bath time buddies

Really, is there anything greater than when your kiddos can start to enjoy bathtime together?! Curren now rolls around like a little fish and sits up in the tub. It's so much fun to watch them interact.

and of course, i really, really love my girl!

wordless thursday aka "where did the week go?!"

I really, really love my boy!

wordless thursday aka "where did the week go?"

beach days

These days we have been going to the beach at least 2x a week. Both kids absolutely LOVE it, yes even the baby. I took them each out individually into the crashing waves last week and they both laughed and splashed giddily. Our good friends, the Ortons, came to visit in July and stayed almost a whole week. I cannot tell you how much fun it was to have them here! I will post more pics later, but for now, here's a shot of all 4 kiddos enjoying the sand at Baby Beach in Dana Point. Isn't Curren's face the best?!?

Starbucks

I no longer drink Starbucks on a regular basis. After at least 7 years of having one a week (it's true, sometimes more!), I have decided to save it for special occasions. I started to drink McDonald's iced coffees more in the last few months, they are cheaper and they hit the spot for me. But, I've slowly been tapering off those as well. It's crazy to think of how much money I've spent over the years on coffee! Aron and I have recently been taking a closer look at how we spend our money and I think something in me just finally said, "Enough. Be wiser." This isn't to say I'll never buy coffee while I'm out, or I won't enjoy gift cards if they are given, but rather, that I want to make a more concerted effort about where my money is going. And of course, this post isn't to make anyone feel guilty if you drink Starbucks weekly. This is just for me.

Just wanted to share. :)

6 months old

Curren turned 6 months old on July 13 and I'm just a few weeks behind blogging about it. He's such a sweet baby, though this past week he has been teething *horribly* (coming to a head last Monday while we were in San Deigo with out-of-town guests). He now has his upper front teeth poking through, thank goodness, bringing his grand total number of teeth to 4--just like Maggie at this age! Two other big milestones this past week include pushing himself to sitting and crawling! It's amazing how different he's been from Maggie. She didn't push herself to sitting until at least 8 months old and never officially crawled. I think C might be a very early walker, we shall see. It's interesting to me, looking at their stats, they both seem to be following the same growth patterns (minus the head). :)

His stats--
Weight: 17 lbs., 1 oz.--50th percentile
Height: 27 3/4 in.--85th percentile
Head circumference: 17 1/4 in.--60th percentile

Maggie at 6 months:
Weight: 18 lbs., 12 oz.--90th percentile
Height: 26 1/4 in.--75th percentile
Head circumference: 18 1/4 in.--95th percentile

wordless thursday

Maggie-isms

It's been awhile since I posted some of Maggie's observations/sayings. Here are a few as of late:

After observing her friend Asher go "number 2" in the bathroom, she thoughtfully mused: "It kinda looks like a little bacon!" Dawnielle (his mom) and I about died laughing.

"I whistled through my nose!"

After I nursed Curren one morning on one side, he was still fussy, and she patted my other side and said, "I think he wants the other one."

I was editing some video on my phone and said I had to trim it and Maggie mused aloud, "With a knife?"

She is imaginative, creative, and loves all things play-related. While we read books, she loves to "jump" into the picture and have conversations with the characters (i.e. we do the voices and she talks with us). It's such a hilarious concept that she started all on her own about 5 months ago. Around the same time, she started wanting us to be the voices to her dolls and toys (and yes, even inanimate objects) and talk to her about all sorts of things. Honestly, I don't relish this first thing in the morning, as I'm getting my coffee and just trying to gear-up for the day ("Dora, will you talk to me?" "Evangeline, will you talk to me?"), but I try to indulge her when I can. She's so funny! I love my sweet girl.

A perfect day

Yesterday, I had a perfect day. I was up at 5:30am to spend time in the Word/pray/journal and did this for 1 1/2 hours, which is highly unusual! It was very, very refreshing; I'm just getting back into a routine of starting my day in God's Word because for me, mornings are ideal: my heart is quiet, the busyness and choas of the day have yet to envelop me, and truthfully, this is giving God my first/my best before I begin my routine. I drank 2 cups of coffee uninterrupted and even scanne the newspaper later. Maggie slept until 8:30am, another highly unusual event (though it seems that adding darkening shades to her room have curtailed the 6am wake-up time) and I woke Curren up at 8am to eat. We enjoyed breakfast together and played with Curren. Then, we went for a walk, my exercise of choice these days. I talked with my grandparents and sister. During C's morning nap, Maggie and I did our school time and it was exciting to see her sounding out some words with me. Then, she went to her room for "room time" and I showered and got ready. After C woke up, we headed out for errands, checking things off my "to-do" list, getting some grocerries and going to the library. Afternoon naps provided a time for me to lay down for a bit, and get a few other things accomplished (though I should note here that I totally got frustrated with Maggie when she wouldn't go down right away and had to apologize). I made dinner (super yummy pulled chicken sandwiches from Cooking Light), Aron played with the kiddos and we put them to bed, the house was orgazined and picked up. We spent some time with his family, then hopped in the car for some leisurely driving and reading of the last Harry Potter book (I read aloud to Aron and love it!). We were in bed around 10:30pm. And to top off the day, I didn't eat any refined sugars (I'm trying to get off them and only eat them in moderation...many of you can relate, I know).

Here's my point: I love days like this, BUT they are few and far between. Days that you feel entirely productive and connected, days you've checked it all off your "to-do" list, days that you feel like "super mom." And YET I spend so many days trying to achieve this state of productivity and connectedness...only to have my patience tested, my plans changed, and in general, my mind/body/spirit exhausted. I think the reminders for me yesterday were these: Enjoy the journey God has for me, have grace for myself when days are not like this, adjust expectations daily, and relish the days that are "perfect."

"He leads me besides quiet waters, He restores my soul." Ps. 23:2b-3a