Two of my siblings called today to find out why I had suddenly stopped posting to both of my blogs. The short answer is: work. The longer answer is: I am launching a new website design for our church on January 1st and I've been "head down" day and night trying to get everything in line so that I can actually launch on the date I've promised. This week I overheard one of my co-workers comment to another, "Watch out! Meagan has another bee in her bonnet!" and they really couldn't be more right. Little Man has been spending a lot more time hanging out with his dad and his nana (thanks mom!) and as much as I hate being apart from him I know this period of insanity is short lived and HAS to end sometime. In the meantime, here are some pictures Little Man's daddy snapped to make me laugh....enjoy!
Now that Little Man is getting older and increasingly more mobile I am noticing more and more people asking me how it is that I am able to work from home so much. While I admit is is much harder now that he can move so quickly, it is also easier in some ways because he is really laid back, can entertain himself and isn't opposed to watching me work (as long as I hold him). It may not last....but for now I am grateful. Looks like the only thing that has changed in the last 11 months is the size of the little boy in my lap!
Little Man l-o-v-e-s hanging out with his buddies and this week he had several opportunities to do just that. They were busy little boys playing in the pots and pans, watching Praise Baby together and wreaking tons of havoc (as little boys should). There was only one very important little girl missing from the usual foursome, cute little girl friend, RR (we missed you!). It is so neat to have the opportunity to watch my son AND his friends grow up together.
Tonight Little Man, Nana, and I took a trip down to our city's annual tree lighting ceremony for an opportunity to meet the BIG man in person. Little Man began clapping the moment he saw Santa and once in his lap was fascinated with his beard. As we walked away, Santa called out Little Man's name and waved 'goodbye' and my little guy shrieked in delight and clapped all the way out of the room. It was awesome! We may have to visit Santa again!
Our little family has finally been reunited!!! Travis joined superman (pic) and the family on Friday morning, just in time for the Thanksgiving feast and we were incredibly grateful to have the whole family together in one place. Little Man was generally unimpressed with the food and resisted everything but sweet potatoes, dressing and pumkin pie (a man after my own heart).
If you had trouble being thankful this holiday weekend, be thankful you weren't in the same house as all of us...shortly after our feast the family began to fall apart one by one...I threw my back out, my sister and her husband caught the flu, Little Man came down with rotavirus, my mom injured her hip, and my other sister came down with some kind of stomach bug. Not sure what went wrong but it went wrong in so many ways!
On a more positive note, check out the curls on Little Man! We've discovered lots of Little Man's new skills this week including an increased vocabulary (in choronological order):
Other new fun discoveries include Little Man dancing everytime he hears music, clapping for everything from a diaper change to naptime, climbing stairs every chance he gets and his first soccer lesson from daddy (see video).
This week has been like a breath of fresh air for our little family. Little Man and I flew up to Kansas City to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with my sister, her husband, and our family. Little Man and I were really lucky to spend all day Wednesday with my sister before the rest of the fam arrived (and before she came down with something icky) and we had lots of fun shopping, playing and napping.
Thursday we all headed out to Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs dominate the Broncos in what can only be described as the single most disturbing auditory experience of my life. Fortunately Little Man and I had been warned of the legend of the "Loudest Stadium in the NFL" and were not dissapointed although we came prepared with earplugs. Uncle J had a FLAWLESS game and were grateful for the great game and mild weather.
Since my last post, Travis has received a round of radiation treatment and has been banned from our home (by the doctors, not me) for fear of causing permanent damage to our growing little boy. The doctors anticipated that the radiation would clear from his body in 5-7 days but tomorrow will mark day 14 and as of this morning he was charting at 5 mrems, which is equal to a dental xray. We are hoping that the radiation will have cleared by Friday when he will fly to Kansas to meet us for Thanksgiving. As far as his eye is concerned, not much has changed. After his initial visit to the opthamologist it was predicted that the ulcer would be cleared up in a few days but as of yesterday and 3 rounds of treatment it has not changed at all. Travis was referred to UT Southwestern to consult with a corneal specialist team and they didn't have a clue what was going on either.
To say we are frustrated wouldn't begin to describe what is going on in our family. Please keep Travis (and us other Blocks) in your prayers.
Today I figured out the mystery of Little Man's new 'ball in the mouth' thing. This afternoon when I was taking him out of his carseat he turned and looked at me very intently then began looking around in his carseat for something to pick up. His little hands found a plastic ring and he promptly put it in his mouth, turned towards me and began giggling. It was a that moment that I realized I was holding my keys with my teeth...he was copying me!!! Now that I am aware of how often I stick things in my mouth it makes me laugh to think that I thought he was copying the dog. It is amazing the things we do that we don't even notice - makes me wonder what other things he will pick up from me!
It has been a pretty crazy week (hence our absence in blogland). It started when Travis went back to the doctor because his 'eye infection' hadn't cleared up and some comprehensive tests revealed that Travis has hyperthryoidism in the form of Graves disease (hence the bulging eyes). Don't worry, it sounds a lot worse than it actually is, we are just glad to know what has been going on with our big guy and he is scheduled to have his first radiation treatment on Wednesday.
This weekend was also our semiannual small group camping trip and while Little Man and I had a blast hanging out with the group on Friday, things took a turn on the downwardside for the Block family after that. When Trav arrived on Saturday his left eye was significantly more swollen than the other, bloodshot, foggy, and sensitive to light and air. We immediately headed to an urgent care facility to find out what was going on and they immediately sent us to the ER where they determined that he had something rather large lodged into the cornea. Six hours later the doctors were still unable to remove the 'object' and sent a very miserable man and his frustrated wife home to wait until Monday to meet with an opthamologist. This morning we finally were able to get a definitive answer to the new eye mystery when the opthamologist discovered Travis had a corneal ulcer.
Needless to say, it was a tough weekend.
On a lighter note, our Little Guy has developed a pretty strange habit that has us all scratching our heads (see the picture). At first we thought he was just alleviating the teething irritation but he pretty much just walks around with it in his mouth all the time. Kids do the s-t-r-a-n-g-e-s-t things.
This past weekend was our church's annual fall carnival. Initial estimates put the total number of attendants at somewhere between 8,500-9,000. Our little guy's giraffe costume was a little too stuffy or our 83 degree weather so he only lasted about 3 minutes before trading in for a makeshift 'bad boy' costume.
Oh and yes, we know Travis looks really weird...he has an infection in his eyes...and believe it or not this is after a round of medication. He kind of looks like an owl, doesn't he??? Hoooo Hoooo
Little man has been a busy boy this past week and while we haven't taken many pictures, we have taken a lot of video footage. The two I've attached are my favorites among the many...
Ever since Little Man took those first three steps he has slowly been moving closer and closer to walking 'full time'. Today the teacher from his Mother's Day Out program shared with me that he has been driving all the other kiddos crazy because he crawls along behind them then tries to pull up on them! Tonight he took 19 steps in a row, then 22, then 25 and on and on and on as Nana, Pop and I clapped in excitement. I watched in awe as he stood from a sitting position without reaching out to pull up on anything. I thought back to this afternoon when I watched him crawl up in his rocking chair and sit down to watch his PraiseBaby video and as I began to look at the pictures I had taken I realized how much he is beginning to look like a little boy, not a baby anymore. I am shell shocked...it all goes so fast....so very fast.
Tuesday night, Travis and his fellow firefighters were awarded the State of Texas Medal of Valor for their actions on August 20th with the rescue of the 3 injured officers in the incident involving the barricaded man. The Medal of Valor is awarded to a member who, under especially hazardous conditions, has exhibited personal courage in an effort to rescue or protect another. This is the first time in the history of the city of Midlothian that a Medal of Valor has been awarded. We are so proud of our brave firefighter and thankful that he is home safe and sound!
Little Man's 9 month photos are online and they are so sweet. The day we took the photos he was in a very strange almost catatonic mood that we now know was due to the ear infection/rupture but it made for a very different kind of photo session. If you would like to see pictures email me at mblock@hocc.org and I'll send you the link and password.
Little Man's Aunts, Uncle, and some friends from college were in town this weekend which made for a very busy few days. Saturday morning Little Man had his first pancake breakfast, compliments of his Nana, and then spent the rest of the day snuggling with his Aunties and showing off his walking skills for everyone. That evening we all went to a haunted house in downtown Dallas while Little Man hung out with Pop in the car. Sunday morning we noticed Little Man had come down with a pretty high-grade fever and by Monday morning when we took him to the doctor we found out that his eardrum had burst sometime over the weekend.
This afternoon Little Man took his first unassisted steps...three in a row! He won't perform on cue, in fact, he goes limp like spaghetti if you try to show anyone that he is walking but I caught him walking on his own twice more tonight when he thought I wasn't looking. Looks like our life is about to get a lot more hectic!
This picture is of my little guy "helping" me with the laundry. Ever since I started playing peekaboo with his lovey over his head he loves to put clothes on his head. I definitely prefer this to having him knock over all of the folded clothes!
Sorry for the second round of video... and I know this is a long one but it was by requested by Pop (he loves how Little Man punctuates each sentence with a fake cough). My personal favorite moment is when he randomly licks the wall...
Little Man had his 9 month checkup today. Yes, you read that right....he is 9 months old AND he is finally having checkups that correspond to his age (we were two months behind for a while)! Little Man is still charting really small for his age and only gained one pound in the last THREE months but his doctor attributed it to how active he has become lately. The picture on the left was taken when he was one month old and the one on the right was taken just the other day. It is hard to believe he is almost a year old!
Let me start by apologizing to all of you who will find this dreadfully boring....
All of my siblings live out of state and lately my sisters have been voicing their frustration with missing out on the little things happening to Little Man every day so I'm posting this short video so they can see some of his newest "tricks". In this video you will see his new fascination with the "fake cough" (don't ask, I don't know), see him wave and see him give a juicy kiss. Love you girls!
Little Man and I drove out to see daddy and the other firefighters at the fire station for lunch today. Little Man enjoyed the visit so much more than previous visits because daddy ran the lights on the engine and let him climb all over the equipment. He got the biggest kick out of sitting in the driver seat with daddy (look how excited he is!) and playing on the steering wheel (he was also still very fascinated with the Captain's moustache). It is so fun watching our little guy grow...it amazes me how much can change from month to month. I can't wait to see what he will want to be when he grows up!
This week was also the week that he started back to his mother's day out program AND had his first "bloody" accident. A little overzealous in his desire to move freely on his own he lurched forward, fell, and split the inside of his lip. The injury looked worse than it was because of the location but there really isn't anything like seeing your little baby bleeding even if he "took it like a man" with only a few crocodile tears. Based on the number of various scars Travis has from stitches, scrapes, and cuts from his boyhood, I have a feeling this "incident" will be the first of many "uh ohs" in his boyhood. Oh the joys of raising a little boy... so much to look forward to!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Little Man has just discovered the little vinyl tunnel in his room and spends lots of time crawling in and out of it, rolling around in it or just sitting and playing in it. Trav, Nana and I have even been known to crawl in there with him (otherwise we'd probably never see him). I wonder what his next obsession will be???
It's football season and it seems there is always a game on at Nana and Pop's house. Pop is just counting the days until Uncle J's season starts and warmed up his lazy boy this weekend by watching a Notre Dame game. Pop says he can't wait until Little Man is old enough to ask questions about football but I think he is already showing signs of interest in the game. Go Chiefs!
This past weekend we had a new member added to our HomeTEAM (church small group) by way of birth! Little Man, Trav and I joined the other member's of our team in welcoming little baby girl N to the group just 3 hours after she was born.
Just this evening I was looking through pictures of our HomeTEAM a year and a half ago when we had just one brand new baby. In the past year and a half we have added four new babies and are expecting two more (not to mention all of the older kiddos). We are so blessed to be in a church and in a small group that is full of new life.
Uncle J and Aunt Ash hooked Little Man up with some authentic Nike kicks to help him take his first steps. Unfortunately, every time we put them on him he rolls his feet to the sides to look at the shoes. It seems Little Man is more interested in look at them and playing with his new tennis shoes than walking in them.
My sis just sent me some pictures from the days she and my brother watched Little Man while I was at work. It seems they had way too much fun and I am sure my little guy is going to have lots of questions someday!
Our little man has a little girlfriend! Sweet little girl RR is the daughter of some good friends of ours with whom we have been doing a babysitting trade while Travis attends orientation for his second job. I babysat little man and his little woman last week and he had so much fun playing with little RR. One of the funniest moments was when I told RR to give little man a kiss and she bent over and licked his face! Hahaha! RR's mom watched the twosome today and sent me this adorable pic at work; it was such a nice surprise.
There are so many moments in a day that can be treasured and my new favorite moment is riding in the car with my sweet little boy. Lately Little Man has taken to riding with his feet straight in the air...it is so weird to look at and so absolutely adorable. It is so fun to see the tiny little quirks of his personality seep through the baby behavior!
Today was a big day for Little Man 1)He waved "bye-bye" for the first time as we were leaving Nana's house 2) he finally let go of the couch with BOTH hands and stood unassisted for several seconds (the picture only shows one hand because when I saw him let go I screamed in delight, scared him half to death and he fell over) 3) He tried to bury his head in his bath water...head first (not at all exciting, just really scary) and 4) He discovered Daisy's toy bin and tortured our poor dog by pulling out her little toys and throwing them (the picture is of Daisy grabbing her stuffed animal and running to the other room). It is so strange to watch him learn and do new things so quickly...strange but really exciting!
This weekend Little Man, Nana, Pop and I accompanied my sister on her trek back home to Kansas City. Although the trip only lasted a couple of days we had a lot of fun, laughing, eating and helping Aunt Ash decorate her new home. I think the highlight of Little Man's weekend was his first trip in Uncle J's monster truck - (mommy's head doesn't even reach the door knob) sooo cool! We will miss you Auntie, thanks for spending the summer with us!!!
No, your eyes do not deceive you, MY DAD is feeding Little Man his dinner (even Little Man looks shocked)! My parents have been helping me out the past few weeks by watching Little Man while I go to the gym in the afternoon and just recently my dad has been babysitting solo. I am not in any way implying that my dad was not an amazing father; he was an amazing father who was very much intimidated by infants (aren't ALL men?). Let me tell you that until you have seen a grown man terrified of being left alone with an 8lb infant, I tell you, you have not lived. All kidding aside, Little Man absolutely loves his Pop and the time that they spend together (they even have their own special little standing up game that they play). I love that my parents are just a few streets down from us and can be such an active part of our Little Man's life.
There are some things in life that just can't be explained ... like the simple joy a bubble can bring. The look on Little Man's face when the first bubbles fell all around him will be forever engraved on my mind. With each blow of the wand, my little man would throw his head back, mouth open, and let the bubbles fall all around him.
I feel like I have stepped onto a speeding train ... just yesterday I felt the ridges of bottom teeth in Little Man's mouth and this morning they had actually pushed through! Fast foward a couple of hours and Little Man just started crawling all of the sudden, like he had been doing it for months. A few hours later I put him down for a nap and when I went in to check on him about 20 minutes later, I found him standing! Aaaccckkkkk! Slow down this crazy train 'cuz I can't keep up!
When Travis and I first got married we shared a very small queen bed. For our five year anniversary we upgraded to a king-sized bed (finally). Every morning I wake up and I have one inch between me and the edge because Travis is hogging the whole bed...and apparently it is contagious because despite all of the luxurious space in my wonderful bed, Little Man and Daisy feel it necessary to share the same three feet as me. Although I love a good Saturday morning snuggle, sometimes a girl needs her space. :)
Little Man has had such a fun week with lots of playtime with his pals JJ and JP. It began on Sunday night when our small group gathered to begin preparations for our portion of the church's Vacation Bible School (the boys took a little cat nap together) and ended with our good friend Jackie offering to watch Little Man one day while mommy had to work. JJ is much more mobile than Little Man and apparently much friendlier (Little Man wasn't too thrilled with the open-mouthed kiss). Jackie said that he just sat there wide-eyed staring at the boys most of the afternoon (we don't get out much) and had a lot of fun watching the boys in all their glory.
I am amazed at how quickly Little Man changes as he passes through each growing phase. Lately he has been taking several very long naps throughout the day...signs that he is growing once again. Each phase brings a new treasured moment or memory and I am so afraid that I will forget them in favor of the next stage's treasure. For now, my favorite stolen moment with him is when he is falling asleep in my arms and reaches up and runs his fingers through my hair. Perfection.
Little Man has been learning how to put himself to sleep (thankfully) and normally will play quietly in his crib or babble to himself until he falls asleep. We removed his bumber pads because he likes to sleep right up against them and with the heat there is no circulation in the crib. This morning I put him down for a nap, like I normally do, and let him play quietly while I got some housework done. I peeked in to check on him and found him like this. Isn't that face priceless?
Although we've been reading to Little Man for several months, he has only started to realize it in the past few weeks. I read this book to him once and when it was finished he began crying so I read it again four more times and then just propped him up in front of it and he sat quietly looking at the pictures for several minutes before turning the pages and then ultimately laying down and gnawing on the book. He gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "devouring a book"!
Little Man is growing so fast and has an opinion about everything. Tonight, during his bath, he decided he is done with laying down during bath time. Every time we tried to lay him back he would grab the sides and pull himself forward.
This week is "crawling week" as Little Man has been trying to crawl for about a week but only seems to be able to go backwards...we are working on it. :)
This past weekend we had our annual multi-family garage sale. A summer garage sale in Texas probably wasn't the smartest idea on our part but we were able to make a little bit of money to put towards some of the NICU bills. Little Man did beautifully until right after lunch when he let us know, "This sale is over!" and I am the nurturing mother who grabbed the camera to capture the moment. Until next year....
For weeks Travis and I have been concerned with Little Man's progress, or lack there of, and then this week it is like someone turned on a light switch in his head and he realized, "Hey, these 5 sticks on the end of my hands can actually be used to do stuff!" Suddenly he is picking things up between his finger and thumb, his eye/hand coordination is right on track and he doesn't want any help holding his bottle or sippie cup. What happened? Overnight he became a little boy who no longer wanted mommy's help. All of this time I've been anxious for him to catch up and as soon as he started showing signs that he was on track I realized that he is growing up and I'm not so sure I want him to! For now, I'm going to try and enjoy each and every phase he is in, whether or not it is on track developmentally.
This past weekend Little Man and I went to San Jose, California to attend the wedding of a very good friend of ours, Bethany (Hall) Fitelson. Travelling solo with an infant is much more difficult than I had anticipated but I was very glad that we made the trek. Congrats Bethany and Danny!
Two of my siblings called today to find out why I had suddenly stopped posting to both of my blogs. The short answer is: work. The longer answer is: I am launching a new website design for our church on January 1st and I've been "head down" day and night trying to get everything in line so that I can actually launch on the date I've promised. This week I overheard one
of my co-workers comment to another, "Watch out! Meagan has another bee in her bonnet!" and they really couldn't be more right. Little Man has been spending a lot more time hanging out with his dad and his nana (thanks mom!) and as much as I hate being apart from him I know this period of insanity is short lived and HAS to end sometime. In the meantime, here are some pictures Little Man's daddy snapped to make me laugh....enjoy! 
