At the Park

We've been having such beautiful weather lately. And what better way to celebrate than a trip to the park?Southern and I went to Landa Park yesterday to play. We met up with my friend and her son. Here are Aidan and Southern driving the firetruck.Southern also met a new friend at the park. A little Mexican girl was sweet on him :) Her daddy was talking to her in Spanish, and I could only make out 'hola' and 'baby' but apparently she wanted to talk to Southern and he was encouraging her to do so. She and Southern held hands as they drove. And they would periodically look at each other and grin. So cute!

Piano

Southern has aquired a "new" play toy... Yup, that's me some 20 years ago playing the piano my son now enjoys.

Good-bye Old House

Dustin and I said good-bye to an old friend this weekend - the house I lived in during my high school years. It is now sold. But it sure did go through a lot with us. We were in this den the first time Dustin asked me to marry him. I was just a couple months away from turning 15, and needless to say, it shocked me. But then he followed up the question with "you know, one day when we're old enough." haha! The den also was the place where I can remember us watching movies and Spurs basketball. It also saw many afternoons of working on homework (and goofing around)...

Dustin and I working on Spanish II, May 2000.

The house was with us through first and last days of school...

Dustin and I on his last first day of high school, Aug 2000.

It saw us through 4 years of proms together...

Prom 2001.

Good-bye to the places that created many fond memories from the kitchen where Dustin and I ate many suppers and after school snacks together (and Dustin got to experience his first Hot Pocket at the age of 17) to the hot tub that never could get hot...

Dustin shivering in July of 2000.

And good-bye to the bathroom that saw Dustin's first (and only!) cross dressing experience when I bet him he couldn't fit into one of my shirts. As you can see, it was a tad snug, but he did it...

New Year's Eve, 1999.

While saying good-bye to the house this weekend, Dustin found the spot in the shower where he wrote "I love you" and the date to me a decade ago. It's still there!

Going along with the Then and Now theme, here are Dustin and I back in May of 2001...

And here we are in front of the same tree just this past weekend...

Now we're by a tree in the front yard, April 2000...

And 10 years later, that same tree. Dustin and I are a decade older, now married, and with our son! Good-bye Old House!

Contagious Viral Rash

It all started this past Sunday afternoon. We were in Yoakum doing our usual running-around-like-chickens-with-our-heads-cut-off thing visiting family when I noticed that the side of Southern's face had little red bumps on it. It was after our second stop of the day. No big deal, I thought. This has happened before. When he was much younger, his skin became agitated after rubbing on someone's perfume or make-up one day when he was being passed around family members. I just thought it was a reaction to someone's make-up that day and once we got home and gave him his bath, he'd be fine.

After our third stop of the day, I noticed that Southern's forehead seemed to be unusually warm. Did he have a fever? We made one last stop and then headed for home. On the ride back, I got to thinking and remembered his doctor telling me that a small percentage of kids have a reaction to the chicken pox shot he got at his 12 month check-up. And I remembered him saying that one of the reactions could be a slight fever and that if it occurred, it would be about 10 days after the shot was administered. It was 11 days since he had the shot, so I thought that must be the cause. Later that night as I was undressing him for his bath, I noticed that the little red bumps weren't only on his face but also a few scattered on the rest of his body. Hmm... maybe the shot also caused this?

The next day his fever was gone but his spots were worse. They were all over now. So I called the doctor's office to see if this was a normal reaction. I was told that perhaps he had gotten the chicken pox from the vaccine and to bring him in as soon as possible. Once at the doctor's office though, the doctor could tell that it wasn't chicken pox. The bumps looked different and spread in a different pattern. And fever occurs during the onset of any viral rash.

So Southern was diagnosed with an unknown contagious viral rash. We don't know how he got it. The doctor said perhaps by meeting someone new who he caught it from. He met no new humans that day but did come into contact with a newborn goat and touched it's bottle nipple. That or eating something new are the only two things I can think of to figure out where he could have caught this rash. He sucked on a pickle and tried a tiny bite of a mushroom that day which were the only foods that were out of the ordinary for him. I'm not sure if any of these could have caused it or not, but we definately need to whip out that bottle of antibacterial gel more often with Southern. Poor guy!

He's doing much better now. We're giving him oatmeal baths every night and applying Baby Aveeno lotion during the day. His bumps are not as red and not as itchy for him. With each passing day, he is looking and feeling better.

Baby Steps

As I have mentioned before, Southern is starting to take steps on his own. During the week before Easter, he would take a few steps here and there when he was aimed toward me, the couch, the ottoman, etc. He knew he didn't have to go far, and walking would be quicker than crawling. He is a very fast crawler so we expected him to keep on crawling for awhile. But not too long after he started taking those baby steps, he tried for more.

Last week, he was taking steps by the dozen before falling back to his knees. This week, he is crossing rooms by himself!

This is very exciting news - quite a milestone, in fact. But it does spell extra work for Mommy...

Yes, that's our little Southern twirling in the curtains.

Still twirling... And of course, Mommy is snapping pictures of the little troublemaker. Who could get mad at this little guy?

Southern's 12-month check-up

I took Southern to the doctor for his 12-month check-up yesterday. We had to wait almost 45 minutes to see the doctor, and after 30 minutes of waiting, Southern was getting very antsy. But we finally got in to see him, and I was reminded once again just how much I appreciate having such a good doctor to look after Southern. He is definitely worth the wait. He calmly listens, pauses and really thinks before answering questions, makes professional and personal suggestions, and really shows how much he cares.

We ended up visiting with the doctor and nurses for almost an hour. Most of that time was spent with the doctor, but we did have shots with a nurse afterwards. She came bearing an alcohol wipe, two needles, two band-aids, and a squeaky toy frog. Poor Southern got two pricks in his right leg - a chicken pox shot and a MMR shot. He screamed bloody murder but soon quieted down as I held him and he got to examine his new toy.

At Easter, some family members were taking bets as to how much Southern weighed. One went as high as 35 lbs. I guessed lower, closer to 25 lbs. We were all wrong. He weighed 23 lbs, 12 oz and was 31 1/4 inches long. In three months, he gained less than 2 lbs and grew an inch and a quarter. He is still in the 93rd percentile for height but has been bumped down to the 60th percentile in weight. Dr Statler told us to set up a basketball hoop in our driveway - our son is tall and thin. He was really happy with Southern's measurements and was glad that he wasn't "one of those babies that fattens up during the toddler years". He predicted that when he starts walking, he may become even thinner.

And speaking of walking, Southern is now trying to walk by himself. This past week, he would take 2-3 steps on his own a few times a day before falling back down to his hands and knees. But last night, he started taking a dozen or so steps on his own! He repeated this every few minutes for a couple of hours. Today he has not tried to walk very much, but I'm guessing that a walking Southern will not be too far in our future!

Southern's Second Easter

The Easter Bunny visited Southern at our house on Saturday. He was stopping in Yoakum for treats for Southern on Sunday already, so he visited us a day early to spread out the fun.

Southern got his gifts first thing in the morning - while he was still in his jammies :) He got a new Hot Wheels car and two new Little Golden Books (one about God and the other with Bible Stories). He loved them!

On Sunday, we drove to Yoakum for our annual Easter celebrations with family. My maternal grandparents always have their Easter at noon on Sunday. That was our first stop. Southern is the only great grandchild on both of Dustin's sides of the family, but he is blessed to have young cousins on both of my sides of the famly. He loved playing with my older cousin's two young sons at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I love this picture of the boys (and my uncle who is a kid at heart!).After we had lunch, the Easter bunny hopped along in the backyard hiding treats while the boys played with their new Easter bats and balls in the house. Then the hunt began! The boys with some of their spoils...Southern was a natural!Our next stop was Dori and Allan's house. Southern got to meet some of the animals for the first time. The dog in the photo below, Doofy, had met Southern a few times before. And I think he was still Southern's favorite.Uncle Parker taught Southern how to feed the donkeys flowers. Here is Dustin's dad Allan with Southern feeding them.The third stop was to Dustin's paternal grandparents' house. His grandmother, DeDe, wasn't feeling well. She was suffering from muscle spasms. And on the way to their house, Southern had fallen asleep in the car. So we didn't get any photos at this stop as DeDe was already in her jammies and Southern was alseep on my shoulder the whole time. Poppy and DeDe gave us Southern's Easter present for us to show him later when we woke up. It was a bunny wearing overalls, and those overall were embroired with Southern's name! Very cool.

Our final stop of the day was my paternal grandparents. Southern was able to play with his two young cousins Cameron and Caleb. Caleb is only 5 weeks younger than him, and they always get along great. It was so sweet watching them play. After they left, my dad and Dustin took Southern for a ride on the Mule. They drove all over the pasture and around the tank. Southern loved it! What a great Easter Sunday spent with family! Here is Southern's Easter loot (minus the squishy ball and bat). Not too shabby! ;)