VASEY FAMILY FUN!

I am going to be OUTNUMBERED very soon!!!

2009-05-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

Yes, folks, it is official: at the end of August, Whit is going to have a baby BROTHER!!!!! When I was 15.5 weeks along, I went in for an ultrasound to make sure that the cyst on my left ovary had gone away because the size of it at my 8 week ultrasound was a bit worrisome. Luckily, I found out that it had completely disappeared, which was great news. The technician then asked if I wanted to find out the sex of the baby. I was shocked b/c I didn't find out with Whit until I was 20 weeks along. I didn't even know you could tell the gender that early. I asked the technician that question, and she said that if the baby was in a certain position, she could give a very educated guess. Even though Scott was not with me at the appt, I went ahead and told her I wanted to find out b/c I couldn't not know! She told me that she was very confident that it was a boy, but when I went in for another ultrasound at 24 weeks for the full anatomy check, we found out with 100% certainty that we are definitely expecting another little boy! My due date was also changed from September 4 to August 28 b/c apparently, they miscalculated it by one week. We decided to name our new little one Graham Wesley Vasey. Graham is my dad's middle name, and Wesley is Scott's dad's first name, so we went with a family name this time. Graham is one active little boy, I can tell you that! Whit moved around a lot, too, but he was usually active at night when I was lying down. Graham moves around all day, which is always a nice reminder that he is doing well! So far, my pregnancy has been free of any real complications. I had pretty bad morning sickness for the first 17 weeks, and I have recently started having bad heartburn again, but besides that and the usual fatigue, things are going well. It is hard to believe that in 3 short months, Scott and I will have TWO children!! We are getting soooo excited about baby Graham's arrival, but we are also cherishing the time we have with just Whit as well. This Saturday, Scott and I are taking our first ever trip without Whit. I have never been apart from Whit for more than a few hours since he was born, so this will be tough for me, but I am SO excited!!! We are flying to NYC on Saturday morning, and we will return on Tuesday afternoon. Whit is going to be staying with Scott's parents for part of the time and with my parents for the other part, so he will be very spoiled, I'm sure! We are going to see a Broadway play one night, we're going to a Mets game with my cousins who live on Long Island, and we also plan to do a lot of just walking around and enjoying the city! I will tell you all about the big trip when we return, and hopefully, Blogger will be better about letting me post pictures of our adventure!

Postponing Mother's Day...

2009-05-12T19:29:00.002-04:00

All last week, I was so excited about spending my second Mother's Day with my two favorite boys. I knew Scott had cooked up a whole plan for the day, and I couldn't wait to see what he had in store for me! Unfortunately, at about 4:30am on Friday morning, I woke up with a horrible stomachache, and by 7:00am, I could not stop vomiting. When Scott went to retrieve Whit from his crib, he found that Whit had also thrown up a couple of times, which he has NEVER done before. Luckily, Scott was able to take the day off, and he cared for Whit while I was busy with bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. (I apologize for the graphic nature of this post!) It was such a long and painful day. The only bright part was that Whit was in great spirits the entire day. He didn't throw up any more after those initial morning ones, but he did have diarrhea throughout the day. On Saturday morning, of course, Scott woke up with the exact same stomach bug, and he and I had to take turns caring for Whit while feeling miserably. On Sunday morning, we ended up having to take Whit to Scottish Rite because he couldn't stop throwing up, and we were scared of dehydration. This was our first ever trip to the ER, and of course, it was on Mother's Day. While we were in the patient room, Whit threw up on me twice, and he had diarrhea on me once. It was certainly a Mother's Day I will never forget, to say the least! Luckily, we found out that he was not dehydrated and not running a fever. They gave us some anti-nausea medicine and sent us on our way. They also said that they have seen tons of cases of this bug lately, and it is a nasty one! Throughout the day, Whit started feeling better and better, and he never threw up again. His diarrhea was gone by early Sunday evening, too. Now we are all healthy again, thank goodness, and my Mother's Day has been postponed to this Saturday. Having this stomach bug really made me appreciate good health, and I am so thankful that this is the sickest Whit has ever been. I have the utmost respect for all the parents out there who have children who are chronically ill. They are truly the unsung heroes of the parenting world.

Welcome to the World, Mary Kathryn!!!

2009-05-06T10:31:00.003-04:00

Little Miss Mary Kathryn Nagode entered the world (5 days late!) on Monday, May 4, 2009 at about one o'clock in the afternoon. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz, and she and Bree are doing just great! I went to the hospital yesterday to visit them, and I couldn't believe how beautiful or small she looked! I haven't held a newborn in almost a year...you really forget how tiny they are! Being at Northside and seeing Mary Kathryn definitely got me even more excited about welcoming our little bundle of joy at the end of August!!! Many congratulations to Bree, Doug, and Mackenzie! We can't wait to see little MK again soon.

A (Very) Belated Easter Post

2009-04-29T18:58:00.004-04:00

So, this is now my third and final attempt to load some pictures from Easter onto Blogger, but it is being SO slow that I only have patience to load two sorry! Easter 2009 was absolutely wonderful. After a visit from Easter Bunny #1, who brought Whit a new smocked summer outfit, a pair of shoes, a new sippy cup, and a few books, we went to brunch and had an Easter egg hunt over at Scott's parents' house. Whit was much more interested in throwing the eggs and running around everywhere, but maybe next year, he'll actually want to place the eggs into his basket. His 16 month old cousin, Alexia, definitely beat him in the egg gathering contest for sure! After the hunt was over, we went inside to see what Easter Bunny #2 brought Whit. He received a ball with dinosaurs all over it, which is currently his favorite toy. He also got a new book, a plush Peter Rabbit doll, an Elmo coloring book, a stuffed animal duck, and probably some other items I am forgetting. After a delicious brunch with the whole extended Vasey fam, we headed over to my parents' house for Easter dinner and to see what Easter Bunny #3 brought. Whit got a new mini football and several new outfits to wear this summer, so all in all, he definitely made out like a bandit! We enjoyed a terrific dinner with my whole family and then went home and put a tuckered out Whitster to bed. It was an extremely full and wonderful day!

15 Month Stats!

2009-04-19T10:28:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, April 11, Whit turned 15 months, so we went to the pediatrician on Tuesday for his check-up. Here are his stats:

weight: 24 lbs. 12 3/4 oz. (50th percentile)
height: 31.5 inches (75th percentile)

Sorry, I can't remember his head measurements, but I know they were around the 50th percentile as well. Dr. Douglass said that Whit looks to be in perfect health, and she doesn't need to see us back until his 18 month well check-up. Yay! I know I have said this over and over, but I really can't believe it has been 15 months already, yet I don't really remember life without Whit. He has been the best thing to ever happen to us, and he becomes more and more fun and loving every day! We love you more than we could have ever imagined, sweet baby!

Although Whit technically only has 8 teeth right now, there are about three more that are dying to make an appearance, so our poor baby has been in some pain lately. Two of the teeth are his one year molars, and those are supposed to be two of the most painful ones to get in, so here's hoping they break through very soon!

I have been trying and trying to post pictures from Easter, but Blogger has been extremely slow, so hopefully, I will be able to get that done this week. :)

Amelia Island Trip!!!!!

2009-04-14T10:26:00.006-04:00

At long last, I am back!!!! I am completely over my nausea now and ready to get back into the blogging world. Yay! On April 4-11, Scott and I took Whit to Amelia Island for Spring Break, and we had an absolutely fantastic time!!! We stayed at a condo right on the beach, and the weather was sunny every day, which was wonderful. Most days, it was between 75-80 degrees, but there were two cooler/windy days mixed in as well. My sister flew in on Wednesday at about noon and rode back with us on Saturday morning, so we got to spend some quality time with her, and it was so much fun. Whit loved running around on the beach, but he was not a big fan of the actual ocean because it was freezing! Anyway, the condo we stayed at was very cute and decorated in a beachy theme, which I loved. We had so much fun playing on the beach, going into the historic town and walking around, enjoying homemade ice cream, and of course, shopping! I found this adorable kids' clothing store called Twisted Kidz, and they had gorgeous smocked shortalls for boys that I had not seen anywhere else. I bought Whit one blue-green smocked shortall with sea turtles, and I ordered two other outfits because they only had one shortall in the 18 month size at their store. We also enjoyed some yummy seafood and one of the best pizzas I have ever tasted! Scott and I were able to have one nice dinner out while Hillary baby-sat Whit, so that was very nice. We also took a romantic walk on the beach after dinner, which is one of my all-time favorite things to do at the beach. The week went by so quickly, but we really did have such a fabulous time. It wasn't as relaxing as we had first thought it might be because our 15 month old constantly wanted to run around and explore everything, but this age is just so cute that we didn't mind a bit. Above are pictures taken from my old Canon PowerShot camera and my new camera that I got for my birthday, which I LOVE!!!! It is a Canon EOS Rebel XSi, and I don't know why we didn't get it sooner because it is awesome! Spring Break 2009 was the best one yet! :)

Can't Wait for a Fantastic Fall!!!!

2009-02-20T08:26:00.002-05:00

So, blog readers, I must confess that the real reason I have been so bad about blogging regularly is because I am PREGNANT!!!!! Today, I have completed 12 full weeks, so hopefully, we are out of the danger zone of miscarriage now. With Whit, I threw up almost every single day for three months, which was torture, but it was summer break, so at least I could stay in bed. This time, even though I did not throw up much at all, it has probably been even tougher because I have had a very active 13 month old to take care of, so there has been no wallowing in bed for me! I am hopeful that all of my nausea will soon be gone completely, which will be quite a relief, to say the least. Once again, Scott and I were blown away when I took a pregnancy test on December 23rd because my period was late, and it came back positive. We had planned to start trying this summer at the earliest, but this pregnancy is such a blessing! Whit and the new baby will be about 20 months apart, which makes me extremely nervous at times, but I am so excited about adding to our family. I think Whit will make a superb big brother, and I can't wait to find out whether he will have a baby brother or sister. There are so many pros to each sex, so we really don't have a preference either way. We found out the sex last time at 20 weeks, so I am guessing the timeline will be the same again. I wish I could be patient enough to be surprised in the delivery room, but I am way too much of a planner and way too impatient for that!

Whit Playing in the Park!

2009-02-09T07:42:00.015-05:00

First off, please allow me to apologize yet again for being a bad blogger. I have been feeling so poorly and run down lately, so I have been just plain lazy about updating this bad boy. Anyway, on Friday, the weather was absolutely beautiful-sunny and high of about 60. Scott, Whit, and I met my friend, Mandi, at Newtown Park for Whit's belated 12 month photos. Mandi is a girl I used to teach with at Autrey Mill, and she is also quite a talented photographer. Above are some pictures of Whit having a blast at the park.

A Successful Surgery!!!!

2009-01-22T08:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, our prayers were answered because the ear tube procedure went perfectly! Whit now has tubes in both ears, and we are very much hoping that this is the end of the many ear infections. The surgery was scheduled for 9:10am, but we had to be there 2 hours early. I was nervous about how Whit was going to behave because we weren't allowed to give him anything to eat after midnight. I thought he might get really fussy because the boy does love to eat, but luckily, the waiting room was chock full of amazing toys. Scott and I just played and played with Whit until it was time to get him suited up for surergy. Those toys sure were a wonderful distraction, to say the least! Whit didn't fuss once because he was too busy having fun. Once we got called back, I had to put this tiny gown on him, and I got teary because it hit me even more that my baby was about to be given anesthesia and actually operated on for the first time. They let one of us go back with him just while they were putting him under, so I got to make sure that he was really "out" before they started the surgery. Luckily, it only took Dr. Thomsen about 10 minutes to clear out the fluid in the left ear, (the right ear was clear) and to put tubes in both ears. When they brought Whit back to us, he was asleep, but when the nurse started checking his vital signs to make sure he was okay, that woke him up, and he was insanely fussy for about 15 minutes while the anesthesia wore off. He was so confused and out of it, and I felt incredibly badly for him. As soon as I nursed him, he calmed right down, and then we were able to leave. All in all, I was extremely pleased with Scottish Rite and all of their staff. They took wonderful care of our son, and we are so thankful that everything turned out great. For the rest of the day, Whit was in great spirits and ate like a heavyweight boxer! He even slept his usual 12 hours last night, and he woke up in a terrific mood this morning, too. We have to put ear drops in his left ear twice a day for three days, but after that, we are free and clear. Hooray!

Whit's Surgery :(

2009-01-20T08:19:00.003-05:00

Last Monday, I took Whit in for his 12 month check-up, and we found out that he weighs 23 lbs. and is 30.5 inches tall, which puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 50-75th percentile for height. Everything looked great until they checked his ears and found out he had a double ear infection! That news was upsetting enough, but what was even worse was knowing that because he got yet another ear infection, he would have to get tubes in both ears. We went to our pre-op appointment at the ENT on Thursday morning, and Whit's ear tube surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at Scottish Rite. They are going to call us this afternoon to let us know his surgery time, but they take kids from the youngest to the oldest, so I'm pretty sure his will be done early in the morning. We are supposed to be there 1 1/2-2 hours before the surgery start time, so it will be a very early start to the morning. Even though I know the surgery only takes 15 minutes, and our ENT does this procedure all the time, I am still so nervous and feel sick to my stomach every time I think about my baby going under anesthesia. Please, please pray that everything goes smoothly tomorrow. I am really hoping that these tubes will allow Whit to live an ear infection-free life from now on. Bless his heart...since September, he has had at least 6 ear infections that I can think of off the top of my head. I will try to update the blog as soon as we get home from the surgery.

Whit's 1st B-Day Party, Sesame Street Style!

2009-01-20T07:41:00.007-05:00

Please forgive me for not blogging in a really long time. We have all been sick in the Vasey family with bad colds, sore throats, ear infections, etc., but we seem to all be on the mend now, thank goodness. Whit's Sesame Street first birthday party was a roaring success!! At first, he wasn't so sure about his cake because he got very upset when I tried to put his birthday hat on his head (big mistake!), but as soon as I gave up and just gave him his mini cake, he loved it!! At one point, he realized that his hands weren't doing a fast enough job getting the cake and frosting into his mouth, so he just bent down and tried to put the entire cake in his mouth! It was hysterical!!! We had tons of family and friends join us to celebrate Whit's big day, and it was so wonderful sharing this milestone with the people who matter most to us. My friend, Katie, who has 2 small children, told me that I would get teary when everyone started to sing happy birthday to Whit, and she was exactly right!!! I just started thinking about all that has happened in the last year and how absolutely amazing it has been to watch Whit grow into this happy, healthy toddler! He is such a sweet, curious, adventurous, loving baby, and I know this next year is going to be even more fun and magical! Here are some pics from Whit's party. My friend, Mandi, who is a professional photographer, also took pictures at the event, but I haven't seen them yet. As soon as she burns me a CD, I will post them. For now, these are the definitely less than professional shots! :)

The Big Day is Tomorrow!!!!

2009-01-09T07:26:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Whit's first birthday party, and Sunday is his actual birthday!!! I have been busy planning his party for a while now, and I am so excited that the big day is almost upon us!!!! I am going to keep the party pretty low-key because it is his first birthday; there will be plenty more in the future for me to go hog wild on, I'm sure!!! Guests are arriving to our Sesame Street themed party at 11:00am, and then we will serve lunch: Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, high roller deli wheel sandwiches, pasta salad, cheese and crackers, and for dessert, Sesame Street cake, of course! I was going to attempt to make Whit's small cake and the cake for the rest of our guests, but I haven't felt great this week, so I broke down and ordered the cake from Publix instead, and they are throwing in a small cake for Whit free! After lunch, we will let the babies play for a while-besides Whit, there will also be Alexia (13 months), Mackenzie (10 months), Wills (8 months), Pippa (12 months), and Wyatt (almost 5 months) in attendance. There will be about 30 adults there total, so we will definitely have a full house, which is just the way I like it!! I bought all sorts of Sesame Street themed first birthday stuff-plates, napkins, an Elmo balloon, cups, a Happy Birthday banner, so I think we are set!! I can't believe my baby boy is turning ONE this weekend!!! Aaaaahhhhh! The best year of my life by far has flown by, and I can only hope that the rest of Whit's childhood slows down a bit because I don't want it to be gone in the blink of an eye!!! Besides Whit's birthday party, we also have a baby shower, a birthday dinner party, and a baby dedication for our niece to attend this weekend, so it is going to be CRAZY busy around here! Please check back in a few days for lots of Whit's party pics!

Happy New Year!!!!!!

2009-01-01T13:34:00.004-05:00

Is 2008 really over already?!? This year has truly flown by like no other. I can honestly say that while 2008 was the best year of my life, I think 2009 will be even better! I do remember that the first 10 days of 2008 were extremely uncomfortable because I was soooo ready to have Whit!! I was huge, I had horrible heartburn, I couldn't sleep because I had to pee every 5 seconds, and my back was killing me. Once January 11th hit, though, the year suddenly got incredible, and it has continued to become even more wonderful every day. Having Whit completely changed my life, and he has filled me with such overwhelming love and joy. I remember a few hours after having him, I felt so overcome with love that I thought I was going to burst! This year has also been extra special because I got to see my husband transform into the most loving and amazing father, and that has made me fall in love with him over and over again! 2008 was definitely a year for having babies! Tons of people I know were also blessed with babies...Bree, and her husband, Doug, welcomed Whit's best friend, Mackenzie, on March 4th, Michele, and her husband, Will, welcomed precious Wills into the world on May 8th, my friend, Jenny, and her husband, Adam, welcomed adorable Wyatt on August 18th, Lizzie and Mitch welcomed Olivia on November 2nd, Stephanee and Ryan had Julia on November 18th, and Steph and Dan just welcomed Baby Daniel on December 28th, 2 minutes before Steph's birthday! Whoa! There are tons of people having babies in 2009 as well, so there is a lot to look forward to. Andrea is due January 23rd, Amy is due February 16th, Tania is due March 31st, Bree is due April 30th, and Linda is due June 11th. Hooray for a wonderful 2008, and I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for our family! Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy New Year! (By the way, if you are wondering, the pics at the top are just some random ones of Whit enjoying some of his new toys!)

Merry (Very Belated) Christmas!

2009-01-01T11:43:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe it is now New Years Day, and I have not even blogged about Christmas yet! In my defense, our internet was down for over a week. Anyway, the Vasey family had a wonderful first Christmas with Whit! On Christmas Eve, we headed over to Scott's parents' house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner with the whole Vasey clan, my sister, my sister-in-law's mom, and my brother-in-law's new girlfriend. My parents were unable to attend b/c my mom came down with a nasty 24 hour bug the day before Christmas Eve. It was so cute watching Whit and Alexia play together as always, even though they always seem to want the same toy at the exact same time! We had a yummy dinner of ham, macaroni and cheese that I made, cheesy pineapple casserole, green beans, and bread. Whit loved it all, too! On Christmas morning, Whit slept until 7:30am, and then we took him downstairs to show him what Santa brought! Whit must have been a very good boy this year because Santa was extremely generous! He got Whit a Radio Flyer wagon with a canopy on top, seatbelts, cup holders, an extra seat for another passenger, the works! I can't wait to take Whit for lots of rides when the weather turns a bit warmer! Whit also received several pairs of Carters fleece footy PJs, an adorable outfit from Gymboree, finger puppets, tons of books, Tonka cars, a huge container of Mega Bloks, a dump truck to put the blocks in, a truck that makes all sorts of sounds, nesting cups and cubes, and more stuff that I just can't remember now! We made the mistake of leaving out his favorite toy in the world, his Thomas the Tank ball, so he was more interested in that than in his new stuff for a while! He did help us tear open a few of his gifts, and he liked playing with the wrapping paper when we rolled it up into balls for him. After a morning nap, we headed over to Pam and Wes's house at around 11am for brunch and Christmas Part II. We opened up stocking gifts first, then ate, and then opened up the rest of the gifts. Once again, Whit really cleaned up! He got his very first train set, a Little People animal farm, a Little People racing garage, a Little People ferris wheel and amusement park, 2 pairs of adorable "big boy" shoes, a Learning Puppy, a Little Tikes car and train, a Little People Tow and Pull tractor, and once again, more that I can't recall. It was wonderful! We left at 2:30pm to head home for a nap because Whit was exhausted. After an hour and 20 min. nap, we went to Christmas Part III at my aunt and uncle's house at 4pm. Whit got this great ball pit and tons of extra balls, a Bounce and Spin pony, a Winnie-the-Pooh choo-choo learning train, a Leap Frog musical table, Leap Frog farm fridge magnets, and a gift card to Babies R Us. We left at 7pm to take a very tired Whitster home. So far, he has LOVED playing with all of his new toys! Because he got so much and will be getting even more at his birthday party next weekend, we decided to put away 4 or 5 gifts and give them to him one at a time later. All in all, it was the best Christmas for Scott and me because we already had the best Christmas present we could have ever imagined! I did not take many pictures this year because I was too busy having fun and enjoying the moment, but here a a few from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I hope your Christmas was magical as well!

The Cookie Monster!

2008-12-21T16:54:00.005-05:00

Friday was Scott's last day of work until January 5th, and Whit and I are LOVING having him home with us! Weekends have been so crazy lately, so it is super to just be able to relax and enjoy some quality time together. This weekend, I have been a cookie making machine!! Scott says I am turning into a domestic diva! While that certainly is not true, I have been loving having time to bake. Yesterday, I made chocolate chip cookies using a new recipe we found from http://www.recipezaar.com/. If you are a cook or a baker and have not checked out this website, I highly recommend it. I love the ratings system and the easy-to-understand recipes. I also made pound cake cookies and my very own frosting. I had never made my own frosting before; I had always been lazy and just bought Betty Crocker at the store, but not this time. I divided the frosting in half and dyed one part red and one part green. Unfortunately, because the frosting was white and the food coloring was red, they ended up more pink than red, but at least there were red and green sprinkles on top to make them look more festive. Today, I made Joan Lunden bars, which is my favorite dessert that my mother-in-law makes. They weren't quite as good as Pam's perhaps, but I was still proud of how they turned out. They were very labor intensive, but worth the extra time and energy. I also helped Scott make molasses cookies, and they were also yummy! Boy, do I love the cookie baking time of year! Scott knew I was pumped about baking yesterday and today, so he took me to Williams-Sonoma and bought me a red, white, and green apron, an elf oven mit, a red, white, and green oven mit to match my apron, red and white striped kitchen towels, and a green frosting spreader/spatula. I just love Christmas colored gear, and I am obsessed with Williams-Sonoma! That store is incredible, and I love going in there and just browsing. It was one of the stores on our registry when we got married, and we got lots of wonderful things from there, including our 5 quart stainless steel Kitchen Aid mixer, which is absolutely essential for true cookie making. By the way, I know the picture up at the top has nothing to do with the subject of my post, but I just love Whit's expression as he checks out this plastic Santa in front of a store. It is priceless!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!!

2008-12-16T07:31:00.011-05:00

Today is Scott's and my two year anniversary, so I am dedicating this post to him. Because we found out I was unexpectedly pregnant 5 months into our marriage, I think that is why it feels like we have been married so much longer than two years. I truly feel like I have known Scott a whole lifetime, not just four years. I can honestly say whole heartedly that I am so much more in love with my husband today than I even was two years ago on our wedding day. He really is the absolute greatest husband and father I could ever have imagined. I know it is cliche to say, but in Scott's case, it couldn't be any truer. Because I am a list maker, I feel I must list my Top 10 reasons why I love this man so much, and why he is the best person I have ever met in my entire life.

1. Scott is the most selfless person on Earth. When I got pregnant, he decided right away that he would do whatever it took to make sure I was able to stay home with Whit. In order to make that happen, he teaches 7 classes instead of the traditional 5, and he tutors for 12 hours after work and on weekends. He is the hardest working person, yet he never believes that what he is doing is out of the ordinary. He seems to think that everyone would do what he does in his situation, which is definitely not true.

2. Scott is the epitome of the term "family man." He places spending time with Whit and me over everything. I am the happiest when I am with my two favorite boys because Scott always makes sure that the time we spend together is filled with fun, laughter, and lots of love.

3. Scott is the best father I have ever seen. As soon as he comes home from work each day, he races inside to see Whit, and he never leaves Whit's side until Whit goes to sleep. He plays with him constantly, and he tells Whit he loves him all the time. He is so tender with him, and he always makes sure he comes in to say good-bye to Whit in the mornings before he leaves for work.

4. Scott has basically no time to himself because of his busy work schedule, yet he never complains one bit. He says that all he wants to do when he does have free time is to spend it with his family.

5. Even though he works 60 plus hours a week, almost every Saturday and Sunday morning, when I finish nursing Whit, Scott takes care of him so I can get an extra couple of hours of sleep. I often try to reciprocate, but he says that he wants one-on-one time with Whit and that I deserve extra sleep because a stay at home mom works so hard, too!

6. Scott is the most generous man I know. Before we got engaged, he took me ring shopping, and I (unfortunately!) fell in love with a very expensive designer ring. I never thought in a million years that Scott would be able to afford it, but somehow he did, and whenever I look down at my ring, it reminds me how generous and loving Scott is.

7. When I was pregnant with Whit, I had a lot of back pain, and every night before we went to sleep, Scott gave me an amazing back rub that put me to sleep. These back rubs always lasted at least 45 minutes, and they were just what I needed. Even now, when I have had an extra long day, Scott will give me a back rub without expecting anything in return.

8. When we were dating, engaged, and first married, Scott whipped up many elaborate meals just to show me how much he loved me. I am talking four and five course home cooked meals. He is quite the chef, and these days, he doesn't have nearly as much time to cook, but he will still make me a feast on special occasions. As all women know, a man who can cook is a very sexy and wonderful thing!

9. Scott is a big believer in the little things. He shows me how much he loves me on a daily basis by doing things for me that seem mundane and every day, but they mean so much to me. For example, I hate taking out the trash, so Scott always takes it out, even Whit's stinky diaper trash bags! Scott also often takes Tilly outside to go to the bathroom, especially when it is cold outside. I do almost all the cleaning of our house because I am at home, but Scott will often sweep the floors for me because he knows it hurts my back to bend down like that.

10. Scott is an amazing poet. When we were dating, he wrote me beautiful poems on a regular basis. When he proposed to me, he recited a lovely poem that he had written. When we got married, he wrote me a poem about how wondeful our life was going to be together. When I got pregnant with Whit, he wrote me a tear jerker of a poem about what a wonderful mom he thought I was going to be. When Whit was born, he wrote a poem about how much he loved our little man already. He is such a talented writer, and his words always move me beyond belief.

I love you so very much, Scott, and you have made me happier than I ever thought was possible. Thank you for all that you do for our family every day. I look forward to celebrating many, many more anniversaries with you in the future.

Whit's First Haircut!!!

2008-12-14T10:17:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, Scott and I decided that it was finally time to take Whit to get his first haircut because his hair was getting to the unruly stage. It had gotten so long that it was completely covering his ears if we didn't tuck it behind his ears. We went to "Snip Its," this really cute, kids-only hair cut place, and Whit was an angel the entire time. At the end of the haircut, the kids get to go up to the special haircut machine, put a lock of hair into a slot, and out comes a special surprise! Whit got a ruler, so it wasn't exactly an exciting treat, but that's okay. There were all sorts of fun things for kids to do there, like play with puzzles, sit in the Thomas the Tank little engine, watch children's shows on these really cool TVs, and read all sorts of fun books. The haircut was $18 plus tip, which really shocked us, especially since it took the lady less than 5 minutes to complete the cut. Oh, well. It was fun to take him there for the first haircut, but we will probably go somewhere else next time. He even got a "First Haircut" certificate with his name and the date on it, and they stapled a little bag with some of his hair as a keepsake that I put in Whit's baby book. It was definitely a fun "first!"

Happy birthday, Daddy!!!!

2008-12-12T07:58:00.004-05:00

On December 12, 1950, in Davenport, Iowa, my beloved father, Forrest Graham Walker, was born. Throughout the past 26 years of my life, he has been there for me whenever I have needed him, in good times and bad. I think because he has taught high schoolers for the past 30 years, he always knew how to relate to me when many of my friends' fathers seemed totally clueless, especially during the awkward teenage years. I have always felt as if I could tell my dad anything, and I think that is pretty rare for a daughter to feel towards her father. My dad is such a compassionate, loving, understanding, generous man, and as I have become an adult and especially a parent, I have realized how much he sacrificed for me growing up. It was his and my mom's goal to put my sister and me through college without us ever having to pay a dime ourselves. We both graduated completely debt-free because they were such savers with their money, and for that, I will eternally be grateful. My father has been the best teacher I have ever had, and I have always looked up to him with great admiration and pride. Daddy, I love you so much, and I am blessed to be your daughter. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you have done for me. You have been and will continue to be my hero! I hope your birthday is as special and wonderful as you are.

Here is a poem that conveys so well how I feel about you, Dad.

You may have thought I didn't see

Or that I hadn't heard

All the life lessons that you've taught me

But I remember every word
Perhaps you thought I missed it all

And that we'd grow apart

But Dad, I picked up everything

It's written on my heart.
Without you, Dad, I wouldn't be the woman I am today

You built a strong foundation that no one can take away
I've grown up with your values

And I'm very glad I did

So here's to you, dear father

From your forever grateful kid.

Happy 1st birthday, Alexia!!!!

2008-12-11T07:26:00.006-05:00

Today, our niece, Alexia, turns one!! Yay! Happy birthday, Alexia! Tom and Megan hosted her party at their house this past Sunday from 4-6pm, and a good time was had by all. I can't believe my niece is already one. It has been so wonderful having her and Whit only a month apart in age. Megan and I have been able to go through the first year of motherhood together, which has been very special. At one, Alexia is already a master walker. She started walking at 9 months, and she has become so fast! She and Whit really seem to enjoy each other's company when they are together, which is so cute. I have loved watching you grow this past year, Alexia! We love you so much, and we hope you have a great day! Here are some pictures from her first birthday party.

One Month to Go?!?

2008-12-11T07:09:00.004-05:00

Today is December 11, 2008, which means that in exactly one month, my baby boy will turn 1!! How did eleven months fly by so quickly? It just doesn't seem possible that Whit is about to be...gulp...a toddler! Every time I look at him, I marvel at how much he has changed and how he is turning into a little boy instead of a baby, but still...one year old sounds so grown up. I'm not sure if I am ready for it. I guess I have another month to prepare! The plans for Whit's first birthday party are in full swing, and that is one thing I am getting very excited about. It is going to be a Sesame Street theme, and we will have an Elmo shaped cake, Cookie Monster cookies, and all sorts of other S.S. themed goodies. I really need to get out my invitations ASAP. That is on the agenda for today, actually.

So, in this month before you turn one, Whit, here is what you are up to these days:

1. You are the fastest crawler ever!

2. You only walk when you are holding onto furniture, and you take a couple of steps with me when I hold your hand, but you do not seem at all eager to take steps on your own. That is fine with me; I will not rush you.

3. You are a babbling machine. You say mama and dada to Scott and me, but you also say a lot of lalala and babababa, too.

4. You love clapping when people enter a room or when you see someone else clapping. You get a huge smile on your face when you clap.

5. You give "high 5's" and "low 5's" all the time.

6. You love "reading" your books, but when I try to pull you into my lap to read to you, you usually only want to stay for a few minutes before crawling off to your next adventure.

7. Your favorite toy is still your Fisher-Price Learning Home. You love to turn on and off the lights, open and shut the window, ring the doorbell, and check the mailbox for mail in your little house.

8. You love going grocery shopping and looking at all of the lights and people around. You also love receiving samples of cheese!

9. You love "big person" food exclusively; there is no jarred baby food for you anymore. You especially love chicken nuggets, goldfish, dried strawberries and bananas, (he likes dried ones over fresh for some reason) yogurt, any kind of cheese, blueberry muffins, NutraGrain bars, meat sauce, ravioli, and waffles

10. You almost always fall asleep very easily at 7pm on the dot and wake up between 6:15am-7am. I wish you slept in, but you are always ready for your day to begin early!

11. You still enjoy "my milk" about 4 times a day. This will be very hard for both of us to give up, I think.

12. You enjoy playing with your friends at our two playgroups and at our Gymboree classes, but sometimes you pull the babies' hair, poke them, and make them cry. Then you smile a huge smile. We are working on that.

I could continue, but I guess the list is long enough for now. Happy 11 month birthday, Whitster! I love you more than words can express!

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree...

2008-12-09T13:30:00.006-05:00

Scott and I finally decorated our Christmas tree on Sunday evening after we put Whit to bed. I just love unwrapping ornaments and remembering their special meaning! For example, one year when I was in college, my mom gave me an ornament that had a fireplace, a mantle, and stockings with all of our names on it, even Molly, our old dog! When we got married, Scott's parents got us this beautiful hand painted suitcase that says "Just Married" on one side and has Hawaiian flowers on the other side because we went to Kauai, Hawaii for our honeymoon. I could go on and on describing my favorite ornaments and why, but that would bore everyone to tears, so I won't. Anyway, we had a great time decorating our tree and the rest of our house. We made sure to put the unbreakable ornaments on the bottom in case Whit wandered over and tried to put them in his mouth, but surprisingly, he hasn't been very interested in the tree for the most part. We also put up our Dickens Village houses in the living room and in the den, and they look so pretty when they are all plugged in and lit up. I also set our kitchen table with our beloved Spode Christmas Tree china and placemats, so I am totally in the Christmas frame of mind! I still have a few more presents to buy and a ton more to wrap, as is very evident when you look at the picture of our tree...yes, there are only 2 presents wrapped thus far. While Scott is tutoring in the evenings this week, I vow to wrap gifts!

Picking Out Whit's 1st Christmas Tree!

2008-12-07T10:56:00.007-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, we drove over to Home Depot to select Whit's very first Christmas tree. Last year, we made the mistake of purchasing our tree at Big John's Christmas Trees, but we later found out that they charge twice as much as Home Depot does for the same quality of trees! So, we walked into the Christmas tree lot area, and of course Scott fell in love with the first tree he saw. He would have been happy just buying that one and not even looking around at the other ones! Crazy guy! I, of course, wanted to look at every tree before deciding on "the one," especially since it was Whit's very first tree. We took turns holding Whit up to the trees, and he really seemed to enjoy tugging on the branches and sniffing at the evergreen smell. It was so cute! We went right after lunch, so he was in a very happy, silly mood. Tomorrow I will post pictures of our tree all decorated (we plan to put the ornaments on our tree this evening), but for now, here are some pics of us at the tree lot.

Pictures with Santa!!

2008-12-05T08:19:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, we took Whit to sit on Santa's lap at Pam and Wes's clubhouse in their neighborhood. Every year, they hire a Santa to come and take pictures with the kids or grandkids of the people who live in Oxford Mill. The beauty of this Santa experience is that everyone has an appointment time, so there is no waiting in line! Our appointment was at 5:09pm, which turned out to be perfect because Whit had a nap from 3-4:15pm, so he was in a great mood. I wasn't sure how he was going to react to Santa because I have seen tons of screaming babies sit on Santa's lap in the past, but Whit just LOVED Santa! He loved stroking his beard, and he loved the little red light that Santa had on his fingertip. This Santa was so realistic looking (he had a real beard and everything!) and was super nice. He reminded me of the great Santa my sister and I always went to see at Phipps Plaza when we were growing up. It was a terrific experience, and we got some pretty decent pictures, so here are a few of my favorites.

Whit's belated 9 month pics!

2008-12-03T07:05:00.010-05:00

We had Whit's 9 month pictures made back in the middle of October, but I kept forgetting to post a few of my favorites, so here they are, finally! Unfortunately, when we had these pictures taken, Whit was extremely tired, so we did not get tons of smiles like we usually do. Oh, well.

Today, my mom's club is going to ride the Pink Pig at Macy's, and then we are having lunch together at Lenox Mall. I have only been to one other event with my new mom's club, but it was lots of fun, so I'm sure this one will be, too. So far, this mom's club is really neat. We have an under 2 play group that meets every Wednesday at 10am at someone's house, and there are many other events hosted during the week, too, like mom's nights out, lunches at various eateries, going fun places like Chuck E. Cheese, the Children's Museum, and to ride the Pink Pig, like we are doing today, and they have holiday parties, too. I love getting a chance to meet new moms who live in the Alpharetta area, and Whit loves playing with new friends as well.

Rainy Weekend!!

2008-11-30T19:14:00.004-05:00

Goodness, it has been yucky weather ever since Friday night! It rained and rained on Saturday, but that didn't stop us from watching GA Tech beat UGA for the first time in 7 years. I haven't seen Scott this happy since Whit was born, I don't think! He was just beside himself with excitement. Here is a picture of Scott and Whit in their "yellow jackets," cheering on their favorite yellow jackets! I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend!

Thanksgiving #1!!!

2008-11-29T16:13:00.011-05:00

On Thursday morning, Scott decided that it would be a great idea to make mashed potatoes together and to make two apple pies-one for my family's meal, and one for his family's meal. Scott made the first one, and I made the second one, after watching Scott, aka the Master Baker, make his. I thought making pie crust was hard, but peeling a 10 pound bag of potatoes was back-breaking work, literally! I was exhausted before we even left our house! At 4pm, we arrived at my parents' house for our first of two Thanksgiving meals. In attendance for this feast were Mom, Dad, my sister, Hillary, Scott, Whit, me, Uncle Chip, Aunt Barbette, my cousins, Mariette and Michelle, my grandmother, my aunt Jill, my cousin, Rebecca, and her boyfriend, Brooks. At the last minute, my cousin, Jake, was unable to come because he came down with strep throat, unfortunately. We had a wonderful time, and Mariette and Michelle especially loved playing with Whit and watching him crawl around so fast everywhere. We had a yummy meal of turkey, stuffing, broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, squash casserole, green beans, sweet potato casserole, bread, and for dessert, apple pie, cherry pie, and chocolate cake. Yes, you read that correctly. There was no pumpkin pie at our table! As un-American as it sounds, no one in my family likes pumpkin pie, so it is never served. When Scott first learned this bit of information, he was shocked! He said he had never met any family who didn't serve pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. The food was so good, and Whit ate extremely well. He sure does love "big people food!" We all stayed until 9pm; however, Whit was sacked out at 7pm, so he slept in the pack-and-play until we were ready to leave. Gosh, I love spending quality time with my family and stuffing myself!! :) As always, it was a wonderful turkey day!

Thanksgiving #2!!

2008-11-29T15:19:00.009-05:00

On Friday at noon, Scott, Whit, and I headed over to Scott's parents' house for Thanksgiving feast #2. For the past few years, Wes and Pam have been gracious enough to host their dinner on Friday so that Tom, Megan, Scott, and I don't have to eat two huge meals in one day. This way, Tom and Megan get to celebrate with Megan's family on Thursday, and Scott and I get to do the same with my family. It works out quite nicely! At this family gathering, there were Wes, Pam, Uncle Jim, Alexia, Whit, Rob, Scott's younger brother, Scott, Tom, Megan, and me in attendance. Pam had a yummy lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and pumpkin bread waiting for us, and we had a great time playing with the babies, talking, watching football, and just enjoying time together. I made macaroni and cheese and apple pie for dinner, and I must say, I was extremely proud of how they both turned out! Scott has always been the chef of our family, but now that I am staying home with Whit, I have decided that I need to be more domestic. I do usually cook dinner during the week at least, but they tend to be easy meals, such as chili, spaghetti with meat sauce, homemade pizza, etc. The macaroni and cheese was actually a fairly gourmet recipe, and the apple pie was quite hard to make! I had never really made a dessert before besides cookies, so making my own pie crust was quite a feat for me! Anyway, enough tooting my own horn about my culinary prowess. Sorry. I'm done now. Anyway, we also spent some time taking pictures for Pam and Wes's Christmas card, and the babies were in quite a smiley mood this time, thank goodness. That evening, we all ate so, so much, including Whit! He loved everything we put in front of him! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, and bread. For dessert, we had apple pie and pumpkin pie. I think I am still full! What a great, family-filled fun day! Scott, Whit, and I sure are blessed to have two wonderful families! We love you all!

Silly Boy!

2008-11-25T09:08:00.004-05:00

Last week, Scott and Whit were being so silly and having such a great time with some of Whit's toys, and it was really cute to watch! Whit just loved it when Scott would throw a foam circle on Whit's head like he was playing horseshoes; he just laughed and laughed. Whit has also been really into peek-a-boo lately, especially if we cover our faces with something and allow Whit to take it off of us.

In the food department, Whit has recently become Mr. Independent Eater. He wants to feed himself EVERYTHING, with no help from Mommy, thankyouverymuch! He will usually allow me to feed him his Yo Baby yogurt in the mornings, but then he wants to feed himself his mini Eggo waffles or blueberry muffins, pieces of fruit, and sometimes an egg yoke. At lunch and dinner, we have been giving him cut up pieces of grilled chicken or turkey that he can pick up and eat himself, as well as peas and carrots, goldfish, cheese, and more fruit. As far as snacks go, while he still enjoys his Puffs, he also likes the Gerber Graduates zwieback toast, the biter biscuits, the Veggie dippers, and the puffed cheese sticks. He still nurses about 4 times a day as well. Watching him feed himself is so much fun. He looks like such a little boy when he does it. He has also mastered the art of drinking water out of his sippy cup. Also, when we went to playgroup last week, he drank juice from a straw (it was a juice box) for the first time and did a great job. I had to hold it, of course, because every time he tried to hold it, he would squeeze too hard, and more juice would go on his clothes than in his mouth!

The True Meaning of Being Thankful

2008-11-25T08:51:00.003-05:00

Last year at this time, I remember feeling so thankful that God had blessed Scott and me with a baby boy who was due in January. Whit was an unexpected blessing for us, but as soon as we found out I was pregnant, we knew how fortunate we were to be able to conceive easily. All throughout my pregnancy, I felt thankful that everything went smoothly and that there were no complications, except for my horrible morning sickness that seemed to last forever! (I'm kidding...that is small potatoes, I know) However, until the doctor placed my precious, perfect baby boy in my arms after two LONG hours of pushing, I never truly understood the meaning of the word thankful. Now that Whit has been with us for ten and a half months, I finally know what it is like to thank God every single day for bringing this miracle into our lives. Whit has brought me more joy than I ever thought was possible, and during this Thanksgiving holiday season, every time I look into my son's eyes, see his beautiful smile, hear his infectious laughter, hold him in my arms, and nurse him to sleep, I will remember to feel thankful for these moments and cherish them forever. You will never know how much I love you, Whit. Thank you for making my life the best it has ever been. You are the light of my life!!

Brrr...

2008-11-25T08:44:00.002-05:00

November in Alpharetta, Georgia is not usually as cold as it was last week with highs only reaching the upper 40s and lows in the 20s. Of course, last Wednesday was the day that our furnace decided to quit working. Poor Whit woke up at 3am on Wednesday morning, and when I went into his room, the thermometer read 53 degrees, despite the fact that the thermostat was set to 70. Scott called our heating/AC guy, and luckily, he was able to come out on Thursday, which was when Scott was off from work anyway. Unfortunately, they first sent a furnace salesperson, but apparently, he wasn't equipped with the knowledge to be able to tell whether we needed a new furnace or just needed our current one fixed. So then, they had to send out another guy, and after several long hours of waiting, he finally showed up and told us what we had already surmised: because our furnace was about 20 years old, (as old as our house) we definitely needed a new one. They came out on Saturday and put in a new furnace, thank goodness. Scott's parents only live about 5 minutes away from us, so we were able to stay with them from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. They were such gracious hosts, and we had a lovely time with them. Whit just loves Grandma and Grandpa V, so he had a ball! Our upstairs is now as toasty as can be, but our downstairs is still about 10 degrees colder than what our thermostat is set on, so I think the guys are going to have to come back out here. Boo! Hopefully, they will figure it out, and then our whole house will finally feel warm and cozy, just in time for the holidays!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2008-11-18T10:36:00.004-05:00

It is almost my absolute favorite time of year, Christmas season!!! I think this Christmas is going to be the best it has ever been, now that we have Whit with us. I love that he was born in January because he will be almost a year old by the time December 25th rolls around, so hopefully, he will enjoy most everything that goes along with this wonderful holiday. There are so many things I can't wait to do in the next month and a half...take Whit to sit on Santa's lap, (I hope he doesn't scream bloody murder like I did when I was a toddler!) take him to ride on the Pink Pig at Macy's, take him Christmas shopping about a million times, dress him in all of his Christmas clothing, watch him try to open his gifts on Christmas morning, visit with family members we don't get to see often, I could go on and on! I am getting so excited just writing this! The weather has been so cold lately that we have been dressing Whit in his fleece footy PJs at night, and today, he was wearing one of his Christmas pairs, so I just had to show a picture because they are too cute. When we were at the Mall of Georgia on Sunday with Krystal and Lauren, we noticed that the stores were already decked out in Christmas colors with holiday lights and Christmas trees everywhere. Just the sight of all that made me giddy! Every year on the day before Thanksgiving, Scott and I decorate our house for Christmas, and we are so excited to do that in only 8 days!! (yes, we are counting down!) We both have a slight obsession with Christmas, so we have enough decorations for about 10 houses. We also have our Christmas Spode china that I can't wait to start using!! We even eat off of it when we have simple meals like pizza because we love it so much. I also can't wait to get our Christmas tree. We usually get it the first Saturday in December, so I imagine that is when we will get it again. We got these adorable stockings and a tree skirt last year at Pottery Barn Kids, and I can't wait to have them on display again. In the past, we always had somewhat of a sad collection of ornaments, but I have bought quite a few, and we have been given many, so hopefully, our tree will look more festive this year. I always loved just white lights on trees, but Scott just loves colored lights, so since we have a child this year, there will be colored lights on our tree from now on. Plus, I think every kid prefers the bright colors.

Happy Belated 10 Month Birthday, Whit!

2008-11-13T08:03:00.004-05:00

I meant to post all day on Tuesday, but we had a very busy day, and yesterday, we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, so I barely had time to take a breath, let alone update my blog. So....I apologize to my dear Whit for being late with my birthday wishes, but I did remember to wish him a happy 10 month birthday on the actual day, Nov. 11th, and I gave him lots of extra kisses as well! Before I became a mom, everyone told me that Whit's childhood was going to fly by and to really treasure the time as much as possible, and now I know how true those words are. In some ways, I am so excited about Whit growing up because he is already so much fun and such a joy to be around, and I know it is only going to get better. On the other hand, I feel a bit sad at times because I just love this baby stage so much! I love nursing him and holding him tight, especially in the mornings and at night, and I know that is going to come to an end in the near future. My goal was always to nurse Whit until he turned a year old...I just had no idea how soon that time would come! Who knows? Maybe I will continue to nurse for a little longer because we both enjoy it so much. Having that one-on-one cuddle time is the most special thing in the world. We got Whit's Christmas photos taken yesterday, so hopefully, they turned out well. We were supposed to have them done on Saturday so that Scott could be in the Christmas card picture as well, but Whit had just been diagnosed with an ear infection, so we postponed them. Now Whit will be the only one in our Christmas card photo, but he's much cuter than we are anyway! :)

Whit Loves Tunnels!!

2008-11-11T07:06:00.006-05:00

Even though I was operating on very little sleep yesterday, Whit and I managed to have a super fun day together! We spent a lot of time crawling in and out of his new tunnel, and every time I would crawl in it, he would start laughing hysterically! Here are a few pics of our tunnel fun. We also read a lot of books yesterday, and Whit is becoming more and more interested in actually sitting in my lap and listening to most of the story. For the longest time, he would listen for about 2 minutes, and then he would crawl away to go exploring! I have always been an avid reader, so I really hope to instill a love of reading in Whit. For the first three months of his life, I did not take Whit out in public at all because he was born during cold and flu season, and I was afraid he would get sick if I took him anywhere. So, we literally stayed home or only went to the homes of friends and family. During that time, I think I read him about 200 different books. I know he was too young to understand any of it, but he still seemed to enjoy being read to.

On the health front, Whit seems to be feeling better with each passing day. He has now been on antibiotics since Friday evening, and he is definitely pulling on his ear much less, so I am taking that as a good sign. He has been waking up once in the middle of the night, which is not like him at all. That has been tough because it has been taking between 45 minutes to an hour and a half to get him back to sleep after giving him his Tylenol, nursing him, and rocking him. Hopefully, once he is feeling completely well again, he will be back to sleeping 11-12 straight hours at night! FINGERS CROSSED! :)

The Look On His Face Says it All!

2008-11-10T07:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Scott's dad's birthday, so we went over to his parents' house for a birthday dinner party at 4:30pm. The plan was to dress Whit and Alexia in Christmas-y clothes and take a photo of Pam and Wes holding the babies for their Christmas card. Well, Whit was in a very stoic frame of mind, which just further proves how poorly he was feeling at that time yesterday. Usually, he is a very happy, smiley baby. Pam always calls him a "quick smile," but not yesterday! Luckily, we are going to have "do over" pictures on Thanksgiving, and hopefully, Whit won't look like someone just ran over his dog. I also hope he will be completely recovered by then.

On a lighter note, happy birthday, Wes! Thanks for being such a wonderful father, father-in-law, and grandfather, and thank you for all you do for us. We love you!

Here We Go Again...

2008-11-09T19:10:00.002-05:00

Well, before Friday afternoon, we were having a GREAT week! On Monday, Pam took Whit and me to lunch at the yummy restaurant, The Patio, and then she baby-sat Whit for the afternoon while I took a nice nap and did a few things around the house. Later, we had dinner with Pam and Wes as well. On Tuesday, Scott was off for Election Day, so we voted and then headed up to the outlets to do some shopping. We found adorable clothing for Whit at Gap, Gymboree, and Osh Kosh, and Scott found a couple of things at Williams-Sonoma, too. On Wednesday, I took Whit to his Play and Learn class, and he had the best time crawling in and out all of the tunnels that were set up, so I went and bought him a Baby Einstein tunnel, and he just loves it! Later that afternoon, we went to The Forum to enjoy the beautiful weather and to buy Whit some new books. He loves the lift the flap books by Karen Katz, so we bought a few of those and some of the DK Peekaboo books as well. On Thursday, we went down to Buckhead and met Erin and Amanda for lunch and shopping at Lenox Mall. Amanda was only in town for the day for a job interview, and it was SO great to see her! I can't believe we haven't seen each other since April. I sure have missed her!! On Friday, we met Michele and Wills up at North Point Mall for lunch and shopping, but for the first time all week, Whit did not seem like himself at all. He did not have much of an appetite, and when I tried to recline him back in his stroller, he screamed bloody murder. Michele noticed that he had a bit of dried blood in his left ear from where he had been messing with it, so I immediately called the pediatrician's office to schedule an appointment for that afternoon b/c I was pretty sure he had an ear infection. Sure enough, I was correct. He has an ear infection in his left ear, and this is now the third infection in less than 2 months. Unfortunately, that means we have to go see an Ear, Nose, and Throat Pediatric Specialist to see if he needs tubes in his ears. Of course, I was beside myself because I don't want my baby to have to go under general anesthesia. That is so scary to think about! Both Scott and I had to have tubes in our ears twice b/c we both had so many ear infections, and the doctor said that this is typically a genetic thing. We have our ENT appt. on November 20th b/c the doctor wanted Whit to be finished with his antibiotics before he sees him. For the most part, Whit has been in great spirits this weekend, but there are definitely times when it is quite apparent that he is in a lot of pain, which just kills me. Please pray that he recovers from this latest infection quickly and that the ENT appt. goes smoothly.

Halloween Weekend!!!

2008-11-03T06:56:00.007-05:00

The Vasey family had a wonderful Halloween this year, thanks to our little caterpillar! Whit was so much fun, and I can't wait to take him out for true trick-or-treating next year. On Friday, my mom's club met at this great park in Woodstock for play time and a picnic lunch. The only problem was the yellow jackets; they were everywhere!!! Besides that, the kids had a great time. Whit really loves swinging on the infant swings and watching all the big kids go down the slide and swing on the monkey bars. After our play group ended, we went over to my mom's house for the afternoon. My mom lives only 5 minutes from the park we were at, so it was very convenient. Whit was dressed for Halloween fun on Friday, and Grammy just loved it! I put him in a pumpkin shirt, denim overalls, Halloween socks, his pumpkin Robeez, an orange zip-up jacket, and his pumpkin hat. We headed back home in the late afternoon and hung out with Scott and Hillary, who came over after work. Then, we went over to Scott's parents' house for Halloween pictures and to get Whit's special Halloween goody bag. Pam filled it with 4 pairs of Gymboree socks and an adorable Thanksgiving bib. After pictures, we headed home for our trick-or-treaters and to bathe our little caterpillar and put him to bed. Since Whit had no use for his costume anymore, Scott decided to put our dog, Tilly, in the caterpillar gear, and she looked so funny, I had to share a photo of her! Later on, while answering the door and handing out candy, Scott, Hillary, and I ordered in Mexican and watched a movie called "Duel." On Saturday morning, we went to our usual bagel joint and then went back home to lounge around and play with Whit. In the afternoon, we watched GA Tech beat Florida State, which hasn't happened since 1975, so Scott was unbelievably excited, to say the least! On Saturday night, we watched some football, ordered pizza, and watched a few episodes of The Office. On Sunday, Scott had to tutor from 10-4, so Whit and I went over to Grammy and Poppy's house and had a great time visiting with them. Mom made her famous chicken fajitas for lunch, and then we went across the street to the Vincents' house. Tom and Mary Ellen Vincent are two of the sweetest people I know, and my parents have become very close to them ever since they both built their houses in the same neighborhood 4 years ago. After our nice visit, Whit and I went home to spend a little QT with Scott. The night before, Scott put together a new toy for Whit, so we spent the afternoon/evening playing with it with Whit. It is one of those push along cars that doubles as a car to ride on. Whit wasn't so keen on actually pushing the car around, but he did enjoy looking under the "hood" of the car and playing with the other cool things on the car. After we put Whit to bed, we watched our favorite show, "Dexter" and went to sleep. At about 12:30am, we got GREAT news! My friend, Lizzie, and her husband, Mitch, welcomed their little girl into the world at 10:05pm last night! Her name is Olivia Jaye Haber, and she was 7lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long. Congratulations to Lizzie and Mitch! We are so happy and excited for them. Lizzie will take 3 months of maternity leave, and then I will be taking care of baby Olivia from mid February until the end of May, when Lizzie gets out of school for the summer. I can't wait to meet precious little Olivia very soon!

Whit's New Favorite Toy!

2008-10-28T13:25:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, we were over at Tom and Megan's house, and Whit fell in love with one of Alexia's toys. It is the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Home, and he spent almost the entire time crawling in and out the door of the "house," ringing the doorbell, chewing on the "mail" in the mailbox, and hitting the on/off switch for the light. It really is such a neat toy; we have so much fun playing with it with Whit. There are also 8 different songs, and I already know all of them by heart because Whit enjoys hearing them over and over! There is a sun that comes out in the morning, a moon that comes out in the evening, shapes to put in the shape sorter, I could go on and on. It is for kids aged 6-36 months, and I would recommend it to any parent with a child that age! Thanks to Tom and Megan for giving us this great idea!

Babies and Bellies Halloween Party!

2008-10-27T07:51:00.013-04:00

On Sunday, Scott and I hosted a Halloween party for all of our expectant parent friends, our friends who have babies around Whit's age, and our friends whose kids are a bit older. All of the children came in costume, and they all looked just adorable!! There were 25 of us total, so it was a nice sized crowd. We carved and painted pumpkins, ate lots of cookies, cake, and cupcakes, visited with each other, played a Halloween spider toss game, and took lots of pictures. We tried as hard as we could to get all the kids together for one big picture, but with crawlers and babies just learning to walk, that feat proved to be too challenging, unfortunately. The festivities were from 2-4:30pm, which ended up being a nice amount of time for the kids. Whit really seemed to enjoy playing with all the kids, especially the ones around his age. It was so much fun, we are going to try to make this an annual event! :)

Saturday: Tailgating and the GA Tech game!

2008-10-27T07:02:00.007-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, Scott, Whit, and I drove down to GA Tech to meet up with the whole Vasey clan for a day of tailgating and football. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and we all enjoyed a yummy lunch prepared by Grandma Pammy. She made BBQ brisket sandwiches, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and two cakes for dessert. After lunch, we played a toss game, and then it was time to head down to the 3:30pm game against the University of Virginia. Luckily, even though there were 14 of us in our group, we were all able to sit together in the upper deck. Once again, Whit was just wonderful and seemed to really enjoy the game and the cooler weather. He even took a nap, despite the roar coming from all the Jackets fans! We were able to stay until the end of the game because Whit was being so perfect, which was nice for Scott b/c he hasn't seen an entire game all season! Unfortunately, Tech ended up losing to the Cavaliers, but we had a great time with our extended family. We loved having Taeja, Marshall, and the kids visit from Seattle!

Friday: Aquarium and Steph's Baby Shower!

2008-10-27T06:48:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, my camera died right before we got to the aquarium, so I have no pictures to share from day one of our extremely busy and fun weekend. On Friday morning, Whit and I went to the aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Vasey, Uncle Tom, Aunt Megan, Alexia, Uncle Rob, Scott's cousin, Taeja, and her 3 children, Jenai, who's 13, Addison, who's 10, and Christian, who is 8. Scott had to work, so he was unable to join us, and Taeja's husband, Marshall, also had to work. We got there at about 11am, and we were all so excited to see everything! I had only been once before, 2 years ago, when we took the entire 7th grade class, but we were only able to stay for an hour and a half that time. This time, I knew we would have plenty of time to see everything. Whit was a perfect angel the entire time; I was SO proud of him! He enjoyed seeing all the different fish, he took a nice nap in the afternoon, and he had a big smile on his face the entire day, which made my experience even more enjoyable. The only disappointing part of the day was when we found out that the penguin exhibit was being redone and wouldn't be complete until 2010! The penguins are my favorite part about the aquarium besides the otters, which we did get to see, luckily! Those otters are just the cutest animals to me! We stayed until about 3:15pm, and then we all headed home. I met Scott at home and dropped Whit off and then left to go to my friend, Stephanie's baby shower at 4:30pm. It was so great to see her and many of my dear friends from Autrey Mill. Although I love staying home with Whit more than words can express, I sure do miss seeing my friends on a daily basis! We all hung out until about 6:30pm, and then I had to go home to help with bathtime and putting Whit to sleep. All in all, it was a great, rainy, cold Friday! I just wish I had pictures to share of the events. :( Oh, well.

Gymboree Pumpkin Patch Party!

2008-10-22T07:09:00.007-04:00

Yesterday at our local Gymboree Play and Learn center, they had a Pumpkin Patch party fromm 4:30pm-6pm for all the members. Scott and I put Whit in his caterpillar costume and were all set to meet his mom up there for fun times. Unfortunately, we had not been able to get Whit to take his usual late afternoon nap, so he was very tired, and as a result, extremely fussy. Once we took him outside, though, he immediately calmed down, so we went to the party with our fingers crossed. We were only able to stay for about 15 minutes before Whit got really hot in his costume and fussy again. Besides being tired, he is on a medication that our doctor says makes him feel all out of sorts and messes with his stomach. Luckily, we finished with that medication yesterday, so hopefully, Whit will be feeling completely back to normal very soon. We were able to get some cute pictures, and Pam got to film Whit crawling around and playing at the various Gymboree centers they had set up. I hate that he didn't feel great for the party, but as soon as we got home and distracted him with his dinner and then play time, he was as happy as a clam!

Scott's cousins from Seattle got in town this morning, and they will be here until Sunday morning. Scott's cousin, Taeja, has three children, so we are very excited to introduce them to Whit! We were supposed to have dinner with everyone tonight, but I am feeling very sick right now, so I'm not sure if we are going to be able to make it or not. Once again, Whit was up multiple times last night, so I may just be feeling nauseous from a severe lack of sleep. Scott and I still have bad colds, so we are really hoping that the 3 of us feel back to 100% ASAP, especially since we have TONS going on this weekend!

On the (Long) Road to Recovery!

2008-10-20T07:48:00.005-04:00

Even though we cancelled our trip to the NC mountains, Scott still decided to take Friday off from work to help me with Whit since I was still feeling a bit under the weather myself. These past three days, my wonderful husband has truly been a lifesaver. He gave me sleep when I so desperately needed it, he gave me breaks throughout the day, he helped me give medicine to Whit, I could go on and on. He is the most selfless, caring man in the world, and he really is the best father to Whit. He is a true family man in every sense of the word. Anyway, unfortunately, Whit has started to wake up multiple times during the night, and it is getting harder and harder to get him to go back to sleep once he is up. In the past, all I would have to do is nurse him for about 10 minutes, and he would be out like a light, but throughout the past few days, I have had to nurse him for a long while and then rock him to sleep, which results in me being wide awake, unfortunately. Luckily, Scott let me go back to sleep when Whit woke up at 5am on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Yes, 5am, not 6 or 7am like he usually does. Yuck! Even though we had a sick baby on our hands and didn't feel that great ourselves, we still managed to enjoy the weekend together. It was rainy and nasty on Friday, so we spent most of the day in bed, playing with Whit and watching episodes of "The Office." We now own all 4 seasons on DVD, so yes, we're hopelessly addicted! We did venture out to Target for a few things, but other than that, we stayed at home. On Friday night, we ordered in pizza and watched The Notebook, one of my favorite chick flicks. On Saturday, we did a little shopping at Borders and Kohl's, and then went home and watched Tech beat Clemson! Yay for the Jackets, who are now 6-1. After the game, we went to The Forum because it was such a beautiful day, and we thought the fresh air would do us all good, which it totally did. I was feeling very domestic, so I bought a really cute apron at Williams-Sonoma, so that means I need to start cooking a lot more so I can get some use out of it! On Sunday, Scott tutored for a while, and then we decided that since the weather was beautiful again, we would do some shopping at The Avenues, an outdoor mall in East Cobb. Whit just loves going shopping in his stroller these days because he knows we will give him some Gerber Graduates Puffs or Cheerios, his two favorite foods! On Sunday night, we made dinner together and watched our two Showtime shows, Dexter and Californication. Even though I am completely exhausted from waking up with Whit so much during the night, it really was a super weekend with my boys! On the health front, Whit seems to be feeling a lot better. He still has moments where I can tell he doesn't feel good at all, but for the most part, he is in his usual great spirits. He is now pulling up on everything constantly...furniture, us, the baby gates, you name it. He is also cruising furniture more, too. I guess you could say he is an on the go little tyke these days! Over the weekend, we decided to institute a pajama only rule, which meant that when we were at home, all of us had to be wearing comfy PJ's. Since it was colder outside than it has been, we put Whit in some of his new long sleeved footy Carter's pajamas, and he looked SO adorable in them! Oh, how I love babies in footy PJ's!

Oh, no! Not again...

2008-10-16T15:17:00.002-04:00

Last night when I was putting Whit to bed, I heard him cough several times, and I really didn't like the sound of it. It was very deep and had somewhat of a rattle to it. This morning, it sounded even worse, so I called the pediatrician's office, and they asked to see him this morning at 9:15am. Our regular doctor only works Monday-Wednesday b/c she has three small children of her own, so we waited for over an hour to see another doctor in the practice. Whit ended up falling asleep while we waited for the other doctor to come in! After looking him over, she told me that he has a DOUBLE ear infection and bronchiolitis (sp?), or inflammation of the bronchiole tubes. My poor baby!! Now Whit is on 2 antibiotics, one for his ears, which he takes for 10 days, and one for his bronchioles, which he is on for 5 days. Luckily, just like last time, he is in remarkably good spirits. Had it not been for his horrible cough, I would have never known he had an ear infection! He went to sleep last night at 7pm, and only woke up once at 10pm, before waking up for good at 6am. I am kind of surprised he slept as well as he did, but maybe the cool mist humidifier in his room helped him breathe better.

Needless to say, our getaway to the North Carolina mountains has been cancelled. We were going to take Whit up to the same adorable cottage Scott took me to on our babymoon trip last year, but I guess we will have to go another time. Oh, well. Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule the trip for some time in November. I really hope Whit will be all better in time for next weekend because we have an extremely busy weekend. Hopefully, his antibiotics will kick in and knock this stuff out! Please pray for Whit that he makes a speedy recovery!

Whit's 9 month check-up

2008-10-14T10:10:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, I took Whit to the pediatrician for his 9 month check-up. That's right, folks, on Saturday, Whit turned 9 months! How can that be?! He is becoming such a little man way too quickly! Anyway, we found out that he weighs 20 lbs. 9 oz, which puts him in the 50th percentile for weight. He is 29 1/2 inches long, which puts him in the 90th percentile for height, so I guess he is taking after his mommy in that department! His ear infection is gone, thank goodness, and Dr. Douglass said he looks perfect! YAY! He was given one shot, his first round of the flu shot, but he took it like a champ! He only cried for about 2 minutes, but once I nursed him for a little while, he was back to smiling and babbling away. I also got my flu shot while I was there, and my arm STILL hurts. :( We go back to the doctor in one month to get the second round of Whit's flu shot, and then we (hopefully!) won't be back to the doctor until his 12 month check-up on Monday, January 12th.

What can my precious Whit do at 9 months? Well...
1. He crawls SUPER fast
2. He can pull up on furniture with ease
3. He is starting to cruise furniture just a little bit
4. He is trying to stand on his own, but he hasn't quite mastered that skill yet
5. He babbles all the time-he says dada constantly, but we don't think he knows what it means yet
6. He squeals with joy and laughs a lot
7. He smiles very frequently
8. He has 2 teeth on the bottom, 2 up top, and 2 up top that are in the process of coming in
9. He can walk while holding on to Mommy or Daddy's hands
10. He is still a big eater and a big nurser- he eats 3 solid meals a day and nurses 4-5 times a day
11. He usually falls asleep at about 7pm at night and wakes up between 6am-7:30am
12. He takes 2-3 naps a day, which each usually last between 30 minutes and one hour
13. He LOVES going on walks with Mommy, Daddy, and Tilly
14. He frequently claps his hands together; I think he learned that at Gymboree b/c we clap constantly in those classes

That's all I can think of for now. We love you so very much, Whit, and we are incredibly proud of you! Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives each and every day! We feel so blessed to be your parents.

Are They Twins?!

2008-10-13T08:09:00.005-04:00

On Sunday evening, Scott and I took Whit over to Scott's brother, Tom, and his wife, Megan's house for a celebration dinner for Tom. He recently passed all 9 of his actuarial exams, so now he is a full-fledged actuary. We are very proud of Uncle Tom! While we were over there, we decided to do a mini photo shoot of Whit and his 10 month old cousin, Alexia. We put Whit in his smocked Halloween outfit, and Alexia wore this beautiful smocked candy corn dress that her grandmother made for her. They looked so cute together in their matching outfits! It made me wonder if anyone would ever think that they were twins instead of cousins! We had a great time over at Tom and Megan's, and we enjoyed a yummy dinner as well. Family time is always fun with the Vasey clan! I posted the pic at the top because I couldn't believe how blue Whit's eyes looked in it. He definitely takes after his father in the baby blues department!

Whit's First Carousel Ride!

2008-10-13T08:01:00.003-04:00

On Saturday morning, we took Whit to our usual bagel shop, and then while Scott was at an Academic Bowl tournament at Walton HS, I took Whit shopping at The Avenues. I found him an adorable sweater at Baby Gap and three books on clearance at Border's. The books were the sturdy pop-up, touch and feel ones that Whit just loves! After Scott's LONG tourney finally ended, he came home, and we took Whit out for a nice long walk to enjoy the fallish weather, then ordered in some yummy Mexican food. On Saturday night, after we put Whit to bed, we watched some college football and a few episodes of The Office. On Sunday, while Scott was tutoring, Mom, Hillary, and I took Whit to the mall so Mom and Hillary could buy him some fall/winter clothes. He ended up with many adorable outfits from Gymboree, Janie and Jack, and The Children's Place. Thanks so much, Grammy and Aunt Hilly, for your generosity!!! I can't wait to dress Whit in his new clothes! He looks like such a big boy in them. After we ate lunch at the food court, I decided to take Whit on his first ever carousel ride. At first, he was a little unsure of the huge carousel animals, but once the ride began, he seemed to enjoy it. Poor Mom and Hillary had such a hard time taking pictures because we were always moving, and I made the mistake of not choosing a horse that was on the outside. Oh, well. This was the best picture we got!

Burt's Pumpkin Farm!!!

2008-10-13T07:40:00.007-04:00

Scott took Friday off from work, and we had one of the best days ever! At 10am, we had Whit's 9 month pictures taken at Picture People, and they turned out pretty well. Usually, Whit smiles easily, but on Friday, he was in a very stoic frame of mind, so we got many more serious faces than smiley ones, but at least he didn't get fussy until the very end of our photo session. After our picture appointment, we changed Whit into his special Halloween outfit. We got him this adorable "Little Pumpkin" shirt and pumpkin hat, we put the Halloween pumpkin Robeez on his feet, and then we headed up to Dawsonville to check out Burt's Pumpkin Farm. As soon as we got there, we couldn't believe how many pumpkins they had and how huge so many of them were! Whit got a huge kick out of sitting on them and touching them. We took a hayride around the farm, and although he was pretty tired by that point, Whit really seemed to enjoy the scenery and the bumpiness of the ride. Burt's really is such a wonderful place for families to visit in the fall. They had all sorts of yummy treats to try as well-homemade pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, popcorn, cider, you name it. I highly recommend this place to everyone with children! We will definitely make this a yearly event!

Trying to Climb...

2008-10-09T16:57:00.005-04:00

Whit has almost mastered climbing stairs, but he is not quite there yet. He can usually climb up the first stair just fine, but after that, he just can't quite get those chubby little legs up the rest of the stairs.

By the way, I am loving the cooler weather we have had the past couple of days. I got to dress Whit in some of his new fall clothes, and this outfit is one of my favorites! It has a pony that comes out of the pocket of the overalls. Whit just loves to take the pony out of the pocket and chew on it. It is hard to believe that he is wearing the 12-18 month size in Gymboree clothes already.

Grandma Vasey baby-sat Whit on Tuesday afternoon, and after doing some cleaning, I decided to go out and do a little shopping. I found this great children's boutique called Sugar Plum Kids, and I found Whit an adorable outfit to wear to his 9 month pictures tomorrow. It is black and white checkered, and it has smocking on the front of pumpkins, which is just perfect for fall. I will post pics of the special new outfit soon!

I Want Outta Here!

2008-10-09T16:49:00.003-04:00

Several weeks ago, Whit learned to pull himself up to a standing position in his crib, and now, almost every time I go in to his room when I hear him babbling at the end of naptime, there he is, standing up and waiting for me to come "rescue him." He isn't usually crying, but he always has this look in his eye like he wants to get out of prison NOW. It is just as cute as his sad face! Besides pulling up on every piece of furniture we own, Whit is beginning to cruise furniture just a little bit. He can go from the ottoman to the glider in his room, and from the ottoman to the couch in the living room. He has also learned how to go from a standing position to a sitting position. For a while, he would pull up on something and have no idea how to get back down, but now, he has figured it all out! When he goes from standing to kind of falling down in a sitting position, he will throw his head back and laugh. I love it!!

Goooo Jackets!!!

2008-10-06T09:40:00.005-04:00

This weekend was definitely a much needed wonderful time! Whit felt great, the weather was gorgeous, (but just a bit too hot for my liking, I must admit!) and I got to spend lots of time with my two favorite people! On Friday, Uncle Rob came over to visit, which was so nice because we hadn't seen him since Labor Day. He couldn't believe how much Whit had grown and he loved seeing all of Whit's new tricks. After Rob's visit, we took a nice stroll around the neighborhood, adn then our dear friends, Stephanie and Dan, came over for dinner and a visit. Dan and Steph are due with a baby boy on December 29th, and we are so excited about Baby Daniel's arrival! We had such a wonderful time with them; they are one of our favorite couples! On Saturday morning, we took Whit to our usual bagel joint, and then got ready to head down to the Tech game. It was Whit's first ever football game, so we were all very excited. We dressed him in this adorable navy and gold Ralph Lauren onesie, and he was ready to cheer on his daddy's alma mater! Unfortunately, it was pretty hot on Saturday, and there was no shade to be found, so a little before halftime, Whit let it be known that he had had enough and was ready to head out. He is just not a fan of sun in his face, and I think he may get hot easily, too. We then headed to Taco Mac to watch the rest of the game, and Whit had a ball because we got to sit outside in the shade. There was so much to see, so he loved it. Then, we took a long walk at Newtown Park with Whit and Tilly. I love that Whit adores his walks so much because I do, too! After we put Whit to bed, Scott and I enjoyed watching some episodes of "The Office," our favorite comedy. On Sunday, we went back to our bagel joint, (are we predictable or what?!) and then while Scott tutored for three hours, I went over to see Mom, Dad, and Aunt Hillary, and we had a lovely visit. When we got home, we took Whit to Newtown Park again, and we saw one of our friends from Gymboree class walking, too. Unfortunately, she is a bit older than Whit, so she just moved up to the 10-16 month class, while Whit is still in the 6-10 month one. On Sunday night, Scott and I ordered in Chinese and watched Dexter and Californication; they were both excellent! As always, we had a great weekend! :)

All better!

2008-10-06T09:32:00.005-04:00

Last week was one of the longest and worst weeks I have ever had! Because of his ear infection, Whit was up pretty much every 2-3 hours at night, which meant I had almost NO sleep! He was also running a fever for a couple of days, so we had to miss our two Gymboree classes and my Mom and Tot play group. For the most part, we stayed at home, trying to get better. Luckily for me, during the day, Whit was in extremely good spirits, with plenty of smiles and giggles to brighten my day. We did go over to my mom's on Thursday, and I was able to take a MUCH needed nap in the afternoon while Whit played with Grammy. Now, Whit hasn't had a fever at all since Thursday morning, and he is back to sleeping mostly through the night. He is still on medication until Friday, but it seems like he feels back to 100%, which I am so grateful about. I absolutely hated seeing my precious Whit in any kind of pain. I was so upset for most of the week about it, but now it is behind us! Scott and I both had tons of ear infections as children, so unfortunately, this probably won't be our only experience with the dreaded infection, but now I will know how to better deal with it. Hooray for a healthy baby!

My Poor Baby...

2008-09-30T12:12:00.002-04:00

Late yesterday afternoon when Whit awoke from his nap, I noticed some yellowish gunk in his eye and decided to call the pediatrician's office because I thought he might have some sort of an eye infection. When I talked to the nurse, she told me that this was actually a common symptom of an ear infection, and she wanted me to bring him in so our doctor could look him over. Our appointment was at 9:45am, and after waiting for 35 minutes to be seen, (yuck!) it turns out that Whit has his first ever ear infection. It is in his left ear only, and he was also running a 101.2 degree fever. Poor baby!!! After the appointment was over, I went to fill his prescription, and now, he is sleeping peacefully. He has been in fairly good spirits through all of this, but I hate my baby to be in any sort of pain; it just breaks my heart! Please pray that the medicine works quickly and that his ear infection and his fever go away ASAP!!! As I write this, I fear I am about to fall asleep and hit my head on my keyboard because I am so exhausted. Whit almost always sleeps 12 hours at night, but last night and the night before, he woke up multiple times, and now we know why, of course. I think I might try to take a nap now while Whitster is snoozing, but being the insomniac that I sometimes am, we'll see if that happens.

My Little Bear Is Growin' Up...

2008-09-29T13:40:00.005-04:00

There is a country song by Rodney Atkins called "I've Been Watching You," and every time I hear it on the radio, I tear up because it is just so sweet! For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, it is about a father and his young son, and the father learns how much his son looks up to him and wants to be just like him when he grows up. It is especially emotional for me because I imagine that one day, Whit will want to be just like Scott, doing everything Scott does. Scott truly is the most wonderful, patient, loving father, and I know he is going to set the best example for Whit for how to become a truly great man. In part of the song, the dad talks about how "my little bear is growing up," and I love that part of the song because Scott and I call Whit our little bear, too! Today, our Little Bear looked very grown up at lunchtime! After his rice cereal, country garden vegetables, and fruit, I put some Gerber Graduates puffs on his high chair tray to see if he would start to feed himself, and he did!!! He looked so cute picking each of them up in his hands, examining them, and then putting them in his mouth and chewing/gumming them. He now has two teeth on the bottom, one on the top, and a second one on the top is coming in right now. We are still working on the whole sippy cup thing, however. I have been filling it up with water after lunch and dinner, trying to get Whit to hold it by himself and actually drink out of it, but most of the time, he just likes to chew on it. Because he is exclusively breast fed except when we have my parents or Scott's parents baby-sit, he doesn't have very much experience with bottles, so maybe he is confused on what to do with it! Oh, well. We will keep trying. For now, hooray to Whit for feeding himself his Gerber puffs! I am so proud of him.

Weekend Wrap-Up!

2008-09-29T11:18:00.004-04:00

This weekend will definitely go down as one of the most fun we've had in a while! On Friday, Scott's parents baby-sat Whit so we could go on a date night, and it was just wonderful!! We went to our favorite gourmet Mexican restaurant, Pure, for dinner, then did a little shopping, and then went to see the movie, "Burn After Reading." This is the Coen Brothers' new movie, so we were very excited because we loved two of their previous flicks, "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men." This movie had its moments, but all in all, it wasn't nearly as funny as I had hoped. Oh, well. We still had a great time being out and about! When we got home, we learned that Whit had been an angel the entire time we were gone, and that news warmed my heart as always. On Saturday morning, we went to our usual bagel joint, and Whit kept wanting little bites of cream cheese the entire time! He also kept shoving his favorite toys off the table, just waiting for us to pick them up for him so he could do it again! At noon, we met our friend, Stephanie, at Target so I could help her register. Her baby boy, Daniel, is due on Steph's birthday, December 29th, and she wanted to know what she needed and what she didn't. Even though I only had Whit 8 1/2 months ago, it is amazing to see how many new products are now on the market. After Target, we went home for Whit's lunch and naptime, and did some cooking and cleaning. At about 4pm, my sister came over, and a little while later, Scott's friend, Mike, came over as well. Scott made them yummy pork sandwiches, french fries, and his famous pumpkin bars, and we all watched the Georgia-Alabama game and had a few drinks. On Sunday, Whit had some fun play time with Daddy in the morning while Mommy slept in, and then later on, we trekked to Costco for a few needed items and then had a lazy Sunday afternoon. Scott and I were very excited about Sunday night because two of our favorite shows premiered, Dexter and Californication. They are both on Showtime, which we recently purchased after watching previous Dexter and Californication seasons on DVD. Above are some of my favorite pictures that Scott took during his play time session with Whit. In one of them, Whit is actually climbing up Scott's leg! Our baby sure does love his daddy!!

Look Out!!!!

2008-09-24T09:18:00.004-04:00

Whit is officially getting into EVERYTHING!!!! It seems like each time I turn around, he is pulling up on a low piece of furniture, taking off after Tilly, or grabbing at my car keys, even though he has a "set" of his own. It is amazing watching him discover new things. I always heard parents say that, but I never really understood until I had Whit. One of his current favorite things to do is to have me stack up his blocks and then let him push the stack over. Every time he does it, he starts laughing like crazy and is so proud of himself! The adorable chair Hillary got for him before he was born has now become one of the many things he likes to crawl all over and pull up on. He never actually sits in the chair because he is not a fan of sitting still for long at all! He has also become a babbling machine, so I think he is going to be a big talker, just like his mom and dad! He says "dada" and "ba ba" a lot, and he makes this sound that I like to call the dinosaur roar because I swear, that is exactly what it sounds like to me. When we were at Bree's house on Friday for our weekly play group, Whit crawled up to Michele's 4 month old son, Wills, and did the "roar" right in Wills's face, and he burst into tears! Poor baby!

This past weekend was pretty great. On Saturday, we were planning to take Whit to his first ever GA Tech game so he could embrace his inner Lil Jacket-ness, but alas, he had a runny nose, and our seats were going to be right in the sun. We were also going to be jam packed in, so we decided to take him to a game where we know there will be less attendance, like the upcoming Duke game. That way, we can spread out in the upper deck, hopefully in some shade. Anyway, we watched Tech beat MS State, just as I had predicted they would! We then went shopping at The Forum because it was such a beautiful day, and Whit loves to be walked around in his stroller. On Sunday, while Scott was tutoring, I took Whit over to my parents' house for lunch and to spend the afternoon with them, and we had a great time showing Grammy, Poppy, and Aunt Hilly all of Whit's new tricks. Later, Scott and I took Whit to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner, and the place was chock full of kids! Whit enjoyed looking around and chewing on Daddy's straw, although he hasn't actually learned how to suck anything through the straw just yet.

This week has been really nice. On Monday, Whit and I just lounged around, went to the grocery store to pick up the weekly groceries, and took a walk together to enjoy the sunshine. Yesterday, we went on a journey to find gas because I was almost on empty. I was really scared because all of the stations near us were completely out. Luckily, we were able to fill up at Costco, and then we headed to Whit's Gymboree music class. After class, lunch, and a nap, we went over to Grandma Vasey's house to visit her. She and Grandpa Vasey had been on a 2 week long trip, so we were very happy to see them again! Later on in the afternoon, I took Whit on a walk to the park with Taina and Pippa, and it was so much fun, we decided to take the babies again today. Today is Whit's Play and Learn class, which is his favorite class of the week! He loves playing with all the other kids and experimenting with the different play stations.

Whit at Play!!!

2008-09-18T14:58:00.007-04:00

Ever since Whit became mobile, he has been getting into everything and is so much more interested in the world around him. It is so fun to watch! This week, his big discovery has been the treadmill that resides in our loft room. Whit has learned to pull himself up into a standing position while holding onto the treadmill, and then he crawls right on top of it! I think it is his way of telling me that I should be using that thing more often! :) Even though he is still not crawling on all fours, but instead, slithering like a snake, he is SO fast! We had to install a baby gate at the top of the stairs last weekend because he kept trying to crawl down the stairs. He also loves crawling from room to room, especially to follow me or Tilly. It's like he wants to make sure we don't forget about him! He is also really enjoying all of his toys. For the longest time, he would kind of passively play with them, but now, he really gets into it!

This week has just flown by! I can't believe it is already Thursday. We have been LOVING this cooler weather, and I hope it is here to stay! Scott, Whit, and I have been taking long walks every evening either in our neighborhood or at the park, and Whit just loves it. We take Tilly along, too, and it is the highlight of her day. Sometimes, Tilly receives more compliments from people at the park than Whit does! Just last night, we had a woman come up to us and ask if Tilly was spayed because if not, she wanted Tilly to mate with her male shih-tzu! Quite the compliment, I thought! When I was wishing Hillary a happy birthday on Tuesday, I inadvertently forgot to mention that it was also Tilly's 3rd birthday, so happy belated birthday to our dear pup! Besides our walks, Whit and I have been to two Gymboree classes, we have our Mom and Tot group over at Bree's house tomorrow, and we had lunch and a nice visit with Aunt Jill today. Whit enjoyed showing off his latest tricks to Jill, I think. We had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, and Whit was an angel the entire time, even though he was very sleepy. I just love that place for lunchtime!! Now that I am not teaching anymore, it still feels strange to be able to go out to lunch during the week. I got so used to brown bagging it all those years as a student and then as a teacher. It is really nice! On Saturday, we are taking Whit to his very first Georgia Tech football game, and we hope our Jackets will defeat Mississippi State. Sorry, Becca! My cousin is a senior at MS State, so I feel badly for her that her team is going to lose! Just kidding, Bec!

Happy birthday, Aunt Hilly! (aka Sissy)

2008-09-16T07:35:00.002-04:00

Dear Aunt Hilly,

Happy birthday to the best aunt in the world! Thank you so much for baby-sitting me with Grammy and Poppy and for always showing me how much you care about me. I am so lucky to have a caring and loving aunt like you! I can't wait to see you again soon!

I love you,

Whit

Whit decided he wanted to show Aunt Hilly how much he loves her by writing her a sweet birthday message, so now it is my turn. On her 23rd birthday, I want to take time to convey some thoughts regarding my only sibling, dear Hillary. When I was 3 1/2, Hillary was born, and for about 5 minutes, I was a very sweet, helpful older sister. Then, I think I realized that I could manipulate and boss my baby sister around whenever I wanted! And so, the imaginary "Little Girl" was born. Anytime I hit or otherwise hurt Hillary, I would blame it on this imaginary person I called Little Girl. I would always say, "but Hillary, the little girl did it!" She believed me until she was about 5 or so, and then she finally caught on that I was actually the bad one! Unfortunately, until Hillary was about 13, we fought like cats and dogs over anything and everything. Happily, we finally started getting along much better when we both reached a more mature point in our lives. Since then, we have had our fair share of fights regarding such important matters like who took whose clothes without asking, but for the most part, our relationship has become extremely close and wonderful. Hillary truly is not only my sister but also one of my closest and dearest friends, and I am so lucky to have her in my life!! I love her so much, and I am very proud of the person she has become. She is a wonderful daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and teacher, and I am so thankful to have her back living in Atlanta so that she can play an active role in Whit's life. Happy 23rd birthday, Sissy!!! I hope it is fabulous in every way!

QT with the Fam!

2008-09-15T07:36:00.005-04:00

This weekend, I was able to soak up a lot of quality time with Scott, Whit, and Tilly, and it was so wonderful. We have been incredibly busy lately, so it was lovely to just be able to relax on Sunday afternoon and evening and enjoy each other's company. Scott is so busy during the week with his 10 hours of tutoring, his afternoon help session once a week, and being the co-sponsor of the Academic Bowl team, (yes, that is as nerdy as it sounds! just kidding!), and Whit and I don't get to see him nearly as much as we would like, so weekend time is sacred! Luckily, Scott intentionally made sure that his schedule allows him to see Whit every day after work for at least a couple of hours. Unfortunately, that means he often goes out to tutor after Whit goes to sleep, so I end up seeing him less, but you gotta go what you gotta do, right? :)

On Saturday night, Scott, Sara, and I went to Dorian and Michael's reception, and I had such a wonderful time seeing two of my favorite girls and reminiscing about the past 10 or so years of our friendship! Dorian and Michael were actually supposed to get married this coming January, but at the last minute, they decided to elope! They were married on May 17th in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Because they didn't have a regular wedding, Michael's parents decided to throw him and Dorian a super casual reception at their home, and it was great! Being with Dorian and Sara reminded me of the power and importance of female friendships. God has blessed me with the most amazing circle of friends, and Dorian and Sara are two of the best friends I have ever had. We have been close since I was 17, and they have definitely been there for me in good times and bad! I hate that I don't get to see them and some of my other dear friends more often, but when I am lucky enough to see them, it is like no time has passed at all. I have found over the years that the old cliche, "real friends are rare to find" is so true. In light of that, I dedicate this post to my nearest and dearest pals! Thank you for being there for me always, no matter what. I love each of you with all my heart!

You Gotta Have Friends!!

2008-09-11T19:30:00.003-04:00

When I made the decision to stay at home instead of putting Whit in some form of daycare, I wanted to be sure that he still had lots of interaction with other babies so that when it came time for things like Mother's Morning Out and preschool, he would be ready. So far, especially this week, Whit has gotten to see lots of his new friends! On Monday, Megan and Alexia came over for lunch and a playdate, and they had a big time playing with Whit's toys. On Tuesday morning, I took Whit to his Gymboree music class, and he had a great time with two "older women!" One was a one year old named Eva, and the other was a 10 month old named Elisa. Both moms were really sweet, so we had fun watching our munchkins banging on all sorts of new instruments. On Tuesday afternoon, Taina brought Pippa over for a playdate, which was great because they hadn't seen each other in a while. Can you tell Whit has lots of female friends?! Today, I hosted my Mom and Tot group, and Michele and Wills came over, along with Deonna and her daugher, Sienna, who is 18 months old. Jenny, Bree, Megan, and their babies couldn't make it this time, but the three of us had a ball. Sienna was like the little mommy of the group, giving the baby boys kisses on the forehead. It was so cute!! Tomorrow, we are going up to see all of my pregnant buddies at Autrey Mill. Lizzie is due with a girl on Halloween, Stephanie is due with a boy on Thanksgiving, Stephanee is due at the beginning of December with a girl, another Stephanie is due at the end of December with a boy, Andrea is due in January with a girl, Amy is due in February with a boy, and Tania is due in March, but she doesn't know what she is having yet, of course. Whew! Whit is about to have many more play mates soon! Can you believe I have three friends named Stephanie who are ALL pregnant and teach at the same school?!? Crazy!!! I think there must be something in the water at AMMS! Speaking of friends, I am so excited about this weekend because one of my best and oldest friends is coming into town for the weekend, and I can't wait to see her! Dorian and her new husband, Michael, now live in Charlotte, but they are coming into town for a party that Michael's parents are throwing them, so Scott and I are going. Yay for an evening among adults!

Whit's a Crawler!!!

2008-09-11T19:12:00.002-04:00

So Whit is officially crawling-yay!!! Well, he only crawls on all fours for a couple of steps and then he falls flat on his stomach. The rest of the time, he slithers across the floor, propelling himself forward using his toes and his arms, but he is definitely mobile! He can now go from lying on his stomach to pulling himself up to a sitting position, and he can put all of his weight on his arms and lift his cute little fanny way up in the air. This week, he has been learning all kinds of new tricks, and it is such a joy to watch him discover new things. I feel like I am reliving childhood, and it is the best feeling in the world! Whit is such a happy, smiley baby almost all the time, and when he is crawling around, he gets such a huge grin on his face as if to say, "yes, I am very proud of myself!" Lately, he has also started to become very attached to me and isn't fond of me leaving the room he is in even for a second. Today, we were at my mom's house, getting ready to leave, and I stepped out to put his diaper bag in the car, and while I was gone, my mom said he started crawling as quickly as he could to the door to follow me!! He is also more interested in everything I wish he took no interest in, such as grabbing at cords that are plugged into outlets and trying to flip himself off his changing table. I have had to begin changing him on the floor because I am afraid he is going to fall off his changing table. He is definitely my little wiggle worm these days!

I LOVE Fall!!

2008-09-08T07:52:00.003-04:00

Although the weather does not feel fallish here in Alpharetta just yet, I am definitely starting to feel in the fall frame of mind, and I love it!!! College and pro football are here now, we are busy planning our "Babies and Bellies" Halloween party, and we are looking at fall decorations to add to our collection. Yes, fall is officially here, even if it doesn't feel like it outside yet! Yay! I love summer, but I am ready to take Whit and Tilly on walks and not feel like I am about to pass out from the heat!

I know I say this every weekend, but I swear, this weekend passed by MUCH more quickly than I would have liked. I wish every week were a three day weekend!! On Saturday morning, we had an IHOP coupon, so Scott, Whit, and I went to brunch there and enjoyed some yummy pancakes. Whit was such a big boy in his high chair, and he loved banging on the table while we ate. After brunch, we did a bit of shopping at TJ Maxx for some fall decorations, and then we headed home to cheer on GA Tech as they battled it out against Boston College. I bought Whit a navy and white GA Tech onesie the other day that says "Growing Up on GA Tech Football," and it has a yellow pacifier on it, so I put him in that and a pair of white shorts to cheer on the Jackets. Scott had the brilliant idea to put our shih-tzu, Tilly, in a GA Tech jersey of Whit's that is still way too big for him, and she looked adorable! I believe it was our support that ultimately led to a Tech victory, actually! During the game, Whit and I got a bit bored, so we headed over to Toys R Us to meet up with my friends, Krystal and Dana. While we were at toy heaven, I bought Whit these stackable blocks that he has been loving over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. After the game, Scott met us over at the mall, and we picked out Whit's very first Halloween costume at Gymboree. Because he is just now starting to crawl, he is going to be a caterpillar! The costume is super cute on him, so I am looking forward to Halloween big time!! Actually, I am looking forward to the entire month of October because Scott's mom bought Whit these adorable pumpkin Robeez shoes, so I can't wait to put them on him along with all of his Halloween shirts!! On Saturday night, we went to a Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser at Bree and Doug's house and then took a sleepy Whit home. On Sunday, I went to my dear friend, Lizzie's baby shower with my friend, Taina, and her 8 month old daughter, Pippa, while Scott tutored. Whit got to see Grandma and Grandpa Vasey before they leave on their 2 week trip out to Seattle, so that was nice. Then, we came home and had some nice family time before it was time for bed. So long to another great weekend!

Busy Weekend!!!

2008-09-02T08:01:00.009-04:00

Wow! We sure made the most of our 3 day weekend. On Saturday morning, we took Whit to our favorite bagel shop and enjoyed some yummy cheese bagels while Whit enjoyed...well, breast milk! But, he loved watching all the kids come in and out of the store. On Saturday afternoon, we went to our friends, Bob and Tiffany's football party to watch the Georgia Southern-UGA game. Unfortunately, our Eagles were not victorious, but we had a lot of fun with our friends. Whit especially loved spending some QT with Mackenzie. They had a big time playing with some of Whit's toys, and they even attempted to crawl around on the hard wood floors. After the game was over, we left and went to The Forum for a bit of shopping. Then, we came home, puttered around the house, ate dinner, and put a very tired Whitster to bed. On Sunday, we went to the Dawsonville outlets (my mecca!) to get Whit some much needed fall and winter clothes, and we lucked out at Gymboree, Carter's, and Osh Kosh because they were all having great sales! We got some good staples, like jeans, corduroy pants, and overalls, but we also got some super cute long sleeved shirts and sweaters. We also found some Halloween and Thanksgiving apparel, which is great since this will be Whit's first of both holidays. After the outlets, we went over to my parents' house, and the whole clan was there-Mom, Dad, Hillary, Uncle Chip, Aunt Barbette, Mariette, Michelle, Mimi, and Aunt Jill. We all went swimming first, and Whit had a ball with his cousins, his aunts, and his grandmother in the pool. He just loves splashing around! After the pool, we went back to my parents' house for a yummy early dinner. On Monday, we went over to Scott's parents' house for a Labor Day picnic, and once again, lots of family members were there-Scott's parents, Tom, Megan, Alexia, Rob, and Uncle Jim. Whit and Alexia decided they both wanted to play with Scott's watch, so they fought each other for it, but Alexia always got it first! It was so cute watching them vying for the same "toy!" They also both enjoyed banging on Wes and Pam's piano; they sounded very musically gifted! All in all, it was a GREAT weekend, but as always, it went by too quickly!!

Takin' A Stand!

2008-08-29T07:55:00.002-04:00

Lately, Whit has been able to stand up while holding onto furniture, and it is so cute! He doesn't actually pull himself up yet to stand, but when I place him on the couch, for example, in the standing position, he is able to hold on for a fairly long time before plopping back down again. As far as crawling goes, this week, he seems SO close!! He is scooting around so much to get where he needs to go, and he is finally getting his butt in the air and rocking back and forth on his knees. Before, he would always stay on his stomach and scoot around on the floor. All of the moms at his Gymboree classes have babies a little older than Whit, and they assure me that once Whit is officially mobile, he will be everywhere and getting into everything, but I can't help it. I can't wait to watch my baby crawl for the first time! Scott has the video camera all powered up for such an occasion!

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, and I am so excited about having Scott home for an extra day! He now leaves our house at about 5:30am each morning, and with his tutoring schedule, he often doesn't get home until late, so I have really missed him!! We have a lot going on this weekend, so it should be a fun time. Tomorrow, we are going to our friends, Bob and Tiffany's football party to cheer on GA Southern as they battle it out against UGA. On Sunday, my parents are having our whole extended family over to go to the pool and have dinner. On Monday, we are going to Scott's parents' house for a picnic. Monday is also when the DirecTV guy is coming to hook up our HD, and Scott is beyond excited about being able to watch all of his college football in high def this year! We recently purchased a new flat screen TV, so maybe I will even watch some games with him this year! We are definitely ready to take Whit to his first GA Tech game. He already has several Tech polo shirts and even a GA Tech baby tailgating chair! My dad would cry if he knew this because he is the biggest UGA alumni supporter in the world, but Scott is a Tech grad, so Whit is destined to be a Tech fan, I guess!

Fun with the W Boys!

2008-08-29T07:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, my friend, Michele, and I met up at the Roswell Rec for a nice long walk with our boys. Her son, Wills, will be four months old at the beginning of September, and he is such a sweetheart! I love seeing his big toothy smiles when he sees his mommy or interacts with Whit. Michele and I were quite proud of ourselves because we walked for an entire hour, and that included some challenging hills and very warm weather! After our walk, we went back to my house for lunch and a play date. Wills and Whit enjoyed some play time on Whit's activity mat, and Wills watched Whit play with some of his "noisy" toys-his xylophone, his rockin' piano, and his drums. Wills can now roll over on his own, so that was neat to watch. Whit, unfortunately, kept wanting to poke Wills and pull his hair, but I think that was his way of welcoming Wills to his house! I had such a great time with Michele while the boys "played." I am so lucky to have a friend with a son close to Whit's age! Michele and I have been friends since 9th grade, but after high school, we lost touch a bit, so it is wonderful to see her on a regular basis again! 26 is pretty young these days to have a baby, so I don't have that many friends who have children yet, but I always love to get together with my few who do so we can compare notes. It is so helpful and fun! Today, Whit and I are meeting my dear friend, Erin, for lunch and some QT. Erin and her husband, Robby, have been married for a little over a year, and they are moving into their beautiful new house this weekend. Needless to say, I am always trying to convince her to get pregnant so our babies can be friends, too! I feel like I am making a little bit of headway, so we'll see! :)

A Weighty Issue...

2008-08-25T20:17:00.003-04:00

Seven months after having Whit, I still have 15 pounds to lose until I am back at my pre-pregnancy weight, and it is driving me CRAZY!!! Long before I got pregnant, I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed my children. My mother breastfed me during a time when it wasn't really "in" to do such a thing, and I really respected that. So, I read all sorts of literature about breastfeeding while I was pregnant, and Scott and I even took a "Breastfeeding Couples" class together a few weeks before Whit arrived in hopes that I would be as prepared as possible to nurse my child. (By the way, I'm still not really sure why they had a breastfeeding couples class at Northside. The guys didn't really do anything for the entire 4 hour long class, but I digress!) Even though I had already made the decision to breastfeed, I was even more excited about it when I read that nursing mothers often lose their pregnancy pounds more quickly than non-nursing moms because of the 500 or so calories burned during breastfeeding sessions. I decided that packing on 45 lbs. would be no problem because surely, I would be able to lose the weight in no time. Well, none of my trusty books said anything about how hungry I would feel while nursing!! To this day, it astonishes me how much I can eat. I thought I ate a lot during my second and third trimester, but that was nothing compared to the last seven months! (I ate very little during my first trimester because I threw up almost every day...terrible morning sickness for 3 solid months!!) Anyway, fast forward to today. I still cannot fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and as I gaze into my closet, I long to be able to put on my beloved Banana Republic jeans and my White House/Black Market tops, but alas, they are just too tight. I know part of it is completely my fault...I do not exercise nearly as much as I should, but it is so challenging when you are caring for an infant all day. I also know that I should eat more healthfully, but when you are often starving, it is hard to think clearly and rationally. So, here I am. I plan to nurse Whit until he turns one year old, and then, HOPEFULLY, I will be able to shed the last of my pregnancy weight probably just in time to get pregnant again with my luck! In all seriousness, I know that this is nothing compared to what many people in the world are dealing with right now. Part of me feels guilty for even allowing myself to rant about such an insignificant subject, but now that I have, I must admit, I do feel a bit better. I am going on a long walk tomorrow at the Roswell Rec, so maybe, just maybe, I will be able to fit into those old clothes before January 11th hits after all. We shall see!

Tilly Time!

2008-08-21T17:32:00.003-04:00

For the first few months of Whit's existence, he and our almost 3 year old shih-tzu, Tilly, didn't really have any kind of interaction with one another. Whit seemed completely oblivious to her, and Tilly would sometimes try to sniff or lick him, but she didn't show all that much interest in him. Lately, though, they have almost become playmates, and it is so cute!! Whit just loves to "pet" Tilly, which, unfortunately for Tilly, means he grabs handfuls of her hair and pulls! However, when he isn't "torturing" her, Tilly seems to really like him. Since Whit can sit up on his own now, Tilly will sometimes bring her toy over to Whit, expecting him to throw it to her like Scott and I do, and Whit will pick it up, examine it, and try to put it in his mouth before I intervene! Today, Whit actually threw Tilly's toy to her, and Tilly was so excited to have a new playmate! I think it might have been an accident on Whit's part because he didn't throw the toy to her any more times after that one occasion, but it sure was fun for me to watch! Hopefully, they will grow to be big buddies when Whit gets even older and can play with Tilly more.

We went to visit Grammy, aka my mom, today, and we had a blast together. My mom just loves Whit to pieces, and Whit always gives her the biggest smiles and seems to really light up when he sees her. He is that way with both sets of grandparents, and it is incredibly sweet. He seems to understand that they are special people, so he saves some of his best smiles and squeals for them. Hooray for having two sets of grandparents who live close by!! We are so blessed to have Scott's parents about 5 minutes away from our house, and my parents live about 35 minutes away. Plus, my sister is living with my parents for right now, so she is close, and Scott's brother and his wife only live about 10-15 minutes from us as well. Scott's younger brother has one more year at GA Tech, and then I think he will probably move closer, too. Two sets of my aunts and uncles and my grandmother also live in the Atlanta area. We are VERY fortunate to have so many family members around us!

The New Vasey Van!!

2008-08-21T17:11:00.006-04:00

Before I had Whit, I swore up and down to myself that I would never own a minivan because I had no desire to have the title of "Soccer Mom." I always envisioned myself crusining around town in a cool SUV of some sort. Since Whit was born, I have been driving a Honda Accord sedan, and it just hasn't been large enough for all the "stuff" you need to cart around with you when you have a baby. I also have a mild form of scoliosis, so it was absolutely killing my back to lean over into the backseat every day to get Whit out of his carseat. It was also almost impossible to fit his strollers, toys, and groceries all into the trunk, plus the Pack-N-Play we carry around for when we visit my parents. It was even worse when we took our trips to Lake Oconee and Hilton Head this summer; we felt like we could hardly take anything with us! Scott and I first looked at roomy SUVs, but with the gas prices the way they are these days, it just wasn't practical for us. Then we realized that since we are probably going to have another child in the near future, it made more sense to get a car that seats a lot of people and has a lot of additional storage space. Hence, the 2008 Honda Odyssey purchase. At first, I wasn't sure how I would feel tooling around in it, but I actually LOVE it!!! It seats 8 people, which we don't need right now, of course, but it will be great for when we are carpooling with other parents and such. Plus, now both of Whit's strollers, all of his car toys, his Pack-N-Play, and our huge Costco groceries fit inside perfectly!! There are so many nice safety features to it for kids such as built in sun shades for the windows, automatic locking of the doors after a few seconds (this is great for Scott because he never remembers to lock the car doors!), and you can just push a button to open both sliding doors. I could go on, but I'm pretty sure I would bore everyone to tears! Anyway, if you have a child and plan to have more, I would highly recommend the Odyssey. It is SUCH a good deal, Consumer Reports has ranked it #1 for the past five years, and Clark Howard highly recommends the vehicle as well. Some of my friends who don't have kids and my sister are calling me a huge dork already, but I don't care! I love my van, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! :)

Busy Play Date Week!

2008-08-17T14:17:00.003-04:00

This past week was quite a busy one for Whit and me! On Monday, we met my dear friend, Michele, and her three month old son, Wills, at the Roswell Rec and walked for 45 minutes. I am still trying to take off these last 18 pregnancy pounds, despite the fact that Whit was born 7 months ago. Oh, well...that's another rant for another time! Anyway, the babies seemed to enjoy the walk for the most part, but towards the end, they got hungry, so we took them to Atlanta Bread Company and fed them there while we enjoyed yummy salads and sandwiches. Michele and I were really close friends in high school, and it is so nice to reconnect with her now that we are both mommies! Whit and Wills have taken a liking to each other already, so I think they will become best buddies soon. On Tuesday, we had Whit's Gymboree Music class at 11:45am, and we got to meet two new babies and two new moms, so that was fun. Whit just loves his music class! His teacher, Miss Leigh, is so sweet, and Whit loves banging on new instruments each week. His favorites are the xylophone and the drums. On Wednesday, we went to his 12:00pm Gymboree Play & Learn class, and then we went over to Scott's mom's house for lunch and to visit with her. Pam then watched Whit for about an hour and a half while I went home and did some much needed cleaning around the house. I have found that it is quite difficult to get any real cleaning done when you have a baby, especially one who only takes 30 minute naps at a time! We also had dinner over at Pam and Wes's when Scott got there, and Pam's low country boil was delicious! On Thursday, we had a play date with Alexia, Whit's cousin, and then went shopping for some new books at The Forum. I love reading stories to Whit; it is one of my most cherished activities. On Friday, my mom was watching my 5 and 7 year old cousins for the day, so we went over to their house for lunch and playtime. Mariette is the 7 year old, and she is the most helpful little girl on the planet! She is always asking if I need her to get me anything for the baby, and she has the vocabulary of a 15 year old already! Michelle is the 5 year old, and she is just so sweet and fun. They both adore Whit, and it is so cute to watch them all interact with one another. We took them to Burger King for lunch because that is the girls' absolute favorite eatery. They had a big time playing on the BK jungle gym outside while Mom, Whit, and I watched. All in all, it was quite a busy week, but we really enjoyed ourselves!!

Fun with New Toys!

2008-08-17T14:06:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend, Whit received two new toys, and he just loves them already. One is a Winnie-the-Pooh rocker, and the other is a Fisher-Price "Corn Popper" that he loves to ride on. He is not old enough to play on these by himself without toppling over, but Scott and I have had a blast riding him around the house in his Corn Popper toy and letting him rock on his Winnie the Pooh. Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the riding toy, and thanks to Uncle Chip, Aunt Barbette, Mariette, and Michelle for the rocking toy!

I Am So Thankful

2008-08-14T11:30:00.004-04:00

When I first became pregnant with Whit, I didn't think there was any way I would be able to stay at home with him. Scott and I are both teachers, and everyone knows teachers don't get paid nearly what they should for the immensely important job they do. However, a few months into my pregnancy, Scott announced to me that he would do whatever it took for me to be able to stay home with Whit for as long as possible, preferably until he starts kindergarten. In order to make that a reality, he is now teaching 7, that's right, 7 classes at Northview High School. In case you are unaware, the regular class load of a high school teacher is 5 classes. Scott chose to teach zero period SAT Math prep, a class that meets each day at 7:30am, as well as an extra Honors Algebra II class that meets during his planning period. For each additional class you teach, you get 20% more of your income. Because Scott is now teaching two extra classes, he gets 40% more than he would just teaching 5 classes. But he is not stopping there. He is also continuing to tutor in the afternoons and evenings after work and some on Sunday afternoons. We are fortunate enough to live in Alpharetta, where many, many parents deem it necessary for their children to have math tutors. Scott plans to tutor about 10-12 hours a week. This kind of schedule would make me go crazy very quickly, but if anyone can do it, Scott can. Words simply cannot express the gratitude I feel that Scott is making these sacrifices for us. Staying at home with Whit is the greatest gift in the world, and I am so blessed to have a husband who is so hard working and willing to go the extra mile to make it happen. So, Scott, this post is dedicated to you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you do for us. Whit and I love you "to infinity and back!" You are the best husband and father anyone could ever hope for, and I truly do thank God every day for putting you in my life.

Playing with Daddy and Braving Teething Time

2008-08-13T08:03:00.007-04:00

Ever since Scott went back to work last week, as soon as he walks through the door in the afternoons, Whit's face just lights up, and he always gives huge smiles to his daddy. Their latest fun time routine has consisted of Whit sitting up on Scott's chest while Scott sings silly songs to him and moves Whit's arms and legs all around. It is hilarious!!! For those of you who don't know this already, strangely enough, Whit's absolute favorite song is "Like A Rock" by Bob Seger. If you aren't familiar with Seger's music, this song is also on some old Chevy truck commercials. One night when we were trying to calm Whit down when he was a few weeks old, Scott turned on the Ipod and started singing along to "Like a Rock," and Whit instantly calmed down. Now, whenever he starts to become a bit fussy, we sing that song, and I swear he instantly calms down! Whatever works, right?! Anyway, that song and a few others are Whit's favorites to "dance" to these days. It is always so great to watch my two boys together. They have so much fun, and the love on Scott's face just melts my heart.

As I mentioned before, Whit now has two teeth on the bottom, but we think there might be one more about to make an appearance because he has been teething a lot these past couple of days. The one thing that really seems to help him is a cold water bottle! He loves knawing on it, so yesterday, we just had to capture it on camera while he was playing in his activity center. Too cute!

We Love Bathtime

2008-08-13T07:53:00.004-04:00

Every night after dinner, I always get excited because I know what's coming...bathtime!!! Ever since Whit was a newborn, he has just loved his baths, and they have only gotten more fun as he has gotten older. Now, he is able to sit up during his bath, and he adores splashing around and playing with his tub toys, especially his Finding Nemo bath cups. He has become so much more verbal lately, and whenever he is in the tub, he just talks and talks the entire time! I love it! Here are some pics we took last night of Mr. Whitster enjoying his bathtime routine.

Hilton Head Island Trip

2008-08-11T08:40:00.008-04:00

From July 26-August 2, Scott, Whit, and I went to Hilton Head with Scott's parents, his older brother, Tom, Tom's wife, Megan, their 8 month old daughter, Alexia, and Scott's younger brother, Rob. We stayed in a condo right across from the beach, and we had a WONDERFUL time! Whit had never been to the beach before, and he LOVED it! I had hoped he would love the ocean because he absolutely loves his baths and being in the pool, and this was no exception. Right away, he loved the water and the waves, and he especially loved the saltwater! He kept sticking his hand in the water and sucking on it. It was so cute! He was also a big fan of sand, as in he kept trying to eat it! Apparently, he found it quite appetizing! We had a huge tent so that the babies could stay out for longer periods of time without being in the actual sun, so that worked out nicely. The boys built an awesome sand castle, and all these little kids kept coming up to it and just standing there in awe. Only one boy actually asked to help work on the masterpiece, though. We got some cute pics of Whit and Alexia in the sand castle, but they weren't too interested in it as a whole. The weather in the mornings was beautiful, but it rained almost every afternoon, which was kind of a bummer. The guys did get to play golf one day, while the girls and the babies went shopping and out to dinner. Scott and I even got to have one romantic night out-we went to this wonderful seafood restaurant and had a yummy candlelit dinner, and then we took a long stroll on the beach. Walking on the beach reminded us of our honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii, so we had a blast reminiscing about that amazing trip. I hadn't been to Hilton Head since college, and Scott had never been, so it was a great vacation. Having the whole Vasey clan together was a lot of fun as well, so I think this will become an annual tradition!

7 Months Old

2008-08-11T07:19:00.003-04:00

Today, my precious baby boy, Whit, is 7 months old! How could that be?! In some ways, I can't believe I have been a mommy for that long of a time, and in other ways, I really can't remember life without him! He has been such an amazing blessing, and I thank God everyday for putting this miracle into our lives. He is SUCH a sweet, fun, affectionate baby! He smiles all the time, and his laughs and squeals just make my day!

What is Whit up to at 7 months, you might ask? Well, he can sit up on his own for long periods of time, he rolls over both ways like a champ, he desperately wants to crawl, especially after seeing all of the older babies crawl around at our Gymboree classes, but those chubby little legs are just too heavy at this point, I guess! Whit also has two teeth on the bottom, and they are SO cute! Unfortunately, he has bitten my nipple a couple of times, but we're working to discourage that! He reaches out and tries to grab everything these days, and he just loves his toys. He has so much fun in his activity center and playing on his belly on his activity mat. He still nurses all the time, but he is also eating two solid meals a day-4 tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with applesauce, and then one fruit and one veggie at each meal. Unsurprisingly, he is a great eater! He is not a huge fan of green beans or green peas (like mother, like son!) but he still eats them reluctantly. He loves all of the fruits I have introduced to him, and as far as vegetables go, he really likes sweet potatoes, corn casserole, butternut squash, and carrots. He also loves when I read to him, especially the Touch and Feel books. He gets a kick out of touching all of the "animal" fur in the books. Whit also LOVES to dance! Every time I swing him around or lift him up in the air, he starts laughing and squealing with joy. He also seems to really enjoy being around other babies. I have several friends with babies around his age, and he loves to touch their faces, and whenever he and his cousin, Alexia, get together, their interactions are hysterical. Alexia is exactly one month older than Whit, so family functions are so much fun these days! Here are a few pictures of Whit at 7 months. He loves playing with his daddy and being silly!

2008-08-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ever since I was five years old, I have always gone back to school in August as either a student or a teacher. Now that I am staying home with Whit this year, it feels very strange not to be getting my classroom ready for Sneak Peek and writing lesson plans. I have had lunch with several of my dear friends from Autrey Mill this week, and I have definitely had pangs of nostalgia, but I am beyond excited about being able to stay home with my little guy. He changes so much, and I don't want to miss a minute of it!

Scott went back to work on Monday, and Whit and I sure have missed him! I got very used to having him around these last two months. I especially miss my morning naps, I must admit! Every morning since the beginning of June, whenever Whit wakes up (usually about 6:45am), I change him, nurse him, and hand him over to Scott for some "daddy and baby" time while I go back to sleep for another two hours. Oh, well. Whit is always in such a great mood in the mornings and so much fun to play with, so I am really enjoying my early morning time with him.

Today, Whit and I are going to lunch with two of my friends, Robin and Amy, and then we are going to my sister, Hillary's classroom to visit her and help her put the finishing touches on her classroom. It feels so weird to be talking about my baby sister's classroom! I can't believe she is now 22 and about to start teaching 4th grade. It seems like just yesterday we were arguing about who took whose clothes without asking! I know Hillary is going to make a wonderful teacher, and I am super excited for her. Teaching is the best job in the world, besides being a mother, and I can't wait to hear all the crazy stories she is sure to have!