13 Months

What a year this has been! My baby is growing like a weed and getting cuter by the minute! Sometimes I can hardly stand how adorable he is--I mean, really, how am I ever supposed to get anything done with his precious smile and goofy giggle? He's been a pretty happy fella lately which is a very VERY welcomed surprise! I love when he's in a good mood! Even if I'm having a crappy day he can make it all better with his laugh and smiles. 

 He loves the playground. Luckily, there is one right down the road that we take his new Radio Flyer wagon to so he can get in some play time. Today we went and Daddy took him down the slide after we fed the duckies.

He wanted to eat the nasty tortillas we were feeding the duckies. haha  

This is last weekend at the rodeo fairgrounds in Angelo. It was Tate's first time to go out there. It was super crowded but we made time to go by the petting zoo and see some of the animals up close.  

And he started walking on Sunday, too! A week before he turned 13 months and he finally decided to go for it. Not just the few steps that he started taking in December but full- stride all out walking! WOOHOO!!! What a big boy! He even walked as far as the kitchen to the living room couch without any trouble. The stinker has been able to do it for so long just never had any motivation til now. I don't know what made him decide to finally do it but he's a walking boy!

Action shot! 

YAY TATE! 

Smiling at Grandaddy! 

Showing him how he can be a big boy! 

He's also a very good climber! Silly boy will just get after it and crawl all the way to the top by himself! We always stand behind him just to make sure he doesn't fall. 

Aww! Sweet picture from last weekend in Angelo with his Gigi! 

And he LOVES his sandbox! We finally let him play in it now that it's a little warmer and he always starts off clothed but we've learned that we have to shuck him so we just let him to "au naturale" to avoid the mess. He usually ends up getting a bath right after we bring him in but he could play for hours! 

Such a boy! He makes such a big mess and will come up to the window by his table and give kisses and leave sandy handprints. It's pretty cute. He also will put things up to his face to smell them then shake his head no. hahahah what a goober :-)

At 13 Months:

-Tate weighs 25 pounds and is 31" long. 

-Loves to play peek-a-boo, catch me if you can, shutting doors and opening them, throwing stuff, chasing Kitty and then head butting her, being outside, and getting lots of attention from anyone near him.

-Was sleeping great when we first moved down here and now is waking up twice a night again. UGH! Is there baby Ambien?!

-He wears 18 month clothing

-Eats pretty much everything. Even veggies but is very preferential to meats.

-Loves seeing other kids and wants to play all the time. He really needs a Mother's Day Out up here but there are no openings :-( Hopefully, we will find one soon.

-Watches some cartoons now. His attention span is getting better but still won't sit and watch more than a couple of minutes unless he is tired, doesn't feel good, or is getting a bottle (which, yes, we are trying to get him off of but he's been sick so I'm not rushing it). He likes Handy Manny and Micky Mouse Club House.

-Clicks his tongue. It's funny and cute! He just learned how to do it and now he'll go around doing it a lot.

-Always wants to feed himself. He likes having his own fork but usually just wants to stir whatever is in his bowl and make a mess. 

-He takes 1-2 naps a day, just depending on when he wakes up and what we are doing throughout the day. Most of the time this will total 2 hours a day.

-Still loves horses and cows and points and says "oHHH" every time he sees them.

-Has gotten into the habit of pinching. I have no idea where he learned this, but OUCH! He can do it good. He'll look at you and then just pinch for no reason and sometimes even laughs.

-I think he's getting more teeth in but I never can tell. He's got 7 so far. 3 on top and 4 on the bottom. All the better to bite us with. 

-Still doesn't like shoes but will sometimes tolerate them for a little while.

-Loves Chex mix for a snack. 

-And he now gives real KISSES!!! So sweet and I love them!

-He's getting sweeter and happier :-) Thank Goodness! 

Sick baby

I hate having a sick baby. Tate is so sick right now. He's been stopped up with difficulty breathing and a runny nose since before his birthday! That's a long time to feel bad. I had called my doctor in San Angelo and they called in some meds but they didn't seem to work, at all. So I finally said, "enough is enough". I called a pediatrician in Odessa that was suggested to me by my Ob/gyn. He said he takes all 5 of his kids to her. I called and they said they couldn't get him in on Monday but they could get him in first thing on Tuesday. He seemed in pretty good spirits on Monday but I knew he was feeling really bad. He would come up to me and just sit in my lap with his head against my chest and fall asleep. And if you know Tate, you know this is completely out of his character. He was just so blah. He also ran a fever most of the day. All the way up to 101.6.


On  Tuesday morning we woke up and headed to the doctor's office. She was very nice and we struggled (in fact, I had to hold him down) so she could look in his ears and throat. It took her awhile to clear out wax and get a good look at his eardrum but she immediately knew that once again he has ear infections. But it gets worse, his tonsils are also infected as well as a respiratory infection. She ordered a Prednisone steroid shot, ugh...I hate seeing him get shots but I knew it was necessary. Then she wrote him a prescription for antibiotics, liquid steroid for his lungs, and a nebulizer for breathing treatments. He is not good with the breathing treatments. It takes so long! I hate it. I mean, c'mon, how am I supposed to keep a 1 year old happy for 10-15 minutes?! I have to give it to him every 3 hours. It's a lot of work and it better work-and FAST! 


He's been so grouchy and fussy all day! I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day. I just want him to feel better and be happy. I feel like I've been saying that since he was 2 weeks old. :-(
Prayers would be appreciated!


I know that things could be a million times worse. I read stories about parents of children with cancer and serious illnesses so I keep thanking the Lord for what I do have. I feel selfish at times asking for more than what I've been given. But, I'm a mom and all I was is the best for my baby so I'll keep praying for even better health and happiness for my little man.

First Haircut

On Saturday Trish and Victor brought me and Tate back from San Angelo to Midland and we just took it easy and went to eat and played with their new puppy, Tripp. On Sunday we decided to get Tate's first haircut. Apparently, Sunday is not the day to go to get a haircut because it was super busy and we were going to have to wait for 2 hours. In the meantime, we decided to go get some TCBY and get a treat before the appointment. 

 

Sharing some ice cream with Papa.

Hiding under the table...trying to get some privacy. HAHA and then a diaper change was deemed necessary ;-) 

Then we came back and it was past his nap time. I knew this was going to be interesting because he was sleepy and he doesn't like people messing with his hair, face, or just head. Not a good combo, but I was trying to stay optimistic.

 We got called back and Trevor sat down in the chair with Tate in his lap. 

 We were already trying to figure out how to distract him. 

Uh OH, as you can tell by Trevor's face that the fun has begun. Tate didn't even want her touching him. You would've thought she was actually cutting him because he was upset...

 VERY UPSET

But we made it through, and doesn't he look dapper?! What a handsome fella! 

The Big Birthday Bash!

We had Tate's birthday bash for the kiddos on Saturday, January 29th at Gigi and Papa's house! They were nice enough to let us have it there since it would give the kids a chance to see the horses and have plenty of room to roam.

Here is the beautiful and very yummy cake we got from Halfmann's. It was half chocolate and half vanilla with buttercream icing. YUM!

 More presents! 

Chelsea and Caden Sturm and Allison and Lairyn Zesch came to help us celebrate. Aren't they adorable?!

Tate hopped up to snuggle and share snacks :-)

Whitnee and sweet Harper boy! Whit's birthday was on that Saturday, too! Thank you so much for coming Whitnee! I hope you had a very happy birthday too!

Lauri and Tate's compadre in crime, Remi!! I loved his little outfit! He had on some boots that were similar to Tate's new ones. 

Aunt Libby and Uncle Ed with Gigi and Trevor hanging out eating some burgers that Papa grilled. We also had chicken nuggets and TATER TOTS! heheh I thought that was a funny little inside joke :-)

He ate some chicken nuggets and tater tots and then it was time to smoosh the cake.

He likes to eat with the fork. Well, mainly he likes to use the fork to demolish anything that is on his tray.

I wish this wouldn't have been so blurry. Tiff and baby Harper

Tate was playing peek a boo! (and poopin' in the corner in privacy) ahhaha

Boo!

Tate and his Aunt Cici lookin' at the horsey! One of Tate's favorite thing to do. He LOVES horses!

Mama and Tate!

The boys thought that Ole Gray was the coolest thing ever! They had such a great time playing in there!

two of a kind!

I made Tate's little pants to look like chinks. Remi thought they were pretty cool and was playing with the fringe while Tate took his turn driving.

They were so funny.

Both of them wanted to steer. How cute are they?!

I think one of them was watching the road so the other could practice pressing the gas! hhahaha

See, Remi liked the fringe! HEheh

I love this picture of him---okay, minus the snotty nose.

Tate getting some helping opening presents with Grammy and great Nanny.

He was sleepy at this point and again, not that into opening presents.

He knew he was up to no good so he thought it was funny. What a mischevious little thing!

And this is what happens when the party is over and Tate needs a nap. Hahaha! Thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate! We had lots of fun and I think the kids did too. I didn't send out invitations to the adults because our printer was being all sorts of difficult so there was very few of them, but I wanted to let everyone know that it was open to all and I'm sorry that I couldn't get invitations out sooner. It was a little bit hectic with the move and all. Thank you notes are being written and they will be out soon too :-)


Love Ya'll! 

More of Tate's 1st birthday

We decided to do a small dinner the night of Tate's birthday with his grandparents. I just wanted him to feel all the love that he's constantly surrounded by. I wasn't anything grand but it was certainly special. He had a great time! He loves all the attention for sure :-)

 This is the plate that Hope Huffman got made for him when he's first born! It's so special and really one of my favorite things of his! I want to get another one made for Baby Boy #2 so they can each have one.

 Showing Grandaddy how he rolls with Dino!

 He was very excited to get his very own Cozy Coupe from Mama and Daddy! He just couldn't wait til it was done. 

 Sweet grin!

 Showing off his new car to everyone!

 Opening presents- he's not that into it but he decided he would give it a shot. He was more interested in playing with everyone.

 YAY! Gigi and Papa got him his first pair of boots! They also got him some adorable clothes to go with the boots.

 Grandaddy helping put on the boots.

 I lit his candle but had to quickly blow it out before he decided he would grab the flame.

 He likes to play in it but not so much actually eating it.

 A family portrait at this point wasn't going to work. haha

 But he did want to shove his cake in my face

 This one took me by surprise. 

 Grammy giving the birthday boy pointers on how to do it.

 I was hoping I could get a picture with each of the grandparents but Poppy and Grammy were the only ones who got a good one because by this point Tater was tired and done with it all.

 He was ready to get his shower, bottle, and bed.

So Daddy whisked him away to the tub for a little splish splashing before night night. 

We had a really great day and we are so proud of our little man! He's growing up so fast and each day is a gift to have with him. I'm so glad we got to share so much of his first year with the family and even though we live in Midland now we will still be spending plenty of quality time with the extended family.