Jericho's first blog

He may have already turned a year, but this is the first I've written about him, "non-FB" style. Jericho Flynn Nault was born February 19, 2013, weighing 7 lb. 7 oz. He is a fiery, stubborn little boy with two big dimples and twinkly eyes.
 He knows the signs for "up", "more", "food", "milk", and "all done". I think he says "yeah" and "hi", but it's hard to tell.
He only likes warm juice and milk, but we are gradually serving it to him cooler, because it is easier to serve it without heating (like in the car or while shopping).
He is very ticklish. He loves talking to Cole, and chasing him around.
He giggles every time he toots. And every time that Cole toots, as well, which is often. In a 20 minute car ride, I have to roll the window down at least twice, to air out all the smells emanating from the back seat.
If he is upset, I either sing "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul" to him, or I turn on Styx' "Come Sail Away". Both usually calm him down.
He has 6 teeth, and is cutting the 7th right now.
He is a light sleeper; the sound machine is our best friend right now.
He likes to climb into the dishwasher, play in the toilet, and pull all the DVD's from the storage rack. Lee has resigned to not having them alphabetized until the kids head off to college. We are teaching him that these are "No's", but like I said, he's stubborn. :)
That's all for now. He is such a sweet baby doll.

Morning Lessons

This morning Cole woke up before Lee left for work. Awesome husband that he is, Lee turned the TV on and got Cole breakfast, so that I could sleep in a little. An hour later Cole comes in and asks for a drink. I told him, groggily, that I'd be up in a few minutes. 10 minutes later, he comes back in. "Mom! I really need you to get up. It is light outside, and you should be awake. And I need a drink. So I'm just going to keep coming in to bother you until you get up." Needless to say, I ignored him. ;) And my boy-diva/drama-king got schooled in the tender art of "waking someone up nicely, especially when you want them to do something for you".

Cole's Monthly Digest

Cole is getting more verbal every day. He now says the following things:
Ball
Mommaw
Dada
Car
Hi (and if you don't say "hi" back, he will say it even louder...even if it is to a stranger in Target)
ByeBye
He says buh-buh-buh for the Nick TV show "Bubble Guppies"
Chee=Cheese
Eggie=Veggietales (But he is over those now; all he wants is Toy Story currently)
Ca-Cow=both Grammie and Grandad (I don't know why he interprets those words that way, but it is consistently what he calls them)
He has a toy that plays the alphabet and he grunts along with each letter up until about "G", where he gets bored and restarts the song.

He gets sad when we drive past the gym without going inside.

He is pacified when he asks to do something and I respond with "Just a Minute" or "In a little while". He just (usually) nods his head and moves on to something else. I'm thinking this phase will be entirely too short-lived...:)

He will walk around the house saying "No, no, no..." for several minutes.

He responds with a resounding "Ya" which often sounds like "Da" whenever he likes something that you say.

He no longer has much stranger anxiety, but when I leave him with Lee to go do something, he screams. And then gets over it.

He is very sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. He was helping me cook and I needed to chop something up with a big knife. So I explained to him beforehand that the knife was a "no" and that he could not touch it. I tried to use my best "teaching" voice, positive, but firm. However, his lip started to quiver and those eyes took on the appearance of a puppy who had just been kicked. I had to pick him up and apologize for making him sad. I guess he thought he was getting into trouble for something he hadn't even had the chance to do yet. Poor thing. And yet, when I started the chopping, he didn't even try to touch the knife...so I guess he learned...:)

I found out today that a pregnant friend had lost her baby at 16ish weeks. After I got off the phone I looked at my child, playing quietly on his new chair, and my eyes filled with tears of blessing, and of heartache for the child my friend would never know. It is those lessons in life, the way someone else's pain teaches you something about yourself. No matter the angst that Cole can put me through, I can't imagine my little world without the sweet face of God's greatest blessing shining back at me everyday.

It hasn't been a month, and already another blog!! :)

I'm going to start with me first. My family would say that's what I always start with, and while they might have a point, I like to think they are just teasing. ;) Anyways, here's the latest: I'm obsessed with my teeth right now. I hadn't thought much of it until today when I was telling my friend Margie how great my teeth whitening kit is working. As I got excited about telling her about my nightly flossing and mouthwash routine, I realized I had turned a corner in my life: I love my teeth. We both started laughing at my little obsession, but it's true. I absolutely adore my new dentist, I love the way my teeth feel so smooth when I run my tongue across them. And, the professional whitening kit I received from my dentist for FREE because I had a coupon? Really does work. It's only been 4 days, and I'm already proud of my newly white teeth.

Now for a more serious matter: I really love God. He's been patient with me as I've transitioned into this new role of mommyhood. He never left, even when I would read a romance novel instead of the Bible, because he knew I'd come back. I think He understood that I couldn't handle anymore than "fluff"...and the Bible is a lot of things, but "fluff" isn't one of them. Not that I left, exactly, I was just surviving and not searching for Him anymore. I've realized my lack of searching for a while now, but only recently have I decided to take bigger steps. I am no longer hiding under his wings, knowing he's protecting me, but not being able to see Him. Nope, I can see Him now. I'm not hiding in His shadows, but searching for Him throughout my day. I see Him in the rain that has fallen so prettily lately. I Praised Him when my daffodils showed their pretty faces this week. I hear Him every time Cole says "Mommaw" (that's kind of how he pronounces it...I so love to hear it). I know that when Cole puckers up those lips for a kiss I'm being blessed by Him. And I see His actions constantly in Lee, with his giving heart and selfless attitude. I am far from perfect, but that's ok. God knows when I need to be sheltered and protected. But He also believes in me and knows that once I'm strong enough, I can be His mighty faith warrior. Because with Him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). So I'm going to keep searching for Him, striving to get closer to Him all the time. And when I stumble and need to be protected, I know that He will once again pull me under His wing and I will know "the Lord has heard my cry of mercy..." (Psalm 6:9).

In Cole news:
As I said, he says Mommaw now, emphasis on "maw". He said DaDa for the first time today, which made Lee the happiest man in the world. Of course the next time Cole was prompted to say "dada", Cole pointed right at Lee and said "mommaw". But he's getting there. :)Cole will also say "all right!" and "I did it", and he said "margie" (Gee) and "Elijah" (LiJah) today. We'll see if he remembers them next time he sees them.
There are a lot of other words that we think he has said, but can't get him to repeat. Like "Veggietales" and "I love you". He started singing along with Veggietales today. It was the cutest thing he had done in, like, 10 whole minutes.

I taught him how to do a fist bump this week. We are working on the sign for "thank you" but it is a little challenging because it is similar to another sign we have taught him. :) You see, for "thank you" you touch your chin with your fingertips, then pivot your hand straight down, in an arc motion (that may not explain it well...just youtube it if you are really curious). Well a long time ago I taught him to blow a kiss when saying good bye. So he kisses the palm of his hand (similar to touching his chin) and then throws the kiss to the side (instead of down, for "thank you"). So the signs are similar and it is taking him longer to learn "thank you". But he gets a twinkle in his eye when I am teaching him, so I think he'll pick it up eventually.

Today he brought me his pajamas at 4 in the afternoon and started yanking on his sweats, trying to get them off. So I helped and he stayed in his pj's the rest of the day. Then he pulled off one sock, and I just let him walk around with one sock on, one sock off. I figured that one foot must have been hot. But the other? It was just fine the way it was.

I've rambled enough for one post. If you are still with me, you must really love my family. Oh, and Lee's really good, too. I didn't talk about him much, but he's still around and as awesome as usual. Last Wednesday he was watching Cole (I go into work since Lee has Wednesdays off) and finally, after 16 months of having this kiddo, Lee understood completely why I sometimes just hand Cole off as soon as Lee walks in the door at night. Lee was worn out by the time I got home. :)

Almost March...

So my resolve to write more about Cole didn't hold up...oh well.

Here's the latest:

Cole turned 15 months on Feb. 10. We went to the doc and he was 32 inches (he grew 4 inches in 3 months...seems like a lot to me...) and 24 lbs. He has his front 8 teeth, 4 molars, and all four of his canines have been working their way out for the past week. His eyes are getting greener rather than bluer, but they still have hints of brown. So we still have no idea what color they will turn out to be. They are pretty, though. :)

Cole has had some trouble with constipation, to the point of having a couple of hemmorhoids. The first one I saw completely freaked me out...it was like a hard blue bubble where a bubble should never be...I called the nurse and she advised me to give him a warm bath. Fortunately both times I have seen a hemorrhoid, it has gone back in on its own...the nurse told me I might have to push it back in sometimes. Yuck. Hoping that time will never come. :) I've changed his diet somewhat and it has helped tremendously. He hasn't had a banana in months, which is sad because he LOVES them. But he loves all fruit, so I don't think he has missed them. I also cut down his cheese intake and I give him applesauce or yogurt mixed with baby prunes. It looks nasty, but Cole seems to like it.

He is truly a toddler when it comes to food preference. Long gone are the days where he will eat anything and everything. Some days he loves black beans; the next day he won't touch them. Other days it is rice that he wants, and then he'll turn up his nose at it the next day. He likes most anything that Lee and I are eating; but if we don't take a bite, he may or may not be interested. The one food group that he will always eat more of is fruit. I haven't found a fruit he doesn't like yet.

Recently we have pushed his nap back a couple of hours. He used to take one at 9, and it was really making Sundays difficult, because he would be cranky and needing a nap, but wouldn't take one if there were people around (like at church). So now he goes down around 11 or 12, and it has really helped. It makes my mornings better, too, because he's used to being awake now and we can run errands early, instead of trying to fit it in between morning and noon naps. He still takes an afternoon nap, but it is closer to 3, and he sleeps for 2 hours then (morning nap is usually right at an hour).

Cole sat through church this past Sunday for the first time! We occupied him with goldfish, sippy cup, legos, and Veggietales on the ipod. I was leery of that last one, but I guess if it gets him used to sitting still in church, it is something we will faze out as we can.

He is still in the 4 mo.-12 mo. class at church. Supposedly it is because the children his own age cry too much, and it upsets him...I'm afraid they are sugarcoating that and really he's just a crybaby himself. :) But Miss LeAnn in the baby class is so good with Cole that I really don't mind if he's in there...as long as he's not in the way or a burden.

He loves blowing raspberries, poking belly buttons, and building with Legos. He gets frustrated easily--I have to encourage him to not quit and help him to figure out his problem, but I try to make him solve it himself, with minimal help from me.

He's becoming a big helper. I'm still having to do some training when it comes to trash receptacles, but he knows that Kleenex goes in the trash, Water bottles go in the Recycling, and diapers go in the diaper genie. I test him on all these and he is consistent about it. Occasionally he will try to put something where it doesn't belong (bibs in the trash, for example), but those 3 items he never gets wrong. He is getting good at cleaning up: today he put 2 books away after he was done using them. He like to organize things and is starting to notice and fix things that are out of place.

There is one of my pairs of shoes that he always gets out if I leave the closet door open. They are brown fuzzy plaid clogs and for some reason he is very attached to them. I have probably 40 pairs of shoes, and he always grabs that same pair and will carry them around the house. He can now put them on, too, so sometimes he will clump around with them on his feet. I don't understand the attachment, but it's pretty cute. I'm just glad they aren't my 5 inch stilletos. Lee is too.:)

Cole is very attached to the blanket my mom made him. If he gets in trouble and is upset, he will run to his crib and pull it out from between the crib rails. He drags it all around the house and I have to be sneaky if I want to wash it.

He hates that we can't go outside (it's been a cold, windy winter) so I can't wait for spring! He will go to the big sliding doors in the dining room and look outside and talk to the outside world. It's kinda sad.

Oh, and he will pucker up and give me a kiss when I ask him to. I love those little lips! :)

What Up?

Happy 2011! Once again we ended 2010 with a road trip to TX to see family. It was an adventure that was unexpectedly prolonged, due to Lee's uncle Time passing away. He was a great man; a hero to many.

We came home with a list of projects to work on this year. Up first is hanging a new chandelier in our dining room. We bought one last night and as Lee was putting it up today, realized that it was missing several parts. So that project will be put off until we can get back to Lowes and exchange it. Oh, the reason that we had to replace it? I tried putting a light bulb into it that had a cracked casing, and the whole thing blew (shorted out, not exploded), including the dimmer switch.

Cole just got over a 4-day fever. He was miserable, but fortunately had no other symptoms, so it was a minor virus, as all things go.

Cole figured out how to blow raspberries and gave Lee a kiss like that this morning. I wished I could have got a picture of those little puckered lips, plastering themselves on his daddy's cheek.

I'm resolving to post more Cole stories on here, since I won't remember them when Cole gets old enough to tease him about it, and facebook statuses don't save well.

Poverty Week, day 2

The hardest thing about this week, I discovered, is that I am out of sugar. That means no more sweet tea or sugary oatmeal. I ended up putting some powdered sugar in my tea last night. It was kinda strange, but I got used to it. It is silly that I was so bothered by the lack of sugar, but there it is. Anyways, since our milk is so limited, I opted for Oatmeal this morning, sweetened with honey. It was pretty good, but my little honey bear is getting pretty empty. :( For lunch I went to a friend's house, and she mostly cooked with things she already had in her pantry, so it still kinda went along with the poverty idea. Tonight I made rice and beans, seasoned with cilantro and lime.

On a slightly different note, last night I was kind of sad and didn't want to do anything. I think the stress of not being "able" to go fill my pantry was kind of wearing on me. That seems a bit melodramatic...but if it was possibly already affecting me in that manner, what would it do longterm?

Poverty Diet

In order to prepare ourselves for FXCC's "gift beyond words" contribution this Sunday, many of us are doing a "poverty diet". Lee and I decided that since we were gone all last week, and so busy the week before that no groceries were bought, we are just going to eat whatever we have on hand. It's a little different than was requested, but I'm excited about the challenge. You think about eating differently when you have to ration out food. For example, We have 8 pieces of week-old bread that will have to make it through the week. Fortunately I have a couple cups of flour and know how to make bread, :) so that will get us a little longer. But there is only a half of a half gallon of milk (is that a quart?) left that expired yesterday, but it still smells fine, so for cereal this morning I used as little as possible. For lunch I had half of a pb and j. Cole is getting the best of what we have. He will still be on formula until next week, and for lunch he had cheese, fruit, and crackers. If I water down his apple juice, I should have enough to last the week. Already I'm seeing how blessed we are: I may have to get creative, but there's no way we will be starving this week.That's a God thing.

Fall is starting!

I love fall. I love the anticipation of a new Football season; I have a Fantasy Football team this year, it is called "Naulty-N-Nice". I chose my team with my daddy, so we will see how awesome (or awful) they turn out to be. :) The cooler evenings make me yearn for a small-town TX high school football game. Big city teams and Non-TX teams just don't hold the same appeal. I miss the pep rallies. Getting out of class early, trekking to the band hall to haul my French Horn to the gym, wondering if I'd ever catch the eye of a football player (I did, by the way...I just didn't meet him until college). As I remember it, my mom made burritos for my friends and I most every home game, they were so good! Homemade tortillas, filled with refried beans and Velveeta, and fried to a crispy golden brown. Allsups had nothing on my Mom!

mid o'night ramblings

Here's some thoughts that have been rolling through my head.

1. Lee's on a plane from Chi-town tonight. Supposed to land at midnight. It's now 1:28 and no Lee. Rain Delay was to be expected, and I talked to him just before they took off--he's now hoping to be home by 3 AM. As Matchbox 20 would say, "It's 3AM, I must be lonely (I must be lone-lay-ay-ay)". I am lonely. Ready for our 4 day weekend to start. Sleep should be my destination, but I need Lee home first. I just do.

2. Cole stood on his own yesterday. Only for a few seconds, and before I realized what he was doing, he had grabbed onto something for balance.

3. I always think I see roaches out of the corner of my eye, dashing away to avoid getting squashed. In reality, we've never seen a roach in this house (God is obviously blessing Herndon, VA, in this manner). But I still have to take a second glance whenever I see the "phantom peripheral scurrying", just to make sure that it isn't really there.

4. Lee just landed! It is now 1:37. Apparently I might sleep tonight after all.

5. I have this thing about being sticky. I hate it. Dirt I can handle. But give me a sticky finger (say, with mashed banana on it?) and I really have to steel myself to touch it. I've been steeling myself a lot lately.

6. I went to the gym yesterday, and as I'm waiting for someone to pull out of a parking spot, this guy comes from the other direction and steals it from me. I even had my blinker on. I don't know that this had ever happened to me before. It was really difficult to not yell at him. Of course, any yelling I would have done would have been within the safety of my rolled-up windows...The Italian Meathead probably didn't need to hear about how his momma forgot to teach him some manners...he probably knows, but is choosing to live in oblivion, until he meets that special woman who convinces him to live in the future, not the past, and he gets over his mommy issues and they fall in love and have little respectful meatheads of their own. (Don't you all think up romantic novel storylines to diffuse your anger??? I mean, who can be mad at the guy, when you never know what will happen on the next page? He can't be a true jerk, or else he wouldn't be in the book...)

7. Cole's favorite thing to do now is to crawl with items in both hands. It is the best when one item is big and the other is small; it makes him hobble like a cute puppy with a limp. Anyways, He carries these things to the bathtub, pulls himself up to look inside the tub, then tosses the items over. After this comes the realization that he can't reach the toy, and in classic baby mode, he just finds something else to play with, and the game begins again.

8. A friend of mine accidentally said she drove through a "brainstorm" instead of a "rainstorm". I kinda like the picture that "brainstorm" paints. If you drove through one, would you do it slowly, or as quick as possible?

My Happy Boy

I'm sitting here watching my little boy play with all his toys. He has a little ball pit which he loves to empty and chase the balls all around the living room. He is so focused on them! I think he's really happy to be playing alone again. He LOVED his cousins...Case watched over him as if he was his own brother, and Jake was exciting and playful. But there is nothing like being in your own space, and Cole is a great example of that. He has basically ignored me since he has been home. It is great to see him so happy! Plus, his sixth tooth has almost popped through. He now takes bites of food whenever possible, even if it is already a tiny piece of food-I guess his teeth are really fascinating right now.

Cole was playing at my feet a minute ago, then he got really quiet. I peeked around the computer screen and realized he had fallen asleep, right there on the floor! I think being in a house full of people has taught him that he can go to sleep, no matter what is going on around him. Yay!

Cole and Lee time

Lee got up with Cole this morning and let me sleep in. I think he likes to have a little Daddy/Cole time without Mommy gunking up the works. Cole was sitting behind the recliner, out of site of Lee, but Lee could tell he was just playing with a toy. Then he got kind of quiet, then he started crying. Lee got up to check on him and saw that he had found something black, like grease from the chair, and had smeared it on the chair, carpet, his face, ears, hands. On closer inspection, it turned out to be poop. He had exploded out the back of his diaper and found it. It seemed that he had had fun playing with it, until he put some in his mouth and realized that it tasted pretty nasty...this is when Cole started to cry. He rushed Cole to the tub and proceeded to strip him, awkwardly trying to avoid any more poop from getting on Cole's face. Cole was screaming so hard at this point that I decided to see if my assistance was needed. It was. :) 2 pairs of hands are pretty necessary when dealing with a poo-covered child.

Death to Carpet

Since cole has been crawling, he's been getting into stuff. Duh. That's what babies do, and he is learning quickly what is okay to play with, and what are "No's". He's a very smart baby, but what concerns me is his need to put everything into his mouth. By "concern", I mean daily he eats something that concerns me; I don't constantly worry about him eating inedibles, but I know that it is coming so I try to be ready for the inevitable choking/coughing noises that ring throughout our halls daily. Tonight he starting coughing, and I quickly checked on him (he also chokes on his own spit often, so I never know if the cough is serious, or just a liquid-down-the-wrong-pipe kind of thing). I didn't see anything, so he went back to playing. 20 minutes later, he coughs again, with a bit of gagging noises thrown in. So I pick him up, put him on the counter, and squeeze those little cheeks until I see a little white something on the back of his tongue. I reach in a finger, scrape his tongue, and pull out a ring of carpet pile. He probably had been chewing on it the entire time, just not quite able to swallow it. Carpet, Cole? Really? Why?? I think "watching for things to pass" is going to become a hobby in our house before long. Lee just commented that it is a parents' job function to spend our days making sure our child doesn't kill themselves. :)

Oh also, Cole was playing by himself the other day. He crawled to me with drool all down the front of him, his face shiny with wetness. He smiled and I saw something in his mouth; apparently he'd found a little piece of plastic (like the wrappers magazines come in) and was chewing on it, making him drool excessively. I think he'd gotten into my purse, which is the only item I have that isn't baby proof right now. It's like he knows...

Album 07\21\2010, by alecia bennett

I'd like to share my Walmart Digital Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

when ya gotta go...

Lee had just removed Cole's diaper and was en route to the tub when Cole started doing his "grunting". Lee panicked, but at the last second came to his senses and shoved a diaper underneath Cole's bottom, so that the crisis would be averted. I walked into the bathroom after hearing some commotion to see Lee walking out with Cole being held at arms-length, a diaper being cupped to his little behind. It is those instances that make me want to walk around with a camera around my neck at all times...

peace

Cole has mastered sitting up by himself. He can't get into this position by himself, but he stays when I put him there (at least until he decides he rather roll around...). Yesterday, he was sitting and I reached out my fingers to him, and he grabbed them and pulled himself up to a standing position. I didn't offer any strength, just support. You should have seen his face! He was so proud of himself, and just laughed and laughed! We showed Lee this after he came home from a very long day at the office. For some reason, I had tears in my eyes as we showed off for daddy. I think it was because Lee said this: "That's awesome, Alecia!" So simple. And really Cole did the work, not me. But two things stood out to me. 1) Lee loves that I can be home to witness Cole's small feats in his little world. And 2) When Lee uses my name, I come undone. He says it with such care and wonder, like I am the most amazing creature ever. He truly is my Happy Place.

facebook postings

(I'm stealing this idea from Stephanie) Below are the facebook postings I made lately. It is easier to post things there than to blog, for whatever reason. Oh, I know, it's because I'm on there ALL the time!! They are going from oldest to newest.

Jan 1
Is heading home tomorrow! I'll miss Texas and our families, but I am REALLY ready to be in my own abode again.

Jan 4
We are home

Jan 4
(Lee) The after-christmas christmas goody bartering has begun. Alecia just gave away all her slim jims plus her beef jerky for one chocolate-marshmallow santa. I would have thrown in my peanut butter trees if only she would have bargained a little harder.

Jan 5
Lee just tried to make Cole eat while lying on his stomach, using the bottle like a straw...doesn't he know you can't tease a baby when it comes to food?

Jan 8
Lee's taking me to Chili's tonight. Cole will come too, but it feels more like a date than any of the "eats" we've done in a while. I think it's because it he called and asked me out over then phone...so archaic!

Jan 10
(lee) Let's play a game: One Nault spent the evening ironing. One Nault spent the evening watching football and "Women of Ninja Warrior." Wanna guess which did what?

Jan 17
Did anyone mention to the Cowboys that they had a game today? :) Good job, Favre.

Jan 17
First tooth??? Seriously?!?!

Jan 19
Bizarro night in the Nault house. Alecia is actually requesting something from an infomercial instead of chastizing Lee for buying something. What's next, telling Lee that he doesn't spend nearly enough time with the Xbox?

Jan 20
Is happy that I have friends here in VA that have babies within 2 months of me...

Jan 21
making pineapple-ginger pork and fried rice for dinner. Really hope this works!

Jan 23
Just watched "The Pregnancy Pact" on Lifetime...Not my usual fare, but it was pretty interesting. Young girls think that starting a family will make everything better; this movie showed how difficult and life-changing babies, as perfect as they are, can be.

Jan 24
Anyone ever hear of "floating teeth?" I'm doing research on this, because Cole's little tooth, which was sooo obvious, has now virtually disappeared. I'm not worried, just annoyed :)... I've told all these people that he has a tooth, and now, it's gone! :)

Jan 25
Wishes she were a little less tired...Good thing Lee was willing to bathe Cole. I'm pretty sure he would have gone without a bath, if it were up to me...

Jan 26
Chef Boyar-Lee just tried to force feed me ravioli, cold, from the can...yuck.

Jan 28
Case's ANC counts today were 3116! They have been low recently, which has delayed his moving onto the next stage. But now, he can have the spinal tap (yuck!) tomorrow, and move completely into the maintenance stage.Thanks for the recurring prayers. My sister and fam really appreciate it!

Jan 29
It's a good day! Cole is so happy today...he just played and played, then fell asleep. He's my favorite. :)

Jan 30
I'm holding Cole as i type. He's looking over my shoulder and giggling. Apparently the chair-back is hilarious...

Jan 30
Our small group potluck is cancelled, but I'm making vegetable stew anyways, since the meat's already been defrosted. :) Yum!

Feb 1
Cole figured out that he could grab his toes just now. He's so cute!

Feb 3
Is not tired of this snow yet...as long as I am home. :)

Feb 3
Can we discuss LOST characters? Who's your least fav, and why? Locke is mine. He annoys the heck out of me, and I kinda think his storyline is boring...

Feb 4
I don't plan on leaving the house until at least Monday. I'm just going to look out at the great expanse of white goodness and praise God that I don't have anywhere that I have to be. Oh wait, is church gonna happen Sunday morn? Cuz if the doors be open, I'm'a walkin through em. :)

Feb 5
Lee's on his way home from DC! As soon, as he gets here, I can completely enjoy the snow...It's not sticking to the roads yet, fortunately.

Feb 5
(Lee) 2 hours into being snowed in. Alecia: "I'm bored, let's do something together." Lee: Casts forlorn glance at Xbox he'd planned on spending the weekend with...

Feb 6
It's been a while since I've been up this late by choice. I think the excitement of the snow, combined with the chocolate, popcorn, and Cokes have me up past the usual bedtime...the simple things in life positively make me giddy!

Feb 6
Over 2 feet so far!

Feb 6
The snow is coming! The snow is coming!

Feb 6
waist high, folks...

Feb 7
Dulles airport, which is a couple minutes from our house, is saying we got 32 inches of snow. So I'll go with that number. It's awesome! But the novelty of it is kinda wearing thin...

Feb 8
On your mark, get set, SNOW!! If you missed Snowmageddonpocalypalooza, relax! Because coming to a town near you, northern VA, is Snowmageddonpocalypalooza Deuce: Revenge of the Blizzard! Get your tickets today!

Feb 10
Thinks it's cute that all her DC friends on FB are either talking about this crazy snow, or discussing the food they have been eating, while being homebound.

Feb 10
Happy 3 months to my precious little Cole! :)

Feb 10
Monday night we went to get pizza and go to Sam's. Lee's been to the church to help shovel and to a friend's house to help paint, but that is the extent of our travels since last Friday. Lee has been off of work all week, including tomorrow.

Feb 11
Lee and I met almost 12 years ago, and have been married for 4.5 years. I grow more proud of my Valentine every day. :)

Feb 14
(Lee) really should have bought a red bag for Alecia's Valentine's presents. Of course, maybe she won't even notice the "Congratulations on your little boy" printed on the side of her gift bag.

Feb 16
Back into Pre-Pregnancy Jeans!! :)

Feb 17
I'm to the point, finally, where I just can't stop staring at Cole. Every little thing he does evokes some kind of emotion in me, be it pride, glee, wonder, etc. I watch him, unable to look away, in fear that I will miss something. I'm starting to understand how powerful this bond is...

Feb 18
While on the phone with my sister, Shannon Chandler, my nephew got into the trash (again), pulled out a burned potholder, and promptly rubbed the black ash all over his face. I honestly cannot wait to witness these kinds of events in my own house.

Feb 21
(Lee) is having to get all the boas, glitter, and girlie out of his fortress of manitude so that he can kill aliens in peace.

Feb 21
(Lee) Alecia just referred to our son as "Ferris Drooler." That's right, she's both an 80s child and a total nerd, the complete package.

Feb 23
Sometimes I wonder who I am. Then, I remind myself that I already know whose I am, so anything else is kinda trivial...

Feb 25
I stopped writing when I got pregnant, for some reason. I'm starting again. So, you are welcome to come view sunshinesmiles4alecia.blogspot.com and learn more about what makes me, me.

Feb 25
Give me back that filet of fish, Gimme that fish...

March 1
Sometimes, being an adult is completely overrated...

March 4
Really wishing I hadn't already started dinner; I need a nap, and cooking isn't really easy to do when asleep...

March 6
Apparently Mucinex now does to me what NoDoz did when I was in college...It's 2:30 in the morn, and I just want to sleep.

March 6
Lee's being all hard-core about house decorations. "They must be in a seasonal color"(Did you know that pink is only a spring color? Not summer?)" Any holiday decorations must relate only to the holiday in that month"(which means, we can't decorate for Easter, when St. Patrick's Day hasn't come and gone yet, and, since...

March 7
Altogether, hasn't slept more than 10 hours since Friday morning...I am so exhausted.

March 9
Had a great time shopping with Aarolyn today. Such beautiful weather to introduce shopping to our kiddos

March 10
Happy 4 months, Cole! We will celebrate by taking shots...I mean, by taking him to GET shots...:)

March 10
For those that are curious, 14 lbs, 3 oz., and 24.5 inches long.

March 10
It would be okay with me if I never heard a guy sing "Genie in a Bottle" ever again. I mean it.

March 12
Anyone local still selling Girl Scout cookies? I might have eaten more than my share of Thin Mints, and Lee's disgruntled about it...

March 13
(Lee) Walked in tonight and caught Alecia making Cole dance to "Push It" by Salt n Pepa. *Sigh* There's only so much deprogramming I can do...

March 15
Cole just past the 3 hour mark of his nap...If I'd've known he was going to sleep all afternoon, I would've taken a nap, too!

March 17
Today was a great day to have a sunroof! :)

March 18
Is hoping the madness games starting working in her favor...or else ridicule will have to be dealt with...

March 19
packing today for the teen retreat starting tonight. I'm excited to chaperone!

March 21
Thinks we have some pretty awesome teens at FXCC! :)

March 22
I love rain! Rainy rain rain!

March 23
listening to Cole cry as Lee puts him to bed...guess he wasn't as sleepy as we thought. I'm so glad I have a husband who can handle the best AND the worst times with a child.

March 25
Completely infatuated with red Jello.

March 30
Cole's first plane ride is tomorrow! :) Any tips on how to make this easy?

April 1
Got to have Freebirds today! My psyche has found rest. :)

April 7
Love the days God gifts us that makes you want to get outside and wash that car! I'm a Texas girl, but I love my Virginia home. :)

April 8
Blessings last week: great first plane ride for Cole, family-style chicken, Daddy's Bible class, Sonic, Freebirds, family, 42, Easter reunion, "big kids" egg hunt (major coinage won!), Taco Bueno, candy, sweet tea, heat, wide open spaces, Cole now can roll across the floor, in both directions, Cole's first green beans were a success, God is Good.

April 9
He slept on the plane! Sweet boy...

April 9
I left Cole, napping, in his giraffe bouncy chair. A few minutes later I heard him crying. He had rolled onto his stomach, so his face was in the seat, his feet were hanging off the edge, and his little booty was up in the air. Guess I have to start strapping him in, now...

April 10
(Lee) Alecia has quite a bit to do this evening, and can't seem to get focused. So I am grounding her from Facebook. If you catch her online, scold her back into finishing all her tasks and I'll send you a prize.

April 14
Doesn't feel good; Really wishing my mommy was closer, so that I could have my own "mommy time-out" tomorrow.

April 17
Cole's little tooth is poking through finally! I got teary-eyed when I found it; he's been so fussy lately, and now all those tears have paid off!

April 18
Almost succeeded in twisting my ankle today at the grocery store. Definitely succeeded in flashing innocent bystanders.

April 19
Cole slept through the night without being swaddled! Guess he was afraid we'd open his window again if he didn't...

April 21
Lee is teaching Cole wrestling moves (WWE style). Apparently his favorites are "camel clutch" and "Walls of Jericho". Oh, and don't forget "The People's Elbow"...Ugh. I'm embarrassed enough for all of us...

April 22
(Lee) Last night at 12:08 a.m. Cole got very upset in his crib. At 12:08 and 15 seconds a neighborhood transformer blew and the whole block lost power for hours. I'm not saying the two incidents are related, but I might have Alecia be in charge of discipline until I'm sure they aren't.

April 25
Is excited about the solo I'm doing at the next Music and a Message (keep May 15 open, if you are interested!). It will be monumental (hopefully in a good way...)

April 26
Cole's been asleep all afternoon...I'm kind of at a loss for what to do with myself! :)

April 27
I will no longer be carrying around photo ID. Know why? People should know who I am.

April 29
My life is so much better when my child isn't cutting a tooth...:)

April 30
It's DATE NIGHT!!! We even have a babysitter, and I get to dress up!!

May 1, 2010
MUch needed date night last night. Lee brought me sunflowers (he has officially exhausted all of the flower types you can get from grocery stores, he claimed...guess he will start repeating...), then we saw Date Night and went to Carrabbas. I loved every minute of our evening. It was nice to have a reason besides church to wear fabulous heels!

May 2
I understand the path that God has put me on. I just don't always like it. I'm hoping God is okay with me admitting that...

May 3
Loved the weather today. It was muggy, but cool enough to enjoy the outdoors. And then it rained! Sweet smelling, soft rain. God has smiled on me.

May 5
(Lee) Wishes Glee would remember that it has a cast of more than 5 characters. I miss the black guy and asian girl participating.

May 6
I took some cold medicine this morning, not realizing it had antihistamine in it. 8 hours later, my head is still kinda fuzzy!

May 6
WHy is that when I put a blanket down for cole to lay on, the first thing he does is roll off of it?

May 9
I was blessed with gifts from the men in my life today, in honor of our first official mother's day. I got a hammock (which I promptly fell out of), and 2 karaoke XBox games (which I have already coerced Lee into singing with me). Fun Day! I have a super thoughtful husband (and son!).

May 10
Cole is 6 months old today!! Whoa...that's unreal.

May 11
All three of us had doc appts today; here's Cole's 6 month stats: 26 inches long, almost 16 lbs. and 16.5 inches head circumference. Poor little guy had 3 shots, then slept most of the day.

May 11
"I am like Tinkerbell...I need applause to live". GLEE!!!

May 12
Apparently God decided the sun was unnecessary this afternoon. Dude, those clouds look ominous!!!

I have always wanted to stay at home when I had children. God has acknowledged this and allowed that dream to become a reality. But I didn't realize how much I would miss working. Specifically, in the church office. It was a passion I didn't know I had, until God put that on my path. I miss it so much that I sometimes wonder why God would have put that short stint in, when he knew how much I would crave it when I wasn't there anymore. Motherhood would have been a much easier transition from the job I had BEFORE the church office. But for some reason God needed me to experience the passion that working in the church office gave me.

But then I feel guilty, because I love being able to experience everthing about Cole's day-to-day life, and I would miss that job just as much if I had to go back to working outside the home again. So, there are two awesome roles that I really really want, and God chose one for me. I'm thankful for that, but sometimes, I miss the path not chosen...

Spinach

Up until April 26, Cole had met no food he didn't like. But on that mid-Spring night, the Spinach jar was opened. He eyed it greedily, because it looked like peas. But oh, that texture was different. He opened his mouth again, hoping it was a mistake, but the same weird texture accosted him again. After several attempts at this, he just turned his head, as if to say, "No. You've made a mistake. That green stuff is not what I was expecting, and therefore, I will not eat it."

The next night, we tried it again, making sure to smash all the lumps really good. And still, the same thing happened. So we pulled out the peas, for they are always a hit, but Cole, smart boy that he is, did not trust the green jar anymore.

Perhaps today we will go back to carrots. Maybe he will forget about how the green stuff is tricky, if it stays away a couple of days.

A little thing

I love how Cole can get distracted from a toy for a minute, then find the toy again and act like it is the neatest surprise ever.

Lee just read Cole a story. It melts my heart, how tender he is with Cole. Of course, Lee's pretty tender with everyone--it is something I find incredibly inspiring. He's so patient with me; I'm not the best wife out there. I am a lazy procrastinator who doesn't find mopping/vacuuming/dusting at the top of my to-do list. Ever. That means when we expect people to come over, Lee carves out some time to do these chores...he knows that it is probably the only way they will get done. I should do these things. He never asks me to, which is why I don't. Why would I do them, when he does them better and doesn't expect me to do them? Because I love him. This, is why I should do these arduous chores. Because he takes pride in having a clean house, and I should respect him enough to help him out, even when I know that whoever is coming over is not going to notice that the floors are sparkly and the carpets have that just-vacuumed fluffy thing going on. It doesn't matter that people don't notice. Lee notices...and that matters.