Thanksgiving 2008

*What we're most thankful for this year.

*What we'll be thankful for forever.

*Playing with Grandma

*My family ready to grub

I have so much to be thankful for this year! It's overwhelming to think of all the blessings we have recieved from the Lord's hands. I am grateful that we were able to spend time with family on Thanksgiving. We had lunch at Anthony's mom's and dinner at my Aunt Cindy's and Uncle Greg's. It was lots of fun, and the food was fab.

I finally learned how to make Grandma's pecan pie. It is amazing. Last year my mom made me one and sent it in the mail. I was pregnant and ate the whole thing in less than two days.

This year, we were given the greatest blessing of all-- Landon James. He is the light of my life. I wake up smiling each day just to see him smiling back at me. I sing songs, he sings with me. I read books to him and have great joy in his small triumphs. When he's sad, I'm sadder, but when he's happy, I'm the happiest.

Anthony and I have been simply amazed at how much he has accomplished in the last two weeks. Last weekend, he grew two teeth. Then he started pulling himself up onto the couch and standing. He has been saying Mama, Dada, and Hi. Yesterday he surprised us when he just started clapping out of no where. We clapped back, and said, "Bubba, say, Yay!" So, he clapped and said, "Yay!" Last night he stood up all by himself for like five seconds! He just gets more and more fun! I am thankful to be a mother. I was made for this.

*Landon clapping and saying, "YAY!!!"

Outlet Shopping

*The funniest girl in the world. I love her! You should read her hilarious blog.

We went outlet shopping today with our good friends Dani and Kevin. It was fabulous because Anthony was kind of enough to take Bubba while Dani and I went our way. Kevin stayed with Anthony at NikeTown, and he was the designated diaper bag carrier. As Dani handed it to him, he freaked out and said, "No! We're going to look like homosexuals!" We quickly walked out the doors.

Later on as we were shopping, we saw Anthony pushing Bubba in the stroller with Kevin at his side. I have to admit, they did look like quite the couple, and they sure did have a cute baby. It doesn't help that Anthony dresses so nice. Not that I'm complaining.

"You Crawl Like a Speed Demon!"

*I was trying to make him laugh, so he made this face and started to cry.

Bubba is crawling all over the place! In the last two days he has taught himself to pull up on the couch, tv stand, and anything else within reach. He is more and more fun each day, but leaves me more and more exhausted each day. I feel like I'm constantly running around, pulling him away from things, and redirecting. I better be thin soon.

I just overheard Anthony say, "Bubba, you are the fastest! You crawl like a speed demon!" I wonder what my child will soon be repeating.

*Video- Sorry, it's sideways!

My Husband, The Picky Eater, and I Know My Soup Looks Disgusting

In a picture perfect world, my house would be sparkly clean, I would have dinner on the table every night, and my husband would happily eat it. Well, too bad I don't live in a house. It's a tiny, one bedroom apartment. And too bad I don't have a table. Landon's crib (which he won't even sleep in) is occupying our dining room. But hey, I am trying my best to be the greatest housewife/homemaker/mom ever, so the last few nights, I have taken it upon myself to actually make dinner for my ever-so hardworking husband.

So, the first night I decided to start simple. Garlic Chicken as the main entree with a side of rice, and a side of corn. Well, I only had to ask Anthony about 12 times to help me know what to do with the rice cooker, and to tell me if he thought the chicken looked "ready". Dinner was not so bad. Husband ate it. Mission accomplished.

Quick input: If you know me, you know I am married to the pickiest eater in the world. I have begun to realize my husband is more than picky. He has a food phobia. It's very serious. I can list more of what he will eat that what he won't because the list is very short.

• some vegetables
  
• red meat


• chicken


• french fries


• noodles/rice/bread
  

There's the list. And people wonder why I don't cook. What is the point of cooking if you are the only person that's going to eat?!

Anyway, on to my second night. I feel like I was basically in the kitchen all day for this one. I made some cornbread from the Jiffy box. They were on sale for 43 cents the other day, so we'll probably be having cornbread for awhile. The main entree was soup. I don't really know what kind of soup, but I can tell you how I made it. I put the following in the crockpot and let it sit on high for basically the whole day.

• 2 chopped potatoes


• chopped carrots


• chopped grilled chicken


• can of corn


• can of green beans


• 4 cans of chicken broth


• 2 cups of rice


• garlic salt
  

I thought it was good. Samantha said it was good. And now for the moment I had been waiting for all day. Anthony comes home. I kindly ask would he like some dinner. He kindly asks me to bring him a bowl. I proudly fill it up and happily bring it to him. He hesitantly asks what's in it. I explain. He takes one bite. One bite. That's all. One bite. He's done. One bite. That's it. One bite. I don't talk to him for the rest of the night.

Okay, okay, so after waking up this morning, I realize I maybe overreacted by ignoring him as he profusely apologized, and told me it's the thought that counts. He applauded my cookies and even took seven of them to work with him today, but still...it was the soup I labored with love over and may I emphasize labor. Moving on. Maybe we will live on take-out for the rest of our lives.

Happy Halloween!

I could hardly wait for Halloween this year! Everything is so much more fun with Bubba here. I decided that I wanted to make his costume for his first Halloween. What was I thinking? After glue gun burns on my fingers, hats and yards of fabric ruined, I finally decided to use cotton balls. The whole project ended up costing me more than if I had bought the costume, but I don't care because I made it!

My Bubba was a baby sheep! The chubbiest sheep I ever saw. Everywhere he crawled, cotton balls were left behind. I was a school girl (for Anthony), and he was a school boy. He's not much for dressing up, but it worked out. We took Landon trick-or-treating to close family and friends. I pocketed the candy for myself.

Annie and I helped Nikki plan a Halloween party at her house. It was much anticipated and we spent much time sweating over games, food, and decorations. The party turned out to be so much fun! Our friends looked so great in their costumes and they brought the most creative halloween treats. Monica brought caramel apples with scary faces, Nikki made cookies shaped like pumpkins, bats, witches, frankenstien, and I made a spider cake that Anthony says looked just like a turtle.

Because I am a Mom, I was late to the party, and left early, but the time in between was well worth the year-long wait.

Pumpkin Maze

I love October! I love it because it jumpstarts the Holidays. Halloween has been a favorite day of mine since childhood, and now that Bubba's here it's even better. I can't wait to dress him up in a costume and parade him around next week. I don't know what he's going to be yet, but it will be good.

Tonight Anthony and I took Bubba to the Pumpkin Patch. They have an amazingly, huge Pumpkin Maze. I overheard a woman say it took her two hours to go through! Crazy! But then I saw a picture, and thought it would probably take me longer than two hours. So, ofcourse we did not go through the pumpkin maze this year. Definitely when Bubba is older. There was a lot of other stuff to do there though. They had a giant pumpkin bounce house, hay rides, pony rides, petting zoo, face painting, pumpkin shooting range, haunted house, food, photobooths . . . endless fun.

We worked up quite an appetite with all that pumpkin fun, so we were pretty famished and headed off to Tracy to find some grub. After arguing with Anthony for what seemed like hours over whether we should go to Olive Garden or Famous Daves, I gave in and we ended up at Famous Daves. The food was actually really good, but we wont tell Anthony that.

After dinner, Anthony put his cornbread into a to-go container and said, "The cornbread fits in there perfecty. Just like you fit in with us perfectly, Bubba. Your Mommy and Daddy love you soooo much." It just touched my heart. I love seeing Anthony and Landon interact. Bubba is happiest with Mommy and Daddy together. I feel the same way. I am so happy and so content just spending time with my family. I am at such a joyful time in my life, and I hope it just gets better from here. I am reminded of the song by Edwin McCain. His words express my feelings best . . .

And these are the moments,

I thank God that I'm alive.

And these are the moments,

I'll remember all my life.

I've found all I've waited for,

And I could not ask for more.

Looking in your eyes,

Seeing all I need.

Everything you are,

Is everything to me.

And these are the moments,

I know heaven must exist.

And these are the moments,

I know all I need is this,

I have all I've waited for,

And I could not ask for more.

I could not ask for more than this time together,

I could ask for more than this time with you.

Every prayer has been answered,

Every dream I've had's come true.

Right here in this moment,

Is right where that I meant to be.

Ohh here with you, here with me.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Bubba!

Bubba turned six months on Friday, October 10th. Seriously, the very same day it seemed as if I had a different baby. He has been so fussy! I don't know if it's because he's teething or what. Part of my plan for when he turned six months, was to give him rice cereal before bed and really work hard to have him sleep in his crib. Because, I have been exclusively breastfeeding, we have been co-sleeping. It has worked really well for our family until now, because he's so big and so active (even in his sleep). It's just time for him to sleep in his own bed. I decided to try the Ferber method. Dr. William Ferber suggests letting the child self-soothe, but you check on them every so often, give comfort, without picking them up, and gradually increase the time intervals. Supposedly, if done right, the baby should be self-soothing and able to fall asleep in the crib within a week. Last night was difficult. I put him in his crib and he cried and cried. It was awful. I let him cry for about 20 minutes, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I ended up bringing him back to our bed. I tried again today for naptime, and ended up giving in. I just hate to see him cry like that, but I think more than anything I need to disclipine myself. So, as of right now he's sleeping in his carseat. I know, I need to stick with the plan. This is harder than I thought.

It seems like the older kids get, the more challenges that arise. But then again, they become so much more fun, too. Bubba has been much more interactive. He loves to smile and flirt with ladies. He loves to hang out with the boys. He'll sit in his little rocker and watch football with Daddy and his friends. He entertains himself for longer periods of time. He's also almost crawling. He gets around pretty fast by rolling and scooting, but he's almost there. Landon also does push-ups. It's the funniest thing. But anyways, the other day just before naptime when he was so incredibly cranky, I rocked him to sleep. As I was holding in my arms my suddenly quiet and peaceful little boy, I came to realize that, wow, I have been a mother for six months. Half a year has already gone by in my son's life, and it happened so fast. He's already doing so much, and I'm kind of sad. My tiny little baby is no longer a tiny little baby, but I'm excited to see what other surprises he has in store for us. I'm excited to see who he becomes.