12/13-12/18

The last week before Christmas break brought lots of work but lots of joy.  I had to help get ready for the Christmas food and gift give away.  It was an amazing experience that was an eye opener for me.  To realize the situations that people are in and why they are there and to see the look on their face when they realize they will be able to give their kids a Christmas dinner and gifts under the tree is nothing short of AMAZING.  It really made me realize that my family is extremely blessed!  I missed my boy alot this week, but it was sooo worth it in the end.  On Friday night, I came home and snuggled him up, what a week!!!

Lawson Family Christmas and Swifton Parade

On Saturday 12/12, we headed over to the Church of Christ fellowship hall for Lawson Family Christmas.  There were quite a few there and Zeke got to play with a few cousins while we all enjoyed visiting and catching up.  We left at game time to take Zeke to the parade.  He bundled up and we went out in the yard to watch the parade go by and he LOVED it.  He loved the sirens and especially the candy, but still wasn't sure about that Santa.......

Sick Baby.........12/9-12/11

On Wednesday night 12/9, Zeke began to have fever around 5 and the first time we checked it, it was 102.7.  We were terrified because he had never had a fever before, nothing over 99.5 anyways.  We have been so lucky with that!  All night we alternated tylenol and advil every 3 hours and then on Thursday morning we headed to sick call.  We didn't get to see Dr. Hornbeck :( but his ears and throat were clear :) so we left and thought everything was great.  He told us to only give advil but a larger dose, so we skipped the tylenol dose at 9 and his fever spiked at 103.9.  I frantically called the doctor's office back and they put me off for an hour and a half "waiting to hear from the dr" so I called back and they let me talk to the nurse finally.  She said if it got to 105.5 to bring him to the ER, I was shocked it was ok until it reached 105.5.  I don't think I will ever be able to wait until it is that high, we just live to far from a hospital for that!  When we got home, he slept alot until his fever was gone and luckily Ms. Betty told me to stay home and baby him cause she had a sub for me!  By Friday 12/11 he was feeling much better, thank goodness. 

Shopping 12/8/09

On Tuesday, Zeke and I took off for a shopping trip with Rachel and Abbi.  We ate at Dixie and spent a few hours at Walmart.  It was a great success shopping for the Christmas Angels.  We had a lot of fun too!  Forgot my camera again, getting good at that..........

Cutting Edge Open House 12/5/09

On Saturday, we went to the open house at the Cutting Edge and then headed to Newport to see Granny Fannie.  We went to eat Mexican and then headed to feed the ducks, can you believe I forgot my camera for such an event???  Zeke loved feeding the ducks and playing at the park!  He loved playing the most!  He is such a runner these days!  That evening we headed out to Dad and Cyn's for a little visit and then came home.  It was a busy Saturday that called for a lazy Sunday............So on Sunday, we went to church and then stayed home the rest of the afternoon to be lazy!  We did take some time to snap some pics of the girls with Zeke for a Christmas present for the parents.  We got some decent pics, maybe as they get older we can try for all looking and all smiling :)

Christmas Shopping and Pics w/ Santa 12/3/2009

We had to go to Jonesboro on the 3rd to finish our Christmas shopping and of course make a visit to Santa!  We tried before Thanksgiving but Zeke fell asleep.  We decided to eat dinner in the mall at Shorty Small's and were disappointed that it just wasn't as delicous as the other Shorty's we have been to!  When it was time to get his pic made with Santa, Zeke just wasn't sure that he really wanted to.  He did get up there and let them snap a pic or two but he was not at all thrilled to be sitting on that man's lap and he certainly did not do anything to try to get Zeke to like him.  After all the shopping and eating, we let Zeke stop to play and he really liked riding the bus!  He didn't want to get off, but we kind of ran out of money, HA!

2nd Hair Cut

Zeke got his second hair cut on Wednesday, so sad to see his little curls fall but it was getting a little shaggy.  He was such a big boy.  He sat in my lap and stayed really still while Cheryl cut his hair, he wasn't so sure about it.  After he was done, he really liked the singing Santa so of course I had to bring him home.  We are still on our first set of batteries amazingly enough, he loves this thing.

Christmas Tree Decorating

Last night and tonight has been spent decorating the Christmas tree.  Last night, we put it up and put the angel on and tonight we decorated.  Tonight was so much fun.  Zeke helped put ornaments on and some of them he actually hung on the tree.  Then he started bringing them to me and we were done in no time, what a helper he was.  Then he stopped to play the harmonica with Dustin.  The little stinker actually played it and he loves it now, I am constantly amazed by how young they learn some things.  Then he decided to put the harmonicas on the tree and pick a different "ornament" to blow on.  It was quite humorous to watch!  He is growing up so quickly, almost 16 months old............yikes!

An Appalachian Thanksgiving

On Tuesday night, we left for Hager Hill, KY to see Nana and Poppy.  We left around 8 and got there around 5 am and Zeke slept the whole way!  He was such a good rider.  We visited and napped all morning and then got checked in our motel and to Walmart in the afternoon before going back to Nana and Poppy's for supper and some more visiting.  On Thursday, we spent all day visiting, eating, and playing games.  We had a lot of fun and so did Zeke.  On Friday, we went to a few stores after the rush and then to do some sightseeing with the fam.  Zeke slept most of the afternoon in the truck and we got really car sick in the mtn's, we are flat landers.  On Saturday, we went to Jenny Wiley State Park and then to a park to play before going home, it was tons of fun and our motel was really nice.  It was so good to visit, but most importantly that Zeke got to see Nana and Poppy!

11/21~11/22

On Saturday, we went to see Granny Fannie.  We ate Mexican, fed the ducks and visited a while before we came home to see what Dustin was up to.  Zeke also got to meet cousin Cole and he really loved him.  He wanted to look at him and talk to him, but not touch him.  You could see the love in his smile, so sweet!  On Sunday, we were all lazy except for washing up for our big trip this week.  That evening Meme and Papaw couldn't wait to give him his tractor, so they brought it by.  He walked outside pointing and saying ta tor and he hasn't stopped talking about it yet.  His fav part is the am fm radio and the wagon.  He loves to listen to his radio and put stuff in that wagon.

11/13~11/15

This weekend was a busy one.  Saturday was breakfast at Ryan's, lunch at Whole Hog and a full day of Christmas shopping.  We knew we had to get busy with a trip coming up at Thanksgiving and Christmas soon to follow, luckily we got most of it done that day!  Sunday was dinner at Perry and Terry's for Thanksgiving/birthdays and a long much needed nap!

11/6~11/7 @ the Lake

We went to the lake for the weekend and it was so beautiful.  The trees were pretty fall colors and the weather was warm and breezy.  We got the boat and cleaned it up and winterized it and then played the rest of the weekend.  We played at the park alot and Zeke really loved it, his first real play at the park trip.  He climbed up the stairs all by himself without crawling, sad to see him grow so fast but exciting all at the same time. 

Cozy Coupe

Right after Halloween, Dustin went out and got the cozy coupe we were going to buy for Christmas.  He couldn't wait to let Zeke ride in it and I have to say, he loves it!!!!  It was hard to put together, but we got it all done correctly :)

Halloween~Our little Edward

On Halloween, we woke up and played with his new book and toys.  Then, we decided we would make some Halloween cookies, which didn't go over well.  I am not Betty Crocker, lol.  After two broken cookie cutters we called Rachel for help.  In just a few minutes, she, Jules, and Abbi came over to save the day.  Unfortunately, all the flour in the world couldn't help these cookies.  However, Abbi loved cutting them out even though they looked bad.  When we realized it just wasn't going to work, Abbi decided a cookie cake would be better so we made two.  She and Jules decorated one and Zeke and I decorated the other.  It was a ton of fun.  Then Zeke had some lunch, yummy raviolis which he loves.  After nap, he got in the fridge and I finally got a pic of him trying to get his milk out.  Poppy came to visit one more time before going back to KY and then we got ready to go trick or treating!  Zeke had fun trick or treating although we only made it to about 5 houses because we talk too much. 

Nana and Poppy Visit

On October 30 and 31, Nana and Poppy came in for a visit.  We went to eat with the whole family for Granny and Gramp's anniversary.  Zeke really enjoyed playing with the dogs and kiddos.  We all had a great time visiting!

Until the Whole World Hears..........

On Oct 15th, we headed to Memphis to the Casting Crowns concert with a bunch of people from the church. You absolutely loved the concert........even though we considered not taking you because you are so rowdy. You sang and raised your hands and danced to the music. It is so amazing to watch you!

14 months

Well baby boy, you are growing faster than I could have ever imagined.  You change with each and every day and I just think of all the seconds I can't get back.  While I have never taken one second for granted, I still miss all the moments passed.  Since learning to walk, you have really changed!  You have had quite a few accidents because you are Mr. Daredevil himself.  You have had at least 3 black eyes.  You are finally cutting the next top two teeth, I had decided I needed an appt to the dentist for some pediatric dentures, lol, jk.  You haven't cut a tooth since early July.  Friday the 9th, you decided to wake up screaming because you were starting to cut them.  We finally found a bop, some oragel and tylenol and got you to the rocking chair and you felt a little better.  We stayed there for quite some time and then you slept until 9 the next morning.  You haven't had much trouble cutting them since then, but you really like your bop right now.  You haven't retired your bat yet, but you are interested in other toys since your birthday too.  You love your drum set and all the instruments, your alphabet train, your little people toys, and your stuffed animals more these days.  You love to love on your bear bear, put your blocks in the train, and watch your trucks go down the circle tower on your little people toy.  All your little people stuff is in the bottom of your closet set up to play so we can keep all the pieces together and it is your favorite place to play right now.  We also finally got a shed so we were able to get the play room cleaned up and now you love you go in there and climb up on your toy box or into your chair at your little table.  You love to eat most anything we are......your favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, mashed potatoes, beans, bread, pasta, and ice cream.  You love going out to eat and getting mac and cheese kids meals.  You can eat a whole kids meal, I guess when you are five you will need an adult size meal.  You love to go to Gran's and stay, but when I leave you have to be eating or you want to go and you cry.  This month you stayed with Papaw and Meme while we went to dinner, this was a first for Papaw, Meme kept you some this summer while I had to go to class.  Papaw was so excited and Meme was too!  You still love to be outside and must go out with everyone as they leave or you scream.  You have to watch them leave and then you are fine to go back in.  You have figured out that Grandma will take you outside and everytime she comes by you go to her and point to the door.  It is rather cute!  You love to be at home playing with your toys or at someone else's house exploring.  Your fav restaurant is still dixie because of their milkshakes.  You have a Barney CD that Grandma brought you that you love to dance to.  You love riding in the car and hardly ever need a CD or DVD to make the trip.  You still sleep with us and we love it.  There is nothing better than waking up in the middle of the night and being able to snuggle you up to go back to sleep, Daddy loves it too!  At naptime, you usually sleep in the chair with me or in our bed.  We have to watch the monitor closely though because you will get out of bed and come see us in the living room without making a peep, too sneaky!  You love your milk and juice and will drink as much as we give you.  You typically drink about 4 oz of milk at 9am, 1pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm.  You eat at 730, 1130, 530 and sometimes have cereal at bedtime.  You take a nap in the morning (9-11ish usually about an hour) and in the afternoon (130-330ish).  You go to bed around 8 and sleep through the night until about 7 or 715.  This sometimes makes me late for work, because if I wake you you are very cranky, but you refuse to wake up in time to get to Gran's on time.  To go to bed, you take a milk cup and then snuggle with me, on occasion Daddy lays down with you.  In the car, you like to talk about your surroundings and smile and laugh at us.  You love being forward facing.  We turned you around at 13 months.  You still love to ride the golf cart and we went for a ride last week with Abbi.  You still loves Cheerios as much as before, I hope this is a lifelong habit!  SMO"s and shoes are going great, although the shoes they promised us would last 3 months are almost too small and it has been less than 2 months, so we will be going back soon to get some new ones.  The dr. thinks you need to keep wearing them for a while, but i can't tell what they are doing for you.  Church is hard these days, you know where the nursery is and there are so many cool toys back there.......and a pretty little girl or two.  Keeping your attention is pretty hard these days!  God is using you in more ways than either of us realize and I hope and pray that you will always let him use you and guide your life.  Long before you were born, I told God if you were born you would not be mine but his, I hope I bring you up the way I should so that I may return you to him someday! 

Lazy Weekend 10/10-11

On Friday, we went to church to the Kids Crusades.  Zeke watched for  a while, but he really just wanted to go up on stage with the guy especially after he took his offering up there.  On Saturday, we watched the Hogs play, they WON! YAY!  Zeke and I snuggled and he slept through part of the game.  After the game, we headed to town to eat at Dixie and do a little shopping.  We went in search of a book shelf for his room, but I didn't find what I was looking for.  I got a few picture frames so I can hang up all his pics ( I have been just covering them up as I got new ones).  I am excited to put them all up on the wall.  On Sunday, we finished up Kids Crusades and had potluck at church so by the time we got home at 130 with no nap, Zeke was ready to crash.  We took our weekly nap all snuggled up in the chair, but I couldn't fall asleep this week and he even slept 3 hours.  After he woke up, we went to visit Rachel, Bry, Ab, and Jules.  Zeke kept going into Abbi's room and she wasn't real happy about it, but as always she gave in and told him he could play in there but he could not put anything in his mouth.  She is such a good babysitter!  She showed us her brownies she made in her "dishwasher safe" pan, lol.  Then he wanted to play Nick Jr games with her and she wasn't really into that either, lol, poor girl he is kind of rotten.  When we got home, we ate some supper and got ready for the week ahead!

Busy Day 10/3/09

This morning we got up at 7 to go to Memphis to Zeke's NICU grad party at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women where he was born.  When we got there, we had his pic made and got registered.  There was lots of stuff to do, but the games were just a little old for him.  We had his handprint done and they weighed and measured him.  He was 23 pounds 5 ounces with his clothes on and 32.5 inches tall, they were all amazed at how he had grown.  The little girl in front of us was about his age and she weighed around 15 pounds and was like 28 inches.  She had started at 4 pounds too, so Zeke has really grown alot!  After the party, we went to eat at Fridays and to Babies R Us.  We rushed home to Abbi's party.  Zeke wanted to be in the middle of the stage at all times and Abbi eventually let him join her.  She is so sweet to him.  When the party was over we had pics made by my cousin Lindsay.  I was really excited over them, you can see them at lindsayphifer.shutterfly.com .  On Sunday, we got some rest time.  We ate lunch at Grandma's (Zeke's fav place to eat)  Our favorite thing to do on Sundays is to snuggle up and take a nap in the recliner while Daddy watches football, oh I dread to see the days pass when he no longer likes to snuggle with me during his naps and at night.  Most parents are worried about when they will get their child to sleep through the night or in their own bed and while I do enjoy that he sleeps through the night I will be sad when he thinks he is a big boy and wants to sleep in his own room.  I am strange I know......lol.

Fun Filled Weekend~9/26-27

On Saturday, we watched the Razorbacks game with friends (Zeke took a nap through the entire game).  After the game was over, we got some US Pizza (Zeke loves it). On Sunday, we took Zeke to Playhouse Disney.  He loved watching the people, but not the people on stage, the ones that do the sound, ha ha.  He is such a mess these days.  We bought cotton candy with a Handy Manny hat and he loved it.  He loved the lemonade they had too, so much so he had to chew on it the whole time we were there to keep him from screaming.  I wonder why he is a mess......who knows, lol.  After the show, we ate at Salsa's and did some shopping before coming home!  What a weekend, now we need a day to rest.