Saturday, November 29, 2008

FSU vs. UF

The game started good for both teams. UF scored (BOO!) but FSU followed quickly with a FG (YAY!). It kind of just went downhill after that. We (FSU) did ok keeping close until the second quarter and then it was disappointment after fumble after dropped pass after interception. You can't win a game with FGs when the other team is scoring TDs. I thought things would get better after halftime but I was very wrong. The conditions were very rainy but the ball was wet for both teams and yet the Gators actually held onto it. According to ESPN, "The Gators pretty much ran out the clock in the final quarter and a half." So there ya go...

On a positive note, a good friend of mine from high school stopped by on her way back to her home in B'ham. She was able to watch about 3 quarters of the game with me and we talked about how everyone is doing now and plans for the future. Did I mention that she is a Gator fan?? Buck was not there in person but he was certainly there in spirit. Even though he did get to watch it in Iraq, I got to hear it from her :) Hopefully I'll make it up to B'ham to visit her and go to the zoo or see some sights. BTW - the final score was 45-15 - BLEAH!! ... and then Buck called ...
Added 12/1/08 - I forgot to inform everyone that at intermittent points during the game, Bucky would say "touchdown" and throw his hands up in the air. At other times, he simply did circles or his impression of a Sumo Wrestler.

Hand Turkey

I wanted a handprint turkey from Bucky this year since he is old enough to sit still for a few seconds and he seems to love craft stuff. Anna's son, Jimmy, did one with paint at MOPS and I thought "What a great idea!" However, I learned that it's tough doing paint projects with a child when you are by yourself :) I had everything ready when he woke up from his nap on Thanksgiving Day. I put his hand in the paint and he started whining - the child does not like his hands to have stuff on them. So I figured he would be happier once we started doing the project since it would get the paint off his hand. I took both my hands and laid his hand on the paper. He then moved it left to right so it was a big blob of orange. He still had plenty of paint on his hand so I moved to the second sheet of paper (I thought I had planned ahead). He wouldn't flatten his hand so it was his palm and fingerprints :) That's when I decided it would be easier to trace his hands and cut them out. That worked perfectly. I also tried to trace his feet to glue on the back just for sentimental reasons but the minute I started to draw, he busted out giggling. He is sooooo ticklish sometimes. Anyway, I tried again and we both started laughing so that was a bust. This was the end result.For those who can't read the poem it says:
This isn't just a turkey as you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love especially to say
I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Yesterday we went to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving lunch. The food was delicious and plentiful as always. After lunch, we went outside and Bucky played with his bubbles. He loves his bubbles. We left around 3:15 and I got him home to take a nap. It was shorter than it should have been and he woke up upset but he'll get back on track tomorrow I'm sure. I talked to Buck last night and he said they had a turkey dinner for everyone so he ate well yesterday. Hope everyone got plenty to eat and thought about what they are thankful for this year.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Cow Says...

MOOOOO....

And a little wink to finish the night ;)

Free Mondays

We went to the Jr Museum this morning for their free Monday. We haven't been in a while so Bucky really enjoyed playing with the toys and other kids. He also enjoyed climbing the foam structure and learning how to escape through the treehouse and then through the fence. He was actually the oldest one there for a little while. Melanie and Evelyn were there with Evelyn's grandmother. We met a couple of moms and kids today and saw some familiar faces as well. After this we met Anna/Jimmy and Hubbell/Chase for lunch at Loco's. Bucky ate quite a bit of Jimmy's chicken but still didn't sleep well for his nap again today. He still sleeps really well at nights but I think he may be teething which may be disrupting his daytime sleeping. Hopefully it'll pass soon.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Catching Up

A lot of random events have been going on but I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd try to catch everyone up on what's been happening. Last Friday and Saturday, Hubbell and I went to a scrapbooking weekend on base. It wasn't an overnight thing but Bucky spent the night staying with my parents because we didn't finish until 1100PM Friday and started again at 1000AM Saturday. I must guiltily admit that it was actually quite nice to be able to sit down in the morning and drink my coffee at one time rather than drinking a sip here and there. However, I was anxious to pick him up after the event ended on Saturday. Sunday, we just hung around the house. I cleaned, he dirtied...typical :) Monday, I took him for a follow-up evaluation at First Words. They evaluate kids' communication level and can evaluate for signs of autism. No problem here but they give you a Walmart gift card for participating. We should receive the "official" evaluation in a couple of weeks. At one point during the eval, Bucky shocked her. She was holding a Big Bird animal and asked Bucky where the bird is - he pointed up. She was confused so I explained to her that he was telling her that the bird is in the sky. She said she would have to call her colleagues to find out how to write that up in her report. I was quite amazed. Tuesday, he decided to get up at 0500 and didn't want to take a nap...so we were out of the house by 0800 b/c we were both tired but for me to take a nap, he must be asleep first. Anyway, we ran some random errands, ran into Anna and Jimmy in the mall for lunch and he ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour nap after lunch. That night, Chase spent some time with us because Hubbell had a show and Kevin had a game. They had a blast in Bucky's room. Chase was scared of Rascal but once I told him to tell Rascal down (Chase does this with his cats) he seemed a little more at ease. Wednesday - I don't think we did much of anything during the day but that night Bucky stayed with Kevin and Chase for a couple of hours while Hubbell, Anna, and I had a much needed and much deserved girls night out. Although it started at 530 and ended around 700, it was great fun. We went to Olive Garden and talked the entire time. We just don't get enough child-free time to be adults rather than moms. The kids are, however, at the age where we can watch from a distance at the park instead of following right behind them. We always have three sets of eyes on them but they get their freedom. It's WIN-WIN. Thursday we didn't get out of our PJs until that night when my mom came by to take us to Skate Night. Bucky loves to run around the rink and play in their toddler area so he slept well. This morning we went to Toddler Skate and then straight home. I had originally planned on meeting Hubbell for some window shopping after but Bucky was tired and needed to rest before his 18 month pics this afternoon. Here are a few of the pictures we had taken.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Baby of the Month

Bucky won October's Baby of the Month contest with his Beach Bum picture. Here is the collage she made for us.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Hiland Park Rec Center

Bucky and I met Hubbell/Chase, Anna/Jimmy, and Amy/Ethan at the Hiland Park Rec Center park today for some outdoor fun. Amy and Ethan arrived after I had put my camera up so I don't have any pics of him :( but they all played very well together and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Veterans Day

I took Bucky to the Veteran's Day Parade downtown this morning and he loved watching everyone. Most of the people waved directly at him but all he did was stare and sometimes crack a smile. One gentleman gave Bucky a heavy gold coin from the "Soldier's Angels." He actually called us up to his car and handed it directly to him. Bucky took it and then wanted to go quickly back to our spot on the curb. The rest of the parade was full of veterans, current soldiers, and marching bands playing patriotic songs. The only thing missing was my soldier.
Happy Veterans Day!!

I Can Do It Myself

Bucky has started throwing tantrums if I dare to open the yogurt that he wants to eat. This started a couple of days ago. I still open them when he wants to eat it and after he calms himself down I ask him, "Do you want to do it yourself?" His response is to sit down, take the spoon in one hand and container in the other, and feed himself. Of course, the result is very sticky but he wants his independence. I don't know where he gets it from...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Drawing on the Sidewalk

For those of you who are asking, we don't know what caused Bucky's fever but are very thankful that it is gone and has not returned.


Yesterday was such a beautiful day that after he woke up from his afternoon nap we went outside and he played with his sidewalk chalk. He loves being outside so I thought this would be a good idea. He, however, was much more interested in throwing it on the sidewalk and breaking the big pieces into two or more smaller pieces. I gave him one of every color but quickly put the rest up when I noticed this was his idea of fun. He started to get the hang of it until he found the spongebrush from pumpkin painting. He decided to start using that as a shovel and was throwing dirt around. Then our crazy neighbor came outside to smoke so I called it a day.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Feeling Better

Bucky is doing much better this weekend than he was last week. Friday afternoon was the last time he ran a fever - YAY!! We had a couple of birthday parties to attend Saturday morning but we did not go because I wanted to make sure whatever he had was completely gone before getting him around other kids. We did go to Pier Park yesterday, though. We were both going a little crazy from being inside and Pier Park is mostly outside in the beautiful sunshine. He did well but became very tired and cranky so we left. Today I took him to the mall to walk around and see if Linens-N-Things was having better deals. I got a few items but not the pet steps like I was wanting b/c they were sold out. Oh well!! I'll find some elsewhere. He got up at 545AM so he is down right now for his second nap of the day. Hopefully he'll sleep a little longer tomorrow.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Still Sick

I took Bucky to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon to try to figure out why he still had a high temperature. His fever was 103 when we got there and the nurse gave him some Tylenol. The doctor did a very thorough exam, including a strep test since his throat was a little red. She listened very carefully to his chest two or three times because we had just been to the doctor the week before to recheck his ear infection and everything was fine. She also sent him for a chest Xray to make sure his lungs were clear. That was the worst part because I just had to stand there while he screamed during the Xray. The lady had to hold his hands above his head so they didn't get in the way and all I wanted to do was pick him up. Instead I talked to him and tried to keep his attention but the second they were finished, he practically jumped into my arms and laid his head down on my shoulder. He didn't want any stickers or book - all he wanted was me to hold him, which I did. The strep test was negative and the Xray was clear so we still don't know what's causing the fever. My poor baby. He's still not eating well but I keep a drink in front of him so he doesn't get dehydrated. It sucks not knowing what's wrong because you don't know what to do to help him feel better. Hopefully he'll be all better when he wakes up from his nap this morning.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Sick Little Boy

Bucky was feeling fine this morning and we went to Book Babies. He went down for a nap around noon and slept for two hours. However, when he woke up he felt warm so i took his temperature...101.6. I immediately gave him some Tylenol to try to get the fever down and called my mom to come watch him when she got off work so I could go vote. She got there about two hours after Tylenol so I rechecked his temp...98.6...much better. I tried to get him to eat something for dinner and he ate a couple of bites of a breadstick but he just wasn't hungry. He stayed in his high chair while I finished eating and then I realized he was so quiet because he was sound asleep. I picked him up to put him to bed and I could definitely tell the Tylenol wore off because I felt his heat through his clothes and mine...101. Time for some Motrin and then off to bed.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Bucky's First Babysitting Gig

Tonight, I watched Chase while Hubbell had a meeting and Kevin coached a game. Bucky and Chase did so well together. Chase didn't cry one bit when Hubbell left - he just waved, made a little whimper when she closed the door, and then went about his business. My son, on the other hand, knocked on the door and watched out the window. It was quite amusing because then Chase decided he needed to join in on the fun. This was fine with me because I was in the process of cooking dinner so this kept them out from under me for a little while. They both sat in their respective chairs during dinner. Bucky ate some of his hamburger and all of his veggies. Chase didn't eat hardly anything but I think he's going through a phase right now. Bucky did that, too, and it's quite scary when they won't eat...but then one day you wake up and they are hungry no matter how much they eat. Weird. After dinner was over and hands were cleaned, they continued to amuse each other while I tidied up the kitchen and high chairs. They are actually quite a pair when you let them just run around and play.

Pumpkin Painting

I let Bucky paint his pumpkin on Saturday...a day late, I know, but at least he got to do it. He loved having freedom to paint his pumpkin and his leg. Now I need to buy him some heavy duty paper so he can paint me some pictures. He is going to be some kind of artist when he grows up. He sat there for about 30 minutes painting away before he got antsy. Even when he got up, he took the brushes with him and would return for another swipe every couple of minutes. Mommy's little Van Gogh...and then it was bathtime!!

Trick or Treat

My mom and dad went trick-or-treating with Bucky and I this year. We started at the Hiland Park Baptist festival. He enjoyed playing a few of the games like bean bag toss and fishing. He also really enjoyed looking at the animals and little kids dressed up. After HP we headed for the mall where the stores have bags of candy for the kids. I had no idea what we were in for - there were tons of kids. We started at JCPenney's where there was a line of people - Bucky decided he didn't want to wait so he just took off through everyone. I tried to get him to hold his bag up for some of the stores but he didn't want to stop which was fine with me since I don't let him eat candy anyway. Maybe next year he'll get the idea :) He did, however, let us know when he was done. My dad was holding his hand and he just dropped to the floor. My dad would stand him up, take a few steps, and down he went again. I was dying laughing...along with everyone else who passed us. It was hilarious!! :D


Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween Skate Night

Wednesday night (29th) I took Bucky to the Senior Skate night for my mom's high school - my alma mater - because the theme was Halloween. He loved it!! He really enjoyed running around on the skating rink when nobody was on it and he actually enjoyed riding the roller coaster in the kiddie area they have set up in the corner.