Has it really been that long?

Has it really been 6 months?  It never ceases to amaze me how new family members slip in and effortlessly create a new normal.  Life without them cannot be fathomed.

For all the challenges we had with her food sensitivities and colic, we wouldn't have traded the last 6 months with our precious little girl for anything.  She never ceases to delight us with her constant jabbering, curiosity and obvious love for each of us.

Yesterday, we remembered back to her grand entrance and the time we spent learning about her growth inside of me.  And the boys are busily planning her future -illustrating what her life will be like for the next several years with their colored pencils.  We look forward to continuing to discover how she will contribute to the shaping of our family! 

anticipating adventures...

Adventure is here.  My baby sister is just weeks away from meeting her first baby face-to-face.  And so we celebrate.  We celebrate this new little life.  We celebrate the beginning of motherhood.  We celebrate the growing of a family.

Our nursery theme when we were babies centered around Winnie the Pooh.  My sister and her husband are jumping off from there and going with a 100 Acre Woods kind of nursery theme.  Her use of the cross-stitches that my mom lovingly stitched over 30 years ago was my inspiration for her baby shower.

Food from the far reaches of the 100 Acre Wood: north {fruit} poles from Pooh's 'Expotition', veggies from Rabbit's garden, kanga pouch-pockets, owl eggs, honey buns and Piglet's 'haycorns'.

Baby showers are a special time to celebrate and anticipate.  It is also a fun opportunity to catch up with old friends.  Ev was surrounded with women - some she grew up with, others watched her grow up.  They brought their babies and everyone swapped stories and life updates.  And with joy we watch as she enters into this new phase in life.

Party On...

Proof that my kids do indeed eat sugar!

It definitely brings out the sillies.  Time spent around the dinner table, laughing, making silly faces - trying to outdo one another.  These are the memories that stick with us, don't they?

For Treyton's birthday, I found a dairy-free chocolate ganache recipe for the frosting.  I forgot to buy powdered sugar, so I was thrilled to find that it was sweetened with honey instead.

It was a huge hit with everyone, except him. 

He's a milk-chocolate guy through and through.  Alhough he found that by sprinkling the ganache with some of the bits of powdered sugar that I did have in the house, that it was more to his liking.   Thankfully, Treyton requested Rich's favorite dinner that night, so the ganache didn't totally ruin his evening...

Has it really been four years since we first met our little Trey-man face-to-face???

He's Still Three Party!

Am I the only one out there who teases my kids about staying little?!?!?!?  I kid them all the time about 'staying three {or five, or seven} forever'... 

Birthdays are a constant reminder to cherish the beauty of each and every age.  It also reminds me that the struggles during that given age are fleeting as well.

In light of my constant teasing for them to stay put and their constant reminders that they will grow up to be men all too soon, we decided to have a little family "He's Still Three" party the evening before his birthday.  {The fact that kids 3 and under golf for free also provided some motivation for this timing as well.}

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening!  The slight breeze brought the thick scent of citrus blossoms swirling around us and twilight cast beautiful shadows on the course as we made our way around.  Greta snoozed in the Mei Tai.  The boys were enthralled with their first experiences 'goofy golfing'.

Upheaval

Sadness and contentment. Exhaustion and ecstasy. Somehow they all coexist right now.

It has been a roller coaster ride these last two months as huge changes have taken place in my family. And the timing is just too weird to be chocked up to random chance. Providence is at work and confusion melts away into trust. God's hand is all over this and I am grateful that one day I will be able to look back and see the big picture of what He has planned…

In addition to the normal emotions that are typical of the last agonizing month of pregnancy as anticipation builds and then the exhaustion and ecstasy of those first few weeks with a new baby, big changes are afoot in my extended family.

{Dad and I at our 4th of July celebration last year}

Two months ago, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. CANCER. That is never a word you want to hear when it relates to someone you love. Thankfully, it was caught very early. But it means that my parents have relocated to California for 9 weeks while he undergoes treatment. The bittersweet news was learning that they would leave the day after my due date. Prayers began in earnest that this precious little girl of mine would come early, so that my mom would be there for the birth and both of my parents could meet their newest grandchild. God was faithful and she arrived 3 days before her due date. No matter how you slice it, cancer is a horrible disease. While his treatment is renowned for its minimal side-effects, they are still there. While nursing my newborn, my prayers are focused on praying for strength for his body during treatment and that the machines would all stay in great working condition. Every day the machines are down, means an extra day tacked on that they must remain in California. We would really like to have them home by Christmas…  Would you, dear readers, consider joining me in praying for the proton treatment to work as expected and zap the cancer in the time frame that was initially given?

As if that wasn’t enough news to rock us out of our comfort zones, my wonderful brother-in-law received a great job offer in Michigan. In this economy, we are so thankful for God’s provision for them and the circumstances surrounding the arrival of this job are pretty miraculous, but {insert slight whine} Michigan is so far away… I’ll miss our last minute lunch dates, flexibility with watching each other’s kids, inspiration to eat healthier, and so on and so on. My sisters and mom are my best friends and one of them is moving away.  Their move date = my due date.

So many changes happening all at the same time…

Bright spots: My sister stayed behind until they closed on a house so she could help take care of me. (Hurray for some post-partum care. It makes a WORLD of difference.) And to blunt the loss of one sister + fam moving, my baby sister announced that they are expecting their first baby!!!!!!!!! A little cousin for Greta!

All of these changes, plus the normal hormonal and sleep deprivation craziness that typifies life with a newborn, has meant that I haven’t been around here. Every ‘lucid’ moment I’ve had in recent weeks has been spent with last minute family time.  Evenings, my typical blogging time, have found me pretty incoherent and holding my precious daughter.  She is anti-computer (which is fine since I've been wanting to cut back on my 'screen-time') and prefers me to be walking around, playing with play dough or reading a book. 

Despite the circumstances, there is peace.  While there are tears, there is also much to be grateful for.  I simply need to remind myself of those things.  So even though it isn’t Monday, I wanted to write up a long overdue gratitude post and work my way towards finishing counting 1,000 gifts…

845. Cancer caught early.

846. Treatments that have only minimal side effects.

847. My Dad's incredible faith through the years and watching it in action now.

848. My parents coming back for the weekend and being there to see my sister off.

849. These 2.5 unexpected and amazing years with my sister and her precious family.

850. Seeing God’s unmistakable hand in everything.

851. Peace that He is at work - a healing balm for all of these painful changes.

852. The realization that, all things considering, I haven't been a total emotional wreck.

853. The joy of sharing in the excitement about new life growing.

854. Husbands who care for and cherish their wives (my sisters).

855. Last minute opportunities for the brothers-in-law to play games.

856. Time in my niece and nephew's early years to spend LOTS of time with them.

857. A sister who heroically took care of me and insisted that I rest. (pretty much what it takes to keep me off my feet)
858. A visit and help from Rich's parents.

859. A mother-in-law who took Greta when she was fussy and wide-awake at 4am so I could go back to sleep.

860. My sweet daughter to hold and cuddle.

861. Boys that are ever so gentle and protective about their baby sister.

862. A hubby who holds Greta when she is at her fussiest and I’m completely drained. He’s heroically taken the 10pm baby rocking shift.

863. Weekends when my hubby is home.

864. My sister, Ev, coming over to hold the baby so I could take an uninterrupted nap 2 days in a row!
865. Wonderful friends who have brought us yummy meals over the last couple of weeks!

There and Back...

We survived our Texas trip.  Here's a rundown of 10 random things about our trip... 

1. Humidity - It wasn't that bad.  I was a total baby about it and we didn't even have the opportunity to pretend we were in the rainforests of South America.  The only obvious links were more bugs and GREEN.  Although it was still interesting to see that our towels, swimsuits, etc didn't just dry like they do here...

2. It was still hot, so we enjoyed the outdoors most in the mornings.

3. Seeing the effects of our study of maps and geography!  They got so excited when we crossed the border from Oklahoma (where we flew to) into Texas (where the family reunion was held)

4.Xander's insisting to everyone he met that Oklahoma looks like a gun.  Can we say A.L.L. B.O.Y

5. Spending time with FAMILY!  There were over 50 of us that were related - somehow!

This was just Rich's grandmothers side of the family...

6. Eight little rugrats ranging from 2-7 years old running around.  The boys loved their new friends!

7. PLAYSILKS!  These are one of the most versatile toys ever and pack so small and light!   They were a hit with the kids.  Princesses and knights were present at each family dinner!  I've blogged in the past about tricks for travelling with little one's.  Playsilks didn't make that list, but they sure are great for a destination with little to no toys available!

8. Swimming and watching my sister-in-law dunk my husband and then getting it dished right back at her!  Gotta love sibling relationships!!!

9. Time to hang out with my wonderful in-laws!

10 Flying without a baby.  After having taken MANY trips with a baby, this was by far the easiest plane trip we've ever had!  Everyone talks, can be reasoned with and uses the bathroom!

So now we are trying to pull ourselves together and get back into a routine here.  They were pretty stretched as far as sleep was concerned, but we are excited to jump back into the swing of things soon...

cousin love

Cousins.

They thoroughly enjoy each other...

...and juming on the bed which is something they don't get to go at our house.

Two

My baby turned two.  This spunky, no-fear little boy is a delight.  His giggle is infectious.

Treyton is a busy little man. Lately he's been caught doing the following things:

* dancing with kitchen shears.

*pulling a kids chair or stool into the kitchen and helping himself to all kinds of stuff found on my countertops.  (maybe this will motivate me to have magazine quality clean counters!)

* coloring the recliner with a sharpie.

* finding a sharpie and coloring the stool and my kitchen floor - all in the time it took me to walk to the pantry and pull out some flour...

*carting cups of rocks into the house and dumping them on my carpet.

*spearing dog poo and coming in to the living room to show mommy.

*scopping water out of the dog bowl and drinking it.

*grabbing a stick of butter that I had put out to soften and eating it.

*pulling my diaper bag down repeatedly and spreading it's contents all over the kitchen floor.

*decorating the bathroom with tp.

*climbing up onto MY bicycle seat when I turn to snap Keegan's bike helmet on.

*pulling down a new container of yogurt and then helping Duchess lick up the spilled contents from the floor.

*trying to throw bricks over the fence. ouch, for him that is.

This newly minted 2 year old keeps me busy...  But we wouldn't trade him for the world.