another year bites the dust

I was just finally getting used to being twenty-six. And now, in the blink of an eye, I've become twenty-seven. Yuck.

However, on this my special day, I've chosen not to focus on impending wrinkles and sporadic grey hairs. Instead I will focus on the joy that is spending my birthday with my beautiful baby boy.

He has been--

A little bit surly.

A little bit sweet.

And very focused on having clean hands.

Side note: I thought it would be a fabulous birthday present if Reese would finally say "Mama" on my birthday. You know last year he rolled over for the first time on my birthday. Oddly though, every time I tell him to "say Mama" he laughs and then licks my face. Yes. You read that correctly. Go on, re-read it. He licks my face. It's a wee bit gross, but also wildly entertaining.

until next year

Whew! My parents cleared out yesterday and after a few errands Lofton and I put an exhausted Boo Boo down for a nap and then started clearing out Christmas.

It's amazing how quickly it all comes down. The tree is gone, the mantles are bare, now we just have to figure out what to do with all these new toys.

Santa was way too generous with Reese this year. Evidently he was a very good boy. He got a basketball goal, talking remote, puzzles, a sleeping bag, two new pairs of kicks, clothes, and more. First on my list for this week is clearing out his "baby" toys to make room for all these new toys.

It's hard to believe this was actually Reese's 2nd Christmas. He was so much more interactive this year. Watching him tear open gifts and pull out tissue paper cracked us up. He definetly preferred the opening of the gifts to the actual gifts themselves!

merry christmas

merry crud-mas

Our pink eye has progressed into a double ear infection. I love how our illnesses are perfectly tied to major holidays. Our last ear infection was around Turkey Day. It makes trying to get in to see the doctor and fighting traffic to get Reese's antibiotic filled all the more enjoyable.

I'm hopeful that when Santa delivers the cotton swabs and solo cups he takes all this snot and phlegm back to the North Pole.

amended letter to santa

Is it too late to get a new letter to the big guy at the North Pole? I hope not. Reese has revised his letter--

Dear Santa,

Forget the toys this year. I don't need a basketball goal or a sleeping bag. No books or puzzles are necessary. Scratch the new shoes and comfy pj's from my list. What I really want this year are:

Q-tips-- you know the one's mama has picked up off the floor at least twenty times in the last two days? Man I love those. You can chew on them, stick them in the air vents, and hide them all over the house.

Solo cups-- My mama likes to keep them stacked in the cabinet next to the dishwasher. She likes them all neatly put in the right place. I, however, could care less. Yesterday I hid a few in the Christmas tree.

Shoes-- Not my own though, shoes that belong to my mom and dad. That way, when they are in a hurry to get out the door they can only find one of each pair of shoes.

Thanks Santa. Give Rudolph a big smooch for me!

Love, Reese

{p.s. I'm going to try super hard not to eat all your cookies!}

pink eye and french fries

Yesterday's anniversary came and went in the blink of an eye. I think that's what happens when you have children.

I had been up most of Wednesday night with either a small virus or a touch of food poisoning, and Reese woke up with a goopy eye and a green nose. Fabulous.

When Lofton got off work last night and we ran Reese to the after hours pediatric clinic. Diagnosis confirmed-- we have pink eye.

After a quick trip to the pharmacy we stopped by Wendy's for a romantic dinner for two. Drive through style.

Yummy. There's nothing like a double stack with cheese, mustard and ketchup plus a small fry. I love it.

We are going to try for the real thing tonight. Reese is still not quite up to par, but sweet Holland is going to give it ago. We'll just be across the railroad tracks in downtown Opelika, so we can quickly scoot home if things start to go sour.

Christmas tomorrow in LaGrange should make for some interesting photo ops. Cousin Brenan has a rash from his bought with roseolla and Reese will, of course, have his swollen leaky eyes. Stayed tuned for that Kodak moment. It should be a classic.

four years

Four years ago today I married my best friend. He is the most amazing man.

We have accomplished many things in our four years together. College graduation, home ownership, careers-- but the best accomplishment of all is that sweet angel {i use that term loosely} who reminds me so much of us.

Reese is the best and worst part of both of us and I love it. It still amazes me to think that he is a part of us-- a living, breathing reminder of our marriage and our love for each other.




I can't wait to see what our life together develops into. These past four years have been such a wonderful gift.

sassy pants

My child now has a new name-- sassy pants. He owns it proudly.

Thursday was a day. It began with a screaming fit over wearing a jacket to school and ended with some WWE moves on the changing table. Neither instance worked out well for him.

Alas, sassy pants was not deterred. Yesterday afternoon I was picking up around the house while he was pretending to play with his toys. Things got eerily quiet so I tiptoed into the living room to survey the damage. I found one of my poinsettias shredded into a million pieces and my fourteen month old standing on the couch. STANDING, y'all! He had moved his chair up against the couch and used it as a stool to help him climb.

When he saw me looking at him he laughed at me.

I'm in for it. And although I jokingly tell people he gets his attitude from his Daddy, I know in my heart that isn't true. I own my sassy pant's name, as well. Wear it like a badge of honor. I am strong willed and stubborn, and I tend to use those things to my advantage. If God is into karmic retribution, than Reese is mine.

He is a dash of Lofton's curiosity and wide open recklessness mixed with my nasty attitude.

Fabulous. Pray for us will you?

music to my ears

Not only does he crack me up--

But he also cracks himself up. There is nothing in the world better than the sound of this child's laughter.

Nothing better at all.

hodgepodge

A few thoughts that don't really deserve their own blog posts--



1. Tis the time of the year for a few of my favorite things. Christmas lights twinkling at night, roomy long sleeved t-shirts, and snuggly babies in footie pajamas. I am especially fond of the last item on my list. Reese in soft warm jammies = cuddly and extra kissable. I wish you were here to enjoy him too!

2. Tiger, oh Tiger. I never really liked you, but I almost feel sorry for you. You messed up BIG time buddy. And truthfully, you deserve to be beat with a golf club. Over and over again. I hope that Swedish wife of yours' takes your tail to the cleaners.

3. Football season is on it's way out. As much as I love college football, bowl games don't really tickle my fancy. It's just not a competition if it isn't head to head SEC action. Last nights game was a heart breaker. I feel for Tebow. I genuinely believe he's a nice kid. And I hope he makes lots of money in the pros cause he's probably going to do very charitable things with it. I also hope Alabama goes down in flames on January 7th. Hook Em' Horns!!!

4. I hate going out in public this time of year. Really hate it. Crowds and strange people just aren't my thing. That's why I grocery shop at 7:30 in the morning. No crowds. No weirdo's to ogle my child. This time of year though the freaks of Lee County come out in droves. Lofton and I got out and did a little shopping this afternoon. Much was accomplished.

While at Target I picked up a few non-gift items. One of those items was Mott's Tots Apple juice. Three bottles. A certain baby and a certain baby's daddy LOVE apple juice. Mott's Tots is already mixed/diluted with water. Better for the boys' teeth. I only buy this item at Target. Why? I'm glad you asked. At Target it costs $2.04 a bottle. At Kroger it costs $3.89. For the EXACT SAME BOTTLE. Unreal to me.

I digress though.

Somehow we made it home from the store with only two of our three bottles. Crap. Lofton headed back to Target to redeem our other bag. Do you know that they made him wait while they reviewed security tapes? Seriously! He even had a receipt. Like we would steal apple juice. I mean I know times are tight, but come on Target.

And last but not least--

5. There are only ten more school days until I am out on Christmas break. To say I need a two week break would be quite the understatement. I have refrained from going into detail on the blog {because this is open to the public}, but this has been a rough year. I'm working through it, doing the best I can, and learning more in the last three months than I did in my first two years. God has a plan for me. And this class, with these kids, is part of it. I'm growing and learning, but I am in desperate need of a break. My batteries are dead and my proverbial gas tank is on empty.

amazing grace

Almost every night about this time I sit down to the computer. I check my email, catch up on people's lives through facebook, and read stranger's blogs.

More importantly, I listen to the love of my life rock my sweet baby boy to sleep. I love to listen as he and Reese say their prayers. And then, when Lofton sings him Amazing Grace, I melt into a little love puddle.

It reminds of the old days. The nights just a year ago, when Lofton would put Reese to bed. Sometimes he'd rock for an hour.

I'm sure they'll come a day {probably sooner than I'd like} when Reese won't need us to rock him to sleep. Until that day though, you can me find at this computer, listening to my sweet husband sing.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

Whew! This weekend has been spent slaving away at decorating for Christmas. I had to take advantage of Lofton while he was around to help!

Yesterday we got up bright and early to travel to the tree farm. {Oh, who am I kidding? We ALWAYS get up early. } I had carefully selected our outfits to coordinate, but as usual, my plans did not so much come to fruition.

Reese fell asleep on the way there, didn't really want to wake up, and could not have cared less about the trees OR my attempts to photograph him. Such is life.

The best part of the day was yet to come-- getting the tree inside the house. If you know my dad you can probably imagine what fun we had as family wrangling the tree into the stand each year. Lofton falls into that same category, and lucky for him, our trees grow in size every year. This year the tree is a good ten and a half feet tall. It's a beauty.

This guy did a little investigating before the real fun began!

Decorating!

There were LOTS of ornaments to hang and lots of lights to string. And when all was complete, this Rockefeller of a tree looks pretty unbelievable {if I do say so myself}!

The pictures really don't do it justice. It's my favorite tree yet!

And sweet boy has not been nearly as mischievous as I anticipated. He has touched gently, sniffed closely, and giggled hysterically when the needles tickled his nose-- but other than that, nothing. No pulling off ornaments, no messing with any decorations actually. He may make me eat my words between now and Christmas, only time will tell.

Today Lofton spent hours outside hanging lights {and putting in plugs outside for aforementioned lights}. The outside of the house is just as magical as the inside. I can't wait for you to see!

a taste of thanksgiving

thankful

This Thanksgiving, I am oh so thankful my husband gave me the sweetest gift of all--




This little turkey.

He lights up my heart every day.

And I am also SUPER thankful that the hubs has taken the weekend off! We are heading to the Christmas tree farm tomorrow. Don't worry, Reese's outfit has been carefully planned to match our excursion. Pictures to come!

smelly books

Reese loves scratch and sniff books. I think I have mentioned this before. In our house we call them smelly books, which Lofton and I find amusing because NONE of his scratch and sniff books actually smell. They are all remnants of Jackson's toddler years { btw, my baby brother turned sixteen this week}.

While home this weekend, Daddy Buck, Nonna, Reese & I set off on an excursion to Barnes and Noble. Our hope was to find a scratch and sniff book that was actually smelly. We had no such luck. Literally-- there were no scratch and sniff books at all.

We did however find something smelly.

My son.

You see, when we entered the store I set Reese down on the ground {so he could hold our hands and walk} just inside the doors. He promptly squatted down, let out a loud and stinky toot, and then stood up and continued his walk. It was all we could do not to fall to the ground we were laughing so hard.

Oh this child!

thief

I caught him red handed. He wasn't hard to find. I simply had to follow the trail.

One shoe lead to another...

And another...

Until the trail hit a dead end, right at my newly-organized closet.

The culprit is much too adorable to punish. So we laughed.

And then he made his most sincere "Who Me?" face.

So I scooped him up, smothered him with kisses, and let him go back to destroying my hard work. I can't blame him. I love shoes too!

ouch

Reese bit his finger last night.

It bled. Not a whole lot, but there was a lot of yelling.

What was he doing? Eating his mandarin oranges a little too quickly. He was in complete "Hoover" mode.

At first I didn't realize what happened. I frantically worked to free him of the high chair while I asked over and over again, "What happened baby?" It was only after he was free that I realized, yep, he had in fact bitten his finger.

Oh how my child LOVES his oranges.

more

My child has learned a new form of communication. Sign language.

I'm proud and excited and terribly frustrated all at the same time. He is incessantly beating his fists together in hopes of getting a snack.

Really it's ALL.THE.TIME

Like 5:15 this morning when he spotted yesterday afternoon's snack of goldfish still sitting in our bedroom. And then again at 6:30 when we were rushing out the door and he spotted brownies on top of the stove. I gave him his milk in an attempt to pacify him. He threw it across the kitchen. Hurled it really. This child is quite the Hercules.

Seriously?!? Am I supposed to feed him every time he does it?

And while we are on the subject of more, this is something I'd like more of-- time with my husband and my child.

Together. In our house. Just us. Together. Are you getting that "togetherness" has been rare for us lately? It has. Work separates us during the week and again on the weekends. For a gal who is used to her husbands undivided weekend attention, this new schedule has proven to be a rough adjustment. I yearn for him to be home more.

one year pictures

Lofton and I took Reese for his one-year photo session today. What fun we had!

The picture below is quite indicative of how it went.

Kayla {the photographer}, Lofton, and myself pulled out every trick we had to get this stinker to cooperate. I'm certain every shopper in Sears could hear me singing "If Your Happy and You Know It" at the top of my lungs. It should also be noted, that in all photos I'm no more than six inches away from him. Every time I moved, Reese went ballistic.

Oh the memories!

Sassy pants did manage a few suitable shots. He wore his overalls for the first few shots, and then changed into his Christmas bubble.

Compromising on outfits-- it's what marriage is all about!

Bless this sweet thing. Tears and all, I do love him so!

ida claire

Tropical Storm Ida is barrelling down on my parents as we speak. We had almost emerged unscathed from this fairly inactive hurricane season. Almost.

Luckily this Ida mess promises to be nothing more than a little extra rain and some wind. Whew.

Little man was a wee bit irritated when he realized that his Pensacola family wasn't going to have to work or go to school tomorrow. They could have stayed longer yesterday to play! A one day visit just isn't enough to satiate our appetite for attention. Literally, when Nonna and Buck leaves our whole house goes into a funk.

Grandparents are so much fun to play with! They do anything Reese wants.

Exhibit A:

I Smell Christmas. That's the name of the book my dad is reading to Reese. It was my brother's-- about thirteen years ago. Reese loves it.

Dear Santa, May I please have some scratch and sniff books? They don't even have to smell.

I bet my Dad read this book at least thirty times. Maybe more. And every time Reese laughed hysterically and so did we. It was THE FIRST THING Reese wanted to do Sunday morning when he woke up.

And because my dad is GOY {grandpa of the year}, he read it over and over and over. He didn't even complain.

Exhibit B:

Lots of snacks. In the living room. On the floor. And when we dump them out? Grandparents pick them up! And they don't even act mad.

And what's better with goldfish than....

Exhibit C:

Drinking from the Nonna's glass. Who needs sippy cups? Not Reese. Thanks Mama! He wants to do this even when you're not here.

Next visit we're headed your way!

not a moment too soon

I took little man to the doctor today. I was ready for battle. We have been fighting a fever ALL week long. Again.

I've spent 120 dollars on co-pays in the last month!

I'm tired of Motrin. I'm tired of Tylenol. I'm tired of crankiness and sleepless nights. I'm REALLY tired of runny noses.

{who? Me}

So, I was ready for battle.

{in camo}

Our appointment was previously scheduled because Reese had his check-up today. One year, a month late. Like I said, we've been sick.

{even though we don't "look" sick}

No battle armor was necessary, though. Dr. Greer listened to my concerns, feelings and thoughts with an open mind {and heart}. We are both in agreement that Reese's claritin is NOT controlling his allergies. We were also both in agreement that continuous does of Tylenol and/or Motrin is not the best idea.

Starting tonight we are also on two additional allergy medicines. Dr. Greer agreed with me that that all of this allergy problems are weakening little boo's immune system to the point that he is continually picking up viruses and other yuckies. I'm hopeful this new medicine routine will solve those problems. If not, I'll go back. Again.

We did manage to FINALLY have our check-up. Reese is a healthy {and robust} one year old. He is lacking in verbal skills but he more than makes up for it personality.

{and he can even read upside down}

His stats are:

weight: 28 pounds, 8 ounces {90% percentile}
length: 33 and 1/2 inches {95% percentile}
head circumference: 49 centimeters {95% percentile}



Perfect. Just as we thought.

shhh!!!

I've been keeping a little secret. No, I'm not preggo {banish the thought}! But I do know someone who is....




These sweet people, our constant saving grace {s}, are having a sweet bundle of joy for Reese to play with. We have known since the beginning of September and we are SUPER excited to post the news on the blog.

Baby Hamrick could not be more lucky to have Ashley and Rich as parents. They love our little boy like he is their own, and we are so thankful to have them in our lives. They are going to be phenomenal parents. I cannot wait to love and squeeze on this baby.

The timing is perfect. Baby H will make his {or her} debut just when I'm wrapping up school for the summer. I know Ashley can't wait to have me move in and take over!

running on all cylinders

After that yucky fight with a fever virus Reese has been back up to speed. That means I have been running around like a mad woman, trying unsuccessfully to contain this bundle of energy.

Yesterday I finally closed off the doors and trapped him in the front rooms.

As I watched football, Reese would meticulously go through his toy basket. I watched as he carefully examined his blocks, then threw them to the ground. He would then pick a book-- to hurl across the room. The wobbly penguin? Tossed violently into the wall.

Are you following me???

This child needs anger management. I know, I know he is learning to communicate. I get it. When he throws things he is letting out his frustrations, it's HIS way of telling us how he feels.

Unfortunately his way of communicating also involves smacking me in the face when he gets mad. I realize you should not hit your child to teach them not to hit, so I'm working on a new approach.

I gently grab his hand, tell him that "we" don't hit, and remind him to be "sweet." What does he do? Hit the nearest thing to him. Great. Now instead of hitting me he is hitting walls, tables, and dogs.

I'm at a loss.

I'm also working on teaching him to NOT throw his sippy cup. We never have to wonder if Reese is done with his milk. He lets us know by rocketing the cup across the room. I've seen him do it at school too. Poor Lois Katherine had to duck!

It's a good thing he's so darn cute. Here's hoping that'll keep him in his teacher's good graces.

when life hands you lemons

I’ve learned some lessons the last few weeks. Life lessons that have made me want to crawl under the covers, pull the blankets over my head, and wish myself back to an easier life—you know, the one where you don’t pay bills, work, or have responsibility. Then I realized that being {almost} twenty seven means putting on your big girl panties and facing things head on.

Some things I’ve learned:

Children get sick. And they get sick at the most inopportune times. The times when you NEED to be at work, the times when grandparents can’t help out, the times when husbands are out of town. And as a mom, the responsibility falls on you to take care of them. You will laugh when I tell you that when Reese was sick two weeks ago {AGAIN}, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and gave myself a pep talk. It went something like this, “Elizabeth, your baby is sick. You have to miss work and that’s just life. Reese is your priority. He has to be more important than work. Even if you miss a whole week of school, it’s okay. Life will go on.” My speech was actually a little more inspired that morning, but you get the drift. This leads me to life lesson number two…

I married a wonderful man. I really did. He is the hardest worker I know. He puts in countless hours at work and is working at the lake to re-model Mamie and Paw-Paw’s basement. We don’t see him very much, BUT we know he is doing all this work for us. Work has not been fabulous for him lately. There has been a lot of STUFF going on. We had a long talk last weekend and are working on making some big LIFE decisions. At the end of the day though, we have each other, and that’s the most important thing. As I told Lofton, I didn’t marry him thinking he was going to make me a wealthy woman. And if we never make any more money than we have right now, that’s okay. We’ll survive. And we’ll be happy. Which leads us to lesson number three….

Friends and family are the sunshine of life. I have never been one to need a LOT of friends. I’m selective in who I choose to spend my time with and I don’t feel bad for that. I am lucky to have a few GREAT friends though. Friends who drop everything to come hold my baby because I am weeping and haven’t had a break all day. Friends who let me call and feel sorry for myself for an hour even though they have better things to do. Friends who take my child to school, bring me snacks, and call just to check-in. I love those friends.

And I love our family. I didn’t grow up surrounded by grandparents, so becoming a part of Lofton’s family was a little overwhelming for me. But I am oh so grateful to have them close. Sally spent the night with me when Reese was sick so I could finally get some sleep and sweet Mamie and Paw Paw came to keep Reese when Lofton and I both had to work. Thank you, thank you, thank you wonderful family.

And life lesson number four….

I am richly blessed to be Reese’s mama. Rain or sunshine, good day or bad, this baby of mine is life’s greatest blessing. He is an everyday reminder of how lucky I am. Sick or well he illuminates a room with his smile and personality. Getting to watch him grow is a gift that I too often take for granted. I have a new resolve to soak in every moment of this time in his life. No more whining about things we can’t change and people we can’t change. The Beasley family is now going to focus on the now.

a little tease

Details on our trick or treating adventure to come! But until then, here's a little preview of our Halloween costume:

If you've ever seen a more adorable scarecrow I'm going to need photographic evidence!

absence makes the heart grow fonder

We've been MIA in case you haven't noticed. Our return from out of town was rough.

Here's the short version...

Reese woke up early, EARLY Tuesday morning with a super high fever. I missed two days of work. Lofton left us to go to Jacksonville. We had to call in reinforcements {thanks Mimi and Mamie and Paw-Paw}. There were lots and lots of tears. Mine and Reese's. Now he is fever free but has a full body rash. Diagnosis: Roseolla {or something like that}. He is going back to school tomorrow.

Basically our week sucked. We are hoping for better luck this week.

Pardon our progress as we reorganize our life. We'll return shortly with a cheerier outlook.

recharged

I took a much needed personal day on Friday and Reese and I headed to Pensacola. Lofton was working all weekend so it was the perfect getaway for the two of us.

Overly eager to get on the road, Reese awoke early Friday morning. Four to be exact. The plan was to leave early, although not rooster crowing early. We were easily on the road by 6:30. A quick pit stop at Whataburger for breakfast and we were back on the road.

Can I please say that my son traveled amazingly well! I was nervous. We have had many miserable car trips in our short time together, but he was a champ- both going and coming back.

Friday we had a quick visit at my mom's office and then zipped home for some lunch, couch napping, and soap watching. We enjoyed the beautiful outside weather until the family got home to help entertain us.

The point of our trip was to see Jackson play in the football game Friday night. No, he doesn't play football. He plays trombone in the band. It was fun to see him perform, but a wee bit chilly. I was so concerned about Reese being cold {sidenote: good thing I had the foresight to get a him a jacket two weeks ago when it was still 85 degrees}, I totally forgot to bring myself cold weather clothes. Brrr.

Yesterday we indulged in a little retail therapy. Daddy Buck tagged along to push Reese around in his stroller. I use the term pushed loosely. He really limped behind the stroller! {Yes Dad, I'm calling you out on the blog. Go to the doctor!}

I bought myself three fabulous new pairs of shoes to make myself feel better about life and then watched my son destroy his grandmother's cabinets.

Let's breeze past the horrible football game last night and skip straight to the sleeping arrangements.

This child of mine slept WONDERFULLY. Mom and I had a fabulous plan that he could sleep on a chair and a half mattress on the floor in my room. It worked like a charm--- until he rolled off. Clearly he wasn't hurt by the six inch fall, but he did get stuck between the mattress and the wall. It made him a teensy bit mad. Into the bed with me he went. That also was not successful. He slept great, but I was so worried about he rolling out of the bed I didn't sleep at all. Finally, around 2:30, I made him a pallet on the floor. He slept GREAT for the rest of the night and ALL of last night too. Hooray!

{Reese chasing the elusive striped tiger.}

Vegetable soup is simmering on the stove and we are anxiously awaiting our Daddy's arrival. We missed him so. I feel relaxed, recharged and ready to tackle the week ahead. There is definitely no place like home!