Happy First CX... for your birthday you get a sibling.

So. Some exciting things have taken place.

First... Corban turned ONE!!!!! Yay, Corban. my sweet baby boy is 1 year old. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has gone. He amazes me every day. His personality emerges more and more. In fact, as his Dr. pointed out at his 1 year check up, his personality is that of a very strong willed little boy. If you're familiar with the different personalities, Corban is most definitely choleric. He is opinionated and will let you know what he wants, when he wants. He is also very outgoing and has such a funny little sense of humor. Thankfully, as Dr. T pointed out, I too am choleric. He felt confident that Corban would end up well balanced since I no doubt was not likely to give in to a 1 year old. Um, thanks Doc. Truly, this little prince amazes me. I owe him a blog all to himself on this topic... a blog singing his praise. Cheesy. That'll come later I suppose.  I LOVE him and am so thankful for him. He has made our lives incredible.

Second. I'm preggers. Today I am 18 weeks. YAY. Almost half way there. Little peanut number 2 is due on May 2nd. It's amazing how much this pregnancy has been like Corban's. A lil morning sickness, uber tired and then 2nd trimester has been a breeze. My only frustration is that I haven't been working out as much as I did with CX. I have the best of intentions... to start next week. :)  Baby 2 hasn't really started showing yet... but I'm sure I'll pop one of these days. There's no hurry... I have 5 more months to wear pregnancy clothes.  FYI, I'm 100% sure that we are having a little boy, but we find out for sure in a couple of weeks when I go to the doctor. His name will be Blaise. (God told me so in a dream... seriously) We're still deciding on a middle name. Dominic? Emmanuel? who knows. plenty of time for that. Jamon and I are just so excited. God is so good and we can hardly wait to welcome a new sibling for Corban. Yay, yay, yay.

Lastly, Jamon and I had our first family Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful. There is so much to be thankful for, as mentioned above, and we truly relished our day and weekend together. I cooked the whole meal and was SO nervous.  I'm not a turkey fan so I made two beer bottom chickens, green bean casserole, spinach casserole, sweet potato casserole, rolls, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie, fruit salad, fruit dip, sweet tea. mmmmm Delish! Jimmy and Nick, two of Jamon's basketball players came over and shared the meal and part of the day with us. Sadly, i didn't get one single pictures. i was too busy enjoying the moments. My heart is so full.

Jamon, Corban and I start with the presents from Oma and Opa. We're so thankful they were able to celebrate CX with us!

He's such an attentive little reader.

Yay for Corban!

Oma set up for Corban's birthday. SUCH a great job!

He's not much of a sweet eater. That lil bite was all he took. he prefers strawberries.

my beer bottom chicken. SO proud. :)

CX and I relax after a big ole Thanksgiving meal.

This pic warms my heart. Love that lil smile.

One of those days

I've been admonished. Not nearly enough blogging. Oh boy do I have admiration for those who can blog every day or every week or even every month. I just don't feel witty enough most of the time. Oh well.


So a couple of weeks ago was a day from you know where. Seriously. Let me lay this out for you. Jamon had an away game so I was going to be on task for picking up Corban from school. No big deal. Jamon was leaving for the game at noon, I needed to pick up Corban at 12:30. Cx and I would then spend the day together, playing, laughing, baking cookies. Who knows. Needless to say, the day did not infact go that way. I got stuck at work and was late picking up Corban from school. Thankfully, he loves school and didn't even notice. I was the only one  frazzed out.  As we arrive home I'm thinking about the things I need to take care of asap. Corban needs a diaper change, he needs to eat, I need to eat and then a nap for both of us. Ohhhhhh, if only it were that easy. As I, with hands full, approach the door to go in I realize it's locked. LOCKED. The door into the house is locked, the front door is locked, the back door is locked. I do not have a key to the house. (don't ask... I've since remedied the situation.) I call Jamon in hopes that he had left his car keys with the house key on them on his desk. No such luck. My only option... trying to catch Jamon who had already been driving for an hour. I was slightly less than thrilled. I finally convinced Jamon that I was not going to catch up to him since he was a solid hour ahead of me and rather, he needed to drop the keys off at the first place he saw. I would drive there, get them and drive home. All in all it was looking like a 3 hour round trip. All this with a baby in a soggy diaper,(the diaper bag was locked in the house), no pacifier,  no food for either of us, a cranky driver and baby. Oh well. Off I went. As I'm driving and Corban is screaming I realize the car is on empty. SWEET. We get gas, corban falls asleep for about 15 minutes. ahhhh, peace and quite. Then I get stuck behind an RV towing a car and three canoes going about 20 mph below the speed limit. Seriously... if I was holier I wouldve shaved off some serious purgatory time. Rather I just cursed under my breath. THEN a cop pulls behind me with his lights on. SERIOUSLY. I'm going below the speed limit, everything is up to date. WHAT???? Turns out he thought the window tint on the Tahoe was too dark. He even brought out a special little tool to test it. Sure enough, illegal windows. Thanks sir. Yep, in the 8 years my husband has had this car no one has every mentioned it. But I'm definitely glad you did today. Slow day on the road? Oh well, no ticket, just a warning and a now screaming baby since Mr. Cop decides it would be fun to try to chat it up with him through the back window. Off we go. Jamon had called to say he found a red and white bus that served food and he dropped the keys off there. The lady didn't speak any english, but he felt confident the keys would be fine and I'd get them. About 30 minutes later I arrive at the bus. Some sweet smiling lady is dangling my keys out of the bus window. Awww, she must've known they were mine. Was it the way I screeched into the "parking lot" or perhaps the way my face screamed exasperation. Needless to say, I said muchos gracias and turned around for the hour and a half drive home. now my mind turned to what has to happen when i get there. My dad and brother were arriving from OKC that evening so I needed to change the sheets, vacuum etc... but first I had to take care of CX and eat. We get home, I take care of CX and make myself a bagel... as I'm sitting down to eat, I figure I'd better check the flight to make sure it's not late. no it's not late it's 30 MINUTES EARLY... time to leave. The bagel gets scarfed, CX gets some food in the car and the house is not vacuumed. We're late getting Dad and Jake... but we make it. And the rest of the night goes smoothly. It was a ridiculous day. At every turn I was calling my sister... can you believe this? We both kept waiting for the next thing to happen... and it did not. Oh well. I can laugh now. God is good and nothing was seriously wrong. Corban handled it all like a champ and I teetered on crazy and champ. Whew. glad it was done and I could enjoy the weekend with my dad and brother.

hunger strike #1

Well hello blogosphere. Long time no see.

After a brief hiatus with no laptop I'm back (and not much thanks go to the Geek Squad and their less than stellar customer service). All I can say is thank goodness for the iPhone during this computerless time. Not to sound like a total phone snob... but seriously, how did I live without this lil gem? I'm never going back. i feel like I can actually capture Corban moments as they're happening thanks to the stellar camera. Not only that, but I can post those suckers asap to facebook. Literally, 1 minute. OH JOY. I could go on and on about this life with the iPhone... but how lame.

On to more important things. Corban is on a hunger strike. We're talking like 3 weeks of questionable eating habits. WHAT IN THE WORLD KID? At first I thought it was just because he had a cold... and although that didn't help the situation we are currently sans cold and still not eating much. Here's what I know: Corban will always eat pizza. Oh geez. I try to sneak in lil red bell peppers and spinach and stuff. Somehow his ultra sensitive pallet and fabulous tongue control manages to find them, sift them through chewed food and spit them out. At least I try. Everytime I see a mom with atleast 6 kids (Which is plenty in Ave) I'm always asking... what do you do? Will he starve himself? Am I a horrible mom? Thankfully these all knowing moms tell me the same thing. Don't worry about it. he'll eat when he's hungry, just keep trying. Okay moms... I'll keep trying. But I refuse to feed him cheese pizza every meal. Say a prayer as your eating your meal tonight that CX starts eating like a regular human being who is try to grow.

Corban has become quite the crazy. He's all over the place. Climbing couches, throwing himself on the floor like he's practicing to be in the WWF and then laughing, throwing everything he touches and dive-bombing off of everything taller than he is. Often I find myself saying "Corban, be careful" and then feeling like surely he's fine now. SERIOUSLY JESS???!!!! You think "be careful" will suffice. Corban will suddenly stop throwing himself off the couch because I said so. Oh pulease. back to reality. Grab the kids scrawny ankle and keep him safe. I'm amazed daily that he's almost one with no major incidents or injuries. Thanks goodness he has an AWESOME guardian angel. Thank you Jesus.

So today Jamon and I celebrate 2 GLORIOUS years of marriage. I can hardly believe it's only been two. It feels like my life. I LOVE it. Last night I was reminiscing about our wedding and how fun we had and how blessed we were by everyone there. A huge thank you to our family and friends for blessing us with their presence both at our wedding and throughout our married life. Thank you, we love you.

Well... gotta run. Jamon is home and I'm dying to spend some quality time with him while Corban naps.

Here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure: 

love, love, love,
Jess

Confessions

I'm going to be doing some soul-baring here. Embarrassing... but oh well.

Last week I went shopping. Oh glorious days of shopping. I was given some gift cards to Nordstroms... fondly referred to as Nordies, for my birthday. I knew exactly what I was going to get. Boots. I've been dying for a pair of cognac boots for the past 2 years. I've researched, looked high and low and the time had finally come to buy them.  I left my happy boys at home and headed to the Waterside shops. As I pulled up to the outdoor shopping center I could feel my heart beat a little faster. I drove past Anthropologie, J. Crew, Coach and then finally arrived at Nordies. I parked the car and entered into my old world. If you ask anyone from Austin where I shopped, what I loved, where my default go-to was in the days before Jamon, they'd answer Nordies. And this my friends was the first time I had been inside of a REAL Nordstrom's (not The Rack) in well over a year... maybe two. The chandeliers were beautiful, the piano playing was fabulous and then there where shoes. I meandered around until Mark came to help. I told him which boots I wanted and he happily went to retrieve them. While I was waiting I came across THE most perfect pair of nude shoes. Thank you Michael Kors for knowing how to design. When Mark came back he and I had a long, passionate discussion about the need for said nude shoes. I used phrases like "Ohhh, the perfect replacement for my nude via spigas from a couple years past... so dreamworthy..." blah blah blah. It was like speaking a language from my past, like I had known Chinese, or in this case how to speak about something other than Target t-shirts and how oddly each small doesn't fit the same. Anyway, I browsed the store a bit more, found a pair of jeans that I swear where made for me, someone took my measurements and cut. Glorious. And not to be had. When I called Jamon to ask if I could buy them he gave me a $20 price limit. Well... that could buy the tag... maybe. Off they went and I will be searching ebay incessantly until they show up and I snatch them away from someone else.

After my Nordies experience (seeing and trying on clothes that in reality I could never buy) I was really starting to feel reality set in. This fancy schmancy world was in my past. I don't really get these luxuries any more... but I went to Anthropologie and J Crew anyway... just to look. maybe a good sale was going on. And there was.  And as I cradled the most perfect $20 shirt I remembered that Corban was out of diapers. A box costs $20. Diapers or shirt? Diapers. Yep, reality check. I am a Mom... diapers come first. So I left the glorious world of fine clothing and sparkly over-priced goodies and traipsed back home. Not without stopping to get a Starbucks as therapy for my wordly little embarrassingly material self. On the way home I called Trish, she was a sweet heart and listened as I cried, yes cried. (This is where soul baring becomes embarrasing) I cried because I don't even have a remnant of my past "material life." I have changed and my life is different. Praise be to God who has blessed me with an incredible husband and a son who rocks my world. I wouldn't trade them for an endless shopping spree at all the glorious stores in the world. But last week was the first time I realized that for me it was one or the other. Diapers and food for Corban or a cute shirt for me. A pair of shoes for work or food for a week for Jamon. I'll take the diapers and food thank you very much.

So when I got home from this day of shopping and life lessons I was talking it over with Jamon. He doesn't pretend to understand who Michael Kors is or why I prefer to shop where there are chandeliers versus fluorescent lighting... he just nods and laughs. And then in true Jamon fashion says "Well I think you're the hottest mom around in your target t-shirts." and that was that. Target t-shirts it is. I enjoyed my debt ridden past and am thankful for the clothes I still wear from then... but I'm much more thankful and enjoying my life now. Really... how could I roll on the ground and deal with corban sneezing food on me if I was wearing a $100 shirt? T-shirts seem much more acceptable.

Montessori Day 1

Whew... day 1 of Montessori school complete. There were tears, lots of them... but they were mine. Jamon was so mortified. He knew it was coming and suggested he bring Corban to his first day of school today instead of both of us. I of course wouldn't have that. I got up early this morning to make sure all of his "supplies" were ready to go. box of diapers, check, ziplock bags, check, food, check and on and on it went. I wrote his name on his stuff... a temporary solution until I get the cute labels I ordered from www.mable.ca. When he got up I hugged him extra tight and picked out his first day of school outfit. Preppy yet tough was a good first day look. A striped polo that said Rock Hard on the back (It has a skull and crossbones... maybe too much for a 9 month old?) When it was time to go in Jamon carried Corban and I carried all of the goods. Corban of course started crawling right around and loving all of the news toys. I don't even think he knew we left when we walked out the door. It took everything in me not to make a big deal "Bye baby boy, bye bye, mommy loves you and will see you in a bit... don't cry, I'm coming back, byebye." Nope, none of that. I glanced across the room, in my head said bye baby, love you and headed out. I didn't want to make a scene. Corban was happy as could be and I didn't need to be the mom to mess it up. But as soon as the door shut behind me the waterworks began. Jamon drove me around for a bit so I could dry it up before work. Uggghhhh, my little baby is all grown up. I must brag for a moment... When I went to pick him up this afternoon his teachers said he did the best of any baby. He didn't cry and was all smiles the whole time. YESSSS!!!! I'm a proud momma. And then, as if I wasn't happy enough hearing that, when I said "Corban, Mommy's here.", Corban squealed, tossed his toy and crawled with speed like I've never seen over to me. My heart melted. I picked him up and he wrapped his little chubby arms around my neck. Perfection.

Now, i must say, I'm SO thankful for this Montessori School. It's called Casa De Bambini. Here's the link: http://www.casadebambiniofavemaria.com/ It just opened last year and I've heard nothing but rave reviews from my other mommy friends. In our state in life Jamon and I don't have the option of one of us staying home... and that being the case, we couldn't think of a better place for Corban to be. They're teaching him the sign of the cross and everything. Montessori school is Catholic at it's origin and this school in particular follows it to a "T" making sure all aspect of Montessori are taught. Blessing? YES!

Tomorrow we go again... I think this time with no tears from me. :)

Below is CX's first day of school pic. See how excited he is?

Sweet baby reminders

Children have an uncanny ability to remind you about what's important in life.

The past week or so I have been beyond stressed with a project at work. This is good and bad. Good because I have an innate need to make sure everything is perfection. Bad because nothing will be perfection. Good, because even though it won't go perfectly... it'll come close. :) Anyway, yesterday I was at my peak of frustration/ exhaustion/ stress. I brought all of those emotions home from work with me. I was late coming home from work so Corban was late getting the rest of his lunch and his nap was thrown off kilter. To top it off his mom was a wreck. Stressed, stressed stressed. Corban decided yesterday after I came home that no nap was in order, in fact no moment away from me would do. He needed to be touching me at all times.  This skyrocketed my stress level as all I could think about was how much I needed him to take a nap so I could finish my work. Finally, I surrendered. A moment of clarity brought about the realization that I didn't need to worry so much about work. The important "things" in life were right in front of me. Corban was stubbornly reminding me that HE was the important part of my life, not work. HE needed my attention, not work, and HE will be here everyday needing my attention... again, not work. Got it kiddo. I surrendered and we rocked. We read stories, we went to the chapel to say "Hi" to Jesus and we rocked some more.  Thank you sweet baby boy for reminding me about what's important.

Today when I went in to work everything was fine. Everything got done and all is well. When I came home from work on time, Corban was happy, he ate and now he's sleeping. Whew. Lesson learned.

"Jesus" *smile*

I seriously love my life.

It's Sunday morning, 9am. I just laid Corban down for a quick nap before Mass. Jamon is recruiting in Boston and I'm sitting here on the couch with some of my favorite tunes on in the background. The only thing that would be better is if Jamon was here. :)

This is bound to be a bit random but I just need to share... Lately I've been pondering my walk with God... like does striving to be a good wife and mom count enough to get me into heaven? Should I be thinking about getting to heaven every day? Does a "Good morning Jesus, we love you" with Corban count as my morning prayer? In all my thinking and praying I've decided that it takes more. I'm pretty complacent. Like I said before, I seriously love my life. However, I know God calls us to more, to be active. My first priority should be HIM, then my husband and baby boy. I'm feeling pretty convicted on the order of my priorities. What can I do? daily Mass doesn't work cause I'm working. (Jamon and Corban go daily though. I love those guys!) there is a perpetual adoration chapel across the street, literally a stones throw from my office... I should be in there more. At least to say "Hi" to our Lord. Spiritual reading... don't a lot of the saints talk about spiritual reading? Is there spiritual reading for wives and moms? I want something good, something that will really challenge me to live my life with a stronger purpose of getting to heaven. Sometimes I get a little concerned about praying for specific things... lately I had been praying for charity and patience... never again. ;) Jesus is just giving me opportunity after opportunity to practice it. Enough please. Anyway... say a prayer and throw any advice out there for me. I love Jesus, but I've got to get more on top of my walk with Him. My husband and son certainly deserve a Godly wife and mom. I've got to get on it.

Anyway... ready for a cute lil Corban moment? So every morning when Corban gets up we chat for little bit, and then when I pick him up we walk to the crucifix above his bed, touch the feet of Jesus and say "Good morning Jesus, we love you. Thank you for a good night." We've been doing this for a while. Now when I pick Corban up out of bed he looks directly at the cross and reaches for it. We also have a crucifix in our living room and if I ask him, "Where's Jesus?" he'll scan the room, find Jesus and smile. It warms my heart so much. I tear up just about every day.

Here are a couple of pics we've taken recently.

The first one is of the three of us at the "Firecracker 5K" we ran on the 4th of July. Corban's (And mine) first 5K. the kiddo slept through over half of the race. I told him it was okay... he was just good and loose. :) We finished in like 28 minutes... the guys could have left me in the dust, but thankfully Jamon hung back with me so we could run (jog) as a fam. It was a great time. The second pic is of Corban eating a lime. This was a huge letdown. We gave him a lime, camcorder ready for the "Hilarious" expression he was bound to make. Nope, nothing. he LOVED the lime. I think it's his new favorite fruit.

Good morning Corban

Good morning baby boy,

I don't know if you know it, but getting you up in the morning is the best part of my day. I get up and get ready for work before you even start squirming. I eat my breakfast and lay out my clothes and then I wait. I wait until I hear your precious little voice over the monitor. When I'm pretty sure you're done stretching and having your morning quite time I slowly open the door to your room. This is when my heart smiles. I can always count on you to be looking at the door waiting for me. You smile and get so excited. I'm excited too buddy. I kneel by your bed and we talk for a little bit. Your squeals and smiles make me giddy. Sometimes if daddy is home when you wake up, he'll come in there with me. I think it's his favorite part of the day too! When you and I are done playing I pick you up out of bed and you give me a big ole squeeze around my neck. One of these days you'll know that's a hug. You're a good hugger buddy. After our morning hug the day goes on. You get all clean and fresh, we may play with your toys, or eat breakfast right away... it changes everyday. The one constant I have is your smiling face in the morning. I go to bed excited, knowing that in the morning I get to experience your beautiful, pure joy and love again. I love you Corban, my sweet baby boy.

Love,
Mommy

God-Babies

While we were on our trip to Texas we we're so blessed to see all three of our God-Children. Jamon and I consider ourselves extremely blessed to have these three precious angels and their families in our lives. We pray for each of them every single day. We definitely do not get to see them nearly enough so these visits were such a treat.

First is Hayley Anne - also known as Lunkins. She's the youngest and feistiest of my nieces. She is so funny, such an entertainer and so full of energy and life. She is so quick to give hugs and kisses.  I love my lunkins. My brother Jake is her God-Father, but Jamon claims her anyway. :)

 

Next is Tate Russell, also fondly called Tater-tot or All State Tate. He is Russ and Amber's little boy. Jamon and Russ were both assistant coaches at Texas State together. Tate is an absolute hoot. His energy is out of control. Amber told me this past weekend that he was eating bacon and steak at 8 months. He is a big boy with a big heart. I'm crazy about this kiddo.

Our newest God-Son is Canon Dominic. We have a very special bond with the Blackwells. Chris and Stef (Canon's parents) are Corban's God-Parents. This past weekend was the first time we got to meet Canon and it was love at first sight. He is so precious and perfect. Corban and Canon are only 6 months apart so I can hardly wait for our family vacations together. Those boys should know now that they will be friends for life.

Jamon and I are so honored and humbled and feel very blessed to have these three little souls co-entrusted to us. We take our job very seriously and pray incessantly for our God-babies. Their families are incredible and we love each of them so much.

Lemons to lemonade

Two weekends ago I had to bring "Lightfoot" our white car into the shop. It was supposed to be a 45 minute max oil change deal. Then I was going to go to Target, do a little shopping and head home. Instead, it turned into me waiting at the mechanics for an hour and a half and thennnnn they tell me that the car will be in the shop for the rest of the day. Needless to say, i was less than thrilled. But then swooped in my huz. I called Jamon and asked if he and Corban could come pick me up (a 45 minute drive from the house.) They did and I was in an ugly mood. So Jamon withouth missing a beat says "Jess, it's so pretty otuside and we're in Naples, let's go to Gumbo Limbos (the restaurant on the beach at the ritz)." whhhhaaaat? Out to lunch... for no reason. Sign me up. So Jamon, Corban and I went and had the best lunch. After lunch we brought Corban into the ocean for the first time. He didn't really seem to care either way. i was really hoping for some response, a laugh, a smile... something. we got nothing. Oh well, the weather was perfect, Corban was an angel and overall it ended up being an incredible afternoon. Jamon turned my lemony day into sweet lemonade.

The next day was mothers day and Jamon insisted that it be special. I was happy with lunch the day before. We ended up leaving Corban at my friend Amy's house to play and J and I went jet-skiing. It was definitely fun. I saw 2 dolphins and Jamon saw a big-ole sea turtle... or manatee. He wasn't sure. Then we went to whole foods and grabbed lunch and ate it on the beach. It was such a perfect day. We got home and Corban was an angel.

I absolutely LOVE my boys and love my life.

This past week we were in Dallas and New Braunfels celebrating my soon to be sister-in-laws college graduation. We had such a good time and are so thankful for Dad Copeland for flying us over. it was a wonderful vacation.

As always, it's good to be home. Jamon and I like having Corban on his routine and having our own space. I think I'll stick around Florida for a little while now. We do, after all live in paradise. Come visit!

Catch up...

It's 1:00 am and I can't sleep a wink. You know that uncomfortable feeling when everything in your body is restless? Your legs aren't comfy, the pillow isn't feeling right etc... ugh, That's me. And now I just watch my precious hours of sleep dwindle down until Corban wakes up around 6:30.  Looks like a nap for me tomorrow!

Oh well, this is a perfect time for me to write.

Corban had his second haircut this week. Although this one was the real deal. We went to the local salon and Yessinia did a great job. Corban was so good. I'm such a proud momma.

okay...I struggled to get that first paragraph out which leads me to believe that maybe this isn't the perfect time to write... I had full intentions of being thorough and witty, but even though my body isn't tired my head is. That being the case I'm just going to bullet point the things I've been wanting to write about.

1. Easter with the fam in OKC. Jamon, Corban and I traveled to Dallas and then to OK. It was such a wonderful time. I LOVE my family. Almost all of us where home.

2. When I left OKC I left with two little presents I didn't expect. Denise gave me her beautiful necklace because I had briefly mentioned how much I liked it. And Trish packed an amazing shirt in my suitcase without me knowing. They don't know this but I was and am so touched by their generosity. They simply gave. No strings attached and for no reason other than to make someone, me, happy. I think about those selfless little acts of generosity everyday. I love my sisters.

3. Corban and I went to Miami to see my dear friend Jen. We had such a good time hanging out at a lil cafe then shopping. I've missed her and seeing her was such a blessing in my life. God is good to me in the friend department.

4. I love working in the athletic department. It is so much more laid back and definitely up my alley.

5. Our dear friends Chris and Stef had their baby boy, Canon Dominic, this past Monday. SO EXCITING. He is so precious and I cannot wait to see him and hold him and smell him. I already miss having a little baby around. Babies snuggle. Corban is quickly growing out of his snuggle stage. :( Chris and Stef are Corban's God-parents, and now Jamon and I are Canon's God-parents. Our families will be forever connected. Awesome.

6. Corban loves the pool... but only if it's warm like bath water. We went swimming for the first time when we went to Orlando to see the Blackwells. It was fabulous and now I can hardly wait for the pools here to warm up so we can take Corbs more.

7. Jamon and I had our first date in like 7 months. We went to the Ritz in Naples and ate at the restaurant there called Gumbo Limbo. We were able to catch the sun setting over the water. So glorious. God does amazing work!

8. Fridays I get together with other moms and kiddos. It's the highlight of my week. Because of these moms I really enjoy living in Ave. I love sipping my coffee and swapping baby stories with them. They are such a blessing in my life.

9.My cooking has really stunk lately. Now don't get me wrong, i haven't made anything bad, I just haven't been cooking. I've got to get back on that culinary horse. I think it'll be easier when recruiting season is over and Jamon is actually around for dinner. It's hard to be motivated to cook something delish when I'm only cooking for myself. I'm happy with a grilled turkey and cheese.

okay, I'm going to go stretch and hope it knocks me out. Here are a few more random pics to enjoy.

Leftovers

There was a moment today when I glanced down as I was sitting at my desk and noticed splatters of sweet potato dried to my leg. I then realized they probably weren't the only "leftovers" from Corban's lunch I had on me. Sure enough, a little carrot in the hair and some drool on my shoulder. Yes. I'm Corban's mom. I know it may seem kind of "icky"... but I loved the little bit of lunch I brought to work with me. It brought a smile to my face as I thought of my goofy little boy trying to gurgle with his mouth full, then laughing so food splattered out all over me then sucking on my shoulder as I handed him to daddy so I could go back to work. I love those "icky" precious moments.

smiley

Nothing new to post really. I just have some new cute pics of Corbs I wanted to put up. :) One of these days I'll have someone take a pic of CX and me. 

 

Ohhhhhh, good news. I start my new job tomorrow. YEA for working in athletics. It's truly where I belong.

 

I love my life. Really love it.

Jamon is an amazing husband and phenomenal father.

Corban is incredible and I'm amazed by how much my heart can love every day.

 

 

hair and avacados

A couple of exciting things have happened lately.

1. Corban got his first haircut.
2. He ate his first solid food
3. I'm freaking out because he's already growing up too fast.

Let's visit these three things for a moment.

1. Haircut. We all have seen the pics of corbs... his hair was a little on the nutty side. I for one thought it was adorable, His dad however thought he looked like Pig-Pen from Peanuts. Needless to say, dad won, as always and I took the ole scissors to Corban's hair. He got a lil trim in the back, over the ears and bangs. I refuse to mess with that crazy top layer. His cow-lick is impossible and it's finally getting long enough to lay flat... kind of.  When I was done with my hack job I looked at the mess I had made... hair all over the sink and debated for a good 15 minutes what to do with it. I'm sure many a mom would have kept it in a lil baggie for his baby book. Well, I have two thoughts... 1. He doesn't have a baby book. 2. Why the heck would I ever care about keeping his hair. It's not like he's Sampson and I'm destroying his strength by pitching it. And furthermore, he'll have MANY a haircut I'm sure. If I ever start to feel guilty I can put some of that in a bag and say it was his baby hair. Who will ever know or care? Like I said, I did struggle for a while and eventually ended up putting some hair on a piece of tp and taking a pic of it. weird... but here it is in all it's glory. Corban first haircut ladies and gentlemen.

2. Solid food. "What?" you may say... "but CX is only 4 months old." I know, I know. But we went to the Dr. yesterday and discovered that indeed our lil peanut is a LITTLE peanut. Weighing in at just the 2nd percentile. At 4 months old he weighs 11.5 lbs. I think I have a sibling that weighed that when they were born. Anyway, Dr. concluded that I produce skim milk, not good fatty milk (To which I asked, is it cause I'm working out, should I stop? No he says, I would be concerned if you were thin... uh excuse me doc?) so we need to start supplementing his nursing with food. We're starting with fruits and veggies. Avacado goes first. mostly cause I'm a big fan of guacamole and whatever Corby doesn't eat I can chow down on. Mmmm. good ole guac! Corban however is not such a fan. Jamon is an incredible dad who has taken on the responsibility of making Corbans food and feeding it to him every morning. In fact he says to me today, "Feeding him is really a bonding experience. You should try it some morning." To which I respond "Is it? Hmmmm. I'll give it a try." (even though I feed the lil tyke 6 times a day minimum!) Here's a pic of Corban's first try. Oh, and the first few days Dr. told us to use our fingers as the "spoon" so he can just suck on the finger since a spoon will be too many different things at once. Tomorrow we try sweet potatos. Awesome.

3. Well, No need to explain this I'm sure. 4 months already?! Time is going way to fast.

You're going to do great things

I recently heard a song on the radio that I've taken as my own. The title is "The words I would say" by Sidewalk Prophets. I sing it to Corban everyday a couple of times a day. I think it'll be our song for now. :) I change "our" song monthly it seems.

Below is the chorus:

"Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say."

My lil boy... He's going to do great things. My heart is so full.

Basketball Boys

Tonight is the last basketball game. It's been an incredible season for those guys. We started out as a first year program with only 2 guys returning from the previous year (pre NAIA) and managed to make our way to the # 4 spot in our conference. Granted it's a 4 way tie... but who cares... FOURTH!!!!! I'm such a proud team mom. I really do love those guys and am so thankful that they're here. I think sometimes I question how good this school is and if it really makes a difference in any of the lives of these young men. Jamon mentioned the other day that one of his players had gone to confession for the first time in years and over half of his guys attend daily Mass. I guess that answers my question. If our goal and especially Jamon's is to help form these young men into Godly men and get them to heaven then we really couldn't be in a better place. Now I have to take a moment to brag ... Today I was going to the cafeteria to pick up the food for the guys for their trip to Tampa for the game. I find Chuck (the head cafeteria guy) and introduce myself. He says "Now Jess, I need you to know something, players are a reflection of their coach. A solid and as true as they come reflection. I can always tell a lot about a coach before I meet him just by observing his players and I need you to know that your boys are far and above the best young men I've come across and it is a true reflection and testament to coach copeland. He's as good as they come." you know my wife pride and team mom pride jsut swelled up... i was lucky my big ole head could even get back into the car.
Ohhh... to funny.... today when I went to pick up Corban from Jamon's office after I got off of work I found Jamon but no corban. I looked around a bit more and found him sitting outside with the basketball boys. He was laying down on Colin's lap and they were all talking to him. So cute. So I as I went to get him to go Jamon informs me I need to run some errands for him before I take CX. "He'll be fine with the guys Jess... just go." So I go. When I return 10 minutes later more players had gathered and Corban was the center of attention. As I approached, Colin informed me "the sucker thing (pacifier) dropped on the ground, but it's like a 5 second rule right?" Uh, sure Colin. I don't think a little dirt will hurt him. Then as I went to get CX to go home Colin says "Mrs. Copeland" (as his hands are in the air) I don't really know how to move him, so you're just going to have to pick him up." I laughed... no wonder the poor kid hadn't moved off of Colin's lap since he'd been put there. HA. I really do love those guys. They also were adamant that I drop off Corban at the dorm one of these days. They want to watch him. I'm on to their wiley ways... I'm thinking CX is a chick magnet if I've ever seen one.

Corban took his first plane ride a few weeks ago. I wish I had a picture of it. I had my camera... but to my dismay (and the stranger I asked to take our pic) it was out of batteries. UGH. And he was so cute. He's a great little traveler and didn't cry or fuss the whole plane ride. We arrived in Dallas for some Copeland time and then went to Oklahoma for some Bodman time. Corban got to meet his Grandpa Bodman for the first time, as well as his Aunt Theresa and Uncle Troy. It was a beautiful time and such a gift to spend time with them. While we were in Dallas we also got to Stef and baby blackwell bump and Luke. So great! friends are such a blessing.

So I recently joined a website that reaches out to wives of coaches. It's called "Married to the Game." It is a constant reminder of how blessed I am. So many of the posts are about what it's like to be a coaches wife, which seems to be synonymous with single parent. Now I know coaches travel a lot... A LOT. and if you're an assistant coach then you travel even more for recruiting and stuff. It is a huge blessing that Jamon is in Ave where he can make his own schedule and even bring Corban to work with him. He's quickly become the athletic office mascot... Not sure how long that will last since last meeting he exploded. (poopy)Poor Jamon... and corby. :)

I made brownies last week...two boxes worth. And cookies the day after that... 72 of them. Yes, it was film time for the basketball team. Jamon was a little frustrated with the guys and said they needed to play like men and to make them "Man food." The only think that came to mind was steak and potatoes. I'm not making steak, but I can definitely bake 17 potatoes. So i did. delicious red potatoes, cut in half with butter on each side and a slice of onion, salt and pepper in the middle, wrapped in foil and cooked for an hour. SO GOOD. So when I took them out of the oven to get ready to give to the guys Jamon tasted one and made the split decision that those potatoes were too good for the team. i needed to throw some cookies in the oven. And yes folks, I had 17 potatoes that went straight into the fridge. We had baked potatoes with every meal. Eggs and potatoes, chili and potatoes, potatoes and potatoes.

Valentines day has come and gone. Just so it's out there, I love valentines day. my dad always made it very special for us growing up. When we woke up there was a box of chocolates at our place at the tables as well as a card that dad picked out juuuuuust for me. Mom made the table look pretty with a valentines table cloth and on occasion there were flowers. I love it. Dad is so good and this year I got my card in the mail, and much to my surprise so did Corban and Jamon. I loved it. Definitely my favorite part of the day. Jamon and I didn't really do anything. He bought me roses the day before and I made a carrot cake... and at the end of our busy day we looked at each other and said "You know I love you right? Yes! And you know I love you? Yep! Well Happy Valentines day babe." I think we need a date or something.

As I go back and read my posts I realize more and more that I am a rambler and not a very organized writer. Thanks for bearing through these... I've just got to get something written.

As Trish and I have taken to saying "sacraficial Lent." (since "Happy Lent" doesn't quite work like Merry Christmas or Happy day!) May each day bring you closer to Christ.

Jess