lunch at the park.

(in the voice of kip dynamite), "today was uh...probably one of the best days of my life."

here's what happened...

one. this morning, pratt took a 3 hour nap. allowing me to clean the kitchen, get all the laundry done, do yoga, shower and get everything ready for our lunch date with dad. oh...and pack a picnic basket for our upcoming trip to chattanooga!

two years ago, i couldn't have done one of those things in 3 hours. honestly. i was so slow. i'm like a ninja now. tis true.

two. upon checking out at the public library, i was told that my "hold" book was in! the hunger games! woot woot! i can't really give you any advice about it. other than that it came highly recommended by my good friend allyson.

it is also a ken stamatis recommeded book. for those of you who don't know dr. stamatis. he's a professor at harding. oddly enough, he was clint's english teacher one year at beebe. and he's the creator of literacy lab. all you teachers know what that is. the series is on his 2009 summer reading list.

and allyson...well, allyson is a sweet friend who loves to read as much...maybe more...than i do. she's extremely intelligent...and is a school teacher. the best job out there, in my opinion.

three. when we got to dad's office, he suggested we put the leftovers in the fridge, drive through and get lunch somewhere and eat at the park. so we did!

four. baby whitney was born and is doing well. so are mom, dad and big sister mary. we love you guys! and we can't wait to meet sweet baby whitney!

pratt had the best day ever. eating dad's chips, drinking mango tea (he only had a few sips), seeing a bunch of little fish in the pond and sliding down the slide THREE whole times with dad!

so thanks dad for a wonderful lunch date. we're so lucky to have you as our dad.

we love you.

one small step.

last night pratt took his first step! yay pratt!!!

we were down the road at a neighbor's home. they have 3 boys and a girl. so you can imagine how much pratt loves going over for visits. the kids are so incredibly sweet to "baby pratt".

i took him off my lap and set him on the floor. on his feet. and then out of nowhere, he took a step and fell. face planted. it didn't hit me at that point that that's what he was trying to do. but he was.

several minutes later, clint had him and he did it again! and this time it was very deliberate! one of the boys said, "maybe he's doing it here because of the carpet!".

it was like i had payed him to say it. it's exactly what i thought too! ha. this stained concrete isn't all that inducive to taking first steps.

anyway, just wanted to document it. his first step was september 26th. around 530 pm.

enjoy your sundays.

pratt's first pumpkin patch.

last year my mom stayed with clint and me for the week pratt was in the nicu. she had intended to stay that week to help us with the new baby...but she ended up staying because i was an emotional basketcase.

she cooked, cleaned, loved on me. clint would go spend the mornings with pratt...and mom would drive me to spend the afternoons. you see, only two people could be in his room with him. i'll never be able to repay her for being here with me that week. yes, i had my husband. but i also had my mom.

there will always be that instinct to cry, "i want my mommy" when i get hurt. and so...well, that week while i hurt so much, it was so nice to have her here.

that week, she took me to a place called mary's place. i think it's in bryant. i get confused because the benton/bryant line runs together for me. anyway, it's at the corner of highway 5 and springhill road.

the nursery is fantastic. every year they get tons of pumpkins and mums and other fall stuff in. so last year we bought pumpkins and mums and squash and gourds and tall cornstalks. we came back to the house and decorated the front porch. i must admit...it did make me feel a little better. something happy. i remember as we were setting it up, mom said that she knew that pratt would love it when he came home.

so this year, we went back. i've been driving by mary's to see if she had her pumpkins in! and today...they were in! she has a pumpkin patch this year and a petting zoo...of sorts. with a puppy...lab mix and two ponies :) (hey..i said "of sorts") it was perfect for pratt, though. not too much...not too little..just enough.

here are some pictures from pratt's first pumpkin patch. hopefully every year we will be able to go back to mary's around this time and get pumpkins and other decoration. what a wonderful family tradition.

have great weekends!

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

today you and i went for a walk. it was so beautiful outside...i just couldn't resist. our neighborhood is filled with hills. and because of that...it's more of a trek...than a leisurely activity.

so, we headed downtown...near the courthouse and our church. and a bunch of older homes. neighborhoods with old oak trees...and quiet streets. my favorite.

you loved it. you giggled as the leaves rustled around you. you pointed out a squirrel. but instead of squirrel, it was more of a "deeeeoooo!". because everything starts with a "d" sound. we passed by a daycare and stopped for you to watch some kids on a jungle gym.

the weather was perfect. the only thing that could have made it better would have been your daddy. all in good time. maybe one day soon, he'll be able to play with us on friday.

i love you little man. thanks for being such an easy child. i owe you one.

love, mommy.

banana bread.

banana bread is my favorite morning bread. there is just something about made from scratch, in a loaf pan, warm from the oven, banana bread. yummy.

most importantly, there is something about taking old bananas that no one wants to eat...and making something fantastic with them.

my mother is a wonderful cook. a chef. whatever you want to call her. she had a great restaurant for several years called "the invisible chef". she did catering, lunches and take out dinners. everything freshly made. nothing fried. soups, salads, breads, desserts, etc.

it was great. lucky for dad, spencer and me...we've enjoyed her cooking forever. i can remember sitting down at our kitchen table and telling her i was bored. asking her what i could do. she would give several ideas...you know, like ride your bike, go for a walk, play school with your sister (we had a playroom with a real live chalkboard AND with those metal chalk holders like all the real live teachers had. these rocked my face off. actually, they still do. we had a marker board too. but i liked the chalkboard better. the marker board eraser always needed to be washed out. and we never did it. and so when you tried to erase, it would leave old black specks. yuck. i was...and still am so lazy.)

anyway, spencer and i would sit down and complain about how there was nothing to do, and we would end up watching her cook. we always joke with her about how she rarely let us "help" her...because you see, there is a certain way things should be done in her kitchen. like, there is a proper way for the dishwasher to be loaded. and for the soup to be made. and for the cheese to be sliced. etc, etc.

i always wondered why my dad's plates/bowls/cups never made it to the dishwasher. but he always said it was because mom had a certain way of doing things and it was just easier for her to do it than for him to do it and get it wrong. because of course, she would re-do it.

well, looking back on it, he really should have just learned her way...the "right" way. amen, mom. amen.

so we would end up sitting and watching her cook. bake. roll out dough. whatever. i always thought i'd learn something from watching her. and maybe i did. but i never learned the secret to banana bread.

mine is always either too dry. or too few bananas. or too many bananas. or too burnt.

anyway, last night i discovered a recipe for a perfect banana bread. from katie lee joel's cookbook, "the comfort table".

here it is. oh, i leave out the nuts. but do whatever you like.

nutty banana bread

2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

preheat oven to 350. grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan. in a small bowl, mix the flour, soda, powder and salt.

in a medium bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well combined. alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in three additions. gently stir in bananas and nuts.

pour the batter into the loaf pan. bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes. carefully turn out the loaf to finish cooling on wire rack.

if you don't have buttermilk, which i never do. do this. take a measuring cup. add one tablespoon of white vinegar and then add regular milk up to the one cup mark. stir and let sit five minutes. and voila! you've got yourself some buttermilk!

here is my little monkey enjoying some banana bread and strawberries. which he's now enjoying whole. oh, ps. aunt carol, he's eating off his plate you gave him :) and isn't trying to hurl it off the table! yay!

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

i used to love hearing my parents tell stories about each other when i was a kid. i had my own ideas about my mom and dad...but to hear them tell about each other...it was different. fresh. new. and i loved it.

so i'm going to tell you a little about your dad.

first, and most importantly. he loves you like you wouldn't believe. it's this genuine, real, honest love. sometimes he will call me and ask what we're doing for lunch. and if we don't go meet him, when he gets home, he'll comment that he missed you all day long. and then he'll say, "i missed you too, han...but i just thought about pratt all day long."

he is rarely critical of anyone else. in fact, it's hard to remember anything negative he has said lately. he's like that. it's not a sickening, oh-i'm-better-than-you attitude. it's just this quiet sense of self worth. almost like he doesn't need to do that to better himself. he is ALWAYS able to find the good in someone...or in some situation.

when dad and i dated. when he was in dental school, i'd go up and visit him. he always studied at his desk. never made notecards. never wrote anything down. he just read. and absorbed so much of it. if he has read it, he probably hasn't forgotten it. he knows a whole lot about...well, a whole lot.

he is incredibly smart. and good with his hands. he has great handwriting. great cursive handwriting. it's nearly perfect. cursive! of all things. you'll learn that boys aren't often complimented on their handwriting.

he has never refused any meal i have ever made him. and let me tell you...i've made some pretty bad meals.

when we dated, one of my favorite things about him was how he would answer the phone when i called. it was never a simple "hello". it was always something clever. something kind. he still does this often. i'm sure he will do the same thing to you when you start using a phone.

he is rarely in bad moods. i think it's because he knows that i have the worst mood swings...and so he can't really fit his mood swings in. i dunno. he's just naturally pretty happy. or content.

i hope that you grow up to be just like him. well, maybe not just like him...but close. or just like him. whatever you choose.

we love you.

three things.

two things.

well, no...three. that i need to remember.

one. i was changing pratt's diaper today. on his changing table. on the left side of the table, his lotions are all lined up there. and as i was changing him, he was on his little back...and he looked back, took both hands, and with one hand tried to push down the spout on the lotion. with the other hand, he acted like the lotion was being squirted out on his hand.

then he preceeded to rub his little hands together. just like i do right before i put lotion on him!!! it was so cute. so sweet. so observant. i laughed and laughed. i realized that he wasn't able to get any lotion on his hands. so i helped him out a little. and as soon as that cold lotion hit his hands, he giggled.

two. this afternoon after he had refused a cheese quesidilla and hot dog, but accepted 8 strawberries and 2 pieces of watermelon (go figure), he was on his 3rd piece of watermelon. i could tell he was pretty much done with it. i was washing dishes. and he was in his highchair by the table. several feet away from me. well, he was leaning over, hanging the watermelon over the edge...tempting ace.

i looked at him and said, "pratt, do not throw that on the floor." he looked up at me...leaving his little hand hanging off the table...with the watermelon hanging there. ready to drop it.

which is just what he did. he looked up at me. smiled. i didn't smile back. instead, i just stared at him. he got it. he understood. he knew he was in trouble. and y'all. the kid ever so slowly, closed his eyes.

YES! i kept looking at him. and he barely opened one eye...looked right at me...realized i was still looking at him...and quickly closed it. and GIGGLED! YES!!!!

he is going to be so....bad. yes, nana and cookie. BAD.

three. clint and pratt were playing in the floor tonight. pratt crawled up in clint's lap and literally took his hand...up to clint's face..showed him the bookshelf. clint got a book and read to him. exactly what pratt wanted.

had you asked me a year ago...i would have said there was no way a year old child could communicate so well with his parents. but he can. in his own way...he can.

this is so much fun :)

have great weekends!

mobile pics.

i take lots of pictures with my phone these days. it's the new blackberry. i don't know what kind. just the new one. and let me recommend it. expensive...yes. but worth every dime. the pictures are actually really good. don't look like phone pictures at all.

anyway, i always upload them to facebook, but forget to put them here. so here are some recent pictures. enjoy :)



pratt and his nana. she got him a new hat...among other things :) we love you nana.

i love this picture of us. perfect.



pratt and his poppy. and the bell at the condo.

does anyone else think he might be ready for a nap?!

mr. serious pants.

the night of his first birthday. in his new leather chair. with alex, the "dress me monkey".

"hmmm, what do i want for my birthday decorations?!"

pratt's vintage little people. spencer and i played with them when we were little. now pratt gets to play. i was so proud of the racial diversity. seriously, i was.

the child has NEVER held his own bottle. until the night he turned one.

SO excited about his birthday! woot woot!

throwing a gang sign. check it.

halfway out the doggie door. i know, only the beginning.

at his one year doctors appointment.

eating at our favorite chinese buffet. see the wooden building in the booth?

feeding ace cheerios.

and finally, he will eat the cheese and blueberries. but not the cheeto. he doesn't really belong to me. or britney spears.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

when you were just a baby, i took you to target. it was our first outing. as just me and you. let's just say this...it didn't go well.

i was about done when you started screaming. loudly. i started freaking out. let my buggy...with all my items in it. and ran to the car. you stopped screaming as soon as i put you in your carseat.

it was so incredibly heartbreaking for me. looking back on it, i wouldn't be all that bothered now. i'd just take it in stride...try to calm you down...check out...and then head home. no big deal.

but at the time, it was horrible. i was so clueless. such a young mom.

oh what a year has done for me. and of course, for you too.

we communicate quite well now. even though it's not with words...i know what you want/need. and i can easily entertain you.

i have often said to you, "pratt, i wish i could give you a treat. you were so good today. if i could, i'd give you a cookie."

well, today...today, i gave you that treat. the cookie.

and so i didn't feel too bad about it...i gave you a snackwells shortbread cookie. they are my favorite. well, no that's not right. oreos are my favorite...but they are my second favorite.

you loved it.



and i love you.

thanks for being such a good grocery shopping partner.

dad loves mom.

coco gave pratt some crayons to use in the bathtub for his birthday. we broke them out the other day. and while presently, my child would rather chew the crayon than draw with them...mom and dad find them fun to use.

so today while pratt was at kids day out, i seized the opportunity to clean the entire house. i started in pratt's bathroom. and i came across this...



closer inspection...



and well, i had to take a picture of it. because to me, there is nothing sweeter. an unexpected love note. of sorts.

my favorite kind of love note.

so clint, if you're reading this...thank you :)

and if i could, i'd tear off part of the bathtub so i could put it in my box. ha.

one for ace...

and one for me.

one whole year.

oh little pratt. where to begin?

you're officially one year old. and i'll be honest. in those first few days, i wasn't sure we'd make it to one. it was hard for me. i was unsure of how to be a mommy. things were hard. and fuzzy. and felt very robotic.

but soon after, things looked up. and ever since...as those eee's would say...things just keep getting better.

you weigh in at a whopping (ha) 20 pounds and 5 ounces. this is the 15th percentile. and i have witnesses. you do eat. but apparently you have a tapeworm that is keeping you from gaining weight :) you are 31 inches long. 90th percentile.

you eat whatever we are eating. you would rather have a veggie burger than mac n cheese. go figure. you love fresh fruits. watermelon and pineapple are your current favorites. oh, and peaches. you are now eating strawberries whole. biting into them.

you love cheerios and fruit loops. i read where fruit loops have less sugar than other sugary cereals...so i'm ok with that. you love yo baby yogurt.

we started peanut this weekend. and of course, it's fantastic. you aren't a big fan of the jelly. big globs of jelly apparently don't feel good on the tips of your fingers...and so you'd rather not put it in your mouth.

when we travel in the car, snacks are a must. even if that means i will have an entire box of cheerios under my seat...i'll take it. because they keep you quiet in the car. it's the craziest thing watching you in the backseat in your big boy carseat. you're sitting there all tall...watching your veggie tales movies...drinking out of a juice cup and eating cheerios. and you'll just smile at me and it completely melts my heart.

you are pushing things around and walking behind them. but you've yet to take a step. i'm not at all surprised by this as you're such a deliberate little guy. you crawl faster than i can walk. hopefully this means your reading comprehension will be out of this world ;)

you don't like being given to your kids day out teacher...but about 1 minute after i leave, you're fine. i've discovered that if you realize there are play toys and other kids, you're fine. you loved the nursery at our bible study class. you didn't whimper at all. you were wayyy too busy trying to crawl over the door to play with all the kiddos.

you can load your cd player in your room all by yourself. well, you need help with knowing whether the cd should be face up or face down...but other than that, you can load it and play it. it's pretty wild.

you are the best sleeper. we follow more of your cues...than a perfect science bedtime time. some nights you go to sleep at 8. others at 830. other nights at 7. it all depends on your fussiness level. you rarely fight sleep. when you're tired, you know it...and you will lay down and sleep. several times, you've even reached for your bed.

you can communicate with us quite well. you can shake your head no. and if you want your juice or something near you, you will point and make a noise. you still stick those two middle fingers in your mouth. and they mean one of two things. a. you're hungry or b. you're tired.

you will sit and let us read to you. without trying to turn the page every second. instead, you'll sit and point at the pages. and jabber away. you love the new baby einstein first words book from little noah. it's one of your favorites. and when we point to the clock, you'll say, "tick tick tick". grandma teddie bear taught you this. you love to get that book out and crawl up in my lap. that and "llama, llama red pajama". it's one of your faves too.

you LOVE bathtime. daddy gives you your baths. and you love it. afterwards you will point everyone out in our chuck e cheese picture and turn off the bathroom light. he'll dress you in your pjs...and then it's your favorite time of day!!! you get your teeth brushed! woot woot! and yes, you really do love it. dad will brush a few teeth...(you have 2 on bottom and 4 on top) and then he'll let you brush. then he'll brush, then you'll brush. you open wide and everything. it's so, so funny.

you are such a good grocery store shopper. you'll sit in the cart..just chatting away. you love to people watch. and you love to smile at the checkers. and at all the cute little girls we pass. you're such a flirt.

i've said it over and over again...but it should be repeated. you are the light of our lives. your daddy works hard for you and for me. so that we can have what we need...so that we can be happy and healthy. and not worry.

we would rather spend a friday night as a family of three than do anything else.

we love you to the moon and back.

mommy. (and daddy too).

our little monkey.

so i was busy cleaning up our breakfast dishes. i had cleaned pratt's hands and his face off. which he HATES.

i put him down and he played at the refrigerator for a while. and then he crawled into the den.

and he was all of a sudden...quiet.

which all you parents know...is a problem. i peeked in there to see him and he was quietly pushing his little walker from nana around. i kind of felt bad for thinking he was probably up to something no good.

i walked back into the kitchen to clean some bottles, when i hear the "too da do da do" (the sound of our tv coming on). i run in the den and this is what i see...



apparently he was ready to watch dora and i wasn't paying attention. yes, he totally pushed the walker over to the tv and then pushed the power button.

as you can tell from the smile/smirk on his face..he is extremely proud of himself.

pb&j

i'm a peanut butter and jelly kind of girl. i would choose pbj over sushi. yes. that's how much i like it.

so you can imagine when the pediatrician told me that pratt could start having peanut butter...well, endless possibilities ran through my mind.

today, we shared our first pb&j. on fresh bread. the kind that sticks to the roof of your mouth. and barbecue lays potato chips. and ice cold water.

these are for sure some of my favorite days.

birthday pictures. and a year ago today.

so, here are the million and ten pictures from pratt's birthday party.

i know there are lots of spaces between pictures...and i'm usually really anal about this. but i have a cold...and i took 2 teaspoonfuls of tussionex...instead of one.

and i'm exhausted...and well, i can't see straight. and so i'm not going to worry about those spaces right now. maybe i'll fix them tomorrow...maybe not.

right now, i love the makers of tussionex...i almost can't even feel my stopped up head and sore throat...and i haven't coughed in oh, 10 minutes. woot woot.

in all seriousness, enjoy the pictures. and i'm sorry for the lack of posting this past week.

we've been busy around here.

it hit me tonight that one year ago today, clint and i were packing up our bags...to stay overnight at the hospital. we were officially getting pratt out of the nicu...and he was staying in our room. our hospital room.

he was born on september 13th. a saturday. but we didn't get to take him home until september 21st. a sunday. so we roomed in that saturday night...the 20th. and we took him home on the 21st. early that morning.

my mom and dad were here to greet us. i'll never forget it. i'll never forget how slow clint drove. how he was so incredibly careful. we were just so glad to be bringing him home. no tubes. no stickers. no nurses. just us.

just our little family.

now, a year later...things couldn't be much better.

so tonight, when you say your prayers, pray for those doctors and nurses in the nicus across our country. pray for those babies who aren't yet ready to go home. and pray for the parents who are home...without their babies. for the moms waking up every hour wondering if their baby is okay. wondering if he is crying...if a nurse is there comforting him. wondering if he knows his mom isn't there to love on him. pray for them. because trust me, they need it.

i will never forget it. i will never take his health for granted. it was honestly, the longest seven days in all my life. we were so blessed to have so many of you, praying for us. we COULD NOT have made it through that week without you.

so have blessed days. and enjoy the million and ten pictures :)