...But I'm Fambly!

My new favorite lunch...

2012-01-26T12:10:00.001-07:00

My newest favorite lunch is grilled cheese with avocado and a fried egg. Sounds a little weird. Tastes super yummy. Only bacon could make it better!

-- Post From My iPhone

A peek at today...

2012-01-24T13:04:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Things I'm liking...

2012-01-21T11:33:00.001-07:00

Two books:
The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller

And

Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian

That I can make Liam laugh-I found his ticklish spot. Also, I probably said this before but the poor child is known as Bummy. It's Jack's fault. The whole family calls him that.

My seester's re-vamped blog that now is mostly dedicated to my favorite topic: food.

Speaking of food, this Slow-cooker Baked Potato Soup recipe is quite good.

I went on a date with my boy and he bought me these slippers. I love them. They are like secret slippers cause they look like cute shoes and have a sole so when I run outside my feet don't get wet. BUT, they are lined with fur! It's like some fuzzy little creature is cuddling my feet. They keep my feet nice and warm which is helpful since I despise socks. I may never wear other shoes again. (and they were on clearance! Tarjay!)

And I'm liking conversing with Jack. The other day I asked him what a deer says and he said "Um, 'oh dear!'" He "um's" a lot. That is totally my fault. But I love it!

A few new housely things...

2012-01-20T16:06:00.001-07:00

Curtains! Ok, you can't see them that great. The light was bad, but I didn't feel like waiting till later. You get the general idea though. And I like that you can't see that I need to hem them. Feel free to place bets on how long they will remain unhemmed.

Annnndddd.

A cute new light in the kitchen! Happy story: I had been thinking about buying this light but it was like $50 or something and so I was waiting till we had the money. Then I went to Ikea and found MY light, as good as new, in the as-is section for $9!

And now I want to redecorate the whole house to go with my lovely light and floaty curtains.

My Mommy...

2012-01-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday, she is turning 25...times two.

As I am now a mom myself, I have a new and greater appreciation for my mom. I understand better how hard she has worked for us and what she means when she tells us that we are like pieces of her heart walking around. I get now why she gets all teary about things I used to tease her about. And I have enormous gratitude for her being pregnant and giving birth to all of us after having my own turn at it!

I look back on my childhood and appreciate how much work it must have been to have 4 tiny kids and a husband traveling all the time and to be homeschooling and holding everything together. I have so many amazing memories from being little and knowing how intentional she had to be to make those happen for me motivates me to do the same for my kids, even when these "little years" get overwhelming. Pretty much everything I do as a mom comes from what I learned from my mom. I'm so grateful for her example. I feel like any admirable attributes I have as a mother I have learned from watching her. I remember her truly delighting in her children. She would always get down on the floor with us to play, read us book after book, and let us get messy and try all sorts of things. I don't ever remember her telling us we couldn't do something cause it was too loud or messy--instead she just told us to take it outside. She encouraged our imaginations. Sang us silly songs all the time. Turned up the music loud and danced with us. Always let us help her with what she was doing, even if it made it take five times longer. Taught us how to turn the mundane into adventures. We loved even just going to the grocery store with her because she made it fun---letting us get samples, pushing us crazy in the cart down the aisles, letting us ride the penny horse at the end. She sent us outside all the time and let us do things like tube down our ditch, wander back in the fields behind our house, shoot bb guns and chop wood with axes, pull each other in sleds on the riding lawnmower, have picnics on the roof and walk to the corner store for candy. She grew up surrounded by boys and has always seemed to understand so well how they work. I want to remember these things for my boys. When my brothers were restless during school she would send them out to run around the yard or jump on the tramp or even to dig a giant hole in the pasture. She would read out loud to us and let us play with legos or color while we listened. She was committed to helping us learn how to learn and to love it and would try method after method for some of us until she figured out what worked. As a child I remember feeling bad for moms that had to go to work all day because my mom had so much fun at home with us. I know now that being at home with kids can have very hard moments, but I don't remember her being overwhelmed or exhausted. I remember her joy.

I was always "my mother's daughter" as people would say. I take that as a compliment, that people would think I was like her. She has always been one of my best friends. From taking me to tea parties and watching Anne of Green Gables and playing dolls with me as a kid to now shopping (and may I just say, she is the most stylish mom I know!), reading magazines and talking on the phone every single day--I love hanging out with her. In fact, everyone does. I have never had a friend who didn't like my mom (or my dad) and I don't think my siblings have either. I have been told "your mom is so cool" more times than I can count, by people of all ages. People love to be with her. On any given night, her house may be filled with any number of people. They are sitting on the couches, out on the patio, gathered round the island. There are many things that draw people to her---she likes to have fun, she is easy-going and easy to talk to, she will bake her famous cookies at any time of the day or night, she likes to feed people. But all those things flow out of something bigger. Mostly, people love to be with my mom because she loves them. She is one of the greatest examples of how to love others that I know. She is always doing things to serve and encourage others. When you talk to her, she speaks out of love for you. She wants to learn more about you and your heart so that she can better care for and pray for you. She carries so many people on her heart and lifts them up in prayer. Her life is one of love and service and laying down herself for others. And that also flows out of something bigger---her love for Jesus. She has a relationship with God that provokes and inspires me. I want what she has. As I have come to understand the Gospel more and grown in my own relationship with God, I have grown increasingly grateful for a mother who lives a life passionate for her Savior and demonstrates his grace to her children. When we fail and fall, she points us back to the Gospel. We know she stills loves us, no matter how badly we screw up and she reminds us that more importantly HE loves us, no matter how badly we screw up. That we have complete obedience in Christ and God looks on us as his children. Even more than she loves her children, he loves us as his. And that is the biggest reason why I want to be my mother's daughter. Why I want to be like her, as a mother and just in life. I want to know God the way she does and live a life that reflects his love to those around me.

As I write this, I began to realize I am pretty much writing a list of all the things I hope to be as a mother and as a woman. There is the old joke about women trying not to turn into their mother. That isn't the case for me---nothing would please me more. She is the best and I am so grateful for her and how God has used her in my life.

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

Our little fambly...

2012-01-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

Instead of getting Christmas cards together this year, I had a baby instead. But here's a little belated family picture. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Martin Luther King Day--pick your holiday!

A new season...

2012-01-06T09:24:00.001-07:00

We are back from a week and a half of wonderful fambly time in Dallas for the holidays. I hope to post some pictures here soon.

Yesterday was a really big day for us. Tyler quit his job. The job he's had for almost six years. We both grew up, at least for a large portion of our lives, with dads who owned their own businesses and had their offices at home. Looking back, we are so grateful for all the time this afforded our dads to spend with their families. They had the flexibility to arrange their schedules to do things like help with parts of our schooling, coach sports teams, be present for almost any special event or activity and most of all to just be involved more in our daily lives--be it finishing up a little early to play with us, taking a few minutes to address a discipline issue, or eating breakfast and lunch with us. We are grateful for the sacrifices they made to be able to do this. Since the beginning of our marriage, we have both hoped that one day Tyler could have a similar work situation.

Tyler's current work situation has become more and more time consuming. His role in his company has grown and evolved over the years to be more demanding and yet, as our family has grown, he has had to take on side work in the evenings to help supplement our income. While we are grateful for all these things as a means of provision, our family time has been affected. Every day, he leaves early while we are still asleep and doesn't get home till dinner and then often has side work to do from after dinner until late at night and often for parts of the weekend. I am so thankful for a husband who is willing to work so hard. But, I miss him!

So I am also thankful for a husband who is willing to step forward in faith and follow where we believe God to be leading us. In three weeks, Tyler will be finished at his current job and will begin training to work with his dad's company here. This new job will allow him to have his office here at home and will give us more family time and hopefully much less stress for Tyler. (not to mention, we really love our boss!) We have been praying about this for about a year and though a big change like a job is a little scary, we are trusting that God will provide, just as He always faithfully has! We have seen Him working in some big ways related to this transition already!

We are thankful and excited for this new opportunity and would appreciate your prayers! I am so excited that in a few weeks, I can actually eat breakfast and spend time with my husband before he goes to work without having to wake up at 5am to do so! (did I ever do that? No. It's dark then.)

And the parent of the year award goes to...

2011-12-15T10:37:00.001-07:00

We picked up Jack from nursery on Sunday and they told us that his shoes were too small. I guess he started crying and acting like his feet hurt and then when they took them off, he started rubbing his toes. I took him to the store to get new ones and discovered he's a size 6. And we'd had him wearing size 4's. Poor kid!

Also, a funny Jack word from this morning. I'm mostly just including it cause I want to remember for when he grows up. Liam and I are sick with the flu now and so Ty is home to be with Jack and take care of us. He found Jack running away from the open pantry with a bag of marshmallows. When he stopped him and asked him what he had, Jack said "Mama-hos!"

-- Post From My iPhone

The flu and food...

2011-12-13T11:03:00.001-07:00

Today I have a sweet boy with the stomach flu. And my stomach is feeling a tad odd too. I think we shall spend our day cuddling and watching movies and reading books. Hopefully everyone will be healthy soon!

But, speaking of the flu, that reminds me of food. Ok, no, that's gross. Anyway, I have been enjoying getting back into the normal swing of cooking and getting to start trying all the ten million recipes I bookmarked while I wasn't cooking excitingly at the end of my pregnancy.

I have two recipes to share...

Cheesy vegetable chowder. I love that this is the sort of soup that you can kind of just throw in whatever veggies you have around. It was good and it was even better leftover in my opinion. I don't know if the flavored had melded more or what. Note to those who are GF--I use GF flour in stuff like this all the time and it works fine!

Annnddd...

Slow cooker shredded beef tacos. These were amazing. The beef has the best flavor. A couple notes. One, I didn't do the whole browning-glazing-steps-on-the-stove part cause, well I didn't feel like it, especially having to wash more dishes and I sort of forgot to thaw the roast ahead so it was frozen solid. I just threw everything in the crockpot with the frozen roast and once the roast wasn't frozen, stirred everything around a bit. It worked great, I just cooked it about 8-9 hours. Also, I used two chipotle peppers and it had a nice little spice to it, but next time I'll use three or four cause we like a lot of spice!

So, go eat one of these, unless you have the flu like us, in which case I would probably not and I'm sorry.

Friday favorites...

2011-12-02T10:27:00.001-07:00

A Very She and Him Christmas. (and Zooey Deschanel period.)

Gunmetal nail polish.

The library. Books from the library. And snowy days with naptimes to read said library books. And not going outside when it's 19 degrees.

Comfy sweats for cozy days at home. They were my sister's team warm-up pants her junior year and I stole them. I never understood sweatpants before them. Plus wearing them makes me feel young, cause maybe people think I'm still in high school. And that I'm a basketball player. Maybe not...

And most of all, these two.

PS...

2011-12-01T20:46:00.001-07:00

I made this tonight for dinner and it was very good. Though if you're serving it to children only use 1 tbs of red pepper as it was too spicy for Jack and he generally has a high spicy-ness tolerance. It was actually on the verge of being spicer than I like too and that's saying something. So, 1 tbs is probably best. And I added shredded chicken, which I highly recommend doing.

That is all.

Question...

2011-12-01T20:34:00.001-07:00

Ok, blogging friends who have iPhones, what app do you use to post from your phone? I was using blogpress but it seems really glitchy lately. I've been nearly finished writing a post on it several times and it just crashes and loses everything. I just wrote a little (ok, longish) update and lost the whole thing and now the app won't even stay open. The things I liked about it were that you can arrange pics easily and insert links. Blogging from my phone during nursing sessions is the easiest way for me to keep this place semi-updated, as I only get on my computer a few times a week, so I'm looking for something new if anyone has suggestions!

Liam's birth story...

2011-11-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, to begin, I had that weird pre-term labor stuff and so was really unsure as to when Liam would show up. From the time I had those issues I pretty much began to plan for any time between then and November. It was a pretty big span! Because of that, I prepared early and therefore had nothing to do for several weeks before my due date except waddle around and wish to have my baby already. Not a great recipe for being content while waiting. As October came, we started going to bed every night saying "maybe tonight!" But, my due date approached and nothing. I actually mentally began to plan that I'd have him on my due date, though I didn't admit it out loud, especially since like only 8% of women deliver on their due date and I already did that once. The odds weren't in my favor. But for some weird reason I thought I would.

The week leading up to my due date, I was having harder contractions. Sometimes they were consistent for a short time, but nothing ever came of it. On Thursday, the day before my due date, I had an appointment with one of the midwives. She checked me and found that I was already dilated 5 cm! That was so exciting to me--knowing I was halfway there already. Since I had progressed so far, she decided to sweep my membranes to hopefully help move things along. (which is not a super-comfortable experience, though it didn't hurt as much as I expected) She was pretty confident I wouldn't go past the weekend. All afternoon afterward I had cramping and semi-painful contractions. That evening they got closer together for awhile, but then spread back out again. We decided to go to sleep while we could. And Tyler decided to work from home the next day, just in case.

Throughout the night, I had contractions painful enough to wake me up. I have no idea how many, since I fell right back to sleep as soon as each passed. When I woke up at about 7 the next morning I was still having decent contractions but they were like 10-15 minutes apart and didn't hurt too bad. Just in case, between contractions I finished packing my stuff, brushed my teeth, got dressed, forced myself to eat a peanut butter sandwich, stuff like that. Then I began to rotate between bouncing on a exercise ball and walking in circles through our house, all the while timing my inconsistent contractions. Tyler decided not to work and instead packed the car, all ready to go, complete with towels covering my seat in case my water broke and a bowl in case I barfed. I was sort of annoyed at him for all this preparation, I wasn't even sure I was having the baby today and all this stuff was making me feel some sort of pressure to do so, lest the car packing be wasted.

Jack got up and Ty fed him breakfast, while I continued to pace. Though the contractions weren't getting any more consistent, they had gotten strong enough that I needed to kneel/squat/get on the floor in some way during them and focus through. Eventually Tyler called my sister to come help with Jack so he could time the contractions for me. I spent a couple hours pacing up and down our hallway, stopping with each contraction to squat or kneel against the chair in our family room. Sometimes they would be 5 or 6 minutes apart for awhile but then I would go 10 minutes without one. The inconsistency made me feel unsure that this was the real thing. I also felt like I was handling them too well for them to be the real deal. With my labor with Jack, I had a really hard time coping once active labor began. Between contractions we'd debate whether we should call the midwife. I was annoyed that I didn't know whether I was really in labor or not. I HAD had a baby before. You'd think I'd know! But I really didn't want to get to the hospital and be stuck there waiting around. I knew given how dilated I was that they would admit me. I didn't want to pay to spend a whole day waiting for labor to pick up.

As lunchtime approached, Tyler called my mom to come watch me and see what she thought. I was still coping really well, though little things were beginning to annoy me. Jack and Jen were watching Madagascar and the noise from the movie was starting to bug me. Tyler not paying attention a couple times and missing the beginning of a contraction made me mad. And when my mom came and brought them pizza, I demanded that they take that horrid smelling pizza out of the room. I still felt unsure about going to the hospital, but the fact that it was quieter there was beginning to sound appealing. I was also starting to get nervous about the 20 minute drive and having to sit in the car. The contractions became a bit harder and I started to feel the need to kind of moan through them. My mom suggested I at least call the on-call midwife and see what she thought. So I called the midwives office and they said she'd call me back soon. While waiting for her to call, things began to change a bit more. I started shaking and feeling like I might throw up. I also got really hot. All the sudden I just knew I needed to go the the hospital--now! I told Tyler and my mom and they got me out the door and into the car really fast. I think they could tell that I really needed to get there.

In the car, contractions were coming exactly 5 minutes apart. It was really hard having them in the car and wearing a seatbelt and not being able to move, plus adding in the bumps and curves from the road. I told Tyler to pray, cause I didn't know how I was going to make it there. He said "Ok." and then apparently was praying to himself and then I yelled for him to pray out loud! Even though it was hard and I was beginning to have trouble dealing with the contractions, I was still pretty with it. I begged Tyler to stop speeding. He pointed out that this was like the one time that no cop in his right mind would give him a ticket. I told him that if we got pulled over the cop might give me a ticket for violent behavior---if anything slowed us down getting to that hospital I was going to kill whatever got in the way. My midwife called when we were halfway there and I told her we were on our way. When we pulled up at the hospital I felt kind of awkward because since it was daytime there were tons of people all over. I managed to walk all the way up to labor and delivery and stay pretty calm and quiet for the contractions I had while in the elevator and at the L&D desk.

When I walked into my room I had two thoughts. First, from the reaction of the nurse, I realized I must really be pretty far into labor. She said "Oh wow, I think we're going to be moving pretty fast!" and jumped into high gear, calling extra nurses to help. And I was introduced to the young nursing student who was helping the nurse and I thought "I think I'm going to scare her." (And I'm pretty sure I did, poor girl!) I changed into a lovely hospital gown, which was very short-lived--if you know what I'm getting at. (I get very hot during labor and clothes just don't help!) And things pretty much went into high gear quickly. The nurse checked me and I was at 7cm and 100% effaced. My mom got there and I was pretty much in full-blown transition. Despite the increasing intensity of things, I was surprisingly with it and calm between contractions for awhile. I was telling my mom and Tyler that this really wasn't so bad, that it seemed too easy and that I think that if this is the way future labors would be, that I wanted to have lots of children! I think Tyler was a bit startled by that, especially since with Jack I was questioning how anyone did that more than once and saying I never wanted to have another baby ever again.

My midwife, Kala, (who, random fact, is barely older than me. I think that's kinda cool!) got there at some point--I don't remember exactly, as I was pretty much entering the labor zone. Unlike Jack's birth, I actually labored on the bed the whole time at the hospital. Partly because things were moving so fast I didn't have time to feel like I needed to move elsewhere and partly because they were still doing all the initial things for the first half---monitoring Liam, giving me IV fluids cause I was very dehydrated and taking my blood like a million times cause they did it wrong--and leaving a HUGE bruise from one poor vein getting blown out. Getting your blood drawn while having contractions in one way is easy cause it's the last thing you're paying attention to and yet it is also very annoying--I was ready to smack the nurse for grabbing my arm. Though I was on the bed the whole time, I was not laying still. (All this moving around combined with my noisiness and lack of clothing is I think what scared the little student girl. Tyler said she kept backing into the corner whenever they didn't need her.) I had an exercise ball up there and was leaning over it, I leaned on the bar that attached to the bed, I was all over the place, eventually wearing myself out enough that I decided to lay on my side since I was tired and afraid of not having energy to push. As each contraction began I would call Tyler and grab his hand. He said he was afraid at one point that I had dislocated his finger, I was squeezing it so hard. He was really amazing throughout the whole thing though. He was right there with me, despite all the fluids coming out and me trying to break his hand. He was very laid back about it all, unlike last time where he was kind of freaked out. I was very into hand-holding for some reason. I held Tyler's hand in one hand and either Kala or my mom's in the other. I remember being worried about hurting their little hands, unlike Tyler's! I was super noisy--vocalizing really really helps me. Kala helped me by vocalizing along with me, helping me keep my voice in my lower register which weirdly helps things move downward. It sounds totally bizarre but when I'd start out moaning all high-pitched and tense and then copy Kala's deep voice I could feel movement downward in my stomach. So weird, but it works!

I could really feel what was going on inside. I could feel Liam pushing downward with every contraction and even though I wasn't fully dilated I was getting intense urges to push. There was just so much pressure every contraction. Kala told me I could do whatever felt best. Though I knew it hadn't been very long, I felt like things were taking too long. I wanted my water to break so things would move faster. I remember asking her "Why? Why won't it break!?" and she told me that I probably ate a lot of protein during my pregnancy and that made it strong. I said "Well if I could go back, I'd only eat sugar so it would break already!" She checked me and I was pretty much completely dilated, we were just waiting for him to come down, which would probably take my water breaking. I started pushing some during contractions to try to get it to break. After I don't know how long--I think it was probably a few minutes, but it felt like forever to me---my water finally broke in a giant wave that splashed all over, including Tyler and my mom. So then the pushing began. I was pretty noisy during labor and I got even noisier during pushing. They told me to try to be quiet and direct that energy into each push, but I couldn't. I think I actually screamed at one point, which is something I vowed never to do during labor, but it was what helped at the time. I remember feeling like what I was doing was really ineffective, though I could feel him moving down. I think I even asked Kala whether I was pushing efficiently. I guess what I was doing worked though, because all the sudden he was there! He was crowning, they told me he had a ton of dark hair and the pressure was so intense I decided to just get him out of there. I remember thinking with how fast this was happening that I would probably tear a lot and deciding I didn't care. I just wanted that pressure gone.

And all the sudden, there he was on my stomach, instead of in! I just remember him being put in my hands and saying "Thank you God!" and being so in awe that I was done! Even though I felt him come out---a feeling I don't remember with Jack and what has to be one of the strangest, yet coolest things ever---I was so shocked to be holding him already! It was 3:09. We had arrived at the hospital at 1:00. My water had broken at 2:45. I had only pushed like 4 times. It all happened really fast, though in the moment it felt longer. And he was amazing. He just lay there probably trying to figure out what the heck just happened to him. They were trying to get him to cry because they wanted that to help get any fluid out but he was so calm it took them a lot of poking to get him mad. He had more hair than Jack does now! It was just so hard to believe that God had given me another one and he was right there looking at me! It's so strange how you can fall in love in a moment. Your babies are like this brand new little stranger, yet you know them. He also felt so tiny to me. I could tell the second I held him that he was smaller than Jack had been and he was by a pound and an inch. He was, and is, just one of the best things ever. His Daddy and I were instantly smitten with him and couldn't take our eyes off him. Tyler even was hesitant to cut the cord because he was so busy looking at him. (I love the way he loves our boys. He is not a crier. I've seen him tear up maybe 4 or 5 times in the years I've known him and 2 of those times have been the moment he first sees our babies.) Liam started rooting around almost right away and latched right on to nurse for the first time like a champ. And ever since he's loved to eat. Almost too much, as he'd really love to eat every single hour!

I was expecting that since everything had happened so quickly, that I would have torn, possibly a lot. I actually didn't tear outwardly at all. But, Liam came out with his arm up by his neck and on the way down that arm caught and tore my cervix and caused a small hematoma lower down. We are actually so glad his arm was up there because his cord would have been completely around his neck except that his arm was in the way. I didn't even know his cord was around his neck until Tyler told me later and I saw pictures. We see God's protection over him in where he had his arm and also in the fact that labor moved quickly and my water stayed intact until the end--all factors that helped keep that cord from wrapping tighter around him. So, after my hour of cuddling my boy, Kala had a doctor come to sew me up. (Though it was something that needed to be taken care of, it wasn't urgent as I wasn't bleeding terribly.) It took an hour of work to fix me up and they almost took me to the OR because they were having trouble seeing everything. Before they started they offered me a drug so I wouldn't feel the pain and I said yes please. Once my baby isn't in there, I will take anything that will help! I was feeling a little nervous because I don't generally interact with drugs well and the side effect was dizziness which is never fun. But I felt awesome. I felt like I was spinning but not in a nauseous kind of way, more like I was on the teacup ride. I even told them that. Tyler said I was acting so high. The doctor and Kala kept apologizing and being all worried that what they were doing was painful. I kept telling them not to worry and that I felt really good. I think I commented once that I felt like a car, with all the lights and tools and people working on me. They got everything all fixed finally and I really had less pain in recovery than I expected. I hurt more than with Jack, but I still felt pretty ok and was able to be up and around somewhat by the next day when we left the hospital. I still walked out of the hospital, no wheelchairs for me!

So anyway, that's my story. It was a very quick and very smooth birth and was just what I had hoped for. I'm very grateful. Tyler says that next time he is getting me to the hospital sooner. In retrospect, we cut it pretty close. One of my midwives, Merrilyn (the one who delivered Jack) visited me the day after and said she was very glad my water didn't break at home or in the car, as she was pretty sure I would have delivered Liam wherever I was when it broke! That would have been an exciting story! (But this one was much more peaceful and caused much less damage to our carpet/our truck's interior than the other situation would have!) This birth really has just made me even more in awe of birth in general and really I loved the experience. My mom used to say to my dad after each time giving birth "I can't wait to do that again!" and I used to think she was crazy but that's how I feel after this time! (Pregnancy itself is another story, birth and especially the baby, yes please.)

My three week old...

2011-11-18T23:09:00.001-07:00

How can it have already been three weeks since I first saw him? He can't be so old already. Time is moving too fast. I feel like from the moment you lock eyes with your baby the first time that time begins to move a million times faster than before. Those days that seemed to take forever to pass at the end of your pregnancy now race by. Especially with Liam being my second. I know now that what the old ladies in the grocery store tell you is true--it goes so fast. My other baby is a little boy now. Because I realize how fast it goes now, I think I'm holding onto all these baby moments even more. He stopped wearing newborn diapers--those impossibly teeny adorable diapers. His little newborn outfits are starting to get too short. He's not all sleepy all the time anymore. He cried a tear! He is getting so big already! The hormonal mommy in me wants to sit down and have a good cry over it.

At the same time, how can it have only been three weeks? I've known him forever it seems. Our life without him seems so long ago. I can't imagine our little family without him now. Though I think I'm tireder than I've ever been, I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing. I can't believe these two boys are my very own. I love getting to watch a whole new set of baby milestones with Liam. He's just so much fun!

-- Post From My iPhone

My big boy...

2011-11-18T18:04:00.001-07:00

This silly boy has been busy busy lately. Climbing and reaching things off counters with his long arms and chattering away.

He loves Adele and when music comes on he starts dancing.

He's obsessed with clementines. Every time he finishes one he says "more? One? More?"

When he sees chickens he yells "bok! Bok! Yummy, yummy!" I guess he's figured that out already.

Today he said his first real sentence, "Dut is here!" (When he heard Dustin open the garage.)

He's also discovered that nursing is this great time to try to get away with things he usually couldn't. Poor Liam gets a lot of meals paused for me to get up and correct Jack. (In fact, while writing this, while nursing, I had to stop and get Jack down off the tv cabinet.) I got a special box of toys that he can only play with when I'm nursing and that seems to help occupy him a bit!

He keeps me on my toes and tries my patience but he also makes me laugh every day and is such a great little pal to hang out with!

-- Post From My iPhone

Natural birth...

2011-11-16T20:15:00.001-07:00

Almost three weeks ago, I gave birth to one of the cutest little boys ever. It was another natural birth with very little intervention. (For Jack's birth story go here and here.) It really was a dream-come-true birth, as all the details I had prayed for worked out! I'll have that story up here soon!

I thought first I'd tell a little---or long, being me----story of how and why I choose to go natural, as I have had people ask "Why on earth would you do that?" or, more commonly, say "Wow, I could never do that!". In sharing, I am certainly not seeking to persuade or condemn anyone who thinks otherwise. I think the details of how and where you give birth are very personal and that everyone has to do what they feel most comfortable with. I don't think people who have epidurals or choose c-sections are wrong or making a bad choice. Everyone is different and has different bodies and needs in pregnancy and birth. I would never say "I will never have an epidural/c-section" because every birth is different and I might, depending on the situation next time. But I do love the experiences I've had giving birth to my two boys and I always like hearing people's thoughts on such things, so decided to share my story just for fun.

Though my mom gave birth to all of us without drugs and I knew lots of moms who had natural births and home births, birth did not ever seem like a natural or simple thing to me. I was, and to some degree still am, very squeamish. I was the girl who fainted when she heard birth stories. I feared the doctor and the hospital and weird things happening to my body. I always knew I wanted to have babies someday, but I was terrified of giving birth and not so sure about pregnancy either. Even after marriage when I went baby-crazy, I was freaked out about it. My plan was to not think about it until I was pregnant and I had to. And that's pretty much what I did. I also hate pain. Until giving birth, I've never really experienced a lot of pain--never broke anything, the only surgery I'd had was my wisdom teeth, I'd never even been able to get my blood drawn, cause I always passed out. Fighting fear and trusting God has always been a big struggle for me and it was definitely the case when it came to giving birth. Yet oddly, it was fear that made me turn to natural birth. After hearing nursing student friends graphically describe the processes related to c-sections and epidurals, (after which I nearly fainted) I decided I didn't want those needles and scalpels and scary doctors near me! (I have gotten over most of those fears, though the scalpel part I'm not such a fan of.)

So, that led me to natural birth. The pride in me also wanted to prove myself. I was a known wimp. Not the family member known for being tough. I wanted to prove I was tougher than everyone--and I---thought. I'm pretty sure with Jack, most people didn't think I would do it. I wasn't sure I could either. I saw it as a means of challenging myself waaay beyond my comfort zone. I am a researcher--I have to read up on everything before I do it. So once I found out I was pregnant, I began absorbing all the information about natural birth that I could find. I read birth stories online, watched The Business of Being Born, and read lots of books. After studying birth fairly in-depth, my motivation changed. As I learned about how our bodies work during pregnancy and labor, I began to realize that this wasn't some freaky illness I was facing, it was part of what God designed our bodies to do and was actually really amazing. Though there is always a possibility of complication, from the stories I read it seemed like natural birth was safer and had less complications, provided the mom and baby were both healthy. I began to understand why birth hurts and that that pain is not a sign of a problem, but the result of an amazing process that our body does all on its own. The pain was actually a good thing, not something to fear. (Though even now, I still get scared of the pain! I'm not going to say it doesn't hurt!) Though I am extremely grateful for modern medicine and the options of epidurals and c-sections for certain situations, it seemed like science and medicine over all these years hadn't come up with anything that worked better than what our bodies did naturally. I liked this quote from an influential Dutch OB:

"By no means have we been able to improve spontaneous labor in healthy women. Spontaneous and normal labor is a process, marked by a series of events so perfectly attuned to one another that any interference only deflects them from their optimum course."
-Prof. G.J. Kloosterman

It is really cool to see God's design in what my body does in labor. He created all those muscles to work together in a specific way. He even created the teeny little baby to help with the process and to know what to do. (Did you know they spin as they make their way out? Tyler got to see it with Jack and said it was really amazing.) For Liam's birth, probably because it was during the day and I wasn't exhausted, I could really feel everything working together and what was going on. Though those feelings were often painful and I didn't necessarily like them at the time, in retrospect, it was really cool. Though I've done this twice now, I still in many ways am a big wimp. I tell Tyler I think I'm dying on a fairly regular basis. I get a bit freaked out about medical things still. I've not gotten over the occasional faint. But I no longer consider birth a scary medical thing.

I also love my midwives' approach to things. They are all so calm and relaxed about pregnancy and birth. They love to talk and educate. They believe that our bodies are made to give birth. They understand how the process works and how to work with your body. And they also recognize that there are sometimes circumstances that require some help and are partnered with an OBGYN practice that offers back-up in those situations. The hospital I had the boys at is amazing too. Not only does it have queen beds and mountain views, but they approach birth and baby care very naturally too. Many of the nurses have had midwifery training. It was nice to know I wasn't going into a situation where i had to fight for what i wanted. These elements definitely played a huge role in my births being what they were. I'm really grateful we live near a hospital that allows midwives.

So, anyhow, those are my reasons for doing what i did! I never in a million years thought I would be saying this someday but I loved my births and I really love learning about it all. Seeing how all the little details work together to make a baby come out just really have come to provoke an awe in me of how God has created our bodies and has helped me to learn to trust Him in the workings of them and not to live in fear! If I had a different life, being a midwife actually sounds pretty cool. Like I said earlier, I'm not seeking to persuade. However, no matter what approach you choose for birth, I would encourage all women to study and learn how their body works during birth. It has helped me so much to understand what exactly is going on and makes that little miracle I get to hold in my arms at the end all the more amazing to me!

A snippet of my day + bonus Liam...

2011-11-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

I will have a birth story, with all the gory details (cause what's a good story without such things?) here soon. I just have to keep my brain straight long enough to finish writing it. I forgot how much these weird hormones mess with you after birth. I've been having hot flashes like I'm 54, not 24. I have a new compassion for menopausal women.

I wrote this semi-long post on my phone the other day all about Liam and how I love snuggling him and how he sleeps right on my chest every night and how I love co-sleeping with my babies and other nice things and then the screen flashed and the app closed and poof, it was all gone!

So, instead, you get this little story that I texted a couple of my fambly members and my BFF earlier today:

I just chased one child across a half acre to keep him from going to get the "mall" (mail) while nursing the other child. Without flashing anyone. There should be some kind of prize for things like that.

And because we all love cute babies, here you go:

This little guy is already lifting his head up and pushing with his arms! He's also seeming roll-y. And he now weighs 9lbs and grew an inch since birth. Stop growing up! (isn't his pointy hairline cute?)

-- Post From My iPhone

These two...

2011-11-02T23:20:00.001-06:00

I am in awe that I have two. I look from one to the other and think they surely can't both be mine! How ever did I get so lucky? Two little boys. I love them both so very much.

Jack loves his brother. The first thing he asks about in the morning is "Bum". (we think it's a contraction of "Baby Liam") He often climbs up next to me and signs please and asks "Bum?" wanting to hold him again. We look at his nose and then find Jack's nose. We play with Liam's spiky, dark hair. We point out his hands and ears and eyes. Jack thinks it is the funniest thing ever when Bum sneezes, "Neeee? Bum! Nee?" He shares his cars with him. He gets worried when he cries. He says "Ummy, ummy!" when I tell him Bum is eating right now. He showers him with kisses and pats and cuddles and occasionally tries to wack him with a sword. He is such a great big brother already. It is the sweetest thing.

William John Shaw...

2011-10-28T21:43:00.001-06:00

Baby Liam! (William after his Grandpa and Uncle Casey's middle names--a Lawler family name. John after my Grandpa and Tyler's uncle--amazing men who are both no longer here with us.)

Born today at 3:09pm. 7lbs, 6 oz. 20 inches long. He is perfect in every way! He also has a ton of dark, curly hair--like as much as his brother has now!

This was a crazy fast delivery---he was born 2 hours after we got to the hospital. My water broke when I was fully dilated at 2:45 and Liam was out with four pushes at 3:09! Full, yet short, story to come later!

I am still in disbelief that I'm holding my baby! I love him! God is so kind!

-- Post From My iPhone

Due date time...

2011-10-27T18:47:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow is my due date. Will I have another due date baby? I hope so! My midwife swept my membranes a bit today cause she felt like I was ready. I'm actually dialated 5cm but only 25% effaced. Little man needs to drop his head down further and put some pressure on there!

She thinks it'll probably be this weekend. We shall see! I've been having semi-painful contractions off and on all day so hopefully they are the beginning! I'm doing squats and walking up and down the stairs and bouncing on the ball trying to get his head lower too.

Things could move fairly quickly once it gets going, since I'm halfway dialated already. Prayers for a quick and healthy delivery are appreciated! Can't wait to post pictures of his sweet face!

-- Post From My iPhone

Still waiting...

2011-10-24T06:58:00.001-06:00

"Waiting, therefore, is not a sign that your world is out of control. Rather, it is a sign that your world is under the wise and infinitely attentive control of a God of fathomless wisdom and boundless love. This means you can rest as you wait, not because you like to wait, but because you trust the One who is calling you to wait."
-Paul Tripp

39 weeks, 3 days. Trying to be patient and enjoy these last days while I wait for this little boy's birthday. It's not easy--I want to hold my baby! Hoping to have him in my arms soon!

"As my friend Tony would say, 'They're grrreat!'"

2011-10-17T20:22:00.001-06:00

This pregnancy has been pretty craving-less minus a few burgers when I was feeling anemic. I thought maybe I was just being silly last time. But all the sudden a few weeks ago, a big one hit.

Frosted Flakes.

So bad, so processed, so yucky. So amazingly delicious. I'm not normally a big fan of super sweet cereals, but the craving hasn't gone away yet. Maybe I'm deficient in sugar? Milk? Preservatives? I don't know. All I know is I've consumed an embarrassing amount the past few weeks.

If the baby comes out sugar-high, we'll know why. And why my teeth fall out from cavities. Pregnancy is weird.

Ps---I want to have this baby like now. I've started trying to coax him out. It clearly hasn't worked yet. I must go resume bouncing on my exercise ball now.

I love this kid...

2011-10-12T13:46:00.001-06:00

He is just so fun. A few things he did this morning:

Spent 10 minutes peering out the window yelling "bee!!!" at a bug on the window. And periodically returning to visit it.

Spinning around to music until he falls over. Then doing an odd combination of drumming, "worship hands", and itsy bitsy spider dance moves.

Putting his pancakes into the pocket of his bib, then eating them out of it. And being annoyed that his water bottle wouldn't stay in the pocket.

Randomly patting his butt and saying "Elllmooo". Somehow he figured out Elmo's name and that he is on his diapers and is now obsessed.

Coming over to lift my shirt, pat my huge stomach and say "Bum!" which is what he calls his brother right now.

He makes me laugh all day long. This is such a cute stage. Then again, I think that every stage. He's just a cute kid!

Clumsy car cart...

2011-10-03T21:11:00.001-06:00

Here I am at 36 weeks, 2 days. Only 4ish weeks to go. Maybe more, maybe less. I'm hoping less!

Today at the grocery store I got one of those carts with the car attached to the front, cause my mom told me that Jack loved it when she took him and used one. I think it was a mistake. Those carts are like double the size of a normal cart, plus I am double the size of a normal me, so all together, we were about 10 feet long. When I backed the cart out of the cart area, I felt like there should be beeping. And I kept running into things...a lot.

It doesn't help that our store has been under construction for a year and so there are random construction things all over. Like the caution sign thingys that I accidentally ran into, fixed, then knocked over again while trying to make my getaway. I continued to flee after the second time.

It was also like senior citizens day or something. There were elderly people everywhere. I was terrified of running down a little old lady and breaking her hip or something. I actually did run into a man in the canned vegetable aisle. Luckily he wasn't elderly and he was very nice about it and just joked that Jack was a crazy driver. I agreed. It was all his fault.

Jack did love the car cart. He hardly made a peep the whole trip. It was either out of contented joy or perhaps, fear from the crazy, bumper car ride his mommy was taking him on.

Baby central...

2011-09-24T15:17:00.001-06:00

Well, now we're officially all ready for this baby! Little brother is going to stay in our room for the first few months---I kept Jack in till he was mostly sleeping a good chunk of the night so I wasn't running back and forth across the hall. This time around we have all the little baby stuff in here since Jack is still in the nursery. We'll start working on his "big boy room" after the first of the year, once he's closer to being out of a crib.

I'm 35 weeks, so we are getting close. I was okay'ed to stop resting if I had contractions and pretty much to do whatever on Thursday. So Thursday night we went to Ikea.

All that walking must have done something cause yesterday I had a little false labor episode, or something like that. I was feeling really weird and spacey all day and took a nap and woke up feeling worse. Then I started having nausea and shaking, which is how my last labor started actively. I started timing contractions and they were like 3 minutes apart, about 1 minute long and then the sweating and feeling super hot hit me--a clear sign that my body was working hard.

Tyler found me hunched on the floor in the bathroom and thought it looked rather familiar. He wanted me to call the midwife but my contractions didn't hurt at all so I was pretty sure this wasn't the real deal. He called my mom instead and by the time she got here, things were winding down.

It was really weird. For about 20 minutes, we thought we were going to be having a baby. Guess my body just wanted a little trial run. We'll see if that means he's coming sooner rather than later or not. But we are all ready now!

I'd appreciate prayers--I've already been tempted to feel anxious about labor and after this "episode" I am really struggling to not fear what lies ahead. Those 20 minutes reminded me of what it was like and that was even without pain. Now, I really am dying to hold my baby, but am really not looking forward to what comes before that---I don't like the pain. Just be praying for peace as I look toward labor and that I will trust and lean on God through the process. I know it will be worth every second of pain in the end!

There's a cradle in my room...

2011-09-21T19:25:00.001-06:00

Just waiting for a baby to put in it! (Ok, well technically I'm kind of a co-sleeper type initially, but it's still exciting to have the bed up!)

Only a few weeks left!

Awkward is...

2011-09-20T16:32:00.001-06:00

Realizing you have to answer the door for the mailman in your bathrobe. At quarter to four in the afternoon. You would have ran and hid but you just happened to be right in sight of the window when he walked by.

Realizing that you are actually in your husband's bathrobe because your huge baby belly has long outgrown your own. Maybe it's so long, he'll think it's a dress? A plaid flannel wrap dress. Those surely are a fashion must-have for fall? Realizing that when you monogrammed your husband's bathrobe with a joke, you didn't realize that you were going to wear it in front of the mailman.

Wanting to explain to the mailman that you are pregnant and slept for a total of about 4 1/2 scattered hours last night and accidentally fell asleep after your shower (during naptime) and then woke up to a hungry child with a blowout and then eventually actually kind of forgot what you were wearing and yes, may possibly be losing some of your mind. Hoping that said bathrobe doesn't have remnants of the blowout or lunch on it. Wishing your mailman was at least a mail-lady.

Guess I'll never be known as "the hot, stylish lady in that house with the long driveway" by the postal service community. I'll just be rotund, afternoon bathrobe lady instead.

Welcome to my life--today it's flannel-y and sleep-deprived and sometimes a bit awkward.

Love,
Rotund, afternoon bathrobe lady

My first baby...

2011-09-16T21:53:00.008-06:00

Jack has turned into a little boy, my little baby is gone. I'm sure once little brother gets here, the change will even seem more dramatic. As much as I miss his baby-ness--and part of me always will--I love the little man he has become. He is so much fun!

Watching him explore and discover the world is so amazing. He learns so quickly--sometimes even surprising us with things we don't remember teaching him like knocking on doors or roaring like a dinosaur. Every day is something new and wonderful. Being able to view life once again through the eyes of a child is such a gift!

There's so many moments I try to remember. They happen so often and fast that I don't have time to write them all down. I know these little years will fly by and I don't want to forget. Things like the silly faces he makes at me from across the table during meals, the way he lays his head on my shoulder before nap and bedtime and rubs my back while I rub his, the sound of his adorable voice saying things like "din-nur" and "bee" and even "nah-no, nooo, nah-no!"

He has the cutest little waddle-y walk that somehow reminds me of his Daddy. Even though Ty doesn't waddle. I see so much of his Daddy in him. From the way I dress him like Tyler in little skate shoes and hoodies, to the way he laughs. He observes all the details around him very closely and carefully and will often sit quietly for a good 20 minutes figuring out how to do something. His sense of humor is all boy. And he adores music. The other day during breakfast I was playing worship music and as the guitar came in at the beginning of the song, Jack looked at me and said "Tar!" and then the drums started up and he said "Dum!" I was surprised he could identify them like that! That doesn't come from Mommy!

He loves cars and trucks and motorcycles. When a loud one passes our house he always comes up and tells me "Vrmmm! Vrmmm!" Whenever we go to my parents' house he has to walk around out front and identify everyone's cars. And he knows who they all belong to. We spend many hours playing cars. He also loves balls and "duns"---who knew that would start so soon? Everything from my hair dryer to the garden hose attachment to a stick are guns. "Boom, boom!" And he loves, loves to read. We sit and read book after book. Especially ones about trucks or animals. He loves to go to my parents and play with the dogs, chase the cat and stand at the fence yelling "bok, bok", "duck" and "baaaa" at the chickens, ducks and goats.

He's my little best friend and I love spending every day with him. Part of me is a little sad to know our days just the two of us are coming to an end, but I know I'll have even more fun with my TWO boys! Me and my houseful of men!

Another recipe and stuff...

2011-09-16T00:25:00.001-06:00

Tonight I made this:

Chicken Broccoli Supreme

And it was deemed quite good. And is easy to do GF--I used GF crackers on top. Expensive, but delicious. AND there's no questionable cream of anything soup in it. You make a sauce from scratch.

I was hoping that hiding veggies in a cheesy sauce would trick my recently vegetable-hating son (he seriously used to happily eat any and all veggies, alas, no more) to eat some. But no. He gobbled it down saying "ummy! ummy!" while carefully avoiding all the broccoli. When he ran out of non-broccoli food he tried one bite, made a dreadful face and spit it back out. Oh well, we try. I guess if I get a picky eater, I'm reaping my own stubbornness. I have vivid memories of dramatically gagging and refusing to eat oatmeal as a child. I still can't love oatmeal.

I made a double batch and froze one. I've officially entered nesting, which for me, causes a mad desire to hoard food and money and diapers as though the world as we know it was about to end. (Well, it kinda IS. Our little world, at least, will never be the same--in the best way.) My other impulse, oddly, is to rid us of all unnecessary stuff. When I was pregnant with Jack I got rid of six trashbags full of stuff. And I'm really not much of a stuff-keeper to begin with. I don't think it will be so drastic this time, seeing as there's not much left from last year's nesting. Most of the stuff left belongs to my husband and if I get rid of it then it might cause strife.

Plus I'm supposed to be resting, so I've mainly been making lists. Lots of lists. It's mental nesting since I am too tired and contraction-y to do much physical anything. It's rather sad and ironic to be tired and required to rest, yet not be able to sleep much anymore. Hence the midnight blog post. I remember this from Jack, I think it must be God's way of preparing me for the sleepless early-infant stage. At least it gives me lots of time to make lists. I may not accomplish much, but I'm sure organized about it!

Well, back to my lists and pillow-arranging trying to find a comfy way to sleep. I currently use five and often steal from Tyler after he's asleep. Maybe it's a different sort of nesting too.

And now, a peek into our life...

2011-09-09T21:48:00.001-06:00

Ty and I, watching a tv show in which the characters are at prom:

M: "I never went to prom."

T: "I know."

M: "Neither did you."

T: "I know."

M: "If you had, would you have taken me?"

T: "Yes."

M: "No you wouldn't have!!!!"

T: "Yeah, no I wouldn't have."

The end.

(I would have been 12, I wouldn't have taken me either.)

Two recipes you must try...

2011-09-09T21:22:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite ways to spend/waste time lately is browsing Pinterest for all sorts of recipe, home decor, fashion and other types of creative goodness. If you haven't checked it out, you really must. It's so useful for keeping ideas organized and so very addictive. They even have an iPhone app.

I mostly pin lots of wonderful things that I may, or may not, end up ever doing. Don't we all love to sit and look at pretty pictures and imagine doing creative things but really don't want to put in the work to do them? I do. In my imagination I live in a magazine-worthy house, dress like a fashion model and serve so many amazing, healthful, yet delicious, meals. This happy land dances through my head while sitting in my pajamas on my unmade bed, snacking on stale, leftover popcorn, browsing away on Pinterest. But I AM supposed to be taking it easy right now, so I don't feel too bad about it. Plus imagining is just so fun.

In the past couple weeks however, I've been trying to use just one new idea or recipe a week. And so, here are two recipe winners at our house:

Rolo Cookies. Rolos=yum. Cookies=yum. Add them together and it is amazing. I ate 7. Or so. Sadly they are not at all gluten-free. The recipe only has 4 ingredients so it'd be a great one to keep the stuff on hand for last-minute cookie needs. Of course that probably wouldn't work in my house because the Rolos would disappear. I don't know how...

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. I made a double batch of these for dinner yesterday and froze half for after the baby is born. They were sooo yummy! I'll probably make and freeze some more soon. It's easy to make them gluten-free too and it'll be so nice to pull out however many and bake them for lunches or dinners or snacks.

So, um, happy eating!

Learning to rest...

2011-09-08T13:27:00.001-06:00

I am learning in this season of increased rest and greatly decreased productivity, two things:

One, I view my daily life in a legalistic way. This was actually quite shocking to me. I have been living as though I believe that God, my husband and the rest around me see more value in me and love me more or less based on my accomplishments. If this is so in my practical life, then how must it be in my view of my spiritual life, of my soul's state in God's eyes? Have I been trying to add to what Christ has already done for me? Even though I know in my head that this is impossible and wrong, I have subtly slid into living that way. I am in a season where God has called me to do less, not more. I didn't realize the pride I put in my clean house, my hot dinner, my to-do list being checked off, until now when those things are often unable to happen. So I'm grateful for this time of learning to humbly rest and trust God's provision for the small, daily tasks, as well as the large and eternal.

I'm still learning this--many days I pout at my desires being thwarted and I feel condemnation for not being "a good wife and mommy." But slowly, as God works in and speaks to my heart, I am feeling a change. A contentment. A realization that He loves me no less or more based on what I do. A greater desire to submit and even find great joy in this season of resting and waiting for my baby to finish growing.

Secondly, and kind of in response to the first, I am learning more about seeing God in everything--in all the details. In the dirty dishes and the tantrum Jack is throwing, in the contractions that send me to bed and the laundry piling up. I think I've always been pretty good at seeing God's hand in the beautiful and happy things of life and even in the big, scary, life-changing events that send you falling on your face to Him. But in the little frustrations, I often forget to look for Him. I don't view the daily stressful or annoying things as instruments through which He is working in me.

So, I am grateful for this season. Those early labor signs and the required resting that has followed were tools God was using to gently wake me up to areas in my life that were not being lived out in light of the gospel. He works in me because He loves me and what I do accomplish is due to that outpouring of love and grace in my life, not the other way around. What a loving Father we have and what freedom and joy there is in knowing that through Christ, I am forever His child and nothing I do--or don't do--or can't do--can change that.

That is where I can find true rest.

Update...

2011-08-16T19:10:00.001-06:00

I spent part of the day being poked and prodded, getting tests done to try and determine if I was indeed in pre-term labor on Saturday morning or if it was just some weird thing.

Results are in and apparently it was some weird thing! So no more bedrest for me! My midwife did tell me that my body was probably warning me that I was doing too much, so I am to resume normal activities, with caution. I will definitely be paying more attention and resting and hydrating more here on out. I also am supposed to lay down and rest if I begin to get contractions. And if anything like that happens again it's back to the hospital for me, so I will be doing my best to avoid that!

I'm just so glad to be able to resume normal life. Who knew you could miss washing dishes?

These few days of being stuck in bed have been rather humbling--having to ask for so much help. But it has left me so grateful for the amazing people in my life. I had so many people offering to help and texting to encourage me and let me know they were praying. My family has been a lifesaver--my mom and sister and grandma have been taking turns taking care of me and Jack and my house when T has been gone. And my dear husband has been so amazing. Being both mommy and daddy, being very patient with Jack who has not been happy about Mommy being in bed, serving me so joyfully and spending lots of hours just keeping me company even though it was super boring. I am so thankful for all these things and it made me feel so loved and cared for!

We'd appreciate your continued prayers that these problems wouldn't return and that the remainder of my pregnancy would go smoothly and that our little guy would arrive safe and healthy and not too soon! We got a peek at his sweet face today---we are excited to meet him. But would prefer to wait until he is a little bit bigger and stronger!

Thanks friends for all your encouragement and prayers the last few days!

-- Post From My iPhone

Psalm 139:13-16...

2011-08-14T09:51:00.001-06:00

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."

Bedrest...

2011-08-13T19:08:00.001-06:00

Yesterday evening, after cleaning up from a yummy dinner made by T and baking some brownies, I sat back to relax and thought about the low-key weekend we had ahead of us. That changed when a bit after midnight I discovered I was bleeding. My midwife wanted me to come to the hospital, so as soon as my sister arrived to be with sleeping Jack, off we went. I was so freaked out---I was fighting off the urge to faint and shaking. I was so afraid my little guy would be born that night---at 29 weeks. Way too early. Tyler did an amazing job of keeping me calm and reminding me that God was in control. It was one of those times where you just keep praying in your head the same things over and over and over.

We ended up spending the night at the hospital. Baby was perfectly fine and healthy and kept kicking at all the monitors strapped to my stomach. I was having mild (so mild I didn't always even know I was having them) contractions steadily every two minutes or so. I had dilated a bit past one and they couldn't tell how effaced without doing an ultrasound. (which I'm having on Monday.) I also got a positive on a preterm labor test. (though it could be a false positive, so I'll have that test again Monday too.) Since my contractions wouldn't stop even after rest and iv fluids, I got three rounds if turbutoline (spell?) which slowed them down but also made me feel like I was having a weird drug trip. I really hope not to have to have it again!

I was released late this morning with orders to stay in bed and drink enormous amounts of water until Monday when I'll have more tests and they'll decide what we need to do after that.

We'd appreciate your prayers--especially that I don't start bleeding again or have an increase in contractions which would send me back to the hospital. Right now whenever I get out of bed I get contractions and a few while resting so we are praying that those settle down. And of course for wisdom for the doctors. Please also pray for Tyler especially and Jack. Ty's taking care of me and a one year old who isn't super thrilled about Mommy in bed and his routine thrown off. I have the best husband--he's so kind and patient. But I know he is also very tired from all this! Thanks for praying! The most important thing in all this is that our baby would stay safe and snug inside for at least 6-10 more weeks, so we will do all we can to help that! We are grateful to know that our loving Father has a plan and purpose for all these things and cares for our baby even more than we do. It's good to be able to rest in that.

I'll update after we get more information. For now, I'm thankful for Netflix as I spend lots of time in bed!

-- Post From My iPhone

Can't wait...

2011-08-02T22:10:00.001-06:00

Obviously I've always been excited about meeting this new baby, but for some reason today as I was attempting to nap while he did a gymnastics routine in my belly, that longing to just hold him and meet him hit me hard.

I've been struggling this time with a lot of fear about labor. My last labor was really pretty quick and very simple and exactly what one might hope for, but oh my gosh it freaking hurt a lot! So, even though I know I can do it and I know it's totally worth it, I've been dreading it.

But today, all the sudden I just wished it was time already. Just to hold my baby boy. To see his little face and the tiny hands that have been punching me non-stop lately. I can't wait till our little family is a family of four.

Only a few months left!

-- Post From My iPhone

Hello...

2011-07-29T16:05:00.001-06:00

I've gone missing yet again! We've been busy with a visit from Mimi, Papa and Auntie Meg and playing outside and me dealing with the joys of progressing pregnancy--hot, tired, eyes that dried out so I have to wear glasses and, recently, back pain. But this little guy inside me is getting busy kicking and doing somersaults to help remind me that it is all worth it! I can't wait to snuggle with him!

Jack's new favorite things are videos of cousin Annie (all day long he asks to watch "Ann-ee?") and his flip-flops, which he pretty much wears 24/7. Odd, since until 3 days ago he hated shoes and cried when he had to wear them at church. One year olds are strange! He is growing into the funniest, most delightful little person and it's so much fun to get to be his mommy!

-- Post From My iPhone

A million babies...

2011-07-01T21:09:00.009-06:00

I made a mistake this evening. I learned that hormonal, pregnant women shouldn't sit around and look at pictures of their baby-who-is-no-longer-such-a-baby. It makes them crazy.

As I watched these pictures of teeny little Jack, little, bald Jack who couldn't even sit up, much less run up and practically tug my pj bottoms off while screaming "bananananana!" or ride a skateboard or eat with a fork, I began to feel a sense of panic as I realized my baby is rapidly growing up. So fast. Tomorrow morning I will probably go to wake him up and discover he has a beard. And a wife. He's going to turn into a big, hairy man and I'll have no baby to snuggle.

I told Tyler that I need another baby. He reminded me that I DO have another baby coming very soon. I explained to him that THAT baby will magically grow up overnight too and then we'll need a replacement baby and so on and so forth. I told him that we are going to have to keep re-stocking babies, possibly for the rest of my life and at least until the previous babies begin providing me with grand-babies. I told him that I was going to become one of those women who make the tabloids for having 35 children or a baby at age 67. That we were going to have to have a million babies so I'd always have a little person to snuggle. That I have incurable baby mania.

He told me to go read a book or eat something or something. Instead I resisted the urge to go wake Jack up for a not-so-little-baby snuggle and came to my blog instead.

Lesson to hormonal, pregnant women: Learn from me. Don't look at baby pictures. Go read a book or eat something or something.

And if you have a teensy, tiny baby---snuggle it for me!

Father's Day Then and Now...

2011-06-29T12:10:00.008-06:00

Last year:

This year:

Random Today Things...

2011-06-27T12:51:00.005-06:00

We had a fun, busy weekend. Firstly, we got rid of the Audi and got a truck instead which, Lord willing, will be much more useful in the future, hopefully much more reliable and cheaper to fix since the parts for it aren't made in Europe AND I can drive it! The other car was a stick. Which I somewhat refuse to learn cause it stresses me out. And I didn't like the Audi very much anyhow. Trucks are so much cooler. Jack thinks it is awesome. He's obsessed with trucks, so to have one in his own garage is like Disneyland to him.

We spent the rest of the weekend project-ing a bit and running errands and being outside and going to our church picnic, finishing it all off with pizza on my parents' patio and Jack taking a quick dip in the "bath" aka their hot tub.

It's a lovely day today---70 degrees and sunny which is perfect for enjoying being outside. After Jack's nap and some errand-running, I'm hoping to go for a walk. I'm getting large enough that walking when it's too hot makes me feel like a giant sweaty panda and turns my feet red and vein-y, so I want to take advantage of the cooler weather and enjoy a non-panda walk.

Jack is into "helping" with chores all of the sudden. He does this by sitting in the pile of dirt when I'm sweeping or grabbing the broom and flinging the pile back all over the kitchen. By taking the laundry out of the basket or putting all the silverware in the bottom of the dishwasher. His favorite chore though is vacuuming. He crawls beside and pushes the vacuum or tries to sit on it---which I remember thinking would be fun as a kid, but it turns out vacuums sadly don't move so great with children atop them. He's cute though. Hopefully pretty soon he'll catch on to more helpful methods of helping me. And then I can put him to work!

We started working on making our back porch nicer for Jack and I to use. We still have lots to do, but got it mostly cleaned up and made Jack a little portable sandbox out of an under bed tub, which is the perfect size and has the benefit of a lid to protect it from neighborhood cats. (Yuck.)

I can't wait to do more. We have a big deep and long covered porch across the back that is shaded all day and so is nice and cool for sitting on anytime! This morning after breakfast it was so nice and relaxing to put my feet up on our lounge chair and watch Jack dig in the sand.

I can just envision how great it will be for eating dinner and visiting with friends on in the future!

And now, to finish off this already wordy post with a short tale about me. I was just down switching the laundry when I saw a HUGE nasty spider, chilling in the utility sink. It was too far from the drain to drown. It was awkwardly in a corner that prevented the use of a shoe. It was larger than my personal size limit for using a tissue. (Which goes something like "is it bigger than an ant? Yes? Then no.") I need back-up.

I knocked on my brother's door. I got as far as "Could you do me a favor? There's a really, really..." when he said "I am not killing a spider for you in your own house. Be a grown up." I guess I should just be grateful he stopped with that and didn't react with his usual method during our childhood---picking it up and chasing me with it. I would still run. And scream. And my mommy isn't here to stop him.

So, what did this grown-up, mother of nearly two do? Trapped it under a glass of course. And for good measure and in case of escape, put a big jar that used to hold the dearly-departed cat's food over the glass. If I had another larger vessel I might have triple-layered it. The spider is that big and disturbing. I couldn't risk the kill. If it bit me I could die. If it touched me with one of it's many icky legs or heaven forbid, crawled on me, I could wish to die. I have children to live for. It was for the children.

My husband is going to be so proud of me when he gets home and finds the um, gift, I have waiting for him in the laundry room.

I'm really not a very good grown-up.

PS--I hope it doesn't manage to escape. Please pray. Thank you.

My little man...

2011-06-22T21:44:00.000-06:00

I love him so very much!

21 Weeks...or not...

2011-06-21T20:30:00.005-06:00

I haven't written about my pregnancy since I announced it on here. Mostly due to the fact that it has flown by so far. I had the seemingly never-ending morning sickness phase at the beginning---made worse by getting the stomach flu during it---but once that ended, things have seemed to move so fast. Until recently, I often kind of forgot I was pregnant. Probably due to a distraction named Jack!

I'm feeling lots of little baby kicks lately. Ty has gotten to feel some a few times too. The second half of this is so much more fun---all the movement, feeling like you get a little peek at who this baby is going to be, finding out the gender. (and therefore, rather literally who this baby will be!)

Speaking of which, we had the ultrasound on Friday and it was very quickly plainly obvious that it is a boy! A boy who looked a lot like Jack did in his ultrasound. So either they look alike, or all babies just look like that via ultrasound. We shall see. I'm so excited to watch my boys be buddies! I'm so glad they will get to have a brother so close in age. And for some reason I've always had a feeling I'd have a small flock of boys. It'll be fun! (Pardon the iphone ultrasound pics, I haven't scanned them yet!)

About my due date. It was never super certain due to the fact that I was still nursing and such when I got pregnant and today he measured at around 19 weeks, 5 days. My midwife is still figuring out whether we should push back my due date or not, but I have decided to mentally push it back now, just in case. If he shows up earlier, great. But I got so restless prior to Jack's that I know I will do better holding it all very loosely. The baby will come when he comes! So it could be around October 28th. Or it could be, if the ultrasound is correct, around November 7th. Somewhere at the end of October or early November. We'll be keeping a close eye on his growth too.

It really has been a blessedly easy pregnancy so far, morning sickness aside. I'm tired during the day, but not exhausted. I haven't been anemic yet---which is a major miracle considering I am sometimes when I'm not pregnant. The back pain I had last isn't significant so far. And that's even with carrying around a nearly 25lb child all the time! We didn't have any platelet count drama that made us wonder if I had a horrible disease since we got all that straightened out last time. God has been kind to me and I'm so thankful to be able to enjoy these last few months with just Jack.

I really want to try to blog more. I write posts in my head while washing dishes and folding laundry all the time. I have written several on my phone but for some reason it hasn't been allowing me to post them. So, I need to be more purposeful at taking the time to sit down at the computer. I see the days flying by and Jack growing and changing by the second and this is a place to try to grab hold of some of those little moments and remember them for the future when he is not so little anymore! Hopefully I'll do better!

My one year old...

2011-05-09T20:04:00.009-06:00

I can't believe today Jack is one. This year has flown by so fast. I'm trying to learn to cherish every little moment as I know the years will only continue to move faster as he grows. He is such an amazing little gift to us. Sometimes I still can't believe this is my kid! And yet it's so weird to think that I only met him and held him for the first time a year ago and how much he has grown and changed in so short a time. This has most certainly been the best year of our lives and we are so thankful that God has given us this incredible little man as our very own!

I decided to copy my sis-in-law's tradition of taking a photo right when they wake up on their birthday.

This is him saying, "What the heck are you doing Mom? Get me out of this bed!" Poor kid has a bad cold--it's a fambly affair---and so he really didn't feel all that great today. Mom and Dad felt gross too--bad enough for Ty to stay home from work---so we didn't do anything super exciting. But we have a little birthday party with his buddy next weekend, so that's when we're really celebrating.

I did make him some birfday pancakes with strawberries. I tried to be all festive and put a candle in them, but Jack was unimpressed with how I was waving his breakfast in front of him without him getting to eat it, so we didn't even get to light it.

(Yes, he eats a lot. He's a skinny boy despite all that food.)

He had a little gift-opening session after Mother's Day dinner yesterday. He also had his first ice cream, which I wish I had pictures of. I put a scoop on his tray and thought he'd poke at it. We looked away for a minute and when we looked back the entire scoop was gone---in his mouth! He started crying and spit it out and then put it back in and started crying again. We were dying laughing. He loved it but hated the cold.

He has become such a fun little person. He loves balls, cars, and skateboards. He is trying to figure out using forks and spoons. He sings little gibberish songs and loves to dance and clap to music. He has a "food dance" he does in his highchair. Every time he takes a bite of something he goes "Mmmmmm!" Playing outside is his favorite and he loves to follow the dogs around in my parents' yard and try to play in their water bowl. He says "Mom/Mama", "Dad/Dada", "Nen/Nenny", "Dut" (Dustin), "Bah" (Ball), "Daah" (Dog), "Dat" (Cat), "Buhbuh" (Bye-bye), "Dots" (Clocks), "Ah-du" (All done), and a few more that I'm probably forgetting. He loves to talk and babble. I think he gets that from me! He makes a zooming sound for his cars that is so cute. He is also thisclose to walking, just seems to lack the desire. It seems like every day he learns something new!

I love you, my one year old boy! I am so grateful that I get to be your Mommy! Happy Birthday!

Why I disappeared...

2011-04-22T18:09:00.001-06:00

Baby #2, due October 28th!

Friday Favorites: Spinach Frittata

2011-03-25T08:48:00.000-06:00

Before we began avoiding the dreaded gluten, I used to make quiche for dinner all the time. I'd just grab a pie crust out of the freezer and throw in whatever veggies we had around, sometimes some sausage or bacon, add some eggs and cheese and there ya go. Now, I try to make most of our dinners gluten free which rules out the yummy pie crust and I'm too wimpy to try making a GF one yet, plus that sort of ruins the whole super-easy meal thing.

So I loved when I found out what a frittata was. (I hadn't heard of one until recently, or hadn't been paying attention at least.) It's basically a quiche without the crust. Or a big omelet. Egg dishes really are kind of all the same thing.

Spinach Frittata (As found in the book Family Feasts for $75 a Week)

8 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (or if you're me, 3, cause we like garlic!)

4 cups fresh spinach, washed with heavy stems removed and torn into medium-sized pieces (I also added red peppers last time and just cooked them before throwing in the spinach. Any veggies will work!)

1/2 cup cottage cheese (It wasn't as cheesy as I prefer, so next time I'll probably add another kind of cheese as well.)

Beat eggs and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large broiler-proof skillet. (I don't have one, but I improvised.) Add onion and garlic; cook until soft. Preheat broiler. Add spinach to skillet, cook until limp. Stir in cottage cheese. Pour eggs into skillet. As eggs begin to set, run a spatula around the edges, lifting the mixture up so that the uncooked egg flow underneath. Cook until most of it is set. Place pan under broiler, 4 to 6 inches from heat. Broil for a few minutes until the top is set as desired. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 4 to 6. (We each ate 2 pieces, so I'd say more like 3 if you are hungry.)

It's a great quick dinner, or healthy breakfast. And a great way to eat your vegetables!

Little bookworm....

2011-03-24T14:08:00.001-06:00

Jack has begun to "read" to himself all the time. Books are his new preferred toy. He will happily sit for 10-20 minutes at a time, flipping through book after book, inspecting every page very seriously. We have them scattered all over the house now--one in his crib which he often looks at quietly for awhile after he wakes up, one that he "reads" during diaper changes, many dragged by him to random parts of the house.

As a toddler, then child and now, adult who loves books, it gives me such joy to see my little man sharing that love already!

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Favorite: Wedding Blogs

2011-03-18T08:19:00.000-06:00

I adore weddings. I am so happy and blessed and thankful to be married, but there is a teeny part of me that is sad I never get to have another wedding. (To Tyler, of course!) I actually asked Ty if we could have another one, but he said no. Maybe I can convince him for a big anniversary or something. We'll see. Maybe if I throw in another honeymoon.

I love when friends get married. I'm totally like the girl from 27 dresses. I love to help with anything wedding. There have been several times when I was feeling wedding-deprived and have asked my sister to please get married. It seems she wants to finish highschool before doing that. I can't imagine why.

So, even though I'm an old married lady, I still have a folder of wedding ideas, I still read wedding magazines for fun, and I love, LOVE wedding blogs. I used to subscribe to several in my Reader, but since Jack has been born, I have cut my blog reading way back. But when I have some free time to peruse, I still love to read all the love stories, look at all the pretty pictures and file away ideas to give to friends. There are so, so many awesome wedding blogs, but my most favorite are probably Snippet and Ink, Ruffled, Green Wedding Shoes and Style Me Pretty. Yeah that's kind of a lot. Oh well. And if you want to drool over amazing dresses, check out BHLDN--a wedding store by the people behind Anthropologie.

Let's all go walk around in pretty wedding dresses together!

Friday Favorite: Mascara

2011-03-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

All the men in my life have beautiful, long eyelashes. Tyler and Jack do. Both of my brothers do. I don't know if my dad does, cause I've honestly never paid attention and his glasses are in the way. Anyway, my sister and I have always felt jealous that the boys got the eyelashes and have been on a quest to find the perfect mascara. I think we finally found it. Maybelline Falsies. It's at Target for like 8 bucks and it works. It also stays on well all day---I wear contacts so flaky mascara is my enemy and Jen plays basketball in it without looking like a raccoon. And it washes off with soap and water, for me, at least. Mascara is the best, cause even when I'm dead tired, it helps me look awake.

Now, to finish with a random tangent---have you ever thought about how weird it is that we paint the hair that grows out of our eyes? That sometimes for special occasions we put more fake hair on our eyes? That long, thick eye hair is considered attractive? We are strange.

Jack's Favorite Ways to Sit...

2011-03-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Are like this.

And like this.

Comfortable? I guess so.

P.S. I adore his Levi skinny jeans that Mimi bought him for Christmas. And his Vans shoes from Auntie Manda. Let's have a better look at those.

My boys...

2011-03-07T13:08:00.004-07:00

Friday Favorite: Recently Read Books

2011-03-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am a big time reader. I learned to read at age 5 and was quickly reading everything I could get my hands on. That's what I did as a hobby when I was growing up--read. I was kind of a nerd. I miss the days of just sitting around reading a good book all day, but I still try to keep it a priority, even though my time is more limited. Luckily I read pretty fast. I typically have at least 4-5 library books (a couple are usually cookbooks or decorating books, not all long, regular ones) on my desk that I'm reading through or are waiting to be read. Normally I am a one-book-at-a-time kind of reader. I go to the library once a week to switch things out and have a running "to read" list on my phone that currently has 134 books on it. Any time I hear of/read about/see something interesting, I add it to the list. The great thing about the library is that if it's a disappointing book, I don't feel bad quitting in the middle. I love my library. That is an entirely different post.

Here's a few favorites from the past several months:

My mom-in-law gave me One Thousand Gifts for Valentine's day. God has really used this book to change the way I view my life. I love it. Read it!

The Help is probably the best novel I've read in a long time. It was so good and very, very thought-provoking. I pretty much read it every spare second I had until I finished, much to the detriment of my house. I liked it that much!

I read Adopted for Life a few months ago, after it sitting on my book list for quite awhile. And I really loved it. I think everyone should read it, even if they don't think they feel called to adopt. It shows the parallel of adopting children into our families and our own adoption into the family of God in a way I had never really understood or thought of before. Seriously, everyone should read it.

Awhile back I added a list of what I've read for this year and a partial one from last year to my sidebar. I mostly did this because I love this on other friends' blogs---shout out to Bek! I love seeing what they are reading and getting ideas of what I want to check out. That being said, I don't necessarily recommend every book on my list. I have a 1-5 star rating next to the title, so that reflects some of my opinion on the book. But still, use your own discernment obviously!

Happy reading!

Bread bravery...

2011-03-03T10:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I made bread.

Back in the day, I helped my mom make homemade bread all the time. Mostly by taste-testing. Since having my own home my bread making has been limited to a couple loaves of banana and beer bread which aren't very hard to make.

But, lately I've been wanting to try making gluten free bread, as I always feel like serving bread with soup and such, but don't want to spend $7 for a loaf of GF bread from the store. But I kept putting it off cause bread is scary and GF bread has a bunch of scary flours and the altitude here has been known to kill GF baked goods. For me, at least. (fambly, remember the time we tried to make cupcakes for easter?)

Yesterday I decided to be brave. I used a recipe from the book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, that I got at the library. (get it from yours if you want the recipe as it is two pages long and too complicated to post here!)

I mixed it up with trepidation. I let it rise and rest for the half a zillion hours it requires. And then I put it in the oven and prayed really hard.

It came out looking awful. It was the ugliest bread I've ever seen. I was sure I had wrecked it. But, when I cut it, it was all pretty and normal inside and it actually tasted pretty yummy. For GF bread at least. Tyler liked it and Jack liked the little bite I gave him. I don't have a picture cause we ate it and cause it was ugly.

So anyway, that's my bread story. I feel like such a baker now.

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Favorite: Just Dance 2

2011-02-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

If I could have just one favorite thing, it would probably be dancing. I love dancing and most especially dance parties.

If you have a Wii, you must get Just Dance 2 and invite all your friends over and have a big huge dance party. My parents have it and it is seriously the most fun game I have ever played. (it beats Wii bowling, Mario Kart and Karaoke Revolution!) My dad played it. My mom played it. My grandma played it. Jack got stepped on while we played it. Fun for all ages...except maybe crawling babies.

This is what you will look like:

Please dance to the Rasputin song and think of me. It is my favorite, because of the song. And Hey Ya is my other favorite because you get to shake it like a polaroid picture. I don't have a lot of "it" but I do my best.

After about 3 songs you will feel ready to die of exhaustion. You will have to change into shorts and a tank top. Your right arm will be sore. (or maybe you won't cause you're in better shape than me!) It is a really good workout. I'm trying to convince Tyler that I need to own it so I will be more fit and healthy. Which is very important--yes? AND, there is a Michael Jackson version. Yes. I think I really need that so I can be fit, healthy AND know how to dance just like MJ. I am saving up for it. It will make my Wii life complete.

Random Cuteness...

2011-02-23T21:26:00.008-07:00

This is my child. I find him very cute.

This is him waving hi.

This is him being helpful while I wash dishes.

This is him playing the piano. He is such a prodigy.

This is him being watched by the cat while taking a bath.

Two stories:

One, Jack loved baths until he found out that water can come out of the shower head. After that he was so afraid of a bath that he was shaking in fear when I put him in the tub. He is braver now and seems to enjoy them again, but every so often glances upward with concern.

Two, Tompkins is moving away tomorrow. She is going to live on a farm. (That is for you, Megs.) Ok, she's actually going to return to her barn cat roots and go live at my uncle's. He has an equestrian center with big huge barns and lots of mice and rafters and hay bales and people to visit when she's feeling social. I think she'll like it. She doesn't get along with Jack, she likes to hunt him. We find that problematic. She doesn't get along with me, as we know, she also likes to hunt me. I find that problematic. She adores Tyler. But Tyler adores Jack and I more, thankfully. So, he decided it'd be best for her to move to a farm...I mean Uncle Jim's. Tomorrow is kind of like a holiday to me. Except I feel guilty, like a cat failure. And bad for probably hurting her feelings. Kind of. I'm strangely mixed about it all.

Moving on...

This is my child, pigging out on lentils, spinach and apples. He's a fan of food.

And this is him with his new friend, Presley. (My sister's puppy) They are both very cute.

The end.

P.S. I'm totally telling Jack one day that our cat went to live on a farm.

Friday Favorites: Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-02-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

This soup from Pioneer Woman--aka, Ree, who I want to go live with and be her taste-tester and watch cows walk past her back porch--is my new favorite. It is seriously so yummy. You MUST garnish it with avocado. It just makes the soup. It is easy to make GF. And it is really good leftover too. I've been making it like every other week. You should too!

He chose me...

2011-02-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

Four years ago, I became engaged to Tyler Shaw.

I can't believe it's been four years. I can't believe it's only been four years. It is strange to think there was a time when we weren't "us", but it seems like just yesterday when he showed up at my house early one Saturday morning and woke me up by saying, "Hey, good morning. There's something I need to tell you: I love you."

I still can't believe, out of all the girls in the whole wide world, he chose me to be his wife. He knew that I was really kind of weird and had hair that frizzed. That I looked like an ugly boy in the morning and that I couldn't really cook. That I was stubborn and had a temper and that I was so terribly far from anything resembling the ideal wife. Yet he loved me anyway and still loves me, in spite of all my weird, ugly, yucky moments in life. When he comes home to a clean house, a cute, smiling wife and baby and a yummy dinner he loves me. But he still loves me when he comes home to a mess with a grumpy, frumpy wife who throws a crying baby at him and tells him to eat some cereal.

God has given me an amazing gift in my husband. In his love for me, I get to see a small, earthly glimpse of God's love for me. God also chose me and loves me, despite my yuckiness, my sinfulness. He saw me in my mess and sent His Son to die for me. His love is so much bigger and really incomparable to our love. But it helps me understand. I love how God uses marriage that way. As a little picture.

I am so blessed to have Tyler Shaw for my very own. I love that he's the first and last face I see every day. I love that he's my bestest friend. I love our little family. I love spending my life with him. And I love him!

Thanks for choosing me to be yours.

Friday Favorites: Camelbak Water Bottle

2011-02-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not a beverage person. I hate coffee, milk (as a beverage), pop and most alcohol. I only drink tea when I'm trying to be a grown up. Same for wine. Which means I take 3 sips and then leave the rest. If I'm in the mood, I'll drink something like lemonade or a very fattening and sugary Starbucks drink that doesn't have coffee. But I really just like water. Just water. That's what I say at restaurants.

The thing is, I never drink enough water. Especially for a nursing mom, who should try to stay super hydrated. I was really good about drinking water when I worked, as I always had a big glass of it on my desk and re-filling it was a good excuse to get up and take a little break! After quitting to stay home, I got really bad at staying hydrated cause I just get busy doing things and forgot to drink and am prone to knocking glasses over.

When I was in TX awhile ago, I noticed Erin's Camelbak water bottle that she always had with her. And then I borrowed one while I was there and realized it had a straw! I love straws. I always drink more with a straw for some reason. Maybe it makes things more fun. Who knows? I then had water bottle envy and put one on my Christmas list.

My dear Shaw parents got one for me and I love it so very much. It is green like the one in the picture. Green is my favorite color. I carry it around all over and don't have to worry about Jack spilling it or me spilling it. I drink so much more now and have seen a difference in the way my skin is because of being more hydrated. The spout also works for calming teething babies in a pinch. Jack spent one basketball game gnawing away on it. When he gets a little bigger I'm going to get him a kid-sized one. I pretty much think it is the best thing ever.

PS. Not that anyone is probably wondering, but my Friday Fav posts are totally just my opinion on things I like. No one is paying me to write about stuff. (If someone would like me to, then heck yes, I'll do it. That'd be awesome, since I currently make only $0 a month. But since only like my fambly reads this thing, I doubt there's a lot of interest!) Bloggers are just supposed to apparently clarify such things. So, there ya go.

The end.

Enjoying the winter sunshine...

2011-02-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a really warm--like 70 degrees--day. It was heavenly and made me wish for spring. We're kind of experiencing the opposite sort of weather now. Jack loves being outside and so he spent awhile playing on Grandma and Grandpa's patio and trying to eat dead leaves. I snapped a few pictures. Ok, maybe a lot of pictures...

He has become such a little boy. A cute little boy! I can't believe how big he is--9 months tomorrow! The bigger he gets, the more I see of his Daddy in him.

Ok, just one more!

My backyard this morning...

2011-02-07T16:23:00.006-07:00

Like much of the rest of the country, we've been having super cold weather and some snow and more is on the way. (Tomorrow is supposed to be 11.) It feels odd to have it be cold for days and days in a row and snow staying on the ground. Around here it normally gets cold, snows, then warms up and melts it all and then repeats later on. Today was kind of our break from the weather. It was like 40 degrees which actually felt quite balmy. Seriously, when I went grocery shopping I saw people wearing t-shirts. I was not one of those people and I personally plan to stay inside tomorrow and eat baked goods. But, the snow is really beautiful. It makes my backyard pretty!

My busy little man...

2011-02-06T11:23:00.001-07:00

Jack is so busy now--exploring, discovering, learning. This is such a fun stage!

I am currently resting in bed with a headache/sinus bug and just listening to him in the other room and occasionally being visited by him. He is crawling all over--rattling the baby gate in the kitchen, pulling all the books off the lowest shelf in his room till he finds the one he wants, then "reading" to himself, then into the family room to chase his basketball around while yelling "ba!", into my room to pop his head up at the end of my bed then crack up laughing cause he thinks he's funny, then he hears Daddy open the dishwasher so back out to the kitchen to check it out.

This keeps going, back and forth, playing, checking things out, visiting Mommy and Daddy, trying to sneak into the bathroom. When he's up, it's go-go-go. It's tiring, but I love it!

I love watching him take everything in and learn--it seems like he learns something new everyday. Sometimes it's how to bite his paci and pull it out of his mouth to make a popping noise, sometimes it's where and what the pictures on the wall are, sometimes it's imitating the kettle's whistle, sometimes it's how to play his drum to music.

I'm so blessed to get to hang out with him every day! He's my little best friend and he is so much fun!
-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Favorites: Pioneer Woman

2011-02-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, I hope that all of you out there have already found Pioneer Woman. She probably has my most favorite blog ever. If I could only read one, it would probably be hers. It encompasses so many things I love---cooking, photography, living on a ranch. I've always had a half-hearted dream of living on a ranch. Half-hearted because I like being able to go to Target and friends houses in 15 minutes or less. But the other part of me loves the thought of living way out in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by cows. I love cows. When we were kids we used to love walking through the neighbor's cow pasture, stepping on the dried cow pies. They make a delightful crunching sound. Disgusting, yes...and no.

Anyway, Pioneer Woman. She's hilarious. She has contests giving away awesome things like Kitchen Aid mixers and Nikon cameras all the time. Her recipes have so far always been yummy. And sometime when you have a whole day to kill, you must read her and her husband's love story. (It's actually being made into a book and movie soon.) She also writes about homeschooling in a very relate-able way. And has tons and tons of pretty pictures. And lots of unhealthy things in her recipes. And cute kids who are living my half-hearted dream childhood. So yes, read her blog.

You're welcome!

Encouragement for Mommy...

2011-02-02T20:24:00.001-07:00

This evening I was feeling tired and wondering what in the heck I actually accomplished today. Ever have days where you wonder if you did anything that matters? I put the toys away, took them back out, washed the dishes, got them dirty, mopped the floor, watched pears go flying down onto it and read the same book about monkeys 17 times. I clean the house up at the end of the day, knowing it starts all over again at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

Sometimes it's easy for me to look around at what everyone else is doing and think that I don't do anything important. I spend my time at home, saying "no, no" two hundred times a day and changing diapers.

I read this post a few minutes ago and was so encouraged by the quote in it and convicted that I need to stop looking around--at the mess, at others, at me--and keep my focus upward. I am doing what God has called me to and it is such an amazing privilege that He would entrust me with such a precious gift--Jack--to enjoy, instruct and care for. What I do matters. A lot. Not based on my own merit, not maybe to the culture around me, but because it matters to God. He is working in me and through me. I can change diapers and wash dishes for His glory! How cool is that?!

-- Post From My iPhone

Snow day...

2011-02-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

It is currently zero degrees outside and that has been the high so far today. It is cold. Or at least it seems cold when I go near our drafty doors and windows. I'm not crazy enough to actually go outside. Besides, that would require me breaking my favorite snow day rule:
Wear pajamas all day. (still in them!)

Other rules are:
Eat a big breakfast. (pancakes!)
Eat cookies. (on my 5th!)
Sit around with fluffy blankets. (I am right now!)
Read books. (next on my list of things to do during naptime)
And have your husband work from home in his pajamas. (he's down in his office, appearing occasionally to get more cookies.)

This was our kitchen window this morning. The picture on top is our family room window currently. We have old windows that get all icy on the inside. We also have nice iron bars to make us feel like we live in the "hood". Someday we'll change all those things. Except for the hood part. Unless our elderly neighbors decide to go all gangsta on us.

Anyhoo, I love days like this. I don't feel like I need to go anywhere or do anything major. Just enjoying having the whole family home. And feeling thankful for our warm, cozy house.

I just threw this in because he is cute. He had purple lips from eating blueberries. And he was being serious and refused to smile. I love him!

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Favorites: Jeans

2011-01-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm sure jeans are everyone's favorite. How would we live without them? Are they not the best clothing item ever invented? (Ok, bras are pretty revolutionary too...) Yet for being so wonderful, they are so difficult to find. I'm sure we've all carried armloads into dressing rooms only to leave empty-handed. So when you find a pair that you love, it's amazing!

With my Christmas money, I bought 2 pairs of new jeans. Actually 3 pairs. (Two were part of a BOGO deal, so I really only bought two.) In 2 different styles I had not owned before and I love them both. Both are slightly controversial-ish.

First, I went the next step up from skinny jeans to jeggings, or the term mine was labeled, denim leggings. To defend myself, I hate the name jeggings and mine are pretty much just skinny jeans. They have pockets and a zipper and all that normal stuff. AND they are super duper comfortable because they have extra stretchiness in them.

(Bullhead denim leggings from PacSun)

See. They look normal. They're just extra comfy and don't have real front pockets (which doesn't bother me since I don't really use those) and the reason I love them the most is they fit my sad lack of a rear end and my flamingo legs, which is a rare combination for pants. I feel like Audrey Hepburn when I wear them. (emphasis on feel.)

The other kind I got was boyfriend jeans. I had been wanting some for quite awhile because they looked comfortable. (Clinton and Stacy would not approve of my reasoning, but I doubt they have an 8 month old.) I tried the true-to-name route first, which was finding jeans from an actual boy. My brothers didn't appreciate me trying on all their jeans though and they are both quite a bit taller than me and I also don't prefer to wear my jeans sagged below my boxers. (no, I don't wear boxers!) So I went to Target and got these:

Only these aren't them cause I couldn't find a picture. Mine don't have holes. And are cuter. And are the Converse brand. But this is the general idea. They are so so so comfortable and cute with ballet flats or heels. My sister tells me that I look a bit like Casey from the back, mainly in the butt, but I'm ok with that. Since he has large manly muscles and short blond hair, I doubt anyone will confuse the two of us. And Casey doesn't wear ballet flats or heels. Normally.

Now I just have to pray they both don't change their styles and fit before I need another pair!

A Mommy Moment...

2011-01-27T08:12:00.001-07:00

Jack still hasn't been sleeping through the night. We started working on it and then the Dr said to keep feeding him at night if he woke up cause he was such a skinny boy. Then he got fatter and also started teething again and has had some colds so that meant he still wasn't sleeping through the night. We've been slowly working on it.

But, this morning I woke up at 5:30 and realized that Jack never got up. I had Tyler check and make sure he was breathing. Then I woke up again at 7 and he still hadn't made a peep. I had to check for myself that he hadn't been kidnapped. But he's there and STILL asleep. Hallelujah!

I just find it so ironic that just when I finally could sleep in, I wake up wondering if he's still alive! Ah, motherhood...

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday Favorite: Chocolove

2011-01-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

I adore chocolate. I always have. My mom tells a story about when I was a toddler, how if she had been stealthily eating something chocolate during my nap and came into my room afterward to get me, I would always say "Mommy, I smell chocolate!"

My family all loves it. Tyler loves it. And we all have a new favorite kind.

Chocolove, which is actually made in Boulder! The peppermint dark chocolate pictured is my personal favorite. They sell it at Target, so out of town folks should check there and see if they have it. Local people can find it all over the place. I like it so much, I checked to see if they give factory tours, cause we all know tours mean free samples. Sadly, they do not. Even so, everyone should go eat some. Yes, go eat some chocolate. You're welcome.

8 months...

2011-01-17T20:04:00.006-07:00

Jack-Jack,

I thought I told you not to grow anymore. I told you to stay my wee little baby, so I could snuggle you forever. You aren't listening very well.

You learn new things so quickly, I can no longer keep up with writing them down. Plus, you keep me on my toes---getting into things, exploring the house, examining every detail of a room. You love to stand and cruise around the furniture. You love to pull all the books off your bookshelf. You love to tweak the door-stopper-thingy and listen to the buzzing noise it makes. You love music, bouncing up and down and clapping your hands when it is playing. You are very into Elvis, The Beach Boys, and the Beatles. Your favorite song is Barbara Ann. You try to "sing" during worship at church and think the people raising their arms are waving, so you wave back. You love going out and about and waving at everyone around. You clap your hands when you want my attention. The dishwasher is your favorite. You also love when I'm cooking and hold you up to see the food in the oven, or the water boiling. You get very offended when we eat in front of you and you can't have some. You love to eat and aren't picky about what it is. You even tried the cat's food. Yum.

Presley, Auntie Jen's puppy, is your new buddy. You love that she's just your size. Having the two of you together causes a three-ring-circus. "No Presley, that's Jack's." "No Jack, that's Presley's." I am very glad we don't have a puppy right now at home, though I would love something that cleans up all the food you throw off your highchair. I love watching your sense of humor develop. You crack yourself up sometimes. There's no sound better than your belly laugh. Your eyes are lightening and look more like mine every day. That makes your Daddy very happy. I am very happy you have your Daddy's long eyelashes. You have a new crinkle-nose smile lately, that shows off your little teeth. You are learning to obey. You know what you aren't allowed to play with and are beginning to listen when I say "No, no!".

You love other kids. At church, you like to follow Eva Frampton around in the lobby, during the sermon. And you love your buddy, Levi. You two are beginning to play a bit together and "talk" to each other. So adorable. You also like to slap him upside the head. Not so adorable. You keep me very busy, but I love spending my days with you. Every morning we open your curtain and look out the window. We look at the tree and the sky. Sometimes there's snow and you look at me like "what the heck?" Then you search around to see if Daddy is home. You check all the rooms, chanting "Dadadada." He's your favorite. You love Friday mornings when you two eat breakfast together. You're already the best of friends.

I love you more every day, my baby boy. I love the rare moments I get to snuggle you now---you have too much wiggling to do to snuggle much! I love how when you're sad or sleepy, you lay your head on my shoulder and pat my back. I love our dance parties together and when you chase me up and down the hall. I love you a bushel and a peck and forever.

Love,

Your Mommy

Friday Favorite: The Sartorialist

2011-01-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite blogs is The Sartorialist.

I love the simplicity---most posts are just photos with a brief description. I love the fact that many of the people are just folks who were walking down the street and caught his eye. I love the photography. And I love the fashion.

On my mental wish list of things-that-would-be-awesome-but-won't-happen, having him want to take my picture is up there pretty high. (other things on the list: getting to be the one to say "live from New York, it's Saturday night!" on SNL, going to ALL the continents, being one of Beyonce's backup dancers...yes I don't have my fingers crossed about any of them!)

So, if you've never visited The Sartorialist, do it now!

I wonder...

2011-01-12T14:51:00.001-07:00

...if Jack is going to be the kid who carves his initials all over the place when he grows up, like his mommy. Or the kid who chews on everything, like his auntie. Or maybe he just prefers the taste of varnish. Who knows...

Friday Favorite: Antique/Thrift/Vintage Shopping

2011-01-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

In an effort to actually blog more---heh, we'll see---I am going to start sharing one of my favorite things every Friday. Mostly, cause it just sounds fun. It could be anything really--a recipe, a website, a picture. Whatever is my favorite and I have lots. I chose Friday because:

a. It's Tyler's extra day off (he now works four 10 hour days every week, yay!) and so therefore it is my favorite day.

And

b. I like alliteration.

Here we goooo!

(This has nothing to do with such shopping, but I took it yesterday while antiquing and we all like to have something to look at!)

My most favorite kind of shopping is for used stuff. Sometimes old stuff. Antiquing, thrifting, vintage shopping...it's all kind of the same. The thrift/vintage (we all know vintage is just a fancy word for used things) shopping I love because I can usually find good deals and we all love a good deal! Sometimes I find dressers for my baby, sometimes milk glass vases, sometimes boots, sometimes nothing at all. I love that even if we're tight on money, I can go with $3 and know that I'll probably be able to buy something. I also love that if I'm short on cash, I may very well not find anything to tempt me. The same cannot be said for going to Target. I always have to use every ounce of self-control not to spend our month's grocery budget on all the amazing items at Target. It is a terrible, wonderful, magical place that will probably get it's own favorite post someday.

I know some people find thrift stores icky. They are sometimes. They have a weird smell. ("These clothes smell like grandma's!") I try to not go to ones that don't seem clean and organized. It doesn't bother me to wear clothes other people have worn, or shoes they've worn, or really anything, with the exception of underwear and swimsuits. If it looks gross then I'm not going to want to buy it anyhow.

Antique shopping is a bit different, things are often not cheaper there. But I love the history of old things. Growing up I had a lot of old relatives. Like a LOT. I'm not even quite sure how we were related to all of them, but they were our relatives. (and subsequently, I attended a LOT of funerals as child. I think I've been to every kind there is.) Going through items at antique stores gives me flashbacks to different old relatives' homes. I like that. I like things that have stories and are different from what we have now. Today I went to a ton of antique stores with my dear Charlie, aka, Anne Marie. We didn't buy a single thing, but had a blast looking at everything, talking about items, dreaming about what we'd buy, imagining back in the day. My favorite thing to collect is old books, particularly old children's books. Books are somewhat affordable compared to say, chandeliers or dining tables.

Another thing I appreciate about shopping for used stuff is that it is a constant reminder that the stuff I'm looking at used to be someone else's and helps me think about whether I really need more of that stuff. I want to be a good steward of the possessions God has given me and part of that, I believe, is being careful about not acquiring lots of things I don't really need. It's a constant struggle for me to find balance in that area.

Anyhow, that's my favorite for today. If you live in the area, my favorite stores are Goodwill (it's the cheapest) and the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store (for non-clothing items) for thrift stores and the Brass Armadillo for antiques.

Fambly Pictures

2011-01-06T23:43:00.005-07:00

The new pictures on my blog are taken by my lovely and talented seester, Erin. Check out her photography website! Here's a couple more that we used on our Christmas card: (we only sent cards to fambly this year, in case anyone is feeling left out.)

Seven months old...

2010-12-13T15:25:00.010-07:00

Last Thursday, Jack turned 7 months old and I took a few pictures of him playing, just to remember where he was at right then. I meant to post them the same day, but now that I have a crawling, climbing kid...well...things are much busier!

Yes, he crawls. And pulls up on things. And climbs over anything he can find, including the cat.

He is into exploring everything. Taking after his daddy, he has to examine all the details. Taking after me, he chatters away all day long.

He says "hi" and seems to know which context it is said in, so I'm pretty sure he knows what it means. (It is accompanied by lots of waving. He loves to wave. As I carried him out of the sermon for being noisy yesterday, he waved bye-bye the whole way out.)

He says "dadadada" as kind of his all-purpose babbling noise. And when he's really whiny or hurts himself he sometimes wails "mamama". And of course makes lots of other random noises too and loves to squeal and shout and whisper to himself. (Yes, he scratched his nose. Poor kid scratches himself and bonks his head on everything.)

Every stage has been fun so far, but I think this one is the most fun yet. He is discovering the world. Everything is full of excitement and wonder and it is amazing to see things through his little eyes. Just a simple walk to the mailbox is exciting to him. I love it!

Here's a shot of those sharp little teeth. (Very sharp. He bit me and I was informed later by my doctor that I should have gotten stitches. Oops.) I love his little toothy smile.

This shot of the sock monkey reminds me of a Violet quote from Thanksgiving. She was playing with Jack's monkey and said "Oh why does he have two mouths? One on his head and one on, well, you know where!"

And here's a little video with him chattering.

At the zoo...

2010-12-06T22:39:00.010-07:00

Jack, Jen and I went to one of our zoo's free days this fall. I love the zoo.

This is me at the zoo once. With Dustin, when he had beautiful golden curls that my mom couldn't bear to cut. Until someone said "what a cute little girl" and after that he got a haircut. But that didn't happen at the zoo. At least I think not.

When I was a kid, I thought this covered wagon was the best thing ever. It was like a Little House on the Prairie dream come true.

Jack wasn't quite so impressed. But Jen has a good pioneer-facing-hardship-with-determination-yet-mild-trepidation face.

Observing the penguins.

This is the gorilla. Another childhood digression: When I was little the gorilla that lived at the zoo loved to run around like crazy and pound on the glass where people were looking through. Which I'd probably do too if I were him. But I was terrified of the gorilla exhibit. For years.

This was our favorite monkey. It is very hard to get a picture of a monkey.

Our lunch: 6 croissants, swiss cheese, and chocolate covered pretzels. All the people eating their PB&J must have been so jealous.

And the giraffes. Oh how I love the giraffes.

The end.

Dinner last night...

2010-12-02T15:55:00.001-07:00

Cream of spinach soup and sourdough bread. Yummy!

Here's the recipe, found at AllRecipes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
3 cubes chicken bouillon (I subbed GF broth)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (I used 10 oz fresh, holding back about 2 handfuls to throw in at the end.)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I subbed GF flour)
3 cups milk
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
salt and pepper to taste

Instead of salt, I used garlic salt. I also added a dash of cayenne pepper, a dash of nutmeg and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. (all of these ideas taken from the recipe's comments.)

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine water, bouillon, and spinach. Bring to a boil, and cook until spinach is tender.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Season with minced onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in spinach mixture.

Once I stirred everything together, I blended it all with my immersion blender then threw in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach and let it cook a little, just to make things interesting!

It was super yummy and Tyler loved it. Next time I'd probably double it though so we could have more leftovers!

-- Post From My iPhone

Solids...

2010-11-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Jack started on solids a few weeks ago. Though I'm not sure why they call them solids, or why we feed our babies gross stuff we wouldn't want to eat. Anyway... He had been showing great interest in food, so we decided to go for it. He is a very dramatic eater. He grimaces and gags and prefers to grab handfuls to finger-paint with and then lick his fingers off. We've now done squash and pears and avocado besides his cereal, though his favorite thing so far has been the teensy taste of chocolate that his daddy gave him on Halloween. He also loves to drink water, out of his sippy cup but even more so, out of a glass.

Pumpkin...

2010-11-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

A few Saturdays ago, we had a little fambly trip to the pumpkin patch down the street and then did some pumpkin carving. Tyler claims to never have carved a pumpkin before, so I guess it was both he and Jack's first one.

A few videos from October...

2010-11-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is Jack's famous dance move. He does it all the time:

And here he is, laughing at his Auntie Jen:

Trip to San Diego...

2010-11-07T13:39:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of October, Jack and I travelled to San Diego along with Casey, my mom and my grandma, to surprise my great aunt and uncle for their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great time visiting with family and taking Jack to see the beach! Jack also got his first tooth while there!

Jen's Senior Homecoming...

2010-11-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

My sister had her Senior Homecoming in October. It was a bit unusual this year: western-themed. They had line dancing and a country fair and a mechanical bull. Jen decided not to wear a dress cause she wanted to be able to ride the bull---and from what I hear, she beat most of the boys at bull riding. Classic Jenny.

I just have to say that though I didn't really miss the traditional high school experience, I do get very jealous of the getting all dressed up for homecoming and prom.

Jen and her bestie, Megan, who had sadly torn her ACL right before, so no bull riding for her!

Speaking of Megan, I took some Senior pictures for her awhile back.

She's so pretty.

At Auntie Jen's Soccer Game...

2010-11-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Jack and Levi...

2010-11-06T13:19:00.004-06:00

I know I've said it before, but I am so glad and thankful for the gift of my best friend having a son almost exactly Jack's age. They are going to be such good buddies! Here's a video of them from a few months ago. I need to record another--they interact in such funny ways now. Mainly by smiling at each other, screaming at each other as they grab toys away and poking each other's eyes.

They were so little here!

In September...

2010-11-06T10:59:00.000-06:00

Jack got to come along with Grandma, Auntie Jen and I on a girl's getaway over Labor Day. Which was also sadly, the day the worst wildfire in Colorado history started in Boulder and we got quite the view of its smoke on the way home.

We had a picnic with Auntie Jen, just because.

Jack showed signs of teething. Lots of drool. Lots of chewing on things.

Looking in the mirror is one of his favorite things.

And he started napping. He actually naps now. It's amazing.

Grandma got him an exersaucer which became his new favorite toy.

Did I mention he naps now?!?!

A few videos from September...

2010-11-06T10:19:00.003-06:00

Talking to Auntie Jen while chilling in the bumbo:

Talking to me:

Playing in the exersaucer:

Time flies...

2010-11-05T22:52:00.003-06:00

How did it come to be November?

I read somewhere once that once you have children, time moves twice as fast and that seems to prove true. I am always surprised to find that it is Monday again and that all the sudden Jack's new clothes are too short.

I'm going to do some catch-up posts over the next few days. At least try to hit the highlights!

Random pictures from today...

2010-10-23T17:40:00.001-06:00

A hottie. A dog. And a boy. Resting after some yard work.

It's fall here now.

And last but not least, Jack's self portrait, with hat styling by Mommy.

-- Post From My iPhone

New things...

2010-10-11T22:42:00.001-06:00

Jack now:

-plays peekaboo using his blanket. Grandma taught him while we were in CA together. It's very cute.

-drinks water out of cups and waterbottles and tries to grab such things and plates and food, which can get rather messy.

-has a tooth. It emerged on Saturday and I found it when he bit my hand. It's hard to see yet, but you can definitely feel it!

-knows how to play peekaboo barn and the balloons game on my iPhone.

-scoots places when we aren't watching. While on vacation I put him down, sound asleep, on a blanket on the floor in my room. When I came back an hour later, after not hearing a peep on the monitor, I found him wide awake and happily playing...under the bed.

I'm sure there's more things I'm forgetting. It's amazing how quickly he grows and changes!

-- Post From My iPhone

Things from this week...

2010-10-08T12:15:00.001-06:00

Some random things I liked this week.

I've been in the mood to find cool frames at the thrift store and paint them. Here's a few ideas I found of what to do with them. This.This. And this.

MB posted a few pics I took of Jack and Levi here.

I love this wedding.

And this recipe of Callie's is one of my new favorites. We like it so much we've been eating it once a week!

Also, for local folks, my mom and I discovered our new favorite store--the Dillards at Westminster Mall (yucky, I know, but worth it) is a clearance center. Everything there is like 70% off and normally an additional 30-50% off of that! I got a pair of designer shoes for $15. I feel so fancy. (by the way, did you know designer shoes are so expensive cause they are COMFORTABLE? I didn't, but sadly do now after trying on pair after pair of 5 inch heels that were comfier than my flip-flops. This could be bad in the future, ignorance has been sometimes painful, but blissful to my budget.)

And it rather seems that autumn has forgotten Colorado. I keep reading FB statuses from other states talking about warm beverages and cozy days. It's 81 here. I kind of like it, so long as we don't skip straight to snow.

Have a happy weekend!

-- Post From My iPhone

Vote for Jack!

2010-09-29T11:03:00.003-06:00

Since we think he's pretty darn cute, we decided to enter him in the Baby Gap casting call. You can vote for him here. Or if you go to the Baby Gap site and search, he's number 17063. (And if you want to, you can vote every day!)

Bright July...

2010-09-20T11:15:00.003-06:00

(source: Caitlin Parker's etsy)

My friend, Caitlin Parker, is a super-creative, talented artist and has just opened an Etsy shop that has the CUTEST onesies for sale. I wish my boy wasn't so darn big, or I'd be buying him some! (Seriously, Jack is currently outgrowing 9 month clothes!)

If you're looking for a cute baby gift or if you have a cute baby of your own to dress, be sure and check out her shop, Bright July. She's putting up more things soon so keep checking back!

I've been struck down in the primb of libe......***

2010-09-14T00:48:00.001-06:00

These are my random thoughts while feeling ill, yet lacking for entertainment while in bed all day. They may or may not be muddled by sick fogginess.

I've been sick for 2 days with a horrid sinus cold thing I caught from Tyler. Now that I have it, I feel belatedly even sorrier for him for how he must have felt a few days ago.

Whenever I write "sorry" I hear Gilbert Blythe's voice saying "I'm soorry Anne." in my head.

If one's baby has long nails, one should not delay in trimming them or else they will do this to themselves and one will feel like a bad mother. He was playing happily one second and was screaming the next. Poor baby!

My hair is falling out. I know it's a normal post-baby thing, but I still occasionally feel as though I'm just going to soon be forever bald. Tyler says he'll still love me and won't miss how my hair clogs the drain. So I guess that's comforting...?

Today I thought my stomach was growling and was disturbed when it got louder and stranger-sounding. Then I realized the sound was an airplane flying over my house.

I have the sweetest husband ever. He worked from home today to take care of me and Jack. He cleaned and made me food and let me sleep and watched old SNL episodes with me and looked after Jack and refused to hit me in the head with a hammer when i suggested it might immediately relieve the great pressure in my sinuses and bought me the best kind of gingersnaps that they only sell at walmart and I won't go there so I never get them. I like him. I like him a lot. And I love him too.

I wish they made baby nose-suction bulbs for adults.

When stuck a-bed I mentally get lots of things done--thinking of all sorts of cleaning and decorating projects, great exercise plans, outfits I should wear, errands I should run. Funny how I seem to forget them as soon as I'm better...

Being sick with a baby is very different than being sick without one. He's really so good though. When Ty was at church yesterday, Jack just played quietly next to me on the bed the whole time and I dozed in and out. And he makes me smile. All the time.

When I was a kid I always kind of enjoyed when my mom was sick--sorry mom--because we didn't have to do school, we got to watch tv and I was in charge. I loved being in charge. I often let us do things that she wouldn't let us do, like bring the goat in to sit on the couch and watch Little House on the Prairie with us. I've always been full of bright ideas. (I DID put a sheet on the couch before Minnie sat down. But you should have seen her face. My mom's, not Minnie's. Though Minnie did seem rather delighted.)

I'm sure someday Jack will think of something equally wonderful. He is my boy after all.

**for Meg. And anyone else who knows what I mean.
-- Post From My iPhone

Four Months...

2010-09-09T03:45:00.000-06:00

Jack-Jack,

On this day last year, I found out I was pregnant. We had prayed and prayed (and I cried a bit) that God would give us a baby and all the sudden, there you were. An answer to our prayers. A teeny-tiny poppyseed-sized gift from God. It was one of the happiest moments ever.

Now today, you are four months old. This past year has been a whirlwind. The past four months the fastest moving of all. I look at your uncles and know that before I know it you'll be grown up like them and I feel a sense of panic---I want to write down all the little memories so I don't forget.

Right now, you are sleeping next to me on my bed. Your little butt is sticking up in the air, your ankles crossed in your standard sleeping position that looks painful. You are snoring, which probably means you need your nose suctioned, which you hate with all your might. Looking at you now, I can't believe you ever fit inside of me. You have grown like crazy these past months. At four months you are wearing mostly six month clothes. Some of those are getting too short, due to your long limbs and torso. You have a body just like mine and will spend the rest of your life trying to find clothes that are long enough without being too wide. Good luck!

Your little personality is developing by the minute now. The newest thing is whining...oh joy. If you aren't happy with your situation or are bored with the current activity, you begin to whine. It's not fussing or crying. You just have to complain and let us know that you are not enjoying yourself. You even can do it around your paci.

Other than that, you are the most cheerful, happy little boy I know. You give me smiles all day long. You flirt with people when we go out. You are content to spend periods of time playing alone on the floor or in your bouncy chair or bumbo. This is a major blessing, as you don't like to nap very much. Or when you do, it is often a five minute power nap and then you're ready to party again. But you are happy and sleep pretty well at night, so I don't mind. Speaking of sleeping, you started sleeping in your own room recently. I cried and your dad had to convince me not to go bring you back in with us. But it was time--you are too long for your little crib in our room now.

In the past month you've had your first airplane ride, your first out of state trip, and your first hotel stay. It's been a busy month!

Your daddy and I are convinced you are the smartest kid ever born. I know all parents think that, but I still think you are! You adore music, kicking, waving your arms, and doing this awesome little hip dance movement whenever we play upbeat songs for you. You love when I sing...I think you're probably the only one, but it never fails to bring smiles from you. Your favorite song I sing is "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck." Your favorite song to dance to on my iPhone is "Say Hey (I Love You)" though you've also been known to get down to some Jay-Z, MJ, Justin Timberlake, or even, to your daddy's great dismay, the occasional Lady Gaga song. Your Auntie Jen got a karaoke game for her bday and when we play it you sometimes "sing" along.

You love when we do that horse-sounding noise, vibrating our lips (I have no idea what to call it) and you try so hard to do it too. You take your paci out and once and awhile figure out how to put it back in. You talk up a storm. You love to grab your feet and sometimes fold your toes together like hands. Monkey feet! You are drooling like a fountain and everything you can get your hands on goes into your mouth to chew on. You play with your long fingers all the time, examining them closely. You love to splash in the bathtub. You love to stare at the TV or the computer or our phones. You love to read books.

There's so many amazing little details about you, there's not room to list them all. I can't imagine what's to come.

I am still overwhelmed by God's kindness to us, in giving us you! Happy four months!

I love you!

Mommy

Fambly time...

2010-09-07T17:13:00.009-06:00

Bedtime stories...

2010-09-01T21:28:00.001-06:00

Every night before bed, Jack and Daddy read stories. It's my favorite part of the evening, watching them read together.

-- Post From My iPhone

Jen's senior pictures...

2010-08-27T01:59:00.001-06:00

I took some senior pictures for Jen a bit ago. I can't believe she's a senior this year! She used to look like this:

Aw, how cute! When she got bigger, she looked like this:

And this:

And this: (It's so hard to stop!)

As you can see, she has always had quite the sense of style. (And apparently an affinity for unusual hats.)

She also holds the world record for having a little-girl-bowl-cut the longest of anyone ever. I'd post pictures of that, but I'd probably get an angry phone call. I might get one just from merely mentioning it now. But all that is long past...

Because now, I also can't believe what a hottie sister I have. Seriously.

I'm glad we're five years apart, or she would have stolen all the boys from me. Not that I had all the boys... But you know what I mean.

Oh and did I mention she is not only good looking but also awesome at pretty much everything and one of my bestest friends AND she's 18 TODAY?!?! Indeed. What a sister! Happy birthday Jen! Go vote or something.

Mr. Krinkles...

2010-08-25T23:02:00.000-06:00

Meet Mr. Krinkles, the elephant. (Named by Tyler for his stomach that is a crinkly material.) He is Jack's favorite toy and he is becoming quite attached to him, carrying him around and snuggling him during naps. Jack loves Mr. Krinkles so much that his Mimi decided we better have a backup Mr. Krinkles and bought another one.

Ty and I both had a toy/blanket that we loved as kids, so it's so cute to watch Jack pick one for himself!

Duck pool...

2010-08-22T23:45:00.000-06:00

Jack's "Uncle" Brandon bought him a duck tub that we used as a little pool for him in the backyard. So fun!

He loves the water and the duck pool was adorable! It quacked when you squeezed its beak. Fancy, fancy.

Sadly, my tall boy has already outgrown it! We'll have to get a bigger one next year.

Thank you Uncle Brandon!

For God does not fail you...

2010-08-20T22:47:00.001-06:00

This evening I was feeling burdened and just rather down. It seems like over the past few weeks I keep constantly hearing news of difficult and sad things happening to friends or friends of friends. And though these things make my personal trials seem small, it all just begins to weigh on my heart after awhile and tempts me to be anxious and discouraged.

I was looking through a list of verses and quotes that I keep and came across this quote from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening that encouraged me and I wanted to share:

Why yield to gloomy anticipations?

Who told you that the night would never end in day?

Who told you that the winter of your discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice and hail and deeper snow and yet more heavy tempest of despair?

Don’t you know that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?

Be full of hope!
Hope forever!
For God does not fail you.

Do you know that God loves you in the midst of all this?

You will yet, midst the splendor of eternity, forget the trials of time, or only remember them to bless the God who led you through them and works your lasting good by them.

Come, sing in the midst of tribulation. Rejoice even while passing through the furnace.
Cause the desert to ring with your exulting joys, for these light afflictions will soon be over,
and then forever with the Lord,
your bliss shall never wane.

Faint not, nor fear,
His arms are near,
He changeth not,
And thou art dear;
Only believe and you shalt see,
That Christ is all in all to thee.

-- Post From My iPhone

Holding his head up...

2010-08-19T23:36:00.002-06:00

This video is a bit old and he's been holding his head up well for quite awhile. Every day he gets stronger. It makes him look so grown up!

Jack Talking...

2010-08-17T22:55:00.001-06:00

I love the way he "talks." Every night at like 10 he gets really chatty. So cute!

Jack's Room...

2010-08-17T22:19:00.008-06:00

I was waiting to show pictures of Jack's room until I hung some things up on the walls, but I finally realized that if I do that, I may never show you his room. Time, budget, and frankly, desire are currently surpassing inspiration and creativity at the moment. So, here it is. It will be rather short, as his room is pretty small. But a perfect size for little him!

My goal was to have the nursery be gender-neutral, as I plan to use this little room for all our babies and didn't want to have to re-decorate in the future. It was all based around the bedding I loved. (On the Dot bedding from Land of Nod.) Someday I hope to add a mobile over the crib and some art on the walls. We'll see!

This is the view as we walk in. A moment of thanks to Tyler for painting everything, which turned into a bigger job than expected, as part of the ceiling came off when the blue painter's tape was removed. (weird, right?)

This is the re-painted dresser/changing table that I got at the thrift store for $20!

Here's his crib, featuring Morris, the sock monkey, and Jack, who was finding life tragic at that moment. A story about the crib. My original plan was to use the crib my siblings and I slept in as babies. It is a beautiful, dark wood, Jenny Lind crib, complete with tooth marks from all of us. Sadly, when Tyler went to get it, he discovered that some important pieces had been forever lost in some magical secret place in my parents' barn. So we had to buy a crib and the old one still lives in my garage, as I can't bear to throw it away. But the new one is pretty too.

And last, my favorite part, bookshelves! I love them! (Shelves from Target. I love Target.)

I had to have 2 pictures of the shelves.

That's pretty much it, minus the closet, which is pretty much your standard closet and not interesting.

Now maybe someday Jack will actually sleep in it. Hehe. I haven't been able to bring myself to let him leave our room yet. Soon!