Video #1

Here is the video I took of my little booger during tummy time yesterday, I love all his sounds! Sorry for it being turned, guess I know now to turn my phone the other way if I want to upload it later. :)

Tummy Time!

My sweet little man stays with a family member of mine during the week so his play mat stays there during the week for him to play with there. Since his play mat stays there, that means more opportunity for tummy time with mommy when he gets home. Last night, I put him down for some tummy time when we got home from church. He did such a good job at holding up his head all by himself and held it up for quite a while. I am already dreading all these milestones fly by. Did any of you other mothers struggle with wanting your children to reach a milestone while simultaneously wanting to hold them down so they don't grow? :) My little guy is so close to laughing for the first time. He gets these times where he can't decide whether to laugh or cry and it is downright cute! There have been a few times where he was almost laughing and I can't wait to hear that! He coos and "talks" so much now. He was talking a bunch during tummy time last night. Those are things I love, I dread seeing him roll over for the first time. That means we are getting closer and closer to that mobile stage! AAAHHH!! Can't I just put him in one of those hamster balls and let him move around that way? No? Don't get me wrong, I want him to grow and learn how to do things he is supposed to developmentally be able to do, but I want to push pause for a while first! Hehe. I want him to always want to snuggle, cuddle, and fall asleep in mommy's arms. He fell asleep in my arms last night not too long after tummy time ended and I just sat and watched him sleep peacefully. I prayed over his little hands, that they would always be willing to do the work of the Lord. I prayed over his little feet, that he would always be willing to go where the Lord is calling him. I prayed over his little lips, that they would allow the love of Christ to flow from them. I prayed over his little ears, that he would always be open to hear the word of the Lord. I prayed over his little heart, that he would one day invite the Lord to take residence there and stay there. Then I prayed over my own hands, that I would always show my little boy how to use your hands for the work of the Lord and to love. I prayed that my feet would lead the way by showing my little one what it means to follow the Lord. I prayed that my mouth would speak the truth and speak words of kindness, forgiveness, and love. I prayed that my ears would always be available to listen to everything my little boy says because if he is talking about it- that means it is important to him. I prayed over my heart that he will see Christ there and that Christ will help me when I have to give my little one more freedom than I would like. Give me strength when I have to give him the chance to fly on his own and watch as he might fall, but knowing he will learn how to get back up and try again. It was such a sweet time praying over my little boy and the relationship we will share with each other as well as the relationship we will share with the Lord. Thank you Lord for this beautiful blessing.

WHOA Wednesday

Swaddling this little angel has really helped mommy and him get better sleep! So thankful he is finally letting me swaddle him since he has become a big fan of attacking his face when he is trying to sleep. haha.

Finally got my hair cut and it feels SO much lighter and better.

My little one continues to grow! We enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend after our madness of a weekend a week ago. This little cutie and I did make a short drive to Hartwell on Friday to see the sweet ladies that mommy used to teach with! They all loved this little man. I absolutely love this picture because it looks like he is seriously trying to punch someone! Plus you get a great shot of the cute onesie he has on! This was his first time wearing one of his 3 month onesies. About half of his 0-3 month wardrobe has been rendered packable because he is either too long or a little too round. Hehe! I love that he has a little belly now but I also love that he is still not pudgy because even though that means less rolls of cuteness...it also means less rolls to clean during the bath time ritual which he is still a little unsure of! While I am sad to see him transition out of smaller clothes and into bigger ones...I am also very excited because he has some SUPER CUTE 3 month clothes!! Just wait! Pictures will be taken- no worries! :)

Saturday was a relaxing day and perfect for play time on the play mat. Cash has become a slight fan of Ian's play time because that means he gets to explore this noisy creature mom brought home a little more. This particular day Cash looked like he wanted so badly to play with Ian. I got so tickled when I looked down and saw Cash laying on his back staring up at Ian's toys as he played. I was so happy he stayed there long enough for me to get a picture of Cash imitating Ian. This is one of those pictures that will make me giggle years from now. Not too long after this, the dogs were playing while Ian sat in my lap on the floor. I looked down to see Ian watching them intensely. It was the first time I can think of that Ian really noticed and watched them. He just sat there and watched them play. It will be so fun to see the dogs and Ian discover each other in the months to come.

Do you remember me mentioning those CUTE 3 month outfits? You do? Great, this is one of them! I decided he would wear this to church on Sunday since it was Memorial Day weekend, that we would sport our red, white, and blue. First of all, I am an absolute sucker for all things sear sucker! I love it! It is almost as bad as my plaid addiction...ALMOST! My poor child will probably hate both when he sees how much I put him it in as a child! But I just love these little sear sucker overalls with little sail boats. He was just too cute for his own good. Luckily I snapped a picture of him grinning before he saw my phone in my hand. He has become quite stingy with his grins when it comes time to document them. He gets far too distracted by the phone and forgets that mom wants him to smile!

This is the perfect example of the face I get when I pull out the camera to capture a grin. Before this picture was taken, he was grinning from ear to ear. I grabbed my phone and tried to be sneaky about holding it above his head where he would not see it right away...well we all see how that worked! He just stops whatever he is doing and stares at it. Then I put the phone down to call him a stinker...wouldn't you know he just grinned! I had to laugh. What else can you do but laugh sometimes? I know that is something I will remember all too well in years to come.

Sunday afternoon and Memorial Day were spent by the pool. Sunday afternoon some friends of my parents came over and Monday my big brother came to spend the afternoon with us. We grilled out and just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and when we got hot...what a great thing for there to be a pool nearby! :) I can tell my parents are really going to love this! Little man was up for some of the fun, but spent most of the time swinging happily away and pretending to talk on the phone. Haha just kidding. He just looked like he was talking on the phone here. He loves napping in his swing and conveniently takes a really good afternoon nap. So he just enjoyed his nap outside in the shade with a cool breeze while everyone swam. Eventually I will let him test "swimming" but unfortunately I have misplaced the shirt that goes with his swim trunks so not anytime soon. I have searched high and low in that child's room...sad!

Anyhow I hope everyone else had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and didn't forget to stop, pause, and remember why we get this time off work. I am incredibly grateful for the soldiers who have given their lives so that I may live mine. I do not discredit those who are still serving or who served in the past but this weekend was not about them in particular. I am thankful that these men are willing to give everything, but I spent my weekend thankful for those that did give everything. I spent my weekend praying for the families that gave up a loved one and were forced to change their lives because they stood behind a loved one who stood up for all of us! Thank you to all the men and women who have served or are serving but thank you especially to the ones who gave their all! Your courage, strength, and bravery will not be forgotten!

Floats and Graduation Hats!

This past weekend was jam-packed with all kinds of fun, family and great times. As a result, I believe we will be taking the weekend off and relaxing. The weekend started off on Thursday night, since I do not work on Fridays. My mom hosted an Initials Inc party, the company I do independent sales with. It was my first party since Ian has been born. Mom had a great time showing off her grandson, who slept through the whole thing in his swing upstairs with his Pop! She also enjoyed giving a tour of her home that she and dad moved into earlier this spring. We had a great time and it felt really nice to get back into the swing of things. I truly love the products I get to brag about and sell. This is some of the product we showed off that night. My mom was also able to score some major discounts as well as free stuff for hosting. In the end she ended up getting $240 worth for just $73! I loved it! I was glad to see her make the most of it! I also had three guest interested in doing a party so that is really great for me! So much fun!

Friday was a mostly chill day, after I scurried to the Department of Driver Services for the third time since early March! Yes, as crazy as they are about being able to prove your address, they put my address in the system wrong so my permanent license never came. Well, the first time I genuinely thought I might have accidentally thrown it away so I went and got another one. That one never came either! Well, this was when a light bulb finally turned on and I looked at my temporary license to discover that they had my address wrong! ARGH! So hopefully this past Friday will be the last time I have to go for a few years until time to renew again! After I got home Ian and I played. He wanted to play on his mat for a little while, something he actively does now. Cash was quite curious since mommy does not allow Cash on the couch when Ian is up there, he saw his chance to do some investigating. He just sat at Ian's feet and watched for the longest time. Haha.

We also managed to catch an afternoon showing of a production put on by daddy's cousins. Well, we tried to anyhow. A fussy little boy who had not had his long nap yet insisted on mommy missing the first act until she could finally get him to sleep. Friday evening was filled with a screaming baby boy that resulted in mommy making the ultimate decision to switch his formula because he was getting so constipated! It was not a fun evening. In fact it was my first time feeling utterly helpless and frazzled and still just trying to comfort my sweet boy in whatever way I could until he finally filled his diaper. It was down right pitiful and rough on this mommy.

Saturday was our truly jam packed day! Saturday morning started with a blissful twenty minutes of down time watching tv. Ian genuinely looked like he was watching. Then it was time for mommy to shower and Mema swooped in and snatched him up for some loving. I am sure he absolutely hated it! ;) I know it was an absolute burden for her! Hehe. Well after mommy showered, it was time for Ian to get a bath. I had been rubbing his head down with baby oil to loosen up some of his cradle cap. It worked really well, but little man hated it when I had to comb it out. He is still not a bath time fan but he pretty much tolerates it as long as I talk to him the whole time. I constantly reassure him that he is fine and doing such a good job, all the while he has this cute little furrowed brow and frown like he isn't quite sure he believes me! Haha. His favorite part is drying off and getting dressed!

However, even after being dried off and dressed he may not be the most chipper of infants! Saturday, as busy as it was, also marked the big two month mark for my baby boy! Can you tell he was especially thrilled about this? haha. He has not grown a whole lot from his one month picture, since he shot up like a weed then. He had only grown a quarter of an inch when I took him to his two month appointment the other day and gained about a pound a half. He is starting to fill out though, look at those little rolls on his legs!! Anyhow, I had to make sure I got his two month picture done before we truly started our crazy day. Sadly, I didn't get one with my actual camera because due to getting dropped, ahem POP!!, it was out of commission. Oh well. Another reason to be thankful for fancy phones I guess!

I will tell you what though, my kid is extremely talented! He can sleep through just about anything! Our busy Saturday kicked off by attending the annual Marigold Festival Parade. Our dear sweet Pop, aka my dad, was the emcee for this little community event. My sister and nephews made the trip down for the day. At first, it appeared my sweet boy was going to cry through the whole thing when upon arrival- he was not a happy camper! However, it quickly became apparent he just wanted a snuggle and a good place to nap, aka mommy's arms. So I got him to sleep right before the parade actually started. Much to my dismay the parade started with a police car creeping at snail speed blaring sirens! I covered his little ears and gave them the death stare that they should probably speed up at least a little bit!! I looked down to see my little boy with a frown on his face, but still fast asleep. Throughout the rest of the parade filled with music and fire engines, this was my little angel!

Sadly, our busy schedule did not allow us to stay for the festival itself, so mommy did not get one of the funnel cakes that looked simply delish or any of the yummy boiled peanuts! I have to stop, getting hungry! :) The next event on our calendar was Aunt Ashie's graduation which was about an hour and a half away at an enormous church!! We made it about half way when my sleeping angel decided he was WAY too hungry to ride any longer. So an impromptu stop to feed my little one ended up being the best thing. He drank all of his bottle and then zonked out. He usually takes one good long afternoon nap, and he had not yet taken that so when he zonked after eating- he stayed that way! There was hooting and hollering of all kinds going on at this graduation where we had 364 graduates to go through. This did not include the loud music and long speaker. I was so happy that my little one slept through the entire thing. His poor grandparents were chomping at the bit to get at him. I went into mommy mode and insisted he be left alone until after the ceremony for everyone's well being!

He snoozed the ceremony and most of the way back to my father-in-law's house away. It was a big help that his aunts rode with me so they could keep him occupied on that last stretch where he started to remember it was time to eat again and we were not near home yet, since it took almost an hour to get out of the parking lot alone!! Anyhow, we enjoyed an evening with lots of family and friends. That was until baby boy started having trouble with gas! Now I mentioned earlier I had made the decision to switch his formula but sadly had not replaced his diaper bag stash with the better kind so he had two bottles of the kind that was making him constipated at this point. He carried on for about 30 minutes, much less than Friday night before he finally passed gas and relaxed. We took that as our cue to head home! He slept most of the way home and slept great that night after having a bottle of his better formula when we got home! Thank goodness!

Sleeping much better, eating better, and not being constipated makes for one happy little boy!! The changing pad is still the place I get the most smiles out of him. I think it has something to do with looking up at me instead of straight at me. I don't complain though. I know it will make me laugh when I look back years from now and see so many smiling pictures with the blue and white polka dot changing pad in the background. Haha. Sunday was a pretty busy day as well since our Vacation Bible School is quickly approching, we had a big meeting. Ian came and was a champ through that as well. He was awake for most of it but drifted to sleep towards the end. I guess VBS does not excite him just yet! He got passed around a little by anxious church members who had not had a chance to hold him. He took it all like a champ but when we got home it took him a while to get to sleep.

Tuesday morning he had his two month appointment which meant shots! This mommy was dreading it! He screamed like I have never heard him scream before but as soon as she was done and I swooped him up for cuddling, he got quiet. Thank goodness because if he had kept crying like that I would have lost it for sure.  The doctor said he looks great and is growing just fine! He is up to 11 lbs 11 oz. He measures 22 3/4 inches. He was pretty much in the 50th percentile across the board this time. I was nervous about having to take him to my cousin, who keeps him, after his shots. She said he did great though and she gave him one more dose of tylenol just in case. He also got a special treat when Mema picked him up that afternoon to meet mommy at work. The ladies at work were thrilled to get to see him again, and then we headed off to my sister's.

Finally, we attended another graduation. Again, Ian slept through it. My oldest nephew is going into kindergarten next year and that is so hard to believe! I still remember holding him when he was born. I still remember his slobbery baby kisses. I still remember when "Emmy" sounded more like "meme." I love this little man so much and am so proud of him! He is such a sweetheart and I am so blessed that my son has such a great big cousin with such a sweet heart. I am still his Emmy and I still get some of the biggest hugs from this five year old! He is so smart and is such a thinker! I know he will do so great in kindergarten next year! It makes me so sad knowing time will fly just as fast with my own son. Emmy loves you buddy and I am so glad I could be there on your special day!

Leaning

Well, it has been a busy and hectic week with work and taking care of my sweet boy when I get home. I have so much respect for working mothers who I truly believe are secretly super heroes that God placed on this earth. My mom has been such a blessing to have around to help me when I need her and I could never thank her enough.

My sweet angel is smiling so much nowadays. It is so funny and it just melts my heart when I see his face light up in a smile when he is looking at me. For some reason, I get the most smiles out of him when he is laying on his changing table. I guess he is really happy about getting a new diaper! haha! He is so sweet and he is going through that stage where he makes all kinds of noises and you can just see he wants to talk to you and I am sure if he could; it would be something very profound like, "I have the greatest mommy ever!" I mean those are a typical kid's first words right? ;)

Mother's Day started off with discovering my son, along with some help from his mema had left me a little present. He is so thoughtful. Mema is pretty sweet too! It has his name on one side and his birth date on the other! Speaking of birth date, he will be two months on Saturday!! Oh my goodness!! Crazy!

I had been holding out on this outfit for a special occasion and while he wasn't a big fan of the hat, he didn't seem to mind me getting pictures of him in his outfit I made him wear for Mother's Day. I got a great one of him smiling in it but it is on my actual camera and I have not uploaded those pictures yet.

My brother and sister and their families came down for Mother's Day and we spent the afternoon by the pool. My big sis was not up for swimming, she preferred cuddling up with her sweet nephew- I mean who can blame her. I played with her boys, my sweet nephews, in the pool for a while. This is my youngest nephew asking his mommy to give "baby n" to Uncle John. Haha. That is how he says Ian. He wanted his mommy to cuddle him and warm him up after getting out of the pool and Ian was in the way. Sweet boy!

I captured this sweet picture of him yesterday as I was doing some cleaning and he was relaxing in his hammock. Well I thought he was relaxing, I found out later he was working on a big mess! ;) Anyhow, I thought it was too cute how it looked like he was holding and cuddling the blanket. Such a sweet boy!

Playing catch up!

So, it has been a while. I have been rather busy trying to prepare my little one for my return to the working world. I have to admit I was really nervous. I am not a super obsessive mom type and while I would love to be home with my little one everyday, it is really going to help my husband and I prepare for our next move for me to work right now and save some for that. Admittedly, though I am not sure I would have been able to manage going back to work under any other circumstances than the one I was blessed with. My older cousin, who watches a few children in her home, was able to take my sweet little love for me. Her children and her husband are often home at various times and the fact that he is with family makes it so much easier for me to know he is being well taken care of. He, no doubt, probably gets spoiled more there than he would with me. I am looking forward to being able to stay home with him once we move though.

That brings me to our next news, we will be going to Ft Leavenworth, KS. Not really shocking news when you are in my husband's line of work but exciting none the less. We are really excited that our dear friends that we made in Germany will also be stationed in Kansas at Fort Riley, a mere two hours from us. To be able to stay close to our friends who have become more like family is almost unheard of in the army, especially when you take into account that they are not in the same job area at all. Our dear friends could have gone pretty much anywhere! So we are definitely blessed to be near them!

Well, enough with the boring catch up, here are some pictures to reward you for reading! ;)

My handsome little guy all ready for church, right after I put that slipper back on that keeps falling off!

Can't believe this little one is 7 weeks old!! Where has the time gone!!

I grew so much! You can definitely see where I grew three inches since birth!

I have been really working out too!! Got to impress the ladies! :)

Proof that mommy only served as an incubator, he is all daddy's boy. I hope to get a picture of daddy next to one of his soon so you can have further proof.

Cooking with little man cuddled up to me, best way to cook as far as I am concerned.

This was my face after he slept for 5 hours and 45 minutes one night, we hit the 6 hour mark the other night. We have not gotten there again yet. But he usually gives me at least one 5 hour stretch so I will not complain about! It gives me some good sleep the first part of the night and usually means one middle of the night wake up call and an early morning wake up- which I can manage. Now, obviously I will be more than ok when he gets to where he sleeps through the night. :)