I have so many good pictures that I want to share, but my camera is not cooperating. Our family (just the 3, uhh.., 4 of us) went to a Christmas tree farm in Lincolnton, NC. Daniel is not big on Christmas trees, but he thought it would be a good family outing and maybe a good future tradition. Anyway, we drove about an hour to a place out in the country of the foothills. It was cut your own tree (Leyland Cyprus), any size, for $25. They had free snacks, hay rides, and animals to look at. Malachi had a blast!!! He walked around the uneven ground and when given the choice between two trees "picked" the one that Daniel cut down. He went on a hay ride, looked at a pig, some sheep, and some goats. He even ate half of a cream-filled cookie. He continued his fun at Wendy's eating fries, chicken, and fruit. He napped in the car on the way home and continued that nap when we got home. He acted like he truly did enjoy himself.
On a side note, my car is over 8 years old. Even though the tree is less than 6 feet tall, we strapped it to the roof rack. That was the first time, ever, that my roof rack (on the Rav4) has been used!!! This was also the first time that I have gotten a real tree for Christmas. I guess Malachi wasn't the only one with firsts this year!
Malachi's second Thanksgiving was rather uneventful. We had lunch with my parents and David around 12:45. Unfortunately, Malachi's one nap comes around 12 or 12:30. He had no clue that all that cooking going on in the morning was eaten while he slept. He was able to take part in Thanksgiving dinner at his Nana's house with all of his Daddy's family. He got lots of hugs and kisses from his grandparents and aunts. I tried to get him to try turkey, dressing, green beans, and corn, but he wouldn't eat anything but a plain biscuit. Hopefully next year, he'll realize that he's missing out on a bunch of good stuff.
Today we played around and emptied out the storage unit. Yay! We can now save $100 a month! There really wasn't that much left in our unit after David moved all his stuff out. I'm glad that we had the unit. There was a lot of stuff. Now there is a lot of stuff here. Really, it's not that much, but there are boxes and boxes of clothes. Malachi has at least one box of clothes for every size. I have at least two boxes of clothes for every size. I miss my old body! When I got married, I was a size 8. Pre-pregnancy saw me at a 10. 4 weeks after Malachi I was a 14!!! I got down to a 10, but it took 11 months. Right after I had gotten down to feeling good about my body, I got pregnant again! I have really enjoyed this pregnancy, but I am ready to get my old body back!!! I have missed it over the past 2 years. Sure, I haven't missed my period and other things, but I just want to feel good about the way I look. Ok, so I've gone off on a tangent. I truly am thankful for all my family and the things that come with it. I just have a lot of clothes! Now we have clothes and boxes all over the place. We just have to find a place and a home for all this stuff that we can't get rid of yet, especially since there is another little boy to fill those clothes up for a time.
Tomorrow (Saturday), we might be starting a new family tradition. We are going to pick out a small, fresh Christmas tree to bring home. Hopefully, the tree farm we are going to will also have a hay ride and some animals to see. We are looking forward to this little outing with Malachi and to make new memories.
If you look at the new baby's ticker today, you will see that there are less than 100 days to go! Woo-hoo!!! I need to post a picture of how big I've gotten. I feel huge already and am not technically in the third trimester yet. I've got a little over 3 months to go until the due date. My belly has even dropped some. This is a difficult thing to deal with now, because I can't get my belly on top of the counter. I have to stand at a distance to cook and wash dishes (good thing I don't do much of either:)). This little boy is a very active one. He is constantly on the move. I think that he is more active than Malachi was (in utero). We're still not telling the name.
My back has been in really bad shape the past few weeks. I started seeing our local chiropractor (from FA) a month ago. I only visit once every two weeks, though. The visits help, but I don't feel like they are close enough together. I am trying my best to not pick up Malachi as much and to make him do things on his own. This is difficult at times when he won't do what I want him to do. He is getting better. He will hold your hand (or finger, rather) most of the time when you offer it. He will sometimes hold my hand, walk to the car and wait patiently for me to put him in when running errands. This makes me very thankful. In some ways, I am not rushing this pregnancy at all. I am enjoying giving Malachi my attention and watching him grow. I also know that one child changes your life, but when the second one comes, it REALLY changes your life! I wish that I could be home more to see Malachi grow and mature. He's beginning to form words now, I think. Of course, it is all in when he feels like it. All in all, we are doing well. I know I sound like I am complaining at times, but I have been through 1 and a half pregnancies. Neither of them have been very difficult or complicated. God has blessed me with two easy pregnancies (minus the back pain). God is always good!!!
Today, yes I said today, I am actually posting something on the day it happened. Anywho, today Grammy discovered that Malachi has a new tooth. This puts him up to 11 teeth, 7 teeth and 4 molars. It is also comforting to me. The tooth that is coming in is next to one of the first teeth that he got. It is on the bottom and only the third one on the bottom (not including his two molars). Way to go Grammy and Malachi.
I think this explains his clumsiness the past few days. Almost every time a tooth is about to emerge, he loses all sense of balance. Unfortunately, this is the first time he has lost all balance while walking/running. He's taller now, too. That means that he has farther to fall. I say all this to tell you that he has had a few more spills and a few more bruises. Thursday he was walking on the driveway and just fell. He busted his lip open on the top. It is still pretty nasty looking, but Malachi doesn't show that it bothers him. Then, Sunday, he was playing in the nursery and fell. He got a pretty nice bruise on his head from that one. After noticing his tooth this evening, it all makes sense. He normally has good balance and can catch himself but not when a tooth is coming in. I don't think that they list that symptom with teething. It should be added. It is a proven fact with my little boy. I don't know how much more I can take, though! I can't stand seeing my little boy all banged and bruised, especially when there is nothing that I can do to help or change it.
Here are the pictures of his nose from two weeks ago. Uncle David was feeding Malachi some of his soup, since he was begging anyways (Malachi, not David).
This past Sunday was a rather traumatic day at our house. You see, Daniel, Malachi, and I went to a church leadership conference on Friday and Saturday. I learned some good things. The only problem: Malachi got about 45 min. of nap total on Friday. He then got about 7 hours of sleep (most nights, it is 11-12 hrs.) that night in the middle of a king-sized bed that should only have been shared by Daniel and I since we did had a pack 'n play set up. He did get about 2 hours nap total on Saturday in the car, but do you see where I'm going with this? The kid was severely off schedule, and to his credit, he wasn't that unpleasant. He was able to roll with the punches.
Then...we have a time change Saturday night/Sunday morning! Needless to say, Malachi was not his normal self. Well, due to all the lack of sleep, Sunday morning was a little difficult for our son. He started throwing an unneeded temper tantrum in the bathroom while I was trying to put in my contacts and Daniel trying to get in the shower. It was one of those tempers where he would hold his breath as long as possible. To try to make a long story short, Daniel and I both had a hold of Malachi while he was standing during his tantrum, but a few moments later, neither of us had control of him (not anyone's fault).
He ended up planting his face on the hard linoleum floor. His nose immediately swelled a little and turned pick and purple. Thankfully, 5 minutes later he was back to his normal self. He wouldn't allow me to put any ice on it. We were going to rush to the hospital, when Daniel and I both came to our senses and said, "What in the world can a doctor do to a bruised 15 mo. old nose?" and "What do doctor's know about my son that I don't already know?" The answer to both of those: nothing. Someone made a point to me today (or yesterday, rather) stating, "That's why doctors 'practice' medicine." I'm sorry. I know that some doctors may be fabulous, and obviously they have more knowledge of the human body than I. It is just that in the last 16 months I have come into contact with one too many incompetent doctors (like the one who told us Malachi's food allergy to milk was actually a virus). So, I err on the side of "let's not go."
Anywho, I digress. We waited out his injury. His nose (and mouth) seemed a little tender for Sunday and Monday. By Wednesday, he was pressing his nose and whole face against all kinds of surfaces with no notion of pain. His bruising is almost gone now. He is doing just fine. Sunday I felt like a failure as a mother. My mother told me that "those things happen," and she's right. The only problem is: I feel like they should happen to everyone else but not to me. I think most mothers (and fathers) feel that way. It's ok to comfort someone in their accidents with children, but it is not acceptable to have those accidents with your own children. I am learning to forgive myself and move on, but I am definitely more on my toes if even a small temper arises.
I just have to say now, Praise the Lord! The injury could have been much worse. God was protecting our little boy. Satan was trying to distract us from the teaching of the word to children (in Kids World), but God won in that situation. We had three children raise their hands for salvation!!! What if we had not been there? Would the children have been given that opportunity? I don't know, but what I do know is that frustrating morning and day turned into a celebration. God was glorified and is quickly healing the hurt that was done that morning. Thank you, Lord!
Why is it that when I wake up at 12:30 to go pee, I can't get back to sleep?
Why does my mind insist on suddenly kicking into overdrive and keeping me awake?
Why does my mind insist on dwelling on matters that I cannot change?
Why am I awake right now over a matter that I should honestly lose no sleep over?
Why are my frustrations from work keeping me up in the middle of the night when I try not to give them a second thought at home?
Why is it that I try my best to leave work at work, but my pregancy hormones require that I "bring it home" in the middle of the night when sleep is what I really need?
Why is it that the only thing that I can do to calm myself is type (since there's no one to talk to)?
I just want to sleep!!!!!!!! Is that too much to ask?
A week ago today, Daniel took Malachi to the doctor for his 15 mo. check up. Yes, I know it was at least two weeks after he should have gone. I guess I just need to get used to things not happening when I want them to. Anywho, he was a big boy and stood on the scale instead of laying on the baby scale. He also stood up to be measured. He is at least 23 pounds and is 29 inches TALL. This is great! He had stopped growing around 10 mo. He was actually a few oz. shy of 20 lbs. for his first birthday. I knew that he had been growing taller (especially evidenced by the fact that his pajamas were not fitting anymore. I was just concerned by his fickle eating habits and increased movement that he still hadn't gained any weight. Even though he has started almost running and doesn't always get the right nutrients, he is growing! Yay!
I also have to share a wonderful moment! My son is a worshipper already! Last night we had a "super" growth group night at our church. We all gathered at one house on Tuesday instead of three houses on Wednesday. We were doing some simple acoustic guitar worship songs. Malachi kept walking around the center of the floor. Then, he got near the guitar and stopped to look at one of the men in our church. This man had both hands raised high to heaven. Malachi then copied him for several seconds. It was so precious. I wish that I had had the camera available, but then I wouldn't have wanted to disturb worship. It made me laugh and cry all in the same moment. He is growing up and becoming more impressionable. If he wants to be an imitator of a man of God, that is fine with me. I think it is funny, though. I tell him all the time to raise his hands and praise the Lord. He never does. He didn't want to copy me. He wanted to copy someone else. Go figure. Thank you, Lord, again for this wonderful blessing from You. I just can't get over how truly blessed I am to have Malachi (God's messenger) in my life.
I'll try my best to get pictures out soon. The computer decided not to cooperate last time. Also, for those of you who can be taunted...I think that Daniel and I have decided on the first name for our new little boy. Just thought I would share, but that's all I'm sharing:)
There are lots of trees, Mommy!
Let's cut down the tree that I picked out.
Go, Daddy, go!
Daddy, the tree is down. Is it supposed to be laying down?
Sheep are scarier than dogs.
Baaaa!
Time for a hayride!
Let's go, Mommy. What are we waiting for?
I went on a treasure hunt and found two ornaments! I turned them in for a candy cane (that someone else will eat for me).
