April 26

Mommy's Day Out
My nephew Andrew had his First Holy Communion, so Patrick and I were up early to get to the 10 a.m. service. Surprisingly, we were there at 9:30. Patrick was being his charming self and shamelessly flirting with the ladies. In fact, he was playing so much with the lady behind us that she actually picked him up. She loved it! It gave me an opportunity to take pictures of Andrew and actually watch him as he accepted the sacrament. He looked so adorable in his tie. Then we celebrated by going to eat breakfast and enjoyed the family outing.

In the afternoon, my mommy's group gathered for another N.A.N.O. (Need A Night Out) event. It was lunch, pedicures and shoe shopping. I skipped the lunch, but joined the ladies for the rest of the afternoon. Mia graciously volunteered to watch Patrick since Daddy went to the lake to help get things ready for the summer. I always have so much fun with the other mom's. We talk about what is happening with our babies, new baby products, and proudly show off any new pictures. I couldn't resist buying Patrick Baby Gap overall shorts for summer.

In the evening, Aunt Bel and Uncle A were in town, so we had an extra special treat of visiting them. Patrick loves his great aunt and great uncle. It's so lovely to see him bond with them. I have such wonderful memories at my aunt's house and playing in the backyard. Patrick was crawling every where. They couldn't believe it. Then they spoiled him with giving him some yummy whipped topping from a dessert. Oh, no, what did we start.

April 24

Crawling All Over The Place
Patrick has been rolling over in his crib and moving by holding on to his crib. But today, was the first time that he decided to get off all fours and begin to crawl. He just took off, like a rocket jet.

I sat Patrick in the middle of the floor and decided to "play" on the 'puter. The next thing I know he's near his jumperoo. So, I put him back in the center of the room and watched what he would do and he took off. I always thought babies began crawling slowly, but not my son. Bazoooom! There he goes. If there are any baby crawling contest, I must enter my son. He would win easily. Look at daddy! Remember when you said you couldn't wait for him to crawl...well put your sneakers on.

April 19

The Main Event
Rise and shine everybody. There is going to be a wedding today. The bride slept great and was feeling so much better. She was still weak, but this was her wedding day and she was going to enjoy every moment. So, we headed to the salon to get our updo's and then it was picture taking time. Patrick was a ring bearer and I really wasn't sure how the day would go. It's hard to be the matron-of-honor and try to take care of your son. Thank goodness for daddy, aunts, and my in-laws. They helped throughout the day.

Patrick took a few catnaps, but we really interrupted his schedule. So, I worried if my baby would be Mr. Cranky Pants. But he did a great job! He was actually sleeping during picture time and when he woke up, the photographer was taking different pictures, so we had to wait until after the wedding to get pictures of Patrick.

My sister walked down the aisle looking gorgeous. But before she had her shining moment, my son was stealing the show. He was wheeled out in a red Radio Flyer wagon, dressed in his little tuxedo. "Ohhhh", was heard from the crowd. Patrick looked so serious, but then he enjoyed the ride. He loves wagon rides!

After the wedding, it was picture time. Now, Patrick was a little crabby. He didn't want to be in his tux anymore and he was getting hot. So, there was one last shot that we needed which was a family picture. Patrick was wiggling so much that Mia began singing, "Itsy Bitsy Spider". The next thing you heard was my entire family of about 80 people singing the song. Oh, was it a moment. Too cute!

The best part of the wedding, (other than to see my sister enjoy her day), was dancing with my son. He loves music and loves to jump up and down. But when he heard the Macarena, he was tired and just fell asleep on mommy's chest. My little boy had enjoy the day and it was time to take him home. Good night Patrick!

April 18 - Eight Months

Month Eight
Just when Patrick was making progress with getting up on his hands and knees, he got sick. It lasted for about two weeks and was so horrible! My little ray of sunshine didn't feel like smiling and wanted his tummy to stop hurting. This was so hard on his mommy & daddy. Finally, Mr. Personality was back.

Here is how the month went:

Nicknames we have used: BoBo, Bubbie, Monkey-Boy, Bubbers

Most persistent habit: Doing raspberries while he has a mouth full of food

Kiddo likes: toys, lots & lots of toys, music, books, spinning in his exersaucer, sitting up on his own, dropping his toys and biting on his crib.

BoBo dislikes: Being left in a room by himself, being sick, and having a dirty diaper.

Favorite Book: Cloth books, taggie book and a Peek-A-Boo book.

Favorite Nursery Rhyme: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Places I went: After being sick for two weeks, Mommy didn't take BoBo out. She needed him to get better.

Favorite moment: watching Patrick wrinkle his face after trying new foods.

Mommy’s favorite moment: Seeing my sons personality come back after being sick for soooo long. It's great to have Mr. Sunshine back. I had a new mommy discovery....overnight diapers!

Highlight: Having so many friends & family telling me I have a cute son.

April 18

How Sweet It Is
It's amazing what can happen in a couple of days. As Patrick was getting better, my sister, "The Bride" became ill. On Monday, she was actually hospitalized because she had this pain near her stomach. I can't even imagine how you handle the week of your wedding in the hospital. On Wednesday, she had surgery because their was a mass of blood the size of a grapefruit. So they removed her ovary and the excruciating pain was gone. Finally, she was able to focus on her wedding.

Family began arriving on Thursday and we were so pleased because they helped so much. Everyone was willing to do anything to assist my sister. And I wasn't afraid to ask for help. My husband, Greg, actually picked her up from the hospital because my sister wanted all plans to continue and we all had some type of appointment to get ready for the big day. So Greg willingly went to get his favorite sister-in-law. She wanted her "Dream Day" more than ever, and a "little" surgery wasn't going to stop her. She insisted that she was going to get married on Saturday. The groom said he'd marry her on Saturday; even in the hospital.

Any whoo, she managed to get to rehearsal, but she was very weak. I was worried about my big sis. Maybe the wedding should have been delayed. She was moving very slow; slower than a turtle. But she insisted that everything go according to plan. So we had a shorter version of the rehearsal, then headed towards my brother's house for the rehearsal dinner. I actually made the Italian feast along with my aunts and my Mia. Oh was it so tasty and everyone had a great time. It was such a relief to see everyone relaxing and having a great time. After the week we had, I actually kicked back myself. Thank goodness family wanted to hold Patrick. It gave me a much needed breather and Patrick was able to get plenty of squeezes and a few red lipstick marks on his face.

April 13

You're Doing a Good Job, Mom!
Patrick is getting better. Last week was a long week for us. It's been real scary to know that my sister is getting married on Saturday and I'm still trying to help my son get better. He went to the doctor twice because I was concerned with weight loss, but to my surprise, he didn't lose as much weight as everyone thought. I guess that is good news. The doctor said I'm doing a great job at helping him get better. So, we'll see how this week goes.

On a side note, I'm worried about my sister. She got sick too, but her symptoms keep lingering. The groom even caught the bug too. But, the bride can't get sick. Perhaps, she has the jitters. I guess it's time to bring out the rosaries.

April 7

Rock Chalk Jayhawk
Where did March Madness go? I'm a huge fan of college basketball and I look forward to the tournament. But this year, March flew by and I really didn't get to watch entire games of basketball. Maybe a peek here and there. So, how excited do you think I was to know that the Kansas Jayhawks were in the Sweet Sixteen, Final Four and then crowned 2008 NCAA Champions? Well, I didn't' get to see the game. With Patrick being sick, I knew I wouldn't be able to see the whole game. Then, when the game began, I didn't feel well. Oh, no...I can't be getting sick. Yes, indeed I did. Let's just say I was praying to the Porcelain God at the exact time the game went into overtime. I was sick during the most exciting part of game.

Being a mom comes first and I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to care for my son when I was throwing up. But I did. I stopped by the bathroom about 4 times and then sucked it up to take care of Patrick. It was one of the hardest things that I've had to do. I just wish that my little boy would feel better and that I would get to see his joyful smiles. I miss my happy son.

So, congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks. You've made this sport fan extremely happy and gave me an opportunity to say to my Oklahoma Sooners family, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS....KU!

April 6

Hanging In There...Barely
Patrick is still sick. How much can a little baby throw up? Nothing is staying down. He's thrown up all over me, but I don't care. I can always clean up, but my little boy feels sick. I keep wondering, "Will he ever get better"? I didn't know motherhood would feel like this when your child is sick. The wonderful moments are fabulous, but the feeling that I'm having with seeing my son in so much pain makes my heart ache. I'm sobbing at night, praying to God that he will protect my child. I even asked my father and grandmother to protect Patrick. It just seems like he isn't getting better. He's losing weight, I can see it in his diapers. Please give me the strength to hold it together. My son needs me.

April 5

Please Pass The Throw UP
This was the scariest night since I had Patrick. Greg and I were woken to this frightful cry coming from our son's nursery. Greg entered first and screamed for me to come help him. Patrick was drenched in vomit...all over his head. I was scared. What happened to my baby? The cry was like a sound I've never heard before nor do I want to hear again. He was hurting and I didn't know why. I scooped up Patrick in my arms and ran to get Mia. What do I do? We took off all his clothes and gave him a bath at 1:30 a.m. My baby boy wasn't himself. After contemplating what to do next, we called the pediatrician. I hated to wake someone up so early in the morning, but I needed their help. My child was sick and I didn't know what to do. I love the pediatrician group. She not only talked to Greg, but she talked to me too, repeating the information that she had already given Greg, just to comfort a first time mom's fears. She gave us a care treatment plan which included monitoring his temperature and giving him Pedialyte. So Greg went to get some of that yucky salty drink to give to our child. Patrick continued to throw up anything we would give him. I decided to pull an allnighter to care for Patrick. At 3:30 a.m., I sent Greg back to sleep. Someone needed to get some sleep because it was going to be a long night. Mia went to bed at 5 a.m. and I stayed awake, rocking Patrick in my arms...all night. Around 8 a.m., Mia relieved me and I went to get a couple of hours of sleep. Greg called his parents and we discovered that his mother was sick too. Same symptoms.

This day would be one of the longest days for us. On top of throwing up, Patrick has diarrhea. So our day consisted of being thrown up on and then clean up a runny diaper. Patrick's demeanor was gone. No laughter, no smiles, just a whiny little boy trying to figure out what was happening to his little body. As a mother, all I could do was comfort my little boy by holding him, and just reassuring how much he was loved. Mommy loves you Patrick.

April 4

Move Over Brad Pitt
Our favorite photographer was taking another round of pictures of Patrick. She did such a fabulous shoot for his 3 month pictures, we were extremely pleased with all the pictures. Even though we take tons of pictures, I asked Greg's parents to join us for this photo shoot. I wanted Patrick to have some "professional" pictures that included his grandparents. Once again, Lea worked her magic and the pictures turned out wonderful. We are hoping to post the picture once we get the cd. Patrick looked gorgeous! Look out Hollywood, our boy will give you a run for your money.