Been awhile

Since my last post...
I graduated college. Again. Praise the Lord!
I am looking for a job.
I went to NYC to see Bruce with my Memaw and sister for graduation.
Chris and I went on a cruise with some of our fabulous friends.
Chris has started summer school at U of A.
Kinsler is, well, being Kins. :)

Wow...we've been busy! Now I'm trying to fill the days with fun activities for Kinsler. He and I both get bored easily but since it's usually 100 degrees or hotter for most of the day we are forced to stay inside or very close to the pool. Today we potted some flowers. He loved digging in the potting soil and helped me water the flowers.

Yummy...

Corn, sweet potatoes, noodles with sauce, and milk anyone?

Aw, come on...I know you wanna.

April...Almost the end.

We have had a very enjoyable weekend! For the first time in a lot of months! I am usually swallowed up with homework and too busy to enjoy the break from the busy week but not this weekend. I was able to finish up two large projects for school on Friday night while Chris was in Van Buren at a softball tournament and Kinsler was asleep. Saturday morning I was able to get Elysia and Hannah to watch Kinsler while I finished up some research paper work and kind of outline what my next chapter for the paper would look like. Around noon I picked up Kinsler and we headed to Van Buren to see one of our favorite girls completely dominate the Charleston Tigers line-up. Unfortunately the defense behind her made a few mental mistakes the the PG Lady Tigers lost 3-2. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time in the sun and away from home for a few hours. Then we had lunch at Chili’s, we’re we discovered Kins loves corn-on-the-cob. Hilarious watching him eat. He also cheesed it up when some “hot blondes” walked by and cooed over him. Saturday night we were able to have a little family time and Chris and I played in the floor with our little man. He is turning out to be quite the little drummer boy. For about 2 weeks now he has walked around the house with a pair of Chris’s drumsticks he found, beating on everything!!

Today, we went to church, went out to dinner with Uncle Clint, and came home to enjoy a nice long Sunday afternoon nap! Since then we've just been relaxing and playing. We are currently waiting for the tub to drain so we can finish our bath in a non-poopy infested bathtub.

6 weeks until graduation!!! I can do this!!!

So blessed.

I love my son and think he is the most handsome devil-angel in the world! He has the sweetest disposition, loves to make anyone smile at him, and well, I think he's pretty darn cute! He is so laid-back and easy going and always has a smile on his face. How did we get so lucky!?!? It hit me today how much he has grown and that his new developments like throwing a ball and learning new words are just a sign and reminder that he's not much of a baby anymore. He is forever learning how to bat his pretty lashes and squint his eyes just right to make me give him a grin so he can get a way with doing something he shouldn't be. Or how to cut his eyes and give me a devilish grin that says "just watch me mama". Even in those moments, I can't help but love him and praise God for this little man. Chris and I can't wait for each new day to see what he will learn next.
I know some of you are just thinking "Wait til the teenage years hit.", well bring 'em on. God has helped us thus far and I have no doubt He'll help us through the roughest of hormonal rages.

(*Note, I am not above retracting this post at a later date due to my son growing up to be a turdly teenager. :) just kidding)

Whew...what'a week!

In case you haven't heard...we spent the entire afternoon Sunday in the ER with Kins. When we checked in he had a temperature of 105 degrees and was breathing very shallow. We had to watch him be poked, needled, and x-rayed. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. My little man looking all pitiful and helpless and Chris and I were at a loss of how to make him feel better. The contraption they put him in to take his chest x-ray was scary. It looked like a torture device because there was a tube that snapped around him while he held his arms over his head. The tech that did his x-rays was super nice and we found out she had twins that were just getting over RSV. Her son ended up with pneumonia but her daughter did not. She said it would take about 10 days for him to really get over it. All of this was just scary. I have heard of several friends with babies that have had RSV but until now have not fully understood how serious it can be. The fever alone was scary enough! To think he could develop pneumonia!?
We took him for a check up today and found out that he has a double ear infection. The doctor said his chest sounded good and he was good with how that was clearing up but he changed his antibiotic to something stronger to fight the ear infection. Hopefully he is on the mend and will be his spunky self in no time!
Thank you everyone for your prayers, they have been heard, and are greatly appreciated.

This time last year

This time last year I was 40 weeks pregnant and unable to sleep with the anticipation of seeing my son for the first time. I'm not sure that Chris slept at all either. We were both anxious for the 3 am alarm we had set, afraid we wouldn't make it to the hospital in time, oh and becoming parents!

I started flipping through my old profile pictures on Facebook and the tears started flowing. I can't believe he was so little (okay not so little at 8.3 lbs) and helpless. And now he's walking everywhere and jabbering away, telling really big stories. :)

He is the light of our life.

Bubba, I hope you enjoy your birthday pancakes in the morning! We love you! - Mom and Dad

Has it really been 12 months??

The more I think about the upcoming week and the milestone that it brings the more I start to think I may have an anxiety attack. I can not believe Kinsler will be 1 on Friday. It seems like yesterday I was sitting in my Wednesday morning Senior block class freezing my butt off at 40 weeks pregnant. The following day I would be going in for our induction. I remember my professor dear ole Dr. K saying "I didn't think I'd be seeing you today." when I walked in. My response "Well, figured I needed to come." Ha. Following his birth came the first milestone of leaving him for the first time with a sitter while I went back to class. Thank goodness for Auntie Ang and Paxton. Bless her...she got him on a schedule and everything! Not to mention I had no worries when he was with her. To this day he is all smiles when he sees Ang.

Then May was here and I was accepted to the Graduate school at U of A and I graduated with my Bachelors. We spent the majority of summer at home hanging out and in the pool with Deena and the girls (of course Bill was around too :) ). Summer school started and was over in the blink of an eye.

The next milestone was around 6 months old, sending Kins to Mrs. Jeannie's, who is our babysitting savior. Kinsler loves Mrs. Jeannie and all the kids at her house. She is an amazing woman who loves my child as much as I do. We'd probably be up a creek without her. I also started my internship and second semester of Grad school taking 15 hours and thinking how in the world am I going to do this. God knew exactly what he was doing, his timing was perfect (duh, didn't I already know this!?), my acceptance to Grad school has been doable (duh, all things are possible through Christ). I made a 4.0 for summer session and a 3.8 this past fall (toot toot). Why, oh why, did we worry. I have been paired with amazing mentor teachers who are completely understanding and who are a big help to me with school projects.

Next, Kinsler's first Christmas! We had a blast celebrating with all our family and eating lots of food. Chris gave us the best gift of all...he has started his quest for a healthier lifestyle. He began running and as a family we have started to do our best and eat better. To date he has lost 18.2 pounds and since he started his journey he has run everyday but 4 or 5. We are so proud of him!! (Check out chrisdoinglife.tumblr.com to read about his journey thus far.)

January came and with it Kinsler learned how to walk. Now he doesn't slow down for anyone or anything... unless it's food. Our baby boy is more of a toddler now. I also started my last semester of Grad school and with it my research project began. Chris also had a milestone this month, you may ask him personally about it but we are super excited at what this next year holds for him.
Now it's the very end of January and in less than 7 days he will be 1 year old. God has blessed us with a sweet, loving, happy, and handsome son. We have definitely learned that God is fully in control and knew what he was doing when he planned for us to be pregnant before we thought we were ready. He placed both of us in families that love and care for us and who wanted to see us succeed in parenthood. With their help we are doing it.

 Kinsler, we can not wait to see what this next year has in store for you and us. With that sly smile anything is possible. We love you. - Mom and Dad