Strawberries, Trains and Ready for Summer

Strawberry Picking. Yum Yum. I have such great memories from taking my sweet girl strawberry picking last year and this year was no different. Grace still managed to consume as many strawberries in the field as we took home! Next year I can just imagine that we will have two kids running through the rows and leaving with red faces and red fingers. <3

So I am pretty much totally smitten with my two children. They are undeniably the most special gift God has given me and even in every moment I attempt to find the humor and joy. Grace is certainly in on of those stages - a stage of testing the limits. If I say “Keep your hands to yourself” She will go over and touch whatever it is with her foot… you have to love the creativity of this kid. She tries new ways to do things I would have never thought of.

Isaac is still in his eat, burp, poop, look around, give a little smile, sleep, repeat, phase of life and I absolutely love it! I am trying to suck in as much of the snuggly little baby as I can, because he is already showing a few signs of being as spirited and “creative” as his amazing sister. <3

Ballet class is still a huge excitement. Every Tuesday we wake up talking about Ballet and we go to sleep still dancing. I love watching her engage in class and follow directions. Isaac is also enjoying ballet. Mostly the music… which does an amazing job putting him right to sleep. <3

It finally got warm enough to break out the pool! Grace enjoyed swimming in her little blue pool in Mimi and Boppy’s back yard. I also enjoyed using their grill to cook up some delicious pork chops!

Isaac continues to work on tummy time each day. It is amazing how strong he is already getting. He can change his head from one side to the other and hold it off the ground for a few seconds. He also loves to kick at things that make sounds. Grace began working on potty training this week. Monday she decided she would rather wear underwear. That combined with a sticker chart which resulted in some awesome toys when completed and what do you know! The girl has had one accident in 7 days (which of course happened at a friends house…. sorry about that). I attached a picture of her strapping her own sandals. She is pretty independent these days.

Isaac is starting to smile more and more. Most of the time they are still pretty reflexive… however we have had a few times recently where it is in response to something we are doing. Watching your son smile for the first few times… that is amazing. He is also learning how to take a bottle. I am starting to pump at night and have Isaac practice taking it from someone else – hoping someday to be able to leave him with grandparents or at church for more then an hour or so between feedings.

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And we celebrated Grace being a sister for 6 WHOLE WEEKS and Isaac being alive 6 WHOLE WEEKS by….

NATIONAL TRAIN DAY! Yes apparently it really is a thing. We met up with Mimi, Boppy and Taylor for a morning of fun and excitement. We walked on the old – no longer used - train tracks.

We played in a bouncy house, listened to the band play, played corn hole, slept (ok just Isaac) and played with train tables.

We waited to see the real train pull into the station… which we were really excited about at first and then after waiting about 45 seconds we were pretty done with. hehe. However 3 minutes later when the train really did come it was a huge hit! She loved seeing the conductor come out and wave to us.

After that it was time to ride the little blue train back for our picnic lunch and then head home for nap time.

After nap we went to our apartment pool to cool off. Another nice thing about living in an apartment… free swimming pool within a short walking distance!

Loving the summer weather. xoxo

Happy 1 Month Bubsi!

Happy One Month Isaac! I can’t believe it has already been a month, and yet it also feels like you have been here forever. <3 Things I have learned about parenting in the last month. 1. I actually can and am good at breast feeding. Ok really its Isaac who is good…. but after my continual struggles with having a first born who did not want to put on weight, or eat in general, it has been so relaxing this time around to have a kid who wants to and LOVES to eat! Thank you for that gift. 2. There really is no perfect way, to do anything. You continually try your best and go with whatever works for that moment. Understanding fully that the same thing probably wont work five minutes from now, and that is ok too. 3. I am enjoying each moment… because it will be the last time I will ever experience having a baby this small. Smell those sweet baby smells, laugh when the poop and pee go everywhere, and fold that laundry every day with gratitude, because those teeny tiny clothes, they get big so quickly…

The run down on little man. We went to his regular doctor appointment and he is doing fabulous. I actually had no questions for the doctor this week – shocker! and after giving him a thorough check up they gave him a thumbs up and said see you in a month! He is now 20 3/4 inches and weighs in at a HUGE 9lbs 3oz… although we are pretty sure from our home scale he is up to 9lbs 10oz as of yesterday! It is so funny because yes other people see him and he still appears to be tiny, but for us, Grace wasn’t 10 lbs until 4  months… so to have a baby that close to 10 lbs and not even 6 weeks – WOW! He is just growing up a storm.We also had his hearing evaluation this week. Talk about 2 hours in a tiny sweaty room hoping a baby would stay perfectly still and not make a sound. It was an interesting experience, and I am sure he would have been the cutest baby with a hearing aid, but prayers were answered and we wont be going that route. Isaac tested perfectly in both his ears and has no sign of fluid! Apparently there was fluid in his mid ear which was blocking the sound from getting back, but it drained on its own. Thank you God! Grace helps me make sure we get in Isaac’s play pat time and tummy time each day. She is fabulous and setting out his toys and seeing that he gets his proper play in so that someday he will be big enough to play with her. She tells him “You are still little but you are growing!” hehe

The run down on Tink. Ballet has started again and she continues to love dancing around the house and class as a tiny ballerina. We have continued modifying our diet and her diet to include less sugar and carbs and more protein, veggies and fruit. Grace is finally getting to the point where the first thing she asks for is not a sandwich, although she did ask for pasta this morning, lol. We have noticed a huge difference in both her and our ability to sleep, consistent energy levels instead of high highs and low lows, and just general calmness .(Which is fantastic to have even 50% of the time with a 2.5 year old!) Her imagination is blowing us away. We often have pink sea horses swimming in our water glasses, that we can swallow and will make our tummy’s dance. There is also a purple unicorn that apparently runs through our house and is often out on the porch waiting for her. I don’t remember having such a vivid imagination as a kid, but I sure am enjoying the amazing mind God gave my daughter. I could sit and watch her play for hours… and I do. <3

As for other news, this week has had some major emotional ups and downs. We hit the big 6 month mark this week. 6 months of our new life, 6 months since I woke up and really started following Jesus, all the time, not just when it was convenient. 6 months of living, really living, not taking a moment for granted and realizing how special life is. It also means we are having to really start looking at forgiveness. My forgiveness of him. His forgiveness of his childhood. What does it all mean? How does it look to really let go and move on? Am I still holding on to anything or have I truly given it to God? Someone said and I love this, that forgiveness and restoration are two different things. Forgiveness we must do, we are forgiven so we must forgive. Restoration on the other hand is a choice. I decided to restore my marriage. To work and see what was left and if it could be saved. To see if trust could ever fully be restored. It is hard. Restoration is hard – its work daily. Giving up control to God is one of the most paralyzing and yet exhilarating things I have ever done and I do it on a daily basis… but that is what makes my God so amazing. The fact that I know, no matter what happens in life, what circumstances I may find myself in, He will always be there and He will always find a way to make it into a beautiful story. God is not finished with me yet.