Baby Head

Baby-Head is the nickname Gavin calls Dylan, and appropriately so.  The kid takes numerous hits to the head on a daily basis.  Poor guy - he is so busy and moving all over that he falls alot and we have hard tile floor.  If he thinks no one is looking, he will get right back up and at it, but if he knows you saw him, he'll throw in a few tears (he likes the cuddle that follows :)

Early this morning was the best Baby-Head trick of all...at his normal early morning wake up (4:30 am...who needs roosters when you have a Dylan?).  We tried to let him cry a few minutes to see if he would go back to sleep and after about five minutes, Mark went in to check on him.  Luckily he walked in when he did because Baby-Head was in mid air...spiraling head first toward the floor!  Mark caught him before he hit the floor. 

Feeling bad as parents, we brought him in to our bed after his free fall and he went back to sleep until 7 am. Maybe a little adrenaline rush is all he needed to sleep in? We've been saying for about two months now that we need to lower the mattress.....it is being done as I write this now. So for any parents out there that feel as if you're having a "bad parent" day....fear not, the Buelows have it in the bag for today.

My Wonderful Husband

Mark celebrated his 35th birthday on May 31st.  All the plans we made to celebrate were postponed because of my back/sciatica problem, but we still had a simple celebration until the "real plans".  We started the morning by giving him his present (that Gavin had already pulled out of the hiding spot and shown to Mark on several occassions). In the afternoon Mark went surfing...something he doesn't get to do nearly as much as he would like now. We had cake (chocolate, of course) and sang to him at dinner and then he had a guy's night out with Matt, Brian, and Mike.

Now for the "real plans" ....Tonight he is going to spend the night on Jamie's boat and do a night dive - that was the one thing he said he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday. The thought of getting into the ocean at night is absolutely terrifying to me, but apparently sounds fun to Mark :)  Scuba diving is one thing rain doesn't put a damper on....you'll be wet anyway.

Sunday, the Martins have agreed to watch the kids so we can have a date night - thanks to my Groupon app on my phone, I save us tons of money now by purchasing all the great deals! :)  We've got movie tickets and half off dinner at Chucks coming our way!

In celebration of my dear husband and his 35 years, I thought I would share a few pictures of him.....

Matt and Baby Mark with Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman

Matt and Mark with Grandma and Grandpa Buelow

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this with the world :)

Finally, I thought I would share the top 10 reasons why I Love Mark .....

10.  He is great at keeping our small patch of yard and plants looking great.  I have a bad habit of going out and buying all these flowers and plants, planting them... and then neglecting them to their death until  Mark comes in like a night in shining armor and rescues them from me.

9. Even though I don't like the amount of time it takes from our family, I love the passion Mark has for the sport of wrestling.  It keeps him physically fit, gives so much to the community, and teaches our kids about devotion and commitment.

8. He cooks breakfast every Saturday morning... pancakes and coffee.

7. Every work day, he makes the coffee and carries all my bags (work bag, diaper bags, coffee, etc.) out to the car.  

6. Every vacation we have ever been on has been fabulous because of all of Mark's research about the area.  He educates himself on every aspect of the place to choose the best places to stay and things to do.

5. He has good taste in music (my taste :)  I couldn't stand taking a road trip having to listen to hip-hop!  No fighting over the radio stations for us....at least for now - someday I'm sure the battle will begin with the kids!

4. He is generous.  Mark will give his time freely to help someone (see number 9).  He doesn't fret over money situations -he lives by the "it will all work out" philosophy.

3.  He is patient - this is a virtue needed when you have 2 small children and a wife who frazzles easily :)

2.  He comes from a great family - they have all (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts & uncles) have made me feel welcome to their family from the moment we met.  He is also very good to my family - they love him (sometimes more than me I think....just kidding :)

1.  He is more than I could have imagined as a husband and father to my children.  I knew I loved him when we married, but seeing him with my babies makes me love him even more :)

Prayers

When we first started saying night time prayers with Gavin we did the traditional "Now I lay me down to sleep...". Once he got the hang of that we had him add in people he wanted to bless and he would list off his family and friends and sometimes random things (like Spiderman and Diego).  Recently we're trying to show him that prayers can also be a time to give thanks and to ask for God to help with certain situations.  He is getting it and here is proof...

"Dear God, Please keep Dylan away from my toys"

and here is a glimpse of my sweet, thoughtful Gavin..." Dear God Please help make mommy's back better"..... AMEN!