7 Months

You are growing so fast sweet boy! Each month you seem to be filled with more joy than the last.  We LOVE hearing you giggle!  I love making you smile from across the room and seeing your ENTIRE face light up!  You are the sweetest little bitty boy!  Right now, bedtime is your gigglefest...which is funny because getting bathed and the moments before are your most cranky moments. As I get closer to being home with you every day, I think about the blessing that it is to get to watch you and your sister grow.  I'm so grateful that you two have each other to spend your days with.  I looked at you the other night before bed and my heart was just bursting with love and the feeling of joy that I get to watch you grow and learn.  You are everything I ever wanted and never knew I was missing.  Thank you Lord for this blessing!

My Little Explorer

Last week my class threw me an end of year party because I'm staying home next year.  We had so much fun, and they gave me a huge gift basket filled with fun things to do with Emmy and Easton.  On Friday afternoon after dinner, I showed Emerson one of the gifts because I knew she would adore it.  We were about to go on our family nature walk, so it was the perfect time to get out the bug home.  What a reaction! She instantly clutched onto it and began searching for ladybugs to call it home!  We ended the weekend with three little friends calling it home. I hope you never stop exploring and loving the outdoors.  When beauty and image become evident in your little world, I pray that you learn to love the explorer that you are.  I hope you always feel like running around outside barefoot, looking for bugs and seeing everything God made as beautiful, all while wearing your hair up in a messy ponytail and getting dirty.  You are my heart little one.  I love you so much!

6 Months

Wow, in some ways yes, 6 months.  In others, it's more like wait, 6 months?!?!  Sweet boy, you are the period to our family.  The person that was missing.  We ADORE you.  You bring so much joy to our family.  Your sister is your fiercest protector.  She loves to help me pacify you and will be the first to run in your room after a nap to say "I'm here Easton, I'm here!"  We are so blessed to call you ours.  We hope you feel the same.

A few 6 month facts:

• Eating 6 ounces every 3 hours.  Sometimes less, sometimes less than 3 hours...but mostly that.
• Sleeping so well!  Once I write that, you'll for sure be up 6 times tonight.  Sleep training you was the best thing we did and the best gift we've given you to help get the rest you so need.
• First food: on the morning you turned six months you ate avocadoes.  Your reaction was pretty stellar compared to your sister's back in her time.  Momma's going to be more persistent in making you give each food a chance.  I'm holding off on the sweet stuff this time, because let's face it-we know you'll love those.  Up next: peas, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  
• First tooth!  You cut your first bottom tooth on the day you turned 6 months!  The past few days had been rough and only tylenol helped.  Your doctor said you had about 3-4 more days before it popped out this morning at your 6 month well check, but you had your own plan.  You woke up SCREAMING from your afternoon nap and sure enough, it was poking out.  You sure know how to mark a milestone!  There is one more right next to this one that is next...any day now.  I sure hope you have some relief once they break through and that every other one doesn't bother you as much as these have.
• Haircuts: you've had 3!  Today on the day you turned 6 months, daddy gave you another one!  Daddy is even going to invest in some clippers that can do the job better.  You have lots of hair big guy!
• Personality: you're much quieter than your sister for the most part...but you get sing-songy when we least expect it and you will just coo and ahhh and babble for minutes at a time.  You smile ALL THE TIME which we love.  You can even smile AND fuss at the exact same time.  That's talent.
• You're close to sitting up on your own...but more tummy time and practice for sure.
• We had to raise the activity center up a notch...you're getting so tall! Every day you become more engaged in holding, grabbing, chewing, and spinning the things that go around on the center.

You are the most perfect boy for us that ever was.  Each day you show us more of who you are and we are in LOVE.  Thank you God for the deepest blessing!

I have to remember...

To let go and let my children take the lead sometimes.  This lesson was so evident this afternoon.  I was looking back at pictures Tony took of Emerson and I dying eggs.  I remember her frustration in the moment-she wanted to use the beater to spread the food coloring around in the shaving cream before dying the eggs.  I hesitated to let her do it because I was afraid it wouldn't turn out "right."  Looking back at the pictures before I gave in, she was just watching-no fun, just watching.  When I gave in and gave her the reins to take the lead and explore, she lit up.  I never would have really seen the difference had the camera not been there.  Lesson learned...

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Life with two littles leaves little down time (duh, goes without saying).  Right now, I try to keep my phone with me at all times to capture all the memories that happen day to day.  Lots of times we make it to the end of the day and I look back at my pictures and remember all the little things to tell Tony about or just smile and let out a deep sigh.  I'm learning how to use my big camera, but the two of us don't have an intimate relationship yet that I can count on to help me get that shot.  Here are some things I don't want to ever forget.

 The way she looks with her hair all piled up on her head at the end of a busy day.

 Her love of art and her brother.  She will bring it all to him to be near to him and help me keep him content while I get dinner on the table.  He's fascinated by her!

 Chalk dust on face, red cheeks from playing outside, and a band-aid for a scrape, all while coloring in the car on the way home from a day at Grandma's.  To  me-this is the perfect picture of her childhood.  Reminds me of me when I was little.

 Simple happiness sliding on a sunny day with her bug catcher in her hand (empty playdoh container).  I love her imagination!

 I want those daddy!  Her love of flowers and her father.  They are quite the pair.

 The two men in my life.  I'm so blessed that he will have such a strong male role model as his rock.

 Spring mornings in the wheelbarrow following daddy along in search of the perfect native flowers for our gardens.

 First trip to Whole Foods downtown with Easton.  My little troopers!

 This describes her love for him.  So happy to part with prized flowers found along the way of her day to give to her daddy.

Her love of ice cream and SPRINKLES!

Easton's first time in the swing.  His sister was so excited to share this moment with him.  

 All dressed up and her love to stay home.

 Caught this only because I had my phone and they were so engrossed in each other.  I never want to forget that delicate balance of bath time/dinner time/quiet play time at the end of a work day as we wait for daddy to come home.  She began this ritual of running to him to be with him and soothe his sometimes fussiness after being wrapped up in a towel fresh from the bath.  This time I caught it, but I've been lucky enough that it's a routine in our home.

 Such a solid daddy and the best guys around. Our Spring Friday night ritual.

 My hardworking gardener in his zone.  

I never want to forget how she can do art for hours at this age.  "Mommy will you color with me?" is a phrase heard often around here.  This was her drawing of the ferris wheel she rode two weeks ago.  Pretty darn accurate for a three year old if you ask me.

Life is busy, filled with day-to-day moments and routines, but together they are the sum of our lives.  I never want to forget those fleeting "normals" because I was too busy to stop and take it in and document it.

She's 3, He's here, and Life is really good!

In 2013 life really changed for our family.  We sold our first home (after several near sells!), moved in with my mom and grandma, found out I was pregnant with #2, began building our next home, started my seventh year of teaching, Tony went back to the company that hired him out of college, Emmy started preschool, moved into our new home, welcomed our sweet boy into the world, left the world of diapers for E, and adjusted to life as a family of four.  Whew...exhausted just thinking about all the change.

There were many moments where I doubted our choices...doubted myself...doubted our plan...doubted HIS plan...but we made it to the other side smiling.  Life is in a great place right now and I'm striving to find the beauty in each day.  It's not always calm, not always pretty, and not always easy..at all.  But it's always worth it. 2014 brought a chance for me to test my strength as a momma of two. We decided I will stay home after this school year.  These people are my world.  And it's a beautiful one at that.

So Many Updates!

First and foremost: we're having a sweet baby boy! Due in October, we're so excited and blessed! Emerson is very excited to be a big sister. I'll thank Max and Ruby for the help on that one. ;)

Next: we sold our first home. It was our dream home when we first got married and was filled with lots of wonderful memories and firsts, but it wasn't the best fit for our family. We put it on the market in October and after three near-sells we finally sold it to a family from Florida. We signed a contract to build our family friendly dream home that should be finished by the end of the summer. Just in time for nesting, a new addition, and the holidays!

This little girl is getting so big! She will always be my baby, but this baby is growing into a sharp little girl. Her vocabulary and imagination blow us away. At 2 1/2 she is speaking in complex sentences, able to recognize nearly her entire capital alphabet, lots of the lowercase ones, and knows most numbers to ten. This is just for my own memory purposes when #2 comes around. I'm not expecting this to happen quite so early with Easton, I just want to be able to remember when Emmy hit those milestones. I read back on my blog for the other milestones that I was able to include on here to jog my memory.

This wonderful man took a job back at the design firm that hired him out of college. He loved the job he was at, and wasn't looking to leave, but The Lord heard our most recent prayers and goals and an amazing opportunity presented itself that he couldn't pass up both professionally and for our family. I'm so incredibly proud of his skill, determination, and professional reputation. He is a solid man that's for sure.

More to come later!