HAPPY YEAR!

2010 has been a crazy one already for us. We've all been whipped out by a flu bug and are just now able to get out and about to do something. It did however, spare Will, which I'm so thankful! Eddie has only been sick 1 other time in his 2 years of life so it was a real learning experience and trying time for us. John and I were pretty knocked out too but thankfully not the worst at the same time. So I'm singing praises for good health and look forward to moving on with our New Year!
Along with the sickness, we've been dealing with, what I hate to admit to be the "terrible twos" with Eddie. Daily, I feel I'm left to wonder who came and hijacked my sweet baby boy. It's so sad and I hate dealing with it but I know I'm not the first or the last. I pray I can have patience and deal with this effectively for Eddie's sake.
I hate it that bad behavior takes the attention away from our sweet little Will. I want to just say how absolutely sweet Will is. I can see big personality difference between he and Eddie already at a young age. I remember knowing that as soon as Eddie could he would be off and running...I was right and then some. Will on the other hand is sooooo layed back and not much bothers him. He's so happy and about as easy as babies come. A much needed balance at this time.
I have so much love for my boys, appreciate their differences and just need prayer that I can bless Eddie & Will with good parenting and guide them to be Godly boys. Eddie, John, Aunt Kerstin & Karis
Will & Daddy

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Jesus!! At our bible study Christmas party this year we dedicated it to the kids and it really reminded me again of what the season is all about. "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth" - Luke 1:14 It was a birthday party for Jesus. We had a birthday cake that read "Happy Birthday Jesus" and we sang happy birthday, played games, etc. It's so easy to get caught up in the "to-do's" this time of year so it was great to see the kids celebrating the true reason for the season.
Last week I asked Eddie what he would like for Christmas...his answer, Candy! I asked him again a day or two later, his answer, an apple juice drink. I think I can handle both of those!
So, I wanted to get some cute Christmas photos taken of the boys. My plan, go to the beach, build a snowman in the sand and snap some pics of the kids next to him. Well....that was much harder than I thought and didn't work out at all! So anyways, in few moments we had with Eddie clean we took a few shots of him. By the time we got to Will the memory card was full, I had grabbed a smaller card than I intended in the rush of trying to get out of the house!! I only got one shot of him and the photos aren't too "Christmasy" but here they are anyway.


Now May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Imagination

There is alot I never knew about raising kids and one unexpected thing I've discovered lately is that I never knew that a 2 year old could have such a big vocabulary and imagination to go along with it. I attribute alot of this to Eddie's best buddy being our next door neighbor girl who happens to be 8! We are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors. Eddie wakes up and goes to bed talking about Saryn and they get to play together nearly everyday. It's almost as if he has a big sister.
I wanted to share a few of the cute things that Eddie has said/done over the past week.
1. We see a trail of ants in our garage which lead to a rather large, dead grasshopper. Eddie proceeds to crouch down, gasping for air and in the next breath saying "OH NO MOMMY, careful, it's dangerous"! I can't capture just how cute this was by putting words on paper (or the computer) or reiterating the story, just one of those times I wished I had my camera.
2. Driving over to Eddie's grandma's house Eddie talks the entire way, narrating everything he sees. On this particular day he starts saying "we've got a nodder", a favorite quote from his favorite movie, Cars. I proceeded to ask Eddie if he could tell me what that meant and he proceeded to say, Mac is sleeping. I was totally shocked that he knew what this meant since no one had ever explained it to him.
3. Since the time change, by the time John arrives home from work it's nearly dark which means Eddie gets to play outside with Daddy after dark...a new phenomenon to him. Tonight he spotted a star and was very excited and began saying how he wanted to reach the star. He took off running to the garage and wanted his Daddy to hand him the rope. John gave him a short rope and Eddie ran back to the spot where he spotted the star and began trying to throw the rope up to the sky. A twist on trying to rope the moon.

I just love being Eddie & Will's Mommy and what that brings day to day. Even on the particular challenging days I'm forever grateful and love my job.

A report on Will, he's doing great, sleeping great, growing great. He's a real flirt. I remember Eddie doing the same thing Will's doing as far as just waiting on someone to look his way so he can smile, laugh and coo at them. He's very happy when he's eating, having his diaper changed and about 45 minutes after eating and then he's ready to sleep again! I am blessed that I get to catch a few zzzz's nearly everyday while Eddie & Will nap in the afternoon.

The pictures I'll share this time include a sign the neighbors made for us this past summer. We woke up to this in our side yard waiting for us...so sweet!
If you can't read it, it reads "you gise are the bestes nabers we cold ever have in the world. have a grate summer eddie's family".

Fall Photos

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So we attempted to get some cute photos of the boys in a fall theme. Since we don't get the pretty fall leaves, ect. down here I had to use my own props. It was so crazy trying to get pictures of our wild child Eddie and an infant too. Alot of photos were taken but only a handful are worth sharing. Some for the humor of it. Eddie running away w/ the photo props. I was rather stressed at the time but looking at the photos later I was really laughing.
A quick update on Will..He's 2 months old weighing 14 lbs and 25.5" long! He smiles when you smile at him and I think he likes looking at Eddie! Can't wait till they can actually play together, I think Will will be able to hold his own.

HAPPY FALL....?

Happy Fall Y'all! I was just thinking yesterday that I can't believe October has nearly passed me by with very few thoughts of my favorite time of year...Fall! It hasn't been quite like fall down here in sweaty, muggy, HOT Florida. No cooler temps for us just record highs in the 90-100 degree range. This weekend it's finally supposed to cool off so I'm so excited for that!
Besides the weather, the busyness of our lives hasn't helped to slow down the time at all. I often say that I feel like I'm running an assembly line all day until the last kid is in bed and I can really RELAX! I've been making a conscious effort to sit down, enjoy lunch with Eddie and really play with him instead of going through the motions as I'm often tempted by cleaning the house or working on my "to-do" list. With a baby breastfeeding and a very active toddler it's hard to think of much else. I've been really enjoying so many things too that I wanted to take a minute to write them down (or type them out) and share with you what's new.
Will is nearly 2 months old already and growing like a weed. He's over 13 lbs. and seems so very huge! He's becoming more and more alert and smiling and cooing alot. His fussy time that I've mentioned before in the p.m. has decreased and he's doing pretty well sleeping at night usually giving me 4+ hours at a time to sleep. I'm very grateful for how he's doing and his good health!
Eddie is talking up a storm. I often say that I feel like I'm raising a teenage girl because of how much he is talking...it's constant. He's stringing alot of words together and for the most part I can make out what he's saying although at times I think he knows Japanese. He repeats everything he hears and has a big opinion. He knows what clothes he likes and doesn't like, knows what he wants to do and not do, etc. He is a boy through and through, often going through 2-3 outfits a day because of how dirty he gets. He loves tools, cars, trucks and can name what type of construction vehicle is on the road, anything from a digger, a bulldozer, a scraper, a roller, a tanker, etc. It's amazing how much he knows at just 1 month over 2 years old. At the same time he is doing so well with Will. If Will cries he will help out by giving him his passy or petting his head. He likes to try and hug and hold Will as much as possible.
So, the pics I'm including here are of Will & his Daddy enjoying some time together snuggling and then of Eddie working on his bike...one of his favorite activities. He asks for specific tools when we're outside such as his hammer, screwdriver and wrench so he can work on his bike. The other picture is of Eddie with a popsicle trying to cool off in the October heat wave.

Will's first 3 weeks!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Adjusting to life with a new baby again...it's been a little bumpy at times but over all a success. We've all survived despite a few late nights and some head bumps, eye pokes, toys flung, pinches and arm twists from big brother Eddie.
I have to say that Will has been an easy baby overall. I tend to struggle when I get sleep deprived and things crumble from there but I'm trying to take it all in stride and remain prayerful. I'm often reminded of how easy life was with just 1...not having to juggle attention, time, energy for 2! I honestly don't know how my friends with 3,4,5 do it. More power to you!! Just wanted to take a moment to post a few pictures of our precious boys.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY EDDIE!

September 1 was Eddie's 2nd Birthday. It's so hard to believe that he's already 2 and he's looking so big to me now, especially since we have baby Will home. We kept Eddie's birthday pretty low key because of all the newness that we've been experiencing around here. We did venture to the zoo and finally got around to taking Eddie on the train ride there and swimming in the paws on kids area. Will was along for the ride as well and did really great...slept nearly the entire trip. The rest of the day was spent receiving lots of phone calls to wish him a happy day and several people were singing the happy birthday song to him which he grew to really like. He was singing it when he went to bed and again when he woke in the morning. SO CUTE!
Eddie is adjusting pretty well to his new baby brother. We've had a few issues with him being rough, etc. and waking more at night but we're not complaining too much. It was all expected.
Will is doing great, we barely know he's here right now. He doesn't peep much and is great with all the noise Eddie makes. He is sleeping like crazy...a little more during the day than at night which I hope will readjust soon. He had his first Dr. appt. Monday and everything looks great. He had a clogged tear duct but it's all clearing up now.
I love our family and how it's growing and look forward to what the future holds for us!