Medically speaking, you're adorable!

On Monday afternoon, Mommy took Waverly back to the pediatrician's office to see Dr. Spath. She wanted to look at her ears again and listen to her breathing to make sure Waverly was getting better.

Mommy and Waverly read books while we waited for Dr. Spath. Waverly is always surprising Mommy with something new she has learned. This little Sesame Street book has pictures of several of the characters, and Waverly would point out Elmo consistently throughout the book. What a little smarty-pants!

Waverly's check up went really well! Dr. Spath was very impressed with how well her breathing sounded. We will continue to give Waverly breathing treatments over the next couple of days, but we can do them much less often and then ween her off. Her left ear was also much better! She did have a little fluid on the right ear now, but with the antibiotics she is taking that should clear up very soon. Dr. Spath said that we wouldn't have to come back in again unless something changed. So, our baby girl is (almost) all better.

After the evening's breathing treatment, we spent some time together reading books.
Waverly loves reading. She will "read" to Mommy, in her best baby language. She loves to turn the pages, sometimes before you finish reading the page to her. Mostly, she just sits contentedly and looks at the pictures and listens.

Now all of Waverly's books are within reach on the bottom shelf of her changing table. One of the first things she does in the afternoon when we come home is crawl to the bookshelf. She pulls many off of the shelf, then chooses one and has a seat.
Ready to read!
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" is one of our new favorite books, along with our favorite song, "On top of Spaghetti"!

Waverly has been playing hard, making up for lost time when she was sick!
It's like Christmas all over again!

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Sunday was Daddy's birthday!

Of course, we had a little get together for Daddy's birthday. He worked all day on Saturday on smoking pulled pork for barbecue! We made a homemade rub and sauce (known as a 'mop'

to bast the pork in) and Daddy had made a smoker to cook it in. Daddy also smoked ribs and deer meet. The house smelled spicy all day!

On Sunday, Mommy and Waverly went to the store to stock up on party food. Then we made a chocolate cake and cupcakes for Daddy. Waverly was an excellent helper!

Helping with the cupcakes!

I like to measure!

What's in there???

Waverly was Daddy's girl all day long, too!

She constantly said "Hi dad" and wanted him to hold her. It was very sweet!

We had dinner at Mamaw Jean and Papaw Dean's house. All the Lickliter's were there! We really enjoyed Daddy's barbecue. In fact, I think we are going to put in a special request for more!

Help, Mom! I'm sticky!

Waverly sat with Daddy while we sang "Happy Birthday" and then she tried to help blow out the candles. Daddy let her touch (his piece) the cake. She did not like icing on her little fingers though!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We hope you had a great day!

Ready to feel better!

Sweet baby girl...

Our wee one is still not feeling her best!

On Friday, another trip to the pediatrician was in order. Waverly had been pulling on one of her ears and was still not breathing clearly. Mommy took her to see Dr. Spath.

Waverly weighed in at 23 pounds, 6 ounces. Even sick, she is still maintaining a healthy weight! She was a very good girl at the doctor's office. She played with Winnie the Pooh while the nurse took her temperature. We were happy to know that she didn't have a fever!


Dr. Spath came in and looked at Waverly's eyes, ears and nose. She did have a yucky ear infection in her left ear. 10 months old and this is her first ear infection! Dr. Spath ran a test to see if Waverly had the RSV virus, and luckily, she did not! After listening to Waverly breathe, Dr. Spath said that Waverly had bronchalitis, which is similar to bronchitis, but this effects the smaller airways. We gave Waverly a breathing treatment while she was in the doctor's office.

Not so sure about this thing!

Waverly did cry for a few minutes, but then settled right down and I could tell that the medicine was making her feel better. After a few minutes, she could breathe so much better. Dr. Spath returned and had another listen. Waverly felt much better after that. She has to keep having breathing treatments for a few days, but she must know it makes her feel better because she sits quietly and plays with the mask now.

Beware - Hyper Kiddo Alert

The breathing treatments do make Waverly hyper though! For such a laid back baby, she is certainly bouncing off the walls! She is feeling so much better now! We have another trip back to the pediatrician next Monday, just to check her ears and make sure she is feeling better.

Waverly is very excited because Mamaw Jean and Papaw Dean come home from a week long vacation tonight! Now that she is feeling better, she will be ready to visit and play!

One foot in front of the other...

My First Steps!

Waverly is now walking! She took her first few steps last night. Daddy was playing with her while Mommy was in the kitchen. He called for me and I rushed right into the bedroom. He said, "I think she can walk!".

"I think I can...I think I can..."

Waverly held onto Daddy's little fingers,

then let go with one hand...

then the other!

She took a step, then another, and then a third!

She was so proud of herself!

"I can!"

There she goes! She walked to Daddy, then walked to Mommy. She would take about three or four steps before reaching out for a hand. She was so excited that she was trying to run!


Ah, distraction...

Then, after receiving a celebratory hug from Mommy, Waverly caught sight of her book shelf out of the corner of her eye. Off crawling she went, right to her books, and all thoughts of walking were finished for the evening.

What a milestone!
Mommy and Daddy are very proud of our wee one.

Baby's First New Year

Happy New Year!

2011

Having a snack!

Waverly was all ready to ring in the New Year!

But then, she caught a little cold and felt under the weather (because of the weather!). So for our big New Year's eve celebration, a trip to the Urgent Care Center was on the agenda.

Not up to par, so taking a little rest on Daddy.

Mommy decided to take Waverly to the urgent care center since it was a holiday and the pediatrician's office was closed. She had a runny nose, little cough and watery eyes. So, off we went! This was a quick doctor visit. There was no wait and no fuss. Waverly weighed in at 23 pounds! She let the nurse take her pulse and then her blood oxygen level with a neat little finger clasp. She even played some patty cake for her!

Why did you take my plug?

The doctor listened to Waverly's breathing and took a look at her ears and nose. He said that she just has allergies and prescribed Zrytec to make her feel better. Daddy also bought us a new humidifier that has really helped out. We think that her poor allergies acted up because of our new heater, but the humidifier has done great at counteracting that.

So, an early bedtime was in order for Waverly on New Year's Eve!

Daddy and Mommy had planned to stay at home and watch the ball drop, but Mommy fell asleep a little early. It was a quiet and peaceful New Year. We had a good time, just being at home and being together.

Mamaw Jean and Papaw Dean are on vacation, so Mommy and Waverly have been in charge of taking care of their puppy, Baby! Every day we go over and check on her, feed her and stay awhile to keep her company. Poor little thing is so old and misses her family! Waverly likes to pet her, but Baby isn't child-friendly. Waverly sure is happy to visit Mamaw and Papaw's house, though! She plays with her toys and crawls all over looking for them!

New Year's Day!

Waverly had a good New Year's Day with Mommy and Daddy too. After taking care of the puppy, we went to visit with some friends, the Wiley's!

Melanie loved on Waverly! They just played and played!
Waverly liked playing with Jacoby and Makenzie, too (Makenzie eluded the camera, though!) Waverly took Jacoby's water bottle away from him. She thought that made a great toy!

Aww, how sweet! C'mon, now Wiley's - looks like Jacoby needs a baby brother or sister! (Just kidding!)

We all had a lot of fun visiting. We wanted to check out all the gifts Santa had brought and catch up on what's new. Waverly took a little peek in at Jacoby's chickens! What a good day to spend visiting with some friends!

We started the New Year off well, with great family, friends and some genuine good rest.

Happy New Year to all!