Does this look like a sick little boy to you? Well, it doesn't to us either, but we are on week 5 of being sent home at least once a week from daycare. The problem is Jake keeps having diarrhea / bowel movements (which I'll just call BM's since I'm sure he'll one day kill me for blogging about it!) at school. If they have 2 BMs in 1 day, they are sent home & can't come back for 24 hours. This all started the same week he moved up to the Ducks class. There has also been a virus going around the daycare that they can't shake. The problem is, he never has these BMs at home. It is only at school. He never has a fever or vomits. And he certainly isn't acting sick. We've taken him to the doctor, and the doctor says that he is fine. After the 3rd time he was sent home (& I was starting to loose my patience) we sat down with the teachers to go over everything he was eating at school. We figured out that they were giving him juice in the new class, which they were not in his previous class. We don't give him juice at home, so I just knew that was what the problem was. They started giving him water instead of the juice. He went all of last week without being sent home any. Problem solved, right? Wrong! The BM is back this week. If he wasn't 18-months, I would swear he is faking it to stay home. He doesn't act sick at all. He plays, laughs & has a great time. Needless to say, it's been extremely frustrating. We don't know what is causing it because it never happens at home. Only at daycare. Can an 18-month old have anxiety? The daycare wants to try him on the BRAT diet (bananas/rice/applesauce/toast). He has his 18-month checkup next week, so the doctor said that we would discuss it then. Hopefully we'll be able to get this figured out. Robbie & I are both super busy at work, so it's a face off on who is going to pick him up early or stay home with him. It makes me feel so guilty as a mom. We've got a major project going on at work & everyone is working 10-12 hour days, so I feel pretty bad when I have to tell them that I have to leave to go get my son or stay home with him. It's a very torn & can't win feeling. But, I know that the Lord does not put more on our plate than we can handle, so we'll figure it out. Hopefully we'll get some answers next week!

Well, on the days he can go to daycare, he is having a good time! Last Friday they had a picnic on the lawn for their lunch. So I got to pack him a lunch & he got to use his cute little lunch box. It has his name monogrammed on it (because I'm sure he cares) and everything.
Things we've been doing on our "sick" days...

Feeding ourselves breakfast

Dancing

Playing in mommy's tennis shoes

Taking phone calls in mommy's shoes

Jumping (which for right now, means bouncing on his tippy toes)

Happy 18-Month Birthday Jake!

So Jake turned 18 Months today! I'm having to update the blog from my work laptop (our wireless is messed up on our home computer), so no pictures. But, I wanted to update the blog, since it is our baby book, since I'm not doing so well on the actual baby book!

• Jake starts waking up around 6:30. He will usually play in his crib & doses in & out of sleep. I go in & get him around 7:30 once I've gotten ready for work. He is so funny when I go to get him out of the crib. He tries to grab all of his stuffed animals he sleeps with. He tries to carry them all out of the crib with him.
• I drop him off at daycare. He really likes his new class (The Ducks) and we really like his teachers. On Monday's, his class has water sprinkler day, so they have to bring their swimsuits. Hopefully I can make it by one day to take pictures. His teachers say that all of the kids love it. He is also doing lots of art work. I love seeing the artwork he brings home!
• Robbie picks Jake up from daycare. I love when Jake is looking out the window when I get home. He looks so cute peaking out the window!
• He is getting better at adjusting to going to one nap (due to his new class. certainly not my choice!!) It was making him extremely moody by the evening. (Which is my main time to be with him. Great!) He is getting better though. He does tend to throw tantrums more in the evening though.
• Jake's favorite thing is to play outside. He LOVES outside! He also loves playing with balls and cars/trucks. He'll say "vrrrrrrrrrrrroom". He also loves for you to read to him. Especially his 3 favorite books.... "Llama Llama" books, "Brown Bear Brown Bear" and "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. He is obsessed with those 3 books. After we read them each 100 times, they usually get accidentally pushed under the sofa.
• He is talking on his own more & more. (At first he would just repeat words you told him to say.) He will now bring you his shoes & say "shoes". (He thinks that means he is going outside.) He will also say "bubbles" anytime he sees his bubble containers. Each day it seems like he discovers a new word. It is so much fun to see what he is going to say next!
• He doesn't watch much TV. The only show he really ever seems interested in is Sid the Science Kid. We did take the Envoy to the beach since it has a DVD player in it. It entertained Jake somewhat. He loves commercials with dogs in it or singing in it. I think for our next trip, I'll try to find a singing dog DVD.
• He is still a good eater for the most part. He has his moments when he is picky. But for the most part, he will eat almost anything. His favorite is Mandarin oranges. (His favorite thing that we give him. At the beach, my dad gave him some of an ice cream Oreo sandwich. I think that became his favorite!)
• Lately, when Jake has been going to bed, he has wanted me to rock him. Which is fine with me! I will usually rock him for 5-10 minutes & then lay him in his crib. When I rock him, he loves for me to laugh. Then he laughs back. We go back & forth. We both start out with fake laughs, but then it turns into real laughing. It is the funniest thing. He is such a sweet little boy. His favorite sleep pal is a very soft pig. But he also sleeps with a stuffed Curious George, 2 luvees, a hippo pillow & blanket. I keep thinking I need to remove some, but he is such a good sleeper, I don't want to throw him off!

I need to start writing down the funny things. So many funny things happen throughout the week, but then when I sit down to blog, I can't think of them. I just read this post & it is kind of boring. Sorry! But at least I've updated his 18 Month stats! Happy birthday to a very sweet & special little boy!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful father's out there. I hope you had a wonderful day on Sunday. I have been so blessed to have such a wonderful father. He has been an amazing example of the kind of Christian man I should seek for myself. I feel so lucky to have found an equally as great of man to be my husband. Robbie is such a wonderful husband & father. I went through several "not quite the right ones" to find the perfect one for me. I knew very early in our relationship that Robbie was going to make an excellent father. And I was right. I am very grateful to Robbie's father as well, for raising such a stand-up son. Jake is so very lucky to have such a wonderful father, Gran, Granddad & Granddad Jake! We love you guys!!

Jake's 1st Beach Trip

Last week we had a mini-vacation at the beach with my family. Such a wonderful time! We were originally going to Orange Beach, oil spill & all. But on Sunday, some friends of my parents, who were already down in the area, said the smell was very strong. Because one of my nieces has asthma & the little kids, my parents felt like they needed to change locations. I was kind of bummed, because one of my best friends lives in Orange Beach, and I was excited to see her & her family. Plus, I had booked a photographer out of Fairhope to take pictures of Jake at the beach. But, I completely understood, so we went 2 hours over to Sea Grove Beach, Florida, next to Seaside. The beach was perfect! No smell & no oil. (Plus, I did get to see my other best friend who was vacationing at a nearby beach.) It makes me so sad though to see what the oil is doing, but also so sad to see how big the media is blowing it out of proportion. We've been going to the gulf beaches my whole life. Please continue to vacation in the area! It is still just as beautiful & fun. Yes, there is oil in some places, but that doesn't mean it is everywhere. Most places are offering a full refund if you decide due to the oil/smell not to come and lots are offering great deals & discounts. And there is so many other things to do as well! Please don't rule out the whole gulf coast area!


Now that I got that off my chest, back to the vacation! My parents & my oldest niece Maddox (almost 6) were down for the full week, Monday through Monday. Robbie, Jake & I traveled from Chattanooga to Prattville Wednesday after work, and spent the night with my brother, sister-in-law & niece Marrell (21 months). Then Thursday morning we all got up & headed down to join the rest of the family. My sister & her husband then joined us Friday night. Full house and so much fun! The house was right on the beach & perfect! (Except of the very long flight of stairs from the house to the beach. Carrying an arm full of beach gear & a 32+ pound little boy in the hot summer heat is NOT easy. Funny how people were always offering to carry Marrell, but no one volunteered to carry Jake! I don't blame them. He IS heavy! But so cute!!)

Ready for the beach!

Seeing the ocean & sticking his feet in the sand for the first time

I was really nervous about how Jake would do at the beach. He can be a scaredy cat sometimes. He surprised me. He LOVED it! The waves didn't bother him. Even the ones that splashed him in the face. And he loved the sand. He could have cared less that it was covering his face!

Funny Marrell!

Cousins playing in the sand

What a great first day at the beach!

Maddox, Marrell & Jake

Nana & Gran watched the kids so we could go out to dinner one night. Robbie, me, my sister-in-law Leigh Ann & brother Billy. (My sister & Brooks had not gotten into town yet.)Playing in the tent with Gran while the mommies & daddies went out to eat Nana reading to her babies
Marrell helping Jake tie his swimsuit

Jake braving the ocean with Gran

Nana & Maddox

Gran & Maddox
More sand!

Not feeling mom trying to take in pictures in the middle of the day!
Cue to end the photo shoot.... tears

Jake wasn't the only one having trouble, Marrell was in no mood to take pictures either. Maddox had to do it alone!

Marrell cuddled up to her dad

Refusing to get down!

Back at the house, Jake reading his book while mom reads gossip magazines

Playing in the shark tent with Marrell

Swimming in the pool with mom

Gran with his 2 munchkins

Jake sporting my first attempt at sewing. I sewed him some little shorts. Sewing is soooo much harder than I thought!

I also made the shirt for him :)

Nana & Gran with their 3 grandchildren. Can you tell it is getting towards the end of a long day?!?!

My beautiful sister Lindsey & her husband Brooks

Sweet family!

Mom & her 2 girls

Our whole family!

Last few pictures from the beach...

Jake's Mimi (Robbie's mom) made his outfit. He was supposed to wear it for his beach photographs, but when we had to cancel due to the location change, we couldn't get a new photographer in time. So he got stuck with mommy & daddy photographing!

Jake is obessed with handles, so of course he was excited when we came accross this broom stick handle.

Our little family...

The beautiful gulf coast beaches

Thank you so much mom & dad for such a wonderful vacation!!