life with ages 3 and 1

sometimes i have to let him work in peace. so sometimes that means putting the Lego table up high so baby can't mess up his creations as he is creating. or putting the train set up in the guest room with a baby gate propped up against the door.

there are the fights, the tears, the frustrations with one another - and then there's this.

they really do love each other. watching them grow up together is the sweetest thing. will is not going to know what to think when she starts talking his ear off.

oh, and don't you love the hats - helmets, crowns, whatever. my kids love hats.

she's walking

i love watching them walk when they've just learned how. awkward, stumbling, determined, and just plain funny. not to mention - cute. phoebe started walking more than crawling last friday - 11 1/2 months old. she's walking almost all the time now - even trying to run out of her room when she knows it's about to be naptime or night night.
she's walking a full month earlier than will did. she is cutting her fourth tooth right now, but at this age will had 5 teeth already. she is still learning how to use a sippy cup and at this age will was totally off the bottle. they are all so different.

phoebe's schedule at 11 1/2 months: (for future helps)

wake - 7:00 (sometimes 6:30 and sometimes 7:30, but mostly 7:00)
eat and play
nap - 10:00 (sometimes 9:45 and sometimes as late as 10:30)
generally takes 1.5 hour nap
lunch around noon and then play
this is often when i will run some errands too
nap - 3:00
bottle - 4:30 or when she wakes
supper - 6:00 or 6:30
bath by 7:30
bed around 8:00-8:15

i'm trying to get her to finish eating/drinking by 7:00 but i'm always afraid she hasn't had enough so sometimes i'll keep offering her bottle until bedtime. i'm trying to get away from that. trying to move her to eating meals with us - we're getting there. she eats some table food, but we still do a lot of babyfood. i offered her quick oats this morning and she hated it. i think i've spoiled her by always adding formula or milk to her baby cereal. she seems a lot pickier than will was and is, but will eats almost anything. i switched her to milk last weekend - no more formula and she is doing fine. i'm trying to remember to brush her 3 little teeth everyday and read to her a little more. she does enjoy looking at books. i was so much better about all of this with will when he was a baby. i can tell having an older sibling is teaching her a lot too though. even the horribly dramatic crying. oh, dear. what strong personalities in such little bodies.

keepin it real

3:30

baby not happy in crib but mostly quiet

boy in his room listening to veggie tales christmas cd

dirty dishes

mommy not motivated

must buy coffee - soon

laundry folded but not put away

manger scene still on the mantel

guest room exploding in christmas

humidifier going

considering mcdonalds with playground for supper

cold cold cold outside

floors mostly clean

iron pants

repair pants

clean up christmas so i can get to the pants and my sewing machine

wondering if i should put will in preschool next year.

be nicer to will

practice guitar

find mouse to this computer

does will have his sense of smell? how do you know if a kid can smell? he never talks about smelling anything.

i have the cutest kids

i hope phoebe doesn't have an ear infection

plan a date night

my children are so different!

will - left handed, outie, loud, big nose, light hair, hated tummy time, wild

phoebe - i know it's early but i think she's right handed, way innie, cool, calm, ears poke out, small nose, dark hair, loves tummy time

their similarities - independent, alert and curious, beautiful!!!!

Good morning!

will tries to get out of taking a nap.

how to use your bachelor of fine arts as a stay at home mom

will is potty trained but he still has trouble sometimes stopping play to go poo poo. i decided to make this chart so that if he goes 5 days in a row with no accidents, then he gets a caboose to add to his thomas the train take n play set. he really likes looking at his chart.

i knew i got that B.F.A. for something!

babies don't keep

"The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

i read this today and cried. having a second one has made me realize how they are babies only for a little while. what a gift they are. what a miracle they are. how sweet and short this time is.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.
Psalm 127:3 New Living Translation

mommy thoughts

thankful for all the support i had while lee was gone to portugal last week. makes me realize how much easier it would be if it were like the olden days when families lived next door to each other or with each other. makes so much sense when you have little ones. so hard - almost impossible to do it alone.
praise God for his help.
phoebe is 4 weeks old today!
daffodils are blooming - started blooming at the end of february - seems early to me but love it. can't wait for daylight savings time next weekend - we can have evening walks again. looking forward to getting the rest of this baby weight off. i'm nursing and i feel like i have to eat all the time. need to get smart about my snacks. made some trail mix today. it's hard, cuz most of the time i get really hungry at about 3 or 4 in the morning whenever i get up to feed phoebe. have to eat something or i can't get back to sleep. but i have to be careful about what i eat - has to be something that won't keep me up. larabars are so yummy, but keep me up after i eat them. think they are intended to give energy so that would make sense. any good ideas for middle of the night snacks for a nursing mom?
phoebe gets up 2 or 3 times between 11:00pm and 8:00am.

baby's growing up

i was looking through a lot of old pics last night. this one was taken exactly a year ago. made me cry! he was such a little baby then. i'm finally realizing they do grow up fast.

weekend

had to get out some maternity clothes today. i guess it's starting to feel real.

we also moved some bunk beds into will's room (his crib is still in there). and we moved the bed out of the guest room to work on making it the baby's room. will went to sleep in his big boy bed last night but fell out a few hours later even though we had a side rail on. we didn't realize how easy the side rail would be for him to move. he likes putting his feet up on things and pushing. i felt really bad that he fell - now we have it more secure. maybe we'll try it again tonight. i'm keeping the crib in there for awhile at least for naps. i encourage independence with him, but with certain things it's hard to release control and let him grow up. i want to keep him in a crib forever. hahahaha.

i got to see lots of family in the past week - actually my whole family. everyone was in town (except for ben and his crew) to help paul move stuff out of his apartment and to make wedding plans. they were nice enough to help lee and i rearrange our house as well. then last night my friend for life, carla, and her family got to stay with us. yay! so thankful for time with family and friends that live so far away.

the smallest shopping cart

last night i went to the grocery store after my 2 year old went to bed. i got the smallest shopping cart. there was a moment when i just stood in the cereal aisle and stared. i remembered all of my coupons. i got the smallest shopping cart...

what freedom!

Round 2

another one of God's miracles. only 6 or 7 cm. long with a strong heartbeat and lots of movement.

12 weeks and 1 day old (womb age).

looks like the baby is striking a pose here with it's hand on it's hip. maybe it is a girl! we'll find out for sure in about 2 months.

see ya later!

i will not take these things for granted...

a healthy, happy baby boy
a backyard
hot as heck sunny days
air conditioning

naptime

being a stay at home mom

the Lord is sweet

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord,
So far today I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or very indulgent. I'm very grateful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help. Amen.

The Toddler's Busy Book - Trish Kuffner

14 month update

i'm in the separation anxiety phase with will. just really started about a week or two ago. he's always been so independent and busy, so i was surprised the first time it happened. i always think, not my child - yeah right! i started a new Bible study at a different church and that either triggered it or really it was inevitable. very upsetting for me, but as with everything - this too shall pass.

there's been another change too. he has dropped his morning nap. the first few days, i had to adjust more than he did. it's really wonderful now though because this routine allows so much more freedom. plus he goes to bed a little earlier and gets up a little later!

a few weeks ago, he began singing. this is the sweetest thing ever.

about the same time, he developed a strong attraction to his blankey (really, he has three - they're all the thermal kind with a little embroidered picture on them - and of course he loves the tag).

he doesn't say any words yet, except ma ma and da da. he also says zzzzz for bee. and he says na na and tuh tuh sometimes. oh and of course the car sound (loose spitting of lips - what do you call that?) for car, tractor, truck, bus. and he does a squeal for train. anything with wheels is his favorite.

today i flushed the toilet and he bounced up and down dancing to the "music". then when it stopped flushing he clapped (you always clap after a song) and then he did the sign for all done by waving both his hands. i laughed so hard.

he also loves to wrestle. if you are on the floor he will most likely run at you and bury his head into you.

he loves to be outside. one of his favorite things to do is push his big stroller around and point to the sky when he hears an airplane.

it's hard for us to listen to any music now, unless he's in his high chair because he knows the volume button and likes to turn it all the way up and then run away. this is pretty funny to watch.

doesn't he sound the cutest? even though he can frustrate me sometimes (unrolling the toilet paper, trying to open the oven door, playing in the trashcan, etc.), he is a wonderful little boy - wait, he's still a baby for a little longer.

confessions of a mommy - part I

i know i post a lot of smiley will and smiley mommy pictures on this blog, and we do smile a lot, but i want to be real about the other side of motherhood. dun dun dun.

one thing i hate about motherhood - i can't sleep whenever i want to.

this is so huge for me. even though will is sleeping through the night and takes two naps a day, i still struggle with this. it never fails, if i am really sleepy one afternoon, i will lie down right after i put him down for his nap - that will be the day it takes him 20 minutes to go to sleep. can you tell i'm a little bitter? i love my sleep!!!
he is one of those babies who hates to sleep. we went through some major sleep training at four months old (i realize we probably waited too late, but that's water under the bridge now). and now at nine months old, it is VERY rare that i put him down and he does not cry at least a little bit.
anyway, all that to say - being a mom, i can no longer sleep like i used to. i'm subconsciously listening for him, and when i do occasionally hear him cry in the night or early morning, i cringe.

motherhood makes you realize how selfish you are.

a blog resurrection

so, now it's a new year. 2009. my brothers encouraged me to start blogging again. so, here i am resurrecting the blog.

2008 was quite a year for me. took quite a toll on this 26 year old body. i worked until i had my baby boy in july- then i really worked for the remainder of the year - being a mom. yes, i quit my "job" to be a mother. and it has been a lesson in flexibility and consistency and trust in God Almighty. a lesson that i fear i will never really get the hang of, but the truth is, i keep forgetting it's a daily thing and that the Word of God is my sword. that's the kicker - that last part.

God took some things away from me the last half of the year. i no longer could just do whatever i wanted whenever i wanted. this was Very hard for me to get used to. and then, God took away my family's financial security when my husband was laid off in October.

remember that story about the little girl and the fake pearls and her dad wants to give her the real strand of pearls if she'll only first give up her fake ones? i've been thinking about that a lot.

it's getting late and i need to retire soon, so i'll try to wrap up quickly. words describing 2008 - fatigue, joy, amazement, sorrow, anger, extreme fatigue, anxiety, fear, Unconditional Love. in 2009 i'm gonna try to get further away from perfectionism and enjoy my family more. because while God took away, he gave. He gave me an awesome baby, a stronger relationship with my husband - and he gave me opportunities to be an Artist again. oh, and we can't forget babywise. and you know what - i'm a heck of a cook now.

whatever crap happens, God is still all about goodness.