X is for eXtra talkative! (okay, x words are hard!)

Will cooed more than I've ever heard him do before. This was just a couple of minutes of it. He did it all day! Please excuse my hick sounding voice. I hate hearing myself!

W is for Will

Some of my favorite pictures of my favorite little guy. Oh how I've loved the past 3 1/2 months with him!

V is for Vacuum

The Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal

Vacuuming is something that needs to be done often in our house. With two dogs who shed and a backyard with lots of dirt and pinestraw, keeping our floors clean is a challenge. When Will was a few weeks old, we finally bit the bullet and shelled out a ridiculous amount of money to buy my dream vacuum. Our Dirt Devil just didn't do the job and with a new baby, I was tired of battling with it. It would send a dust cloud out when you turned it on. I would have to stop and empty the canister about 5-6 times just to vacuum my entire living room, which isn't very big. If I didn't do this, dog hair would get caught in the top of the canister and I'd have to put my whole forearm in and stretch my fingers to get it out. But with the Dyson I can vacuum almost the whole carpeted area of the house before it needs to be emptied. It picks up all the hair and tons of dirt that I never knew was there. It was painful to pay that much for a vacuum, but if was worth it!

U is for Ugh...painting.

View from dining room

View from front door

Before

Brad using the liquid sander

We have painted every room in our house at least one time. The kitchen took 3 times to get the right look. The guest bedroom took twice. Our bathroom took 3 times (don't ever do the Ralph Lauren linen paint, no matter how cool you think it is - its a pain!). We've also painted trim in every single room and painted the kitchen and laundry room cabinets white. The woodwork in the living room has been marked to be made white since we bought the house. But I knew how much work it was going to be and put it off. Next month will be the 4 year anniversary of closing on our house, so I guess it's been put off long enough. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to take on this project while caring for a 3 month old, but we made it! We started last week by liquid sanding the woodwork. Of course they had to be cleaned before we could even do that. We taped up the edges and put down paper. Prep work is no fun but its worth it! Then we primed (2 coats in some places), then painted 3 coats of white. The mantle needs another coat of white and we still have to paint the tray ceiling. I realized after we started that we had a deadline because Lea Ann and Steve were coming to stay with us. Wednesday evening we finally got started on the walls. We finished up Thursday night and were able to take all the paper up and get our furniture back in order. It took awhile to pick a color because I thought I wanted blue at first. We settled on Ralph Lauren 'Burlap' in satin and I'm very pleased. I never thought I'd be one of those boring people who paints their whole house neutral tones, but I guess I'm getting old because I am beginning to love neutrals more than color. I'm just so glad its done and aside from touching up places and painting the ceiling tray, we don't have any more painting to do in our house!! (except for the outside, and I think I may leave that to professionals)

T is for Three months old!

Will at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months and 3 months old

Will turned 3 months old yesterday. It is amazing how fast babies grow. He's about 15 lbs now and is smiling more and laughing a little. He likes to stand up in our laps and sleep on his tummy. He's able to pick his head up and turn it to the other side so I feel comfortable letting him sleep that way. He still loves to lay on his back and talk to his letters on the wall or look at the ceiling fan. He is such a sweet baby and I love spending my days with him!

S is for Sand

This was Will's first time feeling sand. We recently went to Destin with Brad's parents and took him to the beach right before sunset. He really didn't know what to think of it!

R is for Ready or not, its time to go back to work

At a health fair in August. This was the day before I found out I was pregnant.

This is the time I've been dreading even since before Will was born. I have to go back to work soon. I turned in my notice at SouthernCare in June. If I hadn't, I would have been back on July 2nd. It looks like I will be able to work less than full-time, which is a blessing. But I can't help but wish I could be at home with Will everyday. I'm lucky that the nursing profession is pretty flexible and I should be able to find something that works for us. I'm going to miss seeing my little guy all the time though!

Q is for Quit taking my picture!

This is what happens when the photo session lasts too long. Poor Will. His mommy is camera-happy.

P is for Pool

We took Will to the pool for the first time on the 4th of July. He seemed to like it! I found out afterward that we broke a Florida law by having a baby in a diaper in the pool. It was mentioned in the hotel book under 'activities'.

Oh well. We weren't the only ones! I wonder if that's ever enforced...

O is for Oreos

I never been much of a snacker. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE to eat, but I more of a full meal person, meat and potatoes and bread. I can leave a bag of candy alone for weeks, months even. Brad finally finished off my Easter bunny in May even though I'd demolished his ears. Even when I was pregnant my appetite wasn't that big and I was happy just eating a meal and being done (most likely since I had a baby's booty against my stomach). But since Will was born I am hungry all the time! I guess its because I'm nursing him and I need the extra calories. I wasn't really prepared for how much I'd want to eat! And now I feel like all I do is snack since its hard to make a meal 3 times a day. Quick grab stuff is baby-friendly. Oreos have become my fix. I love Oreos. I've always liked them but I think I've bought a pack almost every week for the past 6 weeks (I do have help eating them). I'm really trying to quit the habit but its hard! And I think its especailly nice of Nabisco to start packaging them in a resealable container because we used to have to put them in a big ziploc bag after you opened them. Now its so easy to grab a few and satisfy that craving then seal it back. Its a blessing and a curse.