An Enlarged Heart

This is NOT a physical condition I have. Rather, it is an emotional one. The family went down to our new neighborhood last night to check on the progress of the house. Afterward, we played at the playground. As I sat and watched Mac and Nate run (sprint) down to the soccer goal, my heart swelled with pride. I just love watching Father and Son together. There is nothing better. You know how when you're little, you only have a few memories that are imprinted on your brain...just the really meaningful ones. I had to wonder if "racing to the soccer goal" would be one of those memories for Mac. You just NEVER know what they process and hold in their hearts.

We met a couple and their little boy while we were there playing. He is a little younger than Mac, but it was nice to see another "potential friend." She was pregnant too, due in June. Maybe a friend for Eli too.

I am SO looking forward to getting into our new house. Last night after feeding Eli at 3am, I took my obligatory "potty break," and had some "company." (I hope this doesn't gross you out." I was still in somewhat of a dreamy fog, and as I was grabbing for and ripping off the TP, I noticed something black fall off of it. OMG, a cockroach, and not a small one. Can you imagine if it HADN"T fallen off. TOO GROSS. Well, I jumped up, gasped for air, and tried not to scream so that I wouldn't wake everyone up. As I am walking out of the bathroom, I am reaching for the lightswitch to turn off the light, and there was his "bigger brother." AAHHHHHHHHHHHH! I couldn't hold that one in. Nathan, sleepily, (is that a word?) turns over and says "what's wrong." "C-c-c-c-cockroaches" I say. "Big ones." Now, the first one ran off, saving his own life. But this one was going nowhere. I found the hardest soled shoe I could find to end his life. "Say 'ello to my little friend." Whack! Got it! You really have to smoosh those suckers to kill them. It was as big as my thumb, I KID YOU NOT!!! So for the 3rd week in a row, I am having the pest control people come out. I may just hire Hands Pest Control to come down from Indiana. I know they actually work.

Eli found his hand today

We spent the day at the beach and when we got home around 3pm, I sat down to feed Eli. He is starting to get distracted and pull off, and when he did this time he found his hand. It was up by my collar bone, and he was looking up at me, then noticed his hand. He took it off of me and was waving it in the air, twisting his wrist back and forth and just watching. I said "You found something, didn't you?" And he looked in my eyes and smiled like he understood me.

A budding photo-journalist

Mac has become quite a photographer. He has a digital camera (FisherPrice) that he loves to use. I realized while downloading his pictures that my image will be caught more frequently now! I always seem to be behind the camera. Now, Mac is the sharpshooter.

Here are some of his finest shots.

GhiGhi at dinner Eli on his playmat Me getting a snack ready.

Milestones

It seems like in the last few days, the boys have hit some milestones. Mac has started using the potty again!!! Yippee!!! I have added potty training to my prayer list, because he has to be potty trained for school in September. Hey...It can't hurt. :) We are using a reward system that seems to be working...for now. Today, I told him to go potty before we went to the grocery (his diaper was already off.) The next thing I know, he is wiping the seat of the toilet and asking for help with the water in the sink. HOLY COW!! He just went on his own. As soon as he was finished he said, "M&M's Momma!" That is part of our reward system.
He is also talking more about his feelings. For example, we were driving next to a big dump truck, and we came to stop next to it. Mac said, "that scares me." I said "What does." " The dump truck." Basically, the noise bothered him. I was proud of him, because he has nevered verbalized an emotion like that before. I asked him if anything else scared him and he said "Hoosiers." and "Cubs" !!!! What, our two favorite teams. How could this be. Then we figured out, it was going to the actual games that scared him. He doesn't seem to like the big crowds. I can't say that I blame him.
Eli has started some developmental changes. He is starting to arch his back when laying down so he can look behind him. He also found his fingers. I almost croaked when I looked over and saw him sucking his two middle fingers, like Mac does. But Eli sucks his right hand. Go figure.? He is also grabbing at toys, like his rings and "crunchy, noisy" picture books. He also loves the chimes hanging off of his playmat arches. Again with the babbling, he has only increased his vocalizations. And all the Mom's say he has the sweetest smile. What a flirt! :) We are still getting up in the night, but, knock on wood, it has been better. Longer stretches. I put him down in his pack and play for a nap yesterday afternoon and he babbled and coo'd for at least 15 minutes. It was so sweet to hear.

Skype

We have a skype account now. And we have a webcam, so we can talk via videophone. Just email me for my user name or look me up on skype. It is so great!

The last few days

I think because I am trying to get out of the condo as much as possible (it's really an apartment!), we have done a lot of exploring over the past several days. I think it was Thursday night when we took a drive after work and drove down to St. Augustine so Nathan could drive up the A1A along the coast. While in St. Aug., we went to Vilano Beach where you can drive your car out onto the beach. It is really cool, but I can't say it will be a beach that we will go to relax by the ocean and run in and out of the water. It seems too "dangerous" for that. The sand isn't that soft and the waves are more like surf. We saw a couple of guys with their boards out there. The breaks are big and they come right up to the sand. Mac was a little nervous about the noise of it, and you could actually taste the salt on your lips because of the mist the waves created. We did meet a couple from Beech Grove though. That may have been the night when we got home, Dutch had torn up a bag of trash that I accidentally left in the kitchen. There was trash and food everywhere. I started to scold her, you know..."Bad dog, Dutchie. Bad girl." Then from behind me I hear Mac start in on her...screaming..."NO, NO DUTCHIE. YOU NO DO THAT 'GAIN. BAD GIRL DUTCHIE. NO, NO, NO, etc.etc." I couldn't believe. I thought to myself, where did he come up with that? Where did he hear that kind of tone? Where? Who> Wait a minute...Just as I came to the realization, Nathan so lovingly said "That is YOU." WHAT, NO! COULDN"T BE!!! I would never yell. I am not a yeller. Maybe I am a yeller. OH GOD, I YELL!!!! I don't want to be THAT Mom. So I am being more aware of my own tone with Mac and others.

We went to church with the president of Nathan's bank. Cindy and her husband Dan invited us to go. I was excited to see this church because we passed it the first time we were here in Jax for the interview. It was a nice service, but I want to see some different churches too. We then went to a country club for lunch with Cindy, Dan and another co-worker Tony and his wife Dianne. It was lovely. Eli slept, as usual, and Mac was pretty well behaved. I have to admit, I was nervous! They both went to the nursery and we had no problems there. Mac was happy to go and Eli was voted "the most perfect baby" by the ladies and gentleman in his room, because he slept, ate and slept some more with no crying. (I already knew he was the most perfect baby.) :)

Mac, Eli and I met with our playgroup again yesterday. We went to another park that is near here. More Mom's and kids were there this time. It was a lot of fun for Mac and Me. Again, Eli slept! Next week we go to the zoo. Mac wanted to go that day. It's hard to understand what a "week" is at 2.5.

Finally, I have been researching pre-schools. I think I am leaning toward a church based pre-school. Of the ones I have called and visited, there is one in particular that sticks out. And, they have ONE spot open for the fall for a Tues/Thurs. schedule. We are going to take it! And they have a Mom's Morning Out program too for kids over age 1. So I can put Eli there too one day so I can get my hair cut or go to the store. Yippee!!!

I must say, I knew that I was spoiled having family and friends around to help with the kids when I had an appointment. But, I didn't realize just HOW spoiled I was. It is tough not having family/friends around. I knew that it would be, but I didn't realize how tough.

Here are some pix:

Eli hamming it up. Mac and Daddy at the CC we joined.

Keep reading. I posted 2 today. ;)

Our House, In the middle of Our Street

OK, so here is the information on our house. We bought from a builder called Taylor Morrison, and you can go to their website to see the floorplan. http://www.taylormorrison.com/ Our floorplan is the Monticello with a bonus room upstairs and an office instead of a living room in the front of the house. We really think it will fit our needs, as it has 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths and the bonus room. It also has a 3 car garage. We will need that extra space for storage of all our stuff, i.e Nathan's 12 coolers, Mac's outdoor toys and my...well I don't have a lot of stuff! :) ha ha!! That is funny to the people who know me as a packrat!

Here are some pix:

This was 2 days ago.

This was today!!! Amazing the difference. They have the trim and the mesh on for the the stucco that should be added soon!!

A week with Uncle Eric and Aunt Stacey

We had a fun-filled week with Eric and Stacey, and Mac and Eli were sad to see them go. I took them to the airport and Mac said "Where they going?" I said, "Back home to Indiana" which made Mac reply "I want to go back to Indiana." So, No, he has not yet forgotten his friends and family back home. I am going to post some pix of the week, just the highlights. So I hope you all enjoy. But before I do, I want to chronical some thoughts I have had this week.

*"Oh $&#^%@**&#&, It is almost April 15th. Do we have our taxes done?"

*"Thank you LadyBird Johnson for your wild flower initiative. I love the flowers in the median of 9A just east of I95." They make me smile. They are red, pink, yellow, orange, and blue.

*"Eli is big. I think he just had a growth spurt, because his outfits with legs are getting too short."

*"Eli is babbling more. He started smiling at the end of February, cooing the first week of March and babbling a little this past week (April 6th). " If I don't get that down, I will forget, and that would be a shame.

*"Mac is really testing me at nap and bed times. I wish I could lock him in his room!"

Nathan took Mac to the beach with Eric and Stacey on Saturday while I stayed home with Eli. The report was that Mac actually went up to the water and got his feet wet. He was distracted by the activity of throwing seashells into the ocean. Distraction is good. It always makes things "hurt" less. I found that to be true in dentistry and in life.

Today, we met up with the Mom's we met last week at the park. Our outing was actually an "inning", as we went to an indoor play area where there are games and climbing areas and food. We won some tickets and "bought" our junk toy to bring home. He actually had a really good time. So did I. Only 2 other Moms were there, but that was OK. It gave us a chance to talk a bit. I must admit, I tried to talk myself out of going, just because I didn't feel like making small talk, but I forced myself to go because I knew I would be glad I did in the end, and I was.

Hmm, hard to recall the week. I am going to look through some pix to jog my memory.

Here are Eric and Stacey at the beach on the 2nd day they were here.

An uncle with his nephews. It was tight in our little 2 bedroom place, but we made the most of it. I think Eric and Stacey became immune to Mac's early morning wake up call. :)

Mmmmmmm! Peaunut Butter Pie from Singleton's Fish Shack!!!

"Something smells fishy here at Singleton's. Hey...I'm just sayin'. "

AAAWWW! Look at the happy family! :)

Daddy and Mac (Sorry about the sideways pix)

- and NO, Nathan is not naked! :)

So that was our week. OH YEAH! We are buying a house! :) We put earnest money down yesterday and plan to settle on a firm contract this weekend. Yey for us! It is being built right now, so it won't be ready until July-ish. I'll keep you posted. No pun intended! :)

Can't spell

I just realized I can't spell. Dinasoar? Let's try "dinosaur." :)

Son of a beach, that hurts...

Well today was " beach day." I must have become side-tracked when putting my sunscreen on today, and I completely missed my shins and tops of my feet. I even burned my toes!!! Yow!!! Mac was good-to-go though. I only missed a sliver on his back. And Eli, well...he doesn't really get to see the sun yet. :) Mac had a great time digging in the sand again today. It must be high tide because the beach was much smaller today than last week. I really need to learn about how the moon effects the sea. I forget how that works. I couldn't get him to go near the water today. He has developed a fear of it. Aunt Stacey and Uncle Eric are here too, and they couldn't get him passed his fear either. Baby steps. Eli slept pretty much the entire time we were there except for when he was hungry.
Speaking of hungry. Tonight, when he was ready to eat, I was finishing up my dinner. Nathan went to get him, and when he saw me, he locked his eyes on me. It was a little freaky. He was staring without blinking and never moved his eyes from me. I would say it was a good 3 minutes. I think he was trying to telepathically tell me to hurry up! He started to make me nervous. You know how it is when you know someone is looking at you? Nerve-racking. :)
Time to go lick my wounds.

Proud Mama

Do you remember sitting in elementary school or at the library during story time and the teacher or librarian holds the book up by her head so everyone can see the pictures? I secretly always thought that was pretty cool and wondered if they were taught that skill in college. (I know, I know...I'm an idiot, but still...) Well Mac decided to have his own story time for Eli tonight as we were getting ready for bed. The three of us were sitting on Mac's bed and Mac said HE wanted to read the books. (Ghi Ghi, MeMe, and Nonnee, you'll love this.) First he picked Potty Time, held it up by his head, like the teacher or librarian, announced the title, then....oh,oh,oh...change of plans. Definitely need to read "Dinasoar Book" first. (He comes up with his own titles. He was talking about "How Do Dinasoars Say Goodnight?" He "read" every page, almost word for word. He even uses the same inflection I use and whispers when I whisper specific words. Too cute. ---Now it is time for Potty Book-- Same thing. He picks up the book, announces it, then begins to "read". This time, he adds the "editorials" that I do when we talk about the pictures on the page. At the end of each book, there is a final "The End, Eli."
How cool to see him already teaching his brother. Eli really enjoyed it too. He was laser focused on Mac the entire time, then his eyes started getting heavy. (killed two birds with one stone.) I was as proud as a peacock tonight when I left his room.

Getting into the swing of things...

It's starting to get a little cramped in this 2 bedroom apartment. So I am trying to get the boys out in the mornings, at the very least. Yesterday was "Park Day." We went back to the park that Aunt Holly and I discovered last week. As I pulled up, the very thing I was hoping for, but also the very thing I feared, happened. The park was FULL of Moms and kids. "Why would you fear this?" you may be asking yourself. Well, I don't know if it's just me or if it is most women, but it his hard to break through that estrogen barrier when several women are together who know one another. (I just had the vision of the sperm trying to break into the egg. ha) Upon approach, high school feelings of inadequacy rush back into mind. It can be SO hard to just think of that one question, make that one observation, compliment just the right child's behavior, to get a reaction from a woman that isn't a closed response leaving you hanging in thin air. At the same time, I was really hoping that there would be people there, that I might make a connection of some sort here in Jax. (That's what we call it here in Jacksonville. ;) ) There was one woman there who seemed to be the most gregarious of all. (In actuality, she was probably just the most self-confident of her bunch. I now know that the others are nice people, but they too were probably thinking, "what will I say to that new girl?") She sat at the picnic table with one of her girls while I was feeding Eli. Truthfully, I don't know who spoke first, but once the barrier was broken, they all seemed to filter over toward us to talk. Funny how that is... I am sure that there is some sort of sociological experiment out there that can speak to just this kind of situation. Anyway, having said all of that, they invited me and the boys to join them every Monday when they meet for their "Park Day." They were even trying to recruit us to buy a house in their neighborhood! I willingly gave them my email address and look forward to spending more time with them. Did I mention that there were NO boys. I would guess there were 12 girls there (not counting Moms.) So Mac may be in for a serious wake up call. :)



Today was "Library Day." There is a public library just around the corner. The gregarious Mom from yesterday informed me about this library's story times. One happened to be today, so we loaded up the car and headed off. We got there 15 minutes before the library even opened, so we drove around and went through the St. John's Town Center. It is an open air shopping mall. Oh people....I don't even like to shop, and I am excited about the stores there. From Barnes and Noble to Banana Republic to Louis Vuitton to Claire's (save the best for last). ;) Looking forward to some visitors so I have a real excuse to go there. Anyway, story time was fine. Mac actually participated in the "crowd participation" story. I even think Eli had a great time. He had a good poop while he was there and couldn't wipe the gummy smile off of his face while he watched me do the "butterfly" dance with Mac and the other families. I also met the sweetest Russian lady who watches her grandson. She only speaks Russian to him and understands/speaks broken English. He spoke Russian to her as well. It is so neat to see bilingual toddlers. We spoke, and I found out her daughter is dentist. She gave me her numbers in case we would need a dentist or if I had any questions about hygiene in Florida. The daughter started out as a hygienist. Funny how you make those connections.



(Wow, this is a long post)



So, yesterday was a Naptime Battle Royale at Casa de Headley. Mac and I butted heads for 2 entire hours before he finally relented. Today was no different. That is not entirely true. It WAS different in that I didn't lose my temper today! :) But it did last another 2 hours before I finally thought to myself... "Self, there is more than one way to skin a cat." Spending the rest of the afternoon picking him up and putting him back in bed was not my idea of productive, so I loaded up the boys and we headed out on the open road for a "Car seat Siesta." I had been wanting to do some exploring, so this was the perfect time for it. We drove for almost 2 hours and both Mac and Eli slept most of the way. I found 2 big outlet malls and drove up the coast on the A1A coastal highway. Let me just say, coming across the intracoastal waterway bridge in St. Augustine, heading north, there is a point when the ocean bursts into view, and it is spriritual.

AAAHHHHHH, Peace...

My boys have been asleep for about an hour now (Nathan included) and I have finished my web searching (after this post). So I am sitting down with a book Holly left for me to read, My Sister's Keeper, by JOdi Picoult. I can't believe I am going to read for pleasure. Who has that kind of time?
We spent a long day house searching and think we may have found something we like (and it's in our price range.) I am not getting too excited about it yet. The little ones were great today while we searched. We left at 9am and got back to the apartment at 6pm!!! Mac slept in the car for about an hour and Eli, poor Eli, had to be fed in 3 different parking lots today! I still got big smiles out of him tonight, so he isn't too mad at us. :) Mac tested the "bedtime" waters tonight. Up and out of bed about 100 times. I wore him down, thanks to the SuperNanny's bedtime tips. :) I love her. Good ol' Jo Frost.
Hmmm...I better dive into my book before Eli wakes up for more food.
Ta for now.

Mac's first crableg experience

I know it is a blurry picture, but Mac ate crablegs for the first time tonight at Sliders by the beach. He really liked them. OK, it was probably the butter that he liked, but he ate them and wasn't afraid to hold them!!

To be honest, my first crableg experience was last night here at our apartment. Nathan, my gourmet husband, fixed crablegs, shrimp and fresh veggies in his new steamer. His brother Brett convinced him that the steamer was a piece of cookery that was essential for him, and I am glad Nathan took his suggestion to heart. Mmmmm Mmmmm good. I was amazed at how much I liked the crab. To be honest, Nathan's crab and shrimp was more superbly cooked than Sliders. Theirs was a bit overcooked. I am biased, however. :)

Mac's 1st Ocean Experience

We had dinner last night at the beach, and it was getting a little late. Mac was a bit squirmy at the table, so he and I left to go explore. About a block away from our restaurant was the Atlantic Ocean. So, I thought we would check it out. I was really excited to see what his reaction would be when he saw it. I wasn't disappointed. As we walked down the boardwalk toward the beach, and the ocean came into view, I heard him say, "ooh Mommy, sand castles." It was the purest form of amazement. I felt so fortunate to be able to experience it with him. Then...he felt the sand, and it was ON!!! He started digging and throwing sand everywhere.

I asked him if he wanted to go down to the ocean, and there was a resounding "NO." He wasn't quite ready to approach the crashing waves. In my mind, I was thinking, "maybe tomorrow." When it was time to go home, he defiantly picked up a handful of sand and marched back up the boardwalk. Aunt Holly asked what was in his hands and he replied, "a sand castle." Like, duh! Of course it is a sand castle. :)

Today, we headed back to the beach to REALLY build a sand castle. The skies were blue with big, white, puffy clouds. There was a steady breeze. And, once again, Mac was excited to be at the ocean. This time, he was braver. He actually walked all the way down to the water and got his feet wet. He loved the seagulls, the sand, and the sun.

As I watched him digging in the sand, I couldn't help but think about how much he loved the sandbox at Kelly's house (his teacher.) I told him, this is just like Kelly's sandbox, just much, much bigger! I think the mention of Kelly made him think about school and his friends. I think that, because out of the blue, he sat in the sand and said, "It's Circle Time, Mommy." Circle Time is an educational time at Kelly's house. So I took the opportunity and we went over our shapes by drawing them in the sand.

Today was Eli's first experience at the beach. I was the "protective mother" and kept him pretty sheltered from the sun, as you can see below.

His day wasn't as "exciting" as Mac's, but he was very alert and loved his day at the beach. He didn't sleep a wink for the entire 3 hours we were there. No tears either!!!

All in all, it was a great day!

We Made It!!

OK, we're here. We made it to Florida last night around 9:45pm. It was an interesting plane ride that was made much easier by having my sister-in-law, Holly, with me and the boys. To recap the ride, I started it with a sinus infection that created some righteous ear pain, then we hit some turbulence over Georgia that made me a bit nervous. Finally, we landed and we were the last people off the plane, and I think the fever made me delerious, because I was convinced our stroller had been broken. (It hadn't.) (nice run-0n sentence) :) Sorry Mom.
That was my experience. Mac's was quite different. This was his very first plane ride, and he did great. We ran some laps in the Indianapolis airport to burn some energy, picked out our favorite plane color (and we were pleased when we got to actually ride on the blue plane) and played with our Penguin puzzle. (Thanks Jennifer Johnson) When we hit the turbulence, Mac thought it was "fun" and "cool." No fear. Holly read more Thomas books than I am sure she cared to, and Eli slept. Angel.
The first thing Mac said when I was tucking him into his new, albeit temporary, bed was "I want to go home." Ugh. Heartbreak #1. He slept well, but was up early. Let's just say his bed time tonight was 5:30pm. And, no. It was not imposed by me! :) He fell asleep in the car and never made a peep after being put to bed by his Daddy. Earlier in the day, after sneaking up on a sun-bathing Aunt Holly for the umpteenth time, he slipped and fell off of a curb and got a nice strawberry on his knee. That episode immediately prompted "I want to go home." Heartbreak #2.
It wasn't all heartbreak. He had fun running around in the grass and watching videos and going to pick up Daddy from work. It will be nice to get our toys from the UPS guy tomorrow. Maybe we'll hit the beach if it doesn't rain, as forecast.

A New Day, A New Blog

Below is a copy of what my first blog entry said on another blog site. It, however, wasn't user friendly (at least for me), so I switched to this site. I posted it on March 26th. Enjoy reading.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life! How true and prophetic. I watched my husband leave our home for the last time this morning. He is on his way to our new home in the deep south to start a new phase of our lives. We are leaving the midwest, away from our family and friends to plant our "tree" in a new state. I know that I will miss our family and friends who are such a HUGE support to us. But as much as I am sure about that, I am as sure that we will build new relationships with new friends, not to replace the old, but to add to them.
This blog and web page is my attempt to keep those "old" friends (and I don't mean in age ) close to us, if not in proximity, then in thought. I am really looking forward to corresponding with you all through this site, so I hope you add us to your "favorites" list and check on us often.
Now, I know me. The novelty of this site will keep me really interested in posting for the first few weeks. I hope I don't fall into an old habit. I tend to go gung-ho in the beginning of a new project, then it fails to be a priority for me, and it falls by the way-side. My vow is to NOT let that happen with this site. I truly feel like I owe it to you all to keep you informed about the boys. So, you are my "accountability" that I need to keep me motivated to post regularly. Now, if you could only hold me accountable to an exercise regimin!
OK, enough for now. Once I have access to our pictures (Nathan took the laptop), I will add pictures to the site. Just keep checking!
Em