Long Time, No See!

I have been promising another blog entry for awhile...life has gotten crazy. First, however, I need to get my thoughts out about today's tragic shooting in Newtown...Matt and I had just laid LJ down for a nap when we heard about it not long after they announced it. We were in shock...as a parent, as a teacher, as an American, it is devastating  Matt and I have always talked about how we will educate our children-public school, private school, home school-after tragic events like this, it is easy to say that we never want our children to leave home. We cannot teach them to live in fear though, we cannot feel like we have every ounce of control of our lives and the lives of our children-tonight I say this more to myself than anyone. Now is not a time to talk gun control and politics of the tragedy...save it for later. Now is a time to mourn the loss of so many people, mostly children, who will get to spend their first Christmas in heaven. I am sure for them, the best one yet...much harder for the families left behind. Thinking about them this holiday season.

LJ...he is almost 15 months old! So hard to believe how far we have come! He continues to be the happiest boy on the block...every day he surprises us with something new! It has been so wonderful that Matt has gotten to spend more time with us in the mornings with the new work schedule. It took some adjustment, but we are in a routine now, and LJ loves mornings! I get him up and fed, and then we go get Daddy out of bed...he seems to rush through his breakfast because he knows the sooner he finishes, the sooner he gets to go jump on Matt's head! The smile he gets on his face every time we walk into the room to wake him up is priceless...and I get it every single morning!

LJ is getting taller...we don't go in for his next exam for a few more weeks, but I am sure he has sprouted even more. We can tell when he starts trying to climb the baby gates that his reach is much higher than it used to be. Speaking of baby gates...they will not hold him back for long and thank goodness they are screwed into the wall! He tries to climb everything! He hasn't gotten out of his crib yet, but he sleeps with a few favorite friends and every morning when we get up, they are all on the floor outside the crib...Matt is convinced that he is freeing them before he frees himself so that he has something to play with when he gets out. I sure hope not! He isn't ready for a big boy bed!...or at least this mama is not ready for him to have a big boy bed!

LJ is still not walking. He can stand and he gets around quickly, but he is still very unstable on his feet. Of course I worry, but then again his first birthday was just supposed to be last week. We will give him a little longer. He really wants to walk, and we can see him thinking about taking a step, but you can see that he is very unsure of himself and sits down. We still struggle with food somewhat. We are having to put things in the food processor still to get him to eat table food. However, he can eat crackers, Cheerios, fruit, and a few other select things whole. I am trying to figure out what the issue is...if it is pickiness, laziness (he often just doesn't want to chew), or inability to chew enough to get things down. We will have to see what the doctors say in a few weeks. In the meantime, we continue to get food down any way we can! He also seems to be mastering the sippy cup...we have given it to him regularly since he was 6 months old, but it was just this week that he really seemed to get anything substantial out of it. We are being patient!

On another front though...LJ's vocabulary is growing every day. He still loves doors and saying the word. He says uh-oh, moo, chair, star, picture (although that one has taken some deciphering), ho-ho-ho (today's development). He continues to say "What's that" to everything. He repeats a lot of words! Other words he tries to say but they are not deciferable. And other times he just babbles...and sings. Our son is not going to have a speaking issue for sure...he never stops. I love to listen to him on the monitor in the middle of the night. He wakes up, carries on conversations, and goes back to sleep. Love it.

Our little boy is growing up so fast! He still loves going to the Y, he loves car rides, he loves his family, and he just loves being around people.

As many of you know, Matt and I originally wanted a house full of kids. Things haven't quite gone as planned with baby number 2. Pending a miracle, baby number 2 will be adopted and 2 children will be perfect! We briefly struggled with our options of IVF (with a very low potential statistic of being successful) or adoption, and when it came down to it, we have always felt called to adopt, and maybe this has been God's way of telling us that now is the time. We are super excited about this new journey. We know that LJ will be such a good big brother...he is so sweet and gentle.

We have been busy collecting paperwork for our home study again. We completed this process once before having LJ, but this time we are doing an infant adoption and last time we were planning on adopting out of state foster care. The process is different, so we are starting from scratch. We have our first home visit on Monday. We could not be more excited...or more nervous...than we are right now. You always wonder how an outsider sees your family. Or if your family is "good enough". Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this process...it is emotional, it is stressful, it is more paperwork than I have ever filled out in my life, and it is expensive, but the rewards will make every moment worth it! It won't take too long this time, and hopefully we will be ready to go by the end of January at the latest. We cannot wait to meet the child that God has for us to parent and for LJ to be a big brother to. Exciting times!

I will try to be better at updating...it took a reminder from my mom last night to get this update out there. I kept meaning to, but after a few weeks of writing about your life history (every boring and/or dramatic detail), about you medical history, about any "feeling" you have ever felt, I guess I have just not felt like it quite yet. But that part is done now, so lucky for you, it is my blog readers who again get to hear about my life, my feelings, and my awesome family :)

Fall Fun with lots of Pictures!

Time flies when you're having fun! This fall has been super busy now that LJ is getting big enough to enjoy it! He loves being outside, even though he isn't quite sure about all this crazy wind we have had recently.

Going back to September, we took LJ to the Georgia Aquarium for the first time for his birthday...he is a little young for it still, but he loves bright colors and things that move, so I think he enjoyed it! The best part was the dolphin show...honestly, when we walked in there, I don't think we though he would make it through the first 5 minutes, and I was planning our escape route. However, once the show started, I could not believe how engaged he was. He was standing on Matt's lap and screaming and clapping the entire time. He thought it was great...and I don't think I actually watched the show...I was too busy watching LJ get so excited about it. 

Swimming with the fish

LJ loved Deepo

So excited at the dolphin show!

For LJ's birthday, we just hung out with the family and LJ enjoyed his balloons and bubbles. He is always fascinated by the balloons at the store and to have his very own was all he needed for his birthday!

Matt made a dairy free cupcake cake...it turned out great!

LJ, Uncle Nick, and the balloons

And the balloons again....

Looks iffy, but he ate a lot!

And the balloons are back...

Love this face!

The first weekend in October, we went with my parents and Sam (Kristen and Steve were out of town, so Sam was staying with Grandma and Grandpa) to the Mercier Apple Orchards in north Georgia. I have always wanted to go apple picking, and we decided this would be a good fall outdoor activity for the boys. They loved it, especially Sam, who ate more apples than I think any of us really kept track of...I think the best part may have been throwing them on the ground when he was finished. I enjoyed it also, but when I picture apple picking in my head, there are no bees involved. I just don't know if I could do it again because of the massive amounts of bees enjoying the apples on the ground...everyone knows I don't play well with bees. There was also a kid who took a big bite out of his apple only to find a black widow on it...gives me the willys to think about it. The apples were really good though, and we ate some and others were turned into apple sauce...yum!

A little hanging upside down before the tractor ride

Sam and Grandma picking apples while I assess the bee situation

Matt teaching LJ how to find the perfect apple.

Looks like we were the only ones there!

This makes me laugh..Matt is testing the product, and LJ obviously has a big chunk in his mouth too.

Rest break

Me, my mom, and the boys

Sam and his prized apple

The next weekend Matt and I took LJ to the local pumpkin farm. LJ loved that too...he got to play with a pot bellied pig, crawl on the pumpkins, eat hay, take a ride in a wagon, and enjoy the beautiful weather. It still amazes me to watch him take such joy in the small things...his face was lit up the whole time.

Matt thought it would be fun to let LJ paint his pumpkin...we got some paint and let him have at it. The fun lasted a few minutes, and then we realized he may just be a little too small...dyeing Easter eggs was easier! However, LJ made a beautiful mess of the pumpkin that has been sitting on the front porch...I am still proud off his skills!

He loved that pig!

Happy boy!

Trying out the hay.

I am sure he was talking about something important here!

Painting the pumpkin...

On Monday Matt will start working 2nd shift for the time being because he got a "promotion"...awfully kind of them! Actually, it shouldn't be too bad, and from what we can figure, we will actually get more family time with the new schedule. It will just take some getting used to! For example, when do I cook what meal? Big lunch? It won't be forever, but we don't have a time frame yet and to when he will go back to a normal schedule. I jokingly told Matt that before we met, I was regularly in bed by 8...maybe I will do this again! It goes against everything my body wants to do staying up to 11 or so each night!

LJ has been doing so well...at his 1 year appointment, the doctors continued to show some concern about his weight and feeding. Typically, at a year old, he should be coming off of formula and going to whole milk. Formula and whole milk have the same number of calories, but the almond milk. LJ has to drink is super low in calories. I was frustrated with being told to take him off the formula, but to increase his calorie consumption...and on top of that, he was gagging whenever he ate anything with any sort of texture or chunks. It got to the point, he just didn't want to eat...I don't blame him. Every meal was lasting an hour and ending in a bath because he would throw everything up. LJ's doctor referred him to occupational/speech therapy to see if they could help. We sat on it, and I finally decided to make an appointment that was scheduled for yesterday. In the meantime, I started feeding him nothing but baby food again and giving him his formula. Over the course of the month something clicked...it was amazing. He can now eat some table food, but he will still gag at certain things (not because he doesn't like it, but because of the texture), and this past week, he has officially been off formula! Meal time can still get overwhelming some days when we have to be so careful with what he eats and his allergies, but I am also becoming better at figuring it out. His food still costs a fortune because it is all the dairy/soy free stuff, but it still isn't as much as that formula!

LJ talks...a lot. His current favorite words are door and jar (not overly useful, but they make him happy). He spends his days pointing at things and saying "What's that?" It is funny...he wants to know everything. Any container that we feed him out of is a jar...even if it is a cup, plate, or bowl. He will point to it and say jar. When we correct him and say plate or cup, he looks at you, points again, and says jar. This goes on and on and he won't eat until you agree that it is a jar. Sure buddy, it can be whatever you want it to be! He moo's, he points at a lot of things when we say them even if he can't say the word yet. One thing not on our list of concerns for him is speaking...he's got it.

He still loves to play guitar with Matt. He loves cars. He likes to be dirty. He plays peek-a-boo at bedtime. He had his first kiss about a month ago (to someone other than family)....I walked in to get him at the Y and he was just leaning over to kiss the girl he was playing with. I felt like I walked in on something I shouldn't have seen. Now the little girl runs up to me wanting a hug whenever I go in...smart girl, kissing up to the boys mom. Growing up so fast...

I have a few more random pictures to share...

Enjoying the front yard...stick fights with Daddy

He just wants to walk!

Eating grass again...he thinks he is a horse.

Can't leave out the pups...they invaded the couch, and didn't really seem to care they weren't supposed to be there.

Playing guitar.

Testing out the new hat...he loves to look out the windows.

I love this smile! We now have 7 teeth!

One Year Ago...

One year ago today our lives changed course. I woke up feeling extra tired because I had been at school's curriculum night until about 9 the night before, but I had no clue that by the end of the day LJ would be well on his way. It was tonight a year ago that my water broke, and I was completely oblivious until the next morning as to what had happened. I don't think I have ever known such a fear...my excitement about having a son in December was erased knowing that he wouldn't make it that long. In some ways the moments are vivid.

I clearly remember laying in bed wondering how I was going to make it to work the next day if I kept peeing like I was. I remember getting up the next morning and calling in sick to work because I still hadn't figured it out. I remember my mom wanting to meet me at the doctor "just in case." I guess we all learned a lesson the first time I was pregnant, and I found out about my miscarriage sitting in a doctors office...alone. I remember the brief look of panic on the face on my midwife when she looked at my mom and asked if she could bring me straight to the hospital. I remember getting to the hospital and trying to fill out the admission paperwork while waiting on my mom to park the car and for Matt to arrive from work, and I couldn't see clearly through the tears. I remember the fear.

The next 9 days were spent waiting. We began to become confident that I would make it through at least the next 5 weeks when LJ could be delivered with much lower risk. We prayed. We waited. LJ was ready.

This year I am filled with emotion about LJ's upcoming birthday. I will spend the next 9 days looking forward to the day he was born, and unlike last year, I am ready. Instead of praying for our child to survive and begging God to let him be healthy, they will be prayers of praise and thankfulness for the little miracle we have been given. There are big plans for LJ, and we as parents will do everything we can to help him discover those.

I now find myself calling LJ "funny man" because he loves getting a laugh out of people. He thinks any bodily function is funny, as are spit bubbles, calling me Dada, and his war call...oh my gosh. It is easy to post pictures and give an idea of what he is doing, but go with me here for a minute...OK, whether you have seen the Tarzan movies or not, we all know the scream he does as he beats his chest. Picture it (or try it out yourself, but depending on where you are reading this, you may get some funny looks)...ok now picture doing it even louder...louder...there you go! That is our son. He is Tarzan. He thinks the funniest thing in the world is when he screams really loud and his voice shakes like Tarzan. He laughs the whole time, so it isn't from being sad. AND it makes him even happier for everyone to join in! We have found ourselves all imitating Tarzan regularly these days. He doesn't beat his chest yet, but somehow I have a feeling that someone will teach him that part one day too.

Our son continues to be one of the sweetest children ever. He has a smile for everyone, and I am told often how lucky we are...and that when we have number 2, not to expect the same! He still loves to cuddle. He will stop playing and crawl up on your lap for a hug and a kiss before resuming playtime.

Ever since LJ came home from the hospital, my parents have offered to watch LJ for a night, a weekend, or even just long enough for us to go out to eat. We have left him for maybe a couple hours at the most on about 3 occasions. It isn't that we don't trust grandma and grandpa by any means...we just have never been in a hurry to leave him in general. I don't know if it is because we had to leave him every night for 2 months while he was at Northside and each night was harder than the one before it, or if it is that he goes to bed so early that Matt and I feel like we do get a lot of time together, or maybe we are just crazy and really do need to have a night or a weekend alone. It hit me while we were in Kansas that while LJ gets to see my parents more often, they never get to put him to bed or see his morning giggles and kisses...I get it! It isn't about us! Grandma and Grandpa want more time to spoil LJ! I think it was a sign when at church on Sunday, Andy Stanley and his wife did an awesome sermon on parenting, and one of their points was making sure to take a week or weekend away each year. Message received! Once the craziness of September ends, Grandma and Grandpa Evensen will get a slumber party with LJ!

I just sit in amazement as I watch him...he has developed such a personality in this past year, and he has come so far. He is definitely a fighter, and he has taught me some lessons on life. He has taught us to take each day as it comes, that most of the problems I used to consider "big" are nothing as long as I have my family with me, that God has a plan for us all and if we put our faith in that, anything can happen. We love you little guy!

Back to the Real World

For a long Labor Day weekend, we took a long overdue trip Kansas to visit Matt's family. We were supposed to go last summer before LJ was born, but I was on bed rest, so we never got out there. We were so excited to have a week together, as we haven't had that much time since last Christmas! My fears of flying with LJ were put to rest when he did awesome on the plane. I was worried he would scream the whole way or poop when the fasten seatbelt sign was on, or throw up all over me or someone else...you know, the usual. He did great. He has a hard time sitting still these days, but the plane wasn't full so even though we didn't buy LJ his own seat, he got one anyway. Not that he sat in it for long, but it gave us a little extra space.    I did find myself watching the clock though because I knew that the entertainment would run out after awhile. 

LJ loved seeing his grandma and grandpa, and his cousins, and aunts and uncles, and Matt's best friend and his family. He loves people and doesn't fuss when he gets passed around. We also discovered that he really loves beards! He didn't meet a beard he didn't like, and he met quite a few! He didn't, however, have quite his usual cheerful personality, but I think it was just because his schedule was off, he had been sick for almost 2 weeks before we left, and he is getting some more teeth. Overall, we couldn't have asked for more! His face when we walked back in the door at home was priceless though...he just grinned. He was so excited to see his puppies, he almost jumped out of my arms. He just smiled at all the toys in his playroom, and he looked at every light/fan in the house like he was happy to be back. I guess he will take after his mom and dad-we love to travel on occasion, but there is nothing quite like home either! He proceeded to sleep 19 of the next 24 hours. I think he is back on track now.

LJ has discovered a few new things that put a smile on his face...beards, potato salad, tomatoes, cows, match box cars to name a few. His cousins gave LJ a matchbox car when we saw them, and it's funny how little boys just know what to do with a car. Later, we went to a friends house and their boys pulled out a box of cars. The look on his face was of pure excitement.

LJ has learned to pull up on things...and it has become all he wants to do. We went through a period of sleepless nights because he would pull up in his crib and not know how to get back down, so he would scream for rescuing. We also realized that if we took the night light out of his room so he couldn't see, he gave up on trying to get out a little bit more quickly. He spends his days standing at the baby gate petting his puppies, to the couch, to the train table, to the jumparoo, and back. He is so proud of himself!

LJ says hi, dada, and mama (when he wants to...he now thinks it is funny to say dada when I say mama, and he has only been saying mama when he wants something). He is still drinking quite a bit of formula, so we need to start coming up with a plan to start weaning him off that soon. I think we have decided almond milk will be the substitute because I have cooked with it, and he has done well. However, we also have to do another milk test next week...fingers crossed! 

Every day is something new. I am having a difficult time realizing that he will be 1 in a little over 2 weeks! Time has flown, and we have loved every minute of being parents. 

Grandma and Grandpa took us all to the zoo...LJ was a perfect little cub!

Petting the sheep and goats with Daddy.

He is going to have his Dad's musical talent!

Climbing on Daddy is more fun than listening to the story these days!

Giggles

LJ and cousin Sam wrestling with grandpa.

....

Midnight party! LJ got his legs stuck in the rungs of the crib  trying to reach his giraffe he  always has to sleep with...taking matters into his own hands!

Midnight party continues! This hat fit him once upon a time!

Who, me?

Excited for the plane!

Watching Bob the Builder on the plane.

Looking out the window.

A serious conversation with Great Grandma Sullivan

The best beard of all! Uncle Clyde wins by a landslide!

He doesn't just play guitar!

Playing with cousin Malachi.

Cousin Mica telling stories.

Love Grandma kisses early in the morning!

Saying goodbye to Grandpa

Pooped...great week, but little man needed some sleep! We  took this on the shuttle at the airport  getting home.

Leaving Atlanta...so excited!

Telling stories

We finally had professional pictures done while in Wichita...more to come!