My baby's not a baby anymore!

Ok, warning!!!! This blog is a little boring. I am writing it more for me so that I can remember this the next time around. This is kind of bitter sweet. You want your kids to grow and do more things, but when they do, you want them to stop and stay little. Or, at least I do. Also, I am such a worrier. I always worry about if I am doing what's right for Jarrett. Being a new mom and not having a clue, I didn't know when Jarrett should no longer take a bottle. So, the week before he turned one, when my sitter said that he wouldn't be taking bottles over there anymore, I freaked out. I said, "I don't know if he's ready for that." Well, come to find out, he was. He never even skipped a beat and did fine. We continued to do a bottle at night and in the morning. Well, I was visiting with a friend that got "in trouble" by her doctor because her twins were still taking bottles and they are about 8 months older than Jarrett. So, of course I start planning on how to ween him from the two bottles that he still takes. I have done research and read about kids that cry and cry and want the bottle. Some parents are still giving their 3 year old a bottle. What do I do??? I am sure that I was thinking about this a little more than a normal person should. Well, last week, one morning, he woke up and refused to take his bottle. I tried several times and he kept pushing it away and shaking his head no. So, I finally figured it out. He was done with the morning bottle. Now, I switched to being worried about the night bottle. We go to the doctor in a couple of weeks. Me, being the people pleaser that I am, did not want Dr. Klepper to "get on to me." :) I am thinking this is going to be something traumatic for Jarrett because that is what the internet said. (I've got to quit believing everything I read.) Well, we decided to wait on Friday night to see when he would wake up to take his bottle. Guess what! He didn't. He slept until 7, which is way late for him. And he has done that the two nights since. So, apparently, those bottles were more for me than him. Now, I am glad that I don't have to wash bottles anymore, but sad that he is too big for a bottle. What's next, driving??? No, I think we should tackle the passy first. Any suggestions???

We took the kids to take the silly old timey pics in the mall the other day. Here are a couple of them.

My Dad!

Today, my dad turned 60. I can't believe it. He, by no means, seems that old to me. But, I also don't feel 30 either, so I don't know. The older I get, 40, 50, and 60 don't seem that old. Yesterday, my mom told me that this one has been pretty tough on him. My dad isn't one of those people that really gets bothered by things like birthdays, so I have really been thinking a lot about him this morning. I have two brothers, so it is safe to say that I am a Daddy's girl. I have always been and always will be. All of the pics are from my wedding. I need to take more pictures with him more often.

Ever since Marc and I got married, there have been times when I have said, "I think I married my father." The similarities go on and on. I am normally joking, but seriously, that really isn't a bad thing. My dad is the best man that I know. I am lucky to have found one that has some of the same attributes that he does. He LOVES his kids and LOVES his grandkids even more. You wouldn't believe how he turns to mush when it comes to Jarrett. He talks about how Jarrett's laugh makes his day and seeing pics of him makes him smile. I love this. You don't always get to see this side of your parents. He is Jarrett's only grandpa (Papaw) and so their relationship is so important and going to be one that Jarrett cherishes for the rest of his life. I can't wait to watch them bond over the years. I love him more than he will ever know! He is the best dad, grandfather, and now as an adult, friend. He is one of the strongest Christians that I know.

So, I said all of that to say this: Sometimes, I think I take him for granted and I don't want to do that anymore. It is so important to tell the one's that we love, how much we love them. That should NEVER go unsaid and we never know what tomorrow holds.

Whew!

All four grandkids, Evyn, Jarrett, Caleb, and Elijah

Hayride
Jarrett eating Fruit Loops

Here several pics from this weekend. We had such a good time. Like I said before, my fam was in town from Arkansas. So, we spent a lot of time with them since we don't get to see them often enough. This was my weekend.

FRIDAY: We got out of school early, so I met them for lunch. From there, we went SHOPPING! I don't get to do this very often because it is a little difficult with a 15 month in tow. I was the bad mom and left him at the sitter because it was right in the middle of his nap. Anyway, after shopping in the mall we went to the Peddler Show at the Civic Center. Growing up, my mom and I always went to this. My favorite thing is to sample the dips and soups. YUMMO! Anyway, it was great to walk around and look at all of the stuff. I did a little Christmas shopping. I actually got Marc's big gift. I normally wait until the last minute on his so I am super excited!!!! It isn't anything that he has asked for, so I hope he's not dissappointed. We'll see. We finished the day by going to eat with Marc's mom and then we crashed.

Saturday: I was out and about by 9:30 Sat. morning getting fall decorations for my house. I love fall!!! We then went out to Idalou for Pumpkin Fest. These are the pics that I can't wait to post. They are on my mom's camera and she hasn't sent them to me. Jarrett loves being outside, so he had so much fun. He got to go on his first hayride. We drove down to Brownfield and spent the night with my parents. Jarrett and I slept on an air mattress together, which we don't do very often, but he refused to sleep in the pack n play. My hiney (sp?) ended up on the ground with Jarrett smushed into me. No matter where I put him, he would roll to the middle. Not a lot of sleeping accomplished.

Sunday: We had an another open house to get ready for and go to Brownfield. There were a couple of positive prospects, so we will see. Keep your fingers crossed. Marc did mention the possibility of renting out our house, but that worries me a bit. If anyone has any experiences, good or bad, with this, please let me know. I have started praying about all of it and know God is going to lead us to do the right thing. It is just all very scary!

Ok, Ok, I know I'm behind.

Well, as Monica pointed out, I am slacking on my blogging duties. I just don't know exactly what I should blog about all the time. I think of things and then I think, "No one would find that interesting, at all." So, I am going to ramble on a little and you can read on or stop when you get tired of it.
#1. My sis-in-law and niece and nephew got in to town last Saturday from Arkansas. She homeschools and my brother is out of town all week on business. Anyway, my neice, Evyn is precious and always has been. My nephew, on the other hand is quite the character. He loves movies and cartoons and when he finds one he likes, he takes on that persona and pretty much becomes that character. His current thing is Ben Ten (sp??). He has this huge watch that allows him to "transform" in to alien type things. My sister-in-law watched an episode with him the other day and no longer lets him watch the show, but he still uses his watch thingy. Anyway, I said all that to say this. Jarrett and I spent time with them on Sunday. We went down for church and a b-day party. The kids love Jarrett like crazy. I walked in while Elijah was doing patty cake with Jarrett. His version is a little different. It goes like this: Patty cake, patty cake, bakers man, bake me a stinkin cake as fast as you stinkin can. Stinkin is his new word. I couldn't figure out what he was saying at first, but when I did, it made me laugh really hard. Not real sure where he picked that up. It's so funny how they repeat things they hear adults say.

#2 At church on Sunday, the preacher talked about the new movie Fire Proof. I know several people who have seen in and have loved it. They all say that you and your spouse need to see it together. So, at some point, I am going to get Marc to go with me. Also, they had the book The Love Dare for couples to read together. Has anyone else heard about this? I would love to start some sort of Bible study at work with you girls and maybe we could use this book to start us off. I am not completely sure what you do, but I just scanned through it. Every day, it gives you a dare, which might be "call you spouse and tell them you were just thinking of them." It is to teach you how to love. I know that I love Marc, but i know that I could do it a whole lot better. I am not completely sure how it works if you are reading it together. Won't you think that they are just calling because the book says to? Or, will it still make you feel good, even if it is because of the book. I guess it could get you in the habit of doing it and then later on, when it happens, it is for real. I don't know, but I think it sounds good. I really want Marc and I to do this together. Any suggestions on how to encourage him to do this? My husband is not a man of many words, but I really really want us to do this. So, give me some advice if you can.

#3 Last night, we were watching Dancing with... Jarrett loves music and will dance to anything. So of course, when watching this, he goes crazy. His new move is to turn in circles. (He doesn't actually spin, it's more like walking in a circle.) Well, this obviously makes him a little dizzy and he falls down. We laugh and he claps for himself. Laughter encourages him, you know. Then, he was walking carrying his blanket. He puts it over his head (like we play peek-a-boo) and just takes off. At first we thought it was kinda funny. Then as he is fixing to run right in the table, we realize what's going to happen. Marc saves him from injury. Yea for dad's quick thinking. Well, he heard us laugh, so now that is his new thing. If he sees a blanket or towel or whatever, it immediately goes over his head and off he goes! It is amazing to watch him change and learn new things. I never thought parenthood would be this great. I knew I would love it, but nothing like this.

Ok, I am done for now. I will try to do better for you blog stalkers. :) Love y'all! I am going to upload some pics sometime to post some more.