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Saturday, June 30, 2012

June in a nutshell: W=Biter.


June has been my first month as an at-home-mommy. Before this, I was a half-at-home/half-at-school mommy. I was so busy working part-time as a teacher that I often passed myself coming and going. After an entire school year with the part-time schedule, Colt and I decided that it was hardly worth the time we were spending commuting Wyatt back and forth to the Aetna Mtn. Recreation Center (also known as, Auntie's Hill, which was headed by Colt's sister Samantha- which was more of a day camp for relatives and less like a daycare facility, really, since they wouldn't let us pay them). So toward the end of the school year, I let my employer know that I wouldn't be returning next year, but rather staying at home with Wyatt and readying ourselves for the big move out of Hammondville, AL.

In retrospect, June has been a wonderful but very busy month. We started it by taking our first road trip with Wyatt. We traveled 8 hours to witness the graduation of our lovely niece, Taylor.


 As the month progressed, Wyatt became more and more mobile, learning how to pull to standing and clear off end tables from here to the Mississippi.

But the biggest change of all, I think, was inside his tiny little mouth. Because, you see, Wyatt has been sprouting teeth all month long!

In early March, Wyatt began getting his first teeth-- the two bottom middle ones. Then a few months later-- at the end of May to be exact-- he popped his top two teeth.

Since then, for the entire month of June, it seems like a new tooth sprouts once a week.

He's up to 7 now, averaging him a total of 3 teeth for the month of June.

What's he doing with these teeth, you might ask?



Well, he's eating cherrios, vanilla wafers, and pop tarts. He's also taken fancy to gnawing on his crib.


He's also begun biting as a form of affection; which isn't so affectionate.

You might laugh, but this could be serious. I wince each time he comes in for a hug. I have two bite marks on  my left shoulder which have lasted a few days now.

Each time he tries to cuddle, I cringe. The grimace on my face is obvious. Colt even stated at one point that I looked like I was in physical pain.


After some online research, most reputable sources say that biting is a sign of teething (it relieves the  pain to bear down on something) or baby thinks its a game.  As for Wyatt, I can believe either.




|MrsG


Monday, June 25, 2012

Pappa comes to visit

This past weekend, Pappa Steve and Granny Di came for a visit!

Colt's dad lives in Florida, so we don't get to see him or Diane very often, but when we do-- we enjoy it!
We spent the weekend catching up, watching our nephew's baseball tournament, swimming in the pool, and eating some great barbecue!

Here are some photos to commemorate the weekend!


Wyatt got to float around in a pool for the very first time!


He also discovered that vanilla wafers are a tasty treat!

That's all for now--


|MrsG

Friday, June 22, 2012

To-mato, or not to-mato?

Earlier this week, I received a call from Colt's aunt. Everyone endearingly refers to her as, "Auntie." I {always being uncomfortable calling anyone who's not actually my aunt/uncle as such} had absolutely no problem calling her Auntie after falling madly in love with her.

She is absolutely wonderful.

Her smiles could brighten any room and her energy level makes me feel like a sloth. She is a constant cheerleader to all of her children's endeavors and supports her husband in all of his pursuits.

When I think of what kind of at-home-mommy/wife I want to be, I think of Auntie frying us chicken "just because Colt loves it." When I'm tired of cleaning, I think of Auntie and how she sweeps up after us again and again as we trudge in mud from a day of riding four-wheelers. And of course, when my back is aching from carrying WL around on my hip all afternoon, I think of Auntie strolling through the yard with a sense of urgency just to water a plant or move her car out of the direct sunlight.

She works like a Trojan; because she wants to. Rough and tough and completely self-sufficient.

So when I got her call earlier this week, declaring WL had been away from her for entirely too long {10 days to be exact- "But who's counting?" she claimed}, I was happy to oblige. We decided that Wyatt and I would come over on Friday to catch up and spend some time together.

The visit, as always, was wonderful. Colt's sister lives next door to Auntie, so it was a two-fold visit of spending time with my niece and nephew, sis-in-law, and Auntie + Uncle Bill.

We sat under the trees and chatted as Wyatt finished his nap in my adjacent car. We chatted together and Auntie stole "sugars" and gobbled at W's baby-fat-double-chin.

And then we went to pick the garden.

Now, I hate to put the wagon before the horse, but having a garden sounds like an absolutely wonderful and cost-effect DIY project. I can't wait to plant my own next spring. It's the most simple thing in the world, right? You plant it, water it, and tend to it; in return, it grows.

My dilemma while loading up on tons and tons of free goodies (bell peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and corn- yum!) was this: Do the savings the garden provides justify the cost of the garden itself?

I asked both Auntie and Uncle Bill. Although both of their estimations of how much the garden actually cost were completely different {$20 vs. $200}, we all decided that either way, it paid for itself.

As I carried away 3 over-flowing grocery sacks of produce, I had to agree. I believe that the vegetables I brought home today would probably cost anywhere from $30-$60 at the market, easily.

So, my question is this: to-mato, or not to-mato?

Is a garden worth the time? the effort? the initial start-up cash? purchasing a tiller?

Have any of you tried your hand at creating a family garden? How'd it work out? Were you overwhelmed with too much produce, or did you size it according to your family's needs?

My first jar of pickled banana peppers, fresh from Auntie and Uncle Bill's garden. The jar is an old spaghetti sauce jar I saved and painted. Uncle Bill let me know that to pickle peppers, there's no need to actually use a canning jar-- anything you have on hand will do-- even a gladware container!

|MrsG

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Thumper.

Exhibit A: top left side of forehead. Bruise #1 :-(




It might be the first, but it most definitely won't be the last.

At least, that's what they tell me.

There is nothing more terrifying than hearing, "THUMP!" to be immediately followed by the sound of air being sucked back into the lungs, then nothing. No scream. Just Wyatt holding his breath. It takes a few seconds for him to realize that in order to get his point across to me, he has to let it go. He has to let the air pass back out. And then he does. {insert blood-curdling scream here} 

Wyatt has learned to pull up, which, as a mother, is completely amazing terrifying captivating to watch. He stands next to the end table, the sofa, the recliner, and even the rocking chair.

It is this particular piece of furniture which has cause for concern in my opinion.

The hubs claims that I need to let him go, let him explore, and let him learn his own lessons; thereby developing into a toddler with problem-solving capabilities.

I, on the other hand, claim that babies develop brilliantly even without sustaining repeated head injuries.

Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn... so let's just quote the hubster himself.

"Don't worry, Ashley has a piece of paper framed somewhere that proves she knows what she's talking about."

Well, dear, when you're right, you're right. And in this case, I guess I'm going to listen to you.

New house rule: It's better to have a crying baby inside a playpen than a crying baby with a dent.


|MrsG


Monday, June 18, 2012

Daddy's Day #1

This weekend at the Gibson house was very busy.

For one thing-- we decided Thursday night to get up extra early and ride 1.5 hours to this huge flea market called Trade Day in Collinsville, AL with our elderly neighbor Jimmy "Doc" Hargis. We got up bright and early on Saturday morning at 5 am and headed out by 6am. No one bought anything, but it was a WONDERFUL day spent with a dear friend.

The second thing-- it was the husband's first FATHER'S DAY!

I tried to make it as special as I could-- for instance, I ordered his new billet grill for his truck. He's been slowly adding things to his personal truck to make it more personalized. He's had his eye on the Harley-Davidson billet grill for a few months; but, always the provider, he always changes his mind before actually ordering it. Therefore, Wyatt and I bid on the grill using C's paypal account. This proved to be a nice way of letting him know what he was getting, as we won the auction and he was notified via e-mail at work on Thursday.

The next thing we did for him, was create a keepsake/t-shirt-- which I feel is always a Happy Dad's Day go-to gift. I figured it was a great way to let him know that he's a wonderful daddy to our boy and a keepsake-- we'll (hopefully!) always have the t-shirt to remember how small W's feet were on his first Dad's Day.

The last thing we did: we explained to Daddy that we had the entire day planned for him already. He looked a bit taken aback, expecting some kind of honey-do list, I'm sure. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be going fishing. For the entire day. At his favorite state park.

The husband seemed to really enjoy getting to spend the day fishing with his little buddy. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed reading from my Kindle while stretched out on a beach towel, soaking up some rays. :-)  Hey now-- it's Dad's Day-- why not let him be a dad the whole day right???


Myself, after giving up on catching some rays. Instead, I thought I'd take a stab at catching some fish!
As the day progressed, I gave up sunbathing to help corral Wyatt. He is SUCH a handful now that he's crawling and pulling up. He has also taken to eating absolutely anything that isn't meant to be food. I asked Colt if he wanted me to tend to Wyatt while he just enjoyed fishing, but he stopped me and said, "No, ma'am. This is way more fun than just fishing. Fishing while keeping up with him might be the best fishing trip so far."

Of course, you might not get this same reaction from your husband.

Mine's perfect. ;-)

|MrsG