bryce update, birthday planning, and such

Oh how I would love to be a stay-at-home mom. As you can tell, a life of working and being a mom and a wife leaves little time to snap a picture or two throughout the week of my precious boy. Since I don't have any pictures to share this week, I thought I could at least update you with ALL of the amazing things Bryce is doing these days.

His vocabulary is growing daily. He can say da-da, ma-ma, na-na (sometimes is means banana and sometimes it means Nana), duck, dog, book, ball, fish, tiger (his newest word), bye-bye, and he can tell you what a cow and a sheep say. He can even make the sound of the animal when he sees the picture of it. We have attempted to get a video of his new words this week, but he gets camera shy when we film!

I'm slowly getting into birthday party planning mode. I have had the invitations made, but I am having a hard time getting them printed in a color that I like. I ordered a whole set from snapfish, but when they came in, the color was totally wrong. Now I'm getting sample ones printed from various places so I can order new ones. I will post a sample once I have a chance to get them in the mail.

If anyone is wondering, our house is STILL on the market and the original house we put a contract on is STILL available. We are desperate to get a contract on our house so we can move and get Bryce a play room. I know more people follow the blog than actually "follow" on my sidebar, so if you know of anyone who (especially a first time home buyer) wants a house in Mechanicsville, send them our way.

I'm off Monday, thank you MLK, so I will try to get a picture or two so you don't forget what Bryce looks like, ha!

a day at the park

Bryce got to go the park the other day with Kelly, Chase, and Taylor. I think he likes swinging!

a little more Christmas

We had dinner with some friends tonight and Bryce got another Christmas present!

Bryce pulling the tissue paper out of the bag. As you can see, Macy is in the background helping.

Pulling the gift out.

Showing off the goods.

Playing with the cars. (Please excuse my foot with the hole in the sock. You think I could have cropped that out. Oops!)

The gift wrap is still the best part. I can't tell you how many pieces he shredded the tissue paper into. Thanks for the gift, Kathryn. Bryce loves it!

a new discovery

Bryce discovered his tongue today!

It was hanging out of his mouth all day.

He kept touching it.

He can't quite show you his tongue on command, but we will get there.

great day

We got snow! Not enough to get us out of school, but enough for a 2 hour delay. I cut the tv on this morning when my alarm went off and the first school announcement on the bottom of the screen said Hanover had a 2 hour delay. I cut the tv and my alarm off and went back to bed! Bryce and I had so much fun playing this morning. I snapped this picture of him walking on his hands and feet. This is what he did the other day when he stood up for the first time. No standing today, but almost.

I was finishing up getting ready this morning and peeked out of the bathroom to check on Bryce and he was sitting on the floor starring up at the tv. I just thought it was the cutest thing. He actually looked like he had an attention span of more than 5 seconds. (Don't tell Jason he was watching figure skating on the Today show). We'll just assume he liked the music and not the actual skating, ha!

When I picked Bryce up from Kelly's today, she said she was taking Chase to Inflatable Palace. I'm sure you have all heard of these things, maybe just under a different name. Jason and I had considered taking Bryce last weekend so Bryce and I decided to tag along.

Bryce and Chase enjoyed playing in the ball pool.

We actually stayed there for 2 hours! Jason was even able to stop by on his way home from work. Here we are in the toddler sized inflatable getting ready to go down the slide.

Here is Bryce coming out at the end. I would love to know what in the world that expression means!

Chase coming out at the end.

I am so excited that we tagged along. Bryce had so much fun! He enjoyed crawling through the inflatables and he didn't seem scared by them. They also had a ton of toys for the kids to play with. We even lucked out because kids under a year are free. We will definitely be going back soon!

random update with no pictures

Well, I'm 3 days back in to the swing of things and I'm already ready for summer vacation. The weather man keeps teasing me with that "s" word and I'm getting my hopes up. I'm sure it will pass or barely drop a flake since school is back in and I REALLY want a snow day! If I'm lucky, maybe we will have a delay on Friday morning.

I have found it very difficult getting myself and Bryce ready in time in the mornings. It wasn't until I had dropped Bryce off and I was well on my way to work yesterday that I realized I hadn't eaten breakfast, ugh. I know it will get easier and I will fall back in to my routine at some point.

The worst part of it all has been fixing dinner. It is very hard to fix a meal with a baby on your hip. I can only entertain Bryce with the measuring cups, spoons, and bowls for so long before he is crawling up my leg and begging me to pick him up. It doesn't help that we have had something to do every night this week. I get home, cook dinner, eat dinner, clean up dinner, run an errand, put Bryce to bed, pick up around the house, and then maybe relax for a few minutes before heading to bed. I am E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D. I told Jason that we are ordering pizza tomorrow night and all hopes of dieting are going out the window. Cooking healthy meals (or any meal for that matter) has taken a toll on me and I just want to relax and let somebody do the cooking for me! OK there.........I have vented all my frustration that working brings (and it's only be 3 days, THREE)! I feel much better now.

On a more interesting note, Bryce stood up unassisted (no furniture or help from us) last night! He was crawling around his room and then started walking around the floor on his hands and feet and then just stood up. Of course he had fallen down onto his bottom before he was totally vertical, but it counts because he did it ALL by himself! I'll try to post some pictures soon. In the mean time, do a snow dance for me. THANKS!

square peg in a round hole....or not!!

Jason and I have enjoyed being home with Bryce this past week. He is learning something new everyday and we have gotten to witness it! He has been waving "hi" and "bye" for a while, but it just consisted of him raising his hand in the air. Just this week he has started opening and closing his fingers. Too cute!

We have also been trying to get him to say "more" using sign language. It has always been hit or miss, but just today he has started doing it and I really think he knows what it means.

Also in the last few days, he has started standing for longer periods of time. His balance isn't great, and he can't go from sitting to standing, but if he is already standing and he lets go of something, he can stand on his own and balance himself.

But best of all, what makes me think he is an absolute genius, is his ability to put the circle shaped block in the right hole. Maybe all 10 month old babies can do this and we just don't have anyone to compare him to, but we were quite impressed. Bryce is also quite impressed because he claps once he has done it correctly. Enjoy!

This video really does work. I've watched it twice, but sometimes it says that the video is currently unavailable. Will you leave me a comment and let me know if the video worked for you? Thanks!

a walk down memory lane

What a difference a year makes. 2009 has probably been the best year on record for myself and I can probably speak for Jason, too. I thought about doing a review of 2009, but I figured that Bryce was the highlight of 2009 and you all have kept up with him all year on the blog. You can look back through the archives if you want to know how he changed from month to month. I decided to look back at the entire DECADE and share some of our memories.

2000 - 2009

2000

I graduated from high school in June 2000.

I cringe when I look at myself. Working at William's Bakery my senior year didn't help my figure one bit, ha!

High School Sweethearts

We graduated and went away to college together!

Go Hokies!

Freshman year at Virginia Tech

I don't have any pictures, but Jason and I also got engaged on Christmas Eve 2000! (We waited a few years to do our pictures and announcement.)

2001

2001 was a hard year for our country. I started my sophomore year at Tech, but the events of September 11 left me very homesick. I came back home and worked the rest of the semester.

2002

I transferred to VCU and FINALLY got accepted into the program of my dreams!

Jason and I celebrated 5 years of dating. We got dressed up and went to dinner at the Tobacco Company. It just so happened it was Super Bowl Sunday that year. Jason must really love me to give up that game!

2003

No pictures again, but Jason and I bought our house and started fixing it up.

I turned 21

My birthday was on a Monday and then on Saturday......

.....we got married!

2004

We had our first snow at our house.

We bought our first new car together!

2005



I graduated from VCU with my Master's

My dream of becoming a teacher was finally coming true.

I spent all summer calling the school board office in Hanover and I finally landed a job. Here I am on my first day of school with my mentor (and Jason's 4th grade teacher).

My first class

I even got the beginning teacher of the year award. WOW!

2006


We got Macy. She weighed about 2 pounds when we got her.

Our first child. We have just as many pictures of her as we do Bryce.

We went out to Wyoming to visit our friends, Matt and Krissy. The Grand Tetons in the background are just gorgeous.

Standing on snow in June!

2007

2007 brought on a healthy year as we prepared for the Monument Avenue 10K. I enjoyed training for it and running it, but Jason did NOT. I wish I had the time or dedication to do it again. I was proud of myself for running the whole thing and completing with a time right at an hour.

2008

Jason and I have always been planners. And this vacation to Bermuda was just another part of the plan. We had always said we would celebrate 5 years of marriage in Bermuda before starting a family. Here we are in Bermuda and I was 10 weeks pregnant!

2009

Bryce Charles Whitlock

This precious baby boy entered our lives on February 25, 2009.

I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I can't complain about any of the years in the past, but I can absolutely say that this past year has been the BEST year of my life. I never imagined how much joy a baby could bring. I love Bryce with every part of my being and I can only imagine how he will contribute to all the memories to be made in the next decade.

I'm sure I left out some monumental event in our lives, but this is all I could find pictures for (either on the computer or old photo albums). I can't believe I'll be blogging about my 10 year high school reunion in 2010 (if we have one). Hope you all have had a wonderful year and decade. Good luck and best wishes for the new year!

10 months

What is Bryce up to now?

Bryce is such a great baby and we are enjoying the routine we are in.

• Bryce goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 and we usually wake him up around 6:45 so we can get him ready so we can go to work. He sleeps until about 7:30 on the weekends.
• He takes two naps a day (usually 1.5-2 hours each)
• He drinks 4 bottles a day (20 oz over the course of the day)
• He L.O.V.E.S to eat and he has 3 meals a day and some snacks in between. He is trying to say more. He knows what it means, but he can't make out the word yet.
• Bryce can pull up on things and cruise around furniture. He can also walk behind his toys.
• He is a speedy crawler on his hands and knees
• We are trying to get him to stand on his own, but he usually doesn't last more than 5 seconds.
• We think he is starting to say a few words. He can definitely say ball and book, discriminately. He says ma ma, da da, na na, but not discriminately. We also think he has said duck and truck, but who knows.
• He finally has a tooth (see picture below)
• We are getting new car seats because he is TOO heavy for the carrier
• He plays pat-a-cake. He can clap and roll 'em up, but he can't throw 'em in the pan yet, ha!
• Bryce loves to play ball. Bryce has started throwing his toys so we got him a big bouncy ball and he loves to sit on the floor and throw it back and forth.

I can't believe Bryce has been in our lives for 10 months. He was the perfect addition to our family and we love him more than you can imagine. We look forward to the milestones the next month(s) bring.

Can you see that pearly white tooth?

I just had to post this picture because I thought he looked too cute wrapped up drinking his bottle. Very cozy!

Merry CHRISTmas

This little boy had a fantastic first Christmas!

Bryce is 10 months old today. I will do a post just for that tomorrow!

Here is Bryce opening his present from us this morning. It must have been too early or I was blaming things on not having my contacts in, because I totally didn't realize the camera was on manual focus, NOT automatic focus. So I finally got a picture of Bryce opening a gift, and it's blurry. Oh well.

Checking out all the bath toys in his stocking.

We always go over to Jason's parents' house for breakfast and gifts on Christmas morning. This was the best shot we had considering there were 5 cameras going off at once.

After bringing home another round of gifts today, we realize even more how much we need a new house. We are hoping the new year brings more interest in our house and we will be able to move to the original house we had our eye on! Then Bryce will have his own play room.

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Bryce. Bryce has brought so much joy to our lives and we are so proud to be his parents. I can only imagine how Mary and Joseph felt when Jesus was born. I hope everyone has found time to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. So from our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas as we say, Happy Birthday, Jesus!