summer afternoon

pink & yellow

Don't they just remind you of strawberry lemonade?

Speaking of, have you had the sparkling lemonade at Sonic?

I like it.

Notice those "Anne" books up there?

Have you read the series?

Seen the movie?

(Please tell me you have. And if you haven't, please, please do yourself the favor of both reading and watching.)

Right after we brought baby boy home from the hospital and I needed some light cheerful reading, I re-read Anne of Green Gables. I usually re-read some of the later books in the series but I am so glad I re-read that one. So good.

I just finished reading Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson. Before checking it out from the library I was conflicted about whether or not I truly wanted to read it. I was intrigued and don't you always want more of your favorite characters? And yet I wondered if it would be true to L.M. Montgomery's stories and if it would in any way tarnish my thoughts/feelings about those books. Besides, I thought Budge Wilson was a man and I wasn't at all sure that a male author could write about Anne. I did check it out, turns out that Budge is a woman and I enjoyed the book. Have any of you read it?

For more randomness as if this post isn't random enough already, do you know what those little spoons in the above photo are from? Just wondering.

Do you like or collect state plates like the Missouri one above? I do. Collect them that is. Oh and like them of course because why would you collect something you didn't like?

I'd like to go back to Missouri. I have so many wonderful friends and family there. Have you ever been to Missouri? What do you like about the show me state?

Have a lovely summer afternoon sipping strawberry lemonade, going to Sonic or settling in with a good book.

Kelly

p.s. Happy Birthday, Marcella. A "pink" post for you. :)

blessed birthday

Blooms!

Birthday cards!

These cupcakes made by my sweet husband at my request.

He put "K"s on top for me. :)

home cooked favorite meals all weekend

family time

church

Pei Wei for lunch with friends after church

friends coming over for cupcakes afterward

lots of babies and little kids

dark chocolate

phone calls from friends

a new blog header gift from my husband

it's been a blessed birthday indeed.

mobile

Look

who

learned

to roll over

yesterday!!!

soooo fun!

Kelly

great grandpa and great grandson

I happen to think they both are really great!

Kelly

sweet boys

When we were in Houston Little Mister got to hang out with some other boys.

My cousin has two boys and they were so sweet to him.

Here is my grandma, Sweetie, with three of her five great grands. All of her great grands are boys so far. How fun is that?

Both boys said something especially endearing during the weekend. The younger kept saying "baby" in the sweetest little voice and wanting to see him and touch him so gently.

The older, as they were leaving family lunch said something to the effect of, "Is it really time to go, I didn't get to spend very much time with baby Jesus." How cute is that? I guess our kiddo has a lot to live up to. :)

Kelly

arrangement updated

my mother-in-law sent this sweet milk glass sugar and creamer

does she know me or what?

and it's not even my birthday yet!

kelly

shopping for boy clothes

{stripes}

While my mom was here we had a shopping day. I really wanted to find some clothes that fit for me & I had a Carter's gift card and 25% off coupon that had been burning a hole in my pocket since before he was born but since we didn't know boy or girl, it was a little hard to shop. :)

{look at those itty bitty pj pants!}

I haven't had the easiest time finding really cute boy clothes since he was born so I sort of went on a bit of a spree when I found so many things I liked and they were having a huge sale in addition to my coupon and gift card.

Mostly I bought ahead for next year and even further down the road. Thanks to amazing friends who have handed us down clothes and gifts of new clothes he has received, we don't need anything right now. If they had had winter weather clothes I would have bought some of those but of course they only had summery things right now. That's okay.

Can you believe how incredibly long these jammies are?

They are for two years but they still seem so long.

I love the construction theme.

Nana bought this shirt for us. In addition to just kind of liking construction stuff that day, I thought that the wording of this shirt was very appropriate as God is continually constructing each of us into the people He created us to be. Did any of the rest of you grow up listening to that song, "Kids Under Construction"? Who sang that? Psalty? Gaither Vocal Band? I can't remember but I know I had it on a record. :)

My boy-o looks good in navy and brown especially. Couldn't resist a fuzzy, smiling gorilla either.

I'm pretty picky about words on clothes. As a school teacher I've seen way too many disrespectful slogans and phrases displayed across kids' chests. Especially the ones that are disrespectful to parents I just don't get because these kids are not old enough to be buying their own clothes! Okay, stepping down off my soap box. Anyway, all that to say that this wording I found to be alright. :)

sleeveless, plaid, cotton, bulldozer . . . does it get any better?

I love gray on boys and who could resist a plaid rockin' electric guitar?

Of course when I got home I wanted to add up all the full price tags and see how much I saved. $161! I'll take it! Each item of clothing averaged out to $3.40 a piece. I don't have a lot of experience in shopping for kids' clothes yet but I think that's not too shabby.

What about you? Does your child have any of these same clothes? What is your favorite place to shop for clothes for kiddos? Do you have any themes/motifs/colors that you gravitate towards? As my mom pointed out, I'd better enjoy picking them out because soon enough he'll have a mind of his own.

Oh and one more note, as I was checking out, the cashier told me that they will accept returns of their clothes even a year or more from now if you've bought ahead and the item doesn't fit your child. Cool!

Kelly

{note: this post was in no way sponsored by Carter's just sharing my own experience}

on the day I went into labor . . .

merely hours before actually or I may have already been in labor for all I knew since I didn't feel contractions for the first six hours after my water broke, we went here:

It was great! Adrian got a Mounds snowcone and I got strawberry shortcake based on Dina's recommendation. Yum, yum and triple yum!

And every calorie of that sugar laden treat got used I tell you. I was glad to have that and the yummy pasta dinner my sweet husband made for me to get me through labor since they don't let you eat a thing in the hospital. I was really so close to sneaking a bite of banana when our nurse left the room but then I hit transition and I was no longer thinking about how hungry I was. :)

Anyway, I highly recommend Bedford Snowball if you're in the metroplex. It's worth the drive in my opinion.

happy boy

You are two months old today, Little Man.

Honestly, it's so hard to remember you not even being here yet.

We are a family.

You are so happy these days (except in the evenings sometimes and when you're ready for a nap but fighting it). We love to watch you smile at us and admittedly pull them out of you any chance we get. You "talk" to us in the form of coos and goos and all sorts of adorable sounds.

You're still making your really cute "aahhh" sound sometimes after you sneeze.

You like your activity gym and can grab the toys on it now. You will lay there talking and moving all over.

You are so very strong. You like to stand up on your legs.

More than one person at the pediatrician's office has been impressed with how much you seem to want to roll over already.

You enjoy getting your diaper changed and when Nana was here that was when you and she would have the best talks.

You have been to church three Sundays now, twice at home and once in Houston. People are so happy to see you.

You weigh 12 pounds, 13 ounces today! We knew you were getting bigger.

You've grown two inches since you were born.

You helped me bake a cake for Daddy's birthday in the moby wrap and we all went to Woodcraft together to pick out his present.

You are liking books more. You smiled quite a bit through Goodnight Moon the other night.

We have found one solution to evening fussiness and that is to put you in the baby bjorn and Daddy carries you as we go on a family walk. We've seen ducks and a bunny and a hummingbird. You look all around and enjoy being outside and you usually fall asleep before we make it back home. So far you've slept really well every night we've taken a walk too so we're not planning to stop!

You are enjoying your baths as long as we have the Bath Luve at the ready (thank you Mr. Mark and Mrs. Shevawn!)

We love you so much, Little Man and we love having a family of three!

His mercies are new every morning

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments and encouragement from last night's post.

Isn't our God good and amazing? The way He works things, helps us to carry each other's burdens, speaks His truth to us through others, reminds us that He cares for us is amazing and wonderful.

Some verses that I have been meditating on lately that remind me of who my God is & what His character is are these from Jeremiah:

"Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 'I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:26 & 27)

"You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." (Jeremiah 32:36-41)

"While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 'This is what the LORD says, He who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it -- the LORD is His name; 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:1-3)

Is anything too hard for God?

I love the contrast between "you are saying" and "but the LORD says". He says so many good things to us and about us and His plans for us even when we are saying, "I don't know how, Lord. I can't see it, Lord. I'm discouraged, Lord."

"they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children" wow!

God rejoices in doing us good!

"While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard"/while I am still confined in my pjs smelling of spit up & in my doubt and discouragement, the word of the Lord can still come to me. He will tell me great and unsearchable things I do not know.

Thank you to all of you who prayed for me and us. God is hearing and answering. My little man slept the longest he has ever slept last night, EIGHT hours the first stretch and then another 3 1/2 hours! I didn't get up until after nine with just one very short feeding break in the five o'clock hour! Praise God!!! I am feeling more rested and better able to cope and deal with the battles that Satan will throw at me. I can take things one at a time and not get overwhelmed.

Thank you for letting me be real and for being real in return.

Kelly

photo taken 6/8/10 after Mama and Daddy's date night when Nana kept the little man

got a story?

Do you have a story from when *your* child was about two months old? And preferably not a story about how your child slept through the night and you were putting gourmet meals on the table every night. Nope. I don't think those are the kinds of stories that I would like to hear right now.

Look at that sweet angel up there. We have some really great moments. We do.

He is precious and a really good baby. He's starting to smile and coo. He loves us. We love him.

One of the most valuable things I got out of our childbirth class was that *everyone* gets to a point where they think to themselves "I can't do this." I got to that point too and then found out I was at seven centimeters and I knew I *could* do it, I was in the home stretch.

What no one told me though was that the "I can't do this." feeling was going to keep recurring long after we'd left the hospital. Everyone says "it gets better." and I do recognize that I am no longer in pain, getting up every three hours through the night to nurse when I have no idea how to nurse in the first place, feeling too weak to even think of leaving the house, etc. It *has* gotten better. I guess I just didn't think that it would take so long to feel like I could "keep it together" for more than a few days in a row. I guess that there are times that I don't really believe that people are telling me the truth when they say that it gets better. I find myself battling not to play the comparison game wondering if so and so felt this way, struggled like this, etc.

I admit this isn't a happy, cheerful post.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of trying to figure out if I should read Baby Wise or Healthy Sleep Habits, should I try to follow some sort of pattern/schedule or just let the baby dictate? What in the world does he want anyway if I'm letting him call the shots? I've admittedly tried to read his little mind and keep realizing I have no clue. I'm tired of fighting the "failure" lie. One of our doctors said to read to him every day of his life. We haven't.

Just so you know, I'm not down all the time. Yesterday I was able to laugh when I had a lap full of poop. There are just ups and downs just like there were before he came along to be honest, but I just felt like writing about it tonight.

My baby is cooing right now and chewing on my shoulder.

I hope you have a good night.

Kelly

arrangement

Two blog posts in two days! Maybe things are getting a little more back to "normal".

All I can say is we're so thankful that Nana is here to help out with lots of baby holding and laundry and spoiling of all of us! It leaves a girl with a little time to blog.

And it leaves a girl with a little time to make things pretty, something that has kind of gone by the wayside when you're just trying to keep your head above water with the day to day caring for your family.

My wonderful friend Marla brought flowers when she came last week and these hardy blooms have survived past the others. It was time to give them their own "vase". I spotted this old bedspring on a shelf and decided to somehow incorporate it with the flowers. I like how it turned out.

While photographing, I practiced some different angles thanks to Ashley Ann Photography.

I had no idea . . .

dirty diapers were *so* heavy!

The other day I was taking some trash out that Adrian had already taken downstairs. I couldn't figure out why the bags were so heavy that I could hardly lift them. Have I lost that much muscle tone through the end of pregnancy and after his birth? I knew I felt weak after we got home from the hospital from the blood I lost but good grief! Just now I took the bag out of the diaper champ and I got it. Yikes! Those suckers are heavy.

So in other news as this blogpost is definitely a "mom post" . . . really when did dirty diapers become a primary topic of conversation? . . . we went on our first road trip this weekend with the baby. Yippee! It was actually our first trip of any kind. Nana is here and the four of us drove down to Houston to visit extended family and friends. It was a wonderful weekend and Little Man is a great traveler! Praise God for that. We are very thankful since travel is so much a part of us.

Obviously the photo above doesn't really have anything to do with any of this but it's awfully cute, don't you think?

Kelly

last day!

Today was my very last day of school. I returned from maternity leave for one day (a district policy deal) and am now officially a stay-at-home mama to this little guy!

Could you not just eat him up?

Sorry, had to say that, I'm his mama.

Happy summer everyone!

Kelly