Playing Catch Up

Ryan and I haven't been as diligent about putting photo albums up on the blog in the past few weeks so here are a bunch of albums to catch ya'll up...enjoy!

Chilling w/Dad & Friends

James' First Picnic

It was a crazy hot day so we took the boy out for a much needed picnic and day of fresh air.

Lazy Sunday

Meet the (other) Hendoos

James got to go to a baby shower for his soon-to-be buddy baby Hendrickson. At the shower he met Steve and Cindi Hendrickson for the first time and they got to practice their grandparent skills.

Passing the Days

Just chillin'.

Meet Cole McAdory Bowman, Soccer Teammate #1

James got to meet his new buddy Cole McAdory Bowman who just made his grand entrance into the world last week.

I am immune! (But it still hurts a little...)

Here are some pics of the doctor's appointment as well as Mommy and Daddy goofing around with James.

Meet me in Cle Elum!

James got to spend this past Sunday in Cle Elum (a town about 60 miles east of where we live) with his Nana B and his Grampa Robbo. Everyone had a great time and we got some great pictures.

Wake up o sleeper

Putting James down for a nap during the day is a somewhat arduous task so I have been trying to create a routine that lets him know it is time to go to bed. First I change his diaper (whether is needs to be changed or not) then I swaddle him in a blanket so that his arms are strapped down (I know it seems cruel but he doesn't have complete control of his arms yet and if I don't do this they will flail in his sleep and inevitable wake him up.)then I nurse him until his little eyes begin to droop. Once he is good and sleepy and full of milk I gently walk him upstairs and put him in his bed........and then he wakes up!

This has been known to go on for more than an hour in the past but today I finally got smart. For some reason James find his car seat an awful place to be when we are in the car however once out of the car he can be quite content sitting in his little seat. So, after the first attempt at crib sleeping today I decided to lie him down in his car seat to see what would happen. Well it worked. My cute boy has been snoozing for over an hour in his car seat and I have been able to do some much needed chores around the old house.

Funny side note: James was so asleep in his seat that I was actually able to vacuum the room he was in and that did not wake him up....makes me wonder what's wrong with his bed.?

Here's a picture of James asleep in his seat....and a few other cute shots from today.









P.S. As soon as I finished typing this blog entry James woke up....how does he do it?

Shots : (

James had to get some vaccines today and it was no fun at all. He had just fallen asleep on my shoulder after his initial exam with the doctor when the nurse came in to administer the shots. The little guy was barely awake when she went to work on him and although she was very fast and efficient (and sweet about it all) James cried out in incredible pain immediately and broke my heart. Arggg, I'm crying again just writing about it......I'm such a girl.

James got two little band aids on his legs and as we walked out I stole him a Spiderman sticker because he was such a trooper. All in all James cried a little, I cried a little and Ryan stayed strong for us both......unlike James I waited till the nurse left the room to burst into tears.

As for the exam, we found out the James is now 11 lbs 5 oz (he was 8 lb 1 oz and 20.5inches long at birth) and he is 23.5 inches long. He is in the 50th percent for weight, the 75th percent for height and the 50th percent for head size. So he is tall and skinny with a very normal head. Everything else was normal and we were assured that we have a very healthy little guy on our hands, thank you Jesus!

James on the go

Here are some pictures of James on the go:

James on a walk with his buddies Parker and Silas.


James and Mommy get ready to go for a walk around the neighborhood.

Will this kid ever know his name?

I am kind of a nickname person when it comes to children and as a consequence I recently realized that I rarely call James by his given name. Here is the list of names that I use when talking to my son in order of the most used:

Bubba (this is the most commonly used by me and now sometimes used by Ryan)
Bubs
Jamso
Buddy
Drooly McDroolerson
Jamesy Boy
Jamesinator
James Monster
Poop Monster
Squirrel Boy
Squeaker

Other Nicknames that I have for kids in my life:

Monkey
Monk
Moodle (My brother-in-law came up with this one)
Moose/Moosey Boy (My brother came up with this one)
Bella Bean/ Beanie (Again my brother's work......maybe this runs in my family)
Lukerton

The Little Big Man Update

As of today James Ryan Singletary is officially two months old!

Since coming into the world James has learned how to smile in such a way that brings his mommy to tears, poop against gravity to where the back of his head is soiled (not sure how this is possible) and he is just now starting to bat at the toys hanging from his play gym.

James favorite things to do are eat, grow big and strong, stare at the toys in his play gym and fall asleep in his daddy's arms.

Seriously, there is something about Ryan that just does James in. I have been affectionately referring to Ryan's arms as "the opium arms" because it seems like every time Ryan holds James, especially when he is burping the little guy, James' eyes get heavy and before you know it he is out. Kinda reminds me of that scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and her crew fall asleep in the poppy field. Ryan is James' poppy field.

Anyhow, happy two months little big man, your mommy and daddy love you very much.

Marriage Tirade

Ryan and I were watching TV last night when a commercial for a sitcom came on that really made me sad. The commercial depicted a "typical" married couple where the husband is only concerned with sports, his buddies, looking at other women and beer while the wife sat by mocking her husband and rolling her eyes at this "man child" saying things like "men are pigs."

Now I know that this is just fiction but it really upset me, is this how we want our kids to view marriage...or any relationship for that matter? Is it right for a woman to mock her husband and refer to him as a child or for a man to ogle other women and care more about sex or his sports team than the state of his marriage?

Forgive my tirade but I truly believe that next to a relationship with Jesus Christ your relationship with your spouse is the most special and sacred that we are blessed to have in this life. With this said, I just hate to see marriage shown in this light on TV, even in jest.

Now I know the statistics and believe me, I know that marriage is not easy but could part of the problem be that we have fallen into this trap of thinking that the things I have just described above are ok? There are a lot of women out there (unfortunately myself included at times) who disrespect their husbands with side comments and eye rolls that they don't think will phase the man but in reality are slowly chipping away at him. We nag our husbands and treat them like children which only brings them down further when what we need to do is build them up and pray for them so that they can become the men that they were designed to be....the men that we want them to be. To paraphrase something that our pastor has said in the past: How do you expect a man to be respectable if you are not giving him respect?

In addition, I know that there are plenty of men out there that think it is ok to look at other women or go to strip clubs because they're not touching after all. Well I don't think it is ok, isn't that just lusting after a woman other than your wife? What woman would be ok with that?

I also don't think it is ok for a man to bad mouth his wife or complain about her to his buddies, is this loving your wife? If you have a problem with her, talk to her about it, not some third party who is just going to form a bad opinion of her from your careless words. Again, to paraphrase our pastor: If you want your wife to be loving you need to love her.

Anyhow, the point of all of this is that the world makes me sad at times but we don't have to believe what the TV is telling us. Ryan and I are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and we both make mistakes in our marriage and in life, but we are trying daily to love and respect each other and to not fall into this trap. We talk about and pray for our marriage all of the time not only because we are in this for life but also because we want our children to grow up with parents that show each other love not disdain....what kind of example is disdain?

More James in May

More JAMES IN MAY!

Happy Birthday My Love!

28 years ago today my husband came into this world and started the life that I would one day join. Ryan is a kind and thoughtful man, a loving husband and father, and a wonderful brother and son. Happy Birthday baby and thanks for taking me along for the ride all these years.


Ain't he handsome?!

It's 4:54 am and all is well. I have a sleeping boy on my lap, a sleeping man upstairs and the birds outside are just starting to chirp themselves awake. This is going to be a good day.

James in May

The JAMES IN MAY stays mainly in the plain.

Smiling!

James is officially smiling......and we love it.

He is my son!

Since James was born everyone has told us how much he looks like Ryan (which I love, by the way) and not a thing about what he might have got from me. I am so thankful that James looks like his Daddy (in fact that is one of the things that I prayed for when I was pregnant) but deep down inside I have been hoping that I would be able to recognize something of me in James.

Well today I finally saw something in my son that makes it official that he is mine.....he likes the Food Network!

As many of you know I am slightly addicted to the Food Network and have always loved to cook and learn about food; so you can imagine how delighted I was when I noticed James lying on the floor, head cocked toward the TV and completely entranced by Tyler Florence. Now I am not as much of a Tyler Florence fan as James seems to be but that's ok, he'll learn to love Alton Brown and Duff the cake man soon enough.

More pictures!

and some more.....

JRS Days #21-28 (not including Wenatchee trip!)

Pictures of James!

You have been asking for them and here they are.....more pictures of James!

JRS Days #29-35

Dad

It has been four years now since my Dad passed away and the other night I dreamt about him. It was a simple dream, we were just sitting around talking about normal everyday things, but when I woke up I could remember him better and see him more clearly in my head....it was wonderful.

I am reminded now of that time four years ago when I lost my dad and the amazing array of emotions that went through me. Before my dad passed away he had talked to me at length about is faith in Jesus and although I politely listened, I told him that I honestly couldn't buy into Christianity. I thought that I was a good person and that I didn't need God in my life.

As I now know however, God is perfect and has perfect timing and when he chose to bring my dad home to be with him he also chose to reveal himself to me.

I remember being at the hospital saying goodbye to my dad (who was unconscious and hooked up to machines) when it dawned on me that dad would be with Jesus soon...his savior. If you asked me at the time I would have told you that I wasn't even sure I believed in Jesus but still I felt peace in that moment knowing that my dad would soon be with his true father. Through this tramatic event the Lord had made something click inside of me and from that time on I was changed.

It was during this time that I came to know Jesus as my own savior and to explain this I have taken an excerp from a recent blog that my sister wrote because I think it explains everything so beautifully.

"...I have been once again marveling at the cost with which God reconciled us to Him. He could have left us to sit in the mire of our sin which would result in our eventual death and then eternity in hell, but instead He came to earth, took on human flesh, lived a life without sin, died a sinners death and rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. And He gave us a name by which to call Him, Jesus. And all that is expected of us to receive this totally undeserved Grace is to "Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead" Romans 9:10. After that, Jesus gives you all you need to follow Him. There is no age at which you are too young or too old to accept Him. There is no sin in our past that is too great to be overcome by Jesus. I love that!"

I came to realize that I am a sinner and without Jesus I would always be marred by my sin. I realized that we live in a fallen world and the only way to defeat sin and death is through true faith in Jesus Christ....without Him I was in darkness and now I am in the light....Suddenly the lyrics to the classic Amazing Grace make so much more sense......"I was lost but now I'm found..."

So four years ago this past April I was saved by the Lord and given a new heart and a new life. Since that time I have married an amazing Christian man who loves Jesus and me and I have given birth to a baby boy who is an absolute miracle and testiment to God's love. I have my Father to thank for all of this and my dad who played a huge part...thank you both.

I love this picture....

Man this is hard work!

Anyone that says stay at home moms don't work is crazy.

Before James came into our life I had no idea how much a new baby needs his parents....especially his momma (since she is usually the food supply).

First you have the odd sleep hours to get used to and even that changes from night to night so there really isn't much you can do to adapt. Then once you are up in the morning there is almost definitely a diaper to be changed and a hungry tummy to fill. If I have time (this morning I did not) I grab a cup of coffee or a piece of toast for myself but the little squirrel man (aka: James) comes first so this may or may not be an option........showering also may or may not be an option.

After James eats he usually decides that sleeping in my arms is a good idea and just as I attempt to put him down in his bed (so I can get that shower) his eyes pop open and it is time to play. The rest of the day is filled with eating, sleeping, eating some more, maybe an outing to the store or a friend's house and then a little bit of laying on the floor in the torture dome (his baby gym...I think I got the name from my sister) while I scramble to make dinner. If I am lucky I can squeeze in a nap for myself and a couple loads of laundry but most days that doesn't happen.

All in all it is hard work but also (and here comes cheesy Annie) the best and most rewarding work I have ever done in my life. Although it is difficult to get up for that 3am feeding, there is nothing more beautiful than watching my son nurse himself back to sleep while the world outside is still.