We're home...

...and tired. Vacation is exhausting! We had a wonderful time. A time I will tell you all about and share pictures from later. I will tell you, though, that this kid loved the beach:

L-O-V-E-D!

And we came home to a little package from Amber Herlocker Photography! So that means even more pictures of my little monkey that I get to show off like the attention whore that I am ;)

Don't forget-tomorrow is the last day to enter the 2nd Chance CSN Stores giveaway. Get your entries in now for a chance at a $40 gift certificate!

And now I must sleep...

2nd chance! CSN stores giveaway!

CSN Stores is giving one of my readers a 2nd chance to win a $40.00 gift certificate! This gift certificate can be used at any of the 200+ online CSN Stores!! How great is that?

Last time, Katrina said that she'd like to put the certificate toward this bookcase storage chest for her little girl:

And Colleen said she'd like this cute batter bowl:

What would YOU like to win? To enter to win the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate, visit any of their 200+ websites and post a comment telling me what item you'll put the credit toward if you win, along with a link to it (this is mandatory to enter the giveaway). PLEASE NOTE: The $40 credit CANNOT be put toward shipping costs (many of their items have free shipping!), but it can be applied to a more expensive item if you'd like to pay the difference.

Want a better chance to win? For additional entries:

-Follow my blog or let me know you are a follower
-Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. You can vote every 24 hours!
-Vote for me on Picket Fence Blogs. You can vote every 24 hours!
-Tweet about this giveaway
-Grab my button and put it on your blog
-Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway, one each day for voting on Picket Fence or Top Mommy or daily tweets!) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends August 1st at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced August 2nd. Make sure to check back b/c if I don't hear from the winner within 48 hours of announcing, I will pick a new one! Good luck!

If you need me...

I'll be sitting on the beach, cold drink in hand, hanging with my family, and keeping clear of technology as much as possible for the next week. It's the little monkey's first trip to the beach, so I'll be sure to fill you in on the fun that we are sure to have over the next week (oh, and the whole packing a car w/ all the baby crap--that will be a story on it's own!!). Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

P.S. Didn't win the first CSN Stores giveaway? Did you have your eye on a new table lamp or toy for your little one? Stay tuned, I've got another $40 gift certificate to CSN Stores to give away to one lucky reader!! You'll get your second chance to win later this week!

10 months!

10 months. Just writing it makes my heart ache a little (in a good way but a little sad). I love that my little monkey is growing up and learning new things everyday and becoming such a little boy, but I wish it wasn't going so quickly. I seriously cannot believe that he has been here for 10 months!

Each day seems to bring new changes. It's so fun to see him curiously checking everything out, testing his limits, and just enjoying life (seriously, baby's have it made)!! Fun stuff he's doing include:

• Clapping! I've seen it once, but mom said he's done it a few times now...so cute!
• Waving (of course, he won't do it when you say bye-bye and wave, but he will wave to you while he eats, he looks out the window and waves, he waves to the dogs, you get the idea..!)
• He likes to talk. He babbles a lot, but he still doesn't have too many real words that he uses. Some definites are dada, mama, baba, dog, and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. What? He's gifted ;)
• He's still a great sleeper. He sleeps through the night like a pro, and if he does wake up, he usually falls right back asleep within 10 minutes. I won't complain! Though he fought it today, he sleeps a good 2 hours in the morning and 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon, with the occasional cat nap thrown in. He definitely likes his sleep!
• We've introduced several more table foods to him this month. He sometimes doesn't get that he has to chew, so we're still working on it. He seems to like banana, apple and peach puffs, yogurt melts, biscuits, bread, bananas, watermelon, blueberry and peach yogurt (My dad gave him blueberry one day, and he was in heaven. Hampton just laughed and grunted and motioned for more, more, MORE!).
• He has so much energy! He will just keep going until he collapses. Once he is just so tired he can't do anything else, he will crawl right up into your lap and cuddle with you to go to sleep. So sweet!
• He seems to really want to walk! He's standing on his own, and has taken a few practice steps (accidentally, 1 at a time), but I think he's gaining confidence that it's okay to do.
• Even though it's been close to 100 or higher for weeks, being outside is his favorite thing.
• He loves to smile and be a little ham for everyone. He has some of the funniest faces!
• He has become a little biter. And it hurts! I'm having to learn how to "punish" and teach him that biting is not good. This is not easy! I popped him on the mouth recently, and he laughed at me. Yeah... He still only has 4 teeth, but the next 2 top teeth are currently trying to push through.

I say it every month, but I can't wait to see what changes come in the next month.

Hampton's weekend

Our little monkey has a tough life. Really. I don't know how he survives, but thank goodness he has the weekends to just kick back and relax. A weekend in the life of Hampton goes a little like this:

He likes to start his day with a little coffee.

First things first- a quick workout. Thanks for the spot, dad.
Then it's time to play in the ball pit.
The jumperoo is too juvenile, but when I take
out the seat and let the monkey stand to play, it's great!
Now it's time to relax in the pool with a cold drink.

Watermelon?

Yes, please!

It's a tough life, y'all, but some body's gotta live it!!

i'm one of "those" moms

When Jordan and I got back from our anniversary trip to the beach back in June, I noticed that Hampton had a little bruise on his chin. I mentioned it to my parents, but, honestly, I wasn't that concerned. The kid never sits still, a small bruise on the chin was almost expected! It went away after a few days, and that was that.

Until it came back. Another bruise in the exact same spot. It started really light and then got worse and worse. Then, my mom noticed that there was a very hard bump underneath it. Huh. Now it had my attention. You're probably thinking, "Big deal, he bumped his chin. Calm down, crazy person." Well, the problem with that is that neither of us could come up with a time that he did hit his chin. For something to cause such a bad bruise, he would have cried, right?

So, just to be on the safe side, I called the doctor. Of course, they wanted me to bring him in the check it out (hello easy $40 co-pay). The appointment was quick and easy and the doctor came up with three solutions to what happened:
1. Hematoma-Possible, but not likely. These usually show up around 3 months or younger.
2. Blood clotting disorder- Not likely. He had no other bruises on his entire body.
3. It's a bruise w/ a callus underneath from re-injuring himself-Ding! Ding! Ding!

So, yeah, I took my child to the doctor, paid $40, and walked away feeling like a moron. He had a bruise on his chin. He will survive. :)

Enjoy reading? Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com! Please and thanks! :)

csn stores giveaway winner!!

Congrats to...

#7: Jennifer said...Voted at Top Mommy Blogs!!

Jennifer, I hope you're checking in because you have 48 hours to claim your prize! Shoot me an email at toinfertilityandbeyond@gmail.com to get your $40 CSN stores gift certificate!

Thanks to everyone who entered and to CSN stores for this great giveaway. Stay tuned...you just might get another chance to win here in the next couple of weeks ;)

another baby? maybe!

No, I'm not pregnant! That would be rather exciting news though, right?? Well, Jordan and I have been talking more and more about growing our family recently, and we are ready whenever God wants to bless us with another little one. We know (and have been told many times) that it could happen without any doctors intervening, so we've busted out the ovulation predictor kits and decided, "what the heck?"! If I have to be completely honest, I have zero faith that we will be able to get pregnant on our own. None. I mean, we were given a 1% chance with anything other than IVF. That's a big bubble buster. The good thing about going into ttc #2 is that I have a realistic idea of how hard this could be. I'm not giddy and ready to pee on a stick 5 days before aunt flow is due. I can wait. And so far, I can do it without any sort of breakdown when she does show. Will this get tougher as the months pass by? Probably. But I have a grip on what is to come, and I think that is the bast way to go into this.

You might be thinking, why not go right back to the doctor? Unfortunately, we still have a lot of money due on a loan that we took out for our first IVF. (Not to mention our hospital bill and NICU bill.) Being 100% out of pocket sucks, but we would do it all over again. And, well, we're planning on it. We don't want to go back until our loan is paid off. The last thing we need is another large loan out on top of the one we have. We have about 18 months left on our loan (yeah, it was a 48 month loan in order to get the lowest payment...which isn't that low!) 18 months is a l-o-n-g time considering after we started treatments last time, it was still over a year before we got pregnant. We decided something needed to be done in order to pay off this loan quicker.

That's where Stella & Dot comes in! I have just started as a stylist for Stella & Dot jewelry, with the soul purpose of paying off our loan and getting some extra money to try again (all while earning free jewelry-BONUS!). I fell in love with the jewelry at a party I attended earlier this summer, and I'm so excited to get my business going!! I wanted to share my site with my readers, and if you are looking for some new jewelry for a special occasion or "just because", I would definitely take a look. Share it with your husbands or significant others, because you deserve it!! Check it out and let me know what you think of the jewelry! www.stelladot.com/rebekah

And don't forget to enter the CSN stores giveaway! Tomorrow is the last day!

picture post

I don't really have much to say right now, so since I can look at this adorable face all day, I thought you should too :)

a giveaway blog you need to check out!

Go visit Lyndsie Gives Away TODAY for another chance to win $40 to CSN stores!! Also, she has a bathing suit giveaway going on that you need to check out. Both giveaways end tonight!! Make sure to follow her blog because she has tons of giveaways for everyone!

http://lyndsieraegivesaway.blogspot.com/2010/07/giveaway-from-csn-stores.html
http://lyndsieraegivesaway.blogspot.com/2010/07/essential-swimwear-review-giveaway.html

Did you notice...

That there was a certain someone present for all of the holiday activities over the weekend? Yes, Jordan was not only able to spend a weekend with us, but a holiday weekend! Pretty awesome, huh? Well, it gets better--from now on, he'll be home every weekend and holiday! And, YES, he's still employed!! Woohoo :)

Our prayers were answered, and Jordan started a new job on Tuesday. He now works a normal weekday schedule-Monday to Friday, 8:30-5:30! We couldn't be more excited to have him home with us more! And to add to it-this job has NO COMMISSION. We know what his paycheck is going to be every time. Oh happy day!

This is how Hampton feels about his daddy's new schedule:

CSN Stores Giveaway!

Alright friends, here's a giveaway to get excited about! I told you a couple of weeks ago that CSN Stores had contacted me about reviewing a product or giving away a prize, and I, of course, wanted to share the love with you guys! So, CSN Stores is going to give a $40.00 gift certificate to one lucky reader! This gift certificate can be used at any of the 200+ online CSN Stores!! Seriously, you don't want to miss out!

I've been looking through the site myself and have my eye on a few things! Like Rachael Ray's “Bubble & Brown” 3-Qt. Stoneware Baker for only $39.95!

And my obsessive organized ways led me right to these OIA Jute Slant Baskets (Set of Two) in Dark Brown and Linen for only $39.99!

But enough about me! It's you who has the chance to win! To enter to win the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate, visit any of their 200+ websites and post a comment telling me what item or items you'll put the credit toward if you win, along with a link to it (this is mandatory to enter the giveaway). PLEASE NOTE: The $40 credit CANNOT be put toward shipping costs (many of their items have free shipping!), but it can be applied to a more expensive item if you'd like to pay the difference.

Want a better chance to win? For additional entries:
-Follow my blog or let me know you are a follower
-Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. You can vote every 24 hours!
-Vote for me on Picket Fence Blogs. You can vote every 24 hours!
-Tweet about this giveaway
-Grab my button and put it on your blog
-Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends July 14th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced July 15th. Make sure to check back b/c if I don't hear from the winner within 48 hours of announcing, I will pick a new one!

4th of July

This weekend was a whirlwind and yet so calm and laid back. In other words, it was quite possibly one of the best weekends we've had in a while. If only my little bro (and his lady friend) was in town, it would have been perfect!

Friday, we kicked off the weekend by heading down to South GA to visit my grandparents. I say "we," but Jordan actually headed down to Savannah with his dad and two brothers for a little fishing adventure. The baby and I went with my parents. We had a nice visit, WAY too much food, and I helped my grandad and uncle pick some veggies from his overflowing garden. After eating we sat on the back patio and rocked and just visited.

After I straightened up the house a bit, Saturday was a pool day. It has been cooler (read low 90s), but at night we have had a few record low temps. This has cooled the pool off so we no longer feel like we're swimming in bath water. It's nice. Hampton decided he was ready for a nap shortly after we got to my parent's house, so I was able to eat lunch and lay out for a little bit without having to entertain. Bonus!

Sunday, we started out the holiday at church. No better way to celebrate our freedom than going to worship the one who gave His life for our ultimate freedom. Jordan got back in town late Saturday night, so he was able to join us. The afternoon was spent eating Mexican for lunch and playing the pool. Jordan and I had a great time playing our own version of volleyball (with no net and a beach ball-ha!) and just splashing around like a couple of kids! It was great! At one point, Hampton was asleep, Jordan had run to the store, Mom was inside baking, and Dad was taking a break from the sun. I was alone. Floating around in the pool. Soaking in those maybe 15 minutes of silence. Whew, momma needed that!

After grilling out and enjoying some delicious food, we went to set off some some firecrackers. Well, dad and Jordan did. Mom, myself and the monkey stood on the front porch with our hands on the door knob in case we needed a quick getaway! Hampton was so intrigued! I thought he would be so scared, but even though he did jump a few times at the initial "POP", he watched all of them! Next year we'll have to go to an actual fireworks show!

Ashley and Adam have been visiting his family in New Mexico, but they flew back in yesterday, and we were able to spend a little time with them before they head back home this morning. Hampton just loves his Aunt (and maybe, possibly, one-day uncle???)!

Here's my attempt at a photo shoot of my little monkey in his 4th of July outfit and doing a little splashin' around. I was using my phone, and he refused to look, so I did the best I could! He's cute no matter what, though :)

And since votes must have reset on Top Mommy Blogs, how about a little clicky love?