Spring 2012

Sure there are a few women out there who are interested in how exactly I healed my diastasis recti. All six of you, thank you for reading.

But I know the majority of the readers of this blog think that Denver is a cutie-pie and like to see new pictures of him.  I haven't uploaded many pictures the last few months, so here is a round-up of pictures from the Spring.

Some sweet, some sassy... Enjoy :)

not super bashful for the camera, is he? 

 Thinking hard about which color to choose

Isn't parenting glamorous? 

My enthusiastic eater 

GIANT BUNNY 

 Play date at the park. All three boys wore the same shirt. Unplanned. That's what happens when your moms shop at Target! :)

Action shot of D trying to demolish something with a croquet mallet. I love this so much. 

His signature "cheese face" 

Another cheesy one 

Drinking an after-nap smoothie with after-nap hair

Our little water baby with Daddy in Destin

This kid took D's ball. The look on his face says it all. "I'm an only child. I don't like to... what's that word? Oh yes, share."

Got my ball back! Got my farmer's tan!
LIFE IS GOOD.

The Lord so richly blessed us with this beautiful boy.
Thank you Jesus.

Starring Denver as Himself

As many of you know, Denver was the first grandchild for my parents and Austin's parents.  None of our close friends from high school, college, work, or church had kids yet either. We felt like pioneers, and that could be pretty hard. Most people didn't understand our weird new schedule that revolved around nap times and bed time, or the new ways we needed to spend/save money, or the fact that we drink Bud Light lime in all seasons (still trying to find a way to pin that on Denver).

But there is one distinct advantage to being the "first" of your friends to have children. If they don't have any kids, then they're probably pretty excited to babysit your kid...FOR FREE... and they like it!

Seriously, we have been so blessed by family and friends that ask us for opportunities to babysit Denver. We feel incredibly fortunate, and love all our friends so much.

Last Friday night, one friend went a little above and beyond. As we were Rockin' the Suburbs with Ben Folds at a concert downtown, our friend Ricky watched Denver and made the following three movies.  In fact, when we got home at 11:00pm (latest we've ever stayed out? maybe), he had completed all three of these movies and had us sit down to watch them. Did I mention this is the same friend who brought his own muppet to Denver's 1st birthday party? It all makes sense now, doesn't it.

Enjoy!

My Little Mentalist

While watching this week's episode of The Mentalist... which isn't even the most embarrassing show we watch...(cough* Celebrity Apprentice cough*), I made a very important discovery.

Denver has the same hair cut as Simon Baker! 

That is all.

A Few Spring Pictures

 

An Easter Blessing

Wishing your family peace and tranquility this Easter week...

With love and tenderness,

Denver

Balance

So I was recently online and I saw this little jokey-type saying that said, "I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom, just without the kids." I thought to myself, "What a horrible message! That's so negative! I'm going to get on facebook right now and exclaim my love for motherhood to counter-balance this negativity. Take that!"

But then I thought about it.

I've had a number of people say to me, "Being a mom is the best! I love every minute of it! There's nothing better." And if I hear that comment only moments after cleaning my son's poop off the floor, while simultaneously hearing him vomit one room away (true story... happened this week), then I get agitated. I feel guilty because I don't love every minute of it, and I'm jealous of this mom who does.

So then I didn't exclaim my undying love for motherhood on facebook. But I'm also not going to joke about wanting to be a stay-at-home mom without kids. Is there some kind of balance?

Those are my thoughts for today. That's just me being honest. Because I do love being a mom. I love so many things about it, and sometimes I want to scream it from the rooftops. And then just moments later I can be staring at my child, in tears, because I have no clue what to do in this situation and maybe I'm the worst mom in the world and why is there poop everywhere?!

I would just love it if more moms were a little more vulnerable and honest. So many things bring me such great joy... like finally hearing my son sort of say the word "ball" at 18 months, or how insistent he is at praying before every meal (melts my heart), or the look on his face when I get him out of his crib in the morning and he sees me, and his eyes light up like I'm the best thing in the world. (this is a very short-lived moment, however, because within five seconds he demands breakfast)

cutie-pie to the max, right?

But then sometimes your son brings you a clementine to peel while you're going to the bathroom, and without thinking you peel it for him, and you're like WHO AM I?? I need a break.

Anyway, I feel like this was possibly better suited for my own private diary than the world wide web... but isn't that what all blogging is anyway?

Thanks for listening.

I'll try to be honest about my experiences. Not whiney and negative, but not obnoxiously positive. Want to join me?

Baby Sign Language

Denver is almost 17 months, and he still doesn't say many words. He sometimes says "dada" and "mama," and he'll occasionally say something that sounds like "nigh nigh" when he wants to go to bed, but that's about it. My parents tell me that I was a late talker though, and now I never stop talking, so I'm confident he'll be just fine. :)

In the mean time, he's gotten pretty good at baby sign language.  Austin's mom (my mother-in-law) is fluent in sign language, so she has helped a lot with the signs. Denver seems to really enjoy it, and it's nice to be able to communicate with him, even if it's not through spoken words.

Last night I recorded us showing off a few of these signs. For some reason, I always decide to do this sort of thing when I'm not wearing any makeup, and I haven't brushed my hair in like 24 hours, so please excuse that. Also, now that I watch this video, I think I sound like those contestants on Wheel of Fortune that SCREAM the letters at Pat Sajak like he's never heard of the letter "T" before.  But that's enough self-deprecation. There's still a cute baby in the video, and he's the important part.

Enjoy!