Making Memories

"When you look back at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." (Joyce Brothers)

I love this quote...it is a familiar quote to me but has come to mean even more the older I get and now that I have my own child. In the last few weeks, my little family (me, Landis, and Luke) as well as my big family (grandparents, aunts, and uncles) have made some wonderful memories...I'll let the pictures begin our story...

Last Thursday night, Landis and I took Luke to a church consignment sale to get him some much needed fall clothes. At the sale, we found this little car. In a store, it would probably cost $60. We paid $20 and it has been worth every penny. Luke's mammaw (my mother in law) pushes him around in the car everyday and then I push him when I get home. He absolutely loves it. One night last week, Luke saw the car sitting in the living room and he tried to climb in it himself...so cute! We love making memories in the little red car!!!

The next set of pictures are very special...actually, one day, they will be priceless. On Oct. 16th, my mom celebrated her 50th birthday! My aunt Sonya and I planned a surprise party for her at Myers Park in Thomasville. I think she was suprised!! But, even if she wasn't, the memories we were able to make were wonderful. Take a look at the fun we had! (The first pic was taken after we got back home from the party - memaw and Luke winding down with a book.) The rest are at the party!

That's the whole bunch - family and friends!!

There's mom with me and my Aunt Sonya -thanks, Sonya, for helping me prepare everything for the party!

That's my mom with her parents and brothers and sister. The only one that is missing is my uncle Jamie - we don't know where he was. :(

Yeah - those are Depends!!! :)

Luke with mammaw and grandaddy Watts! Grandaddy took him to find leaves - he's excited that he found one!

50! Mom - you're old!! (he, he)

Luke with memaw!!

Luke with his aunt Sonya!

Last Friday, Luke and I met Lindsey, Layla, and Adalei at Grimes Park for some kiddo and grown up bonding time. We couldn't stay long but it sure was nice to spend some time with a great friend! The kids were so busy rolling around in the mulch that they didn't notice the moms chatting away. Here are some pics of our little ones making memories together!

Could this be a start of a future romance??? :)

There they are - Luke, Adalei, and Layla. So sweet! :)

Making memories in the swing!!! Here are a few more pictures of Luke in his favorite car - these were taken right after we bought the car...

Jimmy Johnson - you better watch out!! :)

Luke's serious about this car driving thing...

This is a picture of Luke with another consignment purchase - a kid guitar. He loves to watch Landis play his guitar and wants to touch it all the time so we got him a guitar of his own. As you will see in later pics, he still prefers Daddy's guitar....

Luke has started pointing at everything...see???

See? He would much rather have his hands on the REAL guitar...these pictures are priceless!!!

Two weeks ago, Luke, Landis, and I went to our friend Melissa's house to hang out with the gang - here are the ladies...

And, here is everybody - trying, unsuccessfully to take a good self timed picture...

And, finally, the same day that we hung out with the gang, Luke, Landis, and I tailgated at the Wake Forest football game with Landis' buddies from work. I was so busy trying to keep up with Luke as he crawled around the grass and went strolling in the BOB that I only took this one picture. This is Hannah - she is the little girl of Gabe and Katherine (Gabe works with Landis). She is 3 and is super sweet! She played with Luke so gently - thanks, Hannah, for being such a good friend! Hannah will have her own little brother to play with in just a few weeks.

As I look back on these pictures and others that I have posted since I started this blog, I get overwhelmed thinking about how blessed we are. Today, I celebrate my 31st birthday. These 31 years have been full of blessings and I am so thankful for each one of them.

This morning, Landis picked up Luke and while holding him sang Happy Birthday to me - seeing my two favorite men celebrate with me made my day special already. Then, Luke and I sat out on the porch (very bundled up) and rocked until he fell asleep for his morning nap - another special memory on this beautiful day! It looks like this birthday is going to be a great one! I'm off of work - I've already had a super morning - the gorgeous fall weather is upon us - and this afternoon, we are heading to Charlotte to celebrate with my college roommate, Megan, and her husband, Eric.

As always, thanks for stopping by. The Bumgarner family is off to....make more memories....

Toddy

A Mother's Worries

Before I begin journaling some motherly thoughts, let me give you a quick update on Landis' dad - it's great news! Donnie was released from the hospital last Tuesday and is doing super! He walked almost 3 miles today. He looks better than he has in a long time because his body is now working with full circulation. We are very thankful for his beautiful recovery.

Now...into the mommy world...

I know that all of you mommies out there will be able to relate to this blog (or at least parts of it)...Do any of you have days where you feel like you were the worse mother in the world? Well, I do...here lately, it seems that I am questioning everything I'm doing. The older Luke gets, the more I find myself worrying. I know this is normal, but it's very frustrating, and, it drains me of my energy. With Luke being in to everything, we have had to start using, "No!" pretty forcefully - lately, the effectiveness of that word is hit or miss - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. He will often look at us and then go right back to the no playing zone. I've tried distracting him with other toys and this doesn't work either - he knows exactly where to go to find things that "are not his." Already having to think about how to discipline and correct is worrisome.

Then, there's the worrying about keeping him physically safe. He is now opening cabinets, drawers, and attempting to climb up onto things. We have to watch him every single second. He has smashed his fingers in a few drawers in the last few days. He will cry for a few seconds and then try to open the drawer again. He is a tough little man and very determined. Determination can be good if used in the right ways, so I already worry about fostering this determination in a positive way while still protecting him.

Yesterday, Landis and I took him for a walk in the BOB stroller. Because we were just walking, I didn't put the safety strap around my wrist like I normally do. Then, at the last minute, we decided to run for a little while. I forgot to put the safety strap on my wrist and the strap came loose, I stepped on it, and jerked the stroller to a sudden stop. When I did this, Luke hit his forehead on a metal piece on the stroller. He had three small bruises on his head right away and he cried for quite a few minutes. We kept our eye on him all night to make sure he wasn't showing signs of a concussion and he didn't, when we got home, he played as he normally does, ate his dinner, and slept on his normal schedule. I, on the other hand, cried off and on for hours and woke up this morning and cried when I saw his bruises again (which actually look better than they did last night). I felt so bad - something I did caused my precious Luke to get hurt. It's a mistake that I will never forget.

"A mistake I will never forget" - ummm??? This statement made me think - how many other mistakes will I make as a mother that I will never forget? Who knows? I, of course, will do my very best to minimize my mistakes, but, I know that this is difficult. Raising a child is trial and error and many days I feel like I make more errors - let me just quickly name one more - Luke fights going to sleep at night - he throws his head back, whines, spits his paci out, whines some more - matter of fact, he usually has worked up a sweat before he falls asleep. There are many nights that I blame myself - did I keep him up too late? Is he not tired enough? Should I go play with him more or should I let him cry? I've made a few changes in his bedtime routine and the last few nights have been a little better, so I see some light at the end of this dark tunnel. I just want bed time to be relaxing for both of us. It should be a special time - not a stressful one.

One more worry that gets to me - there are days when I go into work that I feel like I am neglecting my child. I ask myself, "Am I leaving my little boy for someone else to raise?" I know that this is logically not what is happening - I am home by 4:15 everyday, I will have two months off with him in the summer - we get a two week vacation at Christmas, one week vacation at Easter, and I get to spend snow days with him AND on top of that - his mammaw is taking care of him in his own home, so besides being a stay at home mom, I've got it made...it's just some days I feel guilty for leaving him. And, some days, I just miss him terribly while I'm working - I look at my clock in my office and wonder what he is doing and ache to hold him. Some days are just harder than others.

I know, I know...I'm kind of all over the place with this blog...there's just been a lot on my mommy mind lately that I needed to get off my chest. Just writing this blog makes me feel a little guilty because I worry that it seems that I am complaining about being a mother...that's not what I'm doing at all...I love my son more than words could ever describe and that's why I worry...you moms out there know exactly what I mean....moms have a lot on their minds at all times.

I've prayed about my worries and have asked God to help me trust Him more so that I don't worry, but instead savor every moment with this gift He has entrusted me with. Tonight, I dedicate my prayer time to all the moms in the world who feel like me - we just can't do this difficult job on our own. During your prayer time, please do the same for me. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read...enjoy the pictures of sweet baby Luke...

On a lighter note: Luke was dedicated on Sunday by his Uncle Pete. :) It was a very nice ceremony. I hope to post more as soon as my family sends me some pictures that they took. We used our camera to take video and didn't take still pics - we depended on our family for that - hey, family, :) email me some pics please! :)

Have a good rest of your week...Toddy.

Absolutely Amazing!

I am in amazement at a few things happening in the Bumgarner family - both celebrations, but one, a scary start with a good outcome so far...let me explain...

Around midnight on Wednesday, we received a call from Landis' uncle telling us that his dad, Donnie, had been rushed to the hospital with severe chest pain. The doctors did bloodwork and tests on his heart and found that he had a heart attack. We were all thinking that the doctor would do a heart catherization and put in a stent or two and Donnie would be home the next day. That is not what happened...before we knew it, Donnie was going through a 5 hour open heart surgery where they had to do 4 bypasses. The doctors said that his heart would have lasted maybe one more night without killing him of a massive heart attack. Our family is amazed at God's mercy and grace and his perfect timing! Donnie is being moved from intensive care to a regular room today - he is progressing beautifully, which is another reason I'm amazed. It is amazing to me that doctors can perform such a serious surgery and then two days later, the person is able to sit up in a chair. Medical technology is amazing, and of course, like I said, Donnie coming through the surgery so successfully so far is because of God's hands being on him...we must give credit to God for saving Donnie and helping him to come through such a scary situation. Please continue to pray for Donnie...he has a long road to a full recovery. Please also pray for Landis. Seeing his dad on a ventilator and realizing how close he came to losing his best friend has torn him up...Thursday was the hardest day of his life. He is spending every second at the hospital with his dad, so he is very tired! Please pray for his continued strength.

The rest of my "absolutely amazing" blog is about Luke and how much he is growing! Physically, not as much, but developmentally, a lot. His doctor's appointment on Tuesday was great! He is still quite small. He only weighs 17 pounds, 9 ounces and is 25 and 3/4 inches long. The doctor said he was "well proportioned" and refuses to tell us what "percentile" he is in...I imagine because he is so small. Oh well...he is super healthy and alert and the doctor said, "You have a good one." Matter of fact, I was trying to ask the doctor questions and Luke was babbling so much that the doctor paid me no attention - he was too busy talking and playing with Luke. Thanks a lot, doc! :)

Luke is getting very effecient at crawling! He's all over the place very quickly now! I just love watching his little body on the move. I am also very proud of how much he understands. I don't have anything to compare him to since he is my only child, but, I really feel like he is understanding words and objects at a young age. His mamaw and I read him the same books several times a day...one of them shows pictures of ears, nose, fingers, and toes. When we get to the pages with these words, he will look at his fingers, then his toes, and will grab his ears. It's amazing to me that he has learned these body parts from reading. He also does well at listening to the word, "no!" I hope that continues...(he, he). I am such a proud mommy!!

I have included some updated pictures of him below....


It's getting cooler outside, so here's Luke in his "fall" clothes...:)

Look at the angel sleeping...

Luke is now eating teething biscuits...this is a picture after he finished one...

He just started eating one in this pic...

Luke and his daddy at Granny's house on the swing...

Luke and Granny...

Luke and his new favorite toy...I push him around on this car inside and outside all the time. On Tuesday the weather was beautiful and I had the day off of work so I turned the radio on in Luke's nursery and took the cordless monitor outside with us and put it in the front of the car...it was so much fun because we could hear the nursery rhymes being played while we rode around in the front yard...we were jamming!!! :)

The toy converts to a "walker" type toy...

Luke and I call this game the "Magic Carpet Ride">..I pull him around on a blanket...this is a perfect rainy day activity!!! :)

Off he goes...

sweet, sweet face...

Playing in the cabinets!!!

Singing and dancing!!!

Remember that song, "Do you know the muffin man?" Well, I do!! There he is!!! We love to sing that song with bowls on our head...I know, I know...I'm just a little cheesy...I blame it on the teacher side of me...

That's all folks! Enjoy this beautiful fall weather! Luke and I are off for a walk!! :)