John Henry's Birthday!

In learning from our friends with big families, we wanted to celebrate John Henry's birthday in a simple loving fashion. We brought in the morning with party hats, tooters (the things you blow and they toot), Mass and then cupcakes. It was really sweet. Margaret Mary went to target with her Papa the night before and picked Henry out a little present (a football). She was so excited to give it to him. There was no jealously because the whole family was celebrating by just being together, being silly in hats, and tooting our tooters.

Henry at a year is amazing. He imitates EVERYTHING we do. He tries to brush MM's hair when I do, he tries to put on his own socks, to brush MM's teeth, draw like she does, etc. He is also very intense. The other day I was cooking and I shut the oven door. This made him VERY MAD and he stuck his fingers inbetween the oven and the door, trying with all his might to open the oven door back up. Needless to say, he ended up with little burns on three of his fingers. Crazy boy. Redirection doesn't work for him. He is SO determined to do what he wants to do. It takes a lot of energy to enforce the roles around here, and I really don't know if I will ever win the battle of standing up in the high chair. He loves to dance and claps loud when Margaret Mary sings a song. He loves loves loves his sister and thinks she is the funniest, most entertaining person in the world. We love our John Henry and think he is about the cutest boy in the whole world.

Baby Update

I had my first meeting with the midwives last week and learned a couple of things about our baby. First, isn't our baby beautiful?!? (Note: the above pic is not an actual pic of OUR baby, but another baby at 11 weeks). It's hard to believe how well formed and big our baby is at only 11 weeks.

The baby has a heartbeat of 170. If the baby follows in line with his brother and sister (whose heartbeats fit the old midwives tale perfectly), it looks like we will have a little girl! For some reason I have been dreaming of pink hats and dresses ever since I've become pregnant. Margaret Mary thinks she has "a little sister in mommy's belly" too. While I would be overjoyed with another boy, I love playing into the old midwife tales about gender prediction.

I am measuring "minus four" which explains why I am showing so soon. Normally at twelve weeks the uterus is just starting to peak over the pelvic bone. Mine is four inches below my belly button! This is totally normal for moms having their third babies. The body knows what to do, how much it needs to stretch, and does it fast.

Still tired and sick a lot but feeling better every week. Last night I had a craving for white kidney beans in chicken broth with onions. Gotta love pregnancy hormones!

Funny Boy

Doesn't Henry look like his Papa did as a little boy in this pic?

But then he definatly has a look going on thats all his own!

How the Craig Family Eats Pizza

and yes, we normally fight Henry standing up in his highchair.

and yes, I was getting down too. :)

What Love.

Today when Jason was putting Margaret Mary down for her nap, he told her he had school tonight and wouldn't be home till late. She looked up at him, with lower lip trembling, and said "But I will miss you, and I will cry, because I love you."

What love.

Here are the two cuddling after a long day of celebrating Henry's birth. I pray they will always have this sweet, special relationship.

Phone Uploads

I just uploaded the pics off of my phone so I'll do some big posts soon. Here are a couple of pics to hold you over till then...

Gotta love grocery stores that have these car carts. The kids love them and spend the whole shopping trip "driving" and spinning the little steering wheel frantically.

Why is it so hard to get a pic of these two? This is the best one so far, although I wish I would have buttoned Henry's shirt up. :)

This boy thinks that sitting in the drivers seat is the best thing in the world.

Quote of the Day

Margaret Mary while looking out onto our patio at a little squirrel said "Can I hit him with this?" (a wooden spoon she was holding).

Jason said, "no baby, that would not be kind. It would hurt the squirrel and he would not like it."

Margaret Mary replied quickly: "But I would like it."

One year ago

Happy Birthday John Henry!



This moma gets really sentimental about the first birthday...

In Loving Memory

This morning, my "T" passed away. He married my Memaw a few years ago and I remember thinking that he was her second prince in life. Please pray for my Memaw as she grieves the loss of her husband, and pray for T that he would know the mercy and love of the Savior.

I watched a documentary on 9/11 of a priest who was the chaplain for the New York fire department who died when the towers collapsed because he was on the front line. There was a quote from the movie that I can't find anywhere, but sums up how I feel at this time. So, here is my summary:

"When one looses someone they love, all they should do is worship. They should thank God for the gift of that person. Thank God for the little things about the person they'll miss. Thank God for the weird quirks, the good times, the hard times. They should praise him for the creation of a soul who touched their life in so many ways. "

We will love and miss you T and forever praise God for the gift of you.

Princess Margaret Mary

In one of her many homemade crowns. She goes back and forth on wanting to be a princess, but loves making crowns and asks me to make one for her and Henry at least once a day. She's also starting to pick out her own outfits; can you tell?

Do we have a dancer in there?

Can you believe that baby Craig #3 is bigger than this??!?! Lets hope that he or she is just as much of a dancer as his siblings are.

Many of you didn't believe this was really a video we took of Margaret Mary in the womb at my eight week ultrasound visit with Dr. Fox. But this is really what happened, no video editing at all!

Dance baby!

Bring on Fall!

Ever since Margaret Mary saw some boys playing football in the park next to our house, she has been asking to go and throw her little football around at the park. Today was the perfect fall day. It was a little chilly and overcast. I figured they already grab things from each other and push each other down, why not call it "passing" and "tackling?" Totally inspired by my Paw-paw's family basketball team (they had five boys in their family and so formed a team together), we set out for some family football.

"Where are you going Henry? The ball is this way!"

"OHHHH, I like this!"

and he's off...

and he's down...

but then again, so's she... Hey take it easy on us, we're beginners...

Lots of fun chasing each other, playing in the grass and trying to throw a football. Can you tell we're ready for fall?!?! Bring on the chill baby!

Family Walk

Have I mentioned how much MM likes lollipops? Almost more than her muh! (pacifier). The other day she told me that she "had a lollipop when she was in my belly." :)

8 Weeks Pregnant...

...and already showing! I love it! There are few things more beautiful that a pregnant belly! I am tired, sick, and out of breath all the time, but am celebrating today as the 8 week marker; only four more weeks of first trimester yuckiness until second trimester bliss! :) Being pregnant is hard, but it is such a blessing. I saw a newborn in Mass today and almost started crying; I was so overwhelmed with joy at the miracle of it all and so thankful that God has blessed me with motherhood again.

We are planning to give birth at Mountain Midwifery, a birthing center less than 5 minutes from a hospital (and only ten minutes from our house), and I have my first appointment with them in two weeks! So excited!

P.S- Isn't this skirt awesome? Got it from Lands End along with three cardigans and a pair of shoes for only $60! I love Labor Day Weekend Sales!

First Pony Ride

Last weekend, we went with Jason on a retreat for his school up in the mountains of Colorado. It was beautiful and Margaret Mary got a chance to ride her first horsie! If you know MM, you know that this is a big deal, as she LOVES horses and talks about riding them all the time. Zoom in on the pics of her face. At first she is nervous, but confident that she wants to ride the horse, and then she totally loosens up and has fun. The horse's name was "Hot dog". All he wanted to do was eat the grass on the side of the trail. Because he was holding such precious cargo, we wanted to keep him happy and let him do just that. Don't know if that's what you supposed to do with a horse, but he was holding our baby girl! When I showed MM the pics afterwards, she looked up at me with big eyes and said "Thank you Mama! Thank you!" Precious.

Oh Henry

What a temper; but his super cuteness helps to balance out the stress of it all.


This pic is esp sweet because Jason bought me this hat the first time we went out (as friends) in 2000. I was a freshman in high school, and he spent over $50 on me that night trying to impress me at the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. It took three years and a lot of patience on Jason's part before we became a couple, but we look back on this hat as the beginning of it all. Margaret Mary likes to wear it a lot too.

Sweet Sayings

Margaret Mary said two things today I don't ever want to forget.

1) After art time, I hung her two pictures up on the wall. She didn't see me doing this and a couple of minutes later looked suprised to see them. Her jaw dropped and she said in the most sweetest, gracious way "oh, thank you mommy!" She was so endeared that I had hung her artwork up on the wall. (Note: we used to do this all the time at the old house, but with putting the house on the market, the move, and settling in, its been a while since we've hung up her work)

2) MM is a PAPA'S GIRL. She seems to think that Love is an either/or thing and says that she only loves Papa and the Papa only loves her. When I say I love her, she says "no, papa loves me," and she often says "i'm papas. Henry's mamas." Nothing can convince her otherwise. Today she was feeding me cheerios and I started eating them in a funny way. Her face light up and she said "I love you Mama!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she paused for a minute and corrected herself: "I love Papa." It was sweet to hear her love for her mama slip out. It was even sweeter to see her fierce devotion and loyalty to her Papa as she corrected herself.



This pic was taken at taken at a fair this week. I was holding Henry and put him down to walk. He walked right over to where Jason and Margaret Mary were, cuddled up, and stayed there for a while. Too sweet.

John Henry's Buddy

There is no one that John Henry has taken to as well as our dear friend Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy works with Jason at Fraternus and we had the privilege of hanging out with him the past week at training. We would like to think that John Henry is so attracted to Jimmy because of their shared devotion to Blessed John Henry Newman. Jimmy went to Rome for John Henry Newman's beautification and sent us a text from the ceremony saying he was praying for me and my upcoming labor (we didn't know if I was having a boy or girl yet).

Jason and I knew we would name our baby John Henry (if it was a boy) after we heard a piece about his life on EWTN radio. Newman is a convert, like us, and wrote a beautiful poem when he was stuck at sea trying to get home to England. He was overwhelmed by all the work he had to do (he says he was "sobbing bitterly") and on his last leg of the trip, got stuck at sea for a week. Filled with anxiety and frustration, the Lord's sweet will was his only source of comfort, and soon Newman was filled with a great peace. Thus "Lead Kindly Light" was written:

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

Jason and I were in tears after hearing this poem for the first time, and we were so excited at the thought of naming our son after Blessed John Henry Newman.

Did I mention that Jimmy Mitchell made sure to include the hymn "Lead Kindly Light" on the new Marian Grace Album, "What Wondrous Love?" No wonder our John Henry loves him! A man after Blessed John Henry Newman's own heart.

We are sad to say that Jimmy is leaving the Fraternus family to work with Mysterium full time in the next couple of months. You can't really ever leave a family, but it means we will be seeing Jimmy a lot less, unless the radio show he and Jason are planning takes off...

We will miss you Jimmy!

What A Lady

Henry's 10 Month Post

I realize I am a little behind on this post, as Henry is almost 11 months now. Please forgive me. Henry is really growing up to be a determined, strong willed, intelligent and handsome child. He has this great joy about him that I hope he never loses. Margaret Mary tells me at least once a day that she loves Henry and thinks he is super silly.

He loves my cell phone and likes to carry it around with him all day tucked under his arm. He has learned to snuggle and loves to give hugs: big bear hugs where he squeezes you as he hugs you. They are unbelievable. He also kisses on command. Henry has an amazing sense of understanding how things work. He tries to put on his shoes, do his sister's puzzles, uses a fork (with great success), wash himself with a washcloth, etc. A big feat this month is that he is beginning to use baby signs! He says more, milk, help, all done and please. We think he is saying Mama and Papa, but mostly as an imitation if we say it first.

Henry LOVES his big sister and wants to play with everything she is playing with. When she is in time out, he goes over beside her and stands with his nose to the wall. He imitates her when she talks and dances to all her songs. Margaret Mary is very patient with him but is entering this intense play stage where she plays/ reads really intensely and doesn't want to be interrupted.

Henry's temper is also coming out. He gets REALLY upset when you tell him no or when he can't play with something he wants to. Not just a protest cry, but it takes a few minutes to calm him down. It is intense sometimes...

Another challenge we have had with Henry this month is that he seems to be getting bored with his toys. I am finding that I have to be more and more creative in how I display them or he takes no interest in them and is fussy. This is a challenge because I'm used to my little boy who plays by himself with his toys all day. I think its time for some new toys.

Last but not least, his appetite is up again (he abandoned solids during a bad teething episode) and he eats a lot!

The send off...

Today is Jason's FIRST DAY OF GRAD SCHOOL!!!! We couldn't be MORE proud of him! This weekend has been a busy weekend of returning home from Fraternus training, new student orientation, dinner, Mass and reception. We (the kids and I) couldn't go to all the events with Jason but we had fun sending him off with lots of kisses, face grabs, and blessings.

Margaret Mary REALLY wants to "go to school with Papa." At the Mass, Jason went up and signed his name in the Augustine Institute book, signifying the studious undertaking he is about to undergo, Margaret Mary got upset because she wanted to sign HER name in the book too. When we talk about buying Jason notebooks and making sure he has a school bag, she asks for notebooks and tells us she needs a school bag too. What can I say? The girl loves her papa!

We love you so much Jason and are excited to embark on this great adventure with you!

To learn more about the Augustine Institute, where Jason is studying, click here.