We wish you a Merry Christmas....

What a wonderful first Christmas for Wyatt!

Wyatt was such a good boy all year and Santa came to visit! I think mommy was way more excited than Daddy because she could hardly sleep!

I woke up around 6:45 on Christmas morning. It was like I was a kid again and I ran to the window to see how the weather turned out....it was magical...a WHITE CHRISTMAS! I have never had a white Christmas and Wyatt gets one on his first!

We had so much fun looking through what Santa brought. Wyatt was so thrilled over his....TOOTHBRUSH. He is crazy about that thing and the way it tickles his gums. He also enjoys the singing it does too. We have plenty of toys to keep us entertained for a while.

We got to celebrate Christmas with Lala on Wednesday afternoon with Dance Star Mickey and some good food!

Christmas Morning we had breakfast with Zachs family. Fun was had by all with the traditional Christmas money game. I am 2 for 3! (I had to work last year)


We hope that you had a Blessed Christmas

Catching Up...

We have been very busy around the King household.

The most important news: Wyatt is doing GREAT! We had a check-up last week and he is weighing in at 18.8! That is huge for him. Dr. G was very happy to report that he is in the 25% and not in the less than 5%!! Yeah for Wyatt!! He continues to be very active and into everything! He is pulling up and trying to stand on his own in the middle of the room. He hasn't really got that good...yet! He has 8 teeth and is working on his 9th which is a molar. Maybe he will be ready to chew some steak! He is saying "E" all of the time. It is so cute!

We have been decorating for Christmas this last week and boy has it been an adventure!! Wyatt is really loving the lights and ornaments and really wanting to chew on them! Zach and I bought our first real tree last night. We worked so hard to get it straight in the stand. I then took about 1 hour to put lights on it. Probably another hour to decorate it. By this time I was exhausted. I took a relaxing bath and cuddled up with my fleece blanket for a good nights rest! YEAH RIGHT...the tree came crashing down...lights all over the place and ornaments scattered! Zach isn't digging this whole real tree thing. If you get to see my tree, pay no attention to the broken branches that have created major gaps. Its all about the memories.

Well we will try to do better with blogging...

Happy Halloween!

Its Fall in Oxford...

Run Erica Run...

Get Ready. Get Set. GO!

That is how I have felt for the last two days...its been one big rat race.

Wednesday, Wyatt and I set out for Memphis to have pictures made as well as meet with a clinical nutritionist, round two.

Photographs: So cute, can't wait for you to see them. Of course Allison Rodgers continues to wow me with her amazing talent. We should get proofs on Oct. 14.

LeBonheur: Well, lets hope this is our first and last visit to this hospital. After a few pulled strings by a co-worker at Baptist, we were able to be worked in early. It was a much better experience. She was very helpful and gave me several tips on increasing Wy's calories. We will give it a whirl.

We spent the night with Lala wed night and had a lot of fun trying to trap the darn armadillos. I am saving this story for its own post. It is quiet comical to me and very distressing for lala, they are tearing her yard up!

Thursday, we had an appointment with Dr. G. This is the monthly weight check for Wy. She was a little disappointed that the little man didn't increase in weight over the last week. Last Wednesday, we had a sick appointment and he had gained from 15.12 to 16.9. She was thrilled when she saw this. This week he only weighed 16.7. We had a major set back on Friday because he was so congested that he would not even suck his passi much less his bottle. Wy does have his first ear infection on the right side and is taking antibiotics for the first time. By the way, cheers to fastenal's insurance company, I only had to pay $0.68 for his antibiotic! Amazing!
We have had this constant rattle in his throat area from day 1. It has really concerned me periodically but the drs I talk to dont seem to be concerned. While in Dr. G's office today, she finally heard the rattle. She sent us for a KUB(stomach xray), a chest x ray and a barium swallow study. The good news is that everything checked out just fine. His lungs are clear and his swallow/stomach is all working properly. The bad news is, we still have no clue to why this child hates to eat!

After the visit with Dr. P in the Diagnostic center, we flew back to Oxford so I could learn to sew...I made it 45 min late.

Hold on to your seat, you wont believe what I made....

:)

Everyone loves a little "happy" every now and again.

My super sweet hubby brought me this happy to work.

He won major points with my co-workers and really made my day! He is the best!

Sick Baby Boy

Tuesday night, La La came by for a quick visit. Wy was so tickled to see her. He laughed and had the best time. She stayed long enough to feed him and give him his nightly bath. Then I put him down. It wasn't an hour later and he was wide awake with a snotty nose! He started running fever in the middle of the night and that gave him a quick ticket to my bed! We were up every hour trying to get comfortable and get his fever down. The next morning, we headed to Memphis to see Dr. G. She checked him out and told me he had a head cold and there was really nothing we could do. Poor guy!! We headed home to tend to the cold. It has not been fun!

Of course, the cold has made its way around the King household. We have lots of Vicks, steamy showers, and tissue going around here. Hopefully my little guy will start feeling better soon...like TODAY! We are a little sick of the head congestion, boogies and fussiness.

I must say we are very blessed that he has made it 8.5 months without being sick. I don't know how parents manage that have sick kids all of the time! It makes me a very nervous mommy.

On the Go!

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Wyatt is really on the move these days.

We have to keep a close eye on him because we never know where he will disappear too.

It football time in Oxford!

This past weekend, we had a couple friends over to watch the Ole Miss football game. We had lots of fun visiting with friends and cheering for our Rebels.

Zach thought it would be super fun to give Wyatt a mohawk.....he is pretty cute, even with all the food on his face!

Wyatt is getting on to Jack for all of this State talk...

Powe in the making.....if he will eat maybe!

Gaining Weight..

...we hope!

After the quick email update you are probably wondering how Wyatt is doing. Z and I are driving ourselves crazy forcing food/milk down this baby. I just don't understand how he doesn't enjoy his milk! He is getting a combination of breast milk as well as formula. He really doesn't like either one. He drinks two ounces and then he doesn't want anymore, you really have to work with him. For infants that are eating as much baby food as W is, the Dr. suggest 22-26 oz. of milk. We are almost there...NOT! Wyatt drank 14 today. So with all of this said, I am asking that you specifically pray for an increased milk intake while maintaining the same amount of food. We are really trying to offer him fatty foods. It isn't going so well...he really likes veggies which don't have a ton of calories. I slaved over the stove today and made him homemade macaroni and cheese. You would have thought I was feeding him the most terrible thing ever. He wasn't a fan.

So you can keep a track on our prayer needs and progress I am going to keep you posted on his intake.

Sept 6, 2010:
14 ounces milk
1 ounces of mango, pineapple, carrot juice
4 tubs of baby food
1 serving of Yobaby
half biscuit
10 bites of potato
5 bits of cool whip
1ml Poly-vi-sol vitamin
1 ml Vitamin D drops

Where does time go?

We are still here, believe it or not.

Wyatt is keeping us so busy and I have not had time to blog. He is growing big, sitting up and cutting teeth.

He still loves to eat and hates to drink milk. Wow! If this kid isn't taking years off my life. My favorite thing happens to be Wy's favorite thing...YOBABY! Thank goodness for it. It gives me comfort in knowing he is getting some calories! He can eat it all day long. I have been making the drive to Memphis weekly to buy it at the Super Target in Cordova. It is the only place between Memphis and Destin that has the 3 in 1 meals.

I have really kept Wyatt from sitting up by not letting him just play around on the ground. It just makes me nervous with all the germs on the ground that I might bring home. So for the past week I have really let Wyatt play all over the floor and we have been working on sitting up and crawling. He is doing GREAT! He is sitting up and balancing with his hands. He is scooting all over the place! You have to really watch him.

Don't worry about this boy not having any teeth. He has three that you can see when he smiles and one that is just coming thru. We have a total of 2 on top and 2 on the bottom! Everything goes straight to the mouth with lots of drool!!

Jumping Waves

Wyatt has now seen and enjoyed the beach for his first time! He seems to really love it. Of course he loves to stare at the waves and is amazed by the colors. The sand is questionable for him....although he was mad when I moved his bumbo seat from the sand to a towel. He wanted to rake his little hand thru it some more.

Today, we took him into the waves and he had a ball. He was just squealing!! Although we are only spending a short time on the beach each day, we are having a very relaxing time and enjoying some great seafood!

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BEACH!

The King's are Destin bound this week! This is what we like to call a last minute trip...any suggestions on condos to rent that are not crazy busy? Open to any suggestions! :)

Baby Can Read...

this is some serious bonding time between Wy and Jack! They are going to be best buds!

Learning about new foods....

When I was first pregnant with Wyatt, I was looking at all the recipes you can use to make baby food. I got so excited about it and knew that I would want to make Wy's food. Well the day has come way to quick and I am making baby food. I purchased a babycook and it is the greatest thing ever! You can steam and puree the food all in the same container...even better, it is dishwasher safe!

Little mans first taste of real food was green beans. The best part about it was that they came straight from Granny Smiths (my moms mom) garden. Wy was not to sure about them at first. The texture is what got him. It is not like the rice cereal he has been eating for a month! A week or so later, he loves them! he even does the ummm noise when he eats them!

Freedom Feet

Lemongrass Spa, my side hobby, has launched the FREEDOM FEET offer!

For those of you who are not aware of Lemongrass Spa, it is an all natural body care line. I got involved with the line when I was just pampering myself while I was pregnant! I am a huge fan and those that have tried it really like it too!

We're delighted to offer you an opportunity to change the lives of female soldiers serving in uniform. Just imagine a day like today. 90 degrees, wearing a uniform, and tall lace up boots. What would make this day a little better? A lemongrass foot soak!

Kit includes a 4 oz jar of Cucumber Foot Soak, 4 oz jar of Cucumber Foot Scrub and a 4 oz jar of Cucumber Foot Crème with patriotic labels! This kit is gift-wrapped in a darling red and white striped bag-box with decorative bow. Each kit cost $24 dollars and this includes shipping to our soldiers.

To purchase, contact me or go directly to my webpage www.ourlemongrassspa.com/erica

Only for a good laugh

Happy Father's Day!

Happy 1st Father's day to my wonderful husband! Many of you have already witnessed what an amazing father Zach is to Wyatt! From day 1, he jumped right in and stated changing diapers, feeding, bathing and loving Wy! When you get married and are thinking about how life will be with kids, you think your husband will be a good daddy. Zach has gone way beyond this "good" and makes me so proud. I know that I would never make it without him. Zach and Wyatt already have precious memories and I know there are so many more in the future! Some of their favorite times together include early morning feedings and nightly baths! Zach has given Wy 90% of his baths and he does so good....Wyatt smiles and loves every minute of it!

Thanks Zach for being such a WONDERFUL father!

Bluebird, bluebird

At the end of summer last year, Zach was at Lowes and felt the need to buy a birdhouse. I argued with him about it because I was not a bird watcher, for that is a sign of age. I use to think my Dad and Jim had lost their minds because the loved to watch birds. Well, Zach won and we are proud owners of a birdhouse. It is strategicly placed on the fence. So strategic, in fact, I dont even have to move when I take a seat at my designated place on the couch. Back in March, Zach and I started seeing multiple bluebirds flying around the backyard and perching on the fence. It wasn't long after that I discovered there was a nest of eggs! I was so thrilled. I watched these birds so much that I began to pick up on their behaviors. It is such a love story! :) Mommy bird tends to babies and when she pokes her head out the house, daddy bird goes off to hunt some worms. He sits and waits all day for this on the street sign! We are now on our second group of baby bluebirds. This time we had five eggs. I am not sure if they all hatched out or not. I know there are 3 for sure! They should be flying soon. Wouldn't it be great if it happens on Fathers Day?

WOW!

Such a shame...almost sinful...I have not blogged in MONTHS!I do apologize. My computer has been on the Fritz...How do I even catch you up? Well, we are going to have to go back in time.

Wyatt is now 5 months old. Over the past few months, we have had a lot of changes.

Wyatt was having serious stomach issues..for two whole weeks! He made me a nervous WRECK! I mean seriously, even the Doctors at work were coming into patients room asking me about him and his green poop! I had no clue what was going on. It was a mystery to me and my pediatrician. He had no other issues with it. He was not fussy, he had no fever, he just had yucky poo. She called me probably three times about this. She recommended that I go ahead and start cereal....CEREAL WHAT? That is what I was thinking. We jumped right into that mess on Saturday May 8th and it was more than an experience! Little man loved it!

We went to the Doctor for his 4 month check-up(May 11, 2010) and his stool was back to normal. She was clueless. He obviously had not gained all that much weight because he wasn't even absorbing the food. So that sent me right into phase two of worrying myself to death! Dr. G checked Wy for teeth and said she thought he would be getting teeth in the next month or two. She said his gums were a tad bit swollen but nothing huge. The next day, Wy pulled my finger into his mouth and bit down...this is when I discovered, not only did he have one tooth, he had TWO! Shame on me, I didn't even know my poor guy was teething, they just appeared! No oragel, no teething ring, no Tylenol and not even one lick of ice cream!

Month Four in a nutshell...we are eating cereal and we have two teeth!!!

What were you doing at 4 am?

Crazy question I know.  You were more than likely sleeping.  My little man is normally sleeping but the last two nights he has really thrown me for a loop.  When I am sleeping so sound and I hear that first whine my first thought is "ugh dont breath, maybe he will go back asleep"!  Well that has not been the case.  As I THROW myself out of bed, I promise I am not smiling.  Go ahead and tell me I am a bad mom and one day I will treasure the moments I was up at night with Wy.  Right now, I would rather be asleep with everyone else in the normal slumber.

Last night my camera was in an arms reach when Wy was smiling and laughing.  I hope you enjoy!

(He normally does not sleep in Polo but he did last night!  :)

Sip and See

A couple weekends ago, my wonderful cousins hosted a sip and see for Wyatt.  It was held at Rhonda's home, which she had perfectly decorated.  From the food to the company, it couldn't have been a better day! Wyatt did so good for all of his guest.  He was wide awake a majority of the day and didn't fuss at all. 

Everything was PERFECT and it was so nice to introduce Wyatt to my family and friends.  I am so thankful for a wonderful family and don't know that I could ever express how much I appreciate them coming from North Carolina and Georgia to share the day! 

A New Way to Nap...

It's official, Wyatt can now roll from his belly to back and his back to belly. I put him down for his nap a few minutes ago and when I went in to check on him, I found him like this...

 He is just like his momma and has found it is much more comfortable to sleep on his belly.   If a precious baby sleeping on his belly with his booty in the air doesn't melt you heart, well, you are just strange! 

Oh my Hands

Hands, Hands, Hands, and what they are good for.

Allowing my mommy and daddy to sleep some more

Simply by sucking on a finger or two.

Especially when crying isn’t enough of a clue.

March 30th is when it began

For the camera, mommy ran.

One day I will wave hi,

Shake your hand when telling you bye.

Hold a special girls hand

Even wear a wedding band.

But for now, I keep doing what I do

The number of days this will be okay.. they are very few.

Daddy will say “you will have teeth like bugs bunny”

Mommy shouts, “keep your dirty hands out of your mouth honey”.

Today it is pretty darn cute,

The suckling noise is such a hoot.

Just wait until I find those 10 toes

And pull them all the way to my nose!

Back to Life...

...Back to Reality..

Seriously?

Why Me?

Well folks, it is O-V-E-R.  Maternity leave that is.

I so enjoyed it while it lasted but I have one question...WHERE DID IT GO.  There is absolutly no possible way that I have been off for 8 weeks and that my sweet boy is 9 weeks old now.  Time flies when you are having fun. 

I did learn a few things about this thing we refer to as "maternity leave".  The most important thing I have learned is that you should take off a few weeks before you baby is suppose to come.  I mean really, who cares if you work up to your due date.  I did and I have not had one person pat me on the back.  The only thing I had was a extra long recovery from both work and delievery.  Looking back, I imagine I would have been better off if I had taken atleast one week off.  I could have been resting and being pampered.  Instead, i worked my tail off...well not really off according to my co-worker.  He insisted that I have lost 80 lbs since I delievered this baby.  Thanks for the compliment dude but I didn't even gain half of his so called 80 lbs.  I must have been really large, in charge and miserable looking!  :)

So my fellow expecting mothers....take it from me and relax, relax, relax...

The second thing I have learned, if you can avoid it at all cost, do not fool yourself. Just say you are going to be off for atleast 8 weeks from day 1.  I can't imagine going back any earlier!  ;)  Next time I am taking 12 weeks off.  I am not having another baby until I have enough PTO saved.  MARK MY WORD!  ::okay, don't mark it, It will jinx me::

Work is well, its work.  I am enjoying my time back.  It is always fun to work 13.5 hour days when you have a newborn at home...NOT.  I do, I really do, love my job.  It is just an adjustment!

beep.  beep.  beep.  beep.....back to the IV pumps I go on Monday.

2 Months Old

Can you tell we have perfected the "Serious" look?  It is amazing how time flies and I can't believe my little man is 2 months old!  He has grown so much and is changing everyday.  He is getting the "social smile" down and does it mostly when the camera is as far away as possible!  He has amazing head control and we are already sitting in the bumbo every now and then. 

Back to work I go on Wednesday.  Whew, say a quick prayer for me....I know I can do this but I can't lie and say I want to.  :)  Okay, okay, I kinda do look forward to getting back into the routine again.  I will keep you updated. 

My first stroll

Zach and I took advantage of the wonderful weather and took wyatt for his first stroll.  He loved it!

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The Hand Jive

Not really the hand jive, but you know...HANDS!

We are approaching the exciting times of growth development! Ugh, I really didn't like this part of nursing school. Now with Wyatt around, things have changed. It is a tad bit more interesting. I wish I remember the exact months they should reach milestones.

From1-3 months, Wyatt should be developing hand eye coordination. He just realized he had hands a few weeks ago and has been so amused by them. He quickly swats at things that get close to his face and plays with his fingers all of the time. It is so sweet. ::I know only the mother thinks this is adorable. Most of you can understand and if not, you soon will::

Tonight is the first night that Wyatt has actually interacted with his play mat. I about did a back flip when he started playing with the toys by swatting at them. It was amazing! ha. I got a quick picture of him and I think he might be a lefty.

6 Week Check Up

Last friday, I took Wyatt to a new pediatrician for his check up. She was great and was very impressed with our little guy. When the doctor looked at Wyatts measurements, she said hmm, I think I will measure him again. If he is 23 inches long, he is a giant. She did measure him again and he was 22 and 3/4 inches. He gets it honestly! He is weighinig a whole 9lb 80unces. Everything looked great with him and we go back in a few weeks for his dreaded shots!

A whole lotta lovin'

We hope you enjoy your day with the ones you love...

Happy 1 Month, Wy!

As long as it took 2 weeks to creep by while I was pregnant, Wy's first month sure has flown right by. I really think I blinked and it was one month. Who am I trying to kid? In one month, I have thrown myself out of the bed in the middle of the night to feed my little man approximately 90 times. That makes it seem like an eternity...one that was worth every single minute!

We spent the little guys first month birthday in Memphis with Lala. He got to experience his first snow and had a birthday bottle that he loved every ounce!