Whit's New Favorite Toy!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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...

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

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?!

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!

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!!!

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...

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!

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!!!

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!

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!