What Happened To My Baby?!

This picture was just taken yesterday - the day he was born....

......And this is how I still picture him in my mind.

 

However, today when I woke up, he suddenly looked like this.....

What happened to my baby?!  He is growing sooo fast, and learning so many new things.  At the end of August, we celebrated his 2nd birthday.  He is officially 2 in EVERY. SENSE. OF. THE. WORD.  From the tantrums and the great quest for independence in EVERYTHING, to the super fun, full of life, starting to understand things, and developing his own personality.  His vocabulary is exploding and he'll periodically say a full, complete sentence.  Some of his most frequent phrases are:  "No! By Self!"  "Hiiiiiii, Mommy!"   (to Matt) "Where's Daddy, Daddy?!"  "Where's Darren?"  "Night night (or bye bye)!  I love you!"  "I try it?!"  Some of his words are much more clear than his older brother, too.  He is a master of gross motor skills.  Anything involving running, jumping, throwing, or climbing is right up his alley!  I love this kid, and he ADORES his big brother.  In his eyes, Darren can do no wrong.  I love watching them interact with each other.

For his birthday, we went on a little family outing to the zoo.  Some good friends joined us there, and the kids all had a good time.  Later that evening, we had cake and opened presents (of course).  This time it was extra special, because Grandma Deeben was able to join us via Skype.  Here are some pics from the day's festivities.......
 

Had to get a little nap in before going to the zoo!

When we got to the zoo, some random lady approached us, and gave us some giraffe food.  They weren't out when she went there, but we had much better luck.  We saw at least 7!  Joseph ate his cracker to feed the giraffe, so Daddy got a turn. 

Darren did a great job feeding him! 

Trying to kiss a bird.  These birds were so tame, we could pet them. 

Reading his new book from G&G Downing.  He loves it! 

Here is his birthday cake.  He wanted a rocket on it, and this is what I came up with.  It is not exactly my most impressive cake, but he was fascinated with it, and that's what matters.

His very favorite gift - a Toy Story book that has buttons to push.  (I've already had to hide this book a few times in order to preserve sanity). 

Couldn't decide what to play with, so why not 3 things at once?!

Enjoying some birthday bubbles from Grandma!  Both boys LOVED how much bubbles it made at a time! 

I think my little guy had a good day.  I'm so glad that he is part of our family!  I can't believe it's already been 2 years since he was born.  Happy Birthday, my sweet little Joseph!  I love you! 

Frankentoe

WARNING:  This post contains a graphic photo.  If you are EASILY squeemish, proceed with caution!

As most moms with small children know, grocery shopping with your children can easily turn into an adventure.  My last grocery trip (3 days ago) was certainly no exception - and I only had 1 child with me!  While reading labels on spaghetti sauce, Joseph must have grabbed and dropped one, because all of a sudden my toe was in pain, and there was a jar of spaghetti sauce on it.  The top corner of the lid is what hit my foot, and my toe spared the jar.  It was undamaged.  My toe, on the otherhand, was quickly turning black.  IT HURT SOOOO BAD!!  Had it not been a crowded isle, I probably would have cried.  I quickly hobbled  to grab the remaining items on my list so I could go.  By this time, my toe was THROBBING!!  I just assumed that this would be like most other times when things get dropped on my foot.  Ya know, painful for an hour or so, and then just be done and over.  No big deal.  WRONG!!  The pain got progressively worse throughout the day, Motrin wasn't touching it, and I eventually gave in and called the doctor.  He had me go to Urgent Care, and they took xrays to ensure it wasn't broken (it's not), and then drilled 2 holes in my toenail to try and relieve the pressure.  He didn't get enough drainage to really get any relief though, so I continued to suffer.  The pain was a throbbing pain with sharp twinges of pain that shot throughout my whole body every couple of minutes or so.  There is definitely some sort of nerve damage - I no longer have sharp, shooting pains, but now half of my toe is numb.  I hope it's not permanent!! 

Now, the pain is much better (though it's still VERY tender), but it looks worse.  Yesterday, a friend commented that with how ugly/creepy it looks, I should call it Frankentoe.  It stuck.  I'm back to doing most of my daily activities (very carefully) but you can bet I will only be wearing flip flops for the next while!  Who knew that a simple, not very heavy, jar of spaghetti sauce could be such a pain?!  For anyone who may be curious, here is what Frankentoe looks like:

Guess Who's 4?!

August 15th marked the 4 year anniversary of a day that changed my life forever!  I became the Mom of a very sweet, active, fun-loving little boy!  Darren brings so much sunshine and laughter to our family, is very outgoing, loves to make others laugh, and is genuinely concerned about the happiness of those around him.  In the last year, Darren has done a lot of changing/growing up.  He has left his toddleresque tendencies behind, and is acting more like a child.  For example, his attention span has lengthened, he now has the ability to sit still when asked to do so, is better at following directions, he is now a big boy (no more diapers!), no longer runs away when there's an unlocked door in front of him (only some readers will fully understand this HUGE significance), doesn't get into things too much anymore, and has just matured a LOT in general.  He's still very curious and adventurous with a passion for most vehicles.  He's currently really into trains, Herbie the Love Bug, rockets/space shuttles, Doc Hudson (from Cars), building train tracks, building roads or anything else he decides to build.  He has an incredible memory and on occasion, still recalls things from before he was even 2!   

For his birthday this year, Darren told me that he wanted a Herbie car, a big Thomas, and a big Percy that go by themselves all on his birthday cake.   Uh, that request forced me to get a little creative!  For the trains, I got him a new battery powered Thomas, gathered some tracks and a couple other trains from his collection, and called it good.  Then I found an old skool, white VW Bug, and called it a Herbie car!  Then, while on a date, Matt and I designed the basic layout of the cake and discussed how to make it work without getting anything too yucky or having it be elaborate beyond my skills.  Anyway, here is what we came up with......

The car was actually on the cake (just before going over the bridge), but we didn't put it on until just before we lit the candles, and took it off almost immediately after because he wanted to drive it on the frosting road. 

Another angle.

Darren and his friend were both totally captivated and speechless when they saw the cake with Thomas chugging around the track!  They LOVED it!!

Time for presents!  He got some great new toys, and Buzz Lightyear pajamas.

Our primary president (children's sunday school at church) paid Darren a special visit and brought him his very own birthday cake!

I took cup cakes into his school class for his birthday (his 3rd set of cake!)

I'm so glad that Darren was born into our family, and I can't imagine life without him!  I love you, Buddy! 

1st Day of School

My baby has officially started school - preschool!  School starts pretty early here (Aug. 9th), so Darren's already been in school for 2 full weeks.  Some of you know of the big internal wrestle I had trying to decide what to do for his schooling this year.  We decided on sending him to a private Christian preschool, and so far, we have been very happy with that decision.  I feel totally at peace with it.  The week before school started, his teacher came over to our house to meet Darren and got to know him a little bit.  I was pretty impressed!  Darren is the youngest kid in his class by 6 months, but is still doing well.  Of course, it took him a few days to adjust to the new routines, schedule, etc., but he's getting it.  He comes home with a gigantic smile on his face every day, and his teacher always has something positive to say about him when I pick him up!  So far, he is LOVING it!   

Here he is, already to go on his very first day of school!

Playing with one of his new friends - about 1 week into school.

Blog Catch Up......

It's been a month since I've posted anything.  It's been a bit busy around here.  With Matt being gone for a month, wrapping things up for summer (our weather would suggest otherwise, though), getting Darren ready to start school for the first time, our house being invaded by fire ants, a broken AC (a big fiasco), a broken vacuum cleaner (broken beyond repair),  a birthday, and several other things, I obviously haven't blogged much.  So, here's my catch up - mostly in pictures. 

Joseph has mastered climbing onto the kitchen counters in like 2 seconds!  Here, he found my baking cupboard, and sampled a few things that caught his interest.  He didn't like the taste of green food coloring, though his face suggests otherwise! 

The boys are happy to help with the chores, so long as it involves wheels, switches, buttons, plugs in, and makes noise!

Darren's turn!

Play time - Darren makes a great horse!

Joseph's already pretty good at holding his own in wrestling matches!

Darren took a sports class during the summer (very entertaining to watch), and here he his running with a football.  He had just caught it, and is running to make a touch down! 

Darren was a PRO at the tackling part of football......  You can only see his leg in this pic, but you can see that he has made contact, and his "opponent" is about ready to fall! 

Post tackle.... that sucker is down!

Sporting his new shades!

The boys and I had an impromptu slumber party one night after a hard week.  We had pizza, popcorn, a movie, and we moved their mattresses together and I slept with them (Matt was in Texas)!  It was really fun! 

The week before school started, the base held a totally free back to school event in our neighborhood.  The boys got to do several fun things..... including riding on a pony. (In my preview of this section, some of the formatting was messed up and it isn't showing up here, so if it publishes weird.... sorry)

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Throwing a football through  a hole.  Both boys made their shot! 

Matt was gone for most of the month of July and the first week of August for some training.  His absense was a bit harder than usual for all of us this time around.  But, it made our reunion with him all the sweeter.  Here is a video clip of some of the first couple minutes that he was home (after all the hugs and kisses of course!). 

EVERYTHING is better when we are all together as a family.

The Thought Process of A Singer

A couple years ago, I made a goal to sing our National Anthem at a formal military function sometime during Matt's career.  This last weekend, that goal was accomplished!  I was given the opportunity through a friend (thanks, Jill!).  The occasion was a formal banquet (so-to-speak), so I had to get all dressed up!  Just a few days after getting my dress (a long, difficult process when modesty is a requirement), Matt found out that he was going to be out of town for some training.  I was so bummed - so bummed that I just about turned down the offer and returned the dress.  I just couldn't sing without my biggest fan and supporter being there.  Besides, who goes to a formal event without a date?!  And, I didn't know anyone else that was going to be there.

After being forced to sleep on my decision for a couple days (thank you, 4th of July weekend), I changed my mind.  I quit thinking about myself - sort of, and remembered the meaning behind our National Anthem.  It is a great HONOR to be asked to sing such an amazing song!  It would be very unpatriotic and selfish of me to turn down such an opportunity for the reasons I had!  Besides, I knew that singing could potentially open doors to be asked to sing it again, which (I'll be honest) was a big pulling force behind changing my mind.  However, I did get permission to leave when I was done singing, so I didn't have to feel too akward without a date! 

The day of the event arrived, and as luck would have it, I woke up with a cold - I had a sore throat, and just felt like crud.  I must have looked pretty awful too, because the first thing Darren said to me that morning was, "Mommy, are you sick?"  Not a good sign.  So, I started praying hard!  From that moment on, I started feeling better.  I practiced proper technique during my shower, which made my singing voice sound MUCH better than my speaking voice, which boosted my confidence a ton!  Throughout the day, my speaking voice returned to normal - I still didn't feel 100%, but I felt good enough to feel confident that I could sing. 

When I got to the hotel where they were holding the banquet, I was given a quick run through of what would happen, where I was to stand, etc. and then just waited for it to begin.  While waiting, my heart was pounding so hard, it was probably visible!  I was nervous, excited, confident, and anxious all at the same time.  As soon as the honor guard began marching and I started walking (behind the honor guard) my heart settled down a bit - I was poised and collected, with a healthy portion of an adrenaline rush.  As soon as the honor guard posted the colors, I began..... 

During the first line of the song, my voice cracked, but I kept going, and engaged my support a bit more.  Before I even got to the second line of the song, I realized I had started in a higher key than I had intended.  My heart started pounding again, because I knew I hadn't warmed up quite that high!  Fortunately, I was supporting the sound well enough that it wasn't too big of an issue, and the higher notes came out just fine.  Not fabulous, but good enough.    When I finished singing, I stayed in my place while the honor guard was dismissed and the invocation said (yes, they still pray at some military functions!).  Then, I made my quiet escape.  On my way out, the guy running the media (I think that was his job), stopped me and told me he was really impressed, especially with how well I projected the sound without a mic!  In a large room with at least a couple hundred people, I was still PLENTY loud enough!  His compliment made me feel good! 

Since my date couldn't be there, and dressing up this fancy is a rare occasion, I had a friend take some pictures when I got back. 

I think Matt should take me on a formal date when he gets home!

Swimming Lessons

Darren just finished his first ever round of swim lessons!  He loved getting in the pool everyday, and was definitely the most fearless kid in his class!  He can't swim yet, but he can almost float, and is more comfortable/confident in the water.

They were taught how to stick their face in the water and blow bubbles.  Darren was the only one not afraid!

Darren took it a step further, and blew bubbles while submerging himself.  No one else in his class would do that - even by the end. 

Seeing if he could touch the bottom of the pool.... he could.  No problem. 

Here he is, trying to float.

Practicing the swimming motions.

Here's a very brief video clip of him jumping off the side.  Notice the teacher totally had to step back to catch him! That's my boy!