Sick & Still Passy Free

Okay, I have to back track a few days. When we took Colby for his checkup on Thursday the doctor came in and said, "I'm impressed he didn't get sick all winter." I started to laugh and said well..... he has a fever right now. She couldn't find anything wrong so she said what they always say when they don't know, Fever Virus. Remember, we took away passy Friday morning and even made it through the night without it. What do you know, he wakes up Saturday morning sick as a dog and I can't even give him his passy to soothe him. I know it's awful to take it away when their sick but he had already gone 24 hours so we couldn't turn back! Saturday his fever got up to 103 so Chris and I took him back to the doctor and they tested for the flu, strep. ear infections and nothing was wrong. They finally did some blood work and said it was a viral infection. Taking away the passy while he was sick ended up being a good thing because he was so congested that he wouldn't have been able to breath with his passy. He has been so cranky and cries about every little thing, I mean everrrrrrry little thing! and I'm hoping it's from being sick and not passy withdrawals, hehe! It's times like this when I miss nursing because it always fixed crying and crankiness.

On a happy note, it's been 4 days so I guess it's safe to say, we are passy free YAY!!!


As you know I have been trying to find a location to teach my sign classes. Baptist Hospital called today and said they would like for me to bring my classes to their facility, so I'm super excited! The days and times are to be confirmed this week and hopefully I can start in about 2 weeks. On top of that excellent news I got another call this morning from Beyond Therapy Pediatric Group (http://www.bptherapygroup.com/) and the owner wants me to come meet with her Friday morning and discuss teaching classes there also. I fill so blessed and thankful for this opportunity to start my own business. I will be doing something I absolutely love that will provide for my family and still allow me to stay home with Colby, which is sooooo important to me!



Colby kept trying to climb in the shower with me and I finally said, "OKAY, just get in." I figured he would hate it but he loves it and thinks it's so funny for some reason. I have to admit it's much easier for me because he does things he knows he isn't suppose to while I'm in the shower because he knows I can't get to him at the moment. When he got out of the shower I put on his robe. It's too small but that's what makes it hilarious!


I said say cheese and he signed it instead.

Things Colby is learning at 15 months

His verbal vocabulary is really growing and it's so exciting to see what new words he will say each day. He is trying to put words together like duck quack quack and bye bye mama. He is also putting words together when he signs like MORE MILK PLEASE.

He is learning his colors through signing. He also loves the song "colors of the rainbow" which we learned in sign class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnG-7w54LfE

he likes to watch this video on the computer so I let him every once in awhile (especially while he has been sick & cranky).

He is really learning about consequences. Time Out works for Colby and I'm so glad I started it when I did. People that say children don't understand time out until 2 is full of baloney. He doesn't like time out so he learns his lesson real quick. Today, he went to grab something he wasn't suppose to and I said, "touch it and you go to time out." He quickly backed away from it and then came and gave me a hug, he could tell I was so proud!! It felt good to see him react that way because it meant that he behaved and he was proud, and it wasn't out of fear that I might hurt him.

Bye Bye to Passy

When Colby woke up this morning I put his passy up along with the other 20. He kept signing passy and crying so I kept saying "all gone". Once he got distracted he was fine. I figured since I told him "all gone" then it wouldn't make sense to give it back at nap time. I had knots in my stomach while we were reading the book and singing our nap time song because I assumed he would start screaming. I gave him Binky (lovey) and put him in the bed. He looked up at me and signed "passy" and gave me an expression that conveyed, "mommy you forgot my passy". He cried for about 30 seconds and went to sleep. I thought to myself thank goodness and holy crap I'm so surprised! Second nap went the same way, but he woke up after 30 minutes and was searching for it. He got himself really worked up, so I went to comfort him. Colby will only sleep in his bed so I had to crawl into the bed with him and he curled beside me and went back to sleep. I felt like there was no turning back and it was all or nothing so tonight we put him to bed without passy and he didn't make a sound. He went straight to sleep without crying for the passy. I'm not sure how tonight will go, but I know that I'm pushing forward and I'm not caving in. It might be rough and I might have to sleep in a baby bed all weekend but we will be passy free by Monday, YAY!!!

Colby loves to play in the dirt, mud, and water. He is all boy and I love it! I think it's great for boys to get dirty and explore, and it's nothing a bath can't get rid of.

Colby's 15 Month Checkup

Chris and I took Colby for his checkup today and he got his last shots until 2 years old, YAY!!! He weighed exactly 25 lbs and was 32 inches, so he was in the 50% for weight and 75% in height.
That still cracks me up since I'm a whopping 5'2 and Chris is 5'9, I guess it won't be long before I'm looking up to him.

She was shocked that he had over 60 signs because that means his vocabulary is more than triple the average. The reason Joseph Garcia started research on the benefits of signing is because he noticed that children of deaf parents communicated at such an early age and they had advanced vocabularies. He started Sign2Me and has many great products to help you sign with your baby. http://www.sign2me.com/

This starter kit is great! I have a few of these if you would like to purchase it through me so you can avoid shipping cost. $49.95



After the nurse gave him the shots he signed "go" and pointed to the door. Thank goodness she thought it was funny and not rude!


The only thing I had on my question list this visit was concerning his passy. Should I take it away? Is it too early? Will I cause him to be insecure if I take it away? Will it mess up his teeth? Will it delay speech? You know all the things you hear and read about pacifiers.

Her answer:
Do it now and do it cold turkey. At his age he will be mad for 2 or 3 days and he will be over it. If you wait longer then it will be harder. Don't take it away and then change your mind because he won't understand why you caused him distress and then gave it back and it will also teach him that if he just screams loud and long enough then he will get it back. So, make sure you do it when you are really ready to go through a few rough days. It won't cause him any insecure problems, certain pacifiers will cause damage to the teeth, and it drives me insane to see three year olds talking around a passy, so I don't think it's great for speech.

Well then, my stomach is hurting as I think about it! Colby absolutely LOVES his passy. At one point I was taking it away during the day and he got it out of his bed and ever since then he holds onto it it all day long to make sure I don't try that again, ha! I can't imagine how he will ever fall asleep without it. I don't think I can do it cold turkey because he needs it at night. Starting tomorrow I won't give it to him during the day and then I will go from there. Please feel free to give me any advice that might help.

Colby is becoming more and more verbal everyday. He tries to repeat anything we tell him to say and sometimes it's pretty close and other times it's like, What in the world? The funniest part is, he looks at us like "what's so funny I just said the word correctly", hehe?
When we got done saying our prayers tonight Colby said, "amen" (so sweet).

His new favorite sign is "OK". Every time he gets hurt he looks at me and finger spells OK, I love it! It's another connection to literacy because he already knows two letters and can spell a word. I know it's the easiest word ever, but hey... we'll take it.

Cooper Scott Neely Arrived Sunday morning. He was a big boy weighing 9.4 lbs and 21 in. You are probably thinking OMG that's big and thank goodness for epidurals, but poor Angie didn't make it to the hospital in enough time to get an epidural. It was a really tough labor with altercations and his heart rate dropped and it became a scary situation. She said all she remembers in the end was praying for God to help her and he did. She brought Cooper home Wednesday but she is still in a lot of pain and the recovery will take longer than normal. She has been put on bed rest, so a friend and I are trying to prepare meals for her and the family. If you would like to prepare a meal to help out I will be glad to deliver it for you, just give me a call.

Big Brother Conner

Yesterday was our last sign class for this session so we went to eat at Sal & Mookies afterwards.

well, at least I got Colby's booty in the shot

Colby, Sofia, Reagan, Bradley, & Mickey

Not everyone was there for the class picture, sorry Ella, Will, Mia & Joshua.

Spring Break

A couple that we are good friends with called us and said, "we decided to head down to Florida today, why don't y'all come with us?"
This couple does not yet have children in case you didn't figure that out when I said they decided that day to go to Florida.
The remainder of the conversation;
Chris: dude, we can't go to Florida on a days notice.
Friend: Why, whats the big deal?
C: What about Colby?
F: Bring him.
C: Where will he sleep? (remember Colby only likes to sleep in his bed in his own room)
F: We can make him a pallet on the floor (hilarious, he would be playing in the potty or climbing over the balcony in the middle of the night)
C: It's not really in our budget at the time.
F: Whatever, I will pay for everything. (definitely no kids, right?)
C: Sorry man, maybe next time.

Chris and I cracked up about how much changes after having a child. We thought about how Colby hates to ride so he would be yelling up up up the entire time. He would be off routine so his naps would be altered and he would be tired and cranky. We would have to be back at the hotel by 7:00 so he could at least be in the bed by 8:00. Then, we would all have to be really quiet because he would be sleeping in the same room. We would have to come back from the beach twice a day so he could nap, which he probably wouldn't do because he doesn't nap well away from home. Probably not what our friends had in mind for there spring break trip to the beach!

Flashback of Spring Break in Panama City.
I laughed even harder when I compared it to spring break in my young days. A group of friends decide to go at the last minute. We all piled in the SUV that we borrowed from someones mom. 10 people sleeping in a two-bed condo. Ride the panama strip and go to clubs until about 5:oo am and then sleep on the beach all day. The budget didn't matter because it was on mom and dad and we literally had no responsibility. Yea, pretty crazy, and I still wonder what my parents were thinking and how mad Colby will be when I say NOOOOO to unsupervised spring break trips!!

I think this spring break was perfect, and I wouldn't want it any other way!!
Chris, Colby, and I spent everyday playing outside. We seriously only go inside to nap and then we are right back outside. Chris and I are both outdoor lovers and Colby definitely takes after us in that aspect! Colby helped daddy cut the grass and do some work around the house.

Thursday we kept Sarah Spencer Wiggly and Colby adored her! He kept trying to give her kisses and he continued to sign "socks" because he loved her polka dot socks! I hope this a good sign that he will be a great big brother one day.

Sweet Kisses

Signing "socks"

Sarah Spencer is such an angel and we enjoyed her company tremendously! Morgan does the baby whisperer routine so Sarah Spencer was a piece of cake. She told me her nap time was at 9:00 so I put her in Colby's bed at 9:00 and she went right to sleep without a peep! She did the same thing for her second nap. She watched Colby play outside and she was so content the entire time. She never made one little cry, only happy smiles for Sarah Spencer. We loved keeping her ( I think Chris might have even gotten a little girl fever ) and we were never expecting anything in return but Morgan (being her overly generous self) gave us a gift card to Biaggis. So, basically we got paid to play and have fun for a few hours.

Since we are living on one income we don't waste money on going out to eat so we very seldom eat out so I have to admit that I was pretty excited! We got dressed, called my mom to babysit, and headed out for a dinner date. It is one of the best restaurants I have been to, soooo delicious. Every time we go to the area, I ask Chris if we can move to Madison. There is a brand new Catholic Elementary school in Madison so now he is actually considering it, Yay!! Even though we didn't deserve it, thanks so much Morgan! We had a delightful time and I didn't have to pick up a sippy cup one time during dinner!

We went down to the coast and visited JoJo, Coach, Maw maw, & Paw paw. On the way down we stopped at the Hattisburg Zoo. It helped to break up the drive since Colby doesn't like to ride for long periods of time. It was a small zoo but nice. We took Colby to the Jackson Zoo when he was 12 months ( he was more interested in the sticks on the ground than the animals) and now that he just turned 15 months he was much more intrigued. He was very inquisitive about all the animals and was signing them all. He was thrilled about the train ride and kept signing "Again" and screamed as we got off. He was so tired from the zoo that he slept the rest of the way, just what we planned!

Our little Cousin sent us Flat Stanley so he went to the zoo with us.

Signing "train"

He was intrigued by the jaguar

I was really concerned about him sleeping because he is such a creature of habit and insist on sleeping in his own bed. We did the same ritual we do at home, had the same CD playing, turned on twilight turtle, and I gently put him in the bed (he has a crib at JoJo's house). But, he jumped up like lightening and proceeded to scream as if I were never ever coming back. I put a cushion on the floor and stuck my hand through the rails of the bed and held his hand. He immediately laid down but it took him an hour to fall asleep. The next night he didn't make a sound and went right to sleep without me. I guess he just needed to know that it was okay, and I would be there in the morning.

We took Colby to the beach to see the ocean (the coast isn't Florida but Colby didn't care), play in the sand, look at the boats, and enjoy the beautiful weather!! He absolutely loved it! Then we did some shopping at the outlet, went to Saturday night mass, and then ate dinner at the famous "Shed".

4 generations of Jones Men

Colby enjoying the band at the Shed and doing a little dancing!

Potty Like Daddy

Potty time has been pretty entertaining around our house! Colby is still on a poopy strike but as soon as he poops in his diaper he takes his diaper off and points to the potty saying poo poo potty. I just don't get it, but I keep telling myself to stay consistent and it will work itself out. He was doing well with teetee but now he has decided that he wants to stand up like daddy so that's not working well for us. One time he got one little drop in the potty and the rest on the floor. So, I don't know if I should get him a step stool and let him teetee in the big potty or what?

If he gets up too soon I tell him, you didn't potty and he looks in the potty to make sure, hehe.

Is that considered standing?

Colby was pooting and making the poop face so I took him to the potty but he said no and stood up to hide behind the shower curtain. If you watch closely he stops and looks down because he drops a terd on the floor. I drop the camera to try and get him to the potty but by that time he was done.

I purchased several instruments for my sign classes and Colby approved of them all.

Colby giving aunt KK a kiss

We have started saying a little prayer with Colby after his bedtime story. Tonight he put his little hands together to pray, it melted my heart.



He loves Binky and can't sleep without it!!