Creating Kelly

Green Machine Smoothies

2011-12-29T13:33:00.010-06:00

Abbott and I both came down with some kind of awful virus the day after Christmas. Our symptoms were not even close to the same except for in one area: eating just didn't sound good. In an effort to quickly and easily get some much needed nutrition into our systems, we made smoothies. Smoothies are really great for times of illness because, in my experience, it's much easier to drink something than eat anything when you're sick. Why "Green Machine" you ask? Well the "green" comes from the raw spinach included in the recipe and "machine" because that appeals to a certain little 3 (and a half) year old boy ... and maybe because it rhymes and I'm silly like that, too. OK so here we go:

Green Machine Smoothies (dairy and gluten free)

Ingredients:

A variety of fresh fruits (I used about 1/4 cup blueberries, 1 medium sized kiwi, 1 whole banana, and about 1/2 cup strawberry halves).

Did you know that blueberries, kiwi and strawberries are Vitamin C powerhouses? Vitamin C is depleted from our systems when we are fighting illness AND is a natural antihistamine. Bananas are rich in potassium, which can improve muscle, nerve and digestive function.

1/2 to 1 cup of raw spinach

1 cup of spinach delivers 56% of your RDA of Vitamin A, which is a natural immune booster. It is also a good source of zinc, which improves cell function and immune function.

About 4 oz. of orange juice AND 3-4 oz. of pure pressed carrot juice. Kroger has "lite" mandarin oranges in the can, meaning they are stored in unsweetened orange juice rather than in light or heavy syrup. I just reserve the juice from the can for this step. Truly, the amount of liquid you use is based on your preference for thickness, play with this a bit until you find your happy place. :)

We all know that OJ is great at providing vitamin C in times of illness, but did you know that carrot juice is a powerhouse, as well? Carrot juice is packed with vitamins E, A, C, K and B6, which is a brain booster AND helps to combat nausea!

Abbott loves to help when I cook so I let him add all the ingredients once they've been prepared/measured. In my experience, the things he gets to help with are the things he is most excited to try!

We added about 6 oz. of natural apple juice to thin it out a bit.

Pack all those ingredients in there tightly.

Put the lid on, turn that blender on and watch the colors fly. After blending, Abbott and I tasted it and we decided it needed to be a little sweeter. Normally, I would have added some agave nectar or honey, but we were out of BOTH! I added a few teaspoons of raw sugar and that did the trick.

The spinach turns the smoothie bright green, a color some kids might think is cool to drink, others might be terrified to try it. You can always leave the spinach out until they're ready to try it. This recipe made enough smoothie to fill a 16 oz. glass (Abbott drank on it all day) and fill an entire 12 oz. mason jar, plus a little extra so you may want to scale the recipe down for one person. Also, with there being no dairy in this, it doesn't separate and get all nasty like other smoothies can. Abbott's cup lasted him all day, going in and out of the fridge and I never once had to stir it or worry about something spoiling.

Variations and suggestions:

Try just spinach, a banana, a scoop of peanut butter, some almond milk and a little cinnamon and you've got a protein packed green smoothie. This is one of my favorites for breakfast.

Frozen peaches, strawberries and blueberries work well, too, if they are blended while frozen.

Stay away from fruits with lots of seeds like blackberries, raspberries and pomegranates; use the juice alternative to those fruits instead.

I hope you enjoy! :)

Little Valentine's Treats

2011-02-22T20:54:00.002-06:00

I teach preschool, and you can't have a holiday like Valentine's Day without a great party! I found these great little individual cupcake boxes at JoAnn and ended up making them each a cupcake Valentine... strawberry, of course :)

Fun times in Pre-K!

Running...

2011-02-20T12:52:00.003-06:00

As Abbott puts it: "Running is fun, Mommy!"

I agree, buddy boy. :)

Trail Mix Treat Bars

2011-02-10T10:30:00.002-06:00

We made these this morning and they turned out really well! It's kind of a cross between Rice Krispy Treats and Trail Mix.

Trail Mix Treat Bars

4 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup nutella

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 cup light karo syrup (scant - just under a cup)

cinnamon and/or vanilla to taste (I did about 2 tsp vanilla a 1 tsp cinnamon)

4 cups honey/nut O's

2 cups crisp rice cereal

1 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dried fruits (I used a combo of raisins and cranberries)

Melt butter, nutella, peanut butter, karo and spices in a large pot until all ingredients are combined and smooth. Remove pot from heat. Add all other ingredients and stir quickly until all dry ingredients are coated evenly. Pour into a greased sheet cake pan, press mixture down until evenly spread out and allow to cool. Cut into squares and enjoy!

As you can see below, I lined my pan with wax paper. What you can't see is that I did not grease it and had several squares that I had to throw out because the paper stuck to them. :-/

You could add just about any variety of ingredients and I think it would taste pretty good.

Hope you enjoy!

Update....quickly

2010-02-20T13:31:00.002-06:00

Today was the first day in I don't know how long that I didn't have to work AND the weather was decent enough to venture outside! It is gorgeous!!! That's about all I have time to write about because we have a fund raiser tonight for the school and I have to start the slow but steady process of getting ready for it with a toddler who is too exited about playing outside to settle down for a nap! :)

Good day, sunshine!

Catch up....

2010-01-30T13:16:00.008-06:00

Well, I did it again. I let an entire month go by before I even knew what had happened. It's not fair how quickly time goes by these days. I guess you'll just have to prepare yourself for a post that is probably entirely too long since I have to cover all that has happened since Christmas. I will try and be brief with my words and let our photos do the talking.

First, a friend of mine helped me (it was actually her idea) gift wrap our friend's desk at work. That's what she gets for taking a week off! :) It really helped to get me into the Christmas spirit, you know?

We celebrated one Christmas in Kentucky!

We played with the train at Grammie and Pops' house. We also celebrated Christmas at Popo and Moma Jo's house, but I somehow left there without any pictures....I think I let Jami take all the pictures there.

Abbott got really excited!

Ryan got really excited too!

We celebrated New Years Eve with some good friends!

Spent New Year's Day at Grammie and Pops' house.

Abbott got his first guitar lesson from Steve.

We played with Mr. Potato Head.

I celebrated my 29th birthday with some good girl friends.

And today, we played in the snow!!! Here are Ryan, Abbott and Roxie getting ready to head outside.

Abbott LOVED the snow.

Home sweet home.

Beach toys make excellent snow toys too.

Snow angel 1.

Snow angel 2.

It was hard to make snowballs with this snow, but Ryan found a way! Then he threw this one at my face.

Abbott tried to throw the snow too.

It was such a fun time! I hope we can get back out in it tomorrow!

Abbott has recently developed some new talents and skills. Like any good mommy, I have been taking some short videos to document them so...here you go!

Exercise skills:

Math skills

That was, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 8!" in case you had trouble understanding. :)

Language skills:

And for all you musicians out there, a special song:

What a great night!

2009-12-13T16:39:00.007-06:00

Ryan, Abbott and I got festive last night and went out in search of Christmas lights. After attempting Opryland Hotel and giving up because traffic was backed up over a mile just to get off of the interstate, we decided to head to downtown Nashville to see the big tree. It really is pretty and it wasn't too unbelievably cold so we walked down 2nd avenue and ended up for an impromptu dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Special thanks to Doug who joined us for dinner and took the pictures at the Spaghetti Factory.

Posing for pictures before we left the house.

He loves to take the candy canes off the tree...only to hold them.

Cheese!

Mmmmm.....candy canes.

Riding in the elevator with Daddy!

Standing by the big tree!

We ran into one of the teachers from High Hopes who was there with her family. Her little boy, Ira was enjoying running around the tree. I tried getting pictures but he was moving so quickly that they all came out blurry! Well, anyway, thank you Kirsten for snapping this picture of us!

So handsome.

Standing at the base of the tree, looking up.

So pretty.

Fun with Daddy!

After dinner by the Spaghetti factory tree.

Look at that cheese face!

So big!

He could be a model.

This may just have to be the Christmas card picture....if we can get them out in time! Don't be surprised if you get a happy new year card instead!

Thankful...

2009-11-29T16:17:00.006-06:00

Thankful is defined as feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative. While that's a great and accurate definition of the word, I feel that those words are very limiting to the way I have felt the past week. In fact, as I look back over the last year or so of my life, I am reminded of how thankful I should truly be. I think I'll make an early resolution this year and try and find my gratitude all year long rather than focus on it at one time of the year. All that being said, I took some really great pictures in this past week and I would like to share a few moments that show why I am so thankful.

Saturday, November 21, 2009: My dear friend, Sarah gave birth to a healthy, perfect and precious baby girl. She and her husband, Jeff, named her Lucy Marie.

I was in Knoxville for Lucy's arrival, but I am THANKFUL that I got to come home the next day and meet this precious angel. She already loves her Aunt Kelly. :)

I am THANKFUL that I have friends in my life that are as good, fun and smart as these two people.

I am THANKFUL that I have a charming little boy who is as expressive as he is smart!

I am THANKFUL for parade-watching in our pjs.

I am THANKFUL for made-from-scratch desserts.

I am THANKFUL that Tim was responsible for carving the turkey...and not me!

I am THANKFUL for a beautiful mother-in-law who makes her own gravy...even if she won't let me take a picture of anything more than her hands!

I am THANKFUL that Justin was there to test the turkey.

I am THANKFUL that Joan (Janet's sister) and her husband, Jack, surprised Janet for Thanksgiving...I am pretty sure it brought happy tears to her eyes.

I am THANKFUL for a beautiful table at which to eat.

If I can't have Wannie's angel biscuits, then I am THANKFUL for Sister Schubert's yeast rolls.

I am THANKFUL for this bountiful meal...the one I had to stand on a barstool to fit it all into the photograph! To be exact, this meal contained the following: One 20-pound turkey, 3 types of dressing, green bean casserole, sauteed green beans, asparagus casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit salad, rolls, cake, 2 pumpkin pies and fudge.

I am THANKFUL for a place setting as warm and cozy as this one.

I am THANKFUL for looong walks after the meal to help it all settle!

I am THANKFUL that Doug humored me and pretended to be asleep again for this picture...the one I messed up when he actually was asleep.

I am THANKFUL for this precious little man who makes me laugh, shows me how smart he is, and tells me he loves me on a daily basis. I am THANKFUL for the man (of whom I didn't get a close up picture) who is helping me raise Abbott, and working with me to bring up a caring and responsible man.

While I didn't spend time with Mom, Dad, Jami, Jarred and Jack this year at Thanksgiving, I am THANKFUL that I get to see them regularly, that I got to have pre-Thanksgiving with them the weekend before, and that I got to see Jami and Jack the Monday before Thanksgiving (Jarred, we'll have to work on getting you here more often).

I am THANKFUL for a job...a job that challenges me and rewards me daily...a job where even though I make very little money, I know that I am a part of making other lives better.

I am THANKFUL that the people who read this will not care that I am expressing my thankfulness after Thanksgiving. I am THANKFUL that the people who read this care enough about me to actually read this and I know they love me and my family.

What are you THANKFUL for?

Future Model??

2009-11-09T20:48:00.002-06:00

Ryan and Abbott had a photo shoot today. Here are the many faces of Abbott:

Happy!

Commercial.

Pouty.

Goober.

Sleepy.

Would you hire him?

Halloween Weekend/Ryan's Birthday

2009-11-09T20:16:00.004-06:00

I know it's a little late, but some of our Halloween pictures were too cute not to share. Halloween for Abbott and I began on the Friday before when we attended Halloween parties at High Hopes. The kids all dresses up and I thought it was only fitting that I dress up too.

Have you ever seen Mary Poppins this happy?!

Abbott enjoyed his cupcake with neon green frosting....a lot.

Cutest. Mickey. Ever.

Saturday, Ryan had to work so Abbott and I headed out to Pumpkinfest in downtown Franklin. It's a great little festival full of fun games and vendors and lots of cute costumes. I do need to tell you that Abbott was the cutest child there, hands down.

We took this picture before we headed to Pumpkinfest. Isn't he so cute?

Sunday was Ryan's birthday (I would insert an old joke here but he is younger than me so it just doesn't seem right) and he had to play at the vineyard that afternoon. We all packed up and headed down to spend the afternoon celebrating Ryan and listening to him play.

The future of rock and roll?

Self portrait.

Ryan had a request of carrot cake and red velvet cake for his birthday cake...he couldn't make up his mind I guess. This cake that I made him is both....one side carrot cake and the other side red velvet cake. All with cream cheese frosting and ALL from scratch baked fresh that morning. Yes, I love my husband. :)

Grammie bought Abbott his very own special halloween cake that he, of course, devoured and loved.

Cake makes him happy. As his Aunt Jami always says, "There is just something about cake!"

We had a great weekend celebrating! Wished everyone could have been there with us!

Jack is visiting!!

2009-11-07T13:44:00.002-06:00

OK, so Mom, Dad and Jami are visiting too, but Abbott is most excited about seeing Jack, who makes him laugh the hardest. See?

A star is born...

2009-09-07T16:44:00.003-05:00

Abbott comes from a musical family, there is no doubt about that. His daddy plays a mean set of drums, his Popo is a talented guitarist and singer/songwriter, his mommy sure can sing a bit of car tunes...even his great Poppa has been known to play the flute every now and again! He is also surrounded by mommy's and daddy's good friends that have musical talent. Knowing all of this talent that precedes and surrounds him, I still never expected his talent to emerge so soon in his little life. I am ever so proud to present the very first recordings of Abbott's performance abilities. In this video, his daddy plays drums (on the floor) while Abbott sings and plays his guitar. Notice the emotion in his face when he sings.....whatever he is singing about, he really means it! Enjoy!

I want to be just like my daddy....

2009-08-22T09:54:00.002-05:00

marching and thank you!

2009-08-18T18:49:00.003-05:00

Just some cute videos.

DISNEY!!!!!!!!

2009-07-11T21:13:00.015-05:00

***Warning...this will be a VEEEERRRRRRRYYYYYYY long post with very many precious pictures and some cool ones too***

On Monday, Ryan, Abbott and I headed out with Tim and Janet (AKA Pops and Grammie) to fly out to Orlando and begin a week of fun at Disney World (my first time!!). Once there, we met up with Ryan's brother, Justin and his wife, April....as well as her parents, Ron and Regina, and her sister, Amy. The more, the merrier, right? We had TONS of fun and here are only some of the pictures to prove it!

We stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort in "Martinique." Here is a picture from our balcony.

Once we checked in and made it to our rooms, we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner at Raglan Road, an Irish pub complete with an Irish band and fantastic bread pudding...and I am not even a huge fan of bread pudding, but, believe me, this was AWESOME. On our way out, we saw some local wildlife in the courtyard.

Abbott quickly made friends as was the case on every shuttle ride, every day...although not always with ducks.

3 generations waiting for the shuttle....you know, you can take a shuttle anywhere. We didn't rent a car because Disney shuttled us and our luggage from the airport to the resort, from the resort to any park we were going to, and then back to the airport again.

Here is part of downtown Disney. Do you know what movie these guys are from?

Home of the best bread pudding I have ever had.

This guy is made completely of legos....the small kind. He is just one of many displays right outside the Legos store.

So close to realizing one of my childhood dreams. At this point, I hadn't made it to her castle yet, so a statue would have to suffice.

I bought Abbott some genuine Mickey ears with his name on the back. He wouldn't wear them the night we bought them, but we all tried real hard to get him to put them on. He was just too tired from a day of traveling, I guess.

The next morning was to be our first day in the parks. We headed to Magic Kingdom, first. Abbott was OK with his ears this time....thank goodness! He looks so cute in them!

This is the entrance to Magic Kingdom. I finally made it!

Not too impressed yet!

The castle!!!

We rode "It's a Small World." I LOVED IT!

In line to ride the Dumbo ride....so fun!

Grammie and Pops were in the Dumbo in front of us!

Next, we rode the carousel. I love the look on his face in this one.

Abbott decided to nap for a bit in his stroller so Grammie and Pops headed off with him, while Ryan, Justin, April, Regina, Amy, Ron and I headed off to ride some of the futureland rides. Lucky for us, Buzz Lightyear was there to greet us! We took this picture for Jack....ok and maybe for me too!

Futureland is cool...everywhere.

Tuesday night, we all headed out to a luau. It was a great night for it! This is the night that I got about 8 bug bites on one leg....this was the beginning of a long and itchy trip for me, but don't we look cute?

Wednesday morning, we went back to Magic Kingdom to catch a few of the other things we didn't get to do the day before and caught a princess show...SWEET!

We met Pooh and Tigger...right after we rode the Pooh ride!

Here is one of my childhood dreams coming true! I also met Belle and Aurora this day.

We headed to Toon Town to meet Mickey and Abbott fell asleep as we were next in line. Mickey and Minnie both gave him a kiss and he never even knew!

That afternoon, we headed to Hollywood Studios to see what we could see, and also for our scheduled dinner at Hollywood and Vine, a 50's style diner with a killer buffet.

This is the Tower of Terror. I rode it...and almost peed in my pants.

We took Abbott to see a Playhouse Disney show. This included all the fun kids shows characters from the Disney Channel: Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and of course, Mickey and the gang! He danced his little head off...Justin has some good video of that so when he sends it to me, I will post that.

Thursday was Epcot Day. We had breakfast with the princesses in Norway. Epcot has the whole world in just one park....amazing, right?

He is making this face....

as he is seeing these guys:

Here is Abbott with a Norwegian viking (very manly)....as we wait to eat breakfast with the princesses (not so very manly).

I LOVED it that we met Snow White. Abbott could not have cared less, but he met Ariel this day too. Since we met Cinderella, Belle and Aurora the day before, he wasn't too thrilled about them either. He was more interested in the food on his plate.

Here we are waiting in line for "Test Track." It simulates the testing they do on cars before they send them out on the road to be sold. Best part of this ride was when it simulated took a curve at 70 mph. Pretty fun.

Germany.

OK, it's at this point in the trip that things got unexpectedly interesting. I already had about 12 more bites on my legs than I did after the luau so I was miserable with itching. We headed back to Magic Kingdom for the electric parade and maybe the fireworks show, if Abbott could hang (fireworks started at 10:00). We had claimed a spot right on the town square, which is the perfect place to view both the parade and then the fireworks. Grammie and Pops headed out to get a snack, while Abbott, Ryan and I held our spot on the route. Things were going well...Abbott was happy, time was passing quickly, when suddenly we heard the crowd go, "OOOOH!" We looked over to see Grammie on the ground. Ryan ran over to check on her and she couldn't get up. Her shoe had gotten caught on the lip of the curb as she stepped back onto the sidewalk, and she fell right on her left knee. After several attempts to try and walk, with no success, some park attendants got her a wheelchair and took her, unwillingly (she really wanted to see the parade!) to the first aid center, where it was determined that she needed more medical help than they could give her. So, Thursday night, Grammie rode out of Magic Kingdom in an ambulance and headed to the hospital. Ryan, Abbott and I watched the parade and the fireworks as planned and we met back up at the hotel. Diagnosis? Broken knee cap. BIG OLE BUMMER, but you know what? This could have ruined the rest of the trip for some people, but she didn't let it! Grammie the trooper hung in there like a champ and the show went on...in a wheelchair so nicely loaned to us by the resort. Here are some pictures from the parade and fireworks show.

Abbott took this one.

This is how he saw a lot of the parade, until he got too tired.

Friday morning was Animal Kingdom, and also Grammie's birthday! This is the view of Mount Everest from the bridge to Africa. Mount Everest is actually a roller coaster, did you know that? I rode it, and it was awesome. And I saw a yeti.

The view of the safari convoy as we waited for our truck.

Getting ready to leave for our safari!

The giraffe really was this close to our truck.

The lion was not...I used my zoom lens for this shot!

We saw the "Celebration of the Lion King" show. It was so fun! Abbott loved sitting in the front row...he waved at every performer that came near.

This guy was directly to our left. I had to lean back to fit him in the shot, since he was so close.

Friday night was our birthday dinner for Janet. Here is the happy birthday girl at the table at "Yak and Yeti." Yes, that was really the name of the restaurant. Funny name, awesome food.

It rained a lot on Friday, and we actually spent a good part of the afternoon under a pavilion avoiding the rain until our dinner. When dinner was over, we discovered it was raining pretty hard so Grammie had to get suited up in her chair! I told you she was a good sport!

So, final tally for the week:

Number of broken bones: 1

Number of bug bites: 23

Number of sunburns: 0 (yay!)

Number of parks visited: 4

Number of pictures taken: over 400

Number of smiles: infinite.

Thanks, Grammie and Pops for a wonderful trip! The memories made this week will last forever!

The Vineyard

2009-06-14T20:12:00.002-05:00

OK, I know I said that I would have pictures from today at the vineyard, but I FORGOT MY CAMERA!!!! Bummer. Just know that I have the best behaved and sweetest boy on earth...even when he doesn't get a nap...as long as he is able to watch his daddy play drums and has plenty of space to roam around! :) It was a great day, with a strong forecast of storms that actually turned out to be sunshine and a nice cool breeze!

What a fun time!

Mommy and Abbott day

2009-06-13T20:59:00.005-05:00

Ryan is in Alabama for the weekend having a "mancation" with some friends (some guys rented a cabin in the woods and are going to grill out and smoke cigars all weekend before one of them gets married). Anyway, while Ryan is gone, Abbott and I have had some big fun! This morning, we had a breakfast date at one of my favorite restaurants, then we headed straight to the zoo. We got there about half an hour after it opened so it wasn't too hot, we got a decent parking space and best of all, there were NO CROWDS...yet.

Here, Abbott is meeting alpacas for the first time. They were more interested in the sound on the other side of the fence than in meeting Abbott, though.

This part of the zoo is called "Critter Encounters." Fancy name for a petting zoo, but it was so fun to watch him be able to get so close to the animals. He had no fear...just walked right up to pet a goat!

This was kind of the look on his face the whole time we were there. He almost fell asleep on the way there so he was a little dazed. There were a couple of exhibits where he perked up, though.

Isn't it beautiful?

The bamboo trail...my favorite part of our zoo.

This is one of the baby tiger cubs. When we got there, they were both at the very back of the exhibit. There was this photographer there who has come at least weekly to photograph them and chronicle their growth. He has gotten to know them and calls them by name. He got one of them to come to the front of the fence, where I was able to get a pretty good picture and she made Abbott laugh when she ran towards the fence!

This is both of them at the very back of their exhibit.

A nice lady took our picture by the elephants.

I love the elephant savannah. It's so open and spacious.....you know, for a zoo and all.

When we came home, Abbott took a three hour nap! The zoo sure wore him out today.

This afternoon, I was doing some dishes while Abbott was playing and exploring his newfound freedom in walking. I must have left him alone a little too long because when I was done, I discovered that he had emptied out an entire package of diapers and loaded them all on my bed. I don't know why we get the kid toys. It seems that a package of diapers is all he needs to keep busy!

We have had fun with just mommy and Abbott time, but we sure are ready to see Daddy! He will be home tomorrow morning and then he is playing at the vineyard tomorrow. I am sure we will have some pictures from then too!

Thanks for reading!

Picture catch up

2009-06-13T20:32:00.005-05:00

I know it's been a couple of weeks since we went to Texas, but I just unloaded the camera and there are some pictures too good to miss! I will make the commentary pretty quick because after I finish this, I have pictures from today to put up. WHEW! Let's get this show on the road!

Two boys and their Great-Poppa.

Silly Jack!

Best way to let two boys eat popsicles?? Strip 'em down to their diapers and let them go to town, of course!

Poppa and Abbott had fun getting to know each other this trip.

Here, Poppa is telling Abbott all about farming.

Most recent family shot.

This great old tree recently succumbed to a strong storm. It's still beautiful to me, just in a different way now.

My two guys checking out the cattle.

Abbott got a mysterious swollen ear the day of Rebekah's shower. We figured out later that it was a bug bite.

My artsy shot with Jack in the fuzzy background.

The boys of the next Meredith Hill generation.

How did I stay in Texas for a week and come away with no pictures of Wannie?!?! Well, here are her hands working tirelessly on the cute apron she made for me. Thanks, Wannie! I love my apron.

Stay tuned for pictures from today!

A whole mess of videos

2009-06-08T20:16:00.005-05:00

I unloaded the video camera tonight and felt the need to make a whole post of videos. Here they are...in no particular order whatsoever....3 of my favorites! Enjoy!

1. Abbott shows off his verbal skills.

2. The best laugh fest ever!

3. On the road from TX to TN with 2 sleeping boys, one of them without a functioning nose at the time.

Trip update

2009-05-25T10:44:00.001-05:00

My sister has posted a brief update of our trip so far. CLICK HERE to read it!

Tubes and a Green Thumb

2009-05-20T10:00:00.005-05:00

This morning, Abbott had a small surgery: tubes in his ears. He had so many ear infections that the doctor decided it was time. We went in super early this morning and he did really well in the waiting room, walking all over the place and making friends. He even did well when we went back to get prepped for the procedure (this is in spite of not being able to eat or drink anything after midnight last night). He loved being able to sit on a hospital bed and he had the nurses in love with him from the get go. They gave him something similar to baby vallium to help him relax and boy did he ever relax! He kicked back on that bed and just chilled out for 20 solid minutes before they took him back to surgery. It was too funny. Before I had the chance to get into the magazine I picked up, they came out to tell us it was over and we could go get him. He had a pretty rough time waking up....he was confused and hungry for the msot part. I am sure he didn't know what to think of his body feeling the way it did after being knocked out. Anyway, we are home now and he is napping. We will have some drops to put in his ears for the next few days, but other than that life is back to normal for us....hopefully with less trips to the pediatrician!

We spent Sunday afternoon in the yard while Daddy mowed. Abbott helped me plant some flowers and had a general good and dirty old time. Here are some great pictures I got!

This is how a little boys pants should look after playing in the yard!

Getting right in there with the dirt...atta boy!

I used the cups to get the soil out of the bag...Abbott used them just to carry around.

A man and his yard.

On Friday we leave for Texas for my cousin's baby shower and a fun visit! We are so excited to see everyone!

Push Ups

2009-05-16T10:17:00.002-05:00

Jami somehow convinced me to attempt the 100 push up challenge. It's a challenge that if you follow the steps listed on the website, you will be able to do 100 push ups at the end of the 6 week training period. I am on day 2 of the program and I can't move. We'll see how I fare at the end of 6 weeks.

Anyway, I roped Ryan into doing this challenge with me. Misery loves company I guess! We were doing our push ups this morning and Abbott was walking all around us thinking it's hysterical, when after a round of push ups, Abbott bends down, puts his hands on the ground and does some "pushups" while "counting" out loud like we do. It was awesome.

I am only too sorry that I didn't have my camera.

I have had my camera for some other cute things lately...as soon as I get the chance, I will put some of those on here. For now, it's family day.

Picture catch up

2009-05-03T14:39:00.005-05:00

Since I hardly did anything with blogging last month, I figure I had better play catch up for those of you who check it every once in a while (thanks for doing that, by the way)! So here are some of our pictures from the last month. Enjoy!

Abbott loves music...and dancing. He caught everyone's attention while we were at the vineyard watching Ryan because not only was he the cutest baby there...ahem...but he was dancing to the beat! He takes after his mommy for sure.

Some very friendly (and I am sure slightly intoxicated) woman volunteered to take our picture....after she noticed that Abbott was the cutest baby there....er, I mean, dancing to the beat. (Those clouds behind us are not as ominous as they appear....this was taken at dusk).

Ryan got some new drumsticks.....and Abbott likes to play with them....A LOT. He cries when we have to be "all done" with the drum sticks.

This is a funky little quilt/blankie I made for a friend of mine. She's due any second now.

Jami and Jack blew through Nashville on their way home from Texas. We picked them up at the airport on Tuesday night (much too late for my liking....Abbott was already in bed when we got them here) and Jack and Abbott had about 45 minutes to play before I had to leave to get to work. Here is a cute little video of the two of them rockin' out together! We are in for some trouble when Abbott is really walking independently....he will follow Jack anywhere.

OK so this wasn't just a picture post, but that's OK. Hope you enjoyed my catch up and I hope to do some more soon!

Hmmm

2009-05-02T16:22:00.002-05:00

TWO posts for the month of April? I'm sorry. I do have some recent pictures and videos of Abbott....and maybe a few of Ryan and I too. I will work on it soon...I promise!!

Check this out!!

2009-04-05T09:24:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad posted some videos of Abbott and Jack to their blog. You should check them out....some super cute clips if I do say so myself. CLICK HERE to view their awesome videos.

What a fun day!

2009-04-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

Abbott and I had a super fun Saturday together! It was nice to have a day to not be committed to anything and just make our own plans. Abbott slept in this morning and when we woke up, we got ready and headed to the zoo. It was, again, a crazy day there since it was Saturday, 70 degrees and sunny. It's nice to have the membership because on those crowded days we can just walk by the crowded exhibits and not feel guilty...we can just see it next time!

After lunch and a nice afternoon nap, we headed down to Arrington Vineyards to watch Ryan play for the first time this season. It was such a beautiful evening, with an amazing sunset....and would you believe I forgot my camera?! Oh well. We met up with Tim and Janet/Pops and Grammie and my friends HollyBeth and Dillon. We had a lovely picnic with some fantastic music! Abbott enjoyed riding in his wagon and walking all over the vineyard (holding onto hands of course). While we were walking around, this super cute little girl bounces up to us and says this: "HI! MY NAME'S VIVIAN! V-I-V-I-A-N AND I AM FOUR YEARS OLD WHAT'S HIS NAME HOW OLD IS HE? I LOVE HIM I THINK HE IS SO CUTE I HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER NAMED HUDSON AND HE IS TWO AND I LOVE HIM AND HE IS CUTE BUT I THINK THIS BABY IS CUTER THAN MY BROTHER! WHAT'S YOUR NAME WHAT'S HIS NAME AGAIN I KEEP FORGETTING LOOK THERE'S MY BROTHER NOW HE LIKES BABIES TOO LOOK HUDSON ISN'T THIS BABY CUTE WHAT'S HIS NAME AGAIN?" I don't think she stopped bouncing the whole time she was speaking. After Vivian has followed us from near her table to ours and plopped herself down in one of our chairs and kissed Abbott on the mouth more times than I can count (even though I politely and repeatedly asked her to get out of his face--we just got over being sick for crying out loud!), her mom finally finds her and asks her to come back over to their table. This encounter happens a couple of other times and I start to wonder how this little girl has seemingly unending energy. Then I observe little Vivian bounce by our table carrying a chocolate cupcake. Questions answered.

All in all, it was a beautiful evening and the perfect end to an awesome day! Hope that we have more days like this coming soon!

What a week!

2009-03-30T21:12:00.008-05:00

OK, here it is: I told you to LOOK OUT for this post! It will be long and probably give you more details than you wanted, but here you go: my interesting, surprising, emotional, and wonderful week!

Here is what you should know before the week begins: Abbott went to the doctor the previous Monday for what I thought was pink eye. Turns out, he has an ear infection and we begin the same antibiotics he was given last time. The doctor is not too enthusiastic about giving him omnicef again since it was only 6 weeks since the last round, but given the hives that he experienced after the last amoxicillin round, we both don't want to take any chances. We go back to the doctor on Friday with an unexplained fever and still no clear eye, thinking that the omnicef isn't working, but it is and we get some ointment for the eye goop. Abbott develops a cough over the weekend. My hope is that I can accomplish enough in the work week before Friday AND that coverage will be ok with the teachers and that I can take Friday afternoon after my class off to visit with my Mom, Dad, Jami and Jack who will be arriving that afternoon and prepare for Abbott's birthday party. And away we go...

Monday: Big United Way tour at work.....not too much preparation done by me for this, but still a little stressful. This is the morning that Abbott wakes up with the worst cough he's had in days, Grammie has to come get him at school so I can still be here for the United Way tour, and I have to take off early to take him back to the doctor for the third time in a week because he is just not getting better. Doctor's report? Respiratory bug that will more than likely begin to improve by Tuesday and most definitely by the weekend. This is a bump in the road to getting Friday afternoon off, but it's still feasible.

Tuesday: Abbott starts to improve...YAY! I get a good amount of work done. Friday afternoon, here I come!

Wednesday: Already a busy day at work with the school having its highest attendance on this day of the week, one teacher already scheduled out, and one teacher calling in with a sick child. Two of my employees have family members pass away today. I spend most of the day in a classroom, leaving me to get none of my necessary work at my desk completed. Friday afternoon, not looking so good.

Thursday: Drop Abbott off at Grammie's house and I come in later to close because two of my closers are off tonight and they will need help covering classrooms. I get to spend most of my day at the desk, getting a ton of work done, but coverage for Friday afternoon is not looking good and it looks as though I may need to come in after my class to help cover in the afternoon. My boss comes in my office to check in with me and I mention that I will be coming in for Friday afternoon to cover because they will need an extra person. Knowing that Abbott's party is on the weekend (and maybe a little more) and that I have had kind of a rough week, she offers to help cover in the afternoon so that I can be off and get ready for Abbott's party. Sweet and wonderful boss, right? I end up closing up the school that night with a great crew and head straight to Party City to place the balloon order for the party on Saturday. I head directly to Tim and Janet's house to meet up with Ryan and Abbott and dinner before we head home. I think on the way, "Wow, wouldn't it be so fun if Mom, Dad, Jami and Jack are all waiting at Tim and Janet's house?" I secretly hope that I will see extra cars in their driveway as I top the hill but, alas, only our cars are there. Walk in the door, put down my purse and come a little ways into the kitchen to see Mom and Dad, Jami and Jack standing in the living room. I am sure that a look of confusion and happiness came over me. I walk further into the living room to give them hugs and find my Wannie and Poppa, who have RSVP'd as "NO" in coming to the party, sitting on their couch! I immediately drop what's in my hands and do a little happy dance (which I am sure my sister will post the video from the secret hidden camera on her blog), squeal and run to hug them! They flew in from Texas to surprise me for the party and EVERYONE but me knew. This includes obviously my husband, who arranged with my boss for me to get Friday afternoon AND Monday all day off, my parents, my sister, my in-laws and the rest of the family! It was a great surprise and a great way to wrap up a crazy week!

Friday: I still have to go to my training class (BOO) because if I miss it, it's so hard to make up. It's only the longest 3 hours of my life, but I make it through and spend Friday visiting with the fam and starting to make cakes for the party.

Now....onto the pictures...

Here is my sweet boy being sneaky with his Moma Jo. He was even in on the surprise, playing all afternoon with them while I had to work!

Ryan, Abbott and me with my Wannie and Poppa!

This was Friday afternoon...Jack was not feeling so hot. :( We were a little nervous about the party...

Abbott's fun balloons for his party! He LOVED them so much, it almost makes me want to always have balloons around!

Abbott's little cake and the big cake that I made for the party!

Abbott and Jack with their proud great-grandparents! Jack was not wanting to cooperate, but everyone else was having a good ole' time! You should see the whole series of these pictures that Jami took trying to get one good one. It's kind of funny.

The weather was nice enough for Abbott to attack his cake outside!

We all got in on the fun!

He wasted no time digging into the cake. It was so fun!!

Even with all the sugar-icing on his face, could he be any sweeter?

After the cake, we went inside to open presents, where my poor son had nothing to open. In fact, here is the proof.....

Oh yeah, we were under a tornado warning for this part of the party. Fun!

Here, Jack is "sharing" Abbott's new toys with him. :)

One of our friends, John (he works at the coffee shop with Ryan), painted this portrait of Abbott for us. Isn't it AMAZING?! And, yes, I CAN get you in contact with him to do one for you!

After presents, general merriment followed...

deep conversations took place....

a general good time was had by all!

We spent Sunday recovering from the party and staying inside. That tornado that came through brought cold and yucky weather for Sunday. Monday warmed up nicely and, thanks to my wonderful hubby, I had the day off to spend with everyone who was still in town. We went down the Lynchburg to the Jack Daniels distillery and had a fun day!

Here, Abbott and I enjoy the natural spring that the distillery is based on.

Abbott meets Jack.

This is what whiskey looks like while it is fermenting. It's a good thing you can't post scents on blogs because this smelled awful and was VERY STRONG.

Here, Abbott is sitting on the mellowing barrell. Mellowing is when the whiskey filters, drop by drop, through 10 feet of charcoal. I don't know how Jack figured out that charcoal would make whiskey better, but it's something they have done for years.

Abbott was really into the foliage on the distillery site.

We had such a fun time this weekend and I am sad that it is over and that I have to go back to the real world in the morning. I LOVED seeing Wannie and Poppa this weekend and I LOVED celebrating my baby's birthday with so many people that we love...and that love Abbott. If you couldn't be here for it, we missed you and hope that we get to see you soon! If you were here for it, thanks for coming and celebrating with us! I am so thankful to be a part of a family where love is so abundant and unconditional. It's rare, in this world, to have such a strong family unit and I love and appreciate mine so much. To have so many friends that we consider close enough to celebrate with our family is such a blessing, too! Looking forward to the next year together!

My Baby is ONE!

2009-03-29T21:29:00.002-05:00

Well, today is Abbott's first birthday! I never thought this day would get here as fast as it did....it's kind of scary.

This will be a super short post and I will explain why when I get around to posting some pictures of the festivities of the weekend, but for now, I must go and rest because I have one more day of fun left in Abbott's birthday weekend and I want to be rested for it!

Tomorrow evening, though, LOOK OUT! There will be lots of things to view and read.

If you want a not so vague sneak peek, though click HERE.

Gooodnight. :)

BBQ face

2009-03-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

In case you don't read my sister's blog and you don't know, Abbott and I went to Memphis last weekend with Jami and Jack. We met up with some family friends and their kids and just had a good ole' time! What are things that you do in Memphis with young children? Well, you must first take them to the Peabody hotel to see the ducks and immediately follow that with a lunch at Rendezvous BBQ. If you have never eaten there, and you like BBQ, then you should because it's just sooooo good. It's quite different than the TX wet BBQ that I grew up with, but as a Texan, I appreciate ALL kinds of BBQ. Abbott wasn't able to try any ribs or sausage, but he did try some of their baked beans and LOVED them. Jami let me have her camera for a bit and I caught this cute picture of Abbott after he finished his beans.

Pretty awesome, right? I am so proud!

Abbott's Pre-birthday present

2009-03-07T15:10:00.003-06:00

This morning, Ryan, Abbott and I went down to Grammie and Pops' house for breakfast and boy did Abbott get a surprise! Here are some pictures of Abbott enjoying his new gift:

We went all over the neighborhood and I can already tell what good use we will get out of this wagon! Parks, festivals, trick or treating...the possibilities are endless! Abbott loves his new wagon.....so thanks, Grammie and Pops, for a very yummy breakfast and a shiny new red wagon.

As a side note, Abbott tried some dairy today for the first time and so far we are in the clear...no noticeable symptoms or side effects as of yet...except a LOVE of buttered toast. :) Atta boy, Abbott! Just like Mommy! :)

Also, please continue to pray for baby Jonah. His mom and dad post updates daily and although he seems to be making great progress, he still has a long way to go. You can click on that square at the top right of my page to get to their site.

Have a great Saturday!

Say a prayer

2009-03-01T11:02:00.002-06:00

This girl I used to work with just recently had a nephew born. He was born with some pretty serious complications. He and his family could use some pretty serious prayer right now. Their story is here: http://patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com

Visit their site, learn their story and say a prayer. Baby Jonah needs it right now.

Wanna see something cute?

2009-02-28T15:14:00.001-06:00

Then click HERE.

I did it!!!!

2009-02-14T12:38:00.007-06:00

OK, so I have this friend from work named Holly Beth. She's a great girl and I am so glad we are friends! Holly Beth was a runner in high school and last year was really into the 5k races with a couple of other girlfriends. She had kind of gotten out of the habit and was telling me about the Nashville Predators "Fangtastic" 5k one day and said, "You should do it, too! It'll be fun!" So a few weeks ago, I recklessly signed up for this 5k without any training or any running experience at all. Why? Because you have to start somewhere and I figured that if I can finish this one then maybe I would be motivated to train for one and maybe someday run the entire length of one, which is just over 3 miles. I went into this knowing I wouldn't be able to run the whole thing and expecting to walk most of it. My goals going into this morning were these: 1) FINISH and 2) Don't be the last person to finish! I am happy to say that I met both goals! The run began at 10:00 this morning and I finished in just under 50 minutes.....not a great time, but since it's my first it's pretty darn good and I cried when I crossed the finish line. I was proud, what can I say! To give you an idea of how long Ryan had to wait for me...the guy who finished first finished in 16 minutes. Wow. I don't ever expect to be that fast, or even that fit for that matter, but if I can train and finish the next one in less time than today's, then I'd say I'm doing OK. I am into celebrating the small things! :) We ran all over downtown Nashville and while my body wasn't wanting me to do it, I kept going and it was actually pretty fun! Funny enough, my lungs handled everything I threw at them, it was my legs that couldn't handle it. They started to hurt so bad and I am sure I will be sore for a couple of days. Here some pictures to document my morning:

Holly Beth and I before the race. See how happy I look? I had no idea what was coming.

I had the support of the 2 most handsome men out there.

Holly Beth's husband, Dillon, was there to support her and hung out with Ryan and Abbott. He makes his Pruitt blog premiere in this fun video:

He is just waiting for his chance to run.

Here is my big moment!

After the race, they offered up free bagels and fruit. I guess that's good for you after you run. I didn't really care because it was the best darn bagel and apple I ever had! Now, see how happy I look here? Totally different feeling: ACCOMPLISHMENT and maybe a little bit of exhaustion!

A few of my favorite things.....

2009-02-06T20:32:00.005-06:00

We unloaded the video camera tonight and I wanted to share a few (ok, a couple) of my favorites. It would have been "a few" except the other one I love has certain pieces of anatomy I can't post on my blog (it's a bath time video). Just imagine my cutest baby ever splashing his heart out in the tub and you have seen the other video I would have posted. Anywho, the first is a video of Abbott getting good play time in with his Christmas present from Popo and Moma Jo. He was just a tad too young when he opened it, but now he LOVES it! The second is Abbott making his "silly face" to Aunt Jami while they were here last weekend. He's such a silly boy!

Oh, and in case you are wondering, the hives are gone and we are nearing the end of the antibiotics for his ear infection. Hopefully this knocks it out! The weather is warming here a little so hopefully cold season will be over soon and we will be done with ear infections!

What next?!

2009-01-30T20:34:00.003-06:00

On Sunday 2 weeks ago, my baby got sick. I took him to the doctor only to discover an ear infection in his left ear. Poor baby. Dr. Godfrey gave us some amoxicillin and we were on our way. On the 9th day (Tuesday) of our 10 day prescription, Abbott develops a cough. I figured it was the tail end of the cold showing up, but he was up all night Tuesday and really miserable on Wednesday so we head back to the doctor. It's here I find out that Abbott has caught himself a respiratory bug and we have nothing to do but let it run its course. We head home and have a pretty rough night, but he really seems to feel better on Thursday so I think that we are on the road to recovery. Well.....Abbott stays home with Ryan today and decides he needs just one more trip to the doctor this week...you know, just for the heck of it. He gets his way by developing a rash, slowly at first, starting right along his belly at the top of his diaper. This rash spreads to his thighs by the time I get home from work and within an hour the rash has spread from those places up both sides of his trunk and under his arms. This isn't just any rash.....he has giant swollen welps all over him. He looks like a swarm of mosquitos got to him. It's really a little scary. So here we go to the doctor today for the last appointment slot on a Friday afternoon, 4:45pm. It has been only 2 days since we were last in the office. It's a good thing we like our doctor! Anyway, to make a long story longer, Abbott EITHER is manifesting his current virus in the form of hives OR he is allergic to the penicillin contained in his amoxicillin. Oh yeah, and his right ear now has an infection, BUT the good doctor gave us a penicillin-free antibiotic, just in case. Well, here are some pictures of his lovely markings:

And here is a picture of his sweet face!

Picture tag

2009-01-28T21:24:00.002-06:00

Here are the instructions: Go to the place where you store all of your pictures on your computer and open up the 4th folder. Open the 4th picture. Post the picture and give an explanation. Tag 4 people!

This is a picture of my nephew, Jack, "snuggling" with his mommy. You can see how serene a situation it is.

OK: Tag, you're it-- Jami, Mom/Dad, Julie, Dixie

Random Stuff

2009-01-24T12:24:00.003-06:00

I recently got a new computer and have discovered that I can fix red eyes in my digital pictures with it! This has opened up a whole new world of pictures I can post! But since I don't have a ton of free time and I prefer to spend what free time I do have hanging out with my family rather than fixing pictures, I have not yet fixed all of them. Until I get them all fixed, here is one really great picture WITHOUT any red eyes!

I have discovered a new passion: making baby food for Abbott. I made him nearly 20 jars of food today all from fresh or frozen produce. Want to know something cool? Abbott LOVES homemade baby food! He eats spinach....and likes it! I am hoping to grow a healthy eater....we'll see how that turns out.

This morning, Abbott woke up talking and singing the sweetest little songs. When Ryan went in to get him, this is how he was wearing his pj's. How did he do that?!

Ryan's boss, Miranda, went to DC for the inauguration and brought us back a souvenir. Here, President Obama is making a speech from my window sill. I like to think he's speaking on the dreams he has for our house: cleanliness, painting, renovations. YES WE CAN!

Abbott's New Sound

2009-01-22T20:45:00.002-06:00

Please disregard the laundry piles on the couch and check out my precious baby boy talking to me!

The Latest....

2009-01-20T21:36:00.004-06:00

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I really wrote last. Things have gotten a little busy and since the holidays I haven't gotten back into the swing of everything just yet. Abbott is growing so much and learning so much and it's so fun to watch! He is really moving now in his army crawl, although he much prefers you to hold his hands while he walks around and around the room. He gets so excited and he thinks he is going so fast! His current ear infection still interrupts his sleep (we are only on day 3 of medicine) so he is still not 100% but he is improving every day. My hope is that tonight will have less wake ups than the previous. Poor baby just keeps coughing himself awake. I have discovered that I LOVE making Abbott's food rather than purchasing pre-made jars of food. It doesn't surprise me since I love cooking and all. It's just that now I cook and then puree. Abbott has enjoyed such gourmet meals as squash/avocado/corn and buttnernut squash/carrot/apple/onion. He really likes them and I love the fact that I know exactly what is going into his body. It also gives him a chance to experiment with different textures. He is learning some finger foods and is getting really good at feeding himself. We are still working on using a sippy cup...he enjoys chewing on it more than drinking from it. Still no teeth. He is also starting to use some sign language, although it is in the very early stages. He has asked for more a couple of meaningful times and has signed "all done" a couple of times too. He gets pretty close to the sign for "eat" also. He is so fun and I love watching him learn. I just wish I could spend all day with him and see all the little things throughout the day. I guess that's what weekends are for!

Over the holiday, Jami took some 9 month pictures of Abbott, some of which I have already posted, but I thought I would put up a couple more since he's so darn handsome!

Jami and Jack are coming over this weekend to play and hang out. I can't wait to see them! We should have fun and I have a feeling there will be some pictures of our fun times to follow!

I'm still here...

2009-01-18T19:33:00.001-06:00

I realize I haven't posted in a while and I apologize.....Abbott went to the doctor today and he has an ear infection. SAD. But good news: We have been on soy products for over a week now and so far so good! If all goes well, we'll be trying dairy soon.

I have a dream....one day....that Abbott will get to eat Wannie's macaroni and cheese.

Abbott is 9 months old!

2009-01-09T21:08:00.003-06:00

We had our check up today and here are the stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 11 oz. (50th percentile)

Height: 29 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: ? (90th percentile)--I couldn't read the writing on the paper, but he does have a punkin' head.

Abbott is doing great! We got the clearance to start trying small amounts of soy ingredients. If he does OK with that then in about 6-8 weeks we can try some dairy. Please keep your fingers crossed--this mommy likes cheese way too much to have a child who can't eat it!

Our holidays were great! Between visits from Kentucky family and visits to Texas, we stayed busy. He has done so great this week back at school and things seem to be going well!

Hope your holidays were as happy as ours were!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-25T14:00:00.003-06:00

Tacky Day

2008-12-23T19:56:00.003-06:00

When you work in a preschool, you go a little crazy sometimes. You need a little break from the whining, the crying, the stinky diapers, the baby talk, the time outs. You need to create a day that gives YOU the chance to be the silly one. A day that gives everyone a little laugh, and therefore, a little boost of energy to make it through the last day before your Christmas break. You need... a "Tacky Christmas Day." The rules for this Tacky Day were simple: anything goes. Ugly sweaters, ugly vests, mismatched items, tacky jewelry. You can see the results below.

These two were tacky, but simple.

Gold leggings? Please! Sooooo tacky.

Faded plaid jumpers and mismatched things? TACKY.

And the professional woman herself. Yes, I am wearing Christmas socks over tights with moccasins.

HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY MERRY AND TACKY CHRISTMAS!!

Have a good holiday laugh!

2008-12-21T10:08:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's almost Christmas...

2008-12-20T16:31:00.003-06:00

...and I have a sick baby. Tuesday morning, Abbott started throwing up. He didn't keep anything down the whole day. Wednesday, he went to Grammie's house while I went to work where he had diarrhea most of the morning and then started throwing up that afternoon. I took him to the doctor where I was informed that I was about the tenth mom with the same information that day. Wonderful news. I was told that Abbott was on the brink of dehydration and if I didn't want to take him to the emergency room, I had to give him one teaspoon of Pedialyte every five minutes for an hour. If he could keep that down, I could increase it to two teaspoons every five minutes for an hour, repeating the process and gradually increasing amounts until he could hold down an ounce or two of Pedialyte and then we could try formula again in small amounts. Well, we have done that process since Wednesday night three times. Each time we get to an ounce or two of formula, it comes right back up. He is such a sad little baby right now because he wants to play but he gets so tired so quickly. Anyway, our doctor has a walk in clinic tomorrow and we are going to go and make sure we are still doing the right thing. They said a stomach virus can last a week or more sometimes.....I sure hope we're coming to the end of it. We were supposed to leave this morning for Kentucky to spend some time with Ryan's family and we had to cancel. So sad, but it is for the best I am sure. We are supposed to leave for Texas on Friday so just pray that he will be better before then. Caring for a sick baby is tiring!

On a much happier note, here are some pictures from fairly recently. Enjoy!

Look at those beautiful eyes!

"LUKE...I am your FAH-THAH."

LOOK WHAT ABBOTT CAN DO!!

Happy boy!

He sure does love his daddy.

2 new videos for you

2008-12-08T23:07:00.003-06:00

Abbott is doing so many new things very recently. Over the weekend, he got himself from sitting to all fours (once he wants to move forward, however, he splats out like a pancake and rolls to the object of his desire). Today he pulled up to standing from sitting. Oh how our lives are about to change! Neither of these videos show any of that progress, but I think they are great. This first one shows how intensely Abbott concentrates. He has a certain sound he makes when he really focuses on something. In this case, it's the tag on his orange frog.

And of course, everyone always loves to see and hear a baby laughing!

BEST. BURPCLOTH. EVER.

2008-12-03T19:08:00.003-06:00

Abbott, after a day of very little napping and in a state of delirium, having SO MUCH FUN with his burpcloth.

I love my job??

2008-12-03T17:08:00.003-06:00

It's really fun to know that some days I come home and it's literally written on my face what kind of day I had. I got these scars from trying to keep a 4 year old from turning on the lights at nap time....for the whole nap time. Click on the picture to really see it up close.

Happy Fall!!

2008-11-23T18:33:00.002-06:00

We had some fun in the leaves today....enjoy!

Recent pictures and updates

2008-11-22T10:13:00.006-06:00

We have had a little bit of a busy week so I feel like I haven't done any blogging in too long! I recently got a promotion at work. The circumstances under which I was promoted weren't the best, the girl whose position I have now is on bed rest until her baby is born. She is due in early March. She and the baby are fine, but her body just wants to go into labor and it's way too early. Please say prayers for them that they can hold off delivery until it is safe for the baby to be born. So with her out, for an unspecified amount of time, I got promoted to her position and this week was my first week in an office instead of the classroom. It was different, but I liked it. My new title is Director of Education. Abbott got sick last week and we found out he had a double ear infection and he just finished up treatment for that and his nose is still all snotty. 'Tis the season I suppose. Ryan caught himself a cold but seems to be feeling a little better. He works all day today and then has to play out at the vineyard. It is really cold here so Abbott and I are staying warm and cozy inside today. We aren't leaving unless we have to!

This is one of Abbott's Roxie faces. He loves Roxie. He laughs and grins whenever she walks through the room. He is fascinated by her. Roxie does not feel the same way although I think she does feel protective over him.

We went over to our friends' house the other night for dinner. Chase is a chef and Kiley is a nurse and they have a little boy named Cooper who will be 2 in January. This is the yummy dinner that Chase made for us...

Abbott and Cooper hanging out.

Cooper trying to play with Abbott. It'll be fun when Abbott figures out how to play.

We made Kiley hold Abbott all night so she could learn to like him.

Abbott got a new shirt that I just think is too funny! It's losing its humor as his hair grows in, but it's still a cute shirt.

Last weekend, Ryan played out at the vineyard. Here are some pictures from our afternoon there.

My friend, Sarah, and me.

Sarah and her husband, Jeff.

It has been a fun and eventful week. Next week we travel to Knoxville for Thanksgiving! I am sure between Jami, Mom and Dad, and me we will have plenty of pictures to post! Stay warm!

BOUNCING!!!!!!!

2008-11-17T16:58:00.002-06:00

Believe it or not, he played like this when he had a double ear infection.

Milestones

2008-11-16T20:50:00.002-06:00

Abbott has been doing so much lately and it's so fun to watch! Here is a video of his latest achievement. It's sort of a roly-poly one, but it's there....yes here is Abbott's version of crawling!

More Halloween pictures

2008-11-01T08:23:00.001-05:00

Jami took some good pictures with her camera last night and she has posted some on her blog. Click here : HALLOWEEN PICTURES to see them!

Happy Halloween!!!!

2008-10-31T15:23:00.003-05:00

Recent pictures

2008-10-27T20:43:00.004-05:00

It's been a bit of a hectic week and I'm afraid I have fallen behind on the blog posts! Here are some recent pictures of us. This weekend Jami and Jack and Mom and Dad are coming into town and I am sure we will have some great pictures from then too!

This was this afternoon. We got a big cold front and it was super cold.....Abbott stayed warm and cozy in his fuzzy hat, though!

Yesterday out at the vineyard.....it was 70 degrees then. Today? 49.

Last Sunday afternoon out at the vineyard. Beautiful weather again!

Abbott loves rolling around on his Wannie quilt!

Gentry's Farm

2008-10-18T12:24:00.005-05:00

Today our school went on a field trip to a local family farm that opens up every fall for picking pumpkins, hayrides, corn mazes and games. It is super fun and you get to do it all for $6! Abbott and I went and I really enjoyed it....I think Abbott liked observing everything. Maybe next year he will enjoy it more! It was a sunny and brisk morning so it was perfect weather for being outdoors! Here are some pictures from our morning.

Abbott and I on the hayride.....which, incidentally, did not include hay.

It was a farm and there were cows....and it smelled like cows.

I think I caught this horse in the middle of a poop. My bad.

While we were on our hayride, the little boy sitting next to us started playing with Abbott and making him laugh. He was about 5 or 6 and his name was Taylor. After a few seconds of silence Taylor looks at me and asks, "Why are his cheeks so big?" :) Here is a picture of Abbott and his cheeks.

Bouncing Baby Boy

2008-10-17T21:06:00.004-05:00

There is just something about Baby Einstein......and tags.

2008-10-17T20:10:00.005-05:00

I love my job...

2008-10-17T16:21:00.002-05:00

It's always fun to cook with a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds. It's fun see them enjoy putting it all together, learning how to cook it, how it changes and then of course the most fun part is eating it! Well, in my class today we made applesauce. The children were really excited about it except for one Little Johnny who doesn't like applesauce. He comes up to me and tells me, "Um, Ms. Kelly.....I don't want to make assholesauce."

:) I love my job.

Recent pictures and Octoberfest

2008-10-11T17:35:00.004-05:00

We have been up to a lot lately....this week was pretty busy for me in the baking area, but it was fun! I made some pies for a baby shower and then some cookies for a football party. It was busy, but super fun!

My apple pie

Yum.....football cookies!

Bath time with the little man and his big ole' foot!

Today we went to Octoberfest in Germantown, just on the other side of the interstate from us. It was fun, but super crowded and much warmer than we expected (and than October should ever be!) so we didn't stay long, but we had fun! Grammie and Pops came up to go with us and now we are all hanging out at the house and making dinner....fresh gulf seafood from their recent trip to Florida! Aren't you jealous?

Abbott and Mommy at Octoberfest

Best dressed at Octoberfest

Ryan, Tim (Pops), and Abbott hangin' out in the shade

Abbott's 6 month checkup

2008-10-08T12:56:00.002-05:00

Well, Abbott went to the doctor yesterday for his 6 month visit and here are the stats:

He has a left ear infection. :( sad news

head circumference: 95-97 percentile

length: 28 inches; 90 percentile

weight: 18 lbs 15 oz; 85 percentile

So the verdict is, he's a big boy! Where he gets it, I'll never know.

What a week!

2008-10-05T21:00:00.005-05:00

Here are some pictures from my crazy busy week:

Abbott at school, wearing his cool hat!

Daddy and Abbott enjoying the fine Fall weather on the porch.

My class made Letter Pretzels this week. It was so easy and very tasty! The dough is similar to Play Doh so it was easy for the kids to work with. If you want to try it at home, the recipe is below the picture.

LETTER PRETZELS
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat butter and sugar. Add flour, milk, and vanilla. Chill. Divide dough into four parts. Roll each piece into and 8 inch strand. Twist into letter shapes. Bake at 375 degrees till golden brown.

Each year Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville holds an exhibit called Scarecrows! It is open to all who wish to participate and the scarecrows are on display for about 2 months. My class made one and here it is. It's a bit amateur but I'd say not too shabby for a first time effort. Below is our scarecrow and some of the others from the exhibit.

This one was called "Bippidy Boppidy Boo"

"Scary Poppins"

No art exhibit would be complete without a Hannah Montana reference.

"Frankenfurter: the Halloweiner"

And it wouldn't be a Nashville exhibit without a Kix Brooks scarecrow!

Abbott really enjoyed strolling around the gardens.

This one was super cool.

"Scholar-crow"

This one was awesome. It was made of all recyclable materials.

"Scary Potter"

On Saturday night. Ryan's band, beggars fortune, played an outdoor concert at a local park. It was beautiful weather so Abbott and I took a blanket and hung out for a while.

This isn't their band. They played after dark so I didn't get any good pictures of them, but believe me, it was a great show!

Abbott is really growing up fast! This past week, he celebrated is 6 month birthday! He is rolling all over the place, sitting up (with a little cushioning behind him!), and eating some veggies now with his cereal. He says he wants everyone to come visit him and see how big he is!

happy baby and a silly mommy

2008-09-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Fun with Popo and Moma Jo

2008-09-24T18:56:00.002-05:00

Mom and Dad had a meeting on Monday in Brentwood so they came over on Sunday and spent some time at the vineyard while Ryan played. It was such a gorgeous day and Abbott really enjoyed seeing his Popo and Moma Jo!

Happy Fall!!

2008-09-24T18:14:00.001-05:00

Abbott's new face

2008-09-24T17:50:00.002-05:00

Isn't he handsome?

2008-09-20T13:29:00.002-05:00

Jeff and Sarah came over today for a little visit. Here are some pictures we took while they were here.

Abbott modeling his new hat from Grammie.

Aunt Sarah reading a book to Abbott.

Uncle Jeff getting some quality time with Abbott.

We had fun!! It's a shame that Sarah and Jeff don't like Abbott. I hope they can learn before it's too late! :)

Random pictures

2008-09-20T11:25:00.003-05:00

Here are some more pictures from the past few weeks. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Abbott in the car!

This is actually "The Light at the End of the Tunnel!"

Ryan playing some tunes at the vineyard.

Some kids enjoying the tunes at the vineyard.

Abbott enjoying his time at the vineyard.

Abbott worn out at the vineyard.

Baby Mary Claire. My friend, Mary's, little girl. She was a teeny tiny 6 lbs 14 oz.

Abbott and Baby Elijah. He was a big boy like Abbott....not quite 10 lbs but close! He is about 4 or 5 weeks old here and he belongs to our friends Chad and Jen.

A Tennessee Sunrise/On the road to NC

2008-09-20T11:07:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures from our drive to NC for Heidi's wedding. It's such a beautiful drive!

"Sick" baby

2008-09-20T10:22:00.003-05:00

Here is a cute video of Abbott that we took last week or so. He was sick, but you can't really tell because he's so happy. If all sick babies acted like him, I don't think moms would mind as much!

Abbott Update

2008-09-12T21:59:00.002-05:00

Well, Abbott has given us new things to experience from day one and so this experience is no different. If you remember way back when he was 3 weeks old, Abbott had some blood in his stool. This is how we discovered his dairy/soy allergy. Well, shortly after starting rice cereal, he had another diaper with some blood in it (on Sunday this past week). We went to the doctor on Monday and after examining the diaper (glamorous, eh?), they concluded that there was not enough blood in the stool to think that he had another type of allergy, and the doctor believed he only had a small tear in his rectum. Just to be sure, though, they sent his diaper off for further testing. Well, test results came back on Thursday and he tested positive for Clostridium Difficile or C. Diff. This is basically a "bad bug" that everyone has but can colonize into unsafe levels and cause serious syptoms, one of them being blood in the stool. If left untrested, it can be very serious. The doctor thinks we caught it early since Abbott presented no other symptoms and we began our antibiotics yesterday. Now if only we could rid him of this pesky congestion and cough......

On a different note, Abbott and I headed to Knoxville this weekend so we could see the fam. Ryan is holding down the fort at home, and working and checking out the "Next Big Nashville" event this weekend. It's pretty cool....it's a weekend dedicated to showcasing Nashville's unsigned artists. I have a friend or two playing this weekend....hopefully they will get some exposure! I am sure that my sister will take plenty of pictures this weekend so maybe before the weekend is up there will be some pictures on my blog or hers. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Oh yes, and PLEASE say a prayer for Texas right now. I have some family that has evacuated and some that have decided to stay so I am just waiting on updates from them. I saw on the news a truck carrying a homemade sign saying, "Go home Ike. Tina's not here." My sentiments exactly.

Funny Preschool Story

2008-09-04T18:11:00.001-05:00

So, I usually encounter some funny story or circumstance through working at a preschool. I teach four year olds and this was just too good not to share:

Little Johnny (HIPPA prevents me from sharing his real name) had to come to school an extra day this week because his mom had to go to the doctor. She was experiencing painful shortness of breath. When he asked his grandmother why his mom had to go to the doctor, Grandma said, "Well, honey. Her breathing is bad right now and they need to figure out why." Being the sweet little boy that he is, Little Johnny makes his mom a card and gives it to her and says, "Mama, I'm sorry about your bad breath."

This is the same little boy who was waking up very early for a while and wearing his mom out. She sat him down one day and said, "Little Johnny, you have got to stop getting up at the crack of dawn." The very next day at the McDonald's playground, when it's time to leave, he tells a friend, "I have to go home and take a nap 'cause I've been up dawn's crack."

I love my job.

:)

2008-08-30T09:20:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I are in Fayetteville, NC this weekend for my good friend, Heidi's, wedding. Abbott is staying in Knoxville with Jami and Jack this weekend (a 9 hour drive with a child who eats every 3 hours did not sound like fun) and Jami has posted many pictures and probably the cutest video I have ever seen. Go see her blog here: Jami's Blog.

Today is the wedding and Ryan and I will head back to Nashville tomorrow so hopefully I can post some pictures from the weekend tomorrow night. Last night was my first night not putting Abbott to bed and I think I did OK. It helps that there is a lot to do this weekend and it keeps my mind off of not being with him. And I know he is in great hands with his Aunt Jami!

Have a great weekend! :)

I love this baby!

2008-08-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

The accidental 5-mile walk...

2008-08-18T11:42:00.004-05:00

Picture this: Sunday morning, and it's our first day together as a family in weeks. Ryan usually has his days off during the week so we rarely get a day for all 3 of us to be together. So, what do we do? We decide to make the most of it! The morning begins when our happy baby wakes up cooing is his bed at about 6:00-ish (he probably would have slept a little longer if he hadn't pooped). 6:00 is fine because it's later than I usually get to sleep so it felt like sleeping in. We change a diaper, play in mommy and daddy's bed for a bit and then Abbott decides he is tired again....goes back to sleep until 8:45. Thus begins the real day. We get up and make some waffles....not Eggos...real waffles from scratch with the waffle maker. While doing breakfast, Jeff and Sarah call and ask if we want to hang out a bit during the day and we invite them on our planned walk in Shelby Park after breakfast. The excitement mounts: it's a happy day, it's a sunny day, and the morning air feels great! By the time we actually get to Shelby Park, it's about 11:00 and we really have no idea where we're going. We find the new Nature Center, which is closed, but behind it begin many walking/hiking/biking trails. Let's explore one together....great idea right? Abbott's in his stroller snoozing and we all just had breakfast so no biggie. After deciding to try and find the new walking bridge, we head out on our trail. The sun is nice...not too hot and the pathway is very shaded so it's a nice walk.....but at about mile marker 1.5 (there are markers every half mile), I start to wonder how long this trail really is. At mile marker 2.5 we stop and break. None of us have water bottles or thought to drink any water before we left. None of us have put on any sunscreen. None of us thought the path would be THIS LONG. As I am feeding Abbott his bottle, we have to make a decision: keep going or turn back? Since, I onlt have one bottle for Abbott and the sun is really starting to warm up now, I decide to head back and Sarah joins me. Ryan and Jeff continue on to find the bridge, which turns out is only .7 miles ahead. On our way back, the path sure seems to be less shaded now......maybe that's because the sun is directly over us at this point and we've now entered the hottest part of the day. Abbott starts to get fussy because he's hot and he can't fall asleep.....Sarah and I have to stop at almost every shady spot to let him cool off. Ryan and Jeff catch up with us and we continue back. That first 2.5 miles didn't seem too bad, but the last 2.5 on the way back seemed to never end.

Lessons learned:

1. That trail is much longer than you think.

2. Bring water next time.

3. Start much earlier in the day

4. Wear sunscreen....even if you don't think you'll be out very long.

It's funny how the night before this, I was watching the Olympics and the women's marathon was on. I was so impressed by the leader, she was from Romania, I think. And so here I am in the hot Tennessee sun walking for what feels like an eternity. Did you know that a marathon is more than 26 miles? I only walked 5 yesterday and felt like a noodle when I was done. I couldn't imagine RUNNING for more than 26 miles. The winner of the marathon RAN it in 2 hours and 20 minutes or so. We WALKED 5 miles in about 2 hours. I think maybe we should all try out for the Olympic marathon team in 2012....anyone up for it? It wouldn't be that much training......

A few pics

2008-08-16T09:24:00.005-05:00

Time sure is flying by much faster than I would have it go! Abbott will be 5 months old on the 29th of this month and I can't believe all the things that he is doing. He is rolling over (still only one way; from front to back), he is laughing, he is grabbing his feet and exploring them, he is experimenting with what his mouth can do and what his voice can do. He is learning so much! It seems like only a week or so ago, we were coming home from the hospital and he was teeny tiny. I suppose the next thing I know, he'll be headed off to college and I'll have a LOT more gray hair than I already have! :) Today, Abbott and I don't have much to do....thank goodness! Ryan is at work and Abbott and I are just hanging out together on our Saturday! Tomorrow will be much more fun though because Ryan has off from work so we will get a much needed family day! I have decided to post some pictures from this month as well as a video from Abbott's short-lived growling phase (it lasted about a week). Enjoy!

4 month checkup

2008-08-05T20:18:00.003-05:00

Abbott went for his 4 month check up today. He now weighs 16 pounds and 7 ounces and he is 27 inches long! Ryan and I are fairly small people so we don't know where this child came from, but we're glad he's ours! He has been a little fussy tonight, but I would be too if I got shot 3 times in the leg and didn't feel well because of it! He's a trooper and I know he'll be good tomorrow!

On Friday, we head to Townsend in the Smoky Mountains to hang with Mom, Dad, Jami, Jarred, Jack, Wannie, Poppa, Aunt Lissa and Uncle Don. For those unfamiliar with those names, that's my parents, my sister and her husband and my nephew, my grandparents, and my aunt and uncle. It'll be so fun.......they are all already there so they're having fun without us, even though they tell me they aren't. I can't wait til Friday!

3 month photos

2008-08-04T17:02:00.002-05:00

At one of our showers, a friend of mine gave me a session with a photographer as a gift. Great gift idea, huh? I might steal it sometime! Anyway, we decided to use our session for his 3 month photos. Now, I realize that Abbott is 4 months old now, but give me a break....I'm a working mommy! :) These are some samples of his shots. They are WONDERFUL.

This week

2008-08-02T18:08:00.002-05:00

Sunday 7/27: Ryan plays at the vineyard. Abbott stays with Grammie and Pops, Mommy goes to hang out with friends at vineyard and get overheated.

Monday 7/28: Kelly goes to work....has terrible day with really difficult student....comes home and is elated to see Abbott roll over for the first time!

Tuesday 7/29: Happy 4 month birthday, Abbott!! Better day at work for Kelly, Abbott rolls over for Ryan at home. Kelly and Ryan attend party for "The Nashville 9" project....Kelly enjoys the chance to dress up, but ultimately the heels kill her feet.

Wednesday 7/30: Average day. No Major news to report. Hump Day. Kelly goes to bed at 8:30.

Thursday 7/31: Ryan works long day, then goes out to Doug's birthday celebration. Happy 27th birthday, Doug! Kelly stays up making Rice Krispy Treats for her class to eat during the movie they get to watch on Friday.

Friday 8/1: Pre-K graduation at High Hopes. Lots of funny moments.....most notably the "song" the kids learned that they screamed at the audience. Kelly's students love movie time and kind of like the treats. Kelly eats several of the treats herself and then the other teachers finish them off. Ryan has gig at open house party. Kelly goes to bed at 9:30.

Saturday 8/2: Ryan works. Kelly and Abbott have great fun together at home. Abbott smiles A LOT. Kelly and Ryan eat seafood for dinner and stay in for the evening.

My newest hobby

2008-07-24T20:48:00.004-05:00

Before Abbott was born, Ryan bought me this really great book of crafts to do for babies. I just now got it out and started making some things. I have gotten creative with some of the patterns, and have found that these make great baby gifts and are not too hard to make! I can make some for your next baby gift too, for a small fee! It only takes me a couple of hours to do the more detailed pairs with the prints, but I can do the solid colored ones in about an hour.

I made these for a friend who is having a little boy any day now. Abbott has some that are opposite in color.

I made these for my friend, Sarah. She gave them to a girlfriend of hers that just had a baby girl.

These are Abbott's pair. He also has some blue and gray ones.

These don't belong to any feet yet.

These went to one of Sarah's co-workers.

If you need a clever, handmade and original baby gift, just let me know!

The best minute Ever!

2008-07-06T19:34:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T07:54:00.000-05:00

One more tree pic

2008-07-03T07:19:00.001-05:00

I forgot to put in a picture of the whole garage!

MomoJo's and Popo's house

2008-07-03T07:16:00.003-05:00

On Monday, Abbott and I drove to Knoxville to hang out with Popo and MomoJo. Ryan was supposed to get to go, but he couldn't get some shifts changed so it was just the two of us. We stayed until Wednesday and had a great time relaxing at the house and doing some shopping (well, really just window shopping, we didn't buy anything). You wouldn't be able to tell from these pictures, but Abbott has a pretty nasty cold right now and has a lot of congestion in his tiny little nose. Despite the cold, he is a happy boy! Here are a couple of pics from our Knoxville trip:

Just out of the bath.

Sitting up like a big boy!

Trees

2008-07-03T06:47:00.004-05:00

While we were at the symphony on Saturday night, or maybe a little later, it stormed and a tree fell on our garage......ok not a WHOLE tree but pretty big part of it. We didn't find it until the next evening when we got home and actually looked in the back yard. This is what we saw:

These are views from on top of the roof of the garage. Since the tree is still there because we haven't gotten anyone to come out yet, we don't know the extent of the damage to the roof. It is not as bad as the tree that fell on my sister's house because it didn't break any beams or anything on the inside. Yay for trees falling on the places where the Meredith girls live!

The Symphony

2008-07-03T06:35:00.003-05:00

Ryan's cousin, Kyle, and his wife, Alison came to Nashville over the weekend and we got to hang out! We were given some free symphony tickets so we all got dressed up and went out to dinner and the symphony while Grammie and Pops (Ryan's mom and dad) hung out with Abbott. Here are some pics from before we left their house:

Ready for the Symphony!

Family portrait

I'm still here!

2008-06-22T09:26:00.001-05:00

I have not stopped blogging! It has just taken me a while to get into a routine since I have gone back to work so there are posts on the way....I promise! Check back soon!

Abbott's 2 month check up

2008-05-30T20:46:00.002-05:00

Abbott went to the doctor today for his 2 month check up. He got his first immunizations....two shots and an oral immunization. I have never heard him cry like that before, and I don't ever want to hear it again. He recovered quickly, but man was it intense. Other than the worst cry ever, things went pretty well. Abbott weighs 13 pounds and 8 ounces (90th percentile) and is 23 and some inches long (75th percentile). Here is a picture of his awesome bandaids that he got after his shots.

My first lilies and being outside

2008-05-30T20:06:00.003-05:00

My first lily has bloomed on a plant that promises a lot this year!

Abbott and I spent some time outside while Ryan grilled our dinner. It was a nice night for grilling.

Roxie LOVES being outside....and she loves her tennis ball.

Happy summer to all!

Really? Did she just say that?

2008-05-23T11:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I spent a good while trying to get Abbott down for a nap he so desperately needed. I finally got him to sleep when about 5 minutes later, Roxie starts barking like crazy. I step outside to see her standing at the back fence barking viciously at two older women, our neighbors, randomly walking in the alley. They were talking to her and trying to be nice, but it was just egging her on. I called Roxie and she stopped barking but then the two ladies felt it necessary to strike up a conversation. One of them said, "Wow! I can't believe how much your dog has grown since you got her!" She was fully grown when we got her...I don't know what she was talking about, but I said, "Yeah! She sure is getting big!" Then she says, "How's that baby?" I say, "Oh, he's doing pretty well...he's getting bigger too!" This is what comes next, "Honey, you still look like you pregnant!" Flustered, I replied, "Thanks." Then the other lady....the one with the big ole' belly, she taps her belly and says, "Don't worry. It'll all go away soon."

Really? You and your giant belly give me so much hope. Thanks.

The happiest baby EVER!

2008-05-20T14:10:00.002-05:00

Abbott was very camera UN-shy this afternoon so I decided to share. He is so cute!

Happy Baby!

I love my swing!

Life is good!

Mommy is so funny!

Playtime with Mommy and a milestone

2008-05-20T13:50:00.002-05:00

Abbott and I have been spending a lot of time together and having a fun time! Over the past couple of days, I have taken some pictures and would like to share, so enjoy!

Smiling for the camera.

Grabbing onto a toy!!

Gonna call my cousin Jack!

What a sweet face....

Don't you just want to kiss these cheeks!

One week later....

2008-05-16T15:17:00.003-05:00

Well, we went to Texas for a whole week and it just didn't seem like long enough. We had a blast visiting with Wannie and Poppa and Abbott enjoyed meeting much of his TX family. We had a lovely shower on Meredith Hill and a bunch of people came out to meet Abbott and visit. Many people weren't there, and we missed them, but it was Mother's day weekend so I'll give them a break! :) Believe it or not, I forgot my camera on the trip so I didn't take a single picture while there! Have no fear, though, because Jami was there with her trusty (and better) camera so pictures were taken. You can view her blog with pictures and all here: http://cowartfam.blogspot.com

We wished we could have stayed longer, but we're glad to be home!

Abbott went back to the doctor this morning and we are happy to report normal poop!

Abbott's doctor report and GTT

2008-05-08T06:49:00.002-05:00

Abbott went to the doctor again yesterday and he still has some blood in his stool. The doctor put him on a special dairy and soy free formula. He still thinks Abbott is allergic so the theory is, if Abbott has a food allergy, with this formula he should not have any blood in his stool within a week. If he continues to have it after a week of being on the formula, then it may be something else and we will go see a GI specialist. We're hoping for just a food allergy and that maybe mom was eating something she shouldn't have.

Today Abbott and I leave for Texas to visit the family and introduce him to a whole new slew of people. We will be there a week!

The nursery is finished!!

2008-05-05T13:17:00.003-05:00

What? Haven't we had a baby for over a month now? Yes, we have, but the nursery wasn't complete. Oh sure, we had paint on the walls, curtains hung, bedding in place, but it just didn't seem right without something hanging on the walls. Well, we are fortunate enough to know a very talented woman who likes to paint and create. We gave her some samples of the patterns in Abbott's bedding and she gave us some great things to hang on the walls! In the pictures below, she made everything on the walls, but the painting of the tree. We bought that from a local artist here in Nashville named Susan Suruda.

Abbott's fun weekend

2008-05-05T12:48:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, Popo and Momo Jo came into town to watch Ryan and the boys play again at the Vineyard. It was a party! Grammie and Pops were there, along with some family friends, as well as friends of mine from work and elsewhere. It was a gorgeous day....70 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze to cool you off just as you thought you were getting warm. It was perfect. I got up and fried some chicken (first time....I would say it was a success since there was none left!) and made some hummus to snack on while out there. We had plenty of other snacks that Grammie and Pops brought too so we had quite a feast! Here are some pictures from the day.

Pops feeding Abbott.

My mommy and me.

Momo Jo and Grammie.

Abbott and Popo.

Abbot was thrilled to watch his Daddy play drums.

It was a great day, and I think we all had fun! Afterwards, we went to Grammie and Pops house and spent the night. It was great spending time with everyone!

Doctor update

2008-05-02T15:52:00.002-05:00

Abbott had a recheck at the doctor this morning and he is improving. He still has trace amounts of blood in his stool, but the amounts keep decreasing so that is good. The doctor is leaning more towards to milk/soy protein allergy more than anything else so as I keep dairy and soy out of my diet he should continue to improve. Without thinking, I gave him a bottle of milk I had pumped before I cut the foods out of my diet and he had a little bit of a miserable time last night for about an hour. After that, he was good and I tossed the rest of the milk I had already pumped. I won't make that mistake again! We get to go back again on Wednesday next week to make sure he continues to improve and then Thursday we head to Texas! Things are looking up! :)

Abbott's not so big day

2008-05-01T18:14:00.002-05:00

Today was great! No fussy baby (so far) and nothing major to complain about! I will tell you a funny story though. Abbott and I got up this morning and went to visit High Hopes so that I could sign a form and so that I could show off my baby! We came home afterwards and had some Abbott and mommy time and then decided to go to the store so that I could find vitamins for myself that do not contain soy (a VERY difficult and expensive task....turns out one bottle is $35) and calcium supplements (also not containing soy) since I am not able to drink milk right now. As we were getting ready to go, Abbott lets me know he needs a diaper change. While examining his bowel movement for any blood (exciting, huh?), Abbott starts to pee straight up into the air. I do the only thing I can think to do at that point, which is put my hand over it so it doesn't shoot in his eye anymore, until he finishes. As I'm cleaning him up and wiping off my hands, he pees AGAIN, this time on the wall next to him. I let out a little laugh and started to clean up that mess because SURELY he doesn't need to pee anymore. Oh no, he DOES need to pee some more and that ends up on my hand too because the rag I got to clean up the first two messes is now soaked. 20 minutes later we are both cleaned up, in dry clothes and ready to go to the store. When will I learn to NEVER leave a baby boy without a diaper for longer than you absolutely have to?

Probably about the time he learns to be potty trained. :)

The end.

Abbott's big day

2008-04-30T22:09:00.003-05:00

Well, we have certainly had an interesting 24 hours. Last night before bedtime, Abbott spent about an hour being a fussy baby. I thought he was just hungry, but when I tried to feed him, he wouldn't eat. So then I thought he might be gassy, but he never passed any gas. So after about an hour of on again-off again fussing, trying to eat, trying to poot, Abbott really started wailing. I mean the kid has some lungs. He screamed at me for close to an hour, with a little rest here and a little rest there. He finally fell asleep and slept for 6 hours! When I saw that, I just figured the kid was so tired....it made sense because he hadn't taken a good nap all day yesterday. So we wake up this morning and everything is peachy keen and I have this wonderful happy baby who is eating well and is cooing and being all precious. He even has a poopie diaper without much struggle (this is a big deal in our house lately because the kid has to work hard to get it out sometimes). When I go to change his diaper, I see what looks like a couple of small spots of blood. I have a little new mommy freak out and then call the pediatrician and have to leave a message. Then, being a smart thinker, I save the diaper and wrap it in a plastic bag so that I can take it with me in the diaper bag to my lunch date just in case the doctor calls back and needs me to come in. The minute I sit down to lunch to doctor calls and he does want me to bring Abbott in for a check up and to "test his stool" so it's a good thing that I saved his diaper. Fast forward to the doctor's office and the stool tested positive for blood which could mean several different things:
1) Abbott could have a milk and/or soy protein allergy and is allergic to what I have been eating and it's being passed through my milk into him.
2) Abbott could have a stomach virus that would run its course in about a week.
3) Abbott could have something much more serious, but the doctor thinks he may be a little young for that and wants to rule out the first two options before testing for the serious condition based on the fact that Abbott is acting fine and the only symptom he is experiencing is minorly bloody stool.

What does all this mean? It means that Mommy Kelly has to eliminate all dairy and soy products from her diet for at least 2 months and see if that helps eliminate the blood from his stools. It also means that if he does in fact have an allergy or virus, his symptoms should go away within a week or two. If they don't go away in a week or two, then we get to do further testing. I'm voting for a virus since that would mean that it'll go away and mommy can drink milk and eat cheese again. I would be OK with an allergy because that means that there is something I can do about my diet to help him feel better. I am not even thinking about the more serious option 3 because I don't think that's his problem and the doctor didn't seem like he was concerned about that either.

Oh yeah, and to make this whole doctor appointment even more fun, they had to prick Abbott's finger to take a blood sample and test his cell counts. It was the worst moment of his life so far. Big ole' crocodile tears and all. Needless to say, when we left the office, Abbott took a really good nap. We go back on Friday for a recheck of his stools. I am hoping for no more finger pricks.

I am also hoping for an uneventful day tomorrow. Good night.

Happy Birthday, Abbott!!

2008-04-29T15:39:00.003-05:00

So today is Abbott's one month birthday! I can't believe he's already a month old.....time really does fly. He is getting to be such a big boy!

Today, in honor of Abbott's one month birthday, Daddy got up and went to work, Mommy got up and did some laundry and cleaned the living room, Abbott ate, slept, pooped, looked out the window, etc. It was a big day for the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Abbott!