Welcome to the family, Jack Michael!

On January 13, 2012, at 11:59am, Justin, Daniel, and I got a sweet little 5lb 6oz/19 inch surprise!

{Jack Michael}

 



Jack Michael made his debut a whopping two months early!  He came out crying, which was a fantastic sign, but his little lungs still needed time to mature, so he camped out in the NICU for almost a month.

 

The NICU nurses are paranoid of germs (who can blame them - they're protecting our babies), so Daniel did not get to meet his baby brother until we brought him home.  I took a small video (shhhh, the nurses didn't know) so that Daniel could see Jack moving around and Daniel watched that video over, and over, and over.....

 {Brothers}

 

Daniel is adjusting well to life as a big brother!  I will catch him holding Jack's hand in the car when Jack is crying, and when he introduces Jack, he says, "This is my little brother, wanna touch him?" 

{This is Jack mimicking my expression when Daniel invites strangers to touch his little brother, lol}

 

We are slowly but surely re-adjusting to life with a baby at  night, but, during the daytime, life with a baby and a toddler is a whole new ball game!  Although challenging, we are LOVING it!

 

Welcome to the chaos, Jack Michael!  We are so glad to have you along for the ride!

The Big Boy Bed

Tonight's the night! As I type this post, our little Dapper Doodle is drifting off to sleep in his big boy bed!!!

He went to school all day, then he came home to help Daddy build his bed...

They make a great team, although DAP figured out, rather quickly, that Daddy's tools were way more exciting than his, lol

Daddy and I watched him over the baby monitor for about 15 minutes, and he was almost asleep.

We are so proud of our little boy!

Fishin' Momma, Fishin'

We didn't think DAP knew anything about fishing.....until he came down the hall, fishing pole in hand, headed for the back door. 

Somehow the fishing pole made it past 2 ceiling fans and through 4 doorways in one piece!

He kept saying, "Fishin' Momma, Fishin'.  Bye bye!".  I wish I could have gotten that with the camera!

Bimini Bread

I brought the recipe for Bimini Bread home from a trip to Bimini last summer....and I tried again, and again, and again, and agin to duplicate it at home. 

Soon conquering the Bimini Bread recipe became an obsession!  What was grandma's trick?!  What did I miss when she was teaching me?!

Perhaps this little Doodle Bug had me a little distracted from my Bimini Bread lesson....?

I was about to throw in the dishtowel and beg Grandma to show me again, but on my 30th birthday, it rose!  I finally got it right (8 months later)! 

Waking at 5 am is hard, especially on the weekend, but this Saturday I was able to get my sleepy head out of bed to make some bread!

And boy, was it yummy!

Nanny

When I reflect on the women in my life, I am awestruck at all the beautiful, strong examples that I have been blessed to witness.  I recently posted about my mom and grandmother, and today I post about my Nanny.

My Nanny, Ruth Richardson, passed away last Tuesday, and her funeral was today.  Funerals are never easy, but it's refreshing to go to a funeral that celebrates a long, well lived life. 

I had a dream that a sweet little old lady was trying desperately to get my attention.  I sat down with her and she told me that my Nanny wanted me to remember to, "love yer babies". 

She was a very special lady, and her life was a message of love.

She loved all her "chickadees" with a sweet, un-failing, selfless, simple, and unconditional love.

Thank you, Nanny, for teaching me how to live and how to love.  I will call on your example of how to "love yer children", and I pray that your example will live on through me and that my little Dapper Doodle will feel as loved in my arms as I did in yours!

*Milestone Alert*

Justin caught his first Tarpon!!!!



A Certain Little Someone

A certain little someone had a very important day, and very important days call for very special outfits!

This little jon jon is white dotted swiss fabric with 6 little mussel buttons (one on each shoulder and two on each side) which are a nod to his mommy's love for all things coastal.

Isn't the criss-cross back too cute for words?!

It took everything in me not to monogram it. The only thing that stopped me was the thought of his future siblings (and maybe their children) wearing the very same special outfit on their own very important day.

I am so honored that his mommy accpeted my offer to make this outfit for him! It was my pleasure to get lost in sewing and praying for this handsome young man!

We love you Jackson!