12 March 2011
ava photos
Ava's sweet Auntie Em took these absolutely adorable pictures in honor of our baby girl turning 3 months old. Ava cooperated with her smiles and worked the camera while Emily and I had fun playing dress-up with her for the first time. Thanks, sister!! You totally captured her sweetness and her precious toes with your camera!
Levi Love
Levi, our second born little man,
You are one pretty special kid. You are physical and coordinated. Your vocabulary blows me away. You have a temper than can strike out of nowhere. You love to sing. You teach yourself new things daily. You do a really good job of keeping up with your big brother.
You have recently turned into a pretty cuddly and loving kid, kissing and hugging when you normally would fight it.
And, you love your sister. You love to talk to her and make her laugh. You bring your very favorite, I mean, very favorite blankie down every morning and tuck her in with such tenderness while she plays on her playmat. You hold your mousie up above her face and laugh when she grabs the tail....
You are a delight. I can't wait to know you more.
Of course I can zip up my own jacket, Mommy.....I just figure these things out on my own to make your life easier ;-)
You are one pretty special kid. You are physical and coordinated. Your vocabulary blows me away. You have a temper than can strike out of nowhere. You love to sing. You teach yourself new things daily. You do a really good job of keeping up with your big brother.
You have recently turned into a pretty cuddly and loving kid, kissing and hugging when you normally would fight it.
And, you love your sister. You love to talk to her and make her laugh. You bring your very favorite, I mean, very favorite blankie down every morning and tuck her in with such tenderness while she plays on her playmat. You hold your mousie up above her face and laugh when she grabs the tail....
You are a delight. I can't wait to know you more.
Of course I can zip up my own jacket, Mommy.....I just figure these things out on my own to make your life easier ;-)07 March 2011
an extra measure of grace
This time around I had a pregnancy friend. A friend that grew her baby girl with me, a friend that offered encouragement, understood every stretch and ache and pain, shared every joyful kick, and was able to lament with me as our girlish figures swelled with baby glow.
One day as I was fighting back tears of inadequacy, she reached out to me with the best encouragement a friend could offer (especially one that was getting ready to add #5 to her brood):
This was just what I needed to hear in response to my tearful, fearful thoughts..."What on earth would I do with a 3rd baby when I was so burnt out with 2?" "What if this baby girl screamed as much as #2?" "How would I get out of the house with 3 kids?" "How would I stay in the house with 3 kids?" "How will I break up fights between the 2 boys when I am nursing on the couch?" "How will I make breakofast, lunch, dinner while I am nursing?" "How will our marriage survive a 3rd baby?" "What were we thinking??"
Well, I started to pray for this extra measure of grace....I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to meet me where I was at. And I am so humbled at how God has answered those prayers in such sweet, tangible ways. I don't know how else to explain the {mostly} smooth transition to 3 kids. I don't know how else to explain the transformation in my boys. I don't know how else to explain the strengthening of our marriage in the midst of sleepless nights. Lord, forgive me for doubting your grace and thank you for meeting me where I am time and time again.
Here are just a few of these very tangible ways:
** Mason, who was unable to buckle himself in the 3rd row of the minivan, figured it out.
** After spending the entire month before baby fighting and screaming and not sharing, they miraculously discovered they can play TOGETHER and that they can be FRIENDS during the day.
** Mason and Levi can brush their own teeth, put on their pajamas and go to bed without me sitting in the chair in their room for an hour.
** Levi started zipping his own winter jacket.
** The boys can pick out mostly matching clothes and get dressed by themselves.
** They can both use the bathroom without help....including wiping.
** They are not jealous of Ava in the least....they love to love on her.
These things may seem like small things, but to a nursing momma of a new baby, these are HUGE milestones. And, I can't begin to tell you how suddenly these changes took place after Ava's arrival. And I can't begin to tell you how much these things have helped in the smooth transition to a family of 5. Of course, there are so many more ways God has met my needs: No post-partum depression, a laid back baby, a good nurser, a caring, helpful husband with a much easier work schedule, a supportive family and church family and the best friends on earth, meals for a month...I could go on and on and on.
It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses for this season of life:
One day as I was fighting back tears of inadequacy, she reached out to me with the best encouragement a friend could offer (especially one that was getting ready to add #5 to her brood):
"The Lord pours out an extra measure of grace with the third baby."
This was just what I needed to hear in response to my tearful, fearful thoughts..."What on earth would I do with a 3rd baby when I was so burnt out with 2?" "What if this baby girl screamed as much as #2?" "How would I get out of the house with 3 kids?" "How would I stay in the house with 3 kids?" "How will I break up fights between the 2 boys when I am nursing on the couch?" "How will I make breakofast, lunch, dinner while I am nursing?" "How will our marriage survive a 3rd baby?" "What were we thinking??"
Well, I started to pray for this extra measure of grace....I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to meet me where I was at. And I am so humbled at how God has answered those prayers in such sweet, tangible ways. I don't know how else to explain the {mostly} smooth transition to 3 kids. I don't know how else to explain the transformation in my boys. I don't know how else to explain the strengthening of our marriage in the midst of sleepless nights. Lord, forgive me for doubting your grace and thank you for meeting me where I am time and time again.
Here are just a few of these very tangible ways:
** Mason, who was unable to buckle himself in the 3rd row of the minivan, figured it out.
** After spending the entire month before baby fighting and screaming and not sharing, they miraculously discovered they can play TOGETHER and that they can be FRIENDS during the day.
** Mason and Levi can brush their own teeth, put on their pajamas and go to bed without me sitting in the chair in their room for an hour.
** Levi started zipping his own winter jacket.
** The boys can pick out mostly matching clothes and get dressed by themselves.
** They can both use the bathroom without help....including wiping.
** They are not jealous of Ava in the least....they love to love on her.
These things may seem like small things, but to a nursing momma of a new baby, these are HUGE milestones. And, I can't begin to tell you how suddenly these changes took place after Ava's arrival. And I can't begin to tell you how much these things have helped in the smooth transition to a family of 5. Of course, there are so many more ways God has met my needs: No post-partum depression, a laid back baby, a good nurser, a caring, helpful husband with a much easier work schedule, a supportive family and church family and the best friends on earth, meals for a month...I could go on and on and on.
It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses for this season of life:
He tends his flock like a shepard:
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart;
He gently leads those who have young.
Isaiah 40:11
I love the visual this produces in my mind's eye, snuggled in the safest place possible. I love the word 'gently' ... that is so what I need each hour of each day: gentle leading. And the very thought that the Master of the Universe is offering this to little old me. There are so many times when I try to rush ahead of this gentle leading or think that I can lead our family in my own strength with my own ideas. But when I step back, let Him gather me up and carry me close to His heart and submit to His gentle leading...what a difference.
And so, when a mom of 2 approached my kiddos and me at the zoo last week and asked, "Honestly, how is the transition to 3?", instead of going into a long drawn-out response about the ups and downs and such, I should have just replied, "Do you have Jesus? Because, honestly, I couldn't imagine how I would do it without Him."
06 March 2011
The Cousins Come to Town
The cousins were in town for a good 10 day stretch--10 days of no-napping fun! There was lots of playing and crying and snacks and adventuring. We took a field trip to Trader Joe's and the zoo's Rainforest. Gram read lots of books. The boys had lots of fun together, pulling toys out of the playroom and stuffing them into our teeny tiny bathroom {their firehouse} or under the kitchen table {to keep them from getting 'soggy' in the storm} or in Mason's top bunk {to practice their heavy lifting}. They dressed up as super heroes. They played outside in the mud. They rode bikes out front. Ava went with the flow and starred in an Aunt Emily photo shoot for her 3-month pics...can't wait to see the results.
I have never made this many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in one week! It was a fun time filled with lots of memories {most of which are on Emily's camera}.
hot cocoa & popcorn after playing in the mud
Grams' Story Hour
Aunt Emily & Ava-Girl
I have never made this many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in one week! It was a fun time filled with lots of memories {most of which are on Emily's camera}.
hot cocoa & popcorn after playing in the mud
Grams' Story Hour
Aunt Emily & Ava-Girl
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