Welcome Baby Garrett!

Well, things have certainly been busy since we became a family of 5! Our sweet little man is 6 weeks old today. He has added so much joy in our family and his big brother and sister think he is pretty amazing, which he is. :)

Here is a photographic look at his first six weeks:

He was born October 2nd, 2013 @ 12:32pm

He weighed 7lbs 11oz, and was 21 inches long.

Labor was fairly short and was free of complications. 

Aside from some expected jaundice (it runs in the family) he was a perfectly healthy little boy. And perfectly precious too.

Proud daddy. :)

My boys, meeting for the first time.

Going home, three days old.

Three days later, we ran into some issues. Poor little man. He was such a trooper. We spent two days in the hospital this time, and left with peace of mind that all the issues were worked out.

We got released just in time to pick up Nana Tilda from the airport! We sure had a fun time with her!

He is very alert and full of personality. :)

Nana took some pictures of our family of five.

I am amazed by how much the Lord has blessed our family.

Aren't they just too stinkin' cute!

Garrett's baptism.

Saying bye bye to Nana Tilda before she flew back home.

Garrett enjoys going for walks with mommy...

and with daddy. :)

He makes adorable faces often. :)

Our little old man :)

And is simply precious!

He enjoys his big brother and sister. And they love him.

He gets lots of snuggles

Handsome fellas

And LOTS of kisses

So sweet.

He got to join in on Halloween festivities.

And get dressed up just like big brother and big sister.

Our little police man.

I am so thankful.

Sweet little baby Garrett, 6 weeks old. 

Getting ready for Baby!

                     Hard to believe we are so close to meeting our little boy! This pregnancy has gone by very quickly. Chasing two little ones may have had something to do with that. ;) Here we are, a month from our due date, a week and a half from full term. And seeing a lot of signs that my body is preparing for the big event. 

We have been preparing a lot as well: 

We have our hospital bag packed and ready.

Plans made for the kiddos and the pup.

Car seat, diapers, and all that jazz.

 And... we have a finished nursery, which is a wonderful feeling!

We started with a lovely lavender room. (Pretty color. But not what we were looking for in a nursery for a little boy.) 

And we turned it into vibrant rolling hills and beautiful blue sky. Which, I might add, was a lot of fun to do!

Daelynn is so excited about her baby brother!

 We are very happy with how the walls turned out. I am so proud of, and thankful for, my hubby and all the hard work he put in to get this done. It was his first time painting! Though no one would ever know because he did such a great job. 

After the painting was all finished, we added some fun wildlife wall decals. We let the kids help us put them up, and we all had such a fun time with it!

The turtle was one of my favorites, and Daelynn was all about the bunnies.

The "angry fox", as I call him, cracks me up. Another favorite of mine.

The decorations add a lot of fun to the room. And the contrasting colors on the walls should be fun for baby as well.

His adorable teddy bear bedding compliments the room pretty well, it makes me smile every time I see it, and the kids cant help but pet the blanket every time they see it. :) It has full family approval.

Also, in the getting ready department, I am trying hard to keep moving, even in the exhausting third trimester. Me and my morning walking buddy try to get out before the heat sets in and the rest of the house wakes up. He is a morning person, just like mommy (normally) is. Which makes for a very pleasant walk. We talk about the birds and flowers and just enjoy the fresh air and calm of the morning. 

And such a handsome buddy he is!

 The kids are preparing as well. 

My big girl is so excited about being a big sister again. She talks about the songs she is going to sing for him, the books she is going to read him, and she is always eager to help us get things ready for him. She has been such a great big sister with Blake, we know our new little guy will have the best big sister.

Blake, being younger, doesn't quite understand whats coming like his big sister does. When we ask him "whats in mommy's tummy" he will answer "baby". But, as far as really comprehending that... well, lets just say, we are expecting him to be pretty surprised when we bring his little brother home. :) Even still, we are sure he is going to be a great big brother. He can teach his little brother all about Baseball! (One of his very favorite things, and daddy's as well.)

I am so grateful that these two have such a good playmate in each other. I am so thankful for the love they have for each other. And I am excited to see them share that love with their new baby brother. 

Well, I do love orange.

I was recently made acquainted with a wonderful blog: The Orange Rhino Challenge. It follows the fantastic journey of a mom who made the decision to stop yelling at her children for 365 days straight. Any yelling at all would set her back to day 0. She is currently on day 559, so I'd say she has been successful, and has worthy advice to offer.

This topic really hit home with me. As much as we would all like to hide our unpleasant sides, sometimes we need to own up to them to make a real change occur. I have certainly done my share of yelling; and likewise had my share of guilt, shame, and regret at my actions. No one enjoys being treated in such a manner, especially in their own home by someone they love. And no one deserves to be. I have been working on said vice for a long time now, and have made some measure of progress. However, not enough to cause me any great satisfaction. I believe this new resource will be a wonderful asset to me, and in turn, to my family. And, knowing that I am certainly not the only Mom to have problems in this area, I thought I would share the resource.

The first post from the blog that I read was "10 things I learned when I stopped yelling at my kids". It is short and definitely worth a glance.
http://theorangerhino.com/10-things-i-learned-when-i-stopped-yelling-at-my-kids/

Here is the link for the "12 steps" to getting started. Thinking about my triggers has occupied my thoughts a lot today. There were some very obvious ones for me, including pregnancy hormones, the heat and humidity, and tiredness. But it is a bit surprising what some others might be. Its a good chance to get to know yourself a bit better.
http://theorangerhino.com/12-steps-to-stop-yelling-at-your-kid/

She provides a wonderful list of possible alternatives to yelling. A handy little 'get started' tool.
http://theorangerhino.com/alternatives-to-yelling/

I do not intend on turning my blog into a narration of my journey to stop yelling. I still intend to fill it with the adorable pictures, accomplishments, and general awesomeness of my wonderful children. Though I admit to having neglected doing so recently. Third trimester, a family sinus infection, our missing dog (still not found, prayers for his safe return are appreciated), and having family visiting have all played their part in being a higher priority than blogging. I anticipate being a bit more attentive to the blog presently, and look forward to sharing pictures and stories of our ever growing, completely precious (no bias, I'm sure) children. Including, we expect in about 4-6 weeks, our newest precious addition.

And yes, I really do love orange.

Best Job Ever

   So today was one of those days where I really appreciated how great my job is. Today was not a dream day where the kids were perfect angels and the chores were magically done. There were still many opportunities for learning, for both the kids and I. There was still laundry and dishes to wash and floors to clean. Noses to wipe, diapers to change, and discipline and forgiveness to delve out.
And it was a wonderful day. An absolutely wonderful day spent with the people who mean the most to me in all the world.

It began with my prettiest alarm clock waking us up as she came into our room, as she does in the mornings now, when she is awake and needs to use the potty. Jim and I both got a good laugh at her technique of waking him by quietly walking to the side of the bed and then gently patting the side of his face while saying "Daddy, I need to pee." He gave a little start, but was up instantly, ready to help his little girl. Then the love of my life and I got to snuggle up with our sweet little girl for a few minutes while we waited for our little man to wake. At his first babblings over the monitor, Daelynn jumped up and excitedly headed to his room to "go get Bubba" as she loves to do in the morning. And thus began our day.

It was filled, like most days, with the normal things: errands, books, toys, arguments over toys, return to fellowship after arguments about toys. Moments of joy and frustration, patience and impatience, kindness, tenderness, rudeness, defiance, repentance, excitement, sweetness, and love. As well as witnessing the mastery of new skills. Daelynn happily and proudly recites her alphabet over and over. Her intelligence is awesome to see. Blake figured out how to turn the banana chair into a slide using the coffee table. His problem solving and daring amaze me, and sometimes cause me some anxiety. Daelynn is really getting the hang of throwing a ball to her target. Blake is making great strides in learning how to sit still and listen. These may not seem like amazing feats, but they really are. Watching children learn is one of the truly amazing parts of life. And knowing that I am helping make a difference in their lives, and teaching them every day is very rewarding, and humbling. I cannot think of any other job I could do that would be as important or rewarding as this one. Its not easy. In fact its the hardest job I have ever had and carries the most responsibility I've ever known. But it is by far the best job I have ever had.

Some of the sweetest moments of my days come near the end of them. Bed time for my babies has become a wonderful, fun time full of cuddles, laughter, singing, kisses, and more snuggles. Seeing my kids run to each other to give night-night hugs and kisses is heart warming. Those little people truly love each other so much, and I am so blessed to see it every day.
Blake's most recent bed-time habit, which gets me laughing so hard its difficult for me to sing his lullabies, is that he wants kisses after nearly every line or half-line of a song. And being held up nearly level with my face, due to my ever growing belly, its easy for him to get them. He does this with a big smile and some giggles, and seems to find himself pretty entertaining. As do I. After finally making it through his song or songs and giving several more kisses, I tuck him in with his bunny and his horse named "Cow" and we blow each other kisses as I leave the room.
Daelynn picks her bed time songs and sings with me while cuddled in my arms. When snuggling my children I can be prone to sighing contentedly and just allowing time to slip by as I hold them in my arms. This is often followed by tickling. And after tucking her in with ALL her babies, she has about 8 on the bed with her, and giving her one more good night kiss before I leave the room, she can often be heard singing lullabies to her babies for some time after.
Any day, ended so sweetly, is a most wonderful day.

God has truly blessed me. Even though some parts of this job can seem a bit monotonous, and others quite overwhelming, every day is filled with amazing moments. Even if those moments are only amazing to the people they involve. I am so grateful I get to be here and be a part of it all. I really do have the best job in the world.

Two of my favorite people in the world!

Ready.

     I am getting over my trepidation over the significance of next Wednesday. The last year in my 20's is seeming more welcomed. Its amazing the change that takes place in that 10 year stretch! I don't think I would recognize my 20 year old self. And I think that's a good thing! :) 

Truthfully, I feel like my life didn't truly begin until I was almost 25, when I met my husband, began my walk with Christ, and learned about true sacrifice and happiness. So in that case, I am really only turning 4. Hehe. What an absolutely amazing four years it has been! And I am thankful for the 25 before it as well, they led me here.

 Amazing blessings: My wonderful husband, our sweet girl, our big boy...

and our little boy, we will get to meet this Fall!

             I am indeed content with 29, and ready, come Wednesday, to embrace it without any eye rolling or cringing. I am so thankful for what I've gained from it. I am finally starting to feel like a grown up, and come 2014, I will be excited to enter the next bracket.

Let Them be Little

      "Let them be little" by Billy Dean is definitely one of my favorite songs. And is one that will bring this emotional pregnant mommy to tears every time, without fail. If you have never heard it, you must stop reading this blog and listen/watch it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUKbxbmpcwU, it will only take a few minutes, then get a tissue and come back to reading.

    Today I had one of those moments of sadness and joy at the realization of how big my kids really are getting already. They are learning and growing so quickly that it can be hard for this mommy to keep up. It is wonderful to see them growing and becoming who they are meant to be. But it is also hard to accept that my babies aren't babies anymore.

Daelynn has been potty trained since right after she turned 2. But being so little, she always had to use a potty chair. Now, with a stool and potty seat, she can go in the big potty all on her own! Her only 'short coming' is that even on the stool, she cannot reach the knobs on the sink to turn the water on and off for hand washing. She still needs us for that at least. :) She can count to twelve, with the exception of 4 which she consistently skips. Lol. And she is picking up her alphabet very quickly. She is more than happy to sing a lullaby to her brother and say the blessing for a meal. There are so many other wonderful things that I cannot begin to list them all. She is a big girl (though very petite), with a very big heart, a true helper's spirit, and a lot of smarts.

Today we went to the park. Our neighborhood park has no baby swings. Daelynn has been using a big kid swing since she was about a year and a half. And she loves to swing. Blake, always wanting to be wherever his sister is, and doing whatever she is doing, pointed at the swings and kept signing "please" over and over. And I am a total sucker for that little cutie, so I put him up there. I expected to be holding him up, but he proved me wrong. He held on like a big boy, and I got the joy of watching both my kids swinging together on big kid swings for the first time! After swings we went to the slide, and he showed mommy he was a big boy there too. He got up to it, onto it, down it, and off of it, all by himself! He hasn't played on slides much, so I was, and am, very impressed. He isn't even 15 months old yet! But he sure thinks he is a big boy, and has the ability to back up the claim. He is picking up new words all the time, and is becoming a good helper in the house. And he is the most hilarious fun kid to be around.

I love who they are, and who they are becoming. They are so precious. I am trying to treasure every moment. The moments pass so quickly...

Jim holding Daelynn right after she was born

Sweet girl home from the hospital

And crawling...

and standing, and "helping" with the laundry...

Hanging out while Daddy installs her new big kid car seat!

Getting to know her "Bubba"

Sweet Blake about a week old.

Happy little man from the get go

Cool girl with her cool Daddy

And from the beginning these two were best friends

Doing everything together :)

"You've got a friend in me"

And all the while, growing...

and growing...

and growing...

and growing...

and growing!!!

Such big kiddos! Both helping with the laundry this morning.

So many changes. So little time. But Mommy's big kids are still her babies. :) For always.