50,000 plus words

Yeah, that's right. I finished up my 50,000 words at about 5pm today. I will write more later now I am going to spend the weekend with Scott and just relax.

Drunken Baby

For some reason Chance looks really drunk in this picture

Old door made new

Over the last few days Scott has been working on one of the doors in the house. All of the doors in both sides as well as all the baseboards and door frames are a solid dark wood that has been covered up with layers and layers of paint. So we took a door off and spent two days stripping the paint off of one of the doors and then staining it. It was kind of chilly the last few days too so Scott was very brave doing the work right now. The door turned out to be very pretty. The wood is dark and kind of red with an old marble door knob. If this is the same wood that is under all the painted wood in the house it is going to be beautiful. We are planning to strip and stain the rest of the wood in the house on both sides and it will give a whole new look to the house. A richer look with more character. I put Chance up on the counter while I was standing there to let him talk to Scott through the window. Then this second picture is of Scott looking cool but working hard. The last picture is the finished product.

Goodnight Faces

We have this book called Goodnight Faces. It is a going to sleep book with little eye holes cut out of the animal faces. He never really cared one way or the other about it before but now he finds it fun to look through the holes and for us to look through the hole at him too. The other day I just layed it on his face and he smiled. He left it there while I made funny faces at him and took his picture. He has started playing

a lot with his books. Before we would read them for bed and he would play with his toys all day but now he plays with his books too. It is so cute to see him doing it because sometimes it looks like he is just sitting there reading the book. He looks at the pictures then turns the page then looks at the picture. I am glad he seems to like reading the books. Sometimes you wonder if it is doing any good to read him books every night because some of the time he just wants to wiggle or open and close the book but not listen or just bottle and sleep but I keep on and it is starting to show. Now instead of just turning the pages back and forth he will turn it the right way when I ask him to "turn the page" I have been trying to always say "Thank you" to him after he turns the page correctly.
Yesterday Chance started feeling sick he was a little cranky and was running a fever but he slept well after I gave him some Tylenol. This morning he seemed like he felt fine and we wondered around his day like normal but around 5pm he started running a fever again and feeling not good. I gave him some more Tylenol and he got a little better He is sleeping now just like normal. His fever was up to 101.3 before he went to bed but over than being a little more mellow he really didn't seem sick at all. He was crawling around climbing up on the couch and playing with the remote control. I hope his cold doesn't get any worse but he is handling it like a little trouper.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today was Chance's first Thanksgiving. This first picture looks like it was taken after all the turkey but really it was taken before the meal and after Chance had been wondering around under foot all morning. Dan came over early and we started cooking. Between Scott, Dan and myself there was always someone to watch Chance. We had Turkey, stuffing, corn, peas, sweet potato casserole and a chicken corn bisque that Dan made. We also had some cheesecake and pumpkin pie for dessert. We finished it all off with some egg nog with bourbon added in for those adults in the audience. The turkey was really good and I do not even like sweet potatoes but I liked this sweet potato casserole I am going to put the recipe on my personal journal when I get the opportunty. Chance was really good today and when we all ate together he got turkey and stuffing and peas and he liked most of it. He also liked the pumpkin pie at the end. This second picture is during a break from cooking today. I took the last picture toady of Chance mid-cruise. It was chilly here today but we had the back door open a little to keep the kitchen cooled down since it was warming up with the stove and oven all most of the day. It was a lot of fun hanging out and all working together to make the one big meal. Our Thanksgiving was pretty good and we hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving too.

11 Months Old!

Chance is 11 months old today. He is doing very well in the new house. He is sleeping through the night with no problems. He goes to sleep now between 8 and 9 pm and wakes between 8 and 9 am we can hear him wake up a few times in the night to talk to himself or play around but usually does not cry and puts himself back to sleep. He is down to one nap per day in the morning he will take a second nap about once per week if he has had an active day. He is really getting a sense of humor now. He laughs at little jokes. Like when Scott mimicks me Chance will laugh at him. Chance also initiates peek-a-boo now he will hide under a blanket or behind something and then stick his head back out to look at us and laugh. He also like being under a blanket like a tent. I was playing peek-a-boo with him one day and then he pulled the blanket over his head and left it there. Now he will pull the blanket over his head on his own and play under there. He is so funny. He is eating a lot of adult food and is not eating as much jared baby food now. He likes vanilla wafers and graham crackers a lot and he LOVES yogurt. Any kind of yogurt. When we are in the grocery store I have to give him one of the yogurts to hold onto or he will cry. Anytime he sees one of the containers he grabs for it and makes noises till I feed him one. He also likes sandwiches. He does not like meat or cheese by themselves but if you tear him off a piece of your sandwich with all the parts put together he will eat it actually he will eat a quarter of your sandwich if you let him. He can work the remote to the TV now. He climbs up on the couch finds the remote and turns the channels on the TV till he finds something he wants to watch. We are now pretty sure he has said his first word and it is 'Dada' He seems to be talking to Scott when he does. He has given up on 'Mama for now but he says 'Baba' for his bottle a lot too. He is really working on the cruising. He cruises around everything and bathtime has now turned into him cruising back and forth in the tub till it is time to get out. You can tell he is getting ready for walking, he is spending a lot of his energy on it now. He almost let go of the ottoman today to go to the couch. I saw his think about it and he took a step then let go with one hand but decided not to do it and sat down crawled the foot to the couch then stood up again. He still does not wave bye-bye but he has started saying uh-oh when he drops something I say uh-oh and then he makes an uh-oh face and says "oh".

By the end of month eleven a baby typically:

Says "ma-ma" and "da-da" discriminately see above

• Understands "no" definately


• Claps hands he claps his hands all the time


• Waves bye-bye see above

By the end of month twelve a baby typically:

May take one to two naps daily One nap most days

• Triples birth weight and is 29 to 32 inches long He had done that at his 9 month check-up


• Bangs two cubes together He bangs lots of things together


• Puts objects into containers and then takes them out He just started doing this


• Voluntarily lets objects go He has done this for a while too


• Shakes head "no" He does not really do that but I don't shake my head "no" very much


• Has fun opening and closing cabinet doors He loves doing this and he gets in the cabinets too


• Crawls well Check


• "Cruises" furniture Check
  
• Walks with adult help He will walk holding onto my legs like a conga line


• Says "ma-ma" and "da-da" see above


• "Dances" to music it is more of a bounce really


• Interested in books and may identify some things He loves books and points to some things in the book we read every night "goodnight moon"


• May understand some simple commands He understands No and come to Mommy and some other little things


• Fearful of strangers Not at all he likes everybody


• Shares toys but wants them back Yes he does this exactly


• May form attachment to an item not really yet


• Pushes away what he doesn't want He does this now


• Prefers to push, pull and dump items He does this but I am not sure what the other option is (leave item alone?)


• Pulls off hat and socks Almost every time I put them on him


• Understands use of certain objects Remember the remote story?


• Tests parental responses to behavior Yes he has started doing this recently


• Extends arm or leg when getting dressed He doesn't do this exactly but he does help put his head in and out of shirts when I count to 3 he ducks his head to help take his shirt off. He also helps to get out of his carseat which is kind of the same thing.
  
• Identifies self in mirror He does this too it is a fun game for us and I want to get a wall mirror for his room

  We are all spending Thanksgiving together here at our new house with Dan and Patrick (Dan's boyfriend) Tomorrow will be full of cooking and eating and those are two good things.

All Wrapped Up

A strange thing happened the other morning. Chance usually gets up between 8 and 9 am but this morning I wasn't feeling very well so when Chance woke up at 7:30 am Scott was wonderful and went to get him. Also, after Chance wakes up in the morning he is usually up and ready to party for a couple hours but not this morning. After changing his diaper and giving him a bottle he brought him into the bed to say hi to Mommy. Well, Chance just crawled up and layed down on one side and Scott layed down on the other and we all went back to sleep for over an hour more. It was great we all got the much needed sleep and after we woke up I felt much better. I had not felt well the day before either but turns out it was just a little bug and it only lasted a day.

Rosco

Today we had Rosco put to sleep. It was not a

really hard decision since it was obvious he was not getting any better and in fact was getting worse everyday. He had full blown Lynphoma which did not leave us a lot of options. Even with chemo he would not have made it very long. Rosco was 7 years old which is already on the old side for an English Bulldog. By today he had not eaten anything at all in a day and had eaten very little over the last few days because the tumor was too big for him to open his mouth. We left Chance with Dan and Scott and I took Rosco to the animal hospital. They were very nice and respectful. We were able to be with him and petted him and talked to him while the Doctor gave him the shot. It was so sad. Rosco was the best dog I have ever had. We got him when he was 9 weeks old from a breeder in Auburndale, Florida. He was smart and always wanted to make us happy. He would avoid any kind of negative confrontation at all costs. He was house broken two weeks after we brought him home and in the begining he pulled me a around when I walked him on the leash but after I stood my ground he backed off and didn't pull me any more. He was never afraid of anyone (except grandma's bird) and was friends with anyone who would pet him. Once he got out of the gate when we were living in Fort Myers and instead of running away he waited infront of the gate for us to get home when a family drove by and opened their door he just hopped right in with them and drove off. We were lucky they put up posters and we got him back. He also hopped in the car with the mailman one time when he stopped to deliver a package. He was always nice to children and somehow new not to jump up on grandma when he stayed with her. When Chance came home for the first time Rosco knew instinctively that he was a baby who we had to be gentle with. He licked Chance and Chance loved him. Today when Chance saw him he squealed with excitement. I am sad that Chance did not get to spend very much time with him and that he will not remember him. Rosco was our first baby. We loved him like a child and treated him like one too sometimes. He had his own cage and bed and treats and special food and he would hijack the bathmat if we left him out over night. He loved people and was most happy when he was around us. We loved him so much but we are sure it was time to let him go so he did not have to suffer. We had him cremated. He is placed in an Ossuary at one of the local cemetaries. I am not sure exactly where it is but we will go to find it soon. The last picture is of the Ossuary. The first towo pictures were taken just a few days ago and the next two were scrapbook pictures I made of him from pictures from when he was first born up to a few years ago. Rosco we love you and you can come back to haunt us anytime.

Mowing the Lawn

Today Scott, Dan and I worked on the lawn. We brought the playpen outside and set Chance up with toys and juice a safe distance away. He hung out in the shade while we all worked to cut down the lawn. There were a lot of weeds and sand spurs but Scott weed eated through them and Dan cut back plants with the clippers. I worked the Round Up and sprayed all the the walkways and under the house. We found two rose bushes and the chile pepper plant is much bigger than we thought now that all the weeds are pulled away. Also there are four other plants that are nice and we trimmed them back so they look really nice and not jsut like they are growing out of control. Also we found a lot of cement under the grass which we think used to be the foundation to the house that was on our side lot that is now where our kitchen is and our parking. It is kind of fun having a house that is so old because it was lik uncovering a mystery. I want to do research on our house and find out when it was actually built and by whom. I may even be able to get us a historical plaque if I do it right. It is so great to see the yard cleaned up. It is a really nice yard. I thought it was going to be but now you can actually see it.

Word Count: 20,816

Packing

This picture is from a few days ago when we were packing but he is just as good an unpacker as he is a packer. We have been really busy everyday unpacking. Chance loves books and would crawl in the boxes that had books in them. He has started crawling up on the boxes and the couch there is no stopping him now. We have bought a bunch of new shelves and today we got a weed eater to get a handle on the yard so we can bring Rosco over from the apartment.

Rosco update: We are pretty sure Rosco has Lymphoma. The tumor has grown and is now very easy to see on his face. We have a choice to take him to a doggy oncologist or have him put to sleep. We are going to talk to the vet on Monday to see what he recomends. Rosco has had a long full life with us an we hate to see him suffer when he does not have to but when we see his face and the life in his eyes it is a hard decition to make. We will keep you posted on what happens with him.

My word count has not picked up as fast as it has been because of the move but Scott is going to watch Chance during the day for me over the next few days so I can catch up. Current Word Count: 20,377

Funny Face

This is one of his new faces since he got teeth.

We are settling into the house. Today we went grocery shopping and unpacked some more boxes. Chance helped some more by crawling in the boxes. I'll have to get a picture of that up here. Tomorrow we are going with Scott to Montgomery, AL for the night then we will be back for more unpacking and setting up of the new house.

Word County 18,331

Moving Day

We moved in today! It did not take nearly as long as it did to move into the apartment as it did to move out. The house is full of boxes but we have already started to unpack. We came over on Saturday and put up some new shelves and the television wall mount so today all we had to do was move stuff in. The living room looks really nice already. Scott set everything up in that room already and everything fits perfectly. We thought everything might not fit the way we wanted it too. It was hard to envision it since we were going from one big room to two separate rooms for our living room furniture and desks but when we got everything in the new house it fits great. We finally have rooms that our big couch and chair and ottoman fit in like they are supposed to. Chance was really great today. He seemed a little worried at first when the movers took his crib apart but now he is sleeping in his new room like nothing ever happened. It has been a long day and I am going to go hang out with Scott on the couch in the new house and then go to sleep in our new bedroom. I am so excited to be in the new house. The first picture is in the old apartment and the second picture is in the new house.

Teeth Shot

Finally a picture where I look good a couple of them actually. Of course Chance does not look all that great but you can not have it all. We did get a great shot of his two new little teeth. I think they are all the way in now. They are so cute. It is still a little strange to see teeth in his mouth. Sometimes he makes these little smiles where you can see both of his teeth, like in the first picture. He also sticks his tongue out a lot now. I think he is feeling his teeth with his tongue. Chance is also having a good hair day in these pictures, no hair sticking up in the back.

We are out of internet. The internet was turned off at the apartment and on at the hosue yesterday but we do not have any stuff at the house yet. The movers come tomorrow.

Word Count:15,400

The Kitten

I came across these pictures and I don't think I have posted about this before. While we were in Florida last time Chance, Kristy and I went to visit a couple friends of mine the last day we were there. My friend Becky had just gotten a new kitten he was maybe 10 weeks old and she brought her along to our other friend Syed's house. We weren't sure how he kitten would act with Chance or Chance with the kitten but we had nothing ro worry about because they got along wonderfully. Chance loved the kitten as he does all animals and the kitten had a great time playing with Chance. Chance played with the kittens toys and the kitten crawled over Chance's arms and legs and even when Chance grabbed her a little rough she didn't get upset or anything. The kitty and Chance have the same easy going temperment. The first picture if Chance and the little kitty and the second picture is Chance and Syed.

Word Count 13,074

Electric Lights

Today we went to the house to take a few things and wait for the Electric man to come turn the Electric and the Gas on. We did not have to wait long because even though they gave us a time period from 1pm to 5pm he showed up at 1:30pm. It was worth the wait because now we have lights and a/c and everything else. I even did a load of laundry. Dan came to see the house which was cool because he will be renting the other side of the house from us. It will be great to have someone we know well so close. Yeah for the electric lights. Scott booked our police escort for the moving on Monday so now we are all ready to go. We have to have a police escort to block the street in the quarter for us since the moving van will take up the whole street. At the new house we won't need one because we have a driveway and parking for them to pull off of the street. Chance just crawled around the house and had fun learning all the new rooms and places to go and things to do in the house. This is him with a plastic spoon that came with my lunch which I ordered from the little coffee shop just at the other end of the block.

Word Count: 6,974 and I haven't writen anything today. I am going to start right now.

Von's Birthday

We want to send a big Happy Birthday out to Von. Sometimes step parents can feel left out or lost in the mix but we all want you to know that we love you. We know that the gifts which seem to come all from gaynelle because we talk to her about them really come from both of you and we want to thank you for all that you do for us. We hope you have a wonderful birthday.

Geocaching Event

Today we went out to the Northshore which is about a 40 minutes drive to a wonderful park for a Geocaching Event. Two of our local cachers got engaged and as an engagedment party they held a geo event. The event started at 10am and we did not leave until 5pm so we were there all day. There was food and drinks and just general getting to know one another for the first couple hours then we set off to find caches. There were a few in the park already but they had placed a few new ones for the event. I put Chance in the backpack carrier and off we went. It was great because I usually can't get very many at a time since Chance is not very happy to get in and out of the car mulitple times in a short period of time (I can't blame him) but today since we went as a group I could assist from the trail while the others went off roading to find the cache. I actually found one that way because I could see it when everyone else was right on top of it but couldn't see it. This will be my highest one day cache count at 16. One of the cachers has an off road scooter chair that he takes on the trails and when we got back Chance was trying to climb on it so he picked him up and gave him a ride. Then he taught Chance to push the horn and so they drove around with Chance beeping the horn. This second picture is of a group of us getting ready to leave for some Geocaching. Chance had lots of fun getting attention from everyone and riding along in the backpack. He even took a nap in there for a little while.

Word Count: 5,002

Audubon Zoo

Today we went on a playdate to the Audubon Zoo. It is only about 20 minutes from the house in uptown. It is part of the Audubon Institute along with the Aquarium of the Americas and other local parks. I had not got with Chance befoe because I thought he was too young to enjoy it but now that he is really interacting with his surroundings I knew he would like it. We wondered through the park looking at the elephants and leopards and other animals. Chance loves dogs and will talk to them every time we pass one on the

street well he did the same thing with the animals in the zoo. Some of them he didn't see because he was distracted by things going on around him but when he caught sight of one he would talk and talk to it. They have an area where people can go in and pet some of the animals. I took Chance out of his stroller and carried him inside. Where he started talking to the goats and sheep. He was not afraid at all and wanted to pet the goats like he pets Rosco. We sat down on a little bench and a very friendly goat came over. He started scratching his head on Chance's foot and Chance started laughing. It was so funny. The goat would look up at Chance and then rub his head on Chance's foot and Chance would just laugh and laugh and then they would do it all over again. It went on for a couple minutes. It was so funny all of us were laughing. Chance also liked the reptile area where they have the animals behind glass and there are cages down low so he could be strolled right up to the glass and look inside. I think he had fun. They have a year membership where you can get into both the Aquarium and the Zoo for a full year and we would only have to go three times for it to pay for itself so I might get one of those next time we go.

Word Count - 1,852
Moving Update: The movers are coming on the 12th. I have been taking over a box every day and unpacking it at the new house and today as we were coming out a neighbor asked me if I would like a glass of wine. I said yes and Chance and I ended up talking to two of the neighbors for about half an hour. They were very nice and turns out there is another family on the block that has a duahgter a little younger than Chance. We didn't meet them this time though I am sure we will soon.

Photos

Turns out I lied yesterday when I said you could findt he rest of the photos by following the link to the Right. I used to use Photobucket ( Old Photos) and now I use Flickr (New Photos) so follow the New Photos link to see any new pictures that I post abot here like the Halloween photos and if you want to see really baby pictures or pictures of adventures before Chance then follow the Old Photos link.