New Directions

No, I'm not talking about the McKinley High Glee Club, 'New Directions'. Though I wish I was because that would mean good tv is back on.  I am talking about new directions for me.  Part of the reason for my absence from blogging and bad mommy rehab is due to the fact that I am once again a working woman.  I consider caring for Edmund for the last seven months work, but now I am of the working world that contributes financially.  Your dear friend (me) is now the Director of College Counseling for the Blue Ridge School.  Its pretty exciting and overwhelming at the same time.  Thankfully I am continuing my streak of not having a driving commute to work and now I have a lovely walk across the lawn to my office and therefore am only a short walk away from being able to peak in on Edmund throughout the day.  Man I love this guy!

The other neat thing is that Cory and I's office are actually in the same little building AND our offices are the only two in the little cottage.  We are referring to it as 'Woods Hall'.  Now my days are spent juggling Edmund, work while he sleeps, cooking, cleaning, attempting to work out, and sleep.  Unfortunately this has affected my blogging and I can make no promises to consistency in the coming months but I will do my best.  

In the meantime you should check out my friend Rachel's blog, there is a super good video on there.  I totally agree with her in that I feel all my best friends got together and just couldn't get a hold of me.  Come on fall tv!

Walking Man

As an early celebration to turning 7 months old, Edmund decided to show off his walking legs. He cannot do this when he's tired, but with a little bit of energy he just zooms!

Talking Baby

This video is from several weeks ago when EB first started with his "dada".  Sorry its sideways, I think I could fix it but there are way to many steps to do it.

Faces

I was looking through pictures today and thought these are a good example of some of EBs many faces (and a great look at his crazy hair).

Rehabin Week 2

Here we are at monday again.  Hi, I'm Carrie and I can be a mommy guilt-a-holic. 

My ever exploring child is getting bigger and stronger and each day something new happens.  Though he has been successfully army crawling for weeks now, just today he started to take a few small crawling steps, so what if he is going for a wire or pots and pans, he is evolving (or developing)!  And who cares if he cried in his crib for over an hour and a half a few weeks ago, during that time he successfully learned how to sit back up on his own.  *sidenote, its kind of creepy when the last time you see your child they are laying down and then you walk in to find them sitting straight up looking at you.  Today though is about the good things.

I'm an awesome mom because I let my son get SUPER dirty as he was discovering mud and rocks for the first time.  It was stinking splendid and hysterical to watch.  

Really, who cares that I failed to pack well for a hiking expedition that turned out to be colder than expected.  I mean, look how awesome he looks with the outfit we pieced together

[socks, baby leg warmers that we use as car seat strap protectors, a buggies onesie, a long sleeve tshirt, plaid shorts and a different plaid hat or in our case monkeys]

He also discovered how fun it is to be godzilla baby and knock stuff over

I am an awesome mom because at the end of the day this is the love that I feel from my completely covered in dirt son.

Running Man

(please read this first line in a Forest Gump voice)...Edmund is a running!

He loves standing and we recently discovered his enjoyment for running. He gets this from mama, daddy only runs to the bathroom and doesn't enjoy that all too much.

Rehab

To quote Amy Winehouse 'They tried to make me go to rehab' and I said heck yes.

A fellow blogging mommy friend of mine had a great idea....she decided its time for a mommyvention.  I agree.  Raising a child is not rocket science, its just about love (and a little bit of common sense).  For some reason though there are thousands of books, internet sites, and news reports to make the most well meaning (and good) moms feel like they are doing everything terribly wrong and then we feel like bad mommies, when I know we are not.  So Monday blog posts are now about the things I am doing right.

I have recently commiserated with several other moms, including Q & CeCe's mom about the ongoing sleep battles.  At this stage we love small victories and we are getting them.  I am a good mom because I value my sleep and I value that my son learns how to sleep well too.  Dr. Sears, you can kiss my arse.  Tears come and they are not fun, but I still know that he loves me most because of the smiles I get each morning and throughout the days.

While you can't see his smile here he is rejoicing in his triumphant conquer of Peter Rabbit!

Casualty

Its time to take a moment of silence, we've had our first toy casualty.

Edmund's sweet mr. lamb has had is insides removed.  In the beginning he would sit with Edmund and sing to him 'jesus loves me'.  Edmund would simply stare in amazement as mr. lambs head would move from side to side as music came from some part of his body.  It was soothing to him.

Well, somehow mr. lamb took a fall which causes spasms in his body when he tries to sing.  I came out from putting Edmund down to sleep to see that Cory had already tried to surgically fix mr. lamb (via a colonoscopy), but unfortunately he had to have his voice box, muscular system and spine removed.

It truly was a sad site.  

mr. lamb is still around, but he can no longer retain Edmund's attention for any amount of time.  Now he serves as a soft pet for him to cuddle with (if he cuddled) and love.    

Edmund's New Due

If you know Cory & I well you know the combination of our hair is something pretty amazing. You put together my abnormally straight, thin hair and Cory's chia-pet think and curly mop the result will either be something resembling normal hair or something crazy.  At this stage in life, Edmund has been blessed with something crazy (I pray it will one day turn normal, for the sake of him one day having a wife).

Billy-Ray, eat your heart out!   It's not just a mullet, its a double rat-tail mullet (these are a rare breed that you must search high and low to find).   When Cory was giving him his bath a few nights ago he reached his threshold of being able to have the weird kid and we decided it was time for his first hair-cut.  It wasn't a full one, but it was just enough to help boy wonder jump back into the normal category.

After:

It made Edmund much happier to have less weird hair too (and is helping him reconsider his male modeling career...thanks aunt b for the RL!)

I love having these pictures, because I believe it is my right as a mom to one day embarrass him with these photos.  Cheers to future embarrassing moments (as payback for sleepless nights).

5 Years of Love

July 31, 2005
When I woke from barely sleeping my head was filled with nothing but fairy tail thoughts and images.  I couldn't believe that today was the day I was going to get married.  I hadn't been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl, but it had been three and a half long years of waiting.  Though our first meeting four years earlier wasn't quite filled with fireworks, our friendship turned that way.  Finally he asked me out and though I didn't know much about love I quickly knew he was something special.  We didn't say it for a long time, but once the first 'I love yous' were whispered  I think we both knew we had found the one God had been preparing us for.

It was fun having the same classes as your significant other.  Group projects became exponentially easier and you always had someone to help you with your homework (except when you both were confused). I remember skipping class to go rock climbing and then being told by the teacher it 'was okay, as long as we were recreating'.  It was at college where we really grew and where we made a name for ourselves as individuals and as a couple.  Together we took on leading a campus ministry--he taught and I sang, although we both would argue that we weren't very good at either of them.  Through all these things, ministry, the outdoors, and school God grew us in our love for Him and each other.  We never spent our summers together which I believe was for our benefit.

It was October 30, 2004 when Cory asked me to marry him on a cold and windy morning on highest point in Colorado.  Then a long nine months before the big day.  It was during that time where we were counseled and challenged by Ephesians 5:22-33. I am blessed to be loved by a man who loves me as Christ does His church.  Every day we work to love each other as Christ as called us to, but more importantly we live to love the Lord before all else.  

July 31, 2010
Five years ago I had an amazing day I will never forget.  Five years ago we never would have imagined the life we have now, and we wouldn't trade it for anything.  We spent our date talking about the past five years and what stands out to us the most--our greatest memories/most monumental moments

1. January 26, 2010:  The birth of Edmund.  Just when you think you know love something so small comes around to remind you how big it really is.  
2. Graduating in 2008 (me) and 2009 (Cory) with our Masters degrees.  Not only was doing it monumental, but it was also our marker for when we would feel "comfortable" having kids.  One week prior to Cory's graduation we found out I was pregnant.  
3. Moves to North Carolina and Virginia.  NC was a step because we meant we were moving on with our lives.  We loved Colorado, but unfortunately there wasn't much left there for us at that time.  It was a risk for both of us to go back to school, but it was an important one.  Then we moved to Virginia, to make a home for our growing family.  
4. Trips--we've been a lot of cool places together and each stop has generated moments that make us smile and long to return there (we may not wish to repeat the traveling it took to get there, but the time at each destination has been special).
5. Climbing mountains.  This has become something pretty neat in my memory mind.  Mountain climbing has become somewhat of an epic experience that I treasure, from our little climb a month ago to getting engaged on top of Mt. Elbert the last big hikes we've taken together have been special.  

July 31, 2005

Two very happy people with dreams of whats to come

July 31, 2010

One happy family and one very full life