Sorry, Mom!

We had some friends over for a cookout last night and I put Knox in the tub for a quick bath because he was starting to get a little sleepy from all the excitement.  After I dried him off, he went running into the game room while I hung up his towel. There's not much more I can say on this one...

At least he said he was "sorry"...

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Silly Boys

Living in a house full of testosterone certainly keeps me on my toes.  You never know what the day will bring.  Here's just a glimpse into my world over the past few days...

I'm sure you're thinking, "Oh, Tate must've had a game this weekend."  Not quite... This is how he came downstairs.  I guess he just wanted to wear his uniform... eye black and all.

A New Favorite  (and yes, I know they're jumping on the couch... I pick my battles, okay?)

Here's what goes on before it's bathtime.

Love to y'all,

Tracy

So Far So Good

A couple days ago, Brad and I went to a perinatologist for a Level II sonogram.  It's basically just a very in-depth sonogram, where the doctor can see things better and clearer than a typical sono.  Because of Nash's heart problem, my obgyn wants to watch the new baby very closely.  (We had this done with Knox also).  So we schedule the Level II for 18 weeks and a fetal echocardiogram with a cardiologist at 22 weeks to keep tabs on the baby's heart.  

Like any mom, my nerves are heightened as these appointments approach.  I was doing pretty good all day, but when we got to the office, I started to get more and more anxious, praying that everything was going to go well.  I always tell Brad that I'm glad the doctor doesn't check my pulse or blood pressure because they would be through the roof.  

My heart was pounding as the appointment began, but as the time went by and the doctor talked us through everything she was looking at and measuring, I began to relax a little bit.  She spent a lot of time on the baby's heart and she summed it up, saying it looked, "Gorgeous."  What a wonderful word.  Gorgeous.  Thank you, God.

Profile of baby - the part that looks like an arm is actually the baby's thigh - it was crunched up in a little ball for much of the time we were looking at it. 

And just in case y'all are wondering... yes, this was the appointment where we could find out if the baby is a girl or a boy....................  So...................................  Oh, come on!  You know we don't want to know!  So baby #4 remains a surprise!!!  

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Batter Up!

This weekend, we were super busy with, what else?!  BASEBALL!  On Friday night we went to the Frisco Rough Riders game - they're a minor league team in the area.  It's always so nice to go because it's really close to home and it's such a small stadium, that the seats are good no matter where you sit.  The game didn't start until 7:00pm, so we were pleasantly surprised to make it through five entire innings before Knox was ready to head on home.

Tate before the game began.

Knox enjoying his vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.

Me and my boys.

Yesterday afternoon, we all headed to Arlington to watch the Rangers take on the Angels.  This time, Knox lasted through the bottom of the eighth and then left with my parents.  But Tate stayed until the game was over.  He loves baseball so much... He knows how to read the scoreboard and calls out "Foul Ball!" or "Two outs!"  It was so fun watching him cheer on the team... he was doing all the little cheers and chants that the crowd does throughout the game. 

Enjoying the beautiful day!

Tate pitched some balls in the "kids area" out in center field.

Knox watching his Rangers.

Then today, Tate had his second T-ball game of the season.  He is always SOOOOO excited to get to the field and I think Brad and I are just as excited to watch him play.  They don't keep score and everyone gets to bat each inning, but it is priceless watching him do something he loves so much. 

Even though they don't keep track of outs, while playing second base today, he got four different runners out.  The crowd was cheering for him by name.  He knew exactly what he was supposed to do and did it like a pro.  He batted three times - twice lefthanded and once right.  What can I say?  We've got ourselves a switch hitter!  And each time he ran home, he slid into home plate.  I seriously think I was beaming the entire game.  At the end of the game, his coach told the team how proud he was of all of them and then awarded Tate the game ball for all of his fantastic plays out in the field.  Way to go, Tater!

Right before his second at bat. 
 Sliding into home!
 
Showing me his game ball!

I think this was his second at bat, when he switched to batting right handed.

I hope that baseball continues to be a part of our lives for a long, long time.  I enjoy every moment of spending these times with the boys.  I look forward to so many more days spent on the field.

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Moms

This is one of my favorite poems about being a mom.  It rings so true for all the moms out there...Happy Mother's Day.

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry about whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on.  Pooped on.  Chewed on.  Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.  Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down..

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know the bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every ten minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never know the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Love to y'all,
Tracy

A Proud Mama

There's not a day that goes by when a mom doesn't feel proud as she looks at her kids.  And like other moms, I find myself doing this pretty often.  But there are some days that for whatever reason, my heart feels like it's literally swelling with pride.


This week Tate began swimming lessons.  As much as he loves to swim, he's not always very good at participating in organized activities... especially if it's without me, or if it's without any kids he knows, or if it's something that he doesn't feel that confident doing... and let's just say that swimming lessons encompassed all three of these.  So on Tuesday afternoon, I wasn't sure what to expect as we walked into the pool area.  

When they called his name, he went right over (tenatively) and got in line with the rest of the kids.  But I could tell that he was feeling more and more anxious with every minute.  The instructors were very specific about where parents could stand and watch... and it was way off to the side, where the kids wouldn't be distracted by us.  This was a great "rule" on their part, because this way, Tate was sort of "forced" to stay with his teacher and not feel tempted to come over to me. 

For the entire thirty minutes, Tate tried his best to fend off the tears.  His little shoulders were heaving up and down as he attempted to get himself settled down.  But through it all, he stayed in the pool and did everything his teacher asked him to do, including put his face in the water. 

We went back today for his second class.  He was visibly nervous as the class began.  But the teachers welcomed him with open arms and got him right in the pool before he could really resist.  His little face was scrunched up like he was on the verge of tears for the first five minutes or so.   But after that, he listened attentively to his teacher and again did everything that was asked of him... blowing bubbles, playing follow the leader, and floating on his back.  When he got out after class ended, he gave his teacher a big hug and was all smiles.  He told me, "That was fun!"

There are certain things that Tate loves and thrives at doing.  For instance, he lives, sleeps, and eats baseball.  He honestly plays it every single day.  I swear he came out of the womb swinging a bat.  When he's on the field playing, of course, I am proud.  I am beyond thrilled to watch him play something that he truly, truly loves... But I feel a different kind of pride to watch him struggle through something.  To watch him have a little "internal battle" as he forces himself to participate in his swimming lessons, really melts my heart.  Somewhere along the line he's learned self discipline.  He's learned that some things aren't easy, but that they are worth it in the end.  He's learned how to give new experiences a chance.  For all of these reasons, I found myself so incredibly proud of him today.  I love the little boy he is growing up to be.

Love to y'all,
Tracy

Life as a Little Boy

Yesterday, poor Knox had to run errands with me throughout the course of the entire day.  It was one of those days where we had to run in and out of a bunch of different places... you know what I mean.  Like grab some swim trunks for Tate at Old Navy (because he starts lessons this week), then get some ink cartridges for the printer at Best Buy, then pick up a couple things at Hallmark, and of course, our weekly trip to Target.  Tate got to stay home with Daddy, but Knox had to come with us because the big boys were working in the garage and Knox tends to like to run down to the end of the driveway.  So we had a Mommy and Knox day!

Knox was a real trooper (like usual), and we were about halfway through Target (our last stop) when he spotted some Goldfish in the cracker aisle.  It's amazing how a little boy who can't really talk sure can explain to his mom what he wants!  So anyway, I grabbed the crackers and opened them up so he could munch on them while we finished shopping.  He was quite happy and had full cheeks for the remainder of our trip.

When it was time to check out, we went to our "usual" check out girl - is that bad that we have a "usual?" - and started our familiar small talk.  I found out that she is a junior at a Plano high school and that she actually went to the elementary school I teach at for a couple of years.  So we got busy chatting about which teachers were still there and which had left... that's when we heard a very large "WHOOOOOOOSH!!!!!"  We looked over and Knox had taken the full bag of Goldfish and dumped the entire thing onto his lap, the cart, and the floor.  Oops.  He just looked up at me with wide eyes and continued to eat the crackers off of his lap.  No big deal I guess.  

I apologized over and over again as our check out girl called someone over to help clean it all up and then we quickly made our escape... leaving a nice trail of orange fish behind us.

Later in the afternoon, the boys were playing outside, while I was ordering a pizza for dinner.  I went out to check on them and found they had dumped out all the containers of bubbles they could find out there and Knox was happily splashing around in them.  He was a big, soapy mess!  Tate and his friend who was over thought it was pretty funny... which, I guess, it was until Knox decided to rub his hands in his eyes.  He was soon screaming at the top of his lungs as I washed off his hands, arms, and eyes in the kitchen sink.  

Poor little guy!  First spilled Goldfish, then bubbles in his eyes.  Oh, the life of a little boy!

Love to y'all,
Tracy