The Bethea's

Change

2011-11-14T19:25:00.007-06:00

It is interesting how one single event can change so many things. When I went to bed last Monday night, I had no idea how things would change the next morning. I woke up around 7:30am to the sound of Eric opening the door after a morning trip to the gym. He sat on the bed and talked to me for a few minutes and before I knew it my whole day took a dramatically different turn that I could have ever imagined. He put his hand over his chest and said he felt sore. The next thing I know I was dialing 911. I knew it was a heart attack. I don't know why, but I just knew. I just kept telling him to breathe and try to relax knowing full well that nothing I could say or do would make it any better. I prayed that Mac would stay asleep until the paramedics had come and gone, but of course I heard "Mommy, I'm awake" coming from upstairs right about the time the ambulance arrived. I told Mac to play in his room and that I would bring him breakfast. He looked at me funny, but went back to his room to play. I went back downstairs and Eric just kept saying "Don't let Mac see me." I heard Mac upstairs crying so I went to check on him, and when I picked him up he saw the lights from the fire truck. He immediately got upset and started asking for his Daddy. It's funny how kids can sense when something is wrong. I told him to play for a few more minutes and I would be right back. As I got downstairs Eric was being wheeled out and Mac was screaming "I want my Daddy." I think that may have upset me more than anything. I told Eric I would be right behind him as soon as my Dad got there to stay with Mac. I guess I went into Mom mode because as soon as they shut the door I just told myself that nothing was wrong. Even though I knew it was serious, I just started getting everyone dressed and fed like any other morning. Mac kept asking about his Daddy (even though he never saw anything) and I just kept telling him that Daddy was okay and we would see him later. As soon as my Dad got there, I put Ellie into the car (obviously I was not thinking when I decided to bring her) and headed to the hospital. While we were waiting for the ambulance I had called my friend whose husband is an ER physician to ask her where I should have the ambulance take Eric. Fortunantly, she thought it was serious enough to meet me at the hospital. I pulled into the garage and drove around looking for a spot for what seemed like an eternity. After searching for the ER, I ran into the paramedics who had brought Eric in. When I asked where he was I received a blank stare in return. Then the reality of what was going on hit. I asked again and still nothing but a stare. The third time I asked I think I was actually yelling and one of them said "He's not in the ER." I wanted to shake her at that point for not volunteering exactly where he was. Finally, she told me he was in the cath lab. I just stared at her and said "He had a heart attack didn't he?" She just looked away and told me I should go to the front desk. Thank God my friend was standing there waiting. The man at the desk was telling us where to go to find Eric, but I didn't hear one thing that came out of his mouth. I just followed my friend. By the time we figured out where to go Eric was already in a room/out of the cath lab. I left Ellie in the waiting room and went into see Eric. I was terrifed to walk into that room. I didn't know if he was going to be hooked up to machines or if they had caught it in time. To my surprize he was in bed, completely awake, and talking to a nurse. I didn't really know what to do. I just walked over to him and put my hand on top of his. I kept waiting for my emotions to take over, but they didn't. Eric had a harder time that day that I did. When the nurse told me exactly what had happened I was shocked. I could wrap my mind aroudn the fact that he had a heart attack, but not that he really could have died. Not long after I arrived our friend who is a physician at the hospital came in the room. I have never been so relieved to see someone come through a door. He looked over Eric's chart and basically said he was very lucky to be alive. Eric had 100% blockage in his left anterior descending artery (LAD), referred to as the "widow maker." They had placed two stents into the artery and saved his life. They also found blockages in two other arteries that will most likely require stents in the future. The rest of the day is one big blur. I spent most of it on the phone contacting our families and answering questions from our friends. I am honestly thankful that I had something to do because oddly enough, it kept my mind off of worrying about Eric. That night Eric was in great spirits. He was up and moving around, joking, and seemed "normal." I still hadn't broken down and cried like I was expecting. We spent the late night/early morning listening to machines screaming that Eric's pulse/blood pressure were too low (which they weren't) so there was not much rest to be had.
The next day basically consisted of a multitude of doctors and nurses providing us with more information than I think I will ever understand about the heart. I guess I expected a heart attack patient to be "sick" but Eric wasn't. It was almost as if nothing had happened. He suddenly had more color in his face than I had seen in weeks and we were taking turns joking about how he has a free pass to get out of doing anything for a least a solid year (that probably sounds horrible, but we needed a little humor at the time). Once again our night was consistently interrupted by a screaming machine that I seriously comptemplated throwing in the hallway at one point.
On Thursday morning the doctor said he was sending us home. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to take him home. I suddenly found comfort in all those beeping machines that had annoyed me the past 2 nights. But I was never going to be ready to take him home. There was always going to be that fear so I just kept telling myself that Mac was going to be so happy to see his Daddy. We got home exactly 53 hours after his heart attack (crazy when you realize they make you stay in the hosptial 4 days after having c-section). When we got home, I left my mom with Eric and the kids to go fill Eric's prescriptions. I dropped them off and decided to get my grocery shopping done while I was waiting. I walked up and down the aisles trying to figure out what to get. Nothing seemed healthy enough. There was either too much fat or too much sodium. I could feel all of my emotions rising up, but I manged to push them back down and hold it in. When the prescriptions were ready I went to check out and I just lost it. The pharmacist was trying to comfort me, but I found my self incoherently blubbering away for all to see. Seeing all those medications sitting in front of me made it all very real. It was the first time that I actually put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I suddenly realized that my entire world, everything I know, everything I love about my life, was almost taken away from me.
I still worry. I find myself checking on him throughout the night. It's frightening to be that close to losing everything you have come to know about your life. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. As I sit here writing this I know that my life could have completly changed in the blink of an eye. I could have lost my best friend. My children could have lost their father. I don't think I have ever taken Eric for granted. I have always known just how fortunate and blessed I am to have him in my life. However, I did take for granted our time. At 30 you don't see yourself here. You don't see the possibility of a life ending. You just plan on growing old together as though that is the only option. Now I know that is not always the case and I will forever cherish every moment I am given with my husband and children.

Deep Breaths

2011-09-02T21:33:00.009-05:00

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 was NOT a good day. I don't think I have ever been quite that stressed/frantic/overwhelmed in my life! And to those of you called, left messages on Facebook, etc....THANK YOU!!! It seriously made me feel like I was not the only one who had ever felt that way! I sincerely appreciate your words and advice. After my blog post about my frustrations things continued to tumble downhill. Ellie was awake and screaming from midnight until 5am. A few incidents of projectile vomit were involed. I cried, she cried. It was quite possibly the worst 5 hours I have ever experienced.
I had to wake up at 7 am that morning because it was Mac's first day of school and Ellie's 2 month shots. I got both of the kids fed, dressed and ready to go on time (for once) and we headed on our way out the door. The entire drive over, Mac and I talked about school. He kept telling me how he was a big boy and "no cries" when Mommy left. He even told me "Mommy always come back." That's our new mantra at nap/bed time right now as well. When we pulled into the parking lot he started asking if Mommy was coming to school. I told him I was going to take him to his class, but then I was going to leave, but it was okay because Mommy always comes back. We got to his classroom and were waiting in the hall for the teachers to open the doors. He started getting a little teary eyed, but I just told him "no cries" because he was going to have so much fun today. Once we got in the door he was such a big boy! We went over and checked out the crayons, the play dough, and even the class fish. I went to kiss him good-bye and he realized I was leaving. He wasn't happy about it, but held back the tears. I was so proud of him!
After a successful drop off, Ellie and I headed to her doctor's appointment. I remember how horrible Mac's first round of shots were. He screamed for a good 5 minutes or so afterwards and I felt so sorry for him. I was not looking forward to this. My sweet girl weighed in at 10.8 lbs (40th percentile) and 23 inches (75th percentile). When it came time for the shots I was prepared for the worst, but she did great! She gave the nurse a dirty look after the first stick and barely let out a little whine after the second. Such a big girl!
We got to have a little playdate with Ellie's friend Olivia until it was time to go and pick up Mac from school. When I opened the door he had this huge smile on his face. He charged at me, arms open, and gave me the biggest hug and said "Fun day Mommy! Fun day!" He even told me "Come back tomorrow!" Wow! What a huge difference from this summers school experience.
My WONDERFUL sister came over that afternoon and spent the night with us. She even got up with Ellie when she woke up at night. It was a much needed and welcome break!
After a much more relaxing night of rest, it was time to get ready for day 2 of school. Getting Mac out the door was a little more difficult this morning because he just wanted to stay home and play with BB, but after a little coaxing we headed to the car. Unfortunantly, drop off was not as smooth as it was the day before. There were some tears, but thankfully no screaming or attempted escape. When I came back to pick him up I opened the door just as the custodian was leaving the room with a bag of trash. Based on the odor that followed I thought wow, somebody's kid really stunk up that room! Guess who it was. As I scanned the room for Mac I caught a glimpse of a half naked blonde kid in the corner. Mac had just had a MASSIVE blow out which involved him grabbing the poop from his diaper and pretty much ruining the clothes he had on. The whole room reeked! Once he was dressed he came running to see me and I really thought I might gag a little. And his poor teacher still had poop on her arm! I felt so horrible. Then as we were leaving, his teacher tells me how Mac was yelling "Salud" and "Cheers" during snack time. Today was one of those days you are just so proud of your kid! It will be a great story to tell future girlfriends, right?
Here are some pictures:

This and That...

2011-08-31T16:10:00.006-05:00

To sum it up, here's how I feel right now. It's a little bit scatter brained, but so am I at the moment!

Well, Eric and I have put potty training on hold. We tried (for all of 4 1/2 hours) to do the 3 day potty train and couldn't do it. I pretty much freaked out. I already feel completely overwhelmed when I take both of them out in public. There has already been an incident of Mac taking off and me chasing him with Ellie in the stroller, and if I am constantly having to scout out all the bathrooms anytime we go out in public we just aren't leaving the house. It's just too much for me right now. It upsets me a little because I do think he's ready/able to be potty trained. I guess if he's ready now, he'll still be ready in a month, right? Sometimes I just think there are too many things going on. I feel like we just brought home a baby, are in the process of getting him to have a real bedtime (up until now we've just let him fall asleep whenever), are trying to make him fall asleep in his bed and not ours, and starting back to school this week. I think that adding potty training on to all of that is just a lot for him, and us, to take. What really bothers me is that a lot of his friends are in the process of potty training and we aren't. I feel like I'm holding him back or something. Ugh...Mommy guilt never stops does it?

This week, Eric is traveling. Let me just say, I am very thankful that his job very rarely requires him to go see clients. He left Monday for NY, but came back on Tuesday. Then he left again today and will come home on Friday. So really, it's only 3 nights that he'll be gone, but it's my first time to be all alone with the kids. I feel like it shouldn't be this stressful. I'm with them all day long so why is it such a big deal if he's gone 3 nights? I will give Eric a little shout out here...this has made me realize just how much he helps out at night.

This has been a whole new situation for me. I had already quit pumping for Mac at this point so actually breastfeeding Ellie is very different. And of course that whole sleeping through the night thing was apparently just a phase. She only wakes up once at night, but it makes a big difference on my energy level during the day. I don't really like getting out of the house with them because I don't particularly enjoy feeding her in public. I've done it a couple of times, but I feel rushed and just want her to eat as fast as possible. Plus, depending on where we are, I can't always just stop and feed her if I have Mac. I keep thinking, what do I do if I'm feeding her and Mac decides to take off?

And tomorrow is a not so fun day for sweet Ellie. It's time for her 2 month shots. I hate these. I still remember the look on Mac's face when they gave him his shots. It was a mix of terror and shock followed by a flood of tears (from both of us). Hopefully she won't be to cranky tomorrow night.

Big Boy

2011-08-22T13:15:00.002-05:00

We've really been talking a lot about this whole potty training thing with Mac the past few weeks. He is so excited about wearing his big boy underwear this weekend. Everyday he asks if he can wear them. I'm hoping that's a sign that things will go smoothly. Any time we mention underwear he tells me "keep them dry" or "no more diapers!" I'm taking him this afternoon to go and pick out his big boy prizes for when he uses the potty, so hopefully that will get him even more excited about this weekend.
Unfortunately we are still having issues with getting Mac to bed. We have been letting him fall asleep in our bed and then taking him upstairs before we go to sleep. The last 2 times I have put him in his bed before he fell asleep, he got so worked up/upset that he threw up. Last night we tried again to put him in his bed and he had a complete meltdown. I felt so bad for him. We sat in the floor in his room to try and get him to calm down for a while, but he was not having it. And of course, I caved. But before we headed back downstairs we had a long talk about being a big boy. I told him that this was his last night to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed and that he had to be a big boy and not cry when he went to sleep. This morning when I went to get him out of bed, I got my typical, "Good morning Mommy" followed by "No sleep in Daddy bed now." I was pretty surprised that he remembered and even more so that he seemed to understand. Then he told me "No cries tonight Mommy." I told him he was being such a big boy and you could just see how proud he was of himself. I've been telling him how we will read lots of books in his room tonight and it will be so much fun so we'll see how it goes. I promised him I would buy him Tow Mater and McQueen sheets if he slept in his bed with no cries 5 times in a row. He has told me "Big boy car sheets" every time I mention going to sleep so hopefully the bribe will work!
Nap time is usually not a very calming event either, but today I told him that big boys take naps and don't cry. He started getting a little teary eyed when we went up the stairs, but when I laid him in his bed he just looked at me and said "Mommy be back soon. I sleep." What?!?!?! I think he actually gets it! I guess the only bad part is that I'm going to have to give him little prizes to keep this going for a while. Oh well, at this point I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get the kid in bed!

Birthday Weekend Fun!

2011-08-14T23:37:00.019-05:00

We had the best time last weekend! For my sister's birthday, her husband rented a beach house and invited us to join them. I made the mistake of telling Mac about our beach trip about 2 weeks prior to the actual event and I think he told me 10 times a day that we were going to the beach with B.B. We've taken him to the beach 2 or 3 times before, but he has always been afraid to get in the water. As we were driving down to Galveston, he kept telling us how he was going to go swimming. I was a little doubtful that it was actually going to happen once we got down on the beach, but he couldn't wait to get out there! Mac LOVED splashing around in the ocean. He even liked it when the waves hit him!

My brother in law, Travis, dug a huge hole (Mac referred to it as the pool) and filled it with water. He even caught some fish and put them in there for Mac.

I was a little concerned about taking Ellie out there. I mean it's only 100 plus degrees and she's 6 weeks old. My sister/brother-in-law had a huge tent that we set up and Ellie sat comfortably in her carseat on the tailgate of truck. I think she had the best seat in the house. It was completely shaded with a nice breeze that rocked her carseat back and forth. She slept almost the entire 3 hours we were out there!

Mac has talked about going to the beach ever since, so I see a lot more beach trips in the Bethea family future!
Mac has apparently started a new phase...the "I help Mommy" phase. In theory it sounds great, right? He wants to cook, clean, feed Ellie, etc., etc...the only problem is that a task that normally takes 5 minutes ends up taking 30! Oh well, I obviously am not going to tell him that he can't help me. Everytime he "helps" Mommy, I make it a huge deal and tell him how proud I am of him for being such a big helper. You can tell he is so proud. Last night I was changing the sheets on the bed and I hear him come running in the room yelling "I help Mommy. My turn! My turn!" So I told him to pull the sheets on the other side of the bed. Apparently he interpreted that as "Stand in the middle of the bed, get under the sheets, and jump up and down and count to ten as loud as you can." One day I'm going to ask him to help with the sheets and in return I'll get an eye roll and a snide remark so I should just be happy that he actually wants to help!
I really do like this sweet/helping stage though. We were at Target the other day and as we passed the floral department Mac bolted. He ran straight to the bouquets and screamed "Flowers! Look Mommy, flowers!" I tried to get him back on task so we could get out of there, but he wouldn't budge. He grabbed my hand and said, "Buy Mommy flowers? Please buy Mommy flowers?" Well of course I couldn't break his little heart and say no! I told him to go pick some flowers for Mommy. He stood there with his hands on his hips for a minute scanning the selection and then chose some lovely yellow daisies. He was so proud of himself. I put them in the kitchen when we got home and everyday he goes to see the flowers he got me. Everytime I'm in the kitchen he points and smiles and says "I buy Mommy flowers." So sweet.
He really is a funny little guy. Last night after I made the bed, Mac wanted to put on his shoes. No reason. Just wanted to wear them. So I put his shoes on and finished cleaning. We were getting ready for bed and I told him it was time to take his shoes off so we could go to sleep. He said "No Mommy. I sleep in shoes." I asked him why he wanted to sleep in his shoes. His response, "I sleep in shoes. I go run to the beach. I sleep in shoes." He makes me laugh so hard that I actually let the kid go to bed in his shoes.
Here are a few pictures from our fun weekend:

I Nice Mommy

2011-08-10T22:11:00.020-05:00

I have decided that I need to start writing down some of the conversations that we have with Mac and some of the things that he says. Here is what we discussed on our way home from a museum playdate today:
Mac: Mommy, I shared water.
Me: You shared your water?
Mac: I shared water. Wash hands.
Me: Huh?
Mac: I shared water. Wash hands.
Me: What? (now repeat this part of our conversation a few times)
Mac: I SHARED WATER MOMMY! WASH HANDS!
Me: Oh, you shared the water and let your friends wash their hands in the sink?
Mac: Yes. I nice.
Me: That was very nice Mac.
Mac: I very nice friend. (repeat 10 times)
Me: Mac, it makes Mommy very proud when you are nice and share with your friends.
Mac: Halen nice friend. Caleb nice friend too.
Me: Your friends are very nice Mac. It's fun to play with your friends and be nice
Mac: I nice Mommy. I shared water. I nice. Mommy, I nice. Mommy, I get cake? I very nice Mommy.
I think he is starting to understand sharing...and apparently he thinks he gets smoething if he does it! Up until a month or so ago if you told Mac to share, he would run up to a kid, take his toy, tell the kid to share, and run away. So technically he understood "sharing." He just thought it meant people needed to share with him. I'll give Ellie a little bit of credit for Mac's new comprehension. I've probably told him a million times that he has to share the "wuckie" (pacifier) with Ellie. It's her pacifier, but I think it makes him feel like he's doing something nice if I make it sound like he has a choice in the matter. Regardless, I didn't catch him snatching any toys from anyone today so maybe it's all sinking in.
I also learned something about myself on the ride home today. Mac started saying "Daddy song. Ball in the hole." (I made up a song about Daddy with Mac. The two most popular versions are "Ball in the hole" and "Kick the football.") So I sang him his song. Then he started asking me to sing the Mommy song. Well there is no Mommy song, but I was happy to oblige and asked him what Mommy does. He got his serious face on for a few seconds, pointed at me and screamed "Mommy clean floors!" Really? So then I was curious to find out what else might come out of his mouth so I asked him what else Mommy does. Lets just say my job consists of cleaning floors, reading books, cooking, feeding Eggie, and saying no. I guess he calls it like he sees it!
School is out for a few weeks and I'm glad. You would think having him out of the house to get things done/take care of Ellie would be a welcome break, but it really isn't. It just turns into a hassle to go and get him. Ellie always seems to be ready to eat right as I need to go and pick him up, the kids in his class literally swarm her stroller (they almost knocked the carseat off one day!), and then I end up dragging Mac through the parking lot because he doesn't want to go home (and yes, this is the same child who screamed his head off when he was dropped off). Plus, when my car's thermometer reads 125, I really don't want to get in it or put my newborn in it either! We did get something fun from the school last week though. They let the kids plant beans and Mac's has exploded. He tells me everyday "Sun and water Mommy. Sun and water." So each morning we water his little plant and put it in the window to get some sun. He must have more of a green thumb than his mother because the thing is still growing! He is obviously proud because every night he shows Daddy his beans.

Mac made quite a mess last night. I went in the other room to hang up some clothes and I hear a loud crack/crash followed by crying. Fabulous. I came running back into the living room to find Mac, and the baby swing, on the floor. Poor guy just wanted to go for a little ride, but I think the swings weight limit is 20 lbs which Mac was at about 11 months. Needless to say, the swing is no more. But there is good news in all of this. Ellie hated the swing anyway and our neighbor let us use her daughters that has multiple settings and Ellie loves it! It buys me some extra sleep time from her during the day! Mac keeps walking over to the swing and pointing at it and saying "No touch. Mac no touch." Hopefully he learned his lesson because I'd prefer not to have to buy our neighbor a new swing!
But the big news is that we are planning on starting potty training at the end of the month. Honestly, I do NOT want to do it. I know how stubborn and hard headed he is and I can't imagine things going smoothly. We are using the 3 Day Potty Train method. Everyone I know swears that in 3 days your kid is potty trained...but it's 3 days of hell! Quick overview: put your kid in big boy underwear and repeat the phrase "Tell Mommy/Daddy when you need to go potty, okay?" over and over and over again. Keep telling them they need to get their big boy pants dry and go overboard on praise when they actually use the bathroom in the toilet. There's a lot more too it than that, but basically it says to prepare yourself for lots of "accidents" all over your house for at least 24 hours. I had a friend tell me to roll up my rug and cover the couch...no joke...because her kid literally destroyed everything that couldn't be wiped down on the first day! I know it needs to be done and I'm sure that I'll be happy once he's potty trained, but honestly, it's just not that big of a deal to me right now. I have quite a few friends with boys Mac's age and none of their kids are potty trained either, so I don't feel like we are behind. Plus, I'll be honest, it's a lot easier to change a diaper at the mall, restuarant, or on a trip than to deal with wet/dirty pants, underwear, socks, etc. The fact that he's in size 6 diapers and they are almost too small is probably a sign that it's time, but I realize that this is just one more part of my life that will change. Whatever we are doing, we have to stop when he has to use the bathroom. It's hard to be constantly on call with Ellie around. It seems that all the husbands are pushing the potty training issue and the Moms are fine changing a few diapers each day. Hmmm, could that be because the Moms will be cleaning up all the mess??? But for the record....I do agree. I think it's time. I am sure that this whole experience will warrant a blog post...but I promise, no pictures of the aftermath!
And in important Ellie news....her best friend, Miss Olivia Ann Himes was born on July 29th! She is a doll! Eric and I met Beth and Ryan (the parents) about 5 years ago when we were living in an apartment in the Med Center. I never thought we would both be pregnant and having girls at the same time! They've even had their first playdate already. They spent the time eating, crying, and sleeping, but I could tell they had a fabulous time! Love them!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the past couple of days and a cute video of Mac "reading" his book "Go Dog Go!"

Bringing Home Baby

2011-07-29T23:43:00.013-05:00

I could not wait to get out of the hospital! Besides the fact that someone (you know who you are!) accidentally pulled out my epidural on the 2nd day but no one realized it until they went to take it out and I therefore went 3 days without pain medication, it wasn't horrible, but I just wanted to be home. I was so excited to just be in my house and be a family. I was so excited to put her in the same dress that I came home from the hospital in. It was a perfect fit an she looked beautiful.

I on the other hand was having a little bit of a wardrobe malfunction. I planned on wearing home the same dress I entered the hospital wearing. I guess I forgot what happens when your milk comes in. Let's just say I should have changed my name to Pamela or Dolly on the spot. One of the nurses actually asked me if I had a breast augmentation. Apparently they were so large she could not fathom any other reason they would be that size! (32 G people...yes, that's what I said) The pain...oh the pain! Well, despite having to wear a sweater in the Houston heat just to shield any innocent by-standers from my ridiculously large bust, it was pretty uneventful.

We got home and for the most part made it all about Mac. He was not too thrilled to have a little sister based on his reaction to her in the hosptial so we wanted him to feel like he was still the star of the show.

We quickly learned that Mac truly had no interest in having a little sister around. He didn't want to hug her, kiss her, or even look at her. Fortunantly, as the weeks have passed, he has slowly come around. I'll admit, we jump started the process by bribing him with candy if he would just come near her, but it worked! Now he is so sweet to her. He loves to kiss her head and her feet. He gets diapers when it's time to change her and he always says "Mac help?" whenever we give her a bottle. Anytime she cries he will walk over to her with a very concerned face and say "Eggie, it's okay." He immediatly starts to look for her pacifier and will bring it to me so I can give it to her. He also likes to give her fist bumps and high fives...such a guy. But my favorite thing of all, is watching as he has become protective of his little sister. The first day I picked Mac up from school on my own after Ellie's birth, a few of the kids in his class were interested to see her. One of the teachers picked up his friend Freeman to catch a glimpse and Mac immediatly ran over to the stroller and yelled "No Freeman! My Eggie!" One of my sweet friends offered to watch Ellie once a week so that I can take Mac to the pool. When I dropped her off the other night Mac burst into tears and kept saying "Eggie come swim? Eggie go to pool?" But my favorite moment so far was today when I had to take her to the doctor (reflux is an ugly little monster). While we were in the waiting room he went up to everyone there and told them "That my Eggie." I honestly wish I could just stop time. Mac is at an age that I just adore. He makes up and sings little songs (even though I usually don't know what he's saying). He tells me how much he loves me, Daddy, Eggie, Heisman...oh, and Tow Mater. We can't forget Tow Mater! He wants to sit in my lap and read books which I love, and he is constantly making me laugh. Listening to him talk and sing is just so sweet and innocent. I wish it never had to change.
So, all in all, I think we've had a pretty smooth transition so far. I had forgotten how tiring a newborn can be, but I know it won't be long before I look back and realize that my baby is a toddler so I'm trying to soak up every moment while I can.
Here are a few pictures from Ellie's newborn shoot:

Introducing Miss Ellie Grace...Part 1

2011-07-16T14:43:00.022-05:00

On July 1 at 10:01 A.M. we welcomed Ellie Grace Bethea into our family! She weighed 6lbs 10 oz, was 20.5 inches and is perfect as can be. Before the details become fuzzy, I want to get her birth story down in writing.

Eric and I got ready and headed to the hospital around 7:45 am. The nurses got us back to the preop room and we started getting ready to meet our baby girl.

My sweet friend (aka Aunt Ashley) joined us while we were filling out all the paper work and answering last minute questions. It was so nice to have her back there. It really took away some of the anxiety of all that was about to happen. The surgery was not scheduled until 10 A.M. so I was extremly surprised when my doctor came into the room around 9:20 A.M. and said he was ready to get started as soon as the OR was cleaned up from the last procedure. Around 9:30 A.M. I found myself walking down to the OR. I just assumed that everything would go just as it had the last time, but everything was different. First of all, not all epidurals are the same! With Mac, they stuck me once and I immediately felt numbness in my feet and it quickly worked its way up my body. This time I found myself in the typical position, hunched over and leaning on a nurse, as the anesthesiologist began. Suddenly, my right leg shot out in the air and it felt as though someone had just stabbed me in the thigh so the doctor had to adjust the positioning of the epidural. Once that was taken care of they had me lie back on the table and I really didn't feel anything. There were about 8 or 9 people in the room at that point and I suddenly became very aware that my gown had been pulled up over my stomach and I was out there for all the world to see. Honestly, it didn't really bother me all that much, but I still don't understand why they wouldn't put up a surgical drape before beginning all the prep work! I spent the next 10 minutes or so chit chatting with my doctor and wondering why I had not felt the epidural take effect. Apparently it had already worked; at least partially. A nurse started to prick my stomach with a needle to make sure I could not feel anything and my right side had not been affected by the medication. She told me not to worry; that they wouldn't start until it had taken affect. I nerviously giggled and said that I would definantly appreciate it if they could wait until it worked! After about 15 minutes of waiting, the surgical drape went up and the epidural had kicked in. Unfortunantly so had the nausea. Another side effect I had not experienced with Mac. Fortunately, that feeling was short lived and before I knew it, Eric was standing by my side. The next few minutes seemed to fly by. Instead of feeling extreme pressure on my lower stomach, I started to feel as though someone had their hands in my rib cage. It was a very strange sensation. There was minimal pressure, just a feeling that my rib cage might explode at any given moment. Suddenly I heard the doctor telling Eric to get the camera ready and there she was. Bloody, dirty, and the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen.

I didn't know what to expect in terms of my emotions. When Mac was born I expected to bawl my eyes out, but I didn't. I just laid there and looked at him. This time I couldn't control the tears. Eric had already gone over to the warmer to be with Ellie and I just laid there with tears rolling down my face. Happy tears of course. I started to get a little concerned because after a few minutes I kept hearing the nurse saying "You need to get pink." Her lungs were obviously working because I could hear her crying, but it still made me a little uncomfortable. I tried to ask Eric is she was alright, but I felt like there was a heavy weight sitting on my chest and I could barely get out anything more than a whisper. From start to finish, the whole procedure took about 20 minutes. Once they had finished, the nurse brought my sweet girl over and laid her on my chest. And yes, I'm sure I will look back at those pictuers one day and realize that she was just as swollen and puffy as every other newborn, but to me, she was gorgeous.

After a few minutes, Eric and the nurse left to take her to the waiting room to meet our families as I was wheeled to the recovery room. I was so excited that policies at the hospital had changed because instead of Ellie spending 3-4 hours in the nursery, she would be able to join me in the recovery room. I was determined to successfully breastfeed this time and I felt it was very important to try and have her eat as soon as possible after delivery. Eric quickly came and joined me in the room and Ellie was supposed to be folling him shortly. After a few minutes I could see a baby in an incuabator right outside of my curtain. And much to my dismay I heard the nurse with her say "her parents are in curtain 3." They brought her right next to my bed and let me stick my hand in the incubator to touch her as they explained that she seemed to be having some labored breathing, most likely because she still had a little fluid in her lungs. I was crushed because now instead of spending what I felt like was important bonding time with my daughter and husband, she would be monitored in NICU for a minimum of 6 hours. I have to say, I held it together pretty well though. Eric went with Ellie to the NICU and I found myself alone. That's when the tears came. I called my sister to tell her what had happened and I'm not sure if she could even understand all the words that were coming out of my mouth at that point. I was never really worried about Ellie because I knew that this was a possible complication from a c-section, but I was so disappointed and frustrated. When my nurse came back to check on me I really got upset because I was told that I was not allowed to go and see her for at least 6 hours! So basically, unless she had to have an extended stay in NICU, it would be at least 5 PM before I could be able to see my baby.
I don't even know how long I was in recovery, but it seemed like a very short amount of time before I was taken to my room. That's when time stood still. It seemed as though I was nevery going to get to see her. Sitting in a hosptial bed knowing that she was just a wheel chair ride away was horrible. By the time 5 PM rolled around I could not wait to get on the phone ot find out where she was. We called the NICU nursery and they told us she was being transferred to the regular nursery to be checked in and that she would be in our room by 5:30 PM. That time came and went so I asked my nurse to call and see if she could get more information. To make a long story short, 3 nurseries were called and not one of them knew where Ellie was. I am sure that we just happened to call as she was in route to the regular nursery, but to hear that they can't find your child is not a good feeling. Finally, at 7 PM Ellie was brough to our room! I could not wait to finally hold her! A beautiful head of black hair, chubby cheeks, and oh how I love that double chin!

And much to my delight she is a pro at eating. I had such a difficult time with Mac, but she immediately latched on and has been eating like a little pig ever since.
So her first day on earth started out a little rocky (at least for me), but all in all I ended up with a beautiful, healthy little girl in my arms so I guess it really was a perfect day.

More to come...

And Baby Makes 4!

2011-06-30T02:01:00.002-05:00

I can't believe the time has come! Tomorrow we will be welcoming our baby girl! My pregnancy with Mac was relatively uneventful and without complications, but seemed to drag on at the end. We have truly been blessed again to have such a healthy pregnancy with Ellie as well. While the ride here has been much more uncomfortable,it has flown by in what seems like the blink of an eye. And honestly, I really should not complain. Basically, instead of having 9 months of complete joy and pain free bliss like we did with Mac, I got to experience the normal aches and pains that almost every other pregnant woman faces. Even though I am writing this with a grimmace on my face thanks to the heartburn and leg cramps that have me awake at 2 am, I really have no room to complain. I have had so many friends who have spent a good portion of their pregnancies stuck in a bed, thankful for each and every extra day that their little one remains inside of their bodies to grow. I will gladly take the sleepless nights and rib poking I have grown accustomed to. And lets be honest, we are all so excited to be done with a pregnancy, only to quickly realize that we miss the comforting feeling of our baby moving around and of course playing the game "Guess Which Body This Is." I know I've complained this time around, but I just want everyone to know that I am beyond grateful to get to experience this not once, but twice.
As the clock is literally winding down, I have such a mix of emotions running through my mind. Honestly, up until today, my biggest stressor was getting the house ready, having bags packed, and just having "stuff" done. Now that it's all taken care of (with about 32 hours to spare), I have shifted my full and complete attention to Mac. Don't get me wrong, I have spent many many hours thinking about how all this is going to affect him, but now it's all I'm thinking about. Obviously, lots of people have 2 or more kids, but it's a first for me. This past week I have seen a change in Mac's temperment. He obviously senses that something is happening. We talk to him about Ellie all the time and he is VERY excited that the time is approaching for him to receive his Big Brother train, but it's just going to be very different for him once she is actually here. All of this makes me a little sad. I love getting to spend each and every day with my sweet little guy and now there's just not going to be as much time to devote soley to him. Breastfeeding was not a success for me the last time and I am really hoping to be able to master it this time around which is just another huge block of time that will be taken away from time I could have with Mac. Mommy guilt has already begun to rear it's ugly headA little bit of guilt is already starting to set in and she's not even here yet! I know it will all work out and Mac will adapt to our new family dynamic, but in the mean time it may be a little bumpy. My goal through all of this, even though we will ahve people staying at the house for a few weeks, is to keep everything as normal as possible for him.

Now That's A Foot Rub!

2011-05-06T18:59:00.002-05:00

The Short Story:

While getting a pedicure, the lady next to me seemed to be having a very erotic experience.

Got your interest?

So today I decided I would use my gift certificate at Trellis (the spa at the Houstonian) to get a pedicure and a massage. Now obviously, when you go to a spa at the Houstonian during the middle of the day you can pretty much expect to be the poorest person in the room (especially if you're paying with a gift card!). For my pedicure I was seated between 2 ladies in their mid fifties who apparently have standing weekly appointments to get their feet looking good. They started asking me about Ellie and giving me little bits of what I would call not so practical advice. For example, one of the women told me that I absolutely must hire professional help when Ellie comes because having 2 children without it is simply impossible. And that I shouldn't worry about my new FULL TIME employee being in the way because she would simply live in our guest house. The conversation went on from there and apparently not only will Mac and Ellie be attending Kinkaid, but once they turn 5 we should really consider taking at least 2 trips each year to Europe. I politely smiled and said that sounded like a fabulous idea. Of course, I forgot to ask them for their personal checks to put into our bank account before I left. I found the whole thing to be quite comical. Just to clarify, these women were not being snotty or rude at all...I honestly think they were just so wealthy that they could not even fathom someone not living that lifestyle. Again, I was rather amused by the whole thing. As our pedicures were coming to an end, the woman to my right (who at one point told me I was obviously "well bred" and came from "good stock") started my favorite portion of a pedicure. The foot rub. Apparently she likes that part too. At first I thought the woman was in pain. She began moaning and almost clawing at her chest. I swear for a second I thought she was having a heart attack! Next thing I know, her hips are thrust upward and she is writhing in the sat all the while making sounds that I will not even begin to describe. A few of my favorite phrases I took away with me were "Oh yes. Dear God yes," "Don't stop! Don't stop," and of course "That's it. That's the spot right there!" I immediately thought about the scene from "When Harry Met Sally." It took everything in my not to burst out into an absolute fit of laughter. I honestly could not believe this was happening 6 inches away from me! Apparently the women who work there are completely used to this because they didn't even look up from their work to see what was happening. To say the very least, it is an experience that I will not forget anytime soon. Actually, I will probably think about this woman every time I have a pedicure. As the public display of foot rubbing approval came to an end, the lady painting my toe nails put my ability to hold back my laughter to the test. She looked at me with a very serious face and said "I can't rub your feet like that because you're pregnant." I just smiled and said "I know." What I wanted to say was "I don't think anyone other than my husband should be rubbing my feet like that!!!!"
I will end this by saying:

To my uber wealthy, pedicure loving friend...thank you for possibly giving me one of the funniest, random, and all together memorable moments of my life! You will not be forgotten!

Mr. Chatty

2011-03-18T13:17:00.009-05:00

Mac has turned into quite the chatter box lately. My favorite way to end the day is to lay in bed with him and ask "What did you do today Mac." And from that question I get the following 15-20 minute response: "I sa ma da e oh kick da wa se ba Elmo. Sky. Sky. Sky!!!! No da eeech oh see da ba mach ou oh bird. Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet!," etc, etc, etc. The entire time he has the most serious look on his face as he describes in great detail the events of his day. Car trips have become pretty funny too. He LOVES trucks (although he pronounces them with an "f" instead of a "tr" sometimes). Driving down the freeway consists of Mac finding a truck (he particularly loves the 18 wheelers) and saying "Hi my big (red, blue, yellow or whatever color it happens to be) truck." He waves his little arm as fast as he can and his face lights up. Then after 3 seconds of pure joy you hear "Bye my big (insert color here) truck!" Then sadness takes over and I have to promise him we will find another truck very soon. He has started to say "My" in front a lot of his statements too. Whenever we see a red car he gets so excited and says "My Daddy car!" And when Eric leaves the house Mac waves and says "Bye my Daddy." It's very sweet. But I think my favorite is when we are out in the backyard. Thanks to one of his Elmo videos, Mac is very aware of and excited about anything in the sky. He loves to show you the sun, the moon, the birds, and most of all the planes! I swear he can hear one a good 30 seconds before anyone else. We'll be playing and he will drop everything, look up and yell "Plane!" I never see one but I have quit telling him there is no plane because within a few seconds one magically appears. Then Mac raises both hands in the air and says "Hi" and waves to the plane until it is gone from sight.
One thing we really need to work on though is him saying "Go away!" Oddly enough, he picked that one up from watching Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. It started out being really funny. Mac would have a snack and you would ask for a bite. He would laugh and say "Go away." Well now he thinks it's hilarious to tell people to go away and he won't stop. He even says it when he's mad and actually wants to you go away. The problem is, it's so funny to hear his little high pitched voice give you a command that it's hard not to laugh at him.
In Ellie news, I will officially be 6 months on Sunday. I had my dr.'s appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. She is a lot more active than I remember Mac being and other than a few annoying pregnancy complaints we're moving along pretty smoothly. I bought a Joovy Caboose sit and stand stroller and decided to let Mac try it out. It took about 5 minutes for him to get the hang of it and we spent the next hour giving him rides around the house. We finally had to fold it up and put it away because Mac wouldn't leave it alone. I guess I made the right choice!

And I will go ahead and use this time to clarify...some people have asked if she will go by Ellie or Ellie Grace. It's Ellie...NOT Ellie Grace. I love Grace as a middle name, but it sounds a little bit too country to use them both. So, just to get it out there, her name is just Ellie =).
Here are a few pictures of Mac from St. Patty's Day. He got to enjoy a fun day with his BB, Uncle Kevo and cousin Sheldon! And yes, that is a beer mug St. Patty's Day necklace my 2 year old is wearing. He insisted on having his new favorite accessory for the day. Hopefully we can leave it behind for church on Sunday!

Where To Begin??

2011-03-14T17:35:00.004-05:00

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I will be 6 months pregnant in one week! How did that happen already??? I feel like I should be doing something to get ready for this, but I don't even know where to start. There are so many things that have to happen for me to even really get started. First, we have to get the wall in Ellie's room fixed because someone (Eric Bethea) used double sided carpet tape to put up the letters for Mac's name and proceeded to rip off the sheet rock when taking them down. So before I can repaint (yes, I'm repainting) I have to have that fixed. I also have to finish cleaning out the closets in Ellie and Mac's rooms. This is a project that I started on back in January and have made little to no progress on. Ellie's room is a complete and total disaster at this point. All the baby stuff (cradle, swing, jumper, etc) has just been thrown in there. You can't even walk through the room and I find it VERY frustrating. And let's not forget the 10 boxes of Mac's baby clothes that I have no where to put so they are sitting out in the media room. I am really hoping that one of my pregnant friends has a boy so I can lend some clothes out! And the list goes on from there. The major obstacle I have run into with all of this is that my husband is a borderline hoarder! Then again, he thinks I'm completey wasteful so as you can imagine, we have butted heads a few times about all of this. Our attic is completely full, our closets are busting open, and every bed has storage containers crammed underneath. Some stuff just has to go. There's no way around it. Goodwill here I come! Basically, all of this clutter is just driving me crazy. It bothers me to the point that I wake up at night thinking about it...gotta get this stuff done.
But I have seen a small bit of light at the end of the tunnel...I got the fabric for Ellie's bedding! Like I said, it's not going to be a traditional girlie room, but I really like it and feel like with the right pictures/decor it will be very classy and elegant. The fabric on the left is for the sheets and the fabric on the right is for the bed skirt and a pillow or 2:
I am repainting the room a toupe"ish" color and will accent with browns and yellows...and maybe throw in a little green depending on what I find.

I'm glad to at least have that out of the way!
I really do need to get motivated. The plan for this evening is to finish at least one of the closets upstairs, but we'll see how that goes!

Pink Overload!!!!

2011-02-23T10:06:00.005-06:00

Thank God for fabric stores! I cannot find one bedding/sheet set that I like for a girl. It really surprises me because I have met quite a few people who do not want pink for their little girls. You would think there would be more out there to choose from. It seems like the options are pink or completely unisex. Before I say this, let me just say that if your little girl has a bright pink room all decked out in frills and lace that's okay....but it's just not my thing. I have never been a pink person or a girly girl. I was never really a tomboy, but I didn't play with dolls. I was a Heman girl. Until I graduated from college, most of my good friends were guys. Don't get me wrong, I have always enjoyed getting dressed up, putting on make up, etc, but for the most part, jeans and a t-shirt are the preferred choice. All that to say, I want Ellie to have a feminine room, but not a girly room. Does that even make sense? I want something very simple that can easily convert to a big girl room one day.

That brings me to my trip to High Fashion Home today to check out some fabric. It might be my new favorite place to shop. They have everything from furniture, to kitchen decor, baby/kids clothes, gorgeous women's clothing and jewelry, and of course more fabric than I could have even imagined. I was a little overwhelmed by it all at first, but decided I would just stroll down the isles and snap a few pictures of anything that caught my eye. I really am leaning towards very earthy, neutral colors with yellow and brown accents. I found a few other colors that I liked (mostly blues), but the yellows are my favorite. This should make Eric very happy since the room is already painted a very pale yellow. I'm going to get a few opinions on the fabrics I found and them hopefully get the sheets and bed skirt made. Fortunately I have a friend who sews and can pick out what I really like instead of just buying something that I'm really not that fond of. I am so excited!

Based on my description of possible room decor, you have probably gathered that you will not see my daughter decked out in head to toe pink. I think you can have delicate and beautiful clothes that are any shade so I don't see any reason to use a color that isn't a personal favorite. Now I do realize that people are going to buy her pink and I will absolutely appreciate the thought behind it. I'm not anti pink, but I can only take it in small amounts. I think a cute shirt with some pink on it is great, MAYBE even a very light and delicate pink dress in the spring time (we'll see). You can even accent an outfit with some pink shoes or bow. And yes, I fully recognize that my personal feelings about this almost guarantee that I will have a little girl who is obsessed with all things pink. And I promise, once she's old enough to say she wants to wear pink that's fine. I'll let her rock hot pink from head to toe, but until that day comes, I'm thinking we are going to go in another direction!

So Last Week Mom....

2011-02-17T16:11:00.005-06:00

Is it just me or are kids really fickle? For the past week Mac has run to the refrigerator and begged for bananas ("nanas"). Monday when we went grocery shopping his eyes lit up when he saw the rows of bright yellow fruit and squealed with joy. So what do you think happened when we got home? Of course he now refuses to eat bananas. As a matter of fact, I also have a big bag of grapes that have probably been in my fridge for a week or so and are getting nastier by the minute because someone no longer wants them. I am slowly learning that buying any food in mass quantities for a 2 year old is not a smart idea. I ended up having to give away a huge box of dried apples and strawberries from Costco not too long ago because, once again, Mac refused to eat what had previously been his favorite snack.

There seem to be only 2 consistent loves in our house: Elmo and baths. The child sleeps with Elmo, wears Elmo, eats out of an Elmo lunch box, has Elmo place settings, and carries said items in an Elmo backpack. Hopefully he will love Elmo for a LONG time! Baths are also a consistent source of joy and happiness. Sounds great, right? Well, it's great until bath time is over. An all out fight erupts. It's actually a little frightening to try and pick up almost 30 pounds of a wet, wiggling, kicking and screaming toddler. But it doesn't last as long as he gets to look in our mirror and watch himself jump naked on the bed. Whatever works, right?

In non Mac news, we have decided on a name for our baby girl! We had actually picked the name Ava Grace (before we knew it was a girl), but it seemed like everyone was using the name Ava. It is a beautiful name, but I just wanted something a little more unique/rare. The day we found out it was a girl the name Ellie popped into my head. No reason, just thought it was pretty. Eric liked it as well and so we have decided to name her Ellie Grace Bethea. I think it's such a perfect name (of course) and am glad to have chosen it so quickly! We actually sent out an email to family today telling them the name and this is the response I got from my Dad:

I am not telling a lie at all. After Mac’s party and after we found out it was a girl, I started thinking of names and the one I thought was best was Ellie or at least something close to that. Sort of a nickname type thing but I am just sayin’. How weird is that. I guess we sort of think alike.

I love it! I think it's a cute little story to tell her someday.

Now on to the actual pregnancy. I am definitely bigger than I was at this point with Mac (almost 20 weeks). I have gained 10lbs (and you can expect that to be the one and only update on my weight gain!!!) which is right where I should be, but I feel huge. I want more than anything to go to the gym, but I can count on one hand how many times that has happened since I got pregnant. Eric keeps saying it's all in my stomach, but come on, the man's not stupid. What's he gonna say: "Yes honey, your butt is ENORMOUS!" I really don't think I'm big, but I just feel very blah at this point. At my last appointment the doctor told me that he wants to do an ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on her size since Mac was small. He was completely healthy, just smaller than expected. Theoretically he would have been 6 lbs 12 oz if I had of made it to 40 weeks (he was 5lbs 12 oz at 38 weeks), but that is still a little less than a pound smaller than the "average" birth weight. He said I may just have small babies (Eric was only 6lbs 3oz) or there could have been an issue with the placenta. Either way, I get to see a picture of our sweet girl so we'll see what happens then. All in all, the pregnancy is going well though. We definitely appreciate all the prayers we have received so keep them coming!

Number 2

2011-02-13T19:33:00.011-06:00

The number 2 seems to be a common theme in our house right now. To start, we found out in October that we will be welcoming our second child in July, and this past Thursday we learned that it will be a baby girl! Eric and I had both convinced ourselves that Mac would be getting a little brother so we were very surprised when we saw a little girl on the screen. Then again, we were also confident that Mac was going to be a girl. And of course, she has already manged to aquire 3 cute litte outfits since then. We've already agreed on 2 name choices so now it's just a matter of picking one, which means we are way ahead of where we were in terms of naming her big brother. Now it's on to decorating and organizing. I can't wait!

The "2" theme continues as our little boy has somehow turned into a big boy, having just celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday. I have no idea where the last 2 years have gone. He has definently started to assert his independence. He likes to push his own stroller, climb into his own chair, and I'm pretty sure he bosses the dog around even though I have no idea what he's saying half the time. Elmo is the man of the hour in our house, and after his party yesterday, I'm pretty sure he has every Elmo related item ever made! We actually had 2 parties; one for the kids in the morning, and one for the family at night. It was a very long and tiring day, but worth every minute of it to see such a happy little boy.

So the plan is to give this whole blogging thing another try...hopefully weekly posts? We'll see how it goes!

Here are a few pictures of our sweet baby girl and Mac's birthday party:

It's a Girl!:

Foot:

Mac's Party Pics:

Seasick...

2010-11-20T21:04:00.004-06:00

All the ups and downs in the last month have made me feel a little seasick! Less than a week after my last post it seems like all hell broke loose! The day before Halloween Mac, Heisman, and I met up with Mac's Godparents for a little doggie Halloween fun out near Cypress. It was basically a dog friendly/centered event that had fun stuff for the kids too. We had a really great time and of course mac was happy because there were tons of puppies for him to pet. As we were leaving I saw that I had a voicemail from my sister saying that she had to take my grandmother to the emergency room because she couldn't breathe. I'm the first to admit that my mind always jumps to the worst case scenario, but lets face it, she's 90 years old. Once I finally got in touch with her I found out that she had a pretty severe case of bronchitis and the doctors thought it would be best to admit her to the hospital. And before I go on, let me just say a huge "Thank You" to my sister and brother-in-law for sitting in the ER for at least 10 hours with her. Since I had Mac I couldn't really go up there and it was so nice to know she was being taken care of...so thanks Mel and Travis! Well, within 24 hours her bronchitis had turned into pneumonia, which is why they wanted to admit her. Pneumonia is serious in a young healthy person, so in an older person it is just not a good thing. Nothing really changed until Wednesday. I called up to the hosptial to let her know I was on my way up to visit and my great-aunt Ruth answered the phone and told me that she was about to be taken in to surgery! What?!?! Not only did they need to go in to clear out some of the mucus and fluid so that she could breathe, but in the process they found out that she had breast cancer. I was shocked. I got the hospital at 10:30am and after a very very long day of wondering and waiting, they brought her back to the room around 4:30pm. After a few days of waiting we found out that the 2 biospies that were done (one of the breast, one of the lungs) both came back positive for cancer. My grandmama is something else though. She said it doesn't make a difference to her. She had cancer before she came into the hosptial and she'll have it when she leaves because she's not going to do anything about it. And honestly, I am glad. I would rather see her live the rest of her life at home, not in and out of a doctors office than to watch her to through treatment. We did have a little scare last week when she suddenly spiked a fever and had to be sent to ICU, but within 24 hours she was back to her old self and in a regular room.

We did have a nice little celebration for her this past Thursday. She turned 90 years old and we had a little party! It was nice to get a few of us together to celebrate such an amazing and special woman! I love her!

During her little party Mac must have thought he wasn't getting enough attention and started coughing and subsequently puked all over himself. I had a sneaky feeling that he didn't just get choked and that sickness was upon us. Friday when I took him to school he just wasn't acting right. He usually sings all the way to school, but was oddly quiet, and just make matters worse he tripped in the parking lot and fell right on his chin. To add insult to injury, I got a call right before lunch saying that he fell in the hall and busted his lip open! Poor guy. Eric took Mac to dinner (so Mommy could have a little peace and quiet) and he threw up in the car on the way home. This morning it really hit. He was running 102 fever, threw up on me, and just wanted to be held. He took a 4 hour nap and still went to bed at 8pm. He has not had a good weekend. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow!

And yes...I am too lazy to post pictures right now. I'll put some up later this week =)

To Grandmama's House We Go

2010-10-21T21:21:00.006-05:00

Mac always loves going to my Grandmama's house. You would think that it would be for the gigantic toy box full of anything you could possibly want to play with, but no. Other than his love for her, this is why Mac enjoys his visits so much:

The woman feeds him while he lays on the floor! Actually, she feeds him in pretty much any position he wants to be in. I always laugh when I take him over because I know we will be skipping the next meal because he is stuffed with whatever chocolate covered dessert she has made.
She has a cabinet full of ever plastic continer she has ever purchased (sour cream, butter, etc) and Mac has the best time playing with them. I guess we've wasted a lot of money on toys!

Professional Travelers

2010-10-11T12:35:00.016-05:00

Do you ever feel like you are always going somewhere??? I'm the first to admit that I am not a good traveler. I don't like to be gone from my house for more than a few days. I miss my house, my dog, and my bed. And to be completely honest, I pack such a ridiculous amount of clothing that even a weekend trip requries me to take the biggest suitcase I can find. So you can only imagine how much I take for a week long excursion.
For those of you who know my husband, you know that from late August until December or January (based on whether or not the Ags actually decide to play and make a bowl game) we are always out of town on the weekends. It's not a complaint...just a way of life. About 2 weeks ago, since the Ags weren't playing at home, we decided to take a plane trip to Colorado to go see Eric's Mom and brother. I told Eric we need to get all our plane traveling in before next February so that Mac can still fly for free! We left late Wednesday night and were lucky to be on a plane that was half empty. Mac had a blast. The rows in front of and behind us were empty so he could get away with doing pretty much anything he wanted. We spent the next two days in Evergreen and Boulder visiting Eric's mom and brother and on Saturday we took a mini vacation to Vail. Just the two of us. Of course once we got there we missed Mac terribly, but it was such a nice little get away. Our major accomplishment is that we somehow managed to survive a 20 mile bike ride down Vail Pass. And when I say down, it does not mean down hill. The bike rental company told us it was a downhill ride and we would only have to pedal for a few minutes the whole ride...LIAR! It ended up taking us about 2 hours to complete and all I know is I did a lot of pedaling! When we got back from lunch we were both pretty tired and decided to take a nap. Our nap turned into us refusing to get up for dinner and ordering room service because we were so exhausted. It was really fun to just get to hang out and lounge around though.
And Mac just hated being the center of attention! Eric's Mom kept him while we were away and I think she wore the child out. I think he went to bed by 8 pm every night...which is unheard of in the Bethea home. It was a good trip.
Since I was 3 weeks late last month posting Mac's monthly report, I'll get this one in a day early:

Mac, at 20 months:

-You weigh 28 lbs
-You know the colors red, blue, and white
-You love cars and birds
-You enjoy dancing naked in the back yard while Mommy sings Itsy Bitsy Spider(yes, I let him)
-Your 3 favorite songs are "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Ring Around The Rosy", and "Shoes" (a Yo Gabba Gabba Song)
-You have your own unique style of dance that I have yet to see anywhere else
-You like to stand on your head
-You said your 2nd sentence: "Thank You BB."
-You recognize your friends and family by looking at their pictures
-If I ask you for a smack you give me a big kiss
-You think it's funny when Daddy smells your stinky feet
-You speak in your own language that no one else seems to understand
-You call Elmo, "Melmo"
-You love babies
-You have learned how to undress yourself, diaper included
-You love to sing into your microphone
-You peed in your big boy potty
-You are still the most photographed baby in the world
-You insist on double fisting milk and juice
-You don't like to be fed, you want to do it yourself
-You attended your first college football game with your buddy Caleb
-You love to ride on airplanes
-Your teachers always tell us what a sweet boy you are
-You are still the greatest thing that ever happened to your Daddy and I!

Here are a few pictures from our trip and some randoms:

3 Strikes....

2010-09-29T12:50:00.002-05:00

Dear Colorado:

Growing up, I used to enjoy family summer vacations with you. I felt that we were great friends. However, I would like to bring up my last two visits. When I came to see you in January about 4 years ago, you made me fall down a mountain. I discovered that your snow is not fluffy like a cloud, but rather hard, cold and wet. This was not a lesson that I enjoyed learning. Strike 1. But I decided to be the bigger person. I gave you another chance and came back one August. You did not welcome me with open arms. Instead you decided it would be funny to play a joke on me and have a blizzard come through when all I brought were summer clothes. I was not amused. Strike 2. The point of this letter is to let you know that I will be coming to visit this evening. I will be staying for about a week and I will be using the rule of 3 strikes and you're out. While I do understand that it will be cool while I am there, I would appreciate it if you would abstain from hurling any form of frozen liquid from the sky. If you cannot comply with my request I am afraid I will have to end our friendship...

See you soon,

Alana

Rice Football

2010-09-25T22:34:00.008-05:00

I have 3 partially written blog posts that I have started and not quite finished. Hopefully this one will actually be completed!

Eric and I took Mac to his first football game tonight at Rice. Since Rice is not known for it's football it worked out quite well. Mac had plenty of space to move around in all those empty seats. Mac's buddy Caleb even got to come with us. I was a little bit surprised that the boys seemed to pay attention to the game. They were at least looking in the direction of the field. Mac even made some new friends at the game. There was a group of 10 or 11 year old boys that were all on the same football team that sat on the steps right next to our seats. I had Mac sitting on my lap and told him to say touchdown so he raised his hands in the air and yelled "Ta-done." The next thing I know there were 6 boys asking me to make him do it again. Then I had him say good game and give me a high-five. I was surprised that boys that age would be impressed by a 19 month old, but it was very cute.

And yes, Mac is almost 20 months now, but I have to post this:

Mac, at 19 months:

-You weigh 27 lbs
-You have never watched Elmo, but you love to show us where Elmo is on your pjs
-You scream car every time you see one
-You like to point at the moon and say "moooooooooon"
-You like to show me "tees" (trees)
-You scream "beep beep" when we get in the car until I honk the horn (I'm sure our neighbors appreciate it!)
-You love to jump off of everything
-You have to tell Heisman "Love you", give him a hug, and give him a kiss before we can leave the house
-You still fight bed time
-You can say some of your ABCs
-You cry if Daddy won't smell your stinky feet (we don't get it either)
-You like to yell "Stinky!" when I change your diaper
-You have learned how to take your diaper off, and you think it is hilarious
-You only swing one arm when you run (daddy says it's because you are pretending to run with a football in it)
-You eat with your left hand
-You draw with your right hand
-You love to call Daddy on the phone
-You know the colors red and blue, sometimes
-Your favorite toy is your little red car
-You are still a dancing fool
-You say "Yo" all the time so that we will turn on your favorite show
-You say "Brobie" every time you see him on Yo Gabba Gabba
-You love "Biz's Beat Of The Day" (more Yo Gabba Gabba)
-Your favorite book is Dr. Seuss's ABC's
-You like to smack your lips when you give kisses
-You give the sweetest, tightest hugs
-You like to show Heisman where his eyes are (he wishes you would stop)
-You love to be outside
-You are still the greatest gift that your Daddy and I have ever received!

Are You Ready For Some Football?!?!?!?

2010-09-09T15:57:00.010-05:00

Well, I can tell of one guy who is. I can honestly say that a good majority of my life with Eric has been related to and/or scheduled around football season. First off, we met our freshman year at A&M during football season. At that time, I really thought that a first down was the first time the ball hit the ground, but after hanging out with Eric for about, oh, 5 minutes, I realized I had found the greatest teacher in terms of the game. So my first semester at college, I spent pretty much every weekend going to, watching, or hearing about Aggie football. To be completely honest, I could have cared less, but it meant I got to sit (actually stand) next to a really cute guy for 3 whole hours! I thought that once the season was over I wouldn't hear about it until the next fall...boy was I wrong. There are bowl games, then comes recruiting, spring practice, spring game, and before you know it...it's football season again.

Then, the July after Eric graduated (he took the 4 year plan, I hung around for 5), we got engaged! I was so excited. Of course I immediatly began thinking about our wedding, but before I could utter the words "Fall Wedding" I heard Eric say, we can do it whenever you want, as long as it doesn't interfere with football season." I soon learned that "football season" included the previously mentioned practices/recruiting times as well. So where did that leave me for a wedding you may ask? That gave me the choice between May (the month I was graduating from college), June, and July. I was told August was cutting it too close.

Then it was time to have a baby. I remember how exciting it was when we found out that we were going to be parents. Then about a week later, Eric came up to me with such an happy smile on his face and told me that our child's birth wouldn't interfere with football season! At that moment I really thought about faking contractions right in the middle of the A&M vs. t.u. game.

And here is an ongoing discussion that I have with Eric...why people get married during football season. My dear sweet husband cannot even begin to fathom why anyone would dare get married during such a sacred time. I have heard him moan and grumble about every single fall wedding we have attended. And yes, if you are reading this and got married during the fall, my husband was not very happy with you on that day =).

All this to say, football season for Eric, is like Christmas to a kid. This past weekend was even more special because he got to get Mac involved in some good old fashioned Aggie tailgating. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Eric!

You Lift Me Up...

2010-09-03T14:23:00.004-05:00

Too many times in life we feel like we have no support, but for the past 8 years I have had a companion that was always close to my heart (literally). Unfortunately, the time has come to say good-bye, so it is with a heavy heart that I say a fond farewell to my favorite bra. It's a sad day. I may be alone on this one, but I'm not an easy fit when it comes to bras, so when I find a good one I stick with it. This is the best bra I have ever owned people. She (I'm assuming it's a girl) has supported me in t-shirts, dresses, nights out on the town, and everywhere in between. Her age as begun to show and that soft pink hue of her younger days has started to fade. She was never adorned with lace or beads; she was a simple lady. Her threads have begun to fray; she is not the young woman she used to be. She simply can no longer perform the task which she was called to do. It's time for her to go on to a better place; on to that big Victoria's Secret in the sky. Thanks for all the support....And yes, I just did a post about my bra!

My New Love

2010-08-29T12:41:00.003-05:00

Of course I am referring to my new wood floors! I LOVE them! It makes such a huge difference when you walk in the door. It's like I got a whole new house. Mac has been enjoying them as well. Sliding on them, tap dancing on them, and he even tried to give them that used look by beating his golf club on them (Mommy stopped that one). But hey, we got distressed wood for a reason, right? I have yet to move all of his toys back down stairs. It's just so nice to have a clean, clutter free living room, but this too shall pass. We replaced the carpet in the dining room too, but I need to take pictures.

So I need some advice. We are slowly adopting the policy of in with the old, out with the new in terms of living room furniture. The couch, entertainment center, and tv will eventually be replaced. We have found a couch we like and are waiting to see if the price drops over Labor Day weekend (fingers crossed). We have talked about what type of entertainment center we want. We have decided to go with a wooden base, not a full blown entertainment center with shelves. Here is my question, do you think it would be a bad idea to completely forgo a TV? What I was thinking about doing was just getting a big base (it will be tall) that runs the length of the wall. There would be shelves inside for storage, toys, etc. Trust me, I love TV just as much as the next person, but I just feel like it's being watched too much. I feel like it is a distraction at night. When Eric gets home I would really like for us to just be together as a family when we are downstairs. I have no problem with us going upstairs to watch the big TV if there is something we want to see, but I don't really see any reason to have one in the living room. As I said, we have the big TV in the media room upstairs and a TV in our bedroom so it's not like we wouldn't be able to get to one if we wanted to. My idea is to get a small TV/DVD combo for the kitchen so that Mac starts having a meltdown while I'm cooking or cleaning we could always pop in some Yo Gabba Gabba. So...what do you think? Horrible idea or good idea to have some extra family time?

1.5

2010-08-16T16:03:00.016-05:00

My baby is not a baby anymore! He is now 18 months old and has more personality than I could have ever imagined. He makes me laugh so hard I can't stand it.

We are working on eating with a fork and spoon. It has not been going so well. I actually end up making twice the amount of food he needs because most of it ends up on the floor, in the dogs mouth, or in Mac's lap. His spoon skills are definitely lacking, but we are making some progress with the fork. Honestly, he just stabs at food until something sticks, but he has such a sense of accomplishment on his face I can't help but clap for him. Too bad my clapping leads to his clapping and more food is splattered on the floor!

He is also turning into quite the little dumpster diver. Our trash can lid doesn't shut all the way and Mac really enjoys digging for hidden treasures. You know, things like foil, paper, and the occasional handful of food.

Eric and I keep finding ourselves watching him in amazement. We were at dinner the other night and caught each other just staring at Mac because he was eating all by himself. It's still blows my mind that we brought home this helpless little baby and now I have a little boy who can walk and talk...oh yeah, and feed himself. I am assuming that children eventually reach an age when you are no longer enamored with every little thing they do, but I have a feeling we are no where near that!

For your 18 mo birthday:

Mac, at 18 months:

1. You weigh in at 26 lbs

2. You have really started to slim down now that you run EVERYWHERE!

3. I am already missing all those extra fat rolls on your legs (you still have plenty though!)

4. You can make the following animal sounds: cow ("mmmm"), dog ("arf"), cat ("kitty cat"), monkey ("E-E-E-E"), Tiger ("grrrrr"), snake ("ssss")

5. You can actually identify animals on your flash cards and make their sounds

6. You LOVE to wash your hands. Actually you like to play in the water, but I'll take it.

7. You can identify the following party parts: head, ears, mouth, eyes, hands, feet, knees, and belly.

8. You love to show people your belly

9. When you know you are in trouble you say "I love you."...because that usually gets you out of trouble

10. You no longer say please when you want something. Instead you stay "Thank You" (pronounced Na Nu) because I guess you know I will give it to you eventually!

11. Anytime you leave the room you hug Heisman and tell him "I Love You."

12. You climb on everything

13. You love to dance

14. You like to bathe yourself and wash your own hair

15. We are making some progress eating with a fork and spoon

16. You like to play with Mommy's phone, which has resulted in 2 "911" calls.

17. You squeal "Daddy!" every time the phone rings...and you say "Hello" when you hold the phone to your ear

18. You are still the greatest thing that ever happened to me and your Daddy

As you can tell my this video, Mac is starved for attention:

Thank God For The Girls!

2010-08-09T23:19:00.004-05:00

I must say, I am very fortunate to have such great girlfriends. I don't know how people make it without them! Let's face it, there are just some things that you can't talk to your men about. And some things you just don't want to talk to them about! I have 2 groups of girls...the "Mom's Group" and the "Couples Group." I love them both equally, but they are a totally different experience.

The "Couples Group" consists of about 6 of us (all the husbands are friends as well) and quite a few bottles of wine. We talk about everything under the sun...no topic is off limits. We have been known to shut down a few restaurants, and even have a waiter or two join us when their shift is over. If you want to be heard you have to speak up because we often find ourselves talking over each other. We have been surprisingly successful in keeping our monthly girls night going for sometime now. There is one rule for girls night...what is said at girl's night, stays at girl's night. I love it! I wish we could do it every week!

The "Mom's Group" consists of 6 of us now (one just moved...so sad) and I think we have only successfully gotten together, sans the kids, once (tonight was the first time)! Our common factor, obviously our kids. Oddly enough we all have little boys that are within 6 or 7 months of each other. As much as we love and adore our perfect little angels, a night out is definitely needed! You would think that we would take such a golden opportunity to discuss some scholarly issues (i.e. not Yo Gabba Gabba), but we don't. I think we spent 90 percent of the time talking about the boys. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of it. It's amazing how relaxing a dinner can be when you aren't having to chase around a 1 1/2 year old. Plus, it's nice to hear that you aren't the only one who feels like they don't know what they are doing!

As different as our nights out can be, there is one commonality between the two. No matter how bad the day was, it all seems so much better by the time the evening has come to an end...

I love my girls and don't know what I'd do without them!!!

Words Of Wisdom From A Supermodel

2010-08-04T17:38:00.003-05:00

When i think of the great scholars of all time I think of Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and of course....Gisele Bundchen. I'm not saying all models are dumb, but let's face it, they're not generally known for their intellectual prowess. And that brings me to my point; Gisele's interview in Harper's Bizaare UK. The supermodel, aka Tom Brady's baby mama, was quoted as saying, "Some people here [in the U.S.] think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?'," and my favorite, "I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months." Let me start off by saying that I have the utmost respect for women who breastfeed. I only lasted 2 months, and it was hard. I am amazed when I hear about people who do it for 6 months, and astonished when I hear of sticking it out for a year. Kudos to you all. That being said, I felt like a failure when I stopped breastfeeding. My reasons are my reasons and I won't get into that, but I cannot stand it when women, celebrity or not, get on their soap box about breastfeeding. In almost all cases I think that breastfeeding is the best thing that you can do for your child. I mean, it's what your body was meant to do. At the same time, not everyone is physically able to do it. Not everyone is emotionally able to do it. And believe it or not, not everyone wants to do it. Do any of these reasons make you a bad mother? No!!!

I had a friend tell me if I stopped breastfeeding, Mac would not bond with me. Well let me tell you, he loves me and he loves his Daddy...and I know Eric never breastfed him!

I write this only to say, chose your words carefully, especially when talking to or about Moms. I know I used to cast judgement, and I'm sure I will again, but just think before the words roll of your tongue. Remember how you used to feel when all the "wise women" gave you little tips and advice to make you a better mother. And also remember, when you do receive unsolicited advice, I still get it all the time, just smile, nod, and go on with your day as though it never happened (unless of course it helps!)

There's No Place Like Home

2010-07-28T18:24:00.032-05:00

As much fun as we had on our trip, it was so nice to walk in my front door. I wish I could chronicle our entire trip, but it would take forever! Instead, here are some of the highlights from our mini vacation. And trust me, the best part comes at the end!

Mac did great on the trip to Louisiana. We drove 4 hours to Shreveport with no stops and only one mini 15 minute meltdown. Way to go Mac!

We stayed with my cousins, Jason and Tammy, their little girl Jasey, and probably most important to Mac, their Boston Terrier, Cinch. Mac's eyes lit up as Cinch ran to the car to welcome us. It was so nice for Mac to have someone to play with while we were there (Jasey will be 3 in November). However, I did learn that kids that age do not typically enjoy sharing. This revelation led to Mac and Jasey having a few knock-down fights! Jasey took a few toys away from Mac while he was playing, but he just moved onto something else until he found some blocks. Jasey came over and took them away and I saw my child morph into a maniac. He started stomping his feet, turned red, let out a banshee-like scream and charged her! He grabbed her by the hair and was not planning to let go. To retaliate (and rightfully so), Jasey grabbed a blocked and knocked him upside the head. After we pulled them apart, I noticed that Mac had a Lego block imprint on his head. That's right, my boy got beat up by a girl. Other than that they got along pretty well. Having a little bouncy house to play in didn't hurt.

The first night of the rodeo Mac got to walk around and pet all the horses. He even got to play with some ducks. We ended up leaving early because he was so sleepy and getting extremely cranky, but we knew we'd be going back the next night.

After a good nights sleep we spent most of the day hanging out a Jason and Tammy's. We took Mac up to their barn to go and see some of the horses. Of course Mac was more excited to see the dogs. We made our way over to see my brother Kevin at his house in the afternoon to ride the four wheeler and Eric found a new toy for himself; a zero-turn lawn mower. I was told only a man could truly appreciate it.

We also got to see our old friend Snowball (a calf that we bottle fed last time we were up there). Mac liked him until we tried to make him ride it.

That night we headed back up to the rodeo and Mac had the best time! He got to ride a Watusi and a horse and play with his cousin Paxton. Mac also decided it would be a good idea to take some of that good old Louisiana dirt home with him. He kept sticking his hands through the fence and playing with the dirt in the middle of the arena. The next thing I know he is covered, head to toe, and sticking a big fist full of it in his mouth. He was filthy...but very happy!

On Sunday we went to church with Grandmama, Aunt Ruth, and Kevin. While Kevin took I nap..I mean while he was deep in prayer, Mac thought that it would be a good time to play with Mommy's bracelets. Once he got bored with that he decided to get his shiny new ball out and chunk it about 5 pews in front of us. We are definitely not ready for big boy church. We said our good-byes and hit the road for Little Rock to visit Eric's grandmother. Mac was once again a great little traveler. When we got to the house Mac was very excited to see this big black and white toy called a Grand Piano! Eric's grandmother is quite the pianist and gave him a quick lesson. The rest of the trip we would hear Mac's little fingers plunking out his version of a song. We spent the next day playing with Eric's dad and Aunt Robin, and visiting some of Deedie's(Eric's grandmother) friends.

Tuesday morning we just hung around the house, had a little lunch and a short nap and headed to the airport. I was a tad bit nervous to be going solo on Mac's first aerial adventure, but it sounded better than sitting in the car for 7 hours. When we got to security, monkey leash in tow, I told Eric to sneak away before Mac got upset and realized Daddy would not be joining us. All seemed to be fine until Mac's eyes met with those of an all to familiar friend...a dog. A drug dog to be exact. At that point Mac was on a mission. He was going to pet that dog! Of course they sort of frown upon petting drug dogs so I had to tell him "No." The news was not well received and Mac proceeded to hurl himself to the ground. The man with the dog apologized and I just shook my head and said I was sorry. I picked up my now hysterical son and stood in the security line with what seemed like a million eyes watching me. It didn't take long for a man a few people ahead of me to say "I think we would all appreciate it if you went ahead of me." I know he was being rude, but I really didn't care at that point. Once we got through the scanner Mac calmed down. I put his monkey leash back on, you could see the shame on his face, and we walked to the gate. And wouldn't you know it, our flight was delayed. Not what I wanted to hear, but it was okay. Mac was busy flirting with some lady, who would end up sitting next to us on the flight, so at least he was occupied for the time being.

Now just for your information, if you fly Southwest, you do not get to board early just because you have a kid. If you do not have an "A" boarding pass they will let you get on before the "B"'s, but that's after 60 people have already gotten on. We were "A31" so I figured we would at least get a window seat. To my great shock and surprise, the front aisle was empty when we got on! Mac and I snagged the window seat. I was thrilled! Soon after, Mac's 40 something girlfriend came and took the aisle seat. I told her she must be a brave woman to sit next to us. Laughing, she said she had 6 children and had had done this many times. To make this trip even better, the plane was not full and no one sat in the middle seat so Mac got to sit all by himself!

Then it happened...they closed the door. I thought, oh no, there's no way out. No matter what he does I'm stuck. As we we got ready for take off I grabbed his pacifier and shoved it in his mouth to hopefully stave off any ear popping. We got up in the air with no problems and I immediately turned on the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD. I kept telling myself that it was only a 1 hour flight so we just needed to get through 4 episodes and we were int he clear. Then I heard the pilot's voice informing us that due to the weather we were being diverted to Dallas where we would circle the city, then onto San Antonio to do the same, and then would could get into Houston. He estimated that the entire flight would be 2 hours. After watching the entire DVD, Mac was bored. I popped M&Ms in his mouth in return for showing his tricks (making animal sounds and showing me where his ears were). I figured that the sugar crash wouldn't happen until after we landed so who cared. Then my biggest fear became a reality. I smelt something horrible coming out of my son...yep, he pooped. I asked the flight attendant where I should change him and she informed me that there was a changing table in the bathroom. What?!? I'm not a big person and it's a tight squeeze for me to get in there alone! I got his bag and headed up front. Let me tell you, that changing table was ridiculous. Mac was probably too big for it at 9 months, so at 17 1/2 months, he was spilling off in every direction. The poor guys knees were pulled up to his chest and his head and neck were bent in a very awkward looking position. Just as I got him stripped down and cleaned the worst possible thing that could happen did...turbulence. I'm not talking a little rattle, it was really shaking. Mac, who was still half naked, thought it was great! He started pulling tissue paper off the wall, and throwing it in the air. He grabbed his shoe, chunked it at my head, and let out the biggest belly laugh ever. When I reached down to pick up the shoe I banged my head on the table, which he also found to be very entertaining. I was laughing so hard at this point I could barley speak. Mac then tried to stand up, again still naked, on the table and I was hysterically laughing and yelling "No Mac, No! Sit down!!" Apparently we were making quite a racket because as I exited the bathroom, I noticed that the entire plane is looking right at us and laughing; laughing hard! This whole episode lasted for about 10 minutes or so. It may have been one of the funniest experiences of my life. And if you need a visual, just think Chris Farley, changing clothes in "Tommy Boy."

Here are a few more pictures from our trip:

The Stages of Travel

2010-07-22T11:41:00.006-05:00

Did you know that you go through "stages" as you travel with your child? I have no idea how many stages exists, but I have a feeling we have a few more to go through.

Stage 1:

Typically occurs in the newborn/infant time frame. You spend days planning and deciding what you should take on your trip. After careful consideration, you decide to take, well, everything that is not bolted to the wall. Actually, you would take everything bolted to the wall, but you can no longer see out your back window. All this for a child who will probably never leave the house/hotel that you are staying at.

Mac's first trip was to College Station when he was two weeks old. It was a short trip (Friday afternoon through Sunday morning) for our friend's wedding. We took 2 unopened packs of diapers, a few packs of wipes, a stack of blankets, every outfit that your child can fit into, every bottle in the house, the pack n play, the stroller, toys (just what every two week old wants), 15 pacifiers, the all important electric breast pump and accessories, baby monitor (even though you've never really left the baby unattended in a room for more than 5 minutes), 25 burp cloths, 25 bibs, bathing essentials (plastic tub included), wash rags and towels (because my babies skin was too delicate to use anything other than "baby towels"), a Boppy, oh...and I decided to packed my sister too! Keep in mind we have yet to put any of our bags in the car. After a few failed attempts to fit everything in the car we finally all squished into my once large-feeling SUV. Sitting by Mac required you to sit straight up for the whole trip because there was luggage occupying all uninhabited space.

Stage 2:

This stage starts around 3-6months of age. You start to realize that you are not going camping in some remote part of the country and there will be stores where you can purchase items. You do not have to bring everything the child owns with you...but yet, you probably will.

Mac was right at 6 months old and he spent 3 nights at my Dad's house while Eric and I took a belated anniversary trip to Mexico. Keep in mind, my Dad lives in the same city, and can get into my house (or go to the store) if I forgot something. Toys are a reasonable thing to take with you at this point. We took his activity mat, stuffed animals (that he had never even looked at...but who knows, he might get lonely), pack n play, stroller, every clean piece of clothing that fits, matching pajamas, partly used pack of diapers, one pack of wipes, all the bottles in the house, baby monitor, formula, baby food, 10 spoons, 5 burp cloths, bathing essentials (minus the tub), Boppy, and 2 pacifiers. On the drive over to their house it still looked like we were leaving the country for at least half a year.

Stage 3:

At this point your child is somewhere around 1 year of age. You have come to the realization that not only are there stores where you can purchase items for your child, there are also these magical machines that you can put your child's clothes into and they come out smelling nice. Yes, washers and dryers. You do not have to pack every article of clothing that fits; half will do.

Mac was 11 months old when we went to Louisiana for my little brother's 21st birthday. Eric didn't come and we rode with my sister and brother-in-law. Thinking there was a pack-n-play at my Aunt's house, we didn't bring it (which turned out to be a mistake, FYI). We packed about half of his clothing (who knew what the weather would be like), 5 bowls, 5 spoons, bags of baby food, half a tub of baby formula, any toy that made noise for the car ride, monkey pacifier, one blanket, two PJ bottoms and one top (none of which matched), how ever many diapers I could squeeze into the duffel bag (like I said, we could always buy more), baby shampoo and soap (towels are towels, right?), 5 or 6 containers of baby food, and all the bottles in the house. The load of getting lighter. And when Mac ran out of formula that weekend...I decided it was time to switch over to real milk. No need to carry a whole tub of formula back when he was about to switch over anyway.

Stage 4:

Here is where we find ourselves today. Not only do they washers and dryers, but they also have dishwashers! No need to bring every sippy cup! And I'm sure we can find someone his age there that has toys, right?

Mac is 17 months old and we are heading to Homer, Louisiana for my family's annual rodeo. After a few days there, we are heading to Little Rock, Arkansas to spend some time with Eric's grandmother. And from there we Mac and I will set out on our own little adventure (cue the scary music)...Mac's first plane ride. Here is what we are taking: pack-n-play, stroller, one "pushable" toy (only because there are no toys for him in Little Rock), 1o outfits, whatever diapers are left in his diaper bin, 2 pair of mismatched PJs, 2 pacifiers, one blanket, bottle of Tylenol for those pesky molars, 4 sippy cups, bag of snacks for the car ride, and the key to success when traveling with a toddler...the portable DVD player with Yo Gabba Gabba discs!

Like I said, I don't know how many stages there are, but I think there may be a few more. I'm assuming if you get to stage 10 you just throw your kid in the car, grab an extra change of clothes, whatever is in the diaper bag, put on a DVD and hit the road!

Open Letter To Heisman

2010-07-19T14:55:00.003-05:00

An open letter to Heisman:

Dear Sweet Heisman:

I love you very much. You have provided me with countless hours of entertainment and companionship. I truly appreciate you allowing Mac to come and live with us for the past 17 months thereby taking over your home, your toys, and a lot of your attention. For this I am grateful. That being said, we need to have an open and frank discussion regarding our current sleeping situation. While I enjoy having a warm and hairy body to cuddle with each and every night I would like to ask you to modify a few of your not so desirable habits during the hours of 11pm-8am.

1. Please stop licking the soles of my feet every few hours

2. If you would like to use a pillow like the rest of the humans please let me know in advance instead of pushing me into to the corner of the bed where I wake up shivering at 3 am

3. If you must continue to snore and snort throughout the night, could you please do it facing away from me

4. If you must continue to allow gas to be released from your body throughout the night, could you please do it in the opposite direction

5. If you insist on sleeping under the covers, could you please find a way to get under them by yourself instead of waking me up to lift them for you

While I am sure there are other issues that need to be addressed, these seem to be the most pressing at this time. I would really appreciate one good 8 hour stretch of sleep. If you can please review this list, and abide by the rules I promise to give you a nice treat in the morning, and possibly keep Mac away from you for a good hour or two.

With Love,

Mom

Fun With Friends

2010-07-13T14:37:00.010-05:00

Mac and I had a great lunch today with our friend Calvin....and I'm a little surprised. I guess I should explain. Calvin is a good friend of ours from A&M (Eric lived with him in College). He's been around Mac since he was born and the two of them have had a love/hate relationship (Mac did the hating). I think every time Calvin held Mac as an infant, Mac threw up on him. Then, when Mac was about 8 months old, he just started freaking out whenever Calvin was around. We tried everything to get him to calm down but he just wasn't having it. I was hoping today would be the day Mac turned the corner...and it was! When Calvin walked up to the table Mac looked him up and down pretty good. He kept an eye on him for a good 15 minutes before he finally let his guard down, but there were no tears! Mac finally started playing Peek-A-Boo and by the time the meal was over he even raised his arms for Calvin to pick him up. I was shocked. Mac sat on his lap for 20 minutes and played with his phone. He even tried to share his slimy, nasty, partly eaten Goldfish (such a sweet boy). I wish I had of had my camera with me because it was really sweet and who knows what kind of mood he'll be the in the next time we meet up...all in all it's been a good day so far!

I also need to say it's been a very happy 17 months since Mac came into our lives. I am just amazed at what he is learning everyday. Here is my letter to Mac:

Mac, at 17 months:

-You weigh about 26 pounds

-You eat more than any kid your age that I have ever met

-You have a deep love for french fries

-You are developing quite a vocabulary. You can say: bird, dog, kitty cat, go, "yo" (which means Yo Gabba Gabba), sit, stay, Dada, Mama, beep-beep, ball (and others that I am probably forgetting),

-You LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba and want to watch it constantly

-You can show me your head, ears, mouth, and belly

-You can follow directions when I tell you to clap your hands, sit down, lay down, get the ball, and stay (no, I don't think he's a dog)

-You think you become invisible if you hide behind or put something over your face

-You have learned how to flush the toilet

-You dance anytime you hear music

-You do not like to ride in a stroller...you think you are too big for that!

-I can't take you out in public without you getting lots of attention from lots of pretty girls

-You are still the love of our lives!

Ah Ha!

2010-07-07T17:22:00.011-05:00

One of the most rewarding things about being a stay at home mom is getting to be a part of the "Ah ha" moments. All those split seconds in the first few years of life when a kid figures it out. The first time I saw it was when Mac learned how to roll over. There was this look of shock, surprise, pride and accomplishment written all over his face. Here are just a few of the great accomplishments that I have been privileged to witness first hand (some of which were caught on film):

1. Rolling over
2. Taking his first step
3. Turning on his favorite toy
4. Saying his first words
5. Drinking out of a straw
6. Learning body parts
7. Clapping his hands to the music
8. Climbing up on the couch by himself
9. Recognizing a theme song to his favorite show and running to see it

That being said, some of his new discoveries are a tad less desirable and/or coming at inopportune times. For example:

1. Learning to flush the toilet while Mommy is using it
2. Taking off a diaper while it is full of poop
3. Pulling the latch on the dishwasher while it is running
4. Shoving his hand down his throat and gagging when you are not giving him enough attention
5. Discovering that if you pull the last piece of toilet paper the roll it spins (and running away before I can grab a square)
6. Finding that sticking your hands in the toilet bowl makes a really cool splash

Anyone else notice that a lot of his great discoveries occur in the bathroom? Such a man!

And in case you want to know what the "Ah ha" face looks like...well here it is.

Need A Good Laugh???

2010-07-01T11:36:00.003-05:00

I just had to pass along this email that my friend Amanda sent to me. Just try not to laugh!

10 reasons having toddlers is like being a frat party ENJOY!

10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

4. There's definitely going to be a fight.

3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.

2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.

1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.

Museum Fun....

2010-06-29T15:59:00.008-05:00

It has been so dang hot outside (yes, Alana just complained that is was too hot) that our zoo membership hasn't been getting much use. If we go, it has to be first thing in the morning because by 10 am it is getting pretty nasty. The plan was to go and pet some goats this morning, but Mac decided that sleeping in was more important to him and he didn't wake up until 11am (I'll come back to that later). I wasn't in a bathing suit mood so we went to the Children's Museum instead. This is the first time in a while that we have gone and it's a whole new adventure now. Mac used to just pass right by all the big kid stuff with no problem. Now he wants to join in on the fun. He really is a kid now...not a baby. We still went to the baby/toddler area, mostly because I can let him run free without him getting knocked over and getting in the big kid's way. He had a blast, but he was all over the place! The car/truck were a big hit as usual, but we really need to work on our people skills. I caught him trying to bite at least 3 kids as they would try to sit next to him in the car. Actually, to his credit, he does give "warning bites." He opens his mouth like he's going to bite but lets out this high pitched sound instead of going in for the kill. Regardless, he was removed from the vehicle. I made him go give hugs to the kids afterwards which he was not too thrilled about. I'm sure the the kids on the recieving end weren't too happy either, but I feel like he needs start learning to apologize in his own way.

They have a do-it-yourself face painting booth so I decided to make Mac into a cute kitty cat (manly, right?) on our way out to the car. He looked in the mirror when we were done and gave me that big cheesy smile. I asked him who he looked like and he barked...close enough.

Back to the sleeping issue. Mac has been doing really well with naps lately. No crying, no struggle; he just lays down and waits for you to hand him his blanket. Even at night he has been doing a great job. Last night he started rubbing his eyes around 8:15 so I took him upstairs and by 8:30 the child was actually asleep! I can't remember the last time that happened. I fully expected him to be up earlier than ususal, but he got up later than normal. I am starting to wonder if he sleeps too much. Maybe he's not getting good quality sleep? Just something else to add to the worry list I guess.

Here are a few cute videos of Mac that I just took too =)

Fathers, Fish, and Falls

2010-06-21T14:20:00.018-05:00

Fathers:
Happy (belated) Father's Day to all the Dads out there. Especially my wonderful husband Eric! Not that I ever doubted his ability to be a great father (the diaper changing was up for question for a while), but I am just so inspired every time I see him with Mac. Eric will do anything to make that little guy laugh. When Mac woke up we opened up one of Eric's gifts and then headed over to Fountain View Cafe. If you haven't been, and you don't mind waiting on your food, it's really great. Fortunately, we had Mac there to entertain us with his great lemon eating and straw sucking skills so we were good.
After we finished we headed over to get Daddy's big present...he got to pick out boots! Eric has talked about getting a pair of boots for some time now and I thought it would be cute if the boys could get them together. Mac ended up getting the first pair he tried on and happily paraded around the store with them on. He loves them!
Eric tried on a few pair but something just wasn't right...oh, it was the khaki short/boot combo! He finally went and got a pair of jeans so that the boots didn't look ridiculous. He chose a pair that I think he will really get some wear out of. And of course, I somehow ended up shopping (I swear it was not my plan!) and got a pair of boots that look just like Mac's! That was pretty much it for the day. We all took a nap together in our bed and had dinner. A pretty uneventful day, and it was just perfect! From the time Mac wakes up, until the time he goes to bed, he is looking for and anxiously waiting to see his Daddy. Happy Father's Day baby...I love you!

Fish:
Today Mac and I headed over to the downtown Aquarium with our friends Heather and Halen. We had a buy one get one free ticket so it ended up costing us a total of $15 for all four of us to get in. The boys had a great time looking at all the sea life, snakes, and even a beautiful white tiger that Mac thought was a giant dog. They have a little area where you can interact and touch a few sting-rays, sharks, and crabs. The water was too deep for the boys to really touch anything, but that didn't stop me from acting like a big kid and petting everything I could reach. I am amazed by sting-rays (especially ones that have had their barbs removed) and love the way they feel. They may not be pretty creatures, but they are fun to watch. There was a little bounce house that we all played in, a train ride around the facility, and a Merry-Go-Round. Other than the extreme temperature this morning, it was a lot of fun.

Falls:
We were all starting to get hungry so we went upstairs to eat in the resturant. Mac has been doing really well sitting at the kitchen table and he even sat in a booster seat yesterday when we had brunch so when the lady asked if we wanted booster seats I said sure. While we were waiting for our food to arrive I saw Mac rocking his seat and before I could grab him he fell face first onto the floor. The poor guy fell pretty hard. Before I could even get him up he was crying. I think it scared him more than anything, but he was very upset. I could feel the eyes of the entire resturant focusing in on us. I felt so bad for letting him fall, but lesson learned. We switched back to the high chair. And don't worry, once he saw a french fry, it was all good!

We went to the little splash pad for a little while to let him play, but I could see how sleepy he was getting. By the time we left the parking lot the little man was sound asleep...and that was 3 1/2 hours ago! Gotta love playdates!

Halfway There...

2010-06-08T15:04:00.027-05:00

I have sat down at least 5 times over the past 2 weeks to blog, gotten halfway through a post and been forced to stop to do something else. Of course I never got back to finish any of them up so they retired to the graveyard of unfinished posts. I am determined to finish this one!

I feel like a lot has gone on since the last time I posted...Eric's siblings came into town on Memorial Day to visit with Mac (and us of course). We took Mac out to eat that night and he provided us with entertainment as usual. As we were waiting for our food we noticed a big wet spot on the bottom of Mac's overalls. Thinking it was water, Eric stuck his hand in the hair chair too see if it was wet. It wasn't water. Mac had a huge blow out diaper. It was absolutely disgusting and somehow I got Eric to change him! Of course I didn't have an extra pair of pants with me, but since we were outside on a patio, and no one else was there, I said oh well and let him go pant-less. Everytime people walked by I could just see it in their eyes. The first couple didn't have any kids so I got the "who would let their kid run around with no pants on" look. The second couple to come by had an infant so I got the "we will never let our baby do that!" look. And my response to each of them was a little smile and the following internal dialouge: "Just you wait. Oh, just you wait."
The next day we decided to go to Discovery Green. We had never been, but I had heard it was a good place for kids. It was GREAT! We went in the morning so it wasn't very crowded and the heat was still tolerable. Mac had a blast in the splash pad area.
Later that week my brother called me to say he was coming into town late that night and leaving the next evening. I rearranged some plans so that Mac and I could spend the day with Uncle Kevo. I hate that he lives 5 hours away. We spent the day visiting and while we were at my Mom's office we found a giant bunny costume in a box (random, I know) and Kevin put the head on. I was waiting for Mac to have a meltdown, but he loved it.

Mac has really taken to the water. He actually cries when we leave the pool. The first time we went I was a little nervous that he was going to hate it and I would therefore spend an entire summer trying to coax Mac in. To my pleasant surprize, Mac puts his face in the water, kicks his chubby little legs, and jumps off the edge of the pool! Everytime we go people are impressed that a kid his age is so comfortable in the water. Eric had not been able to see Mac at the pool so I was really excited when he got to come with us on Saturday. Of course Mac was in heaven since Daddy was there.
As you have probably noticed in these pictures, Mac got a major haircut. My hairdresser took about 3 inches off of his hair! I actually think I like it better short, but Eric misses the curls so we may end up finding a happy medium next time he gets a trim.
In not so good news (at least to me), Mac has really become attached to his pacifier and blanket. When I get him out of the crib in the morning he clutches both items as tightly as possible and refuses to leave his room without them. It's gotten so bad that he now wants to eat breakfast with them in his lap, use them in the car, etc, etc. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world, but I can only imagine the battle I will have on my hands when I decide he is to old to carry them around.
Oh, and by the way, Mac has found the joy of suckers =)

Verbal Explosion

2010-05-28T09:22:00.002-05:00

I just have to share...in the past 4 days Mac has said 4 new words! This morning he said "book," yesterday was "please" (pronounced "knees"), and before that he said "sit" and "me" as he pointed to himself! I'm so proud of my little guy!

The Name Game

2010-05-25T14:17:00.003-05:00

When we were picking out names for Mac we went though all the possible embarassing nicknames that kids might come up with one day. Technically "Mac" is a nickname anyway...We quickly figured out that no matter what name you select for your child, someone can find a way to make fun of it or pick another name for them. We had planned to keep the name a secret but someone (Eric) got a little too excited and spilled the beans at a wedding when I was about 7 months along. It took less than 5 minutes for one of our friends to call him "Big Mac." Since then he has also been dubbed "Mac-aroni" and "Mac and cheese." I actually find these names cute, but you see where I'm coming from.
This kind of leads into something interesting I found out about my Grandmama today. Grandmama goes by the name Mell, but that is not the name she was given at birth. I have always known that when she was born her name was Lula Vermell...yes, that was her name. I also knew that her parents did not name her. The doctor took it upon himself to disregard the parents wishes to name their daugther Mell, and throw in a "Lula" and a "Ver" in front of it. When she married my granddaddy she legally changed her name to Mell Gantt (her maiden name) Robinson. I thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn't. Apparently, Lula Vermell was not her birth name. The doctor that delivered her named her May because he didn't like the name Mell. Somewhere along the line it was changed to Lula Vermell (by who I don't know) until she eventually changed it. Can you imagine giving birth to a child, telling the doctor the name you had chosen, only to have him pick another one for you??? Who does that? I didn't say this was an interesting story...just something I discovered =).
And since we are on the topic of names...the big story is that Mac said his name last night! I have been working with him for a few weeks now to say his name. I usually get a blank stare and he runs off to play with the dog. Last night he finally did it. As you can tell he gets very distracted, very easily, and it took me about 30 minutes to get it on tape, but he did it!

I am trying to get all his new words on tape so here's another one:

Happy Happy Birthday!

2010-05-23T22:16:00.013-05:00

Happy (belated) birthday to my wonderful husband! Eric turned 30 on Friday and I threw him a little party at the house to celebrate with friends. For the past 2 weeks, all I have heard is how old he is going to be so I decided that a kids party was in order complete with games, candy, and of course a pinata. We had a great time.
We had planned on going and riding go carts on Saturday at noon with some friends. And by the way, these are not the Celebration Station caliber go carts people. These things go 60 miles an hour and might possibly be the most fun thing I have ever done! Unfortunately it just wasn't looking like enough people were going to make it out so we decided to cancel. My dad and step-mom had offered to watch Mac for a few hours while we went so I called to cancel and Eric and I got a wonderful surprise...they offered to take Mac for the day! We got to have brunch with friends and made an impromptu lake trip. I don't think we have been able to be that spontaneous since we got a dog! It was a wonderful carefree day! We had dinner plans, but as we were leaving the lake, my Dad called and said that Mac had been crying pretty much all day and it might be a good time to come and get him. I was a little sad, but it really had been such a great day I wasn't too disappointed. When we got to their house Mac apparently just needed to see us because he perked right up when he saw us. We kept our dinner plans and boy and I glad we did! Mac was quite the entertainer that evening. We went to a place called Raia's in the Heights. I strongly recommend it if you are ever in the area. We sat outside with a great breeze, a few bottles of wine and some friends. When the food came Mac decided that he wanted to eat the spaghetti off of his daddy's plate and it was too funny....

And a few extras:
He has learned how to "sniff" the flowers:

Smart Boy

2010-05-20T11:35:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't know, I really love this guy! =)

Update

2010-05-12T20:50:00.009-05:00

Thanks to an email from my brother-in-law I realized that I have not done my monthly update on Mac (thanks Andrew). The past 2 months have been so hectic, but I love sitting and writing these little notes to Mac. They make me think about all we've done and how much he's grown. It makes me happy and sad all at the same time when I realize what a big boy he is becoming.

Today Mac is 15 months old. Broken record here, but I can't believe its gone so fast! He has had a nasty little stomach bug the past few days that has resulted in the rinsing and washing of multiple pairs of pants as well as a 2 pound drop in his weight. The doctor told us to keep him away from dairy and fatty foods until the end of the week and then slowly reintroduce them to his diet to avoid any additional diaper disasters. He acted like he felt fine today so maybe he's on the road to recovery. We decided to forgo his 15 month shots until next week when he will hopefully be completely back to normal. He weighed in at 23 pounds (like I said, he was 25 last week) and measured 32 inches long.

Mac, at 15 months:

-You run to the door in the evening when I tell you Daddy is home
-Heisman is still your best friend
-You know how to say dog, bird, mama, dada, light, yes, and no
-You know how to sign "please"
-You know how to sign "come" for your puppy
-You walk around the house yelling "dog"
-You will stop in your tracks and dance if someone sings the ABC song
-You love music
-You love to dance
-Your favorite place to be is outside on the deck
-You love to eat strawberries
-You won't go to sleep unless Mommy or Daddy sing you a song (or 2 or 3)
-Mommy sings "Beautiful Boy" to you every night
-People stop me to tell me how beautiful you are
-You wave "bye-bye"
-You love to climb the stairs (if only you could get past that pesky gate)
-You make your Mommy and Daddy smile everyday!

Snuggie Time

2010-05-10T21:09:00.008-05:00

Eric and I were fortunate enough to have a mini-vacation this past weekend in San Antonio for our friend's wedding. Gorgeous weather, great food, and wonderful friends, but when Sunday morning came around I couldn't wait to get home to see Mac! That is one of the perks of having a kid; you are actually excited to come home after a getaway!
Mac had a great weekend with my Mom and probably didn't even care that we were gone, but he pretended to be excited when he saw us =). Once we got back to the house it was time for Mother's Day presents! I opened my cards (Heisman even got me one!) and then I saw my gift. Mac has started to get excited about ripping paper so he helped me out a little and there it was....a pink Snuggie. Now, I'm not going to lie, I make fun of all those Snuggie commercials. It's just silly! But, I put on a big smile and said it was the best gift...BUT THEN...Eric brought out another gift (apparently the Snuggie was a decoy). My wonderful husband got me all 13 of the Beatles albums! He said he has never seen me so excited about anything. I have been listening to them non stop since then. And even Mac is getting in on the action:

Just Like Daddy

2010-05-04T14:07:00.006-05:00

Mac is so much like his daddy it's scary. They obviously look alike, but the similarities go beyond that. Too bad for Mac that he inherited his Daddy's least flattering quality; his cholesterol. Eric has had high cholesterol his entire life (he was put on medication at 16) so we knew that there was a chance that Mac would have it too. His pediatrician said that once he turned 1 we should have blood drawn just to see what his levels showed. After taking him to Texas Children's I got a call from the doctor saying that his total cholesterol was 262, his LDL (bad cholesterol) was 212, and his HDL (good cholesterol) was only 50. In case you don't know, for a healthy ADULT male, total cholesterol should be less than 200, LDLs should be no more than 100, and they want HDLs to be a minimum of 60. So basically, that's not good. Because of this, Mac is going to go back to Texas Children's to be seen in a preventative group for children diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol). Since Mac's cholesterol is hereditary and not due to poor diet it is more difficult to treat. My goal is to keep him off of medication as long as possible, but the truth is, even if Mac ate nothing but veggies everyday, he would still have high cholesterol.
Cholesterol comes from animal fats so we have already switched him off of whole milk (per his doctor's instructions) to 2%. We are also going to become a white meat family and save the red meat for special occasions. I really hate that Mac has this because I know that I can't fix it for him. No matter how healthy he eats it will never resolve itself. My hope is that if I teach him how to eat healthy, but still indulge every once in a while, he will eat that way even when I'm not the one cooking for him.

Beach Time!

2010-05-03T17:27:00.020-05:00

Friday night I was so mad at the weather man. He had promised me a beautiful sunny end of the week/weekend and it was not looking good. We had planned to take Mac for his first beach trip Saturday and I was really sad the weather was not going to cooperate. To my surprise, I saw a little bit of sun peaking out through the clouds when I woke up so we decided to go a head and drive down to Galveston. After bathing Mac in some sunscreen (I'm afraid he has his Daddy's skin) we headed for the water.
Mac was not okay with that. It was a little choppy and from Mac's little view it probably looked like we were taking him into 50 foot waves. He held on for dear life and completely freaked out when we tried to let him get his feet wet.
After a few more failed attempts we gave up and decided we were sand people. Mac (and Eric) had a fun time building and knocking down sandcastles. Mac walked up and down the beach (keeping a safe distance from the water) checking out, well, more sand, and the birds.
In an attempt to amuse my child, I made a huge error in judgment and fed the birds. We had some goldfish snacks so I grabbed a handful and thew them in the air. Within 5 seconds, the 2 birds I was feeding turned into about 20 and they would not go away. For the next 5 minutes they just hovered over our heads waiting for a snack. Suddenly I had a horrible vision of birds swooping down and pecking at my son so we walked away thinking they would catch the hint but no such luck. I'm sure the people around us really appreciated it.
Here are a few more pictures from our fun day!

Mommy: The Musical

2010-04-29T13:51:00.003-05:00

I've started to notice something about Mac. Not only does he like to hear music, but he actually responds to it. He will stop what he’s doing if he hears a song. That being said, I have caught myself making up and singing very silly little songs to him to get his attention. We have some future hits in our house such as: “Oh Mr. Mac,” “Walk’n Up The Hill,” “Walk’n Down The Street,” “Mac-A-Doodle Dandy,” and my all time favorite “Who Wants To Take A Big Boy Bath?” I’m not kidding, these are actual tunes I have made up and started singing to my child. And no, I will not be sharing them with you! They are absolutely ridiculous, but they make him laugh. When we sing his bath song, he actually walks into the bathroom and stands by the tub!

Another way I have started communicating with Mac is through sign language. Well, he only has 1 sign, but we’re on our way. A week ago Mac learned/repeated the sign for please. I was so proud of him. Every time he sees his snacks or his drink he signs please so that you’ll give him one. Here’s the problem, Mac will also walk up to you, sign please, and just look at you. Unfortunately when I’m sitting in the middle of the living room I have no clue what he wants. He gets so frustrated and just keeps repeating the sign over and over. It’s so cute though. It reminds me of when I first taught Heisman to sit. I would show everyone how smart my puppy was…I guess now I’m doing it with my son? Did I just compare my child and my dog…oops.

I Have Gas!

2010-04-23T12:10:00.006-05:00

You heard me...we have a gas leak! Fortunately the leak is actually inside our oven so we didn't have to cut off the gas to the house; only the oven. Unfortunately, for someone who uses the stove/oven twice a day, you quickly find that there are a limited number of things in the house to eat/prepare for meals. This all started Monday night and I'm almost to my breaking point. If I never see a sandwich again it will be too soon. And no, I'm really not saying this to make all you non-cookers look bad...I just really love to cook! GE is coming out on Monday so to all you P-Land people, don't be surprised if I come to your house with a pot of water and ask to boil it on your stove =).

And FYI to all you Mommy's with little boys...did you know that a 14 month old can get "jock itch" (I really hate that term so from here on out I will refer to it as "athlete's itch" or "AI"). I thought it was heat rash so we've been letting him "air it out" at night for a little while (and following him around with a towel just in case), but nope, it's AI. I had to buy the poor kid Lotrimin today. I feel that Mac has had enough trauma for one year in that area so hopefully it will get well quickly!

Since none of the above commentary would allow for a picture (the last section might get me a visit from CPS if I had photos), here is a picture my sister sent me that made me snort I laughed so hard. I really hate forwards, and this may not be that funny, but it made my day:

The Day Has Come...

2010-04-20T17:03:00.008-05:00

Matthew 7:1: "Do not judge, lest ye be judged." The day has come people. All those times I saw people with their child on a leash. All those things I said in my head. Well, it's my turn. I bought my child (look of horror here)...a leash! I broke down today at Target and bought Mac a monkey leash. Yes, I recognize that they are silly looking, and yes, I know that I will be the giggled at as I stroll by, but too bad! I think it will be very helpful now that Mac wants to walk by himself. Especially in crowded public places. And lets be honest people, if anyone can pull off a monkey leash...it's my Mac!
(FYI..Mac does not like the monkey):

The Long Road Home

2010-04-15T16:06:00.003-05:00

Last night when Eric got home from work we decided to take Mac for a quick walk around the neighborhood before it got dark. We put Mac in his stroller and headed out. We were about halfway done when Mac decided he was a big boy and did not wish to be in a stroller anymore. I figured, let the boy walk...it will wear him out! He walked for a little while on his own, but became easily distracted by a child on a bike, a child with a ball, a blade of grass; so back in the stroller he went. Of course he was not going to allow that after being out on his own so we let him walk again. I got a few feet ahead of him, turned around to walk backwards and started softly singing the alphabet song to him (Mac's favorite). He danced, clapped his hands, and started walking again. Little did I know that I would spend the net 20 minutes walking backwards down the street and singing the "ABC's" to my child. Every time I stopped Mac sat on the ground and cried. Now if you had of asked me what I would have done 14 months ago in the same situation my response would have been simple...put the kid in the stroller and walk home, but it's no longer that simple. The look of happiness that Mac gets on his face every time he hears that song somehow made it worthwhile for me to look like the crazy lady on the block. I just can't say no to those chubby little dancing legs. After a 20 minute walk you would think Mac would be exhausted right? Wrong. Not only would he not go to sleep, he would only let Eric hold him. He was clawing to get away from me and into his Daddy's lap. You kind of start to take it personally when your kid is hysterically struggling to get out of your arms...oh well, today he can't get enough of me so I guess I'll forgive him =).
Here's a video of Mac dancing to his ABC song. Please forgive the singing/yelling on my part =). Of course I have not been able to catch him really doing the hardcore dancing, but here's a little taste:

Let The Count Down Begin....

2010-04-13T11:55:00.003-05:00

Well, it has officially begun. In less than 365 days I will be old...that's right, I'll be 30 next year. I"m just kidding (about being old, not about turning 30). I did have a great 29th birthday though. Eric got me 2 tickets to see Chelsea Handler, a beautiful flower arrangement, and 2 cards (one from him and one from Mac). I think after over 10 years of being together Eric has finally realized that it's not a complete birthday present until I have received a Hallmark card to commemorate the occasion. Eric had to go out of town on the actual day, but I had a great time with some of my best girl friends. We went to Tiny Boxwood's for dinner and came back to my place that night. Let me just say, I don't EVER remember staying up until 4:30 am on purpose. We had a blast! And by the way, if you live in Houston and you haven't had cupcakes from Crave, stop what you are doing and go get some! Oh my gosh...I have never had a better cupcake. And let me recommend the strawberry or red velvet..Yum! I don't even want to know how many calories are in one of those things....

Other than that...Mac seems to be doing new things everyday. The other day we were at the store and Mac looked up at a the ceiling, pointed to a light, looked and me with the biggest grin and said "ight!" (I didn't miss the "L"...Mac can't say it.) Of course I made a huge fuss over him for saying it and for the remainder of our shopping visit he pointed to the ceiling and yelled "ight!" He has also learned that shaking his head from side to side means "No." Whenever he doesn't want something he shakes his head "No." I'm not sure I like this one as much as "ight" but I guess it means he's learning. My favorite new Mac trick has to be the dancing. He loves to dance. If you sing to him and clap your hands, play a CD for him, or even bounce up and down like a fool, he will dance for you. If you ask him to play his "ABC's" he goes and turns on the song on his play table and dances. It provides hours of entertainment.

I'm basically going to be lazy and not post any pictures this time...but you can see everything on Facebook anyway if you need your Mac fix for the day =)

What Is That Smell???

2010-03-31T16:17:00.006-05:00

You know the smell when food has gone bad? You know what's really annoying? When you have smelled the smell for a week and can't figure out what it is. I have gone through all the obvious places, the fridge, the freezer, I ran the disposal over and over in case something was down there, and even checked in the trash can in case "somebody" (you know who you are) threw trash in there without noticing there was no bag. I have come up empty handed for the last week...until today. I was looking for some scissors in our junk drawer (okay I won't lie, at this point they are all junk drawers) and this horrid smell arose. It was like in cartoons when you see the stinky smell line rise up into the air. There was a cut onion in a plastic bag sitting in the drawer! It was covered in mold and some reddish/pink stuff that I was unable to identify. So gross. Now I know I did not put an onion in the drawer and I know Eric does not like to be within 10 feet of an onion so who the heck put it in there? I think this may be one of those mysteries that is just never solved. Oh well....

In Mac news, he is healing really well from his surgery. The day of the surgery we got up REALLY early and headed down to the Med Center. I was hoping he would go back to sleep since it was hours before he usually gets up, but of course not. He was wide awake and ready to party. He was in pretty good mood until about the time we went back to the pre op area. By then he was hungry and I think just had a feeling something was going on. They gave us the cutest little hospital gown for Mac, butt open and all. It probably would have seemed a lot cuter if they weren't about to cut on my kid. The nurse told us that the best thing to do was just kiss him good-bye, hand him over and walk away. I hugged him tight, kissed him and followed directions. I handled it better than I thought I would. Within 25 minutes they had paged us to come back and see Mac. Unfortunately as soon as we got into PACU I could hear him wailing. They had warned us that kids, especially younger kids, are often very upset when they wake up from surgery. If you've ever had surgery you know how disoriented you are following the procedure. Imagine not even knowing you were having something done and waking up to strangers who can't explain what's happening to you. It's got to be scary. I'd like to say that he calmed down as soon as he saw us, but he didn't. He cried for a decent amount of time, but once we got in the car and got on the road he fell asleep. After a good 2 hour nap (one for me too), he was up and not really pleased. They gave us liquid Vicodin and I really appreciate it. Not only did it provide some comic releif (Mac was a nut when we gave it to him), it knocked him out within 20 minutes of taking it. We had planned on letting him sleep in our room, in the pack and play, that night, but Mac wasn't having it. He wanted to be in our bed. I think that was the first time Mac ever slept with us the whole night and it won't be a common occurence. We got no sleep. The next day was not too bad. He was actually in pretty good mood until lunch time. Things went south after that and we had to give him a couple of doses of Vicodin by the time the day had ended. The swelling, stitches, and bleeding were not pleaseant to see the first 2 days, but by Sunday it looked so much better. Today it looks pretty normal (minus the stitches). I also learned something through this whole process...a sponge bath does not work for more than one day when you have a stinky little boy! He wasn't allowed to bathe for 3 days and by Monday I was desperate to get him in the tub. So the title of this post also fits in this section...but I can answer the question...the smell was Mac!

With all the drama and craziness that has happened this last month I don't know why I was surprised to find out that the whole part time job thing wasn't going to work. VERY long story short, the job I was promised back in December, was not the job I was asked to do when I went into meet with my supervisor. After thinking about what they were asking of me, and talking to Eric, I called the next day to tell them I just couldn't do it. I would have had to work every second Mac was asleep or in school and give up my weekends/time with Eric and Mac just to get to the minimum number of hours they wanted. It just wasn't worth it. Honestly, I am kind of glad. I love spending time with my Mac and there is such a short period of time I have before he will be in school so for now, I think it's best to wait on getting a job.

Today was another zoo day for Mac and his buddy Will. Mac was not all that into it today. We headed straight for the petting zoo (aka Big Goat World) but there was very little interest. I mean, I was disappointed there were no brushes for him to groom all the goats, so I can only imagine how he felt =). There is one goat there that is just a freak of nature. I'm sure it's a different breed of goat than the others or something but this thing is huge. And it's my favorite. I have named him Dwight and we are buddies. I don't even know if Dwight is a boy...I didn't bother to look, but the name just fits. Dwight loves to have his chin scratched and he makes this noise that I don't even know how to describe. I'm sure everyone there thinks I'm insane because I just sit there and scratch the goat and laugh, but hey...it makes me happy =)
And here was Mac about 2 minutes after we got in the car:
And just as a side note...tell me that Mac isn't a star athlete in the making:

Very Routine

2010-03-24T12:56:00.002-05:00

I've heard that phrase quite a few times this week. Well, let me just tell you, when they are going to cut on your child the term"very routine" does not apply! As I've already mentioned, Mac has to be re circumcised and we scheduled the procedure for this Friday. I got call this morning and found out that we have to be at the surgery center at 6 am...ugh. The surgery should start at 7am and take around 30 minutes. I have a feeling that it will be the longest 30 minutes of my life. While I was going over all the pre op instructions with the nurse I asked her about pain medication and discomfort after the procedure. This has been my biggest fear about the whole thing. I just don't want to have Mac screaming and not be able to comfort him. She said that while he is under anesthesia they will give him a caudal block. Basically it will keep the groin area numb for a little while so he shouldn't be in any pain right when he wakes up. They will also give us a prescription for Vicodin in liquid form. She said a lot of kids don't even need it, but they like to send it home with the patient just in case. I asked if I should expect to have a little monster at home for a few days and she said that he probably won't be the happiest little guy, but by Monday he should be back to normal. He will have 4-5 dissovable stitches put in (yuck), but at least he won't have to have them removed.
I absolutely love the surgeon. He is the nicest guy and you almost feel like you're talking to your grandad. A lady in our Sunday school class had to have her son re circumcised a few years ago and she used the same surgeon. He has apparently been given the nickname the "King of Circumcision" because he does so many...I guess that's a good thing?
I already know what the worst part of this whole thing will be....handing him over to go into the OR. I know he's going to cry, and I know he's going to be scared, and I know there is nothing I can do to make it better. I hate that he's going to have this done, but I know it's better now than 10 years from now. I'm just ready for this to be done and have him back in my arms....

Yee-Haw!

2010-03-18T14:58:00.022-05:00

Mac's last encounter with a farm animal did not go so well (see below).
In spite of this, we decided we would take him to the Rodeo. My sweet sweet husband took half a day off so that he could come with us, and we had a really great time! From the moment we arrived at the carnival entrance Mac's eyes were open wide. He got to have a few bites of Daddy's corndog (which he loved) and then we were off to see some animals. When we walked into the building and saw the tractors and booths ( and the smells, oh the smells), Mac was intrigued. I was interested to see how well he did once we got over to all the animals. We passed by all the cows first and he looked, but didn't really seem to care. Then came the pigs. Move over Heisman, Mac may have a new favorite animal! Most of the pigs/hogs/or whatever they are were laying in their pens with some body part hanging out (a nose, a tail, a leg) into the public walking way. We let Mac out of his stroller to take a look and I think he would have crawled in there if we would have let him. My theory is that most of the pigs were black and white, with flat noses, floppy ears, and snorting so I'm sure he thought they were simply supersized versions of his puppy. He kept trying to stick his hands through the bars to touch their noses.

So far so good. We decided that we would be really brave and take him to the petting zoo....and...he LOVED IT! He loved on some sheep, a few goats, a pot-belly pig, a deer, and a big old llama. I personally am not a fan of the llamas. They bite, they spit, and there are generally just unpleasant creatures in my opinion, so when I saw my son beating on a llamas back like he was playing with his puppy, I decided it would be best to move on to another animal. Mac tried to get a little kissing action in with a few of the animals but we were able to catch him right before the tongue came out.

One thing that I have never seen at the Rodeo is a "birthing area" for the sheep and pigs. It's over in the kids section which I thought was very strange. They had tv screens all around the area showing the anatomy of a cow and how the calf comes out ,etc., etc....Personally, I wouldn't have a problem with Mac seeing a live animal birth, but I am sure there are some people that would not appreciate that. I just see some kid looking over and being traumatized...oh well, I guess it's a natural part of life!
Now there is one rule I have about the Rodeo...you can't leave without having a Funnel Cake! Funnel Cake may be one of the most sinfully delicious food items in the world...and now you can get them with toppings/sauce. Eric wanted caramel so we compromised and he got it on the side. Mac was in heaven. Fistfuls of Funnel Cake being shoved into his mouth =)

And just as a side note...have you ever noticed that after you leave the Rodeo you smell like the Rodeo...you know what I mean...

Eric had to go out of town that night so Mac and I decided we would have a sleep over at Grandmama's house. She knows Mac loves measuring cups so when we got over there she had pulled out all of the cups for Mac to play with..and of course he had a blast. He was in such a great mood while we were over there. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy running around naked after a bath and playing with plastic cups?!?! The next morning was a different story. He was just cranky and clingy. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I took Grandmama to run some errands and while she was getting her hair done Mac and I decided to do a little shopping. When we got into Pier One I started smelling this rotten egg smell and realized it was probably Mac. I took him to the bathroom and I almost couldn't change him. His pants were sopping wet all the way down to his feet! He had a serious blow out and I had to step back for a minute before I could even start to clean him up. I had to go and buy the child some new clothes just so he had something to wear! I'm thinking that the Funnel Cake and Corndog did not sit well on that little tummy. And just to make it a little worse, he threw up in the car. A bottle of Pedialyte later he seems to be feeling fine today.
In other Mac news, I scheduled his "re-circumcision" for next Friday. The nurse said I won't get a surgery time until the day before, but they always schedule kids under 2 for the morning time slots. I can't imagine not letting Mac eat all day so that's good news. I'm not really that concerned about the procedure....I mean, having tubes put in requires a higher level of anesthesia than this will, but it's afterwards that worries me a little. There is no way this is going to feel good! I just hope they send him home with some meds to help out...I mean, OUCH!
And here's a random one...Mac eating a lemon...he likes them (despite the face)...

Long Days...

2010-03-14T19:57:00.012-05:00

This has been the longest 2 weeks of my life. Mostly for reasons that I'm just not even going to get into, but lets just say time has never gone so slowly. Pop and Noni (my Dad and step-mom) kept Mac for us last night so we finally had a night to just rest and a morning to sleep in. So thanks for that!
We went to see Grandmama today after we picked up Mac and I think she is doing well. I cannot even begin to imagine the adjustment after being married to someone for 66 years. Eric is going to be out of town for a few days so Mac and I are going to just have a little sleep over at her house one night. I used to love sleeping on a palate in the floor at her house when I was little. Hopefully she'll let me sleep in a bed this time though =)
The weather was absolutely perfect today so while Eric worked in the yard, Mac and I played on the deck. I put on his swimsuit and busted out with the bubbles and a tupperware dish full of water...what more could a child ask for! He had a blast. Unfortunately I think that he is going to have his Daddy's coloring because after 5 minutes of sunshine, his little cheeks and ears were turning red, so we busted into the SPF 50.

Grandaddy

2010-03-07T09:21:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was a sad day for my family. Around 5pm my sweet Grandaddy passed away. He lived a very happy and active life for 93 years and he will be missed. I think the thing I remember most about him is that from the time I was little, you could always find him sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bible. He was one of the Godliest men to walk this earth. He was a man who truly walked the walk everyday of his life. While we are all so sad to see him go, he is finally in a place where he is free of pain and able to do what he loved most in the world, praise God. Obviously, we wish we had more time with him, but I am just so glad that he where he deserves to be after years of faithfulness. I am just so thankful that he was able to meet Mac. I know that Mac will not remember him, but it means so much to me. We love you Grandaddy and you will never know the joy you brought to our lives...

Retraction

2010-03-04T22:09:00.001-06:00

I'm printing a retraction to yesterday's post...night naps are back. Mac went to bed at 8 pm yesterday after not having is evening nap. Success, right? Nope. He just woke up at 9 and stayed up until 11 anyway. Oh well, guess we just have a night owl on our hands!

So Long....

2010-03-03T16:29:00.004-06:00

I am sad to report that we have said a tearful "Good-bye" to Mac's night nap. Yes, it's true. My sadness stems from two things; first, it really has become one of the few times during the day that I can count on some cuddle time with Mac. The boy in him pretty much refuses to sit still anymore, but I know that a sippy cup of milk and comfy couch will get him to settle down for just a few precious moments of Mommy time. Second, it gives me an excuse to sit down too! I really am quite tired by the time 5pm rolls around after what seems like an 8 hour game of chase. It is just a nice 45 minutes or so of quiet, peacefulness in the Bethea home. Unfortunately I knew in my heart of hearts that it needed to end for quite sometime. Mac refuses to go to bed at a decent hour. Word on the street is that most kids his age head off to bed around 8 or 8:30pm if not earlier; my child is still up and ready to party until 11pm or later. Honestly, up to this point, not having him on a schedule has been great. We have been able to go see friends and not feel the rush to get home and get Mac in bed before he gets cranky, but now it's a whole other story. Eric and I are actually staying up later than we need to because Mac won't sleep.

All that to say, Good bye sweet night time nap. I will miss you...

Updates and Lyla....

2010-02-25T12:49:00.003-06:00

I am not a fan of the updates on Facebook. Let me clarify this...I like your status updates. I like to know if you're having a great day, or a bad day, or if your kiddo decided to smear chocolate pudding all over your brand new white couch, but typically I don't care that "John Doe is now a member of the group I hate purple hats and people that wear them." Not to say that I don't care about your interests dear friends, but I think most of you get what I'm saying.

Having said that, every once in a while, something will catch my eye. Last night when I logged in, I saw a few friends had joined the group "Praying for Lyla Grace." I clicked on it to see what it was about and it broke my heart. I won't go into the whole story but if you are interested please go to http://www.laylagrace.org. Unfortunately for this family, the story will not have a happy ending. This sweet little girl is quickly losing her battle with cancer. There is nothing more powerful than the thoughts and prayers of a mother experiencing what no one should ever have to endure...the loss of a child.

But there is something you can do to help...a photographer named Christie Lacy took some beautiful pictures of the family a few weeks ago and is offering "A Portrait Party for Layla." Here's how it works:

"Hostesses open up their homes and gather friends to fill designated time slots for 20 minute photo sessions. Hostesses enjoy their session free and earn free prints based on the number of people that book. We bring our mini studio to you.

Portrait Package includes: One 20 minute session
5-10 digitally enhanced images to choose from
One 8X10 Fine Art Print
VIP Pricing on additional purchases

Cost: $50 per child with $25 going towards Layla's family
(this is a LIMITED event to help support a wonderful Cypress family in a time of great need! The price for portrait parties will NEVER be this low again)

I have signed up to host one these events and will hopefully be selected for a date in April. Please let me know if you are interested in doing this. You can comment on here or feel free to email me at alanabethea@hotmail.com. What a great way to help out this family!

Always On The Go...

2010-02-24T13:54:00.014-06:00

I had no idea how much energy a 1 year old little boy has bottled up inside. From the time Mac wakes up to the time he goes to bed it is non stop movement. One of his new favorite activities is to grab a kitchen chair and push it all over the tile. The game usually ends when he runs into a wall at full force.

We have moved Heisman's food into our bathroom because it has become Mac's new splash toy...but of course he has already found it. I figure he spends less time in our bathroom than he does in the kitchen so it's a bit easier to keep him out of it. Maybe if I quit taking pictures of him doing things he's not supposed to do he would stop...just a thought...but it won't happen!
He has also discovered the stairs which really scares me. It didn't take him long to figure out how to get up those things either. He stands on the first step (back to the ground) and it looks like he's going to do the Lipton Tea plunge. All that to say he keeps Mama on her toes!

I am trying to find some type of barricade to put in front of the steps and am having a little bit of trouble. If we use one of the cheap little $20 gates (that he could probably pull down if he wanted to) he can still get up the third step. I know it doesn't sound like much , but that's a long fall for a kid. I also don't want to spend $200 or more dollars on a gate. Here are pictures of our stairs so you can see what I'm talking about.
If any of you have stairs like this, what did you use to keep your kids off of them? We have a great gate at the top of the stairs, but it just won't work at the bottom.

Mac also has a new trick...he loves to play Peek A Boo. He just started this a few days ago...he puts his hands over is face until you say "Where's Mac??". Then he shows his face and waits for you to act surprised and gives the biggest smile you've ever seen. It makes me laugh.

It's funny that when you have an infant you can't imagine being any busier, but then they grow, they crawl, they walk, they open doors (that's right) and you realize how tame life used to be! Don't get me wrong, I love every second of it, but it's definently busy...I'm just glad that we have enough activites planned during the week with other kids so he can get some of that energy out!

Party Time!

2010-02-18T12:24:00.013-06:00

Mac's first birthday party was a huge success! We ended up having over 50 people in our house and it was a great time...And I have to say, the cake turned out really well! I think that making that cake stressed me out more than anything else, but I was very pleased with it in the end.
It was so great to have all of our friends and family make it out to celebrate the little guy. Mac had quite a showing of his little buddies too. It's very strange that I only know 2 people in the past year that have had girls. And I know a lot of people who have had kids this year! Mac will never have a problem finding friends his age to play with.

Mac's smash cake (that my Mom made) was really cute. It was a little football player. We are referring to the color as light maroon =). Mac was not to thrilled about getting his hands dirty, but we got some cute pictures anyway.

The past few days have been interesting. Mac got a hair cut that went really well. He was so good. I always take him with me when I get highlights so he is used to sitting in my lap there. I am so glad to be able to see the tops of his little ears again.

He also had his 1 year check up this week. That did not go so well. He is growing like a champ, 30.5 inches (80th percent) and 24.5 lbs (50th percent). As the doctor was checking him out she noticed something....prepare yourself...he has infant penile adhesion. Sorry that I'm sharing this with everyone son...but basically the skin has grown back together since his circumcision. It's not really that bad and it's a pretty simple fix. We do have to go and see a surgeon, but it will hopefully just be an in office procedure and should take 5 minutes...that should be a fun one. So...after having skin in a very sensitive area tugged on he was not pleased, and then came the shots. That was the most I have seen him cry in a long time. The best part about that morning was that he slept for almost 3 hours when we got home.

It's been a busy birthday week for the little guy!

Happy Happy Birthday To You!

2010-02-13T08:28:00.003-06:00

Happy birthday my sweet little man! Where has a year gone? As excited as I am to watch you grow and learn, I would give anything to have this year back and do it all over again. You have changed our lives in ways you will never understand until you are blessed enough to have a baby of your own.

Mac at the end of 11 months, on your first birthday:

-You are walking around all by yourself!

-Heisman is still your best buddy

-You no longer eat any baby food

-You drink whole milk now...and lots of it.

-Green beans, quartered grapes, and Goldfish are your favorite foods

-You try to be very independent

-You are all boy...not a delicate child

-You have learned how to say "dog"

-You still hate peas

-You weigh 24 pounds

-You like to wave "Bye-Bye"...and sometimes you will say it back

-You are learning how to clap your hands...you are already a pro at clapping your feet

-You wear mostly 12-18 month clothes

-You eat like a champ

-You are terrified of regular size footballs (daddy is concerned about your future as an NFL QB!)

-You make Mommy nervous when you try to kiss other kids because I am scared you are going to bite

-You have made this the best year of our lives

Your Daddy and I love you so much...Happy Birthday Mac

Emotions Gone Wild...

2010-02-08T15:42:00.004-06:00

Apparently Mac turning one has made me into a big old ball of emotions. I heard the song "Chicken Fried" the other day and in the chorus it says "the touch of an innocent child" and I seriously teared up. Really??? Then today we were in our Mommy and Me music class and I was holding him while we were singing and I teared up because I started thinking about how he was going to be too big to do this one day. Fortunately no one saw me and I pulled it together. It really does make me sad that he is turning one. He needs me less and less everyday it seems like. I told Eric I can see myself giving him a bottle too long because it's one of the few times he is still enough to let me hold him anymore. I just didn't realize that the whole baby phase comes and goes to quickly. I mean, he will always be MY baby, but he's not a baby anymore. One of my friends told me the other day that life will be so much as he gets older...I just want to freeze time for a little while. I know that every month (or probably week at this point) I say "this is my favorite age/stage, so I'm sure I will love to watch him grow, but it is really stirring up a lot of emotions I didn't expect.
On a little more upbeat note, I have decided that every year on Mac's birthday I am going to write him a letter. Eric and I (and a lot of friends/family) wrote Mac letters before he was born. We sealed them, put them away, and one day I will give them to him. I don't know when...maybe when he has his first child. I like the idea of writing and sealing the letters because you feel like you can write the most personal of things to your child, knowing that no one else will ever see it (Eric and I never even saw each others letters).
Party plans are coming along smoothly. We are cheating a little bit and ordering a little bit of the food for Saturday. It will just be easier. I'm just hoping for a happy little man to show up to the party!

Road Trip

2010-02-03T21:02:00.022-06:00

A year ago today we scheduled the date that Mac would be born! I was NOT happy. A C-section was not part of my plan, but as you have probably figured out by now, it all worked out =).

So much has happened in a year. He's walking, talking (okay...babbling), waving, etc, etc...I finally understand why people say you just don't get it until you have a child. It is an eye opening experience.

Another eye opening experience involves going on a 5 hour car ride with an 11 month old. It's not really something I recommend. We went to Louisiana last weekend for my brother's 21st birthday and had a blast (once we got there). Mac actually wasn't that bad on the way up, but it's just involves constant entertaining to get him there without a meltdown (or just have your sister feed your child Twizzlers...that works too).
The last time we went to Louisiana Mac loved all the animals. Not so much this time. We took him to see two calves that had to be bottle fed. Great photo op, right? Mac didn't think so.
Mommy on the other hand had a good time.
The only animals that Mac seemed to enjoy were a duck and goose combo that wanted to attack him! The goose and I have had previous issues (I didn't like him and he wanted to bite me)...so I was not so thrilled to see him. Mac was standing at the door looking out when I saw our not so welcome feathered friends come waddling up. Mac thought they were hilarious as they quacked and honked and pecked at the window. Little did he know they were trying to get him!
My brothers party went really well. Lots of relatives we never see came and it was a good time. Mac tried to make friends with his little cousin Jasey by chasing her around, but she was not as impressed. She kept running away saying "you can't touch me!!!"
Hope you had a great birthday Kevin!!!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip...plus some of my destructive child and dog:

Get Out Of My Way!

2010-01-22T11:50:00.008-06:00

It seems like Mac is becoming more and more independent every day. Perfect example...Mac and I always get to school a little early so that we can have a little playtime before it's time to drop him off. Until a few weeks ago that involved sitting on the steps outside of his room and making him laugh. It's a whole new ball game now. He loves to crawl down the hall, stand up and hit the wall, and today he even climbed 3 stairs (something he has never done before). When his teacher opened the door to let everyone in, I turned to grab his bag and when I looked back, there was Mac...crawling into his classroom! He just took off like he knew where he was going. I guess I should be thankful that he enjoys school because there is one little girl that screams every single time her Mom drops her off. My point is, he is really starting to do things by himself.

When he is crawling on the floor at home (which is usually scattered with baby and/or dog toys) Mac doesn't try to crawl over the top of the toys anymore...he actually stops, picks them up, and moves them out of his way. I know this probably doesn't sound like a major milestone, but I am just amazed to see him grow and learn! He has even started slapping my hand away when he doesn't want me to play with his toy (probably not a good habit to start). I really feel like he is starting to show some signs of independence which of course makes me happy and sad all at the same time. He is really growing faster than I could have ever imagined.
Another thing that is really growing is Mac's hair. It's starting to look like he has a shaggy little mop on his head. It's over the top of his ears at this point and he even has a few of those cute little curly fly-aways in the back. It's time for a hair cut! Unfortunately somebody won't let me cut it until he is officially 1. I try to tuck it behind his years and part it to keep it out of his eyes, but it's not going to last much longer. His birthday is on a Friday and that next Tuesday (they are closed on Mondays) he is getting it cut.

Possibility of Disaster!

2010-01-18T14:09:00.007-06:00

I have made a decision....I am going to make Mac's birthday cake. I know, I'm scared too! The actual baking of the cake is no big deal. I anticipate the problem will be trying to decorate the thing. I went to Hobby Lobby today and bought a football cake pan and the tips/bags I need to decorate it. It looks very simple, but I am not good at decorating cakes. I have never iced a cake that looked right. Fortunately my friend Beth is going to help me so there is some hope of it looking okay. So if you show up at Mac's party and there is an unrecognizable object with a candle in it laying on the table, compliment me on the cake!
In other Mac news....he apparently had 4 teeth pop up over night. I was playing with him today and noticed 4 little white specks peeking through his gums (2 on top , 2 on bottom). I am hoping that this finding explains why Mac has been attacking me like a rabid dog the past few days.
He is also increasing his vocabulary...he now says "Bye Bye." It actually comes out sounding like "O-Bye, O-Bye" and I don't think he has any idea what it means, but he's still saying it! We are working on waving, but that one is hit or miss. If he's in the mood you get it, if not you don't.

Busy Little Bee....

2010-01-11T15:11:00.027-06:00

The 10th month has been the busiest/most productive for Mac so far. When the month started he wasn't even really crawling and now he's standing up all by himself! We have traded in the days of lounging around the house for a full time game of chase....

Mac, at 10 months....

-You have a head full of shaggy blonde hair

-You love to give kisses (especially to Heisman)

-You not only know what "no" means, but you like to repeat it to me when I change your diaper

-You can stand up all by yourself for up to a minute!

-You are almost completely off of baby food

-You love green beans and Cheerios (yummy combination)

-You like to drink out of big people cups (beware of the backwash)

-You wear a size 5 diaper

-You wear a size 5 shoe

-You can crawl like a pro

-You weigh 22 lbs

-You like to lick Heisman...and he likes to lick you back

-You fall asleep on Daddy on the couch almost every night

Since it has been a while since I posted pictures here is a bunch for yall to see...enjoy!

Well Hello.....

2010-01-04T20:43:00.005-06:00

Hello long lost blogging world! I think it has been a month since I've been on here! So much has happened in just the past few weeks. Mac is chatting non stop now and he is even standing up on his own! Right before Christmas he started doing what we lovingly refer to as the "sumo squat." He would just prop himself up and squat in the floor, look around, and then sit back down. Well that has turned into him just standing right up! The look on his face every time he realizes that he is standing is priceless. He is just so proud of himself...almost as proud as me. He has also learned to say "No." I don't know that I'm too terribly thrilled about that one. He has only done it a few times, but he definitely knows what he's saying. Today I was trying to change his diaper and he just kept saying "no, no, no, no!!" We have also noticed that Mac has become quite capable of telling us when he doesn't want something. The days of lounging in the Bethea house are over!

Lets rewind a little to Christmas Eve. We had our first experience with the Children's Service at church. It is actually quite comical when you realize that the preacher is giving his sermon in a much louder voice than normal to drown out the chatter, cries, and laughter of all the children. Mac was so great during the service. Something caught his attention (I think it was all the lights) and he didn't make a peep the whole time. Actually, I think it was the lights that kept him busy during his baptism as well. That night we put food out for Santa and the reindeer (Oreos, milk and veggies) and Mac got to have his first Oreo...which he loved! And then came Santa...and boy did him deliver! Mac got a Radio Flyer wagon, a tent, and in his stocking he found what every little boy needs...his first gun (not a real one). There must be something built into little boys because as soon as that gun came out of the stocking his eyes lit up! We had people over that night and had a great time. The next day we went to my grandparents house where once again, Mac was the star of the show! He really got some great toys that he loves playing with. That afternoon we went to Austin to see Eric's family. Everyone was shocked to see how much he had grown. The last time they saw him I think that sitting was his big accomplishment so to see him crawling, standing up, eating table food, and 'talking' was a whole new thing. And as great as holidays are it is so nice to have everything back to normal! Mac stayed up way to late during the holidays and didn't take enough naps so we are getting him back into the routine now...

And the bad news...our lap top is experiencing some technical difficulties so no pictures!!!! It is driving me crazy! I should hear back from them tomorrow about what is wrong so I hope to post some new pictures soon!

Happy 2010!

10 Months!

2009-12-12T14:06:00.004-06:00

Mac is 10 months old today! And in even bigger news...he called me "Mama" for the first time! He did it the other night and it actually made me cry. He has been doing it non stop and it makes me so happy. I wanted to write another little note to Mac telling him (and I guess ya'll) everything I could think that happened in his 9th month:

Mac, at 9 months…

-You have started to eat more and more table food (you love deli meat and tomatoes)

-Your 2 front teeth are about half way in now

-You have been waking up in the middle of the night almost every night for the last 2 weeks, but you go right back to sleep.

-You have turned diaper changing into a full on wrestling match

-Your favorite thing to snack is Ritz Crackers

-You are not allowed to eat Mum Mums anymore because you were shoving the whole thing in your mouth and chocking!

-You wear 9-12 month clothes now

-You have started to be a little afraid of strangers (especially men!)

-You love it when bath time rolls around. You love to play with the measuring cups

-You have really started crawling and you like to throw in a little hop

-You can pull up on anything!

-You love to stand up in your crib and jump

-You weigh 21 pounds and are 29 1/2 inches

-You have tried to take a few steps and have some bruises to show for it

-You take toys away from your puppy

-You get very sad if your puppy gets in trouble

-You learned how to say "Ma ma" 2 days before you turned 10 months old

-You love to yell “Da Da” all the time now

-You are the greatest gift that your Daddy and I have ever received

Snow Day

2009-12-06T20:42:00.012-06:00

As most of you know, I HATE cold weather! I have never enjoyed it. I would much rather be sitting on a beach somewhere soaking up some sun than anywhere where the weather is below 70 degrees. All that being said, this past Friday was really fun. I was in the car taking Mac to school when I noticed the snow starting to fall. I thought about having to pick him up that afternoon and I changed my mind and headed back home...and I am so glad I did! I know Mac will never remember it, but I actually had fun bundling him up and taking pictures in the snow.
Saturday morning I took Mac to get a picture with Santa. I had a feeling that it would not go well because this past week Mac has been very clingy and having a little bit of seperation anxiety...so throwing him in a strangers lap sounds like a good idea right? I took him to the Bass Pro near our house because they do the pictures for free. The photographer (aka sixteen year old guy who probably works in the back and got stuck snapping pictures of screaming children) told me to just "throw" Mac in Santa's lap and run towards the camera. Well, by the time I tossed my child and got out of the way he was already screaming. I am going to have Eric take the picture to work and scan it because it is priceless...

The rest of our shopping trip was fun though. Bass Pro is a great place to take kids..there is so much to look at!
And here are some of my new favorite pictures of Mac. He looks like a little candy cane!

Ride'em Cowboy

2009-11-29T21:33:00.026-06:00

Mac just made is first trip to Louisiana to see some of our family. We had such a great time! We headed up there on Friday and to my surprise, Mac did really well on the drive up. We were about 10 minutes away from my Aunt's house and...
Flat tire....but it did give Mac the opportunity to show off his new jacket and shoes.
The next day we headed over to Athens so that Mac could see the animals and he loved it! My great-uncle Glawson has tons of different animals up there. We always loved visiting when we were little. I wasn't sure how Mac would react since he had a meltdown at the zoo, but he seemed to be amazed by everything around him. We went to go see the clydesdales and a mule first.
He always have some not so normal farm animals...this time, it was a few Watussi. Their horns are so thick. He said that they will try to use a few of them to ride in the rodeo (for bull riding).
We went over to the Ponderosa to see some horses too. They put a lead rope on one and brought him out for Mac to see. He was the sweetest horse. We stood there and petted him for a good 20 minutes, Mac sat on him, and then they saddled him so I could ride. I got up on the horse and decided to take a quick picture with Mac...and of course and that exact moment the horse decided it did not want to us up there. He started kicking and jerking back hard enough that I was afraid to be holding Mac up there. I don't think I have ever held onto him so tight. Luckily, Eric was able to grab him and I just held on for a few seconds until he calmed down. After that he was fine. I rode him around for about 15 minutes with no problem...it was a little scary though...
I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see them cut the horns on the cattle that morning, but we had to get new tires on the car and got a late start...but I got a souviner...now we actually have horns that have been "sawed off" for our Aggie household.
After lunch we went with my brother to ride on the 4 Wheeler. I forgot how much fun that is!
We went to see my great-Aunt Ruth at her camp house that night and Mac got to meet his cousin Paxton. Paxton is 9 months older than Mac, but they are about the same height. I'm not sure that either one of them really knew what to think about the other:
We got to eat up at my Aunt Ruth's resturant, Port-Au-Prince and he was definantly the hit of the night. I am so thankful to have such an easy and, for the most part, well behaved little boy...
We had a really great time and it was so great to see some of my cousins that I don't think I've seen in years. We are heading back up there in January for my little brother's birthday and I can't wait!

Here are a few random pictures from the weekend.

9 Month Check Up

2009-11-16T15:14:00.013-06:00

I took Mac to the doctor on Monday for his 9 month check up and he is getting to be such a big boy! He is 21.2 lbs and 28 1/2 inches. When I took him in last month for his 2nd flu shot he weighed 20 lbs so he has put on a little over a pound in a month! Let's be honest, most of us can go up or down a pound from day to day, but for a baby it seems like a lot. As I was sitting in the exam room, I had Mac laying on his back on the table and noticed that he has a new tooth on the top that has now broken through. I am praying that this explains the screaming and overall unpleasantness that we have experienced over the past few day. He does have a runny nose and a cough which she thinks is just some viral thing that he will continue to have since he is around other kids, but other than that he's a happy healthy little man. His doctor asked me if he responds to his name, which he does, and also if he responds to "No." I told her that yes he does respond to "No" but he does so by laughing in your face. She asked me if I was saying it with a serious voice so I picked Mac up because I knew he would try and grab my necklace. When he did I put on my serious Mommy face and said "Mac, no." And as expected I got a head tilt followed by a big laugh...she said good luck =).

Mac always seems to have a blast at the doctor's office...I am really thinking about buying the kid a roll of doctor's office paper for Christmas. He rips it, throws it, wraps himself up in it, tosses it in the air...it's just a grand time for him. I'm sure the nurses just love that, but I clean up when we're done.

I am also excited to report that Mac has a "word" for me now. He calls me "Mmmmmm." He's trying. He will just be sitting there saying "Mmmmm" until I turn around and look at him. He has also started raising his hands in the air when he wants to be picked up. He just sits and waits for someone to come and get him...
I also wanted to give everyone an update about my friend Joe Houston who went missing 3 weeks ago today. They found Joe's body this morning in the cockpit of the plane. While I know that the best situation would have been for Joe to be rescued and have an amazing story to tell, I am just so thankful that he was found to provide closure for his friends and family. Please continue to keep his fiance, Jenn, and all involved in your prayers. Instead of planning her wedding, she will be attending his funeral. Jenn has been a pillar of strength throughout this whole ordeal, posting prayers and thoughts on facebook. Personally, she has been a true inspiration and an example of who God should be in all of our lives.

Today was also the 10 year anniversary of the day Bonfire fell at A&M. It is one of those moments in life that I will always remember. It was my freshman year at A&M and I lived in a dorm directly across from the fields where the stack went up. I still remember getting phone call after phone call and people running up the halls knocking on doors in the early hours of the morning. Standing out at that sight and seeing those massive logs, knowing that people were trapped beneath them was heartbreaking. 10 years ago today, the families and friends of 12 people were completely turned upside down. Remember those people today....

Crawling!

2009-11-12T20:47:00.002-06:00

Today Mac is 9 months old...I just can't beleive it has gone so fast. And to make today special he decided that today would be the day that he crawled for the first time! He took 4 steps/strides (I dont' know what you call it). He is finally figuring out that he has to move his hands or he will end up on his face. That's about all I was able to get out of him, but I was so excited. He just looked up at me with this "What did I just do" look...priceless! So way to go buddy!

Good Mommy

2009-11-07T14:11:00.008-06:00

I was reading an article the other day about "Good Parenting." For some reason that term really bothers me. I personally do not believe that you can put into words the definition of a good parent. Bad parenting is another story (aka "Balloon Boy), but that's a whole other discussion. In this article (which was aimed at people with children from birth to 1 year) it discussed that a "good parent" has a set bed time for their child every night. I do not for one second believe that I am not doing my job because I don't put my child in his crib at the same time every night...on the contrary...I think that we would be missing out on quality time together as a family if I forced Mac to go lay awake in his bed because of what the clock says. If I have learned anything from being a parent it is that you cannot tell somehow how to raise their child...what works for you may not work for someone else!

Moving on...

Last week my friend Amanda posted a little note to her daughter telling her all that she has done during this month of her life. Since Mac is nearing the end of his 8^th month I thought it was such a cute idea that I’m going to be a little copy cat and draft one as well.

Mac, at 8 months…

-You wake up with a big smile on your face every morning

-You love laying in bed with Mommy, Daddy and Heisman every morning so we can all play together before our day starts.

-You LOVE to be naked…it is getting harder and harder to hold you down and get a diaper on that cute little bottom

-Your favorite snacks are Mum Mums and Puffs (Mommy likes them too!)

-You love all of the fruits that you have been given, but veggies are not your favorite right now

-At school, the teachers say you like to pull people’s hair at snack time and that you love buggy rides

-You can now drink from a sippy cup if you are laying down…you need a little help if you are sitting up

-All of Mommy and Daddy’s friends love it when Baby Mac comes out to dinner

-Bath time is so much fun. You have learned how to splash the water all over the floor.

-You have also learned that bubbles do not go in your mouth!

-You can get anywhere you want to by rolling on the floor

-You have just learned how to sit up by yourself after playing on the floor

-You wear mostly 6-9 month clothes, but they are getting a little snug

-You weigh 20.5 pounds

-You are not the best napper, but you are a great cuddler

-Your beautiful blue eyes light up every time your puppy walks by

-You get very sad if your puppy gets in trouble

-You wake up around 7:30 am every morning

-You love to yell “Da Da” all the time now

-You think it is so funny when Mommy dances around and acts silly

-You adore your Daddy

-You are the greatest gift that your Daddy and I have ever received

That was a lot to read, so take a break and enjoy some pictures!

Praying for Joe and Jenn

2009-11-03T11:47:00.003-06:00

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the posts I have had on Facebook since last Wednesday and I just want to continue to ask for prayer for the situation. If you have not heard, Joe, a guy I went to high school with, is a pilot in the Navy. He was doing a routine training mission this past Wednesday over Corpus when communication with the plane was lost. A search and rescue began and on Friday afternoon they found the body of his co-pilot. Joe is still missing. His fiance, who I also went to high school with, has been posting updates on Facebook about the search and asking for prayers for Joe. As of yesterday, they Navy has suspended the search and are only looking to retrieve what they are able to find. Everyone is holding out hope that Joe is still alive, but obviously with each passing day the likelihood of this becomes less and less. It is a truly sad and tragic thing. Please continue to pray not only for Jenn/Joe and their families, but also for the volunteers who are still out looking for him. What a miracle would it be if Joe was found and rescued!

I think the hardest thing would be not knowing. If Joe does not survive this I just pray that they are able to find him to be able to provide closure to everyone involved. Just keep them all in your prayers...

The Talking Monkey

2009-11-01T17:43:00.021-06:00

Yesterday Mac celebrated his first Halloween as the cutest little monkey I have ever seen! We went to lunch with my Mom and step dad out in Pearland and I tried to pressure Eric to get into the spirit of things and to my delight he did. Eric decided to dress up as his favorite person....Mac! Now go ahead and try to tell me this is not the sweetest pictures you have ever seen...just try:
Mel took some pictures of Mac that turned out so well:
That afternoon we headed up to HFBC for the Fall Festival. I actually spent every Halloween night there growing up so it was fun to have Mac sped his first Halloween doing the same. I was pleasantly surprised that Mac let us keep the costume on him for about 15 minutes to get pictures. It felt great outside, but being in a lined, furry monkey suit with fuzzy feet and a wooly looking head was just too much for anyone to handle. Mac had some friends from his music class stop by to play and I was also excited to see old friends and meet their little ones for the first time.

Fellow blogger Amanda and her little girl Annabeth (who is about a week older than Mac):
Mac and Pop:
Noni, Grandmama, and Mac

Mac and his Great Grandparents:
My Dad, laying on the ground just to make the boy happy...makes me smile!
Bubbles!:
The 2 Eric's (actually I guess the 3) with Mac and Caleb:
Checking out the petting zoo:
It was a good day! Mac was quite cranky by the end, but that's a lot for a little boy to do in a day...

Mac has started something new..."talking"! He has started saying Dada incessantly since Friday. Eric of course loves it! I think that Eric and I are both being referred to as Dada, but I'll take what I can get!

Mr. Sandman.....

2009-10-28T12:33:00.003-05:00

I think I have the perfect little boy (I know, I know) except for one thing...his sleeping, or lack there of! He is such a happy little guy, loves playing with his puppy, and is, for the most part, very well-behaved no matter where we go, but he does not like to nap! For a while I have been counting my blessings that he sleeps through the night and thought I would just suffer through his refusal to sleep during the day, but it has gotten so hard to get things done around the house. Everyday he gets more and more mobile and instead of cleaning the house I end up chasing him around when he should be asleep. I decided a few days ago that as much as I hate to hear him cry, he was going to be in his bed for a minimum of 30 minutes each afternoon. We started this on Monday (I caved after 5 minutes and let him take a nap on me instead)...Tuesday came and went, and here we are today. I told myself I was just going to have to listen to him cry. I stuck it out for 10 minutes and guess what....he's asleep! Of course instead of doing things around the house I'm blogging, but I had to share my happy news! Hopefully we will keep this up!...

Weeeeeeeeeee!

2009-10-23T12:59:00.011-05:00

I took Mac to a little playground near our house yesterday afternoon. They have the swings for little kids where they actually sit inside. Mac loved it! He apparently loves for the wind to hit his face so that added with the wind he got from swinging was perfect.

I noticed that he kept looking over to the side and I couldn't figure out why. I finally figured it out...he was seeing his shadow! He seemed a little confused as to why it kept going away and coming back...

I took a picture of him last night while we were practicing our crawling(yes, he's still going backwards) and this picture shocked me.

I know he looks like his daddy, but this one is just crazy...he looks EXACTLY like Eric! Maybe all those stains on his shirt remind me of how Eric looks after a meal =)

Some sad news...next Monday is the last Mommy and Me music class until January! I'm going to miss going, but Mac does get to wear his Halloween costume this week. I can't wait to see all the kids dressed up.

We are also going to go to the zoo next week. I love the zoo so I am really excited! I will be interested to see if Mac even notices the animals...the smells he will probably notice.

Here are a few more pics!

Hey...I Know You!

2009-10-19T13:05:00.013-05:00

It is truly an amazing thing to watch a child grow right before your eyes. To watch a 5lb 12 ounce baby with the ability to eat, sleep and poop turn into a 20 something pound little person all in 8 months is so surreal. I love he can actually recognize people. When we found out we were having a boy one of my major goals was to make sure that this little guy was in love with his daddy....goal accomplished! Don't get me wrong, there are times that he wants just me, but I think Daddy may be in the running for favorite parent. Once I know that Eric is about to get home I like to stand outside with Mac so we can welcome him back! When we first started this Mac really didn't seem to care, but now he kicks his legs and gets a huge smile on his face when he sees that car turn the corner! As soon as Eric gets out of the car he leans as far as he can to get to him. I love it! It blows my mind that in just 8 months my baby boy has gone from this: (notice that his head was the same length as Eric's finger!)
To this!

There is one other "person" that Mac seems to be head over heels for...that would be Heisman. He screams (happy screams) whenever Heisman walks by. Last night we went to the dog park to let Heisman play. I thought Mac would enjoy seeing all the other dogs there. There were probably 25 dogs, but the only one he cared about was his puppy. Heisman would be running around and as soon as Mac got a glimpse of him the screaming would start! He loves him so much, and Heisman has been such a good sport. Much to Mac's delight, he will let him grab his ears and face (we try not to let him play too rough). My hope is that as Mac gets older, they will just wear each other out!

We couldn't let yesterday's beautiful weather go to waste so after church yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch (conveniently located on the front lawn of the church). The weather was absolutely perfect!
Mac seems to really enjoy the cooler weather so we sat outside on a blanket. He smiles everytime a cool breeze hits his face:
Mac has really embraced bathtime...We are still sitting in the sink because it is so much easier than the tub, even with his little bath seat.

One of Those....

2009-10-16T13:38:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks...nothing major happens, but all the little things that can go wrong do? That has been my week. Broken toes, hour and a half wait times, dresses not fitting, running late to everything, puke in the car....again, nothing major or earth shattering, but all the little things just seemed to pile up this week. Trust me, I know it could be worse, but it has just made for a blah and frustrating week. After this morning (I'm not even going to get into it) the tears were flowing....but seeing my child sitting in his classroom with nothing up a shirt and a diaper on due to a massive blow out somehow made it a little better. =)

I have a few friends that are having really tough weeks so I guess I should just be happy that all the big things went right. One friend lost his 19 year old brother last week and the funeral was on Monday, and another had to have surgery at MD Anderson on Wednesday...so keep them in your prayers.

I think that one of the best things about being a Mom that even if you are having a rough day...that toothy grin on that chubby little face can always make you smile...thanks Mac, Mommy needed it!

Shoot' em Up...

2009-10-15T12:32:00.008-05:00

Yesterday evening was interesting to say the least. Mac and had just gotten home and were playing in the living room when I heard a crash upstairs. I do not know why, but my immediate thought was someone was in the house. I grabbed Mac, sans pants, set the alarm and got in the car. I called Eric to tell him what happened and he said the alarm company was on the other line...something set off the house alarm...the only way the alarm would go off is if the motion detector was triggered or if a door/window was opened. We called the police and within 3 minutes there was a cop there. He came over to the car and talked to me and did a quick check around the outside of the house while he was waiting for another officer. Once he arrived they went into the house, guns drawn...and kicked my dog out into the garage for jumping on them =). All the while, my house has turned into the neighborhood attraction. They couldn't find anything. It freaked me out that someone could have been in my house. Eric and I did another search of the house...as embarrased as I am...we found that the shower curtain/rod in the upstairs bathroom had fallen...that was the crash that I heard. So basically, if you ever want to really scare me just throw a shower curtain on the ground =). I told Eric if we keep seeing "airplanes" and hearing noises in our house people are going to think we're drinking too much or something and take Mac away!

Today I took Mac to school and headed over to the dentist...I waited for an hour and a half and still had not been seen. They then told me that it would be another 45 minutes and that first visits take extra time because it is a detailed exam...what does that have to do with waiting in a waiting room for an hour and half???? I left with a cracked crown and no cleaning...looking for a new dentist.

Here are a few pictures:

Mac with our yet to be carved pumpkin:

Mac and his new carseat: