The new kid on the Block

We added a new member to our little family. His name is Felix James Price. He was born at 12:51 AM on Dec.27th 2013. His due date was Feb. 06 but he showed up 6 weeks early. He tried to show up on Christmas Night but we were able to stretch it out until the 27th. I was in labor for 28 hours. It was really painful and the shots they gave me to try to stop contractions REALLY hurt. Since he was so early I had to deliver him in the O.R. so they could put him directly in the hands of the NICU. It took about 3 contractions and he was out. He came out weighing in at 5.5 which is big for a baby that early. I was discharged within 24 hours and Felix had to stay :(
He stayed in the NICU for 17 days. Those were some rough days. Our family would watch Dexter while we drove to stay for about 2 or 3 hours and hold him while he slept. He did set the record for getting back up past his birth weight within a week of being born. He was an eating champion. At one point that had to put the IV in his head... that was not fun for us to see. After getting his breathing under control he got to come home!
He is currently 10 months. He crawls all over the place. He started crawling a little late at about 8 months but nothing stops him now. He loves crawling up the stairs. We are working on crawling back down backwards. He loves almost ALL food. We have been pretty strict with what he eats since we learned our lesson with our first. He especially loves to eat meat. YES! I consider that a parenting win! He is a daddy's boy for sure. He shrieks with excitement when daddy gets home and crawls over to him. He got his little finger smashed in a door... almost the same way that MY tip of my pinky got cut off. The nail plate got ripped out of the nail bed. That was traumatic for all involved but he is healing. His little bandaged fingers haven't slowed him down. He is a happy little guy. He is sometimes fussy because he is working on some teeth. He doesn't have any yet but there is one threatening on the bottom left and his eye tooth on the top right. He loves sleeping in his crib on his tummy, pulling himself to standing, food, baths, showers,tickles, and his big brother. He is such a blessing. We are glad he is ok and growing well! Welcome to the Family baby nugget.

Dexter Update 11.14.2014

Wow- It has been a really long time since I have blogged. I think Dexter was maybe 2. There have been some pretty big changes since then which included adding a baby to the family which will be another post all together.I wanted this post to be mostly about Dexter. I need this blog to be my memory for me.
Dexter is 4 and a half. He really is the sweetest little boy. He is funny, sassy, and caring. He tells me literally everyday that I am pretty and that he likes me. He has a new baby brother that he adores and can always make him laugh. He is sensitive and sure doesn't like it when we get angry with him. He is smart and copies everything. He is a sponge too. He is getting braver as we speak. He is in a movie theater for the first time right now! He eats primarily peanut butter sandwiches. He still loves sweets but we have to keep that in check so that he will eat other foods. He loves apples (thank goodness). He has also been picking out what to wear more now too. Some of his outfits make me laugh but I let him wear it anyway. He still likes to cuddle and I will take that as long as it lasts. He calls the corner of his blankets "pettings" and likes to rub them on his skin. It keeps him comfortable. When he is being particularly cuddly he will rub it on me or Adam or the baby.
He loves pokemon and spider man right now. He was spiderman for Halloween (for the second time) but he loved Halloween this year. He has been potty trained since he was 2 1/2 and changes his underpants as often as he can. :)  He did his first Primary program this month. He spoke into the microphone and didn't need any help. His part was " Heavenly Father helps us take care of the earth". He amazes me every day. He will talk your ear off if you let him.  He sleeps in his big boy bed pretty well and when we move (in about 2 weeks) we are putting him in a twin bed.He is pretty excited. He is excited for school next year too. He has an amazing memory so I am hoping school is easy for him.
He has the cutest teeth. I am not looking forward to when he loses them. He is 100% boy and has so many bruises and scrapes form all of his adventures. He still thinks tooting, poop, and burping are hilarious. *warning poop story*
He is working on wiping his own bum. I came up to help check and while he was wiping a little piece of toilet got stuck... he looked back and saw it and then bent over, shook his bum at me and said "look I have a ponytail" hahaha. I hope he stays this cute forever!
He is such a blessing. I am so lucky he is mine and I wouldn't trade him for anything. I can't wait to see what our future holds!

Tread Lightly

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Most of the time the beholder is yourself.  Be gentle with yourself. There is only one of you. AND I can 100% guarantee there are PLENTY of people who love you just as you are.
Normally, I don't take a ton of time in the mirror to check out what's going on with this skin suit. I usually try to avoid looking at my love handles and B.O.B (belly over belt). No thank you.
 I've squished out one beautiful child and as most other moms probably understand, my body hasn't been the same since.

I took a little bit longer looking in the mirror this last week. I noticed stretch marks I never knew I had! Initially it was a bummer. Big Time! Then, I thought about where those stretch marks came from. They came from weight gain. Weight gain that came from making a human being. I made a human being!
I have other stretch marks that aren't from pregnancy. I have stretch marks from good times had over delicious food. Stretch marks from ice cream showered with tears.Late night nachos. College. Marriage. Life. All things that have made me- me. Me is something today; I wouldn't trade for anything (let's be honest, if we are talking multi-millions I would reconsider;) Just kidding). All the ups and down in life and in my weight, have made me the woman and mother I am today. While I am nowhere near perfect, my son and husband think I am. They love me JUST the way I am. They love my stretch marks beauty marks. They love these chesticles that hang a little more south than they use to. They even love my cellulite. They don't notice when I gain a few lbs and don't notice when I am not wearing make-up. They never look at me and think all those horrible things I think about myself. How dare I think that about the person they love so much!?
I don't do everything perfectly as a mother. I lack in a lot of areas but my kid is happy. He is assertive, silly, smart, and an amazing example of pure love. I can't find words expressive enough to tell you how loved this kid is.
The same goes with being a wife. I am needy. I can be lazy. I can be a royal pain in the tushy (thanks for hanging in there honey). I work on it daily. The husby loves me. I love him. He thinks I am beautiful.  We complete each other.

As a woman I am heavily influenced by media and what is considered thin and sexy. It turns me into my harshest critic. :(  I have spent countless hours worrying about how I look, how much I weigh, what others think of how I look.
I have decided to try to look at stretch marks and cellulite dimples as beauty marks. They are the marks of my beautiful life. My life hasn't and isn't always easy but it's mine. No one can change that.
I won't always successfully look at these remnants of life and think oh, how pretty. BUT I will TRY.

I am also going to TRY to not let that affect how I feel about myself and my body. Those skinny little nuggets I see on magazine covers don't have my life, don't have my experiences and don't have my amazing child.

Be kind to yourself. Be kind to yourself out loud. Be kind to yourself in your head. It is going to take training... for me too. I have had a lot of practice not being kind to myself . It is going to take effort. It's going to take truly believing these marks are beautiful.

All right here it is. Be gentle. A picture of my recently discovered beauty marks. Oh hi love handle... hope you don't mind being naked in public.

One and a half

Dex is 18 months old! He is only 24.1 lbs which makes him in the 25th percentile but in the 95th percentile for height and head size. We took away his bottle Nov. 18th! Yikes! it was rough but we did it cold turkey. He is getting all of his back molars and eye teeth. he can get a little sassy but he is super smart. he copies whatever we say and has a great vocabulary. he likes to play chase and wrestle. he is such a boy! He gets to go into nursery now and we are excited! We love our little guy

Update (mostly for us so we can remember years from now)

I wanted to write all of the little things Dexter does so that Adam and I can remember all of those details that make our little guy so so special!
Dexter can say about 15 words or more. a few of those are momma, dada, nana, poppa, up, pow, come in, no no, bye, hi, baby, uh oh, tada, tickle, achoo, etc. He talks a mile a minute and is very verbal. We hope he talks that much when he is saying real words.
He tickles and kisses everything.. the floor, the door, the wall... lol including himself and others. He also blows kisses!
At his 15 month appointment he weighed in at 24 lbs. He is in the 40 % for weight, 70% for height and 97 % for head size. Yes he has a big ole head, to house his big brain! He is a genius!!!!
He still insists on only sleeping in his bed and sleeps about 11-12 hours a night. He is down to one nap a day. It's usually around 2 hours. He is turning into a copy cat and copies a TON of what he sees. He likes to climb and stand on stuff, just like his daddy! If he will make him an inch taller he will stand on it! He has mastered coming down stairs by himself. He starts by turning around and scooting on his tummy, and he usually starts super early so he is sliding on his tummy for a while before he gets to the stairs :) He usually hides and squats to poop. Kind of gross I know but that's our son for ya! He loves to be outside and still makes a mad dash for the door anytime it's open. He loves to play. He always has. He loves to be chased and will chase you right back! He laughs at everything. literally everything! Even when we tell him no no! He is a snuggle bug too! thank goodness.
He winks! Well its obviously him blinking but he does it in response to us winking!
He knows and does 7 ish signs. Please, more, milk, want, eat, cookie, and all done.
Dex is a home body. He is happiest with momma and dada around in his own house.
Suckers are our secret weapon. He's a sucker for a sucker! lol
He has 8 teeth and is getting one of his eye teeth. He always swings his right arm. We call it his pirate arm. He also does what we call the hulk. It's where he tenses his body and face and squeezes his hands into fists. It is SOO cute.
He ALWAYS wants to help do the dishes. If the dish washer is open he wants to be in it!
He LOVES to sit in sinks! It doesn't matter what sink either. He especially likes the bathroom sink.
Dexter throws his own diapers away... but he also throws everything else away too; toys, keys, toothbrushes, etc. We are working on that!
He likes stuffed animals. He snuggles a bear and rabbit in his crib.
He runs everywhere! AND he is in to everything!
He is a bit of a gagger. He gags until he tastes whatever it is in his mouth and realizes he likes it. He loves spaghettios and mac & cheese. He hates grapes, peas, and some meats.
He is getting a little bit sassy so we have started using time out. I KNOW! time out at 17 months!? He throws little tantrums and if he ever hits, it's time out!
He has days where he only wants daddy or only wants momma.
He is in love with the plunger. If he can get it in the toilet he is in heaven! sick right!?
Dex is going to be spider man this Halloween. Daddy will be Batman and Momma hasn't found a costume yet but hopefully it will be a super hero too.
He dances to music and loves to watch blue's clue and yo gabba gabba
Dexter loves to type on my laptop. and stand on it, As well as standing up by the t.v. or in a kitchen drawer or climbing in and under or on chairs.
Dexter is getting so big so fast. I had heard how fast they grow up but I never imagined it would go so quickly. He is such a joy to be around and so smart. He is perfect and we wouldn't have him any other way! Thank you Dexter for changing our lives. You are the best part of us! We adore you!

bragging

I can't stop myself from bragging about my amazing baby! I thought I'd write this down so I can remember these things when he is older and of course to brag!
Things Dexter does:
shake his finger and say no no no
does the motions to the itsy bitsy spider
does the motions to patty cake
climbs up on anything to get higher, and then looks to see who is looking
he gives actual kisses ( not just an open and waiting mouth)
he carries around and snuggles stuffed animals... he also gives them kisses
he runs
he can get down off the couch by himself
he "reads" books
when he wants you to feed him he brings you the food he wants
he walks backwards
he knocks on doors
he signs please, more, and all done
when he wants a bottle (no we haven't taken it away completely yet) he waits by the fridge
he twists on and off water bottle lids
he is super friendly
he likes to cuddle
he snuggles his stuffed animal to go to sleep
he laughs easily and often
he likes the plunger :/
he waves hello and goodbye
he makes a mad dash if the door is open
he snuggles us when he is tired
he can open my phone and "talks" on it
he brushes his hair
he dances to music
he's getting better at sharing :)
he talks ALL the time
he loves animals, especially dogs but he's usually very nice to them
ok I will stop but my child really is the most amazing little guy ever created. he is the best!

365 glorious days

Dexter has blessed our lives for 365 days! This year has flown by! We can't believe how fast our little man is growing up. He is the happiest baby. He is soo friendly and personable. He smiles and laughs easily and often.He started walking the day after his birthday party. He is a genius! He does the motions to the isty bisty spider and patty cake.he can say hi and attempts to say spider, and skate as well as the dreaded NO. lol He mimics what you say and now we have to pay a little more attention to what we say. He is into everything! He LOVES to be outside and play in the hose! If the door opens he literally throws whats in his hands down with reckless abandon and heads for the door. He tries to drink out of the hose lol. He still only wants to sleep in his crib but every now and then we get lucky and he's tired enough to fall asleep in our arms. He plays all day long and likes to watch t.v. He loves dogs mostly but any kind of real life animal. We have had to cut his hair 3 times now, he has so much and it is curly like all get out! He has 8 teeth and we sure wish those morals would stop threatening and just pop through already! He loves to play and be chased. He plays in the dirt... such a boy! He loves his grandpa bob and jim, he insists they hold him when they are around. He also has a special liking for valerie to hold him! Both grandma's spoil the snot out of him! He is obsessed with pinwheels and momma's laptop. He snuggles stuffed animals and gives them kisses. When we give him a hymn book at church he flips through it and "sings"
He is an utter joy to be around and we couldn't ask for a more perfect child! He is literally perfection personified !

9 is a magic number!

Our little man is 9 months! He's been out in the world the same amount of time it took to grow him! He is changing so much and is getting so big! I took him to his well baby check up. He is 19.9 lbs which is in the 50 percentile and then something like 27 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 90th percentile for height. The dr. said we should get a toddler car seat!! He has ONE bottom tooth and is chewing the finish off the inside of his crib! lol our little beaver! he does a low down crawl. Not just the army crawl but much more than a scoot. He has learned to pull himself up on ANYTHING and does! We have had a lot of bumped foreheads lately. If he pulls himself up and can't back down he whines a little until momma or daddy comes to the rescue. He brings us SUCH joy! He is happy, even when he is cranky because his little teeth are bugging him. He loves watching cartoons and goes on adventures around the kitchen island our down the hall to our room! Look out world Dex is on the loose!

Jennie

My sweet little Jennie is now waiting for us in our home in heaven. I will write more later, as it's so new that I am a mess. I thought I'd try a picture to envoke smiles instead of tears. I am going to miss her SO much

Tis the season

I hemmed my mother in laws pants and made a crown out of the cuff... lol

love the santa hat

he can get food so high up on his forehead! lol

he is precious

getting ready for the holiday! Isn't he perfection?

I love this time of year. We usually kick it off with going to go see the forgotten carols. This year was Adam and mine 6 year seeing it together. He is too good to me! I fall in love with the forgotten carols every year and they are definately my favorite songs of the season! This is the first Christmas we get to share with Dexter. He is in awe at all the lights and decorations. We took him to see santa and he was great! Our little bug is growing up so fast. I am so excited to see him change but want him to stay my little poppy seed! He is SUCH a happy baby! We are so blessed. He loves the song "You are my sunshine" and if he is crying and you sing it... he will stop and smile. It's a well known fact that he doesn't like his carseat so he often let's us know on rides in the car. He LOVES it when adam WHISTLES the tune to "oh what a beautiful morning" from oklahoma. hahah he will fuss if he tries to whistles something else or even if he tries to sing that same song. He stops fussing literally within the first 3 notes of the whistling! He wants to touch everything as well as put everything in his mouth. He is rolling all over the place and loves fruits and sweet potatos!

I can not believe how much we love this little guy. He is so completely beautiful. I'd imagine he is a lot of what heaven would be like! If you don't get the chance to be around our son... please do! He is a perfect mood lifter and such a happy little spirit! I am excited to share this CHRISTmas with him!

5 months already!

Well today our little Dexter is 5 months old! Wow it has come so fast! Adam and I were reflecting on this day 5 months ago. It was perfection. We were both at home so we didn't have to figure out how to both get to the hospital had we been apart. I pushed for 8 contractions (20 minutes) and our miracle joined our little family. He was/is perfect! He is changing everyday and we love seeing him grow, even though we miss him being our little newborn!

For halloween we dressed him as a tootsie roll! how fitting because he is so sweet!

I thought that seeing as how we celebrate his birth practically everyday that today I would list things that we know about Dexter that make him so perfect and happy and special! We also have to admit that we also love that we are the experts on our little guy!

Dexter...

-likes to hold hands. If he can't hold your hand... he will hold his own hand, hold your neck skin, your clothes, or even your hair

-loves to bounce. He prefers the music to be playing when he is bouncing

- has been able to support his own weight on his legs since he was about a month old

-would rather sleep in his crib

-doesn't like being in his carseat. He also wants the car to always be moving

-laughs if something hurts him... just like his daddy and grandma dora

-loves to watch his owl mobile

-loves to have grandpa price standing up and walking around with him

-likes it when nana whistles

-thinks zach is super funny

-started laughing on sept. 12

-put everything he can get his hands on (including his feet) into his mouth

-is a pretty dang sweaty sleeper- just like daddy

-is super close to rolling over

-wakes up happy all of the time

-likes to chew on our fingers and his

-gets a cold after he get his shots

-sometimes snores

-likes watching t.v.

-is learning to arch his back when he wants something different that what you are doing or giving him

-likes to run his fingers through his own hair

-is in the 75 percentile in weight and height

-is cuddly, likes to have a blanket in his face to fall asleep, and must be sleeping on his tummy

-is the cutest little boy ever!

October has flown by!

Our big boy

my little family

hahah sitting in his bumbo... it looks like he is whistling!

he LOVES sleeping with bankets in his face... make momma nervous much?

his little pinky got hooked on the carseat... man he is darling

Wow times flies! Our little man is 4 1/2 months old! that is nuts! He got his four month well baby check up! weighing in at 15.11 lbs and 25.2 inches long! He is in the 75 percentile. We have tried spoon feeding him some rice cereal 3 times and he has gagged everytime! I probably need to be more consistent! A new success is- he is sleeping in his crib that is down the hall from our room! It was a big step but I think he is a happier baby when he gets his sleep, what baby isn't? I am reading a book called healthy sleep habits, happy baby. My cute friend Laura lent it to me and I am about half way through it. We started getting Dex on a sleeping schedule and most days he does really well! Laura has been such a life saver! I will add in a few recent pictures. We sure love our little guy. He has recently discovered his feet and pulls his socks off like it's his job!lol I marvel at this little peice of heaven that God has intrusted us with. We are so blessed!

Smile

A little photoshop fun

smiley guts

we call these his big eyes

he's happy

he's been biting on his bottom lip... lol right out of a bath

Dex started laughing on September 12th! He smiles all the time and I just can't get enough of him! He also has started teething.. he chews on his hands all day as well as a few of our fingers lol! We love his dang guts!

Blessing Pictures finally!!!

my two favorite boys

momma and dex

big yawn

smushy kiss

my precious family

my two stud muffins

Here are some pictures of the day Adam blessed our sweet baby boy!