A Milestone

As of yesterday, Y can officially go from a laying position to a sitting position all on her own. She is not very efficient at it yet but I have no doubt she will be soon. She has been doing it for a little while with the assistance of certain props that are around her but yesterday afternoon while I was making her lunch she did it all by herself. I was making lunch so I didn't see it but when I walked back in the room I took note that she had been laying and was now sitting and there was nothing around her to aid her in the process! She has done it a few times today while I was watching and she always seemed very determined while doing it, no matter how long it takes her!

What I Want...What I Have

I mentioned in my last post that I had a lot of thoughts running through my mind that I wanted to share in a post but I didn't want to put it in that post...well here are those thoughts:

I WANT a house! The housing market in Michigan is GREAT...if you're a buyer (it sucks if you're trying to sell). Everyone keeps telling us that it's the perfect time to buy, and we're well aware of this and boy do we wish we could buy but there are a couple problems with that right now. I graduated but I have no plans of working so that greatly diminishes our ability to buy any house right now, much less a house that we'd want to buy. Sometimes I look at our savings account and think, "we're doing okay for ourselves" and then I think of the economy and so many in this country (especially in Michigan) who were doing "okay for themselves" and now have little to nothing. It's scary! I also hate the thought of being in debt for the next 15-30 years of my life. But perhaps the biggest obstacle for us right now is our own desires. Ya see, neither of us believe in the idea of having a "starter home" we only want to buy ONE house...EVER. We want 4 kids and when we buy our first home we want to buy a house that will comfortably work for us and our 4 kids so that we never have to move again (unless a wonderful job offer comes and moves us to the east coast *wink**wink*), regardless of the number of kids we have when we buy the house. The thing is, all those types of houses (in this area) are out of our price range. Now if we were to move way out into BFE...then we could afford one of those houses, but that's not an option we're willing to accept!

I HAVE an apartment that is the perfect size for us and is really at a price we can't beat! I like not having to mow the lawn and not having to pay to have any appliances fixed when they break. But the most important part of all is that we have somewhere to call home that is safe, it keeps us warm in the winter and cool in the summer (for extremely low cost).

I WANT a second car! I cannot tell you how much I hate having to get up early on the days that I need to keep the car. It wasn't so bad when it was just me but now that I have Y it's a matter of getting her up and fed before we take him to work and then going about our daily routine and doing everything we need to get done all before having to be back to pick him up by 4pm. I also hate not being able to just get up and go somewhere in the middle of the day if I want to, sitting at home all day can drive me crazy!!!!

I HAVE a fully functional and reliable car that gets us where we need to go, when we need to get there. I also have a wonderful husband who is always accommodating when I want to have the car regardless of the reason.

Long story short: I so often get wrapped up in what I want that I neglect to realize what I have! I live a great life which happens to be a fairly comfortable life. Right now when so many people have so little and are quickly losing what they do have, I realize that I have so very much to be grateful for.

A few days ago I was having a similar conversation with B regarding the topics above as well as our timeline for expanding our family. Previously our timeline for baby #2 was around the time Y turned 15 months so that they would be approximately 2 years apart. Well I told him that there was no way we were going to make that deadline because I want a house before we have baby #2 as well as being more financially secure. Well, what he said next really stuck with me and I kinda kicked myself because I knew it all along. He said, "Heavenly Father knows how many kids we want, if it is His will then He will make the way. So just let Him figure it all out." I LOVE my husband! Whenever I have my moments of doubt he says what I need to hear to ease my worries.

No Clever Title Here!

It's been a really long time since my last post and I'm not really sure why. I haven't been doing anything exciting at all, in fact it's definitely been the least occupied I've been in a very long time. I suppose after the excitement of April and the first several days of May - having family visiting - my life has seemed pretty dull and I really haven't had much to post. But I have had a lot on my mind these days but I'll save that all for another post. We're all doing fairly well. I say fairly because at least one of us in the house is semi-sleep deprived. I should have known it was too good to be true when Y started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. She's making up for it now, though most times it's just a matter of going in and giving her a pacifier. But there are a few nights when she wants mommy to pick her up and snuggle her for a little while before putting her back down. The constant sleep interruptions are very draining! Don't even get me started on nap time because that has become a battle as well! Other than those 2 issues, she's still as happy and loving as always.

B gets a 3-day weekend this week so we're heading for Canada after church on Sunday and will be there through Tuesday night. As for me, I need to find a hobby! Some days I get bored out of my mind and I find myself missing interacting with the outside world. We have been taking the opportunity to go out and enjoy this beautiful weather we've been having here. We will go to the park after dinner or just walk around the lake here together. Y loves being in her stroller and just looking at everything as it goes by. With any luck all of the outside air will help her sleep better! Speaking of which...I'd better go get some sleep before she wakes up for the first time of the night! ttyl

The Upside-down, Reverse Crawl?!?!

Just thought I'd post a little video here of Y and her new found mobility...it's interesting to say the least! Enjoy!

Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

So a friend of mine sent me a forwarded email with a poem in it and I decided that I'd post it here to share. I really want to share it because it truly is exactly how I felt before I became a mom. Anyway, here it is:

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put them down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom .

A Mother's Day Tribute

Some people are born with great examples of great mothers, some marry into families with a great mother and still some never experience the joy of wonderful mothers or mother figures. Luckily for me, that last group does not include me! I was fortunate enough to be born to a wonderful mother, with two living grandmothers and three living great-grand mothers. My paternal grandmother died 2 days before my fifth birthday and my great-grandmothers all lived well into my youth so I got to know them all pretty well before they died and for that I feel very fortunate. I am lucky enough to still have a happy and healthy mom and grandma and hopefully it will stay that way for many years to come. For most of my life I lived very close to my grandma and I absolutely loved it and honestly I feel sad that Y will not grow up closer to my mom but I will help them spend as much time as possible together getting to know each other so that they will share as strong a bond as I share with my grandma. My mom has always been a great source of strength to me, always encouraging me when I needed it (and even when I didn't think I needed it). But my good fortune does not stop there! I also am blessed to have a great mother-in-law with whom I get along great and who I know will also be a great example of motherhood and womanhood in general to our child(ren). Throughout my life I have had many moments of instability and unsurety but I have always found comfort from those mothers in my life. There has never been a question or request too big or too small for them to help solve or answer and I feel so blessed because of them. I also feel that because of their wonderful examples I will be able to be a better mom to my child(ren). So to all the mom's in my life, I say thanks for your great example of motherhood and happy mother's day!!! 143

8 Months Old

On Monday, Y turned 8 months old. It's hard to believe how fast time has gone. She doesn't have a well baby visit this month so I don't have an accurate measurement of height or weight so you'll have to wait until next month for that! She is a happy fun loving baby who loves to be with mommy and daddy. Her tickle spot is on the side of her tummy just below her waist and whenever you pinch her or tickle her there she lets out the biggest laugh ever! She likes to be heard and scream at random times. Last week there was a book sale at the local library and she was "talking" up a storm! She still has no teeth at all, which you will see in the photos below and she likes to get from one place to another by laying on her back, kicking her legs out and thus scooting her body in the desired direction. She usually only does this when she is laying on the floor playing. She enjoyed playing with all of her cousins this past week and I was really happy that she didn't mind my parents and everyone else holding her. I just hope she is just as friendly when we go to NC in July and Utah in August! Here are the pictures:

The Fam!

My family drove up from North Carolina for my graduation and for some it was their first trip to visit me, here are some pictures of us in Canada, downtown Detroit, swimming at the hotel, etc.

The After party

Canada

Downtown Detroit

Graduation Day

As of Saturday, May 2, 2009, I entered retirement...If you can call it that. I graduated and somehow I managed to do it with honors, which was nothing short of a miracle especially considering that this last semester I almost totally blew off. I've been asked a lot since Saturday, "how does it feel?" Well after doing the school thing off and on for the past 10 years it really doesn't seem that different. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in that I am completely finished, maybe that will hit me when September comes and I'm still at home with Y while other people are busy doing school stuff. I dunno, but one thing's for sure I'll have to find something to occupy my time. Actually, now that I think of it, Y helps occupy most, if not all, of my time. Anyway, here are some pictures from the day!

This one is pretty self explanatory

With my parents & niece, G

B&U&I

Me with B & Y, my parents, sister, brother, nieces and nephews.

All of my nieces and nephews.

Cute!

Last week we had our friend Crystal take more portraits of Y (I know it hasn't been that long since the last portraits but since Crystal will be moving we wanted to take advantage of it while we still could). Well after we got home I snapped a few pictures of her in the apartment and just thought that she was adorable not to mention the cute facial expressions. Here are some of the cutest ones!

Just Slightly Overdue

The past few weeks have been pretty busy for me which explains why I am just now posting this post. During the month of April we had the opportunity to spend some time with Claudia & Åsmund during their visit. They typically try to visit once a year and we were super excited this year because they would be meeting Y for the very first time. Well while they were visiting, Claudia took quite a few pictures and I thought I'd share some of them with you, so here goes: