Birthday Party Planning Thoughts

If we had the parties in January, I would have thrown a McQueen party and a Rain Forest party for my two boys.  However, since we had to push the parties off, this gave the boys time to chance their minds and now we are having a Winnie the Pooh party for my 3 year old (this Saturday) and an Under the Sea party for my 5 year old (some time next month).

Usually, my mom has helped with making special cut out cookies for the parties and my sister has made the cakes, however due to the limitations of health and time, all of that is on me...and I am taking it on!  I am actually going to do some things a little bit different than I did previous years, and I am hoping that we will have nice weather.  

The weekend, our guests will be visiting each of the Winnie the Pooh characters "homes" and doing some sort of activity while they are there.  I still have to a lot to do to pull this off - but I think that it will come together!  Time to put more of the thoughts in to action!

Thanksgiving Place Cards

I had a great idea for a Thanksgiving craft for the kids to do - turkey place cards! I found an idea online for the general "look" of the place card, and then I got out my construction paper and traced and cut out the body of the turkey. It took longer than I thought it would to cut out!!! I knew that I needed some help to prep this craft...so, I called upon my artsy hubby, and asked him to cut out the feathers and do something for the beak and gobbler thingie. I have to say that the beak and gobbler thingie looks A-MA-ZING!!! We decided that it would be better for Dawson to glue the feathers together in a fan (displayed below), rather that have the boys attempt to do that part, since we had 15 place cards to do!!! So, here are the parts that Dawson did, and then we had the boys glue the turkey on to the feathers and then the completed turkey on to a place card (we used a folded 4x6 index card).

The finished products: My 4 year old wrote all of the names on the cards - didn't he do a fantastic job!!! I LOVE how the "Y" got carried to the top of the name, since he ran out of room!

This one says "Grammie" - I love it!

This is my favorite - "Mommy" :)

Funny Happenings

A bowl of cereal at the edge of a counter + a curious 18 month old = a mess on the floor!

Oh my!

I was definitely grateful that no milk was present in the bowl of cereal! I was right there, but not close enough to intercept what I saw happen! I definitely need to remember that his reach has increased quite a bit, and he is interested in the world above him!

Anything funny happen to you today?

I'm Still Around!

A lot has been going on around here, and I am trying to prioritize my time, and limit my computer time. So, I have not been making the time to blog...but much has been happening around here...

1. Potty Training - I am definitely a first time mom at this! You see, I thought that Brady was completely trained after he did pee and poop into the potty last week...however, the poop has not happened in the potty since then!!! :( I am not sure why he does not let it out when he tells me that he has to go, and we get him on the potty...he seems more comfortable to do it in his pull-up (at nap time) or in his diaper (bed time). This has definitely been a test in my patience area. So, I think that I am going to make up a sticker chart - thanks, sis!(I had thought of doing that before, but have not yet). I am hoping that this will motivate him to do the poop on the potty, because he LOVES stickers! Overall, he has been peeing just fine on the potty, with an accident here and there. I will keep you updated!

2. Smiles - He is my adorable little 14 month old! He is enjoying sitting on the little potty too...fully clothed of course! He is so cute! Smiles is starting to babble A LOT and to say q few words too: Dada, Mama (sometimes!), bib, baby, that, bye-bye - those are the main ones that I can think of right now, probably a few more! His personality is bursting forth! He is so friendly and loves people...but likes to be with mommy and daddy the most! It is also fun to watch him and Brady play together - they have so much fun running around and chasing each other, and playing in their "semi-permanent" tent.

3. The Semi-permanent tent - my kids love playing in the little blanket tent that we made in the corner of the living room...so, instead of taking it down and putting it up every day, I have left it in place for the time being. It is so cute to watch them come downstairs and head right for the tent. Since they play in it daily, and it is in the corner of the living room, I really do not have a problem with having it up right now.

4. Organizing my time - this is something that is still in process. Some days, I feel like I have NO TIME to get anything done, besides taking care of the kids - feeding them, clothing them, playing with them, etc. I know that those are all good things, but I really need to get other things done. So, I am trying to evaluate my time, and how I am spending it, and re-prioritizing things. I don't have a lot to say about this, but will try to post things as I grow in this area.

Ok, that is all of the time that I have for the computer right now! I have much to do - we have a fun family week coming up, and I have planning to do for that!

Happy Birthday Smiles!!!

I can hardly believe that my little Smiles is already one year old! It is amazing how quickly he grew up in one year!

One year ago today, we were waiting in the hospital for his arrival - walking the halls of the hospital, sitting in the whirlpool to help speed things up, playing Yahtzee - and having a contraction every time that it was Dawson's turn...hmm...something was about to happen! Our little Smiles entered our lives at 7:20pm, and it was love at first sight!

When he was born, he was so little, so helpless and was completely dependent on us. Now, one year later, he smiles a lot and he is walking all over the place (he is still dependent on us, but in a different way)! Today, he actually did a little bit of a run! :) Smiles brings us so much joy and laughter and I am so thankful that the Lord placed him into our lives. I love his giggles and I love the way that he snuggles with me and plays with his brother. He is our little gift from the Lord, as is Brady, and I am so thankful to raise these mighty "men" of God! What a gift!

Happy Birthday, Smiles. We are love you so very much and pray that you have another blessed year. We pray that the Lord will shower down upon you every good gift that He has for you. The He will bless you and that you will come to know the Lord personally at a very young age. I also pray this same prayer for Brady (I was not feeling well when I posted about his birthday - and he is just as special to us as Smiles). We pray that the Lord will use our sons as a mighty force to further the Kingdom, and that they will always be great, best friends throughout their lifetime!

It Was At Least 20 to 25!

As I stated in my last post, we spent Christmas day at my sister's house. We had a great time!

After dinner, we were in the kitchen talking and getting ready for dessert. My sister was at the sink and I was across from her, leaning against the counter while watching Smiles crawl around the kitchen. I had just followed him in from the family room, and I am so glad and thankful that I did!

I have to tell you that he took his first official step the day after he was 11 months (December 9th) - which is exactly what his Brady did! Since Smiles, he would stand up, get his balance while not holding on to anything and then he would smile (of course) as he took between 2-4 steps towards me, while falling into my lap. I figured that he would walk soon, but thought that it was a few weeks away.

Ok, back to the kitchen. Smiles crawled over to the fridge, and climbed into his standing position. I got my sister's attention to look at Smiles, and I am sure that she is glad that I did, because then he did something that he had never done before. He started to WALK!!! He walked from the fridge, to her sink, then somehow turned around and walked back to the fridge!!! He probably took over 20-25 steps - maybe even 30-35, and even steadied himself a few times!!! I was so amazed and excited...and Dawson, my mom and Brady walked into the kitchen while this was happening, which made it even better! We were all so proud of little Smiles, and so we all clapped for him, and he joined us with the clapping, which was so cute!

I am so proud of my little guy, and I am so excited that I was there and got to see the whole thing! He has not taken that many steps again since then...but, watch out world, here he comes! :)

Update on Smiles

After the surgery on Monday, Smiles was groggy and tired most of the day, but he was back to his regular self by Tuesday - which was good to see!

Today, I was able to take the bandage off of his incision, and then next week he has his post-op appt. I am very thankful that he has not been bothered by the bandage at all this week - he only touched it a couple of times yesterday, but did not try to take it off...I think that it would have been too hard for him to do on his own anyway. You see, his incision was actually covered with gauze and then some type of plastic that "sticks" to his ear, skin, and hair!!! I was not really looking forward to taking this off of him, so I waited to do it tonight, when Dawson could help me out...and I am SOOO glad that I did!

The plastic stuff was sort of like tape, meaning that it was sticky...and it was on some of his hair!!! (BTW - they had to trim his hair a little bit when they did his surgery and they put it in a little plastic bag and gave it to me! I thought that was so sweet! I guess they could tell that he has not had an official first haircut yet!).

I thought that the sticky plastic "tape" would come off easily...boy, was I wrong! Dawson first tried to hold him in a sitting position on his lap while I tried to peel the tape off - that was not working. We tried having Dawson hug Smiles - that did not work. So, finally, we had Smiles laying belly down on Dawson's lap, while I tried to peel this "tape" off. There was a lot of crying and a lot of praying - and Brady was also telling Smiles, "It's okay" and trying to comfort him. So sweet.

I think that the worst part of taking this "tape" off was when I got to the hair. I almost decided to get the scissors out and just cut the tape off (that would have looked "great!"). However, I feel that the Holy Spirit reminded me of how I would get something out of my hair with as little pain as possible. So, I held his hair down with my fingers, so the roots were not being pulled, and then gently pulled the tape away and then I would move my fingers up to the next spot and I would repeat what I did. It went somewhat quickly and the crying did not increase, it stayed at the same level. Then, the gauze seemed to be a little stuck to the incision!!! So, I got a wet wash cloth and water helped to "unstick" it! AHHHHH!

It was a little stressful to me, but I was so glad when it was done, and after I rocked Smiles for a little bit and snuggled with him, I eventually got some smiles from him - it made me smile.

The incision area looks great to me! So, I guess now I just need to keep it clean and dry and we will see the doctor next Wednesday!

Resting In His Presence

We are home from the surgery. Everything went well. We actually did not get to talk with the doctor afterwards - he had to go straight into another surgery, but the nurse gave us great instructions as to how to care for Smiles. So, we will see the doctor in 7-10 days for the post op appt.

Smiles did fine without his morning feeding. He was so interested in everything that was going on around him - he did not even once hint at being hungry (plus, I fed him at 11:30 pm the night before, which I am sure helped!).

The Lord gave all of us such amazing peace and I continue to declare Joshua 1:9 over Smiles - "Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you, wherever you go" (My paraphrasing).

The only time that I heard Smiles cry (before the surgery) was after the nurse turned the corner when she was carrying him to surgery. The anesthesiologist told me beforehand that if Smiles was crying when he was brought into surgery, that it was actually not a bad thing, because he would inhale the anesthesia faster and would be sedated faster - so, I was not worried at all.

The doctor gave Smiles a little teddy bear that was dressed at a surgeon - it is so cute and Smiles liked playing with it before surgery.

We were called back to the recovery room about 35 minutes after we had left Smiles. The surgery took only about 15 minutes (I asked - I am always curious about those things).

After surgery, Smiles was groggy from coming out of the anesthesia, so I nursed him and then held him and sang to him songs like, "Jesus Loves Me" and "I love you, Lord" and he was at peace in his Mommy's arms.

Smiles is now sleeping, so I am going to try and sneak a nap in too (Dawson is already napping)! I have been up since 5:30 am (and did not get to sleep until about 12:30 am), so this momma is a little tired! My mom has Brady over at her house, so for now, I do not need to be concerned about him - thank you, Grammie and Poppy!

Thank you for all of your prayers. I did sense the peace of God all around us!

Safe in HIS Hands

On Monday morning (12/01), Dawson and I will be taking Smiles to have outpatient surgery. We will arrive at the surgery center at 6:30 am and his surgery will take place at 7:30 am. He was born with a cyst behind his left ear and it has grown in size over the past eleven months. It is not huge and no one notices it - but since it has grown, the doctor believes that it should be removed.

The surgery should not last long, and we will be able to take him home as soon as they release us!

Please pray for peace for Smiles - he has been struggling with separation anxiety. I have been praying for God's peace to rest upon him. Please pray that the doctor's hands will be guided by the Lord and that everything would go perfectly, without any problems. Please also pray that Smiles will be fine without being breastfed first thing in the morning! I am going to sneak another feeding in at around 11:30 pm tonight, but after, he is not able to have anything until after the surgery!

Grammie will come over to stay with Brady while we are with Smiles.

Thank you for all of you prayers! Although this is a simple surgery, it is not easy to see your baby being carried away by the nurses to be "put under" for surgery. Brady had surgery when he was 8 months old, and now Smiles will have surgery at almost 11 months old. This is just another time when I have to place my children into the safest place that I know if...in His hands.

Lullaby

About a year or ago, I started to sing Brady a lullaby. I made up the words and used the tune of the basic Lullaby song.

After Dawson finishes getting Brady ready for bed, I come into the room and sit on the end of his bed. Brady climbs into my lap and then I sing two songs to him, our Lullaby and Jesus Loves Me. Then Dawson sings, I Am a Promise (while holding Brady), and then he is put into bed and we finish with prayers and lots of hugs and kisses (and sometimes some tickles too - I just can't help myself sometimes!).

The other night, I had to go out for a little while - Smiles was in bed already, but Brady was not. While Brady was getting ready for bed, Smiles woke up crying - so, Daddy went in to check on him and Brady tagged along. Smiles had a burp, but before Daddy could put Smiles back in his crib, Brady wanted to also burp him - so he did this while sitting on the glider, and then he sang the Lullaby song to his brother! Dawson told me that it was so sweet! Brady put in Smiles name where his name usually is and sang his little heart out.

Yesterday, Brady came upstairs with me while I was putting Smiles down for his nap - as we were leaving the room, Brady said, "I have to pray for him." So, he went back into the room and prayed for Smiles' nap and then, he sang the Lullaby to him while holding his hand! It was so sweet and I was so blessed that I could watch the love pour from one brother to the other - and of course it was returned with a huge smile!

A Little Update

Things have been busy around here. I have not really had the time to blog, but there has been a lot going on - especially in Smiles' life (and in turn, mine!).

In the past three weeks, this is what has happened in Smiles' life (and no, it is not his birthday, like the bib states - it was just a clean bib that I grabbed!):

1. Crawling has begun - he is really good at it now, and loves going all around the house - today, he was attempting to get up the stairs!!! Sometimes, he goes a little too fast and does a "face plant" into the carpet - poor little guy! I always have him in my sight, in fact, I like to crawl around with him sometimes and chase him. He giggles a lot! I like to say, "Mommy's gonna get you!" and then I start to tickle him and he laughs and laughs! I love his laugh!

2. With crawling came pushing himself back into a sitting position. He looks so cute doing this - if you have not gathered, I think that most everything that he (and Brady) does is so cute.

3. His TWO bottom teeth have come through - within one week of each other! I think that the top teeth are going to come through any day too. I think that the teething has been bothering him a little bit - right before the teeth cane through, he would wake up around 2 or 3am crying. This is not normal for him. He sleeps around 12ish hours straight at night. So, I continue to pray that he would not have any pain or discomfort during this teething process.

4. Two days ago, he pulled himself up into the standing position - that was probably the third time that he has done that - but each time was spaced out quite a bit. Well, yesterday, he decided to become the expert on pulling himself up to the standing position - so that he can play with his leap frog table and the train table easier (before then, he would get himself up on his knees and play at each table). So, now he is enjoying keeping me on my toes and he is beginning to understand what "no" means.

My little Smiles has definitely been keeping me busy - it is so good though! I could tell that he has been wanting this freedom for a while, so it is fun to watch him explore our house in a new way.

Besides all of these wonderful things that he has been experiencing, he has also been a little constipated lately - to the point of crying and nothing coming out. That broke my heart! I really do not know what caused it, but mixing apple juice into his cereal and feeding him that three times a day helped to relieve him (and his mommy's heart strings too!).

Besides the happenings of Smiles, I have been trying to keep the computer off for a good portion of the day. When it is on, I am sort of drawn to it - to check on some blogs, check email, etc. - and that can tend to waste time that I could use to do other things like cooking, hanging with the kids, etc. So, that has probably been a major reason as to why I have not written a lot lately!

Other things going on with me:

1. I am so glad that I do not have a sinus infection any longer

2. I would like to go and see the movie Fireproof at the movie theater this weekend! Dawson and I wanted to go the weekend that it opened, but that is the weekend that I started to get sick...so, our date has been on hold for a little while now. It will be nice to get out of the house with my man! (I am not looking forward to paying the price for the ticket though - prices are so expensive!)

3. I have really been in the mood to cook and bake a lot - some of this has only gone as far as in my head though. Some of the dishes that I have been thinking about will eventually become reality...I just have to make the time to do it! :)

It is getting late and I need to go to bed! I will try to write more soon!

Watch out World!

It is official! As of last Tuesday, Smiles began to crawl!

He has been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees for at least a few weeks...and then he decided to take off! On Tuesday, he would take about 2 crawls (each hand and each knee would advance) and then he would fall down and take a rest...and sometimes cry!

I had no idea how long it would take him to get the hang of it and start to get in to everything. It only took a few days! He crawls "slow", but he gets where he want to go - and it is so cute to watch. He looks like one of those little baby dolls that crawls slowly.

That is now all though! He has also learned how to go from his hands and knees and push back into a sitting position! SO CUTE!!! So, guess how I have found Smiles after a nap??? Sometimes on his hands and knees and sometimes sitting up - facing a corner, or in the middle of the crib, and the cutest position happened today. He was sitting up with his legs hanging through the slats of the crib! I so wish that I had my camera! Thankfully his legs are not chubby, so they easily slid back through. He just looked so cute...but, I have to wonder - how in the world did he get into that position?

He is also pulling himself onto his knees so that he can grab anything that might be on the couch, or just to climb into Mommy's lap! :)

So, I think that it will be time to break out the baby gates again! I have been really enjoying the freedom of no gates, however I will have to make the stairs "off limits" for now!

It is so much fun to watch my little guys grow and develop - and it is so amazing to think that my little Smiles turns 9 months old on Wednesday! My two boys are such precious gifts from the Lord, and I love them to pieces!

Movin' and a Groovin'

"Why is he still awake? He is supposed to be taking his nap!"

Those were my thoughts this afternoon after I had put Smiles down for this second nap. He was not really crying, per se, but he was making noise - and this was going on for about 20ish minutes, which is not normal for him. So, I decided to go in and check on him...

What did I find?

Smiles was on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth! He has done that a few times on the floor, but his belly was completely off of the ground! Amazing! I am not sure if he was sort of "stuck" - because he had done a 90 degree turn and looked like he was about to hit his head into the rail of the crib while he was rocking. So, I checked his diaper, made sure there was not gas in his belly and layed him back in his crib...that was the last that I heard of him until he woke up!

It is so much fun to watch Smiles grow and develop. He is definitely becoming more mobile and I am realizing that I have to look around again and be sure that there are not too many things around that he could get into! While on the floor, he is rolling around more, moving around in a circle on his belly and while sitting up, he will lean forward so that he falls over (onto his face - I think that he has learned how to do it so that it does not hurt too much!), and he is also beginning to pull himself up! I feel like all of this happened in the last two weeks - well, at least an increase in everything! He is so adorable, I love him and I am enjoying watching him enjoy his new found freedom!

Smiles!

I have been trying to decide what name I should give our little baby for my blog...because he is not going to be a baby forever!

So, I have decided that his blog name should be exactly what he brings into our lives...

Smiles!

I am so thankful that the Lord placed Smiles into our family. He is such a happy baby and fun to be around. He smiles a lot and he spreads the joy that is welling up in him, on to others. There have been some hard times too, but the Lord has helped me through them - sometimes with just a smile from my little guy. I love being his and Brady's Mommy.

Smiles is now 6 months old and is 28 inches, 17 lbs. 5 oz., and he loves life and (most) people. If he is "not sure" about you, he will keep his eyes on you, no matter what else is going on around him (just ask Poppy! Although, he is fine with Poppy now.).

Today, he hit another milestone...he FINALLY rolled over from his belly to his back!!! PTL!!! He has been rolling from his back to his belly for quite some time, but was not going the other way. Grammie and Poppy witnessed it before I did - but that was okay with me! I am so ecstatic that he is doing it now - now I won't have to "save him"!

Smiles LOVES his big brother, Brady (the feeling is mutual) and he enjoys playing with him - you can see them playing tug-of-war with one of Brady's blankets.

I am so thankful that the Lord placed these two little men of God into my lives. They are a blessing to me.