Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Party:)

We had a blast at the pumkim patch!! Aunt Jessica went with us and we took about a million pics with only a couple of him looking at us and smiling at the same time! He loved crowing like the roosters, looking at the goats, and milking some cows, lol!

We also went to a Halloween party Friday night and Jack had a ball! He wasn't real sure about my costume though as you can see by the pic:)

Butterflies....

We listed the house yesterday at about one o'clock. The realator called and said someone wanted to look at it this morning at 8! I have had butterflies all day, lol. Just wondering for all you who have gone through this process lately how long until this feels semi normal. Also I have to say I didn't realize how hard it is to keep your house clean alllll the time. I feel like I clean from the time I come in to the time I go to bed! Oh well, it will be worth it when we find a buyer:)

Jack at 20 Months :)

Well this is late, but I wanted to post some things Jack is saying and doing now....
Words: Ka chow (like Lightning McQueen in his favorite movie)
Cracker
Please (tssss)
belly button
Tractor
drink (dink)
Ear
night night
Nose (mos)
bye
eye
hi
papa
kinda says lawnmower
banana
ball
french fry
dog
thank you
duck
cheese
fish
shoes
shew (when he smells something)
car
hot
truck
bird

I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting because he tries new ones every day! I just can't believe how fast he is growing and maturing these days.

Things he is doing:
showing his muscles
tickling
giving big bear hugs and kisses while saying mmmmmmmmmm
climbing everything
"reading" books
having imaginary conversations on his power ranger phone,lol he says "Hi, hahaha, bybye!"
likes to play chase

I am so facinated by how quick he is picking up on things right now. It is getting so much easier to communicate because he is actually starting to understand most of what I tell him and he is getting better at telling me what he wants.

We have had a few good temper tantrums, but those are also gettng easier to manage. Pretty frustrating at first though, I did have a couple of breakdowns with him, lol. The worst one he ever had I just had to leave where I was and when I got in the car I just burst into tears. Then of course he quits crying and says ma ma? like he couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I looked back and said, "that is how I feel when you are crying", lol. Real mature conversation while I was squalling! That was the worst one though, it has definetly been better since then.

Every day is a learning experience and an adventure! I am enjoying every second of every new phase because I just can't believe how fast the time is passing!

Assistant Ring Bearer

This weekend my brother got married!! They asked Jack to be the assistant ring bearer. I was really nervous, but he ended up doing pretty good. Here he is practicing for his ride down the aisle in the wagon.We decided not to push our luck and hope he would walk, lol. It was a very beautiful ceremony, I am so proud for them:)

Quiet Mouse

You probably think I am fixing to blog about a game with Jack, but little did you know you are about to read them morbid happenings of my Tuesday morning....

Well, about a week ago I went to get something out from under my kitchen cabinets and what do I see..... mouse droppings!!!! I have never never had a mouse in my house, so I freaked out! I took all of my dishes out from under the cabinets and put them on the spare bed. Then, I cleaned like a mad women. Then, I went directly to Walmart to get some mouse traps.

Now I need to stop for a second to tell you that Casey is not scared of many things, but on that short list is mice. So.... I know that this whole deal is going to be on me. Therefore, I want the simplist, easiest, most humane trap to take care of this problem for me.

Back to the story, I decided on these little sticky pads that the mice walk across and get stuck to. Someone had told me that they had a chemical on them that would euthenize them after they got stuck. WRONG!!!!!! I put the traps out Saturday night. Sunday... nothing. Monday.....nothing. Then this morning at 5:45 I hear some squeaking. I wasn't thinking of the possibility of a mouse because at this point I am still under the assumption that if I do see a mouse it should be dead on a little sticky pad and have felt no pain. I go check the bathroom..nothing. Then I realize the noise is coming from the kitchen. I open the cabinet door and find not one, but TWO mice stuck to these pads just a squeakin! Okay, now what! I shut the door thinkin that I should give them a little more time to allow the chemical to work.

I come back an hour later to what? Well the exact same thing! Now I can't go off to work and leave them there suffering and I know Casey won't take care of them, so I came up with a plan that I thought to be the most humane option..

1.I scoot the sticky pads and mice into a plastic bag.
2. I put that bag into another plastic bag.
3. I put that bag into yet another plastic bag.
4. Then... I take the bag outside and beat it, yes beat it on the pavement!

I then threw them into the trash!
Moral of the story, don't buy the sticky pads unless you are ready to kill them yourself! I hope this will be the only mouse story I will have !

Bye bye paci:)

Jack is now paci free:) We let him have it one last time Thurday night (july 2nd). The third was his first full day without it. I was really worried, but it has been much better than I anticipated. In fact I am enjoying getting to hear all the jabber I was missing when he had it. Now I just have to find them all and throw them away.

He is trying to say so many words. Just for me I am going to list all the ones I can think of....
tac ter - tractor
bey buto - belly button
baaaaa - ball
bye bye
hi
eye
title title title - tickle....
uh ohhh - he throws things down just to say this one and make a big O with his mouth
mama
daddy
Buba
book
sish - fish
duce - juice

He also rolls his tounge all the time. I can't do it, but he walks around just rolling it back and forth. Sometimes he does this while talking and it sounds like he is speaking spanish or something. It is hilarious.

He loves to play hide and seek. He also loves to hide in daisey's crate. He just grins and grins while you pretend to look for him, then all of the sudden he will push the door open and yell, lol.

He still prefers to ride the tractor, 4wheeler, or lawnmower over any other activity. It seems like i have heard every horror story related the riding all these here lately and it has made me a nervous wreck.

Jack is getting great with stairs as long as there is a rail. If not he will just sit on his butt and go that way. I let him practice on our basement stairs so that by any chance that door was open, at least he knows how.

Anyway... just wanted to post mostly for me, sorry it was so long :)

Oh by the way, I have finally talked Casey into a big boy haircut! The baby mullett will probably be gone this week. I have mixed emotions. I know its time, but he will look so big :( At least we will have plenty hair to save. In fact there is probably enough for the whole family to have a lock, lol!

New :)

Well just thought I would post a few new things that Jack is doing now. I love, love, love this age! It is soooo cute!

1. He has learned that we say "tickle, tickle, tickle" while we tickle him and now he will sneak up on you and try and say that while tickling your feet or legs or anything that is exposed :) It is so cute!

2. He can say this or dis rather. He uses it for everything while pointing to what he wants.

3. The other word that we can really understant and comes as no suprise to me that it is one of the first things he has said is tractor. Every time he sees one he points to it and says "tac ter." I love it!

I am so blessed to have such an awsome little boy! What did I used to do for entertainment?

Family Pics

We finally managed to get some family pics taken!!! I am very pleased. My mom took them and I cropped and changed some of the colors to black and white. It was a fun day at spring park :)

Walking Molar Maddness :)

Well..... where do I start? It's been a while :) I guess with the fact that Jack is finally walking!! I was beginning to wonder if he would haha. He just started really doing it last sat (3/07/09). It is so cute. He knows that too and really plays it up. I had blogged not to long ago about our great sleeper.... well scratch that!

Jack has been waking up and staying up for 2-3 hours every night. I couldn't figure out what in the world it could be. I guessed it was teeth, but I didn't see any signs of the next ones coming in which would have been his eye teeth (?spelling). Well..... I happened to brush my hand around the back of his mouth and to my surprise there was a molar!!!! I didn't think they got those until two. Well at least it explains the fits and sleepless nights. Now we are in the habbit of letting him in our bed every night at 2 or 3, so sleep training will have to start all over again, yeah!!!

Jack is getting such a little sense of humor. He gets it honest though :) He is also really observant. He will no longer eat a french fry without dipping sauce ha ha! He isn't really particular about what he dipps it in so long as he can. For instance, the other night he didn't see the ketsup and so he just dipped it in his corn lol! It was so cute. He also has to dip his chips in salsa just like us when we eat mexican. They sure don't miss anything!

Well just wanted to update:) Oh and those of you with older kids, is it normal for them to be cutting molars this early? He is just about 14 months (the 19th).

Twilight Series!!!!

Ok, I just need to start by saying... My name is Kayla Darby and I am addicted to the twilight series. It is truly unhealthy how much I love these books. Is there a group out there that meets about this addiction? I started the first book Wednesday Jan 28th. I finished it that friday morning. I started the second book Friday mid day and finished it Saturday night. I bought the third one Sunday after church and will probably finish it today! I forgot how much I love to read! This is a fun and captivating story even though it is something I would have never dreamed I would like. I won't say anything about it, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might read them. I know Casey will be glad when I am done, because I am truly antisocial at home right now :) When I try and tell him about the story he looks at me like I'm crazy. Anyway, hope everyone is having a good monday !!

Still Working!

Night number three was a huge success. He is sleeping great and getting a lot more rest. I actually had time the last few nights to start and finish a book. I am so happy!!

I forgot what it was like :)

I have welcomed my old friend sleep back into my life .....

I was talking to Sara at supper club and she told me how well Collier was doing sleeping through the night in his own bed. I asked how she did it and they let him cry it out. I didn't know if we could do it, but she got me very motivated and I decided to try.

That night, after we picked him up he fell asleep on the way home. We put him in his crib and went to bed. He woke up one hour later and cried for twenty minutes. I was thinking is wasn't sooo bad. Then, he woke again at 2:15 and this time cried until 3. I thought I would die!! After he finally fell asleep I was awake for at least another hour feeling like the meanest mother in the world! He woke again at five and I went and got him. We missed church and all slept until 9:30.

He spent the night that night at my parents house. I was afraid that would be a setback, but we really needed some rest. We had a great night.

Monday night we let him lay in the bed with us until he fell asleep. We put him in his crib and went to bed. He woke at 3 and cried for about twenty minutes. Again at 5 and I went and got him. I read alot yesterday trying to find out what I could do to make this easier and much to my surprise I was supposed to put him down awake. I read that it was confusing to him to go to sleep with us and wake up with us not there. It said that it was better if we got into a routine and said goodnight and put him in his bed awake.

So..... I decided to go this route. We gave him his bath, read a story, and gave him a bottle. I rocked him until ge was drowsy and Casey and I went in and kissed him goodnight. He has a little fish music thing that goes on the side of his crib and we turned that on and patted him as we left. He cried for only 12 minutes and put his little self right to sleep! He even accidently turned the little fish music thing off. We were so happy.

Now comes the grand finale..... he did not wake up until 6:50 this morning!!!!!! My alarm clock woke me up for the first time since 1-19-08! I am very rested and very excited!! I hope things continue to go this well!! Thanks to Sara for my inspiration and to those of you giving me support on facebook :)

Steps!!!!

Jack took his first steps last night!!!! It was the cutest thing ever. Casey stood him up and he just walked right over to Casey's mom like it was no big deal! Then, Casey pointed him at me and he walked over to me. It was just adorable. He is kind of wobbly, but he just looks so big when he walks. I can't believe he is walking. Just for me, the date was 1-22-09. I use this as sort of a scrapbook :)

First Birthday, Wow!

I can't believe that it has already been a year since Jack was born! It has been a wonderful year filled with all sorts of new and exciting changes. They learn so much this first year it just amazes me. Jack is doing many new things these days. He loves music and dances (sits up and bounces). After the music goes off he claps for himself and wants you to do the same. He is also learning words. He says dada and moma of course and now is trying to say hello and thank you. He will hold the phone up to his hear and say something that is supposed to be hello :) Oh and he has mastered a skill the his daddy and grandaddy are thrilled about. My grandaddy has a deer call that you blow in one in and suck the other and it sounds like a deer grunt. Jack has this down to an art! He could call up a whole herd of deer ! He has taken a few steps, but isn't walking yet.

He has a major hair fedish. It started when I was still nursing. He would reach up and play with my hair. Now he plays with everyone's hair when they hold him. Especially if he is tired or upset. He gives big open mouth kisses that I just love!

I hope our family will continue to grow and be strong and healthy. Being a mom is the greatest gift there is and I am so blessed to have a beautiful little boy. I pray that I will be a good parent and that God will bless our home. Hope everone is having a good new year:)