Fall Happenings

My life these days is ......... fill in the blank? The best way I know how to describe it is urgent. I wake up with a sense of urgency and go-go-go, and it never stops. I never stop. I am constantly doing, being, seeing, breaking, pouring, bathing, fixing, loving, and on and on. I realized earlier as I was typing up three months worth of updates on the baby of our family that this blog solely consists of monthly baby updates, ha! All of my words floating around my brain are just ... fried? I'm going to make a concerted effort at writing again (just don't hold a gun to my head) ... but it's therapy for me and I need (WANT) to do it. I'm so thankful that even though I haven't written a proper anything in who knows how long, I am still writing about my babies ... because I forget. I have forgotten. And I'm so glad to see it here and remember. Such precious, precious memories and milestones.

Yesterday was Hampton's Halloween party at St. Paul's. He did the "monster wiggle" and ate his weight in candy and had fun with his friends. I got a 75 minutes massage this morning (praise hands!) and then we watched Florida/Georgia and had a family birthday party for Michael. Tomorrow morning is trunk-or-treat at church, then brunch at Grandmommy's, and then pumpkin carving party at our house with our small group (chili, pumpkins, apple cider, and s'mores on the fire pit - so fun!). On Monday, Halloween, Hampton has his costume parade & sing at St. Paul's and then trick or treating later that night. Hampton is a t-rex, Carter is a lion, and Will is a goldfish :) Hampton has recently decided he's not all that into naps and the end of our days tend to be a little on the eek side because of it, so here's to hoping he will want take one tomorrow!

I ordered Carter's birthday party invitations today. His birthday is the day before Thanksgiving this year but his party will be the weekend before. Mark and Kasey (and Kingston) will be here the entire week so we're excited! So much fun to look forward to ...

On Remembering & Goals

I always thought that I would remember details and days and moments, but it seems the more details and days and moments there are to remember, the easier they are to forget. I'm so thankful that I started blogging so many years ago for this reason and I'm so thankful to continue doing it today ... even though it's not very often :/ The boys are at the sweetest ages and yet the days are so long and they all run together and unless I write it down (type it!) ... it escapes.

One of my goals for 2016 is to continue to write ... as much as possible. Writing to remember, but also writing because it frees me up. Makes me a little more sane, if anything. I'm trying to cook more too. I feel like last year was a wash in the cooking department ... I wanted to do it, but trying to cook with a colicky baby ... is for the birds ... and trying to cook while pregnant with severe food aversion + nausea ... is also for the birds :) But I feel like the one year mark is always a good milestone for our family life, I remember it with Hampton and it feels the same with Carter ... life kind of hits more of a routine (sleeping 12+ hours at night, scheduled naps during the day, no longer nursing, more independant play, etc.) ... everything sort of falls into place ... so I'm going to cook my heart out until May when we resort to frozen pizza and take-out again ;) I want to read over the next few months. My book club read Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale several months ago and it was so good ... stayed with me kind of good. I recommend it!

I think, most of all, I want to remember that these years with these boys are so short. That of anything I could focus on in 2016, any goal, any word, any verse ... it would be about that ... loving my people, honoring my God, and doing the best I can each day ... no matter how many trains get flushed down the toilet or how many balls go flying through the air threatening to take out everything in their path ... I just want to be all in. I want to love well, live well, and give well.

That's the goal.

Christmas 2015

Loved the holidays with my sweet boys this year ... Hampton was fully enthralled and "all in" for all things Christmas. Some of the highlights: going through the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts a few nights a week and getting Hampton a special treat (hot chocolate) which we put in his sippy cup with ice cubes .... and driving around to look at lights. It was a win for everyone ... the boys loved it and we got out of the house during "wild hours" :) We went downtown several times to see the lights and huge Christmas tree on the square. One Friday night we went down with my parents and grandmother to see the lights and hear the Symphony play. We attended Hampton's playgroup's annual Christmas brunch in jammies + book exchange, Amanda's annual cookie exchange (Kasey made oatmeal raisin, I made gingersnaps, mom made peanut butter chocolate bars), and went to Seaworld with Mark, Kasey and Michael the week of Christmas (highlight being the Polar Express train for H!). Hampton loved looking at our tree with the lights on and repeatedly asked me what my favorite ornaments were ... I told him mine were the ones of his and Carter's handprints ... he told me his favorite was "the little girl" (which is the only ornament on our tree that belonged to Mary Kaye ... it was one she received her first Christmas as a mom) and the Nutcracker.

We read so many Christmas books and by the end of the season, H had memorized the first three pages of "Twas the Night Before Christmas..." He loved watching Elf and The Polar Express and wanted to drink every glass of milk out of his light up snowman glass with the straw! Hampton rang the bell for Salvation Army one Saturday morning and the entire family showed up to throw quarters in :) We went to see the Living Nativity at Good Shepherd (Carter was fascinated by the goats up on the rocks) and to aunt Kio's to decorate sugar cookies with the cousins (Hampton and Carter both ate icing for their lunches that day ... 'tis the season!). We saw Santa at the mall and Hampton was both thrilled and a little aghast by the fact that "Santa lived at the mall" ... we tried to explain that he was just visiting from the north pole, but that only went so far ;)

Hampton told us numerous times that Christmas was Jesus' birthday. We went through the play by play of the actual event with his nativity scene, but most days baby Jesus was taking a ride on the John Deere tractor and camels were jumping off the top of the stable. Hilarious. Most perplexing to H was the fact that Jesus was born in the stable and not in the hospital. Oh my :)

We attended the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church and then went to mom and dad's for seafood gumbo and stone crab. The boys lasted for about an hour, but after a week of hairy nap schedules and staying up later than usual with family being home, we headed back to our house to set out cookies and eggnog for Santa.

Christmas morning was the best! Everyone came to our house to watch the boys see all that Santa had brought and aunt Loren, Grammy and Poppy skyped in from Birmingham to watch too. The highlight was the jeep. Hampton drives it and Carter is his trusting (and somewhat hesitant) passenger. They are hilarious to watch as they cruise around the yard and down the driveway in their blue jeep. It seems like we opened presents forever and the boys ended up with loot ... that we're still trying to find room for!! :) It was a fun day ... we had breakfast at our house, and then went to mom and dad's to open more gifts, lunch over there at 1 (when both boys had epic meltdowns in their red jon-jons due to complete exhaustion and were sent to Honey's room and the pack n play for much needed naps), and then once Grammy and Poppy arrived ... we opened the envelope to reveal the gender of baby #3 in front of a whole room of adoring and crazed family fans. Afterward, we came back to our house where I made Christmas dinner. More presents, my great-grandmother's recipe for peppermint chocolate dessert, coffee, and hit. the. bed. What a day - what a month! So fun :)

Life Update

The last several weeks have been so busy! Lots of end of summer playdates, family in from Baltimore and Memphis, a baby shower, and a trip to Tallahassee! Now we are gearing up for the start of preschool (one week from Tuesday!) with haircuts and shopping trips for school supplies :) My sweet dad has had a tough summer, first with the heart attack and recovery, and then the tear of his retina. We got a good report several weeks ago with the retina but then it began to detach in another place, so my dad will have surgery this Wednesday in Tampa. The eye surgeon does not want to do the surgery (seeing as we're not that far out from the heart stuff), but it has to be done and the cardio team has given their blessing, so we're going to pray and trust that God has everything under his control and care. Due to my dad's setbacks, Paul has been at the helm of the business pretty consistently ... making for some fairly long days (for all of us!).

Hampton and Carter are beginning to interact more and more ... it has been so sweet to watch their relationship begin to unfold. Carter gets so excited when it's time to get brother up in the mornings or from a nap ... he crawls to his door and sits there if he wakes up before him and starts to squeal. He wants him to come out and play so badly :)

Books I have read in the last month or so and loved ... A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor, Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers, and The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle. Also, currently obsessed with "Call the Midwife" on netflix ... oh. my. word. LOVE!

I can't believe that fall is approaching so quickly ... football season, a full school calendar (yowza!) complete with class parties and fundraisers and performances, Carter's first birthday, the holidays ... the days all run together!

Tour de South Summer 2015

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind ... Laurel and Jake got married at our cousins' farm outside of Chattanooga almost two weeks ago and that event began our tour de South. We rented a mini van because we needed LOTS of room and it came equipped with dvd players and bucket seats. Win all around. The Friday before the wedding we left Ocala (around 3 a.m.) and drove an 8 hour trip in approximately 12 hours (stopping for Chick-fil-a playground runs, to nurse the baby, Cracker Barrel, etc.). The boys did really well and only cried the last 30 minutes of the trip when they nearly went postal from being in the carseats for so long. The mountains were beautiful, air muggy and warm, and hotel room with a two year old and 6 month old something to remember! It was such a wonderful time with family ... Mark and Kasey came down from Nashville and Jill and John Martin came down from Maryville. Hampton's favorite part was the dance floor and he would grab everyone by hand and drag them out to dance, "Honey, dance!" "DD, dance!!" After the wedding we drove clear across the state to Memphis (arriving around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning). Paul and I stopped in Jackson to get gas at the station right across from Union and started laughing out loud RE: "times they are a changing" ... it was 1 a.m. and we were gassing up the mini van with two sleeping boys in the backseat.

In Memphis we hit the ground running ... church at Leawood East, Father's Day cookout with Grammy and Poppy, I met Bethany for Sheridan's and then sat on her couch until nearly midnight talking like we were still in college, lunch with my EdR colleagues (Dee, Charles, Susan) and a visit to the office the next day, a visit with the Veneman's, lunch with Anna at Hog n Hominy, a visit with Molly and Mary and Kevin (right before their move back to Texas!), children's museum with Bethany, Ms. Carla and Alayna, cook-out at the Stancil's with Jess and Stephen, Shannon and Heath, Mary Jane, and all of the kids, Shelby Farms with Elizabeth and kids, breakfast with Ashli, Matt, Henry and James (passing through on their way to Virginia), date night at The Beauty Shop with our favorite waiter Joe, Bass Pro with grandparents, aunt Loren, aunt Cindy ... a visit from aunt Jan and Renee ... lots of food, lots of time in the giraffe pool ... so fun!

We were planning to leave for Florida early Sunday and spend a few days in Tallahassee to see new hometown "cousin", Moore, but my dad suffered a heart attack on Friday and everything went into overdrive until we got back to Ocala 36 hours later. We did spend Saturday night with Mary and David at their new house, but didn't even bring suitcases in ... just got up around 6:30 when Carter woke up (fed him), jumped back in the mini and away we went ...

Carter's First Few Weeks

Hampton woke up from his nap around 10 minutes after we

came home from the hospital with Carter. They had already

met in the hospital and Hampton knew immediately that his

little brother was home. He was such a sweetheart with him.

 



Hampton wanted to hold his hand :)

 



There are few things sweeter in life than your

baby asleep on your chest.

 



 

Poppy and Carter taking a nap together.

Three generations!

 



 

Grammy and Poppy stayed with us the week Carter was

born and then went to Birmingham the morning of

Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with Loren, Matt,

and Stephen.

 

Sister and SK came to visit from Tallahassee!

 

Lauren, Bennett and Caitlin were here from

Virginia and came over for an afternoon of holding

the baby and orange picking...

l-o-v-e

 



Grandmommy and Carter

 



 

My little turkey on Thanksgiving

 

It takes a village to prep a toddler and 4 day old for a

photo shoot ...

 

And this is the best you get ... grin.

 

Carter looks so much like a Hagood to me in

this picture. He looks so much like my brother

Mark's baby pictures, but his eyes are

mine.

 

What I love about this picture besides Paul

holding C is the solo cup in the background.

About two weeks before the baby was born

I swore off dishes and demanded we use

paper and plastic everything. Glad we have

documentation of that very sane moment :)

By Carter's two week appointment with Dr.

Steph he had gained 1 lb 7 oz (in 9 days)

and grown 3/4 of an inch. He got a great

report!

Pure Joy

My sweet friend, Kristie, of Pure Joy

Photography took these pictures of us

in my parents' rose garden and in the space

of yard where Paul and I had our wedding

reception ... I love them!

 



End Of Summer Fun

 

Helping daddy with yard work :)

 



...and showing off stick treasures on our walk

 



Snack time with SK at Wild Waters!

 



Meltdowns, The Pelvis, & Blessings

So yesterday ... kicked my rear end. My child woke up from his afternoon nap in the moodiest, testiest, most two-year-old of all ... states. I was trying to cook dinner for another family who just welcomed their first baby into the world, while my firstborn laid at my feet crying and pulling my yoga pants down to my ankles ... all while my second to-be-born had very recently become the cause of what I thought was going to be the very end of my pelvis. Side note: who knew a pelvis could hurt like this? It is insane that a pelvis can hurt like this, but let me tell you, it can.

Anyway, my child continued into meltdown mode and I continued with many a come to Jesus meeting with him. After disciplining him for throwing inanimate objects, I told him I loved him and to say he was sorry, for which he always does (with big crocodile tears falling from his cheeks) ... and then five minutes later it happened again. And then again. Again. You get the picture... and so goes parenting a toddler. Consistency, I am told, is key, but listen, at some point in all of this you could have found me rocking back and forth in a corner holding myself (holding my pelvis more likely) and contemplating drink and drug. But WHATEVER MAN ain't nobody got time for that ... so Hampton went into his high chair for dinner. And that's when I nearly lost my mind. That's when ... to what should my wandering eyes should appear, but a dinner plate of beans and rice ... being hurled through the air.

Fast forward to two minutes later when Paul calls. He heard sobs for about 35 seconds before he said, "I'll be home in five minutes." He was on his way home anyway, but geez, what grace. He took that boy on a long walk while I finished dinner (and sobbing) and then I went to drop off dinner to our friends (by myself which might as well have been a trip to the Carribean) and then I texted an SOS to my fellow villagers who are also in the trenches and I laughed all the way home. Because here's what I know for sure: my friends get it. They are transparent, vulnerable, haven't got it all figured out either ... moms. And their stories about their days with their own kids eased my burden until I was nearly crying again (this time from laughing).

And today ... I'm four weeks away from my due date. Other than being up half the night from my pelvis (again ... who knew??), I feel good. Tired, but good. Hampton and I went to my grandmother's this morning and while I rocked on her front porch, she and Hampton took a neighborhood nature walk (he loves walks with my grandmother, but who wouldn't? she stops to smell the roses, lets him play with every stick and pine cone he comes across, points out birds ... she's the best). This afternoon Mark and Kasey arrive for the weekend and tonight Paul and I are going to the Kristian Stanfill "Take it All" concert at our church (Louie Giglio too) ... and Lord knows I need some Jesus in my life. Thankful that no matter how bad our yesterdays, as my mom always told me while I was growing up, tomorrow is another day. And this one has been a blessing.

The Last 24 Hours

The days have been rather long lately ... but the last 24 hours have put me through the ringer.

Not even a week after I backed out of my garage and hit my grandmother's car (parked behind me) I went to bible study last night and parked in Alli's cul-de-sac like always only to have an older lady back out of her driveway and slam into the side of my parked car. What I know for sure? State Farm is loving us.

Got home from bible study and sat down on the couch only to have to keep standing up because I was in so much pain (abdomen and wrapped around my waist to my back). Given the fact that I made it through a natural labor and delivery, I'm fairly sure my pain tolerance is pretty high ... which is why I called my dr. early this afternoon. The pain was horrible and I knew it was too early and too much for me to just hope it would go away on its own. Once at the dr.'s office it was determined that I needed to go to the hospital for an ultrasound to make sure a placental abruption wasn't taking place (or anything else along those lines) ........ a few hours later, ultrasound was fine and I was sent home with orders to "rest." If I wake up tonight/tomorrow with the same amount of pain, I am to go back to the dr.'s office for blood work, etc. So thankful to God that the baby looked good on the ultrasound ... and praying we can get to the bottom of what's causing the pain.

Silver lining of the day? The results of my glucose tolerance test. After being told at 16 weeks that my sugar was through the roof, I went on the diabetic diet and got really strict with myself. I was so hoping to not have gestational diabetes with this pregnancy but there's a 60% chance of recurrence after having had it with a previous pregnancy. Not only are there higher risks for both mom and baby with diabetes but there's also a need for induction (to take the baby early due to high birth weight reasons) ... I was so disappointed to be induced with Hampton because I wanted to experience going into labor on my own (plus the fact that contractions are much more intense with the Pitocin making natural birth much harder). So all of this to say, miraculously, thankfully ... I do not have gestational diabetes in this pregnancy. I took the two-hour test yesterday and got the results while at the dr.'s office earlier. Major answered prayer.

Bruce Family Beach Trip

In July we spent a week at the beach with the Bruce fam!

 



Hampton and his first balloon animal :)

 



He was the center of attention with his aunt and uncles and

loved every second of it...

 



We celebrated Poppy's 64th birthday with seafood

and an ice cream cake

 



Grammy and Hampton

 



 

 Worn out after a week of fun in the sun!!

An Early Sunrise

We went to the beach with Paul's family last week ... his parents, aunt, brother, sister and brother-in-law ... we had the best time ... spending long mornings at the beach, afternoons by the pool, eating dinner in open air restaurants with gulf views. So many special memories. And Hampton ate up the attention {and sand} like his life depended on it :)

One night we went to bed late and about the time I drifted to sleep, the baby started screaming. We had him in his pack n play in the bathroom (which adjoined our room) because he does much better in his own closed off space and as most find on big family vacations, sometimes that means a walk-in closet or bathroom. I got up and went into the bathroom and his entire little bed was soaked (diaper leak issues), so I got him up, changed him, changed his bed .... and by the time that was all over, he was ready to party like it was 1999. Except it was around 11:30 and everyone else was ready to sleep.

I finally put him in bed with me and between his kicking and the baby inside me kicking, I thought my ribs would fall off all together. We did manage to sleep at some point that night, albeit not long enough for me. Around 4 a.m. Hampton found himself merged between the bed and the wall and decided it was time to wake up for good. I felt like one of those crazy cartoon characters ... delirious and trying to reason with an almost 17 month old to go back to sleep .... when all he wanted to do was jump on my legs and get in my face with his little fingers prying my eyelids open. This all lasted longer than it should have and in an effort not to wake up the rest of the house {again} ... we got up. I put my glasses on, put my hair in a ponytail and we climbed into the golf cart (me still in my pj's, H in a diaper) for the ride to the beach.

The sun was barely up, I had gotten about 2 good hours of sleep and I felt ... mad. I stayed this way the entire ride down to the beach, and it was then that I remembered two things: the wise words of a friend {about changing her own attitude and perspective in relation to her child's sleeping habits} and the quote I have used fairly often in the last year and a half ... babies be babies. And remembering these two things managed to change everything for me. My morning was suddenly so different.

Hampton and I watched the sun come up over the ocean that morning. We were the only two on the beach and it was one of my favorite moments of our entire trip.

God's mercies are new every morning.

Georgia/N. Carolina Mountain Trip (June 2014)

We went to the mountain house in Clayton, GA for my

grandmother's 75th birthday and also traveled over to

Highlands, NC for some good eats and treats :)

 



Liza, Hampton and Becca before a delicious lunch

at Grapes and Beans

 



 

farmer's market stop

Blue Valley Overlook, NC

 



I have my picture on this same fence (at the Dillard House)

from when I was Hampton's age ... sweet memories!