Whew!

Well, it has certainly been a busy month! After the Easter festivities it has been nothing but busy, busy, busy around our house. This is the month of showers, birthdays, parties, out-of-town guests and everything in between. It's stressful, but I love it!

Poor Alex caught some stomach bug and was sick on Easter Sunday :( He woke up in the middle of the night screaming and had thrown up in his crib. He was sick again in the morning so we only gave him clear liquids for about 8 hours. Boy was he unhappy with that scenario! He kept grabbing at anything we were eating and was incredibly unhappy. It was awful! I felt so bad for him. He was better by that evening and we fed him a dinner of rice and applesauce before putting him to bed. But before he would go to sleep he had one more surprise up his sleeve - he took two real steps in front of me!!!!!! I was so excited to see him do that. He's been trying really hard to start walking and I'm really nervous about it. He took two steps to the side the next day! Also in front of me. Poor daddy didn't get to see any steps for a few days. But he still is not walking on his own. I'm sure it will be soon, though. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for a toddler but I know it has to happen eventually.....

Speaking of milestones - his first birthday is tomorrow! I cannot believe it has been a year. One year ago I was experiencing the joys of induced labor - haha! I'm so excited about celebrating his birthday with his friends and family, too! I'm a dork, but we're having two parties for him. We are having a combined party this weekend with Viviana that is with immediate family only. But I really wanted the extended family and friends to also be a part of the celebration so I'm throwing him a Pirate-themed DESSERT island party. I have got to stop tooting my own horn - but I am so proud of myself coming up with that! I'm not the creative type so I have to pat myself on the back for the few moments of creativity I do have. I'm going to attempt to bake and decorate a pirate ship cake and serve little desserts and candies for everyone. Maybe decorate the house like a desert island? Not really sure yet what I'm going to do. I'm just trying really hard not to spend tons of money!

Anyway, that's all that's going on in Alex's little universe. As for mommy and daddy - well, where to begin? We co-hosted a shower for Candace and Kyle this weekend which was a lot of fun! There were about 20 people at our house and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. Justin built a trellis over half the back deck and then built a bench along the rail of the other half - it makes it 100 times nicer out there. Everyone was enjoying the great weather and there were kids playing on the front lawn. It made me really happy. It also made me start badgering everyone else to start having kids!!! I've turned into one of those people - oh no!

This weekend we are hosting my sister and her family so they can attend the Alex and Vivi extravaganza! I'm so excited to see them. And I know Michelle is going to be beside herself when she sees the munchkins! So - there's the cleaning and preparing associated with house guests not to mention the party itself that I'm helping to plan. Thankfully it's going to be relatively small. I don't think I could handle big parties three weeks in a row!

The next weekend is the Pirate party for Alex - and then I think I can catch my breath. Maybe? I don't have my calendar in front of me so I'm guessing I'm done with the month of crazy. Let's hope at least! I do need to start planning a baby shower for my best friend Sandy, though! I can't believe she's in her third trimester already! Little Lenzi is going to be here before we know it. I'm so excited!!!

So, as you can see - we've been pretty busy this past month. I'm in awe that Justin completed the deck additions in, essentially, six hours (with some help from Stewart). And we only had to pay for materials which he gets at a discount anyway. It's pretty nice to be married to a builder!

I'm taking the day off from work on Thursday for Alex's one year doctor's appointment and I'm debating doing something fun with him. Maybe go to a park for a walk? Not really sure yet what I plan to do. But I promise him and myself that I will not use the day to clean the house! A person only turns one once.

Easter Egg Hunt

Alex went to his first Easter egg hunt this past weekend at Nana and Papa's house and it was adorable and entertaining. There were five babies there - all under a year old and they were hilarious as they just sat in the grass chewing or shaking the eggs scattered around them! Viviana and Maddie were there and we got to meet two new babies - Dylan and Mia! All of the babies were so cute and sweet - it was almost too much!

Pictures:

I need to get some pictures of Mia and Dylan as well.......

In other news - Alex was quite "upset" when other babies were in the Cozy Coupe at Nana and Papa's. He screamed when Maddie was in it and tried to climb in with her. Not even a year old and already spoiled rotten! Of course, he's also entering the toddler years, so what can I really expect?

Speaking of toddlers, he was bitten by other babies not once but twice on Tuesday. Apparently I have the tastiest child of them all! I told him he needed to grow some teeth to protect himself - he's still a little "Gums" Watkins. It kind of makes him look like a little old man ;)

Justin built an awesome trellis over half of our back deck yesterday - I need to take pictures to show everyone his handy work. I think our house is becoming his guinea pig for things he's never done before - not that I mind. It always turns out well. Plus, since he did it himself, he only had to pay for materials - which he gets a discount on anyway. Sweet!

That's about all for now. I've been really busy trying to plan showers, birthday parties and choreograph some dances for the studio. Phew. Whirlwind spring!

Monthly updates?

If I could just create a 30 hour day, then I could go for 24 hours straight and sleep the extra 6 without losing any time! Then I would update this blog more often. Actually, I would probably find other things to do first. Bad bad bad.


Anyway, things are pretty good around the ol' Watkins abode. Alex is suffering through an ear infection, though. He developed a pretty high fever on Wednesday at day care and I raced up to Canton to pick him up, but it was too late to take him to the doctor so I got the fever down and put him to bed. The fever was up to 104.2! Bath and Motrin! But he didn't act like his fever was that high. He was a little sleepy acting and not as hyper as he normally is, but he was definitely more interested in playing than being held. I think he's pretty much back to normal now that he's been getting some antibiotics, but we kept him home today as well, just to be sure.


Let's see, what else has been happening? Justin and I have both been incredibly busy with work. I've actually been bringing work home for the past two weeks! I've never had to do that before. I know real estate is down in our office, but my boss has kept me super busy and another attorney has been really leaning on me to draft estate documents and set up corporations so my plate is pretty full at the office. Justin has been working late almost every night for about two weeks - which is a great thing for his business. But it sucks when he gets home after I've put Alex to bed. I think he gets a little depressed those nights because he doesn't get to play with the munchkin.


In other news, I'm trying to plan oodles of parties and showers which might be contributing to the above-mentioned busyness. We're throwing Kyle and Candace a shower at our house April 18 and then Alex and Viviana's first birthday party is going to be April 25 (I have done nothing for this party either - Yikes!). I'm also going to attempt to have another, larger party for Alex the first weekend in May so more family can celebrate with him. And then I'm trying to throw a shower for Sandy in early June. Not to mention dance competitions, dance pictures, choreography and costumes! I'm pretty thin right now - in time, not in body ;)



I'm excited about next weekend because Sandra and Doug are having an Easter egg hunt for all the kids and I think its going to be hilarious with all those babies stumbling around! I can't wait! Courtney is bringing Viviana and Jennifer and Maddie will be there. Poor Alex - all those girls!



I think that's really all I have to update right now. Oh - I do have Alex's nine month pictures I can upload. He wasn't feeling well in these pictures, but he's still adorable!

That's all for today. I promise to make every attempt to update before April 27!!!!

Lots and Lots

It's been really busy around here lately - sorry about not keeping up with the posts.

Last weekend we went to St. Simons Island for Jason and Renee's wedding - it was beautiful and fun and just a great weekend. Except for the fact that Alex just does not do well with traveling. He rides in the car well he just does not sleep when he's away from home. Pretty understandable - but he was up every hour screaming! I had to walk around the King & Prince resort in my pajamas and socks for an hour at 3:00 in the morning to calm him down! I was exhausted! But overall it was a great trip and we all had a lot of fun! We also stopped in Augusta on our way down (out of the way, really). Alex had not seen his great-grandpa and boomudley (great grandmother) for awhile so we wanted them to visit since we were traveling all over Georgia anyway. It was really nice to see them and Aunt Kathryn and Alex was in a great mood. He was also showing his mischeivious side for them and they loved it!

Alex is also being moved into the next class at his school. They will be transitioning him over the next two weeks and then he'll officially be in the First Steps room. I don't think I'm ready! I want my munchkin to stay in the infant room. I'm not ready for him to be with the "big" babies! It's kind of exciting too, though. Even if I'm not emotionally ready for him to be waking yet - he's on his merry way. He has started to walk his push toys around the room and he's also started to balance while standing. Phew - they grow sooooo fast!!!!

I'm sure there are tons of other things to post but I don't really have too much time at the moment. I'll get more pictures and videos up as soon as I have a breathing minute. I need to be choreographing my little heart out for the studio right now, though, so it may be awhile - sorry!

Haircut!

I finally did it - I chopped my hair off! Now Alex has only a little bit of hair to pull on. I'll appease him by wearing earrings and necklaces.
Oh - and when I picked him up today he waved to me and mouthed mama. He never makes any mmm-sounds - he's a dadadada kid. But the fact that he mouthed mama and waved at me made my heart melt on the spot. How is it these little boogers are able to do that?
Anyway - here I am:




And this is what happens when Alex stays home with daddy:


He has no clothes on and is dirty - definitely not something that would happen on my watch - but he's happy so I can't complain.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

9 Month Check-up

Well, Alex had his nine month well check-up on Monday and everything is great. He's 29.25 inches long and weighs an ounce under 21 pounds. The crawling has really done a number on his chunkiness because he's actually lost weight - he's kind of skinny now :(

Everything else checked out great as well. He's eating the right amount, nursing the right amount, developmentally is on schedule, drinks out of his sippy cup (but prefers just a regular cup) and is overall right where he is supposed to be. It's kind of funny how much value you put into what the pediatrician says. They are your guru! I guess its because parents are made to feel like idiots these days. There's a book for everything, "specialists" tell you how to raise your child and so does every person with an opinion. It's really hard to tune out everything and listen to your instincts - probably the quietest voice of them all. I've noticed that I'm becoming more confident in motherhood - but I still find myself unsure things, like how to play with him. How sad that I've lost the ability to just get on the floor and play without being self conscious of what I'm doing. Has it really been that long since I was a kid?

In other news, the economy sucks. That is all.

Videos!

I have finally stopped being so lazy and downloaded videos of Alex from my cell phone. These are completely random and not of the best quality - but they're better than nothing.....

They're also pretty old as you will see - Alex is a much smaller munchkin in most of these....

That's all for today. They are taking forever to upload and I need to go to bed. Stay tuned for more..........

On another note, today was Inauguration day. It's strange that today was the first time in a very long time that I have felt patriotic. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican and I did not vote for Obama (or McCain for that matter), but I felt really proud to be part of a country that could so peacefully transfer power from one person to another. And let's face it, there was also a transfer of ideologies today. It's pretty powerful to be able to witness that. And to see how many people braved the wintry cold of Washington D.C. in order to be a part of that history was astounding. I'm so happy that this country appears to be coming together and becoming one nation again. I don't care who is in charge as long as they're aren't divisive. I hate that. So, congratulations America on becoming a cohesive entity again. Congratulations Barack Obama on fulfilling your potential. And congratulations to all of the politicians today for showing class and respect. I can honestly say that all of this "(and my uncles giant ball of twine) makes me, Tara Watkins, proud to be an American" (if you get this reference I will give you money - in the form of a hug because I have no money to give anyone!).