Mother's Day

How blessed am I to be Mommy to our sweet little boy Andrew. Every day there is something new with him that makes me smile (yes even on those extremely cranky days). Last Sunday was Mother's Day and I found myself constantly thanking God for my little guy. It may be a day to honor mothers but I have now found that it is also a day that brings a focus to mothers on just how thankful they are their little ones.

Our Garden

Ever since we bought our house four years ago we have wanted to plant a garden, well this year it happened. We decided to do a raised bed garden because our soil is far from ideal, contains a lot of clay and hardly any topsoil - a vast difference from where we grew up. 

Overall it was a very simple process that was completed in just over a weekend. Saturday we went and purchased all the supplies and plants, assembled the box. Sunday we didn't have much time so we only had time to set the box and fill it with the soil. Monday evening after our little guy went to bed for the night we put the fence up (we have lots of pesky rabbits around here) and planted everything.

We decided to plant broccoli, red and yellow peppers, beans, peas, and strawberries. We went with items that we buy frequently from the store knowing that they are things that we really enjoy. 

We had our happy helper along the way, loving every minute of it.

Now we just wait and hope that between the two of us we have at least one green thumb.

 

Summer Fun So Far

The weather has been so great this spring/summer and we have been taking full advantage of it. We have been joining a great group of ladies and their kids at various parks, playgrounds, and attractions. They all have been great escapes from the normal day to day around here and a wonderful chance to spend time with great godly women.

First trip to the 'beach' - we are no where near an ocean here so our beaches are those that surround lakes, but they are still fun.

There are lots of fun places to take kids to around our area, Andrew is a little young to fully appreciate this one but soon enough I can see it being a summer favorite. This NatureScape provides a splash pool, fountain, and areas to dig in. Right next to this you can watch the elk and buffalo move about their enclosures. 

 

The most recent was a trip to the local botanical center. Andrew really enjoyed looking around at all the plants inside and the gardens outside. 

I definitely have a little boy that loves to be outside, and that makes me a happy mommy. Many more adventures to come this summer. 

Exersaucer Fun

Our little guy is on the roll, literally, I can't keep him in one place anymore. He will start out in the middle of the living room floor and end up at the front door or in the kitchen, depending which way he is facing because he has only figured out how to roll the one direction. 

With that I can't leave him lay on the floor and leave the room for any amount of time and expect him to still be in the same place when I get back. Thankfully a friend is letting us borrow their exersaucer to help keep him entertained and contained. 

 And as you can see, he absolutely loves it and will play in there for quite a while most days.
 

Such a simple thing can make life so much easier. We are so greatful for our amazing friends to allow us to borrow such an expensive purchase. 

Cozy In My Crib

It is so nice to see our little guy comfortably sleeping in his crib every night. Sleep training is a wonderful thing that has gone great in our house; we are down to 5-10 minutes of crying at bed time and sometimes none as we can lay him down asleep and he stays asleep, something that would never happen prior to a few weeks ago.

Before we head off to bed we usually take a quick peak in to see our little guy sleeping soundly. Lately we have been finding him rolled up onto his side, legs crossed, and arms cuddled up close to his face. Adorable yes, but funny too...just like mommy. Not only are both Todd and myself side sleepers but that is the exact position that I sleep in every night. I would love to get a picture of this but I just don't dare risk waking him up. 

Never knew that sleeping positions could be hereditary :) 

Andrew's Dedication

This past weekend we dedicated Andrew to God before our families and our church family. It is our mission to raise our little guy to be a child and man of God. We know that it will be a long road ahead of us to do so but we find comfort in knowing that we have so many people around us that will help. Not only do we want to raise Andrew up in God's eyes but as he grows we want him to display God's love through his words and actions.


With that we ended up with a 'theme' (wasn't completely planned, just worked out that way) of Letting Our Light Shine.

A little over a year ago I heard a wonderful updated version of the traditional song This Little Light of Mine. Andrew's aunt was wonderful enough to sing this song during the service for us. If you haven't heard it below is a link, you must listen, it is great.

This Little Light of Mine ~ Addison Road

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVeB7ACVgO0&noredirect=1

Daddy read Matthew 5:14-16 as well...

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (NIV)

Our sweet boy did great up on stage, no crying or anything, a little fussy at one point but going after Daddy's Bible fixed that.

 Note to Andrew: Our prayer for you is that you will grow in life with Christ in your heart and let the light of Christ show through you. Love you, Mommy and Daddy. 


 

5 Months Old

Today our baby boy turns 5 months old, wow time has flown by and so much has changed.

Some things he is now up to...

• Continues to roll over often (mainly from tummy to back, rarely the other way)
• Doing much better on tummy time, will stay there for 15 minutes plus sometimes (vast improvement - for a while after he learned to roll over we couldn't keep him on his tummy)

 

• Eating cereal, most of the time he likes it but still trying to figure the whole thing out
• LOVES bath time, until you take him out
• Enjoys sitting in his highchair watching mommy and daddy cook supper, eat supper, or doing anything else in the kitchen
• LOVES his toes, when he has thrown all of his toys out of his reach he always has toes :)

• He has begun to scoot after toys. Using his feet and hands to move around on his tummy so he can reach them.
• In the process of sleep training...on average crying for 15 minutes a night before falling asleep in his crib (would never sleep in his crib before so we are achieving two goals at once)
• Still struggles with taking naps, leading to crabby days but hoping those get figured out soon
• Always curious about what we are doing and trying to 'help' us 

It is hard to believe how fast the past five months have gone but it is so much fun to watch him grow.