Thankful

This week my mom is in town watching Grayson, who is out of school for the week. She gets to be here for 10 days and I get to come home from work each day to dinner and laundry done and a happy 3 year old who played all day! Then I get to have the whole evening to sit on the floor with my kids and play because everything's been taken care of. Grayson has asked for Grandma to put him to bed each night and wakes up calling for her... It melts my heart. Each thanksgiving I can think of hundreds of things that I am thankful for... But this year, I feel like I could just burst with thanksgiving to my God who blesses us so abundantly!

It's been a good good year. Olivia's arrival was in January (yes, she's almost 1!) and it's been pretty sweet, with full hearts and arms all year long. I got to go back to work to a place and position that I love and am thriving in. I was able to leave my baby and go to work with no guilt or sadness and have had the joy to watch her really grow and develop at the sweetest school with the sweetest baby room teachers. My big preschooler has excelled and grown so much this year! I won't deny that this year of threenager-dom is hard, but it comes with lots of moments of sweetness and pride of my little gentleman. We got to welcome a new member to our family in August and visit Illinois for the wedding. My momma is here this week for Thanksgiving and in two weeks Nana, Papa, and Aunt Eesha will be here to celebrate an early Christmas. It's a good good year. 

I'm going to go enjoy the family and the holidays. Promise to post pics soon. So I'll just leave you with a few moments of those cute growing kids....

This big preschooler just melts my heart.

We are all adopting to this preschool life ;)

He just loves school! He's learning and growing so much!

And this little stinker will prove to be quite the handful, I think. It's a good thing she's cute ;)

She's doing better than I could have imagined or hoped for at her "school". And it's so sweet to have them both at the same place.

And the two of them together.... Will truly melt your heart.

They love each other SO much. She is basically obsessed with him and follows him around everywhere. And he adores her and has learned to totally tune her out when he's watching his show and she uses him as a jungle gym. 

Lately they've been sitting in the living room watching a show and sharing Cheerios together each morning — it is precious! He hands her a couple at a time and she takes them out of his hand and looks to him like he is just the best. 

Melt. Your. Heart.

I know it won't always be like this -- but I'm going to hold on to this sweet stage that they're in right now. 

It can get a little crazy some evenings - and we don't have nearly enough time together; 

but this life of ours... it's pretty sweet! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slow Down!...

I know it's been a while since I posted. But I refuse to give myself guilt for not keeping up with this blog -- I'm just reminding myself that it's really just my own diary and memory keeper and hopefully the few people (hi mom!) that actually read this thing and keep up with it will stay loyal! ;)


So remember these two babies?

Well, now they are big kids! Oh goodness - Look how big they have gotten! I just can't even! How and why is this happening?

These two are now 3.5yrs and 8mo old! It's been a busy and fun summer - and they have both just grown up so much! So how about a little summer recap?

These two kids turned the big 3-0 over the summer! I don't even know how that happened... Wasn't it just a little while ago we were 21 and getting married!? We sure are blessed!

We also got to take a trip to Illinois for "Aunt Eesha"'s wedding. It was our first family of four trip -- also the first time we drove it, instead of flew.... I don't recommend it!

While there we got the cousins together (my sister had a baby just 3 weeks after O was born!) for a little photo shoot and playtime!





And Olivia got to meet her great-grandmas!

Grayson was the Sign Bearer in the wedding! He did SUCH a good job - he was SO proud of himself walking down the aisle. And why does that tux make him look so grown up!?

The wedding was SO much fun! G flirted with ALL the bridesmaids! And thought Aunt 'Eesha" was a princess. (We had to do silly faces before/after EVERY posed picture!)

We are SO excited to have Uncle Brendan in the family!

Soon after we got home from Illinois - my big kid started Preschool!

Look. At. Him! What!? I catch myself just staring at him or pictures of him and not understanding where the time has flown for him to be this big. My momma heart has gotten so soft!

This sweet boy is doing SO good in preschool. He loves his teacher (so do I!), and mostly loves learning and all his friends.

We are still going through the horrible "threenager" phase -- Ya'll.... I just don't even know what to do some days... But even on the really bad days - his sweet teacher messages me how well-behaved, disciplined and a big helper he is being in his class. So at least he's good at school and church (most the time).

And these two together....

My heart. They are so precious to watch sometimes! I like to steal sweet moments like these and just freeze them! He still adores her - and she is so in love with her big brother! She wants to be near him anytime he's in the same room. He is the only one that can make her laugh and smile on cue. He is her entertainer - and he doesn't mind it one bit. Every day he sits on the floor to watch tv or eat she crawls to him (oh yea, did I mention she full on crawls now!?). She cannot get close enough -- crawls all over him, tries to get in his lap, pulls up and stands holding on to him, pulls his hair, tries to take his food.... constantly.

She is a handful!

Speaking of which -- This girl is growing TOO fast! She is just 8 months old... Crawling, standing and getting into EVERYTHING! Her personality is so different than G's. You tell her "No!" or "Ouch!" and she gets the sneakiest grin and will just laugh at you! I'm already praying for us when she is the "threenager"! She's got such spunk! She is doing everything about 2-3 months sooner than Grayson did, so I'm just not even prepared! Last weekend she tried to climb the first step of our stairs! But that smile.... You can't escape it and you can't not be moved by it. 

(4mo - 7mo)

It was a tough summer with Tony's schedule - So I'm pretty thankful for Fall. (Still wishing Houston had Fall) We are getting excited for all the Fall activities and holidays and family visits! But most of our weeknights end like this.. Feeling pretty blessed.

Life Update

It's been three months since my last post and it's high time I give this poor blog some lovin'! In those three months I have gone back to work (thus the reason for lack of blogging), Olivia has stayed with a nanny during the work days, we have celebrated Easter and Mother's Day and had a Parent Commitment Ceremony for Olivia. Whew! Time is a flyin! How on earth is it half way through the year already!?

Easter

Mother's Day

Parent Commitment Ceremony

So here are some updates....

I'm back to work! I shared some of my anxieties and anxiousness if going back to work with baby #2 vs. staying home with baby #1.... But God is so good to me. He really prepared my heart and gave me joy and excitement in coming back. It definitely helps that I love my job; but the transition back and leaving a baby for the first time was much smoother and easier than I had anticipated. Not once has there been any guilt for leaving or sadness in my workday. With G I had a bout with some baby blues and the transition to staying home....  It's the biggest thing I prayed against during my pregnancy and maternity leave - And God showed up! I haven't been weepy (like I was with G), I came back to work excited and energized. It has been such a great transition. Mind you, there has been one moment (and I know there will be more) that I missed her first milestone and I cried a little (I never missed any of G's firsts)... But I will survive! ;)


Speaking of milestones... my kids are getting SO big! Someone slow down time. Baby O is 4 months old now! We had her 4mo check up on Monday and she is doing great and right on track with stats and development (13.4lbs and 25.5in)

Birth to 3 months

She can roll from tummy to back and just started rolling back to tummy. She babbles SO MUCH. Goodness she is going to be a talker! She has the sweetest smiles and after a horrible first 8 weeks of fussy, she is mostly happy all the time. She has definitely added joy to our family!

And Grayson!.... My little "Threenager" is getting so big! That boy LOVES his baby sister and is such a good big brother! I am so proud of him each day how he is with her and what a big help (most of the time) he is with her. He loves to be a big helper and independent. He helps with chores, picks out his own clothes and mostly dresses himself. While we are definitely going through some tough three's that aren't fun with fits and attitude... I know it's a short season and we will all come through it better people. :)

Helping with dishes

Star Student at school

Latest school picture!

We also did a fun family and newborn photo shoot with the lovely Paige Bolin! Here's a sneak peak, but I'll have those up next along with a new blog header for our family of four! Thanks for sticking with this little blog and I hope to do better at posting! (#workingmomproblems)

One more day...

The day before Grayson arrived, I wrote my last blog post before becoming a mom... Although it was unknowing to me that he would arrive the next day! So, in keeping up with tradition I thought I should blog today before Lady O makes her arrival tomorrow! Also, I just realized it has been an entire month since my last blog post!

Not that I don't have anything to say... It's quite the opposite... I have so many thoughts and emotions and fears and anxieties and excitement of what tomorrow and the next days/weeks brings that I have thought of a thousand different blog posts and drafted up many, but I just can't filter it all out to make any sense or grammatical correctness.  And I still can't! But I documented so many of my feelings when I was pregnant with Grayson, I know that I'd be disappointed later if I didn't get it all out this time around. So... I'm just going to start typing anything that's floating around in my head... It might be one long run-on sentence, so bare with me! ;)

This time around has been so very different. More uncomfortable, more tired, lots more pain... but not just the physical things. I remember being so excited and anxious about becoming a mom. We were finishing seminary and had a lot of unknowns ahead of us, but I felt completely prepared for bringing a baby home to our little apartment. This time, I don't feel that prepared! We are settled with a great church home and jobs, home owners and a nursery - but over and over I keep telling Tony how "not ready" we are.... I keep feeling ill-prepared and I don't know why or how to shake it! This is my second kid - I should feel like I know what I'm doing a little bit more this time around. We have a bigger support system here than we did before and I am SO thankful for all that God has and is doing in our lives the last 2.5 years. 

I had no idea being a mom of a boy could be so amazing! I didn't know it could pull at my heartstrings so much or how emotional it would be. Grayson has turned my world and my heart upside down! I had (have) such a close relationship with my mom. She is my best friend. When I was pregnant with G (before I knew it was a boy) I hoped and envisioned for a little girl. I wanted such a close relationship with my child, and had no idea a little boy could fulfill it. Now I'm having a little girl and I'm so nervous! How will it change my relationship with Grayson? Will she be a daddy's girl and want nothing to do with me? I want so badly to have the same relationship with her as I do my mom, I'm nervous of the expectation I'm putting on it. I don't want Grayson to feel left out or any less because of her arrival. As much as I fear that she won't be as close to me as G is, I cannot wait to see Tony get to be a daddy to a little princess! I anticipate how much his heart will change with a little girl as mine did a little boy. I anticipate a stronger bond for my boys as I have to tend to a baby a little more. I'm excited and fearful and a little sad (all at once) that this time around I'm going back to a job after a few short months. So thankful to have a job and position that I love to make leaving my baby worth while... and at the same time sad that I won't have that time home with her as I did with Grayson. With all that's happened with Grayson and daycares I'm nervous and anxious about finding care for Olivia. Praying to God that He will send the right person for us to welcome into our home to care for our baby to many hours a day. 

And then I have moments of just pure excitement and joy! After a brief moment that I wasn't sure we'd get to expand our family, I am overjoyed and overwhelmed that God is allowing me to have a daughter. Every time I use type or say "daughter" I'm a little giddy with excitement that I get to have one. All the frills and bows and girlyness, of course, but that part of me that is ever so passionate about girls and their worth and beauty is excited to share that with my own. That God is allowing Tony and me to raise a man of God, strong and bold in his faith; and a daughter of the King, worthy and priceless. O, that He would enable us to raise our children up in His ways and use us for His Kingdom. 

.... So that was all the jumbled mess that's been floating around this last month not allowing the words to write a post. Sorry for the word and emotions explosion. ;)

Last night was my last night to put Grayson to bed and cuddle with him as an only child. Tonight he is spending the night at a friends as we have to be at the hospital at 5am tomorrow. And after my c-section I'll be limited from the stairs for a little while and won't be putting him to bed for a week or two. I won't lie, I've been a little weepy about it. More emotional than I expected about how limited I'll be with him and how much I'll miss him the next few days. But come tomorrow we will be a family of four... and as many momma friends have told me - my heart will expand to love this new little one just as much as Grayson. He already loves her and I pray for an easy transition for him and us. Please be praying with and for us. Thank you all for your support and love!

Texan Christmas

We have lived in Texas for 5 Christmases and this year, due to being very pregnant, was the first time we stayed home for Christmas!  While we missed our families terribly, it was exactly what we wanted and needed as our last Christmas as a little family of three before baby girl comes. We are so excited for little one to come and make us a family of four... but in these last weeks I am cherishing and soaking up every little memory making moment as a family of three and with my baby boy while he's still the baby.



I'd like to say that it was peaceful and restful and perfect... but it's real life. ;)  Unfortunately during the Christmas Eve service, Grayson started spiking a temperature. Christmas morning we were so tired... not from "playing santa" and wrapping gifts all night, but from getting up every hour with our sickly little boy and his rising temp. Thankfully it had broken by morning and we had a great time opening presents and playing most the day.

This was our first Christmas Eve service - it was so amazing. Such a beautiful candlelight service celebrating the birth of our Savior. Grayson was so excited to get to go to "big church" for the first time... but he didn't make it through without konking out. :(

And we attempted a Christmas family picture in front of the tree.... But Grayson wasn't feeling very photogenic after his little nap.

 Christmas morning he was feeling better and could not wait to open his presents!

This little only child is so completely blessed! Family shipped all his presents so he could have them Christmas morning.

 He got a doctor's kit and has been doing "check ups" all day! He opened new spider man shoes and had to put them on right away before opening any other present.

 He also got a new baby doll to help him get ready to be a big brother and take care of his "baby inter" and a basketball hoop which has been fun for all of us!

 And if I could brag for a minute.... This guy is amazing! My sweet husband always does so much for his family and works so hard for us - but during this pregnancy especially, he has been going above and beyond in taking care of us. We were all so tired Christmas day from the night before that we all took a nap, but he woke up early to start Christmas dinner, and let me keep sleeping when Grayson woke up. He woke me up with a huge Christmas dinner made by him all while watching and playing with Grayson. He spoils me and I am so blessed!

Now we have 4.5 weeks before baby girl arrives. We have lots to do to get ready for her arrival. Tony gets to be home with Grayson all week while his school is on break. So he has lots to get done for us. And I'll try to leave the house for work and not be jealous every morning next week while they cuddle on the couch and play all day. :)