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Grace has been cracking us up lately. She’s always been pretty silly, but she’s turned it up a notch. Lot’s of fake, manic laughter is involved. She is officially sleeping in her big girl bed. We just transferred her cold turkey last week. She’d already been waking up about four times a night for at least two weeks. We couldn’t figure out why. She did tell us one morning that she saw her baby doll floating on the ceiling. So dreams maybe? Plus, we moved her into a pack-n-play about eight weeks ago so that Adon could take over the mini-crib. (Poor Beej mentioned it was killing his back to reach over so far and pat and comfort Adon back to sleep when he was in the pack-n-play.) But Grace has been too big for both the mini-crib and the pack-n-play for quite a while. I’m sure the rock hard, thin mattress isn’t the most comfortable thing to sleep on. I just hid the pack-n-play before she got home from my mom’s one night, and we tucked her into her big girl bed. She loves that we can lay down next to her and snuggle while we tell stories at bedtime.

Adon has regressed! We are back to waking up everything three hours at night, but his bottom tooth has finally cut through. You can just barely see it. It's amazing to me how happy and smiley he is considering how little sleep he's been getting. I wish I could say the same for myself! I'm working on it. He is melt-my-heart adorable though. He’s been busy exploring the entire house, getting much faster at pulling himself around. And he's really into following Grace around and trying to touch and play with whatever she's into. I'm hearing "Mine. No, Adon. Mine" more and more often. 

Other memorable moments recently:

My best friend’s step-dad passed away suddenly on May 11^th. My heart breaks for her family and it was a privilege to serve them last week in different ways. 

The weather has been extremely nice lately—lots of sun, which always makes me just want more!

Beej gifted me a massage at The Spa LAST Mother's Day. I am going as soon as we can make it happen! I can't believe it's been a whole year since he gave me the gift card--you know what I'm gonna say, "time flies"!

My mom and her friend Mike rototilled two areas in our tiny side yard. I have some planting I need to get done soon!

I’m ordering THIS for Adon. As soon as I saw it, I thought of my dad, who loved to go deer hunting every Fall. So many funny stories of his adventures with my Uncle Steve and brother Dan. 

I can't believe May is almost over! Summer is on it's way. Yay!

Mother's Day 2012

I know Mother's Day is long gone now, but we've had such a busy time of it since then that I have had no time to share some of my favorite memories from that day. So, here goes...


Adon was very excited for Mother’s Day this year. So excited, in fact, that he couldn’t sleep. He just had to wake up early and shout “Happy Mother’s Day” in his own special words. You know, the loud and wailing kind. But don't worry, I knew what he was really saying, you know, deep in his heart. If only he had the vocabulary to express what he really meant!

I joke about Adon, but I really am beyond thankful for him and Grace and the amazing amount of joy being their mom brings me.

And I was incredibly blessed this Mother’s Day. On our date, Friday, Beej took me over to a local jewelry shop and I got to pick out a pair of earrings. Every time I’ll wear them I’ll remember this special Mother’s Day. I love meaningful gifts like that.

Grace greeted me in bed Sunday morning, “Happy Mom’s Day! Happy Mom’s Day!” She gifted me a new book, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, which I can’t wait to start. With some help, she’d written a sweet note and traced her hand on the inside cover.

Adon gifted me Mama’s Milk. What? You haven't heard of it? Let me show you...

With this special note written inside: "Mr. Adoniram can’t really attempt to write but he found this particularly meaningful on his first post natal Mommy’s Day."

Hilarious! I laughed pretty hard when Adon handed me his gift. It’s a sweet little book all about animals nursing their young. Did you know kangaroo’s milk is pink? Now we both do! You learn something new every day.

Beej took me out to breakfast and it was really packed. I loved seeing tons of families out honoring their moms and having breakfast together. At one point later in the morning, we were in the car and Grace kept saying "Happy Birthday". I explained Mother's Day, and she kept shouting, "Mommy Party! Mommy Party!" It was SO cute! That's just what we did too. We had both our mom’s and some family over for a barbecue lunch. It was such a great way to spend the afternoon, just laughing and telling stories. 

Thank you family for making my day so special! And thank you Mom and Mick for all your love and years of sowing into your children! I hope you both know how much I love you! 

DIY Paper Puppy

Adon still sleeps in our room right now and probably will until he's no longer nursing. So, even though Grace has her own room for at least five more months, I've been wanting to start slowly making some changes and adding some boyish touches to it so it's all ready when we move him in with Big Sis. 


This is a super simple and inexpensive DIY project that took me less than 10 minutes to put together with my silhouette machine. I have already used the machine a ton since getting it a few weeks back. 

Done! Just like that. I love doing this kind of stuff to decorate the kids' room.

2011 NOT 2012

Did anyone else notice that according to my baby boy's first album page, he's not even born yet?! Who knows when I would've realized if my mom hadn't pointed this out to me a few days ago, "Honey, I love your page, but the year is wrong." It's like having food stuck in your teeth the whole time you're talking with someone, but they never tell you. You don't notice until hours later when you've already been all over town, smiling away at everyone you meet. Good thing it's an easy fix! I just have to reprint the vellum and swap it out. It's always tough when you've spent so long working on something that you can't see the glaring errors anymore!

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Grace is just changing so much lately. She's talking, talking, talking up a storm! "No, I not" when I tell her to stop eating the cookie dough she's helping me make and then I look over to see her eat some more. "Grace." "No, I not Mom!" We are working on what it means to be honest and tell the truth with lots of "I love you always, forever, no matter what". She loves watching episodes of "Peppa Pig" right now. And she always says, "I watch George" when she wants to watch the television. I guess only letting her watch Curious George for so long really made an impression on her. And the sweetest thing this last week: I love to tell her, "Come here Grace. Get close. I have something important to tell you." Then I whisper, "I love you." She called me over a few days ago and did the same thing to me for the first time. I just melted!

Adon is seven months old today! He's a drool machine this last week, and I can feel little bumps on is bottom gum. Teeth are on the way. He still absolutely loves getting a bath (always has), but now he's trying to roll over every time I put him in the tub. It's getting to be more of a workout for this mama to keep him still enough to soap up and rinse off. And in the last two weeks, he's begun to realize who is family and folks he's used to and those he's not. A sweet old lady in Target bent over the cart to admire him and he burst into tears, quivering lip and all--again!



Other memorable moments: 


We ordered a Vitamix through Costco. It should be here in a week, and I'm looking forward to all the things we'll be able to do with it. Do you have one? What do you use it for most often?

I spilled coffee all over inside the car--yes, stinky and gross!

I am the most un-creative woman when it comes to doing things with my hair. My sister got that gene in our family--she's great at doing interesting and beautiful things with her hair and it always looks fabulous! I found several great tutorials HERE and HERE and thought I'd pass them on in case you too are anything like me. I need all the help I can get!

I just came across lay baby lay a few weeks ago. It's chock full of nursery ideas and resources. Make sure you have some time because you'll get sucked in and want to explore the whole site!

One of my dreams is to open an etsy shop and sell creative stuff I make. I am inundated with ideas, but need to, uh, actually start making stuff! Still working on it. In the meantime, did you know they offer a ton of free classes on how to better your shop. You can get insight info. before you even get started!

After a busy week, we are looking forward to some down time as a family this weekend. I hope you enjoy your's! 

Little Helper

ME: "Grace will you grab Adon a toy before we hit the road?" 

GRACE: "Sure Mom!" 

Made With Love

I've begun Adon's album, and I'm so excited about working on it! I put together a few things around Christmas time, but just this week began to seriously go through photos and start creating some pages. This is the first official one going in his book. You've already seen the photo from my first post showing Adon off when he arrived. It is one of my favorites of me and him that first day. I've been collecting more "manly" paper and other fun stuff for his book. I was pleasantly surprised by how much boyish stuff there is available now in the scrapbook world.

I stamped the "grungeboard" letters to give them some brown color and then used Ranger Ink's Glossy Accents on top of them to give his name some dimension and shine. Then I glued the letters onto the page using the same stuff. It's really versatile and dries fast.

Oh happy day indeed! My next move is to write out the story of the day he was born.

This 12x12 cardstock is from Hambly Prints. I absolutely adore their products. This is one of those times where the paper is so much cuter in person. I was thinking of Adon's book way back when we were on vacation in San Diego last August. I found a great little scrapbook boutique near the timeshare we stayed in. Beej drove me over to it twice in the short week we were there. Patient man! I cut the "made with love" sentiment with my new silhouette cameo on some olive green cardstock I had on hand.

And one more closeup of his sweet little face. I am so unbelievably in love with this little boy!

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Adon is starting to play, really play with toys. He's begun exploring everything! And I already mentioned our trip to the park and Adon's first time on the swings. We tried to move him to the 6 months+ pacifier and he totally didn't go for it. Different shape and size was not a winner. We'll have to keep looking for something that works. And he just got a sippy cup a few days ago with a built in straw. He's been loving drinking from a cup and grabs at any of them within reach when we're holding him near the table. I'm curious to see if he'll go for the straw and transition away from a bottle as easily as Grace did. 

Grace is putting on her sassy pants. Seriously, the last week, we've seen a whole new side of her personality. One where we have to try not to laugh as we discipline her and let her know intense fake crying, "nope, nope, nope" when asked to do something, and a general sassy attitude isn't going to work for any of us. Have you been there? With each new trick she pauses to see how we're responding. Obviously, testing the limits makes for a lot of amusing stories we'll have to share with her when she's older!

Other memorable moments:

We've had some really good times of fellowship with friends these last few weeks. I'm just so thankful for the many people we have and love in our lives.

I just received a super cute pair of TOMS as a late birthday gift and can't stop wearing them. So glad the company makes flats now. 

I took a class about blogging through AltSummit. It was great and if you're interested in learning more, do it! The classes are only $15 each right now--that's a steal. 

We are on the hunt for a larger vehicle. Any words of advice? Something used, with low miles, good mileage, and a decent price tag. C'mon, we're not asking for much! I think I may have won Beej over to the idea of a mini-van. So, it's not my dream car, but a couple friends have one, and I am sold on all the room, features, and price tag. We may try to look this weekend or next, so if you think of us, pray we find something that really works for our family. 

About two weeks ago I read "Kisses From Katie" by Katie J. Davis. She went on a short term mission trip to Uganda when she was in high school, then headed back for a year after graduation. Since then, she's adopted 14 girls, started a non-profit organization called AMAZIMA, and plans to live the rest of her life there loving and serving. I hope you take the time to read her story! 

I also just read Tim Kellar’s booklet “The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness” and highly recommend it. It’s incredibly short, but packed full of truth. 

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Time to Swing

The weather has been really nice the last few days, so we’ve been trying to make the most of it. Yesterday evening, we all headed over the park. Adon got to test out the swings for the first time. He was really pleased with himself. He kept looking at Grace. Then she’d look at them. Then they’d just sit there and look at each other for a bit, until Grace was ready to swing again. 

Grace would be outside every second if she could. She enjoys the park, but she really LOVES to swing. She stayed in the swing the entire hour we were there. Right now, her thing is “High. No, really high!” And she’s ok with underdogs. She wasn’t always, but now she likes them.

There is some serious concentration going in this last one. All this sun and fresh air has been WONDERFUL. They both came home from our time outdoors and slept wonderfully last night. I am ready for summer to arrive!

Six Months

My baby boy is six months old. Well, technically he’s closer to 7 months now. And, as usual, I am amazed that he’s already this old! It’s been a bit of a blur. A few weeks ago, I was watching him play. It was like I saw him again for the first time. I was just struck by how big he is now and how much time has already flown by. I think it has something to do with barely sleeping for six months.

And now he’s on the move! He's been inching his way a little farther each day. That photo is from the end of March--he was so much smaller just a few weeks ago! And two days ago, he army crawled his way across the entire living room. Go Adon!

He has been sleeping better the last two weeks. We did a little sleep training with him for a few nights, and since then, he’s been going for longer stretches. Hallelujah!

He’s still all over the place nap wise, but I am just SO THANKFUL to be getting less broken sleep at night when it really counts.

He’s begun eating baby food: oatmeal , peas, apple and broccoli, pears and raspberry, banana….You name it, he seems to love it all. He’s a pro already, making a ton of noise until the food is in his mouth.

At his wellness checkup he weighed 17 lbs. 13oz, 24 inches long. He’s in the 50^th percentile for both weight and height. But his head, oh his head…90^th percentile. We just make kids with giant craniums!

He’s chubby. He’s super smiley and happy most of the time. He laughs a lot, and I hear him laugh the most when Grace is teasing him in some way. It’s sweet. He's making more noises and has begun letting us know when he's, ahem, unhappy with one of our decisions--like removing the book he was trying to chew on. He's also suddenly apprehensive around people he doesn't know and for the first time yesterday, he started to cry, quivering lip and all, when someone he didn't know held him. I just love that we're starting to see more and more of his personality. I feel like the fun is just beginning.

Easter Sunday 2012

Last week flew by, so I'm a little late sharing the last of our Easter events with you, but we had a wonderful day despite a crazy beginning. I had set my alarm for 7:30am and was so tired I didn't hear it until 8:15am when we jumped out of bed and started sprinting around the house to get ready for church. Easter breakfast started at 8:30. We were bringing zucchini bread and some fruit. We got there a little after 9am! So much for being on time, but it was good to eat with others and see some close friends Easter morning.


The kids dug into their baskets after lunch. It's so fun to watch Grace get into all the traditions this year. They each got a few books, some bubble toys, a shirt or new pajamas. I never did find Grace's basket in our incredibly messy garage (that's on this summer's to-do list!), so she got to use a different one this year. Adon's is a basket some friends gave to us. I looked for something for him this year, but never found one I loved, so we'll see next year. I just love the idea of them having the same basket they get to use over and over each year and then pass on if they want to. 

We tried many times to get a family photo. These are probably a few of the better ones. Grace has this new "cheese" face for photos. She's just so silly--I love it! And I also hope to get some photos sans "cheese", know what I mean?! We'll have to try again soon.

Really, it was just a great day with family. Papi and Gammie popped by with some gifts before naps, and then we headed over to my mom's later in the afternoon for another egg hunt and dinner. The last two years, my mom has filled eggs with some serious cash and the adults have gotten to find them. It gets competitive--no joke! But it's always a lot of fun. I know we drive each other a little crazy at times, but I love getting together with my family. Everyone is so great with the kids, and I laugh more with them than anyone else. 


Hope you had a good Easter this year!