Merry Christmas!

Hello Everybody! I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Today I had a blast opening presents, eating new foods, and being with my family. I took a two hour power nap this afternoon, but I'm still exhausted from all the festivities. I'll be sure to put up more pictures soon.....Goodnight!

Back in Business!

I don't know if it really was Roseola or not, but who really cares, because I feel much better now! After 4 days of a fever and not eating, it took me a few days to get my energy back, but just in time for Xmas, I am doing much better! Hooray!

Here are some pictures of some pre-Xmas activities within the past couple of days!

Mohawk!!

Pre-Xmas celebration with granddaddy's sister's family!

Boo Boo meets Beau-Beau!

My godmommy and goddaddy! Took me a little while to remember who they were, but we warmed up! :)

Roseola?

My mommy is still covering my blog for me, as I'm still under the weather....

The doctors are hoping to see a rash develop on Chandler today or tomorrow. The suspected virus is Roseola. Chandler's fever spiked to 103.6 on Tuesday and he threw up one time in the evening. On Wednesday he woke up running a low fever of only 99, and was having a pretty good day. After his nap at 3 p.m. he had some juice and then got the chills before spiking up to 102.1

We went to the doctor's again and blood was drawn to look for any underlying causes of this fever for 3 days. He seems otherwise okay. Luckily he continues to nurse, but is still refusing food except cereal puffs. They say he is well hydrated, so I hope that continues. In the meantime we are continuing to rest and hoping this has resolved itself soon! I am getting cabin fever!

Stomach Bug

Hey everybody, my mom is blogging this for me because I don't feel so good right now.

This is one for the baby book: Chandler's first real illness. On Monday morning Chandler woke up early about 7:15 a.m. with a little vomit that he had choked on. He was burning up and I took his temperature under his arm and could tell he had a fever. I gave him some Tylenol and when he was still hot 45 minutes later, I finally decided to take his temperature rectally (a first). He actually didn't mind, but his temp was 102.5! Needless to say, we headed to the doctor's. At 9:30 a.m. his temp was still above 102, so they gave him Motrin at our Pediatrician. He didn't nurse until 11:30 a.m. and ate a little lunch/breakfast at that time. He did drink some juice/half pedialyte about 4:30 p.m. and ate 1/2 his dinner. I went to Bellydancing as usual, and when I got home at 9:30 p.m. Chandler was starting to really get fussy. He then threw up on me 3-4 different times. I lost count. I had to put on a load to wash because we both ran out of PJs! Poor little guy! It was all we could do to get a little Motrin down. He was so pale and pitiful. His temp was back up to 102 and we thought he'd have a terrible night. Luckily, he slept good (after settling about 11 p.m.) Derek on the other hand did not (see picture). He has a hard time falling asleep and kept thinking Chandler would be waking up any minute!

And a Conure in a Pine Tree....

You would think that a birdie would not be afraid of a simple tree!

Below is one of the only pictures you will ever see of my brother Connor in the tree.

Signing

I know that all of you may be wondering what I'm doing in this picture. I have finally taught my mom to understand what I'm trying to tell her. I have figured out that if I put my hands together like so (which mommy says is the sign language sign for 'More') that she will give me more to eat. If only she could understand all the other things I'm trying to tell her...
Here mommy caught me getting excited as I was learning to sign "more"

8 months old!

So, my parents forgot to let everyone know that I am now 8 months old and my vital statistics are as follows:

Weight: 19 lbs 9 oz.
Length: 28 inches

My weight gain has slowed down some, but I am getting taller!

I can now play peek-a-boo with anyone that wants to play. I pull the blanket over my head and then will quickly yank it down and laugh!

Mommy and Daddy keep trying to make me crawl. Frankly, I kinda like being carried around. I'm working hard on it though. I couple of times I managed to "crawl" backwards a few inches. Still having trouble figuring out what to do with my legs. Daddy says I look like a beached seal trying to move around. Belly on the ground, but arms and legs flailing in the air!

I'm getting smarter and smarter by the day. I continue to amaze my parents by playing hide and seek games and looking for things.

Anyways...more to come. Hope everyone is having a great Xmas season!

Isabelle!

Mommy was able to get together with her friend Emily which meant I got to see my friend Isabelle, whom I have not seen in a long time!

We all met for lunch, even Daddy came too.

Unfornutately, I couldn't do too much playing with Isabelle as I have come down with a cold that is leaving me a little fussy. Didn't want Isabelle to catch it!

Here we are:

Ho-Ho-Ho

Pullen Park in Raleigh is starting this annual Christmas party where you can go to the park and see Santa, ride the train and see lights, do arts and crafts, and ride the carousel.

Mommy got me tickets to go do that this year (1st Annual).

I sat in Santa's lap and wasn't too scared. I thought he was kinda interesting.

Here's me riding the train (it was pretty cold so Mommy bundled me up!)

Here's me riding the giraffe on the carousel! I like giraffes!

Swimming Lessons!

Mommy enrolled me in swimming lessons so that I could continue my love of water in the winter time. I wanted to just jump in the pool in our backyard, but mommy said something about 50 degree water = frozen baby.

Anyways...Daddy got to come to my lessons a couple of times, and here are some pictures of me and daddy swimming together!

Turkey Day Week!

The past week was Turkey Day week, and I had a lot of fun with our whole family! Grampy (my daddy's dad) was able to come and visit me for Turkey Day and we all had a great time.

Here I am watching some big yellow bird on TV. Some kind of big parade in a big city was happening on Thanksgiving morning.

Here's Grampy and I:













Grampy and I did a lot of playing!















A rare picture of mommy and me!

Turkey Day Week just wore me out! I don't like mommy taking pictures of me sleeping, especially in my santa suit! :)

Dryer Time!

I continue my fascination with the washer and dryer! I finally figured out how to get in!

Attention for Everyone!

While I get most of the attention around here, Katie and Connor really like to try and get mommy's attention too! Playtime on the great room floor often turns into a fight for attention!

Elmo!

Mommy dressed me up in an Elmo costume and stuck me beside a big, round, orange thing that had a scary wolf carved into it.

Sunny Florida!

We spent a whole week in Florida and got to do a lot of neat things. The weather was nice and warm which I like! Here is me in the local pool. The picture is a little blurry because Daddy's camera lense was fogged up because of the humidity in Florida.

Butterfly World was really neat! There were lots of butterflies and pretty flowers.

Notice the butterfly on Daddy's shirt!

The Miami Zoo was really neat. Daddy said it was ok for me to get this close to the elephants, but I was a little nervous! I got to get really close to these spotted long-necked animals!

Where in the World is Fort Myers?

Last week my family took a trip down to Florida to visit my Nanny (my great grandmother). Mommy and I took a plane trip, while daddy and grandma drove down on the same day. I really liked my first plane ride, but for some reason I was on the airplane for 4 hours when the trip was only supposed to take 1.5 hours. Mommy said the weather was bad in Ft. Lauderdale, so we had to divert to Ft. Myers to fuel up, then go back to Ft. Lauderdale. Mommy said I was an angel for the whole flight! Here's a picture mommy took of me on the plane just after I woke up (check out my hair)!

My Best Bud (in utero)

This is my soon to be Best Bud, Aidan. He's pictured inside his mommy's belly. He kicked me though, so he knows I was there. We had Aidan's mommy and daddy over to our house for dinner last Friday night. Mommy was saying that Carrie and Andrew should enjoy their last days just the two of them before Aidan comes. I'm not sure what that means, but it was nice to have the company. My daddy and Aidan's daddy were best friends when they were little, so Aidan and I plan to be just as close. I can't wait to meet him. He is due to come out on November 30th. I'll have my mom check my calendar, but I think I'm free. She can set up a play date!

Round Orange Things!

We had great weather this past weekend, so Grandma came over and we went to Hill Ridge Farms and had some fun! Because the weather was so nice...I think the whole city of Raleigh had the same idea! Waiting in the lines wasn't too much fun, but I enjoyed the activities. We got to ride behind a neat tractor while sitting on bales of hay. The tractor took us to this gigantic field full of these round orange things all over the grass. Mommy told me that they were pumpkins. I really enjoyed playing in the middle of them and trying to grab the stems!

It was a little bit cool, so mommy dressed me in my Elmo costume for warmth!




That's 26.5 inches tall! Does this mean I can ride the roller coaster now?

Quality Entertainment

This is a picture of me sleeping in my crib. Mommy took this photo on Saturday morning. This was the longest time that I have ever slept. I slept from 9:30 p.m. till she woke me up at 8 a.m. I guess that now that I'm having 3 meals a day my tummy stays sastified long enough for me to keep "normal" sleeping hours.


I'd just like to let everybody know out there that sometimes when you get bored I have found the best entertainment around. Hopefully you have one of the machines in your home. It is the neatest thing and I love to watch it. Mommy puts all of my clothes inside it and pushes a button and the next thing I know, there is water pouring inside and my clothes start to spin around and around. I just love the spinning colors and the noise too. It is great. I could watch it for hours! I even sometimes peek over to the machine when I'm in my highchair hoping that it might turn on for my enjoyment.

6 Months Old!

Today mommy gave me this new thing called a cup. When we went to the doctor's office today he told mommy to start giving me juice. Mommy went to the store today and bought me 3 cups and gave me a little pear juice to try. I really liked it. Although I'm not quite sure how this cup operates and sometimes I chew on the handles.


It's hard to believe that I'm now 6 months old, huh? Time flies when you are a baby! This is a picture of me on my 1/2 birthday. I now weigh 19 lbs and 1 oz and am ~ 26 inches long. Daddy says that I look like a big boy now.


Silly Katie. Mommy caught you giving me a kiss in the ear. I do love my Katie girl though. We play every day and even when I'm too rough with Katie she takes it. I love to pull her hair. It makes me giggle. A few days ago I even pulled out one of her whiskers, but she didn't mind. Dogs are the best!

Boo-Boo's New Ride

Today one of mommy's co-workers came by the house on his new bike. They call him Andy and he calls me "boo-boo". I love Andy, he is one cool guy. He even let me sit on his bike and pretend I was driving it. Andy says one day we'll go for a ride, but mommy says she's not sure. Anyways, I sure look cool on my bike!

Family Reunion

This is me and one of our NC Senators, A.B. Swindell. The "A" in his name stands for Albin, which is also my daddy's middle name. A.B. really liked me and stole me away from mommy which I didn't mind too much. I made sure that mommy stayed close by me though. A.B. isn't related to the "Boone" family for which this reunion was for, but he is a close family friend and usually shows up.



This is me, Grandmother, and mommy's cousin, Meggi. We went to the "Boone" family reunion on the last Sunday in September. They tell me that this reunion has been happening every year since 1940. This was my first time and I had fun. Although I didn't eat any of the BBQ it sure looked good! I hope to be back next year.

Grandmother's house

This past Thursday night mommy, daddy, and I took a trip to my great grandmother's house. She lives in Nashville, NC. I had a great time but I think my grandmother had the best time. She hadn't seen me in about a month and she kept telling me how much I've changed and grown. Grandmother even bought me some wooden blocks to play with. Grandmother made mommy and daddy her famous pancakes for breakfast and she offered to make me some when I can eat them. I can't wait!

Weekend Fun!

Daddy had to work a lot this past weekend. I got kinda frustrated because he couldn't play with me, so I stole his laptop and decided I was going to fix the problem fast so he could stop working and play with me!




Over the weekend, we got to have lunch with our neighbor who lives in India! I know...I was confused at first too, until Mommy explained it to me. Jillian is the owner of the house next to ours. She rents her house out. She told us that they may come back to the United States at some point! I'm glad we got to spend some time with her while she was here for a couple of weeks!



Daddy finished my swingset over the weekend. Here I am trying it out for the first time! They did a great job building it.

Last days of Summer

This is probably the last picture that you'll see of me in the pool. It was September 8th and the water was still 85 degrees. Mommy says the pool is now too cold for me so I guess I'll have to settle for the hottub! I had a really good time just chilin in my new float. It even makes fun noises when I press the different animals. Mommy plans on taking me for swim lessons in November and I plan on being the most advanced in my class. I'm sure that I've been practicing more than any other baby around!