A Tough Week

As some of you may or may not know, my dad (Shaun's Dad) has been battling cancer for over 11 years. Since I graduated High School my dad's medical condition has been a roller coaster. He has beat several different types of cancer and has been one of the strongest and most determined people I have ever seen fighting the disease. But last 3 months have been grueling for him, my mom, who was always by his side, and the rest of our family.

This past Monday morning my father finally gave in and passed away at the age of 61.

It was hard to see him leave us, probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with in my life. But really and truly he is in a better place. He no longer has to get stuck with needles, sit in the doctor's office to get chemotherapy or take so many pills just to stay alive. He will no longer have to get CT scans, biopsies or radiation treatments. His last days were filled with family and friends visiting and my mom and I by his side.

I am thankful for many things in my life and one of those is my dad. He loved me more than I will ever know... and I loved him the same. He taught me so many life lessons including how to be a good son, husband and father. I am also grateful that he was able to see his grandson, Ty, albeit for exactly the first two months of Ty's life.

Ty will not remember his grandfather crying his eyes out the first time he held him nor will he remember his grandfather's laugh when Ty cooed. Ty will only have pictures of his grandfather and the stories I tell. But my family and I do have those memories and they are all so very special.

I thank the good Lord above for giving my mom and I such a special man. I also know that he is watching over all of us with a big smile and there to help guide us until we see him in heaven.

I love you dad... I always will!

An Renewed Sense of Confidence & Smiles

Last weekend I kept Ty on two different occasions while mommy went out to do some grocery shopping and run errands. Both times Ty was a good boy and has given me a renewed sense of confidence in baby sitting. I am gaining confidence in taking care of Ty while mommy is gone and that surely makes me feel like I am accomplishing something. :-)

Ty is growing quickly (physically and emotionally) and is developing some ham hocks for legs. In fact his legs are big enough around that my thumb is about an inch away from touching my middle finger. When we brought him home, I did the same test and my thumb overlapped my middle finger to just above my finger nail, so you can get an idea of how he is growing. I think he might be an offensive or defensive linemen but not quite sure the exact position yet. :-)


Ty is cooing and smiling more often and his emotions turn quite quickly sometimes. One minute he could have a beat red face and screaming like mad, the next minute smiling and laughing. He really enjoys when mommy sings the ABC song and often begins smiling and laughing before she makes it to H or I.

His favorite places in the house has become his bouncy chair and his changing table in his room. Before Ty was born, Lori and I had decided not to get a bouncy chair since we had a swing. Well, we were given one at Lori's Baby Shower at work and we figured we would use it a little bit. let's just say that chair has been a blessing because Ty loves it.


I have to say that Lori is doing a great job at being a stay at home mom and I think she is starting to enjoy it. She is getting into a pretty good rhythm of doing chores around the house, taking care of Ty and ensuring her husband is happy with a nicely cooked dinner when he comes home from work. I am not sure how I am going to react when she goes back to work and I come home to thawed out meat on the kitchen counter! :-) But for the next month or so I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Ty is happy, mommy is happy and that makes daddy happy!

Adventuring Out With Mommy

Shaun has been doing a great job on keeping our blog updated. I thought it was about time that I share an update.

Motherhood is great! Yes, it can be tough at times but I would not change it for the world. Ty is so much fun even though he is only 6 weeks old. I love the coo's and the smiles that he gives us. I look forward to that every morning when he finishes his bottle and takes a poop. He seems as though he is the most happiest at that time. I wonder why?! As Shaun has mentioned in a previous post about changing Ty's formula, yes, he has been totally different. No more gas pains! Thank goodness!! Now we just have to deal with the "fighting sleep" fussiness. Boy, does he get mad when he is tired. I often wonder why babies decide to cry instead of just falling asleep. It would be so much easier on them and not to mention on mommy and daddy. I think I have made more laps through the house now then I have before Ty arrived. Whatever works, right?

Ty and I adventured to the mall for the first time on Monday. I thought since it was such a nice day out that we would get out of the house for a bit. Ty decided to have a meltdown as soon as I pulled out of the driveway. What do I do....let him cry until we get to the mall parking lot or pull over to see what is wrong? Well, I had to pull in to the Fayetteville School because he was just going balistic. Usually he is pretty good in the car but for some reason he was not at that time. Needless to say he slept pretty much the whole time we were at the mall. I was not complaining at all. He was a good boy.

Today was voting day. I wanted to make sure I voted before Shaun got home because I felt that it would be very crowded at that time. So, I made the decision that Ty would join me. Well, we had another meltdown again and this time I had to drive around to get him calmed down. The driving lasted about 10 minutes because I was sure he had fallen asleep. I pulled into the church parking lot and needless to say he was not asleep. I put him in the stroller and told him to be a good little boy. I was hoping that the lines were not too long. Of course row P through Z was the longest of them all and that was the line we needed to be in. Ty was a good little boy as we stood in line and was getting a lot of attention. I loved it when someone asked me if he was a boy or girl. Come on!! When I told the women my name and they gave me my ballot, Ty decided that he waited in line long enough and decided to cry. Nothing I could do then so I left everyone hear how good he is at showing off his lungs while I was in the booth. Needless to say he was mad pretty much the whole way home.

Tomorrow is my 6 week checkup. I can not believe it has been 6 weeks. Time is definately flying by. I could not even imagine if I had to go back to work on Monday. That would have been my first day back if I had not decided to take extra time. I will return to work on January 5th. That day will be here before I know it. I can not believe we are now in November. I am enjoying my time with my baby boy. He truly is a blessing. He amazes me every minute of every day.