Growing

Our little family of 3 will be growing by 1 more!

Our newest addition to the family will be joining us this April (Lord willing).  No April fooling!  We are thrilled!  It's such a mix of emotions for me; I'm incredibly excited to see Selah as a big sister but the flipside is that my first baby girl, won't be the baby anymore.

I am 11 weeks, 12 on Friday.  So far during this first trimester, I've felt pretty crummy.  When I was pregnant with Selah, the morning sickness usually hit in the evenings.  And I had MANY STRONG cravings.  This time around, the morning sickness lingers through most of the day and NOTHING sounds good.  I take that back... bagels loaded with cream cheese and chocolate milkshakes have sounded tolerable.  And cold deli sandwiches which I can't have.  Bah!  But I haven't really had a single "I MUST HAVE THIS FOOD NOW!" craving.  

I'm not sleeping well; for some odd reason, I keep waking at the 2a hour and lay awake for who knows how long.

The morning sickness with Selah disappeared immediately when the second trimester began.  Here's to hoping the same happens this time around!   The second trimester begins the weekend of my brother's wedding, so I'm really hoping it dissipates by then otherwise it will make for a much harder roadtrip to Alabama.

We're so thankful for the little peanut growing within me.  Thank you Lord for the miracle of life.  Being pregnant opens up my eyes to the amazing miracle of life created by the God of the universe.  How a baby forms and grows inside a woman is amazing, complex, beautiful, and mind boggling when you really read or watch videos as to the development and growth taking place within a woman.  Something that can only come from the creativity and power of the one and only God.  Take 2 minutes and watch this video and see what happens from week 1 to week 9.  Amazing. 

Here's a peek at the photo shoot we attempted with Selah.  I find the ones where she pushes over the baby's pumpkin particularly funny.  It always seems to take like 50 takes before finding a good one, especially with an active toddler.

Thank God for friends

I mean that whole heartedly.  I truly am so thankful that God has given us the gift of friendship. Community. Doing life together. Friendship.  It's a beautiful thing.

We just had our second annual small group pool party.  Let me clarify that the men and women are in separate small groups.  Otherwise, this would not be considered a small group but a small army Bible study instead!  
We compared some photos from last year (although I don't have them) and we all get a kick out of how much our group continues to grow as we all keep growing our families.

We went from 4 babies last summer to 8 babies this summer.  Next summer, there will be even more children!  Love that we're all in this season together.  I can't wait to see how our friendships grow and blossom in the years to come through the ups and downs that life inevitably brings.

Here's a few photos of our cutie pie babies and our group of dear friends.  
Photo credit to Jessica Keith

Selah, Jack and Ella

Ella and Selah - is this not SO adorable?!  Let's hold hands!

Incredibly grateful that the Lord brought these people into my life (missing the Harts and Novosads)

The dads with the kiddos (I wish I had last year's photo to compare!)

Two summers

This summer has been the exact opposite of last summer.

This is a glimpse into last summer:

- Holding my newborn.  Most of the day.

- Trying to figure out how to nurse my bobble headed daughter

- Napping as much as I could because... well... you'd want to nap frequently too if you felt you'd been hit by a truck every morning.

- Taking an occasional walk down our street but they would be short because baby carriers are hot in the summer and it can be brutal on the back after awhile.

- Deciding between eating lunch or showering during her 30 minute naps

- Greeting my husband in the same pajamas he saw me in that morning and most likely, still didn't have brushed teeth.  Yes. I know. Gross.
- Went grocery shopping in the evening by myself, most likely still wearing my pajamas.

This summer is much more the painted picture my mind imagined before Selah was even born regarding what it would be like to be a stay-at-home mommy.  This summer has been so fun already and it seems inconceivable that in just 12 months, my life has changed that drastically.  But it has.  Selah has gone from a helpless newborn to a smart, active toddler, in just 12 short months.

A glimpse into this summer:
- She sleeps so much better now, praise the Lord!  I think we have finally hit a solid, good stride in the sleep department.  I still take a nap from time to time when she does because ... well... again... chasing an active toddler around all day is a tiring job.

- We laugh, play, read books, take walks in her big girl wagon, we go to the park, we have playdates, she splashes in her kiddie pool, she studies Baby Einstein, she walks around the house carrying her babydoll, ball, dish towels, shoes, remote controls, and pillows.  It's all so incredibly adorable.
- More often that not, I greet my husband in regular clothes, not pajamas, and with brushed teeth.  Maybe brushed hair.  But probably not.
- I can take her grocery shopping and she's usually content hanging out in the cart as long as I bring some snacks for her to munch on.
- I can get household chores done.  Last summer, I could barely get anything done but I eventually learned to let go of that ambitious goal.
- She'll "read" menus at restaurants or "read" her Dr. Seuss Foot Book and that is also incredibly cute.
- Every room she plays in looks as though a tornado went through it.  But I don't mind :-)
- We have weekly mommy/daughter Panera dates where we share a bagel (it's good for both of us to have a change of scenery!) and she charms every person that walks by with her adorable, happy smile and twinkling eyes.  

It's quite peculiar how much change occurs in the first 12 months.  She has learned to entertain herself for periods of time and I have learned how to better multi-task because of her progression.  I feel the two of us girls have finally hit our sweet spot.  For the time being anyway. 

Trust me, we still have our fair share of hard days when she is overly fussy, whiny, bored, cranky or discontent.  These are the days when she chooses to hang on my legs while I slowly shuffle through the kitchen attempting to get dinner started.  But that's expected.  It's still tiring and hard but at least the positive days highly outweigh the crummy days.

Loving life with my girl!  Selah Grace, you bring us such joy!

Her piggytails aged her another year!

What a goofball (wonder where she got that from?)

We love summer

First taste of chocolate

Mommy and Selah bagel date

The VERY FIRST TIME she fell asleep in her crib while playing AND while daddy was hammering downstairs.

Exploring at the DuPage Children's Museum

This girl LOVES mama's hats

Close enough

Saying hi to daddy during his first week of travel

Post bath when she gets really wound up!

A baby, a cupcake, a wagon and a whole lotta love

The pressure to make your child's birthday party an unforgettable extravaganza is out of this world.  The lengths that some parents (ok, probably moms) go to is enough to make a humble homemade tissue-paper decorated party look like we're punishing our child.  And that's exactly what Selah's party was like.  Not the punishment part.  But homemade tissue-paper decorations, oh yes.  And I was darn proud of them.

I am not one to conform to the pressures our society puts on us moms to go to such lengths.  And guess what.  I love my child more than anyone could possibly fathom.  Even if I don't buy her ponies and tiaras and rent out a reception hall.  I may be stubborn in areas that cause tension unnecessarily but when it comes to saying to no to the pressures of society, I have no problem standing on my soap box and wearing a "Just say NO" sticker loud and proud.  

Throwing an elaborate party for your child isn't wrong.  Who's to say what's too elaborate?  If you want to throw your child a grandiose party, more power to you.  However, I know what I consider elaborate.  And what may be innocent party planning at times, but for me, I'm not going to allow myself to be consumed by the competitive and outlandish world of pressure we mother tend to put on ourselves.

So instead of this (which is amazing and gorgeous and I'm sure daughter and mommy both loved every minute of this party) but we're just not that fancy around here.

We had a little party in our backyard with close family and friends who love our daughter and have witnessed her grow over the last year. Some may think even I went over the top for Selah's party.  I know she won't remember it.  But this was a special day and I wanted to make it nice and memorable, even if just for me.  One day, Selah will be able to look at the pictures and watch the videos of her first birthday and she will see how excited we were to celebrate her! After all, it's a big accomplishment to make it through the first year!  We SURVIVED!!!  And we still want to keep her ;-) 

Check out those homemade tissue paper pom poms!  Haha Up close they were definitely not so great but I was happy with how they turned out overall.

Selah and Zeke

Please enjoy the progression of her facial expressions as she tries the cupcake frosting

Selah and Ella

Ella, Selah and Ilona

Getting dressed for her party

Loving her new wagon!

Selah and her Popi

Selah and her Mimi

Selah and her Grammy Bobbi and Grandpa Ray

Selah with her Great Grandma Cris and Great Grandpa George

Two brothers and their girls

My baby turned 1

Selah Grace has turned 1 year old.  My how time does fly.   I have told Caleb countless times how the first weeks with our newborn feels like last month.  The sweet memories from the night of her birth and the first months with her are still very fresh in my mind.

I had such strong emotions that surrounded her first birthday (May 15).  It's exciting because it's quite unbelievable to witness how much growth and development she has experienced in just 12 short months.  It's such a delight to watch her learn new things.  But there's a part of my heart that still hangs on to those newborn days where she sweetly slept, often times in my arms, and I could just stare at her, taking in her newness.

The days where she would learn to sit up, crawl and take her first steps felt like ages away.  How could this tiny little peanut ever get to that point?!  Well... I blinked and she reached all the points.   Now that she can do all those things, it's hard to imagine her as a newborn.

The past 12 months have been full of challenges, struggles, sleepless nights, crying, laughter, joys, delights, sweet memories, and growth for both Caleb and me.

There were many times I thought I had reached my breaking point.
There were many times I thought she would never stop crying and go to sleep.
There were many times I thought she would never figure out how to nurse.
There were many times I laughed so hard at how funny and silly she was being.
There were many times I felt my heart would burst from the immense love I felt for my daughter.
There were many times I have snuck into her room just to feel warm fuzzies from watching her sleep.

She is our beautiful gift.  We have reached the point where we don't remember what life was like before she existed.  It is our hope and prayer that Selah Grace grows to love Jesus and to follow and serve Him with her whole heart.

Happy first birthday baby girl.  You are loved more than you know.  And now let's go down memory lane and look at photos of Selah Grace over the past year.

1 month old to 12 months old