Closing out 2012

I can’t believe the last time I submitted a post was shortly after Myer’s first birthday back in March. I guess I’ll never make it as a blogger, so I’d better stick to selling baby diapers for now.  At any rate, Myer is now 20 months and 3 weeks, 27lbs, and at his last appointment, the doctor predicted he’d be 6’3”. As you can see, a  lot has changed in the last 8 months or so since I last wrote.

Myer is running, climbing, destroying, and just being a boy these days. His favorite things to do at the moment are redecorating the Christmas tree, playing with cars, playing outside on the playground, and reading. He knows a lot of words and he can point out almost anything if you ask him to find the object in a book. I think he has a good memory, except when mommy tells him not to do something like play with the outlets. Somehow, he forgets that a lot. Over the last couple of months, we have learned that he is very independent and stubborn, two traits that both Chad and I possess. At least we know he will be strong willed with a never give up attitude. I guess we should have known that from day 1 when he was only 4lbs in the hospital struggling to learn how to eat. He also has a very sweet, caring side to his personality. We know this because he has never met a stranger. He says “hi” and “bye bye” to everyone, everywhere. In fact, sometimes he feels obligated to give hugs to the little girls.  With his white blond hair and blue eyes, he’s going to crush a lot of hearts someday!

 

Another event that took place within the last 8 months was our trip to New Smyrna Beach in Florida back in September.  We had 20 members from the Lewis family down there with us, so we had a lot of fun just relaxing and spending some quality time with the group.

In October, Myer got to go trick or treating for the first time since last year he was still too little. We dressed him as Mickey Mouse, and he absolutely loved it. We visited about 10 houses and then called it a night. I am pretty sure Myer solely enjoyed just saying hi to everyone since he never took any candy from their bowls. Our little social butterfly, or I guess I should I say social mouse?

 

Then in November, Myer was selected to be on my company’s first online diaper brand, EcoBundles that is launching in April of 2013. Myer will be on one of the training pant bags because he did so well with the potty at the photo shoot. I’m sure he’ll love that story when I tell it to friends someday. At any rate, you’ll be able to find him on storknest.com when it launches. 



Myer's Photo Shoot

As for what’s going on currently, we are rapidly approaching Christmas so we are just trying to tie up some loose ends. Myer will be visiting with Santa on December 13, so hopefully, I’ll be able to post a couple pictures from the event. It will be interesting to see how Myer reacts this year. We have been prepping him to say “Santa Claus” so hopefully he will be able to put a face with the name and be comfortable with him.  He has been fascinated with all the Christmas decorations so far though, so maybe Santa will just awe him to the state of complacency. I think Santa may be bringing him a wagon and Cookie Monster doll this year. Myer has a bias to Cookie Monster now because he eats cookies.

After Christmas, we are doing another Disney trip this year. The whole family is coming again and Jay’s girlfriend Becca will be attending this year as well also. We are excited for the trip, but I am getting a little nervous not knowing how Myer will handle having to be still in the long lines. He is a mover! I guess only time will tell.

As for the rest of the family, everyone is doing well and in good health. Mom and Dad are still teaching, counting the minutes til retirement. Jay and Becca just celebrated 3 years together in November. Karen and Doug, my in-laws, are enjoying be grandparents to Myer, and Lindsay has almost completed her first semester at PA school in Alabama.  Chad and I are coming up on our 10 year wedding anniversary in June, so as you can tell, we are fine. We also just chose to sponsor another child through Compassion International. This is the same organization that we have Daniel in Kenya through. This time, I chose a girl named Estafani in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to start corresponding with her and tell her all about what a wonderful network of friends and family we have.

 Other than that, we are just closing out another wonderful year. Please stay tuned for more excitement in 2013. Happy Holidays!

November 2012

 

Thanksgiving 2012

Birthday Celebration

So, our baby is officially not a baby anymore. In fact, I just graduated the babycenter website that was sending me monthly alerts about Myer’s progress and what I should expect. They consider him a toddler at 1 year, so I am following their lead and progressing into the next chapter of life. The Toddler Years!

Shooting Hoops



Lindsay's Cookies

Before embarking on this new journey, we did celebrate the first 12 months of Myer’s life with a big birthday party on March 17 (one day after his real birthday). The theme as I mentioned before was March Madness to coincide with the NCAA basketball tournament taking place that same weekend. I opted not to do the obvious St. Patty’s Day theme due to the difficulty in food choices of the Irish, so we chose basketball and did a concession stand style affair. We had chili dogs, popcorn, pretzels, cracker jacks, salads, and of course, cotton candy! Lindsay even made some of her famous cookies in the shape of basketballs.

 

"Happy Birthday to You"

We advised everyone to wear their favorite college sports team attire, but the Kentucky fans were the only ones proud enough to show off their school colors, especially after the Duke embarrassment of losing in the first round. But, we won’t talk anymore about that! Anyways, in addition to the festive food, we played some games and handed out prizes for the best shooter of the group and most knowledgeable in the field of college mascots.. The highlight of the day for me though was when Myer got his first taste of birthday cake. I didn’t know exactly what he was going to do, but I didn’t think he was  going to be as cautious as he was. We placed the cake down in front of him and he looked up at me as to say “what is this…” I gave him the go ahead nod and after Chad put some on his finger for a taste, it was all over. Cake was literally coming out of his ears! It took us a while to clean him up, but eventually he was cake-free and ready for presents. 


Presents!

The opening presents portion of the party was a little tough because Myer was starting to get sleepy from the day’s activities, but I know Myer loved each and every one of the gifts he received. Some of his favorites were an outfit from Katie, a tent from his cousin Eli, and all his new clothes. He also raved about his new soccer goal from his other cousin Willa, his measuring stick from uncle Jay, and the Fisher-Price telephone from aunt Lindsay. And, who could forget all his trucks, cars, books, and picture frame?    Myer is one special little boy to have so many people that love him so much. That was evident at the party. Chad, Myer and I thank you all so much for making this first year effortless. This has been the best year of our lives and I can’t wait to see what the toddler years will bring. Check back for more updates on Myer’s next milestones. Also, I’ll try downloading the video I created for those that didn’t get a chance to view it at the party.

 

Outfit from Katie



St. Patty's Day and my First Bday Party



  



Still Enjoying Cake





Kids that Came to the Party

Kelsi Padgett- almost 4



Eli Stoddard- 2 1/2






 Willa Bragg- 4 1/2 months



Kenzi Padgett- 9 months







Valentine's Day and more...

As I travel back from one of the many business trips I’ve taken since Myer was born, I come to realize how much I really miss him while I’m away. Just being apart from him for one day makes me sad to think that maybe he called for me while I was gone or maybe he achieved a new milestone that I missed. I made the choice to go back to work because I know in the end, Myer will appreciate my work ethic and dedication and I can only hope that some of the traits I exhibit will be reflected in his life someday also. Of course, he will always have Chad, the most goal oriented person I know, to look up to, but seeing it in a woman is also important to me as he grows older and learns to respect both genders in the workforce. For now though, I do miss him tremendously.

I am happy that I did get to spend his first Valentine’s Day with him yesterday. He had a big party at Miss Judy’s daycare and got a lot of little gifts. There were balloons, stuffed animals, bubbles, and of course, cards. Myer gave his little playmates candy, cards, squishy sport balls, and the best cookies in the world supplied by his wonderful aunt Lindsay. Everyone was impressed with the cookies! Myer, being the loving little boy that he is, also gave his Daddy a card and some aftershave to help keep his Daddy’s face smooth in anticipation of lots of kisses from his lil’ buddy. Overall, Myer had a wonderful holiday. I can’t even believe that next year at this time he’ll almost be 2!

Speaking of getting older, we are less than a month away now from the big day. We have decided to do a March Madness basketball themed party to celebrate our little MVP turning one. There will be concession stand type food, an electronic basketball game for adult challenges, cake, friends, and lots of fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed planning the event, so I hope it turns out the way I have it envisioned in my head. Let’s just hope now that the invitations arrive soon. The first batch didn’t turn out so well and I’m frantic to get the date on everyone’s calendar. In case you are reading this and you’re a relative, the party will be March 17 at 12pm, so mark your calendars because you’re probably invited.

I’ll have more to write in less than a month when we have another wellness check up at the doctor for size measurements. So far, I can tell you though that Myer is 31 ½” long since I measure him weekly myself. I’m keeping a close eye on this height because before I know it, he’ll be taller than me.  He also wears a size 4 shoe as a reference point for future posts. He is also eating cheerios, pancakes, and anything else we feel comfortable feeding him. He is growing up before our eyes and I’m already starting to miss the baby stages. However, in the same breath, I can’t wait to get him on the soccer field running and kicking the ball with me. I guess I’ll need to get out a practice so I can teach him a few things.

With only two hours to go on this plane back from Rhode Island, I’ll sign off by saying, I can’t wait to see my favorite little boy tonight. Until then, sleep well and I love you!

Christmas, Disney, and More

There is so much to catch up on since we’ve celebrated Myer’s first Christmas, our family trip to Disney, and some huge accomplishments from last few days.

First, we’ll start with Christmas, and I can joyfully say that we had a “pretty good Christmas”, which is an inside joke amongst my side of the family. Myer didn’t quite know what all the excitement was about this year, but I’m sure that will change as years go by. We spent December 23 celebrating with the Lewis family at Amanda (Chad’s cousin) and Erik’s home in Woodstock, Ga. We got to meet the newest addition to the family that night. Chad’s youngest cousin, Katherine and Billy had a little girl on Halloween, so Myer got to meet his 2^nd cousin, Willa. She slept most of the time, and Myer was sick so we kept some distance from them. Fortunately for Willa, she didn’t catch anything, but Karen and I weren’t so lucky. Therefore, on Christmas Eve, I woke up under the weather and barely made it through the evening of festivities at my parents’ house. After all I am the master of ceremonies for the entertainment on Christmas Eve involving an ice breaker, family game, and gift exchange. We made it through though and the evening went off without a hitch. Christmas morning we woke up with my family and exchanged our gifts and then headed to the mountains later that day to spend the remainder of the day with Chad’s family.

Myer with Great Papa Denslow

We were all a little anxious though for what was yet to come on the 27^th. That was the day we were leaving for Disney, and no one could hide their excitement for the vacation. We drove to Orlando, and I can’t say enough good things about Myer’s behavior throughout the trip but he was extremely good in the car. We relaxed and got familiar with our surroundings the first night and then after that, we were off! We visited Epcot, The Magic Kingdom, MGM, and The Animal Kingdom. We even sneaked into Germany a couple times for some adult beverages. I can’t say there were any highlights that stood out better than the others because the whole trip was simply amazing, but I would have to say the fireworks, food, and Animal Kingdom were some of my favorites.  We even got a nice visit from my grandparents who drove over from Melbourne. They are Myer’s only surviving great grandparents so it was a special treat to spend the afternoon with them.

Fun on the "little" dinosaur ride

Having Myer at Disney to share in the joy and to see our family spend time with him was what Chad and I had prayed for over the years. It had finally come to fruition, and I felt awesome inside knowing that God had answered our prayers. There really is a magic to Disney in that way. I pray now that both Lindsay and Jay get to experience that same feeling with their children someday that Chad and I experienced with Myer. Disney World will always be a sentimental place for us because of the memories it helped create. The trip couldn’t have gone any better, and for those that don’t think they can take a 9 month old to Disney, should give it more thought. We had a blast as the pictures posted in this blog illustrate.

Myer Mouse

As for the most recent news, Myer turned 10 months on Jan. 16, and he is accelerating with his advancements. He can now sit up on his own, has 4 teeth, started to army crawl, and has said his first word. Of course, saying his first word pulls on my heartstrings the most because he has elected to make “momma” his word of choice. He hasn’t really associated it with me yet because he says it for everything, but at least I know with enough coaching he is trainable (for now at least). We are working on “da da” but right now, he’d rather say “ne ne” instead. Hearing him say an actual word is remarkable though. It is hard to put into words but hearing his actual voice is incredible and melts my heart every time. Before we know it, I’m sure he’ll be telling us all sorts of stories about how it wasn’t him that got into trouble or how he wants this and that. I will try and cherish those days just as much as I do now.

Of course, I need to give a size update. At Myer’s 9month checkup, he catapulted into the 95^th percentile for height at 31” and he stayed in the 50^th percentile for weight at 21lbs. He also developed an ear infection that we’ve been fighting for the past month. Hopefully, he won’t need any more antibiotics after this next round, but I have suspicions that he will since he’s still rubbing his ear.

For the upcoming months, we are looking forward to celebrating his first birthday in March. I am anticipating having a family get together with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Details to follow. I haven’t officially planned anything yet.

Half the gang at Epcot

MIC-KEY, M-O-U-S-E! Mickey Mouse...