Every Picture Tells a Story

Too many eggs in one basket

2010-05-21T14:38:00.000-04:00

So, it has been quite a while. Busy with school + not having internet = a temporary cessation of blogging. But, even though I am still very busy with school (my busiest quarter yet), I now have internet (thanks to my droid phone). I am just blogging something short because I still have many eggs in my basket to tend to today. TGIF though! In the last few months, nothing much has happened with us parents. Mike went on a camping/canoeing trip for 5 days and it was very much needed. He works so hard and his body always aches and he is always tired, so this was a well deserved break for him. He is the #1 contractor in his company and he has the highest seniority above all of the other contractors. He has also earned his ranking and seniority. I am proud of him for being such a wonderful provider. He might not want to get up every morning and do his work, but he does. He isn't lazy, doesn't expect things to be handed to him, realizes that you don't always get to do your dream job; sometimes you have to work towards it, and he always gives his clients respect and a kind face (also why he gets more compliments from clients than anyone else.) I am a proud wife. I have been doing the mom and housewife thing. Nothing new with me. I did get to watch my best friend Daniele graduate with her Master's Degree in Athletic Training from SEC. I'm a proud friend as well. Other than that, my hair is longer, I'm tanner (thank you southern sun), taking Kinesiology and Pathology in school, planning Royal's 2nd birthday party, and enjoying the day with him. Speaking of the buddy; he is still the most beautiful child in this world. He has an infectious laugh, big blue eyes, a personality like the sun (bright and warm), he loves to tell people "HI" and"bye-bye" and then blow a kiss. He says Mom, Dada, NOOOO!, loves Curious George, he loves getting books and sitting in my or Michael's lap and look at the pictures, he most favorite book is Harry the Dirty Dog, and wants to read it every night before bed. He listens to the Queen Rockabye baby cd when he sleeps, loves taking of his diaper and streaking through the house, he has giant feet, loves the water, and his hair is getting long. He tans like Me and Michael (must be the Native American coming through from both sides), if you ask him what a dog says he will bark, and what a cat says, he will meow, he is the best sleeper (from 8pm-8am.) ...I know, I would be jealous if I were you too. ha. Royal also seems to be a natural leader. He has 3 and 4 year old wanting to follow him on the play ground and do whatever he does. Maybe because he is fearless and does things on the jungle gyms that the other kids his age can't, and that most 5 years old can do. I have other mom's asking me how old he is all the time because he can climb anything and slide down the highest slide without help and can do so many things that their kid can't do. They are always surprised, and I just laugh and say, "Yeah, he has always been that way." "He's a little monkey," or "He's my speed racer." He is also a fast runner....I know this because I actually have broken a sweat chasing him across a soccer field before. He loves heavy machinery (gators, backhoes, lawn mowers) and any kind of vehicle. He will climb in the driver seat and act like he is driving, and turn up the radio, head bang to the music (yes, I said head bang). He also loves airplanes and can hear one coming before I even do, and start pointing at the sky and looking for it to fly over. It's in the genes though. My dad is a pilot, I grew up on an airstrip, and pretty much all of the family friends are pilots as well. So it's only natural I guess. He loves to dance, can keep a beat to whatever song is on, he really likes headbanging to 70's and 80's rock, and probably he most favorite song on pop radio right now is Ima Be, by Blackeyed Peas. Oh and he adores balloons right now! That's about all for now. Time to tend to those eggs.

Where?

2010-02-09T20:46:00.002-05:00

I haven't stopped blogging, I just haven't had internet. But, I will be back. ;)

Play Dough

2010-01-14T09:38:00.005-05:00

This morning I made Royal some play dough. It turned out really well. This was the recipe I used.

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1/4 tsp of lemon juice
1 cup water
1 Tbsp oil
Food coloring (I used blue, for boy of course)

Combine flour and salt in a saucepan. Mix liquids and gradually stir them into the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead until smooth. Store in a zip-loc bag.

Royal had fun with it, and of course he had to taste it. This is the face that ensued. I got curious and tasted it....disgusting. It has 1/2 cup of salt in it. That's enough to kill a horse. Ughhh.

Anyway, he even treated his new toy to a free ride down the slide and bounced with it on the trampoline. He then started throwing it and rolling it on the floor and he even came over to me and put it in my hand and get me to throw it for him. I never knew play dough could get this interesting. It made a good amount, so I just gave him a little and put the rest in a ziplock bag.

The boys

2010-01-12T15:52:00.002-05:00

Go read some books

2010-01-12T15:21:00.006-05:00

Today, Royal and I went to the local Library and got a library card. I decided that since he likes looking at books so much that we should expand his horizons in the literary area. Also, the idea of him listening to books on cd and checking out learning videos was very appealing to me. So, we got Berenstain Bear's on cd for the car, and two videos; the Beatrix Potter classics and, Old McDonald's Farm.

I think this is a place we will be going on the regular. He had so much fun playing with all of the toys in the children's area and of course running up and down the aisle's of books.

You're how tall?

2010-01-11T14:47:00.003-05:00

Before Royal was born, when Michael and I still lived in Savannah, I pretty much lived at Target. One afternoon as I waddled around, I came across this picture frame/measuring stick to keep up with your child's height as they grow. It was on clearance for $12, originally $30. It went perfectly with his little jungle animal theme, so I bought it. I haven't put pictures in it yet, but I'm doing that next. Then as he grows to the height that corresponds with the picture frame, I'll change the picture out. That way you can see what he looks like at that height and age. He hasn't been tall enough to measure him yet, but recently he is tall enough so he is just under the bottom of the frame. So, I put it up yesterday, and moved the two measurements that I had marked on the door frame of the kitchen, to the door frame outside of our bedroom. In 2 months he grew from 30" to 30" and 11/16th's. Almost 2 inches. That just seems too much. I don't want him growing that fast, but since he is going to anyway, I'm glad I get to keep track of him.

You make me feel like dancing

2010-01-11T14:38:00.001-05:00

Early learning

2010-01-09T23:24:00.000-05:00

I have spent all afternoon cutting out and laminating flash cards. I want to start teaching Royal his alphabet, numbers, colors, animals, and shapes. I just went online and searched for free printable flashcards, and there are so many ones to choose from. I have some other ones, but my mom thought the pictures would be great to use for her art class, so I let her take them to make copies of. But I got these done and this is the finished product. I bought this clear keeper to hold all of the flashcards for about 2 bucks. I can't wait to get started teaching him all of these things, and watch his sweet little mind absorb it all. He is such a smart boy. : )

I nose where it is!

2010-01-09T00:10:00.002-05:00

Royal knows where his tummy is, and this week he learned where his nose is. You can ask him, "where's your nose?", and he will point to his nose. But then, he started doing this.

He is definitely all boy.

Something doesn't fit right

2010-01-08T23:42:00.009-05:00

And I think it's Royal. He has this idea that he can ride anything with wheels, regardless of the size of it. This Fall I found him in the living room riding around on the his dump truck. He actually took the dump part off so it was just the wheels and base of the truck and then proceeded to ride around the house, pushing his way across the floor.
The other day, Michael and Royal were having some father/son time, and when I got home, Michael showed me pictures of him trying to ride his latest wheels. This tiny cardinal. He is determined to try and ride the tiniest things, as if he fits. He is such a funny boy.

Us

2010-01-07T01:19:00.002-05:00

Chutes and Ladders

2010-01-07T00:28:00.007-05:00

So, Royal has mastered his climber. He climbs up the ladder in the back and slides down the slide, then runs around to climb back up, and around and around he goes. He recently figured out how to climb the rock wall. He loves this. And of course I made him a soft space to land, AKA the boy cave, by putting a soft quilt underneath and some books and puzzles, for whenever he is tired of playing chutes and ladders.

What Santa left

2010-01-02T15:04:00.002-05:00

This year Royal got a climber (far left), a tricycle (in one of the big wrapped boxes), a mini trampoline (in the other big wrapped box), a little green battery powered 4-wheeler (center), and a new drum set because he outgrew the one he got for his birthday, (right of the 4-wheeler). He made out like a bandit.

Catch up

2010-01-02T14:11:00.013-05:00

After Royal's first birthday, I stopped writing down stuff that he was doing. I wish those baby books went behind the first year. But, I decided that with blogging I would be still be keeping up with his growing and funny stories, etc. But, since I have been MIA for the past 2 months I need to try and catch up on everything that has been going on and everything that Royal has been up to. If I don't I will hate myself later when I read back and have two months of important moments and memories of things that was not accounted for. I won't be able to remember everything, so I think it is important to write it/blog it/photograph it/tie a song to it...whatever you need to do to capture that memory.
Since the last time I posted about Royal loving to wear our shoes around the house, he still loves wearing our shoes and anyone else's shoes. He will walk around wearing them for 10 minutes sometimes without them falling off. He is pretty talented when it comes to wearing oversized shoes. Some new things that have happened are:

He started peeing in his potty all by himself at 17 months old. He will take my hand and pull me into the bathroom and lift the lid to his potty letting me know that he needs to go. He is so good too. He understands how to pee. You know what I mean? He understands the muscles you use and how to hold it and to relax in order to go. I know it can be an issue sometimes for kids to understand the feeling of having to go and how to hold it, etc. You mom's know what I'm talking about. Anyway, he has never had a problem with it. Michael and I are so proud of him. But I'm not surprised, he has always done everything a little early.
He says, "I did it,"whenever he is proud of doing something. For instance....
He started waving bye bye. Not just when you tell him to, but if he hears Michael leave, even if we are in the other room where he can't see the front door, he will still start waving bye bye. He understands what it means without seeing it or being told. Smart boy. And just this week and starting saying bye bye.
He climbs everything, to the point that we got a climber for him for Christmas. We thought we could keep him from climbing things by removing chair seats, pulling chairs and tables away from other things so he could use furniture as steps, but he figured out how to push the chairs back up to the table or stack things up to climb up on the end tables, and he figured our how to get the seat of the computer chair and put in back in order to climb up into the chair and onto the computer desk. He is just too smart. He outsmarts me all the time.
He says mama and dada if he wants us for something. When most kids learn to say mama and dada they don't necessarily direct it at you, but he finally understands that is our names and he will address us now. I love hearing him say mama.
He helps put on his socks and shirts and pants.
He likes putting the key in the front door and unlocking it and locking it. He just picked that up from watching us.
He started knocking on the front door or any door that someone else is behind. We don't know where he saw this are learned this because he just did it one day when we were coming home. Neither one of us remembered knocking on anyone's door, but if we did, it only took one time for him to see us, and he learned the etiquette of knocking. : )
He has incredible balance. He likes to rock on his rocking horse, but mostly he likes to stand in the seat without hands. He doesn't lose his balance or anything. It's pretty incredible. And he started doing this when he was about 14 months old. But, Michael was a skateboarder and I was a horse jumper, so maybe he got his great balance from us.
He knows where his tummy is.
He loves playing hide and seek.
He was a bunny for his first Halloween dressing up. So was I. He actually wore the little bonnet with ears that my mom made for me.
He started feeding himself with his spoon and doing it efficiently. He has been "feeding" himself with a spoon before he was one, but that doesn't mean that he actually got any of it into his mouth. It mostly ended up on his shirt.
Michael took me to see Jackson Browne for my 25th birthday. It was a surprise!
He learned how to ride a tricycle over Thanksgiving.
He loves playing the drums and dancing, and has really great rhythm. He will play drums while his daddy plays his baby piano and they just have little jam sessions. He will actually follow Michael's beat and play right along with him. My little prodigy.
Michael was in a Robert Redford film playing a Union Soldier and we went to see him on the set. He actually was filming on my 25th birthday.
He is learning how to drink from a glass.
He loves sitting on the counter while I wash dishes. He will open all of the canisters with the tea packets, etc. and usually I'll give him a spoon and he will sit there for a while and play.
Whenever we leave the house I'll hold his hand and he holds onto the railing and he can go down the steps like a big boy. Then he will run over to the car and try to climb in, but he is still a little to small, but he tries. It's so cute.
I had my first girls weekend with my best friend Daniele, since before I was married...so that means over two years.
I'll say hold mommy's hand and he will run over and grab my fingers. I love feeling his sweet little hand holding mine tightly. It is heart melting.
He loves to eat, a lot, and he is pretty messy. But, he is a boy, so I'm not surprised.
He gives us kisses.
One night last week he couldn't sleep and woke up about 4 or 5 times, so one of the times I was rocking him, he sat up and looked at me, and I leaned in and gave him an eskimo kiss. After that it became his new favorite thing. Now he will come up and crawl in my lap and grab my face with both hands and brush his little nose across mine. I love it. And I love him.

That is all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there is a lot more that I'll be blogging about later. I know this is a long post, but it's mainly for me. I feel better now that these are written down. : )

New.

2010-01-01T23:42:00.004-05:00

So this is the new year, and I don't feel any different. - Death Cab for Cutie

But a lot is different. It's a new decade. It's the first time that it has been the year two-thousand and double digits, it is a new month, it's a new quarter of school for Michael and me, we will be graduating this fall, our son will be 2 this year, we will have our 3 year anniversary this year, we will be homeowners for 2 years as of 2010, my dad is a widower this year, and my husband has lost his father to ALS. Grandpa Sr. is gone. He passed away December 19th after a brave and tortuous battle. A lot is different. Come to think of it, I do feel different. I feel aged in a way. I feel the pressures and stress of life, the ware and tare of loss and grief, the aches and pains you feel while watching those you love suffering, the exhaustion of being many things at once; a wife, a mother, a student, a friend, a member of society, and just simply functional. I have lost the desire to blog, for well, almost 2 months now. Life has sucked out the life of my blogging. I can't emote anymore at the end of the day to write. Or that is how I have felt. But, this is the new year, and regardless of how I feel or what has happened and now left in 2009, I know that God's promises are new every morning. This year has wonderful things ahead too, just like 2009 had wonderful things. Like, Royal's first birthday, our second Anniversary, starting Massage Therapy school (which we both LOVE), my first girls weekend away since before I got married, friends getting married, welcoming friends newborns into the world, seeing Stevie Wonder for Michael's BD and Jackson Browne for my BD, any many other wonderful things. This year is new and that carries much hope. Here's to the new year and all the new things it will bring.

Big shoes to fill

2009-10-07T01:11:00.005-04:00

Royal loves trying to put our shoes on. Every morning when Michael is getting ready for work, he sits down to put on his socks and shoes, and it never fails. Royal, runs over and puts his feet in Michael's shoes and attempts to walk around the house in them. He even has slide my mom's (Gma Tut's) flip-flops on, and could actually walk in them. He does this every time we go to her house. I took these pictures of him trying to put on my gold flats right after I took them off one afternoon.

Benefit

2009-10-06T00:15:00.004-04:00

Just to make this a little easier: when I refer to Sr., that is Michael's dad and when I refer to Jr., that is Michael, (my hubs).

Michael Sr. was diagnosed earlier this year with ALS. Most of you (our close friends) know this, but recently Nancy (Jr.s stepmom) made a website for Sr. It is a caringbridge site which shares information with family and friends about how their loved one with an illness is doing, if they do not get to see them on a regular basis. This month is a special month for Sr. as it is his birthday this Thursday, Oct, 8th. But, on October 17th, there is going to be a benefit in his honor in Charlotte, NC. It is the ALS/Fleming Benefit, and we are so thankful for the great honor in his name. Jr. is singing at the benefit at his Dad's request. Jr. is a phenomenal singer and as I call him a songbird. He was actually a vocal major in college and sometimes when I hear people singing on the radio, I think, "man my husband can sing as well as that and better." But, he is not as boastful (I call it proud), as I am about his amazing gift, so you will rarely ever hear him sing....except when it is for a great reason, like a wedding, church, worship, and in this case Sr's. benefit. So, go and check out his caringbridge page, and pray for our family! God is good.

Lollipops and Popsicles

2009-10-05T09:17:00.009-04:00

Last night Michael had a lollipop and this is what happened after we let him have some. It all started with coveting Daddy's sucker.

Not wanting to share AKA selfishness

Finally sharing...reluctantly AKA being a little greedy

Daddy didn't give it back soon enough AKA impatience

Got it back....now he is happy, AKA spoiled

After we told him he couldn't have anymore AKA pitching a fit and not being grateful.

I thought this was a funny visual of how even the sweetest little ones are still sinners in need of God's grace....and lots of hugs and kisses from Mommy and Daddy. : ) It's hard to learn to be grateful for what you have, to give what you have to others, to give with a joyful heart, to be patient, and to learn that you can't have everything that you want. It's OK little Royal, we are still learning these things, so you are in good company.

After dinner we did give him a fruit juice popsicle, and he loved it.

Time to potty

2009-10-04T23:45:00.003-04:00

So, Michael and I decided that maybe we should introduce Royal to the idea of potty training. I don't have any grand expectations, but we thought since he keeps taking his diaper off and if he is in the tub he will stand up and pee, then maybe he understands the potty thing a little more than we give him credit. We also know that boys are supposedly harder to potty train, so we might as well give him all the time he needs to get used to the idea, and just get a head start on it. My MIL, Debbie, said that Michael was PT before he was 2, so maybe he will be also. Anyway, so far he really loves the little potty Michael picked out. He keeps sitting on it, and then putting toys in it (which we are telling him is a no no), and he even likes it so much he already bit a hole in it. That's right, a hole, in the soft seat part. Oh, well. It adds character. He loves it so much that he has been putting it on his push car and driving it around the house. Hopefully, he loves it so much, he will want to "use" it like a big boy.

Playing

2009-10-03T21:34:00.000-04:00

One great thing about living next to an elementary school, is that Royal has his very own playground every afternoon. So, the three of us decided to go play!

Keeping up with my life for the next year

2009-09-25T22:11:00.012-04:00

I know this might seem like a ridiculous thing to post about, but I have a lot of friends who are also moms, and I thought they might want to know about my favorite planners, that are cheap, and so cute. Anyway, now that I am going back to school, and am a wife and mother, I have to have a planner to help me keep up with everything. I am a list maker and I always had one in college. I came across these planners a few years ago at Barnes and Noble and they are my favorite of any that I have ever had. They are made by Silver Lining, and all of the covers are so vintage, artsy, and original.

I used to have this one but I lost it at some point between school, getting engaged, planning our wedding, and then getting pregnant. I know....just when my life was the most hectic and I needed my planner more than ever. Well, today I was in Savannah and saw the shelves full of these very cute planners. Needless to say, I was so excited and thankful that I discovered them again. And just in the nick of time, because school starts Monday, and this is what is going to help me keep up with my busy and wonderful life for the next year.

I really liked this one but this one was my favorite
and the one that I got. I mean come on, how cute is this cover?! So, if you need some help keeping you life in order, these planners are perfect.

Human jungle gym

2009-09-25T21:23:00.003-04:00

Remember how I posted about getting Royal a little climber to put inside since he can't stop climbing everything else. Well, we haven't quite gotten that yet, but he found something else to climb. ME! I layed down on the floor to play this afternoon, and he decided to sit on my back, then proceeded to stand on me and jump in the air and throw himself down on my back really hard, like a wrestler pile driving the competitor. We, need to get that climber.....NOW! He has so much energy. I didn't mind him using me as a human jungle gym though. He would lay on my back and then peek over my shoulder and smile at me with the biggest happiest little face! I love this boy! What a wonderful soul God created.

Laughing at the pain

2009-09-23T14:17:00.005-04:00

Yesterday my friends, Laurel, Charlotte, and I, (and of course the kids), all went to play at the Brooklet playground. I didn't bring Royal's shoes with me, but thankfully Charlotte's son Roland and Royal can wear the same size shoe (even though Roland is 11 months older.) I know, it's crazy. The shoes were crocs, and Royal loved them and did really well running around in them. Looks like we are gonna have to get some of those! Anyway, at some point Royal kicked off the crocs, and I let him wander around by himself, to do some big boy exploring. It was hard for me, because I wanted to stand over his shoulder and make sure he didn't get into anything that could hurt him, but I thought, I have to let him go a play by himself at some point. And he wasn't walking far away from us (we were sitting on a quilt watching the kids). After about 15 minutes of exploring and taking in the world, he toddled back over to the quilt. I immediately saw his right foot! It was red, swollen, and covered in about 15 fire ant bites! My heart sank. That is why I wanted him to wear shoes, but he kept kicking them off to play with them. Oh, well. He never even cried out there whenever they were attacking his sweet little foot. In fact, he was laughing to himself most of the time he was walking around because he was having so much fun! I guess he was just laughing at the pain. My sweet boy, always happy! This was his foot after I got home. This picture doesn't show the redness, but you can kinda tell his big toe is swollen. It isn't red anymore, but the bites are turning all pussy and white, and bumpy. He never cried, and he didn't have any kind of an allergic reaction, so I have just been putting a little Hydrocortisone on his foot, and I gave him some Tylenol last night before bed. My little tough man.

Just mowing the grass

2009-09-22T21:22:00.006-04:00

My mom and I went out to my uncle Phillips land this afternoon to hang out. Royal loved being out there. He loves the country as much as his momma! : ) As soon as his feet hit the ground he was running towards the lawn mower. He climbed it (of course), and sat up in the seat and grabbed the steering wheel as if he has been driving his whole life. How do children know how to do these things? It must be inherent. Anyway, he was joined by some horsey friends too! He had so much fun! And you can't drive your mower without your sippy cup, just in case you get thirsty.

New Shoes

2009-09-22T14:18:00.004-04:00

Michael took Royal to Walmart with him the other night, and when he got home he told me "they" had a surprise for me. Michael had gotten these adorable little loafers for Royal. He said that when he put them on Royal in the store, he just ran around, and kept looking at his feet. So, he had to get them. They are nothing special, just plain brown, but I think they are pretty freaking cute!

Monkeyin Around

2009-09-22T14:13:00.002-04:00

The Most Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

2009-09-20T23:31:00.002-04:00

Michael made these last night, and they were pretty incredible, so I thought I would share the recipe.

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 T. molasses
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips

*In a mixer, cream the shortening and the sugar until well combined. Make sure there is no sugar unmixed.
*Add the molasses (or syrup in our case), eggs, and vanilla. Stir well until the batter is dark in color.
*Add the flour, quick cooking oats, and cinnamon. Stir well. Add the chocolate chips slowly and stir. Do not overmix the batter at this point.
*Preheat your oven to 350*. Drop cookie batter by tablespoonfuls on a cookie baking sheet (we use a melon baller-it's the perfect amount). Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
*Remove cookies onto cooling racks. At this point, the cookies WILL be soft and mushy. This does NOT mean that they need to bake longer. The cookies will harden on the racks.

I have no pictures because we ate them all, but if you were at our Church lunch today then you had them. Put it this way, we took a large tray full of them, and went home with zero! They are that good!

Hello?

2009-09-20T22:32:00.005-04:00

Royal has started putting everything to his ear and talking on it like a phone. It's so funny to watch him talk into the camera, his thermometer, his sippy cup, another toy, etc. and just babble away like he has the most important information in the world to share.

Play Day

2009-09-18T23:05:00.010-04:00

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I get a chance to have a whole day to myself to just go and do and play. Like last time, the first place I went was Barnes & Nobles. I love just parusing the books. I looked at baby name books, kids books, massage books, yearly planners (there are some cute ones out), Christian books, and magazines. After being there for and hour and a half, I went by Zaxby's and got a "zalad," (ha), and then went to Babies R' Us. Now, the BRU that I remember when we lived in Savannah has been overtaken by this AMAZING, new, spacious, stocked with the best baby gear, Babies R' Us. I was in baby product heaven! I am not kidding. They even had the baby bottles that I had to special order for Royal when I was still pregnant because they were not sold in stores. They are the best bottles for breastfed babies. They had them and they had the new design. And they are so cute. This is the new MAM bottle design. Recently I came across these bottles that are expensive but a new design in bottles. They truly are most like the breast and if I had known about them for Royal, I would have gotten them instead. Well, they had them there as well. That completely blew my mind. I guess I will have to wait for the next baby to get them. They are called Adiri Natural Nurser Bottles. Anyway, enough bottle ranting. The point is, they had stuff that normal stores don't have, and stuff that they didn't even have a year ago. I was impressed! Can't wait for a reason to go buy more baby stuff. : )

A duck says?

2009-09-18T22:55:00.002-04:00

Royal said his first animal noise tonight. He has a duck hooded bath towel and whenever we get him out of the tub and wrap him up we put the hood on his said and show him what he looks like in the mirror and say, "Quack Quack!" Tonight he repeated me about 10 times. It was so sweet, and as Michael said to me right after it happened, "mommy's heart just melted." And it did. : )

When you gotta climb

2009-09-17T20:20:00.011-04:00

You need a little climber. Well, I have a little climber, but you need a little climber toy. Royal just climbs everything. I don't think that getting an indoor climber will stop him from trying to climb on the chairs, couch, tables, us (ha), I just hope that we can start teaching him that those other things are not for climbing, but this is. Sorta transferring the energy from what he can't climb to what he can. It will also be something safe for him to climb and it will be a great way for him to tire himself out for his nap. :) Now the question is, which little climber should we get? There are a bunch of cute ones that I know he would love. These are the three that I really like. Any ideas?

Koala Climber Castle Climber Kangaroo Climber

Excuse me mam...your baby fell over.

2009-09-17T13:36:00.004-04:00

Let me explain. And don't judge me. Michael usually switches the carseats depending on which care he needs for work. He hasn't been strapping the seat down because his hands are to big to push the belt through the back of the car seat, so he puts the seat in the car and I'll strap it in later. Well, I showed him yesterday a way for him to strap it in without having to put your hand through the back. So, today I just assumed that he had strapped it in since he could now, and I didn't even think to check if it was. I strapped him in, drove to McDonald's to get an Iced Caramel Coffee (so good!), and as I paid the lady, she smiled at me and then looked in the back seat. Now this happens every time, and the lady at the window will say something like, "Oh, how sweet." He is so beautiful", "What a cutie", etc. That is what I expected today. Instead, the lady, looking at me with this sheepish grin says, "Excuse me mam, your baby fell over." I frantically turn around to find Royal, strapped securely in his car seat, but not his car seat strapped securely to the seat. The whole thing was laying on it's side and he was just there, with his paci in his mouth and his hands together. His expression was like, "What? I always ride like this." It freaked me out completely. But, I think that was what was so funny He had no problem with it. Luckily I happened to be on the phone with Michael at the time, so I exclaimed, "Honey, you didn't buckle the seat in?" He was laughing and felt so bad. But, the way everything happened made the situation so funny. Like I said, don't judge me. I still feel terrible. Good thing I wasn't driving down the interstate. I felt so mortified, like the worst mother, but Michael made me promise to blog about this, knowing that it has happened to other parents out there. So, have a good laugh. Your welcome.

Our 2 year Anniversary date

2009-09-16T12:21:00.009-04:00

Michael and I went on our Anniversary date last night. This is the first time we have actually celebrated our Anniv. by doing something. Last year we celebrated at home. We ate the top of our cake and drank the champagne from our wedding night suite that we had saved. Last year for our first anniversary, we had a 7 week and 5 day old, sweet little boy...who was the best Anniversary present we could have asked for. But, because we didn't want to go to far from our sweet little bundle, we just stayed at home. This year he is 2 days from being a 14 month old running, energetic, babbling, hugging, little boy. So, we went out! We went to eat at French Quarter Cafe, where we hung out one time when we were "getting to know each other." So it holds a little special place in our hearts.

We always get the Shrimp and Grits to pay homage to our reception. And if you were there, you know how amazing the shrimp and grits were, not to mention the whole reception. I even have some friends (you know who you are, "Kelly";)), who do not like S&G, and loved them at our reception. It was extra, but it was a gift to our guests, and man we were glad we added it to the list.

On our honeymoon

Last night: notice something similar? : )

We drank some beer, enjoyed our free time together, and then we made our way to the bar to play KENO! Ha, I know, sounds dumb. But, we did not want an agenda. We both just wanted to do whatever came to mind....and well this was it. We didn't win anything, but afterwards we bought a Mega Million ticket and got outta there. No, we didn't win anything there either, but we have the tickets as a memory of our 2nd Anniversary. Went left there and went straight to Starbucks, where funny enough, I saw that they are selling this. It's their Anniversary Blend. How perfect! But, we got Caramel Macchiato's instead, with a double fudge brownie (not that great), and a coffee cake something or other (AMAZING!!!!) We made it home at 10:30, sat outside and drank some champagne. It was a great night!! Happy Anniversary to us!

Accepted part II

2009-09-16T02:22:00.002-04:00

Michael got accepted into Massage School too!!!!! I'm so excited to be going back to school with my hubby.

Two years ago today...

2009-09-15T10:55:00.005-04:00

I WAS GETTING MARRIED!!! Happy 2 year Anniversary Hubs! I love you!

An afternoon snack

2009-09-12T15:23:00.007-04:00

I love throwing down a big heavy blanket and sitting with Royal while we watch some baby shows, all cuddled up. We do this every morning, and it is one of my favorite times of my whole day. He looks like a little king, all catered to, laying on his makeshift bed with his juice, a pillow, Riff-raff (his giraffe), and his blanket. What a life! Anyway, this afternoon we had a snack on his little blanket consisting of homemade banana bread and cantaloupe. He ate, I ate, he fed me, I fed him. It was a great little snack. I love memories like this. I will always cherish little afternoon snacks with my buddy.

Accepted

2009-09-10T23:12:00.006-04:00

It looks like I'm going back to school. I have been accepted to Savannah School of Massage Therapy! I had my interview on Tuesday morning, and I got my acceptance letter in the mail this afternoon. They didn't waste any time did they? I am very excited about school and my future career as an MT. I have been praying for some guidance in finding a career in the health care area, while still be at home with our son/future children. I really miss being a part of the health care field, so this is a BIG answer to prayer for me, and Michael as well, because he also applied to go!! He had his interview this afternoon, so we will hopefully be in school together. How fun! Married, with a baby, and studying for class together. Not to mention lots of practice = plenty of massages. : ) And yes, after we graduate we will give our friends and family plenty of massages. We are so excited about this new endeavor and can't wait to get started. School starts September 28th, so only a few weeks before I gotta hit the books. It's kinda fun to think that I will have three letters added to the end of my name in just a short time. Marissa Fleming, RMT. : )

Every boy needs a fort

2009-09-10T21:01:00.006-04:00

Michael made Royal's first fort this morning. He LOVED it!! I just enjoyed watching a father and his son do boy stuff. It's so cute to see Royal do things that are for lack of a better term, "all boy," if you know what I mean. He and his daddy will kick a mini sized soccer ball around the house, they rough house and play chase, and now play fort. I just love all of it!

Chair makeover in under 5

2009-09-09T12:57:00.007-04:00

Royal loves to pull the seat out of the computer chair. Unfortunately, the fabric it was covered in was only pinned on, so there were exposed pins that he could potentially stick himself with. We always had to break his heart and take the seat away. Today I realized that I got a "girl" tool kit for Christmas (don't know why I didn't think of this before), and it has a little staple gun in it. I also realized that I have a bunch of material and fabric, so I should just recover the seat. And this is how it turned out. I love this vintage fabric, and it goes great with the other vintage floral patterns in our living room. None of the floral is matching, but they all compliment each other, which I love. Here is the original fabric, which I liked a lot too, but this new pattern meshes better.

Who knew Angel Soft could be this fun!

2009-09-06T18:00:00.003-04:00

Soakin up the sun

2009-09-06T14:06:00.009-04:00

I took Royal out to Mill Creek Friday afternoon so big he could run around and feel the early fall air on his sweet baby skin. This was the second time this week that we have gone and he just loves the open space and soft grass. He has so much fun. He just ran around and I didn't have to worry about him getting into anything since we were on the soccer fields. I just threw a quilt on the grass and laid there and watched him have the best time.

After we left MC, I went by my moms to let him play in her bird baths and run around in the backyard. He always has fun playing at Grandmas house. She has lots of flowers and plants to pull the leaves off of and he loves to grab handfuls of dirt out of the potted plants. I love watching him explore his world around him and just take everything in. It's very calming to watch his innocent eyes and tender hands enjoy and embrace the little things around him. He brings such joy to me and his Daddy. Oh sweet boy, you are wonderful!

Banana Bread

2009-09-02T15:20:00.003-04:00

I know it's only the beginning of September, but it feels like November outside. So I couldn't help but bake this afternoon during Royal's nap. So I made some Banana Bread. Here is the recipe. It's very good!!

1/2 c. yogurt
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. milk
1 c. applesauce
2 mashed bananas

Cream yogurt and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. In a separate bowl, stir dry ingredients together. Add the applesauce and bananas to the creamed sugar mixture. Then mix in milk. Add dry ingredients and beat until well mixed. Pour batter into a well greased and loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Just another day at the office part II

2009-09-02T14:59:00.007-04:00

You might remember this post back in March. Well, since he has gotten bigger since then, he needed a bigger work space and bigger computer to work on. ha. He somehow climb up in the chair and was playing on my computer. He is too smart. He might be smarter than me at this point. I always try to outsmart him, but he usually figures out a way to get around my attempts. He is definitely all boy, that's for sure. Oh and one more thing...no pants are required to work in this office.

To the day

2009-09-02T14:25:00.006-04:00

I thought it would be cool to see what I blogged about this day, September 2nd, last year. I posted this and this. I can't believe the change. He is still so beautiful! Image taken from iheartlinen.

Getting into or onto everything

2009-09-01T21:47:00.003-04:00

I don't know how he does it, but Royal seems to be able to get into or climb onto anything and everything. He can climb on the couch (and off of the couch by himself), onto the chair at the computer table and then onto the computer table itself, the rocking chair in his room, he will climb under the top of the coffee table and behind it as to reach the drums to the Rockband, he has jumped out of the tub (and luckily we caught him) 3 times now, and he can climb into his highchair by himself. We found this one out after Michael came out of the kitchen to find him standing in his highchair. Terrifying!! He also likes to rock on his rocking horse standing not sitting. I tried to make him sit down, but he was determined to stand. Eventually as a parent you have to let them learn the hard way. I decided he would either fall or have impeccable balance. It seems he has the later. And now with his amazing balancing skills he has decided to take on everything else in the house. What am I going to do with him? He has so much energy. Oh, and for anyone that has seem him after church, he heads straight for the alter steps and climbs up them, then down them, then up, then down, about a bagillion times. We don't have steps in our house, so I don't know when he learned and perfected the act of climbing steps, but he has. I guess some things just don't have to be taught. They are just inherent. Anyhow, at the rate my little man is going, I'm going to come outside one day, to find him high in a tree.

Going,..going,..gone.

2009-08-17T14:09:00.010-04:00

Royal loves cheese toast...and he eats it for breakfast almost every morning, and sometimes for dinner. He started eating it when his Grandpa Sr. came to stay with us for a few days. Gpa Sr. eats it for breakfast when he is home, so we made him some while he was here, and of course we gave Royal some.Thats where his love for cheese toast started. He can eat a whole slice and a half. This was him this morning. He kept coming back for more until there was only one piece left.

Five pieces left (and he had already eaten one corner piece already, so this was piece #2) Four pieces left (#3 for him) Three pieces left (#4 for him) Mouth stuffed full of cheese toast, and coming back for more. He is such a little pig. : ) I didn't give it to him fast enough so he started crying, as if he's starving or something. ha! I ate one of the pieces so there were only 2 left at this point. (piece #5 for him) Happy boy! (and this was piece #6)

She's a little runaway

2009-08-07T21:08:00.007-04:00

Michael doesn't work on Friday's usually, so today he told me to take off, get out of town, and runaway. So, what's a girl to do with no responsibilities, no baby, no nothing holding her back. Go to Savannah of course. I jumped in the car and with my new freedom, I stopped by McDonald's and got a Iced caramel coffee w/extra caramel on my way out, and then I hit the road. I went straight to Barnes and Noble (I love B&N), and spent about 2 hours in there. I perused the baby books, Christian living section, craft books, journals, daily planners, cookbooks, bestsellers, and even the psychology section. My last stop was the music area where I hunted down the new Phoenix album. It's amazing! This was a present for Michael really and luckily I got it because it was the last one they had. I bought a book for me as well. It's called Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. I can't wait to read it.After that I made my way farther south side to look for some fabric from Hancock's. I have been making some buntings for people (birthdays, decorations, nurseries etc.) It started when I made one for Royal for his birthday and then I got some requests, so I was on the hunt for some cheap and cute fabric. I didn't find anything because it was all $2.95 a yard and up. Oh, well. After I left, I realized I did not eat anything for lunch (I was to busy in B&N) so of course I ate something completely unhealthy. I went through Wendy's and ordered off the dollar menu. It felt like college. ha. I was planning on going to Once Upon a Child, but the sky was dark with rain clouds and I was not wanting to spend anymore money, so I headed home. It was fun just getting out, running around, and consuming terrible food, and I am very thankful to my hubs for letting me runaway, even just for the day.

I started when I ran out

2009-08-07T00:18:00.002-04:00

I ran out of diapers Wednesday morning. I put his last diaper on Tuesday night for bed and Wednesday morning I thought, "Oh I have a few in his bag." Nope. None in there. I was truly out of diapers. I started to panic, but then I realized I had his cloth diapers. I almost gave up completely on them after he got a terrible diaper rash after using them when he was around 3 or 4 months old. But, I set them aside in hopes of trying them when he was older. I'm glad that I did, because after the situation Wednesday morning, they came in handy. I have been using them for two days now and they are working beautifully. He looks so cute in them too. They were cute when he was an infant, but they are super cute now that he is running around the house in them. The only thing that I don't like is the smell of them. But the only time they smell is after he has slept in one all night. Other than that, he smells like a pretty baby boy! I have 9 of them, and that number seems to be the perfect amount for right now. Hopefully he won't start going through 6 a day though.

Thatsa Spicy Meataball

2009-08-06T20:35:00.003-04:00

Last night Royal had Spaghetti and meatballs for the first time. And he got it everywhere. But he loved it.

What's up!?

2009-07-30T21:03:00.009-04:00

Oh, nothing much.

Just wearing daddy's shirtEating bubbles Trying to open the door Smiling and being cute Brushing my teeth Plundering Going through my clothes AKA (pulling them out onto the floor) Sleeping after doing all of that!

How long I've waited...

2009-07-30T20:49:00.003-04:00

You have no idea how long I've waited to have a pony tail again. OK, so maybe you do if you know me. It's been since last year. Now, this is not much of a pony tail, but it is a little one, and that thrills me to no end. It's progress. Progress that I can see! Look!!

New Look...again.

2009-07-29T13:48:00.002-04:00

So it has been 4 or 5 months since I changed the look around here...so I thought with the changing of the month, I would change my blog a bit. It's more summery (if that's a word), and I will switch it up again, I'm sure, before Fall. Anyway, here's to a new background.

Son

2009-07-28T14:43:00.008-04:00

I know this is late, but I have a twelve month old that can run, so, here it goes. Royal, you had your one year check up last Tuesday and you got to stand on the scale this time because you are a big walker now. You weighed 20 lbs. 6 oz. That is twelve pounds and some change gained compared to your 7.8 lbs a year ago. You are 29 inches long which is crazy to think since you were only 20 and 3/4 at birth. You just have a little bit of white blond hair covering your sweet perfectly shaped head. You have the most beautiful blue eyes...everybody says so. I hear it a lot. "He has amazing blue eyes!" I just think to myself, I know! They are the most beautiful blue God ever made. Your smile makes others smile. It is contagious to say the least! You are just so full of joy all the time. You love life and smiling and laughing and hugging and I also hear from people, "He is the happiest baby." I wish my kid was that happy all the time." And I think, I know! He is the most joyful little soul I have ever met! You are an amazing eater. You love cheerios, apples (the whole apple), prunes, avocado, goldfish, cheese toast, oatmeal, grapes, beans, peaches, yobaby yogurt, applesauce, rice, noodles and cheese, and many other things. You were never fond of your sippy cup until recently (thank goodness), and you love to drink apple juice and zoelife. You sleep through the night, usually from 8:30 to 7:30. You love music! You love to drum on anything and everything, and you dance whenever you hear a song with a good beat. You listen to classical music or your rockabye baby cd's when you are sleeping and if the music stops you will easily wake up. You just love music so much. When you are upset (which is rare), we sing to you and you immediately light up and feel better. You love to kick the soccer ball with your Daddy. You love to throw the ball and then run after it too. This makes Daddy thrilled because he played soccer in college. You love to get the kitchen broom and push it through the house as if you are sweeping. You love to play hide and seek. I will run and hide somewhere in the house and you will laugh as you run after me to find me. And when you get near I will jump out and you laugh hysterically! You think loud noises are funny too. You are definitely all boy because you will throw a toy and when it hits the floor or something and makes a loud noise you crack up with laughter! Have I mentioned you laugh all the time. You are so glad that we finally turned your car seat around because you hated not being able to see us. You have never been a car baby but now you love to ride in the car and when I look at you in the rear view mirror you have the sweetest and most peaceful grin on your face. You also love to ride in the car with the windows down and the wind blowing on your face. You will coo and talk and turn your face upwards as if to feel more of the breeze. You love going swimming in your Grandma Tut's baby pool she got for you. You also love bath time. You always have. You are a water baby! You love your soothie paci's and have to have two when it is bed time. One to suck on and one to hold. You have very big feet and hands. You wear a size 4 shoe only because your feet are too wide to fit into a 3. You are not a big baby though and can still wear some 9 month clothes. You are long but not chubby. You have your Daddy's physique. You are full of energy and can climb almost anything. The couch, your highchair, tables, even us. You are just a goer and doer. You can say Mama, Dada, Up, ball, and apple, and will shake your head no. You can also ask for "more" using baby sign language. You are so smart. You did everything early...rolled over (from back to front first-which is harder to do), sat up, crawled, stood, and walked, all before the typical age. You already put shapes together. You understand that the ball goes in the hole and the block goes in the box. You did it on your own and your Daddy and I were both shocked that you knew what shapes went where. Like I said, you are smart!! Your nickname is Momma's buddy and snooty because of the funny faces you make. You can imitate us so well and we have taught you how to blow raspberries, make a cluck noise with your tongue, and use your finger to make a motorboat sound with your lips. You can wave bye-bye and you splash so much water out of the tub we have to wipe up the floor after bath time. You are just the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me and your Daddy. You are the most amazing surprise that I have ever been given. The world got better the day you were born. It got brighter! We pray that you come to know the Lord at an early age. We pray that you care for others, that you are servant-hearted, that you always remember that Jesus loves you more than anyone, that you are a leader but a humble one, that you don't judge others based on their status or what they wear or who they hang out with or what their hobbies are or where they have come from or where they are going. We pray that you are that person that everyone trusts, respects, and knows they can count on, that you are encouraging to others, that you love people with a Godly love, that you look at life through Christlike vision, that you are wise, gentle, vulnerable, brave, faithful, joyful, calm, peaceful, selfless, passionate, rejoicing, and loving. We pray that you don't lead your life based on what other people expect of you and the pressures and burdens of this life. We pray that you are a light to others, that you are full of the Spirit, that you always look for the positive. We pray that you are not a gossip and that you uphold the reputation of others as creations and images of God, and that you are not bound by possessions and materialistic things of this world. I pray that you have many friends. Friends that don't care what you dress like, what you look like, or how much money you have, or what you can offer them, but friends that point you to Christ and that love you with an unconditional love. We pray that if you falter, if you fail, if you fall, if you are broken, betrayed, hurt, stricken, sad, or pained, that you remember that you are never alone. You are the beloved and you will always be picked up and carried and never left behind. You are His little lamb and He will always gather you in His arms and carry you. And we pray that you always remember that the center of this life is not you, but Him. Happy 1st Birthday Royal, our beautiful son.

Little All-star

2009-07-28T13:06:00.003-04:00

My new toy

2009-07-26T01:19:00.003-04:00

I am using my new toy to type this post! Michael bought me a new computer!! It isn't anything fancy, but it is what I really wanted. Something that I could check email, blog, put pics on, etc. We needed a new computer also because the other one we had circa 1980 finally crashed and his macbook is being sent in because something is wrong with the charging element in the computer. It kept losing it's charge and has been completely dead for a month. So, all of those things together = a new toy for me. It's an acer aspire one. A little tiny laptop colored cinnamon red and I am oh so thrilled! It's also why I am blogging at 1AM on the Sabbath. : )

What makes him laugh...

2009-07-22T11:41:00.003-04:00

Royal thinks that loud noises are funny...I mean hilarious! He will pick up a toy and drop it on the floor and laugh so hard. In this instance he was rolling his ball down the front of the printer and of course as it hit the paper tray it made a bang noise, and this was HILAROUS!!! I'm glad my camera was right there to catch it on video.

Happy Birthday Royal!

2009-07-21T12:43:00.006-04:00

July 17th, 2009, @ 11:16AM, Franklin Royal Fleming officially turned 1 year old. It has taken me a few days to get this post up because our computer is not cooperating and now I have a busy 1 year old to chase after. Yes, I said chase. He is almost running and it happened over night. He is definitely not a baby anymore. This was the smile he gave us when we went in to get him on his birthday morning. He was so excited to see us. It was like he knew it was his day!! We just hung around the house most of the day and then that night we gave him a birthday cupcake. He loved it! (He looks sad in this pic because he just lost it when we didn't give him his cupcake right away. We had to light the candle.)

Saturday we had a birthday party for him. It was carnival themed and a lot of people came to celebrate our sweet little boy. I told Royal, a lot of people came to your party because that is how much you are loved. His birthday cake was a crown that I made from scratch with blue homemade icing and red and yellow polka dots. He got so many wonderful presents including, books, a custom made backpack just for him to tote around (now that he is a walker), some clothes, a blow up pool and slide, a bubble blower for bath time, bath toys, magnetic letters for the fridge, wooden blocks, baby keys, a boon pod frog, and his most favorite toy, his own baby drum set. It was a wonderful day. A wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful boy! Our boy!

Entertainment for the road

2009-07-04T13:35:00.003-04:00

I took this video with my camera phone on the way back from visiting Michael's dad (Grandpa Sr. and Nana Nancy) in Rock Hill, SC. It was late and he was fed up with being strapped into his car seat, so I had to do something to entertain him. So the tickle monster (as my mom referred to it when I was little), made the last 45 minutes a little more bearable, and a lot more fun! I love his laugh. It is the best sound in this world!

Mover and a shaker

2009-07-04T13:16:00.004-04:00

I can't believe 11 months ago he was in my tummy and now he is walking. And he is quick!

In the morning...

2009-06-29T23:24:00.017-04:00

People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one, and we've just begun,

Think I'm gonna have a son.

He will be like she and me, as free as a dove, conceived in love,

Sun is gonna shine above.

And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Seems as though a month ago I beta chi, never got high,
Oh, I was a sorry guy.And now a smile, a face, a girl that shares my name,
Now I'm through with the game, this boy will never be the same.

And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign, strong and kind,
And the little boy is mine.Now I see a family where there once was none, now we've just begun,
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun.

Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup, drink it up,
Love her and she'll bring you luck.And if you find she helps your mind, buddy, take her home,
Don't you live alone, try to earn what lovers own.

And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.

Kenny Loggins: Danny's Song

Turning into a little boy

2009-06-24T08:01:00.003-04:00

Look at him. There are only remnants of a baby left. Mostly the looks of a little boy.

Walking

2009-06-22T13:04:00.004-04:00

Me and my buddy

2009-06-22T11:33:00.003-04:00

11

2009-06-18T07:43:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Royal turned 11 months old. I am a little sad this time, because next month he won't just be 12 months old, he will be 1 year old, and I don't want him to be a year old. Then, he will be 15, and then 21, and oh man....I can't think about this right now. Right now though, he is only 11 months, and he will always be my baby boy. I could not imagine life without him.

An apple a day

2009-06-17T12:27:00.003-04:00

I just peel it and give it to him, and he does the rest. It is so cute to see those little bites. He can feed himself because he is a big boy. But, he is still my baby. : )

BabyFirstTV

2009-06-17T11:34:00.003-04:00

For my Mother's Day present, Michael ordered the BabyFirstTV channel. It is really for Royal, but the weekend of MD, they were doing the special free weekend of the channel, and I fell in love with it, as did Royal. It is truly the coolest thing I have seen on TV for babies. Not for preschoolers, or kindergartner's, but babies, as in infancy to 3 years of age. There are no commercials and all of the shows are educational and quite interesting. I even find myself watching them. He has a few favorites. Peek-a-boo, I see you, Rainbow Horse, Harry the Bunny, Mio Mao, Hopla, and Sandman. My favorites are My Gym at Home and I Can Sign. It is just the coolest channel. I am not an advocate of children watching TV, so I try to keep it at a minimum, and letting him watch a little here and there throughout the day if we are home. But, since we got the channel, Royal has been talking so much (just loud baby babble, you know the kind where they are looking at you and just jabbering as if they are telling you something important), and he has started saying real words. He now says 5 words. He said apple the other day and will shake his head no if he is done eating or if he is protesting one of us because we won't let him get into something. It's pretty funny. Anyway, I love this channel, and I love how much Royal is learning and soaking in.

Not one but two

2009-06-10T14:21:00.006-04:00

The other day while eating, Royal kept holding up both hands to show me both of his paci's. I would say TWO PACI'S!!, and hold my hands up and he would hold them both up in the air with a huge smile on his face. By the way this is how he smiles for the camera. He scrunches his face and shows those cute little top teeth and grins from ear to ear. I love it!

UP!, BALL!, and walking

2009-06-08T22:29:00.003-04:00

Royal's first word was Up! He said it about a month ago...and last week he said his second word, ball. Now, his first word was Mama and his second was Dada which happened in early May, but other than the typical first two words...these are the first two that he has said. He learned Up because he loved to play with the thermostat. I would hold him and let him lift the door on the thermostat, and I would tell him up when he would lift it up, and down when he would lower the door down. It was so funny the day he said it, I had just told him up, and he looked at me and looked at my mouth so I said it again, and then he said it. It sounded like Ub, but by the next day it was clearly Up. So now he has said his next big boy word. He has a few plastic balls that are bathtime toys and I guess he just caught on to us saying ball whenever he would pick one up. We try to name or say whatever he has so hopefully he will learn, and it seems that it is working. Now he says it anytime he picks up a plastic toy ball, and he says up whenever he wants us to pick him up. It is the best sound to wake up to when we hear him yelling for us to come and get him by yelling up. So sweet! And to round out all of the new things that Royal has been taking down one by one, is he is walking. He walked a few times yesterday. From the table to the couch, from the table to Daddy, ....just all over. He walked again today too, so it was not just a fluke. He is getting so big. But, I will say, that the best best best sound so far, (other than his first little sound when he was born), is when he has got his arms wrapped around my leg and he looks up at me and says Mama up!

VROOM!

2009-06-08T22:04:00.006-04:00

He loves this push fire truck. It makes all kinds of noises and the seat raises so he can put stuff in there, which thrills him to no end. I'm pretty sure this is what has made him finally walk! And when he is bigger he can ride it around the house. There no limit to the possibilities with this toy.

Veggies

2009-06-04T14:48:00.004-04:00

So, for three weeks I have been a vegetarian. I'm not super strict though. I have eaten a little chicken maybe once or twice a week, but I have cut out all red meat and milk. I use to be the biggest milk lover...and now after reading so much nasty stuff about milk, I don't ever want to drink it again. I understand I probably will at some point because it is cooked in things or whatever, but I don't want to drink a huge glass of it anymore. I can't imaging giving Royal a sippy cup full of it either. Blahh. So, not only was I wanting to eat better and get rid of foods that are not helpful and actually harmful to your body as much as possible, but I needed to get rid of this leftover baby weight. The phrase "you just had a baby," doesn't work when your baby is almost 11 months old. So, giving all of the reasons to become a vegetarian, I made the decision and can I tell you, I am so glad that I did. I have already lost 16 pounds. And I haven't been working out. That is just simply from changing my diet and eating fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads and pastas, and drinking water, almond and rice milk, and hot tea for a change of pace. Oh, and of course, a glass of wine at the end of the day. haha. It's made from grapes...so it counts, right? : ) I feel a lot better too. I wasn't eating totally unhealthy before, but like I said milk and white breads make you gain weight, and red meat is not great for you. I have also been taking Zoelife everyday. It is a powdered mix made of 20 dried and crushed fruits and vegetables, that you put in water. It tastes just like Gatorade or any other lightly flavored fruit drink, (propel, crystal light, etc.) except, it gives you your 5 daily recommended amounts of fruits and veggies and antioxidants. It has been proven to help people loose weight, but that part is just a bonus. Our family drinks it everyday, simply because it's hard to make sure that you are getting the amount of fruits and veggies you need, so this is a definite way to make sure that happens. Between eating only vegetarian and the Zoelife, and have lost may baby weight...finally. Good grief, that was annoying to say the least. And, I only gained 30 pounds total, so I feel like I should have taken care of this a few months ago. Oh well, it's gone now. I weight 6 pounds less that when I got pregnant with Royal, and I am only 4 pounds away from my wedding weight. Now, just imagine if I worked out on top of all of this healthy eating. Oh, and Michael has been doing this with me and he loves all of the vegetarian dinners I make. I was so worried (and he was too a little) that he would miss the meat too much, but even he says that he doesn't even notice that there is no meat. I'm glad for that!

I'm getting some of my new favorite recipes from this blog...they are wonderful!!

Doin Stuff

2009-05-30T23:48:00.010-04:00

So, these are a few of the things that Royal has been doin...or should I say getting into.

Making sure everything is connected and everything is working properly in the entertainment area....

Crawling under his highchair to retrieve any uneaten (or partially eaten) raisins, and to just hang out and play "fort".

Laundry....he LOVES laundry.

Driving lessons...he only has 15 years to practice...so he better get on it.

Using Mommy's p0ts and pans as drums. Maybe he will get some real drums for his birthday!!, since he uses his Daddy's Wii Rock Band drum sticks to drum on everything.

Almost every afternoon, waiting for Daddy to get home from work...he gets so excited when he pulls in the yard.

Rocking out to his favorite bands. We watched Queen in Montreal (DVD) while visiting his Gpa Sr. and Nana Nancy and he just watched and even danced to the music. This boy is definitely musically inclined. But, how could he not be.

Found a friend

2009-05-25T13:23:00.007-04:00

I found the blog of a friend of mine and Michael's. Her name is Liz and she has the most wonderful vintage country cottage inspired store on Broughton St., downtown Savannah called @home vintage general. Her store is located right next to Marc Jacobs where my hubby worked. That's how he met Liz. She would ask Michael about me and the baby throughout my pregnancy, and then finally after Royal arrived we went to Savannah one weekend and she finally met him. Being in Savannah you have a lot of the same friends so it seems like every friend's wedding we have run into her. She recently has posted pictures from our friends Halli and Adam's wedding, and there is even a picture on her blog of my handsome husband and Chris Horne (they are best friends), who played the music for the wedding. Anyway, I am so glad I came across her blog!! If you are ever in Savannah you should definitely check out her lovely store. It is a must stop for us when we go visit for the day. Honestly I wish I could buy everything in there and totally decorate my house. It's just that awesome!!!

Picture of us at Halli and Adam's wedding

Join in the fun

2009-05-16T04:03:00.010-04:00

-In hindsight, what particular class in school do you wish you would have paid more attention to or taken more seriously? Not sure. I hated all of school. Probably English because it was easy for me.
-If your taste buds could be altered so that the taste of any one food would be dramatically intensified whenever you ate it, what food would you choose? Hmmm, grilled cheese! But maybe that's because I am craving it right now.
-If you were an entry in the dictionary, under which word would people find you? DORK.
-What is your least favorite day of the week? Monday...whose least favorite day isn't?
-What's the best way to end the day? With a glass of wine.
-Which animal would you have left out of the ark? Mosquitoes..are those animals?
-If you could enter a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby, what would you name your horse? That's what she said.
-What famous person who many people find attractive, is most unappealing to you? She isn't so popular at this moment, but I remember when everybody thought Julia Stiles (Save the last Dance) was so pretty and attractive. All I could think was how huge her face looked. I called her Joulia Stiles because I said she had a jaw like a pit bull.
-Which foreign country are you least interested in visiting? Iraq
-What family traditions or customs would you most like to see preserved? Not sure....the only one I can think of is my great grandmother's gingerbread. My mom makes it every Christmas and for my grandfather's (mom's dad, and his mother) birthday.
-What keeps you awake at night? Why? Ha, well I would say typically a little someone that's likes snacks throughout the night...but that's not technically KEEPING me awake. I'm not sure why I am awake right now at 4AM. I think it's called genetic insomnia. Thanks mom.
-Do you have unusual quirks or idiosyncrasies when it comes to food/and or eating? I hate my food to touch. I don't mean my peas and my biscuit either, I mean anything that is runny or will mix with something else. And I eat all of one thing and then all of something else...and so on. My uncle eats the same way so I have been told.
-How easy or difficult is it for you to say your sorry? It depends on how humble I'm feeling. haha.
-Name one thing you wanted as a child but never received. A horse.
-What childhood activity would you like to try again? I would love to be able to sit in the middle of a towel and my dad gather up the four corners and swing me back and forth and then let go and throw me on the couch. I LOVED that game. I would most definitely not only not fit into a towel, but it would rip slap in half.
-What were you scared of when you were a kid? Monsters in my room. Now that I'm older I realize I was terrified of the rats and mice I heard scratching around in the walls. I grew up in a farmhouse.
-What sound or noise do you love? My baby laughing. My heart jumps when I hear him. : )
-What sound or noise do you hate? I hate that gummy, slobbery, smacky noise when people are eating. Even when their mouths are closed you can just hear the saliva breaking down the food.....gross. I am an advocate of dinner convo!
-If the statement "you are what you eat," was true I would be a _____? Crap...I would be a chocolate chip cookie.
-If you could have one piece of music (softly) playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be? That's tough. It would be between Mott the Hoople: All The Young Dudes, and The Who: We're Not Gonna Take It.
-What's the most important thing in any relationship? Other than the obvious that you both love the Lord, I would say nice legs. jk, trust. You have to have trust.
-Quick off the top of your head name 4 things that describe you today. Just as you are, right now. (It can be thinking, feeling, looking, etc.)
1. Tired - feeling
2. Stretchy pants - wearing/looking
3. alert - feeling
4. breakfast - thinking
-If you had an extra hour in your day today what would you do? Just enjoy my son and his sweet existence.
-When is the last time you got lost and what happened? Was going to Hilton Head outlet mall to meet Michael, and I missed 95. Simple really, but I felt like an idiot.
-What is your most despised household chore? DUSTING...I HATE IT WITH A PASSION. As soon as I'm done, it just immediately comes back again. It seems pointless to me.
-What is the most important thing in your purse or wallet and why? Probably my drivers license...it makes me feel like a big person, and I have to have it.
-What was your first car? What was your favorite car when you were young? My first car was a white 1986 Honda Prelude. My favorite was a white 2005 Mustang GT.
-How do you learn best? Watch and learn? Participation? Reading directions? I'm a kinesthetic learner.
-Is one of your senses more highly developed than another? Which one? Hearing...after having a baby, it's definitely my hearing.
-What says summer to you? When I walk out my front door I start sweating and the air is sticky and humid.
-Do you wear a watch everyday? If so, describe it. I don't read face watches very well. I mean, I read them on a second grade level.
-Do you wear cologne or perfume? I have perfume...I wear it on special occasions. I gotta use it sparingly. I don't have money to spend on perfume with the economy the way it is. ha.
-What's under your bed? I think some of Michael's instruments. His keyboard maybe and some travel bags. Oh, and dust bunnies that always elude me.
-What do you keep on your nightstand? Books, phone, glasses, lamp.
-Are you honest about your weight on your license or other official forms? HA!....HAHAHA!
-If not, by how many pounds is it off from your actual weight? Only 5. I can't get away with more than that.
-At what point in your life did you weight the most? When I was fat.
-Which punctuation mark best describes your personality? Ellipses (...)
-What famous person are you told you most resemble? Christen Davis - the blond version.
-Have you ever gone on a blind date? No
-Are you a descendant or relative of anyone famous? Not that I know of.
-If I was a car I'd be: 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 fastback
-If I was a drink I'd be: Amaretto Sour
-If I was an emotion I'd be: peace
-What is the most expensive meal you've ever eaten? One I didn't pay for.
-What is the fastest speed you have ever traveled in a car? 130 mph
-What is the highest building you have ever been to the top floor of? Empire State building.

OK now your turn.
(Questions from Manic Monday)

Yes, I know it's 4 AM. I can't sleep.

Every Picture Tells a Story

2009-05-15T14:00:00.006-04:00

The reason I chose this for the name of my blog is first, my favorite song in the whole world is "Every Picture Tells a Story" by Rod Stewart. Second, I am a photographers daughter and grew up practically living in a dark-room, in our house, helping my mom develop film that had wonderful stories hidden within them. Third, music is a very important part of my life and my husbands life. I can hear a song an immediately put a place, time, experience, loved one, etc. to the song at hand. Every picture tells a story and so does a song. Sometimes even if I don't have a picture necessarily, but I have a story to tell, I'll have a song that goes with the story in my mind, and that will the become the title of the post. That's is why I made this blog, to share stories and experiences...mainly with those that don't get to have them with us. Music moves you, it moves emotions, people, thoughts,...it just moves. If it isn't moving you...then you aren't listening. So, that is the why for the name of this blog. I thought long and hard about what I wanted the name to be. I wanted it to be about pictures and music. Funny, that my favorite song is of course EPTaS. It is the perfect name for what I want to share. My single picture and lyrics to this blog are like peanut butter to jelly. I wonder, does anybody else have songs that can take them anywhere in time, back to a moment that is dear; that gives them goosebumps when they hear it, that puts a extra beat in their heart. What pictures have a precious story of yours to tell and what song is the accompaniment to that story?

A late announcement

2009-05-14T13:44:00.007-04:00

NO I AM NOT PREGNANT!!!

One thing I never got around to doing after Royal was born was ordering and sending out his birth announcements. I will probably always kick myself for not doing this, because it was one of the things I was most excited about doing after he arrived. I even had the announcement picked out and saved (one for a boy, and one for a girl) when I was 4 months pregnant. Yes, that is how early I started looking for the perfect announcement, before I even knew what I was having. We already knew that if he was in a fact a boy that we would name him Royal, so when I came across his announcement, I knew it was perfect. The name of the announcement is actually Royal baby boy. Now tell me that was not meant for him. Anyway, so much for plans sometimes, because the perfect announcement never made it out. As I was looking for 1st birthday invitations I remembered his birth announcement that I never got to send and pulled it up. I am still just as in love with it now as I was then! It is perfect for him, my perfect little man. Enjoy!

In my life

2009-05-06T16:22:00.003-04:00

I love you more

~Beatles~

Drum roll please

2009-05-04T14:55:00.005-04:00

Royal loves the drums...as you can tell. He also loves guitars it seems because during the day I always play music and whenever there is an amazing guitar solo, he stops whatever he is doing and looks at the radio or TV. I'm not sure when one he will love more, or maybe he will be like his Daddy and play over a dozen instruments.

Uncle Philip holding him...it's also his drum set.

Heartbeat

2009-04-29T12:00:00.005-04:00

Yesterday while driving through town running errands, I saw this bumper sticker and it brought me to tears. I have argued against abortion and used the points that, abortion is killing a living being, the living being is a baby, a human, a person...not just a clump of cells, and that abortion is taking the life of an innocent person that can't protect themselves. But, when I saw this bumper sticker...it put it into words in the best most succinct way possible. I pictured seeing my sons tiny heart, beating, at only 8 weeks along in my pregnancy. I remember him wiggling around, and jumping around in my womb...so tiny and helpless...and yet so peaceful. If I was tiny and helpless I would feel scared and insecure. Yet, at that time in his life he had not yet felt pain. He was safe in my womb. I can't imaging the babies that are 8 weeks old or farther along that are so brutally ripped from their safe and peaceful womb. I can't imagine stopping the beating heart of a tiny baby. I baby that should never know what it feels like to be killed. Like I said...it brought me to tears, because my mind immediately had all of these thoughts racing through it. My thoughts were broken by my son cooing and talking to his toys. I looked in the mirror and saw his sweet smile and his eyes lit up with joy and calm. I love this boy. I am so thankful to God that he is here with us and that I got to see his beating heart at 8 weeks along. I will never forget that moment. I pray that God changes that hearts of so many people that have no regard for the heartbeat.

First time at the beach!

2009-04-27T22:26:00.011-04:00

Royal's grandpa Sr. and Nana Nancy got a condo at Myrtle Beach this week and of course the three of us went to enjoy a fun family vacation. This was Royal's first time at the beach!

Helping Nana Nancy get his float ready for the pool

His beach toys

Waiting with anticipation!

Helping cook breakfast

Hanging with Gpa Sr. (he doesn't have any mobility with his left arm, so I put Royal in the mei tai, and he was good to go!)

We went down to the beach Sunday afternoon and as soon as we got down there Michael set up a tent for all of us. While he was setting it up, Royal fell asleep in my arms (must have been the warm sun that put him right to sleep).

So, after the tent was up, I sat inside with him for almost an hour until he finally woke up, ready to play. First we went to the pool since he has never been in one of those either. He did not seem too smitten with it, but it was a little cold, so we decided to try out the lazy river and see if he would perk up. Sr. and Nancy bought him a baby float so we put him in it and as soon as we got in the river (which was bathwater warm...yay) he started smiling and was very excited!!

Family in the Lazy River

He absolutely loved the lazy river. It must have been the temperature of the pool that he didn't like before, because he always has loved the water. After the whole family (Sr. Nancy, Michael, Royal, me, Michelle-michael's step-sister, and Cleatus-michael's step-brother) had floated around the LR for about 30 minutes, we decided to try out the beach. We grabbed his beach toys that Sr. and Nancy also got for Royal and headed down to the ocean. We dug in the sand, put sand in his dump truck, dug a hole that filled with water, and tried to eat the sand (well Royal did anyway). I kept him from actually eating handfulls, but he did eat some I'm sure.

Digging with Mommy

Our condo resort behind Royal

Digging with Daddy

All in all, we had a great time! Royal loved the beach, and people at the beach loved him. Strangers kept coming up to us and talking to him, and telling us what a beautiful boy he was and what beautiful blue eyes and what a wonderful smile he had. I'll just say, the sun had some competition that day. : ) We are going back on Wednesday night through Saturday, and we are very excited and thankful that Michael got off of work last minute. He had to work Monday, so we had to come back Sunday night, but like I said thankfully we get to go back later this week! Last time we had a vacation we were on our Honeymoon, so this is quite exciting for us and we are glad that we get to spend time with family!! We already have plans for later this week to go out for crablegs, go to Broadway at the Beach, and we already have reservations for Parasailing on Thursday! We can't wait!

Little strawberry helper

2009-04-24T12:47:00.004-04:00

Today, Royal and I went to Jacob's Produce in Rocky Ford where many of my friends have recently been picking strawberries. I grew up with strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries growing behind my house, so I was never without. But, nowadays the freshest produce we usually get is from the grocery store...pretty sad. After I heard about this wonderful strawberry farm I knew that I had to get out there eventually. Today was that day. It was a short drive. We got there and I covered him in sunscreen, put him on my hip in the peanut, and we grabbed a bucket and went to picking. Right away Royal grabbed the bucket and carried it almost the whole time. It eventually got to heavy and I helped him, but he was still determined to hold onto that bucket.

My sweet little strawberry helper. We had fun and it was so beautiful out there!

Oh, the things you find a Grandmas

2009-04-21T22:55:00.004-04:00

I hung out with my mom tonight and had dinner, and while I was there, we rummaged through some boxes of my baby/kid stuff. I found a box full to the brim of happy meal toys from every fast food burger place in town, but mostly Hardees. I found all of the California raisins from 1988. Do you remember these? Probably pretty expensive now. I found race cars from when Days of Thunder came out in 1990, Halloween Surprises, Fender Bender 500, Smurfs on Skateboards, and my favorite, a transformer that is an M and of course transforms. Did anybody have any of these? I remember playing with all of these when I was about 5 years old, and now my child is playing with them. He loved them all! But after playing for a long time he needed a cold drink from the fridge.

V-smile

2009-04-21T22:21:00.003-04:00

So, Royal got this V-smile baby for Christmas from a family friend. It is pretty neat and has many different lessons and skills that it teaches, from opposites and nature, sign language and weather, and music and animals. I tried it with him before, after he got it, but the age range is from 9 months to 3 years old, so he was not very interested so say the least. Well, now that he fits the requirements for baby fun, I have been letting him play with it for about 30 minutes a day. I do most of the button pushing and talk to him (say the shapes, colors, etc.) but he does get excited about it. He was absolutely enthralled with the backyardigans game this afternoon. I can't wait to see what he learns from using this. It is supposedly very beneficial for developmental skills, so this coupled with reading him books, hopefully will give him a higher IQ than me. ha!

I do this...

2009-04-21T21:51:00.004-04:00

I cross my ankles all the time, just relaxing, riding in the car, going to sleep...just whenever. I am comfortable when my ankles are crossed, and it looks like he is too. I saw him do this in the womb one time, but he has been doing it more lately. He looks so much like his Daddy that this makes me feel like he might actually have a little bit of me somewhere. : ) It's crazy to see what characteristics come through. It's a little bit of amazing as well!

Check-up

2009-04-21T13:21:00.011-04:00

Today, Royal had his 9 month well-check. He weighs 18 lbs. 4 oz. and is 27 inches long. He is so big. He is not a fat baby, rather he is long and lean....like his Daddy. Good thing because if he was built like me, he would have more fat on him. His appointment was pretty uneventful. His Dr. confirmed that his top teeth should be arriving anytime now. I had a feeling since he has been slobbering/chewing and has been little more irritable lately. Not to mention the slight fever he had about 3 weeks ago. Cutting teeth is hard business. There were no shots this time, which I know he would be thankful for if he even knew that they were a possibility. He has always done well with shots though....a few seconds of crying and then he is over it. Overall, he is healthy, happy, and "is doing great" says the Doc! On another note, 2 years ago today, Michael proposed to me on my grandfather's farm. I didn't see it coming, and it has been one of the biggest surprises of my life....other than Royal! haha. He actually got it on tape. He is so romantic, and a smart boy! I am a lucky girl to be married to a man that loves me so unconditionally. He always wants my best even if it isn't convenient. If there is one word that would describe Michael it would be servant-hearted. He loves others in a way that is foreign to me. He gives and gives, and loves, and helps, and serves, and goes out of his way to make other people know that they are important. This amazes me. He loves the unlovely, he encourages the weak, he shows grace to the suffering, he is not critical of others, he listens when you need an ear, he is unswerving in his devotion to those in need and he is faithful to the end....,how lucky am I to be married to this kind of man. And how lucky are those that call this man a friend. Even with all my sins and shortcomings, he always encourages me and shows his love for me. I know that I can be so unlovely sometimes and yet he always wants me, crap and all. This man loves me, he loves me, he loves me, and that is amazing. Yes, he has faults...he is a sinner, but these are his gifts, and that is my ode to my husband! I love this man and his faithfully servant-heart.

The pics were taken minutes before he proposed. Our great friend Garrett edited the original video for his senior broadcasting project and our wedding present. He added music and pictures that we picked. I am telling the story.

9 months old....not pregnant.

2009-04-18T23:47:00.003-04:00

Royal turned 9 months old yesterday, and I realized he has now been alive outside of my body as long as he was inside of my body, minus a few days...(Mr. I'm not ready to come out quite yet. haha). I feel so blessed to see him learn and grow and play everyday. He is a sweet and happy soul, and I am thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful child, especially for my first go-round, haha. I can be in the worst mood, and he will crawl up to me and climb into my lap and smile at me with that gummy grin, big beautiful blue eyes, and fuzzy blonde head, and everything in me lights up and I feel wonderful again. Boy, he's got it....that spark, that thing that I do not have. It's special. He's special. And, he is mine.

No to the sippy cup

2009-04-16T15:19:00.005-04:00

When Royal was about 7 months old I started giving him a sippy cup. I didn't now expect him to drink out of it immediately or even within the first week. I knew he would chew on it, bang it on stuff, throw it, etc. But I never thought that he would boycott the sippy cup all together. I bought these cups first...these were a no. Then I bought this cup...the yellow one...this was a also a no. So, then I saw this cup, and thought this would be perfect because it has three spout stages...this was not perfect...not one. Not the first one... just like a bottle nipple,....not the second one, more like a spout,....and most definetly not the third one, which was much larger than the previous two. I was at a loss. I was and am determined that he will not be that kid at three years old still carrying around a bottle. I don't want him to have a bottle and then ask for his baba. But what is mother to do if your child will not take to a sippy cup? Then something strange happened. Monday, while in Savannah, I bought a little box of organic apple juice, just to see if Royal wanted any. I was planning on squeezing a little into his mouth using the straw, and what do you know, before I could squeeze the box, he drank out of the straw. Like he has been doing it since he was born. Michael and I couldn't believe it. I don't know when babies usually start drinking from a straw, but I didn't think it was until later, and I didn't expect him to drink from a straw before a regular sippy cup. Glad I finally figured out the problem. Now...on to buy one of these.

New Threads

2009-04-16T14:52:00.003-04:00

Michael picked out this outfit for Royal while we were in Savannah on Monday. He looks like a handsome little man.

What are you doing under there?

2009-04-15T13:09:00.004-04:00

I found Royal playing here...and of course I asked, "What are you doing under there?" I'm sure his response would be, "Having fun, mom!"

When we started out

2009-04-14T22:33:00.009-04:00

Yesterday, Michael's house got rained out, so we decided to make a day of it, and have family time. We went to Savannah and walked downtown, went to eat at Loco's (this was a staple when I was pregnant- their buffalo chicken fingers, mmmmm). We walked around in and out of stores enjoying the cool breezy weather, then we got some Starbuck's, (size tall thank you- I don't want to spend my childs future college fund on coffee) and we bought Royal an organic apple juice, and then we headed to Target. We weren't planning on buying anything, but I went to look for a sippy cup with a straw (that's right- Royal only drinks from a straw at 9 months old), and while I was browsing the baby section I came across Earth's Best organic baby food. I have wanted to buy some of this because it is way cheaper that Gerber and it's an organic company. We don't have great brands like this here, but I am so excited that I found it at Target so I don't have to order it from Diapers.com. I bought a basket full and so far Royal has loved it!
By the way, as we were leaving it started pouring, and if you have never lived in Savannah you might not realize how badly or quickly it floods. This picture says it all, and it had only been raining about 10 minutes.

So, on to the title of this post...

When Michael and I started out as Newlyweds, just a year and 7 months ago, we lived in the most amazing apartment for starting out our life together. Our front yard was Forsyth Park, literally 10 yards away... downtown was a 3 minute bike ride, The Mansion (where we had our wedding reception) was right across the street to our right, and we had culture, life, fun, excitement, originality,......just everything right there at our doorstep. I mean we woke up to our corner on Gwinnett and Drayton covered in a sea of green on St. Patty's Day. Beer cans lined our porch and people were yelling and hollering with excitement. We had our own personal Jazz festival, and our front yard was the host to many a pic nick and movie in the park. As I mentioned earlier about flooding, our corner was always underwater within 15 minutes of a bad storm, and it was like having a pool added to our front yard. It was exciting! It is where I would sit on our porch and see Michael riding home from work on his bike everyday, where I celebrated my 23rd birthday, where we had our first Christmas, where we conceived our first child, and where I told Michael I was pregnant. It's a special place and it was amazing! We got asked constantly how we got such a cool place to live. I am so thankful that we got to start our life out in this place. It was like a little fairy tale. I wish we still lived there sometimes.....I miss this little home at 804 Drayton Street. The home we made together when we first started out. Our bay window It's for RENT...my wheels are turning.

When a buddy comes to visit

2009-04-14T15:46:00.007-04:00

Last Tuesday morning I kept Leah for Jess, one of my best girlfriends. She had worked the night shift and needed some shut eye...completely understand. So, Royal was very excited when he realized that there was another baby around to play with. He rarely gets to play with someone his size. They had a great time. Leah can sit up now, so I sat them next to each other and they traded paci's (this was hilarious because hers was clipped to her and Royal couldn't understand why he couldn't get it, plus hers was pink and his was blue so they switched colors for the morning). He eventually had to go pull up on something : ) and Leah layed on the floor and played with a rattle, all the while watching Royal bang on the TV table. Royal being the active, always on-the-move baby that he is, kept almost crawling over Leah, so I put her in his walker. She was much safer there, haha. But Royal still wanted to enjoy the company so he just stood on the bottom part of the walker and they played with the toys together. They just had the best time.

Lemon

2009-04-07T11:34:00.004-04:00

Last Monday we had dinner over at Candace and Miah's house and while we were eating I gave him some lemon just to see what he would do. His reaction was typical but still hilarious, and he actually liked it...he wanted more. I love sour candy, so maybe he gets it from me. Miah caught it on his phone and was nice enough to email it to me. I'm so glad he got it on video....it is so funny to watch!

Going for a ride

2009-04-07T10:01:00.003-04:00

My mom bought this lion for Royal when I was about 6 months pregnant. She decided that a lion for a stuffed animal fit his name, so when she saw him on sale (the lion, not Royal..haha) she bought him. He has been sitting on top of his armoire until recently when I got him down for Royal to check out. He loves this lion! He especially loves the mane...must be how much hair it has, compared to how little he has. : ) I thought it would be funny to put him on it's back and see what he did, and he started hopping up and down and squeeling with joy. Pretty hilarious. Now I catch him just laying on him sometimes if he is tired of playing or just taking a break from him busy playing schedule, haha. Giving him a hug!

Just a nibble

2009-04-07T09:51:00.003-04:00

Yes...those are teeth marks....from my son.....my 8 1/2 month old....with only two teeth.....guess he just wanted a nibble. I'm pretty sure my hand didn't taste as good as cheerios though.

Your my Blue Sky

2009-04-05T00:25:00.005-04:00

Your my sunny day... Lord you know it makes me high, when you turn your love my way

~Allman Brothers~

When mommy peeks in...

2009-04-04T23:56:00.004-04:00

Royal plays by himself so well. I just put him in his room and put up the gate and he will play for up to an hour. Just hanging out. I'll hear him talking and making noise in there, and it is truly one of the sweetest things. I catch myself stopping whatever I'm doing just to hear him playing and having a good time and then I actually peeked in to get a picture of him playing the other day. He is so sweet.

A result of the NO NO's

2009-04-04T23:24:00.003-04:00

We now have a baby gate to corral our young son from getting into things that will hurt him, will make him sick, will make me sick (the toilet, dirt etc.), or that we just don't want him touching. It has worked out pretty well so far. He seems to think that it is a toy. He just bangs on the fence part, and rattles it, pulls up on it, and has absolutely no clue that we are keeping him from all the things that he would otherwise want to get into.

Royal that's a NO NO!

2009-04-04T23:07:00.002-04:00

This is probably the phrase that I have been saying the most lately. Royal wants to stand up in the tub (that's a NO NO), pull on cords (that's a NO NO), try to put his fingers in the sockets (that's NO NO- but now we have the plastic plug thingy's- still a NO NO), tries to pull mommy's and anybody else's glasses off (that's a NO NO), tries to eat dirt, leaves, trash, feet, shoes, etc. (that's a NO NO), put his fingers under the fridge and oven (that's a NO NO- I don't even want to know what's under there), started to pitch fits when I take something away from him (that's a NO NO), pushes himself out of his carseat before I even get him totally unbuckled (that's a NO NO and very impatient), spits his food because he thinks it's funny (that's a NO NO), tries to roll over when I'm changing his diaper- which could mean poo everywhere (that's most definetely a NO NO), and tries to crawl into the bathroom to get to the tub and toilet (that's a NO NO- and very dirty). So, if you try to speak to me and carry on an adult conversation and you can tell that I am lacking in the vocabulary area....don't judge me. Or I might just tell you NO NO. haha.

Pool Days

2009-04-03T18:48:00.003-04:00

Today I went to Kmart and bought Royal his first swimming pool, some Little Swimmers diapers, and baby sunblock. I have been wanting to let him play in the water outside, but it has been so rainy or not warm enough lately that I haven't been able to. Well today was the day for a pool day!! He was very curious while I was blowing up the baby pool, and seemed quite curious as to why he was in the bathtub outside. haha. But he had such a great time. He kept trying to grab handfuls of dirt and grass over the side of the pool and then eat it. I took the pool over to mom's house because she lives out in the country and it is so beautiful and peaceful out there. It seemed like a lot better place for pool time than right next to an elementary school, in the city, with cars driving by constantly. As you can see he really enjoyed his first pool experience. I can't wait to take him to Splash this summer!

One Year Houseiversary

2009-04-01T22:02:00.005-04:00

A year ago today, Michael and I bought out first house! Our original closing day was April 21st, which was the day that Michael proposed the year before,...but we decided that we needed more time to work on the house before we moved in, so we changed the date to April 1st. I really wanted it to be on the same day that we got engaged just for nostalgia sake, but not only was the 1st April fool's day; it was also my pastor's birthday. So, I though it was just as good a day to close on our house. So happy one year to us as home owners, and Happy Birthday Pastor Barnes! : ) And yes, I was pregnant in this picture...39 weeks to be exact.

Talk about a heart attack

2009-03-31T22:25:00.002-04:00

So tonight, after I bathed Royal, I gave him some Yobaby yogurt before bed. Instead of putting him in his highchair or sitting him on the floor (the two usual options) I just left him strapped to the changing table, and fed him that way. He couldn't roll over that way. After I fed him as much as he wanted, I went into the kitchen to put the rest away. As I came back into his bedroom, I saw Royal standing on top of his changing table holding onto the back of it and shaking it. I almost had a heart attack. I left him strapped in, and it was pulled tightly...tightly enough that if it was any tighter it would have been digging into his skin. I mean, the strap was flush against his belly. Somehow he wiggled out from underneath the strap and stood up. I ran and grabbed him, and squeezed him tightly. I checked the strap after I calmed down just to be sure that he didn't figure out how to undo the clasp. He had not....he just simply wiggled his way out from under it. Let's just say, I will never buckle him on there again, I will just put him on the floor or carry him with me. Thank you Lord for not letting him fall off.