this past thursday the girls from my bible study threw me a little baby shower. we were supposed to eat dessert at a little bistro on main street, however, those plans fell thru when that little restaurant was found to be closed. so quickly, i suggested the ole’ AppleBee’s because i love blondies. both the little 19 month olds named Jackson and the dessert. so, off we went. we had a really sweet waiter named Michael who was a bit overwhelmed with us. after all, 5 out of the 10 of us are pregnant.
i haven’t laughed so hard in so long. that was the best therapy anyone could have offered me. just when i’m feeling consumed by the daunting task of raising two little boys, my sweet friends rallied to lift my spirits and remind me not to take myself so seriously. and might i mention that my super sweet friends from work have also uplifted me so much this past week. thank you so much lacey, kendra, melanie and claudia for all of your sweet, sweet comments on my previous post.
i shouldn’t go into too many details because i know some guys read this blog as well as some family members, but lets just say, no discomfort of pregnancy went undiscussed. and i have never laughed harder. the funniest part of the night was when one of the pregnant gals (i’ll keep her name anonymous) was offered a fiber one bar. after a plate of mozzarella sticks and a little desert called the triple chocolate meltdown she quickly seized the fiber one bar and dipped it into the remaining ice cream on her plate as only a woman would do if plagued by the discomfort of constipation. we all watched in amazement and i couldn’t catch my breath i was laughing so hard. she was so stinkin’ cute about the whole thing. it was like something out of a movie.
i love these girls like they are my sisters and have known many of them since middle school. i am so blessed to call them my friends. i love you gals so much! thank you for such a wonderful night and for such a generous baby gift.
uuggh… ok, so jackson has been sick for the past week. sick like we have never (thankfully) experienced before. he had the croup and on one particular night i even thought i should take him to the ER because it had gotten so bad. i stayed up the entire night with the lights on just watching my child breathe and counting his respirations to make sure they were not too fast and that his lip were not turning blue. anyway, now he is on the mend physically, but mentally and emotionally he would like to still be sick. basically what i’m saying is that he still thinks i am suppose to hold him during naps and sleep with him at night. for nap time, like always, we sit on our rocker and i squeeze him onto my enormous belly and we rock. usually his eyes become heavy and I easily transition him from my lap to his crib while he’s awake, but just before his eyes close, and he nods off to sleep NO PROBLEM! not so much today. every time i even began to stop he would pop up and say “NO MAMA.” well, big mama can do that for a while, but then i have to pee. not like, ok bladder, i’ll go in just a few minutes, but like if you don’t go and pee now you’re going to wish they made pampers in your size kinda pee. so, i gently place him in his crib and he immediately begins to scream and say, “NO MAMA… CHAIR. PLEASE!” oh, just break my heart now. to this day, it still completely crushes me to hear my child scream. STILL! and we have had plenty of practice in the screaming department. hearing him scream just sets me off. it will turn my good day into a bad one. isn’t that horrible. i feel so guilty for letting him cry it out, but in just a few short weeks when reality serves him a big helping of “you are not the only child anymore” i don’t know what else to do. how in the world am i going to manage two babies screaming? question #1: is it acceptable to cry with them? question #2: will you pray for me? because acceptable or not, i’m sure i will be crying with them. in 4 weeks or less, i’m relatively certain i’m in for big TROUBLE.
five years ago today, i married my high school sweetheart, kelly. i am blessed to experience life with her every day, and i am honored to call her my best friend, my wife, and the mother of our son. each year on our anniversary, it is difficult not to reflect on all that has happened the previous year. this is particularly true right now, as we have just completed a decade in our lives. ten years. wow.
ten years ago today, if you would have asked about my future plans, the answer would have been simple. with a full scholarship to play baseball in college, i had set an attainable goal of being a professional athlete. it consumed me, and i really never thought of a career without baseball. there was no question that i would be playing this sport for many years to come. several injuries later, i began to realize that God had other plans for me, and that my life was slowly becoming what it was meant to be.
in the course of the last ten years, i graduated high school, played college baseball, broke some bones, played some more baseball, broke some more bones, got married, bought a house, graduated college, started a business, and brought a son into this world. looking back, i would not change the course of those events for anything. these have been the most exciting and meaningful years of my life, and there is no way to truly capture all that has happened.
as i look forward to the next ten years, there is no doubt that they will be just as memorable. there are so many new things right around the corner for our family. just to mention a few, we are expecting another baby boy in february, we have started construction on our new house, viewfromzero is growing, and i am researching the possibility of yet another creative business venture. we will certainly keep you posted on each of these events.
i write all of this in both reflection of the past and hope for the future. i wish each and every one of you a happy new year, and perhaps instead of focusing on resolutions, we should just enjoy the ride. after all, a lot can happen in ten years.
well, we are finishing the 12 words of Christmas with one of jackson’s most frequent requests: milk. he has been saying this word for quite a while now, and when it comes to eating or drinking, he is pretty serious. since it is Christmas, we decided to give you the extended version of the video. you can really see how a typical conversation takes shape with jackson. he actually says seven words throughout the course of the video: hot, drink, mama, mess, wipe, milk, and please.
we just want to take a moment to personally thank all of you that visit our blog and watch our videos. we love reading your comments, and we are so humbled by your interest in our family. merrry Christmas to each and every one of you.
well, you are getting a little added bonus with this video. not only does jackson say “dang”, but he takes it a step further by saying “dang it”. his first official fragment of a sentence that he most likely learned from yours truly. the funny thing is that jackson knows he is not supposed to say this word. so he saves it for when he is really trying to show out. this is typically when he is getting disciplined, and he doesn’t like what we have to say. he gets this real serious look on his face and yells “dang” in order to demonstrate his frustration with our parenting. in this video, he is playfully saying “dang it” with his classic mischievous grin and laugh.
when i was growing up, not a day went by that i didn’t have a baseball in my hand. and now, it seems that same trait has carried over into jackson. he loves throwing balls, and it amazes me at how naturally it comes to him. this video is actually from when jackson was 14-months-old. we were just excited to watch him walk and talk, but throwing a ball was icing on the cake. at the end of the video, he says “ball” with genuine excitement. of course i am proud to see him take an interest in playing ball, and i have already started teaching him some inside tips to the game. perhaps he will follow in his daddy’s footsteps.
yes, you read it right. our son has learned how to say “butt paste”. as you can imagine, this has the tendency to catch people off guard. you see, we use this amazing product called butt paste to help fight diaper rash. that seriously is the name of the product, and it truly works wonders. it has become such a part of our daily routine that jackson has incidentally learned how to say it. in fact, he requests it every time we change his diaper. and of course, each time he says those precious words, we can’t help but laugh.
now this is probably not what you are thinking. pancake, in this sense, is not food. while jackson does love his mother’s delicious homemade pancakes, there is another pancake that steals his little heart. i am referring to his beloved stuffed puppy dog. only he is not actually stuffed, which earned him the appropriate name of “pancake”. you guessed it. he is flat as a pancake. for as long as i can remember, jackson has been attached to this little soft, furry puppy. out of all his toys and stuffed animals, there is no question that pancake is by far his favorite one. and now, he absolutely will not go to sleep without pancake in his arms. it has become part of his nightly routine, and as you can see in the video, he is pretty serious about having pancake with him.
we are continually telling jackson to be nice, so he quickly started saying this word. when he gets in trouble, we will often ask him if he can be nice. he then looks up at us with pitiful eyes and replies, “nice”. in this video, kelly is asking him whether he has been naughty or nice this year. his answers are pretty accurate.
jackson has now learned the power of the word “no”. considering that he hears it from us quite often, we knew it was just a matter of time. and now that he knows what it means, he is not afraid to use it.
