Thoughts

OK- so it's been a while since I've posted... like 2 months.
I know should have tons of updates, and even more pictures, but, there have only been a few updates, and all pictures are either saved to a CD (that I'm not exactly sure where I put) or still on my camera (that is in the other room.)

So... here I go with what I have... my memory and keyboard. (This could get interesting!)

1. Monkey is getting huge! 24 pounds (and believe it or not, we're going Thursday for a weight check, because there is some concern that he is off his growth curve! I think the problem is the constant teething... see #2)

2. Monkey is teething... and not again... CONSTANTLY!!! He is 16 months, and when the two molars that haven't quite broken the skin get in, he will have 16 teeth. That's right, canines, bicuspids (no idea if I spelled that right!) molars on the bottom... everything! At this rate, he'll have his wisdom teeth in before preschool. This is my excuse for his very random growth spurts.

3. We went to the pumpkin patch for the first time last weekend. Monkey had a wonderful time! He ran from pumpkin to pumpkin, and tried to pick up every single one! Especially the ones that were bigger than him! Pics to come.

4. This Saturday is Halloween. Monkey is going to be a turtle! He will be awesome! Pics to come.

5. We have an announcement... that will be announced within the week... stay tuned!

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

Pictures of our life

Here are some very, very random pics from the last couple of months. Enjoy! :)

This was Monkey's second time in the pool. Believe it or not- he LOVED it the first time. But it did feel A LOT cooler this day. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us the first night!

Monkey and his Daddy on the boat. We were on our way back in- and Little Boy was totally exhausted. But he had such a good time! He walked about 5 miles around and around the console- every now and then he would stop to look over the side, or at something on the boat, or to throw his sippy cup overboard! Good times!!

This was the morning of Monkey's ear surgery. Don't you just love the very manly gown the hospital provided? What you can't see are the yellow grippy socks. A definite statement. James did really well that day, considering. And so far, there seems to be improvement! We go back to the doctor tomorrow for a check-up.

Our choir had a hot dog cook-out last week- Monkey doesn't get into hot dogs, but he LOVES ice cream! He ate about half of the fudge bar!

We have been busy this summer- Monkey most of all. He never stops! He has learned how to climb into chairs (not sure if I'm excited or worried about that particular task) and he is finally learning to eat some real food. All in all, we are just enjoying our little boy, watching him explore his world, and learning more about ourselves everyday!

Well, the Monkey is back in bed- still no idea what woke him up. But the song "Yo Ho Heroes" from the Veggie Tales "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" calmed him right down.

Does anyone know anything about night terrors in toddlers? Yikes.

Random Life Stuff

OK- here's the deal for all on FB who have recently noticed that I am actually posting... I have a new smart phone! I no longer have to drag out the computer to get online, so now I am totally addicted to FB! It is sad, really. And what is even worse, I am now on Twitter. Except, I only know 1 person who is on Twitter. I am a dork! Period.

But I am a dork with a tan! We spent Tuesday morning on the boat! Whoo hoo!! It was James' first outing on the boat, and he absolutely LOVED it! He walked in circles around the center console the entire time! He would occasionally stop to look over the side at the water, or the pelicans, or stop to look at something he found on the boat- but other than that, he just walked in circles! It was too cute!

I have SO MANY PICTURES to post- yet this post will have nary a one. My camera is in the diaper bag- which is in the dining room so that Little Monkey cannot unpack it for me, and hide the things he finds inside.

Must go- the sleeping Monkey is... well not... and I have no idea why!
Good night!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Oh. My. Goodness. My little Monkey is 1!

Actually, he is 1 year and about 2 weeks, because I am terrible about updating this blog- but you get the idea.

I have absolutely no idea where the last year has gone. He is growing up so fast- it's exciting, but very sad.

Updates from his 1 year visit:

weight- around 21 lbs. (OK- I missed this one- but I do know it's between the 10-20th percentile.

height- 29 inches

Other 1 year updates:

walking- everywhere! all the time!
talking- still babbling, but understands a lot of what we say!

teeth- 8 at his birthday, working on 2 more now (both molars- yikes!)

favorite TV show- still Imagination Movers- we are a family of Gear Heads!

ears- getting tubes later this month.

James loves music- all kinds, and he loves to dance. He loves his sippy cups, although we still give him milk and stage 2 formula in his bottles, just to be sure he's getting enough. His weight has started to drop off the curve a little bit, so we're extra careful about his caloric intake. Just precaution.

He LOVES to take baths, but gets really distracted in the baby pool- he keeps trying to climb out to get to everything else in the back yard!

In general, a wonderful, busy, busy, BUSY, happy, funny, lovable little Monkey! And we are blessed to have him!

James chillin' in his new "Big Boy" chair from Grandmother and Granddaddy, watching Movers.

The Ducky Cake!

My first attempt at a cake, and I a very proud! (I had a lot of coaching! Thanks Grandmother!)

The cake table!

Eating birthday cake! Well, birthday ice cream, at least!

The ducky carnage. Notice that all of the cake remains. James ate nothing but ice cream and icing! But it was cute!

James and his buddy Hobson in the pool.

We Survived VBS 2009!

Yes- I'm the loser with 2 posts in 1 day, but I had 2 VERY different things on my mind, and just couldn't find a connecting thought, so here we go!

I survived VBS!

Actually, it was much more than that- I enjoyed almost every second of VBS! I loved my class (or family group) and I will miss them terribly! I had 10 wonderful kids- only 3 from our church. Our family ranged from 4 years to 5th grade, and we had a great chemistry! By the end of the week, we really felt like a family! I LOVE the marketplace Bible School. Thank you Rose for a phenomenal week of learning, loving and just plain FUN! Suddenly, the book of Romans holds more appeal than ever- and I feel like Paul is a friend! (Possibly because the guy playing Paul all week IS a friend- but you know what I mean!)

Anyway, as soon as I locate my camera (it's in one of the many bags that I lugged back and forth from the church this week) I will post some of the pics. Be warned- the market was unbelievable!

And finally, the most important part.... 20 kids came to know Christ!!!! WOW!!! Totally worth every early morning.

No Pics- Bad Mommy

OK- I know that I haven't posted any pics of my little man in a while. But I have an excuse.... sort of....

Jason has been in Texas for 3 weeks, now, and I only have 2 hands. And I need both of them to keep Monkey out of trouble (and the trash can, and the dog bowls, and the clean laundry, and the dirty laundry, and the books, and the tv/ entertainment center, you get the idea) and I have no free hands to take pics!

The main source of the trouble.... James can now WALK!!!!

I cannot believe it! He was taking a few tentative steps before the Hubby left- but now he is walking- and crawling even faster than before he learned to walk! (I really didn't know it was possible to crawl as fast as he does! Geez!)

In addition, Monkey is no longer a baby- at least by our church's standards! :) He has officially been promoted out of the baby nursery! (And I didn't cry- aren't you proud?)

Anyhooo- the Hubs is coming home tomorrow (Thank Heavens!) and I plan to take tons of First Dad's Day pics and birthday pics, so there is something to look forward to!

James ate quiche. Enough said.

James cut 2 more teeth this week. That makes 8- before his first birthday!

I have been home alone with James for 2 weeks. (Except for weekends when the grandmothers came to my aid.) I am ready for Jason to be home.

I had the wonderful idea to have a rubber ducky birthday party for my little monkey. I should have had a monkey party- the stores are FULL of monkey stuff! (Of course, if I had chosen monkeys, the stores would have been full of duckies.) ;)

I am going to bed- Good night all!

My son has been entered in the "Cutest Baby Contest" for the Picayune Item (local newspaper from Jason's hometown!)
Check out his sweet smile on their website- www.picayuneitem.com

10 Random Thoughts

1. I really, really love Diet Coke. It's a problem. I need to drink more water- but I don't care. I really like Diet Coke.

2. My son is growing up too fast. He is almost 1 year old. He took his first steps this weekend (about 4 steps) and I almost cried. Babies are not babies very long.

3. I do not understand reality TV. And I feel like the only one in the world. I don't like Idol, Dancing, Survivor... I just can't get into them.

4. I miss reading. I used to spend hours in the library- and would sometimes take a day to myself just to read. Then I had a child. I guess I'll probably read again- but not for a while.

5. I could be reading right now- oops.

6. I hate laundry. Specifically, I hate putting the clean clothes away. I can handle the washing, drying, and folding- but then they stay in the laundry basket for weeks. It's pathetic.

7. I need a haircut.

8. I am running out of ideas...

9. Ummm...

10. I have the greatest pillow- it was my Mother's Day gift. A Tempurpedic contoured pillow. It weighs a ton- but it is wonderful! And now I am going to bed. Good night!

OK- I am officially the worst blogger in history! I knew I would be bad at this, but geez! Even I am amazed at how bad I really am.

Lying in bed at night, I think terribly deep thoughts- wonderful blog thoughts- that I know I need to post- right then. But it's night- and I'm tired... I'll do it in the morning. Except that I never remember the wonderful thoughts in the morning! Then at lunch, while I'm feeding James, I have another deep, wonderful philosophical thought... but by the time I finish feeding Monkey, and clean up, and get him focused on something other than the computer (he recently found the delete button!) I have once again forgot what I thought about.

It's a recurring theme- and I have no excuse. James is sleeping through the night, I'm not stressed out, and at the moment I'm only doing one Bible study! (I'm usually involved in two.) But for some reason, I cannot remember anything from one second to the next! Apparently my brain is still addled from the pregnancy! :) (Can I still use that as an excuse when my son is almost 11 months old?)

Oh well- hope you enjoy the pictures. And I will try very hard to update Facebook tonight, too. Unless I get tired, and forget about it, and go to sleep instead. I'll do my best! ;)

Out for a walk!

OK- bear with me, I know this is very dark- but enjoy!!

I faced one of my worst fears over the last two weeks.

James was sick, I was sick, and Jason was out of town training with the Guard. Yikes! Suddenly I realized how very far away all of our family is. We made it, but I did have to call in reinforcements- Jason's mom, then Jason. (I got him to come home early- luckily, they finished training early and he was able to come home.) But we made it! And we are all healthy now! (Including Jason, who caught the flu from me! Oops!)

It is amazing to me that James will be nine months old next week. He is growing up so fast! He is crawling everywhere, and pulling up on everything. Now we are seeing his stubborn side- when he wants something, he goes for it- no matter how many times we stop him! Needless to say, I don't relax as much as I used to! But it is so much fun, too!

Hopefully, things will start to slow down here- and there will be lots of pictures to follow!

Updates!