on a rainy day

oh, my achy-mama-heart.

ha!

L - week

L

Hooray, it's the week where we get to celebrate, "L is for Lily"!

Monday:

This animal says "rooooaaaarrr"

We ran downstairs and printed the picture above and made a little popsicle-stick frame with 'Lily Jane' written. 

She worked hard on her name this week!

Tuesday:

Not much to make that I knew she would eat or at least taste (besides lemons) so...

we made LUNCH & Lara Bars. 

Wednesday: 

Our verse this week: "Let us first love one another for love comes from God." 1 John 4:7

Thursday:

We played with some dollar store stickers to review the letters. I drew the upper and lowercase letters along with small boxes. Lily put the animals in the box that started with the letter. 

Friday:

Hi, Uncle Lance!

Thanks for taking time to facetime!

Two weeks ago she was spelling her name "o-y-o-y". Last week she drastically changed how she said "L" with a lot of tongue-emphasis making it "ELLL".

 This week she was clearly spelling "L-I-L-Y". I'm so proud.

K - week

K

Monday:

We made Kangaroos!

Tuesday:

hahaha

Wednesday:

We talked about kings in the Bible. 

Thursday: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk

Friday: Hi, Aunt Katie!

Other 'K' activities this week:

working on her Kicking!

Other cuteness:

Lily received a hand-me-down backpack from a friend and has been wearing it non-stop. She keeps telling me she's going to school. What?

good golly, he looks big

Mother's Day truths

I'm writing this post on Saturday night. The night before Mother's Day. Truth is, I'm utterly exhausted. Truth is, I want to go to bed and sleep-in until noon. Truth is, I know someone will cry and need me within the next 2 hours. Truth is, I'd love my 26-year-old wrinkles to disappear. Truth is, I'd love to go to a faraway beach tomorrow and just sit and read (or sleep) in the sun. Truth is, I'd miss my babies too much. 

Truth is, they bring me more joy than I can ever express in words. They are the reason I get to celebrate tomorrow. Tonight they drove me crazy. They were overly tired and squirmy and Lily spilled a big cup of water while we were out to dinner because she insisted she wanted to drink out of a big-girl cup with a straw without a lid. Yup, recipe for spillage. 

But even after an evening of whining and crying and needy-ness, I still love them enormously. I still put them both to sleep and prayed with them and for them and thanked God for their precious little bodies. May I never go a day without thanking Him for their lives, even when the days are long, the evenings are crazy, and I'm exhausted. Because at the end of the day, these sweet faces are what I look forward to seeing the minute I wake up. Ahem, I mean when they wake me up. :)

Someone else put it this way:

"Real, raw, rock you to your core emotion. The lump in your throat and tears in your eyes moments over the small milestones they achieve. Daily heart attacks over almost accidents. Nightly tears over if you are doing it all okay and if you are a good mother. The lose your mind cause they drive you crazy and lose your heart cause you love them so much it hurts." 

May all the mom's know each of your lives are valued and unique and celebrated today.

Happy Mother's Day!

J - week

J

See if you can guess what our 'J' craft was:

I'll give you a hint: It's a verb..

...rhymes with bump

The little people are supposed to be Lily and Ethan 

hey, jammies.

Tuesday: 

"J-E-L-L-O"

"Lily, don't touch the jell-o"

On Wednesday we talked about Jesus! I've been excited for this week for awhile.

Our verse this week: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

Thursday review: 

Here's a picture of what we do to review and learn a new lowercase letter. It's noting grand or special. I write down uppercase and lowercase letter and we say them aloud. After we do this we'll do a fun game of matching or circling a letter I ask Lily to show me, "Can you show Mama the big 'H'?" 

Friday: I also was really excited for Friday's guest, Miss Jamie! 

Jamie and I have been friends since middle school and I miss her dearly. She so sweetly chatted with Lily before work. Jamie came to see Lily a few hours after she was born. Where has the time gone?!

Thank you, Jamie, for taking time to chat and see us!

Ethan: 8 months

You know what? This month might be my favorite: "Goodbye 7th month. Hello, 8th month!" TWO top teeth later, we're celebrating Ethan's birth-day. Hooray!

See:

The other tooth (his top-left) popped through last night

Facts:

Weight: 20 lbs and some change

Hair: blondish/reddish and growing fast

Eyes: blue

Food: You've graduated to eating table food (already). It was easy. I feel much more comfortable feeding you pieces of food than I did with Lily. Second child, I guess. You love eggs, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, clementines, apples, applesauce, O's (cereal), meatballs, and pasta.

Milestones: You are army-crawling! You can get from one side of a room to another easily. You still don't like to sit. Funny because Lily was "late" at sitting too. We practiced today while on the bed and you flung backwards and thought it was hilarious. (I *secretly* feel that when a baby can sit up on his/her own it is incredibly freeing for a parent.) I'd love you to sit during you're 8th month!

Sleep: Terrible. I'm hoping it was your teeth causing havoc. (threat: it better have been those teeth...ugh.)

Fun things: You LOVE to watch Lily. She makes you laugh a lot! You have this adorable little dimple under your left eye that shows more apparently when you smile. I hope it stays forever. :) I'm not sure if it is because you are a boy or second child, but you and much more adventurous and curious than Lily. You love to grab and pinch (ouch) and reach for things that little babies shouldn't get into. 

Oh goodness me. I love you Ethan; all of your squirmy and squishy self.