Tuesday, March 31, 2009

My Guy



My buddy is turning five tomorrow! I can hardly stand it! He is getting too big too fast! I frequently ask him something that my dad always used to ask me when I was a little girl. "Will you always be mine, even when you are all grown up?" He always says yes. Today, he told me that he would always be my guy and that he and his wife would come and live at my house. Lucky her. :)

Tonight, I am sitting here in the kitchen, reflecting on the gift of a son, and thinking about what kind of birthday cake to make for my little man tomorrow. He wants chocolate. :)

A few things about Major on his fifth birthday...

He is a superhero by day and night. He loves Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and all things superhero. He doesn't really know anything about these characters, other than what they look like. He is a typical boy, racing around the house to save the day. (In costume, of course) :)

He doesn't like "girly stuff". He thinks things like Barbies, dolls, and other such things are "disgusting." Of course, he will tolerate playing these games with his sister on a very rare occasion.

I can see the potential for leadership in him. His Bible class teachers have mentioned to me that he is a leader in his class. This makes me so excited, as this is something for which I have prayed. I hope that because he is strong willed, that he will be able to stand up and do what is right and he will use his influence to help others do the same.

Major loves to be the one in charge. Most recently, his career aspirations included being a police officer and a cowboy "because they get to be in charge."

Major has an unusual degree of spiritual understanding for his age. He says things that surprise me and make me think. Sometimes I don't know the answers to his questions. He has a childlike faith that I wish I had. He seems genuninely interested in hearing Bible stories and always says, "More! More!" whenever his Daddy finishes reading to him. His prayers are so heartfelt and so precious. He has a way with words and talks to God as if He was a good friend and as if there was nobody else in the room.

Major is a creative storyteller. He loves for me to make up silly stories and tell them to him. When I ask him to recount something that happened during his day, he always provides me with details that make me feel as if I had been there too. Every mother likes to feel that their child is somehow special or gifted, I know. :) I can only imagine how he will use these talents. I can think of so many ways...

He is a silly jokester. He was born on April Fools' Day, so it is very fitting that he would be a jokey guy. Recently, his jokes have been a little bit lame. We laugh anyway. :)

Major continues to be obsessed with Cars. He plays with his cars and car-like toys almost more often than is humanly possible. His cars are like dolls to him. He talks to them and teaches them. They each have a special place in his room and an ongoing story. I constantly have to be on the lookout for stray cars underfoot.

Major hears music in everything. He is always imitating outdoor sounds and comparing them to songs.

When he isn't playing Cars, Major is usually playing a game of basketball. He has a little basketball goal in his room. Each day, a familiar thumping sound can be heard coming from his room upstairs. He also rides his bicycle like a madman. The back tire is totally worn down from the skidmarks that he likes to make on the driveway.

Major is very conscious of his appearance. He is very impressed with things that make him look like his Daddy like his Easter tie or his new belt. He'll often come into my bathroom and say, "How do I look, Mom?" He also freely shares his opinion when things don't appear quite right saying things like, "You look better with makeup, Mom." or "How come you still look fat?" after the birth of a baby. :/ He is able to make up for this by saying things like, "You sure look beautiful in that dress." or "I really like those shoes, Mom. Those look good." Recently, we had a guest in our home who was an attractive woman in her twenties. Major was lovestruck. This woman laughed at Major's lame jokes and gave him lots of attention. When she left, Major said, "I like Lily. She is beautiful and I especially like her shoes." He certainly does notice the little things.

He is a bit whiny right now. We have been trying hard to get him to stop complaining when he is asked to do something that he doesn't like to do. He is also a crybaby lately. We are really working to try to get him out of that little habit. He has also had a hard time getting along with Mary Alice in the past few weeks. When she doesn't give in to his whims he often throws a fit or cries about it. He is learning that those fits don't get him any sympathy from us, but usually only result in adding extra stress to his day. :) Hopefully, next year, on his sixth birthday, I can say this fussy business has ceased altogether. For now, though, controlling himself continues to be a constant struggle.

Josh and I love our sweet Major Gray. The last five years have been such a blessing. I can't imagine life without our special boy. He is getting older and wiser with each passing day. It is with mixed emotion that I celebrate his fifth birthday. I know that each birthday brings him one year closer to being independent and all grown up. This is, of course, what any parent hopes for, but for now, I am able to just enjoy the Maje being my guy.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A Little Of This, A Little Of That



Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Everything here has been going well, but my lack of sleep and being cooped up in the house has left me feeling a little dull in the head. Every day with Milla is a joy. She is settling down quite a bit into a sweet baby. I just can't seem to get enough of her! She is sleeping in her bed most of the time now. She wakes up once during the middle of the night. I just take her to the couch, nurse her, and sleep with her there until morning. She is sleeping for longer and longer chunks each night, so I'm confident that she will sleep all the way through the night soon. For now, though, I am just enjoying our special middle of the night snuggles. :) As long as we each start the night out in our own beds, I am okay with her waking up.

The kids and I have been working our way back into our old routine. Usually, after I have a baby, I usually go into hiding for about three months or so. We have been getting out and going places more often, especially now that the weather is so nice. I am so ready to get out and about and have had several sweet offers from friends at church who said that they were willing to watch our kids so that Josh and I could go out on a date. SO READY for that.

As usual, I have found something else to obsess about... Something fun... I am trying to reform our family's diet back to it's former status. For a while, after having Milla, I had to resort to cooking some easy and not-so-healthy type foods just to keep my head above water. I recently purchased these books to help give me some new ideas. A friend recommended them. I have tried several of the healthful recipes inside. They were not only very tasty, but good for us too! I really enjoy cooking colorful, healthful meals for my family. It just makes me happy.

Also...back in November, my mom bought me this awesome baby food maker. I was a little distracted at the time by my mom's hospital stay and put the box aside until a later date. Last weekend, my sister-in-law also received the same baby food maker. She actually opened hers and read through the manual, etc. Apparently, you just put the ingredients in (example:raw hamburger meat, spears of asparagus, and sweet potato?) and it whips up fresh gourmet baby food for your little one. I am SO excited about trying this thing out in a few months! I made most of Mary Alice's baby food and some of Major's using the ice cube tray method. I didn't get quite as creative as this gourmet baby food maker, though. It looks like our little chubbers will be feasting daily on delicious gourmet delecacies. She is so spoiled already! :) I researched the consumer reviews on different baby food books and purchased two used books on making baby food from amazon.com. I bought This Personalized Guide To Making Baby Food and Blender Baby Food. This sounds like SO much fun to me. I just love experimenting with food and trying out new ideas.

Speaking of... Next week I am going to be teaching someone who is not from our country how to cook a few Southern meals. I thought I'd start with a few basic meals. I'm not quite sure where to begin, though. From what I understand, she is generally accustomed to eating more healthy food than is served in mainstream America. She is from China. I am excited about this, but am trying to decide exactly where to start. Any ideas on where I should begin? If you were showing someone how to cook a few basic American meals, where would you start? Anyone???

This past week we went to Frisco to visit Josh's parents. Milla got to hang out with her cousin, Ranger. I think they are buddies already. :) Milla is WAY jealous of Ranger's cool mohawk.







Josh's parents (a.k.a. Grumpy and Nonnie) spoiled the kids rotten by playing games with them the few days that we were there and taking them biking around the block, to the playground, and golfing (for Major). The kids always have fun visiting Frisco. Here is a sweet pic that I got of Grumpy and Major before their golfing trip.



Here is a recent pic of Major and Milla. This was taken yesterday. It reminds me alot of a pic that I have of Mary Alice and Major that was taken about the same time.


Major and "Chubbers"- March 2009


Mary Alice and Major- June 2004

Can you BELIEVE Major's hair? OUT OF CONTROL!!!

Speaking of out of control, here is what Major came downstairs wearing yesterday. Here is "Cowboy Bob".



Last night, Mary Alice had her first sleepover. Since it was Spring Break, her friends Jillian and Janae came over to spend the night. The girls had so much fun. I went to bed around midnight and they were still up, giggling hysterically. Major was a little sad that his BFF Mary Alice wasn't around to play all of his usual games with him. Mary Alice was sad when the girls left this morning because she really liked having girls around here for a change. :)



Some more pictures of Chubbers...








I'll close with a picture of my sweet Mary Alice. :)



Only a few more weeks until summer break! We're lovin this beautiful spring-like weather!

I'm off to go on a walk with the kids!

Oh yes, please leave a comment if you have any ideas of a basic meal I could use for my little cooking lesson. Thanks!

Friday, March 06, 2009

Isn't She Beautiful?

Milla's Birth Announcement

(Click on the picture to see it better.)



Taylor made it.

Isn't she beautiful?