Photo Friday

It's been a week since my last "Photo Friday" and a lot has happened.  Well, by a lot I mean a lot of sickness.  There are 14 member of my "immediate" family and out of those 11 of them got the flu.  Luckily, I wasn't one of them.  My flu shot seemed to do the trick this year.  It seemed the younger you were the less severe it was.  Clark had it and it only lasted a day or two for him.  Andy, my mom, and brother-in-law have been SICK for about a week now.  It also hit Andy's side of the family, lots of them came down with the flu this week too.  I'm hoping we'll all be super resistant now and can put this behind us.  I'm still wiping noses and giving some breathing treatments but that beats fighting fevers.  Here are my phone photos for the week... hopefully next week they'll be coming to you from a new iPhone 5.  My iPhone 4 has been on the brink of a meltdown for awhile now, plus the screen is shattered.  We're finally up for an update and I'm hoping Santa (hint, hint Andy) will bring me a new phone early!

Oh, this boy and the Christmas tree.  I honestly don't know why I bothered putting it up with a 2 year old.  It's a constant fight.  He's already broken 6 ornaments.  

This boy on the other hand hasn't broken any.  He loves looking at the lights!

Yes, Cooper was this tired last week in Nashville.  I know it wasn't very sanitary (or good parenting) to let him lay down on the nasty Opry Mills floor but the kid was exhausted. 

My little sick boy.

4 months old!

His first time eating baby food.  It went fine until I overfed him and he projectile vomited. 

A side by side comparison of the boys eating baby food.  They really don't look as much alike as I thought they did.

Have a good weekend!  We're getting ready to start some Christmas festivities in the Smithson household!

25 Days of Christmas - The Smithson's Advent Calendar

The Idea Behind the Calendar:  I love the idea of advent calendars, especially with children.  We always moved a mouse when we were younger on our family's advent calendar.  I've seen several where you get a piece of candy for each day but I didn't really want to do that.  I knew I'd be making ours myself so I wanted something simple and straight forward.  I also wanted the supplies to be cheap enough to where I wouldn't be spending more making one than buying one.  I also knew I wanted each day of the calendar to have a fun activity for our family to do as we counted down to Christmas.  Keep in mind that Cooper is a brand new 2 and Clark is 4 months... they aren't going to understand what this calendar is but I wanted to start this tradition early.

The Making of the Calendar:  Pinterest is a wonderful thing.  Like I said, I didn't want to go out and buy an advent calendar so I turned to Pinterest to come up with some ideas.  Let me tell you, Pinterest has about 100 or so different advent calendars to choose from but not all of them are that simple to make, even though they say "DIY."  I knew I wanted something cheap and easy and was thrilled when I ran across this one.  pinterest.com/pin/105764291220699013  It looked simple enough.  Now I just had to come up with our list of activities.  When it came time to make up our activities I kept in mind the boys' ages and Andy's crazy busy holiday work schedule.  I knew he'd have several late nights so I wanted to keep the activities simple enough to where I could accomplish them on my own with both boys.  If we already had Christmas activities on our calendar I incorporated them so I didn't have to double up on those days.  I bought a lot of Christmas books for the boys so each Tuesday they get to open one, that's why that item is repeated several times.  I came up with most of these ideas on my own but looked at a few lists on Pinterest for some inspiration on a few, then I tailored them to our family.  Here's our list;
25 Days of Christmas – Advent Calendar 
December 1st- Watch a Christmas movie with the fireplace on

2nd- Make a Christmas craft
3rd- Drive to see Christmas lights in our neighborhood
4th- Open a Christmas book from under the tree
5th- Color a Christmas coloring page
6th- Take a special red bubble bath & listen to Christmas music
7th- Make hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie
8th- Go to Starlight Parade downtown
9th- Make an ornament for the tree
10th- Drive to see Christmas lights in a different neighborhood
11th- Open a Christmas book from under the tree
12th- Make a Christmas craft
13th- Have a special family Christmas dinner by candlelight
14th- Watch a Christmas movie
15th- Make cookies for our neighbors
16th- Attend the church Christmas party
17th- Drive to see Christmas lights downtown
18th- Open a Christmas book from under the tree
19th- Color a Christmas coloring page
20th- Have a Polar Express night
21st- Bake some Christmas goodies
22nd- Wrap presents and play with wrapping paper
23rd- Give our nursery ladies a special present
24th- Open special Christmas present early & read the Christmas story in Luke
25th- Eat a special Christmas breakfast and open presents!

I bought my calendar supplies at the Dollar General for very cheap!  I love that place! I found some really cute gift tags to use. I had bought ribbon to string all 25 tags/days on but with the clothes pins it was extremely heavy and kept flipping over on the wall.  I've had this chicken wire frame forever and I usually have pictures on it that are held by clothes pins.  This also kept it out of Cooper's reach.  I removed all the pictures and put the gift tags up. On the back of every gift tag I wrote an activity and then put a number sticker for the day it corresponds to on the clothes pin.  Simple enough!  Today's our first day so I'll let you know how it goes as we progress.  I hope Cooper understands it some or at least gets excited when we flip each one over every day.  Here's the final product!

Clark's 4 Month Checkup

Today Clark and I were back at Dr. Meredith's office for his official 4 month checkup.  He weighed in at 14 pounds even and was 26 inches.  He had gained 2.5 pounds and 3 inches since his 2 month checkup!  He's a little porker!  He was above average in height and his weight was right on track.  I must say, I'm a very proud mommy that he's gaining and maintaining so well on a strictly breast milk diet.  That's about to change though!  We can start giving him baby food... I'm anxious to see how he likes it.

He was right on track in his developmental achievements as well.  He had to get shots today which he hated.  I always feel so bad when I have to hold them down for shots.  He also had to have another thing done that was no fun at all.  Any mommies out there that have baby boys who've been circumcised know what must be done daily to maintain a healthy circumcision.  Andy and I both pulled his skin back daily but apparently not enough... some had grown back and was sticking.  Well, Dr. Meredith took care of that and poor Clark just screamed and cried.  I felt so bad for him!  About the time he finally recovered from that traumatic experience it was time for shots.  Oh well, at least he won't remember that down the road.

We'd been having some breastfeeding issues recently.  Clark was getting lazy on me and taking up to an hour to get through a feeding.  He was just back and forth, on and off, eating when he pleased.  It was exhausting doing that 5 times a day.  I didn't want to cut him down to 4 feedings a day and Dr. Meredith agreed that he should still have 5 feedings a day to keep him sleeping through the night.  The past few days I've cracked down and changed a few things during eating time and he's getting much better.  It's so nice to finish a feeding in 20 - 25 minutes instead of an hour!  He's doing great!  I'm really proud of him.  I'm sure I'll have another post on him to follow soon once we introduce baby food!  That should be fun!

P.S. - This is completely irrelevant to this post but I wanted to share some exciting news.  I'm back into my first ever, original pair of skinny jeans!  I bought them right after Andy and I got married and wore them up until I got pregnant with Cooper.  After Cooper they never fit me and I thought there was no way I'd ever get them back on after Clark.  I was seriously considering giving them away but I decided to try them on this morning... they actually buttoned... and zipped!!!  I was so excited!  The sizing number is one I haven't seen in a long time and didn't think I'd ever see again.  Don't get me wrong, they aren't very comfortable and my hip bones are hurting from them being so tight but who cares, I'm back in them!  I guess breastfeeding and cutting out chocolate have helped more than I thought!

Happy 4 Months Clark!

My sweet Clark is 4 months old today and growing leaps and bounds. He's trying to get over the flu so he's a bit under the weather but still happy! Yesterday at the doctor he weighed 14 pounds, 5 ounces (so he's gained almost 3 pounds in 2 months) and he goes back Thursday for his official checkup.

Clark is currently eating 5 times a day, 10-15 minutes per side. A lot of times I feel like I'm force feeding him, I think he's about ready for 4 feedings a day but I'm afraid he'll try and make up for missed milk during the night. He's still 100% breastfed, no formula ever for this big boy! Over Thanksgiving break we did some sleep training and he's back to sleeping through the night again, thank goodness! He's usually in bed by 9:30pm and wakes up around 7:00am. His naps are also improving! He's napping in his crib 2-3 times a day anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours at a time. He also loves to catnap on his daddy at night.

He's well into 3-6 months clothes even though I still try to squeeze him into some 3 month stuff. He sleeps in a sleep sack to keep him nice and cozy. He still hasn't rolled over yet even though I expect it any day now. He loves to be talked to, to talk back, watch his big brother play, and laughs tons! He loves to stand in our laps and sits up well with our support. He had cereal with a spoon a few times this month but wasn't crazy about it. I'm hoping he'll take to baby food better! Oh, big news... I'd say he's completely colic free! It's vastly improved over the last 2 weeks and he hasn't had a bad night in about a week or so! All around he's like a different baby. He just seems happier all the time now. He doesn't have near as many gassy issues during feedings and it's great! I guess 3-4 months really is the magic number for colic!

Here's a sweet picture of my little man. I'm sure I'll have more updates Thursday!

Sickness

Sickness hit our household in the form of a 104+ fever in Cooper. That's when we wound up in the ER last Wednesday. They told us it was just a virus but didn't test him to find out what kind. A few days later Andy was sick... I mean sick sick. He has a horrible cough, body aches, chills, and some other nasty symptoms. Fast forward a day or two and Clark's sick. Sunday night his temperature was 102.5, he was fussy and snotty, and wouldn't eat well. After a call to the nurse we decided to take him in on Monday. Andy and Cooper were still feeling awful at this point, coughing their heads off. My mom was also super sick with the exact same symptoms.

They did a few different tests on Clark and determined he had the flu. I had gotten a flu shot a few months back (I guess that's why I'm the only one left standing) to try to protect Clark but it didn't work. Dr. Meredith said he was sure that's what everyone else had and that we'd just have to wait it out. Cooper is still coughing a ton with a runny nose but I'm praying he'll start feeling better soon.

I've had an extended Thanksgiving break since both boys, Andy, and Mom are so sick. Hopefully I'll be back at work tomorrow. Keep my little family in your prayers as we're trying hard to recover.

Photo Friday & an Update on our Week

We had a bit of a crazy Thanksgiving break.  Between Cooper's birthday, some sleeping issues with Clark, our first emergency room visit, and Thanksgiving we're exhausted.  Yes, we had our first official emergency room visit as parents.  Wednesday morning Cooper woke up with a fever or 102.  Besides the fever and a little cough he was acting fine.  To keep from sending Clark off to someone while I took Cooper to the doctor we waited until Andy got off work to have Cooper checked out.  Andy kept Clark and Coop and I headed to the after hours pediatric clinic at TC Thompson Children's Hospital.  We walked right in and they immediately got concerned about the way Cooper was breathing.  He was retracting so they sent us up to the ER.  I was scared to death and didn't know what to expect.  I called Andy and he figured they thought it was pneumonia.  Once we got in the ER his temperature was over 104 so getting that down was their first concern.  The doctor listened to his chest and said he sounded clear so she wanted his fever to come down before she determined what was wrong with him.  They pumped him full of ibuprofen and left us with some Gatorade, that he refused to drink.  He was so pitiful and sick!  They had him stripped down to his diaper and just holding him made me sweat like crazy.  Andy and Clark came right up when we knew we may be there awhile and my parents came up too.  Having a support system made me feel better!  He slowly started getting some life back in him when his fever started coming down.  The doctor checked him again and said his breathing issues were probably from the high fever and that he was free to go... it was just a virus!  By the time they released us Cooper was literally running down the hall and jumping as he went.

Thanksgiving was a bit hard on us all from lack of sleep and Cooper still not feeling 100%.  Throw in the fact that he only took a 30 minute nap and it was really rough.  We split our time between families and ate too much.  Clark was an angel the whole day and napped on whoever would hold him.  Cooper still isn't feeling great today so we're just being lazy and slowly pulling out the Christmas decorations.  All of my pictures this week seem to be of Cooper in the car.  This isn't over favoritism, it was just a big week for him.  : )  Enjoy!

 A new big boy haircut for a 2 year old!

 An early birthday present!  He's getting the hang of it.

 Exhausted after his zoo party.

 Living the life in his new, pimped out recliner.

 Some Curious George in the car.

Looking at Mommy!

 First time in the umbrella stroller, not too sure about it.

 He's really not too sure about it now with his big brother leading him around.

A bath for two dirty boys!

 Coop playing in his new tent!

 A very sick baby in the emergency room.

 Worn out on Thanksgiving.

A little love bug!

Trying his best to resist the temptation.

Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving break!  We're headed to Nashville tomorrow, say a prayer that Cooper will feel better by then!

A Birthday Party at the Zoo

We celebrated Cooper's 2nd birthday this weekend with a Curious George themed party at the Chattanooga Zoo.  On his birthday, of course, Cooper refused to nap.  It's like he knew what was coming and was too excited to sleep.  That worked out fine until the party rolled around.  We literally had to pick him up off the floor several times because he kept laying down with "Binks" (his faithful blanket).  He was that tired!  That made for a fun tour around the zoo, he kept screaming.  Oh well, I think all of his guests enjoyed the party regardless.

The party started off with a tour which lasted about 45 minutes.  We had a zoo employee take us all around and tell us about all the animals.  I really learned a lot and the animals were very friendly toward the staff so we got to see them up close.  They had just opened a new section, Deserts, and it was so neat!  It was full of beautiful desert animals.

At the end of the tour the kids got to do a scavenger hunt for their treat bags and then we headed back to the party room for cake and present opening.  If you ever went to the Chattanooga Zoo before they did the major overhaul the party room is the old entrance/gift shop.  It's located in the log cabin close to the train tracks and it held everyone comfortably.  We ate some cake and opened presents.  Cooper had perked up a bit at this point, thank goodness!  After we opened presents the zoo staff got out animals in the party room for the kids to pet and hold.  Cooper wasn't really interested in that but the older kids were.

After that our 2 hours were up and we packed up.  Cooper was exhausted but was playing with all his toys as we walked to the car.  All in all it was a success.  If you're looking for a great, reasonably priced place to have a birthday party I highly suggest the zoo.  The staff set all my stuff up, cleaned it up, loaded up the presents and decorations, and drove them out to our car.  We didn't have to do anything except show up!  I would definitely do it all over again for the connivence and to avoid having it at my house!  Here are some pictures, enjoy!

 The sleepy birthday boy.

 All of Coop's cousins and friends checking out the animals.

 Coop loved the jaguar!

 We had to steal one of Clark's pacifiers to keep Cooper from screaming... good parenting, I know.

 Beautiful!

 One of my favorite animals we came across at the zoo!  ; )

Daddy and the birthday boy!

 Present time!

 He loved all of his gifts!

Grown Up Christmas List - Charity Giving

The Smithsons have accomplished the first thing on my "Grown Up Christmas List."  We gave to 2 charities this year for Christmas.  The first one was Operation Christmas Child.  We usually always pack a box or two each year for children in this wonderful organization.  Clark and I went shopping for and made some special little boy a box full of toys!  

Our second charity was very similar to Operation Christmas Child in the fact that we packed boxes of toys, clothes, and toiletries but we made these boxes for boys in an orphanage in Honduras.  For years our church has sponsored and traveled to Orphanage Emmanuel in Honduras so this year we got in on the giving.  We sponsored two boys, both 10 and both named Jose, for Christmas.  We packed plastic containers full of clothes, toys, toiletries, and other goodies to send down on a huge shipment with others who are giving to the orphanage.  Both boys went shopping with us for these.  We explained to Cooper what we were doing.  He may not understand it yet but I hope to keep this up in the future so he and Clark both understand that Christmas is about giving, not just receiving.
X      Give to a special charity 
___ Look at Christmas lights
___ Have a Christmas movie/PJ night
___ Have an advent calendar
___ Go to a Christmas parade
___ Visit Santa
___ Christmas date with Andy
___ Family Christmas date
___ Get special Christmas ornaments for each family member
___ Watch the classic Christmas movies
___ Make holiday desserts
___ Decorate our Christmas tree
___ Make holiday crafts
___ Attend a Christmas play
___ Have a Polar Express night
___ Special Christmas Eve presents for the boys
___ Read through the Christmas story in Luke
___ Have the boys make special pottery as gifts
___ Cook a special Christmas morning meal
___ Read special Christmas books
___ Go Christmas shopping with Andy
___ Go on a tour of homes with the women in my family
___ Attend our candle light Christmas Eve service

Coop's 2 Year Checkup

Today Cooper went to the pediatrician for his 2 year checkup.  We haven't had a well baby visit since he was 15 months old so I was anxious to see what Dr. Meredith had to say about him!  My three biggest concerns going in were his weight (he's still tiny), his speech (he doesn't talk much at all), and his eating habits (he's not a good eater).  I was also dreading the shots... he isn't an easy boy to contain so I was afraid that part would be an absolute nightmare.

The first thing they checked was his weight.  He weighed in at a whopping 24 & 1/2 pounds... that was with his shoes on.  Next was his height.  He was 35 & 1/4 inches.  He ended up being in the 75th percentile in height and not on the charts yet in weight.  Nothing new there.  The doctor was ok with his weight because he was gaining steadily for his pace.

The exam itself was a bit of a nightmare, like I feared.  As soon as we got into the exam room Cooper was terrified.  He acted like he was scared of the exam table/bed and shook anytime I took my hand off of him.  I don't know if he was scared of the height of the bed or if he knew what was coming.  Anyways, it didn't get any better when Dr. Meredith came in.  I had to physically hold him down while he looked him over.  When he listened to his lungs Cooper tried to yank the stethoscope out of ears.  He said that was the first time he'd ever had a patient try to do that.  Of course it would be my child who does that!  He screamed and screamed and screamed.  He screamed even more when he got his shots.  He had a booster and a flu shot.  It was awful holding him down for those.

Everything else looked good!  We were told that he needed to start taking vitamins since he's such a picky eater.  We've tried that before with no success but Dr. Meredith gave me some new tricks to try.  As far as his speech goes... Dr. Meredith isn't concerned about it now but said if he isn't piecing together more phrases in the next 6 months he'll need to see him again.  He said he knows he's smart as a whip, he just thinks it's a stubbornness issue.  I agree completely... he knows he can get his point across without talking so why would he?  My brother, sister, and mom keep trying to assure me that their children weren't talking much at 2 and that he'll take off soon.  I hope so, it'll be so much easier on everyone when he can communicate what he wants to us!  Unless there's still a speech issue in 6 months we don't have to have a checkup until he's 3 and no shots until he's 4!  I'm sure we'll be back soon enough though for some kind of sickness!

To My Sweet Cooper

Well I said it last year and I'll say it next year... I can't believe you're 2 already! It honestly doesn't seem like it was that long ago when I waltzed into the hospital with some back pain and breathing issues only to have you a few hours later via emergency C-section. You were 6 weeks early and tiny! Even though I was absolutely terrified that day it turned out to be one of the best days of my life. I never thought that 2 days could change my life so incredibly but the day you and your brother were born did that.

You've taught me so much in the last 2 years. You've taught me patience, a love so powerful I could've never imagined it, a softness inside myself I never knew was there, the power of prayer, how to function on little to no sleep, how beautiful the small wonders in life are, how wonderful learning is, how amazing a little monkey can be, and the beauty and magic that little boys possess. You've also taught me how to be a mother which I'm forever grateful for.

Happy 2nd birthday baby boy! You're daddy and I love you more than you could ever know! Here's to many more birthdays!

Photo Friday

We've made it to Thanksgiving break!  We have the whole week off and the Smithsons have a lot of activities planned!  We've got Cooper's birthday festivities, family photo taking, maybe some sleep training, Christmas decorating, Breaking Dawn watching, Thanksgiving festivities, maybe a Christmas parade, a trip to Nashville, sleeping in (if Clark allows it), snuggling, and being lazy on the agenda!  I can't wait to have the whole week free with my boys!  Here are my photos for the week... enjoy!

 Clark during a "getting to know you" game on the Ladies Retreat.

 The ladies wore him out!  He was never put down on the whole trip... it made it hard on Andy and me once we got home.  He was a bit spoiled!

 My new floors.  I smile every time I see them!  Have I mentioned how great my husband is??

 This exersaucer provided a lot of entertainment this week... for both boys!

 Cooper wasn't this interested in it when he was a baby... go figure!

 He's OBSESSED with my iPad.  He's also ruined it.  It's shattered to oblivion.  It's under warranty so we're getting it replaced this weekend.  We're also buying a heavy-duty, childproof case for it.

Clark is getting the hang of his new toy!  I can leave him in there for around 20 minutes at a time and he's pretty happy!