My Poor Baby...

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...

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!

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!!!!

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!!!

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)

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!

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!!

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!!!

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!!

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!!!

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!!