Captain Brainstorm

This was too good not to post right away. This morning Chris and I were on a cleaning frenzy. While going from room to room I came across William dressed as a superhero. I asked him what his superhero name was and he replied, "Captain Brainstorm"! I was cracking up because I thought that was so creative. Seriously I could hardly contain myself, he picked out the best crime fighting outfit!

Here is his sidekick!

Bouncing is what Tiggers do best

On Monday William and I did a little project together. He loves to build so why not help me build Ryder's jumperoo. Ryder is a maniac with his legs...constantly kicking so I figured this would be a good solution for all that extra bounce he's got in his step. The verdict is still out because he's wondering why his feet aren't touching the floor. But the more he grows, the more he will love it! William was such a great helper, he such a good thinker when it comes to putting things together. I try and wing it, he actually reads the instructions (or looks at the pictures).

Bring on the rice cereal

These pictures crack me up. Ryder really can lay on the sappy faces pretty strong. They melt my heart...his bottom lip is classic!! Last week we decided to start Ryder on rice cereal. The decision was out of pure desperation that he might sleep through the night. He did sleep a little longer but has one feeding instead of two. I'm not complaining at all! Ryder did AWESOME with his first bowl. It took some getting use to using, the spoon is such a big change from the bottle. I've noticed that he does get very impatient if you don't spoon it in fast enough. One time I didn't make enough and he freaked out while I was making seconds. Chris and I call him our little race car, he can go from zero to sixty in no time!! What can I say, my boy likes to eat!

GOOOOOOOOOOALie

It's so funny to watch William play soccer. He's the biggest goofball on the field. For some reason he practices so well at home but during a game he's a little more laid back and always wants to be the goalie. He's pretty good too. Thank goodness I have dental insurance it's only a matter of time before that boy takes a cleat in the mouth.

Ryder 3 Months

It's so funny how I can get every other baby to cooperate but my own. Ryder has been full of smiles and the one time I want to "officially" do his 3 month pictures, he's Straight Face Stanley. Regardless, smile or no smile he's stinking adorable!!

The Cost of Raising your Child

On Sunday Chris and I are having both William and Ryder dedicated to the church. I know there are so many traditions and religions have so many ways of introducing Christ in your child's life but for Chris and I it is our declaration and commitment we make before God, family and our congregation that we will do our best to raise our children in a Christian home and with Christian values. Today I went to the commitment class that Second Baptist offers to educate parents in their decision and to give advice on how to help with our child's spiritual growth. At the end of the class the leader read something about how much it costs to raise your child. Below is what he read. It really did strike a cord with me. It's the little things I tend to overlook...it's the little things that will never be replaced in my heart...it's the little things.......

Cost of Raising a Child

~ Anonymous (and slightly revised...)

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock. That doesn't even touch college tuition.

For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the things we could have bought, all the places we could have traveled, all the money we could have banked if not for Michael, Amber and Casey (Insert your child's name).

For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day. Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be rich. It's just the opposite.

There's no way to put a price tag on:

• Feeling a new life move for the first time and seeing the bump of a knee rippling across your skin.
  
• Looking for the first time to see if your child is a boy or a girl, then realizing that it really doesn't matter that much, as long as s/he's healthy.
  
• Counting all 10 fingers and toes for the first time.
  
• Feeling the warmth of fat cheeks against your breast.
  
• Cupping an entire head in the palm of your hand.
  
• Making out da da or ma ma from all the cooing and gurgling.
  
• Smiles that melt your heart and cries that break it.
  

What do you get for your $160,140?

• Naming rights. First, middle and last.
  
• Glimpses of God every day.
  
• Giggles under the covers every night.
  
• More love than your heart can hold.
  
• Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
  
• Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.
  
• A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
  
• A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
  
• Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
  

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep reading the adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray-painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there's no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a sliver, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front-row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications and human sexuality no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever or love them without limits.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, parenting isn't easy and sometimes, it isn't even fun. OK, so, some of the time you'll hate it and want to walk out the door, never to return.

Nothing this good comes easy, raising a child to maturity in any culture takes commitment, support, information, time and lots and lots of energy.

But, if each parent focuses their attention on the benefits of parenthood, rather than in the cost, perhaps we can teach this culture that children are priceless.