Our two little blessings!

Happy almost 20 months!

Kaleb Lee (a.k.a. Lil' Monkey)

These days, you are so active, and learning so much. You keep momma on her toes, and every day is filled with laughter, joy, and lots of activity! 

I am having lots of fun, learning WITH you, learning what makes you happy, and the ways you learn. 

You light up a room with your smile and your baby blue eyes. Right now, you:

*   are saying two word sentences! These include, but are not limited to, "Wow, cool," "I go," and, "Oh, boy!" 

*   are loving your bath. You would stay in there for hours until your feet get pruny if momma let you!

*   are really, really, REALLY into trains! When momma feeds your sister, you always like to get right up there with us and watch the "Choo Choo," on my IPhone. Of course, I let you, because I love you! 

*   are a pretty picky eater! You have some pretty good days, but you LOVE cheese (especially the Kraft cheese slices or string cheese), crackers, chicken nuggets, fries, fruit, and "juice". (Anything that tastes good is "juice," but we don't let you have too many carbonated drinks!) 

*   eat "Nanas," (bananas) and Cheerios and Carnation Instant Breakfast  every morning. That is YOUR breakfast of Champions. 

*   have discovered bugs! And you LOVE them! Yesterday you saw a moth on the floor, and ran over to your blocks that have pictures on them and brought one over to the moth that had a bee on it, and said to momma, "Bug?" and were comparing them. You are so smart!

*   LOVE going anywhere at all that has to do with outside, or in the car. Anytime we get your shoes, we are "going," and you get very giddy with excitement! 

*   call Daddy, "Daddo." I am not sure where you get this from, but we are deciding to go with it for now because it is kinda cute!

*   love playing "Peek-a-boo". One of your favorite things to do is to be chased around the house by momma. 

*   love wearing our shoes. I find you always trying mine on for size! 

*   love going through cabinets! When momma does her make up, you are always there to help me see what's in the cabinet that day...because it's spread out on the floor within minutes! :)  

*   weigh about 25 pounds now and are in size 5 diapers. You have just started getting VERY interested in the potty and what you do with it, and are even "pretending" to use the potty sometimes now. We are about to start down the potty training path..eek! We bought you your first potty a few weeks ago. 

*  are very blond! You have beautiful, thick blond hair, and momma gets it trimmed in sort of a buzz cut at the salon every month or so. You also wear gel in it when we go out. It's fun. You like to play in the gel when momma puts it on. 

*   love, love, LOVE giving kisses. Today you gave sister kisses every time you went up to her, and you have started loving on her more and more. You are pretty gentle with her, and you love to pat her, sometimes like you do your stuffed animals. It is very evident that you think she is special, and this warms momma's heart! Oh, and kisses go with "I love you." When momma says, "I love you," you give her a kiss. 

*   have really just started calling me, "Momma," and it makes my heart happy!

*   love hanging with Daddy. He has seriously become your buddy since you have had a sister, and you love it. You and daddy ride the bike together (Daddy installed a seat for you on his bike), you play outside together, you go to the park together, and you generally just hang out. :) 

We love you so much, and every day you are blessing us with more of who you are. 

 

Happy almost 4 months!!

Brookelynn Faith (a.k.a. Sweet Pea)

 From day one of your little life, you have been a joy. You are so peaceful most of the time, and, until recently with your cooing and talking, momma had to make sure you were still breathing when she was away for a bit, because you were never crying! 

You are sweet, sweet, sweet. You still never cry very much, and when you do, it's short lived. You are a happy and content baby. You are our little sweet pea! 

Right now, you:

*   are cooing up a storm, and most of your awake time is spent doing just that. You talk to your toys mostly, and sometimes patterns you see on your crib bedding and the monkeys in your mobile.

*   are smiling and laughing up a storm, too! Especially when momma or daddy comes up to you after they've been away for a bit - you are sure to give us a show! 

*   have just begun to grab your toys. Your activity gym has become very fun for you! 
*   have also just begun to blow raspberries!! Lots of them! :)

*   get very "tickled," when momma takes off your clothes. For some reason, clothes changing is very funny to you!

*   laugh when momma gets you ready to eat and you know it's coming! 

*   go to sleep at about 10 p.m . and sleep THROUGH THE NIGHT. Wow? Well, with one or two wake ups for some more milk. But...momma is loving this. 

*   are doing great - you are in the fiftieth percentile in weight and height. 

*   are breastfeeding and supplementing. You love both and have no problem where your food comes from, as long as you get it. :) 

*   are pretty portable. You hardly ever cry, so taking you out is a breeze.  As long as you've had your dinners, of course!

*   haven't been weighed in a while, but last time you went to the doc you were around 10 pounds, and you have grown since then and are wearing size 2 diapers!

*   have lots of fun hand me downs from several sweet people, and LOTS of bows. Momma makes you wear them all the time, but you don't mind. Yet. 

*   also have lots of shoes. About two drawers full to be exact. A girl's gotta have her shoes. :) 

*    still are getting your hair...which is confusing momma. She is not sure what color to call it. Right now...it's still dark and thick on the back of your neck on the bottom, with a completely bald spot on the back middle where you sleep! But on the top, it's looking a bit lighter, but it's hard to tell what color it will be yet, because it simply has not come in yet. ;) 

*   are still kind of considered "petite" but hey, you're a girl. :) 

You are our lovely sweet pea, and you are living up to your sweet name. :) 

There is nothing better than being called, "Momma". It is the best thing in the world, and, although it's the hardest job I've ever had, it is by far the most rewarding...every single day. :) LOVE these babies! 

 

 

 

 

Ahhh, the best moments in life

GiGi and Brooke on Easter!

Daddy takes K on the bike all the time now and they have daddy time. It's wonderful for all of us! Momma gets B time, and Daddy and K get to bond!
Kaleb and his cousin Andrew are buddies. :)
Grandpa and Nana and Brooke time. :) Precious!

Just a short blog this time. :o)

Today was awesome! Momma and Daddy and Kaleb and Brooke went to the park with the double stroller, then to Wal Mart. At Wal Mart we bought daddy a few shirts to "play" in. It was warm and we all got a bit of a burn, except for Miss Brooke who was shaded in her stroller carrier. :) Kaleb wore sunscreen but it was so hot it didn't matter!

And Brooke laughed for the FIRST time! It was soooo precious. She has made laughing sounds before, but nothing like this...Momma would consider her first official laugh....and not just one, but several! :)

It was definitely a beautiful moment - brother Kaleb was there to hear it too! Miss Brooke loves it when Momma comes and plays with her, and this time, she squealed in delight! But it scared her a bit, because right afterward, she frowned...Did that sound come from HER mouth? Yep. It was SO precious and warmed Momma's heart. :) Then she did it again and again while Momma talked to her. :) She squealed, and she kicked, and squealed and kicked some more.

Greatest. Moments. Ever.

Good times

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

We have recently received a new member of the family. Auntie Amber could not be more thrilled or excited.

This picture reminds me of all of God's greatness, wrapped up into a tiny, precious little darling girl. She is 5 pounds of perfection. I am so, so honored to be able to say that my sweet friend Sarah has finally given birth to her Grey Danelle. She reminds me of a God that is great, a God who can redeem, a God who can bless beyond measure and turn something so horrible into something so beautiful. :) Thank you, Lord, for such a perfect gift from above. For her, we are so thankful, so grateful to You, Sovereign Lord! Sarah's story is a beautiful one and one that keeps getting better. Miss Grey was born on March 22, World Water Day, which is pretty ironic. Her brother, Holden, was born on August 28, 2010, and is Kaleb's cousin in the Lord, just a few weeks older. He went to be with the Lord that day, and waits for us in his eternal home in heaven. Because of his sweet soul, his parents Sarah and Chet started Holden Uganda, now providing life giving water wells to those less fortunate in Uganda. Because of this, it is amazing that his sister was born on World Water Day. There's no doubt in my mind that Holden was up there having something to do with this! :P

So, many congratulations to my sweet sissy Sarah, and their new, precious, God-given addition to their family. That is the most exciting news I have to share! Onto other important, but not quite as exciting, but just as sweet, news...

These last few months have proved themselves to be very, very busy! We are adjusting to life as a family of four, and two kiddos under the age of 2. Our days are filled with laughter and joy, and a few owies here and there. :)
Since his sissy has arrived, Kaleb has gotten to watch a bit more t.v. while eating crackers on his couch. He thinks having a new sister is pretty cool because of this. :P

Sister LOVES her daddy and has JUST started smiling, cooing, and even laughing. It seems that she is getting too old already! I feel like her little life is flying by before my eyes because I am so incredibly busy! I only wish I could take moments and freeze them in time. Ya know? I guess pictures will have to do!
She enjoys her milk. Momma is breastfeeding and actually doing some supplementing because of necessity. She seems pretty satisfied though. ;)
Kaleb is learning to eat on his OWN. This is a pretty new and big concept for this little man. He loves it but boy, is it messy!!!
He recently discovered that pear juice makes great hair gel.

We have really enjoyed these last few months. There have not been too many hiccups, literally, or figuratively! :) Adjusting has been a big thing, though - and just a few tears have been shed, both by me and the babies. Some days are obviously easier than others but every day is good in it's own way.

Last weekend we went to the mall and Kaleb got to experience a bunch of things he hasn't yet. ;) He got to ride the escalator, a little bulldozer ride that takes quarters, a fire truck stroller that daddy pirated, play with all the puppies in the pet store, and make lots of new friends. We realized pretty fast that Mr. K does not know a stranger! :) It makes life really interesting at the mall!

It has been an awesome last few months. Thank the Lord for so many good times.

*I will post more pics soon (hopefully!) of our good times at the mall and hanging out with great grandpas...We have had a fun time visiting relatives recently too! :)

Brookelynn Faith

Well, as most of us know by now, she's here.

And she's beautiful. And she is just as precious as she is pretty.

She joined us on a Friday the 13th.

We weren't too sure about that date. But it was perfect!...A perfect 7 pound, 8 ounce miracle.

This is her birth story. :)

Friday the 13th...the second best day of our lives yet!
We went in to the hospital the morning of January 13th, 2012. I was so nervous the night before that I found myself cleaning the bathtub at 11 p.m. because it was dirty and I knew we'd be having company soon...I couldn't sleep anyway. Why not clean? But thankfully, Justin made me go to bed after my crazy cleaning spree, and I was able to get some decent sleep before the big day. Throughout the pregnancy, because we had planned a C section (I had already had one before so I knew that would be the route we'd take), I had been nervous that I wouldn't get any sleep the night before in anticipation. I was also scared about the date...I mean, who plans a major surgery on a Friday the 13th?

But it couldn't have gone better. We left at 5:30 a.m. that morning for the hospital, and arrived early for the 6 a.m. time they wanted us there. Family members were already there to celebrate our daughter with us - Oma, Justin's mom, Auntie Shelly, and Nana, my mom. I got dressed for the occasion in the beautiful hospital attire and the nurses came in and prepped me. One was on one arm taking blood and the other was on the other arm setting my IV. Talk about double torture! But...I didn't care...I was so excited!

They asked about allergies to meds, and had us fill out the beginning of a an almost seemingly endless amount of paperwork that still continues to this day. :)

Then, just like that, after a bit of eager anticipation (and a few butterflies!) in waiting, I was wheeled back on a hospital bed through the corridors to meet our daughter! After the anesthesia was given, I was laid back and ready, and Justin was allowed in. It was FINALLY time!! The butterflies increased as we waited in excited expectation for her face. A bit of tugging, a bunch of pressure, and a lightheaded few moments later, Brookelynn came into our world...The doctors held her up for me to see over the blue sheet, and she was already beautiful. I cried, of course, as I listened to her sweet cry. After they prepped her for us, Justin held her close to my face for me to give her her first kiss. She was so perfect!!

After some recovery time, I was wheeled back to be with her and family. The days following were full of visitors to love on her, including our Sunday School class, my aunt and uncle and cousin Katie, and a lot of family, including brother Kaleb, who wasn't quite sure about the whole thing, but is beginning to warm up to a new sissy.

We left the hospital three days after we'd been there. And the time has flown by since we've been home. I cannot believe that it's been over two weeks since we left. Every day is an adventure, but really, not as hard as I'd anticipated with two children under the age of 2.

Sweet baby girl
Brookelynn is doing awesome. She is a great baby so far. She sleeps most of the time, and really doesn't cry a lot. Feeding is going well, and she is gaining good weight. Her first doc check up was this last week, and she is already 7 pounds, 11 ounces. In the hospital she lost a bit of weight, but she has gained back her birth weight plus some! She is also 21 inches long.

Cuddling is something I love doing these days. I can just sit with her after feeding and cuddle for hours. It's a great way to pass time, of course. :) So warm and sweet!


Adjustments
And, like I said, Kaleb is adjusting to life with a sister. When she cries, he will go up to her and pat her. This hasn't been the case the whole two weeks, but he is getting much better. At first, he was scared of momma (and all the tubes coming out of my nose and everything in the hospital) but he is doing fine now. He continues to be a joy to all of us. He is really a smart boy, and I think he understands more than we think right now about all of this. :) Daddy and him are becoming good buddies now. While Daddy's been off, he's been going to the park a lot, and getting to play with the remote control boat on the water. He gives him a bath at night, and tucks him into bed at night, because momma can't lift him up right now. That is probably the hard part for me. It saddens me that I can't be his "buddy" as much as I could before. He sees Momma with the new baby all the time. But...when Miss Brookelynn goes down for her nap, I spend time with Kaleb so he knows how much I still want to hang with him. I think that has been the biggest part of the transition. We are really trying to make sure that K knows how special he still is. He is at the age where he can sort of understand what's going on, but not completely. :)

But we are doing good, and the transition has been good for the most part. That is the only part of it that I can ask for prayer for - is for Kaleb to feel "included". And that I will be able to carry him/pick him up soon. :) Momma misses her boy! Even though we still get to spend time together, it's not the same. We knew it wouldn't be, but it's still a bit hard.

Excited for the next few months. Life with two children is VERY busy, but...it's amazing how God just doubles your love. I have a different love for Kaleb than I do for Brookelynn, but it's still just as much as ever. Last night I was tearing up thinking about how blessed we are! And how thankful I am to the Lord for all He has done mine and Justin's lives just the short time we've known each other.

We are so blessed and thankful.

As I sit here anticipating our daughter's arrival and knowing it will be this week, I want to take note of things this pregnancy. I don't think I will ever be pregnant again. We don't plan to, anyway. That kind of makes me sad in some ways, but at the same time, relieved. Pregnancy is a hard journey! We are happy with two children, and very happy with having a boy and a girl.

It has been good for the most part! But for one, there have been some really hard days this time around, more than I remember with Kaleb. I think that's because we are having a girl. With girl hormones comes more sickness. Some days were tough in that department, in that anyone who knows me well knows how much I like nausea. Lol. But thank the Lord, I never actually threw up. That is a praise!

I also had some scares with bleeding at the beginning of this pregnancy. I bled from about the 7th week onto the 15th, which really scared me, and it led me to my knees. But...thankfully through it, it sort of helped mold my prayer life. I have begun to really pray more since, and...I thank this little girl for that. She has already helped me get closer to the Lord! It was at that time I really felt the Lord reassure me that good things were in store. :)

We moved during that time too, which really worried me. I was bleeding and moving at the same time, and, I must admit, I didn't rest as much as I should have. I just couldn't. Kaleb still needed my arms, and I couldn't not be his mommy. He was also pretty sick at the time, with a very high fever, and so was I.

Then, we had our first sono. Our tech told us we were probably going to have a boy, but he couldn't tell! :) We were happy, of course, with whoever the Lord gave us, but really still curious.

Justin had an easier time with it though, than I did. Waiting for that next sono was hard! Actually, we had decided not to get another one done after that one. We just didn't have the money to do three. We hadn't with Kaleb. But...I really, really wanted to know! I am such a planner! So after discussing it, we decided to go to Stork Vision. They are cheaper because they don't do the regular sono - it's strictly just to find out the sex. I had SUCH a hard time waiting for it! But October came, and...finally, we found out we were having our girl. The tech said she was 100 percent sure it was a girl.

I cried.

I was so, so happy! So directly following that sono we headed to the consignment store in Abilene and bought some girl clothes. We just were so thrilled!

Then, soon after I found out I was having a girl, my sweet friend Sarah found out she was having a girl too! I was so ecstatic, because she has had a pretty hard time recently, and what a blessing for her! And...we are going to have girls together...so, so fun.

We have had some plumbing issues and some other things happen recently that have really been annoying, to say the least, since I've been pregnant - just things a pregnant woman does not want!

But...the last month has been good. I have been more excited than ever to have this sweet girl. I wasn't sure if we'd get a shower, but we are now, thanks to some sweet friends who offered! Actually, it's a "sip and see," meaning we are setting up a day for people to come and see her and give us gifts. Pretty good idea if you ask me! :)

Her tutu is coming this week. I am so, so excited. I know, that's funny - but I wanted it for her pictures! Every girl needs one. ;) She actually has two coming. :) She also has more shoes than I ever thought possible for someone who is not even born yet! Lol. Thanks to some sweet friends who have given them to us, she will have some pretty darn cute shoes. My poor Kaleb has three pair right now - and I think one of the pair doesn't even fit him. I guess they are right when they say a girl can never have enough shoes! It's after seeing my daughter's wardrobe who has not even made her appearance into this world yet that I realize I need to update my sons who has been here for 16 months! Poor baby!

It has been a very good pregnancy though for the most part. I am so happy that we are to this point, though. I am very excited to meet our daughter!

Justin woke up this morning and said, "We have four days before you're due!" That is how we are feeling right now - just very excited in anticipation!

I want to end this with a letter to Kaleb. I want him to know how special he has been to us, and how special he continues to be. He is such a precious part of our lives - and a delight to all who know him. None of that will change when his sister comes. Life is just going to get better!

Kaleb,

Our sweet, sweet boy. You are the apple of our eyes.

Every day you do new things.

Every day you make us smile in so many ways.

You are so easygoing and laid back. You fill your days with laughter in your eyes and joy in your voice.

You don't walk these days, anymore. Instead, you run, and you run everywhere.

You call your paci your "da" and you say so many words. You say "M-Oma," for "Oma," you say "Nana," perfectly when you hear her on the phone, you say "cracker," and "cookie," and "cheese" is "ch-ssss". And boy do you say "ch-ssss" ALL the time, because it is by far your Favorite.Food.Ever.

You are full of energy. You love to go from toy to toy, and when people come to see you, you already like to show them all of them. You point to different ones, telling a story that only you understand but we smile at.

Sometimes you crab-crawl just to be funny. That is too cute!

You love to do funny things to make us laugh. You put your "da" in backwards and just laugh! And you love to play peek-a-boo, and momma and daddy chase you all over the house with you just giggling up a storm.

Your high chair is your favorite place to be. You LOVE eating. It is pretty much your favorite thing to do. You will eat all day if momma lets you!

Blocks are your favorite toys. Nana and Grandpa bought you some mega blocks for Christmas that you carry around the house with you everywhere, and you even take them places with us. You love to stack them and you smile really big at yourself after you accomplish your goal.

You also love riding on your toy cars. You have a four wheeler already that Daddy bought you, and "Tow Mater" from the movie "Cars". You love these! We took you out to the park the other day and you roamed all over the place and had a great time in your four wheeler. You also threw sand everywhere, just laughing!

You are the joy in our lives, little man. Cannot wait to see where life takes you. You are so, so special to us, and we love you more than words can say.

We thank Jesus for your life!

Love, Momma and Daddy