One Month

Dear Everett,

This past weekend you turned one month old, I can hardly believe it! We were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate your one month birthday in Sunriver with some close friends and it was so much fun.


Everett, I am so in love with you. I can't believe that God gave you to us, even when we were not expecting you! I am so humbled by God's provision in my life and you are just another physical manifestation of God's love for me.


You are just the sweetest baby and you remind me a lot of your sister, both in your looks and temperament. I'm not sure how much you weigh or how long you are right now, I'll know more at your next dr's appointment in a month. You are still in size one diapers and in 3 month clothing, although the 3 month jammies with feet barely fit you. You are looooooong and lean. You are so handsome and I just love your dark hair. Your daddy was hoping you would have dark hair like your mommy and sure enough, you do.


You have started being awake more and I just love looking into your big dark blue eyes. I wonder what color they will turn? Dark like your sisters or light like Daddys? We'll just have to wait and see.


I love getting you dressed each morning. I thought boy clothes were going to be so boring but I truly love going through the cute outfits and picking out something for you to wear. I feel just like I did with Emersyn, like I have my own real life doll to dress and I love it.


You are a good eater and I thank the Lord that nursing has come easily to both you and I. You like to eat every 2-3 hours or so but can go longer stretches in the morning. You will sleep in almost as late as I will let you but I often have to wake you up so you can eat something before we head off to wherever we're going that day. You only wake up once or twice in the night and I am grateful for that. There have been some rough nights where you've been kind of fussy but I think that usually has to do with me eating something I probably shouldn't have for dinner, like onions or broccoli. Naughty mommy. :) Sometimes after I feed you at night, I just snuggle you and pray for you. Even though I'm tired, I treasure those snuggles together and know that before I know it, you are going to be a fiesty toddler, just like Emersyn.


You have had a lot of fun during your first month of life. Your sister turned three and you got to celebrate her birthday when you were just 5 days old. You went to your first amusement park for her celebration. You've been to a baby shower, to two of your sister's friends birthday parties, visited your great grandparents in Albany, showed a house with me and acted as my real estate assistant, been out to eat several times, been to church several times and been to many playdates as well.


I can't imagine our family without you Everett. We love you so much and are having so much fun watching you change and grow. Emersyn is OBSESSED with you! She loves kissing you and snuggling with you. The first thing that she wants to do every morning is give you hugs and kisses. Whenever we pray for her before she goes to bed, she reminds us to pray for you too and then she will often pray for you. She prays, "dear Jesus, thank you for Everett, make him strong, in Jesus name, AMEN". Emersyn loves it when you lay on her bed with her and you guys snuggle before she goes to bed. She loves rocking you in your swing and giving you your binky. You are lucky to have a big sister that loves you SO much. Your daddy and I pray that you grow into be the best of friends.


I love you so much Everett David. I'm so thankful that you are my son.

Love,

Mommy

Wordless Wednesday- First day of preschool!

I used to...

I used to....

...have shaved legs. I was the kind of girl that ALWAYS had smooth legs, anything else drove me crazy. Well these days, shaving is a luxury of time that I just don't have. My husband is a lucky man. (I do still shower though, bonus)

....be able to remember things, period.

...have more bladder control. Ha!

....be able to see the corner of my bedroom floor and wall before this monster load of laundry was covering it. The load NEVER ends, seriously, I keep pulling clothes from it and washing them and the pile just doesn't go down.

.....blog.

.....read other peoples blogs.

.....remember what it was like to get more then 5 or 6 hours of sleep.

.....take pleasure in vacuuming. Guys, the pleasure is dying down, partially because my carpet is SO trashed that I despise even looking at it.

....have hot water. Yes, this morning the pilot light just completely died despite several attempts to relight it. Why is this great timing you ask? Oh, because my bestie from Idaho is in town and has special plans tonight so she had to take a shower. Very sweetly, she compared the experience to camping rather then calling it was it was, pure torture!!!! An ice cold shower is not my idea of hospitality. She's going home today and oh my Lord, it was SO nice having her hear. Ems will miss her the most I think, she loved playing with Auntie Lou.

.....type with more than one hand. Doesn't happen anymore now that I'm nursing or snuggling with my boy.

These guys make it all worth it though. :)

Seriously though, having two children is not for the faint of heart. I can't even fathom how those do it with three, four, mulitples, etc. :) I know that I will find my groove eventually. I just need to remember to relax a little and enjoy each day, despite what does or doesn't get done. Remember, babies don't keep.... :)

Preschool!!!!

Several of Emersyn's friends are enrolled in pre-school this year and I have to admit, it made me a little sad. Yes yes, I know that Emersyn JUST turned three and she doesn't NEED to go go preschool by any means. However, I really think that she could benefit greatly from the social interaction and the structured environment. I know that we do a lot of playdates but that kind of socialization isn't the educational side. It would be so great to have trained teachers teach Emersyn things that I am not able to. The big obstacle for us is the financial aspect of preschool however.


I got a text from my friend Caitlin yesterday saying that there is still room in her daughter's preschool class for Emersyn and that it hadn't even started yet. Sensing that this could be a financial issue, Caitlin informed me that the preschool would be willing to adjust the tuition to an amount that we CAN afford and gave me the director's info. After speaking with the director and coming to an agreement on an amount that will work for the both of us, I am happy to say that Emersyn is enrolled in preschool and will start next Tuesday!!!!!!! This is such an answer to prayer and I just know that my bright little girl is going to flourish in this environment. The only slight downside is that I will have to leave my Tuesday morning Bible Study a little early each week but I really think that it will be worth it. Plus, Emersyn will get to go to preschool with one of her besties, how cute is that?? It's only two days a week for 2.5 hours. I'm also so grateful to have an opportunity for one on one time with my little man too.


I am so so thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to see my little girl blossom as a preschooler!!! She is beside herself with excitement and thankfully she got a super cute backpack for her birthday from her Auntie and Uncle that will be put to good use!!

Miscellany Monday

{1} I love multi-generational pictures. I'm missing my Gigi extra this week. She would have loved meeting my sweet boy.

My mama, Ems and I

{2} I saw this adorable owl hat on a little boy on one of my favorite blogs and I just had to have it. I even messaged the blog owner to find out where she got it and she gave the the Etsy sellers info but first, I decided to check with a friend of mine who is starting a hat making business. I just gave her a picture and she was able to duplicate the hat exactly. Isn't it SO cute!?!?! My friend Jessica is talented and charges really reasonable prices. Her website can be found HERE.

My sweetie boy with his eyes open!

{3} Brett and I ended up taking newborn pics of Everett on Saturday and we got a few decent ones. I now understand why people hire professionals to do such tasks now however. While taking his pics, he of course had to poop and pee everywhere so while our sheets were being washed (they were victims of the bodily fluids) we decided to give Everett his first bath. Of course big sister wanted to join in on the fun. It was a quick bath for Everett but so fun to get him all cleaned up. I love the way babies smell right after a bath. *happy sigh*.

I <3 my girl!!

{4} Everett went to the first of many of his sister's friends' birthday parties on Sunday. Miss Emery May is turning three tomorrow! Her mama knows how to throw a great party and she totally got crafty with the decorations. It was a great party and we were so happy to celebrate one of Emersyn's besties.

{5} Emersyn got a bubble gun from her Nana and Papa for her birthday and it's a really great toy!! She had a ton of fun with it today at the park for our Labor Day picnic with friends.

{6} Last Friday my parents wanted to take Ems to Chuck E. Cheese before my dad headed out of town so we went there for a fun hour or so. While we were there, Brett put Ems on the big monster truck ride. While she was riding it, Brett got too close so the ride froze and started saying, "please stand clear" over and over. It was kind of a muffled voice but eventually Brett realized what was going on and he moved away. Apparently this traumatized Emersyn because every day since then, she keeps talking about how scary the truck was at Chuck E. Cheese and how it said, "dee-mans cleer" over and over. It kind of makes me sad because I think it really scared her but it kind of makes us laugh whenever she brings it up because it was so random! I'm hoping she gets over it.

{7} We're watching "Kate Plus 8" while I've been typing this and I cannot believe how dramatic and high maintenance Kate is!!! Holy cow! I'm not trying to be judgemental but good Lord. She gets to take her family white water rafting and she's throwing a fit about potentially getting wet. Plus she's wearing wedge heels and basically daisy duke cut-offs. Geez.

More Everett pictures & ramblings! :)

This intersection was about 5 blocks from where Everett was born. :) This isn't where I got the inspiration for his name however, I've loved Everett for a long time!

We are having such a great time as a family of four (plus my parents who have been here for the last two weeks). It's always crazy having family in town combined with the birth of a child, although I don't really know any other way since my parents moved right before Emersyn was born. It's a fun and blissful celebration time but also gets busy which I don't mind. My parents lived here for a lot of years before they moved so they have friends that want to see them and us and our new baby and we've kept pretty busy for Everett's first ten days of life but again, I'm not great at sitting at home so it's fine.



I do find myself hoarding my baby boy though. I let my mom hold Emersyn pretty much any chance that I had to give her away but it's been different with Everett. I don't know if it's because I had to work so much harder for him to come into the world or because I look at my three year old and realize how quickly children grow up. I am enjoying my snuggle time with him and am so thankful that nursing is going so well because that's such a great bonding time with him too.



I'm really hoping to take some newborn pictures of Everett tomorrow. I didn't do those really with Emersyn other then the bazillion snapshots that we took of her. We haven't been as great at taking pictures of Everett which I hear is common with your second child. I want to be better about it though but again, these first days have been kinda crazy and busy. :) I treasure my nights however of enjoying my baby boy before I put him to bed. He sleeps in a pack and play right now next to our bed and God bless him, he only wakes up twice in the night, usually around 1-2 and then again around 4-5. After his 4-5 feeding I often let him stay in bed with us and I just stare at him. I cannot get enough of his preciousness. Is that a word? :)


It always amazes me how God equips mothers. Even when I am so dog tired, I never look at my little baby while I'm feeding him in the middle of the night and feel an ounce of resentment. Granted, I do feel fortunate that he sleeps so well for us. But still, Emersyn woke up consistently every two hours at night for a long time and it was the same thing with her, I never resented taking care of her.....I could stare at my babies all night and never get tired of the amazing miracles that they are in our lives.

Estella, Emma, Emersyn and Everett's first playdate!

Bringing baby brother home from the hospital!

First family dinner with Everett home from the hospital

Snuggling with Grandpa

This weekend is full of fun too. We have a birthday dinner for my brother Saturday night and then one of Emersyn's besties is turning three and her party is on Sunday! My dad heads back to MN on Sunday too which is a bummer but he'll be back for Christmas. My mom is staying another week and I'll be grateful for the help. I have several dr. appointments to take the kids to next week and Brett will be back at work and it'll be great to have my mom here. Plus she gets up early with Emersyn so I can snooze with my baby boy. Every morning though when she wakes up she comes into our room and says "where's Everett?" and then she comes and gives him kisses and snuggles. Then she goes to eat breakfast with MiMi but she always leaves with "I'll come riiiiight back, I promise!". Thankfully, she doesn't come right back but plays with MiMi and Grandpa while Daddy and I sleep in. :)

Okay, that's enough rambling for now. As I've typed this, I've had Everett on my chest and I know it won't be long before he's too big to snuggle with like this. I am so in love with him, I can't get over it. Thank you Lord for my baby boy, I'm so so so blessed to be his mama.