A little bit of this and that

Wow. It has been so long since I have really sat down and blogged about all the things happening in our life. We have had an eventful month so I will try not to post way too many pictures Although it probably will be…. You have been warned.

We went camping for a long weekend at Lake Jordan. We had fun playing in the water, eating and walking back and forth to the bathroom with a toddler who knows just the right moment to announce… “I have to go potty” (like as soon as the food is set on the table…)

Isaac discovered his feet while we were there… so cute! He is now a foot expert and can play all day with those toes. (remember this trip was a month ago…)

We also learned that Grace is NOT allergic to bees. Although it was not a pleasant experience. Poor girl.. Boppy actually got stung once as well and Daddy got stung twice! We ended up heading back home a day early because I was pretty sure Isaac or I was next on the bees list to sting… and worrying about a toddler having an allergic reaction was stressful – I did not want to be going through worrying about a baby reaction.

All in all it was a great trip. Daddy and Grace played fairy lights with the flash lights and laughed and told stories into the night. (you can ask Uncle Taylor… who was trying to sleep… they really did)

Isaac turned 4 months! He is now 13 lbs 3 oz (or was when we went to the dr 2 weeks ago) He is growing up a storm. Laughing, sitting up assisted in a bumpy or bouncer, cooing back to talk and full full full of smiles this boy!

Just so we can go back and see these first four months and how he has changed!

 

And for the rest of life… a lot of laughter, a lot of pool time, going to museums (usually by myself or with Mimi and Boppy…) I have found that keeping up with the needs to two children is a FULL time job. This means socializing is kind of out of the question, unless we are at an “in home” play date. lol. So most of the time I want to go and experience something I do it solo, or with my trusty grandparent helpers!

Marbles Museum – amazing trip with my two. 

Such laughter with Jake… this was moments before Grace did a diving roll and pretty sure she sprained her ankle.. it took several hours before she could walk on it again. Ice, more ice and resting. Another total Mommy worry moment. I mean serious worry. If it was any day besides a sunday we would have been at the doctor.

Yes she is in his crib… yes she got in there herself. And you now know why I had Grace in the floor bed at 10 months. And why I can’t let them share a room until Isaac can defend himself better

This picture of Grace washing her bike…. oh my goodness it screams summer time to me Uncle Taylor did a great job getting this shot!

My beautiful babies. Notice Isaac sits like a big boy at restaurants in his Hugga Bebe. Those things are AMAZING! I can’t imagine not having had it with either of my kids. Allows those little ones to observe so much more.

Grace in her Elsa Dress “Oh Mommy, I am…. beautiful!” Self esteem… check

Oh that face. How can you not smile? He is seriously the cutest boy ever. He has my heart (and I now understand how Mama’s of boys get so protective. I cm going to have to work on it… because right now I am pretty sure I would tear anyone apart who tried to hurt this guy… unless its Grace and then she would just get time out) hehe

 

Grace being silly with some of her friends! Love these little crazies It is so fun to watch them interacting now that they are older.

4 month appointment. Isaac did great – I was more impressed with how patient Grace was through the whole thing! I usually try and schedule Isaac’s appointments when Grace is at “school” but it didn’t work out this day. Way to go big sis and lil bro!

Actually able to get him to start taking some bm (breast milk) from a bottle. I am thinking I may actually get to leave his side every once in a while! I actually did leave him with Daddy for 2 hours this past weekend, armed with a pre-pumped bottle they were good to go! Daddy played Mr. Mom and Mommy got a relaxing break. aww wonderful.

Isaac and his friend Oliver – they actually share a birthday! Crazy! But Isaac came 3 weeks early, and Oliver was 2 weeks late…. lol.

The beginning attempts at rolling. We get our whole body onto its side and even our bottom is flipped onto our belly. Always when we are trying to watch Grace It won’t be long before that head pops up on its own!

And starting to think about solids… ok really this guy wont be trying any solids until closer to 6 months – but grace is having fun pretending with her play kitchen stuff. Can’t tell if Isaac is going… “hey where is the real stuff?” or “seriously – you are letting the toddler shove this spoon into my mouth? help mommy!” hehe…. oh my amazing sweet wonderful seriously loved boy – you are the second child There are great benefits. Pretty sure I am way more relaxed…. I am actually enjoying the baby stage instead of just wishing it away… but it means every once in a while you will have a giant pretend spoon shoved into your mouth. hehe

Ok – so today has been a real treat. My child went to sleep (nap) without a huge fight… as in she actually laid her head on the pillow and just fell asleep. hallelujah! Nap time has been an every other day occurrence around here. She is still so grumpy by 5 if she does not nap. She needs to nap. But some days it just doesn’t happen. So today was amazing. 2.5 hours to clean the bathroom, research pest control (will get to that one day on here), repaint a little kid table and actually blog. Ok and a lot of random internet reading. Trying each day to make myself slow down and enjoy this day. For this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Even when sometimes that is hard to do.)

Love to each of you.

K

My Blessings

 

I can’t believe it has been 2 weeks since my last post. Life is flying by. I can’t believe July is almost half way over! Where has this year gone? I will try to quickly catch you up on the last two week…. here I go! My Alpha child, my tiny Tink. I feel like I have fewer and fewer pictures of just Grace alone, but I realize it is mostly because she is moving so fast that my pictures are all blurry. hehe. Hopefully these will capture a bit of her.

In the last few months Grace and I have had to say good bye to some of our very sweetest friends. Jobs, family and life have been pulling people to different states around the USA. I feel incredibly blessed to have known the dear friends who have moved away, and even more blessed to still be maintaining friendships with those who have moved on. Getting to exchange great ideas and sending packages back and forth from Florida has been so fun. We could not get her newest ballerina dress off of her for 2 days! It is fun to know that a little piece of our hearts will be in different places around the United States. :)

Playing in the sand at the park with Daddy. Some days this girl sleeps 12-3 and some days its more like 2-5. We have found that on days with a later nap she has trouble going to bed unless she has really gotten out all her energy. After dinner trips to the pool and the park are a must. Even then sometimes she still doesn’t fall asleep until 9. On days she sleeps 12-3 she is ready for bed around 7:30. Funny how each day with an almost 3 year old can be totally interesting and different. Sure does keep us on our toes!

Lots of learning and play dates have also been in store for this girl. We try to get out of the house every day between 9:30-11. Grace has Y-school two days a week, one day a week we go on a field trip with Mimi and Boppy and the other two days we have play dates or go to the library for story time. We also usually get a good hour in the morning when Isaac is sleeping in his crib and Grace and I get one-on-one time. It is so refreshing to spend time just listening to her thoughts and watching her learn new things. I am one lucky Mama.

She continues to amaze me with her eating. It was once such a challenge to get her to eat anything that was not covered in sugar and started with “dessert”. Now she chows down into all kinds of veggies, fruit and protein. She loves when she gets to do her own food prep, cutting eggs up or peeling bananas. She is quite the little miss independent these days.

 

Soccer season! :)

All in all Grace is growing amazingly well. Her vocabulary is through the roof. Her reasoning skills and critical thinking are certainly not the same as most of her peers. She is something special and trying to keep up with her, keeping her engaged, keeping her learning, keeping her safe, it is a full time job. One I am so happy to be entrusted with. <3 I am so proud to call her my daughter.

Isaac Levi. Certainly living up to his name. Laughter and Harmony. This boy smiles so much. He is started to really laugh, like the kind that comes from deep in your belly. You just can’t help but laugh back. It is contagious.

We are finally starting to have more of a consistent daily routine. The differences between being a first time parent and having a second, is unbelievable. lol. Grace was on a daily schedule at 6 weeks, Isaac is pretty much deciding when he wants a schedule and even then he is usually thrown into the car to make it to Grace’s events and outings. It is a good thing he is so flexible :) and smiley!

Isaac is now taking most of his naps in his crib in a sleep sack. His longer nap in the middle of the day and his night time sleep are still in a swaddle in the monkey swing. Most nights he wakes up only once around 4, however on nights when he gets up more often…. we are all pretty exhausted the next day. Yes the above picture is of me passed out… while Isaac nurses. Definitely something that would have NEVER happened with Grace, but these days I have to get the sleep where I can. :)

We also purchased Isaac a high chair this month. He is ready to start sitting with us at meals. He loves that he can watch Grace from across the table and is up  high enough that he is very safe from toddler hands.

Basically I is just going along life doing his Bubsi things. I am so continually amazed by his calm, loving, sweet little personality. He is the perfect harmony to add to this family. I am so lucky to call him my son. <3

Life is better when these two are together. Taking baths, reading books, sucking thumbs or just laughing our hearts out. Grace is the worlds best big sister. She is a huge helper and watches out for her little brother. Isaac is nothing but totally amazed by his big sister. He watches her, smiles at her, wants to be just like her. They are two peas in a pod. A duo.

So basically I am just in a moment of thankfulness. Thankful for these two giant blessings God has given me. Working on my continuing patience with myself and leaning into love and joy each day. It is hard work to stay on the right track, but this life we are making is so worth it. <3 And all the people said amen.