Boys, THIRTY, and kindness in pictures

William's first swing at Morgan Falls Park in celebration of Presidents day. Thank you, fallen presidents.
Showing off at his 6 month checkup. Yes, his head size may be off the charts and his height and weight are a little (alot) disproportionate but he did learn to sit within hours of his 6 month appointment. Quite the charmer, I would say...
We still wear our Christmas pajamas even though it is almost March. Thank you, Costco, for $7 footed pajamas!



Wanting to be just like daddy....A true cowboy!
I turned THIRTY 6 weeks ago. My mama and party-planner-of-a-husband through quite the party and my Bohemian friends surprised me from Charleston. I like the 2nd picture below that displays how (un)excited the boys were about me turing 30 on the night of the Falcons playoff game. Aren't the decorations adorable? Way to go, Brad and Mama!



And if none of the above brought giddiness and joy to your little heart than this picture will. I promise. Yesterday, I came home to this package on my doorstep from one of the more generous and equally creative friends I know. We have truly been so supported and blessed by our friends and family as we seek answers about my health (and battle colds and ear infections...yuck yuck yuck!) Thank you, sweet Nicole.

Hellooooo there

We are here, all 4 of us.....alive just maybe not well. We all have clothes on and food enough in our bellys but we are truly surviving these past few weeks. Between little nights of sleep, persistent coughs, trips to the pharmacy, doctor check ups, and runny noses we have been grateful that atleast the Spring weather has stayed around for awhile. What a blessing! I couldn't have imagined these last few weeks cooped up in doors! Thank you, weather man and God and a lovely Georgia climate.

We're sort of on lock down until we (meaning me) get some sleep and some answers regarding my wacko hormones. Thankfully, we've had grandparents and friends bringing us dinners and meals and wiping runny noses while the responsible adults over here try to make it to doctor's appointments and keep it up at a fast paced job. We hope to come out of our little cocoon soon but in the mean time - thank you for your patience and inquiries! We are blessed.

Don't give up on us.....we'll be back with some juicy material I am sure. And of course some adorable pictures of chubby babies....

half a year, what?

I know, quite the cliffhanger with my previous post. I've had phone calls with inquiring minds wondering anything from how pregnant I might be to how many hours in a row I might have slept to how much money had shown up in my mailbox last Wednesday night. Well, it's D, none of the above but at some point in the future I may be able to put into words the "game changer" plopped itself in the middle of last week. It is really good stuff though...maybe a little heavy but ultimately, good.

For now, I have a Pillsbury dough boy for a 6 month old and a few quiet minutes to tell you about him. Our 2nd born is quite agreeable - like his daddy, I presume. He has become a "car" baby because that is where he spends his growing days. This is both good and extremely annoying because on the rare occasion we are not in the car - he is not at his happiest. But for the most part he is just a roly poly of a boy with a ginormous smile that can be felt across a room. He smiles so wide and gives you the impression that he might squeal but his grin is too wide to allow any real sound to come out so instead he gives out an airy-shriek when anyone as so much as cuts their eyes in his direction.

He likes to eat so he fits in well with our family. Brad thought he would try giving him a bite of a sweet potato when we are out to what had started as a pleasant brunch a few Sunday's ago. That's like starting a newly turned 21 year old on Whiskey. Needless to say, the brunch was cut short because there wasn't anymore sweet potato and the boy had discovered the whole new world of a spoon with food on it in his mouth. I really despise the baby food stage. I'm not complaining because I know it is short lived but it is just really time consuming and right now there is no more time to be consumed. The pediatrician says he should be eating 2 meals a day and 4 bottles but slowly getting to 3 meals a day. Let me just run down what that might look like were it ever to happen:
7am - Feed W bottle
7:30 - Feed B waffles
8 - Feed W mushy, messy food
10 - Feed B some sort of seemingly nutritious snack (do whole grain goldfish count?)
11 - Feed W bottle
12 - Feed B chicken fingers because that is what he eats everyday. Oh, and i throw in a grape for my conscious.
12:30 - Feed W more mushy, messy, stinky food
Ahh.......little break in order to maybe feed myself or atleast take a vitamin so I don't fall over one day
1pm - Check mail because it is my favorite time of day

I'm sorry, Mr. Mailman, I forgot to put pants on today. I was too busy nourishing my offspring. I do apologize.


3 - Feed W another bottle....I actually enjoy this bottle time because I make B watch tv (don't judge) while we sit for 10 mins
3:30 - Snack time for B again (and this isn't bc he is hungry but it takes up some of the often lingering time before dad's home)
5:30 - Feed B some sort of meal that should be considered dinner (grapes and cheese? With a side of yogurt?)
6pm - Feed W yet another bowl of mushy, nasty, stinky, smelly, messy Gerber food (because I actually do not have the time I
thought I would have to make his food the way I homemade B's food. I never wanted to be a supermom anyway.)
7 - Feed W yet one more bottle and sing him to sleep


Carrying on....He seems to like anything that will go in his mouth. I am serious. Paper, plastic, green beans, rice, medicine bottles, keys, bananas....it looks like he will have a wide array of favorite foods so that will be helpful.

The little weeble doesn't move much so unfortunately all of these calories that I labor over getting into his mouth just stick to one of his 5 rolls on his leg or to the side of his already cushy cheek. Oh, but I do love me a chubby baby so we are just the best of friends right now. There is not a person that has met William that doesn't first comment on his curvy figure and then comment on his rejuvenating smile.

He is sitting....sort of. We'll call him an assisted sitter. But he does roll from his belly to his back and it doesn't matter who is in the room he giggles every time he does it. I am thinking he will also have the self-confidence of his daddy and that is a good thing!

Lastly, he loves his big brother. He watches him as he plays in and out of each room and he will stare at Brooks when he is acting unpleasantly and just grin and laugh to which makes B act even more hateful. Ah, I love the entertainment!

I can't quite comment on what these 6 months have meant to us. I know I will look back at 2009-2011 and remember only very small snippets because everything has happened so fast but I know the tidbits I will remember will not be the sleepless nights or the peepee on my leg and shoulder but the grins, and the giggles, and the belly laughs that these two boys brought to our house. We are just starting to see a little glimmer of light peek in from this fog we have been under since as far as I can remember. (I may just be saying that because they are both asleep at the same time right now???) I can see stability and it is not too far away and that alone, keeps me going.

Here are a few pictures from the last month.
At 5 months old I discovered my tongue...much like my brother did at this age. It is the strongest muscle of the body you know?
Heavenly.
This is our other daily must (other than eat) - a neighborhood walk, no matter the weather!
The "assisted" sitter
B and his not-s-good 2nd hair cut
6 months today!
Who needs a $700 train table?

2.9.11

The day that changed my life forever. For good. Thank, God, literally.

I will probably never get around to telling the full story because thruthfully, right now, I am not even sure I know what the story is but I know it is really really good.

Tanks, mom. Tanks, buggy. Tanks dad.

Whoa, that title threw you for a loop, huh? I know what you were thinking...lay off the meds, sweetheart, and get some rest, you've gone coo-koo.
No friends, that is toddler talk and it is my most favorite thing of late. There is not a word spoken in this house that doesn't get attempted by the 14-teeth, walking little person. Whether he is attempting to sing like I do to Beyonce's "Halo" while cleaning the counters or playing games with "buggy" by repeating his baby sounds - our toddler is the next thing to add to society with a mouth and an opinion - and a loud and strong one at that. I used to try to keep track of the things he would try to say but then yesterday I read that toddlers learn atleast 10 new words a day so his vocabulary is surpassing my free time to document anything. But so you can ooh and ahh with me here are some of my favorites are:

Umreya, Umbrella
Buggy, Brother
Cargy, Carter (my little bro)
Sawberwy, Strawberry
Daddy Yerk, Daddy works
Bi' diddy, Big Daddy (Brad's Dad)
Tanks Gah, thanks God

and the one that takes the cake every single time....."Shuh' Doe! (shut the door)" It is the most Southern thing since my mawmaw's sweet tea and because I think it is so funny I say it at all the wrong times and then he repeats me repeating him at all the wrong times and now I am pretty sure he has lost the meaning in the first place. I will admit, I said a word I thought I'd never say in front of my husband, let alone my child the other day and within a second it was repeated. Yikes! I am not ready for this whatsoever...I am too tired to compete a sentence, let alone, highly consider what comes out of my mouth and filter whether it is edifying or not! But, I've got to start somewhere, someday. You've always heard "good in, good out" so I know I need to infiltrate my tired mind with good things so that that is all that will come out as opposed to occasional not-so-pleasant words and groans.

And on that note, sort of, I've also got to do some deciding about other things. I think it's fair to say that life is coming at us at all angles right now. I feel like a sub par friend, daughter, wife, homemaker, sister, and mother. Nothing seems to get done to completion even with the best of intentions. I've also been riding the "grace train" for quite some time now and bringing Brad along with me for the ride. Night after night I will enforce my "state of the union" on Brad as he is trying with all he has just to relax for a whole 20 minutes before we go to bed and do it all over again. Part of my "address" talks of how we need to have grace on ourselves and each other because we are in a hard season of life right now. Isn't everyone, though? At some point, I think I have to enjoy the grace that I am giving myself but decide to decide on some things and take some action. Does that make sense? I'm afraid if I stay on this train too long all of a sudden I will have not made any real decisions and I will have fallen into society's ideals for how I should raise my family and treat my marriage. I have always held tight to dear Aaron Tippin's profound words - you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. And while society might be trendy and interesting and glamorous - I don't want to fall into that.....an entertaining lifestyle with no substance...no real fruit.

As you can probably tell, I just came home from this mom's bible study that I go to every Tuesday. And luckily I leave every single Tuesday feeling more empowered and more equipped to do the hardest job I know - mothering little people. Today was equally as good as the past Tuesday's but a little more powerful in motivating me to not waste these precious, short days by just trying to survive them. Yes, most days that is all we can do - get atleast one of the three of us out of our pajamas and stuff a cereal bar in one of our mouth's for nourishment - but there are rare days where I do think God gives me a little more so that I can "decide" what I would like our home to feel like and how I would like our two boys to feel about our family. Thank you, God, for that little extra every so often.

Even if he doesn't understand it now I love our time every night right before bed where we sit at the top of the stairs and say prayers with Brooks. William listens in and grins. He may just be repeating words and I could have him thank God for broccoli and he wouldn't know the difference but I am glad that we made that decision from day one - that we would all pray together (atleast when we can...and trust me, it certainly isn't every night but atleast we've started) and be a grateful and graceful family.

the little things

Like Mrs. Meyers Lavender scented laundry detergent. Oh oh oh my. Thank you, soap.com, for making this mountain called the laundry seem so relaxing. It looks like I'll be doing laundry til Monday now that the washer is back in commission after a week off and a week of spit ups and blow ups. Sigh.

Rain rain go away

Come again when the babies are in elementary school.
Seriously.
Despite the no-good/awful/miserable weather this week and a little less than 4 hours of sleep all week we have been on the go-go-go. {Sidenote: Last night was a miracle night. We all slept. Even me - all night! I don't know what I put in my body to make that happen but the end result is good....I mean really good even if I feel like I was hit by a mack truck and then slung against a brick wall this morning......atleast my mind isn't consumed with the dreaded word - S-L-E-E-P!} Today we are inside watching the rain continue to fall outside and for the first time this week - we are embracing it...pajamas, pancakes, sesame street and all! If I can really get it together we may even do a little family cooking. Ambitious, I tell you. Amazing what sleep will do for a spirit!

We have certainly struggled for entertainment this week but we have made the most of the circumstances. Tuesday we did the unthinkable. We drove around the perimeter. Literally - like all 60 something miles. Then, to top it off, we stopped in a random Burger King and let Brooks expel some energy in the inside playground while W slept. Fun times on a rainy day. Luckily, that day we met Nene for a playdate at a terrible mall. The only good thing about this mall -and this now makes it the best mall around - is the train that grandmas and boys can ride for just $3! Trust me, they took several trips around the mall that day by way of the choo-choo.
Wednesday we did much of the same - rode in the car looking for buses, tractors, dump trucks, birds, ducks, and a sweet tea. Our gas bill this month may do us in but atleast we have gotten out of the house. Oh, this was too cute. I was trying to keep Brooks up after our scavenger hunt in the car and he was fighting it so hard but even the lure of gummy bears couldn't help. Here is the little man literally talking and sucking as he was starting to drift off. Tough life.
When we were actually in doors this week - we made some big strides. The plump/sweater pants wearing child actually learned to roll - finally! I had 10 days to get him rolling before I take him to his 6 month appointment next week. I mean, I knew he wouldn't go to kindergarten in a supine position but I also didn't want to be chastised for the immobility of our baby. Thank you, sweet William for finally showing some progress! This is him right before the "infamous roll." Maybe he hasn't done it since but he did it and I atleast won't have to lie.
And on other good notes from inside the walls - the oldest boy learned to say "best friend" - sounds something like "breast fren" but that's okay. He has a few of them but this is one of his very first friends, John Quincy. This little co-ride may not have lasted long but for just a moment, the two mama's were able to see the light that one day these boys will actually entertain eachother and play with each other rather than next to each other - parallel play as they call it. Thanks for hosting us to play this week, Mrs. A and Mrs. K... We needed it!

My quick apologies...kind of

Many of you started reading this little snapshot of a life with two kids and a husband in the city because there were pretty pictures and usually a pretty self-humiliating story of a time I stuck my foot in my mouth or thought everyone around me was thinking the same thing but they weren't. Plus, who doesn't love two chubby babies and a good laugh? All the reasons to be a fast fan. Until lately, right...

My tendency is to apologize for the lack of snapshot's and anecdotes of late but I know deep down I am not even supposed to apologize because as I have said all along, but actually understand now after walking though the "desert" (as the book I am reading has so labeled it) - this is my story but it isn't a story .....and I can't apologize for that. It is God's story for me. And I know with everything I am that I am here to be a part of that story and not my own even if it couldn't be more different than I would have written.

So, I'm sorry only if I have mislead you to think that the life of a wife and stay at home mama is without trial or without challenge. Fortunately, life isn't all recipes and funny videos of toddlers - it's more rich, more tasty, more satisfying, and much more entertaining ...even if it is messier than many blogs or facebook updates would suggest. I have struggled with wanting to apologize for not being your ray of sunshine each day or the girl that I like to read about on my daily blog-scroll, too, but I am confident that this current season for us will be a testament to someone somewhere sometime so I can't fully apologize.

I continue to pray that God would use my nights of sleeplessness and now the surrounding anxiety in a way that far surpass the weariness and exhaustion I may feel. He has already taught us so much about my true faith, my real convictions, my soulmate and his amazing response to us being tested, and what life really is all about.

Tired but hopeful,
BB

Mid-day update

Mid-day conversation with Brad. "What's a positive from your day today, Betsy?" The boys are both sleeping finally...very positive. "What about you, Brad? What's the best thing that you can think of right now?" Well, Georgia has the best recruiting class in years. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Just keepin it real, folks. Keepin it real.

Go Dawgs!