One is Fun!

I have to say, I love the stage when babies start to become a little more independent and you get to see their personalities shine through. There is no doubt in my mind that we came to this earth as individual spirits with strengths and gifts of our own. This picture says it all.

Our little Nicole Christine turned one yesterday and is growing fast. She is almost walking and can maneuver up and down the stairs with ease. Nicole knows what she wants and will let you know it too. She is loving, cuddly, happy, strong, and a serious riot.

Her favorite thing to do is go outside. If I leave the back door open, she crawls with warp speed out the door and gets all messy, eating everything in sight--grass, mud, bugs, you name it. She loves every minute of it. She also loves to hang out in the pantry and get into everything. I can't close doors fast enough around here. She called the cops the other day while Grandma was watching her. I think she has a radar for phones, remotes, and lollipops. When she sees something she wants she can grab it faster than you can stop her.

Her favorite food is probably rice, veggies, or some kind of dinner food she can get all covered in. We have been blessed with really good eaters. She also loves to hang upside down and her laugh tickles me silly. She loves being with Noah and Mary and gets so excited when they play with her. Nicole is getting better at sleeping, and when she feels good, sleeps through most of the night. I am very happy about her most recent sleeping pattern since there are only four more weeks until the next little guy will keep us awake.

I wonder what she will think of her brother and how she will react? I wonder if she will be as close as I was to my 13 month younger brother? No doubt she will love him and want to be all over him. I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Nicole! We LOVE you!

What do ladybugs, skunks, and Batman have in common?

...absolutely nothing!

{Actually, they all have a way too pregnant mommy
to make any Halloween costumes coordinate.}

Super Noah's Three!

It's up, up, up and away with TWO!

Noah turned three last week. We had a superhero family party to celebrate. Noah is so helpful, tender, and fun! He is an incredible brother and spends his days picking flowers for his mom, helping with chores, playing with all things boyish, singing, jumping, exploring, mowing the lawn with his daddy, and even thinks to place crackers on his mommy's belly to feed his almost new baby brother a snack.

WE love our SUPER Super Noah!!

It's a...

BOY!

{I harvested this picture off the internet since someone forgot to eat her breakfast this morning,
making for a very sleepy and still baby...not many good positions for pictures. Oops!}

4-7-29-6-16

4

years old

{mary is growing so fast. talking with her is like talking to my best girlfriend. she is so interesting to listen to and fun to be around. mary is such an incredible big sister and an absolute blessing in every way.}

7
months old{nicole is now sitting up and reaching for everything within her grasp.
she lights up the room with her beautiful blues and sweet smiles.}


29
years old{only one more year and our ages will be in the same decade.
this picture says it all. so glad he was born.}


6
years of wedded bliss{this year we took a little anniversary trip to LA. it was the perfect weekend. we stayed in a little beach house and spent our time relaxing on the warm sand, seeing movies, reading books, eating good food, riding bikes, and enjoying our time alone together. it felt like our honeymoon all over again. simply wonderful. only thing we forgot was to bring a camera!}


16
weeks along{for april fool's this year i thought it would be so funny to trick my husband into thinking i was pregnant. nicole's arrival was a little earlier than we had planned. and another unexpected pregnancy would really blow his socks off. early that morning i sent him an email of a positive pregnancy test i got off the internet. he rushed home in complete shock. it was a great joke. i later reassured him that our birth control wouldn't fail us again.
but, as it turns out, the joke was really on me! because one week later i realized something was different when nursing. did you know being pregnant changes the the taste of breast milk? that sweet little nicole was letting me know that something was coming our way. so after a real pregnancy test we learned that i was expecting another winter baby (which i swore i'd avoid at all costs-poor little holiday babies).
we are truly happy to welcome this new spirit into our home.}

Awake

I'm not wanting to go to bed yet. I've been at the computer for four hours now, just doing this and that...pictures, emails, reading, internet searches, Mary's birthday party planning, thinking... simply enjoying the creativity of it all. The house is so quiet. No darling children crowded around my ankles. No thoughts of what I still have to do around the house. No phone calls. No interruptions. Just silence. But, it's a trade off. It also means less sleep. So, it doesn't happen too often. Sleep, I've discovered, is just as important to being a decent mom. I'm sitting here thinking about my sweet little family...they're almost all in our room right now. From the study I can hear their sleeping sounds and reflect on my favorite parts of the day, like Noah's excited frog finding face. What joy! I think I'll dream on that a little.

{So cute, even with his outdoor induced runny nose}

{Snips and snails and puppy dog tails
and all that's GOOD in the world}

Feel Good Song

I found this video on Aaron's cousin's wife's blog. It really brings a smile to your face.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.