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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Another Month !

Wow! I can't believe another month has gone by! Our sweet baby boy is growing so fast! This month Richard and I introduced Baby Walker to our crazy schedules and it has been a touch exhausting but a lot of fun! Here is a quick recap of all of the fun we have had over the past few weeks.


First, my sister, Lyndsey, came down to visit. It was so much fun! It has been a long time since my sister and I have had some quality time! It was great to visit with her and let me tell you...Walker LOVED his aunt Lulu! :) After Walker had some great bonding time with Lulu, we headed to Henderson, TN for Walker to meet his namesake and to see his Gran, Grandad, Aunt, Uncle and cousins. It was a big trip for Walker but we all had a wonderful time and cannot wait to go back for Thanksgiving!


A couple of days after we got back from Henderson, Richard had a conference to go to in Atlanta. While Richard was busy working, Walker and I went to Montgomery for a little bit of help from Boo and Papa. That week Lyndsey and her girls (Claire and Margaret Ann) were there visiting as well. Those two girls LOVE their cousin Walker. Claire was a little Mommy to him and MA really thought that he was one of her baby dolls....SO SWEET!!!

Richard got home on Thursday and left again on Sunday for an "expert task force" meeting in Okalahoma City. Walker and I packed up once again and camped out at Boo and Papa's while he was gone. Richard got back that following Wednesday night and had Lasik eye surgery on Thursday. It is such a blessing that he was able to have that done! Before the surgery he was legally blind (his vision was 2400, the same as a newborn's vision!). The surgery took about 6 minutes on each eye. His vision was pretty blurry for about 4 hours after and then started to improve dramatically. The next morning he went back for a check on his eyes. His vision was 20/25 less than 24 hours after having his surgery! How amazing is that!



Finally, on Friday (after Richard's eye appointment) we went to Montgomery once again. This time it was for an "us night." Our first night away from Walker! Man, it was HARD! I missed my sweet baby so much, but it was wonderful to be able to sleep through the night and have some quality time with Richard after our BUSY month! Boo and Papa said Walker did great on his first slumber party! Thanks Boo and Papa!!


Some fun things about Walker:
~Walker is SMILING all the time! He is such a happy baby! He has the biggest smile! It melts my heart when he looks at me and grins! So sweet!


~Baby Boy is starting to recognize voices. He will turn his head and look at me and Richard when we talk to him. He is also starting to recognize my parents voices.


~ His little personality is starting to come out and it is so fun! He either wants to be held close and cuddled or put down on the floor for some "squiggle" time. There is just no in between with him.


~ He LOVES looking at lights and fans. If he starts to get fussy you can walk him to an intersting lamp or light fixture that is turned on and he will calm down (... most of the time :) ).


~ He is sleeping pretty well at night. He started on a great streak of sleeping about 6 hours waking up to eat and then going down for 3.5 hours after that. He took about a one week sabbatical from that and reverted to waking every 1-3 hours. Luckily, the past couple of nights he seems to be getting back into his groove!


~ Baby is really getting into a great routine with his eating. He eats pretty much every 3 hours on the dot during the day.


We go to the doctor on Thursday for his 2 month appointment. I can't wait to see how much he has grown!


Here are a few pictures of the last month!


Baby Boy at 4 weeks

Walker and Lulu

So sweet!
"Squiggle" time at Boo and Papa's
Sweet Boy
Walker's first time to church at 5 weeks:
Our trip to Henderson at 6 weeks.
James "Walker" Whittle (Pop) meeting James "Walker" Willis for the first time
Carter loves his cousin! He can't wait for Walker to get a little bit older so he can teach him all about baseball!

Me, LB, and Walker at Carter's baseball game.




Gran's birthday dinner!

Grandad and Walker taking a snooze on Sunday afternoon! So sweet.


MA loving on her cousin!




Sweet Claire and Walker












Walker at 7 weeks:























Tuesday, October 5, 2010

1 month check up

Boy, I can't believe it has already been a month since Walker was born!! Talk about time flying! We just got back from our one month check-up and Baby Boy is growing like a weed!! When we were discharged from the hospital Walker weighed in at 7lbs 9oz. Today, he was 10lbs 8oz!! Can you believe it? 3 pounds in only 4 weeks! He has also grown 1 inch. He is in the 75% in both length and weight for age! He is a big boy! :) The doctor said that everything looks great! What can I say...he is perfect! :)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

October is here!

I really can't believe it is already October and Walker is already a month old! Time really is flying! Baby Walker is still doing great! We have just started to venture out with him......just a little bit. I am a touch paranoid about taking him out. I feel OK with taking him to the store and to run quick errands but am still very, VERY hesitant to take him to places where he will be loved on. I think in a couple of weeks he will make his debut in these settings. He has already outgrown all of his newborn clothes! He is growing so fast! We go for his one month check up on October 5th...I can't wait to go and see his new stats! :)



In other news, our first "child" (Gatsy) came home last Wednesday after spending about a month at Boo and Papa's house (my parents). I was a little nervous about this transition. Gatsy is a bundle of energy and loves to be the center of attention and I was not sure how she was going to handle the new dynamics in the house. Well, she has done AMAZING! She LOVES Walker. She is very concerned and upset when he cries, she will bring him her bones and will run to the nursery/all around the house first thing in the morning until she finds Walker. It is very cute!





Gatsy watching out for Walker:









Gatsy....just a little concerned that Walker is upset!







Sweet boy














Walker's first visit to the pumpkin patch. Yes. We took him at 4 weeks old. I was a nervous wreck the whole time! We all survived and had fun! :)








Best Friends:








I absolutely love, Love, LOVE the fall! It is my FAVORITE time of the year. I love the weather, I love the atmosphere around town during football season, I love the changing leaves on the trees, and I love PUMPKINS! So, in honor of the fall, I experimented and made some YUMMY Pumpkin Muffins. I combined, modified, and added my own twist to several recipes to come up with this one....you need to try it! Please don't judge. Yes, I am a dietitian, and NO these are not the healthiest, but my motto is "Everything in moderation!" So, make up a batch and enjoy the changing seasons!


Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins:



Muffins:


3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 12 oz bag mini, semi-sweet choclate chips


Cream Cheese Filling:


8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

3 tbls brown sugar


Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and flour muffin tins (makes 24 mufins plus one mini loaf pan).


Combine pumpkin, vegetable oil, white and brown sugar, and eggs.


In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices



Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated. Do not over mix. Gently fold in chocolate chips.



To make the filling:


Beat softened cream cheese, egg, brown sugar and vanilla.



Spoon pumpkin batter into muffin in, filling each cup 1/3 of the way.

Place 1 heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture in the center of each cup.


Spoon pumpkin mixure on top of cream cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. ENJOY!



These muffins freeze well and are best when eaten after they have completely cooled (and after sitting over night!)