The Family Overview

 When Marquette first started standing up

 Marquette got a hold of an ink cartridge

 At the Georgia Aquarium when Cheri's husband Derek's family came into town

 Showing Marquette the Whales

 He was actually pretty interested for his age...at least I thought so

 Cheri and her husband (fiance at the time)

 Mischief Maker

 Look at those eyes! Everyone comments on how huge his eyes are.

 Always smiles

 Yummy food!!

So I decided not to say "catch up" because I feel like the title of all my posts has to do something with "catching up." *sigh* I feel like I am always behind. I haven't finished scrapbooking for myself (I started 15 years after birth, so I had a lot to do), I haven't finished a scrapbook for Derek's life, I stopped scrapbooking Derek's and my life together at 2 years of marriage, and Marquette has about 3 pages done on his scrapbook...My house isn't decorated really cute like I feel everyone else's is. I don't have the furniture that I want (money always seems to be in short supply). I never get around to making the crafts that are cute on pinterest. I had all of these cute ideas I wanted to do for him when he was born like "quiet books" for church I wanted to make and homemade toys...yeah...I haven't done any of them. I am happy that I am in school (which I will fill you in on), but part of me feels like I am missing out on Marquette's childhood/being a mom. Sometimes I wonder if I'm making a wrong choice. But then I tell the adversary to get out of my head and realize that yes, I am doing and am where I am supposed to be. Life just never works how you planned.

So where do I begin? Let's rewind to a few weeks before school started. I tried to enjoy every minute I could. I played with Marquette a ton, went running everyday with Derek, scrapbooked when I could, and hung out with my new friends in Tennessee every chance I got. I was living the high life. I wanted to get as much out of life as I could before I lost it for the next...3 years or so.

Fast-forward to school starting.

I was beyond nervous to start. Orientation was intense. We got some good "pick-me-up" talks like "You are here because you are the top 1% of the top 1% of people who apply to this program" and "You are smart enough to be here. You went through the most rigorous and selective admission process around." But we also got a lot of ""You will not have a life...you will hit a wall and want to die...you will not have time to work...we are surprised people even get pregnant during this program (that's how little time you have" etc. etc. We were also told that we are expected to graduate and no slacking because we have to uphold Vanderbilt's name. blablabla.

My first week I was really pumped and I did all of my reading and assignments. I took my first quiz and...FAILED. 40% yeah, that's right. 40% as in 40/100. Yeah. I cried. I have only ever failed once before and that was in the 5th grade on a test after I had been out sick for a week. Yeah. My world came to an end. This is serious people. I was beside myself for over a day. Then I decided to pick myself off the floor, and try harder.

Firstly, I realized it's not really possible to do the 45 hours of studying a week while taking care of a
baby. So, I decided I needed some help. Marquette now goes to lady's house that is a mile from mine for about 7 hours a day, Monday through Friday. The story of how I found her is actually really cool (Craigslist) and was an answer to months of prayers and even fasting. She is really really awesome and Marquette gets like one on one or one on two at the least attention. She only watches two other boys and her sister helps her most days. He eats like a king there and gets non-stop attention. He LOVES it. I had a really hard time at first, but once I realized he still looks at me as mom and knows that our house is his home, I started doing better. I miss him terribly throughout the day, but this whole thing would be a waste of time and HUGE amounts of money if I quit or failed out now.


Secondly, I started studying. Really studying. Like taking notes on everything I read. So I get about 35 hours of studying in a week. Not quite as much as they suggest...but still a significant amount for me. I took my next quiz...90%!!! And since then I have gotten 90% or more on everything except one other quiz which I got a 78%. I know that sounds not great...and I admit it took me awhile to realize I would not graduate with a 4.0. I have now decided that I will be happy if I can graduate with a 3.5. I just don't like studying 24/7 and not being able to be with my son and husband. I don't want to miss my entire family and Marquette's childhood.

Anyway, midterms are the next two weeks and I am stressed to the max. On top of the stress from school there are always other things like cars breaking down, our motorcycle's engine died and it was determined to be too little value to spend the money fixing...oh well, anyway, I'm learning to put things in perspective and try not to worry so much.

Next topic.

Derek's job is going really well. He loves it and has some great co-workers. There are also some HUGE opportunities for him to excel in the company! We are excited! His work is also really good about doing charity events and fun things with the employees. So far Derek and I have ran in a mud run for charity that Signal Energy (his company) helped sponsor as well as paid for us to run, Derek competed in a rowing race, and we all watched a game right behind the dugout and got free all-you-can-eat dinner. It has been really fun and even I have made friends with some of his friends from work.

I think it is also noteworthy that we found a growth on Baxter. We took him to the vet and had it removed...$550 later...it was cancer, but a pretty treatable cancer that was removed with the tumor and it had not metastisized, so it should be all gone. Thank goodness!!! So he gets to live another day and be our sweet puppy for hopefully many years to come!!

And last but certainly NOT least....

Marquette

My sweet, little lovebug. He makes my heart melt whenever I see him. He is the happiest little baby ever. He is almost 10.5 months. He is now pulling himself up on furniture and walking along it. He has started to bob up-and-down to music. It's his version of dancing. I love it! You can tell he REALLY loves music. He even seems to enjoy singing/humming to himself. It's mostly babble but it almost has a little ring to it. Mostly he just LOVES to talk. He is almost constantly babbling to himself.

Marquette also enjoys playing with any type of cord, tool, or toy that is Baxter's (pretty much everything you wish he would leave a lone). He laughs at almost anything and hardly ever cries. He goes to sleep on his own and will sleep for about 10-12 hours a night on top of his 2 naps during the day. I totally lucked out.

He has two bottom teeth and I'm just waiting for the rest to come in. But that doesn't stop him, he eats all table foods now without problem. He is quite the little eater and is tall and a little on the skinny side for his age group. What else is there to say? He is the best decision Derek and I ever made. We are so grateful for him. As long as Derek and I have each other, Marquette, and Baxter we have all we need for our little family!!