One year ago.....

On Jan 29, one year ago, I put Grant down for his morning nap and hurried downstairs to take a pregnancy test. We had been trying to get pregnant for about 5 months. This month, I was planning to wait a few more days before taking a test, but I couldn't wait! So I grabbed the test, hands shaking, and unwrapped it. After peeing on the stick (I don't know of a more graceful way to put it!), I waited about 15 seconds before seeing "Pregnant." Knowing that Grant was asleep, I couldn't scream out loud, but I jumped up and down and squealed in the bathroom! I was so happy.....I hugged our cat, Scooter and took about thirty pictures of the pregnancy stick!

Later that afternoon, Grant and I went to Toys R' Us to buy a big brother t-shirt. I was so excited for Dean to come home......usually, Grant ran to the door to see Daddy, but this day he was crying about something. So I was actually holding him when Dean walked in the door. I waited just a couple of seconds, then asked Grant if he showed Daddy his new t-shirt. At this point, Dean saw it and gave me a big hug!

My feelings from that day are still so fresh.....the idea of having a little baby growing inside your body is so overwhelming and exciting (and it didn't matter that I already had gone through it once before!). I've been amazed over the past couple of weeks when I think about how miraculous life is. One year ago today, when I found out I was pregnant, Drew was about the size of a sesame seed. It is utterly amazing to me that 365 days later, he is a precious, smiley 4-month old baby.

In the past couple of weeks, there's also been a lot of talk on radio shows and on TV about the abortion debate and Roe vs. Wade (the anniversary of the decision was last week). Since I've had children, this issue has become so much more meaningful to me. One radio show I really enjoy listening to is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss (it comes on 105.7FM at 9:30am in Houston). Most days, it is (sadly!) the only time I spend hearing or learning about spiritual things. She usually has really good topics and I love listening to her.

Anyway, abortion was the topic last week, I'm sure because of the Roe vs. Wade "anniversary." One day she interviewed a woman who had gotten pregnant when she was 16, and she had an abortion. She then went on to have two more abortions in subsequent years, and there was a complication during her final abortion that made her unable to get pregnant again. It made me sick to my stomach when I heard her describe the abortion process; she laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, hearing the vacuum-like sound as her fetus was removed from her body. She said that, even though the people at the clinic convinced her that she was doing the right thing, she couldn't help but realizing that they were removing something that would have become her baby. I cannot imagine such an empty feeling. Now that I have kids, abortion seems so vile and wicked.....I never had seen it quite that way before experiencing pregnancy and childbirth myself. The thought of having your baby (no matter how small) sucked out of your body with a vacuum and thrown in the trash is horrific.

And like I said, I probably wouldn't have seen it quite this way before having kids, so I can't fault young girls who think they're doing the right thing. But it just makes me want to have the chance to talk to anyone who is considering it.....I would love to show them pictures of what their baby will become, and I'd tell them how amazing it is to see your newborn baby in your arms (not to mention everything that comes afterward!). And it makes me so angry at people who fight for abortion rights, yet plead for mass-murderers to be given mercy. Barack Obama is a staunch abortion activist.....he even voted in Illinois to uphold partial birth abortion (making him more extreme than most). Then last week he made a comment about Guantanamo Bay, saying that the United States will not torture enemy combatants (i.e. terrorists who want to kill Americans). It just doesn't make sense......it's going to be a long four years....

I didn't mean for this post to be such a downer, but I have thought about this so much over the past couple of weeks and feel so strongly about it! Anyway, here is a sweet picture of my little guy, one year after being the size of a sesame seed.....for anyone who's still reading..... :)

Drew is 4 months old!

I took Drew for his 4-month checkup on Thursday. Nothing really exciting to report (which is good, I guess!).....he got a few shots, but he handled them well....neither he nor Grant have ever had much trouble with shots. Of course he cried for a minute, but he stopped by the time we walked out of the room. It was a little sad.....he was laying down smiling really big at me just as the nurse stuck the first needle in his leg. They never have any idea what's about to hit them (at least when they're this little)!

The crazy thing is.....he and Grant are almost identical, physically speaking. Here are his measurements (and Grant's at 4 months):

Height: 26 in (Grant was 26 1/2)
Weight: 16 lbs, 8 oz (Grant was 16 lbs, 9 oz)
Head: 16 3/4 inches (Grant was 17)

Crazy! Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

He's now rolling over quite a bit (from his tummy to his back)! And he can lift his head really well while he's playing. Since he sleeps on his belly, he doesn't mind tummy time nearly as much as Grant did. Here's Grant (out of the picture) trying to roll him off of his play mat:
This is his trademark wide-mouth grin.....I love this!
Sometimes Grant likes to share and show Drew his toys, but most of the time he's pretty possessive. One of Grant's most commonly used words right now is "mine!" Of course everything is "his".....even if it's a toy I bought specifically for Drew last week!
He ALWAYS chews on fingers these days.....ours and his own....
Mommy and Drew......

It seems like all of my friends who were pregnant at the same time as me had girls! Lucky Drew!! :) Here is Catherine, my friend Sierra's little girl (8 weeks younger than Drew):




We've started using the Jumperoo.....he likes it quite a bit, although he doesn't quite "jump" in it yet. The first night we tried it, he kept chewing on the seat, and he did the funniest thing.....he kept making a barking sound as he attacked it! All of us (including Grant) thought it was so funny!

He's also started to use his bumbo in the past 10 days or so. Only on the floor this time, though!!! (I still have nightmares about Grant's experience)......

A couple of big smiles!

We are still alive!

Some pictures of the boys from earlier this month......



My goodness.......for some reason, it has seemed so much harder than usual to find any free time in these past ten days! During naps, I am perpetually trying to catch up with laundry or something else around the house.

Grant turned 26 months old yesterday (although the months are much less important after turning two, aren't they?), and Drew will be four months old this week! He is just the most precious thing to me.....that little guy is happy with the world as long as his mommy sits and makes faces at him all day. Grant also loved for me to sit and talk to him, but I don't think quite as much. Drew just lights up and gives me bigger smiles than I can describe. I have a hard time getting very much done, because when he is awake I just love to sit and talk to him and watch him chirp and smile at me!

He is also practicing a lot of new sounds.....and he has started to laugh when I tickle him! He also laughs at Grant.....he loves watching his big brother! I am so smitten over him.....he has such a sweet, joyful disposition.

And Grant continues to do things that make us laugh. He is SOOOOOO strong-willed and hot-tempered, but he can be very sweet too. He has learned how to do a lot of "mommy" things from watching me with Drew. Some things we've noticed in the past couple weeks:
- He'll grab one of his stuffed animals, hold it close to him and say "it's okay, it's okay, Mommy's here" in a really sweet, high-pitched voice.
- He has tried putting diapers on his stuffed animals. He'll pull up their legs and say "whoa!" (like we do when we change his poopy diapers!).
- Yesterday he sat down on the couch with one of his bears. He pulled up his shirt and laid the bear across his belly, as if he was going to breastfeed it! Dean and I could not stop laughing!!!

Proud Momma

I am so proud of my little man.....Grant sang the alphabet song all by himself today! It's not even something we've specifically practiced, although I've obviously sung it a million times to him. He's sung parts of it before ("ABC, WXYZ") but never has even come close to singing the whole thing (at least that I've heard). I couldn't believe my ears!! And this from the little boy who didn't even say his first real word until he was 16 months old!

Also.....something funny......Grant really likes to watch (and play with) older boys. He has fun with kids his age too, but he likes to sit and stare at older kids while they're playing. Last night we got together with our small group from church, and one of the boys (a 5-year old) at the end of the night asked his parents what Grant's name was. We told him, then he turned to his dad and asked, "why does he look at me all the time?" Isn't it too early to teach him that it's impolite to stare??

Some (late) pictures- Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas! Everyone came to us this year......I didn't want to risk taking a trip and hearing Drew screaming in the car for hours on end! Dean's family came from Alabama on Christmas week, then my family came the weekend after Christmas. Here are some pictures from the Sloans' visit:

Nana just loved holding Drew.....she held him every chance she got, and I was glad to have my hands free for a while!
Here's Drew giving Nana a big smile while she sings to him. He's gotten really smiley lately when people look at him and talk to him. He's such a happy baby and is in one of my favorite baby stages right now......he loves to be held and loves to play, but he doesn't throw fits yet!

Grant's favorite Christmas present was from Uncle Steve.....it's a race car that comes with a power drill (two of Grant's favorite things!), and you can drill the wheels onto (and off of) the race car. Grant was walking around with that drill all day, "fixing" things (and people!). I highly recommend this toy for any two-year old boy!
Grant loves his Aunt Corie. She came on the 23rd, and I don't think Grant even noticed that I was here for the next couple of days! He wanted Aunt Corie to come with him to do everything!Corie could only hold Drew while Grant was asleep.....Grant did not allow her to touch the baby when he was around!

Grant got his first Mr. Potato Head set! Here are the earrings.....I can't believe he actually let us put these on him! Don't they match his yellow shirt so well??

Uncle Steve with Drew......he laid there happily and watched TV for a while (he is already such a boy.....can't take his eyes off the TV!).
Some cute pictures of Drew.....
Papa held Drew a lot too.....here he is smiling while Nana's making faces at him from behind.Next time.....pictures from Christmas with my side of the family!