Rain, Rain Go Away #3

Today was one of those dreary, gloomy days.  The ones where you say the night before you are going to do this, this, this and this.  Then you wake up and sing The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars.  You know the one that says, "today I don't feel like doing anything..."  Even Eli was sleepy today.  My little snuggle bug sat in my lap, watched tv, babbled and had many conversations about life and it's meaning.  I might not understand everything he says, but by his facial expressions, Eli sure thinks he is telling me something. Then again, Eli has been known for his facial expressions since day 1.

So today consisted of messy spaghetti lunches, Backyardigans, a couple naps and lots of mommy/son time.  I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world and it sure makes me dread going back to work.  I miss being a stay at home mommy...

Project 100...

I just read a friends blog and got inspired with her post about Project 365.  She said a lot of people started blogging once a day for an entire year (hence the name) and the blog showed pictures and said a little bit about what occured each day.  At first I thought that's a great idea!  I love it!  I could so do that!

Then...I came back to reality and although I LOVE the thought of blogging everyday, I think mine might have to be titled Project 100.  With my new year resolutions like eating healthy, working out and staying on top of lesson plans, etc. there is only so much time in a day after I get home in the afternoon.  SO, if I call mine Project 100 and actually do post 365 I will be such an overachiever. :)

Today I am starting with a few pictures from our Sea World trip of one happy little boy.  On the way to the park...maybe just a little excited.

Once we got there, we put Eli in his stroller.  Thank goodness he loves it.

Having an elementary school teaching background, I have such a soft spot for the Polar Express.  I just love the magic that it brings at Christmas time for kids.  It gives them something to believe in and has such a sweet message.  Eli was excited about being in front of the train...

Ok...so maybe he was just excited he had cheetos, but I was excited. haha.  Here is our self portrait family photo...

I know he won't remember it, but I sure think it's cool and can't wait until he can see the movie and get excited about it too.  He was such a good boy at the park all day and didn't fuss the first time.Even after a long, busy day...my sweet toddler (not really a baby anymore) was still in a good mood.

Like I said earlier, I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!

 

 

 

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

Well in 2012 I did a lot of good things, but keeping up with this blog sure wasn't one of them.  That's one of my goals because this is such a good way of keeping up with what was going on with life gets crazy busy.

The past couple of days we have had Kevin's whole family here : Wayne, Marlene, Glenn, Kelly, Will & Walker.  It has been a whirlwind of a visit.  Christmas exchanging the first day, shopping one, day, Sea World another, and ending with Disney, but this trip was different than the rest.  First off, Glenn & Walker have never been to our house in Florida so that was exciting AND it was Eli and Walker's first time to Disney World.  Glenn & Kelly and Kevin & I even got a night out on the town together kid free (the first time just the four of us ever)!

Kevin and I like living in Florida, even though we are far away from family, because not many people can say they can take their kids to Disney or Sea World or any of theme parks anytime they like.  Everyone wants to choose the "right" age so they remember and it's worth it.  So we are very fortunate to go multiple times and see it through Eli's eyes hopefully several times.  It made me excited for the future (even though I'm not trying to rush Eli growing up) to see it through Walker's eyes.  He got SO excited at Disney when the parade came through.  He was yelling "Hi Goofy!" and then just grinning when Goofy waved at him.  He even blew Minnie a kiss and asked me if I thought she got it.  Walker had his little fingers in his mouth because he was so nervous on the Jungle Cruise because it seemed so real to him, and if you've ever been on the Jungle Cruise you know it's about as unreal as it comes.  It's neat, but definitely different for a kid.

We always wait for family to visit and count down the days and then once they are here it flies by.  But I have to say this was one trip that will be remembered by all (except Eli) for a while and I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year.

So bring on 2013....I'm excited.

Whirlwind of a month...

Antibiotics, doctor's office, urgent care, sleepless nights, fever, teething...all of these words have been essential to the Dunn Family's vocabulary this past month.

It all started with a small cough and a runny nose and Eli's 9 month check-up.  Great! We thought...he has a doctor's appointment scheduled anyway, we can kill 2 birds with one stone and get this cold checked out as well as get his 9 month stats.  WRONG!  We should have known better right there.  What started as the "common cold" by the end of that week turned into an upper respiratory infection and double ear infections.  Then what started as daddy not feeling well turned into the flu... and THEN what turned out as mommy's throat hurting turned into strep throat and tonsilitis. 

I think this was one of the hardest weeks to survive that I can remember in a LONG time. It's hard caring for a hurting child when your husband and yourself are exhausted and feeling miserable too.  Although it was tough...we made it!  10 days of antibiotics for everyone and poof we were all better...

...NOT!  After that round, Eli still wasn't himself.  I know all mothers think their children are the best, but honestly Eli rarely cries. If he does, something is wrong.  He is a happy child 99% of the time.  So, with fevers and a grumpy child, we head to urgent care #1 we go because of course he got worse on a Friday night when nothing else was open...at 7:00 at night.  After an hour or so we finally get home with round #2 of antibiotic(stronger this time) for our little man because his ear infections were still not cleared up and he had another virus...

...but wait, that's not it!  On day 9 of the antibiotic, we notice Eli's cheeks were extremely red.  He has eczema on them so occasionally it flares up so we put our usual cream on it and then waited.  But soon the redness turned into bumps, and the bumps turned into welps, and the welps began to spread...oh boy...

...so it's Sunday (today) and here we go heading to Nite Lite Pediatrics Urgent care because it's the ONLY place open and by the time we could get there, Eli was covered from head to toe in crazy red bumps.  I mean everywhere, even on the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet.  He was so pityful looking...but he was a trooper.  The doctor had never seen a reaction that bad he said, SO it was determined that because Eli has been on antibiotics for such a long period of time, that his body could not handle the penicillin built up and was having a reaction.  So after a steriod dose and instructs of benadryl, motrin and tylenol...yet again we head home.  We drove away and as I looked at Kevin I thought, "Do we ever get a break?"  "What are we doing wrong?"  "I hate seeing our child hurting!"

Then I come home and I read a blog in which a couple I know is expecting their bundle of joy and only halfway through the pregnancy, they find out their child will have spinal bifida (Spelling?).  Puts things into perspective REAL quick.  I love my son as much as the next mommy and it physically makes me sick in my stomach when he is hurting.  I wish it was me, I want to take away the pain and I want him to just smile again...but that makes colds and rashes easy to deal with.  So in the grand scheme of things, I'm going to choose to be positive and say "Thank you GOD for only giving me this to deal with instead of so much more.  I am truly blessed."

BUT...what now?

     I am writing this post because I never want to forget how I feel at this moment in time.  On Monday, my daily life will be changing into something different than I've known for a while now.  I will be starting training for yet another new school (this will be my 4th) in yet another new location and this time for a new position!  I probably could teacher the new teacher training seminar at this point.  I've always said that middle school was the one place I would never go, but it's like they say, "never say never" because that's exactly where I'm going.  I'll be teaching a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade music appreciation class, as well as directing a 7th and 8th grade chorus.  Although I know the attitudes and puberty changes will be trying at times, I am very excited about the musical possibilities that aren't always there in elementary school.  BUT, Where does this leave Eli?

                                                                         
     Well, on Monday, Eli will be starting daycare.  I honestly think that this will be good for him.  I LOVE my son more than anything, but he is very dependent on me and very attached to me and although I know that some separation anxiety is normal, he's got it pretty bad.  BUT, look at our situation : Kevin and I live in Florida, alone, and so all Eli knows is his mom & dad because we don't do date nights and get babysitters unless the grandparents are in town.  Eli will be in a super small class (he'll be 1 of 4 kids) in a Christian setting and 2 of the other babies are around his age.  He loves playing with the kids that I nanny so I think it will be good for him to babble, scoot, and drool with the other little ones as well.  The daycare is only about 5 minutes from our house and the people we have spoken with and met are very friendly.  BUT, what about mommy?

                                                                     
     As excited as I am about being a teacher again, my heart is breaking.  Since we moved here I have been out of the working world and for the past almost 9 months I have been a mama to the most wonderful child God could have ever chosen to give us.  I have seen every milestone, wiped every tear, heard every giggle and learned what every sound that he makes means.  I am so thankful for the past 9 months and realize that most moms would give anything to have that time instead of 6-12 weeks, but that doesn't make this any easier for me right now.  Will Eli think I abandoned him on Monday when he wants to nap and he's crying for me and I'm not there?  Will he sleep a wink or cry until he makes himself sick?  I know all moms who've had to leave their baby have experienced this so I know I will make it and children bounce back quicker than we give them credit for and Eli will adapt a lot quicker than I will, but come Monday, the changes will be a reality.  As long as Eli knows that mommy is doing this to make his life and future better, than I can sleep ok.  BUT, you best believe one thing...come Monday night, Eli will be squeezed a little tighter, held a little longer and maybe even kept up a little later so that he KNOWS that his mommy and daddy love him to the moon and back.  Mommy & daddy may even be fighting over Eli time once he's picked up.  BUT, we thank GOD everytime we look at our son because we know how precious this little life is and what a gift children really are. We love you Eli!

I love our little family and can't wait to watch it grow!

                                                     

ch,ch,ch changes...

As first time parents, everything that Eli does is new and exciting, but this lately it's so many different things!  I'm not sure when it happened (overnight really) but our precious little boy is just checking off so many milestones lately.  Everyday is something new.  Here is what has been happening:

• He's been able to roll over for a long time now, but now it's rolling everywhere. There is no laying on his back anymore.  If you lay him down on a blanket, he will roll from one side of the room to the other.  The changing table is quite the adventure now. :)
• He can sit up on his own now, without any help.
• If he is rolling over, he is all about laying on his stomach.  While there, he tries to get moving with his feet kicking like crazy, but so far he has only accomplished some scooting.  But he is one determined little boy.
• He LOVES to be in his walker on our hardwood floors and can go anywhere, I mean ANYWHERE, he wants to.  He can go backwards, forwards, turn circles, back up and reach anything he wants.  He can go in and out of any room and if he could open doors, we'd REALLY be in trouble because I think he would live on our patio.  We are already having to baby proof our house because his little hands try to reach picture frames, outlets, kitchen cabinets, muffin's dog food...you get the point and we've only just begun!
• He can give you "high fives."  He then proceeds to scream with excitement because he is so proud of himself.
• His latest achievement is waving.  He hasn't quite mastered this yet, but he practices all of the time.  As he's falling asleep his little wrist is twisting and his hand is opening and closing.  Before now, it has had a little pageant twist going on, but he finally mastered it today and waved to his daddy from across the room.
• AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....we have heard those precious words... MaMa & DaDa... He did say MaMa first, BUT he has been all about saying DaDa these past 2 days, which makes Kevin very happy.  Laying in his crib this morning, Kevin & I woke up to the sound of DaDa coming from Eli.  Music to our ears...

...our baby boy is only half a year old and has accomplished so much...I can't imagine what he will be doing when he's a year.  He is such a joy and I cannot imagine our lives without him.  He laughs and squeals and is such a happy baby that he makes it easy being his mommy and daddy. 

Mother's Day

My first mother's day...words cannot even express how full of love my heart has been today.  Some people may think it is silly.  I mean we are mother's everyday so why do we need a specific day dedicated to us?  It's not the gifts that we got (a beautiful diamond necklace to remember my first mother's day) or the "down-time" our husbands gave us.  It's the fact that before now, it was always a time to make sure we told our own mother's "thank you" for all that they do for us. And now, this time, we are being told thank you and beginning a beautiful journey of raising a child.  One that we do not deserve, but that we are trusted with.  It is the most precious, rewarding and difficult thing we will ever do.  The job will never end but continue on for as long as we are allowed on Earth, because my mother is still there for me and I'm almost 30!

I do have to say one more thought that fills my heart though.  I read a status a moment ago of a dear friend and it said she was, "praying for all of the people longing to be a mother because it was a difficult place to be."  That really got me thinking and she is exactly right.  I've been at the place where you decide to try and have a baby, but you are so anxious and want it so badly that you just worry for some reason you can't have a child. Then I've been "there"...so close to being a mother, but losing a precious baby.  All I wanted so badly was to be a "mom."  To have those big, innocent eyes looking up at me, waiting for me to say something, and then giving me the sweetest smile in return.  But it wasn't in God's plan for that to happen at THAT time.  Fortunately, God blessed me and allowed me to be a mother in HIS time though and it was worth the wait and everything Kevin & I went through to get here.  So today, I am more thankful than I have ever been to be a mommy to my precious son, Eli.  And I do wonder about my angel in heaven (whether it was a boy or girl...what they would look like)...But I, too, am praying for anyone longing for this experience and hoping that your prayers are answered.  Just remember, it is in God's time and in HIS hands.  We don't always know why things happen, but we must have faith that there is a reason for everything.