Summer 09 Has Arrived! :)

Last week was a LONG week. Jagger was very sick. Because he is never sick, this made me very paranoid. I kept thinking he had Rota Virus. Though I have no idea really what that is, I have a friend whose little boy had it, and he had to be hospitalized and have an IV. The thought of that made me so sad! I went from thinking it was the Rota Virus, to thinking he may be Lactose Intolerant. It seemed that EVERY TIME he drank milk, he Puked! UGH! BUT as of today, he is feeling better. And is even keeping the milk down. I suppose he just had a stomach bug. Which makes me feel a lot better.
Here is a picture of my Big Boy feeling all better :)

Saturday we took a family trip to the Game Farm in French Creek, WV. It had been almost 10 years since I had visited the Game Farm, and could not wait for Jagger to see all the animals!
When we arrived. We had a picnic while watching the Elk. They were HUGE! And kind of ugly! lol Jagger thought they were neat.
Then we headed back up to the trail to see the other animals. Jagger had a brief, but very disruptive, moment of displeasure! Ya know, those times when you pray no one sees your kid acting that way (in public) and hoping that if they do they can at least sympathize and not judge? Good times! LOL And in this case, he was flipping out 10 feet from a HUGE Mountain Lion that I swore was going to be as irritated as I was and jump through the fence and attack us all. Simply because Jagger didn't like the fact that we stopped his stroller at precisely the incorrect time? If the Mountain Lion had eaten us because of my son's outburst, I would have been thoroughly angry! Anyway, after the slight disturbance, we moved on. Before we reached the next animal, Jagger had passed out in the stroller. This is the part of parenting when you are faced with conflicted feelings. Part of me was thrilled that he fell asleep and wouldn't be crabby anymore (lol) and the other part of me was sad that he was going to miss all the animals. That didn't last long, I was happy that Tom and I could at least enjoy this much of the trip! LOL.
Some of the animals we got to see were: Mountain Lion, Elk, Bald Eagle, Hawks, Bob Cats, Wolves, Coyotes, Wild Boars, Owls, and my favorite - the Black Bears.
here are some pictures of the animals.
The Boy Elk: (i don't know the proper term lol)

The Mountain Lion:
Bald Eagle:
Black Bears:

Jagger's Game Farm Experience. . . haha

Saturday night, we had company. Jen and Philip, some friends of ours from Charles Town, had a wedding to attend in Morgantown. After the wedding they came to stay with us. It was so nice seeing and visiting with them. Sunday we got up, visited some more and then headed to Coopers Rock for a picnic. It was a beautiful day. A little hot, but nice nonetheless.
Here are some pictures from our day.

I am SO happy that Summer is finally here! Only 16 days til Fan Fair!! :)

Landon Tyler Showen

Landon Tyler Showen was born on December 13, 2008. His Mom and Dad are very good friends of ours from Charles Town. Michele and Zach Showen. We have known them since 2003, when Michele and I worked together for over a year. Throughout that time, Tom and Zach became very good friends also. Before we moved to Fairmont, the night before in fact, we went to their house for a 'farewell dinner'. And we had a huge tub of clothes to give them for their unborn born baby boy. Along with A baby swing and some other goodies for him. Things that Jagger had when he was a baby and had grown out of. I hadn't seen them since the move, but have talked to Michele quite a bit throughout the time.
Today, I got a call from Michele. I assumed it was her usual monthly (or so) call to check up on us, and fill me in on how her life has been. That's how our conversations usually go lately.
But today was different. When she spoke, she spoke weak. I could hear the tears in her voice. She muttered the words "Landon died this morning" Her precious baby boy, only 5 months old, had been taken by God today, May 16, 2009.
What do you have say to someone who says those words to you? How can you come up with something to say? You can't. It's impossible.
At this time, his cause of death is unknown. Michele told me that when she went in to get him this morning, there was blood in his mouth and he was cold.
The idea of my friend walking in to her baby boy's room and seeing him lying there lifeless, is unbearable to me. The worst thing imaginable. Landon had been sent for an autopsy today. I have not talked to Michele tonight.
She only said "I have to bury my baby this week. . ." and then I told her I love her. And we said goodbye.
I know these things happen. But to my friend? To someone so close to me? This doesn't happen to people I know.
I am sickened by this. Hurt. and sad. My God, how does this happen?
How do I know that God has a plan, but curse that plan all the while?
I am now at a loss of words.
Landon Tyler Showen 12.13.08 - 5.16.09 Rest His Little Soul
Landon and his Mommy, Michele

Wedding // Family // Mothers Day

I love weddings. I didn't have one, but I love them. I also love my family. And spending time with them is so much fun. We really have such a good time when we're all in one place. My Little Cousin, Autumn, got married yesterday. She married a boy that she has been dating since high school. They are such a good couple, and truly in love. Autumn is actually my second cousin. Her Mom, Carla, is my first cousin. But since I have SO many cousins, and our ages range from like 45 to 10 years old, it leaves me being the same age as many of my cousins children. The wedding was Beautiful! Autumn looked so gorgeous. I was very proud of her. After the ceremony, I came home and picked up Tom and Jagger to go to the reception. Which was held at Westchester Village. Also very nice. We had such a good time. Here are some pictures of me with some of my cousins.
These are also my second cousins. But we grew up together, and have been best friends our entire lives. Without these three girls, I would be lost. I love them SO much. R-L: Nikki, Mandi, Angie, Me.
Nikki, Angie, Mandi, and Me
Autumn and Adam Fluharty
Autumn and My Cousin Mandi's daughter, Abby



Today is Mothers Day. I love Mothers Day. Especially now that I am a Mother. This morning, Tom and Jagger let me sleep in, til 10:30!! I loved it. Then the brought a beautiful card in to bed along with breakfast. Then my Mom came over and we took her lunch. We had such a nice time at lunch! After lunch, we decided to go for a long ride through the country. It was so enjoyable. We got to spend quality time with my Mom, talking and laughing. My favorite thing to do! I love talking about the old days, when I was a kid. And hearing stories of when my Mom was a kid.
Jagger was SUCH a good boy today! He ate well, and wasn't cranky on the long car ride. On the way back through Mannington, we stopped for Ice Cream. We let Jag have his very own cone. Needless to say, he was Happy! ;)
Here are some pictures.
Jagger and Mammie ordering their treats ;)



Overall, it was a great weekend! :)

Straw in Nose and Nice Spring Nights. . .

So, yesterday I gave Jagger a straw to play with (he loves straws for some odd reason) What does he do with it? He sticks it in his nose, walks in the kitchen, real slow and careful so it wouldn't fall out, and laughs! Gotta admit, while hilarious, this kinda freaked me out. I mean, ouch!
Today was kind of a non eating day. He munched on some bread at Panera, but mostly just wanted his lollipop from the bank drive thru. Then he got the lollipop on his hands and started yelling "STICKY!!" So I had to hurry up and wipe off his hands. He doesn't like sticky, apparently?
He did eat some Muriale's 'sgetti' tonight too though. So that was good. I don't blame him there, Muriale's is GOOD EATIN!
We sat outside on the back porch a lot tonight. It was so nice out. I'm so glad it's finally time to be able to enjoy being outside some.
Not much else to say right now. Except that clearly I'm now addicted to Blogging (along with MYSPACEing and FACEBOOKing! lol) Go Figure!
Tomorrow is my cousin Autum's wedding. We have yet to decide how this will go. Jagger definitely will not sit through a wedding. So we're not sure if he and Tom will stay home or if they'll go and Tom will just actually miss the ceromony? We'll see when the time comes. After the wedding, I am planning on having a little party for my birthday. It's supposed to rain. . .
if it does, I'm screwed ha.
Mothers Day is Sunday. I asked my Mom where she wanted us to take her out to eat after church. She chose Miss Blues Diner in Hundred. Um, OK. lol. So that's where we're going. Yummmo!! They do have some good home cookin! And every time we go there, Jagger eats like a little pig. I'm guess he digs the whole country diner thing. Whatever works!
That's it for now, Good night! :)

the sun is shining!! (at least temporarily!)

He's so beautiful, even sitting on the Potty! :)

he was laughing at me taking pictures of him! lol
Here are some pictures of Jagger on the Potty. Keep in mind, though I think he may have tinkled a little bit on this day, he doesn't usually lol

We're trying to potty train Jagger. I use the words "WE" and "TRYING" very lightly! Basically, I ask him nightly if he wants to sit on the potty. I've heard that you should not force the issue for it can make a child almost resent the potty. Can you imagine? "I hate you Potty because my Mom makes me sit on you!" haha. Sounds funny. So, I'm trying to keep him somewhat interested in the potty. He's got a little potty chair, and also a seat that sits on the big potty. He seems to be liking it a little better. I try to give him something to occupy him while he's sitting on there too. For some reason, he gets distracted quickly and wants up otherwise! Lately we've been brushing teeth while sitting on the potty. This seems to keep him there for a few minutes. This whole potty training thing is very confusing to me. I kind of want to hire someone to do it for me. Is that bad mothering? lol.

We STILL haven't put him in his Big Boy bed yet! I know I should, but there's a part of me that still wants him to be my baby. That, and there are still nights when he wakes up once. And I'm scared he'll get out of bed. I do not want that to become a habit. I have mixed emotions about trying to make my baby grow up!! I suppose we'll work at our own pace. And ignore what all the experts say. Why do they get to be experts any way? lol. I think they're as much an expert as I am, so whatever!

Jagger fell in love with the Tee Ball set that he played with on Easter at our friends house. I think he's going to be a natural. I'm getting him his own tee ball set this weekend! And hopefully the sunshine will return so he can play with it outside. I also can't wait to take him swimming again this summer. He LOVES water! Absolutely loves it! He's going to be a little fishy ;) Last year was fun, but I think this year will be even more fun.

Oh, and a final bit of "YAY JAGGER" news. He was asked to be in his first wedding!! Next summer, July 17th, 2010, he will be the ring bearer in Brittany Horner and Tim Cross' wedding!! I am SO excited. He will be so darn cute! His little flower girl is going to be Morgan Myers. The most precious little red headed girl you have ever seen. The two of them together will certainly be a hit! :)

Well, I guess that's it for today. I shall close up the lap top and push Jagger "fasssss" on his bike! lol.

Til next time. . .

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.

So, I took today off work. Still recovering from this pesky U.T.I. I've already straightened up around the house, so I thought I'd post a blog.
We're sitting on the back porch enjoying a non-rainy day. This rain has been such an annoyance lately! Really putting a damper on all our spirits, I think. Jagger was getting cabin fever bad! He can't understand that he cannot play outside when it's raining. lol. I'm so happy that our new house has a porch too.

Images of a Mother

i don't know if it's kosher to post more than one blog per day, but I'm going to! I'm new to this, I'm going to make up my own rules :)
I read this once, and it rang so true to me. Very touching.
The Images of Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

How true is this?! No matter how old we get, we ALWAYS need our Mom's. I find comfort in knowing that my baby will always need me. Even when he may not realize it, and I will always be there for him. Some day, I want Jagger to look back on his childhood and think "Wow, my Mom was a really good Mom" I also hope he thinks "Wow! My Mom was a really cool Mom" :)
Pretty much, I just LOVE being Jagger's Mommy.
And I tell you what, I don't think I could love my own Mother any more than I have since I've given birth to my own child. Why? Because I now fully understand the love she feels for me. And that is an amazing revelation!

OK, that was my second blog of the day! lol.

PS...Jagger is the sweetest kid on the planet, no doubt. BUT, while sweet and beautiful, the kid has a temper like no other. He gets SO angry when he can't have his way. I have no idea where he gets that from ? (Maybe me? lol) Tonight, he was trying to hang off the back porch, which is on the second floor, when we stopped him, he took a fit! And when he gets angry, he doesn't even want you to look at him lol. Sometimes it's very amusing. When he was mad tonight, I said "Jagger, do you want Mommy to go inside with you?" and he said "NO!" lol. Everything's NO when he's mad! lol.
God Love him, he's so darn cute!

My first blog. . .

I decided to start a blog to document the joys of my motherhood! My son, Jagger, was born January 24, 2007. It's hard to believe he is two years old already. The last two and a half years have flown by. He is so much fun. Very entertaining and smart. I enjoy watching him grow, learn, and explore so much. He is ALL BOY! Loves to play outside, ride his bikes, play in the dirt, and play ball (which really just consists of throwing the ball lol)
He is a beautiful little boy. Big blue eyes that melt my heart, a head full of blond curly hair that is the prettiest thing I've ever seen.
He's learning to say so much these days. It seems that every day he is saying something new. He says "NO" a lot! Yikes. Loves telling us what toys he's playing with at the time. Especially "CODY'S PO PO POPPLE" (which translates to CODY'S MOTORCYCLE) Loves, telling us what food he wants to eat....which at this time is rare, since his eating habits have become weird, to say the least. One day he'll eat like a pig, the next day, he won't eat a thing almost all day.
Jagger loves dancing and singing also. Some of his favorite songs are "Row Row Your Boat", "I love you, You Love Me", "Waltz Across Texas" (I know, I know. But I've been singing that to him since he was tiny lol)
And my favorite thing that he does is saying "I. Love. You." He points to his eye for "I", his heart for "YUV", and points at you when he says "YEEEWWW" lol.
Jagger is my precious boy. And I am very excited to share the joys of his life with all my closest friends :)
Enjoy!