Day 3



So this evening went better than last night did. Holy smokes was it bad last night! Gus was cranky ALL DAY but then we got to right before seven and he was a beast, so Steve took him upstairs to go to bed. Well, Mr. Gustafer Gustafson was not having any of it! He cried and SCREAMED his little head off (I think if he were talking, he'd be hoarse due to the amount of screaming he did). So after twenty-five minutes or so, I came up to releive Steve, and then we gave him some Motrin for the teething. Well... he didn't care who was coming to rescue him, he cried and screamed just as loud (if not louder) with me!

So... this went on until about 8:20 and then Steve brought him into our room and we snuggled on the bed (the three of us) and he was finally happy. I think the Motrin had finally kicked in. We were so scared to try bedtime, but fortunately he went down pretty quickly. Unfortunately, it was well after nine by the time he went to bed.

This caused for Gus to sleep until about nine this morning (which was fine by me)! We had a pretty good day... he was happy most of the day and when he started to get cranky, it was because he was tired. He took two good naps and was so cute in his bath tonight.

After his bath we cuddled on our bed and then we took him to his room for lotioning and swaddling. Here's a picture from cuddle time on the bed:

It's been a long day... here's to hoping that he actually sleeps through the night and has a good day tomorrow!! I'll be posting on his blog tomorrow too since it's Tuesday. Be sure to check back here to see what I wrote and his blog as well!

Until next time...
>^..^<

Photo Challenge: Best Face of 2010

This week, iheartfaces.com has a great photo challenge. It's the best face of 2010! Of course, I think Gus is the cutest face of 2010, so I am entering his mug for this week's contest! Enjoy!

This is my absolute favorite picture of Gus. It was taken last month and captures so much joy and happiness! This was taken with my Canon EOS Rebel XS and while I am just a beginner, I think it looks great!

A Sad Day

So you know it's a bad sign when you wake up and see text messages and voice mails and missed calls from family members. As soon as I saw that Dave texted at 2am and then Scott called at 7am and my mom called... I knew what had happened. My Uncle Bill, my mom's little brother, had passed away.

My Uncle Bill lived in Tuscon, Arizona and was married to my Aunt Marcia. He always lived away from us, but growing up, he was my most favorite uncle. He was awesome. His sense of humor was incredible and he was always so nice to us kids. His visits were always looked forward to, and full of laughter. All of my memories of him are positive and happy.

He was a K9 officer and loved animals. He had birds, cats, dogs, and even a tortoise at one time!! He and my Aunt Marcia had a little girl, Sarah, but she passed away at birth. He was always happy and smiling, and had a dry, sarcastic wit.

When my ex-husband and I were going through the time just before divorcing, we had taken a trip to Arizona to visit Dave. While we were there, my Uncle Bill and Aunt Marcia came to Dave and Heather's for a visit. I remember him asking me if I was okay, and that I seemed sad. He was the first person, other than my own immediate family, that I told about our problems and that I was afraid that my marriage was over. He told me that there are only so many things that one person can control, and as hard as it was, I needed to realize that whatever decisions my ex-husband made, there was nothing I did to cause it or could do to stop it.

My Uncle Bill was always really proud of me. When I got my first 4.0 in college, I sent him and my Aunt Marcia a copy of my grade report. They put it on their fridge.

I am so sad that he's gone, but I am happy that he's not suffering anymore and is in a place with his baby girl Sarah, my Grandma Burney, and Aunt Karen. He had been suffering for the last year, and while in pain the whole time, he tried to stay strong. I sent cards, but never called. I don't regret it... I didn't want him to feel like all of a sudden people who never called him suddenly cared about him. So instead, I sent cards. I figured it wasn't too out of the ordinary since I sent cards and letters before he was sick.

I worry about my mom. She always had a "weird" relationship with my Uncle and while I can't relate to their upbringing, I do have brothers and can't even imagine if one of them had passed away this morning. Siblings are special and while we don't pick them, they are put into our lives for a reason. I pray that my mom and Aunt Margie both find peace and are able to remember the great memories of their brother.

Here are some pictures of my wonderful Uncle Bill:

Uncle Bill as a little boy

As a teen

With my Grandma Burney

With my Aunt Marcia

After serving in Vietnam with his dog

With Dave's son Eamon

I just got off the phone with both of my brothers. They are such great guys and I am so lucky to have such a great relatioship with them both. Scott called to see how I was doing, and we talked for a bit, and while I was on the phone with him, Dave had called. I just talked to Dave and he and his family are on their way to Tuscon to be there with my Aunt Marcia. I'm glad to know that she'll at least have Dave there with her. Dave said that they have a lot of friends there, so that makes me feel a little better as well.

Until tomorrow...
>^..^<

Day 2

One of Those Days

Today seems like it's been the longest day EVER! I woke up and felt a little "off" and then made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast for us. They were really good and a nice treat.

Pretty much the rest of the entire day has consisted of the never-ending Bengals game... I will be SO happy when football season is over! I feel like that's all we do on Sunday... watch football ALL DAY LONG. It's fine when I'm in the mood for it, but Steve gets so pissed when the damn Bengals lose (which happens EVERY WEEK)... so there's no joy.

Gus has been VERY fussy all day today which doesn't help things. I'm ready for Steve to go back to work and for us to have our normal routine back. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays and have loved having him here with us, but Gus and I have a routine, and Steve most definitly has a routine, and the meshing of these two very different routines has been interesting. :)

Anyway, tomorrow we're supposed to go to Chick-Fil-A for a free breakfast sandwich and playdate. Then Tuesday there's a MOMS Club meeting and lunch event. Wednesday is a Triangle Mommies breakfast playdate and then Friday I'm going to the Bodies Revealed exhibit in Greensboro with a new mom friend that I met (Grace is four days younger than Gus).

I hear some drama downstairs so I should go. I'll post again tomorrow!

Until next time...

>^..^<

Day 1

Happy 2011!! 

Is it possible for 2011 to be as wonderful and great as 2010 was? I highly doubt it! I was looking at Gus's adoption timeline and was amazed at just how quickly everything moved with the whole process. God was most definitely looking out for us (me) because I have no patience and don't know what I'd do if we were STILL waiting like so many others are with CAS.

I have to believe that what is meant to be will be. We recently had a glimmer of hope that there was another baby out there looking for us... and for the briefest of moments I said, "Could this really happen to us again?" I was excited, eager, and hopeful, but alas, it was not meant to be. The mom decided that it was probably best to place her baby with family.

We most definitely want to adopt again and don't really have any desire to go through an agency. I think we'll let go and hope that if we are meant to adopt another child, it'll happen. I've actually thought about making a website that has pictures and a birth mom letter, and then just posting it for friends and family to share with others. Maybe it'll work like it did with Gus.

Speaking of Gus... he's so incredible. He truly is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and he brings me so much joy. He's changing each day and doing more and more for himself. He still loves to be snuggled and cuddled and I think as much as he loves Steve, he sure does love his mama!! ♥ 

Last night we went over to Wendy and Ryan's for dinner and then we watched Inception and then it was time for the ball to drop and welcome in 2011. It was nice to spend the night with such wonderful friends and to be relaxed and feel 100% comfortable. We walked home and enjoyed the fireworks that were going off and then put Gus to bed and we went to bed. Because Gus had been away from home, his routine was messed up and he didn't sleep like usual. As a result, he was up most of the night while we watched the movie. He was super tired when we got home, and to our surprise, he slept until 10am today!!

We spent the morning just relaxing and watching football, and then headed to Willow Spring, NC to visit Wilkerson Farms. Carrie Wilkerson is in my MOMS Club and she invited us over to tour the farm and to get some free beef (we referred her farm to Papa Spuds and as a result they're going to be carrying her meat). Anyway, Gus got to see and pet his first goat!!

We were supposed to go to church tonight, but when we were at the farm, I must have stepped on an ant hill or something, because I was bit and itching the whole way home. I realized that I had ants all over me and paniced a bit... we came home and I showered and still feel like I've got ants crawling all over me! AHHH!!

Anyway-- have a wonderful night! I'll be posting again tomorrow...
Until next time...
>^..^<