Hello 9 Months!

Wow!  Wow!  9 Months and counting.  .  .  as I cuddled with my little guy tonight before he went to bed, all I could think about was how big he was getting.  I know the bigger he gets he will not want me to cuddle with him and give him lots of kisses.  That thought really makes me sad.  Before I know it, I will be planning his 1st birthday party.  The milestones are coming way too quickly for me.

So here is the 9 month breakdown:

• 5 teeth
• Crawling 
• Attempting to pull up on everything
• Loves to crawl over and dog-pile you 
• Eating a huge variety of food including lasagna (his new favorite)
• Lots of "chatting" (mamamama, dadadada, babababa)
• Still loves to be outside more than anywhere else .  .  .

Played so hard he fell asleep yet again in the exersaucer

Loving the new pool!

Required a little bit of a break from the water

And back in!

I promise he does not wear a hat all the time, but I think he is pretty stinkin' cute anyway!

Little Lobsters

Every spring, we in the Cousin's household like to partake in a little crawfish fun.  We have now officially hosted a Louisiana themed party four years now.  We have learned many things over the past two years and will hopefully continue the tradition.

The first year we scheduled our party for early April; ended in snowy coldness.  Not so fun.  The second year (late April) there was a torrential down-pour.  Not so fun.  The third year (early May) = PERFECT weather.  SO MUCH FUN!  And this year did not disappoint.  We had to move the date back this year because of tons of other stuff going on, but it was a great way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend.  Another addition this year - Cajun names.  I highly recommend a name change for such fantastic events.

Moral of the story, later spring is the best time of the year to enjoy little lobsters!

Some of the goodies needed to produce awesomeness!

Leroy and I (Alexandrine) enjoying the day

One of the many rounds of crawfish goodness

Jake enjoying the day

*Attempted to upload a pic specifically of the little lobsters and had no luck.

Where has the time gone . . .

Recently, "time" has been dedicated to school.  April is the busiest month of the year in the school year; especially in special education.  Luckily for me, the year is winding down and I have to say I am not sad about it.  Teachers and kids alike are ready for the year to end.

Besides school, I have been trying to invest as much time as possible into Liam.  I cannot believe how quickly he is growing.  I say it every month, but I honestly do not know how eight months have come and gone.  Liam has been in and out of the doctor's office lately for ear infections and most recently for pink eye.  However, with all of those doctor's visits, we get updated weight and height information.  So his current eight month stats are as follows:

Weight : 18.1 lbs
Height: 27"
Head Circumference: 18.3"

One of these days I hope to have more time to actually do a little more virtual catch up.  Until then, enjoy the photos!

Putting It in Writing

Weeks have gone by and pounds have come off, but I have really lack the motivation to take off the final 7lbs or so that I need to.  To be completely honest, I have about 9 lbs that I should loose.  .   .  With that being said, I am putting this in writing.  I am hoping that once this is "out" on the world wide web, I will have no choice but to suck it up and do it.  So this is it.  It is on.  Anyone else with me?

• The plan: start the original Weight W.atchers Points program (I tried the new WW program and was really not happy with the results otherwise known as the lack of results)
• Official start date: 4/19/11
• Official starting weight:  (not sure I am really ready to share this info :-)

I will be waiting a couple of weeks before I bring in exercise. I re-tweaked my knee this weekend, so it needs to rest a little first-- that's another story.

Skiing Fun and Wedding Bliss

Taos was AMAZING!!!!  The snow, not so much, but we still had a blast.  Thanks to the Highams for putting up with us for the week.  We had a great time skiing and eating glorious, glorious New Mexican food.  It is absolutely fabulous. If you have never been there, the food and scenery make the trip totally worth it.  The hardest part of the trip for me was being away from my baby for 6 nights!!  Luckily, my mom and dad were willing to bring Liam up a day early so that I could at least see him sleeping in his crib when we got home.

Mommy Tip #2: Don't leave your baby for more than a day or two if you don't have to; you will miss them TERRIBLY!!!!

My brother-in-law recently got married as well.  Hence:

Mommy Tip #3: If you want to enjoy any wedding festivities, you need to find a reliable babysitter to stay with the baby in the evening.

Liam is like a clock.  If you get off schedule, he certainly lets you know it.  None the less, the ceremony appeared beautiful from the outside looking in.  Liam and I got to see the bride walk in and then promptly had to go out to the foyer.  Coincidentally, my nephew Carson also could not make it too far in the ceremony.  Needless to say, Tara (my SIL) and I got to view the wedding from the "cheap seats."

Taos Bound Baby!!

Well, tomorrow anyway .  .  .

I totally have mixed emotions about it.  Liam is currently on his way to his Gigi and Papaw's house.  I have never been away from him for more than a night.  I don't how well I am going to handle this situation.  We have not been skiing in a couple of years and I am exited about it, but my baby will be SO far away.  He will be in good hands, but not seeing him might be torture!

I should be packing.  I absolutely HATE packing.  It is really not that bad once I make myself get going, but I dread having to take everything out that was neatly stored away.  I am excited about the trip, just not the packing (or the drive really).

Guess I should get busy!  Happy St. Patty's day ya'll!

6 Month Stats

Head : 94th percentile

Height: 42nd percentile

Weight: 48th percentile

Liam continues to top the charts with his massive head, but appears to be average with height and weight.  While we were there, we found out he had an ear infection and he officially started an antibiotic.   I wonder, how in the world did we miss that?  No fussiness, fever, pulling on his ears, etc. Much to my surprise, my MIL claims that Chris had a busted eardrum as a kid before she knew anything about his ear infection.  Awesome, it sounds like I am going to need an ear scope for the future.

In related news, I think I am going to start posting my "New Mommy Tips."  As I look back, I think, uh probably should have done things a little differently.  So here we go:

• Mommy Tip #1:
• Don't lean in too close when baby has a rattle; he will hit you in the face.  .  . (luckily this did not happen to me, but I did watch it happen to my FIL this morning in the middle of church.)