All About Jubal

Since I don't do monthly posts on Jubal anymore, I wanted to write down some of his little sayings and doings here lately. He is just too cute sometimes!

His teacher, Ms. Jordie, sent this to me right after nap time. She said he was the only one that said, "Cheese!"

One night we were watching TV and I was flipping through channels when I saw that 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' was on.  I can't believe how much Jubal loved it.  We had to actually buy the movie for him.  He can almost tell you every word of the movie now since we've watched it so many times in the past two weeks.

Jubal still likes for me to rock him to sleep at night.  I will continue to do it, too, as long as he will let me.  It's my favorite thing to do in the evening.  I could rock him forever and when he falls asleep, I could just sit there and listen to him breathe and look into his beautiful face forever, too.

This is a picture that Larson sent me one Saturday while I was at work. It's Jubal pretending to be asleep. He can't hide that grin, though. ;) 

The other night while I was finishing washing Gentry's bottles before bedtime, Larson sat down with Jubal and started rocking him.  After I finished and walked into the living room, Jubal hopped up out of his daddy's lap and told him, "Up, Daddy!  Get up now, Daddy!  Mama rock me."  He was telling his daddy to get up out of the rocker/recliner so I could rock him to sleep.  That's my boy. :)

For some reason, just out of the blue, Jubal has started calling his daddy by his first name.  It's so funny to hear him call, "Larson!  Come here, Larson!"  I have to remind him, though, you call him Daddy, not Larson.  It's so cute, though.

I walked into our bedroom last Sunday morning to find my two big boys all snuggled up like this. Aww!

One more funny thing that happened the other day.  He sneezed and (TMI!) snot came out of his nose.  He walked up to me so I could wipe it and said, "My nose pooted."  I thought I was going to fall out laughing.  He comes up with something new and funny every day.

I'm amazed by everything he does.  He's my fabulous first-born and I love him in such a way that is indescribable.  I just had to document some of his sayings and doings so I could always remember the sweet little things he's doing right now.

Jubal is definitely a snuggle buddy.  The closer, the better. :)

He makes my heart smile.

Mr. Poopy Face: Part 2

I shouldn't have, but I did it to Jubal, and here I am again doing it to Gentry. I just can't help it. They're just so dang cute when they make these faces and all I can do is giggle.

I had to have a picture to always be able to look back on, for Jubal, and now for Gentry, too :)

God bless my sweet boys.  They're going to be so mad at me one day for these pictures.  HA!!!

Santa Babies

This isn't a regular post.  Actually, I just want to post this pic of my sweet boys and their daddy.

Larson has the boys all to himself on Saturdays until 2, while I work. He will randomly send me texts throughout the day so I can see my babies. I got this one this past Saturday and it just makes me smile. :)

My Santa Babies.  My heart.

Gentry meets Santa

Since Jubal's first Christmas, we have gone to Savannah to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa.  This year, we got to introduce Gentry to jolly old St. Nick. :)

Here's the picture that was taken by Bass Pro Shop.

Click picture to enlarge.

Ha! Gentry was not amused with all the picture taking.  He did look at Santa in wonder when we first sat him in his lap.  Other than that, he was just kind of hanging out. 

Here's some of my iPhone pics.

Jubal was telling Santa he wanted a truck for Christmas. His finger is in his mouth, not his nose. HA!

Jubal's still checking Santa out.

Here's one of all three. Gentry is staring at Santa in this one. :)

Jubal, Gentry, & cousin Alannah. She's been with us every year. :)

I hope to continue this every year.  I was so excited to take Gentry for his first time.  These are times I cherish.

Last year, Jubal was not having anything to do with Santa.  He hated every minute of sitting in Santa's lap.  Hilarious!  I was hoping this year he would like seeing Santa and, thankfully, he did.  I feet like since Gentry was in his lap, too, that he felt better about it.  I'm happy with this year's picture.

I took several other pictures to commemorate the day.  My sister had Gentry most of the time because he was hungry and wanted his bottle, but we walked around the "Wonderland" with Jubal.

This was so funny.  Jubal actually thought there was a real elf stuck in the snow and he was trying to help him out.

And finally, a family pic.  Blurry, but still one with all of us in it. :)

We usually do the whole train ride and merry-go-round ride, but while waiting for the train ride to open up at noon, Jubal went into full "hungry-no nap meltdown" mode.  He was trying to tear the gates down around the train so he could get on it.  He threw himself on the floor and kicked his feet & cried when we stopped him.

Yeah, we just left.  No train or carousel ride this year.  Poor Gentry.  He's still little enough he didn't realize he was missing out on it anyway. ;)

We went to get some lunch, then took the boys to my sister so we could get our Christmas shopping done.  Surprisingly, it only took us about 4 hours this year.  We always designate our Santa day to be our shopping day as well.  Works for us.

I'm just glad Gentry got to meet Santa.  That was THE best part of the day.  I sure do love my boys.  It's important to me to document things like this, especially the "firsts".  I'll never get to relive these special moments again.

At least I can come back here to read about them and see pictures that capture these times of our lives.  That's why I blog. :)



Company Christmas III

We had our annual company Christmas dinner party this past Saturday. As usual, it was fun. Spending time away from Planet Cycle with my co-workers is always a treat. Luckily, I get along with them very well and I really enjoy my job.

My employers, Roger & Colette Moore, and Scott Moore are wonderful people. They have been extremely good to me in the time I have worked for them. Their home is lovely and Mrs. Colette always outdoes herself decorating all of the many trees she puts up each year.

Our annual family Christmas picture in front of the tree at the party.

I thought it would be nice to reflect back on the past couple of years at our growing little family. :)

You can also read my previous posts about our Christmas parties here and here.

I am very thankful for my job.  Being in a family-oriented business environment is an added bonus.  I feel like my employers & co-workers are as close as family since I've been with them so long.  I hope to always be a part of the Planet Cycle family.



Half A Year

My sweet Gentry,

On the way to your 6 month checkup~12/10/12

You are already half a year old.  The past 6 months have passed in the blink of an eye.  You are growing bigger & stronger every day.  You had a rough month this past month, though.  It seemed as though you would never get well.

It started with an aggravating little cough.  You never ran any fever, but it continued for almost three weeks, so I took you to see your pediatrician.  He diagnosed you, without any tests, with Bronchiolitis.  We were sent home with a nebulizer, instructed to give you breathing treatments 4 times a day, and an antibiotic since the cough had been so persistent.  You only seemed to get worse.

On Thanksgiving day, I wasn't sure we would be able to go to each place we were expected for the holiday festivities.  You were so sick, coughing so hard that you would vomit.  I felt so bad for you.  We did end up making it everywhere we needed to be, with you sleeping through the majority of it.  I told your daddy that if you weren't better Friday, I was taking you to the ER, and that's exactly what I did.

You were coughing so hard, having trouble breathing, vomiting, and running fever so I took you to the emergency room since your pediatrician's office was closed for the holiday.  I told the ER doctor about the visit to your pediatrician's office on Monday and about the diagnosis.  He asked if a RSV test had been done and I told him it had not.  They proceeded to give you a nose swab test for RSV, which came back negative.  They then performed chest x-rays.  The ER doctor (a family practitioner) diagnosed Asthma and prescribed a steroid to be given with your breathing treatment and an oral steroid, as well.

You seemed to improve over the following week, but just as soon as you started feeling some better, you broke out in a rash.  We took you back to your pediatrician, explained everything that had gone on, and Mrs. Patty verified it was Roseola, caused from the fever you had run.  As for the Asthma, she and Dr. Rao both said that you could not diagnose Asthma in a child under 2 years old.  They were both certain it was Bronchiolitis, but were okay with the ER's doctor prescribing the steroids.

I'm just glad you are now back to your smiley, happy little self again.  It took an entire month to get you back.  You wouldn't eat because you always thought everything was more medicine, bless your heart.  You lost 9 ounces during the sickness, going from 18 lbs. 14.5 ozs., down to 18 lbs 5.5 ozs.  When we took you back again this past Monday for your 6 months well check/shots appointment, you were up to 18 lbs. 6.5 ozs., which is right on time for your age.  You're in the 50th percentile for weight now, no longer considered "chubby". HA! ;)

You are 27 1/2 inches tall, which puts you in the 70th percentile, slightly on the taller side.  I hope you remain tall.  I think your brother is going to be shorter, like your daddy.  You'll hopefully take after my side of the family.  Your Uncle Bobby was 6'5" and was always slim until he married Aunt Nannaw.  Your Pappaw was 6'4, and so was your great-grandpa, J.E.

You have started eating baby food.  We haven't found anything you have any allergies to.  You really like peas and bananas, but you hate carrots.  We have tried several times to get you to eat more than a couple of bites, but you just make the ugliest face and refuse to eat anymore.  So far, so good on all fruits.  We haven't tried peaches yet, though.

You drink 4-4oz. bottles during the day and 1-6oz. bottle at bedtime.  Your pediatrician wants you to only be drinking 20 oz. in a 24 hour period now, though, since you are eating food, too.  Looks like we're going to have to cut back 2 ozs. on your bedtime bottle, kiddo.  Sorry!

You are wearing all 6-9 month clothes.  Mostly 9 month so that it fits you in length.  We have to roll the sleeves up, though.  You're still in size 3 diapers.

Your hair is growing thicker every day.  You also have a "Who hair" just like your brother did.  It's one of your original hairs that you were born with that is a lot longer than your other hair.  It's so cute!

I love to hear you giggle and babble.  You are amazed by your big brother and watch him intently.  You love for your daddy to "goose" you.  Your laughter is one of the sweetest sounds.  You have the most heartbreaking cry.  So pitiful!  Thankfully, you don't do much of that, though, unless you're sleepy.

I love you, sweet boy.  You and your brother, along with your daddy, are my world.  Everything I do, I do for the three of you.  I could rock you in my arms and stare into your deep blue eyes forever.  The way you look at me, I know that you know how much you are loved.  I hope you always know how much I love you.  Happy Half-A-Year!!!!


Forever & Always,
Mama

Christmas Cards 2012

I was so excited about this year's Christmas cards since we had our new addition, Gentry, with us.  Last year  I was pregnant with our baby boy.  Of course, at the time, we didn't know if we were having another boy or a girl.

We also had a great time taking the pictures for our cards.  I'm so proud of how they turned out!  When I was searching for our card, I knew I wanted one that I could share several of our pictures with our friends on.

I think the one I chose was perfect for us.  I'm very happy with the finished product and I hope that our family & friends will enjoy receiving them this year.

Old Rosie

Well, looks like the ol' fever has done it again.  When Jubal was almost nine months old he broke out with a rash.  Come to find out it was Roseola.

After being a sick little boy for what seems like forever, Gentry was finally showing signs of great improvement when, boom, he broke out in a rash all over the little trunk of his body and his face.  We were pretty sure what it was, but we took him to his pediatrician just to be sure.

You can't really see that good in this pic, but he's all broke out. Poor baby!

Yes, my second-born son has Roseola, too.  I feel so sorry for him.  He can't catch a break.  Maybe after this, he can get some relief.  I sure hope so.  This mama is pretty tired, too, and needs to catch up on some sleep.

Other than finally putting up one of our Christmas trees this weekend, we didn't do much of anything else.  It was nice.  Now if we can just keep Jubal from taking everything off the tree.  HA!  He is really liking all the lights and seems to understand "Santa" more this year.  I'm loving it!

Not nearly as much as I'm loving my baby boys, though. ;)

Thanksgiving~2012

Our Thanksgiving this year was spent with our families, just like every year. We had our new addition, Mr. Gentry, this year, though. He wasn't feeling very good and we weren't sure we were going to be able to go to the three different places we needed to go to see all of our family. We actually found out on Friday after Thanksgiving that he has asthma. He's been taking breathing treatments every day since and will finally be finished with them tomorrow. My poor, sweet boy. He feels much better today, though, thankfully.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. We got up early to go to Larson's mama's house. She wasn't feeling well, either, but she had cooked an amazing meal for everyone. I absolutely love her dressing and gravy.  She had a turkey and a ham since she knows Larson prefers ham.  I contributed one of my yummy chocolate delights, per a request from Larson's 9 month pregnant sister, Heather. :)

We are anxious to meet her baby boy soon.  She is naming him Gabriel.  It looks like we're going to have a bunch of little boys running around next Thanksgiving.  Her original due date was early January, but it looks like he may come before Christmas or at least by then.  She's getting pretty miserable, bless her heart.

Next, we went on to Larson's daddy's house.  Maxine, Larson's step-mother, had a feast prepared.  I'm telling you she had so much food it was unreal.  I'm surprised at how much we all, including Jubal, ate again.  It's just so hard to resist some good cooking, though. ;)

After enjoying plenty of time outside since it was an absolutely beautiful day, we then went on to my mama's house.  This year we did it the untraditional way at her house.  She knew we would have eaten way too much turkey and/or ham by the time we made it to her house, so instead my sister cooked lasagna, with salad and garlic bread for dinner.  She also cooked some of her dressing, too, just because it was Thanksgiving.  I made another chocolate delight to take to her house.  We had so many goodies.  Jubal ate at every place we went.  Gentry ended up sleeping most of the day.

I love Thanksgiving so much.  It's a lot like Christmas to me, except there's no pressure of gift-giving that comes with it.  You just get to be with your family, eat some good ol' soul food, and watch football.  Now, I need to get myself motivated to put up our Christmas trees.  I usually do it the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Last year I even put them up the Sunday before Thanksgiving so we could enjoy them for awhile longer.  I just like doing it the weekend after Thanksgiving, though, because that's how my family did it my whole life and I think I want to continue that tradition.  Here it is, though, a week later and my trees are still waiting to be put up.

I will make sure to get them up this weekend, especially since Saturday is December 1st.  Just makes the holiday that much closer, which seems to be getting me more motivated.  I need me some good Christmas music and a cup of hot chocolate to get me in the mood.  Too bad it's supposed to be in the 70's this weekend.  Oh well, I'm still going to make myself get them up so my babies can enjoy them.  After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year. :)

Family Pics~2012

We had new family pictures taken November 18 and they turned out so good.
We've added a sweet blessing to our family since last year's pictures. 

Get ready for a picture overload because I'm even going to include some outtakes. :)

  It's hard to get both boys to look at the camera at the same time.  Even if they were both looking, there sometimes wasn't a smile, etc., but we got some cute ones.

The outtakes look pretty darn cute to me, too.

It's called real life & I love every minute of it!!! ;)

A special thanks to my friend, Darla Walker for capturing these memories for us.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I know I have so much to be thankful for.

Thank you, God!