Teething

Little Philip is giving his mother fits these days. Since before his ear infections, he hasn't slept through the night. In fact, he's getting up 3-4 times each night which totals about 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep for mom. After asking friends, family, and at 3:00 a.m. on some nights asking strangers for advice on online baby health discussion boards, we are left with no other hypothesis other than teething. Going through pictures from the holidays shows a little sparkle of drool or soaked spot on the collar in most of his pictures. In fact, we found a new way to stop him from crying. He likes to suck on his daddy's nose.

Poppy's 57th Birthday

We celebrated Poppy Porter's 57th birthday with the Porters on December 27th. That was also Porter "Christmas" when all of the siblings could get together and celebrate. As usual, the birthday was a nautical theme and Elizabeth baked and decorate a cake in the shape of Poppy's boat, "Soppin' Wet II."

The Solid Food Experience

So we've recently introducted solid foods to Little Philip's diet. He has started to get up numerous times each night which makes for a pretty miserable day for Mom. He is hungry all the time so we figured, it was time to see if adding solid food might help. This was at the same time he got sick with his ear infection so the task has been difficult. Still, he likes oat cereal more than rice cereal. And, he is not a fan of bananas but actually has taken a liking to carrots. We think carrots make a more colorful picture anyway!

Ear Infection

2 weeks of a sniffly nose + cough this week = double ear infection. Little Philip is a very sad and sick little boy this weekend. And remember that really yummy strawberry antibiotic you had when you were a kid? Little Philip hates it. And when I say he hates it, he shows it by projectile vomiting hot pink medicine across the room. I had big plans to finish up Christmas shopping this weekend. For the last few days, we've simply held our little boy close, snuggling warmly, hoping to ease his pain until the medicine starts to kick in. I guess sometimes there are more important things to do than finishing shopping.

Birmingham-Southern Xmas Party

Little Philip came to help Mommy get ready for the BSC Christmas Party for the campus community. Santa was there early so Philip got to sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2005

Thanksgiving 2005 offered us the opportunity to really think about how blessed we are in the Moss Family. As we drove from Birmingham to Brownsville eager to be with so many of our loved ones, it gave me time to think about how much we daily take for granted. God has blessed us tremendously with healthy loved ones, a roof over our head, and the ability to worship Him freely. After feeding Little Philip and passing him along to a never-ending stream of loved ones eager to hold him, I ate from a plate mounded high with food lovingly prepared by others around me. I did go back for seconds, and thirds, and...you get the point. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I made some phone calls on behalf of our church to families in the Biloxi area affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are partnering with First Presbyterian of Biloxi to sponsor a fundraiser with Steve Green in concert on December 18th. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will go towards providing some Christmas wishes to families in need in the Biloxi area. The first call I made was a successful one. I spoke with a mother of four children whose ages ranged from 5-24. Her 84 year old father was living with them along with her husband. All were crammed into a three bedroom FEMA trailer and neither husband or wife has employment since their casino jobs were no more. While my phone calls was to ask about clothing sizes and Christmas toy wishes, I soon learned that at that moment, this woman on the other end of the line just needed to have me listen to her needs, her thoughts, and her fears for the future. As I wrote down clothing sizes, and noted that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and due in July of 2006, the weight of this woman's burden weighed heavily on me. I shared that our family had her family in our prayers and for once, I meant it. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus-Philippians 4:7

Vandy vs. UK

We made it to a Vanderbilt game and given the season, we expected to see a better performance from the 'Dores. So, in typical Vandy fashion, we left just before the fourth quarter and headed to the bookstore and to walk around the campus before dusk. Little Philip was much happier away from the frenzy of the stadium. Despite being there just a day, it was great fun for Renie to visit with old college friends and for Big and Little Philip to visit with the men us Vandy girls have married over the years. We ended Saturday night just the way we often did in college - sitting on the deck at SATCO munching on queso and chips with some cold beer on the side.

Camping at Oak Mountain

We always enjoyed camping and hiking in the beautiful state parks in Kentucky. We decided to try out camping at Oak Mountain State Park just south of Birmingham. It was a lot of fun, even with a 4 month old! Aunt Elizabeth joined us and we camped on a hill just above the lake. The FEMA trailers were everywhere with evacuees. It really made us count our blessings as we considered these families spending Christmas there this year.

Halloween 2005

Happy Halloween! Little Philip was quite the buzz at the BSC "Halloween on the Hilltop" festival. After that we headed home to give out candy to trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood and then onto the Porters where we found some pretty scary looking grandparents. Nee-Nee was a fairy godmother and Poppy was her not-so-little mouse. He was a scary mouse.

Sharing our Joy

Philip and I are realizing just how quickly Little Philip is growing up. Everyday he looks and acts a little different. This is the week he started to sleep through the night, a welcome milestone in the Moss House.

Little Philip's First Bulldog Party

Little Philip and his daddy made it to a Birmingham area MS State alumni party in September. There, they visited with Jimmy Abraham and Bully.

The baptism of Philip Floyd Moss, Jr.

 

The Arrival of Philip Floyd Moss, Jr.

On July 13, 2005, Little Philip Floyd Moss, Jr. made his way into the world after 9 hours of labor. He arrived a healthy 9 pounds, 21 3/4 inches long. Mommy and Daddy were so thankful for a healthy delivery and were beside themselves with the joy and exhaustion that accompanies parenthood.

Night Before His Arrival

This is the last picture of Renie before Little Philip arrived. This picture was taken on July 12, 2005. Little Philip arrived the next day, healthy, happy, and huge.