An Overdue Update

Well, we have been pretty busy lately and on the move!! Literally!! Austin is crawling now!! Well, it's his version of a crawl, which is more of an army crawl. It started out with him pushing himself backwards. Within about two weeks, he finally figured out the forwards direction. However, he hasn't quite figured out how to get up on his knees, and bless his heart, he also hasn't figured out that he can push off with both his right and left foot. A few days after he started moving in the forwards direction, I picked him up at school and his teacher had just noticed a large open blister on the bottom of his right big toe (this coming the day after she noticed a bump on his hand and freaked me out with the possibility that he had Hand, Foot and Mouth, which thankfully he did not have). They couldn't figure out how he got the blister but I wondered if it had anything to do with how he was crawling. Sure enough, when we got home and I put him on the floor, I noticed that he uses his elbows to move forward and he only pushes off with his right foot!! So poor little buddy rubbed a big blister on his toe from crawling around. We kept a sock on his foot for a few days to let it heal some and it has almost completely healed and toughened up. Now he has multiple little blisters in different spots that just continue to heal and toughen up, just for another to come up in another spot!

After mine and Austin's weekend in Huntsville, we had a slight life-changing experience happen within our family. Justin was on his way back from working in Memphis on Thursday, August 5 when he flipped his truck off a 25 foot ravine off the interstate. Him and both of his coworkers were all miraculously okay with only minor cuts and bruises. It was a total freak accident and started when Justin's back tires hydroplaned after hitting a patch of standing water on the interstate. After losing control and skidding across the northbound side of the interstate and hitting a tree, they went right over this drop-off and flipped until they landed upside down. I'll post the pictures below.....they speak louder than words.








So needless to say, by the time he got home Thursday night and spent the day in the office on Friday, we did absolutely nothing that weekend except enjoy our time together. Justin was very sore and tired so we were as lazy as possible. This experience has made us both realize how precious life is and how short it can be. In all honestly, Justin should be dead right now and I should be a widow. A widow. I can't tell you how many times that word has crossed my mind. That night as I was washing dishes after Austin was in bed, all I could think about was what I would be doing if the wreck had been fatal. Would I even be in our house, washing those same dishes? Or would I be with Justin's parents at their house? Or would my mom be with me, washing my dishes and taking care of Austin while I mourned and grieved? Would I already be making funeral arrangements? Would I have to drive to Mississippi to identify his body? What kind of funeral would he have wanted? Who would be taking care of Austin while his mommy was grieving the loss of his daddy? How long would I continue to wear my wedding band? As morbid as these thoughts may sound, they were all running through my head, along with so many more. And as I talked to my mom about all these thoughts, she knew all too well exactly how I felt, as she actually had to ask herself those same questions when my dad passed away. I cannot even begin to imagine the thoughts that went through Justin's mind. I know his perspective and outlook on life has been changed forever. Right then and there, in the kitchen in front of the stove, I dropped to my knees and thanked God for sparing my husband's life. I give Him all the thanks and glory for the miracle that happened that day (oh yeah, and Ford for making "Ford Tough" vehicles). Hug your loved ones extra tight tonight.....life can be so sweet, but also so short.

The following weekend, Justin, Austin and I all went back up to Huntsville for another weekend stay since Justin was finally done with working on the weekends. We had such a great time!! Austin loved the pool of course and Justin and I really enjoyed having "adult" time with our friends! Jenn and Quin have such a perfect backyard for entertaining and we loved sitting outside on the deck, drinking a few beers, listening to music, grilling burgers and hot dogs and just enjoying life!! I wish we could do that every weekend!! Austin playing in Aunt Jenn's sinkSwimming with Aunt Laurie and RowenI love this picture of them!We have a picture just like this of Justin and his dad when Justin was about Austin's age. We were trying to re-create the picture...sure do wish my scanner would work so you could see the side by side comparison!

We came back on Sunday afternoon and went straight to Justin's cousins house for a Vinson family gathering. It was the first time that some of Justin's cousins had met Austin since we only see them about once a year. We had a nice time, although we were both pretty exhausted from staying up too late two nights in a row.

This past weekend we did a ton of cleaning on Saturday and a lot of nothing on Sunday!! Austin is at such a fun stage right now and is quickly getting into anything and everything!! He may not have his crawl down 100% but he sure is fast!! He loves playing with his toys and I could sit and just watch him for hours. He makes me smile and laugh so much when I'm with him. He is just so awesome. I know we have had our moments and he hasn't always been "perfect", but really, what baby is?! Other than those few moments...or days....he has been incredible and such a blessing to our lives. I can't even look at him without thinking or saying, "Oh my gosh, he is so cute!!" I swear he gets cuter and cuter by the day. He is still eating great and sleeping great!! He eats about 25-30oz of formula a day, eats a fruit and vegetable each day and also still gets rice cereal. We have had to change up the consistency of the rice cereal though because if it is too thick, it makes him gag and then he throws up everything that he just ate. Not a pleasant experience and very frustrating to say the least. He is sleeping from about 7:30pm to 6am, sometimes a little later, which is pretty awesome!! It has turned into a great schedule for us because we have plenty of play time with him at night, but also plenty of time to cook dinner, eat and spend some alone time with each other before bedtime. He is teething right now, which has proved to be a slight struggle lately! We just started putting Orajel on his gums and that definitely seems to help. I just hate to see him in discomfort and we believe the pain has kept him from sleeping a few nights here and there. Any teething suggestions from you moms out there?!?!

We are gearing up for football season and a trip to Charlotte, NC to visit our friends, Scott and Beth Ann this weekend. We are leaving around lunch on Friday and coming home Sunday, so it will be a short trip but we are very much looking forward to it. Austin is going to stay home and my mom is coming to stay with him. I just couldn't fathom a 6+ hour drive with him one way, not to mention that Friday is Justin's 30th birthday - yes the big 3-0 - and we really wanted to be able to go out and celebrate. So it worked out for everyone and we so excited!! Saturday should be lots of fun with the start of college football and getting out to see some of Charlotte! It should make for a great birthday/football/Labor Day weekend!

Here are just some recent pics of Austin over the last few weeks:

Austin was so tired after his bottle that he fell asleep on the changing table!He was wide awake after his bath though!He fell asleep in the bathtub the next night which has never happened!This was the night he started "crawling" backwards (yes, that is drool dripping off his chin!)These are his 7 month "photo shoot" pictures I do each month....they are getting harder and harder as he gets more mobile. I took a ton of pictures over the course of a few days just trying to get a few good ones!You can see how interested he was in taking pictures!I love that sly little grin!He fell asleep with his paci in upside down, which he does often because he loves to take it in and out of his mouth and play with it. I just think it's so cute when he puts it back in upside down and doesn't seem to care at all!I was trying to capture how blue his eyes are and the picture turned out kinda weird, but I kinda like it! In a way, it looks nothing like him to me!Playing with Daddy!Kisses for Mommy!
We put him in the swing in his swingset for the first time and he loved it! The smile on his face is priceless!!!

That is all I have for now! I would like to end with a quick update on Nikki. I know I haven't updated on her in a while, which is awful because the news is good!! She has had a zero tumor marker at her last two checkups!! This is such awesome, amazing news! She has been feeling so good and has had a wonderful summer because of that. She is getting ready for a trip to Hawaii (I'm only slightly jealous..) after another checkup next week, so please continue to pray for her! We need those tumors to stay away for good and I really don't want her to get bad news right before her trip. It's so amazing that the last chemo has worked so well, especially since it is the treatment that worked so great for her in the past. I just hope and pray that it continues to do its job because it's time for those tumors to be gone for good!!

Not even sure if there are any readers still out there, but if so, thanks for reading! I would love to hear from you!!

Weekend in Huntsville

The weekend before last, Austin and I took a weekend trip to Huntsville to stay with my best friend, Jenn, and her husband, Quin. Justin was working out of town so rather than staying home by myself, I packed our bags (and everything BUT the kitchen sink) and left work on Friday afternoon and went straight to Huntsville. After a long detour in Cullman due to a wreck on the interstate, I finally got there around 7:15. We fed Austin his sweet potatoes, which he loved, played with him for a little while until we gave him his bath and put him to bed. This is the first time that Austin has spent the night away from home with me. He has stayed with Justin’s parents a few times but we have never gone out of town together. So this was also the first time he has slept in his pack and play since he was about four weeks old when he was sleeping in our room. I was a little apprehensive about how the night would go, considering he was in a completely different atmosphere and slightly off his routine, but he seemed to go down fine without a fight, so I felt good about it.

Jenn, Quin and I spent a quiet night outside on their deck, having a few cocktails and just catching up. Jenn and I were up til about 1:30am and finally decided we had to get to bed. Once we got ready for bed, I opened up the room Austin and I were sleeping in to peek in at Austin before I turned the light out, and he was wide awake!! I thought, oh no, here we go again. I put his paci back in but that didn’t work. Jenn and I spent the next hour rocking/walking him until he fell asleep, only to have him wake right back up once we laid him back down (WHY does he do this?!?!)

Finally we got him down and Jenn and I went to bed. I laid my head down at 2:30am, and literally seconds later, he was awake again. I just wanted to scream at this point!!! So I picked him up, rocked him for a few minutes, and when that didn’t work I cuddled him up tight and laid down in the bed with him. My plan was to lay there long enough to where he was fast asleep, then attempt the transfer back to the pack and play. By 2:45am, I thought he was asleep enough, but when I started to move, he woke back up again. By about 3:15am, I said screw it. For the first time since he was a baby, he slept in the bed with me all night (well, the few hours that was left of the night!!). Even when he was a baby, I only let him sleep with me a couple of times for a few hours because I was just so paranoid. Saturday morning, he woke up at 5:30am which means Mommy was VERY tired the next day.

That morning, Jenn got up not long after Austin and I were up and we took a morning trip to Target to get some food for the day and some extra PJ’s for Austin (since he pooped all in his and of course I only brought one pair) – oh yeah, and some flip flops for me since I forgot shoes and the only pair I had were the heels I wore to work on Friday. No way was I walking around their back deck and pool all day in heels, even though I’m sure it would have been a funny sight!! We got back to her house and got ready for some pool time!

One of my other bestest, dearest friends in the world, Laurie, came over with her four year old daughter and husband and we all had a great day swimming and relaxing. It was HOT outside but the pool felt great and Austin had such a fun time. He did so great all day, you would have never known that he didn’t get a full nights sleep the night before. He didn’t seem to want to sit in his float like he did the last time, he wanted to be as much in the water as possible!! He even face-planted his face in the water a few times and it didn’t even phase him.
All it takes is a paper towel to make this little guy smile! Austin and Aunt Jenn playing in the pool I love this picture of them!Cool as school in the summertimeOur future little baseball player! Chillin with Aunt Jenn

It’s so funny the things your friends and/or family will do with your baby when you’re not around. For instance, Jenn was watching Austin while I went to change clothes, and I came back into the kitchen to find this: Aunt Jenn gave Austin his first popsicle!! He wasn’t sure what to do with it but he seemed to love the coldness of it and would open his mouth like he wanted to bite into it!!Jenn and Laurie made me lay down for about an hour when Austin was napping so that I could try to catch up on the sleep I lost the night before. When I got up, Aunt Laurie had given him the cutest little Mohawk!! Her daughter, Rowen, loooved Austin, but also got very jealous if her mommy spent too much time with him, which was too cute! Once they seemed to grow tired of the water, we set up blankets in the shade with lots of toys and a box fan to keep them cool. They were so cute and sweet playing in the yard together. Austin was constantly watching Rowen and she was so sweet with him! Austin also enjoyed playing with their German shepherd, Daisy. Daisy wanted nothing more than to lick his face constantly, which he didn’t seem to mind. We let her give him as many kisses as he would allow. He loved grabbing her fur and luckily it didn’t hurt her if he pulled too hard like it hurts our cat.
They sat in the floor and played, and it was so sweet when Austin put his little hand on top of her paw!! Sunday morning I left and spent some time visiting my mom, brother, his girlfriend and my niece and nephew. Brayden was born about a month before Austin and this is the first time they have been together since Easter. It was so cute to see them together and to think about all the years they have ahead of them to be the best of friends. They are so different in so many ways, yet are also very similar. Brayden never stops moving, making it almost impossible to hold him in your lap. Even when he was on his tummy, he legs were constantly flapping around! I tried to get pictures of all three of them together but was not very successful. Either Brilee would start moving around or Brayden would start crawling towards me or Austin would be so captivated by both of them that he just was not interested in me at all. Out of all the pictures I took, I think Brayden is looking at the camera in all buy maybe three – that boy LOVES the camera!! Then of course, my battery died, so I didn’t get near as many as I wanted to. I love how they are making the exact same face!
Brayden and his sweet little smile!This was the best one of all three of them. Brilee and Austin were too interested in watching the TV and Brayden never took his eyes off the camera!How cute are they together?! I love the way Austin is looking at Brayden and touching his armBrayden was trying to crawl towards me and it looks like Austin is trying to hold him back like, "No cuz, stay back here and chill with me!"

Overall, we had a great weekend trip and I feel much better having conquered it without any major mishaps! Now I know we can do it again! That’s a good thing too, since we are planning to visit them again next weekend!

Where is my Angel?!

So Austin is gone...and some monster child has taken over his body and possessed him!!!  He is no longer my little angel and I have nothing to blame for it except maybe his tummy!!  It's become very frustrating over the last few weeks.  It started the week he began waking during the night to eat, then last week he just never seemed to get back on track and ended the week with some major stomach problems.  He was constipated on Wednesday, by Thursday he was having very small bowel movements (skid marks according to his teacher) and then by Friday, he opened up the flood gates and pooped like he's never pooped before.  The school called me at work on Friday afternoon to let me know that he had already had five poops - typically if they have five poops that resemble diarrhea, they send them home.  They said his poops were not quite runny enough to send him home, but they wanted me to be aware in case I felt like I needed to call the doctor before the weekend started.  The last time he had a lot of poops in one day, the doctor said to call if he had 10 or more.  That seemed pretty excessive at the time but by the end of the day Friday, he had pooped eight times and had gone through six outfits.  Wow.

So you can imagine that his disposition was just not normal.  I guess mine wouldn't be either if I pooped on myself all day.  I felt so bad for him on Saturday because it was just obvious that he didn't feel good.  He wasn't running a fever or showing any other symptoms that indicated something else was wrong, but by this time he was only eating an ounce or two at a time, or completely refusing the bottle all together.  I was trying not to get too worried about this and told myself that if I was having the stomach issues that he was having, I probably wouldn't want to eat either.  I knew if I called the doctor he would tell me that he will eat when he's hungry and ready to.  I think he had about five poops on Saturday and he spent the night with Justin's grandparents that evening.  Unfortunately, their time with him wasn't exactly fun, as Grandad was up most of the night with Austin.  He said he just wouldn't go back to sleep and was just fussy and whiny.  Par for the course lately.

Their power randomly went out around lunch on Sunday so we went over to pick Austin up so he wouldn't get too hot.  He had started eating a little more from his bottles and had finished all his carrots at lunch.  By late Sunday afternoon, he had the nastiest, orange poop I've ever seen.  Even though it was disgusting, it made me feel better to see that what he had eaten a few hours early had already made its way out, meaning he wasn't stopped up anymore!!  So I felt really good going into dinner time at 6pm.  We are now on 2nd foods, so lots of different combinations and bigger containers.  On the menu for the night was pears and mangos.  Austin had gotten almost the entire container down before he seemed to not want anymore.  This is usually when I make his rice cereal because even when he acts like he's full, he seems to find room for rice cereal.  I'm still not sure why he loves that stuff so much.  Well, one bite of rice cereal and he started gagging.  And gagging, and gagging until he finally puked.  Anwhen I say puked, I mean PUKED.  It just kept gushing out and it was like all I could do was just stare at it and wait until he was finished!!  It was a total mess by the time we finished and called it quits.

So who knows....it may just take him some time to get his tummy back to normal and it may take some time to get back to his old schedule.  Regardless, I want my sweet baby boy back!!  I hate it when he doesn't feel good, it just breaks my heart knowing I can't do anything about it.  As much as it sucks for Justin and I when he is off schedule and not himself, I know it's part of it...but that still doesn't make it any easier to deal with.  Hopefully it won't take him much longer to get back to normal!!  (Oh, and sorry for all the poop talk....it becomes normal conversation once you have a child.

Growth Spurt?

We went through a slight rough patch last week. I’m hoping it was a growth spurt, but I guess we’ll never know. It started Saturday night with him waking up periodically during the night (keep in mind he’s been sleeping through the night since he was six weeks old!). On Sunday, he barely napped all day and the longest I could get him to sleep was for about an hour and even then he would only sleep if he was lying right on my chest. He did the same thing Sunday night, just waking up constantly. Well of course Justin left Monday morning and wasn’t returning until Thursday night. So far the summer hasn’t been that bad without him here….until this week. He woke up a lot on Monday night too. We thought that maybe his tummy was bothering him (since he had just started solids) or that his legs were hurting him where he had gotten his shots (he still had these big knots in his thighs where they stuck him). So I know the little guy just wasn’t feeling good, I just couldn’t figure out why – tummy, legs, a little bit of both..?

I had hoped that Tuesday night would be a little better, but it definitely was not. The little monster woke up at midnight and I put the paci back in. He woke up at 2am, I put the paci in. He woke up at 2:20am and this time when I went in there, his eyes were wide open like he was wide awake. Putting the paci in this time did not do a thing. I would try to rock him back to sleep and as soon as I would lay him down again, he would wake back up fussing. I gave him some Tylenol, but that did nothing. Finally, I decided maybe he could be hungry. He had finished all of his bottles at school that day (something he rarely does) and he had eaten all of his solid food and rice cereal that night, but he only ate about 1oz from his bottle. So even though he hasn’t eaten during the night in 5 months, I made a bottle anyways. He sucked down 3oz so fast, I couldn’t believe it! As soon as he drained the bottle, he cried for more. So I made another 3oz and he had fallen asleep by the time he ate about half of that. I put him back down and low and behold, he woke back up. I let him cry a few minutes thinking he would cry himself to sleep, but then I realized the longer he cried, the longer he and I were BOTH awake. So I went in, picked him up and rocked him back to sleep for about 10 minutes until I knew he was good and asleep. I finally got him back down and went back to bed myself around 4:15am. By the time I got up at 6am, showered and got ready, he was still asleep! He didn’t wake up until 6:45am and then ate another 5oz then! I thought at this point that it was surely a growth spurt.

I had no clue what would be in store for myself on Wednesday night, and was just hoping and praying I wouldn’t lose another 2 ½ hours of sleep during the night again. It’s hard to be up like that during the night when it’s been months since you had to do it! You forget how much it sucks until you are doing it again!! So Wednesday, he ate all his bananas, all his rice cereal and 5oz from his bedtime bottle. We got all the way to 5am (not counting the few times of putting the paci back in during the night) before he woke up and would not go back to sleep. So I made a bottle and fed him at 5am and had him back in bed asleep by 5:30 – you know, 30 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off!! So I re-set my alarm for 6:30 and by 7:15 that little dude was still asleep. I woke him up just in time to get him dressed and loaded in his car seat. I didn’t figure there was any point in feeding him since he had eaten just two hours before that.

Thankfully, Justin came home on Thursday so I was able to get in bed a little earlier and knew I would have a tag team partner if we had a middle of the night feeding session again. But of course when I’m not alone, he sleeps all night. It’s like he knows – “Oh Mommy’s home alone, I’m gonna wreak havoc on her!!” Hmm..something I guess I’ll have to get used to.

This week we still haven't quite been back to normal, but we have now added stomach issues to the plate. On top of that, the little guy just won't eat his bottles. Luckily he'll eat his food but I worry that he's not taking much from his bottles. He is not waking during the night to eat but now he wakes up between 5am and 6am rather than 6am or later! That has definitely been an adjustment. Hopefully this phase will pass soon and we can get back to our regular routine!

Here are some recent pics I wanted to share! Not sure if this thing has any readers out there but if so, hope you enjoy!

This is quite possibly my most favorite picture of Austin ever!!Austin and Daddy playing and being sillyNow he wants to sit up in his swing and use the bar to swing himself!I found him completely sideways in his crib one night and he had the cutest look on his face when I found him...I couldn't resist the picture :)A few minutes after we put him down each night, he usually turns himself sideways or completely upside down. Justin has seen him upside down a few times, but this was the first time I saw it and again, I couldn't resist the picture! His feet are where his head should be!

Solid Foods!!

Well we have started solids – and Austin is loving them!! We had his 6 month checkup on July 15 and we got a great report from the doctor. He was weighing 16.7lbs (30th percentile) and he was 26.75 inches long (60th percentile). He continues to be a long and lean little guy!! The doctor said he is growing beautifully and is perfectly healthy. He gave us the go ahead to start on solids so we are giving him one fruit and one vegetable every day.

We started with green beans, which was probably not the best idea. I had read that sometimes if you start with a fruit, the baby gets used to the sweet taste and will refuse the vegetables. Knowing how bad my sweet tooth is, I really didn’t want to start him with a fruit and risk him not wanting his veggies!! I know it may be early to think that way, but I want to be as proactive as possible with him and vegetables so that he won’t be anything like his Mommy!!

The first bite of green beans did not go over so well. His face was priceless but then he gagged (funny, that’s what I do when I eat beans and peas).


We gave him another bite and he gagged again, and then he puked (notice the puke stain going down his bib – his daddy was mad that he ruined the pictures with the puke but it just added to the story!).


We tried a couple more times but he gagged every single time until I refused to give him anymore. If he doesn’t like them, I will not force him to eat them. So we gave up and I decided to send some to school the next day for him to try again, but we got the same result. So we moved on to apples, which went over much better!

Since then we have tried every fruit and vegetable that Gerber has to offer and he has loved everything!! He finishes the container each night, which means we’ll be moving to 2nd foods once all of the 1st foods are gone. We even tried green beans again the other night and he actually ate them this time! I guess he was not only getting accustomed to the taste of solid food, but also the texture. I’m so proud of him for being such a good eater so far!!

My Favorite Things

I love that Austin has the same cow lick that runs in my family. I love that when I kiss him on the mouth he never fails to stick his tongue out at that moment. His hair makes me smile and I love kissing his head and rubbing his hair. I love to watch him sleep at night. I always check on him one last time before I get in bed and it's so hard not to pick him up and bring him in the bed with me to snuggle. He's just so soft, warm and cuddly...completely irresistible. I love picking him up after he's been sleeping in his swing. He's so sleepy and just buries his head in your neck and it's the sweetest thing. Justin and I used to "fight" over who got to wake him up :) I love to watch him sleep while he eats his bottle. The way he plays with his hair just makes my heart melt. I love to see him playing in his jumparoo. He gets so excited and to watch his face light up is so precious. I love that he is a perfect mix of me and Justin. He has my eyes and nose and Justin's lips. I love to watch him curl his toes and wiggle his feet when you tickle them. He has a sweet spot at the top of his thigh and if squeezed the right way, you get tons of giggles from him. I love that he loves animals. The sight of them makes him squeal with joy. I love to watch his eyes stare into mine in complete relaxation as I pour the warm water over his head in the bathtub. I love to see him sitting up. It was such a crazy feeling the first time I walked into daycare and he was sitting up and playing rather than laying down or in a bouncer/swing. I love that he still loves his playmat and seems to find new and exciting things that captivate his mind every time he's on it. I love his eyes. They are the perfect, most beautiful color blue and he has his daddy's eyelashes that I'm completely jealous of. His smile is the most precious thing I have ever seen. I love the sounds he makes. He has the sweetest voice I've ever heard. I love when he squeals. It's so cute and ear piercing at times, but still one of the best sounds in the world. I love the look on his face when I clean his ears with Q-Tips after his bath. He closes his eyes and is in complete bliss getting his ears cleaned. I love to see how he's grown. Looking back at the pictures from his first few months are so funny when you can see how much he has changed. I love that he typically keeps the toes on one foot curled under and the toes on the other foot flexed up. I love how he reacts when he sees us leave the room and I love to see him get excited and wave his hands in the air when he sees me walk into his classroom at school to pick him up. I love that we come home with new artwork from school each week and that it covers an entire side of our refrigerator. I love to watch him lean towards the spoon and attack it when he eats his rice cereal and how he gets so distracted if our cat Lola is anywhere near him while he is trying to eat. I love how he touches my face as if he's studying it and learning. I love how everything he grabs goes straight to his mouth. I love how he wraps his arm around mine and holds his hand on my back when I'm carrying him on my side. I love how when he is around new people he is always sure to keep me in his sight and knows exactly where I am. I love that I can see him making certain arm or leg movements and know that is exactly what I was feeling him do in my belly. I love it when he poots. :) I love his booty and how it has cellulite when you squish it. I love his thighs, we call them his pork chops. I love his fingers and toes, his perfect little ears and his cute little belly button. I love how he is enthralled with tags on blankets. I love that when he is sleepy he pulls his blankets over his face and rubs his face all in it. It's so sweet to see him yawn and rub his eyes when he is tired. I love walking into his room first thing in the morning and he is already awake. He waves his arms in the air and starts smiling the second he sees you. What better way is there to wake up in the mornings? I love that his hair is turning such a pretty color blonde. I love that he sleeps like a wild man and you never know what position you're going to find him in each morning. I love how he goes to school every morning with socks on and comes home everyday with socks off because he kicks them off. I love that he kicks his legs constantly. I love the quiet moments alone with him. I love covering him in kisses. I love the feel of his smooth, soft skin. I love the way he smells after a bath. I love the way his room smells like him. I love to see his face light up when he sees his daddy. I love that he has formed such a sweet bond with him. I love how every time I strap him in his carseat, he sticks his tongue out and tries to eat/suck on the seat belt until I get it strapped in place. But more than anything, I love that this list can go on and on, and will continue to grow longer every day for a very long time...