little moments........big memories

Paci Love

Dane woke up in such a great mood this morning. We ate breakfast with lots of smiles and then just zipped across the room, babbling and cooing. Until he got fussy. Nothing seemed to make him happy. He went into his room and started crying harder. I followed him and see him pulling at his lamb. And then it hits me - he wants his pacifier. You see, I always stick a spare paci right by this lamb so that he knows where to find it if he loses one in the middle of the night. He's so smart he knows where to find it anytime apparently. Unfortunately, there wasn't one there because he had already grabbed it this morning and I took it from him and hid it when he sat down to breakfast.

I don't know if he is just really, really attached to it now of if it's just because he is teething that he wants it more. He didn't use to want it so much when he was younger.

Just a little something

The days just seem to fly by. I have not been doing well at keeping up with this journal of our daily life. Sad.

But there are some things that have happened here recently that I never want to forget - the type of things that if I don't write them down, I will. Just passing little blips.

ONE - the other afternoon, I was cleaning up in the kitchen and Dane was playing in his drawer. I hear a big rustle and knew that wasn't a sound that I should hear. When I turned around, he had managed to reach up to the counter and pull down the bag of clementines. So I grabbed one to peel for him and he is standing there watching me and just starts bouncing up and down, clapping his hands and making this excited "ooohhh" sound. Cracked me up! Boy that kid loves fruit!

TWO - dang - I think I forgot it already.

THREE - he has started giving kisses. To the dogs. Not to Mommy. Every once in while I'll get one. Like the other morning when Chris got him up and brought him in to me. I was still laying in bed, trying really hard (okay, just sorta) to wake up. Dane leans over real close to look at my face - and then - he gave me a little kiss. That woke me up!! Who can resist such sweet baby kisses?

FOUR - He knows that I keep a container of Cheerios in his diaper bag. And he will bring it me when he's hungry. He has an amazing memory for a one year old. Or maybe they all do. But I am amazed at what he remembers.

Really? Miss Piggy???

Why couldn't I be somebody cool like Animal or somebody goofy like Beeper?

I've never been a huge fan of the Muppets - but I can't think of the Muppets and not think of my brother Josh. He loves the Muppets. So does Chris. Maybe it's a guy thing. Anway, here's my Muppet Personality:

You Are Miss Piggy

A total princess and diva, you're totally in charge - even if people don't know it. You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won't settle for anything less. You're going to be a total star, and you won't let any of the "little people" get in your way. Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift!

Which one are you? You can find out at The Muppet Personality Test

Waking Up

Just a few photos to share today. Over on the Bittersweet blog, she is giving away a Kodak EasyPrinter. All we have to do is upload a series of photos. So I grabbed the camera on my way to get Dane after his nap.

I threw this one in too even though it's not the best picture I've ever taken. His eyes are so swollen - it makes me sad! But then I look at the whole photo and giggle. This photo makes me think of my Grandpa Jack - I think it's the bags under his eyes.

Hey look - I cut off his head! Now before you think that I have no picture taking abilities whatsoever.....I must let you know that this is a skill I inherited from my Grandma. She is notorious for cutting off heads in photos. I could probably do a much better job if my subject would just learn to STAY STILL!!!! Ha Ha! Good thing I have a digital camera - I doubt I could afford film!

Wish me luck!

Found a quiz online today titled Are You A Slacker Mom? You can take it HERE if you are interested. Here's what it said about me:

Your quiz score makes you: Zen Mom

How do you do it? Even when explosions are all around, you are able to take a deep cleansing breath and chant your mantra "this too shall pass." You are a calming influence on your kids in a hectic world.

Hmmm....I only hope that I am a "calming influence". I'll have to ask Chris if I was calm during our latest adventure. I'd ask Dane but he'd just smile at me.

There are no words......

Just when I think I have the whole mother thing down....something else happens just to prove me wrong. And God - he's getting lots of laughs about our adventures to be sure!!! ;)

Since it was Dane's first Thanksgiving - and since we are all thankful for him, Chris and I really wanted both sets of grandparents to be able to see him. Luckily, my niece Juleah was going to be in Germany over actual Thanksgiving competing in a fencing tournament, so my in-laws held an early Thanksgiving that Chris and I drove to Oklahoma for. We were going to leave early Sunday morning and eat Sunday afternoon. I didn't prepare well so we actually left late morning. Dane had done so great the week before when just he and I drove over that I thought he would be okay in the back seat. We get about an hour down the road and Chris says he smells poopie. We pull over. I grab the stuff (you know, diapers and all that jazz) from the back and see Dane just grinning at me, happy as can be. He has something on his cheek and I'm thinking to myself - what's on his cheek, I cleaned him up after I fed him. I open the back door and that's when I see it. The blow out of all blow outs - somehow it came out his diaper and the little cutie managed to smear it all over himself. He had it from HEAD to TOE!! You think I'm kidding - but I'm not - here's the proof:

Who else could look this happy when they are covered in poopie? Cracks me up! I tell Chris he has to come see and he's like no - and I'm like YES!! He's grossed out and I tell him to go scope out the restrooms inside - I'm hoping that they have a changing table. He comes back and says yes - carries Dane and the whole seat in. I go the wrong way - which was such a blessing - thank you God! and discover that we are at a TRUCK STOP - complete with Rent-A-Shower. The lady was sweet - didn't blink an eye - and gave us the room with shower and tub!! I sprayed Dane off in the shower first and then plopped him in the tub...he was completely happy while we washed out the seat liner, the seat, the toys, his clothes.

He doesn't seem to mind the taste of soap all that much --- can't be a good sign! ;)

Took an hour to get everything taken care. If you are like my mom, you are rolling in your seat now, tears streaming from your eyes and your side hurts from laughing too hard! It is funny - I guess. So on top of all the things I'm thankful for - family, friends, health, my home, etc - I am also thankful that while I am 99% certain that Dane did actually get poopie in his mouth (UGH - that hurt to type) .... he did not get violently sick from it.

The rest of the trip turned out much better (although I won't mention the next blow out we had in Shawnee - either Chris and I don't know how to put on a diaper or the kid is outgrowing them too fast.)

Was beautiful in Shawnee on Tuesday when we left and then bitterly cold back in Amarillo on Thursday for Thanksgiving.

Thanks for reading - I hope you are enjoying these small glimpses into our daily lives. Have a beautiful week!

Classy

Took a quiz at HGTV.com to find out what my design style was. You can find it here. Apparently I am classy: "You're a classic. Nothing trendy or faddish for you! You're drawn to timeless shapes and colors that never go out of fashion (think neutrals and rich accent colors, like jade or gold.) You like your patterns crisp, and your buildings traditional. You enjoy well-crafted furniture that will look as gorgeous 100 years from now as it does today."

Hmmm - I don't know - I do like trendy things. But it's right that I like crisp patterns. It's funny because I don't think the decor of my home reflects this at all. I'm always drawn to this style when I'm out but don't think I would really feel comfortable living in it every day.....I don't feel classy and traditional on the inside.

Tired

No pictures today as Dane and I spent most of the day traveling to Shawnee. I am doing a lia sophia party for Ivy!! We've only talked on the phone and email but I am so excited to meet her and her friends. I'm thrilled to be sharing lia sophia with ladies from OKC. I wanted to leave at his nap time hoping that he would sleep in the car so of course he was very cranky when we started out. Poor little guy fell asleep before we made it 2 miles. I pulled off in Groom because I had the brilliant idea that I would shop while in the city - hey, it was day time and the middle of the week - what a treat!! Chris was such a dear for helping me find phone numbers and addresses. Thanks!! Dane and I stopped for lunch at a Dairy Queen that took a little over an hour by the time it was all said and done! He had the chicken from his happy meal and 5 licks from the ice cream cone. He's just like his mom - loves ice cream!!

Driving through Oklahoma was like being back in college - except for the baby in back of course. But it was such a treat that it is fall and all the leaves are turning. I always loved all the trees in Oklahoma. Being back of course makes me think of old friends and how very special they were and still are to me. Which is why I wonder how did I get to be such a bad friend? I think of them often, but never take the time to pick up the phone or send off a quick note. This is one of the things I really want to change in my life.

Stopped at And Bear Makes 3. My friend Bridget and I used to come up to the store and take classes. It was the most fun!! They have moved and are in Moore now. If you have the chance, stop by and check them out. Half the store is dedicated to gifts and collectibles and the back half of the store is full of stamps and all kinds of goodies a scrapper, cardmaker or altered artist would love. They have the coolest ribbon class coming up on Nov. 17th - while I'd love to come back for it, it is my sister's wedding shower that day and I wouldn't miss that for a whole weekend of cool classes.

I also stopped at The English Garden Scrapbook Store - it was right around the corner from And Bear Makes 3. Glenda has a really cute, little store and was a delight to talk to. She had really cool projects on display. The thing I loved the most was this table of all kinds of little embellishments that you could just pick and choose from. Want 1 pink brad? Not a problem! Want 7 blue ones? Again, not a problem. Spent $20 dollars on yummy, yummy paper!!! I told Dane we were just going to look. I mean, I have an awesome scrapbook store in Amarillo (here). But Glenda had paper they don't have and it was too good to pass up. Also snagged this really cool sheet of Karen Russell sticker paper - it's full of circles and I can't wait to use them on a layout! I will have to force myself to use them - they are so neat that I fear I might screw it up but I will force myself to use them!!

Just had to rock Dane for a minute - I guess the grandfather clock scared him awake - weird b/c it's never bothered him before. Although, I remember sleeping in my grandma's living room and having the clock wake me up every hour.

I am so tired so I am going to go to bed early. I thought that once Dane started sleeping through the night I wouldn't be so tired. 

Someone Special

Dane had Mothers Day Out today. I love the free time when he's there but find myself wondering what he is doing. Today of course, being the SUPER mom that I am I forgot to pack diapers in his bag. When I came back with them Gail (his awesome teacher!) was preparing to do their craft for the day so I hung out by the privacy window and watched. He was not quite sure what to think....I don't think he like to have stuff on his hands. It's a cute family tree made from his handprints. When I dropped him off he didn't cry at all and when I went to pick him up, when he heard my voice and saw me - this was his reaction:

He was playing so happy and then he couldn't get to me fast enough. What an awesome feeling to be the most important person to someone!

We went to the park afterwards to feed the ducks. Dane loved them - he watched them very intently - hardly cracking a smile and definitely not looking at the camera. All I had were some leftover Cheerios in his diaper bag so we spent a good amount of time watching another mom and her kids feed the ducks - she had of course brought a whole loaf of bread. Of course, she had 4 kids so maybe I'll eventually get the "mom" gene kicking in and I'll think of these things beforehand. Regardless, we had a great time.

This photo cracks me up!! Reminds me of a time when I was pregnant and my students were much more excited about the baby than I was. One asked me what I wanted and this was when I really didn't want a baby at all and I said, very flippantly, "I'd be totally happy to just have another puppy!" God does have a sense of humor!

Fun on the swing!! God I love it when this kid giggles!!

Just before we were leaving I spotted some of those blackbirds bathing near the shore. Why is it when a bird is bathing that it seems as if they are utterly happy at that moment? And while my droplets of water aren't crystal clear - I'm pretty impressed with myself for having drop shapes in my photo. There is hope for me yet!!   

BIG week

Dane had his 9 month check up this week even though he is 9 1/2 months old. I went solo this time because some big-wigs from the home office came in so Chris couldn't sneak away. Dane is doing really well - 31 1/2 inches long in the 99% and 21 lbs 8 oz and the 58% on his weight. Dane has started doing this thing where he really wants to see your face - and if you aren't looking at him when you are talking he will lean his head way over and around so he can see you. It's the cutest thing and he was doing it when the doctor was talking to me about his progress. He is so serious when he does it and he was just cracking her up. I wish I had it on video so you could all see it too!

Took these photos at Aimee's house. I'm still playing with settings in my camera and my early shots were all really dark. I adjusted in PhotoShop but the colors still seem slightly off. At least you can see his beautiful smile!

I love it when you look at me! He loves to make this face when he's eating too! I think it is his "I know I'm making you happy right now" face.

Love this shot - will be shooting more from this angle - gotta take advantage before he's 17 and taller than his mom!

This shot was terrible and looked the best in B&W

And he's done. 

I will have to post his Halloween shots later when Chris downloads them at work. Halloween - his first one. Since I knew he wouldn't really be aware of what was going on - but confident that he would someday want to know about his first Halloween, and not wanting to come up short in the SuperMom category, I prepared. I bought him a cute little BOO t-shirt and ghost cap in the Target Dollar Section back in September. The shirt fit great but the cap was very snug! It was very cold as it always is here on Halloween so you couldn't even see his shirt. We stopped first at his Aunt Aimee's and my camera died when we got there. He got TWO jars of puffs, a book (which he LOVES - it's the sparkly stars and it's easy for him to turn the pages - he's been enamored with it ever since) and some Dum Dum suckers. Then it was back home for the back-up camera and off to Canyon to see his Aunt Meg. She treated him with a set of car keys with a remote lock. He likes this but is not fooled by it; the starting engine makes him smile. He started crying on the way down and cheered up for just a little bit while we were there. Opted not to visit our friend Leigh's house because he was so grumpy and went straight to my mom's. More goodies there - he got a really cool cross with a cowboy on it for his room and a puppy hat ( I don't think that was really part of his treat but it is SOOO cute!!) What is important to note here is that it is Wednesday night and he is happy wearing his hats. Not so on Thursday afternoon when we went to have his 9 mo photos done - can't wait to see those shots later this week.

Cooked spaghetti for dinner tonight and gave Dane some as well. He loved it - he kept making MMMM noises! He even slurped in a strand at one point which made Chris and I laugh. The dogs have figured out that he is a messy eater and so they crowd around his high chair hoping for scraps. Just wait dogs - one day he'll figure it out and he'll give them to you!