Taft had another Milestone

Taft seems to be crossing milestone in pairs lately. Within the last month he has rolled over for the 1st time and since then he has been rolling like crazy...BUT the coolest milestone to me is that he has officially cut his first tooth. He is soon to cut the next tooth right beside it. For those who don't know tooth numbers he cut his lower right central, and for those who do it is tooth #P. # O is soon to follow suit I believe. He has been so good, but I definitely think that it explains his little bouts of crankiness lately. I can't believe how fun his is getting. Can't wait until Christmas when we will get to get most of the babies together if not all.

Deja Vu

No it is not just the name of some bottled water. It is what we are living with now that Ike has come aboard the Texas coast. We are all too familiar with hurricanes unfortunately, but you can never really prepare for the idea of being out of power for about a month. Eric stayed behind this time and he rode out the storm in our house all by himself. The dreams I had last night while my husband experienced a CAT 3 storm by himself were wild. He is ok, our home is okay and so we once again feel very fortunate to have been blessed once again with only the headache of evacuating and being out of our home for a while. I am told that the power companies think it will be a month before there is power restored, but I am thinking that they say some of that so that when it only takes them 2-3 weeks you are super excited with them. I don't know if that is true or not, but that is the assumption that I am going with and hoping for. Our home and property did well, and we hope the same for our friends and neighbors. Well, I won't bore anyone with my frustration, gratitude or other thoughts on hurricanes, but I am ready for the fall and for this season to end.

wake me up when september ends....

I am sure that if you live on the Gulf Coast you all feel the same way I do. The song with this phrase in it doesn't have the same meaning, but that was exactly the broken record in my head as I spent a lot longer in line at the bank trying to pay my house note. It was also what came to mind when I was in Wal Mart exchanging some diapers that Taft had outgrown and there were more than a boat load of people buzzing around with excitement from the upcoming storm and the holiday. The great news is...it looks like we are in the clear from Gustav, but apparently we are watching the Atlantic for couple of more potentials. I am aware that I chose to live in an area that is very vulnerable for the risk of hurricanes, but please just wake me up when September ends...at least the peak will be over and we can all rest a little easier and begin to fill up our freezers again! Happy returning to all our friends who evacuated...for me and Taft we are camping out in Dallas until our nephew/cousin is born on Wed. Be safe Daddy (Eric). We already miss you.

Stories now....Pictures Later

So, yesterday was Taft's 4 month check up with Dr. Worley. He is apparently not having any problems in the growth area as he weighs in at 16 lbs. & 10 oz. He is also now 26.5 inches long. He is getting to be lots of fun. On the 23rd of August he rolled over for the first time at Grandma & Grandpa Simpson's house while I was running to town to return a movie rental and Daddy was laid up in bed after his surgery. He is now rolling over pretty regularly and steady. I have created a little play area for him in the living room with some toys and he sure enjoys it, but you eventually get to hear the frustration of a baby trying to discover his new world. No one could have made me grasp the idea & excitement of watching your own child learn and discover life. Taft is grabbing at things including my hair and necklaces (I don't wear these very often). He has a rattle that he loves and it is just perfect for his hands to grab and it is not obnoxious when it rattles. He is starting to get more vocal and loves to stand up in your lap if you are holding him. He is also learning to fight sleep. For some strange reason just in the last few days he has had a hard time getting settled in for his afternoon siesta. I think he may have just gotten over stimulated. Yesterday Taft & I also got to see a very special friend of ours that I haven't seen since January. Dr. McCardell (one of my bosses) was diagnosed with a malignant, aggressive brain tumor early January and I haven't seen him since. He is a wonderful man, a great dentist and I have missed seeing him at the office. His daughter in law Tina brought him to Casa Ole in Beaumont yesterday so Taft & I met them and a whole host of people for lunch. He looks great and I will post a pic of him with some others later. Doc got to hold him and snuggle him for a while and I think it was neat to see him in that realm. Doc is a very generous and kind man and I am so thankful that we got to visit him for a few minutes yesterday. And lastly....some of the best news ever! Taft spent his first night in his own crib...he went to sleep at 8:30, woke up for a tide me over feeding at 10:40 and went right back to sleep until 7:30! YEAAA!!! I couldn't believe it. I probably woke up to check on him about 3 or 4 times, but he was very content in his own space! So here is to a more restful sleep without my kid kicking me in the throat, the chest and the gut!

I am not sure...

if I should be thankful that I haven't had a second to really sit down and blog. Two Thursdays ago I accompanied Eric to the ENT's office to check out a deviated septum and see what would need to be done to correct it. Because our insurance deductible is renewing Sept. 1st & we are so close after having Taft and his NICU stay we felt like if they could squeeze us in that this would be the best time to have the surgery from a finacial point. Well, Dr. Jordan accomodated us quite nicely and Eric got not only his septum corrected but his tonsils out as well. Apparently they were chronically infected...NOT GOOD. So, for the last week I have been a nurse, a mom, a hygienist, and today I am a crazy. Or at least I felt like that while Taft was being cranky and unwilling to fall asleep. However, I almost positive that after some personal and good conversations with some of my patients today that I am okay with Taft being cranky as long as he is here with me and Eric needing some extra attention as well as long as he is here with me, too. I cannot think of anything else that is more worthy of my attention than the two best men in my life. Here's to a little faster recovery and Taft getting off the monitor!

Are you ready for some Football?

If you are bored and need some good entertainment...come to our house and watch some quality comedy as the youth and sometimes the leaders head up a game of mud football. It is super fun to watch and it is free. The kids are coming frequently which is fine by us. We are glad to have them and feel fortunate that our house is deemed "cool enough" for now that the youth hang out here even if we aren't home. So get your tickets while they last and while they are free! Hope the youth play for a long long time!

The Fan

The Game in Action

The Team

We Don't call him BINKY MAN for nothing...

Taft can do things with his binky that I wouldn't have thought possible. The other night Eric & I were talking & I decided to check on "boy" as we sometimes call him. This is what I found....mind you the binky started out in his mouth when we laid him down....