Happy Birthday Lennox (yesterday)

He got scared when Everett screamed (excitedly)!

Here come the cupcakes!


Oooo... thanks Auntie Leah for the thermos

YUM

So I can't believe it but Lennox's first birthday was yesterday. I feel like this has been both the longest and the shortest year of my life. I remember almost every detail of counting down to his arrival, going to the hospital, waiting, waiting, waiting, holding him for hours, you know the drill. It does seem like it was just yesterday, not last year. On the other hand though, I really don't remember my life or my heart without him. He is such a HUGE part of both of them now. He is a funny boy. He is learning new things everyday. It cracks me up how laid back he is most of the time but his temper is unbelievable... not sure where that came from?! He likes to see how things work. It's funny to see him lean down on the ground and stick his head under things to see how it's working. His favorite toys right now are his balls (of course), books, stackable cups, and his stick on ducks in the bath tub. He got a Little Tykes car for his birthday and he loves it. He's not walking yet. I just knew my child was going to be an early walker. Of course, I just knew I was having a girl first too. I guess that makes you realize how much you don't "just know!" Anyway, I know he'll walk when he feels like it so I am just enjoying holding him. Above are some pictures from his pre-birthday celebration at the beach.

Obviously NOT shredded yet!

So today one of my co-workers came up to me with a really surprised look on her face, patted my stomach, & said "do you have something to tell me?!" After I picked my chin & my pride up off the floor, I did have something to tell her but it isn't blog-friendly. Ok, I am joking... I didn't really tell her anything since she's my friend. The good thing about her comment is that it did help me boost my motivation for the 30 Day Shred. I might just pack that dvd up & take it to the beach afterall! She did try to say oh... it's the shirt, the light, the angle but any way you put it, it hurts to get the belly pat when you're less than 6 months pregnant and even worse when you're not pregnant at all!!!

Shredded Yet?

I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred yesterday. I am sore already. Mostly my back and my shoulders are sore today. That's great though. That means I worked something that normally doesn't get any attention. It is only 20 minutes a day. I figured I can handle anything for 20 minutes, right? Jay & I decided we would do each level for 10 days and see what happens. I just googled "30 day shred results" and apparently this works for alot of folks. Some people posted their before and after pictures. I'm not that brave... i'm sure you'll thank me!

I'm headed to Destin for a girls trip on Friday and I cannot wait to see my long lost friends! I'm sure it is going to be so much fun. Sadly enough I have to admit that I have not seen some of them in 3 years. What kind of friend am I? Well... I hope the weather is pretty! One of my other long lost friends who will not be attending asked me if I was taking the shred with me to the beach?! Should I be worried that that thought never even entered my mind? Maybe so but I'm still not taking it.

Beach Pictures - Just a Few

AHHH!!

Hey MR, Do you care if I pet your dog?

How sweet is that face?!

Jenson looks like he's saying "now what do you want me to do"

Lennox says, "Here, I'll show you..."

10 months

So, I'm seriously posting pictures of my child soon. Really, I will... I'm just slow sometimes. We just got back from an awesome vacation to Florida. I'll post more about that later. While we were there Lennox turned 10 months old. These past 10 months have flown by. It makes me sad to think about him getting older because that means eventually he won't need me anymore. That's pretty far down the road though, I hope. Anyway, he has had an eventful month. Here are some of the highlights:

• He had his 5th ear infection.
• He had his adenoids removed and tubes put in. He had another infection starting when they went in with the tubes. Word to the wise... give your kid the antibiotic for 10 days if this happens. Our ENT told us to stop after 5 days and, low & behold, he ran a 104 fever on vacation with ANOTHER ear infection! Geez... I thought the tubes cured that??? Oh, and my ped warned me that he might have bad breath after the adenoids were removed. I said yeah, ok. Well, I would not describe it as "bad" more like HORRIFIC. It smelled like buzzard breath after a feast on day old road kill. Man, I could hardly hold the poor child. I am totally serious. It was ridiculous! Lucky for him (me & Jay), he's back to normal now.
• He got 2 teeth! Finally... the 2 bottom teeth are in.
• He started pulling up on everything. Everything! I don't think he's going to be walking soon though. He's still really wobbly.
• He went on his first official beach vacation to Cape San Blas. He went to Destin at 5 weeks on an evacuation trip but this time he really got to play in the sand & the salt water. He also went on his first boat ride and saw his first shark!
• He sometimes says: uh oh, ball, mama
• He always says: yay, hey, bye bye, dada, nana (that's me too I think), & gibberish
• He sometimes: blows kisses (only to Bri), dances in his car seat, points to the deer on the wall when asked, swallows table food after he chews it up (he prefers to pack it in his cheeks and spit it out later), hugs me tighter when he thinks someone else is going to get him (that doesn't last though), lays his head on my/jay's shoulder when he doesn't feel good
• He always: points where he wants to go, pulls up, screams when you change his diaper/clothes, takes his medicine like a good boy, gives sloppy kisses, waves bye bye, puts his balls in the gumball machine and pushes the lever to get them out (what a smarty!), crawls away really fast and screams if you tell him you're going to "get him"
• He loves turning the light off (on sometimes), our dog, anyone else's dog, taking medicine, beating up Jenson, Jenson's toys, Anything else Jenson may have, taking a bath, going to someone new (even strangers at restaurants), riding in the push car, eating paper, tearing paper, playing with hangers, balls, splashing in the water, going outside, looking at books (turning the pages), opening and closing anything, his bottle, his bed, playing peek-a-boo, sticking his fingers in our eyes & nose
• He lays down and goes to sleep at night by himself, most of the time. I guess that's something he's been doing for a couple of months. He pretty much always sleeps through the night unless he's sick.
• His favorite toys are balls, his leap frog activity table, the riding airplane with the spinning propeller, books, his play gym from Aunt Debbie & Bri, and his blue & white cow from NC

I'm working on teaching him where his nose is and I would really like it if he would call me mama and not nanana... we'll see what he learns this month!

For the Mothers (I mean the birds)

So I always said that I would be honest on this blog and only say how I truly feel... if I said anything at all. So, since everyone has posted about their wonderful Mother's Day, I will post about mine. Mine was not wonderful. It was honestly one of the worst days I've had in a long time. It was stressful, hectic, & exhausting. This was my first Mother's Day so maybe I was expecting too much? I will admit that it was my fault for the most part. I was sick and I wasn't prepared so that led to alot of stress and rushing around. If there is one thing I hate it is being in a rush. I think there should be a Mother's Week instead of a Mother's Day. In order for Mother's Day to be relaxing and fun, I have to bust my butt all week to get ready so that I can relax?! That doesn't seem right! Anyway, here were the low lights of the day:

• About 6 hours of sleep (which was actually alot more than I usually get)
• Walmart at 7 am
• Dead battery in the car
• Nothing to wear to Lennox's baby dedication
• Starvation
• Lennox missed about 3 hours of nap time so he was so happy
• endless guilt trips

Just so I don't end on a ugly note and everyone doesn't think I am a total grouch... here were the highlights:

• I am very thankful to have a wonderful mom on Mother's Day and every day
• I am so thankful that I am a mom on Mother's Day and every day
• I am thankful that Lennox has many, many great Mother-types to take care of him
• Lennox was dedicated at church, so that was meaningful

It's pretty horrible that I'm posting this but it is what it is. ha.

Best Buds

Well, Lennox thinks they are best buds but Jenson just wonders why he's always getting slobbered on, clawed on, crawled on, and poked at when Lennox is around! He will be able to defend himself soon...