Christmas 2011

Hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone.  This weekend we will usher in a new year!  2012!  The holidays seemed to fly by quicker than ever this year.  I always hope that things will slow down and we'll be able to sit back and really take in all the magic of the season, but, as usual, that didn't exactly happen.  I was sick the ENTIRE time I was off for Christmas, so that alone was a big hindrance.  We spent Christmas proper in Ocean Springs and came back to Oxford on the Monday after.  My nieces rode with us from Mobile to spend a couple of nights, and it was so wonderful to spend some time with both of them!  I wish I had felt better for all the family time, but at least the mucinex, zyrtec D, nyquil, dayquil, etc kept me out of the bed and mostly present for the festivities. 

this is a video of Sullivan checking out his loot from Santa.  He still doesn't quite understand the concept of Santa, but has definitely enjoyed singing carols, talking about Jesus' birthday, and pointing out all Christmas related decor.  He was also an avid un-wrapper this year!  He really does make Christmas so special!

The next video is of the nieces and Sullivan singing Jingle Bells.

 He had the best time hanging out with his cousins!  They kept him happy and entertained the entire ride back from the coast!  It was wonderful! 

The four of us had breakfast out at Big Bad Breakfast as well.  I sure wish they were closer, so we could do stuff more often!  I hope they'll come up this spring and go to the Tupelo Buffalo Park with us.  I know they would love to feed the giraffes!

For any of you who might not have received an Christmas card in the mail, below are the photos from the card.  We had Bill Dabney come take photos for us again.  He did a great job with what he had to work with.  Of course Sullivan had no desire to smile or sit still! 

And this photo we snapped ourselves. 

May you all have a safe and very Happy New Year! 

25 months?

So, Moms out there, at what point do you stop telling your child's age in months?  And at what point do you stop updating month by month.  I feel a little guilty even asking that.  I know I'm glad I've posted each month of his life so far, because he has changed so much!  I guess I'll keep it up as long as I can.

I watched most of Toy Story 3 the other night.  Holy cow.  As fast as the days, months, years keep flying by, that movie made me so sad!  I kept looking at Daniel and commenting that Sullivan would be going to college before we know it.  Breaks my heart to think about my sweet little boy being all grown up and going off on his own.  Of course, as a parent, everything I do is in preparation for him to become a kind and intelligent adult member of society.  But the reality of that is, he won't be my sweet, cuddly little boy any more.  I totally understand why some parents would tell me to let him sleep in the bed or whatever since soon he would be too old or too cool to want to do so.  Maybe the holidays just have me being emotional and unreasonable. 

On to happier stuff?!  I really don't even know where to begin.  Work has been exceedingly busy, so I feel like we haven't done much of anything lately.  We were in Cleveland for Thanksgiving for a nice, long weekend.  It was wonderful to spend so much time with my family.  I'm looking forward to more downtime over Christmas.  Our Rotary club had the Christmas Store this past weekend, and it was a huge success again.  I believe we bought gifts/books for about 775 children in our county.  This is our club's biggest service project of the year, but so worth the work!  My book club just finished reading The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass?  It was good, but at about 400 pages, it was a struggle for me to find the time to read it!  I hope the next book is 200 or less! 

Ok, so I totally got off track!  Sullivan is 25 months old.  He weighs just over 30 lbs.  Can't recall his height at the moment.  He's doing so well with his language.  We frequently get 4+ word sentences!  He loves to read with us and sing songs with us.  Jingle Bells and Rudolph are big favorites this month.  He's been eating soooooo much better!  Maybe turning 2 turned a corner on that front.  Last night he ate pork tenderloin, carrots I cooked, mac & cheese, roll, and cranberry sauce!  It was like a normal meal!  I shouldn't be this excited I suppose, but it sure will make life easier if I don't have to cook something extra that he'll eat!  Sullivan is loving the Christmas tree.  Daniel says he's just like me in that he wants it on all the time.  First thing he says when he wakes up is "turn on the Christmas treat".  He helped me with quality control while decorating by letting me know if each strand of light or ornament was pretty enough for our tree and where I should put them.  It made my heart so glad to share that tradition with him.  Sullivan and I also made our first snowman together!  Since Oxford got a snow that stuck around for a bit the other morning, he and I made a point to play in it.  Daniel was sleeping...typical lazy bones, but Sullivan and I caught snowflakes on our tongues, built a tiny snowman, and made some snowballs.  We followed this with a cup of hot chocolate...which Sullivan promptly spilled, but it was a lovely morning anyway! 

Sullivan's 2nd Birthday

I'm really going for Mom of the year with this almost month late post!  Never seems to be enough time for reflection or contemplation these days.  My one hour of yoga a week that FNC provides seems to be about all the focusing I get! 

Sullivan's 2nd birthday was a great success.  We had a backyard affair with close friends and some family.  Below are some pictures from the event.

What is Sullivan up to now that he's officially in the 'terrible 2s'?  Well, he can certainly throw a tantrum, but he balances it out with his incredible sweetness.  I must admit, it's very hard not to laugh when he says, "Go to time out Momma!".  He repeats all the phrases I say to him when he's in trouble, right back to me if I make him mad.  I guess I should be impressed he's speaking in sentences at 2 years old, regardless of what he's saying! 

Sullivan has really gotten into emotions.  He'll frequently ask if I'm going to cry or if I'm happy.  When reading Peter Pan the other night, he became very concerned for Captain Hook when the Tic Toc Croc was about to eat him.  He'll say, "Uh Oh, Momma! Uh Oh!" whenever he gets worried about someone.  Cars parked on the side of the road are definite cause for concern since he associates this with Lightening McQueen running off the road in his Cars book.  Our recent walk back from the grove together was filled with "Uh Ohs" since there were cars parked all over the place!  I kept having to explain they were just parked, and that they were ok.

Speaking of the Grove, Sullivan joined us there LSU game weekend.  It was not his first Grove experience, as I had originally thought, but his first since he has become mobile.  And, boy howdy, was he mobile!  He had no fear and would run straight through tents until we finally caught him.  He did get to play football for the first time in the grove, and it was so sweet!  I have memories of watching the Manning boys throw the football in the grove when we were all kids, and I was glad Sullivan got to experience the same.  Daniel and his brothers went to the game, the first half anyway, and Sullivan and I watched from the comfort of Anna's couch.  Painful. 

I would say Sullivan still isn't eating great, except he did suprise me a bit at my Mom's over Thanksgiving weekend.  He ate ham, meatballs, and cranberry sauce!  Not sure why he will eat Bebe's meatballs, but not mine.  Especially since we use the same recipe!  Perhaps my nieces were a positive influence on him!  Either way, I was happy to see him eat something resembling normal dinner fare. 

We go for Sullivan's 2 year check up on Thursday, so I'll have to update stats then.  I know he seems so big and grown up to me!  It amazes me to see the changes mentally and physically since just a year ago!  I am so very blessed to have such a sweet, smart, and handsome boy. 

MISC

This is going to be a random post, but at least I didn't wait until Sullivan's birthday!  2 posts in one month is an improvement, right? 

First, I wanted to share something I stole from the janii . 
Here's a close-up look at St. Benedict, who founded the monastic order of Benedictines and established a rule for living summed up in a book I love: Always We Begin Again ("translated" by a Memphian, too).



The first rule:
live this life
and do whatever is done
in a spirit of loving kindness


Abandon attempts to achieve security,
they are futile,


give up the search for wealth,
it is demeaning,


quit the search for salvation,
it is selfish,


and come to comfortable rest
in the certainty that those who
participate in this life
with an attitude of compassion
will receive its full promise.

I find this to be a nice reminder about life, and what I should be focusing on always. 

We are in big time birthday planning this week since Sullivan's party will be on Saturday.  I probably should have been doing some of this planning for the past month, but I'm a procrastinator and have had a bit of trouble deciding on anything.  I'm still maintaining low key, but there are still logistics to arrange and food to prepare.  I'm sure it will all come together in the end.  As long as we have family, cupcakes and candles, we'll be good to go! 

On the cooking front, I've tried several new recipes in the last month.  I'm addicted to Pinterest and all of these recipes came from there.  I wish I had taken pics, but the pinterest pics are better anyway, I'm sure!

Corn and Potato Chowder : I did really enjoy this recipe.  Next time: more liquid because the crockpot had almost none when we got home from work, and probably a little less corn.  I also added a bit of red pepper to mine.

Ham and Cheese Sliders : my older sister made these on one of our visits down there.  They are easy and delicious! 

Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread : SOOOO easy and delicious.  NOT HEALTHY, but a great fast appetizer or side!

Baked Egg in a Ham Cup : This recipe is so easy, relatively healthy, and looks beautiful.  I made this for my mother's birthday breakfast and it was a big hit...even with kids!

Weicht Watchers Bubble Up Enchiladas : I added corn and a bit more sauce to this than the recipe calls for.  It was good, but definitely bready. 

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Spinach : Daniel really liked this recipe, but it was a little bland for me.  Next time I would probably do a little garlic butter or caper butter to toss with it?  Just needed something to balance the dirt taste from the spinach and mushrooms. 

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls : This was easy, delicious, and easy to carry to party.  I used mini muffin pan instead of regular sized.

23 months

It's the final count down (cue music in head).  Less than a month until Sullivan is 2 years old!  I'm shocked, sad, excited, happy, blessed...many things. 

Today is probably not the best day for this 23 month update as we've had 'one of those days' today.  You know when you are doing time outs during breakfast, it's not gonna be a good one.  I have new respect and pity for my dad.  I had his temper/stubborn nature and Sullivan has my temper/stubborn nature.  Although it takes quite a lot to ruffle my feathers, once I cross the line..oh boy.  I know it is impossible and unreasonable to expect logical/reasonable behavior from a toddler all the time, but man, sometimes I just want him to make the connection!  Throwing your cup/food/fork/etc on the ground and then yelling "mine!" until it is returned to you does not win you any brownie points.  Anyway, Daniel had already scheduled a hair cut appointment for Sullivan today, so we went ahead and kept that.  What time was this appointment?  Well, right at lunch/nap time of course.  It did not go well.  Probably our first really embarrassing, screaming kid incident.  We did finally get him calmed down enough for the poor girl to finish cutting his hair.  Next time, I will cut it.  I would rather it look terrible than go through that again.  Whew. 

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, on to the good stuff!  Most days Sullivan is really sweet and inquisitive and curious and playful and fun!  He has really mastered his shapes this month!  He loves to point out triangles, pentagons, squares, circles, ovals, rectangles, etc while we drive down the road.  He has the vision of a freaking eagle!  He'll spot something and it will take Daniel and I minute to realize it's some tiny sticker on the bumper of a car or something barely visible through the trees.  I'm pretty sure he could be us at 'I spy' any day. 

He is really enjoying counting objects as well. We typically don't get accurate totals after 3, but I'm impressed he can do 1, 2, & 3! 

Sullivan was the only kid from his class to participate in fire safety day at school since he's so far ahead of his classmates.  He got to see the fire truck, hear the sirens, see the lights, meet the fire dog, and learn about fire safety! 

He loves to hand out "big hugs" to everyone in our family.  Last night it was "big hug Momma", "big hug Daddy", "big hug Sophie", "big hug Bailey".  Nothing better in this world than a Sullivan hug. 

He now runs anytime you call him to do anything.  Bath time, diaper change, get dressed, dinner, etc.  He'll either run in circles around the house or go hide behind the dining room or kitchen curtains.  He, of course, thinks this is hilarious. 

He has also started saying "change diapers ok?" when he has a dirty diaper. He still makes us chase him down to actually do the changing, but it's funny to hear him say it.  I don't know if it was his Spanish speaking teacher in the 1 year old room or what, but he definitely says some words in a funny way.  Change diapers, colors, and papers all sound funny to us.  He also likes to say "Momma do it" or "____ do it".  He has started memorizing the words for our nightly prayers, so he now contributes more than just an Amen at the end.  He likes to do the Pookie responses when we read "Whats Wrong Little Pookie".  He knows all of the chorus to the song "Loving You".  I would love to get that on camera, but since I'm usually singing it with him, I may have to pass on that.  Trust me, your ears will thank you!

No change on the food front.  I guess it doesn't take veggies or meat to make a smart kid, so I'm not fighting it too hard.  He gets lots of fruit and healthy items, so I'm picking my battles. 

Second birthday party planning is under way.  We plan to borrow several toys/ride/a jumpy thing from a friend and just have a handful of kids and family at our house.  Fingers crossed the weather won't be rainy or too cold for them to be outside in the yard.  Backup plan is currently the garage, so we'll see.  Sullivan wants to sing Happy Birthday every day, so he should be really ready when the time actually comes!  He loves to add the "and many more" to the end of it!  Some of his classmates have birthdays which he will come home talking about, so I'm sure he's getting pumped for his own. 

Here's hoping I blog more than once a month one day soon! 

22 months

Hard to believe my sweet boy is already 22 months old.  It seems like only yesterday I was still pregnant with him!  Where does the time go?  Sullivan has been a busy bee over the last month.  He jabbers on and on...well, until you try to get him to speak to someone on the phone!  He amazes us every day with all he is learning.  He is truly a little sponge.  When he gets home from daycare, he immediately goes to the letter magnets or his puzzles or his trains!  I find myself afraid we aren't providing enough new things for him to learn!  I'm trying to work on more crafts/artsy things in addition to taking more walks and going new places.  He's mastered counting to 10, saying his abc's and can identify most, if not all, is letters.  we've downloaded many new flashcards, but he has those memorized before we know it!  I certainly want to do all I can to foster his love of learning! 

Not much has changed on the food front!  He regularly eats spaghetti-o's in the letters and numbers shapes (refuses to eat the meatballs, so those go to Daniel), pb&j, mac & cheese, cheese pizza, whole wheat waffles, carrots, sweet potato fries, chips and rotel, cheese, any carb, any sweet, tons of fruit.  He will occasionally eat a chicken nugget, but not regularly.  I'm open to any suggestions on alternative protein sources that don't look/taste like meat or veggies! :)  We've started giving him the V8 Vfusion fruit/vegetable juices in the reduced sugar/calorie version mixed with water.  I hate to give him artificial sweeteners, but hate for him to be sugared up while getting his veggies too.  It's a vicious cycle. 

He loves, loves, loves trucks, tractors, helicopters, airplanes, motorcycles, cars, school buses, trains...you get the picture.  He enjoys kicking the soccer ball around, watching wiggles, elmo, or baby Einstein videos on his dvd player.  He wants to help do anything you are doing- unloading the dishwasher, putting away dishes, folding laundry, watering plants, pulling weeds, taking out the trash, checking the mail, etc, etc.  He brings Julia her pacifier and sleep sheep whenever she gets upset or rubs and pats on her.  He goes to get a towel if he notices a mess on the floor and then goes to put the towel back when he's done! (he obviously gets this cleaning thing from Daniel) He likes to sit on Bailey, hug on Bailey, feed Bailey, and boss Bailey around.  He's very helpful and sweet. Although his behaviour has been much improved over the last month, he has gotten back into a 'No' phase.  He actually lays in his crib and says No, no, no, no over and over again in different pitches and volumes.  He practices this with us when he doesn't want to eat his dinner. (pretty sure he gets this from me)  I definitely don't want to encourage it, but sometimes you just have to laugh.  :) Some new phrases he frequently uses are: "they 'e is" which is used for people and things. ) Example: where's your cup? 'they 'e is'.  where's daddy?  'they 'e is'.)  it's adorable.  'Bless you Momma' is said every time I sneeze- so sweet!  'Boool Bus' is something we here on the way to daycare.  'Bailey heal' and 'Bailey hushhhh' are regulars.  He enjoys saying his own name these days as well.  He identifies body parts as his or ours- Sullivan's back, Momma's back, etc. 

A few other things he's gotten good at:
blowing his train whistle
brushing his teeth
washing his hands
closing doors
OPENING doors- not cool

anyway, sorry for the long wordy post.  you know this is mainly for me to remember.  :)  As usual, we feel so blessed by Sullivan every day.  His sweet hugs and kisses make life worth living. 

Week or so my a$$...

I don't know who I was kidding when I posted on August 16th, that I should have my pashmina cowl finished in a week or so.  HAHAHAHAHA.  It's the last day of August and I'm probably half way through.  I guess I should be proud I've made any progress on it.  I was going to make myself some fingerless gloves next, but considering how long this current project is taking, I'm going to make Sullivan a winter hat instead.  He has a big head, so kids hats are iffy.  If I don't do it next, I'm afraid it will be Spring before it's actually completed.

Here is a photo of my pashmina cowl progress as of last night. 

P.S. Hooray for upcoming long weekend! 

New project

I'm trying to get back into knitting after an almost year long hiatus.  My first project is a very simple pashmina cowl, although it is my first time using circular needles to knit.  I'm probably a third of the way done with it, so I should have it completed in the next week or so.  Below is what it should look like, so we'll see!  If it turns out well, my friends can expect one for the holidays! ;) 

Since I've finished my year as Rotary President and I've graduated from my Leadership Lafayette class, I'm taking some time to do some things just for me!  Knitting is just the beginning, I hope!  

21 months

I'm so behind on my blog posting!  Not sure what my deal is, but I've been too busy or uninspired to post here lately.  I've got that handy blogger app on my phone, but I've used it once to date.  Oh well!  I shall endeavor to do better!

Sullivan is 21 months old as of last Monday!  I can't believe he'll be 2 in just a few short months.  I'm already beginning to think about party possibilities!  So many fun options out there, but I don't want to over do it.  We'll see.

Sullivan moved to a new classroom at his daycare, and his teacher is constantly bragging on how smart he is!  No surprise to us, but nice to hear from his teacher as well.  It's no secret that I hope he will be a bookworm like his Mom and a handsome athlete like his Dad!  He still amazes me with the new things he learns every day, and he has really begun to string together 3 or more words to form sentences.  He has certain parts of our favorite bed time books memorized and it's so cute to listen to him when he gets to those parts.  I think he hung the moon, obviously.

Sullivan continues to be very affectionate.  He loves to give hugs and kisses and tell us he loves us.  He also enjoys hugging on Sophie (the cat) and Bailey (the dog) and telling them how much he loves them.  It's adorable.  Unfortunately, we've had some molars coming in this month, so the sweetness is often tempered by irritability.  When he doesn't feel good and gets frustrated, he usually ends up in time out.  I'm not sure he totally  understands time out, but we sit with him after and ask him to apologize and we try to explain why he was in time out and then tell him we love him and give him hugs.  FYI, parenting is hard work.  We really have no clue, but are trying to figure this business out as we go along. 

On the food front, not much new to report.  He is typically a little more willing to try new things these days.  He had several bites of salmon croquettes, some pasta salad, and some alphabet spaghettios for the first time this month.  Now, if i could just get him to eat a vegetable besides carrots and potatoes!  One day at a time. 

Daniel and I are planning a family trip to the Smokies/Chattanooga in the next couple of months. We want to take Sullivan to the Aquarium in Chattanooga, go See Rock City (Daniel wants to go hang gliding here), ride the train or whatever,  and maybe hit up Nantahala GAF.  I'm really struggling figuring out itinerary and places to stay.  Let me know if you have any recommendations. 

I've started back knitting, so stay tuned for updates on my latest project. 

BEEEECH

We had a great trip to the beach over the 4th of July weekend.  It was very strange to be away from extended family and not at the lake for the 4th, but we also enjoyed trying something new!  Sullivan had a great time swimming and digging in the sand and playing with his cousins.  He would mimic just about everything they did!  I was very glad to have such great 'helpers'.  Below are a few pics and a video of part of the fireworks show we watched from our condo balcony.  My nieces are sweet as can be!  I love their enthusiasm!  Vacationing with a child is definitely not very relaxing, but Sherri and I did get one afternoon of wine and appetizers on the balcony that was quite lovely.

20 months

As usual, I'm behind on posting!  Sullivan is 20 months old as of last Friday!  I can't believe in 4 short months he'll be 2 years old! 

He is learning so much, so fast.  I can't even begin to note all the words he is saying.  He can now count to 10 and sings the alphabet quite well!  He still loves his flashcards and knows all of them!  I'm going to have to create some new ones!  He frequently sings Twinkle Twinkle or his ABC's or Jesus loves me or All through the town.  I guess everyone thinks their kids are the greatest and the cutest and the smartest, and we are no different!

His new favorite word is no, but he now says it more like 'nah'.  Everything is 'nah'.  He can even be nodding his head and staring at ice cream, and he will still say 'nah'.  It's cute, but getting a real yes or no out of him is hard!  We are still working on some of his terrible 2s attitude problems, but over all he just loves to give hugs and kisses and hang out with us.  Daniel and I are really working on how we react when he throws a tantrum, so as not to encourage them!  it does require lots of patience! 

Sullivan still isn't eating great, but we are making do.  Most meals have lots of fresh fruit and often a baby food vegetable, and some peanut butter or cheese on bread/toast/tortillas/pizza.  He refuses to try most of the things I cook for Daniel and I to eat.  Oh well.  He enjoys cheerios with milk and he just looks so grown up when he sits there eating cereal out of a bowl.  It sort of breaks my heart.  He's just growing up so fast! 

Sullivan still cries most mornings when we drop him at daycare.  He stops crying by the time we get to the front door, but it's still hard.  He still talks about 'Abby' all the time.  It used to always be 'William', but now it's always 'Abby'!  I know he has a great time at school, and he certainly is learning a lot!

I've still got to post on our trip to Florida, so maybe that will happen in the next week?  I've been working from home while trying to recover from Strep and tonsillitis, so we'll see if I get anything else done. 

Welcome Julia Jane!

After an incredibly long labor, Julia Jane was born on June 15, 2011 at 2:20pm.  Julia and Anna are doing great, and I can't wait to hug them both! 

19 months old!

I know, I'm wayyyyy behind on my posting.  I'll try and catch up as much as possible today...maybe.

First of all, Sullivan.
He amazes me every day with what he has learned!  It seems like something new every minute!  He has also gotten into the repeat anything I say phase-- time to clean up the potty mouth!  He copied 'shoot' and 'crap' this weekend, so at least it hasn't been something worse yet! 
Some of his new mad skilz:

• Can sing his ABC's- granted there are a few mumbled areas, but I was pretty impressed!
• New body parts he's learned: Heart -he says bum,bum for the heartbeat each time, Elbow, legs, arm, back, neck, eyebrow, ding dong (you can thank his dad for that), chin, cheeks, fingernail
• Can sing most of twinkle twinkle and Jesus Loves Me
• Learned the chicken dance from his Dad (his toy tractor plays the song)
• Loves to act out If you're happy and you know it!
• Has several new teeth coming in- looks like molars, but I'm no dentist
• Loves to be a helper!  Wants to help with the laundry, dishes, watering the yard, pulling weeds.  He's a little mini me that just follows you around and copies whatever you try to do
• Has started really telling us when he has just gone or needs to go tt.  He's asked to get on the potty several times, but no action yet.  He did 'water' a tree last weekend (another of Dad's influences!)
• Knows tons of animals and sounds.  He got some flash cards for Easter and has those mastered in addition to those we regularly look at on the ipad. 
• LOVES to point out airplanes and anything that remotely looks or sounds like an airplane is cause for excitement.
• Still doesn't eat well when it comes to meat or veggies.  He'll eat his veggies if they are baby food form, but not the real deal.  he will occasionally eat a chicken nugget, but frequently spits that out.  He does eat tons of fresh fruit and dairy, so it will have to do for now.
• No surprise, but we still think he's awesome!  So much fun and so very sweet!  Below is a video of Sullivan practicing his music appreciation for Uncle Ricky's music!  Thankfully, he has just as much fun with other types of music.

In other news, Daniel and I took our first vacation without Sullivan last month.  We missed him, but we had a wonderful time relaxing!  We did some light hiking, did the river twice, and drank lots of wonderful N.C. beer!  For the first time, we got a luxury cabin instead of tent camping.  Wow.  Gonna be hard to ever go back to a tent.  It was wonderful to come home sore and exhausted and have a hot tub, big bed, etc awaiting us!  We plan to try and go back in the fall for a family vacation.  My Mom and Freddie kept Sullivan, and all had a wonderful time until my Mom came down with the stomach virus.  Thank goodness Freddie was there to take care of Sullivan while she recupperated!  Unfortunately, about 10 minutes after we got home, Sullivan came down with it as well...all over me.  The joys of motherhood!  I don't know how I avoided getting it, but I sure am thankful!

We haven't been up to much lately.  Our weekends are mostly spent watering or playing in the baby pool.  We did go sailing on Daniel's brother's sailboat a few weeks ago.  That was fun and Sullivan really enjoyed it.  He swam in Sardis lake and kept trying to crawl all over the boat!  Hard to keep him contained, but he had such a great time pointing out all the boats! 

Daniel celebrated a birthday and we joined the church on June 5th!  Well, Daniel is an associate member, so he doesn't have to give up his Catholic-ness.  :) We had a great time celebrating his birthday weekend with friends, good food, and new church family members!

We are all anxiously awaiting the birth of Anna's baby.  She will be induced this thursday if she doesn't come on her own sooner.  Mom is in Seattle with Anna and has been cooking and cleaning, etc.  I know she's a huge help and a comfort to have around!  So, keep Anna and baby girl in your thoughts and prayers this week for a safe, and easy, delivery!

18 Months Old and Mother's Day

Yesterday was an especially celebrated Mother's Day as Sullivan celebrated 18 months!  He is growing so fast, learning so quickly, and the weeks and months just fly by!  I'm going to share several videos since I haven't posted in a month! 

Tomorrow is Sullivan's official 18 month appointment, but I'm going to go ahead and give you some of the fun stats!  He has become quite the singer in the last few months.  We've added singing a few songs to our nightly routine before bed, so that, coupled with the singing at school, it is really catching on!  There is no doubt he's a chorus man, and enjoys chiming in the these various parts of songs:

• The "Yes Jesus" and "Bible" in Jesus Loves Me
• E-I-E-I-O and animal sounds
• "beep, beep, beep", hand motions, and "All through the town" in The Wheels on the Bus
• "merrily, merrily" in Row, Row your boat
• "Amen" at the end of prayers!

Sullivan has a very sweet disposition and no fear of running amok through crowds.  He does get shy if someone addresses him directly though.  He still briefly crys most mornings when we drop him off at school, but usually stops before we get out of the building.  Breaks my heart each time though.  Needless to say, Daniel and I practically arm wrestle over who gets to go in to get him in the evenings!  He's always so happy to see us and as soon as he's in our arms, he's turning to wave bye bye to his classmates.  He knows the names and sounds of these animals now: giraffe(no sound cause i don't know the sound), cow(moo), chicken (cluck, cluck), duck (quack quack), dog (growl), cat(memow), frog, elephant, bird, sheep(baa), snake(ssss), monkey, bunny, horse (nay), lion(roar), fish...New words he likes to say/recognizes: moon, stars, shoes, socks, chair, Bailey, Bebe, Freddy, fish, boat, baby, fan goes round and round, flower, trees, water, giraffe, tissues..

This is really a wonderful age!  I love that he can answer my questions and run around in the yard while we work in the garden, etc.  He's totally happy following Bailey and Sophie around and checking out whatever we are working on.  We appreciate he is very independent most of the time.  I definitely worry whether we are teaching him enough, setting good examples, etc.  As any mother does, I want to give him the greatest head start on life I can.  I hope he'll grow up big and strong, smart and kind.  I look forward to many years of exploring together! I am so blessed that God chose me to be his mother! 

And on that note, our Mother's day was really great this year!  What we had expected to be a small (read: just the 3 of us) celebration, turned into brunch for 12!  It was wonderful to see the extended family members who were able to come, and to spend Mother's Day with both my Mother and my Grandmother.  After brunch we spent the afternoon in the baby pool and working in the yard.  We had a really wonderful day! 

Ok, you get a break from videos for now since blogger is having issues uploading them!  I'll just have to post again this week with the other stuff I want to share!  Happy Monday!

PARP and 17 months old!

My title comes from this hilarious blog post. Since the weather was gorgeous this weekend, we tried to stay out of doors a good bit.  Saturday morning we tackled house cleaning and then moved to the yard while Sullivan napped.  We got a few more azaleas relocated, but haven't quite finished with that project, so no pictures yet.  Moving stuff is a pain, but the things we are doing now are saving us work in the long run (hopefully). Below is a picture of the new fence Daniel built around my veggie bed to keep all the critters out!  He also put pine straw around the perimeter to negate the need for mowing/weed eating and to give me a clear walk way around the bed.  I'm excited to get stuff planted!

 We met Rachel and her family and friends at the new South Depot Taco Shop in Oxford.  This was our second time to go, and my pork tacos this time were messy, but way better than the chicken tacos I had previously.  I recommend you check them out!  Daniel has gotten the Korean and Asian tacos both time and really enjoyed them. 

Since the other kids we were with needed naps after lunch, the Martins hit up Avent Park.  Sullivan had a great time!  Next time we'll come prepared for a longer stay! He really enjoyed playing music and running around the little buildings. 

Sunday Daniel played in an early morning golf tournament, so Sullivan and I were lazy bums.  I read most of the day and we both stayed in pjs.  It was wonderful!  Although I should probably have been working outside, it was nice to just chill. 

Sullivan celebrated 17 months on Friday!  Maybe he's turning over a new leaf because he ate pizza Friday night and a cheese quesadilla Saturday!  Shocking that that impresses me?  It's wonderful to be able to go out to eat without carrying something just for him to eat!  He is very independent and wants to feed himself!  The hitting and saying No has seemed to decrease over the last week, so maybe it's starting to sink in that that behavior doesn't fly around our house.  Overall, he gets more affectionate each week!  He gives wonderful hugs and slobbery kisses!  He wants you to kiss his 'froggy' good night and good morning too!  He shocked me this weekend by flipping through a photo album and saying a version of my niece Madeline's name!  He then said my other niece Avery's name!  I couldn't believe it!  I guess those girls have really made an impression on him!  Glad we all get to see each other this coming weekend!  Sullivan's list of animals/animal sounds is growing to include ducks/quack and horses/neigh.  He can recognize/attempt to repeat all the items on his quilt: boat, lighthouse, dog, baby, crab, horse, frog, etc.  Loves to say shoes and to play with any shoes lying around.  If he's not wearing our shoes then he's arranging them all ON the coffee table.  He also enjoys removing my shoes from my feet and then putting them back on me!  It never gets old!  He's very fond of his privates and will grab hold, say 'peepee' and grin when we change his diaper.  Boys learn early to be proud of that, don't they!  Sullivan loves to wave and say "hey" to people in stores, restaurants, and even when we pass cars on the road.  He'll say "truck" and then wave "hey" to just about everyone we pass on the way to daycare in the mornings.  It's adorable!  All in all, we still think he's the bee's knee's and just about the sweetest thing ever.  We are so lucky!