Dear Diary...

I recieved this email from my friend JoAnna about a week ago.  It was a rather long e-mail so I debated reading it immediately when I opened it or saving it for later.  I am so glad I took the time to read it.  I was dying out laughing.  I accidentally deleted it and had it re-send it because I wanted to send it to so many people.  Ya'll should definitely take the time to read it.  Enjoy!

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

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MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

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TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.

Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

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WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

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THURSDAY:

Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.

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FRIDAY:

I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps!

And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

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SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

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SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun-- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Week's Worth of Appointments

I feel like the last week has been an absolute whirlwind.  It is extremely hard trying to work and attend all of Aiden's doctors appointments in 3 different towns within a week but I managed to only have to take 1 day off to get it done.  We had our 9 month check-up and then turned right around and had an appointment with Dr. King for his heart and in Shreveport for his head.

Update with Dr. King went well.  We did an echo about 6 weeks ago and there was no change in the size of his holes.  Dr. Lucus who would be the surgeon in New Orleans looked at his chart and recommended that we try and wait longer.  Dr. King concurred and we have decided since he is growing that we should let him try and get bigger before surgery.  Chances of the big hole ever closing now are very slim but possible.  We have until age 3 to make a decision if needed from what I understand.  We will not see Dr. King again for 3 months and this will be the longest we have gone.  Seems pretty good to me. 

The very next day we headed to Shreveport to get Aiden's helmet for his head.  After 2 months, we are finally getting on with this process.  I wish we could have done it 2 months ago because it is already so hot.  The good news is since we have all wood floors in our house, his little head is protected from any bumps while is is learning crawling and eventually walking.  The appointment took about an hour and a half and we learned how to clean the helmet, put it on and take it off, and look for any skin problems.  We started the first day just wearing it one hour on and one off.  Then we worked up to 2,4,and 8 hours on.  The fifth day was the full 23 hours on.  Surprisingly, Aiden did very well. He only seems bothered when we put it on or take it off.  But boy is he sweating.  At the baseball game last night, I finally just took it off.  His poor face was beat red and it looked like he had a bath his hair was so wet.  What difference is a few hours off going to make.  The consultant said it would take a few weeks for the sweating to calm down.  I am just praying his head will grow fast and we can hurry and get the helmet off before August.  The average baby wears it for 4.5 months.  We will see!  Here are some pics I snapped over the weekend.

                                                      First day of helmet...not too sure!

                                                         Day 2...feeling much better

And I just had to include these pics from our bath.  Aiden absolutely loves his bath.  He wants all his toys in the tub with him but only wants to hold his duck or turtle.  He looks so sweet and innocent here.  Literally one minute after these were taken he did number 2 in the tub.  I couldn't believed it!  I thought that only happened in the movies.  I guess I've officially been initiated into motherhood!!

9 MONTHS

Aiden was 9 months last Wednesday.  Crazy.  He is so much fun right now and full of personality.  He was 10th percentile in weight at our checkup weighing 17 lbs. 3 oz.  His height was still 30 inches which dropped him to the 95th percentile and his head was in the 25th percentile.  Everything seemed okay.  I expressed my concern about him not wanting to sit up to Dr. Slusher and she tested his core strength which was pretty good so she said we shouldn't be worried. He can sit up he just doesn't especially like it.  He is starting to creep.  He still can't really crawl that great but if he really wants something he can get it. 

Aiden can also say 3 words now.  Mama, Dada, and Hey.  He did say Dada first and I was so upset but now all he says is Mama all the time.  He is also going through some kind of separation with me.  He will now cry when I leave and wants me to stay with him until he falls asleep.  Used to, I could just lay him down and he would fall asleep on his own.  Oh lord, hopefully this phase will not last long.  We started feeding him puffs over the weekend and he loves them.  He had eaten some mashed potatoes in the past but not alot of grown up food.  We also let him try hamburger meat and bread and he liked both of them.  I also sneaked him a bite of ice cream and am kicking myself for not videoing it because he absolutely loved it.  We aren't great as grasping with our fingers but are getting better with every meal.  Here are some other milestones.

diaper size: officially moved up to size 3
clothing size: 6-9 month
meals: every 3 hours. 7oz. formula and 2 meals day
sleep schedule: 2 hour-hour half naps and 12 hours at night
favorite activities: loves to read and swing in your outdoor swing.  you are loving little kids right now and constantly want to touch their face and interact- so precious
teeth: barely- one top and one bottom

                                          He wasn't really feeling the pictures.  Oh well!

Happy Easter

Well, unfortunately I don't have many pics to share from Easter.  The ones I do have were actually taken the day before on our way to the Squire Creek Easter egg hunt.  We didn't hunt eggs-just snapped a quick picture with the Easter Bunny.  Aiden was so intrigued by him.  We couldn't even get him to look at the camera because he was so interested in this weird "creature" holding him.  While he was taking his pictures I noticed his nose was runny but didn't think too much about it.  Later that night, he woke up screaming and had a horrible fever.  Needless to say, he didn't get to go to church Sunday.  Ben stayed home with him while I met me parents at church.  He is on the mend now but sad that our first Easter wasn't very fun.  Hopefully next year.  Btw these are probably the my fav pics of him I have taken to date.

commitment

I wanted to just briefly share what an incredible weekend I had.  For many of you, I am sure it will be no big deal,  but for someone who is so crazy about football (especially college fb and LSU) this was an opportunity of a lifetime.  Ben and I were invited to accompany KJ and the Malone family to the spring game and big recruiting weekend for LSU. The day began with a tour of the facilities and the Spring game.  We did not have any ordinary seats.  We were on the field right in the action.  After the spring game,  there was a bbq inside the indoor football facility with the players and recruits.  Then we were whisked off into the operations building to meet with Coach Miles and the other coaches on staff. 

I have to admit that I am a pretty tough critic when it comes to Les Miles and wasn't quite sure what to expect. After having met him, let me first say what an eloquent speaker he is which is very surprising considering how he fumbles his tv interviews almost weekly.  The second thing I love about him is how family oriented he is.  His wife came into his office when we were all talking and couldn't be nicer.  When Saban was there he always had a 2 hour window when family could visit ect... Miles' philosophy is family can come anytime, anywhere.  To spare the details and respect the privacy of the Malone's, I won't go into the conversation details, but I experienced firsthand while Miles is a great recruiter.  And the best part is, I firmly believe he comes from a genuine place which I respect very much.  I kept imagining how I thought Nick Saban would do it and I just can't imagine it being as sincere.  Finally, the recruitng coordinator Frank Wilson did an amazing job with a reassurance speech to bring it home. 

None of us expected a commitment out of KJ because so many other top notch schools are interested.  He had really talked about keeping his options open but LSU just swept him off his feet and rightfully so.  Everything was so amazing that I would have committed if Les had asked me.  The best part is a commitment truly means something to KJ.  I don't think there will be any going back and forth and changing his mind.  I am so proud of him and honored to have experienced such an amazing moment in his life.

8 Months

Aiden was 8 months on a couple weeks ago.  Still hard to believe. 8 months sounds so close to 1 year old.  Literally in a week I swear he changed from baby to little man.  His mumbles are sounding more like vowels and we are still waiting on confirmation from words.  He could hold a bottle if he wanted but is lazy and would much rather me do it for him.  Aiden still cannot sit up and I am trying not to worry but I really think he is till so weak that is is very hard for him.  We are working on it hard though. He still loves his jumper and we have inreoduced the walker but it is not a big hit yet.  You try to make it bounce too and get frustrated that you cannot make it move.  I knew he would love it because he wants to be standing always.  I really think we might skip crawling and start walking.  He is still loving food and I think green vegetable are his favorite.  He loves spinach, avocado, pears, and peas.  You ar enot such a fan of meat but I don't think I would like meat ground up and pureed either.  Below are your monthly stats.

Height: unknown-but over 30 inches
Weight: 16 lbs. 8 oz.
Clothing size: 6 month or 9 month depending opn stride length.  You are still pretty true to size
Shoe size: 2
Meals: still every 3 hours like cloclwork.  2 food meals and day with 4 oz. formula and 7-71/2 oz when just getting formula (still no teeth!)
Diaper size: 2

                                                                            Happy!

                                                                      :( Sad

You are obsessed with your rubber ducky so we have to give it to you when you are getting fussy and you instantly cheer up!

Weekend in Review

This weekend was a pretty busy one for us.  Spring always seems much busier than Fall to me.  Saturday was spent at the ballpark for a baseball tournament and Sunday we decided to make a day traveling to Shreveport.  We went and ate at Posada's and then braced the rain to go to a few stores at The Boardwalk.  We then met some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings and went to the Centurytel for Zac Brown Band concert.  I have been wanting to see him for a long time and was thrilled when I found out he was coming so close to home.  I just hate it for him that it wasn't sold out.  I think having a concert on a Sunday night was probably not such a hot idea.  I just want to take a minute and tell you how good I thought they were.  First of all, he may be the only artist I've ever seen that I actually think sounds better live than on the radio.  The harmonies from his band are disgustingly good and they can all play their instruments like you would not believe.  You can truly tell all they want to do is get up and jam.  No messing around.  He played for over two hours. By 10:45 I was ready to go but refused to leave until I heard "Colder Weather" which of course he saved for the encore.  Monday morning was rough but totally worth it.  I didn't take many pics but here are a few snapshots.

 they did a number when they were suspended in the air.  It must be hard to do that and play guitar!

My dad sent me this pic.  I guess he wore himself out playing on the floor! We are so lucky to have both sets of parents available to keep our little man hen we need them!