"Mr. Happy"

When I was a kid I don't ever remember having that one toy/blanket that I had to have everywhere we went, all the time or just even at bed time but I know that Lance had a "wooby" that he carried around & slept with every night & now Brayden has his "Mr. Happy" or as he has recently renamed him "baby".

Mr. Happy joined our family when B was about 10 months old; his JuJu bought it for him because he liked to look at faces & that is what Mr. Happy is; a big yellow smiley face.  Mr. Happy wasn't noticed for a while because B had his fluffy white cow but slowly Mr. Cow was pushed aside for Mr. Happy; for a while we had to take both of them everywhere but now Mr. Happy is the only one that gets to travel!!

Mr. Happy is now a part of the family & B can't sleep with out him & will actually get him out of his crib from time to time now during the day too; especially when he is not feel well!!  Him taking him out during the day does make it hard to get him washed & refreshed sometimes though & with all the places he goes & has been he needs a good washing about once a week.

13 Months Old & not feeling well

18 Months Old & not feeling well

It is so sweet & cute to see him walking around holding on to him for dear life but have to admit that I am a bit jealous of all the hugs & kisses that Mr. Happy gets.

It is funny to look back at older photos & see how many Mr. Happy really is in; when I started thinking about how much B really does love him I got curious; he really is in a TON of photos so here are a few of my favorites!!

 

He really is B's best buddy & I am actually trying to find another one; just in case (God forbid) something happen to him or he somehow gets lost on one of his outings but can't seem to find one anywhere.  Do/did your kid/s have something like this that they carried or still carry around with them??

30 Weeks; Still A Butternut Squash BUT Only 10 to GO!!!

Baby's now the size of a squash!As baby's skin smoothes out, his brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh so-essential brain tissue. He's also adding some brawn -- his grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.  Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face.

~Pregnancy Highlights~

Due Date: May 6, 2011 
Total weight gain: 20 lbs.
Cravings: everything & anything but still mainly spicy everything & sweets 
Sleep: is bad & I am really feeling the effects of the lack of it
I can't live without: my body pillow
I miss: nothing at all
I am looking forward to: appt. next Thursday 
Milestones: his furniture is up & we have started decorating the walls & I am ordering his bedding today!!!
Exercise: walking 3 mornings a week & I have been walking our stairs every night
Diet:  So much better; I have really been eating very well & gotten on a health food kick & I have really cut back on the sweets
Maternity Clothes:  pants yes - shirts a mixture still
Movement: all day & night & it is the BEST feeling in the world
Gender: Boy; Colton Lee
Labor Signs: None
Belly Shots: (I can't figure out why hubby takes such awful pictures)

Forrest Gump Was Right.........

"Life is Like a Box of Chocolates; You Never Know What Your Gonna Get"

I just wish that my days & nights would stop acting like I just bite into the nastiest crappiest chocolate out of the box.  Everything with B is wonderful (except for his sleeping at night); we have been enjoying the beautiful weather outside & we even had the most amazingly happy & fun day yesterday.  But as far as Lance & I go, we are arguing about everything these days & on top of that Georgia (our Bulldog) went to the vet the other day & $650 later she is 74 pounds & HAS to lose weight ASAP, has a horrible double ear infection & the worst is she also has a UTI that I am about to kill her over.  I know that she can't help it at the moment but she is peeing all over the place & it is driving this neat freak BANANAS!!!

It is mainly at night so it is in our bedroom & I swear no matter how fast I clean it up the smell is still there & it is only getting worse as the days go on.  We took her to the vet on Tuesday so she had an antibiotic shot that day & will be on pill antibiotic for 12 days following but it hasn't kicked in yet so I am setting my alarm to get every 2 hours so I can get her up & outside to try & prevent her from peeing on my carpet BUT IT IS NOT HELPING & I am actually to the point of being in tears over it.  

I am not sleeping well as it is & now this is making it even worse; all I smell is pee & all I hear all night is her moving around so I jump up to see if she needs to go out or just make her get up & go out anyway.  I have had a UTI before; as I am sure many of you have; so I do understand that she can't help it but God please let her medicine kick in very soon so that I can clean my carpet with the steam cleaner (I am doing it today anyway since my pregnancy nose can't take it) & she (& I) can both get some much needed rest & stress relief.  I hate to think about how uncomfortable she might be as well; she acts fine except for not eating normally but I know that she has to be in some kind of pain even if it's just a little!

As for Brayden's sleep pattern at night; it has gone into the crapper as well; I am not sure what is causing it & he is not waking really but he is crying & sometimes screaming/screeching in his sleep on top off rolling around & moving a lot.  I am not sure if it teeth, growing pains, stomach issues, or what but I hate that my little boy is sleeping so horribly & not getting his much needed rest.  He is still pretty much in a great mood most of the time but I can tell he is not 100% & pray that what ever it is that is causing it passes very soon.

I know that married couples go through rough patches & stress in other areas of our life can cause this & some of our fights are about nothing & mean nothing but some of them are very serious.  We have to get through some stuff & I just keep praying that everything will be OK between us sooner rather than later.

I know that this post has been a bunch of bitching & complaining so I am sorry but if you can muster a prayer out for us today I would greatly appreciate it.  I am tired; tired of cleaning up pee, tired of arguing with Lance, tired of not sleeping, tired of being stressed, tired of crying over just about everything (the small & big things are both getting tears these days) & would love just to be able to concentrate on all the joy that we have in our lives now.............please & thank you.  I feel like I can't find the happy right now & even though I know I can't because I have only slept about 10 hours total since Monday, I just want to concentrate on my precious baby boy that I have the joy of chasing everyday & on the little guy that will be here in only 11 weeks.  I want my puppy to be healthy again & give me a break with the pee & I want my relationship with my husband to return to it's regularly scheduled program & get off of the horror channel.  I just want some happy & good days in the near future & don't think that is too much to ask for.

Before anyone says it or thinks it, it is not depression & it is really just stress & a lot going on in the Goodson household.  Stress relief & normalcy are the answers & cures that I am seeking but I just can't find how to relieve any of it at the moment.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday & again sorry for all the itching & complaining!!

Wordless Wednesday..........

Peek A Boo

A View From Above.........

I can't imagine what B thinks when he looks up & each day sees my belly getting bigger & bigger!!

29 Weeks & A Butternut Squash

Baby's now the size of a squash!

Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb.  What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs. Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

~Pregnancy Highlights~

Due Date: May 6, 2011 
Total weight gain: 19 lbs.
Morning Sickness: none
Cravings: everything & anything but still mainly spicy everything & sweets 
Sleep: is bad & I am really feeling the effects of the lack of it
I can't live without: my body pillow
I miss: breathing normally
I am looking forward to: getting some work done in his nursery 
Milestones: we saw him on Tuesday for the last time until I hold him in my arms; he is PERFECT!!
Exercise: walking the mall (outside since it has been so nice) 3 mornings a week & I have been walking our stairs every night
Diet: I have been on the "see-food" diet again this past week
Maternity Clothes:  pants yes - shirts a mixture still
Movement: all day & night & it is the BEST feeling in the world
Gender: Boy; Colton Lee
Labor Signs: None
Belly Shots:

Boost My Blog Friday.........

Just trying something new today...........

Wordless Wednesday..........

The weather that we have been having since Sunday has been AMAZING; 

we had family birthday lunch at JuJu & PaPa's & of course B loved to play outside in their backyard with his cousins!!

Gotta love the static hair that he has here!! 

His cousins are so good with him & always take such good care & pay such special attention to him. 

Even Lance got on the trampoline & showed off a bit!! 

Valentine's Day Art & Crafts.........

For Valentine's day this year I wanted to give the grandparents & Lance something that B could help make himself & since he is only 18 months that meant something that he could get dirty doing & that meant that he would really enjoy it!!  I found this idea over at A Little Tipsy; I really did try to get B to put his hands on the paper the right way to make the hearts but he had something else in mind so I just went with it & decided that I would figure out a different way of using & making his hand painting into the perfect gifts.

I used a heart cookie cutter to cut out some hearts to mail with our Valentine's Day cards to friends & family & then used the rest of these to make frames for the grandparents & daddy.

For the grandparents...........

For daddy.........

I think that they turned out really well & think that they were a great way for B to show his favorite people how much he loves them!!

I also made more cupcakes (red velvet) & used another idea from A Little Tipsy for Valentine's Treats for B's daycare buddies.  I also think that these turned out well; I did change the type of chocolate to milk & white chocolate just because the kids in his daycare might not all like the mint flavor & I also just used red sprinkles instead of the crushed m&m's. 

 I used adorable printable tags that I found at Good Gravy Designs

 The kids loved them & the were so easy & fun to make.  The red velvet cupcakes that I made were from a recipe I found on Better Homes & Gardens (my new favorite recipe website) & they were a bit tricky when it came to the baking since they rise funny but I think that they turned out well after a 1st batch trial run (only fill the cupcake tins up half way).  I followed the recipe & sprinkled some of them with powdered sugar but had some left over cream cheese frosting from when I made these & used it on some of them as well.

I boxed them all up (well I did eat a few) & took them to family on Sunday & B's daycare for Valentine's Day.  I think that they were a hit & I have to say that I am really enjoying baking, cooking & being creative; these are things that I have always loved to do but have just never made or just taken the time to do lately.