Doctors, Parties, Work-outs, oh my!

I am being a bad blogger - shame on me for not updating more! However, life has been a little bit busy and hectic and so therefore I haven't had time to sit down and just be and talk. Until now. I am making myself sit down and relax today because I have been on the go for what seems like forever! I need to take today to sit and relax and enjoy some down town with my big 1 year old. Part of that is getting to you an update of the past few days. Obviously you know Parker turned 1 on May 29th, but I didn't get to share with you about his 12 month check up and I certainly did not get to share with you the details of his party. So away we go...

Friday with when Parker turned 1. I think I am still in disbelief that my baby is 1! I sometimes feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure I am not imagining it or even to feel like it's real. (And yes, I did pinch myself that morning. Parker went in for his 1 year check up and it went well. He was 14lbs 15ozs (so I am just saying he was 15lbs.) and he was 27 in. long! Big boy! The doctor said Parker is looking great and doing well. He is allowed to eat pretty much anything now and he will remain on formula until he's 15 months to help get more calories in him. I am actually getting frustrated because he doesn't seem to care for most table food. Which is frustrating especially when the doctor says he needs 3 meals a day plus his bottles. I feel like I am never going to get him to eat "real" food. Don't get my wrong, he loves most baby food...but like, I want him to have eggs or cheese or something like that and he looks at me like I am nuts for offering it to him. I keep thinking, what if he NEVER eats anything but the formula and baby food. He can't have milk yet - not because of allergies, but because for him it is important to get the calories and nutrients from the formula and the milk would take place of that. He can have watered down juice, but not as a substitute for the formula. I am pretty sure this all frustrates me most because if by age 2 he hasn't caught up with his actual age, he will need to see an endocrinologist and possibly get some growth hormones.

Other than his dr. appointment friday was spent decorating cupcakes and pulling together the last of the needs for his party! Parker's party was on saturday and it was elmo world themed. It was a big hit and we had a lot of friends and family there. The kids made a craft (their own dorothy.) and they were allowed to color on the table cloths, which went over great! The kids loved it and I think the adults did too! Parker got a lot of great gifts, which he loves to play with. He did get to try cake but was too busy playing with the frosting and smearing it on his face to actually eat anything. But it was cute none the less. After the party we came home and my family came back with us and hung out for a few hours. We played at least an hours worth of Taboo, which with my family is fun! After they left, I got ready and headed to Buca Di Beppo for mom's night out. So much fun!

Not much has happened between Sat. and today. I did join a stroller fit type group though. It's called Mommies and Munchkins. It was started in Columbus by a woman who just moved here from Indiana. She has started one there too and it was thriving. Slowly but surely this one is growing. It is a lot of fun. You walk and exercise, but you stop and you do things with your kiddos to help them get some exercise too. It's Christ based, so there is a memory verse and rhymes to go along with some of the stretching. The best part about it is that it's free. I loved it, you can go at your own pace. You choose your level of fitness. I pushed myself and I am feeling the pain of that today, but I am so glad that I have found something like this. I have been wanting to get into something like this, but didn't know where to begin! We meet every tues and thursday at various parks in the area.

Not really sure what else to talk about. I guess just pray for the frustrations I am feeling over feeding Parker. And also, pray that he starts sleeping better. For the past few nights at about 12:30 he wakes up SCREAMING and crying. I think it might be because he is getting another tooth, but it's frustrating for mommy and daddy!

Thanks friends.

A Leap of Faith

I hope you are sitting down for this because I have something very important that I must reveal to you right now....My name is Denise and unfortunately I am human and have fears! On of my biggest fears/struggles is being a leader. Talk about being WAY out of my comfort-zone. But recently God has really been pushing me to step out of the zone and has been renewing within me an amazing spirit. 

This is the convo that started it all...or well, kind of the conversation I had with God: 

G: "Hey Denise, guess what, it's time you cross that line and jump on in to this new venture."

M: " Um, God, really? I mean, this is a huge fear and I am not into conquering a fear right now."

G: "I understand, but you say you trust me and you have put your hope in me, don't you trust me enough to lead you and guide you in this?"

M: " Of course I trust you God, but this is a huge fear and I am not ready and I just am not sure I will be ok, I am just not re-a-d-..."

G: "Denise, you can't half trust me, do you FULLY trust me? Will you put your life in my hands? Think about it, did I let you down with Parker. You trusted me then, why not with this?"

M: "Yes, and I appreciate how well you have taken care of my precious boy, but I am scared."

G: "Will you trust me and let me lead you?"

M: "You know what God, Yes, I will....you haven't let me down thus far....here I go..."

I jumped in and am now stepping out of my comfort zone. I have taken on a leadership roll in my mommy meet up group as an assistant organizer and I am loving every minute of it. I am in charge of charity events for my group and working on how to appropriately discuss things with the charities (I am bad at phone talking!) I am planning on stepping into a role at church again, working in the toddler room and planning structure for that room (can I tell you how THRILLED I AM?) God is really pushing me in all of these and I am taking the plunge with an open heart and while I am scared and timid...I am ready for this. I am looking forward to working with a charity in my life group and now with my mommy group. 

It's so funny how God works. I mean really...He is so cool like that. And I am thrilled to be "growing up." One of the charities near and dear to my heart is March of Dimes and I want to show Parker a spirit of giving, which isn't to say I am not a giving person, but I am always so scared and timid, but now, I feel like I can truly show Parker how special you can fill when giving to others and being willing to stand up for what you believe in (and at this point the Veggie Tales song "Stand Up" runs through me head....) 

I can't wait to see what God has planned. Pray for me on my journey! Tuesday's Tips tomorrow...stay tuned, you will love it!