Can't. Stop. Coughing.

Since I'm sick (see previous post) and can't stop coughing (and therefore can't sleep), I thought I'd post a fun little survey.

In 2008....

1. Did you kiss anyon​e?​
Of course.

2. Did you date anyon​e?​
Had some fun dates with my hubby...mostly in our pre-Declan days.

3. Are you going​ to kiss someo​ne when the ball drops​?​
Well, I'm on antibiotics and Mark just got a flu or something so I'm sure we'll skip the kiss this year.

4. Did you lose any frien​ds?​
I didn't really lose any friends, just lost touch with some.

5. Did you gain any frien​ds?​
Yes!

6. Did you do somet​hing new?
Motherhood is definitely new to me but there were a lot of new things that came along with our adoption that were so new too.

7. Did anyon​e impor​tant to you die?
Yes, my grandpa-in-law. *edited later to add...I'm an idiot...grandpa died in 2006*

8. Did you chang​e?​
For sure!! We started the year out starting back at fertility treatments after a break from it all. We've gone through tons of ups and downs with that and have come out of it all with a beautiful adopted son. I've changed in many ways- I learned how selfless motherhood is and that's changed me a ton. I've also learned that my our family can be built without our DNA and be just as fabulous. (I'm working on a post about that later...)

9. Are you happy​ with the year over all?
Again, there were ups and downs but I'm definitely happy about '08.

10. Whats​ the best thing​ that happe​ned to you?
Declan Isaac.

11. Did you fall in or out of love?​
In love for sure. Never knew I could feel this way about someone. I've also fallen more in love with Mark...he's an amazing daddy.

12. Are you happy​ the year'​s almos​t over?​
I guess. I feel old now. Graduated high school in 2000 and now it's almost '09. Yikes!​

13. Are you going​ to chang​e somet​hing about​ yours​elf next year?​
YES! I need to start working out again. I feel like a ball of flabby fatness.

14. Do you think​ 2009 will be a bette​r year than 2008?​
Yes.

15. Did you go on a vacat​ion?​
Not really. Even though I consider our yearly family trip to a nearby state park a vacation, it really isn't. We also went 4 hours West of here for adoption classes. Again- not a vacation. :) I'd love to take one in '09.

16. Did you lie to your paren​ts?​
No.

17. Did you get into a fight​?​
Unfortunately some verbal fights.

18. Did you leave​ the count​ry?​
No.

19. Did you have a good birth​day?​
Yes! I was a new mom (of 2 days) walking on the clouds (joy + no sleep).

20. Did anyon​e in your famil​y get marri​ed?​
Yes! My bro-in-law got married to an incredible woman and my sis-in-law married a great guy as well. *edited later to add that I have 4 brain cells left b/c both of these weddings were in '07*

21. Do you think​ you grew?​
My waistline did.

22. Did you dye your hair?​
Once or twice.

23. Who do you think​ you were on the phone​ with the most?​
My mom and dad.

24. Did anyon​e sing to you?
Hmmm...not that I can think of. My hubby has a great voice and plays the guitar so I need to work on getting him to sing to me in '09!

25. Did you sing to anyon​e?​
Lots of singing to Deckers.

26.Did anyon​e tell you they loved​ you?
Yes...I'm blessed by my family and friends.

27. Did you ever go to the hospi​tal?​
Yes...my dad had a (not so) little pancreas incident and we were at the hospital for the birth of my son.

28. What did you drink​ and eat the most?​
I definitely abuse a little drink called Diet Mountain Dew. Yikes...it's a true addiction. Since we've had a baby that drinks over $70 of formula a week we eat a lot of cheap/easy foods: toast, PBJs, noodles and baked potatoes. (please refer to the expanding waistline answer above)

28. Did you vote?​
Absolutely!! I was definitely tied up in this election more than any others.

29. Are you going​ to make a new years​ resol​ution​?​
Yes. I'd like to work on the fatness, organize my house better. cook more at home, balance working part time and trying to earn a good income (I'm full commission sales), etc...

30. How do you feel,​ anoth​er year has passe​d you by?
Extremely blessed.

Here are some pics of my sick son I took tonight. He just can't stop being constantly cute...even with a runny nose and cough.

Asking for some prayers, please!

I've been struggling with a cold turned some sort of infection turned strep throat for 7 days now. I'm on antibiotics and feeling a bit better but still down and out with a bunch of annoying symptoms. Little Decs has had a cold since Sunday and is only sleeping in 2 to 3 hour increments at night before he needs his nose sucked out. :( NOW, my wonderful caretaker hubby is lying in bed with a fever, chills and body aches. The big kicker is that we have family flying in this week for our Christmas. I'm nervous that we'll miss out on lots of good family lovin'. Honestly, with this whole house of sickness (I had stomach flu 2 weeks ago)) I just feel we'll NEVER we well again. Please pray for us. Thanks.

...an "A" for effort...

I can't say Declan really swallowed any of the sweet potatoes I made for him today, but he sure did make some funny faces. Yes, we're officially in the world of FOOD. Hopefully he learns to like it. :)

4 months old :)

Where has the time gone??
Today: December 25th...Declan is 4 months old!
Weight: 13 lbs, 3 oz+ (weight a week ago)
Height: 25.5 inches (yes, almost 5 inches longer than at birth!)
New nicknames: Declan-do...he giggles when we add "do" to then end of his name. He still goes by a plethora of other nicknames.
This past month...
-Declan has slept through the night ONE time. Yes, a backslide from last month, but whataya do?
-We've dropped his evening nap this month so he now gets to hang out with us all night. Usually he gets a bit crabby and nods off for a bit before his 10pm feeding. He still gets up around 3:00am and then is up for the day at 7am. I'm hoping to blog at his 5 month birthday that he's dropped his 3am feeding. Please please please! ;)
-Declan loves his exersaucer!! Mr. Strongpants loves to play in it and it's so cute to catch him "reading" the book that's one of the attached toys.
-All his newborn and 0-3 month clothes got put in storage this week. Some 3-6 month pants also made the storage bin as well as some of his 6-9 month jammies. It's shocking how quickly kiddos outgrow their clothes.
-Declan is much more interactive now. He loves to sit on our laps while we hold his hands and be bounced around. His little laugh is a heart melter.
-Declan now sleeps in his crib. Woot woot!
-We had a little Christmas party with his birthparents this month. It had been awhile since we had seen them so it was touching to see them experience all his new faces and sounds. We had a great time with them!
-The doctor gave us a green light last Friday to start yellow vegetables! He's going to skip rice cereal since he has a suspected milk intolerance. I've been researching how to make my own baby food and have plans to get him started here soon. *Wish me luck.* ;)

We had a great time this Christmas hanging out with our families. I have a horrible head cold so I've been a little cloudy in the brain but still have good memories. Here are some pics of our little family (minus the dog children):

Daddy & Decs:

Mommy & the little man:

Wishing you a Fabulous Christmas!!!

Love,

Mark, Ashley, Declan 

and the dog children- Jack & Sophie

Yes ma'am...

...we've got a roller...

I know this isn't an action shot, but I'll try to catch one sometime...I'm still celebrating his first roll. What a ROCK STAR. ;)

I know you're out there!!!

I got an idea off a great blog I read called Baby Mac...where are you?? It's called "sound off".  I know I have readers out there so leave a comment and say your first name and what state you're from!! Thanks!

Don't be shy...

Wordless Wednesday

No, it's not a wig...

...It's Declan's "comfort blanket".  We have one in brown and one in white (so we can do the wash swap if needed down the road). He LOVES it! It touches his face and his little lids grow heavy. 

This is a repeat pic, but you can see him with his arm wrapped around the white version of the same blanket...(so cute)....

Some photo fun...

I've seen this on other's blogs. It's a fun little game. Here are the directions:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)



This was taken in December 2007. My sister-in-law and I were donating our hair to Pantene Beautiful Lenths. It's a lot like Locks.of.Love. This is a picture of her "pre chop".

I hate tagging people, so if you think this is fun, then do it! (That's what I did off of another blog)

Ug.

Dear Stomach Flu,

I hate you. I feel like I'm dying. Thanks for ruining my good nights sleep and waking me at 4am with a vengeance. Thank you for making the nausea so strong that I can't even rest today. Thanks for laughing at all my extra hand washing and sanitizing by finding and killing my weekend anyways. Oh, and leave my son and husband alone.

Your not-biggest fan,
Ashley

Yes, I'm one of THOSE mamas...

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and my husband was moving around in bed so I asked him what time Declan ate (he is always up 3-3:30am). He said he hadn't got up!! Could it be? Could he seriously be sleeping more than 5 hours?? PTL! Instead of rolling over in my warm bed, I got up and walked through my old creaky 1920s house to go make sure Declan was breathing. What other explanation is there for him to sleep that long except for him not breathing??! Completely irrational, I know. He was peacefully sleeping. Duh. I'm a dork.

This is Declan's "get a life and simmer down, mom" look:

Exersaucer love...

Declan LOVES his exersaucer. It's like a wide-eyed adventure every time he's in it. I really like the freedom watching him play in it too!

It only took 3 1/2 months, but...

Declan slept in his crib last night for the first time. No more car seat sleepin' for our little guy.

Before snug as a bug in his car seat:


First time crib sleeping (woot):


It's been a process to get him comfortable with the crib. He's napped about a week in the crib (but wouldn't sleep in it at night). We tried different things...the wedge (he hated that)...no swaddle, swaddle, blanket, no blanket, etc, etc. You'll notice in both pics, Declan is a 1 arm swaddling type of guy. He is also attached to a comfort blanket a friend sewed for him. We caught it completely covering his face twice so it now has 3 hair ties so it's like a tube blanket. Sort of weird looking, but he loves it.

So, now that he's sleeping in the crib, our next mission is to sleep all night!! For my memory sake, he is now going down around 9:30pm or 10-ish and sleeps until 3am-ish and then is back up 6-7am. I keep hearing about those babies that go down at 9pm and get up at 9am. I can dream, right?? ;)

Ridiculously adorable.

The (not forgotten) dog children

I received a huge compliment recently when a friend said that Mark and I are the only ones she knows that have a new baby and still adore our little furry kids. It made my heart smile because we do still totally consider Jack & Sophie our other kids. I know, I know. If you're not an animal lover this post will make you gag so you can exit now if needed. ;) 

It's been a bummer to see friend after friend "re-homing" their pet when a little one joins their family. I don't judge them because everyone has their reasonings so if you're one of my buds that has done that- no worries. I just feel bad because it's got to be a tough decision to make.

It wouldn't be a strange site for you to walk in my living room while I feed Declan and see a 60 pound boxer curled up on each side of me. They're still our cuddlers and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

I've also seen glimmers of the future relationship of Declan and the dogs recently.  I'll catch him giggling or smiling at them these days. I look forward to when they all play. Good stuff. 

Yay for dog children. :)

Peas in a pod:


Jack & Sophs bombarding Declan (don't worry they only got a couple licks/kisses in before being called away:

Clocky

I laughed out loud when I found this clock on a gift recommendation list on the 'Nest'. Here is what the website said about it:

"Introducing the alarm clock that runs away and hides when you don't wake up! Clocky gives you one chance to get up like a normal person. But if you cheat and stay in bed (you know who you are!!), Clocky will jump off of your night stand, alarm sounding, and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide. Fully adjustable: set it to snooze once before running away, or even not to run away at all."

Oh, brother...what's next? ;)