Hold Me Jesus

Well, sometimes my life
Just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

CHORUS:
So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart

CHORUS

Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something
I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees

And this Salvation Army band
Is playing this hymn
And Your grace rings out so deep
It makes my resistance seem so thin

CHORUS

You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

-Rich Mullins

Lord, we miss this sweet precious girl with all our hearts. We know she is free from pain, worry, and fear but we still long to see her face again. I pray that you become the Prince of Peace for her family and friends as we remember her sweet presence in all of our lives. Amen.

The Magic Blanket

So, we have this ongoing joke in our house about the magic blanket. We were given a Little Giraffe Blanket and blanky (little square blanket) for a shower gift when Connor was born! It was a gorgeous blanket and super soft! We washed it up and folded it with all the other blankets and stuck it in the drawer. When Connor was about 1 month old he was crying hysterically one night and we couldn't get him to calm down. We had tried everything. Finally I went into his room looking for something that would help soothe him and I found the Little Giraffe blanket. I grabbed it and handed it to Matt who wrapped Connor up in and you wouldn't believe it but we were able to get him to calm down! He loved being rocked and snuggled up in this SUPER soft blanket. Needless to say these blankets have stuck around. We have big blanky and little blanky. Fortunately, Connor does not carry his blankets around all the time but does prefer to have them when it's time for sleep!

We love these blankets SO much I decided to order one for Ryan's easter basket. Check it out here. I ordered the dark blue version! I cannot wait for Easter so we can start using this blanket. Ryan LOVES to be cuddled up snug in something soft and it has taken every bit of restraint not to pull it out and give it to him. It's not like he will know the the difference right?! Needless to say I hope this blanket works the same kind of magic on Ryan that it did on Connor. I was watching Ryan today as he slept in his car seat and was pulling the blanket up to his face so it looks like I need to break down and order him a blanky for travel.

So, that is my plug for the Little Giraffe Blankets. Sorry to spoil that surprise but if you are a friend of mine and have a baby this is what you will be getting from me or my Mom! :) It it my one can't live without baby item. Okay, I have a bunch of can't live without items but this is our favorite! Enjoy!

Gulf Shores

So, we have decided to take a trip to Gulf Shores, AL in August. We invited all our family along with us and most of them are going to join us. We found an AWESOME house on the beach that we are renting for the week! It sits right on the coast and has all the amenities of the neighborhood community. We have access to tennis courts, basketball courts, a clubhouse and pool! We are very excited to just have some time to relax by the ocean and spend time with family! Brandon and Matt and excited about hitting up some of the golf courses and my parents talked about doing some deep sea fishing. We told Connor we were going to the beach this summer and he is already talking about it. He says "We go to the beach this summer"! Poor kid probably thinks we are going soon! He will probably forget about it by the time August rolls around. I think both boys are going to LOVE the beach. I have already bought them a sand bucket with all the shovels and toys in it. Of course, I have to figure out a way to get it there as we are going to fly into Pensacola, FL, rent a car, and then drive the 45 miles into Gulf Shores, AL.

Well....after writing this post I also realize I need to get myself in the gym! I personally LOVE summer and can't wait for the lake, pool, beach, etc BUT I am not ready for the summer clothes and swim suits! Time to get this baby weight off. If I could only find the time.............................

Terrible Two's & Sleep Training

So, let me preface by saying I love Connor more than anything and I wouldn't change one thingabout him. With that being said, we have had the most challenging 4 months of our lives. Amongst other things, Connor has developed a raging case of the terrible 2's. I thought what we went through at 18 months was bad....I was WRONG. I have never seen one kid go through so many emotions in one minute....happy, sad, angry, frustrated, and back to happy. I know most of this is related to his age and of course the arrival of his Baby Ryan.

Connor had started hitting, pushing, and poking his friends at school and refusing to sleep on his nap mat during nap time. Instead, he would get up and scream. And I don't mean crying scream, I mean the kind of scream that will bust ear drums. This behavior also started to spill over to home. He was refusing to take naps, refusing to eat, and would pretty much scream at the top of his lungs when asked to do anything. I mean, we could ask him to sit down and eat ice cream and he would throw himself on the ground and scream so loud we might all need hearing aids. This of course makes Ryan start crying which makes Mom want to cry.

After months of battling it out with Connor, I mean seriously it was his will against ours, we decided to soften our approach. We started giving him hugs when he would get frustrated and start to throw a fit and tell him we loved him. We also would acknowledge his anger instead of sending him to time out for being angry with us. Of course he still has to obey and will be sent to his room or time out for blatantly not obeying when we ask him to stop doing something like kicking, hitting, putting feet on the table, or screaming (just to name a few common offenders). I was surprised to notice that within a week of softening our approach with Connor (and making sure he was getting good sleep) things have started to improve. He has become so pleasant to be around again. He is the most polite little boy. He always says thank you, please, yes ma'm, no sir, good morning, etc. Some many people have commented on how polite he is. Needless to say, I am so happy to have my sweet/loving baby back....actually big boy!

On top of all this terrible two business we have started sleep training our sweet Baby Ryan. I HATE sleep training. It is so hard. The baby cries, Mom cries, and Dad doesn't understand why everyone is crying! :) From Day 1, Ryan has loved to be held. For the first 8 wks of his life he would only sleep during the day if he was being walked and bounced around the house. Let me tell you my shoulder is SHOT from all the hours of walking and rocking we have done. As we type I can feel the ache and the shooting pain down my arm. Needless to say, we just can't keep doing it. We are all exhausted and hurting. So, it is time for Ryan to figure out how to soothe himself. This part is really hard. When time for sleep, whether it be nap or bed we will soothe him for about 5 minutes to get him drowsy and then its into bed. Some days are better than others. Some days he may only cry for 5 min. and then he is fast asleep and others (like today) he cries FOREVER. I go in every 10-15 min and give him his paci (which he immediately spits out) and tell him it will be okay, etc without picking him up. Then, I leave the room and the process starts all over. Today has been horrible. After 30 min of this cycle I finally give in an pick him up and rock/walk him and of course he falls asleep within 2 min. So, I put him back in bed. 5 min later he wakes up crying again! Can you tell I am sitting here listening to him cry right now and my blood pressure is rising. HEHE Luckily, when he wakes up at night to nurse he goes right back to sleep and I have no problem transferring him back into his bed. So, really the tough parts are naps and bedtime. I really don't remember Connor being this hard to get to sleep. Either I have a major case of amnesia or this kid is so much harder than Connor. *sigh*

Well, enough of the complaints for one day. Everyone has to have a post like this once in awhile right! Off to pick up my screaming baby and rock him to sleep. UGH!

Baby Ryan

As I was looking through my blog today I realized that it is a great resource for remembering things with Connor. I am HORRIBLE about writing things down and documenting when things happen....HORRIBLE! So, I was really enjoying reading through all the old blog entries that I have posted over the past few years. So, I have decided that I am going to continue with the tradition and hope to create some lasting memories in my blog. I am trying not to pressure myself as to how often I blog so maybe I will stick with it this time! We shall see.

Well, since the last time we wrote alot has happened. Connor is 2 1/2 yrs old now and runs everywhere. I laughed when I read my blog about Connor starting to crawl and I predicted he would skip walking and go straight to running....turns out I was right! He is a very sweet and polite little man. For his 2nd birthday, Connor got a big boy bed. He LOVES it and it so proud of it. He slept great from Day 1. What a big boy. He attends a Mother's Day Out on Tues/Thurs from 9-2pm. I love those 5 hours to get things done around the house or town but they FLY by.

He has made some pretty awesome friends at school and really enjoys learning new things.

He is super energetic and athletic. He plays basketball like an all-star! He attends swim lessons once a week and can swim across the pool to the side and pull himself out!

On Jan. 31st, 2011 at 2:28pm we welcomed our 2nd sweet boy into this world. Ryan Collier McNicoll weighed in at 6 pounds 12 ounces, and was 18 1/2 inches long! He was a carbon copy of his brother at birth only he has brown hair. He has been a complete joy. He loves to hear his brother's voice and often looks around when he hears him (you always know where Connor is because he is so loud). He is smiling all the time. Even at night when he wakes up and wants to be fed he will give you a little smile when you go to get him out of his crib. What a sweet and patient boy. He has rolled over from his tummy to his back twice!! I just can't believe how fast these things happen. He is already 2 months old and it feels like he was just born. He is sleeping fairly well at night. The last few nights have been 8pm-2am-6am. I am NOT complaining about those hours. :) Plus, he goes right back to sleep like a champ. Now....if he would only take naps during the day without being held or in the car............... :) That is a work in progress but it is getting better. Here are a few pics of our sweet new baby boy!