Friday, April 12, 2013

our boys: 19 months and 4 months.

oh wow. our boys right now....they are a blast.

:Berkeley:

Berkeley is the most fun thing you'll ever see. now that the weather is warmer, he wants to be outside constantly. he's liking to take walks a lot more than he used to. the other day I pushed him into the garage in his stroller after a long walk (I wear sam in the ergo) and he flipped out, wanting to go on another walk. fine with me! I would walk all day if I could :) plus since i'm carrying sam, I feel like i'm getting a real workout with the added 15-20 lbs :)

he's obsessed with basketball and no matter what's on tv he'll point and say "ba ba", hoping you'll change it to basketball
Berkeley likes to share a bowl of cereal with me in the morning. this might be my favorite part of the day. he also likes for me to hold him while I make my coffee. mornings have always been my favorite, but now they really are.

we give him chocolate carnation instant breakfast in his milk to help him gain weight. as soon as I pour a cup of milk, he says "ca-ca", for chocolate and points to the cabinet. i'm so glad because it helps him drink probably an extra 800 calories a day, which he desperately needed.

I can't figure out a nap schedule for him. for a while, we were on a role, but having sam awake more now has really thrown him off. for Berkeley's afternoon nap, sometimes sam is being so loud just talking or cooing that Berkeley can't go to sleep. if we skip the afternoon nap, nighttime is a breeze because he goes to sleep so quickly, but he's miserably tired until bedtime. if we give him an afternoon nap, even for 30 minutes, it takes him about an hour to fall asleep at night. no bueno.

the boys stay with a sweet girl a few hours, two days a week while I do my practicum for school. he loves her, but when I come home he immediately starts saying, "bye bye" to her and ushers her out the door :)

he wants to say "bye bye" and "hi" to everything. "bye bye car", "hi stars", "bye bye truck"

he loves to pull all my shoes out of the closet and make me wear them, especially my cowboy boots.

he likes to go with me to get the mail and says "meh" all the way to the mailbox.

his favorite book is "welcome to merriweather farm", a john deer book. he loves to say "moo" to the cows in the book.

in his puppy book, a puppy is trying to chew a little girl's baby doll and he says "no no!" he's heard us say that to roger plenty of times :)

in his dinosaur book there is a puppy that is trying to eat ice cream off a table and he loves telling him "no no!" too.

he loves people and pretty much puts on a show when more than one person is over.

if you ask him if he wants a bath, he runs straight to the tub.

:sam:

sam looooves when you look at him. he'll just smile and smile :)

he giggles when you tickle him.

he squeals when he's lying on his play mat and playing with his toys.

he's having a hard time nursing now that he's taking a bottle a couple times a week :( but it also seems that he might be teething, and maybe that's what's causing the problem...not really sure.

he is happy, happy, happy most of the time...but don't try to take him to a restaurant and make him sit in his car seat. he will not have that.

he looks like a 6 month old. he is 4 months :)

he sleeps great still! he goes to sleep about 9...and all you have to do is swaddle him, put him down, and walk away. it's kind of crazy considering all we've had/still have to do to get Berkeley to sleep.

he's sitting up great in his bumbo now.

and just for fun...an update on Derek and me :)

my mom and dad give us a date night every other Friday night, which we cherish.

my parents also keep the boys while we go to small group on Thursday nights. let me tell you, good friends have made all the difference in our marriage.

we love to watch duck dynasty any time it's on. the wholesome humor does us good :)

we enjoy loading up the boys and taking a drive to dunkin' donuts to share a dark chocolate mocha iced coffee. we are addicted. yum!

this season of life with two tiny ones is pure craziness. things between Derek and me are not at all like they were when we were dating....they are so much better. different, but better. more rich, I guess you could say. I can guarantee i'll look back on this time of our lives and smile :)

Friday, April 5, 2013

this messy, cluttered, good life.


One thing that has been the most difficult for me as a mom is how often our life becomes chaotic and messy. You CAN.NOT control it. It’s impossible. You can try your very best. You can even keep up with everything for a few days…and then in an instant it all falls apart. I often find myself saying to Derek in the evenings, “it looks like our house just exploded.” Actually, I probably say that every night.

I’ve been struggling with it since right before Berkeley was born. I was so afraid I was going to go into labor and the house would be a wreck, and we’d have to bring our first baby home to a mess.

But this week I was reading “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (along with the rest of the world), and I finally got some peace about it all.

“I am calling you to a life of constant communion with Me. Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life. You yearn for a simplified lifestyle so that your communication with me can be uninterrupted. But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all.
Talk with Me about every aspect of your day, including your feelings. Remember that your ultimate goal is not to fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with Me. A successful day is one in which you have stayed in contact with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. Do not let your to-do list (written or mental) become an idol directing your life. Instead, ask My Spirit to guide you moment by moment. He will keep you close to Me.”

Those paragraphs have brought much clarity and peace into my life. It’s scary to think, but I do believe my to-do list had become an idol. I actually can’t think of a day that it hasn’t been lately. That mental and written list each day directed my every step and mood. Don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoy my precious children. We play non-stop. All day long. And I honestly don’t think I put housework and errands and to-do’s before them. But those other things are always at the back of my mind making me a nervous wreck. These words this week were permission to let that all go. Yes, I need to take care of my other duties as a wife and mom and student, but all I have to do is acknowledge God in all my ways and He will make my paths straight (Proverbs 3:6).

And hey, this messy, cluttered life has made me aware that every single moment of my life is FULL. And MEANINGFUL. That’s a pretty sweet thing to think about.

In our small group the other night (we are one of the only couples with kids), they asked everyone how we make each day count, not just letting the days pass by. I think it’s actually easier as a parent to make each day count because every moment is filled with teaching, and loving, and caring for another person other than yourself-constantly asking God to show his love to your family through you.

So beautiful.