Another Happy Monday

Since I am always behind the camera, Mike took almost 50 a few pictures of me with Trent tonight. Taking them after our short walk wasn't the greatest idea, but at least he will know I existed when he was little:)Bailey took part in the photo session too.
Trent loves petting her. She likes him, but she will love him when he can throw a ball! Don't you love the trash can in the background?
I was going to save this for his 6 month post, but his 6 month appt. isn't until July 17th. Check out the little man's newest skill...
He can sit up by himself! And he started doing it last week... two days before he rolled from his back to his belly for the first time! Most babies roll before they sit, but when you're solid like this guy, it's easier to sit up:)
Ignore the quality of this last picture; I took it with my phone.

This is Trent's best friend Kate. She and her mom keep him Monday- Wednesday. She says they are best friends, and she plans to teach him how to walk, talk and use the potty. This will be a huge accomplishment, since she's expecting a little brother or sister in December; so they will only keep Trent until October. Today she said that Madonna's "Holiday" song is their favorite song. They were dancing to it when I went to pick him up this afternoon. In this picture they are holding hands. I love it!!

We are heading to the beach with the Carters on Wednesday, and I can only imagine how many pictures will be taken during the four day vacation. Happy Independence Day a little early!!

The reason I have a housekeeper

When I went back to work after maternity leave, Mike finally let me agreed to hire a housekeeper. It was the best decision EVER! Here's the number one reason we need a housekeeper...

Yes, she is a very pretty girl, but look what I got off her tonight in the matter of minutes...
Yes, all of that hair came from Bailey. And there is lots more all over our floors!! Just in case you want to see it again...

I am counting down the days to her shaving appointment.
She also eats and drinks inside, which is making me crazy!! She likes to leave pieces of food on the rug, which I step on barefoot while holding Trent. She also drips pours water all over the floor after she drinks it.

Don't get me wrong- I love her! I don't want her to be an outside dog, but I do want her to eat and drink outside. I told Mike that once Trent starts crawling, I am moving her food and water outside. Otherwise, I'm 100% certain that Trent will try dog food before Cheerios.
Do your big dogs eat and drink outside?

Happy Monday

This is what I walked in on yesterday during Trent's "nap"

It was time to secure that bedding!

{Don't you love the hospital blanket underneath him? That is for possible spit-up. Washing blankets is much easier than washing crib sheets!}

This afternoon we decided to wait outside for Mike to get home.

Somebody forgot to tell Bailey it was way too hot to throw that toy!She eventually gave up and let me take a cute picture that would be much cuter if I hadn't cropped off their bodies.

Then daddy came home, and did what he does best.
And I took some pictures that would have been great for the Fathers Day blog. Hope you had a great Monday!

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for feeding me and making a mess!

Thank you for giving me baths.

Thank you for crying with me.
Thank you for playing with me.
And thank you for being the best daddy in the world!
Happy Fathers Day!

I love you,

Trent

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Thank you all SO much for the sweet comments on my last post, and thank you even more for the prayers!! Mike is feeling better, and you can follow his medical news on his CaringBridge site.

Special thanks to you "blog stalkers" that revealed yourselves. Being a blog stalker myself, I'm so excited to meet new people and catch up on those of you I haven't seen in years. I hope Google Reader doesn't have a limit:)

As I've mentioned before, I love Fridays! Trent woke up at 6:00 this morning, but we let him hang out in his bed until 7:00. We were at Home Depot by 7:30. We got three of these for Trent's room, the guest bedroom and the office upstairs...

It's amazing how fast you can shop with a baby. I'm sure it also didn't hurt that it was 7:30 in the morning! We were in and out of Home Depot in less than 15 minutes. Hopefully within a few weeks, our little boy and our guests will be cooler upstairs:)

Two of Mike's best friends are coming in town tonight for dinner. I've already hinted I'd love some Mexican, so hopefully Mike caught on. Sweet Melissa is coming to babysit Trent. He loves her, and we love that he loves her. She will get to do this with him tonight...

Have a great Fathers Day weekend!!

The C word

I try not to blog much about cancer, but I guess I can break my own rule every once in a while. I feel like God wants me to open up about this subject. So, if you're looking for some cute pictures and fun stories, this probably won't be the post for you:)

This September will be 10 years since Mike's initial diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma {yes, the one with a 90% cure rate.} Mike will be 30 next month. He was diagnosed when he was 19 years old. He's spent almost 1/3 of his life with cancer. He hasn't been in remission since 2003. He's had cancer the entire time we've been married. But you would never know it; that's one of the coolest things about Mike. Thankfully it's rubbed off on me too. I figure that if Mike doesn't want to talk about it and dwell on it, who am I to make it a constant topic of conversation? But sometimes that gets hard...

Friday night Mike woke up at midnight with throbbing back pain. He thought sitting up in the recliner would help, but it only got worse. At 2:30 am, he told me he needed to go to the ER. This would have always upset me, but this time was different. There's something about picking up your sleeping child to put him in a car seat to drive your husband to the ER at 2:30 in the morning that makes you angry. I wasn't angry at Mike, and I don't think I was angry at God. But I was angry. It was one of those times I just wanted a normal life, as if there is such a thing.

Today when Dr. M came in the room and told us that the PET scan results showed an increase in cancer after the current chemotherapy regimen, I couldn't hold back the tears. This was only the second time I've cried during one of Mike's doctor appointments. I can usually hold it together, but today was different. I kept thinking about Trent and how I don't want him to worry about cancer. I know you can't always protect your children from pain, but I want him to have a healthy daddy.

One of our biggest goals is to live our lives as if cancer wasn't an issue. Mike succeeds 99% of the time, and I like to think I'm getting better too. Thankfully we have a loving God and a great support system.

Mike starts another treatment tomorrow. If you think about it, say a prayer for us. I'm overwhelmed, but I'm blessed to have such a Godly husband and precious son. Okay, so maybe one cute picture:)

5 Months

We're home from paradise. We had a great time. I read two books, watched three movies and spent too much time in the sun. I only took one picture. Here it is...

He's pretty scary, isn't he? There were free 'Zap' people there, so I will order some pictures later.
Mama D and Daddy G took GREAT care of Trent while we were gone. Mama D sent multiple pictures each day, and we looked forward to getting them. Here are some of my favorites...

Our little man is now 5 months old {technically, 5 months and 2 days.} He's getting so big and fun. He loves to laugh and squeal, and Daddy is still the funniest person on earth.

Humor me while I document memories for us to look back on... He still hasn't rolled from back to front. He tries so hard and is almost there. He LOVES to stand up! Getting him to sit in your lap is almost impossible; he'd much rather stand. He loves his thumbs. The right one is his favorite, but we often find him sucking his left one too. He kicks, but the only sign of him finding his feet is a scratch on his foot. He's blowing lots of spit bubbles and has discovered he can say the "sssss" sound. Last week Mama D we started giving him baby food twice a day. He's now like a little bird and will open his mouth when he sees the spoon. He's tried peas, green beans, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. He likes everything but the peas. He's teething {which I hear takes a very long time} and loves teething rings. He has no problem holding the frozen rings, and watching him makes me cold:)

We introduced him to a real swing yesterday.

Check out the cute older woman pushing him. She wasn't the only one who liked him. Her sweet sisters enjoyed him too until he got really heavy in their laps. .

Whew, that was a long post! If you're still with me, thanks for reading:)

Leaving on a jet plane...

Mike and I going here tomorrow...

It will be super fun, but it's not a trip we scheduled; it's through my job. Normally I count down the days to vacations, but this time is different. I bet you can guess why...

I am going to miss him like crazy!!! He will be in great hands with Mama D and Daddy G, and I've promised not to call more than three times a day. Let's hope my cell phone works like the AT&T guy said it would:)

Bailey is in great hands too! Mimi and Papa took her to Opp for the week, and I know she LOVES having the attention Trent has stolen from her over the past five months.

I have three books packed, and I plan to finish all three of them. I also told Mike I wanted to watch lots of movies, since we haven't watched a movie since Trent was born. {We haven't even seen Fireproof!} I hope the weather is nice. Mike's just hoping for good food:)

Ice Cream

I got the following email from my mom tonight...

I wonder if Trent can get free ice cream?! Share this with all your friends that have little ones. Not sure which Brusters will be offering this.
Love, Mom
Bruster’s is offering A FREE kid’s cone EVERY DAY during the month of June to children who are under 40 inches tall.
Also, a coupon for a FREE pint of Ice Cream with any Bruster’s cake purchase.
Every Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the month of June – Kid’s Dino or Dirt Sundaes for .99 cents!

My mom knows I love some ice cream! I'm not sure if I am willing to let them think I'd let my almost 5-month old eat it, but he's big, so maybe they'd think he was older.

Trent tried some green beans today, {he was SO over the peas} but I think we're far from ice cream-- maybe next summer!!