Monkey

So, yesterday evening I was in the bathroom when I heard a commotion from the kitchen. Unfortunately, I was not able to hurry up too quickly to find out what was going on. We have a gate up at the bathroom door to keep David out, but to let the cats in as that is where their litter box and food are. Usually when I'm in there David is right there talking to me and throwing stuff in to me. Not this time. When I finally made it to the kitchen I found him standing on the kitchen table. I was stunned.

My Little Kitchen Helper

David had the best time helping us "bake" the other day. Geoff and I were both busy in the kitchen working on a batch of cookies when David woke up from his nap. Now what? How were we going to get these cookies baked? By letting him help us! That's how. I taught him how to turn the mixer on and off. Of course he wanted to touch the whisk as it was going on high speed. Then he discovered the sink. Water! What joy! It's so much fun watching them discover new stuff. Of course, now he wants up there all the time. Oh, well, what do you do?

What does a hat, a lampshade, a stocking, a mirror, & a pair of underwear all have in common?

DAVID!




















I guess he was feeling pretty silly today.

I love you, man!

Jackson Murphy came over to play today. They had a great time sharing toys and their lunches. But Jackson wasn't so sure about the hug David gave him. This is the first time David has hugged another kid like this, at least that I know of. He has been really huggie the last 2-3 days. It's a lot of fun for Mom.

My Poor Baby

Yesterday was quite a traumatic day for David. First we went for his 15 month doctor's appointment where he received two shots (30.5" tall, 22lb13oz). Then yesterday afternoon we took him to Geoff's barber shop for his first haircut. He cried longer and harder at the barber shop than he did at the doctor's office. Of course, it took a little longer to get the haircut than it did to get the shots. Poor thing. You can't see it in this picture, but he had on a red shirt. His face was as red as his shirt. But he held still long enough for the barber to do a pretty good job. I would have liked it to be a little shorter just so we wouldn't have to do this again for a little while longer.

The Bagel Experience

What happens when you leave a bagel too close to the edge of the table?














And he ate 3/4 of it!

Free Chick-fil-A Breakfast

Go to Chick-fil-A to receive your free breakfast!

MOMS Club

Leslie Becker discovered, much by accident, that there's a MOMS Club in SE Nashville. With the way David's nap schedule is right now I haven't been able to attend any of their gatherings yet, but I have corresponded quite a bit with Rhea, the VP. She seems very nice. The group is always looking for new members. For info. just contact Rhea at reanna11@comcast.net.

Shop to Make a Difference!

Shop to Make a Difference!

Manger Marketplace
Saturday, December 2
9 a.m. – 12 noon

Here is your chance to do your Christmas shopping and make a difference in the lives of people around the world who are in need of help. Join us as we offer alternative giving opportunities and celebrate the joy of God’s gift to us. There will be activities for children and adults as well.

Hillcrest United Methodist Church
5112 Raywood Lane
HUMC@bellsouth.net
832-0157

What a Great Day!

We had a really good day today. I was productive this morning and got a lot done, including my FlyLady mission. After David had lunch I went grocery shopping, fixed lunch for Geoff and I, then David and I went outside to play in the leaves (there are more photos on Flickr). It was so warm.
It seems strange to me how there are days when I'm able to get so much accomplished and then other days when it seems so hard to get anything done. I know part of it is attitude during the different times of the month, how tired I might be, how tired David might be. I'm sure there's a whole lot of reason why I might feel this way from time to time. I guess it's just how life goes.

Black Friday

Here is a web site that I think most everyone would be interested in: www.bfads.net. They list the sale ads for as many stores as they can for shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving. If you're looking for specific items this is one of the best times to buy.

Halloween

Here's my little leopard.










And the pumpkin that we carved.










More photos are on Flickr.

Krispy Kreme

On Friday, Oct. 27 I took David to Krispy Kreme for a pumpkin shaped donut. He ate the whole donut. I was surprised. Do you think he enjoyed it?

Growing So Fast

As you can see from the pictures, David has been quite busy.

Playing peek-a-boo: he puts the back of his hands over his eyes, presses so hard that he makes his eyes red, and he won't move his hands until you say, "Where is David?"










He's a multi-tasker: drinking his milk and pulling the puppy at the same time. Until just recently he hasn't been pulling the puppy but rather picking it all the way up off the ground by the string.










Checking out the leaves at the Scarritt-Bennett Center.










Pulling guts out of the pumpkin that we got at Waldon Farms. He was actually quite helpful, but he did try to eat the raw seeds.










And the final picture: he has learned how to get on and off of his riding toy (this picture is actually from July when we had to put him on the toy).










Lately, it seems like he's just exploded with new development. It's so fun to watch him. I love to just sit and watch him play, figuring something new out for the first time.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took David to a pumpkin patch, Walden Farms in Smyrna. We had a great time. We got to pet animals (goats, sheep, pigs, turkeys, etc. David called the turkey a duck.), walk through a small pumpkin patch, go on a hayride, and eat some yummy pumpkin desserts. The farm is great. They have a lot of activities for children of all ages. There's a small maze made with hay for the kids and a big corn maze for those who are more adventuresome. There were riding toys for the kids, face painting, cotton picking. The list just goes on and on. My plan is for this type of outting to be one of our family traditions each year. I can't wait to see David's reaction as we go to pumpkin patches through the years. We took lots of pictures and I had a hard time deciding which one to post here. If you would like to see more just go to Flickr. Enjoy!

FlyLady

What is FlyLady? Check out www.flylady.net.
FlyLady is teaching me how to keep my home in order. She teaches you how to establish morning and evening routines for the things that need to be done everyday, weekly routines for general cleaning, and monthly routines for deeper cleaning. Since I became a SAHM (stay at home mom) she has been a life saver. When I first started staying home I was having trouble getting into a routine and I didn't know where to start, there was so much to do. FlyLady taught me that I can do anything in babysteps, fifteen minutes at a time. Since then I have begun decluttering our home and I'm always fifteen minutes away from being able to accept company into my home. What a wonderful feeling that is. We still have some work to do on the decluttering, but we are on our way.
I would like to thank Becky Sekeres for introducing me to FlyLady.

Communicating

David seems to be picking up quite a few words lately. Today while at the grocery store he said balloon. He only said it once, I couldn't get him to say it again, but it was very clear. This weekend my grandmother taught him to say and sign fish. So now he's constantly looking and saying fish.
He's also started using the sign for more. I hope he will begin using more signs.

Keeping Up

Wow, it's been a whole month and a half since I posted anything. Time sure does fly. My apologies. I'll try to do a better job at keeping you updated on what's going on in our world.
David is doing great! Last night I think Geoff counted that he's saying about 7 words, that we can understand, including out, down, and duck. He's also walking down the steps by himself, holding on to the posts.
I think he's going to be a computer geek like his Poppa.

I think I can, I think I can

David is trying to walk on his own. Yesterday he took 3 steps by himself and today he took 2. He's walking really well by holding on to just one of my fingers. Maybe he'll be walking by the time he's one (in just two weeks).

7 Teeth, Climbing

David is getting his 7th tooth. Unlike all the others, this one was through the gums before I even realized it was close. He had been drooling a lot off and on, but he hadn't been as cranky as he had been before all the others broke through. He has been more cranky since it's broken through. I don't know, perhaps the one on the other side is trying to push through, too.

Tuesday night we went out to dinner with Geoff's mom. She spent the night with us before flying out to Oklahoma to be with Geoff's sister, who is about to have her 3rd baby. Anyway, while we were eating dessert David decided he was going to try to help himself to another piece of cookie and stood up in the high chair. I know, it was dangerous, he could have fallen, but Geoff was right there and I just had to snap a quick picture. You can see that he has his eye on that cookie.

Then yesterday he decided to climb on top of the ottoman. It has now been moved to another room.

Back Home

David and I got back from visiting my Mom in Paducah yesterday. I like visiting, but for some reason it wears me out. I stayed up last night waiting for Geoff to get home so we could have a proper hello. I got to sleep at about 11:30 pm and slept soundly until David woke us up at about 7 am. Later this morning Geoff watched David and I took a two hour nap. Whenever I take a nap I usually only sleep for 30-45 minutes, maybe an hour. Usually I have too much on my mind and can't sleep. I don't know what it is about going to my mom's that makes me so tired.
While in Paducah I got my hair cut. Anyone who really knows me knows that this is a big deal. I usually end up getting a big trim every spring. A trim for me is at least 6" cut off and it's just straight across. This time, I don't know how much she cut off, but it's just past my shoulders and it's layered. I really like it. Then Saturday night Mom helped me to put highlights in my hair. I've never had highlights before. Again, I really like it. Geoff thinks it's sexy.

Communication

Have you ever seen Mr. Holland's Opus? I have, but it's been a very long time. In the scene I just saw the little boy is wanting something off the top shelf, but his mother can't figure out what he's wanting. At the same time the mother is having a conversation with the father regarding a special school for the deaf boy. The boy and the mother are both very frustrated and angry that they can't communicate. My first emotion was that I couldn't imagine not being able to communicate with my son. We would both be missing so much. I had to choke back tears. As I've been sitting here writing I was struck with how the mother and father were also having trouble communicating even though they can both hear and speak. Are you some times frustrated because of the lack of communication? Are you listening to each other? Really listening? Actively listening.

My First Blog

This is my first blog. Maybe this will help me keep you updated on what's happening with David, Geoff, and myself. This is just a quick note to say "hi." Right now Geoff and David are playing together in the living room while I get a little computer time. This afternoon David and I are heading to my mom's house in Paducah. We'll be there until Sunday. Unfortunately, Geoff has to work so he's staying home alone. He'll miss us terribly, but he'll keep himself busy and will love on us a lot when we get home.
For now, if you would like to view pictures of David just go to www.inklingx.com. Right now there are a couple of really cute (short) videos of him there.