Lately...

Wow...I don't even know how to begin this post. It's been entirely too long since the last time I've updated, and even then, I had been taking the lazy road by posting more pics and much less commentary. Sadly, I've never written a single thing in Conner's NOR Cayden's baby book, so I always have to resort to checking the archives to read about past milestones and memories. Well, it's worked for Conner because I diligently recorded most everything on our blog, but it's been vastly different this time around with Cayden. :( He's growing leaps and bounds and has since I've written last (SAME with Conner Man), but it's WAY too overwhelming to go back and catch up with posts. Sadly, I must skim over the highlights as to what's been going on here lately.

First of all, the Lord is doing deep things within our family. Without giving many details, we know that we are standing smack dab in front of a fork in the road, and we are trusting Him as He guides us through the journey of SIMPLY living FOR HIM!!! We don't know exactly what this looks like...still praying for clear confirmation and direction. With that said, it's been a very humbling, eye opening experience for our family. David and I have never been so closely seeking HIS face and leaning upon His NEVER changing WORD! Back in July we went to a marriage conference in Mobile, AL. When I had mentioned that we were going to one not too long ago, some ladies kinda chuckled about the idea of attending a marriage conference. I was a bit embarrassed after our discussion, but man am I soooo, very glad we went!! My take is why not invest time/money in your marriage? It's not a dorky thing to do, and does not necissarily mean that the relationship is in trouble. It's the foundation (apart from your relationship with the Lord) of the family. David and I had the best time together without the kids, and the Lord revealed truth to us all weekend. The speaker was Rick Burgess from the 'Rick and Bubba' show. Rick and his wife, Sherri, lost their two year old son, Bronner a few years ago, and she shared her testimony with us. It broke my heart to listen to the chilling details that a mother had to endure (and still does) through such a traumatic situation. The Lord provided the strength and hope to know that His ways are sovereign and has now given them a platform to use all of this for HIS glory!! Surprisingly, the main thing I walked away with had little to do with David and EVERYTHING to do with our PRECIOUS Conner Man!! Since having Cayden, our calm, sweet tempered little guy, it's been very easy to fall into the trap of comparing/contrasting and labeling their different personalities. I would say quite often speaking of Cayden, "Oh, he's just so laid back...unlike big brother." I would always justify this by adding that Conner is strong willed and independent which will make wonderful leadership qualities ONE DAY. One day??? Hmmm....As Mrs. Burgess wept while sharing about her vibrant two year old who's days were numbered, conviction struck me from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. Conner's my precious three year old who has all these wonderful qualities that God has given him for TODAY!!!..."One Day" is too far in the future for us to bank on. Since then, I've stopped labeling his precious personality and been very conscious in building him up by speaking LIFE to and about him. Conner may have very well been completely unaware that I had even been comparing the two boys like that, but I know without a doubt that if I had continued, it could've completely broken his spirit. Our new motto with Conner is LESS complaining and MORE training. These last few months have been so different discipline wise. We've seen Conner grow up so much as we've poured into his moldable soul. He's been making better decisions and has even seemed to calm down a bit...while Mr. Cayden has developed some spunkiness!! Ha!! Well, ain't that just somethin', somethin'!! :) Both boys are such a gift from the Lord. My heart overflows with joy and thankfulness that HE'S allowed us this opportunity to raise them...(Daycare isn't suppose to be raising them/or spending most of the time with them - But MOMMA and DADDY are...and my job is to RAISE and exhaust my time and energy into MY own children rather than the twenty-two in my classroom. I'm not going to have another shot at this, and just like my sweet friend Danielle has expressed before, the Lord can get another teacher, but He can't create another momma for my boys.)...entirely different subject that is not meant to be opened today, maybe next year. ;) We're praying for answers. (I LOVE teaching...but my priorities have been greatly tested and I've failed, and it's only the second month of school. I've got to learn to get out of there in a decent time and stop bringing it home with me, or I'll have to just close that chapter in my life until the boys are older. Either way, things will change.) This also means drastic LIFESTYLE changes...but we're going down that road regardless, so might as well go all the way. No turnin' back.

CONNER

Man OH Man is this child growing up. He's a kid!!..not a toddler anymore. He's learning so much in his new class at school and absolutely LOVES life bringing so much joy into our family!! Still such an entertainer and comedian!! Once you've let him know that you are entertained and that he has you rolling...it's on. Sadly, I don't write down the things that he says...thinking I'll remember them for sure, but then I don't. :( I'll try to work on that.

Getting a trim at the Crenshaw Salon ;)

Sweet boy...this was taken after he threw a complete tantrum about having to take a nap, and as you can see, he ended up sleeping like a baby. Momma knows best. :)

CAYDEN

These are all pretty much outdated. I can get away with posting older pics of Conner, but Cayden still seems to change each and every day. I'll try to take some over this LONG weekend and post again soon. Maybe it won't be a long break this time...oops!! Sorry grandparents. Normally, my Facebook makes up for it, but I've slacked on both here lately. :/

Just some things...

• Cayden's Mr. Mobile...meaning he's EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING!! He's got big ideas and is very determined to follow through with them. It's an interesting change.
• He LOVES his big brother, which is in my opinion the reason he's growing up so fast. Cayden wants to do everything Conner does. (They've started taking baths together...we've retired the "ducky tub"...I know, sad...sad day. HOW is this happening sooo fast?!?)
• He eats everything. Period. EVERYTHING. With the exception of eggs, peanuts, and strawberries due to doctor's request. BUT everything else from noodles, chicken nuggets, veggies to cake, ice cream, and swigs of coke...and everything in between. Yep, bad mamma this time around. Hee-hee!!! Next subject. Ha!! No really, he's a very good eater and has totally embraced the food world just like big brother.
• We're weaning him to regular milk...PAY RAISE?? He chugs down on it just as if it's formula. However, I've got to be more diligent about putting it in a sippy cup rather than bottle. My goal is to have him off the bottle at 12 months, like we did with Conner.
• Paci...doesn't really care for it like Conner did. We still give him one at night, but with Conner I got to where I put several in his crib so that he could reach and grab one in the middle of the night if need be. Cayden just doesn't care about it. He even sits in the car seat without one. With Conner, I would get nervous if we went somewhere without one, but with Cayden, it's not even on our list of things to take.
• Speaking of car seat...we've rebelled, and due to the inconvenience of moving the carrier back and forth from our vehicles, Cayden now faces "forward" in David's truck. Yep...before turning one! My thing is there are bound to be some one year olds that weigh less than Cayden, so it must be okay. Bad Momma??? I don't think so, but don't judge. :)
• HE'S A FANTASTIC SLEEPER...quantity like his momma - but quality (meaning deep, DEEP sleeper like DADDY!!) You can transport him from point A to Z...and the child's not waking up. If he does, he simply gives you this cute little goofy grin and goes right back to la-la land. Both Conner and myself are light sleepers. I wake up at the drop of a hat, but thankfully will fall right back asleep. David not so much - a bomb could go off, and that man would never know about it. ;) Love him.
• Babbles all the time...says Mama, Dadda, Bubba, Uhuh, Pappa, Nana, and all kinds of gibber-jabber. (He says all those things but not necessarily for meaning...besides the Uhuh for when he drops something or falls down.)
• He's has a deep chuckle laugh...that usually only Conner can bring out.
• FOUR known teeth...and hasn't complained a bit. Never have broken out the numbing stuff or Tylenol. Go figure.
• Recently he's started standing. He'll cruise around the furniture and decide to let go every now and then. He's progressing much faster in that area than Conner did.
• Still very laid back and easy going....cheerful, at peace little guy!!

Can you SEE the Love?! Melts my heart...