Happy Birthday to Me

Well, I guess I am officially "in my 30s" now? At least it feels that way since I turned 31 on Sunday. It's no big deal to me though. Maybe it will be harder when I turn 40?! It's just kind of sad the older I get the less my birthday has that "special day" feeling like it did when I was a kid.

I came down with some funky virus on Friday the 15th and as the following week progressed I got increasingly worse, Tuesday being spent almost entirely on the couch. Then Wednesday Tennyson woke up at 4:00am with a high fever. I was so bummed for him, but also because I began to picture my birthday weekend being sick and having to take care of a sick little one. While Tennyson and I still have a nasty cough and a runny noses it didn't slow down the birthday festivities.

Once again Tennyson somehow knew it was a special day and slept all the way until 8:30am on my birthday! Since we were still under the weather we couldn't go to church. (You are not supposed to leave a child in the nursery who has a cough or runny nose, though parents do it all the time, I am a rule-follower.) So instead Tom, Tennyson, and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Yum! It was nice to have a hearty, warm breakfast when my usual fare is cereal. :-)

Though it was the first time all week I didn't get to take a nap, I did relax while Tennyson napped. Well, I kind of had to since Tom kept saying, "Sit down. Stop cleaning. It's your birthday." Tennyson woke up about 10 til 5:00 so we rushed out the door to meet my parents, sister, Dawn, and her 2 youngest at Hank's Smokehouse for dinner. I forgot how long it takes to get there, but the food was yum-my! Then we headed back to my parents' for mom's homemade carrot cake. Also de-licious!

Me and my boy at Hank's

Helping me blow out the candles

The BIG family party was Monday night though, since several of my family members were gone over the weekend. Almost all my local fam was there to help me celebrate. We had a good time! The best part was that all 6 of my siblings chipped in and bought me a Western Digital 1TB harddrive. That's right, baby! It can store up to 285,000 photos and 400 hours of video! It's nice knowing that Tennyson's entire documented life will be safe now!

Thanks to everyone who remembered my birthday and helped to make it a special day! I felt the love!

Thoughts from a Wondering Mother

So I have been thinking a lot lately about how life is going to change with the addition of our second baby this summer. Obviously there are logisitics to work out: when to transition Tennyson out of the crib (of course, he's been able to climb out of it for months now), how to teach him gentleness with his little brother, how I am going to get through my day with little sleep (at first) and take care of a 2-year old, and how to juggle the needs of a newborn on top of watching kids, bookkeeping, and everything that goes into running a household. But most of all I worry about Tennyson.

I know every mother in this situation thinks the same thing. How is my firstborn going to react to not being the only child anymore? Will he start to misbehave for attention? Will he love his brother? Will they be best friends for life? How can I possibly love another one as much as I love Tennyson? It may sound bad, but honestly, that's what I am worried about. But I know when I see his little face for the first time and hold him in my arms it will be just like it was with Tennyson. Pure, unconditional love. And somehow I will love them BOTH with all my heart.

I don't know how many more times (if any) I'll get pregnant, so I am taking the time to treasure this baby's kicks in the womb, enjoy the last few months with our little family of three, and not rush through my days. Once they are gone you can't get them back. And someday......I just might wish for that.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Noodle Casserole

Okay, I know that I am missing a photo......You see, I was nice enough to "let" Tom take the camera on his 3-day trip to DC the week before last. So when I made this dish I literally couldn't take a picture of it. And since I was sick all last week, there was NO cooking going on in this house! So there you have it, a photo-less recipe entry. It pretty much looked like your normal, everyday chicken casserole, but it sure was yummy!

CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried savory, thyme, or basil
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
8 ounces wide egg noodles or spaghetti, cooked and drained

How to Make It:
1) In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add the broth, carrots, celery and savory. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2) Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over chicken mixture. Add noodles; mix well.
3) Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

Instead of just carrots I used a couple scoops of those always-in-our-freezer organic mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas, and corn). The only other alteration I would make next time is to add more cheese in the sauce and/or on the top before baking. You can't go wrong with more cheese!

Filling in the Gap

Here are the rest of the photos I wanted to share (from 5.2 to 5.21). However, I am not caught up for long because yesterday was my 31st birthday, so there's another post..... But hey, at least I am not behind anymore!

This was taken at the BRCS Bear-a-Fair (5.2). Tennyson always gets this terrified look on his face when he goes down the slide but he always wants to do it again and again.

Looking out the window - probably at the robins

A very favorite pastime - drawing (notice his little feet) :-)

When we tell Tennyson to make his "funny face" this is what he does! Haha!

Just chillin' on the deck....with some keys

He had a high fever when I took this, but he's still smiling!

He was squatting but then jumped up right before I took the picture.

A self-portrait of us the morning Daddy left for D.C. (5.13)

Yes, he wears a bowl for a hat around the house

Taken on Mother's Day - my two cute men!

In addition to the photos there are few other highlights I have been meaning to document:

~Tennyson officially called me "Mommy" instead of "Mama" for the first time on April 8th. It was kind of a bittersweet moment since it felt like it was a more "grown-up" name for him to call me. But sometimes he stills calls me Mama.

~It seems like Tennyson learns to say a new word every day. It's so surreal that we can actually have a conversation with him now and not that long ago he was just our little baby. Some of the newest words he says are: medicine, raisins, draw, ant, smack, juice, racing, snack, bike, oranges, radio, box, banana, snake, turtle, small, tractor, and train. Speaking of trains, I mentioned how much he loves to watch "Thomas the Tank Engine," and he can also say: Diesel, Percy, Henry, Duck, Gordon, Thomas ("Miss"), Boco, James, and Edward. Not bad, huh?! And of course there is the "Toy Story" crew: Buzz, Woody ("Wee Wee"), Jesse, and Rex.

~Tennyson has really been showing an interest in numbers. Right now he thinks every number he sees is an 8. But he can count to three and loves when we count all his toes. When we get to "9" he loudly yells out "10!"

~And Tennyson asks Daddy every day about mowing. He follows him from window to window all over the house so he can see him at all times. It's so cute! Tom keeps joking that one day soon it will be his job, so it's a good thing he's so fascinated by it.

Whew! I think that's everything....for now. I try to keep a running list of things Tennyson says or does so I can remember to document them on the blog. It will be fun to see what he comes up with next! He definitely keeps us busy!

Playing Catch-up

Well, I am finally getting around to posting some favorite photos from last month (yes, I am that far behind), and they are, of course, mostly of our little guy. Not everyone I know is on Facebook, so I have to remember to keep up the blog with photos, too! Also I prefer not to do them in slideshow format because some people don't take the time to sit and look at them all. I know because I am one of "those" people. :-)

These are from 4.12 to 4.25. Maybe tomorrow I'll get caught up to May 25th? Just maybe.

Tennyson watching Daddy go out to the car for something ( taken Easter Sunday)

Yes, he has a black eye (from a slight...altercation with one of the kids I keep).

Getting some love from Da Mama

I love his expression!

Genuine laughter!

I just don't even know what to say about this one.

"Da plane. Da plane."
No, I think he really was pointing at one.

A favorite pose of his, hands clasped behind his back

Oh, those baby blues!

Throwing a rather heavy ball over his head

With Pet-Daddy

His scowling face and one we see often. It's so funny!

A Day for Me

I so enjoyed my second Mother's Day this year (2007 was more of a Mother's-to-Be Day for me). I LOVE that Mother's Day pertains to me now! Even after almost 22 months it's still surreal sometimes. That I am actually someone's mother!

Tennyson gave me a great gift and slept until 8:30 that morning, well past his usual wake-up time of 7(ish). I had told Tom earlier that week all I wanted were flowers, Mexican food, and a nap. Yes, I really am that easy to please! No high-maintenance girl here! Tom bought me some beautiful flowers the day before Mother's Day and I just threw them out about 4 days ago!

We headed to church that morning and then to El Charros for some yummy Mexican food. I really wanted to get some good pictures of me with my little man, so when we got home from lunch Tom took a bunch of Tennyson and I together. Then it was Family Naptime. Ahhh, it was a wonderful thing. Then later that afternoon we headed over to my parents' for a cookout since that was what my mom wanted for her special day. Not all of my siblings and their families were there, but we still had a small crowd of 14. (Tennyson ended up coming down with a fever after his nap that day, so we cut the festivities a little short.)

So all in all it was a low-key but special day. I am already looking forward to next year when I will have TWO boys to celebrate with!

He Doesn't Walk Anywhere

*I started this post on the 14th, but can't seem to find the time to sit down, edit photos, and post them, at least not this past weekend. I haven't been feeling well (nasty cough on top of some moderately bad belly/stretching pain), so I have been on the couch the whole weekend. Hopefully I will find the time to post more photos soon because we've taken lots of sweet boy lately.*

Tennyson has one speed and it's fast. From the moment he wakes up until his little baby feet are in bed, Tennyson is on.the.go. When he started walking shortly before his first birthday he was literally running 10 days later. No joke. You think I would have gotten some kind of idea how exhausting it was going to be to chase him around 24/7. Despite being pregnant with baby #2 (and therefore tiring more easily), I love trying to keep up with Tennyson! He's so full of life and energy and love. Tennyson delights in giving us (and his relatives) kisses - right on the mouth, no less! He has developed such a great sense of humor and is like his Mommy because he's a sucker for slap-stick.

I definitely keep tabs on how much t.v. he watches, but he loves Curious George, and his favorite movies are "Lady and the Tramp," "Cinderella," "Toy Story 1&2," "Peter Pan," and "Cars." I have to admit that it's nice that he's old enough now where I can put a movie in so I can take a shower, clean, or just get a much needed break. (Come on, you know you do it, too!) ;-) But more than anything he l-o-v-e-s "Thomas the Tank Engine," especially the grumpy engine, Diesel. I think it's a right of passage for every little boy. Tom and I used to say that it would be so cute if he loved trains when he got older and sure enough he does. Well, like any little boy he loves anything with wheels and, of course, makes noise: airplanes, trucks, helicopters, buses, fire engines, boats, etc. He gets such a thrill when we hop on the interstate he sees all the trucks! Gotta love cheap entertainment!

There are several things I want to document about our little man while it's still fresh in my mind. As parents we think, "Oh, I'll remember this moment forever." And some of it I will, but I know as our family grows, and life gets more hectic it may just not be possible.

~Tennyson always makes sure to hold our hands when we pray over a meal and for his nightly prayers. It was so precious when my parents where over for dinner one night and he reached for my Dad's hand. Tennyson will close his eyes for a second and then he just watches our faces while Tom prays. It really is quite adorable!

~ He loves to take Daddy (and sometimes Mommy) by the finger and show us what he wants. Therefore I coined the nickname "Pet-Daddy" because he leads Tom all around the house. He used to do this a lot more, but now that his vocabulary is so extensive he can usually just tells us what he wants.

~ Considering that I have 6 siblings, 5 brother/sister-in-laws, several nephews, and a niece Tennyson has done really well mastering some of their names: Lynley, Dan, Jordan, Hannah ("Hannie"), Nana, Courtney ("Ney"), Dawn, and Mark. When we were at my parent's house on Sunday for a Mother's Day cookout Tennyson walked over to my Dad, pointed at him, and said "Pop-pop." No one has ever called him that. He just made it up! We are all hoping it sticks because it's just such a sweet "Grandpa" name.

~ But probably the cutest thing of all he started doing is saying his own name. Last week I asked him what his name was and he pointed at his chest with both hands and loudly proclaimed, "Ness." It took me a minute to realize why he said that, but he was saying (Ten)NYS(on). I mean really, how cute is that?

I could go on and on about how Tennyson has changed our lives. How precious it is to get him out of his crib and experience his excitement every time he sees us. How his sweet, little voice and his laughter fill our home. How unbelievably special it is when wraps his arms around our necks and hugs us. How cute it is to just watch him play, making those "boy" noises. Hearing his little feet slapping on the kitchen floor as he runs. Seeing him jump up and down with excitement when Daddy gets home every day from work. But I don't think I can adequately describe how much we love him. There are just no words for that. What a sweet, special little boy we have been given.