Enjoying W's Party

2nd Birthday Party

W got to celebrate his 2nd birthday amongst friends and family this year. I made some yummy and brightly colored cupcakes and we served them up alongside some ice cream. It was an enjoyable time had by all!

me and my daughter

N is tapping her hand on her leg now and swinging her head back and forth. She tries to mimic your head and hand movements. And this morning i caught her moving side to side and backwards and forwards to music that was playing. She is changing so fast!

seattle vacation

we went to seattle for 14 days and visited bill, leah and the kids. we had fun! we really enjoy seeing the kids and how different they are each year. we look forward to seeing them again soon and spending time with bill and leah.

finally playing together

Super N is almost 9 months and W is 25 months now, they're playing with eachother now! W still likes to take charge of his sister but he will now as of late try to make her laugh by making funny faces at her, she will then giggle or squeal in joy.

She is getting more mobile and trying to crawl now, making lots of expressions and laughing so much! She is really a great baby. I can't believe she's growing so fast!

W is awesome as well. His vocabulary has increased so much. He likes to say "hi" to everyone over & over again. He seems to be very social.

In the winter they'll both have so much fun playing together, which makes me happy since we'll be stuck inside a lot we can all entertain eachother.

Super N at Six Months

She's 6 months now. Almost sitting up on her own and laughing and giggling all the time. I think she's incredibly laid back. She mostly just sits back and watches. My love for her has grown so so much. I can't believe she's changed so much. We are going to the beach this September and she'll be 1 and W will be 2.5. I hope she is walking so they can play together in the sand. I can't wait!!

Independent Man

He's almost 2! I can't believe it. He has such a mind of his own these days. He's mastered tantrums I'd say and now says "mine" thanks to the Y childcare! No but seriously he is such a great baby. I'm so happy he's in my life. I just read something and immediatley thought "that's so true!". Someone in a book said "the days are long but the years are short". My how that is true! I miss my baby being cuddly and unable to crawl, he needed me to carry him around. But i enjoy seeing my independent son learning new things and mastering the art of talking. He's just a hoot! Some days are really hard, most these days honestly, but it's short right and I'm trying really hard to enjoy him.

20 months & 4 months, my babes

George got married to Paula this past weekend. We attended the wedding which was in DC. It was a hairy weekend to say the least. Truckin two babes under two onto a plane and into a hotel for 3 days and then around town and then back onto a plane, is a bit torturous. Next time we go to DC we will drive!

Coffee Perhaps?

When W and his daddy play, you'll never know what will happen! I think daddy needs another cup of coffee!

How We Affect Our Children

My little Munchkin Moo. He's been a bit ornery lately not listening to much mom or dad says. I've struggled this week with yelling at my bebe. I don't want to yell. I want to speak in a normal voice and be patient, i'm not there. I am better than i was but man how we affect our children. It's hard to be a parent sometimes especially when you're premenstrual and have a headache. I'm glad there is a gracious God who understands while not accepting my bad behaviors but instead giving me the strength and teaching me how to be loving. I used to feel so hopeless and could never imagine having kids b/c of my own past but things aren't hopeless with God and that's why I felt confident enough to have children. It's one of the best decisions i've ever made even though it gets tough, like this week, but I've learned so much from my 1 year old and my 3 month old. They're amazing and such a blessing. It's a fascinating thing, raising children that is.

A Dad and His Daughter

Peanut butta jelly, Peanut butta jelly...

Peanut butta jelly and a baseball bat.

Look at this chunk!

Twelve Weeks and A Lot of Fun

Super N was 12 weeks on Wednesday. As of now she is a smiling fool! :) I just love it. She's a big talker when she's getting her diaper changed. Just like most women she has the gift of gab already!
She's very sweet and is officially as of last week sleeping through the night...whooo yay!
We also do not put rice cereal in her bottle at night anymore. She doesn't seem to need it and i have a feeling that the rice cereal has contributed to her being 3 months but wearing 6-9 month clothes! She's a lot of fun these days and W wants more than ever to play with her but we still have a few more months until that can happen.

This morning he bonked her in the face with his mega block structure, she didn't bust out crying like i thought she would though. Instead her lip did the quiver thing and then i had an opportunity to distract her by rubbing her cheek and consoling her with my voice. This is new and it's so hard to believe how fast they change!
Crazy!

Mischievious

Look at him being mischievious!

The little goof ball!

My Little Kidlets

My babies, i love them so much! People have always said you don't know how much you really love someone until you have kids, it sooo true! It kills me to think of not being there to protect them at all times. I know it's going to be a challenge for me to watch them grow and to allow them their freedom and space. What a stewardship the Hub and i have been given.

Super N at Nine Weeks

Super N at nine weeks

Silly Walker

Our baby started walking officially on Sept. 23. He is now Eighteen months old and has taken his time in perfecting his trademark swagger! We are very proud of him and laugh at his cute little self walking throughout the house, with his feet turned outward and his little chubby belly leading the way. It's very bittersweet seeing him get bigger and more independent. I do look forward though to him being able to talk to me and hearing about the things he thinks about.

Eighteen Months Old

My silly Eighteen month old bebe! He's got almost all his teeth now and he's using them to eat lost of crackers which he loves. He loves crackers so much that he refers to most things as crackers, well those things he likes that is. The dog "cracker" a truck outside "cracker" his bear "cracker".
He's such a great kid!

A special time in our lives...

She drools like her mama!

Our little girl at 5 weeks and 1 day. She's lovely and growing. She is different than W was and sometimes it's a challenge not to put her in the "W" box. We are tired since she's not sleeping through the night and since we also have an 18 month old. But i have to keep reminding myself that these times are special with my kids, I need to take advantage of the time i have with them b/c like the moms and dads that have older children say ..."it goes by before you know it".

So my prayer is that i would be grateful for this time, be able to enjoy it, and invest in my son and daughters desires, the things that they enjoy instead of wishing for this time to pass quickly b/c i'm tired.

Welcome Super N: My Birth Experience

I chose to be induced with Super N one week early. From all the drama with my gallbladder and just being tired from having a sixteen month old I was ready to have my baby!

Our appointment was set for bright and early on August 9th. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am to have the induction process started at 6am. What actually happened was that the Nurse on call did a ton of paperwork that pushed backed the induction process. I was put on pitocin at/around 8 am to induce contractions. For about an hour and a half I bounced on a big exercise ball to try to get Super N to drop. The Resident came in shortly thereafter and broke my water, followed by the Anesthesiologist came in and administered an Epideral upon my request.

I pretty much labored all day. I was at a 5 around 4:45 pm. At about 4:50 pm my heart monitors started to go off. The resident on call got concerned and called in a few cardiologists to check me out. I was hooked up to a heart machine and monitored. After about 15 minutes I told the Nurse that I felt like I was going to have a bowel movement. She immediately became alarmed and shooed everyone away from me so that she could check my progress. As she was checking me she yelled out, "Your at a 10! Everyone Move!!" The staff pulled the heart monitors off of me as quick as possible my Dr. was called and I was told to hold it for a few minutes.

Dr. Orwick came in the room checked me all the while the nurses got everything in order so I could deliver my daughter. I felt a lot of movement in my belly and yelled, "I feel something!" Dr. Orwick informed me that Super N was turned Posterior and so she was turning her around inside me, weird feeling btw! A few seconds later I was given the clearance to start pushing. She came out after pushing for 15 minutes, born at 5:30 pm! I felt a ton of pressure in my back and in my nethers. Turns out she had a strong opinon about which way she wanted to come out and so even though Dr. Orwick turned her, she managed to turn herself back around and therefore was born face up!

I quickly latched her on and marveled at her beauty!