I read a book

It feels great. It has been SO long since I actually read a real book (as opposed to ones about pregnancy, birth, or babies). It took me a few months, but I did it. I definitely used "going to the bathroom" as an excuse to get away and get through a chapter or two. Whatever works, right? It's worth noting that I have a degree in English- literature being my main focus. So, it's safe to say that reading and books are (used to be?) a big part of my life. I love everything about them, and I used to read non-stop. I felt like a little of my old self came back to me when I closed that book and took in the satisfaction that only comes with completing a great novel. I read "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. A great book that I highly recommend. Being a mom, it gave me a whole new perspective than it would have before Jeffrey was in the picture. It made me constantly question what I would do, given the situation that the mother is placed in. It's a horrible thing to think about, but some people have to. The tag line is "Can a parent love too much? Or is too much never enough?" Makes you think, doesn't it?

Happy Birthday, America!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth of July! We were a matchy-match family today, all in our Old Navy flag tees (in red, white, and blue- we're super cheesy). I was excited for Jeffrey's first Independence Day. I want it to be an important holiday for him and that he truly understands the reasoning behind it all. Not that it's just a day for fireworks. In order for him to be the productive member of society that I hope him to be- one that respects freedom for all and personal choice- it us up to Jony and I to instill how proud he should be of being an American. When he's older, I plan on having fun activities to reinforce those ideas and teaching him about what makes our country a great place to live.

For his first celebration, we headed to work in the church nursery (my new career, haha!) where he got to play with some other red/white/blue dressed children. A good nap and a baked cherry pie later, we headed off to celebrate with family. Dinner and dessert followed by FIREWORKS, of course! Jeffrey passed out right before we were going to start the fireworks; it was 9pm, after all. Still early for him, but it was a long eventful day. He slept for about 45 minutes (outside, with the fireworks going on right in front of him- he's a rock star) until a firecracker went wonky and woke him up. I'm glad it did because he had a fantastic time! He'd watch them go in the sky and just stare upwards. He loved them. He had this funny little blinking thing that he would do with every boom, but he wasn't afraid at all. He's our Mr. Fearless.

It was a great day and I'm hoping that, after such a long day with not a whole lot of napping, it will be a great night...

Cabin Fever

This week, I have been home alone with the little guy ALL week. Except for a few hours on Thursday to go the monthly LLL meeting. The only day that I've thoroughly enjoyed? Thursday. Otherwise, we've both been suffering from a severe case of cabin fever.

I've said this so many times, but I have to get out of the house. Both Jeffrey and I have much better days for it. He's become a pretty good napper, but it's always easier if he's had an adventure beforehand. He's in a much better mood after he's had some opportunities to play with friends/see something new and exciting. He gets ridiculously bored with what we have going on at home. I do rotate his toys so that he has new stuff every week, but that typically will only get me through the end of the day on Monday. Once he's checked them all out again, he's ready to move on. This is definitely a trait that he has inherited from his dear old mother. I thrive on being busy- getting out and doing stuff. I'm not a homebody at all.

I had all these big plans of going to our neighborhood park, going on long walks, and even playing out in the baby pool in the backyard since we had no other activities planned (note: I'm horrible at just going somewhere just for the sake of going. I need to get better at that, I think). What happens? The first dang hurricane of the season. It's been raining all freaking week, and I'm over it. Darn you, Alex.

I've got an action packed Fourth of July weekend (side note: I CANNOT wait to take our family picture on Sunday. It should be adorable), so I'll be feeling a lot better after that. Plus, it's a 3 day for Jony! Yay! Now, I just need to work on building up the calendar for the next few weeks...