These days

Today is absolutely beautiful. The sun is shining brightly, Jake is playing in our new gravel pit, Julia is sound asleep, and I am just soaking up God's wonders.

Yesterday was a long day. A day that I couldn't wait to end. So after the kids went to bed,  I took a long hot bath and for into bed... at 9:30.

But God had different plans for my evening.  Isaac and I stayed up and talked for almost an hour. Well, I talked and he listened.  Our MOPS leadership is going to be almost an entirely new team next year and I am trying to figure out what my place is for the upcoming year.  God has really put on my heart, that I need to be in leadership, but I haven't listened hard enough about what position he wants me in.  So this morning, as one child plays and one sleeps, and I am trying to be still and listen.

Family of 4

We are officially a family of 4. Julia Rae came 2 weeks early and weighed in at 5lbs, 11oz. We are adjusting fabulously. Jacob is such a great big brother. He loves giving his sister kisses and always needs to know exactly where she is. Jacob is still learning that he has to be gentle with her, but it is all about love. Julia is such a great sleeper, I often have to wake her up to feed her! It is such a departure from how Jake was as a newborn, he wouldn't sleep.
We are finding our new rhythm, and not every day is perfect, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Rest

It is something that Isaac has said to me almost everyday for the past few weeks. "babe, try to rest today." Or "make sure you get some test today." I know that he only wants me to be healthy and safe and the same for our some to arrive baby, but as moms, do we ever truly rest?  Even when I lay down to try to sleep while Jake is sleeping, my mind races. I make mental to-do lists that go on forever. Things to-do before the new baby arrives, things to-do around the house, errands to run, what to-do about.dinner, what to-do to keep Jake occupied this afternoon, they never end. I know I need to rest. I know it is good for me to rest. I know I need to take advantage of the this time, and rest. But the lists just keep coming. However, my goal today is to truly rest. Put my mind on silent, my phone on silent, and simply rest.

Outside

Jake has always been a kid who LOVES being outside. It was a guaranteed way to stop his crying when he was a newborn, in fact half of his newborn pictures were taken outside. When we moved into this house we were so excited about the large backyard and especially happy that it came with a wooden swingset. Every morning when we bring Jake downstairs he heads straight for the backdoor and says "outside" about a million times. It used to be that I could stall him by saying he didn't have shoes on, so we couldn't go outside. But now he comes downstairs with shoes in hand, or already on his feet. Smart kid.  On a normal day, we spend about an hour outside after breakfast before naptime,an hour after lunch, and sometimes some extra play before bed. It has really become a great way for him to burn off some energy while I can sit and just watch him smile and run!

Enjoying the crazy before the chaos

I'm so far behind, but what's new? Jake is officially 19 months and seems to be getting smarter each and every day. We have mastered knowing where most of his body parts are, now working on getting him to say them. His favorite word right now is, "dog". He points to then in books, on TV, when we drive past one, and has started saying "woof,woof" as well. he also knows lots of animal noises and learns new ones all the time. We have transitioned him to his "big boy" bed, and he seems to be enjoying the new freedom. Most mornings I find him in his chair reading a book, patiently waiting to be freed from his room ;-) He still loves being outside, and has started to play independently outside which is great. I sit on the porch, in the shade, and just watch him explore.
In other news...
I'm almost 34 weeks pregnant with Baby C. This baby has been head down for almost 6 weeks now and I am really starting to feel like I have a bowling ball between my legs. I've already started having random contractions, so the Dr. has demanded that I rest more. Need I remind him that I'm chasing after a 19 month old all day? Luckily his MDO had an opening, so we have bumped him up from 2 to 4 days a week for the next 3 weeks till they break for a month before summer sessions. We still don't know what we are having, and it is still driving me nuts. The planner in me is just begging to be let out!
Isaac is working like crazy, like always. But he has taken a few days off here and there to spend some time just the 3 of us before the new baby arrives. We even got Sea World season passes! Jake loves the splash pad and even sits through the shows. Isaac went on a "mancation" last weekend, which was a guys only church retreat. He really enjoyed it, and Jake and% enjoyed spending some extra time in Boerne with my mom and step-dad.
I think that about catches things up for now.

Bumps and Bruises, Cuts and Scrapes

This past week has been full of antibacterial soap, hugs, kisses, Tylenol and triple antibiotic ointment.

Poor thing fell twice at grandmas and landed face first on the door step.

And then yesterday he tripped at the park and landed face first in the mulch. Wouldn't have been so bad except, he landed on the one rock sticking up from the ground.  His poor face is all scratched up and I can tell it still hurts today.

We spent today inside reading books and watching Disney Jr. Jake needed a day to recover, and I wasn't quite ready to face all the stares and questions about what happened. Thank goodness I have lots of friends that have boys and they totally understand. Hoping he heals quickly!

All about Jake

Oh my sweet baby! Who told you it was ok to grow up so fast? You already have 9 teeth. You have skipped some of the "easy" teeth and went straight for the molars. You are starting to try to transition to one nap a day, and momma is not very excited about it. Daddy caught you trying to crawl out of your crib yesterday morning. You had one leg on each side of the railing, but hadn't gotten any further than that. You LOVE goldfish and want them at every meal. You still aren't a huge fan of veggies, but if I mix them into Mac and Cheese, you don't really notice them. You adore your Daddy and try to tackle him as soon as he walks in the door. Although you aren't talking much, you love hearing yourself babble and yell. I love you sweet boy!