Um....where did 2008 go?

Man, time has flown this year. I've heard that time really starts to fly when you get older and I am definitely believing it. It seems like just yesterday that Jennifer and I were at the "after Christmas sale" at Peacocks in the Parlor and I picked up a sweet pair of baby reindeer booties and exclaimed "I have to get these!! Someone is BOUND to get pregnant this year.....". Little did I know that one month later that someone would be ME!! And that on April 2nd, that little pink line on the pregnancy test changed our lives forever!! It also seems like just yesterday that we were finding out that my dad's cancer had spread to his liver. A couple of weeks after I found out that I was pregnant, the doctor told us news that would also change our lives forever. It was terminal and he did not want to put my daddy through the chemo that would make him sick and still not get him better. Today is my dad's birthday, by the way. He would have been 72 and he would have loved this little boy who is a gift from God. This year has been hard. Really hard. I've lost someone I love so much and have been given someone I love so much. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Funny how that happens...So many people that I know seem to be going through a roller coaster year. This year has been filled with joyous new babies, deaths of parents, loss of babies, divorce, marriage, healing of sick babies, re commitments to loved ones....the list goes on and on. 2008 will definitely be the year that I feel I "grew up". So much has happened when I reflect on this year. I have made great new friends and become distant to some that I used to share so much with. I am so blessed beyond what I deserve....

 

After a long day gone from my boys, I arrived home to find the house unusually quiet....this is what I found in our bedroom. This is my favorite picture of all time!! Doesn't it just melt your heart?? Tom really is a wonderful daddy to Luke!

 
 


I LOVED the Santa Monkey outfit that my friend Alea got for Luke! It was too cute and I thought he looked adorable! Also, here is a pic of monk-monk (a new nickname...)asleep in his bouncy!

 
 


Here are some pictures from our family Christmas Eve dinner at my sister's house! Awwww....

Where oh where have I been???

Hey all! So, it's been about 16 days since I last blogged (not that I'm counting!) and I figured I'd better get something on here! I know I get frustrated when people don't update ('cause, like I said before, I'm nosy) so I'd better get back to it! Here is a reader's digest version of life since we last talked:
~got my car fixed ($2200.00!!). We had to beg, steal, and borrow for that one! At least it's running now, but unfortunately something happened to my air when he replaced the transmission!! figures.....
~Luke's first Christmas was really good! He was so worn out by the end of the day's travels to various family that he rewarded mommy and daddy by puking on us...lots...like, the whole bottle! Think Linda Blair in the Exorcist!
~Speaking of monkey, he is now 12lbs. 10ozs!! Chunky, chunky, monkey!! His 3 month doctor visit went well and he is doing GREAT according to Dr. Gleason!
~My sweet husband surprised me this Christmas with a pair of diamond earrings! I was shocked!! He apparently had been putting a little back from his paycheck each week and even sold some of his computer parts to get them for me!! I totally do not deserve them because I have been a bit of a witch lately to him! In fact, right before he gave them to me, I was just railing on him and saying the most awful things because I was stressed out and ill. And of course, I take it out on him and I shouldn't! Now, though, he totally has something to hold over me, and he just LOVES that! The earrings are gorgeous, and I have been wanting some for a few years! Never shall they leave my ears.....
~I did some after Christmas shopping and got TONS of ornaments for next year's tree! It will be a white/silver/cream/clear tree next year. Tom said he wanted a "classy" tree! So, I also got a smaller tree ($10 at Wal-Mart for a six footer!!) to put in our kitchen that I will decorate "hodge podge"...you know, special and different ornaments and such...
~I have to go back to work the week after next, and I have to admit that I am very sad! I have been with monkey 24/7 and leaving him will be so hard! I might have to get his daddy to drop him off with his sitter because I just don't think I will be able to do it!!
~I am getting sick and it sucks.
~Courtney had her baby!! YAY!! Little Shelby is a beauty and I went to see her with Meg and Doreen. Shelby looks just like her mommy!! Click on "The Snuggs' family" to see pictures!
~I just found out some really sad news...My friend's(Meg) sister-in-law lost her baby today. I think she was around 25 weeks, so it is pretty devastating news. Please be in prayer for the Simmons' family (Emily, Casey, and Addy). This time of year will forever be hard for this family from now on and I can only hope that God gives them comfort. Little Audrey Snuggs now has baby Simmons for a playmate up in heaven...

Well, I have to go check on Monkey...He is squawking because he does not feel well! Six teaspoons of cereal in every bottle makes a very constipated little boy!! I've missed blogging and will post some pics soon!

Christmas Memories

Ok, so my friend Meg tagged everyone to share their Christmas memories/traditions. What a great idea...or so I thought! I realized quickly that I need to start up some traditions now that I am a mom. After reading Meg's I have decided that I have had pretty uneventful holidays while growing up! But, here's what I came up with...

1. I remember getting a baby stroller one year and I was so excited about it! However, after breakfast we all smelled plastic burning. The source of the smell was, you guessed it...my brand new stroller! We had one of those floor furnaces growing up and I had left it on there and the wheel melted to the heater grate! So sad...

2. Now a good one! I remember my sister and I getting adoption dolls! Mine was named Amanda Renee and she was a pre-cursor to the Cabbage Patch doll I got a few years later. (I was never into Barbie dolls - only baby dolls!)

3. My sister and I would get up sooooooo early on Christmas morning and BEG my momma and daddy to let us go ahead and open presents but every year they would say, "Wait until we have breakfast!". We would beg and plead and they always let us go ahead and tear into them!

4. In the past, our whole family would come over Christmas afternoon and eat lunch together. More recently, we have been doing a "family get together" a few days before and exchange presents. There are so many people in my family that we have to draw names (I am one of 8 kids and there are LOTS of grandkids!). We usually draw names at Thanksgiving.

5. My mother is the most difficult person on earth to buy a present for and she has always said she hated Christmas. Kinda a scrooge, but we all know and accept that about her! My daddy was the easiest person to buy for and he always LOVED Christmas!! This will be my first Christmas without him and it just won't be the same. He was like a kid opening presents and I will miss seeing his happy face on Christmas morning.

6. Tom and I do not buy presents for each other. We have always taken the money we would have spent and given to a needy family. This year, funds are very low thanks to a $2000 transmission, so we won't get to do it :(

7. Tom proposed to me during our family Christmas in 2005...so sweet!

8. I love scrawny, Charlie-Brown type Christmas trees with cheap tinsel and home-made ornaments. They are the best!

Now....everyone else post their Christmas memories because I am nosy and like to know these things!!

 


Introducing Chubby Cheeks!! Um, do they make slim-fast for babies?? He is PACKING on the pounds!!

 


Ok, I know he is mine, but is he not just stinkin' cute??

 


"WHASSUP UP????"

 


"I...can't...believe...I...ate...the...WHOLE...thing...!!!"

 


"Ummm, define naughty Santa...."

 


"Put the camera away, Mommy!! I'm OVER it!!"

 

"Why are you forcing me to look like an elf?" (more pics on next page)

 

 

 

 

World's cutest Christmas baby!! He's so stinkin' cute! I'm starting to dress him in his super cute Christmas outfits!

 

 

Here is Monkey with his Daddy on the recliner! And here is sweet Sojo looking oh so cute and hoping her daddy will give her a bite of the chocolate cake he was eating!

Zantac bound

Well, the doc decided to put lil' Lukester on medicine yesterday. I guess I'm ok with it...I mean, the past couple of weeks have been super hard on him and me! His tummyaches, gas, constipation, diarrhea, spitting up, etc. finally got the best of me and I called and said "Ok, we have tried cereal and no cereal...He is miserable and I really need something to give!" So, they called in a prescription of Zantac and told me to continue with his cereal and add some dark Karo syrup in his bottle a couple of times a day (so he can poop. So, currently, this is how we do his bottles: 1 teaspoon of cereal per oz. of formula for every bottle, .7ml of Zantac 2 times a day 20 min. before he eats, 1 teaspoon of Karo in a bottle 2 times a day, .5ml of poly-vitamins in bottle once a day, and mylicon gas drops in his bottle as needed! Whew! It's crazy! But if this will make him feel better, I'll do it! Also, I'm struggling with him getting his days and nights mixed up. He is WIDE awake between 3 and 6 in the morning and he crashes all day! This makes for a very tired mommy! I am also gonna TRY to get him to sleep in his pack-n-play bassinet and not with me on our big chair! I tried last night, but it only lasted about an hour and a half before I had him back in the living room and asleep with me on the chair. It's so strange...it's like he wouldn't get into a deep sleep in his bassinet. He was kinda asleep but then would cry for a few seconds without opening his eyes. Then back to sleep. Then he would repeat it....Could this be his belly hurting? He never does this when he sleeps with me. Is is too early to just let him cry a little? I have a feeling that we will have some sleepless nights ahead of us! Any suggestions....send them my way! I really want him to sleep by himself!! I am missing my new comfy bed but I also love the security of him right next to me. Well, we finally got a rental car! Yay! I am free to leave the house again! The transmission in my car is shot and we have to get another put in. Who would have thought that one hole in the road could cause sooooo much damage? Supposedly, it was a freak thing that happened to my wheel where is was air-born for a split second, caused it to keep spinning and threw a gear in my transmission! Ick. On a happy note, some friends of ours got to take their little one home from the NICU yesterday after 10 long weeks! YAY! Morgan and Matt finally got to take Paisley, Luke's future wife, home and I know they are so happy! I'm happy for them! It has been a long road for them but Miss P. is gonna do great! Morgan has a blog you can link to from mine - it is named The Eddy's. I don't think she has had a chance to update yet, but you can see pics of her beautiful little one on there! Hope everyone has a good night! Say a prayer that I can get Luke into that bassinet tonight!

It's good to be back!

Hey guys! I'm back from my "blogging sabbatical" and lots has happened since I left! Luke is growing like a weed! He is probably pushing 9lbs. by now! Can you believe it?? He has come a long way since his lowest weight of 3lbs. 7ozs.! I have stopped putting cereal in his formula...it was giving him too much of a bellyache and he was NOT happy about it. He went from a relatively good baby to one that I could hardly console. The cereal made him really constipated and he was just miserable - and so was I! We were having to give him diluted apple juice and it wreaked havoc on his little tummy - all kinds of noises and it just sounded really bad. We also had to give him glycerin suppositories :(. Not fun! So, after a week, I made the executive decision to take him off of it. And he seems to be doing OK. I do think he has reflux because he cries when he burps and he is still spitting up quite a bit, but it's not projectile so hopefully he will just grow out of it! He seems to be more like himself & he is not nearly as fussy!! He has been off the cereal for 3 days and until this morning had still not pooped. Pardon me while I discuss poo...it's just something mommy's have to be deal with! Anyway, we had Poopfest 2008 at around 7:30 this morning. It was bad ~ really bad! Bless his little heart! He acts like he feels MUCH better now, though! On a sad note, I currently have no car. That's right..my car is screwed up! I was leaving the Shell station on Friday night and did not see this HUGE hole on the side of the road and apparently I cut my wheel a little sharp and BAM - ran right into it! It has done something really bad to it...I could not get it to drive or go forward or anything! I put it in drive and it just revved like it was in neutral. Nice. We had to have it towed and will assess the damage tomorrow. Needless to say, I had a major hissy fit/breakdown/cuss fit/panic. If I am being tested, believe me, I failed miserably that night! I mean, I seriously had to ask God to forgive me for all the UGLY things I said! What else....Oh, I went to see "Four Christmases" tonight with Jen. It was great! Very funny! I love movies!! I want to go more often but never find the time. I had my shower last Sunday and it was wonderful! I got so many cute things for Luke and LOTS of clothes! My faves included three Feltman Brothers outfits and a Feltman Bros. bib! They are sooo nice and I can't wait until Luke is big enough to wear them! He also got lots of books and this cool rainforest thingy you hang on his crib. I also loved his monogrammed burp clothes and a homemade frame my friend Christy made. It was all so sweet and special! Speaking of my friend Christy, she had her sweet baby girl last Monday! Lanie weighed in at 7lbs. 7ozs. and looks JUST like her mommy (beautiful of course!). She already has Angelina Jolie lips and a head full of dark hair! Also, my mom is STILL in North Carolina! She has been gone over a month and it makes me sad that she has not seen Luke. She says she is coming home this weekend, but we'll see. Needless to say, she missed my shower. I'm not bitter...wait, yes I am! My MIL came over yesterday and let me sleep for a few needed hours while she watched Monkey. Then my sweet husband came home from the gun show, handed me a benedryl to knock me out (I'm a light sleeper), & told me I was going to sleep longer because he was going to watch the baby and I needed a break! OH I LOVE HIM!! I slept for, no lie, 9 hours!!! It was WONDERFUL!! And I have felt sooooooo much better since! Well, that has pretty much caught you up on what's been going on here in Smithville! Hope everyone is doing great!

 

 

 

Then...

Late September/Early October

What a tiny little monkey!!!

 

and now...

November 30

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!

 
 

Luke crashed after Thanksgiving festivities! It's so hard being the cutest baby alive and having everyone wanting to hold you! Also, here is his Nonna (Tom's mom) holding her already-spoiled grandson!

 
 
 
 


Here are some recent pics of Monkey! His Daddy's hat is a little bit big, don't ya think? I love the one where he looks like a little drunk hobo! Fun with baby! Look how blue his eyes are! He is getting so big!

Feeling Convicted

So tonight, I am doing a little "blog-stalking" (my favorite thing to do, hands down!) when I happened upon a blog from a lady that talked about a "media vacation". She discussed how she has been so surrounded by tv, internet, email, texting, etc. that she was losing sight of what was truly important. I am guilty of spending no less than 1 - 2 hours a day blogging and reading blogs and yet I have not opened my bible in DAYS!! I've read the paper, watched the news, read blogs, read magazines...but no bible. What's up with that? I guess I just expect that God is always gonna be there for me no matter how I treat him. I can ignore him and sometimes even curse him, but boy, when I need him, he BETTER be there for me. Well, this is twisted. I am consuming too much time in earthly things and not enough in eternal things. I want to be perceived as such a great Christian, but only I know that I am so lukewarm that it is pathetic. I tell people that I will pray for them, and guess what? I don't. I tell myself that I am definitely gonna pray before every meal, and guess what? I don't. I say that I will read my bible everyday, but guess what? I don't. I feel a little hollow right now and I know that it is because I am not being filled with the spirit because I am pushing it away. I am not being faithful to God who has continually poured out His blessings to me. I am a liar. I talk a good game and yet I am not doing what I KNOW is expected of me from God. Time and time again I promise Him and myself that I will "be better this time". Luke is here and perfect and what do I do to proclaim my gratefullness? Nothing. I feel like such a fake. A big ol' faker. In an effort to reclaim what I am losing, I am going to take a break from this computer for a couple of days and get back into my bible. It is my sincere hope that God hasn't given up on me and my lack of discipline. I'm not going to be gone forever - just a couple of days. I promise to return with updates on Monkey - he should be home tomorrow. However, for the next few days, I have to reconnect with a relationship that I have let go by the wayside. Everyone have a great weekend and I will be back on next week!! Love you@

A trip to the ER

Hey guys. Please say a quick prayer today for Luke. He has had a pretty bad cough for the past few days and the docs did not seem too worried about it (they think it is just his lungs adjusting to normal air and not NICU air). Last night, I was feeding him and I think he tried to cough and drink at the same time and his lips turned blue! I sat him up immediately and patted him on his back and he let out 3 BIG coughs. Scary! The docs told me to go ahead and take him to Children's and apparently this is an automatic admission. They are observing him for 24-36 hours to make sure he does not have any O2 drops. I really think that he just did this b/c he choked, but they are taking NO chances since he is a preemie that has only been home a week. They say he should be home by Sat. afternoon. They are running ALL kinds of tests just to make sure we have NOTHING else going on (like an infection). I am pretty devastated that Monkey has to be back in the hospital but if everything works out and looks good he will be home tomorrow. I will keep everyone posted on what we find out.

Why does my son like to pee on me?

Seriously y'all! I have been peed on everyday since Monkey came home! Granted, it's usually around 2:30 in the morning and I am so tired I forget to "cover" it...boy, it wakes me up pretty good! Just getting used to being a mommy! It's really starting to sink in that Luke really is home and that we are totally responsible for his care! I'm trying to figure out his cries and his sleep pattern (which is around 3-4 hours at a time). I'm also still obsessing about my fear of SIDS so he has been sleeping on my chest (I know, I know...) while I sleep on our big over sized chair in the living room. I have ordered these mattress covers for his pack and play and his crib because of some research I have been doing on SIDS. Wanna get scared and paranoid? Google "toxic gas and mattresses". Supposedly "they" have found a link between a fungus that emits toxic gas from mattresses when is is mixed with the stuff found in flame retardant (which all mattresses have). So, this doc in New Zealand has created a cover that supposedly helps. There is a lot more to it (the sites discuss the latest findings of having a fan in the room and the whole "back to sleep" campaign"). Anyway, it could be totally bogus, but I think it is 80 bucks well spent! I really need to stop obsessing...why do I have this fear that he is going to be taken away??? Maybe I need a boost in my meds....I just love him sooooo sooooo much and I pray that God never feels as though I could ever handle something like my child passing away. I have to stop before I get too morbid!! On a lighter note, my friend Nicole from the awesome Footprints Ministry (see their link on my page) and I will be meeting with Brenda Ladunn for a segment on her "Matters of Faith" broadcast. We will meet and talk with her tomorrow at St. Vincent's and there is a chance we might even be on TV!!! Cool!! I'm such a dork! Seriously, this ministry is awesome and I am so blessed to have benefited from it and I really want to get involved. On a sad note, my momma is still in North Carolina visiting her family (she's been there a month)and probably won't get to make it to my shower on Sunday. That sucks. I mean, it really hurts my feelings...what girl doesn't want her momma to ooohhh and aaaahhh with her over all the fun gifts? But, you just gotta know my mom. She is a "different" breed of sorts. Really different. She doesn't see how this could upset me. She has had several chances to make it home and she has known about this shower for a while. She even told me today, "Well, I already bought him a gift."! How cruddy is that?? I just need to let it go and know that she loves Luke in her own way. And that I will never ever change her. She is who she is. And even though she has not called me since he has been home, I can't let it bring me down. Lots of people love Monkey and I know lots of people will come on Sunday. I just really want my momma there. But, she won't be. I'll deal. Have a good night everyone!

 
 
 
 

Tummy time on the monkey mat! Look at Super-Luke raise his head up!! Also, he LOVES his Baby Einstein mat! This is his favorite place to sleep! Not the fancy pack-n-play, not the fancy bouncy seat, not the fancy swing, no, none of those! His favorite place? On his Einstein mat. On the floor. Go figure! Oh, for those of you are wondering about the dogs...they don't bother him at all! They might go sniff at him but other than that, they leave him alone or just stare at him! They are such good dogs....

 
 
 
 

Warm and snuggly after bath time! Also pictures from our first visit to see Dr. Gleason!