Life Lately...

Well, summer is in full swing.  Nothing earth shattering has taken place here lately, just lots of time spent with my little BFF!

I have now been back in the gym for three weeks now.  Oh how I have missed this place!  I walked and maybe jogged once during the spring with Ledger, but that was certainly NOT cutting it.  Ledger goes with me to the gym 4 days a week and he loves it.  The ladies love him, partly because he just sits in the bouncer or exersaucer and smiles. Just kicks it.   WHO'S kid is this?  Oh that's right - Brad's!  Laid back like no other.  (Thank you Lord!)

 Loving Body Pump.

Ledger had his first swimming outing at 3 months in Florida and wasn't too sure about it.  But now, he LOVES it.  We have a neighborhood pool that is so easy to pop in whenever we want.  It is literally a 100 yards from our front door.  I haven't been brave enough to dunk his head in the water, but it is coming!

 My little fish...

And we have had our first bout with Eczema.  HORRIBLE....  He looked like he had been burned by scalding water.  (And I am sure that it looked worse than it actually was, but with Ledger having such fair white skin, the red, scaly bumps sent this momma into a tailspin!)  And while all this happened, Daddy happened to be in Seattle at the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.  Talk about freaking out.  I haven't been known to be the calmest person when something stressful arises.  Brad usually talks me down off the ledge, but he was no where to be found this particular week!:)  

We went to our pediatrician twice and with zero change, she sent us directly to a pediatric dermatologist.  He was amazing!  Yes, I was maybe crying and freaking out a tad, but he was so patient with me us and gave us some great tips on what to do with his face.  L's eczema was all on his face - no where else.  So.... we will keep treating the eczema exactly like Dr. Soine said and hopefully it will not appear again in the near future:)

Poor baby.  

This pics do not do justice.  It was BAD.  Puffy little boy.

And here is L's new products.  The Desonide Cream was a complete MIRACLE.  His skin was back to normal and even better within one day!  Thank you Dr. Soine.  Who would have thought bathing a 5 month old in Dove Sensitive Skin adult soap would be part of the solution?  Not this girl.  But hey - it worked!

So after all that excitement and spending a small fortune on co-pays and Walgreen trips, things have been pretty normal around here.  Errands, play dates for L, dinner with girlfriends, early morning walks, etc...

 Errands with my BFF...  Not the best conversationalist.

At the New Orleans Convention Center watching sweet Chandler kill it on the court.  They got 3rd place at the National Tournament!  I was in awe.  Their team was amazing and they played a TAD faster than we did 20 years ago.  Holy moly!

Just hanging out naked.  Way too hot and sticky here in Southeast Louisiana.  Yuck!

I have NO IDEA how he got this blanket up on top of his play mat, but he was entertained for 45 minutes. Just high-pitched screams and giggles.  Love it!  Could listen to that all day long.

Watching Daddy's favorite golfer, Jordan Spieth, win the U.S. Open...

Sweaty hugs with Mommy.

Just soaking up all these summer days with sweet L.  I am taking advantage of these lazy days with Ledger; no where to go, no make-up to put on; just lots of playing, tickling, listening to him babble and coo.  I am a busy-body.  I move fast and always have a full-plate of responsibilities and a mind that goes and goes and is usually hard to shut off.

But not this summer.  Time to slow down and focus most of my time on this precious baby and husband.  School will be here before we know it, and my type-a, busy-body tendencies will be in full-force again.  But for now, I am relishing in these rainy, stormy LA days with my best little pal!

Love,

~H

And leaving you with a pic that sends every teacher into cardiac arrest in June.... 

Yes folks, they are up!

 

 

 

 

 

Embracing our Billy Ray...

First of all, we have a BIG boy on our hands....  

 Cannot believe how much he is grown in one month!  Must be those 1:30 and 4:30 am bottles that are packing on the lbs.  

Ledger come on - throw Mom a bone.  Sigh.....

 Someone loves some oatmeal.  I keep thinking this is going to make him sleep longer at night, but no such luck:)

Ledger has a secret.  A funny, little secret.  No, I am not pregnant.  Just shoot me if that was the case...  

Many of you only see the front of him.  The chubby, little quite LARGE, cute, round face/head...  

But you turn him around, and BAM!!!

I have zero idea who this teenage boy is.  I just googled "SP".  The dreaded soul patch.  Not a fan AT ALL, but my son happens to have one.  But not in the usual, adult male location. 

 "Mom, you are NOT going to show them, are you?"

(Yes, that is a necklace.  An amber teething necklace.  A bit hippyish for me, but anything to help the slobber, fussiness, and neediness.  I'm sure it is working wonders.  Hence the sarcasm.)

 

Here it is.  WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT?  And how in the h#@* did it get that dark?

Nothing says classy quite like this folks.  It's quite funny and very random with his blonde hair on top and the dark hair in the back.  

"Business in the front - Party in the back!"

 Aunt Lindsey even trimmed it for us a couple weeks ago.  It was looking a smidge trashier than usual, and it needed to be shaped up a tad.

I will embrace the Billy Ray for now.  I am sure it will fall out one day.  

Hopefully before kindergarten.

And one last thing...

If you ever need a Mary Poppins, Bob sure makes a good one.  This was for sweet Marlowe's birthday party last weekend. (Marlowe is obsessed with MP!) I told her she could make a killing on Mary Poppin's appearances...

Happy Thursday All...

Love,

~H

 

God Bless Texas...

WOW!  What a whirlwind the last 12 days were...  There is just something about going "home" that I love so much.  Not our home now, but the home I knew for 18+ years...   The home that I grew up in that small, West Texas town.  Nothing like going home to relax and recharge your mind, body and spirit.  We had sooooo much fun in Texas and Ledger got to meet a plethora of family and friends for the first time. 

I'll let all the pictures do the talking. I apologize right now for the extreme obnoxiousness of the amount of pictures.  I did as many collages as possible:)

I cannot even tell you what an AMAZING flyer this one was.  I was freaking out at the thought of traveling ALONE w this little dude having an epic meltdown or experiencing his first bout of explosive diarrhea on the flight, but boy was I wrong!  TOTAL ROCKSTAR! 

 

When we got to my parents' home, Cody, Christy and Marlowe were there.  MJ went nuts over her little cousin!  Couldn't get enough.  

HELP ME MOM!....

Sunday after church.  Bebo aka Johnny Cash always looks so jubilant.  Pictures were cutting into his nap time I was told!:)

So, Dad decided it was time to have his outdoor kitchen!  SO it was a gift: to Steve from Steve!  And you know my Dad, this is his DREAM and he will live outside cooking, relaxing and watching an eclectic variety of ESPN, Swamp People or any show about Alaska.  I made the mistake of watching "The Last Alaskans" with Dad this week.  Some Alaskan woman skinned and gutted a caribou and then was playing with the caribou's four-chambered stomach in her HANDS.  That's it on Alaskan shows.  I'm out.  Disgusting... 

It's coming along!  Cannot wait to see the finished project over Thanksgiving!

Ledger's other best friend...  Bob.  Bob and DeDe are definitely his top two peeps.

Ledger, his Bob and Great-Grandma, Meme.  Meme didn't know what to think when he immediately grabbed for her finger to suck and slobber on.  #teethingissues.

Monday we went to Lubbock to see some of my girls!  Ledger got passed around like nobody's business.  I think he was a litle intimidated by all the pretty ladies!

"Mom, these chicks are CRAZY!"

I knew the Miracle Blanket days were over when I went to get Ledger and he looked like this.  Both arms out, one leg hanging out and doing a fist pump.  So long MB.  It's been fun!  Sooooooo....

The Merlin it was.  The Sumo Suit, the Michelin Man, or the little boy from "The Christmas Story...  I was putting all my faith into this $40 internet purchase.  

Tried this gem about two months ago with ZERO success.  Notta.  I have to admit, the first two night in the MM (Magic Merlin) were complete HELL.  I mean excruciating....  

But after implementing the MM again last week in Hereford, this little dude LOVES it now.  (Well, maybe love is a strong word - Like is a better choice.)  Last night, our first night back in LA, this little boy slept 7 hours with not one wake up.  Can I get an HALLELUJAH!  I almost cried...

 Started rice cereal.  He was less than impressed.  Not having it.

Day Two.  Nope, still not.  

On Wedndesday we went to see Miss Cassie, Wyatt and Cole.  Ledger was enamored with these little boys.  He couldn't stop watching them play and run around!

Thursday we left for Wichita Falls to see Uncle Slade, Aunt Lindsey, and all of the cousins.  This was Ledger's first time to meet Knox, Briggs and both of ours to meet sweet Ellis.  It was so much fun to see them all toegther...

An instant connection with Knox...

Fun in the backyard!  Knox had to get in "full" uniform to play with his pitcher Bob:)

Ledger's wonderful cousins.  These kids are going to have so much fun in the future.  Best.cousins.ever....

These two lovebugs are 5 weeks apart.  They pretty much just stared at each other for now, but being so close in age, I hope they will become good buddies.  Ellis is just gorgeous and she has a closet that a girl would DIE FOR.  The most precious thing ever.  

My Starbuck's date on Friday morning.  Love this little dude.  The funniest and wittiest kid I know, but yet so mannerly and kind-hearted to all.  

Take 20....

 This picture makes me laugh.  I am just dying to know what Briggs is thinking (Probably, "I am so over this!"... and Marlowe patting him sympathetically on the back with Ledger looking on wondering what the problem is.  

On the other hand, photogenic Ellis and Knox nailed the smile. 

Take 83....

AND here is the gang...  SO SO SO much personality in these 5 little bodies.  And least we represented the Red Raiders:)  Guns up!

 The drive home.  Just a smidge different than Southeast Louisiana...  

We celebrated Meme's 89th Birthday on Saturday.  What a fun time it was.  And she had a great turnout with all her friends at the Manor.  Sweet, sweet...

 Meme needs to turn 89 more often...  Bebo is SMILING!  

(And I am sitting here wondering why Bebo has a pen in his shirt in BOTH pictures?)

4 generations...

Aunt Paulette aka Boppy, Bob and Meme...

 Brad told me that we would NEVER be gone this long again.  (I am going to go ahead and be honest and say it was MOSTLY Ledger he was missing and maybe me just a tad.)  Soooo, we sent a lot of pics and Facetimed throughout the 11 days away.  

Got to have dinner with these ladies on Monday night!  What a fun time...   Miss these girls so much.

And I got to see Miss Tess.  She loved me...obviously!

Trying to get away as fast as she could.  Sweet girl!

AND THEN.......

Finally at 2:05 pm, Wednesday the 10th of June...  This happened.

Reunited at last.  (I can't type reunited and not sing in my head - "Reunited and it feels so good."

There were tears of happiness from two of us.  Someone just wanted out of his carseat.  He had had enough.  

One last fist pump:

YIPPEE - We are home!

SO thankful for our wonderful trip to Texas.  Always, always sad to leave.  I am sure people at the airport yesterday morning were staring wondering... "Isn't the baby supposed to be crying and not the adult taking care of the baby?"  It was U-g-l-y...  Oh well.  I am sure it wasn't the first time they have seen such a scene.

Mom will be here in 5 short weeks to have a 4-day slumber party with Ledger while Mommy and Daddy escape away for 4 luxurious days of adult time.. Cannot.wait.  But then I will be crying because I miss my child.  Man, this mom stuff is hard.  You can't win... :)

Love,

~H