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With Jonathan's wedding in just over a week, things are getting pretty insane around here. Emotions are running high, stress is nipping at everyone's ankles, and my house needs top to bottom scouring. In light of these things, starting today, I am taking an indefinite break from blogging to focus on the more important tasks at hand.

Please check back sometime after June 8th.

Jonathan takes a walk.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Jonathan. He was very cute and had big brown eyes and the curliest hair of anyone you've ever seen. Jonathan liked dogs and his friends and his mommy and he especially liked Reebok Pump tennis shoes. He did not like reading books or math class.

One day, the cute little boy named Jonathan turned into a handsome big boy. This handsome big boy liked dogs, his friends, and his mommy, but he still did not like reading books or math class. He had forgotten all about Reebok Pump tennis shoes.

Since the little boy didn't like books or mathematics, his big sister worried about him a lot. She loved books and mathematics, you see, and she thought the handsome boy would be happier if he liked them too! Sometimes, she would even try to tell him about how nice books and math were, but the boy would only turn his head and look for a dog to play with.

The handsome big boy, Jonathan, kept growing and growing. He grew until he was almost a man, and then he met a beautiful girl named Stephanie. He still liked dogs and his friends and his mommy...and now he also loved Stephanie. Can you guess what he still didn't like? Yep, books and math class. His big sister was very worried indeed.

Then, one weekend in May, a handsome man named Jonathan took a walk and taught his big sister a very important lesson. You can live your life liking dogs, friends, your mom, cool tennis shoes, and your sweetheart - and hating books and math - and still live happily ever after. Congratulations, little brother.
Look for more Adventures of Jonathan soon! He's marrying that beautiful girl, Stephanie, in less than three weeks...and big sister is SO EXCITED about the wedding!

Say it ain't so...

After months of posts about happiness, butterflies, rainbows, and perfection, a part of me thinks we're sounding a little too Cleaver-ish over here in the Chesserhouse. Although we are very happy and our home is full of good and wonderful things, we're also a mess 9 days out of 10...and we're proud of that too. So, today, in an effort to be real with you 3 readers that check in regularly, I am going to share a little bit of the sour in my world of sweet.

I think it's almost time to quit nursing, and I am sad about it. There. I said it.

I don't want to over-dramatize this...or in any way come across as though I'm asking anyone's permission to quit. I understand that this is a natural and good thing. I'm just a little sad at how fast the time has gone by. I mean, it feels like yesterday that my mom and I were forceably coercing the little booger into even taking the right side (this was an epic battle waged during H's first two weeks of life)...and now, it's about time to let it be okay for him to not take either.

It all started in around the 7th month. He just started to lose interest...especially in the mid-day nursing. At that point, I was Elsie-ing, like, 5 times a day...but the middle 3 were pretty sucky (no pun intended). Now, we're down to 3 times a day, because if I even try to give it to him in the afternoon, he just bites the heck out of me and squirms to get down and keep playing. Sometimes he sneaks in a 4th time with an early-morning wake-up, but not with any consistency.

It's funny to me that, when he was first born and until he was about five months old, I shamelessly longed for the day that he would quit nursing. To me, it meant freedom. It meant that Jared and I could go on an overnight trip...maybe take a long weekend away. It meant not feeling tethered to my house (or a quiet, private place in public) every 2-3 hours. It meant sleeping braless. It meant my triumphant return into pretty underthings. It meant Jared could take a middle-of-the-night feeding if necessary. Now, as I am staring this time in the face, it is meaning only one thing to me -- my little bitty baby is turning into a big boy.

Oh, and don't get me wrong, there is almost no thing in this world as wonderful as sleeping unsupported...but, for me, nursing my baby has truly been one of those things. :)

So, I'm going to try to keep him going for a little while longer - maybe just offering the buffet in the morning and at the end of the day. But, the bummer fact of the matter is that when it comes to milk supply, 'if you don't use it you lose it'...and mine is dwindling quickly.

Jared says that this is the first of many times in our life that we'll have to deal with Henry 'growing up' faster than we want him to. I'm sure he's right about that. Seriously, don't even mention the word 'kindergarten' in my presence unless you want to see waterworks. I guess, at the end of the day, I am happy for the many months that we did make it. I'm happy that my guy knew he could count on me to show up every 2-3 hours with the loot. And, I'm happy and a little proud that Henry the Hoss is a hoss because mama came armed with the good stuff.

Now, I'm serious people, do not even think about saying kindergarten...

E-I-E-I-O

This past Sunday, my first real Mother's Day, I didn't want flowers, footrubs, or time for a nap without a baby waking me up. Well, I take it back, I may have wanted those things a little...but not nearly as much as I wanted quality time with my hubsy-wubsy and little boy. Despite the fact that we're often all in the same place - many times in the same room - Quality Time together...you know, time that you're focused on each other and not on a media outlet or cleaning up the most recent diaper catastrophe...is hard to come by around here.

Of course, being the fiendish instrument of torture that I am, I didn't just come right out and say what I wanted out of the day. But, being the Prince Charming that he is, Jared had it all figured out anyway.

We started our morning by dropping bubby off with my mom so that we could go to church together. We have been visiting a church that we are liking very much. Right now, they have an Interim Pastor, so we don't know what Big Church will be like in the longrun, but the Life Group that we are in has been a perfect fit for us so far. So anyway, we went to our LG and had a very intense scriptural discussion about faith...which was the kickstart for our QT-ful Sunday. After church, we thought we would pop in to Raffa's and see if they had a table for two for lunch (of course, we didn't make reservations....life with Henry is too unpredictable for that), and lo and behold, they did. We sat outside, basked in the sunshine, talked about how sitting on the water reminded us of our honeymoon in Greece, enjoyed their delectable Mother's Day brunch buffet, and were back to the little man by 1.

After his afternoon nap, we thought it would be a great day to take him to a little petting zoo that we've been eying for awhile. By 4, we were en route. Uncle Justin even came along, which made the trip so much more fun! Needless to say, Henry loved it...and I know he'll love it even more when he can walk. Check this out...
So, all in all, I'd have to say that my Mother's Day was exactly as I had hoped it would be. Low-key, restful, and full of QT with my family. Oh, and did I mention that I did get flowers, a footrub, and a nap in too?!?!

I sure do love my boys.

Perfection.

There is something so 'right' about taking a little boy to his very first ballgame.
I think the pictures say it all. Perfection. :)

9 month photos...

Here's a little sneak preview of Henry's 9 month photo shoot...all photos still need cropping and editing, but please enjoy them anyway. Have a great weekend, honor your mama well, and we'll see you next week!

I like...

windows and outside...trucks... my first balloon......and my Grammie and Grampy...
Don't forget to call home and ask to speak to your mother this weekend. She'll like it. I promise. :)

Double Take

Sorry, Jared...the H-man is definitely mommy's baby...Real blogs will resume shortly....for today, four photos of me between 1 and 2 years old will have to suffice!! Happy Tuesday!