You can visit Jackson and Jill's blog by clicking here.
Thank you!!!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Shout Out to the Sister-in-law
Please keep Jill, Jackson and the babies in your prayers. Jill will be 29 weeks on Sunday and for the past week she has been having off and on contractions. Please keep them in your prayers as well as the doctors who will making important decisions for them during this time! They have been through so much to get to where they are today. I just pray that everything goes according to God's plan and that those precious babies are as healthy as can be when they enter this world. One thing is for sure, they have plenty of love awaiting them!
You can visit Jackson and Jill's blog by clicking here.
Thank you!!!
You can visit Jackson and Jill's blog by clicking here.
Thank you!!!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
My Little Pick Up Man!!!
We listen to music a lot. During breakfast, during bath time, in the car! We hardly ever watch tv during the day but boy do we dance! Brooks loves music and loves to dance. Here is a video of him from this week (the day after the walking video.) I was about to give him a bath and had itunes on! PS: we don't listen to redneck music all the time, but you all know I love my country music!!!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wedding Blog!
So, with wedding season right around the corner I decided to start a blog for the John Oliver Michael House. Please visit our blog at http://jomh.blogspot.com/ and let your friends know about it as well!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Walk This Way!!!
Here is a small clip of our little rock and roll star walking! I was very low on memory space so I could only get a few seconds but he tends to plop down after a while any way. He walked around the house all day today, so it looks like he is about to take off!!! Please excuse his mis-matched outfit!
Personality Bloom
While Brooks may not be growing as fast as he did the first year, his personality has sprouted like a weed! HE IS SO MUCH FUN. I love it! It is hard to describe his actions, but I am mainly posting them so that I do not forget!
- He has taken the hugging game to a whole new level! Anytime I say something like "Love on Mommy" or "Love on Grandaddy" he lays his little head down as fast as he can on whomever he is loving and it's just so sweet!
- He also gives mommy lots of kisses. Although he has been doing this for many months, now when I say "Give mommy a kiss" he puckers up and smacks a big one on me! Melts my heart!
- His favorite game right now is pointing to mommy's eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair. Except instead of pointing (like the girls did) he gives a big ole whack. I am definitely teaching him to be gentle but I have gotten my head smacked a few times in this game!
- He talks 90 miles an hour. He makes up words. He talks and talks and talks, and we have no clue what he is saying. His signature word sounds something like "da-doooooooowwww." He says it randomly, all the time. I have no idea what it means or where it came from. The other day we were watching the presidential news conference and he was staring at Obama on tv. I said, "That is your new president." He looked at me, let out this deep, sarcastic laugh and said, "da-doooowww!"
- He is definitely walking more now. It is such a slow process. If he has something to pull up on, he will walk as far as he can until he plops down. He is the fastest crawler I have ever seen!
- He is obsessed with my niece Baleigh. LOVES HER. When she walks in the room it's like the sky has parted, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. He can not get to her fast enough. He literally cracks up at everything she does. She will say "boo" very softly and he loses it.
- He also loves to play with all of the girls. He gets very excited every time we are all together... which is often! I can only imagine his excitement when the triplets are born and get old enough to play and he realizes... I HAVE TWO BOY COUSINS! Oh goodness, what fun is coming! I can definitely see a "Boys or Girls ONLY Club" in the near future. And my guess is that the boy's club will be lead by one of the triplets and the girls club will be lead by Campbell. Just my premonition!
- He tries to repeat short sentences like, "I love you." Very cute!
- He is so sweet to people in public. He smiles and sometimes laughs at any one that talks to him or looks at him. When they look at him and when they walk away from him he waves frantically. The other day I was getting a pedicure and he waved at this one young girl for a good hour. She was a good sport about it. Through out one trip to the grocery store, he will wave at a good 25 people and have many new friends before we leave the store!
- My favorite change is when we ask him a question he comes back with, "Eh" or "Hmmm?" He cocks his little head and awaits your response. Sometimes he goes crazy with it and says it over... and over... and over. He also answers many questions I ask him with a very solid NO as he quickly nods his head back and forth!
- He LOVES books. He laughs when I get them out. He favorite book was given to him by Baleigh and Campbell and it is called "Pete the Cat."
- New words in his vocabulary: nana (banana), juice, yum yum, uh-oh, HOT and book --- and basically anything we say that he feels like he wants to repeat! Anytime I get something out of the microwave or oven he announces, "HOT HOT!" The other day I was rolling my hair and he let me know the curlers were in fact, "HOT HOT!"
That's about it for now. I am going to try and figure out a way to upload a video I took of him yesterday. John was on rock band playing guitar and Brooks was going at it with the drum sticks. He really looked like he was playing and he even had pretty good rhythm! That tells me he must take after his Arkansas Grandaddy musically!
- He has taken the hugging game to a whole new level! Anytime I say something like "Love on Mommy" or "Love on Grandaddy" he lays his little head down as fast as he can on whomever he is loving and it's just so sweet!
- He also gives mommy lots of kisses. Although he has been doing this for many months, now when I say "Give mommy a kiss" he puckers up and smacks a big one on me! Melts my heart!
- His favorite game right now is pointing to mommy's eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair. Except instead of pointing (like the girls did) he gives a big ole whack. I am definitely teaching him to be gentle but I have gotten my head smacked a few times in this game!
- He talks 90 miles an hour. He makes up words. He talks and talks and talks, and we have no clue what he is saying. His signature word sounds something like "da-doooooooowwww." He says it randomly, all the time. I have no idea what it means or where it came from. The other day we were watching the presidential news conference and he was staring at Obama on tv. I said, "That is your new president." He looked at me, let out this deep, sarcastic laugh and said, "da-doooowww!"
- He is definitely walking more now. It is such a slow process. If he has something to pull up on, he will walk as far as he can until he plops down. He is the fastest crawler I have ever seen!
- He is obsessed with my niece Baleigh. LOVES HER. When she walks in the room it's like the sky has parted, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. He can not get to her fast enough. He literally cracks up at everything she does. She will say "boo" very softly and he loses it.
- He also loves to play with all of the girls. He gets very excited every time we are all together... which is often! I can only imagine his excitement when the triplets are born and get old enough to play and he realizes... I HAVE TWO BOY COUSINS! Oh goodness, what fun is coming! I can definitely see a "Boys or Girls ONLY Club" in the near future. And my guess is that the boy's club will be lead by one of the triplets and the girls club will be lead by Campbell. Just my premonition!
- He tries to repeat short sentences like, "I love you." Very cute!
- He is so sweet to people in public. He smiles and sometimes laughs at any one that talks to him or looks at him. When they look at him and when they walk away from him he waves frantically. The other day I was getting a pedicure and he waved at this one young girl for a good hour. She was a good sport about it. Through out one trip to the grocery store, he will wave at a good 25 people and have many new friends before we leave the store!
- My favorite change is when we ask him a question he comes back with, "Eh" or "Hmmm?" He cocks his little head and awaits your response. Sometimes he goes crazy with it and says it over... and over... and over. He also answers many questions I ask him with a very solid NO as he quickly nods his head back and forth!
- He LOVES books. He laughs when I get them out. He favorite book was given to him by Baleigh and Campbell and it is called "Pete the Cat."
- New words in his vocabulary: nana (banana), juice, yum yum, uh-oh, HOT and book --- and basically anything we say that he feels like he wants to repeat! Anytime I get something out of the microwave or oven he announces, "HOT HOT!" The other day I was rolling my hair and he let me know the curlers were in fact, "HOT HOT!"
That's about it for now. I am going to try and figure out a way to upload a video I took of him yesterday. John was on rock band playing guitar and Brooks was going at it with the drum sticks. He really looked like he was playing and he even had pretty good rhythm! That tells me he must take after his Arkansas Grandaddy musically!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Car Seat Safety
Car crashes scare the mess out of me, especially when it comes to children. I have two personal stories I will share with you that will help you understand my EXCESSIVE fear of children and cars.
The first goes back to my college days, when I was running late to meet some friends for dinner. I was going down a hill, looking down at my cell phone (shamelessly) when I slammed on my breaks to stop from hitting a car in front of me. I lost control, crossed the yellow line and side swiped a minivan coming the opposite way. The whole crash was terrible and the officers could not believe no one was injured. The mini van and my car ended up very far away from each other, so I never met the driver. I was very shaken but held it together as I called my Dad and John to let them know of the incident. I was talking to the policeman and heard another officer on the scanner say to him, "Yes, the three children in the van are definitely okay, just shaken. No one is injured." I absolutely LOST it! No explanation needed.
The second story occurred during my Classic Center days when John lived in Bogart. This was two years ago this past Christmas. I was driving from his house to my parents house one morning. I came to a side road intersection to cross Hwy. 316. A car crash involving a small car and a transfer truck had just occurred. I will spare you the details of the crash but I will tell you that I watched a small boy, age 7, die on the side of the road. His mother used my cell phone as she frantically called her family. Her husband was lying about 50 yards away, unconscious. Their second son, a baby, was screaming as pedestrians carefully tried to remove him and his car seat out of the wrecked car. There was blood, screaming, crying, total chaos. I am not built to handle these situations, which is why I do not work at a hospital. I will never forget that mother's face. That little boy's mangled face. I think about it every time I pass that intersection. I think about that family every Christmas, every time I see a little Mexican boy with a bowl cut. It was absolutely horrible. Everyone at the scene assumed that the man and the older boy were not strapped in. The mother and the baby were strapped in and the baby was in a safe car seat that was installed properly.
I know those are two very long stories but they do lead to a point. When it comes to babies and cars, I am a fanatic, which is why I took an email that my friend Ansley sent me very seriously. It was in regards to car seat safety. When it was time for us to buy Brooks his new car seat I did my research on every brand and most every style. I bought him the one I thought was the absolute safest car seat made in the entire world! I had the company's representative show me how to install. At the end of the little tutorial, she told me Brooks could sit forward or rear facing, but rear-facing was the safest. She had, however, installed it front-facing. Since his spider legs were squished in the rear facing position, and since he was 21 pounds and a year old, I kept it facing forward, excited that he could now see Mommy and the outdoors while riding.
After reviewing all of the information on the link that Ansley sent to me today, I will be turning Brooks back around to be rear-facing. His car seat supports this for up to 35 pounds. He still only ways 21 pounds. Sure, his legs will be squished and he'll have to stare at the back seat for another year, but I would rather that than a broken neck. What gets me is through out all my research all I read about was side impact. What will protect him the most if there is side impact? I didn't think about slamming on breaks, neck injuries... AHHHH!
Here is an excerpt from the blog post that I read from this link that Ansley sent to me. I was shocked. "Because riding rear-facing does provide significantly more protection to children's heads, necks, and spines, the Academy does recommend it for as long as possible, but the only minimum we have set is 12 months/20 pounds. This policy statement is under revision but is current at this time."
Under revision? Really? So, in five years there may be a law stating that the baby has to be 35 pounds and 2 years old to ride front facing? ABSOLUTELY. That makes sense. I am not waiting for that law to be passed. No siree.
All mommies and soon to be mommies, please check out this link. I would love your opinion. Do you think the law should be revised? Would you turn your child around if you were me? And does anyone know if there are any NEGATIVES to the rear-facing position for a tall child, or one over 20 pounds and a year old. I am very interested. I may call Britax. Yes, I am one of those moms.
I do believe God will keep my baby safe, but I also think He gave us a brain for a reason!
LINK: http://www.joelsjourney.org/
Thank you, Ans!
The first goes back to my college days, when I was running late to meet some friends for dinner. I was going down a hill, looking down at my cell phone (shamelessly) when I slammed on my breaks to stop from hitting a car in front of me. I lost control, crossed the yellow line and side swiped a minivan coming the opposite way. The whole crash was terrible and the officers could not believe no one was injured. The mini van and my car ended up very far away from each other, so I never met the driver. I was very shaken but held it together as I called my Dad and John to let them know of the incident. I was talking to the policeman and heard another officer on the scanner say to him, "Yes, the three children in the van are definitely okay, just shaken. No one is injured." I absolutely LOST it! No explanation needed.
The second story occurred during my Classic Center days when John lived in Bogart. This was two years ago this past Christmas. I was driving from his house to my parents house one morning. I came to a side road intersection to cross Hwy. 316. A car crash involving a small car and a transfer truck had just occurred. I will spare you the details of the crash but I will tell you that I watched a small boy, age 7, die on the side of the road. His mother used my cell phone as she frantically called her family. Her husband was lying about 50 yards away, unconscious. Their second son, a baby, was screaming as pedestrians carefully tried to remove him and his car seat out of the wrecked car. There was blood, screaming, crying, total chaos. I am not built to handle these situations, which is why I do not work at a hospital. I will never forget that mother's face. That little boy's mangled face. I think about it every time I pass that intersection. I think about that family every Christmas, every time I see a little Mexican boy with a bowl cut. It was absolutely horrible. Everyone at the scene assumed that the man and the older boy were not strapped in. The mother and the baby were strapped in and the baby was in a safe car seat that was installed properly.
I know those are two very long stories but they do lead to a point. When it comes to babies and cars, I am a fanatic, which is why I took an email that my friend Ansley sent me very seriously. It was in regards to car seat safety. When it was time for us to buy Brooks his new car seat I did my research on every brand and most every style. I bought him the one I thought was the absolute safest car seat made in the entire world! I had the company's representative show me how to install. At the end of the little tutorial, she told me Brooks could sit forward or rear facing, but rear-facing was the safest. She had, however, installed it front-facing. Since his spider legs were squished in the rear facing position, and since he was 21 pounds and a year old, I kept it facing forward, excited that he could now see Mommy and the outdoors while riding.
After reviewing all of the information on the link that Ansley sent to me today, I will be turning Brooks back around to be rear-facing. His car seat supports this for up to 35 pounds. He still only ways 21 pounds. Sure, his legs will be squished and he'll have to stare at the back seat for another year, but I would rather that than a broken neck. What gets me is through out all my research all I read about was side impact. What will protect him the most if there is side impact? I didn't think about slamming on breaks, neck injuries... AHHHH!
Here is an excerpt from the blog post that I read from this link that Ansley sent to me. I was shocked. "Because riding rear-facing does provide significantly more protection to children's heads, necks, and spines, the Academy does recommend it for as long as possible, but the only minimum we have set is 12 months/20 pounds. This policy statement is under revision but is current at this time."
Under revision? Really? So, in five years there may be a law stating that the baby has to be 35 pounds and 2 years old to ride front facing? ABSOLUTELY. That makes sense. I am not waiting for that law to be passed. No siree.
All mommies and soon to be mommies, please check out this link. I would love your opinion. Do you think the law should be revised? Would you turn your child around if you were me? And does anyone know if there are any NEGATIVES to the rear-facing position for a tall child, or one over 20 pounds and a year old. I am very interested. I may call Britax. Yes, I am one of those moms.
I do believe God will keep my baby safe, but I also think He gave us a brain for a reason!
LINK: http://www.joelsjourney.org/
Thank you, Ans!
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