On The Mend

Today was a much better day for Conner.  He woke up with a low grade fever, and skipped his morning nap.  But after some Motrin and some cuddle time,  we went to my parents house for a little while.  Uncle Bear was there, and gave Conner a very bad hair style.

We unsuccessfully tried to get Conner to nap in his Pack n Play in MuMaw and PuPaw's room.  It didn't go over well, so we had to cut our visit short.  He took a 2 hour nap when we got home though!  Hopefully tomorrow we will have our busy, busy, baby back!

This weekend we have some special visitors coming to see Conner.  His Grandma and Grandpa will be coming from Michigan.  I know he will be excited to see them.  Aunt Annie and Cousin Lex will also be down here next week.  It's going to be a busy time, but we will have lots of fun.  

This coming Sunday, we will be taking Conner to his first big party.  My sweet cousin Caroline is graduating from high school.  She has gone to the same school for 15 years, and her time there is coming to an end.  It's hard to believe she is moving onto college.  I remember the day she was born and holding her in the hospital.  Now she is holding my baby and is all grown up.  I know she is going to do great things and I can't wait to see her on Broadway one day!!!

Mother's Day followed by a sick day

Mother's Day was a very nice day!  I got to spend time with my brothers, parents, and of course my sweet Conner.  Graham couldn't be here though, and I really missed him.  Allen got me and my mom flowers, so now my whole house smells like lilies.

I also got some very pretty flowers earlier in the week from Great Aunt L, a massage from my mom, a massage from Graham, and a card from Great Aunt J.  Of course, my favorite gift of all was a big huge slobbery kiss from Conner.  I guess at 6 1/2 months old, it wasn't really a kiss.  He tried to eat my nose, but missed.  So, we'll call it a kiss by default.

Yesterday my mom and I took Conner to the mall for another trip around the merry-go-round.

When Graham finally got home yesterday, Conner and I were very happy.  He had been gone on a very long 5 day trip.  It is the longest he has been gone since the baby arrived.  There is always a period of adjustment for us all when Graham comes home from a trip.  We have a routine when he is here, and a different routine when he is away.  I dread the day when Conner starts to cry as his daddy leaves for work.

At about 9 p.m. last night, Conner woke up crying.  He had been asleep for about 2 hours, and this wake up was very unusual.  He was pitifully whimpering and clearly didn't feel well.  We gave him Tylenol, and after about an hour of being walked by his daddy, rocked and nursed by me, he finally fell back to sleep.  When he woke up this morning, I got him out of bed, and I knew immediately that he was sick.  He was burning up.  I took his temperature, and the poor little guy had a fever of 101.3.

We went to his trial Gymboree class on Friday, I signed up and paid for 3 months worth of classes, and wouldn't you know that he gets sick 4 days later.  Of course, this caused us to miss his first "real" Gymboree class today.  The doctor said his ears were clear, his chest sounded good, and the strep test came back negative.  Lets hope it's virus that goes away quickly!  His appointment was at 9:50 am, which is in the middle of nap time.  So 20 minutes after arriving, Conner goes into full meltdown mode.  While waiting on the doctor to come in, nothing would soothe my sick sweet boy.  Nursing failed, walking failed, rocking, holding, cuddling all failed.  Surprisingly...the one thing that worked (for a little while) was the pacifier.  He has not used his passie for months, but I always kept one in the diaper bag for a "just in case" moment.

Today has been a 3 nap day and hopefully after another Tylenol dose tonight, he will sleep through the night.  Wishful thinking, I'm sure, but I will keep you posted!!

A privilege, for sure.

My sweet Conner

Tomorrow is my first Mother's Day, and I'm really very excited.  The only thing that could make it better would be if Graham could be here with us.  But he will be off flying around the country, providing for his family.  I am forever grateful to him for working hard, allowing me to stay at home with our sweet child.  Being a mom is the greatest honor and privilege.  I know that each decision I make has an impact on that sweet baby's life.  It is such an incredible responsibility, and a job I take very seriously.  I want so much for his childhood to be happy and positive.  It melts my heart to see him smile, and I absolutely love that I have the ability to put that smile on his face.  I want to protect him from all things negative and stressful for as long as I can.

My hubby, my baby, and my best teacher in how to be a mom

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a mom.  Some people grow up dreaming of being a doctor, lawyer, fireman, teacher, or even a pilot. :)  But, I grew up wanting to be a mom.  Now that the day has come and my baby is here, I feel like I'm doing what I was always meant to do.  I wake up each day so happy and so fulfilled.  Of course, there are challenges, and not every moment is glorious, but when I lay down each night, I thank God for the blessings in my life.

My blessings

Happy Birthday

On May 5, 1920, my Nanny, Elvira Anne Conner Guyton, was born.  She would have been 91 years old today.  She was the funniest, wittiest person.  Two weeks before she passed away, I told her that I would name my child after her.  She would love knowing that I had a baby boy named Conner.  I can already see parts of her personality in him.  I know in my heart that she is watching over him and loving every minute of being his Great Nanny in Heaven.   It is funny the things you remember about a person.  She had an aloe plant in her bedroom in Kentucky.  She had cabbage patch dolls on her bed.  Her favorite grandchild was "Little Allen."  I know this because I would ask her.  I would say, "Nanny, who is your favorite grandchild?"  She would say, "You are."  Then I would ask, "Who is really your favorite?"  And she would respond, "Little Allen."  Every year for Christmas, she would give all of us grand kids McDonald's gift certificates as part of our gift.  For our birthdays, she and my Papa would give us a birthday card with a crisp, new $50 bill.  She taught us inappropriate songs and jokes.  She loved vodka tonics, bratwursts, cheesy peanut butter crackers, Hershey Bars, horses, the Kentucky Derby, and watching TV.  I really think she was the funniest person I've ever met.  She caught on to everything and didn't miss a beat.  Surprisingly, after having a stroke, she was still aware.  Even if she seemed out of it or asleep, she knew what was going on.  No one could ever beat her at Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, or Trivial Pursuit.   In the last few years of her life, I grew very close with my sweet Nanny.  She taught me so very much, and I love her more than I can ever describe.  

Coincidentally, today is also the birthday of a very dear, old friend that I lost 3 1/2 years ago.  I met Katie when I was 11 years old.  We met playing softball on the same team in middle school.  I will never forget when she asked me to come to her house after a game to play, and from that moment on we were great friends.  She was a wonderful person, and I miss her every day.  There is so much in my life that I wish she could be a part of and so much of her life that never happened, but should have.

Baby Blues

Conner has the most beautiful blue eyes!!  I was looking through pictures that I've take recently, and I just stared at his sweet face.  I can't get over how quickly he is growing.  He is losing that young baby look every day.  It makes me sad, but at the same time, he has really started to be a lot of fun!  His little personality shines through a little more every day.  I love how he looks at anyone who may be around him, and he just waits for them to meet his eyes and smile.  When we take him upstairs for a nap, he peers over the shoulder of whoever is carrying him, and holds his mouth open wide or smiles.  If someone walks behind, he laughs and giggles the whole way up.  

In the mornings when he wakes up, I open the door and start singing, "Where is Conner? Where is Conner," and through the cracks of his crib I can see him smile, and he will have his feet straight up in the air.  Today, Graham actually lowered his crib to the middle level.  He isn't crawling or getting up on his knees yet, but he tries.  I don't want his first time to be when he is alone in his crib and falls over the edge!  

Today, we were supposed to go to a Gymboree music class, but about 1 hour after his morning nap, he was acting really fussy.  So, he went down again, and we'll try again on Friday!  We have a busy few weeks coming up, and then in June, we are going to take Conner for his first trip to the beach!  I am really excited to play in the sand and in the pool with him!

The bad man is gone.

I suppose I was around 10 years old when I first heard the name Osama bin Laden.  I don't remember the exact moment, what I was doing, or where I was.  His name just trickled out of the news and over the years he made the headlines more and more.  He was a scary looking man with a dirty beard, and his name became synonymous with terror and evil.    Then on 9/11/01, I, like most Americans had his name seared into my mind and was terrified of him and what he would do next.

I don't know if the world is really a safer place with him gone.  We have been told that his influence and power has been weakend in the past few years.  Perhaps that is true.  But today I am relieved.  The "bad man" is gone, and my sweet Conner, along with his future sibling(s), will not have to fear him.

In the statement released by the Vatican, we are told that,  "In front of the death of man, a Christian never rejoices but rather reflects on the grave responsibility of each one in front of God and men, and hopes and commits himself so that every moment not be an occasion for hatred to grow but for peace."   Reading that made me reflect on what I want to teach Conner.  I don't want to be someone who rejoices in the death of anyone.  I don't believe in the death penalty and I don't think anyone should be able to to play god.  However, I do believe in self-defense and justice.  The vicitms of 9/11 now have some justice, and at least for today, the world is less one horrible monster and this "bad man" will not play a roll in my son's future.  For that I am thankful.