There's no place like home!

So, Ty, B, and myself got back from vacation tonight, around 7 and I could not be happier! We went to Destin, FL, as me and Ty have done every year for the past 4 years. I also went to Destin with my family every year when I was little so needless to say, I'm very comfortable/familiar with the place. Last and this year, we stayed at Miramar Beach which is technically in Destin but it's about 5 minutes further, therefore, less hectic. We've never gone this late in the summer though. I must say, it was so nice not having hour+ waits at restaurants and there was no traffic at all. We stayed in a town home which worked out great last year because your backyard IS the beach and you have a ton more beach space than you do with a condo. However, we stayed at a town home next door to the one we stayed at last year, which we were pleased with, but just wanted to try something different. We left Wednesday night last week and stayed at a cheaper hotel that night, just to catch some sleep. We didn't get there until about 5 am so we slept until 12 pm then checked out. We caught some lunch at Dewey Destin, which I've heard is fantastic but neither one of us were impressed. After lunch, we headed to the town home, which has a check-in time of 4 pm but luckily, our code worked at 2 pm and we gained access.

Of course, we had to check out everything as soon as we walked in. There were LOTS of stairs, which I knew about but just didn't think it through I guess. When you walk in, there are 2 bedrooms but then you have to go up one set of stairs to get to the living/dining rooms and kitchen and then ANOTHER set of stairs to get to the master bedroom and one more bedroom. We've definitely gotten a workout this week! BUT...what the ad did not mention was the infamous spiral stairs. In order to get on the beach, you have to go down some tight spiral stairs, which could be accessed from any level but they were really tight and basically in a closet-like area. To add to it, I'm claustrophobic. I immediately cried and starting looking for a different way to get on the beach. At that point, I was willing to walk to the end of the town homes and walk around to the beach. After about an hour, I actually walked down the stairs and it wasn't bad at all. I know it sounds silly but my anxiety level is horrendous with alot of things. There were A LOT of things that weren't mentioned in the ad. The condo itself is rundown, old, and dirty. It was decorated really nice though. Atleast the furniture was new and clean. I won't even go into all of the other problems we had...that will be shared with the owner of the condo in the next 24 hours, unfortunately.

We also didn't realize how much work it would be with Barrett. He was such a wonderful baby, enjoyed the beach, and had a blast, but he IS STILL a 9 month old...meaning, he pitched fits, required frequent naps, diaper changes, feedings, making sure he had enough fluids, applying sunblock, keeping sand out of his mouth, keeping him entertained...you name it. I hate to even say it but it was more work than it was relaxing. I'm sure some people are fine with all of the work but Ty and I were not blessed with patience. Overall, it was worth it but we'll probably be doing something different next year, like just taking a week off work and staying home together :). I also hate to say it, but we weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow...obviously, we left a day early but we are all 3 so glad to be home! All of our luggage, etc. is put up. I only have 2 loads of laundry running, since I washed everything in Destin. Barrett got his bath at 9 tonight, ate his cereal, had a bottle, and hit the sack. There's just nothing like home!

One other thing to mention...last year I was pregnant when we went to FL so I couldn't go to the water park, which I LOVE doing. So, this year, I was so pumped about going and the fact that I could take B to the kiddie park was exciting. We all got ready and left. We drove into the parking lot and discovered NO cars or people! They had closed for the season 2 days prior :( We were so sad. Oh well...maybe next time! We ate dinner at different places every night. Last night, we went to Bubba Gump's and then stopped by The Track, which has rides, go-carts, putt-putt, and that kind of stuff. Barrett rode some rides with Ty and even rode the swings by himself :*). He has gotten so attached to Ty this week. It's so sweet! I hate to see B go back to daycare and Ty and I go back to work but it has to happen. I think we're going to take B to daycare tomorrow so that me and Ty can have a day to ourselves. We have a few things to do this weekend and probably won't see each other much so we need it!

In other news, Barrett turned 9 months old on the 21st. He's finally started bearing weight on his legs and trying to crawl. He loves getting in his walker now and still just goes backwards. He babbles really loud and says all kinds of things. I just can't believe that I'm so lucky to have such a happy, pleasant baby! We drove 7.5 hours today and only had to stop for 30 minutes to let him stretch, eat, and get a clean diaper. He didn't even fuss the rest of the time! I'm beyond blessed! Anyways, I've typed more than enough and probably need to catch up on some rest! Good night and good week all!

Oh yeah, and congratulations to our friends Liz and Kevan, on the birth of their little girl, Addi! Happy late birthday to my mom, Lori! AND happy early birthday to my sisters, Melissa and Christie, my dad, Jodie, and Ty's uncle, Brad. It's going to be a busy week!

Ugh!

I have gotten so irritated about little things lately and not sure why. I'm hoping it's a temporary thing and it goes away soon! For one, I could do without random people's comments on what I should be doing with my baby. I had a female customer at work, tell me that I shouldn't be feeding my baby baby food and that he should be eating solids. Keep in mind, she doesn't have nor has she ever had any children. If she really knew about babies, she would know that babies develop differently. Barrett has tried solids and chokes pretty often. I asked his doctor about it at his last visit and he said that if he chokes at all, to stop that food and try again in a few weeks. He said he should NOT be choking and that eating solids isn't one of those things that with practice, makes perfect. He would probably just continue to choke. So, we've tried different things. We tried to move up to Level 3 baby food and he's not havin' it! I've heard that most babies don't like the Level 3 foods so we've decided to stick with Level 2 and incorporate different solids at a time. He can pretty much eat anything that's mashed up with no hard clumps in it. He loves Baby Mum-Mums from the grocery but we have to watch him with those. He gags pretty often so we eat those sparingly. He likes the Gerber Puffs too but chokes on them whole so we put them in the Munchkin Feeders and he loves it that way. They're good because he learns to chew and I don't have to worry about him choking. I guarantee that if it was that customer's baby, she would feel completely different!

Every woman is entitled to mother her child as she chooses as long as she isn't endangering them in any way. My son is happy and healthy so why does it matter that I'm not exclusively feeding him solids yet? I mean gosh, I might be saving him from a lifetime of obesity...or atleast that's what all the "studies" say...haha. He also isn't crawling and that really bothers people. He may not crawl for another 6 months! Shoot, he may not crawl at all! I don't really care. He waves bye bye, claps his hands, says mama, dada, bye bye, baba, and yay. He's such a smart boy so I know it's not that he's behind mentally. He's just very content with whatever he's currently doing.

All that really matters is that I love him and take care of him just fine. I wish I could just learn to brush off people like I talked about above. It would make my life much easier. Anyways, I'm through venting...just had to get that out there because I'm sure there are millions more mothers that feel the same way!

B from baby to big boy

So, I feel like it's been a while since I posted but honestly I don't think it has been. We've just had a TON going on lately. I hostessed a baby shower for a friend the weekend before last and had a few other things that weekend. I had my nephews from Paris for a night, a couple of weeks ago and realized how much I've missed them. We had a really good time or at least I did! Ha ha. We ate dinner out, the night they got here and then visited Sweet Cece's before heading home. Unlike the majority of the population, I wasn't impressed with Sweet Cece's. I love ice cream but I guess I'm more into Blizzards, McFlurries, and that kind of stuff. When we got home, Jackson, Barrett, and myself played together, mainly trying to keep B entertained. I must say Jackson would be an AWESOME babysitter. Walker and Ty played PlayStation together, of course. The next day, I took Barrett to daycare as usual so that I could spend some much-needed time with just the nephews. We went to lunch with "Granny" (my mom) and Delores (her best friend and my second mother). Then, just Jackson, Walker, and myself went to the movies to see Mr. Popper's Penguins, which was so funny. By the time the movie was over, it was time to head to Paris and meet my sister and brother-in-law to return the boys. All 7 of us ate dinner together there and then Ty, Barrett, and myself headed back to Jackson. I used to spend a lot more time with Walk and Jack before Barrett arrived but since November 21, 2010, we don't spend as much time together as I'd like. I love those 2 boys like my own and was so glad to get that time with them! I just wish my 3rd nephew lived closer so that I could spend more time with him too! I've considered getting Skype and buying my sister the stuff they need, just so I can chat with him :)...we'll see!

I surprised Ty with a trip to Tunica this past Friday night, for his birthday, which was yesterday, August 1st. He loves going to Tunica and I'm just not a big fan so I figured I'd let him have the whole weekend to do what he wants. Needless to say, he was glad we went. We both stayed up until about 4 in the morning but had a good time. My sweet momma and step dad kept Barrett and Lilly while we were gone. We got back around 3 Saturday afternoon and Ty went out to a friend's house to shoot guns. That night, Barrett and I went over a friend's house for a girls night, with the exception of B being there ;). Ty's friend came over Saturday night and they played PlayStation together, which is obviously Ty's favorite thing to do. Sunday, the Jones family was lazy and just sat around the house all day. I took care of B all day so that Ty could lounge and enjoy his birthday "weekend". His actual birthday was Monday. Monday night, 18 of our friends and family came to China Pan (Ty's choice) to celebrate. I got him 2 ice cream cakes from Baskin Robbins, one of which was Chocolate Mint that he LOVES and the other was strawberry. We don't do gifts every occasion because we typically get ourselves something if we want it. So...when our birthday or something rolls around, we don't really need anything! I don't mind getting flowers or being taken to dinner but most of the stuff we used to get each other would be rolled up and thrown somewhere, never to be used. Ty's gift was basically 4 days of doing what he wants with no responsibilities whatsoever....wait...that's EVERY day...just kidding, just kidding!

Friday night, Barrett learned to wave bye bye. Saturday night, he learned to clap, and Sunday night, he SAID "bye bye" a few times for me. Monday night, he 'rolled em' up' (like the Patty Cake Song) with his hands. We realized today, that he definitely knows what "hey" means. Any time some one's said "hey" to him, he's waved back. He's such a smart, sweet boy and I'm so blessed to have him! He still isn't rolling over (he has before but just doesn't seem to WANT to), crawling, or bearing weight on his legs for very long. We have his 9 month checkup in a few weeks so we'll ask Dr. Woods about everything then. I'm thinking he may just need some kind of therapy or similar to boost him into doing these things. He WILL bear weight on his legs...he just doesn't WANT to. He is so content sitting on the ground with toys or jumping in his Jumperoo. I have no concerns intellectually though, which is a relief. He's growing up so fast. Sometimes I just want to slow it down but at the same time, it's very exciting to watch him learn new things.

Tomorrow night, we are going to eat dinner with our best friends for Ty's birthday. It's always a good time when we get to see them. This Saturday, we have a friend's birthday pool party to go to. Then immediately after it, we have another get-together at a pool so Saturday is going to be one busy day. Going to the pool with Barrett, even for 30 minutes, is a hassle...it's fun but it's a hassle. He doesn't DISLIKE the pool but he doesn't necessarily LIKE it either. He usually cries 50% of the time :/ Luckily, the second get-together is at Ty's mom's house and I can always count on her to help me out with Barrett ;).

Friday, my best friend is having an ultrasound and HOPEFULLY we will find out if Barrett is getting a best friend or a girlfriend! I am so excited! It's like I'm getting another nephew or niece. All we ultimately hope for is a healthy baby. My friend will be a little over 17 weeks along in her pregnancy on Friday, so hopefully the baby will be able to show his or her stuff! I was 18 weeks 2 days when we found out B was a he. The ultrasound tech knew within 5 minutes. My friend has another ultrasound scheduled for August 30th with her doctor so if by chance, this Friday was unsuccessful at verifying the gender, August 30th will hopefully work out. I just can't wait! Nothing is better than a baby coming into this world that you can love on and take care of but give back to the parents when you've had enough! Ha ha. Honestly though, I can't wait to help her out when her little one is here. That was the best gift I could have asked for, after I had B. You don't know QUITE how chaotic, exhausted, and busy things will be until the baby is actually here. I had so much help from my mom, 2 sisters, and other family members and friends for the first month following Barrett's birth. They spent the night at my house or took Barrett to their house quite a few nights, in order to give me and Ty a break. AND with all of the health problems I had and the unexpected week-long hospital stay, they were SO much help! I'm glad to help my friend WHENEVER with WHATEVER, whether it be running to get groceries for her or spending the night a few nights, to let her have a full night's sleep, I'll be glad to help. I love my Audge!

Anyways, I've written way too much tonight, so I'm cutting it off here. Good night, peeps! Everyone have a great rest of the week. At least tomorrow's hump day, right?!

B is growing up so fast...

Barrett will be 8 months old on the 21st :(. It's good but it's kind of sad. He had a few "firsts" tonight. He took a big-boy bath. He sat all by himself in the tub, without the infant tub. He loved getting to splash and play! I got him a bath toy from WalMart that is a little star that flashes blue and sprays water. It was so cute but honestly, he didn't really care about it :/. After his bath, he wore some big-boy pajamas, since he's basically too big now to wear the one piece pajamas. Such a happy boy :).

I got him a few old-fashioned toys too, which he LOVES more than his high-tech toys. Here's a picture of his new toys. Who can live without a ring stacker and the wire toy with beads that you can move around?! Not to mention...a cabbage patch doll?

The cabbage patch doll was mine when I was little. I gave it to him this morning and he gave it kisses...so sweet.

I also got him some Gerber Puffs at WalMart to try as his first real solid food....all I know is that they need to make these things in adult versions! They are soooo good!

Needless to say, Barrett loved them too. We gave him one to see how he would do. He gagged a little but worked it out. I was too worried about him choking so we put a handful in this little thing we got at Target. The handle is for him to hold and the left blue part is mesh.

He loved getting to feed himself and all of the Puffs eventually melted and he ate them all. He's on a "mama" kick lately. He wants me alot and says "mama" all the time, especially when he's upset...it's good to know he considers me to be the one that consoles him. Here's a picture from last night. I love when he loves on me!

I can't believe how grown-up he's getting. He still hates being on his stomach so I don't make him do it anymore. He immediately goes to crying and holding his breath and it kills me. If he just cries a little, I'll leave him but what's the point? Yeah, it may make him stronger and he'll learn to crawl but he'll work it out eventually anyways. Right now, he's loving his Jumperoo and sitting in the floor playing with random toys. We've had a problem with him sleeping lately so we tried his pack n' play in his room. It worked! I have no idea what the difference is to him but obviously, there is one. It went from getting up 4 to 6 times a night to getting up maybe once. Thank goodness! Speaking of, I better go to sleep! I've become such a night owl lately and I need to break that habit! Good night everyone!

I'm not crazy!

The news topping this past week is finally finding out what's been wrong with me. I had another endoscopy done Friday. It was so pleasant, in comparison to my previous one. It was done in-office instead of the hospital which is a plus and I didn't wake up for this one! I was only out for 30 minutes or so and felt just fine when I woke up! The nurse got my IV in the very first time and everyone was extremely nice. Supposedly, when I was in "recovery", I was hiccuping extremely loud and Ty said he was worried something was wrong with me...lol. I've had frequent hiccups for months and not sure if that goes along with all my other problems or just coincidence. Anyways, the doctor sent me home with a couple of papers saying what they found but of course, gave the details to Ty while I was still asleep. He said that I have a hiatal hernia and looks like I've passed some gallstones recently because he can see scarring reminiscent of stones in my ducts. I'm just relieved to hear that I'm not crazy. I've honestly started to wonder in the past few months if I'm somehow imagining these symptoms and they aren't really there. Of course, I don't like the fact that I've got a hernia but atleast I don't feel like a nut anymore. As far as the hernia goes, it's medium-sized. They don't really do anything for hiatal hernias unless it bothers me for years or gets so large that it could cause problems. So for now, I'm on a few antacid-type medications to try and fix it. As far as the gallstones go, my gallbladder showed it functions at 82% a few months ago, which is excellent. He said anything between 30 and 80 percent is considered good. I have a follow-up with that gastroenterologist in a month to see how everything's going. The paperwork shows they found two hiatal hernias but I don't think that's possible from what I've googled. I'm sure they just accidentally typed it twice. The doctor also dilated my esophagus since I've had a problem swallowing lately. He said the acid can scar up your esophagus causing that problem. I can already tell it's helped with the swallowing, alot! I'm a little sore but not horrible. Anyways, that's that and I'm so glad I've gotten an answer! Thank the Lord I finally found a good doctor!

Onto better news, it's Fourth of July weekend! Ty took off with me Friday to go to the doctor. Of course, I couldn't drive myself since I was sedated. We got through around 12:30 and went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. Then, we came home and I slept until 5:30. Ty woke me up after he went and picked up Barrett from daycare. I must have been very sleepy...lol. When I woke up, I was starving so we went with my parents to Red Lobster then came home. Barrett went to bed and we watched a movie. I got up this morning and cooked breakfast-scrambled eggs, toast, hasbrowns, and bacon. I'm not a big breakfast person but it was soooo good! After that, we loaded up and went to the river to a family friend's cabin. Ty got to tube and we just rode around in the boat for a bit. We got home late tonight and got pizza and are obviously calling it a night. Tomorrow, we plan on going to Dyersburg for my granddad's birthday. We have nothing else to do, so why not?! I'm sure Monday, we'll end up at Ty's parent's house to swim. They have a get-together almost every holiday so I'm sure it'll be fun. I'm so thankful for the days we get to spend at home, all together.

Well, Barrett's fighting his sleep so I guess I'll step in! Have a great holiday weekend!

Can I go to sleep now?

If you don't understand my blog title, it simply means I'm tired. Very tired. Starting last weekend, I noticed Barrett becoming sleepy all the time. He literally only wants to stay awake for 30 minutes at a time which isn't like him at all. On top of that, he was a little grumpy. I assumed maybe he had whatever I was sick with at the time. I had started to run fever at night, had horrible back pain, and overall just felt bad. I went to the doctor and they checked me for a UTI but that wasn't it. I still run fever every few nights so I'm wondering if it's related to the gastrointestinal stuff I've had going on for a while. Luckily, Barrett hasn't ran fever. Over this past weekend, he progressed to having frequent #2 diapers, spitting up, and not wanting to eat or sleep through the night. Now, we're assuming he's cutting teeth. The first few nights that he didn't want to sleep, we ended up putting him in the bed with us and he'd do fine. I decided last night that we weren't going to do that again. I didn't want him getting too used to getting in bed with us. So, I was up every 30 minutes to an hour, picking him up out of his crib, rocking him, and putting him back to bed. Needless to say, it was exhausting, but I refused to give in and put him in our bed. Hopefully this teething thing will get better...hopefully.

Barrett's sitting up by himself and babbles all the time! He says "dada" and "baba" alot. He just recently started saying "mama" again after his 3 month break from it-haha. He typically only says "mama" when he's crying or upset. He still hates being on his stomach and has no desire to roll over. Despite all the teething, we don't see or feel any teeth yet. His favorite thing to do is jump in his Jumperoo. It's so cute watching his little frog legs go to town! He weighs about 23 pounds now. I have a feeling this may be what's causing all my back pain lately! Luckily, we don't have to go back to the doctor for 2 more months! I'm thinking we don't have to get shots but then again, I'm not positive.

Life's been really busy lately between baby showers, weddings, birthdays, and holidays. This past weekend was the first weekend we haven't had any plans in a long time. We pretty much did nothing but sit around the house, which was so nice. I can't ever get enough time with my sweet husband and darling baby. Speaking of babies, I am so excited that my best friend Audrey is having a baby! She is due January 2012 and I cannot wait! They're supposed to find out in August if it's a boy or a girl. Barrett told me that he's very eager to know ;) Audge, I know you will be a wonderful momma!

Anyways, I think I'll get off here. I'm getting another endoscopy Friday (which I'm kind of dreading). I'm sooo over hurting and being nauseous all the time! I'm praying that they figure out something!

So excited!

I am so happy for my best friend, Audrey Seyerle and her husband Franz! They are pregnant with their first baby, due January 10th, 2012! I am ecstatic to gain another nephew or possibly my first niece! I've known she was pregnant for a while now but she chose to wait until she got an ultrasound, which was today, to announce the pregnancy on Facebook. I know she will be a wonderful mother and Franz will be a great father. They deserve nothing but the best and having a child of your own IS the best thing in the world. Ty, Barrett, and I love ya'll!

On another note, Barrett's progressing fairly well these days. I think putting him in West Jackson's daycare has been the best decision we've made so far. His teachers are wonderful! They seem to spend alot of time with the babies, helping them learn new things. They're nice people in general. I feel like him being able to watch other babies and learn from them helps. He's a really good eater these days. He eats oatmeal with a fruit in the morning. For lunch, he gets a vegetable and fruit. Right before he goes to bed (usually around 10 pm), he eats rice cereal with a vegetable. From the time he wakes up in the morning until he goes to bed at night, he takes a 6-8 ounce bottle every 3-ish hours. Luckily, he's still sleeping through the night. He wakes up around 8 am normally. I honestly feel like I have an angel-baby. I don't know what I've done to deserve such a well-behaved, content, and happy baby. The only time he cries, he actually needs something unlike alot of babies that cry just because.

I've been really busy the past few days. I am so tired because I stayed up late last night cleaning the house and doing laundry and dishes. Once I get going, I don't want to stop until it's done. Tonight, we had dinner with my parents at their house. Then, me and Ty ran to Wal-Mart for groceries while Mom and Doo-Dah babysat B. Once we got home, it was bath and dinner time for B, which takes about 30 minutes. I had a little bit of cleaning left to do so I finished it up while Ty put Barrett to bed. Speaking of Ty, Father's Day is coming up and I must give him props for being such a good dad to B. I love him to death and am so proud of the father he has grown to be. I'm sure if Barrett could talk, he'd say the same!

Anyways, here I am up very late again! I've got to get to bed! Before I go, I want to wish my sister and her husband, Kirk & Christie Davison a happy anniversary, which is technically today. Also an early Happy Anniversary wish to my stepdad and mother, Steve & Lori Smith. Their actual anniversary is Saturday. I love all four of ya'll and can't imagine a better mate for any of you. I hope everyone has a great week!