Singing with a toddler

So this was impromtu and I just thought it was too funny not to post. I wanted to see how my mic would pic up and the music would sound. Of course, what was I thinking trying to do this while M was there watching me? I just kept going and didn't stop. When I watched it he cracks me up. I really think he knows this song. This is the one I sang a bunch of times while I was prego. He really does want to sing along.  You will have to excuse all the banging noise and loud sounds you here from the desk. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!

Also, did I tell you all that I am a yoga pants mom now? I hate to admit it, but it's true. When Micah was first born and up until I moved here to GA I was always dressing nice. I mean not go to church nice...but jeans and a cute top or a maxi dress. These days I can't stay away from my yoga pants. Maybe it's because I need to lose some weight...but it's just so comfy!!! I have no time to look cute anymore. It's a little depressing, but now I'm trying to embrace the new yoga me. haha

Tomorrow we have bible study. So happy to go back. It's been 2 weeks. It feels like I'm starting over. I am going to try and stuff Micah with as much food before we go. I wish we could take a break and give our kids snacks. He just loves to eat and it makes him so much happier. I keep asking them to give him his squeezes, but every time I look in the bag they are still there.



Went to the mall yesterday and here are a few pics. He is such a little man now. Every time we go I feel like he looks bigger and acts older.

 BOOO

I got M a halloween costume at Costco. Looks like he will be a teddy bear this year. They pretty much had ONE option for little boys. It was teddy bear, zebra or pumpkin. I feel like the pumpkin is overdone.. but really cute. I went with teddy bear. First I thought it was a lion and I kept saying Micah it's a LION say ROAR. Then I felt stupid later on realizing it was a teddy bear. haha



Hope you are all having a fantastic week.

Shark Tank

Shark Tank is back on TV with new episodes. I don't have enough money to fund this next idea, but it's a great one. Ok so today I took Micah to the mall without a stroller because we were going to head next door to Costco right after. Since the stroller takes up a lot of space I thought, "I'll just carry him to the play area." Well.. this was way too hard. He is heavy. It took all my strength to get to the other side of the mall and get him to the play area. So while we were heading to Costco and I was carrying him on my side I thought of an awesome idea (it may already exists and if so... it's on my Christmas list) M is past the point of using a baby carrier or wrap. I mean I could do it but there's no time. Right now I have a purse with a long strap that goes over the shoulder. So while I was carrying him on my side I stuck one of his legs through the inside of the strap and had him put some of his weight on my purse. Then it hit me!!! A purse that can help you carry your toddler. This may sound weird to you, but I think I could make it work. I just needed a little bit of extra support to hold him and walk through the mall. This is my shark tank idea. If you have some money...let me have it and I'll make all our dreams come true.

Here's what we did this weekend:
We went to Ikea all day on Saturday and had a great time. It was raining all day so I had this idea that we could go there and Micah actually really enjoyed it. We even shared some Swedish meatballs. (If you're not familiar with Ikea it's what they are famous for at the cafe) He got to play on some cute beds (he liked the pink one) and I finally got the book shelves I've been wanting for M's room!!

Here they are!! They are actually called picture ledges but I saw them used for books on Pinterest and I loved the idea. The best part is Micah is all about reading now. Everytime he walks in his room, gets up from nap, or goes down to bed he point at a book. Every time he points at a book, I read one to him. I think it's great for him to be excited about reading. I've never been a good reader. It's always been hard for me to focus and get through an entire book. I really hope M can start early and love to read. Thank you to everyone who contributed to his book collection. I love that I have only bought maybe two or three books myself. The rest all came from some of YOU and I love to remember.

On Sunday, we went to church during the 11:15 a.m. service and fed Micah before we left. He did GREAT!! Just walked in the nursery like,"Hey, I'm here" No crying. On the way home from church we always pass this famous Kentucky Fried Chicken nicknamed the Big Chicken. I don't really know the back story....but I was really craving some KFC. I got to take a pic of M and his Dad and the Big Chicken in Marietta.

Yep.. the mouth even moves up and down and I think the eyes move too. It's kinda strange, right? Micah kept pointing up at it and wasn't really sure what to think about it.


One more thing...
I'm excited about a meal I'm making this week. I am going to try Chicken Parmesan stuffed shells. It looks super easy...and yummy. I will let you know if it's a Pinterest Fail or Success.


love you all and Happy Monday.

Nappy

Looks like it finally might be happening. Our nap schedule is changing. Oh the JOYS of parenting. If I wasn't a parent right now and I was reading this.. I would think how ridiculous this sounds. Seriously...when did naps become so life changing? To each their own. And to me it is!!

Yesterday we had a play date at a new friends house (from bible study) and it was about 30 minutes away. We go there at 9:30 and stayed till about 11:30 a.m. I was impressed with Micah. No crazy spells or whining. He was just playing so nice and kissing the little girl who was there. (He can't keep his lips to himself anymore.. whoops) We got home and he was wiped. He went to bed around 12 p.m. and didn't wake up till 3 p.m. I got a lot done and was almost not sure what to do at one point. I started watching a Lifetime movie.. but then I realized I had seen it already. haha
He didn't take another nap after that. We had our neighbors over for dinner and he did great. Even sat at the table almost the whole time...that was crazy awesome. He went to bed a little late at 9 p.m. and didn't wake up this morning until almost 9 a.m. So I thought I would try out the same schedule today. He is napping right now. We already went to the park this morning with Leslie and baby Nolan (no pics, Oops!) and came back and ate Chick-fil-a. We ran around for a bit upstairs playing hide and seek. We will see how long he sleeps today and keep trying this out. I didn't think I was ready for this transition..but it feels right.

The other night I made shrimp cheese tortellini and Micah loved it. He makes me feel like such a good cook sometimes. LOL
I took some pics of him during our dinner time.

YUM!! 

I joined this forum online called Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. It's a place where women can go and talk about their experiences and difficulties after this type of loss. I know other women have been through it, but it really makes you feel better reading other peoples stories. I've been considering not going to get tested and letting God take control. It's a hard topic and subject because after something like this you really don't trust your own body anymore.  

On another note I've been thinking of so many new inventions lately targeting moms. When I was in the shower the other day I thought.. I don't have time to take a bath but I really just want to relax and take a shower. Standing up is not relaxing to me. I know my grandpa uses some type of chair in the shower made for people who can't stand well. They need to make one that folds down in the shower and is easily stowed. Who's with me on this? I just want to take a break and sit while hot water is on me and get clean at the same time. Is this too much to ask?  Ok I have a ton more idea but you only get one today. LOL

Hope you are all having a fabulous week!!

Florida with Cousins!!

Let me start by saying... isn't it funny how so many things can go wrong and all you remember is the good parts? I have pics to prove all the fun and enjoyable times we had in Florida. Yes, not everything went as "planned" but what does with three boys 3 and under. It was a FULL house except uncle Jesse didn't show up which I was bummed about. (that was a joke LOL)
When the week was over and everyone was saying goodbye we waved to the kids, Auntie Leigh, Papa and Nana in the van. Right when they pulled away Micah started balling his little eyes out. So there you go. That's how much he loves them. Just from one week. He was enamored with Liam. Especially in the mornings. They would play on my bed and Liam would do all sorts of crazy things to make Micah laugh. The truth: many of us did not get much sleep.  There wasn't enough rooms for all these crazy babies. We made it work though. And I will never forget all the sweet memories made.  Many of you have seen the pics on FB. But here they are again...

 This was at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is a routine stop for us now when we go to Orlando. You can eat with the animals right outside the window. The boys loved it.

 I had to get Craig to take a pic with the HULK. He is my hunky hulk.

 Story time with all three boys.

 Tierney family.

 I set my phone in the palm tree and put the timer on for 3 seconds. We had fun taking lots of crazy shots.

 One of many times Papa got out the backpack guitar and played.

 This was our goodbyes. Micah didn't want to let go of that Liam boy!!

 However.. Liam was like..Ok little man gotta go.

They both have hat hair. hehe LOVe you MOM!!

Here's something I put together. It shows last year in Florida and this year. Look at that sweet baby!! I want another one!!! haha

Ok and now here is a little taste of our mornings with the boys.

I know they sacrificed a lot of "space" for us to tag along on this trip and I am very grateful. It was a lot of work and technically I don't think you can call it a vacation when you have kids with you. I will call it a nice getaway with cousins to play with!! haha I think my parents need a vacation now from the vacation....or maybe just some sleep.

LOVE YOU ALL

It's late...

It's late... and what to do when you are alone and at the computer... of course reminisce. In this first picture is my friend Calie. This is her coming to visit me probably the week or so after Micah was born. She was due with her son Jackson who just turned 1 in August and now looks about the same because she is having number 2 THIS month. Yep. This time I will be texting her asking her what it's like having two. sheesh. I'm so happy for her because she had such a hard time getting pregnant the first time and this little boy (Logan) is a miracle.

 Here is my other friend Callie who took Micah's newborn photo's. He's dressed up in his MJ uniform for his Aunt Tammi. Look at how small my little man was. Now he's running and talking (chinese) and hugging me and blows kisses. I know how much has changed in only one year.. and it's only going to go faster from here on out.

 This was in July when Tammi the kids and Uncle Mark came to visit. Micah's first time at the pool. He was only 2 months old.

 One of my many snuggle moments with this little guy. Oh how I miss those times. And as you can see I was ready for him to spit up... haha

I think this was his 2 month appointment at the doctor's office. Like a little doll baby.

Look at these two!! haha so adorable. I just loved that outfit on M.

Swim lessons with my chunky monkey. 

Probably the funniest photo ever taken.

This is where I will stop. About 4 and a half months here. Just starting to swing by himself.  I know you could go back and look at all these picture on the blog...but isn't fun seeing some all in one place? I've loved this journey and can't wait for more.

Today at bible study the women were talking about these time we are in now are "seasonal" it's so true. When our babies are young and developing so quickly everything is seasonal. I don't know when it becomes routine but right now every week or month seems to change. Habits, likes, dislikes, playing, learning, sleeping. It's all a seasonal time. I really wanted to get back into serving, but today I realized this is a seasonal time in my life and I need to cherish it. I want to be busy again and feel worthy, but I know soon he'll be in school and I will have that opportunity.  Right now God has me where he wants me and even though I don't feel like I'm measuring up... I am who God says I am. He loves me and what I'm doing. I just need to let some things I was able to do in the past .. go and let God. He is putting me where he wants and I need to trust him.

On a side note... tonight was a PINTEREST FAIL!!!!!!!!!

I tried a new recipe for sausage and tortellini in the crockpot and it was a NO GO. I also decided to try it out when Leslie and Jeremy came over. So overall I'm pretty disappointed in myself and pinterest ....good thing is I will be able to redeem myself again. We are switching off every other week to each other's houses for dinner. Next time I will do something that I know will be a success. Pinterest makes everything look good...even when it's NOT>boo

Love you all. Hope you enjoyed these old pics as much as I did.

Labor Day Weekend

I wish I could tell you every single detail about our weekend...but there was so much I am hoping to remember it myself.
Let's start with Friday night. I tried to keep myself calm and go on doing normal day to day activities. I knew I wouldn't sleep well since I had to be up so early and try to run 3 miles (for the first time in forever!!) I was surprised when I started making dinner to see my husband walk in the door at 5 p.m. We got so excited and Micah ran to him and gave him a big hug. I was like...WHA??? This is amazing. We were able to cook dinner together and I made a shrimp pasta meal that was OH SO TASTY!! yum. I tried not to eat too much since I had to get up and run. I didn't want to feel heavier.

I went to bed around 10:30 p.m. and probably didn't get more than 5 hours of sleep. I woke up and felt my heart racing. I was excited. We got Micah up at 6:45 a.m. and put him in the car. He wasn't too happy about this. When we got to the race he seems excited because there was so much to look at. Hannah and I went to warm up with everyone else and then got in line. She was nervous.. but I knew she was going to do great. We started off running together but it only took a couple minutes before she was ahead of me and then a few minutes later she was out of sight. I had decided that my goal was to keep moving. Even if I was jogging at a slow pace I didn't want to stop. It was hard to see so many people on the side walking. It was like they were saying to me, "It's OK just take a break. We are all doing it." I tried to get it out of my head that it wasn't an option for me. I thought if I finished the race and had walked it...what did I accomplish? I can walk 3 miles. I do it everyday.

Ok so I think after the first mile it was the hardest on me. I felt so tired and knew I had to go a lot farther. When I hit the 2 mile marker there was no stopping me. I was determined to make it the whole way without stopping. Yes, my legs turned to jello at mile 2.5 but it made it a little better. I didn't feel much. LOL. My time was 37:26 about 12 minute miles and I was in the top half for my age group. Not to mention I was the oldest in my age group 25-29. Yikes, I still can't believe I'm 29.
Anyways, I was really proud of myself. I made it. Not in good time, but knowing I can push through and do something I had never done before.

We all went and got something to eat and came back to my house. Micah went to sleep and had almost a three hour nap and Hannah and I got to take showers and feel refreshed before going back to the celebrate freedom festival. After the 5k they had a free concert and tons of Christian artists were there. We go to hear Meredith Andrews, and Crowder. The cool thing I thought of was that I sang the Meredith Andrews song, "Not For A Moment" at the Bridge when Micah was in my belly, also so her in concert when he was in my belly and then he got to see her live for himself. It seemed as if he knew the song. Let me tell you all how cute my son is. We were sitting in the bleachers and it was covered but outside. So yes.. it felt like 100 degrees, but Micah was so happy. He was clapping and listening. While I was holding him standing on my lap he reached over to Craig and hugged him and kissed his shoulder. I mean I almost started blubbering like a baby. I was overwhelmed with the love he had for his dada. It was that moment as a parent when you say... I think we are doing something right. He loves us and shows us with his actions. A one year old can show so much love and know so little about life. I mean, I can't tell you how much this moment meant to me. I never want to forget it. I'm so happy I have this blog to remind myself of these precious moments in life.

 You can tell we were all hot!!

 Here is a pic of Crowder on the big screen.

Pic of AV making M laugh while we were getting a bit to eat.

We headed home and were pretty much exhausted. All I wanted was a cold beer. And I got it!! Craig made chili because that's what you do when football starts right? A&M was playing Arizona at 7 p.m. Leslie and Jeremy came over with Nolan and we all got to eat chili and watch football while M was sleeping. It was awesome!!

The next day we were able to make church after M took his morning nap.  He was a lot happier because I fed him lunch on the way there. He did well. I even saw a mom there from bible study. It was nice to see a familiar face.
We got home and Lindsay and Jeorry had invited us over for dinner. Here is a pic of her son Parker and Micah eating together. It was adorable, but only lasted so long before chaos ensued. haha

On Monday we all went to the pool, but it was actually too cold to get into. Micah stayed outside the pool most the time and played with Parker's toys. Later that night we all went to Lindsay's for dinner again. This time there was Micah, Parker, Baby Nolan, and Isabella. Needless to say we all tried to have a conversation but...too many kids. haha This Thursday Leslie is having girls night with NO babies and maybe we can all have a conversation. The joys of having neighbor friends. This is amazing. I'm telling you. I loved having my friends before in Texas but having people seriously next door has been a Godsend. I am so very blessed. Can't wait for the year ahead of us.

This week we are getting ready to go to Florida. This trip was semi-planned. Craig took off the days but we weren't sure if it was a go or not till the last month or so. We are driving there so hoping everything goes smoothly. Micah is going to have so much fun with his cousins Liam and Caleb. They are all the perfect age to play together. However after last night and having four kids around.. I'm preparing myself for a week of chaotic fun! Love you all

Thursday morning catch up

We made it! We made it through two big events yesterday. Bible Study in the morning and Micah's 15 month appointment at 2:30 p.m.  Let me start out by saying Tuesday was an exhausting but OH so fun day. I went over my sisters house early in the day and we were able to go to the park and take a run with the strollers. I didn't make it very far before I needed to walk a bit. It was like 90 degrees and the hills were about to kill me. Pushing a stroller and running is so much harder than by myself. I'm curious to see how well I do on Saturday at this 5k. I'm going to run tonight after Craig gets home and see how well I do. Anyways, Micah had so much fun playing with his cousins...especially Riley. He's at that perfect age where she can play with him and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Here's a little video... but seriously they had so many cute moments together I wish I could have captured them all.

Swinging at the park.

 At one point he was trying to snuggle with Riley. He would hug her all the time and want to be near her. I am so happy he will be able to have a few years or maybe more being by some of his cousins. It makes my heart happy.

We made bible study on time yesterday, but Micah still had a hard time saying goodbye when I put him in the nursery. Good thing later that day at his appointment my doctor said it's totally normal for them to be attached at this age. She said the best thing to do is keep going to the nursery and it will get better. It's definitely not easy to leave him crying but now at least I know it's actually good for him and normal for his age. There were so many moms with kids Micah's age in the bible study. I am really excited to get to know some of them. We went around the room and told everyone our names and about our families. Of course I tried to make everyone laugh and said I have been a Hooker for almost 6 years... I think after 6 years of marriage I'm getting really good at being a Hooker... gosh that sounds really bad. After we introduced ourselves we went around and talked about prayer requests. I was getting myself ready and thought maybe I wouldn't cry. In my mind sometimes I think I'm stronger than I really am. It came around to me and I told everyone my story. How I'm still struggling with why it happened to me and hoping I can have more babies. It kept going around to the next person and I was happy I let it out (even though there were 30 women staring at me who I had never met before) one woman spoke directly to me and said she had an ectopic an now had a little 4 month old girl... and another woman said she had just had one and needed to go get tests (like I do) to make sure her tubes are working. Neither of them had a rupture like mine but could relate. The mom next to me that had skipped her turn before mine asked to speak after everyone was done. She said how she recently went through 2 miscarriages within the year and was praying she could conceive as well. I was a little shocked that she spoke up and said it, but I realized that I may have played a part in her sharing. I feel like I'm called to be outspoken and let my tears out for everyone to see. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm sad and hurting, but as I knew I would find out.. so were many of them. Just like me. 

After I picked M up from nursery I tried to get home as soon as I could. He went to sleep around 12:15 p.m. and then I had to wake him up at 1:45 p.m. to go to his doc appointment. Everything went well. He got a vaccine shot and a flu shot. He slept till about 6:15 p.m. and then we headed over to Leslie's house for dinner. He did well for a bit but then started to have a meltdown. Craig took him home and said he let out some gas and seemed to feel better. Needless so say he slept form 8:40 p.m. until 8:40 a.m. this morning. hahah We were both exhausted from the past two days. Now we are taking it easy (I'm making myself stay home)LOL 

Also...M is only 22 pounds. He is really slowing down now. Just getting taller everyday.

Love to you all