Happy Father's Day Marcus

Marcus had his first official father's day this year.  Last year he was a father on father's day, but no one was aware of this yet ;)

The weekend before father's day, my dad, Walker, and I went to Cabot to visit my grandfather and introduce him to his great grandson.  Walker had a lot of fun visiting, hanging out, and was actually really good with the road trip. 

Then, the Saturday before father's day I took Walker out to my parent's house to hang out with my dad and celebrate.  We just took it easy and relaxed, enjoying great Walker cuddles. 

Sunday, father's day, Marcus took off from work and was able to spend time relaxing with Walker.  Derek and Alexia planned a delicious dinner at their house with us and Marcus's dad.  It was really nice to have everyone together and a nice meal.  Again, Walker was great and put on a show for everyone.  He likes to show off all of his tricks and cute smiles.

Thank you to all of the great father's.  I am so blessed to have the love of many in my life.  I could never have asked for a better dad and I know Walker will feel the same way about Marcus.  I am one lucky girl.

Cat pheromones, really?

I thought I would share a little about my first "baby", our cat Ella.  She was basically my child for about 5 years.  My sister found her on our parent's street a few months after Marcus and I were married, and she quickly became the perfect addition to our new family.  Ella and I bonded right away, spending most of my time at home cuddled together.  We always had "momma-Ella time" when I would get home from work and nice long cuddles at night. 

baby Ella in her favorite sleeping spot

cuddles

Well, when I got pregnant things changed.  I swear she was the first to know about the pregnancy.  About a week before I knew I was pregnant she started avoiding me.  This continued through the pregnancy.  I went through major withdrawals :(  Once Walker was born, Ella was even more distant.  She rarely came close to me and spent all of her time in another room or with Marcus.  However, I was so busy with Walker that I honestly didn't notice...I know bad momma. 

Well, two weeks ago, Ella started throwing up and even having accidents right outside of her liter box.  She had never done this before, so I got pretty concerned.  I took  her into the vet where they did some blood work to check everything out.  Turns out Ella is "stressed" (really, they have a blood test for this :) ) because of Walker.  The vet gave me the options of giving her amitriptyline (an anti-depressant) or using pheromones.  I went with the pheromones.  It is a little bottle that looks like an air freshener that plugs into the wall.  She said to put it by her litter box and that it should help her calm down and "go back to her usual self."  I was beyond skeptical, but went ahead and spent the $40 on this magic bottle.  Crazy thing is, is that it actually works!!  I'm not kidding.  Ella is eating more, no more throwing up, cuddling with me, hanging out with everyone again, and even giving Walker the occasional nuzzle.  I am happy to have my two babies back and getting along.

At the vet (notice the huge scratch on my arm...she hates the vet)

3 months old

Another month has gone by and baby Walker is now officially an infant.  Crazy how fast time flies.  This month we have been pretty busy.  I am much more comfortable taking Walker places.  I feel like I can read his cues better and am able to stifle any fussing.  He is a calm baby and loves to be cuddled.  It is easy to let him just be passed around and loved on by others because he really enjoys the attention. 

Out of curiosity I weighed him on our home scale.  It said that he is about 16 1/2 lbs.  I sometimes feel like he is 50 lbs because my arms get so tired holding him.  He has been working on sitting up but still seems disinterested in rolling over.  He is much better at grabbing things and likes to put them in his mouth, however he doesn't reach for things yet.  Our routine is still a three hour rotation of eating, playing (1.5 hrs), napping (1.5 hrs) and then doing it all over again until bedtime.  We usually wake up around 7:00 and go to bed about 8:30.  He is still doing great at going to sleep, but this last week he has been waking up more during the night.  On average, he sleeps 9-2, then up again at 5, then again at 7.  I will be happy when he gets rid of the 2:00 wake up. 

Since it is almost summer (feels like it already is though), I looked into baby swim lessons.  My sister sent me some you tube video links of these precious babies swimming in the water.  I am a HUGE water person and have become very interested in swimming with Walker.  Anyway, I called about the lessons and they were all full and only take 6 months and older.  However, the lady was so nice and gave me some tips on how to get Walker prepared for swimming and how to hold his breath.  I have been practicing these things during bath time with him.  She said to pour small amounts of water on his face so he can learn to not be scared of the water and hold his breath.  Once he gets good at holding his breath I can start to dip him under...I think this will be awhile because I am still trying to be cautious of ear infections and am nervous about doing this.

New things for this month:
1) swimming in your baby pool and in the hot tub with mom (while it was not hot)
2) sleeping on your back in your crib instead of in your nap nanny
3) talking with your cousin Nora (one week older than Walker)
4) going to the farmer's market
5) going to your first wedding
6) our first mother's day
7) family bike rides
8) playing in your jumper (with mom's help and a pillow)
9) grabbing and shaking your rattle
10) eating/sucking your fingers and fist
11) you have learned how to scream, pout, and fuss for me to pay attention to you
12) went with Papa Jeff to his office to meet everyone
13) went to mom's work to meet her friends
14) had your first tornado storm party with the neighbors
15) you like to sing songs with me and dance

trying to lick the wind with your tounge

splashing in your pool

cheesy smile for the camera

sucking on your fist

giving me your pout face so I will feed you before it is time to eat

playing in your jumper, you love the purple hippo

you also really love tummy time

nap time for baby and mom

doing some chores with mom

waking up from a nap in your swing

6 Year Anniversary

Saturday, May 28th was our 6 year anniversary.  Yes, I know I am a little late on my blogging.  I always set out to do it and then get distracted.  I am so thankful for Marcus and his encouragement.  I feel like I have grown and changed so much these last 6 years.

Saturday was a very busy day with friends and family, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary on Sunday.  My parents were so wonderful and drove up to our house to watch Walker so we could go out to dinner.  Marcus and I got all dressed up and went to Ruth's Chris.  It was delicious and nice to get away just the two of us.  After we got home and put Walker to bed, we were also able to spend some nice time just the two of us hanging out on our patio and in the hot tub. 

unfortunately it is a little blurry

we rode in style in my mom's car

Saturday, however, was too much fun to not tell about.  Marcus, Derek, Alexia, and I rode our bikes to the Farmer's Market in Bentonville.  Marcus pulled Walker in his bike trailer on the way there and Derek pulled him on the way back.  I guess it is pretty challenging because Marcus said we are going to drive next time :)  We ate breakfast outside at the Station Cafe and walked around the square.  Alexia and I then went to a bridal shower for a cousin on the Walker side (marcus's mom's family).  Walker was a big hit and had everyone smiling.  That evening we had another celebration for a cousin's graduation.  Again, Walker did so well and everyone wanted to hold him.  He makes things easy and is so fun to be around.

this is the bike trailer

at the farmer's market