It seems like just yesterday that my baby girl was born. When I found out I was pregnant, I just knew it was a boy. I was prepared for a boy and really liking the idea of having two boys especially since Grant was such an easy-going, loveable, laid back boy. I had envisioned all sorts of things with brothers and a whole brood of boys! One bright January morning I was shocked to see the ultrasound printed out and reading "Grant's sister" with an arrow pointing to the baby. I just KNEW it was a boy and had totally prepared mentally for that. Now, it was time to switch gears...pink gears! I started getting really excited about pretty pink things and hair bows and sewing, etc...Easy pregnancy until the end. On my last appointment, Dr. Mac said my blood pressure was high and I could either stay on bedrest indefinitely or go in and be induced in two days. We chose the latter. We went in on a Thursday night, pitocin was started in the wee hours. I insisted on a natural labor/delivery again and this time it was far worse as I had back labor very bad....but a good tub in my room. After my water broke and real labor progressed, it wasn't long. Avery was born at 4:15 on Friday, May 27th 2005. She was 7 lbs 8 oz. and that was 2 weeks early! She was so laid back and took to breastfeeding MUCH easier than her brother had. We brought her home on Saturday. Heather was keeping Grant and Olivia at our house. The AC had gone out and we came home to an 80 degree house in May. Beau was able to get someone to come out and fix it late that night after pulling the "my wife and newborn" card. Next day Beau (our protector and provider) put a sign on both doors of the house that said "NO VISITORS: Cathy had a rough labor/delivery and awful day yesterday!" it made some people mad...I thought it was a very loving and protecting act! And then, AC went out again. So, we trekked an hour south to my gracious mother-in-law's house to stay until the AC was fixed for sure. No place is a good place to be other than home when you come home from the hospital, but her house was the next best thing! By Monday, the AC was fixed and we were officially home. When I think back on Avery's infancy, I recall a moment that makes me and Beau laugh today. One night, I insisted on taking over parenting duties for Grant's bedtime b/c I had been recovering for a few days and Daddy had been doing that. I tried. He wanted Daddy. He didn't want Mommy. Even though my head told me not to take it personally, my heart did. Then Grant dropped the bomb! "I want Daddy! Can't you just go put Avery back in your tummy????" I was crying, he was crying and Beau was bringing me Avery b/c she was crying and needed to nurse. I just remember the four of us in the kitchen floor....3/4 of us crying and 1/4 of us shaking his head like "who do I fix first???" Good times!
I love my sweet, funny, chatty, chatty, chatty little Avery. I can't imagine what life would be like without her...too quiet, that's for sure!

Wow! We just got home from Grant's Awards Day program. Sometimes I wish I weren't such a crier. I'm here to tell ya, I'm about to be elected the town crier for the amount of tears I shed over joy, sadness, pride, etc... This academic year has been an amazing one for Grant! Last year was so tough...starting all day Kindergarten, being bullied, having to learn to stand up for himself, trying to come out of his shell. This year, I remember didn't start out so great either. Unfortunately with the 4 deaths in the family in one year, Grant had a very rough first two weeks after the passing of Toot. He went through the terrified phase of not wanting to leave home for fear that we would die and after many, many shed tears (between both of us), lots of prayers, having to peel him off of me to go to school and seeing the school counselor he got past that phase. No 6 year old should have to deal with that many family members passing in one calendar year. He began to really come out of his shell socially....making lots of new friends and really loving school and his teacher. We were blessed to have Grant in the class he was in. His teacher was amazing! So amazing, in fact, that she won teacher of the year (at which award presentation, I cried for her....GEEZ!) Towards the end of the year at our parent/teacher conference Grant's teacher gave me a fabulous report of Grant's academics, social skills, leadership qualities and the like. I was beaming. I am so proud of the young man he is becoming (and yes, I am getting choked up while writing this). He was one of 2 today who won the principal's leadership award, many academic awards and even an award for his ability to share his knowledge and input in class discussion. He did exceptionally well on his standardized tests and I thank God for all of it and his humility. From the time Grant was conceived, this is what we prayed for....a happy, healthy, intelligent, humble, social baby....God knows the desires of our hearts. I know this. This is my day to brag on my baby and brag I will!

At the teacher conference, Grant's teacher did ask me if Avery was much like her brother. I said "well, if by like him you mean kind, tender, smart, respectful then yes....if you mean by laid back and easy going and quiet, the answer is a resounding NO." She certainly is very different than Grant in that respect. Don't worry, her blog is coming soon and it's sure to prove wordy and chatty just like her!

I love my children. I am so proud to be Grant and Avery's mom. Long before I ever met Beau, I dreamed of pulling up into that carpool and hanging out anxiously waiting on my baby to come and greet me and tell me all about his/her day. I'm here to tell you that when that dream came true, it was all I ever hoped of and more. Ok, so maybe hanging out in the carpool line isn't your dream of motherhood but to me, it was going to be the moment I had "arrived" as a mother. Being a stay-at-home mom isn't as easy as a lot of people think, but I promise you it's the most rewarding job I'll ever have. So what do we do...exactly? MOMS sit in the carpool and anxiously await the play-by-play of the day, MOMS obsess over how many times their 3 year has pooped that week, MOMS get frustrated and then laugh over what was so frustrating later, MOMS can NEVER get enough hugs and kisses and sometimes have to force them on their almost 7 yr old who isn't giving them as often as he used to, MOMS love, MOMS fuss, MOMS' hearts ache for their children, MOMS laugh the loudest when their kid is the comedian, MOMS cry the hardest when their children are hurting, MOMS love to make birthday cakes exactly the way their child has dreamed it up even if it means staying up half the night just to see the smile on their face, MOMS cherish the homemade cards over any gift ever bought, MOMS read...A LOT of children's books and love doing all of the voices, MOMS take walks, MOMS listen, MOMS mess up...often, but MOMS do everything they can to make life a balance of love, fun and structure (which yes, includes discipline) for the greater good of their children. Obviously that isn't the extent of what moms do, but to me, those are just a few of the job descriptions I had in my mind when the job of motherhood made itself available to me. Whatever your motherhood job description was in your mind, I wish you all the best in fullfilling those duties and I promise you that I will do my best too to get the job done....as best I know how. Happy Mother's Day!

As Mother's Day approaches once again, I feel compelled to tell you about my mother. My mom in words...fun, funny, loving, gentle, kind, wise, cute, strong, friendly, optimistic...I could go on and on. If you know my mom, you would probably agree and if you didn't, well, them's is fighting words! I realize often just how big a part of my life that my mother is (especially when she calls me today concerned b/c she hasn't heard from me since Wednesday night - and don't get my sister started...she teases me often that I call them way too much.) The fact of the matter is that I don't call my mom every day or every other day because I need to...I call her often because my heart desires to share with her all it has that day. My mother is the most wonderful role model of what it is to be a mother and I give her so much credit for making me the mother I am today. I don't think women really can appreciate their mothers to the fullest until they have children. As a mother myself, I can look back now and see when my heart ached, hers ached more and when I experienced joy, she shared it with me more than anyone else. My mother is the woman/wife/mother I aspire to be every day...cliche'? Sure. But true nonetheless. So mom, when you read this, know that I love you and I thank you for my addiction to treats and soda, loving to take road trips with me, being the strong but loving disciplinarian you were, listening to all of my silly rants, being my eternal optimist (right alongside Beau) and my biggest cheerleader, giving me honest advice, praying with me, being my audience when I so often wanted one and being the encourager and mother every girl should be so blessed to have. Happy Mommy's Day!

I often ask Beau..."What would people think if they were looking in our windows?" You just never know what you'll see. I can say without a doubt that I know I married my soul mate when he has no qualms about reenacting a Journey video with the family...costumes, instruments and vocals. I think he knew what he was getting into when he met me and Lisa...babies of the family, always striving to be the comedians and centers of attention. Fortunately, with his laid back attitude and willingness to allow me to be just that we fit like puzzle pieces...but don't let his quiet demeanor fool you...he is often the one to initiate our rock video reenactments. I'm off to go finish sewing...I'm exhausted from rocking out so hard.

One more thing...it makes me laugh out loud when I think back on my brother's class of 1988 high school pin...it was in the shape of Louisiana and the top of the state was a hand giving the "rock on" sign and beneath that it said something along the lines of "SHHS Class of '88 Rocks!" Classy folks.

So, last weekend, Grant got the opportunity to accompany Beau on a trip to Sandy Hollow to a gopher tortoise sanctuary (I'm probably mis-naming it)...it's a place where the threatened gopher tortoises can live in harmony with nature (sand) and each other. They went with another biologist to school some local Girl Scouts on gopher tortoises and their habitat. Grant apparently was in his element....talking to the ladies and sharing his knowledge of biology with them. Apparently his innate reasoning concerning the burrows impressed not only the scouts but his father and fellow biologist as well. What can I say? He is his father's son in that respect. I only wish I could have seen him in action. Sometimes that kid is 6 going on 43. It cracks me up! He loves to be informative...whether it is to Avery on how to hammer stakes in the ground safely or to me on how to not be fearful of picking up a common snapping turtle by the tail. Oh the things we learn...

Well, it looks like blogspot and I broke up for a while. For the last two weeks every time I got on my site adware and spyware totally infected mine and my mother's computers (shaking fists in the air). We've worked it out and I think we can move on past this...that being said, more blog entries to come very soon.