Mondays With Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 48 weeks old!!! Too bad he had an appointment with Dr. P at 11:20!!! On a good note, he has a cold/virus of sorts. Nothing serious but no medicine to help. Just Tylenol if he seems painful. Ears looked great. He didn't get those from me apparently! I hear I had infections all the time. I am thinking Blake did, too!?!? We'll have to talk to Lulu and Perd about that! So,wait, if he didn't get his ears from me...and he didn't get them from Blake...I will assume he got God's ears!! :) They do hear VERY well! I did go ahead and get his first H1N1 vaccine. He will need the second in a month, which should make for a lovely birthday gift! Along with his one year shots. Oh dear...I won't even get started on this "one year" business that I am not even believing...

I was planning to share a few pictures from Thanksgiving...but...I got some really cute ones at Dr. P's!!! Go figure!! Of course, they aren't very crisp. I have yet to decide what to do about my lenses. You know, the one I smashed the last time we went to see Dr. P!!! And I still took my camera. The pictures aren't as crisp and it annoys the heck out of me. But they were remodeling and the new blue walls screamed for a picture with Crosby!!! :)

If you look up close, it appears his "baby blues" are turning to a shade of green, more like his parent's. Both of his parents. It kind of makes me sad because I loved those "baby blues." But let's be honest, his eyes could be red and I would think he was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!

After his appointment, it was lunch time and then down to sleep. Boy oh boy did he wake up in the crabbiest of moods!!! So, I decided to give him a few moments with his Praise Baby DVD, Praises and Smile to be exact...

"Enough already!!!!!"

I knew what would get him moving. His Leap Frog stacking toy...

Told you he doesn't want them stacked!!!

Maybe I will post Thanksgiving pics tomorrow, even though it will be December. Technically speaking, I think I missed 3 days in November. I could make up for it. We'll see what happens!!!

11 months...

It is that time of the month!! This poor baby did not feel so good on his 11 month birthday! :( His nose is a faucet. He is sneezing and coughing all the time. His little nose is sore from being wiped over and over and over... So I didn't take the time to wipe it, again, for pictures. I was lucky to get a smile without his "bubba" in his mouth the entire time!!!
On to perspective pictures...

Crosby and his bear...

Crosby and his bear in his chair...

Mug shot...
Big hand, little hands...(he wanted you to see both of them this time!!!)

Big feet, little feet...

Upside down...

Outtakes...

Holding hands...

Checking him out...

For some reason, the eyes cocked to the side and his feet crossed at the ankle just cracks me up!!! Not to mention he has just pinned the bear...

Crawling up my pants leg telling me, "I am DONE!!!"

Compare: 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 7 months, 8 months, 9 months, 10 months.

You will notice someone is missing this month. I bought a new bed for Nugget. He is quite fond of it and opted out of our photo session!!

Crosby is on the move these days. He can crawl anywhere and everywhere. He has mastered going up and down stairs. He tries to crawl over the side of the bathtub but is just a little too short for that...thank goodness. He has been caught with his hand in the toilet 2 times now. CLEAN toilets but toilets nonetheless!! He likes to hold our hands and "walk". When you let go, he stands for a second and then drops to his bum with a big smile on his face. He knows when we let go and isn't falling for that trick just yet. He is cruising all over the furniture. This has led to several knocks on the noggin. Sometimes tears follow. Sometimes not. It all depends on the mood!! The ones you think will cause the tears, don't. The ones that shouldn't hurt a bit, do! Go figure...

Crosby is still in size 3 diapers. It seems they like to hang out in that size for a while. He is proving that theory to be true. He is in 12 month clothes for the most part. Some brands are 12-18 month. He is in a size 2 shoe but is probably needing a 3 by now! We have one shoe that is missing and it kills me because they were my favorite...Rileyroos. They are so cute. If you find it lying around somewhere, let me know! :)

Crosby still sleeps until 7 ish most days. He takes a 2 ish hour nap around 9:00 and another around 2. Today, it was 3 in the morning and 2 1/2 in the afternoon...not feeling well. Naps depend on his mood as well. We have been hit or miss on good naps these days. Maybe he is moving toward one nap a day??? I sure hope not!!! He rarely wakes up in the night anymore. Just when we travel...and I think I have bored you enough with that. No trips are planned any time soon so we are safe for now.

The top toys of the month are still the cell phone and remote. The house phone works nicely, too. He loves his ring stacker, his wooden stool with his name on it (maybe not that brand but you get the idea...), his activity table , and his pop up toy. He wants his rings unstacked, the letters out of the stool, and the pop up animals down! He will come across the room just to make sure they are left that way!! He is fond of the new walking hippo and his barn magnet. Of course he prefers the barn and magnets to be on the floor! So funny.

When he is in the mood, Crosby eats like a champ. He prefers anything we have. I don't think there is a favorite at this point. He LOVES to feed himself. Nugget LOVES to lick his hands in the middle of the process! So nasty. Yes, I clean them before I let him eat again... Crosby still drinks anywhere from 20-25 ounces of my milk only a day. That will be changing very soon but more on that later! He is getting better about using a sippy cup. He can drink out of a straw pretty good, too!

I had to put our 11 month old to bed early because he is worn out from this funk he has gotten. We'll see if he needs to go in to see Dr.P tomorrow. I better end this now. With all the sleep he has gotten, there is no telling how early he will wake up...

Oh Christmas tree...

Oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches... Last year, I supervised the decorating of the tree from our couch. This year, I drove to Home Depot and picked it up myself! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this time of year. And the "late gift" we received last year makes the season a little more precious. My heart is overflowing as I think about this time last year...

It matters not

He napped like a dream in the pack-n-play yesterday afternoon. But it was a different story when the sun went down. Despite the egg crate. Despite the bumper pads. Little man did not want to sleep in a make shift crib last night. Apparently he is a bit of a crib snob.

I attempted to lay him down 3 times. When the third attempt led to sobbing and huge tears, I put him in bed with his daddy. They snuggled until he was out. Then I made the transfer. He woke up crying at 2:30am ish but was able to fall back asleep on his own. He woke up at 5:50 ish and I put him in bed with us, never to fall back asleep. Needless to say, it was a long night!

At least the morning nap was excellent. The afternoon nap...not so much. The ride home ended up taking 6 hours. He required lots of distraction to remain content when awake. He needed a stop along the way to stretch his legs.

Did I mention he had a low grade fever last night? And this morning?

It might sound like a rough Thanksgiving. Maybe it was for the little guy. But for the mama, all of this matters not. I can think of a MILLION reasons to be thankful today. My feverish, snotty, whiny, fussy, happy one second distraught the next, out of sorts, pack-n-play hating, depriving us of sleep baby is just one HUGE reason...

So far...

So good!!! Night one away from home. Lulu got to put him to bed, because we actually went to dinner, with friends, without him!!! He is in a crib that looks a lot like his so that helps. He cried a bit, initially, so she had to rock him. But once he was out, he was out! I am totally fine with that. It is nearly 11 and he has yet to wake up crying, which has been doing in his very own crib a few times this week...hmmmm. Tomorrow night, he will be in a different state, in a pack-n-play. You better believe we have the bumpers AND an egg crate for that pack-n-play! I do listen!!! Now let's see if he likes it...

Mondays With Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 47 weeks old!!! I cannot believe there are only 5 more weeks to document in this year. Where has the time gone? This has been the fastest 47 weeks of my life. He is going to be driving soon, I just know it...

Can you find the common denominator in the following pictures?

I am not sure what the deal is with the tongue sticking out so much these days! He seems to do it when he is exerting himself or thinking really hard. Maybe having the tongue out helps him concentrate. I am not sure. It sure does create a slobbery chin and wet neck!!!

In case you need more proof that our baby won't be a baby much longer...

While at a friend's house Saturday night, Crosby was introduced to a walking toy. (aka... a doll stroller! Thanks for sharing Kathryn!! :)) Anyway, he took off across the floor on the first attempt, showing lots of balance and control. I have known one of these would be useful for a while. I have been holding out on getting him one of these toys for 2 reasons: 1.) the grandparents got something similar for a Christmas present 2.) I am not ready for him to walk. Clearly, he is ready to move!!! Wouldn't you know our friends had this toy in their garage and decided to donate it to Crosby's toy stash. Looks like my plan to keep him immobile was thwarted!!!

Maybe we will just use it this way for now...

After multiple purchases and multiple returns, we finally have the little one safely locked out of the stairs. It looks like someone else is caged up too!!!

Motivation...

I now have a really good reason to exercise...

I have 6 months to find my quads, glutes, hamstrings and abs. And for the sake of lifting Crosby, some low back muscles would be nice, too! I thought I left them on one of the couches or the bed this time last year. But, I have looked all over this house and can't seem to find them anywhere!!! I am officially on a mission to find them...

I've got nothing...

So I will just ask something. Are there any "must haves" to get this little guy for Christmas and his birthday? He only has a few age appropriate toys at this point. I have refrained from buying anything new because we have 2 big occasions just around the corner. Of course, just mentioning this makes me want to cry but we won't talk about that...

I have been thinking about the Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn or a similar one from the Land of Nod. But do kids really use them? I don't want to pay that much for something that will become a dog bed for Nugget! We have mentioned a wagon and the Little People barn. I know each child is different so there is no surefire winner. But, I would love to know what other kiddos have enjoyed! Please share away!!!

2 for a day...

We had a visitor today...
Charlotte!!!! Today I had the pleasure of keeping this sweet little princess while her parents were at work. Sure, I was a tad nervous about balancing the needs of two babies under the age of one. But, I was surprised at how easy they were! Believe it or not, they napped at the same time. After 2 hours, they managed to wake up at the same time! That also happened to be right when Blake walked in the door for lunch!!! Perfect timing for a second set of hands. I had our lunch ready so we ate while feeding both little ones. I changed a couple of diapers, got Crosby dressed in his coordinating pumpkin outfit and we headed out on a walk. We stopped by the clinic to say hello. As we were leaving, Blake was walking back in to work. We took a leisurely stroll home and Miss Charlotte passed back out! We only had a little time to kill before Anne Claire walked back in the door!

Coordinating cousins...

Heading out on our walk...

Back at home...

I got to see what it is like to be a mother of 2 for all of 6 hours! Let's just say, I got lucky...

The Snotsucker

Now if that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what else will. Okay, so I can think of a few things would do the trick but you know what I mean...

When looking at Crosby you probably think, "He is too cute to ever have a snotty nose!" ;) Well, believe it or not, his nose runs like a running faucet at times. Actually, his upper lip has a nice sheen going at this very moment... Thank goodness I ran across this little gadget while shopping in Franklin a few months ago. I had never heard of it. No one recommended it to me. I just saw it in a store, was disgusted for a few minutes then decided it was a pretty good idea! I ended up walking out the door with one for myself and one for my sister-in-law. Why not give it a try???

Let me just say the NoseFrida puts the bulb aspirator to shame. It might be the most repulsive apparatus you have ever seen but it works! I will admit, neither Crosby nor I look as happy or as well dressed as the models demonstrating its use. I will also confess that Crosby is not as big a fan of the NoseFrida as his mother. I do think he likes it better than the bulb aspirator because it does the job MUCH faster! He only lets me use it for a few seconds before he starts flailing himself all over the place. Thank goodness I have regained some of the strength I lost while on bedrest with him!

As I was looking for a link to share a picture of the bulb aspirator, I came across this video. Seriously?? Did she really think that was a good video? Helpful in anyway? Poor Andrew! Just another reason you should invest in the NoseFrida early on! ;)

Reminiscing...

It probably seems ridiculous. He isn't even a year old...yet. But it is just around the corner. Every time I look at him, he is a little taller. I lift him and he weighs a little more. His fingers move with precision. His curiosity keeps him moving. My tiny baby is turning into a busy little boy.

Is it strange that I could cry when I look back at pictures of the first few days/weeks/months of his life? Am I crazy for wishing I could hold my tiny little baby one more time and remember what it feels like? Is it possible to love someone too much?

I may not be able to hold him, but at least I can hear his sweet baby noises any time I want...

Ride a little horsey...

Or a Nugget!! It may look like abuse, but Nugget gets a kick out of doing this with Crosby. He starts jumping around and is ready to play once the boys get him going! Needless to say, Crosby is a fan of this game as well! And while we are at it, his parents enjoy playing, too! :)

Mondays With Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 46 weeks old!!! Like most weeks lately, it was another busy one. We still had lots of fun!! Our play group met at the Nashville Zoo on Thursday. The weather has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL the last week or so and we wanted to take advantage. So we spent the afternoon outdoors. One of the employees took a picture of the entire group. She commented on how good it turned out. Funny that when I got home, there was no group picture to be found!! I was a bit bummed. So, I had to go steal a few pictures from Kara just to get most of the group in a shot...

Anne Claire and Charlotte...

Kara and Lucas...

Kristen and Mason...

Jenny and Addy...

And there is Heidi...waaaay over there with Dean!! :) We had them all lined up watching the meerkats...I think...

It was a little windy and I forgot to bring a blanket. But I did find his Alaskan hunting cap in the car!!! Doesn't he looked thrilled?

He totally embarrassed to be riding in a wagon, with a girl, wearing his hat...

And he took care of that somewhere along the way! ; ) Dean wanted to come over and check on the wagon train. Too bad I missed the moment where he hugged Crosby and gave him a kiss! How sweet is that Dean?!?!

Watching the animals...

Most of the kiddos in one shot. They are too quick these days!

Except for the one that can't move much! Miss Charlotte...

Loving the zoo...

Miss Mason and her adorable sheep hat!

Me and my little man...

Anne Claire and Charlotte, Me and Cros...

Pinned...

On Saturday, we loaded up the car and headed to Birmingham. We told Buddy we were going down to visit Jason, Kerri and the boys for the day and invited him along for the ride. Little did he know that Jeremy, Anne Claire, Charlotte and Lucy would be joining us as well!!! We had a little surprise party to celebrate his 60th birthday! Initially he turned us down!! Thank goodness he changed his mind. How horrible to skip your own surprise birthday party!

Crosby dressed for Auburn football...

The boys walked to a nearby school to play soccer. Crosby watched...

While the big boys played...

Then we got on the swing. Does he look comfy or what?!?!

Jaime and Scout stopped by for a visit...

So did Davis, Henley and Corey...

Look at all the mamas and babies in this house!!!! So much fun...

Time to eat homemade strawberry cake. That is Buddy's favorite and he gets one every year. It was Anne Claire's first attempt to make one and it was delish!!!
Ready to eat!!! Miss Charlotte...

Me and Cros, Jaime and Scout...

We had to take a family shot before we all left...

And one of the birthday boy with his wife and kid...

Happy Birthday, Buddy!