Makes for One Happy Pregnant Mama!!

For those of you who have read previous posts, you may be aware of my strong liking, or even love, for all things FROSTING. I like cake, cupcakes, cookies with frosting - you get the picture. I've even taken to calling baby "Cupcake." So, imagine my pregnant glee when I came upon the following... American Idol "Take the Cake" ice cream!!! This delicious dish packs yellow cake, "decadent" blue frosting and multicolored sprinkles. Can you even believe it???? And it's even good for me! Well, I mean, if you count calcium (gotta have that) and that it's 1/2 the calories and fat. PLEASE vote for this flavor and ensure that it survives. I read that the flavor is supposed to be on the shelves until 8/31 and we're due 9/2. We should be safe. But, please, click here to cast your vote!

“What I have to say is far more important than how long my eyelashes are.”

Sir Walter Scott remarked, “What I have to say is far more important than how long my eyelashes are.” And you know, there may come a day that my sweet, baby boy comes to me with a similar complaint. You may need to actually click on the picture to get the full effect, but these lashes are long, long, long. And, to boot, they are perfectly curled. Just looking at him straight on, you can't quite grasp how long these lashes are. When either you are looking down on him or he is looking down and away, like in this picture, that's when the really show off. God clearly spent a lot of time on my son's pretty eyes. I know, I'm bragging and that may not be politically correct. I'm not so much bragging but more than that, I am a mommy who loves her boy so much. And the best part of those eyes, they literally twinkle (like his daddy's do) when he's really happy!

We're Still Here

Hello! All is well with our little gang. We've been spending time with Jon's great grandma and having a fabulous time! He's almost all better though the coughing tends to show its head at night a bit. We'll be back with more posts in a few days after "Grams" heads back to Florida!

My Little (Sick, Crabby) Artist

I took Jon David to see the doctor today because he is still feeling cruddy. Figuring it was a virus, I still wanted to hear for sure from the doctor. One of Jon's main symptoms is severe mood swings. You know how sick kids get kind of clingy and can be having a high time one moment, and then their worlds crash at the drop of a hat. Yep, that's my boy right now. Now, we experience many emotions in our day and that's to be expected. But, all mommies know when there is something not quite right with their babies. So, off we went and the good doctor confirmed that Jon has a virus. So, we'll do what we can to make him more comfortable and we give lots of hugs and extra kisses (oh, poor me!).

Last week I posted about how Jon's buddy, Tyler, gave him his first coloring book and some crayons. We tried them out today and it was fun, fun, fun. Well, just like the Beach Boys song, "We'll have fun, fun, fun 'til Mommy takes the crayons away" or something like that. We colored, we laughed - it was great! But, and I knew this would happen, the crayons kept making their way into Jon David's month. The second picture is an action shot of this. So, after the 10th time this happened and the fact that my "this is how we play with crayons" talk was not really sinking in, we had to put the coloring book and crayons away. You may have heard the tears from wherever you live because it was not pretty. So, real quick, I took a picture of the high drama and then put my camera down and loved on my boy. Here is how it all went down... (Note - some of the more advanced scribbles were mine. I don't want anyone think that we have a mini Picasso on our hands here!)

Not on our A-games

Jon David and I are not on our A-games today. He's got a teeny tiny runny nose and a decent cough; I'm sporting the run of the mill cold with a bothersome sore throat. We are not officially sick but it's enough to make us feel poopy. So, this post will be short but these two pictures are good illustrations as to how things are going for the two of us. Have a great weekend!!

Love, Sweet Love!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today, I took Mommy to the Little Gym. She was so silly and rolled around with me. I impressed her a bunch by hanging by the bars for a few seconds. There were lots of other kids there including my buddy, Tyler. I wore my Valentine's Day shirt which was a good thing because everyone was dressed for the special occasion.

Mommy was really happy because Daddy surprised her with a special present - 4 pictures she took of me in the spring framed real pretty. There is a picture of it at the bottom of this post. She was so happy. Daddy is so good at surprises! And speaking of surprises, my buddy Tyler, gave me my first coloring book along with nice, big, fat crayons, some wipes (must be because I get very dirty) and yummy Goldfish in a red Valentine's Day bucket. He's so nice!

Oh, and one more thing, since today is all about love. I need to give a shout out to my beloved cow. This cow is the best and has the sweetest little jingle. I especially love to put the cow in my mouth and then I can fall asleep. Now I know to never ever do this at night but in the day when I go down for a nap, I like to throw the cow over the crib and say "Ut Oh." Don't ask me why I do it. Love makes us do crazy things. But, I do so love my cow and I hope that everyone has a lovey that they love as much as I do mine!

I hope that everyone feels loved on this Valentine's Day! Love, Jon David, Jr.

DJ's Love Mix!

Remember when you'd spend hours creating "mix" tapes for friends or loved ones? I could listen to my Valentine's Day CD made for JD in 2002 over and over and over again. Some songs just NEVER get old, especially love songs. So, here is my list of All-Time Greatest LOVE songs. For your listening pleasure, I've included links to the songs on Amazon. Scroll down and give 'em a listen and think how grand LOVE is!!

In no special order except for number one (which is number one!)...

1. Never is a Moment, Jimmy LaFave (danced to this at our wedding).
2. By Your Side, Sade (now I like to also sing this to my baby boy).
3. To Make You Feel My Love, Trisha Yearwood (ditto - used to dance with my sleeping baby and sing this to him).
4. Just to Be Close to You, The Commodores.
5. Making Memories of Us, Keith Urban.
6. Run, George Strait (An anthem for us long-distance lovers.)
7. Good Morning, Beautiful, Steve Holy.
8. Shameless, Garth Brooks.
9. Con Te Partiro, Andrea Bocelli.
10. It's Your Love, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.
11. The Lucky Ones, Radney Foster.
12. Inisheer, Greg Trooper.
13. You're My Home, Billy Joel.
14. Cradle of Love, Kelly Willis.
15. Standing Still, Jewel. (Makes me think of the night my honey and I sat up all night staring at the stars on a cold, cold, winter night.)
16. Don't Leave Home, Dido. (Our friends, Jeff & Amy danced to this at their wedding - SO romantic!).
17. Wrapped, Bruce Robison. (SO reminds me of being courted.)

(I reserve the right to add to this list as I'm experiencing a decent bit of insomnia. So, who knows what else I'm come up with.)

Oh, and Megan and Erin, you've been tagged! Everyone else, if you don't have a blog, feel free to send me your list of LOVE songs. I'd LOVE to see them. :)

A Hint of Spring!

Thank you, Lord, for today! It was almost 60-degrees outside AND sunny. What a nice break from the cold weather we've been having! My little guy needs fresh air and a chance to run around. So, we were both very happy today to venture out with some "buuub-buls" (translation: bubbles) and to play.

It's so fun to see him watch in awe at the magical little circles floating in the air. And I am so thankful that the Lord gave me some energy to run around a bit with my little boy. It was a great day and we praise you, Lord, for it!

6 Things That Make Me Happy

My friend, Erin, who happens to share with me the title of babyGap Casting Call Winner's Mommy, tagged me with this idea. Hers was, I think, only 5 but since I just revealed 6 wacky things about myself, I'll continue with the theme of 6.

1. Staying home with my boy. My husband works so hard to make this happen and I'm both very, very grateful and completely content.

2. Getting sugar-luvin' from my baby. He has just learned how to give little pats, he lays his head on my lap and says, "Aaaaawwwwww." I melt!

3. Sharing a love for the Lord with my husband - praying together, seeking His will for our lives, etc.

4. Getting a magazine in the mail.

5. Cupcakes and cookies WITH ICING (I'm pregnant, leave me alone!).

6. Spending time with my 2 guys who share a name. Tonight, we were all silly and danced around the family room. I can ask for no more!

My First Really Weird Pregnancy Dream (with baby #2)

The theme is the same as the I had a few times when pregnant with Jon. And now that I think of it, it sort of came true (with Jon coming so early) though I don't really believe in the "power" of dreams. I prefer to rest comfortably in the arms of my Savior, Jesus Christ. So, this dream, I will choose to believe, is not a premonition of things to come. But, the gist is that the baby came out early and we had to put him/her back in after a few minutes. The baby was super small (maybe 6 inches) and I either pulled Baby out or Baby just came out. But, I carefully unbuttoned the few buttons on the little sack he/she was in and took Baby out. Daddy and I admired the beauty of Baby and made sure Baby knew that we loved, loved, loved him/her. Then, Mommy buttoned Baby back up and put Baby back in. :) And, of course, we then called the doctor to let him know what all happened. Pregnancy is one WILD ride!!

It's high time that Baby H. got a little time on Mommy's blog. Here is what our little baby is up to these days (per What to Expect.com):

Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, Baby is growing by leaps and bounds. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body.

Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow. Baby's body is straightening and he or she can now stretch, do somersaults and even forward rolls.

Whatever he or she is up to, we love Baby SO much!

15-Month Checkup

Jon David had his 15-month check-up today and received three new shots. :( Poor guy! But, he did walk away with a lovely parting gift - a plastic green dinosaur. The doctor said that he is doing just great and that if Jon's eyelashes get any longer, he will not be able to open his eyes anymore. Here are his vital stats for those interested...

Weight: 22 lbs 3.5 oz (22%)
Height: 31 1/4" (55% - he grew 3 inches and is up from the 10th percentile)
Head: 18 1/2" (45% - up from 30th percentile)

He has one more round of shots at 18 months and then is free until kindergarten, which I told him is VERY far away (good news for us both, especially me!!!).

Six Quirky Things...

My friend, Megan, did this on her blog and I thought I'd try it as well. Now, this may shatter any hopes that I had of people thinking that I have it ALL together, ALL the time. I know, I know - it's hard to believe. :) Seriously, like just about everyone, I have things that may be considered by some to be strange. My poor husband thinks they are downright wacky. Here goes... (just promise that you'll still be my friends!). And I included a recent silly picture of myself which pertains to #6.

1. I don't like tags or seams. Thus, I wear a lot of my tee-shirts (or JD's undershirts, which BTW, I love to steal) and socks inside out. Most shirts and sweaters that I own have the tags removed from them.


2. I hate bass, as in the music and not the fish. It makes me crazy to hear someone in their car with that deafening thump thump thump. It's relentless and makes me batty.


3. I'm somewhat of a germ-a-phob (and so is my husband). This is mostly for things like public restrooms, the railings on escalators, pens used at the grocery store, etc. I'm not scared to hug people or even share food. I'm just convinced that the general public has poor hygiene. And, I also don't like using sponges a lot to clean dishes and counters because I think they are a breeding ground for germs. So, I use a lot of paper towels. And we should own stock in Purell. We use is it ALL the time. In fact, we may name our next baby Purell since you must bathe in it if you want to come near one of our newborns! ;)


4. I like to listen to talk radio especially when trying to fall asleep at night. I usually pick ESPN radio or something like that.


5. This is amplified because I'm pregnant but I have an amazing sense of smell. JD calls me a hound dog.


6. I like my pancakes slightly gooey, a little undone. My sister, Lorri, knows just how to do it. That is from YEARS of me waking her up oh-so-sweetly on a Saturday morning begging her to make me some. I know this is not exactly the most exciting thing but I struggled to come up with six wacky things. I have WAY more than six but I had to think about which ones I wanted to actually confess to! Above is a picture of me with a gooey pancake!

UPDATE: I heard on TV today (Dr. Manny on Fox News) that kiddos need to be exposed to germs, to some extent. Smart mommies have told me this before and I do believe it. You'll be happy to know that at Little Gym today, a few of the Birdies (that's what Jon and his classmates are called) had little coughs. No problem, said this savvy mom, Dr. Manny says it's good for Jon! :) 2/7/07

I don't have a lot to say with this post - other than to gush and gush about my baby boy who is getting SOOOOO big. I just love his little expression in this picture. Makes me think of this quote by Elizabeth Stone about having a baby - "It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."