Grayson-isms

The most embarrassing moments come from when your child mispronounces words....

Convo #1:Walking into Target for a shopping trip..
Me - Grayson if you sit in the cart like a good boy mommy will get you some popcorn to eat while we shop (G LOVES popcorn)
Grayson - Squealing in excitement, YAY PORN!!! I love porn! Heehee, Yummy in my Tummy - PORN!!!
I got many funny glances and giggles in line for the POPCORN!


Convo #2:Bedtime prayer time
Me - Grayson what would you like to pray for tonight?
Grayson - umm... mommy and daddy and cole and dinasours!
Me - Okay, do you want to pray for the baby in mommy's tummy?
Grayson - Nope

Let's Get Real Thursday

The dinner battle.... What is it about dinner that causes chaos sometimes? My boy likes to eat, he loves food - never been a really picky eater. He eats great for breakfast and lunch... but dinner... sometimes is a whole other story. I could make the same thing that he loved last week and wants nothing to do with this week. Something that I know he eats at school, he won't touch at the dinner table at home. Is this a trick!? I don't get it! And telling him he eats what's in front of him or nothing does not even phase him... All the while I'm tossing and turning in bed thinking I'm starving my child.

I know we all go through these phases. We will have one random bad dinner battle night after weeks of nothing, and then weeks of dinner battles and then one random night that there's no fuss. It's soo random! It doesn't matter what it is or how it's presented... It's like a mystery each night when we sit down to eat what will be the outcome.

Anyone else? Let's get real, how do you fight the battle? ;)

It's a...

GIRL!!!

We are absolutely thrilled to be having a daughter! Tony is already in protective daddy mode and mommy is over the moon and searching out the cutest bows!

We told Grayson mommy had a girl in her tummy and he said: "No, girl... baby in your belly!" No matter how many times we try to explain, he is insistent that it is a baby, not a girl. LOL.

So here is our sweet little Olivia Rose Bianco!

 

We had this idea to take a picture of Grayson looking mean and shaking a fist to say "don't mess with my little sister"... But that kid is such a cheese ball!! He wanted to say cheese and smile and then see himself! So here are some of the best outtakes ;)

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the best family photo we got... :)

And since I haven't given a pregnancy update in a while... Here I am at 20 weeks.

 I am 21 weeks now and have my next appointment tomorrow. I'm not sick/nauseous anymore, but that 2nd trimester energy never came this time around. I'm pretty achy, but enjoying this little blessing!

Thank ya'll for all your prayers and encouragement and congratulations! You continually lift our spirits, warm our hearts and make us smile! :)

No title needed...

I've been debating if/what/how much to share on here about some stuff that's been happening with us lately. But then I decided that this is my personal blog, one that I want to look back on and see what's happened in our lives and how God moved. And those of you that have been following along since 2009 when we moved to Texas are such support and prayer warriors.

Last week we found out that Grayson had been physically harmed at his daycare center, by what we believe, an adult. We have been reeling from that and dealing with the situation, CPS and hurt hearts and broken trust. G is still so young that we can't glean much/any information from him, so there is an investigation underway and we sit in a standstill waiting for what's next. Grayson is okay, both physically and emotionally. He is at a new "school" by trusted recommendations from our own church.

Here's where I'm at... It is not by my nature to turn to God in hurt and trials and I usually put up walls pretty quickly. This weekend I found myself angry with God and having a hard trusting him with my child. I know that He loves Grayson more than I ever could, He created Him and He goes before him and watches over him... but this still happened. I was stuck with knowing this truth and His promises, but being contradicted by this reality. What I've learned though over this week is that God is sovereign over all. And that my God, my King Daddy, is also Father of my son is angry in His righteous anger of the hurt of one of His children. He has sobbed with me and holds me and comforts me to get up and keep loving on my child and holding him and not take my precious son for granted. We have been surrounded by great community of encouragers and prayer warriors. I don't take it lightly that we can feel how covered in prayers we are. I have been flooded with texts and calls, hugs and prayers by great friends, co-workers and ministry partners. God is still good. He is still King.

Here's the good that I will force myself to see coming through this. Grayson is okay, both physically and emotionally. I think God protected any scars (emotionally) from forming. We were able to find a school that we feel safe at right away. The school is a little Baptist church. I am relieved that he will be in a church/Christian environment again. Already he is loved on and being told how much God loves him and cares for him. He is praying again at "school". I am excited that he will be in a church environment during the holidays (we are a little Christmas obsessed). This place is closer to our church/work, which means me and Grayson can start coming to Wednesday nights again (which I just happened to tell Tony and put in my prayer journal that missing Wed nights was getting harder and harder for me). I already feel a good relationship with his teachers/director and am slowly trusting more each day.

 Yesterday was his first day at this new school and I got this as I was at work...

 

 

Thank you for your prayers. In other news, next week we will have a big announcement on whether Grayson will have a little brother or sister!! :)

 

Let's Get Real Thursday

One of my closest friends from seminary, who is also a student minister's wife, texted me her "Let's Get Real Wednesday night" last night and she is letting me share it with ya'll today. :) We were pregnant together with our firsts and she now has two beautiful little girls.

Most Wednesdays I wonder why I even bother going to church. By the time I get the girls there, after a long day of school, I am exhausted. Then Lord help us all for the rage of emotions that follow. B is mad that she has to leave church. She is mad because she doesn't get a bath because... oh it's already 20 minutes past bedtime. J screams from the moment I pick her up in the nursery until the second I start nursing her... which is a good hour after I pick her up. B gets mad because she can't rinse her mouth out after brushing teeth 20 times. She has to wait for the ceiling fan to completely stop so that SHE can turn it on. All while J is screaming. And there is no husband in sight because parents seem to think he lives at the church and they don't need to pick up their student on time.

 

I'm so exhausted by the end of "bedtime" that all I want to do is be alone and be selfish. Forget all the dishes, laundry, clutter... It's nights like tonight that make me want to throw in the towel all together on Wednesday nights. ... I love my girls and I am thankful for every second with them and all their quirky behavior. But Wednesday nights take a toll on us all and our ugliest sides usually come out.
 

 

Oh how I can relate to my sweet friend!! We love our kids, we love ministry and we love being ministers' wives... But some days/nights are hard. So glad for ministry friends around the country that we can text each other and vent and laugh and cry together.

 

Let's get real... You have those days/nights.. right!? Hopefully we are not alone in this. ;)  Mothers unite! :)

Let's Get Real Thursday

Last weekend we had a plan of attack for potty training. It failed. Big time! Friday was a horrible day of mess after mess with not a single potty success. By the end of the day when I was becoming a not nice mommy, I finally asked Grayson if he wanted to go to the potty or put on a diaper. He chose diaper... we are done. So a made a quick decision that he is just not ready and we'll try again in a month or so. No big deal.

But to be honest.... I'm having a hard time with it. Not because he isn't potty trained or out of diapers (it's not that big of a deal and I know it will happen in the right timing). But because my plan failed. You see with each big transition with Grayson I have had a full-proof plan of attack to help us succeed. With the big boy bed transition, we started reading an Elmo book on big kid beds a few weeks before to get him ready and wanting one. We went shopping and let him pick out his own sheets (even if they didn't match) so that he would be excited about getting into his new bed. We basically brainwashed him not to jump on the bed or get out of bed til mom/dad came to get him.... And it worked! It was the smoothest transition and my plan worked!

So I approached potty training the same way. We started reading an Elmo potty book a couple of weeks ago. He already practices "going potty" at school. We went shopping and he picked out a bunch of big boy underwear that he was excited about. He picked out all his reward stickers for when he went potty. Friday morning we watch an Elmo DVD on potty time.... And with each accident and underwear change and not a single sticker... I felt like a failure! This was the first transition that my "plan" failed. (I know now that I am not a failure and there is nothing that I could do/not do.. it just has to be when he is ready.) But the feeling was still there. The core of my type A personality of needing a plan for everything crumbled a little that day.

But amidst that feeling I received so many texts from friends and family full of encouragement and prayers for our weekend and my struggle. God was soo good to me to give me a circle of support and encouragement. And friends have told me now that I was wise to know now not to push him and just wait til he is ready. I'm glad it took just one day to decide to wait. We didn't ruin a weekend with a grumpy momma and too much laundry. We went to a birthday party and swam with friends and enjoyed our relaxing weekend together.

We will try again in a month or so...  Let's get real, he can't go to college in diapers!... though he might be the first! ;)