Bridgett's Journal

OMG! Has it been that long??

2011-10-25T19:03:00.006-05:00

enjoying the carnival rides at Ghostwalk

dressed as Thing 1 and thing 2 for Twin day during Homecoming Week (w/Katherine)

the costume contest at ghost walk (and the girl who beat him out)

pumpkin patch

Turner and Katherine enjoying lollipops at the pumpkin patch

my favorite picture of him and Katherine

Turner and Ella on the "Twain"

Turner with Thomy the Tiger at a THS game

I guess I have totally forgotten about a blog!haha Well, I guess I should update on me for those of you who haven't heard---I quit my job at CPS. I am now working for CCARC in Jackson. We have all these crazy titles that you won't understand, but basically I am like an in house case manager. In other words, I am using all of those skills I was taught as a music therapist again and so far am enjoying it.

Where to begin on catch you up on Turner??? Hmmm.....We have enjoyed some football this season. I've also posted pictures of his first field trip with the daycare to the pumpkin patch in Clanton. He also enjoyed Ghost Walk this year in Tville even though he didn't win the costume contest. I will do my best to post pics on here of Halloween after this weekend/next week.

Well, for those of you who haven't seen all of this on facebook already, enjoy!!!! Maybe I'll get back in the habit again of updating more often.

Bama fan for a day

2011-09-10T19:55:00.001-05:00

While Arthur was out of town, we took advantage of cheering for the tide!

Childrens parade

2011-07-06T12:04:00.002-05:00

Last year I had a float ready weeks before the parade. This year I was working on ideas the night before. Strangely enough this year we won something. I tried to make a theme off of john michael montgomery's song letters from home. The float in front of us had a louder speaker though. But we always have fun doing it!

more random shots from months ago

2011-06-03T19:40:00.003-05:00

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Yes, these are from Mardi Gras and Easter, which was a while back. But Arthur just recently got these edited, so I thought I would share. (Sorry, I couldn't get the ones from our Easter portrait session to upload....I'll have to try again later with those)

2011-05-27T14:37:00.001-05:00

Took Turner to the pediatric eye doctor yesterday. Sight savers had come to daycare and noted some possible problems. Luckily the dr said not to be worried. He is farsighted but not more than is expected for a toddler and it is even in both eyes. He thinks my suspicions of Turner being color blind are correct, but it is too early to test. We will re evaluate before kindergarten.

daycare end of the year program

2011-05-21T14:13:00.003-05:00

his favorite part "AAAAHHHHHHH"

the silliness is what makes it cute.......

the horn on the bus goes "Beep"

Turner was rocking and rolling at the CPS Daycare program Thursday night. He was the flag holder for the pledge of allegiance and the toddlers performed "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Twist and Shout". He got distracted when he saw his "Baw Baw" and when the other boys started showing off, but he did a great job! I was afraid he would get shy or start crying when he saw us, but he got up there and performed like a pro!

a day out with thomas

2011-05-20T14:05:00.001-05:00

2011-05-01T16:35:00.003-05:00

Here are random pictures from the last two months of things we had going on that I had not gotten around to uploading. (Or that blogger, our computer, or my husband had KEPT me from uploading!) Hopefully I'll do better once school gets out in a couple of weeks!

more sickness

2011-03-30T12:31:00.002-05:00

The cough and runny nose only got worse, so we ended back up at Dr. Frank's on Monday. Naturally, we're on another round of antibiotics to clear up another sinus infection. Then, yesterday afternoon, the daycare director came down to my classroom to let me know that Turner had the stomach virus and needed to go home. So, I had to stay out today with him. In other words, nothing new to report, just the same ole stuff that happens over, and over, and over.....

I gave up

2011-03-21T14:46:00.002-05:00

I really have tried uploading pics from Mardi Gras/Bday, etc on here. But our wireless connection upstairs keeps acting crazy, and after an hour of unsuccessful attempts with blogger, I gave up.

We went to see the pediatrician today for our 2 year wellness checkup. Turner only had to get 1 shot today. Of course, after finishing off a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection, he started coughing again last night. Dr. S. said everything looked and sounded fine, so I won't stress about another illness yet.

This weekend we'll get to go to the beach for the end of spring break. It'll be nice to enjoy a few days of my vacation before heading back to school next week.

Maybe one day I'll try again with the pics.

Yep, another sinus infection

2011-03-10T21:09:00.001-06:00

Turner went back to the ENT yesterday for his follow up after surgery. Guess what? He has another sinus infection! wow! So, he's on yet another round of antibiotics. All that money for surgery and so far it hasn't done any good. We'll have to follow up with the ENT in 6 months, but at this rate, I'm sure we'll make it back in there before then!

Mardi Gras/2nd Bday

2011-03-07T18:32:00.002-06:00

Since we were constructing a float for the CPS Mardi Gras Parade, we decided we might as well use it twice, so we entered our wagon in the Tville parade. I'm getting too old to pull a 40 lb toddler that entire route around town. He made it on the front page of the paper at least--wonder how that happened?? lol Turner won 2nd place in the school's decorating contest. We keep getting beat by girls! I know Arthur took pictures, but I can't find them saved on the computer, so I'll have to upload them later.

Turner had his birthday party Saturday, after celebrating his 2nd bday Wednesday. Of course, we took cupcakes to school on his birthday, and he wore a Thomas the Train bday badge. They even released balloons at school that day, but it was in honor of Dr. Seuss! I took the train theme to the extremes Saturday, but I think it all turned out pretty well. As usual, he got way too much stuff! Again, there should be pictures up eventually, but I felt like I needed to blog something.

Wednesday, we follow up with the ENT after our surgery a few weeks ago. Allergy tests came back with a report of there's nothing to be concerned about, so I guess that's good. I hate that we paid almost $600 to hear there's nothing wrong, but at least we know. We go to the pediatrician in a few weeks for our 2 year immunizations and wellness check up.

I went back to Dr. G last month for another check up since my biopsy in July. He said if I didn't hear back from him, everything was normal. Since it's been almost a month now and I haven't heard anything, I'm assuming everything's ok. I'll go back in July and if it comes back normal, I can go back to yearly visits.

Ok, I think that's all for now!

surgery went fine

2011-02-18T18:02:00.003-06:00

From the way the little man is acting right now, you would never guess he had a surgery done today. We went down last night and spent the night with Arthur's mom. We could have had a better night of rest with him in his own bed now, but we encountered a few obstacles in the wee hours of the morning. We made it to Surgicare without any meltdowns for snacks or something to eat. Arthur complained more about being hungry than Turner did. He fussed a few times during pre-op but didn't put on a show like some of the other kids. They coerced him with Thomas stickers back to the OR. I held it together better than I thought I would. I read a chapter in a book to keep me preoccupied during the surgery. Dr. Wilson came to tell us everything went well and then I got fidgety waiting on the nurse to tell us to come back to recovery. I heard his cry and knew it from the others just as the nurse called us. He napped for the first hour in recovery. Once he woke up from that he was fine. The nurses bragged on how good he was. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A and Arthur and I ordered a combo but didn't order Turner anything. I didn't think he would feel like eating a meal so soon. The boy ate my entire order of waffle fries!!! And I don't think he's stopped eating all day. He has acted fine at home so far. A little drunk or drugged some times, but definitely more hyper than I expected him to be! Hopefully it will be a quick recovery and things will be better for him from now on!

surgery scheduled

2011-02-09T14:39:00.003-06:00

We went to the ENT today. Looks like Turner needs to have tubes put in his ears and his adenoids taken out. He's scheduled for surgery next Friday the 18th. We have to be at Surgicare of Mobile at 6:30 am. It shouldn't take them more than 30 minutes. They're also going to draw some blood and do an allergy test to see if there's something going on there. So, keep the little man in your prayers for the next few weeks. Hopefully this will reduce the number of doctor visits and rounds of antibiotics and keep away the congestion and cough some.

ent

2011-01-22T10:17:00.002-06:00

I forgot to update you on the rest of the week. So far, no more signs of a stomach virus. He coughed all night Monday night, so we took him back to the dr. Tuesday. I didn't need a diagnosis---sinus infection. Some redness in his ear again, too. So, we started a different round of antibiotics, so that he doesn't get immune too quickly to the usual ones. After 3 infections in 3 months, we got a referral to the ear, nose, and throat dr. Maybe it's not just daycare. Maybe there's some underlying allergies. Dr. Frank says that kids with skin disorders (like eczema) often have other allergies too. So, we take him on Feb 9 to see what the specialist says.

Turner really does know best

2011-01-17T12:27:00.002-06:00

The saying is that "mom knows best", but in some cases, Turner knows better than I do. Yesterday was one such example. He woke up fussy and ill and wouldn't eat his breakfast. Earlier he had been pointing to his tummy, but I thought it was his eczema itching on his belly. Arthur and I both had tried to push him to eat something, and when I got out of the shower in preparation for getting ready for church, he still wasn't eating. He crawled up in my lap and I asked him why he wasn't eating. He pointed to his tummy again, and I asked "Does your tummy hurt?" He nodded his head and coughed as I was saying "Are you going to throw up?" and just about that time, he threw up everywhere. My couch and house still reek of sour milk. There was some serious funk coming out of that boy's body yesterday. Two bouts of diarrhea and fever followed throughout the day. So, I stayed home with him today. He's felt much better today. Still not eating much, but I'm not forcing it today!!!! But at least he's been his chipper, silly self again. Needless to say we didn't make it to church. I've been to choir practice for the last two weeks and have yet to sing in a service. People kept saying, "Oh, Turner's big enough now that you should have time again to sing in the choir." Apparently not. Oh well. You'll probably see another blog in the next few days about Arthur and I having the stomach bug, too. And if Turner's congestion and cough doesn't start clearing up in the next few days, you'll be hearing about another trip to the doctor for antibiotics!!!! Ugh! The illnesses never end, do they?

New Years

2011-01-03T18:06:00.004-06:00

We bought some sparklers New Years Eve so that Turner could enjoy celebrating with the New Year with fireworks. After he got in his pjs, we ended up going to Nana and BawBaws to watch Uncle Jeff and friends (and even Arthur) shoot off some real fireworks.

But the real news of the day is that I sent Turner to preschool in "big boy" underwear today for the first time, and he stayed accident free all day!!!!! I'm so happy I could cry!!! Ok, maybe not, but I am really excited in the potty training dept. Who knew I could find such joy in the matter? My, how things change.

random sampling from xmas

2010-12-28T12:28:00.006-06:00

Christmas Eve with the Shewmake's

Christmas morning at home

old school wooden toys from Aunt Noel are still a hit with a 21 month old

you have to stick your tongue out for complete concentration in this game

shooting the hoop with the new basketball goal from Aunt Lynn

trying out the new tricycle from Grandmamma (maw-maw)

even with all of the presents, he really just enjoyed a good game of "chase"

Here are a couple of shots from Christmas. Ask Turner what Santa says and he'll give you a deep "Ho, ho, ho". (Thanks to David Gaston at the Grill) I've been proud of him the last few days. He really has divided his time up amongst ALL of his presents. I need to get started on taking Christmas decorations down so that I can rearrange a few more things in the house to make room for everything. But considering I've spent Turner's entire nap time just trying to get these photos to load on this site, I doubt I get that accomplished anytime soon!

Visiting Santa at the D'Andreas

2010-12-20T08:51:00.002-06:00

december update

2010-12-19T21:13:00.003-06:00

I took Turner back to the doctor again Thursday for another round of antibiotics. We just can't keep a sinus infection away for more than a week. I have some pics to put up as soon as Arthur gets them edited for me. We took Santa pics at Downtown Stroll but ours of Turner is him crying and holding out his arms reaching for me. So, we tried again last night with Santa visiting at the D'Andrea's house. He was much more receptive of Santa this time, until you tried to make him sit on his lap. But as long as Santa was walking around showing him the lights, he was fine. He was willing to give him high fives, and finally he went and gave him a kiss on the cheek, but we never were able to get a picture of him smiling on Santa's lap.
We went yesterday morning for brunch in Mobile with some of Arthur's mom's cousins, and then we went to visit a couple of family friends. Everyone complimented Turner on how well behaved he was the entire time.
And in the potty-training dept., we might be making some progress, but I hate to speak too soon. Turner is keeping those pull-ups and big boy underwear pretty dry all the time now, though!!! Yea! Now, if he would just tell me when he needs to go instead of us just carting him off to the potty at certain time intervals, we'd be there.
I think that's the update for now. Christmas Eve will be with my folks, Christmas morn at our house, and Christmas day with Arthur's fam. I can't even begin to name off all the "stuff" T's getting for Christmas this year. And I think he will grasp the concept pretty well this year that he's getting loads of presents. I'll describe the entire experience next week.......

dr visit #2 for this cold season

2010-11-29T20:49:00.003-06:00

Turner has congestion and a cough that had progressively been getting worse over our Thanksgiving break. I have a sore throat that started developing about 5 days ago, so I decided we had both better go to the doctor today. And the diagnosis/medicine is the same. Ear infections, sinus infections--it's all the usual during these cold "winter" months. I'm just glad my strep test came back negative. Surprisingly enough, my ears looked worse than Mister T's. So, we're cleared to go back to work/school tomorrow; we'll just have to suffer our way through the next few days until the antibiotics do their jobs. Hopefully we won't be back in the office again next month!

A Funny

2010-11-21T14:13:00.002-06:00

We usually go out to eat in Tville after church on Sundays because Turner would be fast asleep by the time we got to GH if we tried to wait. And it never fails that Turner will fall asleep after lunch on the way home to take his afternoon nap. So, today when we heading back to the car after our meal, I said, "Well, now it's time to go night-night." The child laid down on the pavement in the parking lot outside our car and said "night night". Granted, normally when I say that phrase it does mean for him to lay down and go to sleep...I just didn't expect him to take me so literally that he thought he had to sleep on the road! So, I learned my lesson today of what not to say when! :)

My Photo Book Nov 20 2010

2010-11-20T19:39:00.001-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

the stomach virus yet again

2010-11-15T12:26:00.003-06:00

Turner's teacher was out Friday. Come to find out, she had the stomach virus after sending one of Turner's classmates home with it Thursday. Lo and behold, guess who gets it Friday night? ME! Arthur was gone Friday night at the Tville game and all day/night Sat at the AU game, so I was left to take care of myself and Turner for the weekend. Luckily, my parents called Sat afternoon and helped out with Turner that evening. I just hope we didn't give it to them--because Sunday night Turner had two poops and threw up once in a 2 hour time period. I got on the phone to find a sub--with no luck, so I don't know what my classes did today. But Turner and I stayed home today so maybe we won't infect anyone else.

Friday at the pep rally, the teachers did a skit/dance/cheer routine?? that was pretty hilarious if I say so myself. Arthur showed up and got some pics of us that maybe I'll put on here. Unfortunately, it didn't help us make to state.

too much of a good thing

2010-11-03T21:53:00.005-05:00

I know I shouldn't share everything about Turner' s life on here, but sometimes you just can't help it. Sunday night Turner was constipated. Poor thing, you could tell he was hurting. So, I made Arthur go buy some prune juice. Turner slurped it down so I gave him some more. Well, it went into action before he went to bed that night and was still going strong the next morning. His teacher at school even had to do laundry with all of his spare clothes it was working so well! So, I can attest to the fact that it works, but it definitely doesn't take much of it to do a good job.

These pics are from TBC's fall festival Sunday, trick or treating in our GH neighborhood Sat night, and Pioneer Day during the day on Sat. The little man definitely enjoyed his weekend!

Pioneer Day

2010-10-30T12:46:00.002-05:00

We strolled on down to Pioneer Day today in downtown Grove Hill. Sadly enough, in my 10 years here, I don't think I've ever gone before. We didn't get a chance to really stop and listen and learn with a 20 month old. Turner did get to make an Indian headband and got a football painted on his hand (he wouldn't let them do it on his face) while I made him a wooden bead necklace. He was fascinated by the animal skulls and petted a few animals at the "zoo". Instead of stenciling or doing leaf rubs like the other children, he used the markers to color his own abstract picture. The question everyone asked was "What happened to his nose?" Yesterday at school when he was wearing his costume, we said the tiger attacked. But today we just admitted that the toy car at daycare dumped him out on the pavement. He must have enjoyed himself because he was so worn out on the ride home that he couldn't keep his eyes open. This evening, we'll don the costume again for the actual night of trick or treating. That boy has already gotten so much candy and junk as it is though. He's never seen so many lollipops in so short a time period. Thanks go out to those that have given him fruit snacks and things a little healthier. Arthur took pics of Turner this morning, but I haven't looked at them yet. I'm sure there's something we can post later of him checking out his first Pioneer Day.

pics of halloween and gap

2010-10-27T18:25:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics of T in his costume--some were taken at home and some were at CPS. There are also some pics of him that we used for a GAP casting call. They wanted pics of kids in blue jeans so that they can choose their new models for GAP kids. Wouldn't it be nice if Turner brought in some income for us? If he were to win a contract, you probably wouldn't have to read about it on here. You'd hear me screaming from whatever part of the US you're in.

CPS Fall Festival

2010-10-26T21:16:00.003-05:00

I love Grove Hill. Not to speak ill of other Clarke County cities, of course, but Grove Hill loves them some Turner in some contests. We can spend tons of money, time and effort on entering Turner in competitions elsewhere and we walk away without even an honorable mention, while everyone who sees what we've done says "Wow. That should have won something." But we can do something simple locally and not have any expectations and hear "The winner is...Turner!!" I never realized how disliked the newspaperman is in a place, but that has to be part of the reason his child gets passed over all the time. I say all this to announce that Turner won the costume contest at the CPS Fall Festival this evening in the daycare category. And there were so many other cute kids and costumes that I really didn't think he had a chance. But somehow he won over the judges carting around his stuffed elephant in his zoo keeper costume and hat. He was definitely a cutie in my book. Arthur got a couple of good shots of him tonight that maybe we'll get posted soon. I'm definitely ready to say "Forget entering Turner in anything outside of Grove Hill." If Grove Hill loves my baby, then let's put all of our focus and energy into pleasing the people of this town!!! :) Thanks CPS for doing a great job with the festival tonight.

glow in the dark pep rally

2010-10-23T14:17:00.003-05:00

We had a glow in the dark pep rally at CPS Thursday for Homecoming (since a no burn policy wouldn't allow a bonfire). We took Turner and I was surprised at how well he did. He really liked those glowsticks! Also, instead of carving a pumpkin, we bought foam face stickers and let Turner put them on a pumpkin, so there's a pic of him doing that. He seemed to enjoy that as well. I should have pics of him in his Halloween costume soon. He'll be wearing it several times in the next week. We have a fall festival at Horeb and Ghostwalk tonight, plus the fall festival at CPS Tuesday, plus Halloween parties at school Friday, not to mention Trick or Treating next Sat.

here we go again

2010-10-13T14:59:00.002-05:00

Turner got kicked out of daycare again today for a fever. After Arthur got diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday, I figured we'd better head back on to the dr. After spending an obscene amount of money on x-rays and bloodwork, there wasn't anything to be concerned about. Ears, nose, throat, chest, white blood cells, temperature--everything looked normal. We got another antibiotic to cover every infection that the augmentin might have missed. I don't know what's going on with my child, but my employer is getting aggravated about calling in subs every other day it seems for me. But what's a mom to do?

no surprise

2010-10-08T21:27:00.002-05:00

Is anyone surprised to hear that Turner has an ear infection? It seems we're starting out this fall season exactly like we did last year's. He's back on the strongest antibiotic he can get and some cough syrup. Hopefully, we'll clear it up and not have it again in 2 weeks time. Let's hope we can make it through this winter without needing tubes in the ears.

Mustache man

2010-10-08T13:30:00.002-05:00

Arthur got a mustache out of one of those vending machines one day at the Chinese restaurant. It wasn't the right style for the ideas we had, but the pics will still make you laugh. We were going for Tom Selleck--Magnum PI in the Hawaiian shirt and a Mexican with the sombrero and the oversized baja hoodie that is swallowing him whole. Turner didn't like wearing the mustache so we didn't get too many shots. But I thought you might like a laugh---

Little man's running a fever right now. He got sent home from school today and I'm waiting for him to wake up from his nap so that we can go to the doctor. I'll post an update once I get a diagnosis.

hello darling, nice to see you, it's been a long time!

2010-10-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long. This pic is of Turner at his first Thomasville High football game. Arthur's got some funny shots of Turner wearing a moustache, but I don't know when he'll ever get around to editing them. Hopefully, by the end of the month, we'll have some of Mr. T in his Halloween costume. He's going to be a zoo keeper this year. We're starting off this fall season just like last year: lots of snotty noses, coughs, and random fevers. Hopefully ear and sinus infections will not be the norm again this year. My migraines have gone from once a year to once a month. I'm going to start documenting them to see if I can figure out what is triggering them so often now, so that maybe I can find a solution for preventing them. That's all the new stuff I can think of right now to share. I just knew I needed to get something on here, since it's been almost a month now since my last post. I can't promise that it will get better, but I'll see what I can do!

18 month wellness visit

2010-09-14T21:56:00.002-05:00

Went to see Dr. S. yesterday. Almost 34 lbs and almost 36 inches. Way off the growth chart this time. Dr. S said he thought that since he had finally slowed down at the 15 month visit that he would start plateauing more, but NOPE! He's higher than ever on the chart. He said he was in the range of a 3 year old. He asked about vocabulary, which you know concerns me, so I said "How many words should he have by now?" The dr.'s response was 10 words, so I said, "We're ok then, I counted between 50-75 the other day." We've battled chest congestion this past week, but the doc didn't find any ear infections or cause for concerns or need for medicine. And we've been making progress again in the potty training dept. All thanks to prizes and special stickers. We'll go broke buying cheap gifts from the dollar store every time we use the potty at school or go more than 4-5 times in a day at home. But if they're working, then I guess they're saving us money on pull-ups in the long run. Hopefully I won't be writing blogs this week about another sickness we've contracted.....

august pics

2010-09-11T21:31:00.005-05:00

driving the RV at wales west

of course dad taught me how to use a camera! lol

we had the train all to ourselves that day
picking muscadines at home

taking his own picture, or so he thinks
at the bottom of the "waterfall" at wales west
playing at the "beach" at wales west
wishing he could paddle boat at wales west
playing hat dress up and wearing the cowboy hat the wrong way

Fishing trip

2010-09-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

Here are pics from Labor Day, when we were out at Aunt Eloise's pond fishing.

Fishing trip

2010-09-11T11:27:00.001-05:00

Here are pics from Labor Day, when we were out at Aunt Eloise's pond fishing.

have new pics--need time to upload

2010-09-08T21:38:00.002-05:00

Week 5 of school--I've been up every night for a week and half with Turner--teething and now coughing. Now I've got the crud myself. If we don't have a better night tonight, then I guess we'll be calling the dr's office. And I am supposed to be singing this Sunday. We'll see about that.....We have pics from August and some from our fishing trip with "Baw-Baw"(it was supposed to be Paw Paw but Turner doesn't have a "p" sound yet) on Labor Day. Arthur's new camera doesn't make the pics the right size anymore for this site, so I don't know if he's converted them yet. But we do have some to show you if you haven't already seen them on facebook. Sorry there's not more to share with you right now......

week 3 sickness

2010-08-26T07:30:00.002-05:00

We just can't escape it. Last night, Turner started running a low grade fever. I gave him some Tylenol and he perked back up for the rest of the evening. But he woke up at 4 am with one again. So, Arthur's at home with him for now until I can get away from the school. I woke up at 3 am congested myself, so I guess we've caught the cold virus this time. What a way to kick off a new school year!

stomach virus round 3

2010-08-18T14:02:00.003-05:00

I mean, seriously, how many times can your family go through a stomach virus in 6 months time? I'll end up on a diet just from throwing up so many foods that I never want to see again. Whatever Turner and I had with the one day fever must have been a virus because my high school kids have had it too. Then the stomach virus started around the school again last week. Arthur got it around 3 am Tuesday morning and I had it before midnight the same day. I kept praying last night that Turner would sleep through the night just because I didn't know if either one of us was capable of taking care of him! I'm still praying that Turner is spared this round. After throwing up before midnight, I kept thinking maybe I'll feel better now so that I won't have to find a sub for school today. And believe me, it is not easy finding a sub the second week of school. And students need not ask if I'll order spaghetti plates next year for Gator night. Just seeing spaghetti sauce in the fridge today made my stomach churn. And of course, I didn't have time to go buy Arthur sprite or anything to settle his stomach yesterday, so I was left today with nothing until Kristi showed up on my doorstep with apple juice and sprite this afternoon. It's amazing how grateful you can be for such a simple act of kindness. I didn't even have to ask for it--she just called me and said I'm bringing something over for you! Friends are so good to have! I just wish I knew how we could keep from getting this dreadful disease. I keep a can of Lysol on the counter. I clean my house on a somewhat regular basis. I wash and clorox everything as soon as one of us shows signs of being sick. But somehow, we catch everything that goes around school!!!! Will it ever end????? I thought this year would be better. Don't you build up immunity when you've been working in the school system? Can't one virus skip our house every now and then??

Fever the first day of school

2010-08-09T21:23:00.003-05:00

My first official day back on the job and the daycare director comes to find me at 8:30 am saying that Turner has a fever. So, I get him home, only for him not to run a fever all day with me. Arthur and I don't have too many choices of what to do with him when he's sick, especially when it's my first week of school and it's the beginning of a week (when a paper has to be put out!). So, pray that it was just a teething incident or something minor and that I can get him back in preschool ASAP so that I don't use up all my leave time before I even get a paycheck for this school year! This was definitely not the start I had planned for. I envisioned an enjoyable day meeting new students, a relaxed afternoon to prepare my lessons for the rest of the week, and a calm evening at home with my child after my first full day of work. I didn't come even close to getting any of that today. But enough venting. I need rest to tackle whatever tomorrow brings.......

Abnormal cells

2010-07-28T20:56:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: The biopsy results are already in--Dr. G's office called late yesterday afternoon. The cells did come back as low-grade. So, I won't have to do anything for now. I'll just get re-tested in 6 months. So, that sounds like good news to me compared to the other options.

I won't know for sure for another week or so, but Dr. G felt pretty certain today that my abnormal cells are pre-cancerous. He says if the results that come back show that they are low grade, then he will just keep an eye on me with visits every 6 months. If they come back high-grade, then he'll need to schedule a surgical procedure. Which procedure he schedules will depend on the results, so he didn't want to discuss all of the options today. But he did warn me that he wouldn't be surprised if the tests came back high grade. But he also said he'd much rather treat pre-cancer cells than cancer! So, I'll have to let you know more as soon as I hear something back from him. Until then, keep praying!

Oh My NOLA

2010-07-26T20:14:00.005-05:00

OOOHH-BUGS!

Are these the ones that match my outfit?

with Auntie Lynn at the Insectarium

with Aunt Lynn at the zoo

At the Insectaurium
At the Aquarium

Wearing his 3D goggles for the IMAX movie

Waiting his turn for a car at the crowded Children's Museum
(it was a Target sponsored free day and everybody and their brother showed up)

Turner at the Zoo

Here are a few pics from the trip to NOLA that Arthur has edited.

Yay moment---Turner went to the potty at school today!!! I had parents coming to help me paint my classroom so he went to daycare (sans sippy cup now--still in a straw cup though) and pee-peed in the potty at preschool!!! He goes at least one-three times a day at home, and is getting good about saying no or running to the potty when you ask him "Do you need to pee-pee or poo-poo in the potty?" My goal is to be in big boy underwear and out of pull ups by Christmas. Still slow on the language development, though. But my "I know he's smart" moment today occurred when I was looking for his shoes this morning. When I found them he said "There it is!" and then immediately changed his statement to "There THEY ARE!" A 16 month old who knows the difference between singular and plural has got to be bright!!! :)

more in the jeans diapers

2010-07-25T21:42:00.002-05:00

Huggies Jean Diapers

2010-07-23T22:06:00.002-05:00

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Arthur and I had a blast doing a photo shoot with Turner and his jean diapers. We recreated Bruce Springsteen's album cover, Brett Favre's jean ad, and an ad you probably wouldn't recognize but we thought the caption was appropriate. We took some other pics, too, but Arthur still has to edit those (along with the ones from NOLA). So be on the lookout for more. But I just couldn't resist the urge to go ahead and post these!!!

Just our luck

2010-07-22T19:28:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, we had a storm come through GH and we experienced a "brown-out." Afterwards, we discovered the computer I had left on didn't work anymore. So, we had to send it to the repair shop and we just got it back today.

Last weekend we took Turner to New Orleans to visit Aunt Lynn. We discovered firsthand what happens when you do too much in one day with a toddler. Children who are over-stimulated, tired, hungry, and completely out of routine have meltdowns. In restaurants. After they've had explosive poopy diapers that leak out where you are sitting in front of other customers. And of course, these bathrooms in restaurants in Mid City don't have changing stations when you have to strip down said toddler with explosive poop!

But wait, it gets better....

So, we come home on Monday to get a call from Dr. G saying that my papsmear a few weeks ago came back abnormal. So, now I'm scheduled for a biopsy next Wed (the 28th) at 11 am in Mobile. Pray that things are going to be OK for me!!!

There's more......

So, then we head to ATL to deliver some photography equipment to a friend of Arthur's. Without thinking, we fed Turner red beans and rice w/sausage Tuesday night for dinner. About 10 mins away from Wesley and Margaret's house, Turner has yet another explosive diaper. And about 10 more in 4 hours time. When we got to our friends' house, we find out their air conditioner froze up that day. We go out for dinner to at least get an hour's worth of cool air, only to have the power go out there and to sit in heat and dark for our meal, with limited choices of what to order. Of course, I didn't sleep much last night, so I'm heading to bed now, but I just thought I would share the adventures of the last week.

HOLD ON....would you believe that just as I finish this, Arthur discovers that our boon frog pod in the bathroom (it holds all of Turner's bath toys) has fallen. It has these special water proof adhesive strips that stick to the tile in the tub and they are no longer sticking. I'm really going to bed now and just praying that things start looking up!!!!!

Needless to say, pics from NOLA will not be up anytime soon. Maybe before school starts back I'll get to them......

Hattiesburg

2010-07-15T09:15:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple of shots from our trip to visit Aunt Noel in Hattiesburg back in June. This weekend we will be heading to New Orleans to visit Aunt Lynn, so we'll have some pics from there soon. We took Turner to the Hattiesburg Zoo and rode the train and the carousel. I used to live blocks away from the Hburg Zoo when I was younger, and we would walk over there all the time, especially to go to the playground. The book mobile also used to stop at Kamper Park several days of the week. They have definitely made some improvements to the zoo since I had been there last and the price was still very reasonable. It was a hot day, though!

Blogger is really starting to aggravate me. I have more problems with uploading photos lately and it's getting annoying. I may end up looking for a new site if I continue to have problems.....

potty training

2010-07-13T08:54:00.003-05:00

I probably shouldn't speak too soon, but Turner has been pottying once a day for the last week now. That's one less diaper a day we're using; now we just need to get diaper free. Sometimes it's just sheer luck that he goes, but other times he really does show signs that he understands what he's supposed to do. He'll move up into a new classroom at school soon, and it will have a potty for them to continue working with him as well. He's also starting to attempt some speech now. If all words related to food, we would be in good shape. He's got "more" down, and this morning I think he said "done". Sometimes you can recognize "milk" and "juice". He'll at least try to say whatever you tell him to repeat now, which is progress. I'm also trying to get rid of the sippy cup. I figure I might as well do it all at once!! Wish me luck, since we have less than a month before school starts back!

Yes We have no bananas

2010-07-03T14:00:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Blogger doesn't like Arthur's pictures anymore for some reason. I'll have to get him to do some editing on them before I can post them. Sorry!

No prize for our entry in the parade today. There were some good ideas out there, though, so we had some competition. Of course I have a million thoughts going through my head of "we should have done this" and "next year we'll have to do that". But I still think we have reason to be proud of the work that we did. Turner's always a winner for me! Arthur's still downtown, so I'll get pics up as soon as he gets home with them. I'll still give an acceptance speech though--Thanks to all of you who commented on facebook to encourage us, cheered us on downtown with all of the "look how cute" comments, and supported us through the blog! It is you who drives us to do our best and continue to enter competitions. Please don't stop showing your love!!! We do greatly appreciate it!

I have a feeling I'm going to end up doing something my parents did years ago for me--I was in a beauty pageant when I was a wee little thing at Easter and of course didn't win. The winner received a little stuffed bunny rabbit. So, my parents went to TG&Y and bought me a stuffed rabbit that I swear was 6 feet tall. If Turner doesn't win something that I think he deserves, one of these days I'll end up going and buying my child a gift that far exceeds whatever the prize was of the day!!!

Turner's in da house!

2010-07-02T20:54:00.003-05:00

Here are some random shots that Arthur took of Turner at the house this week. This evening we removed his car seat from the blazer so that we could load the wagon for the parade tomorrow. Turner apparently enjoyed having a toddler sized seat under the carport, so Art got some shots of him playing in the car seat on the ground. I also got Arthur to take a few pics of our "float" to enter in the parade tomorrow. On facebook I commented that hopefully it would inspire some of you to come out and cheer Turner on, but that hopefully it wouldn't inspire any of you to try to outdo us by noon!! :) I'm sure we'll have more pics to put up after tomorrow with Turner and I dressed up for the parade and strutting our stuff through downtown Tville. So, those of you who won't be making it to the celebration downtown can at least see how it all went. Hopefully I'll be announcing that we brought home a prize with this beauty as well!

at least he knows how to match his shoes to his outfit

2010-06-23T09:30:00.004-05:00

Here's a pic of Turner walking around in my high heeled sandals the other day. Notice he has one sock on!

The parade will be around 11:45 am on Saturday, July 3, naturally during Turner's normal nap time. So, who knows what kind of mood he will be in that day! But we're still planning on putting him in it. It should leave from the Norman's parking lot and head down W. Front St. to Wilson Ave if you're interested in cheering him on.

July 3rd Children's Parade

2010-06-20T14:57:00.003-05:00

While it's on my mind, I just wanted to let you know that we plan on entering Turner in the Children's Parade on July 3 in downtown Thomasville. I don't even know the details yet, but we've already started planning the design for his wagon and ordered a costume. I can't divulge our ideas, since we want a chance at winning a prize, but you know Turner will be cute! So, if you're in the area, or want to plan to be in the area, we would love for you to show your support of our fine fellow as we celebrate the Independence holiday in style!! I'll try to remember closer to the date to tell you times, location, etc. The paper hasn't received any info on the details yet, but as soon as I know something, I'll try to pass it on!

pics from the soda fountain

2010-06-13T13:09:00.004-05:00

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Our friends Kate and Allen Jordan own the Medicine Chest in Grove Hill and inside the pharmacy is a soda fountain. I'm pretty sure that Johnna Bush, another resident of Grove Hill, was the one that painted the mural. I'm sure there's more to tell of the story behind the place, but I'm ashamed to say I don't know any of the history. I just know Turner sure does look cute placing his order and drinking his milkshake at this location! :) When I asked the different flavors we could get and Turner heard banana, you could swear that he yelled out something that sounded like banana. So, needless to say a banana milkshake was what he got!

15 month checkup

2010-06-12T14:29:00.003-05:00

Update: Why does my child always have to be the one of 500 that reacts to vaccinations? He was just ill yesterday but today he started running a fever. His leg was all red and swollen at the injection site yesterday, but it's starting to look better today. Hopefully tomorrow he'll be back to his normal self, so I can send him to daycare while I teach ACT Prep. Fortunately, they're always the mild reactions and not the severe ones, but still, it hurts to see my baby suffer from them.

Of course, Turner's a healthy one. At least he's only at the top of the growth charts now, and not off them anymore. He appears to be at least growing up instead of out now. 33 1/2 inches tall and 29 lbs. Dr. S asked if everyone still thinks he's older than he is. He even said it was because he was a good looking fellow that looked like a young man instead of a baby now. Got some more shots and that was about it for this visit. We took Turner to the Medicine Chest when we got back and treated him to a milkshake at the soda fountain for being such a big boy. Of course, we made it a photo opportunity, so we'll eventually get some of the pics up here.

beach wknd--most of the water came from the sky

2010-06-07T09:01:00.004-05:00

Well, we went to the Perdido Beach Resort this past weekend for Arthur to attend the "newspaper convention". I took Turner to the Foley Railroad Museum Saturday morning while Arthur attended his sessions. We tried swimming in the pool Saturday afternoon in the rain but the lightning strike sent us back to the room. So, we went and had ice cream at Scoops instead. Turner wasn't sure if he liked dad's chocolate ice cream or mom's strawberry, but he seemed to enjoy the cherry smoothie! We also walked around the souvenir shops, where Turner got to be a pirate and ride a dolphin! We caught got caught by a nasty storm when we went out to eat that evening and got soaked getting back to the car. Sunday morning, we headed out to the beach for Turner to play in the sand, even if we weren't allowed to get in the water. Arthur found some tarballs on the beach while we were out there. We got in a little more pool time (and the water before 9 am is quite frigid--let me tell you!) before we had to check out and head back home. Personally not my idea of a great beach weekend, but it was nice being able to take Turner to the gulf coast for the first time. I wish we could afford to take him back again this summer, hopefully when it's not raining and oil isn't pouring in.

memorial day wknd involved lots of water

2010-05-31T21:25:00.003-05:00

Saturday, we headed down to Mobile to help redeem the gift certificate we got Arthur's mom for Christmas. She wanted to take a "cruise" from the 5 Rivers Delta Center, so Aunt Lynn joined us all for a family trip. We saw lots of birds and 3 alligators as we rode along in our covered pontoon boat. And we got to meet Loretta the Opossum at the center. Then it rained most of the day Sunday, so Turner didn't get to try out his crab pool that Aunt Lynn brought to leave at Grandmamma's. Monday, Turner got to go fishing with his Paw-Paw. Sadly enough, Arthur forgot to grab a camera, so we didn't get any pictures of all the fish Turner caught. It felt like we caught something every time we cast Turner's little "Cars" fishing rod. I know it was somewhere between 10-20 that we caught in the hour or so we were out there. We kept throwing them back until we caught a good size bass. Then we ended up keeping 4 good size ones, brim included, and bringing them home to eat for supper. Turner didn't care so much for the fish after he reeled them in. He was definitely more interested in the worms we were using for bait. He enjoyed seeing the fish get cleaned and really enjoyed eating them, though! Arthur did get a couple of pictures from the river cruise, so we'll get some up here as soon as we can. This coming weekend, we'll experience even more water as we enjoy and sand and sun of the beach. Arthur will be attending the newspaper convention, so Turner and I will be hanging out and enjoying ourselves as much as we can. I'm sure I'll have stories to tell after that trip, too! And hopefully have a few pics to share.......

stomach virus round 2

2010-05-21T21:03:00.004-05:00

I had been warned at school that the stomach virus was making another round through CPS. Yesterday afternoon Turner had a really loose stool and I started wondering. Last night he wouldn't eat dinner and this morning he wouldn't eat breakfast. He was whiny and clingy and then when he had another bout of diarrhea early this morning, my suspicions were confirmed. I'll spare you the details, but luckily it was a mild case this time. Let's hope Arthur and I don't catch it again. So, naturally I did not send Turner to daycare today for my last day to myself, and naturally I did not get the things accomplished that I wanted to do today. And of course, it was mine and Arthur's anniversary, and our romantic meal together involved a sick Turner, a mommy dealing with sickness herself in the form of sinus congestion, and a daddy who picked up chicken from Chester's--which we proceeded to eat from paper plates around the coffee table in the den. Oh well.........here's to 2 years of marriage anyway!

Day 2 of the stomach virus--and the vomiting begins!!!! The poor fella is having a REALLY rough day of it today!!! I need to stop saying things are mild too soon, because they get really nasty every time I imagine that it's going to be easy.

Tuesday--I'm probably speaking too soon again to say that it looks like Arthur and I won't catch this round of the virus. Turner is slowly drinking milk again. I was beginning to worry since he had been refusing it (after it was what he threw up!). And his appetite seems to be increasing again. So, hopefully we're over this bit. I need to send him to daycare tomorrow, so who knows what he'll catch next!

creativity runs in the family

2010-05-20T11:26:00.004-05:00

Turner had gotten his clothes dirty eating dinner the other night, so I had stripped him down to just his diaper and didn't put any new clothes on him since it was almost time for a bath. He had been working on a puzzle, so we headed back to the den. There, he decided that it was quite humorous wearing the puzzle box as a hat. When I got Arthur to come in to take pictures of him wearing it, he became quite the "ham" and thought he was "all that" posing for the camera. Hopefully you'll get as many laughs out of it as we did.

battlefield

2010-05-13T21:32:00.004-05:00

Turner has become accident prone all of a sudden. Last week he stepped in an ant bed and got attacked and tripped on the sidewalk and scraped his head all in the same evening. Then he fell in the hotel bathroom in Chattanooga and blackened his eye. Monday, he moved up into the next class at preschool and got bit on the cheek while fighting over a toy. He still has marks on his face from that one. He's decided he wants to try to run instead of walk and he keeps tripping and falling all over the place. Tonight at Old Mexico, he flirted with all these girls at a table behind us, only to embarrass himself by falling on the way out. Then he banged his head on the door while we were leaving!!

We went to Chattanooga last weekend for our first family vacation. Arthur had to take pictures of Richmont's graduation, so we went up a day early to enjoy some time sightseeing together. Arthur took some great pics of Turner on our trip, and hopefully I'll get some up here soon. Friday, we went to the aquarium and the discovery museum. Saturday, while Arthur was working, Turner and I went to the zoo, where we also got to ride the carousel, and then we went to Lake Winnie. I spent some years living in TN as a child and I remember dad's company outings were always held at Lake Winnie. I recall pics taken of dad and me riding the antique cars together that are probably still in the family album. It was so fun getting to take my son to one of the places that I have fond memories of as a child. Turner got to ride kiddie rides for the first time in his life, and he loved every minute of it. I shot some video of him riding in the jeep and the ladybug and the boat.......The park actually looked a lot like it did 25 years ago! Turner did really well, until about the last 2 hours of the ride home when he fought sleep. I was nervous about taking him on a trip like that, but he made me feel better about taking him somewhere else now. Which is a good thing, since I finish school next week and we'll have some free time this summer for other excursions.

just a couple

2010-04-29T21:26:00.002-05:00

Sorry. I know it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. And I don't have much to give you right now either, but I figured I had better do something!!! Thanks to everyone who sent bday greetings online, or mailed cards, called on the phone, and even sent gifts! Thanks for making my day special!!!

easter at Grandmamma McLeans

2010-04-07T22:15:00.003-05:00

A little taste of Arthur humor here. They may be out of order from his original set.

Just a hard working azalea farmer and proud American.

Hi folks! Turner McLean here.....

Each one is inspected for its utmost quality....

If you have to ask the price....................

Azaleas so large they make this grown man look like a one year old!

Would you buy used azaleas from this man?

Easter portrait session

2010-04-01T22:13:00.005-05:00

Arthur said it best in his column this week.....
Spring’s here and a young man’s fancy lightly turns to, well, Turner can be quite the flirt with the ladies no matter the weather, so that’s not it.
No, in the spring my little man’s thoughts have turned to the great outdoors. With warm weather and blooming plants and trees, Turner’s turned into an outdoorsman. The first door he managed to open on his own was the door out. So far, he hasn’t been able to duplicate that feat, but it’s not for lack of trying, that’s for sure.
And once the boy’s outside, he sure doesn’t want to come in. I think I was a little surprised he’s taken to the outdoors as much as he has. The first time he ever felt grass on his hands he acted like it was cruel and unusual punishment. Well, he got over it pretty quickly it seems.
I’m glad for it too. I’d much rather him want to spend time outdoors than cooped up inside all the time. Is it too much to hope for that this lasts well into his teenage years when he forsakes the charms of video games for the great outdoors? Probably, but you never know. As amazing as some of these video games are now, I can’t imagine what they’ll be like in 15 years. I don’t even remember what kinds of video games they had 15 years ago. Donkey Kong Country 2 was put out that year. I don’t think I have to tell you there’s a pretty big difference between that and Call of Duty 12 or whatever it is.
Well, while his love of the great outdoors is great, it does cause problems from time to time. Take this weekend for instance. Mommy and Daddy wanted to just take a nice family Easter portrait in the studio. Turner had other ideas, including letting everyone on Front Street know that he was not at all happy about having his picture made in the studio. We did get a couple of pictures in between the fits, but Mommy, Daddy and Turner don’t appear in the same photo this year because we didn’t have the luxury of setting the camera up on a tripod and using the timer. You had to get your shots fast.
What was Turner’s idea of a good Easter shoot was strolling around downtown Thomasville in his Easter best swinging his Easter basket while Daddy dashed around like a paparazzi shooting his picture. Unlike Turner, we thought those shots looked more like a fashion shoot. But what are you gonna do?
I guess the fashion shoot idea’s not a bad one. Maybe Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger or one of those needs a toddler supermodel. I think Bridgett and I could help him handle all the fame and fortune. Just have to make sure all the shoots are outside.

Stop! Fever Time!

2010-03-14T12:20:00.004-05:00

Second Update--I spent the money and took the time to take Turner to Dr. S this morning. Only for him to have no idea why my child has been sick for the last 3 days. Probably a viral infection. Ears looked good. Lungs sounded good. Nothing we can give him. Just continue to keep an eye on him. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad Turner's ok, but it's just frustrating not knowing what was wrong to begin with!

Update--I spoke too soon. His fever has returned and now I can't find a sub for school tomorrow!

When I went to pick Turner up from daycare after school Friday, they had just taken his temperature and it was 101.5. They said he had been clingy and fussy for most of the day. That's pretty much the way he's been all weekend, too. His temperature would stay down as long as he had medicine in him, and the fever now finally seems to be gone. I don't know if it was just a viral infection or the start of another sinus/ear infection. I'll keep an eye on him today and decide whether or not we need to call the doctor's office in the morning. Sorry that I missed the Big River reunion concert last night, but lack of sleep and a needy child kept me at home.

Pretend mowing is serious business

2010-03-08T22:39:00.004-06:00

Arthur here. Bridgett just thought she had the lightest case of the virus this morning. It caught up to her later in the day. I'm still feeling the effects too, so I'm only posting up one of our cute pics right now. But more are coming. As always, you can click on any of the photos here to make them bigger and get a good look at Turner's expression. I only hope he's this jazzed about pushing around a real lawnmower when the time comes.

Our first family stomach virus

2010-03-08T08:33:00.003-06:00

Not all things are meant to be shared---like a stomach virus. Turner had a bad poop at school Friday morning that required his clothes being changed and left him a bit of a diaper rash, but I didn't think anything about it. He was fussy Friday evening, not hungry, and fell asleep early, but the warning alarms still didn't go off. I went to bed around 9:30 pm and at 10:30 while Arthur was on the computer, he heard Turner make a noise and start crying, so he headed down to soothe him. There he found a crib full of puke. So, they come get me and we get him cleaned up. Arthur holds him to get him back to sleep and there he goes again! After the third time in 30 minutes, I call the doctor's office. I know--new mom--but he had just had shots Wednesday and I needed reassuring that he wasn't having some adverse reaction to the vaccinations. The nurse said there had been a really nasty stomach virus going on and that she suspected we picked it up at the office. Give him some Pedialyte and make sure he doesn't get dehydrated and we should be fine! Easy enough when you live in the big city with 24 hour stores open. Not so easy when you live in rural Clarke County and nothing will open back up til 7 am. Turner finally went back to sleep around 12:30 and we headed to Greer's as soon as they would answer the phone. We waited around all morning to see how he was doing. Seemed to be fine, so we decided to head on to Mobile for his McLean family bday party. He did ok during the day--a couple of stinky poops but he didn't seem to be complaining. Then comes Sat night---Arthur gets the virus and does not fare as well as ole Turner did. Then it was my turn last night with the mildest case so far. But I'm still at home and not working today for my trips to the bathroom. I just hope the rest of the McLeans didn't get it from us. Once we all get back to normal, I'm sure Arthur will have some pics from the party Sat to show you. But trust me on this one, do everything you can to avoid getting this virus--it is a nasty one!

1 year wellness checkup and shots

2010-03-04T21:48:00.002-06:00

Took Turner to the doc for his 1 year visit yesterday. He was 32 inches long and almost 29 pounds. Still off the growth charts and we got the comments of "he looks a lot older than he is!" His ears looked good, so we're still safe for now. We're going to finish off the can of formula that we have and start the transition to whole milk in a sippie cup. Doc says since he's already on a milk-based formula that we shouldn't see any allergies/problems. Turner walked for the doc and seems to be meeting all his milestones at this time. Got his MMR, chickenpox, and Hep A shots. He was fussy yesterday after we got home, but he seemed to be ok today.

Tuesday, we sent cupcakes to school. Turner, Jackson, and Bo enjoyed them for snack. The ladies who work at the daycare took a couple of pics for us (since I was out of town with scholars bowl for the day and Arthur was working on a paper). The other boys seemed to enjoy their treat, but Turner was rather expressionless. I guess he wasn't quite sure what was going on! Then, Arthur and I let him have a small cake at home after dinner and presents that night. Those are the pics that got posted on here. He seemed to enjoy himself a little more that evening. We'll see how he does Saturday with Arthur's family. We've gotten several cute videos lately, but who knows if they'll ever make it on here. At least enjoy the pics of the fella's first bday!

Happy Birthday to Turner

2010-03-02T23:31:00.004-06:00

More pictures of Turner's birthday at the house with momma and daddy.

He turned one year old on Tuesday. More pics will come soon. Promise.

Frankenstein is on the loose

2010-02-25T20:55:00.002-06:00

Turner's got the walking thing down now, although he's pretty funny looking doing it. His teachers say he walks better than the rest of the bunch, and he's the youngest one of the group that should be doing it. But it's amazing how much his balance has improved, even in a week. So, hopefully he won't look like Frankenstein much longer. Arthur says sometimes he looks like a sailor on shore leave. He wrote his column about it this week, so you'll have to check out the Tville Times. Tuesday will be the big day--NUMERO UNO! We plan on sending cupcakes to school that day for he and his friends to enjoy at snack. We'll have something small for him to dig into here at the house so that we can take pictures and capture it on video for all of you to see. Both of Arthur's sisters will be in Mobile the weekend after his bday, so we'll head down there then for a mini-celebration. Arthur's mom still has the ceramic candle holder (and candle!!!) from Arthur's first bday, so she plans on putting it on a small cake for Turner. And of course there will be some presents involved in the next week or so. Hard to believe it's already been a year! Next Wednesday, we'll go to Dr. Shearer for shots and his wellness check-up. Next up, getting rid of the bottle and formula!!! fun, fun......

And the winner is......

2010-02-17T20:58:00.002-06:00

Just to brag a little........This afternoon when I came into the daycare I noticed signs posted everywhere announcing the winners of the Mardi Gras floats in the parade Monday. And the poster read: Overall Winner--Josie Gilchrist (who I might mention was ADORABLE with her little shopping cart filled with throws that she personally hand delivered to EVERYONE --not to mention the fact that it was topped with an umbrella!!) Girl Winner--Lizzie Reed (who was styling in a feather hat that she managed to keep on) and Boy Winner--(drumroll please...) TURNER MCLEAN!!!!! Yeah!!! All of our hard work did pay off! :) His first Mardi Gras event and we came out a winner! doot-dooda-doo!!

Turner Walks!

2010-02-16T23:31:00.009-06:00

Second update: Okay, it seems to be working again. Hope you can see it now.

Update: Sorry folks! Seems like Blogger's having trouble with the video. It worked last night when I uploaded it, but now it doesn't work. I don't have the video with me, so we'll have to wait until this evening and try it again.

Bridgett was the first to witness Turner doing more than stumble a couple of steps to the next handhold. He really walked Monday night and she called me about it while I was away covering the city council meeting. The video camera was in my camera bag, and thus, no video of the blessed event. So to make up for it, here he is on Mardi Gras, showing off his new skill.

Happy Mardi Gras!

2010-02-15T23:40:00.004-06:00

We decorated Turner's wagon for the Mardi Gras parade at the daycare/preschool today. Turner seemed to enjoy himself. Except for the part at the end when he didn't get his cup filled with beads.

P.S. --Arthur did a great job of getting these posted quickly, but let me expound a bit....You'll notice the parade ended up being in the hall at the daycare because it was a little too cold outside for toddlers to be parading! Also, poor Turner was taking a nap when it was time for the parade to start, so we woke him up for it. So, if he looks a little dazed and confused, that might be the reason! We had "rehearsed" the night before and Turner was doing such a good job of throwing beads around the house, but either sleep deprivation or too much excitement/too many things to watch kept him from throwing any the day of. You'll also notice that his hat ended up being a fixture in the wagon since he wouldn't keep it on his head that morning. Arthur, being the proud papa and not the newspaper reporter for this event, didn't get any pictures of the other "floats" in the parade. Everyone did a great job, and I can tell you from personal experience, we spent about 8 hours decorating it for 10 minutes of fame and then it took me about an hour to un-decorate it so it could be used as a little red wagon again.

Snow Day!

2010-02-12T22:52:00.004-06:00

It snowed today in Clarke County with Grove Hill getting about 4 or 5 inches. Of course, this was the first snow since Turner was born, so we introduced him to it. He wasn't too sure what to think about it.
Well, I wanted to get the pictures up before the snow melted. I'm sure Bridgett will get on here later and fill in all the details I've left out.

UPDATE---Everyone keeps asking me if Turner is walking now after looking at these pictures. (He's doing such a good job of standing up by himself in them, isn't he?) Well, last night he walked halfway across the den by himself TWICE. He had been taking 2-3 steps here and there, but last night was the first time I've seen him really manage himself for several steps and with balance (without looking like he was trying to run to get to the next piece of furniture to hold on to). He strode across that room like "I know what I'm doing. I'll get there without falling down or holding on to anything!" So, maybe by his first bday he'll be walking on a regular basis!

Mardi Gras Parade

2010-02-10T07:41:00.002-06:00

If you're near Clarke Prep Monday (President's Day) around 10:15 am, stop by and watch Turner debut in his first parade! The Daycare is having a Mardi Gras Bike Parade around the school parking lot and Turner will be throwing beads from his little red wagon. I'm hoping Arthur will be able to sneak away from the office and get some pictures if you can't join us for the fun!

shuttle launch

2010-02-04T21:29:00.002-06:00

Arthur leaves tomorrow to go watch the shuttle launch this weekend. Turner and I will be staying home and not making this trip. 12-4 am on Sunday morning just doesn't seem like a good fit for an 11 month old to witness the astronauts heading up to space. But Arthur deserved a good bday present for number 37, and luckily Aunt Lynn knows the right people. So, pray for me this weekend as I spend 4 days alone dealing with master Turner. I'll probably be tired and ill from flying solo myself for so long of a time period. If you're bored in the next few days, come visit us and take him off my hands for a few minutes! :) Be sure to ask Art about his fabulous time in FL when he gets back!

Turner loves basketball

2010-01-30T20:38:00.003-06:00

Unlike Judy Garland's character in "Meet Me in St Louis" (I hate basketball!!), Turner seemed to enjoy the game today. We ended up having to take him with us to shoot the city league basketball teams today and he was such a good boy! He just watched those boys run up and down the court and would try to look around people who stood in his way! And since Arthur had his camera out most of the day, he did end up getting a few shots of the 'ole boy, so hopefully I'll have something to post on here soon. So, keep checking...I promise to give you some goods soon enough!! :)

UPDATE -

Here's the pictures. Just under the wire for the month of January.

Yes we have no pictures

2010-01-28T21:12:00.003-06:00

Sorry folks, but we haven't taken any pictures this month to upload to the blog. Between bathroom renovations and ear infections, who has time to capture the precious moments with a child? My bathroom was cleared out around New Year's and as of today, Jan 28 it still has not been put back together. A project that was only supposed to take a couple of days is now almost a month in, and with our busy schedules, who knows when I'll get back in it! And of course, Turner had to go and get his third ear infection in 3 months time (the 4th in 6 months), so we've been dealing with an unhappy camper again in the sick dept. This past month has been a high stress one for me and I'm just about at wit's end. I don't even need to start venting on here about all of my problems!!! But all of that is to ask for your forgiveness and patience and to bear with us and eventually we'll post pics of our cutie again. It seems like every piece of mail I've been getting recently is about planning a first birthday party!! Can you believe it? My baby is almost a year old!!! Time really does fly, and we really do need to take advantage of every opportunity we have to preserve those memories!

Uncle James

2010-01-04T20:51:00.003-06:00

My brother (that we haven't seen in 3 years) was home this year for Christmas. We took some pictures of him and Turner the first week he was here, but James broke the camera. Well, actually an error happened to the memory card that Arthur was using to take the pictures and for the first time in our history, Arthur couldn't recover the images. So, we had to try again this weekend to take more pics since he leaves tomorrow to go back to Alaska and it may be another 3 years before we see him again.

Baby's 1st Christmas

2009-12-29T21:27:00.004-06:00

such a camera hog!!

filling the coffee table with presents from the aunts and grandmamma

McLean family shot

testing out the new puppy dog hat from aunt Noel

there were a few gifts from mom and dad

he always enjoys a good book

overwhelmed by all the gifts that kept coming and coming

with his great aunt Sandy

with his great aunt Carolyn (Charlie) and Uncle James

testing out the new wagon

There are literally hundreds of pictures documenting Turner's first Christmas, and you know me, I had a hard time just picking out a few to upload. But here's a random sampling from Christmas Eve with the Shewmakes, to Christmas morning with mom and dad, to Christmas day with the McLeans.

Bathtime before

2009-12-27T21:21:00.002-06:00

Arthur took this picture of Turner in the bathtub days before Christmas, so we'll have to call this the "before" shot. Arthur and I bulked up Turner's supply of bath time play things for Christmas, so he'll need to take an "after" shot now for you to see the new toys. We tried to get him new towels since he's pretty much outgrown most of his infant towels. Our order placed through Sears had to be refunded because they lied and really were out of stock of the $5 bargains. His bear hooded towel is the perfect size for him right now, but most of the ones we've found like it are outside of our price range for towels. I found instructions on how to make hooded towels yourself but I guess I'd need to learn how to sew! :) Let me know if you have suggestions on what to do during the in between stage--too big for infant towels but not ready for grown up ones! I'm sure Arthur will be getting some pictures up from Christmas on here real soon! Turner got plenty of great gifts from friends and family and is loving them all!

Santa Claus meets Turner

2009-12-23T23:36:00.002-06:00

Turner was sick with a high fever the night of the Downtown Stroll, so we were pretty disappointed we couldn't get a photo of him with the Santa we had at the photography studio that night. But we happened to find out that Santa would be at the D'Andrea's house Wednesday night, so we loaded Turner up and headed on over.

Turner wasn't too sure about Santa to begin with, but he warmed up after a few minutes.

Rudolph sighting---at 120 Second Ave

2009-12-14T21:56:00.003-06:00

Tried to get some pics of Turner in his Christmas pajamas with his very own reindeer tree. It's hard to keep him still these days for photos. About 2oo shots are blurred or of his backside and about 3 of them turned out well enough to use. He'll be embarrassed one day that I put antlers on his head and painted his nose red, but I thought it was hilarious and took advantage of being able to get away with it while he's still too young to protest! :)

more christmas/fall

2009-12-07T21:33:00.003-06:00

Turner's first Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T23:22:00.005-06:00

Hubby here. We've got a lot of Turner pics from the studio and in the yard for fall yet to put up, but I thought I'd post some pics from Turner's first Thanksgiving with Bridgett's family and mine before we get to Christmas.

With my mother "grandmother" and his Aunt Lynn.

With Bridgett's mother "Nanna".
Stop: Bottle Time.
PawPaw Warren.

christmas shoot/fall pics

2009-11-30T21:09:00.002-06:00

Just a few pics that we took last week during Thanksgiving break...Arthur still needs to edit for me to be able to show you more. Don't worry; we didn't use all of our ideas yet. We needed to save some for other outfits! :) I probably should be giving some details of Turner's first holiday feast, but you know I'm too tired after being back at school today to begin.......

Poor, Poor Turner

2009-11-19T21:44:00.002-06:00

Turner started running a fever today, so I went ahead and took him back to the pediatrician's office (since we've never gotten over the illnesses from the last month!). His ears actually looked better but they did some bloodwork and decided he has a viral infection. Nothing we can do about it except wait a few days with the hopes that it will go away. He actually didn't have an appetite today, so we knew there was something wrong with the boy! And he has slept so much today that it's scary thinking about how little he'll sleep tonight!!! I don't have to take him back for a 9 month check up now, since we've been in the doctor's office twice in the last two weeks. So, we'll go back for a 1 yr wellness visit, or more likely---the next sick visit will come first!! He's smiled through the other sicknesses, but today he was not a happy camper and you could tell he did not feel good for once. It breaks your heart (or at least it does mine) to see him hurting so much......

pooping in the bathtub (sung to the tune of smokin in the boys room)

2009-11-18T21:20:00.003-06:00

Well, I finally had to face my fear Sunday night. I knew it would happen some day, but I still wasn't prepared for it. Arthur and I had joked about it many times but there's nothing you can do to get ready for the big moment. We even laughed while he was making bubbles in the tub, while unbeknownst to us, there was more than just pooting going on down there! Arthur didn't believe me at first when I said "I think the water's getting murky." After a few more swishes of the washcloth across Turner's body, he commented, "Um, I think you're right. The water does look murky!" So, I yank Turner up out of the tub and sure enough, there's a brown log hanging out in the bottom of the water there. I grab the towel and head to Turner's room to clean him up while I yell to Arthur--"You have to be the one to clean up that mess!" Not a job anyone wants to be responsible for, mind you. We may laugh about it one day, but we've been pretty nervous the last few nights every time we put Turner in the tub. Just one little grunt and we're jerking him up saying "No pooping in the bathtub!!!"

Developmental stages

2009-11-14T13:36:00.002-06:00

Turner's development is accelerated when it comes to some areas. For example, he's smart enough to figure out how to climb on stuff already. My mom has an empty plastic tub that used to hold wipes that now holds rattles and other toys Turner plays with. The boy dumped out the toys, pushed the tub to the couch, and stood up on it in order to climb up on the couch. He's already letting go after he pulls himself up to stand and taking a step before he loses his balance and falls. I firmly believe he's going to be an early walker. But then there are areas where his developmental milestones seem delayed. He took forever to finally roll over. And he's taking forever now to learn to use a sippy cup!!! I think I've already given up on him ever holding his own bottle. Just goes to show you that every child is different and that they don't all fit the mold of "they should be able to do this by such and such time". I don't know how to teach him that he doesn't have superhuman powers though. You're watching him and think there's no way he'll get hurt doing this and BAM! he's done something crazy and now has a bump on his head. My mom thought it was just me last weekend, but after he got hurt twice this week at her house, she realized it wasn't just me not paying attention. Arthur is threatening to buy him a helmet to wear.....

halloween day

2009-11-12T21:39:00.003-06:00

These were just some random shots Arthur took during the day on Halloween. Nothing fancy. Nobody's dressed up--we didn't have any themes or concepts for a shoot. Just normal ole picture taking by a proud daddy, with a normal ole mom trying to avoid the camera!! :)

Turner's Christmas Wish List

2009-11-05T21:06:00.003-06:00

Well, if you ask Turner right now what he wants for Christmas, you probably won't be able to figure out what he's talking about. But since people are already asking Arthur and I for ideas on what to get him, we decided we would make a list for what we think he would like. And the easiest way to share this list with those interested is through the internet, so all of you can browse if you would like or skip over this if you're just waiting for the next set of cute pics to show up on here.

Turner's Christmas Wish List (As Mommy Sees It)

(My parents say I’m doing this just because I hate surprises and have always wanted to know what my Christmas presents were ahead of time, but if you get something for Turner, it would be great if you would let us know what you got, so we can make sure he doesn’t get duplicates of items.)

Bounce and Spin Pony (the most expensive item on the list, so I’ll put it first—this is the one that can connect to the TV to teach him letters/numbers/etc and is around $80)

Bat and Wobble Penguin (he loves to hit stuff and I think he’ll get a kick out of this coming back to him for another hit) (around $20)

Any Learn and Groove products, particularly the alphabet drum or the counting maracas (around $20 for most items) (Someone’s already taken care of getting Scout for him, so he doesn’t need the puppy anymore)

Since Arthur’s a photographer, I think it would be neat if Turner had one of the little play learning cameras (like Vtech’s Light up Learning Camera, or Fisher price’s Fun 2 Imagine Pocket Camera—not a real digital camera, just one that teaches something when you press the buttons—probably in the $10-20 range)

Turner’s about to outgrow his infant tub, so he’ll need more bath toys when he graduates to the big tub—for example, I really want the letters that are made to stick to the side of the tub. He’ll also need a container to put some bath toys in—such as the Boon Frog pod. ($5-35)

He loves to play with remote controls. I saw a toy one the other day that played songs and said letters/numbers that would probably be great for him to play with (instead of the one that goes to our TV). (around $10)

If he’s going to continue to get sick and have dry skin problems, then I guess we need to invest in a humidifier. We had looked at one before but had never gotten it because we had not needed it yet. The Crane humidifier that comes in different animal shapes is the one we liked best. They have penguins, and elephants, and all kinds of fun designs to choose from. Plus, it’s filter free so we don’t have to spend lots of money replacing filters every few weeks. (around $30 at Target)

We also need a new monitor. Ours has developed way too much interference. We have checked out the new Vtech Crystal Sounds DECT 6.0 and are interested in it. (only around $40 at WalMart)

Soon we will need safety products to childproof the house. For example, outlet covers, cabinet locks, drawer latches, etc. They even make toilet and TV locks now! ($2-30)

(I know some of these products are not necessarily for Turner’s enjoyment, but they are things that we could use that relate to him!!! You can give those as gifts to Arthur and I if you’d rather not put Turner’s name on them!!! )

If you interested in clothing, he’s still hanging in there for 18 month sizes right now. He’s really slowed down on the weight gain, so I’m hoping we’ll stay in this size at least through the cold months.

And of course, you are more than welcome to get anything that’s not on the list. I am all about any educational toy they make, and Turner can learn from and play with anything you give him. I was just trying to give people a few ideas of things I think he might be interested in at this time. I can’t wait to see how he reacts to everything that goes on during the holiday season as he celebrates his first Christmas!!

MADSTU

2009-11-04T17:25:00.002-06:00

Mothers Against Daylight Savings Time Unite!!!!! It's never been that difficult for me to adjust the two times a year when we move the clocks, but now that I am a mother, I have a totally different opinion on the whole ordeal! Turner finally seems adjusted, but that first day or two was rough---just let me tell you!!! So, I have decided that all mothers with small children should join forces and boycott Daylight Savings Time so that it will be much easier on our babies. If you're interested in joining the cause, just let me know :)

So, for those of you who didn't know, Turner ran a fever for a day or two and had a runny nose the weekend after we conveniently had him in daycare for one day and out socializing in the night air for two nights. (But this was also after I had been fighting a running nose during the week! and of course Arthur caught it too last week) You get so many different opinions on parenting your child--through books and people--til you don't know what is the best course to take. So, the path I chose was to wait and not run to the doctor at the first sign of a snotty nose. Well, after 9 days of him battling it off and on still, I decided to call the pediatrician's office to see what they recommended. The nurse who called back didn't even know if I needed to bring him in or not!!!! But since we were due for his second flu shot anyway, I went ahead and made an appt--if he was too sick for a flu shot then we at least got meds to get him well and if he wasn't sick, then we got his shot! Turns out we got both visits accomplished. He has an ear infection in both ears and a mild case of eczema, plus he was well enough to get his flu shot. So, he's on antibiotics for 10 days to clear everything up and we'll be greasing him up with Eucerin lotion to see if we can clear up his dry skin patches. We'll see if we try daycare again next week! ;)

Ladies Man

2009-10-31T21:33:00.002-05:00

Hubby here with a quick pic of our ladies man. Took Turner out in the neighborhood "Trick or Treating" but really just showing him off in his bear costume to our friends in the neighborhood and visiting a bit. He didn't really know what to think of the whole deal and was ready to get back home after a while. But he draws a crowd whenever he's out. What can I say? The girls love him.

just monkeying around

2009-10-22T21:46:00.005-05:00

Turner's Aunt Noel just couldn't resist this swim "set", and since she got an employee discount on it after it was marked down for clearance, even if he can't wear it next summer we at least got some cute pics out of it to make it worth her cost. So here's the chunky monkey goin bananas in his stylin swim trunks and wetsuit shirt (with some pimpin' shades to boot) chillin in da crib!!! :)

can you "bear" seeing some more pics?

2009-10-15T21:19:00.005-05:00

Again, let me remind you, that before you turn me in to DHR, we really were not feeding our child honey!! But he does look like he got caught red-handed a couple of times with his hand in the honey jar!! So, here are at least a couple more of the ideas we tried out during our photo shoot--to help our little bear fit into his environment. Enjoy!!!

have a beary happy halloween

2009-10-11T20:47:00.003-05:00

Here's just a teaser of some of the photos that Arthur shot Saturday with Turner in his Halloween costume. Since he's dressed as a bear, we thought a location shoot at my parents' house would be the best bet--since they live in the woods! :) But before you turn us in to DHR, know that I really was holding on to him while he was sitting in the bird bath. The wonders of photoshop allowed Arthur to get rid of my arm! There are a thousand more precious pictures to upload once Arthur gets done with the editing, but I just couldn't wait and had to go ahead and put a few up here today! You're just going to love them all--especially the ones with the honey!!!

Sweet triptych

2009-10-08T22:08:00.003-05:00

This is as sweet as it gets, I think. You can click it to make it bigger.

Turner goes to Fall Festival

2009-10-05T22:40:00.003-05:00

Hubby here: Turner went to the "Fall Festival" in Fulton Saturday. It's really a "singing" and fund-raiser for the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department. The first time I'd ever heard singing used as a noun was in rural Georgia, and it still sounds strange to me, but that's beside the point. Bridgett's been a fixture as a singer there since forever. But enough about us, on to the pictures.

This is Anne, one of my employees at the paper visiting wit Turner.

His great Aunt Sandra tries to feed Turner some divinity.

Not happy about not being fed.

Turner's figuring things out

2009-09-22T20:50:00.002-05:00

Hubby/Daddy here. Everybody brags about how smart their babies are, yada yada yada. And I'm going to do it too. He's figured out how to get around in his high chair, and it looks like he understands what we're saying in this video. So, yeah, he's a smart one.

6 month wellness checkup

2009-09-19T20:30:00.002-05:00

Went to see Dr. Shearer for the 6 month visit and shots. Turner weighed 23 lbs and 10 oz and was 28" long. Growth levels still at the top of the charts, but the weight one seemed this time to be going up at a faster rate than the length and head circumference. The doc again commented on Turner's strength and said we needed to enter him in a baby weight lifting competition. Dr. S got to see Turner's true colors this go round. Turner pitched a fit like you wouldn't believe almost the whole time the doctor was examining him. Turner got 4 shots plus an oral vaccine from Mrs. Julie this time. The flu shot was included in this round, but we'll still have to go back in a month and get a second dose of the flu shot. We told Dr. S that we had already had a bout of the swine flu. He said he had seen a lot of cases come in his office already but he didn't think he had treated one as young as Turner, so he was glad he fared well through the whole ordeal. The doc was in a big hurry to get out and when we saw how crowded the waiting room was on our way out, we understood why. So, we didn't bother to make any comments when Dr. S said in about a month or so when Turner starts "eye-ing" our food that we could give him mashed potatoes or other table food. (Turner's been "eye-ing" our food for months now and been eating mashed potatoes, bread, peas and other table food already!!!) We discussed the fact that Turner still doesn't sleep "through" the night most nights and the doc's recommendation was THROW AWAY THE PACIFIER that he sleeps with (since that's all he's wanting when he wakes up). Easier said than done!!!! I really have attempted to wean him off of it the last 24 hours, but it's so hard when he doesn't feel well already from all the nasty medicine he had to take yesterday. I thought it was a good thing that Turner really doesn't crave a pacifier all that much, but apparently he took to liking it at completely the wrong time!!! We've tried to get him to taking to a sippy cup, but he throws 30 minute long temper tantrums when you make that attempt. I anticipate lots of meltdowns in the next few years when Turner doesn't get his way. Luckily, we still have time to hold off on the sippy cup. So much for the experts saying it's easier when you try it on them when they're this young. Someone asked me the other day if we had anyone that gave us "hand-me-downs". I laughed and said "We did until Turner passed them up in size!!" Right now we're stocking up in 18 month size winter clothes. Well, I think that's the low down on this last doctor visit. Maybe we'll have more cute pics and videos to show you soon!

Rockin' the fauxhawk

2009-09-14T21:52:00.003-05:00

We decided to give Turner a new 'do about a week ago, but I never let Bridgett know the pics were ready. We just grabbed a couple right after his bath.

(Yes, I realize my blog has been taken hostage by my husband!!! He at least has permission--and access--to do it. I figure you can't complain since you're at least continuing to get updates on the little man. My time is a little more limited now and I don't mind this becoming the family posting site!!! But I just wanted you to know that I am still alive and I'm not being held against my will!!! haha I'll try my best to contribute at times as well.)

Turner on the Issues

2009-09-10T16:18:00.004-05:00

In these troubled times, we need a voice that we can all count on to cut through the noise, someone who can bring clarity to the important issues of the day. Now, more than ever, we need someone with wisdom, common sense and fortitude to say what needs to be said. Ladies and Gentlemen, I humbly submit that that someone is Turner McLean...