Update.

Thank you to everyone for all the sweet and encouraging emails/phone calls! It is much appreciated. There is not much more to report at this time about Brad's Grandmother (she is known as Tam). Tam is still in the hospital, but according to reports from family members who are there she is doing much better and may be turning a corner! Her physicians are still working on a "reason" for the sharp decline, but there has been no conclusions just yet. Keep those prayers coming!

Anderson and I are leaving this afternoon for Charleston. I am going to a continuing medical education class on Friday and Saturday. Lucky for me, my grandmother (meme) and grandfather (papa) live in Ravenel and meme has graciously agreed to let us stay with her and she is going to watch Anderson while I am in class! Now, of course, there will be some time for a little play---I am looking forward to meeting up with some of my old friends from the Mt. Pleasant days!

Roast on the May River!

Over the weekend we went to our first oyster roast of the year! Brad and I LOVE oysters and have not been able to go to a roast this season for one reason or another. That all changed on Saturday night when we went to the Bluffton Rotary Club oyster roast held at the Old Oyster Factory on the May River. We were invited and generously given tickets to the event by the some of the nicest people we know--Darla and Walter Nester. If you ever need a good lawyer, look Walter up! The weather was ify from the start. We knew this earlier in the day as we attempted to go to the Snow Day at Shelter Cove and the minute we parked it started to rain. We should have gone earlier with our friends Lauren and David!! Nonetheless, the rain did hold off until Brad and I were stuffed with oysters! This was of course Anderson's first roast--he so much enjoys being social and was an angel the entire time. Flirting, talking, and laughing at anyone who would pay him attention. Now, usually I shuck my own oysters--as my daddy believed that all true lowcountry girls should be proficient in---but this time Brad shucked them for me since I had Anderson in the Bjorn. Shucking my own would have been quite the safety hazard. I have to admit that it was nice to enjoy the prize without any of the work!



Brad & Anderson with Elizabeth (Brad's boss lady) and Daniel (Anderson's buddy--Walter and Darla's little boy!

Anderson and Brad. I had a much better shot of the two of them, but Anderson's eyes were closed. I had my small digital camera w/me. If I would have had my D40, I would have caught the shot for certain! It is hard to switch back and forth--that D40 is FAST! We had such a fun time at the roast and I hope that we can make it to at least one more before the season ends!

On a more serious note, we were woken this morning by a phone call from Brad's mom. It was the type of phone call that was so early that you know it is not going to be a good one. She called to let us know that Brad's grandmother is in the hospital and not doing well at all. She has been sick since about Thanksgiving time and her physicians could never give a real reason. It has been a snowball effect and her poor body is just shutting down. Her doctor told Brad's grandfather this morning that she does not have much more time. Please keep her and Brad's grandfather in your prayers.

All about Anderson!

Anderson just has so many things to share, I don't even know where to start! I have been meaning to do this post all week, but time kept getting away from me and as I sit here while sweet baby takes a nap I think about all the things I really need to do, but that is the age old dilemma I think. I would like to brag on my husband for a second----we now have a wonderful lady who comes and cleans our house every other week! Exciting!! Brad did not want me to have to spend my days off and evenings cleaning the house and wanted me to be able to go and do things (like playgroup and yoga) and spend time with Anderson without worrying about the house constantly. It has been GREAT and I am so thankful for the extra time I have---like to do my blogging!!! This post is a bit lengthy.....

So about Anderson! He has been rolling over like a champ and can go from his back to belly and belly to back pretty quick. He started out bringing his arm over his head and sort of flinging himself, in a way, over. His arm would get caught under his chest and would sometimes take a while to get it out. Oh, not anymore. He is stronger and just flips in one fluid movement.

Now when he gets on his belly his newest trick is to try and grab toys to eat and he is beginning to pull his knees under his belly and propel himself forward (I might have been tutoring him on that!) He has started to "talk" a lot and I really am starting to think that he likes to hear himself. He jabbers all the time, and it seems that if he thinks you are not listening he just gets louder and louder. He has really started to laugh quite a bit and I have a hilarious video of him laughing up a storm around Christmas time. I was so tickled tears were streaming down my face!

He eats solid foods 3 times a day now and has had rice cereal, oatmeal, barley, sweet peas, and green beans. Thankfully, he has put on some weight and is now up to a stunning 13 lb, 7 oz as of this past Monday. This is up from 11 lb, 12 oz that he weighed on New Year's Eve I can't say that he loves the vegetables, but he doesn't dislike them enough to spit them out. He has graduated and now takes the food from the spoon with his tongue instead of sucking it off the spoon! This is going to impress some of you, but I actually made his baby food. Yes, you read it correct! I made his peas and green beans! I was so easy and must admit that I was right proud of myself :)

The Baby Einstein stationary entertainer has become a favorite. Since he is really reaching and grabbing things now, he can interact with the toys that are all around! He does not have enough trunk control to sit up for extended periods, but he sure does enjoy it until he gets tired out.

Before the cold snap, we went for a stroll and instead of being in his infant carrier, he rode facing forward all strapped in! He really loved that and I think enjoys looking ahead instead of at my face all the time! He was in a good mood, but it was a little gloomy out so thus the glum expression.


That about sums it up! His daddy and I are so proud of him and he sure is the love of my life!

Almost Famous.

This picture is from the front page of Sunday's edition of the Island Packet. On Saturday night, Brad and I attended the HHI Chamber Ball and if the photog had been 1 table up towards the front when this picture was taken we would have been on the front page of the Island Packet! We were literally the next table outside the pic! Perhaps it was for the best, because for some unknown reason Brad and I had the champagne stand right between us and about 4 bottles of wine in front of us. I have no idea how that happened and be rest assured that we did not drink all of those bottles alone! I guess we were saved from a lot of misperceptions! It was a nice affair and Brad had to dust off the tux for the second time in 6 weeks. The dinner was excellent, filet mignon is never a bad choice, and folks had their boogie shoes on Saturday night. The band was The Fabulous Classics, who played at my friend Christie's wedding 7 years ago, almost to the day actually!

On a side note, Brad went up to Beaufort during the day to relic hunt (one of the MANY hobbies that he has) with Dr. Jack and actually found some really neat things including a confederate South Carolina uniform button, Yankee Eagle coat button, and some other relics. If your interested check out Brad's blog for more details.

Sunday we headed up to Beaufort to attend a baby shower for my friend Hunter who is going to have twins very soon! My mom was one of the hosts and they did a great job and put on such a nice shower. Great job Momma (and Aunt Kathy, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Deb, and Jenny B.)--we had a fantastic time :) For some photos of the event, go to Christie's blog. Christie, you sure are getting a lot of shout outs in this posting!



Today, we got a visit from Silvia! We were able to go to lunch and catch up for a while. She comes down our way from time to time to shop and usually stops by to see us--thanks for making the time to visit us Silvia and come again soon!

Silvia and Anderson

A Blogger Award!

I got my very first blog award! How fun is this?!! Thanks Lillian for the fantastic honor :) I would like to thank the academy....ok, ok, sorry I'm done! I am so glad that people are finding, reading, and enjoying my blog as much as I enjoy updating it!

The award states: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

Here is the kicker...I am supposed to pass the award on to 8 bloggers...I am so new to this blog thing that I do not even have 8 blogs on my blogroll! Sorry!

Joe Cool

I just love Anderson in his shades! These were a gift from his granddaddy (Tap) for Christmas. Tap thought that he needed these "baby bandz" to ride in the golfcart with him when he comes to visit--when I decide he is old enough that is. Little did we know that the shades must have been a forshadow to the shiny new convertible that he bought after the new year! He says he bought it for my mother-in-law, but he is not fooling anyone :)

She Did!

Well, I did it, I survived, and plan to do it again. I went to work my 2 days last week--Wednesday and Thursday! It was now or never. The start of school after Christmas break seemed like the perfect transition time to go ahead and take the plunge. Things could have not gone more smoothly. Paige came and watched Anderson the 2 days as our nanny (known as Judy from this point forward as she does have a name) had a few things she needed to take care of. Paige was more than happy to come stay with us and spend some time with her nephew! Luckily, I have worked for this school district before so there is no training involved. I know the paperwork, the computer programs, and school-based scope of practice. I was able to get my supplies together, set my office up, get my laptop, and meet the school staff at my base school. The days went by so fast and by the time I realized it, it was time to go home! I was sad to walk out the door on Wednesday, but I was able to leave seeing him playing and happily entertained by Paige. I just smiled Thursday on my way home because I knew the next 5 days I was going to be able to stay with Anderson :) After all day today, it is much easier to be at work but I would not give my time with Anderson for anything! Right now, I am feeling pretty confident about my decision. This week I will start seeing some kiddos for therapy and I know it will just reinforce that I have made the best choice!

Bridesmaid Dress!!

The Monday after Christmas Paige, momma, and myself made a quick trip to Charleston to take a look at a bridesmaid dress that Paige has been looking at. She found this dress months ago but it has been tough to track down as many shops carried the brand, but did not have a sample of the particular dress. Finally, she found a boutique in Mt. Pleasant that had a sample! Deborah, a friend of Paige's and also a bridesmaid, drove down from Columbia to meet us there. We both tried on the dress and Paige LOVED it! I was so glad because it seems that Paige always has the hardest time finding exactly what she wants and also does struggle some with making decisions unless the obvious answer slaps her in the face (she will tell you the same thing!). Here it is!

Neither Deborah or I could get the dress zipped in the back! I just love the bubble hem! The dresses will be a sage green (unless Paige changes her mind) and I think we will be wearing silver shoes (again subject to change)!!!

No trip to Charleston would be complete without a stop at Meme and Papa Love's house. They literally live off of HWY 17 on the way home.

Anderson and Meme

No clothes??

Anderson does not have any clothes on b/c he had a major blowout (worse than the one Christmas) and it got all in his clothes (and the carseat). You would think I would have an extra set of clothes for the child in his diaper bag---not so lucky. But what was lucky-- we were at Meme's house and she washed and dried it for him. Be rest assured that there is now a change of clothes that stays in his bag!

Will She or Won't She??

Here recently, I have been asked a lot more if I will be returning to work (one where I am paid). I always thought that hands down I would return to work, not even having to think about the answer. But, as everyone predicted, I began to have many different feelings once my sweet baby was born. There were many points to consider, much praying involved, and some deep down serious thought. Brad's, being the supportive husband that he is, only advice was "if you want to go back, go back", if you don't want to go back, then don't". Gotta love him---he totally wants me to make the decision on my own and feel good about it. First and foremost, we had to have quality childcare. For our family, a nanny was the best option. We thought being new to the area was going to afford its own challenges to finding one, not at all. Luckily, a fantastic one fell right into our lap. She is wonderful and comes highly recommended from many people at the hospital as she volunteers there once a week. Then there was the issue of how much to work. That was an easy one, the school district was more than happy to take time that I was willing to give and basically presented me with an offer that would be difficult to walk away from--two days a week with my office being less than 2 miles from my house to start with! Working for a school district is great, it does have its issues, but what other job gives you a spring break, Christmas break, Thanksgiving break, all sorts of days here and there, and the summers off?? I do miss my job as an OT and really love what I do--I have not worked since we moved in June! Working with children with special needs just really puts smile on my face, as cheesy as it sounds. Plus, I went to school a long time to get that OT degree and still owe the Medical University of South Carolina a nice sum of money. All of that aside, I know going back is the right thing for me to do--but I am more concerned about it being the right thing for Anderson. I want to do right by him. I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but it is my blog and I get to write what I want! Millions of parents return to work outside of the home and the kiddies are fine, but I cannot help having these thoughts. I could go on and on about my feelings about this, but as to not bore my faithful bloggie followers: she will--return to work that is---on a part-time trial basis.

Welcome 2009!!!

WOW! It is so hard for me to believe that 2008 has already come and gone. I say this every single year, but it continues to be true year after year. 2008 sure did bring a lot for Brad and I---namely, we moved to a new town and had a baby! We had a quiet evening at home for the new year and did not even stay up to watch the ball drop--it was great! Brad and I were talking and we cannot remember a time that we did not do anything for the new year and quite honestly it was a welcome change! Now, that does not mean that the new year did not bring any drama. Thursday morning we had to page the veterinarian because Flash could hardly move, he had some nasty stuff in his eyes, and his neck was covered in this foul smelling liquid. It was terrible and he was pitiful. Brad met the vet at the office and it turns out that Flash had a "hot spot" that he must have scratched and it got infected and he also had an eye infection. I felt terrible. I have no idea how that got past me. The vet told Brad that this could literally happen overnight and not to feel bad, but I can't help it. I am happy to report that after some antibiotics he was feeling much better later that day and he is now more like himself. New Year's night we went to a dinner party that I think had the best New Year's meal I have ever put in my face. The menu included pork tenderloin, black eyed peas, collards, risotto, ham, salad, and tortellini with all sorts of good stuff in it. Not to mention all of the appetizers and cocktails. Anderson stayed up for a bit to enjoy the fun with his friend Daniel, but decided about 7 that he was ready to call it a night. Brad and I decided to go ahead and put him in his car seat and basically by the time I had gotten him strapped in, he was knocked out! That allowed us to stay and enjoy the party a bit longer---how lucky that worked for us!

Party Animal on New Year's Eve

I put him down in his crib for 2 seconds to grab the boppy from another room and this is what I came back to! I had to wake him up to feed him--what a sleepyhead :)

Three Christmases!

Yup, just like the movie. Well, that is, minus one. I really think that everyone can identify in some capacity to the movie Four Christmases. While your family may not be as colorful as some of the characters in the movie, at some point you do say "that is so my family"! I am happy to report that mine nor Brad's family mirror any of those fools in the movie, we did travel around Christmas day to have 3 different Christmases! It was slightly exhausting, but we still very much enjoyed ourselves and loved celebrating Christmas with as much family as we could! Anderson did great---the traveling and change of scenery did not throw him off one bit!

We arrived in Spartanburg Tuesday night, Christmas Eve we went to church and then came back to Brad's parent's house to open gifts with his grandmother, Mommie. This was her first time meeting Anderson! We left with many nice gifts---we always get more than we deserve!
Anderson (and his mother!!) were very excited to get a Baby Einstein stationary entertainer along with lots of other fun presents!

Mommie with Anderson and Grandaddy looking on

Grabbing that wrapping paper Christmas morning!

Who can resist this face?

Christmas morning, we headed to Beaufort to my parents house! The traffic was light, so it made for an easy drive. Of course Anderson decided that in the car was the best time to have a blow-out, and when I say blow-out I mean everywhere!! Caused a slight delay, but we did finally make and look what Big Daddy and Beegee had for him....

Anderson on his Radio Flyer Bouncy Horse!

It will be a while before he can enjoy this toy...but you have to let the grandparents buy those kinds of gifts I guess! He, of course, got many other great things!

Then it was off to Meme Trimmier's house to get together with some aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Anderson with Lindsey

Anderson and Kelsey

Meme and Anderson

On the back deck around the fire pit



Sitting with Paige

Christmas night we packed it all up and made the 45 minute trip home! We were happy to spend time with our family and friends, but were glad to be home. There were a few people that I wished could have spent some time with Christmas, namely my meme and papa Love and Brad's granparents, but current circumstances just don't allow that right now (we would have liked to have seen Bobbie and Daniel too--but luckily we saw them the weekend before) We did see Meme and Papa Love a few days ago--I'll post about that later!

Oh yeah, and Saturday we went back down to Beaufort to go to an engagement party. We spent the night at Meme Trimmier's house and she stayed with Anderson while we went to the party. He did great--I put him down after feeding him at 7 and he was out like a light! Thank you Meme! And congratulations Maggie and Cecil!! They are getting married June 6, 2009!