Mica – The May Nest

December 21, 2010

in Love.

i’m simply in Love right now.

jax, your 10,000 watt smile steals my heart about 537 times a day. and the fact that you created your own sign to tell me you want to play the “wheels on the bus” app also makes my heart want to leap out of my chest. and of course, our dance parties in the car. it was totally worth it today when the starbucks dude at the drive through said, “i saw your dance moves when you thought i wasn’t looking”.

mads, the fact that you hold your hands over your eyes to go to sleep makes me want to get you an eye mask. unfort. that would be frowned upon in the proverbial baby “sleep safely” communities. and the fact that you prefer to stand up. at 5 months. and i love that you bust out laughing when your brother or ella dog heads towards you. you are one social creature, my dear, and i love that you are always ready for a party.

husband. we are setting our alarms tonight for 1:45am so we can see the lunar eclipse. of course, it’s midnight and we still aren’t in bed and i’d much rather stay UP and watch a movie, but alas, i’m sure we’ll settle in bed right at 1am and then i’ll want to kill you for waking me up right when i get to that good part of my dreams. i love you for that.

just sayin’.

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August 25, 2010

dear jackson.

my little jackson.

tomorrow you start school at RISE.

some days i laugh because i’m so excited about all you will learn, and others i cry because i know i will miss you something fierce.

i have so many things i want to tell you and explain to you, but you are still too little to understand. maybe, one day, we can look back at them together, if you get curious why we started you so young.

your daddy and i have been on our knees in prayer that this is the right decision for us (you!) and we really feel like the RISE school is God’s perfect place for you.

i am hopeful that . . .

you will meet some of your first friends at RISE

you will be challenged in ways i cannot challenge you

you will learn how to interact with other kids

you will be taught that entire other worlds exists besides our home

you will gain experiences apart from me that will inspire confidence in you

you will experience therapies each week (speech, OT and music) that will spur your fine and gross motor skills

you will feel LOVED exactly as you are!

you will find rest when you come back at home to me

you will be taught things i would have never thought to teach you

you will flourish in an environment created especially for you

i am fearful that . . .

you will miss me terribly and won’t be able to understand why i have left you in such a strange place

you will think i don’t love you or want to be with you all day

you will be jealous of my time with madelyn

you will wonder if i chose to put you in school so i could work

you will have long lasting (attachment) effects from my not being with you all day every day at such a young age

you will be overwhelmed with all the stimulation and activity

you can’t communicate about how your day was

you won’t flourish in this environment and it will be a setback somehow

however, i am trusting the Lord to fill in the gaps where my faith is weak.

the things i know for sure . . .

you could not be MORE loved by us, our family and our friends

you have the sweetest demeanor of anyone i’ve ever met

your smile lights up a room and makes my heart swell with pride

your wild man hair is simply irrisistable

your love of music probably means you are going to inspire the world with your undiscovered talent

you are capable of incredible things

you constantly surprise me with your wit

your curious nature will likely get you in trouble in the coming months

you love to learn

you have a genuine love for others

for the past 18 months, i have not only been your mother, i’ve been your advocate. your encourager. your occupational therapist. your speech therapist. your teacher. your nurse. your facilitator. your music teacher. your challenger. your helper.

what i am excited about for ME about you going to the RISE school is that it will allow me to step back and just be your mommy.

of course, i will still do any and everything to continue to set you up for success in every way i know how, but i can take a deep breath and just be your mommy!

we can read books! make play dough! draw pictures on your bedroom (chalkboard) walls! roll around in the grass! go to museums! be silly with your sister! take coffee to your daddy at work! make forts in the living room! ohhh the things we will do together.

jackson, we are on an adventure, you and me. a lifelong adventure. and it’s just the beginning . . .

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August 16, 2010

dear husband: happy 30th to you!

well my love, you’ve officially not young anymore.

30 years old = a wife, a mortgage, a doggie and 2 kiddos – are you tired yet!?

there are SO many things i love about you, but i wanted to highlight 30 . . .

1. those big blue eyes.

2. the amount of TOMS shoes in your closet right now.

3. your need for alone time {which usually means playing games on your iphone}

4. coffee time at 3 {with me?!}

5. your love for people

6. your need for meat at every meal besides breakfast {chicken IS the most effective form of protein, you know . . . }

7. your ability to dream with me and let me fly my kite

8. you are my babies’ daddy!

9. love your generous heart. LOVE it.

10. you consider dinner and wine with great friends “church”, and that’s a beautiful thing.

11. love your hilarious laughter at all things doobybrain

12. your love {and respect} for your family

13. how wonderful you are at your job

14. you try to come home and eat lunch with me and the kids every day! {maybe just because it’s free, but hey, i’ll take it . . . }

15. the fact that you keep me cool. thanks for always keeping me abreast of all things new.

16. that you brush your teeth for the full amount of time {no less!!} that sonicare provides.

17. your ability to tune everything out and just relax.

18. love that you need your sandwiches pressed in order to eat them

19. LOVE how you wrestle with jackson

20. your passion for music

21. your crazy dance moves

22. your uncanny ability to recite entire quotes after only hearing them once

23. that you remember all the details of a movie you saw 10 years ago {and your patience with me asking a million questions}

24. your salt and pepper hair

25. how you love on “the fellas”

26. your love of history

27. love that we call/text/email throughout the day when we are apart

28. love that you can’t wait to take jackson to school every morning

29. that without fail, on date night you say, “how about La Duni!?” . . . every time. glad it’s our favorite restaurant in Dallas!

30. you still love me with all my faults and quirks.

happy 30th to the love of my life. i’m so thankful to spend every day with you.

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July 27, 2010

bump diary: chapter 40

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bump diary: chapter 39

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June 29, 2010

a clean nursery for now . . .

i was going to wait and take pictures of the nursery later {not sure why} but then decided it will probably NEVER be as clean and organized as it is tonight! i tried to have a little fun with it . . .

we really wanted to keep a guest bed in the room – we absolutely LOVE to host our friends and moms! SO, we squeezed it all in, and i think it works! one thing we were worried about is finding room for the huge (and amazingly comfortable glider) we had for Jackson, but it simply wouldn’t fit with any configuration. i recovered this wing back i got on the side of the road for $5 a few months back (yay!) for our living room, and on a whim, asked husband to drag it in and see if it worked . . . it’s perfect!! it doesn’t glide, but it’s super cozy and will be a great nursing/sleeping chair.

the bedding/bumper for the crib is by Dwell Studio, the charlotte pattern. i wanted it before i knew jackson was a boy (!) so it’s a design from a few years ago, which is discontinued now. i was simply in love with the color scheme, and as soon as we knew we were having a girl, i hunted it down (thank you craigslist friend from oklahoma!!) then i called about 40 stores (yes, i know it’s ridiculous) to find those giant storage bins to match . . . one random store had one with an “ugly display” and i said, i’ll take both please!! i love those bins.

i wanted a little place to put her bows/headbands, etc. where i could easily reach them from her changing table, so i repurposed an old gold frame my dad had given me years ago. i just painted it the same color as the pink wall (but semi gloss) and then stapled white ribbon across the back of the frame to attach everything on to!

this butterfly mobile above the crib is from pottery barn kids, and when i saw it, i just fell in love with it. however, the “i can do that” pride came out and instead of buying it, i took a bunch of pictures of it in the store and counted the butterflies, etc. and decided to make my OWN mobile. but with birds!! i carefully cut out over 80 white birds (FAIL! they wouldn’t hang right and looked like bats) then i tried using these weird white fake flowers (FAIL! looked cheap and ugly) and after those two failed attempts, i trekked back to PB kids to take another look at how theirs was made and remembered i had a gift card for the exact amount as the mobile . . . so i just broke down and bought it.

then, the next day i was at michaels buying stuff to fix the frame for the bows, and right there at the checkout were these PERFECT little teal paper flowers and i thought, now THOSE would work for the mobile!! so i bought them and just decided to try one more attempt and see how i liked it. i simply loved both and decided, what the heck, if it’s a little whimsy with two chandelier mobiles, that’s OK.

anyway, i love being in this room, and it’s purely functional for what we need for the first several months. there is lots of room to play in jackson’s room next door, so i’m sure that aside from nursing, changing and sleeping, we’ll be hanging out in big brother’s room a lot!!

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bump diary: chapter thirty eight

sweet little girly girl. i just can’t believe i get to meet you in just another day!! i got my hair cut, (whew it was looking crazy there for a while!), i’m getting my nails and toes done today and your nursery is completely ready for you. it’s so restful in your room, i can’t wait for you to see it! my bag is packed, the house is clean and my work clients know you will be here soon . . .