Joyful Adorations

Who Knew?

2012-02-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

That ginormous cardboard boxes could give

so much joy and fun!

Happy Friday!

Midweek Randoms

2012-02-08T22:14:00.000-06:00

The adult orchestra that Jacob conducts threw him a little baby shower after rehearsal last night. It was so sweet and really made us feel special.

My heart has been so burdened for a local friend who just delivered her baby at 28 weeks because of pre-eclampsia. Sweet baby Reagan weighs 1lb 15ozs and is doing as well as can be expected. They have a long road ahead of them.

Another real-life friend just delivered a precious baby boy with a heart condition. His first open-heart surgery was yesterday, at only 4 days old. You can read more about baby Martin and his family on their blog.

Everyday my children make me laugh, make me love being their mama, and completely wear me out.

Today we went to the park but only got to play a little while because it turned windy and cold. It was fun to get out of the house though!

If you had been driving past my house around 3pm you would've gotten a good laugh. I wrote a note to a friend, got the stamp on it and was about to run it out to the mailbox when I heard Lily awake from her nap. I went and got her, came back to the living room, and glimpsed the mailman pulling away from our mailbox! Of course he would be early today! I grabbed the card and bolted out of the house to chase him down. Yes, my 36 1/2 week preggo self and carrying a 2 year old was tearing across the yard. Thankfully the mailman saw me and waited...but I'm sure I was a sight to behold! HA!

I was going through my recipes looking for some more freezer-friendly ideas and both Lily and Levi wanted to help.

I'm so thankful for my husband who works so hard to provide for me and the children!

Isaiah 41:10 was an encouragement to me today. "I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness."

Chalk and Colored Rice

2012-02-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

Today was a pretty good day. I'm still feeling a little under the weather, but you know, mama's can't call in sick, so we just keep plugging away. Jacob's Pawpaw came to visit for a little bit this morning. He is so precious! He loved seeing Levi walking and the kids had fun doing ride little horsey with him.

Jacob had a break for lunch, so we went out to a yummy BBQ restaurant. Levi played peek-a-boo with a lady across the room and Lily sporadically sang Away In A Manger (quite loudly) throughout the meal. There is never a dull moment with our kids! Ha.

After lunch we went to Old Navy to use a $10 off $20 coupon that was about to expire. I was planning to get some post-baby comfy clothes, but sadly, that didn't happen. They didn't have the lounge pants I was wanting to get and it's just kind of hard for me to pick out clothes when I'm in a hurry. Jacob ended up getting some workout pants and we scored Lily and Levi each an outfit off the clearance rack for this summer.

Our wonderful mother's helper came for several hours this afternoon. She played with the kids outside nearly the entire time! Levi obviously loved the chalk and got himself completely covered in it. Lily had a good time "cooking" with her colored rice.

We are already looking forward to spending many spring and summer days outside enjoying the beautiful weather!

Rough Weekend

2012-02-06T20:38:00.001-06:00

First off - Yes, I'm getting a blog makeover, but it's not finished yet. I really like it so far and I can't wait until it's done!

We had a pretty crazy weekend. On Friday night, I started having sinus pressure (after struggling on and off all week with a cold) and my right ear got clogged up. Within an hour, I was in horrible pain and felt like my eardrum was going to burst. I tried a bunch of home remedies, and got mild relief. Jacob got home from symphony rehearsal around 11:00 and put garlic oil drops in my ear, massaged it, got the heating pad to put on it, basically took really good care of me! Around midnight he went to Walgreen's and got some earache drops. They helped some - enough for me to be able to sleep a few hours. I woke up around 3:00 and couldn't go back to sleep because of the pain. At 4:00 I put some colloidal silver in my ear and (on a whim) a whole garlic clove. Within 30 minutes I had no more pain! Amazing! I went back to sleep til about 6:00.

I felt pretty good all day Saturday. Jacob was gone a good part of the day, so the kids and I played a lot. Lily wanted to color so let Levi try coloring for the first time. He did such a good job! I was really glad he didn't try to eat the crayons too much.

Sunday morning I was feeling ok, but as the day went on, the sinus pressure started getting really bad. By afternoon I felt like my head was going to blow up. My midwife called in an antibiotic for me and I've been feeling so much better today. I am so thankful!

Levi is such a mess! He's wearing an outfit my brothers wore when they were little.

Today we've had a good day at home. We just got out the legos that the kids got for Christmas. They have spent so much time playing with them! It's so fun watching them learn and play.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Life Today

2012-02-02T23:28:00.000-06:00

I thought Lily was in her room playing late this afternoon, but when I went in to check on her about 30 minutes later, I found her sound asleep in her rocker. So sweet.

Levi's been extremely emotional the last couple days. I don't know if he senses that something big is about to change in our home, or what. I think he's teething, and he's getting over a cold, but he has just been very clingy to me. If I even begin to leave his sight, he melts into tears and runs after me as fast as he can...usually falling and ending up crying worse. I'm hoping this is just a little phase he's going through - not that I don't love the extra snuggles, but a little less crying would help this mama's nerves! ha.

We usually go out to eat once a week, either lunch or supper, depending on Jacob's schedule. We rotate between Panera, Five Guys, and Mexican because we can get our food quickly and it's not expensive. The last few weeks when Lily hears us talking about going out to eat, she'll start begging to go to Five Guys. It is her favorite place ever. So tonight we ate there and then went to a frozen yogurt joint for a special treat. It was so fun! There was nobody else there and we let the kids run around and play on the fun chairs. They had a blast! Jacob and I sat watching them and talking about how we can't believe that we're going to have another baby in just a few weeks. Haha.

Have a great weekend!

25 months

2012-02-02T08:08:00.001-06:00

Lily is growing up so quickly! She is such a big helper to me. Here are a few things I want to remember -

We were reviewing Lily's catechism questions the other night while getting her jammies on - Me: "Where did God put Adam after he made him?" Lily: (very matter of factly) "In the bathroom."

A few nights ago while I was rocking Lily before bed, I told her that she needed to go right to sleep so mama could get in bed and sleep to grow the baby in her tummy. Last night, out of the blue, Lily said that she needed to get to sleep and grow the baby in her tummy.

She loves to listen to music! We really want to get a cd player for her room so she can listen to music during quiet time.
She loves playing with her dolls, play kitchen, and dress up stuff.
Helping me kitchen is one of her favorite things. Whenever I'm in the kitchen she comes and pulls up a stool and starts helping.

Lately she's enjoyed playing with play-doh.
She's getting molars, so she chews on everything.

This picture was at one of my little brother's basketball games. She insisted on wearing her necklaces and crocs. Such a stinker!

13 months

2012-01-30T22:34:00.000-06:00

I'm still trying to comprehend that Levi is a 1 year old! I have people ask me how old he is, and I have to think about it before I answer. In a way it seems like just yesterday that he was my newborn, and now he's about it be a big brother! In a different way, it seems like he's been part of our family forever. Crazy how that works.

This boy is busy, busy, busy.
He started walking on 1/16/2012.

He is an explorer.
He will sit and play by himself for up to 45 minutes at a time.

He is usually a very happy boy!
He's a mama's boy all the way.

He weighs about 20 pounds, wears size 9-12 month clothes, and size 2 shoes. Yes, his feet are short and chunky!
He loves to eat! He still takes a bottle in the morning and one at bedtime. He eats 3 good meals each day and has 1-2 snacks. He's not too picky so far. The only thing he doesn't really like is cold cheese, but if it's melted on toast or a quesadilla, he loves it.

We are continuing to see improvement in his eyes. He usually only pulls his glasses off when he's tired or frustrated.
He is beginning to show a little temper. If he doesn't get his own way, he'll arch his back and pitch a fit. If we sit him on the floor and he wants to be held, he'll throw himself back and hit his head on the floor. Definitely showing his depravity! ha.

He and Lily play well most of the time, although Levi knows how to annoy Lily and he also tries to take whatever she is playing with. Little Stinker!
He loves playing outside and going to the park.

Playing with Lily's dress-up stuff is one of his favorite things! So funny!
He can clearly say mama, dada (not on command), sissy, hannah (our babysitter), uh-huh, and lots of animal sounds.

If we call him, he will come to us. If we tell him to pick something up and give it to us, he will do that - for example, he always likes to throw his bib on the floor when he's done eating. After we wipe him up and get him down, we'll say, "bring mama your bib" and he'll go over, pick it up, and bring it to us.
He loves sitting on the potty chair in the bathroom. NO, we are not potty training! Yes, that is a baby doll potty in the picture beside Lily's potty. Ha!

We are so thankful for this precious boy. It's amazing to look back over the last year and see how much he's been through and how much he's grown. We thank the Lord for preserving his life when he was so sick with RSV and Pneumonia last year, and we praise God that he is growing and developing properly even though we were told to expect issues with him. The Lord is faithful!

Our Weekend in Phone Pictures

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

On Friday Levi and I woke up with the crud Lily had earlier in the week. I really haven't felt too bad, but poor Levi just wanted to lay around with his blanket. He stayed in his jammies all day and napped more than usual.

Sweet boy was just supposed to be having "quiet time" while I took a shower and he fell asleep. He always sleeps in the funniest positions!

Fresh homemade bread. One loaf went in the freezer and the other we've been gobbling up. It's sooo good! I used this recipe.

Lily loves watching Christy Jordan from SouthernPlate.com do her storytime videos. You should definitely check them out!

14 cups of chicken stock for the freezer!

On Friday afternoon and Saturday Jacob was gone to Franklin, TN with a group from church for a conference about the lives and ministry of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. He forgot to take a Redbox movie back before he left town, so the kids and I hopped in the car to return it. Lily insisted on wearing her sunglasses (like mama) and her mittens (even though it was 60 degrees outside!). Funny girl!

We went grocery shopping on Saturday morning and then played outside waiting for Jacob to get home. Lily had fun picking up a bunch of sticks.

Random belly picture. I posted a pregnancy update here if you missed it. I can't believe how soon we're going to be meeting our little guy!

Happy Monday!

35 weeks

2012-01-29T15:41:00.000-06:00

35 weeks with Baby #3

Ack! Only 5 weeks left (give or take a few days)! I can't believe how fast the days are flying by! I'm so thankful for the energy I'm continuing to have - although Levi and I started coming down on Friday with the crud that Lily had earlier in the week, so I haven't felt like doing much since then.

It's fun to see the long to-do list being whittled down slowly but surely! This past week I got the car cleaned out (that was a huge job! I can't believe how much stuff we accumulate in there!), the big freezer cleaned out, the lower kitchen cabinets, dishwasher, and oven wiped down, some mending done, several meals and miscellaneous stuff into the freezer, and the top of Lily's closet cleaned out.

My goal is to have all the to-do list completed in the next three weeks so in the last two weeks before baby I can do "fun stuff." Like getting a haircut, buying some comfy after-baby clothes (I've done this with each pregnancy and it's nice to just have something new that's comfy and cute since we'll have a lot of visitors at the house), and maybe getting a pedicure.

I've been having lots of contractions the last few days as well as a lot of pressure. The baby is still moving all the time too. I love feeling him moving everywhere!

It is definitely getting harder for the kids to sit in my lap comfortably. When we read and rock, they prefer to sit beside me instead of in my lap. It is kind of nice though to have a little shelf to hold them on when I carry them. Ha!

Cup Towers

2012-01-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

Who knew plastic cups could keep a little girl occupied for quite awhile?

Seriously, who needs toys when you have odds and ends to play with?

I love seeing little ones being creative and learning how things work.

Daddy even joined in and had fun building towers!

Midweek Randoms

2012-01-24T22:31:00.001-06:00

Sweet Lily has not been feeling well since Sunday - yucky cough and runny nose. Her favorite thing to do is have "quiet time" on our bed with her baby doll, dress up stuff, and books. She seemed some better today, so I'm hoping she's on the mend.
It has been so warm the last couple days! We went to the park today and played outside in the yard this afternoon. So fun!

I splurged tonight and had my favorite snack! Oh how good it was! I haven't been eating a lot of chocolate lately because it seems to give me indigestion when I'm pregnant. Thankfully it didn't cause a big flare up.
I made these Mini Meatloaves for supper last night. They are delicious! Even my hubby who isn't a meatloaf lover thought they were amazing! I doubled the recipe to freeze and we enjoyed the leftovers tonight.

Levi is at the age where he loves pulling everything out - all the books off the shelves, all containers dumped out, etc. Although it makes a huge mess, there is an upside. He will sit on the "toy rug" for up to 45 minutes playing by himself. It is amazing! Mid-morning I will sit him on the rug and tell him that it's time for him to play. He will just sit there and look at books and dump out all the toys. Lily sometimes plays with him and other times she'll play with her babies in her room. I'm thankful for that time to get breakfast cleaned up, laundry started, etc.

My kids seem to play better when the area is cleaned up, so every night I try to clean/straighten it up so they wake up to a neat play area. Lily picks up her play kitchen stuff before she goes to bed each night, but it's nearly impossible to pick up when Levi's awake. He likes picking stuff up, but he thinks we're only picking up so he can immediately dump out again. Ha!
Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Lily and Levi's Party

2012-01-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

This is a very picture-heavy post, so get ready! :-)

We decided to have a small combined birthday party for Lily and Levi this year. I would've loved to do a big party and invite tons of people, but we just felt it would be better this year to only have an immediate family party (our babysitter came too, which was super special!).

Can't believe this girl is 2!

And he is 1! Where has the time gone?

It's hard to get a good picture of them together - this is the best we managed. I got their shirts and the iron on thingys at Hobby Lobby.

We sang to Lily first and she enjoyed her cupcake while we all had snacks and talked. She asked specifically for chocolate cupcakes...definitely takes after her chocolate-loving mama!

Then it was Levi's turn. Of course he wanted to grab the candle. ha!

He wasted no time digging in.

"what is this stuff?"

"mmm, tasty!"

After that first taste, he started shoving it in as fast as he could! His cupcakes were banana with cream cheese frosting.

"ok, i'm done. enough sweet stuff for me!"

"good ol' water to wash it down!"

Daddy helping Lily open presents.

She got a Memory game, a baby doll, clothes, and some dress up stuff.

We got her a baby doll stroller, which she loves!

Mama and Levi opening gifts. He got books, clothes, and toys.

Yay for some boy toys! We really don't have a lot of boy toys, so he plays baby dolls and cooks in the play kitchen most of the time. Ha!

Happy Girl!

Precious little man!

Happy Birthday my sweet babies!

34 weeks

2012-01-22T15:47:00.000-06:00

33 weeks (picture from last week)

I'm not begging for compliments by saying this, but y'all, I feel massive and I have 6 weeks to go! I think all my muscles are just shot from having 3 babies so close together, but seriously, I think I'm as big now as I was at 40 weeks with Lily and Levi.

Everything is continuing to go well with me and the baby. I saw the midwife this week and his heartbeat was great, he's head down and way low already. My blood pressure was good and I'm measuring two weeks behind...as usual.

I have had a ton of energy lately! It's been so nice to get a lot marked off my to-do-before-baby list. This past week I cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets, pantry, and freezer above the refrigerator, scrubbed the bath tub, got a couple meals in the freezer, and finished up organizing all the kids clothes.

I think I mentioned before about this baby moving a ton. I think he moves more than Lily and Levi did combined! Seriously, I don't know when he sleeps! If I sit for awhile he starts kicking/pushing way up under my ribs and I have to stand up and stretch to get him to stop. Lily and Levi never did that.

I'm so thankful for a healthy pregnancy this far!

Random Phone Pics

2012-01-19T22:31:00.001-06:00

Miss Nosy peeking into "~~Santa's~~ Daddy's Workshop." Her kitchen was hidden in there and Jacob was working on building the mirror he gave me for Christmas so neither of us were allowed in the shed. Lily was so funny running to the door and getting so excited that she was peeking.

At one of Jacob's youth orchestra's Christmas concerts. She loves wearing Grammie's glasses!

Outside enjoying an unusually warm January afternoon.

My buddy boy.

Daddy and his girl.

Snacking while watching Uncle Josh's basketball game.

Best picture I could get of these two goobers.

Uncle Josh is #15 right in the center. He plays on a junior varsity homeschool team. They played a great game and managed to pull out a close win!

Happy Friday!

Levi is walking!!!

2012-01-17T20:33:00.002-06:00

Levi has been taking steps for probably a month or so, but just last night he actually started going farther than a couple steps at a time! Today he's been toddling all over the house. I just love watching him!

A Little Sweetness

2012-01-11T21:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I found Lily having her "avotions" with her baby.

Update on Levi's Eyes and Lip

2012-01-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

Last week was busy with appointments. On Wednesday Levi had his 6 week eye appointment check-up.

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who left comments and sent emails or messages about Levi's eye condition. I really appreciate everyone's input - I'm sorry I have yet to respond to several of you. Life is busy, busy these days.

We have been patching Levi's good eye for 3 hours each day (except we missed a couple days over Christmas) to help the weak eye become stronger. He's also been wearing his glasses whenever he's awake. Over the last several weeks, we've seen huge improvements! His eyes are working together so much better. The goopy gunk that was coming out of his weak eye has completely cleared up. It cleared up as soon as we started patching - our theory is that it cleared up when he started using the eye, but the doctor said it was just luck. Whatever it was, we are thankful that we don't have to deal with the trauma of getting his tear duct cleaned out!

At the appointment, the doctor just accessed Levi's progress and didn't dialate his eyes this time. We will still be patching for 3 hours a day and we'll see her again in 2 months.

On Thursday we made the trek to Children's Hospital for Levi's 6 month post lip surgery appointment. We saw the whole team of cleft doctors. The Audiologist was (once again) not happy that Levi has some fluid in his ears, and we are still bucking the system and not getting tubes. He did a good job on his hearing test though. We are hoping to get a second opinion from a pediatric ENT closer to home.

Next, we saw the Speech Therapist who was very pleased with Levi's talking and jabbering. She said that if we notice any delays, she can set us up with a therapist who would come to our house.

The surgeon came in next. He said that Levi's lip looks like it's healing great and the scarring is minimal. He said that we need to try to help Levi say the "B, D, and P" sounds because they use the soft back palate where he has the abnormality. If he has trouble with those sounds, he may have to have another surgery.

Finally, the genetics doctor came in. When he heard about Levi's eye diagnosis, he ordered a more extensive blood test to check for any other issues. We should get the results in about 2 months.

Getting blood drawn was a pretty awful experience. Let's just say, it's way easier to get blood from a 5 month old (that's when his last one was) than it is from a 1 year old. He cried, I cried, and the nurse didn't get it the first time and dug around. Ugh!

We go back to Children's in 6 months for another check up.

Levi has been saying "ma-ma" for months now, but has only maybe said "da-da" a couple times - like where he says it and you're like, "did he really just say it, or was I hearing things?" Anyway, since the appointment, we've been working with him a ton to say "ba-ba" and "da-da." He always just grins and says "ma-ma." He's a mess! Well, yesterday afternoon, he was in his crib playing when he was supposed to be napping. All of the sudden, I heard him saying "da-da," "da-da," "da-da," over and over again!!! Jacob came and heard him too! I can't tell you how happy that makes us! We are hoping and praying that he won't need another surgery, so this progress is huge!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We appreciate you so much!

Good Weekend

2012-01-08T22:36:00.000-06:00

I hope y'all had a good weekend! Ours was pretty relaxed. We spent time going through ~~junk~~ stuff and getting a load ready to take to the thrift store. I'm definitely in the mood to clear out and organize before our little guy's arrival in just 8 or so weeks!

Jacob starts back teaching tomorrow, so it was nice to enjoy some extra time with him. He did have a gig last night and then a Bridal Fair to play at this afternoon, but at least he wasn't gone all day!

On the way home from church this morning, we looked back to see this. Melt my heart!

Happy Monday!

Christmas Get-Together #4 - Extended Family at Memaw's

2012-01-06T21:08:00.000-06:00

We had my side of the family's extended family get-together for lunch on Christmas Eve. We had a pretty traditional turkey/ham/dressing meal with a few appetizers thrown in. So yummy!

My handsome boys.

Levi is usually a blur in pictures these days. Oh well.

Love my chubby little guy!

Lily had so much fun playing with her cousin, Ashlyn.

It was way past naptime and Levi had been pushing this chair around the room, then he just laid his head down and said "ni-ni."

Ashlyn, Levi & Lily

Our little family.

My 96 year-old Memaw enjoying her gifts.

Examining new toys.

The kids exchange names for gifts, and the adults do a white elephant exchange with $10 gift cards. It's a fun little tradition. This year Jacob ended up with Academy and I got LifeWay. We can't wait to put my gift card towards getting Courageous!

31 weeks

2012-01-05T06:07:00.005-06:00

31 weeks and a couple days with Baby Boy #2

I'm actually nearly 32 weeks, but I didn't get this posted earlier in the week.

Everything is going great -

I'm feeling good,
Baby is head down,
I've had no complications with blood pressure or sugar,
Baby has a strong heartbeat,
I'm still measuring a couple weeks small.

My only complaint is that I am so tired, all the time! I'm sleeping great at night, just not getting enough sleep.

I got a very long list made of things I want to get done before baby arrives. It is a realistic list, and doesn't include things I would love to get done, but know I won't...like painting half the rooms in the house! Ha.

Baby Boy still does not have a set-in-stone name, but we are thinking about keeping the name a secret until he's born. We'll see how that goes.

Christmas Get-Together #3 - Our Little Family's Christmas

2012-01-03T23:30:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve morning we had our little family's Christmas. Of course this year, Jacob and I were awake and waiting for Lily and Levi to hurry up and wake up! Ha. Probably the only year that will happen!

Lily was so excited!

Her present was a kitchen. She loves it and plays with it all the time!

Levi got several toys and books. He, of course, would rather play with Lily's kitchen than his own toys though.

Happy girl!

Jacob and I took the kids out at different times to let them (Lily) pick out little gifts for us. Lucky Charms was one of the things Lily picked out for Jacob.

Jacob's fun practical gifts - body wash, deodorant, pens, pencils, paper clips, candy bars, a lego set, etc.

I forgot to get a picture of what my stuff, but I got dark chocolate, a wooden cutting board, spatulas, plastic popcorn containers, bath poofs, soap, etc.

Jacob's big present from me - a Kindle. He loves it!

My big present from Jacob - full length mirror! I'd been wanting this one from Ikea, but we don't live near a store, and we didn't want to pay shipping...so my amazingly wonderful hubby built this mirror for me!! I was so surprised! He also got me a new toaster oven, which we've been needing desperately!

We fixed a yummy breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy, fruit, and cheesy eggs. After that we had family devotions and got ready to head to another gathering.

Christmas Get-Together #2 - Extended Family at Pawpaw's

2012-01-03T13:32:00.001-06:00

I realize that these Christmas posts are most likely boring to all of you, but I want to have the memories recorded...so you can just skip these posts if you want! :)

Friday evening (December 23rd) all of Jacob's extended family met at Pawpaw's for supper. It was a big, loud, fun, crazy gathering!

Levi was a little overwhelmed by all the noise and attention at first.

After we ate, Jacob and Judah played some Christmas songs and some of Nanny's favorite hymns. It was a very special time. We all miss Nanny so much!

The best picture I could get of the kids together. Ha! Pawpaw read the Christmas Story and then we opened presents. I didn't get any pictures of that, but trust me, it was chaotic! :)

Lily's 2nd Year in Pictures

2012-01-01T00:30:00.000-06:00

Happy, Happy 2nd Birthday to our Lily Grace!

Lily's 1st birthday present was a baby brother - born 2 days before her birthday.

13 months.

14 months.

15 months.

16 months.

17 months.

18 months.

19 months.

20 months.

21 months.

Found out she's going to be a big sister again!

22 months.

23 months.

24 months.

This year has been full of growing and changing for Lily. We love you, sweet girl, and pray that God will continue to work in your little heart and make you to know and love Him one day soon.

A year in pictures

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Levi!!

What a year this has been!

Surprising us at birth with a midline cleft lip.

You can read his birth story here.

1 month.

7 weeks old - hospitalized for a week with RSV and pneumonia.

2 months.

3 months.

4 months.

Ready for cleft lip surgery on 5.18.11.

Waking up from surgery.

Break my mama heart!

Recovery. So, so hard.

3 days after surgery.

1 week after surgery.

5 months / 10 days after surgery.

2 weeks after surgery.

6 months.

7 months.

8 months.

9 months.

10 months.

First day with his patch.
We found out he also has cleft eyes on 11.16.11. You can read more about that here.

11 months / First day with his glasses.

12 months.

Our sweet tiny baby boy has grown into a full-of-personality little man this year.
God has used him to help grow our faith in huge ways this year too.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Christmas Get-Together #1 - Decorating Memaw's Tree

2011-12-29T22:37:00.003-06:00

Last Friday (December 23rd) we ate lunch at Memaw's with my family. After lunch my sister and two of my brothers decorated Memaw's tree. Her tree had been up for awhile with the lights on it, but no ornaments.

Of course whoever took the tree down last year, didn't roll up the tinsel on a newspaper "tube" like we always do, so it was a big knotted mess. Levi was quick to offer untangling assistance! ha.

Sweet, tired girl.

Myra putting on the star. Yes, she would probably shoot me if she saw the pictures I'm putting in this post. LOL

I'm including this picture so you can see my preggo belly. :-)

The four of us working hard...more like goofing off and having lots of laughs!

Lily would stand in one spot and load a couple limbs down with ornaments. She's a mess!

We had such a good time I think we're going to make this a yearly tradition for us siblings.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

-Galatians 4:4-5

We have 7 family get togethers over the next few days (Ack!) so I'll be back next week with lots of pictures and memories.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Parade

2011-12-19T22:30:00.000-06:00

This year we (...well, I...since Jacob had a rehearsal) took Lily and Levi to our town's Christmas Parade. It was the first time I had ever been, and we just enjoyed it so much - besides the fact that my phone wigged out as I was trying to get in touch with my family to decide where to meet up with them. Funny thing, back a couple months ago, my phone did the same thing when my sister and I were trying to meet up at another parade. Weird!

Another weird thing about us and parades that I have to mention- in the last three months we have attended three parades - a street festival parade, Veteran's Day Parade, and the Christmas Parade. Each parade had at least two high school marching bands participating. At each parade and with each band, they stop playing right before they get to us, and they march past us with only the drums playing. It is sooo crazy! At least the kids aren't scared of the drums, although I would like for them to hear and see the other instruments playing too!

Some of Jacob's family came too! Joseph (Jacob's brother) was a huge help with Levi! He held him so he could see the parade go by and kept him from being scared of all the noise.

Ridley and Lily enjoying the sights. I love how they are in awe of the lights, noise, people. It's amazing seeing things through the eyes of little ones!

This float made me cry. It's a soldiers uniform and gear with the sign "Not Everyone Is Home For Christmas."

Close to the end of parade, Lily got a little antsy sitting in the stroller, so I took Levi and Joseph held Lily. Like I said, Joseph was a huge help! So thankful for all my family. The kids and I would certainly not get out as much as we do if we didn't have them to help us!

Weekend Fun

2011-12-18T23:46:00.000-06:00

I hope y'all have had a good weekend! Ours has been busy, but so fun! Jacob had Friday night free, so we packed the night full of fun family things! We went and ate Mexican, then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Lily just loves the lights this year. It is so precious to hear her oooh and aaah over them.

When we got home, we let the kids open their Christmas pajamas.

Lily is a pro at ripping the presents open this year, but Levi is still trying to figure out what he's supposed to do. I'm sure it's not going to take him long with the way he loves to rip up magazines and books! Ha.

The best picture we could get.

Love the little hiney!

After we got the kids to bed, Jacob and I enjoyed hot chocolate and watched a Christmas movie (I can't even remember the name of it now...mommy brain!) It was such a good evening to be together as a family.

Saturday morning Jacob took Lily on a date for breakfast at Starbucks. We can tell that Jacob's being gone so much is taking a toll on his and Lily's relationship, so he skipped a meeting at church to spend time with her. I'm very thankful that the daddy/daughter relationship is important to him - even now when she's little. After they had breakfast, they went to Target and shopped for some Christmas presents for me and Levi.

Saturday afternoon I ran to the grocery store and we did some baking. Later in the afternoon I took the kids to visit Memaw and my Mom while Jacob was at a men's prayer meeting.

Ridley and Lily admiring Memaw's tree.

Sunday was a normal busy day, plus Jacob had to play in Christmas programs in the afternoon and evening. Getting ready and out the door to church is always a challenge without him, but we managed and actually made it on time!

I was hoping to get some pictures of the kids (sitting together) in their Christmasy clothes, but they didn't really cooperate. Oh well. I made Levi's tie and just love how it turned out! Can't wait to make some more!

I'm thankful for the sweet memories we made together this weekend! My heart is full!

Visiting Pawpaw

2011-12-16T15:01:00.002-06:00

Jacob was free on Thursday morning, so we went over to visit Pawpaw. Poor Pawpaw has fallen twice in the last week, and really hasn't been doing well. We were really excited that he was perky and feeling pretty good when we were there. He loved seeing the kids!

Levi loved the bells!

Jacob's mom and sister came over too and Lily had fun playing with Aunt Elizabeth.

Nanny passed away two years ago this week. It is still so hard on Pawpaw. He says that he thinks about her all the time.

Pawpaw and Levi

Lily and Elizabeth playing Away In A Manger - Lily's favorite song right now.

Making Snowmen

2011-12-15T16:53:00.001-06:00

The other night, I found an awesome foam snowman making kit at Target on clearance for $3.75. Wednesday morning Jacob had some time off, so he and Lily made snowmen together.

Lily had so much fun with the foam stickers. I'm going to have to get some more to do other projects.

She kept sticking and then re-sticking. So funny!

Sweet girl!

Lots of concentration!

Lily did have some guidance with the sticker placement! Ha!

The finished product! We stuck magnets on their backs so our refrigerator is their new home.

Lily is going to help me make some for me and Levi so our snowman family is complete. The kit came with enough stuff to make 20 snowmen! We shared some with my nephew and we have enough to make more next year.

Busy Week

2011-12-11T15:35:00.001-06:00

Last week was such a crazy busy week for us! We spent most of the days inside since it was pretty cold and rainy a lot of the week. Monday night I took the kids to my youngest brother's basketball game. His team did a great job and won by a few points. Lily and Levi were good, but it was such a blessing to have the help of my sweet family! Lily sat with my Mom for the first half of the game, and my sister and brother-in-law played with Levi when I had to take Lily to the potty.

I need to do an update on Levi's eyes since he's been doing the patch and wearing his glasses. I'll try to do that this week!

Lily played dress-up in some way-too-big-for-mommy maternity clothes. Ha!

Putting a diaper on her doll.

On Tuesday night, the adult orchestra Jacob conducts had their concert, so the kids and I packed up and went to it. Jacob had youth orchestra rehearsal before the concert, so the kids and I just played together and walked around. The concert started at Lily and Levi's bedtime - they were troopers, but we ended up playing in the nursery at the church. I was able to hear some of the songs, so that was nice! There was a reception afterwards, and everyone enjoyed seeing Lily and Levi. We finally got home around 10:30! The kids did a great job and even slept in a little bit the next morning!

We got our Christmas tree last Saturday, but we didn't get it decorated until this past Friday night! We were hoping to find a time where we could decorate it all together, but Jacob has been sooo busy, it just wasn't working out. Lily and I started putting the lights on on Thursday, then then half the lights didn't work...of course! Friday night we finally got some more and we were able to finish decorating it.

Jacob got to help Lily put on the first ornament right as he was walking out the door to go to the 5th performance of The Nutcracker. My poor husband has hardly been at home the last week or so. We are thankful for all the Christmas gigs, but it is definitely wearing on our family. Just to give you an idea of what I mean... from Wednesday night to Sunday afternoon, He played in 8 performances of The Nutcracker on top of several other rehearsals/Christmas programs. Yesterday he was gone from home for 13 hours, and today he was gone 9! Christmas season for a musician = Craziness!! We are all counting the days to when he's done for the year!

Thursday night the kids and I met my sister and her family at the mall to walk. It was fun, although slightly crazy trying to maneuver two strollers through the crowd of people moving along at a very slow pace. Myra took Ridley and Lily on the carousel when we finished. So fun!

Ripping up a magazine kept Levi occupied for 20 minutes on Saturday!

Lily and I made sugar cookies on Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun! I hope to make this a Christmas tradition.

Of course she enjoyed licking her fingers and snitching cookie dough. Silly girl!

Sweet girl ready to head to church.

We had dinner with Jacob's family and then came home for naps before going back to church. What a crazy week! I'm thankful that it's over, but I love the sweet memories with my children!

Hope y'all had a good week!

27 weeks

2011-12-05T08:48:00.001-06:00

27 weeks with Baby Boy #2

I had a midwife appointment this week and the heartbeat was good and my blood pressure was good.
I'm measuring 24 weeks, but I've measured small with all my babies.
Gained 10 lbs so far.
Feeling good, and sleeping really well!
Exercising everyday - like walking, prenatal aerobics dvd, prenatal pilates dvd, or my own little exercise routine made up from parts of each dvd as well as squats and hula hooping.
I can still wear some regular clothes, just a size bigger than normal (outfit pictured is a regular skirt and a regular shirt I just got at Old Navy for $8!). I did order several maternity shirts from Kohls - can't wait to get them! Hopefully they'll fit! Ha.
Little Man moves all the time! He's definitely more active than Lily or Levi were.
He still has no name and we haven't really talked about names recently. He may just be named once we see him.
We found out last week that my hubby's cousin and his wife are having a baby boy just 7 weeks after us! It'll be neat to have little boys so close. I hope they will be best friends!

Giving Thanks...a week late

2011-12-02T12:00:00.000-06:00

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good: His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

23 months

2011-12-01T22:46:00.001-06:00

Wow! We almost have a 2 year old!

Lately Lily has been developing more into a little girl. She's understanding more and figuring out things about life.
Sometimes her stubbornness and wanting to do things her own way gets her hurt or needing discipline.
She loves reading and gets so excited when we go to the library!
When I'm doing my hair and make up, she sits on the bathroom counter and pretends to hers. It's so funny to watch her do everything I do.

Every morning for about 30 minutes during Levi's nap, Lily has quiet time in her bed. She plays with dolls or reads books, or just rests.
She loves talking on the phone to Jacob (or anyone who will talk to her).
She's talking in long sentences.
She is such a Daddy's girl - loves going places with him, being outside with him, doing whatever he's doing. So sweet!

She's a climber - I'm constantly finding her on the arm or back of the couch, standing on our kitchen stools or table, on the kitchen counter, etc. She can climb into her crib, but hasn't tried climbing out yet. Yes, she climbed into the high chair to eat her snack. She is such a mess!

What a spunky girl! I'm so thankful God added her to our home.

11 months

2011-11-30T15:34:00.001-06:00

Sweet Levi is 11 months old today! Where has the time gone?

He is such a busy, busy, busy boy these days!
He crawls, scoots, and walks along the wall/furniture/cabinets.
He's sleeping from about 7:30pm - 7:00am! I can't tell you what a blessing it is for this mama to get some sleep too!

He tries to get whatever Lily is playing with.
He l.o.v.e.s. his sister and gives her the biggest smiles when she pays attention to him.
He naps from about an hour in the morning and 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the afternoon.
He wears 6-12 month clothes, 6-9 fit him best.

Like I said, he gets into EVERYTHING! Ha!
He loves exploring.
He's just started liking to snuggle.
He weighs about 17lbs.

He loves books, but he rips up regular books, so we have to make sure he has the board books.
He still takes 2 or 3 - 4oz bottles and a 8oz bottle at bedtime.
He's doing great with his patch and we can already tell improvement in his eyes! Praise the Lord!
He eats mostly table food and enjoys feeding himself, although he makes a huge mess!

Can't believe I've got to start thinking about his first birthday! So thankful God blessed our family with this sweet boy!

HUGE Sale in my Shop!

2011-11-28T07:47:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to let y'all know that there is a HUGE sale going on in my Etsy shop! I've decided that it's best for me to close my shop indefinitely so I can be completely focused on being Mama to my nearly three little ones.

So...I'm trying to clear out my remaining inventory. There are a bunch of random hair clips and pins and a couple headbands left. Everything is $5.00 or less and you can use the code BLACKFRIDAY2011 to get an extra 25% off your order. Click here to check it out.

Thanks for bearing with this little plug! :-)

Thankful Tree

2011-11-22T22:38:00.001-06:00

After seeing lots of ideas for Thankful Trees on Pinterest and blogs, I thought it would be fun to do with Lily. She doesn't completely understand, or know what to say, when we ask her, "what are you thankful for?" So what we've done is just while we're talking about stuff we'll ask her if that's something she's thankful for. That approach has worked a lot better.

Our tree is very simple - construction paper and tape.

Lily loves to stick the leaves on.

Some of the things included on the tree are - Daddy, peanuts, goats, Mama, Levi, baby dolls, swing set, family, milk, and raisins.

This is a fun tradition I hope we can do every year. What a great way to teach children to count their blessings!

Weekend

2011-11-21T09:11:00.001-06:00

This weekend was a little more low-key than last weekend (which I still need to post about). Jacob didn't have anything on Friday evening, so we went out to Five Guys for supper and then we went to the mall so Jacob could use an American Eagle coupon. Lily always likes to look at the fountain when we're at the mall, so I took the kids there while Jacob shopped. Most mall stores are not double-stroller-friendly, so it was easier all around.

The kids and I played around the house Saturday morning while Jacob went to a meeting at church. Jacob stayed with the kids in the afternoon so I could go grocery shopping. I also went to Hobby Lobby - it was nice not having to worry about getting the kids in and out of the car, but I sure did miss them!

After I got home, Lily and I baked cookies. Yes, I let Lily lick the beaters.

I keep all my plastic containers in a basket on the bookshelf in my kitchen. Levi discovered them this weekend. I can't even remember how many times I tripped over or slid on one of the lids or containers. Ha!

My poor Lily woke up in the night last night with a fever. Not sure what's going on, but hoping and praying she's better for all the family get togethers this week!

After only 4 days of wearing the patch, Levi's "bad" eye is obviously doing better! It's amazing! So many people at church yesterday commented about how his eyes were moving together more. We are so thankful!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Little Pirate

2011-11-17T22:49:00.001-06:00

Today was our first day patching Levi's eye. He did a great job with his snazzy patch, although he did try to get it off and he got frustrated when he ran into things while crawling around. We put it on first thing this morning and he fell asleep for his nap with it on. When he woke up, Lily went in his room to "talk" to him. A few minutes later I heard Levi screaming and Lily was running towards me proudly holding up the patch. Poor baby boy! Lily didn't know it would hurt him to pull it off, so we had a nice little chat about "brother's patch."

Thank you all so much for your prayers and sweet comments. Y'all are a blessing!

Levi's Eyes

2011-11-16T22:15:00.001-06:00

Thank you all so much for your prayers for us today! The long appointment went much better than I expected. Levi was a trooper! The doctor is amazing, and one of the best pediatric ophthalmologists in our area. I'm so thankful for how the Lord worked everything out.

Just a little background info about Levi's eyes - his left eye has had discharge/clogged tear duct since he was born. We have treated it multiple times with prescription cream, warm compresses, and massage, but nothing completely took care of it. Most babies eyes cross when they are newborn, but I started noticing Levi's left eye turning in more and more as he got older. I talked to our pediatrician about it (as well as several other people) and was told that we should watch it and he would probably grow out of it. When he was 7 months old, a complete stranger struck up a conversation with me about his eye. She was trained in opthalmology and she noticed how his eye was turning it. She encouraged me to go with my mama intuition and get him an appointment with a specialist. I began researching pediatric ophthalmologists in our area and found one I really liked in a larger city 40 minutes away. I called the office and of course I had to get a referral, so we went to the pediatrician and she said she would refer us. I completely forgot to tell her who I wanted to be referred to, but amazingly (thank you, Lord!) it was the same doctor I wanted to get in with! We had to wait three months for the appointment.

At the appointment today we found out that our sweet little man has Coloboma - basically, cleft eyes.

Medical definition - A cleft or gap in some part of the eye, such as the iris, lens, or retina, that is caused by a defect in the development of the eyeball. How much coloboma affects a person's vision depends on the size and location of the cleft and on whether it occurs in one or both eyes. For example, someone with only a tiny defect in the iris may have normal vision. However, a person with large defects in the retina and optic nerve may have limited vision.

The doctor said that "Levi got lucky" with his right eye. The cleft does not interfere with his vision at all! Praising God for this!! Unfortunately his left eye is pretty bad. It is extremely near-sighted and the cleft is interfering with his vision. The doctor couldn't tell the extent of the cleft because Levi wouldn't cooperate and look in the different directions she needed him to.

We have to start patching the good eye (right) for three hours a day to help strengthen the left eye. Also Levi is getting glasses with a strong lens to help the near-sightedness. We go back for a check up in 6 weeks and we will talk more about the clogged tear duct. He may have to have a procedure done to clean it out, but we don't know for sure.

As soon as we left the doctor's office, we headed to order his glasses. They are a special kind that only a few opticals in our area carry. We are getting him the style of the green glasses, but his are going to be a gray-blue color. We'll go pick them up in 7-10 days.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I know the patch and glasses are going to be a huge adjustment for Levi.

I will honestly say that it has been a rough day. I'm incredibly thankful for the God-given intuition we have as mamas because the doctor said Levi would likely have gone blind in his eye if we hadn't gotten it seen about this early. But, on the other hand, it is hard to see your baby facing more obstacles at such a young age. He's been through so much already. My heart is finding comfort and peace in Him who works ALL things together for good.

Thank you all again for your prayers! They mean the world to us!

Eye Appointment

2011-11-15T22:36:00.001-06:00

Levi has an appointment tomorrow (Wednesday) with a pediatric ophthalmologist. You may have noticed in some pictures of him that his eyes (mainly the left one) turn in sometimes. It has gotten worse as he's gotten older, so our pediatrician referred us to the specialist.

I would really appreciate your prayers. The appointment will last approx 3 hours and his eyes will be fully dilated. I know it's not going to be an easy time for him. Please pray that the doctor will have wisdom to know what the best course of action is for Levi - whether it be surgery, or glasses, or patching.

Thank you all so much!

Photo Cards

2011-11-14T20:59:00.001-06:00

Christmas is coming up fast and I've been thinking about getting photo cards printed. Last year we used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards and were super impressed with the ease of creating the cards and the quality of them. Throughout the year I've gotten coupons for free photo books, and I enjoyed making several.

We had our family photo shoot a couple weeks back and I have been browsing Shutterfly's Christmas photo card selection. They have so many awesome designs it's hard for me to choose my favorite!

These are two of my top choices:

Shutterfly also offers thank you cards and address labels which are perfect for the holiday season.

**Disclosure - I'm participating in Shutterfly's offer to bloggers for free photo cards in exchange for promoting their site. All opinions are my own. :-)

24 weeks

2011-11-13T21:57:00.001-06:00

24 weeks with Baby Boy #2

How did we get to 24 weeks already?! This baby is going to be here in no time!

I'm feeling well except for the normal tiredness I've had this entire pregnancy.
Baby is an active little fellow!
We still don't have a name picked out.
This week a friend lost her baby at 37 weeks. I am heartbroken for her.
I've gained 8 lbs and feel h.u.g.e!
I found a few maternity clothes at a consignment shop, and I ordered a skirt off ebay. Unfortunately the stretchy belly part of the skirt is massive and uncomfortable, but I'm going to keep it in hopes that I'll grow into it. I despise having to send clothes back. I can still wear some regular clothes (the outfit in the picture is all regular stuff).
I'm carrying the baby extremely low (obviously!)...most likely from having 3 pregnancies so close together.

My sister and I walked/jogged a 5k on Saturday. It was in our neighborhood, and Jacob and I had talked about doing it, but we decided it would be too cold/windy to get the kids out, so we didn't sign up. Myra and her hubby signed up for it, and the night before the race I decided I would walk it. Myra and I walked together and had a great time! We jogged a few short distances, but mainly walked. We finished in less than 45 minutes! I was really excited about that! So, I didn't necessarily "train" for it, but don't be concerned - I take the kids power walking several times each week.

Supper At Grammie's

2011-11-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

The last couple of weeks I've taken the kids to eat supper with Jacob's family on Tuesday night. Jacob has youth orchestra, so it's fun for me and the kids to get out of the house.

Grandpa and Levi.

I just love this picture!

Levi and Grammie.

Aunt Elizabeth and Levi.

I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of Lily. I guess she was busy running around and playing.

Exploring

2011-11-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

Caught in the act. Ha!

Weekend

2011-11-08T07:13:00.001-06:00

This weekend was a nice at-home weekend...for me and the kids anyway. Jacob had orchestra rehearsals Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday morning, and the performance on Saturday night. He managed to squeeze in a little family time on Saturday afternoon, so that was fun!

My mother-in-law (Grammy) and Jacob's sister, Elizabeth (Lily calls her DB) came over Saturday morning and played with the kids while I ran to the grocery store. Levi had been up several times throughout the night, so it was good for him to get his morning nap. Grammy brought Lily some crayons and coloring book so Jacob colored with her in the afternoon.

Lily helped me make granola bars for my brother and Jacob's brother who are in college locally. It's fun to give them homemade snacks for days and nights they have long classes.

It was really nice outside on Saturday afternoon, so we went out and played on the swing set. Jacob played catch with Roo and Lily. Ha!

Levi can't decide if he's afraid of Roo or if he likes her. It's so funny to watch them interact. We got a hilarious video of them that I'll have to post soon.

Sunday wasn't quite as busy this week which was nice since we had the time change. I used to love the time change...but then I had kids! ha! We had dinner after church with Jacob's family. Elizabeth was so sweet to sit and read to Lily for the longest time. We headed home for naps, but of course Levi woke up about 10 minutes after I fell asleep. Oh well. After church Sunday night we went to my parents for tacos - so yummy!

It was a great weekend! Hope y'all had a good one too!

22 weeks

2011-11-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

22 weeks pregnant with Baby Boy #2

I was actually 22 weeks on Sunday, but obviously I'm running a little behind this week. Oh well. Everything is going well! I had an appointment with my midwife today and the baby's heartbeat was good and strong, the placenta sounded good, my blood pressure was good. The baby is measuring a few weeks small, but I measured small with both Lily and Levi, so it's nothing to worry about.

I'm very thankful for a healthy pregnancy this far! The Lord is good!

22 months

2011-11-03T08:13:00.000-05:00

Wow, in two months I'll have a two year old!!

Lately Lily has been -

Playing "mommy" with her dolls all. the. time.
Having nightmares, although they seem to be getting better the last few nights, thankfully!
Playing sweetly with Levi.
Loving "dress-up"
Talking up a storm about everything!

Praying. She loves praying for her family and friends. Also, whenever an ambulance or firetruck goes by she always folds her hands and prays. So sweet.
Singing. Favorite songs are Away In a Manger, Twinkle, Twinkle, 12 Men Went to Spy Out Caanan, and The Eensy Weensy Spider.
Having some attitude issues and meltdowns...normal for this age, I think! :-/
Playing on our new-to-us swing set. She loves to swing and slide!
Lately she has gotten afraid of things she's never been afraid of before. I'm pretty sure it's just a stage.
Eating all the time. Seriously, this girl loves food! She eats big meals and always asks for snack in between. She's been stuck at 23-24lbs for months now. I guess she just has a high metabolism.

I thank the Lord everyday for my little girl. She is such a blessing to our home!

10 months

2011-11-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

My boy is growing up so fast!

Lately he has been:

Scooting when he needs to go fast, crawling when he's not in a hurry, slowly walking along the furniture, and standing alone for up to 10 seconds at a time.
Escaping to the bathroom every chance he gets to stand at the bathtub or toilet (nasty!).

Pulling up on everything.
Not napping the greatest.
Walking behind his walker or any rolling toys. He usually ends up going to fast and falling.

Eating like a champ! Obviously. Ha!
Drinking three 4oz bottles and one 8oz bottle everyday.
Saying "Ma-ma" to me!

Cutting his two front teeth! Now he has two on top and two on bottom. I think some more are going to be popping through anytime now.
Waving bye-bye.
Playing a lot by himself.

Exploring everything. He loves getting in the bottom of the bookshelf.
Growing taller! Several pairs of pants are now high-waters. Ha!
Riding in his "big boy" carseat - rear facing convertible seat.

Being our little sweetie. We just love this little man!

Weekend Highlights

2011-11-01T15:55:00.000-05:00

I think every weekend is super busy around here. I love it, although it can been crazy sometimes! Ha. It's such a blessing to have both of our extended families close by - there is never a lack of things to do!

Thursday night Jacob didn't have any rehearsals or performances so we went out and ate Mexican. Lily and Levi both love Mexican! Guacamole is their favorite!

My little brother, Josh, comes over a lot to play with the kids while my mom runs errands or works out. Lily enjoyed playing dress-up in Josh's coat.

On Saturday morning we decided to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We do very few spontaneous things these days, so it was a lot of fun to change up the routine a little!

Lily wouldn't look at the camera long enough to get a picture. Oh well!

After breakfast, Jacob got a swing set that his Aunt and Uncle wanted to give us. I took the kids grocery shopping and when we got home Lily was thrilled to swing and slide!

Saturday afternoon we had family pictures with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out! Later in the evening, I took the kids out to visit Memaw and some cousins who were in town. We had a lot of fun playing together!

My Mom with the kids.

Yes, Lily and Levi were worn out after our busy day!

After I got the kids into bed I made a Lemon Pound Cake for our church dinner on Sunday. Even though I greased the pan like three times, the cake still stuck! So depressing! I ended up just crumbling it up and making it like a trifle with lemon sauce. I called it Lemon Disaster Cake, but everyone said it tasted good.

Mr. Levi turned 10 months old on Sunday!

Jacob had his last opera performance on Sunday night so my family came over to our house for supper like last week. My kids had fun with Papaw!

Sorry for the bad quality of some of the pictures - some of them are phone pics.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Best Teether Ever

2011-10-28T09:09:00.001-05:00

I know this may sound really weird to some of you, but seriously, a peeled cold carrot is Levi's favorite teether! He will sit and gnaw on a carrot for 30 minutes or more!

If Levi even sees me get the bag of carrots out of the refrigerator, he starts hollering and pulling up on my legs. It's the funniest thing ever!

Disclaimer: Levi has two teeth on top and two on the bottom. He's not able to bite through the carrot yet. I put him in the highchair and keep an eye on him at all times when he has it.

Happy Friday!

Brother & Sister

2011-10-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures I've gotten of Lily and Levi enjoying special moments together over the last few weeks. They just melt my heart.

kisses through the pack n play

Chatting about the weather . . . or planning an escape?

Watching for Daddy

Mom's Home!!!

2011-10-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my Mom was in Toronto speaking at a ladies' meeting. Her plane came in today around 3:20pm. On our way to the airport, my Dad called and said that he and my little brother parked on top of the parking garage so they could watch the plane land. We joined them and stood around for awhile watching the sky for a plane.

After awhile, Daddy picked up my nephew and took him over to the edge to watch a plane pulling up to the terminal. Daddy said, "oh, that's a United (the airline Mom was flying on) plane." Right after he said that, Mom texted us and said she'd made it! We were like, "oh my word, that's her plane!" Apparently the plane had circled around and landed from the south instead of the north like we thought.

We grabbed the kids are started running for the elevator to go down to meet Mom. I'm sure we were quite a sight! Ha! We barely made it to see her come down the escalator from the restricted area. Ridley was so cute, when he saw Yaya and ran to her through the restricted area doors. The security guard just smiled. Mom and Ridley hugged and walked closer to us. Then Lily said, "my turn!" and ran to give Mom a hug. It was the sweetest time!

I know my Dad looks goofy in the picture above - he's goofy to begin with, but I think he's happy to have Mom home to cook, do laundry, take care of him and my brothers, and tote my youngest brother to all his activities. Ha!

My precious parents

Weekend Highlights

2011-10-24T13:43:00.002-05:00

We had a super busy weekend!

The weather was beautiful - chilly, but not too cold! We played outside a lot on Friday. Lily loves the pumpkin we got for our front porch! I'm hoping to get a couple small pumpkins that the kids can pick up and play with.

Saturday morning we met Jacob's family and Pawpaw at Cracker Barrel for Judah's birthday breakfast.

Lily loves playing with this game...although most of the pegs end up on the floor. ha!

My bro-in-law, Joseph, just loves Levi (and Levi loves him!).

They are so sweet!

I'm thrilled that Lily actually smiled for this picture! She normally makes a funny face or won't be still long enough to snap the picture.

After breakfast, we got groceries and headed home. Jacob had rehearsals, a concert, a wedding, and more rehearsals all weekend, so he was gone most of the day Saturday and Sunday. We missed him so much!

After naps on Saturday afternoon, I loaded up the kids and went to Memaw's to visit with some out of town family. It was the first time our family had seen Levi (in person).

Lily had a lot of fun playing with another little girl!

Of course we couldn't go out to my parent's farm without going to the barn! A mama goat had just had babies! Lily loved watching the new little ones sleeping.

Sweet babies on Memaw's swing.

Sunday was busy with church, dinner with Jacob's family, home for quick naps, then back to church.

We had my family over for supper after church. Jacob had a really late rehearsal, and I don't like having to get the kids inside by myself in the dark (we don't have a garage), so my brother rode home from church with me and helped. It was a blessing!

Over the weekend Lily started this phase where she's extremely shy/terrified of certain men. It's crazy! Sunday morning she was scared of my brother, Luke, but Sunday night she was sitting with him in the chair. Several other incidents with different men happened on Saturday and Sunday too. I was really shy as a little girl, so I'm wondering if she's going to be too.

Crazy girl!

Levi and Papaw

Levi loves Aunt Myra!

She was tickling him and he just kept laughing so hard!

The kids have been pretty whiny this morning. I think because they went to bed late last night. Oh, and it's Monday! Ha! They are down for naps now, then we are heading to the airport to welcome my Mom home! She's been in Toronto since Wednesday speaking at a ladies meeting. I can't tell you how much we've missed her!! Can't wait to have her home!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

It's A . . .

2011-10-18T13:23:00.003-05:00

BOY!!!!!!!

We are thrilled to be welcoming our second little boy in March!! Everything looked great on the ultrasound and he is growing properly. We are so grateful!

20 weeks with Baby Boy #2

We don't have any names picked out yet. Boy names are soo hard for us to choose! Hopefully we'll come up with one by the time he's born. LOL!

Weekend Highlights

2011-10-17T22:59:00.004-05:00

We had such a fun weekend! Jacob left early Friday morning for a "guys weekend" in South Carolina, so it was just the kids and me until Saturday night. We played outside a lot, enjoying the beautiful weather. The kids were so good all weekend, which was such a blessing since I was parenting alone!

Levi practiced his standing/walking along furniture skills. He is a mess! I can't believe he's close to walking already!

We made a trip to Target on Friday, then went to my parents for supper. On Saturday we went grocery shopping, did lots of baking, and visited with my Memaw.

Sunday marked 20 weeks with Baby #3! We have our anatomy ultrasound in the morning! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

Birthday and Homecoming

2011-10-14T07:59:00.005-05:00

Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes for Jacob on Wednesday! We had a fun day together!

I cooked up a extra special breakfast and we just kind hung out in the morning. Then we headed to meet Jacob's family and some of my family at an Asian restaurant for lunch. After lunch everyone came back to our house for cheesecake and opening presents. Yes, Lily is snitching a bite in the picture. Ha.

My Daddy flew home from Calgary, Canada late Wednesday night. It's sort of a family tradition for us to all go to the airport to welcome who ever is flying home. Jacob stayed home with the babies (who were sound asleep!) and I got to go with my Mom, sister, and two of my brothers. It was a lot of fun, although it was about 12:15AM when I got home!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2011-10-12T00:30:00.000-05:00

Today is my sweet hubby's birthday!! We are so excited that his schedule worked out where he's off work until early afternoon (he finished one school on Monday, and he starts teaching at the next school on Friday)!

Spring 2008 during our whirlwind courtship

I am so thankful for the wonderful husband God has given me. I am truly blessed beyond measure!

Lily and Levi adore their Daddy. It warms my heart to see the love between Daddy and babies.

Lily has just recently starting understanding about birthdays and she is so excited to celebrate Jacob's birthday! She helped me make him a cheesecake (his favorite!) and we are planning to make him a special breakfast. Precious memories!

Weekend Highlights

2011-10-10T21:55:00.001-05:00

I am so behind on posting! Life has been busy busy around here, and blogging just seems to get put on the back burner. I hate it, because this blog is like our family journal, and there are so many memories I don't want to forget.

Jacob played at a wedding of a high school friend on Friday, so Thursday night, our moms kept Lily and Levi so Jacob and I could go to the rehearsal dinner. It was a lot of fun to be out together, but the dinner was a little awkward because I didn't know anyone. I know this picture is horrible, but of course we forgot to get a picture together while we were out, and the lighting in our house is just not favorable to night time pictures. Oh well.

On Friday, my nephew came over for a few hours. He and Lily had a good time together. Ridley showed Lily how much fun it is to get in the dryer. Silly kids!

Saturday morning, Myra and I went to a community yard sale (where like 25 houses all over a subdivision had sales). Her hubby and Jacob were at a prayer breakfast, so we took our three little ones with us. Yes, we are crazy women! It actually went quite well! We left the kids in the cars at some of the houses and got them out at others. I was really excited to find a Melissa and Doug ABC puzzle in perfect condition, as well as a bunch of kid's books!

Sunday was a busy but good day! My Dad is has been out of town for over a week for a pastor's conference and preaching engagements. We miss him so much! Lily asked several times where Papaw was when we were at church. We are looking forward to him coming home!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The Toe Examiner

2011-10-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

Levi examining Jacob's big toe sticking through his dress sock.

Crazy child!

Btw, does anyone else's husband's big toe stick through every pair of dress socks that he owns? I'm not really sure what the deal is . . .

Weekend Highlights

2011-10-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

I sadly forgot to take many pictures this weekend! I don't know where my brain was!

On Friday we went to the library and then we met several friends at the park for lunch. It was extremely windy and kind of chilly, but the kids had fun playing!

My sister and I decided to go to a street festival on Saturday morning. The kids and I left the house at 7:30 so we could make it for the parade at 8:30. Jacob had a rehearsal so he wasn't able to go. It was so much fun although we had a few little mishaps - Myra's facebook status pretty much sums up the morning - "Kelly and I had so much fun {crazy insaneness} at the Street Festival this morning. Between getting separated, broken cell phones and leaking diapers, it was a hoot to be sure! LOL!" Um, yes, it was hilarious! Anyway, Lily loved the parade! She is still talking about the dog on top of the fire truck waving at her. We stood in a long line for pony rides, but then when it was Lily's turn, I asked her if she was ready to ride and she kind of held on to me and said, "no, fine." Oh well, maybe next time she'll do it!

Sunday was a busy day, as usual. We had a dinner after church, so it was past naptime when we got home. Sweet Lily fell asleep on the way home. I thought she just looked so cute!

Jacob and Levi relaxing after naps.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

18 weeks

2011-10-02T22:52:00.001-05:00

18 weeks with Baby #3

Morning sickness reared it's ugly head again the last week or so. Ugh! Thankfully I usually just feel really really sick but don't throw up every time. That is a blessing! Usually the smell of food triggers the sick feeling, but also lately driving/riding in the car will occasionally make me sick. Raw meat just grosses me out - like it has every pregnancy. I know I'm a sight at the grocery store trying to buy meat. Standing there breathing through my mouth and trying not to gag out loud. It's rough! I'd better quit writing about it, or I'm going to get sick just thinking about it!

I really haven't gotten my energy back yet like I did with my previous pregnancies. I think it's because I'm so busy with my little ones. I've got to work on going to bed earlier! I know I need more sleep.

I'm feeling the baby move a ton! I've been able to feel it for sure since about 13ish weeks, but just the last week or so, it's gotten really noticeable. I love it!!

Clothes have been a thorn in the flesh lately. Maternity clothes are still big, but regular clothes are getting where they aren't comfortable. I really need to go shopping for fall clothes. I recently purged my closet of everything that was worn and stretched and just plain old - I have very little left! Ha. Most of the shirts I've worn the last two falls (pregnancies) have been from Target or Ross, and they were just grundgy. I'm not a big shopper, so buying clothes for myself usually gets put off and put off until I'm desperate. Ha!

I've been able to do my workout dvd a couple times a week - not as much as I'd like, but better than nothing. I am doing a little workout routine everyday that includes squats, lunges, a few jumping jacks, and weighted band exercises. I can do this routine easily with the kids playing around me, without worrying that I'm going to step on them or something.

I have a midwife appointment on Thursday, so I'll be able to update more after that.

21 months

2011-10-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

My baby girl is getting so big! In just a few short months she will be 2! Wow.

So what has she been up to?

Playing outside! Whether it's riding in her car, kicking a ball, painting or drawing on her easel, running around, whatever, she just loves to be in the fresh air.

Being little mommy to her baby dolls.

Doing whatever mommy is doing - cooking, cleaning, laundry - she's always there to help.

She is very busy and loves exploring.

She knows lots of shapes, colors, numbers, and letters. Just in the last few days she's been pointing to everything and saying what color it is. She doesn't always get them right, but she's learning.

She loves puzzles!

She weighs about 24lbs, wears size 6 shoes, and 18-24 month clothes.

She has a little attitude. When someone does something she doesn't like she says "go-way" (go away). It's funny and kind of embarrassing when we are in the grocery store and a man will look at her or talk to her and she says, "go-way man!" But it's not so funny when mommy or daddy tell her to do something or pick her up to go do something and she says, "go-way mommy (or daddy)."

We love seeing how much Lily is growing and changing. She has a very tender heart and we pray that God will work in her heart at a young age. We also pray for much wisdom in teaching and training her as she comes to understand life more and more.

Thank you, Lord, for giving us this precious little girl!

9 months

2011-09-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

How in the world is my little man 9 months old?!? It seems like the days are going faster and faster. Levi has changed so much this month!

He started clapping his hands when he's excited or we say Patty-Cake.

Some of his favorite things: cords, shoes, books, whatever Lily is playing with, and any toys that play music.

He's "talking" a ton! He only says things when we aren't paying attention to him though. If we tell him to say something he just giggles. So far we've heard him say "Ma-Ma and Ba-Ba" but he jabbers a lot too.

So far he has 2 teeth on the bottom and 1 of his front teeth on top. The other top tooth is partly poking through, so it should be fully cut in a couple days. I'm so thankful teething tablets are back on the market! They have been a lifesaver (sanity saver) with both Lily and Levi.

Levi is a very compact little guy. He weighs between 17 and 18 pounds, but just wears 6 month size clothes. He also has tiny feet! From everything I've heard, he's just like his Daddy was when he was a baby.

Levi's newest favorite thing to do is pull up on everything! He isn't very steady, so he's constantly falling and bumping his head. He is so much more of a "baby" when he falls than Lily ever has been. I don't know if it's a boy thing, or what, but he screams like he's dying whenever he gets even a little bump. Poor little guy!

He's eating great and sleeping much better at night.

I found him eating dog food off the floor today. Yum!

He loves to scoot/crawl into the bathroom and Lily's room.

He is ticklish all over his body!

He's a precious little boy and we love him to death!

Picnic in a tent

2011-09-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

Right now Lily just loves tents and picnics, so one night I decided we would make a tent and have a picnic for supper. It was on a night when Jacob had orchestra, so it was just me and the kids. Our evenings without him often get long, so I try to do fun little things to help the time not drag by.

Lily was thrilled with the tent!

The food - homemade pizza, grapes and carrots for me and pizza, peas and bananas for her.

It cracks me up how she eats pizza - just like I did when I was little.

Lily has recently started crossing her ankles and saying that she's sitting like a lady. It is so funny!!

Levi enjoyed the picnic too by chewing on a carrot stick.

We are definitely going to have to have more indoor picnics! Such fun memories!

The County Fair

2011-09-27T20:08:00.001-05:00

Last Friday night we headed to the county fair! The evening was cool and the air perfectly crisp. For the 3rd year in a row I didn't get to ride any rides (because of being pregnant) - although I could've ridden a couple, like the ferris wheel.

Jacob is definitely way more into rides than I am, so he really enjoyed all the crazy ones!

Lily liked the carousel pretty well, but it went around really fast and I think she got a little dizzy. She started looking kind of scared towards the end.

Levi napping. This nap made him a happy boy for the evening!

Taking in all the sights and sounds.

The kids enjoyed the petting zoo especially. Uncle Judah carried Levi around and showed him the animals, which was really nice!

I don't think Uncle Ernie realized he was going to have two little ones to share his funnel cake with! Lily and Ridley were chowing down on it!

Lily's favorite part of the evening was the kiddie tea cups. She is still talking about the ride and asking to do it again!

Priceless!

A bunch of our family went, but I only managed to get pictures of my kids with Judah. Oh well.

It was such a fun evening and a great way to start the weekend!

Growing Up

2011-09-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

This week Levi has grown by leaps and bounds! He is now pulling up on everything! He's still pretty unsteady, and is constantly (it seems) falling and hitting his head. Wow, I can't believe this child! I guess he feels like he needs to be able to run after big sister.

Levi also learned Patty-Cake this week. He is so cute clapping his hands along with us. I'll try to get a video of him.

Funny Story (mainly a memory I don't want to forget) - You know the picture of Levi's guacamole face in the last post? Well, we brought home the leftover guacamole and I fed it to Levi for lunch the next day. About two hours later I was changing his diaper and he was laughing when I noticed what appeared to be a hole a little smaller than a dime in the roof of his mouth. I nearly had a heart attack! I was scared to stick my finger in and feel it, but I was thinking how in the world did a hole in his palate just show up? They did a CT scan to make sure the palate was intact. Obviously my mind was racing. I finally got brave, pried his mouth open, stuck my finger in, and realized it wasn't a hole, but a piece of jalapeno pepper from the guacamole! I was so relieved I started crying (thank you, pregnancy hormones!)

Lily is doing great! She is feeling 100% better, or at least acts like she does. Her favorite thing to do, as of today, is to brush my hair and pretend to put make-up on me. It is hilarious! She gets my hairspray, lotion, mascara, etc, and pretends to pour each one on a make-up brush and then wipes it on my face. This kept her occupied for at least 30 minutes this afternoon. She doesn't try to open the bottles, so I'm really glad about that!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Highlights

2011-09-19T22:35:00.001-05:00

These pictures are definitely not the greatest quality. I was just using my little camera with no flash, so they are kind of blurry. Oh well. It's the memories, not the picture quality, right?

Thursday night is the only evening Jacob has free each week, so we like to go out to eat and have family night. We got Mexican last week. Levi loves guacamole! We had to keep shoveling it in his mouth or he would start yelling. Silly boy!

Lily still wasn't feeling 100%, so she didn't really eat much. Thankfully she's back to her normal self now! It's so hard seeing your baby sick.

I made this Pumpkin Crumb Cake to take to my in-laws for Sunday dinner. It is seriously amazing, and super easy! I got it from Christy Jordan's cookbook, Southern Plate. If you haven't checked out SouthernPlate.com, you definitely should! Christy is one of the most inspiring people I know, and she has amazing recipes! She also lives like 30 minutes away from me! :)

I have to tell you the sweetest unexpected blessing I got on Saturday. I packed up the kids and headed to the grocery store early Saturday morning, hoping to beat the crowd. Of course Auburn was playing a game at 11, so both stores I went to were packed. Anyway, I was leaving the second store, pushing the buggy with the kids in it, and pulling the buggy with the groceries in it. (Side note: I don't push and pull two buggies through the entire store, it's just easier to put the bagged groceries in another buggy than to try to fit them all around the kids.) So, I was nearly to my car, and this nice-looking man shows up out of nowhere and asks me if he can load my groceries into the car for me. I nearly started crying! It was such a blessing!

We had a fellowship meal after church Sunday night, and while I was getting my stuff cleaned up and ready to head home, two of my brother-in-laws were entertaining my children.

It was 9pm, so they had to get pretty creative to keep them happy! LOL

16 weeks

2011-09-18T22:16:00.001-05:00

16 weeks with Baby #3

Here is a baby belly shot for those of you who have asked! :) I hate that I haven't gotten around to getting pictures earlier because I want to remember these special weeks.

So far everything is going well with this pregnancy! I had some morning sickness (mainly just queasiness) in the first 13 or so weeks. Raw meat still grosses me out, but other than that, I'm really feeling good.

Levi has been waking up pretty early in the mornings lately, so I feel like I'm tired all the time. I'm hoping I'll get some more energy here pretty soon.

One thing I'm really struggling with this pregnancy is getting my workouts in. I truly believe that my consistent exercise helped me have endurance for my labor and delivery with Lily and Levi. I can't do my workout while they are awake because I don't want to step on them, so I try to do it during naptime, but lately I've had so many other things to do during naptime. If I wait until the kids go down at night, I'm completely out of energy. I'm hoping that chasing after two children counts as some sort of exercise! Lily will do squats with me and stuff like that, it's just the cardio on the dvd I'm not getting everyday like I did in my previous pregnancies. Now that it's getting cooler, I'm planning to start taking the kids for walks around the neighborhood. Pushing a double stroller definitely gets your heart rate up!

We'll be finding out the gender of the baby in about a month! I'm so excited!!

Little Monkey Man

2011-09-14T20:14:00.001-05:00

Levi uses his feet to hold everything. It's so funny!

Midweek Randoms

2011-09-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

Lily is feeling much better, praise the Lord! Thank you all for your prayers! She fell asleep on the couch this morning while watching a dvd. After not getting the antibiotic down her last night, I called the doctor's office this morning to see if they would call in a different antibiotic. They didn't get back to me until late this afternoon, and by that time Lily was fever-free and acting like she felt great. I've been giving her a bunch of herbs and immune system boosters, so I guess they worked! I told the doctor not to worry about calling in anything else since she was doing so much better.

My sweet hubby got these flowers for me today. I love them!! He rarely gets me flowers (because I tell him not to spend the money on them :), so it's really special when he does!

Levi is doing great, except that he's putting everything in his mouth. He's choked badly 3 times in the last few days. The first time he swallowed a hairclip, the second time it was a piece of grass/bark (once it came up it was unidentifiable), and the third time it was a boxwood shrub leaf. We got the hairclip and grass/bark up, but I couldn't get the boxwood leaf up. I called poison control, and they said that one leaf is ok, but it is poisonous when consumed in larger amounts. I think this child is giving me more gray hairs everyday!

Happy Wednesday!

My Poor Girl

2011-09-12T15:45:00.001-05:00

On Saturday night Lily woke up with a fever of 103, and was a pretty miserable little girl. We gave her motrin and some gatorade and rocked her back to sleep. She woke up a little while later, so we brought her to our bed and she slept the rest of the night.

Daddy reading Bible Stories before he left for church.

Yesterday, I stayed home from church with the kids, and Lily's fever went up and down all day. She didn't really act like anything else was hurting - no sniffles, she was eating and drinking fine, and she said her ears didn't hurt (but I put garlic drops in just for good measure :).

I took her to the doctor this morning and found out she has a urinary tract infection and most likely a virus. Her ears have fluid in them, but they aren't infected. Poor little girl, I just hate seeing her sick!

I'm giving her motrin to help keep her comfortable, and she's on an antibiotic. She just hates the taste of both, so it's a struggle to get them down her. Ugh, not fun for this mama to have to force meds down her little girl. Breaks my heart!

Precious Moments

2011-09-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

PawPaw came to visit the other day. I treasure the moments my children have with him. Both of my grandfather's passed away when I was younger, so Jacob's PawPaw is the only great-grandfather my kids have.

Lily is a little shy with PawPaw at first, but she always warms up.

I love this picture!

Uncle Jer

2011-09-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Last week my brother, Jer, headed back to college for his senior year. He is studying Accounting, and has plans to go to Seminary after graduation. We miss him so much! Can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving!

Feeding Baby

2011-09-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

When I put Levi in the high chair to feed him, Lily likes to get up on a stool and "talk" to him while I get him meal ready. I couldn't resist snapping these pictures the other day

I love these kids!

20 months

2011-09-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

After eating a chocolate chip cookie

My girl is getting so big!! I can't believe in just four short months she will be two!

Here's what she's been up to lately -

taking 1 nap each day and sleeping 12 hours or so at night.

eating super well, as usual. Her favorite things right now are raisins, broccoli, bananas, peanut butter (she loves to eat it off the spoon just like her mama), cheese, peas, and pancakes.

Dancing and eating lemons in the booth at Ruby Tuesday

being a great helper! Whenever Levi is done with a bottle, she goes and throws it in the sink for me. She also helps unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, put dirty clothes in her basket, throw diapers away and help me with whatever cleaning I'm doing. It's a blessing to have her help, even though she still needs lots of guidance. I love to see her willing spirit.

reading books is still one of her favorite things to do. She currently loves Curious George and Raggedy Ann books.

playing with Levi. She does pretty well playing with him, although when he tries to grab what she's playing with, she'll hit or kick him. We are working on sharing!

playing with ice cubes! She will sit and play with them for the longest time!

being a girly girl! She loves getting all dressed up, wearing bracelets and necklaces and hairbows. She also loves shoes!

loving showers, baths, sprinklers, pools and splash pads. She just loves water!

playing at the park is another favorite thing! She will go down the slide over and over, and swing for a long time. We're hoping to get a swing set soon (one of Jacob's aunts is giving us their swing set since their grandkids are older now. Jacob just hasn't had time to move it yet.).

getting excited about the new baby! The last few days she's been putting a ball up her shirt and saying "baby, baby." It's hilarious!

getting her first slush at Sonic!!!

We love you sweet girl, and thank the Lord everyday for you!

8 months

2011-08-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

My baby man is 8 months old! He is getting so big and learning new things every day.

He scoots/army crawls so fast! He pushes off with one foot and pulls himself with the opposite arm. I need to post a video of it.

He's wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

He still takes 3 4oz bottles and 1 8oz bottle every day, as well as eating solids 4x each day.

He will eat anything! He eats cereal and fruit for breakfast, egg yolk or avocado with fruit for lunch, whatever we are eating for supper, and yogurt with cereal before bed.

He likes Puffs and is working hard on his fine motor skills to get them into his mouth.

On nights when we are at home, he goes to bed at 7:45ish and sleeps until 6:30ish in the morning. When we are out in the evening for church or with family, he will sleep from say, 8:30ish til 5:00ish. Do you kids sleep longer when they go to bed earlier? Both mine always have.

Levi examines everything and he uses his feet like hands to hold things above his head. It's so cute!

He loves a sippy cup! Lily left her cup on the floor and Levi got it started drinking out of it, so I decided to get him some "boy" colored ones. Of course now, he would rather drink out of Lily's and she drinks out of his! Crazy kids!

He has reached the age where he would rather be down on the floor playing than being held.

We love you little man!

Vacation #3 - Dollywood & Apple Barn

2011-08-29T21:38:00.001-05:00

I'm finally getting to post about our last day on vacation! I think this was our favorite day, please be warned, it's a picture laden post!

Not too shabby breakfast for just having a microwave and refrigerator!

We got to Dollywood around 10, but it took awhile to get the stroller packed up with all we would need for the day, and walk to the trolley stop. We had the kids all situated and Levi was actually asleep when we got on the trolley. Who knew we would have to take the kids out of the stroller and hold them on the ride . . . even though we were sitting right beside the stroller. Oh well.

Barnstormer. Jacob is on the end closest to us. This was like a giant swing that nearly went all the way around. This was the first ride Jacob rode, and poor Lily started crying and franticly reaching towards him saying "hold you." It was pitiful! I guess she was afraid he was going to get hurt.

Lily loved this ride!

The whole time they were walking out, she was saying "again, again."

So I took her again. I only got to ride this ride and the carousel since I'm pregnant.

Wonder Wheel.

Levi enjoyed his bottle and finally went back to sleep.

Jacob rode all the roller coasters two or three times each! I have never ridden a roller coaster, and I feel like my life will be complete even if I never do! :)

Lily was SO excited to drive!

Love this picture :)

My favorite part of Dollywood was the big bag of kettle corn that my dear hubby bought me! Fresh-popped kettle corn is so good! Jacob and Lily had some, but I nearly finished off the entire bag by myself!

We went back to our hotel and rested for a little while, then we went and walked around the Gatlinburg shops. We got to see taffy making, which was so cool!

Our last stop was Kilwin's. I had been dying all week for a dark chocolate covered marshmallows from there! Jacob and I went to Kilwin's in Charleston on our honeymoon, and when we saw the Kilwin's in Gatlinburg we just had to go. We got Lily her own chocolate covered marshmallows, but she didn't really eat much - she was more interested in sticking her finger in the marshmallows. Ha!

On our way home, we stopped by Apple Barn to get some gifts for family. Lily rode this rocking horse for the longest time!

Levi liked it too. :)

Yay! We're headed home after a fun week!

Please excuse the nasty mirror! I'm not really sure how it got that way.

Hope I didn't bore you to tears with the long, drawn out posts! I just had to record all the special memories from this fun family vacation!

Video: Mr. Johnny Jump-Up

2011-08-29T07:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday!

Baby Details

2011-08-25T07:15:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for your sweet comments! Your thoughts and prayers mean so much right now. The thought of having another little one so soon is pretty overwhelming at times, but we know that God's ways are perfect!

waving at you

So, here are the details

I'm about 12.5 weeks along.

I'm feeling pretty good, although I do have morning sickness every now and then. Also, I'm exhausted by late afternoon, that is to be expected though, with chasing after two little ones!

I am using the midwife again, we saw her at 10 weeks and were able to hear the heartbeat!

Birth control does not always work. Ahem!

My kids age differences will be - Lily and Levi almost 12 months apart and Levi and the new baby, around 14 months apart.

I don't think Lily really understands yet. Whenever she sees the ultrasound pictures, she says "Levi."

I've learned my lesson for sure - never tell people how excited you are to not be pregnant during Christmas for the THIRD year in a row . . . you might just eat your words. Ha!

looking down on the baby's head and legs

Hope you all have a great day!

BIG News!!

2011-08-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

Baby #3

Due March 4, 2012

Vacation #2 - Accident and Cade's Cove

2011-08-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

In order to save a little money, we took muffins, eggs, and fruit so we could eat breakfast in our room every morning.

Every morning we ate out on our little third floor balcony. Lily could also fit through these bars too, so we told her she had to stay away from the edge. On this fateful morning, she was being a little disobedient and as Jacob was guiding her away from the edge, she jerked away from him and her head hit the bars, giving her a bruise. As Jacob lunged to catch her, he spilled his coffee on her head and back. Oh, it was awful! We rushed her inside, stripped off her shirt and put ice on the burns. Thankfully the coffee wasn't *that* hot and her back didn't blister.

After getting all cleaned up, she and Jacob went out and read some books. That was definitely not the greatest way to start the day!

We decided to go to Cade's Cove, so we left around 9:30 (it opened at 10). We had no idea that it was going to be a really long drive to get there on curvy, slow-moving roads. At least the kids slept on the way there!

At Cade's Cove, you basically drive along a one lane road and stop at different old sites (like cabins or churches). We let the kids sit in our laps while we drove to each stop. Lily loved driving!

I think we won't do Cade's Cove again until the kids are older. It was just kind of long for them, partly because there were a ton of people there and we had to drive through sooo slowly, but getting in and out of the hot car got wearing on them (and us). The scenery was beautiful though!

Yes, we carry the potty chair in the car in case we have any sudden needs for it. It definitely came in handy that day!

After we left Cade's Cove, we headed to Pigeon Forge. We went to the Three Bears General Store where they have live bears you can see.

Lily loved the bears! She still talks about them!

At the General Store, we saw where they were advertising discounted Dollywood tickets. Jacob really wanted to go to Dollywood, but he wasn't really able to justify the nearly sixty dollar tickets plus tax! Anyway, to get the discounted tickets we had to do one of the "tours" for a time share, but they offered us two free tickets to Dollywood. We agreed to do the tour.

Oh. my. word. it was insane to say the least! The 90 minute presentation turned into like 2 hours because the salesman said he had to have both of our focused attention. Um, hello! How do you do that with two little ones?! After him stopping for me to run Lily to the potty and to go change Levi's diaper, he finally figured out that it was impossible to have both of our attention. We did not buy in to the time share, and I can't tell you how happy we were to finally walk out of there with our free tickets to Dollywood! Jacob and I both agreed that the crazy two hours were worth saving us about $140!

After the long busy day, we headed back to the hotel, got showers and relaxed for the evening!

Vacation Day #1 - The Aquarium

2011-08-17T22:21:00.001-05:00

My uncle and aunt own a time share in Pigeon Forge, so we were able to get a good deal on a hotel through their referral (or something). We saved up for this vacation and used cash so that we didn't go over budget. Anyway, our hotel was in Gatlinburg right next to the Aquarium. We went early on Tuesday morning to beat the crowd!

Waiting for Daddy to get the tickets. One nice thing about taking little ones is that they are free at pretty much all the attractions.

Lily really loved seeing all the "amials"

Crazy looking - it's head is pointing down.

The neatest part was this long tunnel where you ride a very slow moving conveyer belt and there are sharks, turtles, fish, sting rays, etc swimming above and around you! It was awesome!

There is a little kiddie area with fun things for children.

Levi enjoyed his morning nap in the stroller.

The spider crabs creeped me out!

In front of a tank with sharks and sting rays

There was a special exhibit with Penguins! Lily really liked them.

So neat!

I think she was a little afraid to crawl on the glass floor. ha!

Me and my girl

We headed back to our hotel for lunch and naps. We all took naps, and woke up feeling great! In the late afternoon, we went up the Space Needle. It was cool, although a little scary because Lily kept getting really close to the edge and her head would fit through the bars! Ugh!

We went to Mellow Mushroom for supper. Meals out with two littles is always pretty crazy, but we managed. Except for when Lily leaned over into the next booth and grabbed the baby's bottle out of their diaper bag! I was so embarrassed.

After supper we walked around the shops in Gatlinburg. We went to one big outdoor/camping type store and Lily found a bunch of stuff she wanted. Ha!

We headed back to the hotel and crashed after a fun-filled day!

Where I've Been...

2011-08-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in nearly two weeks! We have been busy, busy, busy! Sometimes I wonder if life will ever slow down.

The first week of August we went on vacation to Gatlinburg/Pidgeon Forge, TN. It was a lot of fun, although we had our moments with two little ones out of routine. Ha! I'll post pictures soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a picture of these two crazy kiddos.

Hope you have a great night!

Random Pictures

2011-08-04T22:56:00.001-05:00

These are pictures I've been meaning to post for . . . uh, about a month!

Playing together in the "play area" part of our living room

Lil' Man - he was about 6 months old here

He's a giggly boy, that's for sure!

I think she was trying to act like a monkey.

Playtime in Lily's crib.

Um, yes, my son plays with dolls and I'm ok with it! :) He's going to be a good daddy one day!

Yum! Yum!

2011-08-03T22:52:00.000-05:00

My teething boy loves chewing on his spoon!

Helping Daddy

2011-08-02T22:13:00.001-05:00

When I was a little girl, I loved helping my Daddy. I have so many special memories of the time I spent with him. I remember many trips to the feed store and hardware store, helping him with the animals at the barn, hauling hay, cutting down trees, handing him screws or nails while doing projects, and so many more sweet memories. I look back and wonder if I was more in the way than helping, but I never remember my Daddy acting like I was.

It warms my heart to see Lily so in love with her Daddy. No matter what he is doing, she wants to be in the middle of it, "helping" him. She goes with him whenever he runs to Lowes, or the post office, or the bank. It's so sweet!

Break time - "It's awfully hard work pushing the broom." Ha!

I pray that she is always a Daddy's Girl!

19 months

2011-08-01T06:49:00.000-05:00

Happy 19 months Lily!

She talks up a storm with new words/phrases everyday. It amazes me how she just talks and talks and we can understand what she is saying!
She is a climber - recently we found her stuck at the top of Levi's crib, she was almost in, her leg just got stuck! Also, we found her sitting on the tray of the high chair while Levi was in it playing. We have to get our bookshelves and corner cabinet attached to the wall ASAP!
She weighs about 21lbs and is wearing mostly 18 month clothes, but still some 12 month stuff. She's gotten taller recently and 18 month dresses are really short on her, but 24 month/2T dresses are way too big in the shoulders/chest. So for now, she runs around in mini-skirts/dresses with ruffle bloomers underneath. :)
She's doing great learning her letters, numbers, shapes, and colors.

She sleeps from about 7:30pm to 8am and takes 1 or 2 naps each day.
She is successfully potty trained (of her own choosing), although we still put a diaper on her at night. Sometimes she wakes up dry and sometimes she wakes up wet.
She still loves reading, playing with Levi, cooking with Mama, helping Daddy, playing outside, going to the park, and visiting family.
She eats great! Rarely is there anything she won't eat. Her new favorite thing is dark chocolate - um, yes, only because that's her mama's favorite thing!
One sweet thing I don't want to forget: everytime she hears a siren from an emergency vehicle she folds her hands and wants to pray. It's the sweetest thing! We live nearby a hospital, so we stop to pray many times each day.

We thank the Lord everyday for this little girl!