Christmas Night

 I haven't downloaded my Christmas pictures yet but I have these ones of Christmas night. Basically, on Christmas Eve we went to Nathan's grandma's around 2, and then his immediate family came over for a cookie buffet.  On Christmas day we had a little Christmas with the three of us, then went over to Andrea and Justyn's for a mass chaos Christmas. In the evening Melissa and Thomas came over for a little feast.  Here are the pictures of a few of our overindulgences. (We're STILL eating leftovers ;)

 Sausage cream cheese crescent rolls.

 Veggie Tray

 Mini cupcakes--stuffed with peppermint fluff and whipped cream frosting.

 Fudge Peppermint cookies.

 Ham and Cheese ball.

Thanks to Melissa Larabee for the pictures!

College

Well, I'm officially a college student again. Melissa helped me register for classes tonight.  Can I just say, Aaaaaaagh!! I'm excited and nervous both. I'm easing back in, just taking two easy classes. I'm taking an Art class which is on a Saturday morning and a Speech class which is online.  I'm also working 20 hours a week on Wednesday, Thursday, and part of Friday.  That give me Sunday, Monday, Tuesday for homework and housework and, most importantly, spending time with my baby boy!

Speaking of whom...

We were over at Melissa and Thomas' tonight. Nathan, Malachi, Thomas, and Shane.

 Malachi was woof-woofing at Shane and he thought it was HILARIOUS.

TIWTRT

I want to (TRY) to start writing a weekly post of things I don’t want to forget about Shane. I’ll call it Things I Want to Remember Thursday (TIWTRT). I got the idea off a blog written by a mom with twins. Shane is growing up SO fast and no matter how I try to appreciate every second of time with him I still feel like his babyhood is slipping through my fingers. Quickly. Very, very quickly. I wish that I could freeze some moments in time; when he sees me walk in the door and flaps his arms and kicks his legs and squeals in excitement. The way he turns and ducks his head and buries it against us when he thinks something is funny. The way he looks at us and raises his eyebrows and head and opens his eyes wide as he makes his “Aaaeeeeiiii” sound that starts low and ends high. The way he wiggles and squirms and climbs and scoots and tries so very, very hard to crawl. The way he is happy to be held by anyone, but will periodically look around to make sure I’m near, and the way he beams at me when he sees that I am. The way that he loves anything that crinkles. How he always tries to grab his feet while he nurses, and sometimes tries to suck his toes at the same time. (Nothing like a little toe jam with your milk, eh?)


He army crawls all over the place and works really hard to crawl like a big boy. He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. Sometimes he can go backward but not all the time. If we sit on the floor a few feet away he comes over to us and will squirm over our legs to get to a toy.

He “sings” along with the radio.

He holds his arms out to be held, and sometimes just wants to go back and forth from me to Daddy.

He loves to fly like an airplane and then go upside down to touch heads.

He has the sweetest gummy smile while he stuffs four fingers in his mouth and giggles.

He has tried Pineapple, Carrots, Bananas, Lemons, Avocado, and Tangerines. He’s also had baby food sweet potatoes. He likes the “real” food that he can grasp and is NOT a fan of the pureed taters. His favorites are lemon and pineapple.

He is very laid back and happy but also determined, if that makes sense.

He is ticklish on his sides and belly and laughs non-stop if you pretend bite and growl his ribs, tummy, and ham hock legs.

He grabs your hand and pulls himself sitting and sometimes standing.

When he's in his jumper if you jump, he will too.

He laughs and laughs if a peppy song comes on the radio and I dance around with him. He especially likes twirls and dips.

When you call his name he turns and head and looks at you.

If he is annoyed he does this adorable little distainful frown. Nathan thinks it looks just like and expression I make, and I think it looks just like an expression Nathan makes, but I'm pretty sure it's cuter on Shane than either of us!

Mary

I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary these past few weeks. I’ve always admired her as the woman who was worthy to bear our Lord. She got pregnant, with no husband. She gave birth in a stable. She wrapped her baby in rags. She rode a donkey. That was about the extent of my admiration. This year is different. This year I have a precious little one, and I feel all of the intense emotions of motherhood, and oh, how I admire Mary.

She was pregnant with no husband. I imagine a scene; an angry father, a weeping mother, a disillusioned fiancé. How could you ever convince them you’d never had sex? After all, how else would you become pregnant? Without God sending Joseph an angel, I wonder if Joseph would’ve stayed with her. Mary must’ve been terrified. In those days women were STONED for such an offense, and I picture her with her hands cradling her belly, protecting her unborn child. I imagine the love she felt for her baby, even as she was scared for her life. I imagine her being ready to fight to the death for the little life God gave her.

I can picture her exhaustion on the long journey to Bethlehem; her desperation as she and Joseph searched for a place to stay. I see her lying on a sweet musty bed of straw; smell her sweat and hear her cries as she labours, trying desperately to be brave but at the same time so scared and eager and uncertain. I know the joy she felt as she brought her slimy, beautiful baby boy to her chest to warm him and nurse him and I’ve cried the tears she may have cried as she wrapped him in rags, feeling ashamed that she could not give him more.

She kissed the face of the baby that would save mankind. She held our savior, she sang him lullabies and rocked him to sleep. She loved him intensely, desperately, purely, heart overflowing, as most mothers do.

She gave birth so that he might die. Did she know?

Did she know?

I am overcome. I cry tears of joy and pain and grief as I walk with Mary in my imagination. Oh, Mary, blessed are you among women!

There are a few songs I’ve been hearing regularly on our Christian station that bring all of my emotions to a head and I cry nearly every time I hear them. You should look them up and listen to them.

“Mary Did You Know?” written by Mark Lowry.
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Would someday walk on water?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you.
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will calm the storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God.
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy
Will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy
Is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am

The second song is “Born to Die” by Bebo Norman
They never knew a dark night
always had the Son's light
on their face
Perfect in glory
Broken by the story
of untold grace...
come that day
Majesty had come down
Glory had succumbed now
to flesh and bone
In the arms of a manger
In the hands of strangers
that could not know
Just who they hold
And the angels filled the sky
All of heaven wondered why
Why their King would choose to be
Be a baby born to die
And all fell silent
For the cry of an infant,
the voice of God
Was dividing history
For those with eyes to see,
the Son would shine
From earth that night

Bridge:
To break the chains
Of guilt and sin
To find us here
To pull us in
So we can join in Heaven's song
And with one voice around the throne


Chorus:
All the Angels filled the sky
And I can't help but wonder why
Why this King would choose to be
Be a baby born for me
Be a baby born
Be a baby born to die

Christmas and Six Month Pictures

Many, many thanks to Melissa for doing such a great job on the photos.  We love them! For those of you who don't know, Melissa is my very dear friend and pretty much Shane's favorite person. Other than Mama and Daddy, of course! Seriously, this kid just loves her. Nathan calls her his "girlfriend" and she says that when he gets old enough her marital status is "negotiable".  ;)  Sorry, Uncle Thomas!!

 

 The other little boy in the pictures is Melissa's nephew, M.  He LOVES Shane.  M's favorite thing is to rub Shane's head.

Dancing! 

Six Month pictures with Piglet. 

He was reaching for me in this one. 

He loves to faceplant between my girls and blow raspberries. 

"Forget pictures, I want presents!" 

Thank you so much, Melissa!

Pumping at Work

In the famous ( or not-so) words of Inigo Montoya, “Let me ‘splain. No, let me sum up.”

I knew before I even got pregnant that I was going to breastfeed.

I knew that would mean I’d have to pump at work.

I pumped in a bathroom stall when I returned to work. (I know. Grody. I didn’t know I had an option.)

When my boss moved me out to sit in the warehouse, I told her I was pumping on my breaks.

She told me not to clock out to pump, and told the chief of security.

The chief of security reserved her conference room for me twice a day and made a “Working Mother Room” sign for on the door. She also told all of her guards to let me in with my pump and cooler. (Security is really tight here; you’re not allowed to bring in anything)

On Monday I walked back to her offices to pump. I saw that contractors had ripped out part of a wall. I asked her what was going on and she said the company is building a special “Medical Room”. For pumping mothers. Wow. I am SO touched. What a great thing for the company to do! I really, really hope that the room inspires more women to continue to breastfeed because now they can pump at work.

And wanna know something else? I feel just a teeny tiny bit responsible. I feel just a teeny tiny bit of pride. After all, if I hadn’t been determined to exclusively breastfeed, none of the whole chain reaction would have started. A lot of women here at the warehouse didn’t even know pumping was an option for moms before they saw me washing pump parts in the bathroom. A lot of women didn’t think they would have the opportunity to pump even if they wanted to before they asked me about it.

Ladies, if you live in Texas, you need to know this: It is the law that your employer must provide time and a place for you to pump.

It is the law in every state except Idaho and one other that I can’t recall at the moment that you are allowed to breastfeed in public, as long as you are not trespassing. (So don’t break in and decided to take a break to nurse!)

Praise God for the blessing of a quiet Mother’s Room. Even if they are building it just in time for me to be laid off!

6 Months

***Blogger is not letting me upload pictures. I will try again later***

Shane went to the Dr yesterday for his 6 month appointment and he is 28 ½ inches (90th %) and 18 lbs 12 oz (75th %). He had three shots and an oral and a blood draw to test for anemia. He was such a brave boy!


At six months, Shane:

-Wears 6-9 month clothes , 9+ month jammies, and size 3 diapers.

- Has learned to blow raspberries and it’s hilarious. He will stop nursing to blow a raspberry. If I’m holding him facing me he’ll bury his face in my chest and blow raspberries. He blows them on his rattle, and his hand, and our hands, and anything else he can.

-Top two teeth are reeeeaaally close to coming in. He’s having a harder time with these ones; the bottom ones seemed pretty easy.

-Still exclusively breastfed—we are introducing solids this month but the bulk of his nutrition will continue to come from milk.

-Favorite toy is my empty water bottle. I think he likes the way it sounds.

-Rolling is SO two months ago. Now we’re on to sitting all alone!

-Is trying really hard to crawl. He’s got reverse down pat! Lol. He gets his knees up under him but when he tries to go forward he falls down. It’s SO cute.

-Talks up a storm. Likes to “sing” along to the radio in the car as well. Sometimes he’ll growl and then go up into a high pitched squeal. I have no idea what he’s trying to do, but it’s funny. And loud.

-Loves to stare at the Christmas tree!

-Loves to jump in his jumper. If you jump, he will jump with you.

-Loves other kids.

-Really enjoyed eating the lemon that Aunt Melissa let him try. I wish I’d had a camera to take a picture of his face. It was hilarious!

-Does not sleep through the night any more. Thank you, six month growth spurt and teething. It’s not a big deal, though. We’ve got co-sleeping down pat and we really enjoy it! That’s a topic for another post.

-Loves to play peek-a-boo with Daddy.

-Favorite person in the world is Mama. When I come in from work and he sees me he flaps his arms and squeals and gets so excited. It’s awesome.

-Is ALL boy. Squirmy, wiggly, determined, and sweet. If he’s awake, he wants to go go go. I cherish my rare snuggly moments!

Shaney,

I can’t believe you’re already six months old. It seems like just yesterday that I was feeling your little kicks and flutters in my womb and now you are so big and strong. You are an absolute joy and delight and your daddy and I love watching you grow. You are so special to me, little boy, my firstborn. You fill my heart with joy and indescribable love. Always remember, no matter what happens, that I love you.


Mama

Sneak Peak...

Here is a sneak peek at this week's posts: 6 Months and Christmas Pictures

Update

I just realized today how long it has been since I wrote a post! I’m sorry—I don’t have internet at the house and I’ve been really busy with work. Here are a few quick updates.

--My 21st birthday: Nathan was still in Puerto Rico, so Melissa made me a Tres Leche cake and a couple of people from church came over for cake. N asked Melissa’s hubby to get me some flowers so I got some really pretty Lilies from Nathan. I also got Seasons One and Five of HOUSE! Yay! I’m so addicted to that show—Shane might grow up to be a doctor!

--Uncle Dean: My uncle who lives in California was in town on a business trip so I got to spend an evening with him. It was wonderful! I haven’t seen him in SO long.

--Thanksgiving: Drove to my mom’s cousin Janice’s house (4 hrs east) near Shreveport. We left Wednesday after work and came back Thursday after dinner. It was a lot of fun getting to know the relatives a little better.


--Christmas parade: Don’t ask. Ugh. We finally, finally, finally found a place to park, by which time we were pretty tense with each other. I got in the back seat to change Shane’s diaper and put him into his snow suit only to find a poop explosion everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean: All OVER the poor baby, the carseat, the paci, his toy, his blanket, the carseat and straps, my pants, shirt, and hands. It was a mess. And, thank God, it made me and N laugh and get over ourselves. By the time I used every wipe in the travel case (thank God I filled it up before we left!) Melissa had called to say that they were getting trampled and were leaving. Being a good Daddy, N decided that if they were getting pushed around and stepped on we sure weren’t going to take a baby into the throng! I was fine with that decision but still a little bummed since I look forward to the parade all year round. So we took our poopy selves over to Melissa and Thomas’ house, where I showered, borrowed non-poopy clothes, bathed and redressed baby, and threw all poopy items into their washer. We still had a fund evening, hanging out with them.

Decorating: Not done yet. Erm…slacking, I know. You’d think I had a baby or something. Nathan put the tree up but we haven’t decorated it or the house. We do have most of the Christmas shopping done.

In other news: Shane sits up all by himself, constantly. He also raspberries on his fingers when he gets them really slobbery. It’s pretty cute. He’s trying SO hard to crawl. I don’t think it will be long—some days he almost gets it. His top teeth are coming, but they are REALLY hard compared to the bottom ones. He’s had a lot of fussy/fever/”I only want Mama and I must be held kind” of days. We’ve caught two little mice in our traps. Cheeky buggers—they run across the counter right in front of us! I hope there aren’t any more. Stinkin’ mice! Also, we’re getting a new tub! This is huge to me. Our tub is nasty; all the finish is worn off and so no matter how much I clean it, it still looks dirty. There is also a big hole rusted in the front. I called the landlord and complained about the hole and when the repairman came I also complained about the finish so they said they’ll put in a new one after Christmas! YAAAAAAY!!! Baths in the tub!

5 Months

I didn't take Shane's normal monthly picture with Piglet because Nathan had the camer with him in Puerto Rico (work).  This was on Halloween though, so it is close to the right time.

I just realized that I had written Shane's five month update and forgot to post it!  Here it is, almost a month late (again).

5 months! Little man is in a big rush to grow up; I wish he wouldn’t be in such a hurry! I’m going to put him in the dryer to shrink him back down.

-Started staying with Daddy some days while Mama is at work.

-Favorite toy this month is Baby Einstein soft blocks. They are big and have all different fabrics for different textures. We have yellow, blue, green, and red. His favorite is red.

-We’ll say same weight and height for this month. 17 lbs 3 oz, 26 ½ lbs

-Still breastfed. We are waiting until about 6 months to start solids, later if he's still showing no interest.

-Working on another set of teeth. These seem to hurt him more than the last ones.

-Sits without support for brief moments of time, and is trying REALLY hard to sit up by himself. He can if he’s reclining, but not if he’s flat on his back.

-Loves to have playtime in a sink full of water. He figured out that he can hit the water and it splashes and THAT is funny!

-Talks a lot and also growls. It’s hilarious. He’ll have a toy in his hands and then look at it really hard and growl and stuff it in his mouth.

-Is trying REALLY hard to raz his lips.

-Is very impatient for mommy to go get him a jumper, because he loves his cousin’s old one.

-6-9 month clothes, 9 + month jammies

-Very good with people. He doesn’t much care who holds him or plays with him.

-His eyes are an unusual color. I think I would call them green, with little flecks of gold and brown in them.

-Still loves to be outside

-Went to an airshow and saw the Blue Angels for the first time.

-Knows where his food comes from and reaches for them and stuffs them in his mouth.

-Nathan says he holds his bottle well, and he also takes his paci out of his mouth, looks at it, chews on it, and puts it back in.

-Still only gets his paci at nap time and spits it out when he falls asleep.

The Great Debate

Let me just say that I know this is a subject of a lot of debate, even among Christians, and this is not me telling anyone what is or isn’t right. This is just me telling how we came to the decision that is right for OUR family.

I found out on Saturday night that Nathan’s mom wanted us to take Shane to trick or treat on Sunday with his cousin Alie. I didn’t grow up trick or treating, and neither did Nathan, so I’d never even thought about taking Shane. We talked about it for a while but didn’t really come to a conclusion. Something about the idea of celebrating Halloween really stuck in my conscience though, and I was really uncomfortable with it, so while Nathan went for a motorcycle ride I called my parents to ask why they had never let us trick or treat, and to ask mom to look up some information about Halloween on the internet. I decided to go for a little walk to clear my head and try to decide how I really felt about trick or treating. As I left the house I prayed that I would have clarity in knowing my own beliefs, and that Nathan and I would both come to the same conclusion. Fast forward about two hours to when Nathan arrived home.

“Can we talk a little about this trick or treating thing?” I asked him.

“We’re not going.” He responded.

After talking for a few more minutes we realized that we’d both come to the same conclusion, and then I told him about my prayer. What a God thing! I was so excited. We decided that we won’t be doing Halloween—no trick or treating or carving pumpkins or dressing up. The exception was this Halloween since he’d already gotten costumes—a monkey costume from his Grammy Vines for pictures with his cousin Alie, and a pumpkin suit from his Aunt Nancy.

We had a nice weekend together. Saturday afternoon we watched the Blue Angels from a blanket in the shade of our car. We’ll probably pay to get in next year when Shane will enjoy it more, but this year we just drove off the highway a little way to watch for free. Free is good!

On Sunday afternoon Melissa came over and we had a yummy lunch, then went over to her friend’s house to watch the trick or treaters and eat venison chili. They approximated they had 700 trick or treaters!!! And man alive, some people’s idea of a costume is just…um…skin. Yeah. We had fun, though, and everyone thought Shane was SOOOO cute. Because he is, of course!

P.S. In that very first picture, you can see the teeth!

4 Months

Here we are at almost 5 months old and I just realized I never did Shane’s 4 months post. My excuse is that we were in Ohio and working like crazy to get everything done for my sister’s wedding! The problem is that I can’t remember everything now, so this is my best shot.

-Rolls both ways

-Size 3 diapers

-17lbs 3 oz, 26 ½ inches (95th percentile) This was actually 4 ½ months, at his Dr. appointment. He got shots and, again, took it like a trooper!

-Smiles and laughs

-Got his bottom two teeth at 3 months, 3 weeks

-3-6 month clothes, 6-9 months jammies

-Still exclusively breastfed

-Still super laid back and happy

-Loves to eat his toes

-Reaches for his favorite people, especially Mumma
-Loves to talk, talk, talk!
-Enjoyed the excersaucer we borrowed while we were in Ohio.
-Loves to read—Clifford the big red dog was his favorite this month
-Thinks it’s hilarious when dogs bark.
-Thinks it’s funny when you growl and pretend chew his sides

-Has flown thrice and been in Texas, Ohio, and New York

-Sucks his bottom lip and finds it amusing

-Looks at you sort of sideways and under his eyelashes and smirks. We call it the “Ladykiller”.

-Seems to be developing quite a sense of humor. Sometimes it seems like he is trying to play jokes on you.

-Was the ringbearer in his Aunt Erika’s wedding. He wore a kilt!