updates and such

Thank you all, from the very bottom of my heart, for your thoughts and prayers for my dad! I cannot believe how blessed I am to be a part of such a wonderful community of friends:)

My dad was never admitted, and was released from the ER last night around 2:00AM. Which was great! Not much was determined overall, but I'll share what they did know for certain. His heart rate remained irregular because he stayed in atrial fibrillation the entire time he was there...but there were no other associated symptoms or complications from that. So who knows. As far as his little "episode" from last night, the doctor said they may never know for certain what caused that, but he felt like a small blood clot probably passed through his brain. Apparently it was small enough to literally just pass through without any major issues, because my dad is back home and back to normal today.

He will go on Thursday to his cardiologist, though, to be checked out further for the atrial fibrillation. So please remember him that day, and that nothing major will result.

------------------------

On another stressful note, Noah is sick today. I woke up to a runny-nosed, congested, coughing little boy that sounded suspiciously like he was developing croup. He got a nasty case of croup this winter when he was about 4 months old that resulted in a doctor's visit, 2 breathing treatments, 1 steroid shot, and a trip to the ER. Needless to say, I didn't take my chances this time, and called our pediatrician first thing this morning.

Though he seemed to feel ok, and even starting sounding better as the morning went on, Noah literally threw up everything he had eaten/drank this morning around 9:45....everywhere. So after I gave him a wipes-bath (no time for the real thing given out appointment time), spot-washed myself, changed both of our clothes, and mopped/cleaned the kitchen floor, cabinets, countertop, and his high-chair, I was ready the pull my hair out!!! Oh the joys of motherhood, huh? I'm you can all relate:)

Well..we made it to the doctor in one, hopefully-not-stinky piece, and he got a steroid shot and a 2-day oral steroid prescription. He is crawling around on the floor, getting into anything he can think of at the moment. So obviously he's back to normal..for the most part:)

------------------------

In the midst of all of this stress, I have had a bright spot...or two...or three. I seriously won THREE giveaways yesterday!!! Holy cow! I was flippin' out..in a good way, or course:)

First, from Mama Kenz Studio I won a new Sleepy Wrap carrier for Noah! These are so neat, and I've always wanted a carrier just for me. We had one that Jimmy wears sometimes that is like the Bjorn carriers (but our's is Chicco brand), but I don't like wearing it...too complicated! The Sleepy Wrap is one that you wrap yourself. I can't wait to try wrapping it to hold Noah on my hip...he likes to be held like that, but he gets so heavy after awhile. This way I can hold him hands-free! Plus I've always been interested in baby-wearing...I basically did that when Noah was an infant, just without a carrier. Ha! I just held him all. the. time. I'm hoping to get the Sleepy Wrap in green, though, so I can use it with other kiddos that hopefully come along in the future:)

Second, I won another necklace from The Vintage Pearl! If you've never seen Erin's beautiful hand-stamped jewelry, go look now! Oh my..I LOVE my "cup of love" necklace! It is so pretty...I wear it nearly everyday. I won it several weeks after Noah was born, so of course it has his name stamped on it. I get to pick anything I want from her etsy shop this time around..so I'm still deciding. So many pretties to choose from:)

Finally, I won, through TVP's giveaway week, a custom cupcake birthday bib from the Golden Shop! Oh my goodness...I have been DYING for one of these for Noah's birthday in a few months! The bibs are precious..with custom aplique and handsew "sprinkles"! They also make birthday hats...I'm hoping I can talk Jimmy into splurging on one to match the bib:)

Thank you, dear Lord, in the midst of trial and stress for amazing friends....and for unexpected retail blessings:)

please pray..

I just to pop in really quickly to ask for prayers for my daddy. If you have been reading my blog, this one or my old one, for any length of time, you know he has several chronic health concerns, most notably chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, which has left him completely disabled, and heart disease, including 3 previous major heart attacks.

After visiting with he and my mom this evening, I was helping put my dad to bed in his hoyer lift. Once he was in the bed, he began to act really strangely. He became basically completely incoherent and slurred what nonsense talk he did, wouldn't/couldn't focus or keep his eyes open, and developed an irregular heartbeat. This all lasted maybe 5 minutes at the very most, and once an EMT arrived he was basically back to normal except for his heartbeat and elevated blood pressure. Also, he did not have any memory of what happened, and almost became a little combative when the ambulance first arrived. He is currently in the ER waiting on a doctor to see him. My mom said he is totally back to normal on a surface level, and as far as she knew, only his heartbeat is still irregular.

Please, if you are so inclined, keep my daddy in your prayers. This was definitely a scary episode, but I know that God is completely in control. And while I do feel peace about the outcome, I would most definitely appreciate your prayers as well!

Thank you in advance, everyone! I feel so lucky to have such an outlet to come to in both the good times and the scary times, knowing that no matter what I will receive blessings tenfold from you all! I will keep things updated as I learn more.

Thank you again:)

beach fun

Noah was super excited for his first real summer vacation:) Good thing he had lots of energy!

We had lots of fun playing in our crabby float...

..so much so that ol' crabby didn't make it through the week without a slow leak.

The kiddie pool was awesome, and full of lots of new friends:)

We had fun in our special Lightening McQueen towel..

..and down at the ocean.

We enjoyed the waves, as long as mom or dad was right there..

We had fun on the swing set..

..and with new purchases:)

Riding on Daddy's shoulders for the first time was exciting!

And we even took some time for family photos..

Whew! What a week!!

Noah even slept the entire 4 1/2 hour car ride home:)

9 months + BEACH:)

I really didn't think this week would ever get here. But here I am...soakin' up the sun at the beach! Ahh...and for a whole week! I had a super good helper last week getting things ready for our trip. He was especially helpful with laundry:)

Really quickly, I wanted to throw out a quick 9 months update. His doctor's appointment last Tuesday went wonderfully! I am SO happy that we made the decision to switch pediatricians...I was beyond impressed with every aspect of our new office. And he didn't even see the actual doctors! He was seen by a peds nurse practitioner...and I was blown away by how good she was!

On to the Noah update..he weighed in at 26 pounds 10 ounces, and was 31 inches long. Ha..that felt like I was announcing a boxing match or something:) Anyway..she didn't give me the percentages, but I know they'll be way up there at least for a while. He has slowed growth wise in the last couple of months, though, so I think he'll probably start leveling out..especially when he starts walking.

The PNP was very happy with Noah overall...he had completed all of the developmental tasks she asked about except for independently clapping, but that's okay. We're working on it:) He was a little ahead on some other categories, so it all evens out in the end.

Food wise, we're all about trying new things right now. He had his first Oreo cookie this week..well half of one anyway. Not my idea, let me tell you, but a waitress we had brought it to him and I felt bad because she kept asking about it. Let's just say Noah was a little wired that evening! Haha! Anyway...finger foods are well-loved by Noah. He still loves all of the Gerber puffs, crunchies, and yogurt melts. He also likes Earth's Best smiley snacks. As far as fresh and cooked foods go, he loves quartere banana pieces, bread (especially plain whole wheat sandwich bread), semolini pasta, and any kind of yogurt. We're working on finding a cheese that he likes (cheddar was apparently NOT a good first choice!). He also continues to eat about two jars of 3rd foods Earth's Best food a day. He typically takes 3 bottles, and drinks around 4 ounces of water. He always drinks the water from a sippy cup, and we're working on transitioning his milk into the sippy too. We've been doing his mid-day bottle in the sippy, although he usually won't hold the cup himself. But I still think he's doing great for his age.

His favorite toy of the moment is probably his ride-on Mater. I think he likes the independence of being able to move where he wants. Puzzles and books remain staples, and his various other small toys (alphabet spinner, linking letters, ring stacker, blocks/shape sorter, etc) are still well-loved. We recently have allowed Noah to play with his small Thomas trains, and I can already tell that will be a big thing for him. That definitely is still his favorite movie/show to watch! But he also likes Cars, PraiseBaby videos, and occasionally other shows on tv. Finally, I think its time to put the Exersaucer away. He's really too big for it, and mostly likes to use it to pull up now. Speaking of pulling up..Noah will do so on anything in sight! He's even just beginning to let go for short bits, so I think its only a matter of time before our little man is toddling around:)

Noah has still only said "mama" and "dada" at this point, but he is learning lots of new sounds every day. "Ba" and "ga" are his favorites it seems...I think perhaps "bye-bye" will be his next word. He has really gotten good at waving for now, at least! He is also very good at expressing his emotions right now...meaning that screaming and such have become all too familiar. Unfortunately. He truly has inherited his Daddy's temper, and isn't afraid to show it!

Still...Noah is hard to stay upset with, no matter how loud he just screamed in your ear:) He flashes his toothy little grin, and your heart just melts! His teeth have really come in, by the way, with three on the bottom and his two secondary teeth on top(I hope you know which I mean). Without his two front teeth in there, he looks like a little vampire or something:) I surely think we will all miss this look once those front teeth come in!

Well..that's about it for that. I'll leave you with some pictures from earlier today, at the pool and the small playground area next to it...

This is going to be a fun week:)

welcome home, part 1

**I decided to participate in Kelly's Korner "Show Us Where You Live Friday" with this old post. FYI - It also includes pictures of my living room after our master bedroom pictures.

-------------------------

Alright folks...prepare for picture overload:) I decided halfway through uploading all. these. pictures. to break this tour of our new house into several parts. Not sure how many there will be...maybe three? Who knows...it may take several weeks to get through it all because we are headed to the beach Friday afternoon, but at least you'll get to see part 1 now!

I hope that you enjoy this little tour. You will most definitely see much more beautiful homes out there, but for our first home, I'm pretty darn proud of it:) Also, I didn't really intend on starting things out with our bedroom..but that's what happens when you don't plan ahead I guess. Oh well..here we go!

View from the doorway..

The rooms are tiny here, which is why the bed is against the wall..

I love our bedroom suit...I bought it right before we got married. The bedding actually is from *gasp* Pottery Barn. That was a gift from Jimmy for our wedding. For spring/summer we just use the quilt, but for fall/winter we have a duvet and all to keep nice and toasty:)

Of course, Jimmy was pumped to buy a new skinny television for this dresser when we moved...typical man huh? haha:)

The bigger picture was for our church directory...we actually used it as our "engagement" photos because they were taken several months before we were married. The picture of us at the beach is maybe 5 or 6 years old...I think it was our first beach trip together:)

I LOVE out window seat area!! These pillow shams are the same print as our fall/winter duvet cover, and we use them on the bed at that time too. I'm not sure what I'll put in the window seat then..

Lastly, our nightstand..

This picture was from our *real* honeymoon at Disney World right before Christmas 2007 (we got married in October, but took the big trip in December). We are in front of the Christmas tree at Epcot, proudly wearing our "Just Married" buttons:)

So that's our bedroom! Now on to the living room...

Just a disclaimer...this is what the living room floor typically looks like, just in case you were wondering:)

Because our house is very old (it was my great-grandmother's, in case you didn't catch that detail before), every room has an actual door, including the living room. I've been in love with all the pretty tassels I've been seeing around, so I made one for myself..

I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt! But anyway...this is on our living room door.

Our DVD cabinet..Jimmy's dad made this many years ago, and he inherited it. I gave it the black distressed facelift several months ago..

Seashells in the hurricane glass = summer:)

Before I got pregnant, I worked at Curves for about a year...a close mentor-type woman from my church owns all of the Curves in our county, and that became my part-time job. Anyway..another lady that worked there PT also did custom framing, and framed our wedding invitation as a gift for me:)

This shows our front door, too..which is red, by the way..but I didn't copy you Linda!! It came that way already:) Anyway..at some point I'll share the outside area too..we plan on working on the landscaping when we return from the beach.

Yes..that frame is empty - thanks for noticing:) I've got plans for a black and white family beach picture for it. And that isn't a stain on the little runner...my Pepsi sweated on it:) Oh and the end table was another rehab project I did awhile back.

This is a tray my mom got me several years ago for Christmas. I love it hanging on the wall!

But..I think I want a mirror behind that table. What do you think?

I want to put the tray where the two small pictures are here..

I like the family and Noah shots, but I feel like they're small for that space.

This is another table I repainted and distressed..

I just realized my lampshade is crooked. Oh well:)

This is the best smelling candle EVER! A yummy Paula Deen ala Walmart special:)

Jimmy's real pride and joy..

This is probably my favorite area in the whole home..

I really love the displays...I don't think I'll ever want to change them.

We are planning on having gas logs by wintertime...my grandmother has extra ones that she isn't using. I love my family:)

The little built-in shelves are nice too..

Well..that concludes part 1 of the tour! Stay tuned for the kitchen, bathroom, office/hall and Noah's room. We also have a sunroom-esque space that will eventually be a playroom for Noah. It currently houses the remaining remodeling junk and trash. I'm really hoping all of that will be done by the time we get back from the beach too. There are just a few small projects left that we aren't doing ourselves..

----------------------------------------

Noah turns 9 months old..well today since I'm typing this at 1:00am! We have a doctor's appointment for his checkup today too, so I'll also be working on a monthly update post for him too.

I may or may not get all of that in before we leave Friday afternoon...we'll see! If not, you'll hear from us after we've sunned our buns for a whole glorious week:) Until next time, then..

noah goodness:)

I promise I'll have house pictures next time...we're I've got a couple of more pictures to frame/hang in Noah's room, some tweaking in the living room, and flowers to plant beside the little deck. At the very least, I'll have pictures of our kitchen/dining room next time...hopefully in the next few days:)

--------------------------------------------

In the mean time, I thought I'd share some new pictures of Noah. I'm amazed at all he's doing right now! 

His mind seems to be very mechanical...he spent a good 15-20 minutes opening and closing the little seat on his riding Mater.

He also understands what open and close means, and can do them when asked. Following simple commands like these are getting easier and more frequent for him.

He also spent a lot of time playing with the wheel..seeing how it turned, moving it up and back.

Noah is pulling up on anything and everything he can get ahold of too! A tipped over Mater seemed like the perfect thing to hold on to:)

We've been working with this particular puzzle for a long time. He can pick out the animals by name accurately when asked about 85-90% of the time.

For some reason, he also likes to rub the sticker on the back. It makes a funny sound that he likes:)

We've also been working on identifying parts of the body. Not so successfully at this point, but we've just started...and I realize that he is very young too. But he typically can remember the name of an object and pick it out if asked, so I thought we'd try body parts now. We're working on our nose first...he's only pointed to it a couple of times at this point. 

--------------------------------------------

I cannot believe Noah will be 9 months old next Tuesday! He goes for his wellness checkup that day...it will be his first visit to his new pediatrician. Already I like them FAR better than the others (I won't go into that story again for those of you who never read my old blog..) so I'm optimistic. We seeing a nurse practitioner since the appointment was made with short notice due to the transfer of his records and all...but I really appreciate them working him in. You know..so he'll be there for his 9 month check-up when he's actually 9 months old and not 3 weeks late. Ugh..have I mentioned how glad I am that we've switched pediatricians?!?!?

Next time, I'll have Noah's 9 months update as well as some new house pictures. Then we'll be off next Saturday to the beach for a week! Expect picture overload for that one:)