Bad Mommy. (Crosby: 1.5 year update)

For my first two kids I pretty well kept up with their growth and milestones on my blog. Third kid? Not so much. I can't remember the last time I updated about Crosby. Poor buddy!

So let me tell you a little bit about my buddy, Crosby, these days. He's a solid 20 months old - nearly 21 months - so we are somehow closing in on his second birthday. (HOW?!) And we're still breastfeeding. If it were entirely up to me then we would probably be done with it by now but Crosby is still really attached to nursing. I will - no doubt - miss it when we're done. Or at least parts of it. Like the closeness. And how Crosby automatically comes to me for comfort or a place to fall asleep. I can't wait to have a bit more personal space at the moment... but I know it'll be something I miss down the road.

It seems like Crosby will NEVER be done with "milkies" though. Molly weaned herself around 18-19 months of age and I had to cut Presley off at 23 months due to my pregnancy with Molly (I was so super ready for a break from BFing before starting all over again with Molly + I was so uncomfortable and sore during pregnancy) so we're not far off from the end of the other breastfeeding relationships in my life. I plan to write another breastfeeding blog one of these days...

Last month we finally got Crosby baptized. We were back in the Quad Cities (where we lived for 5 or so years) for Betsy's wedding and had Crosby baptized while we were in town. It was wonderful to have our Illinois friends and family there and meaningful to have him baptized at Christ the King -- a church with a lot of personal history for us.

That's Father Levitt. When Tony went through RCIA before our wedding I was lucky enough to sponsor him. Which meant I got to go to classes with him every week for several months. It was honestly such a great thing to go through together ahead of getting married. Father Levitt was at classes every week and I feel like we got to know him really well in that time period. Then came the Easter vigil and Tony experienced baptism, first communion, and confirmation - all with Father Levitt. A few weeks later Father Levitt married us. And then a year later he baptized Presley. There were so many beautiful, unforgettable moments that took place at Christ the King.

So when the opportunity presented itself to have Crosby baptized there by Father Levitt, I jumped at the chance. The baptism took place privately after mass and while I missed my favorite moment where Father says during mass, "Welcome the newest member of our Catholic faith!" -- it was really perfect and intimate and full of meaning for us. We asked my cousins, Drew and Breanne, to be his godparents. Both people who I can only hope my kids get the chance to know because they are some of my favorite people on the planet. Two loving, selfless, hilarious, kind-hearted people Crosby would be lucky to have in his corner. Two people who will be great guides for my little man throughout his life.

Crosby's vocabulary has really exploded lately. I really think Crosby could live off of beans - especially black beans. And milk, of course. He's still a little peanut... he's in a size 4 diaper and he's mostly in 24 month clothes. Oh... and he goes pee on the potty every so often! He'll tell us to put him on the potty and then he'll go! It's awesome and I love how proud he looks afterwards. He is OBSESSED with Daddy and Mommy. He loves his sisters like crazy. He loves his cousins & also looks up to his cousin Matthew in the sweetest way. Crosby loves to play in the water and thinks he is WAY BIGGER than he actually is in the water. It's already so difficult watching three kids in the water at once but when the younger two are literally FEARLESS it makes mommy a little uneasy!

So anyways -- that's the update on my little third born buddy boy who has a super neglected presence on my blog and so many empty pages in his baby book but who has a HUGE place in my heart and all the love he can handle from his family. I love you so much, Crosby Thomas. You are such a hilarious kid with an insanely unique personality and each day we get together I cherish because it's one more opportunity to get to know you. You are such a blessing to our family, big guy.

Welcome to the world, Miss Anne Marie!

So, as (most of) you guys know, my sister found out around Thanksgiving that she was pregnant!  I can't remember if her original due date was August 1st or July 31st, but it soon got moved up to July 28th and stayed there.  It was such exciting news and it was pretty sweet that our pregnancies would overlap three months together.  Amanda came to visit in December...

These were taken after a trip to Chicago. (The city is not as fun when you are in your third trimester...)

Amanda put this in a "grandchildren" frame for our mom to tell her that she was expecting!

The next time we saw her was in May when her and John (and my little sister, Ashley) came in town for Presley's baptism.

John & Amanda (P's Godparents) and Tony, Presley & I at her baptism
at Christ the King -- the church where we were married at in May 2011!

Presley and Amanda :)

While Amanda was here we also threw her a baby shower!

And I had to throw this one in there! ;) Pregnant Amanda & not pregnant Ashley!
(She's got a balloon under there!)

And that was the last time I got to see Amanda while she was pregnant!  She was glowing, extremely laid back, and happy as usual; pregnancy definitely looked good on her.  Not to mention she had a healthy pregnancy and remains stretch mark free!  (Try not to hate her, ladies, she is very deserving of her good fortune!)

So, the week of her due date, she started to experience what she assumed were pretty light contractions.  They came and went and she was frustrated that it hadn't progressed into labor.  The day before her due date, she started having light contractions again that stayed around pretty consistently.  She and her husband, John, went to get checked out at the hospital around midnight and she found out she was 2-3 cm. already!  They kept her around for another hour to see if she would progress and she had progressed to 4 cm. so they admitted her and administered her epidural - which she said was magical! :)  She pushed for less than an hour (I can't remember how long exactly, sorry if I'm butchering your story, Amanda!!!) and Anne Marie was born at 8:28AM on July 28 -- HER DUE DATE!

A 7 lb. 9 oz. beauty born with a head full of brown hair!

Anne Marie (3 days old) and Presley (5 months old) during their first hangout.

My sisters, myself, and our kiddos!

It was awesome to be there during Amanda's first few days as a mom and throughout Anne Marie's first few days on the outside!  I've only been home a couple days and I already can't wait until the next time that we can be all together.  Not to mention, poor Uncle Tony didn't get to meet his sweet niece!  So although that drive was NOT fun, I think we will have some serious motivation (Anne Marie!) to do it again soon.

Perhaps I can talk my sister into guest blogging on here in case she wants to share Anne Marie's birth story/her first few days as a mommy from her perspective!

Until then, hope you enjoyed hearing about my sweet niecey-poo... babies are just so wonderful.  Thank you Amanda and John for bringing such a sweet baby into this world and thank you Miss Anne Marie for giving me the privilege of being your auntie!!!  We plan on loving and spoiling you until you can no longer stand it.

Thanksgiving post.

10 Things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:
inspired by fellow-blogger, Hannah. :)
check her out at Hannah's Happenings.

My husband.  It's still weird for me to refer to him as that.  He was my friend for the first two years of getting to know each other, my boyfriend for pretty much the next six years, my fiance for a short year and a half, and now he's been my husband for six months.  It feels right that he is my husband, but it still sounds funny coming out of my mouth.  I love that we are newlyweds and that it is all so fresh, but I honestly do look forward to the day when it's hard for me to remember it being any different. 

Tony & HIS belly at 25 weeks into our pregnancy... :)

My family.  I can't imagine what holidays would be like without having family to share it with.  Even though we all get sick of our family from time to time, it is nice to have a day to reflect on how lucky you are to have these weirdos in your life!  I've got a mom who is fabulous and even though we bump heads more often than not, I am so glad to have her in my daily life; two sisters who I couldn't imagine life without; and the rest of my incredible extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and all those dorks.  What's not to be thankful for?  

Our new rental house.  We've been here for just a few months but it is such an improvement to our daily lives.  I think it's a definite step in the right direction and I so look forward to the day when we move into our first home of our own.  Knowing we won't need to move again right away will be such a peaceful feeling!!!  

My car, which is a freaking tank!  Oh my goodness.  I drive a 1992 Toyota Corolla given to me by my amazing Grandma Myers in 2006 and it has been such a blessing.  I have driven it in the snow and from Memphis to Moline a number of times and it is still doing just as great as it was five years ago.  

My car on one of the many trips from Memphis to Moline!

My in-laws.  Ahh, they make me SO very happy.  Their love and support through everything has made it so clear to me that we are a family.  I have the BEST mother-in-law; Selena is such a special person to me and I would not change our relationship for anything.  I can not wait to see them at Christmas time --things will feel so complete when we're all together.  

 My best friends.  :)  As much as I love my friends and as fortunate as I am to have them, I absolutely hate that we're all so spread out.  Except for the fact that my best friend, Betsy, has FINALLY moved back home!  We were inseparable towards the end of senior year & our first year of college, but soon after we lived away from one another and it's great having her back in my life - something I take for granted.  I am also so incredibly thankful to have Becca in my life.  I do not know what I'd do without her.  I wish I could have all my friends in one place again like our wedding weekend.  

Thankful for each of them, everyday.

Our awesome church.  When Tony was in the process of being Catholic, we got to know so many (wonderful!) people in our parish.  Then there was the process of getting married in which I felt like we grew closer to our (fabulous!) priest.  And now, we are learning more about baptism and preparing to baptize our soon-to-be-here baby at Christ the King.  I feel like we are on this huge journey that we didn't even realize we were embarking on and we are surrounded by all the love from our amazing church family.  It is SUCH a wonderful, overwhelming feeling.  

Food.  Enough said.  This year we had two delicious Thanksgiving family feasts --thinking about all my favorite dishes just makes my mouth water!  Also, very lucky to have such gracious hosts to have included us in the various turkey day feasts.  

Our jobs.  Tony & I are lucky to work with some fantastic people every day and some of the lucky people to have consistent pay checks coming in each month.  We are able to pay our bills and  have money left over for entertainment.  Again, we are lucky.  

Baby Presley.  Last, but certainly not least in my mind is the growing baby in my belly (well, uterus, but you know what I mean).  I can already tell she is growing so fast and I pray she is healthy, happy, and protected in there.  Tony gets to feel her kicking and moving around nearly every day now and last night she was totally showing off for us --we could see her kicking and moving around on the outside of my belly and it was SO cool.  (Of course, as soon as Tony started recording on his phone, she calmed down and started hiding... what a stinker!)  To think we only have three months until we see her precious face gives me goosebumps and brings a few hormonal tears to my eyes.  :)

I know it is a bit overdue, but things have been crazy this past week/end.  On top of being here, there, and everywhere for Thanksgiving, we are in the middle of doing some rearranging in our house and I couldn't be more excited!  This includes getting things set up in the nursery... YAY!!!!!  I think we Tony will be able to put together the crib this week and I will definitely take a picture of it once we get it up and running.  I can't believe how much things are coming together here lately.  A few weeks ago I felt like SO many things were up in the air and I couldn't have imagined what it would be like today.  After reflecting over the things I am most thankful for tonight it really has left me just glowing with love.  Such a wonderful feeling.  Truly, this time of year is the most wonderful!  And to think all the celebrating we have left to do in 2011....

Cannot wait for Christmas,

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25 week Pregnancy Reflection

How far along?:  I am already 25 weeks & 3 days along in my first pregnancy.  (On my way to being six an a half months pregnant.)

14 weeks & 4 days to go!
Time to get a new shirt...

Size of the baby:  Our baby is still the size of an eggplant this week -- just a little bit bigger, though!

9.2 inches and 2 pounds so far!

Gender:  We are expecting a sweet baby girl:  Presley Rose.  And even though Tony was hoping for a boy, I think he is more excited to welcome a girl to our family than I am, at times!  :)

Movement:  As usual, just a little moving machine in different parts of the day.  When I lay down at night and she decides to kick, you can outwardly see my belly jump!  It's pretty cool to see how strong she's getting.  She's kicking me right now right where my pants hits my hips... she loves to kick on the belt line as if she's asking for more room or something!  She just kicks over and over and over until I change into my comfy pants!!!  (Now that I'm in my sweatpants, there is far less kicking-- that's my girl!)

Cravings/Aversions:  Hmm... all things sugary-sweet!  For really the first time in my pregnancy, Tony has started to (slowly) put his foot down about what I consume.  He's very worried at the possibility of gestational diabetes so he's started to give me a hard time if I have one too many cookies.  I've been loving sugar cookies, ice cream, cakes, etc.  I'm also craving yummy coffee's from Starbucks these days.  I can't wait to enjoy these things without having to worry about harming someone else!  As far as aversions go, shrimp is definitely high on my list.

I am feeling:  I am feeling frustrated that I can't do all the things I could do before becoming pregnant and I'm also frustrated at my lack of motivation and energy most days.  I am feeling extremely thankful for a husband who has picked up SO much more slack than he has to.  And despite my frustrations, I am really feeling hopeful as I am constantly getting more energy and motivation to stay busy and be active.  And after our baptism preparation class tonight, I am so thrilled to have our baby baptized at the church we love so much in the not-so-distant future!

What I miss most:  As usual, I miss being able to lay on my back -- I never realized how much I liked to do that until I am now unable to do it.  I miss being able to drink coffee, although it's probably better that I don't anyways.  I'm starting to miss being to bend over comfortably as well as sleep comfortably -- my hips have started to hurt from laying on them constantly. 

Best moment of the week:  My birthday was so awesome this past week.  Tony made me an awesome chocolate birthday cake with mickey mouse on it (because I love all things Disney) which was so thoughtful.  I got some really sweet birthday gifts from friends & family that I can't wait to enjoy.  I also had a blast at my birthday dinner at Red Robin with some people I love that made me feel SO special.  I really couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Me with my delicious cake at Red Robin!

What I'm most looking forward to this week:  I am REALLY looking forward to seeing Breaking Dawn once it comes out.  I also can't wait for my next appointment which is in exactly one week.  I love seeing the progress being made every month.  And even though Thanksgiving isn't for another week and a half, I honestly cannot wait!!!!  Hopefully I can successfully talk Tony into helping me rearrange/redecorate our bedrooms this week and possibly start to put up holiday decorations!!!


And as I am nearing the end of the second trimester, it is really starting to hit home that our life is going to make some huge changes pretty soon.  I am comforted by the many families I know who have made these changes and by the women I know who truly seem like their lives are much richer after the addition of their little ones.  I am both excited and fearful and still very much in awe of all God has already bestowed upon us. 

Hoping everybody's week is filled with blessings,

Praising Christ's Love...

Today's point of praise:  "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8: 38-39)  Day #3

Sometimes that doesn't necessarily feel true for me.  There are so many times when I don't feel close to Christ and I know it isn't because he has moved away from me - but the other way around.  It's difficult to live a Christ-centered life when the biggest influences in my current life aren't focused on him and don't lead me closer to Him.  Again, not His fault, but mine.  I realize that the point of praise here is that no matter how far I stray or how weak my relationship with God is, He's gonna love me and be there for me anyways.  Instead of just blaming myself and feeling guilty over my lack of daily dedication to Christ, I've decided to come up with a list of ways to strengthen that relationship.  The list may seem like I move in a round-a-bout way... but hopefully that is good enough to lead me in the direction I'd like to head...

1. Start eating dinner at the dinner table.  Seems pretty silly, but for those of you who know Tony & I, we are the type of people who have a million movies and a bunch of favorite TV shows.  We also have a very nice set of TV trays from Granny that get TOO much use these days.  As a result, I honestly don't remember the last time we ate a meal at the dinner table together.  (I honestly think it was at least an entire year ago at a date night in at our old apartment.)  Once we start eating at the dinner table together, the goal is to start praying before meals together.  Also, for some reason, I just think the more structure we get in our home life, the better, and for some reason I think it'll make things better around here.  (Just bought some fancy new chair covers that will hopefully motivate us to use our table & chairs!  Something happened to the upholstery on these old chairs and they're very sticky, so we either had to get covers or new chairs.  I'll take before and after pictures once they come in!!!)
2. Make weekly mass a priority.  We've started to get better about this, but I don't feel like it's as much of a priority as I'd like it to be.  We're very much Saturday afternoon mass-goers or else we don't make it to mass for the weekend and that is one thing that needs to change.  I'd still like to shoot for Saturday mass because we do enjoy it so much - but if for some reason we don't make it I need to keep an open mind and make it to church Sunday.  There are so many churches in the area that offer a wide variety of mass times so there is really not much of an excuse in that department.
3. Find a way to take part at church.  This really scares me because I don't really like making commitments all the time - the really make me feel claustrophobic.  Not to mention, most of the ways to help out at church involve getting up in front of people which paralyzes me in fear!!!  I'm not sure where our church needs involvement and in what ways I can help but I've been wanting to take part somehow and now is a good time to change that.  I would love to find a way for Tony and I to both get involved together, as well.
4. Speaking of getting involved in a Christ-centered relationship as a couple, I'd like to start reading a couples devotional with Tony, as well.  Since we don't wake up together, I figure it's something we can take turns reading at night and talk about how we can apply it to our lives the next day?  Another way of getting the ball rolling between Tony and I is by going over the order of the mass with him and helping him learn the prayers that we say every week.  He reads them out of the book at mass when we go, but there's just something about praying from your memory that ignites your heart and head into it as well (or at least it is that way for me).

And that's the ideas I have for now.   I don't want to limit myself to this list, however, so I'm open and looking for any and all suggestions.  Any ideas out there you'd care to share with me?  Like I said before, my relationship with Christ is something I need to start taking ownership of myself and it's not a fad or a phase I'm looking forward to "going through" - it's a change of lifestyle that I'm looking to maintain forever.  I think a lot about bringing someone new into our family and into this world and God is something that I want to be present for my baby.  I want to give her the opportunities I had growing up and I want to go to church as a family as well as educate her along the way so that when she gets old enough, she can make an educated decision on whether or not Catholicism is for her.  I already think about getting her baptized and what that will mean for Tony and I as well as for our little girl and I can't help but get giddy about envisioning the moment with family and friends around. 

I still remember what it was like when I got to witness Tony getting baptized.  It was such a wonderful experience & a beautiful mass; it brought tears to my eyes and really caused me to think about the implications of his decision and made me so proud of him.  It was equally wonderful to be his sponsor through it all and sit with him along his entire journey.  If we could do R.C.I.A. (aka, the Right of Christian Initiation of Adults) all over again, I would love that.  I learned so much and I feel like meeting weekly and focusing on Christ in discussion with others every week not only strengthened my faith but Tony & I's relationship as well.  I really am so lucky to have gone through that with him.

Anyways, I am totally babbling and have so many things I need to get accomplished rather than reflecting on all these wonderful things.  Thanks for reading (if you made it this far!) and I'd love to hear your ideas on how to live a more Christ-centered life, bloggies.

There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.  

       Corrie ten Boom