Into Everything!

Stratton is such a busy boy! He is into everything. He has recently found the cat food- I don't think he ate any- and even things I think he wouldn't get into, he does. It's hard to leave him alone for more than a few seconds, he can make a big mess fast! He isn't afraid of anything. We can be in a place he has never been before and he will just take off like he owns the place! He is never still. Changing his diaper or clothes is such a battle! Church is getting harder. He doesn't like to sit for very long at all. And we can't put him in the floor he'd be gone in a heartbeat! Jarrod had to take him out twice during Sunday morning worship yesterday.

He was actually trying to climb my bakers rack! He was putting his foot on the first shelf before I broke the camera out. Does climbing just come naturally to boys or what?! He likes to pull my cook books off, too. That's a big "No, No!"

He pulled all the tp off the roll and then threw the roll in the floor! He did this in a matter of seconds! I am constantly amazed at the mess he can make in such little time!

Of all the toys in his toy basket he finds the easter eggs? They are the ultimate toy of choice at the moment, he likes to tap them together. Of course this picture was taken before he pulled every toy in the basket out and then crawled out of the room leaving his mess for me to clean up! I can't wait till he is old enough to actually pick up after himself!

Still a big fan of his bear, as you can see he still chews on his foot. He will actually say "bear" sometimes. He has a green one that matches his bedroom that sits on the shelf above the changing table and I let him play with it while changing his diaper. So we practice saying "Bear" a lot. So he can say "Dada", "BaBa", "Bear" and lots of other sounds, but still no "Mama". . . sigh.

He loves to go naked! After his bath in the evening sometimes we let him "air out", it's been so hot and he has had a little heat rash on his rump so I figure it's good for him. Too bad it's a major fight to get him back in the diaper and pj's afterwards!

After a long day at daycare he was worn out! He fell asleep in his highchair in the middle of his supper with his sippy cup in his mouth. And when I tried to take it out he would cry and stick it back in his mouth and go back to sleep?! Such a funny boy!

 

Not so great.

I must warn you I am writing this post under the influence! I am still a little drowsy from the sedation, took a pain pill a little while ago and don't feel great at the moment. I had my colonoscopy and upper GI endoscopy this morning. The prep was pretty bad. The stuff that you have to drink for the colonoscopy is horrible. I almost threw up several times. It was really tough. And of course I was up and down all night going to the bathroom, so I didn't get much sleep. Then we had to get up at 4am to get ready to be at the hospital at 5:30. (and just a note- it doesn't help to get there early because they aren't even there until 5:30!) My tests were scheduled for 7:00 so we waited in little area on a  small hospital bed separated by the other patients having outpatient procedures done by nothing more than a curtain-fun. They wheeled me back about 10 till 7 and I got to talk briefly to the surgeon, I was a little sidetracked however because my veins kept blowing so they kept having to redo my IV and when they finally found a good vein she said it was "positional" and kept wiggling it around to find a good spot- owwweee. Anyway, they finally started the IV the nurse ask me to bite on this mouth piece thing and asked to me roll over . . . . . . and the next thing I know Jarrod is sitting next to me talking on the cell phone!

The surgeon removed a spot from the area between by esophagus and stomach when they did the endoscopy, I guess it was just a polyp of some sort. He also said I have severe acid reflux (which we knew) and I even have the pictures to prove it- don't worry I won't post those, they are pretty gross! Then when he did the colonoscopy he found a Lipoma which is just a benign growth. (The picture is pretty interesting, it's cool to see your insides, but again I won't share!)  Guess what? It's SUPER rare in the colon. Yep. Leave it to me to get something really rare. He has only seen one other person with this in his whole career (does that give you confidence about him operating on me or what?) And that lady's was so large it was cutting off her small intestines. Luckily mine isn't that big. . .yet. He told Jarrod that I needed to have it removed or it would cause other more harmful problems. BUT he has NO idea how he is going to do the surgery. (haha- not kidding) He has to do some thinking and researching since mine isn't as connected as the one he did before or something (I am hoping that's a good thing).  We are meeting with him on Thursday to go over the options. So great, they found my problem, right?! He is going to remove this "thing" and I will be all better, right? Uh, wrong. He said most likely this is just a coincidence that they found this today and the pain I am having isn't coming from this growth. Ugh. I have no idea what will happen now. I know I will be having surgery in the future, I just hope and pray that somehow he is wrong and the Lipoma is what was causing my pain after all. We don't know anything about the surgery, like if it is outpatient or not and how evasive it will be. I tried to look it up on the internet but there isn't that much info about it. I guess we will find out on Thursday.

Today has been kind of rough, I am still having my abdominal pain and it was really bad after we got home, so Jarrod called the nurse from this morning and she said to go ahead and take the pain meds I have been taking, that the air they use to blow you up during the procedure was probably making it worse for me today. I am trying to take it easy and nap, I just feel really tired and sore. I hope tomorrow I will be feeling better!

Jarrod's mom came and got Stratton yesterday afternoon and he is staying with them until tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be feeling much better and we can go to Searcy. Jarrod's dad had to work last weekend so we haven't got to do father's day with him yet!

Weekend and Father's Day

Friday night we went to eat at Pizza Chef with our group of friends from church- Girls got to choose the restaurant. . .that's right Amy and Dustin are having a GIRL!? Stratton is really going to have some hard choices to make when he gets to the "dating" age (around 30, right?) there are only two or three boys in that age group and all the rest are girls! Dustin even sat Stratton down and had a "talk" with him. . .haha. Like they will even want to date, our kiddos will probably be like brothers and sisters! Jarrod had to meet us at the restaurant since he worked late and came straight from work in his work truck, so after we ate Stratton and I ventured out to get Father's day gifts. We went to Lowes first and that was a bust, then I had some things I needed to pick up at Office Depot where he threw a HUGE fit. I was soooo embarrassed! Luckily the guy helping me had kids and was super nice. After that we went home!

Saturday Jarrod had to work, so Stratton and I didn't do a whole lot, we did get out about 1pm and went to LifeWay to finish our Father's Day shopping. I just carried him in and boy was that a mistake! I ended up getting 2 bibles and wanted them engraved, well that was going to be a 20 minute wait! The guy said "If you have some other errands you want to run we will call you when they are finished and you can come back and get them." I was like uh, I think I will just wait! It would have taken 20 minutes just to get back to the car get S buckled in and out on the road! So we went back to the children's section where Stratton pulled all the books off the shelf while I went behind him and put them all back. ugh. I was wore out by the time we got home!!

We went to Hickory Ridge when Jarrod got off work to have Father's Day dinner with the Gibson's. We got to visit with the fam and Stratton had a good time getting to play with Cooper. They don't get to see each other very often anymore since Miss Laney came along and Stratton started Daycare. They were really funny together. At one point Cooper started to straddle Stratton while he crawled - like he was going to try and ride him- lol! Boys!?!

Sunday we woke up early- Stratton is still getting up early, not at 3 am anymore but about 4-5am, still way too early. I fed him and put him back to bed and he slept till about 7:15. I got him up and he was in a great mood so we climbed back in bed with Jarrod and gave him the rest of his father's day presents and cards. (He got a new leaf blower earlier in the week, I had to give it to him b/c where am I going to hide that?!) Stratton got him a book and a new bible. Then we all got up and got ready for church. After morning services  (where I might add my Uncle Brian was appointed a Deacon! We are so proud of him!) we headed back to HR for Father's Day with the Wilson's. We had a good lunch and a long visit at my grandma and grandpa's house. My cousin Josh and his wife, LeAnn and their kids came and so Stratton got to play with them, even though they are quite a bit older. We also were entertained my Stratton's infatuation with the glass door.

Father's day is a special day to me. I am so blessed to have been surrounded with Godly men my whole life. My Grandpa and Dad are the best men in the world, and I'm not just saying that because they are family. I think you could ask anyone that knows them and they would tell you the same thing. I am so very grateful that Stratton will get to grow up knowing and loving and being influenced by these great men, I can't imagine my life without them.

Sunday night was the start of our VBS so we didn't have church until 6:30. It was a long time from 6:30-8:15! After church we ran to Walmart, S was by then of course pretty cranky so it was a quick trip

[helping Pops open his card]

[fascinated going in and out]

[licking the glass door]

[only a face a mother could love- lol!]

[funny smushed face]

Happy First Father's Day Jarrod!

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.  ~Johann Schiller

On your very first Father's day I want to thank you for being such an awesome father. Stratton adores you and it's no wonder. You are his hero, I can already see that even though he is only 11 months old. I am so thankful that he has such a good role model for a father, by living your life in a way that is pleasing to God you are teaching our son to do likewise. He really is the luckiest little boy I know. And I am the luckiest girl I know, by loving our son so completely and earnestly I feel loved too. I can't explain the feeling that I have when I see the way he looks at you or to see the way you look at him, it's in those heartwarming moments that I get to see just a glimpse of the special bond you share. Thank you for working so hard to provide for us, thank you for being committed to me and our marriage and and thank you for being my partner in raising our son to hopefully be the kind of man his father is.                   ~I love you.

Then . . .and Now. . .

{May 2005}

{June 2010}

My goodness, have things changed!

More Pictures from Saturday

He is DONE getting his picture made!

Stratton update

Like I mentioned in my previous post, Monday we took him to the dr and they said he had a virus, and it would just take a few days to kick it. Monday night he ran fever and got us up at 11:30pm and 4:00am. When Jarrod fed him at 4:00 he threw up, which is kinda common for him when he has a cold or congestion. The dr told us it's because babies can't blow their noses to get rid of mucus so when they are extremely congested it's like a reflex. Since it's happened before I didn't think too much about it. Tuesday morning Margie came and stayed with him. When I left to go to work he was still running a little fever, but acted like he felt much better. Well that went downhill fast I think he threw up again after she gave him breakfast and then did it again later that afternoon and then once more right after Jarrod and I got home. Poor baby. He was pretty funny though, just like you and I when we have the stomach virus, you know how great it feels right after you throw up. . .before the nausea  kicks back in? Yeah he would just smile for a few minutes, then back to crabby, cranky and fussy. Who could blame him?! I did call the Dr office back Tuesday afternoon to see if we should be doing anything else to help keep him from getting dehydrated, since he couldn't keep anything down, she said just try to give him a little water or juice and that she would call in a prescription to settle his stomach (it ended up being Zofran- who knew babies could take that, too?! Just cut them in half!) The medicine worked great just a few minutes after we gave it to him he was sound asleep! He didn't eat supper, but took a bottle of 4 oz twice before finally going to bed around 10pm. He woke up about 3am and Jarrod fed him and was up for about an hour. Then he slept until 6:15 or so. So his schedule is all messed up! I hope we can get back to it soon. My mom came today to stay with him and so far today he hasn't ran a fever or been sick! My mom however had her hands full today. He knocked over an end table in the living room and broke a glass hurricane candle holder, so she had a mess to clean up! She said he knew when he did it that he was in big trouble because he instantly started screaming, and it didn't even touch him! Then she got a little sick this afternoon, but thinks it was something she ate or some medicine she took- hopefully she isn't getting the virus, too! I hope he will sleep good tonight and he can go back to daycare tomorrow! Having a sick baby is no fun, and that is the understatement of the century!

Gigi's Cupcakes!

4709 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38117
Phone: (901) 888-CAKE (2253)
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10am - 7pm, Sun: CLOSED

The next time you go to Memphis you HAVE to try this place! It has the most amazing cupcakes I have ever seen! They are about the size of a coffee house muffin (you know the great big ones). The amount of icing they put on them is ridiculous-and delicious! It's so cute, too! It's a pretty small little shop. The inside is simply decorated with the colors hot pink, green and chocolate brown. The main focal point, however,  is the cupcake display which beckons you to it as you come in the door like a moth is drawn to a flame! I think I was actually drooling for a minute. It took me several minutes to decide which one I wanted! There were just so many to choose from and they all looked wonderful! Jarrod got the "Birthday Surpirse"  (Which their website describes as a "White cake with fluffy pink buttercream frosting & colorful sprinkles") He was in heaven and I stole a bite and I must admit it was pretty awesome. I had the "White Midnight Magic" (Devil's food cake with dark chocolate chips topped with a white cream cheese & chocolate chips) It was soooo gooood. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat all of mine, it was just too much! The other flavors we bought to take home to share were, "Wedding Cake", "Scarlett's Red Velvet", "Lemon Dream Surpreme", "Pink Lemondade", "Italian Cream Wedding Cake", and "Texas Milk Chocolate". We got lots of brownie points for sharing them with some family and friends!

 

so pretty!

LOVE the logo and the box!

See how big that cupcake is?

And . . . the close up- Yum!

Whew! All done! And yes, you most certainly need a plate and a fork to eat these!

There are several locations around the south, check out their website for a location near you! (go to www.gigiscupcakesusa.com, you can see all the different flavors) If I had my way there would be one opening in Jonesboro soon! I am actually looking into the franchising info. I even found the perfect location! I'm sure it's crazy expensive to start up, but I think it would be a great business for Jonesboro! Supposedly, in Memphis cupcakes are all the rage! And I think we could easily start a rage here! The two times we were at Gigi's on Saturday they were really busy. And they do custom and large orders, too. With all the showers and birthday parties and let's not forget all the drug reps. . . yep, I think it would be a very successful little business. So, if you have an extra $50,000 laying around and would like to donate (ha-ha) I would appreciate it! Lol! What do you think, could a cupcake business thrive in Jonesboro?

What a weekend!

We left Friday afternoon, got to Memphis about 5:30 ran by the hotel to check in and drop off our stuff before meeting Meghan at Old Venice Pizza. We had an fun time at dinner, Stratton was so well behaved! Then Meg and I headed to the movies and Jarrod and Stratton went to do some shopping at Bass Pro.

Awwww. . . Stratton loves Meg!

The movie was really long, so it was around 11pm before I got back to the hotel. I had the best time with Meghan. It was nice to have some more girl time! She is 34 weeks pregnant and thinks she is going to make it to 41 weeks?! I don't think she will last that long, but she's convinced! Either way she is getting close to the end and this weekend might be the last time I see her before she has her baby! She is going to try to come to Stratton's bday party, but she will be 39 weeks then and I made her PROMISE me that she wouldn't drive herself here!! Knowing her she wouldn't think a thing about it!! It worries me!! I am so excited for him/her to get here, but I don't want it to be at Stratton's birthday party!!

Saturday morning Stratton wasn't feeling so great. I thought it was because he was getting another tooth, or something. You could tell he just didn't feel good at all. But he perked up when we went down to breakfast at the hotel, and I thought he might just be sleepy. It was a short distance from the hotel to Audubon Park, so Stratton didn't have a chance to get a cat nap, which I think might have helped some.

He didn't want to cooperate at all. We took his wagon, which he normally loves. He didn't want to sit in it. He didn't want to sit in the grass, he didn't want to smile and the few that she did get she really had to work for! The park was really pretty. It reminded me of my grandma and grandpa's yard just a bit bigger! The sunlight was coming through some of the trees and it was the perfect place to take pictures! Too bad it was sooo hot. It was so humid that the instant you stepped out of the car you started sweating. Ewww. . . so that didn't help Stratton's bad mood either. Daisha tried and tried to get him to work with her for about 30 minutes and then he just really got mad and so we decided that we should call it quits. It was so hot! She promised me she got some great shots, I am anxious to see them all. She has sent me a few and they are all good, so I am sure they all will be.

After we left the Park we decided to drive around a little while so that Stratton could get a little nap. We decided to go by this cupcake shop that Meghan had told us about called Gigi's on Poplar. By the time we got there Stratton was awake and seemed to be feeling better. So we went in and got a snack- or more like lunch. (Hey, we are adults we can eat cupcakes for lunch if we want to, right?!) This place is deserving of it's own blog posts, which I will write later today. . .it was AMAZING.  We did some shopping- Carriage Crossing where we also stopped to fed Stratton and shared a burger at Cheeburger-Cheeburger, then to Babies-R-Us then back to Wolfchase to the party supply store and then back to Gigi's. We had to get some cupcakes to take home to the Gibson's who were kind enough to go check on our dog in the heat and also got another dozen to take to our friends forever group from church Sunday night. We met my mom in Wynne and dropped Stratton off with her. Since she was off on Monday she wanted to keep him for the rest of the weekend. We got back to Jonesboro around 6:30pm, took cupcakes to the Gibson's and visited with them for a few minutes, went home and got things put away and played with Sadey. We bought her a little swimming pool to play and cool off in. And I haven't see her in it yet! She did really love the water hose and like getting sprayed with it!

 

Sunday morning after church we went to Lazzari and ate lunch then ran some errands. I came home and cooked my stuff for Sunday night and grabbed a quick nap. Sunday night after church we went to Amy and Dustin's house for dinner with the rest of our friends forever group. We had such a good time visiting it was almost 10pm before we left! Stratton ran a fever on and off all day Sunday while he was at mom and dad's so she brought him back to Jonesboro Monday morning and we took him to the Dr. He has a virus, that should pass within a few days. He was still running a little bit of fever this morning, even though he acts like he feels a little better, so Margie is staying home with him today. As long as he has a fever he is considered contagious and he can't go back to daycare till he hasn't had a fever for 24 hrs. I am hoping that he will begin to feel much better today and can go back tomorrow, but we will see!

There is lots to do this week! Jarrod had a softball game last night (which Stratton and I missed) and another one tonight, then we have church Wednesday night, On Thursday Dustin and Amy get to find out what they are having!! (So excited to hear if it's a boy or a girl!!) Then I am sure we will go out to celebrate the gender on Friday night- the guys get to pick if it's a boy and the gals get to pick if it's a girl, I think we have started a new tradition! I have lots of projects to work on and also getting ready for Stratton's party- which is a month away! Then this weekend is Father's day, which means lots of partying and lots of eating!

11 Months

Weight: 22 lbs | Height: 31 1/2"

• Still wearing a size 3 diaper- skinny boy!! (We still like the target brand the best)
• Wears mostly 12-18 months size clothes and size 4 shoes
• Eats 5-6 jars of baby food a day, and takes 4 or 5 4-6 oz of formula
• He is about to eat us out of house and home!
• Loves to feed himself
• Nothing makes him happier than a handful of puffs or yogurt melts
• He has mastered the sippy cup, drinks out of it like a pro now!
• He is into everything!!!
• Chases the cat all over the house- poor Taki!
• Likes to walk with someone holding his hands
• Understands "No!No!" - but rarely listens
• Get's told "No!" many, many times a day and usually gets at least one spat
• Gives hugs back and will sometimes "kiss"-open mouthed-more like a lick, than a kiss
• He can wave "Bye-Bye" and claps on command now
• He is a major flirt!
• Doesn't like to have his clothes changed, he would rather be naked
• He is almost always smiling and laughing
• He has starting making a new clicking noise that he thinks is so funny!
• Still refuses to say "momma"!
• He is the sweetest little boy and is so much fun to be around, he makes my life so much happier!

I can't believe that in a month I will have a one year old! It's just too much for me to comprehend!! I honestly don't know how we got here?! I love this age. He is a quite a handful, but it is so fun watching him learn new things.

Yay!!! New pictures!

We had Stratton's 1 year pictures taken at Audubon Park in Memphis today (a month early so that I can put them on his birthday announcements). This is just a teaser . . . JUST got these from Daisha minutes ago! She is sending them as she edits them. She is on the road to visit some family and is working on her vacation just to get them done for me asap! Love her!! First of all, Stratton was (of course) not having a good day. (Why does that always happen??) Daisha was only about to shot for around 30 minutes before he had just had enough!! She promises she got a lot of good stuff even in that short amount of time. I was really disappointed that he wasn't his usual happy smiley, flirty self! I think he is not feeling well because he has another (#8) tooth coming in or he has a bug. He ran fever today and you could just tell he didn't feel good. Every time we got back in the car today he was immediately back asleep in mere minutes. I have So much to blog about! We had a great night with Meghan and a good day shopping, in spite of little man's fussiness.

Could he be any cuter? Even when he is sick, he is adorable!

Stratton. . .what are you doing???

I was in the bedroom putting my jewelry on when I heard water running? I walk into the bathroom to find this:

Yep, he learned to turn the water on and off. . .and on and off. . and on and off. . . He learns something new everyday, too bad most things are things we don't want him to do!!

Sweet Summertime!

Ok, is it just me or did we completely skip the season called SPRING?! I am not ready for summer. Or at least not the heat part! It has been smoking hot the last few weeks and it isn't even July?! This time last year we were in Florida. .  . .sigh. . .

But, I do love that summer time means: Longer days (I don't feel like I get home from work and immediately have to go to bed!), we get to spend more time with family and friends, life seems like it's just a little slower, there are shaved ice stands open for business and best of all . . . POOLS are open!!

Since they don't have school anymore, Isabella and Alexandra got to go with us after church Sunday night to eat with our group at Lazzari! They were quite the entertainment! And Stratton loves the company and attention! The girls wanted to stick their heads out the sunroof while we were driving back home. . . I know they think I''m pretty "cool" about things, but I'm not insane?!! So, when we got back to their house, completely stopped in the driveway, I let them try it. Isabella was standing on the console, head and half her body (she's tall!) sticking out of the sunroof when Christina came out the door and Isabella told her "this is how I rode home, the whole way!" Ha-ha. Very funny. Uncle Brian and Christina may never let them go anywhere with us again! I hope they know we have better sense than that. . . for the most part anyway.

Monday evening, I ran a few errands when I got off work- mainly just to Target. I used to LOVE Target. Now I am beginning to hate it. Every time I go I drop at least $100 if not more?!!! Diapers, baby food, disposable bibs, ect . . . all that small stuff adds up quick! Man, babies are expensive!! Anyway, my Mom was in town running some errands of her own so she went and picked up Stratton at Daycare and took him back to the house and fed him supper and changed his clothes. So when I got home we jumped in the car and took off to Alexandra's T-ball game. It was actually really nice outside! Stratton wanted NO part of his stroller. All the sudden he doesn't like it? I don't get it he used to love it? Next time we are taking his wagon, maybe he would ride in it better! (And don't make fun of me if you see me at the mall sometime pulling Stratton in his wagon. He loves it and I can't carry him! I call him my "Chunky Monkey"! He's so big and just crawls and climbs on and over everything!!) Al's game was so cute! Those little girlies running all over the place cracks me up! I got a blue raspberry tropical snow (I LOVE shaved ice!!) while we were there and I let S's have a small bite. Not sure he really knew what to think he made the most awful face! But then of course he wanted more!! 

Tuesday evening, I took S's swimming for the first time! Our friend Amy's mom (Mrs. Cindy, who is also S's Sunday School teacher) and dad have an awesome new salt water pool! Amy and I went from about 5-7 pm and it was sooo nice! It wasn't swelteringly hot, and there were no bugs! The water was a little cool at first, but once you were in it for awhile it was fine. Stratton seemed to really like it! I thought he would since he loves his baths so much! Now, I just have to find a baby floatie! He let Amy hold him some but he wasn't a fan of me getting very far away! And it's hard to "swim" holding him the whole time. We are going to Memphis this weekend, so maybe I can find a neat one at Toys-R-Us.

This weekend we are going to Memphis! Friday night we are meeting Meghan (Jonathan is out of town this weekend) for dinner and then she and I are going to finally see SATC2 [Kristen,we will miss you!!]. Then Saturday morning we are having Stratton's 1 year pictures taken with Daisha Sheets (D'Lifeful Photography) at Audubon park at 10:00am. Hopefully, we can do them early enough we won't get beat down by the heat! Then we will probably stick around and do some shopping. I have got to figure out what we are going to get Stratton for his birthday!!

And speaking of his birthday. . .it will be here before we know it!! I am doing a first birthday announcement and a separate party invitation. It's kind of weird, I know but I realized that we cannot possibly invite everyone we want to his party. Just family alone has us at about 30ish people!!  We could easily add another 30 or more with all our close friends, so the party will be mainly just the family this year. However, I want to send something out to ALL of our friends (especially since we are having new photos taken) so they can see how much he has grown and how cute he is! : ) And we have several friends that live far away and it wouldn't make sense to send them an invitation to a party we know they can't come to?! The announcement is already designed, just have to get those new pictures drop them in and I'll be set!! And I am currently working on the invitation. Since we are doing an airplane theme, I think I am going to make them look like airline tickets!

Ugh, more tests?

After a couple of months of feeling just fine, my Dr. decided that it was time to start backing off the meds I have been on for my stomach "issues".  Well, it's only been a few weeks and my stomach problems have again risen. I have been in misery for about 2 weeks (I even threw up at work the other day- so humiliating!!) So, I went back to the Dr yesterday. He thinks at this point I need to have some more tests done. {Yay, just what I wanted to hear! Who doesn't LOVE tests!!} They are setting me up for a endoscopy and colonoscopy both! Seriously, both!?  At least I will get them done all at one time. His thinking is that if they don't find anything from those tests, we might have to go ahead and have my gallbladder taken out after all. ugh. All my pain is still on the left side, but I could always have "referred" gallbladder pain. He said it's rare but does happen. {and of, course it would happen to me} We won't know anything till after the tests and they are going to get back to me when it's scheduled. It won't be till the end of July though- NOT before Stratton's birthday party, I have WAY too much to do!! It should only put me out for a day and a half, so it's not too bad. And I have talked to several people who have recently had it done and they say it's not as bad as it used to be. Still. . . I am NOT looking forward to it at all!

Stratton's new "Mean Face"

Stratton has started doing this funny "mean face" or "growling" thing. It started when he would get food on his nose, then we noticed him doing it when he had a runny nose and now he just does it to be silly! I guess he figured out that when he does it we laugh hysterically, and likes the attention! I finally got him to do it for me on video last night, too. I will be posting that later!

  

He is such a sweet boy! I love that he wants, and tries to make us laugh! That is one thing we are not short of in our house- laughter! We are constantly cracking up at the things that our little man does! Most of the time it is followed by a "No!". It is so hard to punish him for things that make us laugh, but it is in his best interest!

He is FINALLY, drinking out of his sippy cup really well! I thought the day would never come and was worried we'd have a toddler still clinging to his bottle! The ones he likes the best are the ones with the straws. He isn't a fan of the regular ones yet. He hasn't figured out that you have to turn them up to get anything out! We have been giving him some watered down baby juice and he seems to really like it. I'm sure it's much better than plain water. He looks like such a big boy drinking out of them. Where has my baby gone?!