Our new babysitter

The other day Tad was fussing and I was trying to help Fred get out the door on time for work. I layed Tad in his crib so I could talk to him as I ironed Fred's scrubs. He continued to fuss so I sat him up and leaned him up against his giant teddy bear - he usually stops fussing when he's sitting up. I continued to iron and turned around to find this!
I tried it again a few days later when he was almost asleep but fighting it. Within minutes he was asleep so I could lay him flat in his crib. :}

Also, I must brag that my little 7 week old slept from 12-7:30am this morning! A friend suggested the book "Babywise" to us after she got her 9 week old to sleep through the night after just 3 weeks of using the tips in the book. Fred & I have used the book since Tad was born and highly recommend it!

Catching up on September

I know- I've disappeared for awhile. Here's a summary of our latest happenings, but there's also posts with pictures.

* We blessed Tad. (Stressful as I tried to clean the house, keep him on a schedule, and attend the State Fair. :} It's tradition!)

* Family Pictures - when Tad was 3 weeks old, but I'm barely getting them posted.

* Trip to Kansas - Highlights: Renaissance Festival people watching, Psycho wedding planner, disappointing Wizard of Oz museum.

Hopefully life will get back to normal now and we can get Tad on a good schedule without always running off to another event. He's 7 weeks old tomorrow and already a tubby 13 lbs!

Thank goodness we're not driving across Kansas anymore!

Wow - I don't know how people live in Western Kansas. There is absolutely nothing to see!

Fred's cousin was getting married near Kansas City and we decided we'd drive out (we're still on a flying strike from our trip to Miami last year where we were stuck in the airport for 2 days without luggage). We stopped in Colorado to visit my sister's family and had fun letting them play with Tad.

The drive from Denver, CO to Hays, KS was the worst part. We made it with just enough time to get cleaned up and go to the rehearsal dinner. We had the perfect housing arrangement for our trip.... the bride & groom's house! They moved out for the wedding & honeymoon & we moved in along with Fred's sister Charlee, her husband & 2 kids.

Saturday we met at Aunt Julee's for breakfast then we ventured out to the Plaza with Charlee's family. The Plaza had a lot of stores but nothing overly exciting. It did get us out of the house while the rest of the family worked on flower arrangements. No time for a nap, we showered and headed out to the wedding. As we drove I questioned whether Fred had mapquested correctly as we turned down several dirt roads. The wedding was held at a reception center in the country. The wedding party was lovely.... the site was also nice..... the wedding planner? .... from heck! There were several run ins between our family members and her, I'll just tell you 2:

1) I asked for a place I could feed my baby. I was told "You can use the smoking patio, nobody smokes." (I ended up using the bride's dressing room.)

2) Fred & I sat at an unlabeled table in the reception, a bunch of the tables had "family table" papers on them. The rest of his family joined us. Soon the psycho lady comes over and tells us we have to move to another table, that one is for the wedding party. Is it just me or don't you think that that's the FIRST table you would label in the room? Of course we moved, but I'm still bugged.

The ceremony was outside at dusk, then they had a nice dinner, dancing, cake, a chocolate fountain inside. We didn't stay too late because of our tired little boy.

Sunday we went with Fred's immediate family to the Renaissance Festival. What a great place for people watching! And evidently dog watching.....

Fred enjoying a smoked Turkey leg.

Monday we had planned to see the Medical School & a couple of museums before the Royals baseball game. Nothing went as planned. It was pouring most of the day. Museums are closed on Mondays. And since we bagged the game we didn't drive out to the school either. We did get a nap and ate at a great BBQ place.

Tuesday it was on the road again. We got a later start than Fred & I usually like (we prefer 6am, but with a baby that's tough, so we left at 8am). Plus we stopped to see the Agriculture Hall of Fame Museum (Random huh?). Which also featured the National Poultry museum. (That's just funny!) It was surprisingly interesting. Then the Wizard of Oz museum - totally not worth the money. They could have done an awesome little place, but it was just every Oz toy ever made in every country. We had to stop and see the largest ball of twine. Then it was back on the rainy road. We drove to the Western border of Kansas then stopped for the night. The next day we drove through Colorado, across Wyoming and home. (Even Wyoming is better than the stretch across Kansas!)

I'm glad we went - not only for time with the family but also to see the area a little bit. I think I could handle it if Fred gets into school there. It is definitely not a one day drive with how boring it is.

Tad did very well sitting in the car for so long. Now the only problem is he thinks he needs to be held when he's not in it. He was spoiled with attention for the whole trip.

Officially Tad James Drysdale

We wanted to bless Tad soon so that we could bbq in the backyard. We couldn't do it Labor Day weekend because Fred's parents were vacationing in Italy. We blessed him Sunday the 13th (also Aunt Lauralee's b-day). We spent the week cleaning the house and yard. (In between trips to the state fair!) It's so nice to have a clean house after 6 weeks of chaos. My family came to help us move tables and make some food. Aunt Sunny stopped by to see him for the first time as well as Nannie seeing him after her trip.
Fred & I met up with my family at the state fair rodeo. Tad was Cousin Corlan's buddy both nights we went.

I'm glad we didn't wait to bless Tad. He's already getting heavy & long. Plus, I think it's just wrong that new moms are expected to put on a dinner and have a perfectly cleaned house for family & friends to come over. :} It wasn't really that bad, but a little bit stressful to try to get things done with a baby (& visits to the State Fair & pack for a trip).

Fred did an awesome job blessing Tad and didn't sound nervous at all. I was very happy to have "the boy cousins" stand in the circle along with my Dad & brother & Fred's Uncle Steve & Cousin Billy.



We bbq'd at our house and enjoyed the slightly overcast day until it started raining.




Tad handled the day very well and all 3 of us took a nap that afternoon. :}
I had hoped to find a white western outfit. I found a western shirt but it went all the way to his knees. This is the first blessing outfit that Fred & I both liked and it worked out perfectly!

Family Pictures

I'm too cheap to take Tad anywhere to get his pictures taken especially since he'll change so fast. Fred had bought me a backdrop for Christmas and I finally had an excuse to use it! We just set it up in the family room and used the natural light from our big window. I think they turned out great - probably better than we would have gotten from a studio and half the stress!

(Tad was 3 weeks old. Check out how well he could hold up his head in his own little picture.)

Sheep weekends

We've been taking Tad around sheep lately so he'll be used to them when he's old enough to start mutton-busting! Just kidding.


Last weekend we went to the Uintahs to help run the sheep through the corral. I didn't get to help as much because I was carrying Tad. It was nice to visit with family and enjoy a day in the mountains.





Labor Day we went to Soldiers Hollow to watch the sheepdog championships. I know it sounds kind of corny, but it was fun to watch. We didn't have much time to watch before we had to come home so Fred could work. It's amazing you can train a dog to herd that accurately with just a whistle. I really enjoyed the splash dogs.


























Our little boy is a month old! (And we're still alive!)



Look at those chubby cheeks!