Otitis Media

The little man is down (but not out) with an ear infection today. He had a fever yesterday while he was home with Daddy and a couple of rough nights so I stayed home with him today. I took him to the pediatrician this morning and did his 9 month old checkup (scheduled for next week) today too. He no longer has a fever but one ear "looks terrible" according to the doctor. So I had my favorite pharmacist fill his prescription and hopefully we are on our way back to feeling great. Little man hasn't been too fussy in general, but if something goes wrong (like he tips over) he is way more unhappy than his normal self would be.

We have to go back to the doctor next week, though for follow-up because his hemoglobin was low again. Hopefully its just because he was sick today. Nevertheless, its back to iron supplements until we know for sure. As for now, I think we'll go for a walk. He enjoys that so much. And his ear hasn't kept him from bouncing!

By the way, Adam is now in the 3rd percentile (up from the 1st) in weight. Yippee! He is also up to the 35th for length now.

Nine Months

Here's a picture from this morning that cracks me up. You can't see the true craziness of Adam's bed-head, but you can see that every time he wears these jammies he manages to get his feet out. In the middle of the night. Little Houdini.

Well, school has started back and Adam has taken full advantage of that by deciding to absorb every little thing that happens and learn to imitate it.

• We have a 9 month old on our hands now! And maybe its just me but it seems like he has made a huge leap in growing up!


• He still has not really taken off crawling yet. He gets where he needs to go in a round about fashion but I am sure any day now he will be on the move.


• He learns something new every day. I love this age. Have I said those things before? Day before yesterday, Adam was playing on his belly and just sat himself up! He puts his legs underneath him and then pushes himself backwards with his arms until he's sitting on his butt. After the first time, he is such a pro that you'd think he has been doing it forever.


• Adam is so curious about everything now. He is pulling himself up when he can find something that will work to hold on to. Most of the things in our living room won't work, but he's found a few places that do. David plans to lower the crib mattress when he gets home from work today.


• Oh my! And the tooth! That's been almost 3 weeks now but he has one nail-sharp little tooth on the bottom front that is poking through. He's had a little runny nose to go with it.


• He discovered his tongue last weekend and was constantly sticking it out and using it to make smacky noises. After a couple of days he was over it.


• Its time to take a good look around our living room and places where he usually hangs out. I have a photo album on the shelf beneath my coffee table and he loves to crawl over and pull it off. Now that he can sit himself up, he gets situated, pulls it closer to him and then starts turning the pages (usually upside down and in a crinkled up fashion). Yep, that album needs a new home.


• Adam is ~16 lbs and 10 oz, 27 1/2 inches long and a wiggly worm. He's outgrown his 3-6 month clothes and #2 diapers (though we're still using them at the moment). We've moved on to #2 foods as well.

Who can believe its time for school to start again? No one in my household is in school now but I've realized it doesn't matter. Its still a turning point either way. First, there's the traffic. Where do all these people go? I made the mistake on the first day of school of driving by a school near my house. I have discovered this year that traffic lights fall way more in my favor if I get out of my neighborhood the longer way. I thought I was early enough to beat the school traffic, but not on the first day! I was in line for the same stop sign for nearly 7 minutes! Plus I was already running late. But sitting there and watching all these parents walk their too-little children to school made me tear up! I am such a softie sometimes. I watched a little guy who was obviously SO proud of his Batman bookbag, but I just wanted to say, "Turn around, he's too little for school!" I will be a basketcase in 4-5 more years if I'm not already (which is arguable).

On a brighter note, school does give you the opportunity to shop from the BEST selection of school supplies, and who doesn't love school supplies? Why do you suddenly feel inspired to journal when you have a new notebook and a flashy new pen? And crayons! Aren't they just fun! I admit to hanging out in the school supply aisle looking for something that I "need". Maybe I'll go back to school for something. Umm..naahh. I'll wait a few years for kindergarten.

Mobile at last!?

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but Adam is developing mobility.

A Weekend to Remember

I have been very anxious to get some pictures up from our little long-weekend vacation earlier this month. Here are some pictures of Adam before and during his very first plane ride!

As you can see, he doesn't seem too bothered by it at all. He was a traveling angel! He just sat on my lap and played the entire time. I had read and been told to take a bottle or pacifier to help keep his ears from hurting during takeoff and landing. I gave him these unless he was asleep and he didn't seem to even notice. So maybe my worries were unfounded; I choose to think all my preparation paid off!

Even our plane ride back by myself with Adam was a breeze. He helped me out TREMENDOUSLY by flirting, making eyes, and giving huge grins to everyone sitting around us. So we got a little bit of special treatment, which never hurts, right? I met several people this way! I had prayed about the people I would sit beside on the plane, that Adam wouldn't be a bother to them and that they would be okay with having a little one close by. That plan was sure answered! On our first flight we sat beside a gal who was a dental student in London, England traveling home from visiting her cousin at the beach. It turns out that she had a nine month old baby sister at home. Next thing I knew she was handing me things from my diaper bag and letting me know when his eyes looked heavy. The seat was open beside us on the second flight home but Adam made friends with several people around us who then set up my stroller for me once we picked it up plane-side. The steward on that flight made a special trip to my row to tell me that Adam earned the "best baby" award. Well, yeah!

We had a little bit of excitement on our trip too. On our first full day there we walked from Leigh and Tom's house across the road and for a long morning walk on the beach. We came back and went out by the pool (which was beautiful!). We had really enjoyed our day and were packing it all up to come inside to go to my mom's birthday dinner when my mom fell down one small step by the pool. She was hurting pretty badly and we found out the next day that she had sprained BOTH of her ankles and broke her left leg! So needless to say our vacation plans changed slightly after that!

Adam loved being in the water though. Leigh and Tom had this gigantic yellow duck in the pool that made Adam do a belly laugh when he saw it. We also spent a lot of time near the waterfalls in their pool because Adam was fascinated by them. Now for a few more of those pictures...

Up and Away

Look at what I found Mom! A plastic bag!

Yummmy! I like carrots!

Yikes! Its almost Thursday already, and that is when Adam and I leave for Virginia Beach! It is Adam's first plane ride and my first attempt at trying to pack all of his stuff AND mine in ONE BAG! Yikes again! The good news (well, sorta) is that its only for a few days. We are traveling out with my mom but will be returning on our own after the weekend. We are sad that David couldn't come too! We'll be visiting family there and have some serious pool time planned. So say a little prayer for us as we travel.

Happy Independence Day!

I guess my theme for the summer is to be a few days late of every event! Adam and I had a great weekend (and Daddy too) but he did have to work a couple of days. I was fortunate enough to be off from work both Thursday and Friday and we visited with many friends, did a little shopping, good eating, cookouts, lounging around, playing, and even singing. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Adam really is a happy baby most of the time!

We went with my parents and brother to the Patriotic Concert at Transy led by the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. We packed a picnic full of snacks and our camping chairs and really had a nice time. The weather was wonderful that day; we were so happy to have taken advantage of it when the next couple of days were a little bit rainy.

It was a good time to think about our country and how blessed we are, and to remember those who have served and are currently serving our country. One of the best parts of my job is getting to give a little something back to our veterans. Surely, as we go about our busy lives we do not take enough time to remember those who are overseas, are in preparation to go, those who have returned and are trying to pick up their lives, and those who did not make it back. We thank you!

God bless the USA!

Father's Day and Summer Fun

I heart summer! Isn't it just wonderful? I love doing things outside, enjoying the weather, the greenery, the parks, the flowers, all the activities, summer holidays, vacations, the pool….I could keep going! We've been taking advantage of the good weather and perhaps that's why I have so much catching up to do on the blog.

Happy Belated Father's Day David! It is your very first! Adam loves his daddy, and he is just wonderful! I say frequently that as a new parent I have a great appreciation for single parents, and I am so thankful that we are able to go about parenthood as a team! David was a natural from the start, and he jumps in and does anything that needs done to take care of our little man.

Adam has been busy trying out all the pools! I bought a little one for our back patio, he has one for my parents house, and David's parents have an above ground pool. Adam sometimes enjoys the splashing and kicking but for the most part, he doesn't care too much where he is as long as there's something around that he can chew on! He did get a little excited over swimming nakey!

In other news, Adam has been sitting up by himself some this week. He has a few topples and can always find the one spot that doesn't have a pillow to fall on, but he is doing pretty well balancing himself. His favorite toy at the moment is the box of wipes with the picture of Nemo on it. Why do we spend money on toys?

Adam spent some time last weekend with his great-grandmother, Nana Thurmond at her house. He loved showing her how well he could jump!

Twenty-Nine and Holding

Well, its true, and thanks to Facebook, everyone already knows its my birthday today! I have already had a wonderful week of birthday celebrations, and really feel like today is passing by just a little too quickly!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday! I am so grateful to have all of you in my life. I have such a wonderful husband and son, family, friends, and co-workers. It’s a great day to take the opportunity to let you know how much you are appreciated and valued to me. I thank Jesus for placing each of you in my life.

David’s parents, sisters and their husband(s) - yea Sarah and John! – all stayed with us this weekend while they were in town for a wedding, and we all went to Bob Evans on Sunday with my parents for a b’day breakfast, complete with cake.

Last night, David took me to dinner at Dudley’s to celebrate and we had such a great dinner. I had a half rack of lamb which was just fabulous, our appetizer was great and so was the Black Tie Sundae we had for dessert. We even had a special dinner guest, Coach Calipari, who sat next to us! This of course, was the highlight; forget my birthday! David was really happy with my choice of restaurants! Our waiter asked us if we had already tweeted/texted/called/and facebook-status-updated regarding our table neighbor, but we were trying to be cool until we left the restaurant, when of course we started calling everyone! Our waiter claimed we could be the most popular people at the water cooler today just by sharing the info.

I’ve had several extra special gifts already…
1) Flowers were delivered to my house as soon as I got home yesterday, and they were a beautiful arrangement of all-white flowers. For those of you who don’t already know, David is a very thoughtful gift-giver, and has always given me flowers on my birthday that clue me in to the piece of jewelry that he gives me next. So of course, white is very exciting, right ladies? I got a pair of diamond earrings before we went to dinner.
2) My co-worker made me a cake and cupcakes and brought them to work this morning, which was so thoughtful. The cupcakes were yellow cake mix with a gallop of cookie dough in the middle and cream cheese icing on top. The cake was equally yummy!
3) Adam was also thoughtful; he had my mom make me a keychain that says “29 and holding”. Thanks sweet Adam! There’s a story behind it…just wait. I can remember my mom’s 29th birthday. Our family used to camp nearly every weekend in the summer, usually at Jenny Wiley State Park/Dewey Lake. I loved riding my bike to the campground store to peruse the pencils, great eraser collection, and the keychain rack. (My brother loved the fool’s gold). I found a “29 and holding” keychain and had to go back and ask Dad for money so I could buy it for Mom for her birthday. So we have a family tradition!My mom sent me the sweetest email this morning. I’ll have to ask her if its okay to share, but it was all about this day 29 years ago. I love birthdays!

Homemade Highchair

Adam and I had some playtime in the grass. He watches my every move while I water the flowers.

Then David came home and Adam lit up! He loves his daddy.

Here are Adam's first little dirty feet! Ironically, this happened at my grandmother's house, who always has the cleanest house in town. (It was outside Mamaw, I promise!)

We have come such a long way with rice cereal! Adam now LOVES eating with a spoon even though he hasn't quite mastered it yet. Already, though, he wants to hold it himself. Ahhh.....don't grow up so fast! He loves applesauce, bananas, and pears, and makes, "Mmmm..." noises with nearly every bite. Looks like our boy didn't fall far from the tree with his love of food!

Here is my grandmother feeding Adam at her house on Friday. It was sort of an impromptu meal!

And here was Grandad holding him up the entire time.

Adam pays so much more attention to everything around him now. He watches everything so carefully, and now has favorite toys. It melts my heart when he falls asleep holding them! Here is his little bee that plays "twinkle twinkle little star". We often call it "bug" at our house for some reason. Bug, bee, butterfly, whatever. He likes it.

And we're still jumping! Wait...this jumparoo looks different. Oh yeah - my mom loved ours so much she bought one too. It matches the little playmat jungle gym that is at David's mom's house. Poor, poor first grandchild....

Adam had his physical therapy appointment last week on his 7 month birthday. This was a checkup type appointment that was scheduled before we left the NICU. The therapist evaluated him and felt that he was doing wonderfully and was right on track for where he should be. His strength and reflexes were good, too. She said that she didn't have anything that she could really pick on but she gave us a few tricks to help Adam work on his balance for sitting alone and to help him roll and pull himself up. On his 7 month b'day he weighed ~14 lbs, 10 ounces.

Chowing Down and Jumping Up

We are attempting cereal with Adam now despite some resistance that comes in the form of tears, arching back, and spitting it all over. It seems even when I think he shouldn't be hungry, he acts as if he is starving when we try giving him cereal. We're sticking with it, but so far we haven't had much success. But he's cute anyway!

We have a new toy at our house, the Jumparoo. Our little man is going to have some strong legs! He loves to jump, jump, jump and loves the lights and music. It is so fun to watch him!

Our Mother Duck has hatched(?) her babies so our flower bed is empty now. David saw her walking the little duckies in a line on our sidewalk so he left our gate open for them. Later, we couldn't find them so we walked down and saw her swimming in the creek with seven little ones following closely on her tail.

Three Years and Counting...

David and I recently celbrated our third anniversary! I feel like I say every year that in some ways it feels like yesterday but other times it feels like we have known each other forever, and I mean that in the best way. I am so thankful to have him as my partner for life and blessed to get to claim him as my husband. He is thoughtful, generous, and romantic as well as a wonderful husband and father. He made us reservations for dinner at Bellini's on our anniversary evening. To many more years together!

Six month checkup and an Expectant Mother Duck

I took Adam for his six month checkup Friday, though we are a bit past six months. However, we've been busy celebrating more family things such as Adam's Aunt Sarah's wedding to Uncle John last weekend. Which, by the way, was beautiful, as was the bride, and Uncle John looked pretty handsome, too. So now they're hitched, and have the monogramming to prove it!

Back to the doctor's appointment... Since we like to keep records around here, we must say that Adam now weighs 13 lbs, 14 oz (first percentile), and is 26 inches long (25th percentile). His head circumference is now in the 13th percentile. I was a bit surprised that his weight was still first percentile, but he made leaps and bounds in the other departments, and he has still gained over 2 lbs since his last appointment. That is difficult for a baby and carseat-toting mom to believe (feels like another twelve to me!). In all, Adam has gained almost 11 lbs since birth, which is nearly one-up from quadrupling his birth weight. (Someone please let me know what that word is…it escapes me at this moment and maybe a year ago I would have stopped to look it up myself). Add to that TEN INCHES in length and he is a growing boy! I have already forgotten how tiny he was, so let's add this in for memories:

We enjoyed being outside with the nice weather and admiring the flowers that my mom helped me plant. I love being outside, but looking at all the things I had yet to get to do was stressing me a bit so it is a big relief to have more color and less weeds. I managed to collapse and then reassemble the Pack 'n Play so that I could bring it outside, and was determined to not let it get the best of me. In the end, it has been just the trick, as Adam slept and slept!

By the way, here is a little surprise that my mom and I found while weeding one of my sun gardens. I heard her say my name in a way that meant she had found something, and given that we live near a creek and have quite an assembly of critters around, I had jumped the flower bed and was high stepping to the door when she finally yelled what she had found…a duck, complete with a down nest! Though I will not be weeding anywhere near her (those will just have to grow), it could have been a lot worse.

Here is a picture from my first Mother's Day with my mom and Adam:

And a picture from Leah's graduation two weeks ago:

Update on Dustin: Our friends' baby boy has had a second surgery now to remove some infection found in the pleural lining of his chest cavity. He is improving and starting to be tired of the hospital, which is good! I am sure his parents reached that point weeks ago! Tim and Kelly thank you for your continued prayers, as we hope for no more infection or fevers and for their family to get to return home this week.

Six Months Old

My little sugar bear is now 6 months old! I can hardly believe it. Ponder this: On May 8th last year, David and I first found out that I was pregnant. Almost exactly 12 months later, on May 9th, we have a 6 month old baby boy. Amazing! Not many people can say that, and we are so thankful for how well Adam is doing considering all that he went through at the beginning of his little life. He was just ready to get here!

-So what is Adam into these days?
-He is now 13 lbs, 6 oz and 25 ½ inches long (by our measurements)
-He is too big for most 0-3 month clothing but 3-6 month is still a little large, so those that are 3 months are just about perfect right now.
-Rolling over is now a great pastime, though being on his belly for long is not his favorite thing.
-On his back and rolling to his left is pretty much his only move currently. There was one roll from front to back but its been so long I now question if what I watched really happened! I love watching him hold his feet straight up in the air then letting his legs fall over to the side, then he follows through to turn over. It is so cute!
-My baby has the best smile in the whole world! (Its been made official).
-He loves to try to stand up and love to bounce. There’s even a look of determination in his eyes. He burns a lot of energy! All boy, already.
-Bath time is lots of fun. He doesn’t know cause and effect, but he splashes and kicks a ton!
-His eyes are still really blue, but his hair color remains a kaleidoscope. Well, not really. Its still red on the back bottom, but the top is becoming more blonde.
-We still aren’t sure who he looks like. He is his own person as of now.
-He is still eating only breastmilk, but will start some new things next week at his 6 month checkup.
-Adam notices some toys now, and has learned to grab onto things such as his toys, my shirt or my hair (ouch!)
-He still really dislikes his carseat. He can now arch his back and make it really difficult to buckle him in.
-The bouncy seat = playtime for Adam. He is also a big fan of the ocean jungle gym. He has moved on from the boppy pillow, though it will forever be close to my heart, and he is just not sure about the Bumbo seat, except that he likes to lean over and bite it.
-He drools, drools, drools, drools, drools! But no teeth yet.
-Everything is starting to go to his mouth – toys, blankets, bibs, etc. He mainly only likes his paci when he is going to sleep, then spits it out.
-He holds his head up well but can’t quite sit up.
-First long trip was this past weekend to Charlotte, NC to see Aunt Leah graduate from pharmacy school. Congrats, Leah! Also the first time out of Kentucky.
-He sleeps really well at night and wakes up to eat usually once, maybe twice.
-He has discovered his feet and grabs them now.

I had a nice Mother’s Day, too. David took me shopping and helped me pick out things for myself, and Adam gave me a sweet card that said all the things he loved about Mommy. Plus, I have a “Full night of sleep” coupon that I can use sometime soon, though it states “Exclusions apply, see Daddy for details”. I may wait until there’s also a sale for “buy one get one free”, what do you think?

Our friends Tim, Kelly, and Dustin need your prayers. Dustin has had some complications following a planned surgery at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and is now fighting off a bad infection from an unknown source. He was recently intubated (though now is not) and is still receiving aggressive antibiotics. Please pray for a full and quick recovery for Dustin, and for some multiplied rest for his parents.

Not over it yet

I can't get over how great this past weekend was. David and I were both off Friday so got to spend time together at the park with the baby, enjoying the gorgeous weather. If every day was like that... We went to my grandparents' house to celebrate my Dad's birthday, and even though we didn't do anything major the rest of the weekend, it was so nice to be able to get outside. I love watching Adam notice so many new things outside, and I just wish I knew what was going on inside his little head! Anyway, I wanted to post Jessica's slideshow of some new pictures.

http://jessicacampbellphoto.com/adam2/

We're Rollin' Now

Sorry to send my few blog followers into a tizzy by not posting in so long! Our little man can now roll over! I have been hot on his tail the past few weeks, always with the video camera in hand, to catch the much anticipated first roll. Of course, most of you already know that kids and babies do not perform on demand, and apparently Adam is no different.

Papa (Carson) drove up this morning to drop off a couch that was given to us (thanks, Leah!) and since I was close to leaving for church, David ran out to pull my car out of the driveway. Adam was playing in the living room under his little jungle gym. When I walked down, he was on his belly, and off-center of the jungle gym. Knowing David would not have left him on his belly because Adam usually protests, I had to confirm, and of course, Adam decided that this morning, the one minute he was left alone, would be the perfect time to try this rolling-over thing. So I put him on his back and he quickly replayed for us what we had missed! So I wonder, which way did your babies roll first, front to back or back to front?

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful day to celebrate our risen Lord! We have had a fun weekend, traveling to Corbin to spend time with the Strunks and to celebrate Sarah & John's wedding shower, Leah coming to town and John's birthday. Adam was a good traveler!

We made it back late so we could go to church today. We got up and ready for the 8:30 service - quite an accomplishment! It was Adam's first day in the main church service, and he was really good. He slept a little, played a little, and LOVED looking at all the big tv screens! We have noticed at home that he is always straining to see the tv if it is on, so of course the four big jumbo-screens were like a party to him.

We had Easter dinner at my mom's and then came home to dye our Easter eggs. You can see how much Adam enjoyed that!

Speaking of Easter eggs, David and I have dyed eggs every year we have been together, but the kit we bought this time was a real dud. One tablet didn't dissolve at all, there was no purple dye (tragedy), and several colors were sub-par. I looked carefully when buying this year because last year's kit did not contain a wax crayon (also a tragedy, and I am scarred by this, you can tell). So I got the box that contained a crayon, lots of colors, and thought we were good to go. Not so much. By the way, who wants a BROWN egg? We were not impressed. David thinks we bought a "neon colors" box three years ago, so I'll have to look for that one next year.

Adam is 5 months old!

Adam and Aunt Sarah at her bridal shower a few weeks ago.

Is it Big Blue Madness Yet?

Look who's big enough for his UK outfit now? Adam needs it to be basketball season (or football will do) so he can wear his cute little clothes! Wait...are there still games going on? I only remember because I'm mentally spending the money David might win in his bracket challenge. He was the only one to pick the final four in our group of ~165 people! Yea! Hopefully I didn't just jinx him. Once that's over, I guess we'll have to cheer for the baseball team... But this happy fella, isn't he adorable?