DNA

Have I ever mentioned that I love Cross Point? Well, just in case you missed it, here is the promo for the next series. This is just a small glimpse at the church and all of it's the amazing people. I am so excited to break down the DNA in this series!

DNA Series Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

Deere Dad

These pictures could be any given afternoon at our house. EC loves to ride the lawn mower with Daddy!

Window Gazing

EC loves to watch the cars go by at Grammy and Granddaddy's house. Their bay window is just the right height to get a good view!

Inked

I am blessed to have a great babysitter for EC. I have a couple of family members for backups, so I am usually covered pretty well if she needs a day off. Last Wednesday was one of those days…….and all of my backups were busy too. Mommy panic set in. Who else do you call? Who do you trust? Who will EC like?

When I mentioned this at my Tuesday night Bible study, my friend Sherry Bowman jumped at the chance to keep EC. I was relieved. Sherry is AWESOME. She helps oversee KidzWorld at church, stays at home with her two incredibly adorable sons during the week and is just an over-all super mom. I think that it is hilarious when her youngest child, at the age of three, shows up at church with a Mohawk and fake tattoos.

So, I dropped EC off at her house on Wednesday morning and there were no tears whatsoever. It probably helped that she had her Yo! Gabba Gabba toy mat out to play with. By the time that I got to work, I had already received a text message on my cell phone that said, “EC likes his pancakes with cinnamon and sugar.” I knew that everything was going to be okay.

At lunch I sent her a text asking if she was surviving and her response was, “Are you kidding? You are so lucky. EC is such a good boy. Well, he did yell at me when I tried to take his corn-on-the-cob away.” They had been to lunch at her grandmother’s house with about twenty of her family members and he was passed around like a hot-potato and took it like a pro.

Everything was going so smooth……until I went to pick him up. That is when I saw the transformation. My kid had been Bowmanized. He was wearing a “wife-beater” undershirt and had a tattoo on his arm. She was going to do a Mohawk, but ran short on time. I think that I actually snorted because I was laughing so hard. He was so cute.

Thank you, Sherry, for taking such great care of my kiddo. You are a blessing and I value our friendship more than you will ever know!

EC vs. Corn-On-The-Cob

EC wanted to help Granddaddy while he was shucking corn...

EC vs. Corn-On-The-Cob Part 2

Silent Link

I used to be a blogger. Did you know that?

I used to write interesting stories about the happenings in my life. I sometimes even wrote about the uninteresting things. Somewhere along the way, I stopped. This blog became a picture blog. A new little life filled my days to the point that I don’t want to sit in front of a computer at home. Not that it is a bad thing, but I do miss writing sometimes.

I was prodded by a friend to start blogging. I started on my MySpace page first. That way, I could limit the people who actually had access to my writings. Not that I cared who read it, but I was just unsure about putting too much information on the internet. I needed to find my footing.

Then another friend, my boss actually, pushed me to go “public” with my writings. To push the envelope, jump over the edge.

I jumped. I am glad that I did. I have met so many interesting people, made new friends and have kept in touch with friends from long ago. Plus, it is so nice that my family can see EC grow and not feel so distant.

I am glad that I blog.

My boss, my friend, that prodded me off the edge into the blogosphere, he passed away several months ago. His wife said it most gracefully by writing that “There was no illness or accident, just a choice he made for himself.”

I think about him every time that I look at my blog. The link to his blog sits silently still on the sidebar. It breaks my heart.

Thank you, Todd, for pushing me off my ledge.
You are sorely missed.

Month Ten

Dear EC,

Last week you turned ten months old. Why am I late writing this letter? Well, I have been chasing your little crawling rear-end all around the house. You are like the Energizer bunny, you never stop. Ever. EVER. Needless to say, I have been saying many words like “No”, “Stop”, “Don’t eat that!” and “Get out of the dog food!”

I was so excited when you decided to crawl. You have been trying for over a month. You would get up on your hands and knees and wiggle, but then just sit back down. You would move a knee or an arm every once in a while. When I would move them for you, to try to teach you to crawl, you would go into fits of giggles. Then one Sunday at Granny Garton’s house, you decided that today was the day…….and you took off across her living room floor like a bolt of lightning. You haven’t stopped since.

Not only are you crawling, but you are pulling up on everything……couches, tables, the side of the bathtub, your bed. Absolutely nothing is safe. You will pull up on it and hit it with your hands. It is usually accompanied by a little yell that says, “Behold! I have pulled up on this end-table! I claim this end-table in the name of all mankind!” My little conqueror!

This also means that you are into everything that you shouldn’t be. Because you were pulling up on your bedrails, we lowered your mattress to the lowest level. While your father and I were doing this, you pulled up on your changing table, pulled out a basket and scattered all your bibs across the floor. You were working on your basket of socks when I finally got to you. You were thrilled with your victory over the changing table! “Whoo-Ha! Behold! This changing table is MINE!”

You got your top two front teeth this month. Of course this was accompanied by the usual runny nose and grumpiness. I slept in the recliner with you a couple of nights because of your little cough. But WOW have you started eating like a big boy. You will gnaw on anything that we give you. You love Cherrios, macaroni or anything noodle-y, Jell-o, and whipped cream. We went to eat at Catfish Kitchen and you ate fish, hushpuppies, white beans and potatoes…..all cut up into tiny pieces of course. Some parents tell me about what a picky eater their child is and, so far, we haven’t found a food that you DON’T like. Well, you didn’t really like sour kraut, but I just fed that to you to watch your face pucker up. It was pretty humorous.

You love the summer time! We have gone swimming several times and you are like a little fish. You are not scared of the water what-so-ever. We have to hang on to you or you will jump right out of our arms. You love to kick and splash and bounce with Daddy. You even go swimming with your babysitter some days.

Have I ever told you about your babysitter? Mrs. Tracy watches you four days a week and she is AWESOME! You have been on so many adventures this summer with her family. You have been to the park, the library, swimming pool, several shopping trips, the school cafeteria to have lunch with her sons and even to Chuck E. Cheese a couple of times. I never know where your adventures will take you! You are so lucky to have an awesome lady like Mrs. Tracy to watch over you. She is an angel in disguise.

I have to say that you have some pretty interesting toys. Forget all the store bought, bright-colored, educational toys that are made for kids your age. Those simply aren’t good enough. Your favorite things are Daddy’s backscratcher, your nose bulb, a measuring cup, a hair brush and a wooden spoon. All of the animals run in another room when they see you holding the backscratcher, because you can really whop them in the head with that thing!

This month you have really changed from a baby to a toddler. If I write about all of your accomplishments this month, I will write a novel. Like how you sleep on your tummy now, with your rump up in the air. You wave bye-bye to people when they are leaving. Or how you learned to clap, so I get a round of applause for everything I do now. I can keep going and going.

But you are still my baby and I love it when you still do baby-like things. Every night before I lay you down in your crib, you snuggle into my neck. With that soft, warm baby breath on my neck, I whisper “I love you” a million times into your ear. You will forever be my baby.

I love you heart and soul,
Mommy

Row Row Row Your Boat

These are the last of the pool pictures......I promise!

Worn Out

Swimming just wears EC out. Thank goodness for lounge chair cushions.

Rock Lobster

This was a really cute float, but unfortunantly it required you to hold it all the time. It didn't help that EC kept leaning forward to try to bite it. Anyway, if you know of a good float for a kiddo EC's size, would you leave a link in the comments? I am looking for a good one, but don't want to spend a fortune.

Daddy's Boy

Little Swimmer

Guess who likes to swim????

Too Tired To Play

Sometimes playing is such hard work that you just have to take a quick nap to get rejuvenated. Thank goodness EC had his soft, cushy glow-worm to lay his head on.

Just A Swingin'

These are pictures from EC's first ride in the swing that Daddy put up for him.

Did I mention that the swing rope was reeeeallly long?

It was a little chilly that afternoon, so we had him bundled up. Unfortunately, this past week has been a scorcher and it has been too hot to swing. Summer officially arrived yesterday with a BANG! Heat indexes of over a hundred degrees! More swing pictures to come when our skin doesn't melt when we walk outside.