Gardner's come down with....yet another.....bad cold. :( Poor little man...he's just sneezing mercilessly and his little eyes look tired and puffy. I suppose that being sick is part of being a child...but why does he have to come down with a cold every month or so? I just finished giving him a dose of children's Dimetapp. That seems to work wonders for him. He's over there as I speak traumatizing our cat, laughing connivingly. Yesterday he kept scrunching up his nose and giving me a cute little grin....sniffing in and out as he laughed through his nose. I nicknamed it his "cheesy grin," and whenever I did it right back to him, he's throw his head back laughing. So cute. I love it that you can have little "inside jokes" with your kids. Everybody else in the world looks in and thinks you've gone mad, but you don't care....you're simply lost in the fun and wonderful moments of parenthood.
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Gardner's taking more and more steps by the day. Yesterday was by far his most walked day so far. He toddled everywhere! It's so neat to see him develop his balance as he grows. Today, he's feeling a bit under the weather. The shots he received yesterday are giving him a low-grade fever, I'm afraid. I thought we were in the clear, but when he got up this morning, I noticed his hot little head. The sippy cup battle ensues. He is drinking just enough to make me not frantic, but not enough to cause me not to be concerned. I hope this will pass soon and he'll soon be gulping down liquids from any cup I hand him. Transitions can be so difficult! I had someone (a stranger) remark recently that they thought he was a girl. He wasn't wearing blue, but still! I thought those days were over. (He was frequently misnamed a girl as a small baby.) Oh, well. :0)
Gardner's one year check-up Everyone with a baby knows what must follow a fun first birthday celebration....the dreaded first year checkup. This means more shots, which hurts me more than Gardner (my heart, I mean!). But I am happy to report that all is well with our Little G. For those of you who are detail-oriented, I will recount everything here for you. Gardner weighed 19 lbs. 9 oz. (in the 10th percentile), and he was in the 35th percentile for height. His head size was in the exact middle (50th percentile). Dr. Treash was glad to hear that he was walking, talking, responding to commands of "no," etc. He said that we should continue to see verbal progress, so that he will be saying approximately 15 different words by 15 months old. Dr. Treash did some "games" with Gardner to check his skills (clever that he turned his examination session into playtime!). He turned off the lights in the room and let Gardner play with the lighted ear scope. He checked to see
....a year ago today, continued.... ...."She said what?" I stood in the kitchen, nearly doubled over with pain. Ken hung up the phone. "The nurse said to go straight to the hospital. Let's go." Ken grabbed my bags and we went outside. I was numb with disbelief. Was this it? No, probably not. Probably a false alarm. Everybody has at least one of those, right? I didn't even care that my hair was in a messy ponytail, that I was wearing the same sweatsuit I had on the day before, and that my makeup (what was left of it) was smudged and smeared. After all, I can jump into the shower when I get back home. I thought my preconceived notions were confirmed as I laid on the exam table an hour later, belts of monitors strapped all over my abdomen, all eyes watching the screen showing my contraction rates. Nurses and doctors swept in and out, watching, waiting. Dr. Hearn came in an introduced himself (no, I'd never met him before!) and began to watch t
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, Gardner P. I cannot believe it's been a year since you formally entered our lives (even though you were in our hearts long before then). That cloudy September morning was one of the best mornings of my life...I received a gift from God that is beyond compare. I looked at you and saw a blend of Ken and I both, as well as traces of other family before you. Now when I look at you, I still see a unique blend of old and new, and it hits me all over again that you are a little piece of me. Wow. We've seen you grow so fast....words cannot express how times has flown by. We've seen you learn to talk, crawl, eat, and walk. We've enjoyed every minute of what this year brought....late nights rocking you with your head snuggled under our chins....reading to you as you hungrily turned the pages for us....shared in our mealtimes, adding so much entertainment to the mix....even holding you close when you were tired, scared, not feeling well, or hurt. We cher
A year ago today..... I was vehemently disagreeing with everyone around me who said I was really in labor. This couldn't be it....I can still breathe (sort of)....I can still talk (sort of)....I can still..... I was determined that the contractions I was feeling were just "practice ones." I was convinced that I would be later than my due date....after all, no one in my family went early, did they? (If they did, I blocked that out of my memory, because all I remember hearing was how LATE everybody went past their due dates. Certainly that'd happen to me, too. That's just how it goes.) I check and re-checked to make sure my bags were packed. I had a pile of things to add to my luggage at the last minute before heading out the door. Thirty-seven times I checked....yep, it's all there. It's ready. I'm not!!! I made sure all of his little clothes and blankets were washed and folded. Yes, they were. That meant I had nothing tedious to bide my time and get my
Two days and counting until Gardner's birthday! We're spending these last two days doing last minute preparations on the food, decorations, and party favors. He's having fun with me just riding around town and ducking in and out of stores. He's so intrigued by balloons....just wait until he sees so many of them at his own house....just for him! I'm praying the weather will be good for his parties. Doesn't look like rain will spoil it, but unseasonably warm September weather may make everybody a bit uncomfortable. It was my dream to have his parties outside, though, and I was thrilled to have a September baby so that I could do just that. I will make it work! Last minute touches on his video slideshow to do yet, still. I have had such a fun time working on this. Only two more days to be a "baby," Gardner! After Wednesday, you'll enter the wide, wide world of toddlerhood! I think I'm ready! I know you are!
Gardner gives the sweetest kisses. He has been giving mouth to mouth kisses (and mouth to chin, shoulder, nose, whatever) for months now....but yesterday I finally showed him how to blow kisses. He used to put his index finger in the corner of his little mouth and pull it out fast, with a corresponding "mmm-mm" sound. Once I showed him how to open his palm and pull it from his open mouth with an "mmm-ah" sound, he did it over and over and over. This morning? First thing. He didn't forget it. He never ceases to amaze me....or make me smile.
Gardner's taking more and more steps by the day! I can't believe it when I see him release hold of something and toddle towards another landmark. Yesterday he walked about three feet from one item to the next....and then clapped when he reached it (hm....you think he's been hearing us cheer a lot lately?). He is in a "copycat" phase. He and I sit and copy each other when he is in his highchair. Yesterday, Ken was able to catch it all on video camera as we did all sorts of funny motions, voices, and word games. He is such the entertainer. Gardner had his first run-in with one of our cats this week. Ajala, our "moody one," doesn't like to be bothered at all, especially by little people. Gardner deviously laughed as he crawled towards her. Before I could stop the episode from occurring, he grabbed her tail and her claw lashed out. She got him on the nose, but he didn't cry. He sat back, stared wide-eyed at her, as if saying, "What was
What a weekend it's been already! First of all, we were able to welcome another baby into our group of friends and home group. Lucas Danner Alexander was born on Friday, and he is precious! See pictures at the Alexander's baby blog . Gardner also got his first fork and spoon set, chunky grips for little fingers. We are beginning to show him how he can scoop up or pierce his food, and then bring it to his mouth. We are also gung-ho on transitioning him totally to cup so that we can ditch bottles at one year. So far, so good.....although cups are a lot messier for him right now until he gets the hang of it.... Let's just say that I strip him down to a diaper when it's mealtime! Last of all, Gardner took his FIRST STEP yesterday!!! Ken and I were both watching the action unfold as he played in the den, television on a strange little show called Oobi (we still can't figure out whether or not we like that show). He started dancing with his arms, standing in place....the
Well, it's here. September. The month when, one year ago, our Little G entered our lives on that cloudy morning. I cannot believe it's here....in 20 days he will be a year old. To say time flies...that is the ultimate understatement. Ken and I were just remarking last night how we can remember as if it was yesterday the morning we walked into the house with our new bundle of joy, introducing him to Odyssey and Ajala (our cats) and showing him his room for the very first time. I look at how much has happened between now and then, and how much he's changed.....it's almost hard to remember him as a helpless little infant in my arms. Yet if I try really hard, I can still smell his "baby smell," and I can hear his newborn cry. Though this reality tends to make me a little sad, I intend to revel in each day's joys that Gardner brings. Even what he's like today will be a year behind me when his 2nd birthday approaches. I can't squander time, nor will I ev