New Words & Crazy Antics

My son develops more and more everyday. Well duh, but I seem to realize it more each day now that I am home all day!
He LOVES to dance! He shrugs his shoulders up and down- throws his hands in the air- shakes his whole body- and claps while he spins in a circle! It amazes me how he can walk around for two seconds and then fall on his face because he has crazy balance issues (probably because of that big giant tummy he has sticking out in the front) but he can spin in circles and dance and not fall down!
He is 18 months old now, and it hasn't gone by as terrifyingly fast as I thought it was going to but it still seems too early. He is a smart boy. He knows his basic sign language- eat, all done, drink, milk, more, play, apple, banana, please, thank you, sorry, and for "I love you" he puckers up to give kisses! I was worried for awhile that teaching him to sign was going to affect his learning to talk and in some ways I think it has, but he is learning more everyday so I am hopeful. He can say, "eat, drink, please, thank you, hi, bye, love you, night night, mama, dada, yeah, all done, up, xander, doggie, milk, and bear." He also says "down" in the funniest way ever! He GROWLS it! its the cutest thing when he gets all rough voiced and says Dooowwwnnn! I think it's because we taught him up and down at the same time and when we would say down we were throwing our arms down real fast and it came out more growly. I love listening to him learn new words too. He tries to copy his sisters when they say things to him and when Jared and I say things to him too.

Cadince, my tiny little Cadie Bug, has developed a new infatuation with proving how tiny and cute she is. She has been randomly putting on Chase's clothes, or old baby clothes that I have been sorting through lately trying to decide what to put aside for the new baby, her old clothes size 2Tish that we are setting aside for charity- basically anything that she shouldnt be able to fit into.... and the crazy unrealisitic hilariously unbelievable part is, she fits into all this stuff somehow!! Yesterday it was Chase's old Halloween costume from last year- a 6-9 month Chewbaca costume! She put it on, Ciara buttoned the bottom buttons and the buttons in the back, and the only aspect that showed that could convince you it wasnt made in her size was that it started at her knees instead of her ankles and went to her elbows instead of her wrists! lol! It was just so funny!

So far everything is going ok with the pregnancy. I am 13 weeks now and so I am hoping that as I finish out this first trimester I can stop feeling like crud. I started back at work this past week. Golly I missed it! Of course right now it's just a few days here and there but in a month it is going to start picking up. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that one- I am not sick or dealing with crazy preggo stuff that would cause an interference and two- that the constant busy days and long hours will helpme stay in great shape during the pregnancy and I wont have to worry about getting anywhere near 200 lbs! lol! I shouldnt, regardless, but with this being baby number 4 and me not having been as active as I SHOULD have these past few months before the pregnancy, I am worried I am going to gain like 40lbs or something! Good news is, this is the end of the first trimester and I havent gained anything yet! I have been nauseous alot but not actually getting sick very often, I get fatigued and blah feeling but it comes and goes, and if I do too much it makes me feel like I am having heat stroke but I can focus enough to swallow the yuckiness and continue on.

I did want to say one thing I feel very positive about too! My son sleeps in his own bed. Last night I felt like a bad Mom twice. The first time was when Chase was fussing in his room not wanting to sleep and I let him crawl into my bed with me and Jared and tried to persuade him to fall asleep with us. It hit me what a bad idea that was. Jared and I had always been cautious with the girls. They slept with us for the first few months bc I was nursing and I liked the closeness, but once they were about 7 months old they were in a crib- usually in another room. The girls take turns some nights sleeping inthe bed with me now that they are older when Jared stays up really late playing games or when he is out of town, but they know they have their own beds and that that is their primary sleep spot. I had always kinda vowed that I wouldnt let my kids get use to sleeping in my bed because, as they say, old habits are hard to break. Plus, frankly, it can get in the way of any kind of love life with my husband! I'm not impyling that decision anyone else has made regarding co-sleeping with their kids is wrong, just so I am covering that base, just that it is not what I want for my kids.... anyway, the second time I felt like a bad Mom last night was when I took my son-still awake- out of my bed and put him back in his room, laid with him in his bed for a few moments, then left him screaming again as I walked back to my room. He had a horrible day yesterday- no real nap and it was a busy day- and he needed his mommy, but I didnt want him getting use to sleeping with me so I let him scream and cry for 25 minutes before he finally fell asleep. I know, in my own twisted way, I did the right thing by letting him self soothe, as he has had to do before in the past... but any Mom knows it is not easy to listen to their baby sad and in emotional pain.
I know I said that was a positive thing and really it is. I do know quite a few friends who are struggling with their little one sleeping on their own and I do not envy them. I feel blessed that my kids have been easy adjusters to my crazy rules and such. I feel blessed that my parents taught me to prepare for when my kids get older- habits that they could develop because of how they are raised as younger children- as infants, I know to get them ready for and to take actions to avoid now.

Oh my goodness what a long blog. Guess thats what happens when you wait to update.
BTW, we love being back in Clarksville, near our families and friends, and our new place- just gotta get around to unpacking finally! lol

All it takes is one

Yesterday I stopped in at work to help my girls for a few hours when I knew they were busy, even though it was my day off. While I was there one of MY regulars (she comes only when she knows I am working lol) showed up after being out of town for almost 2 months! I was excited to see her and when I went to give her her pictures she came to pick up she exclaimed all surprised, "Oh my gosh you have lost ALOT of weight girl! Look at you and how thin you are!" This made my day because I have been getting quite proud of how I look everytime I get ready to go anywhere and look in the morror.... All it takes is one person to say something and it can make a whole day great!!! lol

On a side note but relevant, Jared recently was issued his dress blues uniform and I have been talking about going and getting really nice pictures done together with them- he in his blues and me in a nice formal dress- but this would have to wait bc I had weight to lose. Well, just last week my sister and I went out just to try on some dresses and see how I felt- see how much longer it would be before I would actually THINK about buying and posing in a dress much less feel comfortable trying many on. I am so oober proud to say the first one I tried on, this long tight flowing gown fit so nicely (and it was tight around the waist and backside)! I didnt have rolls or even the love handles I thought I had bulging out the side, it just smoothed straight down and dang my hips looked good! lol! I didnt get it bc it was this weird topped one and it really made me look flat chested as all get out but I was just so pleased that it wasnt a size 15 or something like that and that I looked so good, even my sister was impressed.... so I tried on some more too haha. One was this "pretty pretty princess" dress as Jacky called it. It was like a corset up top and then poofed out in layers all the way down to the ground all silver and sparkly. All I needed was a tiara and look out Cinderella! lol!

Anyway, since "FIT" is my word for this year I thought this post would be relevant and I want to look back on it one day and remember this good feeling!

My big big BOY!!

Today my handsome little boy turned 1! While he is still the same size he was at 9/10 months--because he never grows-- he is still a big boy now and it is actually harder to accept then I expected. Since he was born on my sister's 20th birthday, they both celebrated today- him 1 and her 21! As a gift for them both I brought them to the studio today and had their bday pictures done. I think they turned out super great but you can decide! lol

At first there was only going to be pictures of Chase and Aunt Jacky but when I got to thinking about it I realized I might look back and wish I had taken at least one picture with my son for his birthday... So I got a couple cute ones of us together.

I had these shirts made for the pictures. I thought it would be a cute idea to do a pose from behind and my boss took the photos and they turned out so cute! Chase did so well and it meant alot to Jacky to get pictures done with him!

I am quite proud of how these pictures turned out. I feel bad because I never got pictures done for the girls for their 1st birthdays like this... pictures around their birthdays yes, but not with th 1's and never of just them individually to celebrate. But I never worked for a portrait studio before with great discounts and opportunities either. So, you take each chance you can right? lol :)

Speaking of working at a portrait studio, I have some excellent news that I can finally share!

My district manager called me about a week ago and asked me if I was interested in a management experience they had available in Bowling Green Kentucky. The offer price was lower than what we could live off of, with moving and all, so I told him I needed a better offer but I was willing to move if the price was right. Today he called me and offered me a little more, still not enough for us to live off of... we had already found the most affordable place in Bowling Green and knew we had a certain price we could live with... so once again I had to tell him not unless we could bring the price up. Thankfully he has been very impressed with me and wanted me to have this job. He really went to bat for me with the regional manager and right before Chase's party tonight I got "the call" we had been waiting for. The right price with a guarantee raise within 3-6 months as long as I perform like I should. As excited as I am I also feel a bit nervous. This is a big responsibility and an opportunity for my family I am afraid I could mess up. I absolutely LOVE my job and have been aiming towards management since I started really. I am feeling quite blessed for this amazing chance and I am praying for the many blessings that I really feel will continue to come from this.

We will be moving the first week of February! That's nice and soon. lol. We havent decided whether we are going to move straight to Bowling Green or maybe the half-way point between here and there in Russelville. We dont have forever to decide so we are going to be going through all the apartments and rentals we can find over the next few days and make some phone calls and a drive out that way to view the area. Prayers please that we find the right place for us and the best place for our family to live.

Well there is an update for everyone! Wish us luck and blessings!!!

New Year

For my New Year's Resolution/goal, I am going to be a better blogger.... keep a better journal for my family's sake and so when I am 83 years old and can't remember my own name much less things I did in my 20's- I will have these journals/blogs to read over and remember how I learned, struggled, loved, lost, grew, shrank, wanted, pleaded, received, and all my many blessings from the Lord! I can remember how my kids discovered the world one small new adventure at a time. There is alot going on right now I can't really put on here yet, not until everything is final and set in stone, but the moment everything gets into place I want to put it all here so I can remember the joy and strength I had for my family and how amazing my husband, my kids, and my family were in supporting me.
I can't write much today, got tooooo much else going on, but as part of this new goal, I knew I needed to jot this down.
Also, my friend Laura has asked what everyone's "word" for this NEW year 2011 is... a word that details in a nutshell what your strongest goal is for yourself, what your biggest flaw filled area of your life encompasses and how you plan to change that.... and I got to thinking about it today while I sat in church for the first time in months because of all my crazy work hours. Pastor Tracy, a wonderful minister I feel very strongly was sent here to help me on my path to the Lord and who has influenced my better living by pointing me to the savior who can lead me through anything and everything, was talking about getting "fit" this year. Spiritually fit that is. The bible talks about it quite often and how important it is to get spiritually "fit". Within the idea of spiritual fitness is financial fitness, physical fitness, and relationship fitness. All areas of my life I need very much to work on.... So my word is FITNESS.... and by this time next year I do want to say YES, I have gotten spiritually fit, physcially fit, financially fit, and built stronger relationships with those in my life.
What about you?