A Sad Day

As I sit here writing this post, I feel sad.  And angry. And confused.  But mostly sad.  The events that happened on Monday at the Boston Marathon have rocked me to the core.  I cannot seem to tear myself away from the television or the computer and I don't really know why.  I didn't have a friend or relative up there participating; futhermore, I didn't even know anyone running the marathon.  Maybe it's because I've had friends run that marathon in the past or I'm searching for answers to my 1,000 questions or I feel like I need to memorize the faces of those that were injured, that helped, that died...so that I won't forget them or forget what happened.  Or maybe, it's because I am the wife of a triathlete and this sort of thing could have happened to my husband...to me...to our families.  I am certainly not trying to make this awful tragedy about me...it's definitely not. Not even close.  I guess it's a combination of being a mom and the "what if" factor that keeps circling around in the mind. 

I can't count the number of times my husband has participated in triathlons, half-marathons and 5/10K races.  When he races, I go.  Our child goes.  Our parents, friends and other relatives...they go.  We KNOW, firsthand, how hard he works and trains to get to race day.  To compete.  And, we want to be there to acknowledge his hard work, his accomplishments, his finish.  We want to acknowledge the same things for the other competitors...people we don't even know.  Most we will never see again.  It's almost like you're family. You get it and the sacrifices that are made on both ends of the spectrum.  Not once, in all of Reed's years of competing, have I ever hesitated about going to cheer him on.  The horror of Monday is something that I never even considered happening at one of these events. Never. But now, it will always be in the back of my mind.  That makes me angry.  That makes me sad.  It won't stop me, though...not from going, not from supporting and certainly not from cheering and screaming like a crazy person when he and others cross that finish line.  It won't stop others either. 

Those athletes, their families, their friends and their spectators are so much more than the ugly, terrible acts that were committed.  They're champions, heroes, hard workers and fighters.  They'll continue competing and we'll continue watching and supporting and cheering. That makes me smile.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter! We had a fabulous Easter weekend in Mississippi.  As always, the weekends go by way too quickly and this one was no exception.  Saturday was a fun-filled day at CCJ with the Easter egg hunt, lunch and other children's events.  Sunday, after scoping out what the Easter Bunny dropped off, we headed to church and then to lunch with my in-laws.  We hope you all had a fabulous Easter celebrating our Lord with your families!!

checking out his package from honey & papa

checking out his goodies from the easter bunny

family pic after lunch at CCJ

my sweet boys before church

CCJ easter egg hunt

Circus Fun!

Last weekend we experienced another first with Stafford...the circus!! As I posted earlier, we sprang for the VIP tickets and let me just tell you, they were worth every penny!  We were on the very front row, facing the center of the ring, on the floor.  AMAZING seats.  He (and mama + daddy, too) had the best time!  It made me happy to see him laughing, clapping and smiling during all of the different acts.  He loved the lights, the fire and the animals.  He couldn't get enough of the music OR his snow cone, either!  I was a little worried it would run too long for him (2 hours with an intermission) but he was just fine...lots to see and lots of cool things happening to keep him wide awake!  It had been years since Reed or myself had been to the circus and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves...this might be a new tradition for the Stacy fam!!  See below for a few pictures from the night:

having so much fun!

first snow cone...loved it!

my boys

18 Months!!

Happy 18 Months to my sweet little guy! I am finding it hard to believe that he is half-way to 2...where does the time go?  Since I gave up doing the monthly updates once Stafford turned one, I thought I'd update y'all on his latest, so here we go:

Sleeping: Stafford sleeps great (as long as he's not sick) but definitely not as long as I would like!  He's usually up by 7:00 every morning and usually earlier (6/6:30) on the weekends.  Why is it that babies don't get that sleeping in on the weekends is a GOOD THING?!  It's ok, though, because early wake-up times mean good, quality naps!  He only takes one nap a day which will usually range from about 2.5 - 3 hours...nice!

Eating:  PICKY PICKY PICKY!  I think it's funny that this youngster is so picky...anything has got to taste better than that nasty, stinky Nutramigen...right?!  Apparently not.  Stafford is NOT a fan of fruit, veggies or most meats.  He will eat fish sticks, chicken nuggets (I mean, who doesn't?), mashed potatoes, french fries (those are veggies, right?) and fruits, if they are baby food style.  I think we live off squeezies, puffs, grilled cheeses and french fries.  He especially loves sweet potato fries so we tend to go that route over regular, ole frenchies.  He has a major sweet tooth (there's his mama coming out!) and he also loves flavored water.  He recently discovered juice boxes and smoothies so those are new favorites!  I really think everything with Stafford right now is texture.  If it feels funny (i.e. mac n' cheese = slimy) then no way Jose.  I find that if I can feed it to him, then he'll at least try it.  Like I said, PICKY PICKY PICKY.

Size:  We haven't been to the doctor (thank goodness!!) since his 15 month check-up so I have no idea how tall he is or how much he weighs.  I'm guessing he's about 25 pounds though...teensy tiny!

Clothing: Stafford is fully in 18 month clothing (shirts, pants and pj's) with plenty of room to grow.  He mostly needs an 18 month for the length when it comes to pants so adjustable waists and good, stretchy elastic are musts at this point.  I did put a pair of 12 month shorts on him the other day and they fit perfectly.  Needless to say, who knows if all of those 24 month outfits that are hanging in his closet are going to fit?!  He's wearing a size 4 diaper and a size 4.5 shoe. 

Fitness: We have a walker...FINALLY!  Really and truly, I wasn't worried about him walking since he started crawling so late (at 12 months).  Around 16 months, he started testing it out but wasn't in full-fledged walking mode until 17 months.  He is practically running!  Sweet boy has found his independence and he likes to show it often!!  He also has a very high reach and can just about pull anything off our kitchen table.  We are in full-on chase Stafford around mode.

Fun Facts:  Stafford loves to babble, hug, take a bath, throw toys, tease Ace with food, pull books off his shelf, look at flags, watch Disney, play outside, ride in his car, throw dog food and watch videos of himself.  He doesn't like laying still for diaper changes, having his nose wiped, having the sun in his face or keeping his shoelaces tied.  It's looking like he is getting most of his teeth in...we still have several on the bottom that are pushing through.  I have no idea about the back teeth because last time I stuck my finger back there to check, he bit me...I have learned my lesson on doing that!  We tend to have breathing and congestion issues when the weather changes SO breathing treatments have become our best friend.  Lastly, we have gotten rid of the wubbanubs and replaced them with regular pacifiers.  It was a moment that I was dreading but turned out to be simpler that I thought.  He simply grabbed hold of the new paci and was fine!  WHEW!!

playing outside

happy boy!!
 

Seeing Green...and Red & Blue!

Last weekend was a slam-packed weekend of fun at the Stacy house!  Stafford had his school party, Sis and Ricky came into town for the world-famous St. Patty's Day Parade in Jackson and the Rebs were playing in the SEC Tournament.  Whew!  We took Stafford downtown on Saturday afternoon to check out the parade and the parade-goers...I think he got an eyeful that day!  We then headed to lunch at Keifer's to watch the Rebs play Vanderbilt for a chance to advance to the championship game.  Sunday meant lunch at Soulshine and more Rebel basketball which ultimately lead to...an SEC CHAMPIONSHIP!! Woo Hoo! The Rebs are SEC Champs and headed to the NCAA Tournament...I, maybe, cried a little bit.  :)  Hotty Toddy!!! What a fun weekend!

scoping out the parade scene

party at school

St. Patty's Day Parade

parading it with Sis

March Madness Has Begun

Ahh, MARCH! Did anyone else feel like February was going to last forever?!  March (even though it is still cold) always makes me happy...it means Spring Break (well, memories of, anyway!), March Madness (I love this basketball tourny), Easter and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Jackson.  So many fun events this month and hopefully the introduction of warm, sunny weather.  The Stacy fam even has another "first" this month:  a trip to the circus!! We sprung for the "VIP" tickets (they have those?!) for the circus coming up next week and I am hoping that Stafford will be close enough and old enough to pay attention.  We shall see!! We've had an unusal month so far in that we have been home every single weekend...it's been nice! Although, I do have one little boy that is missing his Honey, Papa, Sis, Uncle Ronnie and Memama...same for his mama, too!

excited over Rebel basketball!!

diapers and boots (made by Mimi!)

Stafford got a new "do"



Ole Miss prepster

Back to October...for 1 year pics!!