Another Year Has Gone By...

As the song says, "another year has gone by"...and quickly at that. This year was such an awesome year for us. I made it through a fairly easy pregnancy, Erik survived my hormones, and I did not let my gestational diabetes get the best of me. Erik was a trooper and stayed with me the whole time, even when I asked him to tape off a trillion horizontal stripes in Mills' nursery, he never complained, not once, well...maybe to my face anyway. We managed to have an awesome lower than average summer, which was nice, because everyone kept saying..."ugh, you have to go through the hot summer." It wasn't bad at all. I spent many days laying on a float, on my belly, in the pool, and boy did I enjoy it. Laying on my left side for 9 months was not fun, so the pool was a big relief. I survived an unwanted, but necessary C-section, and extremely fussy and tummy troubled baby who had his days and nights mixed up for 3 weeks, a hydronephrosis scare, and sadness from not being able to nurse, but hey, I tried and tried for 8 weeks, and God did not make me a "human dairy," and that's that. We are now coping with reflux and eczema, and our little one's congestion is FINALLY gone, thanks to our wonderful pediatrician and two rounds of antibiotics. Mills is sleeping through the night now, and so I am finally getting some sleep at night. I consider it to be sleeping through the night when I put him down, go to sleep and my alarm clock wakes me up before he does. We are surviving and are extremely blessed.

This year, we also experienced the joy of becoming an aunt and uncle, to Miss Lainey, and welcomed many new babies into the world. The church nursery is full, and birthday parties are sure to be a blast. What a blessing! Being pregnant at the same time as your friends is such a fun experience. We made it through it didn't we Rachel? I thought for a minute, Dr. N would have to change his exterior sign from "Dentist" to "Fertility Clinic." There was definitely something in the water in Munford.

This was the first time in years we had not been to East Tennessee, and so I'm planning a beach trip for the summer, and a trip to "God's Country" in the fall. I figure that those will be fairly easy trips to take with a baby, no itinerary and no schedule. We'll just do as we please! I look forward to playing in the sand with our Mills, and showing him the beauty of the mountains. I know he'll be too young to understand and appreciate any of it, but at least its a start.


Time is flying quickly, and our baby boy is growing by the minute. I can't believe he is 4 1/2 months old, is rolling over, scooting, and has started eating his rice and veggies. We've thrown in a little fruit too and he loves it! Those precious little lips are the cutest when they're covered in squash or applesauce! He is precious, and to me, he's the most perfect and most beautiful little boy in the world. I know that every mom on the face of the earth thinks that about their children, and I think that's how it should be.


As we enter into 2010, we ask for your prayers for God's blessings to be upon us as we strive to carry out our commitment made to God, to be Godly parents. We ask for any advice you have, and will take each and every bit of advice to heart, as this is a huge responsibility. We ask for your prayers as we attempt to be Super Mom & Dad-ha!, and hope that God will bless each of you and your families. Much Love...and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Baby = Trial & Error Results....

Just FYI, the little man slept until 5:45am. I did "baby boot camp" (let him cry) for 15 minutes, before realizing he had done a stinky...oops! LOL So, after a diaper change and bottle, he is having a little R & R in his swing. I'll take that! ;)

Baby = Trial & Error

Routine and schedule...that's what we've been on for quite sometime now. At first, when our Mills slept all day and stayed awake all night, we were just desperate to get some sleep at night, so he had an extremely late bed time that allowed us to at least get a LITTLE sleep. Over time, his bedtime has dwindled down to an earlier hour. Going back to work when he was 6 weeks old actually helped tremendously. It put our lives back to normal. We were just doing "whatever" during the day when I was at home, and so I think it mixed things up a bit. Now, Monday through Thursdays are strictly routine. Fridays through Sundays are still very routine and on schedule, but at least I get to spend all day with our sweet baby boy. Regardless, after five o'clock, its the same old thing, every day.

When I come home from work, Mills has a round of prevacid. We usually let it "sit" for about 30 minutes while he watches the television. Then, he has a vegetable, and a bottle, and then we do bath time while listening to bible songs. After bath time, I read a bible story to him, and we say a prayer, just before going back downstairs for tummy time (or just lay there and roll all over the place time-ha!) He is scooting all over the place, and loves laying in the floor. This is our bonding time with him and we have a ball. We've been doing all of this in a time span from 5-9:30, but for the past two nights, he has gotten extremely fussy and has started rubbing his eyes around 8:00.

Tonight, we did our bath at 7:00, and gave him a bottle and put him down at 8:00, just after he fussed and rubbed his eyes. I am wondering if he is just getting tired earlier. Any of you have any thoughts? If our little guy makes it through the night tonight, and earlier bedtime it will be! :)

Christmas Day

We started our morning with breakfast at Dad's and then exchanged gifts. It is so hard to take pictures, video, and tend to a baby all at once, so next year I will get Erik to man-handle one of the three. ha! Mills received TONS of toys, most of which were great for learning his abc's, 123's, colors, and shapes. They should keep him busy for a while!
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Next, we headed to Nana's house for lunch and presents. We had chicken and dressing, ham, green beans, and potatoes. Yummy! After lunch, we exchanged gifts, and Mills hit the jackpot, yet again. Nana got him a jumparoo, which should be great since our little one loves to bounce! He also got a puppy dog that we can warm or freeze if he gets to feeling a little puny, a savings bond :), and a few books that his mommy had picked out for him. I have been searching for
books that have won the Caldecott Medal, and so Nana got him, Goodnight Moon, Knuffle Bunny, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. We will start reading them soon. Santa also came there too, and he got a few more books and some goodies.

Looking at his puppy

Poor little guy was already "tuckered out"

Loving his Jumparoo!

We then headed home for a nap, then we were on to our last stop of the day. The Beasleys always go to Mama & Daddy B's for supper, and present them with their gifts. Mills slept most of the time we were there, but then woke up ready to go!

Christmas Morning

A year ago, on Christmas Day, you may remember this post, in which we shared the news that we were going to be parents to our family & friends. A year ago, here we are, parents to the most wonderful little boy that could have ever been sent to us. He is our joy, and this Christmas we have had a ball.


I have been saying all year, that since Mills would only be 4 months old on Christmas, we would "skip" Santa, and wait until he's old enough to know better, BUT...this mama couldn't help it. I felt like I was depriving him and myself of a wonderful first Christmas experience, so I called Santa and told him to please stop by, because Mills has been a very good boy ;) He always comes anyway for our Joey, so I had to remind him to leave a few things for Mills too. Erik and I really had fun with it, and were very excited! He brought a few fun things for our little one, and Mills had a lot of fun! Next year, will be amazing!
Mills received a handful of things from Santa: an exersaucer, a new outfit, a GIANT sock monkey, a Ming-Ming duck, and a busy ball popper. We will be giving the ball popper to Lainey, because when Santa bought it, he didn't realize it was pink and purple. Santa left a note saying that a "boy" ball popper would be sent to replace it. He can't use it until he starts sitting up anyway, so he shouldn't miss it.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we started with the first of many stops at Gammy & Pop's house for lunch. Erik was lucky enough to be off during Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year, but he won't be so lucky on the next. He will be working Christmas day, but I am hoping that we can pull a few strings so that he can stay home a few minutes later and see our Mills when Santa comes. This year has been so much fun! Mills received lots of WONDERFUL gifts from everyone. I am going to have to add a wing to our house for all of his new gizmos, gadgets, and toys.


Here at Gammy & Pop's he received a cool activity mat, which he really needed since he loves laying on his back and playing. This will give him something to play with while he's in the floor, and it keeps him from rolling all over the living room. He also received the original sock monkey. I have really been wanting one for him, but haven't been able to find one without ordering it online. To add, Mills also got some pretty neat books, and a cool Tennessee jack-in-the-box, that plays Rocky Top when it's cranked. I have never seen one before, so it was a real surprise!

Later that night, we headed to our usual stop at the Mama & Daddy B's house. Every year they host the Mills' Christmas gathering. It is a good time to see everyone that we don't get to see during the year. We always eat "finger-foods" and just visit awhile. This year there are 4 new babies added to the family, and two of the four were there. Mills got to meet his new cousin, Leah Grace, who is 6 months older than him. I have been looking forward to this Christmas when we could have all of the babies there, but unfortunately the picture I wanted to take of the four, was not taken, because only 2 of the 4 babies were present, but here is Leah Grace & Mills...

Chrismtas with the Babies 2009

Last night, my best friends were here for Christmas. I cooked supper, we ate, and talked, and played and played. Roll call...Stephanie, Bo, & Nash, Lynette, Rives, & Brynlee, and Katy, Landon & Colton, along with our family, had a wonderful time.

REMEMBER THIS?

Well, it now looks like THIS....

Take II

Ever try getting a picture with 4 wiggling babies and four husbands trying to take the pictures?

We had the best time. It was so great to see everyone and meet all of the babies. Mill sure has alot of friends! Steph & Bo are in Cordova, while Lynette & Rives are in Halls. Then our dear Katy & Landon have moved all the way to Houston, TX. So, this was a rare event. I hope we can make this a Christmas tradition. We even got a picture of the daddys with their babies...

MORE PICS TO COME, but until then...have a wonderful Christmas Eve today, and remember Santa is still watching you!

Solid Foods

Today while at Mills' appointment, Dr. O gave us the go ahead for solid foods. He is only 4 months old, but since he has reflux, Dr. Owen said that giving him "real food" may help and that it would be a good idea to go ahead start teaching him how to eat. I was thrilled of course, because I've been waiting on the day that we could give it a try. Outcome....SUCCESS! Tonight, our Mills had squash for the first time. Afterwards, I gave him a bottle, and burped him. For the first time in weeks, our Mills burped perfectly, and DIDN"T SPIT UP! Here are some pictures and a video of tonight's milestone.

Getting strapped in his highchair for the first time

Mills' first bite of squash

He's looking at me wondering what is going on...

The happy baby!

Here are a couple of videos of our little eater. They will give you an idea of just how congested he became on Wednesday :(. **You may scroll to the bottom of the post box and hit the pause button to turn off the Christmas tunes, if you wish.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

4 month check up and SANTA!

Today we went for Mills' 4 month checkup and shots. Our little man did great! He weighed in at 13lbs. 9oz. and is 25" long. He has been extremely congested for a while now, and we've used more saline than Walmart can carry. On Tuesday, it got worse, and so thankfully we had his doctor's appointment today. Dr. O agreed that our little man was miserable and put him on an antibiotic. I couldn't be more happy. I am ready to get rid of stuff. It makes us so sad to see him struggling to breathe when he takes his bottle. Last night, I woke up to the dog snoring and Mills' snotty nose. Although, our little man did sleep from 9:00pm-5:00am without waking. I gave him a bottle at 5, and then slept until 7:30...just in time to wake up, change clothes, and get to Memphis. Mills also has a little bit of eczema, and so we are stocked up on Eucerin and Aquaphor, and the prevacid he is on is "helping" a little bit. So, it looks like a pharmacy in Mills' diaper bag now. He is taking all of his "issues" so well, and we are thankful for that. The spit-up is more of a mess than anything, and his stuffiness only bothers him when he eats. Hopefully the antibiotic will work wonders, so we ask for your prayers. Poor little guy, we feel so bad for him, but he is a very happy baby whose smile melts our hearts.



After his appointment, we took him to see Santa. He did so good. He did smile, but we weren't able to catch it on camera. I think I heard Mills say that he wants an exersaucer, so we'll see what Santa brings next week ;)

Our Little Sleepy Head

Last night after I put Mills down, I did a few things around the house and finally got in bed around 10:00. Erik so graciously offered to "tend" to the baby and feed him during the night if he should wake, so that I could get some MUCH NEEDED sleep! So, I took him up on his offer. When my alarm clock went off this morning, I sat up, got out of bed, only to realize that I had not gotten up all night, and neither had E. I reached for the monitor and our little Mills was still asleep. I turned the volume up just to make sure that he was breathing! LOL I couldn't hear him, so I quietly opened the door. We sleep in the loft upstairs on the otherside of the wall with a video monitor, and the air return is right beside us and the door to his nursery. It wakes him if it comes on so I keep the door closed. As I walked over to his crib, there he is, sleeping soundly. I could hear his sweet little breaths, and so I turned around, tip-toed out and closed the door, leaving he and his daddy to rest. WOW! I think I've been outsmarted! If E hadn't offered to tend to the baby, I would have probably been up 1000 times last night. Maybe I should tell him he can take charge again tonight. I can only wish, but after taking advice from a wonderful pediatrician friend of ours, we know that he can sleep all night now and so its time to start letting him cry if he wakes in the middle of the night. Boot camp has begun! Wish us luck...maybe we won't need it!

Mills Visits the Urologist

Today, I took Mills to the pediatric urologist. I have not mentioned this before, but at my 20 week ultrasound, the ultrasound tech thought that she saw a little bit of dilation in his kidneys. Mills was moving around so much that she couldn't get a good view of them, so just for a recheck, another ultrasound was performed at 28weeks gestation. It was confirmed that Mills' kidneys were a bit dilated, but it was VERY minimal. Of course I was a little worried, but when I talked to my OB, Dr. Stern, he assured me that this was a very common condition in male babies, and that his son had it. "It went away as soon as he tee-teed the first time outside the womb," he told me. He wasn't at all concerned about us seeing a specialist and told us that we should not be worried about it, but we could just watch it to see if it would eventually go away. He told us that most of the time when it is as minimal as Mills', babies will just outgrow it. This condition, "hydronephrosis," is the swelling of the kidneys due to back up of urine flow. Dr. S also said to tell our pediatrician about it so that we could have an ultrasound done after Mills' birth, just for a re-check. At 36 weeks gestation, another ultrasound was performed, and it was then when we saw that his right kidney had completely gone normal (yay!), and the left one still had a tiny bit of "fullness." The ultrasound tech told us that it wasn't much at all, and that everything was working just as it should. She also told us that he would be just fine and not to worry. So, I haven't at all been overly concerned about it. Mills is functioning just fine, believe me he tee-tees quite well! LOL In October, Dr. Owen, our pediatrician wanted us to go to Methodist G'town, for another check to see if the hydronephrosis was still present after birth. So, we went for another ultrasound. Mills did great! He was so funny, he just layed there as the tech put that warm gel on him and scanned his kidneys. He even smiled at her while she was doing it. She detected a small amount of dilation in his left kidney still, and the right one was still normal. She too told us that everything looked great and that they see this all of the time, but most babies have worse cases of it. "I would say that Mills' barely has hydro,"she told us. "I'm sure he'll eventually outgrow it." So after the results were sent back to our pediatrician, he wanted us to see a pediatric urologist just to make sure that the hydronephrosis, was "just" hydronephrosis and not being caused by PUV- posterior urethral valves. Our visit today was great. I was very impressed. Mills did wonderful during the ultrasound. It was confirmed that he still has a tiny bit of dilation, but even less than the last ultrasound. He told me that he had less than 1cm of back up and that he was not at all concerned. He doesn't even want to see Mills again until he is a year old. I could tell that he didn't think it was a "big deal," and that's exactly what I wanted! :) So, we will return to him next August for a follow up ultrasound, unless I suspect a problem, and if the hydro is the same or better, or if it is completely gone, he will be released from the urologist! So, we are very happy about our good report!!!

Last Night's "Funny"

Erik and I did a little cleaning after supper last night. I was mopping, so he offered to go ahead and give Mills a bath for me before story time and tummy time. Its always nice to have a helping hand. Usually. we both give him a bath, but since I was a little busy, it was nice of him to offer that extra help to make our routine easier. Mills LOVES his bath. We always expect to have a wall dripping with soap and water, wet floor, and well, we also get a bath during this time too. He flips and flops so much, and we usually get drenched, but we just let him do it. At least he doesn't scream his head off.

During bath time, we listen to Bible songs. Most of them are pretty familiar songs that you and I learned growing up. I think its good for him and am trying to teach him early. As I was downstairs I heard Mills go from 0-60 in 2 seconds flat. I thought, what in the world is wrong with him? He never does that during bath time. If anything, you can stick him in his tub when he's upset and it makes him happy again. So, I stopped and listened. Erik was giggling a bit, so I had to go up and see what all of the commotion was about. They were listening to a song about Jonah and the Whale. Erik was talking to Mills about this big fish, and as soon as he said "whale." Mills looked at him, poked his lip out, and started screaming, but immediately calmed down after Erik started rinsing him. When I asked what had happened. Erik said, "Well, I just told him about the "whale" and (Mills starts screaming again) he started screaming. Every time Erik would say it, he cried. We don't know what scared him about the word w-h-a-l-e, but he didn't like it! "Maybe I should skip that story," I told E.

In the book of Jonah, God tells Jonah to go to the evil nation of Nineveh, and preach repentance, but Jonah had other ideas, and ran the other way, hopped a boat, and tried to hide from God. So, God brought a big storm to the sea, and as Jonah's ship was sinking he was swallowed by a big fish. (Jonah 1:17). Jonah sat in the whale's belly for 3 days, but spent this time in prayer, thanking God for saving him. He realizes the miracle God has affected to save him and is truly grateful. This story teaches us about obedience, willingness of spirt, and God's patience and mercy. Maybe this will teach our Mills to be obedient! :) That poor ole' whale scared him half to death.

The Rolling Saga Continues...

Last night, I placed Mills down for tummy time. He did great until I took him off of his mat. He decided that he just didn't feel like doing it again. So, I layed him down on his back and he rolled from side to side as fast as he could go, but the poor fella just couldn't make it over.
Tonight, Mom asked me to come out and help her get her tree down from the attic. So, after picking Mills up from Mimi June's, we rushed home grabbed a bottle and diaper bag, let Joey potty, and off we went for a quick tree recovery. We put Mills in his bouncy and kept him busy with the TV until we could start putting it together. I then decided to take him out and lay him in the floor. As I was finishing the top of the tree, I looked over and our little guy was on his tummy, swimming like a fish. And yet again...I missed it! Then he decided he would just roll around everywhere. Was he not born just yesterday? Where is the time going? Am I ready for this "mobile" thing?

Rollin Rollin Rollin, Part II

Well, he finally did it on his own. Mills rolled over. If you will remember, a few months ago, he was on his tummy mat, and rolled right off of it onto his back, of course it was a fluke, but he did it nonetheless. Last night, during our routine tummy time. I took him off of his tummy time mat, layed him flat on his belly, reached for the video camera (just to get some footage), and it was too late. He had already leaned over and BAM! He's on his back, looking at me like, "Oh, and thats how that works!" How could I have so inconveniently missed that? I mean, the camera was in my hand, and I missed it, because I was so shocked. Oh well, maybe I'll be so lucky to catch another milestone in the future.

The Anniversary of a Happy Day

A year ago today, (well...actually tomorrow, but I will say today, because it was Sunday, and the tour of homes was "going on.") Erik and I had been to church, had eaten lunch at the CC, and had come home for the afternoon to rest and do whatever we wanted. Erik had decided to go and see "Daddy B" that afternoon, and I stayed home so that I could get a few scrubs washed for work the next day. Our Sunday school class had been working really hard on our Christmas parade float out at the Rose's, and I was supposed to be there at 4:00 that afternoon, to help finalize things. So, I had about 3 hours to get much needed things done around the house. Erik left around 2:00 and headed to Main St. to visit his granddad. I was resting on the couch when he left, and my mind started to wander. I thought, hmmm, just for fun and giggles, I'm going to take a "test." It was 2 days early, but I thought, "hey, with todays advancement in "tests" I will just take one." Hey, I was bored! What can I say? lol And the fact that I had one test in the bathroom, just sitting in a box, was even more tempting. I didn't have any symptoms, and just knew that I was wasting a beloved EPT! But like I said, I was bored. So, as soon as I saw Erik's truck leave, I headed for the bathroom, and what do you know...I couldn't "go!" hehe. So, I just sat it down, and went back in the living room to wait on my laudry to finish. About 30 minutes later, I finally felt the "urge." So, I made a second attempt. As I sat the test down, I watched it, and as I was watching, it was like slow motion...that little line, so slowly and faintly changed from - to +.

I thought, oh my goodness, am I seeing things? So, a little "freaked out." I kept watching it and thought, do I really see what I think I see? I was overwhelmed and didn't know what do to do. I ran to the front door, and looked out. There were tons of cars in front of my house, because my neighbor was participating in the tour of home. As I looked to my right, Kate's van was outside. I thought, "do I run over there like a mad-woman and get her to look at my test?" But I couldn't because Erik was not at home and I just wasn't convinced that I had really seen a plus sign. So, I got the bright idea to leave at 3:15, head to Kroger hoping that I would see no one I knew, and get a couple more tests. I said that I would NOT be the crazy person that would take more than one test, but I did. I went and bought the two most expensive, but different tests on the market. My thoughts were, that if I got a positive on all 3, which were different, then I couldn't be wrong. So, on my way to the Rose's, I made a detour through Kroger and bought the digital one that would say "yes" or "no," and the other digital would say "not pregnant" or "pregnant." I grabbed my bag, headed out the door, looked up, and here comes Kate. I looked like "deer caught in the headlights, she knew what I was doing, I just kept walking and said, "I'll see you in a few minutes." So, I just threw them in my car, and went to finish our float. My thoughts were to take the tests when I got home that evening and that is what I did.

As we were working, my mind was going crazy. The next thing I know, Erik is pulling up. I'm thinking oh my goodness, do I have news for you! But, I couldn't say anything, because I wanted no one to know before him. Luckily when we left to go home, he had to make a detour for gas. So, this gave me the opportunity to get home as fast as I could and take the other 2 tests before he got home. After a result of +, yes, and pregnant, I managed to freak out again, get the tests wrapped and under the tree before E got home. He pulled in the driveway seconds after I had put them under the tree. I couldn't stand it, but I calmly looked at him when he walked in the door and said, "Oh, I have a little something I want you to go ahead and open before Christmas." So, I went and pulled the small package from under the tree and handed it to him. He opened it, and dropped two out of three tests, but bent down to pick them up and looked at them. He looked at me and said, "Does this mean we are?" I said, "Evidently, with 3 positives, I think we are!" He smiled, hugged me, and said, "So when do we find out what it is?" LOL We were very excited, because we thought that Christmas Day would be the best time to "tell" our family and friends. What a wonderful gift to them! So, a year later here we are with this...
Our sweet Mills Oliver. Today, I will be going to the tour of homes, and he will be going with me!