First Step

On Monday, Wyatt took his first step. Just one foot forward, and not repeated since. But the circumstances surrounding that precious step will always be a fond memory. (Probably more so as time passes...)


Early Monday, my stomach didn't feel so great. I noticed it as Wyatt spent 1:30 to 3 crying on and off in his bed. Teething? Who knows! Around 5, it was noticeable no matter what as the contents of my stomach made their way out. A few hours later, Cory joined in the fun. We spent the first half of the day laying on the floor and taking turns ridding ourselves of whatever food our bodies still had. Whoever had thrown up most recently was in charge of the baby if he needed anything. He seemed to love getting to crawl all over us and eat food we left him on the floor.

However, by 1 it was obvious our strength had been surpassed by our baby. Reinforcements were called for and carried us through til 6. At that time, I thought in my haze that I could feed Wyatt and get him in bed then call it a day. When awakened from a nap, Cory reminded me that perhaps we should eat something before another night passed and we withered away. At this point, we all crawled to the kitchen in an attempt to do so. All Cory could get out were the saltines on the counter. As his parents tried to nibble on them, Wyatt was so thrilled by the abundance of crackers that he started grabbing any near him. Even from his poor feeble mother's hands. He was thrilled with a cracker in each hand, stood up, and took a step! I couldn't help but laugh as Cory and I laid on the floor on the kitchen unable to stand, but Wyatt could!

All ended well as our kind caregiver returned to make us soup and again the next morning to help out. By the afternoon, a friend of mine came over with her boys and entertained Wyatt for a few hours. Today, Cory was back to work and we're almost back to normal. And maybe Wyatt is just one step closer to walking :)

Pressure

Blogging every day just adds pressure to my life. I'd like to be more regular with it, but not everyday. This week has been pretty busy, and although we're doing things there isn't that much out of the ordinary to share. So, my revised realistic goal is 2+ posts a week.

I have an opportunity to do some work from home, and I know that will cut into other things a little too. Though, I have times like right now where I would definitely welcome that. Wyatt is napping, and I'm afraid to make any noise in case he wakes up too early. Is it time to turn on the heat yet? I'm so ready for the furnace to drown out my noise! But, forecast is for 80 this weekend. Better save that money to pay for the extra watering of our lawn.

Ok, I'm going to sneak out of the office to the living room to find my Bible study book. Wish me luck! It would be wonderful if this nap lasted an hour and a half - 35 minutes to go!

Injury

We had our first bloody injury today. It ended up being no big deal. Just a scary experience for all of us. I'm not sure how it happened. Wyatt looked like he just bumped his face on the light little ottomans he loves to push around the floor. He freaked our more than usual, and when Cory picked him up his mouth was full of blood. His poor little face was full of terror. It was a different hurt than usual, and he could tell we were nervous. Thankfully, it was just a little cut on the gum above his teeth. No tooth damage and in a few minutes, no big deal!

We are in for more experiences like this. Before the blood, Wyatt added a bump over his eye and a big scratch on his forehead this morning. All before church. He looks like a boy for sure!

Tantrums

Our son has a temper. And a short one at that. He has learned that we can give him things he wants and thinks yelling is a good way to let us know it's time. Yuck.

On this topic, the less said the better :)

Growing up

Today it hit me more than most - soon I won't have a baby. He's so close to walking, and his communication is right there too. I love that he is growing up and can interact so much. His personality is coming out all the time.

This morning I asked, "Wyatt, can you go get a book?" He surprised me and crawled right over to his book basket and took one out! I repeated it as he went that way, but I was so proud of him. He gets it! He has started to make a "B" sound for book and ball. I'm trying to listen for any differences. Of course, he hasn't said book since I decided to pay closer attention.

Cory thinks he says "nene" (short e sound) for me. Close to mama! That makes me laugh because my sister called me "nene" (long e sound) as a baby. Close to Denise!

Music!

Today was our free trial of Gymboree music classes. Wyatt loved it! The teacher was great and really involved each kid in the singing and playing. He was engaged almost the whole 45 minutes and responding way more than I expected. I can really see why people pay for this. They know what they're doing.

We were very blessed for some help from my grandma so we can do it through the end of the year. It's not something that I would want money to do long term... I still can't quite justify the cost of our cell phones for a once a week thing for a toddler. Yes, he's learning. But is it significantly more than during the time at the library when we go and sing songs or more than when I sing with him? As he gets older, I know I can't teach him enough but that's a different story.

As a bonus, as an enrolled member we can go to open play time anytime we want! We'll definitely be taking advantage of that!

Arts & Crafts?

(Note: Yesterday was another sick day. I cannot think of anything to post about it other than the hope that Wyatt never again is awake for two hours in the night. Not because he was sick, just because he thought he should be.)

Today we did our first activity from the Toddler Busy Book. One of Cory's co-workers gave us this great book of rainy day activities and other fun, nearly free, things to do at home. In general, Wyatt isn't old enough for it. However, I was going crazy on our third day at home all day. I wanted to make sure this cold was good and gone before doing anything else so we kept the quarantine going. I looked through it and found an idea for making a train out of boxes and string. So, the empty cereal, cracker, and Kleenex box became a train! I was thrilled. My son, not so much. He liked playing with the twine for a few minutes; he sat on one box; he pulled the animals I put in it out. He didn't care when it moved around. Maybe tomorrow?

We also attempted to color. This was harder as we don't have any crayons. Wyatt thinks colored pencils are great... for banging together. It was hilarious to watch because he kept trying to stand up with them. He succeeded a few times. He'll only stand up on his own if he has toys to hold on to. Good help with balance :)

Lazy Day

Some days what's best for Wyatt is nothing new. Today was that day.

We're fighting a little cold here, and so we laid low in hopes it will be gone tomorrow before Bible study. It's nice to relax with him and play all day, getting just a few little things done. Wyatt enjoyed his favorite activities: throwing food, crumpling paper, and trying to get in the toilet. Good day!

Friends and Family

Wyatt has so many people that love him. Unfortunately, they don't all live here. I had an idea a few months ago to create a bulletin board for him with their pictures, and it materialized this weekend. We luckily were able to repurpose a bulletin board my mom had growing up so the total cost was under $5, even with paint!
It matches his room and has pictures of lots of important people, grouped by state. Eventually we can use this to teach geography, maybe reading names, who knows! While I was in the middle of putting it together, Wyatt would crawl over to it and just stare at it. He loves looking at pictures, and hopefully soon he'll put names and faces together :)

(I did realize a picture would be helpful with this post. However, just posting is a triumph for me. Look for picture posts when Wyatt can upload the pictures for me, and the camera is cleared more than once a month.)

Showing off for Daddy

Saturdays are often the days Wyatt tests his boundaries. If I had to guess, I would say his first steps will be on a Saturday. He has always been happier when his dad is home. It may be that he is happiest when both of us are around; I can't judge how he is when I'm gone. What I do know is that he takes little risks during the week. Weekends are the time for shaking things up. He pushes naps longer, just to revel in time with his dad.

A week ago he stood up on his own for the first time. Today, he did it over and over and made motions towards walking. All day it was obvious he wanted to walk. Maybe next week?

Food

In the last 24 hours, Wyatt has attempted to try 3 new foods. Probably, a better way to phrase that is Wyatt has resisted trying new foods. He is becoming quite the opinionated eater. Vegetable? No. Fruit? Yes. Protein? No. Bread? Yes. Dairy? Hives.

In an attempt to bring the balance back towards veggies, I cooked a nice butternut squash last night. One bite in, one bite right back out. Same thing at lunch. Tonight at dinner he managed to eat it... mixed with applesauce and nutmeg. Red plums were an easy yes. Grape tomatoes fared in the middle. He chewed them for a while, then spit the skins out. We're in a rut where he wants to eat with his hands, but 4 front teeth aren't quite enough for some foods. He loves pickles, just can't mush them up enough to swallow. His tastes are a little crazy!

Flush

Today, I wasn't the one introducing the new things. There was a cute new outfit for fall (bringing out the new clothes is the best); an attempt at a new food... but Wyatt decided he would show off a new skill

Flushing the toilet. The shiny silver handle was too much to resist. Mom just pulled it, why shouldn't he? I think we're entering the phase where innocent household items become a huge mess for me to clean up.

More!

Wyatt and I didn't do anything "brand new" today. Unless wearing a new shirt counts? He looks so grown up wearing non-onesie shirts and with his little boy haircut. Where did the baby go?

He has started to sign "more" to me when eating. The cutest is when he nurses and is ready to switch sides. He just sits up and claps his little hands together (his sign for more, somewhere between a clap and the actual more sign). Tonight at dinner he ran out of chicken on his tray and signed for more without my even asking! I never imagined that such little things could be worth so much until I was a mom.

He only has one spoken word so far, "Ba" for Ball. He'll just babble, "ba, baba" and make a beeline for his soccer ball and football. I'm still waiting for Mama. Dada seems close.

40 Days

Once I heard that if you do something everyday for 40 days, it becomes a habit. maybe. Though I definitely can develop a habit for more than 40 days and drop it in like 2. I had good grammar and punctuation all through school. Look at me now.

Anyways, I'm going to try to post everyday for the next 40 days. One new thing for Wyatt every day.

This summer, I was challenged to focus on just 3 things. If something doesn't fall in those categories, it's not a priority. To be completely honest, I have some bigger priorities than the 3 that I feel God is asking me to focus on. Like Himself. However, this fall is about:
1) Being physically healthy. Establishing good habits and passing them on to my family.
2) Building relationships. Making effort and taking risk to go deeper. Giving the time and effort to relationships that they deserve.
3) Paying attention to how I can help Wyatt grow happy and smart. This one is the hardest to describe. It's more of a concept in my head. I don't want to stress about doing a million things, but I want to encourage his interests. For example, he responds incredibly to music so we're looking into baby music classes. (Thanks, Grandma Pat!)

As a part of that, I want to keep myself accountable for expanding his horizons. Hopefully, this will continue past 40 days, but you gotta start small, right?

So, for today, it was our first Tuesday morning Bible study for the fall. And Wyatt's first time in the nursery on Tuesday morning. He seemed to love it! There was a little crying when I started to leave, but a graham cracker did the trick. They said he took a great nap, and when I came back I saw him playing with Cooper and Fox. I loved watching him play with them and imagining that these could be friends for a long time! Hopefully with less crying and unintentional hitting each other...

waiting

I'm not good at waiting. I used to think I was not bad, but I'm terrible with patience.

The last few weeks have felt like only waiting. Waiting to hear about our future, waiting for Wyatt to have a better schedule, waiting, waiting. And stewing and being irritable. And waiting. And whining. And whining and complaining. Still waiting.

Wait... is life for waiting? This was the last week that I met with a group of moms this summer and read "The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers" I needed this chapter at this time: Hope. I had no hope, only waiting for less terrible things to happen. No hope of a good future, no hope in my Savior. I felt ashamed reading about the value of Hope. Where had any glimmer of this been in my life? How had I let hopelessness take the place of my stress? Letting go doesn't mean slipping away.

I could come up with a lot of excuses as to why I have been so stupid and selfish the last few months. What is comes down to is this course will ruin me. Literally ruin my life. I'm loving being a mom but I let that hide so easily and put the little things in front. Who cares where we live. I truly have peace about it. God knows. He has a great plan. Not an easy plan. Not a convenient plan. A great plan and HOPE. I have to wait for his timing, but I can wait in hope.

So, I'll revel in being with my parents this week. I'll laugh at Wyatt's silly antics. I'll even give Cory a hug when he gets home instead of trying to get more done. I'll put it all in God's hands and wait expectantly knowing I'm right where I should be.

And I'll wait for my homemade bread ready in a few minutes! A new breadmaker has been a highlight this week. Thanks, Mom! (and whoever donated it to the Salvation Army!)

stress

I didn't realize how I'd let stress creep into my life these last few months. Then, as I was falling asleep a few weeks ago I felt the familiar aches and tightness in my back. My body recognizes my stress before my head does. It was disappointing to realize that the peace I'd revelled in early on as a mother had escaped. I let life take over without a thought... or more accurately with way too many worried thoughts.

As I've struggled to pinpoint the stress, God has shown me lots of blessings that I've ignored. I live in a comfortable house, have plenty to eat, have a very healthy and smart baby... on and on. Instead of focusing here, I've let the unknowns subconsciously eat away at me.

So today, I'll enjoy my mobile standing on everything mischief maker of a son. And I'll be proud of my husband who has multiple job options for the future. And I'll remind myself that I'm worth being a friend too and actually take some initiative.

Perspective

The last few weeks have been hard. Wyatt started sleeping through the night... or what he considers the night. I've been hoping every night for months that we would reach this point. Then life would be easier; things would flow normally. Right? Wrong. He sleeps for 10 hours, meaning morning is 5:30 AM. We've tried pushing bed time, letting him cry in the morning, and numerous other things. 5:30 it is.

Yesterday, I hit the wall. I'm tired! 5:30 is not when my body wants to wake up. Going bed in time to wake up at 5:30 is not when I want to go to bed. After being up with a whiny yet energetic baby for an hour, I fell apart. How could I keep going? Cory helped me calm down, we got back on track, and the day started. We've been giving Wyatt a new food at breakfast every few days, and it was time for yogurt. I've been reading about when to give what foods and felt good about this. It would be so fun for something other than baby cereal or fruits and veggies.

He loved it for a few minutes... Then I noticed the hives. There were just a few red bumps by his eye where he had rubbed (Wyatt's great at spreading food everywhere on himself) So we stopped, cleaned up, and took stock of the situation. Thankfully, he had just a few spots on bumps - almost all where he had food on him and they disappeared within minutes. My mom has some unfortunate experience with allergies, having discovered Laura's peanut allergy as a toddler. She talked me through what to watch for. I think it may have just been a little early for dairy. No big worries yet.

And more importantly, I was reminded of how important my baby and my job as a mom are. Even that little bit of hurt was more than I wanted him to have. The rest of the day was enjoyable, not a burden. It is a blessing to be here with him and to take care of him. It's not going to be easy. He doesn't make it easy as he gets into everything. I have to look at what is good in that - he's learning, he's exploring, he's growing.

More than any other time in my life, I'm content with where God has placed me. It's easy to let the little things take over and rob the joy from that. Today I make the choice to live abundantly in His love and His will. I am thankful for the opportunity to take changes with a smile and a prayer for guidance. No more fear and stress as a first response. Hopefully, no more at all!

movement

Uh oh, almost another month has gone by. I'm almost as bad at blogging as I am at journaling. I do find both to be rewarding and relaxing in the sporadic times they happen.

We now have a mobile child. It happened much more quickly than I expected. Yes, I had been warned. One weekend the switch turned on and Wyatt now is pulling himself across the floor to wherever he wants to be. If that gets tiring, rolling is a great option too. Who knew heating vents and sliding glass doors were so exciting!

This new stage has made it clear, more than any other, that each step is exciting and challenging. I feel like I'm done wishing for the next thing. It's always great yet filled with new issues. (except sleeping through the night, I'll keep hoping for that and working towards it)

Silence

It has been over a month since I have posted any updates. The silence is not because nothing is happening, but rather because so much has been happening. God is filling our days with joy.

Wyatt is growing and learning things at a pace I can barely keep up with. The day I feel like I know what he is capable of, he reaches just a little further for the things I put out of reach. Watching him experience life for the first time is a miracle. Even better is his joy as he figures out the pieces of his world one by one. The more that he is able to move, the happier he becomes. He knows there is so much more, and now he can almost get there.

Staying home with him has been a blessing a thousand times over what I expected. The feelings of boredom are fleeting, and missing work? I don't think there has been one day that I have missed any part of being at work. Now, I did love what I did and sometimes do miss the people. However, God has given abundant challenges and opportunities for interaction with others. The only times I feel lonely or brain dead are when I am lazy. That would be the same whether I was at home or anywhere else. It's up to me if we call friends or do productive projects around the house.

I would like to keep "documenting" our milestones and was reminded of the power of a blog to share with others. However, like any social networking, it has the potential to replace deep face to face interaction if I'm not careful. Oh, time for face to face time with the cutest baby I know. Nap time is over!

More next week after our first Easter together.

parenting

Wyatt hates tummy time after just a few minutes, because he so badly wants to move more than he can yet. Until today... I have begun bribing my child with TV. It was Baby Einstein, that is better, right? I was laughing out loud watching him keep his head straight up without any complaining in order to watch. At one point, he briefly had a hand rested up under his chin, getting comfy. After he started to fuss, I turned the channel back to the satellite. He had a big smile saved up for SportsCenter. His father's child for sure.

In reality, having the TV on only extended his contented time by about 5 minutes. It did make me think about what is worth it to encourage him in good behaviors. Do I want him to be stilled by a box with pictures? Although it can be frustrating when he falls aparts after mere moments of being on his stomach, I love to watch the wheels turning as he moves his legs and works to crawl or get anywhere but where he is. So, I have a new card in my back pocket if I need a few minutes to get something done. I don't think this is a new regular occurrence in our house. We'll keep the TV reserved for sporting events and Star Trek with Dad on Saturday mornings.

The weeks coming bring many more opportunities to decide how we'll teach Wyatt what's best. Sleeping through the night, eating at proper intervals, what goes in the mouth and what doesn't. I'm actually excited to teach him these crazy things. Parenting is the best lesson in patience I've had yet.

love

Things are a little crazy right now, or more accurately things are lacking sleep right now. Valentine's Day was 10 days ago? At least love doesn't confine itself to one day.

True love isn't in flowers and chocolates. It's found in homemade pork chops, SportCenter, NCAA football on the Playstation, and the midnight showing of Jurassic Park. At least, for me that's where it started.

5 years ago this month, Cory and I started dating. In some ways, time has certainly flown by. It doesn't feel like that long since we were sharing our Valentine's day meatloaf on a couch and watching TV with Kooy. (They didn't have a kitchen table). I'm so glad that we could have such a relaxed Valentine's Day even though we had only been dating for a week. More importantly, it's stayed that way. We have our heart shaped courses - jello, meatloaf & brownies, but other than that it's all about just being together.

And that's why I fell in love with Cory. He's confident in himself and finds the value in everyone. From the first time we spent time together, he made me feel comfortable. He is so comfortable with himself that I had no reason to worry. And I am good at worrying... and feeling self-conscious... and being sure that no one else wants to be with me. Not when I'm with Cory. Very early on, I knew there was nothing I could do that was so terrible he would stop loving me or stop helping me find who God wants me to be.

Slowly, I'm learning that it's ok to have that confidence in other relationships too. In the next five years, I pray that I will learn how to show unconditional love even half as well as my husband does. There are too many people that I would love to know better except fear is standing in my way. I want to have no fear that they might laugh at my imperfections or gasp at my failures. Only by taking those steps can I show others that I don't care about their problems; all I want is to be a friend!

Negative is a Positive!

The doctor just called with results of Wyatt's blood test - Negative! Technically, I think he said that it came back normal. Which, of course, is negative for the immune issue he was worried about. That result means things should be smooth sailing going forward. His infection and the umbilical cord taking forever are just a coincidence.

I had peace about this, but you never realize how something affects you until it's over. There is definitely a greater sense of relief! Now I have to just deal with normal baby things... sleeping, eating, pooping :)

Oh, and that new found terror at any lotion being put on. Crazy kid.

3 Months!

Wyatt is 3 months old today. Time really flies by. On the other hand, it's like he's always been a part of our family. I'm excited for the next months and years.

I am starting to go a little stir crazy with a baby, and only a baby, in the house. The cold weather does not help that. He's very cute, very active... but still just a baby. I can only help him stand for so long or watch him play with his toys on the activity mat. His preferred schedule includes many short naps rather than a few long ones, which is a little difficult as well. I don't switch between nap mode and awake mode that well. And the switch is so sudden!

Now that we have some semblance of routine during the day, I'm planning to add some weekly activities. Wyatt probably wouldn't get bored at home yet, but I'm not giving him the chance. Yesterday we went to Costco, in anticipation of the snow and a few more days trapped here. It was great! He enjoyed looking around almost the whole time, and I got a nice afternoon snack. All I need to do is control the urge to buy more food and it's the perfect outing. Maybe a little unconventional....

I'm looking online today for a few other options. The library actually has a program for babies! We will definitely be trying that out soon. Tuesdays we have women's group at church, and I need to set up some "play dates" with the other moms from our small group. Their kids probably won't be able to play with Wyatt too much. Possibly a mom date is a better term. I'd love to do swim lessons or something else too. Our budget for that isn't great, so we'll have to see when he gets to that point. Soon we can use our zoo membership too.

The end of this week we have a few things planned that will be helpful. My grandma is coming by during a trip to Denver to take us to lunch. There's a Whitworth alumni event in town also and a baby shower for another couple at Cory's office.

As for this afternoon, we're snowed in waiting for Cory to get home and entertain us both.

Wedding Rings and Swaddles

The little things become big things suddenly.

My wedding ring fits again! I hadn't been able to wear it for a few months before Wyatt was born, and it just now is able to fit again. Until I put it on, I had no idea how much I missed it. Jewelry isn't a big thing for me, but a wedding ring is different. Everytime I look at it, I smile. The best gift ever. (probably the only time in our lives Cory will spend more than we agreed on too...)

Wyatt is done with the swaddle! This is more of a mixed blessing. We decided when he woke up 5 times in the night, even swaddled, that we might as well pull the plug sooner rather than later. He's too strong for blanket swaddles, and the premade velcro one was going to wear out eventually. Of course, it's made some difficult nights even worse. He appears to be through the growth spurt that started the trouble. Now, if he could learn how to go back to sleep even with arms out and flapping, we'd be golden. My patience is thin to start, and getting up 5-6 times each night is hard. Particularly when the same baby used to only be up once or twice!

It's really starting to hit me that life is made up of these little advances, losing miniscule weight in my finger, changing the baby's sleepwear. These aren't things to brag to the world about. They are just the things that make everything better.

Update: It will be probably be a few more weeks before we hear back on Wyatt's blood test.

february

This could be quite a month! Last night Cory (and I) decided that he should suspend school for now. It was a lot of stress for him with work, a baby, etc. The chances are good that we move during this semester and lose all of the tuition anyway. It's a huge relief to know he'll be home more, and when he is he'll be able to be more involved with us. Homework is a bummer, no matter your age.

Now I have to adjust to a totally flexible mind frame. We could be here for a while, we could be here only a few more weeks! Only God knows.

Sleep

Last night as I was attempting to drift off, I found myself contemplating sleep. So often it's a given, a necessity, and I don't put much more thought to it. As a new mom, I've found it's a much more prominent need in my life. Looking back, sleep colors my life in ways I never realized. Rest, or lack thereof, determines my perspective of almost everything. Without enough sleep, little issues become huge arguments, past hurts are reopened, and on and on. Why do we ignore the importance of those precious hours of sleep until it's too late?

At this point, I don't have much of a choice except to lose some sleep. I do have a choice to make what sleep I can a priority. Sometimes it feels counterintuitive to give up time with Cory for sleep. However, I think he's much more thankful for a wife that doesn't snap when things aren't perfect. And with a newborn, things around here aren't too close to perfect. When I'm rested, I love having a baby and dealing with the other junk. When I'm tired, I don't think I can do it.

Lack of sleep is an open door for temptation for me. More than anything, I use being tired as an excuse for any of my selfishness. It's not. Obviously, it's much easier to choose what I want when I'm exhausted, but that only points out my immaturity. I see the same behavior in our two month old! When he's tired, he's cranky and he isn't satisfied until he gets what he wants. As a baby, I can deal with that. As a kid growing up, that's not going to cut it forever. And it doesn't cut it for me. I know better.

As I become more aware of my sleep choices, I have to also pay attention to how it affects other people. From my own experience, repeatedly being ignored when someone else chooses to sleep at odd hours makes you feel like dirt. On the other hand, being chosen instead of sleep at night makes you feel pretty special. It's all a balancing act.

It's amazing how much I realized had to do with sleep as I couldn't fall asleep, but Wyatt is waking up so that's all I have to say for now :)

a test of faith

Being secure in God's hand is a lot easier when bad news is just an idea out there. Today Wyatt is having a blood test to determine if he has some sort of immune issue. I didn't ask many questions, so I don't know much about it. In my mind, there is no way my baby could have a rare diagnosis for us to deal with.

Please pray with us for God's will. Either good news, or no fear of the bad. We go in at 4, they overnight the blood to the Mayo Clinic, and it gets tested tomorrow. I'm not sure yet when we hear back.

Home

There really is no place like home. It's so nice to be back in our little house with our routine starting to be established. It's also bittersweet to leave our "homes" where our parents still live. Can we transport this house as is to Seattle or somewhere close? That's my ideal choice for the future.

Traveling to see so many friends and family members was much more stressful with a baby along. Worth it totally. During this time we experienced a first haircut, first flight, first meetings with dozens of people, love at first site with a vibrating popazon chair (lifesaver for baby and mom on the first day back too!). Being back in Oregon/Washington was eye-opening. I'm in the middle of the road on whether I want to move or stay. The pros and cons of each are long. More than anything, I want to know which we'll do. My fear of the unknown is coming out strong.

One thing I do know now is that long entries are not going to be frequent here. When I have a chance to sit down without Wyatt, time is precious and the to do list is long. This is a great way to share what's going on and process a little. However, now is a great time to spend time with my husband... cleaning up

Go Seahawks!

The first team with a losing record in the playoffs... and we won! It was great to enjoy the game with family and to look forward to another weekend of wearing our jerseys. We'll even be in Washington.

Wyatt is definitely good luck for Seattle teams. This is the year, get ready Mariners.

Family Vacation

Today is the day! We're heading out in just over an hour for our first trip with Wyatt. Why do anything half heartedly? How about a 10 day trip! I'm a little nervous about a million little things that could happen over the next 10 days. Will Wyatt like flying? Will he be ok away from home? Thankfully, he's pretty curious and loves to sleep in anyone's arms. Both things should easily be taken care of.

I'm also very excited that we get to take this sort of trip. When I worked at The Navs, we could never take more than 4 days to visit family for Christmas. No more restrictions! Cory has much more vacation saved up, so we're taking full advantage of the time before he starts classes again. Tonight we fly from Denver to Portland, stay the weekend, see lots of friends. Tuesday we drive to Seattle, see more great people, and meet up with Cory's parents. The rest of the time is hanging out in Bellingham. I'm sure we'll miss so many people in the NW. Sorry ahead of time if we don't see you!

The most recent addition to our trip is some job searching for Cory. As parents being far from family is a lot bigger deal than when it was just two of us. The prospect of moving at this point in time is terrifying for me. I am just feeling minimally comfortable with the change from working to motherhood. Adding a cross country move, selling a house, finding a house, and all the other changes that would have to happen seems like too much. If it happens, we'll figure it out, right?

Time to go do the last minute clean up items and feed the little guy before we head out. I'm as ready for this adventure as I'm going to be.

The First

Welcome to my blog! After a year of wanting to start, I finally have mustered up the courage and here we are. 2010 was a year of many changes for our family, and 2011 looks to be much of the same. This time around, I'm going to keep track of our milestones - big & little.

As I went through the past year of pregnancy, job stress, and the rest of life, the passage below was my constant prayer. First for myself, a reminder that God has it all under control so I don't have to. Then, it became my prayer for the little guy growing inside me. Confidence in his Savior. If we can give him any gift, that's what I want it to be.

Psalm 112:6-8
Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
   they will be remembered forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
   their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
   in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

Wyatt David LaPlante was born just two short months ago. Together his name means Little Warrior, Beloved. (and of course, a plant, but that's not as poetic, is it?) I continue to pray that he has the confidence to fight whatever life may bring. And more importantly, that his confidence is rooted in the truth that he is beloved. Loved by God. Loved by his parents. Loved by so many!

In order to show him that love and confidence, I need to find it myself. Too often, I overlook it as it sits in front of me. So this year and going forward, I will celebrate the firsts that we've been blessed with. My hope is that I will be able to find the smaller more important firsts as I learn to be a mom. Here goes...

To start, the first blog post!