Happy Halloween!

So these pictures are before trick-or-treating. Hopefully I will have better pictures later. Walgreens is doing free pictures this afternoon! Noah is our Fireman and Jonah is whatever we can get on him without him screaming. He started out as a pumpkin, but had a diaper blowout and had to change. We then tried an orange cat costume (left over from Noah), but it was big, scratchy, and hot. I did not think a heat rash on top of eczema would be a good idea, so that costume was out as well. Our last option was the homemade quilted Halloween bib and overalls. Maybe we will have better luck next year. Have fun everyone!

Our Baby This Week

Our baby is approximately the length of a carrot. I am beginning to feel like he is practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements have turned into full-fledged kicks and nudges. I have not yet discovered any pattern to his activity. In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.
I have still been doing well with my blood sugar levels and blood pressure. I am having a lot of back pain. The doctor seems to think that it is pregnancy related sciatica. I'm not sure that is the case, I just know that it hurts to move. Luckily, I have a husband who takes very good care of me and helps out a lot. I really don't know how single mothers make it through the day. They have my utmost respect!

A Year Of Firsts

Jonah Ozious Givens

10/22/07 First Hug from Noah
10/24/07 First Car Ride
11/18/07 First Professional Photo
12/06/07 First Day without Mommy
01/30/08 First Zoo Trip
02/18/08 First Trip to Chuck E. Cheese
03/19/08 First Eight Hour Stretch of Sleep
04/30/08 First Sat Alone
05/10/08 First Beach Trip
05/15/08 First Tooth
05/16/08 First Busted Lip
06/08/08 First Fishing Trip
06/09/08 First Taste of Watermelon
06/10/08 First Taste of Cricket
07/04/08 First River Parade
08/10/08 First Day without Pacifier
08/13/08 First Egg Free Day
08/21/08 First Crawled
09/10/08 First Top Teeth
10/04/08 First Day Bottle-Free

I included this list on the invitation for Jonah's party, and thought I would post it on here as well. I did not really keep a baby book up to date for Jonah like I did with Noah, so this will have to be a substitute. I guess you just get slack with those type of things when you have more than one child to take care of. I just wonder how many things will get recorded about this newest addition? Hopefully I will find enough time to jot down the really important things, like graduations and marriage! Ha Ha

Jonah's Party

We gave Jonah his first birthday party on Sunday. It worked out great because Sunday was also the annual church fall festival at the ball field. We had everyone over to our house for lunch and cake and then headed over to the ball field for fun and games. I think Jonah was a little overwhelmed, but still had a great time. The highlight of his day was getting to eat the chocolate cake. Linda made it for him with an egg free recipe, so he could enjoy it just like the rest of us. This was his very first taste of cake and as you can tell from the pictures, he tasted it with every part of his face! I let him have a good time, but I drew the line at him seeing how far he could fling it.

Landon Neil Crosby

I have been debating about whether or not to post this and I guess I have decided to go ahead. When Jonah was born, there were four of us friends who delivered within two weeks of each other. This time around when I got pregnant, there were three of us; myself, my cousin Stephanie, and Joe's cousin Denise. Our due dates were once again all within a few weeks of each other. It is so exciting to go through a pregnancy with someone that you are close to. You can compare all of the strange things happening in your body with someone who truly knows what you are feeling at that exact moment.
Unfortunately, Wade and Denise's precious baby boy Landon did not make it to his scheduled due date. My heart breaks for them at the thought of saying goodbye to their baby. I am filled with emotions that I want to express, but just can't seem to find the words. Nothing seems to be adequate. I feel guilty that so many times I have taken for granted the miracle of life.
Denise has to be one of the best mothers in the world. God knew from the beginning that Landon needed a special mother for his short life here on earth. A mother's job is to love her children and from listening to Denise, I know she loved little Landon from the moment that she was planning for him. Even before he was conceived, I'm sure she had dreams for him and loved just the idea of him. I hope Denise realizes that she did her job perfectly, no baby could be loved more. Little Landon is now in heaven at Jesus feet, knowing that he is loved very much not only by his mom, but his entire family.

Our Baby This Week

The ultrasound showed that our baby weighs about 13 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — about the length of a banana. He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and we will see it in his first soiled diaper (both Noah and Jonah passed meconium in the womb during delivery). I am doing well. My blood pressure has been great and my blood sugar levels have been in the normal range so far. Maybe there will be no insulin shots his time around.
We are still debating on the name. I have made up my mind, but Joe is a little unsure. If he does not come around soon, I guess I will have to come up with something else.

Jonah Turns One!

Today is Jonah's first birthday. Mom snapped this picture of him while he was visiting with her and Pa today. We had a very big day for him. Joe took off work today and we all got up this morning and headed out to The Pumpkin Patch. This was really for Noah, but Jonah enjoyed it as well. Noah got to race stick horses while the rest of us watched. He then attempted to ride a real horse, but chickened out at the last minute. We all went on a hay ride and then a nature walk. Jonah and Noah played in a huge 'sand' box filled with shelled corn. (Their favorite part of the day!) Then just before leaving, both boys got their faces painted and picked out a pumpkin to bring home. Joe and I then took the boys to my mom's house and headed back to town where I had an appointment with the doctor. This was the first time Joe had gone with me for this pregnancy. They did another ultrasound and this baby is definitely a boy! He was very willing to show off his 'goods'. We picked up the boys this afternoon and gave Jonah his birthday present; his very own universal remote control. Maybe now he will leave mine alone! No birthday cake for him today, we will have his party this weekend and he can chow down on egg free chocolate cake then. All in all a very good day, I just have a hard time believing that a year has passed already. Happy Birthday Jonah, Mommy loves you very much!

Just Too Cute!

Mud Between Your Toes

Noah: Momma, have you ever felt mud squish between your toes?
Me: Yes Noah, I think I have.
Noah: Don't it just feel so good?
Me: Yes Noah, I suppose it does.
Noah: I mean, I like clean feet too; but sometimes I just want to feel some mud!

This is the conversation Noah and I had as we walked barefoot back to the shop this evening. Some people like to see their little boys wearing ties and dress shoes, but not me. I'm sure it is nice occasionally, but I prefer my boys barefoot and covered with mud. That is when they seem the happiest, and it always washes off. Maybe it is a really good thing that this newest one isn't a little girl!

Our Baby This Week

So because of computer issues, I missed week seventeen, but I don't really think much happened. This week, head to rump, our baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that I have really started noticing more and more in the past few days. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born.

Do We HAVE To Go To Church?

Noah really does not like going to church. In his words..."Church is just too long for a little boy to have to sit still and not talk!" Yesterday Joe had a long talk with Noah about the importance of church and once again told him that yes we would be going to church Sunday mornings whether he liked it or not.
This morning our pastor delivered a very good message on service to God. Near the end of the message, he looked out at the congregation and asked rhetorically, "Why are you in Church this morning?" Noah, who was laying on the floor by this point, looked up at me and whispered, "See Momma, he don't know why we 'gotta come either!"

No More Bottles

Last Friday (October 3rd), Jonah decided that he no longer wanted to drink out of his bottle. I had planned on taking the bottle away on his first birthday, like I did with Noah, but since he seemed ready for the change, I decided we were going to do it earlier. It really turned out to be not that big of a deal. Like the passy, he really didn't care that he no longer had it.
Jonah turns one on October 22nd, and we are going to have his birthday party October 25th. In order for this party to be "Jonah Friendly" I am banning eggs for the day. I found a chocolate cake recipe that does not contain eggs and I think I will try it. If any of you know of another good cake recipe that does not contain eggs, please let me know.

I'm Back

At least for a little while anyway. Thanks to a borrowed computer, I will be able to update everyone on what has been going on with us. Hopefully by this weekend, I will have my own computer up and running. The no Internet thing is driving me crazy. I thought that it would give me more time to clean my house and do other chores, but if you saw my house right now you would see that is just not the case. However, if you ride by my house, you will see that I finally have out my Fall decorations in the yard. I have wanted a scarecrow for so long and finally this year I got one! I must say he is the cutest little scarecrow I have ever seen. The scarecrow along with the pumpkins and bales of hay make it look like Fall is really here.

Workplace Psalm 23

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want.

He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.

He gently reminds me to pray and do all things

without murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my source and not my job.

He restores my sanity every day and guides my decisions

that I might honor Him in all that I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails,

system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks,

gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an

aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning,

I still will not stop---for He is with me!

His presence, peace, and power will see me through.

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.

He claims me as His own, even when the

company threatens to let me go.

His faithfulness and love is better than any bonus check.

His retirement plan beats any 401K there is!

When it is all said and done,

I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that,

I BLESS HIS NAME!!!!!

I found this on my desk today when I got to work. I don't know who it is from, but I thought it was perfect for my mood today. Lately I have been wondering what I was going to do about my job next year when the baby comes. The company has been VERY good to me, allowing me to only come in one day a week and allowing me to even be flexible about which day I would like. For right now, I have only been guaranteed a spot here until the end of this year. Every time before they have extended me, but with the economy slowing down, it is looking like I will not get an extention this time around. I'm not sure if that is such a bad thing or not. I will be very busy with a toddler, a new baby and home-schooling Noah. The little bit of extra money is nice to have, but we have worked out our budget so that if I don't work it will not pose any true hardship on our family. Anyway, a lot of rambling to say this...I will not worry, God has it all in His control.

Monday...The Good And The Bad

First the good news. We got the AFP results back Monday. Everything looks fine, so we are sticking with our local doctor and hospital for delivery. No more tests or worrying!

Now the bad news. My computer crashed on Monday so until it gets fixed or we get another, you can expect updates on this blog to be sporadic at best. The only reason I am able to update now is because I am at work. If my boss is reading this, I am clocked out! This is my lunch break, and since I left my lunch in the fridge at home, I have plenty of time for things such as blogging.