Hand-me-downs!

When we got home from church today Nolan was playing outside and I love his little outfit so much that I had to get some pictures of him. Then I realized that I didn't pay a dime for a piece of the clothing that he had on, because different people had given me their hand-me-downs. I just LOVE when people give me their clothes! I am always afraid that there will not be a "next time" and I will never be able to afford to keep him this cute! :) Until that happens, I am so thankful for how the Lord provides!

Polo shirt, seersucker pants, buck skin shoes...my biggest fear is that he is going to want to dress like a skater or goth one day! :)

Rocky was also a hand-me-down, so he has to make the post as well!

Brave Little Guy

Surgery went well this morning and we are home. We had to be there at 7:00, and thankfully he woke up on his own at about 6:50- we got him out of bed, loaded him into the car in his PJ's and walked in the door at 7:00. He was so great all morning. He happily sat on his daddy's lap (mama has NO lap currently) and played with his Dr. Bear and read books. They came to get him at 8:30 and we were back with him by 9:00. I was glad that they warned me that he would be groggy and cranky when he woke up because that was an understatement. He cried hard for about the next half hour. I think he was just confused and he really wanted the IV out of his hand. Once we got him home he drank his milk and ate some cereal and banana and was pretty much back to himself. We just put him down for his nap and he is exhausted. Hopefully he will sleep well. The doctor said that it was a cell growth on his palate and thinks that there is nothing to worry about but sent it off to pathology just to make sure. Thanks for all your prayers, we really appreciate it!

My Boys

Nolan...

Last week I took Nolan to his ENT (first of all, I never thought that my 19 month old would have a ENT that we are becoming quite familiar with) for a follow up appointment. A year ago I had discovered that he had a growth in the roof of his mouth. Last year his doctor diagnosed it as a torus palatinus- which is a fairly common bone growth that is usually no big deal. But when he looked at it last week he felt like it had changed and "looked a little funny", but thinks that it "looks benign" - always comforting words!! :) So he recommended that we go ahead and schedule surgery to have it removed. He also wanted a hearing test done to rule out that being a factor of his very limited speech. Thankfully, his hearing is perfect, which I suspected. Today they scheduled his surgery for this friday at 8:30. I think that is sounds like a fairly easy surgery and recovery, but he still has to go under anesthesia. That part makes me the most nervous. Feel free to pray!

Elliott...

I don't think that I have published the baby's name. It is Elliott Forrest. We just like the name Elliott (means The Lord is my God) and Forrest is Jerel's grandfather. So, now you know! :) Anyway, he is huge!! I am 35 weeks this week and he is measuring between 2-3 ahead of schedule. We are basically taking it week by week, but my doctor is already talking about inducing in the next few weeks. I really did not want to be induced this time- it just was not a great experience with Nolan. I want to trust the Lord with this and believe that he will come when he is suppose to. But, at the same time, I don't want to be dumb and have the world's largest baby. Other than that, Elliott is perfectly healthy and I am really feeling pretty good. At this point in my pregnancy with Nolan I was a few weeks deep into bed rest. PRAISE THE LORD that I am not on bed rest this time. It's actually been a fairly easy pregnancy, which I am so thankful for. So, please pray with me that this little guy will come on his own- or that I will have peace about whatever we are to do next.

Sorry that this is a wordy, picture-less post. I will get some pictures up this week at some point. Our kitchen is done and I love it! Well, I say done. What I mean is it is as done as it is going to get for now. A few other little project will have to happen somewhere down the road. I will share it with you later.

1st Day of School

...if you want to call it that. Today was Nolan's first day of pre-school. I decided to do one morning a week from 9-12. He loved it. Marched right in, and cried when I came back to take him home. I am afraid that we are going to have to up the number of days- but maybe he will be entertained by his little brother. Doubt it! :)

While he was at school, I made a quick trip to the grocery store and was able to paint his entire room. It is amazing how much you can get done when you are flying solo. Too bad I won't be solo for long. I plan on taking full advantage of my fridays until the baby is here.

Kitchen- before and during

Here are a few pictures from yesterday morning. We had already cleared out the kitchen, so it looks pretty sterile. This small wall is about to get knocked down.

This peninsula and 1980's cooktop are out of here!

Bye, bye white tile!

This is what it looked like this morning.

Already feels better without that 1/2 wall and peninsula.

Nolan thinks the whole thing is very fun.

This is my current make-shift kitchen. I keep telling myself that this is not forever. Right now Nolan is napping and they are tearing up tile. Lets see how long this lasts!

Pure Joy!

Today I had to take Rocky to the vet and my neighbor, "Mrs. Patty" offered to keep Nolan for me (different neighbor than the one who kept him while I was sick- I have the BEST neighbors!). I was more than happy to leave him . There is just nothing like trying to keep a 18 month old and active dog under control when you are huge-pregnant! When I came home I found Nolan running in the sprinklers having the time of his life in nothing but a t-shirt and diaper! He seriously couldn't have been happier. The pictures don't do him justice, but he was also covered in dirt. Sounds like a good afternoon to me! :)

On a fun side note- today I was on the phone with a friend who is a missionary overseas (A&G) and when I got off the phone Nolan said "Bye". So I explained to him that our friends were over there telling people about Jesus. Nolan kept saying "Jesus, Jesus" (which sounds more like Jeeze, Jeeze). Now this child WILL NOT/cannot say Mama or Dada, but wants to say Jesus. I'll take it!! :)

18 months

It's a rare morning at our house. It is 7 am and I am the only one awake...including Rocky! But, I am just at that place in pregnancy where sleeping is more a chore than anything. AND it has been a rough week around here. Monday night Nolan woke up with a stomach bug- which is the first time in his little life so I was washing sheets, etc. until 2. He had fallen asleep on Jerel and all seemed to be over. Wednesday at 3 in the afternoon it hit me like a freight train- but I was so thankful that my sweet husband was home to take care of me and our child. That lasted all of 2 blissful hours until he got sick as well. I don't think that I have ever been so sick in my life and Jerel still feels like his ribs are bruised. It was violent. Nolan kept bringing me books to read him, and I was just thankful that I have them all memorized. We survived by the grace of God until 7 when I could put Nolan down for the night. He ate ritz-bits and cheese for dinner. That was all I could muster up. Then next morning one of my neighbors came over and took Nolan for the morning and I slept the entire day. I am so thankful for great neighbors, that is one of the reasons that we decided on this house. So, it's two days later and I feel...ok. I think that recovering from something like that when you are 8 months pregnant is just a little tricky.

In the middle of all of this was Nolan's 18 month milestone. Lets just say, there was no celebration. :) I have been reading that 18 months is where you start to see a big developmental change in your child. It really is true. It amazed me how much he comprehends. However, he is a little delayed on his speech and is fairly frustrated that he can't communicate what he knows he wants. We have a speech therapist, whom he loves, and he is making strides in this area. I am so thankful for sign language. He picks up on that really quickly. Food is still a difficult subject. He use to gag on most solid things, and now that he no longer does that I think that he is just afraid of food. We have a therapist for that as well!! :) It is going to be a long, slow road. He did start to eat PB&J which was HUGE, but has refused that for the past two weeks now. Such a bummer. I just try to not stress over it and trust that he is getting enough nutrition. Other that that, he is a perfect, normal little boy. He makes me laugh all the time, loves to dance, will have me read to him all day, has no time for TV, he would have to actually sit down to watch it, and loves loves loves his daddy and dog! This poor little guy's world is going to be rocked in a few months! :) One day he will thank me for his little brother! I took him for his well check yesterday and he weighed in at 27 lbs. (66%) and is 34 inches long (97%). I totally can't carry him for very long.

Well, the husband and dog are up and the little boy is stirring. Time to get the day started. Hope you have a good weekend.