Some highlights from Christmas 2009

Last year, Larsen didn't really know what was going on at Christmas. He liked to stare at the tree and watch the dancing snowman sing and dance, but really, it was just like any other day. This Christmas was tons of fun! He enjoyed unwrapping presents, playing with new toys, and that snowman was pressed so many times that the batteries died! I can't imagine how fun next Christmas is going to be for all of us! Here are some pictures:

Christmas photo shoot

I wanted to make some Christmas cards and send them out to family and friends. I didn't really want to have professional photos done again, since we just had some done for his birthday. I decided on Saturday to dress him up in his Christmas outfit and put him in front of the tree. Well, the photo shoot was not all that successful. He was mad at me and screamed at the camera! lol! I got one picture of him smiling! Here are some of the better ones!

He knows how to brighten my day!!

My little boy knows how to brighten my day! Larsen decided to start taking steps this weekend and he couldn't have chosen a better time to do so. I found out I was pregnant again on October 15, but unfortunately, I miscarried the baby this past weekend. I was feeling very down about the whole situation, but he put a big smile on my face when he started taking steps! He is so cute and proud of himself when he does it. I am going to try to capture it on video soon.

Halloween with Larsen!

This Halloween, Larsen was a bumblebee! I ordered the costume from Old Navy and it was so adorable and seemed very comfy! He didn't seem to mind it much. I decided to go with the bumblebee costume because his nursery is decorated in bees. He can even make the buzzing sound! Here are some pics of Larsen in his costume.

Picking his pumpkin!!

Last year, we took Larsen to pick out a pumpkin, but he didn't quite know what was going on! Afterall, he was only a month old. We had thought about taking him to Eckart's, a local pumpking patch and apple orchard, but since he isn't walking yet, we thought we would save that for next year. We stopped at a place near my husband's work place and found some pumpkins there. I snapped some pictures and a nice lady offered to take a picture of the three of us. Ihop for breakfast and pumpking picking is my idea of a good day! We are also going to a wiener roast and hayride tonight. Feels like fall!!

Larsen is one!!

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I blogged. I was so busy enjoying my summer off with the little one, that I neglected my blog! In recent news, Larsen turned one on September 21! I cannot believe my little baby is one already! We celebrated his birthday on September 19 at the park. We had wonderful weather that day! He loved the cake and had a great time! Here are some pictures from the big day...

Larsen's First Swim!

Larsen went swimming for the first time today! He absolutely loved it! He thought the pool was a giant bath tub! He is going to have a great time this summer in grandma and grandpa's pool. Here are some pics from the pool.

Rubber ducky, you're the one!

Larsen loves his bath time! He likes to splish and splash! One of the best purchases I have made so far is a bath seat from Babies R Us. He likes a lot of water in the tub so he can splash around, but the problem is, without someone being in the bath without him, he gets so excited splashing that he almost turns himself over! This bath seat is great and he loves it!

Here are some pics of bath time in his new seat!

Time to become a hot mama!

I have just started Jillian Michaels' The Shred workout. So far, I am on day three. My husband is working out with me and he is on day five. He is trying to lose weight and gain muscle. I am mostly wanting to tone, but it would be nice to drop a few pounds, as well. It is a tough workout. I am very, very sore!! I would definitely recommend it. Let's hope I make it 30 days!

Test Results

Whew! All of the test results came back normal! A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. Marshall and I honestly did not suspect that Larsen had cystic fibrosis, since the only symptom he had was wheezing/coughing and he has great weight gain, but there still was that sinking suspicion in the back of our minds. We will continue on the inhaler every morning and evening and he will go back to see Dr. Johnson in July. Hopefully, there will be no more coughs between now and then.

What a great day to be a mommy!!

Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that yes, indeed, I am a mommy! I can't believe that I am lucky enough to have been blessed with the sweetest little boy I have ever met. I thank the Lord that he chose me to be Larsen's mommy!

I showed Larsen this picture yesterday. It was taken on Mother's Day last year, when my little guy was still snug and safe in my tummy. I can't believe that was a whole year ago! Time flies!

Nervous about tomorrow

Larsen has to go for some tests tomorrow. I am trying not to think about them because when I do, I start to worry and get nervous. Dr. Johnson, the specialist he has been seeing, wants him to have an upper GI, a cystic fibrosis test, and some blood work done tomorrow to hopefully rule some things out. He is off of his antibiotic and his steroid and is only taking albuterol as needed. We are still doing his Flovent inhaler in the morning and night. Hopefully, we won't have any more coughs this year!!

Here is a cute picture of me and Larsen. He is waving at the camera! hehe He loves to wave at everyone!

Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe--Love you, Grandma Fitzy

My great-grandma passed away this week. Marjorie Mae Fitzjarrell. I am so happy that she was able to meet Larsen before she passed away. She lit up everytime he came to visit. I was extremely sad to see her go, but I know that she was ready and she lived a good, long life. I bet she is filling a cookie jar right now with some delicious cookies she just made. We will miss you, Grandma Fitzy! Love you!

Sweet potatoes make me tired! ::yawn::

Forgot to post this last week. Larsen was so tired after eating some sweet potatoes that he just decided to fall asleep, right there in his high chair...though it was pretty cute!

The Summer Itch

There is something called the summer itch and I haz it!! I really enjoy my job and my students, but anymore, it is like pulling teeth for me to get up and get going. I feel like I am in kindergarten and I could almost cry on Sunday nights, knowing that I have to go back to school on Monday and be away from Larsen. I just want to stay at home and hang out with my baby boy. I know summer break will be here soon enough, but it is not coming fast enough!

Fun with baby chicks!

Larsen's grandma bought some baby chicks today and he enjoyed playing with them. He also enjoyed trying to squish them! Here are some pics!

Sweet Baby Boy

Just wanted to post a pic of my sweet baby boy. He is growing up so quickly! He can now wave bye, bye and last night I taught him how to give a high 5! He is also sitting up better and I am sure it is only a matter of time before he is crawling all over!

Weekend Flew By!!

Wow! The weekends really seem to fly by these days!! I was so happy that we had some nice weather this past weekend. Fresh air is good!

Saturday night we went to see my cousin perform in Little Shop of Horrors. He did a great job and Larsen thoroughly enjoyed the performance! He loves singing, dancing, and people most of all!

Sunday we went on a walk and enjoyed the nice weather. Marshall went fishing in the morning and showed Larsen the fish he had caught. Larsen didn't seem too impressed.

I am very excited we only have four days of school this week. Friday, we are going shopping and Sunday we might have a fish fry!

Two teeth!

Larsen is now the proud owner of two teeth!! The second one came through about six days after the first. He had a rough time with teething....well, we all did! hehe Marshall thinks I am crazy, but it makes me sad that my little man already has two teeth. Not a little baby, anymore! :(

Before I was a Mom

I found this on someone's blog and I really liked it.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
Or sang a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
My plants were poisonous...
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
And my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
So doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
Watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that
I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
Having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
To feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
Between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
Before I was a Mom

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a tooth!

Last week Larsen had a couple of rough nights. We thought it might be his teeth, but didn't know for sure. Well, Monday after going go the doctor for shots, we were at home and he was really chewing on a toy and slobbering. I put my finger in his mouth and rubbed along his bottom gum and felt something! Marshall got the flashlight out and we saw a tooth poking through! I could not believe it! We have looked in his mouth everyday since and it seems like it is poked through more and more each day. Last night, he was really fussy and didn't sleep well, so I think the tooth beside it might be trying to come through, too. The baby is growing up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A day late, but Happy Valentine's Day from Larsen!!

Larsen's big boy carseat!

Larsen has been pretty cramped in his Graco infant carseat for awhile now, so we decided to order him the Britax Marathon. This is supposedly the Cadillac of carseats and one of the safest. It is rear facing and forward facing and he can be in it until he is 65 pounds. It arrived yesterday and it is HUGE!! I hope it will fit in my car! My mom took a pic of me sitting in the carseat (yes, I fit) and another one of Larsen sitting on my lap while I am sitting in the carseat. Too funny! Larsen seemed to like it because he could spread his legs out and relax.

Happy Boy!

Even though he was not feeling the best today, he was still all smiles for the camera!




Here is a shot of him holding his baby. So cute!

Trying out the jumperoo

Larsen was trying out his jumperoo. He hasn't quite figured out how to jump in it yet, but he does enjoy looking at all of the toys and listening to the music. Here are some pics!

Learning new things everyday!

It seems like Larsen is learning new things every single day! He is really into holding and grabbing toys. He likes to hold his baby doll and rattle. He also just learned how to pull his binky out of his mouth. Last night, he was sucking on it really hard and also had his hand on the handle of it. Marshall and I knew it was just a matter of time before he popped it out of his mouth. Sure enough, we heard, "Pop!" and out came the binky. I think it kind of surprised him! lol! Larsen also is obsessed with his bottles and you cannot even let him see one unless you are going to put it in his mouth STAT!

Mama was not happy this morning!

Yesterday, the snow started falling. It kept falling until I went to bed last night. I tried not to get my hopes up about having a snow day, but with all of the school closings flashing across the news, I was definitely hoping for a snow day! However, my school never called off! BOO!! Pretty much every other school around us did, but not us! The roads were pretty crappy and I was driving the carpool today. I was super nervous we were going to go in a ditch or something! Thankfully, my mom came down early so I could take Larsen to daycare by 7:30. She is the best!

Splish, Splash...

Larsen was taking a bath!!

No snow day...BOO!

Well, we thought we were going to get a snow day today, but no luck! Looks like the weather man was wrong, again! I was really looking forward to staying home with baby today. :( I guess I will just have to wait until the weekend.

Some pictures of Larsen over the past four months

Larsen was four months old on January 21. He also had his four month pedi appointment that day. He weighed 16 lbs 8 oz (90th percentile) and was 25 inches long (60th percentile). Big Boy! We decided to postpone his four month shots that day because we just want to give him some more time to be well and get his immune system up. The pedi gave us the go ahead to begin cereal and introduce new foods (fruits, veggies). He is not digging cereal too much, but maybe he will like fruit!

Let's start at the beginning...

Larsen John Patrick was born on September 21, 2008. He weighed 8 lbs and was 20 inches long. He came into the world at 3:23 am! Early riser! Looked a lot like his daddy, with dark brown hair. I was scheduled to be induced September 24, four days after my due date. I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't go that long, and luckily, I didn't! The evening of September 19, I was having contractions and so we headed up to the hospital. Well, after spending about six hours there, I was eventually sent home because I wasn't progressing. The nurses were very hesistant because they had a feeling I was going to begin active labor very soon. We went back home and got some rest. The next morning I was feeling rather crampy, but no contractions, so I just shrugged it off. We were on our way from picking up Ellie, our dog, and my water broke in Marshall's truck! This was at 1:45 pm. We headed back up to the hospital and 13 hours later our little boy was born! Giving birth was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. Sometimes, I still cannot believe I did it! Having a baby is the best thing that has ever happened to us!!

Better late than never...

Considering our baby boy was born in September, I am starting this blog a little late, but better late than never! A lot of my nest friends have baby blogs and family blogs that I love reading, so I thought it would be a neat idea to start one for Larsen. He has a busy life!!