CRAWLING!

I started wondering if Boyd was ever going to crawl.  We worked with him, moving his arms and legs, and finally at 8 1/2 months he started crawling!  KK was watching him that morning because I had a meeting, and when I got home she said he crawled 3 "steps".  He was napping so I thought "ok she's probably mistaken" but he woke up from his nap and proved me wrong!

Oh --- and when I went to get him from his nap, he was standing in his crib!!  He started crawling and pulling up on the same day!  Boy, things were going to get crazy!!

This is Boyd crawling in the yard at Grandma and Papa Messick's.  He is so cute!

I got him this musical table and just a few days later he started pulling up.  I guess he was determined to play with it!  He loves it, and the songs are kind of catchy (is that sad??)

The windows in our house are the perfect height for him to pull himself up and look out.  Mark keeps saying we need to get a picture of Boyd and Raider both looking out the window, because Raider does the same thing :)

I snuck in this 8 month picture.  His poor skin...sometimes it is better, and somtimes it gets worse.  I hope he grows out of that!!

He is trying to model his cowboy hat and boots, but the hat stays on for about .05 seconds...



A few oldies...

So I am not very good at keeping up with my blog.  I will not admit defeat, though, and will pledge that when I am home this summer I will do a better job!!  I am finished with my masters now (yay!!) so that should also free up some time.

I thought this was a precious picture of Boyd with his Holliday shirt.  I love Holliday, and he will learn to also :)

Grandma Messick found these PJs and we thought they were adorable.  Boyd looks like such a big boy sitting in his chair.  He is such a cutie...he melts my heart!

We took a trip to Farmington (a month and a half ago) and we are planning to go again this weekend.  Boyd found a snuggle buddy in Papa, and I think he's excited to see him again.  He was so comfy in his arms.  I remember those days sleeping in my daddy's arms, too!!  Precious!

So Mark thought it would be funny to put Boyd in his bag when we got home and see if Boyd wanted to be packed up.  He obviously liked it...do you see the huge smile on his face???  To be fair, anytime Boyd sees a camera he gets a huge smile.  Everyone says it's me rubbing off on him because we're both hams :) 

I'm okay with that!

Series of Unfortunate Events

Mark and I realize we aren't getting any younger...and Mark has definitely been reminded of that lately!!  He is 31, which is by no means old, but since he turned 30, he started having a series of unfortunate events.  We thought he might have just had a bad year at 30, but it seems to be continuing into his 31st year.  I really really hope this ends soon!!!  I thought it was just bad luck, and I hope it doesn't mean my husband is falling apart!

Warning...some of the pictures below are a little graphic...nothing that is too bad, but if you don't like scars, stop reading :)

First was Mark's achilles...he was playing basketball one Sunday night like usual, but he faked a shot and pushed off.  He heard a pop and thought he blew out the bottom of his shoe.  Once he took the next step, he knew it wasn't his shoe!!  He had torn his achilles tendon.  Surgery #1

Next was his hernia.  The doctor thinks that being on his crutches for his achilles tendon made him develop a hernia, but the men in his family are prone to have hernias, so I guess it was a combination of both.  I don't have a picture of it, but that was Surgery #2!

After a while Mark started noticing a black dot on his nose.  He thought it was a black head, but it really looked like someone stabbed him in the nose with a pencil!  He let it go for a while, but finally decided to go to the doctor.  The local doctor cut it out and sent it off, but we weren't too worried.  We later found out that it was a basal cell carcinoma.  Luckily, it is the "best" skin cancer to have...I guess?  The problem was that his surgery was a week before I was due to have Boyd!  He didn't want to have a big bandage on for all of those pictures, and luckily he got the bandage off on a Wednesday and I had Boyd on that Saturday. Surgery #3

Well...some good news in the midst of all of this....WE HAD BOYD!  He is an amazing dad!! This is an old picture, but look at the proud papa!!  You can hardly see the red spot on his nose :)

Ok...so we're not finished.  That would be a good Happily Ever After, but apparently Mark wants to continue getting hurt!  He was out trimming tree limbs with his dad one weekend (a weekend that I was off work and we had an entire day in Springfield planned).  He came home and showed me a picture of someone's knee cut open.  I didn't think it was him because he walked in just fine and didn't say anything.  I thought it was his dad, but then I noticed the boxer shorts in the picture and realized it was HIM!!  He cut his knee open with a chainsaw!!!

He said he didn't want to call me because he would have scared me, so he decided to wait until he got home.  Well, he probably shouldn't have gone all over Springfield on his knee, but I had this day planned for a while, so we suffered through it.  He really didn't have surgery this time, but as soon as he cut his knee, he said "Oh dad...I need some stitches."  He hopped the fence, went straight into the clinic, up on a table, and his dad sewed up his knee :)

His scar is worse than if he had gone to the hospital to have it sewed up, but this was faster and much cheaper...and his dad does good work! Surgery (kind of) #4

The most recent event came a few Saturdays ago while Mark was at work.  He was working cattle, and was standing on top of the tub (basically on top of bars trying to make cattle do what he wants them to do).  I wasn't there, but he described his fall as "I fell off the tub, but my foot decided to stay."  He twisted his knee to the inside and did something to his MCL.  At the time, he thought he tore it, and he was limping for days, but his ortho surgeon (that he has gotten to know pretty well lately) said it was just a bad sprain.  So...no surgery this time!!  We'll just call this one Injury #5.

I am on Spring Break, and Mark is off this Friday.  His dad asked him earlier this week what his plans were for Friday.  I know he asks because he needs help with something, so I waited to hear what he had in store for him.  As soon as I heard "trimming trees" I told Mark he was out!!!  I can't take another injury right now... :)

I realize that none of Mark's injuries are life-threatening and that most of them are not even too serious.  I always worry about him, though, and I never want him to hurt.  I hear stories about life-threatening illness and injuries, and I thank God that his have been so minor (he might not think they're minor...but....)  We are very blessed to have our health, and he is blessed to have a job (even if he gets hurt at work!)  We are also blessed with a healthy, precious baby...one that has changed our lives!!  I thank the Lord every day for these blessings, but I also pray that he keeps us healthy.  I know He will never give us more than we can handle with His help :)

Piggy Bank

Mark and I were trying to figure out what to do for Valentine's Day.  I had been wanting to go to Firehouse Pottery because I had heard good things, so I told him that I thought that would be fun.  I didn't really know what I wanted to make, so I looked on their website.  I saw that they had piggy banks, so I thought it was PERFECT because I wanted to get one for Boyd.  I thought a personalized one would be even better!

We went on one of my many snow days, and we had a lot of fun!  Mark picked out the base color and painted the three base coats, and the rest was pretty much up to me.  I was going to try to use stamps or stencils, but it ended up being easier to just draw everything by hand.  I used a circle brush to make the basketball and baseball circles, but then I just painted the lines.

I am BY FAR not a creative person, so I was very nervous!  I actually really enjoyed myself, and I think it turned out really cute :)

This is one of the sides.  I had the football and couldn't figure out what else to put on it, and a friend of ours, Brittany, suggested the goal post.  What a great idea!

I wrote his name on the back, but as you can see it's not very even.  Oh well...it's handmade!!  I told you I'm not creative (or artistic!!!)

The other side was pretty easy because I already knew what I wanted to do.  His room is sports-themed, so it was easy to decide that we wanted basketball, baseball, and football on his piggy bank.  

The front of Mr. Piggy was what we struggled with the most.  I wasn't going to do anything with the facr, but now I realize that it would have been pretty boring if I had left it all one color.  Mark thought I should paint it's snout a different color, so we looked at some examples on the shelf.  We found one that looked similar to the one below.  We just changed to a darker blue and then put black dots around the snout and ears.  I think it turned out really cute!

I was very nervous about painting since I have no artistic ability, but the people at Firehouse Pottery are so great and help you out if you have any questions.  They will also help you decide what to do if you are clueless (like I was) and they help guide you through the process.  I can't wait to go back and make something else!!

SLEDDING!

As you know, we had Blizzard 2011 here a while back.  I think we ended up with about 8-10 inches, and we didn't want Boyd to miss out on his first blizzard!  We also didn't want to keep him outside for too long, but we had to try out his inflatable sled :)

I put 2 pair of pants, 2 pair of socks, 3 shirts, a hat, a jacket, and gloves on the poor kid.  Mark made a make-shift scarf to keep his neck warm.  We were ready to go!! 

I tried to upload the video of his sledding experience, but it was taking too long and I didn't know if it would ever work.  Long story short -- Mark was taking him around in the snow and he face planted!!  He took a corner too fast and Boyd went face first into the snow.  He cried at first, but was fine a few seconds later.  He's such a tough guy!

Boyd looked so cute!  I took this picture after his big spill in the snow. 

I also wanted to get a picture of the two of us.  Daddy was in the video with him so I thought I would take advantage of the photo op!  He looks really happy in this picture.  He's kind of like his mother...the camera comes out and he's already smiling.  I think he'll enjoy being the center of attention :)

It's been too long!!!

It's been WAAAAY too long since I have updated the blog, so I have a lot to say!  Boyd is growing up so fast (too fast for mommy!) but he's just so stinkin' adorable :) 

He loves eating, and is not too picky, which is good for us.  He loves carrots, sweet potatoes and bananas.  He is warming up to his greens, such as green beans, peas, and avocado.  We have been getting him a few things at restaurants and feeding him while we eat, which he seems to love!  I have gotten him carrots, potatoes, chicken and dumplings, and avocado. 

Below is his 6 month picture, which is long overdue.  He is already over 7 months :)

At 6 months he started saying "da da" even though he doesn't know what it means.

He doesn't enjoy tummy time, but we realize that he needs to do it, so we're trying!

His parents as teachers lady came over and said he was in the 75th percentile of height, weight, and head circumference.  I guess that's a good thing!

He is such a happy boy...he gets more fun every day.  I can't imagine life without him!!!!

He is getting a little more "clingy" lately, which makes me kind of happy that he wants us so much.  I shouldn't be like that, but I like that he wants his mommy!  He has started saying "mama" but only when he's a little tired or upset.  I realize he doesn't know what it means, but it still melts my heart!!!

Boyd also had his first illness a few weeks ago.  He had an ear infection and eventually got RSV.  I took him in on a Thursday and we found out he had an ear infection, then Thursday night he started running a fever and his breathing didn't sound great.  I took him back in on Friday and they said he had RSV and we had to buy a breathing machine.  I gave him his last breathing treatment today and he is doing MUCH better!

How cute is he?!?

Grandma Messick couldn't resist buying this cowboy hat the other day.  She said it was the only Small, and it was only $5, so how could she say no?  He also has matching black cowboy boots, so his look is complete (well, when I actually get a "cowboy" looking outfit on him...)  

He's not a huge fan of wearing hats...I just wish he knew how adorable he looked in them :)



I'm officially a van mom!!!

Mark and I were heading to Farmington for Christmas, so we packed up our things and he took them ALL out to the car.  We had a little bit extra because we had to pack Christmas presents, but I tried to pack lighter because of that.  After packing the car with Boyd, the dogs, ourselves, and all of our stuff, we realized that maybe we needed another car!

We had talked about getting a van at some point, so we thought "why not now?"  We needed the extra room and it would be silly to get something else and then turn around and get a van later.  I wasn't sure that at 28 I was ready for my van, but I decided that as a mom it was the best option.

I included some pictures of the new rig...mostly for my dad to see :) 

It is a white 2010 Chrysler Town and Country

We named her Tess.

The first one is kind of too bright to see, but it's at least a pretty van!

My parents have a Honda Odyssey and I like it, but I couldn't find one with low enough miles that we could afford.  There were certain things on my parents' van that I definitely wanted.  I liked how the back windows roll down and how there are built-in shades for the windows.  The new Town and Countrys are definitely being modeled after the Hondas, so you can see how the windows roll down.

I also wanted some options on the van.  I mean, if I'm going to have a van, I might as well have a cool one, right??  I definitely needed leather for when my dogs ride with me, and I will soon need it when Boyd starts spilling things!  This one also has a remote start, navigation system, uConnect (which is a bluetooth phone system thing so I can talk on my phone through my car,) and a few other things that I haven't quite figured out.  It's pretty cool.

Another option that I wanted was a DVD player.  I realize it will be much easier to travel with Boyd if he can watch movies!  If we didn't buy a van with it installed, that was definitely on the list to have done.  This shows one screen, but there is also a screen for the third row seat, and the screen up front is also a DVD player.  The front screen turns back to the radio when the car goes in gear, though.  Smart!

I also love the Stow and Go seats.  When the seats are not stored, I can store other things.  Right now we have one seat up in the back, and my stroller is back there in case I need it.  Very handy :)

So far Tess has been a good van.  I am taking her up to St. Louis this weekend, so we'll see how it goes :)  You can just call me the soccer mom...though I hope I'm more of the football/baseball/basketball mom...I guess that's ultimately up to Boyd!