Michael - 8 Months

Another month come and gone...my little dude is 8 months old now!

Poor little guy wasn't feeling good when we took these

He has had a bit of a rough couple weeks with being sick, and now teething/ and probable growth spurt? But he is quite the trooper, and still shows off his toothless grin through it all :)

I feel like he has changed quite a bit over the past month. He went from the quiet little guy who was happy watching everyone be wild, to the little guy with a loud voice determined to keep up with everyone else. I guess he figured if he stood a chance, he had to learn to speak up and keep up ;)

His big, new thing lately is getting his army crawl on. He started this a couple weeks ago and he is moving! He loves to chase Lucy around, and she equally loves getting chased by him.

He has started waving, and attempting to say "buh-bye". Whenever we wave and say "buh-bye" he will look at his hands and start waving. He is very intrigued by those hands still.

First time in the swing

He has finally said "mama", but only a couple times so who knows if it was legit ;) We are working on that!

Loves bath time!

Sleeping is still going well. He is in limbo with dropping his third nap of the day. Most days he still needs it though.

His eating is giving me a glimpse into teenage years. This kid is taking down food faster than ever. We are doing a baby led weaning/ purees combo for him which seems to be working well. We haven't given him anything yet that he doesn't devour.

First donut...love at first sight, just like his momma!

Fun little photo session! :)

Little man, you light up our world with that toothless grin and your sweetness! We love you so!

I Used To Be Cool

Today, I traded in my dignity for a sweet, new ride...a minivan! Yeah baby!

Let me start off by saying I was that woman who said, I will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER own a minivan! I can recall telling Ben at one point, "mark my words...I won't do it". Ahh, those moments when you eat your words ;)

We traded in my beloved Xterra. It was my second one to own, and I cannot even tell you how much I loved both of them...until we had our second child. Honestly, with just Lucy, I never felt like getting her in and out of it was a big deal and we still had a whole empty seat next to her in the back, so no biggie. Since having Michael, there was still the middle seat, but no one could fit in it so when family came in town we always had to take 2 cars wherever we went.

Another not so great thing about loading children in to the back seat of the Xterra was the fact that the rear doors are right over the wheel wells. Putting a toddler in, not so bad...putting your infant carrier in, a bit of a challenge. One thing I have day dreamed about is the idea of being able to lay my baby out (inside the car) and change a diaper. This may seem silly, but we haven't always been in places where there is a changing station, or it isn't up to my cleanliness standards so I prefer to change the kiddos in the car. Changing Michael isn't easy, but it is doable. Poor Lucy is usually contorted all kinds of ways in order to get her changed. The final straw for me was recently when I took both kids to the doctor and someone parked too close to me. I have had people park close enough to where I have to finagle Michael's carrier in there, but I have always been able to slide him in somehow. This time, there was no way I was getting that carrier inside through the back door. So I go around to Lucy's side, get her back out of the car, and the carrier is too big to go over her car seat so I had to climb in the front seat and push that thing through the two front seats to click it into the base in the back. Talk about major frustration! And did I mention it is snowing and freezing outside, and of course both kids are screaming. Ben came home from work that day and I told him I needed a minivan with those glorious sliding doors.

I have spent the past week talking to other moms about their minivans and ya know, I have yet to talk to a minivan owner who doesn't love theirs!

The kids and I were at Chik-fil-a for lunch last week and I saw a woman pull up in her minivan with a bumper sticker on the back that said, "I used to be cool". I'm thinking that purchase may be in my near future :)

The more kids we have, the more convenience I need in my life!! This van is the definition of  convenience for me. Sure, it may not look as rugged and cool as my Xterra did, but it sure makes life a heck of a lot easier!

All hail to the minivan!!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day (almost) weekend everyone!! Ben and I don't usually do anything big to celebrate Valentine's Day, and this year will be no different ha! We had planned on doing a date night swap with some friends for tonight and Sunday night but Lucy has been battling a nasty cold all week so we are postponing date swap until kiddos are all healthy! Tis the season for all the lovely germs.

Instead of getting to go out to dinner, I'm thinking something more like this. This isn't really a new idea. I have heard of this before, but I love hearing new ideas for home dates. I also love that she talks about scheduling it. It would be really easy for us to put it on the back burner since we wouldn't be getting ready and leaving the house, but this would make it more set in stone.

Other things on the agenda for the weekend include...GETTING OUTSIDE!!! We have had some awesome weather this week and it is continuing all through the weekend and into next week and I am so pumped about it! Come on spring!!!!! :)

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!

Lindsey

One Year Later...

I have been thinking about this post for a while now.

It has been one year since I started this journey as a stay at home mom. It's hard for me to believe that it has already been one year, but here we are.

Here are some of my thoughts and emotions reflecting back on the past year.

Things I expected:

1. I thought about going back to work on multiple occasions (big surprise, huh?). I feel like I've actually had this thought more often lately. I'm not sure if it's because things are getting a bit busier now as Michael is getting older or what but, though I'm not proud to admit, when things have been tough, I tell Ben I want to go back to work. This is always followed by me feeling bad because I know that I am truly blessed to be able to be at home with them, and it is totally normal to have tough days.

2. I have struggled with my identity, as well as my contribution to my family. Ok, here's the thing, Ben probably tells me on a biweekly basis that I am contributing more than him by raising our kids, and that I have the harder job of the two of us. I know that I have a huge, important responsibility in raising these sweet blessings, but satan does a darn good job of getting in my head and making me feel like I don't do enough. If someone asks me what I do, I actually fumble because I don't know if I should mention that I'm still technically a nurse. As far as my identity, God is reminding me often that my identity is found in Him alone (1 John 3:1-2), and not tied to a profession. I'm human, and some days I need the reminder that regardless of whether or not I go back to work one day, I am secure in Him.

There's my short list of expectations, ha! I guess I was really in for the surprises ;)

Things I did not expect:

1. I worried about not having a plan in place for if/when I would go back to work. I worried about this A LOT! I think this one surprises me because it's only been ONE year! I thought a lot about losing my skills as a nurse the longer I'm out of it. I worried that I might try to go back to work and not have the confidence anymore that I could still do it, or worse, that someone wouldn't want to hire me because I chose to sit out for a while.

2. The huge need for adult interaction. I have joked with Ben before about him coming home from work and I will just talk his ear off because I have been talking mostly to little people all day. I think sometimes it can feel a little lonely so I've tried getting better about doing playdates, as well as time with friends without the kids.

3. The astounding number of days in a row that I can rock my pj's. Oh yes! Confession: I lost count. And for the record, ain't no shame in it, I just try to break the cycle every now and again to surprise my husband when he comes home from work ;)

4. How much fun I've had crunching numbers and actually staying within our budget. It has become almost like a game for me (say what??) This one was certainly unexpected. I was worried about the finances when I quit my job, but now I actually enjoy scoping out the deals, and tapping into my inner frugal side, and making things work.

Overall...what a fantastic year it has been, really. If there is one thing I know...it is that God has me right where He wants me. Every time I consider going back to work, He reminds me that I am right where I need to be right now...at home with these two little ones :)

And that peace is unquestionable.

Happy Friday friends!

Lindsey