Zane's room

This week's edition of "Show Us Where You Live Friday" at Kelly's Korner is a nursery tour, so I thought I would participate since I don't think I ever posted pics of Zane's room.

First, I found the bedding I liked in the Posh Tots magazine, but then had it custom made from New Arrivals. I love the blue, brown, and white.

Then I found a classic iron crib from Bratt Decor that can be used for a boy or a girl and can't be chewed on when he gets teeth! The four posters can be removed or a canopy can be added to them. It also converts to a toddler bed.


I found this changing table in Posh Tots but then found it for a much better price at another location. Thanks to the in-laws for this one! The changer on the top also comes off so it can be used in another room later.

At first I didn't want any sort of theme to the room. Somehow the room has exploded with monkeys! A fellow Ouachita grad, Elaine, painted my canvas and it turned out perfect!

My friend Whitney gave me these blocks that spell out Zane's name. Elaine also made them!
Of course I had to have letters that spell out his name to hang above the crib. I found a lady that custom paints these in an ebay store. They match perfectly and I love the monkeys!


My brother found this tiny little rocker at my parents' house. It was mine when I was a little girl, but was an ugly green color. He recovered it to match the room. What a sweet (and handy) brother!

View from the hallway
Another view
And yet another view
And here's the precious little boy who never sleeps in this room!

Five months old

Zane turned five months old on Wednesday....and, well, to be quite honest, it's been a rough month! He's never been a great sleeper, but before his four month appointment he was sleeping at least one five hour stretch most nights. We've been zombies since then, though! He has not slept more than one or two hours at a time every.single.night! AAAHHHH! We're trying some new things and he did sleep 5 hours Wednesday night and SEVEN hours last night! Hallelujah! I sure hope the sleeping continues. I can tell a world of difference when he gets a good night's sleep. He's a much happier baby. Even though he likes to party it up all night, we still love him to death! He is so stinkin cute!

Some five month info:

*Weighs 15.5lbs
*Drools alot
*Has no blue left in his eyes--they are definitely brown!
*Smiles alot
*Gives a bashful grin and hides his face
*Almost always sleeps in the car (maybe we should all camp out there at night, huh?) haha
*Has had a few trial runs with rice cereal....he's not too crazy about it yet
*Gives momma big, open mouth "kisses"
*Found those toes! (see picture below)
*"Talks" more and will say "uh, uh, uh" repeatedly. Occasionally he changes it up and says "guh, guh, guh"
*Reaches for everything I'm holding and tries to put it in his mouth
*Can hold his own paci and put it in his mouth
*Can almost hold a bottle on his own
*Always has fingers in his mouth

Our five month photo shoot started out uneventful

I got a smile!

Then he decided to lean forward...

Hey, look what I found!

Yum-my!

Do I look like my daddy?

TOADally randoms...

Gosh, Zane looked so TOADally cute in this outfit that I had to post pictures!

Guess who made his arrival early this morning?.......PARKER PETTY! Congrats Allyson and Phillip! He is perfect. Oh, the trouble that he and Zane will soon be into....

We also got to visit with Hannah and Pratt! I love that Pratt is grabbing Zane's foot in this picture and hamming it up for the camera. Zane looks a little confused."Hey, those are my toes!"

Zane has recently started scratching everything! He loves to scratch the recliner because it makes a funny noise. He also loves scratching mommy's arms and apparently he decided to scratch his own face last night. The picture doesn't do it justice. It looks much worse in person!

In the next picture Zane is saying, "Geez Mom, can't believe you didn't know I was sick." That's right, I get the Bad Mom of the Week Award for calling my baby a fussy-butt, when he was actually a sick little guy. Bless his heart....he has his first ear infection. Amazingly, today he's been happier than I've seen him in weeks. Thank God for modern medicine making my tot face feel better and providing me with job security! The video at the end is proof of his better mood. Sorry for all the shaking.

Doctor Aunt Lindsey

Dear Aunt Lindsey,

I'm so proud of you for graduating from medical school. Sorry I was a fussy boy and me and mom didn't attend your honors program. Mommy says you're a 'fancy pants' and got an award or five. I already knew you were pretty smart....actually, you're pretty and smart! I tried to make up for the honors program by coming to graduation....and for a four month old sitting through a three hour graduation, I must say I did ok. I would, however, like to apologize for the timing of my pooping. Mom got really nervous when she heard the 'party in my pants' because she was wearing white pants and was afraid of any leakage that might occur. That being said, I was apparently strapped to a changing table in a restroom in Barton Coliseum when they announced "Dr. Lindsey Erin Bell". Oopsy! Well, I love you and think you're the best aunt in the world. Hope you have fun in Barbados. One more thing, do I have to call you "Dr. Aunt Lindsey" now?

Love,
Your favorite (and only) nephew--Zane/Dane/Taj/Todd/tot/potato

Paging Dr. Bell...

This is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

This little boy loves his daddy and wants to be just like him-- from dressing like him when he visits him at work, to hanging out and watching the Mets play! They're two peas in a pod....

My First Mother's Day

Well, maybe last year (when I got flowers from "Emma and Paisley" so none of the fam got suspicious) was technically my first Mother's Day, but there's no way it could've compared to this year. One year ago was a special Mother's Day because Matt and I had our little secret....but this year my feelings about the day were totally different. I love being Zane's mommy and cherish every moment I spend with him. Seriously, what did I do before he came along? Well, I know my house was cleaner, I slept ALOT more, and probably did more shopping!

Matt had to work Sunday morning, but my mom was here so I got to spend time with her! She also took care of Zane (bless her heart, I know she just hated that) and let me go back to sleep for a little while. Ahhh...i love it when my head hits the pillow and I know I don't have to worry about that little guy for a few hours. Then Matt made lunch and we went to Conway for dinner to celebrate with his mom and grandmothers. I also got a card, flowers, and a new camera from Zane, Emma, and Paisley! Thanks kiddos!

Here are some pictures of the first time I saw Zane and the first time I held him. I haven't previously posted these because I was self-conscious of how horrible I look in them, but let's get real. In the real world, 19 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing, and a c-section don't result in great hair and makeup! This was one of the most special moments in my life, so pretty or not, they're worth posting.

what's so funny?

Here's Zane in my new jogging stroller. We went for a little run this morning in between rain showers. We were almost home when we passed a woman in her driveway. I waved and said hi. She said hi. And then she laughed. Out loud! Ok, so I know I'm out of shape and I'm sure my face was as red as Zane's blanket in the picture.....but, really! Did she have to laugh at me? I parked the stroller in the garage....Went around to get Zane....and this is what I found.

Who knows how long his hat had been covering his face! It did make me feel a little better that maybe she wasn't laughing at me, though! Sorry, buddy!

Four months old

I can't believe that four months ago I didn't even know this little guy! Each day he changes, and each day I love him more than the day before. Tuesday we went for his four month checkup/shots. yuck!

Four month stats:
*weight: 14.5lbs, a little less than 50th percentile
*length: 25 inches, 50th percentile
*head circumference: 16.75 inches, 40th percentile
*perfect (that's what the doctor said, so it's official!)

His checkup with Dr. Magee went great, then the nurse comes in. I make dad-o hold him for the shots. He was sitting there chewing away on his hand, so unsuspecting, and then bam-bam-bam! Poor baby! He was a little fussy the rest of the morning, took a good nap, and woke up in a great mood! He did run a little fever that night and the next morning, and now we seem to be having some tummy issues. I'm so glad that another round of shots are behind us now.



Random four month facts:
*loves spending time with his DeeDee, Skeet, and Lola while mommy's at work during the week
*loves spending time with his Nana Beth while mommy's at work on the weekends
*is more vocal. mostly vowel sounds with an occasional 'a-goo'
*will laugh when his dad-o blows on his belly
*spends a little more time on his belly and is getting better at pushing up
*has rolled from back to tummy a few times
*loves to chew on his fist
*is very entertained by his 'chicken dance' duck
*likes for his daddy to rock him while listening to his Jimmy Buffet lullaby album
*still sleeps in the pack 'n play in our room
*still misses us during the night, so he wakes up one to three times during the night to "check on us"
*other than a stuffy nose, he has been perfectly healthy....a huge blessing!
*can lace all of his fingers together...looks like he's praying ;)

Look at these two pictures. The first one is from his first bath at home and the second is from his bath yesterday. Quite a difference in size and demeanor!





Here are some more pictures from our four month photo shoot. I had to get one of the back of this cute little outfit. Thanks Aunt Lindsey! You can also see where he's rubbed a bald strip on the back of his head.

Emma decided to jump up and join the photo session

And she gets a smile out of him!

He always has 'serious face'. I just know he's got a lot going on inside that little head of his....can't wait to find out what it is and what he has to say about it!

eight things...

hannah went a tagging and i got hit. that's hannah, of clintandhannahplusone....the best blogger around. seriously. her blogs are the best. she makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me stop and really think about things in life, and makes me pray for a little girl named zoe. ok, so she doesn't make me do the last one, but she is responsible for putting it on my heart. i wish i could have coffee with hannah every morning....

so here are the rules for "eight things":
. mention the person that tagged you
. complete the list of eight things
. tag eight of your wonderful blogger friends
. go tell them you tagged them

eight things i look forward to
*my morning coffee
*matt finishing residency and fellowship (just FIVE more years....)
*being able to work less and spend more time with my zaney-waney and his possible future siblings (again, just FIVE more years)
*taking zane to the lake this summer
*losing the last 7 lbs of baby weight...more wouldn't be so bad, either ;)
*the arrival of parker petty
*zane sleeping through the night
*the pearly gates

eight things i did yesterday
*worked for three days. actually, it was 12 hours, but it felt like three days.
*spent time with zane on my 30 minute lunch break
*lost my cool and told a couple that, yes, i could have their prescriptions ready faster if they weren't too concerned with what drug was in their bottle....but, if they wanted it filled correctly, and for me to make sure that the new prescriptions didn't interact with any of their others, possible causing seizures or other harmful effects, that maybe they should be a little more patient. be nice to your pharmacist, people...it's not fast food you're waiting on. (note: i think they actually waited for a total of 10 minutes! is that too much to ask?)
*met kohen pryor smith! his mommy and i were friends in college, have been following each others blogs for months, and our little boys got to meet at target yesterday!
*talked to my mom....i'm not sure i've gone a day without talking to her since zane was born
*drove to conway with my right eye closed because there was something in it. i know, dangerous. but i was scared to pull over on the side of the interstate and wasn't going to look in the mirror to try to get the foreign object out while driving.
*kissed my husband and my baby
*cried on my way home for three reasons: 1. i'm sooo happy that my friend Faith is now getting to stay home with her kiddos. her little girl, who is three weeks older than zane, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and requires a little extra tender loving care! which leads me to reason number 2. sick babies break my heart. and number 3 is totally selfish. a little bit of bitterness as i unloaded my already sleeping baby at 10pm, and again, i wished i didn't have to work so late.

eight things i wish i could do
*sing
*eat whatever i want, never exercise, and not have 'muffin top'
*witness every 'first' of zane's....first word, roll from tummy to back, crawl, walk, wave bye-bye, etc.
*be more organized
*have normal working hours for me and matt. our schedules are so chaotic
*be in a great small group
*cook dinner most nights of the week
*go back in time and see my grandparents when they were the age i am now

eight shows i watch
*all my children
*one life to live....these two are my mom's fault
*survivor
*the bachelor/bachelorette
*dancing with the stars
*desperate housewives
*the ellen degeneres show
*lost

i tag: faith stewart, allyson petty, stephanie wood, sara hardin, jordan woodruff, barbara cross, laurie andrews, and jordan malone