I Heart Ice Storms

Well like the rest of you who probably read this blog, we too are in fact caught in the middle of this treacherous ice storm - okay I'll admit, I don't quite think of it as treacherous - in fact just the opposite. You see, since this big bad storm, I've been able to spend incredible amounts of time with my husband and darling Lincoln, haven't had to work, have gotten to both work out and sleep a reasonable amount of time, have had zero power outages, gotten to play Wii w/ my ever so competitive husband (not always a good combination), gotten to hang out with my mom (who is shacking up at the hotel around the corner with my dad) and have had numerous friends come over to our house for dinner (since we seem to be the only ones with power), laundry, & games - why aren't there more ice storms??!!
The above picture is one our dear friends, Vicki Dees whom was one of the guest we were fortunate to be blessed with tonight. Once Jason and I realized we were the only one of our friends with power, we invited a bunch over to provide a hot meal and have some fun. Jody and Michael introduced us to a funny "mormon game" that was random and fun (except I seemed to be the biggest loser of the night...). Oh well...
And now here I sit, close to midnight, really hoping school continues to be cancelled throughout the rest of the week...man that would be amazing. A great benefit about working in the schools. :) I actually feel like a "stay at home mom".
Below are pictures I took today...Jason was taking a nap and I took Lincoln for a little "photo shoot." I know I'm his mom and all, but isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen????? Geez.

Bundle Up

I'd rather have snow, but I'll take the ice if it means I get to stay home with this adorable bundle :)

Prepare Yourself

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090122

My husband just sent this link to me in an email while I was at work today. It's by this sport's writer whose articles he reads everyday. When I saw the link, I wondered why he ever thought I might be interested in reading an article that started with "htpp://sports.esp.blah blah blah" ...but trusting my husband who knows me oh so well,
I read it.
I related.
I cried.
And I'm still trying to gather myself.
Oh Jason.

I believe there's two kinds of people in the world: Those who love dogs and those who LOVE dogs.

Go Panthers.

Little Bug's 3 Months TODAY :)

Can't believe it. Time flies. I have those weird surreal moments where it suddenly hits me that, yes, I am a freaking MOM (even writing it now sounds weird and dream-like) and then there are those where I'm holding the precious bundle and feel like I've been "mom" for ages...just incredibly innate and natural. Today could be summed up as a mixture of the two. 3 Months is such a fun age. Lincoln was all smiles and "conversation" this morning as I was getting ready. He sits in his swing outside of our bathroom and watches us get ready in the mornings, and I've noticed I now get ready in record time (it probably shows, too, but it's worth it) because I spend so much of my morning routine staring at him, gushing at him, and getting captivated in his little conversations and smiles. SO ADDICTING.

Here are some things he's doing now:

1. The little sucker acts as if he's going to hold his head up perfectly any day now

2. He loves stiffening his legs (i mean, STIFF) to the point where some wonder if he's going to be a male gymnast (oh no), and

3. His aunt Amy plays a little game with him called "Spaceship" where he stiffens his legs and she wiggles him up in the arm by his armpits like he's a spaceship taking off (he LOVES this!)

4. He loves to talk and have conversations - especially right after his bottle when his belly's full

5. He's sleeping better, but still not through the night - boy's gotta hearty appetite throughout the evening hours (or he just doesn't like not seeing his mommy and daddy for 8 straight hours - can you blame him??!)

6. He loves to lay with his daddy and watch basketball (hint all the gobs of pictures I have of them doing this cause it's so precious!)

7. He notices our dogs now and likes to touch them and smile at them

8. He has recently started grabbing at everything - his favorite? fistfuls of my hair - ouch.

9. Sometimes, when he's feeling particularly independent, he holds his own bottle

10. He hates, I mean HATES tummy time - so we don't force that one

11. Most importantly, he has come to recognize everything about his mommy and daddy as evidenced through his happy shrills and warming smiles - gosh life doesn't get better, does it?

Mommy and daddy love you sweet little bug and can't wait to see what God has for you in these next upcoming months. You truly are the joy of our hearts and we still can't believe God trusted us enough to give us such an incredible gift!!!!!

Missing My Bug

Our sweet little fella is still under the weather, but the doctor said it would take a week for him to feel better and that he could continue to go to his sitter...so I had to drop him of with his weak little cry beore work this morning. Maybe I'll stop by the casino on the way home and try and win big so I never have to do that again...it's a thought. He slept great last night...the longest he's ever slept through the night and then I have to wake him up at 8:30 this morning (we throw schedules out the window when he's sick).

I miss you little bug ****lots of kisses and prayers all day long ****

Our Sunday Gift

Yesterday my parents gave me and Jason a wonderful gift - the gift of sleep!!! Yes, I consider sleep an extravagant gift these days (for those of you with children you UNDERSTAND!). And believe me - if I, the one who used to require 10 hours of un-interrupted sleep at night and a two hour nap in the day, can adjust to four hours of majorly interrupted sleep at night with no naps, ANYONE CAN DO THIS!!!! But yes, Saturday night I lost it. I broke down. I lost all my defenses, and yes, I cried. Like a baby, I balled my eyes out. The reason? Not really one. Best I could come up with (to my poor confused husband) was that I was just EXHAUSTED! My parents saw my pitiful eyes that night at dinner and offered to keep Lincoln after church so Jason and I could go home and sleep.
IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt guilty at first leaving the little sucker so I could sleep (seemed selfish to me at the time), but the minute I laid my head down and knew there would be no interruptions, I didn't wake up for close to 4 hours! Thanks mom and dad - that was even better than the Wi. :)

Lincoln was sick today. :( He is all congested and has the most pitiful cry. It breaks out hearts. Daddy stayed home with him so I could work today and then when school was out I took over while he went to practice. The poor thing just doesn't feel good - you can see it in his eyes. My mom went with me to take him to the doctor and they said he as okay - just keep an eye on his temp. So now I am just going to hold the little man all night (while watching Jack Bauer of course) let him wheeze and purr (that's what he sounds like all stuffed up) in my arms. Not a bad night. Oh yeah, and I'm making tacos or dinner.

In exciting news - i wanna shout this cause I'm so excited - I FIT INTO MY JEANS NOW!!!!!!! I think I'm like 4-5 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight and it's feels so good! So that's exciting. Maybe it's the Wi Fit that I've become attached to....? Whatever it is, that was another pleasant surprise yesterday when I tried them on to go to church. :)

Oh yeah - and Jack's back. :)

Blue Suede Shoes

That's what my dog Bruce has been sporting these past couple of days now. I came home from work the other day and Jason had left him in the house because our electric fence wasn't working, and Bruce had bright blue paws!!! We're talking BRIGHT blue. He got into a blue marker and traded his beautiful white coat in for a blue one! The bad part was that i looked for the marker EVERYWHERE and could not find it at all... then I woke up this morning and now his TAIL IS BLUE, too!!!! So i searched the recliner where he had been sitting last night and AH-HA! I found the blue chewed up marker (a relief that it wasn't swirling in his tummy). So now we have a white lab who has blue feet and a blue tail. I'll try and get some pictures cause it's hilarious looking and I don't think it's coming off anytime soon.

Lincoln is doing great! This has been his first week with his sitter and so far he has had good report cards sent home (hopefully that means they'll continue on into his junior high years??). The only thing was his sitter wanted to talk to me about one of his "habits" as she described it: only being able to all asleep for a nap when being rocked. Oops. Guilty. But so is grandma (1 & 2), aunts, sisters, husband...all of the above have contributed to this wonderful little "habit". That's what happens when you have a baby around the holidays! Oh well. So he's a little spoiled. There's much worse.
For those of you who know, Jason has been trying to strategically place things in Lincoln's left hand, hoping it will make him left-handed. Well, I hope you're happy hubby, cause the only thing our child does that's left is turn his head to the left - and not to the right! We've been joking about this, but actually got concerned that he DEFINITELY favors turning his head left (borderline, REFUSES to turn it right), that I called the doctor to make sure he would grow out of this. He assured me it was okay and that I can stop obsessing trying to force his little noggin to the right. Thanks doc. One less anxiety for this new mother. It is funny though. We have a left-headed child.