My Husband's Mini-Me

So, everyone is always telling me how much William looks like me, and I just don't see it. Okay, so maybe he has my eyes, but that's about it...I was printing some photos of Grant and I for William's birthday, and I wanted to print out one of us at a year old, so we could all compare to William at a year old at his birthday party.

I started thumbing through the photos that I had, and I came across this photo of Grant. A couple of different ones actually, and William looks exactly like Grant. His mouth, chin and cheeks, brow line, hair, etc. I totally think he's Grant's Mini-Me! :)

Master 4-H Camp at Jekyll Island 4-H Center

As a kid, I was very active in Georgia 4-H, and I often got picked on, because it was known as the club for the "nerds" or "the club where you show animals". Well, I never showed any animals, but I judged them, and I don't think I was a nerd, but I was very involved, and I enjoyed it so much. I feel like a great part of my success is attributed to my participation in 4-H. I learned so much from team work to public speaking.

As a 4-H'er, when you win a state event, you receive the title "Master", because you have mastered a skill. You are then part of the Master 4-H Club. In high school, I mastered five times, in the following areas...

- Wildlife Judging
- Poultry Judging
- Scholarship
- Project Achievement
- Dairy Quiz Bowl

I was also a member of my area's District Board, as well as, a Camp Counselor at Rock Eagle for two summers. I taught swimming and was a life guard both years. If you have any questions about 4-H, let me know. I love it, and I hope to volunteer in my local 4-H club. In addition, I also started the Need a Computer project in my county, and it's grown throughout the state of GA.

Okay, I'll continue...this post wasn't intended to be about my love of 4-H, but every year since probably freshman year of high school, my family has attended Master 4-H Camp on Jekyll Island. We enjoy it so much, and it's a reunion with other Master 4-H'ers, as well as, a last get away for the summer! Now that we live about half an hour away, it's not so much a getaway, and we spend the night at our house, but we still go over and spend time at the 4-H center. It's fun, and I look forward to seeing my boys grow up and be part of the 4-H program. I'll wrap up with some photos at Jekyll from this weekend! :)

 

 

My Little Man

In less than one month, my baby will turn 1. I cannot believe it, and I'm already starting to get a bit emotional that we are on the countdown to his first birthday. I believe that I'll be crying, for sure! I'll post a more detailed update shortly with his 11 month statistics and what he's doing, as well as, a post on what we eat and how that's changed since William was born, but for now, here are some iPhone photos from the past week.

Snack after 'school' on the kitchen floor with Big Brother

Dermatologist's Office...He made everyone laugh and smile!

 Sleeping with his mouth pressed to his crib slats! He is a mess!

My two boys! That's over 50 pounds of sweet boys! :)

William at 10 Months

I'm having a hard time with the fact that my baby will be 1 year old in just 1.5 months. I still remember Weston turning 1 like it was yesterday, and he's now over 2.5. Where does the time go?! I'm going to say this probably every month. A good friend of mine told me this morning, as she dropped her son off at kindergarten, that it all goes by too quickly, and it's not going to be long before I am dropping my babies off at school, as well. Here I go again...tears coming to my eyes, and I'm getting choked up. :(

Milestones:

• Weighs I think 20-21 lbs, and I have no idea how long he is. We won't measure his length again until his 1 year doctor's appointment. GASP! 
• William is learning to be a fantastic eater, but he's not a huge fan of vegetables. His typical day looks like this:
• AM - Starts off with a breakfast snack with Daddy and Weston followed by nursing with Mommy. Then, he heads off to school. At school, he usually has greek yogurt with fruit and his water cup. 
• Midday - He has lunch, either what the school is serving or what I bring, and his milk cup. He has a cup of breastmilk that I pack for him each day.
• Afternoon Snack - He has a bottle and a small afternoon snack. 
• Dinner - He has whatever we are all eating for dinner with a sippy cup of water. 
• Before bed - He nurses before bed, then goes straight to sleep.

• He is still only breastfeeding, and he's not had any formula at this point. I don't have any more frozen milk, so I'm supplementing with raw goat's milk and some coconut milk. He seems to be doing well with both of those. We've decided to avoid milk for meals, and we are going to stick to almond, goat or coconut milk even after he turns 1 year old.
• You are still wearing Size 4 diapers, and 12 month or 12-18 month clothes, as well as, some 9 month clothes depending on the brand.
• William is crawling, pulling up on everything, climbing and walking along while holding on to something. He's walking and pushing his walker, and I know that it's not going to be long before he's a full-time walker. 
• He is now saying "DaDa" and "MaMa", but he doesn't say anything else yet. He babbles and talks constantly though. He's much louder than Weston ever was, but I think Weston makes up for it now, so William is trying to get some attention, as well.
• You now have three teeth, and we look forward to the arrival of more over the next few months. We are a bit over the teething and drool. :)

Tears

I used to laugh at my mother when she would cry about silly things...I remember watching movies with her or even reading the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books out loud to her as a young girl, and she would always cry. My sister and I poked fun at her, and we couldn't believe that she could cry at things that at the time we couldn't imagine crying about.

Now, here I am after two children, and I will cry at almost anything. I read a blog about someone moving to a new city, and I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I think about something that's not even really sad, and it can make me tear up. I watch a sad movie, and I cry. I hear about anyone particularly children that are sick, and I cry. I hear about families that have a sick parent with young children or a parent that has passed away, and I sob.

I do not understand what is wrong with me! Is it the hormones?! It started as I got older, but after two kids, it's unstoppable. Maybe it's because I worry for my children and my family, and I worry about what would happen to them if something happened to Grant or I. I feel so incredibly blessed and undeservingly so...God has blessed us so immensely, and he's given me the perfect family who I love for and care for with all of my heart. I know that God will provide, and he has a plan for us always. I'm going to be doing a weekend project with Weston on Saturday, and I'm excited to share it with you all.

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:2-12 

Here are some links to some posts that I've seen recently that just have me choked up and nearly in tears:
- Video to 1st Son announcing 2nd Pregnancy  
 
- Her son starting Kindergarten...I can't even imagine and don't want to think about it. :)

- On being a Zombie Mommy (I can so relate...shh, but William almost never sleeps through the night at 10.5 months old. ):)

- On God & Family

William at 9 Months

I cannot believe that my "baby" and last baby is already 3/4 of a year old. In just two and a half short months, he's going to be a year old. Where has time gone?! Why is it going by so quickly? I'm ready for Baby #3, but Grant has assured me that we are done having children, so William is our last baby. It's probably best for the sake of our house, our car, our dog, our finances, our relationship and our sanity. We love our little guys, but they keep us on our toes, constantly!!

Milestones:

• Weighs 19 pounds & 7 ounces; 28.5 inches long
• William isn't a great eater, and he refuses all baby food. He actually refuses anything that you have to feed him. He loves to pick up foods and eat them, and he's doing very well with his pincher grasp. He's loving puffs right now, and he'd like to eat those for every meal.
• He is still only breastfeeding, and he's not had any formula at this point. I'm running low on my frozen milk stores though, so we'll see how far I can make it!

• He's doing great with his sippy cup, and he picks it up consistently and drinks both breastmilk and water from his cup. 
• You are wearing Size 4 diapers, and 12 month or 12-18 month clothes, as well as, some 9 month clothes depending on the brand.
• William is crawling, pulling up on everything, climbing and walking along while holding on to something. I was really hoping that we'd have a bit longer before he mastered all of those items. He's into everything. I walked into the Master Bathroom the other day, and he'd climbed up on the ledge, and he'd turned the water on in our bathroom.

• He's so far not received any bruises that I know of, because he's extremely careful. Weston was all over the place, and he had all kinds of bumps and bruises. William slowly eases himself down after he's pulled up on something. It's bizarre!
• He does get bruises regularly though, because he has a big brother who continues to sit on him, knock him over, close coolers on his fingers, etc.
• He chooses his favorite toys based on what Weston is playing with...as you can imagine, this is not fun and frustrates Weston!

• William is babbling constantly, and he's said 'dada' but he's no closer to saying 'mama' than Weston was at his age. :(
• He's getting really good at clapping and waving, and I can't  believe he's becoming so much fun and interacting with us so much. It's such a fun age! 
• You still only have two teeth. We were hoping that more would've made their appearance, so we are patiently waiting for some to arrive.

The best "things" that ever happened to me...

These boys light up my life and make me smile when I'm having a bad day! I can't believe I'm a mommy of two sweet little boys. Though they both have their moments and challenge me daily, we have more good moments than bad, and I'm so grateful for the blessing of their little lives.

Psalm 127:3-5  Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.