Birthdays and Pumpkins and Doctors, oh my!

I'm horribly behind and I'm not really sure where to start. So much has happened in the past week, so I guess let's just get going.

Turtle's new love of rolling has led to some tummy sleeping. It makes me a little nervous, but he seems to know how to turn his head and we have the AngelCare Monitor in place, so perhaps I'm being silly. It's great for him because he can really keep his thumb in his mouth.

These pictures aren't the greatest, but I am so afraid of waking him up with the camera shutter, so this is the best I have.





He's already started showing interest in pulling up, so we're going to drop his crib this week when we move him back into his own room.

After all, he's SIX MONTHS OLD!!! Happy unbirthday, Turtle. I just can't believe it. He's pretty excited about it, too.


Playing with a toy from Nana and Papa Bear.



And hanging on the couch with Molly.



On the same night, DH went with our friend J on a little field trip to World Market. AKA, the closest thing to heaven. In all the time we've lived here, we had not been, and finally, we were able to sneak a peek. They were having a furniture sale, and I spotted these two pieces for our front room. We're both tired of having a huge empty room, and so we decided to treat ourselves to these. J supplied the truck. They are perfect. I still want to get another accent chair, perhaps a rug, and a cocktail table. The current table and lamp are a temporary solution, but it will work for now. We're also going to get some throw pillows for the love seat. It's weird having furniture in that room, but so nice.

I told you we had a busy week.

Next up? Turtle's 6 month pedi appointment. Dr. V walked in the exam room and laughed. She said obviously we had to chat about Turtle's poor appetite. He is 22 pounds (100th percentile), 27" (75th percentile) and his head is 18 3/4" (90th percentile). Everything is on track and, as she said "perfect." We got the ok to introduce a few more solids and then he got his shots. As usual, he cried for a few minutes and then settled down.

He had kind of a rough afternoon, but by bedtime, he was ok. He had a good night's sleep and was ready to play on Friday morning.

Dr. V referred us to Dr. J, the pediatric cardiologist, and he was able to squeeze us in on Friday afternoon. Turtle was NOT pleased. He peed on the nurse and was not happy about laying still for the tests. I guess it's hard to ask a 6 month old to stay calm and stop wiggling. We did our best.

There was good news and bad news. The good news was that his ASD has closed up perfectly, and he no longer has the little holes in his heart. Yay. The bad news is that the echo turned up a a 1.9mm nodule on his mitral valve. The cardio has no idea what it is, and has requested that we come back in 6 months for yet another follow up. He said that 99% of the time, a nodule like this means nothing and that most doctors won't even mention it, but he would rather be safe than sorry. He will check Turtle's original echo at the NICU this week to see if it was there originally, and if so, if it has grown or shrunk.

I'm saddened by this. I realized that Turtle has had more medical tests in 6 months than I have had in 31 years. I would do anything for him not to have to go through this. I know it could be worse, and I'm grateful that it isn't, but it's frustrating. I was really hoping to hear that everything was 100% and we wouldn' t have to see any more specialists, but that wasn't the case. Let's hope the 6 month appointment is more positive.

Friday was also Turtle's first Halloween. Since the doctor wasn't toooo traumatizing and the weather was decent, we dressed him up in his costume, bundled him into his stroller and took him trick or treating, which basically involved me carrying him throughout the neighborhood. It got cold, so we took it in after about an hour. Not so bad. He had fun.

All bundled up.

About to get on our way.

Mooo-ooom! He looks like me!

Ready to call it a night! Happy Halloween!

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Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

After his first few rolls at the 4 month mark, Turtle has not showed much interest in flipping over. Of course, it was a little discouraging, but we just let him take his time to figure it out.

However, since we discovered him on his belly in his crib, Turtle has been a rolling machine. I couldn't keep him on his back in Gymboree today, no matter what I did. It was awsome during parachute time, when he flipped over and started attempting to lick the giant Gymbo to his left. (Don't be surprised if we get kicked out of Gymboree for this).

Well, today, I grabbed the camera so I could capture the event. Here is Turtle rolling, captured in photos:

Well, my hand is yummy and this mat is cool, but it would be even better if I could just get over there....


So let's see... hand in mouth? Check. Flip leg over? Check.


Ok, I know this part. Straighten out a little... hold on to fingers. Nom nom nom.


Almost there! I'm going to need that hand, though, for my big finish.


Ta-da!


The end.

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Halloween Party!

First, voting is open for the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge. Please help me out by clicking on this link and voting for Red Velvet Armadillo! Thanks to all my readers for your help!

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Today, we hosted our Halloween party. We had about 25 people (adults and children). And it was phenomenal.

On the menu: Hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry to look like mummies, burgers with cheese cut in the shape of pumpkins, 7 layer dip from KS, german potato salad from KB, pasta salad from AF, cookies from A, and caramel apple cupcakes.







For the little ones, I left some cupcakes plain so they could frost and decorate their very own with candy corn, gummi worms and halloween m&ms.



The adults got to carve pumpkins. Here are a couple of their masterpieces.

K did this one in the shape of a cupcake for me.



While B did this carving.


The little ones took a seat in the grass and painted mini pumpkins.







And last but not least - pictures of all the kids. You know - what you really wanted to see!

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Party Like A Rockstar

I was awakened this morning but a rather rude smack on my hip from DH. My initial reaction was to hurt him, because I really wanted to sleep in, but he made it seem quite urgent. So I dragged myself up and went over to Turtle's crib ... and wouldn't you know he was on his tummy? We rolled him back and he went right back to the belly. We've been waiting for him to regularly roll for quite some time, and it looks like he has it nailed. It makes naps a little more challenging, because he would rather roll than focus on sleeping, but we'll figure it out.

As if that excitement wasn't enough, we got to celebrate little L's 2nd birthday with his family and friends. It was a great time. Turtle met up with his little girlfriend, H, and they played for a while.

Turtle has been working on his balance, and the last few days he's been a bit on the roly-poly side. Today, however, he really seemed to nail his balance. He just sat there like a big boy, checking it all out and taking it in. Too cute.

And finally, a sneak preview. We're having a little Halloween party tomorrow, and Turtle will be dressed as a little chick. I'm a bit biased, but he's damn near the cutest chick I've ever seen in my entire life. There will be more pictures from tomorrow. Promise!

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Boo!

After seeing signs on some of my neighbors' doors and hearing A talk about it, we decided to Boo a couple of our neighbors.

I put together the instructional poem, the boo ghost and little bags of goodies, and then snuck around their front doors to deliver the goods. Of course, I was all neurotic about getting caught (who knew flip flops could make so much noise in the middle of the night???) but I think I escaped detection, so hopefully they will get a nice surprise tomorrow.

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Pro Pics & Iron Cupcake

Today, we went to have our family/Turtle's 6 month/holiday pro pics taken.

We went with J. Mosley Photo. J came very highly recommended to us, and we were so excited to give her a shot.

Of course, the weather cooperated all week until today. We really had to rush to get our outside pics done, but I think we did a great job. Turtle did really well for the studio shots. All in all, without a late afternoon nap, he lasted for 90 minutes in a relatively good mood. He did one wardrobe change, several different scenes (yes, he got to eat a prop pumpkin) and sat in a basket. We didn't get to the real Christmas-y pictures, but that's ok.

I can't wait to see the proofs next week.

In other news, I entered my cannoli cupcakes in the Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge for October. Click here to see the entry and get details for voting. Help me out, readers! I would love to win!

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Tricky Gymboree

They suckered me in. They got me with their rhymes and their songs. Actually, they didn't REALLY get me. They got my son.

He. Loves. Gymbo. A clown!!! Of all things, MY son loves a clown. And not just a clown. A HAND PUPPET clown. Oh, the humanity. I'm sorry, I think clowns are awful.

After his last class, Turtle had a wee bit of a meltdown. His stuffed giraffe toy wasn't doing the trick, so I ran right back into Gymboree and bought the puppet. He calmed right on down.

Of course, I got the last laugh. Like all the other toys, Gymbo got a nice soggifying. Ha ha,Gymbo. Ha, ha.



Turtle's teeth are still coming in, and it's really cute when he makes silly faces to feel them coming in. It's really cute.

DH loves playing with Turtle. This is what happens when he lifts Turtle way up high. We get this hilarious face, and when we bring him back down, he stares for a second and then just cracks up. Good times.

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Lazy Sunday

First, I want to announce that I've created a new blog: Stovetop Serenade. I want Red Velvet Armadillo to remain dedicated to my cupcakes and baking, but still want to share my other great recipes, so this seemed a good way to go about doing it. Be sure to bookmark it and enjoy!

After a sorta kinda rough Friday, we got a late start on Saturday. We met A, K, their families, and of course, little B at the local fall festival. It was so much fun, even though the weather was sort of crappy to start.

We had to buy a quilt there because we weren't expecting the weather to turn so chilly, and B was really interested in getting into A's stroller with him. So funny.

Hey, man, whatcha doin' in there?

The sun finally came out, which means we got big smiles all around.

And the good mood lasted long enough for mommy to eat a ridiculously huge onion ring. You know I loved every single bit, and still had room for funnel cake.

We zipped home for a nap and to get changed, and then headed out to a hibachi restaurant for dinner N & J, and D, K & their little girl H. H could not keep her hands off Turtle. I mean, you can't blame the girl: Turtle's quite the catch. It was so cute.

Turtle loved watching the chefs and the menfolk in action. He was riveted by the action and the conversation.

Afterwards, we all headed over to the Grape. Thank god J&N had an extra blanket in the car because it was freezing out and Turtle never would have made it.

DH left for Orlando this morning for a conference. The good news is that the weather is staying nice and cool. We had the windows open all day and Turtle and the pugs love it! We'll be taking a nice long walk tomorrow if the wind dies down some.

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Smiley

I want to send up a big, fat rave for Turtle's stocking. We ordered it from Pottery Barn last week and it arrived yesterday and it's gorgeous. It was on sale for $15, free shipping, and we had his name embroidered on it for about $6. It's soft and thick and it's going to last him for many, many years. I can't wait to fill it with all sorts of goodies and see his face light up. Me = holiday dork.



I also wanted to share some of these photos I took this morning. Our mornings are a lot cooler, so we're starting to get some fog over the alke in the morning. It created a really gorgeous haze with the sunrise.



I was able to get this picture of the sunrise through a spiderweb. I'm squicked out by the spiders around here but they do some amazing webwork in the night.



DH is really busy with work the last few days. I'm glad for him. He's happiest when he's busy, and so I'm glad. It makes it tough sometimes, when he works nights, but we figure it out.

Molly spent some time with Turtle today - she really adores him. However, she had to make him understand that he is not to grab her toys. They are hers, and she does not wish to share. Turtle seemed to respect her decision.

And these are some of my favorites - DH took a break and sat with Turtle out back for a bit. He had him giggling up a storm. I love being able to get these moments on camera. They're awesome.

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