Giving Thanks All Year Round

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! My little turkey was very excited to celebrate his first Thanksgiving...as you can tell from the pictures! This month, I made it a point to jot down something I was thankful for each day. Although, I think this is a good little exercise, I feel like I should continue even after the month of November. 1) Because there are not enough days in a month to say what I am thankful for and 2) it is always good to be reminded just how blessed I am. So, when Jameson gets a little older, we are definitely going to do this every November and then make it a point to remember to be thankful every single day. I am thinking of making a scrapbook of all the things he writes down, so he can go back each year and look to see what he was thankful for at that time. Hopefully, this will be a tradition that carries on through the years.

I am also going to always instill "doing good deeds". I think we lose sight of just how much impact a kind gesture can have on another person. It usually doesn’t take much other than a little time and maybe a little cash. Darin is always so good about being a gentlemen, so holding a door open for someone or letting someone go in front of you in traffic is something that will be a given. But, I will try to encourage him to do a little more. Send a note to someone just to brighten their day, buy the person behind you in the drive-through whatever it is they ordered, give away one stuffed animal each year to someone less fortunate, smile at people, offer to help carry groceries for someone, shovel the neighbor's driveway after a big snowfall, etc. I want my son to grow up thinking this is normal and not with the mindset that you should always get something in return. He will grow up knowing that the feeling you get when you do something nice for someone is reward enough.

Now, off to enjoy some family time and of course good food! Happy Turkey Day!!

My little turkey!

Take this thing OFF me!!

Turkey bottom!

Cousins!

Watching some football!

Jameson's turkey!

Family pic!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Oh my poor, poor baby. What a weekend/week we have had thus far. Bear with me here because we are going to go on a little journey of Jameson's ailments.

• Friday around 9:30 AM - Jameson and I were having some bonding time on my day off of work. He had just eaten a whole container of pears with cereal. Drank water from his new sippy cup and then had some milk. He fussed at the end of the feeding, so I put his plug in and started rocking him. He looked up at me, spit the plug out and then proceeded to projectile vomit, exoricist style, all over me. And yes, I took a picture because I was amazed at how much came out of such a little belly. After he was done, he was laughing, smiling and talking up a storm, so I thought he just ate too much.
• Saturday morning - we went grocery shopping and he wanted to be held the whole time. I noticed he was warm and he fell asleep the second I put him back in his carseat, which was only an hour after his last nap. Went home and took his temperature and it was 101ish. Gave him some Tylenol and we cuddled. I ended up putting him down for another nap later and he slept for almost 3 hours. The on-call doc just said to keep an eye on it and if he wasn't exhibiting any other symptoms to just ride it out, unless it got worse. And, since he was laughing and smiling as I was talking to her, I figured we would wait.
• Sunday morning around 1:00 AM - his temp spiked to 102.8. We called the 24 hour nurseline and they again said to just keep an eye on it and take it again in an hour or two. Luckily, it dropped to 100 and we thought he was on the mend.
• Sunday morning around 5:00 AM - temp was below 100 degrees, so Darin and I decided to go to Indy for the Colts game/Scott's birthday celebration as planned. I honestly cried a million times because I really wanted to go, but felt bad leaving him. But, he was in good hands with Grandma and Grandpa Weber.
• Sunday evening - temp back up to almost 102. Still his happy little self through all of this though, but we put him to bed early, knowing I was taking him to the doc first thing Monday morning.
• Monday at 8:00AM on the dot - took him to the doctor's office. Temp was still 102, his throat was red and it had started to move into both ears. The doc put him on amoxicillin and told us to keep up the Tylenol and fluids. We napped for a bit the rest of the morning and then Grandma Debbie came over to take care of him in the afternoon. Still happy Jameson when awake!
• Monday night sometime between 8-11PM - his fever broke, yay! Thought it was a good thing, but he woke up at 2:45 and screamed off and on until about 6:15. I have never felt so helpless in my entire life. Lo and behold, we noticed a top tooth popping through on top of all of this.
• Tuesday - I took the day off and we cuddled and napped all day. He played and chatted like crazy when awake, but I could tell he was in pain. I tried to keep up the fluids and stay on top of the pain meds. 
• Tuesday around 6:00PM - I noticed that he was starting to get more and more red bumps around his hairline. I didn't want to jump to the hives conclusion even though I was certainly paranoid since I am allergic to penicillin. Sure enough though, within a 10 minute period, the hives exploded. So, off to Prompt Care the three of us went. 
• Tuesday around 7:00PM - Barney Stinson or Doogie Howser, whichever you prefer, was the doctor who finally saw us. He took one look and confirmed that Jameson was in fact having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin. We got a new prescription and some benadryl to help with the allergy symptoms. 
• Tuesday around 8:30PM - Got him home, fed him and we pumped him full of the various meds. Gave lots of hugs and kisses and the little one slept like a champ. 
• Wednesday morning - JR woke up and when I went in to feed him, he looked up at me and said Mama over and over with a big old smile on his face. I felt like smiling and crying all at once. Never again will I let him go that long with a fever, even if medically advised to do so. My heart breaks thinking that I let him sit in pain for that long, even though he was showing zero signs of an earache/sore throat.  I know that this is one of those "learning" moments and I am sure I will have many along the way. This will not be the last time I do something where I want to kick myself later, but that is how I will learn to be a better parent. And, Jameson is still happy and finally feeling better, so that is all that matters.  

Now in picture form:

Yikes. The result of Friday's projectile incident.
*Sorry for the graphic nature of the photo.

On the way out to Gma and Gpa Webers on Sunday morning.

Poor sicky baby at the doctor for the first time on Monday morning.

Playing with Mommy on Tuesday. Still so happy...and cute!

Have to keep those fluids coming!

Nap time on Mom. Love these moments.

First sign of hives.

Back to the doctor to get those hives looked at! Jameson, the Destroyer, tore up the paper within seconds.

8 Months and Growing!

Seriously time, slow down!! Although I get a bit choked up when I look at photos/videos of when Jameson was a newborn, I would have to say that this is my favorite age. He is so aware of things and just a happy little boy! He knows who people are now and seeing that kid smile at me and reach for me when I pick him up after work is by far the best thing in the whole world right now! Didn't think it was possible, but my heart grows by the day and instantly gets filled with more love for him.

This past month, Jameson made quite a few big "mental leaps". Lots for him to document!!

• I weigh roughly 25 pounds (with a full belly!) and am 29 inches long. I am wearing 12 month clothing.
• I am rolling all over the place. Back to front, front to back, side to side, across the living room, etc. Never a dull moment with me and Mom and Dad can't leave the room for a second anymore!
• I can crawl in circles. I really just want to walk though. I can if someone holds my hands and guides me.
• I can pull myself up if I have a good grip on something and can stand leaning against something one-handed! Just the other night, I stood on my own for a bit. I was SO proud of myself and Mom and Dad got super excited!
• I am a wonderful napper (at least on the weekends)! And, I am starting to sleep better at night. I sleep through the night every few nights and when I don't, I usually only wake up once to eat. Mom is OK with that though because she knows that I won't need her forever, so she is cherishing that time together.  
• I am such a snuggle bug.  I love taking weekend naps with Mom. I think she loves it more, but we won't tell. And, I will hug anyone...true story.
• I tried lots of new food - green beans, peas, bananas (pureed and a REAL one!), & apples - all of which were a hit! I even got to try a Mum Mum, but I freaked the 'rents out because I took a huge bite the second I put it in my mouth and kind of started coughing. It was OK, but they are worrywarts! I also get Gerber puffs...not so sure about those things. I make extremely funny faces when they are in my mouth! It is just a new texture and I am starting to get the hang of it.
• I am always so good when we go places. Whoever is watching me never has to worry about taking me places and they just love that about me! 
• I got to go to the pumpkin patch. I was very interested in all of the people. Was a bit confused by the big orange things, but it sure was fun studying them.  
• I got to go see Grandpa Dan farm! I didn't ride in anything this time, but got to see the big machines and watch them farm! Next year, I will ride in one.
• I talk ALL of the time. Gagagaga, babababa, dadadadada, googoogooo and ohhhhhh are some of my favorites. Mom is a little sad that I stopped saying mama, but I save that for when I am really sad and then do the Maaaamaaaaaa while crying. They also think it sounds like I am saying quack quack at times, but I think they are silly.
• I constantly have my feet in my mouth.  Mom caught me once in the backseat taking off my socks...with my mouth.
• I know how to pick up things really well now. If I see my plug laying around, I can pick it up and put it correctly in my mouth. I can also do that with table food.
• I love watching Wheel of Fortune at dinner time with Mom and Dad. 
• I think my top teeth are trying to come through. I have not been fussy at all, but I am starting to drool a lot again and I gnaw on anything I can get my hands on!
• I can almost clap my hands - I used to close my fists when someone would try to teach me and now I can almost do it on my own. And, I love to bang things against each other...I am noisy!
• I got to dress up in a cute doggy costume for Halloween. I don't really understand why people dress up, but I thought it was fun to look like Hoyt for a day! Braden showed me what trick-or-treating was all about...I am excited to try it next year!
• I think we said it before, but I really like to study things. If I study things long enough, I can figure out how they work. I also study people's faces (which tends to include grabbing noses, pinching cheeks, poking eyeballs, etc.) - it is my way of getting to know someone new!

October was a busy month, lots of pictures!!


Um seriously, how cute is he?!

So big!

Little goofball!

Love that sweet face!

Daddy and JR at Dan's shop.

3 Generations of Weber men!

Fall fun!

Snuggling!

Bath time fun with Daddy!

Watching Wheel of Fortune!

JR and JD in their costumes...hilarious watching them study each other!

Jameson and Simba (aka: Braden!) trick-or-treating!

The fam on Halloween.

Standing almost all by myself!

Reading my book!

Good picture of both bottom teeth.

Snuggly, sweet baby.