Mr. Fussy Pants

Countdown to Disneyland!! 18 days. I'm so excited! Wyatt is going to have such a good time!!! At least I hope he does.

He has been particularly fussy today and I'm about ready to pull my hair out. It's probably full of bananas anyways. Not sure why Wyatt has been so fussy today. I don't think he's teething, although I can't be sure and there is NO way I'm sticking my fingers in there to find out!! There are 16 menacing, known finger chompers in there. No thank you. The last four will just have to come in and revel in their unheralded state.

I don't think he should be sleepy either but who knows. He only stayed awake about 50 minutes this morning before he had a near meltdown and I decided to move naptime up 2 hours. Sheesh. That was just the beginning! Then we spent a nice hour at lunch with me attempting to convince him he wanted to eat and him attempting to throw everything on his tray at me. (thus the bananas in the hair thing.) That quickly led to an earlier than scheduled nap as well. So what ended my afternoon was a baby who woke up long before he normally does and who was crankier than he usually is and out to break all former temper tantrum records on the book. From 4 on he threw things at me, Artie, the cat. Came up and tried to hit me several times. Which he knows is a BIG no no. Then when that didn't go over well he tried to hit Artie, which is an even BIGGER no no. Sigh. So I had to put poor Artie outside for his sanity and attempt to wait out Daddy's return home.

Well evidently Wyatt had pushed the phone off the hook and 45 minutes after Daddy was supposed to be home I discovered it. So I called Greg and he said he had to work late!! Sheesh, why tonight!! Finally he is home and usually Wyatt calms down when Daddy gets here because he loves playing with him, but not tonight. I ran away to feed horses and Daddy started feeding the boy dinner. As I type this I hear the sounds of dinner being thrown at Daddy and a very fussy boy complaining. Sigh. Is it bed time yet? Nope it's only 6 o'clock.

Halloween Hullabaloo!

Wow where has all the time gone!! Wyatt is almost 15 months old and he amazes me everyday!! He has learned so much in the last year!! I wish I learned as many new things everyday, I'd be a brilliant scientist or something by now (or my brain would explode, not sure which). We've been sickly this last week or so but I hope we are all getting over it now. Wyatt is starting to show signs of being a very independent minded boy!! Like our first temper tantrum. I'm not sure if there is a spot in the baby book for that milestone, which is fine, since I'd really rather forget the whole incident.

Halloween is tomorrow!! Wyatt is going as Pablo from the Backyardigans!! I'll be sure to get lots of pictures!! I know he doesn't know what Halloween is or why we are getting dressed up but I sure have been looking forward to it!! I didn't get him a costume last year (which I was sad about later but oh well) so this is my first Halloween as a Mommy!!! I've been practicing for years. Just ask Miss Yoda about her Tutu. I'm sure you'll get an evil kitty scowl. Or ask Sterling about being a princess and a unicorn. Or that time I dressed Sunny up as a witch, broom and all. Katie has been Snow White & Eeyore, Schwartz was a pumpkin. Yep, it's time to transfer all that evil costume fun to my own flesh and blood!! Muahahaha! Luckily Human children enjoy the costuming process much more than animal children do. Of course Wyatt may be an exception!! He hates his hat and isn't a big fan of the body suit either!! Although he is one cute penguin!! Anyways, at least this year I can get candy with my child. (all for me of course) The one year I took Sterling trick or treating people just gave us apples. Sheesh, she likes peppermints and candy too! So be prepared all of you out there in cyber land to see a ton of pics!!! Thats truly what all this hullabaloo is about!!

Okay, here is a picture of Mr. Wyatt in his Pablo gear.

Isn't he a cutie patootie!! Momma thinks so. He loved Trick or Treating. He would walk right up to the door and smile. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Hello Life!!!

Somewhere along the way I got my life back. I just realized it today. Don't know why it took me so long to recognize it. I know most of you are Moms that are reading this. You are familiar with the loss of self when you first have your child. The endless days of mind numbing repetitions. Diaper after Diaper. Bottle after Bottle. I remember thinking my life would never be fun again! I wondered if I would ever look forward to the dawn of a new day. I wondered if I would ever feel fully rested again. I have to say that nowadays, everything is fun, each day I look forward to waking up, and I am back to staying up late and feeling nice and rested in the morning!

My transition into motherhood was quite a startling event. I used to live my life thinking of only myself, as most 20 somethings do. I could go to the barn at 10:00 p.m. if I wanted to. I could take myself out to lunch and leisurely read a favorite book. I could go to the movies at the drop of a hat. I had more friends. All of a sudden I found out Wyatt was on his way and I knew all those things were quickly coming to a close. The "Me" chapter of life was ending. I lost friends but looking back they were friends I needed to lose. I can still go to the barn at 10:00 pm because it's location has changed. Lunch isn't so leisurely but it isn't spent alone either!! And maybe I can't go to movies on the drop of a hat but I sure can cuddle on the couch and watch one with Wyatt!

So anyways, I have to say that the first 6 months of being a Mom were tough. Harder than I ever could have prepared myself for. But I'm a different person now than I was during that time. The subsequent 8 months have been a joy and little by little I'm finding things in my life I love much more than the things I thought I would miss. So here is a brief breakdown of my "new" favorite things. .

1. Open mouth sloppy kisses!
2. Cuddle time!
3. Conversations/Translations in the "grunt" language
4. Toys
5. Nap Time!
6. Saturdays with Grami & PaPaw
7. Sundays with my two favorite guys
8. Hearing "Mama" constantly! (like every minute)
9. Singing Silly Songs
10. Appreciating the innocence of children.

I have to thank my son for teaching me to appreciate all those things and for turning me into a Mommy. I love my job!!

Rodeo Time in Texas!

The cooler weather has found Texas again! Wyatt and I have started to venture back outside without boiling before we reach the car. I know he is enjoying getting out and I certainly am. This week has been a big week for us! We helped Sherri, Cody and Colin move into their new apartment on Monday (Labor Day), Wednesday night we ate dinner with Grami and Papaw, and last night we went to the Rodeo in Decatur!! It is that last event that I feel like talking about today! Wyatt's first Rodeo!!

I think I've been looking forward to this rodeo for well over a month now. I just knew Wyatt was going to love it. I figured he'd stay interested until the end of tie-down roping and we'd go home early. Ha! That boy was interested until the last bull left the chute. He probably could have made it thru part of the slack competition after the rodeo too!! He sat on his Daddy's lap for most of it just clapping and hollering. He loved when the calves came past us on the way to the holding chute. He loved the clown. He loved all the pretty horses. It was great!! And of course since it didn't start until 8 p.m. he got a little sleepy (and loopy) and started dolling out hugs and kisses. Wyatt isn't by nature a cuddler, but last night you would have never known that. I probably got 10 hugs in a row. See in my mind it was because he was soooo thankful to get to go to the Rodeo! So now I'm looking forward to the circus!!!!! I bet that one is a big hit as well!!!

Would you like some whine with that cheese?

My boy is growing up. No doubt about it. Everyday he learns something new. Last week I taught him there was a puppy on his shirt so now when you ask him "Where's the puppy" he points to his chest no matter what he is wearing. It is a very cute trick even if it's wrong. However I think I'm looking forward to the next language explosion. Wyatt communicates very well, the problem is he points and whines to indicate what he wants. This was all very cute for about a week but now it is really getting annoying!! I don't know how long this phase lasts but I'm actually ready for him to grow out of it! Tonight at dinner he kept pointing at the ceiling fans and whining. It seems two of them were on and two were off and he didn't like the fact that they weren't all the same. Our waiter turned the one nearest us on which made him happy but then the furthest from us wasn't on and he kept pointing and whining for a good 15 minutes. Even the people next to us were looking at what he was pointing at. Silly boy. At least he is very observant!!

We are really ready for fall around here too!! The weather has made life miserable for us because we can't go outside and play. And since it is so hot out there all the animals want in with us. So counting Wyatt and I that makes 10 animals inside all day long. There are bound to be territory skirmishes with half that number!! Wyatt didn't take a long enough nap today because there were kitties hiding under his bed. Then when he was in the living room playing I had to keep him from dragging some of the dumber cats around. (I wouldn't say they were dumb but come on! Who takes a nap under the coffee table when there is a one year old around) Luckily we made it through another day with no injuries and no banishments. Who knows about tomorrow!!!

Oh yes! I can't forget to mention Buttercup/Ranger. Wyatt's new spring horse from his Aunt Emma. He loves that horse!! The first thing he does in the morning is get his diaper changed but the second has to be give his new horse a kiss. I don't even get kisses!! He loves to ride on Buttercup/Ranger and bounces if we stop bouncing it! Won't be long and he'll have figured out how to get up there by himself! Oh yes, and if anyone has any preference to whether this spring horse ends up "Buttercup" or "Ranger" please leave a comment. Greg and I can't decide.

Well I guess I'm off to take a long bubble bath!! Wyatt and I are running errands tomorrow but it's not supposed to be over 100!! I'll believe it when I see it!

Happy Birthday Wyatt!!

I can't believe it has been a year since Wyatt came into my world. He has made everyone he knows so happy. But I think his Mommy still loves him best! (Just don't tell Daddy, PaPaw or Grami!) He has had a wonderful Birthday and got to spend some great time with lots of people who love him. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family. I thought I'd be a little nostalgic today and post my birthstory that I wrote for the internet pregnancy board I live on. (Love all my internet friends too) So here it is:

Well it all started normally enough when I went in to get cervadil on Monday the 1st of August. After the cervadil was inserted I started having regular contractions that worsened all night long. At 4 in the morning my water broke on it’s own and we started some pretty good labor. I was 2 cm. dialated when they checked me at 4a.m. and the nurse decided to go ahead with the Pitocin. By 8:30 I couldn’t take the contractions anymore. I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced so they offered me narcotics. I had, up until that moment, been completely against the use of narcotics during my delivery but I was in such pain I decided to go ahead and try them out. Luckily I already had my hep lock in and was getting fluid with my pitocin so they gave me a shot of stadol and it worked wonderfully. It took the edge off and I could sleep for the minutes in between my contractions.

That relief lasted for about an hour but by 9:30 a.m. I couldn’t take it anymore. The nurses called for my epidural and the anesthesiologist came and began the procedure. It took him an hour and a half to find the right place in my back. 4 needles went in. All during this I was contracting. Luckily, he had the forethought to give me another dose of narcotic so I could concentrate and relax. I was lucky to even get my epidural because the Doctor who did it said he was the one they called when they couldn’t find the right spot in other patients. And boy did he have a rough time of it!! He told me then that I had a 50/50 chance of getting a spinal headache after delivery because of how messy my epidural had been. (That had been one of my biggest fears about getting an epidural so I wasn’t pleased)

After the epidural my contractions were very bearable and I sat around until about 4:30 when I had this overwhelming urge to push. I told the nurse this and she checked me but said I was at a 9 and to breath thru them. So for two hours I breathed thru contractions that were killing me and making me want to push. My doctor had come in and checked me about 5:30 and I was a 10 with a lip. So she wanted me to try and let the lip open. It never did. So around 6:20 or so she put her hand in and held the lip out of the way and I started pushing. I pushed the baby past the lip in about 30 minutes. After that I pushed and pushed and pushed until I couldn’t do it anymore. I was exhausted. My epidural had worn off and the boluses that the anesthesiologists were giving me to help weren’t touching my pain at all. I could tell the baby wasn’t moving and it was really discouraging. I knew I was making no progress. About 8:00 my doctor told me we were going to have to either deliver by forceps or by c-section because the baby couldn’t take it anymore and neither could I. I agreed to try the forceps. I was very scared. She put the forceps in and with some major pushing and pulling we got his head out and I pushed the rest of the way. Wyatt was born at 8:19 on August 2nd, 8 lbs 1oz and 19 ½ inches long. At that time I was so relieved to have him out of me I barely looked at him. He was perfect and scored well on his apgars. They gave him to me and I didn’t even notice the doctor was still working on me. I finally asked the doctor if I had torn and she said yes. Well I started blacking out and all I heard was I can’t find the other artery. I need more gauze. Then I don’t really remember much except that they took the baby from me and I couldn’t hear anything anymore. I found out later that I had 3 ruptured arteries and lost a liter of blood. My doctor sewed on me for 2 ½ hours and was still having trouble getting the bleeding to stop. My blood pressure dropped from 150 / 80 to 70 / 30 and they were trying to keep me alive. They did a good job of this and I came back around much later to witness the end of the doctor stitching me up. My hemoglobin level dropped from 12 to a 5 and they had to give me 2 units of blood that night. The next day my hemoglobin level was only at 8 so they decided to give me 2 more units of blood. I thought this would be the worst of it and that I’d get to go home on Friday. We did get to go home Friday but I hadn’t seen the end yet.

When we got home on Friday my legs became so swollen my ankles couldn’t even bend. So my Mom took me back to the emergency room. The doctor there (he must of have been 75) told me that I just had fluid from the delivery and gave me a lasix and told me to go home and keep my feet up. Well that night I developed some major pain and congestion in my chest. I couldn’t even lay down it hurt so badly. Plus I had the spinal headache that had developed the day after delivery and I was in major pain. By Monday morning I couldn’t take it anymore and after we took Wyatt to the pediatrician we went to my doctor. She was very concerned and sent me straight to the hospital. I went in by myself because I didn’t want Wyatt exposed to the hospital and risk him getting sick so I sent him home with my Mom. That was really scary. They checked me in at the hospital, did Chest x-rays and started breathing treatments and took some blood and vitals. (my blood pressure was really high). My doctor thought I might have developed pre-eclampsia after delivery, which is rare but happens so I was preparing myself for that. When she finally came in with all my lab and test results I was completely not prepared to here I was in heart failure. It’s called postpartum myocardial apathy. Basically my heart couldn’t pump the fluid out of my body anymore because there was so much put in. It just gave up and let it build up. I had fluid on my lungs, and fluid everywhere else. I had to take a major dose of lasix and I was so afraid I was going to have to stay in the hospital overnight again without my baby!! I cried and cried. You aren’t supposed to hear you have heart failure when you are 26 years old!! Well the lasix did the trick and I got most of the fluid off my lungs so the doctor let me go home late that night. So far my heart has kept the fluid off my lungs like a trooper!
But I know now the correct answer to forcep or csection (for me) will always be Csection!



Looking back I would do it over again everyday for my favorite person!! I never knew I could love somebody this much!! So here is a pic of my baby a year ago and then one from today! My how he has grown!

July 4th, is that a milestone?

Well the 4th of July has come and passed. Wyatt actually made it to his first fireworks show! For some silly reason I have been romantizing how it would be to take Wyatt to a big Fireworks show. I've dreamed of how much he would love it and how cool it would be to see him see one for the first time. I guess it all comes from the fact that I love fireworks so much. They are so pretty and cool and they have them at Disneyland all the time. So I had yesterday very planned out! Wyatt went to bed at 6:30. Then, like the mean Momma I am, I woke him up at 8:30! Daddy drove to the Trophy Club pool and found a parking spot and sprayed us all down with bug spray. We waited for about 20 minutes and then the first firework went off. It was LOUD!!! Wyatt was soo scared of it!! Then the second and third scared him too!! I though we were going to have to pack him up and head home!! My poor baby! Mean ol' Mommy got him out of his bead and took him to see scary explosions in the air!! I felt pretty bad! But then he came around and started pointing at them and hollering at them. By about the 10th oneI think he was really enjoying them!! I stood and held him and watched him watch his first July 4th! It was so neat. The fireworks lit up his face and I could see him smiling!! All in all it was a great experiance. One more first for his baby book, and one less first to look forward to.

Just 28 days until his first birthday!! I can not believe how fast this year has gone!! Just 12 short months ago I was miserable and hardly able to move around. Now I'm sooo happy and not miserable at all!! I can honestly say I am back to normal and feel healthy and happy and I'd do it all over again a million times!!

Aunt Leslie was here all weekend too!! I always love see her. She doesn't get to come down and visit often enough. It was a great weekend, and my birthday was great too!!

Crash and Burn

Today has been a pretty normal day for Mr. Wyatt. We slept till 7 a.m, then played until 8:30 for our first nap (well his, not Mommy's). Then back up again at 10:30 to play some more. Visited with Daddy at lunch time, then back down at 1 for his second nap. That one was interupted by Mr. Schwartz who got himself locked in Wyatt's room AGAIN. So at 3 Wyatt was awake and ready to play. This was all very normal. Then Daddy called and said he was going to work until 7. Uh Oh. That means that Mommy is responsible for the evening entertainment.

Wyatt's normal bedtime is after 8:00 and with Daddy home that is not a problem. But I was watching Wyatt and at 5:00 he told me he was sleepy. (Started rubbing his eyes, fussing, clinging to me.) So outside we went. We fed the horses, walked around the property, ran thru the sprinkler, walked down the road and went back inside to try and play some more. That only got us to 6:15. So I made some dinner for him and we ate some cookies. Tried to let him play againg but it was a no go. Evidently Mommy is not entertaining enough. So at 6:40ish I gave him a bottle (because I think he was about 5 minutes away from a melt down) and at 6:50 he was out!!! Thats right, for the night! So poor Daddy got home and the little boy he loves sooo much was sleeping for the night. Poor Dad pouted for an hour and kept saying, maybe it's only a nap. Ha. So I guess Daddy doesn't get to work late anymore!!

Handing over the spoon!

Wyatt has a new hobby. He eats junebugs!! Blech!!! I caught him eating one today and luckily fished it out of his mouth pronto!! But the little stink went back to where he found it and was looking for more of them!! Yucky!! I'm going to have to seal all the exits!! No more kitties coming inside. Or husbands for that matter!! I had the eebie jeebies for an hour afterwards!! I know I'm going to be walking a step behind Mr. Wyatt from now on with my trusty dust vac in hand!! Hopefully he won't find anymore to eat!!

But on a postivie note he is eating pretty good now!! He finished an entire Tamale last week at dinner and I was so proud of him!! Tonight he ate half a hot dog (cut into tiny little pieces). I'm so glad he is eating!! I thought he was seriously going to take me up on the not eating until he was ten threat! I guess since he seemed to handle a junebug okay he may not need me to cut his food into teeny tiny bits anymore. I guess I'll try and be a brave Mommy and give him bigger pieces. And I probably should let him feed himself. It's just so hard to hand over the spoon!! I'm pretty sure he is ready for it since he has been attempting to wrestle it from my grip for a few weeks now. Sigh. I know I've said it before but growing up is hard on Mommies!

Prince Wyatt holds court.

My big boy is walking!! He tries to walk everywhere now!! It's so much fun and causes Mommy so many heart attacks all day long!! I thought learning to pull up was tough but walking is a lot worse!! So far we've been lucky and he just falls on his butt or on his hands but the first time he hits the coffee table we may have to upholster all the walls!!

We haven't been up to much other than keeping cool. It is soooo hot outside we don't even go visit the horses during the day anymore. Although when we do go somewhere in the Tahoe we HAVE to stop and talk to them. Wyatt just loves waving and hollering at them. And they do their part and come running to the fence every time like they are just waiting to hear what Prince Wyatt has to say today!!

One nice thing about hot weather is it's pool time!! Every weekend we spend floating and playing and motor-boating around Grami and Papaw's pool!! Wyatt looooovves it!! He starts giggling as soon as he sees it and he absolutely hates getting the sunscreen on because it takes too long!!

I think Mr. Wyatt might be teething too because he hasn't been sleeping very good and has been really fussy. Of course after his last round of being sick he has been a lot more clingy than before. Not that I'm complaining but it would be nice to be able to walk into the kitchen without causing him to go into extreme panic mode! In fact his highness has come into his own as far as ideas and what he wants. For instance, I could, prior to his stomach bug, take away any toy or item he shouldn't have without any commotion. Now it's like I've broken his heart!! He screams and throws himself back and acts just a two year old!! I just role my eyes and think I'm glimpseing a bit of my near future! Heaven help me when he IS two!

He has really started eating!! I'm so excited!! I can see an end to bottles in sight!! There for a while he wouldn't even eat 1/4 jar of baby food in a WHOLE day! Now he is down to 1 big jar for breakfast, a jar of raviollis or some other toddler food at lunch and then tonight he had a jar of raviolli and two jars of applesauce!! It's amazing!! He just kept eating and eating! Then the best part was he only took about 3 ozs of his final bottle!! Yay!! Maybe at 1 year he will be off of the bottle after all!! Wish me luck!!

Sorry, been busy watching Wyatt grow up!!

Well once again I have had a major lapse in my blogging!! I'd like to say it won't happen again but we all know I'd be lieing. Boy oh boy this has been a major week though!! So I'm going to do a quick recap and run through of everything my big boy is doing!!

Standing - He has been standing on his own for a little while (like a month or so) but this week he has just done it A LOT!! He can stand and stay balanced up to 30 seconds before he falls down or grabs on to something!!

Walking - TWO BIG STEPS TODAY!! Yep!! My boy walked today!! He was just standing on his own and then turned towards me and took two steps!! I was so proud!! He didn't have a hold of anything before taking off!! It was a major accomplishment!!

Talking - This has been the most fun!! For the longest time I didn't think he would ever start talking but 4 nights ago he was eating dinner with his Dad and he started saying DA DA DA DA! He only says it when we are talking about his Dad!! I was so proud!! Then the next day he started babbling BaBaBaBa, but so far it hasn't been in relation to anything. He has started saying PupPup everytime he sees the dogs or the horses so I"m pretty sure that is what he is calling them. (I guess he thinks the horses are just big puppies) And earlier today he was chasing one of our cats and yelling KiKiKiKi!! So I think that is a word too! And my absolute favorite just surfaced tonight!!! I was walking down the hall and he started waving at me and said Ma MA!!!! Plain as day!! I thought I had heard him say it over dinner when I wasn't giving him a bite fast enough but there was no mistaking the MaMa!! when he saw me coming towards him!! Then he cuddled with me for a few minutes. I just love cuddling!

On top of all this growing Wyatt has been sick the last few days. It was scary, he threw up out his nose!! Scared me to death!! The doctor said he has a sore throat and that was why he was doing it. So far he hasn't done it again but he had about 8 episodes of throwing up yesterday! I felt so bad for him because he hasn't thrown up since he was about a month old!! He has been so clingy and cuddling (which isn't like him at all!!) so I know he felt really bad!

Okay well I'm off to bed!! I'll try not to stay away as long!

Pool time!

Is it Wednesday already? Wow, this week is going by fast. I didn't do much today compared with yesterday but it was nice to be back on schedule! I finally decided it was time to be brave and let Wyatt try a cracker today. I gave him one of the low fat Saltines and he loved it!! Crushed it to smithereens but the part he ate he loved!! He ate 5 crackers and drank a bottle of juice (from a cup!!) and then took a long nap. He hasn't been sleeping much at night so I'm hoping crackers help him not get so hungry! LOL. He has been waking up at 4:30 every morning wanting a bottle. Since that is going backwards I liked to cut that out! Tonight before bed he had 5 crackers and a jar of baby food so maybe he won't get hungry!! I can dream. .

Wyatt decided to start acting like a 2 year old today. It's pretty funny! When I got to pick him up from somewhere he's not supposed to be he gets so mad and yells!! He even smacked my arm once. He is getting his own ideas about how things should be that is for sure!! He has also started giving love pats on request. It's not quite a hug but it'll have to do!! And I don't even dare dream of kisses!!

Grami brought Wyatt a pool yesterday and he loved it!! He thought it was so much fun!! It was cold water but he didn't care at all!! I took some really cute photos of him playing in it. I can't wait until Summer comes and we can go swimming in Grami's and Pa-Paw's pool! It will be like my life has come around full circle!! Last year I was swimming in the pool because I felt as big as a whale and this year I'll be floating in the pool with what caused me to feel as big as a whale!! And he's much cuter on the outside than he was on the inside!

The weather people say we might get storms tonight so I'm about to go outside and bring in the horses. They like to be in the barn when it's raining and I can't say that I blame them!

Well I think I might go soak in a nice bubble bath when I'm done moving horses!! That sounds heavenly!

I'll Race You!!

Boy was it hot out there today!!! It was too hot to even sit on the porch, therefor we did a lot of indoor playing and crawling and getting into everything!! Wyatt pulled the phone desk over on top of himself, so I had to move that. Then he discovered how much fun it is to try and out crawl Mommy! He would crawl to the spot where the tile starts and look back at me to see if I was watching. Then he'd take off!! Fast as a turtle!! It's really cute though because he slaps the floor when he is trying to go fast. Not sure why that helps but it makes him feel speedier!! We played this game of chase probably 20 times today. I would just sit down and be lulled into a false sense of tranquility when off to the races he'd go!! One of the funnies things was he was going so fast one time and looking over his shoulder to see if I was going to catch him and he bonked into the cabinet. Silly boy!! I guess he learned to always watch where you are going!!

Easter was fun! We went and visited with Aunt Sherry and Uncle Mack. Keal and Mark were there with their kids, Mack and Macy. Wyatt liked playing with them. (both are still very young!) He really enjoyed watching Macky talk and walk around. It was like complete entertainment. Our cousin Donielle was there with his wife Missy and their kids, Hannah, Blain and Drey. Boy are they all growing up. It's hard to believe how old everyone is now!! I always enjoy seeing them. Wyatt wasn't shy at all. In fact as soon as we walked thru the door he was leaping from our arms to everyone else! No stranger anxiety there. Then he was all smiles for a good hour while he checked everyone out!!

Grami is coming out tomorrow to help me with Wyatt because we are having our new mattress delivered and the farrier is coming out to do the girls. So just in case this all happened at the same time and to avoid the chance that Wyatt has to be outside for an extended amount of time in the heat Grami said she'd come babysit!! I really had to twist her arm thats for sure.

Meet and Scream!

Today has been a busy day. Actually this whole week has been hectic!! Yesterday Wyatt and I went to meet a friend from Momma Zone at Bass Pro Shops. Mikayla has a son Jacob that is just a few weeks older than Wyatt. I thought my little guy would have a lot of fun 'playing' with Jacob but boy was I wrong!!!! Whenever Jacob would try to touch him Wyatt would just start crying as hard as he could. It was so bizarre because he wouldn't stop!! Mommy didn't help at all and he kept wanting to go to Jacob's parents. You would think if he was scared he would want his Mommy but he didn't. It made me so sad for him!!!

Here are a few more pictures of Jacob and Wyatt having a better time!

Today I got to thinking that maybe something was wrong with him so I called the nurse. Since this is a holiday weekend she made us an appointment just in case. So we had the Doctor appt at 3 today and nothing is wrong with him. It was nice to see Dr. Hollis but I wish I knew why he was being so weird. Dr. Hollis thinks he might just be teething. I guess I'll find out soon enough!!

Tomorrow is Good Friday so we are going to spend the day with Grami! I hope he is feeling better! We are going to go have his picture made with the Easter bunny so if this new fear is stranger anxiety I guess I'll know that too!!

Chew Chew!!!!

Wyatt has finally done it!! He ate something that wasn't mush!! He ate a fruit puff!!! Not only did he eat a fruit puff, but he fed it to himself!! I've been trying to teach him how to do this for weeks!! Then this evening he just put one in his mouth and chewed! It was like he has been doing it his whole life. Sigh. Maybe he will eat real food before he is 10 years old.

He also stood several more times on his own. In fact once he bent over to pick something up and then stood up without touching anything. He has good balance!! I'm so proud of him!!

We are going to meet a friend from Momma Zone tomorrow at a place here in town. It should be a lot of fun because her son Jacob is just a week or so older than Wyatt!! He loves people his age!! Plus we are going to go see some really big fish and he loves fish!!

Nap time is still going extremely well!! In fact it has become so routine that I know before he is about to cry that it is time for a nap and I just make him a bottle and lay him down with it. I know that is not a good thing because he's not learning to go to sleep without his bottle but we generally don't put him down in the evenings with his bottle. We did tonight though because he fell asleep before he even started his bottle.

This morning he woke up sooooo early. (5:30). Greg decided to just change his diaper and give him his bottle and let him drink it in his bed. Well, he fell back asleep until 8:30. I knew he wasn't done sleeping yet!! Maybe that will cure him of these early morning wake ups. He wakes at 6 then back down at 8:30 for his first nap. That is crazy.

Well I guess I'd better get off here and go to bed too!! We have a busy day tomorrow!

Growing up is hard to do!!

Today is Friday!! I'm so happy! Not sure why I'm happy it's Friday. I look forward to everyday but for some reason I love Fridays!! Wyatt is napping again. He has been waking up really early and then taking a really early nap. Not sure how to stop that. He has been a little cranky lately so maybe he is getting his next tooth. We are up to a grand total of 7 right now. Just waiting on 8!

I bought bubbles yesterday at Walmart. I can't wait to try them with him!! We are going to go outside after his nap is over and see what he thinks. He may not even notice them! He has been so busy lately he won't even slow down to look me in the eye. Ever! I'm not sure if all babies are like that or if Wyatt is just super busy but it is sad because I don't feel like he is listening to me half the time I'm talking. I wonder what the next months will bring. This last month has been a doozy as far as what Wyatt has learned to do. He's gone from Army crawling to cruising around on the furniture. He rarely falls down now unexpectedly so he doesn't bump his head as often on things (thank goodness).

Everybody told me that time goes really fast after you have babies and I didn't really believe them. The first few months after I had Wyatt I remember thinking, "Ha! Time will never go fast again" but I was wrong. It is flying by. I found myself in the baby department at Walmart yesterday and I got teary eyed just standing next to all the baby clothes. Wyatt went from a 6 month size to 18 month practically over night! I can shop in the toddler area now. And for some reason that makes me so sad. But then I remember the stuff I'm looking forward to with Wyatt. Like going to Disneyland, Chuckecheese, Six Flags, Casa Maniana, Wet N Wild, etc. . I'm looking forward to seeing the world thru his eyes again. At the rate we are going I'll see it all again in just a few years. (But it will seem like it's just tomorrow!)

Mr. Stinker

Well today Wyatt and I are going to go meet Grami for lunch. We are very excited about this. (well I am, Wyatt is napping). I haven't been out of the house since Monday!! Sad isn't it!!

It's thundering outside right now and I don't know how Wyatt sleeps thru that!! It seems so loud. Of course if I were to walk down the hallway he'd be up in a heartbeat!!

Speaking of which, Mr. Wyatt woke up at 5:30 this morning!!! I told him it was a good thing the time had changed or it would be a very undecent 4:30!!! Stinker. Of course he wanted to take a nap at 6:30 so he did but that didn't help me at all. I'm sleepy!! If it weren't for this blasted DSL I might could go to bed early tonight. .

Well it's getting close to time to leave. . maybe I should start walking up and down the hall to wake Wyatt up, since the Thunder isn't doing it.

Busy Bee

Boy keeping up with blogging is hard!! I find that if I don't post often, I don't post at all!! So here goes a renewel atempt!!

Wyatt is doing great. He is such a busy boy. He doesn't have much time to hang out with his Momma. He moves from one thing he can pull up on to another. If I set the living room up right he almost makes it across the room without having to get down and crawl!! It's very funny. I think he is so focused on learning to walk that he couldn't care less about learning to talk. He doesn't do anything on request. No waving bye-bye, or giving Mommy five, or repeating syllables. Maybe he is to young for that. . certainly is to busy for it!!

Wyatt had his first haircut on Saturday. It was fun. He looks great. Surprisingly he didn't squirm too much. It helped that Angie's daughter Brailey was there and Wyatt enjoyed pulling her hair and grabbing her nose. Angie would be cutting or combing Wyatt's hair and encourging him to grab Brailey's hair and pull. Poor Brailey. It's a good thing she isn't tender-headed.

Sleeping is going much better than it was. Wyatt has slept thru the night for a long time now but Greg and I were used to letting him fall asleep on us first before laying him down. So for naps he was just laying beside me in the living room on the couch. Then I read that he was supposed to be sleeping 11 hours a night and getting around 3 hours worth of naps a day. Since we were nowhere near those amounts I decided we needed to change our routine. So now Wyatt goes down for 2 naps a day in his crib, and we just lay him down after his bath in the evenings. He falls asleep pretty fast now!! It's great. Plus the bonus is he stays asleep longer!!! Even the time change hasn't bothered him. He still goes to sleep at 8 p.m. and wakes up around 7 a.m. Works for me!!

We recently ordered DSL so now I can upload videos of Wyatt. I wanted to share one little video today as well. Most people have already watched it but I wanted to see if I can do this. So here goes: This is a video of Wyatt riding Sterling with his Dad

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

Spring Fever

Wow!! It's been a long time since I posted! Wyatt is growing like a weed!! He can officially crawl now, not just Army style. He and I have a good routine now during the day. We spend about 2 hours outside in the glorious sunshine!!! I love it!! Wyatt loves it!! And all the outdoor kitties love it!! I have been gardening a lot lately and Wyatt sits in his exercauser while I dig holes and plant flowers!!! We have tulips blooming in my garden right now!! I'm so excited. I put some water on the bottom of Wyatt's exercauser so he can splash his little feet in it and he loves that so much. He doesn't get to do it very often but on the days when it is nearly 90 outside I let him.

I went for a wonderful ride on Sterling Friday night. She is so fun to ride. It feels like just yesterday I rode everyday. (well that is until I woke up Saturday morning and had majorly sore legs from being out of shape!) It was so lovely. Almost like a dream to ride. The sun was out, breeze blowing, trees blooming everywhere. There was some wonderful sweet smell on the wind and Sterling was a good girl. I felt very free and a little more like my old self than I have in months!! (Not that I'm complaining!)

All the trees are budding everywhere. It's so fun to look around and see little patches of green dotting the woods. I can't wait until all my trees are done budding!! I miss all the green leaves! Plus that means Summer will be here and we can take Wyatt swimming!! He is going to have so much fun at Grami and Pa-Paw's swimming!!

Today Greg and I went to the Bowie Trade Days while Wyatt stayed with Grami and Pa-Paw. We had a good time! We bought a Texas Star for our barn, a leather phone holder for Greg's cell phone, and 2 flats of petunias for my garden. They were great deals and we enjoyed our baby free morning. We only stayed for 3 hours because we were ready to get home and get our boy back!! Mr. Wyatt is more fun than anything we can come up with by ourselves.

Tomorrow should be a big day for Wyatt. Grami, Wyatt and I are going to the Fort Worth Zoo!!! He has never been!! We are meeting Grami's friend Marilyn there with her nephew Thaden and grandson Zachary. Should be a blast!! I'm sad Greg won't get to go but we have tickets for some weekend when he can go. I'm bringing extra batteries for my camera so he doesn't miss out on too much!!!

Wyatt has started being a little more clingy to me than he was a few weeks ago. I think his stranger anxiety stage is finally setting in. I can't leave him in the living to go to the kitchen anymore. He will cry and crawl to the gate near the kitchen until I pick him up. I'm not sure why it bothers him so much for me to go into the kitchen, he can still see me. I guess thats just one of those mysteries of a babies mind.

What's in a name?

This week has been crazy!! The amount Wyatt has grown and learned is just amazing to me. He is a fast motor scooter on the floor, he now has 4 teeth!!! Yep 4!!! And he gives kisses now!!! We went to the Pediatrician for his 6 month appointment (even though he is 6 1/2 months old) and she said he is just wonderful!! She is so glad he is doing so well after the rough start he had. He weighs 18 lbs 14 ozs, and is 28 1/4 inches tall!! Tall and skinny. She said he is at the same stage developmentally as a 9 month old and that she wouldn't be surprised if he was walking the next time she sees him!! Heaven help me!! Mr. Wyatt does not want to be held at all!! If he is awake he wants on the floor!! Of course when he gets sleepy he wants to be held sort of. He is a little wishy washy then. We have had a few rough nights this week because of his 3rd and 4th tooth coming in but hopefully, now that the last is out he will sleep tonight!!! After a weekend with Grammi and Pa - Paw he needs all the rest he can get. Those grandparents of his must stay up all night long playing!! Lol.

We went and visited my Aunt Nancy on Friday. That was fun. I have always loved hanging out with her and I'm sure Wyatt will too!! She did my taxes so I had to name my "Ranch" business!! We are officially Lightning Bug Ranch!! I am excited!! Still feel silly calling a little bitty property a ranch but I couldn't come up with anything else. I thought Lightning Bug Quarter horses, but half of my horses are Appaloosas so that won't work. Could be Lightning Bug Performance Horses but I'd never be able to afford a sign with that written on it!! Too long!! Plus none of my horses perform at the moment. Lightning Bug Farm. . . hmm no cows, and to me farm implies cows. I just couldn't decide. Anyways I'm rambling. Whatever it is Wyatt is now growing up on a Ranch. . . ette maybe. Lol Now he just needs his own pony!! I just had a break thru!! Maybe we could call it Lightning Bug Creek? That is why we named it that in the first place. The creek that runs by our house has a ton of Lightning Bugs in it in the Summer and when we first moved here I told Greg all I wanted from the property was for it to have a few Lightning bugs and the first night here I sat on the porch and there were hundreds!!! I can't wait for Wyatt to be big enough to go lightning bug hunting with me!!! We will have so much fun!!

Leaps and Bounds

Boy this week has been hectic!! Wyatt has been out and about a lot and let me tell you, he'd rather be on the ground practicing crawling instead of sitting in my lap anywhere!!

On Wednesday we went to the Vet to get Bud's stitches removed. We sat in the waiting room for 2 hours!!!! Wyatt was good as usual except he really really got bored. He was a wiggle monster. Everyone thought he was such a good baby for being so happy for so long. I probably need to rethink having any other kids because it's true. I've never seen another baby that would sit for 2 hours without crying. I don't think I'd get so lucky to have two that would do it.

Then Wednesday night we went to meet Grammi and Pa-Paw for dinner. That was fun but a little rough because Mr. Wyatt decided that napping was for babies and not for big boys who got to go to the vet and talk to bunches of people. So it was a sleepy wiggly dinner.

Thursday Greg was off of work so we could all go to the dentist. We had to be there at 7 and we live over 30 minutes away so we actually had to wake Wyatt up before he got up on his own. He must have thought we were crazy!! On the way to the appointment a deer hit us!! Completely smashed the driver side door in. Scared us both to death. Wyatt slept thru it. Poor deer and poor new Tahoe!!! The deer didn't make it and the Tahoe needs some cosmetic surgery to recover. But we were all fine!! So we finished at the dentist around 10:00, had to go to Greg's work and get his paycheck to take into town to put in the bank. Then Greg had to go see SSG Bowers at the armory in Fort Worth to finish filling out his sworn statement to clear up some stuff relating to his discharge. We were there for 2 hours!! All told poor Wyatt (and poor me) were in the car from 6:30 until 4!!!!!! He was soooooo ready to get out and practice crawling!!

Crawling is going really well. We haven't officially accomplished it yet but it should only be a matter of days (if not hours!!) He can officially scoot now by pushing forward with one foot. And he is really trying to sit up but usually gets stuck in a sideways half laying position that is really cute. He has also been practicing talking this morning. He keeps repeating the P sounds over and over again. I think he is going to say Pa-Paw first!! He sure loves that Pa-Paw!! Of course he threw in a Ma-Ma for good measure today but he had no idea what he was saying. I think I got a real kiss this morning. I'm not sure because I wasn't watching his face but somehow I got an open slobbery mouth on my cheek! I'll take whatever kind of kisses he wants to give me that is for sure. His new favorite pastime is blowing raspberries on my shoulder when I pick him up. He thinks it is great fun!! And I think it is really cute. I just love this 6 months time period. He is just growing by leaps and bounds.

Sleepy Woman

Okay Wyatt is 6 months old and has been sleeping thru the night for about 3 months. I've become accustomed to getting a good 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night. However last night he decided that Mommy needed to get up at 3:30 after just 4 hours of sleep. I am not made for this anymore. I was so miserable today. I fell asleep on the couch while he was screaming and bouncing in his jumperoo. I fell asleep while I was giving him a bottle. I fell asleep while we were playing on the floor. Luckily I didn't fall asleep while I was changing a diaper or something!! That could get ugly!! Ha!

So now it is 9 oclock, after a long day of bouncing in his jumperoo (which he loves!!) and he is asleep and I'm headed there myself. Please let him sleep thru the night.

Oh and I forgot to mention how much fun he had yesterday going for a walk with Daddy. That is what the picture on this post is from. He wouldn't quit smiling!! He loves being outside thank goodness. He is going to take after his Mommy!!! (His Daddy likes it ouside too.) I can't wait until it is warmer and he and I can go out during the day and play on the porch or something!!! Maybe I will make a sandbox soon and get Big Johnny the dump truck driver to come and fill 'er up!! I think Wyatt would like that. Just need to figure out how to keep the kitties out of it!!

The Nothing Blog

Okay, I'm totally cheating on today's blog but I filled out one of those email survey things you send to your friends and I decided to post here so that years from know I could look back and remember what happened today!! (Wyatt crawled!!! and someone dumped a bakers dozen of animals on our back road. ) So here it is.

1.WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING?
6:30. Thats sleeping in around here!!!

2.DIAMONDS OR PEARLS
neither!

3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?
Chronicles of Narnia

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW?
Gilmore Girls

5. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?
Generic Cocoa Pepples

6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME?

Elizabeth

7. FAVORITE CUISINE?

Mexican

8. WHAT FOODS DO YOU DISLIKE?

Fish!! Yuck

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHIP FLAVOR?

Ranch Wavy Lays

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD AT THE MOMENT?

My own personal mix.

11. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?

2001 Chevy Tahoe!! I love, love, love it!!!

12. FAVORITE SANDWICH?

Ummm. .. does a taco count?

13. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE?

Self-centerdness. Had enough of those people to last a lifetime.

14. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU LOVE MOST?

Kindness

15. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING?

My Las Vegas sweat shirt.

16. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

Disneyland!!!

17. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM?

Ugly. Is that a color? It's going to be red but I haven't painted yet.

18. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING?

Ummm, anything works, as long as it comes in tall!

19. TO WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE?

Disneyland!!

20. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY?

21st - Mom took me to Las Vegas and it was a lot of fun!!

21. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?

Football, mostly college

22. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS?

Colorado

23. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK?

I have no expectations

24. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST?

Same, send or don't send, it's all okay with me. (of course if you love me you will send it so I can see how you are doing)

25. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?

July 1st

26. WHEN IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY??

June 12th

27. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON?

I'm a middle of the day person.

28. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE?

10

29. PETS:
Oh geesh. Just today I picked up 13 more.. . .yep, 12 dogs and 1 cat. (living on a back road sucks)
Dogs - Sable and Katie, and not staying are Momma Dog and Puppies 1 - 11
Kitties - Miss Yoda, Bud, Mr. Schwartz, Dizzy, Harry and possibly Ron if he is still there in the morning.(and if he is in fact a boy)
Horses - Sterling, Sonora, and Sunny

30. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

Umm you all know it all. I moved back to Fort Worth this year and I had a baby!! Oh yeah and Wyatt crawled today and he got two teeth last week!!!

31. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?

A veterinarian. And I would be too if they didn't make you take all that sucky Biochem.

32. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

Stressed and tired of puppies!!!. And very angry at stupid people who think that they can dump their animals on our road!!

33. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY?

Let's see. Anything chocolate with almonds in it.

34. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?

Passionflower Cause it is cool and it hasn't died in my garden yet.

35. WHAT IS A DATE ON THE CALENDAR YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO?

August 2nd. Wyatt's first birthday.

36. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE EVER BEEN FROM HOME?

Dominican Republic. Very cool. Beautiful mountains! Nice horses!

37. A SMALL THING YOU REALLY ENJOY?

Nap time.

Nocturnal Boy

Today has been a good day. Well other than the fact that Wyatt's best friend is still in the hospital after a very scary weekend. But Colin is doing much better thankfully and will hopefully be out soon!! I think I will post about this when Colin is safely home and doing well!

Wyatt had to go to Grammi's house last night so that his Dad and I could go see Colin's Mommy and Daddy and offer our support. Wyatt didn't mind and I'm sure he really enjoyed getting to spend some more time with Pa-paw and Grammi but he didn't appreciate the fact that we picked him up late!! It was 9:30 and he was sleeping sooooo hard he didn't wake up when I transfered him to his carseat. He slept all the way home but when we got there he woke up. I should have known he'd make me pay for waking him up!! He went back to sleep but only slept until 3:30. Then he was bright eyed and bushy tailed! I however was heavy eyed and grumpy. I finally convinced him that it was not in fact 7:00 in the morning and that he did have to sleep some more before he could play. I finally got back in bed at 4:30. However I couldn't go to sleep so I laid there until he woke up again at 5:00. Luckily my husband is wonderful and got up and put him back to sleep. Then he slept until 8:45!!! That is the latest he has ever slept!! I was getting really worried about him. Hope he doesn't do that tonight!! (well at least the waking up part.) I think I'll head to bed and get a head start on my sleep!!

The Blustery Day!!

Today has been a great day here in the area because it has been raining all night and all day!! I don't think it has really rained since Wyatt was born!! We have been so scared of fires around here that I'm even afraid to unplug the heat lamp because it gives a little spark. My poor neighbor was fencing and she had to stop because we are under a burn ban and an outdoor welding ban. Maybe this will make them ease up on it.

But the bad thing about rain is we are all cooped up inside and going stir crazy!! Weekends are great but they are really boring if you have to stay inside. I'm not used to taking care of Wyatt when 2 people are home and I find it makes the day go slow!! Although Wyatt has a good idea!! He has been napping for the last 3 hours. Greg and I would have been smart to join him but we didn't. Too busy being bored.

I'm proud of our horses!! We made them a big pen that is open into our little shed and I turned them all 3 in there and no fighting!! It's amazing. Sunny is a grumpy old mare and she likes to try and kick the other two but they are really getting along great!! They even stood in the shed together when it was raining and looked like they were enjoying the company. Good thing or Sunny would have to be penned in the corner. She wouldn't appreciate that.

Wyatt had his big weekend at Grammi and Pa-Paws. I always miss him so much!! They wear him out!! All that fun is tiring!! Good thing he has a whole week to recuperate before the next trip! He has really been singing lately. It is so cute. He will play with his singing catipillar and after it stops singing he will start his little song!! So adorable!! I wish we could share audio clips on here!! It's great! I just love him so much it makes my heart jump!!

Well I'd better go get dinner started!! Have a good blustery day!!

Hello Mr. Tooth!!

Well it is official. My boy is growing up. He got his first tooth thru the surface tonight. It's amazing because just this morning I checked and there wasn't much there. Just two little bumps. Then tonight WHAM, one tooth thru and the other peeking at it!! I'm so excited. (It was probably that stroll over our boulders we took today. They must have jostled it out! See previous post.) I can't believe how fast babies grow up. He is almost 6 months old and it seems like just yesterday that he was born.

Wyatt has learned a new trick too. He sings!! (Well sorta) He makes this sound with the back of his throat then throws in a high pitched hum with it. It's hilarious!! I can't keep from smiling. In fact every time he warms up I mute the TV and just stare and listen. It's the most wonderful song I've ever heard!! Of course I tried to sing with him today but he wants no accompaniment. He will stop singing and just look at me like "Mom, you don't know the words to this one!!" So I have to sit and listen to him do his solo. Not that I mind, my vocal skills are minimal at best!

We also just got a bath seat. What a great thing!! He will just sit and splash for a really long time. He LOVES it. I thought he had enjoyed baths up until now, but it has been nothing like the first time in the bath chair. The whole room was soaking wet!! Bath chairs are the greatest!! Well I'm off to catch up on ZZZs!

Smacking Lips

I am officially a baby torturer!! Wyatt has become so entranced by food that he stares longingly at you while you eat and smacks his lips at you. It's terrible. Even Grammi said she felt like she was torturing him. He doesn't give up either. No matter how many toys we give him he just looks at my food like it is the most delicious thing he has never tasted!! I've decided that I need to bring food with me at all times for him just in case!!! Poor child!! No one EVER feeds him. (at least that's what the people at Taco Bueno think!!)

On another note I rode tonight!! It was great! Sterling got her new shoes on yesterday and they made all my boulders just disappear!!! We only did 2 miles tonight but it sure was better than I've done in over a year. Sterling was jazzed and ready to go. Of course after we did the 2 miles she was ready to call it a night (not because she was tired but because she wanted to see her buddies) and I still wanted to keep going. Sigh. I wish it didn't get dark so early all the time. Can't wait for the time change. My horse-shoer has a lighted arena and he said I could come use it sometime. (of course I'd have to help out by moving cows for the guys that bull dog but I don't mind. I'm sure I could get in a few circles before they turned out the lights!!) That would be awesome. Only problem is I don't want to leave Wyatt. So I guess I'll put that on hold until he has his own pony and can come help too.

Random Ramblings

Wyatt slept for 4 hours today at nap time!! I couldn't believe it. I surfed on the internet, then went and sat in front of the TV just waiting to hear him calling for me. Nothing!! I can't believe he slept that long. It's been at least 2 weeks since he got that good of a nap. I'm so relieved because it sure made him happier tonight.

Greg and I and Wyatt went to eat at a Mexican restaurant here in town. It is so yummy. It's always crowded but we got seated and finished eating in 40 minutes!! Great service. I miss eating out all the time like I did in College Station. I was living there all by myself so there wasn't much reason to cook for me. I'd just hit up On The Border and get some soup for 3 bucks and drink water. I know those waitresses hated me!! I still tipped.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Stock Show. I'm so sad because I'm not going to the parade and I'm not riding in the parade. I was excited to move back to the Fort Worth/ Dallas area because I'd be able to ride in parades again but I don't think that is going to happen for a long time. Sterling and I used to do parades all over before I went to College. We even rode in the Grand Entry and stock show rodeo. That was a lot of fun!! I was there with 3 other girl who had never done it before and one of them was a club queen. So she had to ride in first and her horse was being horrible. We almost switched so she wouldn't embarrass herself. (Sterling was being an angel). She let me ride her horse for an hour in the afternoon and he was fine for the last rodeo performance. (Go me. Ha Ha) Anyways, I guess I got sidetracked reminiscing. I probably won't get to ride in parades until Wyatt is a lot bigger and can go ride in them with me!! Won't that be fun!!

Wyatt was in a really great mood this evening as you can see by his picture. He has learned a new trick although I haven't heard him do it that much this week. He sucks his little cheeks in and makes a kissing sound. He has also started saying some form of Momma when he cries. I know he doesn't know what it means and he only says it when he is really upset, but it really works to make me feel so bad for him. Breaks my heart for him to cry. Tomorrow we are going to Grammi's for the morning then I'm getting the horses feet trimmed. Sterling is getting shoes on!!! I can't wait!! It's like getting new tires on a truck that has 4 flats!!! Whoo hoo!! Look out backroads here I come!!

Teething Terribles

Oh my goodness!! Nobody told me teething would be worse than the last month of pregnancy!! It seems like Wyatt has been teething for months and months. He is constantly chewing on his hand, my hand, Mickey's head, books, any toy that is smooth, and burp rags, not to mention a ton of other things. I can feel little teeth on the other side of his gums but they don't seem to make any progress. My poor baby has turned into a cranky fussy facsimile of his former self. He doesn't know what is wrong with him and I don't feel like I should give him Tylenol several times a day for this. He isn't sleeping well anymore either. That just makes everything worse because not only is he cranky because his gums hurt but he's cranky because he's tired!! We shared a popsicle today and he really liked to chew on that. Maybe I'll do the wet rag in the freezer thing tomorrow. I hope this doesn't last another 5 months!!! Poor Wyatt and his Mommy will be two grouchy peas in a pod!!!

Sleep Deprivation

I am beginning to wonder if I will ever feel caught up on sleep again!! It seems like since Wyatt came I am constantly tired. I have a feeling this might have something to do with not doing a lot of physical activity during the day. I used to work and feed about 20 horses a day before I had him so I got a lot of activity to wear me out. Maybe I'm just the type of person who can't sleep unless I'm bone tired. I feel bone tired but my muscles must know the difference!! Tomorrow I'm going to do Wyatt weight lifting and see if that helps. He will think it is fun!!

Tonight we went to eat dinner with Grammi! I love getting out of the house and doing stuff. I wish Grammi and Pa-Paw lived closer to us so we could see them more during the week. Of course that might make my Saturdays a little less special. Saturdays are great days for me because I get to hang out with most of my favorite people. (not all of them but most). Wyatt sure loves his Grammi. Tonight was rough though because I walked off and left all of the formulat powder that I had prepared for his dinner sitting on the counter in our kitchen. So my poor baby was hungry and all I had for him was water. He was not fooled!!! So after a quick trip to Wal-mart he was a much happier baby!!

Well I'm off to bed. Maybe if I went to sleep when Wyatt went to sleep I'd get to feeling like a human again!!!

Amy

My Little Man

Wyatt has become such a part of my life now I don't remember before him. I know that there was a time when I worried about such trivial things as making everybody like me and got my feelings hurt when this didn't always work out. I've had people that I thought were soul mates leave me, friends drift away. I used to say my goal in life was to leave earth and have no one say, good ridance, I couldn't stand that girl. And it used to really bother me that life doesn't always work out that way. But now that Wyatt is here it's like the only thing that matters anymore is that he grows up healthy and happy and anything that pertains to me doesn't mean a thing. I know every parent feels this way but it is a very new idea in my head. It's sometimes a little hard to wrap my brain around! Today was a wonderful day even though I never got out of my pajamas and I didn't brush my hair once. Wyatt doesn't care what I look like, as long as I hold him and cuddle. (well he'd probably prefer it if I cuddled a little less but tough!) Wyatt makes no judgements on me for the choices in my life other than to tell me he wants a bottle and I should have read his mind 2 minutes ago to know that. He doesn't care if I'm not beautiful or funny. I don't have to say anything to him for him to know I love him.

Today while he was supposed to be napping he did something that made me melt. I had fallen asleep beside him in my bed and when I startled awake he was just sitting there on his belly and hands looking at me with a big smile on his face. It was like he was watching me nap and not complaining because he knew I needed it. He might not be able to tell me he loves me yet but I don't need to hear it. I know.

Cowboys and Kitties

Let me just start this by saying I think that I was born to ride horses. I didn't actually get to start until I was six when in a brilliant act on my Mom's part I started taking riding lessons. She thought it would just be a phase but boy was she wrong!! I think that over the years my happiest moments were on horseback. Needless to say I have high hopes that my son loves to ride as much as I do. If he doesn't that's okay with me but I sure will miss him on my rides!! So last night I decided to do a photo op with him so that he can show all his future Cowboy friends that he really started riding before he could crawl!! And I think he's going to be quite good at it. He actually held on to the saddle horn and the rein and was looking around like "lets go Sterling". He has good balance and didn't seem afraid at all. I have a huge fear of turning into one of the "horse-show Moms". You know the equivalent to a "beauty queen Mom" or a "my kid is going to do everything I do and love it Mom". I hope that I can let Wyatt make up his own mind about his likes and dislikes. If he doesn't like it there is always the next kid!! (Ha Ha).

Next subject! This morning I woke up and decided that I hadn't seen one of my indoor kitties in a day or so. Miss Yoda is her name and she is my favorite animal of all of them if you can believe that. I saved her from a dog when she was very very little. She should have still been with her Mom but I had her and didn't know where her Mom was. When I took her to the vet they tried to get some blood to test her for feline leukemia and they couldn't get any because she was so anemic. So I raised her in my room until she got big enough to be tested. (we didn't want to risk the other kitties being exposed to anything). So Yoda grew up sleeping right beside my head and slightly under the covers. She gives kisses and is terrified of most people. She comes when called almost like a dog. (better than some dogs, Katie you know who you are). She is special and is not allowed outside the house under any circumstance. Now this rule has been broken before but not on purpose. When I was in the hospital having Wyatt some how she snuck past my Mom and stayed outside for over 2 days!! She came back and was fine but boy was I worried. So to find her missing was quite a shock this morning. I called and called and called, until Wyatt thought I had changed his name to Miss Yoda. No sign of her. She was not in the house. Of course I had visions of something horrible happening to her like being electrocuted and hid under the bed and I would find her until long after she was gone. Scary. I started thinking that maybe she had jumped thru the screen on the window yesterday while it was open. Schwartz, her brother had gotten out that way earlier in the day. However there was no sign of her anywhere outside. So finally when my husband got home for lunch I made him crawl under our trailer and look for her. He said he didn't see her anywhere and my heart dropped because I had been hoping she was sitting safely under the trailer hiding until she got brave enough to come in. I went and sat on the porch steps and just called and called until I finally heard a little meow back!! It was her!!! Thank the lord!! She wouldn't come out but she was under the house!! Whew. My husband tried again in vain to crawl in to get her but she was acting scared. So I had to leave her out there!! Then around mid-afternoon I looked outside and she was just sunning on the porch. Brat. I opened the door and she just came waltzing in like she went outside all the time. Then she had the audacity to stare at the door this evening like, "Can't I go back out?" Huh Huh, no way!!!

The Sleep Monster

I don't know about all the other 5 month old babies out there in the world but Wyatt has decided that sleeping is B.A.D. He has gone from taking a 3 - 4 hour nap in the afternoon to several fussy 20 minute naps throughout the day. I can't tell you how hard it is to clean the house when you only have 20 minutes and you can't leave the room because your child won't sleep in his crib so he is just laying on the couch. I know that this is because he is no longer swaddled so he doesn't stay asleep as well but geesh!! He still sleep thru the night (Thank goodness) but my house doesn't get cleaned by little fairies!!! I'm hoping this is just a phase!!! I think that the world has just become so interesting to him that he doesn't want to miss anything. I tried explaining to him that if he would go to sleep he would be a much happier boy when he woke up and the world and all the fun would be waiting for him. As it is he just fusses all the time so he is really missing out on all the fun anyways!! Sigh. Here is hoping tomorrow is better!!

Amy

Four Legged Triumph

Today is a Saturday. I love Saturdays and I hate them all the same. Today is the day Wyatt goes to visit his Grammi and Pa-paw's so Mommy and Daddy can sleep and get some stuff done around the house. But today is also the day where Mommy and Daddy walk around the house moping because we miss Wyatt. It's just a no-win situation.

Today however I decided to actually do something big with my free time. My first baby is almost 3!! She is close to 1000 lbs now!! (Did I mention she is a horse?) Sonora will turn 3 in May and I'm ashamed to say that I have somewhat neglected her since we had Wyatt. Before Wyatt I spent at least an hour a day with her. She loves to be loved. When she was first born she would stand there for hours while I pet her or she would lay down next to me in the field while her 'Biological' Mom ate. We spent many hours swimming in the pond together. In fact we almost drowned together once because she was going down and I wouldn't let go.

(Lucky for us her 'Biological' Mother drug us both out. Okay maybe that isn't such a great story) Since I've moved here to our new home I haven't had the time or energy or health to mess with her much. I've only ridden like 5 times since I had Wyatt 5 months ago!! Sterling is thankful for that but that means I haven't been taking Sonora out with us. (Just in case you were wonderin' Sterling is Sonora's real Mom. I just decided Sterling was going to have her.) I haven't even put a Saddle on little Sonora since last fall!!! So today I changed all that. She should already be at the track if she were to follow her Father's destiny. I didn't want to send her to the track (didn't have the money even if I wanted to) so she has just spent many hours hanging out with Sterling and Sunny getting fat.

Anyways, back to today. Greg and I have been working hard on a round pen so that I can work with Sonora and not get killed. We finished it last week. So today I tried it out!! Sonora was really good in it without the saddle so I saddled her up and worked her again!! NO BUCKING!! I can't tell you what a miracle that is because up until then she bucked every time I put the Saddle on. Maybe she's been thinking it over all the months that she has had off. Whatever it is she was better tonight that she was a year ago!! So I decided to have my Husband come and help me and I actually put a leg up and hung from the saddle!!! That is such a major step!! She didn't even seem to care. Just looked a little worried that I might fall off!! I had Greg walk her around while I was laying over the saddle and she did great!! I jumped off and called it a night!! To those of you who don't have horses, this is like the first steps of a baby!!! It is huge!! I'm so excited. I can't wait until next weekend when I'll actually mount up for the first time!!!! Whoo Hoo!! Go Sonora!!

And so it begins. . .

Today Wyatt made that first little baby steps towards crawling. He has been tucking his feet under his body for a little while but today he went one step farther. He actually raised his body on all fours and started rocking!! (Of course he then quickly nose dived into the ground, but it was a start!). I hear that once they start the rocking on all fours crawling is not far behind. That scares me for so many reasons!! What if there is something on the ground I don't know about that he can choke on? Like those little annoying plastic tags that come on toys? They get everywhere and I always drop one!! And then there is cat hair everywhere!! Do I really want him nose diving into the dog bed? How sanitary can that be? Then there are pictures and plants on our entertainment system right at his level!! How am I going to keep him out of those? I thought about fencing them off but decided that t-posts wouldn't be a real asset to our floors. I could always use electric fence. Nah, I'd probably shock myself all the time. (and no I would not really put electric fence anywhere Wyatt could get to. The cats are another story). Oh and the cats!! And Dogs!!! Their life as they know it will definitely be over. I bet I have a lot more animals that want to go outside all the time!! Even the lazy ones will want to go out for a peaceful nap on the patio furniture! Then there are the outlet plugs. Wyatt is one smart little boy!! How long until he figures out to just unplug the stuff plugged in to be able to stick his own little fingers in those holes.

Oh geesh!! My life as I know it could be over soon!! I know I said that when I had a newborn but I was just getting the hang of this sedentary Mommy thing. I mean sure, we move around the house a lot and go outside and walk, but what am I going to do when it's not me who is picking where we go? Everyone says that when your baby starts crawling your job gets harder!! Plus it means he is just growing up to be such a big boy and I really just want him to stay 5 months forever. Ask my Mom, I said I wanted him to stay 2 weeks forever back in the beginning and I still stand by that!! Although sleeping thru the night is kinda nice, and I would like to hear Mommy I love you sometime. See previous post. So maybe crawling won't be so bad. I mean it is just one more step to being able to say I love you. Not that I don't enjoy drool kisses, which is how he tells me now. Oh boy. Can't stop time. I guess he'll just drag me along kicking and screaming until he is taller than me and has kids that I can spoil. Hmm Grandkids, that seems like a good deal.

Amy

To Write or Not to Write. . . .

Well today was another good day. Wyatt and I headed out to the grocery store and got back before my Gilmore Girls was on. (I can't help it I'm terribly addicted.) When Greg got home we all went for a walk. It was fun. I made Dad carry Wyatt and let me tell you walking over those rocks is a whole lot easier than pushing a stroller over them!!! I'm thinking I need to hook up a horse to the stroller and drive it like a buggy for tomorrow's walk. Hmmm. . wonder if Sterling would go for it. I'm sad today because I wanted to take some picutres of Wyatt being cute in his new hat Grammi bought for him but my camera is awol. (And no I didn't lose it, it just got left at Grammi's. Along with the diaperbag. I know bad Mommy). I'll take some photos this weekend of Wyatt in his cute little hat and get them posted because it would really be a shame if no one saw it!!

Anyways on to the purpose for this post. My Mom suggested that I write a childrens book today and it sure sounds like fun. I've always like writing and drawing and I wonder if I could do it. If nothing else I could write books for Wyatt!! I'm sure he would enjoy them. Or maybe I could start a business and do personalized books for other peoples kids. My Step-Mom bought my little sister a bunch of books with her name in them so there is probably a market. Problem is I'd have to find somewhere to publish them and still be able to aford to sell them!! I think this project needs more thought. My big problem in life is I have all these plans that I'd like to do but I just have a small amount of follow thru driving them on. I guess I should just dive in a see what happens!!! I think I'll go do a bunch of internet research on personalized books!!! Maybe that will give me some ideas! Only thing I'm sure of is that Wyatt will be my muse!!! I can write stories for him and if they keep him entertained maybe they could keep other kids entertained.

So much to do, so little free time to do it!! I guess if I have time to write in a blog and keep up with the MommaZone babies (and Mommies) I could find some time to write!!! Okay now I just need a new pin and some cool pencils and some paint of somekind or something and a new note book to write in!! It's like going back to school!!

Driving Mr. Colin

Well today was a great day here at the Spivey Homestead. I wasn't home all day!!! Wyatt and I had a date with our best friend Sherri and Colin. Now I've known Sherri for most of my life, so in case you don't know her let me introduce her. We went to High School together. We were best friends. We went to College together. We were best friends. Lived together. She was the greatest roomie ever!! She was the Maid of Honor at my wedding. She drove to College Station and helped me move. She was there the night Wyatt was born So needless to say she is pretty important in my life. Well she got married a year before me low and behold we got pregnant around the same time!!! So not only have we shared so much of our lives together we were both going to have babies together!! (well not together together but you know what I mean) I can't tell you how exciting that makes everything. So when we found out that we were both having boys it just all seamed like God's plan to me.

Anyways, back to today. Wyatt and I went and picked up Colin (her little boy, who is 7 weeks younger than Wyatt and just adorable, naturally) and his Mommy and took off. We went and visited Colin's NiNi (hope I spelled that right) who works at a children's dentist. Who knew kids were supposed to go to the dentist when they are one. So I guess I found Wyatt a dentist. Of course everyone there thought they were so cute. Then we took off to go eat Thai food like an hour away. We love Thai food and it was great to find a restaurant that serves a decent chicken/beef basil!! Mmmmm. . . . Wyatt even thought that it looked yummy. Colin slept, well mostly slept. Then I unfortunately had to take them back home and return myself to my far away land. (we live like an hour from everybody) We had so much fun. Wyatt thought Colin was so cool. When Colin would cry Wyatt would just stop making noise and just look at him like "Should I be crying to? What is wrong with you? Anything I can do to help?" I can see that in just a few years, maybe months the way they are growing, that they are going to be best friends just like I planned. Maybe they will even go to College together!!

Hills, Rocks, and Blisters - Oh My!!

Okay, Okay. I don't believe in New Years Resolutions really. They don't seem to work for anyone for very long. I think you have to decide to do something for yourself rather than simply because the year has changed. So that being said I don't have a New Year's resolution. I do however have a New Year's plan! It is simply to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! I don't mean go grocery shopping or out to eat. I mean go outside and enjoy the wonderful 80 degree weather. (Yes it is Winter but Texas hasn't noticed yet).

So to that end Wyatt (and thru him me) received a new Jogging Stroller for Christmas. Now before you start laughing I don't intend on using it for actual jogging. That would be dangerous. Nope I only want it so I can make it over the boulders in our lane. My particular corner of the world is littered with many mini asteroids. Others call them rocks, but I think they are multiplying far to fast to be inorganic. They are everywhere here on our property. And everytime the wind picks up more arrive. So to walk around here a regular stroller is out. It wouldn't even take a day to ruin one of those 200 dollar Graco strollers. Those guys are meant for malls only not trips to our mailbox.

Today I decided to get started on my plan. Wyatt finished up a nap at 11:00 and by 11:30 I was out the door in some hideous workout outfit in my new Tennys. Now I didn't exactly plan Wyatt's attire correctly. I left him in his pajamas and brought a blanket assuming it would be below 80 degrees outside. Pretty sure I was wrong, because before I made it to the barn to pick up the stroller I was sweating. So I strapped my new walking buddy in and headed out towards my Dad and Step-Mom's house. It's not that far just about 1/4 mile. I've ridden my horse there many times. I have never walked it howerver and soon discovered that it was like trekking up the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend. Seemed like we would never get there. The rocks were huge and I imagine poor little Wyatt was bounced practically out of his seat several times (thank God for 5 point harness systems) Let me just say that the trip up was so rough half way there I decided I would attach the safety line to my wrist in case I fell over dead and Wyatt began the backwards race home. I figured that would prevent him from crashing into the creek going 100 miles an hour.

After what seems like forever (was really on 10 minutes) I arrived at my desitination. Past my child to his MiMi and headed for some water!! Wyatt didn't even have the decency to pretend it was rough. He just laughed and laughed at me. I told him he had better quit or he'd have to find another ride home. So after a quick break I headed back home. Now let me tell you. The hill wasn't quite as bad on the way home but I had to use some breaking techniques to keep the stroller from making the aforementioned trip down the lane. When we were almost home I realized that my foot was starting to hurt. Great my lovely new Tenny's had made a lovely little blister. So I had to walk funny the rest of the way. All I had left in our trip was a little hill that leads up from the creek. I thought ahh, I can do this without puffing and breaking a sweat. Wrong. When you walk funny it's hard to push a jogging stroller up hill and even harder to do over the many more rocks the wind had blown in while we were gone. (I swear there was twice as many now as when we left)

Needless to say I'm tired and I'm sore and you know what? Wyatt somehow managed to take a nap while crossing the Continental divide. Those rocks must be lulling to him. Crazy. Maybe I should put his crib on an earth quake fault in California. That would bounce him to sleep.

Oh boy can't wait to do it again tomorrow!!

Amy