We're Alive!

We really are alive. It's just been a crazy past couple of months. For one thing, I am pregnant! I'm due in the middle of August, which will mean David and the baby will be about 18 months apart. So far, I've been feeling pretty good. I wasn't very sick with David, but still had my days when I had to lie down for the majority of the day. That hasn't happened this time around so far, and I'm grateful for that. Lying down for a long amount of time isn't possible right now. The weirdest part about this pregnancy is the things that I crave and things that are no good for me to smell or eat. Things that last time I couldn't stand to be around, smell, or eat, are fine this time around and this time around I'm not craving all the carbs and sugars. Actually, I can't have too much sugar without me starting to feel sick. Kind of a bummer, but also a dream come true since it means that I eat better.

Of course, it wouldn't be a blog post if I didn't update a little bit about David. He took his first steps this past weekend, and every day this week he's taken at least a few steps on his own. Some of those have been by trickery, I'll just let go of his hand and he'll keep going for a few steps, but some have been him just letting go and taking off. We've made a bit of a game out of it and he loves it.

Oh, and for more fun, he can climb the stairs. The funny part is that while he can do it on his own, he doesn't want to. He prefers to "walk" up the stairs while holding our hands.  He actually cried when I let go of his hands to get him to go up by himself. Yes, he was going up the stairs on his own, but he was still crying until I took his hands again. It's pretty funny and it means that he still isn't interested in going upstairs without me.

David also loves to tease us. Next to "running" with Ashton, it's his favorite game. For a while now, we've teased him by taking things away and making it a little hard for him to get back. Yes, it sounds mean, but he loved it and still does. Well, it wasn't too long before he started turning the tables on us. He laughs so hard as he's pulling things away from us or as he's running away with whatever he's got. The laughter does interfere with him trying to get away sometimes. 
 

Best Pudding Ever

My sister-in-law Heather shared this recipe with me the other day and I'm a sucker for good pudding. Not to mention, I refuse to buy the store stuff and so when she mentioned this recipe, I was excited! I made it after David went to bed, although he would have gobbled that stuff up like he was starving, and it was fantastic! Ashton said that he thought it tasted more like chocolate mouse than pudding, but I don't think that's a bad thing. So here's the recipe:

2-3 avocados (yes, I'm serious)
1 banana (add more if you want and it's a good use for ripe bananas that you don't want to eat plain)
2-3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla (I didn't actually measure the vanilla)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 can coconut milk

I put all these ingredients in my food processor, but I'm sure a blender or mixer would work just as well. For those of you who don't like coconut, Ashton hates the stuff and he enjoyed this. You can hardly tell there's coconut in there so don't let it discourage you from trying it. Enjoy!

History

I love history. It was my favorite subject in High School and I took more history classes than I was required to take. Part of my love stemmed from the ease of it. I have a pretty good memory so memorizing some dates and facts for a test was fairly easy. Then there is the part where I viewed history as fact. This is stuff that happened so there's no hedging about what to do about it. It's in the past and that's that right? Well, not so much apparently.

What I didn't take into consideration back then was the interpretation of history, which is all circumstantial. Depending on your viewpoint, you interpret history differently, especially if you leave certain parts of history out. For instance, you can think that the Civil War was about State's rights and that Lincoln only issued the Emancipation Proclamation to boost the war effort of the North and give the troops morale, which is how I learned the Civil War. You can think that until you read the Confederate's Constitution which makes it clear that it was about slavery.

When people make up their own version of history, which usually means ignoring parts of the picture, it ends up being wrong. When I finally learned the whole truth, things started being clearer. My understanding of how our nation functions is much better because it is not our history that makes us, rather, it is what we do with our history that creates who we are. Anyone can sit around and be bitter about the things that have happened to us as a nation or individually. It takes true character and strength to get up, and learn from it. To blame our circumstances on the past is to neglect our future. If we are always looking behind us, we will miss the opportunities and blessings of right now, and the future. Never forget the past so that we will recognize and be guarded from recurrences, but look ahead to our future and start protecting that. 

Always Busy

While I am writing this, David is walking around the coffee table. Well, kind of. He hasn't figured out how to get around the corner yet. This has been his favorite game for about a week or so now. He started crawling a few weeks ago and instead of perfecting that art, he has decided to move onto the next thing: walking. He loves holding our hands and taking steps. He hasn't figured out how to pull himself up to the coffee table yet, although, he's really close. If he's holding our hands he can do it pretty much by himself. To get down he usually either falls down or reaches out to whoever is next to him and grabs them. This morning, however, he sat down. Of course, that posed a problem since he can't get back up on his own. At least he's learned not to try to reach down for whatever he's dropped. Seriously, it's the best game. Load the coffee table up with a bunch of stuff you don't mind him having and then he proceeds to push it all off the table. Repeat.

We've also discovered a love for swings. We also tried the slide, but that didn't hold the same kind of magic apparently.

As busy as he is and as much as I apparently have to be right there with him to play with him, I love my little mover. The solution to walking away from him to do something else is apparently one of two things. Either I have to wait for him to be perfectly happy on his own or sing to him while I'm gone. Unfortunately, neither is fool-proof.

6 Months Old

This morning I tried to ignore everything that was going on to try to sleep in. I ignored the light from the bathroom that was shining in my face from Ashton getting ready for work, the music that was playing to try to keep David quiet and happy, and, of course, David fussing in the pack 'n' play. David chose this moment to say, "Mum-ma." So much for trying to teach him "Dada" first. It was cute and I knew I wasn't going back to sleep.

David has been trying all kinds of new things lately. We've been giving him solid food for almost a month now and he loves the stuff. He goes back and forth between trying to feed himself using the veggie/fruit bag and wanting to be spoon fed. He does well with both though and so far he eats avocado, bananas, yogurt, and applesauce. His favorite thing though is trying to drink from a glass. He's not really interested in straws, and it doesn't help that I can't quite figure out how to get it in his mouth without nearly stabbing him. If only he didn't wiggle so much. In any case, he's decided that drinking straight from the glass is the way to go. He's getting pretty good, too. Doesn't nearly drown himself as much as he used to.

Wanted to do it himself

We expect him to start crawling any day now since he has a determination to get things out of his reach. He's not so much lunging for things anymore; now it's a deliberate "how do I get that?" Guess I better start baby proofing. Can't have his first day crawling followed immediately by his first accident.

One of my favorite parts of his development is that he's started to sleep in his pack n' play, without being swaddled! We've tried about everything to restrict his arm movements while he sleeps and still that's only really achieved if we put him in his swing to sleep, which occasionally we have to do. The kid is just too wiggly and strong. I'm sure he'd give even the best swaddler a run for their money. So a couple weeks ago, we started putting him down in his crib to sleep. He does really well with it and is starting to spend the whole night in there.

My other favorite part is that I don't have to feed him at night anymore. Almost 12 hours free from feeding him is amazing. Sure, it'd be a whole lot nicer if I didn't have to get up at all, but hopefully that will come when he has his own room. As it is, I only had to get up twice last night to give back his pacifier.

Since David is 6 months now, we went in for his wellness check. He's 17 lbs 12 oz and is 25 3/4 inches tall. He's doing great and his motor skills are particularly developed. He had his first shot during this appointment and he took it very well. He cried a little bit afterward, but not nearly as much as I thought he would. He was perfectly happy upon getting his pacifier.

Spare Time

In my spare time, which usually lasts as long as David's nap time, when I'm not busy with other stuff or I just really need a break, I've been reading. I haven't read anything new really, although one book it had been such a long time since previously reading it that I felt like I was reading it for the first time. I enjoy the classics so after I got done reading the Twilight series again, I started reading Jane Austen books. Yes, I've got them all. One of the best Christmas presents ever from my hubby!

David has also become a bit of a reader. I've been reading to him for a couple months now, but he loves looking at his books on his own. He'll just sit and flip pages, or rather he'll try to flip pages. It's really cute and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Thankfully, he was mostly absorbed in what he was doing so, although he would look up every time the camera went off, he usually went right back to the book.



Ashton decided that he should start reading David a book, a long book. So, what do you think he chose? That's right, Harry Potter. Starting on the chapter books early.

One of My Favorite Songs

I started listening to this song a lot last year. I loved the message and the tune. It made Ashton laugh when I'd play it over and over again, which happened a lot. Thankfully, he didn't get sick of it because I have yet to grow tired of it. I don't have to play it now though because I have it memorized and can sing it. I started singing it to David when he'd get fussy or when I wanted him to fall asleep and he was resisting. It's become David's favorite song and I'll sing it to him when he's sad or tired or both. It's soothing for both of us. The song is called, "Window to His Love" and it's by Julie de Azevedo. There are two slightly different versions of this song, but they are both really good. I cannot adequately explain why I love this song so much, but what this song talks about is what I want to accomplish as a mom and if I can even achieve a small fraction of it, I'll be happy.

I want to be a window to His love,
So when you look at me you will see Him.
I want to be so pure and clear that you won't even know I'm here,
'Cause His love will shine brightly through me.

I want to be a doorway to the truth,
So when you walk beyond you will find Him.
I want to stand so straight and tall, that you won't notice me at all.
But through my open door He will be seen.

A window to His love.
A doorway to the truth.
A bearer of the message He'd have me bring to you
And with each passing day
I want to fade away.
'Till only He can be seen and I become a window to His love.

I want to be a window to His love,
So you can look through me and you'll see Him.
And some day shining through my face, you'll see His loving countenance,
'Cause I will have become like He is.

A window to His love.
A doorway to the truth.
A bearer of the message He'd have me bring to you
And with each passing day
I want to fade away.
'Till only He can be seen and I become...

A window to His love
A doorway to the truth.
A bearer of the message He'd have me bring to you.
And with each passing year
I want to disappear
'Till He's become ev'rything
and I've become a window to His love.