A puppy!

We kept a friend's puppy on Friday night while they were out of town. Her name is Ruby and she's a Goldendoodle, which is exactly what we've agreed on when we finally get a dog. She liked Ross, though he wasn't always tolerant of Ruby. :) She especially liked to pull at his pajama bottoms while he was walking or stealing his toys! She was quite fascinated with his toy that shoots balls out of the top. After playing they decided to just sit for a bit and watch some Barney.

One of Ruby by herself. It was always hard to get a picture of her b/c she wanted my camera, much like Ross! ha

50 reasons to love Shutterfly (though we didn’t need anymore reasons!)

Shutterfly is offering a FABULOUS promotion right now to bloggers! Just for blogging about your favorite designs from their new holiday card collection, you get 50 FREE cards!!! Sweet! Christmas season is just around the corner so I’ve got to get started! I love photo cards – personalized touch at its best!

I’ve always been a Shutterfly fan since having Ross! In fact, I just created his first photo book of images from his first (almost) 2 years. I used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards last year and they turned out great. I recently found that they have a great option where you can order photos online through Shutterfly and then pick them up at Target in an hour!! This way, you get your photos the same day and don’t have to pay for shipping!

The images above are a few of my favorites from Shutterfly’s new holiday card collection.

Even if you’re not a blogger you can get some great deals at Shutterfly right now! There are so many great choices in cards, address labels, calendars, and all sorts of stationary needs. My favorite card? I really love this one but of course, you know I can’t show you the one I’ve chosen for our 2010 Christmas card!

Are you a blogger? Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Santa visit goes South

We attempted visiting Santa on Saturday. This did not go well so you will not be seeing any pictures from the visit. :<) We'll attempt it again next year. He posed for me before we left. "cheese" Before we left he had to go next door and see if the neighbors' dogs were outside. Thankfully they love Ross and try to let the dogs out whenever he comes over.

Daddy and Ross strolling around the yard, looking for the cat no doubt! They are quite the pair!

Mighty Hunter

Uncle Steve will be so proud. Ross knows how to stack an ATV with animals! Maybe he'll be a good hunting partner for "Tee". Just a better view of his stacking abilities.

After dinner play

After Ross ate dinner last night he colored some and played with Play-Doh.

He would go back and forth playing with both. Though I got more Play-Doh pictures than anything else for whatever reason. He likes making circles.

Animal Noises

I got a video of Ross doing some animal sounds. My favorite is his meow. I love the stressed face that goes along with the "meow". I tried to get him to do a few other things but he was mostly into the animal noises.

Life of Leisure

I called Ross my little Tom Cruise (Risky Business) last night. He ran around with just his oxford shirt on. When diaper changes roll around he likes to read a book. He cracks me up crossing his leg while he reads.

Dog Videos

I got a couple of videos of Ross yesterday. He laughed for a least 15 minutes straight when they dogs were playing with him. So much, in fact, that he got the hiccups.

Busy - but excellent - Day!

Ross and I had a fabulous day together yesterday. We left Little Rock at 7:30 to start our day. First stop, Meme's!! She loves her some Ross. The best thing about Memes are that they make you think they love you the most, but I know when cousin Alex comes to visit or other grandkids that she makes them feel just as special. Ross really had the best time there but he was crying in this picture b/c he felt like he needed my camera! He even called the Hogs for Meme. Something I definitely need to get recorded for the blog. When we left Meme's we made a couple more stops. One being to see a great friend that I haven't seen in years. It was a fantastic visit and she got to meet Ross. Her youngest, Emily, and Ross hit it off quite well. There were a few others that hit it off with Ross even better, that being the 2 dogs and cat!! They kept him quite entertained for the hours we were there and before the kids got home from school. In the picture below he's actually squealing. This day was just one more confirmation that we need to get this poor kid a dog!

Their names are Miley and Cyrus. So cute!

He could have played with them forever - the kids and the dogs. :) Ross and I hope everyone else had a day like we had, or that you have one in the very near future!! Priceless memories!

This and That

Ross loves to call people on the phone. This morning he actually picked up my charger and put it up to his ear and said "Hi Papa". I have my old Blackberry for him to play with and he'll get our iPhones on occasion. He'll put them both up to each ear and try to have a conversation. I never could get a picture of him doing that though. Here is is saying "cheese". He's gotten quite good at that.
He'll also hold them in front of each other and let them talk each other. :)

His Mam got Alex and Ross "gyro bowls". They are really cool and the snacks don't spill out when you swing it around, etc... He was taking a rest on Ster and having some Kix. These babies have it rough! I found Ross a new winter hat the other day and he actually wore it for a bit. Maybe he'll wear it without complaining once it gets cold. I'm sure I've jinxed it now.

Toys

Since Ross had surgery he's had to stay home from school this week. I kept him yesterday. Well, I left him in the living room playing when I went to the other room to do something and after a few minutes I came back and he had every toy he was playing with in the chair. I know it looks like someone probably put them on him but he pulled them all up on the chair by himself. His four buddies, cars, truck, and the breathing mask he brought home from ACH. He was so much fun! It rained most of the day so we didn't get to go out and do much.

Surgery day finally arrived!

Ross finally had surgery on Friday. Almost one year after the first scheduled surgery and another cancellation later, it is over! He did fantastic.

Here he is before we left for AR Children's Hospital. He had to get in a pre-surgery Barney.
The surgery waiting area had all sorts of things for the kids to play with. Ross had a great time. He had no idea what he was in for!

We weren't in the waiting area long before they called us back. We had to be creative to keep him occupied in the patient room.

We took some self portraits.

Da-Da getting a bit more nervous by the minute.

I didn't get a picture as they took him away because I honestly wasn't thinking about a camera at that moment. I wish I had gotten one of him though. He was so cute. His nurse was very sweet too. They let him take Blue Dog with him, which was great.

Once he finished and was in recovery for a short time they let us go back to be with him. He was quite groggy at first and wanted his Momma. (y'all know I hated that!) Poor baby had to get stuck quite a few times to get the IV started but they don't do that until they are asleep so he didn't have a clue.

I highly recommend downloading the Netflix App on your iPhone before anything like this takes place. It was an absolute life saver!

This was taken after our first attempt to leave. As we took a step outside the room Ross puked everywhere. He and I both had to get a change of clothes. GROSS! Thank goodness it was there and not in the car. Blessings come in small packages sometimes! :)

Finally made it to the car and headed home.

Once we got home Ross took it easy and pretty much got to do whatever he wanted. It'll be interesting to see how he does when he goes back to school. Though he loves school and his teachers so I'm sure he'll do fine.

Ross has to miss school this week because of some limitations from surgery but he's doing great. I think the codeine has made him even more fearless and he's running faster than ever!

I can't say enough positive things about our experience with ACH. From timeliness of appointments to great physicians and nurses it was all an excellent experience and now I understand what my friends mean when they talk about how wonderful ACH is. We are definitely blessed to have such a wonderful pediatric hospital in our city!