Birthday Blowout 2008

February 23, 2008---The Crawfords celebrated one mass birthday party on Saturday. It's just so convenient to have one party my babies. I think I would go insane if I had to plan/host three birthday parties in less than a month. So, I will take advantage of having one party for as long as the kids will allow it. We held the party at our church's family life center. This is the second year we have used their facility for our birthday blowout and it is wonderful. The basketball goals are available for those you want to show off their skills; while others just hang out and talk (I'm talking about the parents--haha). Some of the kids play ball too. We took Chloe's new car and several other push/ride toys for the smaller children to play with. We also hired three South Pontotoc cheerleaders to teach a dance and cheer to anyone interested. And, being the bad mommy that I am, I never got a picture of Anna Catherine with the cheerleaders. The whole cheering thing didn't go over as well as I had thought but Anna Catherine was still excited that they came. I should have probably waited until she is 7-10 years old to have a cheer party. Thanks to Nicole, Jordyn, and Amanda for taking two hours out of their weekend to entertain my daughter and her friends.

I wouldn't necessarily say that our parties have themes but I like the kids to have cakes decorated as something they like. Anna Catherine wanted cupcakes. We could not find any cheerleader themed items for Anna Catherine's portion of the party so she decided to do with Disney princesses. Jackson, of course, chose dinosaurs. He's not into cake---just the frosting---so he had a cookie cake. He only ate the icing off of it though. That boy doesn't know what he's missing! Since Chloe could not vocalize her opinion, I chose a princess cake for her. Tammie did a wonderful job on her cake. She took a napkin I had given her and decorated the two cakes perfectly. For the large cake, she made the #1 and tiara out of candy. Truly amazing!! It really makes me want to take cake decorating classes!

We've never had a pinata at one of our parties before so I insisted that we have one this year. I would highly recommend getting the kind with the pull strings. I didn't and the kids had to beat it for what seemed like forever, even after someone cut it with a knife. I would say it was a hit though (no pun intended). The kids had a great time and really enjoyed playing with their friends. Rick and I enjoyed the adult social interaction as well.

I would like to thank Grandmother, Jennifer, Carrie and Sam for taking pictures and videos with their cameras. I will have lots of great photos for the scrapbooks. We would also like to thank the Bergerons and Jacksons for staying after the party and helping us clean up and set up the chairs for the "First Day" contemporary service our church has in the family life center on Sunday mornings at 10:30. Then we all had dinner at Mi Pueblo. Jackson fell asleep between the church and the restaurant so he slept in a booth next to our table. Poor fellow! He was all pooped out from his party.

Boo-Boo's First Birthday

February 20, 2008---Our sweet Chloe, aka Boo-Boo, turned one year old today! Can you believe it?!?! It seems like I was still pregnant yesterday (and it looks it too--haha). She is such an adorable baby. Wait...can I still call her a baby? Is she technically a toddler now since she is walking? She'd been taking a few steps here and there for a several weeks and is now walking all over the place. Chloe also got three new teeth this week. Finally! She's had the front four teeth for about five months now and I was beginning to wonder if she would ever get anymore.

Uncle Adam, Aunt Shaina, Ben, and A.J. came over after church to eat king cake for Chloe's birthday. We know Mardi Gras was two weeks ago and some people don't understand our reasoning behind the king cake as a birthday cake. We have a good explanation. Chloe was born on Fat Tuesday last year and we passed out king cake at the hospital. Rick wanted her to have a king cake again on her first birthhday. It wasn't the best king cake I've ever had but we got it from a bakery in northeast Mississippi. You can't expect the best when it doesn't come from south Louisiana!

Chloe, Anna Catherine, and Jackson are having their actual parties on Saturday. It is one party for all three Crawford kids. I'd lose my sanity if I had to plan three parties in less than a month. I know there will come a day when they will want separate parties but I'm taking advantage of one mass party for as long as I can! I'll try to post pictures on Sunday.

Shadow

February 13, 2008---We added a new member to the Crawford family today...Shadow. He is a one-year-old, AKC registered, black cocker spaniel. He's a very sweet dog that we acquired because his owner moved to an apartment that didn't allow pets. And he came with two perks---he's house trained and he was free!! YEA!!! How lucky are we?!? Shadow also knows some simple commands and likes to play fetch. He has the same energy level as Jackson so they play wonderfully together. Jackson will get in his face and say, "Nanny nanny boo boo, you can't catch me" and then run. Shadow responds by chasing him for what seems to be 200 laps through the house. At the end of the day, both Jackson and Shadow are exhausted and sleep well at night. Chloe was freaked out at first because she hasn't been around many animals, but she's warming up to him now. Anna Catherine enjoys playing with Shadow, however she also likes to yell "no" at him a lot. All in all, he's a great addition to our family.

Snoozin' and Cruisin"

Snoozin'---We think Jackson is sleep walking. Three times over the past four days Rick has awoken to find him asleep in the doorway of our bedroom. This is not like Jack at all. If he needs something in the night, he will repeatedly come into our room and ask for a cup of milk or a diaper change until we honor his request. However, he has brought a diaper and a pack of wipes with him each time he "sleepwalks"--very odd I think. He's typically opposed to sleeping anywhere other than his own bed so I don't think he's looking to get into bed with us. He's not having nightmares so I don't think he's looking for comfort. Rick just leaves Jackson on the floor because, if you wake him up, he's up for good and ready to play even if it is four o'clock in the morning. Anna Catherine is a sleepwalker. She's a creepy sleepwalker though. She will come to my side of the bed and just stare at me---she never speaks, just stares---almost demented. She doesn't wake me up; she just stands there. I wake up because I can feel someone staring at me. Very creepy!!! I will ask her questions but she doesn't answer so I just put her back in bed. Neither Rick nor I have ever been sleepwalkers so we're not sure of the do's and don'ts on how to handle this.

Cruisin'---The weather was beautiful this weekend--sunny and a high of 60 degrees. While Jackson was napping the girls decided to cruise around the house in the Barbie jeep. Chloe had a blast. This was her first experience with Anna Catherine at the wheel. You can tell in one picture she was a little freaked out because AC would suddenly stop and then start again but all in all they had a great time. Chloe will be driving before you know it!

Chloe's Recovery

January 30-February 6, 2008---Chloe has been recovering wonderfully from her surgery. The swelling has gone down more and more each day, along with the discoloration and bruising. She mastered taking off her "no'no's" the day after her surgery. But, who could blame her?!? Would you be comfortable walking around like Frankenstein? We call her Baby P-Willie because she can take you out easily when she siff-arms you! She's cleared a few tables too. (For you non-Ole Miss people, that is a reference to former Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis---P-Willie--- whose arm was wrapped like a club his senior year. He took people out easily with it too! )




Patrick Willis during his senior year at Ole Miss:










Chloe has had some trouble sleeping because she likes to sleep on her stomach curled up like a ball but has had to sleep on her back. She began crawling the first day as well. The "no-no's" have helped her keep her balance when standing alone and she's actually taken a few steps before falling. She dislikes have the antibiotic put on her stitches and the Tylenol with codeine must taste awful because she spits it out quickly. All in all, she has had a very easy recovery.




Wednesday 01/30/08:




Thursday 01/31/08:




Friday 02/02/08:








Saturday 02/02/08:








Sunday 02/03/08:






(Forgot to take a picture on Monday---BAD MOMMY!!)

Tuesday 02/05/08: We left home at 1:30 a.m. and headed for Little Rock to have Chloe's stitches removed. That's right--a.m.!! She was the first surgery that morning which was nice because she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since 9 p.m. Monday. The time was tough on us because Rick has class on Monday night. We got 2 1/2 - 3 hours sleep before leaving. We took Anna Catherine and Jackson with us since this was going to be a quick trip. I took Chloe to the surgery center and Rick took AC and Jack for breakfast and then to play in the hospital's atrium/outdoor play area until Chloe was ready to go home. Chloe received "goofy juice" again but didn't have any adverse reactions. Either she was just exhausted or the "juice" zoned her out because she seemed to be in La La Land this time. She was entertained by putting her fingers in her mouth repeatedly. The procedure took five minutes total and we were in recovery for almost an hour. The incision area is very red but that is due to a reaction to the antibiotic ointment we had been putting on it all week. We assumed that was normal healing but have now stopped using it. The redness is fading and should soon be gone completely. That will leave Chloe with only the incision scar. Dr. Buckmiller thinks that it could fade on its own in the next year. If not, she'll have another cosmetic procedure to remove it. So, unless Chloe needs a touch-up, this was our last trip to Little Rock. The pictures do not do Chloe's face any justice . It looks soooooo much better! Just wait until you see her in person and you'll be amazed!

Wednesday 02/06/08: Chloe's very excited to have her "no-no's" off so she can feed herself, play, and sleep on her stomach!











Thank you to Dr. Lisa Buckmiller, Diane Bussard, R.N., the Vascular Anomalies Center, Arkansas Children's Hospital and and the many other doctors, nurses, and staff memberswho interacted with Chloe for taking such amazing care of my Boo-Boo.






Dr. Lisa Buckmiller:



Diane Bussard, R.N.: