All Things "Mommy"

What a busy first part of July it has been! I can't believe that a year ago on July 9th, I heard Anslee's heart beat for the very first time. I was 8 weeks and 4 days along in my pregnancy. My first doctor's visit and sonogram. Pregnancy was such a joy for me (I say this with caution, as I feel I may jinx myself with the next pregnancy!) Wow. Now she is here. She was living and had a beating heart then...for more than a year she has been living, and for almost 6 months I have been able to hold her in my arms. I still can't get over how fast time flies, and I will never be able to capture each moment in a photograph or on film...but I am certainly doing the very best I can!

Teething
On July 3rd, we noticed Anslee's 2nd tooth sprouting above the gum line. I knew again this was happening, as the drooling that had somewhat subsided after the first one sprout had returned. Needless to say, we wear a bib everywhere we go. I hate it, as it always seems to be covering up the cute outfits she is dressed in! She enjoys putting everything she can get her grubby little hands in her mouth, I suppose to ease any pain she is feeling. However, she gets bored with each item shortly after she discovers it, and is always wanting to move on to something else. What keeps her attention the most is a wet wash cloth, but only while bathing. She is a particular child, and I wonder if this part of her little personality settling in, or if she is just temporarily exploring all that is offered to her. Thankfully, I use Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets for instant relief. They dissolve immediately in under her tongue, and she seems to calm as soon as they are given. I like these better than baby orajel, only because she seems too.

Developmental Milestones
Anslee has been rolling over from side to side and front to back now for about 2 months. Now, at 5.5 months, she is almost sitting up independently. She sits in front of her baby gym set and will play with the toys that dangle from it. She is grasping objects with both hands and is really getting good at it. She of course, takes everything straight to her mouth. She can pass toys/objects from one hand to the other. Anslee does tend to drop things a lot. I am starting to wonder if the notorious "dropping game" is starting, or if she is just trying to hear different sounds. I try to keep several toys at arms length, so that when one is dropped she can simply amuse herself with another. Anslee is cooing and babbling and screeching and squealing almost every moment that she is awake. Tyler says that she is already a talker. I hope so, I try to talk a lot and read a lot to her for language development purposes. She tends to really get vocal when we are in public places. Thats really my favorite...you know when you get those stares from the nice old couple in the booth next to you. I always wonder what they are thinking. Are they thinking "gosh, if that were my child....." I guess we will never know, Anslee is happy and healthy, developing right on pace with her age group (or so I read...and read and read...) so I have NOTHING to worry or complain about at this point. Our favorite book this past week has been "Abby Learns her Shapes" (its a sesame series book). Anslee also is trying to work on her "crawling" muscles. She fidgets around, and pushes up onto her hands and knees but then is quickly back down to her belly again. She has mastered the art of backward crawling...which I think is cute, and at least she is moving about...no matter what direction! Here is a photo of Anslee sitting up and playing



GRRRRR....Growth Spurt Again?
This week (week 24 of development) Anslee has been bad at feeding, and not going down as easy for her naps during the day. Oh yeah, and as far as solids go: Not happening. I hate feeling like I am forcing her to eat them, but I do feel that way. I only started them because I under instruction to by my pediatrician, who is wonderful and who I very much trust. I think with Anslee its just going to be a learning process that takes a little longer. Its especially frustrating this week. I feel like she is going through growth spurts all the time lately. I can't understand why...she has only grown 8.5 inches and put on 4 X's as much as weight from birth...no, so it seems likely that we could again be victim to the dreaded growth spurt again this week. This is always...without a doubt...how she handles them. Fusses a little, does not eat well, and does not go down for naps as well or for as long. I take heart in knowing its temporary, and thankful that it does not disrupt her night time sleep pattern.

Extras!
Tyler and I are looking forward to being homeowners in the next few months, and starting the process in which it takes to become homeowners. Even though we do not know for certain where we are going to be, we are committing the next 3 to 5 years wherever we go, as we see this decision best suits our family! We are excited and ready to know where 1st God and 2nd the DPS is leading us!

We had a wonderful time celebrating the 4th of July! I got to make a fast trip to Abilene and visit with my family, and then we went on to Coleman, where the 4th is bigger than Christmas. Anslee participated in the 1st Annual Family Parade, and we played games, ate a lot of food, played more games, and ate more food. Here is Anlsee as she "paraded" down Walnut Street in Coleman. (She has her Grandad to thank for pushing her in the stroller the whole way!)



We also took Anslee swimming for the 1st time! We bought her a floatie, and she so enjoyed it. The water was warm (how could it not be? clearly its 108 degrees!) and so it probably felt nothing more to her than a big bath that she could splash around in! She laughed and giggled and relaxed as well. Here is a photo of her floating and enjoying life to end this post with!

Fathers Day followed by Growth Spurts and Teething

Well, let me start off by saying that Anslee is truly lucky to have the Father she does, and I certainly look forward to the day that she can recognize that and show him how much he means to him! We spent Father's Day at home together, since Tyler had the day off from patrolling. We got up, and Anslee had put up every picture she had ever taken with Tyler on the table for him to see when he woke up. She had also bought him a nice Polo shirt and put that out on the table for him to see as well. She served him a Sausage McGriddle biscuit from McDonalds because she knows that breakfast is always a treat for her daddy! Tyler loved looking at all the photos (there are already so many!) of him with her. From the first time he held her until just days before Father's Day, he was able to look back at the 5 months he has shared with her. All of those photos are going to be put into an album that will eventually be filled with lots of pictures of Daddy and Daughter in her first year. We then went to church, and then ate out at the Lone Star Cafe. Its Fine Dining in Hillsboro! We lazed around the rest of the afternoon and then I made some chicken salad sandwhiches, and we headed to the Old City Park to have a picnic dinner. We had the best time together as a family, and I think Tyler felt appreciated...as he should! He has enjoyed every minute of being a daddy, and I know he looks forward to watching Anslee grow into a beautiful young lady. Here is a picture of Anslee with her Daddy on Fathers day at the park!





Speaking of growing...my my are we doing a lot of that these days! We are currently going through Anslee's 3rd major growth spurt. Growth spurts are not fun for Mom, Dad, or baby! I am always aware of when growth spurts come on, but somehow, I feel like I am always taken by surprise too. This is what happens:

Week 1 of growth spurt: Anslee eats like she will never eat again and sleeps like she will never sleep again
Week 2 of growth spurt: Anslee does not like to eat as much, cries before each of her 3 naps and before bedtime, and is cranky a good part of the day.

Then, the growth spurt ends and life is back to smooth sailing again. Week 2 of the growth is really hard. I feel like I can't do enough to keep her happy and I hate that I can't take away those growing pains that make her life so uncomfortable. I remember having growing pains (I know you are all thinking, with as small as she is, she probably didn't have that many, but none the less, I did people!) and they are not fun. Its a deep pain in the bone that no massaging or moving about can relieve. I also get frustrated when I do all I can do, and put my all energies into making her day go as easily as I possibly can, and the crying does not stop. I find MY comfort in knowing that it won't last and the sweet will ooze out her once again soon! Until then, we are just loving on her as much as we can to make her feel as comfortable as she can feel until it ends! Thank you baby tylenol, you have been of great help these days!

Teething! On June 18th, at just a few days shy of being 5 months old, Anslee's first tooth cut through the gums. I knew she had been teething for about a month, as the drool was flowing abundantly, some fussiness came and went, and anything she could bring to her mouth she would. Out of all items I have for her to chew on, she enjoyed my (clean, always clean) finger. So on June 18th, I offered my finger to her because she started some fussing...and OUCH! She bit me with her brand new tooth! There it was, barely poking itself out of the gums! Now its even come up further! The drooling had subsided for a few days after that tooth came through, I noticed, but it has returned....are we awaiting tooth #2? Who knows...but we shall soon see! I can't get a good picture of the tooth right now, because Anslee likes to stick her tongue out (covering the tooth) whenever I try. Maybe I can catch one next time around.

Tyler has told me that he has appreciated my experimenting in the kitchen lately! I have thrown together some random dinner ideas, and some were actually pretty good...others not so much, but you can't blame a girl for trying. I have cooked 4meals in a row! This is a big deal for me, as I am a "heat something up" or "sandwhich" kind of a chef. This week I actually made two different styles of chicken spaghetti, fajitas with beans and rice, and a quiche. I am thankful for some family recipes I have that I will start on next week, and I am continuing to become a little more confident in the kitchen. Any other recipe ideas are welcomed, as I need to be a little more creative in meal planning.

Well time is flying by, with watching our little grow, I have just now realized that we have been in Hillsboro now for 9 months! Almost a year, and we have had some great experiences here. We do know that we won't be here for much longer, but we are so thankful for the opportunity we have had to grow as a family here. Tyler was trained by a GREAT trooper who really taught Tyler all the little things (and big things) he needed to know about being a Trooper. If that was the ONLY reason we were supposed to be here, that would have been enough, but I know its not. We have learned a lot, and will take so much with us wherever we go next! We should find out in about a months time or so where we might possibly be going if we end up going some where else. No matter what though....owning a home is in our near future! We have decided we will buy a home before this year is over, and for this, I could not be more excited for! All of this will certainly be expanded upon in upcoming blogs!

Stay tuned!

Tales from the Life of a Trooper Wife....

A great friend of mine told me that since I have a blog, I should blog about the experiences I have as a Texas State Trooper's wife. I feel like as Christian women, we are called to support our husbands in their mission field, in their role as fathers, and in their work place. Proverbs 31 paints a very clear picture of what a Holy wife and mother look like. I have to stop sometimes and ask myself, "Why is this concept easy to understand, but hard to actually put into practice sometimes?" I have not met a Christian woman who says that they don't want to look like the woman who is described in the 31st chapter of Proverbs, and I feel like its another one of those things that is much easier said than done.
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I must be honest. I have had my moments over the past year in being wholeheartedly and selflessly supportive of Tyler's job as a Trooper. Since Tyler has been gone, I have had some time to think about how I put the "supportive wife" hat on. I wonder if I really do that good of a job sometimes. I wonder if Tyler is really getting what he truly deserves. Do I REALLY work hard enough at that? While it brings me nothing but pure joy to know that when he goes to work everyday he is enjoying himself and confident that he is good at what he does, its still hard for me at times. As you all know, this blog was started when Tyler had to basically move to Austin for 6 months while I lived in Abilene still. We had been married for 4 months when he left. I found out we were pregnant 2 months after he left. I hated being away from him. I know he hated being away from me too, but he knew this is the profession he was called into. I knew it too. I knew it when we married, but for some reason when you are surrounded by wedding plans, and the excitement of being married, you push the unfavorable realities out of your mind for a while. Though the thoughts of him leaving haunted me, I still had some time to push them out of my mind for a while. Tyler had to again leave for additional training last week, and will be back at the end of this week. Two weeks was nothing compared to the 6 months I had already dealt with, however, this time when he left, I got a little picture of what single motherhood would be like. A whole new experience.

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Don't get me wrong when reading this. I am so proud of my husband and his work. I would not have him do anything else. I am proud to tell others what he does. He is a true public servant, and how can anyone say that is something we should not be proud of! I will say, though, that its hard at times. As a wife, I worry about the dangerous nature of the job and the horrifying things that he has to see. He has worked several fatal crashes and even a murder. So, at times, I worry about how he deals with those things emotionally. Now, law enforcement was not my calling. It was Tyler's. I feel that when we married his calling became mine (and vise versa of course). This is where my trouble lies I think. At times I try to just make that his "thing". Its easy to get upset about certain aspects of his job too. No holidays, or weekends. Night Shifts. There are many things to complain about. I guess I just wonder if other law enforcement wives ever have their days. I have mine, and I won't for one minute claim to be perfect and say that I don't. One thing remains though, and that is that I am so proud of Tyler and happy that he is happy and good at his job. I am so blessed to have found a man that knew what he wanted out of life and went after it. He has accomplished so much, and should be commended for what he has overcome to get to where he is now.
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So proud of that Badge he wears. So with Father's Day coming up, and just thinking about how blessed I am to have him as my husband, this post is dedicated to Tyler. I could not be more blessed and more happy than I am with him (even when I have my days!)

I love you babe!



So this is my tribute to Tyler, All Law Enforcement Officers who serve us everyday, and the wives that are doing their best to support them!

New Ideas

Since Tyler has been out of town this week, and Vacation Bible School is next week, I took the free time I had (during nap time...the only "free" time)and really started reading other peoples blogs. I love the blogging world. Its so wonderful to read other people thoughts and experiences. Its nice to have a place to sort of journal your thoughts and allow other people to read and react to them. I read The Conservative Mommy blog and appreciated how she practices her right to freely express her views. I look forward to reading what other people are writing about, and hopefully finding more "blog buddies". I started this blog over a year ago just to keep anyone who was interested up to date on Tyler's progress as he went through the DPS Training Academy. I used to think, why should I blog, there is not that much interesting things going on in my life that people would just want to sit down and read about. I have recently come to realize that the internet is a great way to get helpful advice and share ideas. So, I figured, if I enjoy reading what others have to say, maybe there is someone out there that will really enjoy what I have to say. So heres to viewing my blogging experiences in a whole new way!

To celebrate my new love for the blog I went to the website: http://pinkarmchairdesigns.blogspot.com/ and ordered a new "cuter" blog. I am hoping that this will help keep me devoted to sharing my thoughts, and my day to day experiences as a Mommy and Wife!


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Tyler will be coming home this weekend. Thank goodness for husbands who are active in their kiddos lives. Tyler is so excited about coming home and loving on his baby girl. I am of course going to hand her over and take a well deserved break from the hectic "single mom" life I have been living this week. Not to say that it has been bad, because I clearly enjoy my time with her. I think all moms would agree that getting away, or just being able to take a nice long shower, is healthy and should be practiced! I am so anxious to hug his neck when he gets home. I am thankful for him going to Austin, as he is doing it to provide for our family financially, but I am so happy to get him home for this weekend. The REAL celebration will be NEXT Friday when he is back home for good and we can get back into the swing of life again!

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Tyler and I are doing P90X, which is an extreme home fitness program, to keep in shape. We did a week of it, and then he had to leave for two weeks, so we are basically just going to start our 90 day journey over again when he returns for good. I am hoping we are satisfied with our results, as the workout is extremely difficult. Its nice to have a good challenge ahead of you though, right? Must keep telling myself this....

Now...cleaning must happen before Tyler returns, and I can no longer put it off...

Zoo-riffic!

I guess it has been a while since I last blogged, but lately it is just so easy to let time get away from me! This have been wonderful and life has been busy, but good. We took Anslee to the Waco Cameron Park Zoo for the first time this past Tuesday. Tyler had the day off work and a friend (Susan) from church invited us to go with her and her two kiddos, Cash (4) and Ava (10 months). We had a blast. Here are a couple of pictures of Anslee enjoying her first Zoo experience.




This is Anslee watching the fish in the Aquarium


This is Anslee with her Dad...taking a breather!


Here is a family shot of us in front of the TeePee (Buffalo area)


And finally, Anslee had all the excitement she could take!


We really had a good time, and hope to go back someday, maybe when Anslee is a little older and can really get excited as she learns about and sees all the animals!

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Tyler will leave tomorrow to head for Austin, Texas (yet again) for more training. He will taking Crash Reconstruction level 2 courses. While it is very necessary for him to go, I am always sad to know he won't be coming home in the evening. He will be gone for two full weeks, but luckily he will be able to make it back to Hillsboro for the weekend in between. This will be the first time I have Anslee all to myself, 24 hours a day, without the sight of any relief. I am confident that we will all still be living and breathing, I have also come to realize what a great help Tyler is, and how I have really depended on him for a break here and there. I have not had the easiest time swallowing the fact that the State is requiring him to leave AGAIN, when it has not even been a year since they required 6 months of his life for training. Its just one of those things that goes with the Trooper title, but I will say its not my favorite aspect of his profession. He will do great while he is there, and will certainly benefit from the classes he will take. I just ask for prayers that nothing come up that I can't handle on my own! Thank goodness he will be off for 3 full days when he returns from the school!

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I will be teaching Vacation Bible School at FBC Hillsboro next week! I am excited about what God will do in the lives of the children that attend. Please pray for all of our kids, and that I (and the other teacher) can effectively speak truths to the 3rd and 4th graders. We have an "Austrailian Outback" theme and will talking about everything from Boomerangs to Sheep Shearing all while incorporating The Gospel to these kids.

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An update on Anslee! We had our 4 month well baby appointment on May 28th. She was actually 4 months and 1 week to the day when we visited Dr. Nesmith (who we love!) At the appointment she was 13.7 lbs and 24.5 inches long. This puts her in the 50th percentile for growth and development and her height and weight were perfectly proportional. The Dr. commented on how well tempered she is, and he said that it was time to start the big girl on solid foods. He told us to start out with rice cereal and to introduce it slowly, a little bit at a time, and once daily for a while.

Anslee enjoying her first experience with cereal!


We have found that Anslee has just developed a whole personality all of a sudden. She enjoys her new found "voice" and loves to listen to herself and certainly wants to make sure everyone in a shouts distance can hear her clearly. She loves to eat her toes, play with and grab at toys, and smiles almost the entire time she is awake. I never get tired of seeing that smile or hearing her laugh. I will say that going out in public is an interesting endeavor...as people look at us while she squeals and shrills at the top of her lungs in her amusement. We love her though, and so glad that the Dr. gave nothing but good reports after checking her over...and giving her the dreaded shots. Thank you, Tyler, for staying in the room while I left in order to NOT hear the sad cries of Anslee being pricked by needles!

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I hate to end on a sad note, but Tyler had to work a very unfortunate situation last night. A woman, in her early 30's, called herself into the sheriff's office for the murder of her 13 year old daughter and major injury to her 12 year old daughter. I know it takes a special kind of person to be able to stand strong through working these kinds of crime scenes, and proud of Tyler I am, as he was courageous and professional while dealing with such a gruesome situation. Prayers go out to the young girl who survived and for the family in general. It really hits home when things like this happen within a 7 mile radius of where you sleep at night. Thank you to all who support Tyler and his job, he is doing well and standing strong as always.


Here is a link to the news story if you want to read about the case

http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2009/06/06/hill_county_woman_charged_with.html

More updates on the Moses home as they arise!

Sad Goodbyes

We were blessed to move this past year to a place where we do have friends that live near by. I always said that if we could not live near our families, our friends would take us in as family and that has been our experience. We have enjoyed being able to see our Hardin-Simmons friends more often that we used to while living in Abilene. While we are still a good 45 minutes away, we have taken advantage of the shorter distance and spent weekends and even some evenings together. Two of our best friends, Ronnie and Christen Leidner, welcomed us to Hillsboro while living in Crowley and made special efforts to see us now that we were more available. Now that we have moved here, the Lord has called them in a different direction. God is so faithful, yet, still we don't always understand why things pan out in our lives the way that they do. Ronnie has been accepted to the Master's program for Athletic Training at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. We are so proud for his accomplishment in getting admitted to the program, and so sad that it will be taking their family away from ours when we just got used to being able to visit each other on a more regular basis. We got to enjoy their company one last time as a group at a going away party this last Friday evening. Tyler had to work, so Anslee and I went together! Here is a photo of the Leidners!




We will be missing them so much in the future, but wishing them well at the same time. I have realized the value of friendship in truly being happy for them, even though it causes a little heartache on our side. The party was a lot of fun, and I think that they felt very loved by their "family" here in Texas.


Christen and I realized that great of friends we are, we have not taken a picture together (just us) in literally years. Why? We don't know. So we decided to take one to make up for lost memories over the years.

Well, Mother's day is tomorrow, and I am so excited and blessed to celebrate my very first one this year! I am blessed to be a mother and a wife, and could not ask for anything more!

Baby Boom

Well the baby boom is on, and continuing to be a bigger boom. I feel like that is all I can blog about, simply because that is all I seem to know right now. You know its getting that way that whenever the phone rings, and I see its one of my girlfriends, my first thought is: Are they pregnant? To that question, I quickly answer my phone, and more times than you would think, my instinct has been right on. Over the past two weeks 3 precious friends, and 1 family member (My brother!) have welcomed sweet additions to their families to the world. Landon and Nikki Day brought London into this world on April 29. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz. She is one gorgeous baby girl, but we all knew she would be, considering who she belongs too! Dicky and Sarah Smith also welcomed baby girl, Molly Kate, almost two weeks ago. She is a beauty too, judging from the pictures I saw posted on facebook. A sweet friend from church gave birth on May 2nd to baby girl Paley, weighing 6 lbs. This was Cassi's 3rd little girl to welcome home!

My little brother Trey welcomed Sweet Isabella into his family on April 26ths at 6:20 in the morning. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 18 and 1/4 inches long. Her pictures are gorgeous. I love being a Mommy, and now I have the pleasure of being an Aunt as well. Congrats Trey and Sarah, you have a beautiful baby girl.

Now, Not only were there 4 births in the past two weeks, but I have found out that 4 pregnancies that I have been made aware of! Two of these pregnancies are to very close friends of ours! Travis and Tate Reid announced that Tate was 6 weeks along this past week. We are excited to be apart of their lives as they travel down the lovely road of pregnancy. December 19th is the Big Day! The other pregnancy has not been totally made public yet, so out of respect to them, I will let them remain nameless until they give the green light! The other pregnancies belong to sweet acquaintances that I of course will be wishing my very best of luck too as well!

Here is a picture of Nikki and Landon, with their new bundle of joy, London Noel Day



So I guess I could say that this blog post is dedicated to sweet friends, acquaintances, and family members that are new parents or new parents to be! Congrats to all!