Stats & Mini Vaca

I'm going to start today's post with updating you on my little guy, because let's face it.  He's probably why you read my blog anyway.  He's the most exciting thing in my life, that's for sure! I like to document his stats every once in a while because I never want to forget them.  He's just soooo great and is learning so much every single day!  He's now almost 19 months old, and here are some facts about him.

Bubbles

18 month check-up with Dr. Mathis

*At his 18 month check-up...weight: 30 lbs...height:  33 in (but he wouldn't cooperate so who really knows)
*Sleeps from 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
*Fave foods:  newfound love for ketchup (he's his momma's boy), any and all fruit, carrots, green beans, brown beans, refried beans, cheese, cookies, and bread
*Loves stuffed animals all of a sudden... he rotates between a brown teddy bear (it was mine... Mamaw Joyce gave it to me when I was 5), Pluto, a white bear (Cody gave it to me when we got married), and a wolf that my daddy recently purchased for him from Bass Pro. 
*Loves the water, flowers, and being outside
*has an obsession with lawn mowers, airplanes, 4-wheelers, bicycles, tractors, fork-lifts... basically anything you can ride
*Can read several words... "dog, chick, pig, hi, cat, ball, balls, eyes, nose, brush, blocks, hat"
*When he sees himself in the mirror or in a photo, he says "ME!!"
*When he says yes, he won't actually say the word... Instead, he gives us a big head nod that is extremely funny & cute.
*Barney is his favorite!
*When I put him in his bed at night, he hugs his stuffed animal of choice for the night, rolls over, gives me a huge grin, waves good night to me, then goes to sleep. Sweetest thing EVER!
*He thinks everyone has a baby in their belly b/c Momma does, so if he touches your belly and says "baby", don't be offended. 
*Still has an obsession with sports... he loves to play any and all types of ball!  We still buy a ball everywhere we go!

Now that you're caught up on my lil' guy, I'll tell you our latest adventure.  Monday, I had a little helper at work with me.  Dee-Dee, Lulu, and Nonna all had to go to a doctor's appt in Little Rock, so I had no sitter.  Thankfully, Papa Joe let us leave early b/c Manning was all over the place and into everything.  An air strip is not the place for a toddler.  That's for sure! 

Papa's Lil' Aviator

Back to my story... We left the air strip b/c a storm was headed our way.  By the time we got home, Manning was asleep, so I carried him in the house and sat down (with him in my arms) to watch the local weather.  By the time I had found the station, there was no sunlight outside and it was lunch time.  No joke, the sky was pitch black.  It seriously looked like it was midnight outside, so I got a little worried, called for Gigi and Burch and headed to the closet.  By the time we got there, the storm hit and let's just say that the Lord spared us once again.  The power went out and we remained in the closet for about an hour until everything died down.  While Manning continued to sleep, I began texting family members to check on them.  They were all accounted for (Praise the Lord), and I learned that my daddy had crawled under an overpass.  You know it's bad when Papa Joe runs for shelter.  After making sure everyone was ok, Manning woke up and thought it would be fun to terrorize Gigi.  Oh what fun Burch and I had in that stuffy, dark closet! LOL

Fun in mommy's closet

Hours later, as the sweat started to pour down our foreheads, we realized that our power wasn't supposed to be on for 3 days, I had a small freak-out.  As I've said before, heat and pregnancy do not mix, and I did not want to stay in a hot house for 3 days, so we loaded up and headed to the Comfort Inn in Marion, Arkansas.  That's not exactly where I would choose for a getaway, but it worked, and Manning had a GREAT time! 

Turns out, Cody and I have a little fish on our hands.  He swam and swam and loved every second of it! Since he loved the pool so much, I've decided that we need one.  We'll see how that works out.  ;o)

Pool Time with Molli

Being Silly in the Hotel

Dinner @ Pancho's

Nonna brought stickers to keep us busy!

He loved them... notice the ones he liked the best!

After our little 3-day getaway, we are very happy to be home and have air conditioning and electricity.  There truly is no place like home...

One very thankful Thursday...

Today is just a regular ol' day...nothing out of the ordinary has happened, but I feel know that God has been tugging on my heart today.  Sometimes I let the little things bother me, stress me out, wear me down, you know what I mean.  Why do I do that?  Why do I allow myself to give in to those things and worry or have pity parties?  I know why.  It's because I'm imperfect, and I need the Lord every single minute of every day. 

Here's how I know God was speaking to me.  While at work this morning, I started feeling very sick....story of my life these days.  As most of you know, this pregnancy hasn't been an easy one.  I've had nausea in some form or fashion every single day since I hit the 5 week mark.  I've also been bruising pretty badly.  In case you forgot, I have to give myself 2 shots daily because of my antibody problem.  No big deal until I go home to wrestle and play with my little man who is getting more active by the day.  When he bumps my belly, it really hurts. Over the past few weeks, I've really been down b/c of the way I feel and how hard this has been on me.  But, after today, I refuse to remain in this state of mind. 

As I propped my feet up on my desk and leaned my chair back to try to get comfortable and find some relief, I grabbed my I-phone to find something to keep my mind off feeling bad.  I started reading a few friend's blogs and was led to several that I had never visited before.  One family was in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia and had been waiting on their baby for over 2 years.  Another family was grieving over the loss of one of their twin girls to spinal meningitis.  Another was struggling with the long, agonizing road of recurrent miscarriage, something I know about all too well. 

Suddenly, I noticed tears streaming down my cheeks, and I all could do was pray for these families. I immediately went back in time and felt the despair and fear of not ever having a baby of my own. Then, the conviction came.... I sat here feeling sorry for myself because why?  Nausea?  Seriously, Marci, get a grip!  God has given me a beautiful gift.  I'm carrying a second baby... a second gift from God.  Three years ago, I was terrified that I'd never be a mom, and here I am complaining about feeling sick.  Shame on me!  I quickly started counting my blessings and thanking God for each one. 

Of course, I immediately started thinking about the love of my life, my precious Manning, and what a blessing he truly is.  I can never thank God enough for him.  Words can't express how much I love that child!  His hugs, slobbery kisses, hearing him say "momma", and his precious smile make me happier than anything else in the world!  I'm so very thankful to God that I have one happy, healthy baby boy and another precious baby on the way, and I am going to do my best to embrace this sickness and focus on the end result. God is good ALL the time!

Keep the change...

To say that we at the Moore household are a little overwhelmed right now is the understatement of the year!  We have tons of changes happening and all at one time.  However, I am convinced that this is the way it is supposed to be.  I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and I'm doing my best to embrace all of these changes the best I can.  But, as most of you know, I'm terrified of change and the unknown.  Here's a little look at what's going on in our lives these days.

1.  We're going to have a BABY... again! Manning is going to be a BIG brother around December 26.  I've been to the dr twice already, and Baby Moore #2 is doing just fine!  At 7 weeks, the heartbeat was 131 bpm.  At 8 weeks, 170 bpm. 

We feel very blessed that God trusts us with another little one.  As most of you remember, I had a fear that I would never be able to have children, and now I'm going to be a mommy of 2.  Wow is the only word that comes to mind right now. :o) 

While we are very thankful, we I am also very nervous!  I've never been a mommy of 2 before.  Can I handle it?  How will Manning adjust?  How can I ever love another child as much as I love Manning?  What a rollercoaster ride this pregnancy has been so far... and this one has been very different from the first one.  When I was pregnant with Manning, I felt GREAT!  Now, I feel and look like death warmed over.  I'm sick ALL of the time and am having to take 2 nausea medications around the clock.  Girl, maybe?!  We shall see! :o) 

2.  Cody got a new J-O-B!  He started his first week this week as the City of Osceola's Accounting Director.  He loves it so far, and I'm so thankful that this opportunity just kinda presented itself and came out of nowhere.  It's amazing how God does that!  We were having a hard time getting the ball rolling for our move to Jonesboro.  Nothing seemed to be working out.  Now, we know why.  It was God's plan for us to stay close to home, and now that I'm expecting, I think that's EXACTLY what we need to do.  You all know what a family person I am, and a whole hour was just a little too far away for me. 

3.  As I mentioned above, our moving plans have changed drastically.  Because of Cody's new job, we have to move inside Osceola city limits... so we're trying to sell our house and are planning to move as soon as possible.  At the moment, we are trying to decide between buying/building a house.  If we can find one we like, we'll buy.  If not, add building a house to our overwhelming to-do list!

4.  Before all of these other changes took place, Cody and I bought an embroidery/monogramming machine, and we've bought websites, tax id #s, and the whole bit to start our own little home business.  In the near future, we will be opening Doodlebugz!  We are in the early stages, and I'm working on learning how to work my machine (in between sick spells that is).  I'm signed up for several classes, and hopefully, we'll have that rolling in no time!  We look forward to providing you with cute kids' clothes and personalized products!

Our logo

My head starts spinning just talking about everything that's happening... but like I said, everything happens for a reason, so I'm just gonna take it one day at a time!

Carry On

This past weekend, Cody and I got to pretend like we were in college again and went to a Pat Green concert with some good friends of ours.  I say that we felt like we were in college again because the last time I remember seeing Pat Green was in the grove.  I think I was a sophomore in college... I can remember riding around campus blaring some good ol' Pat Green music and singing our hearts out. 


Renee, Myself, and Joanna @ the concert

"Baby's just a little bit tired of the city..."

 Hearing and watching him perform again, took me right back.  He opened the show up with my all-time fav, Carry On.  If only my fellow Pi Beta (that's what we like to call Pi Phi for fun) sisters would have been there with us...they were with me in spirit though because I kept thinking of them when particular songs would play.  I miss you girls so very much!!!

That's all I'm gonna talk about today, although, I do have a ton of thoughts and things going on right now.  You will just have to stay tuned to find out.........

Rewind

I have tons of pictures from the past several months that I haven't shared, so I'm about to do my best to rewind the times for you a bit.  Enjoy, and hold on as you see what all we've been up to lately!

Cody and I traveled to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, this past December to ring in the new year with my bff from high school, Candace, and her hubby, Matt.  While we were there, we enjoyed tropical drinks, therapeutic massages, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, very different but yummy Jamaican food, embraced the overly kind Jamaican hospitality, jammed out to some reggae (i love bob marley), and we climbed a 962 foot waterfall...and it was AWESOME!

Dec. 2010... On plane headed to Jamaica

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Dinner

Candace & I had a time with our floppy hats!!!  We could NOT keep them on...

Our Whole Group

Ringing in the new year, Jamaican style!

While vacationing, Manning kept running a low-grade fever and had double ear infections.  Vacation was great, but I sure did miss and worry about my lil' guy.  When we got home, we took him to his ENT in fear of tubes, but thankfully, since then, I think we've managed to outgrow our ear troubles.  Praise the Lord!  I have done lots of praying for that! Here's a pic of Manning @ Dr. Naidu's office.



We have been busy following my alma mater, the Rivercrest Colts!  We took home the state championship title in football and basketball this year!  GO BIG RED!!  We are so proud of our Colts!

The next several pictures are random ones from February... Valentine's Day & such!

Momma's Lil Cowboy

My child loves sports already!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Manning's Valentine's Surprises

He got to see Barney Live!

 

Captivated by the purple dinosaur....

The weather in Arkansas has been CRAZY over the past couple of months. On a very warm and beautiful Saturday, we decided that the Memphis Zoo was calling our names. 

Polar bears are our favorite! :o)

We aren't ones to normally celebrate Mardi Gras, but I love the decorations and fun clothing!  Here's Manning in his Mardi Gras shirt on Fat Tuesday! :o) He loves showing you his belly button now!

A few weeks ago, we took Manning to the Keiser park for the first time.  We made it a fun day full of outdoor play!  We went to the park, played with Dee-Dee's tulips, rode Manning on the lawn mower (silly but he loves it), and we took him 4-wheeler riding for the first time.  He is an outdoor boy and loves tractors, lawn mowers, 4-wheelers, and loves getting dirty (except for his hands)!  He's Papa's boy for sure!

        

At the Moore household, Sundays are spent in church, unless there's something happening that makes it impossible for us to go.  Well, let me re-phrase that.  We go to church and stay as long as Manning will allow.  Sometimes he's so wound up, we don't make it past the music service.  We sure enjoy when we get to stay, though.  Keiser First Baptist is such a blessing!





Last week, as you probably read in my previous post, we lost a very dear cousin of ours, Renee.  We all loaded up and headed to Prentiss, MS to be with family and to celebrate her life.  We would always joke about Renee visiting us in Arkansas.  She would come to visit, but we'd never know exactly when to expect her.  She might show up in the middle of the night...or just whenever.  She just went with the flow and made it when she could, and we loved that about her!  When we were on our way to her visitation, we pulled a "Renee".  We were running late and had to stop at a gas station to change clothes and get ready in order to make it in time.  We all laughed about how much she was probably loving watching us at that moment!

This past Saturday, Rivercrest had their prom, so we had to take pictures of our handsome boys, Hank & Brandon.  As you all probably already know, Hank is my cousin, and Brandon is a very good friend of ours, but I consider them both to me more like my brothers. 

Manning had a great time on Prom Night, too!  He played with his friend, Ella, and played outside, so you know he was happy!

super sweet

Kisses for Ella!

On Sunday, I helped host a baby shower for one of my dearest friends from high school, Heather.  She is getting ready to welcome baby #2, her first boy, into the world!  It was so great getting to visit with her and tell old high school stories!  Counting down the days until I get to see her again... Here is a pic of Heather with the hostesses.

Baby Lawson is on his way!