So much to say

I admit, that I have not been diligent or motivated in the least to post a blog entry lately. Which is truly ridiculous because there is so much going on, even when we don't leave the house. There are my thoughts about baby number two that keep me up at night. There's Aaron and his unending, and always entertaining exploration of the world, which changes so much for him each day. We also helped some friends move recently, but in all the work, I failed to document anything. Grandparents have both visited a few times. We are watching my parents' dog, Maggie. The wonderful rain. Aaron's obsession with Alan's project Jeep and many hours of watching Daddy work on it. There's been a lot happening. I have managed to maintain a steady flow of photographs, so I am just going to start after the last Labor day posting and work forward, stopping to tell a few stories in between.

I'll start by telling you that in close to two weeks (October 5) we will find out if Number Two is a boy or a girl and I am a little nervous. My husband and family will be the first to say that change makes me uncomfortable and quite anxious - as I am imagining a good deal of "change" if it is a girl. But then if it is a boy, it is strange to envision another boy running around that is not the same as Aaron, because he is all that we know. The whole concept of an additional child, even though the vast majority go this route, is daunting. I sometimes think, how on earth am I going to be able to chase after him, nurse the baby, and get the things done that I need to? Shopping carts, how does that work with two? And then there's the mental picture of two car seats in the back of my husband's VW Jetta, or even the Jeep one day.

At the end of the day, it is an amazing blessing that only the Lord has all of the plans for and answers to. He would never have blessed us so miraculously were we not ready. I have printed on canary yellow paper, hanging just above my monitor, Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble." I know that the Lord will give us the tools and wisdom we need for each new step. Now, I just have to keep telling myself that, over and over.


When the first wave of cooler weather came through a couple of weeks ago, I brought Aaron's swing out of summer hibernation and he and Doggie went for a ride.

The ride would not be complete without a little lovin'.

Graycie Jane normally spends every daylight hour inside the dog house, however the cooler weather brought the lazy princess out of her hibernation, but heaven forbid she should have to lay in the dirt with the dogs... her face quite clearly portrays this sentiment. Hayley however (foreground) is content with digging holes for cooler mud and snuggling up to pretend she is a pig.

We used one of the car seats in the truck one day and in interim it sat in the den, so Aaron made good use of it as if it were a throne.

Alan bought this "jeep" (yes, it is a Hummer, but Aaron is calling it a Jeep, or Bup rather, so we are going with that) a couple of weeks ago. It has many snazzy features like lights and motor noises and driving forward and backward on its own. However, we had to remove the batteries because it was all just too much for Aaron. When the jeep started driving off on its own and revving the engine, Aaron began to cry loudly and chase after it as if it were never coming back. Then he picked it up and brought it back to his Daddy, all while wildly crying. It would have made a very sad yet entertaining video, but we never expected it, so there's no documentation. So, we are currently playing with this Bup in manual, quiet mode.
If we lose sight of Aaron we call out, "What are you doing?" and he always answers something (in his own language) and by the tone of his voice we can generally tell if he is just playing in the other room or he is up to no good. This morning I was washing dishes and couldn't see or hear him anymore, so I went searching and found him in his room, reading. He kept sitting Doggie up, facing him, as if he were reading to him. It was precious.
After his bath I always tell Aaron to "go find Daddy" to get his goodnight kisses. When I came out from cleaning up the bathroom, this is what I found. They are reading a Jeep 4x4 catalog. Notice the legs identically crossed. They could not be more perfect.
In honor of finally getting to watch UT football on our TV at home (thanks to DirecTV dropping Versus) Aaron wore his new UT jersey. He is a little red from playing outside.

Then it was suddenly time to drop and mug down Doggie. I am not sure what spurs these things, they just happen, quite frequently.

My parents are in Iowa this week visiting our family and have left their dog Maggie under our care. Aaron and Maggie get along great, excluding the occasional battle over a carrot (Maggie's favorite and Aaron's new favorite snack). He likes to chase her around and when she starts play barking he giggles so loud and ferociously that he falls over. It is quite entertaining. Come Sunday he will be looking around our house for her and she will be back at her home enjoying her fluffy handmade blankets and the peace and quiet.

Playing with his vehicles.

Stopping to pose...
and then for Doggie kisses.

Camera grumpy...

Just plain goofy.

Lately Aaron is perfecting the art of hiding. Sometimes he is quite good at it and at other times he is convinced that if he can't see me, then surely, I cannot see him. Quick, I'll hide behind the back of this chair, and she won't make me eat dinner! His favorite hiding place/time is while I am calling him to the bathroom at night for a bath, he stands just on the other side of the wall and very slowly peeks around at me. I usually pretend I don't see him for a few seconds and then attack (as quickly as a downed pregnant woman can do such things). He giggles and thinks he's won, again.

We do have normal toddler toys, but he'd rather grab boxes and rolls of paper towel. Everything is his toy, and if I disagree, then he lets me know his discontent and we all move on. This unopened roll kept him busy for at least twenty minutes.

Not much can top an empty diaper box. It was Aunt Jenny who first introduced the diaper box as a soapbox derby vehicle and he loved it. So, before it goes to recycling, he plays with it for a few days. He'll get inside of the box and start making motor noises with his mouth (which means - take me for a ride). I can only last a few minutes bending over and pushing him around, but he loves it. Then he hauls it over by the couch and it becomes his little domain for playing and eating snacks.

Last one, a picture of him coloring. He enjoys it, but as with most things, loses interest after a short period of time.

I have a few videos but I haven't finished formatting and editing them, so those will comprise my next post.

I have to wrap this up, Aaron is growing more and more impatient and is currently entertaining himself by sitting inside the basket of dirty laundry with his Daddy's boxers on his head. Horrible, and yet really funny. The very thought of having two little entertainers running around this place makes my heart sing and my side hurt :)