my late night posts are becoming legendary

Okay, "legendary" might be an overstatement. But I can't tell you how many times I've posted when I really should have been sleeping. I usually end up re-reading the posts in the morning and find all sorts of typos and errors... then I'm too busy chasing Henry around to fix them... or to care.

I'm excited because the friend I referenced in my last post is in labor! I know how not fun it is to be 39 weeks pregnant and not be in labor, so I'm soooo happy for her... (Although, she doesn't know what it's like to be 40 weeks pregnant and not be in labor. I won't hold it against her.) :)

We had a small family birthday party for Henry this weekend, since he is officially ONE! I will post some pictures soon. We got some footage of Henry throwing his cake all over the floor, and it's taking up all of our hard drive space, so I'm going to have to fix that before I can get the pics uploaded! (Read: Might be a while.)

In other news, today was the first day that sweet little Henry did not get nursed. Bittersweet... even if I have been over it since... October? I had to remind myself of that "in the moment." I'm thinking by Tuesday he will have forgotten all about it. :( Baby's growing up!

Lastly, Matt and I have a marital debate for you to settle. Spitting your gum in the toilet to dispose of it... totally weird or totally normal? I'm not telling you which side either of us is on, but feel free to guess.

Hi, I'm Awake

Well, last year on February 25th, I woke up extremely depressed that I was not in labor. This morning I can't sleep, so I went back through ALL of my Februrary 2010 pre-labor posts to remember what I was going through. This is not just to reminisce, though it's partly for that...

However, I have a friend who is currently 39 weeks pregnant, and she is currently going through the same excruciating wait that I went through last year. It's difficult to remember how that feels, but based on those posts I was extremely preoccupied with one thing... when is this baby coming out? I wonder if I will be the same way in future pregnancies, but I'm doubting it... or hopefully not quite as dramatic as I was before. Anyway, that's not what this post is about.

What is this post about? Well, I'm not sure, but I was thinking about my recent conversation with Matt regarding the Five Love Languages, and I thought it made for a good blog topic, so there you have it.

If you don't know about the 5 Love Languages, then you should Google it. The premise is that we all give and receive love in different "languages." Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Gifts, Words of Affirmation and Quality Time. If you're wondering whether or not I buy into it or not, I guess sort of... but also, not really. You understand, right? Okay just kidding. But that's not the point of this post either...

The point is to tell you about the conversation I had w/ my hubby regarding this. I asked Matt what he thought his love language was, and he very quickly answered that it was acts of service. (Which, by the way, is at the VERY BOTTOM of my list.) So then I'm thinking, "Like what?" Seriously... because I don't really know the best way I can serve him... well, friend, turns out there is ONE thing that Matt needs... DINNER. That's basically it. If I plan and cook dinner (instead of not planning and having something lame or not planning and eating out), he feels on top of the world. (Okay, I got him to admit that he appreciates me doing the laundry and dishes.)

Anyway, it's kind of lame that the things Matt likes the most are the things that are technically "my job." But it's cool. That makes him easy to please. It is ironic that I am really never too excited about meal planning - I could eat cereal or a sandwich for dinner and not care. I could also get take-out 3 nights a week and not be bothered by it. Perhaps if I keep reminding myself how much it means to him I will like doing it more. And... I think I've gotten better.

Meanwhile, Matt is super-husband. I mean, the man takes care of Henry, cleans up dinner, serves me like crazy... which is super-convenient for me, however... It doesn't necessarily make me "feel" loved. What makes me feel loved would be if he just wanted to BE with me all the time, not doing anything other than just hanging out with me. This is difficult for my "do-er" husband who values quality time less than I do. But he's gotten better too. :)

There was more to the conversation, but we both concluded that we are a special match. :)

dinner time

Can I just point out that I've been blogging like a maniac? All you regular readers out there should be happy with me.

Here's a video of Henry NOT eating dinner. Enjoy!

freedom!!!!

During Henry's nap right now (you read it right, he is asleep)... I just did something TOTALLY AWESOME and something I should have done a long time ago!

I just tossed every single Christmas Card, Birthday Invitation, Baby Announcement, Wedding and Shower Invitation that I have received since I was MARRIED straight into the trash.

I'm kind of a saver... not really a pack rat - I have no problem getting rid of clothes, shoes, or "things," but stuff like birthday cards and wedding invitations... well, I have a more difficult time throwing them out. SO, I got the idea awhile back to keep them all and turn them into a scrapbook to keep... but year after year (five years, almost exactly), the cards have just kept piling up, and the last thing I want to do in my spare time is glue a bunch of wedding invites into a scrapbook. So, I trashed them (minus family, still couldn't do it)! I love the feeling of freedom and the new space in my closet. (There are about 3 other boxes of "scraps" that are "waiting" to be put in a book... we'll see what happens with those.)

Anyway. I did a lot of this type of thing when I was preggo. Example, I had kept all of my high school t-shirts since... well, High School to make into a t-shirt quilt. Last year, I finally decided that it was just not that important to me anymore, and I took them ALL to goodwill. (I will admit that, being the freak that I am, I took a picture of each and every shirt before I gave it away.) Haven't done anything with those pictures yet either.

Also last year, I went through and tossed out like 100000000 birthday cards and notes from people, etc. I still haven't learned my lesson though - I have a giant bag full of cards we got from Henry's showers and during his surgery that I have yet to let go of.

The only scrapbooks I must actually finish are for Henry, and I think I can do that. :)

Well, for now, I am just going to enjoy the freedom of NOT feeling like I have to keep every Christmas card I receive from today till I die.

dessertless

So, tonight, after I cooked and cleaned up dinner and the house, we were left "dessertless." I asked Matt, sweetly, if he wouldn't mind going to get me dessert. (I know, this is terrible... I should have just gone to sleep.) Anyway, I asked him for a chocolate milkshake from McDonald's. (I hate that I am admitting this to all of you.)

So, there are two McDonald's kind of near our house, so I asked him which one he was going to. When he told me, I said, "What if they are out of ice cream?" He was like, "Why would they be out of ice cream?" And I said, "I don't know, they've been out before."

Well, he left, and about 5 minutes later, I get a call from Matt.

"How did you know they were going to be out of ice cream?"

I am brilliant.

No worries. Matt hit up Chick-Fil-A. The worst part about this story is that we had the ingredients to make homemade milkshakes, which I actually like better. I was just not wanting to stand in the kitchen anymore.

sweet Henry things

Since it is a sentimental, reflective week, I thought now would be the time to write down some of Henry's sweet little "things" (for lack of an effort to find a better word) that he does and says. I know that right now it feels like I will remember for forever, but I know I will forget if I don't keep some sort of record, so this is mostly for me. (Read: you have permission to skip this post.)

First of all, in the bathtub he has these tiny little (Henry-sized) rubber duckies, and he LOVES them. He calls them "du-dees." Anyway, he always holds onto them throughout his entire bath, and somehow, someway, he gets away with at least one of them in his hand when we are getting him dried off and ready for bed. Usually we put his lotion, diaper, and pjs on in our room, on our bed. Anyway, point of the story... later in the night after he's asleep when I am cleaning everything up, there is always a little ducky on our bed. It's so sweet. I love it.

His words are super sweet, mainly because he has a super sweet voice! He has a lot of them (words), although they all sound pretty much the same. In every word, though, he draws out the first syllable... so "ducky" is actually "duuuuuuuuh-dee."

"baba"- this is bottle, balloon
"ba" - bird, ball, bath
"daaaah-da" - this refers to daddy, mommy (yeah, he always calls me dada)
"daaaah-dee" - doggie
"duuh-dee" - ducky
"a-wah" - one, water
"he-wah"- hello (but usually he says, "hello hello hello" really fast, all in a row. So that's "he-wah, he-wah, he-wah")
"he" - Henry

Unfortunately, I told him the other day that I was going to "wipe his butt." And he caught onto that last word real fast. "Buh." Also, when we are changing his diaper we always ask him, "Do you have a POOP?" And he's started to say "poo" also. Uh oh.

He repeats a lot of other words, too, but not often enough for me to remember exactly how he says them.

One really sweet thing he does right now... we have taught him to say "one" (or "awah") when we ask him "Henry, how old are you?" Usually before we even get to the word, "old," he has his pointer finger up (signaling that he's one) and very speedily answers the question. The only problem with this is that a lot of times I will say to him, "Henry, how are you?" Or "How sweet are you?!" And of course, he promptly replies, "a-wah."

On the same note, awhile back we tried to teach him where his nose was, how to blow kisses, and where his belly button was all in the same week. I haven't been too good about reinforcing (because let's be honest, he's not going to go to kindergarten not knowing where his nose is). Anyway, so if I ask him where any of those things or/and/or ask him to blow kisses, he just kind of sticks his finger in his mouth like, "As long as I do something, she'll be happy with me." He is confused.

He really doesn't like to try new things when it comes to food. I think it's texture aversion or something, but we have to work hard to get that dude to eat anything other than yogurt, goldfish banana and cheese toast. Today I tried to sneak some chicken onto his cheese toast, and he immediately spit it out. But then, I told him it was cheese toast, and he was immediately interested, and ate it even with the chicken on it. Most finger foods he will spit out onto his tray, then pick up the already chewed food and throw it on the floor. (He used to drop it, now he forcefully throws it. I'm sure I will have to teach him not to do that sooner or later.)

Also, if we feed him something that he likes, he will say, "Mmmm," with his mouth closed... as if he is really enjoying it.

"If we say, "good job," he automatically begins to clap. He thinks they go hand in hand, so he is clapping for himself a lot.

He LOVES balloons and he LOVES dogs. Anytime we are in the grocery store or any store with a balloon, it's like he can spot it from a mile away. He immediately points and starts trying to get to the balloon (of course saying, "baba"). Same with dogs. He loves them. Pretty much goes crazy at the park or the Domain or anywhere else that he sees a dog. This is especially funny considering that Matt is not really a dog person, to put it nicely.

At nap time (or lack of nap time), he takes every single item in his crib and drops it onto the floor, one by one. Then he cries for an hour... Just thought I'd throw that in there. We are working on it!

Oh, how could I (almost) forget this. The kid is a crawling maniac. And when he knows where he's going, he will literally point his nose to the ground (as if he's extremely determined to get there) and crawl very fast without looking where he's going. It's hilarious. The only problem with this is that he has run into a wall a time or two... oops!

He is tall! He can reach to the knobs on the stove, and he tries to turn them. He can reach the door handles. If he's reaching up for something, he will actually stand on his tip-toes to try to get to it, and he has pretty good balance.

He loves his bath. If he hears the word "bath," but then has to have a (poopy) diaper change first, he usually gets a little fussy.

He is a flirt... super-friendly to anyone in a grocery store or Target who is willing to smile at him.

Also, I mentioned this a long time ago, but it's still true. If Matt or I, or anyone start to laugh in a social situation, he will pretend like he knows what's going on and start laughing too. It's really funny. He's got a high social IQ, I believe. :)

Okay last thing I can think of right now. Awhile back someone taught him that a cow says "mooo." (He says it like, "bmoo.") Anyway, so for a long time, any time we asked him what a cow (OR any other animal) said, he would say, "Bmmoooo." Well, just in the last week Matt and I taught him that a dog says, "woof woof." So it doesn't matter what animal we ask him about, we can ask him what a cow says, or a horse, or a duck, and his reply is now always and only, "uff, uff."

Okay, I know that I have forgotten stuff, but I will have to deal with that later. This will be sufficient for me when I am reminiscing next year at this time. :)

let's reminisce

As you all know, I get giddy thinking about all things that lead up to and/or involved my labor and delivery with Henry. Since we are one week out from Henry's 1st birthday, it's "that time of year." Meaning, the air feels the same as it was last year around this time. So for the last couple weeks I've been doing a lot of reminiscing.

I can't tell you how many times I've said either to myself or to Matt or Henry...

"This is exactly where I was when I had my first real contraction!"

And, "That's where we ate dinner the night I went into labor."

And, "I can't believe you didn't believe me when I told you we'd be going to the hospital that night."

The list goes on. Anyway, today Matt asked me if we could save the reminiscing for February 25th (the day before H's bday, when I went into labor). So I guess he doesn't enjoy it as much as me?

Okay, babe. But get ready. On the 25th we will reminisce ALL DAY LONG! :)

Did I mention that I have the best hubs ever? (AKA mushy post)

So this post is approx 5 days late, but did I tell you what my wonderful Matt did for me for Valentine's day?

He gave me the day off!!! He worked from home (aka took the day mostly off, minus email and phone calls) which is a HUGE deal for him because he is always in high demand at his office.

So I did what I would have done had I no child. I went to Starbucks for like the ENTIRE morning and read, studied my Bible, and wrote out a to do list (which was totally in vain because I didn't accomplish anything on it).

Then I went to the gym, but seeing as I am really out of the workout habit, I didn't stay long...

Matt and I talked on the phone at about 11:30AM, and he told me, "Your job is really hard." Which I appreciated because I feel like it's really hard all the time. I mean, Henry isn't hard, but being a mom is hard, no matter how awesome your kid is.

Then Matt and Henry met me for lunch outside (it was a beautiful day).

Then I got a pedicure. Then I got a massage with a gift card that Matt's parents had given me back in June as a consolation after I found out about Henry's surgery.

When I got home, the house was cleaned up, and dinner was ready to be put on the grill!

It was truly wonderful. Most wonderful is that my hubby is in tune w/ me and what matters to me. Hint: It's not flowers. Although they never hurt. It's also not chocolate because I buy chocolate for myself. :)

Anyone out there with a good marriage knows that marriage is not easy. It takes a lot of work! I was talking to my bff aeaeae a few months back, and I guess she was under the impression that bc my hubby is awesome, that meant my marriage was easy. It's not easy, it's hard, but it's really good, and only getting better.

I am so thankful for Matt. He is strong, steadfast, a servant to me, an awesome dad. I love him so much! Mushy mushy, me!!

elmo got pinned and other funnies...

It's like the wicked witch on Wizard of Oz. Henry pinned Elmo under his toy basket.

Mommy reading material. Why, you ask???

Because after I let my kid cry in his crib for AN HOUR to get him to go down for a nap, he stayed awake, and he threw every single blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, what have you out of his crib and onto his floor. I love this picture because it perfectly portrays what a funny little stinker this kiddo is! I love him!

Must go to sleep. It's way past my bedtime.

I always welcome new blog material

I'm embarrassed because I admittedly read all of your blogs like, once a month... I mean, I catch up on all your posts really late. Anyway, I just saw that my friend and sorority sister, Courtney, tagged me for a blog award! The "Stylish Blog Award." Because if you all had to choose one word to describe me, my blog, or my house, it would definitely be stylish.

(By the way, Courtney, I also LOVED those silly survey e-mails back in the day. I didn't delete them either... I filled them out and sent them to ALL my friends. Believe it.)

When receiving this award, the rules are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Award ten great bloggers
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about the award

Okay. Do I have seven things to share about myself that you don't already know? I'll give it a whirl.

1. I play it "safe" in the fashion and decorating department. So "safe" that it turns out my entire closet is filled with solid, cotton, neutral-looking shirts and jeans. B-O-R-I-N-G= yes. My house is filled with neutral walls, neutral furniture, neutral decorations (if there are decorations). I didn't do this on purpose - it's the result of not knowing how to be cute and playing it safe. I'm working on it.

2. I really am a nerd. (I say "really" as if you guys can't haven't figured that out on your own.) I don't want to be a nerd, but it's just who I am. (P.S. I feel like Liz Lemon in the episode of 30 Rock where she was trying to be cool... do you know what I am talking about???)

3. February 2010 through today has been the unhealthiest year of my life. Maybe on February 27th (day after Henry's 1st bday) my exercise and somewhat healthy eating can commence. (Plus, I don't want Henry to see me ordering cheeseburgers from McDonald's when he can face front in his carseat. Bad example.)

4. Okay, you already know this, but I get warm fuzzy feelings when I think about labor and delivery. When I tell people that they think I am so weird, but honestly, it was one of the most exciting and fun days of my life. And I like epidurals. (Also, there's a billboard outside the hospital where I delivered and it's a picture of a pregnant lady and it says, "It's for Her and it's Here." It also gives me the warm fuzzies.)

5. The best compliment I EVER received... it was the summer after my senior year of high school, and to put it in simple terms, I was experiencing the love of Jesus like I never had before, and I was just extremely thrilled about it all the time. Anyway, I worked out at the gym pretty much daily, and one day when I walked in there the guy at the front desk told me that when I walked in there "the whole gym lit up." So maybe he was flirting, but I always remember that compliment. (Contrast that with a time post college when a co-worker told me I had a dark side. That I wish I could forget. Haha.)

6. We run the Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot every single year on Thanksgiving. But two years ago (2008), I cheated... I cut through a neighborhood and came out on the other side with all the really fast people. I wasn't wearing a timer, so I really only cheated myself. Nevertheless, I can be pretty stubborn if I don't feel up to doing something.

7. I don't know how normal or abnormal this is, but I talk to both my mom AND my mother-IN LAW on the phone almost every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. I think it's actually probably pretty strange. Only very rarely do I feel like we need to cut the cord and stop talking so much...

As for 10 bloggers, I love ALL of you. I tag all of you. Yes, you.

totally nasty...

you know you're well into motherhood when...

when as far as you could tell, your kid swallowed his cooked, chopped carrots 10 minutes ago... then all of the sudden when you are nowhere near a trash can or sink or place of disposal he spits them out... so... you sacrificially eat the already chewed carrots.

...actually, i might possibly have been near a sink... i was just being lazy.

Leah and Rachel

I told you guys awhile back that I'm in a Bible Study on Genesis. (Btw, it's officially called CBS, Community Bible Study.) Anyway, today was the story of Leah and Rachel, and I really loved the application of the lesson. It was so, so awesome!! I'll make it quick.

Rachel = beautiful, Leah= homely
Rachel = loved by her husband, Leah= unloved by her husband

Leah gets preggo. She thinks that having children will make her husband love her, but he never does. Eventually she changes her attitude and her mind... instead of focusing on how my hubby doesn't love me, I'll focus on what God has done for me. So she names her 4th kid, Judah, which means praise and reflects her change of heart. All of the rest of her children have names that reflect joy and satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Rachel can't get preggo. But instead of thinking about how awesome it is that she's beautiful and that her hubby loves her, she starts focusing on how she can't have kids... then she finally has a kid, but it's not enough, so she names her kid "Jacob" which means "add" because she wants God to give her another. Eventually she does have another kid, but she dies giving birth to him and the name she originally gave him meant "sorrow." So she dies in sorrow...

The end of the story is like this...

Rachel= still loved by husband, Leah= probably still unloved
Rachel= unhappy, Leah=very happy
Rachel= dies in sorrow, Leah= dies in honor, buried next to Abraham and Sarah, and matron of the line of Judah, which eventually becomes the line of King David and... JESUS!

Moral of the story, as our teacher quoted (and you can listen to the lectures here), that the key to being satisfied is not getting what you want, but (in a very nerdy, Sheryl Crow song type way) it's wanting what you have. (By the way, if you are wondering based on the pictures in that link if I am the youngest person there... it's very possible that I am.)

Anyway, I feel honored that my biblical namesake was so awesome.

So, then, you and me, we should give thanks and be content for all that God HAS done for us (ahem, eternal life in Jesus... among other things), instead of thinking so much about what we don't have. Because really, "Those who fear the Lord lack no good thing."

You're welcome.

first haircut

Henry's hair was beginning to hang over the back of his collar and ears like so...

A little construction-worker-ish if you ask me. Which is totally fine if you are a construction worker... Unfortunately, Henry has his momma's STRAIGHT hair, so he can't pull it off. So we found this kiddie haircutting place right around the corner from my house...

Animal crackers to calm the nerves...

He started crying soon after we put him in the chair.

Oh, the agony! I didn't get any other good pictures because he went ballistic, and I had to be a mom and help. :) I did sort of start to cringe because it seemed like she just kept cutting all the hair off! Anyway, I haven't taken a picture of the final product either, but I'll post it when I do!

a woman's work...

...is NEVER done!

I probably shouldn't show you those! Henry thinks that if I am picking something up it means that I'm really just playing with it... and of course he has to come play too.

I know all of you have been waiting and wondering about the result of that call to the pediatrician. :) It turns out that Henry's probably getting about twice as much milk as he needs... and is therefore not hungry enough to eat all the other stuff. So today was the first day of big time weaning. Not fun, my friends, not fun.

But look at this sweet face!


He melts my heart. :) In positive news, he went to sleep at 7:30 tonight without crying at all, which is definitely an improvement.

what happens when you put food in front of an 11 month old?

Well, if it's my 11 month old...


He drops it on the ground.

I finally put a call into the pediatrician because my kiddo is just not interested in food. Well, not interested in solid food, I should say... or bottles, really. :) And this momma is SO ready to wean. I'll spare you the details and just say that I'm hoping the kiddo is getting the right nutrients...but he's probably not.