Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Pregnancy tickers

Lilypie Pregnancy tickers

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Pleasant Journey

The Walk: Clear Direction and Spiritual Power for Your Life by Sean Alexander is really a tale about the journey each Christian takes as he/she matures. From the wanderings of an unbeliever to the challenges of being a teacher, Alexander finds ways to simplify many of the trials and triumphs that people experience as they walk towards having a closer relationship with God. While this book is not ground-breaking, it is refreshing in its simplicity. Alexander succeeds where many authors fail in expressing the maturation process of Christians. He encourages young Christians to think "I can do that!" I recommend this book to teenagers and college students who are beginning their walk with God. They will realize that they have a long way to go, but the walk is achievable.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book from the publisher through the book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

The Willis family Thanksgiving was hectic, busy, wonderful, exciting and so much fun! Since both me and my sister's family were spending Thanksgiving day with our in-laws, our side of the family took a trip to Chattanooga to celebrate and have some family time. It was so much fun! We went to the Science Center, the aquarium, went out to eat and just enjoyed spending time with each other! Richard was in Denver for a conference during the first part of the trip but flew back and made it just in time to go to the aquarium with us.

The week of Thanksgiving we went to Henderson to visit family. We had SO much fun and Walker LOVED being around Gran and Grandad, LB and Carter, Aunt Becky and Uncle Damon and Pop.

Walker was SUCH a trooper and did a WONDERFUL job with all of the traveling. I mean we visited and spent the night in 4 different cities and spent a total of 24 hours in the car over about 10 days. For an 11 week old that is alot of traveling!

Speaking of Walker, he is getting SO big! We have our next appointment on Wednesday and I can't wait to see how much he has grown. He has outgrown pretty much all of his 3 month clothes and fits comfortably into 6 month clothes. He loves, loves, LOVES to talk, squeal and squiggle. He has the biggest, sweetest smile that will totally melt your heart. Walker has also been getting into a WONDERFUL routine. He typically sleeps from about 7:30 or 8PM until 3:00AM eats and then sleeps again until 6:00 or 6:30. Last night he actually made it to 4:30!! WOOHOO! :)

Baby boy can also roll over from his tummy to his back. He is SO close to rolling from his back to his stomach. He will get up on his side and just chill out there for a couple of minutes and then roll back. When he is on his stomach he can just about push up with both arms straight...almost! He is getting to be such a big boy! :)

Guntersville/Chattanooga


MA, Claire and Walker....they love each other!
Sweet baby!



Lyndsey and MA at the Science Center



Papa and Walker



Happy boy squiggling at the Science Center












Claire LOVES Walker!



Russell and MA



Boo and Walker


Claire in the butterfly exhibit


Walker loving on his daddy!

HENDERSON:
Baby boy after lunch at Becky and Damon's house



4 generations!




J. Walker and Baby J. Walker! :)



Walker LOVES his Aunt Becky



COUSINS! The adore each other!




Pop and all of his great's....Carter, Walker, Andrew, Mary Beth and Laura Beth



LOVE IT! So cute together!







4 generations!





Uncle Damon with baby boy









Walker with his Gran

Before we left for Henderson we decorated for CHRISTMAS!!! I LOVE Christmas time!
Our mantle



Tree number 1 :)
Tree number 2 :)




























Thursday, November 4, 2010

2 Month Check Up

Walker and I just got back from his 2 month check up! I can't believe it has already been 2 months! Our pediatrician said everything looks great. He is right on target developmentally. He is 12 1/2 pounds and 23.5 inches which puts him right below the 75% for both length and weight for age. He is growing so fast!!

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!)