And Now For December

Hm. Well I guess that whole weekly update thing hasn't quite panned out. I figured I should make at least one update before Christmas comes!

Oh Wyatt. That child. I truly believe there are no sequence of words to fully describe our little Bubs. He is comical beyond reckoning. He is intensely sweet. He is a grooving machine. And he never. stops. talking. Which I actually love. His list of words has grown tremendously and now includes:
*puppy
*papa
* hi baby (aka mom)
*dada
*shoes (oos)
*socks (oos)
*stairs (both up and down)
*car
*door
*push (puth)
*snacks (acks)
*cheese (ees)
*drink (key)
*blankey (key)
*binkey (key)
*penguin (peggy)
*lights (ights)
*baba
*juice (oos)
*nose (ohs)
*Elmo (bobo)
*Santa (dada)
*ducky
*yucky
*vacuum (dacuum)
*thank you
*diaper (piper)
*food (nanananana)
*apple (paple)

And he knows a ton of animal noises. I try to get as many of them on video as possible, but since he's so stinking smart he already knows what's happening whenever I pick up my phone or pull out the video camera. And instantly stops what he's doing to come help me record. He knows doggy, ducky, horsey, elephant, bear, lion, tiger, cow, snake, fishy, birdie (quack), froggy (bi bi bi), dolphin, seal.

His little personality (or should I say ridiculously big personality) is shining too. He says 'hi' in his little voice to EVERYONE. Seriously. We go to the mall in the mornings and he has to walk the opposite way of all the mall walkers so that he can stop every person and say, "Hi!". If they don't respond, he chases them down until they say hi back. And what a flirt!! He's starting giving kisses (one of my definite favorites), and is definitely generous with his love. If you say bye bye to him, he'll lean in with a "mmmmm" to give you a big old toothy kiss. He tells himself jokes....then laughs. He asks for Elmo most mornings, and when he wants to listen to the Rubber Ducky song by Ernie he "hehehehe"s in his best Ernie impression.

                

In just a week....

Everybody always talks about how fast kids grow up. Now, I experienced this while nannying in college, but it is completely different being on the 'actual' parent side of things! It blows my mind how much Wyatt did/learned in just a week!

In one week, Wyatt...
*learned how to clap to music.
*started a new dance move.
*said his first word (puppy) (actually, he's been saying this one for a while, but he really perfected it last week)
*said his second word (nana aka banana aka food)
*said his third word (ducky)
*went down a full slide by himself
*started walking off items (i.e. the coffee table, toy box, etc)
*started to help put his shoes on, close the lid on drinks, use the vacuum
*learned how to drink out of a straw
*decided he's a big boy now and wants to drink out of adult cups
*started trying to say 'park' (ack)
*has begun to read his books aloud (non-sensical style of course!)
*had broccoli for the first time (and LOVED it)
*tried to take his first nose dive off the back of the living room chair

Sure, these are all little things, but they are so BIG to us! I couldn't stop laughing the whole time we were at Applebee's last night because Wyatt was dancing to the barely audible music the WHOLE TIME.

We keep waiting (and WAITING) for Wyatt to finally walk! I swear, we're the only parents in history who are rooting for our kid to start running as soon as possible :) He is getting so incredibly close too! Saturday he just up and decided to take a couple steps towards me from the box he was standing next to. Today he thought the 'walk to mommy' game was the best thing ever, and was so exciting for me!!

The other fun part of our weekend was taking Wyatt to the fair for the first time. He had the best time riding around in his wagon, eating fair food, seeing sharks, petting the animals, and walking around with dad and the grandparents. Oh, and did I mention I entered a few pictures in the photography exhibit? And some of them won? I'm really excited about that especially because this is my first year entering!

Third Place

Honorable Mention

A Day of Firsts

As many of you know, our life has been a whirlwind for the last few months. And by whirlwind, I mean "Hey Ma! Board up those windows real quick and take your knittin' into the cellar. There's a tornado right thar!". However, despite the mass confusion swirling about our lives, I try to take the time to enjoy the little day to day things. Today was one of those days that I was truly able to enjoy every little joyous happening.

The joyousness started early in the morning, with Wyatt's daily dance routine whilst chowing on his breakfast of strawberries, bread, and watermelon. This puts a smile on my face every morning, and really, what better way to start your day than to watch the most adorable child EVER dancing his little heart out.

The day progressed and Wyatt and I found ourselves at therapy where we have been attempting the impossible...getting Wyatt to walk unassisted. That boy is such a little bugger! He will walk endlessly when holding onto your hands, or if you are holding onto his clothing. But let go for a nanosecond, and down goes the boy! Well our therapist Mandi is such a trooper! She refused to give in to Wyatt's 'demands', and continually changed strategies in order to get our stubborn one to walk on his own. Success!! For about 4 steps. And it only took a toy, 4 different foods, a phone, a bottle, mommy, and another child. We can do that every time we want him to walk, right?? Regardless, it was thrilling and breath taking to watch Wyatt take those 4 steps completely on his own!

Fast forward a few hours and we find ourselves in Toys R Us searching for strollers. By now I'm sure most of you are familiar with the Ugly Dolls. No? They're plush toys that are, for lack of better term, ugly....but in a cute way. While browsing the store, upon an Ugly Doll display we came, and Wyatt reach for one of the Uglies. I figured, what's the harm?, and let Wyatt tote the doll around the store. We returned to the display in order to exit the store, and out of amusement, I pulled a large, bright orange doll from the display. Wyatt's eyes lit up, his arms went wild, and he immediately squealed, "Pwee!! Pwee!! Pwee!!" What?? I had just found something Wyatt wanted so badly that he actually said "Please" for the first time!! I'd recently started teaching him to say please when he wanted something, but the venture had been a failure.....until today!! The squeal didn't stop there. The doll had to be passed to the register for check out, and as soon as the soft fabric left Wyatt's grasp the chant began. Pwee! Pwee! Pwee!! Pwee! Until the precious object was returned to the safety of his arms...and he held on until we were safely inside our home. This was by far my favorite part of the day. It is incredible that something as simple as Pwee and the elation on Wyatt's face at finding a toy can just plaster a grin on my face.

Perhaps its all the chaos of the last few months that's making me enjoy the tiniest moments of the day so much. Here are just a few of my elations of late:
*Wyatt's new dance move (waving one arm across his body)
*The new words Wyatt is constantly trying to say. Some of them are;
   *puppy
   *kitty
   *diaper
   *please
   *banana
   *dog
   *boo
   *uh-oh
   *quack
*How ecstatic Wyatt gets playing Peekaboo/Hide and Seek.
*The fact that Wyatt goes around growling and 'quacking' every moment he's awake.
*When Wyatt "hulks out".
*The quizzical look on Wyatt's face when he is trying to figure something out.

There really is no way for me to express my emotions or Wyatt's actions in words, and I am trying to record as much as possible so that I can share it with all of you. :)

Bubble Fun

Speed Demon

Champion Cuddler

What mess??

Colored Whipped Cream Playtime

Hello world!

Oh my, my, my.

What a ride the last few months have been. If it's not one thing, it's another. And we've come to appreciate even more all the help that we have available to us, and how many people who care about us. Where to begin....I suppose I'll get the unpleasantries out of the way....

I've had some fairly severe medical issues lately which have resulted in an emergency surgery, regular visits from a home health nurse, a hospital stay, iron infusions, more blood tests than I would like, a visit to an oncologist, and regular contact with the infectious diseases doctor. Oh, and let's not forget the open wound in my rear. Yes, that's right, I have TWO holes in my bum at the moment. It was discovered at the beginning of May that I had a peri-rectal abscess and was rushed into the OR to fix the problem. Come to find out that having an abscess too long can lead to blood poisoning, and thanks to some SERIOUS negligence on my surgeon's part, I'd had it for a least a week by that time. Then after the surgery, I didn't find out for FOUR DAYS that I didn't have stitches, but I had an open wound that was packed with gauze (again, thanks to some SERIOUS negligence on the surgeon's part). The kicker came when I was told the gauze needed to be changed three times a week, and the reason I didn't have stitches was because the wound had to heal from the inside out. Ya. No one told me that before I was man handled into the hospital prior to surgery. Long story short, after not healing AT ALL for a whole month, it took an infection, a trip to the ER, a hospital stay, and some unnerving blood test results for the surgeon to finally pull his head out of his ass enough to realize something was wrong. It's been nearly 10 weeks since the surgery, and I still have an open wound. I still see a home nurse two times a week, go into wound care at the hospital every 2 weeks, and am required to see the incompetent surgeon who put me in this position every 2 weeks. The upside is that I can actually see some improvement. Now instead of a 5 cm deep hole, it's only 1 cm, and slowly getting shallower. I'm finally able to drive myself, and have started working too. Working has been really good for me mentally, but it can still be a strain physically. But you do what you have to do, right??

Now on to the funner, more interesting stuff!! Namely, Wyatt. :) He's more and more fun every day! We're still trying to get him to walk on his own, but he is such a stubborn bugger!! He knows now what we're doing when we try to get him to walk, and he just sits down. Sometimes he's far too smart for his own good. But he loves dancing! He'll pull himself up onto something, and just bounce and throw his arms to the beat of whatever music may be playing. He especially likes "Wipe Out" and The Beach Boys. And Sesame Street. We can't forget Sesame Street. I try very hard not to let him watch TV very often, but there are times where I need him to sit still for a short while, and that is pretty much the only way he'll sit still....ever! But I figure that if I'm going to let him watch anything, it may as well be Sesame Street :)
This year was the first time we took him to the Fourth of July parade that traverses just down the street from our house, and he loved it! The best part of the whole parade was when the street sweeper came by, and I looked behind me to see Wyatt sitting on Anthony's shoulders with both arms in a 'goal' gesture above his head with a huge grin on his little face. I so wish I could have gotten a picture of it!! We spent our time after the parade cooling down in the sprinklers, then took a trip to the festivities lined along the river. Since Wyatt is still going to bed around 5 or 6, there were no fireworks for him this year. Maybe next year.

Go Cheerleaders! Go!

Cooling off in the sprinklers

Checking out the river for the first time

My first attempt at ribs...yum!

Daily our routine is pretty dull. We do try to have play dates on a regular basis so that Wyatt gets interaction with other babies. We don't really have family or friends with children, so it's very important to me that Wyatt socializes with other children. And he loves these play dates!! I started a group on Facebook to meet other moms, and I've met so many people!! Some are even old high school friends I've reaquainted with. I hope to keep doing these groups for a long time for both our sakes!!

Play date with Sage!

Cuddling with blankey and Lucie

Chicken nugget fiend!

Laughing it up at Scoop Jam

The Big O.N.E.!!!

It's finally here! Wyatt is officially ONE YEAR OLD!!! What???!?? Was it really one year ago today I was lying in a hospital bed, numb from the waist down, seeing my little man for the very first time? We had Wyatt's party on Saturday so people could be there for our little man. It turned out to be pretty much a family affair...grandparents, Uncle Jared, Grandma Jerri, both god parents (Auntie Marie and Uncle Shane), but it was really nice! We set up a ball pit in the middle of the living room for Wyatt to play in, and he had the best time between that, being the center of attention, and opening presents! Oh yes, and cake. :)

These are some of the pictures taken by Linda (Anthony's mom). I'll get mine up once I'm able to sit again!

Lovin' life in the ball pit

Playing Peekaboo

His favorite face to make

Thanks for the awesome trike mom and dad!!

Ball Blowing Elephant from Ma and Pa

Hanging out with Uncle Jared and Saunie

mmmmmmm!!! Cake!

Sharing cake with everyone