Ally-Gator Girl

Addy Starting to Sit Up!

2012-01-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

The amazing baby continues to, well, amaze me (for lack of a better word)! I was playing with her this morning on her play gym and put her in a sitting position. As soon as I sat her down, she leaned forward and put her hands out, stabilizing herself. I let go of her, but kept my hands close to her thighs just in case she started to tip. Interestingly enough, she didn't fall! She just sat there and smiled :) Of course we have a long way to go until she does the real deal (and certainly enjoy the idea of her waiting awhile), but I think it is amazing that she has so much coordination!

Here's a video that I caught of her doing it this evening. She is wearing a sleep sack, so you can't see her legs real well ... I will try for a better shot of it tomorrow.

Addy's Blessing

2012-01-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Addy was blessed on 1/15/2012. It was such an awesome weekend spent with family. Great Grandma and Grandpa Bateman, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Bateman, flew in for the blessing. Of course by the time that Grandma B (as Skyler likes to call her) got to Florida, I still had not touched the blessing dress that I was going to make Addy. She snapped into action and whipped up this gorgeous heirloom in less than a day! She is such an amazing sewer and we are so amazed at the gorgeous dress that Addy will be able to pass down to her daughter to be blessed in.

Addy was great for the blessing (she was a little fussy, but the cries were nothing compared to what we know she can let out!). She had a lot of family members who came to support her on her special day ... Aunt Patty, Aunt Kat, Rich, Ava, Granmommy and Grandaddy Mitchell, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa B, and Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher! Dad (Brendan) did an amazing blessing. From the blessing, it sounds like she will definitely be involved in mission work and that she will be a shining light and example of the gospel! We are so excited that we are members of the this amazing church and that we have family members that are so supportive of our children :)

Here are some pictures of the beautiful day -

New Pictures

2012-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to the photo studio and had some pictures taken of the cuties at the end of December. We had a VERY hard time with the selection process since there were so many good ones :)

Family Picture - Brendan and I think that our sleep deprivation is pretty apparent in this shot :)

Skyler's Birthday -

Skyler and Addy for Christmas -

Skyler's Halloween -

We finally made it in for the yearly Halloween picture ... I thought I was going to have to skip this year, lol!

Addy -

Addy Rolling Over ... 6 weeks!

2011-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

So during tummy time on Sunday, Addy did a cool new trick ... she rolled over! She did it in the past a few times on our bed, but I never thought she could pull it off on a hard surface. But, clearly she does not want to stay on her tummy :) I caught this trick on camera today ... it was a little tricky since as soon as I put her on her tummy she flipped right over. And I thought Skyler hit milestones early!

When I was reading about milestone timeframes, I read that children with mellow personalities usually hit milestones later, conversely, those with high strung personalities hit them earlier ... Considering Addy's high need/colicky personality, there is no surprise she hit this milestone at 6 weeks!

LICE

2011-12-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

So the other day Skyler woke up in the middle of the night crying and scratching his head. I watched him for a few minutes and then decided to check for lice ... and of course he had it!

So there I was,
at 3 am,
in the local Walmart,
searching for Rid, new combs/brushes, big black trash bags, AND ... a hair trimmer!!!

The day had finally come. We had to cut off Skyler's super cute locks (I have to admit I actually cried)!

Look at all the hair I cut off (and this was right after a hair cut that I gave him on Nov. 25th).

Skyler was really great about the whole thing and once his hair was trimmed it was easy enough to manage his lice. Everyone loves his hair, including him. He looks like such a big boy now :)

Once I had him under control, I started to panic about Addy and all of her gorgeous locks! I called the doctor and was told that I should not let her get it ... why didn't I think of that?!? They did provided some useful information ... keep her lathered in baby oil. This created a pretty neat look for her once we washed it out. Addy has remained lice free ... such a blessing!

Brendan did not have it, but unfortunately I did. So, I decided to call in the big dogs (AKA, Louse Calls)! They were amazing. They checked everyone's hair, treated mine and gave me the confidence I needed to get through this hectic ordeal. I have to say I was also excited to have a priesthood holder in the house who is so willing to pass out those much needed blessings.

So far we have been successful in defeating the lice. We have one room locked up with anything that could carry the lice bugs. One room is dedicated to clean clothing and linens. And we are all sleeping in another room. Hopefully by doing this we will knock out the buggies for good!

Addy Smiling

2011-11-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

So i caught this little princess smiling for the first time on camera ... needless to say it took a lot of video takes and some patience! So Addy's first smile was on 11/21/11 (5 weeks exactly) ... looking at her gummy grin makes my heart melt :)

Smiles are still pretty tough to pull from this critic, but she has shot one to Skyler and the longest smile ever to Brendan.

She's Here !!!

2011-10-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Meet the new Fletcher princess ...

Addyson Christine Fletcher, Born 10/17/2011 at 1320, 8lbs 2oz, 20 inches long.

When you toddler is smarter than you are...

2011-09-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

So the other day Brendan was driving with Skyler. He heard a siren and told Skyler, "look Skyler, a firetruck." As the siren got closer, Skyler looked at it and said, "Actually Daddy, that's an ambulance not a firetruck. It may look like a fire truck and sound like a firetruck, but it's an ambulance."

Baby Shower

2011-09-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

So today the watch dogs let me off the couch and let me attend Addy's baby shower. The shower was sooooo amazing!!! I have to hand it to Patty, Erika, Alicia, Kat, Malinda and my mom for throwing the most amazing shindig!

Alicia was in charge of all of the decorations and did an amazing job. The decorations were gorgeous and matched the damask print theme that I have going on for Addy's room.

The food and drinks were done by Kat, Alicia, Patty and my mom. The food was so good, I had more than just seconds ... I know the doctor will have something to say about that next week when I get off the scale :)

Erika headed up the candy bar and the cupcakes. SO AMAZING. The cupcakes were not only beautifully decorated, but they tasted amazing too!

Of course we received some amazing gifts from our awesome friends. I cannot believe how adorable little girl things are :)

This is just the cutest little baby in the world ... my sister had the privilege of watching her so I got to hold her during the shower :)

Thank you to all who helped throw and who attended this amazing shower!!! It really helped renew my ability to sit still for the next week!!

Amazing Gift!

2011-09-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

So I came home the other day with an amazing gift sitting on my doorstep. I opened the box and was overwhelmed by the handmade blankets, quilt, and sweater. We are blessed to have so many crafty family members. This gift was sent by Uncle Bob and Aunt Collette. I cannot imagine the amount of time it must have taken her to make these beautiful gifts. Addy is so blessed already and she is not even here yet. I can't wait to introduce her to the many family members who already lover her so much!!!

Thank you a million times over Uncle Bob and Aunt Collette!!!!!

Crafting Fever

2011-09-24T16:15:00.001-07:00

So before I was banned to the bed, I was afflicted with a crafting fever. Here are a few of the projects that have been going on in the Fletcher house. There have been many more projects that I will post once I find my other memory card.

Halloween Chargers -

Burp cloth and Taggie Blankie - I made this set for Addy

Burp cloth, taggie blankie, pacifier clip, and drool bandana -
I made this set for Tessa for her new baby, McKinley. Hopefully I will be able to get it to them soon :)

Blocks -
I made this set for Addy for Christmas. Skyler is going to get a sport set with his name on one side and photo puzzles on the other sides. Addy's won't be finished until I acquire some all star photos of her, but at least they are started. This is the last thing I was able to do before I was banned to the bed ... of course I spent all day tuesday working on these (to the neglect of the laundry)! It worked out ok because my mom has come to the rescue and there are no more dirty clothes to speak of in the Fletcher house :)

Bed Rest :(

2011-09-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

I think that all the traveling has finally caught up with me and Addy! When I went to my 35 week appointment, I was told that I am threatening premature labor. I am now on partial bed rest and am super bored! Although I am due on 10/23, it looks like she will be here much sooner! The doctor is hoping we can get to 10/2 ... so we need as many prayers as we can get. Of course after I make it to 10/2, she will probably wait until 10/30 to get here :) We are so grateful for all of our friends and family that are lending their assistance during the next few weeks!!! My mom has come to the laundry rescue ... my least favorite chore (crafting usually takes precedence over this chore). My comedian dad asked my mom if I was really put on bed rest, or if I just wanted someone to clean the house :) I have to admit is nice to be able to take a load off while the house is still being cleaned! Until the big day, I am going to try to catch up on some very delayed blogging.

Football Season is in Session!

2011-09-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

August 2011 - The preseason countdown was on for the impending college football season to start. Both Skyler and Brendan received their pre-season football present (new Gator outfits). We even scored a cute little onesie for Addy.

Pre-season negotiations -
The first three home games = Gainesville.
The rest of the season = tailgating at home.

We took Skyler to the second game of the season, and we had a blast! He was so well behaved and watched the entire game without even needing a break (I see another sports fanatic developing)!!! He also loved watching the band (the band performed a special halftime show in remembrance of September 11th, 2001). Since the game, he has been running around the house singing "We are the boys from old Florida."

Spending time in Gainesville was a ton of fun, but I am so glad we are home and resting!!!

Although he loves the Gators, he is still more loyal to the Rays. I've been trying to convince Skyler to be a Gator Football player for Halloween this year, but he has informed me that he will be a Rays baseball player (for the second year in a row)! I guess the days are gone where I can tell him what he will be :)

Scripture Skit Night!

2011-09-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

The primary had a special scripture skit night and ice cream party for the children since they had been so diligent at bringing their scriptures to church. The Sunbeams acted out Nephi building his boat. Skyler didn't talk at all during the skit (his hands were in his mouth the entire time), but when he got home he made us reenact the whole thing. It was a super cute and fun night!

.

Skyler's First Day of School

2011-09-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

Skyler started his first day of the new school year on September 7, 2011. He is officially in the 3 year old class with Ms. Karen. We went on September 6th to meet the teacher, his new friends and see the new classroom. He was super excited to go to his new class the next morning.

Ms. Karen is an awesome teacher and we have noticed that Skyler has already learned a ton in the last few weeks. We love how much he respects her and can't wait to see him continue to grow in the coming weeks.

Beach Vacations!

2011-08-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

We have been fortunate to enjoy a few beach vacations with Skyler this summer. He is a true Florida boy and loves to build castles and ride the waves.

Jacksonville Beach -
We were very lucky to catch up with Uncle Eric and Shea while we were in Jacksonville. Skyler enjoyed playing soccer with him on the beach and playing with his cell phone.

Skyler loves to build castles with us. Mostly he enjoys the tearing down of our castles, but that's what being 3 is all about, right?! Bren and I competed for the best castle. Unfortunately Skyler voted Brendan the winner because of his bridge ... I think stairs are way more architecturally significant, but that may just be the loser speaking in me :)

Daddy's Castle -

Mommy's Castle -

Fort Myers Beach -
We stayed at a beautiful beachfront hotel in Fort Myers for a few days as well. The views were beautiful and the beach was awesome! We were lucky to be able to snag Brendan away from his work for a few hours to play on the beach. Skyler loved playing soccer and shuffleboard with Brendan. During each of our beach trips this summer I tried to find a sand dollar to bring home and put in Skyler's room as a souvenir (finding a sand dollar has been a desire of mine since I was a little child, but since I hate the murky ocean water, I have never had success). Well, the amazing Brendan found two sand dollars without even breaking a sweat :) While Brendan was working, Skyler and I made tents in the room, went on an adventure walk, played on the playground and even made a trip to the ice cream store ... I'm not sure if the ice cream was for him or Addy, but no matter :)

Road Trip and McDonalds

2011-08-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

So we had a trip the other day where we headed to the East Coast of Florida to see our friends Jessica and KC (who Brendan is also working with). My job was to get packed, pick up Skyler from school, and meet Brendan at work by 3pm so we could beat the traffic. Well while I was packing I tripped over a stool in the closet and hurt my leg pretty bad ... fortunately I was able to contort myself so that the baby didn't get squashed on my way down. This of course set the trip back, causing us to get on the road right during 5 o'clock traffic.

As soon as we got on the interstate, Skyler saw the sign for McDonalds. He screamed from the back seat that he was "so very hungry and wanted a Happy Meal (which sounds more like Hackey Meal when he says it)." We told him that we needed to get out of the traffic and then we would stop. The brilliant child that he is came up with his next line ... "I need to go potty!" Which he commenced shouting over and over again. We told him we would get off at the next exit so he could go potty which brought on Skyler's next sentence, "I need to go potty and I need a Hackey Meal."

Of course when we get to McDonalds he can all of a sudden hold his urgent need to go potty until after he gets his Happy Meal. Oh to be played by our three year old! This little girl has no idea what she is in for with a brother like Skyler :)

I Love You

2011-07-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

Today when I was driving Skyler home from school, we engaged in our typical “I love you,” “No, I love you debate.” This debate eventually ended in Skyler professing his love for several things (see list below). It was soooo cute! The list just went on and on … almost the entire 10 minute drive home from school.
I love my Mommy, my Jack, my Daddy, my baby, Jesus, Heavenly Father, my school, my friends, Patty my Daddy’s car because it’s a boys car, my Mommy’s car because it’s a girls car, my Daddy when he gets me Happy Meals, my mommy when she drives me, my Kat, my Granmommy, Kat, Ava, Rich, my Papa, my Grandma, my house, all the cars, all the traffic lights, all the stop signs, the books my Papa and Grandma got me, my school, Brie, all the houses …

I know there were more, but my brain power just isn’t want it used to be  It’s times like these that I wish I had a video camera at the ready!

Fourth of July

2011-07-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

For the Fourth of July we went to my parents house and had a bbq and fireworks show. Ava and Skyler had a blast playing in the pool. Skyler loved putting off fireworks this year. His favorite firework was the sparkler. Ironically the sparkler was also the firework that burned the bottom of his foot at the end of the night (don't ask about his shoes ... apparently we made a rookie parent mistake).

Another trip to the beach ...

2011-06-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

This time Skyler and I headed to St. Pete beach to visit some good friends, Gabbie, Kayla and Karen. We went paddle boating, built castles, rode the waves and went swimming in the pool. Skyler had a blast and acted like he owned the beach!

Note the chocolate mouth ... he also had plenty of oreos on the beach :)

We're Thinking Pink ...

2011-06-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

June 10th … we took Skyler to our 20 week OB appointment to see pictures of his little sister. He was very patient and the sono tech even gave him a picture of his own to keep. We were so excited to get confirmation that the baby is a girl!!! So, the Fletcher’s are currently thinking pink! We also got to see one of our favorite doctor’s at the practice, Dr. Yaeger.

Actually, we are thinking pink, black and white to be specific. We (and by we, I really mean I) have decided to do a shabby chic themed room with black, white and pink. Needless to say, the crafting bug has caught a hold of me. See future posts for pictures of Addy’s new room adornments.

June 2011 Vacation

2011-06-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

Another post where I will have to keep my fingers crossed that I can find the memory card that has all the pictures that accompany this adventure!

Vacation in Orlando … For our summer vacation this year, we decided to do a “Staycation” in Orlando. We thought it would be nice to get some good family time in before all the “change” in October. Needless to say we had a blast!!! We stayed at a condo resort that had waterslides and putt putt! Skyler was so brave riding the slides by himself!! He made us play mini golf every morning before going to the waterpark … with weather in the 90’s, it was not exactly what I looked forward to!!!

Of course no trip to Orlando would be complete without a trip to see Kayden. Skyler and Kayden played so hard it brought back so many nostalgic memories of them as little boys … I’m playing the pregnant and emotional card for this one. They wrestled, played soccer, went to Sunbeams together, and went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 (I’m not sure how we made it through several days of play without one picture of them playing together). BIG thank you to Adam and Brie for allowing us to crash their place for playtime during their move!

We also made a stop at the Temple (which is always so beautiful). Of course half way around the temple Skyler had to go potty, so we had to rush back to the Stake Center.

Finally, we went to Downtown Disney. We had a blast listening to music and visiting the toy, lego, and Ghirardelli stores.

Happy Anniversary!

2011-06-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

June 7th 2011 … Today we celebrated our 8 years and counting! Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher were in town so we snuck out for a yummy anniversary dinner at the melting pot. I am truly grateful for the last 8 years and couldn’t imagine my life without my wonderful husband!

June 2011

2011-06-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Skyler has finally decided to start pooping on the potty again. Of course this was not without some major bribes (hungry hungry hippos, skates, puzzle, etc.), which is bad I know, but it’s working. Maybe we can get this all sorted out by the time his little sister gets here!!!

May 2011

2011-05-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

May - Vacation at Fort Myers Beach … Brendan had a mediation in Fort Myers in May, so we packed up and went along for the trip (just one night, but totally worth it). Skyler LOVED the beach! My estimate is that he hasn’t been to the beach since he was 20 months old … a downright shame since we are only about an hour away from one! He loved building sand castles and riding the waves. Fortunately for me the weather was still fairly nice outside.

Swimming – So we have basically been living in the swimming pool this summer. This summer has been brutal with temperatures in the mid-upper 90’s ... hot enough as it is, not to mention our humidity. The daily afternoon showers haven’t started yet, so we get in the pool just about every day. I’m glad Skyler is as excited to get in as I am (I’ve just been too hot and uncomfortable to do anything else). We’ve been able to enjoy some great family poolside bbqs as well.

Hopefully when I find my missing memory card, I can update the pics .... 4gb worth of our life is missing :(

Skylerisms

2011-04-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Skyler about the temple … visit in December 2011 to Orlando, FL temple
S -Who’s on top of the temple?
D- Moroni
S – Maronee? He has a trumpet!
S- The temple is Jesus’ house. And Mary’s house.
Skyler got to see the nativity outside of the temple and pointed out Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. He had been learning about the nativity at school and was into Mary being a big part of Jesus’ life.

Skyler about Baptism – March 2011
S -Daddy are we going to a baptism?
D- Yes. Skyler are you getting baptized?
S – No daddy, I’m not 8.

Skyler about the baby – 4/1/2011
S- I’m going to be a big brother! I am going to have a sister. A girl. She is going to play blocks with me. She is going to watch movies with me, and, and, and, and, eat popcorn with me.

Walking into Lowes with Daddy 4/2/2011
S- Carry Me
D – Picked him up, and then said “Now you carry me”
S- No I’m too small to carry you, well I’m bigger. I’m a big boy, but I’m not quite big enough because you are really bigger!
Skyler Eating Breakfast 4/2/2011 –
S- With syrup and food on his face - “Daddy look, I have whiskers like you!”

Mommy and Skyler 4/2/2011
M- I love you
S- I love You
M- I love you
S- I love you
M- I said it first
S- I said it first
M- Stop Copying Me
S- Stop Copying Me
M- I love You
S- I love You
M – I Said it first
S – We said it together.

Skyler about the baby – 4/2/2011
Skyler puts a 3 inch bouncy ball under his shirt …
S – Look mommy I have a baby.
M – You have a baby in your tummy?
S – Yes, It’s a baby sister.
M – Let’s see her.
Skyler pulls out the ball and says “tada.”
M- What’s your baby sister’s name?
S- Addyson. We need blocks.
M – Go take your baby sister to play with blocks then.
S – That’s not a baby mommy.

Check out ClearPlay - Friends and Family Offer

2011-02-21T18:36:00.001-08:00

This is a great deal on an amazing DVD Player ... We have been using it for years! It really does a great job of filtering different levels of language, sexuality, violence, etc.

Check out ClearPlay - Friends and Family Offer

We Are Alive!

2011-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

We are SO sorry it has taken so long to update you guys. We have been so busy with school, work, holidays, and playing with our beautiful toddler. I wanted to take a second to post some of the pictures that were taken at our last photo shoot, Jan 2011 (LONG overdue)! Enjoy ... Hopefully more posts to come soon!!!

Best Song Ever ... Better than Sean Kingston

2010-08-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

Check this out at You Tube ... Love My Baby by Tame

Skyler Swim Update!

2010-06-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

The last day of swim classes came soooo fast this year. Skyler is such a good swimmer and we are so PROUD of him. Here are some videos from today. We will try to get some better footage this weekend. It really is amazing to see.

This is a video of him floating across the pool:

This is a video of him swimming for the stairs:

This is a video of him piecing together his swim/float sequence:

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to top off Brendan's Father's Day with a blog all about him, but then life happened! Better late then never, so here I go!

To Brendan ... A truly AWESOME father!!!

You are the best Daddy, because: (these are not ordered by importance, because every number is as important to making you amazing as the next)

1. You totally shared nighttime feedings (which is a double bonus because you bonded with your son, and while doing so, made a very happy wife).

2. You taught your son all about the "Rays!" We all knew it was coming, but who knew it would be upon us soooo soon. Our soon begging to go to the Ray's Games! Favorite quotes about the Rays :

Skyler sees a cup in the car with the Rays logo on it : "Mommy that's Daddy's cup." "What cup Skyler?" "The Rays cup, it's Daddy's."

Skyler was grumpy and had not taken an appropriate nap. Brendan got free tickets to the baseball game and wanted to take us. Mommy was sure Skyler would not make it through the game, but after some popcorn and peanuts, we made it through the game. As we are walking back to our car at 10pm, Skyler says : "Mommy, I went to the Rays Game." "You did?!" "Yes, I want to go to another one."

3. It is apparent that you guys have a connection through sports, which would come as no surprise to most! Your son knows the names of a football and a baseball. More importantly he knows the difference between the UF Gators and the Rays!

4. You take off work early on occasion to spend special time with Skyler at the park. I know how much he cherishes those moments because he always comes home telling me, "Mommy, I went to the park with Daddy!!! I had nuggets and fries!" Even weeks later, he will randomly tell me.

5. You take Skyler to school in the morning. More then just driving him to school, you take time to talk to him! This will set the stage for many important life conversations in the future.

6. You made it to almost all of his swim lessons (A.M. doctor depos aside), which showed Skyler that he has his father's support. The small cheers by the side of the pool were special to him, which was clear every time he looked up at you from the water.

7. You help me get Skyler going on Sunday mornings before church meetings. And you offer support to us at church, even if you can't sit with us.

8. You are a righteous priesthood holder who has been able to bless our family through the priesthood in soooooo many ways, that it is impossible to count.

9. Because you are a righteous priesthood holder, you have been able to give Skyler blessings, especially when he was soooo sick.

10. You are an AMAZING partner in marriage, which shows Skyler how to be a great husband.

11. You are a perfect example to Skyler on how to be a great father.

12. You work soooo hard every day at your job and in your church calling to provide for our family!

13. You do more then your share of household chores, setting an example for Skyler.

14. You play with Skyler in a way that helps him understand how to be patient! He loves the moments you take to build blocks with him. "I play with Daddy!"

"To The BEST DADDY EVER" ------- Direct quote from Skyler

Talent Show

2010-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Skyler was in the ward primary Talent Show on Friday. After the stellar end of the year play that he did for us, we were sure he would do great riding his tricycle in the talen show. But, his shyness prevailed, and most of his perfomance was spent in a koala bear hug to my hip or like this ...

Summer Has Started

2010-06-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Skyler started swim on Monday, June 7th. He is doing great and re-aquanting his long skinny body with the ISR techniques he learned last year. Here is short bit of him swim/float/swimming. He is a PRO :)

One Down!

2010-04-19T07:28:00.001-07:00

Foundations is over .... A!

Two more to go ... last day - April 30th :)

No Mommy!

2010-04-17T19:08:00.001-07:00

Skyler found No Mommy! For those of you who don't remember, this is the build a bear that Mommy all but forced Skyler to get (what child doesn't want one was the theory behind that purchase)! Today, Skyler picked him up, shook his hand, and said "Hi!" He then proceeded to sit him on the couch and read to him. He read him his numbers book, and even took the bears hand and had him counting out the number of birds in the book! Toddlers are sooo cute :) Maybe this is the beginning of a long standing friendship (that would really make Mommy a hero for her recent, seemingly frivolous, purchase)!

The Stick!

2010-04-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

While we were driving home from my mom's house yesterday, Skyler was being extra special - Brie knows what I am talking about! There was lots of screaming and crying - mostly because Mommy told him that he could not go swimming. When we got to the house, he found an extra large stick in the yard (I'm talking larger then he is stick). I let him take it inside, mostly because I was willing to do anything to get him to stop screaming at me (I know, that's bad!). When Daddy got home, I was still on the phone with Brie and I was not really paying too much attention to the background noises from the living room. All of a sudden, Skyler ran up to me, crying hysterically, with that look of "rescue me Mommy". He then told me that Daddy had taken away his stick. Mommy, kicking it into rescue mode, looked at Brendan and curtly asked him if he had taken my innocent, sweet, little baby's stick. Brendan looked back at me, rolled his eyes, and replied "Yes! After he struck me with it." How the tables had turned. I looked back at Skyler (who looked like he had been caught) and had to remind him that it is not nice to hit people. After our nice talk, Skyler and Daddy went outside and played with the stick the way it was meant to be played with. When Skyler got back inside, he ran over to me and said (very proudly I might add) "Mommy! I played with the stick outside! With DADDY!!!!"

The stick has become a big deal to Skyler. It has never re-entered the house, but everytime we leave the house or let Jack outside, we have to check on it. We are also starting a rather large stick collection by the front door. We are ALL boy in this house!!

I will try to post a picture of Skyler and his new best friend when he wakes up.

Pink ...

2010-04-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, pink finally took over our son's life today!

First, Skyler and Ava had a play date this evening. Kat was prepared with two tutu's and two pairs of heels (after a breakdown by Skyler last time princess dress up took place). This is the pair of them after their make over ... (it's ok because he is wearing a football shirt .... RIGHT?!)

After playing in the mud, both kids got to jump in the pool to clean off. When Patty tried to dry him off with the blue towel, he got upset. She then offered him the red towel ... still no luck. Finally he said, "I want the pink one!" LOL ... we were rolling on the ground.

On the drive home, Skyler informed me that Ava was blue. When I asked him what color he was, he said, "Skyler is pink!" He continued to remind me that he was pink all the way home. It was toooooo cute.

Side story ... On the same drive home, I told Skyler that Mommmy was blue. He seemed to be ok with that. Daddy told Skyler that he was orange, and he was ok with that. When I told Skyler that Patty was purple, he shouted at me, "no, Patty is orange." I had to call Patty and tell her what Skyler thought. Patty, being the purple lover that she is, politely corrected Skyler and told him that she was purple. Skyler shouted over the phone ... "NO! You are ORANGE." After much convincing on his behalf, she finally concurred that she was orange. Skyler shouted for joy about this reply and said "YAY! I did it!" I would LOVE to know what is going on inside of this child's head sometimes :)

At bed time, Skyler brought pink foofa into the bed with him (thank you Brie for the pink stuffed animal)!

All I can say is, it is great to see your child be passionate about something, even if it is pink. He is soooo cute and confident when he gets excited about something that he is passionate about! All this pink talk reminds me of the stories I have heard about Brendan when he was a little boy. I have been told that Brendan's favorite color was pink when he was a toddler ... that is until the first day of Kindergarten (peers can be so cruel)! I know I have said this a million times, but here goes one million and one ... More and More like his father every day!

Amazing Story!

2010-04-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing story that will surely bring tears to your eyes! It is about a father/son team that overcomes obstacles to make an amazing life for themselves. It is a powerful lesson on how WE can make the difference in our own life:) It's worth watching in full ...

Where to draw the line?!

2010-04-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have never been a person that has made a big deal out of Skyler playing with girl things. To support this, Skyler has worn high heels, tutus, princess tiaras, necklaces, pink football jerseys, and has played with plenty of pink stuff - (Ava is a princess and Skyler wants to be just like her). But, last weekend I had to finally draw the line. Skyler was playing with his FAV, Aunt Patty, when he noticed her pretty dangle earrings (mind you he has seen and played with my earrings while on my ears, but nothing like this) when he asked her to put the earrings on his ear! He wanted to wear her pretty earrings and show off how cool they were. I had to draw the line, fearing a heated debate with a teenager about why they thought they should be able to wear earrings - "you let me when I was little, see the pictures!" So as much as I try to remain ambigious about boy/girl toys and clothing, I finally caved with the statement ... "Earrings are for girls Skyler." Sorry Buddy!!!

UPDATE -
Today Skyler picked up my bra and tried to put it on. When he couldn't get it on he said, "Mommy, Help!" Needless to say, Mommy did not help ... Poor little guy!

No More Medicine!

2010-04-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Skyler finished his last day of antibiotics on Saturday evening. To celebrate, Skyler got to pick a piece of candy ... his choice? A heart lollipop that Ava gave him for Valentine's Day. He was sooo proud of his "pop pop" ... lets just hope we can keep the germs away! It usually takes about 2-3 days off of his meds to see the sinus infection creep back in, so keep your fingers crossed for us :)

Banana Who?

2010-04-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

So Skyler has hated bananas since he started eating. He has spit out mushed bananas, banana baby food, banana yogurt, regular bananas, banana nut bread ... basically anything with banana in it (even yummy stawberry banana creations)! BUT ... This weekend, Skyler ate a banana! He wanted the banana he saw at Granmommy's house and we were all hesitant to give it to him (knowing his past track record of getting banana everywhere but his mouth), but we did and boy were we glad to see that the picky eater has picked up some new taste buds. The bad news ... pineapple is now a thing of the past!

Family Motto ...

2010-03-31T09:19:00.001-07:00

I have come to believe that we are living these two family mottos ...

Hopefully TLC and Encore Mystery won't come after me for having such a fun life!

Something is Amiss ...

2010-03-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Here is Skyler having dinner last night ... and yes, that is a pink football jersey and a pink light up heart wand. He would have been a beautiful girl. I find pink to be stunning on him!

The Blind Side

2010-03-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

My most recent assignment in school was to complete a two-three page review for 40 different reference tools. This post is a way for me to let you know about something I love, while also pretending that I am actually doing school work!

Brendan and I saw the Blind Side on his birthday and LOVED it. I loved it so much that I was at the store on the 23rd (its release date) purchasing it!!! We haven't purchased a movie in a long time, so this is a big deal.

This movie is very touching and not for the faint of heart. The movie is based on a real story and has a sort of Cinderella feel to it. The movie tells the story of how a privileged family helps a disadvantaged youth. The assistance that this family provides is heart warming and uplifting. Sandra Bullock (lead actress)takes an extremely disadvantaged and homeless youth (Quinton Aaron) into her home. Sandra Bullock disregards the social risk of allowing a troubled African-American youth move into her home. The movie, while remaining concise, is able to portray the deep thoughts and emotions that the characters (even those that only have a few moments of air time) feel about the peculiar situation that Aaron presents. This movie is uniquely uplifting and leaves you feeling hopeful about the world. Bullock fully deserved her Academy Award for this movie!

I clearly feel everyone should see it at least once :) In my opinion there should be more movies like this.

Cutest Moments :)

2010-03-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

So I would consider night time one of Skyler's cutest moments. I'm not talking about night waking, night stripping (which he is certainly a pro at), or even the part about actually falling asleep (mostly because I think we are part of a Super Nanny show every time I try to put him to sleep). I am talking about the moments in the room, after the door is shut, where Mommy, Daddy, Jack and Skyler get to spend family time together. We usually bring Skyler in the room, let him read, let him "show off" the little things he does so well, and then pray with him. I think Skyler puts all of his cutest moments off until the night time. I am definitely the weakest link when it comes to putting our son to sleep! I am sure that Daddy would testify that Skyler walks all over me during those moments. Here are a few night-time-isms that give examples of these moments:

1. Skyler and Daddy are lying down on the ground in the bedroom. Skyler looks up and points at the fan in the dark room.

"Look daddy, 'x' and 'o'.

" Wow, did you see that, he recognized the fan blades as "X" and the fan light as "O."

"YAY SKYLER" (with lots of cheers for several minutes)!!!!!!!

2. Skyler is sitting in Mommy's lap in the dark room after prayers with his lullaby music on. Daddy is in the kitchen getting Skyler's medicine.

"Mommy, I want a drink, please." (with such manners who could refuse?)
"Go ask Daddy for a drink." Skyler runs out to the kitchen ...
"Daddy, I want Juice (sounds like chuice)."
"Go ask Mommy." Skyler runs back into the room ...
"Mommy, I want Juice."
"Go ask Daddy." Skyler runs back into the kitchen ...
"Daddy, I want JUICE, JUICE, JUICE."

Of course we then grab a hold of this moment and use it as a bribe ...

"Skyler can have juice if he takes his medicine." (We are starting to get desperate with this medicine thing - we welcome all suggestions!)
Skyler looks at the medicine and back at the juice and then back at the medicine. Then he opened his mouth and took the medicine without incident!!! Just in case I ever wondered if he got it, HE DOES. This child certainly understands the way of the world ... He is no longer a baby ;( You better believe he clutched to that juice cup tightly for the rest of the evening (until we finally got him into bed). He even shook it a few times to make sure it was still full.

3. Mommy, Daddy, Skyler and Jack are in Skyler's dark room after the prayer. The lullaby music is on and Mommy is rocking Skyler. Skyler all of a sudden starts fighting with Mommy to get down. Mostly out of curiosity, Mommy lets Skyler get down. Skyler walks over to Jack and says ...
"Come on Jack, lets go."
Then they both head toward the closed bedroom door. Of course I am rolling on the floor laughing and Skyler got what he was after .... A distraction from going to sleep!

4. Daddy and Skyler are lying on the floor in the dark room with lullaby music. Brendan coughs and then hears a little cough. Brendan sneezes and then hears a little sneeze. Realizing that he is being copied, he continues to sneeze and cough while Skyler continues to copy him. This goes on for several minutes, while Skyler gets to escape the world of dreams.

5. Skyler, Mommy and Daddy are in the dark room after Skyler has woken up during the night. Skyler gave Mommy lots of kisses and identified all of he facial body parts. Skyler also gave Mommy lots of cuddly hugs (which is big if you know Skyler, who doesn't slow down for anything). After all this love, Skyler asked Mommy to watch the "show" (which is Baby Einstein). Mommy can't refuse and lets him out of the room to watch the show. Daddy thinks Mommy has gone CRAZY and promptly brings Skyler back into his room for night nights.

Last, but not least,
6. Mommy, Daddy, Skyler and Jack are in the dark room with lullaby music on. Mommy is rocking Skyler.
Daddy says in the prayer : "Thank Heavenly Father that Mommy's hair looks hot." (b/c Mommy just got a new "do")
Skyler says : "Oh no, Mommy your hair is hot?!"
He got up and started to blow on my hair saying "Mommy's hair is hot."

SOOO much laughter followed, that Skyler got out of sleeping for at least another 20 mintues!

Thought of the Day ...

2010-03-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

Toddlerhood, the only stage of life where it is acceptable to scream when your parents are taking your clothes off AND when they are putting your clothes back on!

Sink ...

2010-03-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

I saw the bottom of my sink today .... YIPEE! For the first time (in I won't tell you how long b/c it's been that long) I got all of my dishes washed! Add that to the laundry from the previous post and I'm exhausted! Of course it's full of dishes again, but it was nice for a few minutes.

Prescriptions!

2010-03-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

I decided to write a timeline of doctor visits and medicines that Skyler has been on recently in case we were sent to an ENT for more follow up. As I pulled out Skyler's medical file, I was amazed at it's recent thickness.

Here is a picture with the receipts of all the medications he has been on since January :

Here is a picture with the RECEIPT of the medicition he was on prior to January :

Wow I feel broke! But, happy to say, Skyler's boogies went away yesterday! Hopefully this is the beginning of the end :)

Laundry !

2010-03-19T06:46:00.001-07:00

As you all know, the last few months have been full of sickness for the Fletcher family! The result ... LAUNDRY! Today I set aside a laundry day, mostly because we were running out of stuff to wear, eek :) The grand total ...

2 Baby
2 Whites
2 Darks
2 Linens

That's a lot of folding :|

On a positive note, Skyler is back at school today :) Gotta run so I can get some studying done in between all those loads!

P.S. I know I like to put pictures with my posts, But I'll spare you the image of all my dirty clothes!

New Family Member :)

2010-03-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

Everyone, Meet "No Mommy," the newest member of our family :

I thought it would be a GREAT idea to take Skyler to build a bear for the first time. Kat brought Ava to get the new Spring Bunny. I let Skyler pick out any animal he wanted ... verdict - no interest! The whole time we were at the store, my mom kept telling me ... "I don't think he is into it Ally!" I was going to show her. The result?

Skyler what bear to you want?
No Mommy!

Skyler pick out a heart to put in your bear.
No Mommy!

Skyler, can you wash your bear?
No Mommy!

Skyler, what outfit do you want for your bear?
No Mommy!

Skyler, what do your want to name your bear?
No Mommy!

Hence the creation of the name No Mommy (Someone needs to teach Skyler a thing or two about the importance of a name). I take it everywhere with him, hoping it will turn into his new favorite pal (mostly b/c I don't want Brendan to be able to prove that Skyler's wants are really MY wants)! What does Skyler know about cool toys anyways?!?!

No Mommy now joins Ally's other build a bears ... Major Pumpkin, and of course, Gators! Here is the whole family together -

Gators was purchased before the UF National Championship glory and was the good luck charm behind the two football and two basketball national championships! See there is magic to be found at build a bear :)

Roseola Anyone?

2010-03-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

Side Note - All of Skyler's infections/colds are actually becoming comical for me to blog about! An old employer once told me that you have to have levity in your life or you'll go crazy, so here it is:

Skyler's new sickness is ...

You guessed it .... Roseola (or something like unto it)!

We went back to the doctor today after Skyler broke out in a welted rash all over his body. The doctor helped us look past the current ear, eye and sinus infection to see that the poor little guy has also developed a virus! Treatment .... Nothing! YAY! It is great to say that I don't have to add anything to his current course of antibiotics. The diagnosis explains the high fevers on Sunday and Monday and the current rash! We were soooo grateful to hear that we can put off the x-rays and blood work for now.
From here we finish the final 17 days of antibiotics and hope for the best. The good news is that the doctor reports that one ear looks perfect and the other ear is almost clear. More good news .... the nose almost stopped running today!!!

Eye infection - Gone
Ear Infection - 1/2 Gone
Sinus Infection - ??? - I'll post an update in a few days :)

Just another example of priesthood blessings at work!

Flavored Prescriptions ...

2010-03-18T22:08:00.001-07:00

One of the last times I was at the pharmacy, I was intrigued by the flavors that can be added to prescriptions. Since Skyler has been on so many meds recently, he has been refusing to take anything that is in an alligator spoon, syringe, or plastic cup. It is definitely a two person job to get him to take it, and most days it ends up all over him, me and sometimes even my face (spitting is such a disgusting habit)! Hence why I was intrigued by the flavored add ons ...
After discussing this with the pharmacist, who was sure it would help, I walked out of the pharmacy with with my strawberry flavored Omnicef and a feeling of accomplishment.

BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEY !!! The only thing it did was make it taste better for me when it came flying back into my face!

The next week when I went to get the Augmentin filled the pharmacist asked if I wanted to add flavoring to it. I gave an emphatic "no" response and she looked at me shocked! I'll save the buck for something crafty :)

Lesson on Manners ...

2010-03-18T21:54:00.001-07:00

We have been trying to expose our little guy to some politeness/etiquette. On the docket this week is compassion. He really loves when Mommy gives a boo boo a kiss all better. Recently this has become an all the time occurence. He has been looking for any reason for Mommy to give some extra love (and to be honest I love the attention he gives me)! We thought we would spice up the request for love by teaching him that he could give some boo boo kisses too. On Sunday night we were at my mom's house for dinner, where his Aunt's and Uncle really played this up ... EVERYONE had a boo boo for Skyler to kiss! Apparently he did not want the attention to end!!!!When we were doing prayer time before bed, he went up to Daddy and hit him. After hitting Daddy on the arm, he said "Daddy you ok? It's Ok I kiss it better!" and leaned over giving Daddy a kiss where he had been hit. Being a wise mom, I decided I better not show how intensely I was laughing inside (especially for the sake of his friends at school). THEN .... he came over and did the same thing to me. I could not hold it in anymore! I was rolling on the floor laughing and Skyler ate it up :) Of course, now we are dealing with the etiquette of not hitting other people ... It is never ending with toddlers :) As long as I get funny stories like these to blog about, I am definitely ok with new lessons!!!

Although I do not have video footage, I do have this cute picture that was taken at Disney recently:

The Boogies Came Back, They Couldn't Stay Away ...

2010-03-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

After 7 days of the last round of antibiotics, Skyler still isn't better. The eye boogies, green nose boogies, and a fever of 102.8 have been lingering. We talked to the doctor on Monday and we got a change of Antibiotics to Augmentin. Another 20 day course ... ugh! Of course Skyler now hates to take his medicine, so a lot of bribery and sometimes holding goes into getting him to take it twice a day (plus any tylenol that he requires). He will have to go in on Friday for chest x-rays and blood work if there is no change by then. He got an amazing blessing from Uncle Adam and Daddy on Sunday, so I am sure whatever happens he is in good hands. Thanks to Aunt Brie and Uncle Adam for opening their home and handing our blessings to our entire family who is currently sick again! I am so grateful to have the preisthood in our homes because I felt immediately better, and was prepared to take on another week of sick baby while tackling the mounting coursework :) This picture was taken on Sunday during our sick family lock in ...

This is what happens when toddlers pick out their own clothes :)

Disney!!!!

2010-03-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

We took Skyler on his FIRST Disney trip this weekend. It was Ava's 3rd Birthday and Rich and Kat took her for a Princess Makeover and a Cinderella Castle experience. Ava went to the Bibbidy, Bobiddy Boutique for a princess makeover and it was soooo much fun to watch. She had her hair, nails, and makeup done by her fairy godmother. Kat got her the cutest Sleeping Beauty outfit with matching shoes. So after the whole experience, she was the BEST looking princess around. Here are some pictures of the event :

After the makeover, we went to the Magic Kingdom and let loose. Of course Skyler refused to nap on the way to the park, so he was a little cranky. He has never really been into rides before, but he really enjoyed the ones at Disney. While we waited in line for the carousel he pointed the pony that he wanted to ride, identifying him as, "my pony!" When he finally got on the ride he did not want any help from Mommy or Daddy, this of course made us a little nervous, but he held on beautifully. Then when it was time to get off of the ride .... well I am sure you know what he did. Of course we had to ride it a second time :) Here are some pictures of us on the carousel (as a way to compare and contrast, I included a picture of Skyler on the carousel at Sea World in December to the one at Disney)

Seaworld -

Disney -

We also rode It's a Small World (and it really was, because standing behind us in line was a friend from my old job), Peter Pan, and the Haunted Mansion ... All pictured below (the one of the funny faces was the Haunted Mansion) ...

For the most part the day went great. Although we had several melt downs throughout the day (due to the lack of nap and Skyler's cold), we loved watching Skyler have soooo much fun riding the rides and eating ice cream and popcorn.

After a day full of adventure, we decided to brave the Dumbo line (now only 30 min wait at 9pm). Skyler fell dead asleep in Brendan's arms while waiting. Brendan wanted to wake him up for the ride, but Mommy remembered all the melt downs we had between rides and thought it might be a better idea to let the little guy sleep. I had to bribe a line exit with a ride on thunder mountain ... BTW it was a 1 hour wait! We were lucky the little guy was asleep :) Thanks to Brie for letting us borrow her full recline stroller (ours won't be here until Wednesday)!

After a few last rides, we went to the monorail to go home ... Nothing cold have prepared us for that. The longest line at the park - over an hour to get back to our car! I felt like I was being held hostage. Fortunately Skyler slept through it and all the way back to Tampa. We are excited for our return visit (we got the Florida resident 4 day pass) in the coming months. Next time we will be a little more prepared with the nap and hopefully Skyler will be over his infections by then.

Skyler Slide

2010-03-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the video of the slide that we promised from the fair. The quality is not really good because it was taken on an I-Phone, but it is good enough to see how much fun the slide was. Skyler went down the slide three times ... Such a big boy. He does have a stunned looking face in this video ... Maybe Daddy enjoyed it a little more then Skyler?!

Surprise … Skyler is sick AGAIN!

2010-03-09T21:57:00.001-08:00

I know this will come as a surprise to all, but Skyler is sick again. His antibiotics ended for his ear, sinus and eye infection on Friday. We went on a short Vaca for Bren’s birthday on Saturday, hoping everything would run smoothly. We got a call on Sunday morning from Aunt Patty, who was our babysitter, saying he had been kicked out of nursery because he had a runny nose (sounds a lot like his school)! Of course the runny nose was immediately followed by eye boogies. Patty had a grumpy little boy on her hands on Sunday (kind of nice to be on vacation). Of course the plans of dropping him off at school before she had to be at work on Monday morning did not go so smoothly! Thank heavens for Granmommy who came to the rescue. I called the doctor first thing on Monday morning and we headed back to Tampa to take the little guy in. The doctor reports that the ear, eye, and sinus infections are back! He also said this strand of infection is in the less then 5% that is resistant to 10 day rounds of antibiotics. Leave it to our baby to find a resistant strand on his first time with an ear and sinus infection!!! The doctor prescribed a 20 day round of antibiotics. After finishing this dose, Skyler will have been on antibiotics for almost 47 days straight! Hopefully this does the trick, because if not …. ENT! I hate to have to keep asking, but please keep our little man in your prayers.

Something Happy

2010-03-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

In light of all the sick baby posts I have been putting up, I thought I would add something fun and happy. Brendan and I hit the road for Orlando this past weekend as another way to celebrate the Brendan’s birthday… I know, real far! We went to our favorite resort, Mystic Dunes, for the weekend. Picture Below :

This was a long over due vacation, that was actually supposed to occur on Valentine’s weekend (which is also our anniversary), but due to all the colds/infections, we decided to postpone. Skyler stayed with Aunt Patty and had an exciting sleepover party! Patty took great care of him and kept him busy so he would not miss us too much. She made sure he had plenty of candy,FUN activities, and they even made it to church on Sunday! When we heard from Patty on Sunday morning, she told us that Skyler was up to his normal jokester self. She said that when she was putting Skyler to bed on Saturday night, he said while pointing to Patty:

“Are you Mommy?” Pause

“Noooooo!”

I’m not sure how it is possible, but he is getting cuter every day. Thinking back on his funny comments certainly makes me forget about all those sleepless nights and intense temper tantrums that have beset him in the last few months.Here is a picture of Skyler blowing bubbles at the park taken by Patty.

Back to the FUN vacation. Brendan and I left Saturday morning after picking up the car from the shop. We went to the Temple and had a great time! It is always so uplifting to be in the Temple and I cannot think of a better way to start a vacation! We had an awesome melting pot dinner (we had the Swiss Alps Big Night Out) … SOOOOO good! The rest of the vacation entailed some shopping (only a little b/c it was Brendan’s birthday after all), relaxing, movie watching, fantasy baseball draft, and arcade games (an Ally favorite).

Picture of us at Melting Pot -

We had a great time and we are hopefully rested enough to get through these next 20 days, oh and finals as well!

Alert Dogs?!?!?

2010-03-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

We knew that we had one alert dog in the family (Jack Bauer of course), but little did we know that we had really had two. Here is a video of what I am talking about …

Skyler appears to be the more dedicated of the two seeing how Jack wandered off. They were both wrong on this occasion, as no one was really at the door!

Brendan’s Birthday

2010-03-04T22:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Brendan :) Brendan turned 29 this year … how fast life goes by!

For his birthday, Brendan took the day off and we had a day full of fun …

First it started with Mommy dropping Skyler off at school instead of Daddy.

Then Breakfast in bed.

A Racecar experience … the cars went up to 50 mph!!! Of course Brendan won, but only by 1.9 secs :)

A PF Changs lunch … one of our favs!

A Movie with yummy popcorn – The Blind Side – SOOOO Good!

A home made masterpiece dinner by my mom - Brendan’s annual request – Pesto Pasta with Beef (this year it was Shish Kabob) – and Skyler actually ATE it!!!

A Cake Batter Ice Cream Cake from ColdStone

Mommy and Skyler wish the best to their favorite Daddy and Husband during year 29 (and so on)!!!!

Another Sick Day!

2010-03-01T09:56:00.001-08:00

Skyler woke up in throw up today ... the poor guy! He apparently caught a stomach bug and has been throwing up all day! Brendan is in Jax and I am with sick baby again ... have I ever told anyone how much I HATE vomit (My gag reflex can't handle it). It took me three rounds of throw up to realize that cleaning it off of the wood floors downstairs was easier the cleaning it off of my bedroom carpet. I bleached the toys and the bathtub, I antibacterial scrubbed the toys that could not be bleached, I scrubbed the carpet clean (with oxyclean), and I have done four loads of laundry ... with the promise of more to come. Boy does my house look and smell clean !!! I just keep thinking of how far behind I have gotten in my school work since Skyler's sick spell started in January. Most of all ... poor Skyler is still not feeling better. I called in the reserves and my mom got here with gatorade, saltines, oxiclean for Skyler and McDonald's for us. On top of the anitbiotics Skyler is taking for the eye, ear, and sinus infection, he is now on a crackers and gatorade diet!!! Of course, Brendan and I have already started to feel the bug set in (McDonald's might not have been such a good idea :( Brendan is in Jax taking depos all day (at least I am at home)! Pajama Party Time!!!

To top off the great day we are having, I had to get one of the cars towed to the shop because it won't start. Thank heavens it's still under warranty. Skyler watched as the car was put on the tow bed and started crying and screaming ... "my car, my car!" I thought he would like the tow truck, seeing how he is a boy and all, but I guess not!!!!

We have settled down now and Skyler is taking a nap. Hopefully we will all be feeling better by Thursday so we can celebrate Brendan's birthday in style.

Skyler Calamari

2010-02-28T15:16:00.001-08:00

Skyler Calamari
Originally uploaded by allygatorgirl

Tonight we went with Adam, Brie and Kayden to Carrabbas. Brie and I prepared the boys for a quiet dinner out with I-Pod touches, coloring menus, and bread. Little did I know that Adam and Brie's appetizer of Calamari would be the big hit with Skyler. He even ate the little squid shaped pieces. It was hilarious to watch him chew and chew and chew the pieces of calamari down. I even caught a video of it!!! (of course as soon as the camera stopped rolling, a big "CHEESE" came out of his mouth! You will just have to imagine it). I think I see a little Mitchell blood coming out in him.

Sick AGAIN!

2010-02-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

So after 10 days of amox, 5 days of an oral steroid, a round of eye drop antibiotics, and albuteral for two days .... Skyler is sick again!

All medicines was finished on Friday. By Saturday evening, he was holding his ears and crying (hard to determine what was causing this pain at that point because Kayden and Skyler engaged in some WWF the very same evening).

On Sunday evening we noticed Skyler's eyes gooping over again. He also started holding his ears and crying about them. The ear rubbing while crying out "my ears" (you know, in that funny little forget the "a" sound way a toddler does) is a first for him ... It was nice to see that he can finally verbalize his discomfort, but it broke my heart to see him in pain!

After an entire evening of crying Mommy called the doctor and the doctor said ... We still have an ear, eye and sinus infection! We are now on a stronger antibiotic, as the last one was only supressing the infections (per the Dr.). This antibiotic is supposed to tear up the little guys digestive track, so the doctor also put him on a probiotic (Brie was giving me this advice long ago). He told us to put it in anything he eats of drinks, we told him good luck convincing him to eat or drink! We ended up putting it in ice cream tonight (this sick thing is really paying off for him).

Tonight is proving to be another restless sleep evening ... hopefully those antibiotics will start relieving his pain tomorrow. Mommy and Daddy are very tired ... Is this what it is like to have a newborn who doesn't sleep through the night (Skyler always gave us abt 8 hours)?

BTW ... we love our Doctor ! He is always great about recognizing what is wrong and putting our concerns at ease. What a blessing to have an awesome medical team available to take care of our son!

More and More Like his Father Every Day

2010-02-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning, we noticed that Skyler's eye infection was back!!!! We immediately took him to the doctor to get the scoop on his poor eyes. We were not expecting this ... He had an ear infection and sinus infection, along with the eye infection. The doctor told us that the eye infection was a result of the ear and sinus infection that he has probably been battling for a few weeks (all that night waking was for a reason)! He put the poor little baby on antibiotics. He also told us that he is not contagious and that the last eye infection that he had was not contagious either! Oh well, I guess I was fooling myself with the idea that we did really great hand washing.

On Thursday night (when Brendan and I were supposed to be watching Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice), Skyler's cough got worse. It was every 10-15 seconds, but not very flemmy. We tried a bath, vick's baby rub, a blessing, TLC in Mommy and Daddy's bed .... nothing worked. After about 2 hours the Doctor was called into the situation ... Result ... take him to urgent care. Now for any of you that don't know Skyler very well ... He has never been a really sick kid and we have never had to take him to the doctor at night! I was very nervous for the little guy. The Doctor at the urgent care said that he heard some wheezing in the cough and put him on a nebulizer treatment of albuteral ... WHAT ... Like I said, more and more like his father every day!!!! Here is a picture of us attempting to keep him still for the treatment ... (we were glad he was tired)

BTW ... no one told me that albuteral would make him so hyper until after the treatment ... like when he was running around like a crazy man! Here is a picture of him rocking himself very fast (especially for 11:30 at night) ...

We left urgent care with a prescription for albuteral to be given to Skyler every 4-6 hours for the next three days. But, after only three hours, he was requiring the treatment again! Hopefully this will clear up fast ....

The jury is still out on whether these are the first signs of asthma. The Doctor said that they do not like to diagnose things like that so soon. He said that they call this Reactive Airway Disease. I think we will wait to hear what his normal ped has to say about the situation. Please keep Skyler in your prayers.

Socks

2010-02-08T10:29:00.001-08:00

Today was the first time I have thought of my son as a comedian. He is usually straight forward when asking for something. He is definitely straight forward when demanding something. But today he decided to be a little jokester …

When I was getting him dressed for school, he was wiggling around like normal. He didn’t sit still until I began to put his socks on. When I was putting on his socks he started to say something indiscernible while touching his first socked foot. Finally when I had put the last sock on, I realized what he had been saying …

Skyler – Is the sock hot?

Ally – What?

Skyler – Is the sock hot?

Ally – What are you saying?

Skyler – Nooo …. it’s not hot! (huge grin)

I don’t know where he came up with it, but he was overjoyed to have been so funny!

I love toddlers :)

The Fair

2010-02-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

So, I am not sure how this happened (AGAIN), but we got to the fair this year without a camera. Between Kat, my mother and myself …. no camera to be had. All pictures posted are from our picture phones! Rich took a great video of Skyler and Brendan going down the giant slide, so as soon as I can secure it, it will be posted. We had such a good time!

In attendance : Skyler, Brendan, Patty, Kat, Granmommy, Grandaddy, David, Rich, Ava, and Me.

Food consumption : Cheese sticks, london broil, gyro, corndog, steak on a stick, fried twinkie, funnel cake, BBQ, caramel apple, fiskes fries, fried peanut butter cup, ice cream, and last but not least … chocolate covered bacon. We drew the line at the krispie kream donut hamburger (where the donuts are the bread). BTW … Skyler devoured a whole cup full of Fiske fries … we really are good parents :|

Rides – Giant Slide

Attractions – Pony Ride, petting zoo, cracker country, expo hall, and Brendan’s annual cooking show.

Purchases – Jacob’s ladder toy, Choo Choo train piggy bank (Skyler would not put it down), and a new purse for me :)

Skyler … who doesn’t sleep anywhere but his room and at preschool … fell asleep on Rich’s shoulders as they were walking through the expo hall while the girls went to work shopping!

MORE PICTURES ...
Mommy and Skyler -

Mommy, Daddy, Skyler and Uncle D -

Granmommy and Granddaddy -

John Mayer

2010-02-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year, Brendan secured us tickets to the John Mayer concert 2/5/10! To start the night we went to Gallagher’s Steak House in Channelside. We had ribeye and some yummy extras. Then it was too the concert (which is only a short walk from Channelside). It was awesome. The guest singer was Michael Franti and Spearhead … one of my faves as well! Michael Franti came into the crowd and was only a few feet from me. That is him with the big sock like thing on his head (I know it is is a bit blurry - I forgot my camera, so these are all from my phone) dancing through the audience …

We were super close and John Mayer was signing super great!

After a stellar performance for over 3 hours (who knew concerts lasted so long) the crowd cheered him on for an encore performance.

After the concert we walked back to Channelside for some Coldstone icecream … YUMMY!

By the time we got home it was after 12am – a long night for a concert that started at 8pm! I wish I could say it was a relaxing rest of the weekend, but fair on Saturday and Superbowl on Sunday!

New Posts

2010-02-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

I have finally updated some of the blog ... make sure to go through all of the old posts b/c the first one I updated today was from October 2008! Man was I behind!!!!!!! Hopefully I will stay more up to date ...

Am I loved or What??

2010-02-03T09:52:00.001-08:00

I started school this January and most of it is online, with the occasional class on Saturday. Last Saturday I was totally bummed because my class went from 11 am – 5 pm, with only a 30 minute lunch break. The school is 30 minutes away, so I felt like I was going to miss the whole day with Brendan and Skyler …. BUT …

Brendan came to school with Skyler for my lunch break with WingStop (my fav)! On the way he and Skyler detailed the Homda and on the way home he detailed the VW! When I left class I had to do a big project that was due by midnight … I was a little stressed with formatting and APA writing style (I’m not sure I really missed school after all), so Bren helped pull up some citation assistance for me! When I got in the car after the project was done, I found a poster/love note waiting for me!!!! I’ll let you decide if he loves me!!!

P.S. No one tell Brendan this is up or he might make me take it down!

Eye Infection !!!

2010-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

So I went to pick Skyler up from school on Thursday and found him with both eyes completely glued shut … uck! The doctor called in a prescription for some antibiotics and when we went to get them, there were two. Of course on call could not assist with why we got two antibiotics, so we had to wait to start treatment. Finally, on Friday morning we heard word that the pharmacy messed up with the two antibiotics and to just give him one. Here is a picture of his eyes on Friday morning …

By his face you can tell what kind of day we had … Of course all bad things (like days off from school for Skyler) come the day before I have a huge assignment due for my school!

So, Friday we started treatment and a lot of linen washing. By Saturday morning (as Dr. Don predicted), his eyes were no longer goopy.

I think that everyone who had contact with Skyler was itching and scratching their eyes for days, suspecting the cooties may have passed to them. Fortunately, no one caught them. High Five for good hand washing skills everyone!!!

P.S. 1 eye drop per eye x 2/day
1 M&M per eye drop
7 days of eye drops
_________________________________________
= 28 M&M's and one VERY happy Baby!

P.P.S. Don't tell the doctor!

Gasparilla 2010

2010-01-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Skyler’s school had a Gasparilla parade this year and it was soooo cute. I snagged some cute pictures of the kids walking in the parade, but I stayed on the outside of the fence so I wouldn’t upset Skyler.

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The real Children’s Parade was awesome this year! I had class in the morning, but was able to make it back just in time for the parade (I think I had all the fun without the work b/c it was Brendan’s job to make sure the baby had a nap)! Brendan and Skyler met me at my mom’s house (which is just a short walk to Bayshore) just as the parade began. Patty and Brie, Adam and Kayden also met us there. We put the boys in the Phil N Teds and walked to Kara’s house for the celebration. Patty shared some of her special beads from last year with the boys so they were dressed for the occasion! When we got to the parade, Patty and I went looking for food for the boys while Brie, Adam and Brendan scored some extra beads from the pirates. I got Skyler a footlong corndog (this is Skyler’s favorite food) . His eyes got huge when he saw the size of it! He wasn’t sure how to hold it and had to use my head to prop it up. We had so many beads by the end that our necks felt like they were going to fall off!!!!! Skyler even saw his pre-school director in the parade and she gave him a very special necklace!!! All the kids around him were very jealous! (Have I ever mentioned how spoiled our child is?) As you can tell from some of the pictures, it threatened rain all day, but for the most part it stayed dry. Kayden got a little tired and had to head back to Kara’s a little early, but we had promised Lindsay that we would watch her float come by … of course it was the last one! Lindsay’s mom and sister, Lauren and Anne Marie, met us at the parade right before her float when by. Lindsay and John looked great! After the parade we had some snacks at Kara’s and then headed home. What a DAY! I am sure the boys were exhausted, because I know we were!!!!!

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Test

2010-01-20T15:02:00.001-08:00

I am using new blog software, so this entry is a test!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

This week has presented with lots of challenges, but none the less, we are grateful to be enjoying the season. We can't help but feel the Spirit of Christ, even through all of these challenges :) Hopefully you can laugh with us as we describe the most interesting last three days.

-On the 23rd, Skyler lost his FAVORITE dog blanket in the mall. That night there was lots of crying as we tried to get him to sleep. I searched the house, car, mall and my mother's home for hours until I finally called it quits around 1am.

- On the 24th, Skyler greeted us at his bedroom door .... This was a HUGE surprise as he has never climed out of his crib before!!! Time for a toddler bed we decided .... we tried to put it off for as long as possible, even though our pediatrician has been recommending it for the last year. Apparently his dog blanket was the calming influence (like the good angel on his shoulder), keeping him in line while we weren't there to tell him no!

- After lots of fervent prayer and requests for a Christmas miracle, we started our Christmas Eve morning searching for Skyler's dog blanket for hours ... NO LUCK. We then bought other blankets to try and replace doggie, but no luck. Bren jokes that Skyler appears to be getting along fine, but his mommy is torn up. (a note - can you get PTSD from your son loosing his favorite blanket?) It is so sad to see him ask for and reach for something that you cannot give to him!!!!!

- We then put together the bed rail for the new BIG BOY BED .... what a joke those things are ... the first one we got was so difficult to put together we had to take it back and the second one did not fit. Of course that was the night that all the stores closed at 7pm!!!! That night we put Skyler to bed in an empty room, in his converted crib, without a bed rail. Well that was a mistake! It took at least half an hour for him to fall asleep ... at the door! The little guy kept rolling out of the bed onto the blankets and pillows on the floor. We finally set up the pack n play to keep him somewhat contained, praying that he could not climb out of that too! Fortunately, he stayed in that and fell back asleep after another half an hour! We have now decided to postpone the transition until after the stores re-open on the 26th.

- Christmas Eve also included the building of many toys! No one told us that Santa does not bring the toys already built!!!! A late night for mom and dad :) Here are the finished results :

- Christmas morning - the weather was warm, rainy and extremely HUMID! We woke up, finished the toy building, and went to get Skyler. We did a recreation of the nativity. This was a wonderful activity and too funny to watch Skyler put the shepherd to sleep in the manger!

Then we opened Christmas presents. Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher brought Skyler this amazing train table that started off like this when Skyler saw it -

And ended up like this by the end of the night :

My favorite line was when Brendan told Skyler that when he yanked and pulled on the pieces that it was like an earthquake for the people living in the little town! Skyler did not seem to be moved by that speach and really set the earthquake in motion.

We then went to Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell's home for dinner. What a great influence Aunt and Uncles are ... Lots of candy and even a mud pit party :

Then it was dinner time ... This is how we do dinner at the Fletcher house ... We start off with a good showing of all the food groups (or at least most) -

And then end up with something like a Corn Dog if we are lucky -

Night time for Skyler on the way home from all the fun and relaxing time for Mom and Dad while we wait for his birthday to hit in a few hours !!! What were we thinking with a December baby?

Now we are waiting for the Fletcher family to join us for some more Christmas and Birthday fun all the way from Arizona !!!!

So glad to have friends and family like you .... Enjoy the holidays :)

Gaylord Palms - ICE

2009-11-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

We took Skyler to the Gaylord Palms ICE exhibit in Orlando this year. It was AWESOME! For anyone that does not know, it is an exhibit that the Gaylord Palms hotel puts on every year. It is all Ice and very cold! The exhibit is huge (two million pounds of hand carved ice) and kept at 9 degrees. The exhibit starts in November and goes into January. A little cold … but still very neat. We had Skyler bundled in his footed pajamas, sweats, turtleneck, ski bib, ski jacket, snow boots, and the down jacket they provide! Of course, I forgot the mittens at home, but the jacket was sooo big it seemed to work out just fine! Brendan, Patty, Skyler and I took a midnight drive to Orlando so we could be there early for all the fun. Rich and Kat met us in Orlando … but of course we were late! So they waited inside the freezing exhibit so we could make our way through the line. Skyler loved the ice slides and made sure we took him down it several times (I don’t think he was affected by the cold, definitely not as much as we were). I liked the nativity ice sculpture that was on display at the end … there is a picture below. I lost my memory cards (3 of them) with all those pictures and videos I have been meaning to post … but a nice person turned them in before I had even realized they were lost. After playing in the ICE for a few minutes, we enjoyed hot chocolate and listened to Christmas Carols in the lobby of the HUGE hotel! Brendan took off for the Gators game and the rest of us enjoyed lunch in the seafood themed section of the hotel. What a great day!!! I only snagged a few pictures b/c of course … my battery died while we were in the exhibit.

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Dog Park Day

2009-10-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

We love having relaxing days at the Fletcher house. Skyler and Brendan show us how it is done in these picks …

After a relaxing morning at home, we like to go to the dog park and let Jack run! This morning, Patty came with us! We had so much fun chasing Jack around the dog beach and playing in the sand. It was very cold, especially with the breeze from the water. This is one of our favorite little parks to go to, because it has a playground at it too!

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Visit with Aunt Kim and Jason

2009-09-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Aunt Kim and Jason came in town for a quick visit. We hadn’t seen Jason as big and active as he was. He is such a beautiful baby! We decided that a visit to the Lowry Park Zoo would be great fun. The boys had a blast! Skyler enjoyed the water area, but Jason did not. Jason loved the animals, but Skyler did not. Between the two of them, we had a pretty even mix of activities. We can’t wait to see them again … hopefully a trip to North Carolina will be in the cards soon :) There are lots of great pictures in this album so make sure to check them all out!

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Visit with Uncle James

2009-09-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Uncle James came in town, so we decided to show him the fun world of MOSI and the Aquarium. We saw some neat fish at the Aquarium (there are lots of pictures in the album so you will have to open it). Skyler loved Uncle James soooo much and warmed up to him rather fast. After Uncle James had to go home, Skyler was still looking for him in his room to play with him! We will have to travel to Tennessee soon for another visit.

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David’s Swearing In

2009-08-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

David was sworn in to Florida Bar August 2009. Skyler and Brendan decided to dress alike for the special occasion. Michelle, Patty, Kat, Granmommy, Granddaddy, Skyler, Brendan and me attended the event. Congratulations David!

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Tarpon Springs and Greek Goddesses

2009-08-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

We took Rich and Skyler on their first trip to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. The three Mitchell girls, AKA Greek Goddesses, showed them all the hot spots to get treats and sponges. We also enjoyed a nice meal at Mykonos, our fav restaurant down there. There was some fabulous fudge and lots of yummy Greek desserts. We were even kind enough to bring some back for Granmommy, Granddaddy and Uncle D! Thanks To Rich for the trip suggestion.

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Utah Vacation 2009

2009-03-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

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We went to Utah this year for our Ski Vacation. Our friends Sara and Jared were so kind to put us up in their home. We had lots of fun! We got to go to the Salt Lake Temple, go skiing, go to the aquarium, and even enjoy Jared’s B-Day party. Sara and Jared had lots of fun playing with Skyler, a good preparation for their little bundle of joy that was on the way. Skyler was just over a year and was in desperate need of his first hair cut. We called in the reserves, Aunt Tiffany, who met us at the airport before we departed to give him a quick cut!

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Christmas Portraits 2008

2008-12-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures that were taken at Christmas. My belief is better later then never …. I guess! Skyler was a miniature Santa. Since he was able to walk around Halloween, he was in full run by Christmas. Every where he went, he ran to it … the joys of toddler hood! This made for an extra special photo shoot. He always takes such great pictures, that it is hard to decide which ones to get! I hope you enjoy the sample from the shoot below.

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Skyler Walking!!

2008-11-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

The day has come ... Sklyer has started to walk!!!
It stated after a trip to Jacksonville the day after Halloween. We visited some old friends of mine from college (Erica and Jim) who have a 1 year old. I always love going to people's homes who have children around Skyler's age b/c I get to see what toys he likes that we do not have yet. Well he loved the push walker. I had thought about getting one a little while ago, but decided against it with the thought that it would be outdated after a few weeks. Boy was I wrong ... He LOVED it. He was pushing it around their house and doing a good job with being balanced. Of course mom ran out to get one the day we got back to Tampa :)

Within a few days of pushing himself along, he has started to walk unassisted. On Sunday we went over to Brie and Adam's home and he took about 8 steps unassisted ... of course we forgot the camera for that one! Then yesterday we were at my parents home and he took 12 steps ... I caught some of that on video, but our computer is broken so I can't upload until it gets back from HP.

Now, he is pushing up to a standing position and taking steps randomly throughout our house. I know you guys suggest he is a good picture taker, but videos are another story. Trying to get him to walk on camera is a challenge, but I now have tons of footage of him crawling:) Just thought I would update you on Skyler's new development and as soon as I get the computer back I will upload the video for you!!!

Halloween and Amelia Island 2008

2008-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween was crazy this year. Before Halloween we had a crazy pumpkin carving contest with Adam, Patty, Kat, Michelle and David. Adam and Patty won the contest with a crazy looking skeleton pumpkin. We also enjoyed some spooky food and music. Skyler was dressed to impress in his Gator gear and of course we carved a Gator pumpkin (I say we, but Brendan really did all the carving).

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The trunk or treat was the same night as Halloween. Brendan had to be at the church to run the chili cook off, while I got the little vampire ready for some candy collecting action. Grandpa Fletcher came in town from San Francisco to catch the Skyler’s first Halloween. We went Trick or Treating through Granmommy’s neighborhood and then went and home for a late bedtime. After that Grandpa Fletcher watched Skyler so Brendan and I could go out to a Halloween Party.

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The next morning we headed to Jacksonville for the UF v. GA game. Skyler and I visited O’neil and the crew, Susie and Erica (my old college roommate who has a son Skyler’s age). We had a great time and of course the Gators WON! Instead of heading home so late, Brendan and I decided to make a little vacation out of it and stayed a few days at Amelia Island. It was soooo cold outside we did not get to enjoy the beach. Most of our pictures are limited to the chase the ball game we did in the room.

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World Series

2008-10-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

What a lucky kid … I had never been to the World Series before, but Skyler, less then a year old, got to go to the World Series (it helped that you don’t have to pay for a child under 2). Since the Rays made it to the World Series, and Skyler and Daddy had been going to all the games, it would have been tough to miss it! We went with Patty and Adam and got some really GREAT seats. Skyler was kind of a Rays Icon during those days, and always made it on the Jumbo-Tron. My dad even got a text from one of his old associates saying that he saw Skyler on the Jumbo-Tron. The key was to ensure his ray-hawk was perfect. People kept stopping us at the game and asking if they could get a picture with the “Rays Baby.” It would have been the perfect night if they had won, but unfortunately luck was not with us for this series! We had a great night and Skyler even ended up with a Rays World Series bat which is proudly displayed in his room. We tried to introduce Skyler to Raymond (the mascot), but he did not want anything to do with him and cried in my shoulder. To this day, he still does not like creatures in costume like that! He got to go to the Rays touch tank during the game and someone even gave him a baseball that he enjoyed eating.

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October Portraits 2008

2008-10-24T21:55:00.001-07:00

We took Skyler for updated pictures today, just two days shy of his 10 month birthday. He was soooo cute and everyone loved him!!! Even the other people that were getting their children's photos taken were staring at Skyler. We had his picture taken with his fall vest, Halloween costume, Gator's outfit, and dress outfit.

Here is a slideshow with some of the pictures that were taken :

Halloween Preparation

2008-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

So we pulled out Skyler's Halloween stuff in July as a form of Preparation for the big holiday ... I like to get excited :) The disappointment came when we tried Skyler's costume on him and found that it was tight!!! 6-12m outfits are not all created equal!! Anyways, it lets me shop for a new one, so no complaints :) Enjoy an early costume picture ...

Ball Pit

2008-10-10T20:53:00.001-07:00

Due to Skyler's clear obsession with the balls at Gymboree, we decided to get him a ball pit. He really is spoiled! We got him a baby frog pool and filled it with balls. He loves it soooo much. He thinks it is hilarious when Aunt Patty gets in and starts throwing balls around. He goes over to her and trys to kick her out.

Here are some pictures and videos of him with his new ball pit. There is one picture of him in the frog pit making a frog face ... it is soooo cute :)

Gymboree

2008-10-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

If you were wondering what we have been up to on our Saturdays and some weekday afternoons, the pictures will tell it all. We got Skyler a Gymboree membership and started classes in September. Since I am at work and Brendan has stated that he will not take Skyler to classes on his own, we do a Saturday afternoon class. Usually it is Skyler, Brendan and Me at the classes. We have a lot of fun playing with all the neat toys and watching Skyler learn new things. Brendan didn't think much of it at first, but there are two other regular buddies that come to class with their dads, so he is a lot more willing to come. He has even thought about not going to the home Gator games to stay for Skyler's class (thought would be the key word there).

Skyler's favorite thing about Gymboree are the BALLS!!! When we first started that was the only thing that he wanted to play with. We had to bribe him to go through the tunnels and climb the ramps by putting them at the other end. But, after a few weeks, he goes through them without any incentive! Skyler also likes the bubbles and will go after the tiniest bubble and pop it with his fingertip.

Gymboree favorites - Balls, Bubbles, Gymbo Kisses, Freeze Dancing, Airshapes, Parachute Time and Bouncing on the Tube.

Yesterday we went to Gymboree for open gym with his best friend Kayden. Both of the boys enjoyed themselves and I got some cute shots of both of them. There was a really cute moment when Skyler crawled over to Kayden in a pit of balls and decided that he wanted in. He knows no fear, and usually just throws his body around. Well I got the one, two, three, action shot of him crawling/falling into the pit. Just so you don't think that I am a bad mom, he was laughing the whole time! Plus, Aunt Brie saved him once he fell in.

Here are some videos of Kayden and Skyler at Gymboree -

This one is of Skyler and Kayden playing in the ball pit. As you can see, Kayden is still top dog, but Skyler is starting to hold his own -

This one is of Skyler getting excited b/c he sees the bubbles across the room -

This one is of Skyler actually popping the bubbles -

Bitter Lemons

2008-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

So we have been trying to introduce Skyler to table food recently ... after the Doc advised at the 9 month check up that the reason Skyler is spitting his jarred food back at us is b/c he wants real food. Let me tell you, this doctor is worth all the money we pay him, b/c apparently we don't have the brains to deduce things ourselves. Regardless, Skyler has refused most of the table foods that we give to him. So our baby who once had some rolls on him, is dwindling away to nothing.

Foods he refuses - diced fruit, diced carrots, peas, most baby food

Food he loves - Yogurt, ground beef, OATMEAL a Plenty, Rice Cereal, cheese, crackers, magic stars, cookies

So when we went out with Patty and Adam to a restaurant, we were shocked to find that the thing Skyler wanted most was LEMONS. He would chew and suck on them and then make the cute bitter face. He kept pulling Patty's hand back to him and doing it all over again. So we can now add Lemon to his like list. Thought you would enjoy the video and pictures. (BTW - you would have thought that by now I would have figured it out that I cannot turn the camera, but no - sorry!)

New Blogs

2008-10-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here's to you Mitzi .... I know it has been some time since my last blog! We have been pretty busy recently, and believe it or not, my picture taking has slacked a little. On top of that it is a pain in the butt to upload pictures onto this computer. But, for thos of you like Mitzi, who check the site frequently, holding on to hope that you might catch a picture of Skyler crawling ... or better yet biting with his new teeth, I will be trying to blog some recent events in the next few days. Love to all :)

P.S. Look through the past few months too, b/c I will be posting his first crawling, first trip to Chuck E Cheese, etc.

Brendan's Swearing In Ceremony!

2008-10-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

After passing the Bar, the final step before being an official attorney is being sworn into the Florida Bar. They typically have mass swearing in ceremonies throughout Florida right after the bar results are published. Lucky for Brendan, he has an inside connection! My dad got him a private swearing in ceremony with the Chief Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit, Manny Menendez, today!! We got to go into his private office and have a very personal exchange! Brendan looked handsome as ever and the Judge even brought him into his personal chambers to see his Gators stuff. When they walked back in, the Judge said that Brendan passed the Gator test (I am sure he did no realize what a big fan Brendan was until after Brendan was able to rattle off all of his sports trivia knowledge). Skyler was a big hit at the ceremony. The Judge asked him what his name was and Skyler said "Jo,Jo." So for the rest of the time we were there, the Judge continued to call him Jo, Jo. Amazingly Skyler responded to it every time. They had two photographers taking pictures of the ceremony and they already sent us the pictures (such a nice touch). Unfortunately we all had difficulty trying to determine who was taking the picture! Now that Brendan is an official Attorney, we thought we might have a nice lunch. But NO! Straight to work for him ... He is going to be starring in a trial next week (crazy!) and has a lot of work to do!!! Hope you enjoy these pictures :)

Universal Studios

2008-09-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

They gave all the employees free passes to Universal Studios in August that were good through September. We kept meaning to go, but we never could get everything lined up right, between work, church, and babysitters. So, at the end of September we decided that we would just bring the baby with us. This is a big step b/c Skyler hates car rides. We finally found something that helps, Baby Einstein Old MacDonald CD!!! We listened to the CD 4 times on the way there and were quiet glad to get out of the car once we made it to Orlando.

To be honest, I thought he would get overwhelmed and overtired while we were there, but amazingly he loved it. We took him to the Curious George land and of course there was a ball area (his fav). Then we took him to a Barney sing a long. To be honest that purple dinosaur scares me, but he loved it. We went with Patty, Adam and my friend Karen. They have a baby swap program at the park so that you can wait in a air conditioned area when part of your group is on the ride and then go to the front of the line once they are off of the ride.

The only bad part of the trip was the last 20 minutes of the ride home (straight screaming) and the entire next day (we were tired and he was off of his schedule).

Enjoy the pics :)

Chuck E Cheese

2008-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

So Patty was babysitting one weekend and suggested that we take Skyler with them to Chuck E Cheese. Brendan and I were not so sure how he would like it, but we decided to go along for the adventure. We were seriously disappointed to find that there was no ball pit (although it probably would have been infested with germs). The place was packed with children and we were shocked that there are not more law suits against them. I don't know how anyone can keep up with their child in all of those tubes and things!! But Skyler had fun none-the-less. He loved all the loud noises, flashing lights and children running around. Brendan found a basketball game and impressed all the children with his B-Ball skills. We took an etch a sketch picture with Skyler and he has the most serious face on ... we joke that he was thinking how weird it was for a rat to be drawing a picture of him. We took a picture of it and have posted it below.

Crawling

2008-07-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Right before Brendan took the bar, While Grandma Fletcher was visiting, Skyler decided that he was going to Crawl. This was the first of many phone calls from Brendan letting me know new tricks that Skyler picked up while I was at work. It took all of my energy not to go home immediately to see the big trick. The next morning I tried to get him to recreate it for the camera. So he was 6, just shy of 7 months ... and crawling :) I look back now and wonder what it was like to be in the days when he could not move!!! After crawling came pulling up and cruising (within the next week)! Grandma was lucky to catch the event, and we could not have been more excited to host her at our house, while she helped care for Skyler as Brendan did his last minute studying and I was at work.

Bath Time and Diaper Time

2008-07-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Skyler loves his baths in the big boy tub! The only problem currently is getting him to stay seated. From the moment he started to crawl (at 6 months) he started to pull up and then a few days later he started to cruise. Since that time he has been a little wiggle worm and it is impossible to bath and diaper him. My mom has started to call him skouliki (which is Greek for worm). Apparently my Grandparents gave the same nickname to my brother David when he was a baby.

Here is a video of Bath Time -

Here is a slide show of Diaper Time -

Political Campaign Video - Gotta See It!

2008-07-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

Love this video ... watch closely and see if anyone you know has a cameo in the video!?!?! We have two star actors in our family!!! I posted both videos, but the cameos are near the end if you don't want to watch it twice :)

Video 1 -

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Video 2 -

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Skyler's Best Friend!

2008-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's a good thing that my son's best friend is a dog, but who am I to interfere with it. Skyler has liked Bauer ever since he was able to really start observing his environment. He always smiles when he see him and if he can hear Bauer's collar then he starts looking around for him. It has come to the point that I now use Bauer when Skyler is crying or upset. I just call Bauer into the room and Skyler will stop what he is doing and give Bauer one of those killer smiles :) The funny part is (although Skyler has gotten better at this over time) that Skyler cannot track him as fast as he moves. So, sometimes he will be watching him and then look up at me and smile and then look back at Bauer, only to find that the dog is gone. He just looks around for him with a perplexed face!

Here are some pictures of the boys together -

The really funny part is the recent turn of events. Now I described how much Skyler loved Bauer, but I'm not sure that Bauer ever really returned the affection .... Until recently. Since Skyler has been more mobile and playful, Bauer has been coming up to him more and trying to kiss him. The other day I was trying to get a video of Skyler with the new blanket that Aunt Arnon made him and this is what happened.

This is the first time that Bauer has actually tried to interact with Skyler! Now we have to watch like hawks to make sure that the toys that Skyler chews on are not Bauer's toys!!!

New Quilt

2008-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

I got a new quilt the other day from my wondeful Aunt Arnon ... I liked all the pretty colors so much it was hard for me to look at the camera for mommy. I Thought I would show you guys the neat quilt too :)

First Foods

2008-07-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

My mom has slacked a little on the blog job since she has been back at work, but she wanted to let everyone know that I started eating REAL FOOD :)

I started with Rice Cereal on 6/7/08. I wasn't so sure if I liked it and my mom and dad thought I made some funny faces. But, those faces were nothing compared to the faces that came with Peas!!!

Rice Cereal is ok, but I really like Oatmeal. In fact, the only way my mom could get me to eat my peas and green beans was to mix it with oatmeal!!!

My mom was mean and made me start with vegetables, but we are starting fruits now and I like those a whole bunch ... as well as yellow/orange veggies.

So far here are my likes and dislikes:

My Likes:
Oatmeal
Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Pears

My Dislikes:
Peas
Green Beans

Here are some pictures and videos for you ...

Video 1 & 2 - First Feeding - Rice Cereal -

Here is one about the mess we made -

Here are his funny faces -

Video 3 - First Peas -

6 Month Check Up

2008-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

I turned 6 months on 6/26/08 :) I think that I am set for my half-birthday ... that there will be good food, presents, fun .... and then ...my parents took me to the doctor on 6/27/08 for a check up!

Here is how I weighed in -

18.5 pounds - 75th percentile
26 1/2 inches - 50th percentile

I decided that this check up I would switch my height and weight around a little.

After I was so nice to the doctor and nurse, they still decided to poke me a few FOUR times!!! They even gave me another oral vaccination (which I spit out on mommy)!

After the appointment mommy and daddy tried to make me smile, but I was not having any of their fun ...

Later in the day I felt a little better and I let my mommy take a picture of my battle wounds :)