Watch This - But Have Some Tissues on Hand

Just proof that we are judgemental, critical, and often very WRONG humans....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

Happy 1/2 Birthday Monkey!

6 Months Old!!! I can't believe it! A half of a year has gone by. In some ways, it feels like you have just been here for a very short time. But in many other ways, it seems like you have been here for much longer. Most of the time I can't even remember life without you. I never knew I could love someone the way that I love you.

You have grown up a lot this month. You smile and laugh all the time. You are sitting up like a big boy. You are quite the eater. You roll all over the place! I am amazed at all the things you are doing and learning.

You suddenly are very aware of when I am in the room and when I am not..... And often if I am not in the room, that leads to crying...which breaks my heart! You cry the most when I put you down for naps and it is so hard to just let you cry and not come and just cuddle you (sometimes I do....). But you are learning that mommy always comes back.

We had a long trip to Gigi and Pop's while daddy went to Mississippi for a few days. While we were there, we got a BIG snow! You came out for long enough to have your picture made. I'm not sure you were too impressed with it.

You are very aware of Lexie these days. You light up when she appears in the room. You grab for her and pet her, and you don't seem to care too much when she licks you all over the place! I think you two are going to be good buddies!

All of these firsts are so much fun to experience with you. Seeing life through your eyes makes it take on a whole new meaning. I adore you, little boy. It's that simple...I just adore you.

Happy 1/2 Birthday - I can't wait to see what the next 1/2 a year holds.... It's going to be fun, I know that much!

I love you,
Mommy

Who Comes Up With These??

So, have you ever driven by a church, read their little sign message, and promptly wanted to scream???? I have a huge dislike for church sign messages - especially those that make Christians look like judgmental, hypocritical people.

Here are a few of the worst I have seen...

Don't let 6 strong men carry you to church for the first time.

Where will you spend eternity? Smoking or non-smoking?

We are not Dairy Queen but we have great Sundays.

Anybody else out there hate these as much as I do?? What are some of the best ones you've seen???

5 Months

Dear Drew,

5 months old today! You are getting to be such a big boy! It has been such a fun month. You are changing and growing in so many ways. I love to see your personality forming - you are quite the entertainer!

This month you have started all kinds of new things.... Solid foods being the biggest! You started with avacado and you have loved it from the beginning. It didn't take you too long to figure out the whole eating thing - you love it. And you come by that honestly! You weren't a huge fan of the rice cereal, but you are liking the oatmeal better. That is all we have tried so far, and you seem to be happy with that. We'll stick with it for a little longer before we add more to your little diet!

You are talking up a storm! If you are awake, chances are you are making some kind of noise! You get that from me. You are also now rolling all over the place. Once you figured out how to go from your back to your stomach, there was no stopping you! It is fun to watch you discover the world around you and figure out how your body works. Your hands amaze you, and you have found your feet this month as well. I love to watch you grab your little toes and squeal with delight!

You had your first Valentine's Day. We celebrated your cousin's birthday for the first part of the day, and then we took you to church so that we could go to the Valentine's banquet. You hung out in the nursery with your friends. Daddy came and got you toward the end of the evening so you could come and dance with us. Those were sweet moments dancing with you and your daddy.

Every day you do something else that just amazes and astounds me. You are more than I could have ever dreamed. And even though I didn't think it was possible, my love for you just keeps growing stronger and stronger. While there are times that I miss you being a tiny baby, I love seeing you grow and learn and discover. What a joy it is to be your mommy!

You are on the verge of sitting up without help. You are about to start eating all kinds of new things. Before I know it you will be crawling. I can't wait to see what this month holds.

I love you monkey,
Mommy

4 Months

Dear Drew,

Happy 4 Month Birthday! I cannot believe that so much time has passed. I know I say that every month, but every month I mean it even more. The time seems to go faster and faster. Some days I just want to make it stop - to slow everything down so I can hold onto these moments for just a little bit longer. But some days I just can't wait to see what you are going to do next. You continue to amaze me at all the things you do.

It has been a busy month for you! All of a sudden you are no longer this tiny baby - you are a little person who DOES all kinds of things! For the longest time, you HATED being on your belly. But one day this month, it suddenly clicked. You lifted your head up, looked around for a minute, and promptly rolled over. It seemed to freak you out a little bit, but you did it again. That same day, you laughed for the first time - a real, true to life LAUGH out loud. I loved it! From that day on, I have tried and tried to get laughs out of you, but they are few and far between. But, you smile all the time, and it still thrills me just as much as it did the very first time you broke into the wide-mouth, gummy smile.

You are 26 and 3/4 inches long. You are almost off the charts. And you weigh about 15 and a half pounds. You've had some eating issues this month, but we are figuring it out. You are very patient with your mommy, but you certainly let me know when you are hungry. You have gotten quite opinionated - a trait that you come by honestly!

You are now really playing with your toys. You grab things and examine them. And then put them straight in your mouth! This month you discovered your Bumbo seat and your exersaucer. You seem to be fairly impressed with them both.

You and I started Kindermusik this month. Your friends Owen and Carter are in there with you, and your mommies have more fun than you do, I think. But you do seem to enjoy it and you appease mommy with smiles and giggles when I attempt to "bring home" what we did in class. You also love playgroup and seeing all of your friends a couple of times a month. I am so glad we met all these great little boys and their mommies. It is always a great time!!

Christmas was more fun than I ever imagined. I just kept telling your daddy that Christmas is so much cooler with a kid - and it really is! We made cookies for Santa, and you even played Baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Service. Your daddy and I were Mary and Joseph. It was a really special evening for us. After church, we went out to dinner and came home and made cookies for Santa. I tucked you in tight, and Santa visited you and brought you your cool exersaucer. I'm not sure how impressed you were with all of it, but your daddy and I sure did have fun! We went to Gigi and Pop's for the rest of Christmas day and you got more toys than any 3 month old could ever need! But you had a great time, and you are loving all your new stuff. We celebrated Christmas with Doodle and Grandaddy when they got home from Virginia and it was another fun celebration.

You continue to amaze us, and we continue to thank God for the gift you are in our lives. It is hard to remember what life was like without you. We are so glad that God thought we were special enough to be your mommy and daddy. We feel very blessed!

I am excited to see what you do in the next month of your life.... Every day is a new adventure, and I love every minute of the journey.

You are the light of my life, sweet baby boy...

I love you!
Mommy

A Hit to the Ole Self Esteem

So, we have a Wii Fit. We have had it for awhile. But I just got on it for the first time tonight. CAL warned me that it would be irritating....humiliating, even. But I didn't really believe him.

Turns out he was right.

I stepped on the Wii Fit board and it groaned. Yeah, you read right - it groaned at me. And then it weighs you and calculates your BMI (How a board like that can do that, I have no idea.....). After it did that, my Mii expanded. Yep. My Mii is now fat - apparently to reflect my current status.

But wait - it gets better......

Then it tells me my Wii Fit age....... 43. I kid you not......40 freaking three. 12 years older than I really am.

I hate that thing.

But I'll be darned if it is going to win....I'll prove it to that stupid machine.

Yes, I am insulted by a machine and have decided that I must have revenge. Pretty sad, huh?? Not nearly as sad as watching an expanding Mii and being told you are 43.

It's on.

2009

Happy New Year!

So, I'm normally totally into the whole New Year's Resolutions thing. I make a list of all these lofty goals that, for some strange reason, I really think I can attain. And they normally revolve around "self" thing - weight, organization, etc. etc. etc.

This year, though, I didn't even THINK about New Year's Resolutions. I'm not sure why. 2009 just kind of "arrived" without me giving much thought to it. And when I got around to thinking about it, I decided that it wasn't worth my time and energy to come up with resolutions to only be disappointed in the end. Instead, I am just going to LIVE. If I make some goals along the way, great. If I accomplish them, fantastic. But this year, for me, loving my boys is all that really matters. Watching Drew grow and change and just being "mommy" is enough for me.

So, Happy New Year, everyone...and here's to LIFE!