One year...

Today dear girlie is your birthday... I can't believe you've been here that long! I remember just like it was yesterday, the morning you surprised us greatly and decided to join us 20 days early! I was sooo excited!!!

Remembering the last year... It's makes me a little teary.

You were the sweetest, most happy and content baby girl that any mama could ask for! You didn't smile easily at first but you warmed up to it and when you flashed that little smile it completely melted my heart into a puddle. You had my heart from the first second I saw you, but have continued to dig deeper in the soft places there, and you've found a spot that is so special. I can't imagine what we did without you!

As you got a little older you started showing us that you may be sweet and happy most of the time but you are also full of spunk and don't mind showing it! :) Especially when your big brother teases you! You like to try to keep up with him. If you don't see him you go find him to see what mischief he's up to and what trouble you can get yourself into :) Cleaning out shelves, drawers and cupboards are some of your favorite things... Along with closing doors and then shrieking till someone opens it to let you out again. Your first word was uh-oh. At 8 months old. If you want something - anything - you say Mom-mom-mom-mom-mom - because apparently I can get you anything?? :) You say da-da. Your universal words are ba-ba, da-da or ga-ga but you can inflect them so it sounds like lots of different words, you use it to say "thank-you" and even "Evan". You say, pu-pu-pu-pu for puppy. You also jabber alot and it's the most adorable thing when you jabber to your dolls :) You are VERY lovey. You love to give hugs and kisses and snuggles, when you do you say "aaawwww". I love all your hugs and snuggles and very wet kisses :)

You are such a copy-cat. You can make the most hilarious scrunched up faces :) I wrinkle my nose at you and you wrinkle your's back. I make a noise, and you try to make it too. Evan says, NO with a shake of his head, you say, AH with a shake of your head... (oh boy) You have your own wonderful version of Ring-Around-The-Rosy. I could watch it all day :) And the "All Fall Down" is the best part! You can sign "please", and really, who can resist you now when you say it for something you want?!?! You know where your nose is, where your tongue is and where your hair is. You can do pat-a-cake. And you do it anytime we say "Yay!!" about anything at all :)

You just popped your first 2 teeth through in the last couple of weeks. They may be small but they are mighty and you use them to chew your food quite thoroughly :) You CLIMB. You climb onto anything and everything! Keeping up with you and making sure you don't injure yourself is a challenge! You've become my little shopping buddy :) You are a GREAT shopper if it's just me and you and you're brother isn't along to pester you or for you to pester him! :)

You love your Mama and Daddy. Your face lights up when I go to get you out of bed and when Daddy comes through the door. Melts. My. Heart. You've started to occasionally call Ma-Ma if you can't see me or want something.

You're thinking about walking, you love to walk back and forth between Daddy and me and when we hold your hands you walk and walk and walk. Any day now I expect to see you just get up and go!

I love you little princess. I love your sweet. I love your spunk. You're my little girlie girl. And I love you to pieces!

 Mama

My baby is THREE?!?!

Dearest little man, (Who's name is EVAN, NOT Little Man! :))

I guess you're not my baby anymore... But you were my first baby and will always have that special place in my heart and my memories!

My big THREE year old! How did you grow up so fast?!?! You are so very grown up for three... I love hearing you tell me ALL you know ;) Even though I tell you sometimes that it's time to be quiet now... You are such a smart little man, your brain just soaks up every little thing. I love hearing you learn Bible verses and recite them. I love how you sing (especially when you sing to Olivia when she's crying - LOVE that!). I love hearing you zip through your ABC's and count to who knows what... sometimes it's firty-eighty-two... You are very observant and often know where we are when we go to people's houses or stores without us telling you! You are super social and talk to everyone who looks your direction when we're out and about. The two questions you always ask are: What's your name? and Where's your car? if it's a lady and Where's your truck? if it's a man. Because apparently only ladies drive cars and men MUST drive trucks! You can say anything you wish to and usually do!

In the last year you have become super active and "boyish" I guess :) Pretty sure your energy supply is never ending!!! I'm wondering if you even KNOW how to hold still unless you're sound asleep... You are very determined. You tell me I'm your best best friend! You still love your trains and your cars and anything with wheels :) You like to try to do anything Daddy does. You like to pretend you're cooking like Mama does. Your imagination is becoming more & more active. You like to read books, your current favorite is Goodnight Moon. You have most of it memorized. But the ending you've made your own, instead of "Goodnight noises everywhere", you say, "Goodnight monsters everywhere". Even though we tell you over and over that monsters aren't real!! :)  Your favorite questions are What? and Why? Sometimes it drives me a little crazy :) But I'm glad you're so curious!

I love you little man! More than you will ever know! I can't wait to see what the next year holds and the changes you'll make and the things you'll teach me! (I had no idea who all the Thomas the Train characters were before I met you :))

I love you to the moon and back...
Mama

Motherhood is...

Hearing squeals of giggles and peeking to see what's going on and realizing it's the baby making the big brother laugh.

*Melt my heart*

(She was acting silly, totally on purpose... She would crawl two "steps" then plop flat on her belly, get up and do it all over, again and again, just because she knew she'd get a belly laugh out of him)

Then 5 min later...

Hearing 1000 legos hit the floor while being dumped out of their box and then tossing and spreading of the legos to every corner of the room and then some.

Right before I was going to vacuum and mop the floor. In that room.

*Sigh*

Roll with the punches. Just roll with the punches.





Love them :)

Needing to declutter...

Serenity. This is it.

I feel cluttered. 

It takes 21 days to develop or break a habit?!?! That seems like forever. But I have one. Break it/make a new one... 21 days from now... I want to be successful... It's personal... But it will make me AND my family much happier... 21 days. Hello happier me, hello happier family.

Clutter. In the house. In my mind. On the to-do list.

I want to throw it all out the door.

Start fresh.

Feel like this!

There's a million "Reasons" why I'm feeling this way. Kitchen Renovation would be #1 on the list! My babies are just that, still babies... WAY too many trips this summer...

But really it all boils down to ME... 

How crazy I CHOOSE to let my life become.

Seriously, I feel too busy to let even one more thing fall onto my plate.

That's not good.

Plate. You need to be emptier.

Hello spring cleaning (in July! :) (kind of) of the house, of the mind.

(I'm not going to go crazy with the mop and duster... But STUFF has to go)

Projects. You will wait.

Until you fit onto my plate.

AFTER my babies are kissed, loved on and happy :)

Challenged...

I needed to hear this today...

Your worth and value aren’t found in what you can do.  They aren’t found in how well you can run a committee, organize a retreat or handle a job.  They aren’t found in how well you can sing or direct VBS.  Your value isn’t found in your accomplishments because things never stay accomplished.  Your worth is found in who you are in Christ.  You don’t have to do anything.  Just be.

"In my head" reality vs. "I'm a mom of babies" reality...

I'm a planner.

Not a very good list maker... A planner.

I always see how things are supposed to play out in my head.

Things get interesting sometimes when you throw my "fly by the seat of his pants" uber spontaneous husband and I together :) But I'm getting better. Really. I am.                      Really. Really!!! :)

That was a side note.

On to my point... :)

This morning played out in my head like this:

Get up.

Fix husband's lunch.

See husband off to work.

Baby wakes up. 

Feed baby.

Playtime with 2 year old and baby.

Put baby down for a nap.

Feed 2 year old.

Pay bills.

Clean up misc junk around the living room.

Sweep and mop living room floor.

Hopefully continue on to 2 year old's room with the cleaning.

Baby wakes up.

Feed baby.

Playtime with 2 year old and baby.

Put baby down for a nap.

Feed 2 year old lunch.

Time check: 12:15pm

*AND... eat healthy and "lose weight" worthy today!!*

This is how it really played out:

Get out of bed.

Groggily pack husband's lunch.

Get myself a wonderful cup of coffee.

See husband off to work.

Playtime with 2 year old.

Baby wakes up.

Change baby's diaper - it needs it bad.

Feed baby.

2 year old watches cartoons and whines because his belly hurts. ?

Playtime with 2 year old and smiley baby. :) <3

Naptime for baby.

Change 2 year old's diaper and get him dressed.
Give him something for his belly pains.

Get 2  year old and myself a bowl of cereal.

2 year old still whines about belly hurting.

Pay bills.

Stop paying bills because 2 year old has a dirty diaper.

No more whining. Who knew?? :)

Pay bills again. Why is paying bills so time consuming???
Baby wakes up cranky.

Guess bills will have to be finished later...

Hold baby and try to get her happy again.

Feed baby.

Watch 2 year old pull out every single toy he owns and strategically place them in every nook, cranny, crack, crevace, open surface available in the living room. So much for getting that sweeping and mopping done before the toys are all pulled out...

Baby stops eating - not even half done with the bottle???

Baby poops. Alot. It runs out of diaper. Onto mama. O joy.

Change baby.

Baby is happy and smiling and cooing. :) <3

Playtime on the floor with 2 year old and baby. <3

Baby is sleepy - put her down for a nap.

Get 2 year old lunch.

My lunch ends up being a little leftover KFC crispy chicken and a biscuit and some candy corn. Ok. So mostly candy corn. So much for healthy eating and losing weight today!!

2 year old plays with food instead of eating it. What a mess.

Time check: 1 pm.
Still working on getting 2 year old to eat.

The best part? I'm loving my day:) I love my kids and I love being their mom. :)

Right now...

I want to remember "right now".

Because this moment is perfectly "imperfect".

Coffee - to make up for the sleep lost last night...

Myself and 2 kiddos still in pjs... at 10am... the way it's going it may be noon before that changes...

Morning tv shows playing in the background - an indulgence I try to avoid...

Spending WAY to much time on facebook just now...

I'm SURROUNDED by... broken crayons, trains, train tracks, cars, foam alphabet letters (my little man's favorite new toy - he knows all but 3!! So proud of him:) )

Watching him play with 3 of his tractors - 2 of which his daddy played with as a little boy...

A sleeping baby with a full tummy on a boppy pillow in my lap...

A little boy who wants to hold his "baby 'ister"... if only for about 3 seconds at a time...

Dirty dishes on the end table in the living room from Sunday evening snacking...

Cleaning poopy diapers and baby spit up...

Did I mention TOYS EVERYWHERE????

Little boy snacking on a container of pretzels still left out from ^ "Sunday evening snacking"...

Empty sippy cups strewn about...

Kitchen full of dirty dishes and bottles that need to be washed...

Bathrooms that need to be cleaned...

Beds that need to be made...

Cookies, granola and dinner that need to be made, so I have something to pack for my hubs' lunch this week...

As imperfect as this all sounds to me, it is so perfect I want to record it here so I can look back years from now and remember the sweetness of little children and wish I could go back :)

Yes, I'm sooo happy...

Yes, I love being a mommy...

As ocd as I sometimes am about trying to keep up with the chaos that is, little kids, as yucky as I feel still being in my pjs 4 hours after getting out of bed...

I am so basking in the sweet coziness of it this morning...

I love this moment "right now"...