Since he now has FOUR teeth, David started grinding them this morning and didn't stop all day. It sends chills down my spine to hear them grind together, but he thought it was hilarious. The only consolation, for me, is this precious face he makes while he does it.

David LOVES to share things these days. He gets such a kick out of handing anything to me.

This morning, Ryan went to the convention for an hour or so while David and I explored the beautiful gardens in the atrium of the hotel and took a few pictures along the way.

David even loved riding the elevator because he could look out the window and people watch the whole time.

Then we said goodbye to Nashville. David was exhausted from his full morning of fun.

We came back to Ma and Big Daddy's town for a memorial service honoring a very special high school teacher of theirs. David was well behaved for much of it, but had to take a break with Daddy towards the end.

Then, this evening, it was time to celebrate Big Daddy's 57th birthday!! His actual birthday was on Friday, but because this weekend was so busy we had the party today. Such a sweet picture:

What a fun, busy day we had today! We traveled 4 hours in the car from Rome to Nashville this morning for the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention. David did well, except he only took a 30 minute nap along the way, so he was a bit grumpy and ready to get out of the car towards the end of the ride. But I can't blame him, so was I. We arrived at our hotel (The Gaylord Opryland) around noon and headed for our room. David loved stretching his legs by crawling around on the big bed and checking out the cool view from our balcony with Daddy.

Then, it was off to the convention to meet some of the most famous people in the world of turkey hunting.

First, he met Colonel Tom Kelly, a pioneer in all that is the art of turkey hunting. Col. Kelly got a big kick out of seeing David play his turkey call.

Next, we stopped by Mr. Tommy Walton, maker of the Tom Teaser calls. He gave David a mouth call last year (before he was even born!). Daddy shared the video of David playing his box call a few weeks ago on a hunting forum. When Mr. Tommy saw it he said he wanted to give David one of his slate pot calls when we came to the convention. So, after David showed off his skills with that turkey call, Mr. Tommy signed it especially for David. "To David: My Little Hunting Buddy"

Finally, we went to see our friends over at the Primos booth. They too got to see a little turkey call demonstration from David and were very impressed with his technique. The call David likes to use the most these days is a Primos call, so we got all the guys to sign it for him! As you can tell, David had a great time being one of the boys.

After a few hours of visiting with everyone it was definitely time for David to take a nap. He and I headed back to the room while Daddy stayed at the convention. David was exhausted, so it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. When he woke up (2 1/2 hours later!) he felt great and was ready for just a little more turkey convention before dinner. We met back up with Daddy and saw a couple more of our friends (Brad and Joyce Doyle). Then, the three of us went to dinner at one of the many restaurants here in the hotel. David loved every moment of the day as he saw tons of new sights and heard many new sounds. Tomorrow we will go back to Rome. It was a long drive and short stay, but well worth it.

We have been blessed with beautiful weather these last few days and we have been loving it! After a wonderful lunch date with some of my dear friends (and a nap), David and I played outside in the warm sunshine.

David found my crocuses today- a good sign that Spring is coming!

David has learned how to wave recently. SO cute!

What a FUN day I had with my little Valentine today! First, we attended a play date with lots of little kids close to David's age. He had a wonderful time crawling around and playing with the other children. David was the only boy in the group, so his "Hello Ladies" shirt was a big hit! I also had a great time socializing with the other stay-at-home moms.

Next, we played and played and played. We played inside, we played outside. We took a walk, we sat in the front yard, we threw leaves in the air and laughed as they floated away in the breeze, we watched the birds at the feeders, and we giggled at Bogie as he rolled in the grass. I am SO very excited to finally have my happy baby boy back! I hope he doesn't have two teeth (or more!) come in at one time again, because it was no fun.

Oh! And David says, "Thanks for the Valentine's Day card, Ma and Big Daddy!"

This morning, David had a ball "walking" back and forth between Daddy and Mama. He laughed harder and harder every time as he made the trek across his room. I didn't video tape it at that time (I chose to enjoy the moment instead of running to get the camera). But, I did get this video later on:

This afternoon, unfortunately, the fun had to come to an end. Daddy loaded up his equipment and headed off to work for a few days. But, not before he and David played on the 4-wheeler for a few minutes. David was squealing with joy the entire time.

I just love this one- both deep in thought:

Daddy works from home most of the time, so it will be very different without him here. But, David and I have a busy next few days ahead of us, which is good since Daddy is going to be gone. We are hoping that filling our days with lots of fun activities will help the time pass faster.

Do you think he enjoyed his blueberries for breakfast this morning?!

You can really see that first tooth on the top coming in now! He is still slightly fussy as the next one continues to push through. But, he is getting back to his usual happy self a little more everyday.

Since snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, we ventured outside to enjoy the sunny, yet cool day. While I worked at cleaning up the flowerbeds in front of the house, David crawled around the front yard pausing only to eat a few leaves along the way.

Today was slightly better on the teething front. David is still not 100% himself, but we are getting closer everyday.

Today was a better day for David. He slept great last night and woke up (a little earlier than usual) very happy. He ate, played and had a great time this morning. But, after a very short nap, he was back to irritable and grumpy. When it came time for nap #2, he once again cut it extremely short and woke up crying. As soon as I picked him up out of his bed he buried his head into my chest and fell back asleep. Not one to ever pass up a chance to hold my sweet baby, I sat in his rocking chair and figured he would wake up within a few minutes. And perhaps I could stand to close my eyes for a moment or two while I waited. When we both woke up over 2 1/2 hours had passed as we were snuggled up in the rocking chair together. What a great way to wake up!! After that nap, David was much happier and my playful, laughing, somewhat mischievous little boy was back.

Looks like to get through this phase of teething I will just have to hold him while he sleep so he can get some good naps in during the day. It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it.

Today was not a very good day for David. It turns out that he may be cutting TWO teeth at one time! The poor little guy was miserable all day long. His two long naps of the day usually last, as of late, somewhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Today they were both not even 45 minutes a piece! He was grumpy, irritable, wanted to be held, then put down, wanted to play, but didn't know what he wanted to play with... He was not himself. Tylenol didn't seem to help much at all. Then, his last nap of the day, which normally last only about 30 minutes, went for 2 1/2 hours!! At dinner time, when he is often slightly fussy on a regular day, he was as happy as ever, but ready for bed shortly after finishing. It was a roller-coaster of a day and I am hoping to not ride it again tomorrow. I hate seeing my baby in such agony and not being able to make it go away.

The stairs have been the biggest challenge around our house as of late. I want David to explore our home and not feel restricted to only certain areas but, I also have to keep him safe! He has climbed as many as 3 steps at one time, with me close behind of course. He is very good at. The problem comes when he wants to turn around. The stairs are not wide enough to safely support him as he sits on them sideways, so he teeters off. I am trying to teach him how to turn around and come down the stairs correctly (on his bottom). I think he is too young to fully understand right now, but we will keep working on it.

We've been working on teaching David how to make a fun sound by getting him to make a noise and then using his hand to cover and uncover his mouth. Now he can do it all by himself! But, it seems he thinks he has to use his other hand to move the one covering his mouth because that's what we did.

In other exciting news, tooth #3 is breaking through (first one on the top!). We should have known when David woke up at 1:30 this morning! But, because he is such a good boy, he just played in his crib for a while and went back to sleep. He was a bit more fussy today, but nothing too terrible. Hopefully he will sleep better tonight.

Do you think he spends a little too much time in the Around-We-Go at home? He goes in circles in the walker at Ma's house! I think we're going to have to work on this...

David went to the doctor for his 9 month check-up this morning. He was such a good boy the whole time! He got one shot and only cried for a few seconds. We saw the NP this time, David really likes her. She was impressed with how easygoing he was during the entire exam. She even told me, as she was wrapping up the appointment, "You and your husband are blessed with a very happy baby." She was very pleased to hear David is still happily nursing and loving all foods, except jarred meats, which she said is very common. He weighed in at 19lbs. and 9oz. (48th percentile), he measured 30inches tall (90th percentile), and his head was 17.3 inches around (25th percentile). Developmentally, he is right on track. As we were checking out at the front desk, the sweet receptionist said, "David, I can't believe we are making your 1 year appointment! You've grown up too fast!"

No kidding...

I was recently reunited with a poetry book I compiled for my final project in my Senior English class. It's a collection of some of my favorite poems along with a few I wrote. As I was flipping through it today, I came across this one. It brought me to tears. Even then, as a young woman in high school, the whole world at my fingertips, something inside of me connected with these beautiful words. My heart yearned to be a mother and to hold my own precious soul. There is not a day that passes I am not in awe of my sweet, little boy even when he is being mischievous.

A Precious Soul

A sleepy little smile As the morning sun shines through A joyous little laugh When I come into view A precious little face As I cradle you near A soft little cry Reminds me, you are here I cannot imagine What we did to find God's favor As we watch you grow Each moment to savor A precious little soul To guide through this life A precious little one To shield from pain and strife A tiny little hand To hold along the way Tiny little feet To teach to walk each day Debi Fields My precious soul pulling everything out of his diaper bag this afternoon: