It's coming...

I get many "hate" emails telling me to update my blog. I am so sorry!!! I have gotten awful at this. School has taken a number on me. If I ever have a minute of "me" time, I am working on a paper for school. I just finished my last one... or so I think. (There is always that last one that sneaks up on me.)

I promise I will update with Easter and 9 month pictures this weekend... probably Sunday night or at least before David turns 10 months! By the way, only 21 days left of my internship!

Also, I know what you are thinking... she could be writing a pretty good blog right now instead of telling us all of this stuff! :) Actually, I am uploading all my pictures and video from the last month. So, I will stick a few pictures in here to hold you until my update.

It's gonna be good!

So Sorry...

In my attempt to stay on top of my school work and be a good wife and mom, I have neglected my blog. I have been reminded by many of you! :) I decided to glance at the blog and noticed the last update was February 17... pretty bad. David will be 10 months on the 16th!! I can not believe how fast he is growing up. He is still my baby with a few added things like... crawling like a mad man, pulling up, taking steps, saying mama and dada, copying noises that we make, watching every move that everything makes (including butterflies), and I must add... pitching fits! I am not sure where this came from... I have a feeling they are doing something at daycare. I would love to have a camera on those people. I thank them for watching him while I can not, but I'd love to know what they do with those kids. I have witnessed a few things that I did not like. Not with David, but other kids. Anyway, I can't complain because they do love David. The way he pitches his fits is funny, but of course not. I will have to get a video of it next time and get some advice from some of you as to how to handle that and break it.

We finally baptised David in February. It was so nice. We had lunch at our house and it meant so much that all of our family was there for this special day. Debbie (Matthew's mom) made the dress he wore when her children were little. All of her kids wore it and it was so special that she let David wear it too. It was absolutely beautiful! I must say, I had forgotten to take a picture of just the dress (ironed) and realized it when I put it in the car. So, that's the picture I snapped.
David has been well, except for two ear infections (that makes a total of five), for the last month! Yea! David experienced his first Snow Day! We put him in his camo fleece outfit from Big and Gainie and played for a quick second in the snow. We got some cute pictures of him and Alex.
We had cousin Jenn's baby shower...(yea, another playmate!) and David attended and was so good!
David started clapping... which I must admit, Daddy taught him to do that and there is video to prove it!

We went to the lake with Robb and Libby Crumpton and their two boys, Miller and Harris, and Claire and Michael Johnson and their little girl, Sidney. I wasn't sure how he would do in the sun, but he loved it! The debate is still out on who's skin coloring he has... Lord, I hope it is mine but it's not looking too good. :) We were there from Thursday- Sunday and I got some great pics. I must say that in all of the pictures on the boat he is not wearing a life jacket...but we do have one, thanks to Michael and Alexia!
We have a speed crawler on our hands! No, seriously... he is SO fast and not scared of anything. In this video, he was crawling towards me and then gave me a "high five," which he's also learned to do!

Any ideas????

Okay, so my precious son LOVES, and I mean LOVES the Praise Baby DVD's, still. He will sit and watch them for hours. He has done this since he was almost three weeks old. The problem... he also still LOVES this:
~the Baby Papasan~
He is okay for now, but he is getting a little big for it. What do you think? I need something to confine him in, but also something that is comfy. He likes to just "chill" and watch his DVD's. Any ideas??

Valentine's and an Eight month old...

*******For some reason, some people aren't aware that I post videos, so for those of you who don't (and it's okay), this post will have a few videos in it. All you have to do is click on the picture and it will start playing.Also, I know that I have music on my blog that automatically plays, you can hit pause on it so that you can hear the videos.*************

I feel like I always start off these blogs with ...."well, the last month..." I guess it's because I am SO busy I don't have time to post. Is it a bad thing that I often feel guilty that I haven't made any posts lately???

Oh well... The last month ;0) was really exciting. A whole lot happened with our little man! Of course, you all know that I started my internship. To be honest with you... I love it! I actually like the fifth grade that I am with and I really think I will miss them when I am finished. I finish with them in two weeks and then move to a first grade class... which I can't wait for. I love the little ones! Mommy has come home from work exhausted every night. I didn't realize how much I have going on. Kudos, kudos, kudos to those of you mothers who work. I come home, after being on my feet all day, pick up David from daycare, love and play with him, try and cook some dinner, spend time with Matthew, and then put David to bed. By the time I have put David to bed, Matthew has already gone to bed and it's time to do laundry or clean the kitchen, or do school work. I wish I could figure out how to get in bed before 11! Any ideas?? On top of that, I'd love to figure out a way to fit a work out in. My body is just sad.... so, so sad.

Anyway, on to what you all really want to hear about... my little man. Yes, I say man, because he is already showing me he is going to be a handful. David has had two ear infections, the throw up virus, and RSV in the the last three weeks. Poor little buddy. It's all because of what my husband calls, the sesspool...daycare.

*** Sesspool: Sess"pool`\, n. [Prov. E. suss hogwash, soss a dirty mess, a puddle + E. pool a puddle; cf. Gael. ses a coarse mess.] Same as Cesspool.

We are so blessed to have our parents here to take care of him when we can't. I must say, I have the day off, and it has made me realize how much I miss spending time with him. I had fallen into the habit of just getting up and going to work and I was actually beginning to like having something of my own to do. Today, in the two and half hours I have been up, made me realize how much I would love to stay home with him. I am sitting down, having a cup of coffee, listening to David snore on the monitor. Before I put him in the bed, he fell asleep on my chest while watching Franklin. I love that! I miss that! I feel like since I started back working I don't have the time to spend that kind of time with him. I am constantly thinking about what I have to do after he goes to bed. Not sure that's the way I want to live. Hopefully this economy will pick up and I will get to spend days and nights with him and my husband. Another thing I missed was answering my phone and hearing Matthew's voice on the other end. I know that sounds silly, but while I am at school I do have my phone, but we just text back and forth. There really is never time for me to talk. A minute ago Matthew called to tell me something and it was just nice to hear his voice. It brought back memories of when I stayed at home.

(After I wrote this post, I got a call that reminded me why it wasn't so bad being at work... I got a call from Matthew asking me if I had called the gas company yet. I said that I hadn't yet. His response: "Oh, you must be really busy.")

I said earlier that I would tell you about what you really want to read about and I went off on a tangent pitty party for me. So, here ya go. David, yes has been sick, but he has developed SO much! FIRST: David's first word was: "Bye, Bye" He does this cute little thing that mom taught him of taking his fingers and folding them in as he says it. I tried to find a video of it, but I couldn't. HOWEVER.... I DO have a video of his second word...the first video was the first night he said it. He actually says "bye, bye" at this beginning of the first one. The second video was last week of him saying it a little clearer.


SECOND: David got his first tooth! He actually started getting it while he had RSV and we had no clue. He started fussing one day and I looked in his month and his bottom, front right tooth was shining through. Yesterday, I saw the other one popping through. (You can kinda see it in the picture at the top of this post.) So, he won't be a snaggle tooth for too long! Since he has had his tooth, we taught him to smile funny when we say, "Cheese!" Check it out...

THIRD: David started crawling! Yes, he had been scooting around for almost three weeks. On Valentine's Matthew and I dropped him off with his DeDe and Boom Pa for our first date since he had been born. Yes, I know, sad. Anyway, when we went to pick him up, he had started crawling!!!! Here is a video of the morning after:

FOURTH: David started sitting up in the tub. He sort of "grew out" of his other tub, so we moved him to the "big" tub and he loves it! This summer will be a lot of fun!
I have been so blessed with this amazing little boy, who today, is 8 months old!

I know many of you have been wondering... where did she go? Well, I have many excuses and, to me, they are all legit! The last month has truly been a whirlwind! I am not sure how I am sitting here today... but I thank God that I am. (After I re-read that sentence I realized it made it sound like something bad happened to me... don't worry, it didn't.)

I know that I never even posted Christmas pictures. So, here are a few. I must say that Christmas was so much fun. Even though David was only 6 months old, he had a blast! Matthew and I decided not to get him anything except his exersaucer (which we gave him three months ago). That was a WISE decision. Any new parents out there, don't spend money on toys! Seriously, we could open up a toy store with all the toys David received from his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! We had so many that I had to take some to the lake and some to my mom's house. Santa did come visit! He brought David a Curious George monkey and a few books. David looked JUST like Curious George!!! Check out the picture below.










David also experienced his first New Year's with the "adults." He didn't quite make it to midnight, but he came pretty close. We spent New Year's with "Uncle" Spears, "Aunt" Meggie, "Uncle" Wylie, and "Aunt" Hilary and had SO much fun! The picture of the monitor was David at midnight!





David also got to experience his first hunting trip. Not really hunting, more like enjoying a day at the farm. We put David in his new camo that Gainie gave him for Christmas... so cute. He loved looking at the trees and sky! He even fell asleep on the bird buggy!




The weekend before I started my internship, Matthew went hunting and David, Gainie and I went to the lake for the weekend. It was wonderful! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mom. I don't thank her nearly enough, but she means the world to me! We had the best time doing absolutely nothing. We stayed in our pajamas all weekend, ate, watched some silly movie on television (that we never figured out what it was), and I actually wrote the majority of my thank you notes... I just haven't addressed them yet. Oh well. Mom put David in this tent I bought him and he thought it was the best thing he has ever seen.



At the end of the weekend, David looked like this...



Now, onto the reason I haven't been posting anything the last month...

January 5, 2009, I began the New Year with the start of my dreaded internship. For those of you who didn't know, before I had David I had been, for the last three years working on my Master's in Elementary Education. I finished my classes the week before he was born. I was supposed to have done my internship in the fall, but I decided to take the fall off and spend time with my new bundle of joy. Good Decision!!

I received my placement and I was placed at Halcyon Elementary with two wonderful teachers. For those of you who know Bobby Long, I have his mother, Nancy, who teaches fifth grade. She has been absolutely wonderful! It was truly a Godsend that I was placed with her, first. I will be with her for 8 weeks and then I will move to first grade with Mrs. Deaton. She is great too!

The day I started I also had to put David in daycare for the first time. It was awful! I guess I didn't really think about it until that day. I am not able to drop David off because I have to sign in at 7:30, so Matthew takes him every morning. Thank goodness for that! The morning I got ready to leave, I walked into the kitchen and saw this precious, oatmeal filled face look up at me and smile...I lost it! I cried all the way to work...if I had been the one who had to drop David off, I don't think I would have been able to. Well, I made it through the rest of the day and the rest of the week.

On Wednesday, David came home with the worst cold. Of course, we expected this to happen, but he was so stopped up that he couldn't breathe to go to sleep. So, it was a long three nights for us. Then we put him in the nursery at church for the second time. Do you know what happened???
You guessed it, David got sick again. On Monday afternoon he started vomiting. He threw up from 5- 12:30. It was awful! Watching a 7 month old get sick is the sadest thing I have ever experienced. Well, I was a crazed woman washing my hands every time I touched David or had to clean him up or console him. I can't miss any days at work or I have to make them up after I graduate. So, I DO NOT want to get sick! I can't.

Matthew stayed home with him on Tuesday, Debbie kept him on Wednesday, and my mom kept him on Thursday and Friday. What do you think happened next? Well, Matthew started throwing up at midnight on Wednesday and was at home sick Thursday and Friday. Thursday night, Debbie and Craig (Matthew's parents) started throwing up and they are still in the bed. David and I went to stay at my parents on Thursday and then came home to a spotless, Lysol smelling house.
The entire week has been crazy. Not much sleep around here. I am not quite sure how I haven't gotten this insanely awful virus, but whatever I did, I did a good job. I must say, I am not convinced I am out of the woods yet. I am still paranoid about touching anything in this house.

Well, that was our last month. So, if you have tried to get in touch with me and I haven't returned phone calls or missed something I was supposed to attend... the above is why. I am looking forward to having Monday off and hopefully having a much better, restful week!

Oh, and I have to end this post with a hilarious video of David. This also happened during the last month. He all of a sudden discovered that Shot was funny. Check it out.

A quick one...

Well, lately, I haven't had much time on my hands to keep this thing updated! I just thought I'd post this for two reasons....

1. So you could see that David is sitting up now... and I must say, moving all over the place. He is over you holding him... he wants to either flip over or throw his head and body backwards. Anyone else had this insane experience?????? I am sure you have. I'll be holding him and he just, literally, throws himself backwards!

2. Only in Alabama can you, in December, take a blanket outside, dress your 6 month old in a short sleeve bubble and play outside and then the next, bundle them up so that you can't even see their face!

If you have a dog... please read

Well, there are many posts I have been waiting to write, like, showing off how I am decorated for Christmas, dicussing my tonsilectomy, and explaining and showing how David, who will be six months on the 16th, SAT UP on Friday night. Yes, he did! I actually have the video of the second attempt to prove it. I wish you could see him right now. We went to dinner at the Smith's house and he fell asleep on the way home. So, Matthew goes to bed and I wake him up to get him (David) ready for bed and give him his last bottle. Well, he has to stay upright for at least 30 minutes after eating, so I get the boppy out of the closet and prop him up on it on the couch. I grabbed my computer to start writing this, and the little booger pulled himself up to a seated position and is sitting here smiling at me and making noises at me. I can only imagine what he's saying.... "Mama, what are you typing? Play with me??"

Anyway, the reason I am not writing about all of those things above is because I have been debating on writing a blog on this for a few months and tonight I had a reminder of it and decided to go ahead.

In October, I was on my way to Prattville for a Halloween party that David was invited to. I was on the interstate and passed a small, red truck with a huge bloodhound in the back. The dog was going back and forth, from side to side and an older woman was driving the car. I kept thinking to myself that the dog was going to jump out of the back of that truck. He really was bigger than the truck. Well, I got in front of the truck to take the loop from 85 onto 65. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw the truck come down the loop and the dog fly out of the back of the truck! I screamed and (I know it scared David half to death), but I couldn't believe what I had just seen. I knew that dog was going to come out of that truck. It rolled in the middle of the interstate, and somehow, every car coming towards it, missed it. It hobbled up and hobbled off to the side of the interstate. I saw the lady pull over and the last thing I could see in my rearview mirror was the lady get out of the car and run to the side where the dog was.

Okay, now, if you know me, you know I am a HUGE dog lover. I have a "baby" of my own. A yellow lab, Shot. I got him when he was 6 weeks old and raised him. He truly is my baby. He is the sweetest dog in the world and all my friends can atest to that. He will be 5 next July and I truly don't know what I'll do when he is gone. Okay, I can't even type that without crying. (side note... Matthew thinks its funny to discuss that and watch me boo hoo for hours, literally.) Mean, I know.
Anyway, after I saw the dog fly out, I was shaking and didn't know what to do. I wanted to help, but as a mother (mother's out there will understand), my first instinct went to my son in the back of my car. I couldn't pull over on the interstate and leave him in the car on the side of the road to a help a dog. It was killing me. I wanted to make sure that dog was okay. The only peace I had was that I didn't see it get hit by a car and it did get up and hobble off the road. The whole way to Prattville I was shaking and crying and on the way back, that was all I could think of. When I got back onto 85, I actually got off the exit to go back towards Prattville so I could drive by and make sure the dog wasn't lying in the grass. He wasn't.
For the next week or so, every time I closed my eyes to go to sleep I saw that dog fly out of the truck. Basically, this event has traumatized me. The whole thing came back to me tonight as Matthew and I were on the interstate on our way home. I saw a truck with the most beautiful, monster, yellow lab in the BACK! Oh, it just burns me up when I see that.
I guess my reasoning for writing this post is to plead with you dog owners out there to please not put or let your husbands put your dogs in the back of the truck. You really have no idea what they are going to do... even if they have ridden in the back millions of times, you might have to swerve or something else. Anyway, I just don't want a dog owner or another driver to have to witness what I did. It was truly awful.

I know my sister and probably everyone who reads this is probably laughing at me, but I just couldn't help it. I had to "shake my finger" for once. I don't think I could bear to see that happen again.

Take it or leave it, but, trust me, you'd be better off taking it.