Fenn Meets More of his Family

On Saturday, while mommy was on her girls' trip, daddy had an opportunity to introduce Fenn to some more of his family. Dan's parents and two of his aunts (Grami's sisters) were going to be in Chattanooga for a wedding (Dan's first cousin's daughter). From what I heard, it was a good trip. Dan spent some time on Friday night getting things together (diaper bag packed, etc.) so they could get on the road bright and early Saturday morning. It's only about an hour and a half down to Chattanooga, and Fenn napped part of the way down. Once there, he was all smiles and laughs and put on his typical "see what an awesomely sweet and good baby I am" show. They hung out in the hotel room for a few hours, and then headed back home at lunchtime so everyone else could go to the wedding.

Here's Fenn with Aunt Bunny. She even read one of his favorite books to him, The Belly Button Book.

Here's Fenn with Aunt Susan and Uncle Sam.

Grami bought daddy and Fenn some "Big Guy" and "Little Guy" hats.

And here's one more pic with Grami.
Fenn loved meeting all of you and hopes to see you again soon. You need to come up to Knoxville sometime.

Fenn Has Some News to Share...

I think the pictures are self-explanatory! 10 Weeks and counting! We're really excited. We've known for a while now... I actually got really, really, really faint lines on 2 different pregnancy tests on Thursday, September 4th... just 10 days after ovulation. (Sorry if that's too much information!) I didn't mention it to Dan and took another test on Friday morning (secretly while he was getting ready for work). I called my doctor and made an appointment for that morning at 10:30. Yep! They confirmed it. At this point, I was only about 3 weeks pregnant. I picked up Fenn at daycare that afternoon and then went looking for an "I'm the big brother" t-shirt for him. The smallest one I could find was a 2T. Funny, I don't think we're the only people to have babies that will be 17 months apart. You'd think they would offer a smaller size. So, I had to improvise. I took one of his 12-month onesies, some permanent magic markers, and Wa-La!... a custom (& a little pathetic) "I'm the Big Brother!" t-shirt. When daddy walked in from work, I was sitting on the floor holding Fenn in a standing position so daddy could see his t-shirt. And of course, daddy was pretty darned excited! I'm obviously a Fertile Myrtle, because this is the 4th time we've gotten pregnant in the 2nd month we were trying. We've already had 2 ultrasounds ~ one at 7 weeks and one just this morning (at 10 weeks). Strong heartbeat. He/she was moving a lot during this morning's ultrasound. We could see the fingers pretty clearly, and could see he/she kicking those legs. Looks like we're due around May 19th. Since I'll be induced again, we'll do our best to pick a day that does NOT fall on a family member's birthday, anniversary, etc. We want this baby to have their own special day.

I'll try to post some ultrasound pictures next week. These photos were taken back on September 5th and were ready to upload. I'll have to scan some of the ultrasound pics. I'm off to Waynesville, NC for my annual Cabin Divas trip with my very good friends whom I used to work with in West Point, GA. I think this is our 11th year going. Pray for me that I'll do okay being away from Fenn for the first time ever. I know he and Dan will be fine for a few days without me. And I know it will be good for me to get away.

Our Punkin at the Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday, we took Fenn to The Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch at Oakes Farm. It was a beautiful drive out there, and we couldn't have asked for a better fall day. We skipped the corn maze, but did the hayride out to the pumpkin patch where we got to select 2 pumpkins. Fenn rode in his wagon for the very first time. I don't think he quite knew what to think of it at first, but then he seemed to really like it. I think he liked going bumpity bump over the uneven terrain! Kind of like off-roading for little tikes! He didn't really cooperate on the picture taking part. He had just gotten up from a nap and seemed to be entranced by the pumpkins and other things around him (weeds, roots, etc.). Plus, it was early afternoon and the sun was pretty bright. He just did not want to look up at the camera. So I really didn't get any GREAT photos at the farm. After we picked our pumpkins, we went back to the farm area to walk around, give Fenn a bottle, and get a snack for us. I just had to try a deep fried twinkie. I had never had one before, and it seemed like the thing to do. Not bad, I must say. But I don't know if I'll ever get another one. They had some of those cheesy plywood photo stations, so we did a couple of those. Once Fenn had his bottle, he was pretty much over it all and ready to get a nap. He crashed almost immediately in the car and slept all the way home.

On Monday evening, we went to a nearby church's pumpkin patch to get a couple more pumpkins and to hopefully get some cute pictures of Fenn. This time, we hit jackpot on the pictures. He was alert and happy to look at the camera this time. I'm sure it helped that the sun wasn't shining in his eyes. Here are some of my favorites (including the first photo up at the top of the post)!

Fenn at Ten Months Old

This is Fenn at Ten Months. This is the tenth installment in the "12-month onesie" series. (Don't forget, you can click on the "12-month onesie photos" link to the right to see all of the monthly photos.) I have quite a few stories to tell about the new things Fenn is doing now. First of all, I have to mention he has ALL 8 of his first teeth (upper and lower central & lateral incisors). AND he is working on BOTH of his lower first molars. Both gums are really swollen, and his pediatrician could actually see the left one under the gum on Monday. We barely even noticed those first 8 teeth coming in. But he's having a tough time with the molars... and so are mommy and daddy.

Fenn is very much into tossing, crashing, dumping, and banging his toys around. I suppose that's a boy thing. Or, do all kids this age do that? He is getting better and better at walking with assistance. And he's even getting more brave about letting go and reaching for something else to hold onto. If we don't watch him very closely at all times, we have discovered that some interesting things end up in his mouth. On more than one occasion, we have caught him chewing on one of our flip flops. Ewww! And the other day I found him near Petey's food bowl... and he had a piece of dog food in his mouth. Nice! The bowl was actually empty, but he found a leftover piece on the floor.

And I have to mention I'm a little worried about what his future career aspirations will be. It seems he is a bit of an exhibitionist. When I am changing his diaper, I'll undo the velcro tabs but leave the diaper in place (as a precaution against getting sprayed) while I grab a wipe. Now think about this... Chippendale dancers and "break-away" pants. Fenn will reach between his legs, grab the diaper, and yank it out from underneath him... and then toss it to the side. Hmmm..... we'll have to work on putting a stop to that.

He had his 9-month pediatrician visit a couple of weeks ago.

These are his stats at 41 weeks:

Weight: 21 lbs. 14 oz. (67th %)

Length: 28.25" (44th %)

Head: 46.4 cm (77th %)

Compare this to his stats at 26 weeks old:

Weight: 19 lbs. 1 oz. (77th %)

Length: 27" (71st %)

Head: 44 cm (57th %)

Oh, and on a different topic, I have to tell about what happened to me yesterday. I was taking Fenn for a walk (trying to keep him occupied). We were only about a block or so away from the house, on another street.... where what did I see??? An older gentleman (think of Hume Cronyn in the movie Cocoon), possibly in his eighties, was standing on the front porch of his house wearing absolutely nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist. And he apparently wasn't concerned about me walking by, because he just stood there in all his naked glory (well, naked plus a towel).

Fenn Surprises Us!

When we got back from the beach on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 21st), we put Fenn down on the floor to play. Almost immediately, he found his push toy and started doing this... (sorry for the blurry pics... but I had to snap them fast!)Seriously, he had not done this before we left for vacation. And we didn't have this kind of toy with us on vacation for him to practice. He had played with it a little before going on vacation. But the most I had done was stand him in front of it and help him push it a couple of times. He just grabbed the toy, stood up, and took off. It's only a matter of time before he starts walking. On this first time, he was a little wobbly and unsteady. But over the past couple of weeks, he has gotten better and better. And mommy and daddy are getting exhausted chasing him around. Oh, and he LOVES to walk while holding our fingers. And if we try to make him stop (and sit down) so we can rest our weary, 40ish, aching backs, he gets M-A-D. The boy just wants to walk!

Here are a few more pictures that I like, but am just getting around to posting. They're from three or four weeks back, but I wanted to include them on the blog. This first one is just one that I like... just because.For the next 2, Fenn was crawling down the hallway from his bedroom. He stopped to admire some photos of him that were leaning against the wall. He stared at them for a while. (I'm really bad... I have all these beautiful photos of him, and just haven't had the time to frame and hang them.)And the last photo is typical of him these days. He'll crawl to the front door and bang on it. If I come and open the door, he'll grab my fingers and proceed to walk me outside, down the steps, and down the sidewalk.

Fun in the Sun on Seabrook Island, SC ~ Part One

We have been back from the beach for two weeks now, and I am FINALLY getting a chance to work on this blog post. I had to keep Fenn home from daycare for most of this week (Tues. - Fri.), so that really messed up my schedule. We took him to the doctor on Tuesday and she couldn't really see anything wrong with him other than the fact that he was running a low-grade fever. She said it might be roseola, which means he would run a fever for 3 or 4 days straight and then break out in a rash on his trunk. But that apparently wasn't it because instead, he would run a fever one day, then be fine the next, then run a fever the next day, and so on. Because he wasn't going more than 24 hours without a fever, we were afraid to send him to daycare {just in case!}. Turns out, we probably could have... but we didn't want to risk getting someone else's child sick. By Friday, I figured "what's the point in sending him now?" and just kept him home with me. Maybe the fever was related to teething.

Back to the beach trip. We were scheduled to head out on Wednesday, Sept. 17th. We were meeting our very good friends, Jim and Kama Shaw, and their son, Gabe. Gabe is 13 months older than Fenn. We had hoped to get on the road by around 10:00ish that morning. You guessed it... that DID NOT happen. I think we finally got on the road around 12:30ish. So much for an early start! Poor Fenn! We felt like we were neglecting him all morning. We put him in his activity saucer / bouncer and I guess he got tired of waiting on us! Fenn did great on the 7+ hour drive, other than starting to get a little fussy toward the end. We only had to stop a couple of times ~ once for a mid-afternoon bottle and then once more for dinner. We actually made it to Charleston in about 7 hours, but then it took another 30 - 45 minutes to get to Seabrook Island. The drive into Seabrook is amazing because you're basically driving through a gated community and there are dear everywhere... just grazing in people's yards.

We had rented some bikes, so on Thursday morning we all headed out for a bike ride. We were really excited because it was going to be Fenn's very first bike ride. I had even found a bike helmet in his size (well, sort of... it's for 12-months and up, but close enough!). As is usual for Fenn, he loved it. He loves anything related to being outside. He wasn't really quite tall enough for the bike carrier because the back of the carrier kept bumping his helmet and pushing it forward over his eyes. To resolve that problem, we put some towels underneath him to raise him up higher.

Being the safe, responsible adults that we are, Kama and I were snapping pictures while riding our bikes. But we got some cute photos! We rode around the Seabrook community for a while, looking at all the amazing homes and checking out some of the beach access areas. Then we decided it was time to head back to the condo. Well... Fenn decided it was time. We noticed he had fallen asleep in the bike carrier. We really aren't sure of how long he had been asleep. Sorry, Fenn! Bad parents!After naps and lunch, we loaded up and hit the beach for the first time. As soon as we put Fenn down on the sand, we could tell he loved it. He immediately started playing with the sand toys and crawling around all over the place. Then daddy took him down to the ocean and he loved that, too. I think if we had let him, he would have stayed there all afternoon.

Yes, I have lily white legs. I never have time to get in the sun anymore, and when I do, I just don't tan!What do you think the odds are that he ate some of that sand?We had to chase Fenn down several times because he would start crawling away and just keep on going.

I like this photo. Look at Fenn's "tracks" in the sand. That was Fenn's first day on the beach. We actually stayed out there longer than we anticipated, but Fenn was loving it so much we ended up staying until a little past his normal naptime.

To be continued in Part Two. This post is getting to be way too long.

Fun in the Sun on Seabrook Island, SC ~ Part Two

On Friday of our trip, we decided to spend the day in Charleston. I had never been to Charleston, so I was looking forward to going. Plus, Dan's cousin, Dawn, lives in Charleston and I had never met her before. So we picked her up and headed into town. Right off, I could tell I was going to love Charleston and hope to go back and spend some more time there someday. But for now, I had to settle for a partial-day tour of the Battery, Market Street, and a quick drive through some of the historic home areas. However, the highlight of the day was eating lunch at Jestine's Kitchen (click on the link to see some photos of the food). Most of us got the fried chicken, and we (of course) ordered up several desserts for the table to share. If you know me, you know I'm not going to pass up dessert! They even sent us an extra dessert that we didn't order... just because! If you go to Charleston, you'll want to check this place out. Apparently it is a favorite of Rachael Ray and some other Food Network chefs. We got there a little before noon and didn't have to wait for a table. But while we were there, a line started forming outside that wrapped around the side of the building. Thanks for a fun day, Dawn! It was great to finally meet you!That evening, we all got dressed up in our best khaki and white and tried to take some family beach photos. Our efforts were hindered by the attack of the LOVEBUGS. Yes, we apparently planned our beach trip during the two weeks that the crazy mating bugs take over the beach. They were everywhere, and they apparently love white. I'm not going to post any of those photos here because in many of them we have lovebugs on our noses, foreheads, clothes, etc. Plus, we didn't get the greatest photos that night because Fenn was tired and wouldn't look up at the camera. The first photo on my "Part One" post is from that night. But we got better photos the next night. Oh, and this photo of Dan and Fenn turned out sweet.On Saturday morning, we went for another bike ride. Here are a couple of those photos. This time, Fenn stayed awake the whole time. We even scoped out a better beach location for hanging out later that day and for taking pictures that evening. This was our last day on the beach. Once again, Fenn had a blast playing in the sand. I won't go into details... I'll just share several photos here. Throughout this post and the one for Part One, if you'll look closely at Fenn's photos (or even click on them to enlarge them), you'll notice he has sand all over his face.I like this photo, even though Fenn's eyes are closed. On our last night, we had one more photo session to try and get some great family photos to possibly use for Christmas cards. I can't post many of those here since we might use them later, but here are a few. The group picture of all of us was taken by one of two sisters who happened to be walking by and offered to take our picture. They were both obviously drunk. I think the one who used Kama's camera actually got a better photo.On Sunday morning, I took Fenn back out to the beach for a few more photos in this cute terry cloth, hooded romper I had bought months ago with the intention of using it for beach photos.That's about it for our beach vacation. Luckily, this vacation wasn't Chevy Chase Vacation... the Sequel. We had good weather and we were all well. It was very relaxing and we had a great time with our friends, the Shaws. Thanks for going with us! I know between this post and the Part One post this has turned out to be a really long post with quite a few pictures. But keep in mind that I took almost 800 pictures during the trip!