Merry Christmas!

Hope you got everything you wanted...

And nothing that you didn't.Hope you played with your cousins...

And made cookies with your Pop.

Hope you treasured moments with your loved ones...

And remembered what it was all about...

Merry Christmas!

Thank you Lord for the gift of Jesus at Christmas. That you would come for one like me...I am beyond words grateful for your sacrifice and your mercy that is offered freely to all who would believe...

First First Christmas

"I love it!!"

Making cookies with Grandma
Singing with Papi
He loves his Uncle Andrew

New shirt!

Grandma & Charlie

Christmas boy, all ready for church!

"I like getting presents!"

Sleeping with Papi & Uncle Andrew

Merry Christmas!!!

On the Mend

It seems Charlie is finally starting to feel better... still a bit wheezy and coughy but no fever, and the congestion is getting better. My parents and brother are on their way into town for an early Christmas weekend with us and we could not be more excited for Charlie's first first Christmas. :) May not be blogging much this week, but just wanted to say thanks for your prayers and well wishes for Charlie! And Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

The Sad Truth

The sad truth is, all that's left of that beautiful present in the last post is the label. When you get your baby a lame present like an ear thermometer and two weeks before Christmas he gets Bronchiolitis, you should probably open the present early and use it. It came in surprisingly handy at 3 am! So much easier than what we were doing before!!! And he will still have a few presents to open Christmas morning. ;)

Poor baby has Bronchiolotis (that could be caused by RSV!!!) and Sunday night we spent a couple hours in the ER, where he was given a breathing treatment. Fortunately the breathing treatment cleared him up and they sent us home with our own precription for a neublizer, which we now call his "monster face." He screamed through the first few times, but is getting used to it now. Hopefully we will only have one or two more days left. If it is RSV though it could be a few days longer unfortunately. The good news is, he is generally in a great mood, he's sleeping surprisingly well in his carseat all night, and Paul had yesterday off so we spent a sick day mostly in PJs in front of the tv. I'm hoping this will all clear up before Christmas!

My First Time...

...to write this...

...and this...

...on a Christmas present.

We cannot wait!

'Cause I Love That Face...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Best New Toys of the Season...

... a full length mirror and a spoon. Its all fun and games until you drop the spoon and then try to pick it up from inside the mirror. That can be a little frustrating.

8 Months Old

Yesterday, Charlie turned 8 months. I can't believe how fast he's growing...

His favorite way to sit is with his feet crossed in front of him. He's not crawling or even rolling much, but has started to lunge forward from sitting onto his stomach only when highly motivated by one of his two favorite toys... a remote control or a cell phone. :) He loves being around people and will sit and watch people for a long time. No signs of stranger anxiety yet...

He has started blowing raspberries and sticking out his tongue ALL the time. In fact, the other day I had to defend him from a Kroger cashier who was sure he had purposely stuck his tongue out at her!!!

He is the best eater around- loves every food he's tried and even gulps down medicine when necessary. He is not the best sleeper around, but oh well, I guess nobody's perfect. :) He usually sleeps pretty well until about 5 am when he wakes up crying and still sleepy and takes anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to settle back down. He is a creature of routine and habit and I can pretty much set my clock by his waking/sleeping patterns. When we're away from home for a night, everything goes haywire!

He has started leaning forward in my arms to give me what I consider a hug... it is just the sweetest thing. He has two little teeth on the bottom and his hair is growing so much I am considering cutting it soon. He is still a complete drool-bucket and goes through about three bibs a day! He still melts us with his belly laugh and steals our hearts with his smiles... Happy 8 Months, Charlie!!!

Santa's Lap

I just had to take Charlie to see Santa this year... I knew he couldn't ask for anything yet, I knew he would probably be freaked out and cry, or at least be too interested in his beard and hat to even think about looking at a camera- but seriously... what would Christmas be without a visit to Santa? And to my surprise...


... apparently Charlie and Jolly Ol' St. Nick are best buds! Ha!

Playing Catch Up

I know we're on to the Christmas season already, but I still haven't shared my Thanksgiving pictures with you!!! We had a great time with my family in San Antonio. My Grandma even came in from Virginia to be with us!



Here is the playground thing that my bro fell off (the red roof!!!)

While we now know he has a fractured sinus (who knew you could even do that??) we are thanking God that he didn't hurt himself worse.


Two turkeys... the one on the left weighed more!

Charlie made some delicious trail mix to snack on.

Playing at the park!

Pretending to slide

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Boys will be Boys

We arrived in San Antonio yesterday evening to spend the week with my family. Just before leaving, I called my mom and she said she was taking my brother to the hospital. Alarmed for my brother's sake and worried she was going to tell me he had something contagious and that we wouldn't be able to come, she said... "Well, its not contagious, but Charlie already has it... its called a Y chromosome."

You see, my 15 year old brother, on his first day of Thanksgiving vacation, decided to show his "parkouring" skills to my mom and grandma at the park. For those of you (like me) wondering what parkouring is, it is also known as "freestyle running." For those of you (like me) still wondering what this is, click this link for a little video of some guys parkouring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qhgIdP3l3I

Charlie and I had a long talk on the way here about never doing anything that dangerous or *coughstupidcough*. Parkouring is only for you if your name is James Bond, Jason Bourne, or even Paul Hamm. Otherwise, just do regular running.

No, he doesn't have marshmallows in his mouth. It's just that swollen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursdays

A handful of the things I am thankful for tonight...

• all of your sweet encouraging comments on my last post- THANK YOU!! It helps to know there are others out there that have gone through the same thing when you're waking up for the third or fourth time at about 4 am and this is night seventeen of no sleep (or something like that!)


• my dear mother in law that came over to spend the day with me so I could take a nap and get a few things done around the house... and for doing the dishes- thank you!!!


• my amazing mom who knew just what I needed and even though she wasn't able to do it herself (because of living too far away and that darn job she needs to retire from!!!), is sending over the Maid Brigade tomorrow to do it for her.


• my wonderful husband that took care of [still sick] Charlie for me this evening so I could play Pokeeno for a little girls' night out! Always does the trick for a tired momma.


• the fantastic nurse at our pediatrician's office who I also know from church who gave me her cell phone # that I called three times today to ask specific questions about which vick's vapo rub, where to put it, and side effects of this antibiotic.


• the hope that I will sleep through the night again...one day.

Good night...

Un-Grateful Wednesday

With Thankful Thursday just around the corner, I thought I needed to come clean with you about my attitude this week. It started with a few sleepless nights and wondering what was going on. After finishing round one of antibiotics for an ear infection Saturday, he was feverish when we picked him up from the nursery on Sunday. Sunday night = no sleep. Monday morning = Dr.'s appointment and he still has that dang ear infection. So we're on stronger antibiotics, motrin every six hours, and trying out Claritin just to see if all this congestion is from allergies. Its been night after night of sleepless night- trying to swaddle, trying to rock, giving a bottle, bringing him to our bed, sleeping in the carseat, me sleeping on the couch, elevating the crib mattress. So far its been a combination of our endless rocking/cuddling/patting plus a few dreaded saline drops and motrin for maybe two hours of sleep at a time.

And I am tired. In the middle of the night, I feel so discouraged and defeated. Charlie didn't even start sleeping through the night until about six months... then shortly after (I mean days after) came teething, and now two ear infections in a row. So I am very tired. And, yesterday, I broke my toe, stubbing it on a chair that has been there for months. My contacts are all old and I forgot to call in for more until it was too late... so my eyes are twitching and red from wearing old ones so long and now I'm wearing my glasses until the new ones come in. I shrunk a new shirt I bought this weekend in the dryer. The dishes are stacking up, the Kleenex attack is back, and it feels like we will never get this deck finished.

And then a good friend brought my attention to this.

And while talking with an old friend yesterday, I found out her dad has liver cancer.

So I woke up this morning and got on my knees before God. And when I got up and looked at my precious boy with snot running down his face, I realized how small my issues are. So today I'm praying for and focusing on someone other than myself. And I'm hoping I will someday learn to count my blessings and truly be thankful... in every circumstance.

Chewing... with One Tooth

We're at it again...

... listening to the Christmas music channel! After all your comments on the other post, I had the courage to go for it! I mean, come on, its the most wonderful time of the year! Why not start it a little early? And Robin, I am jealous of your Christmas decorating... I told Paul about Matt telling you to decorate and he literally said "I don't care." What a scrooge... :)

Thankful Thursdays

Just a small number of the things I am thankful for right now...

The beautiful healthy safe happy boy bouncing in his jump-a-roo right next to me

The warm, safe, and dry home I live in

The husband I love that will soon walk in the door to have lunch with his little family

The parents that raised me to know Christ and to know love that we will be with in two weeks

The teenager that was once the annoying little bro that has turned into the funny, fun, cool, talented brother and friend.

The parents that raised Paul in a Christian home and taught him how to be a husband and father

The grandparents and aunt and uncles that Charlie has that I love so much and I know love him so much

The church we have grown to love and that feels like family

The friends that I know we will have forever

The King of Kings that became a man, the lowest of men, that we might know Him, follow Him, and be with Him forever- that He would draw me, shameful sinner that I am, into relationship with Him.

What are you thankful for today?

Confession...

Charlie and I are listening to Christmas music today... I just can't help myself!

Its stormy outside, so I don't really want to go out. He's playing, I'm doing some cleaning. It just seemed right! :) I've got the "Sounds of the Seasons" tv station on... I just went to it thinking, hmm I wonder if they have any Thanksgiving music... and then got hooked on the Christmas music! But, man, they must save the good stuff for the true holiday season, because so far I've heard Bette Midler's Christmas version of 'From a Distance', Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'Christmas in the City', and now its Kidz Bop's version of 'All I Want for Christmas is You'... Looks like I'll have to wait a few more weeks for Bing and Rosemary or Manheim Steamroller! Oooh here we go, Barbara Mandrell's 'I'll be Home for Christmas.' Come on, admit it, you can't wait either!!!

Renaissance Festival

Saturday we went to the Renaissance Festival with some friends. We had a great time walking around, people watching (and WOW are there some interesting characters...), riding a giant swing, and eating!