Birthday Planning and Reflection

Three months to go until Fox turns one. Every single parent I come in contact with has told me to "cherish every moment because it flies by" and so I have. I am so lucky to have witnessed him smile, laugh, roll over, sit up, crawl, and pull up for the first time. I have been a mamarazzi and taken pictures of him nearly every day (I stopped posting them on Facebook all the time, but you can follow me on Instagram @haleynicole71 to get your Fox fix). I smother him with kisses, suffocate him with hugs, and attack him with tickles. We laugh together and sometimes I want to cry together. But I wouldn't change a thing.

I decided on his first birthday theme of monsters about 4 months ago. Since then I have collected invitations, goody bags, thank you cards, a onesie, and a bib for when he eats his cake. I have been searching Etsy and party blogs like crazy and pinning all kinds of stuff on Pinterest. Here is some of my inspiration.

 

 

I hope I can catch the 'crafty bug' so I can get some motivation and try to make some of his decorations. If not, then I'll have to get some help from my crafty friends lol.

Wordless Wednesday - PJs

That's his FIRST name?

Many people hear my son's name and immediately think of the animal. As cute as they may be, they did not inspire us to name our first born after them.

Fox is actually named after a man born in Kentucky on November 1, 1878. That man is Brent's great great grandfather. It took some convincing on Brent's part to get me to agree to the name and honestly I still wince a little when I tell strangers because they usually either love it or hate it, and always have something to say about it. No matter what people say - I adore the name. It may be a bit strange, but it is easy to pronounce and spell unlike a lot of unique names now.

Our first issue over his name came up when we were trying to get his birth certificate. The lady told us it wasn't ready and ended up calling the hospital who told her his name wasn't in their system at all. Weird. She then proceeds to tell me I need to call the hospital to get it sorted out. Turns out she was searching as if his last name was Fox. Of course as soon as I pointed out her mistake she quickly took my money and handed over the birth certificate.

Next occasion was at the pharmacy waiting to pick up his prescription of Zantac. The pharmacy tech asks "What's the first name?" and Brent answers "Fox." Then the guy says "That's his FIRST name?" Nope kid, we lied.

Even though we have hit a few little bumps with it, for the most part people compliment his name and say it is either "cute" or "cool." I knew Fox was going to be one of a kind (how could he not with parents like us?) and he deserved a one of a kind name to fit.

Silly Boy

My handsome boy is now eight months old and he is such a silly boy! His personality is really starting to show and I could seriously sit and play with him all day. He cracks me up! 

A few new things he's doing now:

• Crawling on all fours
• Pulling up
• Clapping
• Saying "dada" and "baba"
• Waving at strangers and when you say "hey" or "bye bye"
• Mocking us when we shake our head, growl or roar, scream, sing, and clap
• He has taken a few side steps while standing at a toy table

I took him outside and sat him in the grass for the first time the other day and he didn't think it was very fun. I snapped a few pictures and this one above was one of my favorites... drool on his shirt and everything!

A Little Update

My little guy amazes me every day with how much he is learning, doing, and growing.

Some of the things he is currently doing:

• Sitting up for long periods of time and playing by himself 
• He knows what to touch on his toys to get them to light up and make noise
• Drinking from a sippy cup with a straw like a champ
• Going from crawling position to sitting up, and from sitting up to crawling position
• Rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and lunging forward while in this position
• He puts one knee forward like he wants to crawl, then collapses to his belly after one try

I absolutely love how much he loves me. He looks to me with adoration and I just melt into a puddle of mush! He is such a momma's boy and I can't complain :) His little personality is starting to show and he is such a silly guy.

First Mother's Day

Last week I took Fox to go get our pictures taken for the first time. I know Mother's Day isn't the holiday people typically have professional pictures done, but a local photographer was having a special and I decided I should take advantage and also get some good pictures of us two. I often hear people say they were always the one "behind the camera," and I don't want to look back and be that person. I would like to start a tradition next year and each year afterwards and get pictures of us taken.

 This day has a whole new meaning to me now. Not only do I celebrate all the mothers in my life on this day, but now I am a mom and I am the one being celebrated.

I hope Brent handles the task of celebrating my first Mother's Day well ;)

Bye-Bye Sanity

Teething.

I've always heard it was a bear but I had no idea it could be so awful.

Fox has been drooling like crazy and rubbing his fists (and everything else he could reach) on his gums... but that was about it. Up until two days ago. Then started the fussiness. Then yesterday started the crappy naps - I'm talking 2.5 hours in a 12 hour span compared to the usual 4.5 to 5 - and the screaming and crying non-stop. 

I've given frozen fruit in a mesh feeder, Tylenol, rubbed vanilla on his gums, and even resorted to teething gel. Nothing is helping. So today I'm going to go buy some Motrin and Hyland's Teething Tablets and order an amber necklace and throw his stupid hazelwood necklace in the trash! I am so upset that it isn't helping even though they claim to be good for teething. Apparently the amount of amber on the strand determines its effectiveness, and the amber on the hazelwood necklaces are pretty much just there for looks.

Please keep me in your thoughts. This is rough!