oh hey...

winter.

I usually don't mind it so much, and I don't complain about the rain like most, but the sickness. Oh the sickness! If my memory serves me correctly (and it certainly may not) we haven't been quite this sick (in intensity, frequency, and longevity) for about 2 years.

Last winter our kiddos did have quite the battle with ear infections, which was pretty miserable. Malakai ended up getting tubes put in last June and Aurelia got pretty close but thankfully it wasn't necessary. Des rarely gets ear infections, but he gets knocked out with respiratory infections due to some asthma. 

This winter, we've got it all. First it was colds with a lingering cough. Two months later and I'll still get to coughing if I talk too long. The main culprit lately has been the stomach bug that just won't quit. Over the past 2 weeks we have each sucummed to some form of it. I'm not even entirely sure we all got the same thing because of how varied our symptoms were, but one triage nurse did say that the same virus can present differently in each person affected. It would hit one of us, then we'd all be fine, a couple days would pass and then someone else or the same person would suddenly be sick. It was always gone long enough to think we were in the clear and then, boom, someone else came up really sick. Malakai has been sick 3 times in the past 2 weeks!

 

{daddy played some music to cheer us up}

It's so sad to see your kiddos sick and not be able to do much about it. It's even worse when they're missing fun events that they've been looking forward to. One praise is that February 2nd was Ben's birthday and we all managed to stay well for long enough to celebrate him, however he was hit in the middle of the night that night and there we were again...

Thus my attempts to blog more in 2016 have been thwarted so far by the diseases of the season. We are finally feeling better and praying hard against any more bouts of illness this winter! So far we are all feeling pretty good!

So make sure to subscribe, like, and follow for upcoming posts. Expect a couple giveaways, tutorials, and the like!

moving slower

If you couldn't tell by the quiet here on my blog, I've been moving a lot slower these days. This applies to just about every aspect of my life and is largely due to my pregnancy (no puns intended). Between being tired + sick for so long in the beginning to now being so tired + sore I feel like I didn't get much of the "energetic" part of pregnancy. I have drive and motivation to do things, I want to do ALL THE THINGS, but I can't. I try anyway and end up miserable at the end of the day, and my husband isn't too happy with me for pushing it either. Most days I feel fine in the midst of activity, but oh how I pay for it later!

I've had a couple sessions of physical therapy and have already been able to tell the difference in my physical ability just by keeping up with the exercises and advice given to me. I'm really disciplining myself to get my stretches done, it helps that the boys love to join me. 

I have a blog post all written out for an update on our 40 Bags in 40 Days project, but editing the pictures has been slow going for me. It'll come soon. We've also taken on a couple big home improvement projects over Memorial Day weekend that I'll share soon after. 

Oh yeah, Mother's Day has come and gone as well. I was showered with gifts and given the gift of relaxation. Ben + the boys gifted me with an act of service which I loved because 1. it got something done and 2. it is teaching our boys how to love others with servants' hearts. They cleaned out our garden area, which was a tangle of weeds and filled a couple pots with dirt for me to plant my herbs. I won't be planting a full garden, just basil and cilantro this year. Overall I felt blessed to be a mother to my sweet boys and wife to my thoughtful husband. 

Slowly but surely I'll get some more exciting updates posted and maybe some more baby posts thrown in here and there. For now, Desmond is napping so I'm going to snuggle up next to Malakai and take a little rest myself. 

but wait...there's more!

If I believed in "jinxes" I would say that I jinxed myself/my family by posting about our recent ailments. Perhaps it could really be attributed to my claiming God's power over our circumstances and the enemy not liking it...well, I still feel God's hand over us despite more injury.

Yesterday I woke feeling better, but still sluggish. I knew I didn't have the energy (especially since I hadn't eaten all day prior) or will power to get the boys dressed and out the door for my Bible study. I was worried that when we got there I'd end up getting sick again and nobody wants that to happen in public! Anyway, we did end up driving down the block (boys in their pi's) to my neighborhood friend Amy's house. It was a really nice break actually, the boys played so nice together for quite a while. 

Anyway, at one point Des was in my lap and I was touching his hair and felt a weird hard spot. I looked at it and he had a lot of dried blood caked in his hair! He wouldn't let me clean it and was acting fine (and rather energetic) as usual so I decided to wait til we got home. Later I was able to clean it better and when I got the hair off the cut I could see how bad it was, and it wasn't pretty. 

The night before Desmond and Malakai had been wrestling and Kai was on top of Des at one point on our laminate floors. Des fell back and his his head from less than a foot off the ground. From where I was it looked like he just hit the floor. Looking back he was way too upset for what I thought had happened. He was in front of our entertainment center, so he must have caught his head on the corner. Somehow between then and the hour before putting him to bed we didn't notice it. His hair must have hid it or it healed over and then reopened in his sleep and his hair stuck to it. Either way, Ben + I felt like terrible parents for not realizing he was hurt! 

I called the doctor and they couldn't figure out just over the phone if he would need stitches. Since it bled again after I got the hair off of it, they thought he should be seen. I got in on a cancellation that afternoon and headed over, but by then it had dried up again and stopped bleeding. Thankfully he didn't need any stitches and they barely touched it (I was prepared for the worst- having to restrain him for stitches). I did however have to also explain the giant gash in his tongue and how it was from a separate incident on the same day. Kiddo had a rough one, mama too. It was embarrassing, but I'm assuring myself injuries like this are normal from rowdy boys of this age and I need to not beat myself up over it. 

He's so resilient, all we need to do is not get it wet so it will heal and let him be. He  is acting completely normal, just as rambunctious as ever. 

I've got new meds that aren't as strong, but will hopefully rid me of this sinus infection for good so I can move on and we can hopefully all be healthy for a while. Now- to break up the boys from hitting each other before someone gets hurt...again. 

illness + injury

I feel like a broken record, I even said this to my Bible study group recently when requesting prayer for my sick family, again. We are entering month 4 of illness in our home. I don't share on social media to get extra attention or to throw a pity party. Sometimes I'm actually embarrassed to admit that we are sick again (or is it still?) but I do, because every time I'm covered in prayer and encouraged by a community of friends, family + even strangers. We've endured countless doctor's office visits, pharmacy pick ups and a 3 day emergency hospital stay. Just when things start to look up, someone else comes down with something. Here we are again.

I'm thankful and so happy to be able to say that last Friday when Des had an ear check, he is over his ear infections (he had one, that turned into two really bad infections while on the first round of medicine). I'm also hesitant, but hopeful in saying that I think Malakai is over his recurring infections. (he had 4 in a row, and tried 5 different medicines that all failed). He has an ENT appointment this Thursday morning, so we will know for sure, but he's been acting more himself and not complaining of any pain for the last week or so. These things outweigh that bad day that we had today...

Last week I was told I have another sinus infection (I've had symptoms that won't quit since January, was treated once in February but never felt better- then recently got much worse). I saw another Dr. in my primary physician's office who prescribed me a stronger antibiotic for another sinus infection. Today is day 3 on meds and I had a very bad reaction. Debilitating headache and nausea all morning that resulted in "losing my breakfast" in the kitchen sink just before lunch (right after Des fell and bit his tongue REALLY badly, it looks like he has a hole in it). Thankfully Ben could come home on his lunch break, get Des down for a nap so I could rest and then he preoccupied Malakai while working from home the rest of the afternoon (he is our Superman). I've been nauseated with the same bad headache all afternoon and just as I went to crawl into bed my sciatica (that I'm waiting on a referral to have treated) took a turn for the worse and I nearly fell over. 

I'm not looking for pity (but I will gladly take prayers). I post all of this because the purpose of my blog is to share with my readers and to document our lives so we can look back on it all one day. Life isn't always pretty, and lately for us it's been rather ugly. I'm not whining or complaining, but merely documenting so when things are good I can see what God brought us out of. Because despite the back to back illnesses and injuries and a hospitalization I know it could be worse and I also know that it's going to get better. 

I'm clinging to God's promises to bless us and I'm focusing on the joy in each moment. The fact that almost any time I ask Desmond to snuggle me, he replies with an excited "okay!", when Malakai loves to color pictures/mail/surprises for anyone and everyone, laughing til I'm crying at the things Kai has said over the past year when I came across Ben's "Kai Thoughts" Instagram, smiling at Desmond's growing vocabulary and constant need to narrate our day, all the sweet innocent questions they both ask constantly, the sweet baby kicking around in my belly, loved ones who check in with is because we've been quarantined in our house for months (thanks for not being offended that I haven't contacted you in weeks...), everyone who covers us in healing prayer, the moments when we can feel those prayers doing their work and know that this too shall pass. 

So I do apologize if I sound like a broken record...It's just a season, one with more challenges than others, but soon we'll be on the other side and be blessed by the suffering that taught us how to better embrace joy. 

'tis the season...

I've said or typed that phrase several times already this year. You may think I'm about to complain about the early Christmas decor, I'm not. Around here, 'tis the season for colds, croup, and earaches. 

My boys started with every mild symptoms that lingered on a couple weeks ago, I thought it was just a slight cold or the change in weather. Kai had a dry cough that was only at night and didn't keep him up at all. Desmond had no symptoms at all for a long while, and then just an occasional runny nose. 

Earlier this week Kai's cough became barky and persistent. Des was still fine, until a couple days later he woke at 3am barking like a seal and his breathing was raspy. Kai coughed so hard twice that he threw up. Desmond's stridor got worse the next day after his nap and we took him in. His lungs were clear but he was diagnosed with croup. We picked up a prescription steroid tablet and he gobbled it up in a spoonful of applesauce that night. His breathing was better that night, but his cough still kept him up. We filled the house with humidifiers and vaporizers and I rubbed Des in peppermint oil mixed in coconut oil. 

Kai started napping daily, on his own just putting himself to sleep and then still going to bed at a decent hour. It was obvious he was fighting something off, he hasn't napped that often for well over a year. 

Last night Malakai woke up yelling "no, no, ouch, ouch, ouch!". We thought he was dreaming and talking in his sleep as he occasionally does, but he said his ear hurt. Homeopathic drops, a hot pack and distractions weren't working, he just wouldn't sleep. He kept saying "I just want the pain to go out!" He and I were up from 11:30-3am. He finally fell asleep in his cot next to our bed after we gave him a small LED flashlight to distract him. By the grace of God I remained calm and reassuring. That, and I remember chronic ear infections as a child and how terribly painful they were. I think remember childhood is something that makes me a better parent on the regular. 

So Kai woke up at 6am this morning totally chipper, obviously excited to be in our room. I asked about his ear and he said it felt good. I called our Dr. and was surprised that even though we'd been in this week already they would have to schedule a full appointment to see him, I was hoping for a quick ear check. I decided against it since he felt better and the nurse said it was likely just fluid build up that had eventually run it's course. I'm so thankful and really prayerful that he won't develop an ear infection. With high deductible insurance it's not at all affordable to go in for sick visits. 

Many of my friends, especially those with small children are all in the same boat. Our pediatrician posted on Facebook about croup being really common right now, some of our good friends have an 11 month old with croup which is so scary to me! So, like I said, 'tis the season…for sickness. 

Stay well everyone, and have a warm + happy weekend. 

true "mom" status..

We've been praying over our transportation situation for years. In 2005 I bought a brand new Dodge Neon. I love my Neon. It's a great little car and it has served my family and I very well over the last 8 years. It has never broken down on us or had any issue bigger than a dead battery (because apparently the trunk light doesn't go off  when it's open). Ben had a VW Jetta when we were dating and into our first year of marriage, but it died a sad death one July weekend when we were headed to Washington to visit with family, we only got as far as Salem. It sat parked for a long time until we were able to have it repaired and then we sold it. We were a one car family for a very long time and we managed okay.

A couple years ago we inherited my father-in-law's car so I could drive the Neon around and Ben could take the "new to us" Dodge Intrepid. It was quite nice having the freedom to get to work a couple days a week (when I worked outside the home) and to run errands and take kids to appointments without having to arrange for Ben to carpool, which he did a lot of (thanks Brad!). 

We've been outgrowing the Neon as a family car for a while now. The bigger the boys get the less leg room they have (well mostly Kai since Des is rear-facing) and there is zero space for any of the loads of stuff that come with packing around a toddler and preschooler. When we go anywhere that's more than a day trip (even just one night) we have to borrow a bigger vehicle. 

For along time I had hoped for a nice crossover or SUV but as I compared them to our needs now, and in the future, they weren't practical. I wanted a 7 seater so we could have 3 more kids  haul family and friends. I wanted storage space, even when using all 7 seats, and the seats needed legroom because my boys are already leggy, and will probably (hopefully) take after Ben and his brother in the height department. So basically, we need lots of space. I also wanted good gas mileage, which is also hard to come by in a hip vehicle. All those things leave the ever popular and super "uncool" minivan. We all dread minivans in our high school and college years, but the longer I drove our Neon packed tight (Desmond's carseat touched the back of the passenger seat and Kai was always kicking the driver), the more I longed for a minivan. I truly envied those who drove them, more so then those who owned their cooler counterparts. True "mom" status people, that's where I found myself. It got to the point where Ben really wanted one too...now you know the height of our car situation when the dad wants a minivan! 

We prayed for years and figured it would fall into place someday. We especially hoped it would at least happen before we decide to add another kiddo the family. I don't think Kai would like riding in the trunk...more than once. 

Recently I started browsing minivans on craigslist and local dealer sites, as I've done many times before. I found a really good deal on one and Ben even test drove it after work one day. He liked it so one Sunday we went to see it. I immediately shot it down, the upholstery was disgusting and it smelled like someone had smoked in it for  its entire existence, non-stop. The night before we went I came across a new listing and so I asked about it after the 1st was a no-go. Our dealer (the same I had purchased my Neon from) couldn't locate it. We were about to head to church when I spotted another couple looking at it. Ben ran to tell the dealer that if they didn't buy it, to call us and off we went. In the middle of service Ben got a call and they had tried to buy it, but couldn't. So after service we headed back for me to test drive it. The car hadn't been fully processed yet (no mechanical work, no detailing) and it was already cleaner than the one we'd looked at that morning. I took it for a test drive and it drove smooth, a 2005 Town and Country (which is the EXACT same thing as a Dodge Grand Caravan, for those of you who are more familiar with Dodge). We decided that pending it's inspection we would buy it (a killer price and so much of it was falling into place that we knew this was our chance). I went home to feed the boys and Ben headed back to complete the deal. 

Sadly it took 4 days and a lot of back and forth for repairs to happen.  Our dealer even said had they done the inspection before selling it that they wouldn't have. That may sound bad, but all that means is that they repairs they made cost them more than they wanted to pay for the low price we got it at. So we got it all fixed up and at a killer deal. Ben traded in the Intrepid and will use the Neon as his work car, which is perfect because it gets much better mileage and is an overall more comfortable car. 

Our first trip was last weekend to the coast for the 4th of July. We didn't show the boys until it was packed up and ready to go. Then we told Kai we had a surprise before we could leave. I opened the door and said, we have a new van! and he gasped and said "yay!", he was so excited. The first 5 minutes of our car ride he kept shouting "this is SO FUN!" over and over. 

We had so much space for stuff for our stay in Florence. We packed our huge plastic wagon, a cooler of food, our luggage, a pack and play, Malakai's cot, camping chairs, toys, and more with room to spare. It was the perfect first run with the new car and we are so pleased. 

The boys have a ton of room in their captain's chairs, we can see them better, and we have more space than we know what to do with for their bags and toys. 

carseats in the neon compared to the T+C

I took it grocery shopping for the first time today and it has the perfect amount of storage space and handy little hooks to keep your bags from flying around. I feel so blessed to have a car that is so useful for our family!

Malakai: the ring-bearer

Malakai is going to be a ring bearer next month for the 2nd time. The first time was for my sister-in-law, Kristi's,  wedding back in September. It was interesting, to say the least. I don't recall if I've blogged about it specifically, but I do know I've mentioned Malakai's aversion to clothing. Recently, that has changed some, but I'll get to that later.

So prior to Kristi + Nick's wedding my mother-in-law did a fantastic job prepping him for the big day. Months before hand she talked it up. She made his vest for the big day and his wearing it was our main concern. Not only because it was a piece of clothing (because that alone, was enough to stress him out) but it was a piece of clothing different than T-shirts and shorts.

Now, I do take some responsibility for his attitude toward clothes, I did let him frolic around our house in just his undies for a very long time. I mean...doesn't everyone wish they could do that? I digress. So, when it was time to get dressed, it became a fight. It did get easier as he understood that if he wanted to go   that he'd have to get dressed. He was still picky about what it was that he wore. T-shirts and shorts and occasionally jeans. 

We spent so much time focusing on getting him to wear the vest, that we did forget about the dress pants and button-up shirt. The day before the wedding we were preparing to leave our house for the rehearsal and dinner when Malakai threw the most epic fit about wearing a polo shirt ("buttons!"). He got himself so worked up that he was irretrievable. Then, the puked. He was that upset about it. So, we let him wear whatever he wanted that day and knew to be really careful about how we approached him on the wedding day. We were all a part of the wedding and couldn't risk getting vomited on before walking down the aisle.

After a lot of running around (literally), some tears, and a lot of angry birds graham crackers this is what Malakai wore...

{why yes, that is a yellow Avengers T-shirt underneath his vest}

see, he wore the vest. The rest of the outfit, not so much.

Things have gotten better since then and it got even easier after I made him a list of daily routines, that he started to call his "projects", 3rd on the list is to get dressed.

 He doesn't ask me "where are we going" or "who's coming over" when it's time to put clothes on. He just does it, a lot of the time by himself.

{look mama, it's red, your FAVORITE!}

However, when my cousin Valeena asked me if Kai could be the ring bearer in her wedding next month I was apprehensive. Not because I didn't think he could complete the task, but because I wasn't sure what she'd want him to wear. I warned her about last time and that I'd totally understand if she'd want to back down, but she didn't. So, for this wedding he is going to wear a white T-shirt (hallelujah!), dress pants, shoes, and suspenders- all in brown. I have the shoes, the rest we'll have to work on. I do however have blue suspenders. I can't recall if they were Ben's when he was little, or perhaps my younger brother Cody's. Either way, I decided to warm him up to the idea of them and he blew me away with how curious and almost excited he was about trying something new...

How precious is he in that funky little outfit. My husband threw out the word "hipster", which Kai immediately repeated over and over again. whoops.

So here's hoping we can get him to wear the whole outfit this time around. And hey- anyone have recommendations on where to get the rest of his outfit?... especially brown suspenders?

On Breaking New Ground- again.

We've recently undergone quite a few big life changes this year. 2013 has been anything but boring. Even just keeping up with our littles is enough to make for a busy life.

Since December of last year I started to feel God calling me away from my job. I wasn't sure how that would work, or if I was hearing him right. Perhaps I was just overwhelmed with my current workload and the stress of the holiday season.

In January some changes at work caused quite a stir which led Ben and I to really examine my role as an employee and our membership at the church. We had a LOT of deep and quite emotional conversations and we prayed incessantly. For a long time we waited to see what God wanted us to do. It was painful to be in that place, not knowing what God desired of us or had in store for our future on quite a few levels (personally, professionally, and overall spiritually). We continued to wait and pray.

I started to think that it would be nice to have Kai's last year before going to Kindergarten to focus on him and Desmond solely. It felt like a daydream, but I thought about it a lot. I loved my job and frankly, we needed the income to even get by.  We have done a lot to slash our budget. We don't eat out, go to movies, buy toys or even clothing really. We've switched to cloth diapering and use baking soda and vinegar to clean just about everything, just to name a few things. So it didn't seem doable for me to stop working and still be able to survive (buy groceries, pay for gas, and you know...our mortgage). Still, the desire lingered in my heart.

Things at work got even more difficult, but nothing worth leaving over. I found a way to simplify my work tasks which REALLY helped for a while. Then we tried out having me do lesson planning and volunteer scheduling late at night after the boys had gone to bed. Long gone were the days when both boys napped and I could get 2-3 hours in each afternoon. Still, I found it wasn't enough time and I didn't much like missing out on one on one time with my husband to be working in the other room at 8pm. When I tried to preoccupy Kai so I could get things done while Desmond napped, I felt like I was neglecting him. Working from home has been one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced. I've work outside the home and for a short time I was solely a stay-at-home mom, but balancing both roles at the same time has been the hardest by far. Even with a well-timed schedule the kids pull rank, as they should.

Ben and I talked and prayed. My dream of leaving in the fall turned to the summer. Next thing I knew, the desire to be home full-time weighed so heavily on my heart that I knew without a doubt that God was calling me to leave my job, not in the fall, not in the summer, but right then. It was hard to swallow, but I knew I had to be obedient and trust in Him to provide for our family. That Ben and I both had to lay our pride down and recognize that we weren't the ones providing for our family in the first place, not alone anyway.

I drafted a letter. Prayed about the timing, and submitted my resignation mid April. It was both painful and freeing. I had to clarify often to staff, friends, and volunteers that we weren't leaving the church and that my leaving my job was strictly in response to God's call on my life and had no bearing on any leadership or co-workers.

May 2nd was my last day and on that day we were gifted $500. It was our first tangible affirmation that we had made the right decision and that God would provide for us in unexpected ways. While the last month has been met with some uncertainty, I'm constantly reminded that God will take care of us and I believe it, deeply. I've even had job offers and suggestions for earning additional income. I know that is not God's plan for me, to leave one job for another.

I will miss my jobs directing the Nursery + Toddlers and Preschool age ministries, but there is no doubt that this was the right move at the right time for our whole family. God is orchestrating the perfect people to take over and I'm exciting to watch these ministries flourish under their leadership as a church member and a parent of children in both age groups.

I'm so enjoying being at home with no outside deadlines pulling me away. No emails, texts, or phone calls. It's glorious. I can tell my kids are enjoying it as well. I've found a joy in fulfilling a dream that God put in my heart just 5 months ago and I look forward to seeing how He'll continue to grow and bless us through this new journey.

current challenges

Over the last 3 weeks Ben has been gone each weeknight after dinner for play rehearsal. He has a lead in this year's drama at our church. We know that this is something he is called to do and that God will use it for much good, but it has been one of our biggest challenges to date.

The 1st couple nights were a breeze. The boys went to sleep and I worked on Christmas projects. As the nights progressed it got harder to get Desmond to sleep. He went a week and a half refusing to go to bed for me. Eventually I'd give up and let him stay up til Ben got home. 10 minutes of time with daddy and he passed out. On Sunday night Des fell asleep on the changing table for Ben after fighting me for hours. Needless to say, I've felt pretty useless.

Over the weekend Kai showed the effects of missing daddy or the first time. He broke down crying when he has to say goodbye after church (2 rehearsals that day). Ben and I were both heartbroken.

Monday night I broke my toe (I'll save the details), which obviously added a new level of difficulty to my nighttime parenting struggles. I insisted Ben still go to practice and I'd call on my family if need be. I took it slow, skipped bath and let the boys watch TV before bed. Totally not our normal routine and they both went to sleep by 8pm. God surely answered my prayers (and some of yours) and it was one of the easiest nights I've had in weeks ...except for the broken toe thing.

Last night was extremely rough. Desmond refused to sleep. Long story short, he was up til Ben got home at 10:30pm. I was so discouraged and totally exhausted. We finally realized that we are under attack because of our choices to increase our ministry. It's obvious that the enemy does not approve of Ben's service to this play and it's potential to encourage Christ followers and reach lost souls.

I'm not sharing this to seem like some sort of martyr, but to keep it real. I share struggles here to chronicle the ups and downs of our lives and to avoid anyone thinking we have it all together, a misconception that seems to happen a lot on social media. I also share to encourage and recruit prayers for us as I believe that God will answer them and use this struggle for His glory and our good.

encouraging independence

Sometimes it's hard to encourage independence in little ones. I can't remember when I handed over the spoon at mealtime with Malakai for the first time, but last week I decided to give it a go with Desmond. It was some sort of fluke, he was a total natural and didn't make much of a mess. So daily I'll let him feed himself his yogurt, applesauce, etc. and he's done pretty good. It has gotten messy but yesterday morning took the cake.

His cereal was everywhere. I tried to take the spoon at one point when I realized he wasn't eating so much as playing and the kiddo swung it so hard and fast that the food starting flying all over the place. I felt like I was in some sort of cheesy sitcom, it was so dramatic. Des even growled...which is actually really normal for him. 

Anyway, I finally got the spoon back and I think I got all the food off the walls. Unfortunately he was so wild in the bath last night that I didn't end up washing his hair. Worse things have happened. 

brothers and playmates

Over the past couple weeks Desmond has made leaps and bounds developmentally. It's like he morphed into a toddler overnight. Not only does he act bigger, but he looks bigger. Walking around with confidence, doing big boy stuff. It is killing Ben + I that he's not a baby anymore (and no, that doesn't mean it's time for another one!).

Desmond has now mastered climbing on the couch and in the same day he walked across the couch and straight onto the end table. YIKES!

One of the best parts of watching Desmond grow up is his ability to play with Malakai. Until very recently they could play near each other, but rarely with each other. When Kai did try to play with Des, it didn't usually turn out so well for the little guy.

On Sundays after church services we feed the boys lunch in the nursery so that when they fall asleep on the drive home we don't have to wake them to feed them. We've done this since Kai was a baby. This past weekend it was just the boys and I as Ben had a meeting. Once they finished eating they played
while I cleaned up.

Kai climbed onto a rocking horse and then said he had to find one for Desmond. He grabbed the other from an adjoining room and pulled it next to his. For the next 10 minutes they were singing "ride, ride, ride, riiiiiiide!" while giggling and rocking on the horses side-by-side:

 {killer smiles}

Later that evening Kai asked to play with his spider-man car. When I brought it in I expected to have to put it away within a few minutes because he tends to get too rowdy with big toys. Instead, while he was sitting on it Desmond came up behind him and started pushing. They were both laughing so hard and spent quite some time going back and forth in the living room.

I love watching them create a bond as playmates. Malakai has finally grasped the concept of taking care of (rather than destroying) his little brother. On Monday when Des was fussing in his crib (because I was moving laundry and he's obsessed with following me into the garage), Kai sat next to him and said "It's okay, I'm here." Melt.My.Heart.

Malakai is 3- a photo explosion...Part 1

On July 16th our 1st born turned three. I have no idea how that much time has passed since my sweet baby boy was born...but there you have it.

The Saturday before, we threw a construction themed party at my parents' place. There was swimming,  sand, toys, and treats. I had tirelessly prepared all the decor by hand the week before, but ordered a cake at Costco with just writing on it and just as the party started I decorated it with toys. I think it turned out rather well- the cake, and the party!

{crushed cocoa puffs make for great "dirt"}

{lots of construction gear}

{he was a pro at opening his gifts, a big change from last year!}

He played in sand, refused to swim, sprayed everyone with his new sprinkler toy, and finally decided to wear his hat after the party was over and it was time for bed. It was such a fun party, surrounded by friends and family. Big thanks to my parents for hosting, and everyone else for blessing us with gifts and love!

Part 2 of this post will be how we spent his actual birthday.

celebrating 5 years of wedded bliss

On July 7th Ben + I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It's a small milestone, especially compared to the decades we plan to spend together. We decided to go away for the day/night, making it our first overnighter away from the boys for fun. Our 1st nights away from Kai were spent in the hospital when Desmond made his arrival. This was our very 1st night away from Desmond.

We hadn't done anything to celebrate except a quick dinner here in town since our 1st anniversary. Back in 2008 we spent a weekend at the coast, so we decided to do that again this year. We wanted to check out the River House Inn in Florence because it's right at the end of Old Town, so we could walk everywhere except the beach.

On Saturday morning we got ourselves and our boys ready to go to Mima's house, where we'd drop them off and our car so she could come back to our place for naps and the rest of our time away. Ben stopped for gas in the other car and met me there. I got Kai + Des all settled, chatted with my mom and joked with my dad about forgetting to leave them my car keys (and then I forgot to leave them my car keys...and they had to go to our house to get the other set, sorry guys!).

When we left Ben told me he had called the hotel to see if they do any free upgrades, as some do when they have openings. They don't...but he upgraded our room to the river view one anyway. It was such a lovely surprise!

When we got into town the first thing we did was run out onto the beach. Then we hurried to meet our dear friends, Michael and Megan, for a long overdue lunch in Old Town. We spent some time catching up and resolving to not let so much time go by before we see them again. We couldn't NOT see them while we were there, they live a block away from where we were staying!

Afterwards we checked into our room and I went straight to the balcony to take in our view.

$40 well spent. The other rooms had a view of the parking lot and the walk way. No thanks. 

We had a few hours before our dinner reservations at the Waterfront Depot (where we ate 4 years earlier), so we decided to go for a walk. 

{so blessed that this handsome man is mine}

We still had plenty of time to kill so we watched some HGtv (a channel we love but do not have) and enjoyed the quiet, uninterrupted time to ourselves. 

Once we were ready for dinner, I wanted to take a photo but didn't have the tripod. We tried a number of ways to prop the camera up and ultimately dared to put it on the balcony ledge. I love this photo so much, it's my profile picture on facebook right now, but that version is cropped. Here is the full version, 

This one makes me laugh because you can clearly tell the camera is balanced atop something, and our room is a disaster after on a few hours. We laughed about how "freeing" it was to leave our stuff lying around and not have to worry about one of our kids getting into it. We're wild ones, I tell ya, living on the edge!

We had a fantastic dinner and went for another walk afterwards. Ben suggested we walk along the river, after about 30 feet I got stuck in the mucky sand and we had to climb our way out. It wasn't pleasant at the time, but we were laughing hysterically anyway. 

The next day we slept in (SLEPT IN!!!), and took our time getting up for breakfast. We grabbed coffee and wandered Old Town again. Along the way we picked up prizes for our boys, and my parents as a thank you for enduring a sleepless night. We found some goodies at the dollar store that I was obnoxiously excited about, went to the beach again, had sushi for lunch, and grabbed ice cream at BJ's for the ride home. 

It was so much fun to spend time just the two of us and re-energize ourselves by taking some time away from the kids. Now that we've done it once, I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to do it again although it may be a while. Our boys were so excited to see us and it was such a joy to bring them a little something from our trip. Malakai still calls the magnifying glass that Ben picked out his "surprise". 

Happy Anniversary my love, each and every day as your wife is pure joy. Parenting with you is a dream come true. I love our life together and count myself blessed every moment. 

Thankful on a Thursday

This week I'm thankful for...

1061. All the hard work that went into our backyard makeover {now we just wait for the grass to grow!}

1062. The kiddos staying healthy despite both Ben + I being sick.

1063. Regaining my voice after almost a week of struggling to talk.

1064. The love and support of an amazing man.

1065. Our successful trip to Portland. So many things could have derailed the whole thing, but everything went smoothly.

1066. A fantastic boss and co- workers. I love my job!

1067. My busy boys. Des is such a speedy crawler now, he has taken to following Kai everywhere. Kai LOVES it.

1068. Getting some fun crafty supplies in the mail.

1069. Morning coffee ala French press.

1070. God's word with me wherever I go. 

{YouVersion Bible app}

Now on to a VERY busy weekend!

what we've been up to...

Memorial Day weekend was quite the whirlwind of events for us.

Friday night we drove up to Portland for our first long car ride with both Malakai + Desmond. It could not have gone any better. Kai drew on his aqua doodle pad nearly the whole way up. I was pleasantly surprised that we never had to pull out the ipod for last resort video games! Desmond napped a big chunk of the ride and then woke up happy and watched Malakai for a while. He was pretty fussy the last 20 minutes, but nothing unbearable.

{I-5 NB}

After we settled in at Lindsey + Adam's place she and I left the boys to hang out (aka Ben got to do bedtime for both kiddos and he ROCKED it!). We went to downtown Portland for Carina's 30th birthday party at The Barrel Room. It was a lot of fun and I was so excited to be out with friends, I can't remember the last time I did something like that!

{Linds + Elvis, China Town, Carina + her fiancee Reid}

{Carina on the piano, me + Lindsey, Carina + I, Carina + her cake}

Unfortunately almost as soon as we got there my voice started to get scratchy and with the increased volume once the band started playing I was straining to talk loud enough to have a conversation with anyone. Linds and I were the last to go and got back around 12:30am. I found Ben in the guest bed passed out with Kai sprawled across the bed next to him. He moved Kai to his cot and we passed out until Des woke up at 5:30am, when my amazing husband woke up with him and let Malakai and I sleep in til nearly 7am. That's when I woke up with a very hoarse voice.

{Des + Linds}

We had breakfast with Linds + Adam before packing up to head home. We stopped to stretch Malakai's legs and have some lunch on the way down. Kai slept the whole way and Des fell asleep about halfway down after a bit of a meltdown that we had to pull over for. I drove so that Ben could catch up on sleep as well.

{Bridgeport Village}

When we got back to town, there was a whole crew at our place to greet us because it was phase 2 of our lawn replacement. Ben's parents had gifted us with a new lawn for Christmas and the weekend before they had tilled up and raked out all the old grass to prepare for trenching, laying pipe for sprinklers, filling said trenches, calibrating sprinklers, evening out the land, spreading base mix, grass seed and the like and then waiting for it to all grow. My brother, his friend, Ben, his brother and their dad all worked from 2:30 (when we got back) til around 6pm that day.

Sunday I had a rare day off of work, but I was sick so I didn't really get to enjoy it. My voice was even worse- I could barely talk. Ben and his dad got started in on the lawn again that afternoon and into the evening while the boys and I hung out around the house.

Monday rolled around and I had arranged for Ben's mom to watch the boys so I could get some things done, including rest! Ben, his dad, and his brother were back at the yard for the whole day. I ran a few errands and took my time, but when I got home to nap I couldn't sleep. I did a few things around the house before picking up the boys and having lunch with them and their grandma. Even though I didn't get the rest I was hoping for it was still a nice break.

{trenching for new sprinklers}

Once the boys were down for nap I still couldn't sleep and was now coughing. After they woke up we played in the house and checked out the new sprinkler system a bit. Ben + I were both so exhausted (he was sick too!) that we ordered in for dinner and took it easy.

Yesterday we both went into the doctor. Ben seems to have another case of bronchitis and possibly asthma? I don't know if I agree with the doctor's theory, especially since her remedy was a $40+ inhaler. Oy! My diagnosis is viral laryngitis, the advice- wait it out. My voice is coming back a bit but my throat is painful and my cough is worse. I still sound like a frog man.

Today I went to work- I don't want to fall behind and honestly it's easier to be there while being sick than to be home with my 2 energetic boys. It's better for them to have some time with Mima who is healthy enough to keep up with them.

As for our yard, it's a lovely field of dirt and grass seed for now, but over the next few weeks we should be getting some lovely new grass sprouting up!

I'm super behind on my photo blog, but I have some catch up to do at home and at work before that gets updated. It'll get done soon though...I hope!

7 months

{I wrote the following update and then let it sit as I haven't had time to add the pictures...Des turned 7 months almost two weeks ago on the 10th...May is about to disappear just as quickly as April did! Needless to say he is already doing much more since I wrote this post, changing way too fast!}

On Thursday Desmond turned 7 months...already. April sort of disappeared for us, which has me a bit worried about how May will go!

This past month Desmond has started to say "dada" all.the.time. He did (for the record) say "ma" first...but he really only says it when he's mad. Nice huh? He also says "ba" and recently started mixing them together a bit. He will even start practicing his new words in the middle of the night, cute.

He's crawling, albeit clumsily. But there is forward motion now instead of just ending up wedged under something because he's scooted backwards. His increased mobility over the last 4 weeks leaves nothing at floor level safe anymore. I've been sweeping and mopping like a crazy woman...as well as cleaning up spit-up every two seconds (see: happy spitter). He is very good at grabbing anything and everything. He has long arms and incredible aim. Jewelry and cutlery beware.


Des' sitting skills have improved as well. He was toppling over quite often because he'd want to try to go get something or he'd get really excited and straighten out, only to fall backwards. Now he's mastered rolling to the side to get on his tummy from sitting, as well as getting into a sitting position from being on his belly. All these things we take for granted until we see a little person struggle to learn them. He gets frustrated, but does fairly well.

The DAY he turned 7 months his first tooth broke through. The night before was obviously a rough one. Little tooth is on the bottom in the middle. It is sharp and I'm praying hard that he doesn't become a biter like Kai was.

He is still waking in the night to nurse, but typically only once which is manageable for the time being. Although, I'm thinking we'll try to wean him of that feeding soon since he doesn't need it and we all could use the continuous sleep. Easier said than done of course. He naps regularly and goes down easily for the most part, he is leaps and bounds easier than his brother was in the sleep department. Actually, he's still easier than Malakai is right now when it comes to going to sleep and staying asleep.

As you can see Desmond has a head full of hair and I'm not sure we'll make it to his first birthday before he needs his first haircut. Malakai had very short hair at the same age, but developed sweet curls that I became quite attached to. His first haircut was at almost 15 months old. Looking back at pictures of his little psuedo-mullet, I think it'll be easier to cut Desmond's when the time comes...as long as he doesn't go and sprout little curls anytime soon.

Thankful for Mothers

I know I'm late on my thankful post, but better late than never. I wanted to be sure to share my thankful list as it relates to mothers + mothering.

I'm thankful for...

1041.  the opportunity to mother my children every day. I get to learn and grow with them and I find that to be a huge blessing.

1042. my mom. She is thoughtful, caring, loving; everything a mother should be. She is my best friend and a fantastic grandmother to our boys.

1043.  my mother-in-law. She has become like a mom to me over the past 6 years and I'm increasingly grateful for our friendship. She's also a wonderful grandma.

1044. My gram. She is such a fun lady and we don't see her often enough.

1045. Ben's grandmas. I've enjoyed getting to know them over the years and they are so sweet with our boys.

1046. My late great-grandma. I miss her tons, I often wish she could be around to meet my kids and see me as a mother.

1047. Mama friends. I have so many friends of all ages with kids at every stage who are great role models for a young(ish) mom like me.

1048. Getting to parent with Ben. He is such a great father and husband and I credit him with much of my ability to mother our sons well. I especially look to him for guidance in being more patient; with our boys and with myself.

1049. teaching my children. As a teacher I enjoy and look forward to teaching my kids at home, but will most definitely be sending them to public school once they are kindergarten age (and of course supplementing their learning at home then as well!)

1050. the funny + sweet moments. As I write this, Malakai began to stir during his nap...and is currently falling asleep sitting up. Yesterday he called me a "stinker". Desmond's belly laughs are the best pick-me-ups of all time, and I just love watching his little personality begin to shine through. Watching my sons play and interact is one of the best rewards parenting has to offer.

{the three of us on a typical day; Kai trying to help Desmond out with a "rope"}

Motherhood has it's ups and downs and it would be very easy to get caught up in the difficult parts and be ungrateful for the rest. Just today Kai threw a pretty epic fit that had me clenching my teeth. Every single day I choose to love mothering, even the hard parts. 

{mama + her boys}

What/who are you thankful for this week?

posting

I have at least a dozen different blog posts swirling around in my brain. When I'm making breakfast, taking a shower, or driving to work I mentally "write" them. By the time I have a few minutes to sit down I've either completely forgotten about them or my attention is needed elsewhere (or a million different elsewheres). Just thought I'd let you readers out there know, that in my absence from this space I'm at least thinking about blogging...

Desmond: 6 months.

Yep, it's been another month and suddenly Desmond is 1/2 a year old (as of April 10th) and yes...I'm thinking about his 1st birthday celebration already. It'll be here so fast I have to at least have it on my mind and on my pin boards now!

At 6 months Desmond is super active. He is sleeping much less during the day which is a lot of fun for both myself and Malakai. He absolutely loves his big brother. My favorite part of the day is after Kai has been up a while and Des wakes, I'll bring him in and it's like they are reuniting after being apart for days. Kai says "Desmond! He's awake, I wanna see 'im!" Then comes right up to his face and says hi. Des lights up, giggles and wiggles his whole body with excitement. Every.single.morning.

{these look posed, but Kai totally just came up and did this on his own}

Des has been a drooling machine for the past couple of months, teething like crazy but nothing has popped through yet. He loves to blow raspberries and is babbling more and more every day. Lately he has been kind of growling/shouting and it sounds like he's angry but he'll be grinning and laughing all the while. We call it "testing his voice". Kai used to do something similar but he did high pitched squeals.

We just had Desmond's 6 month well-check this morning. According to Dr. B he's perfect...confirming what we already thought. He's 27 inches long (tall) which puts him in the 75th %, 22lbs 1oz. which is off the charts as he has been since about 2 days old. His head is 18 1/4 inches, big ol' noggin just like his brother.

At just 6 months he's growing out of 9 month clothes and fitting Kai's hand-me-down 12 month clothing which just boggles my mind. For those of you who don't know, Ben's younger brother is actually quite a bit bigger than him (Ben is 6 ft. tall and David is 6' 5") so we often wonder if Des and Kai will be the same in that regard.

At the end of March he started pushing up on to his hands and knees and sometimes onto his toes, lifting his whole body off the ground! He is one strong little man! Then he started trying to crawl towards toys but ends up scooting backward which really frustrates him. Late last week he actually crawled a tiny bit forward on his knees for Grandma Debbie + I! It was so exciting, but whoah it seems too early to already have a mobile baby.

He is also sitting upright really well, but I always put a boppy or other pillows around him because he'll randomly get excited and fling himself backward. He almost instantly figured out how to move from sitting to a crawling position on his tummy without any issues.

Unfortunately he has started crying more. He never really cried when he was upset, just got a bit fussy. He's been a good sleeper since he got over his first bout of colick around 1 month old. BUT once he started learning so many new things he started to wake more and get more crabby. The other night he woke up at 4am and wouldn't go back to sleep, which was a first. Big bro has always been our difficult one when it comes to sleeping, I'm hoping Desmond doesn't follow in those footsteps! Last night he did sleep unswaddled all night, but he was nursing pretty frequently and ended up staying in bed with us from 4am-7am. After chatting with Dr. B we'll be trying some no-cry solutions to get him sleeping longer and more independently.

We started him on "solids" over Easter weekend, just doing some baby oatmeal cereal and breastmilk once a day. We'll ease him into my homemade veggie and fruit purees soon and more frequent solid feedings by 9 months per his Dr's recommendation.

About once every week or two he had a couple of days of almost constant spitting up, but it never bothers him. When I mentioned this to Dr. B she laughed and said that "happy spitter" is a actual medical term, we all laughed. It was good to know that it's common enough to have a term and that it's not something to worry about.

Des is still quick to smile and easy to get laughing. He is so friendly and snuggly. He was smiling and babbling to the Dr and nurses during the whole visit. After his vaccines he quit crying as soon as I picked him up and nursed to sleep. He only recently is able to stay asleep during transitions from car seat or mama's arms to his crib, which has been really nice.

Overall he is a happy healthy big baby boy and we are enjoying the journey of watching him grow, both in body and in skills and personality.