words, words, words…

While I was living at the hospital a little while back my amazing Mom had to step in and basically take on my role as Mother to Andrew. Since she is so amazing she started a new daily activity that we’ve continued…

                              the Word of the Day!

We’ve had words like…spare tire, scowl, enthusiastic, hexagon, large, pentagon, smokestack, merchandise, coercion and many many more!

Andrew loves his words of the day and likes to chose them often. He will ask me a question about something and while I’m explaining it I will use a word he doesn’t know and he will say…”what’s that word you just said?” That word usually becomes our word of the day.

Do you have a good word for today?

I’m so grateful for a Mom who continues to help me be a better Mom to my own children!

Why didn’t anyone tell me that Andrew is as big as a HOUSE!?!?! I can’t help but compare the new sizes of my boys and… seriously, people…My 3 year old is absolutely ENORMOUS!

green eyes

I had some fun times today with this green eyed cutie...I'm in love.


Have a great weekend...I will be enjoying my sweet boys, pumpkin pie and apple cider - please do the same! :)

Polka dots...

Hope you are having a good weekend....
Monday will be here before you know it. I will update you on our status as soon we know more....

I'm grateful for polka dots today. Well, actually, that would be everyday.

Love...

Who doesn't love Grandmas...and super handsome boys?
I would really love to hear from each of you about this...don't forget about the giveaway!

Quiet as a mouse...

I see you, family and friends, coming and going from our blog... most of you are as quiet as a mouse. Do you not want a chance to win a giveaway? Something handmade and free?!?! Maybe it's just me but doesn't everyone want to get something handmade and free in the mail? Don't worry, you don't have to think of anything special or profound to say, just something happy. To those of you who have commented already, your happiness has made my day! It has meant a lot. I can't wait to hear more grateful and happy thoughts from the rest of you quiet souls!

Houdini

Nobody warned me about having to train the next Houdini...I don't think I'm ready for this.

I am the lucky one...

Today wasn't the greatest of days. I haven't been feeling well the past two days and the ways I have been feeling have been signs pointing to some of the possible things that might go wrong, for which we've been watching. The good news is we are still at the 'seeing signs' part and not the 'things going wrong part'...so I need to be grateful for that and continue to let the people here help me in every possible way so we can try and continue to stay away from those outcomes. (I know that all sounds very vague, but it's hard to talk about lady oriented things and still maintain my ladylike status :)

Doug and Andrew just left after a nice few hours together to eat dinner, get Andrew a shower and enjoy a little bit of cuddle time during the first half of a kiddie movie.

My sweet little Andrew is just not himself these days. It breaks my heart to see him change like this especially because I know it's due to the situation we are in right now. He was having a really hard time eating his dinner and I have to say that I'm actually suprisingly grateful for the opportunity I had tonight to help my winy, sad and frustrated little boy eat his dinner. I would normally be feeling some frustration myself with the battle - not joy, but today it made me happy and I loved it. It seemed like we were pulling his teeth out for a while there, but to have him sit next to me and be able to help him with something....anything, even when it's frustrating was therapeutic for me today. I miss taking care of my boys.

We let Andrew take a shower in my "hopistal" (aka "hospital") shower and he was happy about the idea but then when the process was started, he gave his daddy some serious grief. Once it was all over I was able to cuddle in my hospital bed with my clean, yummy smelling boy for a whole hour before they had to leave for bedtime.

I'm so grateful to be the Mother of this beautiful boy! I am in awe when he comes to visit me and I have to constantly remind myself that he actually belongs to ME! That I am the lucky one who gets to bring him home when this is all over......I love the roundness of his cheeks, the hair on his legs, the way his feet look dirty even right out of the shower, the softness of his skin and the way he grabs my hand and rubs it against his tummy to tell me...without words....that he wants me to rub his chest and tummy. I love the way he asks "are you going to be sad when I leave?" and "don't worry Mommy, I promise I'll come back to see you later...don't be sad." And when he hugs me and says "Mommy, I love you so much!"

Oh, I also love when he watches me eat anything and says, "Mommy, your food is bonking your baby." What a silly boy.

Thank you sweethart for coming to be with me tonight...you erased every other moment of the day and just made today a special few hours with the two boys I love most! Thanks for bringing our sweet Drewboy...I needed some special hugs and kisses from his chubby little face today.

Green eyes and chubby cheeks

Living at the hospital indefinitely, to say the least, is not very much fun and it's made even harder when your beautiful little boy with green eyes and chubby cheeks hugs you and says... "Mommy, I want you to come home with me"...Please let me not forget why I have to be here...Help me remember the things I've lost so far in this process can be retrieved in time. The Lord is with us and has blessed us with countless miracles. May we not ever forget.

Boys

I cannot explain the kind of joy I feel when I see the faces of my beautiful boys. It's always been a great joy, but right now it is a fierce kind of joy.

Last night Doug and Andrew came to my hospital room prepared for a family date night. They came bearing gifts of popcorn, cookies and chocolate covered pretzels... of which I tried desperately to partake only to not be very successful. We turned on the movie, Cars, and all squished tight on my hospital bed. I had a hard time watching the movie (due mostly to the headaches and blurry vision) but my attention was mostly fixed on the pure joy and love I felt in that moment. - it made me smile from the inside out -

I've always been madly in love with my little family, but there is something different about any tough situation that brings a family even closer together. It's the little things right now that lift my spirit and heart to soar above all the worrying, fretting and waiting.

Drewboy's little muddy toes and chocolate smeared face

The warmth of my sweet husband's arm around my shoulder

A giggle and a smile

A hairy hand to hold while my IV site is being changed out

"I love you more, Mommy"

A concerned and gentle lift from my husband to help me out of bed

The way the sunlight shines just right in my room at 4pm

These are the kinds of things that get me through each day...I'm so blessed to have a great and loving supportive family...and to be loved by the two sweetest and most handsome boys in the whole world - they make my life go round.

Parking Lots

What do you see when you drive through or past a parking lot? I see cars, yellow lines, people, carts, etc. Well, obviously my son sees life differently than I do...

The other day we were driving past Sam's Club on our way home and Andrew said... "Mom, cars park in 'H's' ". I said..."What?!?" I proceeded to think, "Man, this boy is starting to come up with some crazy ideas". He then said again with more intensity, "Look Mom, cars park in 'H's' ". I took a moment at the stop light to try and look through my little boy's eyes and finally saw it...cars really DO park in 'H's!!! I laughed outloud! Andrew has taught me many things so far in our journey together, but I love it when he helps me see the world through his eyes. Gosh, how I love that child!

Like Father, Like Son

Did you say party?

So I've realized that it's almost July...has anyone else come to that surprising realization? I was shocked! This has lead me to kick myself into gear and put up these pictures before the month of Andrew's birthday has actually come and gone.

We had a little birthday party the week after Andrew's birthday because one of my sisters was in town with her family and we were excited to get a chance to celebrate something with them....we missed Lindsay and her family profusely and would have LOVED to have them there!

I have found that I have a thing with cake making. I love it. I never imagined I would, but here I am in love. I had lots of fun creating this little wonder...the only thing missing was the siren. Oh well, maybe next time. hah! Doug was so excited about the cake that he hid it from everyone until the moment of the final reveal....Andrew thought it was pretty great so all the work was definitely worth it!!!
The ladder was edible so that was the first thing gone , but everyone took a good look for a while and all proceeded to weep when I cut into it...just kidding, there were no tears!
Everyone was greeted with a fireman hat and a fireman badge sticker when they entered the party... We had a great dinner, a bubble frenzy, and just lots of layed back fun.
Some of us even had fun with the centerpieces...more fun to wear than just sit and look at!
Thanks to all who gave him gifts...he got a Spiderman scooter from Nana and Popi, a bakugon from the McIntire family and lots of cool cars to add to his collection from the Browns.
All the cousins played outside together for a while before we ate and opened gifts. Andrew discovered a new crush...not just for scooters....for his cousin, Tyler. He instantly bonded to Tyler and was so sad to see him go. Tyler showed him the ropes of his cool scooter before Andrew got to try it for himself on his new one. Thanks Ty!
Here is a close up of my newest creation...Doug has a photoshoot with each cake before anyone is allowed to touch it so I had to include the close up.
Hello...and goodbye my friend. We will meet again next year and explore Andrew's newest obsession. Till then...

Look at me... I'm 3!

I can't believe it's been 3 years since this little miracle entered our lives. How amazingly wonderful our lives have been since that day! June 1st will always be one of the most treasured days of my life. One full of miracles and joy beyond compare. I thank the Lord everyday for this beautiful soul. Andrew and Doug are my greatest friends and the brightest fireflies in my jar! (that's for you, honey)
We celebrated on the 1st at home with the family. It was a great day and we loved having a celebration with the three of us.
I made a nice dinner and we sat down and talked at the table for a long time. That wasn't new, but it was a little more special since we were celebrating our favorite little boy!
We played together...
Opened presents together...

Played with Andrew's new toy train...
Now there is a train for Andrew AND a friend of his choice....Daddy turned out to be the lucky one!


Andrew asked for a cement truck cake, but I couldn't figure out how to make the cement barrel so I decided this little cake would do for our family celebration and I would make a firetruck cake for his actual birthday party. He thought this cake was great! Plus, he got to take the laminated cement truck and play with it later! Bonus!!

Andrew, we love you so much! Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Playtime

Last week I decided to pick up the camera and document some precious playtime and was lucky to capture these beautiful photos of our little man...