A day or two of blue, sunny skies mixed in with mostly gray, snowy skies was like a breath of fresh air this last week. Gives me hope that maybe...just maybe...Spring will be here sooner, rather than later. For now, it'll just have to be sunny in my head...
This little guy makes me happy when skies are gray...
Ben hates to eat...I think I've shared this before. Anyway, after trying a million and one things to get him to try new foods, I decided to go back to the basics. I printed off the food pyramid for him and explained the importance, again, of eating from all of the food groups and VOILA...it worked like magic. The kid is trying anything and everything...it's CRAZY! Chili...stirfry....vegetables...oatmeal...you name it! He even declared his LOVE of broccoli this week...what?! He's been letting me know if I've missed a food group in his meal... "Um, Mom, you forgot to include a grain in this meal." Now, if I could just get him to eat a meal at a pace that is reasonable (i.e. under two hours) we'd really be on to something. :)
Silly boys...
Dad and his buddies...
Sunshine boy...
Andy is starting to sit up on his own for longer periods of time before he slowly tips to one side and lands on his belly.
A few days shy of hitting the six month mark...
He devoured some peach banana oatmeal for breakfast this morning and he was all smiles! (I'm so excited for toothy grins now!)
I tried to pull down Nat's tutu, but she insisted on hiking it up..."No, Mommy! I dood it!"
And finally...a typical Nat face...silly, but cute.
Mike and I have been married eight and a half years and I can say with confidence ...marriage is hard, but it's so worth it. Our marriage is far from perfect and there are days when it's more of a challenge to LOVE than others (come on all you married people, don't act like you can't relate!). It's a choice....a promise we made (and make each day) ...to LOVE each other through all of life's ups and downs. It doesn't always come naturally, which is why I am so thankful that God is a God who forgives (when I don't love like I should) and is continually refining us to be more like Him (He is LOVE!). I look at the life we've created together (all by His grace) and I am truly thankful. I look at the faces of my three babies and I can hardly imagine ever choosing not to love their Daddy...even on the bad days. Marriage is hard, but that's what the promise is for (line stolen from an awesome song...see below).
Me and my Valentine...
I'm wearing my pajamas and we both look tired, but that's pretty typical these days...so I'll just go with it!
Since it's the day of LOVE, I wanted to share a couple of songs that have encouraged me in my marriage (you may already be familiar with them). My friend, Heidi, recently shared the first song below with me (by Andrew Peterson) and the words just really made sense and rang true for me...marriage is about a PROMISE.
So when I lose my way, find me When I lose loves chains, bind me At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days when I forget my name, remind me
Cause we bear the light of the son of man So there’s nothing left to fear So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands Till the shadows disappear Cause he promised not to leave us And his promises are true So in the face of all this chaos baby I can dance with you
And we’re dancing in the minefields We’re sailing in the storm This is harder than we dreamed But I believe that’s what the promise is for That’s what the promise is for
I love these words...what love has tethered...I pray we never undo.
We are stitched together And what love has tethered I pray we never undo
God gave me you for the ups and downs God gave me you for the days of doubt For when I think I’ve lost my way There are no words here left to say, it’s true God gave me you
Happy Valentine's Day!
(Oh...and for the record...I kind of think this holiday is dumb, but I figured I might as well use it as an opportunity to tell my best friend how much I love him.)
We (mostly me) spent a good chunk of our day making sugar cookies. Here are my little "helpers"...and yes, Ben is wearing Santa jammies...wrong holiday. I think Nattie ate at least four cookies herself...sugar overload!
The finished product...who wants one or ten?
Totally random picture...but I thought it was kind of cool...
1 - Ok, so maybe this one isn't so typical. She was just doing a little pumping...that's normal, right? 2 - Every Snow White needs a cowboy hat (x2) and a maraca to complete her look! 3 - She refused to let me help her eat her chocolate pudding. Her favorite response when I offer to help..." ME DOOOOD IT!" (aka "Back off, Mom! I am doing this myself and if you try to come near me again I will scream and possibly hit you.")
Finally, here she is in full blown meltdown mode because I wouldn't let her get down from her seat at the dinner table and run around the house carrying her food in her hands. :) She's still cute...even while screaming bloody murder.
