celebrating miracles

My dad gives us the Daily Guideposts every year for Christmas.  I try and read it every day but usually skip a few days and get caught up later in the week.  He emailed me today and reminded me to pull it out, that this would be a good one to start with. It gave me that excited-anxious-throw up-happy feeling all at once...

“ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world ”

John 16:21 (NIV)

A friend of mine shows me his brand-new son, all of two days old, the size of a loaf of bread, his father looking like he's been sleeping in the woods for a week. I accept the infant gingerly as my friend shuffles off to make coffee. The kid weighs half of nothing, and he is sound asleep and drooling on my best shirt, which makes me unaccountably happy.

Do we ever salute and acknowledge and celebrate miracles enough? I watch the kid breathe; his chest is about the size of a sparrow, but it keeps inhaling and exhaling—miracle. His fingernails are the size of the letters in this sentence—miracle. I remember twice being in the hospital watching tiny people emerge from my wife and sobbing for any number of reasons, one being sheer astonishment at the perfect, moist, glistening beauty of those tiny miracles.

Do we ever acknowledge that every breath we draw and word we speak is a miracle? Hardly. Birds, bread, kindness, rain, the dawn that came again today, the silver river of drool filling the pocket of my best black shirt—miracles. Maybe there are too many miracles to sing properly; maybe we would never do anything but gape in awe and mumble, "Oh, bless me, thank You, thank You," if we were really attentive and respectful to the ocean of miracles. But once in a while we should pause and bow, perhaps with a dish towel over one shoulder in case of miraculous rivers

Dear Lord: Listen, this whole idea of infinitesimal new people emerging from people we love—very cool invention. Your creativity is astonishing all around, but this tiny-new-being-emergingfrom-older-amazing-being thing—that is just deft.

By Brian Doyle

dats mine

Jackson has become very interested in... Jackson.  I am thinking that either at his Parent's Morning Out or the church nursery he learned 'dats mine.'  His coats 'dats mine,' his juice cup 'dat's mine,' my computer 'dats mine,' and of course any snacks in his view 'dats mine!'  I remind him he can share with mommy.  Sometimes he gives me the pretzel out of his snack mix.  He also loves to watch himself on the computer and Iphone, smiling the whole time.  Kids these days.    

Did ya'll know I'm on You Tube?

20 months!

My daring not so little twenty month old checking out prices at Home Depot.  

I know moms say it all the time, but it really does feel like it was just yesterday that we were bringing you into this world.  You have changed so much in such a short amount of time, I have changed so much in such a short amount of time, our family has changed so much in such a short amount of time.  You have brought us so much joy.  You keep me entertained everyday with your energy, goofy personality  and sweet loves.  I know you are will be the best big brother ever.  Not much longer...

ha!

My sister sent me this blog post Porn for Pregnant Ladies for some good Monday morning viewing.  They are oh so true, even Charlie got a good laugh out of them.

34 weeks!

I am now 34 weeks along.  According to babycenter.com, baby Nash weighs about 4 3/4 pounds, think cantaloupe, and is almost 18 inches long.  The doctor said he is nice and spread out in there, she could feel some part of him all the way up in my right rib and another part resting on my bladder.  I thought, tell me something I don't know lady.  I am starting to feel pretty uncomfortable and the lack of good sleeping makes me a little irritable.  Be extra nice to Charlie when you see him because he is definitely extra nice to me without getting much in return.  Jackson is also extra nice to my belly.  He has only gained 3 pounds during the past 8 months which is pretty good considering he eats more than me...

discipline

We have not had to really start 'disciplining' Jackson just yet.  He knows when I say 'No Jackson' in a stern voice that he should probably not even be near what he is about to do. (jump off couch, bite my shoulder, pour out his drink or food) He usually gets upset and comes and gives me a hug.  If I say 'nooo' in a you know you shouldn't be doing that voice, he looks at me a lot, smiles and then gives it another shot.  He is a little charmer on the brink of disaster at any moment.  Admittedly there is some stuff he should not do that I let him do because it keeps him busy.  Other moms do this right?  Like let him put toilet paper in the toilet and flush it over and over and over. 

One of his favorites things to do is climb in my bottom drawer and 'sort' all of my jewelry.  Nothing beats throwing everything out of a box onto the floor and then putting it back into the box and doing it again.  I have at least made a nice jewelry pile and a Jackson jewelry pile.  All the while I hope no major damage is done, and get a few minutes to wash my face and brush my teeth.  

good lovin'

Jackson is very in to giving 'loves' these days.  He likes to tell everyone 'bye-bye' and then give them a 'love.'  This entails a tilt of the head up to your cheek.  He doesn't want to get to personal, except with his mama...

Name Game

After lots of thought and the birth of baby boy #2's future love interest (she already has a pretty sweet song, "Glory" topping the Billboard chart with her dad) we have decided on Fuchsia Fern Farris for our own little one.
But, before my grandparents email me... I am only kidding.
Jackson (in all its glory and meaning) has always been one of my favorite boy names and I knew for a long time that it would probably be my first born.  Since then I have had an idea that my 2nd would be a boy only because I knew what the name would be, NASH...  we are currently accepting applications for what the middle name should be.  Jackson is my grandmother's maiden name and Nash is Charlie's grandmother's maiden name and they are both pretty bad-ass names.  If we have another boy our next 2 options are Tribble and Baltzegar, hmm.

A street sign in Wilson!  Their Aunt Sarah & Uncle Kyle made a photo canvas of it for them!  

chocolate

One of my favorite pregnant ladies just sent me this good news! - 

“Fit Pregnancy” Magazine (Jan Issue):

Enjoy Chocolate Daily: Regularly eating chocolate during pregnancy may buffer a fetus from stress and improve his temperament after birth. One study found that pregnant women who ate chocolate every day gave birth to babies that laughed easily, soothed readily and responded well to novelty. the effect may be due to pleasure-producing or stress-relieving properties in chocolate or compounds in it that prevent the breakdown of pressure-producing chemicals in the fetus’s brain. the sweet stuff also reduces the risk of preeclampsia. Dark chocolate is the healthiest and least fattening type.

It looks like my baby boy is going to be the happiest on the block! If I don't gain a single pound between now and when the baby comes I will have maintained my 'goal weight.'  Maybe I will have another bowl of ice cream and tell my doctors to shove it instead.

Winslow, Fowler, Farris New Years picture attempt...

pinecones

Advertisement - Local toddler seeks work picking up pine cones and throwing them in the lake.  Will work for hours.  Payment of one fruit cup per hour.  Will bring dog free of charge who can also bark for hours.

Move out of my way ma!

bye-bye ducks, sorry about all of the pine cones I threw at you...

Mothers of Sons

I have had a few friends share this blog post with me  - 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons.  I love every bit of it.  I smile every time someone says, 'Two boys under two, wow you are really in for it.'  Sure it freaks me out but I know that I am the lucky one!

'I wan mor!' Me and my mom's favorite, spaghetti!

big debut

The big debut of number two...

I know he looks like an alien, but weirdly adorable at the same time.  He did not want us to get a good look and had his hands to his mouth the whole time.  Looks like we are going to have another thumb sucker!  He already has lots of hair, long fingers and toes, likes to kick out those legs and is definitely a boy.   This ultrasound just confirmed that he will be here soon and I have got some work to do!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We survived 2011 and have a cute little chunkster of a toddler to show for it.  I can only imagine the joy 2012 will bring the growing Farris family!  In keeping tradition with last year, here they are, in no particular order, my top 11 blog photos from 2011.

 I still loveee my whole milk!

 And a good bath... (his new favorite phrase 'i wan baff... dada! i wan baff...'

 Please hold me mama, paaallleeasseee!

 Looking studly as ever in his swim trunks...

 My dad is the funniest!

 CAKE!

 Hahaha, i can't fit into any of my clothes!

Training!

 Patiently waiting for lunch.

 Pumpkin patch model shoot...

Hey Hey ladies!