Luke's 1st Birthday

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated Luke's 1st Birthday - I can't believe my littlest nephew is already 1. Luke is 'all boy' and loves to play with Pierce. I am thankful for the opportunity to get to love on him! Happy Birthday, Luke!

honest. and quick.

i feel so behind on my blog. sigh.

i feel like there is so much i need to blog about, but life has been going 100 mph at our house since i went back to work. i am not going to lie - it is super hard trying to keep with everything at home and at work. is it summer yet?? :)

so real quick...

stella has officially dropped her dream feed and is sleeping from 7:30pm-6:30am!!

pierce thought playing swords with stella was a good idea...and her torso is covered in little marks.

justin has been out of town for soccer and i survived with both kids all by myself at home! :)

ok...more 'real' blog posts tomorrow. maybe.

but before i go, here are my little loves:

last friday.

last friday was my last day of maternity leave. as much as i wanted more time, i do summer that summer is only 7 more weeks away. last friday was as perfect as it could be ... i got a morning run in and then we had a little playtime with becky, brady, and charlotte. since this break has been just as much about pierce as stella, it was only fitting that he got to play with one of his favorite friends and get to ride the merry go round.

"Mommy, I stuck."

last night, i sent p into his room to get his jammies - like i do every night. it usually takes him a minute or 2 to pick out the best ones (always ones that don't match), so i didn't think anything of it when i hadn't seen him for a couple minutes. well, i started to him whining and i went in to check on him. and i found him like this ... stuck in his jammie drawer:

he had climbed into the drawer and somehow pulled it slightly closed and couldn't get out.

silly boy.

the many faces of...

JUSTIN.

The other night, while taking pics of the kids, Justin told me that he was sad that he is never on the blog.

So, I thought I would snap a few pics of my main man doing what he does best - making us laugh!

Thank you Justin for being you! Me and the kids love you more than you will ever know!!

3 months

our little miss is 3 months old today.

i can. not. believe it.

where has the time gone??

she is still doing wonderfully on her schedule.

however, she is an early riser - like her brother.

taking great naps.

eating 6 5oz bottles each day.

she is 'talking' more.

is so attentive - loves to watch everything around her.

has a precious smile and cute little laugh.

she enjoys tummy time.

is really close to rolling over.

she is our little sunshine and we love her soooo much!!

bath time with 2 kids and 1 parent.

Did you notice:

That Stella is looking at P in every picture? She loves her big brother.

That Stella has a couple little rolls? My teeny tiny love is getting 'bigger.'

That P's hair is a bit shorter? I took him to get a haircut this afternoon to tame his bird's nest.

tomorrow.

tomorrow is friday, april 8th...i knew this day was coming:

it's my last day of maternity leave.

wasn't it just yesterday that justin and i were driving to the hospital with snow covering the ground getting ready to meet little miss stella? it seems like it was just yesterday but really it was 12 weeks ago. and so i have to go back to work on monday.

am i ready? no.

do i wish i had 12 more weeks? yes.

but right now, God has me in this stage. a stage in which my new normal will include being a mom to 2 precious little ones, a wife to the most perfect man for me, a teacher to 21 sweet 4th graders who need me to be fully ready to learn with them, and a friend to the most amazing friends a girl could ask more.

am i overwhelmed by my new normal? yes.

do i think i can do it all? no.

but i know that God will provide all that i need for this new normal.

my heart is full. full of love for these 2 little ones. i couldn't ask for anything else but to be with them all the time but right now i am going to embrace my new normal and try to be the best mom, wife, teacher, and friend i know how to be.

For the next 8 weeks til summer, I am going to cling to these verses from Psalms 37:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

splish splash

pierce is so ready for summer.

he can't enough of playing outside

and playing outside with bubbles and water is even better.

love him.

and this is what the little sister did...

played on her playmate completely content.

love her.

dallas blooms.