We're Moving!

July 5th & 6th will be our move-in dates as we transition to Boalsburg. As much as we'd prefer to buy a house, we have found a place to rent that is absolutely gorgeous and has a ton of space. 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 1300 square feet! Most important of all, it has washer/dryer hookups.

The first bedroom is on the bottom floor and will be 100% childproofed to accommodate most of the toys. The "play room" has easy access to the living room, and it will be nice to have a (comparatively) clean floor in the adult room. Upstairs we will have our bedroom, Johnny's bedroom, and an office. I'm thrilled at the opportunity to have a place for all of our books. We have a total of 7 full book cases when you add up the ones all throughout our house!

We've sold our couch and chair, are working on selling the stand we have our TV on at the moment as well as the matching armoire. Odd, I know, but it wasn't actually supposed to be a TV stand. Anyway, we're also selling a ton of Johnny's things that he has grown out of but that would be easily replaced for the same price when the time comes for the next kid around. Time to clean house! We are hoping to make enough to buy a nice small sofa for in the new (tiny) living room as well as an inexpensive TV stand. Between those and our DVD shelves, we should look pretty good! We really could use another dresser, but that is low on the list of priorities.

Johnny is loving the packing stage of this move. He crawls all over the house, magically finding sharpie pens, (ahh!) and unpacking everything as fast as we can pack it to begin with. It will be helpful to have my dad home soon so that someone can keep a closer eye on him. Now that he has taken a few steps and can stand on his own for a few minutes, Johnny has decided he is even more independent than before.

My poor kiddo isn't feeling well. I think it is a combination of teething and an ear infection. He is headed to the doctor here in a few minutes with Steve in the hope of finding out what is wrong and how to fix it. He has been crying that heart breaking I-need-my-mama cry lately and I feel so bad! I'm not the kind of mom to feel bad when he is crying just to cry or throwing a temper tantrum. As far as I'm concerned he can do that until he gets it out of his system, I'm not going to pick him up until he calms down. However when it comes to not feeling well, I just want to cuddle him forever!

We are planning on taking Johnny to the pool on Monday for the first time this summer. I can't wait to see his reaction! It is going to be a lot of fun. I won't mind getting to swim as well; I would live in the water if I could. I think we might just go jump in the pool in the evening after any long day of packing as well!

Busy Bee

Things have gotten increasingly busy as Johnny has become more mobile. He loves running behind his push-toy or holding on to my hands while tromping back and forth across the room. With Kelsey crawling just as fast as Johnny and Will rolling across the room easily, I barely have a second to rest before someone else is getting into things!

Another thing that is going to tie up more and more of my time is school. I've decided to return now instead of waiting for Steve's discount through Penn State to go through. I enrolled at Ashford University and am double majoring in Sociology and English. Johnny has promised to help me with my homework, even if that just means playing with the printouts while I try to type up assignments.

This week will be the last full week with Christy around, she leaves for California soon. My dad is going to Utah for two weeks and leaves on Sunday, so we are going to try and get everyone together before he takes off. By the time Christy gets back we will have Johnny running around, and we keep teasing dad that the same will be true if he stays out west too long himself!

Summer is coming! I can't wait to get the little guy in the pool. He tries to dive under the water in the bath tub. I think he will really enjoy being able to splash around in deeper water, and his brand new life jacket should allow for a lot of that. We're also going to get him a floaty baby tube to chill out in so that he doesn't always have to have to be strapped into something. I wonder if he will learn to actually swim very quickly? My sisters and I all did... we were fishes all summer long, every year.

If only the sun would come out...

Green Beans

Now that he is older, we are switching to solid foods only. Goodbye pureed jars, and welcome foods that don't take me a half hour to coerce into Johnny's mouth! The only thing is, it's really hard to create a balanced diet for him.

Without formula to guarantee the right amount of protein and other needed essentials, I really worry that I won't get everything right. Granted, he won't exactly starve or anything, but the pressure is on! It doesn't help that Steve and I don't have the greatest diet in the whole world. I've turned to fresh and canned green beans, peas, corn, and steamed carrots and squash when I have the time. Fruit is a bit easier, dried apples are easy to come by and we always have peaches, pears, and bananas. Canned food is so much easier than anything else, but I try to get fresh as often as possible. Frozen isn't as easy.

Protein is perhaps the hardest challenge. I found out the other day that he is a fan of steak, so as long as I shred it small enough he will eat that. Chicken isn't as easy for some reason, and he doesn't like ham at all. I think I am going to hard boil some eggs and see how he handles that. This is when jarred "dinners" are greatly missed. I tend to overdo the grain block of the pyramid, (oh wait, they don't have that anymore do they?) but I can't help but give him multigrain cheerio's and whole grain crackers. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches go over well, so he usually has one of those every other day. Whole milk is a favorite, and watered down apple juice goes a long way.

Now if only I could get myself to eat as healthy! It's just so expensive... fresh fruits and veggies are ridiculous and the healthy grains and meat are so overpriced. Macaroni and cheese in a box is extremely cheap, as is off-brand cereal in relation to other meals. It's like we're still freshman in college. We splurge enough to get the healthier pasta, but when it is a staple in your diet, you aren't exactly doing well in the carb department. What else can we do?

When it comes to food, we have encountered the first time we have questioned my relation to Jonathan. Sure, I gave birth to him, but he likes green beans?!

All Smiles

For the past week and a half we have been taking Johnny to the Chiropractor. I had been seeing him, and he mentioned that babies can benefit from treatment as well... Our copay for Johnny's appointments is only $1, so I decided to go ahead and see how it went. What a wonderful idea! The longer he goes, the better his disposition. The past two days in particular he has been in an absolutely giddy mood. I love it! l recommend it to anyone else with a kid his age. It is so nice to have the little ball of energy skipping the tantrums and just having fun.

I can't quite keep up with Johnny as of late, but even just watching him crawl around and play is an absolute joy. I am continually struck by how drastically he has grown and changed in the past few months. Sometimes I'd die to have my itty bitty baby back, and other times I don't know what I would do without the happy ball of sunshine that talks to me and loves to laugh. I know as a mom that I am supposed to be anxious for him to start walking, but I find myself reluctant to really push him toward it. Sure, I help him balance and I walk with him in circles around the apartment, but I can't seem to force myself to encourage him as much as most parents do. I don't want my baby growing up so fast! I don't discourage him, I just find myself letting him crawl everywhere instead of pulling him up to his feet. Sign of a bad mom? I'd like to think not... just a mom who is having a hard time facing facts.

I have all four kids under my roof today. Will has been such a fun addition, I love seeing him and Johnny interact. Now that he is a little more sturdy, they can play on the floor together. Getting all three babies together can be rather hysterical. The other day Johnny and Kelsey kept stealing the same toy back and forth from each other's hands and just scowling. I thought I was going to die! I didn't think to try and get it on video until afterward. Kids are just too funny. I love my job!

The weather has been getting nicer and I'm anxious to take Johnny swimming. For real. It isn't that we didn't take him in the water last year, but this summer we can really splash around. I bought him a lifejacket so that we can even go on a boat if we want! Jeff and Colleen bought him the cutest little water suit (shirt and pants with SPF protection in the fabric) that I can't wait to try on him. Can it be June yet? (Minus the child aging any?)

Temper, Temper!

It is official... Johnny is my child. If there was any question before, (which I wouldn't understand since I gave birth to him) there never will be again. We've passed the angelic infant stage and entered the temper tantrums.

It is actually rather funny half of the time, he turns bright red and shakes like crazy in a rage. And it can be over nothing at all... he dropped his sippy cup therefore he feels he needs to freak out. I'll firmly tell him to "stop" when he does something bad and he goes ballistic. The upside to being me? I can out-stubborn him any day!

At the moment the kiddo is off with his dad fixing Brenda's computer. It has given me a few minutes peace, and for that I am glad. He is so full of energy these days! I feel like I need to nap ten times as much as he does. For a family that has been blessed with a child who has always slept through the night, I'm still pretty sure we are never well rested enough. We won't be so lucky with the next one, I'm sure of that. Will I never have a good night's sleep again?

I'd Rather Not

He isn't a year old yet. Nope, I'd rather not believe it.

The party was wonderful and we had a lot of fun. Johnny was extremely neat with his cake, and Steve and I maintain that it was too precious to him to waste any. We gave him both the normal white cake as well as the cookie cake. (Yes, the amazing masterpiece fell apart twice... I finally gave up and bought from the bakery!)

Johnny got a ton of fun toys and presents, making it possible for me to finally return a lot of the borrowed ones that have been inhabiting every nook and cranny of our house. I'm even going to sell some of the things he no longer plays with, both to make room and to finance the next pack of diapers. Someone asked me if I was planning on selling his clothes at all in hopes that the next kiddo is a girl. Um, no! I am of the belief that even if it is a girl, over half of his clothes would be just fine on her. Besides, I'm not taking any risks, and there is no sense in selling clothes now and then having to buy them all over again.

I'm so ready to have another baby. Obviously that isn't a possibility at this point in life. We don't have the money for the kid we have, let alone another. I'm just dying!!! It doesn't help that I know of several friends that have recently gotten pregnant. Kristi Bricker is on my side, we both want it to be our turn again, but common sense insists we wait. Everyone I talk to thinks I'm nuts for my rational side to even want to start trying again in a year, but I think that is all the longer I can force myself to wait. I don't want them too far apart! That would already make Johnny close to three when the next baby is born! When I look at how close my sisters and I are, I can't help but attribute a lot of that to our ages. Steve and his siblings are too far spread apart to have pretty much anything in common. Sure, the girls and I fought a lot as kids, but we've always been there for each other every step of the way and I want to promote that among my own children. Even if it makes us really tight on money, I know we could find a way. Right now more than anything the reason we need to wait is my health. Things need to even out again and come to a point where we could handle it if something went wrong with the next pregnancy. We aren't there yet!

Johnny honey, I love you and would not change a thing about the past year with you! You're more amazing than I could ever have dreamed you would be, and I would do anything for you! (As long as it's in your best interest, because of course you won't be eating cookies before your dinner... well, maybe once or twice.)

Enter year two!

Party Preparations

Tonight I begin with the baking, working on the ABC sugar cookies. Tomorrow I will attempt the alphabet block "masterpiece" cake. I still haven't figured out how I am going to put the letters on the side... I am also going to get Johnny his own cake to massacre when the time comes. That is the one I think I will end up putting the candle on. I have alphabet blocks the scatter around the house in decoration as well as to spell out his name, I have color matching plates with the theme, a plastic tablecloth to stick on the floor under his high chair so we don't ruin GG's house, and lots of fun goodies for the kids. I plan on going to pick up some balloons for on the mailbox as well as inside the house. Soooo excited! And at the same time, sad.

I can't believe he is a year old already! That's just nuts to me and now I'm dying for a second kiddo. It sounds like we'll be waiting at least another year, (which is smart and my logical side agrees with) but in the meantime I'm just dying to have an infant around! What happened to the itty bitty 6lb baby I gave birth to? He's 21lb 2oz as of last week's weighing! Noooo!

Now, back to burning his "First Year" DVDs I made for the party.

iPhones & Eggs

Johnny continues to insist on playing with our iPhones. It doesn't usually really work, but on occasion we have been known to cave and let him scroll through the pictures. This doesn't really promote the idea of "no" when it comes to the insanely expensive toy, but since Steve is unable to help himself, I can hardly see a reason for me to remain the bad guy.

Yesterday we broke out the plastic Easter Eggs to let Johnny take apart and play with. It didn't take more than 5 minutes before he was yelling "eggssss!" in excitement every time he found one. Might a traditional egg hunt actually be possible this year? Even before he officially turns a year old? We shall try!

Lately to our amusement, every time we hear Johnny talking or fussing in his room wanting to get up in the morning or his nap, we find him in the corner of his crib with one leg dangling on either side out of the bars. He is always in there kicking like he has his feet in the water off the back of a boat, pretending to splash away! Actually, I am hoping to possibly take him out on a boat this summer, (provided we can get a life jacket in his size) but there is no way that boy's legs will be dangling off any part of it!!! What a little ham.

Currently I am sitting in the living room typing away at the table while Johnny plays on the floor, flipping through his photo album and pointing at all of his relatives. He has identified "GG" and "Risty" as well as "Dada." I'd be offended that I am not mentioned, but there is actually no picture of me in there. We're hoping that he will soon start calling my dad by some name of his own, since currently he thinks he is another "Dada" as a result of the fact that I call him that all of the time. We're working on referring to my dad as "Grandpa" from now on. Its a hard transition after 23 years otherwise!! Even Steve is having a hard time, and he has only called him "Dad" for 2 years now.

I can't wait to get the boys outside in the double stroller and take them for walks. When will the weather stay warm?

A Month Already?

I can't believe I have been so busy as to not update for over a month now! That is absolutely horrible!

Let's see... Johnny now has 5 teeth, working on 6. He has learned to sit up from crawling (3/12) and is on the move constantly. As of his last doctor's appointment (2/16) he was 21lb 8oz.

The biggest news is that he has started saying his first consistent word outside the realm of "mama, dada, and rah rah." Ready for it?

"iPhone!" Or, rather... "iPhoh!"

And he knows the difference believe it or not. He has several toy cell phones and when Steve or I have our phones out and he wants one he cannot be diverted. Once Steve gave him the touchscreen Samsung display model our AT&T guy gave us for him to play with, and Johnny chucked it across the room and screamed "iPhoh" back at Steve. I vote it is Steve's fault for teaching him how to flip through pictures and zoom in and out. I also think that secretly this was Steve's plan all along, regardless of what temper and toy problems it might cause.

In other news, the weather has finally been nice enough outside for us to take Johnny out. He experienced the lovely bit of nature called "grass" a few days ago and was not a fan. It was rather hysterical to watch, and I am hoping that once the new spring grass grows in and takes over the dead from last year he will actually enjoy it.

16 days until Johnny's first Birthday Party! (18 until his actual birthday,)which is kind of hard to believe. I find it interesting that he will have his second Easter before his first birthday though. How strange is that? My mom's side of the family will be having our holiday dinner in the evening after his party and then the next day we will be going to Steve's parent's. Apparently there is some tradition I was unaware of in which all of the children have a cake in the shape of a lamb for their first birthday in the Delafield family, so I guess we will be having that with our Easter lunch. I wonder if they will be using coconut on the top to make it look like fluffy wool?

Yesterday I bought a double stroller. The beginning of February brought us a new member of the Delafield Daycare, William Hoover. Will was born a few days after Thanksgiving, so he is currently not yet 4 months. We all love him, and now I'm excited that with the new stroller I will be able to take the boys on walks on days when I don't have the girls. Billie, Will's mom works at the High School one hallway over from my mom. Once it is nice enough out I plan on taking them down to visit.

Steve's birthday weekend was fun. We had Kevin and Claire up to visit and meet Johnny for the first time. We went out to eat at Mr. Lee's, and then the next day went again with Aly and Steph. Daddy finally was willing to try it, and it ends up he likes it! (We knew he would if he would just try some of the dishes, and now Steve is even more excited that he will join us when we go out to eat there from now on.)

With all of his birthday money and his allotted tax return spending allowance Steve will be buying Apple's new iPad. I can't wait to see what happens with Johnny and that one...

I think that about summarizes the past month. I'll try not to be so long again next time!

Today, We've Discovered Bubbles!

Johnny is a bit sick as of yesterday, and although his nose is pouring buckets of milky green goo and he refuses to eat or drink anything, he doesn't seem to want this fever and the shakes stop him from having as normal of a day as possible. He is trying to stay upbeat, and I've been blowing bubbles for him for about a straight hour now. He is loving it! I have to stop every few minutes to wipe his nose and he gets very angry at me for that, but otherwise he is rather chipper. A bit punch-drunk I'd say. And I'm going to end up the same way if I don't stop blowing all of these bubbles so quickly.

This weekend was good. Steve and I went on our second date since Johnny was born. Only the two of us could end up having bought movies for a date and then shown up to the theater and had it so packed that we couldn't even sit together. Figures. But it was an enjoyable night nonetheless. Johnny stayed home with Grandpa Larry for the evening and was asleep by the time we returned at 9:30. Can you tell we are first-time parents? We barely stayed out! It isn't that we were worried about him or anything, its just that we haven't had a chance to do something alone in so long we've forgotten what our options are. A trip to target, dinner & a movie were about all the things we could come up with, so we just headed home!

My mama's birthday was on Saturday, so we went out to Altoona to celebrate with her. It was a good evening and Johnny managed to conk out in the car on the ride home, holding my hand. Anytime I tried to retract it from the awkward position it was in reaching behind the driver's seat from the front passenger Johnny would wake up and fuss. So there I was, arm bent unnaturally out of shape for 45 minutes. I looked at Steve and we agreed that all too soon Johnny will be old enough to not want to hold my hand for a whole drive and that it was completely worth the strange pain.

Yesterday we got some general shopping done... basic necessities and some party stuff for Johnny's 1st birthday. I'm half excited, half terrified that it is coming up. Wasn't it just a few days ago I was pregnant and dying to give birth already?

Time moves all too fast when you're a parent.

Cake & More Cake!

Well, we made it through January in one piece, despite Johnny's increased mobility and crazy fast way of catching on to things. Toys have taken over the house entirely, there are bruises all over the kid from rolling over top of building blocks, and I'm pretty sure our carpet will never be the same after all of the graham cracker crumbs. Life is absolutely awesome and speeding by!

Chrisy's birthday was last weekend and we had a blast celebrating it. Johnny even had some of the cake, his second chance so far at covering himself in icing. He succeeded with my birthday cake, but he took Christy's to a whole new level. It was absolutely everywhere and he was all too adorable. We all sat around laughing while he enjoyed himself. Somewhere along the lines he ended up with a mohawk and was trying to give Matt a knuckles "pound" from across the room. The cleanup after that ordeal was ridiculous but completely worth it.

The newest games in our house have been knocking over block towers and playing peek-a-boo. I don't know if I have ever seen a kid laugh so much as Johnny does. He is such a happy baby, its kind of crazy. I know I'm supposed to be the "bad cop" in this parenting relationship, but I always end up cracking up when trying to teach him what the word "no" means. He will go after my laptop cord and I'll tell him not to. He looks at me, shakes his head, then touches it again and gives me a big grin. What a little dork!

I just can't even describe how much fun we are having with this stage. Although I really miss having a 6 lb little thing around to cuddle with all of the time, my 21 lb boy still loves hugs and gives kisses all the time. We started having baby Will join us every day as of last week, and he has been my "infant fix" as Steve likes to call it. I can definitely see that waiting for a little while to have another kid is ideal, but man I don't think I would be able to if I didn't have Will around. Johnny is so good with him too, I can set Will down on the ground and all Johnny does is crawl over and talk to him. If he starts crying, Johnny pats his head gently or holds his hands and starts singing. I really should get it on video, it is too precious.

It is scary to think that Johnny's first birthday is coming up soon! A cake of his own, and a mama bawling all morning, I can just see it now. I'm using an ABC block theme for the decorations etc. and am really enjoying putting it together. I handmade all of the invitations and am excited to send them out soon. A month and a half and then he is one... where did the time go? I will still say the same thing I did when asked how I felt about my son a few weeks after he was born; I can physically remember a time before him, but it seems like he has always been a part of my life. It is just a shame that I can't slow down time as he grows. People think I'm photo crazy with him, but how can I not be? They're only little for so long!

A Day in the Life...

Now that Johnny and Kelsey are getting older and more active, my days are much more entertaining. Between the two babies and Averey, there is always something going on at my place. They enjoying playing together. Averey will be thrilled when baby Will starts with us as well. Then she's a "big sister to THREE kids!!!" as she would say. Maybe with so many babies I can get away with less TV time for her? She is addicted to Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, and those horrible Wonder Pets. I'd much rather Handy Manny! But with yet another little one around she might be too busy playing to pay as much attention to whether or not the TV is on.

Johnny is currently staring at himself in the mirror making funny faces, Kelsey is in the Command Center singing and Averey is playing with her Little Einsteins computer. - I think I may have made a mistake in giving her the birthday present at the beginning of the day instead of at the end. All I've heard since I put it in her hands has been little tiny voices talking about getting ready to "blast off" and Mozart. The box said 3-6 years, but I don't think shes understanding the games on it. The noise it makes seems to be more interesting. Joy!

Yesterday Johnny decided that standing sounded like a good idea. He was just standing there playing with his toys while Steve and my dad watched. He dropped one, bent over to pick it up, almost lost his balance and straightened up again. He leaned to one side instead and was able to get it that way. We got some video of him standing later, but in that he was leaning against the couch some. Either way, I'm just kind of stunned that all of the sudden out of nowhere he is upright! Slow down baby!!!

23 Years...

Ago? I was born. From now? My baby boy will be a little older than I am now. All of his schooling would be over, possibly including a bachelor's degree. He might be in the armed forces, or getting married, or starting a new job, or having kids... Man, 23 years will go fast. As eager as I was to rush life along when I was younger, the birth of my son has thrown that in reverse. I don't even want him to be as old as he is at only 9 months! I miss the little baby that sang to me all night and depended completely on me. If I'm having a hard time with Johnny crawling and feeding himself, I'm going to be screwed when he starts learning to walk, talk, and God forbid someday have a mind entirely of his own!

My birthday was wonderful. We celebrated at my mom's house in collaboration with Kyle's birthday, Danielle's birthday, and our Christmas. Johnny got to try cake for the first time and was a huge fan. He ended up covering me in it, but it was adorable and I didn't mind the mess at all.

The next day we went out to the Fuji Jade Gardens hibachi for dinner with daddy, Gary, Dotty, Ruth, Elizabeth, and Aly. We had a good time, and then headed back to the house to play some board games before Aly and I headed out to the bar. We enjoyed a laid back evening and got home a little before 1am to find Johnny awake and playing with his grandpa. Apparently no one other than Steve and I can let him fuss in his crib, as Mark, daddy, Christy and several others always need to pick him up. What a spoiled little baby we've got on our hands, let's just be sure and keep things from going to spoiled rotten!

Things in the few days since then have been nice and calm. I've enjoyed several nights at home with the guys watching movies and such. The only bad news of late is that our nice vacuum cleaner has bit the dust. For all the more money we paid for it only 2 years ago, it should still be working. But no, we now have no way of cleaning up all of the cheerios Johnny spreads around. I guess we'll have to see what our options are, and in the meantime borrow from the Brickers!

A New Chapter

This year came and found me barely able to walk, unable to sleep, and unable to financially cover the basic essentials in life. Since I couldn't walk, I couldn't work. Since I couldn't work, we didn't have enough money. Since we didn't have enough money, we found ourselves without food. 2009 began with a young newlywed poor and "expecting" couple falling completely apart. Then, the miracles began.

All my life I have been very interested and active in volunteer work. Even as a little kid, when the teachers asked everyone to bring one canned item into school for the food drive, I would go to the pantry and sneak as many as I could into my backpack without mom knowing. (Granted, a lot of them tended to be green beans because it provided the two-for-one bonus of helping others while making it so I didn't have to eat them... yuck!) Almost everyone in the class would bring in a can and we'd all be excited that we had contributed.

In middle School I went on a missions trip and spent a lot of time working at a food bank, stocking shelves and putting together ready-made bags of essentials for families to have. The next day the food bank was scheduled to open at 9:00am. By 6:00am there was a line literally a mile long of people waiting for their turn in hopes that there would be enough. There wasn't, and my heart broke.

After college, when Katrina hit the south, I was one of a small group of people that went door to door, asking for donations and packing three vans full to travel down and help. We stocked and organized a food bank when we got there, in between days of removing trees from houses and helping with the cleanup. The things we saw that week were incredible, and it made us all thankful for the things we had.

But it wasn't until January 2009 that I fully understood the impact of what it meant to those families that someone was willing to donate. It was a Friday when we pulled up to the State College Food Bank, and it was almost closing time. Steve and I prayed they would still accept us and possibly give us enough to last us even just a few days. What we received that day blew our minds. Five bags of groceries bursting with food on top of a bag with shampoo, deodorant, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, paper towels and toilet paper. Fresh veggies, bread, a whole frozen chicken, tons of other dry and canned goods... and three cans of green beans. I've never been so happy to see green beans.

It is impossible to describe the feeling of receiving the things you need most from absolute strangers, free of charge, just because they care. Although I was an emotional pregnant woman ruled by hormones and was already always on the verge of tears, it didn't hold a candle to how hard I cried when we were given that help. For the first time in my life I wasn't the one handing out the things others need... I was the one with that need who asked for help. And I wasn't let down, people were there to help pick me back up.

February brought with it winds of change. Though by the end of the month I was restricted to a wheel chair, unable to walk and having fallen twice, God was still pouring in the help and love we needed. A letter came in the mail from a local church Stephen and I had visited a few times. It seemed they had somehow heard of our circumstances, and in the envelope was $100 gift card to Walmart. My hormonal self cried again, though I suspect that the pregnancy had absolutely nothing to do with how I felt.

Several family members began having us over for dinner, my dad bought us groceries, my grandma showed up at our house several times with food claiming my grandpa insisted she clean out the freezer because they couldn't possibly eat it all. (It was frozen food... it would have lasted long enough I'm sure!) We weren't on our feet yet, but we were working hard to get there. We were credited $300 to our gas company to keep warm, thanks to LIHEAP. As the month came to a close, we were approved for food stamps. Steve continued working all the extra hours he could get, as he had been doing all along, and my sister would come over to help me get around and take care of myself after school so that Steve didn't have to come check on me as often.

Then, I had my baby shower. All of those fears we had about being able to put together a nursery and care or our child were erased immediately. We were blessed by so many family members and friends, and as had become my habit, at the end of the day I cried. On top of all of those things, we continued (and do to this day) receiving hand-me-downs from the Brickers and Gipes. Toys and clothes galore! What a huge help both of those families are, I can't even tell you.

March was the hardest on me physically, but everything else was really coming together. Now that we were able to breathe again when it came to the necessities, we were able to finally relax. (Well, as much as you can when you or your wife are that far pregnant!) My sister continued to be our saving grace when it came to finding ways to keep me less stressed -- bad for baby!-- and provided much comic relief just being her wonderful self. We couldn't have chosen a more appropriate person to be Johnny's godmother!

I was in the ER a total of eleven times during my pregnancy, and all but two of those were since the new year had started. Complications abounded, but miraculously all of them had to do with my body and not the baby's. Every time they checked, Johnny was totally healthy and fine as far as they could see, and the problems really only affected me for the most part. He was literally sucking the life out of me, but as long as he was okay, I was okay. It is amazing how God designed things so that the fetus will retain all of the nutrients it needs, leaving it to the mother to make sure she gets enough for herself as well. I have to tell you, pregnancy in and of it's self was one of the most fascinating experiences I have ever had.

April arrived with a visit from Kevin and Claire, and with them came enough baby supplies to hold over a third world country and all of it's newborns. I was due the 30th, but they both kept saying how much they wished I'd have the baby while they were there to visit. I was even more anxious for him to be born, so we all crossed our fingers and waited. Alas, it was to no avail. Wednesday they left and went on to celebrate their anniversary elsewhere. Two days later? I went in to the hospital.

Johnny was born that Sunday, April 5th. At 3.5 weeks early, he was 6lb 9oz and 20.5 inches long. As Stephen so proudly puts it "born at 9:54 on 4/5/09" and completely healthy! I've never been so happy and in so much pain in my whole life. As much as I screamed and swore I'd never have another, the minute he was born it all melted away and I was as proud as a mama could be. That night, Johnny sang us all to sleep.

After a 5 day stay in the hospital, we were released and finally went home to introduce our baby boy to his new home. His aunt Christy had yet again been the one holding us all together when we were in the hospital, and we were glad he could finally spend some quality time with her as well. I was on the mend, and with Steve's boss' permission to work from home, the three of us enjoyed our first week together. A lot of people came to visit, and before we knew it he was ready to celebrate his first holiday. Easter day, he was 1 week old.

Unfortunately, by the end of May I had become too sick to take care of Johnny, and spent several days in the hospital trying to get myself back together and to the point where I could look after the baby myself. By the time I got out, I was excited to be back and highly motivated to be the best mom I could.

June and July passed in a whirlwind of activity. It wasn't even that we were doing anything big, it was simply the changes we were getting to watch Johnny go through. He was growing all too fast, and by the time August hit we were ready to take him on his first vacation. Off to Lake Erie we went, ready to spend a week with family!

That week was rather eventful and definitely sticks out from the rest. First of all, Johnny finally got to meet his namesake. Uncle Johnny was home from Iraq! As much as I always love seeing my brother, it was ten times more incredible getting to introduce him to my son. I will never forget that moment.

Secondly, that was the week my mom got remarried. The wedding was small and in a park, and everyone ended up back at the cabins to hang out for the rest of the night. The rest of the week there was so much food left over that we honestly could have gotten away without cooking at all!

September came and we began the transition with Johnny from milk to solid food. I quickly learned that his tastes are much the same as mine, and those green beans just didn't want to go down. Still now he refuses to eat them. Bananas on the other hand are a must.

October brought about Johnny's first Halloween, which was spent "trick-or-treating" at each of his grandparents houses locally. The little monkey enjoyed his night, but was ready to get out of the costume and snuggle with his pap-pap by the end of it. Somehow mommy and daddy ended up with more candy than they had ever gotten as kids, even though the costumed little guy wasn't able to eat any!

November was awesome. We spent Thanksgiving week visiting both Steve's sister Christy in DC and his second mom Leta in North Carolina. Staying at Christy and Will's was a lot of fun, and Johnny enjoyed finally getting some time to spend with his aunt for several days. She took us all to one of the Smithsonian museums and Johnny even got to see the original Kermit the frog! The only one glad to see us leave at the end of the visit was Christy's cat Max. He was very unsure of the baby and seemed intimidated by all of Johnny's loud talking and abundance of toys.

Next as I mentioned we went on down to visit Leta. Her daughter Catherine was able to make it in from Colorado, and it was the first time I have gotten to see her since high school. It is hard to believe it has been that long. The only downside to the visit was that all of us ended up sick! Personally, I blame the holiday as it seems I am always sick for Thanksgiving. We all got to spend a lot of time catching up, and as usual the baby was spoiled. I only wish they all lived closer!

Now it is December. Johnny's first Christmas was absolutely wonderful, and he enjoyed every part of it. Chewing on, tearing at, and unwrapping presents was quite the novelty. All three of us were given far more than we ever could ask for, and I'm pretty sure the baby is set for life in the toy department. Among his favorites are his new glow worm, his crawl tent, his finger puppet book, his drum and his new red wagon!

The year is coming to a close and as I look back, I can not imagine ever again having such a radical experience as the ups and downs of 2009. My marriage has grown stronger, our son was born and is continually changing and learning new things, and the year has taken me to places I've never been or dreamed of. It was truly a year of blessings, and as we have begun this new chapter in life, I can't wait to see what happens next.