Last Trip Down Memory Lane

For a while anyway. These were sent to me last night though & I just love the look on Wyatt's face. (Much better than the look on his face when Jean & I hopped in the photo booth with him afterwards...might have to post that pic at some point for a good laugh)

Feeling Nostalgic

Because I never really got good about posting on here until Wyatt was almost a year old, I forgot about all the great pictures I took of him during his first year & how many wonderful memories we made. I came across these pictures tonight & smiled to myself. Seth was in Las Vegas for work for a week, so Wyatt & I decided to head down to the beach house by ourselves for a week. We had a great time - I know I will always remember it & he was only 10 months old!

When Did You Get So Big

Found this photo from June 28, 2008 tonight & couldn't believe how little he looks...

Must Love Dogs

My post is prompted by my recent return from the new movie 'Marley & Me.' I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that it is a sweet & sad movie about the story of a dog's life, but also the family that owns him - I'll leave it at that. It got me thinking about my own dogs though, and how they have really taken the backseat in my life since Wyatt came along. I realized that not unlike a child, they simply would do anything to please.

Seth & I agreed, as sort of a New Year's Resolution (although I HATE those) to spend more time with the dogs, and try to incorporate them more into our lives. Milo, our beagle, will be 9 years old this May & although we often joke that he will live to be 18, blind, deaf & crippled, you never know how much time you will have with a family pet. Scout, our yellow lab, will turn 5 in just a few months, and it is hard to believe how time has really flown since he was a puppy. Just a few years ago we would spend our weekends taking the dogs on trips & searching the city for dog-friendly places for the boys to run leash-free. Now, it seems we debate over who will feed them each morning & evening, let them in after Wyatt has gone to bed & plenty of days go by where I wonder to myself if I had even pet them both. For this, I am not proud - but that is why we have decided to turn over a new leaf. That, and we have a new helper in their caretaking...

Lately I have been keeping the dogs inside in the mornings & letting them play with Wyatt in the den. It used to be that he paid them no attention, but recently he has really enjoyed petting them and "getting cozy" with them on their giant dog nest, ("Eeks!" says Dad - "it's SO dirty!!" "He's a kid", I say). The other morning I even caught him trying to get them to read a book with him - I didn't have the heart to tell him that they probably wouldn't join in, but at least he chose Clifford as his book to share with the dogs :)

Seeing this compassion, combined with my resolution, has made me realize that there will be a time when Seth & I won't be the only ones who really miss the dogs - can you remember your favorite childhood dog? I can think of a few...and I want to make sure that Wyatt looks back on all the fun times he shared with his family - dogs & all!

Two Words...Sounds Like

Happy (Almost) New Year! It has been a while since I last posted, but I thought I would get in a quick one before 2009. We had a wonderful Christmas - certainly much more exciting than last year, when Wyatt wasn't even sitting up. This year he learned the word "gift" and was a pro at tearing into things! Santa brought Wyatt a train table this year, complete with track & wooden trains. We have been playing with the ones at Barnes & Noble for months now & finally broke down to get Wyatt his own. The only drawback is that Mom was enjoying a regular Starbucks fix while Wyatt played with the trains. (Yes, Wyatt began to scare me - every time we passed the shopping center with B&N he would say "coffee - train, coffee - train")

Wyatt surprised us all by waking up at 8:45 on Christmas morning. We actually ended up waking him up, so the video of him coming down to see the train table was not as exciting as I had hoped...lol. Here are a few pics from our festivities though:

Go Duke! (Shh, don't tell Dad)

Opening gifts with Papa

Merry Christmas! (Dad, Wyatt, Uncle Johnny & Papa)

Wyatt learning the harmonica (a gift from Daddy)

Wyatt & his new train table! (And Mom looking a little haggard, despite getting to sleep in!)

We made it through all the festivities of the holidays without any trouble sleeping, which is pretty amazing considering we have four molars coming in!! Wyatt even managed to entertain at a few "late night"(translation = after 7:00 PM) holiday parties by showing off his new skills on the harmonica, and assisting with pumping the keg at the Haber's Christmas Party! :)

And finally, (hence the title of the post) just a few short weeks ago Wyatt started using some 2-3 word phrases! It has just been so much fun to listen to what he comes up with next. It all started with a sea horse ornament on our tree - one morning caught him by the tree saying "Sea...(wait for it)...Horse" My favorite part was the long pause between words. He has managed to perfect this in the past few weeks, saying all kinds of things like hot dog & graham cracker. My two favorites so far though are the following:

1) While heading down to Dunn, NC to visit with Seth's paternal side of the family, Wyatt started saying something in the car & we couldn't quite understand it. After repeating it several times we realized he was saying "Fire...place...Santa..." I had told him a few days prior that Santa would come through the fireplace. (For those of you that know him well, you can guess that he was of course concerned about the heat of the fireplace & Santa coming through there "No, no! Hot! Ouch!")

2) Today we were walking through a parking lot & this woman almost ran us down. Under my breath, I said "That lady is driving like a maniac!" Just a few seconds later, Wyatt starts repeating "Mainy - ack, mainy - ack"

Okay - all of the updates so far & my fingers are tired of typing...Happy New Year to you all, and we'll touch base again in 2009!

I'm a Loser Baby

I am now home from my whirlwind trip to LA & what a ride it was! As most of you know by now, Heba won the $100,000 & I couldn't be more proud of her. I have dubbed her "The REAL Biggest Loser," considering she would have won, had she gotten the votes from America. At any rate, what she & Ed both accomplished was amazing! I am so incredibly proud of them both, and hope that you all have a chance to see them soon.

Being the huge fan of the show that I am, I was totally psyched to get to meet this season's contestants as well as previous season's contestants. We had a great time, and it was a pleasure to get to actually talk to these people in person about their experiences with The Biggest Loser. With the help of my friend Laura & my trusty Canon camera here are some of my favorite shots of the weekend:

Goofball

Both myself & Wyatt were feeling a bit wacky this morning - maybe it was the 22 degree weather that got to our brains after our morning walk...

Hide & Seek

In a 6,000 square foot rental home, this is where the kids decide to spend the afternoon playing!

Sunset at Emerald Isle

Somebody Has a Case of the Mondays

Mondays are usually one of our longer days, but being on vacation with 2 cousins & plenty of family sure made this one fly by! Here are some photos from our adventures today!

I Never Go Anywhere Without My Handbag

Jam on Baby

Familiar Places

I knew that Wyatt & I had a problem when we pulled into the Eastgate Shopping Center the other day in Chapel Hill & from the back seat I heard "Ooooooooooooooooo!!! CONE!!!!"

First , you must understand that my family loves ice cream, and it's a wonder why we don't all weigh more than we do, given the amount we can put back in a week's worth of family vacation - I'm talking several, several half gallons... But lately, we have been letting Wyatt eat soft serve ice cream & especially TCBY. So, naturally I suppose, when we pulled in near TCBY he assumed we were getting ice cream. He was quite disappointed to find out that we were only swinging into Great Outdoor Provision Co to look at gifts for Daddy for Christmas. Last week I think there were 2-3 cones eaten, which I have a feeling my pediatrician might shake her head at, but Wyatt does get plenty of veggies & fruits, as well as exercise. For now, I am enjoying having a new friend who's always up for eating ice cream :)

Can I Have a Hug?

By now, you have all seen & heard what a talker Wyatt has become. Seth & I love to try out new words with him & see which ones he will notice & repeat.

But my new favorite thing is that lately he has come up with words & actions that seem quite caring. Now, whether or not he really knows what all of this means yet - who knows - but for now I have really enjoyed the following moments:

• Someone sneezes, and Wyatt responds with "Bless You" every time. This even happens in public with strangers who are totally taken back by this little person saying it!


• When Seth & I laugh about something together, Wyatt watches both of us, pauses & then roars with laughter himself.


• When Wyatt sees a Band-Aid on me (usually on a leg after shaving) he says "Boo-boo?" If he ever bumps anything or falls, he also says "Ouch! Hurts..."


• If he hits me (which we have been working on lately) whether intentionally or accidentally, he always seems to follow it up with a "Sorry, sorry, sorry"


• Finally, when Wyatt really desires something (usually the first glass of milk in the morning) he says "Please, please, oh nice..." - this is because when we first started learning please, when he would say it, I would say "That's so nice." Now, he just says it all together, possibly thinking that he will get what he wants faster!

We'll see what he comes up with next, but this truly has been the "fun age." Granted it has its daily challenges, I have really enjoyed these past few weeks/months. I have spent all this time waiting for him to do this & do that, and suddenly I wish I could just stop time & enjoy these moments just a bit longer...

Monkey Man

Monkey Man got to wear his costume to school today, which was a real treat! When he got to school, they had decorated everywhere (even the banisters outside had webs & spiders, which got him very excited!) - they had a Halloween parade, followed by a trip to the "pumpkin patch" that had been created in the playground area. Happy Halloween!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Okay, so it's a crisp Fall day, not quite "frightful" but I'll tell you what is - Waking up in the morning at 7:00 AM with a 15 month old & thinking about being contained to our house all day because it is so cold out!

My challenge to myself this Fall & Winter is going to be to find more fun things to do with Wyatt, that don't cost a lot of money & involve being somewhat indoors. Over the course of the Spring, Summer & even so far the Fall, we have really been doing a lot outdoors. I love this time of year, but in a way I hate it because it starts to get dark a lot earlier, knocking out our after dinner trips to the park, and then colder, making it hard to eat a picnic lunch in Duke Gardens on any given day.

Yes, we will still go to the playground & for walks & will just bundle up (we just bought a new winter coat & hat!), but if anyone has great cold weather ideas, I would love to hear them!

Take Time for a Great Time

After a two year hiatus, our little family decided to make a trip to the North Carolina State Fair this evening. We beat most of the traffic by arriving at a little before 5:00 PM, armed with our B.O.B. jogger & plenty of snacks for the little guy. We had a great time just watching Wyatt take it all in, and were able to leave at a decent hour before all the crazies arrived :) Here are some of my favorite snapshots of the evening:

I knew Wyatt would help me eat one of my favorite fair foods!

When we got into the building with the cows, Wyatt literally took off running towards them yelling "Hi! Hi! MOOO! MOOO!"

Wyatt meets Roo from PBS Kids - he said "eyeball" to him & was wanting to poke his eye - don't think Roo was interested in letting him follow through...

Wyatt (and Mom) mesmerized by all the lights & rides once it started to get dark

The Perpetual Bruise

I am convinced that Wyatt will have a bruise on his forehead from now until the day he turns 3. For some reason, although he seems to have mastered walking, he has gotten increasingly unsteady on his feet. He has been working on turning & because of this is like a little drunk man - constantly falling, knocking into things & bumping his head on everything. During most falls, he can get his hands out in time to catch himself. If not, he will land face first - because of this, he has a bruise on the middle of his forehead that has been there for almost two weeks.

This morning we went to REI to (ugh) try on "winter" coats. Not a fun task for any child, but especially not for a 15 month old, who would rather have me chase him through the racks & racks of coats! Finally we get into a dressing room (the only way I can get him to sit still). After wrestling him into a coat, while I am trying to zip it up, he falls forward - you guessed it - right onto his forehead. Now, not only is there a bruise, but there is rugburn too... Needless to say, we bought the first coat that fit, gave a kiss on the forehead & left the store before people thought I was torturing my child.

Keeping Us Sane

Thanks to Abby for all the great ideas for posts & links! Here are our Top 5 things we couldn't have/can't live(d) without:

1) Miracle Blanket - Hands down the best baby item we ever received. Certainly may not be for everyone, but Wyatt started sleeping through the night (6 hours) at 4 weeks old, and we kept him swaddled in this thing until he was 14 weeks. At that point, he would break out of it, but I would have done it longer if I could have! He has always been an amazing sleeper & we credit the Miracle Blanket!

2) Bouncy Seat - This was how we were able to eat all of our meals, watch TV or simply have a free hand during Wyatt's first few months. Another item that we practically wore out - we used this all the time & Wyatt loved it!!

3) B.O.B. Jogging Stroller - One of our first outings with Wyatt was to Greensboro so we could pick up this stroller. Seth did all the research & selected this one, especially for trail running which we both love to do! At the first possible chance, we stuck his car seat into the infant adapter & took him on the Duke Trail - we have been doing it ever since & he loves the stroller still to this day!

4) Little Giraffe Blankie - This was given to us as a gift, but we had already purchased a similar one. My sister used these blankies for her girls & they LOVE them. I bought one for Wyatt before he was born, but he really became fond of the faux fur one when I gave it to him at 6 months. These are small blankies, so they won't get tangled with baby in the crib, and they are easy to travel with or have in the car seat in a long road trip. As a person who (shamefully) still sleeps with her blankie, I was excited for Wyatt to have one.

5) Summer Video Monitor - I cannot say enough good things about this monitor - we LOVE it, and I can't imagine life without it (except when we are on vacation & we use the regular kind). From day one, Wyatt slept in his crib in his room, and I think it is all thanks to this monitor, which also has night vision. When we were letting him "cry it out" or even when he fussed during the night, it was great to be able to just look at the monitor & see that he was fine. I have also been able to see if he has thrown his blankie out of the crib, if he is in fact sleeping when it's quiet in there or if he's tearing off all his clothes!

In addition to these items, here are a few of the books that we could not have lived without:
The Happiest Baby on the Block - Dr. Harvey Karp, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems - Dr. Richard Ferber & Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - Dr. Marc Weissbluth

The Name Game

In response to my friend Abby's post, I had to put out my own post about Wyatt's name & how it came about. Abby had a great story, and mine isn't as exciting, but here goes...

Seth & I had always said that we liked the name Wyatt. I am one of those people that had lists & lists (some of you know I am famous for my "list making") of names, some of which were pretty out there - Axl, Grover, Felix...still all great in their own way, but if you know my husband you know they would never fly. At any rate, from the moment we found out I was pregnant, I just had this really strong feeling it was going to be a boy, and we sort of settled on Wyatt early in the game. Of course we were thrilled when we found out my instincts were correct & Wyatt stuck. We did have a few moments of hesitation though. We wanted to use Jesse as the middle name, after Seth's late maternal grandfather. "Wyatt Jesse Jernigan - is our child destinted to be an outlaw?" I uttered one evening. We kept his name a secret until he was born, and everyone seemed pleased with it when they were introduced for the first time. I can't imagine him going by any other name...

My New Landscaper

He does a great job, and charges a very reasonable rate - I highly recommend him!

Joe Cool

Current Stats

Wyatt had his 15 month doctor's visit today & everything was great! The first thing the doctor noticed was how much talking he does. She said at this point they like to see kid's his age saying at least 5 words, so he is ahead of the curve with his potentially 50 word vocabulary. He is still working on his walking, and can be wobbly at times, but has finally gotten the hang of getting up to standing on his own. I am convinced that he was slower to walk because he is so busy talking!!

15 months
24 lbs, 11 oz
31 1/2 inches long (or do I say tall, now that he is upright all the time)
taking after Papa in the head dept - 90% percentile but don't remember the size :)

One of Those Weeks

It has been "one of those weeks." It started with me uttering these words to my husband: "I need some new clothes for Fall. I am sick of my clothes & would love some nicer things to wear around - I feel like ever since I started staying at home my wardrobe has got to pot." This is how my week then progressed:

Monday - Lunch with Mom & Wyatt at Panera Bread - spill tomato soup down the front of shirt
Tuesday - Wyatt spills grande Starbucks down my white t-shirt before storytime
Wednesday - attempted to make Butternut Squash soup, only to have the blender explode soup all over me & the kitchen
Thursday - try to show Wyatt how to "jump" off the swings at the park & get stuck briefly (yes - complete blow to self-esteem, but thankfully the park was empty at the time) & get rust stains all over khaki shirt
Friday - attempt to shop for the new clothes I "needed" & resign that I will end up staining or ruining them somehow, so buy clothes for Wyatt instead...

One day, I will get back to a somewhat decent sense of style. Until then, I will live vicariously through Wyatt when it comes to "fashion."

All By Myself

Growing up, some of my favorite books were the Mercer Mayer books. In the spirit of my favorite childhood read, I had to let Wyatt try eating his food on his own. We have started dicing things less & less (even though we are still waiting for molars), and just the other morning I decided it was time to make good use of the spoon & fork.