Movie Review: The Lucky One

There are just times, aren't there? Times when all you really need is to see an over-the-top chick-flick. Who cares if it's realistic. Who cares if the acting would win awards. Just give me the romance people.

It's NBA playoff season in this house. Our beloved Thunder require our due adoration and attention and sleep sacrifices on a weekly basis. Roll Thunder! I can enjoy a great basketball game with the best of them. But there come times when I, all of the sudden, hit my wall and need to immerse myself in the feminine heart anew.

Enter: The Lucky One.

My girl Ashley and I left the boys at home and popped ourselves two bags of pocorn to bring along. Smuggling bags of popcorn and drinks from QT requires the use of one's big girl 'movie purse.' You know what I'm talkin about! Ashley's purse was on the moderate side of size so we had to do a little last minute emptying to make it all squeeze in without giving ourselves away. Worth. It.

Review: It was cheesy and it was goooood. :) The acting was only okay but the story was simple and sweet and relatively clean. There were a few scenes but they definitely did not dominate the movie.

Recommendation: Leave your man at home or rent it on a night he won't be trying to enjoy the chick-flick with you. It's not worth it. If he's anything like mine, he'll look over at you during the kissing scenes and give you the eyes that say 'Oooooooo you love this don't you.' Just let me get lost in the moment in privacy if you please! :) Or he'll quietly grunt during the parts of acting that really are. not. good. So just do yourself a favor and make it a girls-only affair. You'll love it. And hey - if you're in the mood to make out a bit afterwards - he probably won't complain! LOL

This movie was just what I needed! Keep it in your back pocket as a solution for the next time you are in dire need of girly girly girliness.

Meeting Knox

Liam has a new friend! My dear friend Ashley just had her second - Knox Ryan Hamilton. And he is PRECIOUS! We love you Knox!

Liam and I trucked it to Norman during his morning nap and hung out for a few hours with Ashley, Knox, Lauren and Levi. Priceless. Picnic on North Oval eating Greek House....need I say more??

We were quite the crew making our way over on the North Oval to Cafe Plaid. Loved every little moment.

Liam loved him some Lauren! And her food :) He made himself right at home.

This guy! Levi you are a favorite. Love your approach to the cracker.

Oh Ashley - you just had a baby - let me wipe your nose for you!

Oh the memories. Loved introducing this boy to his future. Ha! :)

Thanks for hosting us girls. So thankful for good friends and new babies.

Mother's Day Love

So thankful for him this year. Beyond thankful to be a mama this year. Let's be honest - it can be a challenging transition the first time around. But I wouldn't trade one challenging moment for the opportunity to know and love this man cub. I'm honored to be his mama! Hope your Mother's Day was filled with love and - some really good food :)

Nine Months - None Too Little

Where oh where do you go time? I am shocked that I am writing a nine month update for Liam Spencer. But - each month brings more fun, new challenges, and ongoing sheer delight in getting to know him.

It seems like Liam has hit a whole new level of development. The world is his and he's sure of it LOL! He crawls with confidence and follows me around the house. The dishwasher and the dryer are his current obsessions. The second one of them is opened up - he stamps himself to it and starts playing and talking up a storm. It's especially fun when he drops metal forks on the tile - loudly. It delights him endlessly and gives me the opportunity to 'let go' a bit more each day :).

Speaking of endless delight (there's a lot of that these days I must say)...Liam's personality is blooming. Let's just say he's relational. He laughs all of the time! But not like 'oh that joke was hilarious' - more like he's trying to just interact by laughing. If the room gets quiet - he'll break out a laugh. If he's trying to get your attention - he'll laugh. If he wants to be part of the conversation - he'll laugh. And he still laughs after the second sneeze. It's adorable if I do say so myself.

Of course - these days he doesn't warm up instantaneously to just anyone. Nope. Strangers can expect a long cold stare. No matter how much we encourage him to go to someone new in those moments - it's not going to happen. Which is fine - I know it's a stage. He can take all the time he needs to warm up.

His fun new tricks include pointing to everything and 'clicking' his tongue for the lack of a better word. He'll start clicking away and then look at you and laugh. You're supposed to click too you see. It's a clicking conversation and he's leading it.

It's amazing because he is facinated by older kids. He instantly locks in on kids we see out and he follows them with his eyes. If I would let him, he'd crawl right over and introduce himself! LOL.

A friend recently told me that there is no such thing as a 'normal' baby. It may sound simple but it really meant a lot to hear that. Each baby is kind of going from weird occurance or challenge to the next and the 'normal' streaks seem to last a few weeks before something new presents itself. Let me tell you right now - getting eight teeth over the course of four and a half months presents a few challenges. Dealing with a virus and then flu presents challenges. And for Liam - when he doesn't feel good - you can forget him eating solids. I finally figured that out after a few episodes. So - we are still working on it. He's had a rough few months in the sense that he's had to deal with all that stuff so establishing a rhythm with solids has been tough.

At our last doctor's appointment his weight percentile dropped a lot and I had a 24 hour freak out. It's pretty yuck to feel like your baby isn't getting what he needs to grow. But God intervened in my lovely state of mind. He spoke truth. It's just what Liam does - no solids when he doesn't feel good. And over the past month he's just had a lot. God, my mom, Zion and Rena all encouraged me that he would snap out of it and get back into the swing of things. And he has! Over the course of a few days he has really turned around. We're not Mr. Chubs over here but he's eating and Mama's happy.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much this little man loves his daddy. And how much that I love that! In the morning after he nurses -he's ready to to hit the ground running and we usually go find Daddy. The second he sees Zion - he gets a huge smile on his face and lunges for him. Nothing will stand between him getting into Daddy's arms. No complaints from Zion! It's precious. There is something so stand-still-beautiful about seeing your child adore Daddy.

I know this update is all over the place but it's late. What can I say? Zion's asleep in bed next to me and the E! True Hollywood Story of Joan and Melissa Rivers is my background music. Are you surprised by the all over the place nature of this one given those facts? I think not.

The journey of mommyworld continues to change me and melt me. Sometimes the changes are a little tough (I don't think I'll ever sleep in again) but every change is worth it. I am getting to know this strong, sweet, fun, lively and focused boy named William Justice and I am more and more in awe that God asked us to steward his life. He's the perfect fit in our lives and I cherish him.

Mommyworld is no joke but it's the best hard thing I've ever done. So thankful for such a deeply held dream being a better reality than I had ever imagined it.

Time to start plotting that birthday party!

Eight Months Excitement

WOOOOOOWEEEEE! Wow life is full! It is mostly full of a little boy now eight months old and growing by leaps and bounds. He has hit the fast lane people and there is no turning back. :)

One word to describe Liam these days? Mobile. And that word has turned all of our worlds upside down! Last month's update had Liam revving that crawling engine and around 7.5 months he officially started taking some crawling steps. Once those steps started - each day brought more progress. I am trying to wait on pegging Liam's personality too much until he's older but this one thing I can say with certainty: little man is filled with determination. Once he gets a goal in his line of sight - it's on. About a week after he started crawling he started pulling up. No big steps yet after he has pulled up - but you can tell that brain is working on overtime discovering this whole new world where he can get himself around :). It's so amazing to watch those little brains discover things for the first time and make all of those connections!

I can now say that a sick baby is no fun for anyone. Last month was a doozy! We started it off with a lovely non-treatable virus, had a one week break, and then progressed to the flu. Seriously. We made it through both bouts of sickness but the aftermath is almost worse than the actual sickness. It seems to wipe out his appetite for anything but nursing for up to a week and a half AFTER the sickness is gone. Which means more waking up during the night and a huge pause to progressing with solid foods. Alas - we have made it through and now I am praying for all sickness to be kept far far away!

We're playing a bit of catch up with solids but our little man is making good progress. I can now report that Liam has had cereal, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, avocados and a few tastes of green beans mixed with brown rice. Let's just say carrots are not on his nice list :). He tried multiple times but just couldn't stop the gag. LOL! We'll be revisiting carrots but for now - pass. We will stick to veggies a bit more and then start pulling in fruits. I don't think I've heard any new sounds - he's sticking to da, ga, ba, va, and looooots of growling. It's the cutest thing if I do say so myself! He just lets that gutteral back of the throat growl ooze out when he's thinking or playing. No mama yet fyi. Hmmmmmmm.

Speaking of playing, I think Liam takes playing quite seriously! As more time passes - the more his appetite for big person toys increases. These days - the things that get him WAY excited are boxes of pasta, wood spoons, pots and pans, Tylenol bottles, and then of course the forbidden fruit: iPhones, remote controls and Daddy's glasses.

(Easter with his big boy cousins)

One of the most fun things about his stage right now is that he's become such a game player. He likes to shove his fingers or whole hand in your mouth and then pull them out as you make a funny sound. Reactions vary from a Liam-grin to all out belly laughs. He also likes to scoot away on a bed or couch and bury his face down and pretend that he's hiding from you. Let me tell you - he finds himself hilarious! I love it. In terms of schedule, right around 8 months Liam started prety much doing a four hour schedule!!! NICE! We still have a little variance but he's definitely more there than not. I was beginning to wonder and then low and behold - he just started staying awake longer and sleeping a bit longer.

We're on the brink of a whole new world and I am just thankful for every day with him. Ch-ch-ch-changes!