The world's worst blogger....

So yeah, I'm the world's worst. New Year's resolution?

There really is so much to share... Walker's 2nd birthday, the tour of homes, and now Christmas. It has been so super busy and so wonderful! Sometimes though I wish life was like DVR and I could press pause, just long enough to get caught up and not feel like I'm rushing through each day. As I sit here tonight, with less than an hour of Christmas day left, it's so hard to figure out where the time goes. My greatest fear is not remembering every single second I spend with my precious boy. I wish life would just sloooowwwww down.

>>>>>>>Press HERE to PAUSE.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Okay, so normally I am completely against putting up any sort of Christmas decoration before Thanksgiving.  However, this year, I did it.  I put Walker's tree up last night.  I know, I know......  but let me explain!

So this year we are so excited to be on the Walhalla Historic Tour of Homes for Christmas (well, I'm THRILLED!!!  Nate, he's cool with it).  It's the 2nd week of December and quickly approaching!  This weekend, Nathan's parents are coming up to help build Walker's new playground/swing set, the next weekend is Thanksgiving/USC game, the next weekend is Walker's birthday party (at our house), and the next weekend is the tour!  I just got a little stressed out typing that...  I need to go decorate!

In shock...

So, pretty much anyone that looks at this site knows me.  But, just in case someone out there actually follows this blog and doesn't see me at least once a week...

I have some big news!  Back in late July/early August, I decided to run for city council.  It is something I have thought about for quite some time, but didn't really think I had the courage to do.  One day, I guess the moon was full,  I decided I should do it.  Many times throughout the last few months I thought I must be crazy.  But lo and behold, this past Tuesday, I was elected to the Walhalla City Council! 

I can't begin to tell you how excited, nervous, shocked, honored (name it, I'm feeling it) I am!  I really do have a vision for our sleepy little town and with the rest of the dynamic council elected, and our new mayor, I really think the next few years are going to be an exciting time for our town! 

But seriously, I'm still in shock!

It's the little things...

Do you ever, just out of the blue, look around and realize how lucky you are?  Yeah, me too. 

 "Boo" Punkin

Helping Mama make oatmeal cookies :)

Another first

Last week, Walker and I had another first.  We went to his first movie in the movie theater!  We went to see The Lion King in 3D.  I was pretty sure it was going to be a disaster, but we went with Lindsay, Max, and Lily who assured me it would be fine to leave if we had to.  To my supreme delight, all of the kids were AMAZING!!!  Luckily we had the theater to ourselves, but they were all so well behaved and watched the entire thing (though Walker decided to lose the 3D shades about 15 minutes in).  At one point, I of course got teary eyed when I realized this would always be Walker's first movie. 
My baby boy is growing up....

Walker and Max

UNBELIEVABLE day in Death Valley! It's so great to be a Tiger and even better watching my little Tiger-in-training. Today he said, "Go Tigers" for the first time. You can imagine our smiles. I say it all the time, but I am such a proud mommy! The little Tiger is asleep and a bath is calling my name. Sweet dreams :)

Wow!

What a weekend! Great friends, great football, great weather... It was practically perfect! Walker was such a good little tailgater and had a blast at the game. He somehow managed to sleep on my lap the entire 3rd quarter and spent the rest of the game watching, "ball!" Aside from being completely exhausted by the time we got home, I think he had a memorable time in Death Valley. Didn't we all?
Go Tigers!!

It's beginning to feel a lot like... FALL!

First, a little update. Walker is loving preschool! His teacher resigned after the first two days (they must have been Hell on wheels!!), but he is loving his new teacher and new class. He was moved up to the older 2 year old room. I was a little worried about how he would interact with kids that much older, but he seems to be doing great! I love that he is bringing home little art projects and notes from the teacher in his "pack-pack" every day. Not to mention I get ridiculous joy out of packing his juice box in the morning. I feel like a real mom or something!

I've been feeling pretty crafty lately, so tonight I made a little gallery for all of Walker's school projects. It is super cute and I would love to share a picture, but our stupid internet is down and for some reason, Blogger doesn't let me upload pics from my ipad... I'll try to remember to do it later.

I also just finished (yep, at 11:30)decorating the house for fall. A little early? Maybe... but I love when it is time to change everything for a new season. It feels like a fresh start. AND, it's just in time for company this weekend and cooler weather for the Auburn game. Please Lord, keep the rain away!!!

You gotta love 'em!

As previously mentioned, today was Walker's first day of preschool. Here's a text I got from my mom at 11:45:

"getting ready to pick him up. got busted watching them play. one of the teachers came over to the car and asked who we were."

I love the thought of my mom trying to look all incognito while scoping out the preschool playground! Oh, I love my family :)

I've got a feeling...

It's here. I can't believe it is here. Tomorrow, my sweet little baby boy is going to start preschool. SCHOOL! I'm going to pass out.

Last night, we went to St. John's Lutheran Church for preschool Open House. It was so cute to see all of the kids in the sanctuary for opening worship. It was full of parents trying their hardest to keep their kids entertained with food, juice, bouncing, "reading" hymnals, using the kneels as balance beams (yes, I did every one of those things!), etc. After a brief worship (though not brief enough for most of the parents), we were dismissed to our classrooms and to meet our teacher.

Walker is in a class with friends Marlowe and Eli which makes me very happy, and everyone there seemed super nice. I know I will be a wreck all day tomorrow, but I've got a feeling he is going to love it!

Not that I didn't still cry as we were reading Goodnight Moon and I was telling him to have a good first day of school... My sweet baby boy is growing up... And I couldn't be more proud :)

Tears...

Update and Tiger Tailgate

I am so happy to report that Walker has been doing great since our scary incident last weekend.  It took a day or so, but my sweet baby returned and is as happy and healthy as ever!

Tonight was our 2nd annual Practice Tailgate and it was a success.  Sadly, Mommy and baby had to cut our earlier than we had hoped (i.e. we had hoped Walker would sleep in the pack 'n' play and Mommy and Daddy could still partake...), but he was a wonderful boy while we were there and fell asleep in .2 seconds once we got home.  I am super excited about this season of Clemson football and tailgating and think Walker is going to have a blast!  At least, we are keeping our fingers crossed that this is the case!  :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

We're home!

Exhausted but doing well. So glad to be home!

What a difference a day makes...

When I was writing my last post, I had no idea what the next day was going to bring. Little did I know that 12 hours later, I was going to be called to the office and be told my baby was being admitted to the hospital. Worst moment of my life.

Walker had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Friday morning due to the coughing that started Wednesday night. Thursday he continued to cough and wheeze so my mom made him an appointment since it was going to be the weekend and so we could go ahead and get him an antibiotic or something if he needed it. When she went in, they checked his oxygen saturation and it was 84%. It should be 100. They did a chest x-ray and found some infiltration (pneumonia) and gave him a breathing treatment. His sat. still only came up to 92%. This led the doctor to make the decision to admit him.

Long story short, it is Saturday night, and my sweet baby is still lying in a hospital bed. He has been doing great during the day, but his sat. dropped to 86% last night, so we had to stay again. If we can make it through tonight without it dropping, I hope we will be home tomorrow... If not, we'll see.

Obviously, I am an emotional wreck and roller coaster. Absolutely nothing hurts more than my baby hurting or being sick. Between his puny little eyes and the multiple IV sticks, I'm not sure how much more I can take. On the bright side, everyone is wonderful and he is being very well taken care of. He has been such a big boy and has made me unbelievably proud so many times since this began.

We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends that have taken care of us and have shown such love during this whole ordeal. This is truly an experience I don't think I ever could have prepared for.

As I sit here and watch my baby boy sleep and continue to study the monitor like a hawk, I keep thinking that if anyone had ever tried to explain how much I would love this little boy, I never would have believed them... It's ridiculous and completely unable to be put into words.

Here's to a good night.

Where did it go?

Oh, Summer, why must you go so fast?  It has been a wonderful past few months, but today was officially the first day back to school for me, Nathan, and the kiddos.  It went well for both of us, but I think we are happy this is only a 2 day week.  Sometimes you just need to ease back into things.

Walker is loving going back to Nana and Papa's and has been as happy as a clam...  until last night.  After we put him to bed (which by the way, I will not talk about for fear of jinxing it again but will give a thumbs up) he woke up 2 or 3 times by 11:30.  My little buddy has a runny nose and cough.  He came to sleep with Mama and Daddy which, of course, means none of us really got a good night's sleep.  On the bright side, we were up by 5:45 and early to school which NEVER happens in this household!

It is so amazing to think back to what all Walker has learned since the summer began.  He is now saying more than 50 words and is even putting 2 and 3 words together.  Tonight, he even repeated his ABC's all the way to U.  V tripped him up and we never quite recovered :)

In 2 weeks, my precious baby will start "school."  Though I know it will be great for him, I know I am going to be a walking disaster on his first day.

Where does the time go???????

Words of wisdom...

Do not ever brag or announce to the world that your child is doing something amazing. It will stop immediately. Consider yourself warned.

The most amazing thing EVER!!!

So yes, learning to walk is a big milestone in a baby's life.  So is the first smile, first time sleeping through the night, first word... you get the picture.  But nothing, nothing I say, tops what has happened this past week.  Out of the blue, three nights ago, Walker looked at me and said, "Mama, night night." 
WHAT?!?! Is he telling me he wants to go night night??? Indeed he was and for the past 3 days and nights (yep, nap time, too), my sweet boy has told me when he is ready to go night night.  It's even right around the time he is supposed (or has been) going to bed.  This new development is phenomenal!  Even better is there is no more rocking or humming or waiting on the paci to fall out.  He tells me night night, I get him ready, put him in his crib, say night night, and that's it until the next morning. 
I rememeber how excited I have been for every little thing this amazing creature has accomplished in his one and a half years, but seriously, I think this may be the most amazing thing EVER!

I don't know what to do...

So obviously, I am the world's slackest blogger yet again... Oh well, what do you do. So the end of the school year has brought the long awaited summer and it already seems to be flying by. I am finishing up grad school and it turns out I am a statistics genius. Who knew?! I'm sure I just jinxed myself for my quiz tomorrow.
Summer also brings Nathan's annual paddling trip and while he is gone, the baby is at the beach with Nana and Papa Coach. I don't know what to do. The house is so quiet. As much as I miss them both already (they just left this morning), I am taking the time to finally get my hair highlighted, get a massage, and do school work. I'm sure it will be nice to have some "me" time, but honestly, I'm not me without my boys... Sigh.

Mother's Day 2011

It's amazing how when you become a mom, you finally realize how much your own mom loves you. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Chaos

Ready, set, VENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have approximately 20 emails I need to reply to but keep forgetting.
I just ate cheesecake and a brownie for lunch (so much for my Pippa Middleton inspiration...)
There are dirty dishes in my sink.
Easter grass is still somehow getting stuck on Walker's feet.
Laundry?  I can't even talk about it.
My dog is peeing on both rugs in my house and I'm super close to opening the door and letting her run.  No joke.
I'm supposed to be having a Derby Party on Saturday (yes, in 5 days) and still haven't gotten around to sending evites. 
I have a stack of papers the size of Mt. Everest sitting next to me. 
Grades are due tomorrow.

There you go...  Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel better.  Thanks :)

Happy Tuesday :)

Easter 2011

So, after saying this was the worst Spring Break ever, it actually ended up being a great couple of days to end it up.  Yesterday, we started with an Easter egg hunt at church.  I wasn't sure how Walker would do or if he would have any idea what to do, but that little boy figured it out pretty quickly and was running to find all of the eggs and put them in his basket. 

We also got to go to Marlowe's first birthday party!  It was wonderful and it is so hard to believe that all of these "babies" are growing up so fast!!  (PS... Stacie, your post made me cry)

Today, we went to church and then ate Easter dinner at Nana's and attempted a second Easter egg hunt.  Walker wasn't quite as excited to find the eggs today, but LOVED dumping them all out of the basket and watching Mama put them back in :)

After what I said was the worst Spring Break ever, I realize it was actually the best.  I got to spend 9 whole days with my sweet baby boy.  There is nothing in the world I love more than that.

I don't want to go back to school...

Worst Spring Break EVER

So, yes, it's official.  This has been the Worst Spring Break Ever.  Let's see, it began with Nathan calling on Sunday to say he messed up his shoulder and we needed to go to the emergency room.  A few hours later, X-rays confirmed a separated AC joint.  Awesome.  Let me just say this will be the LAST time he goes paddling at the beginning of Spring Break.  All of those projects and fun things planned, down the drain.  Instead, I am stuck with a husband who can't lift his son and a ton of things that still need to be done around the house.  Since I am being "single mom" this week, it also means I am falling further and further behind on house work and don't even get me started on grad school crap!  (deep breath) 
Okay, I'm finished.  Now off to take care of my babies :)

I'm pretty sure this is NOT how it goes...

So, I've never really given up anything for Lent.  As a Presbyterian, I guess it's just never been pushed.  But this year, I decided I would give it a try.  For Lent, I gave up buying anything to eat at school.  BUYING is the key word here.  This includes my favorite lettuce, corn, (taco "meat" if given the option) and ranch dressing vomitous-looking concoction I make whenever given the chance.  Yummmmm...... 
Anyway, the other day when the "vomit" was on the menu, for a split second, I considered getting the lunch and just not making my way through the lunch line.  Technically, I wouldn't be BUYING any food.  But then, I decided that's probably not how it's supposed to go....  Hey, don't judge!  I didn't do it :)

Hi Mom. I talk now.

So yesterday, Walker took a nap, got up, and talked.  Yep, you read correctly.  He talks now.  It's not like he is forming sentences or anything, but my child clear as day said puppy, PaPa, and hello.  He also said Aunt Stink.  Now, I realize you may think that is pushing it, but I SWEAR, the kid was talking and repeating everything!  It was unbelievable.  I, of course, cried.... 

Don't worry, Mom. I got this.

Yep, that's him.  In the pantry.  Getting his own snack. 
Damn he's cute :)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Saturday Nights...

Here is a little taste of what is happening on my Saturday night. My, my how getting older changes things (because honestly, minus the school work, I'm pretty content).

Happy Saturday to you, too!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Busy little bee...

A lot has been going on over the last week or so.  My baby got a big boy haircut and not so subtley "told" me he wanted me to bake him cupcakes.  He worked all day on Saturday mowing the lawn and even managed to work in a run.  Yesterday, he cut two new teeth and sent me a text to let me know.  Such a busy boy! 

Cupcakes, please!

Going out for a little afternoon run. 

Nevermind it's Saturday.  I have chores to do!

Is this right?

I love my baby.  I love my baby so much I can't stand it.  I'm pretty sure I tell him this approximately 100 times each day, but I still worry that it's not enough.  Sometimes I look at the kids I teach or watch the news and think, "That (insert expletive here) is someone's child."  I often wonder what their mom must be feeling or sometimes wonder what she did wrong or didn't do; though please don't think I'm judging.  After being a mom for one year, believe me, I don't judge.  I guess I just hope to not make the same mistakes...  Dramatic?  Yes.  But, seriously, I hope I'm doing this right.

Just because they're cute

A few picture from this past weekend.  Why?  No reason.  Just because they're cute :)  Hope everyone is having a fantastic Valentine's Day! 

Hmmmmm...  What can I find in here?

 Doing a little reading.

My new toy!

Yep, I'm pretty excited!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

It was bound to happen....

I know it was bound to happen, but that doesn't make it any better...  We had our first "real" accident/boo boo the other day.  To make a long story short, my baby felt out the back door.  Yes, it sounds awful, but somehow he managed to avoid knocking teeth out and only had a little scratch on his temple.  Extreme bad Mommy moment, but I guess that's why children are so resilient.  Scary, scary, scary and I'm not looking forward to the many more boo boo's I'm sure are still to come.

Mama? Oh yeah, I remember her....

I miss my baby!!!!! This semester I have class on Monday AND Tuesday nights. That means I don't get home until almost 8:30, and Walker is usually in bed by then. I seriously have not seen my baby for more than 5 minutes over the past 2 days. I HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!But, to help me remember my sweet Walker, here a few recent pics. Oh, how I love (and miss) this little boy!

Hello? Anyone there?

So, my husband assures me that no one reads this... I wouldn't either if the blogger only posted once every 1-2 months. To all of you out there that aren't reading this, I am REALLY going to try to post more often. Get excited :)