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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!

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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! 

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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!

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Grace has really been into maps the past two weeks. She's been drawing her own little maps to Papi's and Baba's houses. Tell me, who doesn't like to draw maps in their swimsuit? She's also been coloring for hours each day--mainly because it's been raining so much we haven't been outside a lot since we got sick. Everyday she says, "Go outside?" and we look out the window. "Maybe not." I don't know where she got "maybe not", but she's been saying it all the time for the last week. It's cute to hear. 

Adon took a 2 1/2 hour nap on Monday. This is seriously amazing folks! I kept checking on him because that's the longest he's ever napped in his short little life. Another growth spurt maybe? Or just trying to knock out that lingering cold? Whichever, it was glorious! He's just super smiley and so cute! He's chatting it up more and more. And he's got to be the gassiest little guy I've ever met. Ha!

Other memorable moments from this week:


We've been having fun creating more family traditions leading up to Easter this year. 


Have you heard of washi tape? I love using it lately on cards and the kids' albums. 


My Costco impulse buy last week was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It's a great read about two young kids growing up at the end of World War Two and the hardships they endure because of their race--Henry is Chinese American and his friend Keiko is Japanese American. She gets sent to an internment camp...and I don't want to give anymore away. But if you read it, let me know what you think!

Beej got me a Wacom Intous4 writing tablet for Christmas. It was a complete surprise gift, and I was shocked because they are pricey! I had mentioned how neat they were a couple times and a few of the ways I thought I could use one. He totally remembered and decided to just go for it because he was able to get a great deal on one. I just opened the box the week before last. I have thought about it over and over and just haven’t had a ton of time to sit down and figure out how to use it. I am getting it and it's a lot of fun to play with!

Are you a mama? Want a good laugh? Go read THIS. Seriously, it's hilarious! We are right at this point with Adon, and I think he's onto us! 


That's it folks! Have a wonderful weekend. And if you celebrate Easter, I hope you realize just how much you are loved by the Father! His grace is overwhelming!!

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Grace is singing her little heart out here. I got to be in her band as long as I strummed the pink bat and didn't try to steal her mic. This week she told me her favorite color is pink. She also likes to ask for "one more" to just about everything, especially singing "Old MacDonald had a horse..." at bedtime. 

Adon is now rolling over both ways all by himself! He’s been rolling over front to back for a long time and oh so close to making it back to front for weeks. He finally did it! Go Adon!! He can also pop his binky in and out of his mouth pretty regularly by himself. Unfortunately, he's waking up almost hourly at night. We are seriously hoping and working toward more sleep--for everyone! 


Other memorable moments from this week:

We got to visit with some very dear friends from out of town, and I only wish we could have spent more time with them!

Beej took me out Friday afternoon to see The Hunger Games movie. I thought they did a good job of keeping the story straight and the violence not too graphic. I loved the book series and kept wondering how the movie would come off. Have you seen it? What'd you think?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

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Adon is now five months old. Five months! Where has the time gone? I feel like his first birthday is right around the corner. Time just seems to be going by that quickly!  And he's in sixth month clothing now. I've been in denial for a while--I always hate to admit that my kids are getting bigger. It's already time to sort and box up clothes again. He's loving his exersaucer and hanging onto things more. He's also watching us like a hawk whenever we eat. I can't wait to try some baby food next month. 

Grace has been having a great time squirting everything in the yard. And there’s also been a lot of dancing, and playing like she’s a puppy. She's just so much fun right now. She's also obsessed with "owies". My little brother broke his foot in three places on Christmas Eve. He came over last night with a special gift for Grace, and she got to show him how she too has a "boot" on her foot, shoving it into her Melissa & Doug fake cookie roll and hobbling around on it. She's creative like that. It was hilarious!


Some of the more memorable moments lately have been: 


A really fun date with Beej before he left for three days to be in his friends wedding. It is always good to get out just the two of us. And I really felt the Lord bless his time away. He had fun, and I actually felt like my time alone with the kids went really well. 


"Ow. Hurt my eyes"--I heard this several times until I looked over to see Grace shining an intensely bright flashlight over and over in her face. "You can stop doing that honey". "Oh." Silly kid!


Grace is remembering some of the bible stories from her Jesus Storybook Bible. She has a Little People Nativity Set and has been really into making Mary ride around on a horse. And then she ran up to me a few days ago saying, "Baby in my tummy" only to unwrap her shirt and show me Baby Jesus in a manger from the same set. It took me a few days to put it all together, but she's just acting out the story I've been reading her most often lately.


I finished a book Beej surprised me with a few weeks ago: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Crazy title, but a good read. If you give it a go, let me know what you think!


That's it folks. I hope you enjoy your weekend and give lots of hugs and kisses to the ones you love!