Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy the pictures.

Blogging LOA?

Is there such thing as taking an LOA from blogging? If so, I totally qualified this past week. We've been so busy in and out of the doctor's office this week I haven't had time to do anything.

Kevin's yeast infection came back with a vengeance and took over his entire bottom. He was in so much pain at school he wouldn't even sit down. After 2 visits to the doctor they confirmed that it was indeed a yeast infection and put him on more medicine.

We are also on a "no milk" diet for 2 weeks. The doctor thinks there is a connection between his eczema and the milk - possibly a milk allergy that we are not aware of. If the eczema clears up in 2 weeks, it's soy milk for Kevin!

Ben is off this weekend and we are cleaning out our current office and making it a work out room/Kevin's play room. Before and after pictures coming soon! We are also remodeling the bathrooms in our house and putting down hardwood floors. Lots going on in our little world and Kevin is right smack dab in the middle of it all.

Santa, signing and sleeping

My mom and I took Kevin to NRH2O this weekend for their annual Christmas in the Park festivities. He was so good and we had so much fun. Kevin got his picture taken with Santa...which he wasn't too happy about but cute none-the-less.

Kevin is also mastering his sign language skills like crazy! He's seriously able to communicate with us all the time now. We know everything - when he's hungry, thirsty or sleepy. He is now nodding or shaking his head when answering us. I think that's the cutest thing ever. He wants to walk everywhere by himself...where only 2 months ago he wanted to be carried everywhere even though he could walk. He swings his little arms and claps his hands like he's big stuff. He's doing so good in school and has passed his separation anxiety stage. I don't usually even get a wave good-bye anymore!

He's also picked up on how great naps are. My mom says he's definitely my child! Every chance he gets at home on the weekends, he's wanting to take a nap - morning or afternoon. Saturday he took a 3 1/2 hr nap - that's my boy : )

We're definitely loving this toddler stage and all the excitement it is bringing us. He's just a fun little boy with a big personality. It doesn't get much better than this.

Welcome Eczema - NOW GO AWAY!!

Kevin had his follow up appointment this morning from our urgent care visit. The yeast infection has grown and spread so he's on another medicine for that. It looks so bad but I'm hoping this new stuff works fast.

On top of that - he has eczema. YUCK! We've known about his sensitive skin since he was born and apparently the weather change has caused an outbreak of eczema on his arms, feet and bottom. We're trying a new medicine to see if it works. He will also be known as the Aveeno baby after this. He can only use Aveeno products - shampoo, lotion, body wash, etc. He's getting more expensive the older he gets - but he's so stinking cute, whatcha going to do but love him?

That's the update on my rash and eczema infested child. Did I mention that he says "hi" to everyone now? It's so cute.

Concert, pictures and update on sick Kevin

Some friends and I went to the Casting Crowns Christmas concert at Nokia Theater Saturday night. We had so much fun!!! We enjoyed every minute of the concert. All the groups were great but Casting Crowns is awesome! Thanks girls for a great night.

My parents stayed home with Kevin but it seemed the poopy diapers he had been having since Friday morning weren't getting any better. I was home and asleep by midnight and Kevin was awake by 1:00. His tummy was so upset and everytime he would get sick his rash would get more iritated and burn. Poor little guy can't catch a break. He ended up sleeping with me most of the night and I stayed home with him all day today. Luckily I am off work tomorrow to allow him to get more rest.

Here are some updated pictures from Thanksgiving! Enjoy.

Shopping and Urgent Care Visit

Along with all the other crazy people - I was up at 3am Friday morning to go shopping with my aunt and mom. We were at Kohl's before 4:00. After Kohl's we hit Wal-Mart, Lowe's, a quick bite to eat at Whataburger and then Belks. We had so much fun and bought lots of great things.

After a few naps at home with Kevin and an evening spent cleaning house, I realized the rash on Kevin's hip and bottom were getting worse. He was only in the bathtub a few seconds before letting me know he couldn't stand the warm water on his rash. I took him out of the tub to find more bumps and a solid red bottom on my poor little guy. I've seen many a diaper rashes in my days and this was no typical rash. I thought at that point it was a yeast infection - mainly because he was in so much pain. I got him ready, picked up my mom (who had been up since 3:00 with no naps!) and headed to urgent care. Sure enough...it was a yeast infection. I got his prescription filled and Kevin was finally in bed by 11:30. Oddly enough, he was in a pretty good mood.

All in all, our Thanksgiving was wonderful! Night and day from last year. Thank you to Gail for coming to our house at 3:45 Friday morning to watch Kevin. Thank you to my mom for a great day of shopping and for making the trip to Urgent Care with me ( I know you were tired!! ) I have lots of pictures to post but Kevin's fascination with my laptop keeps me from doing that right now.

Check back soon for new pictures....

I'm thankful for.....

1) My wonderful and faithful husband of 7 years. He supports our family and is a great dad to Kevin. He’s a hard worker and my spiritual leader.
2) Both our jobs!! I received a promotion to Supervisor in 2006 and work in a great clinic for wonderful doctors. I have great staff that I enjoy working with and being a part of their lives. We spend more time with each other than we do our own families and I wouldn’t want to spend that time with anyone else. They each have their own strengths that pull us together to make one amazing office. Ben also received a promotion earlier this year to Supervisor and works for a great police department. I’m thankful both our jobs have given us the ability to put Kevin in a great daycare….which leads me to the 3rd thing I am thankful for.
3) Kevin’s daycare and teachers. When the financial responsibility of daycare came upon us in March, we didn’t know if we could afford this daycare for Kevin. God has blessed us above and beyond what we could have even imagined. Kevin has a great daycare and great teachers that love him and are patient with his little personality. He is also located across the street from me at work which is another huge blessing.
4) Our church. We were welcomed with open arms when we returned to my “home” church in February. God burdened us with this about a year before Kevin was born. We struggled not knowing what we should do and after Kevin was born, we began visiting other churches. God lead us back to Spring Valley Baptist church and it’s been wonderful.
5) My friends. I’m so thankful for the friends in my life. I’m thankful all of them are Christians and share the same values and morals. I’m thankful that no conversation is TMI (Elizabeth) and we can talk and work through problems together.
6) No tubes for Kevin. The pediatrician just knew for sure that Kevin would have needed tubes in his ears by the time he was a year old. Praise God is ear infections cleared up and his ears are perfect.
7) New apartment for Gail and Leslie. God blessed Ben’s mom and sister and allowed them to move closer to us and into great apartments. God continues to provide for them financially.
8) Our house. We have been in our house for almost 7 years! We have been able to do some remodeling here and there and make it our own. We lived in this house when it was just the two of us. 8 months later we brought home a very hyper 1 year old beagle who we named Jersey. In July 2006, we brought home a 5 week old Dachshund named Meghan. We decided no more dogs and brought home Kevin William Sasser on November 7th, 2007. Thank you God for a nice house to raise our dogs and kids!
9) Dependable cars. We have 2 very dependable cars…one of which is paid off!
10) And last but not least – our families. Both sets of grandparents live within a few miles from our house. They take such good care of us and love Kevin to pieces. I’m thankful my grandmother is still alive and is able to enjoy her great-grandson.

The viral rash has arrived

At Kevin's appointment on Wednesday, the doctor said that sometimes after viral infections have run their course and the fever is gone, a rash appears. Boy was she right!!!! After Kevin's bath tonight, I noticed bumps on his back and then saw them all over his stomach and some on his arms. He has been fever free for 24 hours...which is great. But now the ugly viral rash has arrived. It's not contagious just ugly.

Another thing we've learned with his allergies is when his nose and stopped up head cannot take anymore junk, it starts to come out his eyes. This time is no exception. He woke up this morning with a very red and irritated left eye. Thank goodness we have eye drops from the last time this happened.

What a crazy weekend! I'm glad it's happening before Thanksgiving though and hopefully we're in for a good week.

Our little man is sick

Kevin woke up Wednesday morning with a 102 fever and I did what any good mother would do....Gave him Tylenol and sent him to school!!! He had no symptoms, just a fever. I was a good mom this time and had him in to see the doctor Wednesday afternoon. Diagnosis: Viral infection that settled in his throat and chest. Medicine given: NOTHING! Lots of love and sleep.

Thursday morning he was still running a small fever so I thought Motrin would knock it out and he could make it all day at school. I WAS WRONG. Daycare called at 2:00 saying he had a 102 fever. I picked him up and we came home to cuddle on the couch. He fell asleep and when I woke him up he had a 105 fever. Oh my gosh! I freaked out. I talked to the triage nurse and I just had to wait for the Motrin to kick in. His fever finally started going down around 7:30 but it was still 102. This continued all night...

I stayed home with him today so he could rest and not be so active like he would be at school. He rested a lot and played from time to time. His fever stayed around 101 all day but as of 7:00 tonight, he was fever free! Hoping for a good weekend with my happy little man.

And I have to brag about Kevin's sign language skills. He is signing all the time now. It's great. He can sign: more, all done, dog, eat, milk, cup, daddy, mommy, book, ball, thank you, sleep and bath. It makes things so much easier when he can communicate with us.

Here are a few pictures of Kevin playing on his Mickey Mouse plane. He loves it!! Thanks g-mama. And yes I know he's only in a shirt and a diaper in every picture. What can I say....he gets comfortable when he gets home!!!

We tied!

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

1 yr check up!

Kevin had a great 1 yr check up yesterday. He weighed in at 21lbs 8oz and was 31 inches. He is in the 90th percentile for his height and still only in the 25th for his weight. No shock there! He got 4 shots including his flu shot...none of which made him happy at all. One was his MMR and I know that one hurt the worst. He cried only a few sad little tears and he was over it. Another round of shots behind us and only a few more to go.

Bumps and bruises for the birthday boy!

We picked Kevin up eary from school yesterday to enjoy his birthday with him. He had 2 nice little marks by his eye from who knows what. We took him to the park where he slid down the slide and hit his head so many times we lost count. He laughed all the way down and wanted to go again regardless of the red marks. We thought the swings would be fun but he hit his nose on the inside when he went forward. What else can happen to my poor child?

We decided that enough was enough and he was getting sleepy. We took our beat up child home where he slept for an hour! Overall he had a great birthday. It's still so hard to believe a year has gone by. It just doesn't seem possible. I don't miss him being a baby for one second. He's too much fun at this age! We are definitely enjoying the new phase he is in - although some nights have been more challenging than others.

He can say da-da, ma-ma, uh-oh, doh(dog), psss(please), tah-tah(thank you), bah(ball), pah-pah(paci), nah-nah-nah(no,no,no), peh(cup). He knows how to sign all sorts of stuff but never does them when asked. He'd rather talk...and that's okay!

He is such a fun little boy and we are so blessed to have him.

Pictures as Promised

Walking like a big boy










Ready to go home!


Treats from G-Mama



Harvest Festival



Nana and Kevin


Cutest giraffe and M&M I've ever seen.




Kevin and Papa



Kevin and mommy at Harvest Festival




Run little giraffe, run!




Figuring out this trick or treat thing fast





Opening presents






Bring on the cake!!!

Another tooth for Kevin

Kevin finally got another bottom tooth in yesterday. That makes 4 on top and 3 on bottom...and I think he has one more on the way. We had an awesome weekend and Kevin is feeling much better! I have tons of Harvest Festival and birthday pictures to post. Hoping to do them tonight. Wait 'til you see Kevin's Nana dressed up as a blue M&M. Too cute for words.

Updated pics

Just a few pics from Kevin's first day of toddler class and our visit to the pumpkin patch. Enjoy!


Ooh, look what I found - grass!!!



Bye bye Miss Melissa. We'll miss you! See ya later infant class, hello big boy class.


I'm here, let the fun begin!



Mmmm....what do we have here?




What's this round thing my cereal is in?



Hey guys, move it - I need to wash my hands, too!




Washing hands after snack time




Silly on the way to the pumpkin patch





Sweet little giraffe



It's very itchy - hurry up!

Hand foot and mouth....BLAH!

My poor baby has hand foot and mouth disease! Bless his little coughing, sore throat, sores on his body heart. He started feeling yucky last Friday and being the wonderful mother that I am just now decided to take him to the doctor....and only because he has his birthday party on Saturday. How sad is that? But in all honesty, I'm not the mother who takes her child to the doctor after 1 cough. I need to see a fever or something before I even call.

Sure enough, she said his throat was very red with sores all in his mouth. He has a few on his hands and feet and back but nothing too bad. So for those of you Spring Valley readers, your child may have been exposed to this on Sunday. I am so sorry! She did say he would only be contagious if he had fever and he was not running fever Sunday morning or night so all may be okay. There is a 3-6 day period of being expopsed to seeing symptoms. So watch your kiddos this weekend!

We are ready for his party on Saturday and hopefully he is feeling better. I plan on staying home with him this afternoon and tomorrow morning so he can get some rest.

We sure miss you, George!

4 years ago today my father in law George went home to be with Jesus. I remember this day like it was yesterday and all the events that took place. I’ll never forget the drive to the hospital early that morning and Ben almost hitting every car in front of us. I’ll never forget our good friends Chad and Ashley who stayed late with us at the hospital the night before…..and Chad beating us to the hospital the morning George died! That’s how you know you have good friends. I’ll never forget the doctors walking in and out of the waiting room with constant updates – none of which were good. I remember somebody asking if we needed a Chaplin to visit us and with much pride we told them our pastor was already there along with other staff members from our church. I remember the last update from one of the many doctors telling us George wouldn’t be with us much longer and we should make our way to his room. I remember several nurses and doctors in his room when we arrived. I remember them trying to tell us his condition and what to expect before we walked in.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced next.

Seconds after walking into his room he had another heart attack and at the request of the family – they did not resuscitate him. We all walked into the room, held each other and cried. It was such a surreal moment that I had to step back from it all and catch my breath. Was this really happening? My heart broke for my at the time 16 year old sister in law who just lost her dad. My very young mother in law who just lost the love of her life. And my husband who through it all had to be a rock and the strong one for his family. As we stood in the room as a grieving family, someone pointed out the smile George had on his face. We each looked at his lifeless body and sure enough….with his head tilted to the side, he was smiling. And why not? He just saw the face of his Savior. He was no longer in any pain and was walking on streets of gold. That puts a smile on my face, too!

4 years have come and gone and life does go on. We miss him and think about him daily. He now has 2 grandsons who were named after him…..Kevin and our new nephew Jacob Kevin. He would have been so proud of that! He also would have loved the fact that Kevin inherited his big ole’ fat feet. Thanks a million, George.

Pictures coming - I promise

Our schedules have been crazy and Ben is working evening and deep nights now, so it's just me at home with Kevin at night....good luck getting any computer time while he's awake! I do have lots of pictures from our family retreat and some cute pictures of Kevin in his Halloween costume taken at the pumpkin patch.

Kevin started his first day of toddlers on Monday and had a great day! He was so ready to move up and it definitely showed. He loved playing outside with his new friends. His teacher was quick to point out that he has NO fear. He was the first to the top of the stairs to go the big kid slide. No surprise there.

His birthday is just 2 short weeks away. Our baby is growing up so fast!

Almost in toddlers

I had a meeting today with Kevin's new toddler teacher. She is very sweet and of course pregnant and due mid-December but that's okay.... We know her replacement also and she too is very sweet. Kevin is so ready to be in his big boy class. His teacher said they took him down to play with his new friends yesterday and he didn't want to leave them. He was walking around and playing with all of them. Of course because he's new and smaller than the other kids he is often referred to as "baby" by his new friends. It's really cute. She did warn us that his vocabulary is about to take off - but we sure are ready! Now that he's walking and forming this new little personality all he needs now is the ability to tell us what he wants.

We are looking forward to our church's family retreat this weekend. Will be posting lots of pictures soon.

Look who’s walking!

Yes indeed, our little man is walking. He’s so proud of himself (as are we) and tries to walk everywhere. He’s learning how to turn corners now and after trying to chase after Jersey last night, he’s getting pretty good at it. A few weeks ago he was only taking about 2 steps before falling. Now he’s walking like a pro – even with shoes on!!!

We’re getting birthday invitations together this week and planning Kevin’s party. YAY!!! It’s going to be a Blue’s Clues party. How cute is that?

Video of our walking boy will be posted soon.

Movin' on up!

We have been informed that Kevin will be promoted to the toddler class at school on October 20th. Today they started "cot sleeping" and he did great. He's pretty much down to 2 bottles a day - one in the morning and of course his famous night night bottle that he couldn't live without. He's conquered the sippy cup and is eating table food only (we said good-bye to baby food about a month ago).

He continues to make us laugh every day! Our favorite show is Blue's Clues. He loves playing peak-a-boo with anything he can get over his head. He still "woofs" at any dog he sees and loves playing with Meghan and Jersey.

Enjoy the pics!

Is my hair messed up?



Mashed potatoes are also a great moisturizer!



Picnic at daddy's work



















Please don't drop me!










Sweet and innocent - yeah right!