Styling in Daddy's Glasses

Here we are waiting for Lamar to get the mulch and pavers for the front yard. Never leave a three year old unattended.

Playing at the Park

Fariss Family Honey

This is my aunt's website.  She and her husband have been harvesting honey from bee hives, since they married years ago.  They make some wonderful stuff!!  In addition to, well, honey, they make candles, lip gloss, and other things.  Greg also volunteers by running a beginners beekeeper class where they live in North Carolina.  It is my understanding that they are always full in rapid time. If you are interested in anything that they make, contact Susan on the information page.  Check them out!!

www.peacefulvalleyhoney.com  

On there you can see my cousins Courtney, Kristen, and Jordan, as well as Courtney's beautiful family:)

First Ear Infection

The title says it all.  Walter has his first ear infection.  We are on pink bubble gum medicine (amoxicillin.)  I am pretty sure that I took a truckload of this stuff when I was little.  I do know that an ear infection is like a rite of passage into childhood.  Grace did not have her first until 11 months old.  Lamar was gone then too:)  At least we are LOVING the flavor of the pink bubble gum.  Nine more days of it to go.  

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to Lamar. He is 29 years old today. We are sorry that you are not with us to celebrate. We will have cake when you return. We love you!!!

Date Set!

Dad and Janet have set the date.  More info to follow soon!  

Great Job Brother!!

Walter slept...and slept and slept last night.  8:30 PM-6:15 AM.  OH MY GOODNESS.  Now that I opened my big mouth, that will stop.

He is also officially sitting up on his own.  He is getting so big so fast.  

Special Boy

Walter and I attended his gastric specialist appointment on the Monday after Easter, with the greatly needed help from Lindsay.  After the exam, he determined that Walter is suffering from a milk protein allergy.  We also have to eliminate soy and whey from his diet as well.  Dr. Tuft did say that MOST babies grow out of it by the first year.  Here is hoping right.  He is currently on a prescription only formula...amino acid based.  How scrumptious does that sound??  And how expensive?  Thank goodness for our Tricare insurance.  I thought that I would NEVER say that, but it covered all of the cost.  So, it actually turns out to be the cheapest formula that I can buy.  

On a shocking note, Walter gained almost two pounds in three weeks.  He weighed in at 18 pounds 12 ounces.  He is still 26 inches long.  GOOD GRIEF KIDDO!!

Six Month Appointment

Well, we went to the doctor for our six month appointment for Walter.  Although he is still NOT a sleeper, (he was up every 45 minutes the night before the appointment) he is growing very well. The doctor said that he looks great.  We did get a referral for the Gastroenterologist.  We are hoping to get to the bottom of the screaming at night and waking often.  We did stop nursing when I got the flu about three weeks ago, so that might be part of it, but the sleeping problems did begin before that.  

Six Month Stats

Height  25 inches (35th percentile)

Weight 17 pounds even (50th percentile)  Really!??!  He seems so much heavier

Head 43 centimeters (80th percentile) still a SMART boy

He is rolling over both ways and trying to sit up on his own.  I can't believe how time has flown. Lamar is TAD in Panama City again, so hopefully I will get a chance to update for a while. Grace has gone to SC for an extended visit.  I will either catch up on sleep or get my house clean...only if Walter cooperates.

More Congratulations!

Congratulations to my cousin, Courtney Baldwin, and her husband Steven and their son Nate on the birth of their second child/first brother.

Silas Cole Baldwin was born yesterday, Valentine's Day, at 2:08 PM.  He weighed 6 pounds 8.7 ounces.  

He is beautiful guys.

Congratulations

Congrats to Ashley, Brad, and Grayson Cuttino on the birth of Anna Parker Cuttino.  She is beautiful.  And two...well, it is LOTS of fun!  Good luck guys.

Tooth #2

Tooth #2 came in today!  At this rate, he will need to see the dentist by one year old.

Accident #2

I got the dreaded phone call from school yesterday.  On the other end was Grace's teacher telling me that it was an emergency!!  Grace had been dancing on the rug, fell and busted her chin open. 

"Does it need stitches, Ms. Tiki?"

"Yes, it does."

"How big is the cut, Ms. Tiki?"

"Big!"

So, off I run to school.  When I got there Grace had a steri-strip on it.  It is about an inch long, but since the steri was holding it closed, I really doubt that the doctors would remove it for stitching.  Nana Su met me at school, and it was our determination to leave it alone and covered with the steri's until it heals.  You can't see it unless you look underneath her head.   Poor kid, she went two years with NOTHING, and then we had the eye and the chin in less than a year.  It would figure....Lamar is gone:)

Oh, and she locked herself in her room on Sunday.  I went up to get her and she was shut up tight.  My doorknobs are as old as my house (c. 1953) so there is no way to pop the lock from the outside.  I told her to hold on and I was going to go across the street to get Mr. Kris.  Well, I forgot that Mr. Kris is deployed too!  So Nadine and Tyler came over for Operation Grace Removal.  Tyler was talking to her from the other side of the door while we worked.  I finally just took the knob off.  Of course, now I can't get it back on.  She was fine...not worried at all.  When we took it off and finally got in, she was playing happily in her room.  When I asked her how it happened, she said that her daddy locked her in.  

TOOTH

Walter's first tooth broke through today.  He has pretty much given up sleeping through the night lately.  For the past several weeks, he has been getting up every couple of hours.  It culminated on Thursday night with every five minutes!  We went to the doctor and she upped his Zantac.  Well, the tooth broke through sometime last night, so here's to hoping that was part of the problem!

Sleep Brother Sleep!!

Oh.  And he now weighs 15 lbs 11 oz.  

Big Boy!!

4 month stats

Walter had his four month check up on January 8th.  He received all of his shots, except for the HIB, which is still recalled.  The doctor said that he looks GREAT.  Everything is right on track.  I can't believe how time is flying by.  In no time, he will be walking and talking.

Weight  15 lbs, 2 oz

Length  24 inches

Head     41 centimeters

He is 45th percentile in weight and length and 80th in head circumference.  

Still breastfeeding.  We did start cereal do to the reflux.  He is still loving it.

Ho Ho Ho!!

Here are some photos of Christmas in SC.  This is the time of year that my blogging seems to take a nose dive.  Anyhow, these are some of the shots.  More will be added later.  By this weekend...or as soon as I download them from the camera:)  The ones of Grace are on our camera.  These came from Dad.  

Yummy to my Tummy!!!!

Baby Walter had his first taste of brown rice cereal tonight.  I could not get it in his mouth fast enough.  For the past week, he has been waking up at night again...every two to three hours...Um, yeah...WHAT!!  It was killing me.  When he was waking up, he was eating.  Eating a full meal.  Anyway, we gave the very watery breastmilk/cereal combo a shot tonight.  We will see if it helps things.  

Baby Addison Kate Norris

Baby Addison was born on Friday, December 14th, 2007.  She arrived at 5:40 PM.  She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.  All reports are that Mom and Baby are doing great.  No one talks about Dad:).  Welcome to the world Baby Addison.  And to Craig and Nancy...strap in for the ride of you lives:)

New Baby Countdown

Craig and Nancy went in at 6:00 PM last night to begin the lovely induction process. They should have Baby Addison sometime today. What a wonderful Christmas present. Keep us posted when you can! Good luck and Speedy Induction!!!

Round and Round and Round

Grace also rode the carousel on Sunday.  It almost put her to sleep with her no nap self:)

The Ruby Red Slipper

Finally got a picture of the infamous slippers.  She actually looks like a house was dropped on her in this picture.

The Build A Bear Workshop

If you have never been, you have to go.  The Build a Bear is a stuffed animal store where you go and pick out your flat animal, stuff it, dress it, name it and take it home.  Kids LOVE it.  One opened in Myrtle Beach when I was in college, and the line wrapped around the building in the summer time.  Nana Su and Lindsay took Grace yesterday for Christmas.  She had a ball.  She picked out the pink bear, dressed her in a Cinderella dress, and wait for it.....

RUBY RED SLIPPERS!!!  The bear's name is Lisa.  Not sure where that came from?  Anyway she loved the trip.  Then we went home to Nana Su's for Hanukkah.  Please notice my lack of multiculturalism awareness when looking at Grace's attire for the evening.  I am totally losing it!!

Christmas Card Attempts

Well, I have pretty much accepted the fact that I will not be getting the two of my children to smile and be happy for a picture at the same time this year for a Christmas picture to add to our Christmas cards. We sure did have alot of fun trying. Maybe another day.

True Peace on Earth. May God bless us all.

My very own Frosty the Snowman

He is going to KILL me one day!!!!

Children's Christmas Party

Saturday, December 8th was the Children's Christmas Party. It is thrown by all of the officer's wives and held in the hangar. We get bouncers, have cotton candy, bubble wrap, games, gifts, prizes, etc. The highlight is Santa's arrival. He does not come by reindeer. He arrives in a 60 sierra, or more commonly known as a helicopter. The kids love it. They all get to sit on Santa's lap and ask him for their Christmas gifts. Then they jack up on sugar and come home and crash. Grace claimed that she planned to take the helicopter to the zoo, but we could not accompany her. Here are several shots to sum up the day. The only thing missing was Daddy...

Baby News??

NO NOT ME...Are you KIDDING!!!!!!

We are anxiously awaiting news of Grace's new...I guess it would be God-sibling??

Grace's Godfather, Craig, and his wife, Nancy are imminently expecting the birth of their first child, Addison Kate, any day! She is actually due tomorrow, December 9th. We are crossing our fingers for you, Miss Nancy, that you have a speedy, safe delivery (not quite as fast as Brothers:) and LOTS of GREAT drugs!

Keep us posted!!

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

The tree is up. We put it up before Lamar left for Panama City. He and I have philosophical differences on the color of the lights for the tree. I grew up with white, he insists on color. See who won:) Grace also has Santa lights in her room. She is ready for Christmas.

Sleeping

We have a "sleeper through the night!" For the last two nights, I have put Walter down at 8:30 PM, and he has slept until 6:00 AM straight. I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself. Since he was born, I have been going to bed when he does to get some rest. Needless to say, my house has turned into a disaster. I have not had a real night's sleep since about five months pregnant. For the past two nights, I have slept seven hours straight. I even get some ME time in the morning before they all wake up. It is amazing what excites a mother of two small children.

Dorothy

Grace is now into The Wizard of Oz. We went out and got her a pair of ruby red slippers. She wears them with EVERYTHING. She told her Nana Su that she needs the blue dress to go with them. She also told me that I could not wear them or take them from her because I was the Wicked Witch...but my face is not green....

Just wait. Before I leave work one day, I am going to the paint closet and paint my face green. Then I am going to go pick her up from school...

Gotta Love The Navy

Well...Lamar is gone...again.

He is cruising Panama City for cute Spring Breakers:)

HA..HA.. No, actually he is down in Panama City towing. Is it fun, you may ask? Well, not according to him. He will be down there until Christmas, will come home for Santa, and then go back to tow until February. Life here with two alone is FUN!! Grace has become slightly whiny lately. She gets EXASPERATED with Brother, telling him that he needs to learn to wait his turn. My question...when is MY turn??

Anyway, drop us a line or an email. I probably won't answer it, because I am here with two, but at least you will have tried:)

Turkey Day Excitement

Well, it was another wonderful turkey day down on the farm. We had approximately 45 people join us this year. The weather was perfect, the food was wonderful, and the company was alright too:) If you left hungry, it was your own fault. If you did not attend, we hope that you will join us next year for the festivities.

Citadel Cheerleader

Lamar took Grace to the Citadel/VMI game in November. The Citadel BLEW VMI away. Grace was the HIT of the game. She was apparently a very good companion in the car going up and back. She is going to be a football girl like her mom and dad.

Two Month Stats

Brother had his two month appointment yesterday. He is doing really well, except he was diagnosed with reflux. You should have been at our house for the crying FITS. Not fun!! He also got three shots :( and the oral rotavirus vaccine. Loved that one! He is doing everything that he should and even a few that he should not. He even slept last night!!!! He went down at 9 and slept until 2! Yes I was the mom that dashed out of the bed and went in and checked on him. He ate at 2 and went back down until 6! I was SO excited. Probably from the shots! Here's hoping to another night of sleep tonight!

Weight 12 lbs 6.8 oz (and not from formula!! YEA!!!) 75th percentile
Head 41.5 centimeters 75th percentile (He is going to be smart!!)
Length 23 inches 50th percentile (And short!!!)

Back to the Grind

Well, it is official. I return to work on Monday. I have run out of excuses, and the doctor has said, go already! She actually said that all looks good, and she is done with me. I know that my assistant is ready! Thank you, Karen, for holding down the fort all alone. I know that you did a WONDERFUL job. Baby Walter will be returning with me until there is a space available at Grace's center in December or so. He will be completely rotten with all of the ladies that work for me! Ready or not...here we come!!

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

Walter's First Official Photo Shoot

Well, I got nothing done that I set out to do today. I took Walter to get his pictures done instead. Completely on a whim. He was dressed for Halloween so I figured, why not, right?







Grace has her school pictures tomorrow. I figured since she takes those alone that Brother should get a set too. Now, tomorrow, I will go to the cleaners, return the shirt that does not fit, and return the expired tea that the commisary sold to me...

Happy Birthday PawPaw

Happy Birthday PawPaw. We hope that you had a wonderful day!!! And we will keep your age to ourselves...

58

Ooops!

Gross Anatomy

Lamar has been studying to further his education in certain areas recently. He is brushing up on his biology and anatomy to keep his options open. Right now he is concentrating on the human body. He was upstairs with Grace reviewing the parts of the body with her last night. He asked her to show him her radius, ulna, and humerous bones. She complied. He asked her if she had a pancreas. She said yes. He asked her if he had one. She replied emphatically no. He said that he did and they battled back and forth. He finally asked her why he did not have one. She told him that his was a blucreas because he is a boy. Blue=Blucreas. Pink=Pancreas. Girls vs. Boys. I guess that it starts REALLY early...

oh...

And Brother can now roll from his stomach to back on the other side. That boy will do ANYTHING to get out of tummy time:)

Child Prodigy??

Do we have a genius in the making? Baby Walter rolled over today. A fluke you might say at seven weeks. Well, what do you say to three separate times at three different times today. The first time was the morning while he was upstairs with Grace and Daddy. The second time was a little later for my benefit, while we were all upstairs. The third time was tonight during tummy time on his playmat. Lamar told him when he rolled over he could get off the floor. So, he went flip. We are tummy to backing it right now. Great job Brother!!

The Messy House

Lamar and Jeff took on a rather large project this spring/summer. They decided to buy and flip a house. Naturally, there are no before pictures, but they did take some great afters. It is listed here in Norfolk with a realty, but also on militarybyowner.com. Take a look...they are available for hire for projects. Just call me.

www.militarybyowner.com/listings/tourplus.asp?F_BASE_ID=247&F_STATE=VA&LISTING_ID=53029

Address Change

Lamar's website address has changed. Thank you, Bec, for pointing out that I have not fixed it. Lamar told me to and I naturally forgot.

http://web.mac.com/curtis.hardy/Walter_Robert/Homepage.html

Caught Up!

Yea!!! I am caught up! I can't believe it! It is unbelievable! Let's see how long it lasts. Be sure to scroll down past the FINALLY post. Pictures have been added before Walter was born!!

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Jeff and Andrea!!

Welcome to the world Aubrey Nicole!

Welcome to Parenthood!!

Pumpkin Shopping

We took Grace and Walter to the pumpkin patch at the church this week. We went for several reasons. We needed a pumpkin for the house, I wanted pictures and Grace had to bring in a pumpkin for homework. Kill all those birds....

Camping

We went camping the weekend of October 19th. When I say camping, I mean in 27 foot trailers. Hey, I have a newborn and a toddler! I am not that crazy! Anyway, we went with Nana Su and her family and Miss Beth from Grace's school and family. The campground is on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on the Eastern Shore. It is called Cherrystone. Each year, they put on this Halloween Extravaganza as an end to their camping season. Nana Su has been going for 10 years, since Lindsay was four years old. You can rent anything from a tent site, to a cabin, to a trailer. They have paddle boats, volleyball, haunted houses, hayrides, crafts, and bike riding galore! We had a wonderful time despite a statewide burning ban, which really put a damper on smores, hotdogs, and marshmellow roasting. Oh well, we got creative the last night and roasted over the Weber. Gotta improvise sometimes!

Grace wore her costume to go Trick or Treating. She even shared the bling with brother (more information on the bling in a lower post.) All of these were taken camping.