Pumpkin fun.

The weather has been so perfect lately we've been spending most of our time outside. I was trying to think of something fun Breyton and I could do, so I got a pumpkin the other day so we could attempt to carve it together.
Attempt. A keyword here.
I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was a kid, but figured it was pretty easy and somewhat messy which I knew B would like. Not sure if it was the pumpkin I got or what, but when we tried to cut in to it we couldn't because the skin was ridiculously tough and hard as a rock. Therefore we had to change up the plan a little, but I think B had just as much fun this way, until we try again.....we will successfully carve a pumpkin this fall! Maybe we have to put Mason in charge so there's a little more muscle behind the knife, but I dont think anyone could have cut into yesterday's pumpkin. We even tried throwing it down on the concrete as hard as we could to bust it for entertainment at least...still didn't budge.
I ended up drawing a face on it and letting Breyton color on it with crayon(which works surprisingly well) because finger paints don't work and didn't think spray paint was a good idea:D All in all the pumpkin adventure took up a good amount of time and the original purpose was fulfilled...we were entertained!

I can be a mess:)

It's really crazy sometimes how clumsy I am. This would be a trait I hope B doesnt get from me! It's just a joke between Mason and I now when I spill or knock over things while fixing dinner..something that is just expected=D. Today however was one of the worst messes Ive made in a while and since there's noone else to blame I got to clean it up all by myself. Started with B's usual request (that he makes all day) and thats to "go outside". I also knew it was close to lunch, so decided to take some lunch outside with us to eat. I heated up some vegetable soup that B will sometimes eat, one of my few futile attempts to get him to eat some veggies, and out the door we went. Right before I could sit down on the porch he's screaming for the garage to be open, so I head to the car to hit the button for him. I of course set the bowl full of soup on the dash and for no other reason than pure clumsiness when I picked it up my hand slipped......there was soup EVERYWHERE in the car...stearing wheel, stereo, the seat, in between the seats and console, the carpet on the floor, and lastly all over my lap. Ughhh, this was not fun to clean up, took forever, and we still had no lunch. Oh and did I mention our car will now smell like soup for the next few days...yummy.

"Don't want it"

Its hard to keep up with all the new words and phrases B learns each week. The new phrase I repeatedly hear all day is "don want it' aka don't want it. Or also popular is 'I need ---' fill in the blank. Right now with its newness its pretty cute when he says these things, but I'll see how long that lasts!
 Monday in the grocery store checkout he spots the gum section and says over and over "I need num, I need num!"(gum)...we ended up buying another pack of gum because this one just wasn't worth the fight.=D
Back to the 'don want it'....this phrase is used all day for just about anything whether it be food I offered him, show on tv, toys, etc. When he's done with anything he hands it to me with a 'don want it'.
I was thinking today when B was saying he NEEDED something that he couldn't have how similar it is when we ask our heavenly Father for something we 'think' we NEED. As a parent I really just want the best for B and even though it makes him unhappy quite often I say 'no' a lot.
But, truthfully its not about what makes our children happy in the moment its about whats best for them in the big picture. There's been a lot of trials I've been handed where I just want to say 'dont want it! I'm done, let's try something else God" because it's just not what I've had planned. Been having plenty of moments with God lately wondering why certain things are happening in my own life, with close family, and in close friends lives....kind of wanting to have my own temper tantrum that its just not fair!!! Just like I cant explain to my two year old why he has to take a nap or cant have more candy....I cant understand God's ways because my view is too limited of the big picture and frankly his ways are higher than my ways. Thankfully I have a glimpse of Christ's love for me by knowing just how much I love B, so I know without a doubt even when it hurts that God just truly wants the best for me, his child. I've learned that being a Christian doesn't make bad things not happen, but he does promise a peace that surpasses all understanding and God's highest concern isn't that I'm happy, but that I'm holy. I just need to stay focused on the prince of peace and realize any small trials I'm faced with are to shape me into who He made me to be. I love this quote, "When we see God for who he is, we see our problems for what they are. Small God – big problems. Big God – small problems."

My love for adoption.

Do you ever have those days where your heart is so heavy for the world? Ive been having a lot of those lately. Sometimes the suffering that goes on around us seems too much for my heart to bear. I dont know why I let myself dwell on these things...sometimes I wish I had a less compassionate mind, so I wouldn't be so deeply affected by the evils of this world. Many of you  know how big of a heart I have for children, specifically orphans, but they have always been something God has placed on my heart for as long as I can remember. As I watch Breyton grow and realize just how much he needs me and depends on my love I cant help, but think about all the babies who don't have a home. I look forward to the day when the time is right for Mason and I to add a child to our family through adoption, but in the mean time I can get too caught up in the horrible things happening to sweet innocent children who just need someone to love them. The reality is I'll never be able to 'save' all the children in the world. It sucks, but its true.
I'm trying to spend more time focusing on how God has the ultimate plan and one day He will bring justice for all that has happened on this earth.  We will however have the opportunity to make a difference in some child's life. I was reading a blog about adoption earlier and came across the statistics that Ive seen before but had forgotten: "that if only 3% of the world's self professed Christians
adopted a child, there would be no more orphans in the world. That if only one family out of each church in
our country adopted one child from foster care, there would be no more adoptable foster children in America.
And yet most Christians don't adopt. Many - dare I say most? - churches don't do one thing to protect the fatherless in America or anywhere else. The result: there are still approximately 143 million orphans in the world, and over 120,000 orphans in America (in addition to another half million foster children ineligible for adoption.)"
That just blows me away that if we as children of God we're doing what God commanded us to do then there wouldn't have to be the 'fatherless'. I know I cant tell everyone they should adopt and maybe not all are called to, but consider that God commanded us to care for the orphans.That means anyone who is a born again Christian should be taking some part in making sure orphans are taken care of.  Im not doubting that adoption will be a hard road, but thankfully I do know that God will  be there every step of the way. We are so blessed to have a heavenly Father who 'adopted' us as children of God...seems so obvious the least we could do is show that same love back.

Man, this has been a crazy week! I have had some sleepless nights with my little booger fighting bedtime and waking up several times a night....thinking as of tonight I've narrowed down the problem to his 2 year molars are coming in! I will be so glad when they get through because we will  be completely done with teething for awhile, praise God! My little angel is in bed hopefully to catch up on some lost sleep and I'm going to be close behind......However, Mason and I are looking forward to a lot coming up, with 1 mini-get-a-way to the lake this weekend and our vacation to Florida quickly approaching at the beginning of October! This weekend at the lake cabin is definitely going to be a relaxing and FUN time with some friends. As much as I'm looking forward to both of these I kind of have a knot in my stomach about leaving B. We have left him few times since he's been born for the occasional over night stay with grandparents, but never for consecutive days in a row. I'm not worried about Breyton, I know he will have fun being spoiled rotten! Its myself  I'm concerned about!!! I'm already losing sleep over the thought of being away from him for 6 days in October, but know in my heart it will be good for Mason and I to go relax and have time together. We know from experience taking a toddler on vacation is HARD work....we chose to take Breyton with us to Mexico and I'm sooooo glad we did because he had a blast on the beach and we have memories I'll never forget! But, I think it's best we enjoy this one vacation without him=D That being said I hope Mason doesn't have to handcuff me to the plane to get there!                                                                                                Snapshots of today added below...you can see why its so hard to leave this cute face!??

"What's that?"

He loves his tractors!

"Look mama"

Cuteness brushing his teeth

Silly...

"Ok, that's enough."

Our mid-week 'weekends'

Wednesday's are always a whirlwind of a day! Sitting here typing this as I sit down for pretty much the first time today....My hubby is at school and my child is in bed, so it's a little bit of me time. As busy as they are Tuesday/Wednesday are actually my favorite days of the week! It's Masons weekend, therefore mine as well, and we go down to stay with our parents pretty much every 'weekend' equaling date night for us and grandparents time for B.....its a win/win =D. We are pretty lucky to have such awesome grandparents for our little man, so that we can feel free to leave him with them for a night out knowing its a home away from home for B. Tuesdays are a night at my parents and Wednesdays are a day at Mason's parents both always filled with good home cooked food(that I didn't have to cook definitely a major plus) and fun. B loves my parents 'farm' constantly chatting about the horses,cows, and tractors...... then Masons parents have a pool which B absolutley loves swimming, he has no fear of the pool, wanting to jump off the diving board and splash the whole time. By the time we drive home he is usually pretty wiped out and so are we!
Last night after Mason and I got back from a movie I ended up staying up way too late chatting with my mom as usual and then of course got an early start to the day when B woke us all up raring to go! So I really should just be going to bed early tonight, but like to wind down and enjoy my quiet time. Must say I dont look forward to Mason being gone to class all evening every week, but try to make the most of it.....B and I enjoyed an evening outside ending with a walk in this perfect weather.

And as always a few pics of B....these first 2 will prob be some blackmail pics someday:)

                                     Those would be my underwear all around his neck(yes they are
                                            clean!) Not sure what posessed him to do this,
                                    but i was busy cooking when he came out of my closet like this..
                                                             made me laugh though!

                                     
                             Him in my high heels in my closet lol...Mason would not be proud:

                     
                                                      Doing a somersault in the living room

                                                 A squished face as mom hugs too tight=D

Two too soon..

The two's have there terrible moments no doubt, but so far its my favorite age with B. The personality is endless and the more he starts to talk and communicate the more I love it!

B's favorite thing to say right now is "what's that?" and he says it a million times ALL day....sometimes it may get a tad bit annoying if I'm honest =D, but most the time I enjoy answering his curiosity as he learns new things. Two is definitely the age of developing an opinion(though i think B has had a strong one since birth!) and we have plenty of temper tantrums over it.....he is already good at embarrassing me in public due to these, but one day it will be mine and Mason's turn to embarrass him at least!

Little things I love that he's doing right now that I want to remember:

1 Randomly comes up to me at any point during the day to say "wuv you" and lay his head on me

2 Asks for a kiss anytime he gets hurt

3 Starting to love watching movies with us(watched Car's and Toy Story 3 this week)

4 Calls Mason "mydaddy"

5 Says 'Bible' and 'Amen' in the cutest voice

6 Repeats the words 'be nice" over and over as he pets the cat because I've said it to him so many times!

7 Loves chewing bubble gum! I didn't start this habit he found it in my purse and did...but he asks for it all the time and NEVER swallows it(which surprises me) just brings it to me when he's done.

8 Hates when u leave drawers or cabinets open, he always yells for me to 'shut' them immediately!

There's plenty he does that can be terrible, but I'm just making a note of a few sweet things that are a passing phase.<3

Random note with cute pics: B's best friend is our neighbor's little boy, Jennings, and these two act like brothers most the time! They play plenty, but definitely argue/fight plenty :)

Here's a few pics of them 'patroling' together yesterday in the police car!

Through a childs eyes....

Its September and cooler weather has finally arrived! We went to church this morning and are looking forward to spending the afternoon outside....I don't think a day gets much better than this! I love Sunday afternoons with my little B! I asked him in the car ride home if he had fun with his friends at church and what he did? His response "Yes, played feetball" ,which in B's language is football lol! Love his responses to things its always priceless.We got home and while i was fixing lunch I opened all the windows, so B was over on the couch looking out the front window spotting all kinds of things telling me to come "mere"(aka here) to look with him. We ended up watching a bug on the window sill for about 30 minutes lol. B was fascinated by it and I love how the simple things are all it takes for him to be occupied sometimes! I took the opportunity for a few candid photos.....

Early morning...

I swear ever since B was born he's had a sixth sense about knowing days I could sleep in and days I had to get going early.....point being he ONLY sleeps in late on the days Im already up early and the few days my dear hubby is not coming home early from work to wake me, B makes sure we r still up at the crack of dawn! Past two nights he went to bed at the same exact time, but yesterday when i was babysitting another child at 7am he slept till 9 and today I'm sleeping hes wakes up at 6:15am. I really shouldnt be suprised anymore by this but he was pretty cute and cuddly this morning, so always seems to make up for it.:)
Few pics of him waiting sleepily for breakfast at the bar (he refuses to sit in his highchair so that was given up few months ago!)