18 Months and Counting!!!

Sorry, I know this isn't the best picture, but I don't have many pictures on this computer to choose from.

Yesterday Munchin turned one and a half! Yikes! Where has the time gone? I thought you all might enjoy a few tidbits about our toddler so far...

*Munchkin is still loving fruit. Fruits and vegetables are his favorite foods. I'm sure this won't last forever (although it could because I love vegetables).
*He is saying more words every day. Even if he doesn't memorize them and use them if we tell hm what something is, he will repeat the word back to us.
*He has learned all his major body parts and will make the Pillsbury Doughboy noise when you ask him where his bellybutton is.
*He hates getting his diaper changed.
*He has started running from us. First he started running just for diaper changes. Now he runs pretty much whenever we want him to do something.
*He sleeps all night and takes one nap in the afternoons.
*Two of his favorite things are music and dancing. In fact, there doesn't even need to be any music for him to dance! I think there is constantly a song playing in his head - just like his father! :)
*He is very much an outdoorsman. He is always happier outside.
*He is very much a people person: both genders, all ages. Doesn't matter who you are, he'll socialize with you. (which he also got from his father)

Today was his 18 month check-up. He weighs in at 29 pounds, 6 ounces which puts him in the 85th percentile. He is 35 inches tall which puts him in the "greater than" 97th percentile. In three months he has gained one pound, and grown three inches!

We're BaAack!

We safely made it back from our cruise and had a terrific time. It was the longest Hubby and I have been alone together in a year and a half. Speaking of, Munchkin turns 18 months old today!

Here's Munchkin with his Grandpa V. when they came to pick him up last Thursday. I don't think Munchkin missed us at all he had so much fun with his grandparents.

Here is a picture from our first night on the ship. It was beautiful.

Me and Hubby.

The first place we stopped was Nassau. It was interesting to see because most of the building were built in the late 17oo's. See? These bricks were made by slaves using chisels. Most of the buildings were built like this. They took the finish off of this one to show how it was made.

But Nassau was a pretty dirty city with trash and old cars dumped everywhere, and it was very crowded. It was still worth visiting, though.

Nassau's government buildings.

This was the next day on Royals Caribbean's private island, CocoCay. Me and Hubby relaxing in a hammock. This day we just lay on the beach and went snorkeling. Pure relaxation and pure bliss! :)

Our ship from CocoCay.


Our ship had a rockclimbling wall on it. Here's Hubby doing his thing.

And I had to throw one last picture of Munchkin on here. This was from yesterday when Gma and Gpa brought him home to us. He is wearing a t-shirt they got him when they took him to the zoo in Omaha. His sunglasses are also a gift from them. He loves them and probably wear them all the time if we let him.

Today Hubby went back to work and Munchkin and I went back to our same routine. This morning we played outside for a couple of hours and this afternoon we both took naps. He even slept in my arms for another hour after he woke up from his two hour nap. Again, pure bliss!!! This afternoon it was back outside to play with then neighbors.

I think Munchkin got cuter while we were gone! :) He is certainly acting more like a little boy. Every day I see my baby slipping away and a little boy taking his place. I can't believe how muchy he has changed in just a year and a half.

Thanks gma and gpa V. for taking care of Munchkin for us. He had a blast and misses you already! It was such a blessing to be able to go on vacation with Hubby and not have to worry about our little guy.

Bon Voyage

Ok, right after my last post I had to ask myself if it was actually Wednesday. How funny would that have been for me to post a "Wordless Wednesday" on a different day of the week. As you can tell things have been busy around here - so much so that I can't remember what day it is.



Another reason I'm confused about the day of the week is because Hubby has today off and won't be going back to work until next Wednesday. As I mentioned before, we're going on a cruise. We leave early tomorrow morning to fly to Florida. We're going on a three night cruise through the Bahamas with Royal Caribbean. Saturday we'll spend the day at Nassau and Sunday we'll be on Royal Caribbean's private island, CocoCay. Monday we'll be back in Florida and we'll be taking a tour of Kennedy Space Center before flying home that night.



Yes, it will be a quick trip, but that is what fit best into our schedule. We've been wanting to go somewhere because this summer was our 5 year wedding anniversary. We hadn't planned anything because of my grandpa's health. Once we didn't have to worry about that anymore, we decided to finally get away. We really wanted to go to a beach, and somewhere we had never been. Since it is getting close to hurricane season we decided to go right away.



No, Munchkin is not going with us. He is staying with Hubby's parents. He will actually be at their house starting tonight. I'm going to miss him terribly. I'll probably be homesick for the little guy. I know he'll be spoiled rotten and will be in perfectly good hands, but I'll still miss him. I'll especially miss him since I probably won't get to talk to him every day. So if you could say a little prayer for this anxious mommy, that'd be great!

I'm not sure I'll get a chance to post while on the cruise, so everybody take care! Have a good weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Review

This will be a quick one because I've got quite a few more things that need to be done before I head off to bed.

Friday Munchkin and I did make it to Deanna Rose again. You've gotta love that place. It's free and Munchkin loves the animals and being able to touch and feed them.

Yesterday was full of running errands, including haircuts for the boys. Munchkin did the best he has ever done for a haircut. (Although he was bribed with marshmallows and chocolate chips!)

Today was church, naps, and out to supper with Hubby's family. As you see, we didn't make it to the zoo. Hopefully sometime soon we'll make it.

I haven't told you yet but Hubby and I are going on a short weekend cruise next weekend. Munchkin will be staying with Hubby's parents. This weekend Hubby and I have had sore throats so please pray that all three of us will stay healthy before our time apart from one another. I'll tell you more details about the cruise later. For now, its off to get some work done!

Beautiful Weather

Wow! It is just gorgeous here today. It is in the upper 70's!!! Today Munchkin and I met my sister downtown KC at the River Market. We ate lunch, went to the farmer's market (where of course I had to buy Munchkin some fruit - his favorite food if you didn't know) and then just walked around and looked at a couple of shops down there.

Munchkin fell asleep on the way home so he is napping right now. If he wakes up early enough I think I'm going to take him to Deanna Rose again. Hey, it's free and when the weather is this nice in the middle of July, it is disgraceful to stay inside! :)

We're looking forward to a nice weekend at home. A hopefully low-key weekend. I think the weather is supposed to be this nice all weekend. My sister asked if we had taken Munchkin to the zoo yet. We haven't, but if the weather is this nice, we may have to venture out there this weekend.

Happy Friday! I hope the weather is as nice where you are.

First Corn of the Season

Thanks to Hubby's dad we had corn on the cob for supper tonight. Munchkin wasn't quite sure what to do with it. But we finally figured it out. However, he kept trying to eat off of the same spot on the cob so eventually we had to cut the corn off and he ate it with his fingers. We'll keep trying!!!

(We did have other food than just corn, but that is all we put on Munchkin's plate at the time of the pictures. Don't worry, he's not starving! Ha!)

First Sentence

Here's a video I took of Munchkin yesterday. He was jabbering so I started taping. At one point he laughs and I say "That was funny." and he says it back to me! Listen carefully!!! :)

Just a couple of things...

Sunday when we got home from church Munchkin was really tired. I took my eyes off of him for a second to look down at my plate and when I looked up again....

...this is what I saw!

Yes, he put a carrot on his forehead and left it there through the rest of his meal. I still laugh just looking at this picture.

You also may notice that he isn't sitting in his highchair in the picture. When we were at my parents' house over the 4th and for the funeral, he got to sit in their bar stools (which have backs to them). So when we got home he didn't want to sit in his highchair anymore. So we've been using the booster seat since we've been home. I finally put the highchair away officially today!!! I can't believe it! Why didn't someone tell me he was going to grow up so fast??? Oh wait, everyone tried to tell me. I guess you just don't believe it until you live it.

....on a different note here is Munchkin with his best friend Mason.

Mason lives two doors down and is almost exactly two months younger than Munchkin. I thought I'd post a picture so you'd know who I was talking about when I mention Mason. I'm sure I'll have lots of stories about these two in the future, so I thought I'd introduce you now. Mason's mommy and I went to out to see a movie tonight while the boys stayed home with their daddy's.

And lastly, Munchkin said his first real sentence today. I even got it on video! I'll be posting that tomorrow!!!!

Worlds of Fun

Finally some pictures on my blog!!! It has been so long it seems. And I know that pictures are really why you all read my blog anyway. These are pictures of Munchkin yesterday at Worlds of Fun. Unfortunately they aren't the best pictures because they were taken with Hubby's cell phone. We took our digital camera, but the battery died in the parking lot before we even made it into the park. I know, bad planning on our part.

Worlds of Fun has a special section for little kids called "Camp Snoopy." For all the rides you have to be shorter than a certain height - perfect for Munchkin! At first, he thought we were abandoning him when we put him on the first ride, but then once it got going he loved it! He rode more rides than are pictured here, but we didn't get pictures of everything.

He was such a good boy the whole time we were there. I was so proud of him. Even though it was terribly humid he did great. Enjoy the pictures!

Me and Munchkin in the second seat.

Company Picnic

Tomorrow is Hubby's company picnic at World's of Fun. I haven't been there in years and it will be Munchkin's first time there. We plan on getting there around the time it opens so that we can explore and catch some rides before the picnic. After lunch we'll probably come home because it will be Munchkin's naptime, and I'll probably need a nap too! Ha!

Hopefully I will take the camera and actually take some pictures. I've been so bad about taking pictures lately.

I can't believe today is already Friday. I have been totally off this week as we didn't get home until Tuesday night rather than Sunday afternoon, as planned. I am looking forward to the weekend, though. It will be nice to have Hubby at home.

I may not post tomorrow because we're going out to dinner with the neighbors (without kids going along!!!).

Blessed

Although all of my grandparents who I am related to by blood are gone, saying that I'm "grandparentless" wasn't exactly accurate. See, I am more blessed then some because I still have four grandparents who I adore and care for me. Hubby's grandparents have been such a blessing. I love them to pieces and am so thankful to have them in my life.

Hubby is close with his grandparents just as I was with mine. There is just a special bond like no other between a grandparent and grandchild. I'm blessed that Munchkin has four grandparents and four great-grandparents to love him and to love in return.

Again, today is a better day than yesterday, but everything still seems unreal. I haven't been out and about much lately - Munchkin and I have mostly been hanging out at home because I don't want to have a bunch of people who don't really know me or who didn't know my grandpa telling me how sorry they are. I don't want to have to tell them "Oh it's ok. It was actually a blessing. Now he is where he wanted to be." I'm sooooo tired of saying that. I've had to say things like that three times in the last two years. I'm done with it. Only those close to me know what I'm feeling. (Not that I'm not grateful people are being considerate and respectful about my loss.)

Munchkin is asleep, the phones are turned off and all is quiet. I'm thankful for the chance to just relax. I'm still recovering from getting very little sleep the past four nights.

Adjusting

His mercies are new every morning...

What truth there is in that. I am feeling better this morning, I'm still adjusting, but I'm not as sad. It was just really hard to come home last night. Ever since I got the call about grandpa it was go, go, go. We planned the funeral fast because people had already taken time off for the 4th and needed to get back to work. So last night on the way home I finally had time to sit and think about what had just happened. Even though I didn't talk to my grandpa every day, it will still be an adjustment. It always was comforting to know that he was there. I knew whenever I went to see my parents that I could stop by grandpa's house. I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' houses growing up. It will just be different not having any grandparents around.

Thanks for all the calls, emails, texts, etc. I know last night my post was probably totally depressing. I didn't mean for it to be. I was just writing what I was feeling. Like I said, today is better and each day will get better. Whenever there is a death of someone close to you there is a period of adjustment, and that is what I'm going through right now.

His mercies are new every morning...

Untitled

The last time I wrote we were getting ready for our big 4th of July bash at my parents'. We got everything done in plenty of time for the party. Grandpa B. even came out. I have posted him as a prayer request on my blog before. Well, the night of the 4th he was not doing well, but he still made it out to at least eat dinner.

The next morning after church, my aunt and mom discovered he had passed away during church as my aunt had gone in to see him before she went to church, and had talked to him then. Needless to say, the last few days have been a whirlwind.

The funeral was this afternoon. Hubby, Munchkin and I just arrived back to our house as Hubby needs to work tomorrow. However, I am feeling lost and numb. I am dreading my day at home tomorrow. I have had the support of family and have basically been going nonstop since I got the phone call from my mom that grandpa was gone. Because although we knew it could be any day, we really didn't know it was going to happen when it did. I had no idea that when I kissed him goodbye before fireworks that would be the last time I would ever see him, talk to him, or kiss him.

I am lost because he was my last grandparent. That chapter of my life is over, and I really don't want it to be. I totally took my grandparents for granted. I was very close with all four of my grandparents and just assumed they'd always be around, even though I knew they really wouldn't. Losing this one was definitely different than the rest, because it was the last.

I know for a fact that Grandpa is in Heaven. He is right where he wanted to be. I am not sad for him, but sad for me. I lost my first grandparent when I was in junior high. And now, within the last two years, I have lost the last three. Hence, I am lost and numb....and grandparentless -a first for me.

Happy Independence Day!

Yesterday we came up to my parents'. My sister and her husband and my brother and his wife are here as well. Yesterday we just relaxed while the guys played golf. Last night some of the guys went fishing. Then we all had a late supper and stayed up way too late talking. This morning the boys are off golfing again. We girls plan on making homemade ice cream, decorating a patriotic cake, and doing other cooking for tonight. Fun Fun!

Happy 4th of July!

Wagon Ride

Since we haven't been going to the pool this week, Munchkin and I have been spending our time going on lots of walks. Yesterday morning he fell asleep in his stroller during our morning walk. When he was woke up he was really crabby and felt warm. Finally I gave him Tylenol. Two hours later, he threw up. Since he took an early nap I decided to take him on another walk later yesterday afternoon to see if he would sleep again (since he wasn't feeling good and his first nap was short). He did fall asleep, but woke up crabby. He ended up throwing up again right before bedtime last night.

This morning he has been feeling better. A little moody, but hey, so am I. We went outside this morning to play and pull weeds. Afterward I thought we'd go on a walk, but this time I didn't want him falling asleep. I decided I'd pull him in our wagon. Our wagon is one of the good old fashioned kind - none of this seats-with-cupholders nonsense that many of the "newer models" have. Ha! Anyway, I periodly turn around to make sure he's doing ok when I'm giving him a wagon ride. When we were about half a block from home I noticed he had gotten very quiet. When I turn around I saw his head bobbing. I took a closer look and saw that he was asleep!!! I was afraid he was going to fall out so I picked him up. So for the last half block I was carrying a sleeping toddler on my shoulder and pulling an empty wagon! Man, I would have loved to have gotten a picture of that!

Our week...

So far no travels to the pool this week. This may be too much info but.... I have a really weird rash on the back of both of my legs and since I don't know what it is and it makes my legs feel like they are on fire, I'd rather not go to the pool.

Therefore, Munchkin and I have just been hanging out at home. So far, we got groceries on Monday (which we do every Monday), have cleaned most of the house, done some cooking, played outside, played with the neighbors, watched some videos and just enjoyed these relaxing summer days. Oh yeah, and we put our American Flag up yesterday. This morning we used sidewalk chalk to decorate our driveway with an American flag and fireworks. Ok, I did most of the work, but Munchkin did contribute some scribbles! He was playing with rocks and bubbles most of the time I was drawing. Then we went for a walk, he fell asleep in his stroller so now I'm off to have some "me" time. Hmm...what should I do???

Prayer

Last night we had our small group over. We have just started the subject of prayer. We are reading the book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey. Although we're only three chapters in, so far, so good.

The concept of prayer, simply talking to God, seems simply enough when you think about that is all it really is, talking to God. We talk every day, sometimes too much, but what is it about this specific form of communication is so difficult for most of us? Seriously, I haven't found one Christian out there who has said "You know, I would say that one of my strengths is my prayer life. I wouldn't change a thing about how or when I pray."

We had some really good discussions last night about doubting God, fear of rejection, making yourself completely vulnerable and being your authentic self. I think conversation with other people is easier than with God because with other people we can hide behind or words. We may say one thing, but really mean something else. We can even lie to other people. But not with God. He knows when we're lying. We can't tell Him one thing and mean another because He knows our hearts better than we do. We can't fake it with Him.

I look forward to reading about and discussing more about prayer with our small group. Having a small group is just incredible. I love having a group of people I can open up to. We will all admit that we don't have prayer figure out. We fall short in our relationship with God in that area. Thankfully we are working together to improve. I will always have room for improvement.