Merry Christmas!

We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas Day celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!

Wordless Wednesday: New Homeowners!

"We don't do Santa"

It was a small, crowded post office.  I had made it to the halfway point of the line, holding Robby as well as a bag containing all of the packages and cards I needed to mail.  Robby was being precious, smiling at everyone who would look his way.  Then the question came.  It's a question I've dreaded for, well, forever.  It was the Santa question.  To be specific, it was "Have you gotten his picture made with Santa yet?"

Let me make a side note here.  I have strong beliefs and views about things.  I don't stand on the mountain top, yelling them for all to hear.  If someone approaches me directly and asks my opinion or belief about something, I will share it with them.  But I don't like it when people are pushy with me and I never want to come across that way to other people.  I find that a lot of time when people express their beliefs, it comes across as very "holier than thou" and that is not how I desire to be.  I never want people to feel that I have judged them because they have decided to do something other than what I do.  I don't believe celebrating Santa means you have completely forgotten about the time to celebrate Christ's birth.  I just think it is important for us to be clear with our boys about what is the most important.  Tim and I discussed very early on in our relationship how our families celebrated certain holidays and how we wanted to celebrate them with our own family.  We grew up with very similar beliefs, so it was rather easy for us to decide that we will not "celebrate" halloween or Santa.  Since having Robby, we have talked of how we don't want to pretend that these things do not exist, but instead provide a complete explanation to our children as to the meaning behind everything.  I do want our boys to know who good ole St. Nick was and all the good he did, but we have chosen to focus on celebrating the birth of our Savior (and, yes, I know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 and that it was originally a pagan holiday, but it is now the day set aside for us to celebrate).  Something that goes along with this is the materialism that goes along with Christmas nowadays.  We have decided that each of our boys will receive 3 presents each Christmas (if 3 presents were good enough for Jesus to celebrate His arrival on earth [again, I know they wise men were not there the night He was born], then 3 presents are good enough for our boys) and possibly one larger, shared present for them.  I don't want them to only care about what they will be getting and lose site of the true reason for Christmas.  

Back to the post office situation, before I could think through my response (I am a very "think through and rehearse all my words before they come out of my mouth" person, probably because I don't want to upset anyone or hurt their feelings or anything), I just said, "We don't do Santa".  A hush suddenly came over the entire post office and everyone just looked at me.  I realized how it sounded so I quickly added, "But we are so excited to celebrate his first Christmas this year!"  I felt so uncomfortable that I didn't elaborate on what we DO celebrate.  I know, I know.  A total missed opportunity to share the true meaning of Christmas.  I'm kicking myself for not saying anything.  That's the point of this post.  

This situation has caused me to ponder a better way to respond to the Santa question.  It will be coming up again.  Many, many times again.  I want to have a perfect response that is quick, doesn't come across as condemning to the person who asked the question but also provides an explanation of what we DO celebrate and believe in instead.  One of the main reasons I want to have this perfect response prepared is so our boys will grow up hearing it and won't think twice about their response when people ask them.  I'm hoping I can address the next situation with more confidence.  

Wordless Wednesday: I'm 11 Months Old!

28 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 28 weeks

Size of baby: 17 inches, 2.9 pounds (about the size of a small cabbage)

Maternity Clothes: Yessiree!

Movement: This boy is quite the mover and shaker!  He is all over the place from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed.  This morning he woke me up at about 5 because he was moving all over the place.  I didn't mind, of course!  

Sleep: I am sleeping alright.  Some nights are better than others.

Symptoms:  I'm still in a lot of pain in my hips and my back.  Also, carrying Robby is quite the chore and does a number on my lower back.  

Food cravings/aversions:  I am loving carbs and cheese!  It's going to be so hard getting back on a healthy diet after Charlie gets here!  I'm enjoying it while I can get away with it, though!

What I am looking forward to: Just the general excitement of his arrival.  I wish I just knew the date he was coming (what mom-to-be doesn't wish that!) so I could have a countdown!  I'm excited about going through the labor and delivery again. I'm hoping to remember and note things better this time around.  

"Little" Blessings

Here recently I've been almost overwhelmed by simple frustrations.  I'm tired and I hurt all the time.  I feel like I am fighting off tears almost constantly.  Robby has been so whiney in the afternoons for some reason (actually, it's more like for no reason!).  We are in the process of entering into something very big but it's taking longer than expected to get answers, so I'm anxious and feel helpless.  This afternoon as Robby was napping and I was rushing around to get things at least picked up to look presentable, I began to realize all the blessings I have received this week.  This past weekend, Tim didn't have to work.  We were able to spend time together and just enjoy each other.  Tuesday we were able to hear precious Charlie's heartbeat then grab some breakfast together after my appointment before Tim had to go back to work.  Thursday I went to a cookie exchange and while I was struggling with Robby (it's difficult to hold a wiggly boy with this big belly of mine!) one of the moms grabbed him from me and told me take a break for a minute.  That day, Tim was able to come home for lunch (something he hasn't been able to do in a while) AND he got to come home pretty darn close to the time he's supposed to get off work!  I also was able to get a haircut yesterday.  My last haircut was at the beginning of June, so I was long overdue for a trim!  Then this morning, a friend watched Robby for about 3 hours while Tim and I had some business to take care of.  Although it wasn't a "date", it was nice to be kid-free midday and enjoy some time together.  We even got to eat lunch together.

These aren't big things, but I need to remind myself to note and thank God for every little blessing that occurs.  Right now I'm focused on a particular big thing we want (and need) to work out, but I need to remember that my life is a culmination of "little" blessings.  The little things I think don't matter tend to be the things I look back on to realize have had a big impact on me and my life.

Of course, I know that two of the big blessings in my life are my wonderful, self-sacrificing husband and this super cute little guy:

Toes are quite tasty, don't you know?

Wordless Wednesday: It's a rough life

27 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 27 weeks

Size of baby: 16 inches, 2.5 pounds (about the size of a head of cauliflower)

Maternity Clothes: Yessiree!

Movement: Still a ton of movement.  I remember Robby taking breaks throughout the day (naps, if you will) but Charlie is moving all day long.  I think I'm going to have my work cut out for me with him!  He actually flipped this week.  I had been feeling all of his kicks up high (meaning he was head down) but, starting a few days ago, I've been feeling his kicks very, very low.  

Sleep: I finally found a way to sleep that is somewhat comfortable, so I've been sleeping a little better.  I still wake up exhausted most days, but I am actually sleeping so that's good.

Symptoms:  I'm in quite a bit of pain.  I've had several bouts of BH contractions as well as cramping.  I'm drinking a ton of water to keep them at bay.  My hips and back are giving me some trouble, too.  I just keep telling myself that it's only about 10 weeks longer, probably!

Food cravings/aversions:  I want pasta and pizza.  Badly!  I have craved carbs more this time than the last.  But I love carbs under any circumstance!  :-)

What I am looking forward to: I start going to my doctor appointments every two weeks starting with my next appointment.  It means we're coming down the home stretch!  Also, I touched on my birth plan with my doctor today at my appointment.  She's happy with everything that I'm thinking.  I asked if they would send me home if I'm in labor but not to a certain point (like they did in Amarillo) because I was nervous they would send me home and I would have Charlie in the car on the way back up to the hospital (San Antonio is just a tad bigger than Amarillo and it takes longer to get back and forth than it did there!). She said they wouldn't.  So that made me feel good!  

Mmmmm!

This is waiting for me for the morning.



I know it's not as bad as I make it out to be in my head. I just dread how I feel afterwards. I am drinking this right before we leave in the morning so they can do the bloodwork as soon as I get there, followed by my 27 week appointment with my doctor. I cannot believe I am almost to my 3rd trimester!

Then I became a mom...

I used to wonder if parents didn't realize that wet spot on their child's pants and why they didn't immediately rush to change their diaper when they were at the store...then I became a mom and realized sometimes you just need to grab one last thing so you can get home or you forgot that extra pair of pants.

I used to wonder why moms didn't take 5 minutes to clean up their mom-mobile to keep it from getting so out of control...then I became a mom and realized some days there literally isn't an extra 5 minutes in the day.

I used to wonder why parents didn't keep socks and shoes on their children's feet...then I became a mom and realized the children DO leave with socks and shoes on, but are immediately taken off when they get in their car seat.

I used to wonder why moms felt the need to have "play groups" or get together with their kids at Chick-fil-a...then I became a mom and realized you look forward to that day each week that you are going to be around other moms just to get a morale boost to make it through the rest of the week.

I used to wonder why parents would spend all that money on snacks and were constantly handing them to their kids while they were out...then I became a mom and realized that full mouths are quiet mouths and full tummies are happy tummies.

I used to wonder why moms always said they were tired, even when they had a full night of sleep the night before...then I became a mom and realized there is no way you could catch up on enough sleep to make you feel rested unless you slept for at least a week straight uninterrupted.

I used to wonder why there were always 15,000 pacifiers all over the place...then I became a mom and realized you can never find a dang paci when you need it most.

I used to swear I wouldn't default to putting my hair in a ponytail more than once a week...then I became a mom and realized that ponytails aren't really that bad.

I used to pass judgment on moms based on what I observed in 5 minutes...then I became a mom and realized we all do things differently, not wrong, just differently, but we all love our children and that is what guides our decisions.

Just like his mama!

Looks like I'm going to have to start fighting for my popcorn!

Kai-kai (or Guy-guy, we can't really tell)

Robby has had a little stuffed monkey since he was about 3 1/2 months old.  We put him to bed with the monkey but that was about it.  Last week, I decided to give it to him before we left the apartment and he just latched on to him.  He now wants Monkey to tag along while he plays, while he rides in the car, while we shop at the grocery store, etc.  We just call him "Monkey" so when we ask Robby if he wants Monkey, Robby replies by saying "kai-kai" although at some times it sounds like "guy-guy" and other times he'll actually say "key-key", but usually it's "kai-kai".  Anytime we hand Monkey to Robby, Robby puts Monkey's mouth right into his own and gives him a good bite.  Here is a video of how he greets Monkey (I was trying to get him to say "monkey" because he had just been saying it!)

Here I finally am able to get him to say it at almost the end of the video.  I promise you he says it every time we give Monkey to him, unless I'm videoing him, of course!