month by month

While we've been pretty good at taking pictures of Boone since he arrived, I've been pretty lousy at posting them for anyone besides ourselves to oogle over.

Sooooo..... here's a quick pictorial re-cap of our "little dude" (Dad's favorite nickname for him) over the last quarter of a year -

Turned one month while living at Mimi's.

Turned two months while living at Gramma Beanie and Chip's.

House renovations were FINALLY finished and Boone spent his three month birthday at his own house. Here, we were also joyfully celebrating the end of the monster called colic.

Just for kicks, this is one of my most favorite 3 month-ish pics.

And at four months, seriously, could this guy get any cuter? Losing his newborn hair but gaining some much-awaited-by-mom chub. Can't wait to see what the five month shot will bring...

the sweetest sound

With unseasonably mild weather in Kansas this winter, we've actually been able to spend some pleasant time outdoors - in January! It's a blessing I am soaking up.

For the past week or so, just before dusk, Boone and I have begun a simple ritual on the swing in our backyard's screened-in porch. Covering our laps with a blanket, we sit and swing and talk and sing through the last moments of the day's light. And it is beautiful.

We take the dogs with us. Part of the time they'll play outside in the grass, but when they come into the porch, Boone's eyes light up. And when they wrestle, he laughs, his joy unrestrained. Lord, thank you for sweet doggies who play. And thank you for the gift of a little boy who, at four months old, finds them funny.

4 months

(One of your 3 month pictures, taken with love by your incredible Uncle Austin.)

Oh, mister Boone.

I never imagined I could love a baby this much.

Before you were born, I was pretty intimidated at the thought of hanging out with a newborn around the clock. Now that you're here, I can't imagine my life any differently. I'm so thankful I get to be your full-time mom.

You'll never grasp the turbulence of our lives throughout 2011, the year the Lord chose for your birth. He provided you to be our shining joy, a respite in the storm.

Now that you are four months old, I feel that I can finally catch my breath. Your colic is gone at last (thanks to the amazing Dr. Scharenberg). Your poor little tummy was a source of much angst for everyone who loves you. We praise the Lord for leading us to someone who could finally relieve you from your pain.

Ever since your stomach stopped hurting, you have been an absolute delight, somehow growing more fun every. single. day. I don't think it can get any better... but then I wake up to your sweet face again.

You've recently started laughing, and every time I hear it, I think love for you might make my heart explode. You chuckle most when I'm tickling your tummy, when you watch the dogs wrestle, or when I'm giving you a bath.

You are grasping things so well now, holding on to anything and everything and then trying to put it into your mouth. You've always had great head control and you do increasingly well during tummy time or when you're sitting in your bumbo seat. You've rolled from your tummy to your back several times, and once so far I've seen you roll from your back to your side.

Very quick to smile, you do so often. Huge, wide, gummy smiles that light up your whole face and literally melt my heart. You've also started smiling more at the people you recognize.

Baths continue to be one of your favorite activities. You kick and splash and smile and talk. It is always a highlight of my day as I watch your joy in the water, simple and true.

You also get a kick out of watching yourself in the mirror. If you're fussing, usually all I have to do is put you in front of a mirror and you'll quiet down. You also love when I dance around with you or fly you like an airplane.

You're eating every 2.5-3 hours during the days, waking between 6:30-7 am and then going to bed at 9 pm. You typically wake one to five times during the night, crying out for your pacifier or for us to cover your head with your blanket.* This has always been your preferred way of sleeping!

*lightweight and with holes in it, for any concerned parents who are wondering :)

Lately you've been waking up cooing (rather than crying). It tells me that everything is right in your little world. That's all I could want for you, my precious boy.

You are so very loved, my sweet baby Boone!

mini update

Just wanted to confirm to anyone out there who still checks our blog that we are, in fact, alive and well! I've had to cut back on some non-essentials during this period of life and unfortunately, blogging (for me) falls into that category. :(

Not sure when I'll be able to pick it up regularly again - hopefully shortly after our move in 25 days. I may sporadically be able to post a few things between now and then, so keep me on your blogroll - I will be back!

In the meantime, here's one of the things that has been occupying our schedules for the past month (and the dream come true I referred to in my last post): we are buying a house! And not just any house. It's the house I was born in and lived in until I was 12 years old.

How crazy is that? We close July 1. Unreal.

And for anyone wondering, I am now 27 weeks and finally have a bump to show for it! I'll really try to post some pics soon. I'm feeling great and the baby is moving around like crazy! It is especially active at night (makes me wonder if it will be a creative night-owl like me) and also whenever it hears music. Hmmm...

Ok, better cut myself off there - I'll be back soon!

the flood

Well, if you told me on Monday that this is the post I would be writing today, I would laugh. And laughing we have been. It has been a crazy, crazy week, in so many ways, some of which I can't even share with you yet. But now I'm rambling, let's get back to the post: the flood on Primrose Avenue.

This story actually began several months ago when we noticed that our basement shower would fill with water every time it rained or snowed. Water would come up through the drain, fill the shower basin and then overflow into the bathroom. A couple of times, there was so much that it leaked out into the bedroom next door. We reported this to our property management company, and while they sent some guys out to take a look, no action was ever taken to fix the problem.

Oh well, said we. It's not our house. We're moving in three months. They can deal with it later after we're gone.

Monday night brought a whopper of a rainstorm. Tuesday morning revealed a whopper of a flood. By the time Brian left for school, the water was at least an inch high throughout half of our basement, with more gushing out of the shower and a fountain gurgling up from the sump pump. Not good.

I left a message with the landlord and went to an ob appointment. (This was the bright spot of the day - getting to hear our baby's healthy heartbeat!) When I returned home an hour later, the water level had doubled. I started to move everything I could (I am 19 wks pregnant, mind you) to the far wall of the basement that was still somewhat dry. I called Brian to come home and help. By the time he got here, everything was sitting in water.

That's when everything in the basement had to be moved upstairs. To put it lightly, our house is a MESS.

Did I mention that on Wednesday, the next day, Brian was scheduled to take his board exam (basically the test that determines if he graduates or not). He's been preparing for months, but was hoping to have one quiet last day to focus and prepare. Quiet and focused day he did not receive. But isn't that the way life goes? :)

To spare you a complete recounting of the rest of the day's drama, here are the highlights:

- The water reached 5 inches high, in some places even higher.

- After sloshing around it all day, we discovered that the flood was technically "sewage water." The sump pump was illegally tied into the sewer lines and it was all flowing into the house. While there wasn't any poo visibly floating around, it is still disgusting. So gross.

- There was tons of mold behind the baseboards. All of them had to be ripped out. Any part of the drywall with mold on it has now been cut out.

- They had to install a new sump pump.

- The toilet upstairs had to be removed so that they could access the plumbing. This meant no toilet for a pregnant lady for 3 hours. That is a LONG TIME! The plumber reinstalled it incorrectly and then left at 9 pm. I realized after he was gone that water was leaking out of the bottom of it but at that point there was nothing we could do but mop it up every few hours until he came back the next afternoon.

- In the next few weeks, they are going to have to dig out the front yard to rework the sump pump and sewage system.

- There are now something like 10 commercial fans and 5 de-humidifiers going full force in our basement. After everything is thoroughly dried, they will replace the padding, carpet, dry wall and baseboards.

You can probably see the water best in this video:

Wow. Nothing like leaving this house with a bang!

BUT. As much of a nightmare as this day was, the following day (in which I struggled to get out of bed and greet the mess around me) held a dream come true. You will have to bear with me and be patient until I can fill you in.

And for those of you wondering, Brian's boards went well. They were hard and long and draining, but he feels that he did everything he could have to prepare. We won't get the results back for a month, so he's leaving it in the Lord's hands. I have a feeling that he did just fine. :)

All day long on Tuesday, these old Caedmon's Call lyrics kept coming to mind. I hope they'll lift your spirits today, whether you're having a fabulous or frustrating day:

This day's been crazy,

but everything's happened on schedule

From the rain and the cold

to the drink that I spilled on my shirt

Cause you knew You'd save me

before I fell dead in the garden

And you knew this day

long before You made me out of dirt

(Table for Two)

momentous

... is the word I would use to describe the past month (or past 3 months, rather). I don't even know where to begin so I'm resorting to bullet points for now, with the best of intentions to fill in the blanks and connect the dots later.

So, here follows a very brief summary of life as of late:

- Guess this one should probably top the list: we're pregnant (17 weeks today), due Sept. 13.

- After keeping the secret since Jan. 5, we FINALLY got to tell our families a couple of weeks ago.

- I turned 30 on March 23.

- My dear friend, Christine, came to Indy to visit for my birthday.

- We spent Brian's spring break in Wichita, doing grown-up things like looking at houses, evaluating mortgage lenders and signing orthodontic job contracts. It's official, Brian's start date is Aug. 1!

- I got to participate in my very first, of hopefully very many, Gilmore Girls nights (more on this to come).

- I heard my baby's heartbeat twice.

- I am, praise the Lord, over the morning sickness. Why they call it "morning" I will never know, it was the worst for me at night. Due to the lack of nausea, I can finally stand to be in the kitchen again. This is HUGE.

- We are now 3 months out from graduation.

- My computer's logic board went out and I am now using Brian's computer until mine can be fixed. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll be reunited again with my pictures and I will write more then.

For the sake of the blog book I desperately hope to create at the end of this year, each bullet above should have an accompanying post within the coming weeks. Please hold me accountable to this! :)

good stuff

Just a couple things to share today!

First, if you are someone interested in adoption (or even if you're not), please take a few minutes to watch this video by Third Day (thanks, Team Alexander, for sharing!). You've probably heard this song on the radio, but seeing the video puts new meaning behind the words they are singing. Even if you can guess what's coming in the video, it is so powerful. Bet your eyes won't be dry when it's over.

After watching the video, head over to the Cupcakes Divine site for an exciting update! We've been able to sponsor our first child and we are just THRILLED! Please keep us in mind for any future cupcake needs - we're more than halfway toward meeting the amount for a second sponsorship!