Two Months Old!

Dear Ethan,

You are two months old sweet boy!  I am falling in love with you more each day!  Since you were born life has been eventful!  You are quite a sensitive little baby and we have been working through some of your issues.  Poor little buddy... after several weeks of fussiness our pediatrician diagnosed you with reflux.  Now that we have you on a little zantac you are much more content!  You are cooing and smiling all the time and absolutely love to be held... all the time:)  You are coming into your own and quickly catching up to your brother in size, though you are not nearly as big.  Here is James in the same outfit at two months.

You weighed 11 pounds and 13 ounces at your two month well check putting you in the 66th percentile for weight.  You are wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.  You are eating 4-5 ounces at each feeding and like to eat every 3-4 hours.  You are a spitter!  Good thing I made those burp cloths because we use them constantly!  You are still sleeping in the swing quite a bit.  I am trying to transition you to your crib and some days you do great... others not so much.  I know you will get it eventually though.  You are becoming a much better car traveler... phew... since we have a twelve hour drive to the beach coming up next month!  

You have the most beautiful big blue eyes just like your brother.  And I absolutely love your hair!  It parts way over on the side and gives you the look of a old man with a comb over.  It is seriously darling!  Though we might not say the same thing as you get older!

Your brothers love you so much!  Every time I put you down on the couch I see James come running over and jump up beside you so that he can give you a kiss... or play the drums for you...

You are one sweet little guy.  I cherish the moments when I get to just hold you and you look straight into my eyes and there is nothing there but pure, genuine, uncomplicated love.  

We praise God for the way he has made our lives richer and more full of joy because of you.  

Love to you always,

Mama

And the child grew and became strong;  he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

                                                                                                                            ~Luke 2:40

A Truck Party

We celebrated James' 2nd birthday with a truck themed birthday party.  This year we decided to do a family party.  He still doesn't really understand what his birthday means, but I wanted to do a fun theme anyways.  Since he loves trucks that was an obvious choice.  I found some cute ideas on Pinterest and we borrowed a bounce house from our neighbors.  It was a hot and sticky day, so we ate inside at the dining room table and let the kids jump and splash in the bounce house in the front yard!

I ordered these cute plastic construction hats for the kids and orange safety cone sippy cups.  They complement a flowered dress so nicely!

I also found these cute paper plates online...

I was going to make a cake, but at the last minute decided to have one made.  It turned out so cute and it was way less pressure!  I love it!

Paul bought James this cute chair at Home Goods.  He sat in it to open gifts... at least one gift that is... then he sort of lost interest!

We ate ribs and corn on the cob and then we had cake.  He actually tried to blow out the candles this year!  

So sweet!

The kids played in the bounce house for quite a while.  It was a huge hit!  It looked really classy in our front yard!

We pretty much had to drag them in to open presents!  But once inside James found one of his gifts and was enthralled.  Do you think he likes it?!

We finally got him to sit down to open a few gifts.  He loved his tractor from Aunt Rini!  We could have stopped right here... I think Chloe, Max and Sam opened the rest of the presents!

He got so many wonderful things!  Our family room looked like Christmas morning!  

All this fun can make a kid thirsty so James and Char paused for a little drink...

It was such a fun party!  Thanks to all of our family for making it a special day for James.  We love you!

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;    let them sing joyful praises forever.  

Spread your protection over them, 

that all who love your name may be filled with joy. 
~Psalm 5:11

  

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Baby James!

Happy Birthday James!

Dear James,

This week you turned two!  Where o where has the time gone?  As we sat and ate our breakfast together and I sang happy birthday to you I couldn't help letting my mind rewind to two years ago when I was in the hospital with you.  I was just getting to know you and hold you for the first time.  You were so sweet and tiny.  I truly can't believe it has already been two years!

Here we are meeting for the first time

Now you are my little man... no longer a baby, but a big boy and a busy one at that!  We are having so much fun with you these days.  Overnight you have become a person, talking up a storm and imitating everything we say and do.  You make me laugh all the time... even when you are up to mischief... I still can't help but crack a smile.  You are such a sweet boy!  Here is one of our recent conversations.

You had your two year check up yesterday and you weighed almost 33 pounds and your height was 37 inches.  You are in the 97th percentile for height and the 96th percentile for weight and head circumference.  We love that you are such a sturdy boy!  You still eat pretty much everything we put in front of you and you never put up a fight when it's time for a meal.  You eat a scrambled egg for breakfast almost every morning and a peanut butter and jelly for lunch.  You love almost every kind of fruit and do pretty well with vegetables.  You also love yogurt!  You are doing pretty well eating with a fork and are starting to get the hang of the spoon.  "Sacks" (i.e. snacks!) are also a favorite and as soon as I put you in a shopping cart it's the first thing you ask for.

You are wearing 2T clothes and can even fit into some 3T's!  Shoes are nearly impossible to fit on your Fred Flintstone feet.  We have to buy you an extra wide, which is hard to come by in most shoe departments.  You just started wearing size 5 diapers... time to start potty training!  They are so big that they almost look like they would fit me!  We will attempt the potty this fall:)

You are all boy!  Your favorite toys right now are cars, trucks and more trucks!  Our playroom is quickly becoming consumed with every type of dump truck, digger, tractor and matchbox car you can buy.  It's really fun to watch your imagination develop as you run them around on the floor and have conversations with yourself.  Every time we go to Nana and Pop's house you run right out onto the porch and open their toybox to reach for a container of cars.  Then you and Pop play contentedly on the floor for an hour or more talking and having a ball.  It's so cute!

Some of my favorite phrases that you are using right now are:
Where Mama go?
Dada truck
Mama car
We're here (when we pull into anyone's driveway)
It's ready (When the microwave dings)
No, no, fall down (when I put you on our bed)
All done show (when we turn off the tv)
Oh dear (if something bad happens)
Baby's crying (when Ethan cries)
Oh cow (you overheard Daddy on this one lamenting someone missing a catch in a baseball game.  i.e. Holy cow)
Yuck poopoo (another one that Daddy taught you... lovely!)

There are so many more because you literally imitate everything we say now.  We really have to watch what we let come out of our mouths!  You even imitate the intonation of our voices.  It's hilarious!  Every time I get on the phone you run to the drawer to get your your play phone and start your own conversation.  I love it!

James, you are so sweet and fun.  Every time you learn something new I think, "this is my favorite age", but really I love them all.  It is an honor and a privilege to be your mama.  Every night when I put you to bed I tell you that you are my joy.  And I mean that.  Some days are tough and you give me a real run for my money, but truly you give me moments of such joy and laughter every day.

I pray that you will always know how much you are loved by God and by your family.  I pray that you will come to know Him personally from a young age and desire to give your whole life to Him.  May you be a strong warrior for His Kingdom.

Love to you always.  Happy Birthday sweet boy!

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

~Ephesians 3:16-19

Happy 14th Birthday Drew!

On Wednesday, July 11th we celebrated Drew's birthday with dinner at our house.  He was so excited! He has been counting down the days to his birthday for weeks!

On the menu were sliders with various different toppings, Kraft macaroni and cheese, french fries, watermelon and Bruster's ice cream cake for dessert.  It was a very healthy meal!  But these are Drew's favorites ... and the birthday boy gets his pick!

Everyone chilled on the deck and enjoyed a lovely summer evening.  Then the kids ran around out in the yard.  James was thrilled to run around after his older cousins!  

After singing happy birthday and blowing out all the candles...

He opened his gifts, one of which was a shiny new red bike!

We all enjoyed a little cake ... most especially James

And Ethan was in his glory being held all night!

I haven't gotten to spend every birthday with Drew so it is a blessing getting to spend some of these later years celebrating with him.  He is a sweet boy who has such passion for life!  We know God has big plans for him and we look forward to seeing where these next years take him.  

Happy 14th Birthday Drew!  You are loved more than you know.

For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

                                                                ~Proverbs 9:11