Bars and Tattoos

We innocently accepted an invitation by some good friends this weekend to go out with them for pizza and dancing. It became clear when we met them at the pizza PUB that we had brought our baby to a bar. I guess it wasn't really a bar bar, it could be considered a family restaurant, I guess. But I couldn't stop thinking about a very funny scene from "Sweet Home Alabama". Not one of my proudest moments.

It was my 30th birthday this weekend, which many of you know judging by my facebook page! Caleb and I had some close friends stay with Josiah and we hit the town. By hit the town I mean we went out to dinner and Caleb wore pants and a dress shirt rather than cargo shorts and a free-camp-tee. We are both now officially in our 30's!

Then we went to a church picnic where I put a stick-on football tattoo on Josiah without even thinking to look at what kind of ink or whatever they use on the tattoos. So in one weekend, we took him with us to a bar, then left him with a babysitter so we could go out, then defiled his little body with a tattoo. I think "Parents of the Year" is just around the corner!

Si went to the doctor last week and all is well! He weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces. Not that the stats are either specific or important, but he is in the 10-25% in weight and head circumference and the 25-50% for height (tall and skinny). He is a healthy, happy boy!

Caleb and I have been pretty pathetic when it comes to this adorable little boy! The other day we hugged and cuddled Josiah and then put him to bed...then within a few minutes we were both sitting in our office on two seperate lap tops, both looking at pictures of Josiah online.

Then, as we were brousing the isles of Gymboree for cute clothes for Si, we came to the realization that we were supposed to be on a date and there we were shopping for our child.

I was having a conversation with Caleb's mother, Becky the other day and explained to her how we always keep the car seat in the new van and then Caleb or I, whichever one of us is not with Si, takes the old car in to work. Becky then pointed out to me that really, Josiah has his own car and Caleb and I share the old beater. :)

We just can't get enough of him. We think he is the greatest!

3 months already

Our beautiful boy is 3 months old already! Time is flying by and I am just praying that he won't grow too quickly out of his cuddle stage! High school feels like it's just around the corner! Here is just a quick update of some pictures from the last week or two...Notice that many to most of them are on some continuum between out-of-focus and just-plain-blurry! I think that means that we do need to "splurge" for some professional (Walmart or it's equivilant) photos for some of the big milestone months...you know: 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo and so on! We think he is adorable blurry or not but that is probably because we see him in person all the time. Maybe you all would like some professional pics. Anyway, here are the unprofessional ones: Hope you like. Maybe this week will yeild enough time to run by a studio. We also have a doctor's apointment this week, so I'll let you know how that goes...just a well visit and some shots.

One of the students in our youth group is swimming this year so Josiah and I like to go to support her and to get some wading experience.

Josiah in his "snuggie"

So, Si will not be hiking in this anytime soon! Maybe next year! Caleb is like "what? he fits!" Also, yes, this picture is taken in our bathroom...apparently Caleb was carrying him around in the pack right before he needed to take a shower.

He is so happy, what a good natured kiddo

Tummy-time is a lot more interesting when Shep is the object/target of Si's affection!

Daddy and Baby hitt'n the books. At least Caleb is wearing clothes.

Cas was in town last week with some friends and stayed with me for a couple days before she went home. We celebrated our upcoming 30th birthdays with some shopping and sushi!

Any port in a storm...

We had a wonderful time in San Antonio a few weeks ago and if there is one thing we learned it's that Josiah is a little social butterfly. There was never a shortage of people wanting to cuddle him and he was all too happy to oblige!
Oma and Si hit it off great! It was almost everyone's first time meeting him so he was passed around a ton...if his parents had any reservations about the child-passing we got over it really quickly!

Caleb's mom, Becky and Si chatting it up!

This is Caleb's brother, John and his father, Steve. The whole family stayed together at this amazing 100-year-old house a few blocks from where the wedding reception was held. It was a perfect location and a beautiful place to stay! We all felt so at peace when we walked in the door...which is good because not all aspects of our trip were stress free! Thankfully, the house and the company were!

Josiah slept the entire wedding and reception...I have no idea who we got so lucky...he actually slept that night as well. We must have really tired him out, or over-stimulated the heck out of him...maybe the sleeping was just a well-developed coping mechanism. Either way, he behaved beautifully considering one parent was a bridesmaid and the other was reading scripture in the wedding, we were initially a little concerned about who has to take the baby out of the church if he starts screaming in the middle of the ceremony. (that's a hard thing to just ask someone in the family to do-at a wedding!) but thankfully we had lots of volunteers and we didn't end up needing a runner anyway.

Just for the record, he also did an amazing job on the plane both to and from San Antonio! Slept the whole way and didn't even seem to notice the pressure changes! thank goodness. I like to think I have no problem being embarrassed of a screaming child but I am not sure I was yet prepared for a two-hour flight with no escape...not quite the same as the grocery store.

Joel and his new bride Ali drove from Houston to see us, the baby and the wedding...in that order I like to think!

Bringing the families together...one baby at a time! This is Sarah's new father-in-law dancing with Si at the reception. I am glad someone was taking pictures because I had no idea where Josiah was for much of the reception! Horrible mom, huh?!

Danny claimed Josiah from the very beginning! We are so thankful for so many people to love our kiddo!

The beautiful bride looking incredibly relaxed and de-stressed: Good job, Sarah!

What an awesome vacation! It has been some time since I have experienced more fun with family or more drama in one week! You gotta love weddings! Notice there are no pictures of the actual wedding. That's because we didn't take any. Having a child has not made Caleb and I any better and taking pictures. I wish we were but it is apparently not in our DNA. I seriously think once in a while, I have to take some pictures so I can put them on the blog! So if someone sends me some wedding pics I would be glad to put them on...(I probably don't need to clarify, but I will put them on if they are pictures of Sarah's wedding, not just any wedding!)

Fall is here!

Just a few cute pictures of Josiah from the last several weeks. We can hardly believe how fast the time has flown by. Si is 12 weeks old (3 months on the 10th). He is a happy, healthy kid; smiling and trying to giggle all the time now! We love it! It just keeps getting better and better.

Josiah cuddling up with Grandpa Fields in San Antonio. Grandpa calls it "wrestling" but we know the truth! Don't they look cozy! We spent a week in San Antonio in September for Aunt Sarah's wedding. I think there are some wonderful pictures from our time there....only most of them were not taken by us. So I will post them when I get them from other generous family members.

This is one of our favorite positions in the world these days! Nothing better than taking a nap with baby bear on our chest. Don't worry, they are not going hunting.

He is still the spitting image of Caleb if you ask me! Caleb thinks that must mean he is the most adorable man on the planet since Si is so adorable! Josiah is around 12 lbs now, officially doubling his birth weight! He surprised us in Texas by rolling over for the first time! We were very excited but we haven't seen it again yet...not that we don't practice every day!

The weather here is finally starting to cool down a little and is even in the eighties this week! So we are getting to spend a lot more time outdoors! Si LOVES it outside...so far so good, we are really hoping he is an outdoor kid naturally rather than a video game kid. Not that he will have much of a choice, what with all the rules we'll have against TV and stuff! Just kidding, you can remind me of that when we have three kids and put movies on all day long just to keep some kind of peace and sanity...but good to have ideals for now, right?! Anyway, Si loves to lay on his blanket outside and we took a long walk yesterday with him in the Bjourn. He is doing so well with his head and neck strength, I think hiking in the backpack is just around the corner! Yeah for fall in Arizona!

Si is sleeping great at night and thankfully enough during the days that we are able to get a tiny, and I mean tiny, amount of work done. FYI, I typed this entire thing one-handed (left handed!). Just one of the many one-handed tricks I'velearned...so no comments about typos!

I will post more when I have two hands and some pictures from vacation!

We are not in control

This past month has flown by and I can't say I would re-live even a minute of it if given the opportunity. We have had a hard month.

On July 1 one of our best friends was diagnosed with Leukemia and on September 1 he went to be with our Lord. We could have spent 10 lifetimes with Armondo and not felt like we had enough time with him so we are thankful that we know and serve a good God who will right all wrongs and will one day allow us to serve alongside Armondo in eternity. Caleb is devistated that he lost a brother and somehow has a peace that surpases all understanding that his brother is now rejoicing with his Father.

The death of a 30-year-old man, husband, brother, friend, son, uncle, muscian, worship leader is an injustice that I hoped we would never have to bear. I will not even attempt to understand; instead I will grieve with his wife, support and love my grieving husband and church, attempt to protect my son from the overwhelming grief inside his parents, and trust that there is a distinct and beautiful peace resting inside of us that comes only from the Holy Spirit.

I know that Armondo's life was lived each and every day to glorify God. Never was this so evident than sitting with him in his hospital room while he played his guitar and worshiped; singing "How Great Is Our God". Armondo and Traci knew that they were not in control and they carried themselves through Armondo's sickness with such incredible faith; their strength a beautiful picture of God's grace in this brief life.

I know that I spend so much time attempting to control everything in my life. Why? How arrogant to assume that I have any amount of control of the outcome...to assume that I deserve or am entitled to one more day on this planet. Instead, I hope that knowing this kind of pain and watching one of my best friends become a widow will help me to live a life that is much more free of control. That I will feel much more free to simply love each momemt that I am blessed to spend with Josiah and Caleb...that I will cherrish things that last and let go of things that won't...and that I will live a life that reflects an urgency to serve God with each day He gives me.

This post feels very therapeutic for me and I am having trouble figuring out how to gracefully transition into an update about all the adorable things that Josiah has been doing in the past month. So I am going to save that for next time. I should have some cute pictures from Aunt Sarah's wedding and our trip to San Antonio last week so I will add those soon.

We are now in the process of figuring out what life without Armondo looks like. We are already getting better at it and know that we will continue to grow into some kind of "new normal". With the same amount of control as we've always had, but a much deeper understanding of how out-of-control we really are.

Thank you, God that You are in control.

Our 6-week-old

Si is 6 weeks old today. It is amazing how fast this time has gone. Over the last 6 weeks Josiah has gained over three pounds, and his parents have come a considerable way in learning how to provide for our little angel's every need! We are having so much fun! I have said so many times how desperate I am to remember every little face he makes; he is just so adorable. I feel so incredbly blessed to get to be his mommy.

We are dealing with a bit of acid reflux with him so he has been put on a medication to reduce the acid in his little tummy. Basically he was spitting up (or projectile vomiting) every time he ate and any time we laid him on his back--so being astute new parents, we decided to bring the problem up to his pediatrician. Turns out he should out grow it soon and doesn't at all seem to be effecting his growth, so with a few new tricks up our sleeves and a medication that Si hates the taste of, we are doing much better in the spit up department--and laundry department by extension!

Here are some pictures and video from the last week or two. Enjoy!

Tummy time is a group activity!

Probably the last time I videotape myself laughing at Josiah while he cries!

I haven't been able to capture the smile on camera yet, but close...very close

The boys are becoming best of friends. Shep is acting very much like Lassie lately. It is really amazing. One evening Si had just started crying because he was hungry while Caleb was holding him. While I finished something I was doing on the computer, Caleb attempted to pasify him until I got over there to feed him. Well that was not good enough for Shep, he ran in from outside, busting through his little doggy door, ran strait over and "pointed" at Josiah and then ran directly to me and started poking me in the ribs with his nose. After he had gotten my attention he ran right back outside. Si is sure lucky to have such an attentive dog!

This is the "fat" picture: We are so thankful to see some roles and can't get enough of that double chin! What a cutie

This look happened approximately 3 seconds after we gave him his aforementioned medication for his tummy, and approximately 1 second before his parents feared they had just over-dosed their young child. Caleb grabbed the bottle to re-read the dosage and the insert to read the list of possible side-effects....and in the middle of all that I grabbed the camera. BTW: he did not OD and he has never reacted in such a fashion again.

Josiah loves to nap with Daddy

I promise; this is the same kid that has the huge double chin above...skinny little guy isn't he?

Our strong boy!

I've taken back the reigns

Well thanks to my mother you've seen some pictures of Si from the first few weeks and also heard his little voice as we imagine he has lots to say! Well, now Si is one month old and mom has gone home and I have again realized that it is my responsibility to keep you all up to date with new pictures. So no more "Si's Perspective"; I'm taking back the reigns and you are getting Anna's perspecitive! Here are some pictures from this weekend since Becky has been here.

So here are some things I have learned in the first month of parenting:

1. First and foremost, epidurals are amazing: don't be a hero, ladies...get the hard drugs! They made labor and delivery a wonderful experience. (the first several hours were not...)

2. Breastfeeding and pumping to stay ahead is a full-time job. (wait, don't I have a full-time job that I have to return to in a couple of weeks!? Yikes, that's two full-time jobs...other people do this, right?!

3. The books that I read about parenting, bonding, feeding, sleeping, bla, bla, bla...filled me with tons of hope for a angel/textbook/easy little lad. And then he came and I found that I was prepared for exactly NOTHING that Si did.

4. Little boys have AT LEAST a 20 inch "spray zone" and no allies even though I feed him, house him, bathe him, etc. There is just no loyalty.

5. "Sleep when your baby sleeps" is an unfortunate myth that seems to remain illusive to me if I want other small things in my life...like a shower, clean dishes and adult conversations.

6. When you have a Husky/Shepherd it is impossible to keep the hair out of the room...or off the baby...or out of his bottle for that matter. And then you realize how important the phrase "oh well" is! For everything really, not just dog hair.

7. Allowing baby to sleep the day away is a really bad idea once it is night time. And also, concerning sleep...baby appears to have a long enough memory to remember that you allowed him to sleep in bed with you last time....and this crib is just not quite the same.

8. Grandmothers have a lot of valuable knowledge like its okay to continue to bathe a baby in water he has just peed in....is that really okay?

9. I could have every burp cloth we have (which are many) sitting on practically every surface we have in our tiny house; and still the second Si projectile vomits there is nothing in the whole room to wipe it up with!

10. There is absolutely nothing in the world that is more wonderful or a bigger blessing than becoming Si's mommy!

Si is doing wonderfully! He has gained a couple of pounds since birth and is just thriving! Although we were not EVEN CLOSE to prepared for his early arrival, we were profoundly blessed to have my mom, dad and sister fly in within 12 hours of his birth. They got us prepped and ready for anything and I just sadly said goodbye to mom about a week ago. I had a short stint as a single parent for a long weekend while Caleb was out of town (don't plan on doing that again...ever) and now we are so excited to have Caleb's mom in town for a few days. Caleb and I are so thankful for our families out of state and for the AZ families we've been adopted into here in the desert. Thanks for all of your support!