3 Months

Here’s an update (a few days late!) on my favorite little man.  He’s pretty loved.

What we have learned…our little guy has quite the personality!  He is a happy little man who will smile often for us and even sometimes laugh.  We’ve learned he likes sitting and reading books with us.  We also learned that he likes being sung to before he goes down for naps.  We’ve also learned how to juggle everything on Sunday mornings now that I’ve been back to working with the kiddos.

What we are enjoying right now…the last of the warm days while we can!  Date nights and time together as a family.  I’m liking being able to spend time reading my Bible, doing some bible studies, and get things done with his more consistent naps now.

What our biggest struggles are…our night time sleep is pretty inconsistent, getting Boaz enough exercise with the colder weather, and all the hormones causing my hair to fall out (annoying!).

Asher’s most exciting milestones…we’ve heard little laughs, he’s smiling more and more, sitting up with help, and loves to “stand up” with our help!  We are still in size 2 diapers, but are mostly using cloth when we can.  We are almost out of 3 month clothes and into the 3-6 month clothes!  A consistent enough bedtime that meant we went out for half-priced appetizers while Asher got to have a babysitter!

What we are looking forward to…a trip to the cities to see friends and to see my brother.  This will be our first hotel stay with Asher!  We also are looking forward to going bowling on Halloween with church.

Asher’s likes and dislikes…eating (still!), smiling, being naked on the changing table, grabbing things, sitting up with help, standing up with help, having people sing to him (particularly head, shoulders, knees & toes and his nap time song), and playing on his kick n play. He dislikes waiting to eat, being left alone too long, and sometimes being swaddled works him up.

What sleep looks like…during the day he is pretty consistent!  He likes to eat about every two hours and has wake time for about 45 minutes.  At night, his first stretch of sleep is somewhere between 4 and a half to 8 and a half hours.  Typically, he goes to sleep around 9 and wakes up for the day around 8. His longest stretch now is 9 hours.

What we are eating…still lots of milk!  Though, Asher has gotten more distracted while he’s eating and has taken more notice in his surroundings.  The rest of us have been eating salads, pizza, ice cream, pasta, Doolittle’s, eggs, and yummy oatmeal bread.

Who we have seen…we had friends over for lunch, church family, and family.

At the last doctor’s appointment…we found out that he’s the “tall kid” right now at about 25 inches and weighing in at 14 pounds 2 oz. He’s doing great and now we’re waiting for him to roll over 🙂

All Smiles

I haven’t been able to capture his full on smile yet on camera, but these little smiles have been pretty fun to see.  I am so thankful that he’s a happy little man and already seems to like to smile.  His favorite places to smile are on the changing pad after getting a new diaper on, in his rock n play, and apparently Target sometimes makes him smile too!  He also had me smiling (after I made sure he was alive and well) early this morning when I woke up and realized that he had slept 6ish hours straight!  That was a very pleasant surprise!  Now to coax some more smiles out of him… 🙂

Back to “Normal”

 

Picture of our little man going home from the hospital! I can’t believe he’ll be 3 weeks old on Friday!

I am loving this new “normal” even with all the craziness of night-time feedings and lack of sleep.  Today was the first day that the husband went back to work so it was just Boaz, Asher, and me home.  We had a pretty good night and even let daddy sleep so that he was ready for work!  Our morning went well too and I even got a shower in, put make up on, and did my hair.  I’d call that alone a success for the first day without help!  After getting ready, little man got to go to grandma’s for a bit since I had a meeting at church.  She said he did great and he was sleeping hard still even when I got back.  He is one very loved kiddo.  This new adventure is getting better every day and I’m so blessed to be able to be his mom.  Our new “normal” is going to be fun to figure out.

How’s your Monday going!?

Maybe Baby Month

Hello June!  You’re here and you’re officially the maybe baby month.  July stakes claim for the for sure baby month.  And let me tell you that I’m a little like wait…where’d the time go!? Definitely getting excited to meet this little baby and see whether the baby is a boy or a girl.  This is especially since this little baby is loving kicking my ribs and still moving like crazy.  There’s no denying that I look pregnant.  Though, I can pull off a “not necessarily” pregnant look if I’m wearing black and you’re looking from the front or even if you just see me from behind.  If you see me from the side….no question 🙂 Also, in other news, the weather has gotten warmer and my wedding rings are fitting a bit tighter.  I’m not such a fan of that, but oh well.  They’ll be back on in no time.

Otherwise….a few other things that I’ve learned in May have included:

1. Finding baby clothes that are not distinctly boy or girl is pretty hard!  I’ve yet to find the “perfect” going home outfit.  Though, we do love this one we found that was only in bigger sizes.  The color is cuter in person, but still 🙂  We’ve also found a few fun infant clothes with references to drums (yay for a husband who drums).

2. I dig the Nuna brand.  Not only do they make sweet products, but they also sent me a surprise journal as a bonus gift!  Plus, they just came out with some waterproof sheets, which will be fabulous!  So surreal that soon a little baby will be sleeping in there!

3. Days outside with these two are ever entertaining!   4. I’m in need of some good summer books and have been scouring the library in search of them.  Any recommendations?

5. Decisions are way harder without being able to “know” how things are going to be like once this baby is here.  I’m definitely thankful that I can push some off and I’m thankful for wise advice and LOTS of prayer!

All in all, May’s been a great month and I’m excited for June.  The calendar already looks full with baby doctor appointments (weekly! so fun to get to that point!), graduation parties, VBS, weddings, get togethers with friends, baby showers, and hopefully lots of time outside…and maybe a baby! 🙂

Friday Faves

Here are a few of the things I’m loving lately… 🙂

1. I totally loved starting the week off with going to a gender reveal party for my sweet friend who is home from Germany!  Her little girl is adorable as well and she’s getting a little brother!  I’m looking forward to having her home for the next few weeks!  Oh and now I’m even more excited now to find out what we are having!  Oh and notice that almost 34 week bump I’m sporting there…yep. hello baby!



2. These puppies are hilarious.  They definitely are fighting for dominance and love to fight over the spot underneath my chair.  Though, they were able to play tug of war with each other.  Boaz takes on the bully of an older brother role and likes to flaunt any and all toys that he picks up.  He also uses his speed to get away whenever needed.  Oh puppies!

3. I saw this sign outside of Kohl’s and loved it!  This little reminder is such a good one for me.  I love keeping in mind that when I am saying no to some things…oftentimes, I am saying no so that I can say YES to something else that I believe is important or valuable.  Plus, getting to say yes to things you love is pretty much the best.  

4. Boaz is in for such a surprise when this little baby comes!  I’ve been having fun getting more baby things and getting ready.  Well, let’s be honest.  We’ve mainly just gotten the “important” things…a Bob jogging stroller, car seat, and this sweet Nuna Sena. Everything else has been given to us.  Let’s just say that my mom is beyond excited for her first grand baby.  I’m still searching for that perfect going home outfit.  I figure I can’t control much, but I can control having one of those!  Any favorite places to buy baby clothes!?

5. I’ve also been loving working on this puzzle and even finishing it!  There was a ton of blue sky and water, which made some of the pieces difficult, but not too bad.  Plus, there were pieces that glowed in the dark.  Super cool.  That’s what I’ve been loving lately.  Oh and warmer weather finally!

What about you? What would be on your list?

 

What I Learned-February

I had so much fun writing last months “What I learned” that I thought I would jump on board again this time!  February really felt like a short month and yet I definitely feel like there were a lot of big learning curves as well as fun things to learn too!

1. The Olympics are my favorite, but I learned that I do have a limit of watching…I eventually hit the: “We need to do something else!” stage!  But all in all, I loved being able to see the athletes and the competition.  Plus, my husband likes them too! Even Boaz loved all the times he got to either “watch” or sleep on us.

Boaz is so high maintenance.

2. There are SO many baby options for everything. I’ve started bookmarking a few things and my Pinterest page is growing!

3. This baby loves to move and I am in love with baby feet.  One of my favorite ultrasound pictures definitely was the one with cute little feet.  Not too surprising because I have always taken feet pictures wherever I travel.

Speaking of, I’m ready to be back in Africa… 🙂

4. I definitely have a bump and people have noticed. Maternity clothes are around the corner.  Not yet, but definitely soon!

Oh and how cute is this picture with my husband.

5. My limit of handling winter is getting shorter.  I am longing for walks and runs outside.

6. It’s okay to spend money to take care of me (even when I’d rather spend the money elsewhere!) and to do things afraid. I definitely had to be open to making this decision and to God’s promptings.

7. Downton Abbey turned into a perfect thing to watch while on the treadmill with Boaz! And I will say that I was thankful for a “happier” ending than last season.

8. Communication is ever a learning process, but worth the hard work.

9. Even though February is a “short” month, we totally used all of our grocery budget to make good food early in the month.  Next month, I might need to spread things out a bit!

10. This salad dressing is delicious. 

11. The book of Numbers hasn’t been nearly as hard to read as I thought it would be this time around and I am loving reading Romans this month.  (I’ve been using this plan since I think July last year and have been more or less reading a day or two or three at a time.  I love getting to read out of 4 different books each day.)

12. Baby names are hard to pick!  But I am loving all the potential names and options…I may or may not be a name hoarder.

What did you learn this month?

Catch-All

 

Forgive me for the picture overload…but here’s my catch-all post of all the fun things that have been going on lately.  This week has felt like a nice breath of fresh hair and we have our 20 week ultrasound tomorrow!!  So hello getting to see baby again.  We definitely have been a little spoiled in getting to see this baby at 12 weeks and a full detailed ultrasound at 14 weeks too.  I am definitely in denial that we’re halfway there!

Confession.  I don’t think I’ve ever actually made full on homemade lasagna before, but now I can say that I have!  Above is a nice little mixture of ricotta cheese, mozzarella, spinach, and some eggs.  Not sure why they added eggs…maybe to keep it together? I’d definitely try it without for fun if I ever make this again!  Below was the even more fun part of actually putting the lasagna together!  I totally made WAY too many noodles, but oh well.

Hello baby bump.  Whether I want it or not, this little baby is making an appearance on the outside now too.  People who know me are noticing. Ek!  I’m a little in denial about this too. I can’t say I’ve ever been one of those people who have looked forward to having a baby bump.  Maybe it’ll grow on me.  This is at least one of my fave pictures so far.  Plus, I do love feeling the little baby moving and pushing in there!  This little baby seems to love music (well assuming the baby can hear the music! “They” say he/she can on all those crazy baby apps…) or the other alternative is that he/she just doesn’t like when I have my seat warmer on when I’m in the car and is trying to get away from the heat! Ha.

Olympics!!! Boaz is just as into these Olympic games as we are.  Well he’s either watching with full attention or he’s sleeping on us. This is how we’re spending most evenings lately…

These two are my favorite.  And don’t let Boaz fool you…he’s getting ready to try to lick Ryan.  He’s just so kind like that. 

Hello baked chimichangas.  So delicious.  Guacamole is my favorite too.  I’m SO glad I can eat tomatoes again and that the little baby isn’t revolting every time I do.  That was definitely a not so fun part of the first trimester.  I love some good Mexican food. 

Here’s another bump picture.  Don’t mind all the nail polish–adds character 🙂

I’ve spent the last week or two devouring my grandmother’s journal and I’ve loved it!  This little note from her mother/aunt (she lived with her aunt and uncle and called them mother and father) was such a perfect reminder to make moments glorious.  

Oh and another Boaz one where he’s camped out at the end of the couch sleeping with his head on the table.  He’s been extra cuddly and sleepy this week.  I’m loving it.  We sit and read the Bible, read books, journal, write, and generally enjoy our slow mornings.  We’ll see what this looks in like 4 and a half months!  For now, I’m soaking it up!

Yep. He’s cute. 

This little baby is so loved.  Already getting Valentine’s day cards.So there you have my crazy catch-all post with all sorts of randomness.  I recently found my “Love your life” journal that I hadn’t finished from 2012 (the year of celebrate!) and I started writing in there again so in a way this post was just an overflow from there.  I love looking back see all that the Lord has done.  So much faithfulness even in the midst of pain, heartache, hurt, and frustration.  The Lord is good.

I Have You in My Heart

Last year…

I carried orphans (Lindo, Thabo, Jamesy)  on my back. I watched my baby (Lindo) be adopted into a family that welcomed me.

I held Lerato (love) in my arms before mixing mud to make bricks to build her a house.

I equipped learners with biblical truths and encouraged them to step out to become contagious Christians.

I worshipped God on a mountain with my people.

This year…

I pray. I call. I encourage. I am mindful.

I bought TOMS shoes that give a pair of shoes to a South African kiddo.

I bought Lerato shirts to support someone who spoke truth into my life and still does..

And now. I can shop at the Thrive Store.

~

Even though, things look quite a bit different from last year

what I wrote before and finally got around to painting rings true.

“I have you in my heart.” Philippians 1:7

I can still make an impact

even from 9000 miles away

and so can you.

A shirt, a coffee mug, becoming a monthly supporter…

Together we can hold them in our hearts and make it possible for them to be held by loving arms, to learn God’s truth, to be empowered with love to change their nation.

So, what are you going to do?