The Graduate

Congrats to my little sis Katie- She graduated from UNF in the last couple months with a Marketing degree and has since landed a job at Blue Cross. She is loving it and we are very proud of her.

Chandler Stats- Big 10 Months

Chandler turned 10 months on June 14th and I honestly can't believe it. He is changing before our eyes and doing something new just about everyday it seems like. At our last doc appt he weighed 19.5 lbs. I was pretty suprised about that because he had been gaining so fast but with him being mobile I think he's starting to thin out. He walks the furniture and I don't think it will be too long before he's on his own. He's eating all kinds of finger good and does a great job of shoving it all in his mouth. He never leaves a crumb :) We are still nursing 4 times a day and that is going well. I have been very thankful to have done it this long. He's doing some heavy reading these days...he actually loves being read to and try to soak it up everytime we can.
His "excited face" I'd love for him to do this FOREVER :)

Daddy- he pronounces it very well now.

My family at the fair, Chandler loved seeing the animals. Although things tend to startle him very easy, loud noises, people in costumes and hats. He gets so scared and cries. Its so sad but adorable at the same time.

My little Easter Bunny

Hi friends! This will be the first of many catch up posts. I thought of doing one long post but it was just too big. Have I really not updated since Easter? I am a bad blogger. I have though decided to devote more time to this because I like to update this rather than fb. I have really been convicted about wasting time in certain areas, compared to how much time I spend time I spend "catching up" with God as I feel I need to do on facebook and other things. I have chosen this as my method of keeping our dear friends and family in the loop. Also, our time as a family of three is very limited with Chris' work schedule and I like us to all be together as much as I can. That time is so precious to me.



So on to the fun things.....

Chris' extended family always has a big to do at Easter, its more like a family reunion. Always great food and alot of fun.

Is he not cute or what?

First Easter!!

8 Months Old!

Well first things first so we need to let you all know how our BIG BOY is doing! Alot has been going on in the month of April and I hope to eventually catch up on all of it here but Chandler is now 8 1/2 months old and time is flying! I think most of it is because I love the warmer months and so they go by so much faster.

Well we haven't had a "real" checkup since about 6 months and our next one will be at 9 months but I can say Chandler is definitely slowing down with his growth (thankfully for mommy since he has just started wearing 12 months clothes, well some anyway. He can still wear all his 9 months and an occasional 6-9. I wish all clothes could just be the same size? Too much to ask I guess)

I've decided I will bullet point:

-He is working on his FOURTH tooth! It totally changes his smile but I love it!

-He's now about 20 pounds...seems like he was 19 pounds forever.

-Eating solids 3 times a day. Usually cereal in the morning with fruit, a fruit and veggie for lunch and fruit, veggie and oatmeal for dinner.

-We are still making baby food as it is so much cheaper and definitely makes me feel better about what I put in his body. He's still trying new fruits and vegetables and will probably have yogurt soon. I think he's ready for it.

-Still nursing 4 times a day..this is going well, but it seems we are out a whole lot more and when we are he takes a bottle well. This means 3 bottles a day sometimes! I feel like he drinks more from a bottle though so I try to keep an eye on that. He will down a bottle no matter how much is in it!

-Sleeping has been a little crazy this past week due to us being out and about alot and his teeth but I'm happy to say that as of last night I still have a 7:30-7:30 sleeper! yay. I was worried this would really change with his teeth coming in. Its also hard to get them back on a schedule if they've missed several naps or been up late a few days in a row.

- Still taking 2 naps...Usually 9:30-11:30 and 1:00ish- 3ish :) He has turned out to be a great napper... He's not a church napper, unless he crashes! He will also of course sleep in the car and if he's in a pack and play at someone's house.

-He seems to really like the jogging stroller, I'm back to running, and while there will be no marathon training for quite a while, he is very content just being outside. About 4 miles though and he's ready to get out :) Hopefully he will get more and more used to it.

***And last but not least, you guessed it...HE'S CRAWLING! He has been army crawling for several weeks now but about a week ago he started to use his legs more. I waited to get it on video to see if he was really start, and so he's been doing this for about a week. He will still roll to things and lots of times I find him underneath his crib and can't get it out. You walk in his room and can't find him and then hear him laughing. Its hysterical..maybe one of these days I'll get that on video. The second video captures his "excited face" which everyone finds hilarious and I hope he keeps doing it for a while. I love it! Until then....Enjoy. I will do another post with other "happenings" and pictures.

Dedication

Chandler was dedicated on March 21st. We were thrilled to have both our families attend. It meant alot to us. Here is what his name means:

Chandler- English "bearer of light"

Ray- French "wise one"

James 1:17 "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

Our Family with my sister Katie and my parents Felecia and Steve

Our family with Chris' mom Danese and step-dad Robert

It was a beautiful memory day :) We pray consistently to be the parents God wants us to be and to raise Chandler the right way and to glorify Christ. We are so thankful to God for him. His smile is such a light! Children really are a blessing.

Wordless Wednesday

Not so fun in the sun....

Weird title? Well this week has been pretty interesting and I will tell you why after I give you a background story...Back when I was in highschool I went for a routine skin check at the dermatologist. My parents both had a couple different things removed so they thought I should be checked also. At my appointment they removed several spots and sent them off to a lab to check for any abnormal cells. We got a call a couple weeks later that I would be having surgery in 4 different places on my back..I had squamous cell (a type of non melanoma skin cancer that can spread to other parts of the body if not treated, the abnormal cells can also have opportunity to turn into melanoma later in life if not removed) so I went in for 2 seperate surgeries and ended up with 4 ugly scars on my back and 80 stitches. YUCK.

Why am I explaining all this? Well people ask me questions alot and most people don't think to be checked every now and then, especially being young..they think skin cancer is for old people who have lived in the sun everyday or spent alot of time in tanning beds. This is not true- So let me take the opportunity to give you a little information-
I recently went for a check a couple weeks ago and they removed 4 more spots. They call them moles but they look like dark freckles and usually don't have a round shape. Three out of the four came back positive again for abnormal cells so I had some surgery done this week and go back in two weeks for some more. NOT FUN.

I would probably stay out of the sun all the time if I thought that would help but I was told that my "moles" are most likely genetic...some of these areas have never seen the sun! I have always worn alot of sunscreen and don't have skin that usually burns. So yes, excessive sun exposure (most likely from when you were young) can produce this but it can also just be in your family. (My grandmother has had melanoma on her face, and my dad has had basal cell on his face) I usually wear hats and shirts if I'm gonna be in the sun for awhile because I do live in Florida and love the summertime and the beach.

Here are some facts that some people aren't aware of regarding skin cancer and some precautions to take:
-Sun damage is sun damage, regardless whether its in the form of a sun tan or a sun BURN. Sun damage accumulates year after year and in 20 or 30 years or more the damage appears as wrinkles, age spots and yes, skin cancer.
-Severe sunburns are the early visible type of damage and can be related to the development of melanoma which is potentially fatal.
-The built up type of sun damage can lead to skin cancers on the face, ears and neck. These are usually Basal cell cancers and usually develop in middle or later life but can be as early as ones 20's. These don't usually spread to other parts of the body but they keep growing and have to be removed.
-Squamous cell cancers do spread to other parts of the body if they aren't treated early.
-Its estimated that children get about 80 PERCENT of their total lifetime sun exposure in the first 18 years of life! This is a way to prevent skin cancer later in life.

Precautions:
-If you can, stay out of the sun in the middle of the day (10am-4pm) when the sun's energy is the greatest.
-Be aware of of the length of time you are in the sun..a fair skinned person can burn in 15 minutes of midday sun.
-Always use 15 SPF of more.
-Babies 6 months or younger should not be in the sun at all and start using sunscreen on them after 6 months. Their new skin is espeically sensitive. (I pray Chandler gets Chris' skin and not mine :(

If you are still with me...congratulations on reading one of the longest posts I've ever written but felt it might help other people since I get asked about this alot. If you have any questions be sure to ask and maybe I can answer or find the answer for you. I'm praying what I had done this week will heal up quick as I will be traveling this weekend and toting Chandler about (All 20 lbs. of him) I've just been laying around the last few days and I considered staying home because I'm pretty sore but this trip is much needed and I'm excited..I'll update on that when I return.

Until Then!
~Linz