Merry Christmas!

As we celebrate Christmas this year, my wish is that we can remember the real meaning of this celebration through all the distractions.  This day we celebrate the arrival of our Savior, the most wonderful gift of all.  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Santa's Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Good-bye Sweet Rocky

Last Sunday, Rocky "Budro" Barnette went to doggy heaven.  He belonged to me and my mother and was 14 1/2 years old.  He was such a sweet dog with a sweet temperment.  He was the only dog Toby liked!  Probably because Rocky tolerated Toby biting his ankles.  :)  When Rocky was young, he used to roam our Brentwood neighborhood to play (before there were leash laws), but he would always come home at dark.  It was not unusual for kids to walk down our street and yell "hey, Rocky" if we were outside.  Apparently, he was popular.  He knew more people in our neighborhood than we did!  We love you, Rocky, and you will be greatly missed!

A Boy and His Dog

Tate using his boppy...and Toby using Tate's boppy.

Tate with his tongue out...and Toby with his tongue out.

Awww...aren't they cute? We hope they become best friends.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa has come to town and we have a picture of him with Tate to prove it! I still laugh when I think about getting Tate's picture with Santa. He obviously has no idea who Santa is, but for some reason, us parents have to stick to tradition and get our baby's picture made with this bearded stranger. I don't want to risk him being scarred for life becaue he did not get a picture with Santa his first Christmas. We are very fortunate he is not crying in this shot. He was asleep the entire time in line, but woke up as they placed him in Santa's lap. He did not appreciate being woken up from his nap. After a few shots, however, we did manage to catch this one of him looking fairly content. Ho Ho Ho and Merry Christmas!

3 Months Already?

No, I can't believe it has already been 3 months since Tate was born. Seems like yesterday I was nervous about bringing him home from the hospital. I miss those days when he was so tiny and was content no matter where he was because he was sleeping. But I also adore each new day because he is increasingly more interactive. I still melt every time he smiles at me. Last night, David and were laying on the floor with Tate, reading a book and listening to him "chat." I decided to try to tickle him and see if I could get a reaction. He's never shown any reaction before, other than to squirm in annoyance. I tickled him under his chin and for the first time, Tate let out a belly laugh! David and I just looked at each other in amazement! I tickled him again, and he laughed again! We had heard him squeal and chuckle in the past, but never laugh. We can't wait to torture him with more tickle sessions. ;)

To show how much Tate has grown, I thought I would post some "before and after" pictures.

1 day old

two months, 4 days old

_______________________________________

2 days old

20 days old

2 1/2 months old

(notice his head completely covers the "chicco" emblem)____________________________________________

4 weeks old

2 1/2 months old

(in the same outfit)

Tate Meets Finn

After 2 1/2 months, we finally got to meet Finley Bunch! It was so good to see her in person and to have Shawn and Carolyn back in Alabama. They arrived the week before Thanksgiving and were here for almost 2 weeks. We got some good Finn time in, however, it just wasn't enough. We miss the Bunches terribly and wish they would return soon, and for good!

As you can imagine, we took lots of pics of Tate and Finn together. Here are a few from our photo sessions. I've included quite a bit of pictures...there were too many cute ones to choose from.

Proud papas on the first night we met Finn.

Tate looks like he just cracked a dirty joke and Finn is embarassed.

Apparently, it was suck on your fist time.

Yep, we're still sucking.

Having a good time together.

Now, she's bored.

"Hey, Tate, listen to this! pfffffft!"

Gotcha!

Awwwwwww!

Jet lag set in.

Still sleeping...

And here they are hanging out during our Thanksgiving meal.

Hey, Carolyn, next time we need one of us with our babies!

Countdown to Finn!

Shawn and Carolyn will be back from China this Friday, which means we get to meet Finley in 4 DAYS! We can hardly wait! Here are some of Finley's latest pictures.

They're starting her off right! ;) Is she old enough to handle those 23 flavors? Enfamil doesn't have 23 flavors, does it, Finn?

Mom's Milestones

As you know, with any new baby, it's exciting when they reach each milestone. For instance, delighted in Tate tracking us with his eyes, recognizing our voices, holding up his head, smiling, and now we're enjoying him "laughing" and cooing. But now it's time for Mom to get some props.

I reached two very important milestones myself this weekend. First, on Saturday, we moved Tate into his room to sleep. Why this was so sentimental to me, I'm not sure. It's not like he had been sleeping in my arms. But he was just 3 feet away in his cradle, where I could hear his every move (or ignore them when I wasn't ready to get up). As I grew misty-eyed that afternoon, I had to remind myself he's just across the hall now, only steps away. He's not in his crib yet because we have some final adjustments to make, but he's in his cradle right beside it. We figured keeping him in his cradle would make it an easier transition, and it paid off because he has been sleeping great. I guess moving him into his crib will be another big step. It's amazing how the silly things become so important once you become new parents. On the positive side, we can now get ready without tip-toeing, and maybe, just maybe, our room will get cleaned up. Before, our excuses were that he was either sleeping in the room, or we were with him while he was awake.

My second milestone...we left Tate in the church nursery for the first time on Sunday. And for TWO HOURS! (Was I trying to torture myself this weekend or what?) I had to face the fact that there was no way we were going to be able to absorb any information from the service or Sunday school with Tate as a distraction. So, I got all his gear ready Saturday night and even typed out some tips for the caregivers. Not because I'm that anal, but because I wanted to make it easier on them. (yeah, right!) I am happy to say that Tate did wonderfully! He was drowsy when we left him. He slept for an hour, ate, played in the crib, and then fell back asleep in the swing. He was such a good boy! I did much better than I thought I would too, I didn't even use the tissue I had put in my pocket.

Becoming a parent has made me such a softy. I never thought I would be so sentimental about these issues. It's amazing how attached you become to your child. During the service, my mind wondered off to what it will be like when Tate enters college, or even moves out of the house for good and gets married. As my eyes welled up with tears, I had to tell myself, "Whoa, slow down, Mandy!" I don't see how parents do it. But I guess I will someday.

Two Months Old and Earning His Wings...

...but not really because Delta is too cheap to give them out anymore!

Let me explain...We took a trip to see Pop and Mimi in NC last weekend. We chose to fly instead of taking the 10 hour drive. We have now been initiated into the take-everything-from-the-house-you-might-need-for-the-baby club. You should have seen us walking through the airport. David would carry the car seat and base cover like a backpack (see picture on right), while pushing the stroller with our two carryons and boppy pillow sitting inside. (We decided it was easier to use the stroller for our stuff than for Tate.) All I had to do was carry Tate. :) This is after we checked our two suitcases at the counter. I felt bad making David carry everything but he was gracious and told me he was practicing to be Super Dad. I think he no longer needs practice.

Tate did wonderfully on the planes, and we even had layovers both times. (Apparently, no one flies direct from B'ham to Raleigh anymore.) I had the boppy pillow in my lap and he laid on top. During takeoff and landing, I was nervously trying to put the passy in his mouth so it wouldn't hurt his ears, but he was sound asleep. I think the white noise on the plane is what lulled him to sleep.

I asked an attendant on the way home if Tate could get a set of wings. She informed me they do not make them anymore. What??? Not only did Delta quit serving snacks, but now no wings? What do they cost, 2 cents each? Sheesh! Charge me $3 more for my ticket just so I can get a decent snack and some wings, people! I will say that the attendants were very sorry they couldn't give him wings. Oh well, I guess a boarding pass and a picture will have to do.

Pop and Mimi were of course excited to see Tate. They bought him his first Glow Worm and gave it to him once we got there. After playing with it a few times, we noticed it looked similar to our child in his swaddle blanket. :) We've used it several more times at home while laying him down for a nap, so thanks, Pop and Mimi!

Our main reason for going on this trip was so that Lindsey and Jessica, Mandy's step-sisters, could meet Tate. Apparently, Lindsey was scheming to get there first so she could hold him before Jessica, who was driving up from Charlotte. Nothing like a little sisterly competition. Here is a picture of Tate with Lindsey. I'm sorry to say I didn't get a shot of him with Jessica. Tate also met his step-great grandparents and step-great aunt and uncle. This child has more family members than the Osmonds!

We had a really good time hanging out with family and showing off Tate. We managed to catch a few family photos before leaving for the airport. These two pictures were taken on Tate's two-month birthday.

I've Been Tagged

Apparently, I was tagged last Sat. by Carolyn and just now realized it. People need to let me know when I've been tagged! (Hint, Carolyn!)

Here's what I have to do...

1) Choose the 4th picture folder on my computer
2) Choose the 4th picture
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 other people

So, here goes...

I promise I didn't pick a pregnancy/baby picture on purpose. The 4th folder in our "my pictures" is called "Baby Pics". This is a picture from our annual beach trip to Destin in May. I was 5 months pregnant and had just found out the week before that we were having a boy. We had not named him yet, but I had already put in my request for "Tate" at that time. We kept reminding ourselves throughout the trip that it would be our last vacation without a child.

Now, I'm tagging Brooks, Kaci, Julie and Lisa.

Tate Update #2 (This one is lengthy!)

Time for another Tate Update. We took him for his 6-week checkup last week. (FYI - he is 8 weeks old today.) Again, we were told Tate looks great and is a perfectly healthy boy. His measurements were taken and as of last Monday, he is 23 1/2 inches long and weighed just over 10 lbs., 13 oz. That puts him in the 90th percentlile for height (what??) and the 5oth percentile for weight. Apparently we have a long and lean child. He obviously takes after his daddy. ;) And the Barnettes can exhale a sigh of relief...his head circumferance is in the 5oth percentile.

Tate also received his first round of vaccinations at this visit. Again, David deferred the baby holding to me during this time. So far, I have held Tate for his two heel pricks and his shots. Those of you who know me, know that I am not above fainting after I get a shot or my blood taken, but David thinks I am more qualified for this task. Tate received 4, yes 4 shots in the legs and one oral vaccine. He took it much better than I would have! The nurse was so fast he didn't know what hit him! He did let out one of those extremely long silent cries where you think he's going to faint because his face is turning purple and all you can do is keep saying, "breathe. breathe. BREATHE!" He quieted down soon and was back to his happy self. He fell asleep on the ride home and took a long good nap. Thankfully, we don't have to go back until after Christmas when he is 4 months old.

I thought I would also give you glimpse of Tate's day to day activities. He is a relatively happy baby. We have been very blessed not to have to deal with colic. He only gets cranky when he's ready for a nap, hungry or the rare occasion when he has an upset tummy. I know what you're thinking..."that's all the time, right?" No! :) Most of the time I can put him down for a nap while he's still awake, but sleepy, and he will fall right to sleep. He sleeps best while swaddled because his arms flail if he's not. He eats about every 3 hours during the daytime. He will eat, play for about an hour and then nap till the next feeding time. Last week, he showed a few promising signs of sleeping from 10 pm till 4 or 5 am. However, that didn't last long and he's back to waking me up around midnight, 4 am, and then again after 7 am. Atleast I know he has it in him and we can look forward to it in the future.

As stated in a previous post, Tate started smiling about 3 weeks ago and it absolutely melts our hearts. He smiles a lot during his playtime, especially while playing on his floor gym. It has a mirror in the center and he will smile and "talk" to himself and the animals hanging down. He has even started cackling or giggling when he smiles. It's funny to see his legs and arms moving like crazy while he lays there. He would stay there till his next nap time if I let him.

We have been working on tummy time, but he's not too fond of it. Here he is holding his head up for a quick moment, and then resting. Holding that noggin up is hard work!

And this one shows how our child is a genius. He is already grasping!

He is showing so much more personality these days. I wanted to include these three pictures because they show his personality so well.

sneezing

laughing

smiling

And this one is so funny because it shows his "George Costanza" hairdo. When Tate's sleepy, he will rub his head back and forth on his mattress (picture Stevie Wonder laying down). So any hair he had on the back of his head when he was born is now gone! And the red spot is his birthmark, thanks to his dad's side of the family. All of the Hartley men have red splotches on the back of their heads. We'll take another picture of his head when his hair grows out...it will be a mullet then!

Happy Halloween...

...3 days late! I thought I would share a few silly Halloween pictures.

Tate had no shortage of Halloween outfits.

Each person with their pumpkin...and that's Tate waving in the distance.

Tate is going to kill me for this one. :)

Notice David's shirt says, "I have candy."

Tate and Claudia