Our new wheels!

Ode to the Sunfire

Brian and I bought a new (to us) vehicle today!!! We had been researching and thinking about getting something different for almost a year now. My little 2-door Sunfire was not exactly the optimal car for our growing family. Getting the car seat into the back was always a fiasco. The trunk was hardly big enough for the stroller. Recently, it began showing signs of its age too. First, some of the plastic molding on the door came unglued. Then, the battery died because the alternator was bad. A few days ago the rear view mirror fell off. The time had come for something new. And even though I am incredibly excited about our new Ford Escape, I am also very sad to be trading in my Sunfire. I am surprised by the amount of emotion I suddenly feel toward my little car. How can I explain it? I have been driving my Sunfire for over nine years. It is the car that drove me to my last day of high school and my first day of college. It is the car that I buzzed around in during those glorious days of falling in love with Brian. It took me to the airport to pick him up, it took me to the church on the day of our wedding, and it took the two of us to Eureka Springs for our honeymoon. This little car also drove me to my first day of teaching my first class of students. It has been such a good car, taking Brian and I to and from many different places. It even took us to the hospital when we had Daniel, and it brought our new little family of three home again. So many memories...so many life changes...so much more to come!

Something new on the menu

Daniel has begun solids! I have wanted to start him on solids for several weeks now, but our doctor recommended waiting until he was six months old. However, Daniel is a very big boy, and I finally decided we would go ahead and start a few weeks early. I am desperate for him to begin sleeping through the night, and everyone said that cereal would help accomplish that goal. So, Brian and I set up the high chair, bought some rice cereal, and got out the bibs. That first evening we had the camera and camcorder fired up. I opened the box of rice cereal and poured some out. We were somewhat surprised by this long awaited "solid." I am not sure if we were expecting rice crispies or what, but this rice cereal was more like rice flakes...or rice powder. Interesting, we thought. I mixed it up with some milk, and away we went. Daniel absolutely loved it! He kept grabbing the spoon and pulling it to his mouth. This made things pretty messy, and by the time we were finished, he had cereal all over himself, us, the highchair, etc. We all had a good time, and that first feeding was very well documented, as you can see below.

Bring it on!

Mmmmm!

Motherhood

Motherhood is the absolute hardest job I have ever had. (And I have taught middle schoolers!) It seems like I should have been better prepared. But, how can you prepare for something that periodically takes your heart and almost wrings it in two? Let me give you an example. Last week, I was busily straightening the kitchen while Daniel was in his play pen. I noticed he was playing with this plastic insert from a cookie box. It was fairly hard plastic, and he liked the way it crinkled when he grabbed it, so I let him continue playing with it. I did not think he could hurt himself. He was putting it in his mouth, but he has no teeth yet, so I reasoned he could not bite off a piece. Well, I was wrong. A little cry came from the play pen, and when I rushed over, the plastic container was broken on one corner, and Daniel had a plastic bit on his lips. I scooped him up and quickly searched his mouth with my finger for any more. Then, he started choking. Oh my soul! Never before had I so desperately wished that someone else was home with me. I swung Daniel over my arm and began thumping his little back, like they taught us at the infant CPR class. Daniel began coughing and spitting up. I continued thumping his back until I was sure he was breathing alright. This whole situation occurred in about 15 seconds. Daniel seemed fine, but I was almost unable to stand. My knees were weak, my heart was pounding, and I was shaking. When I had somewhat recovered, I began piecing back together the plastic container. Lo and behold, one piece was missing. Had he swallowed it? I had no clue. I called Brian, I called my mom, I called the doctor. Everyone said the same thing...watch and wait. Daniel soon went down for a nap, but I could only pace around and worry. Finally, I began praying, and the Lord comforted my heart with several scriptures. When Brian returned home that evening, I was showing him the plastic container and the hole where the missing piece belonged. As Brian turned the container over in his hands, a small piece of plastic dropped to the counter. It was the missing one! Praise the Lord!
I learned my lesson: Never give Daniel objects that are not intended for baby chompers! On a more serious note, I am learning day by day how to care for this precious little boy. He brings us such happiness. I love him so much it hurts sometimes. Thankfully, the Lord is guiding Brian and me on this amazing journey. We would not trade this time for anything.

Fourth of July

Daniel watched his first parade today. I think he liked the Shriners on their little three-wheelers the best. Tonight he will see his first fireworks display. I am interested to see his response to that!

Daniel and his grandpa watching the parade

The fire engines seemed too loud for little ears!

Update

I can hardly believe two months have passed since my last post. Time flies when you are raising a baby! Speaking of the baby, Daniel is almost five months old. He is growing so quickly and changing every day. His new favorite thing is our dog, Annie. For the first few months of his life, Daniel ignored the dog and the dog ignored him right back. However, they have suddenly developed a mutual interest in one another. Daniel tracks Annie with his eyes whenever she is in his vicinity. If Annie jumps or runs, Daniel gets this big grin on his face and often laughs out loud. Annie will come over to Daniel and "inspect" him, which usually entails several good licks to his hands, feet, or face. This really gets Daniel going, and he will let out great big belly laughs. It is absolutely adorable. I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Daniel also loves listening to music and dancing. His favorite artists are Raffi and Chris LeDoux. (Anyone else think that is one interesting combo?) You should see us twirling around to Cadillac Ranch, me singing at the top of my lungs and Daniel grinning from ear to ear. We have a blast!
Nothing much is new with the adults in our house. Brian is busy at work...I am busy at home. Brian has planted another garden this year. Our apple trees are also flourishing, so it appears we will be doing some canning this summer/fall. We are looking forward to the Fourth of July. It will be Daniel's first time to see fireworks and a parade. Hope you and yours have a blessed holiday too! Here are some recent photos of the little man.

Brian and Daniel having fun!

Mom likes to play dress up with the baby!

Aunt Sara is training Daniel to be a card shark.

God Hears

From the time I was small, my mom taught me to pray about anything and everything. She told me that Jesus wants us to cry out to Him, no matter the size or silliness of our problems. This lesson played out in living color on Sunday. Brian and I decided to get family photos taken, so we made the appointment and got ourselves ready. As we were making the one hour trip to the mall, we decided to pray for our photo session. Those of you with little ones know what a fiasco getting photos can be. First you have to find coordinating outfits. Then you have get everyone cleaned, dressed, and out the door on time. In our case, we had to drive an hour, which is pretty sketchy with Daniel. Sometimes he does fine in the car, and sometimes he screams at the top of his lungs. We also had to coordinate his feedings, so that he was in a good mood for the photos, yet not spitting up on his outfit (or anything else for that matter). So, as you can see, this whole expedition required prayer. And God certainly answered our pleas! Daniel slept the whole way to the photo studio (answer #1). When we got the mall, we had 30 minutes to spare, so I decided to nurse him before going inside. He is always in the best mood when he has a full tummy (aren't we all), so we decided to risk the spitting up for the smiles. I nursed him in the backseat of the car without mishap, but when I was burping him, he filled his diaper. Maybe I should say over-filled, because we quickly realized that some leakage had occurred. Now, I was wearing my photo clothes, which included a white shirt and khaki pants. Any stain would have shown up clear as day. Daniel, on the other hand, was not wearing his photo clothes (praise the Lord!). Fortunately, we had planned to change him when we arrived. So, as delicately as possible, I passed Daniel from the back seat of our extremely small car to the front seat where there was a little more room to change him. Somehow, we managed to get his old outfit off, get him cleaned up (poop was on his back, foot, bottom, etc.), and get his diaper changed without getting anything on the car or ourselves. We made it to the photo studio with five minutes to spare, AND Daniel smiled for the pictures without spitting up. Now, is that an answered prayer or what?
Here is another photo (taken at home without any of the above hassle). This is his first day in short sleeves. What cute arms he has!