Surgery Day

Yesterday Todd and I went through a pretty traumatic morning with Jayden. It was the official day that Jayden was scheduled for surgery. Since he had more than two ear infections after his left ear tube fell out, Dr. Kosko felt that it would be best if we not only put in a new set but that we also take out his adenoids.

Dr. Kosko is phenomenal, but as parents you always get nervous when they are putting your child under. J was a trooper as always! The wires, gown and hospital surroundings did not faze him a bit! He was all smiles. They even did a trial run to see if he would freak out when they took him away from us. She asked him if he wanted to go get a sticker and he stuck out his hands to be picked up and didn’t even look back at Todd and me! (Clearly the nurses weren’t aware that this was the same kid that at his birthday party sat on a strange man’s lap in the front of the train and took off without a backward glance!)

The surgery was over within 30 minutes and he was up when we went back to see him. He looked so small and was extremely tired. I got to rock him and hold him for a few minutes, which was more important to me than him! The nurse came in and took his IV out and he didn’t even fuss! He just said “Ow mommy”. What a tough boy! We eventually got him moving when we dressed him and then we headed home.

Todd and I truly enjoyed the rest of the day with our little guy because he was needy and actually let us hold him! This never happens so we took every advantage of it! This prego mommy was pretty exhausted after such a stressful morning so I fell asleep on the couch for a few minutes in the afternoon. Of course J was out playing on the porch as I slept acting as if nothing happened!

We are extremely appreciative of Dr. Kosko and the wonderful care he provided our son! We’re finally hoping that we can get him well so he isn’t sick every other week. So keep your fingers crossed!

“Ho, Ho Ho” as J Would Say!

Today had to be one of the most special ways to help kick off the Christmas Holiday! We started our morning off by going to visit Santa Claus at Millenia Mall! As always the “North Pole” wonderland was idyllic and the décor fascinated Jayden! Now since this Santa is the REAL deal, the line is usually outrageous! Fortunately Jayden has a fabulous Grand pa who got to the mall an hour before the mall opened so he could stand in line for us! When we got there, we only had to wait about 15 minutes!!!!

We also ended up meeting one of Jayden’s best buddies Xander! The boys were so precious in their outfits and many of the people in line thought they were brothers or twins at that! Their smiles just light up a room and we were so thrilled we could spend this special moment with Xander and his mommy and Daddy!

 

I couldn’t have asked for more from Jayden! He adored Santa and was so fascinated by him! (He’s been reading up on him in his Polar Express Book!) I have yet to find anything that Jayden fears, but I still wasn’t quite sure how he would do sitting on a stranger’s lap with all the commotion going on around him! I should have never doubted him! (However, poor Xander was not quite happy with Santa!) Here are a few photos of J hamming it up with Santa…..

 

  

After we saw Santa, we had brunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Grandpa! We had a delightful time and it was so nice to sit outside and catch up! I couldn’t imagine a better morning with all of the men in my life!

My First “Manly” House Improvement Project

When I was at my girlfriend Catherine’s house I saw the new toddler toilet seat that she had installed. It was an adult seat that had a magnetic toddler seat within it. I couldn’t believe that had such a FANTASTIC invention! (Clearly anyone who has potty trained before knows what a pain it is to either snap in a toddler seat or clean out a small toilet!)

The next weekend I took J to Home Depot in search of these seats. As I rounded the corner I felt as if a light was shining and music was playing the in the background when I spotted it! (Yes, as sad as it is I was truly that excited about a toilet seat!) We bought two seats and headed home! Toddy was busy working and doing homework at LM, so I decided to take on the home improvement project myself!

Now those that are close to us know I am pretty prim and proper. Me on my hands and knees taking apart a toilet just doesn’t quite fit my image! That is because I am very fortunate that I have a very capable husband that loves doing all the “manly” things around the house. With this being said I thought I would help him out since he was so busy with school and attempt this project by myself.

I of course had the best handyman with me…Mr. Jayden Shappard! He was a very good helper and kept me company as I forged ahead into the unknown! I was very impressed with us both as I finished the two toilet seats in the afternoon before Toddy got home!  Thanks goodness for Google and Youtube!!!

It’s Gift Time

One of the current trends at birthday parties is to not open the birthday gifts. I personally like this because then the birthday boy/girl has more time to play and everyone doesn’t have to sit there and be bored through 30 minutes of gift opening. We were exhausted after his birthday, but thought it would be nice to at least let him open one gift! (Our plan is to space them out so he can enjoy each one and not be overwhelmed.) He happened to pick Grandma Sharon’s gift out.

I knew he would adore this one! His eyes lit up as soon as he opened the box! It was a Home Depot leaf blower just like his Daddies! Jayden’s favorite thing in our garage is Todd’s blower and he makes him turn it on at least once a day! I don’t think we could get it out of the box quick enough!

He played with it for several minutes and then he wanted to go outside and blow leaves with his Daddy! So priceless! The two of them and J in his goggles…..I couldn’t stop smiling/giggling!

Even when he got out of the bath he wanted to play more! He would have taken it to his crib, but we made him leave it downstairs. His first words this morning were “Vroom, Vroom” (AKA his blower)! Lol, he knew his toy was waiting for him downstairs! How I love that boy!

Countdown to Jayden’s Party!

As I am running around like a mad woman prepping for Jayden’s party, I happen to sneak a peek out the French doors to see what the boys were up to! Of course Jayden had me chuckling within 10 seconds! He was paying apt attention to his Daddy who was pressure washing the porch! Of course his vantage point was from his tricycle! Lol he would slowly inch up and then if the spray got near an inch of him he would back up immediately!

They were hilarious to watch! My boys can always bring a smile to my face!

My Dream Car

Those who know us are aware that we have been looking at cars for over a year now! As soon as I was ready, Todd thought we should hold off. As soon as he was ready I would put the brakes on! We were trying to stay in the land of “No Car Payments” for as long as possible. However, with a new baby on the way we knew we needed more space. Todd’s two door Blazer would just not cut it anymore after March.

We weren’t exactly planning on buying a car this weekend; however, an incredible deal came up that we just couldn’t pass up! So tonight, I got my dream car! A 2011 Platinum Silver Armada!  It is going to be Todd’s car, even though he is fighting with me on that! However, on the days he goes to UCF I will drive it! On the weekends I told him it was our family car and whoever had J Man would be driving it!

I drove it on Saturday running all of my errands and I honestly don’t know how I have managed without a SUV my whole life! It was so easy loading all my grocery bags and the space is just ridiculous!!! (I’m drooling right now just thinking about it!) So thank you Toddy for buying me my dream car!!!

P.S. Jayden is in love with the DVD player and he didn’t make a peep when Todd drove into Winter Garden with him on Saturday!! The price tag on this vehicle is worth it just for this reason alone!!

What Halloween Means for a Sick Little Boy

I think that I was more disappointed than Jayden that I couldn’t dress him in his Sailor outfit and bring him trick or treating!! Poor Jayden is still fighting an ear infection and bronchitis, so we felt it wouldn’t be in his best interest to bring him out in cool weather. 

Little did I know that Jayden had the time of his life handing out candy! He was a hoot handing candy out and telling everyone “Trick or Treat” when Todd answered the door!  He would get so excited when the doorbell would ring!

All in all it was a wonderful holiday with memories!

Milk Out of a Bowl?

Jayden somehow got the “Cereal Fiend” chromosome from his father! When he wakes up he points to the cereal! When we get home from school he points to the cereal! When it’s dinner time he points to the cereal! And he has to lots LOTS of milk with it!

Now some of my good friends out there know I am not a big milk fan. It’s to the point that when I have cereal I put a small amount in my bowl and then drain my cereal from the milk using my spoon. So I can’t begin to tell you how nauseated I feel when I see Toddy drinking his milk out of his bowl when his cereal is gone! (GAG!!) So low and behold I’m in the kitchen cooking and I glance over to J in his high chair and there he is DRINKING MILK FROM HIS BOWL!!!!  

When he was done he had this huge grin on his face! I look over to Todd who has sheepish look on his face and he says, “What? I taught him that two weeks ago!” Oh how I love my boys! (When they are not slurping milk down!)

Happy Anniversary Toddy!

After our amazing trip to Vegas, we had agreed that we would have a low key anniversary at home. (Since Vegas was both a birthday/anniversary present to each other.) I had planned on cooking dinner for Toddy, but then my amazing mother offered to babysit for us! I was so excited and thought it would be really nice to surprise Todd with reservations somewhere.

When he got home last night, I told him that he had a date night somewhere but I wasn’t going to tell him! Of course the 5 year old in him had to ask a million questions! (He obviously does not do surprises well!) So I felt like we were kids getting out for the summer as we raced to our car at 5:00! I drove us and surprised him by pulling into Texas de Brazil! Texas de Brazil is a Brazilian steakhouse that specializes in meats! Todd had never been before and I thought it would be a very special place to celebrate our 3^rd anniversary!

We had a fabulous dinner and we both waddled out thinking we could never eat again! (Not sure why Todd was waddling, mine was clearly a prego waddle J!) We headed home to relive Grandma and put our little guy to sleep. As Todd was putting him down, I was running around making the bed and putting Todd’s final surprise out!

His surprise consisted of my first Pinterest challenge! I saw this idea a few months before and thought it would be perfect for my sentimental hubby who adores chocolate/candy! I was thrilled with how it turned out!

Todd that it was very creative and fell in love with it at the first sentence! (His favorite line by the way!) I’m so happy that something so small could put such a huge smile on his face! I love this man and can’t imagine my life without him. With Todd, I realized that fairytale dreams do come true and there are happily ever afters.

I love you Todd Michael Shappard! Happy Anniversary!

Baby Kicks……

Tonight was one of those surreal nights that takes your breath away. Toddy was taking a well needed night off and was at a concert with his buddy Steve-O. I had a great night playing with Jayden and finally got him down even though he was waiting for his Daddy to put him to bed! (Trader!) I decided it would be nice to get in bed early and read/party plan for my upcoming parties. As I was relaxing, all of a sudden I felt this sucker punch to my lower belly. So much so that I felt the vibration on the outside where my hand rested! I couldn’t believe it……my precious baby kicked and I felt it with my hand!

I immediately texted Todd because I was so excited! We didn’t feel Jayden until he was 22 weeks and I’m only 19 now! My little one continued to kick me several more times which only seemed to fascinate me more! I fell asleep dreaming of our new addition to the family only to wake up to my hubby rubbing my belly and telling out baby to wake up so Daddy could feel! I mean really Todd….lol at 12:30 in the morning! How I love that man! He doesn’t want to miss anything! Unfortunately, our baby was not interested in waking up! So here’s to Toddy feeling in the future!

Elmo!

Today we celebrated Miss Morgan’s birthday party! Morgan is new to Jayden’s class and he was very fortunate to garner a birthday invite from her. Morgan’s parents, Thad and Brittany, made us feel extremely comfortable and we had an amazing time. Of course these are his supposed future in-laws since I found out that Jayden runs to Morgan each morning when she gets in to give her a hug! (For some reason I fear that Todd and I have a future of unease with Mr. Flirt!)

The theme was Sesame Street, which had Morgan’s favorite character Elmo. Morgan’s mom was concerned that some of the little ones would be scared. However, I knew that our little guy wouldn’t be! Sure enough he proved me right! He was the only one who ran up to Elmo! The other little ones cried, or shied away from him.

Jayden’s thirst for adventure and thrills never ceases to amaze me! Nothing scares him! (P.S. - If you perhaps think you saw J in feminine flip flops on, you are correct. He stole Morgan's sandals and did not take them off until we left! That boy and his love for shoes!)

Slumber Party/UCF Game

Last night I had my first slumber since the night before my wedding! We somehow were able to clear all of our schedules and come together to celebrate Amanda’s birthday! Lindsey came from Orlando, Martina came from West Palm Beach, Emily came from a few streets over J and Amanda came over from Groveland. Todd was gracious enough to allow our house to be full of women!! I ran to Publix before they all came over and went shopping for our slumber party snacks…..Twizzlers, Snickers, Laffy Taffy, Bacon Parm Dip, Spinach Artichoke Dip and a Cheese platter. Did I mention that we also ordered out for pizza and Greek salads! Lol who knew five girls could put down so much!

I can’t remember laughing so hard! After catching up we dug out the video from Amanda’s bachelorette party and my 21^st birthday party at Tivoli. LOL those were crazy memories! I think we all laughed and giggled for two straight hours! At least till Todd came home and Lindsey demanded that we shut off the video! (Lol she didn’t quite like the idea of Todd seeing her dancing it up on the video at that particular moment!)

When we all woke up this morning, we were off to do different things. So our precious few hours were over. Lindsey was headed to the USF game, Amanda was headed to work, but the Shappards, Emily and Moe were headed to our Tivoli reunion at UCF! Now those of you who know me post college years you most likely don’t know about my Tivoli days! Tivoli was the apartment complex that Emily, Martina and I lived in. Martina and I actually worked there too! There aren’t quite words to express what Tivoli means to me. It was my life and some of the best memories I have.  We met some of our best college friends here and somehow we merged over 20 people from St. Pete, Palm Bay, Merritt Island and Clermont into a family.

I couldn’t wait to see of my college friends and introduce them to my little man. (Most of them had already met Todd!) This was Jayden’s first official tailgate and I couldn’t wait to see how he loved it. The Shappard’s were decked out in UCF gear and J was sporting his jersey!

We had an incredible time and it truly precious to see all of my best guy friends play with Jayden. He was in heaven playing with the boys and an extension cord. Plus he had a blast chasing them down the green! Lol the boys loved him because he definitely attracted the ladies in with his fohawk and jersey!

11 WEEKS

Two more weeks and I will be out of my 1st Trimester! I have been patiently counting the days in the hopes that I will start to feel better! I love this baby already, but my goodness is he/she putting me through the ringer!

Size:             Large Plum

Length:         2.5 Inches Long

Weight:        .5 Ounces

Fun Facts:    Most of our baby's systems are fully formed and it is doubles in
                       size in the last three weeks! In addition, his or her bone marrow
                       is already producing white blood cells to fight off infection after
                       birth! IN the Shappard family we know this is a MUST have!

The Peabody Ducks

The Peabody Duck March

Since opening its doors on November 1, 1986, The Peabody Orlando has continued, in unbroken sequence, the traditional March of The Peabody Ducks which began at its sister property, The Peabody Memphis, many, many years ago.Each morning, promptly at 11 a.m., the hotel's atrium lobby is the scene of a remarkable ritual. In a special elevator, the five North American mallard ducks, four hens and one drake, comprising The Peabody Ducks, descend from their $100,000 penthouse Royal Duck Palace.When the elevator doors open, The Peabody Ducks, accompanied by their crimson-and-gold- braid-jacketed Duck Master™, take up their positions on a plush red carpet and begin The March of The Peabody Orlando Ducks to the strident tones of John Philip Sousa's King Cotton March.

They waddle their way in formation through the hotel's marble halls, and when they reach the magnificent, orchid-crowned fountain, which takes center stage in the Atrium Lobby, the ducks mount three red-carpeted steps and splash into the fountain's waters. Tumultuous applause reverberates through the lofty, foliage-draped lobby, and standing ovations are the order of the day by the hundreds of onlookers who daily crowd into the hotel to see one of the greatest shows on earth.

At 5 p.m., the procession is reversed, The Peabody Orlando Ducks marching back to their special elevator, then to their Royal Duck Palace for dinner and a quiet evening together.

The Peabody Duck March is something my parents took my brother and I too when we were little kids. We would make a special day of it! We would start by seeing the ducks waddle in and then we would go to the B-Line Diner attached to the hotel to have brunch! The Duck March is something that has been on my bucket list to bring Jayden to! I couldn’t wait to see this unique event through his eyes! We invited his Auntie Rebecca and his Uncle Nick to go with us. (They had never been either and I couldn’t wait to share this experience with them!)

Jayden adored the ducks! They went by so quickly that I think it was hard for him to register! He coultn’y wait to chase after them!

As soon as they flew by he was off to see them in the fountain! He had the biggest smile on his face and I couldn’t have imagined this experience to be any better!

 

Of course he was so cute that he caught the attention of a Brazilian news crew who proceeded to interview us and film J! What a ladies’ man!

After his thorough assessment of the ducks, we headed off to brunch at the B-Line Diner!!! It was just as fabulous as I remember! Thanks to everyone who made this day so special and surreal!