Connor's First Christmas and 8 months old!

       I realize it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post, but I have been in NY for 8 of those.. and stressed out the other 4! Connor and I flew to NY on Dec. 19th to visit Adam's family for Christmas. It was a lovely visit, and I have tons of pictures I'll be sure to post. I feel like Connor has just taken off over these past 2 weeks too. He officially has a bottom tooth, he's crawling, babbling even more (if you can believe that), and he loooves to walk around holding on to my fingers. He's such a little stinker, and I love him so, so much! I can't believe he is 8 months old already. I'm not sure where the time went, but it is going by too quickly. So, he officially began crawling well over Christmas. He can be pretty lazy with it unless he wants something, lol, but he looks like a little robot crawling across the floor. It was hard to get him crawling though because he loves to walk around holding on to my fingers, and he loves the walker! But, he's on the move and it's so bittersweet. He got so many toys for Christmas, and we have them all set up in the middle of the living room floor. No better place! haha. I enjoy it, really. He can sit and play and I can do what I have to do. Well, sort of. He's become quite the mama's boy lately. My husband is getting frustrated, but I am a stay at home mom, and Connor is used to me. We don't have family here either, so it's hard to get away. He's a great baby, though. He had a hard time in NY with sleeping habits and all the stimulation, but he's finally catching up on his sleep and returning to his normal schedule and normal silly baby self. I'll post a few pictures from Christmas time :)

       It's been awhile since I've posted about my sweet boy :) Connor is SO busy. I honestly feel like over these past few weeks he has just taken off and is constantly doing/learning new things. He crawls a little bit, but to be honest, this kid does not like it. He would much rather be in his walker. He pulls up, and he can stand and play with his toys. If I hold his hands, he walks! He is getting so big. He has this new thing where he makes noises and moves his hand over his mouth. I am pretty sure he picked it up from my god daughter because she does it. It's so cute! He is loving the bath still. Bath time is a lot of fun. He's also tried some new foods. I got the baby bullet for christmas, and I have been making his food! Right now, the fridge is full of chicken and cinnamon apples, chicken and sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, pears, and cinnamon applesauce. I've also been making him fresh avacados and broccoli. The broccoli is new, and he loves it. It doesn't seem to upset his stomach either. He has also just started cheeses. He loves cottage cheese as long as I puree it with something. I've been pureeing it with broccoli, and it's pretty tasty. Oh and bigger news! Connor has a bottom tooth! FINALLY, it came in! It's so bittersweet. I thought he had one coming in before, but I was wrong. This time, he totally has a bottom tooth. I can feel it and see it :) Sharp little sucker. Connor is such a talker. He will just sit and talk to himself, and he has a new hilarious smile. I posted it in the first picture. haha He just thinks he's so funny. (He totally is). He says "HI" a lot now, and of course he just babbles. He lights up my day, and I cannot imagine life without him. Christmas is approaching, and I'm really excited for Connor to have his first christmas. We already did our little family christmas exchange, and it was a blast. I'll be in NY Dec. 19-27, so until then, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! God Bless!!

Scared Pale.

  

   OKay, so I haven't updated my blog in a while, but I've kinda had a lot on my mind. First of all, if you haven't read "Heaven is For Real," and your faith has been shaken and/or you just want an easy, fulfilling read, check it out. It's about a little boy who goes to Heaven and then comes back to tell his family all about it. He's 3. It sounds strange, but it's really amazing. He is full of information from the bible and his family's past that no 3 year old could ever know. I needed to read that book, especially with what I've been going through these past couple of weeks. And I will begin explaining.. But before I do, I don't need any "i told you so's" or "you were an idiot" because I KNOW that NOW. If I could go back in time to myself at 15/16, I would tell myself that I have an amazing husband and adorable, awesome, 7 month old who need me in their life.. and to STOP tanning.

   You couldn't tell me when I was younger how bad the sun/tanning is. I was invincible,duh. I tanned AND I was a lifeguard in the summer, and I didn't wear sunscreen most of the time. Why? Because tan is beautiful, right?! Who wants to be pale?? Well, I'm 23, and I found a mole. An ugly, multi-colored, irregular mole. I wish I knew then what I know now. Pale is gorgeous, and as you get older, the tan you once had leaves you with fear and paranoia. I shrugged it off for a couple of months, and told myself it was nothing. Mainly out of fear, but every time I looked at my baby boy and he smiled, I felt my stomach turn. I promised Connor in the hospital when I almost lost my life then, that I would do everything in my power to always be there for him, so I scheduled an appt. When I got in with the dermatologist, he did not like it, but said he didn't "think" it was anything. I got the phone call today with the results. The nurse asked me if I had a minute, and my stomach jumped into my throat. She told me it was PRE-melanoma, but it wasn't melanoma YET. I didn't give it the chance to become anything because I saw the doctor in time. She told me it was nothing for me to worry about, but I do need to schedule an appoinment with the plastic surgeon to remove more tissue around the area. I will have my surgery most likely in the new year, and while I am really upset that I need surgery, I am SO thankful that God gave me the courage to go to the doctor. Reality is really scary. I have been terrified, but Connor needs his momma, and I want to be here to watch him grow up. All I really want to say is be AWARE. Check your body yourself or go to a dermatologist if you ever tanned or feel uneasy about anything. It can be fixed if you catch it early enough. I am so THANKFUL to God for answering my prayers, and giving me the courage and strength to save my life. For some reason I am at peace because I know in my heart that God had a hand in this diagnosis. He is helping me save my life. Let's just say that I'm scared Pale.

Remember our troops this holiday season

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

 I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
 My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"
"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
 Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.



- While you are with your family, remember our troops overseas and in the states this Holiday Season who are protecting your freedom to do so -

A different kind of love.

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/loving-husband-more-kids-key-good-life-181900983.html

    If you have the time, you should click on the link above and read the article. The title bothers me, "loving the husband more than the kids," but once I started reading it, I understood why it has that title. No, I don't think that a woman should love her husband more than the kids, but I also don't think that a woman should put all of her focus on her children, so much that she neglects the need of her husband. (And this goes both ways for the husband too)! The article is very eye-opening, especially to new parents (atleast it is to me). Adam and I have put our relationship on the back burner over the past 7 months since Connor was born. We aren't having any problems or anything, but we are putting all of our energy into Connor, and we aren't making enough time for each other. Even after Connor goes to sleep, we are exhausted and just hit the lights and fall asleep most nights. I had Adam read the article last night, and we decided to really put more energy in our marriage. Like the article says, "your husband is there in the beginning, and once the kids are out of the house, it's back to the 2 of you." So many marriages fail because couples don't know each other after the kids leave the house and because as the kids grow older, the husband and wife put so much effort in raising their kids, they forget to put effort in their marriage. Being a mother comes so naturally to me, and being a father is also very natural for Adam. But, being a wife and husband takes work. I don't love Adam more than Connor or Connor more than Adam, I just love them differently. It's a different kind of love. Take time for your marriage. Physically and emotionally because you will notice that the happiness in your marriage reflects on you as a parent.