SLO in Arkansas: February 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Totally Random

Ok, here is your random post with pictures! Here is my first pregnant picture with number 2. I figured I should get one up before the next two weeks when I find out what it is:) This is at the start of my 4th month. I have gained about 5 pounds I think and am starting to feel much better. My energy is returning and the house is slowly getting back under control. Still throwing up occasionally, but I will take that over daily any time! Things are starting to get exciting and seem more and more real:) Silas is convinced there are two babies, which makes for some interesting discussions in our house. I think there is only one. Since I haven't had an ultrasound yet, no one knows for sure!!

Sweet little man with lots of teeth! Since he won't sit still long, this is the best shot I can get of him. He is still crazy busy and energetic and talking up a storm. He is starting to put words together into little phrases, which is adorable. His favorite is "here you go". Tonight at dinner he said, "more rice" which is a big improvement over just "more." Now I actually know what he wants more of!

My boys hanging out. I love this one of my dad and Tyson in their hats. Tyson mostly does not like things on his head, but the last time my dad and Bill were here for work, we were all sitting in the living room and of course all the men had their hats on. Tyson looked around and ran to his room and came back with his own hat, and proudly put it on his head. It was so cute:) He just wants to be one of the guys.

Tyson loves his G-daddy so much, and they are so much fun to watch together. Tyson gets so excited when my dad comes, and is attached to him the whole time. He knows g-daddy will give him cheerios in the morning and hold him all he wants:) They are like two peas in a pod, and I love it:)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ice Storm 2009

Ok, I am totally behind with doing these posts, so just bear with me! I just wanted to post them for myself more than anything, so I have a record of what happened:) I am sure most of you heard about "Winter Blast '09" all over the weather channel the last week of January. Jonesboro just got ice, which created quite a mess of our little town to say the least!

Tons of people lost power, and some actually are still out. Praise the Lord we were only out for 36 hours and not 3-6 weeks like some have been. Those days were bad enough! Our cable went out about 6 pm on Tuesday night so we were not able to get any updates on what was coming our way. We lost power about 1am that morning, and the house got cold FAST. Tyson woke up about 3am crying because he was so cold. We put him in bed with us (which has only happened once before in his life), so of course he thought that it was a party! He played with our faces and said every word he knows and wiggled like crazy for over an hour. We all finally got to sleep a little after 4am, and were back up around 6 freezing. Silas got up and took off to scout out the damage around town, and came back and loaded us up. We found one of the only places up and running in town (McDonald's) and had breakfast. The line was forever long, but we had no time frame, so we didn't care. Then we drove around checking out the damage. It was pretty scary at times, because you would drive along a street with trees and power lines down all across it. At one point we went down a street and went under a huge tree with limbs hanging everywhere and I commented on how I didn't like the looks of that one. About 5 minutes later we were heading back the other way and sure enough, a huge part of that same tree had come down across the lane we had just been in. That is when we decided to pack it up and head back home. We spent the rest of the day by the fireplace, so things weren't too bad. We had our neighbors over later that night since they didn't even have a fireplace to keep warm. We made a party out of it and had a great time! We roasted hot dogs over the fire and then played cards for hours. Silas kept the fire stoked which kept our living room nice and cozy. Our friends left and we put Tyson to bed in his pack and play near the fireplace, and we slept on the fold out couch. The problem with sleeping was that the fire would go out, and then we would wake up freezing. Poor Silas got up almost every hour and re-made the fire for us. It was definitely a LONG night, but thank goodness Tyson slept right through it:) By Thursday morning the fun was starting to fade fast. Silas got up and went to work since his building had power. I got up with Tyson and we just sat there shivering by the fireplace in a blanket. After we looked at all his books and sang a bunch of songs, I was at a loss as to what to do with a toddler in a 40 degree house all day with no connection to the outside world. By this time I was really cold, exhausted from losing almost 2 nights of sleep, hungry for some warm food, and still feeling pretty sick pregnancy wise. And I was in desperate need of a hot shower more than anything! I packed up Tyson and we went to visit Silas at work where it was warm. I charged my cell phone while we were there, which helped. We decided not to try and survive another night at the house, mostly because we had run out of firewood and had no way to heat the house at all any more. I went home to pack our stuff, and when I pulled in I noticed the lights were on for the garage. I almost cried I was so relieved! The first thing I did was take a hot shower:) Life is so much better when you are clean and warm!! Then I took a nap:)

Ok, so that got really long. Anyway, the town is still recovering from all the damage. There are trees down everywhere and it has been a massive clean-up effort. They are still working to restore power to some of the outlying areas that were harder hit. Despite the tough few days, it was really nice to see people reaching out to others and doing what they could to help out. I felt like the town really handled things well and pulled together to make the best of the whole situation:)

These pictures aren't even from the ice storm. This was from earlier in the year when we had our first sleet/snow. Apparently we don't get a whole lot of snow here...just weird mixed precipitation! This stuff was really crazy to drive on, but Tyson had a ball sliding around the driveway with Silas:)

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Updates Soon, I promise!

I am so far behind at posting blogs it's not even funny. But I am slowly working on getting one thing at a time off of my extremely LONG to-do list, and I will get to it soon, I promise. I have not been taking many pictures, which is the biggest reason I haven't posted as often. I don't want to bore you with my random ranting! So, check back soon and I hope to have a few posts done so you can catch up with what has been going on with us over the past month or so:)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Baby Update

I went in for my 12 week appointment today. They really didn't do anything, except that I got to hear the heart beat for the first time. It was so beautiful:) Nice and loud and steady, and sitting right on my bladder! I knew it! So far everything is progressing well. I have managed to gain about 4 pounds despite throwing up, since I cram food down my throat all day to keep the nausea at bay. Since Tyson was a nice big healthy baby at birth, they are screening me for gestational diabetes early this time, even though I don't think its necessary! So I drank the lovely orange drink an hour before my appointment and didn't eat before hand like I was supposed to. Then I sat in the waiting room for about 45 minutes before being called back and by the time the doctor saw me, it was past the point where they could take blood to check my glucose levels!!! So he says, sorry, I guess you have to drink it AGAIN for next time. Fabulous! And then I get to do it again at 28 weeks. Thank goodness the stuff is not that bad:) It made for a weird day though.

Anyway, the best part is that March 10th is the big day. Ultrasound day and find out what sex the baby is day!!!! Silas and I started talking to Tyson a few weeks before his big gender revealing day, encouraging him to be cooperative and not be shy for the camera:) It worked, so we are planning to start having our little chats with this one as well. If you asked us at this point, I think both of us would say that we are thinking girl this time. The best way I know how to explain it, is that a silly home test told us so! Beyond that, no clue. We will be thrilled either way and don't care what it is, but its fun to think about. I guess my line of thinking is that it will be so easy for this to be another boy, since I have all the stuff, they will be close in age, and will be born in the same season. Perfect!! So if its a boy we just go on cruise control. But a girl would shake things up quite a bit, so I am thinking in that direction, just because it will be pretty different and I want to get my mind wrapped around it:) You know me, the planner. Whichever will be great, so I will get what I want either way:)

I have complained an awful lot this pregnancy just due mostly to physically not feeling well, and I am really trying to re-focus my thinking and just praise God for blessing us like he has! I am looking forward to seeing Tyson fall into the role of big brother, and watching how our family dynamics change as we grow. It is going to be a crazy and fun year around here!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Tyson is 18 months old!

My how time flies! My baby is not so much of a baby anymore really. We are definitely getting into some big boy phases now, and it's fun to watch (most of the time!). He was born full of personality, and not much has changed since then. He is a wild crazy full steam ahead kind of guy. I don't know where he gets that:) I have not done the best at taking pictures over the last month or so since I have been on another planet, but here are a few I have managed.

The child gets into everything you can think of. The rule in our house is that if it is not bolted down, he thinks it's his! I was trying to load the dishwasher one day, but he decided the bottom rack looked like it would be fun to play with, and removed it from the dishwasher when I wasn't looking. It has wheels, and he had a ball pushing that thing around the house for the rest of the day! He was polite enough to stop for me to take a picture though:) Sweet pea. Can you see why my list of things I can only do while this child is sleeping is getting longer and longer?!?!?

My boys:) So cute with their blue striped dress shirts for church a few weeks ago.

Tyson feeding himself cereal. He loves it, and does a pretty good job most of the time. Mr. Independent will not let anyone help with anything, so it can get pretty messy around here.

OK, lets see about stats. He hasn't had an official appointment, but we have weighed and measured him ourselves. He weighs in around 29.4 pounds and is about 33.5 inches tall. I looked in a book I have at the growth charts and this puts him in the 85th-90th percentile for both height and weight. We have a solid kid. He is as big as most 2 year olds, but just not quite that advanced. He is saying about 45-50 words on his own, and really starting to repeat a lot of what we say. (scary!!!). He has been talking in sentences and paragraphs for months, but still not in English. When the words start clicking though, he will be unstoppable!

We are still somewhere between one and two naps a day. Usually one is sufficient, unless it is too early, or too short. Then we have to squeeze in another before supper to make it to bed time. He hits the sack about 8:30 pm and gets up around 7:30 am. He is still loving school (mothers day out) and doing great there. He also loves Sunday school. He is so full of energy and runs all day long. He flings himself on and off the furniture and yells "whoa!!!" He is recently addicted to his toy cars, trucks, etc and pushes them all over the place. He knows his routine so well and goes along great with everything we have to do. He loves his bath time and cant wait to take one. He loves going to bed, both at night and for naps, and is super easy to put down. He can tell you when he is poopy and knows where to go and get a new diaper. He does pretty well at telling you what he wants to eat or what he needs when he needs it. He is pretty sure that he needs anything we are eating or drinking as well:) He went through a tantrum phase where he threw fits on the floor and hollered, but that didn't last too long after we implemented the "you throw a fit you get a spanking rule" at our house. He is much more pleasant now and learning to use his words better.

of course as his mom I think he hung the moon. I am head over heels for that kid, and can't imagine my life without him. I haven't had much time to even think about the new baby yet, and wonder if he/she will be anything at all like my little man? I don't know what I would do with a calm and quiet child!!! Oh yeah, I am feeling much better by the way. I will be 12 weeks tomorrow and think I have turned the corner to regaining my life back a little! At least I am not throwing up every day and have a little more energy. I know Silas is totally relieved about being off of poop patrol too:) I however, am not too thrilled about being back on it!

Monday, February 02, 2009

Girls With Fancy Hair-Do's Intimidate Me

I know this post should be about Tyson's 18 month information, or probably about the huge ice storm we just survived here last week, but no, it's about hair dos. I was reading someones list of 25 random things on Facebook today and she said that she feels that people think she is unapproachable/intimidating sometimes, and she doesn't know why. I thought long and hard about this and I have the answer (at least in this person's case, since I know her).

She has a fancy hair-do. Fancy hair-do's are intimidating to people like me. And what is a fancy hair-do you might ask? Well, for me, it is anything that requires an actual style, cut, product, etc. Like those women with cute short and spiky do's, the kind you have to get done like every 6 weeks or it wont be a style anymore. I am not a fancy hair-do girl. I get my hair cut twice a YEAR people! I should do it at least once more, but I just don't care. I like it shoulder length, but then it just grows and grows and I turn into a long hair girl until it drives me crazy. This happens once every 6 months, and I get it cut. Its pretty much at that point now. But I live in a new town (yes I know I have been here for 7 months) and I am just too lazy to find a new place to go.

Anyway, back to why fancy hair-do's are intimidating to me. I mean, you have to be dedicated to that haircut to take care of it, which takes a lot of time. Then you have to know what to do with it, and how to use the stuff for it. But mostly it's just that those people look put together ALL the time. And we know they are stay at home moms too, but why do they look so good all the time, even on Saturdays?!?!? That is what intimidates me. They fix their hair on the weekends, and to run to the store, etc. It makes me wonder why my hair doesn't look better! They can't throw it in a ponytail, they have to fix it. And this particular woman has 4 children at home, all of the boys under the age of 3rd grade. And her hair looks immaculate every time I see her, and that my friends, is intimidating:)

I know I am a totally abnormal girl, but here is a lovely random fact about me. I have only dyed/highlighted my hair once in my whole existence. It was when I was in Greece and there was a super cool hair salon down the street and like, every one I went with was doing it, so I gave in and got super blond highlights. I liked it ok, but never did it again. For Pete's sake, even Silas got his hair highlighted there! Remember the blond tips?! Anyway, maybe some day I will get a hair style for myself. I want to desperately every time I go to get it cut, but am terrified and don't have a clue what to even try, so I just keep doing the same thing...trim please:) You can't even tell what decade it is when you look back at old pictures of me because my hair is the same forever, since I got hair! If you have any ideas on what would maybe work for me, let me know!

SLO in Arkansas