my boys. 17 months and 9 weeks.

:Berkeley:
:for breakfast he either wants to share a bowl of cereal or eat a frozen waffle...like he eats it frozen, won't let me toast it these days:
:wants me to read his big truck book to him over and over:
:he's really quiet and cuddly all morning until his first nap, then he's all adventure and play in the afternoon:
:he met his new babysitter today (he and sam will stay with her during my 6 hour a week practicum for school). my shy little mommy's boy did great...gave her five, gave her books to read to him, showed her his room, and wanted to follow her out to her car. what a relief! :)
:wants to eat reeses puffs and potato chips all day. but his meals are healthy so I let him eat those as snacks:
:quit falling asleep in his own bed (like, it would take one or two hours), so we have been letting him go to sleep in the bed with me, while Derek takes sam. then we switch in the middle of the night when sam gets hungry. yeah, we're kinda flexible, to say the least. it's not that bad and we know it won't last forever. just a stage. he's only 17 months old and he's already gone through so many silly stages, we know this one is bound to end soon like the rest of them:

thinks he's too big for a highchair.

fell asleep during supper, which is amazing for a child that takes FOREVER to fall asleep any other time :)

:Sam:
:still sleeping pretty much all day:
:went to his 2 month appointment yesterday and is in the 79th percentile for his weight! that's great because Berkeley has never been above the 22nd percentile, and that was at his best!:
:is kind of fussy at night and right when he finishes eating:
:smiling more and cooing. precious. melts this mamas heart:
:loves to sleep with his daddy holding him:
...don't really have much else to say for sam. he is still kind of just quiet and sleeping most of the time. so ready for him to be part of the family, interacting and everything.

snoozin' while berkeley and I played outside on a gorgeous day

what happens when dad changes your diaper. onesie over pants.



here's a glimpse of the fort Berkeley and I made on a cold winter day. at first, he hated it and would freak out when I climbed in. so I just decided to act like it wasn't there and eventually he crawled in there on his own and hung out there all afternoon.

 it's so crazy being in charge of his entertainment. mommy's have a big job! big, and challenging, and the most amazing job ever! how will I ever leave them to teach school?? or will I have to???
so much unknown right now, which is why all I can do is enjoy the present. knowing I might not be doing this with my boys this time next year keeps things in perspective big time.

glimpses of our home.

here is our new home. a dream come true. a surprise actually! we had no idea at the beginning of the summer that we would be having a house built by august. it was all just part of a perfect plan God had in store for us! we get to live across the street from our dear friends and small group leaders. we have dreams of our children growing up across the street from each other. I've already walked across the street to borrow butter for brownies one night, and olive oil for bread dip another night. we love it here on gardenia street.

 

 

our home :)

 

 

a corner of the boys' room. lyrics from "needle and thread" by sleeping at last + a pallet that hubby turned into a bookshelf.

 

kitchen, where I do all my cooking. haha. yeah, right.

guest room. come visit and you can stay here :) print on the nightstand says "rise and shine" love it.

 

our bedroom-"you are my happily ever after" print is my fave.

 

entryway. love our typewriter...a housewarming gift from the lady that introduced us.

 

another corner of our bedroom....berkeley snuck into this one. i'm glad :)

fireplace. painting by hubby's boss' wife. she's so very talented, and so sweet to paint that for us.

 

old window from our alma mater (university of central Arkansas) + thrifted green velvet chair (we got two!)

 

thanks for touring our home!

my boys.

mmmmm, I've always wanted to be able to say that. my boys.

I dreamed of having a house of boys. me being the only lady in the house. and it happened!! crazy! wouldn't mind having one more boy, but don't want to risk it being a girl ;)

BERKELEY

:wants to be holding my hand at all times:
:lays his head down on a pillow just to rest, even if it's not naptime:
:stops in his tracks anytime he hears music. sometimes he dances:
:if anyone walks in the front door i.e. daddy, nana, or papa, he wants them to take him to their car to play in the driver's seat. he could do that for hours I think:
:eats blueberry waffles with lots of butter for breakfast:
:loves to share an apple with mommy:
:loves spinach smoothies. my healthy boy:
:like to hear me read his dora book in Spanish:
:loves to help me clean. he gets into sweeping, cleaning things with a cloth, and helping me vacuum:
:says "uh-guh" to pretty much everything. that's his favorite word, whatever it means:
:tells roger "down" and swings his hand back and forth. must have seen me yelling at roger to get off the bed :)
:will attempt to do jumping jacks when I do my jillian michaels video. he also tries to find his belly button when he sees jillian's in her skimpy outfit....which means I won't be doing many more of those workouts when he's around:
:wants juice all the time (don't worry, I give him mostly water, but he thinks it's juice). he goes to the fridge and points and says "juice" about 100 times a day:
:if you whisper, he'll whisper back:
:likes playing with kitchen stuff rather than his toys. he'll pretend "cook" me things by stirring and stirring and then come give me a bite:
:once, just once, he swaddled his glow worm and started rocking it. it was precious. guess he's seen me do it to sam a few times :)
:will bring sam his passie, but will also yank it out of his mouth if he feels so inclined:
:if i'm changing sam's diaper, he'll bring me a diaper for sam:
:he sleeps in his bed until around 5 or so, sometimes earlier. when he wakes up, dad goes and gets him and sleeps with him in the guest room until morning. (sam is too loud to bring Berkeley into our room. sam's a grunter. haha) sometimes, only mommy will do in the middle of the night and I have to be on duty for both boys:
:pretty grumpy at nighttime before bed. ugh. but he's still so precious:
:likes to be carried around in the ergo. especially at the grocery store or when i'm cleaning the kitchen or cooking at night:

 

 

ever holding mommy's hand

snow day : the day after christmas

SAM

:sleeps in the rock n' play next to our bed:
:pretty much happy all day except for first thing in the morning (tummy troubles) and right before bed (tummy troubles again, I think):
:looooooves to be swaddled, unlike when Berkeley was tiny:
:nurses about every 2-3 hours:
:my champion nurser. i'm so proud of him:
:sleeps almost all night. wakes up twice to eat and then goes right back to sleep:
:sometimes I hold him at night for extra long after he nurses, because I don't get enough one on one time with him in the daytime:
:smiled for the first time last week (6 weeks), but really started smiling and interacting this week (7 weeks):
:likes to hold our finger:
:loves the passie to no end:
:likes to go on walks in the ergo:

first week alone with both boys

yawn.

I call this "super sam!"

love these boys like no tomorrow.

our first official picture as a family of four.

for this season

so, if you didn't already know, being a parent is hard. mr. Sherwood and I are incredibly blessed with frequent babysitters (my parents) for date nights and little outings here and there. but STILL.
it can get a little crazy around here sometimes.

Friday night we were driving around town on our date night talking about bed times. exciting date night material, I know ;)

Berkeley REFUSES to go to bed without a fight. he wants you to lay down beside his crib and hold his hand until he falls asleep. that can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. for real.
for a while there, getting Berkeley to sleep was Derek's job while I nursed sam or picked up the house. but as of last week, Berkeley wants mom, and only mom will do.

I kept getting so frustrated last week because all I wanted to do was put him to sleep quickly so I could go hang out on the couch with my hubby.

but during our date night talk, we reminded ourselves that this is just for this season.

there will come a time (and it will come sooner than we can imagine) that, not only will Berkeley not need my hand to fall asleep, he won't even be home for me to cuddle and love on. he'll be off at a friend's house, not needing his mommy. I should be cherishing this short time in our lives. Derek and I will have YEARS to sit on the couch and watch tv. and during that time, I have a feeling we'll reminisce and wish we had just one more night to hold Berkeley's hand as he falls asleep.

gotta love him :)

also, there are so many people who let their children cry it out, and it worked brilliantly for them. and let me just say, I wish it had worked for us. our lives would probably be so much easier right now. but it didn't work. it didn't feel right for our family and so we stopped. we have chosen to love Berkeley to sleep by cuddling him and holding his hand, so I need to accept that and embrace it :) embrace the hard. embrace the mess. embrace the tired. embrace.

so that's really why I was anxious to start blogging again. I want to document the moments of parenting that take my breath away so I can reflect on them, and so I can come back to them when it feels like this season of sleepless nights will never end.

 

oh, sweet sam. you sure do deal with a lot from your brother. but I know he loves you!

in 10 months.

in the last ten months (since the last time I blogged), mr. Sherwood and I have celebrated Berkeley's first birthday, moved from a home in downtown Conway, lived with my parents for three months while our new house was being built. had a new precious baby. and two days later moved into our new home.

  I haven't blogged in ten months because I have been busy, yes. but the real reason? the real reason is that I was scared. I was too worried about what other people thought of my blog (even though my family and closest friends are my only readers :)

I would write with other people in mind instead of writing for myself.
I was most scared of the fact that I am not a photographer. it seems that every good blogger is fabulous with a camera. and I most certainly am not.

but i'm over that. my boys' lives are too precious not to document. and blogging seems to be the best way to document everything these days.
it's all in one place, easily accessible.
I want to share our life with the friends I don't get to see much anymore and with my family that is far away.

so here's to new beginnings. new babies. new homes. new dreams. new goals. and even new fears. because those fears challenge me to step out in faith. and i'm excited about that.

Berkeley looking out our front window at the construction next door. i love his little boy heart :)

miscellany monday

i've always wanted to join up with carissa from lowercase letters for miscellany monday, so, here we go!!

1. we went to wye mountain (a local daffodil field/annual festival) this weekend with derek and his parents. i carried berkeley around in his carrier. we picked daffodils ($1/dozen...so quaint:) took some pictures of baby b. the weather was gorgeous...sunny, warm, and a bit windy. families were taking their easter pictures, enjoying picnics. it was glorious!!







2. my mom and i took a walk on saturday to the post office downtown to mail a package to alicia hutchinson from la famille. she is going to review my mom's math book on her blog :) joy!!!!




3. i get to guest post for the lovely hungry runner girl about staying healthy before and after pregnancy! i couldn't be happier! i actually jumped up and down on the bed when i found out!!!! now i just have to figure out what i'm going to write....

4. i get to teach a 5th grade social studies lesson for grad school this week. i picked hispanic culture in arkansas and the united states. it's going to be a blast to teach....there will be a pinata!!

5. i heart red buds and daffodils all about our home!

6. we redid a room in our home this weekend. i hope to share pictures soon :)

hello again :)

i haven't blogged since we moved. yikes!

i've got lots to say. it's all jumbling around in my mind. i want to tell all about how berkeley is growing (over six months old now!), our new home, some spring things, just life!

i'll start with berkeley. he wears little polos just like his daddy and papa.

he waits patiently when mommy gets a flat tire and is waiting for help.
he drinks his starbucks every morning....wait, no....that's just me :)
he grins non-stop.


and he SITS UP ALL BY HIMSELF like a big boy!

if you're a worrier (and i tend to be), being a momma is hard work. i need jesus a lot these days. i've been praying (thanks to the book "power of a praying parent") "god, whenever i have a fear about anything, i pray you'll remind me to take it as a sign to pray until i feel peace. daily, i want to release berkeley to you. be in charge of his life, then the pressure is off me, and life as a mom can be much more enjoyable."
ahhhhh. rest. peace. assurance.

oh, and speaking of peace:
“There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared. Peace is the great venture. It can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

so there you have it. a little of what i've been pondering lately.

I LOVE BEING A MOM! THANK YOU, LORD, FOR SURPRISING US WITH THIS PERFECT GIFT!

continued thankful list:

40. apples and nutella
41. that my friend's fiance works at starbucks and sometimes i get a free cup of coffee
42. that peace doesn't mean that everything is going great, but you can have it anyway
43. walks with berkeley in the stroller
44. walks with berkeley in his ergo carrier
45. a friend that got to spend the night for a few nights before she moved
46. i get to be in that friend's wedding in june
47. decorating our new home
48. polishing my nails coral pink
49. crockpot suppers
50. dreaming of ordering new rainbow flip flops
51. dreaming of wearing shorts and skirts
52. dreaming of laying out this summer
53. just plain dreaming of summer!
54. a friend reunion on march 22nd!!!
55. the bird's nest on our front porch
56. swinging on the front porch swing with berkeley
57. friday night dates, just the hubby and me
58. faby's, our favorite restaurant for date night
59. cozy quilts