"Camping"

This weekend we had fun "camping". The reason why I say "camping" is because I don't really consider it roughing it. I was practically raised in a tent. My family and I camped all growing up. We have the best family memories from camping. However when I was in high school my parents "grew out of" the tent. So they invested in a 5th wheel camper. So "camping" now consists of beds, heater/ac, tv, kitchen, and bathroom. No longer do I have to venture out in the middle of the night to the nearest bush, but I can now flip on a light switch and sit on a toilet. Ahhh! Anyhow, my parents went up and stayed in their camper and they rented a camper for us to stay in. We went to a place in Virginia and it was beautiful! The weather was perfect fall weather... they just got like 10 inches of rain, but the sun was shining and it was high in the 50's-60's with lows in the 40's. It was a bit chilly and windy but we had fun relaxing and enjoying our family time. The leaves are changing and are so pretty. We enjoyed taking many walks as well as watching Ethan crawl across the camper floor! Ethan did well, but the last night was not so fun. He ended up in the bed with me and Matt ended up on the couch. Ethan did not want to sleep. I would be laying there trying to fall asleep and he would start laughing. It was funny. I enjoyed snuggling with him, but boy was I tired this morning. So now the unpacking/laundry and cleaning begins to get ready for this week!

Papa's idea of a good fall picture
A picture from one of our walks
Family picture in a Willow tree
Papa and Grammy decided to take the picture standing in front of the tree rather than up in it!
Ethan enjoying a camp fire... every time Papa or Grammy would chop wood he would laugh and laugh. It was so funny to see him chuckle over it!

We have a crawler....and more!

The past few days have brought on a lot of change. I feel like when Ethan does something new, he does it along with 5 new things. Yesterday he crawled across the living room floor! He has been taking one "step" and laying back on his tummy, and then taking two "steps" and resting again. So I knew for a while that crawling was just around the corner. Well yesterday we took a turn around that corner. He crawled consistantly on his own across the living room to a beloved toy! THEN after that, he crawled over to me and he pulled himself up to standing. So not only does my boy crawl, he pulls himself up. The neat thing is that Matt and I were both here to see it! Then today, he showed off his crawling skills more and then when he was fighting off a nap I went into his room to video tape him playing in his crib and he pulled himself up to standing on the rail of the crib!!! WOW! So many strides so quickly. I truly feel that walking is right around the corner. He LOVES to stand up against furniture or us. I am so proud of our boy!
So a couple of other things going on in our household....
Work is going so well and I have gotten over my emotions of leaving my son during the day. This job is a blessing and I still work good hours to see my baby and husband!
We had a successful surprise birthday party for Matt last weekend. It was a fun gathering of friends to honor my sweetie!
Monday night Ethan woke up every hour crying which was rough, I saw him the next day and come to find out he is getting his big incisor tooth on the top! No wonder!
Ethan woke up early Tuesday morning about 6:00a.m. screaming. He had gotten his leg through the one open crib railing and was trying to roll over! Poor baby probably about broke his ankle.
Yesterday I hurt my son for the first time and we both cried. This is so sad and I still cringe thinking about it. We went to Target as a family and I was buckling him back in his car seat to go home. I accidently caught his leg skin in his buckle! He started shaking and turning red and went to scream and it was that awful first scream where nothing comes out for a few seconds and then it is an enormous howl. I started frantically crying and screaming "oh no, oh no!" Matt was returning the cart and came back to the car to both of us crying and screaming. It was so awful to see his little skin pinched in the buckle and i'm trying to un-buckle it to get it out! I just held him outside the car calming him and then I sat in the car snuggling him a little longer. It took me longer to get over it than he did. Then I think God knew what I needed, because Ethan laughed the whole way home about something. It was like he got the giggles and the Lord knew that my heart needed that.
Anyhow, this weekend brings a camping trip with my parents. We are looking forward to going to VA to stay in a camper and have some good family time. My parents are all worried that it is going to rain, but we don't care! We need the rain and we will have fun regardless!
Well God is so good and I am so blown away by his love and mercy. I am learning so much right now and I realize how unhappy I am with my relationship with him. I want and need so much more. I am just so thankful that he doesn't need me to complete His work, but I am honored that I get to participate anyway! I just need to "get my head in the game". To use a sports analogy. (That's for you honey!) Thank you God for your son Jesus Christ and the fact that You sent him to be the way that we could be in a right relationship with you again! I am so blessed!

My little happy boy!
Knee-slappin' fun!
It's bathtime!
Matt's birthday!
Singing to Matt!

Interesting sleeping position

I went in to check on my baby and he was like this. My guess is that he was sitting up like he always does now and just leaned forward to go to sleep! Silly baby!

Ethan's latest

So this first week of work has overall gone well. It was emotional but got better towards the end of the week. I enjoy driving the kids to school in the van/bus. Then I work with 3 year olds for about 4 hours and then i'm a floater in the afternoons wherever they need me. I enjoy the teaching aspect as well as the cute kids. But boy does the clock seem to drag sometimes. I just long for the time when I can see my husband and my baby boy! Speaking of my baby boy... here are a few pictures of his latest antics. I'm in love!

Cheesin' it!
"I love standing on the furniture!"
"Papa thought it was funny to put his glasses on me, but i'm not so sure!"
"I LOVE TUPPERWARE!"
"This is what happens when daddy feeds me."
Whenever we go to get Ethan from his crib he's always sitting up now!
"I love my big teddy bear!"

8 months

Today is not only my husbands birthday but my baby boy turned 8 months old! I just can't believe how fast time is flying by. Everyone tells you that and you shrug it off, saying, yeah yeah but boy are they right! Ethan is standing against the couch all by himself but just won't crawl. He is waking up from naps and when we go get him he's sitting in his crib. I just can't say enough how much I am blessed and how much I love my son and husband!
Work was better today but I still cried. I am negotiating switching around and maybe getting home a few hours earlier than originally planned. Instead of being the lead teacher in the 3 yeard old room I may be a preschool teacher for half time kids and then a floater. I may even drive the van/bus in the morning to pick up the kiddos. I said I don't care what I do, I just want to see my baby boy more! Then when Ethan starts coming I can be the full time lead teacher, so we'll see. The people that work there are WONDERFUL. It is great and the kids are fun and it is also along the lines of my degree. They do teach and I do have little lesson plans, but not NEAR what the public school system is like. So really it is great, i'm just having a harder time adjusting than I thought. I went from being with my baby every minute of the day to being gone from 7:30-4:30 and I haven't even done those true hours yet. I've been going in at 9:00 and leaving at 3:00, so yeah.
Well we're off to Outback for my hubby's birthday dinner. Thanks for all of you that are praying for me during this transition time, it truly means a lot!

Happy Birthday to...

My wonderful husband!!! I love you so much!
Leave my husband a birthday message on his blog www.uticas.blogspot.com

Sad but good

Today was a sad day but I guess it was good overall. It was my first day back to work in 8 months and I wasn't prepared like I thought I was. I cried about 3 different times today just missing staying home with my baby boy. I know it will get better and easier but it was rough. I know it is a good thing because it is a blessing to have this job and Ethan will be joining me there soon enough, but it was hard to see the good out of today. At least he is getting to stay home with his daddy for now. We're in this big transition stage in our lives and it will take some getting used to. It just made me sad that our world is built out of being money driven. Things cost money therefore you must earn money to pay for them. We need an income and that means that one of us is going to miss out on being with our baby boy during the day. I had Ethan the first 8 months of his life, so now it's daddy's turn. In a perfect world families could be with their kids whenever they want and relationships would be valued more than making money.
Although it was an upsetting day, I do praise God for all of our many blessings in life and we have so much to be thankful for.

Gorgeousness

The last few days have been so beautiful! I echo many other's blogs that live in the state of North Carolina in welcoming fall! It has been absolutely glorious! The past few days have been VERY busy for me and my family. My brother and his family came into town and I loved snuggling with my 8 week old niece and playing with my 2.5 year old niece as well. She is SO cute and SO smart! She loves her cher cher! We also had my dad's sister and her husband down here from IL and we have had a few days of shopping and fun family times. Our fun family times consist of tellling stories, laughing, and EATING! My dad is a wonderful cook and he of course out did himself in meals of BBQ, Ribs, and Lasagna! My Aunt and Uncle also brought down our FAVORITE food from the north called Portillos! It is AMAZING! My favorite roast beef and italian sausage. It doesn't sound like much, but i'm telling you... it's awesome!
Tomorrow starts my first day back to work in almost 8 months! I'm nervous yet excited. I know it will be very hard to leave Ethan for this long. I've been the primary care taker of him for so long that it will be hard to leave him during the day. But hopefully a spot will open up soon at the daycare so he can come too. That's the plan at least. Matt is excited to work for our church more and start back with his masters soon as well as being able to spend time with Ethan. He didn't get to see him much when he was working full time, so I know this will be so nice for him. Good timing too, because Ethan will be crawling soon and daddy will have to do all the chasing! I got him while he was stationary, ha ha! Anyhow, as the seasons change so do a lot of things in our lives. I welcome change, sometimes it is good to have a refreshing new start or adventure. Well i'm off to clean the house, I don't want to start coming home from work and have to do all the dishes and chores, I want to be able to spend all the time I can with my son before he goes to bed. Happy Fall!

Family Pictures

Yesterday we took our family pictures at Sears. My little booger wouldn't smile at all!!! I cannot believe it. He is usually a ham for pictures but he wouldn't for them. I think he was a little overwhelmed with us all stuffed in a small room and taking so many pictures. But we got a good one of the whole family. Currently i'm at mom and dads because we have family in town from IL. It is beautiful outside and we are having a good time visiting. Mom had the pictures on CD so I thought i'd post some.
p.s. I'm a little unhappy with my blog look, but can't seem to fix it. Any ideas?!

FFF- Finally Feels like Fall!

So today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day! Matt and I decided to pack a picnic lunch and head out to Jordan Lake. The high today was 68 and it was breezy so it actually made it pretty cool out! I put a little hat on Ethan that I got from the consignment sale that had never been worn and it was SO cute! We had a lot of fun just hanging out in this beautiful sunny weather.

"What's this green stuff?"
Fun on the park bench with daddy.
"Mommy, you're so funny!"

We stopped by Target on the way home and bought some new sports bras and running shorts that I needed badly. A girl friend and I started running last week together and i'm very happy about the way it is going. Getting strep set me back a bit, but I am looking forward to getting back into shape and being healthy.

This weekend we have family from IL coming into town and we are getting family pictures done tomorrow. So it is going to be a jam packed weekend of events, right before I start back to work on Monday! Yay!

One last thing before I go... praise the Lord for He is good! I'm continually blown away by God and how He meets our needs. I was talking with my running partner about some financial things, like a college loan bill being late because they had our wrong address in the system and all this mess. Anyway, Matt got a call and someone is donating money to us through the church! Praise the Lord!! Coincidence? I think not!

The results are in...

The throat culture that was sent to the lab says that Matt and I have strep. Thankfully we were already put on antibiotics and are already feeling better! So our whole family is on the road to wellness!

Growing up...

I had to write another post so soon because 1) how many things can you do when your home sick and 2) Ethan had 2 huge things happen today! No, he didn't crawl but he's almost there. He was on all fours trying to crawl when he went from the crawling stance into sitting! That is the first time he's done that. He's looked like he's about to sit up on his own from lying down but he's never done it. So yay for sitting up on your own! And when I was checking out his top teeth that look like they are about to bust through, I noticed that he already had another bottom tooth coming in! So all this time i've been looking up top, who knew he had a little tooth sneak through on the bottom! I've been kinda sad about how fussy he has gotten but what else do you expect when he's had an ear infection and he has teeth coming in?!! I am so proud of him! It's so fun to see your baby grow and experience new things. Although I am very happy and proud, I am not trying to push him through stages. I've seen so many parents compare their child to others and practically push them through stages that they don't enjoy the stage their child is in now. So my goal is to enjoy Ethan for what he is experiencing now on his own and not look at anyone else. Unless his 8 week old cousin starts crawling before him! Ha.

....

....who knew that codeine made me throw up.... who knew you could throw up when all you've eaten all day is 1/2 can of spaghetti-O's and 2 slices of bread....oh well, i'll consider this the ultimate weight loss plan....

Thank you mom and dad for taking Ethan for the day and night, it has helped tremendously.

We're all sick

I mentioned in my last blog that Ethan has had really bad congestion and we found out on Wednesday he has his first ear infection and first sickness ever. He got put on antibiotics and i've been having "fun" suctioning his nose and he's been sleeping with a humidifier and whatnot. It is so hard to see your baby sick and you just want to miraculously heal them! He is starting to do better. However, a few days ago Matt and I started getting sore throats. This is the worst sore throat i've ever had. Feels like I have a shard of glass stuck in my throat every time I swallow. We both went to the Dr. this morning and the rapid strep test was negative, however the Dr. said that our glands are really swollen and both throats are red, especially Matt's. I was up all night with a fever and was dizzy. So we've definitely been hit with a bug. The Dr. put us both on antibiotics and tylenol with codeine for pain. He also sent off another throat culture to the lab to do more detailed tests that the rapid test didn't pick up. So our whole little family is sick! My parents thankfully took Ethan for the day and Matt and I have been able to sleep and rest. Ethan is doing a little better. Ethan's pediatrician said a horrible case of the croup is going all around and that can send the babies to the ER. So watch out for your little ones. Well i'm off to rest more. I am in love with tylenol and codeine!
p.s. My hoss of a son got weighed at the Dr. last Wednesday and he weighs 22.35 pounds. I am crediting the .35 to the carrots he had just eaten before they saw him! Ha. He is in size 4 diapers and wearing 9 and 12 month clothes. He will be 8 months in 10 days! Crazy!!!

My baby is sick!

This past week Ethan has had a snotty and stuffy nose. I chalked it up to teething. Well last night he whimpered and cried and snot and sniffed all night. I heard him sneezing a few times and went to check on him. When he woke up his whole nose and top of his lip was crusted over in snot. (yummy) Poor boy. I knew it was bad when he is refusing to take his bottle because he can't breath when he's eating. I made an appointment with the Dr. this afternoon and lo' and behold he has an ear infection. So he's on amoxicillian 2 times a day as well as tylenol every 4 hours for 24 hours. (I doubt I will wake up and give it to him in the night unless he wakes up crying). I am also buying a humidifier and we had to buy saline solution to squirt up his nose and suction his nose. (Sorry this ended up being a gross blog) He's done fairly well but his fussiness has kicked up today which makes it hard. Good thing he doesn't take a paci at night or this might be rough... he usually takes one at naps so he's been a little off today because he can't breath and suck on a paci at the same time. So say a prayer for my baby boy and myself as we get through this. Also, my dr. said the croup is going around like something fierce and I should watch for that. Scary. Hope your kids stay healthy if you have any!!!

My adventure with "S"

I have recently met a little hispanic woman who I will call "S". They live near us and started coming to our church. She has a 1 year old daughter. Well when I got home this evening from running with a friend, "S" was walking around pushing her daughter in a little car/wagon. I decided to go in and get Ethan and go for a quick walk with her. She LOVES Ethan. She is always commenting on his "beautiful eyes" and how he "looks like a little baby doll". Well I told her I needed to get my stroller from my car and she offered to hold Ethan while I did that. So I handed over my son (who she says is heavier than her daughter) and turned to get my stroller. All I heard was kissing sounds and "oh what a beautiful baby... yeah...you're a big boy... hello big boy..." I knew at that moment that he was being smothered with kisses all over his bald head. I laughed in my heart, got the stroller and we were on our way. We talked a lot about church and her life. Towards the end of our walk we passed by 4 teenage boys who were out throwing a football. The ball bounced away from them and towards us. I stopped the stroller, picked up the ball and threw a perfect spiral to them. One guy yelled, "DANG, SHE THROW BETTER THAN DE'ANDRE!" It was so funny. Who knew a white girl with a baby could throw a football so good?! As we continued walking we passed by our pool and "S" was saying how she cannot swim and I proceeded to tell her I used to be a life guard. She turned to me and said, "Wow... you know everything!" I just laughed. It was a fun little walk with her and I hope to be able to do more. She and her husband are searching a lot and came to the church because of a parenting series we were having. We are both also in love with the huge fish in a pond behind where we live. There are 3 HUGE fish... I blogged before about the big albino catfish. She said she loves them. She also told me to keep up the running and I will lose my fat! ha ha ha. I love it! I hope I have more adventures with "S"!

Busyness of life

So much has been going on lately and I have loved it all. Our church had an amazing family fun day where we cooked free food in the community park and also had the big inflatable toys for the kids. We wanted to reach out to the community here and let them know that they are loved and we wanted to build relationships with the people. It was a huge success! Who wouldn't say no to letting their kids have a blast and eat free hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, and cookies?! I met a really neat woman there who had 3 kids and her youngest was the same age as Ethan. I really hope to see her again. I told her about our church and she really seemed interested, I am praying she will come sometime! She is about my age and just moved here from NY!
My husband is leaving tomorrow for a few days to go to a church planting conference. We will miss him SO much but thankfully we are going to visit my parents (Grammy and Papa). My mom and I have some much needed girl time to catch up on... which will consist of shopping and talking and maybe a starbucks or two! I have so much to do because I am in the process of being hired by a daycare! I have to get TONS of stuff done like background check, fingerprinted, physical exam, TB shot... and more. So I will be running all around trying to get those things accomplished. I am ready to go back to working and serving and it is so neat to be able to take Ethan with me! What a blessing!
Last but not least Ethan is growing faster than I want him to :( His top two teeth are coming in any day now. They have been swollen and bothering him. He's been a bit more fussy than usual, but even for him that is nothing. He is really trying to crawl. He actually steps out but hasn't gone more than a step or two (crawling steps, not walking steps). I have officially babyproofed most of the house. Now I need to remember not to leave small objects on the floor because he is finding them and moving towards them and putting them in his mouth (ie. the newspaper)
I was looking at sales ad's the other day and he had manuvered himself towards me and picked up the sears ad and started playing with it and shoved it in his mouth. Even though he isn't officially crawling, he is moving across the room and I need to watch out!
Well thats all for now, things are great and we PRAISE God for who He is and how he is working in and through our lives!
p.s. My husband informed me that he doesn't like it when I write the caption above the picture. I told him I did that because you have to scroll down to read a blog and post pictures, but I am changing my ways to please him ;) Love you sweetie!

Bedtime the other night... I will always LOVE holding my sleeping baby boy... he rarely falls asleep during a bottle, but this night he was tuckered out.
Having fun with daddy at the family fun day!
Kate, Drew, Ethan and I at the family fun day.
Who doesn't like to play on big objects filled with air?!