What's in a Name?

In Harrison, my hometown, recently there opened a business called Haute Dog Boutique. Shortly there after this Haute Dog Boutique closed its doors. I can't help but think that the hot pink signage and the pretentiously witty name had something to do with its early demise. In this same town we have a very cute little store by the name of Groomingdales. This store boasts of similar items and services as the Haute Dog Boutique, yet it seems to have no trouble keeping its doors open. This furthers my suspisions of the power of a name. How much more important a name must be when attatched to a human being. I have never understood it but there seems to be a real conection between a person's name and thier personality. I know you're thinking "no, no, its thier upbringing and dna". While I agree, very seldom do I meet someone and think that thier name does not suit them. Risky business I tell you, this naming a child. In Tim and my relationship it seems that it is my job to provide the names and his job to veto them. It works. From my research it seems this is the way most couples opperate. At this point we aren't investing a whole lot of thought into it, we'll wait till we know which sex's names to spend our time on.

Meet the Bunny

Last Tuesday we met with my new OB Dr. and also had our first ultrasound. I was so happy because up until then nothing had happened. The Dr. that delivered James isn't in OB anymore so I had been seeing a midwife and she was terrible . I felt really comfortable with the new Dr. and the staff at the office was awesome. According to the ultrasound tech everything is looking great. It was too early to tell if it is a boy or a girl yet so we have to wait 7 more weeks till we have the second ultrasound. The heart rate was 157 which is considerably higher than James' was. Maybe a girl? Everyone says that I am having a girl this time because of how sick I've been . Its all speculation of course though. I have no idea. I kind of think that it is a girl, but not really for any reason at all. The whole time that we were having the ultrasound done she/he wiggled and bounced away from the pressure. The nurse said that it is a very feisty baby. James was no push over either though. That child never sat still and thought he needed a uterus the size of Texas. The official due date is June 15. Yay! It will be here before we know it.

I Heart Huckabee

Love Actually

Every year at the beginning of the Holiday season I have to watch Love Actually. For me this is usually in late October but I am running behind this year so I have not yet watched it. It is such a random movie I can't explain why I like it so much. I would never have thought this would be a movie that I watched year after year. I think maybe I like it because it feels so real to me and yet in the end it makes me happy. For some people it may be Its a Wonderful Life, for me it is Love Actually. Last year I tried watching Its a Wonderful Life for the first time. I'm sorry but I didn't find the wonder. I suppose this may have come from my dislike of Jimmy Stuart, who knows. When we were children we always went to my Grandma for Christmas. She had a finished basement that was quite comfy. One of the rooms had a TV and while the whole adult family was upstairs playing lively games of cards all of the grandchildren piled into the aforementioned room in the basement to watch Frosty the Snowman, Rudolf and various other Christmas classics.
What's your Holiday movie?

Lots of Halloween Fun

On Halloween James dressed up like a Rooster and hit the town. By hit the town I mean went out to lunch, to Wal-Mart, and to get his picture taken. He was/is still getting over his Pneumonia so that was all the fun he could take but it was great. I even let him have a Reeses peanut butter cup that our neighbor lady brought over for him. He thought that was about the best thing he had ever tasted. He's not allowed to have candy normally so it was a big treat. I bought Teddy Grahams for our Trick-or-Treaters but only four showed. Apparently we were the only house on our street that had our porch light on.

"Ba-Ba"

"Look at me, flappin my wings"

We have massive amounts of leaves fall in our yard every fall. Tim blows or rakes them all up and this year James got to jump in them. It was really cute because if you watched him he looked a little OCD. He would pick up a leaf from his one side and put it on his other side. He kept doing this one by one. Should I worry?

There are foul smells everywhere plaguing me. I'm afraid I'll never enjoy cooking again and there seems to be a permanent dent in the couch where I have recently been forced to take up residency. I'm not complaining though.

The Wheels on the Cart Go Round and Round

James recently found a new use for his cart. Hauling himself.

He may not be Chis Columbus but he's pretty proud of himself.

At least he was proud until...

...he tried to crawl out of his newfound space.

Unfortunately it seems that the stuffin in his cloth diapers has posed a problem with the width of his bum and the width of the area he must squeeze out of. Much to his dismay the child was stuck. The really funny thing was that he started crawling with his hands and his little butt stayed put as the entire cart (bum and all) rolled behind him.

In other news his medications have made him a bit hyper activated. I don't notice so much till its time for his nap. Instead of taking naps now he cries uncontrollably for as long as I leave him in his crib. He doesn't even go to sleep good at night. So this lack of sleep has affected his generally happy go lucky attitude. Poor tiger.

A Few Pictures of the Infirmed Infant

Last night and this morning James was very compliant with his breathing treatment. Thank the Lord for small mercies. He's doing really well I think the treatments and antibiotics are already helping his cough. He has also been sleeping a lot better. Today is a good day.
Its really not as bad as it looks. Most of the day he is up and running. He's gotten into finding things and bringing them to me for show and tell. He also points and asks "Wass' Da?". I love being a Mommy.

Pesky Cough Leads to Dr.'s Office

Unfortunately after today I fear this is no longer the picture James holds in his head of me. About three weeks ago he caught some sort of bug that led to a fever, massive amounts of snot, and a very pesky wet cough. After a few days the fever was gone, in a few more so was the snot, but three weeks later the cough persisted. So I finally gave in and took him to the Dr. this afternoon. On the up side he measured 2ft. 7in. and weighs 27lbs., on the down side he came out with no less than 4 prescriptions. It was decided that he needs an antibiotic, 2 different breathing medications (to be mixed together and administered as a breathing treatment), as well as Cingulair. Apparently not only did he have a cough but he was also wheezing in his lungs, which led the Dr. to ask if our families have a history of asthma. I don't think so but I really don't know. The worst part of the visit was when I had to administer the first of what I am told will be several breathing treatments. I had to hold a plastic mask with holes in it over his nose and mouth till all of the medicine was gone. I had seen this done at the hospital many times so I wasn't anticipating a lot of commotion. I don't know what I was thinking. For the next 10-15 min. he screamed and tried to writhe out of my arms. He looked at me with such panic and desperation I don't know who it was more traumatizing for. Hopefully tonight he will have decided it is old hat.
So anyway all this to say we go see the Dr. again in 10 days and see if the cough, the wheezing, and the red throat are gone.
While I was there the Dr.'s wife mentioned that they are pulling all of the over the counter cough and cold medications for children under 2. Apparently many children were being overdosed so they are removing it entirely.

The Craftsman

"Safety first."

"No really, I'm just pushing them up for a closer look"

"Forget safety, This looks awesome!"

"Whatever just happened, I'm innocent."

This past summer I found a Craftsman tool bench on a garage sale for $3 that at the time was much too big for James. Now it is just his size. A few weeks ago I decided he was ready to learn to be a tradesman so I asked Tim to haul it in from the garden shed. I then rearranged what used to the nursery and has more recently become the toddler abode. His room now sports a nice fuzzy rug (the one that used to be in the living room) made just for playing on as well as his handy dandy work bench. It would seem he is all boy as he loves all things that have wheels as well as the Craftsman. One thing I did not foresee though is the deeply rooted friendship with Lumpy. I should have known, Lumpy has been there for him through thick and thin. Lumpy has been with him since birth. Lumpy is a small 12"x16" purplish blue blanket in the shape of a bear with a bear head on top. James and Lumpy were always close, they took naps together and things like that but in the last month their friendship has gone beyond the crib. They enjoy long crawls together on the floor and at times you can find James carrying Lumpy by the ear. (Did I mention the ear is in between his teeth? Lumpy is long suffering.) Hmm...I did not picture my son as a blanket carrier. Does a half stuffed animal half blanket count? Its really kinda cute. Hmm...Already trying to choose my child's friends...

Negligent Blogging

Lately I have lost the will to blog. I don't know why. I either don't have new pictures, or just don't have internet worthy information about my life. I have been pleasingly busy with the all usual wifely/motherly duties. This weekend we handed James over to Bert and Kryna and went to a marriage retreat in Branson that was set up by a local church that we often visit. It was so great we preregistered for next year. Its amazing how much the Bible says about marriage. We picked James back up at church today and even though the time away was really nice I was extremely glad to have the little shaver back. I missed him immensely. This afternoon he took 6 steps unaided. I think he was trying to impress us so that we wouldn't leave him for 2 nights again. :) Actually I think he quite likes his Auntie and Uncle. Any day now I am quite sure he will take off at a run. I think at that point so will I, but I'm not sure in what direction yet.

Sniff..Sniff...

Our best friends moved away today. Happy for them, sad for us. Boo.

Quote of the Day

I'd give $4.00 for an Altoid right now! -Momma

James Would Like to Say...

Birthday Fun

When I look at this little face I can hardly imagine that it is the inquisitive little Ham standing next to me.

Last Thursday was his first Birthday. Mom and Dad and Bert and Kryna came over for dinner to celebrate. Mom and Dad came early and while Mom and I frosted the 72 cupcakes I had made Dad took James on his first trip to the park. 72 cupcakes may have been a little in excess but I wanted to do this right so I made one batch of chocolate, one batch of coconut, and one batch of vanilla with strawberry frosting.

James enjoyed a chocolate one.

Tim ended up taking a few dozen to the post office for his coworkers to enjoy. I also sent some home with Mom which I believe ended up at Church.

For dinner we had pork roast with sweet potato fries and steamed carrots. James LOVED the sweet potato fries and couldn't get them in his mouth fast enough. After dinner was done James was such a mess we had to throw him in the tub for a bath before we could even think about opening presents.

Tim and I got him a Radio Flyer. He fell in love even before it had its wheels on. He was very proud to help the Men put it together.

Hmmm... the wheels do work!

After the bath was done we sat down to open presents. All but three had wheels. He runs around saying "Vroom, Vroom" Tonight we walked by a motorcycle and he was looking at it saying "Vroom, Vroom" I was surprised he didn't say Grandpa but maybe next time. After opening presents the men took James for a trial spin around the block in the Flyer whilst the women cleaned the kitchen.

"Vroom!"

"I don't know what to play with first."

"Man, nobody told me how much fun Birthdays are"

"I love my stuffed safari animals Auntie K."

"Whoa!"

"Thanks Grandma and Grandpa, do you want a ride?"

What a great day, what a great year. I love being a Momma. I've never had a better job and I never will. It is the toughest, most rewarding, most enjoyable thing I have ever done.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today the crib was empty waiting for a warm little bundle of fluff. Kryna and I spent the entire day putting the finishing touches on the nursery, decorating and stocking the changing table with diapers. In the evening Momma came to pick up Kryna and take us to dinner. When she was leaving she told me to go directly to bed because if I went into labor in two hours I would be glad I had those two hours of sleep. After dropping me off for the evening as she pulled away from my curb she looked at Kryna and stated "That girls gonna have that baby tonight". I on the other hand did not take my mother's advice. I proceeded to fold laundry and clean up the house for the following two hours. Only after I was somewhat satisfied with the condition of my house did I lay on the sofa to wait Tim to get home from work. I tried to sleep but it was no use so I started watching a rerun of Will & Grace. Needless to say I don't know how it ended. An hour and a half later I was checking into St. John's Mercy Hospital to "have that baby".

I can't say I am proud of this picture but here it is. (note to self, giant pink hospital gown and pink bathrobe NOT flattering)

All set for the Munchkin.

They were relentless(they meaning hospital staff)I was not to rest I was to be up walking.

First Hair Cut

"Hair what? You do realize how long it took me to grow what little I have, right?"

"This could be fun, I like paparazzi"

"Oh, oh, hehe, that tickles, Momma."

"Why is Momma getting tense? Am I not supposed to wiggle? This really isn't that much fun after all."

"Maybe even a little scary...Auntieeee!"

"Hmm, there's not much a good Auntie hug won't fix."
"I look pretty dapper with this new hair cut even if I have to say it myself. "