Summer begins...
My mom just spent a week with us and it was wonderful. Liam is so completely and utterly in love with her. When she is here she spends nearly every waking moment with him. She takes him running, she buys him things he is totally into, she gets on the floor and plays the games he wants to play...She has totally embraced grandmother-hood and you can see how good she is at when you hear Liam talk about his Mormor. He cried last night because he knew she was leaving today (even though we are going to be in NJ with her in less than a week!).
In addition to loving Liam, she is wonderful with Finn. After we witnessed how the new vitamins Finn was taking affected his poor little bowels, she spent hours roasting and pureeing a stew that will give him the iron and many of the vitamins he needs, as well as protein and hair on his chest! She was amazing at knowing when to step back and just let me and Finn do our thing, and when to jump in and hold him so I could make dinner or take a shower.
I would say this might have been one of the best weeks I have ever spent with my mother. I am finally over all of my nonsense and she is in a place where we can just be together. (Okay, I diverged for a few moments and we had a dumb little "tiff" - entirely my fault, and she had the grace to let it go....well, I am the younger one...) Still, it was a great week and I am really looking forward to going to NJ next week. Here are some highlights of the week:
Liam's 5th bday party - he turns five on June 1st. I can't believe it. He was so excited at his party that he puked water and pink marshmallows - and then burst into tears, crying, "Does this mean I can't have any cake???" Once I assured him that he could have cake, he regained his color and ran off with his friends. I think the heat and excitement got to him. We were at a park, it was 90+ degrees...I sewed capes for all his little super hero friends. It was a lot of work, and even though it was fun, I will never have a party like that again (I see you rolling your eyes - well, for NOW, I'm not thinking of ever having a party like that again).
Here we are in Fort Worth about to watch the longhorns walk down the street.
I know, Liam needs a haircut. Now for some really cute photos of the Finn-ster. Man, this baby just gets cuter every day. He's waving and nearly clapping. He's getting up on all fours and going to crawl any day. He pulls himself up to standing. He cracks up. He worships Liam and lights up every time he sees a dog. I am told by his pediatrician that he needs to gain more weight...and I am working on it. I can't bear the thought of weaning him, so I am stuffing him with my mom's stew and making his cereal with formula. I also put formula in a cup for him at mealtime...he's not totally into that, but...whatever I can do to beef him up...anyway, enjoy these:
ew...my arms are chubbier than i thought...ug.moving right along....
*sigh* Man, I love my boys. They are so cute and lovable...Tonight I went to visit a friend who had a little boy on Monday. I cried when I held her little Callum. What a perfect miracle. What a sweet, darling little baby boy. How amazing it is that we are given the opportunity to make precious little people and love them with all our hearts. How is it that I should only have two? Or, more accurately, how is it that something as cold as money should determine how many babies I can bring into this world? In my heart, I know there is room to love at the very least one more...but my practical brain knows that two is gift enough. Two is a financial burden that is bearable. Two means we can probably go on vacation once a year (one day, anyway). Two. One, two. And there's that. For now.
Are you wondering how Papabear is doing? Well, he's great. He loves his job. He loves the daily challenges that walk through the door, figuring out a diagnosis and fixing people as best he can. He loves me. He has spent the last few months working out loans and figures and whatnot so that we could sell my Subaru and acquire a bigger car. (It was getting tight in the backseat now that Finn is out of the carrier.) If all goes well, I will be driving a new PathFinder tomorrow and our total monthly car payments will be DOWN by nearly a hundred bucks! (which will be good b/c I am sure the pathfinder will guzzle more gas...) Anyway, Bill is getting to a good place. He has been opening up and talking more. We have finally made a realistic plan for the next two years to get us where we want to be. And it is all good. Things have been rough the last bunch of years, especially for Bill. I think he finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel - and me and Liam and Finn are standing there with balloons dancing to our favorite band (Sloan, in case you didn't know).
And finally, I have lost only 8 pounds since I elminated wheat, eggs, dairy, peanuts, and some soy from my diet. I have recently started a new exercise routine and I feel very good. I wish french fries were restricted...but alas, there will always be something to thwart my weight loss...still, I AM losing, ever so slowly. But more importantly, I am lowering my cholesterol and overall, feeling wonderful.
Had enough yet? I hope so, I am tired.
