Christmas 2010

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday but it seems the older i've gotten the less excited i get. I know i should be excited for Jesus is the reason for the season (Luke 2). But the spirit has just not been in me the past several years. And it passes so quickly. This year was better. It didn't go exactly how i wanted it (few things ever do). But it was certainly better. I can't wait for Riley to get a little older so he can enjoy it more. I didn't get to start all the traditions i wanted to but we did start at least one new one. And hopefully next year we can start another. Having Riley makes me want to start all new traditions for other holidays too. Till then, here are some pictures I'd like to share:

Thanksgiving

                Happy Thanksgiving!

Carter: Come Here!

Riley: I dont think so

                                          Holding Hands! They'll be good friends.



Us and our Little Man

Casper and Casper Jr

Cant forget Daddy!!

I need to doctor this one up a little and see if i can get the shadows out but till then.....

Features

Riley at 3 months old

Me at 3 months

                                                                 Randy at 3 months



Lineville Carshow & Cheaha State Park

My family and I have a long standing tradition of going to the annual car show in Lineville, Alabama and then visiting Cheaha state Park on the first Sunday in November. This year was no different except we've added family members. We thought it was going to be too cold for the babies but it turned out not to be as cold or windy as we thought so we had a great time.
                                             
                                                                   Car show

My mom in the middle, Sylvia my SIL, my brother and their baby (covered to keep her warm and out of the wind).

Randy, me and Riley at Bald Rock in Cheaha State Park

This is my brother's baby girl, Haley. She's about 2 months younger than Riley

                                                     My daddy on baby duty!

My sweet little man



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Riley was a puppy dog for his first Halloween (well, he was my hound dog and we tracked down our convict....daddy - haha). We trick or treated at the relatives houses and everyone enjoyed it.....he slept the whole time. :) 

This was at a relatives house. We sat him up and everything and he was still out like a light. Poor baby was tired!

AUBURN Pictures

Now THESE are good pictures! He looks good with Orange and Blue.

 TIIIIIMBEEEER!!!

                                                  No idea what he's looking at....

                                                  whahoo! that was a bubbly toot......

                                                      I'm Popeye the Sailor Man



BAMA Pictures

Auburn pictures to come.....when he's in a better mood.

My niece is here!!

Haley Ann Love
8lb 3oz 19.5in long

NEW BABY!

My brother's wife, Sylvia, is in the hospital. Her water broke around 5am this morning (Tuesday). She's not due till tomorrow. She seems to be going along pretty quickly....already 7-8cm. Having him natural so nothing to slow down the process. I'm so excited for them! I just hope i get to see the baby since they are in Indiana.

Exercise

Riley did so well last night. I fed him at 9pm and i didn't get up with him again till 5am. So either i didn't hear him cry at 1am or he slept longer. Hoping he slept longer. Then i fed him at 5am and he went back to sleep. So i was able to exercise a little this morning. What a nice change. I still got 10 pounds to lose to get to my pre-preggo stats. I hear those are the hardest to lose. But if i can keep getting riley back to sleep at 5am then maybe i can keep exercising. Motivation pending. Of course it helps when i get more sleep at night. :)

Battle Wounds

You think this looks bad....you should see the nurse!

Riley had his 2 month vaccinations today....3 shots and an oral. He did really well. Cried each time he was stuck but stopped shortly after. He's been sleeping all afternoon and evening so i hope he sleeps tonight!

Mommyhood

There comes a time in a mom’s life when she must admit she needs help…especially being a first time mom. So…..HELP! I knew having a baby wouldn’t be easy. I remember my brother when he was a baby (there’s almost a 10 year difference between us). I remember telling my OBGYN that Randy and I were going to start trying to increase our family and I remember him asking me if I had family close by. Now I know why. I am very fortunate to have family around that are willing to help, but I just can’t bring myself to ask for help very often. I just don’t want to be away from my baby when he’s sick I guess. He’s trying to get over a viral infection in his lungs and he has acid reflux too. The reflux is more of an issue I think. The infection is actually worse but the reflux is what hurts him. I hate to see him hurting. Not to mention the mess it causes. Not a day goes by that neither of us is wearing formula. And any bottle-feeding mom can agree that formula isn’t the best fragrance to be wearing. Not that it matters much since I seldom leave the house anyway. It’s bad when the highlight of your day is getting a shower. Or the much needed nap. It’s really hard for me to take naps so I’m just exhausted….mentally and physically. I can’t get his routine going because I’m still trying to find ways to help his reflux. Not to mention my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to waking a sleeping baby…especially a sick one. I have just about accepted the fact that my house is not clean and it will probably be a while before it gets cleaned. And I have accepted the fact that it’s not even worth getting out of my PJs anymore. And who needs conversation…..muchless ADULT conversation? A mom’s job is NEVER done and I admire the stay at home moms. And I’m beginning to envy the working mom. Maybe I’m crazy but I wouldn’t have my life any other way. Even if it means sucking up my boredom tears, lounging around in my PJs while tending to a baby with eyes so heavy I can barely open them with each blink. I love my Riley and just as the good book says….This Too Shall Pass.

A Comparison of Three

Ok all you nay-sayers.....can you not see ANY resemblance? He does look like me a little bit don't he? He's not ALL Randy is he?? haha  I do hope Riley has Randy's skin color and height and nose. But i want him to have my complexion, and eye color.

Randy about 3 months

Riley at 8 weeks

Amy a few weeks old

My poor baby

Two issues with my little man. Bless his heart.

Took him to the Dr. today for his reflux. Dr. asked if anybody in our family had it. Me and the doc always blame the inlaws so i blamed my MIL since she has all kinds of issues. Come to find out she DOES have reflux but so does my daddy. And my hubby does a little too. Go figure. Anyway, he gave us some capsules to take (break open, mix w/ formula and put in suringe - Riley's not going to like that).


Riley's also been sneezing & coughing some lately. I noticed this morning he was wheezing and just looked sick in the eyes. Mother's intuition. Dr. told me my God given instincts were right. He's got bronchialitus (a viral infection in the lungs). It's deeper in the lungs than bronchitis. He gave him a breathing treatment. And he's got to do something similar at home for a little while.
 
Please pray for a quick healing for my little man.

Almost 8 weeks old

Taken 8/30/10
My baby is growing up so fast...It's just not right! Taking pictures of a baby is so HARD especially if you want to get them smiling. But persistence pays off. Of course i was so concerned about getting him to smile that i failed to look at his hair! :)  Love my little man though!

My baby has such a big forehead! I guess he gets that from ME. Is he going to get all my BAD traits and none of the good?? He even has a lazy eye. Well, what i call a lazy eye. One eye is smaller than the other...i have one too. But he also has my eye color...and that's a good thing. But...it may not last...we'll see. Other than that, he looks very much like his dad. I need to find our baby pictures to compare.