New Tricks!

I have to say I LOVE all the BIG changes going on around here! I just wish I was around more to catch them ALL when they happen for the first time. It seems like everyday Willie is doing something new! It is so EXCITING!!! Among our new tricks since January we can roll over from our tummy. We can put our toes in our mouth. We can spit using our toungue in between our lips and make a noise (so technically not spitting THANK GOODNESS). We can move our hand back and forth over our mouth to make fun noises. As you can image our once somewhat quiet house has gotten louder or as I like to say a little more LIVELY! All the fun tricks I have listed above I have tried to get on camera but since our little star refuses to perform on command I have been unable to capture them yet, but as soon as I do I will post.

Below are some little tricks I have been able to capture.

With just a tiny bit of help from mommy or daddy. Willie can sit up on his own. Most definately in his boppy.

Since January Willie has come to really enjoy his JUMPER. It is definately something to watch as he jumps and squeals in delight!!

WARNING PICTURES BELOW ARE VERY CUTE!!!!!

During the last week in February William and I decided to introduce rice cereal to our little guy. Since then we had to change to oatmeal but here are some pictures from the very first experience with SOLIDS!

Before we actually started we first practiced just sitting in our big boy high chair to make sure that it wasn't going to be too traumatizing to sit in it while we ate big boy food for the first time.

When the BIG DAY arrived to sit in our high chair and actually eat food he was READY. William and I had no idea how ready. After each bite he reached out for the spoon. One time I gave it to him carefully watching to make sure he didn't choke himself. All he did was chew on the spoon. He was tooo CUTE throughout the entire process!

When we were all done with eating our food in the bowl Willie was NOT happy (as you can see from above) he wanted MORE of this scrumptious stuff that we had been keeping him from. So we fixed him up some more and the end result is too your left a full little man. I could just squeeze those cheeks!!!

Since then Willie has mastered rice and moved on to oatmeal. And then this week we introduced PEAS. And let me tell you THOSE DID NOT GO OVER WELL!!! After the second bite he acted as though he was choking and then threw up what he had ate. So needless to say we are holding off on reintroducing peas til later. The next night since he didn't actually eat the peas we tried carrots and they went over MUCH better. So we can check off carrots as AOK in Willie's food book.

Well today is our families Easter Egg hunt so we will be heading to that soon, but I will post as soon as I can with those pictures I know he is going to be too CUTE with his dinosaur easter basket!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello Blog World Yes I know as many have told me it is NO LONGER Premature Awareness month! And I know it has been 4 MONTHS since I have posted. After that post Willie got double ear infections and then Christmas came and then I went back to work. And now I am trying to juggle house work, teaching work, and most importantly Willie. I would like to say that it has come to me so naturally, it is such a breeze! HA it makes me laugh just thinking that would be true for me. The reality for me is that it has been HARD!!!!!!! But I think that it is getting easier, but we will see. My goal is to post at least once a week.

Any Way, Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope that everyone is able to spend this day of love with the one's that they LOVE. I know I am. Willie is currently taking a nap and William has his fingers crossed in his recliner hoping Dale Jr. will be able to pull off a win at the Daytona 500.

William and I spent Friday night on a date we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then we went to a movie, we saw Valentine's Day!!! Yes my hubby is very sweet to see such a sappy movie. It was really funny. I won't ruin it for you in case you are going to see it, but it has some shockingly funny moments.

Willie sent out Valentine's to some of his cousins. As you can see he has grown A LOT in the last 4 months. William and I just can't believe how much he has changed in just 5 months.

On Martin Luther King Day my mom and I went up to the picture place to take some pics of our favorite little guy. The one of him dressed up as cupid was so cute they displayed it in the picture shop. Needless to say his daddy and I are very proud!!!!

Well I hope every one has a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!

#fight4preemies

Today is National Prematurity Awareness Day! This day is very important and it is probably overlooked by many, myself included. I believe that it goes overlooked because the tiny little sweet babies it is for cannot force people to recognize them. I wouldn't have known about this special day if it weren't for a fellow blogger reminding everyone. It was through her families blog that I heard a real story of premature babies and how much they go through. It is because of people like her and organizations like March of Dimes that this day is recognized! As my fellow blogger so eloqently stated, "Chances are you or someone you know has been affected by premature birth in one way or another." http://mcnultyquads.blogspot.com/ And that is so true!

As I said before I read her story and learned how very much premature babies go through in just the beginning of their lives. And then I saw first hand how very tiny they are and how wonderful the people are that help them and the results of all the wonderful things that the March of Dimes has done and is doing.

As you all know my son was NOT in any way premature, he was born 1 day before his due date! But we did spend about 3 days in the NICU. I felt like my baby was ginormous compared to the tiny little ones in there. But size not being important he needed help just like them, and because of the wonderful doctors and nurses he was able to get the help he needed. It was truly amazing how much these sweet babies have to go through and fight for in the wee beginnings of their lives.

Besides medical support these special people provide emotional support that parents need in such stressful time. Because I know first hand how heart breaking it is to see your baby attached to monitors. Most of the time many of the parents are not prepared to have a premature baby, but because of these wonderful people and the March of Dimes these parents and babies are given the support they need. So I would like to say Thank You to all of you who help these sweet babies, and I am not just talking about nurses and doctors, but the people that are a part of the March of Dimes and the people who support the March of Dimes. Thank You it is because of you that these sweet babies don't have to fight as hard for thier lives and that there will hopefully be less premature births in the future!

I know from my experience all I wanted to do was fight for my son and take his place, but I couldn't. But I have found another way; I decided while he was in the NICU that I was going to help and support the March of Dimes as much as I could. And I encourage everyone to try and help it only takes a little bit to make a difference. I know that a little bit doesn't sound like much but, just think how much we could help if everyone just helped a little bit. You can visit http://marchofdimes.com/prematurity/index.asp to find out how to help.

OWWWWW Shots!

This monday was a BIG day for us, it was SHOT DAY! Willie got his first shot at around 4:30 and as aweful as I thought it was going to be it wasn't. And if you are familiar with a normal 2 month old's shot schedule you would know that he should have gotten more than one. But William and I thought and prayed about what would be the best thing for our baby and we decided that would go with an expanded shot schedule, where Willie gets one shot at a time. We had several reasons for this decision and those are besides the point. The major part of this whole event was that William and I were having to make one of the first major parental decision of our lives. And let me tell you it was so hard for us it is still hard because we still don't know the true ramifications of our decision, hopefully everything will turn out fine. You see I am sure that you all have heard there are theoretically connections between autism and immunizations. But we thought that it was more important to prevent serious illness than worry that he may get autism. We pray that we made the right decision, and I have faith that things will be a ok.

Here is a picture of our little guy's boo boo=(

This is pretty much what he looked like on the way from the Dr.'s office. Believe it or not he really didn't cry too much despite the photo below.

But once we got him to calm down he was MUCH happier as you can see!

He is just too CUTE! I could just eat him up!

We finished the day with a bath that night and snuggled up in his pj's and oh so cute puppy dog slippers.

All in all we survived the drama of the first shots. Hopefully all the rest will go just as well, we will just have to wait and see. Below I attached a little video from tonight of Willie, I am just so amazed at how much he has changed and grown in the last two months. I can't believe how he can hold his head up so well, smile, and coo so sweetly! I just love him SOOOO MUCH!

Willie's Room!

I realized the other day that I have NEVER posted pictures of Willie's room. The theme stems from William's passion for Duck Hunting. So everything in his room has something to do with duck hunting, and ducks unlimited.

Wordless Wednesday

Yes this picture is quite odd if I say so myself. You see I was sitting at the cheesecake factory with some friends and my glass , this glass was at the end of the table. This picture represents how VERY much my life has changed in the last 8 weeks. I am now THAT person defrosting her breast milk at the table at a restaurant!!! NEVER did I understand more than at that moment in the restaurant that my life is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! Well have a wonderful Wednesday!

Willie is 8 Weeks old Today!

HAPPY 8 WEEKS OLD WILLIE!

Willie has been VERY busy these past 4 weeks growing and changing. He now weighs 10lbs!!! I can't even believe it!! Willie will be 8 weeks old today and has learned lots of new tricks! He can hold his head up pretty good on his own, he can grab things a little, and our FAVORITE new trick he can do is SMILE!! He just looks too CUTE doing it! I can't believe how much he has grown I remember it was just yesterday when he was born! I am trying so hard to document everything so I can remember all he does! I love being able to be home and not miss a minute of him growing and changing! Being a Mama is GREAT I never could imagine how wonderful it is!



I am trying to upload a video for the first time so bear with me if it doesn't work. Yesterday while I was playing with Willie I had that maniac song stuck in my head. And Earlier that day my weekly baby development email said that I should be moving his legs and arms. So putting 2 and 2 together I hit up itunes and played the song and played with Willie. Unfortunately I don't have enough hands to record and play with him, so I had to wait until William got home. And unfortunately Willie does NOT perform. So I couldn't record what I saw earlier but I still thought he looked cute. So below is what resulted.