9 Month Checkup & North Carolina

Friday morning, I came into the living room after getting dressed to take Ethan to school and found the boys watching TV together.  It was too cute so I just had to share!

After dropping Ethan off at school, Landen and I headed to the pediatrician's office for his 9 month check-up.  I was actually looking forward to this doctor visit because there were to be no shots and I was very curious how much he had grown.  Oh boy, it didn't turn out to be such a pleasant experience!  We arrived on time for our 9:30am appointment only to sit in the waiting room with kids coughing and sneezing everywhere until 10:40am.  That's right we sat there for over an hour and Landen was losing his patience.  I had already decided that if they didn't call us back by 11am I was going to tell them I would just reschedule.  So, they weighed him and much to my surprise he has only gained 2.4 lbs since his last sick visit (over 1 month ago).  He now weighs 26.4 lbs.  Once we got to the room we waited another 15 minutes for the doctor to come in.  So, after an hour and a half of waiting we find out that he is perfectly healthy and "looks great"!!  Which I am very thankful for but my resolve had dissolved and I was just ready to get out of there!  Then the pediatrician throws the flu shot at me with this big spill about how he recommends it with there being a big brother in the house who is now in school, blah blah blah.  I just stand there because I don't know what to do!  On one hand I don't want him getting the flu.  It is miserable and of course I want to protect him BUT every single time Ethan has gotten the flu shot he has been miserably sick with a cold right after.  I know they say that the flu shot doesn't make you sick but I promise, with Ethan it does.  Plus, I was SO looking forward to no shots :(  Well, the practical side of me won out over the emotional side and Landen got the first half of the flu shot.  He barely even whimpered and so far (4 days later) he hasn't been sick at all!!!  So, after the shot the nurse tells me that Landen has to go to the lab for "routine bloodwork and a urine sample"!  I was given no warning of this whatsoever.  So, we gather our belongings and mosey on down to the lab where we sign in and then have to wait another 30 minutes.  Once we get back to the room I have to hold him while the lab tech pricks his thumb and then squeezes it until she gets an entire tube of blood!!!  Mind you, I don't do blood anytime and on top of that I hadn't eaten anything all day because I was planning on being out of the doctor's office by 10:30am.  By now it is 12pm and I am wondering if Landen and I are going to make it back to Franklin to go to the Homecoming parade with Ethan.  They check for the urine specimen and find that the "u-bag" has come loose and leaked because the nurse didn't apply it tightly enough!!!  Are you kidding me???  Luckily the lab tech was very understanding and gave me a "u-bag" to take with me and bring back the next time we come.  So, at 12:15pm Landen and I leave GGC, swing by a drive-thru for lunch, and race back to Franklin Elementary to meet up with Ethan's class and walk outside to watch the parade.  Landen wasn't a happy camper!  He was sleepy, sore from the shot and prick for bloodwork, and had been sitting around all day waiting...poor guy!  So, I didn't get any pictures of his first parade but he would't have been very happy in them anyway :-(  Hopefully, his one year checkup will go much better!

Landen in the pediatrician's office

On Saturday morning the boys, Josh, and I loaded up and headed to Charlotte, North Carolina.  Ethan is on Fall Break this week from school and Josh had to come here for a GE training class, so we decided to make a family trip out of it.  We drove the majority of the day Saturday.  We left the house at 11am and stopped off at a mall in Knoxville, TN for a couple of hours to stretch our legs and give the boys a break.  We ended up arriving at our hotel about 8:30pm and were exhausted!  I do have to say though, both boys did really well with such a loooong car trip. 

On Sunday, we slept in and then went to Day Out with Thomas which had tons of fun activities.  Ethan loved all of the trains and Landen just loved being outside!  They had a magic show, model trains, a Thomas store, a straw maze, storytelling, Thomas videos, play areas, a Thomas inflatable, and someone dressed up as Sir Topham Hat and a real train that you could ride on with Thomas leading the way.  Ethan had been to one when he was three years old in Nashville but this one had many more activities and since he was older he enjoyed it a lot more. 





Ethan working his way through the maze.







Pausing for a picture

Landen grabbed a handful of straw but wasn't so sure he liked it!

I have many more cute pictures from the Day Out with Thomas but since the internet isn't working right in this hotel I will just leave it at these few. 

Monday after Josh got in from class we went out to dinner and then went to a place called Meg's Art one town over to let the boys paint pottery.  It was kind of like The Paintin' Place in BG.  They really enjoyed it and I took my camera in but I was so busy helping them paint their masterpieces that I forgot to take any pictures!  Tonight I think Josh is going to bring dinner on his way in and we are going to hang out at the hotel and check out the indoor pool....FUN!

"Mama" (for sure this time) & "The Boys Beat the Girls Down"

Ethan has been begging us for a few weeks to go eat Red Lobster.  So, Friday night we made it a date and the four of us headed to BG to eat Red Lobster and get Ethan fitted for a tux for Jennifer and Ben's wedding.  He ate almost all of his popcorn shrimp and he absolutely LOVES the cheddar bay biscuits!  Our waiter kept calling him "Dude" and Ethan wanted to know why.  Once Josh explained that it was a friendly term he was cool with it and has been using the term ever since!!  This nice lady came up to us and told both of the boys they looked just like Josh and Ethan's response was "Uh uh, everyone says I look like my Derek" (his uncle).  After having her head taken off the lady politely said "Well, you are both adorable" and before Ethan could respond I thanked her and she moved on.  Poor lady...she had no way of knowing that my son is VERY defensive about his similarity to his uncle.  After dinner we headed on over to get Ethan sized for his tux.  Of course, Ethan decided to entertain the ladies who worked there by spinning and checking himself out with his jacket on.  By the time he was done they wanted to keep him there!  He sure is the little entertainer. 

Saturday Mom kept the boys while I, along with another bridesmaid, threw Jennifer a bachelorette party and Josh attended Ben's bachelor party.  I had a blast and it was a much needed night with the girls!

After I got home on Sunday Ethan had to tell me about Pepop giving Landen chocolate milk and how he ran to tell Grammy!  "It was just a drop" he later added to the dramatic story! 

On Monday Ethan was out of school so the boys and I had a nice laid back day in our PJs.  Ethan loves to stay in his pajamas and took full advantage of the opportunity to lounge in them all day. 

Tuesday my sweet Landen turned 9 months old!  I swear it seems like just yesterday that we brought him home.  He must have known that I was feeling sad because he decided to say "Mama" and cheer me up!  I cried happy tears!!!  He said it twice and now will not say it again.  I think I scared him with my reaction and maybe he has decided not to say it again now, lol. 

Landen on his 9 month birthday

Today, when I picked Ethan up from school I asked him how his day was and he said " Mom, the boys beat the girls down!"  Really??  My kindergartner is learning slang/trash talk from his classmates already!?!?  After I recovered from the initial shock of his comment I asked exactly what the boys beat the girls at and he explained that they were having a contest to see how many boys/girls could go take their bathroom break without talking....needless to say, the boys won.  He is extremely happy about their victory but hopefully understands now how to display that happiness without being so derogatory.  I'm not holding my breath though....he seems to think his new terminology is very cool :-/

"La-La-Lullaby" and "Ba-Ba....Mama???

Pajanimals

These guys sing a song called "La-La-Lullaby" and every night it comes on and Ethan yells for me to come and sing it with him.  Regardless of what I am doing I always stop long enough to go sing with him.  Lord knows I can't sing but it's about that few minutes that we spend cuddling before bed.  If only I could capture that time and put it in a bottle so that I could relive it when he is a teenager.  But I will always have the memories and I thank God for my sweet and loving little boy.

"Ba, ba, ba" is what Landen started saying yesterday over and over.  I am convinced that he is trying to say "mama" but Josh refuses to believe that (of course)!  Oh well, I know better :)

September So Far, In a Nutshell

You can see his teeth in this shot....aren't they cute?

So, here are the lake photos that I promised to post two weeks ago.  Sorry it took me so long.  I didn't get a good one of Ethan at the pool so I am posting one of him on the ride home instead. 


He is such a silly boy!  My little cutie pie.

I also mentioned in the last post that we were having Jennifer's shower that weekend....well we did and everything went great!  As an added bonus Landen made a new friend....Miss Cecila Miller.  Her mom was a co-host of the shower and Cecilia is about 2 and a half months younger than Landen.  She is the cutest little girl ever and she and Landen enjoyed chatting with each other in baby language.



As you can tell, we all enjoyed watching the two of them interact...

Ethan was, as always, a very good baby during the shower.  He and Grammy played and danced the entire time.  She now calls him her little "Tater Bug" because his middle name is Tate.

The Sunday following the shower, after church, we celebrated Mom's birthday and Grandparent's day here at the house with the whole family and unfortunately I didn't take pictures but after a delecious dinner we enjoyed pineapple upside down cake (which is mom's favorite).  And Ethan gave each grandparent a gift that he had chosen all by himself especially for them. This is the first year we have done that and he was so proud to show them what he had gotten them!

Last week, Ethan had school pictures at school and he practiced smiling the entire ride to school.  He is so funny and makes me laugh more than anyone I know!  We will see when the proof comes in whether his practice paid off or not.  We went to the bookfair at his school and he picked out this super cool book about planets.  When we read it I learned something new, Pluto is now too small to be cosidered a planet!  He and Landen enjoyed looking at the book together.

Ethan is like a bottomless pit after school!  I swear he eats anything he can get his hands on!!!  One day last week he ate a 4 piece chicken nugget, 2 pieces of cheese, a strawberry popsicle, a pack of fruit chews, a Lunchable, an apple, and drank 2 glasses of chocolate milk....and this was all before dinner!!! He also says whatever is on his mind, which usually ends up embarassing me but this past Sunday he brought tears to my eyes.  At our church, the entire congregation shakes hands at the end of the service (which my best friend Jennifer has told me that she finds odd) but anyway Ethan has been taking part in the handshake since before he could walk and it is by far his favorite part of the church service!  Anyway, Bro. Chad Lambert was our pastor from the time Ethan was born until he was almost five years old and we all thought very highly of him.  He left our church back last year and only comes to visit once in awhile.  Well, this past Sunday he was there and as we were shaking hands Ethan looked him dead in the eye and said "I miss you".  I had no idea this had taken place until after church when Chad came over and asked us if we had put Ethan up to telling him anything.  I said no and asked what he had said and that is when he told me with tears in his eyes.  Bro. Lambert said it shocked him that at Ethan's age he would say that.  He said Ethan turned him to jello in an instant and I was so proud of him.  It may not sound like that big of a deal but I think it is great that he knows and loves his church family and feels comfortable enough to tell them how he feels.  Ethan never fails to suprise us in the most wonderful ways!

Landen is just so irresistable!  His little chubby cheeks probably ache at the end of the day from where I kiss them throughout the day.  He is laughing out loud more and babbling up a storm.  Last week he wouldn't sit by himself even if I was in sight.  He would just cry and cry which isn't like him but I think his teeth were hurting him badly!  One day his gums even bled a little!  Today he has been great.  We played together on a blanket for a while and then he sat there and played by himself.  Which gives me time to throw a load of laundry in or work on planning one of the many upcoming events.  We also danced together today and he thinks that is the funniest thing!  Landen is getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth but still can't crawl yet.  He wakes up with a smile on his face and goes to sleep the same way...I am so blessed to have had two happy babies.  He is now outgrowing his 12 month clothes completely!  We have to buy 18-24 months for my 8 month old baby!!!  Everytime I wash a load of his laundry I have to put away atleast two or three outfits because he has outgrown them.  Landen goes to town in his walker now.  He can get around all over the place in that thing!  He has graduated from one to two containers of babyfood at a time, twice a day!  He keeps it down fine and if I don't give it to him he is NOT happy.  As you can guess it is hard to keep enough food and correctly sized clothes in the house right now for these quickly growing boys!  But I wouldn't have it any other way and I thank God for them. 

This past Saturday we spent the day at the Nashville zoo with Amanda and her kids.  It was a beautiful day full of sunshine but man was it hot!  We all enjoyed the zoo and made an entire day of it.  Needless to say, we were exhausted once we got home.  Can't wait to see what fun we can get into next weekend!

Alera, Ethan, and Ty

He is so proud of himself for standing up with very little help!

Eight Months Old Already?!?!

Believe it or not, Landen turned 8 months old on August 28th!  I was looking back at pictures from right after we brought him home from the hospital and it is AMAZING how much he has changed and grown since then.  My little guy now has three teeth on the top and a fourth one about to break through, along with the two on the bottom.  So he has a total of five teeth and is working on six!  Everywhere we go people are amazed by what a laid-back baby Landen is.  He just goes with the flow and smiles the whole time.  At the mall this week one lady asked me if she could touch his toes and another lady told me to take him away or she would eat him!  Of course, he loves all of the attention and does everything he can to keep it as long as possible.  He will clap, smile, tilt his head from side to side, click his tongue, or coo just as long as everyone is looking at him.  Just in the past week he has developed a temper and when things don't go his way he stiffens up, holds his breath, turns red, yells, and twists his wrists like he is revving up a motorcycle.  I have no idea why he does that with his wrists but if I can ever catch it on camera I will post the picture so you can see it.  Landen is becoming more mobile each day but still not crawling quite yet.  He is curious about everything though and once he starts crawling I am sure he will learn what "no, no" means very quickly!!

They love taking a bath together!

Ethan is doing great in school.  His dad and I attended parent teacher conference last week and his teacher said that he is a joy to have in class.  She said Ethan is her little helper and likes to keep the other students in line.  That is our little Ethan.....a bit bossy but will make a very good leader throughout life.  She advised he has trouble cutting paper which we knew and we believe it is due to him being left-handed.  Ethan is such a sweet child most of the time and in the mornings when I drop him off at school he says the sweetest things like "Mom, you are the greatest mom ever".  But when I pick him up in the afternoon it is like he has been replaced by a stubborn, grumpy, disagreeable old man!  I think it is because he is overly tired in the afternoons and refuses to take a nap. So, we have been trying to get him in the bed earlier so that we can try to resolve this issue and keep our sweet little boy from getting into BIG trouble for his attitude! 

We went to the lake for Labor Day weekend with our family and had a ton of fun!  Both of the boys enjoyed the pool, as usual, and Ethan went fishing a couple of times.  It was a nice break for all of us.  I have pictures to share but haven't uploaded them yet and it is late so I will get them on here soon. 

This weekend we have several fun events going on......Jennifer and Ben's wedding shower is Saturday morning and then we are supposed to go to Balloons, Tunes, and BBQ in BG with Amanda and her kiddos if it doesn't rain.  Then on Sunday after church everyone is coming over to celebrate my mom's birthday and grandparents day.  Should be a weekend packed with excitement!!

Landen is a funny boy!  This is right after a bath.

My little chef!

Ethan is still enjoying school. His teacher sent a weekly report home last week with a note at the top that read as follows: "I complimented Ethan today on being so well behaved. He winked at me! I cracked up. His face turned red and he started laughing - He's too cute!" I love that he brings his teacher as much joy as he brings to us! Everyday he amazes me! Not only is he very smart but he also has an amazing capacity to love! He enjoys helping others and that is an amazing and rare quality. Yes, he is also so strong-willed that at times I just want to scream but the good outweighs the bad a million times over! We went camping with Jennifer & Ben last weekend and he really enjoyed it. He got to hang out with Ben's niece Erin. They watched a movie on the lawn there, drove pedal cars, played in the game room, swam, and rode on the boat! Ethan acted out while we were there but I think it was because (1) he didn't have enough sleep and (2) he wanted to be cool like Erin (she is 4 years older than him)! Once we got in the car to leave he took a nap and after he woke up he acted like his old self again.

Landen now has three teeth (the third one just came in this past couple of weeks)! He is working on his fourth one and it isn't making him very happy :( He is still trying to crawl and I have been trying continuously to get him to say "mama"! I know he will talk when he is ready but I don't want him to forget what he should say first, lol!! We had to go to the pediatrician last week due to a cold and Landen now weighs 25 pounds!!!! The other day a cashier called him a "juicy baby"! That's the first time I had ever heard that one. He now reaches his arms out when he wants to be held and it is the sweetest thing <3

This is Landen while watching his "Praise Baby" dvd. He usually doesn't take his eyes off of the tv but then when he saw that I had the camera out he just had to smile for me :)

I fall more and more in love with my boys every day!!!

A Change is Gonna' Come

Being able to watch these boys grow, change, and learn is such a blessing! If you aren't a parent yourself you just can't fully understand the pride, love, and joy your children bring you. Even though sometimes I crave a day out with the girl's or a little "me time", there is nothing more precious to me than my children.

In the past two and half weeks we have experienced a drastic change in our day to day life.....Ethan began kindergarten! For the past 5 years, 9 months, and 1 week I have dreaded the day that I would have to let my baby boy go to school and one week ago today that dread turned to pride as I watched my intelligent, independent, amazing, wonderful little man tackle the first day of kindergarten with no fear. He never ceases to amaze me! Ethan was so brave on his first day. He wouldn't hold my hand walking in but made sure to hug me bye :) He was a little unsure of his dad and I leaving but just kept coloring away! So, Landen and I came home to our awkwardly quiet house and counted down the hours until we could go pick Ethan up. As soon as he got into the vehicle he started telling me how "great" his day was and all of the details of his day. He wanted to know if I missed him and if I had cried! Ethan is a very observant little boy. So, I answered him honestly...."Yes, I missed you a ton!! And I cried a little because I was sad to leave you but then I thought of all of the fun you would have and I didn't cry anymore." He seemed satisfied with that answer. The highlights of Ethan's school days so far have been....winking at his teacher (he told me that he "cracks her up"), being bathroom monitor, playing outside (of course), and having Popsicles. His favorite time of the day is lunchtime but he also enjoys having books read to him in the library. Ethan has made several new friends in kindergarten but the one he talks about the most is Luke. They arrived at school this morning at the same time and he could barely wait for me to stop the car so he could go catch Luke so that they could walk into school together! I am so glad that he is enjoying school and I cannot wait to go eat lunch with him or visit his classroom soon.

Landen isn't making things any easier on me! He is growing and changing very quickly too. He is now outgrowing some 12 month clothes and he isn't even 8 months old yet!!! In addition to formula and baby food, he is now eating Gerber yogurt blends, Cheerios, Gerber puffs, biter cookies, bananas, and cantaloupe. We have also discovered that he doesn't like strawberries. It is almost impossible to hold him these days unless you are walking around with him. He constantly arches his back like he wants to get down. But then when you set him down he gets mad because he can't go anywhere! His favorite toy right now is his play mat but instead of laying under the toys he sits up and bats at them. Landen is suffering from separation anxiety (which I read is common at his age) so the only way I can get housework done is to put him in his stroller and roll him from room to room as I clean. Which has led me to discover that he is AMAZED by the vacuum. Those big, gorgeous brown eyes go back and forth as I push it and never do the lose sight of the vacuum as long as it is running! His sleep habits vary right now....some nights he will sleep 6 hours straight and some nights he is up every 2 hours! Oh well, he will only be a baby once.....sleep is overrated anyway. (Remind me that I said that on a morning after one of his "up every 2 hours" nights :) I love those little round cheeks and that sweet little grin with two little teeth shining <3>

"When you become a mother, you stop being the picture and become the frame."