Lots of Updates

So it's been over a month since I last posted something. I feel bad because I know I'll forget something major (or what I would say is major), and I wanted to write more often so that I could remember certain things Robert Alan did and know when he did them. Oh well. Here's what I want to cover: mine and RA's trip to A-town for Jamie's graduation, Mother's day, RA crawling, Memorial Day weekend, our house, and maybe some other stuff, but I think that'll be long enough for now.

So the 6th and 7th month of RA's life have come and gone. He's almost 7.5 months old now! I can't believe it. During his 6th month, he and I took our first road trip alone. Brittney actually rode to Abilene with us so that we could go to Jamie's college graduation. It was a horrible trip down there. He cried all but 30 minutes of it, and it's a 3 hour trip. It was awful. We enjoyed our stay, though, and I got to really let loose and enjoy myself. My parents hosted a party at their house the night Jamie graduated, and during one of the toasts I was having so much fun that I said, "Amen!" instead of Cheers! Oops. I felt very sacreligious (sp?). I asked for forgiveness, though, and moved on. :-)

The kid loves to eat paper. Don't ask me why.

Hanging out with Aunt B in the lobby. "Graduation is boring, Mom!"

He loved Aunt B's necklaces, so we put them on him so he could chew endlessly.

Such a cool little kid.

Conked out at the restaurant.

Jamie's graduation was the same weekend as Mother's Day, so it was nice to see my mom that day. We left early, though, so that we could get back to Waco and carry on with the plans we had already made for my first mother's day (you see, we didn't realize Jamie's graduation was Mother's Day weekend until a couple days before, so we had already made arrangements to have lunch with David's mom at her house, etc.). I was driving back to Waco by myself with Robert Alan and I was so nervous, but he was perfect! Where he had cried all but 30 minutes of the trip to Abilene, he only cried the last 30 minutes of the trip back to Waco. It was wonderful, and I thought that it was the perfect gift for Mother's day. He was so sweet and quiet the whole time. He'd doze off for a little while and then wake up and just quietly look around. Then he'd go back to sleep for a bit. It was wonderful.

I enjoyed my first Mother's Day. David got me a sweet card and RA did too. David also got us a travel DVD player and a stand to install in the car so that RA can watch DVD's when we're on road trips. I was so proud of him for doing this because I had mentioned to him how awful the drive to Abilene was with a screaming baby in the back and that I wanted to go buy a DVD player. He picked up on it and got it for me! So sweet. I also got to take a nap, which is a really good gift as well. All in all, it was a good day.


We've been having so much fun lately. It seems like when Robert Alan turned 6 months old, he became so happy. We had a week or so where he was mad all the time and he would do an awesome "mad face" where he squeezed his fist, frowned, pooched out his lips and snorted in and out through his nose. It was absolutely hillarious. I couldn't help but laugh each time he did it, so he did it a lot, even when he wasn't mad, just to make me laugh I think. I think he did that because he was frustrated with being unable to move and get where he wanted to go. Now, though, he has started army crawling, so he's able to get pretty much anywhere he wants, though he doesn't venture much further than his blanket. He's too lazy to get up on all fours, so he tries to pull himself with his arms. Since last night, he's been using his feet and legs a little more, though. I think he'll probably be crawling normally in the next couple weeks. We'll see.


He's also giving awesome kisses. We say, "Give me a kiss" and he opens his mouth as wide as possible and presses up against your mouth, cheek, arm, whatever he's closest to. It's a very wet, very slobbery kiss and I usually have to wipe my cheek off afterwards, but I love it! Sometimes, when he really wants to show me he loves me, he blows a sherbert on my cheek. I love it and can't get enough of it. What I don't love, though, is that he bites down, sometimes, and could, if he wanted to, take a piece out of my cheek, arm, or whatever it is he's "kissing." I might need to start calling him Mike Tyson. He really bites hard and he left a bruise on my cheek this weekend. Ouch! I can't get mad at him, though. He doesn't know any better and he's really just trying to show me he loves me.

Chillin' in the jumper outside. "What's up, Mom?!"

He also loves noses. He tries to grab everyone's nose all the time. It's hillarious. I am having so much fun with him, and I'm so glad we've been able to spend more time with each other lately. This past weekend, we went to Abilene. We were there from Thursday until Tuesday. It was a great getaway, though I wouldn't call it a vacation. David calls it a vacation, but he got to golf every day for 4 straight days and pretty much do as he pleased. I enjoyed being home and getting away from work, but I still had the same duties as I do every day. My mom did offer to keep RA quite a bit so that I could go watch the guys play golf and we had a babysitter a couple nights so that we could go out. It really was a good time had by all. Robert Alan and I enjoyed getting some sun on our skin. Brittney had recently told me she'd never seen me so white. Thanks, sis. :-) We swam every day we were there. He loves the water, and it would wear him out so he slept really well all weekend. I worried the whole time about him sunburning, though. I need to get over that. I'm sure I will after a couple more days at the pool. I just don't anything to happen to his baby-soft skin!


I can't think of anything else that happened in Abilene (besides the fact that we got him an awesome horse-print baby-sized recliner, picture to come), so I'll move on. In the last month, we also decided we would sell our house. It was a hard decision for us because we worked so hard on this house. When we bought it a little over a year ago, we completely gutted it and re-did everything. The only thing we left was the kitchen and laundry room tile. Everything else came out and we turned it into an awesome house. I love it and don't want to leave it. However, we sold it over the weekend! I think it was on the market for a couple weeks, and the first couple that looked at it bought it. It's very bittersweet. I'm excited about the next phase in our lives, but I'm also sad to leave something that I like so much. I've never been attached to a house before like I am to this one. I know that I'll like another house more than this one, but I guess it's harder for me because it won't be the next house that I like more than this one. We've decided to make a little bit of a weird decision (some would say a very weird decision) and rent a smaller house from David's parents while we work really hard to save money to either buy or build our dream house. The house we'll be renting is a lot smaller than the one we currently live in and it won't have nearly as nice finishes and ours does either. It'll be hard for us to refrain from putting money into it, but I think that's what will help us save faster---not spending money on renovations and trying to get out of the house and into a better house quickly. I'm also very excited about the neighborhood we'll be living in. While it's not as nice as the one we are in now, it's one of those neighborhoods where people know each other and talk to their neighbors. Of course, we'll know our next door neighbors because they are David's parents, but I'm excited about getting to know the others. The ones on the other side of Melanie and Larry's house are really nice and their daughter, Myla, is 3 days younger than RA, so he'll have an automatic playmate that I'm excited about. I'll also enjoy not having to drive across town 2-4 times a day to drop him off and pick him up from Melanie's. She'll just be a couple steps away now! Next time I forget my cell phone, I won't have to drive 15 minutes back to go get it. (Quick sidenote: I forget things all the time, but the latest and best is me forgetting food at the drive-thru. Yes, it really happened. I gave the girl my money, she gave me my change, and I drove away without the food. I got a couple blocks away and realized I didn't have any food, so I had to turn around and go back through the drive-thru. I said, "Umm, I just came through the drive-thru and I forgot my food." She said, "We wondered where you went. Pull on through." Good grief.) So, we sold the house this weekend and the closing date is in 17 days! I can't believe it! I never thought we would close so quickly. It'll be a quick turnaround, but we're going to have the movers pack and move us. I've never done that before, so we'll see how that goes. It can't be bad, I mean, packing really stinks, so if someone else will do it for me, why not, right?


So what else has been going on you ask? Well, I was in the hospital the week before last week with kidney stones. What?! Seriously. I went to happy hour with some friends, and towards the end, my back and stomach started really hurting. I thought maybe it was just really bad cramps and I wasn't used to it, but it was horrible pain. I drove back home trying to have a conversation with a friend from Houston, and when I arrive at the house, I had to get off the phone with her because I was hurting so bad. I ended up going to the hospital. They diagnosed me with food poisoning (from sushi, most likely) AND a huge kidney stone. I had to go the next day to the hospital for surgery to have it removed since it was 8mm and you can only pass one smaller than 6mm. Nice. So they did the surgery, put a stint in, gave me some meds, and sent me home packing. The meds were nice, but I always hate taking those things for fear I'll like it too much, so I only took two and then dealt with it. By the way, if anyone has ever had a kidney stone, you know how painful it is, but I'll just say that it's worse than the worst contraction I had with Robert Alan, and I'm not too far removed from that experience to have forgotten what that felt like. It really is worse than labor. It sucks. And the stint is almost as bad. It's not painful but is extremely uncomfortable and makes you feel like you have to go to the bathroom all the time. I was so happy to have it taken out last week. That sucked too, and the pain afterwards was really bad (bad enough for me to think I had another stone and to take a pain pill), but now I'm back to normal and feeling good. In fact, I'm feeling like I'm ready to start doing P90X and paying attention to what I eat more closely. I want to get into really good shape and I do NOT want to have another stone ever again. Whatever it takes to make that happen, I'll do.


So, that's the last several weeks in a nutshell ("Oh look! I'm in a nutshell!") Sorry. I couldn't resist. RA's crawling and kissing, I had a brief stay in the hospital, and we're packing and moving. Life's crazy and I'm lovin' it! Talk to you later!

Mother's Day Out

So, I signed Robert Alan up for Mother's Day Out on Monday. It was a crazy day. First, I had completely forgotten that I should pay attention to when open enrollments were for MDO's. I knew I wanted RA to be in one starting in the fall so that he can be around other kids, but I guess I just thought that I'd snap my fingers and he'd be in the best one in town, whichever one that is. Well, of course, anything worth being in for kids requires a lot of research and waiting on lists. I realized I had missed a good one when one of my friends posted that she was waiting in line for registration on Facebook. I was in San Marcos working that day. Goodbye, good MDO. Then, during a night out with David, we ran into that same friend and a couple of her friends who told me that they had heard that said really good MDO (Kids' Kastle) had some openings. Glimmer of hope! Woo-hoo! I called the next day. Nope. They did have some openings, but not for his age. The lady I spoke to was avery nice, though, and put us on a waiting list. Smaller glimmer of hope! She also said we could go on the list of "drop-ins" where they would call us anytime a child doesn't come and we can come. "Hi, my name is Traci, and my son is a drop-in."

I called some other places and found out that one I wanted was having open enrollment the following Monday. I thought I wanted this one because I thought one of my friend's little girls goes there. I was excited. Bigger glimmer of hope! On my way to registration Monday morning, I called my friend just to make sure I was thinking correctly, and, BOMBSHELL, I was WAY off! Her daughter goes to Harris Creek. Where in the WORLD had I gotten First Woodway? So I had a mild freak out. I had a delimma on my hands. Do I go ahead and go sign my son up for this unknown MDO at First Woodway Baptist, or do I wait and cross my fingers that he gets pulled up from the bench at Kids' Kastle? I knew of nobody whose kids went to FWB, and, to make matters worse, I couldn't figure out how to even get to the place. I called David, who I always call when something goes wrong. He didn't answer. So I called Brittney, who was keeping RA for me for the day (by the way, I had a presentation in Temple that I was trying to get to while all of this was going on). She texted two of her friends who we thought might have some friends who might know about FWB. David called back. After explaining to him what was going on, he told me that his boss's kid goes to FWB and "a lot of people do and he says it's good." "Okay," I think to myself. "Everything is going to be okay." I mean, it's mother's day out! It's one or two days a week, and only for a couple hours. How bad can one be, right?! So, I went into the church and filled out the paperwork. The lady took my paperwork, asked for a check for supply fees, and that was it. "That's it?" I said. "He's in?" I can't imagine what I looked like at this point.....confused, shell shocked, competitive.....I guess I had in mind I was going to have to wait for hours, maybe get a tour of the facilities, be given the third degree, maybe give a little of my blood, and then challenge a fellow mom to a mother's duel for a spot in mother's day out. Talk about a letdown. :-)

So Robert Alan will be attending First Woodway Baptist's Mother's Day Out program on Tuesday's and Thursday's in the fall! I'm excited about it now, but as I was driving away from the church, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. My little baby boy will be 10 months when he starts MDO. He'll almost be 1! He's growing up way too fast for me, and if I'm this sad now, I can't imagine what I'll be like when I drop him off the first day of kindergarten. I overheard some moms at the registration talking about how sad dropping their kids off the first day of kindergarten was and how they went to a Boo-Hoo Breakfast afterwards for all the moms who just dropped their kids off for their first days of kindergarten. I think that is a GREAT idea. Put me on the waiting list now, please, so that I can get my spot at the Boo-Hoo Breakfast! Or can I be a drop-in?....

Easter Weekend

We recently took a trip to Abilene for Easter weekend. We hadn't been there since January when we went for RA's sip & see, so I was excited for my grandmas to see him. It was a great trip. I'll start with the trip down there (WARNING! If you are easily queezy, then just skip down to the picture below. This is going to get graphic.)

David was able to take off work on Friday, so Thursday night we went out with some friends who were in town from Houston. It was so much fun, and I really hope they move down here---I would love to have them to go out with every now and then. Anyways, because we went out, we slept in Friday morning and got a late start on the trip. We ended up leaving around 12:00, hoping that RA would sleep the whole way. Well, that didn't happen. I think he slept for about half of it, which was fine, but when he woke up, he was a little fussy. David tried to reach back and hold his hand to pacify him, but his whining kept getting louder and louder. Finally, David looked back there and said, "OH MY GOSH! Traci, you have to pull over!" Well, what would run through your head if someone yelled that after looking at your baby? I couldn't decide if he was bleeding, had somehow pulled something over his head, or what. Either way, it scared me to pieces (note to self: tell David to elaborate when something goes wrong). After asking David what was going on, I found out RA had pooped. It didn't seem so urgent, and I couldn't pull over right away because we were on a two-lane rural road without a shoulder, so we had to wait until we got to a town with a gas station. So, when I got out of the car and opened the door, I realized what the big deal was. He had pooped alright. And it had come out of his diaper!!! Disgusting! I had to carry him into the gas station holding him away from me so that I didn't get any on me. Talk about a blow out. Man! It took all the wipes I had to get him cleaned up, and I ended up just throwing the onesie he had on away. It was a cute onesie, too, dang it. Anyways, David was left to clean up the carseat, which he did very well, and then we had a wardrobe change in the car before getting back on the road.

RA snuggling with his Uncle Robert.

When we got to Abilene, David went to hit some golf balls at the Country Club, and mom, Jamie, and I decided to take Robert Alan for his first swim. Fairway has an indoor swimming pool, so it was perfect. He LOVED it, just like he loves his baths. His favorite part was when Aunt J bobbed him up and down in the water. We didn't take his head under water, though. He's had a cold lately, and I just wasn't ready to take that step.

About to start bopping up and down (you will soon notice that

when RA smiles, he really just opens his mouth really wide.)

Finished bopping up and down across the pool. "Do it again, Aunt J!"

Trying to lick the water off his face after he splashed himself while kicking.

And now, we all knew it would come, trying to stuff all his fingers in his mouth to get all the water off them.

Needless to say, Robert Alan slept very well Friday night. Saturday was a big day as well. Robert Alan met his new girlfriend, Hallie. She is my best friend's daughter, who is 6 weeks older than Robert Alan. By the way, all of Robert Alan's girlfriends are older women. He's a fan of baby cougars, I guess. It was funny having both of our kids together. Daron and I couldn't get over how different our lives are now. We just sort of sat there and watched each other's kids play and stared at them, talking about how Hallie could already sit up so well and how much Robert Alan tried to move. He pivots, by the way. That is all he can do. He rolls over to his stomach, and then he pivots on it to turn in a complete circle. He doesn't go anywhere, but he tries really hard to move. I guess facing a different direction by pivoting causes him to think he's going somewhere. Anyways, I was amazed by Hallie's hand-eye coordination, too. She liked one of Robert Alan's new toys that my mom gave him, and she knew exactly what to do with it and how to make it work. I was impressed. I told Robert Alan he should hook up with her (not in that way!) and take some lessons. Keep in mind, this was Robert Alan's first time to meet anyone under the age of 21 and know they were there.

Hallie is very interested in RA. RA isn't so sure he wants any.

RA decides that she's worth his time and gets super excited. Hallie, meanwhile, wonders why he keeps rolling away from the toys. Little does she know he's a one-way roller.

"What the heck is he doing?!"

Get used to it, son. Women rarely understand why boys do what they do. For good reason, too.

After a wardrobe change into a diva-licious outfit, RA decided he wanted to taste Hallie.

RA: "Give me your arm, Hallie!"

Hallie: "Say what?!"

RA: Mom, she won't let me eat her arm!

Love Hallie's face here.

Hallie decides that RA's ear looks tempting.

After Daron tells her she can't pull RA's ear, the meltdown begins and the couple's photo shoot is over.

Sunday was Easter. We debated forever which service to go to in order to fit it into Robert Alan's schedule. He ended up staying with his Aunt B, playing and praying in his exersaucer while the rest of us went to church. When we got back, he had to endure yet another photo shoot. He was a good sport, though.

So proud of this pic. It's the first we have of all 3 of us smiling.

Chillin' with Jefe and Honey.

Reflecting on the recent shoot. He thinks it went well and is happy to be sitting up on his own.

I have to say, I think Robert Alan was at his cutest on Sunday. We went to lunch at Fairway, and some random strangers thought he was so cute that they took a picture of him with their iPhones. Aunt B, the resident fashion diva, couldn't have been prouder. I was happy he kept his hat on.....that said, I'm not so sure he knows where his head is or that he would be able to coordinate his hands to take it off, but oh well. It stayed on for the most part, until David took it off.

At lunch he was super tired, and he fell asleep on me right before dessert. It was really sweet, andI was happy that he was relatively good. It helped that there were 9 people ready and willing to hold him or walk him around if he started getting fussy.

Overall, it was a really good weekend (minus the trip up there---I could've done without that episode). I can't wait to go back. I think our next planned trip will be in May for the Memorial Day golf tournament. By then, the pool should be warm enough for us to get to swim outside. It'll be a fun weekend. The golf tournaments always are.....

5 months, friends wanted

Wow. It's sad that it's been a month since I last posted. I guess that's spring in the publishing world for ya! No time to breathe, much less blog. Anyways, a quick update: RA had his 4-month doctor appointment at the beginning of March. He weighed 16.9 lbs (90%), was 25.75 inches (75%) and his head was in the 50%. So, much of the same, he's still rather chunky, is fairly tall, and doesn't have too big of a head.

Loves chewing on the sunflower on his jumper.

He's more and more fun by the day. Lately, whichever way you lay him down, he flips over. If I lay him down on his back, he immediately rolls over to his tummy. If he's laid down on his tummy, he immediately flips to his back. Then he rolls over again and gets stuck. He can't roll in a straight line (it's hard to do! have you tried it lately?), so when he rolls a couple times, he usually gets stuck somewhere around his little play gym. Then he gets mad. It's quite funny to watch.

Hey! How'd I get all the way over here?!

Avoiding eating sweet potatoes.

I also can see how much my little man loves his daddy! He can't keep his eyes off of him. Usually, you hear that the babies watch their moms wherever they go. Well, wouldn't you know my baby can't stand to look away from his dad. I love it. Even if he hears his voice, he looks around for him until he sees him. It's pretty sweet.

Two of a kind.

What else.....hmmm.....I can't wait for summer to be here. We plan on making frequent trips to the pool, and I hope that Robert Alan continues to love water. It's hillarious when we give him baths--he splashes all the water out of his bath! He loves to kick the water and doesn't mind getting it all in his face. I can't wait to take him to Abilene and let him swim with my mom and dad (Honey and Jefe) in their pool. It'll be such a blast.

One of the only pics I have of him smiling.

He usually just stares at my big camera.

We're excited about going to Abilene for Easter. I haven't seen my grandmas in awhile, and I can't wait for them to see how big Robert Alan is now and how much better he interacts with people. I'm really trying to get him around more and more people so that he won't be awkward when the time comes for playdates, which will be this summer when things calm down for me with work. Speaking of, I'm just putting this out there, RA is looking for some good friends. Here is his official want ad: Short, balding little guy looking for friends, preferrably 0-15 months old who love babbling, slobbering, steamrolling, and gumming/eating whatever they can get their hands on. Teeth and hair are not required; If these babies are attached to mommies who enjoy the pool or being outdoors, that is a plus. :-)

My handsome little boy. Already looking like a golfer.

That's it for now, folks. It's all I've got time for. I would brag about how easy he is to get to sleep, or how his schedule is working out great, but I am reminded of the time that I did that before and then he didn't sleep through the night for 3 weeks, so I will refrain.

Talk to you later!