Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 11 weeks old! And at some point today, I turned... well...never mind. Let's just say we both hit milestones this Monday and I'll leave it at that! :)

Man have we had a crazy week! It all started Wednesday when Crosby and I packed up the car and headed to Memphis. My friend, Veronica, invited us to spend a few days with her and her 4 kiddos while her husband was on a mission trip. We thought it sounded fun and made plans to take our first little road trip without Blake. We had a great time. Crosby loved playing with the big kids. He took advantage of their flat driveway and cul-de-sac. The child nearly wore out the pavement while attempting to perfect his walking skills...

Then he decided he wanted to play in the dirt. And maybe see if it tasted any good. I didn't think it was such a good idea. He disagreed...

He still managed to prove he is all boy and got pretty dirty!

At least he looked pretty cute doing it!

This was our attempt at a serious shot of the kiddos...

And here is the "silly" one...which the big kids clearly enjoyed. Crosby didn't quite get it...

Crosby, once again, did not sleep well in the pack-n-play. He slept with me for portions of Wednesday and Thursday nights. Needless to say, he got more "sleep" than I did. I am thinking I need to REALLY pad up the bottom next time...if there is a next time. It probably didn't help that I left the bumpers at home this time, hoping that we were beyond pack n play issues. Clearly we are not!

We got back here Friday around lunch. I let Crosby take a nap in his own bed before getting in the car again and heading to Columbia. My mom's church has an event every year called Wonderful Weekend for Women. I'm not scared to admit it. I reverted to a starstruck 12 year old when we got to hear Candace Cameron Bure, aka D.J. Tanner, speak on Friday night and Saturday morning. I was THIS close to having my picture taken with her. But I just couldn't... She was really a great speaker, leaving me with lots to think about!!!

While I was at the conference, Crosby was hanging out with Pop. Crosby had noooo trouble sleeping Friday night in the crib they got for him! That just confirms it is not necessarily sleeping away from home that is the problem. The pack n play must be uncomfortable...

I met with my old coworkers last night after small group so I wasn't here to put Crosby to bed. When I went to get him this morning and change his diaper, I was a little confused by this...

I could swear the zipper on his PJs usually go straight down the front of his body...

And they usually don't twist around his waist...

Or around his backside, with the foot pointing backwards!!! I won't name any names, but someone managed to really botch the donning of his PJs!!! Good thing I am an OT and can work on this... Poor Crosby kept tripping because the right leg of his PJs was so tight! I could only leave them on long enough to snap a few pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Things only got worse from there...

Apparently we no longer like oatmeal for breakfast! We have only been eating it for months now. I eat the same thing every morning so I am not sure why this is a big deal!?!? Now, if you take this little man to Pancake Pantry and order chocolate chip pancakes, he eats half the plate! We met Melissa and Margaret for birthday brunch and they were pretty happy!!!

He was all smiles tonight when we met up with my family to celebrate "my big day"...

I tried my best to get a good picture of him with my parents. Good grief. Can we not all look at one time, please??????

So I gave up and figured we could all use our imaginations and come up with the perfect picture in our heads!!!

We ended the night with another attempt at using the jets...

Things were going well...

Crosby was having a blast...

That was, until I saw the face. You know the face I am talking about. The one that indicates somebody's britches are about to be full!!!!! You know the face... Yea, that one. Only he had on no britches. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. So, Blake took him to his tub while I graciously cleaned up the mess!! And to think just last week I was thinking to myself, "Maybe we will get lucky and he will never poo in the tub"!! Why did I allow myself to go there???? I am thinking this is a sign that we should get the big tub a break for a while...

And I will leave you with a bedtime video from a few weeks ago. He looks REALLY sleepy...

We have to rewind and watch 17-21 ish seconds over and over again because his face cracks us UP!!!! Believe it or not, he went straight to sleep!

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 10 weeks old!!! And for some reason, today he looked every bit of that 1 year and 10 weeks...if not older!?! I am thinking you will see it when you get to the pictures from today. I am not sure if it is the collared shirt or what. Blake and I both agreed he looked like a little boy!! Kind of makes me sad... Moving on.

The weather has been amazing the past few days. We have spent a lot of time outdoors lately and it has been wonderful. We took advantage of the warmth and walked back down to the playground at the end of our subdivision. I think the following video will tell you how it went...




The child can laugh! Not only does he crack us up, he cracks himself up! So much fun!!!

I just had to post this one... We got back in from the park and he headed over to his "toy box". He was looking for his favorite books but they are located behind the basket. So he crawled in the cabinet to get them. When he wants something, he gets it. For the most part!

Wonder who he gets that from??? The next picture will NOT answer that question. Let's just say, I went to 2 consignment sales this weekend... Oh my! I kind of went nuts. I am not sure how many items I came out with but I think it was near 40. But everything was such a good deal. Before Thursday, we only had a few things for Crosby to wear this summer. Now we have lots to chose from! I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to go to these sale. I have heard stories of crazy lines, mad dashes to the clothes, people grabbing clothes and stuffing them into laundry baskets then sorting in corners. TJ Maxx overwhelms me so I knew this could send me over the edge. Surprisingly enough, my experiences were nothing like I mentioned above. Thanks to the Otter Creek Consignment Sale and the Monkey Business Sale, Crosby will be one cutie pa tootie this summer!

And a funny... When I walked in to shop early at the Monkey Business Sale, I heard someone call my name. I looked around and met eyes with someone I didn't know. But Ann knew me because of the blog! Pretty amazing to know that because of a mutual friend, Ann said many prayers for our family. What a blessing to spend time with her over the weekend and get to know her! You can bet I will be working with her again when the fall sale comes around!!!

These pictures are just silly. Blake and I couldn't get over how tiny these PJs had gotten. They must have shrunk or something. It can't be that somebody has gotten bigger...Makes you want to sing "fat guy in a little coat"...

We went swimming at the YMCA this morning. (Indoor pool, of course) This was our first time in the water since last summer so wasn't sure how things would go. I felt sure Crosby would have a good time in the water. I pulled out the yellow float we used last year and blew it up for the occasion. At the last minute I realized we only had swim diapers from last year! Fortunately, they were huge last year so I managed to make them work today! Once we got to the locker room, he seemed to know something exciting was in the works. Once we hit the pool, he was in heaven! I put him in the ring and he tolerated it all of a minute. Then he started twisting and turning, trying to pull his legs out of the slots. Mr. "I can walk now and don't need your help, mom" thought he could just walk right into the 2 and 3 foot water. He also felt it was perfectly safe to attempt the slide on his own and this is definitely NOT the case. We were there for 45 minutes are so before I was worn out. I had to wrestle with him the entire time to keep him from drowning. The child was absolutely fearless. Could care less if he was splashed in the face and probably drank a gallon of that water. We will be purchasing a swim vest before we do that again! Any brand/style suggestions appreciated...

He took a 3 hour nap after our playgroup at the pool. Then we headed down to the clinic to pick up Nugget from his bath. Crosby looks happy to see him...

Then Blake put him in a cage. He loves cats. This one as pretty sweet seeing how it was still feeling the effects of surgery earlier today! Then he spotted his food...

He tried to love on the clinic cat, Ellie...

She was NOT interested!!!

But Bree was more than happy to show Crosby a little love...

We ended the night with his first bath in the "big tube"...

We were going to try it the other night with the jets. We have not used them in ages so I thought I should run them first to clean the plumbing out. Crosby was eagerly looking on. Too bad one of the jets was aimed right for his head and knocked him on his backside!!! Scared the poor thing to death. Needless to say, I wasn't sure this would go over well. Thank goodness he forgot about the jet experience! We didn't bother with those tonight!!! He had a great time...

"Come on, mom. Enough pictures of me in the tub..."

And I want to say congrats to Jessica and Wes on the birth of Eva Wren and to Jill (#1 commenter ;)) and Billy on the birth of Ann Cortner!!! Congrats to 2 precious families that just got a little bigger! The Malones love you and can't wait to meet these little girls!!!!!

Number 2

Yep! That would be my new name. As soon as I sign the paperwork, I will be also know as "patient #2"! I feel so...honored! Who would have thought that my relatively new found friend (that is not such a good "friend"), my mutated PAI-1 gene, would land me right in the middle of a research study?!?!? Please. Try not to be jealous. We can't all be blessed with genetic mutations. It was just luck of the draw. Or something...

Somehow, a really (and I mean REALLY) smart man found MY blog. When I got the bright idea to check my gmail account, I found a message from the Director of the Urology Research Center at the University of Toledo!!! Thankfully, this message was sent in February of THIS year!!! He has been studying PAI-1 deficiency and the plasmiongen activator system for years. His lab is "working on this disease and the application of VLHL PAI-1 (very long half life PAI-1) in this condition and other diseases as well." He goes on to say, that it was originally thought this condition was extremely rare...like only a few cases in the world. That could have really raised my mutation coolness to a higher level!!!! BUT...he quickly burst my bubble by telling me me he suspects it is more frequent that most people consider. I kind of knew that because I have been hearing that from all of my doctors. That, and I have met quite a few PAI-1 mutants since mine was discovered. It does appear there are quite a few of us roaming the earth. Don't let that scare you. We are really nice people.

Okay, seriously. As a part of his study, his lab would like to achieve the following:

1. Estimate how frequent it is.

2. Conduct test of human blood to establish standardized laboratory tests.

3. Find a cure for this condition. We think that VLHL PAI-1 might be used. However this can happen many years from now and such efforts are not always successful.

I am not writing this to toot my on genetically deficient horn. I am posting this because there may be other readers who have been diagnosed with a PAI-1 mutation. If you have been, and are interested in participating, please let me know and I will pass the info along to you as well. I know Dr. Jankun would appreciate your help, as a sample size of 2 would not hold much validity in the would of research. All that is involved with the study is a little paperwork and a blood draw. And for what it is worth, I never volunteer myself as a pin cushion. Never. But, for the sake of science, I thought this would be a great opportunity to help others down the road. Might as well use this lovely diagnosis for something good!

Mondays with Crosby

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 1 year and 9 weeks old!!! We have a few more tricks up our sleeves now. Crosby has been "barking like a dog" for a while now. He learned how to "quack like a dog" while playing with a toy at the fridge. A few days later he mastered "mooing like a cow"!!! Too bad now, he likes to make one of his 3 new sounds for ALL of the animals! Hmmm. Not sure about that. He was big on mooing for a few days. Now he prefers to "quack". I guess we need to work on this a little longer!

A few things have disturbed me this week. I will just let the picture speak for itself...

What did Mickey do to deserve this? He starts out with all of his lovies IN his bed. But you never know where you will find them when you return after a nap or full night's sleep! They are usually crammed between his bed and the wall. Along with all of his pacifiers. It appears Mickey was too big to fit behind his bed like everyone else! Some days you go in his room and it looks like this...

All of his friends can be found in a pile on the floor! Along with all of his pacifiers! I am not sure what his human friends will think of this. Sleepovers may not be a good idea anytime soon!!!

I am also a little bothered by the fact that Crosby has developed a little separation anxiety. We have had zero problems up until this point. It started the other day at the YMCA. I recently decided, again, to get back in shape. I signed him in and handed him off like I have in the past. The next thing I know, big tears are rolling down his face. Heartbreaking. I slowly walked out trying to decide what to do. Of course, I knew I was supposed to leave him and let him get used to it...even though he was used to it the day before at CBS?!? I got on a machine and thought we were good. 23 minutes in , I felt a tap on my back. They had come to get me because he was still upset! REALLY heartbreaking! So I scooped my little man up, cuddled a bit and took him home! :( It happened again Sunday morning at church and again, today, when we revisited the Y! Luckily, he made it through the 1 hour class I was hoping to finish! I am not liking this phase on bit and hope it passes quickly.

Yesterday, we drove up to Hendersonville to take roses to the girls for Caroline's birthday. Of course, Crosby is too young to know why we were there. But, he sure enjoyed playing with the roses. I thought it was pretty sweet...Sweet babies...

I bundled the little man up this afternoon and took him on a walk with the dog. Being that he couldn't move his arms, he looked a lot like a blue burrito! He sure didn't mind. He was just happy to be outdoors!

We stopped at a nearby park and played with 2 big boys. Crosby could do nothing but stare at them...

And point at them. I just love that little finger. He points at EVERYTHING these days...

I let Nugget off the leash and he ran circles just like he did when he was a young pup. Then he went missing. That was until I found him under the slide. He was worn out from acting like the youngster he is not...

It was pretty stinkin cold out there so we cut our playtime short. For some reason, I keep thinking it is warmer outside than it is. We end up being WAY under dressed. My hands were ice cubes. But because big kids were around, Crosby could have cared less about the weather. He just wanted to watch!

I wrapped him up real good when we got home. For a second, his blanket reminded me of Hugh Hefner...

So I unwrapped him real quick and let him warm up in my arms!!!

I need apologize to some folks out there. I just looked at my gmail for the first time in almost a year! Yikes! There were a few emails that I clearly missed. I am SOOOO sorry. I forget that email account exists! I will have to do better at checking that from now on. And I will respond to those messages. Even if it is 11 months late...