Wednesday, November 30, 2005

For my mom!

A Poem Worth Repeating

There is no velvet so soft as a mother's lap
No rose as lovely as her smile
No path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps.

I love you momma!! : )

Your three month old this week

You can't see it happening, but the areas in your baby's brain that control hand-eye coordination, hearing, language, smell, and the ability to recognize objects are developing now. That's why your baby often turns toward you and starts gurgling when he hears your voice — he's making a connection. Talk and read to him often; it's the best way to spark his communication skills, even if he can't understand what you're saying just yet.

Tyler said his first word last week! It was...Nanny!!
I am sure that he didn't say it on purpose. But, I heard him say it and I asked Shelby what he said 'cause she was in the same room with him, I was in the bathroom fixing my hair. She said, he said Nanny!
That is what the grandkids call my mom.
She was pretty tickled to know that her name was his first word.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

New pics

Just posted some new pics on Flikr...

The cake



My lovely mother in law made this beautiful cake for my daughter's birthday!

The kiddos



Here's a picture from Thanksgiving:
From left to Right:
Tyler (mine)
Katie (Mandy's)
Shelby (mine)
Haven (Theresa's)

Hello blog world!!

Hello there everyone. Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I did. : )

We had a good weekend filled with lots of fun and family!!

Shelby's 3rd Birthday party was saturday. We had a "princess party". I'll post some pictures here in a few. She had a nice time and got lost of gifts...like Aunt Becca said, what will we get her for Christmas now!? *LOL*

Anyhow, just wanted to update and let everyone know I am still alive and things are going well. Hope all is well with you all and you survived the holidays without too much weight gain or left over turkey!!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Family portraits

Last night we had family portraits! : )

It was the first time Brien and I had our pictures made since we were married. *LOL*

It was also the first time that I had baby Tyler to have his done. He did well. Big sister did okay too. We got lots of cute pictures to choose from. I ordered quite a bit. I didn't really order that many to give out, though. I realized that I always order lots of pictures and give them all away. So, this time I ordered what I knew I wanted and decided that I will probably just take them to wal-mart and have them made for christmas cards and such. That'll take care of the grandmas too so that way they can have big ones.

Anyhow, if I ever get my computer hooked up at home, I'll scan them when I pick 'em up (next tuesday) and put them here.

Bad Times

So, I just thought that my day was bad last Wednesday. It got worse and worse!!!

I went to court for work and while I was out, I had to turn my phone off. When I got back to the store, I turned it on and had a message from my little brother to call him. I did. I was informed of the worst possible news. He and his fiance were expecting their first child in January. She had a dr appt and during a routine ultrasound they discovered that the baby had no heartbeat. : (

I left here and was driven to my mom's house where my brother and his fiance were. They were both pretty devistated. He is 19 and she is 18. It was their first child.

She ended up going in to the hospital to deliver the baby Wednesday night. She had him on Thursday morning around 11:15. It was a very long weekend. My birthday was on Saturday and instead of celebrating, we had the funeral services for little Hunter Lynn Smitherman. The services were very nice. It was probably one of the most difficult things to endure. It was tough on me knowing that my little baby Tyler was as small as the little casket that baby Hunter was laying in. It was hard seeing my little brother and his precious fiance having to deal with such loss. They are both lovely people and they would have been great parents. They WILL be great parents someday. Someday they will have a brother or sister for little baby Hunter. But, until then we can only imagine what a great life he would've made for himself. : )

Please pray for my family.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

: p

I had a horrible afternoon at work yesterday.
I miss my husband.
I wish I were home in bed.
Tyler was up most of the night last night crying. I don't know what was wrong with him. He's normally a good night sleeper. He very rarely cries during the day, much less at night.
I miss my husband!
I miss my best friend, Bec.
I miss my momma...I just wish someone were here for me to cry on their shoulder.

: (

Ah well...back to work.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

The new house

Here's some pics of the kid's rooms. The deer room is Tyler's and the butterflies and pink is Shelby's room. Just so there's no confusion! Heh heh



Halloween



Here's the kiddos in their halloween get up.
I have uploaded more photos on Flikr in case ya hadn't noticed...

My baby boy



Here's a new release of my little precious Tyler.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Normal

Thanks, Bec for putting this into perspective for me!!

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and
driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in
order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car,
and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in
it."
- Ellen Goodman

Friday, November 11, 2005

Friday Post

Hey there faithful readers!!

It's Friday. The only bad thing about that is the fact that I have to work tomorrow. : (

We're getting ready for inventory here at work, so I have to work this Saturday and the following Saturday (which happens to be my birthday)!!
Next weekend, I also have to attend my neice's 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Then on Sunday, we're having a baby shower for my future sister-in-law. The following weekend is Shelby's birthday party. We're having a princess party! It should be fun. We're all excited about it. She wants a Fairytale Dora doll, and I think they are only available at Toys R Us, so it looks like I'll be making a trip to North Little Rock to purchase that, unless I get it online! : )

Anyhow, I just wanted to post a semi-update.
Things are going well. Brien will be deer hunting this weekend, so I am hanging out with the kids. Shelby and I are going to go see Chicken Little sometime this weekend. She's pretty excited about that!

Have a great weekend everyone!! No internet at home, so I'll talk to you all Monday!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Week 13

Your baby may be strong enough now to do mini-pushups, lifting his head and chest off the ground for a better view. To encourage him, try placing him on his stomach on a play mat for short periods of time every day. You'll be surprised at how quickly he learns to raise his upper body to see what's going on around him.
Many studies have shown that a stimulating environment accustoms children to change and helps their senses develop more quickly. Playing developmental games with him - even at this age - can provide just such an environment. These activities also provide a unique opportunity to interact with your baby and encourage a love of learning. Try sewing a small bell onto a band and put it on his wrist or ankle. He will begin to understand that it makes a sound when he moves, helping him develop body awareness and hand-eye coordination. However, be sensitive to signs that he is over stimulated and needs a break. As they say, everything in moderation.

Tyler may be able to push up on his arms by now, but don't get too excited, this is only half of the equation needed to start crawling. He also needs to develop his balance and leg coordination. However, if Tyler can move his upper body with his arms, he might soon figure out how to drag himself around.

Your little one will continue experimenting with his voice and is probably developing quite the "vocabulary" lately. He may be making vowel sounds like "ooh" and "aah" and has learned that he can change the sound simply by changing the shape of his mouth.

Tyler is probably opening his hands more and may start bringing them together in clapping motions as his hand-eye coordination improves. He has probably started batting at objects in an attempt to reach out for them. Help him develop this coordination by holding out a toy to see if he will grasp it.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Last night Brien and I got a lot accomplished...you really still can't tell it much when you walk into my house, but it is looking better!!

We did get the living room arranged like we want it. We have a fireplace in there, and since we bought that new furniture and got two couches, it makes it kinda hard to get it all to fit in there. But, I finally did get it to an acceptable arrangement. I need to get a big pretty area rug to put in the middle of the floor, though. I will do that later on when I get the carpet shampooed. I took lots of things out of the shop and put lots more in the shop. Seems like we have all of this extra room, but nowhere to put things! Ironic, isn't it? But, the master bedroom is still under construction, so that part of the house is pretty much shut off. That will help a lot when we get moved back there. Brien was trying to get our things in the baby's room last night and got aggravated because we scooted the bed over and it wasn't centered! I reminded him that this was only temporary and that we'd be moving into our room soon enough. He reminded me of the upcoming deer season and that his work would probably come to a halt until its retreat! Arrrghhh...I grumbled. But, he does need a break. Poor thing has been working himself morning and night. We'll eventually get the place how we like it! : ) I'm pretty excited about just being there.

I am having my satellite installed today. Whoo hoo! : )
The funny thing is that they sent me my equipment along with someone else's!! They sent me 8 receivers, 4 DVRs and 2 satellites. *LOL* That's a lot of stuff. So, anyhow I called them and they are sending me labels to have it shipped back to them.

It's Friday. : )
I get to have a fancy buisiness dinner with my fellow employees tonight at a nice Steakhouse. Should be fun. We all get to dress up business-like and our boss is paying! Should be fun.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Week 12 - Your New Baby

This week you may notice that your baby spends a great deal more time watching what’s going on around him and also a great deal of time watching his hands. Much of the reflexes that were responsible for holding the hands in fists are now easing. Hands become very interesting at this stage, and between watching them and sucking on them, hands will keep him busy for a long while. Hands are used a lot for comfort and helping baby cope and calm down. You may see your baby sucking on his hands much more often in the next couple months. Most infants stop sucking on their hands when their motor skills improve and they can manipulate other items into their mouths using their hands. Just expect everything your baby picks up to go straight into his mouth for the next several months.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

What Kind of Candy are you?

Candy Cigarettes

You're a total badass, but you don't taste very good.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

spitting up

There's no avoiding the fact that some babies are spitters. It may help the situation if you change formulas (your pediatrician can suggest alternatives), give smaller, more frequent meals, and burp your little one more often--or it may not. Most moms who've dealt with spitters agree that the best solution is simply to wear old clothes--and plan on doing extra laundry. The good news is that most spitting is normal and passes by the time baby can sit up. However, if your baby vomits so persistently that she doesn't seem to get enough to eat, check with your doctor.

Unfortunately both of my babies were/are spitters! : (

Ya just have to learn to live with it.

My Baby This Week -- Your 2-Month-Old, Fourth week

Cooing is your baby's way of showing he's happy. This pre-speech exercise lets him play with sound just as he plays with his fingers and toes. Show your approval by cooing or talking in response; see if you can have an extended conversation. While you're at it, set him down in front of a tape recorder and preserve his first sounds for posterity. In a few years, both of you will love listening to that early baby talk.

My little Tyler has really developed quite an active personality. He really loves to coo and laugh now. He is a pretty happy baby. I love it when they are at this stage. He's right before the teething stage when they become little monsters.