Monday, November 30, 2009

Dex's First Car

So...another trip to the country, and something new for baby Dex :)  I kinda get the feeling they love their grand-baby! 

Pop bought a little car swing for Dex and hung it out on the back porch...Emi painted it like a camo car that even has "real" headlights!  And check out those rims!  What are those... 3 1/2's??  Sa-weet!






Now, instead of having to sit in the house all by himself while the adults enjoy the back porch, he has his own seat out there, and it pretty much commands the attention of the room.  Especially when he shines those halogens in your direction. 

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Game #12 - TCU vs. New Mexico

I can't believe it's been 12 whole weeks of TCU football!  The time has really flown by.  I guess because we've been havin' fun :)  (wow...)  Anyway - once again, GO FROGS!! 

Dex is teething right now, so he hasn't been really smiling lately.  If he does, it's a closed mouth grin.  And he has his tongue out most of the time, chewing on it :)  Pretty funny. 




Cute little smirk!





There's that tongue!





Teeth!!

Well, I guess this means it's official...my baby is growing up!  I'm actually very excited he's getting teeth, and I love watching him get older, he just keeps getting more and more fun! 

Here is a couple of pictures of his teeth making their first appearance. 






I guess this means he can have some turkey for his first Thanksgiving :)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Bouncing - Upgrade

Dex loves his bouncy chair SOOO much, I thought, hmm... I bet he would love one that he can stand up in!! I'm a genius. You literally put him in this thing and he just bounces non-stop until you pull him out. Unless he falls asleep first.




Friday, November 20, 2009

Game #11 - TCU vs Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys?????   No thanks, I'd rather be a TCU COWBOY!!  :)



Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I Heart Tia

Dex's Tia came over on Sunday, and oh my gosh, did he have a good time with her!!  It's so precious to watch them interact.  I mean, he's (sometimes) very happy to play with me, but it's such a good feeling to watch him be that way with someone else!  Melts my heart.




As you can see, the first thing Tia did was take his clothes off :)  And of course, he loved it!  What is WITH this kid!!  Haha!

Sleepy Boy

So... Dex took very short naps today and I knew he was tired when I got home from work.  He was kind of fussy and doing his normal "sleepy" routine.  He gets very giddy and talks a lot because he's trying to trick you into thinking he's awake and should be played with!  Ha!  He thinks he can outsmart the adults...  But I didn't want to put him to bed at 5:30 pm because that means he wakes up at 5:30 am.  NO THANKS!

So anyway - I put him in his new bouncy play-thing while I made dinner, and then I ate and worked played on the computer.  All the while, he just kinda goofed around and didn't really cry, much to my surprise, so I left him in there.  I looked up after a few minutes of no noise and this is what I saw:










November 17 - Fight For Preemies

Millions of babies are born too early every year. I never thought it would be my baby, but as it turned out, it was! This is an incident that I never really worried about. I had the perfect pregnancy up until the point I went into the hospital. When I went in for that doctor’s visit, I would have sworn to you that he was going to tell me to take it easy for a while and then send me home. Unfortunately, I was admitted to the hospital immediately. Life from then and over the next four months was very difficult. Worrying constantly, trying to be productive at work and at life while concentrating on my child who was very sick in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), feeling bad if you weren’t at the hospital with the baby, the knowing there was nothing you could do to help him, the prayers, the wishes, the pain, the elations at his improvements, the heartache when he had a bad day, it’s an experience unlike much else. Time dragged on, it seemed, but everything happened exactly as it was supposed to. It’s easy to see that looking back :) Not so easy to see when you’re in that moment.

If you know anybody who has had a child born prematurely, take a minute to say a special prayer for that family, they went through a lot! I never understood what it was like until I was dealing with it myself. My sister-in-law delivered 28 week-old twins just 3 months before I went into early labor. After they were born, I knew that she went to the hospital daily, spent many hours there, talked about CPAPs and ventilators, diuretics, medications, breathing treatments, feeding tubes, monitors, de-sating, etc., etc., etc. But I didn’t KNOW what she was going through. Looking back, I wish I had done more for her. But it’s hard to understand when it’s not you.

So, on this day that we bring some awareness to this issue, maybe you give that preemie an extra hug today, or send some love to their mama and daddy! Maybe you make plans to walk in the march for babies, or sponsor somebody who does! Or even just send a card of encouragement to the NICU staff in your area. You don’t have to know them to appreciate their work. I have to tell you, the nurses (and doctors) in the NICU are exceptionally extraordinary people. I am eternally grateful for their love and care of my baby while he was there. They gave him a life. It could not have been done without them.

Please keep up with this issue throughout the year and do you part, whatever you can do! It doesn’t have to be big to mean something to somebody.

Declan Douglas O’Neal
Born on 12/27/08 at 25 weeks
Due on 4/5/09
1 pound 15 ounces
13 ½ inches long


Two days old...



A couple weeks old...





Stay tuned in November for a few more stories about Dex's time in the NICU.


"We need to fight ― because babies shouldn’t have to."

Friday, November 13, 2009

Look For Us!

Since we're not camping out tonight (thank goodness), we won't be up front or anything, but look for us in the back!  Here is side one of our sign!



College GameDay - ESPN @ 9:00 am



Update:  We got some recognition for our sign on a couple of websites!



http://tcu.rivals.com/photofeature.asp?SID=1126&fid=30855  (picture #38)

Game #10 - TCU vs Utah

Well, we're in for an exciting weekend!  College GameDay is actually coming to Fort Worth to broadcast, and you better believe Sean and I will be there with our sign in hand (Sean's excited about the game, and I just want to be on TV!)  :)  We'll finish it tonight and hopefully get a post up, so those of you awake early enough can watch and look for us!! 

Today, Dex decided he needed to catch up on a little light TCU reading.  Of course, we have regularly scheduled classes for him each week, but he went above and beyond this morning.  :)






"Huh??!"  Probably trying to sound out a long word...  like Patterson...



Looks like he's reading the part about blood coming out of the horned frog's eyes...



Go TCU! 

And Happy Birthday, Sean!!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Adorable

I am never disappointed with Brandi's pictures!  Here are a few of Dex's 6/9 month photos.  So adorable, I'm in love with him all over again :) 

To check out some of her work go to http://www.b4photography.com/















(again, you can click on the picture for a bigger view!)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Weekend at Pop&Emi's

Dex and I made our first solo trip to Milam this weekend while Sean went hunting.  I'll just say the trip down was "okay" and spare you all the details :)  Actually, he DID sleep most of the way, but when he was awake...well, he screamed.  After a couple of stops and once he figured out where I was though, he settled down a little.  He's used to me being the passenger and being able to play with him on the drive!

We got to Pop & Emi's and he had just had about an hour and a half nap and was geared up to play!  This was at about 9:00, mind you.  But that was fine with everyone, Dex rules in that house!  Here he is finally in Emi's arms giving me the peace sign while chewing on her thumb, like "Haha!  What now, mama?!  I rule!"



He was chewing REALLY hard.




Next day, he rode the fourwheeler (tried to DRIVE the fourwheeler)



Swang on the swing... (When he does new things, he rarely smiles.  He doesn't cry either, he just takes it all in.)



And spent lots of time playing with Pop & Emi! 
(Love this picture!)



He loves this little mirror.  He spent a lot of time this weekend looking at himself and chewing on it.
(Camo in honor of deer season opening weekend)



He's sitting up really well all by himself...



And reading his new book!



Smirk/smiling for the camera...



Fun weekend!  Thanks Pop & Emi!!  :)

*Lord, help me on the drive home!*

Update:  He doesn't cry if you let him drive!  (j/k)


Friday, November 6, 2009

Game #9 - TCU vs San Diego State


Dreaming of being a Frog :)



Sunday, November 1, 2009

Our Little Punk'in

I know it's a day late, but we had a TCU football game to attend yesterday, which took up most of my day (they won, by the way).  Here is Dex in his halloween outfit. 



We didn't go as "all out" as we could have, but I figured I'd spend that money next year when we're actually allowing him around people :)  I will admit though, when I saw some of the cute outfits on other kids, I wished I would have bought him something.  If only for the pictures!! 

This one cracks me up:



SCARY!  haha!