Happy birthday, Emme

My cousin MaNell and I have always been close. With an 18 month age difference, mothers that are very close sisters, and a childhood spent living nearby, it's not surprising. But after losing Meredith, I am even more thankful now for our relationship.

For Warner, we decided that MaNell would be "Aunt MaNell", since she and I are so close, and "second-cousin-once-removed" doesn't really roll off the tongue. Emme doesn't call me Aunt Laura, but she does call Warner her "baby brother". It's pretty funny.

Warner and I drove to Emme's house Sunday for her fourth birthday party. With each gift she'd open, she'd exclaim: "thank you!". Then, she'd look at the gift and say "what is it?".
We got to see our Muncie family, including Great Grandma and Grandpa Warner. Warner was partial to my Aunt Kathy, probably because she looks and acts so much like my mom. But the peanut butter, brownie, and ice cream she fed him probably didn't hurt either.

Rough Day

Warner fell outside on the deck today and busted his lip. You can't see it that well from the pictures, but he's pretty banged up on his chin and bottom lip. I of course freaked out and cried right along with Warner. He bled for a while but it seems to be healing okay. I called the pediatrician (imagine that) and they told me they don't put stitches inside mouths, so I guess there isn't anything we can do. In the meantime, I'm thinking about making a sign for Warner that reads: "My mother does not abuse me, I'm just learning to walk".

On a happier note, I had a great coupon day. I've started couponing since I contribute zero to our household income at this point. I figure I can at least try to save money while I'm staying home. So, I clip coupons, print them online, and visit coupon blogs for tips. I went to Meijer and Kroger today and got $156 worth of groceries for just $72! And Warner put up with two grocery stores in one day. Definitely a success.

Happy Halloween

Warner was a turtle on Friday for Halloween. After wresting him into the costume for the fourth or fifth time (we had lots of Halloween activities this week, and I'm a mean mother) we tried for some pictures on the front stoop before trick-or-treating. As you can see, Warner was more interested in rolling the pumpkins off the stoop than getting his picture taken. We then played in his house a bit before heading out.Warner wasn't so sure about the whole idea of walking up to neighbors and getting candy.
After visiting a few friends on our street, we headed to the other side of the neighborhood where my Bible study friends live. We met my friends Kelly and Candace and their sons Ethan (chef) and Will (pirate) there.
Warner managed to chew open a package of jujubes and swallowed one piece before we could stop him. We did let him have a pumpkin cookie, which he loved. I'm sure the no-candy-policy won't go over so well next year.

12 Month Pictures

I'm excited to report that we made it out of Portrait Innovations for less than $100 (a first), and got the entire session on CD. Probably should have rolled the pants ... they're a bit too long.

The little things

Some days it seems bedtime will never come. The days drag by and I'm not sure I can handle being a mother for even one more minute. But then the weeks and months flash by and I'm caught off-guard when I realize Warner's a year old. Where did the time go?

I don't want to forget a moment. I want each one etched in my memory, forever in my heart. But my mind (and memory) isn't what it used to be. I can't tell you what I ate for dinner last night or what we did three days ago unless I write it down. So I hope this blog can be my memory in cyberspace.

I started putting Warner's socks up to my nose when I took them off, then in a funny voice said "pee-oooh! Those are stinky socks!". He thinks it's hillarious. So now he pulls his socks off multiple times a day and shoves them in my face. He waits expectantly with a smile on his face for me to sniff, make a face, and say "pee-oooh!". Then he laughs. He sometimes tries to put the socks back on his feet, laying them over his foot or toes. I can just see the wheels turning in his mind ... "I know these go on my feet, but how did she get them on there like that?"
We're working on the word "no". So far Warner's favorite "no-no's" are playing with the fireplace, unrolling toilet paper, splashing his hands around in the toilet, and throwing food on the floor from his highchair. It's hard to be consistent and I often get overly frustrated when I've said "no" one too many times. But I want to remember those moments, too.
He's figured out how many things work. We'll hold him up to a light switch and he'll flip it up, then quickly turn his head to the light to see that it's come on. He also points the remote at the TV to try to turn it on, and has figured out how to turn on the singing snowmen my mom got him (thanks Mom, it's not Halloween yet and I've heard the singing snowmen 100 times already).
Each night Warner takes a bath. We start by crawling up the stairs. This could take 20 seconds, or 10 minutes, depending on his mood. I generally put his milk on the top of the steps as the bait to get him going in the right direction. Once upstairs I chase Warner around his room, trying to pull off his clothes while he's busy pulling clothes out of the dresser or books off the bookshelf. Once the tub water starts running, it's only a few seconds before he shows up in the bathroom, ready to be set in the tub. Bathtime isn't over until Warner tries to throw each of his toys out of the bath and then look at me and laugh. It's so funny to watch me put each of them back into the tub.

What a happy boy. What a blessed Mom.

First Haircut

Warner got his first haircut Friday. It was special because the same person who gave Kevin his first haircut (Jo) cut Warner's hair for the first time. He wasn't too sure about it when we first put him in the chair ...
But thankfully Jo had a hairbrush for him to chew on.
As long as the brush was in his mouth, he was okay with whatever was being done to his head.
The finished product!

Golfing Fun

We enjoyed a few holes of golf this weekend in Somerset. Nanny, Grandaddy, Warner, Kevin, and I played together Thursday night. Warner was interested in driving the cart and playing with the extra golf balls. Whenever we'd let him on the green he'd pick up the balls before we had a chance to putt. It kept the game interesting.
Nanny got an eagle on a par-4, so I think Warner was good luck!

12 Months Old

We visited Primary Pediatrics today for Warner's 12 month check-up. He weighs 24 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile) and is 31 inches long (85th percentile). I write this partly because some of you might care, but mainly because I'm bad at updating Warner's baby book and I plan on referring back to my posts for this information some day.

I also wanted to post some pictures from our second farm outing last week. We went to Daniels Farm on Friday with Moms Club and Kevin and my Mom joined us. Here Kevin and Warner are looking at the baby goat (doesn't Kevin look cute in his cowboy hat):
Warner got to sit on Betsy the cow (we learned all about milking cows).
And we each got to pick our own pumpkin.
Tomorrow we have a Moms Club meeting and the kids get to wear their Halloween costumes and "trick-or-treat". I can't wait to put Warner in his turtle costume. Next week there's a special story time at the library where the kids get dressed up, and of course October 31st is next Friday. So Warner gets to go through the torture of being a turtle three times this year. At least we'll be getting our money's worth for the costume.

Birthday Bash

The festivities began yesterday at 4pm to accommodate for the birthday boy's nap schedule. Guests included family-only so as not to overwhelm Warner, although in hindsight this was probably silly since our family is both large and loud, which equals overwhelming. But Warner did surprisingly well!We did a monkey theme, so here is my sad attempt at a monkey cake. Notice the piece of paper on the counter - we used a picture of Curious George as our inspiration, but sadly still ended up with this. It's the thought that counts, right?

Warner enjoyed opening presents but was quickly distracted ...
... and needed a juice break. The real fun was watching him devour his birthday cake. He began quite slowly, enjoying the icing. Then he realized there was cake beneath the icing - a pleasant surprise! He eventually went in for the kill with two hands:
... and then got pretty into it near the end.
A sugar-coma quickly followed.The cake was certainly worth the price of admission. I think Warner was pretty surprised that this world of sugar existed and believe he's anxious to enjoy it again.
Happy birthday, little man.

Birthday letter from Dad

Dear Warner (aka Bruno),

I love you!

You arrived in my life at the right time. You arrived so fast, I didn't have time to be scared although I should have been scared. We almost lost you.
Son, you amaze me every day. Whether it is the uninitiated about face you made the other day at the top of the steps in order that you might go down the steps on your belly, whether it is when you remain asleep through turbulent time in our lives, or when you smile with no provocation at me or your mother. I consistently find myself hoping, wanting, and wishing to impress you. Yes, even now. I hope, want, and wish to provide for you and even dress like you! I could name thousands.
The following are only some of the things I love about you:

I love that you call me "Da" and it was one of the first sounds you regularly made.
I love when you hug me.
I love that when you are in a crowd, you cling to me.
I love your trust.
I love when you take my glasses off and try to put them back on my face.
I love when you laugh.
I love when you stick your fingers in my nostrils, my eyes, my ears, and my mouth.
I love that you know what I'm saying almost naturally without the ability to know words.
I love you all the time.
I love that you love me.
I read or heard a story about a man posed this question, "What do you feel you will leave behind after you leave this world?" The man responded, "Ask the persons around me."
I have asked God for one thing on a regular basis since you were born. That He keeps you breathing. To this day, that has not changed nor do I feel that request will ever cease.
Happy 1st Birthday! I love you!

Your Dad

Birthday Letter

Dear Warner,
It’s nearly 10pm at night. Kevin is working, and you’re upstairs in your green dinasaur jammies, fast asleep in your crib. Like every other night for the past year, I will go into your room tonight to watch you sleep before I go to bed. I’ll watch your tiny chest rise and fall as you make the sweetest breathing sounds I’ve ever heard. I’ll study your face and small body, trying to memorize all of your features because I know they’ll change all too soon. In the dim light produced by your frog night-light, I’ll watch you for a few moments while thanking God that He allowed me to be your mother.

I can’t believe you are going to be one year old in a few days. This year has gone by too quickly, which probably means each subsequent year will be no different. It’s funny, because although your first year of life has flashed by, I can hardly remember life without you. I read this quote in a book recently – a mother is talking about her two year-old daughter: “I have only known her for two years. But if you took every memory, every moment, if you stretched them end to end – they’d reach forever”. That’s exactly how I feel about you.

You were born at a very difficult time in my life, as your Aunt Meredith was sick with cancer and her battle was deeply affecting all of our family. I still believe you were born over 5 weeks early because I was carrying so much stress – emotionally and physically – and it therefore put you in distress. In any event, God’s timing for your arrival couldn’t have been more perfect. I’ll never forget driving to the hospital on Thursday, October 18th, to be monitored after you failed a fetal stress test. I had no idea you’d be born the following day. At the hospital, each time your heart rate dropped I’d say (aloud) “come on, buddy (we hadn’t officially decided that Warner would be your name yet), come on, stay with me”. I was so scared that we’d lose you before we even met you. A few days after you were born, I sat in a rocking chair in the back of the NICU in the middle of the night, holding you against my chest, and I wept. I wept with thanksgiving to God for you, I wept at the thought of losing you, and I wept knowing my sister was going to die soon and she’d never get the chance to do what I was doing at that moment with her own child.

You were slow to give us your first smile. Being the neurotic mother that I am, I was convinced you were Autistic, since you didn’t hit the “smile milestone” right on time. Looking back it’s funny that you held out on us for so long, because now it seems that all you do is smile. I pray this continues for the rest of your life, and that your smile is deep and genuine like it is today.

It’s amazing to me that you have already begun to develop a personality at such a young age, too. You are happy, have a sense of humor (you think I’m hillarious by the way, which I’m assuming I should enjoy while it lasts), are very particular about how you play with your toys, and very serious when you’re trying to do something. You are also quite persistent and hard-headed, which I know comes from both your father and me. You still don’t sleep consistently through the night, and when you do wake up to cry you can last forever, or so it seems. You also understand the word “no”, but rarely obey it. I know this is more a function of your age rather than your personality, or at least I hope it is. I can’t wait to watch as your personality and character continue to unfold.

I love you so much, Warner. I think until you have children of your own you won’t fully understand the depth of my love for you – at least that’s how it was for me. You are a precious gift from God and I pray for the day you come to know Him as your Lord and savior. Thanks for being such a good little boy. I can’t wait for all that lies ahead.

Love,
Mom

Kinman Farm

I'm having a hard time finding any negative aspects of fall. It's by far my favorite season, with colorful foliage, clear blue skies (most days), crisp mornings and evenings, pumpkins, cider, and of course the anticipation of the Christmas season approaching.

I get nostalgic this time of year, remembering first days of school, Halloween costumes and candy trading after trick-or-treating with Mere, and trips to Rouster's Apple Farm with my family (they have the best cider pops ever). So, you can imagine how anxious I am to share new memories with Kevin and Warner during this season. Warner and I took a trip to Kinman Farm today with our MOPS group, and although he won't remember this particular trip, I'm hoping it will become a tradition for years to come - even without cider pops.
Warner got to pet the animals in the barn once we arrived. He especially liked the donkey/mule (this city girl doesn't know if there's a difference and/or which of the two we saw) and disliked the goats. But his favorite was this friendly dog:
Warner plopped down right in front of this poor old dog and began sticking his fingers on its nose, eyes, ears, etc. Seeing as the dog didn't move once during the torture, I'm assuming he's been through this routine a few times before.
After visiting the animals, we took a hayride to the back of the farm where there was a corn maze and a picnic area.
Warner loved the hay and spent most of his time picking individual pieces of hay off each bale. When I changed his diaper this afternoon I found about 10 pieces that had made the trip home with us. He also walked a lot, and was quite impressive on the uneven grass - he's improving every day.

We have another farm outing (to a different farm) this Friday, with MOMS club. I hope Warner enjoys that trip as much as this one!

Why Dad is cooler than Mom

He feeds me yogurt and cookies (my absolute favorite) for a snack - outside of my highchair.
He lets me take a break from eating to climb on the couch and play with the light switch.
Then he lets me walk around to play and gives me bites only when it's convenient for me.
Dad is so much cooler than mom.