He's Going To Hate Me...

So, I don't do this very often, and Joey is going to kill me, but I needed to write and let everyone know what an amazing husband I have!!!

....

Reason One: He believes in "push" presents=) Now, this is kinda a new fad these days...to reward your wife with a present in the hospital after she gives birth to your child. I didn't realize until the other day, that this is actually a tradition in Joey's family, so he has not been following the trend, but keeping a tradition. Now, I may have hinted around at getting a present here or there, but I was never totally serious. Sure, any girl would love to be rewarded for nine long months of pregnancy and however many hours of painful labor, but really, pregnancy is it's own twisted blessing, so I never ever expected anything, especially anything extravagant.

Although after receiving my first pair of diamond earrings with Savannah, I was curious as to how he would top that one....enter my ring....

Yes! He totally swiped my engagement ring that had to be removed around month six because of swelling and had it reset!! The emerald diamond in the middle is my original ring, but the two diamonds on either side are a new cut called half-moon diamonds. I LOVE this!! I always wanted something to really set off my beautiful solitaire, and this is perfect and according to our jeweler, 100% original and completely unique. These were actually the only two half-moon diamonds they had in the store, then they had to create the setting to make it work. Leave it to Joey to not only go all out, but to make it one-of-a-kind as well=)

I say all this not to brag that I get bling for having kids....that's so not the point. The point is that my husband cares enough to make some sacrifices (unknown to me) in our budget and with his discretionary funds to make me feel special and valued. Not that it takes diamonds...not at all! But if you know anything about my husband, you know that when he does something that's important to him, he doesn't skimp, but usually goes overboard=) But hey, if he wants to give me diamonds, I am NOT complaining=)

Reason Two: He's an excellent father. I have been around many dads in my lifetime, and I can count on one hand the number of guys I've met that truly, openly and outwardly adore their children the way Joey does. He helps me with anything I ask him to do, and he never complains about having to spend time doing anything for or with the kids. It's nice to have someone on the same page with you in life who truly cherishes the things you cherish...in this case, every second of time that passes with our kids. We love it. He loves it, and I thank God for that every day. We may be only two years into this whole kid thing, but I think we can honestly say, we haven't missed a moment yet, made a decision we regret as far as time spent as a family is concerned, and we look forward to making the most of every moment to come.

Reason Three: He is a hard-working man who isn't afraid of a challenge (in fact, as much as he stresses, he also thrives in a challenging environment.) Not only has he been holding down the fort with all the new two-kid adjustments at home, but all the while he's been juggling the responsibilities of his store AND studying every spare moment he can grab for his Master's courses. I am SO PROUD of him for making straight A's in every course he's completed so far!!! This last one was a doozy too, with only a mid-term and a final for grades. He's officially one-fourth of the way through with a 4.0 GPA. I can't shout it loud enough how proud I am=)

(A cute picture of Weston is appropriate on any blog=)

There are a million other reasons I could sit here and spout off about my honey, but he's going to kill me for this as it is. I just think every now and then, the good men in our lives need a strong pat on the back and a good 'ole adaboy to the rest of the world...because I think anyone can attest to the fact that a good man, a truly good, righteous man, is definitely hard to find. Love you babe! Keep up the amazingness=)

Catching Up

(Game Day at the Durham House...yes, that is ESPN Game Day on the TV.)

(My new favorite picture of Weston=) Look at this big boy hold up his head! 2 month appointment: 13lbs. 3oz.--and no that's not a booger, it's his stork bite birth mark.)

So, life is slowly but surely beginning to return what is probably a new sense of normal. We have all been passing around the flu for the past three weeks, so now Weston is on the tale end of kicking it, then we should be fine until the next round of germ or virus decides to attack=) Such is winter-time with small kids.

(Ok, the cakes aren't gorgeous, but they tasted good. The big one is a vanilla pumpkin cake with caramel rum glaze...very yummy...and yes, my two-year old had rum on her birthday cake. Hahaha!)(Her birthday present from Mommy and Daddy. I wish video clips didn't take so long to upload...she is hilarious in this thing!)(The adorable outfit Aunt Lah gave her. She was running around the house in just the shoes and a diaper the day after she got them=)

Savannah's two-year old birthday didn't go as planned given she was sick as a dog, coughing her lungs out the night before her party day. But we celebrated with some in-town family anyway, and she enjoyed being the center of attention as always, even though she was the only one in the room under 29=) Hahaha! Well, I've had to give up the notion that her life would ever be anything like mine growing up, always surrounded by other kids at family events. That's not the path God has planned for her, and I'm the one having to learn to adjust...go figure. But I can say, she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of her birthday, and that's all that really matters, right?

(See...he's coming alive...and that's almost a smile=)

Weston is also slowly starting to come alive from the inanimate baby stage. He is observing the world around him with keen eyes, following people around the room, playing with facial expressions and partial smiles, --my favorite--he's even starting to coo and grunt, trying to join in on the conversation every now and then. He hasn't been crying near as much. Could be he doesn't really have reflux or at least anymore, could be he's starting to figure out his daily schedule and sleeping 8-9 hours through the night, could be he's sick and doesn't have the energy to use those lungs...in any case, it's nice to not have his shrieking grating on my nerves and conscience for the time being=)

(First trip to Burt's Pumpkin Farm.)

As far as catching up goes, well, I'm getting there. My list of errands to run dwindles. I'm starting to have more time to exercise and work on projects and spend in God's Word. Sleep is still a much needed commodity, but my body is adjusting to the lack of it for the time being. It's the whole being a mom of two thing that still takes so much work. My biggest hurdle these days: You cannot give 100% to everyone in your own household all the time. Someone is always getting the short end of the stick. It seems like every time I turn around, I can't hold Savannah when she needs me because I have to feed Weston, or I can't pick up Weston when he's crying because I'm in the middle of putting Savannah to bed, and well Joey...HA!...Joey's always getting the leftovers at the end of long days, Lord knows he gets the shortest stick of all, and well, myself..HAHAHA!...I don't even get a stick=)

But it struck me the other day, that this is just how's it's going to be. I'm not God. I can't be everywhere all at once and fulfill every need at the same time. Only He can do that. So I find myself praying more in between breaths and every activity, praying that God will be sufficient for not just me, but the rest of my family. That He will fill in the holes I can't fill, and mostly that He will fill my life as needed because in the midst of taking care of everyone else around me, I'm horrible at taking care of myself. So as far as catching up goes, I don't think I can catch up at this point. The only thing I, in my fleshly self, can hope to attain is a balance...a fine balance of who gets cheated out of what when. Makes me understand the title of Andy Stanley's book Choosing to Cheat more and more every day. So, I officially give up trying to "catch up". My new motto now is "balancing act." Let's see how God and I can work this act together=)

Enjoy the pics=) Latest Savannahism: I was getting lunch ready the other day. Savannah was waiting patiently in her booster seat, talking to herself about who knows what. She's over there fiddling with her baby doll, paying me no mind, when she hears Samson and Lila barking at something outside in the backyard. All of a sudden, her gibberish becomes very understandable: "Hush! Hush, tupid dogs, hush! Tupid dogs, hush!"

She still never acknowledged that I heard her. I blushed from embarrassment realizing that she was retaining so much more than I ever understood. When she hushed the "tupid dogs" again while we were eating, I had to apologize to her for saying "stupid" and tell her we don't need to talk like that. "Do you understand, Savannah?" "Uh, huh, mommy." And she hasn't said it since. Oh, be careful big mouths what you say 'cause the little ears are listening. (Weston leaves you with his "What What" picture=)

Savannahisms...

I know, I write a lot about Savannah, but trust me, until Weston starts doing something other than crying, you don't want to hear a whole lot about him=) Pictures are even hard to get because I don't want to chronicle his entire life thus far with him making miserable faces...sigh...oh well...anyway...

I've started setting up the Barney DVD in my room when I'm putting Weston down for bed, so that Savannah can stay occupied without bothering me or getting in trouble. Here's where I found her after I had put him to bed yesterday....

...watching the DVD from inside the dog kennel. Samson is such a good dog=)

Also, yesterday, October 7th, 2009, was the first time Savannah told me she had to go potty, and she actually did!!!! She told me two times in a row yesterday morning, once for #2 then ten minutes later for #1. I was so proud of her! Of course she will hate me later in life for actually taking these pictures.....

....definitely future wedding photo video material=) Note also that she insisted on going on the big potty. I should have known better than to waste my money with the "play" potties. Sigh...gotta love her=)

She then spent the rest of the morning telling me she had to go potty every 5 minutes just because she thought it was a fun game now. Of course she didn't go, but I had put big girl panties on her just to let her practice, and of course, being as I still have newborn mommy brain, I forgot she only had on panties when I went to put Weston down for his morning nap. Needless to say, she went to play in her bed while I was doing this and preceded to wet her bed. Oh well, messes and laundry are apart of every day life around here....but at least she made positive progress!! Everyone keeps telling me she'll potty train on her own eventually...here's to hoping and crossing my fingers that this is a step in that direction.

We're celebrating her birthday all this week, so more pictures to come on that...latest words and phrases:

I sit down to feed Weston who takes one sip then rears back screeching. Savannah looks at me, all-knowing, cocks her head and says in all seriousness, "Probly hot Mommy." Yes....yes it was.


Riding along in the car with the radio off when I hear this in a little sing songy voice, "Yes Jesus, Yes Jesus, Bible me so." Can you name that song? =) So sweet....over and over she repeats just this part of the song. Melts my heart and gives hope that things she's hearing are really sticking. I love it that this is the first song she's ever actually tried to sing.