The Final Countdown

Our remodel is in full swing.  Our family has spent hours upon hours up at the house painting and dry-walling and painting and painting and putting in tile and painting.  And some of them are going back this week for more painting.  Who knew painting the trim white would take more than four coats?  The insanity.

The Hubs and I didn't intend on gutting the place entirely and re-doing everything, but the clearances at Home Depot have been kind to us, and we've been able to swing a full-tilt overhaul.  We have kissed the 70's goodbye and ushered in our dream home.  We are one week away from carpet day and then its all downhill from there.  God has provided so much for us, and we are so looking forward to settling in to enjoy it! Moving day is February 11, and we can hardly wait!

The place looks fabulous- I can't believe how hard everyone has been working and what a difference some serious elbow grease and way-too-many cans of paint can make.  It looks like an entirely new house, and the flooring and furniture aren't even in yet!  These are exciting times for our little family.

In the meantime, the countdown to move-in day is competing with the countdown for ultra sound day.  February 16 we're heading in to take a peek at Baby and find out whether we're having a boy or a girl!  I almost keeled over in the aisle when I saw some of the Carter's spring/summer collection for baby girls.....what. the. cute!  And I have a brilliant idea for a little man nursery, so we have some fun shopping to look forward to either way.  =)

Newbie and I have been flying under the house-remodel radar, spending our days at home, trying to get creative with how to entertain ourselves while the Hubs is gone allll week and weekend long for the past few weeks.  My love language is time together when it comes to the Hubs, so the past few weeks have been long- totally worth the sacrifice (hello, new house!)- but I miss having my main squeeze around and having some back-up so we can all re-charge on the weekend.  I think everyone who's been working on the house for the past couple weeks is going to be well over due for a quiet weekend at home when its all said and done!

Yesterday our boredom drove Newbie to the bathtub with four tubes of finger paint and the intent to make a mess, Mother-approved.

He delivered.

I've let him run wild with paint, and I have become such a pushover when it comes to sleep.  Who knows what he will get away with next.  I feel bad at the lack of routine and consistency lately since we've been so full throttle into the remodel.  So its kinda a "put it on my tab" situation.  I'm such a sucker. We'll be paying dearly when we get into our new place, but for now I'm taking in all the snuggles I can get.  Newbie has been really clingly lately, and I think its largely due to how busy everyone has been and how much he's been stuck at home with me.  So he's taken a couple afternoon naps in "Mommy Daddy bed" and don't get me started on bedtime because the Hubs and I have shared too many a laugh over the circus that is getting Newbie to bed these days.  Night before last he was running around our room at 10:13 pm wanting to paint and play with the cat.  Madness, I tell you.

 (Do you like those mismatched pillow cases?  Evidence that my laundry is approaching an all-time low.  I totally dug those out of the bottom of the linen closet from when I was a little girl.  Mutte made them, and Newbie was digging my "Mommy bug piyow" so its all good in the hood.)

There has also been more than our fair share of Curious George viewings over the past two weeks.  Keepin' it real, man.

 

 

 (He belly-laughs his way through one of the episodes every time.  It's adorable.)

Lord willing, two weeks from now we'll be in our new house, starting to unpack and getting settled into a routine.  Then there will be less bedtime chaos and TV time. I miss routine.  And my bath towels.  I'm just being honest.

Here's to a happy Tuesday!

Foot in the mouth. Literally.

Yesterday Newbie was a little wound up at nap time, and after trying his crib for a while, I caved and brought him into bed to snuggle with me.  The sun was out, the temps were warmer than they've been in a while, I cracked a window, and I had just changed the sheets on the bed...it was the perfect setup for a fabulous afternoon nap.

I told Newbie he had to lie down next to me or he was going to have to go back to his own bed.

Newbie: "Mommy's bed." [places his head on the pillow]

Me: "You can stay in Mommy's bed as long as you lie down and take a nap."

I closed my eyes, thinking he might actually start snoozing right away.  (Wrong).

Newbie: "Onnnnnne....twwwwooooo....FREE!  FOWA! Yea. Yea. R in Ti-tago?  Yea.  Too-Tee in ses-sas? Yea.  Daddy a wook. Gym. Gym."

I kept my eyes shut, hoping he'd take the hint and settle down.

Newbie: "Ah-choo!  Ahhhhh-choooo! Ah-CHOO!  AHHH-CHOOOOOOOO!" (The best part about this series is that it absolutely started out in a whisper like he was testing the waters, and then escalated when he realized I wasn't opening my eyes.)

Then, I feel a tiny set of fingers start to pry my eyelid open. Wow.  Now there's a finger touching my actual factual eye.  Impressive. I hold my ground.  I'm not saying it felt good.  I'm just saying I really wanted to take a nap.

Newbie: "Mommy seeping."

The fingertips give up.

Now I have a foot on my face.

Teensy toes are touching my mouth...no, wait- teensy toes are now prying my mouth open.  What. is. happening?!

I seal my lips tight and try not to laugh out loud.  My frame is shaking with my withheld chuckles, and I finally crack a lid.

With a not-so-big big toe resting right on my lip, I look over to see the biggest ever grin on Newbie's little face.  He starts busting a gut laughing, triumphant that his foot-in-the-face trick finally won me over.  

He sits up and starts crawling down to the foot of the bed, ready to make a nap time escape since Mommy's up and his scheme worked.

I was torn.  He sure wanted to play.  But I knew an afternoon without a nap would soon not be an afternoon at all.  It would be a meltdown fest all the way up to bedtime.  I had to stick to my resolve.  Adorable foot escapade and all.

Me: "If you lie down in Mommy's bed you can stay here, otherwise you're going back to your bed."

He stops dead in his tracks, races back up to his place in the middle of the big king size bed and slams his head down on the pillow.  All smiling has ceased.  There is nothing worse than being demoted back to your own crib after you have successfully finagled your way into the coveted king-size bed. Head smooshed deep into the pillow, his serious little mouth curves behind his binky and says, "Mommy's bed.  Mommy's bed."

Ah ha!  Gotcha.  

Me: "Do you want some covers?"

Newbie: "Yea.  Nigh' nigh' Mommy."

I tuck him in, kiss his soft forehead and tell him to sleep good.

And we do.  For a solid two hours with the sounds of a sunny winter day slipping in through the window and the covers pulled all the way up to our necks.  

It was lovely.

Wishing you all a happy, adorable foot-in-the-face kind of weekend. =) 

Of forts and wobber sobbers

Today we made a fort.

(He is obsessed with the rug on the floor...I bought it to go in our new kitchen, and he always wants it laid out so he can run around on it in his room- "wug?  wug?!" Too funny!)

Because Daddy's car wouldn't start so he took mine and we are marooned here at GiGi Island.

(Wouldn't it be nice if the pictures I took were in focus?  Yeah, I know.)

Somebody loved it.

For two minutes.

Until he realized it was more fun to tear forts down than sit in them.

Life with boys.  =)

Speaking of my boy, I've been so busy with the house and so busy not blogging that I've failed to keep good track of our little man's latest and greatest.  He has been talking a ton, so brace yourself because the following few paragraphs are in lieu of that baby book I never fill out...

Two weeks ago when Newbie woke up from his nap, I walked in and said, "I love you, big boy!" to which he replied (are you sitting down?) "wuv ooo too, Mommy".  I melted to the floor and thought I'd never recover.  We had been practicing the "I love you"'s, but this was the first voluntary, no-strings-attached "I love you".  And I still haven't gotten over it.  He's doling out a lot of "wuv ooo's" lately- before bed, before someone leaves for work- but let's not forget who got the first one, yes?  =)

Newbie is obsessed with chocolate milk.  "Cha la milk?" is what we hear any time I ask him what he wants to drink.  We put less than a centimeter of chocolate milk in the bottom of a sippy cup and fill the rest with milk.  Homie hasn't caught on- probably because that's the way we rock it with juice and any other fun beverage over here.  Newbie's two favorite juices: "Gan-Dad's juice" (orange juice) and "boo juice" (a wicked awesome blueberry juice with pomegranate and apple that I occasionally steal a swig of).

"Daddy pay hockey, peas?" Oh my lands.  The Hubs and I almost fell over when Newbie said this yesterday.  The Hubs dropped his bowl of cereal on the counter, leaving the Cheerios to die in a soggy mess, and went right over to play hockey, because how to you turn down a little person asking you to "pay hockey, peas?"  He is all over the "pay now?" but this was the first full sentence with "play" and we were thrilled.

My personal favorite is when he talks about the dogs.  Its just hilarious.  "Opie bowl here?"  "Diffin eat ninner?" "OPIE, COME!  COME!" (complete with back bent, slapping his own thigh).  This kid keeps me in stitches.  He's also all over the cat, Bailey, and is always trying to hunt her down upstairs.  Poor girl has finally caught onto the game and usually goes running when she hears Newbie make it up the stairs.  Ha!

"Snnnno!"  Newbie squeals this anytime he looks out the window.  We're big fans of the white stuff this year.

"Wobber Sobber".  It's his word for any word he doesn't know.  Me: "What did you say?  Where is it you want to go?" Newbie: [points across the room] "Wobber sobber."  Oh, sure, wobber sobber.  How did I not catch that the first time?  We have tried for weeks to figure out what it means, and finally realized he uses it when he's not sure what to call something.  I'm sure it'll be a running family joke once Newbie gets older and can articulate more vocabulary.  "Hey, Honey, I know you called and asked me to stop at the store, but I can't find those wobber sobbers you asked for.  What did you need again?"  Awesome.

Last but not least, we never stop hearing about Chicago around here.  "R in Ti-tago?"  Newbie pulls this one out any and everywhere.  Its so random, but he's always asking if R (my uncle who was visiting here over Christmas) is in Chicago. He is, that's where he lives, so we always respond with a "yep, he's in Chicago".  Last night my mom and I left for a while and the Hubs did bath time and bedtime with Newbie.  When I got home, he said Newbie was asking about "Ti-tago" all night long, including a "Mommy and GiGi in Ti-tago?"  Ba hahahahaha!  He's recently added a "Too-Tee i' in sez-sas"  (Mutte is in Texas), so there's no telling when he's going to start thinking anyone who leaves the house may have ventured off to Texas.  What a riot.

Well, I have to rock and roll because Newbie's up from his nap, and its time to pull some serious magic out of my hat. We still have another five hours in these four walls alone before anyone will be home to entertain us, what with being marooned here without a car and all.  Wobber sobber.

Happy Thursday!

Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh

This morning we bundled up and headed out for an early morning doctor's appointment.  Newbie played in the waiting room with his daddy, dressed in a wool Elmo hat and loving the discovery that was piles and piles of magazines to reorganize and stack push to the floor.  I love my OB's office because it is decked out in all kinds of girly pinks and sparkly chandeliers and always feels like walking into a Barbie mansion.  I felt a little sorry for my boys when I ditched them in the waiting room, but I knew they could make a break for some elevator races if they hit a pink-a-thon overload.

Just about as soon as she walked in the door, my doctor pulled out the doppler and said, "Ok!  Let's hear a heartbeat!"  She surfed the surface of my growing belly with the doppler for just a few moments, listening to the thump thump thump of my heart until she stopped at the sound of a teeny tiny, hearty little swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh. Sweetest sound I've ever heard!

Little Baby's heart was racing away at almost double the speed of my own, and I couldn't stop smiling.  Thank you Lord! I whispered as we listened.  155.  Heart rate of 155, and everything sounds great!  Praise Jesus!  I am so so so thankful and feel so refreshed this morning after getting to listen in on our little wonder and hear what she or he was up to.  The Hubs and I just can't stop talking about God's goodness in watching over our littlest little and about how excited we are at the thought of getting to hold this little one on this side of Heaven.  We are tasting and seeing (and hearing!) that the Lord is good- though He always remains the same- it is such fun to experience His goodness in the anticipation of meeting this little one when we had to say goodbye to our last so early.  We're enjoying every moment over here in our neck of the woods.

Speaking of enjoying every moment...have you read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp?  I'm about three quarters of the way through, and oh, the things this woman is teaching me! I am loving it.  It took me some time to get used to her writing style, but by three chapters in I was hooked, and I'm telling you, this book is a game changer.  God has been molding me and shaping me a lot in the past several months, and this book is coming right alongside His teaching in my life.  I am adoring everything about what Ann has written, and drinking up a chapter each day.  I think I may be tempted to turn right back to the first page and re-read it when I get to the last!  It is phenomenal.

And with a fabulous Baby update and a wonderful book recommendation, I'm off to snuggle down and catch the tail-end of some Baby Einstein with Newbie before we crash for a nap. =)

Happy Tuesday!

Our House: Before

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've all had a fun weekend.  We have been busy hitting up every Home Depot within a 50 mile radius for various odds and ends on our to-get list for our house.  Mom and I went out yesterday with Newbie after breakfast and didn't come home until the dinner.  It was a busy, super fun day spent picking out all sorts of stuff for the house.

Today the Hubs is headed over to crank up the jams and start some prep for all the renovations we're beginning this week.  Last Thursday we both snuck away for the evening to pull out nails and pull down wood and scrub, scrub, scrub cabinets and counters and shelves.  I took a trillion pictures, knowing this is the last time this house will look like it does since we have some BIG plans in the works.

Here are several "before" shots so you can get a feel for where we started.  I'll post some pictures of the process as we work through it the next few weeks, and of course, lots of "after" pictures when we're finally done!  Think tons of paint and new flooring for starters...

 

(Here's the Hubs with a double thumbs-up for the kitchen)

  (The half bath...say goodbye to just about everything in this room- especially the creepy motel medicine cabinet above the sink and the what-were-they-thinking wicker toilet seat!)

 (Oh!  This is one of our favorites...stairs to the basement covered in carpet that looks like wood. Very classy, just the way we like it. =])

 (This is where I will (won't?!) be doing lots of laundry...it needs some TLC, but we'll get there.  Don't you love the random shower?  You never know when you'll need to take a dip before folding clothes, man.)

 (Here's the dining room...check out that glass display case and kiss it goodbye.  The Hubs got for real on that thing and its already outta there.)

 (Back down to the basement for a quick shot of the vintage stove. Its in perfect condition and is hooked up to cook away.  If I could paint this sucker red or teal and stick it in my kitchen upstairs, I totally would.  We may hold on to her for a while or put her up on eBay.  LOVE that thing.)

 

(This little beauty was a treasure left behind from the original owners.  Newbie has already claimed it as his new favorite chair, and we're going to let it stick around for a while.  I'm a big fan of the vintage kitchen look, so she stays.)

 

(Here's our cutie's little hallway, leading to the full bath and the three bedrooms.  Newbie runs in and out of all the rooms shouting "biiiiiig hows!"  The Hubs and I don't think Newbie's figured out the actual square footage of this baby.  =])  

 

(Here's a little peek at the full bath.  We picked out tile for the floor in here yesterday and I may or may not have snagged a ruffled shower curtain.  LOVE.)

 

(One of the bedrooms- they are all similar in style and size.  I can't wait to get some beds in these puppies and start calling this place home!)

 

(Be still, my heart.  When we met the sellers at the closing, the woman mentioned she left some of her mother's dishes in the cupboards, and if I wanted to keep them, I could.  I held my breath and hoped it was the set of green glasses I spied the first time we went through the house....and guess what?!  It was!  My grandmother has a similar set that I have always loved and I was thrilled to see these darlings still sitting in the cupboard.  Hooray!!!)

 

(After several years of no AC and old radiators, this thermostat is a sight for sore eyes.  We are so pumped about having AC and fabulous heating.  Praise the Lord!)

 

("Clark, this here's our pride and joy..."  The Hubs went all Demolition Danny on the hutch in the dining room and I love the way it looks now.  So excited to see those cupboards go from plastic that looks like wood to white! I think this might be my favorite part of the whole house.  I love a dash of character, man.)  

 

This weekend has been a lot of fun- we've done lots of planning and dreaming for this new house.  We are so blessed to have a place to call our own, and we are so excited to begin the work and move in!  There is a lot of painting and fixture-replacing and scrubbing on the agenda, but it is going to be such a fun project to take on.  The Hubs and I can't stop talking about how grateful we are that God has provided us just exactly what we need right now and how exciting it is to get settled into a new nest.  I've been benched for most of the renovating due to the bun in the oven, but I'm enjoying hanging out with Newbie and being a part of the planning.  Wahoo!

Newbie has been such a trooper over the past week.  He had some time to unwind Friday night on the iPad G-Mama (who Newbie now calls, "GiGi") has checked out for her class.  He was a whiz on it, asking over and over again for "lowdy" (Woody- it was a Toy Story read aloud book) and "da bugs! bugs." (a game where you smoosh bugs with the tap of your finger...gross!).

We've also done a lot of coloring lately.  Opie has a real taste for Crayons, and last night Newbie was coloring with his daddy when he ran up to me and said, "Mommy!  Opie eated a boo one!"  I can't believe my little guy is talking in complete sentences like this!  He had me cracking up.  He is always right when it comes to "Opie eated it" accusations.  Sure enough, blue Crayon right down the hatch.  Opie has a rainbow assortment of treats out on the lawn, and had apparently decided to add some blue to the collection.  What a winner.

In other news, Baby is doing well as far as we know, and we have our 16 week appointment on Tuesday.  No ultrasound this month, but we'll check in on the heartbeat and make sure everything is still looking good.  Prayers for our littlest little would be so appreciated!  Thank you, friends. =)  Only a few more weeks until we find out if we're having a baby boy or a baby girl!  Any guesses?  The Hubs and I think we've got a little girl in the works, but I thought that about Newbie too, so it's still anybody's game. Can't wait to find out and start planning another nursery.  What a gift new life is! There is not a day that goes by that we take for granted this fragile little life and what a blessing each moment we have with this little one is.  God is so, so good.

Newbie and I are gearing down for a nap soon.  Baking a baby and scouring Home Depot after Home Depot can really wear a girl down. =)  I'm thankful to have a day to slow down and rest.  Newbie could stand to catch a few z's too, after the busy week we've had.  There's just something so lovely about napping on a Sunday afternoon, isn't there?

Happy Weekending!

Looks like I graduated after all...hooray!

Last night I grabbed a memory card I found on the computer desk and stuck it in my camera hoping there was some space on it to take a few shots of our morning today. When I got online this afternoon to upload the pictures I took of our day, I ran into an archive of long lost photographs. My college graduation. Four years ago. I have been looking for these for YEARS, lamenting the fact that they are the only pictures we have of my College of Education ceremony, and therefore the only evidence that I actually graduated outside of the degree that is still waiting in a manilla folder for a fancy frame (Aunt C-Dog, could you and your fancy framing certification get on that?=]) 

Hallelujah. It looks like I graduated with a degree in education after all!

 

There were times when I wondered if all the portfolio making and lesson planning and student teaching nightmares were all a dream. So happy to see it wasn't a figment of my imagination. =)

Moving on...

This morning we went out for a celebratory breakfast. It was FREEZING cold outside. Like, put Newbie in his car seat and make three different trips inside for more layers, blankets, hats, and gloves before we finally started scraping the snow off the car and headed down the driveway. It. was. COLD.

Newbie is such a charmer at restaurants. He is always so excited and asks for "colors" (crayons) right away. We've been really spoiled since we sold our house, eating out far more often than we ever, ever do since we have a little more cash flow what without a house payment and all. Newbie has had his fair share of chocolate milk in big boy cups lately. He is ALL over that cup like stupid on Opie. (Sorry, was that not kind? I can't help it. He almost ripped my leggings today, so he is not on my happy list.)

 

Do you like my massive crocheted ear warmer? The Hubs gave it to me for Christmas because my ears are ridiculously sensitive to the cold. Like, feel as if they are going to explode with the slightest drop in temperature sensitive. What a thoughtful, good-looking man I've got.

We went to the house after breakfast, but I'm going to break it to you fast- like a bandaid: I did not take any pictures. I was too busy choraling Newbie away from the carpet guy's tape measure and pulling down lacy curtains that were stiff with 40 years of dust. Pictures to come, I promise.

The Hubs took off for work from there, and on our way home, Newbie and I stopped at the hardware store to get my man a metal snow shovel, per his request. Let me tell you something: metal snow shovels weigh a billion pounds. I felt like an Olympic lifter hauling that sucker through the store, big metal blade over one shoulder, Newbie on the opposite hip. Why did nobody offer to carry the billion pound shovel for the pregnant lady with the squirmy toddler? COME ON! You're killin' me, Smalls. I finally made it out of there, hoisted Newbie into his car seat, hoisted the shovel into the back of the truck, and swore I was never going to shop at the hardware store alone again. It is really no place for a pregnant woman on the edge anyway.

When we got home, Newbie spotted a "TIE-ANG-GULL!" on the floor. He said it five times before I realized he had found a sliver of light in the kitchen that left a triangle on the wood. Baby genius, man.

I whipped up some lunch for my little sidekick, then we climbed the stairs so momma could blog and Newbie could catch a pre-naptime Curious George episode. Check out who greeted us in the computer room:

Somebody shot right to the top of the Naughty List and it wasn't Opie. Or me. Newbie started crying because that's what he does anytime he realizes one of the dogs ate something awesome. Like a binky or a little blue sippy cup. Oh, the drama. Good thing we're headed to the store this afternoon. Number one on the list is an awesome blue cup replacement.

Wow. Has this been the longest post ever? I'll get on with it. It's time for nap over here, and it ain't only Newbie that benefits from a few afternoon z's.

Hope your Thursday is good to the last drop!

A trip through the 70's on the horizon...

What. a. whirlwind. I haven't posted in ages because: a) I am such a slacker with uploading pictures- and who wants to read a ton of posts with no pictures? b) We've been visiting paint stores and flooring places until my eyeballs were ready to roll right out of my head...super busy. c) Newbie is talking like crazy, and its a lot harder to sit at the computer and blog when he comes up to me and asks, "Mommy pay now? Mommy pay peas?" I mean, really? How do you say no when a curly-haired toddler asks you if you will come and play instead? But I put a pause on everything to jump on the blog and announce that the Hubs and I are officially homeowners! We closed on our house today(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and could not be more excited! We are so so so grateful for God's timing in providing this house for us and just for His faithfulness in meeting our needs. He is so so good! We're going out to breakfast tomorrow to celebrate, then we're hanging out at the house for the morning while the carpet guy comes to get some measurements, and Newbie runs in and out of his bedroom and Baby's nursery yelling "BIIIIIIG HOUSE". He's been really into giving "biiig hugs" lately, and today when we stopped by the house after closing to try out the garage door opener and celebrate, his "hug" turned into "house" as he ran from room to room. Too funny. Anyway, while we're there tomorrow I'm going to take lots of "before" pictures and plan to post them later in the afternoon. So brace yourselves for some pretty intense 70's MADNESS. Green carpet? Sure! Teal carpet? Absolutely! Pink carpet? You can bet your bottom dollar! Brown wicker toilet seat? Do you really think we'd hold out on that?! We got it all, baby. We have our work cut out for us, but its going to be fun to see the transformation happen over the next few weeks and several months to follow. I'll share each step of the way on the blog- it should be a good time! We have to start with the plastic kitchen cabinets and the faded shag carpet...but I promise it won't stay that way. =) I'm exhausted tonight. I think the stress and anticipation of working through all the details of purchasing a house have finally come crashing in on me. This momma is going to shoot for an early bedtime tonight- if only I can get Newbie to play along! Be back soon with some 70's swag. Wishing you all a very happy Wednesday!

Because sometimes you are bored enough to pull out the paint

It's a rainy day here with lots of snow in the forecast.  I'm kinda bummed because I was hoping since its mid-January and we haven't seen any snow that we might be able to just skip over winter this year and jump right into spring.  No deal.

With the promise of snow on the horizon, and on the heels of a busy week out and about, Newbie and I are hanging out at home today.  The Hubs was here this morning so we played hockey in the living room and poured over more paint samples before he took off for the day.

After he left, Newbie and I ate grilled cheese and tomato soup then folded some laundry.  Big day around here, folks.  To really spice things up, we busted out the paints that Santa brought three weeks ago.  Momma hasn't been brave enough to pull them out until today.  With nowhere to go, the potential for a mid-morning bath gave me the courage to pull out the paints and let Newbie go to town.

And go to town he did:

That was his first picture.  Five pieces of construction paper and two paper plates later, he was a rainbow of colors and begging for "more paint!  more paint!"  I finally lured him away with the promise of getting to wash his hands with soap if we got down from the table.  It doesn't take much around here. =)

Wishing you all a very happy Thursday!

Kicking off 2012 with a whopping, "No no no. All done."

It was on the list of 2012 to-do's.  We've been cooped up inside, and I thought I'd put on my big girl panties and ask the Hubs to sign Newbie and I up for a music and movement toddler class at the gym where he works.  It wasn't easy to convince myself to do it because I kept having flashbacks to swimming lessons last year when I had to haul Newbie through the parking lot with wet hair, damp clothes clinging to my legs while we trudged through the January ice and snow.

But eventually I came around and asked the Hubs to sign us up because you can't sit around the living room all day forever.

This morning was our first class, and it wasn't pretty.

The beginning wasn't bad.  While we waited for the instructor, the kids had a free for all, running through the large carpeted room, squealing and screaming, and raising a general ruckus.  Newbie had a football in one hand, a maraca in the other, and was alternately stomping and running his way from one end of the room to the other, while I held my breath hoping he wouldn't run into anyone smaller than he is. He was having a ball and I was feeling really great about signing him up for the class.

Then the instructor came in and started rolling hula hoops into the room full of kids.  Newbie was all "OH BOY!" running to snag himself a hoop, and I was thinking, Way to go, B. Check "be social and get Newbie out into the world in 2012" off the list.  Ca-chow.

Then the instructor asked the kids to grab a book and go sit in their hula hoop on the floor.  Newbie grabbed a book, sat in his hoop, and that was the last of the direction-following for the morning.  He lasted all of three seconds before he was up running across the room while everyone sat in a circle singing a song about waving hello.

At first I was mellow about it, reminding myself that the instructor said kids will all react differently to the various activities in class and its OK if your kid isn't interested.

But then Newbie wasn't really interested in anything...except running to all ends of the room and engaging in all kind of Curious George hullabaloo.  And that's when I had to talk myself out of hyperventilating.

The rest of the morning was a blur, but at various points I chased Newbie through the room while he ran away from the conga line train, scooped him up from a corner where he had found a box of Legos and was diligently working at the lid, and confiscated Battleship while the rest of the class sang a song about a train and loosing your marbles.  Maybe I fabricated the loosing your marbles part, but I could have sworn that's what they were singing about while I snagged the box of Legos for the second time.

Newbie made a jail break twice, and on the second rescue mission I was able to convince him to wait in line to have a turn ringing the triangle with the little stick.  He waited patiently and it felt like maybe we could actually be in the class, then he took his turn and immediately turned around with the stick saying "Mommy, play!  Mommy, play!"  I explained that we needed to let someone else play and that Mommy wasn't really great with the triangle anyway, which resulted in a tearful sob and then another jail break.

I followed him out of the room, leaving the others to another trip on the sing-song train.  When I caught up to Newbie out in the hall, the following conversation ensued:

Newbie: "Daddy work?  Daddy work ober der?" (Daddy works over there?)

Me: "Well, Honey, yes, Daddy works over there, but don't you want to go back and make a train with all of our new friends?"

Newbie: "No. No no.  All done.  All done."

Me (hiding a laugh): "What?  You don't really love this class?"

Newbie: "No.  Yeah.  No.  No.  No.  All done.  Daddy work ober der?"

Me: "OK good.  Mommy doesn't really love this class either.  Let's go find Daddy."

Newbie: "Oh BOY! Yeah! Yeah yeah. Oh boy!"

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ten billion percent relieved.  It didn't take much convincing on his part to get me to bail.

Off we went to find Daddy and tell him that music and movement isn't really our style.  As we walked through the basketball court with the Hubs, I realized I had left our coats back in the room.  After debating how to get out of having to go back to the class before it was over, I remembered my keys were in my coat pocket and threw in the towel.  I made the walk of shame back through the doors where everyone was sitting quietly in the lap of their parent rocking back and forth to a soft song.  I avoided eye contact, snagged the coats, and wondered how you raise an 18 to 36 month old to just sit quietly in your lap and rock back and forth 20 minutes before lunch time when it really feels like you should be running around screaming "FOOT BALL!" or "HORSE NUNNING!" to burn off some energy before digging into lunch then settling down for a nap.

We just don't roll that way over here.  We're a horse running, football playing, run your buns off before nap time kind of family.

I left knowing it just wasn't the gig for us, and we're going to try a toddler tumbling class next week.  I'm thinking lots of stuff to climb on and a padded landing strip is more our speed. In the mean time, I'm just going to keep laughing about Newbie's "No no no. All done" and my relief at his answer because inside I was saying the exact. same. thing. and thanking the Lord for having mercy on me.

And all the people said, "No no no.  All done."

From Pea to Peach

Thinking about the first time I asked you all to pray for our littlest little when she (??? maybe???) was about this size:

(image found at thebump.com)

And celebrating that our God has held our little one close and that through His grace, Baby is about this size now:

(image found at thebump.com)

Miracle.

...and incredibly exciting!!!  Thank you all so much for praying for us and our little family, and for continuing to lift us up in prayer.  We are more aware than ever before how fragile life is, and we are just so, so grateful for the prayers. We have no doubt that some true healing took place in the life of our little one by God's hand over the course of the past several weeks.  We are getting more and more excited about meeting this sweet baby and hope with everything in us that we will be here near July 12 sharing pictures of a precious pink little bundle with you all!

While we wait, we are still surrendering every minute of every day to the Giver of Life, and thanking the Maker of the Universe for caring for even the least of us.  Thank you for walking with us down this road and for rooting us on.

Wishing you rich blessings this Thursday afternoon!

A Nunning Oarsss and Our New Hooowse

Today Newbie and I made a Target run.  A desperate Target run because he got some huge cardboard building blocks for Christmas and they have been floating all around the living room with no home for two weeks. It was driving. me. batty.  We scored a six dollar tub, a bottle of water, and a toy horse from the dollar spot, then hit the road.

The horse is posed to look like he's running and as we pulled out of the parking lot, Newbie altered between "neeeeeeigh!" and "oarsss nunning!"  (horse running).  It took me a while to figure out the translation on that last part. "Nunning?" I didn't even know he knew what "running" was.  Baby genius, man.

On our way back, we decided to stop by our "new hooowse" to take a gander.  Its not far from my parents and easy to do a drive by.

I think this looks good, don't you?

We're still waiting to hear back on the addendum we sent, but our realtor isn't worried and since she rocks, I'm not too worried either.  I'm ready to sign those papers and bust into that bad boy loaded down with paintbrushes and a trillion Pinterest projects.

It isn't official official yet, but when you see a "Sold" sign complete with smiley face, you start to feel like that house is pretty much yours. =)

In other news, we've hit a horrendous bedtime/sleep schedule that I'm deeming the Sleepless Saga.  Newbie is teething like a shark (Do sharks teethe?  Don't they have like, three rows of teeth or something? It works, right?) and has been SUPER clingy.  Mommy everything.  EVERYTHING.  So he is not going to bed on his own, and won't sleep through the night.  CONFESSION: he's been snoozing in bed with us in the wee hours of the morning because I'm 13 weeks pregnant, and I CAN'T TAKE THE DRAMA.  Yes, I know I'm only reinforcing the clingy-ness.  Yes, I know it will be a nightmare to get him sleeping on his own once we move to our new house in a few weeks.  But, OH THE DRAMA.  I decided I'll take the hit on the transition when we move and do whatever it takes to get some sleep now because chances are, if we fight the saga now, we'll just be fighting it again in three weeks.  That may be pregnancy-brain logic talking, but I'm ok with it.

If nothing else, the enormous amount of caps lock going on in that last paragraph should convince you of the intensity of the situation. DRAMA.

Also, I'm reading The Hunger Games, and I cannot put them down.  I can't even say that I actually like the books.  There's a lot of blood.  Not my style.  I'm a flowers and ice cream and happy ending kind of girl. It's just that I have GOT to know what's going to happen. I MUST.  Also, I think Peeta is a cool name, so I've got to stick with it.  (Don't worry- its not on the baby name list.  It would be right up there with Beatrice or Hagness for the Hubs.  Ain't gonna happen.) I don't know what any of this has to do with the Sleepless Saga, but I felt inclined to toss it in here because the Sleepless Saga stresses me out and so do these books and there you have it, a connection.

I'm off to stalk Pinterest some more and try to figure out what color to paint the 1/2 bath, then I'll probably find a copy of Book Three and find out what is going to happen.  Because I MUST.  You know, just in case you wanted the play-by-play of the next hour or so.

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday full of sleep and free of sagas!

A Christmas Recap Extravaganza

Oh man oh man oh man.

Do you know what happens when you don't blog for two weeks over Christmas?

I'll tell you what happens. You start developing a twitch thinking of all the pictures over-due and all the updates you should pass along, and then you feel so overwhelmed by the enormous amount of things you haven't blogged that the only thing to do is put off the blogging a bit longer and tuck into the world of The Hunger Games for a good 24 hours before you finally decide to come out of your cave and play catch up.

Today we're playing catch up.  I set aside Catching Fire and put Newbie in front of Franklin so I could upload a trillion and sixteen pictures and fill you all in on what we've been up to because an update is long over due and maybe after today I can get back into a regular blogging schedule.  HA.  Good one.  But I will try to be around more often after today.

Ok.

Ready? I'll make this quick.  Not really, but I promise there will be pictures. =)

#1: Christmas Adam.

The day before Christmas Eve (Christmas Adam, of course) the Hubs and I went to see a house.  A really, really cute house that would fit our little family just perfectly and is only a few minutes away from extended family and friends.  Lovely.  Christmas Eve we made an offer, and our offer was accepted!!! I can't begin to tell you how much God's hand was in all of this, but I will say this house is a huge blessing, and we are so, so grateful!  We are deep in the house-purchasing process now, and much to my dismay, it isn't like shopping at Target where you find something adorable, take it to the register, then go home and start using it right away.  There's a lot of footwork involved, but we are through inspections, have submitted an addendum and are hoping to close in the next two weeks!  Wahoo!  We have some remodeling to do on the inside- replacing flooring and painting everything, but after that we'll be ready to move in.  We're shooting for a move-in date late in January or early in February.  Praise the Lord!

The ladies have been begging for some pictures, so here's a little sneak peek.  We have lots of updating to do- think white cupboards and fresh carpet.  As you can see from the pictures, this place has been frozen in the 70's...I can't wait to show a few before and afters once we get in there!  

 

 

 (The Hubs' favorite...a big garage for him to play in.)

 

(My favorite...a big yard for me and Newbie to play in.)

#2: Christmas
My grandparents came up from Texas this year, and my uncle came over from Chicago.  We had a packed house and loved getting to spend time with everyone.  There may have even been a Christmas sing along in front of the fireplace one evening.  We are nothing if we don't attempt a Von Trapp family performance every once in a while.

I wish I could go back and describe each and every part of our precious Christmas celebration, but I think at this point that would end up being a 8,309 word post that no one would read.  In a nutshell, we spent Christmas morning with my family, Newbie got a table and a big truck and lots and lots of Crayons. Newbie was beside himself all day, exclaiming "Oh BOY!" each time he started opening a gift.  He was such a sweetheart and so excited about each and every little thing that it was just a joy to give to him. We took off after a delicious brunch for my MIL and FIL's new house where we got to graze on some more yummy food and then open some presents.  More "Oh BOY"'s and then we stopped to visit both of his great grandparents' homes.  It was a whirlwind day, but certainly a good time spent celebrating with family.

Here's a reel of way too many pictures:

 

(Newbie eating "blues" with Mutte and GD- a couple of his southern great-grandparents)

 

(Newbie and Uncle R)

 

(Hi there, Santa stash)

 

(Newbie with Aunt Corndog and "The Guy"...a Cowboy football player who sings and dances)

 

(Told ya)

 

(Newbie is especially good at tracing hands...just be sure he isn't using a pen)

 

 

(Daddy-O's friend stopped by for a visit...bless his heart, he witnessed our family sing-a-long, and I think it very well may have scared him for life. =])

 

(Because driving is way more fun with a pug in the trunk)

 

(No nap on Christmas day is NOT his best game.)

 

(Sleepy boy made himself at home in a pile of presents)

 

(Newbie's Great Grandparents)

 

 (Newbie's Great Grandma made him a "yightning MiKeen banket"...Newbie loves it!)

 

(GD took Newbie for a spin in his new pick-up)

 (love love love this picture of Newbie and Mutte)

We had a lot of fun with our family- we missed several aunts and uncles and cousins and on both sides and my grandmother in Texas, but we were thankful for the time we squeezed in with the family we could. It is always hard to see them go, but both my uncle and my grandparents took off a few days after Christmas.  Things are quieter around here and we're slowing falling back into our every day routine.  It is crazy to think that, Lord willing, the next time we see them we will have a newborn here!

#3: New Year's Eve
The Hubs and I dropped the ball this year and waited until about three o'clock on New Year's Eve to make plans.  My parents put Newbie to bed for us, and we headed out for dinner and a movie.  We may or may not have gotten 18 boneless Buffalo Wild Wings to go and gorged on them in the car on the way to see Moneyball.  It may or may not have been the most delicious meal ever.  

 

(Hello, baby bump! Yes, that's the baby.  Not the buffalo wings.  Just to clarify.)

After our movie, we met up at Aunt Corndog and Uncle J's apartment where they had some friends over to celebrate.  We played a few intense rounds of Pictionary and Winkum then watched the Green Goblin try and take over New York.  My sister and I were trying to figure out if the guy was actually taking over or if it was just some super lame way to ruin what is already a pretty lame pre-ball drop program.  Don't worry, it was the latter.  Just a lot of super lame going on.  Which was Ok because we had a lot of fresh fruit and sparkling grape juice to keep us company.  Not too mention a few good friends.  It was a fun night out for the Hubs and I.

And that was the past two weeks.

As far as my kiddos go, Newbie is talking like crazy.  All kinds of things coming out of our little guy's mouth including lots of "Please, Mommy?" and "Grandad's dink?" (Can I have Grandad's drink? ...aka: orange juice) and "tank too".  He is just a little sweetheart and I adore him.  He's also a ham who has been keeping us laughing.  I'll have to catch some videos to share one of these days. He is just a riot.

Baby is doing well! Already the size of a lime!  We got great news at our last ultra sound and don't have to back in until late this month for a routine appointment and then again for an ultra sound on February 16.  My heart is just overjoyed at the gift of health God has granted our little one thus far.  Oh, how He spared us weeks ago when things looked so grim.  We are making each day count, and are just so happy to have our little one with us still.  It is very clear to us that His hand has been on this sweet babe from the beginning, and as we turn the corner on my first trimester, we are so hopeful that we will get to hold this little one in July. Thank you for praying!

Newbie and I are hanging out here today and don't know what to do with ourselves now that everyone is back to work.  The house is quiet and the laundry is out of control and the to-do list is lurking.   I better get to it before I fall into a pj slump and spend the rest of the day lounging around wondering what it was we used to do all day.

Wishing you all a very Happy Tuesday!