dōTERRA Essential Oils

As part of updating this space more regularly and providing readers with valuable content I wanted to point out some changes I have made to the essential oils page. This page can be found by clicking on the tab in the upper right under the Breaking New Ground title. If you are reading on mobile this may look different to you; try clicking on the arrow next to the word Home and scrolling down to the essential oils option or just click here. There you will find featured posts about essential oils and you can now click straight through to my dōTERRA page to find out more about signing up for a wholesale account of your own (earn points toward free product!!) or to purchase oils through me. dōTERRA just introduced a whole new line of spa products as well as some new essential oils and other products, all available for purchase starting October 3rd, 2016. I can't wait to try them!

As always if you have questions about essential oils that aren't answered here please feel free to contact me directly. Follow my tips on the myriad uses for these amazing oils on Instagram @breakingnewground! 

Desmond Lee: 18 months

Desmond is officially a year and a half old as of April 10th. He's such a big boy in so many ways! I thought it would be fun to do a comparison with Kai at this age (since I haven't done one in a while).

In these photos the boys are wearing the same hoodie, jeans, and boots. Des is slightly bigger than Kai was at this age, but not by a ton. I can't find Kai's 18 month stats to compare though. Malakai is on the left and Desmond on the right. I didn't pose Des, I just snapped pictures and then found the ones of Kai that looked the most similar in pose...

{picking up things and investigating them}

{walking around on the deck}

{squatting to reach things: not easy to do in boots}

{carrying things around and loving it}

Desmond is 33 inches tall (62%), 26lbs 11.5oz (63%). From memory I'm pretty sure Kai was not in the 60th percentile for height at this age. We often wonder if Des will surpass Kai in height, much like Ben and his younger brother.

One of the most notable things about Desmond's development is his speech and comprehension. (I'm in no way bragging here, just documenting). When the pediatrician asked how many words he could say, we had a really hard time answering. I explained that he can say almost any word you ask him to. She asked how many words he is not just repeating, but comprehends. What's funny, is that it's often evident that he comprehends them almost instantly based on his use of them again in reference to the object not only right then but in the future. I'm totally crediting Ben with handing down these skills as he is able to understand things quickly as well. Me? I am super visual and pretty hands on so I need examples and trial + error to really learn most things.

So- his most common used words and phrases are:

"Malakai" or "Kai"
"Mama"
"Daddy"
"nana" (banana"
"bagel"
"milk"
"cup"
"water"
"cookie"
"cracker"
"snack"
"pizza"
"sammich" (sandwich)
...noticing a trend here? Our boy likes to eat.
"up"
"hold you"
"help you?"
"no"
"yeah" or "yes"
"Cooz, Cooz" (Blue's Clues)
"ponies"
....just about every animal and their sound.
"my turn"
"thank you"
"welcome"(often said as "thank you- welcome")
"peez" (please)
"all done"
"more"
"cereal"
"I want it"
"I need it"
"have it"
"nuggle" (snuggle)
"read it"
"legos"
"wub you" (love you)
"happy" (how he refers to the "You are my sunshine" song/book)
"window"
"i-pod"
"cuh-yuh" (color)
"baff" (bath"
"nuh-night"
"cars"
"truck"
"Bye-bye"

and the list goes on.

He's becoming more and more independent, which has caused some obvious problems when it comes to playing with his brother. They start off okay at sharing most of the time, but it always turns into a struggle or a fight.

He is still enamored with climbing (as he has been since 6 months of age). He is obviously much better at it. We had to start using a sleep sack at 15 months old because he was climbing out of his crib on it's lowest setting. The sleep sack has already bought us 3 month and we're hoping for 2-6 more before we have to make the toddler bed transition. He often climbs to the top of our dining room table, always in 2 seconds flat.

He is super interested in potty learning. I'm sure it's from watching Malakai learn. He has actually used the toilet a handful of times. One day he went 3 times. We have him go every night before bath but we aren't putting any pressure on him, we've learned (the hard way) to be laid back about it.

We started cloth diapering really recently and I'll be sharing more on that soon. So far Desmond hasn't even seemed to notice a difference, thankfully!

Des is our snuggler. He loves the song/book "You Are My Sunshine" and asks for it by saying "happy?". He blows kisses whenever anyone says loves you or kisses.  He miraculously puts himself to sleep for 2-3 hours at nap time but struggles to do so at bed time. So much so that over the last 3 months he refuses to let me put him to bed at night, and will only sleep if Ben cradles him to sleep. He adamantly refuses to go down "drowsy but awake" and often struggles to soothe himself when he wakes in the middle of the night, although that's improving.

He loves pointing out animals and saying their names and the sounds they make. He is obsessed with Kai's room and trying to stand on the bed to look out the window. He loves to "read" and be read to. He's mastered the art of building a lego tower and he loves to color with crayons and markers. He knows a handful of signs, and always says the phrase while doing the signs.

Like I mentioned before, he LOVES to eat. His favorite is bananas. He will often ask for cookies because I shared one with him ONCE. He gets super cranky if we are late on snacks or meals and then is instantly happy again when he gets to eat. The only foods he isn't fond of lately are meats, which I think are a texture thing. If he's anything like Kai in this regard, I don't know if he'll ever eat chicken.

He's fairly mellow but is starting to exert himself when he wants something. He's been known to throw his weight around when throwing a fit, which is not a pretty sight. Otherwise he's super sweet, and I can't get enough of watching him grow.

Converting to Cloth

In our continued efforts to cut our spending in order to focus on saving money we've decided to try out cloth diapering. It only took us about 2 years to come to this decision. We considered it briefly before Kai was born, but Ben vetoed the idea. His biggest problem was the poo going in the washing machine. 4 years later, we both laugh at that being worrisome.

When Kai was about a year old we considered it again. I really looked into the savings, but again Ben wasn't too keen on the idea. I also, wasn't completely sold. I was worried that the amount of laundry I'd be doing would negate any savings. I was also used to the convenience of disposable diapers. The real clincher was that I ended up babysitting a child who was cloth diapered and I was completely turned off to the idea. The smell of the diapers and the rash that the child had were repulsive.

A couple weeks ago Ben and I were crunching numbers and moaning at how much we were still spending on disposable diapers. Even now that Malakai is (FINALLY) potty-trained we still spend about $75 every 4-6 weeks on Desmond's diapers and overnight pull-ups for Malakai. I'm currently looking into cloth overnight undies for Malakai. At $30 a pair, I'd like to figure out how to sew my own (or recruit my Mother-in-law!) before going in that direction.

I emailed a friend from college who has a little guy the same age as Desmond (check out her blog here). I knew that she'd been cloth diapering and was knowledgeable on the subject. I trust her opinion and was hoping to get better information from a friend than what I was finding scouring the internet. INFORMATION OVERLOAD! Amanda was a great help. Additionally I asked friends through facebook to share their favorite kinds. Then I crunched the numbers of half a dozen different trial programs.

I decided to go with Just Simply Baby. They had a great deal on a starter package of 10 pocket diapers, 20 inserts, 10 cloth wipes, a detergent sample, and cloth safe diaper cream for under $90. I got free shipping by adding 2 wet bags to my order and meeting the $100 minimum. They have a 30 day money back guarantee so I knew that I could send it all back if we weren't satisfied or if we decide cloth diapering doesn't work for us. Currently they are running a $10 diaper deal!

My second choice would be the trial through Jillian's Drawers. They send several types for you to try out at a fairly low cost. You can then send back any or all of them after 21 days. Your next order then ships free!

I just got our package today and have it all prepping as I type. I'm pretty excited to start something new and I'm really hopeful it'll work out and we can start saving!

 I received a trial amount of EcoSprout detergent to use, but need to figure out an affordable option for use after it runs out.  Any tips, tricks, or products you'd recommend or NOT recommend? Leave a comment!

Desmond: 4 months

At 4 months Desmond is a very social baby. It's so easy to make him smile and laugh, I spend most of my day being a goof ball just to hear him giggle. He wakes up in the morning talking and cooing away, just completely happy.

He loves to watch other people, especially big brother Malakai. Kai has also just noticed that he's being watched and takes to entertaining Desmond. He's also been much more gentle, affectionate, and helpful with Des. He'll grab a burp cloth, or the boppy when I need it. The other night he grabbed Desmond's bottle from the counter after Ben finished feeding him, and said "I feed him!" and put it in Des' mouth. It was too sweet, and of course Des thought it was hilarious.

Desmond is growing faster than I can keep track of. We already have two full storage bags of his newborn, 0-3, and 3 month clothes. He is quickly getting too big (long) for his 3-6 and some 6 month clothes and fits really well in most 6-9 month things already! I find myself sorting clothes out of his regular rotation every time I do laundry.

He has been an amazing sleeper. Besides the colic he experienced early on, he goes down fairly easy at night and doesn't cry when he wakes to nurse. There are occasions when he keeps waking up just after we put him down, usually it's because he wants to keep eating. Once he's down for the night, he really only wakes up once or twice.

The bottle has been an interesting challenge for Des. He took to a binky really well, which is why we were so shocked he wouldn't eat from a bottle. My mom discovered a technique that works (holding him facing out while bouncing) and between her, Ben, and his mom we're getting him to eat from a bottle in more comfortable positions week by week. For now, he still refuses to take a bottle being cradled like when I nurse him.

He started reaching for and grabbing toys a couple weeks ago. Now he's a pro and is also grabbing at my hands while he nurses, my hair and for faces of whomever is holding him. He still loves to "stand up" on his legs and doesn't mind tummy time for 5 minutes here and there. He can roll over from tummy to back, so if he gets tired of it he just rolls to his back.

{visiting with Aunt Kristi}

Sweet Desmond is growing up much too fast, but it seems that's how all of the babies are doing it these days. It kills me that I hardly remember Kai as a baby anymore. Thank goodness for home videos!

Desmond: 3 months

As Ben put it, Desmond is a quarter of a year old today. After that statement I told him to never talk to me again. It really put it into perspective for me how soon my baby's first year will come to an end. It's exhilarating and heartbreaking all at the same time. I love having a baby and a toddler, even in the moments that are difficult. In the last 3 months I have experienced some of the most challenging moments of my entire life, but I've had many more joyous moments. God knows just how to balance the hurts with a precious belly laugh from Des or a rare snuggle from Kai. Parenthood is definitely a rollercoaster.

At 3 months Desmond is still growing quickly as ever. At his 2 month appointment he weighed 14lbs 15oz., so basically 15lbs. and I'm sure he's closer to 17 by now. Everyone marvels at how heavy he is, especially when lifting his car seat.

He still won't take a bottle although we recently had a nearly successful attempt in which he drank 1/2 an ounce. We've tried all the tricks and so we just keep making attempts and trying different bottles and pray that he'll take one so I can leave him with daddy or his grandparents for longer than an hour on occasion. It's not the end of the world, but Sunday mornings can get quite stressful when I'm toting him around and trying to do my job at the same time.

Des recently took to snuggling a "lovie", this sweet little teddybear/blanket that is soft and cuddly and just the right size. Watching him play + nap with it is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

He also has a pretty good routine down, which is all his doing as I just let him lead the way and respond in kind. He wakes in the morning between 7 and 8am, happy as a clam. This is his most smiley part of the day. He's alert and content and loves to play with me or watch Malakai for about an hour or two before nursing and conking back out for a nap, which is usually in his bouncy chair and only 20-30 minutes.

He's up for some tummy time and he loves to watch his big brother play. While I make Kai's lunch he's pretty happy to wiggle on a playmat or in the bouncy chair. While Kai eats I usually nurse Des and get him down for his afternoon nap, around 12:30 or 1pm. He wakes around 2pm to nurse and then sometimes sleeps for an hour or two more.

In the late afternoon he's up to see daddy return from work and then takes a bit of power nap around the time that we eat dinner. He's up for another couple hours before bath and bedtime. He's a pretty good sleeper at night, but getting him to bed can be difficult at times. He had some colic for a while but it seems to be pretty much gone. Once he's down for the night he'll sleep for 2-6 hours before stirring to nurse. He sleeps in a co-sleeper next to me so once I hear him sucking on his hands or turning his head side to side I can nurse him before he really wakes up and then we all go back to sleep again. It's a pretty good system, except when he breaks out of his swaddle and I have to get up and try to fix it or have Ben help me because then I have a hard time falling back to sleep.

When he's active he loves to kick + pedal his feet while grunting and cooing. He laughs and smiles easily and his dimples are to die for. Des loves to be held standing up and has been bearing weight on his legs since around 4 weeks old. He actually loves tummy time and sometimes rolls from tummy to back. When he nurses he'll eat for a short time and then search for the binkie when he's done, unlike his brother who would comfort nurse for a very long time and rejected the binkie completely. He's been sprouting more and more dark hair, has a button nose, and a really long torso. While he's starting to resemble his brother at the same age more than before, he still looks an awful lot like his mama.

It's such a joy to watch Desmond grow and see his personality develop each day.

Desmond: 2 months

{santa baby}

Desmond turned two months over the weekend. It's pretty unbelievable how fast his newborn stage went. We literally just got back from his well-check and first ever immunizations. My big boy is off the charts for weight at just under 15lbs! In just 9 weeks he has more than doubled his birth weight! He's 23 1/4 inches (65th %) and his head is 16 1/4 inches round (77%). Needless to say,we get a LOT of comments on his size. It's funny how much bigger he is than other the same age or older. Dr. B called it when she said he's probably already in 6 month clothes. 

He met all the developmental milestones for his age: turning his head towards our voices, tracking with his eyes, lifting his head when on his tummy, cooing and smiling. He also reached a milestone for me yesterday by sleeping in his carseat after it was out of the car for the first time. It couldn't have been more convenient as it was my first morning back to work. I was planning on wearing him in the Ergo while I checked in on my classrooms and such, but being able to tote him in the carseat and set him down worked well too.

Both boys got shots today. Malakai got his flu shot and did great! I prepared him by telling him it would hurt but that it would be okay. He said ouch loudly and then he was fine. I am so proud of my brave boy! He also got a clean bill of health, no more ear infections!! So glad that $71 medication worked, phew!!

Desmond of course cried for his shots, and actually cried his first tears (which killed me a little) but the nurse was fantastic and did them so fast that he recovered by the time she put the last bandage on.

Then on the way out I had my first mama of two blunder. I couldn't find my keys! I had gotten Kai out of the car, walked him around to stand next to me when I got Desmond out and then Kai walked to the front door by himself so I hadn't locked the doors...which worked well since I had left the keys on the seat on Kai's side. Thankfully my car and it's contents were left untouched. I felt so bad, but I guess locking the keys in the car would have been worse!

Back to Des, he has pretty much outgrown his colic for the most part. He still has a few rough nights here and there but sleeps 3-6 hours at night between feedings. Dr. B said it would be fine for him to go 8-10 hours, but I don't see my hungry boy doing that any time soon! He did fall asleep around 8:30 last night and just stirred to eat around midnight. It was so nice to have some time to hang out with Ben before bed. He also can fall asleep on his own for naps occasionally.

His happiest time is in the morning. He is all smiles when he first wakes up and loves to be stood up on his feet to jump his legs off my lap. I think he is really close to laughing for the first time, he gets to cooing so happily with a huge smile. I am so excited for baby laughter to fill our house.

20 months

Only 4 months until Malakai's 2nd Birthday. I can hardly believe it. I have a feeling I'm going to think this way every single year as he and his future siblings get older. It's exciting and sad at the same time. If you've seen Toy Story 3 I think they capture the sad feelings of having a child grow and become more independent so well. Too well really, I don't recommend watching while pregnant or extra emotional unless you want to turn into a sobbing mess.

This age can be fun + frustrating at the same time. Malakai is learning new things all the time and saying new words literally every day. He plays pretend, mimics sounds, gives the sweetest hugs + kisses, feeds himself, and loves books. He has also bitten on occasion, pulled out the hem of his favorite blanket, turns the tv on + off a hundred times a day, climbs + runs on the couch, and learned the art of a tantrum.

Over the weekend we were at a family birthday party and when I broke his pizza into pieces for him he cried harder than he has ever cried before. He was so angry with me for ruining his pizza. Once he stopped crying he was making the most pathetic pouty face Ben + I about started crying along with him! I felt so bad for how frustrated he must have been, not being able to communicate what he wanted.

In the past few days he started calling Ben's dad "Bapa" for Grandpa, and my dad "Boppi" for G'Pa. He has taken to calling my mom "Mommy" which is kind of funny, but makes sense since it's her nickname, Mima, turned around. He calls me Mama, so it's not confusing...yet. Although, when we tried to get him to say Grandma for Ben's mom, it comes out Mama. He'll get it eventually. What's important and exciting (especially for his grandparents) is that he immediately recognizes them and calls them by name when he sees them.

Out of curiosity I started a list of all the words he can say and over the past week I've documented 88 words + phrases. Here are some examples of what he says on a daily basis:

Phrases:
"What's that/What's this?"
"Where'd it go?"
"What'd you do?"
"There it is!"
"did it!"
"thank you"

and our favorite "It's an ipod!" which was a rather shocking response when we pointed at the ipod touch and simple asked "what's this?" a few weeks ago.

Words:
toast
banana
purse
rain
water
boots
no
please (which also means yes)
apple
cup
whoah
pizza
help
off, on - his current favorites
outside
elmo

and much more!

It is so fun to watch him learn and grow. It is so rewarding to teach him something new and surely humbling to have him mimic something we'd rather not have him say or do. It makes us reflect more on ourselves and how we want to raise our children. Being parents has really made us want to be better versions of ourselves.

Our sweet boy has the best head of shaggy wavy locks that is a bit overdue for a haircut (easier said than done), bright green eyes, chunky little toes, scrumptious rolls on his thighs, a very round belly, and a contagious smile. He loves family + friends but also is friendly to anyone he meets, shouting "hi!" at the grocery store or doctor's office.

Happy 20 months Malakai Benson!

Love,
Mama

Thankful on a Thursday: the miracle of growth

Sometimes the day to day things just stop me in my tracks. These days I'm just in awe over how people grow + change. I'm not talking about something deeply spiritual or intellectual here, I'm referring to literal physical growth.

The day we found out I was pregnant I looked over photos from my pregnancy with Malakai and was amazed all over again at how my body changed and grew to adapt to his needs. It seems to go ever so slowly, but just think about how quick 9 months is in the span of an average lifetime.

{I have to do this again?!}

When I held sweet baby boy Justice for the first time yesterday, I thought about Malakai's birth-day. 

Malakai was slightly smaller and just 19 months later it's already hard to remember him being so very tiny. 

{9 days old}

{19 months old}

He has grown 10 inches and gained 20lbs in just a year and a half. Yet, when he sleeps like this, he's still my sweet little baby boy. It never ceases to amaze me the way God created our bodies to go through such rapid change. 

Ben's cousin had her second baby boy, Elijah, on the 7th of this month (1 of 6 February babies in our circle of family + friends). He was about 6 weeks early. At first he seemed to be doing just fine for being premature, but sadly a heart defect was discovered. He was moved to another hospital for surgery and more specialized care. His recovery has been going smoothly, considering. What is getting his parents through this is that their first son, Caleb, was born early as well. He didn't have a heard defect, but Ben's cousin, Elija's mom,  does...the exact same issue, and it's not known to be hereditary. 

God has an amazing way of preparing us for life's challenges. If you're the praying type, please lift up baby Elijah and his parents. 

I started this blog 2 years ago as of the 13th, it started out about the changes our lives were about to go through on the journey to becoming parents but has become so much more. I'm still in awe at how life changes so quickly and hope to continue to embrace it all the way through. 

This week I'm thankful for...

511. Answered prayer.

512. child-like wonder.

513. the miracle of pregnancy + birth.

514. very little nausea (so far) in this pregnancy

515. the outpouring of support when we announced our big news

516.  healing.

517. steady income.

518. perspective.

519. seeing one of my very best friends become a mother.

520. the encouragement from all my readers, especially those who have been here since I started. 

What are you thankful for?

How have you experienced that child-like wonder lately? What leaves you in awe?

expecting

On Wednesday the 9th I took a home pregnancy test first thing in the morning. I left it on the bathroom counter and did a couple of things to get the house ready before getting Malakai out of bed. I went back to the test real quick, expecting it to be negative like the one I had done just a week before, but was completely surprised by what I saw. A plus sign.

When we found out I was pregnant with our first, Malakai, it was a weekend and Ben checked the test with me. This time, he was at work. I was so filled with excitement and disbelief. I went in to tell Malakai that he's going to be a big brother. Then I agonized all day over how to tell Ben when he got home. I wanted to do something special and creative, something different. We only have one car, which Ben takes to work, so I was limited to what was in our house.

I finally figured something out and waited until Malakai's afternoon nap to put it all together. I decided to mimic the reveal after Ben's proposal (a story I'll share here in detail some day). I set up a stuffed animal he had bought me when we were dating, Gregory the elephant, with the first note.

Next was one of Malakai's first toys, Gaffe the giraffe, with the second note.

Last was this box, with a note inside...

and the pregnancy tests. (I took a 2nd one that afternoon to really confirm the positive result).

I couldn't wait for him to come home, the anticipation was killing me! He didn't even notice set up on our dining room table at first, I had to point it out. I had the camera ready and took a few photos as he read each note. He had an excited grin on his face, but he wasn't quite sure what to expect.

When he read the last note he asked "four?" and I said, "yeah, the 3 of us plus 1 more equals 4..." and then he smiled big and said sweetly "you're pregnant!"and got up to hug me.

Hindsight is almost always 20/20. We looked back on some of the signs, although they were a bit different than last time. The biggest thing is how dead tired I've been, but we just figured it was my nasty chest cold and the fact that I lift + chase a 27 lb. toddler all day. I haven't felt nauseous but with Kai I didn't feel it until 7 weeks, so I'm not thinking we're in the clear for "morning" sickness yet. I am already having some nasty round-ligament pains, worse than the first time around, which doesn't make sense to me.

I know it's early to make the big announcement, we're estimating I'm at about 6 weeks. We decided that this time around, if something were to go wrong we'd rather have the support of those we love and care about rather than keep our excitement a secret for 12 weeks.

My first appointment is this afternoon. We're really hoping for an early ultrasound since a number of things make figuring out the due date a bit more difficult this time around. As of now, it's October 7th, 2011.

About Malakai: eighteen months

Malakai Benson is 18 months old today.  A year and a half ago he looked like this-

{my teeeensy tiny, peaceful, + quiet baby}

And today he looks like this-

{my big, wild, + noisy toddler}

These days he is doing something new everyday. Yesterday he pointed at G'Pa and said "whatdat newt?"..."what's that nose?" We all had a good laugh. A little later he found the microphone for his Aunt Nanner's Disney Wii game and started to sing + dance while watching himself in the mirror.

Kai is all boy. He loves to wrestle, run, and jump. He also does a few strange things like bash his head or his mouth into the wall, the couch, daddy's knee. As I type this he is putting his mega blocks in the sink while daddy tries to do the dishes. He knows when he's doing something wrong, he'll say "no no no" or "uhoh" but then continue to do it. He doesn't seem to mind time-outs very much, but they can still be a good reset for unwanted behavior. 

He loves to try to push the buttons on my laptop or shut the lid on my hands while I'm typing. He puts toys into the back of the tv's speakers, tries to push the power button, gets into all drawers + cupboards. He climbs whatever he can to get to the couch, drags the end table from the living room into the kitchen + back, slides the outlet protector off, opens the oven door latch, and unlocks the latch on the dishwasher while it's running. He likes to turn the handle on the diaper pail, throw toys, hit with toys, grab other kids by their clothes to move them out of his way, and he is still resistant to sharing- especially toys that he knows are his. 

He also loves to gives hugs + kisses, snuggles up on daddy's shoulder at night, dance while holding his glow worm, climb into a loved ones lap to listen to a story, flip through the pages of his Old McDonald book + sing "eieio". He still falls asleep in the car + lets mama transfer him to bed. He loves to play peek-a-boo, giggles endlessly at a specific scene of Elmo tripping on a pile of apples, says "bwease" if you dare stop swinging, tickling, bouncing, or pushing him in a basket or box around the room like it's a racecar. He always has a smile for someone new, even when he's acting shy at first. He gets so excited when he sees his grandparents, waves "bye" when anyone is leaving, blows kisses, tries on everyone's shoes, and puts mama's purse on his shoulder. He knows that when the garage door creaks it means that daddy is home, and he does a little happy dance and runs to the door. He's loving + sweet and so perfectly innocent + full of wonder. 

Some of the words + phrases he's saying are:

"what's that?" 

"there you are!"

"Elmo, please"

"hi, mama!"

"bye!" with a wave

"up, please!"

"all done"

"nuh-night"

"eieio"

"niiiice"

"doggie"

"meow"

"nana" (banana)

"nummies"

"pizza"

"hot dog"

"water" (when it's raining)

There are many many more. He's just soaking up information like a little sponge. Ben + I are always looking at each other in awe of how quickly he learns something. 

He's been working on all four cuspid teeth at once and has been for over a month. His gums are inflamed and at times he is visible (and audibly) miserable. Last night he was chewing on everything and despite some pain meds, he would not go to sleep after 2 hours of trying different techniques to calm + soothe him. At 18 months old, we had to go back to the tried + true method of going on a long drive. Thankfully he almost always transfers well. 

So, he is very much a toddler, but still sometimes my baby. It's going by so fast, each stage that has passed is already hard to remember. I want to soak him up and live in the moment. 

We're so proud of our growing little boy. 

2010

This started out as one of those "year in review" posts. I was going to posts photos and a month by month recount of our year. Then, life got in the way. I also realized, that if you wanted to know what we did month by month you could just click on the posts to the lower left. So...instead of waste my time + energy on that, I made a photo collage to represent our year. It took me 10 minutes.

We just had a glorious 5 day vacation. We ate, took naps, visited with family, and I got older. Tomorrow Ben goes back to the office and I have an appointment. Back to the real world for us.

When I catch a few minutes I'll update in more detail, especially about my fantastic birthday surprises courtesy of my most wonderful husband!

Thankful on a Thursday: Happy Christmas

Tomorrow we have the first of many Christmas celebrations. We are so excited to get together with family + spend time giving thanks for the birth of our Saviour. I'm really looking forward to giving gifts, and watching Malakai really dig in to opening presents and interacting with everyone.

We are so blessed right now.

This past Sunday the speaker at church said that at any given time 1/3 of the congregation is going through a storm, 1/3 is heading out of one, and the other 1/3 is about to experience one. Yet, instead of being overwhelmed about this,  we should embrace the storms because they bring about change. He later closed his message by saying "When God brings you to nothing, it's never to destroy you. Its to change your perspective."

I hope I'm able to remember those words and keep that outlook next time I encounter a storm in life.


This week I'm thankful for...

431. Ben coming home early, thus starting our long weekend!

432. no lines when we paid our visit to Santa last week, even though Kai wasn't too thrilled.

433. financial peace at a time of year that can be so stressful.

434. having so many of our loved ones close by.

435. houses lit up from the outside in.

436. modern medicine- Ben has bronchitis which results in a persistent cough. He was prescribed cough suppressant pills and they work like a miracle!

437. hot chocolate + candy canes

438. the ability to watch my son learn + grow every day.

439. the 23 Christmas cards we've received. I love getting mail and reading everyone's yearly letters!

440. the birth of Jesus Christ.

What are you thankful for this Christmas? I encourage you to take a break from your holiday preparations + reflect on that. De-stress and know that you are well loved.

Happy Happy Christmas everyone! I'll be back on Monday.

Thankful on a Thursday: Breaking New Ground, again

Life is hitting a busy season for us again. I'm trying to remember if it actually ever slowed down. Either way, we've definitely got a lot more going on right now that we usually do. Only half of which is related to the holiday hustle + bustle.

The biggest change, that I've been alluding to all week, is that I took on a new job! It happened quite suddenly and unexpectedly over the last couple of weeks. Starting this past Sunday I am now the Nursery Director at our church. It's part time + I have the ability to do most of the job from home so I can still stay home with Malakai + provide daycare with the kiddos I'm currently watching. There are a lot of changes taking place, and I'm so excited for what God has planned.

Despite the "go, go, go" we've still taken time to do what matters to us most, spend time with each other, especially our ever changing son.

This week I'm thankful for

421. Malakai's developing love for books.

422. God's provision in the most unexpected ways.

423. Malakai finally recovering from a lingering sickness.

424. nakey-time

{Kai climbed into Daddy's lap before bathtime, LOVE this photo}

425. getting our Christmas cards in the mail! They turned out so good (I'll share them here once they've been mailed out).

426. making progress in our independent eating adventures

427. making progress on our Christmas shopping. ALMOST done!

428. Elmo/Cuddle time in the mornings.

429. a husband who cares so much about what I want to do for my birthday that he struggles to pull off a surprise. Better luck next year love!

430. a break in the rain + a morning at the park.

What are you thankful for this week?