A Little Brother or Sister.....

To our sweet little peanut growing inside of me, it has been exactly one month since we found out you were nestled inside! I haven't blogged about you yet because I didn't want to jinx anything. I'm confident now that you are growing in leaps and bounds. Your little heart is beating away, and your sweet little arms are folded over that precious heart! I already love you like crazy!! I can't wait to go to see the doctor next week and be amazed by your heartbeat!

You are due to meet us at the end of summer. You are going to be protected forever by the best big brother anyone could ever ask for. He has a heart of gold, and I know he is going to be so excited to meet you also! He will show you so many things little one! God blessed us with him, and now He has blessed us with you! We are so incredibly excited to begin this journey with you!!

To My Son~

A year ago today, your Daddy and I were admiring your 10 tiny finger and 10 tiny toes. We couldn't believe the head of dark hair that you had or the bright blue eyes that were so observant of all that was going on. You were taking it all in and making sure not to miss an ounce of this new world that you were a part of. You had such a strong little grip and were a great nurser from first feeding. You have Daddy's toes and Mommy's crooked pinkies. You have a cleft in your chin like Grandpa L. and have kept those beautiful blue eyes like Grandpa K. Your Daddy and I were a bit nervous to bring you home but ready to introduce you to your new bedroom and the puppies. We were awestruck by the magnitude of love we felt for you.

Now today, one year later, we are still awestruck by that love we have for you. You are simply amazing little man! We can't believe how you have grown from that little tiny baby into such a independent little boy....all in just one year! Momma still loves to kiss those little chubby feet every morning. You now have a head full of thick brown hair, and you held onto those amazing blue eyes. You are walking and never looked back. You love to stack your blocks and fill your dump truck. You are such a good page turner when we read your books. You love to sneak into the pantry and find the broom to "sweep" with. Just yesterday, you started to connect your Mega Blocks...all on your own! How did you get so smart? Your laugh is from deep in your belly and is so very contagious. Your smile lights up a room and makes your Momma's heart grow each time.

Everyone tells you to cherish each and every moment because the years go too fast. I now can appreciate that statement. Your first year went way too fast little Monkey! I only know that the each one is going to go faster too. It makes me tear up just thinking about it! You make your Momma and Daddy so very proud little one! Try not to grow up so fast and we'll keep cherishing each and every moment! Happy 1st Birthday Monkey! Your Momma loves you forever and always to the moon and back!

Birthday Wish

I got my birthday wish last night!! My hubby is safe and home with us! I get to spend my 31st birthday with my two boys! The best birthday present ever!

Off and Running

Our little man is walking. He started the week of Thanksgiving at 10 months old. I've noticed the other day that he now will choose to walk instead of crawling. He still does his cute little gorilla crawl but less and less. Tonight he was practically running across my in-laws living room! Laughing his little head off as he went!

How does time go so fast? It seems like just yesterday that he was learning how to crawl. It can't even be possible that we are going to celebrate his first birthday in less than a month. He is learning how to communicate and is growing like a weed. Before long my baby isn't going to be a baby anymore. I can't even think about that....it makes my heart too heavy!

His daddy is going to be shocked at how much he has progressed in just the nine days that he has been gone. Puts into perspective how fast they grow and change when you have a short (although it has seemed like forever) time away! We are eagerly awaiting his arrival home tomorrow night. Monkey needs some Daddy playtime, and I know Daddy needs some Monkey love and giggles!

Take your time Monkey! Grow at your own pace!! We love you and cherish all these "firsts" that are happening! You make a Momma so, so proud!

Almost sank...

My poor husband is working away from home in Dutch Harbor. He's putting in a water line down at the docks (himself and an electrician). Crabbing season opens right around the corner in the Bering Sea so kind of an important job.

He's been dealing with horrible conditions ever since he got there. It started with rain, then turned to snow, and now wind gusts up to 90 mph.....this creating icy cold sea spray and a very angry sea with high swells. Making life working on the dock miserable. He has a boat (if you want to call it that...more like a skiff....no motor) to guide him under the dock. The seas were at 4 to 6 foot yesterday. I didn't even ask about today b/c his day started by going down to the dock to find his boat almost completely sunk. Thank goodness it was tied down b/c that's the only thing that kept it from succumbing to the dark water. The swells had swamped it and so they had to pull it up before they could get any work done. Needless to say, he's not full of excitement and grandeur when I talk to him in the evening.

Monkey and I miss him dearly! I could never be a single Mommy. It would take ALOT for me to go at this solo! He's hoping to get home Thursday. Pray that the winds die down, the snow stays light, and the fog doesn't arrive. We need Daddy home this Christmas season!!

Better...

I'm not very good about my blog. I get on track for a few days and then it all goes down a major hill for a while. I really have good intentions. There are days where something will occur, and I think to myself "hmm, I really should blog about that". So once again I'm going to try better...we'll see.....

Beautiful and a Bedspread

I was sitting on the couch last night watching E.R. and reading my December Oprah magazine (which, by the way, has some pretty neat gift ideas in it). I kept smelling my Mom. Weird, I know, until I realized that there was a perfume sample for Beautiful by Estee Lauder in the magazine. I couldn't get enough of that smell. It was like having her sitting right there on the couch with us watching TV. It is such a distinct smell to me.....beautiful, I guess.

Then not 15 minutes later there was a scene on E.R. with the bedspread my Mom has in her guest bedroom....crazy coincidence. If it hadn't been 12:30 a.m. back home, I would have called her. Just to tell her that even though she is 1000s of miles away, I felt like at that moment she was right there with me and that I love her. I would give my right arm for my Mom to be able to sit on the couch and watch E.R. with me every Thursday. To play and giggle with Monkey until the grass turns blue. But I can't. I'm slowly getting used to that....SLOWLY being the key word. There's just nothing like a mother's love or a grandparent's love, and I sometimes wish that we were closer to take advantage of that. Soon we will be showered in that love....only 4 weeks until we go home for Christmas.

Until then, I think I'll probably wear out that perfume sample.....