Days Go By

It seems like the last several weeks have gone by in a big blur. We've been pretty busy around here, each of us doing our own things. Hopefully things will begin to slow down pretty soon, when Shelbye's winter vacation & Dave's stand down starts Friday. Let's see if I can fit all the events of the last few weeks into one blog!

Thanksgiving was pretty great. Dad was in charge of the turkey this year, so he started cooking early in the morning & brought it over at about lunch time. I was running horribly late (imagine that, right? LOL) & hadn't even started the rest of dinner. So he & Dave got the first taste of the turkey. (I was totally fine with them being the guinea pigs, by the way :D) Dad was on his way up to north Georgia for a hunting trip with the cousins, so he was out the door before we knew it. Then we got down to business. Dinner consisted of Dad's turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (thanks to Ms. Nancy & Dave lol), & the most awesome green bean casserole ever (thanks to Paula Dean)! Even though Dad totally missed out, Mike didn't. LOL

A Star Is Born

Shelbye had her third grade play Thursday night. She was Speaker 5 in "Let's Go America!" She stumbled a bit with her lines, but she kept right on going, which is the important part. She did wonderfully. Our star got to pick dinner that night, so she was treated to Wendy's.

One little monkey jumping on the bed..

Chase ate his first solid food last week! I know, I know. Typically a child isn't supposed to have solid food until around six months or so. Chase, however, is far from typical. Ever since he weaned himself from nursing & started solely drinking formula, the boy is HUNGRY! He was about 9 weeks old when we noticed just how much this kid can pack away. He would drink a 6 ounce bottle of formula & a few minutes later want more. I thought there was no way he could still be hungry, so I went through the list of what else could be wrong. After changing him, making sure he was dry or cool, rocking him, playing with him, everything I could think of, there was nothing left but hungry. Sure enough, he drank another 6 ounces. After a few days of this, even the 12 ounces wasn't enough! We started adding a little baby cereal in with his last night time feeding & voila! Not only was he full, the boy started sleeping through the night!

Ahhh.. Sleep. I remember you, my old friend. Oh, how you've been missed!

Week before last I got a jar of baby bananas while at the grocery. This became the night's entertainment. We put him in his bouncy, strapped a bib on him, & went to town. Chase *l o v e s* his 'nanners. He can put them away like nobody's business.

I'm a firm believer that your child will tell you when he's ready for the next step, & Chase was definitely ready for food. He gets a half of a container of bananas twice a day. This week we added in apples & pears. It's hard to believe my little porker is the same tiny thing that wore preemie clothes until he was two months old!

Beep Beep, Honk Honk!

This is Chase's new favorite game. Beep beep on the nose, honk honk on the chin & he becomes a giggling fool! It's amazing. He's just started to show us his smile in the recent weeks, but it never fails to bring a huge smile to our faces too.

Another weekend is winding down. Amazing how the week will drag on, but weekends fly by. There always seems to be so much that needs to be done that gets stuffed into a weekend. Maybe that's why. Saturday was a good day in this house. Georgia won. That's pretty much all it takes. Even Dave is starting to get into the games. Last weekend when Georgia lost, well, that was not a good Saturday. Stupid Florida. Whatever. If Matthew Stafford hadn't hurt his elbow, we'd have so kicked their butts. Punks.

Shelbye spent the weekend at her Nanny's. She came home & told us all about her exciting weekend. She went to the fair & a festival. I realized when she got home tonight that our house had been just a little too quiet while she was gone. I'm glad to have the noise back.

She got a heck of a welcome when she walked in the door. Boomer tackled her & had us all laughing. It must sound odd that we're all really stoked about this, but it shows that Boomer's feeling A LOT better. She's *almost* over whatever she got while she was in the shelter. Poor baby.

Chase was really happy to have his Sissy home too. He started cooing as soon as he heard her hollering outside.

Dave & I definitely enjoyed a nice, quiet weekend. Now back to the grind & getting everything prepared for me to be out of commission Friday.

And it begins..

The latest in the exciting world of us..


Things are going surprisingly well, all things considered. Dave is adjusting well to being home, & the rest of us are getting used to him being home. Sleep deprivation aside, things are pretty darn good.

Shelbye got A-B Honor Roll again. This isn't the first time, but we still act as if it is. We're pretty stoked. She struck up a deal with us: if she makes A Honor Roll next 9 weeks, she gets low country boil from Lucky Dawgs. I'm not above bribing my child. :)



Chase has taken to Dave like a duck to water. You'd think Dave had never left. He's giving lots of smiles, although I can never seem to catch a picture of it. He's cooing quite a bit. It's adorable, really. It never fails to bring a smile to our faces. He loves to talk to Shelbye most, of course. He's finally decided his swing is not the enemy, & has even taken his love for it so far that that's the only place he'll sleep. At this point, we don't really care where he sleeps, as long as he sleeps. He's started sleeping for pretty good chunks of time here lately, which we're all thankful for.

The kids had a pretty good Halloween. They enjoyed their presents from Aunt Kristy & Grandma & Grandpa Gladden. Shelbye was a witch (& looked pretty cute in the costume I made her, if I do say so myself) & Chase was a mummy. Or a mummyish baby. Or a baby wearing a shirt (& matching socks!) with a mummy on it. Either way, he was the cutest thing ever. Shelbye made out pretty good with the candy. She fared well with the exception of a guy dressed in a Jason mask, holding a running chainsaw scaring the daylights out of her at the first house we stopped at. Bless her heart, the poor kid wouldn't get out of the Jeep for the rest of the night!





We had quite a scare with Boomer over the last few weeks. She's been pretty sick, but she's almost over it, thank goodness. Coon is still being Coon, prowling the nieghborhood & coming home only to eat, sleep, & get a little lovin'. We had a new addition wander into the carport two weeks ago. A tiny little bobtailed kitten that resembles what Frankenstien would look like if he were a cat. She has long hair, short hair, & everything in between. She has stripes, spots, & is about five different colors. We needed another animal like a hole in the head, but I didn't have the heart to turn her away. So now we have the Roxy cat. She & Boomer have become best buddies, much to our surprise. Coon.. Well, Coon could probably stand to be the only animal in the house.

With Dave in offcrew, Halloween passed, & the weather cooling off, we're definitely looking forward to some down time, maybe a little fishing, just in time to gear up for the holidays.