Sam and Flippy

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Hi Everyone,

Yup this is the first post in many moons, and I’m doing so on a new updated version of Wordpress. I upgraded us from WP 1.5 to WP 2.8 which is a nice leap, and what’s better is it was able to carry over our theme so the front end is seamlessly the same. As for the backend, it’s quite different but MUCH nicer to use.

Hopefully we’ll start updating the website more, but with life moving at 100mph no promises

Take care –

Sam

ya…ya…I know it’s been a couple of months since my last posting. My time has been busy split between work, studying, Willow, Sam, the house, and all the other little tid bits life throws at you. After December 13th I should be able to post away for you all. What happens on December 13th? GRADUATION! WHO HOO! I am not sending out official announcements but will be emailing out something to highlight this event in my life.

As a recap of the past 2 months…
*Wilsey (as her Uncle John calls her) is growing like a weed!
*Bro-Bro (Arthur) had a BDay (I think this officially make him “old” )
*Sam is working at a different post with the same company and loves the new challenge.
*We went to Maker-fair in Austin and LOVED it!
*We have NOT done ANYTHING else with the kitchen but still have loads to do. BLAH! Anyone out there have any free time?
*Willow had a blast at Halloween as a Dallas Cowboy and Lorena Leopard Cheerleader. (I will post a pic or two soon!)
*We are going to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving to see my dad.
*Tonight Sam and I are going to see the ABBA (ncle Dave, Aunt Rhonda, and Aunt Robin will we looking after Willow) show with the Waco Symphony-should be innnnteresting!
*Obama won! WHO HOO!

I know that more has happened but will leave you for now to get to work!
Love to all!
Flipper

Let’s see…a year ago Sam and I were knee deep in labor. I can’t believe that a year has passed so quickly! For those of you who are wondering…yes….I still remember the pain BUT I can honestly say that it was worth it.

Willow will be 1 tomorrow and she is a walking and talking up a storm. Oh! How she makes me laugh! On Monday we went to the Mayborn Museum in Waco for an extra credit assignment for my Geology class. Sam and I were looking everywhere for her a clean pair of socks (yes….we are WAY behind on laundry!). I suppose we were taking too long to get ready because there Willow was…standing in the kitchen…leaned forward with her arms stretched straight and pushing backwards at her sides…yelling at me in her own slobber slurred language. I was in the laundry room looking through the pile of clean Willow clothes in a basket and just stopped. OMG! Willow is a person! She started to walk from here to there continuing to yell at me. LOL! It was a surreal moment. Our baby is growing up, but she will ALWAYS be our baby.

To review the past year here are a few observations…I am sure there are more but at least below are a few to get started…

A year ago Sam and I…
did not realize how much we could function on 2 hours of sleep.
did not know our hearts could exist outside of our physical bodies.
did not realize the true meaning of time.
were never referred to as Mama and Dada.
never spent a night driving aimlessly through out Waco.
never thought about sharp corners of our furniture or how hot the stove truly got.
never found ourselves a puppet of instinct.
never packed the trunk of our car full for an over-night stay away from home.
never took as many pictures as we do now of our life.
had about $1,000-$1500 more in our bank account every month.
never unintentionally got behind on laundry.
always had time for emailing or calling friends and family.
never consistently ate by 7PM at the dinner table.

-Flip

Hello everyone!

I know, I know…we haven’t updated our blog in how long? Uhg!

Well let’s see. Sam and I are doing well but honestly…I know you don’t want to hear about us…Baby Willow is the big show!

Willow has started…uhhh….well…grunting her needs at us. What does Willow want for breakfast? Does she want to play in her room or the living room? Where’s daddy? How was her day at daycare? It doesn’t matter. To her she is probably telling us a whirl wind of a story but to us…we just hear this haggered grunt. I am hopeful that this is just a short phase on her way to making actual words.

In other Willow news she has started to try to walk and we figure will be there before we know it. Plus I just got a call from daycare saying that she would be moving up to the next room in just another couple of weeks. AWESOME!

On the medical front…
It is no secret that Willow has allergy problems that has caused us $$$ this year in Doctor visits/ER outings/Medication costs. She is now on Pulmicort as a breathing treatment. This is small dosage of steroid in a breathing treatment twice a day. We have given her other breathing treatments before but this one is special. You can’t get it in her eyes because there have been no studies that clear it from causing harm to one’s eyes. Now, how do you explain to a 10 month old that she has to bite down on this mouth piece, which is attached to a loud machine for 10 minutes straight? You can’t…Sam and I tried! It’s an interesting tale twice a day at the Alexander’s house trying to get Willow to comply. A tale of either Dora the Explorer (we really didn’t plan on Willow watching TV this young) or the mamma/daddy show of entertainment. GOOD STUFF!

One good thing about the Pulmicort is that Willow’s wheezing is more isolated now. This has helped us to identify that our carpet may be contributing to her breathing problems. To help solve this we are taking our carpet out and installing wood floors. Should be fun! In looking at flooring types we went to Austin on Saturday to visit Lumber Liquidator’s. On the way there we had the chance to meet some of our Austin Friends (Hey guys!) at Red Robin. To our surprise little Ms. Willow ate a large part of a grilled turkey patty PLUS the bun. I tell ya one thing…that girl can EAT! She is a true Alexander/Hitchcock original!