Why has coffee made me want to puke for the last two months?

Perhaps this little number has something to do with it...

Ta da!

So, I went to the doctor and they found THAT in my belly.  Which means that on or around December 9th, we will be having another baby!

I am so thankful!  I can't tell you how much more I realize this time what a gift it is, as I am surrounded by people who want babies and can't have them yet for various reasons, or who are waiting for their adopted children to come home, or have suffered miscarriages.  I can't help but to empathize with their suffering, while still giving thanks that God would choose to bless us in this way.

Unfortunately for you, I waited till the last week of the first trimester to announce it on the blog this time, so you don't get to read all about my first trimester craziness like you did last time.  So sorry.  Perhaps in the next couple of posts, I will fill you on on what you've been missing over the last 12 weeks.

Here's to ~6 more months of pregnancy!

inspired...

Last Wednesday night I said to Matt very enthusiastically, "Babe, last night's episode of The Biggest Loser was really inspiring to me!"

Ironically, I was also making myself a milkshake when I said that to him.

No wonder he thought I was kidding.  But I was serious.

On that note, can I just say that I have now run 5+ miles for the last three days in a row?  So, you see, I really was inspired.  Also, my legs hate me a lot.

I'm not going to lie, the last time I really logged some serious mileage was like May of 2009 - before I was preggo w/ Henry. Since he's been born, I've maybe ran 6 miles here and there, but nothing consistent... as I have averaged about 1 workout a month.

So, anyway, it feels good to actually work hard.  It feels good to feel pain in my legs and to make myself keep going because I know that I can.  I haven't done it for a long time, and in case I didn't already mention it, it feels good.

I know what you're thinking, "Leah, is that you?  Did someone hijack your blog???!"  I promise it's me.  (If you want proof, I am drinking a milkshake as we speak this very moment.)

Anyway... if you're wondering what got into me, so am I.  But I'm not gonna lie, The Biggest Loser was REALLY inspiring this season.  How so?

It's not really the weight loss that inspires me, but seeing people do things that they didn't think they could do.  And seeing how as the season progresses they talk about feeling like they are finally alive after just going through the motions of life for years and years.  They talk about change on the inside that's affecting the change on the outside.  I don't know, it just actually really encouraged me.

It makes me think, if they can do it, I can do it.  Whatever "it" is.  So here's to inspiration!

mystery diagnosis...

1. After Henry was born, the skin on my face rebelled against me in the form of (GROSS) acne.  Because of the location (surrounding my chin), the dermatologist agreed with my own personal assessment that it must be hormonal.  Aka out of my control.  Except that I still blamed my poor diet and lack of exercise- I have somehow decided that those are the culprits for all my problems, which is silly because my diet and "lack of exercise" is really not THAT bad.  I dare say it could be worse.  Anyway, I still payed a pretty penny for topical medication.

Well, well, well.  Let me just say that somehow God (it must have been Him) brought it to my attention that ever since Henry has been born, I have hardly ever had two free hands.  And, since Henry doesn't carry on a conversation like I sometimes crave, I am often calling whoever will carry on a conversation with me on my trusty smart-phone.  And, since I am on the phone more, but I have only one free hand and sometimes no free hands, I am often keeping the phone up against my ear with my cheek and my shoulder.  SOOOOO.  The bacteria and dirt on my phone was CONSTANTLY up against my chin and cheek = NO WONDER MY SKIN WAS BREAKING OUT!

It has now been over a month since I went out and very nerd-ily bought a nerdy, nerdy bluetooth, which I am somewhat ashamed to wear in public...  but I wear it because as silly as it looks, I'll take it every day over acne.  And guess what!??!?!  My skin has hardly broken out at all!

2.  As you might remember, I had terrible back pain when I was pregnant.  Of course, I thought it was because I was pregnant.  (My back and shoulders were unusually tense for a pregnant woman - which was confirmed by several massage therapists. :) ) As you might also remember, shortly after giving birth, I went to the gym and did the same workout in the same shoes that I had worn my entire pregnancy, and after not having back pain for 12 weeks or more, I had that same ol' back pain again.  I mistakenly concluded that my shoes were to blame.

But last week, I hopped on that same ol' trusty elliptical machine in my new running shoes, which are not really new at all because I have worn the same exact style for about 6 years now, and which also have not given me any trouble when I run or walk... and... the back pain returned!  IT WAS THE ELLIPTICAL!!!  Darn machine!

I guess I'll stick to running and spinning.

Texas Pride?

As you may or may not know, Matt works in property management.  Today, he was somehow in charge of hanging up THE Texas flag on a flagpole at one of his properties down in good ol' Kyle, Texas.  (I'm still not sure why in the world he was doing that, but I digress...) Well, you also may or may not find it surprising that he started getting calls from very disgruntled homeowners today because the Texas flag had been hung upside down.  Don't mess with Texas, babe.  I know you didn't move here till 9th grade, but really?  (To be honest, I am one of those who does not find this story one bit surprising.)

While we mentioning noteworthy events of the day, let me add this one.  I took Henry to a sandbox today, which equated to sand in his hair, sand in his butt, sand all over his face, ears, etc.  So, he definitely needed a little bath before his nap time, which is not the usual routine.  I decided that it would be fun for him to play in the bath, and I could soak my feet in the tub and read a magazine until he started to act bored- which could literally take an hour.  As I was sitting there, reading my magazine, I literally thought to myself, "This is awesome!  We should have a bath-playtime every single day."  Until... I looked down into the tub and there was POOP. EVERYWHERE!!!  (Remember, my feet were in the tub.)  So that was lovely.

Here's to a not boring day.

a couple of things...

First of all... the friend I mentioned in the sunburn post apparently enjoys getting shout outs, so I thought I'd share this other interesting fact concerning said friend and sunburns.  When we were in 9th grade, this SAME friend, PEELED my sunburned skin for me during World Geography.  So gross, but apparently there is a theme here.

Next.  I drove by a Panda Express two days ago, and I noticed that the restaurant is self-described as "Gourmet Chinese Food."  Now, is it just me, or do you think we're getting a little liberal with the use of the term "gourmet?"  That's what I thought.

Lastly.  I get like 150 points in the wife department because the mother's day present I chose for myself was a COOKBOOK.  And tonight I actually cooked a meal out of it (with Matt's help)- stuffed peppers.  And also, if that weren't enough, we actually made "Kale Chips."  Yes.  I bought KALE, and I cooked it, and I ate it, and lived to tell about it.  It was good.

That's pretty much it.

you're so vain

I haven't had a tan since the summer of 2007.  After that I decided that wrinkles and skin cancer really aren't my thing, and I "vowed" to always wear plenty of sunscreen and never get sunburned again.  Even on a beach trip in 2009, I stayed as white as I possibly could.

Fast forward to this year, when I went walking with one of my friends - ahem, you know who you are - and she started laughing at me because my legs were so white.  So since then, I've been trying to wear shorts and get outside more. 

But today my vanity got the best of me, and I went to the pool to lay out.  I only put sunscreen on my face, neck, chest and hands (the places where the sun can really do/has already done some aging damage).


Now I am very pink.  Fortunately my shoulders were somehow been spared.  And fortunately it's not as bad as the some of the sunburns I got in my younger, dumber years that forced me to cry myself to sleep at night. 

Once every four years is an improvement though.  At least I have that.  My dermatologist would not be proud.

a picture is worth a thousand words...

These can supplement the last couple of updates. I'm sure that one day every single post will not be Henry-centric.

This is the cracker incident I mentioned previously...

Standing alone, clapping - most likely for himself. :)

He loves the slide from Nana and Paw Paw...

Climbing in the rocking chair with the remote control. :)
 

This video was probably taken about 4 weeks ago.

a little Hank update

I keep thinking about my first year as a parent, and how much of a typical first time parent I was - thinking my kid would do everything earlier or better than every other kid out there- only to come to each milestone EXACTLY at the "average" time.

Henry is now about 14.5 months, and he has just started taking a few steps here and there!  Today was the most - about four consecutive steps.  A physical therapist friend in my Bible Study said that 15 months was average to start walking, so once again, Henry hits the average mark!

It also occurred to me today that my sweet boy forgot how to drink through a straw.  He used to be able to do it.  But now he just pokes the back of his throat with the straw, bites the straw - totally doesn't get it.

The only thing that Henry probably does really early is talk.  He says and repeats so many words.  I am his official translator because most people don't get "glasses" when they hear the sound "yayes."  They definitely don't get "phone" when they hear the sound "ho."

Anyway, mainly just for my benefit and the benefit of the grandparents and great grandparents who read this blog, I want to list some of the stuff he is doing and saying.

-He climbs on furniture and can get down the right way.
-He has learned to climb into the glider and start rocking.  He also likes to sit in the glider and point the remote control at the TV, which I promise he learned from his daddy.
-He slam dunks ("DA-DU") his basketball, which he LOVES.
-He LOVES to read.  He grabs book after book and crawls into our laps with them saying "booh, booh."
-He thinks DVDs are books and gets really upset when we cannot read them.
-He still loves to do the laundry ("the dark").
-Loves to turn off light switches.
-LOVES to look at himself in the mirror.  (Also something he learned from his daddy. ;) jk)
-He likes to sing.  His teachers at church have told us that he sings along when they sing to him, and we have a couple of CDs in my car that he will sing to.  (This he probably does actually get from Matt.)
-He still won't really feed himself - much more interested in playing with his food.  So if we put one bite in his mouth at a time, he eats.  But if we put his food on his plate, he plays with it, drops it on the floor, etc.  The other day I gave him two crackers, and the next thing I knew, the crumbs were all over his hair, his shirt, the floor... we need a roomba!
-He can do the following animal noises - cow, dog, duck, monkey, lion, frog, sheep and we are working on pig, but for some reason oink oink is pretty tough for the dude.
-And, he tries to say his name.  So if we ask him "Henry, what's your name?" He says, "Hahee." (Very difficult to understand, and he only cooperates abut 25% of the time.)

Here are a list of his words.  (Like I said, he repeats tons of words, so this is just off the top of my head... and I am not going to write them in Henry language.  And I will try not to repeat from last time.)
-Jesus!
-book
-necklace
-glasses
-water
-eggs
-strawberry
-Elmo
-horse
-bar (like for granola bar)
-grass
-potty
-light
-dark (for laundry)
-cheese
-juice
-toes
-this
-pig
-basketball
-slam dunk
-phone
-diaper
-butt (yes, I am responsible for teaching him that.)
-belly button
-eyes
-nose
-mouth (he can also point to all of those)
-bath
-boo boo
-bear
-Bennett and Peter (his cousins... although his "Peter" really isn't intelligible)
-Pops
-Boss
-Mimi
-Honey
-Aunt Brooke
-and I haven't heard him, but my in-laws promise that he has attempted to say Mary, Maddie and Mitchell (the aunts and uncles that are still living at home w/ them)

(Disclaimer: I am trying to teach him all the other family members who don't live here - both who they are and how to say their names, but that's a little harder.)

I'm SURE I am forgetting some, but BY FAR, Henry's FAVORITE word is "NO."  He's really good at that one, and since he doesn't really understand how to answer "yes," the answer to every question is "no."  He also adds the head shake for emphasis.


Henry, do you want to go on a walk?
Nuh.
Do you want ice cream?
Nuh.
Did you have fun swimming today?
Nuh.
Do you want Daddy to hold you?
Nuh... and on and on.


The only question we have never had a "NO" response to is, "Do you want to take a bath?"


I think that's it for now.

Now or Never

That's my new motto.  Or it was this morning at 5:30 AM when I thought it would be a good idea to go to spin class with all the crazy spinsters.  But while I was peddling on that bike after no sleep and after not having set foot in a spin class since summer of '09, the song "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones came into my head.  (Yes, I had to look up the artist. Yes, I only know two lines in the whole song.)  And I began to think deep thoughts about how, really, all we have is right now, the present moment.  That's something I need to remember more often because, you see... I tend to be a procrastinator.  LATER is like my favorite word.

Later I will...
get back in cardiovascular shape
clean up dinner
make friends with my neighbors
try to resolve my problems
finish my 10000 scrapbooks
be a part of solving the world's problems
give more energy to seeking the Lord
put forth effort in important relationships
share the gospel with people that don't know God
eat healthy
save more money
give more money

But right now, let me eat cookies, watch Seinfeld, leave the house a mess, go straight into my garage so I don't have to talk to my neighbors... You get the idea.

But right now is all I have.  God gives us the joy of His presence one moment at a time.  He gives us help and grace in the present moment to do the things that He has created us to do in that moment.  Right now is all the time that I am given.  Tomorrow does not yet exist and may never come.  So really, it is now or never.  Don't laugh... it's true.

Thanks for letting me share my spin-class-induced thoughts.

can't eat, can't sleep...

Lest you begin to think I am depressed or something, I'll let you know that one of those statements is totally false.  I can always eat.  So, even if I was depressed, that statement would not be true.

In fact, I am trying to think if there has ever been a single time in my life when I did not feel like eating... perhaps... and that's a BIG perhaps, in the middle of a violent stomach virus, or one time when I had the flu.  That's really it.

Actually, I can think of maybe two or three instances where I was too excited to eat... like at the beginning of my relationship with Matt and at some best friends' weddings.  But not my own wedding - no way.  All day long everyone was telling me how important it was for me to eat.  I guess they were all afraid I would pass out or something.  So no worries.  I ate plenty on my wedding day.

Did I ever tell you guys that my sister and I went to Starbucks on the way to the church on my wedding day?  (I know what you're thinking. "Of course you did.")  Unfortunately, I wasn't in my dress yet, but I definitely had my veil on.  Awesome = yes.  That was back when I still ordered Mocha Fraps.  Now I just get plain, old, boring but highly caffeinated coffee.

I don't know if this is obvious, but I am just rambling tonight.

Another time you'd think that you might be too excited to eat is right after you have a child, but not me.  I think the first thing I did was order hospital food after Henry was born.  And then the next morning I had two breakfasts and a VENTI Starbucks coffee.  Hospital food is actually really good.  Yes, I had caffeine when I was nursing... Henry would have had withdrawals if I didn't.  Okay I'm totally jk.

What time is it?  I am exhausted and not making sense... so back to trying to fall asleep it is.  My poor baby has a cough - also not making it easy to fall asleep.  Look at that sweet, chubby face.

 

Nighty night!!