Coming to terms

Are you tired of me counting days and weeks and years??? hahahaha - I just realize most of my posts have to do with counting how many days until or how many days since (or weeks or months or years). this my friends is largely due to my mother and her mother. :) Keeping track of time and always remembering dates and always talking about the past or looking forward to events in the future. this my friends, is my nature so I will always do this. (but I might add - I'm no where near as good at it as my mother is, but I think I'm getting better at it as I get older)

Today marks 3 weeks since we showed up in Fort Collins, in fact as I look down at the time on the computer it is EXACTLY 3 weeks!!!!!

You know what that means, my friends??????
3 weeks and exactly 5 days since my last

 Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Iced Coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I'm trying to come to terms with it - I miss them dearly. There are no Dunkin Donuts in sight for miles and miles and miles and miles. :( Mostly I miss having such an affordable drink to buy. There's just something about heading out to run errands and being able to buy a drink and sip it. Does anyone else like that? 

It hasn't been too hard saying good bye to my beloved drink, but I do miss sipping that great refreshing drink.

They do have plenty of Starbucks, but it's hard for me to dish out $2 for a tiny tiny drink and it just isn't the same. Mind you - I do enjoy a good coffee from Starbucks - but can't compare to the DD's iced coffee mostly when it comes to price. (hot coffee is a whole other ball game my friends, I'm a lot snobbier when it comes to that)

Friends - I am surviving and still enjoy life even without my drink. :)

Day in the life of a One year old

Ok - I promise - last post reminiscing about a year ago. :) i just cannot believe that we made it through one year. I can't believe it went so fast, i can't believe how healthy Landon is, and I can't believe God gave him to us. I'm so thankful God chose to put him in this family and he adds such a fun dynamic. He cuddles with me all the time! I love it so much. he wraps his arms around me and lays his head down on my shoulder. I just can't get enough of it!!! i also caught him standing on his own today - so it won't be long before we have 2 boys running all around here. Happy birthday Landon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So what does a 1 year old baby do on his birthday? you might ask - well I'm here to tell you. Get ready for some excitement. :) Just kidding - we didn't do anything b/c we celebrated last weekend, and you can read about that here.

He looks so tired in the picture b/c he was sleeping so hard!

Just waking up on his birthday! cuddling with daddy on the couch!

I celebrated my birthday by sleeping until almost 8 AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (this my friends is a very rare phenomenon) I had been up super late the night before and then was awake at 5 am for some reason, but went right back to sleep and slept for a long time.  (and yes in case you're wondering he slept in this polo. We got in late the night before and we just put him straight in bed, call us lazy - but it works for us)

Breakfast was banana and kix

 followed by some play time with daddy!

followed by some play time outside with Mommy on the local Tennis courts. Tearing up my knees chasing the ball around. :)

Cool crack on the tennis courts ;)

Followed by a short nap
Then lunch - grapes, yogurt, pbj, graham crackers and cheese, and milk. (this kid eats a lot)
Followed by a VERY LONG NAP - that mom and dad were so thankful for.

After naps we took a ride to the park! I'm so cute in the car and always smile when my parents look back at me.

 I could swing all day long - what a great way to spend a birthday!

 Mommy really loves me and loves spending time with me!

After the park - I ate supper - Waffles, peaches and Carrots and milk.
Then we went to a small group and met some wonderful people who all loved seeing me smile and spend my birthday evening with me. I went to bed late - but that's ok. It's my birthday. :)
Now I have to wait a whole year before I can celebrate again - I hope it goes as fast as this year did - but mommy wants it to slow down. :)

Trail Run

Last night I ventured into something that I never thought I would do. You see - I run a few times a week; on average about 4 miles at a time. I like and enjoy it and want to push myself to do more - I almost consider myself a runner (well not after tonight).

I've always wanted to join a "running group/club" to run with people for fun and gain acquaintances and make running a little more enjoyable. So as soon as we got here I started trying to find a group online to run with. I ran across a group called Fort Collins Trail Runners. I looked at it, then I contacted the "leader" and made sure it was a legitimate thing and not someone trying to prey on women. They meet on tues and thurs nights and do trail runs. Tuesday's run seemed doable to me - just shy of 4 miles (which I run 4 miles often throughout the week, so no big deal, right?). They say over and over - all levels welcome. It's just a social pleasure run.

Yesterday was the first day I could go. I've been in the midst of potty training (which by the way is going pretty well just exhausting) and Richard thought it would be good for me to go meet some new people and enjoy a run.
Well let me tell you - TRAIL RUNNING IS SUPER HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So different than Flat land running! The first half mile I was going to die and I was seconds away from just turning around and going back to my car and never seeing those people again. My lungs were burning up, I thought I was going to pass out! It's so much different running up hill on a trail that is rocky and switch back and steep.
 Then to make things worse - these people are hardcore runners. Like the woman leading this trail run, runs about 100 miles a week. Like the lead guy has done a 100 mile race. Like the nice girl who stayed back with me near the end is training for a 50 mile race, like they've done multiple marathons!!!!!!!!!!! What was I thinking????????????????
I made it through the whole trail, I walked a lot on the up hills, they were so nice to me about it all and even told me I should come back out! (and some of them walked too) That this was a faster group b/c of the rain, that usually there are slower ones who come out and run. In the end I'm glad I went. It pushed me harder than i wanted to be pushed, it challenged me to step way out of my comfort zone to go and meet random people to run. And who knows - maybe you'll see me one day in the next 50 mile woman's race. :) ha just joking!!!!

And guess what I did when I got home - you guessed it - a big bowl of ice cream and brownies. :) I should sleep good tonight!
If you care to see pictures of the trail and how incredibly hard it was go HERE. and if you don't believe me it was hard!

One Year

I've been waiting a whole year to be able to write a post like this. Knowing that it would be amazing to look back over a year and see how far we have come! Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured us where we are.

Today in the midst of potty training and waiting to hear back about jobs I think back to a year ago! boy! have things changed for us! This is the last picture of me pregnant with Landon right at 34 Weeks! My water broke on Sept 5th. (landon was not due until Oct 14th. ) I had an aweful day at church wondering if things were ok b/c I just didn't feel right, I went to the triage room in the hospital and got checked out, but they confirmed it was not amniotic fluid and sent me home. I was home literally about an hour and my water really did break! That time I knew for sure. Panic struck me! I don't have anything ready! The house is a mess! i don't have baby clothes out! In fact I don't have ANYTHING out! I'm not ready! this cannot be happening. i stood in the shower sobbing on the phone to my sister not knowing what to do. As Richard ran around the house, calling his sister to come and get Carson, trying to get a few things together for the hospital stay! This isn't supposed to happen! I'm not ready AT ALL!!!!! How is the baby?!???? Will everything be ok with the baby???!!??. So many emotions that I was feeling.

 Our stay in the hospital was long.(at least it felt long to me) Labor did not kick in right away and I was put on bed rest in the hospital with IV and antibiotics and talking with a lot of doctors. It was Labor day weekend then too so the normal doctors and U/S techs were not there. So we just waited. At that point my expectations of delivering naturally were slowly being changed assuming there was no way!
the next couple days were spent in a lot of prayer and begging God for wisdom for us and the doctors with the decisions that lay ahead. If you want to read the whole birth story go here. In short God allowed me to delivery naturally and I could not be more thankful for that!
Long story short - landon was born a healthy 6lbs and 9 oz!!!!!!!!!!!! For a six week premie that is very good.

 

This picture is not really meant to be seen by many - oh well
It is the first time I held him but only for like 30 sec before he was wisked
away - and then I had to wait more than a day to hold him again.

This is all I could do at the beginning to comfort him. I did not
even feed him for about 36 hrs

 
It was heart breaking to see him like this, but I knew it was helping him.

 Slowly things progressed and more and more "equipment" was taken off of him. It was such a joy to watch him as he got more and more independent with his breathing and his eating.
 He did experience a little Jaundice and this is mainly what kept him in the NICU for a longer period of time. (although it was only 6 days which is not very long at all compared to a lot of babies)

 I was overjoyed when i could hold him and feed him as difficult as it was b/c he had a feeding tube in his nose still. But those first few times I held him in the rocking chair in the NICU were so precious.

Marks from the tape from feeding tube

We caught him chilling out in his Jaundice "tank"
He still lays like this a lot!

 
 After 6 longs days we finally were able to come home! Not without much anxiousness and worry from me.

I stand in awe now looking back over the last year. Landon has grown to be a very healthy boy! He has caught up in all his developmental areas. He is one of the most pleasant babies I've ever seen. I am truly blessed. A year ago - we were sitting in the hospital wondering and worrying about what our new life would hold. Now today we are sitting in Fort Collins in our new apartment, in a new city, with 2 healthy boys, potty training the older one, and teaching Landon to drink milk from a cup! We don't have a "community" around us yet, but we are building one slowly in Fort Collins. I can't believe how much has changed in our lives over the past year.

Richard and I are closer than we were a year ago, b/c of what we experienced together. We grew in our knowledge of God's love for us, and the blessing of having a church body to care for us. Looking back at how God has lead us down the road we are now on - it's amazing. We are psyched to look ahead at what this next year holds for us! What changes will we experience this coming year?

And now this is our family! Landon celebrated his 1st year (although it's not until the 8th so expect one more "one year" post. hahahaha). and we are in colorado with a healthy family!

All New things

Today I think I got a little too ambitious. Potty training has been one of the things that I have dreaded the most so far about parenting. I've watched as others have potty trained their kids. I've tried to talk to a few people about how/what they did. I talked to my sister, I learned about "potty training in a day" and just was not looking forward to it and felt like it was this huge goal that was soooo unattainable.
My original goal was to potty train this summer, then we decided to move across the country and thought I should probably wait until we get settled. Since we've been here I've gotten to my breaking point with diapers for him, and I thought maybe he was ready. So last week we got a "potty seat" and one package of undies. This morning I just took out the potty and told him to sit there and "go on the potty" and we  were started in it "ready or not". He didn't seem to mind and while he sat there watching tv and drinking and eating he seemed to be fine. he did go a few times. Then we had to run to the store, b/c I happened to be having company that night too. The realization that i just started this big project without really preparing mentally for it scared me to death. What do I do to go to the store? What do I do for nap time? What do I do for bedtime? What if he has accidents? WOW! it's pretty overwhelming to me not knowing how it really works.
Landon is also in a transition period. I decided to stop doing baby food and start figuring out "real" food for him. I cooked carrots and some mixed veggies and am cutting up fruit for him, and giving him milk in a sippy cup! He seems to be doing ok, but not great. I think he's sad he doesn't get his spoonfuls of food. he seems to be fighting me a little with it.

today I feel overwhelmed - missing friends, not knowing where I will fit in here, trying to potty train, trying to take care of my house and children, trying to not worry about a job, and craving social gatherings.

I'm not old - but one thing I've learned in my life is that everything is a phase. i need to be patient and relax about it. Kids always go through phases. Carson will eventually pee by himself. Landon will eventually eat normal food. I will eventually have close friends here. Richard will get a job. We will soon be busier than we want to be with people and church and community.

Claiming truth tonight and asking for patience to get through this introductory time in our lives. I know God loves me and is taking care of me. i know he will be glorified in me.  Maybe I was a little too ambitious - but I've reached the point of no return. Tomorrow is another day.

P.S. I'm pleased with how potty training went today. He told me when he had to go all but one time today. he was using his little seat and excited about it. I want to be successful and be able to tell everyone I did it in one day and he got it. But i can't put those things on myself. he understands it, we will go at it again tomorrow. He will get it eventually - but I am pleased that he only had one accident today.

Pss - Company was great! Dinner tasted good. and we enjoyed visiting with new friends and getting to know them. I'm so glad they came over.

1st Birthday party

When we decided to move the middle of August, one of the things that made me sad was that Landon was turning 1 year old soon and I could not do a party for him with our friends and cousins. Once we got here I realized i could invite family that could never attend one of our bday parties when we lived in PA. And we are so happy that we could celebrate together. So I planned a little get together with Richard's parents, grandparents and 2 of his siblings with their families. (although we really missed not having the cousins from PA to celebrate with us, and they will never be replaced).

He was not born until Sept 8th, but we did his party ahead of time so we could enjoy the family on the holiday weekend when it was a little more convenient for them to travel here. We had the get together in Denver at my brother in law's house. It was a lot of fun to be with family!  It's funny the thought of doing a party for a baby who has "NO CLUE". So we excused it with celebrating "Nana's" bday (who happened to be born on the 8th also) and my birthday. We all got presents. :)

this is my birthday boy sitting on the "throne"

He's pretty close to walking

Carson with his great Grandpa

Cousins
These 2 are about 4 months apart - they look so much alike!

 For food we had Taco salad with a lot of fixins', fruit, cupcakes

Just having moved to CO - we had to
a broncos theme

 The kids played a lot in the backyard and had a great time together

 

Happy Birthday boy swinging

 

 
The "Cake Ceremony"

Singing "Happy Birthday"

 

 

He made a mess

 

 

The Loot

A nice winter Coat

 

This is him Saying "Thank You" to everyone in his own way

The train Track my mom bought him, that Carson has played with
the entire day! And gets mad when Landon touches it. ha