Awesome Autumn

Finally! The temps are becoming more bearable. Yesterday, we watched the #10 ranked Hogs sadly lose to #1 ranked Alabama. We watched from our tailgate which was so much fun (ya know, until we lost), with approximately 25 other folks without tickets. (We sold our season tix this year.) Most were from other tailgates that didn't have a TV, so we made some new friends (and we wished a few of them weren't there) :-) Randall went at 7:00 a.m. with the die-hard tailgaters, and Sydney and I joined the party around 12:30 p.m. Sydney was great, and lasted the whole game.

After that disappointing game, it was wonderful to wake up to a high of 64 on this beautiful Sunday! The week should remain beautiful, with most days staying in the mid-70s. Oh, how I love this time of year! It reminds me of our cool October wedding day almost three years ago, which was so perfect. It also reminds me how pregnant I was this time last year, and how soon we'll be celebrating our angel's 1st birthday!

Here we are before an afternoon cruise around the 'hood. How nice it was that we needed LONG sleeves!!!! I'm so excited to see Sydney in all her adorable fall outfits.

PJs

I can't think of many things cuter than a baby in footie pajamas.
Sweetness!

P.S. Allergies (or whatever it was) are all cleared up. No idea whether the Zyrtec worked that quickly or if she just had a fluke thing that passed. Either way, we are glad she's better!

Allergies & Weight Loss

Strange post title, isn't it? Well, those are the two things on my mind this evening. First, Sydney has allergies. It's a big problem in northwest Arkansas. In fact, many people told me I'd develop allergies after moving here, but - knock on wood - Randall and I are still both in the clear. The same cannot be said for our sweet daughter. Sydney showed signs of allergies in the spring, but she was still so new, no doctor would call it allergies. Today, after a weekend of lots of outside time, poor Sydney's eyes could be an advertisement for allergy medicine (the "before" picture, of course). It is truly pitiful. I called the nurse at our pediatrician's office, and based on the symptoms I described, the doctor prescribed Zyrtec. One 1/2 teaspoon every morning. I'm really hoping this will help! I have friends in the area whose kids have taken it for years. I'm typically opposed to medicine, but just add it to the list of things that will change after becoming a parent. We'll do anything to help her feel better!!

Topic #2: Weight loss. I've debated putting anything on the blog because - gasp! - I might actually have to be accountable. But, here it is. Sydney is almost 9 months old, and I need to get in gear. This is hardly baby weight at this point, and I am just not happy with the way I look. Honestly, we do pretty well with the food side of things, minus a few hiccups here or there. Now, my feet are going to hit the pavement. We went for a walk/run last night. Randall pushed the jogger and I juggled between running and walking my way through. It felt good. Now the challenge is keeping it up...that is always the challenge! I plan to weigh every Friday morning - this Friday will be the first to get my starting weight - and post my results on the blog. I will just be posting the change, not my actual weight. No ma'am. And my updates will be subtle, like at the end of the next post, not its own post because that might call too much attention to it. Ha! Oh, and before you ask, yes, I do want to have more children. But I need to get in better shape now for the next time. Every time I get lazy, I'm going to try to think of The Biggest Loser ... which premieres tomorrow night!

Miracle League

Randall had the opportunity to volunteer as a "buddy" for the newly created Miracle League in Springdale, Ark. (There are 200 miracle leagues nationwide, but this is the first in our area). It is a baseball league for special needs kids - age 4 and up - with any diagnosis. Some are purely physical and others are mental or emotional. Each child is assigned a buddy to help them hit/run/catch/throw. Some of the kids were in wheelchairs, and others had full motion but were autistic or had other forms of mental retardation. The field is unique in that instead of dirt/grass, it is thick rubbery material. There are no outs, no winning, no losing. It is a very positive atmosphere and the families were so excited to be there cheering on their kids/siblings/grandkids. This Miracle League is new, but popular already. There were six teams there, with 7-8 kids on each team.

The child Randall was paired up with was probably one of the most limited mentally. He couldn't speak, and he held a top and straw from a to-go cup, and a Weekly Reader, and he would go limp when Randall put an arm around him. You just have to believe that he got something out of playing the game. Randall was great with him.

The whole area was created for special needs kids, down to the swing sets. I had never before seen a swing designed to hold wheelchairs! The experience was a mix of sad and happy, and I know Randall enjoyed volunteering. More than anything, it left us feeling all the more grateful for our healthy daughter. Here are a couple of pictures to show how she enjoyed the morning. She loved all the cheering and noise! I think we will do this again.

Randall's Birthday! (and a bonus video)

Yesterday was Randall's 39th birthday! When he got home from work, Sydney and I had his present and cards displayed for him.

 I think he liked his gift - 100 Titleist golf balls. They are kind of like the golf ball equivalent of "scratch & dent" furniture or appliances. The only imperfections were on the paint or placement of logos, so the performance is not affected. And compared to the typical $48 per dozen, this gift was also a great bargain! Randall hinted at this bucket of balls as a gift idea, but I think he was surprised I actually acted on it. Because, let's be honest, this isn't exactly an exciting gift from a wife's perspective :)

 I had picked up Sydney early from daycare because she wasn't feeling well, so our dinner date turned into dinner at home. Randall wanted a steak (surprise!) so the Outback came to Batsford Drive.

I also baked Randall's favorite cake: Yellow cake with chocolate icing. Forgive my dirty stove in this picture!

 Randall posed with our sweet little lady for a photo.

As a bonus, later in the evening, Sydney decided to wave on command for the video camera! Typically, she just waves at random times, and I can't ever catch it on video to share. But, she has started to learn to wave in response to our waving. Here is a short snapshot of her sweet waving. This was just before bed and she is barely awake.

All in all, Randall said his 39th birthday was a great one! I know he hopes this year crawls by so he doesn't have to welcome his 40s any sooner!!! Sydney and I had fun celebrating a great husband and daddy :-)

Higher, Higher!

In Fayetteville, we have several beautiful parks, and we do not visit them nearly enough! This morning was so pretty; I took Sydney to one of the parks. This was her first time in a swing, and she loved it. I pushed her higher than I thought I would b/c it was clear that was her preference. She was fascinated by the bigger kids who were swinging sooo high. There is sand all around the swings, so we played in that for awhile after. I think she's going to like the beach.
Last night, we went over to a nearby friend's house to watch the Hogs game (I use "watch" loosely - we talked mostly). It's getting more and more difficult to get pictures of Sydney sitting still, so I snapped this one...it was the best I could do. I thought her little red outfit - a gift from her Meme - was so cute!

On the move

Our little lady is on the move! Her crawling has improved so much, and she is now pulling up on everything she can get her hands on. Here is a video of each. This Tonka truck has become her new favorite thing. In other news, Randall is out of town this weekend with a few friends. They are in Dallas for a Dave Matthews Band concert, and an early birthday celebration for R's 39th which is quickly approaching on Wednesday! Sydney and I were invited over to a friend's house to watch the Hogs game tonight, and if the weather cooperates, I hope to take her to a park for her first swing experience. She loves for us to swing her around (safely, of course), so I know she'll love the real thing!

Woo Pig Sooie

Labor Day weekend has been great! Sydney experienced her first tailgate, and she was such a good girl. I think she is a very cute addition to the group :) We've had gorgeous weather, with temps in the 80s. This was also a big weekend of new developments, which I'll blog more about later. Sydney is crawling more, and she has started pulling up. Crazy!
We've also had a great time this weekend with my friend, Katie, who flew in from DC! She and Sydney got along very well when we were in her neck of the woods in June, and they never missed a beat. Katie especially won her heart when she took her for rides on her Tonka truck, which was passed down to us from my friend Richanne. I thought Sydney was too small to enjoy it, but Katie proved me wrong!