A sweet afternoon

I just want to take a minute to document this afternoon,
it was a sweet one,
just ordinary,
but sweet.
After Brooks woke up from his nap I "treated" Brooks to some homemade popcorn for snack,
he LOVES popcorn and we don't have it very often.
 I took a moment to sit with him at the table and eat.
Sadly I don't do this often, I usually let him entertain himself in the playroom or leave him at the table while I piddle around the house or feed Ford.
He always gets so excited when I sit and eat with him.
Trip is gone many nights of the week with Young Life so I usually wait to put Brooks to bed before I eat dinner so he usually sits at the table without me.
But anyway, it was a sweet time just to sit and be silly and eat popcorn with my little 2 year old.

Then we "made" some Lightening McQueen  (pilsbury slice and bake) cookies that we picked up at Target this morning.
Brooks loves Lightening McQueen AND cookies so this was a huge hit.
We sat on the couch watching Mickey Mouse club while the cookies baked and B LOVES for me to sit by him on the couch,
so I sat by him and without any prompt he hugged my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said "love you".
Melt my heart!
A really sweet moment in the life of a mom.
We ended the afternoon with a good walk in the stroller with no crying from either kiddos or begging for more snacks and Brooks politely waved to everyone we passed. He did try to keep talking to me while I had my headphones on which was a bit distracting but what can I say, he's a talker!
I don't want to miss the good moments,
I don't want to take them for granted because it can be easy to focus on the tough afternoons, the ones where nobody seems happy and I am just waiting for bedtime to come around.
I don't want to miss out on this blip of time with 2 year old Brooks.
Earlier this week a woman at the shoe store looked at me with my boys and just smiled and said she wished her kids were still this young.
So I have to keep writing this little ordinary stuff down so that I won't forget!

And later this afternoon........

while I was putting Ford to bed, 

Brooks decided it would be fun to fling yogurt all over the dog!

He was so proud of himself with a big grin.

I had to put my stern face on and tell him that wasn't ok but I quickly had to turn around so he couldn't see my face because it was so funny!

Somehow God gave me a sense of humor in this moment rather than me losing my cool.

And I gotta add a cute picture of this nugget in the stroller today! 

I can only hope that his personality is going to be as outstanding as his hair!

First Hair Cut

I meant to post some pics of Brooks first haircut.
We went to pig tails and crew cuts (totally awesome and totally over priced) after his 2nd birthday party.
I thought he would love it being able to sit in an airplane or car,
but the whole thing totally wigged him out!
Which I can understand,
a stranger coming at you with scissors for the first time is a little weird.
After it was done and he saw all the toys there he didn't want to leave.

They did a great job and the haircut looked adorable,

he already looks like he needs another one! 

This kid is growing like a weed!

I am hoping second time around he will love it!

2 months

We had our 2 month appointment a couple weeks ago for Ford.
Height- 23 (50%)
Weight- 14-5 (85-95%)
Big Boy

Ford is sleeping good. I am putting him down about 7:30 and feeding him at 10:00pm and he's sleeping until about 6:00am!
I've never been one to go crazy over newborn babies, of course I love my own but I don't just love the newborn stage. So I am starting to really enjoy Ford more. His little grin is so cute and he's starting to "wake up" to the world. He has been a pretty easy baby so far, he's usually pretty content if he's fed and rested. His hair is out of control, he's such a goober! Not quite sure what to do with it.... it has a mind of its own.

And Ford and Brooks have a new little cousin!

Welcome to the world Liza! 

She's so beautiful!

Just taking note

One thing I love about being a mom...
It keeps me in check,
I feel like it causes me to ponder a little harder about God,
and how he shows up in my life.
It makes me a little less dependent on myself,
and a little more reliant on him.
I guess it's because I have this overbearing feeling like these kids lives are in my hands and I don't want to screw it up!
I don't want to miss opportunities,
I don't want to regret,
I don't want to miss what God has planned for us as a family.
I simply want to be closer to Jesus,
because I know my kids (and husband) will be better off for it.
Being a mom and a wife is hard at times,
life is hard,
I don't want to look back and feel like I missed what mattered most because I was too busy chasing the mundane stuff in life that has no real significance.
God willing, that I go before my kids do,
I want them to remember me as somebody who was really close to Jesus.
not as a mom who was really skinny, had a great sense of style, and bought them nice things when they wanted them.
I want them to remember me as the one who prayed the most for them.
I want them to remember me as the one who always, always, always pointed them towards Jesus.
I got some work to do, not to earn my salvation or to earn more love from God because I know where God stands in his love for me,
but to set an example for my kids,
because I don't pray enough for them,
I don't spend enough time with Jesus,
and I do want to be a mom who "acts justly, loves mercy and walks humbly with my God" (Micah 6:8)
because that's the best I can offer them.

New Normal

I feel like I am returning back to my "normal" self.
I like to think of it as my "new normal" with 2 kiddos.
Ford is 2 months now and sleeping better at night, sleeping from about 10:00- 6:00, hallelujah!
He's giving us that sweet gummy smile that is melting my heart.
Brooks is saying funny stuff,
he likes to pretend to talk on the phone and he rattles off all of our family members names.
He loves to sing Jesus loves me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and ABC's.
It's one long medley with a lot of missing words.
As usual, we can't get enough of his cute self.
Finally some more pictures from his 2nd Birthday party at Krispy Kreme.
Krispy Kreme is an excellent birthday party option,
cheap and so easy.
Perfect for one month after having a new baby.

Sweet Brooks,
You have given us 2 years of abundant joy!
Until you, we never knew we could love so much!
Until you, we couldn't begin to grasp how much our God loves us!
My love for you teaches me every day about how my God loves me, and that is something nobody else can give me (except your baby brother).
We love watching you discover this big world through innocent eyes.
We have big hopes and prayers for you kiddo!
I am so very thankful that you made me a mom,
I am so very thankful that God gave us you and picked us to be your mom and dad.
Love you kiddo!