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First Trip to the Zoo

Walker took his very first trip to the zoo today.

My friend (Melissa) and I had been talking about going to the zoo with our boys since neither had been yet, so I was giddy when I received her text to see if today would work. I am so thankful that we went. It was perfect.

The weather was picturesque. The zoo wasn't crowded. And animals were out in full force to put on a show for Walker and Eli.

Our very first exhibit was CRAZY. At first we couldn't find the orangutan anywhere in the cage. Then it came out of the stone wall. We were laughing at how big and hairy it was. It was part of the pongo pygmaeus genus. It was so far away that we left for a moment to look at the tiger next door. When we came back, it was moving toward the glass. We were left speechless when it came right up to the glass (you could literally see its breath) and started tapping with its fist in front of the babies. Here is a pic that I found on-line of the species and a shot of the interaction with Walker. I hope to upload my video to youtube and post it as well. It was so cool!

 
  "Hey, kid, get me out of here."

 
  Eli loved the elephants, but he's going to be a lion for Halloween. His daddy is a vet, so maybe he will follow in his father's footsteps...

Another cool moment - we arrived at the Tiger Tundra just as the demonstration to the left was taking place. The only thing separating us from the tiger (four feet away) was that chain link fence. But Walker wasn't pleased watching the tiger with the rest of the crowd, so he wondered off (middle pic) to get a different view. He went up to the glass viewing area up above. It was empty because everyone was still over by the fence (down below), but the tiger left the crowd and came over to look at Walker alone in the glass case. Must have been a bonding moment b/c Walker was licking the glass (his version of "kisses") for about twenty seconds before I realized his tongue was out.

 
 Don't worry, Walker, I've got your back!
  
  Not many shots with mommy. Eyes closed. Typical:). 
  
  Melissa and Eli and the boys.

Two tired dudes sharing a toy on the way home from the zoo

Where's Mommy's Belly Button?

Many of you have probably heard of "drunk dialing" - a term used mostly by college goers. It's basically when someone drinks too much and then calls people that they regret (or might not remember) calling the next day.

My son was doing a dialing of his own sort today at my MIL's house. He was playing with Lee's mom's phone (innocent enough, right) while I was trying to get him ready to go home for a nap. I was pulling on his shirt and saying "Where's Walker's belly button?" and "Where's Mommy's belly button?"

The house phone rang as I was walking out the door. It was our friend Chris Watts. She proceeded to tell my MIL that she had no idea where Walker's belly button is or where mine is for that matter.

Chris, glad we could interrupt your day in the office with a random phone call just to talk about belly buttons:). Sheesh. 

Just Playing Around

Walker loves to play hide and seek. We say "Where's Walker?" and he hides. When he pokes his head out and grins we say "There he is!" I thought I would share these fun photos from yesterday afternoon's play time.

The pics below are in celebration of daddy breaking out his boots for the first time this fall. Hmmm, I feel a Christmas gift idea for the Walker Man coming on...

Enjoy the Now

I feel like God has been teaching me an important lesson lately - enjoy the now.

I mean, how many times do we look at our family, physical, financial, job, educational, spiritual, (you fill in the blank) conditions and situations and long for the day when ________ happens or ________ is over? Then we will be really happy. Then we will have peace and joy in our lives.

I know I do.

And when I find myself longing for the "ifs", "whens" and "thens" I cannot for the life of me find contentment with the reality of how my life is at this very moment. Anyone with me? I know of at least one friend/family member out there who is - and you know who you are;).

I pray that I will not allow life's imperfections, disappointments, delays and my lack of control over many situations steal my today. Because if I can't find joy in today, I never will.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it."   Psalm 118:24

Diaper Bag Giveaway

Visit my fabulous mommy friend's blog, Babbling Abby, for a chance in her fun diaper bag giveaway. You can try to win this for yourself or someone you love who might need a new tote for her little ones.

Bad, Bad Mommy

I have a confession. I was a bad, bad (DESPERATE) mommy yesterday.

The day started out innocently with a trip to the mall to get a birthday gift for Lee's brother and a Halloween costume for Walker Man.

Score. Score. I found the perfect costume at Pottery Barn - only $22.99 with free shipping since they didn't' have his size. And it took me no time to find some super fly gear for Jonny at Dick's Sporting Goods. Okay, I also threw in a visit to Janie & Jack, where I found some precious Christmas gifts for some little boys in my life. I had completed two major tasks and one last minute spree in under an hour. I was feeling all Queen of the Mallish.

So I rewarded myself with a pit stop at the Great American Cookie Company on our way to lunch at Panera Bread. I know this is bad, especially considering I have this book on order from Amazon.com (excuse the title!), but I could not resist the chewy mini Dinky Doozy staring at me from behind the glass case. It said "Rachel" - I promise y'all.

Cookie in hand, we made our way to order our lunch at Panera. I ordered Walker a kid's meal with grilled cheese and a squeezable yogurt tube. I went for the Frontega Chicken sandwich (a little oniony, but totally yummy). I was kind of feeling all impressed with myself for how well the morning was going (clue number one that things were about to go wrong in a big way).

We sat down and I started tearing off pieces of the grilled cheese for Walker. He was loving it. So much so that I just handed him half the sandwich and let him go to town while I took a few bites. It was a lovely scene. Mother and son sharing fresh baked bread and sweet smiles back and forth. I even felt a little nostalgic when I saw a pregnant mommy pushing her little boy in a stroller past the window. Maybe I should start thinking about another one...hmmm.

Just when I had convinced myself that two years apart is completely do-able, chaos ensued.

As some of you may know, Walker's favorite thing in the world is helium balloons. He calls them "baaa" (can't quite get the lloon part). A little girl trotted in the door with a "baaa" on her arm. Walker went crazy. He started pointing and yelling "baaa." When that didn't work, he threw his head back and attempted to fling himself out of the highchair. Then he resorted to screaming and crying.

Meanwhile, I am surrounded by a book club trying their best to discuss their newest read (so, so sorry). A couple discussing family relationships (not eavesdropping, promise). And another mommy with her little one (I know she must have felt my pain).

I tried everything. I turned his highchair. Made silly faces. Handed him my phone. Nothing was working.

Then an idea came to me. There was only one thing that my sweet precious, wailing child would like more than a "baaa." A cookie. A mini Dinky Doozy cookie. This is when I crossed the line from being a poor mommy caught in an unfortunate situation to a compromising mommy who cared more about saving face than loading my child with 600 teaspoons of pure sugar.

Another confession that it pains me to type - I knew deep down that they probably have peanut products in contact with their cookies. Okay - I CONFESS - I SAW THE SIGN "if you have a nut allergy, please do not consume our products." He doesn't have nut allergies (that I know of), but you never know when they might show up. Lord, please don't let him swell up like a puffer fish, oh please, Lord.

My ploy worked. He forgot about the stupid purple balloon from Flash Photography and ravaged my
Dinky Doozy. I felt so torn. Part of me was disappointed in my weakness but I was also relieved that he wasn't screaming. Plus that cookie contained at least 300 calories that I didn't need anyway.

I inhaled my cold chicken sandwich, then scooped him up and headed for the door (only to pass Flash Photography on our way out and have him go through the same tantrum once again).

I know many of you may be judging my poor decisions. But please just chalk it up to a bad mommy day and know that I will try not to let it ever happen again.

If Only We Could All Wake Up Like This

No tiny a.m. grumps allowed in our house. Walker wakes up giddy and on the go. If only we could all wake up like this.

There probably wouldn't be nearly as much road rage. Starbucks would go out of business. Nobody would need a snooze button. And there would be no stray kittens because they would all have a home.

Our House is For Sale

I am asking you to help me spread the word to anyone who may be interested - our house is for sale! We custom built this house almost three years ago with plans for it to be our forever house (at least that's how I talked Lee into tall baseboards:) but we have a wonderful opportunity to move close to Downtown Shelbyville - where it looks like we are going to focus the time and efforts in the community.

This house is very special to me. And I can say with 100% confidence that it would be a fabulous place for any person or family to make memories and call home.

We are selling it ourselves - Owner/Agent Lee Webb & Alton Webb & Associates. For those of you who don't know, that's my hubby. If you or someone you know is interested, tell them to contact Lee at Lwebb@altonwebb.com.

Click here to see the information piece on the house.

Here are some additional pictures:

The Living Room - window treatments will remain

The Kitchen - window treatments will remain

 

Dining Room - window treatments will remain

The Master

 

The Master Bath

 

His and hers sinks and a walk-in shower

 

Bedroom

Another Bedroom

The full walk-out basement w/roughed in plumbing and the separate storage area.

 

The deck and the back of the house.

And the little man of the house:)

One of the most touching things I have ever seen

As many of you know, Lee and I traveled to Catalyst Conference's 2009 Make Your Mark event earlier this month. Although it was hard to leave my little rascal for three days, it was worth every second.

I can say without a doubt that one experience from Catalyst was especially life changing. A man from Africa got up on stage and shared his life story. He lived in extreme (and I mean EXTREME) poverty in his childhood. So much so that he watched his baby sister die in his mom's arms of starvation. A young man (20 years old) sponsored him through Compassion International and saved his life. Literally.

The magical moment happened when the person interviewing him in front of 12,000 people asked if he had ever met the man who saved his life. He said no. And the rest was a beautiful reunion of two men who had never met in person but had exchanged letters throughout the past 20 + years.

I recommend that you watch the full video below. I posted the full version b/c I think it's worth watching. And if we can take the time to watch Grey's Anatomy and Dancing with the Stars, we can take a few minutes to watch something that actually involves real lives being changed for the better. (No knock on these shows, my friends. I watch The Hills for goodness sakes:). If you don't have time to watch it all, start at 9:09 and pick up right before the reunion.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment

If Walker could blog, what would he title his posts?

- Five Reasons Daddy is Cooler than Mommy

- Confessions of a KY Boy: Shoes are Overrated

- I can't slow down because I might fall asleep

- No is No Fun

- I'm smiling because I just put the car keys in the trash can

- All the Single Ladies? (to the tune of Beyonce)

- The difference between forward and rear facing car seats: EVERYTHING

- Tips for growing a full, fabulous mullet like Miley's dad

- Why footed sleepers drive me crazy

Love is a clean diaper