A Trip to Tyler

Several weekends ago, we made a trip to Jeremy's parents' house for the weekend to go to the East Texas State Fair and celebrate Jeremy's birthday a little early. We had a great time!

Because today has been the first time I've had a chance to post anything in almost a month, I hope my reading "masses" (all four or five of you *grin*) will forgive me for skimping on text and just going for the pictures. Here Luke is on the carousel, which he adored.

Big Boy Clothes

I'm pretty sure that all moms of small children love it when their little ones "help" with the finished laundry. Luke helps by taking the clean clothes and holding them up to his face - especially when that face has a runny nose and/or drooly mouth. Recently, I just embraced it and decided we were going to try on the big boy clean clothes. First, Dad's polo...

Our Brave Boy

Many of you know from me or through word of mouth that Jeremy and I have been concerned about Luke's lack of speech. Our concern started in March when, at over 18 months old, Luke still wasn't using any words. (He definitely speaks - it's just in his own language. =D) Since then, we've had speech evaluations, hearing tests, speech therapy, and several doctors' visits, which culminated in yesterday's audio brainstem response (ABR) test held at Cook Children's. The picture above is of our brave little man coming out of anesthesia after his hearing test, which he passed with flying colors! We're so thankful, particularly after he failed a hearing test in late June, that he has no permanent, nerve-related hearing damage. It's a huge blessing!

Two Good to Be True!

It's been almost three weeks since I last posted, and with good reason: we've been so busy! Between my return to work, Luke's start at day care three days a week, and Jeremy's new job with more frequent travel, we have had our hands quite full. We've also spent some time planning and enjoying celebrations of Luke's 2nd birthday! It's so hard to believe that two years have passed since Luke was born. In some ways, it feels like it wasn't all that long ago that we were in the hospital meeting our little Luke. In others... wow, how long it has seemed!

Great Wolf Lodge

Hello everyone! Well, I am back at work, so the leisurely days of summer, apparently like those under 100 degrees, are gone. I thought I'd take a quick bit to post about our quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge! We went with our friends the Colvins and the Blunts, and we had a fantastic time! I highly recommend this place for kids. Luke had a great time...

A Month's Worth of Updates

The title of this post would suggest that things have been really eventful at the Roberts house over the past few weeks. Actually, this isn't the case - and I mean that in the best of ways! As summer saunters to its close (I go back to work three weeks from today... nooooooo!), we've spent a lot of time just hanging out and enjoying one another's company. We're having a great time!

Here are a few blurbs with a few pictures of our slow-going summer!

Nobody Tells You...

Luke wasn’t very old at all when I figured out that there’s much more to being a mom than idealistic images we see on TV and in the movies, or those nostalgic reminiscences shared by women whose children are now grown up and out of the house. To be clear, this post is not a rant, because I’m the first to admit that the majority of motherhood is immeasurably, ineffably wonderful. Like the way it feels when Luke runs up to me and hugs me for no reason. Or the few minutes after he falls asleep in my arms for his naps that I watch his angelic little face rest. His giggles make me feel joyous. His sweet, soft skin feels heavenly. I could go on and on, so, before I unveil my observations about the not-so-glorious parts: YES. Being a mom is fantastic.



But there’s so much that nobody tells you. For instance…


1. Kids have a zillion toys, DVDs, CDs, and, nowadays, websites that each has its own songs. Nobody tells you that these songs will run on an endless loop in your brain. Today, my mental soundtrack is from Baby Signing Time. “Mom has a mom and SHE’S MY GRANDMA…” Yesterday, it was Imagination Movers’ “Catch” song. (“Who you gonna throw it to? Is it me or is it you?) Whether they’re from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dance-a-lot Robot, the Fisher Price barn, or a myriad of other shows or objects, these songs will haunt your dreams. They’ll escape your lips in the grocery store… even when you notice your child isn’t there to sing them to. Nobody tells you how crazy you will look and feel when this happens.


2. Nobody tells you that poop will become the center of your universe. Not your poop – your child’s. If you’re a mother reading this, you are nodding knowingly. (The rest of you are probably making vows of celibacy while reaching for a trash can into which to barf. Yeah, didn't end that sentence in a preposition. This post is authored by a legit English teacher!) But mothers? They know the progression of childhood doo. These days, Jeremy and I will almost high-five in celebration of a “flusher.” [For those without offspring: a flusher means you can flush the poo. When it isn’t a flusher, you have to hold your breath as you take the offending diaper to the garage into the stench-averting gift from God, the Diaper Champ.] When Luke was a newborn, we had a chart where we tracked when he ate, slept, and POOPED. A freakin’ Excel spreadsheet. I s--t you not. (Pun intended, obviously.)


3. Even though your first pet was the center of your universe, your baby before you had a baby, when said baby arrives, nobody tells you that you will not love your pet as much. There. I said it. I have previously said that getting little puppy Hannah and taking care of her prepared me for motherhood, and I will be grateful forever for having her. But now that I have a toddler to chase, that dog gets on my last damn nerve. I’m pretty sure she hates me, too; she’ll sometimes look at me and sigh as if she’s saying, “Thanks for carrying and delivering that demon-seed that ruined my life.” Now, before you look up the telephone number for the Euless office of the SPCA, stop. I still care for Hannah. I even LOVE her. Really, I do... even if there have maybe been times that it was only Jeremy that kept me from sending her back to Operation Kindness. I’m just saying it’s not the same. And before you haters get mad at me, I assure you that other new mothers out there feel the exact same way about their dogs and/or cats since you’ve had a baby. So there.


4. Any worrying you did prior to your child’s birth was strictly amateur; nobody tells you that once you’re a mom, you’re a professional worrier. Before Luke, I was maybe the Dirk Nowitzki of worriers – definitely well above average, and perhaps even top tier, but never at the apex. Today? I’m like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant converted their basketball proficiency into anxiety aptitude, went back to 1978 in a time machine, and had a love child: me. I worry when I hear Luke move around in his crib (that he’ll hit his head, get stuck, fall out; you know, all clearly logical stuff). I worry when I don’t hear him in his crib (he’s suffocating on the bumper pad; he’s stopped breathing; he’s been kidnapped, even though I heard no window, security system beeping, or insanely loud barking from Hannah signaling an intruder). [An aside, by the way: baby monitors are just as much a curse as they are a blessing.] I worry - and some of you out there with little ones are going to curse me - that he sleeps too much. REALLY. And these are just the daily things. God knows how I’m going to function when I’m worried about him making friends at school, reading on grade-level, surviving middle school, maybe actually talking to a girl (while staying dorky enough to be a virgin until he’s at least 25)… seriously. It is not coincidence that my prayer life has increased exponentially since he’s been born!

I could go on and on – and perhaps will another time. But for now, if you’re a mom, post a comment: what aspect of being a mom caught you completely and utterly off guard?