Gatlinburg

Warner and I headed to Gatlinburg Thursday morning with Aunt Leslie, Abby, Ashley, and Nanny. Kevin, Uncle Billy, and Granddaddy met us the following day. It was a hilarious trip down with a total of three potty stops between Lexington and Gatlinburg (a 3 hour trip normally). We laughed and decided it was a good thing the guys weren't with us because they would not have had any patience with that!

We shopped at the outlet mall, ate at the Apple Barn, walked downtown Gatlinburg, swam at the hotel pool, played putt-putt, and took the kids to an kiddie amusement park, among other things. I was a bit bummed that we didn't get to hike - we borrowed my friend's hiking pack for Warner and everything, but just ran out of time.
Here Warner is "playing" putt-putt with us. He was in heaven between being able to walk himself, play in the dirt, and chase Abby and Ashley's golf balls around.
Kevin's parents and the grandkids after dinner at the Chop House. Warner spent about 5 minutes total in the restaurant, and then decided he'd use his crying abilities to score him some time outside the restaurant playing in the landscaping while mom and dad took turns scarfing down their meals.
Warner and me on the train at the amusement park (and Abby, she didn't look in time for the camera).
Kevin and Warner on the merry-go-round.

Funcie

Warner and I traveled to Muncie (aka Funcie) earlier this week to visit my grandpa Warner. As previously mentioned, he recently suffered a mild stroke. Although he has lost his peripheral vision, it looks as though they have his blood pressure under control and he is recovering quite well.

My mom was in town too, making a pit-stop on her journey from Chicago (to pack up their house) to Dallas. We stayed with Aunt Debbie, who lives next door to my grandparents - quite convenient! - and saw MaNell, Emme, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tim, and Timothy too.

We were very excited to visit an apple orchard, seeing as we're all in the fall spirit. I've had my first PSL (pumpkin spice latte) from Starbucks and my fall decorations have been up since Labor Day, so a trip to the orchard seemed to fit. We drove to a farm outside of Muncie but they were closed. So, the next best thing was the Farmer's Market. We got apples, pears, and a pumpkin, but Warner enjoyed the Radio Flyer wagons the best.
Warner is walking more each day, but still falling a ton and crawling once he's down. He'll get there soon enough. Until then, I'm enjoying his dependence on me while it lasts.

It's official ...

He's walking!

Sick Boy

Warner woke up at 5am this morning with a fever of 102.9. Yikes! He's never had a fever that high. I immediately went into panic mode. Funny how difficult it is to be rational at 5am. I called the Doctor on call at the pediatrician's office and she basically told me to calm down (in a very polite way).

He threw up twice and then settled down after a cool bath and some snuggle time with mom & dad. Since then his fever has gone down with Tylenol but spikes back up 3-4 hours after I give him a dose. Poor little guy.

This is random, but I hate adding posts without pictures so here's a funny one from the other day. Warner's holding a back massager that has found it's way to his toy box.
We were supposed to go to Cancer Sucks in Indianapolis tomorrow and visit my Grandpa Warner since he's been in the hospital after a minor stroke last weekend. Now we're not sure of our plans but hopefully our little guy will be feeling better soon!

Evening Stroll

Warner decided he needed some fresh air after dinner, so we took his car outside for a walk.
A few steps in, he stopped to put some grass clippings on his car. Not sure why, but he decided they should be put there.
Okay, now that the grass clippings are taken care of, he's off again ...
... wait a minute, he sees some flowers. Definitely going to need to touch those.
Quick stop for a picture, but the flowers were more interesting than posing for a picture.
Enough of the flowers.
And finally, eating some leaves. I guess he needed some food after having spent so much energy on the walk.
I think we'll be doing this again tomorrow night. Definitely a hit!

Raise the Roof

The things we do to keep Warner happy in the car ...

Girlfriends

I spent last Thursday through Sunday at the lake with two of my girlfriends from college - Erin (left) and Katie (center). Erin traveled from North Carolina and Katie from Texas for the weekend. We met through our sorority (yay Chi Omega!) but looking back that seems an unlikely place to have met such sincere friends who love the Lord as much as these women. The three of us hadn't been together since my wedding nearly six years ago, so I was a bit apprehensive that the time would have distanced us and made our weekend awkward. Thankfully, I was completely wrong. We picked up right where we left off and had the best time together.
We spent the weekend talking, eating, resting, watching movies, painting our toenails, and laughing. As we prayed together Saturday night, Katie thanked God for our friendship and for being known and loved by Erin and me. I was struck by her words - and thankful myself for being known and loved by these women.

As I struggle through the pain of losing my sister, I'm humbled by God's provision for me and awed at how he maintains my spirit through friendships such as these. Thanks for such a lovely and memorable weekend, girls!

Multi-Tasking

Warner has discovered the art of multi-tasking. Instead of solely focusing on the object he has put in his mouth, he has learned to continue playing while chewing on something. Exhibit A: helping me load the dishwasher.Exhibit B: fun in the tub.

Momzillas

I love story time at the library. I feel like it's a great educational and social activity for both Warner and me. However, Momzillas often turn up at places like this, and we met one today.

She used a sign for nearly every word she spoke to her daughter. And I'm not talking about simple signs such as "more" - this mom was signing colors and everything. I didn't know we were supposed to include color signs in our sign language repitoire. Then during playtime at the end, the mom would say "Suzy, can you get the red ball for mommy? The red ball. Get the red ball for mommy". I half expected her to continue with "the object that is a red sphere. It has no corners. It's called a ball. In French it's called a boule and in Spanish it's called a balon".

I take mothering very seriously. It's my full-time job and I'm humbled every day that God has entrusted me with Warner's care during his formative years. However, people like this make me feel agitated and somewhat guilty, like I'm not doing enough for my child. I'm so thankful for God's grace and that although I am responsible for Warner's care, it's not all up to me.

The pastor at our church said this a few weeks ago: "God does not have any grandchildren". It took me a few seconds to get it, but once I did, I smiled. It's not all up to me. What a relief.

Super-Warner

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!
A few of Warner's super powers: instant destruction of important items, toilet-paper-unrolling, sleep refusal (super-heroes don't need naps), food throwing, and unbelievable crawling and climbing abilities.

Thanks, Grammie!

My mom has been visiting us since last Sunday, and we have thoroughly enjoyed her visit. Warner has received Grammie's undivided attention which has allowed Kevin and I to spend some time together. Last night we went on a "real" date - dinner, movie, and even ice cream. What a novel idea! This is pathetic, but we haven't left Warner with anyone but family (grandparents at that) yet. So, when family is in town we try to take advantage of the free childcare.

Warner has been a bit under the weather though - runny nose, red throat, fussy, etc. I took him to the Dr. earlier this week, just sure it was an ear infection. Once again, I was wrong. The Dr. did okay Benadryl which has helped some, but he's still not 100%. We go to the lake this weekend for Labor Day so I'm hoping he'll feel better by then.
Here Warner is showing off his new kicks. They are knock-off Robeez from Target. I must admit I was not a big fan of these shoes a while back but Warner can't understand how to walk in "real" shoes so I thought we'd give these a try. He doesn't mind these on his feet at all, and I think the elephants are incredibly cute. What a stylish guy.

Back home again in Indiana

Back home again in Indiana/and it seems that I can see/the gleaming candle light, still shining bright/through the sycamores for me/the new-mown hay sends all its fragrance/from the fields I used to roam/when I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash/then I long for my Indiana home

Growing up, my mom would sing this song whenever we drove across the Indiana state line. I'm planning to continue this somewhat annoying yet oh-so-charming tradition with Warner. He doesn't stand a chance.

We drove to Elwood, IN to visit Aunt MaNell and Emme on Monday. We had a great time - Emme was gracious enough to share her old toys with Warner and he was thrilled to have new items to explore. They played together quite well despite their 3 year age difference:Not quite sure what this is all about, but they were having fun.

Tuesday we drove to Muncie and visited Aunt Debbie, Uncle Doug, great Grandma & Grandpa Warner, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tim, Katie, and Timothy. Although my parents are now in Texas, I'm blessed with an extended family that feels like immediate family and I hope to visit Indiana frequently in the months to come.

My Little Helper

Warner is very interested in cleaning products - especially the vacuum cleaner and the Swiffer. He crawls as fast as he can to chase the vacuum whenever I'm sweeping, and he pulls the Swiffer out of the pantry nearly every day.
I'm thinking this could be a very nice bonus for mom if his interest in floor cleaning continues.

9 Month Check-up

Warner's stats: weight is 22 pounds 6 ounces (75 percentile) and height is 29 1/4 inches (75 percentile). We made it through the exam but not without protests from the little patient. He didn't enjoy being poked and prodded, and of course the shot at the end was just plain mean.

Here's a picture of him cruising around the house behind his car this morning. He's crawling/cruising everywhere. I'm afraid it won't be long before he's walking ...

Oops

Note to self: don't leave the bathroom door open.