And the Theme Will Be...

PUPPIES!!!

Yep, we decided on a theme for Drake's first birthday party. I know that we are still 3 months away from the big day, but the being the planner I am, I just had to get started. I also know that Drake is not going to remember the cake or decorations or the theme, but I still wanted it to be about him and be something he will like.

                                  

It did no take me long to decide that puppies would be the theme, because after all Drake is Skinner's biggest fan. You can often find Drake loving on Skinner, sharing his snacks with him, and chasing him around everywhere. I have lots of fun ideas for the party and can't wait to start planning!

What theme did/are you using for your baby's 1st  Birthday?!? Any tips to make the party run smoothly?

The Next Step

The reflux is not getting better. We met with Drake's GI doctor last Thursday and he increased his dose of Prevacid, but even with the increased amount he is still screaming while he eats. So on Tuesday we will get up early, buckle our little boy into his carseat and drive to the hospital. At the hospital we will sit with our hungry baby and wait for him to be taken in and put under general anesthesia to have a Scope and Biopsy done of his esophagus as well as an Upper GI X-Ray.


We are hopeful. We are hopeful these procedures will help end this reflux nightmare. We are hopeful we will be able to stop this fiery hell from causing Drake more pain. We are hopeful we will find out exactly what is going on. But most of all we are hopeful for answers and a treatment that will finally give Drake relief from a pain that he has had practically his whole life. We are very hopeful.

I Need Your Opinions

Yesterday I wore this to work:

Do you think my shirt looks like a swimsuit cover up?!? I bought it last week off the clearance rack at Target thinking that it was a tunic, but after I put it on this morning it remind me a of a cover up. I love the print, as it something different from the rest of my clothes, but I really don't want to go around looking like I mistook the office for the beach.

                                                              

So what do you think?

Tunic or cover up?

A Sneak Peek

Check out Drake's 9 month pictures here

I love how Karen and Eric captured Drake in his element...right at home!

I'm totally obsessed with the last picture, it is SO Drake!!

One Busy Boy

These days you can find Drake:

Checking out stuff under the entryway chair

Digging around for toys

Doing acrobats in his duck

Getting stuck under his music table

Climbing under the kitchen chair

Chewing on the freezer door

And climbing on top of Skinner

We have one very BUSY boy on our hands...and we just LOVE it!

Tommee Tippee Giveaway Winner

Ashley with comment #15 is our winner! 

 

ashley said...
The exlora training cup would be great! I think i just might order a set :) 
April 22, 2010 10:06 AM

A BIG thanks to all that entered. More giveaways will be coming your way soon!

Look What Drake Found

Yep, he found his tongue.

And has been sticking it out non-stop.

I'm afraid he has been hanging out with our dog too much!

I Have the Answers!

So after taking forever to get around to doing this I finally finished. Thanks for asking such great questions!

What did you want to grow up and be as a child?
I was ALWAYS changing my mind. Pretty much if you name a job I had thought about it. I started out as an elementary education major in college. I spent some time in the classroom and realized that teaching was not for me. I changed my major to marketing and corporate communications, a field that much better suited me!

I'd like to hear the story about how you and your husband met at the zoo.
If you missed my post, I did not meet my husband at the zoo where you see animals. It was a zoo where they served beer...our college town bar!  I wish I had some big romantic story but I don't. It was a Thursday night and we were both there with friends. I was dancing and he came up and danced with me. I knew who he was and he knew who I was, but we had never talked before. We started dating a few weeks after we met and the rest is history!
What names other than Drake did you consider before he arrived?
For a long time we had a list of three names: Drake, Charlie, and Finn.
I really loved Charlie, but it seemed like everywhere I went I was hearing a girl with that name and I started not to like it as much. I also love Finn, but I never sold Ben on that name. When I was about 6 months pregnant we decided that we both loved the name Drake since it was easy to spell, a definite boys name, not too common, and went well with our last name. The second we saw our son we knew we picked the right name as he just seemed like a Drake!

How did you tell Ben you were pregnant?
This is kinda a weird story. We had been trying to get pregnant for 14 months before it finally happened. During this time I was also loosing a lot of weight by eating healthy and working out. One night we were watching TV and a Pizza Hut commercial came on, I turned to Ben and said "When we find out I'm pregnant we are ordering Pizza Hut, because it looks so good but really does not fit on my new healthy eating plan."

Fast forward to December 4, 2008. I was home alone, took a pregnancy test, saw it was positive and called Ben at work and said "Looks like we are ordering Pizza Hut tonight." It took him a second to put it together but he was SO excited once he got it! Told you it was weird!!!

What is your number one hope/dream for Drake in his adult life?
This is actually a really tough question because I have so many hopes and dreams for him. So I'm going to cheat and name a few!!  I hope he lives life to the fullest and lives in the moment. I hope that he values education. I hope that he knows the importance of family. I hope that he loves and loves deeply. I hope that he has respect for himself and others. I could go on and on but those are my tops!!

Hopefully you feel like you know me just a little bit better now. I like to mix things up on the blog so look for some other fun and different things soon!

Ready.Set.Go

Drake started walking behind his push toy this week.

Each time he goes a little further, is a little more confidant, and has a little more balance.

He is so proud and walks around with that smile pasted to his face.

My baby is growing up!

He is ready...I am not

A Size Smaller

Some of you may remember the whole Jeans Mission 2010 post awhile back where I was on a hunt for a pair of jeans that fit. Last week I started that mission again in the search for a pair of capri jeans since I had zero pairs that fit. I came across this pair:

photo from GAP website

They were cute and super soft and comfy. You can imagine my surprise when the usual size 12 fell off of me. I put on the size 10, decided they fit, bought them, and headed on my merry way. A week passed before I wore the capris for the first time. Turns out these jeans have A LOT of stretch in them and by the end of the day they were literally falling off of me. So on Monday during my lunch break I took them back and exchanged them for a size 8. I seriously have never in my life worn a size 8 before…never ever.

I’m going to forget about the fact that the same day I bought these jeans I could hardly button some of the size 12s, yep I’m just going to forget about that part. I’m also going to forget that I wore the size 10 capris for a whole day, washed and dried them in hopes of them shrinking a bit (they really should tell you they run big, bet they would sell more since people love wearing a smaller size) and then wore them again for a whole day before I returned them. I am forgetting all of that and just enjoying the fact that I own a pair of size 8 jeans that fit. Thanks GAP for making a momma feel just a little bit better about herself!

P.S. Did you know that overalls are coming back?!?!?

Photo from GAP website

Little known fact about me: I used to LOVE overalls and wore them all the time. I even wore a pair on my first day of college back in 2001. Apparently the memo that the overall trend died in the 90's did not make it to my small rural Midwest town before I hit college. I think I can say with confidence my overall days are now over!!

It's Warming Up Around Here

So we break out the flip flops

And head over to DQ for some blizzards

Where I let Drake sneak a few bites of mine because I can't say no to that face

We load up the stroller with our plaid short wearing, polo shirt sporting, hat loving boy and wander around the neighborhood

We have so much fun with our shadows

The highchair gets moved outside for supper

Where it occasionally gets used as a cup holder

But most of all we explore and get dirty and enjoy every single second as we soak up these first warm days and look forward to what's to come!

Tommee Tippee Review/Giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

I was so excited to get a chance to do a review for Tommee Tippee, as I had heard great things about their products. They sent me the explora truly spill proof sippy cup. Drake is LOVING sippy cups right now so this product was perfect for us to try out.

The explora truly spill proof sippy 11 oz. cup  (also available in pink/purple)

The explora sippy cup is awesome! Since I hate germs, my favorite feature is a lid that is built right into the cup so you can cover up the drinking spout when the cup is not in use.  It is also super easy for my son to hold and drink from himself. The other thing I loved is that the cup is TRULY spill proof. The other day I found the cup upside down in the bottom of my diaper bag without a drop spilled!!

Here is a bit of information about the explora line from the Tommee Tippee website:
The tommee tippee® explora® line of BPA-free toddler drinking and feeding products, is designed to take children from first sips and nibbles to grown-up drinking and self feeding by easing transitions along the way, while helping to reduce stress and mess at mealtime.

Drake enjoying his Tommee Tippee cup

Go to the Tommee Tippee website to find out where you can purchase

So now to what you have been waiting for...the GIVEAWAY
Enter to win a 2 pack of the Explora sippy cups.

Here is how you enter to win:
You can earn up to 8 entries by doing any or all of the following:
Remember to leave a separate comment for each item you complete to earn all your eligible entries!

1. Go to the Tommee Tippee site and tell me what cups you like.
2. Start following my blog publicly or already be following my blog
3. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here
4. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs...just click here
5. Follow Tommee Tippee on Twitter
6. Become a Tommee Tippee fan on Facebook
7. Blog about this giveaway or post a link on Facebook or Twitter about the giveaway. Leave the link to your site in the comment so I can see the post.
8. Grab my button and post it on your blog. Leave the link to your blog so I can check it out!

The giveaway begins today Monday, April 19, 2010 and will run for one week with all comments closing at 7:00 am CST Monday, April 26, 2010. One winner will be picked at random, using Random.org. The winner must live in the US and respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be picked.

Please Note: I was provided with 2 Tommee Tippee cups to review the product and promote the giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way. These are my own, honest opinions.

A Formula Feeder: A Story from the Other Side

I formula feed.

I have since day one.

Why?

Because I wanted to.

I had no medical reason why I could not breastfeed, no medications I had to be on, or any of the other "good" reasons mothers choose not to breastfeed.

I just did not want to breastfeed.

:GASP:

But you know what? Not one single person has ever questioned my choice to formula feed. I knew from very early on in my pregnancy that I was not comfortable with breastfeeding and it just was not for me. I made the decision with my husband’s support to formula feed. I have always been confident in my choice and have never regretted my decision.

I think breastfeeding is great. I truly do. I will not argue with any of the benefits of breastfeeding as I believe they are all valid and a great gift you can give your child. But I also think formula is not poison. I do not love my son any less because I did not breastfeed him. I know I did what was best for my family by choosing formula. I also know that a woman should never be made to feel guilty or less of a mother because she can't or just does not want to breastfeed.

I did not write this post to be all "Pro Formula". I wrote this because whether you are nursing your child at a restaurant or you are shaking up a bottle of formula at the mall, we are all mothers. Mothers who are feeding our babies the best we know how to. We are mothers that love our babies...and that is what is important.

Senior Picture

the clothes

the scene

the pose

Doesn't it all just scream senior picture?

Messy

Messy has been the theme at our house lately.  Drake has really improved at feeding himself and that means he gets a little food in his mouth and a lot of food every other place!.

Drake got to try ice cream for the first time last weekend. From the mess on his face you can tell he

LOVED it!!

This is what happens when you give an 8 month old a teething biscuit

                                    

Just a litte messy but too cute not to share!

On another note, I totally forgot about my question post...sorry!! I will post answers in the next week. 

 Any last minute questions you have for me?!?

WubbaNub Winner

A big thanks to all that entered!

Our WubbaNub Giveaway Winner is Comment #8 : MelissaStuff!

MelissaStuff said...
Follower already :)
April 8, 2010 8:48 AM









Our next review and giveaway will be from Tommee Tippee. Stay tuned for details!

I'm the Featured Blogger on New Parent

I was so honored and excited when I received an e-mail from newparent.com asking if I would write a blog entry for their parenting website.

Of course I said I would love to and then spent every.single.second  of the next day thinking of what to write about. Should I be serious? Maybe I should be controversial? Sentimental is always good to right? After going back and forth for a good long while I finally decided to write about the changes your body goes through after baby...with a twist of humor added in!

Check out my first REAL (I'm jumping up and down as I write this) writing gig!!
http://www.newparent.com/you/your-body-after-baby/

The Poop Walk

This is the story of how Drake and I both ended up covered in poop. In a college town. Two hours away from home. This is the story of the poop walk.

Friday was a beautiful day for Drake, my mom and I to take a road trip 2 hours down the road to visit my sister at college. We stopped to checked out Meggie's dorm room and decided since it was so gorgeous out to take the 15 minute walk downtown for lunch. We ended up at a great burger joint.

The burger joint ended up being  more like a bar than a  restaurant and had super dim lighting(important to keep in mind for later in the story). Our food just arrived and all of us were digging in when Drake started making the poop grunt noises. All you moms out there know exactly the sound I'm talking about. So Drake does his business and I decide since our next stop was the bookstore I would wait and change him there as the bathrooms at this place left much to be desired. As we were finishing up our lunch Drake stated fussing so I picked him up out of stroller and held him. I then passed him off to my sister.  I started packing up to leave notice a  strange spot on my jeans. After further investigating the spot in the poor lighting I realize it is poop. Meg gives Drake a once over and notices a bit of poop on the outside of his pants. It appears as Drake had a a minor blowout so we pay our bill and make our getaway.

As we emerge from the dark dungeon into the bright sunlight I see that the damage is far worse than what I assessed inside. Drake has somehow manged to poop all the way down his leg and it is all over his sock and the outside of his pants. I take his socks off, wipe off his pants as best I can and assess myself. I have poop on both legs of my jeans(my new ones) and on my shirt. The poop was smashed into my jeans and smeared on my shirt, so no amount of baby wipes were going to make a dent in it. My sister also has a bit of  poop on her shirt and jeans.

This is where having a good sense of humor comes in real handy, because really if I did not laugh I would cry. So we all laughed and laughed and laughed. We decided while we were at it we might as well document the situation.

The wet spot you see is where I wiped all the poop off Drake. My question....how does it get out of the pants through the leg and that far up?!?!

You can't see because of the lighting, but where the red marks circles are indicate poop in that whole area!! Isn't Drake going to love that I documented this when he get older?!?!?

And so then the poop walk begins. We start walking and get no further than 10 steps and run into one of Meg's friends. She laughs at our pooped covered clothing and joins in the poop walk across campus. A campus that is large. A campus that loves to drink. A campus that is hip. A campus that up until today may never have experienced a poop walk. I think we may have started something!

P.S.
Please know that everything ended well. Our poop walk ended back at Meggie's dorm where we showered Drake off and put clean clothes on him. Thankfully Meg and I are about the same size so I was able to borrow some clothes for the trip home.(Note to self: start bringing  extra clothing for you next time you head out of town anywhere with baby.)

And one more thing...
My lack of proper laundering skills was exhibited again on Friday when I washed and soaked all of our clothes in hot water. Turns out that caused my jeans to bleed and turned the  white things blue. Drake now has a blue onesie and I now have a blue tank. Pretty awesome, huh?

I'm a Mean Momma Because....

I will not let Drake play with the cleaning supplies.

 I also will not let him chew on electrical cords, or climb the stairs by himself, or stand up in a cart in Target.

I told you I was mean!

Reflux is Back

Warning: This post could get long as I'm so frustrated and sad about this subject. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Well it actually was never gone, but for the last several months Drake's medicine had been doing a great job of keeping him comfortable and his reflux under control. In the last couple of weeks some of the tell tale signs that his reflux was bothering started showing up again. First it was the cough and junky sounding throat, and then the crying started when he took his nighttime bottle, the spitting up increased again, and finally he has even started to cry when he eats his baby food.
He sees a Pediatric GI for this issue and we luckily have had a follow up appointment scheduled for this month since December. After this weekend I was concerned enough to call and see if we could move our appointment up, I had no luck but I'm on a waiting list if an slot does open up. The nurse did talk with the doctor who said that Drake is already on the maximum does of his Prevacid so we can't increase the dosage. So we sit and wait until out appointment in a couple of weeks.

I feel awful for Drake. I feel helpless and frustrated that there is not more I can do to make him feel better. I know how much reflux hurts as I had it while pregnant, and let me tell you it is not pleasant…AT ALL.

You want to know a strange fact related to all of this? I don't know what it is like to have a baby who likes to eat out of a bottle or drink formula. He was diagnosed with reflux at 7 weeks, but started showing symptoms a few weeks prior to the diagnosis. As his reflux got worse he developed a strong aversion to his bottle, so much so that even when his reflux was under control he would scream at the sight of his bottle. Yep, he knew at 4 months old that the bottle had caused him pain in the past and he wanted nothing to do with it. So anyways where I'm going with this is that after he turned 6 months old he totally stopped drinking any bottle except for the one before bed. We of course have made up for this, with our doctors help, by supplementing with DHA cereal(made with formula) 2 times a day, giving him as much baby food with DHA as we can find, and are VERY mindful of everything we feed him.

Now even baby food, which was our saving grace in the past, is hurting him. I never thought I would say this (hey I like convenience) but I'm going to try to make my own baby food. By making my own I can make it thicker and thicker foods don't aggravate his reflux as much. Wish me luck!!!

I know this is something he will most likely grow out of and I know in the grand scheme of things this is just a bump in the road. But I also know that as a mother there is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain and knowing there is nothing you can do to make it better. So for the time being I can be mad, frustrated, and just plain pissed off at reflux for what is has done to my baby.

If you have a baby with reflux how do you deal? Any tips or suggestions are appreciated!!

If you made it all the way through this you are awesome!! In return I promise the next post will be more upbeat!

THIS is what we want to get back to...a baby who enjoys eating!!

The New Topping For Toast

I have some deeper posts sitting in my draft folder so I thought before we got to all that I would share something a little lighter.

You see this little monkey?

He can't be trusted, not even for one second.

So on Saturday morning I put my toast in the toaster, coated it with peanut butter and topped it off with some grape jelly all while keeping both eyes on my little man.

I went to take a bite and caught a whiff of a smell coming from my toast that was not bread, peanut butter or grape jelly.

I looked closer only to find that I did not put grape jelly on my toast but rather BBQ sauce!

Each day is truly an adventure at house... and that is just the way we like it!

WubbaNub Review/Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

 Drake LOVES his paci and will pop one into his mouth whenever he sees one.  Soothie pacifiers have been our choice since day one. We have always loved the pacifiers but have had a very difficult time finding a good pacifier holder for it.

The Yellow Duck WubbaNub

Here is where the WubbaNub comes in. The WubbaNub is a small plush animal with a Soothie pacifier permanently attached. It is easy for babies to grasp and put in their mouths all while having the comfort of a cute stuffed animal to cuddle...what a great idea!!

As you can see Drake LOVES his WubbaNub, it is so easy for him to put in his own mouth and is even perfect for crawling around with!!  I only wish we had this earlier when Drake was having all the problems of putting the paci back in his mouth!!

Go to the WubbaNub website to find out where you can purchase one.

So now to what you have been waiting for...the GIVEAWAY!!

Enter to win a WubbaNub and a Pacifier Pouch

Here is how you enter to win:
You can earn up to 6 entries by doing any or all of the following:
Remember to leave a separate comment for each item you complete to earn all your eligible entries!


1. Go to the WubbaNub site and tell me what one you love.

2. Start following my blog publicly or already be following my blog

3. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here

4. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs...just click here

5. Blog about this giveaway or post a link on Facebook or Twitter about the giveaway. Leave the link to your site in the comment so I can see the post.

6. Grab my button and post it on your blog. Leave the link to your blog so I can check it out!

The giveaway begins today Tuesday, April 6, 2010 and will run for one week with all comments closing at 7:00 am CST Tuesday, April 13, 2010. One winner will be picked at random, using Random.org. The winner must live in the US and respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be picked.

Please Note: I was provided with a WubbaNub to review the product and promote the giveaway. I was not compensated in any other way. These are my own, honest opinions.

Just Like Papa

Happy Birthday Dad!

 I took the photos below as a surprise birthday present to my Dad. He is a family physician and loves showing off his grandson to his patients. Now he has the perfect photos to do just that!!

Looks like Drake would make a great doctor just like his Papa!

Our Easter Weekend in Pictures

I hope all of you had a great Easter weekend!

Drake's first Easter was great and full of:

Eggs: What I thought would be a good photo op turned into a really fun thing for Drake to put in his mouth so we had to cut the photo shoot short.

Easter Bunny: Every baby needs a picture with a scary cute bunny!

Easter basket: Looks like the Easter Bunny brought some pretty awesome stuff!

Cute random shots: I LOVE LOVE LOVE to capture Drake when he has no idea...I'm so sneaky!!

Egg hunt: Drake received a few big empty eggs in his basket, of course the simplest thing turned out to be the favorite!

Family photo: Every holiday calls for one and I happen to love the one we captured here!

A golfer: Drake is ready to hit the course in his stylin' outfit and with his new clubs!

We also enjoyed a fantastic church service, great food, time with family and every single second of soaking up Drake taking it all in.