A Month of Thankfulness

One of the blogs I follow, Injera and Chocolate Gravy, issued a challenge for the month of November.  The challenge was to post something you are thankful for every day for the entire month.  I chose to do my daily postings on Facebook but thought I'd compile them into one post to live forever on the blog. ;-)  Here they are!

1)Christ- for saving me and calling me friend.
2) The ladies in my Wednesday morning bible study...an amazing group to lift me up in the middle of the week. :-)
3) A warm place to sleep every night.

4) A little boy who wants to marry me when he grows up, says "Mommy, I love you" a minimum of 3 times a day every day, thinks there is nothing better than playing barn animals, eats his veggies so he can be "big and strong like Daddy", and is the best big brother ever. I love you, Ryker!

5) Sushi. After being deprived for nearly a year, tonight I'm going to eat a TON! :-)

6) Today, on my day of birth, I am thankful for my mom who pushed for 3.5 hours to bring me into this world! She has always supported me and loved me unconditionally and is now one of my very best friends. Love you Mom!
7) Today, as we're all sick, I'm thankful for Earl Grey tea and its soothing effects.

8) The right to vote. Cast my ballot...have you?

9) The library. Free books are great and our biweekly trips help cultivate the love of reading in Ryker that I so want for him.

10) Happy Birthday Marine Corps! I'm thankful to my hubby and all his fellow Marines, current and former.

11) All military personnel, past, present, and future. Thank you for your service and sacrifice for the freedoms we take for granted every day. Happy Veterans Day!
12) Family Game Night. These are some of my very favorite nights with some of my very favorite people. Bring it on guys...I'm feeling lucky tonight!
13) Quiet Sundays at home. Just what I need to recharge my batteries. :-)

14) A healthy 2 month old today. 13 lbs. 10 oz. 24" today at his appointment. 90th percentile for both. My little porker! :-)

15) Today (and every day) I am thankful for my husband. He is my best friend. He is an amazing hubby and father to our boys. He works so hard for us and we love him so much. Just today I called him all stressed out and within a minute I felt so much better. He's the best! Love you babe!
16) I'm thankful that I'm blessed enough to be a stay at home mom. I love that I'm here for every milestone. I wouldn't have it any other way. Love my boys! :-)

17) I'm thankful for my dad. He took me fishing and camping, taught me how to play ball, coached my soccer teams, practiced my serve for tennis with me, and even came to all those cheerleading competitions.
:-) He loved his family the way a real man should. He showed me how a man should love and respect his wife and taught me to accept nothing less for myself. He is a wonderful Papaw to my boys. I am a proud Daddy's girl!
18) Is thankful that I successfully completed my first workout since having Camden. My legs feel like Jell-O but it feels so good! :-)

19) I'm thankful that Camden slept for 10 hours straight last night and Ryker woke up dry for the first time ever!!!

20) I'm thankful for my precious Camden Nicoli. He's such a happy baby and a consant reminder of answered prayers. He's a complete blessing to our family. He rolled over for the first time today. Not once, but 5 times! :-)

21) Today I'm thankful for two paid-for cars in the garage. They get us from point A to point B safely. It's quite the luxury! (No sarcasm intended.) :-)

22) Thankful for Ryker's awesome preschool and teachers. He's flourishing and learning so much. He loves going to school and talks about it all the time. It's wonderful feeling so good about leaving him there, knowing he's being loved on. :-)

23) Today I'm thankful for a day at home with my boys with nowhere to go and nothing significant to do. We're reading lots of books and playing to our hearts content. :-)

24) I'm thankful for 2 awesome Thanksgiving dinners and the surprise Cam had for me after we got home- his first laugh! So precious! :-)

25) I'm thankful for an awesome vet who fixed poor Tucker's hematoma today (and for cheap too!) He hates the cone on his head but seems great otherwise. :-)

26) I'm thankful for my grandma Kennedy. Ever since I was 5 years old, when asked who I admired most, I would always respond with my grandma. She loves the Lord and others with everything she has. She has a true servant's heart. She taught me the value of hard work and perseverance. If anyone thinks half as highly of me in this life I will consider myself a success. I want to be just like her when I grow up. ;-)

27) I'm thankful for nights with good friends and new babies! :-)
28) I'm thankful for my appliances....seriously, a dishwasher, microwave, washer, and dryer. They all make my life soooo much simpler and I'm much more fortunate than most of the world!

29) I am thankful for Christmas music. It just puts a smile on my face. :-)

30) Last day of thankfulness. Today I am thankful for grandpa. He gives the best hugs and can always make me laugh. He is a man of tremendous integrity and faith. I love that's he not afraid to show his emotions and has built such a fantastic family that I will be forever grateful to be a part of. Happy 81st Birthday Grandpa!



An Evening with the Brown's

We've been trying to get together with our friends, The Brown's, for a couple of weeks now.  They welcomed their fourth child, Rigley Benjamin, on November 4th.  I took dinner out when Robert was in class and Katie and Rigley were getting his newborn pictures done, so we didn't really get to spend much time together. We've been eager to meet Rigley, but Robert was sick and then the holiday was upon us.  We were finally able to get out there last night.  I brought dinner again and we all ate together.  Ryker had a great time playing upstairs with the older kids.  Ryker and Tucker are the same age and had a great time rough housing and playing with swords and doing all that fun boy stuff.  Camden got to meet his new buddy, Rigley too.

Rigley and Camden getting to know each other. ;-)

Rigley is a big boy, but still seemed so small now that I'm used to holding Camden all the time.

Chaney wanted to help Ryker get dressed up.

Josh was joking that he looked like one of the Village People.  He loved it!

First Laugh

After we got home from our Thanksgiving dinners, I was getting Camden ready for bed when I was tickling him a bit and he laughed!  It was such a funny little chuckle! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  First, we headed over to Aunt Diane's around noon for Thanksgiving lunch.  The food was delicious and the company was great!  The weather was great and Mom, Lori, and I enjoyed a walk after lunch.  It was great to get out and move around after all that eating!

Aunt Lisa got to hold Cam after I nursed him...he was in a milk coma. :-)

Lindsay got some good bonding time in with Cam too.  He was very talkative with her.

After Aunt Diane's we headed to Robert's Aunt Robin's for Thanksgiving dinner.  Ryker had a great time with the cousins and especially bonded with Jaylen.  When Robert and I started dating she was just turning 5.  She was our little buddy back then and it's so hard to believe, but she's in 8th grade now!  Ryker had a great time with her and she is definitely on our babysitter list now!  Unfortunately, I left my camera at Diane's house so I don't have any pics from Robin's house.  We are so thankful for our families and the time we had to spend with them. :-)

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Guess who's rolling over?!?!?  Camden rolled over from his belly to his back for the first time last night.  He decided to do it 4 more times after that.  He did more times than I could keep track of today.  Basically, every time I put him on his stomach, he would roll right over.  I can't believe he's already doing this.  He needs to slow down.  I'm afraid if he keeps up, he'll be walking at 7 months like my uncle Dan did!  I just want him to stay a baby.



My Third Son

When Ryker was a baby we did a photo shoot with him and Tucker.  Robert thought it was time for Camden's photo shoot.  We are blessed with such a sweet dog.  He is so good with the boys.

A close up of my handsome boy.

Of course, Ryker had to join in on the fun too!

This one cracks me up.  Ryker was having a conversation with Tucker.  They are the best of friends.  Tucker used to always sleep in our bedroom at night, but now chooses to sleep in Ryker's room.  :-)

Here's Ryker and Tuck back in July of '08...Ryker was about 6 weeks old here.  (3 years really ages a dog!)

Seriously sweetest dog EVER!

We think the poor baby has a hemotoma on his ear.  We just discovered it tonight and plan on taking him to the vet tomorrow.  From the research Robert did, it looks like they'll have to drain it and give him some steroids.  Hopefully, he'll be a good patient and the vet can get it taken care of quickly.

Operation Christmas Child

Every year since I was about 10 years old I can remember packing a shoebox for a child somewhere in the world who wouldn't have a gift to open otherwise.  Last year, we started having Ryker participate in the activity.  He helps pick out the items and pack them in the shoebox.  We are sending our box to a little boy his age. 

Packing the items up.

Coloring a picture to add to the box.

So proud of his gift!

We dropped off the box at the church on Sunday.  He carried it all the way in so proudly.  Someone offered to help him with it and he refused.  I told them he had picked out everything and packed it and was very excited about it.  They thought it was pretty sweet.  (I have to agree. ;-))

You're So Vain

If you know Robert at all, you know how particular he is about his appearance.  He is very picky about his clothes and is almost impossible to shop for.  If he passes any reflective surface you can be sure he is checking himself out.  I'm pretty sure both of the boys have inherited this trait.  The other day Ryker was fixing his hair and admiring himself in the mirror as he said, "I so handsome"!  I have a picture board above the closet in the nursery full of pictures of Camden.  When I'm changing him he lays there and looks up at the pictures and smiles so big and talks to himself.  Our swing has a mirror above it.  Camden LOVES looking at himself in it.  Here is a video of him admiring himself.  It was cracking me up!  (Don't mind Ryker calling him a girl-looks like big brother is already torturing him.)

2 Month Appointment

Yesterday was Camden's 2 month appointment.  He was showing off for Dr. Anderson and smiled and cooed for her.  (Can't say the same for the poor nurse who gave him his shots though.)  Overall, he is a very healthy baby.  Unfortunately, he does have hydroceles like Ryker did.  Dr. Anderson reminded me that they go away in most babies on their own, so hopefully that's the case and he won't have to have surgery like Ryker did.  Other than that, he is perfectly fine.  He weighed in at 13 lbs. 10 oz. and measured 24 inches.  He was in the 90th percentile for both.  He's our little porker!  He had to have 3 shots and an oral medicine.  I hate that he had to get stuck over and over again.  His face was so red...it was awful!  Ryker was so sweet though.  He kept talking to him and trying to comfort him.  He said, "It's ok.  It just stings a little bit and then it's over."  Later, when I was taking his bandaids off, Ryker told Cam, "It's ok, you don't need them anymore.  It's just an itty-bitty little spot."  So sweet!

Look at the chunky little guy!

Ryker was very patient and played quietly during the appointment.

2 Months!

Yesterday Camden turned 2 months old!  It's hard to believe another month has already flown by. 

Cam's little personality is such a fun one.  He's a very happy guy and very vocal.  He's much busier than Ryker was at this age.  He loves "talking" to us and hamming it up. 

He's still squeezing into some 0-3 month clothes, but is fitting much better into 3-6 month clothes.  We'll find out how much he weighs tomorrow at his appointment.

He's sleeping until about 4 or 5 am before eating again and falling back asleep until around 7.  Pretty good I'd say!

Look at that dimple!!  He can always bring a smile to your face!

Tummy Time

Camden isn't a huge fan of tummy time, but is getting much better at tolerating it for longer periods of time.  He does better if I get down on the floor with him.  Here are some cute pics I snapped the other day during tummy time.

Look at him go!

Taking a rest now.

This was after tummy time, but this pic cracks me up.  I think the flash scared him....lol!

Smith Family Reunion

Sunday was not only my birthday, but the Smith Family Reunion.  The Smith's are my Grandma Kennedy's family.  She is one of 9 siblings.  We had a reunion at Spring Mill Inn in Mitchell, Indiana on Sunday afternoon.  The inn was gorgeous, the food was yummy, and the company was fantastic.  We had 98 people there, which is just a fraction of the family.  Ryker loved playing with his cousins, especially Garyn.  Ryker has a serious case of hero worship going on with Garyn.  Garyn is 2 years older than him and Ryker thinks he is just awesome.  Garyn is so good with him and they love hanging out.  After lunch we had a time of sharing stories with the whole group.  It was fun to hear stories of my great grandparents that I never got to meet and stories of my mom, aunts and uncles with their cousins.  It's always nice to see my grandma enjoy time with her siblings too.

Gianna, Ashlyn, and Aunt Sissy/Nana holding Camden.

Camden got all kinds of attention.  He didn't seem to mind one bit. ;-)

Garyn's turn.  He and Gigi are expecting a sibling from Ethiopia, whom we all fondly call Baby 'Opia.  They both got some good practice in.

My cousin Jeff and his fiancee Jena helped Ryker with his grow animals.  He thought it was pretty cool.

Showing off his bat.

Girl Cousins Picture.  Abby, Me, and Lindsay.  (Natalie was in Vegas, bummer).

Abby and her former flower girl, Gigi.  I think Gigi still thinks of Abby as a princess from that day. ;-)

My little family of four.  One of the few pictures we have of all of us.

Bathtime Buddies

Ryker loves helping me give Camden a bath!

Look at little man's big belly!  It's so cute I can hardly stand it!

Harvest Hoedown

As two of my friends said on their blogs, I'm one of "those people" who don't like Halloween. However, I do enjoy getting the kids all dressed up, yummy candy, and an excuse to see friends and family. Our church has a Harvest Hoedown event with inflatables, carnival games, food, and fun every year. This year it was on Halloween night and we opted to do it instead of trick or treating. It was so much fun! Ryker had a blast!

Me with my boys (even Tucker) before we left.

Ryker after coming down the big slide.

Getting his face painted.  He was rather excited about this!

Spiderman!  Even though he's never seen Spiderman, he still think he's really cool.  I think it's a built-in love for all boys.

Ryker with one of his best buddies, Charlotte. She was Supergirl.

He said the bounce house was his favorite part of the night.

Playing one o the games.  He worked really hard but didn't get it to hit the bell.  Better luck next year buddy.

Getting a balloon animal made before leaving.