I am BACK!!!

Well, world, after my 4 month hiatus, I AM BACK---- and I am going to TRY, I repeat TRY, to do better. Ok, surely that couldn't be too hard, being that I have not updated in 4 MONTHS-- Call me an over-achiever, if you must, but surely more than once every four months, I can type a few words for the reading pleasure of friends, family and whoever else in this world that would like to catch a glimpse into my oh so exciting life.
So, I will briefly catch you up on what has taken place in our lives since December 1, which according to blogger, is the last time that I posted. (Are you sure Mr. Blogger???) Chandler had his first Christmas, first new years, first Valentines Day, first Easter (spent in Michigan, with great friends) he crawls ALL over, the floor, the stairs, and the dishwasher. He likes to hide in the laundry basket, he says dadda-- (still no mamma in the vocab!) He has had three ear infections in the last two months, still doesnt sleep through the night, and is the MOST ADORABLE child I have ever laid eyes on! Thank you Lord for him!
More updates (and pictures) to come, stay tuned!

A Little Taste of Tantrum!!

On November 12th, just after Chandler turned 5 months old, we began,or should I say attempted with best intentions, to feed Chandler rice cereal. He took it suprisingly well on the first day. We should have known that attempt was way too easy (aside from the big mess!! refer to pictures for proof!!) In the days to follow, he would refuse every bite you put to his mouth. The bites that he did take were quickly projected from his mouth, many times dierctly into my face. After several days of catastrophic cereal attempts, I sought advice of a friend, and pro mother. She advised that I let him play with the bowl and spoon, letting him familiarize himself with them before the actual event. This seemed genious! Why did I not think of it myself, I pondered. So, I give Chandler empty bowl and spoon. He had apparently already developed a disdain for the spoon, because he immediately would catapult the spoon across the dining room. With each attempt, the same results. We have since continued upon this escapade of cereal attempts, to no avail. Well, two nights ago, we had what I considered to be a tremendous breakthrough!!! He began eating the cereal, and I couldn't shovel it in fast enough. Well, suddenly, as if a light bulb went off in Chandler's head, he remembered back to the days when I used to let him play with his bowl and spoon. He was adament that he needed to have control over the spoon. These were a few VERY MESSY attempts at him doing it himself, (and if you know me, the mess doesn't really bother me) but, you see, a 5 month old doesn't yet know how far is too far, when putting a spoon down his throat. A few gag reflexes later, his mean mother took the spoon away. Suddenly someone kidnapped my littlest angel, and a something else took his place in that highchair. He hit his little fist on the high chair, arched his back and began to scream, and reach for the spoon. Just a little taste of tantrum mixed with cereal that day!

"The Sweetest Face"

There are aproximately 6.7 billion people on this planet Earth, each one made uniquely by our Creator. As He gazes down on this planet, I know that He sees beauty beyond measure in each one of his children. Through my eyes, this is the sweetest face of them all!!
Our little man is weighing in at 19lbs this week, just over 5 months old. That is somewhere in the 90th percentile for weight and he is in the 75th percentile for height! We like em' big!! And, just a little advertisement for my FABULOUS photographer (and friend), Kelly Bittle. She took these pics and many other adorable ones. You can check out her website at www.kellybittlephotography.com. If you are in the Little Rock area, and need some amazing pictures, she does a WONDERFUL job!

More Pumpkin Pics

Here are some more pictures of our little pumpkin. He dressed up and went to visit some of our good friends Haloween night, and we made a second trip to the pumpkin patch with Chandler's friend, Kaleb. It was a great trip, and I had a corn dog that has to be in the runnings for the best in my lifetime!! The "homemade" lemonade was less than impressive, and certainly not worth fighting all the bees that swarmed around it!!
We carved a pumpkin one night before Halloween. Chandler was mesmorized with it. As you can see in the picture, he could not keep his eyes off of it! So cute!

Chandler eats "Duck"

Rubber ducky, you're the one-- you make bath time sooooo much fun! Chandler's personality really comes out in the bath tub, in more ways than one! He has really grown to love the rubber ducky (although I think it is a love/hate relationship between the two of them, since ducky's rear is getting eaten a majority of the time!). He loves the duck-- as long as it is in his mouth! When, however, the wet and slippery duck happens to slip out of his hands and out of reach, he proceeds to scream at the top of his lungs until it is placed back at his lips! Overall, he loves bath time, and many nights would "soak" until he becomes a prune! Here are some sweet bath time pics!

Our Little Pumpkin!

When you have a baby, you begin the many "child like" traditions that come with being a kid, and in many ways, re-live the moments of your own childhood all over again. We did just that this past weekend! We took Chandler to "The Pumpkin Patch" in Mayflower, and we had a blast! I truly think that doing all of these activities now is even better than doing them the first time around. It is so amazing to share the joy with your sweet little one, to see their eyes light up with excitement, and grin from ear to ear. Now, I realize that Chandler does not yet understand in the slightest what a pumpkin is, but he certainly seemed to bask in the newness of the experience and the sunshine and the cool breeze and mostly, all of the attention that was directed solely on him!! What a perfect day! His smile just melts my heart over and over again!!

And the Razorback Tradition Begins.....

When your husband is the #1 Razorback fan in the state, you must know, and come to accept, that many pictures will be taken of your son wearing Razorback red. While in the womb, conversations about players like Darren McFadden and Felix Jones were had with my ever-growing belly and the little man inside. The "Wild Hog" formation was explained in-uetero, and Chandler was expected to slide right out doing the hog call with his first breathe in the outside world. OK, I may be over-dramatizing (although only a little), we did spend the week preparing the little guy for his first trip to "The Hill". We played the fight song for him over and over again, and we pulled out the entire razorback wardrobe on Saturday morning.You should have seen the pride on daddy's face when carrying his future linebacker around, decked out literally to his toes in Razorback attire. (please note that even his socks are screaming Arkansas Razorbacks!) Chandler did not actually attend the game. Why, you ask?? Well, if you have seen him lately, you know that Coach Petrino would have taken one look at our chunky specimen of baby bulge, and immediately began recruitung him for the 2026 team!!! We are not quite ready for that much stressful publicity, so for now, we are keeping him our little secret. Honestly, Chandler is scared when they clap at church, therefore we figured that the tuba playing in his ears would not go over real well, so Chandler and I hung out with some great friends in Fayetteville and took in some great mexican food while Jeff and his friend Josh took in hotdogs and first downs at the stadium. None the less, a monumental date in Chandler's life, and overall, a great weekend!!!