William is 11 months old!

I know I have said it before, but boy does time fly. My little boy is 11 months old. I can't believe in less than a month he will turn 1. A whole year! It feels me with a full range of emotion; from excitement to sadness. He is doing pretty well. Unfortunately, he has his 6th ear infection, but the medicine seems to be working really well other than giving him a case of diarrhea. He only has 4 more days of the antibiotic so hopefully he will start feeling better soon. I am now almost positive that the ENT Dr will say he needs tubes. Our appointment is Feb 18, so I will keep you posted. William now has 2 teeth!!! The other tooth pooped out right about the same time as the ear infection, so William was super cranky! But, now that his ear is a little better and the tooth has come through, he is acting more like his little self and even his appetite is back. He is pulling up on everything and getting into everything too! We have had to move our coffee table out of the living room now because he likes to crawl under it and bump his head. We have also placed safety locks on all the cabinets. This child wants what he wants when he wants it! Is it possible to have the terrible twos at 11 months old? He really is learning and growing so much that it is amazing.
Benjamin and I are doing well. Benjamin just got back from a week in Florida for work. He worked his tail off and boy are we glad he is home. We missed him big time! Mom came over to help we with the baby while Benjamin was gone, which was greatly appreciated since the baby was sick. It is hard to deal with a sick baby, especially if you are alone. THANKS MOM!! As for me, I'm just keeping on with teaching. My class is pretty good this year, but the dreaded state test CSAP is coming next month. It is a stressful time, so I am counting the days until spring break when I get a week off and have the CSAP behind me. I'm still not sure what the future has in store for me as a teacher. I am thinking about moving schools and some other options (maybe teaching online) but I have a few months before a decision needs to be made. Even if I decided on what I want to do, I'm sure I would change my mind 100 times!

Here are a couple pictures...

Here are a couple of videos I took last week.

A good week for William

Hi everyone! I hope the new year has been going well for you. Well, like you read, this has been a good week for my Little William. He is now pulling up, got his first tooth, and doing "tricks" like Patty Cake, say, "No,no,no" and now when asked, "How big is William" you reply, "Soooo, big" and he raises his hands in the air. He is so cute! I am also enjoying watching him play with his toys. He now knows how to punch buttons to turn toys on, or like one toy, press the red top to make it spin. Today, he was playing with some balls from another toy. He was knocking them all around the house and then going to get them. It was like he was playing his own game of fetch! I wish I would have gotten that on video, but our camera is on the fritz! Waaa. He did have another visit with the Dr about another ear infection, and the dr said there was no infection, but still fluid behind the ear. My poor boy! We have a follow-up appointment with the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) dr on Feb 18th, so I guess we wait and see for tubes. As for me, well, I myself have had a very tough week. It started last Monday when I started with a high fever. I stayed home from school Tuesday and Wednesday, and of course it was conference week, so I had to reschedule those conferences. Even though I still wasn't feeling well, I managed to get back to school Thursday and Friday, and made up quite a few conferences. I only have a couple more to do, and I have scheduled them for next week after school. I do have to say I am feeling better, but definitely not 100% yet. I have Monday off this week for Martin Luther Day, so hopefully that will be just what I need. Also, Saturday was my birthday! Happy Birthday to me. I have to say it wasn't much fun since I was feeling so yucky, but it was still nice. Ok, I'll admit my age (some of you might be wondering!!) - 34. Yikes! But, it has been a pretty amazing year from 33 to 34! After having William, I now believe that the Moms should be recognized for their child's b-day. That was HARD WORK! hehehe (But worth every bit of pain and sickness). Benjamin will be going out of town in Feb, and I am really going to miss him. He is such a wonderful help with the baby, especially since I've been sick. He is the champ or getting up at the early wake-ups for Binky replacements!

Here is a picture of him pulling up!

Here is his first tooth!!

Here is a picture of him cuddling with Daddy!

In his "Big Boy" carseat!

2007 in Review

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Had a baby!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember making one last year and this year my resolution is to be the best wife, mother, and teacher I can be!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, my 2 cousins! Julia and Jenn

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my Aunt Wendy.

5. What states/countries did you visit?
South Carolina

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
More family time. We tend to fill up our calendar with plans with friends and extended family, limiting the amount of time we spend together.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 5 - William's Birthday

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Definitely giving birth to William. It was the most empowering thing I have ever done.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I wish I would have had more students pass the state test - CSAP. I do feel like a failure when I don't feel the students did as well as I would have hoped.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
A couple colds, but the worst by far was the episiotemy for the forceps for William's delivery

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Grass for the backyard!!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Benjamin - because he got a promotion at work!!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
George Bush!

14. Where did most of your money go?
Medical bills, diapers, formula, etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Having William on 3-5-07 (Our little Odd Prime)

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Hush Little Baby - I sing it to William and it is the song on his crib toy

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
a) HAPPIER!! b) Thinner - no baby in me anymore! c) Poorer - babies are expensive

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I would have like to have done more taking of pictures in William's first month. I was having such a hard time getting used to being a mom that I didn't get out the camera like I should have!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I should have done less complaining.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
We had a wonderful breakfast at our house and then lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Markus's.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
YES! In love with my son, and even more in love with my husband!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Scrubs, Biggest Loser, The Apprentice

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate anyone, but there are still a few people that I don't like much!

24. What was the best book you read?
The last Harry Potter Book

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Piano

26. What did you want and get?
A healthy baby!

27. What did you want and not get?
To be able to be a stay at home mom.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Harry Potter 5

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I don't remember what we did since it was back in January, but I turned 33.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
At the beginning, maternity clothes, now - just getting back into old clothes, but I still have some baby tummy to get rid of before everything fits again.

32. What kept you sane?
Benjamin and my Mom.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Don't know.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war in Iraq

35. Who did you miss?
My dog Dusty

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Linda - my new teaching partner

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007
Time FLIES once you have children!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy new year to all! It is now 2008, and I know I will forget to write it on my checks at least for the next 2 months! hehehe What an amazing year 2007 was. We knew our life would change, but we still had no idea! We had a nice, quiet New Year's Eve at our house. Mom, Dad, and John came over since we figured that it would be a lot easier to get together at our house with the baby and all. And boy am I glad, when everyone left the temperature outside was probably below zero!!! We ate a nice dinner and played cards! John kicked everyone's butt at cards, and William didn't make it past 9:00pm. We rang in the new year with Dick Clark and pretty much ended the night at 12:01am!! hehehe (It is hard to be a late night partier when you have a 9 month old that wakes you up at 5am!) So, New Year's Resolutions you ask? Ummmm, I'm not very good at keeping those, but this year I am going to try to be the best wife, mom, and teacher I can be. Oh, and try to drink more water! 2007 was a pretty good year, and I have a feeling 2008 will be great as well!

Here is a picture of last night. Grandma, Grandpa, and William

And here are a couple pictures of William in his make-shift baby jail while Mom and Dad took down the Christmas decorations...

Videos of William chasing the cat and clapping!

Merry Christmas!

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have no real excuse other than laziness! A lot has happened in December. First, William is now the champion crawler! He only does the army crawl, but he can really get around fast. We did have to put up a gate around the Christmas tree as he wanted every present and all the ornaments! He is growing like a weed and is now starting to take table foods. He really likes pancakes and puffs. We have tried bananas, carrots, and string cheese, and none were a real hit, but he was a champ and tried them all. Christmas was wonderful! It was funny. Santa left him a toy and when he woke up to see what Santa had brought, he went straight for his other toys! hehehe After Daddy opened the package, he enjoyed it a lot - a train ball popper toy. Then, we had a wonderful breakfast at our house with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle John. William hit the toy jackpot and had fun opening his presents. He didn't quite get the whole opening presents thing, but he liked to rip the paper. I am a little disappointed in myself. I didn't get any still pictures of William opening presents. We had the video camera, but dumb me forgot the still camera. The videos I have to figure out how to download since we used the camcorder, and usually all the other little clips I post are taken on the digital camera. Anyway, he enjoyed Christmas Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Markus's house. He did much better than on Thanksgiving. He ate mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and tried a little turkey. Thanks to all of you that got William presents. You really made his first Christmas wonderful! Here are the few pictures I took Christmas Eve...

Happy December!

Here it is December already! My favorite time of the year. I love snow and I love Christmas. Another good thing is I only have 13 more working days until Christmas Break from school! WooHoo!

William is a great little boy. He is now army crawling! Well, we say it it more of a "wounded soldier" crawl, because when he crawls, he is on his tummy and one of his legs just kinda gets dragged behind. He is fighting another cold the poor thing. He hasn't been eating very well since Thursday, but he has taken a little more formula today, so hopefully tomorrow he will be even better.

A week ago, we went to get some pictures take an Sears, and they really turned out well. Here are a few of my favorites!