Reflections of '08

As I sit here in my kitchen with just the Christmas lights on and a cup of coffee (not for effect, but I'm not ready to be awake, but am anyway) I am wondering where this whole year went. Last year at this time, I was 8 months pregnant and we still hadn't chosen a name for our little boy, Alexandar was just a little over a year old. I know every parent asks "where does the time go?" and its true. I now look at Benjamin and am realizing I still see him as a tiny baby that needs someone to do everything for him. In reality, he is walking everywhere and perfectly capable of getting into just as many things as his brother did at his age. Just yesterday I was putting groceries away and Benjamin is very interested in the food (that boy can be in the back of the house and if I try to sneak a little snack, he has this 6th sense that food is around and comes out to investigate, not kidding!) and pulls open the drawer full of fruit and starts pulling oranges out. Since he's keeping occupied and not screaming to eat, I just let him go. He manages to get 4 or 5 out on the floor and then decides that the trash looks like a great place for this orange balls he has discovered do not taste so great. Yeah, he tried biting into the peel. Next thing I hear is the sound of something hitting the trash bag. Fortunately, I had just put a new bag in and was able to save the orange, but I then decided to close up the fridge before he found something breakable inside to play with.



My point with that story is that Benjamin is quickly leaving the baby stage and plowing fully ahead towards "toddler-hood." He can sleep through the night, he understands no and listens, he quickly learns new toys and how they work, he's starting pushing his trucks and tractors along the floor instead of just in his mouth, and everything that is a bowl or similarly shaped gets put on his head for a hat. I am so blessed that I call this treasure of a child "my son."



I've never been much of one for making a large list of resolutions on the first of every year, mainly because in a few months, they are long forgotten and seemed silly. However, I'd like to try and make a few this year and maybe by posting them, it will remind me to keep up with them.



1. Say "yes" to more things. I like to have household rules and order, but there are times when I could relax them a bit. Not to say that I never say yes, just that I could do it more.



2. Read my Bible more frequently.

3. Do more for others.

I think I'll just stick with 3. It's a good number... not to overwhelming but should be just right.

Happy New Year... May 2009 be one of the best years yet!!

So much has happened!

If you can't tell by how long ago I last blogged, it has been super busy around here. Thanksgiving was also Shawn's birthday, then one week later, Alexandar turned 2. We had his party at the church (a truck/tractor theme) with just family. I've been out Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and just spending quiet time in the evening with Shawn after the kids are in bed. On Alexandar's birthday, I also had a 2nd interview and kinda sorta officially started working last week. Since I don't yet have all the passwords and such, my first "assignment" was to look at the website and familiarize myself a little. So, I made a pot of coffee, snuggled up in my robe and sat on the couch looking at my Christmas tree while I was paid for my first hour of work. What a fantastic job!! Certainly not all of my hours will be that relaxing and comfortable, but I'm glad I can choose to do so.

Christmas was wonderful!!!! Not because of the gifts received (although Shawn did a fantastic job with my new camera... thank you!!) but because we were able to have all of our family around. With our difficult schedule with Isabelle, my mom asked around to see if everyone would want to come to St. Louis instead of over to Flint (which is about 2 hours away). They understood the situation with Izi and everyone was willing to make the trip! Because of the 20+ people coming, my mom and I sat everything up at the church.

Jon set up the Wii using the projector, so we had a huge screen. Everyone stayed late and seemed to enjoy themselves. This Christmas I was so content and just in the holiday spirit. I said I didn't want anything and really meant it. I even tried to spend all our Christmas money on everyone else, including paying for the person behind me at McDonalds, which was quite a thrill!!! I seriously was so excited to do that and once I did, I could hardly sit still in the car, it was so much fun. However, Shawn did find a way to still get me something, but it is such a useful thing and I can take better pictures and will be posting quite a few, I'm sure!!

I didn't get pictures of everyone at the fireplace like I wanted, but I did manage to get our little family. After trying 3 times, I figured this was the best we were going to get, but I think it turned out pretty cute anyway. Don't worry, I'm not neglectful of my son... he just refuses to wear socks for any length of time. If I put them back on, they are off in just a matter of a few minutes so some days I don't even bother. If he does manage to leave on his socks all morning, they most certainly are removed when he takes a nap because heaven forbid that he actually wear socks and sleep simulataneously. He would also go mostly nude if I allowed him. What really makes me laugh is that he may prefer short sleeved shirts, no pants or socks, but he loves to play while sitting on top of the register! I did manage to get one of all 3 kids looking at me. We tried to distract Alexandar with Nana's cell phone, but that's all he looked at, then Benjamin and Isabelle were more interested in that than the camera, so this is the best we can get for their ages. Still quite cute!

Benjamin started walking on December 15th and now that's all he wants to do. When he falls, he'll stand right back up and start walking again rather than crawling. He also loves to get into my tupperware cupboard and try and put all of the containers on his head for a hat. Yet, when you try and put a real hat on him, he rips it right off. He's so much fun and growing and changing every day! Speaking of which, he's now up from his nap and if Mommy doesn't pay attention, he'll walk right on back to his bedroom and wake brother up!

Boys Boys Boys

Nothing much is new with the little guys, but to an outside, they may see more changes than I do since I'm with my boys 24/7. Benjamin has slept through the night twice now, but with all the disorganization of last week and him being sick, I think he did very well. Now, if we can just get his crib moved to the boys' room, all will be well. It's a toss up as to who it is going to be harder for, Benjamin or Mommy. I know both boys will adjust to having a roommate, but it's the going through the adjustment part that I'm dreading. Plus nap times, and when Ben is napping but Alexandar isn't, he can no longer play in his room.... just a lot to adjust to. If we had a bigger house and I could put all toys in a play room, that would be one thing.

My biggest boy (that would be my husband =) ) took me out on a date Saturday night. Woo hoo! He asked me out and everything. We never were able to really date because our relationship was always long distance, but having dated besides Shawn.... it is a lot different dating when you are married. It's next to impossible to get really when you have two small boys clammering for your attention and the eldest watching your every move as you apply make-up and wanting to smear it on his own face. (I'm TOTALLY not worried that he is going to want to cross-dress or whatever.... he's not quite 2 and doesn't understand that it's just for girls... he just wants to do EVERYTHING like Mommy.) And I don't know where all my cute and sexy clothes went to after getting married, but I have nothing to wear! I mean, I have clothes and I do NOT have the "mom jeans" that taper at the ankle and are so high cut around the waist that you nearly cover your entire stomach. I'm thinking that more of the sexy stuff is summer season (which lasts for 3 weeks around here) and that's why I'm not finding much. Anywho.... (sorry for the ramble) we went Christmas browsing and out for dinner. We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings and had some wings (duh) which were a whole lot spicier than I remember. Last time I had the same flavor (Asian Zing) I was pregnant and they did not taste nearly as spicy. They are pretty good as far as wings go, but they just don't compare with the places in Georgia. Anyhow, we had fun and came home to a house of sleeping boys, which was wonderful. And, that was a night Benjamin slept all the way through!!

Interesting Week

I can't even really blog about my last week because if I say too much, it will give away the person that I'm talking about. I had some company last week and this friend of mine needs your prayers. There is a lot going on in this person's life and there doesn't appear to be much hope. There are so many thoughts going through my head about this situation, but there are some who I know read my blog that if I say very much, they will know of whom I'm speaking and I don't want to disclose this person's privacy. So really, just be in prayer for a family and a situation that you probably don't know anything about.

Latest Things

It is amazing how much a (nearly) 2 year old will change in just a week. He is daily adding 2 or 3 words to his vocabulary. Some of my favorites.... "ca-ca-ball" which I haven't figured out if that is basketball or soccerball, since he is familiar with both. "Where are you?" followed him calling out for Papa when there wasn't a response from Papa. He is increasingly unhappy with a wet diaper, even when it is barely wet. He wanted all of his clothes off, no diaper, and didn't want the big boy pants Mommy offered last night. I'm not sure what the deal with no clothes is right now, but he tries, and sometimes succeeds in removing his clothes or will holler until you help him. If it were summer, I wouldn't be very concerned, but it's too cold out for sans clothes. Maybe he's having a hard time adjusting to sleeves and long pants.... who knows at this point!

Benjamin started standing on his own yesterday! He pushed himself up from the floor and stood for 30 seconds or more and balanced with a toy in each hand! I saw him do this 3 or 4 times and it just amazed me that he's strong enough to do that without first pulling himself up to a couch or coffee table. We also started the sleeping all night process last night. We were given the advice and counsel that by 2 months, a baby is able to control sleep patterns more and has the capability to sleep through the night. When they wake up, just let them cry, and within 3 nights, they will have adjusted and will start sleeping through the night. Well, the first time he woke up (around 11 PM) he cried for about 45 minutes. An hour and a half after he fell asleep, he was up again, this time for only 10 minutes. The 3rd time he woke up was 5 AM, which is when I usually let him nurse and then he goes back to sleep until 7, 7:30. I'm hoping tonight goes more smoothly, but overall, I don't think he did too bad!

Miracles from unexpected places

We made the financial decision a few weeks ago to sell the Go-Kart. Shawn took it on trade for some work he did several years ago when he ran a small engine repair shop. It required maybe $50 in repair and we've used it quite a bit at my parents. We didn't necessarily want to sell it, but thought it better to pay off some things than to have it. Well, someone bought it today! He lives on the west side of the state, just driving through today. He offered $200 less than we were asking, and we met in the middle at $600. He asked why we were selling it, and I said for financial reasons. The kids do enjoy it, but we don't need it right now. He decided he did want to purchase it, as long as it wouldn't make our kids upset. I just explained that they would be fine and it wasn't a big deal, we still have a quad they can drive around. When he handed me the cash to count, I just glanced through and thought it was ok. He said he liked the sign on our church, I'm not sure what quote is up there, but talked about his Friday bible study and praying for our country's leaders. I was quite impressed and thought that it isn't often you meet someone in that way who shares your values. A few minutes after he left, I thought I'd count the money for real just to see that it was accurate, and discovered we had $50 too much. I was at my parents' house (they live on a main highway, which is why we put it out for sale there) and didn't have the man's number, so I called Shawn to see if he did on his phone and explained to him what happened. He did, and called the gentleman to let him know of the overage. The explaination he received was that it wasn't a mistake, it was a gift to maybe get something for the boys. Wow. A complete stranger. I am just in awe at the way God answers our prayers, even from a very unexpected place.

Ka-boom!

Ka-boom!! Ka-boom!! This is Alexandar's new word that he repeats all day long. I did not teach him this word, but I think it derived from me saying, "Did you fall down and GO boom?" So, he throws the ball across the room (a soft ball ONLY!) and says, Ka-boom, runs to go get it, and throws it again and again. He'll be 2 in a little less than a month, and is changing so rapidly lately. Once, the ball went behind the couch, (which I have at an angle because there is a built in book shelf behind it, and at an angle it kept him from being able to get behind the couch or reach to pull things off... until he figured out how to climb over it) and he looked at me, put his hands up in the air and said, "ball no more." He's putting words together for sentences quite a bit and just yesterday I thought he had an owie and asked where it was. His reply? "Owie, No-No Mama."

Right now, any dessert is a "cookie" and he recognizes pictures of cookies on anything. He loves loves loves to hide, and anytime he sees a quilt or bigger blanket, he says "hide, hide, hide, hide!" He laughs and giggles and like most children his age, will continue the game until a grown up says stop. The only problem with this game is that he knows how to open the dryer, and just last week, crawled inside and closed the door. Daddy discovered him just moments after he had crawled in, but as soon as the door was opened, he was saying, "hide, hide."

His other favorite thing to do is write!! He will find crayons, colored pencils, ink pens and write on anything, including walls and books. I frequently remind him what is paper and what is a book, but because a book is made of paper, he doesn't quite have this concept down. He had been in trouble for writing on the walls, but it doesn't seem to phase him. Fortunately, I discovered that Bar Keepers Friend sprinkled on a sponge will do the trick to taking it off. I do love the magic erasers, but they are quite a bit more pricey. I considered taking away any and all writing objects, but what if he is our little artist? Hmmm.... maybe and Easle for Christmas...