11 months

Hunter is 11 months old today. Where has the time gone? Before I know it he is going to be one.


He is just as affectionate as can be. He loves to cuddle and every morning we enjoy about 15 minutes of what I call "morning cuddle time." It is one of the highlights of my day. Hunter is curious, talkative, and tender-hearted. He loves to be around people. He loves textures: hair, carpet, blankets... anything he get his little fingers around and play with. He still likes his bounce bounce, but for much shorter amounts of time and he likes it for different reasons now: it gives him the ability to stand upright and grab things. He pulls himself up to standing as often as he gets the chance. He loves bath time.
He weighs around 21 lbs now. He can crawl and prefers to army crawl--he goes much faster that way. He knows the word "no" but does not always chose to obey it. He says lots of things. Here is an example of his talkative self:

Pictures- 10 months

Before Hunter is officially 11 months old (tomorrow!) I want to get caught up on his 10 month pictures. (I really should be studying. I have to take 2 finals in the next 40 hours. But I am ooovvveeerrr studying. Here's to slacking! ha!)

Here is Hunter at 10 months. He got sick right around his 10 month birthday and it really freaked me out. At 4 a.m., he woke up crying and felt so hot to me. He had a fever of 102, but no other apparent symptoms. We had stopped giving him his medicine for his urinary tract infections just a few weeks before so we were afraid it was another UTI. The doc examined him early that Saturday morning and determined it was probably just a virus. In the process, she had to scrape hard balls of wax out of his ears. I have never seen him more upset than he was that morning. It took him a LONG time to calm down. It was heartbreaking. But I was so relieved he didn't have a UTI. At that appointment, Hunter weighed right at 20 lbs.



One more quick story from Hunter's 10th month:
He began pulling himself up to standing quite regularly. One afternoon, instead of falling asleep, he decided to test out his new skills in his crib. He pulled himself up and proceeded to stand on top of the bumpers. Then, since he couldn't figure out how to get down, he cried and cried. I went in to check on him and was shocked to see him standing! I decided I better take the bumpers out of his crib so that he didn't stand on them and use them to hoist himself out of the crib.
I took them out, tucked him back in and left the room. Hunter was very upset... wasn't it play time now that I had come in? So, I let him cry for about 10-15 minutes. His cries seemed to be getting harder instead of calming down, so I went in to check on him. Poor little guy... his leg got stuck in the slots of the crib! He was crying because he was stuck! Oh I felt awful! I tried and tried to work his little leg back through the slot but COULD NOT get it un-stuck. Feeling very emotional, I called Josh. He was at work and there was nothing he could do... so I went and knocked on my neighbor's door. It was like I couldn't think clearly... I needed someone who could be rational to help me!!! Katie was so nice. She and her three little girls came over and helped rescue Hunter. It took us a while, and all the while he was getting more and more frustrated... he was turning bright red and screaming. Katie finally had the idea to use Vaseline on his leg and on the crib. That worked. Hunter was free and although very shaken up, his little leg was fine.

I put the bumpers back in the bed. That night, Josh helped me realize that even if Hunter stands on the bumpers, he is simply not tall enough (let alone strong enough) to hoist himself out of the crib yet. And the bumpers are way better than his little limbs getting stuck all the time.

1st Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my two boys yesterday. It was very surreal for me to experience the day as "my" day. At church, all the mothers were given tulips. That was so sweet. I felt very special. Then we came home so Hunter could take his nap... and he fell asleep on me! He hasn't done that in so long! I loved holding him and watching him sleep.


After his nap, we went to Nadoz Cafe. We enjoyed crepes & coffee and a tiny little Mother's Day Cake.





Then we went to a beautiful park and took a walk. I really enjoyed talking to Josh and Hunter loved being pushed in his stroller.





I am so blessed to be a mom. I love that Josh made this day special for me and that I have the sweetest little baby boy!

Date Night

Thanks to the generosity of our school & the thoughtfulness of new friends, Josh & I were able to go on a date tonight.

We left Hunter at the Log Cabin, as we have done before. This time he was screaming and did not like the fact we were leaving him with strangers. Poor little guy! But on we went...

We started the night at P.F. Changs, Josh's favorite. Then we went to a little coffee shop across the street. The manager-on-duty happened to be one of Josh's friends from the Army Reserves. It was fun to meet him & he gave us a great discount! :)

Then we came back to campus to pick up Hunter and get him ready for bed. The workers said he did calm down, but showed his upset several times throughout the night. He so rarely is upset, I was surprised to hear this report. But they said he did eat his dinner & he did play a little. When I picked him up from the highchair, he grabbed my neck so tight and didn't let go for a long time... it was so sweet!

After we put him to bed, we took our monitor to our neighbors and friends Joe & Karen. They kindly offered to "monitor-sit" so we could go to the movies. Josh & I hadn't been to a movie since we moved here, and we LOVE going to the movies together, so we were soooooo excited for this treat! We saw Iron Man 2. It was fantastic!

This was a great way to burn off some school stress-- the past week has been crazy and we have one more crazy week to go. I have an 8 page paper and two finals left; Josh has TWO 8 page papers, one oral final, and two written finals left. And our goal is to have this all done by next Friday... yikes.

Cheers to date night & to the kindness of friends!

Hymnody

Josh & I took a weekend class this semester called 'The History of Hymnody.' It was taught by Kevin Twit, the director of Indelible Grace Music. We are both huge fans of their work. They take old hymns and re-work the music to make them more modern and add more instruments.

The class was amazing. But this week, we have had to do the work to get the credit for the class.... not so amazing! It has been a lot of work. One of our assignments was to pick a hymn and write an 8-10 page paper on every aspect of the hymn from the author, to the time it was written, to deep exposition of every verse. Here is the hymn I wrote about:

With tearful eyes I look around;
Life seems a dark and stormy sea;
Yet, midst the gloom, I hear a sound,
A heavenly whisper, “Come to Me.”

It tells me of a place of rest;
It tells me where my soul may flee:
O to the weary, faint, oppressed,
How sweet the bidding, “Come to Me.”

When the poor heart with anguish learns
That earthly props resigned must be,
And from each broken cistern turns,
It hears the accents, “Come to Me.”

When against sin I strive in vain,
And cannot from its yoke get free,
Sinking beneath the heavy chain,
The words arrest me, “Come to Me.”

When nature shudders, loath to part
From all I love, enjoy, and see;
When a faint chill steals o’er my heart,
A sweet voice utters, “Come to Me.”

“Come, for all else must fall and die;
Earth is no resting-place for thee;
Heavenward direct thy weeping eye,
I am thy Portion; come to Me.”

O voice of mercy! voice of love!
In conflict, grief, and agony,
Support me, cheer me from above,
And gently whisper, “Come to Me.”

Beautiful hymn, by an inspiring woman. This hymn is a picture of the Gospel. Charlotte Elliott had a wonderful gift of exposing her emotions to the Lord in exemplary verse and then applying the Gospel to her very situation. Elliott shows that the Gospel is necessary for both the unbeliever and the believer. The Gospel is enough. God truly is our portion and gently whispers “Come to Me” to all his children, just as they are, with no need to pretty themselves or hide their true selves. Elliott shows us that it is in honesty and brokenness we are able to receive God and experience His presence.

It's May?

Where did April go?

The month has been a blur and in the blur I have forgotten to blog. SAD! Dear blog, please don't see my absence as me forgetting you... I have missed you!

Unfortunately, the next two weeks are likely going to make the past few weeks seem nice and relaxing. We are entering final season here at Covenant. I cannot believe the semester has already flown past us. I have really enjoyed my classes, yet I am looking forward to summer travels as well as courses I will be taking, so it is difficult to work on these silly papers & tests.

I feel I need to at least document a few highlights of April, so I don't forget!

Here are a few special memories:
1. Easter. We had a busy day full of celebrating our Risen Lord. We started with a breakfast at our church, then went to a lunch at my friend Courtney's house, then had dinner and fun adult time with the families from our building. Wonderful day.
2. Josh's mom came to visit! It was so fun to spend time together & for Hunter to have some "grandma time!" She took care of Hunter while Josh & I took a class together. It was so kind of her to drive all the way here... I think she really enjoyed the time, too!
3. Josh had his first weekend duty with the United States Army Reserve. He was shocked by how different it felt to be an officer as opposed to an enlisted man. Although most of the unit was on leave, he had a great time and really bonded with a few of the other chaplain candidates.
4. We went to a Cardinals game! :) It was a fun date, and although I felt a little like a traitor (I kept saying under my breath, "I am a Cubbies fan! I am a Cubbies fan!), I really enjoyed being in the stadium. I love the atmosphere of a ball game.
5. Hunter learned to crawl so fast and to pull himself up to standing. Whew! Everything is a little harder now. We spent $180 at Babies R Us the other night on items to Hunter-proof our apartment. We are having to be extra careful about where we set EVERYTHING and to make sure anything within 2 feet of the floor is baby-appropriate. But I am so excited for the little guy. He gets so proud of himself when he makes it where he wants to go or pulls himself up to standing. So cute.

Those are the highlights... I will post pictures soon.