I know I just posted like 48 hrs ago BUT.........

And yes, his shirt does say "My mommy is exhausted"!

They've got a thing they call Radar Love!

BEST.  WEDDING WEEKEND. EVER.

Mister and I just completed the trek to Choudrant, LA and back this morning with 15 minutes to spare before Little's occupational therapy appointment.  Exhaustion - totally worth it.  One of my favorite couples on the planet got married this weekend - Jacob and Rachel Parks!!!!! (formerly Jacob Parks and Rachel Yates)

Oopsie, wrong photo!

Much better.

The weekend started on Thursday...errr technically Friday morning for Mister and I since it was almost 1 a.m. when we got to the lodge.  The lodge was bananas (b-a-na-na-s).  It had 7 bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms on 2 floors with a full kitchen, 2 story wrap around deck, and a driving range with a putting green.  Not too shabby for a groomsman's gift, eh? 

Friday consisted of golfing for the guys and brunch for the gals.  I believe the food was delicious, it certainly looked it, but I'm not positive since the migraine I was fighting off killed my taste buds.  I do know there was a chocolate pie involved that I devoured, dulled taste buds be damned. 

Afterwards, T-Parks and I kept it classy on the driving range.

Rehearsal was next, followed by dinner at one of Rachel's parents' houses. 

They have a patio to die for.  Absolutely beautiful.  After stuffing ourselves with bisque and jambalaya, the toasts began.  And then they ended.  Or so I thought.  Because all of a sudden Mister was standing.  After a mini stroke, I grabbed his arm and hissed "There are grandparents here!" then continued choking on my rice.  He managed to embarrass both the groom and his parents without actually going into the inappropriate details of which he was referencing, so I say well done.  NAILED IT!

And I thought this guy's was the toast I had to be nervous about.

 Me, Lindsey, and Tiffany - we all left our baby boys at home for you, Jacob.  Love us.

Wedding day started off with some WPS as the hogs beat Ole Miss and some really sweet close up shots of Lindsey and I.

So on to the main event.  Somehow Sam managed to finagle his way into walking the parents of the groom down the aisle.

It was such a beautiful wedding.  Even the staff of the country club hung out on the balcony and watched it. 

This is our attempt at a nice picture.

What you don't see in the background of this one is Jacob running over to steer Sam back into the library where he's supposed to be with the rest of the wedding party.

This is Sam refusing to dance into the reception.

Other groomsmen did a better job.

Mr and Mrs Jacob Parks!

And now for the story of the kiss.  Not the "you may kiss the bride" kiss, but the "Oooooooooooooooooh....you're not my wife" kiss.

Mister was enjoying the festivities and came up behind my friend Katy, swooped in from the side and laid one on her.  Katy thought it was just her husband, Mitch, so you can imagine the shock on both of their faces when Sam started to pull away and they realized they were not each other's spouses!!!!!!

Definitely the funniest thing that happened all night.  Thank goodness they had a photo booth to commemorate that moment forever, via reenactment.

I should have rethought the dress.  It looked great in the mirror but it photographs somethin' awful.  It was a little too big so I look like a fatty Mghee - like I dyed a camping tent and zipped it around me.  Oh well.

And this was me by the end of the night.  Taking those boots off was the smartest decision I made all night.  Don't hate, you know you want my socks.  In fact I had a song and dance to go along with them.

My socks are bangin'

My socks are bangin'

I can sliiiiide in my socks, I can sliiiiiiide in my socks

My socks are bangin'  mhmmm

My socks are bangin!

And I must clarify - although the pictures make it seem as though I helped Rachel blow out the bar tab, I did not.  I had 1 - that's ONE- drink the whole night.  Yay responsibility.  That's what having a kid does to you, especially one with special needs.  Turns you into a buzzkill.

So Jacob and Rachel, Mister and I are so very happy for you two and wish you all the best life and marriage have to offer.  Thank you so much for including us in your weekend!  SALUT!

Sturdy as a Wet Noodle

So Little Foot has been in physical therapy for about 7 months now.  In that time he has learned to push up on all fours, to a seated position, crawl, pull to stand, and cruise along any surface he can balance on.  It's been an exciting ride, that's for sure.  I've watched him go from a floppy lump to the beginnings of toddlerdom.  I thought I'd share with you guys some videos so you can see how a typical session goes and just what we're dealing with at this stage.  Don't worry, he's much happier than in his crawling video!

First one - he's supposed to be trying to stand alone but he saw the camera........and that was that.



Next was today's PT session.  PT H is saying "don't dive", not "don't die" like it sounds. 



He is SUCH a noodle!  It's like he has Jello legs.  Pardon my roughness, beeteedubs - I will wear makeup next time, scout's honor.



And this one has nothing to do wtih anything other than I think it's hilarious.  And inappropriate.  Hilariously inappropriate :D


He was watching his uncle on an episode from Castle, if that makes it any better.

He's sooooooooo going to make it to our goal of walking by his 2nd birthday!!!!!  And I think he's finally having a growth spurt.  His toes are starting to hang over the edge of his D.A.F.O.s so I need to ask his orthopedist to put in an order for a new pair.  He's getting his flu shot tomorrow so hopefully they'll weigh him and I can see if he's finally hit the 25 pound mark.

Oh an also, you know that irritating jingle Arby's got going right now - It's good mood food?  Yeah, Tot loves it.  Every time it comes on tv, he sings mmmmmooofoooooofooooooooooo for 10 minutes.

Remember that book I'm contributing to?  I'm done!  :) :) :) And I hope you all really like it!  I believe it launches around Valentine's Day, so just check here for the purchase link next year!  (Don't worry, I'll remind you.  Like 80 times)

ERGOmaniac!

My son is 21 months old and cannot walk unaided.  We have high hopes that he will be taking those first steps before his 2nd birthday in January but there is a possibility (a teeny tiny wee one) that he will never have complete free use of his legs.  Right now he only uses his leg braces for PT.  My son will never be able to walk long distances.  He will always need a backup mode of transportation until he is permanently reliant on a power wheelchair.  For now, his backup has been my or my husband's arms or a stroller.  One day it will be a walker or a cane, then a scooter before the wheelchair.  You can guess how difficult that can be for us when we go places that involve lots of walking around.  Usually, we just don't go or keep putting it off.  

One such trip we've been delaying is the zoo.  Yes, we could just take a stroller, but there are exhibits you cannot take the stroller inside of and I'm not comfortable leaving it unattended outside (thank you, husband's job, for making me paranoid).  Then of course, as those of you who know us IRL have seen, Little prefers to be held.  He'll make it about 30 minutes in a stroller then completely melt down if someone doesn't hold him.  So that would mean carrying my son through the zoo while pushing his stroller that is cradling a diaper bag instead of a child.  No thank you.  I get enough of that while we're grocery shopping.  I end up having to carry him on one hip while pushing the cart with my stomach and pulling items off the shelf with my right hand.  Yes, go on and picture it now.  Have your little laugh, I don't mind.

Well all that has changed recently.  We took our first trip to the zoo this past weekend and it was wonderful!  No aching arms or backs from having to hold him, and no anxiety over leaving our stroller unattended outside of the amphibian house.  How did we do it, you ask?  Did they leave Little at home and selfishly save the zoo trip for themselves?  Did they bring a third adult with them and make them carry the child?  Nope, read on.

A few months ago, I received a Facebook message from H*, an internet public relations manager with Ergo (a company based out of Hawaii that makes baby carriers).
 
In her e-mail, she said she was "moved by [our] story" and wanted to know if it was alright to send us one of their gently-used carriers.  I was floored!  I had been to the website previously and already had it in my head that I wanted to save up for one of the organic carriers but I knew it would take a looooooong time to scrape up enough for one.  I messaged back and forth with H* a few times and about 3 weeks later, a beautiful chocolate Organic Ergo showed up on my doorstep!

 

I quickly tore it open and started reading the manual.  I learned how to connect it together for the side position (Little's favorite) and the back position and proceeded to carry Little around the house in it.  Good thing my husband was home at the time or it would have been a hot mess of trying to balance my son on my back while bending forward over the bed and scrambling to connect straps and buckles before Tot tumbled off onto the floor.  The manual does actually say to practice over a bed, HAHA!  Now I can manage the side position on my own, but the back one will have to wait til I grow Go-Go-Gadget arms.  Anyway, Little loved it - he didn't even seem to notice that I wasn't actually holding him, instead he was strapped to me.  That afternoon, while Tot was wrapped securely on my back, we picked a day to head to the Nashville Zoo.

The zoo was great!  Little was more excited to point out which lights were on and off and flirt with the other visitors than pay much attention to any of the animals (as you can see here

when this poor little meerkat tried to make friends and he just ignored it), but he had a blast.

 Hey wait!  Come back Brave Little Shakespear! (Any Meerkat Manor fans out there? No?  Oh well, never mind then.)

 Most of his time there was spent buckled in the Ergo on my side and I never got tired!  No aching hips, no strained back, no sore arms from lugging around 23 lbs on my side for 3 hours!  I had expected to get all hot and sweaty where the carrier wrapped around me, but that didn't happen either - the materials are so breathable! 
Needless to say, I am hooked.  It was so comfortable, I had both of my arms free, and Little got what he always wants - to be carried. 

I know Gator was sizing him up - he looked like a tasty morsel, didn't he?

I am so grateful to the Ergo Company.  They are so generous and so caring.  I don't know these people, and they don't know me or Little - but they jumped on an opportunity to ease one of our struggles just because they noticed that they were in a position to help!   It is not often that I am the recipient of someone else's generosity.  I am usually the one reaching out to help Jane.  I am lucky that I have a mother and father who always put others first, and that has rubbed off on me.  I am not usually the one saying "thank you", but "you're welcome".  I read H*'s message then called my mommy and blubbered like a baby.  It just knocks me off my rocker when anyone turns the table on me and takes care of one of my needs.   

Ergo, thank you so so much.  I hope you got a sense of just how much your gift to us means from reading this blog (and yes, people, the Ergo folks will be reading this.....bc I'm going to Facebook them about it as soon as I'm done writing, heehee).  ERGO, ERGO, ERGO!  EVERYBODY BUY YOUR BABY CARRIERS FROM ERGO!!!!  You can link to it above or from the link on the right hand side of this blog.

He was getting a little tired - so much work to be carried around like a prince all day!

What?  We're not supposed to touch the bamboo?  But it's so much fun!

**note to all you opportunists out there.....I did NOT share this with you so you can go scrambling your greedy little fingers over to the Ergo website to try to mooch a free carrier.  Please do not try to take advantage of their generosity.  I did not ask for this, it was an unexpected gift.  So back up off their customer service page and quit trying to cyber stalk H*.  If you want one, buy one - or wait til Little is too big for his because I will be handing it over to someone else in need then.**

Arkansas

We finally got to go "home" for a while!  I've been itching to go back since Little was diagnosed 9 weeks ago (9 wks?  Is that really all?).  You know, it doesn't matter how old you are, when you get life altering, slap you in the face, howdoyouikethat news like learning your son has a fatal genetic flaw, sometimes you just want to run home to mama and I finally got a chance on the 14th.  So again, I apologize to my friends who I did not track down and drive hours to see, but this was a family visit.  I needed to surround Little and myself with kinfolk. 

We had a great time, too!  Best trip home in a loooooooong time.  The only thing missing was Mister, but he's not usually with me when I head back to Arkansas anyway. 

This table and chair was made for him by his grandparents (Pops & Didi). You are totally jealous aren't you? Nyah nyah nyah nyah boo boo!!!!!!!! It's amazeballs.

This is his Pappaw Frank's tractor (or Chrocktock, as Little says).

This is the beautiful Miss Elly (the only other person in my world that I have ever used my Pappaw's nickname for me on).  Little tried to smooch her on 2 different days but she just wouldn't give in.

My dad was home from work while we were there, so I got to do things I don't normally have time for during the day - like shower long enough to actually let the conditioner set in my hair AND shave my legs all in the same shower!  I usually have to divide my showering tasks up throughout the week since Little is such a handful.  And his nap lengths are unpredictable so I can't just wait til then to shower bc I have other things I need to do during that time that I can't do while he's awake and demanding my full attention (like typing on this blog or mopping the floors or paying the bills - oh my gosh what a fun life I lead!  Jealous?). 

We also got to ride my parents' recumbent bicycles - err, tricycles - and Little fell in love!  Unfortunately I will never be able to afford one (anyone from Catrike reading this?  **hints being thrown your way) which is unfortunate bc they are the safest kind of bike out there to have a child on.  I want one and I want some kind of contraption for Little rigged on it so he can always ride with me.  He's almost too long to ride on my stomach; his legs get in the way of my pedaling. 

Note the sweet scarf I used as a seat belt - won't need to do that again thanks to a certain generous company that I will blog all about after our trip to the zoo!

Anyway, the trip really just drove home to me the fact that I need to move back once Mister is out of the Army.  Little will need more and more care as the years go by and the only people I can fully trust to help me out are family members....who are all in Arkansas. 

Getting ready to go introduce ourselves to the staff at the LR MDA office.

He is so gorgeous that sometimes I cannot even believe he's mine - I produced this????

Grandma

We miss all of you already!