A few things I love about my 16-month-old son

When we have our outdoor time every day, he relishes everything about it. I guess it is one of those things where I'm seeing the world again through his eyes, but whatever is going on, I find I enjoy doing nothing more than standing outside a lot more than I ever have before.

He has a handsome face. I apologize in advance for broken hearts that might occur as a result of this face.

He has the tiniest bit of a shy streak. It is the part of me that snuck into his gene pool.

My Monday morning grocery shopping took over an hour this morning, and he quietly set in the grocery cart an chomped on some snacks the whole time. As every mother knows, this is something to really, really love.

Happy Valentine's Day from Shepherd

Last year, Shepherd was too small to do much more than wear a cute onesie for Valentine's Day. This year, he got his first official Valentine's gift! It was a card and a box of chocolate's from his Mamm and Pap Pierce. Here are a few pictures of my kiddo enjoying the loot. If he likes eating the box this much, just think how happy he'll be when I let him open it!



Also, as a side note, Tuesdays happen to be laundry day at our house, and laundry day happens to be Shepherd's favorite day. The fact that Valentine's Day landed on a Tuesday is just icing on the cake for Shepherd. So here are some pictures of Shepherd doing what Shepherd loves doing the most: playing with dirty laundry.

On expecting my second child

I just did the pony-tail band loop on my blue jean's button for the first time this pregnancy. It is one of those we-really-are-having-a-baby moments.

Pregnancy number two has been much more surreal than my pregnancy with Shepherd. I don't know if it is because it happened so much sooner than we expected or because we had a miscarriage scare early on (a long story for another time), but it is really hard to believe that we will soon be the four of us. Perhaps, that is why I haven't blogged on this pregnancy quite as much. It hasn't sunk in yet.

That being said, the important things have been the same with this pregnancy. I find myself day-dreaming about who he or she might be. I love reading what size it is with each passing week (right now, he or she is the size of an avocado). I am itching to start the nesting process and get a space and essential items ready (this will kick off in a few weeks when we find out gender). But mostly, I just find myself in the mushy process of falling for a child I can only imagine, a process also known as pregnancy. Despite the surreal-ness of the pregnancy, this is exactly were I want to be.

Oh no.

Shepherd learned how to take his pants off a couple of months ago. He learned how to take his shirt off this evening. We are in a world of trouble. Suffice it to say that for the next five years or so, my kid will be the naked one.

Why we probably shouldn't get a real puppy until Shepherd is a little older

"All done" my foot

Late Sunday evening, BJ, Shepherd, and I returned from a week long trip visiting BJ's family in Northern Indiana. I would like to say is was a lovely trip, and it was in that we got to spend time with family, but other than that, it was a disaster in every way. I'm talking delayed flights, flying all over the country, lost luggage, and lots and lots of vomiting. I'll leave out the gore-y details and stop there.

Suffice it to say, Shepherd was still fighting the Gensic Stomach Bug of 2012 when we arrived home. After a week of periodically being thrown up on and just plain hurting for my son who had been sick for a week, I've been extremely strict about his diet over the past two days. Small amounts of bland food every few hours. That's it. Shepherd, who has always had a healthy appetite, has just about had enough. He is starting to communicate his frustration.

Tuesday morning, I prepared a small bowl of oatmeal. After Shepherd had consumed two thirds of it, I decided he should probably step on the brakes. After I declared, "All done," and put down the spoon, Shepherd stretched as tall as he could in his high chair, peeked over the edge of the bowl, saw the remaining oatmeal, looked up at me, and pointed quite clearly. His look was nothing if not accusatory. I ended up feeding him the rest of the oatmeal, and thankfully, he managed to keep it down.

Despite the general disaster of our vacation, there were some fun times. It snowed significantly while we were up there, so Shepherd got to play in the snow for a while. In closing, here is a picture of my little guy in the snow. Maybe it will erase the image of so very many people up-chucking.

Payback

Here are some of the things my brother did to me when I was a child:

1. Throw me across the living room.

2. Stand me between two trees and kick soccer balls at me as hard as he possible could.

3. Built a house out of couch cushions, put me in it, and jump on it with as much force as he could possibly muster.

4. Leave me outside in a wheel barrel I could not get out of while he ran to the bathroom (aka watched a Cubs game).

5. Lock me in our bathroom during my favorite cartoons with the entirely nonsensical outside lock on our bathroom door.

6. Pelt me with pecans anytime I ventured outdoors.

I could go on, but we'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, payback has come to greet my brother. This payback comes in the form of a cute little boy who has no concept of personal space. It comes in the form of my son.

So after years and years of torture, justice has been served. As I have mentioned before, my son doesn't exactly smell good, so trust me, my brother is in a world of hurt in that second photo. And as for me, I'm just sitting back enjoy the view of all thing being put right by mamma's little boy.

Who is this toddler, and what did he do with my sweet baby?

It is becoming increasingly more evident that I'm no longer dealing with a baby. Somewhere along the way in these past 14-1/2 months, my baby became a toddler. It is a terrifying development, but it is impossible to deny. Here are just a handful of things that babies don't do that my son does, and thus, leads me to the conclusion that he is now a toddler:

1. Babies don't run as fast as they can from their mothers when they have acquired some little treasure they don't won't to relinquish, such as chokeable-sized rocks or dried dog poop.

2. Babies don't lift the lid on the toilet and splash the water or drop toys in it to save for later.

3. Babies don't smell this bad. What is it about little boys that they smell so bad?

4. Babies don't scream, "Da!" and try to wiggle out of their mothers grasp in the middle of church because they just discovered their dad is the preacher.

5. Babies don't demand that you read the same 4 or 5 books 5 or 20 times a day every day. And reading a book to your son isn't exactly something you can say no to.

Given that babies do none of these things and my son does all of these things, I'd say I have a toddler on my hands. I really don't know when he grew up. But the good news is, despite all the ornery behavior, he has somehow managed to become cuter than ever. Also, babies don't run up to you and give you tight hugs and wet kisses about every half hour, which is food for my nauseated, exhausted, first-trimester-of-pregnancy soul. Overall, I guess I can learn to live with this particular development.

Christmas 2011

This Christmas has been a blessing in many ways. In no particular order, here are five blessings of this holiday season.

1. On the first Sunday of advent season, BJ and I got this:If the joy and anticipation of a second child isn't a blessing, I don't know what is. I am 9-1/2 weeks along, and our due date is July 23rd!

2. This was my first Christmas hosting at my own home. Due to all-day morning sickness for the past four weeks, I was totally useless, but it was still wonderful having my family in my home for a holiday. And of course, my work horses of a mother and father made up for my inability to do much more than lay around and moan.

3. This was also our first Christmas with my brother's fiance, Stephanie. She entertained Shepherd during the moments my nausea subsided enough for me to get in the kitchen, did a lot of her own delicious cooking to contribute to our feast, and washed lots and lots of dishes. Like I said, this is a list of blessings.
4. Yet another first, this was our first Christmas to share with our new church family. The Christmas Eve service was touching and a wonderful reminder of what we were all celebrating in the first place. Just in case you were wondering, we did wake Shepherd up and take him to the service. He was in a daze the whole hour, so we are pretty sure he thought it was a really bazaar dream. Here is a picture of our family at church Christmas morning, and for the record, my appearance in this picture is not due to over-indulgence over the holidays, but rather to the fact that woman show a lot earlier in second pregnancies.
5. And last but not least, Shepherd was, as always, a blessing to watch this Christmas. He still is too young to really get the whole present thing, but his personality is developing in big ways, and he did really enjoy studying all of his new toys. So on that note, here are some pictures of our little guy playing with his loot.

A Very Important Announcement

Just in case you haven't heard yet, my brother and his girlfriend, Stephanie, got engaged last weekend. Wedding plans have begun, and we are all so excited! Shepherd is so very happy to be gaining an aunt. The more people to dote on him, the happier he is.

So congratulations Bro and Stephanie! We love you guys! Here is a not-so-good picture of all of us from last summer.

It couldn't possibly be two weeks

It is amazing how fast time flies between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm sorry it has been 2 weeks since I posted, but I'm afraid I've spent the last week in the nearly internet-less abyss of Menard. It was relaxing and wonderful, but I guess I better get back on the ball.

My mother got on to me while I was in Menard for not bringing my camera and for never doing blog posts on my trips down there. So to make up for it, here are a few poignant and deeply moving (though pictureless) points about my week in Menard.

1. Shepherd's cheeks are a little chubbier after a week in Menard. For every meal, he had total access to three plates as well as his own. And if you know anything about my son, you know that where there is food, he is there to eat it.

2. I got to eat all the Southern food I love that BJ is not too keen on. One night, we had pinto beans and corn bread. It was divine. Shepherd ate a full serving and then some.

3. I was lazier than any one has a right to be last week. One day, Shepherd and I were both still in our pajamas when Mom and Dad got home for their lunch hour. That just isn't like me.

4. While Shepherd relentlessly ran around creating complete and total chaos, my parents kept marveling that they don't remember me ever doing these things. I have already concluded that Shepherd got almost nothing from me, but I've also concluded that I'm perfectly fine with that. He is so his own person, and it is just fascinating to watch the big personality God made growing in Shepherd. He is a hand full, but we are all having fun chasing him.

5. Speaking of Shepherd being a hand full, he has decided that he does not like having poopy diapers changed. His response is to cry while doing everything in his power to escape. One day, I was needing to make some phone calls, so Mom and Dad were watching him. When I was done, I walked in their room to find them changing a poopy diaper. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, Shepherd was hanging halfway off the bed screaming with his little naked hind end sticking up in the air, and Mom and Dad where just trying to get wet wipes out as quickly as possible. By the time they finally finished, my Dad said, "I don't remember you or your brother doing that." I have a funny feeling we never did.

A wonderful Thanksgiving

One of the many bonuses of living in Oklahoma is that we are no longer so far away from many of our closest friends. In fact, we are now a pretty even halfway point between two of our favorite couples: Josh, Allison, and their 8-month old daughter, Emily, in Lubbock and Jeff and Rebekah in Houston. This Thanksgiving, we spent the holiday with these very wonderful people. Here is a brief synopsis.

Of course, most of the week was spent watching Emily and Shepherd and their budding friendship. This is the picture we will use at their wedding (hehe).
After getting better acquainted, Shepherd decided to sit on Emily.

After escaping the bazaar behavior of my goofy son, Emily likely questioned the wisdom of this friendship.
The adults played lots of board games. Their was a lot of strategizing going on.
Thanksgiving day brought beautiful weather, so Allie and I took the babies to the park. I ran around chasing my little guy trying to keep him from eating all the mulch,...

...while Emily and Allie basked in the sun.
Throughout the day, we three ladies cooked. We cooked a lot of food. A whole lot of food.

BJ, however, did the turkey. It was his first attempt, and it was delicious.
Soon after dark on Thanksgiving day, we sat down to a HUGE meal. Shepherd ate and ate and ate. He literally had three helpings of dressing and gravy. He is such a pig.

Before Jeff and Rebekah headed out on Saturday, we managed to get a group pictures. Emily was really into the whole picture thing.

All and all, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone for the cooking, gaming, and fun times. And thanks to Allie for taking better pictures than mine (most of these came from her). I hope everyone else's holiday was as good as ours. Now I'm ready to get started on Christmas!

First Drawing

The other day, I took a pen, positioned it in Shepherd's cute little chubby hand and started drawing with him. After just a little bit, I let go and watched him do his first drawing all by himself. I then framed it and put it on the desk where I do all of my artwork. I am both a proud mommy and a proud artist. Go son!

The reason I'm behind on posting

Christmas season is approaching (yay!), so I've been trying to get some stationary up on my shop for gifts. Of course, that means doing the artwork, assembling the cards, taking pictures, editing pictures, and then posting them on Etsy. To make it all more interesting, Shepherd has started walking (running, really) this week, so I'm busier than ever. So anyways, I should be getting more cards up over the next few days. Keep an eye out for them! Here are a few shots of some cards that will be going up soon:

Exploring (Taste-Testing) with Shepherd

Shepherd is starting to really like spending time outside. I really like watching him spend time outside. Partially, this is the wonder of seeing a child discover the world. Also partially, it is because he looks so cute in his little coat and tennis shoes. Allow me to demonstrate:

When we venture out into the great outdoors, Shepherd starts examining everything: dirt, rocks, leaves, everything.

Then, he starts eating it.

To distract him from eating everything, we brought his walker out.

Unfortunately, while walking with his walker, he spotted a dandelion.

So he ate it.

He then resumed his search for more culinary delights (think rocks).

I'm not sure what he was doing here, but I hope this is him telling us that he found the taste of some of the dirt wanting.

To top off this particular outing outside, I took a picture of my two favorite guys.

I then joined the photo time myself, but that just made it crazy. Sometimes, I have that affect on them.