DSC_0120_Snapseed copy

DSC_0046 _Snapseed

DSC_0025 _Snapseed

DSC_0082 _Snapseed

DSC_0104 _Snapseed

Past updates: 1 month | 2 months

// Sadly, I missed Hannah's 3 month update due to moving/vacation/etc. but I'm here to share what's been going on with our baby girl this month!

Weight/Height

We went to her 4 month wellness checkup last week and she is a healthy 14lb 13oz (75%) and 25in long (90%!!) If she keeps up this rate, her and Micah are definitely going to be looking more like twins! I have a feeling she'll start to slow down the growth as she gets more and more mobile.

Sleep

We finally moved her into her own room this month! I waited about a month longer than we did with Micah, but that was due to us moving into a new home. I didn't want to get her adjusted to a new room, only to move in the next couple weeks. So she's been officially sleeping in her crib for about two weeks. Her sleeping schedule has been so much better since making the transition. We put her down at night around 9pm, then she usually wakes up for a feeding around 3-4am and goes right back to sleep until her brother wakes up around 8am. She naps around 10am for about an hour. Then, she takes a good long nap (at the same time as her brother, praise the Lord!) from 1-4pm. That's when I get all my cleaning/editing/pool time in. Woohoo! (But of course there are days when everything is thrown off schedule and I rip my hair out because I'm so tired and nobody will sleep for me - but thankfully, it doesn't happen often)

Sizes

She is wearing size 3 diapers (insert wide-eyed emoji)! Basically, we just skipped right over 2's. hahaha. She could technically wear 2's, and Micah could technically wear 4's… but since they BOTH can wear 3's, we'd rather just buy one size in diapers and not have to worry about it! She's also in 3-6 month clothes and some 6 month onesies.

Eating

She is eating great! Still nursing exclusively. At our last appointment, the pediatrician mentioned we could start rice cereal anytime. I may wait until she is sitting up by herself though before introducing any solids. If she starts waking up more in the middle of the night, I may start earlier - but since she doesn't seem to be starving, I'm not rushing it. :)

Milestones

She is rolling over from tummy to back! And she's ALMOST rolling over from back to tummy. More like from back to her side. And then she's content chilling out on her side for awhile, haha. I know she'll be rolling everywhere soon enough - so it's completely fine with me that she's not going anywhere yet. She has a great laugh and is still smiling all the time! She's also reaching and grabbing things now. :)

Likes

Pacifier, being held and swaddled, laughing, hanging out in the pool, and just being with people in general. She is a calm and easy-going baby.

Dislikes

Her car seat. Although, I will say she is getting better! She would scream and cry anytime we drove anywhere. And I mean that literally. I googled many things and almost chalked it up to motion sickness and figured we would have to suffer through it until we turned her car seat around, but out of nowhere she just quit crying. Ironically, it happened after a traumatic event in the car one day. We were driving to church and she started screaming (like usual) when we were halfway there. I tried to calm her with music, my voice and reaching my hand back to rock the car seat at stop lights. Nothing helped. When we finally arrived, I ran to open the back door and saw that her headband/hairbow thing had fallen IN HER EYE. It wasn't just covering her eye, but part of the elastic had wiggled it's way into her right eye and it was red and obviously irritated. I felt… horrible. It was like the "boy who cried wolf" scenario. I had stopped so many times before to check on her while she was crying, and there was never anything wrong. So I had gotten used to the fact that she just didn't like her car seat and would cry forever in it. And of course, this time something actually was wrong. She wouldn't open her eyes without crying for the rest of the morning/afternoon - it was so so sad. I was about to take her to the ER after several hours of this, when she finally started keeping them open more and more. And the redness and irritation was gone by the next morning! Praise God it wasn't anything too horrible. Needless to say, we don't wear headbands in the car anymore.

Things I Don’t Want to Forget

The way she stares up at me while nursing, or while I'm rocking her to sleep. Her eyes are so sweet. So full of life and expression. I can't get over the fact that I am blessed to be a mama to this sweet little girl. I'm trying to hold onto my children with "open hands." Knowing they are gifts from the Lord and ultimately they belong to Him. I don't want to ever forget that.

micahhannah4months

What do you think? Can you see the resemblance? :)

We have been going nonstop lately. To the point where I am just now sitting down at my computer for the first time in two weeks. We moved out of our previous rental house into a new rental house a mile down the road. We still own a home in Alabama that we are currently trying to sell, so we are unable to buy another home here in Florida until it does. There are ups and downs to renting, it all depends on who you are renting from. Thankfully, God has really blessed us in the landlord department and we've been able to make each house feel like home.

All that said, sometimes I do get to feeling a bit like a nomad.

As I was going through boxes upon boxes for weeks straight, I realized I have loads and loads of memories stored in the most unexpected places. That box with all the half-used lotions and body sprays from my college days. Those folded up letters in a shoebox decorated for my boyfriend turned husband. And the ziplock bag holding the positive pregnancy tests that signify the beginning of my relationship with both Micah and Hannah. What seems like junk for most people and probably should be thrown away, is visible proof that I do have a home. Because no matter what the hallmark card says... home is where your junk is.

I have loads of junk. Both physically and, now to get a little more serious, spiritually. That junk that's hidden in the bottom of the drawers, back of the closet and stuffed away in boxes. The stuff that no one sees, unless they dig around a little bit. Stuff that I carry with me from home to home, relationship to relationship. I'm only forced to come to terms with my junk, when I'm forced to move. Because moving requires cleaning. And cleaning requires removing the junk from the hidden crevices and into the light. What I choose to do with my junk though, is still up to me.

I have a hard time letting go of sentimental things. Like the pregnancy test for example. I don't know why - it's just a stick I peed on - but you'd think I was holding my baby Micah embryo or something the way I talk to it (just kidding, I don't talk to it).

The truth is, we all get comfortable with our junk. So much so, it begins to feel like home. We almost don't know a life without it. One of the sayings I adapted while packing up our house this go-around was, "If I wasn't missing it, throw it away." That helped me weed out in my heart what was truly sentimental and what was just junk. Needless to say, I wasn't missing much.

We can do the same in our spiritual lives. I can tell you that I don't miss living in a constant state of worry. I don't miss being consumed with jealousy. What I do miss though, is spending time in the Word. I miss praying alone on my knees. I miss being able to sing and lift my hands in worship. I know we can't live on the mountain top - but I truly do miss it while in the valley.

Right now, I can tell you these days are hard. They are busy. They are long and too fast at the same time. I miss the simple days - but I would never wish for them again. Are you confused yet? I know I am.

What I'm trying to say, is there will always be junk. Before I had kids, my junk looked completely different than it does now. I've thrown away a lot, but I've also acquired some more. As our life stage continues to change and grow - so do we.

I wish I could say I was more open now about what my junk is, but I'm not. I still hide it - hoping no one will notice. And maybe they won't, if they're not the kind of friends to go snooping around in closets.

But if they are, then maybe I'll get some cleaning done.

DSC_0044

Sitting down to write this post is no easy feat. There are several things I should be doing right now, but these thoughts will not leave my head and instead of wandering aimlessly around the house writing this post in my mind, I might as well save myself the headache and get it over with. I just laid my toddler down for his nap and after feeding and swaddling my newborn, she is on her way into dreamland at this very moment. So here I am with free time to myself and what do I choose to do? Write about my kids. Of course.

For the past two years, I've been growing, birthing and raising babies. This is my season. My calling. It starts the minute I wake up in the morning and doesn't end at night, so it's more than just a "job"... it's my life. What I've learned from being a mom (outside of how to change a diaper in 10 seconds) is that so many people today have such a negative view of children. I see it in the stares I get while toting around both babies on my hips or when we're seated at a restaurant and my toddler decides to talk in his "outside" voice, or when everyone avoids sitting next to us on an airplane (like, really, if they cry I'm pretty sure you will still be able to hear it three rows down), some people just plain dislike children. Or at least that's the impression they are giving me.

I'm not sure when or how it began, but somewhere along the lines of history these people have forgotten that they were once a child too.

Those fun memories of riding your bike and eating jello and going to Disney World? Yeah, those were real. You were a kid. And grew up to become a busy, hardworking adult who wants to live a quiet, boring life. At least that's how I see it.

Because having kids is just plain awesome. And hilarious. And so. much. fun!

To my married friends without kids or who are soon-to-be parents, don't believe the lies that your life is over when those children come along. It's not true! I don't think there could be anything further from the truth, actually. Life becomes fuller, richer, busier and crazier... but it is ANYTHING but over. You just created the single most influential being on the face of the earth... a human. There is nothing else you could create in your job, hobby or dreams that could have more impact or meaning. And the greatest thing of all? You get to re-live life with them. Laugh at things you thought were funny 20 years ago and remember how it was to learn to ride a bike for the first time.

And all of those hobbies and things you enjoy doing? I promise you can still do them as a parent. In fact, I think it's important you still do them as a parent. You are modeling for your children what it looks like to not be lazy or waste their talents.

Almost every weekend, I lead worship at my church. I took a few weeks off to, you know, birth the baby and everything. But as soon as I felt comfortable bringing my newborn out in public, I was back on stage. Singing is one of my greatest passions and leading people to worship at the feet of Jesus is one of my highest callings. Becoming a parent has not changed a single thing about that. If anything, it has given me even more reason to worship the Lord for His grace and favor on our lives.

Does it take more discipline, planning and maturity to parent a child? Yes, it does. Will you ever be completely ready financially, emotionally or physically? Probably not. Your patience will be tested, your morals questioned and you will have to put someone else's needs above your own. But those are all things that we should be striving for as followers of Christ, anyway. Children are just a blessing to help get us there a little faster.

Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! Psalm 127:3-5a