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:: Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt (Saturday, April 4, 2009)
Last Saturday (April 4th), we had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We took Fenn last year, but he was only 3 months old... so it was really more for us than it was for him. This year, he was ready to hunt some eggs! He didn't get very many because he needs to work on his hunting speed, but he did get a prize egg with a $5 gift certificate to Bruster's Ice Cream. Fenn also got his first taste of climbing a tree when Dan put him up on a branch. I think he kind of liked it.
After the hunt, we went to lunch at Qdoba Mexican Grill with some of our neighbors who have kids around the same age. That was very chaotic (with 5 kids) and a lot of fun! Just a little glimpse into what our life is going to be going forward. But we wouldn't change a thing! The family shot was taken by a friend down the street. She is also working toward starting a family photography business, although she is probably much further along than I am. She's taking classes at a local college and has a nicer camera than me. Check out her blog sometime at http://www.angelaacker.wordpress.com/. I really like this family shot. Thanks, Angela!
After lunch, Dan had to go into the office for a while since (do I even need to say it?) it is tax season! So that afternoon, Fenn and I went for a ride and stopped off at a neat little park area in Sequoyah Hills, a neighborhood we wished we could have afforded when we first moved here. It's a beautiful neighborhood along the Tennessee River. But we love our current neighborhood and are so happy we ended up here instead. Great neighbors, great friends, and lots of kids around the same age.
Anyway, I did another little mini photo session with Fenn. Once again, it was a little difficult since I didn't have anyone to help me with him. So I didn't get some of the shots I would have liked to have gotten because he kept moving around and I didn't want him to fall and hit his head on the concrete structures in the park. He had a great time climbing on the steps, running back and forth from one end to the other.
:: Fun in the Front Yard with Eggs, Sunglasses, and Daddy (Sunday, April 5, 2009)
On Sunday afternoon after daddy got home from work, we went out in the front yard to hide some more Easter eggs and take some more photos of Fenn is his cute little "Monkey" outfit his Uncle Todd and Aunt Angie gave to him. The outfit had matching sunglasses, so I couldn't resist a photo session. Fenn had a great time running around the front yard, picking up Easter eggs, playing in his car, and watching his daddy be goofy. (You'll see what I mean by 'goofy' when you scroll down a little!)
I posted these photos on my Facebook page, too. For the photo below, an old high school friend added the funniest comment to it: "Jeez, someone scratched the finish on my ride!" I thought that was hilarious and a great match to the expression on Fenn's face.
In the last photos, I'm not really sure of what made Dan decide to do a handstand-into-a-backbend. But I'm glad I caught it on my camera because I don't think anyone would have believed me otherwise. Be sure to give him a hard time about this next time you see or talk to him!
:: Hangin' with my Uncle G (Saturday, April 11, 2009)
On Friday, I got a voicemail from my brother, Greg, saying he and Tucker (his oldest child) were going to be in Knoxville for the weekend. Tucker's basketball travel team would be playing in a tournament. They didn't even find out about the tournament until the first part of the week. So it was a nice surprise to know we'd get a chance to hang out a little. They live in Birmingham and we don't see them nearly as often as we would like. Tucker's first game of the day was at Thompson-Boling Arena at 8:30 a.m. So Dan helped me get ready and then Fenn and I headed downtown to meet up with Greg. (Of course, by the time we got there, the first game was over.) When we got there, Uncle G met us in the parking lot and opened the back door to greet Fenn. Fenn immediately took to Greg, even though he hasn't seen him since December. He quickly learned who his Uncle G is. If you asked him, "Where is Uncle G?", he would tap his finger on Greg's chest. And he would even try to say Uncle G, mostly coming out as 'uh geeee'. The nice thing for me was that Greg took Fenn and entertained him while we were there... giving me a wonderful (and much appreciated) break! It has been really hard keeping up with Fenn since I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant now. Greg went up and down and up and down the arena steps with Fenn. I'll be glad when he's big enough to do steps on his own. When do you start feeling like they can handle it without falling and hurting themselves???
At first, Tucker was across the arena with his team. But then he did get to come over for a while and visit with us. He gave me a big hug, which I thought was pretty cool that a 16 year old was comfortable doing that in front of his teammates. But Tucker has always been a great kid! So smart and so talented (in many ways)... and handsome, too! He looks SO much like his dad when his hair is cut short.
During the 2nd game, Fenn was snacking on some Goldfish crackers...
...and then he decided to share with his Uncle G. We were actually sitting at a table right there at courtside.
We had to head home shortly after the 2nd game started so Fenn could take a nap. But we joined up with Greg later in the afternoon for a late lunch at Tomato Head on Market Square. Then we headed back to the house to hang out. Greg had to go back to another game at 8:30 that night. He had planned to go to church with us the following morning for Easter service, but then Tucker's team won again and he found out they had an early morning game. They made it to the semi-finals before getting knocked out of the tournament. Thanks, Greg, for giving us a call. We're glad you were able to stay with us on Saturday night.
As promised, here are a few more photos from the little photo shoot I did over at the Baptist Church the other day. I managed to get a few cute photos even though Fenn wouldn't cooperate and I didn't have anyone there to help me pose him and keep him from running off. It's really hard to get up and down off the ground when you have a big 'ole pregnant belly getting in the way! I just love that first photo. I actually got four cute ones like that, really close up to him. I was holding the maracas up over my head and Fenn was trying to get them. My intent was not for Fenn to be holding the maracas in all the photos, but to use them to get his attention instead. Obviously, Fenn had other ideas.
Also, Fenn went to the pediatrician on March 25th for his 15-month checkup and to receive two nasty shots in his thighs. As always, he was a little trooper and only cried briefly. He was fine once I picked him up. His pediatrician, Dr. Herron, is always impressed at how sweet and still he is when she's examining him. I think it's because he thinks she's pretty. He uses his blue eyes to charm her by staring up into her eyes and watching what she's doing to him. Check out his most recent stats... and notice the big change in where his length is percentile-wise. That's a big slow down, or maybe the last time he had just experienced a big growth spurt.
These are his stats at 67 weeks (or 15 1/2 months):
Weight: 24 lbs. 8 oz. (47th%)
Length: 31.25" (49th%)
Head: 47.6 cm (60th%)
Compare this to his stats at 54 weeks old:
Weight: 23 lbs. 9 oz. (57th%)
Length: 30.75" (73rd%)
Head: 47 cm (64th%)
Fenn is right on target with all his major milestones for his age. His vocabulary continues to grow, even though not everyone is likely to understand what he is saying. Two of his newest words are 'outside' and 'garage'. He gets really excited when you mention going outside. In fact, if you don't intend to actually go outside, you'd better not say the word! Last weekend, I bought him a little plastic toddler slide that can be used inside or outside. By this weekend, he had pretty much mastered how to climb up the three steps, sit down on top with his feet in front of him, and slide down on his own. Of course, I'm not completely comfortable yet, so I make sure I'm standing behind him when he is climbing up on top.
Another recent development is that Fenn no longer drinks from a bottle. First, we had gotten rid of the daytime bottles, while still giving him one at bedtime. But we recently stopped doing that one and offer him some milk from his sippy cup instead. And the only time Fenn uses a pacifier is at night when he's sleeping. We knew that would be the last thing to go. And we're hoping to get rid of it by the time Piperbean #2 comes along. Otherwise, we're afraid Fenn will grow even more attached due to the trauma of accepting another little bean in the house.
I just like the expression on his face in that last photo!
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Give us your feedback on a name for Piperbean #2. I have posted a Name Poll over in the right-hand column of the blog, at the very top. Check out the names and vote on your favorite. We're not promising we'll use the most popular name. We're not even promising we'll use one of the names in the Name Poll. (Who knows... we may think of another name we like better between now and then.) But these are some of the names we've been thinking about for a while now. Here's why we picked these names...
:: William Boone - William is a common family name on both sides of our families. Boone is a name we just like. It is a French name meaning 'good'. It's unique like Fenn without being weird. We kind of feel that since Fenn has a unique, uncommon name, this baby should also have a unique name. One where there won't be 3 or 4 other kids with the same name in his class. Oh, and Boone was one of the original characters on the TV series 'Lost'. We would prefer for Boone to be the first name, but in this combination, it actually sounds better as the middle name.
:: Evan Joseph - Evan is a name we have liked for a while now. Fenn was actually almost an Evan. Evan is a popular name right now, but it's not in the "Top 10" so we're thinking there wouldn't be tons of Evans in his class. Evan is a Welsh name meaning 'young warrier'; it is a Welsh form of John (a common name on both sides of our families). Joseph is a family name on Dan's dad's side. Dan's dad is Joseph Bruce. It was also Dan's grandfather's name.
:: Owen Hume - Once again, Owen is a name we just like and while it's a popular name, it's not in the current Top 10. Owen is also a Welsh name meaning 'well-born'; it is also a Welsh form of John. Hume is a family name on Dan's mother's side. It is actually Dan's middle name (Dan Hume) and was his grandfather's name.
:: Liam Daniel - Liam (pronounced "LEE um") is also a name we both just like a lot. Liam is an Irish name meaning 'determined guardian' or 'resolute protector'; it is an Irish short form of William. Daniel is a way of incorporating Dan's name, even though Dan is not a Daniel. And it sounds good with Liam.
And just to remind you about Fenn's name (Fenn Peyton)... Fenn was Dan's mother's maiden name. Peyton was my great-grandfather's name on my mother's side.
And here's a photo of big 'ole pregnant me at 32 weeks... just because I don't like to do a post without a photo, and the only photos we have of Piperbean #2 are ultrasound photos. (It's a self-portrait, so it's not great.) And here's a cute photo I took the other day of Fenn over at the Baptist Church near our house. They have this really pretty area that is full of beautiful annuals every spring. I didn't get the great shots I wanted because I was doing it by myself and having to man the camera, chase Fenn around, try to get him to pose, etc. Hopefully, I can go back with Dan before all the flowers die off. I'll try to post a few more of these later..jpg)
It was a sad week for Dan. He sold his beloved 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible. It had been in the family since the early 70's, being owned and driven at different times by Dan's dad, Dan's brother (David), and Dan. It even survived David accidentally shooting through the back seat. There was a time when I said I didn't want Dan to sell it, because I had hoped one day we could afford to restore it to its original glory. But, I think we both realized it would be a long time before we had the money to invest in it. And it would also be a long time before we would have time to drive it. Dan and I used to put the top down and take it out for a spin occasionally. But since Fenn was born, we haven't been able to do that. I'm just not willing to put my child in the backseat of an old car like that. So the old Camaro is gone. But she went to a good home. Alan, who is a contractor and shares office space with Dan and Betty Kay, bought it. After only one night, he has already fixed a few things that other people were never able to fix 
(i.e., getting the dash lights, head lights, and radio working). More than likely, he'll fix it up and drive it for a while, and then he'll eventually sell it. We sure will miss that old Camaro. But the cash in the bank is a nice replacement.
Yesterday, we really did have the last 3D/4D Ultrasound of our bonding package. We thought we were having it two weeks ago, but I had messed up and not actually told them to schedule it. So that ultrasound was a regular old ultrasound ordered by my OB. The one we had yesterday was the "high tech" version and was nice because it lasted about 30 or 40 minutes and was just for our benefit. They estimated he weighs around 4 lbs. now (a gain of about 1 lb. in 2 weeks!). He is actually measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Looks like he's going to be a big baby. My guess is he'll be around 9.5 lbs. Everything looks great ~ amniotic fluid, blood flow through the umbilical cord, his growth, etc. Oh, and the great news is that he is head down now! And I have to brag on myself because I didn't gain any weight over those 2 weeks... after gaining 10 lbs. in a 5-week period. He was super active the whole time. And once again he didn't really want to cooperate, as he kept putting his hands in front of his face. Here are two of the best photos out of the 17 photos we got. {If you want to see the rest of them, look over in the right-hand column of the blog and click on the link under "More Photos of Piperbean #2".} In the first one, you should be able to easily make out his face. That's his hand pulled up next to his cheek. The blurry area on the left-hand side of the photo is the placenta. He just stays so close to it, that it's hard to get a clear shot of him without it getting in the way. In the second photo, you should once again be able to make out his face. He is sort of smiling a little and he has his hand pulled up in front of his face, with his thumb actually touching his mouth. On the right-hand side of the photo, that's his foot. We kept wondering when he was going to stick a toe in his mouth because he would pull that foot up so close to his face.
Fenn has started doing something kind of sweet here lately. He'll walk up to you, point in the direction he wants to take you, and then turn to walk away... looking back to make sure you're following him. Yesterday, he did this to his daddy and would walk him over to the stairs and point down them. He wanted his daddy to take him downstairs to play. He's never done that before. Then when they came back up, he had his daddy follow him to the front door to let him know he wanted to go outside to play. He has actually been doing this for a while ~ walking to the front door and looking at it and then looking at you. But the pointing and getting you to follow him is something new.
The photo up above is an older one from Thanksgiving. I can't believe I didn't post this one before now, because I love it. I took it out at the farm of a friend in Lanett where I used to take the dogs before moving to Knoxville. It was their favorite place because they could run off leash wherever they wanted to go, swim in the lake, jump off the dock (only Cole did this!), and herd the cows. We spread half of Cole and Asha's ashes out there on this trip.
I have been reporting off and on when Fenn gets a new tooth. Here's the breakdown of how fast he has gotten his teeth... and the only time we really even noticed was when he was cutting the first molars. And when he was cutting the canines, he drooled a lot! He now has 16 teeth, with only his second molars remaining. Although the average age for those to break through is 2 years or older, we fully expect them to come in early, possibly around the time we bring piperbean #2 home. But hopefully not.
Left Lower Central Incisor - Wed., 06/04/2008
Right Lower Central Incisor - Thurs., 06/05/2008
Left Lower Lateral Incisor - Thurs., 08/07/2008
Right Upper Central Incisor - Mon., 08/18/2008
Left Upper Central Incisor - Sat., 08/30/2008
Right Upper Lateral Incisor - Mon., 09/22/2008
Right Lower Lateral Incisor - Sun., 09/28/2008
Left Upper Lateral Incisor - Tues., 10/07/2008
Left Lower First Molar - Sun., 11/09/2008
Right Lower First Molar - Sat., 11/15/2008
Left Upper First Molar - Fri., 11/21/2008
Right Upper First Molar - Mon., 12/01/2008
Left Upper Canine and Left Lower Canine - Sun., 02/15/2009
Right Upper Canine - Sun., 02/22/2009
Right Lower Canine - Sun., 03/01/2009
The dates for those last 4 are not as accurate as the other dates because with all those teeth, it was much harder to get Fenn to let me look in his mouth without getting bitten.
Over the weekend, we made a quick trip down to Lanett to visit my parents. They had not seen Fenn since his birthday party in early December, and if I didn't go now, they wouldn't see him again until Fenn's little brother is born in late May. He has already changed so much since they last saw him, so I knew they would be excited to see him. We got on the road around 9:00 a.m. on Friday (a minor miracle for me!). Thankfully, the trip went well and we didn't have any problems going down. I was a little gun shy after the last time I ventured out by myself with Fenn in June (see the Blog Archive section over in the right margin to find the post about that disastrous trip! It is the one titled "Chevy Chase Vacation: Part I" on July 10, 2008.). Now that he's older, I was able to feed him while driving which saved a lot of time. I handed cheese and chicken nuggets back to him! I think he loved it because he was doing something new. We made the trip in about 5 hours, which isn't bad when traveling with a toddler. I snapped the photo of him napping in the car while driving down. I just held up the camera in the middle of the car and shot a few frames. He was just so cute, so I couldn't pass it up.
We mostly just took it easy while in Lanett. I didn't call any friends while there (sorry!!!), but I knew it would go by fast and there really wouldn't be much time to go around visiting people. Plus, I didn't want Fenn to be in the car all weekend. The weather was really nice and warm, so we went to a nearby playground to play on the slide for a while. When we got home, I took off Fenn's pants, shoes, and socks and let him play with just a shirt and a diaper. He ran around on my parents' deck like that for a good 25 or 30 minutes. I think he was loving that freedom! I can't wait until summer.
Our trip back went well. Once again we made it home in about 5 hours. We had lots of fun visiting with G-ma and G-da. If you're wondering where Dan was, he stayed home to log some extra hours at work (it's tax season!) and to paint our family room. When we got home, it was all finished and looked so nice. If you don't know, back in December we decided to flip-flop our dining room and family room. The old dining room is 1 foot wider than the old family room, so it works out much better. We had to paint because the Tuscan Orange venetian plaster we had in our dining room just didn't work for the family room.
First of all, we went in for another OB visit yesterday and for what we thought was supposed to be our 2nd and final 3D/4D Ultrasound we purchased as part of the "bonding" package. Turns out, I messed up and didn't specify that I wanted this one to be a 3D/4D when I made the appointment (didn't know I needed to), so they didn't schedule enough time for it. They only scheduled enough time for the ultrasound that Dr. Cottam ordered. We didn't realize she had ordered another one to check out the baby's growth, my amniotic fluid, etc. due to my clotting disorder. So... we only got a few regular ultrasound photos of our little bean. We'll go back in 2 weeks and do the 3D/4D Ultrasound and should (hopefully) have some good photos of him. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from yesterday. The first one is of his profile, and the second one is of his cute little feet.
Everything looked great. His heart rate was 146 bpm. They said he weighs approximately 3 lbs. And my fluid levels are great. The only thing is that he is no longer positioned side-to-side... nope, he is now straight up and down, but not the way we want him to be. His head is up and his feet are down. But, he still has 10 or 11 more weeks to get turned and pointed in the right direction. Go to the light.... go to the light, little piperbean!
Fenn has started doing something kind of funny lately while eating. If it is something he really likes a lot, he'll close his eyes, squeezing them really tight, open his mouth really wide, and lean forward for another bite. On this particular occasion, he was eating lasagna for dinner.
Since I actually did a post for Easter Sunday, I'll just add a few more pictures here. Fenn was getting sleepy by this time. We had already been to church and then to brunch, so it was time for his morning nap.
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Poor Chantal! She has the patience of Job because Fenn just would not sit still. He is so much more active now than he was 4 months ago. Luckily, Chantal has a son only 9 months older than Fenn, so she completely understands. Other than the fidgeting, he did really well. And his hair looks so much better now. Thanks, Chantal!
