To my loving husband. . .

Thank you for the past 7 WONDERFUL years of marriage- you are an amazing man, husband, father and friend. I love you dearly and am so thankful that God blessed me with you!

Cutie Ptootie

Bedtime cloth!!!!

My Man Rocks! Part II

So, here it is, Saturday, and what is my loving husband doing? He is beautifying our home with his skillful hands- another reason my man rocks!!! I am so thankful for Denny and ALL that he does for us. Not only does he work HARD all week to provide for his family and allow for me to stay home to care for our son, but he works HARD on the weekend (and a holiday weekend at that!) in order to fullfill the dream we have for our home!! I love you honey- thanks for all that you do for us!!!

Denny hard at work, updating our garage.

10 minute vacation

Yeah, that's right- my shower. It may not be fancy, but it is all that I need to rejuvenate as I get 10 whole uninterrupted minutes!!!!!

Night Time Cloth

So, I have been wanting to switch Ewan to using cloth diapers at night, but have been afraid to make the switch as a completely different system is necessary. After doing some more research and discussing the options with other cloth diapering moms- we have made the switch!!! And 2 nights in a row- no leaks whatsoever! I have to admit, I had a lot of fun ordering the diapering supplies I need for overnight cloth- and Ewan looks too cute in his new dipes for bedtime!

Now, the next step, cloth in the kitchen (towels, not dipes :)!). . . I have been disgusted by the amount of paper towels that I use in 1 day as well as the amount of garbage we generate and have now decided that we are going to switch to cloth rags for clean-up in the kitchen.

Coming soon. . .pics of Ewan in his too cute new bedtime dipes!

Welcome!!!!

Happy Birthday baby Henry Joseph!!!! We are so happy that you are FINALLY here!!!!!!

Daddy and me

Peas & Carrots

Unbelievable. . .

The Carousel

Ewan and his cousin Blake went on a carousel for the first time today!!! Aunt Katie was a little woozy while on the ride (it was quite fast!), but she was quite the trooper! :) The boys were just taking it all in- too cute! We were cracking up because it was 35 cents each and moms rode for free- you can't get much cheaper than that for an outing!

Ewan was hanging on REAL tight- it was so funny!

My Mission

My dear friend, Susan, recommended a wonderful book, which I have begun reading. It is titled, "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson and God has really been speaking to me through it. I am beginning to learn of the amazing journey of motherhood with all of it's wonder, joy and challenges. I was especially struck by this quote, taken from the above book, "This is one of the best ways I can be a servant leader to my children. When I model patience in the midst of difficulty, joy in the midst of messes, contentment in the midst of lack, then I provide them a pattern for their own lives. They will learn that my joy is not circumstantial but real because I have an endless source of strength through the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. . . At the same time, we mothers need to recognize what a powerful effect our attitude has on our children. Laying down our lives for them can indeed mean giving up, for their sakes, our right to wallow in our negative feelings. And choosing the path of servant leadership certainly means making the effort to respond in faith to our circumstances and our feelings, turning to the Lord for help in maintaining a hopeful attitude. The beauty of such an effort, of course, is that it has the power to lift us up even as it sustains our children's spirits." (p 73) Matthew 20:25-28 says, "Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,a nd whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

How often do I desire to do things my way and in my time!!! But, God is teaching me through the gift of Ewan, that I am NOT number 1 and that is played out in the everyday grind- cleaning floors, wiping his nose (over and over again!), stewardship of the monetary resources God has blessed us with, making meals, cleaning toilets (yuck!), and teaching and playing with my dear, sweet son.

Hangin out with my cuz

Ewan has really taken to his cousin Faryn- it is too cute! We spent a few hours with her yesterday. . .


Faryn is such a big helper and Ewan was loving the attention!


Ewan is checking out Faryn's drawings:


Watch out Farf!!!


(Gross cat butt)

Anyway, we had a really nice time- Ewan seems to be feeling better- in fact, I have canceled the appointment to the pediatrician's for now- hopefully this cold will blow over and no ear infection will appear!

First Haircut

We decided we absolutely had to cut Ewan's hair- so, Denny opted to do the deed. Ewan wasn't real thrilled about the whole situation, he seems to have been enjoying his lovely locks-but neither Denny, nor I could stand one more second of looking at his hair in his eyes!

The Before shot: Oops! A little crooked!:

Mama having a little fun with the "new do" the next morning:

Molding mud is lots of fun!

We saved a lock of his freshly cut hair to put in his baby book and both Denny and I thought Ewan all of the sudden looked much older!!!

Snotty McSnots-a-lot!

My poor, sweet, little boy is sick- who gets a cold in May? My heart breaks for him as he breathes through his little mouth and drips snot all over the place- he is truly in misery. And, I am now thinking he has developed an ear infection on top of it-not fun for him at all. He is completely refusing to nurse- I think because he may be in pain, so off to the pediatrician's we go. . .I'll update later on the results. We're praying for clear ears as this has been problematic for Ewan in the past. I am learning, as a new mom, that one of the most difficult things about motherhood is trying to figure what may be going on with a little individual who cannot talk! Poor, sweet, baby boy.

Mia Elizabeth

What an inspiration you are to me, little Mia Elizabeth. I was able to meet you yesterday and was truly amazed at your beautiful tiny little frame- God surely is an incredible creator. Your mommy and daddy love you so much- it was such an experience to watch my dearest friend love you with all her might! Thank you, God, for the miracle of new life!

We can't wait to meet you!!!

Ewan's newest cousin is going to arrive any day now!!!! We are so thrilled to meet you and are dying to know if you are a boy or a girl!!!!! I am going to say boy, however, Denny is thinking you are a girl- soon we will know!

Music to his ears?

We went for our daily walk and Ewan was not too happy about it. There were quite a few tears for the first 10 minutes, however, I made an interesting discovery. Apparently, I can sing- or so Ewan thinks! He immediately stopped crying and did not start again even after I stopped singing. Wierd. We all know that unfortunately, I do NOT have the gift of singing ability. But, my little man appears to enjoy it- which just cracks Denny and I up!!!!

Breakthrough!!!!

After discussing my son's behavior (whenever I attempt to take him anywhere, ie. screaming when mommy won't hold him on walks and in the shopping cart) with my WISE sister-in-law, I have achieved a breakthrough!!!!!!! THANK YOU MEL!!!!!!!!! Ewan and I went for a walk this afternoon for 30 minutes- with Ewan IN THE STROLLER THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!! Yes, there were some tears- but they didn't last very long at all- we just pushed on through and had a VERY enjoyable time. It sure does beat lugging his 20 pound frame around in the sling!!!!!! With Mel's help, I have come to a realization, Ewan is approaching toddler-hood and we better start preparing!!!!!

Nap time antics

I just had to write about Ewan's newest antic surrounding nap time. As I am lifting him up over the crib rail (yes, I am short!) to lay him in his crib, he strategically grasps the rail with his hand and starts laughing as he knows that I can't lay him down while he is holding onto the top rail. It is pretty hilarious- I do my best to hide my amusement at this as revealing it will send us both into a tirade of the giggles and the afternoon nap will be lost!

Bedtime

I never knew a child could get so excited just minutes prior to bedtime. We've finally decided he is trying to fake us out- you know,"If I get really hyper and excited, mom and dad won't think I am tired and will let me stay up past my bedtime". Well, it did work a couple times, except that at about 4:30-5 am the next morning we had a very grumpy, screaming child on our hands-not too much fun. But, I have to say, it is quite funny to watch Ewan ramp it up just before bedtime- he squeals, yells, and giggles with such delight- there is nothing like it!!

The solution. . .for now at least!

As I have mentioned a couple times in other posts, Ewan seems to only be happy when mommy is holding him-which makes going for walks with the stroller a bit challenging. So, today, Denny and I decided to try this contraption for our "family walk". . . and Ewan LOVED it!!! He was giggling and smiling during the entire walk- no tears at all! Ewan saw LOTS of geese and ducks in the park and was fascinated by them. And daddy saw some bass in the stream which fascinated him!!! And I got a good work out carrying around a 20 pounder!

Nap-time

Oh, the joy of motherhood. Sometimes, I find myself wondering, "Will he ever actually out- grow the need for a nap?". I know, most of the seasoned mothers out there are thinking- "Are you nuts- I would do anything for nap-time?!" But, when there are nap time battles, I often think to myself, "It will be soooooo nice when we are through this phase!". I have to say, that I really do enjoy getting Ewan AFTER the nap- he is probably the happiest baby on the planet right at the moment. And, I thoroughly enjoy the time that nap time gives me to get things accomplished around the house. But the battle that sometimes surrounds nap-time- not so much fun.

Roll Back

Not too thrilled at this moment

The Wal-Mart stickers

Wal-Mart. The first family outing- that's right-all 3 of us. Yes, we've been putting it off. We are well aware that Wal-Mart has a reputation for bringing out the worst in all of us. Actually, Ewan was just fine, although we are currently going through a phase where he will not sit in the stroller or cart without belting out rather louds wails- he wants to be in mama's arms whenever we are in a store. Of course, this makes for quite an interesting experience. But, Ewan did get TWO stickers (not sure if he knew this!) and mommy and daddy had to stop at Dunkin Donuts (that's right, we do indulge occasionally) on the way home where Ewan also had his first taste of a glazed donut hole, courtesy of Dunkin. We're not sure if he will agree to eat anything other than glazed donut holes based on the joy on his face after his first taste!

Mommy and me

Bon Apetit

Ewan seems to have an obsession with cat food- I have found out that he is not unique, as his cousin, Anna, also seems to have a taste for it. He often makes a beeline for the kitchen- I have never seen the child crawl so fast as when he has a hankering for kitty chow. And, I'm beginning to realize that he sure does know that his mama does NOT want him eating cat food, as he always gives me a quick glance prior to diving in. My "little newborn" is not so little anymore- he has a definite way of making his wants and desires known!