pratt and his pickle.

so i have lots of stuff to upload. i'm my fathers child and have been procrastinating. sorry about that.

pratt was dedicated at church sunday. i have a post about that in the works.

and he turned 9 months last week. i need a 9 month picture and i'll post that one.

but for now....here is a picture of him from this weekend. eating a pickle. his new favorite.

nine. NINE!!!!! months!

i know that title is far from being grammatically correct...but i don't care. so are these three little dots. and i use those bad boys all.the.time.

anyway, my child turned nine months old last week. NINE months!!!!! today we had our nine month appointment. the good one. the easy one. the one with no shots!

nine months. that's like three months away from being a whole number. not just months. what!?
i say it every single time, i know. but i seriously think that time must be flying. and meanwhile, i'm just sitting here. doing nothing. except laundry and bottles and dishes and carpet cleaning. i dunno. it's just that i don't know how he's almost nine months old.

let's see. what is the cutest boy ever up to?



well, the only pureed food we're eating is cauliflower. and i bought another head of it last night so that we can go to bite sized pieces. he loves eating things that he can grab. or even that i can help him with. and he is TOTALLY over eating pureed foods. d.o.n.e. done.

his feet hang past my waist when i hold him. i think this means that he is longer than whatever half of my height is. crazy. he is filling out, it seems. cookie and nana both think so too. this is good. maybe he will weight 20 pounds next week at the appointment. hope so.

he has learned to scream and does it if you're not looking/pay attention to him. it's pretty funny. he dances too. loves to dance. i turn on the ipod in the kitchen and we dance. i turn around and shake my booty at him and he falls out laughing. hi.larious.



he has mastered crawling and continues to sort of drag one foot behind him. i think he uses this foot to sit on once he stops crawling. pretty funny. he tries to pull up on everything. including my legs. and the fireplace. and this makes me extremely nervous. we have the padding on the side...but i still hate it. but i know, he'll fall a million times. oh how i wish he didn't have to. we've used the boo-boo bunny countless times already.

he still sleeps like a champ. somewhere between 730 and 830. he typically sleeps 12 hours exactly. about a week ago, i noticed he was getting up for the day at 730. napping at 9, until 11. then napping again at 2. until 330. but that has gone back and forth. sometimes he wakes at 730, naps at 830. up at 10. nap at 1230, up at 130, nap at 330. it all depends on where we are...who is here. how much is going on.

the big change is that he falls asleep at night on his daddy. they do this every night. pratt falls asleep while clint rocks him. it's the best.

we're eating lots of fresh fruit. i try to buy local if i can. our town has a farmers market, and i'm going to try to go there next week. pratt currently loves peaches and strawberries. i bought organic chicken last night and plan on baking that for him tomorrow. we still aren't drinking apple juice. i am holding off until he's at least 1. i don't think it's absolutely necessary. just a personal opinion. not based on science :)

he is pointing a lot more. clint opened the freezer door the other night and pratt just pointed away. clint would point and say, "brrr...cold." and pratt would laugh. he loves to turn his bedroom light on and off.

he still loves beth hunt and will break his neck trying to see the tv when he hears her voice in the morning.

he does much better in restuarants now. and i don't stress about taking him in one. i've stopped taking his bag everywhere. i feel comfortable with one diaper, wipes and a few random toys. this is such a great feeling. probably better than the feeling of urinating when you've been holding it a really, really long time. yes, it's that good. relief, more than anything.

kristin told me what sippy cup to get and he's better able to hold it now. and the other day i wasn't paying attention to him, and i look over and he's holding his own bottle, feeding himself.

he's good with his hands. extremely deliberate. but if he can, he'd much rather work with his feet...his toes, specifically. it's the weirdest thing. when he wants to move something, he'll try first with his toes. and if it doesn't work, he'll use his hands.



does this mean he is a monkey?

9 month length: 29.5 inches
9 month weight: 18 pounds, 13 ounces

loves: ANY eric carle book, splashing in the bathtub, water of any kind (to drink, play in, etc), sonic cups and red straws, playing peek-a-boo, the mobile over his changing table, pressing buttons on stereo/tv equipment, any dogs...especially ace, and he most loves his daddy.

dislikes: diaper changes, being tired, hearing other babies cry.

new tricks: playing patty cake, DANCING to music of any kind, pulling up, standing up and letting go with his hands (makes me a COMPLETE AND TOTAL nervous wreck), crawling like a pro.

foods we love: asparagus, chicken, cauliflower, puffs, yogurt bites, prunes, berries of any kind...especially blackberries, bananas, peaches, multigrain waffles, pasta, black beans, artichoke hearts

foods we could go without forever: pretty much anything pureed. he won't do it.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

today we played in the rain. well...sort of.

we were shopping when a big storm came. we were in a store, so i tried to wait around for it to pass. it wasn't passing. it was a big, big storm. with lots and lots of rain. and lots of thunder and lightening. i can do LOTS of things.

but lightening is NOT one of them. i hate it. i've tried not to let you know. so far, you're okay with it.

back to us leaving the store in the rain.

i sat you down on the floor of the breezeway. you know, the doors from the outside meet the doors from the inside. by the time you read this, you'll know what i mean.

i sat you there and begged you not to eat anything off the ground. meanwhile, i took off my flip flops and stuffed them in my purse. i rolled up my linen pants. i'm short. and pants never fit me. so i rolled them up so that they wouldn't get soaking wet when we ran to the car.

i had on two shirts so i took one off and put it over your head.

next to us was a mom with her two little girls. the youngest girl, about 6 asked her mom what i was doing. she apparently thought i was nuts for not wearing shoes and dressing you in my clothes :)

i scooped you up and ran like crazy to the car.

you LOVED it. laughed like crazy. giggled and opened your mouth when the rain began to hit you in the face. i don't think it was so much to catch it and eat it...as it was that it shocked you.

we got in the car, and sat for a long time just looking at the rain. both of us were soaking wet.

it occured to me during those moments that you're my new best friend.

you are the one that runs to walgreens with me. or sonic for happy hour. you're the one who lays with me on the floor so we can watch the view. you sit and watch me make dinner or lunch or breakfast. you laugh when i dance and shake my booty at you. you laugh at all my silly songs. you smile at me when you see me in the morning.

before you were born, i never knew this kind of love. i never knew how much fun it could be to see your face after a nap. i never knew what joy could come from bath time. i never knew just i could worry so much over one little bitty person.

thank you for the gift you give. what a gift it is.

love, mommy.

ho hum.

so we have pictures in 1 hour and 30 minutes. approximately.

i've given myself five minutes to write. because i have a million things to do before sb gets here to do the pictures.

i'm in a funk. i almost cancelled these. i almost chickened out. but then decided that it wasn't fair to pratt...or really clint either that i cancel these because i can't handle looking in the mirror right now.

this may not make any sense to you. and i actually hope it doesn't. but i'm pretty sure that i'm not the only one who feels this way.

i hate mirrors. i try to avoid them. i don't wear makeup so that i don't have to get close to the mirror to put it on.

too close to the mirror means too depressed afterwards.

writing this hurts me. makes me feel ashamed of myself. for being small. small minded. silly, stupid really. but it's true.

i don't want to try to find something to wear. i don't want to try and try to do my hair only to do it the exact same way it's always done. i don't want to look at my skin and wish that it were darker. that my hair were either blonde or dark brown. not some weird, mousey in between color.

it's so stupid. and yet, i cannot get away from it.

maybe it's because it's well...you know, that time. or maybe it's because i need to be on medication.

or maybe it's what beth moore says. that it's so incredibly hard to live...to be...to exist in another woman's shadow.

amen. praise the lord. halleluah.

the saddest part is that i don't know who the woman is. it's just the imaginary character(s) that i have invented in my crazy, nutty head.

it's a mixture of people, i guess. people i know. people i don't know. people i see in walmart and wish i had some particular characteristic of them.

this probably sounds so crazy right now. if the shoe fits, right?

anyway, my five minutes is up. i'm off to clean the couch. and maybe...maybe i'll look in the mirror to get ready. or maybe, maybe i'll take pictures looking the way i always look.

at least that way pratt will recognize me when he gets older ;)

bob for strawberries!?

pratt loves strawberries. as in, he could live on them alone.

when you give them to him, he pops them in his mouth, and then sort of shivers. it's the funniest thing. like it's a bit sour...and he wasn't expecting it. but then he just gums and gums.

they tend to get slick and slimy...and it's difficult to grab them. and so well...well, here's what he does to get them to his mouth...

going private. sigh...

so i guess the time has come. to go private.

i've researched it. i've talked to other people who have decided to do it. i've done my homework. and think it's probably the best thing.

for a while, i thought about just closing the entire blog down. but i can't do that. i can't do it for several reasons.

one. i'm selfish. and the catharsis that occurs when i write...well, it's literally like drugs for me. or what i assume drugs to be like. remember that whole, "i've seen you with that 2 pound bag of m&m's hannah...NEVER do drugs" talk.

two. i know there are many of you who are actually interested in our lives. some of you are far away...some of you are our neighbors. life goes too fast these days. and i know i LOVE reading other blogs. i love keeping up with kids and families and life. because i don't always have the time to call every single day and see what's going on. and i assume some of you feel the same about us.

three. this has literally been the BEST baby book ever for pratt. and i will be printing out years for him. as in books. blog books. so that when he gets older...he can look back and read them. enjoy them. see what he did when.

so...here i am. wishing that i didn't have to do it. but at the same time, the world has changed. many years ago, if someone wanted to know about you...it was difficult. they had to go through your mail. but now....all they have to do is search for hannah fulks or clint fulks on google...and here we are. personal information. pictures of our baby. everything.

and while i've tried to be cautious. i've never said where we live. i've never showed a picture of our house. it wouldn't be too hard to figure it all out.

and that scares me. because there are freaky, scary people out there. and heaven forbid...if something happened to our baby...i would just die. and i would never forgive myself.

i have hesitated to do this because i know i will lose some of you. for that, i'm sorry. i hope you will email me. and give me your email address...and i'll invite you to the blog.

i guess it's all part of being a grown up. doing things we don't want to do. pushing the food down the disposal with our bare hands. cleaning out the fridge. taking out the trash. etc. etc.

so...i plan on going private soon. i've thought about keeping a separate blog just for me. for my thoughts, prayers, etc. and then making everything about pratt private. i'm still debating that.

if you're interested in following our mundane lives :) please email me or leave me a comment with your email address. i hope to hear from you.

have wonderful tuesdays.

oh, my email is hannahfielderfulks@yahoo.com

new pictures.

here are a few pictures from this weekend.

pratt went swimming in the big pool saturday. we were in hot springs for the belmont stakes. dad was afraid that the condo pool water would be too cold...but it was actually pretty warm. pratt loved it! he would splash and splash. the water would hit him in the face and so he'd take his little chubby hand and wipe his face. which of course, made his face even more wet...which confused him. it was pretty funny.

he's becoming more and more inquisitive. he will crawl over to his toy box, bend his little head in and look. he'll look until he sees something he wants. then he'll very carefully put his hand in and dig something out. i see lots and lots of treasure chests in the future for this little guy. maybe we could get a jump start on potty training?! maybe...?



thursday night we had kristin, russ and ella grace over for dinner. kristin was my best friend from high school. well, really from childhood. her parents were very much like my parents. i think she was the only person i could spend the night with...without getting homesick. we have that friendship where you can go years without seeing each other...but then you fall right back where you left off the moment you meet up again. it's a comfortable relationship. the best kind in my opinion.

she and russ and their girls have moved to our town. i COULD NOT be more excited!!!! ella grace is only a few months older than pratt! it will be fun watching them grow up together!

in that last picture, i barely missed a shot of pratt grabbing ella grace's bottom. yes. promise. i don't know what i'm going to do about that.

finally, pratt wore his new overalls to church today. they are so soft to the touch. sugar picked them out at the osh kosh outlet in chicago. so sugar, these are for you! and i'm pretty sure he's saying, "yes, mom...osh kosh" in that second picture! what a cutie.