Not To Worry

I have always known that God tells us not to worry, but as a momma I find myself dreading and yes worrying about some of the milestones in my young babies' lives.
Both of these little guys love their blankets (which they call blue) and they both LOVE-D their pacifiers. I took Sam's pacifier away at about 18 months. He cried for about 45 min. on and off the first two times he needed to go to sleep without it. After those two times he settled in with only his blanket and went to sleep.
But for a mom listening to a crying baby, it is like someone is taking my nerves and winding them up into a ball and letting them fly across the room. After I had let Sam cry for about 15 min. the first time, I called Scott. He advised me to go in and give it to him. To which I responded, I CAN NOT go through this again, and I think it is almost over. Just talk to me while I try to help him through this.
Anyway, with that past experience, you can imagine that I was less than excited to see the 18 month mark pop up with Davis. I have been thinking about it and trying to decide when I would have to do it and all of those type things (worrying) I have always been thankful we ditched it when we did with Sam, b/c her started trying to talk through it and with walking, you never know where they might end up.
The other night, I had to go out and didn't make it home until almost 9:30. When I got home, Scott had put both boys to bed.
In casual conversation about the nights events, he mentions "Oh, I forgot to give Davis his Pacifier and by the time a remembered, I didn't want to go in and disturb him." Then he was on to the next topic.
I was like WHAT!?!?!!? He went to sleep without a pacifier tonight without crying or anything! In the back of my mind I thought, he must have found a passy in the bed.
When I went in the next morning to get him, there was no sign of a passy.
That was 2 days ago and he hasn't had one since!!!! He goes right to bed without crying today he was even smiling. There have been a few times when I wished I could plug his little mouth, but we are making it through. He has only asked for it a few times and he doesn't sleep as long, b/c he doesn't have it to suck on and go back to sleep.

I CAN NOT complain and I need to remember that God is in charge and He can ALWAYS take care of us and our problems, no matter how big or small.
I do have to add that prior to all of this he has stood at his bed with his blanket and turned on his music and yelled, "momma ni ni" (night, night), several times when I am a little late getting him in bed. So he does know what it means to be tired and ready for bed, apparently with or without a pacifier, it is time for bed.

Salt, Sand, and New Teeth

Boys don't need kisses :)















As most of you know we just got back from the beach. We went with Colby and Melissa (Scott's brother and his wife)
It was a lot of fun to go with them. They are expecting their first baby boy in Nov. I am afraid we may have overwhelmed them on the reality of child care while down there. I reassured them that having one is a lot easier than having two, and they would be able to work up to having two when they were ready.
Let me give you some of the overwhelming stories they encountered while with us. Davis did a lot of random screaming and didn't want to eat at meal time (which made our suppers a little crazy) b/c he cut 4 eye teeth while we were there. I could not see these teeth when we left on Mon. and they are half way through (all 4 of them) now.
Another effect of this teething process is VERY loose diapers. Two days in a row we had to leave the pool with a leaking diaper and one of these diapers blistered his bottom before we could change him.
So added to the teething he now has a sore bottom.
Twice on our trip home he had a diaper overflow. The second one led us to pull over on the side of the interstate for immediate attention. It had leaked down his leg, in his seat, and had ended up in his hand. CLOROX WIPES ARE THE BEST INVENTION. I noticed the smell first and turned to ask Davis is he had pooped and about that time Melissa said "I SMELL something" I hoped it wouldn't make the pregnant woman sick b/c it was grossing me out pretty badly.
Sam only had to be in trouble a few times, which helped ease the struggle we were having with little Davis.
Our lovely beach pictures up there came with a good bit of sweat and patience. Considering the conditions, I think that we got some beautiful shots, thanks to God's gorgeous sunset and ocean scene. As you will be able to see, Davis was a little less than cooperative and Sam wanted to look at the sand on almost every picture. If you plan to get beach pictures, I do not recommend hitting the beach with children any earlier than 6:30 this time of yr.


The times we hung out on the beach were AWESOME. Both of the boys loved the sand and played without complaint for hours. Davis had sand from head to toe to mouth and loved it! He also got tickled when the waves rolled up on his feet. Sam loved throwing the sand in the water and digging holes. Once the holes were dug Davis wanted to get in them. Every morning Sam got up with his boat and wanted to get in the "fwimming pool" or go to "da beach" Davis walked all the way from the beach shore to the pool in a short 20 min. I LOVED watching him toddle the whole way. When we got to the pool, he walked by the radio and started to break it down to the music. Both boys were always more than happy to see uncle "Toby" as sam calls him. The first morning we woke up at home, we heard Sam singing "toby's" name.




If I had remembered to put sunscreen on my back on the second day and Cloby hadn't burned his shoulders, I think we would have been out on the beach every day until Scott got out of his conference.
I have never been to the beach when there were no real waves until this trip. It was the strangest thing, but I think it had something to do with Fay coming through. We left the morning she was suppose to arrive, there were double red flags flying on the beach.

We loved our trip and our time with Colby and Melissa. We will look back and laugh at how much our trip experiences change as the kids get older. But for now, I am so glad that we have opportunities to experience these things with our family.

Be Careful WHAT little Eyes See

Twice yesterday, I noticed Sam's little brown eyes watching and learning. The first time was at the lunch table. We went to eat lunch with Dad at work. Of course, by the time I had gotten thru the line and had everyone situated, everyone else at the table had been eating for about 10 min. When Scott and I sat down and started to say the prayer to ourselves, I peeked up to see Sam with a confused look on his face b/c no one else at the table was praying with us. I realized he had never been in a situation like that, when we pray before a meal everyone normally had their head bowed. I explained to him that those guys had already "talked to God" because they were eating. He seemed satisfied with the explanation. Then that night I had been cooking for a family from church all afternoon and had to finish the pie and take the food over to their house. On a side note Davis stands at his booster seat and cries while I cook, b/c he wants to eat. (Which is the opposite of what Sam did at his age) Anyway, needless to say they weren't going to be able to eat with Mom tonight, there was no waiting on me to take the food over, Davis was STARVING. Scott had everyone seated at the table and I was still standing at the sink mixing the pie. When I heard Scott begin to pray, I stopped what I was doing to bow my head and as I did I peeked over to see brown eyes watching me to see my reaction. This was a big reminder to me that my true character is seen through a child's eyes. They know when we are fake and when we live the life that we are training them to lead. What a responsiblity we have as parents! Little eyes also watch their big brothers and learn from them. A few days ago, the boys had gotten undressed to get into the tub. Sam went to the potty and baby Davis (who now stands and walks) stood beside him to see what he was doing. He watched intently and then began to wet the floor b/c he was a little to short to reach the potty like Sam. He saw what he was suppose to do there and did it :)

LOVE

Ahhhh, this was like in 1999




As I folded a million clothes and the kids played at my feet this morning, I started thinking about love.
There are so many forms of it and so many ways to describe it. So this post could be extremely long if I wanted it to be.
But in my thought process I was evaluating my love for Scott and how we show one another our love.
Two of my friends in the past (who just so happen to both be Haley ladies) have described it two ways that I think about often.
Becky said "I show him love every day in the little things, like turning his socks right-side-out before I fold them." Vicki said "He shows he loves us when he sneaks quietly out the door to work and I hear his key slide into the lock and lock it back to keep us safe as he leaves."
So on the days that Scott and I don't get to tell one another we love each other or even show one another we love each other. I think of those "little things" Hence the name of the blog. Then that settles my mind and helps me when I feel less than appreciated or that I my job as his wife may be falling behind to keep up with my job as mother, friend, sister, daughter, etc.
As I folded clothes I thought (What things DO I do to show Scott I love him without using words.) and (What does he do for me?)
This will not be all of the things he does, but it will be a few things I want to remember often.
He shows his love when he points out, as often as he thinks of them, places that I need to be extra careful to keep me safe. Like an intersection or stop sign. He is the type of guy who looks out for me when I am not paying attention to where I am going. There have been many times that he has kept me from running smack into a pole while walking (graceful I know) He also puts a hand in front of me or leads the way while in a crowd to keep other people from running over me.
When he knows I have had a hard day, he will take the kids without my asking to play some place different.
I think for him, his first instinct isn't always to give me a hug or a kiss, but to try and help me in some way.
He also cleans out the dishwasher or folds the laundry when he sees I haven't gotten to it. Which is such a nice break from my everyday routine.
I on the other hand know that he would most like my attention.
So I guess I show him my love most when I take time to sit down and spend time with him. Whether it be on the couch or outside or even going some place. Scott gets stir crazy when we have spent a few Sat. in a row doing normal every day things. He loves to get out and take a drive to anywhere.
For him attention doesn't always mean that we are talking about something in depth, it just means that I am there with him.

I think we compliment one another in these things. I try to over do on the everyday things and he reminds me to slow down and enjoy our family.
He would prefer going some place fun every time he is off work and I help bring him back to reality.
Both things are very important, but it is just as important to remember this quality in each other.
I look forward to the years ahead with him! I hope that God sees fit for me to keep him by my side the whole way through my life here on Earth. I love him so much and I REALLY don't know how to live my life without him.


Almost 10 yrs. later :)

Some Days Are Harder than Others

This morning I woke up with high hopes for getting a lot done today. How quickly a mother's plans can change. Our plans were to run to two stores this morning and pick up supplies for a shower I am hosting this weekend, then meet Leslie and the kids for lunch at 11:00, go from there to meet the guys at the bowling alley for a quick game, and then go home for a nap.
As I left my house at 10:30, after a crazy morning of feeding them breakfast and dressing them, I realized I wasn't going to have time to run the errands. Then I found out Scott had a meeting that was running behind so he wouldn't be able to go bowling. So I decided to go straight to eat and then run errands.
When we got to Chik-fil-a we had a good but crazy lunch, which we should expect with 4 children :) I think we did get a few sentences out between being mommies.
Then as I started cleaning up to go, neither child wanted to leave the slide room. I thought about letting them play a little bit longer, but realized that Davis had filled his diaper and Sam was doing the pee pee dance. Still neither child wanted to leave voluntarily. So I carried one and drug the other, both wiggling and whining through the lunch time crowd to the potty. Sam still fought it but went to the potty as I cleaned Davis.
At the time I thought the worst must be over, but I didn't realize I was leaving my wipes behind in the Chik-Fil-a bathroom.
I had to turn on the DVD to keep them awake b/c both are ready for a nap. We went to the store where I had big decisions to make and I ended up needing to call and ask a second opinion from another hostess. Two times since I have been in the store, I have asked Sam if he needed to go potty and 2 times he said no. As I hung up the phone with my friend, I see that look on Sam's face and he says "I poopin'"

AAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!


We ran to the bathroom were I discover he wasn't telling a story and while I am trying to clean him up he is sitting on the pot still going and talking. As I turn to get my wipes to wash him down, I realize I left them behind and do not have them!!! Thank goodness they had paper towels and soap!!!!! He said, "I sorry momma" and I calmed back down and reminded myself that he IS 3 yrs old.
We finally leave that store and get out at the next. Both boys are ready for bed and cranky so I am going in and out, right, wrong. We get to the front corner of the store opposite the bathroom that is all the way in the back and Sam says "I need go tee tee, right now" with the same look on his face. Here we go again, running thru the store. He did make it this time and I finally got them home and in the bed. You know, some days are better than others. :)

HE IS FINALLY WALKING!!!

My baby Davis decided to let go and not only take one step but take 20 steps across our hotel room in Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!!!! As most of you know his walking has been a major source of concern for us lately. We even went to the DR. about it a few weeks back. He has an app. scheduled in a few weeks with a foot Dr. to make sure that he doesn't have something wrong with his feet. So, long story short, I am sure you can only imagine our reaction to that little boy walking clear across the room! It was like we had just won a million $ or something. He let go and stood there, then smiled the whole way to his dad's arms for a hug. He slowed down and wobbled a couple of times and he held his arms out straight in front of him, like he was holding a ball. The ladies at church are calling him Frankenbaby. :) It was the most beautiful sight :)


I am not positive about this, but it seems as though he was waiting for his big brother to be far and away. When he finally got the confidence to go for it, Sam was asleep up high in the bed where Davis couldn't see him. It was also adorable to see Sam's reaction to seeing his brother walk for the first time. He was squealing and laughing and calling for me and Scott to watch "Dabis walking"

Even though Sam runs over his little brother quite often, times like those help to remind us how much he loves him too.

This morning I couldn't stop laughing at Davis "running" or so he thought from Sam who was riding his tractor through the house. He would squeal and shake and I know in his mind he was running. I am soooo excited to see what lies ahead with these two brothers!! Another prayer answered, isn't our God Awesome!
Try not to listen to the crazy momma talking in the video, I was still pretty excited.

One More To Try

One of my newest friends told me about another program that has been a lot of fun to play with. This one is free as well, it is called:

scrapblog.com

You can go there and do lots of fun things with your pictures. It is a lot like scrapbooking but electronically. I hope you like it!!!