Flashback!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY to my amazing baby boy! You have brought so much joy to my life from the moment you arrived!! We love you so very much!

Happy Birthday little man!! :-)

OH MY!

I can hardly believe that my sweet baby will be ONE tomorrow!! He grew so fast, but I have loved being there every moment! Here is an update on what my soon-to-be toddler is doing! I will post his birthday party pictures along with his doctor stats on Friday after our

appointment!

*Greg is in size four diapers

*He wears 12 months clothes!

*He is a size 5 in shoes! (BIG FOOT)

*He sleeps 11 1/2 hours at night...except when he is teething!

*He has 7 teeth now...and another one about to pop through on the bottom!

*Greg LOVES his blankies!!

*Greg LOVES stuffed animals...he likes to fall on them and say "awwww!" His current favorites are Pooh and his stuffed Moose!

*Greg naps twice a day now...for a total of about 3 hours!

*Greg loves meal time, but is having texture issues, and spits food out of his mouth if he decides it feels weird! This is so frustrating since food he used to like he is now spitting out! I feel like I make 2-3 meals for every meal just so he will eat something!

*Greg LOVES to be outside. He has no particular interest outside, he just likes to be out there and walking around! He touches EVERYTHING!

*He waves bye bye! Even when I tell him that we are going bye byes - he will look at the front door and start waving.

*Greg understands so much! I will ask him where something is (a specific toy, blankie, etc) and he will go find it and bring it to me!

*Greg's vocabulary consists of mama, dada, hey, and sometimes yay!

*He likes to clap when we clap!

*He still is not really into TV (which we do not mind at all). He will sit still in the morning and watch about 10 minutes of Little Einsteins or Micky Mouse Clubhouse. He likes the music in both!

*He likes to dance! It is so cute to watch him bounce to the beat!

*Greg hates getting his diaper changed and getting dressed! He is a man on the move and will slow down and sit still for no one! :-)

*Greg has been doing better at Mass - we don't have to take him out as much any more!

*Greg has started on whole milk and LOVES it!

*He likes to throw things!

*He likes to come up to my belly and kiss my belly now! (PRECIOUS!)

*Greg is the best snuggler in the morning!

*He travels pretty well in the car!

*His favorite time of day is still bath time!

*He loves to run around naked after bath time!

*Greg has learned how to flush toilets! We keep all the bathroom doors closed now!

*Greg loves to explore!

*He hardly ever crawls-he is very good at walking, and often runs more now!

*He loves to drink water

*He is thinks our fridge is pretty awesome and wants to go inside of it every time it is opened!

*He knows the word no, and responds to it...most of the time! :-)

*Greg plays really well on his own in the playroom!

We are so proud of our little man and we have loved watching him grow! He is constantly amazing us in what he can do! I cannot wait to share with you the pictures from his party! I am so excited to go to the doctor to see where he is at with his height and weight!

Heartbroken...for reals!

It upsets me deeply to write this, as I have always enjoyed myself a wonderful, delightful Starbucks treat!

For those of you who are reading this and do not know me well my husband and I are hard core PRO LIFE people!! Four weeks ago, my Aunt Ronda/my amazing Godmother called me with heartbreaking news. She is a sponsor for her nephew's Confirmation and while on the Confirmation retreat she heard a talk...a talk that changed my life, too! A lovely woman was sharing with these teens about the culture of death and life that my favorite old man JPII preached so often about. Within this talk, she made a point about how many times our money goes to businesses that support things we may not personally support in our lives. For example, she says, "Starbucks supports and funds Planned Parenthood!!" AHHHHHHH!!! I could have cried when Ronda told me this, and by could have, I mean actually shed a tear! Without getting into too many details about Planned Parenthood (you can email me or comment and we can chat about that more), this organization supports not only the distribution of birth control, but also ABORTION! So needless to say...I was not going to just boycott Starbucks without having facts.

I asked Ronda to see if she could get in touch with the lady who spoke at the retreat to get more details on this! I was hoping and praying it was not true. As another avid Starbucks lover, my wonderful Aunt was on top of this!! And yesterday, she called me with the news.... it was not good news! :-(

It turns out Starbucks does fund Planned Parenthood! :-( Breaks my heart!! Ronda said all of this information could be found in their annual reports!! If you don't believe me...take a look for yourself by clicking here. It is a lengthy document, but it does say exactly how the company spends their money. In addition, this year GLAAD in San Diego was unable to receive enough fundraising for their event and Starbucks funded MOST of the entire event. The fact that GLAAD is a huge gay and lesbian organization is one thing...the fact that they are COMPLETELY and OPENLY anti-Christian is my big issue with this one!!

So needless to say...I am saying good-bye to pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon dolce lattes, scones, caramel apple ciders, and all of my other favorite Starbucks beverages and treats! I am not asking anyone to join me, as this is a personal decision. I could not enjoy my treat knowing where my money could possibly going. I am sure many businesses, if we dig deep enough, support things we all would not approve of, but the fact that I KNOW this as fact about Starbucks leads me to feel like I need to be proactive and not support a company that supports issues I am completely against! So long Starbucks...it was nice when I was ignorant to your funding, but things have changed now!

Just me and Dad time!

My husband is a great man...I always knew this about him. :-) He has really shown me what a great man he is as a Daddy! He never ceases to amaze me with how wonderful he is with Greg. He loves to have guy time with the little man! At least twice a week, when he wakes up in the afternoon, he takes the little man out and about and allows for me to have ME time! It is glorious, whether for 30 minutes or an hour or two! I am so thankful for him, and all that he does to support our growing family!

!

Time to prep the grill for our cookout!

Getting fancy with the grill tools! Little Greg now thinks that this hamburger spatula is his new toy. He goes into the cabinet to get it to play with at least 4 times a day! :-)

Shoes!

Now that the little man is walking super well now, it is time to put shoes on in public places. He really likes to be barefoot, so I have decided shoes are just for public...these are some pictures from his first time in shoes before we went to Mass on Sunday!

And the shoes are on. They are super cute Keen's that my Grandma bought for him!

And we are off...

Man down!! These shoes are not so easy to walk in Mom!

This little one is not one to give up!

He's a mess...but I love him!

My little man is a mess!! He has a curiosity I just can't explain, but love, and would not want any other way! He keeps me on my toes!! He loves to explore my house....every cupboard, every drawer, EVERYTHING!! This whole walking things has brought his exploration to new heights!

He likes to try on tupperware!

This ravioli is delicious Mom!

My messy man has truly stolen my heart!! :-)

Pray without Ceasing!

Pray without ceasing! In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

This Bible verse was first brought to my attention in college. My roommate, Mandi, LOVED this scripture verse. We made canvas paintings for our rooms one day, and she used this scripture on hers. From that moment, it has always been a verse I look back on and remember when I need to pray for something particularly difficult.

For the past few months, I have been praying for a very close friend and her baby boy. Her baby boy had many problems developing in the womb...but the love and strength my friend had for this baby was absolutely amazing. There is no doubt that little Oliver was one blessed baby boy with two amazing faith filled parents!

In praying for little Oliver and his family, this verse from Thessalonians kept repeating itself over and over in my head. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!! God hears our prayers and wants to know the desires of our hearts. How can he, if we are not consistent in explaining these desires to him?? This little boy changed my life in the way that I pray! As I have prayed for him, I have been taught a different kind of prayer routine...one that is steadfast, and does not give up. I give thanks for each blessing in my life daily now. "In all circumstances give thanks!" I know I did not previously do this enough. It seemed to be more about me and my wants, not about praising God and thanking him for my blessings! Thank you, Oliver, for teaching me to be a better prayer warrior for your parents, and for all those I lift up in prayer each day.

Little Oliver is now in Heaven after 20 weeks of being carried around by his Mommy. Please offer up your prayers for his family as they continue to need strength in losing such a precious blessing.

Momm'y little Cowboy!

Papa gives the best horsie rides!!

GAME DAY, BABY!!

Gearing up with Aubie for an exciting day!!

Saturday was filled with visiting family...and FOOTBALL, of course! We headed over to Greg's parents since his sisters were all in town and hung out there for a while enjoying the day with food, football, and family time!

Hubby Greg thought the little man made for a nice football! If only I was quicker with a camera!

We then headed out to dinner with my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday! And then back to their house for some more football watching and the AUBURN GAME!! :-) It's pretty safe to say we will be spending most of our Saturdays over there since my mom and dad ordered the ESPN college package with DirecTV! LOVE IT!! ;-)

Half time nap from all the family craziness!

Pretty cute in his Auburn wear! Pardon the fact that he is without pants...it was hot outside!

When is kick-off???

Mommy and her Little Tiger! WAR EAGLE!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

There is nothing I love more than football season in the south! Today is the day it all begins for the 2010-2011 season for my Auburn Tigers! I am excited to be wearing my Auburn game day gear, and even more excited to have my little man sporting his Tiger wear!! (Pictures to come later)! There is just something about tailgating, watching the game, and spending time with friends and family...nothing better! WAR DAMN EAGLE!!! :-)

Watch Me Grow...11 months!!

For starters....I have started a new blog! I have decided to use blogspot for my blogging, and hope to post more regularly! If you want to visit my old blog, feel free, but it will no longer be updated!

Our little pumpkin is 11 months old! HOLY COW!! He is growing like a weed, and he amazes me every day in what he can do!! Here's some updates:

* Greg is moving into size 4 diapers!

* Greg faces forward in his carseat....such a bog boy!

*I'm not sure how much he weighs...but I am guessing 23 pounds...maybe closer to 24!

*He is tall....I'm guessing between 33 and 35 inches!

* He is in size 12 months clothing for everything!

* He LOVES bath time! He could spend hours in the tub if I let him!

* He loves to eat!! Some new favorites: pasta, pizza, chicken nuggets, anything sweet!

*He is learning the word no - he even bit me the other day when I told him no, and moved him away from something!

* He is a master stair climber!

* He play peek a boo really well! In the car, he will hold his blanket over his face, and we ask, "where is Greg?" and he pulls the blanket down! PRECIOUS!!

* He is WALKING!!!! Not everywhere yet...I think he knows he is faster at crawling! He takes 10-12 steps at a time! It's precious to watch!

* He would rather feed himself, than have someone spoon feed him!

* He gets angry when toys do not cooperate with him!

* He still takes 2-3 naps a day...and at least one of them is 2 hours! YAY for Mommy!

* He loves to be thrown up in the air and wrestled with!

* He loves horsie rides from Papa!

* He loves to push his cars around on the floor!

atop Grammy's car!

* Greg will begin drinking whole milk this month, and we will be weening his last bottle at nighttime!

* He is very curious about EVERYTHING!

* Greg makes the dadada sound for Greg and the mamamama sound for me!

* He would rather explore than converse with anyone!

He loves holding the beeper! He even pushes buttons as he holds it to the TV! We have spent hours trying to get our TV back on English when he changes it to Spanish!

* Greg does not liked to be touched by strangers!

* He is not a fan of wearing shoes!

* He throws his food off of his high chair when he is all done!

* He HATES getting his diaper changed - it is quite the task to change and diaper and entertain him!

* He LOVES to snuggle with blankies!

* He has mastered object permanence!

We are so blessed to have him! We know he will be a great big brother to Maria Grace when she gets here!