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!