From Baby to Boy

I wanted to write a post today since it has been a long while.


Life has slipped away from me and we have so much going on each week that it sometimes is hard to stay afloat.


I am trying to get a new blog up and running, which is primarily the reason for the lack of posting, but nonetheless not an excuse for being absent. I miss you all. I miss this.


Three things have been on my mind lately: boingy, dentist, and potty training.


Helloooo two's!


Recently, we took Levi to the doctors for his 2 1/2 year well check and she brought up these 3 things. And it hit me, Levi is becoming a boy and is not a baby anymore.


She instructed us to stop the binky (or as Levi calls it, "boingy," right away) as it can move the jaw backwards and cause an overbite. I already knew this (because I have one from sucking my thumb when I was little!) but I just didn't want to face reality. So, the boingy has been stopped - and my heart is torn. Levi asks for it at night and calls for it at nap. And nap, well, it is non-existent right now without it. He still gets quiet time, but he has not been able to fall asleep without it.


Another thing she advised us to do was to set up a dentist appointment for him for his first cleaning and to get on a regimen. Done.


And last: potty training. Oh, the horrors! It's not that I wouldn't mind not spending money on diapers, but it means that my "baby" is no longer a baby. I love the feeling of the fresh-powdered scent of a new and crisp diaper being wrapped around his smooth little tooshie. I don't want to give it up. But we must. So, I imagine training will come soon. We're not rushing it, but we are definitely thinking ahead about it.


Last night before I changed his diaper for the final time that evening (he pees like no one's business - maybe he gets it from his mama), he laid his head on my shoulder and looked up and me, stroked my face, and said "mama." Oh, how my heart sank with feelings of joy and pride for having such a sweet, young, boy in my arms. I noticed that his once baby soft skin and crumb-free face had an orange tint to it, shaded from meals and snacks of the day. Boogars and a crusty nose looked up at me with tired eyes and remnants of food plastered on in various places adorned his face. It was then I realized, again, he is now a boy.


I hate it and love it all at the same time. It's fun watching new formations each day of his habits and characteristics and learning new skills, but it's heartbreaking knowing he will never be a teeny weeny baby again...


The other thing that happened at the docs? Learning his iron is low.


This instantly made me feel awful - how could he not be getting enough? I feed him mostly healthy foods and he gets tons of veggies and fruits. Thought I must admit he doesn't eat a lot of meat. And that's mostly because I don't eat a lot of it.


Multi-vite with iron here we are.


In addition, I started adding some red meats to our meals, and things like spinach and beans. He gets plenty of eggs!


All in all, it's been a flavorful week with lots of new challenges and milestones met and some to come. And I'm excited, yet scared for it all!


XOXO,
Melissa

United Flight 93

It's making me mad that I haven't posted since the middle of November.

After taking my GFT test I told you I was looking forward to posting more. And I am. I just haven't had the time or energy to do so.

Last month I photographed a beautiful wedding in Pennsylvania for my best friend's sister. It was a short four hour drive with beautifully crafted God-breathed scenery. Beauty, as the understatement here. I described it to some as a "drive through the Chronicles of Narnia" movie.

Snow covered mountains and hills, fir trees dusted in powdery white, and abandoned shacks and shops on the sides of roads are a few things I saw.

If you know me, I love whimsical and dreamy things, so driving through mountainous PA was a bit of a treat.

I literally did not think that this wedding was going to be in the mountains. The  last time I was in the mountains was when I went to Boone, NC to visit a friend from college and drove up the windiest road up a stretch of a literal mountain where her house was nestled in the woods, overlooking lustrous peaks. No, I pictured a rural area with hustle and bustle and normal looking homes. But what I found was space galore, endless trees, and an eeriness that melted my soul.

The events of that weekend were fun and gallivanting to and from location while dabbling in sprinkles of Pennsylvania redneck amidst the journey made things all the more enjoyable.

I will share some pics of the actual wedding here later, or on Facebook. You'll catch me somewhere.

In the mean time, on my way home that weekend, I stopped at one teeny tiny antique shop (among the many there were out there) on the side of the road (pic below), and more significantly, the "United, Flight 93 Memorial." I could not believe my eyes when the memorial site was literally just a right turn away. Could it be?

Of all the vast and wide roads in PA to travel on this landmark happened to fall upon Lincoln Highway, the road I'd spent most of the trip travelling down.

I HAD to stop. And I did. And here are my pics to prove it.

I did NOT however, have time to walk down the path to see the actual, physical, site where the plane crashed (bummer, though in hindsight probably had enough time), but I was at the field and read the memorial signs, and soaked up the surroundings, which likely suffered impact from the actual grounds just yards away.

Breathtaking is the only word that comes to mind, though that doesn't even come close to describing it.