Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thoughts and photos from my son!


"My dad had a Birthday and he got lots of cards, presents, and a balloon. I am still playing with the balloon. I really enjoyed the wrapping paper and watching the light shine off daddy's new shoe horn."

"When I am done eating I do my best to feed mommy. She is a good grape eater. She eats so slowly and is never ready for the grapes when I offer them. I just put everything in my mouth at once. I try to show her my technique, but she has her own ideas."



"Check out my new wheels and my new hat! Every time mommy gets that hat out I know we are going to have an adventure. Walking with mommy is so much fun because we see dogs and birds and cars and every cool thing I can think of."


"This is my roller-coaster box. Daddy zooms me all around the family room in this thing and I LOVE IT! My box is falling apart, but I think daddy can put more and more tape on it so I can keep riding!"


"Mommy's daddy and mommy came to visit and Grandma let me play with her glasses. They were GREAT. Mommy and Daddy laughed so much when I would put them on. I don't know why."

"My grandpa is so much fun. I love to laugh with him, play with his watch, and pull his nose. He gives me wild rides on the exercise ball and I tire him out sometimes. I think he napped when I napped so we were both ready to play more later."


"I sure to love these too. All my grandparents are GREAT!"



"These are my special friends that mommy calls 'two sweet boys' on the blog. They came to visit today and brought me all sorts of cool things. I even got my own garbage truck! They are loud and fast and so much fun."


"Do you like my new look! Yes, I know I am handsome! Good night!"

*Don't forget to click on photos to enlarge them!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Big news at our house...

WE HAVE A WALKER!!!!! M took his first steps today! This morning during daddy's message M took his first 4 steps in between me and a great friend C, L's mom. Why did he take his first steps without his daddy or a camera? Well, my friend was trying to get L to walk between her and someone else and he was doing well, he is really close. I said, "Wow, M would not do that. He is too stubborn (or something like that)" and of course he had to prove me wrong. My friend knew that these were the first steps and we just stared at each other in shock that it happened without Brandon or on camera.

He took a couple more steps (caught on camera) right after church, but was hungry, tired, and not in the mood. Then, after his nap he was in the family room with daddy and took many steps (again not on camera). I came in the stepping continued and we did LOTS of filming so grandparents, you will get to see some of his first steps!

Other news:
My parents were here this weekend and we had so much fun with them. M loves them and seeing them together warmed my heart so much. Their time here was way too short. I am thankful that we have plans to see them in May, June, August, Sept or Oct, and Christmas (and any other day they feel like visiting... HINT HINT). That is quite a few times when you live 8 hours apart!

M went 3 days in a row without a morning nap. Two of the days he took a long afternoon nap and then yesterday he took a short nap in the pm. This morning he was up early and I could tell he would not have been a happy baby at church so he took a 30 minute am nap and that was enough to get him through. Overall, sleeping continues to be such a struggle for us. Nights are very hard too. We would covet your prayers for us in this area. Yes, I would be fine with him never taking an am nap again. I know that almost 20 months is old for an am nap, but when you wake up at 5:00 it is very hard to make it until 1:00 without totally crashing! I thank those of you who have been praying because each day as I lay in bed at night I praise God that He sustained me that day. Some days are so hard that I am curious to see if He can do it, but He is a BIG GOD and He continues to sustain!

M went with me (and my dear friend C and her little boy L) to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's this week. We had a great time and got lots of wonderful treats and spent a whole lot of money. It is a good thing I go to Whole Foods once every six months because it is not a cheap place, but the best place for me to get my GFCF foods and other health things. I got lots of vitamins for M which seem to be going over well!

After a successful trip shopping on Wednesday I figured we could go to Aldi alone on Friday. Wow, was that a humbling experience. I need to say that I have taken children shopping with me MANY times over my years nannying so I was not a novice, but I sure looked like it :) So, M started out in the Ergo and then as we made our was through the store went back and forth from Ergo to cart, crying much of the time. When we arrived at the check-out he was in the Ergo and NOT willing to come out. He loves to tip his head WAY back in the Ergo so I had to use one hand to support him and could only unload my VERY FULL cart with one hand. It was taking so long that the lady behind me offered to help (humbled). Then the cashier said the total and I was shocked. I knew it was way more than the money I brought with me. I then had to dig through the cart and find all the expensive items to be returned. Aldi is a cash only place and when you are used to using a card (and paying it off every month) it is hard to bring enough cash. Honestly, I checked my cash supply before leaving and thought I had enough. It would have been enough too if they didn't move a favorite item of mine to clearance (and are not going to restock it) so of course I had to buy 10! Anyway, as I dug through my cart the line was getting SO MUCH LONGER (humbled again). Then I had to pack up all my groceries. M was still in the Ergo and I was putting things into my amazing banana box. These boxes have gone with me to Aldi for many years now as they are so strong. While I was stacking I realized that the box was getting heavier and heavier. M wanted nothing to do with the cart and I was left to just stare at this box which I knew I couldn't lift (as he is in front of me). A woman with FOUR small children came over to me and said, "It looks like you could use some help" (HUMBLED) and I immediately took her up on her offer to lift the box into my cart. What a trip!

A photo post will come soon, but I am waiting on some photos from my mom's camera! We are so thankful for God's grace in our lives. I want to tell you all that I have a couple of posts brewing one is about vaccines and then other is about our life group study of the book "Good News For Those Trying Harder." I am learning much in each area!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

He is growing!!

"I sure to love hugging my mommy!"


"Do you like my new fort?"



"Check out this trick! I can't believe my mom was just storing this super cool toy in the cupboard. Good thing I found it!"

"I can't get over how handsome I am in this one."


"This is my grandma, she gives great hugs and has curly hair, just like me. I love to play with her curly hair. She has great glasses, but the whole time she was here I was allowed to touch them. When I get big, I am sure I will let babies touch my glasses!"



"You look like my daddy, but I know you are my grandpa! Thanks for reading me stories!"

"I love Grandma and Grandpa and my new tangiball."


"I turned 19 months! My cool owl shirt says hoot... and I know I am one!"



"See, here I am being a hoot!"


"L and I are so cool in the photo. We are just checking out the view... and looking at church... because that is where daddy works. L's daddy works there too!"

Has it been two weeks?

I can't believe it has been two weeks since my last post... but it has! It is getting harder and harder to find time to blog. We have now been home 8 weeks! I am totally falling in love with our little man. He really is such a joy and a comedian too!

He is teething... again or still or something. It is intense. He is in so much pain which leads to lots of tears and very little sleep for my little man, and for me. We are talking about 9 hours in a 24 hour period... I struggle to sleep only 7 hours a night, but M seems to think it is enough! Oh well, this is just a phase, and I am trying to be a "time cherisher" not a wisher away ;)

So what have we been up to? Well, the usual of eating, diapers, short naps and more diapers. We have also had Dr. visits with a day full of them tomorrow! We have had lots of play dates with little L and M can even say his name! Brandon's parents came of a long weekend and we had great fun with them. I was a cooking machine when they were here and made and froze meals, cooked meats, and lots of baby food. It felt great to be productive, but I could hear them laughing in the next room and I ached that I couldn't be seeing what they were seeing. I missed him "naying" like a horse and stacking 3 blocks for the first time... It was a good ache that needed to happen. It totally reminded me that no matter how long the days can be, in the winter... alone with M all day... it is SO WORTH IT!

M turned 19 months and some new highlights (besides the horse sound and stacking blocks) are:
~saying many animal sounds
~bouncing on the exercise ball
~turning the walker with ease
~saying many new words all the time
~learning actions to lots of songs! His favorites today are the "wise man/foolish man" song and the "one little duck with the feather in his back" song. SO CUTE!
~doing sit-ups and saying "UP" loudly for each one... also grunting all the way up like an old man!
~writing with pens and pencils
~Eating Larabars! Yes, still super picky, but he likes Larabars... I think we must be related!

OK... time to find photos for a photo post!