Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

i love you

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Happy 13 Month Birthday!

(My SIDEBAR: I think that many people think it's funny to keep counting the MONTHS after the child is already 1... but I guess you just fall into tracking the months because most mom's do.)

Happy 13 Month Birthday little guy!!!

We love you SO much!

Highlights from Month 12:
- Walking well (trying to run)
- Able to stand up w/o pulling up
- Your birthday party (parties)
- More communication
- Wanting to read books all of the time (and points things out)
- Going to see your aunt at UA and going to your 1st College Game
- Interacting with family and being the life the get together's
- Another tooth (3rd top tooth)
- Obsession with our ELMO movie (Elmo; The Great Outdoors)
- Dancing (on cue)

- 26 lbs / size 5-51/2 shoes
- Knows eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, toes
- 1st time to the North GA State Fair

Highlights from Month 11:
- Talking and communication increased
- Learning to Walk
- Walking

- 31 " tall / size 12 month clothes
- Learning GOOD/SWEET and NOT SWEET (and sorta testing it out)
- Love for our ELMO movie (Elmo; The Great Outdoors)
- Watches TV: ELMO, Super Why, Word World, Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Club House, Sesame Street, and I hate to admit it... but, Telletubbies too
- Learning to dance and loving music even MORE

outrage

My husband and I made the decision to self-insure a few months ago. I have been filling out lots of paper work to get our ducks in a row. When asked if I wanted to include maternity benefits, I said YES. (No, I am not pregnant right now, btw.) Well, my outrage is with this... the description and listing of the maternity coverage:
-
Maternity Benefit Confirmation Notice
You have elected the maternity plan which is offered as a specific disease coverage. This coverage is offered in addition to you health plan.
-
WHAT? This is offered to me, a healthy person, as a specific disease coverage!?! What disease does a pregnant person have? Outrage. Ladies (and Gentlemen), I am so upset by this.

Being pregnant with my son was a life-changing miracle for me. It was a blessing from God. The bible says that Children are a GIFT FROM THE LORD. Being pregnant is not a sickness and far from a "specific disease". Pregnancy is joy. Pregnancy is the formation of life in the womb by the hand of God... a life the He planned (even if you didn't ; )), He foreknew before the beginning of time. Maternity is natural, healthy, and wonderful. Why can't the health insurance companies see it this way instead of seeing maternity as a condition to treat. Outrage. Broken hearted. But what can we do?

How does this inspire you?

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

-

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

-

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

-

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

-

-- Attributed to Sir Frances Drake, 1577

-

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Toddler Games

This is our new game...
Not just opening the kitchen cabinet doors, but putting things inside the cabinets that don't really belong.
I have found:
- my cell phone bill on the veggie cans
- his frig magnet farm on the fruit cans
- the plastic tea pitcher in the food cabinet
- my blue hair brush in the Pyrex bowls
- a small blue ball in the dryer
- pillow case in the waste basket
And there are other fun games, like "Hide the Remote" (we play that one everyday). There have been times when my cell phone has gone missing for so long that the battery died and we could not find it for 2 or 3 days!! FUN FUN!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend... On a front porch
swing with my Papa!

We had a great weekend visiting my husbands family on their north GA farm. Our little guy loved to see the cows, the 4-wheeler, the dogs, the cat, the donkey, and the tractor! A boys play day for sure! He had a little cough & cold but all in all we enjoyed it. He loved going to eat BBQ and swinging on the porch with Papa!!
My favorite moment came when we had to stop on our way back home. The baby-love was crying and we knew he had not been feeling well. My husband was so compassionate (read my post "A Daddy's Girl in a Boy World" for more back story on this) and pulled off to stop at a corner gas station. We got him out of the car seat... which was now FRONT FACING for the first time! And he nursed and then we just talked and took turns holding him and loving on him. He sat with my husband, in the drivers seat, in the dark, just looking at the cars & trucks passing by. My husband was teaching him the difference in the vehicles and they would wave to them... "Oh look, there's a truck! Wave bye bye". Of course his favorites were the BIG trucks coming in off the highway. It was a sweet time. We just loved on our son together and we were not in a rush. I can't fully explain why... it was just such a blessing.

Beachside Carnival (1st Birthday Party!)

Our Beachside Carnival 1st Birthday Party

Sweet Catherine

My friends from high school, Katie and Donnie have been pregnant with their first baby. Here is her blog: http://letterstocatherine.blogspot.com/ (Read it with a box of tissues!)
They found out that there were problem along the way, but have made the decision to trust God.
Sweet baby Catherine was born on August 19 and she is fighting! 6 lbs 15 oz. I am posting this to ask for PRAYERS that Catherine will be blessed with as long of a life as God will give her.
Katie's sister-in-law has an update on her blog: http://elaineinnewplaces.blogspot.com/

The next few days are critical for this precious baby.
PLEASE PRAY:
Please continue to pray,
that Catherine would become and remain stable and be able to undergo the surgery,
that she would be protected from complications like infection,
that her pulmonary function would continue improve in a miraculous way,
that her brain and other organs would get adequate oxygen and be protected from damage,
that Katie and Donnie would be able to rest well and know the tangible presence of God and that their story would continue to bless everyone who hears it.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday baby boy! We love you!

Today was his "real" birthday, so we went to Chick-fil-A with my parents for lunch and he got a balloon or "boon" as he says AND he got to play on the play ground. That was fun.

Mama made cupcakes!! When Da-Da got home the baby needed a lap nap and then we all went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and play time. It was fun to do something special with just our little family.

He's walking now and therefor a little more prone to injury. He got a nasty boo boo while we were there and even got blood on his birthday shirt. Uh, Oh! But after careful evaluation, it was all OK. And he is walking A LOT more tonight!

All in all I hope it was a great 1st Birthday for him. His party is this weekend, which is why I have not been on here much. But I will update soon. And add pictures of his Beachside Carnival birthday party!!!!

Great Consignment Sale (this weekend)

Born Again Blessings

http://www.bornagainblessings.com/

The Fall 2008 Sale
Childrens and maternity clothing, shoes, toys, nursery items, baby equipment, furniture and MORE!Friday, August 15, 9 am - 7 pm Saturday, August 16, 9 am - Noon -->

Cobb Civic Center - 548 S. Marietta Pkwy <-- First-time Moms Shop Early!!!
If you are a "New / First-time Mom" you are invited to join us for a special Preview Sale the night before the doors open to the public! Click here to sign up
Preview Shopping (Sellers and Workers Only)
When: Thursday, August 14Workers enter at 5:30 pm / Sellers enter at 6:30pmShopping ends at 8:30 pm
Cash or check only. We do not accept credit cards.

Daddy's Girl in a BOY World

In September, we will celebrate our 5 year college reunion and our 5 year wedding anniversary.

I grew up in a house of girls. And on top of that I am the oldest daughter and a Daddy's Girl! When I got injured in any way, I was immediately met with overwhelming compassion. My mother had band aids, neosporine, Advil and a kiss. My dad had ice, wraps and a comforting embrace. I was asked at least five to ten routine questions like, "Are you OK Baby?", "Are you bleeding?", "How bad does it hurt?" , "Did you hear anything crack or pop?", Etc... Overwhelming compassion. Deep concern. Loving care.

The other day I sat down at our computer desk and hit my knee really hard. It was not major, but it hurt and took some skin off. I was waiting for the reaction of my husband who was in the same room and witnessed what happened. No response. Did not even get up. Not concerned. And then, a slight interest as he watch me grab my knee and try to not to yell. But it was really more like an interrogation... "What'd you do?" "How'd you even hit your knee?" Not exactly what I was expecting. Not the reaction I had come to know for over 20 years.

Later that night we talked about it and I asked him how his family responded to injuries when he was growing up in house of BOYS?! "I guess you didn't really get a big reaction unless it was major, huh?" He agreed and reiterated that it was not some big thing where anyone would ever run and check on him. When you are a boy, you are expected to get over things on your own I guess?! "If they did respond, were they compassionate and concerned or scolding and interrogating?" He said it was the interrogation stuff, like, What'd you do? How'd you do that? or my personal favorite thing for anyone to say when I'm hurting... Why'd you do that? (Because we all plan to have an accidental injury.)

So... In the world of love and marriage and parenting... I figured out that he responded to me in a way that seemed perfectly normal to him. It's what he knew. It did not mean he didn't care. It did not mean he didn't love me. It was "normal" to him even though my "normal" was very far away in another expectation.

That lead us to talking about how we will react to our son. Why do people treat BOYS so differently? It's good to be compassionate. Right?

- Daddy's Girl

Learning to say Uh, Oh

Our baby love is learning to say "Uh, Oh" when something falls.
This was way cute a couple of weeks ago... and it still is... but now, he has become liter patrol. We are coming out of Publix, he's riding in the cart (on the cover we love - from TARGET), and he looks at me and says "Uh, Oh" with a great look of concern. I look around and finally see some trash on the ground, in the Publix parking lot that is the cause of the "Uh, Oh". He doesn't understand why I am not picking it up, but I try to explain that it's "yucky" because he sorta knows that word too. But we spit when things are "yucky" now because it's most commonly used when he finds something in the carpet and tries to put it in his mouth. Anyway, in addition to my little liter patrol officer, we are also learning that tossing the sippy cup down on purpose, does not really constitute an "Uh, Oh". He's learning quickly! He's 11&1/2 months old already!!!

PS - He almost took a step tonight. He kinda did. He stepped from me to Da Da but he kinda leaned out to grab for his hands so he was not totally on his own. But it was close. My husband is like, if we keep going, he's gonna be walking and I'm not ready yet. Awe. He's so big on keeping him a baby as long as we can... it's sweet.
I love them both very much!

Vote in our Poll

Thank you for visiting Atlanta Mama's Expressions blog!
Please VOTE in our new AUGUST poll (on the right side) and
be sure to check back at the end of the month to see which answer got the most votes!

Justice is Sweet

Justice is Sweet...

Early on, when the baby bear would bump his head on something... I reverted to doing what my Mom did with me...

We divert our attention from the "pain" and turn to spanking the wall, the table, the floor, or whatever "caused" the pain. We spank it and say, "No, No, Don't hurt this baby!" and then I pet him and hug him and tell him that I love him. It works! No more tears. In fact most of the time, he laughs!!

So... now that he's almost a year old and talking more and more... he understands more... AND HE WANTS TO DO THE SPANKING now and even shakes a finger at it and speaks in his baby Greek with great disgust that IT has given him a Boo Boo. Oh, no. What have I started?!

1:39AM

So, it's been one of those nights where I got the baby down, my sweet husband feel asleep on the sofa and I became Super-Productive-Mom. I got more done in the past few hours than I have all week when other folks were awake... you know what I mean ; )

As I was working... cleaning up dinner, quick check on e-mail, catching up on laundry, unpacking a suit case from two weeks ago, making my hubbie's lunch for tomorrow, picking up scattered toys... I had this thought about how Mom's are last. Am I the only one who has this "Whoa is me" conversation to themselves? Mom's always come last, I thought. And I admit that my attitude was not in the exact right place as I was picking up dirty socks and pondering why I feel like the dirty dishes are the "bad ones".

But I heard the Lord remind me of His word, His truth, that the last shall be first in His Kingdom. He was lovingly reminding me that while Mom's do tend to come last... I can receive that or I can choose to reject that. I can either complain my way thru my daily chores, or I can willingly embrace being a servant hearted leader for my family.

Highlights of Month 10

Month 10 Highlights

- Another tooth
- Trying to Walk
- Crawling VERY fast
- Traveling (Summer Camp, Minnesota, Mall of America)
- First Flight
- First 4th of July
- Sleeping in his room when we were in town
- Lots of Swimming... and lovin' it! Also still loves taking his bath = )
- Still nursing but eats baby food & crazy about Yo Baby yogurt & broken Cheerios

But the BIGGEST thing about Month 10, is the huge increase in communication...
- He's picked up our sign language efforts: "Please" & "All Done"
- He has been clapping, waving bye-bye, making us laugh with his dramatic Fake Laughing
- He's finally willing to watch things like Baby Einstein (w/ the help of the tray chair & the Cheerios) and I also like WordWorld, Super Why, & the Backyardagins!
- His verbal skills have really picked up too... He now says:
~da da ~boon (balloon) ~dis (this) ~dat (that) ~dit dat (get that) ~bu (ball) ~bye bye ~du (dog) ~oo oh (ut oh) ~boo (the dogs name) ~ah done (all done) ~tox (sock or socks) And more.... And he understands even more than he can say.
We can say, "Can I have that?" and he will hand use the treasure he's picked out of the carpet. I can say, "Let's go get Da Da!" and he will get excited, kicking, huge smile, and we'll go tickle Daddy together. "Where's your ball?" is an easy one for him now... totally knew about the ball a couple of months ago! Such a Boy! He is learning things like Together/Apart, Up/Down, etc... He is loving to put smaller toys into large cups and containers.

My husband and I have been talking about how much fun he is and about his sweet character. He loves to play with us, he shares (most of the time), and he even thinks to offer Da Da a Cheerio or two!! Children really are a gift from the Lord!!