Good-bye February!

Tomorrow is March 1st and Ben will be 17 months old! We went to Macy's last night for some new clothes. Ben has just about out-grown his 12-month size clothes. It always makes me a little sad when we have to go up a size in clothing....it's a very tangible reminder of how fast he is growing up. We've also had to switch to a booster seat for eating. Ben decided he was no longer happy in a high chair and wanted to be at the table with mommy and daddy.


We have had a great week. The baseball team won two district games last week. Jeremy has a winning record for the first time in his coaching career. Way to go hubby! If you're out riding around, check out that baseball field.....it is looking mighty sharp!


I also want to mention (and celebrate) the fact that Ben has been healthy for an entire month! We love Dr. LaRue, but it sure is nice to go a month without a visit to the doctor. Now more than ever, I am sure we made the right decision in taking him out of daycare. I realize we'll have to deal with the germs and sickness when he goes to pre-K, but I'm so thankful for the break right now.


I've posted some pictures of our week below. We got to spend the entire afternoon with our Godson, Hayden, yesterday. Ben and Hayden had a great time playing together. I didn't get any good pictures of them together, but I snapped a few of Ben, Shannon, and Corretta. I've also uploaded the cutest little video of Ben telling the camera some of the different animal sounds and body parts he knows :) Enjoy!

Helping Shannon find his eyes

Fascinated with Corretta's ring

Ben and his Godparents

Coloring with cousin Lauren

Cheeeeeese!

Playing with some pine bark

Our week in review...

The Byrd family had a good week. The baseball team played Santa Fe Tuesday night and won 10-1. The team played in a tournament yesterday. They lost the first game, but won the second. Ben and I had fun cheering Daddy's team on. Several of the parents have younger children and Ben attracts them like a magnet! It was so cute. They all wanted to play with him. I've posted some pictures from the ball park below. In the first picture, Emily and Maxcy are trying to carry Ben......he was not liking it! Other than not liking to be carried, he was very friendly. He let the kids roll trucks back and forth with him. I had fun trying to keep him out of the dirt and ant piles :D

Ben's physical growth has definitely slowed down, which I am thankful for. That first year's growth just amazes me! Intellectually, he is still growing like a weed! I haven't stopped to count how many words he can say, but I know it's over the 50+ words the baby book says he "might be able to" at the 18 month mark. The new words for this week are fox, box, Cass (for Cassie), two and five. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I can recall right now! He is also starting to recognize letters. He knows T, B and Y. We bought LeapFrog's fridge phonics to go along with his fridge farm. He is such a little sponge!

I can't believe we are starting our last week of February. Ben will be 17 months old March 1st. Holy smokes!

February Update

Gosh! I can't believe I haven't updated this thing since January 21st! We have lots of news to share. I'll tell you guys the best news first.....Ben isn't going to daycare anymore!!! YIPEE!!! He was getting sick every other week so my wonderful cousin, Cassie, is keeping him for us until the end of the school year. His new routine is so much better. He is getting to sleep in, which means his bedtime has been pushed back to 8 o'clock instead of 7. Jeremy usually gets home from baseball practice around 6, so he actually gets to spend a few hours with Ben this way. Cassie and Ben hang out at the house for a couple of hours in the morning and then they usually go spend a couple of hours with my Aunt Joyce. My Aunt Joyce is keeping 4 kids right now that are 3 to 5 years of age. Ben gets to hang out with the big kids and is also getting used to Aunt Joyce, who he will be staying with in August. He will be with her until he starts school. Yay!!! Ben just seems so much happier being at home and around family all day. He loves playing outside so he gets to do much more of that now (even more if this stupid cold weather would go away!)

Baseball season has begun! Jeremy's first game was Thursday night against Lake Gibson. His second game was Saturday against Bartow. Ben and I actually got to go to that game and we had a blast! I forgot my camera, though, so I don't have any cute ball park pictures to share.

We had a relaxing Valentine's Day yesterday. We hung out and played at the house. We also went to Publix and got most of the cleaning done. Jeremy and I pay per viewed Couples Retreat last night, which was really cute. I can't believe February is almost over. We've got FCAT next month and then Spring Break. This school year is flying! I'll leave you with some new pictures of my little valentine and some oldies of me and my big valentine :D

Recent Pictures

2010's not so hot start....

Ben and I have had a rough start to the new year. Ben started the new year in a new room at daycare. He has been in the baby room since December of 2008. He got quite attached to Mrs. Janet. She's a very grandmotherly person and Ben really bonded with her. His first morning in the toddler room with Mrs. Stacy was pitiful. He looked up at me with big alligator tears streaming down his little cheeks when we tried to leave. Jeremy had to make me leave the room because I was crying at this point, too. It was a hard day to say the least. Jeremy dropped Ben off the rest of that week so I wouldn't have to witness that scene again. I just can't stand to see him cry and know that I have to leave him so upset. He seemed to be adjusting by the end of that week, thank goodness!

That Friday, January 8th, Ben had an appointment with Dr. LaRue for his 15 month check-up. The visit went very well. Ben now weighs 22 lbs.! He is still taller than he is heavy, which Dr. LaRue says is a very good thing. He had to get another round of vaccinations, which he did NOT enjoy. We also talked to the doctor about Ben's recent sleeping patterns. Over Christmas break, Ben started waking up several times during the night and it got very hard to get him back to sleep. On several occasions, I put him in the bed with us just to get some sleep. BIG MISTAKE! Dr. LaRue said once they learn that crying will get them momma or daddy, they will keep doing it! He said to pick a weekend and let him cry it out. This has always been tough for me, but we powered through and Ben has been sleeping through the night again for an entire week! YAY!!!

That weekend, Ben started having a runny nose. We tried treating it with Dimetapp, but it got worse and he had a fever Thursday night. We took him back to the doctor today and he has a touch of bronchitis. I've caught it, too, so we're all on antibiotics. I'm hoping we all get well over this three-day weekend! Baseball try-outs start next week for Jeremy, so life for the Byrds is about to get hectic! I am hoping the next few weeks go a little smoother :) I've taken some random pictures of Ben over the past few weeks that I promise to post later.

Happy New Year!

It's Two Thousand Ten, I love my little Ben....(I came up with more to this little rap, but Jeremy begged me not to share my cheesiness with the world, haha)

Here is a picture of my favorite little guy ringing in the New Year:

Some of my New Year's Resolutions:

1. Get back to exercising 5 days a week. Not because I need to lose weight, but because I feel better when I do and I will be around longer to care for my family.

2. Be less of a control freak (i.e. stop cleaning the house so much and let go of the compulsion to keep everything in a certain spot)

3. Keep my family as the #1 priority in my life and let everything else fall into place.

Sounds simple, right? I got this neat little card along with one of my birthday cards and I'm going to try to remember this all year long:

"Lord, I have too much to do, but it's all important. Help me to set priorities so that I don't feel lost in the pace and the pressure. Give me the wisdom and energy to accomplish what's necessary without wasting time or effort. And help me to make the best use of my day, remembering that time is a precious gift from You."

Christmas and more holiday fun!

This Christmas break has been awesome! Ben is a barrel of fun these days and handles large family gatherings much better (thank God!). We spent Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family at Aunt Darla's house. It's a tradition we look forward to every year. Mom seems to be recuperating very well after surgery on the 15th. Aunt Darla just finished her American Sign Language course at SFCC with a 98% (brains run in the family). Aunt Lisa and Uncle Rick are doing well, too. They stay very busy working and taking care of Rick's parents (who are both in their 90's). Aunt Cindy is as bubbly as ever! She got a new camera for Christmas and showed me some cool pictures she has taken with it. Kacie got off for an entire week and Katie was glad to be home after a grueling semester at UF (Go Gators!). All of my second cousins are getting so big. Mara turned 14 that night (yikes! I'm getting old).

Jeremy, Ben and I had a wonderful Christmas morning together. Ben slept in until 8:30! We got Ben a little rocking chair and he knocked presents out of the way to sit in it. It was so funny! Jeremy kept the tradition going by making breakfast burritos that morning. Uncle Chuckie stopped by to eat with us and check out Ben's loot. Nana and Joey stopped by later that morning and gave Ben the cutest little choo-choo train. We had lunch and opened more presents at Jeremy's parents' house that afternoon. Papa Stone came down from Bartow and enjoyed watching Ben play with his toys. The three of us headed home for a nap and went back over that night for dinner. We spent the next few days resting and playing at home with all of our new goodies.

Today, we took Ben to Common Ground (the coolest park ever!) in Lakeland. Ben had so much fun sliding and swinging. I've posted the cutest pictures of him playing below. We have a little less than one week of Christmas break left and I'm going to soak up every minute of it! It took forever to upload all of these pictures so I hope you all enjoy them :D

I gave Jeremy a copy of one of my favorite books

Daddy already trying to get him to bat as a lefty

I think he was saying "bye-bye" in this picture

in his cute new outfit from Mom & Dad with his sippy cup from Aunt Steph

Ben loves his new mode of transportation from G-ma & G-pa Byrd

My little drummer boy

Can you say "static electricity?"

Ben is thinking...."Mom, this is the best day ever!"

Momma's new 'do & Ben not wanting his picture taken

Wheeee!!!!!