Amazing Grace

AB has been singing this song to IzzyB for awhile now and she has taken to loving it and knowing it.  We always sing a few songs as we put IzzyB to bed and this is usually a request.  Lately she will sit up and want to sing with us and we absolutely encourage her to sing with us.

The first time she sang this out loud AB and I had tears in our eyes.  And tonight I was thoughtful enough to grab my phone to record her rendition.  Now you can enjoy the song.

What she is singing:

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

Amazing love, now flowing down

His hands and feet that were nailed to a tree

Grace flows down and covers me"

This is a song we were taught by our friend and former worship pastor, Greg Watlington.  

These words are so sweet and so truthful.  We hope and pray that IzzyB finds the truth and comfort in these words as she grows older too.  

First Record Store Visit

Not sure if you all are aware that we have a few favorite bands as a family. One of these bands is The Avett Brothers and yesterday their newest album was released.

We went to dinner in Nashville and I figured we should support our local record store by buying the new album there. If you know me well, you also know I like to get the actual album of my favorite artists and not just download it off the interwebs.

AB had a phone call to make so IzzyB and I were the only ones to get down. I was secretly excited for it to just be her and I. We walk in and it is slammed! Paper Route had just performed an in-store show. I quickly grab her hand because it's a crowded place with little walkways to squeeze through. I go straight to the New Release wall and grab the album and then we just look around for a bit.

She looked like a pro going through some CD's. I had a glimpse of a future where she loves going to record stores and also collecting the hardware instead of electronic versions. We'll see what happens.

I'm glad and proud IzzyB always request music when we get in a car.

Another First

Tonight we had another first in the household. IzzyB woke up really late today, which meant we got to sleep in! That late wake up also meant she didn't get a nap in today and she did fine all day with no melt downs. Thank goodness!

After church tonight we got dinner and as she finished, she requested a bath. So we started the bath and got ready for bed with the usual book reading time. Well tonight for the first time as AB was reading to her, she fell asleep during the story! It was also the first time I was able to carry her to bed and it was priceless!

IzzyB is such a busy-body that when she is tired she just keeps moving around in order to not fall asleep. Well tonight Mr. Sandman caught her off fairs during story time.

Thank you Mr. Sandman for giving me a first as a dad.

Convos w/ IzzyB

Me: I would be so excited that I will take my clothes off and run outside!
IzzyB: Why?
Me: (silence as AB looks at me with disappointment)

I figure I shouldn't need to explain streaking to IzzyB this early in her childhood. But when this child finally goes #2 on the toilet I just might have to go streaking.

***UPDATE***
30 min after I posted this we had a touchdown!!! I didn't go streaking but I jumped up and down so crazy like that the dogs went running for cover. Then we made a celebratory run to Kroger for ice cream!

"They grow up so fast"

That is a saying I just never understood as adults said it to other adults about each others children when I was growing up.

Now that AB and I have IzzyB, I totally get it!
Never mind that she will be 3 years old  in October but going from year one until today is so drastic and monumental in change that it blows my mind.

She couldn't walk by herself right at year one (she did a few weeks later) and now she runs SO fast that sometimes her legs fly out from underneath her!  Not to mention she was slowed down for weeks after a broken leg and had to re-learn to walk.  When we play chase or hide-n-seek I ask to quit playing WAY before she's ready because I am tired. (I should probably start playing these games before dinner and not after)

She could barely talk at year one and now it's a rare that she is quiet, unless she is watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse.  Even when Mickey asked the viewers to answer she won't respond but that may be because she doesn't know to actually answer the TV, since it isn't human and all.  I guess if she started talking to the TV I would start to wonder about her a bit.
With the constant talking comes the smart/back talk and this is the most annoying thing about her talking at all.  It makes it seem as if we already live with a pre-teen/teenager.  I know that age comes with a whole slew of other problems but I like to over exaggerate here.

Other than some sour attitude times there are plenty of sweet and funny words and phrases that IzzyB has shared.
"Daddy you're cray-cray!"
"You gonna eat that in your mouth?"  (her way of asking if you're going to eat that)
"Can I have a kiss?"
"Mamma, I need my iPod"
"Mamma, come cuddle"
"Friends are coming over!?!"  (She is a social butterfly)
"Bye friends, thanks for coming over"
"Daddy we're going to a farm! Daddy, do you like animals?"
"Daddy put some music on, we need to dance!"
"Hey! what's going on here?" (she yells this when Amy and I are hugging)
"You're a toots magootes!" (she'll call you this when you 'toot'!)

Energy Drinks

Last week AB and IzzyB were in Texas and then I drove down by myself to be there a few days then we were all going to drive back together.  We were excited and happy to be in Texas again but not either of those emotions for the actual drive.  And I had to make a one way trip all by myself and that meant relying on something I never have before...energy drinks.

I left from work in Nashville on Thursday at 3:45pm and arrived in Stephenville Friday morning at 5:10am.  GoogleMaps says you can make that trip in 12 hours and 27 minutes so what took up the almost extra hour in my trip...stopping to get gas and energy drinks.  Oh and one quick stop at a Taco Bueno to throw down a chicken crunchy potato burrito.  And I only stopped there because 1) it's a Taco Bueno which we do not have in TN and 2) it was next to a gas station where I got an energy drink.

I believe the total was 4 Red Bulls, 1 5-Hour Energy, and 1 Starbucks Doubleshot-Energy Coffee flavored drink.  I'm not sure if that is in the "Woah, are you crazy?!?" category or the "That's all you had?!?" category because I just do not ever drink energy drinks.

Being that I had a long overnight drive I figured I'd play it safe and drink them and not get tired rather than get tired and have to stop to sleep/rest.  Overall they seemed to have worked!  Until I got about 30 miles outside of Stephenville which at this point my eyelids were getting extra heavy and I was gripping the steering wheel like it was trying to runaway.

I made it to my father-in-law's housewhere I kicked my shoes off, got in bed, closed my eyes, and felt my entire body trembling from all the junk I had drank!  My mind was so tired but my body was still alive and kicking ready to keep going.  Is that even possible?
That's when I knew that I was in the "Woah, are you crazy?!?" category for my body intake of energy drinks.
I don't know how but my brain finally won and I fell asleep for a few hours.

On our return trip to Tennessee I did not drink any energy drinks.

Life Normalization (sort of)

Life in the Llanes house is back to a normal state.
Is life ever really normal though?


IzzyB is back to walking but more than just walking now, she is running, hopping, dancing, and making me tired from it all as I got used to not having to chase her around.

It is kind of crazy how she was the one that had a broken leg and was immobile for awhile, yet I was the one who grew lethargic and put on some weight.  Two nights ago we were playing chase in the house and I had to stop because my breathing was getting way to heavy, I am quite embarrassed to type that out actually, but I also love eating and not moving.

So I am looking forward to getting back to more active play time with IzzyB, for both quality time and my heart.



* that "(sort of)" in the post title was referring to me health, or lack thereof.