baby boy was eating well and gaining weight. Now it has become more of a chance to be around other Mommies for me. I am very thankful for this group. I've talked to a lot of other of my nursing Mommy friends and they all wished they had something like this where they live. I must admit that breasftfeeding was definitely a challenge at first, and some days it still can be. A lot of people really aren't aware how much of a committment it is when you decide to nurse a baby. But it has been a very rewarding experience for me and Zachary, and I know when he stops nursing, I will miss having that special bond with him.

**Side note: The other Mom pictured in the article works at the hospital and was actually one of my night nurses while I was there. She is one who was there in the beginning to help me, especially at 3 in the morning when we were sooooooo tired and we couldn't get Zachary to latch on. Her baby girl was born about 2 weeks later.

A Whole New World

2009-02-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, Z turned 6 months a few weeks ago so we decided he was ready to try solid food. He was already taking rice cereal really well, so we got out the bowls, spoons, BIBS, and most importantly the CAMERAS and introduced Zachary to the exciting new world of baby food!

We decided his first food should be a veggie, but we didn't want to scare him by giving him something blatantly strong (you'll see why later!) so we compromised with sweet potatoes. As you can see, he was not real thrilled with it the first day, but by day 2 he was eating them pretty well.

We tried pears next and he liked those okay, doing better with those now. Then we tried carrots. Z LOVED carrots--I think the pictures say it all!

Yummy! Love those carrots--just like his Mommy! We've also tried peaches (not crazy about them) and then came the peas....Oh My. Mommy was at work the first day he tried them and this is what I missed...
He HATED the peas, as you can see. I think the tears were in part that he was tired and ready for a nap and then Daddy gave him these nasty green things....So, we've since tried them again, thankfully withOUT the tears, but not with much success. He refuses to swallow them! He will just store them in his mouth and then he'll sneeze and spray it out everywhere. So we are going to have to try hiding them in other foods. I can't blame him though, I really only like peas if they are hidden in my mashed potatoes.

We tried bananas over the weekend and he liked those pretty well. We are trying squash today. We'll see how that goes....In other news, my Mom bought me a Food Processor so I can make Z his own food, so I am hoping to make some carrots tonight for him!

Trying to Do Better

2009-02-23T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I admitted it from the start, I am HORRIBLE at this. I love to read other people's blog's but am horrible at keeping up with my own. But I really wanna have something to look back on one day when Zachary is all grown and remember these times by. So, even if it is just a quick line or two, I am going to TRY and do better!

Life remains crazy for us these days. Kyle has been pulling a lot over overtime at work and Z had been pulling lots of late nights for Mommy. He was doing soooo good and then I don't know what happened. I thought it was a growth spurt. Then we had his 6 months shots and he got his first fever. It was 103 and he was soooo pitiful. Of course, Kyle was working late again that night so Mommy was up quite a bit. That was how we shared our Valentine's Day this year. Up with the crying, feverish baby. How romantic. :P Anyway, then it seemed like his 2nd little tooth was getting ready to make its appearance (yes, I said 2nd, he got his first one about 3 weeks ago now-that was a fun night, too!) and well, it still hasn't. But, he has been a lot happier during the day the last week, so I don't know what is going on. Besides the horrible night wakings right now, Z is a happy little boy who loves to play with his toys. He is sitting up on his own really well now and working on crawling. He loves bathtime and his Daddy.

Traveling Times

2008-11-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

So, we got brave and decided to take Zachary on his first big road trip. Zachary's Aunt Jamie's brother was getting married in Henderson, where Kyle and I went to school, so we went to the wedding. Zachary had been suffering from a cold all week, but was clearing up pretty well by Friday, so we thought he'd be okay to go.

We left Chattanooga about 1:00 on Friday afternoon and traveled with Grandmommy and Grandpa (Daddy had to work). Cousin Matthew (19 mos.) also rode with us last minute because Aunt Jamie was not feeling well. (Daddy, Aunt Jamie, and Uncle Kevin met up with us Saturday). Zachary fell asleep pretty soon into the trip but only slept about 20 minutes then woke wide awake! I thought for sure he'd be fussy. But he just sat and looked around. Eventually he fell back asleep for about an hour until we made it to Dickson, on the other side of Nashville. We stopped and ate at Ruby Tuesday and the boys were both soooo good! Then we continued on to Huntington, where we were staying the night with our friends Aaron and Jenny Dodson. We only had to stop one more time so I could nurse Zachary and made it in about 7:00. We got there, got the Pack-n-Plays set up and got the boys ready for bed. This was Zachary's first night sleeping away from home ever, and the first time I would be sleeping in the room with him. I had no clue how he'd do, but he slept all night long-8 hours! I was so proud (and relieved!)

The next morning we got up and played a little and started packing up to finish toward Henderson for the wedding. Matthew had to be there early for some pictures. Zachary was so well behaved being away from home and not having all his familiar things. I nursed him before the wedding and we got him asleep for his afternoon nap about an hour before the wedding started. Right as Kristen, the bride, was getting ready to walk down the aisle, Zachary stirred and I had to rush him out of the auditorium before we ruined her big moment! But I got him back asleep quickly and we went back in and sat with Brittany and baby Hudson, who is 20 days younger than Zachary.

After the wedding I went and pumped while Kyle showed Zachary off. Then we headed over to the Hardeman House for the reception. This was special taking Zachary there because that is where I met Kyle for the very first time, and where I had my candlelighting after he proposed to me. Zachary was good during the reception and didn't even wake up crying to eat right away (for once!) We left the recption a little early so that we could start getting ready for our long trip back to Chattanooga. This time, Daddy rode with us while cousin Matthew rode with his Mommy and Daddy. Zachary traveled well again, but got a little fussy, as he was getting hungry and tired. We stopped in Dickson again, this time at Cracker Barrell and ate. We got Zachary ready for bed and I nursed him before we left. He fell sound asleep nursing and went straight to his carseat without stirring at all. He slept the whole way home and we only rocked him a few minutes when we got in to transition him from the carseat back to his bed. He slept through the night again! But we were all so tired from the trip we stayed home from church the next morning. It was a good thing, too, because Zachary slept away almost the entire day!

Zachary's Forever Blowing Bubbles...

2008-10-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well, prayers have been answered and Kyle was assigned 2nd shift permanently! He started yesterday and it was his first day of patroling on his own. Unfortunately it had been raining all day, so he had to work several wrecks, which = several reports to write. But not a bad day in all. He is also able to work extra jobs now, which will be nice to earn some extra, needed money. He is working his first one tonight.

Speaking of needed money, I have recently signed up to be a consultant for Usborne Books at Home. It is a well-renown children's book company. It is a great way to make a little extra money, as well as build Zachary's library and stay involved in the field of education. Let me know if you are interested in learning more about it!

Well, Zachary is now 11 weeks old and his latest thing is making spit-of any kind! He has found his fist quite tasty to suck on, and has discovered how to blow bubbles! He thinks this is a hoot and tries to make as big a mess as possible!

Getting started...

2008-10-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my umpteenth attempt to start a blog for our family. It seems that every time I try, the computer goes whacko or I get busy with something else...Anyway, I shall do my best. :)

I am wanting to keep this blog for others to read about our baby boy Zachary and how he is growing, as well as the other events in our busy lives. I am also wanting to keep it, somewhat selfishly, so that I have a record of Zachary's childhood. Like I said, I have tried to do this a few times, with no such luck. I am not ANY good at journaling, but maybe since I am better at getting on the Internet, this will be more successful. :)

So, Zachary turned 2 months old yesterday! I can't believe it! He is growing like a weed (11 lbs. 9 oz.) and is changing every day. He loves to smile (esp. when he's nursing) and really enjoys "talking" with us now. But he has the best conversations with his Grandma...I wonder what they are saying sometimes! He is sleeping pretty well most nights, only waking up once to eat. There have even been a few nights of 7-8 hours straight without waking, which has been awesome, but almost a little scary, too! We took Zachary on his first outing to downtown Chattown this past weekend and he did pretty well. He got to go on a nice long stroller ride, and we even went over the bridge where Kyle asked me to marry him! Too bad we didn't know that night was the "Wine Over Water" in Chattanooga! Needless to say, we didn't stay up there too long!

I have started back to work in the last few weeks, working 2 days a week for now. It is hard, mainly being away from my baby. But I am at least grateful that I am not having to be gone 5 days a week teaching! And Zachary is getting to spend quality time with his grandparents, something I wish I could have had growing up.

Kyle is really enjoying his job as a Chattanooga City Police Officer. He is still riding with another cop, but will start on his own, on a permanant shift, on the 24th. We are very excited, but also anxious, to see what shift he will be on. Right now he is on 3rd, which has been very tiring on me, as I'm the only one home at night with Zachary.

The other members of the family, aka, the kitties, Cinnamon and Sugar, I believe are finally adjusting to life with their baby brother. In fact, I think they love him, although they still don't get too close to him (at least when we're looking. I have seen them trying to get a quick peek!)

Well, that is an update on our lives for now. I will do my best to keep this updated regularly!

Numero Uno

2008-07-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

So...this is my first attempt at a blog. I have a few friends who have these to keep people updated on their lives....or should I say mainly their kids lives. So, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Life in the last month and a half has been crazy, and that's putting it midly! Kyle and I have both gotten not only new jobs, but new careers, we've moved out of our apartment in Hixson to a house in Ooltewah, and, oh yeah, we are about to have our first child! Like I said, it's been crazy!

I finished my third year of teaching Kindergarten back at the end of May and made the tough decision not to return this Fall, considering my due date is the day before school starts. So I have been working this summer part-time at a local Tax & Bookkeeping Office. It is owned by members of the church, so it is a small, but comfortable environment. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time, but at least I am doing it correctly! (It is definitely NOT like teaching a room full of 5 year olds all day!) I am also, for now, working part-time every other weekend at a Christitan assisted living center as a receptionist.

Kyle started the Chattanooga City Police Academy back in February this year. He graduated on June 26 with the Highest Academic Award and the Most Improved PT award. He worked very hard for both over the past several months. He is now an "Official Po-PO" but will remain with an FTO (Field Training Officer, or in other words, another dude in the car) until the end of October. During this time he will continue to gain skills policing the streets of Chattanooga, but alongside an experienced cop. He is currently working 3rd shift in the ghetto, but he loves it! He has already been on the news twice!

As for the baby, we are expecting a little boy, Zachary Taylor, around August 11th. After several months of throwing up EVERYTHING, we are both doing pretty good now and Mommy is just getting very anxious to meet him!

That is our life in a nutshell...for now. I will do my best to keep things up and running on here!