Maverick at 4 months

Okay, so I'm a little behind on the blogging front. Maverick turned 4 months old on March 26th. He just went to the doctor today for his 4 month well check-up. And the doctor proved what we've thought all along: Mav is awesome. :)

Since I don't have time to upload a gazillion pictures, I'm just gonna upload his 2 month photos to compare to his 4 month photos. What a difference!!!










Maverick is rolling around in every direction possible. He keeps himself awake at night because he wants to roll everywhere. I put him on his back to sleep, but I'm not all the way turned around by the time he's rolled on to his tummy. He's got every inch of that crib covered by morning!

The doc was kinda suprised that he's already so mobile. He's even already wanting to sit up. He HATES laying down on his back. Even in his carseat he is grunting away doing "baby crunches" trying to sit up.

His knees are pink in his 4 month pictures because of what he does while he is on his tummy. It's rather hilarious! He bears all his weight on his head/shoulders, and sticks his booty in the air; then tries to push himself around by kicking his legs. If only he'd learn to put more weight on his arms, then he'd be crawling!

Here's what Maverick is up to these days:

-I weigh 14 lbs 11 oz (45%)
-I am 25 1/4 inches long (70%)
-My head circumference is 42 cm (45%)
-At the doctor I took my 4 shots like a stud. I cried at first, but within a minute I was actually smiling at the nurse! The nurse said she's never seen that before!

-I wear size 3-6 month clothes. My sleepers are akward because I'm so tall, but not chubby enough to fill them out.
-I wear size 2 diapers.
-Now that the weather is getting warmer, I love being as naked as possible.

-I LOVE to drive my Jeep! (just like my dad)
-I really like standing while mom or dad holds my hands.

Show Us Your Life: Mission Trips

This weeks "Show Us Your Life" is about mission trips. I am so thankful for the opportunities I was given through my youth group while growing up. Our awesome youth pastor encouraged us to get out there and just be "the church" to our community. Sometimes it was snow shoveling driveways in our subdivisions, and sometimes it was traveling to South America to share the Gospel.

Not to sound prideful by any means--but my favorite opportunity was partnering with a church in the inner city of St. Louis. We did everything from serving in a soup kitchen to demolition work in old buildings. As a young teenager it was a wonderful experience to meet people from all walks of life. I quickly learned that all people, no matter skin color or financial status, pretty much want the same things in life.

My mission trip to Guanare, Venezuela in the summer of 2001 was so awesome that it would be impossible to describe it all here. One week we had church in the middle of a dirt road, with the only light coming from a light bulb strung from a broom handle. The next week we had church in an abandoned movie theatre, with half the roof missing.

One of my favorite memories from that trip was during a siesta one afternoon. (We should totally adopt the custom of siestas here! Everyone goes home for like 3 hours in the middle of the day to rest) I was sitting under a tree in someone's front yard when a boy came up to me and said, "Beisbol???" Pulling me by the arm he led me into the house where they had a small black & white tv hooked up. I couldn't believe my eyes. On the screen was a very fuzzy broadcast of a Cardinal baseball game!! The kids knew we were from St.Louis, and it was a way to connect without having to speak the same language.

One of my biggest pet peeves about the older students I teach is their attitude about themselves in this world. Not to lump them all into one stereotype, but I had quite a few high school students who just felt like they were better than everyone else in the world just because they lived in this country. I'm not talking about patriotism, just plain arrogance. I hope they have the opportunity some day to see that we're all the same.

Show Us Your Life: Favorite Charities

Robbie and I have always said if we were to come into having a million dollars, one of the first things we would do would be to donate a huge portion to the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University/Barnes Hospital. When Robbie discovered he had cancer, he also didn't have insurance.

They have a wonderful financial aid program that we are completely and eternally grateful for. Robbie's ENTIRE treatment was provided for FREE. That includes surgery by a nationally top 10 ranked surgeon, treatment and oversight by a nationally top 10 ranked reproductive oncologist, and ALL the chemotherapy, ct scans, even down to the last Tylenol.

We try to support them however we can so that we can help somebody else focus on their treatment instead of finances. I can't even describe the burden that is lifted when you can focus on getting better instead of how much everything is costing.

It's interesting that people tend to support organizations who have helped them in any capacity, specifically if it's been significantly. Which is a wonderful thing, just interesting to think about. People just want to pay it forward.

I hope that someday we can pay it all the way forward. But until then every little bit helps!

Crazy fuzz

Just wanted to throw out there a quick blurb about the crazy life we're living at the moment. It's not actually too crazy, just temporarily fuzzy.

My hours at work have been longer than usual because of cycle break. Our elementary schools go year round here, and every 9 weeks the school is off 3 weeks (cycle break). During those 3 weeks my job goes 9 hours a day (with a 1 hr lunch) instead of before and after school. Cycle break is pretty fun because you have more time to do more fun/involved activities than the normal block of time.

Anywho, so because of that it's been crazier than normal getting sleep. I have to be at work at 6 am. That comes pretty stinking early when you've stayed up until 10pm (or later!) trying to catch up on dishes and laundry after the little one has finally gone to bed.

On top of that, Maverick has also been waking me up more at night than normal. He normally only gets up once, but he's been increasingly hard to put down at night and once he wakes up during the night he doesn't go right back to sleep like he used to.

I think part of it is the fact that he's determined to sleep on his tummy, so he is always getting stuck in an awkward position. No matter how I try, he always rolls right to his tummy when I lay him down. A few times now he's woken up screaming cause his leg(s) are stuck in the crib bars. Kinda makes me want to put bumpers up, but then I'd be afraid of him suffocating when he gets himself stuck up against the bars.

I'm probably just being a new mommy and worrying too much. I try not to worry about him since he can lift his head well enough to move it when he gets stuck...but things like SIDS statistics float around in my head when I'm trying to go back to sleep after getting him un-stuck.
Statistics like:
-The peak age for SIDS is 2-4 months. Mav is 3 1/2 months.
-The peak season for SIDS is winter. It's winter.
-Boys most commonly die from SIDS. No explanation necessary.


Another element making life crazy right now is a rather impromptu remodeling of our house. It's something we've been wanting to do for the last 3 years, but have never gotten around to it. Robbie is off this week, and his great friend (who is studying carpentry) decided to literally take a crack at it.

So the house is in complete disarray to remove a giant wall, and parts of another wall. I never thought I'd be the kind of person to get all out of whack when everything is out of its place...but I am right now! Maybe it's coinciding with the different work hours and lack of sleep. When I come home I can't relax because all the furniture is pushed together and everything else is out of order. Agh!


To end this on a good note, Maverick is GIGGLING now! It usually only happens once a day, but it is wooooooooonderful! I cried and got goosebumps the first time I heard him actually laugh. I don't know what I'll do when he learns to walk. Ha! I think it made me so emotional because hearing him laugh when I tickled him made him more of a person than a cute little bundle of blankets.

Okay, so maybe sometime soon I'll get some pictures up of the aforementioned remodel and giggling. But until then, good night!

What's in a hyphen?

This is something I've had churning in my head for about a week or so.

One of my favorite things to do is to photograph tombstones. Call me crazy, but I've been known to drive around town to visit cemeteries seeking out interesting headstones. I just love the stone craft that went into making them. Being in a cemetery is actually a very peaceful place. Very quiet, and very reflective. As I walk along and see all the names, I like to think about how their life may have been lived and what kind of personalities they had. I would like to think that the person whose name I've read would get a kick out of me trying to imagine their life just from their name and the era of life they lived in.

If it were me, I'd love what someone could come up with just from knowing:
Jennifer Elaine: Born 1983 - Died ????
Maybe they'd think I was a telemarketer, or maybe even a chef. Ha!



Thinking about how it's been a long time since I've gone on the search for unique headstones, is how I got on the topic that has been kinda nippin' at me lately.



Isn't it interesting that when we die, our life is represented by a hyphen?



Everyone's headstone reads, "Born (fill in the blanks) - Died (fill in the blanks)"



This isn't supposed to be a depressing topic. Just an interesting one. Maybe it will kinda churn in your head like it has in mine. Think about your ENTIRE life being squeezed between two dates in the form of a hyphen.

For me, it's awesome to think how wonderful and fulfilling my life has been so far (with all it's ups and downs and everywhere in-betweens). But it's even more awesome to think that when that second date is inscribed on my headstone, I have the faith that life isn't over.

Sure it's over here on this earth. But through the grace given by God and the death of his son Jesus, I can look forward to living eternally with Him and other believers in a life that is only Love.

While I'm on this earth I hope that my hyphen is a reflection of Christ and filled with loving and serving others, and living the joy that God has given me through my family and friends. :)