29

Even though I'm 29 years old today, and 30 is so close, it doesn't bother me yet. Probably because in my mind I'm still 22 and could be hanging out in my dorm room studying for finals, watching FRIENDS with MY friends or going to the beach any time I want. Maybe it's also because I'm pretty darn happy with my life. When I think about turning 30 or 40 my mind doesn't jump to the wrinkles that will be added to my face or the widdening hips and sagging... you get the idea. When I think about the future, my first thought is about my kids. (Don't worry...that's not an announcement. ) I think about Carson and future mini-Tompkins and what they will be like and what my relationship will be with them. I wonder if they'll have good friendships like I did and find godly people to marry. Will they have acne to worry about? Will they have their hearts broken? I wonder if they'll get good grades or if Trent and I will follow through with our plan to take our teenagers to Europe. Heck, 29 feels young! There's SO much life to live. Then again, ask me again in 365 days. Maybe I'll be singing a different tune!

Future Tiger

I know...not the most creative title. I'm sure every parent who has taken a picture of their kid with a golf club since the late nineties gives it the same title. He actually does love this __________. ( I want to insert here that I just asked Trent what kind of club this was so I could use another noun other than "club." I asked if it was a driver or a putter...? He said "fairway wood" which was a more specific than I wanted, but such an answer from a golfer. Sigh.) Carson actually does love this fairway wood. He plays with it for minutes at a time, which for a ten-month-old's attention span is like three hours for us.

Also, I kind of have a personal policy of not letting Carson go out in public in just a diaper, but since this was just in our backyard area and it was freaking hot, I guess it's OK. :) Plus, he's so darn cute.

God is Faithful

Henry James Marr was born this morning, weighing in at 8 lbs 13 oz. Since the new Mommy and Daddy surely won't have time to blog any time soon, I wanted to post pictures of this cute little guy. These were taken a few hours after Henry was born. We are all praising God for bringing this healthy baby boy into our lives and for giving him to such amazing parents. I think this picture says it all. Jim and Steph, our joy for you is overwhelming. Steph went into labor during the night, they checked into the hospital around 4:30am, and Henry was born around 10:30 am. At last their arms can hold their precious miracle. Thank you, Lord.

More Pictures of Henry

Who ME!? I dn hv anythng n my mth!

We've all heard funny stories about mom's catching their babies putting nasty things into their mouths. So far I have nothing gross enough for blog-worthiness, but I do think it is funny that Carson is definitely experimenting with what can fit into his mouth. I have to be pretty diligent about keeping the floor clean and watching him. The funniest part is that he is currently still in a phase where if he does find something to put in his mouth, he's not very covert about it.
Usually when he's wandering around playing or exploring or whatever, I can hear him chatting or banging things or opening, etc. But when he gets quiet, I know he's found something. Throughout the day, if we make eye contact, he has his mouth open, tongue out or he'll give me a real smile. However, if he has put something in his mouth, his lips are pressed together and eyes and brows are concentrating. When he's trying to be sneaky, he'll actually give me a partial, close-lipped smile. It is the proverbial cat with the canary in his mouth look.

So far, the collection of items have gone from the harmless (piece of graham cracker, part of a napkin, actually just chewing on his own tongue) to the potentionally dangerous (penny, baby fingernail clippers, water bottle lid). I'm dreading the day when I reach in there and find a dead bug or something. But for now, I'll just try to keep him from choking on the random remnants he gets his chubby little hands on and keep one eye on the kiddo.

Daddy Tompkins, DPT

Today is Trent's birthday, but he is not really into checking the blogs, so I won't really bother saying Happy B-day. Maybe I'll talk about him behind his back. :) This year all he wanted was an iPod, so that's all he got. (Thanks to all who pitched in.) We've been having fun checking iTunes and dancing with/for Carson.

Yesterday we got a random call from a woman whose 16-month-old daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. If I got the story right, she got Trent's number out of the phone book after she heard about him from a woman she met in a Yahoo mom's online group who recommended Trent as a pediatric PT. I was pretty proud of him and told this stranger on the phone how wonderful he is with kids and what a great physical therapist he is. Yeah, I'm pretty proud of my birthday boy.

Old Carson, Young Carson

A moment of balance.....
Strange pool + cool water + hot day + little swimmers = happy baby.

First taste of blueberries

Did I already put this pic up? Oh well. We might need some new ones. Yesterday at church this old(er) man named CARSON was baptized. It was cool on a superficial level, since it was fun to see someone from another generation named Carson. I wondered what Carson will be like when he is in his late 60's. But when they asked "Carson, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God" and he answered yes, I got tears in my eyes. I know that my child is also a child of God, and above all my prayers for him, I pray that someday he will answer a loud and confident YES to that question.

My Favorites Vol. 2

Trent

Mike
Becky
Jen
Do you know the feeling you get after you have tried something new and enjoyed it? Even if you weren't sure you wanted to do it? That's one of my favorite things. This weekend when we were camping, we went over to Ski Bowl, which in the summer has some "adventure" attractions so they don't go bankrupt during the off-season. The four of us did the alpine slides and then we tried the "slingshot" which is basically just being tied to a bungee cord and jumping on a trampoline. The bungee (sp?) gives you the adrenaline rush because you can go quite high and do flips, which, lets face it, this scaredy cat would never do on a normal trampoline. As we were getting harnessed up (awkard!) I got that fun/nervous feeling like you get right before going on a scary roller coaster. (Seeing the 8 year old go before us really took the edge off, though.) I read an article that said part of not spoiling a child is not rescuing them from uncomfortable situations. I really want to let Carson go through some nerve-wracking experiences, even if he doesn't think he's ready, because I know that each time he tries something new and succeeds, it will build his confidence. Then again, maybe he'll be that kid that wants to jump and do flips when he's four. That would be his father's genes.