Feeling the spirit

Maybe it's because I'm preggers and "nesting" but I am already feeling the Christmas spirit!  Today I went to the mall with Tanner for a play date with my mommies group.  The mall workers had already put up the Christmas decorations and we stopped by to have a look.  Tanner liked the lights on the trees, but his favorite part was a moving bear playing the symbols.  It's neat seeing him get so excited about "simple" things like Christmas lights!  I have decided that we are going to decorate the outside of our house this year for the first time!  We have a small pine tree in the front yard that I am going to put lights on, and who knows, maybe I'll do the bushes too.  I hope to take Tanner somewhere to see Christmas lights, but I haven't decided where yet.  He won't be able to see them from the car, so we'll have to go to a specific place that we can walk through or ride in a carriage through.  And yes, I have already started listening to Christmas music!  :)

Not only do I love the lights and music of Christmas, I love the family aspect of it too.  Even though I am an only child, I have a huge extended family.  My family is very close and we get together for almost every holiday.  What can I say, we like to party!  Hehe!!!  I love the chaos, laughter, hugs,  and delicious food that go along with spending holidays with family.  Bobby and I are lucky that we live close enough to family to be able to spend holidays with them.  I have really been missing my family lately and am excited to see them very soon.   (Chalk it up to the preggo hormones or the fact that I have an awesome family-you decide)

NESTING-I have been in full on baby prep mode for a few weeks!  I have been getting things together for his nursery.  I bought a rug with his colors and a lamp from Target to go with it.  On the lamp, I painted elephants in light blue.  I have been stealing toys from Tanner's toy boxes for Baby Brother.  (Most of them, Tanner does not play with anymore, so he's not really missing them)  I have started doing a scrapbook for him.  At my family baby shower for Tanner, my aunt had everyone bring an 8 by 8 scrapbook page for an album for Tanner.  It was one of my favorite things that Tanner got!  I loved putting in the pictures to go along with every one's page and there was extra pages that I made for him!  I am going to ask my family and friends to make a page for this baby soon (after we decide on his name)  :)

Since my last blog was all about Tanner, there are only a few things to update with him.  He has started to clean up his toys when asked.  He loves putting his toys in the toy box and hearing us clap, then he claps for himself.  This is a trend that I hope continues for a loooooooooong time!!  :)  He has been trying to repeat what we say at times.  Ex-Thurs, we went to play with his friend Emma and as we were getting our coats on, I said "Do you want to see Emma?" He said "Memma."  He still speaks in "baby" mostly, but I'm sure that just like with taking his first steps-he's able to now, but he will do it when he's good and ready.  Yet another thing that makes him, him! And we love it!!!!  :)

Tanner's world

Tanner is at such a fun age right now!  He is 15 months and discovering the world around him.  He gets really excited when we clean.  All we have to say is "Vacuum" or get out the broom and the happy squeals start flowing!  As we are cleaning, he is running to and fro talking and squealing.  It sure makes cleaning a lot more fun for Mommy!!  :)  He likes pointing at the big trucks as we drive by them in the car.  He says "dat" and points.  Then when I say "Did you see the big truck?"  He chuckles!  When we are outside, he loves finding airplanes in the sky.  He tries to chase after them, so silly!! 
When Daddy comes with us to a store, we will let him walk around instead of being in the cart.  He thinks he's big stuff then!  He puffs out his chest and puts his hand at his hips and takes off!  (We only do this when Daddy is with us because he is a wild man and will not go where we direct him.  This way, one person can shop and the other is the Tanner Wrangler)  :) Speaking of the stores, he now loves to point out the pumpkins!  Grammie bought him one at the Farmer's Market, after walking to every pumpkin stand and touching them.  He has also started to notice the Christmas trees/lights are popping up in the stores.  Those get him excited too.  Christmas will be fun for him (and  us) this year!!!
Tanner has also started to dance!  He bends at the waist, puts his arms straight out, and bobs up and down.  Sometimes he does this to music, other times, he's just showing that he is happy with the situation he's in (at the park, Vovo feeding him donuts, at Grammie's, etc.) 
We took Tanner to the zoo last week.  It was really fun! He liked the animals (especially the ones that were up close), but he really liked the statues of the animals!  He also enjoyed climbing up and down the steps in the aquarium part.  As a family, we went on our first Merry-Go-Round ride.  I was afraid that he would be scared, but he wasn't.  He smiled as we were riding. 
Tanner had a play date with my friend Jamie and her 5 week old baby, Caroline, this week.  Jamie and Caroline came as Tanner was napping so that us mommies could catch up.  When he woke up, I sat with him on my lap and Jamie held Caroline on her lap.  Tanner "chatted" with Caroline and gave her lots of smiles!  I am happy to see that he is happy being around little babies.  Even when she cried, he just looked at her, he didn't get upset or start crying too!
Speaking of little babies....Baby boy 2 is kicking up a storm in my belly.  I love feeling those!!  I have decided on a theme for his nursery....elephants!  Ok, I know, it's still in the jungle category, but I couldn't help it!  The colors are light blue, dark blue, and brown.  I have only bought a few things so far, but I am enjoying looking around and finding great deals!  Still no name for him, Bobby doesn't want to rush into it.  I, however, want him to have a name soon.  I feel like it gives him an identity.  Plus, then we talk about him, I don't have to say Baby Boy 2, or second baby-I mean who wants to be known as that????
Guess that's all for now!  :)

It's all blue for me

That's right, on Sept. 16th, we had our big ultrasound and found out that we are having another boy! He is measuring right on time, and the u/s tech said that he looked great! We got to see him open and close his mouth (I joked with Bobby that he was already talking). We also saw him cross his feet, just like Tanner does. Now onto the fun stuff of decorating his nursery! We are going to keep Tanner in his room, and make the office the nursery. Bobby and I painted the office (years ago) in dark blue and light blue, so I think we will go with those colors for baby boy number 2. I am now looking around at how to accent them, and deciding on a theme. With Tanner, we did brown and green for the colors and monkey as the theme. I am still drawn to the monkey/jungle theme, but I want to do something totally different for this baby. Luckily, I have plenty of time to decide!! You'll notice that I keep saying "baby" and not a name for him. We do not have a name yet. We had (and have had since being preggers with Tanner) a girl name-Bailey Elizabeth. Bailey is Bobby's middle name and Elizabeth was my Vovo's name. We talked about using Bailey for a boy, but I just picture it for a girl. Plus IF (big if here) we decided to try for a third, and we have a girl, I would want to use Bailey for her. I'm kicking around a few ideas of names, but none that I'm sold on. Bobby has only put out names like "Frodo" or Star Wars names, so he has been of no help yet! When we decide, I'm sure I'll blog it!! :)

Onto other events in our lives. We traveled up to Durham this weekend for our nephew, Brady's, 3 rd birthday party. It was nice to see my SIL and fam, but it seemed to go by so fast that I wish we could have spent more time with them. Plus, once you have a toddler that you are chasing after, you don't really get to just sit around and chat like you used to! :) Tanner was shy, like always, at first. But then he warmed up and loved playing with any kind of ball he could find!

Tanner is staying with my parents-in-law for a few days this week. We all stayed over there on Sat. night. Then on Sun. after Tanner went down for his nap, we left to head back toward Charlotte for the Tom Petty concert. The concert was great, we met up with Jac, Tony, and Curtie B and sat on the lawn for the show! This was the first concert I have been to while being preggers. Don't worry, the doc said it's OK to go!! Mon and Tues mornings, I actually got to sleep in!  Ahhhhhh.....it was nice!!!  Wed, we are going to Asheville with Marc and Kas to see my fav. band in the whole world-Jimmy Eat World!!!  I am super excited to see them!!  Then on Thurs, we pick up our sweetie!  It has been nice to have some me time, but I sure do miss my Tanner Boo Boo!!

To blog or not to blog

I have debated about "going public" with my blog for a while. One the one hand, if I did, my people close to me would get to keep up with things in my life. But on the other, I would have to do a much better job at keeping my blog up to date! Ok, I'll stop being lazy and do a better job at blogging in the future!



So what's been going on...well, LOTS!!



*Tanner turned the big 1 on June 26th! We had his birthday party at Bobby's parents house. A lot of my family came and a few of our friends came too! Tanner enjoyed eating his cake. Which got all over him-inside of his ears, hair, neck, etc!!! Bobby's sister and fam surprised us by coming later in the evening! It was great to have everyone around!! :)
*Tanner started walking about a month ago! One Fri. night, we were at Jac and Tony's and Bobby was tricking him into taking 7-8 steps at a time (before, he would do a few, but once he realized he was not holding on to anything, he would immediately fall down). Then on Sat, with Bobby's parents, brother, and our nephew here, Tanner took off! And he has not stopped since!!! :-)

*The weather has finally cooled off enough for us to get outside more and Tanner is loving it!!! He is quite the little explorer. He loves picking up rocks and leaves. He walks all around the yard and driveway. He loves being outside so much that he cries when we come in (no matter how long we have been out). I think he's gonna be a nature lover just like Daddy!

*Tanner's talking is coming along. He still understands way more words than he says, but he now says "Mom, mom" for me! (Still "Dada" for Bobby) He repeats words like "done, down," and says "yeah" when we ask him things. Ex-"Do you want to go outside? Yeah!"

*Tanner melts Mommy's heart when he kisses me. No longer with his mouth open, now he says "mmmm" when he kisses and when we hug! He also kisses his stuffed animals when picking them up! What a sweetie!!!

*He still loves to read books. He will bring us books to read, then sit on our laps as we read them. He loves to play with any kind of ball (total boy, here)!! He can roll the ball to us, and is starting to get the concept of kicking the ball. He has also learned to crawl up the stairs, and likes to practice this as much as we will let him. Hello baby gate!!! :)



Now for some updates about Bobby and I:



*This Sunday, I will be 19 weeks along with baby 2. We will find out the sex on Sept 16th! At first, Bobby didn't want to know, but I have to know!!! Soooooo...we are finding out!! I'll post more after our appointment!!!!

*Bobby and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on August 8th. We went out to dinner (just the 2 of us) and watched our wedding DVD. It was nice to think back to our wedding day and to see how far our love has brought us. One baby here, one on the way, our nice home, etc.

*Speaking of weddings, my best friend, Jacqui, got married this summer! We left Tanner with Bobby's parents for 5 nights and went to Cape Cod for the wedding. This was my first time leaving him, and it was hard, but it was also nice to just be "Shaunda" instead of "Mommy" for a while. Bobby and I were both in the wedding, so we went up early to help tie up any loose ends. I was with Jac and Bobby was with Tony for most of the week. Jac, her mother, and I went shopping, put together gift bags, and hung out with family. It was so fun!! The wedding (which was on Tanner's first birthday-I'll always remember their anniversary) was absolutely beautiful! Jacqui looked gorgeous in her gown. I was one of the matron's of honor, so, I gave a speech. Eeeek...I hate talking in front of lots of people, but it turned out Ok. The food was delish, and I even got Bobby to dance with me to the last song!! When we saw Tanner at the airport, I cried and he kept touching my face. I think he was thinking "Are you really here?" It was precious!

*Traveling-We have been traveling quite a bit this summer! We went to Maryland for Bobby's cousin's wedding. It was so sweet to share that moment with them!! Then we went to Penn. and saw all of Bobby's aunts and uncles on his mom's side! We ended that trip by going to Baltimore to the aquarium. Tanner's first time at an aquarium and he did great!!! We also traveled to Asheville for a couple of nights and stayed with my friend from college, Amanda. She has a dog and Tanner was in heaven playing with the dog! Then we headed down the mountain to Hickory to see Vovo! We stayed with her for a few nights, while Bobby worked in Orlando. We went to Pepe's house and Tanner showed off his walking skills. Plus, he seemed to be coming out of his shell more (not being so shy and clingy to me)!!

Well, I'm sure I missed something that has happened this summer, but oh well. More incentive to keep this blog up to date!!

My First Mother's Day, May 2010

Today was a very special day for me. My first mother's day! :) Bobby made this day really special for me. It started last night, we played games and drank wine. Well, I drank wine, he drank beer. Then, this morning, he got up with Tanner and let me sleep in. He decided to pick up IHOP for my breakfast in bed (although, I was up by the time he and Tanner got back with it). My boys picked out a card for me, it sings "Celebrate Good Times, Come On!" Then Bobby took over all of the parenting duties today so I could just relax!!! It was a beautiful day (aka-not too hot) so we all went outside. Bobby and I did some yard work while Tanner played in the pack n play. (He is now pulling himself up and we are so proud) Then we went on a walk around the neighborhood. I took a long nap and a long bath......two of my faves!!!

I was very touched by the amount of texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages wishing me a happy mother's day. Today is also an anniversary of sorts. My mother, who had smoked for most of her life quit smoking last year on Mother's day. She has gone through one whole year without smoking! I am so very proud of her. My mother has always been the rock in my life. She is a strong woman, a supportive mother, and a caring Vovo. She has helped me so much this past year and has helped to shape me into the mother that I am now. Thank you Mommy!

Tanner's Favorites at 9 months

I wanted to document some of Tanner's favorite things at this point in his life.

Books: I read to Tanner almost every day and he loves it! His favorite book is "Are You My Mother?" that his great Grammie bought him when he was still in my belly! It's a cloth book that has the baby bird stuffed animal attached. He loves chewing on baby bird while I read. His favorite part is when I saw "SNORT" and make a snorting sound! He actually knows when that part is coming up. He looks over at me and smiles right before I do it! The other book that we read is "Little Monkey." My Auntie Lynn bought it for him when he was two weeks old.

Songs: Tanner loves "The Wheels on the Bus." His favorite parts are when I sing "swish, swish, swish" and "shhh, shhh, shhh!" He loves the part when "the people go up and down" and Mommy lifts him up and down. He also likes "Old McDonald." His favorite is the mooing of the cows! I also sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." I am looking forward to the day when he sings too!!!!

Crawling: Tanner is on the move!!! He does the "commando" crawl and kind of looks like a wounded soldier. He loves crawling from his room into Daddy's office. He smiles as he crawls after the cats. (I don't think they are as happy to see him as he is to see them) He has a great time chasing his monkey ball all around the living room/kitchen hardwood floor.

Walks: Tanner enjoys taking walks with Mommy and Daddy. They are one of Daddy's favorite things too! Tanner chews on his hands/fingers and swings his feet! He likes to watch cars drive by and to listen for doggies barking.

Talking: Tanner has always been a very vocal baby, but now he's actually saying "words." He says "Dadada" all day long!!! He also says (while sucking his thumb) "booo, boooo," maybe because we call him Tanner Boo Boo??!! He has said "Mamama" and bababa" once, so far. He makes tons of happy baby squeals throughout the day. It's the sweetest sound EVER!!!!

Kisses: Tanner has started giving kisses! He will grab my face and pull it toward him and suck on my cheek. He usually does this when I am rocking him before bed or naps. It melts my heart every time! :)

Outings: Tanner is becoming a social butterfly! On our outings (usually to Target) he now sits in the shopping cart. Since he can see all of the other shoppers, he likes to "talk" to them. By talking, I mean grunting at them. It's kind of funny to watch! He will grunt at people who walk by and occasionally they will talk to him. Then he smiles and eats up all of the attention. Such a ham already!!!

Eating: Tanner is a great eater! He gets that from his Momma and Papa!! Hehe!! He is beginning to master finger foods. He likes yogurt melts and rice rusks (sounds great, huh?) He will take (literally) a sip or two from his sippy cup. But I know that will come when he's ready. After every spoonful of food we give him, he sucks his thumb. Just one of those quirky things that makes him unique!!!

Sleeping: Baby Tanner is a wonderful sleeper!!! He definitely gets that from his Momma!!!! He goes to bed around 8 every night and gets up between 7 and 8 in the morning. He is down to two naps now. I hope he continues to sleep well!!!!!

Bobby and I have loved the past nine months with our baby boy! It's so neat to see him grow and change so much in such a small amount of time. We are looking forward to see how he grows from a baby to a little boy to a teenager and finally into a man.

"They say"

After Tanner was born, I pretty much lost all confidence in myself as a mother. When I was preggers, I read tons of book about what to expect and thought I knew how to be a mom. Then I had Tanner and was TOTALLY lost!!!!!! I didn't know what to do with myself or him. So, I continued to read, read, read about what I should do. While I thought this would be helpful, in the end, it turned out not to be so. I walked around talking about what "they said." "They say that newborns......, they say that new mothers........, they say, they say, they say." A friend actually asked me who is they. I said "you know, the experts." He has two kids, therefore, he just smiled. He knew what I know now. "They" are not always the experts. I am the expert and Bobby is the expert. We know our baby, "they" do not. I still read books and google stuff, but now I am learning to trust my motherly instinct. After all, no one knows my baby like me!!!!

teething

So for the past 3 months, whenever Tanner has been cranky, we said "I bet he's teething." Well, on Superbowl Sunday, it became official! I felt some hard bumps on his bottom gum! It has now been a week and those teeth still have not popped up! I didn't know it took so long for them to come up! Tanner has definitely been crankier, but all in all, he's handling it well. There have been a few days where all he wanted to do was rock while I sang to him. My SIL, Shannon, said that when your child is sick, it makes you really feel like a mom. Now I know exactly what she meant! Our big dilemma is to give meds or not. Bobby is anti-meds for himself, as for as me, I will take meds when sick. I just feel like if Tanner's in pain, and we could do something to help with the pain, shouldn't we? Of course, then I worry about giving too much or giving meds when he's cranky b/c of needing to nap, not b/c of teething. We did give him a dose of med. once (so far) and he did fine with it.

First time bloggin

So....this is my first time blogging. I wanted to start a blog for many reasons



1. To remember as much as I can about Baby Tanner's first year (clearly, I should have started this before now. Oh well, better late than never.)

2. Gives me something to do when Tanner is napping and there is no housework that needs to be done (or I am putting that off until later in the day)

3. All to often, I have great ideas of things I want to do, then later, I cannot seem to remember them (Mommy brain?)

4. To see where this could go...........

And so, I have written my first blog! WOW!!! I feel so very accomplished!!!