For Lunch: Beach Sand and a Tall Glass of Ocean Water

Did I mention we have a water baby? Evan's love for the ocean can't go unnoticed. He gives us quite a workout as we chase him around and wrestle him back to shore completely against his will. Round two follows almost immediately and Robert and I paper, rock, scissors for the next turn...rounds three, four and five usually have us packing up early. And we though the beach was for relaxation?
The gallons of salt water Evan swallows seems to have him begging for more. Of course he does need something to wash down the pounds of beach sand he eagerly devours.
Robert bought him a snazzy little floaty so that he could enjoy the water without the fear of submersion everytime a wave rolls in. As you can see, he was absolutely delighted. And it saved us a little energy too.

No Wonder Peyton is Losing Her Hair

Lovies Have Been Identified

Evan received numerous stuffed animals as gifts that I have displayed around his nursery. I picked out the four softest to put in the crib with him so that he would have a few buddies to hang out with before he went to sleep at night. For the first 9 months or so he expressed no interest in these animals. In fact, he would throw them out of the crib one by one before he went to sleep. I thought this was odd considering most babies pick out some sort of animal or a blanket that they love on and then decide they can't live without. America's favorite sextuplets, The Gosselins, call these their "lovies." But they chew and suck on their lovies which I think is absolutely disgusting - but that is neither here nor there...back to Evan.

I've been noticing over the past few months that he's been showing special attention to two particular stuffed animals. He has a teddy bear that Katie and Spencer gave him in the hospital and a Curious George monkey that Grandma and Grandpa Bopp gave him when he was born. I refer to the teddy bear as his "downstairs lovie" and Curious George as his "upstairs lovie." For some unknown reason Evan is only attached to the teddy bear when he's in his crib. Curious George goes in the crib at night too, but Evan just gives him the cold shoulder. His attention is solely on the teddy bear. He lovingly wraps his arms around the bear before he goes to sleep every night. When I walk into the nursery in the morning Evan is always sitting or standing playing with the teddy bear. Curious George is usually head first into the bookcase. It's almost like Curious George is his wife and the teddy bear is his mistress. If that's the case I have A LOT of parenting to do before he becomes a man!

After the poop incident I had to wash all of Evan's stuffed animals and let them air dry before I could put them back in the crib. Curious George was the last one I washed so he was the last one drying upstairs. When Evan spotted George sitting on the table he acted like he was being reunited with his long lost friend. He ran over to George and grabbed him up and literally carried him around for the rest of the day. Every now and then Evan would hold him up and babble a bit and then give him a really big hug and laugh and laugh and laugh. It really was quite hysterical. I now leave George upstairs because that's evidently where he's appreciated.

So in addition to his obsession with cars, trucks and tractors he has a little soft spot for his lovies too.

40 Things I Have Learned From My Husband

My good friend Kylie posted a tribute on her blog to her husband, Mark, highlighting 39 things she has learned from him over the years. I found the list absolutely hilarious, but also realized that each item listed was something that only they share as a couple. I was so intrigued by this tribute that I decided to do one of my own for Robert. In celebration of his upcoming 40th birthday I will list 40 things I have learned from my husband. (drum roll please...)

1. A few squares of toilet paper will do the trick...you don't have to use the whole roll.
2. You do not have to give up honey buns, Little Debbie cakes or Lucky Charms just because you're no longer a child.
3. Texting and driving is unacceptable, unless you know how to do it well.
4. Everything will work itself out as long as you stay positive.
5. What it means to be from East Tennessee
6. Coors light is actually pronounced Cooze Light.
7. You must always walk with a purpose.
8. If you know how to watch TV correctly then you should never have to sit through a commercial.
9. Dale's seasoning is good on everything.
10. Going on a diet can always wait one more day, just eat what's in front of you.
11. You are a ping pong champion...but I just took over the throne! ha!
12. Sports Center trumps anything else on TV.
13. Lionel Richie is the MAN! That's why I'm stuck on you...
14. Punctuality is overrated
15. KISS really was the best rock band of all time.
16. You can do just about everything in bed.
17. If you're late for a flight just park in short-term parking then dispute it when you get back.
18. As long as you're able to check email from your phone then you're not technically working.
19. Jagermeister is no longer mother's milk.
20. If you feel young, you are young therefore you'll always be IDed.
    
21. If we lost everything, at least we'd have each other.
22. There's nothing better than clean sheets on a bed.
    
23. There's nothing wrong with excessive talking as long as you have something to say.
    
24. Fantasy Football is addictive.
25. Peyton Manning will be the best quarterback of all time.
26. The word "discharge" is absolutely repulsive.
27. To show your Tennessee pride you must use the word "ain't" and sentences such as "I think my leg is broke."
28. Dusting is key to a clean house.
29. Why bother with the fat, always order the filet.
30. True relaxation is a good head massage and hair pull...it even opens up your sinuses.
31. Slam on brakes to grab the attention of a tailgater.
32. No matter where you are "passing gas" is always hilarious.
33. ADD follows you from childhood to adulthood.
34. Totino's pizzas are deliciously cheap.
35. Saying "my wife" is so much more satisfying than using her name.
36. Taking a cab will cost way less than the alternative.
37. You can always make a decision using the rock, paper, scissors method.
    
38. A kiss before bed and a kiss goodbye are absolutely necessary.
39. Having no more than two kids prevents being outnumbered and taken over.
40. Marriages don't work unless you're good friends.

I thought it would be tough to list 40 items, but really, I could've continued on for several more. I laughed through this entire process and I reconfirmed for myself just how great of a husband I have. I love you, babe.

Sumo Baby

I took Evan for his 12 month check up today. I always know to expect comments made about his weight. For example, "wow, your husband must be big." Um, actually no, he's not...probably leaner than me. Or, "how much are you feeding this boy?" Not any more than recommended. In fact, most people think I'm going overboard on my healthy food choices for him. What's so wrong with having a larger than normal baby? My pediatrician actually told me today that he hasn't seen a 12 month old that large in a loooong time. And he even stressed the word long just like that. I just laughed it off and thought to myself, "I bet my kid would totally beat up your kid."

Our conversation eventually led to the topic of Evan's botched circumcision. For those of you who are not aware, my OB in Fort Myers evidently gave Evan a "low lying" circumcision which means the bare minimum of skin was taken off. I imagine this is a great concept unless you're dealing with a sumo baby that has a lot of fat which starts to push down on the remaining skin. When this happens the skin starts to reattach itself and the "turtle" no longer has a head peeping out. So, literally, for the past 10 months every visit we have made to the pediatrician he has had to tear the skin back to prevent it from reattaching. Seriously, my private areas were hurting just watching this happen. The hope was that at some point Evan would thin out and this would allow the skin to retract some on its own. Well, it's clear that no thinning out has taken place therefore it appears that Evan has never had a circumcision. The million dollar question now is: Recircumcise or not?? Also, should we have to pay for this procedure?

Better Late Than Never

I feel extremely guilty that I've let so much time go by without 1. saying happy birthday to Evan on a blog that's supposed to be dedicated to him 2. being timely in letting everyone know how the birthday party went and 3.thanking everyone for their thoughtfulness and love on such a special day. I want to give a special thanks to Amanda and Scott for capturing such great photos of the party and being so quick to upload them to my gallery for all to see. They are AMAZING! So...Better Late Than Never...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN! WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE TODDLER YEARS...barely. BUT THE TODDLER YEARS ARE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD SO FAR AND AND THE REAL FUN HAS JUST BEGUN. THANK YOU TO MY BROTHERS, JONATHAN AND TIM, FOR FLYING DOWN AND SHARING THIS TIME WITH YOUR NEPHEW. AND THANK YOU TO THE REST OF OUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS FOR THE WONDERFUL CARDS AND GIFTS. WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!

It's amazing how positive I feel now that Evan is a year old. I was just telling Robert yesterday that Evan has morphed into this incredibly funny and loving boy ever since July 11th. He's giving big hugs around our legs, tight hugs around our necks and telling his own little jokes and laughing hysterically. It's absolutely incredible to watch an infant grow into a young boy with real personality of his own. It's as if he knew he was turning a year old and decided he wanted to be a "bigger" boy. Which brings me to a funny, yet disturbing story...depending on the reader.

I don't know if Evan is trying to tell us that he's ready to potty train (yeah, right), or that he wants to wear "big boy" pants, or that he just really likes to hang it all out there, but the last few times we put him down to sleep with just a diaper and t-shirt we have come back downstairs to find a very naked baby and a diaper on the floor. The first time this happened it was all cute and ha ha and we put his diaper back on still giggling about it.

The second time it happened we laughed again until I realized there was no pee pee in the diaper because it was all soaked into the sheet. Ugh. This incident happened over night so I just imagined him wallowing there in his pee soaked bed for hours...probably having the time of his life. So, I had to change the sheets and wash his blanket so his bed would be ready for nap time that same afternoon.

Finally, third time's a charm, right? Not unless you have a stomach of steel...So, Robert goes downstairs to get Evan from his nap (let me remind you that this is the same day as the pee incident) and suddenly I hear through the baby monitor, "Oh my god, Amanda, I need you down here right now!" As most mothers do, I was thinking something absolutely terrible had happened and I raced downstairs to find my son dangling in Robert's arms CAKED in his own feces!!!! It was smeared all over his face, through his hair and worst of all, in his mouth. We all know the expression "happy as a pig in shit" and Evan was most definitely a pig. He was all smiles until he was submerged in bath water and scrubbed to death. As Robert bathed mud man I just stared at his crib and wondered how long he was down there making mud pies! The sheets were smeared from one end to the other. There was not one railing that he didn't touch and lather up. He even left perfect hand prints on the wall. I had to hand wash all of his stuffed animals and put them in the spin cycle of the washer...luckily they all survived. I had never loved Clorox so much in my life. I doused that crib to make sure there was not one remnant left. Evan is no longer allowed to go to bed without pants...

And we thought he liked playing in the toilet because of the water.

First Year in Pictures

First Family Vacation

We are back from our vacation to Topsail Island, NC...still not too sure what day it is, but we're definitely getting back into the routine. We had such an amazing time topped off with great weather and great friends. Here are a few photos from the trip.

Ella the Tease