Cousin Emerson comes for a visit

Couldn't resist posting pics of the kiddos with their cousin Emerson! (Thanks, Billie, for letting him come play yesterday!)

We have baby birds!

Some of you know that a sparrow built a nest in our Christmas wreath outside our front door. So, of course, I couldn't take the wreath down after the holidays.

Well, recently the eggs hatched! Here's a pic of our wee little friends now living in our wreath.

More birthday pics

My sister took some great ones, so I had to share.

Owen's Birthday

Owen's birthday party was AWESOME!

Family, food, friends, a guitar, and a hand-made cardboard train--all that was needed for a great time.

Today is his birthday, and the true celebration is how amazing, loving, caring, and precious this child is to Matt & me. He showed his true colors as he cared for his guests (he really loves his two best pals--Abby & Jackson), showed humility with all the attention when we sang to him, and his joy as he played his new guitar for all.

To my added joy, he continues to grow & develop--today he dressed himself (something we've been working on for months). All by himself, no prodding, arguing, or frustration. He just did it. Yeah, Owen!

Okay, enough writing--I know you all really just want the photos.

The cake.

The spread (with cardboard train centerpiece).

The gifts & goody bags.
The birthday boy.

A boy & his guitar.

What Owen Does When I'm Blogging

As I was uploading the video of Eden, I heard the little man singing. I turned to see him standing on a dining room chair (just in front of a mirror)--dancing & singing.

Sorry for the side-ways view. I wasn't sure how to rotate a video. It's a bit shaky--I didn't want to get too close & stop the fun, so I had to zoom. Still hilarious.

Eden's first food

Eden is 5 months old today.

For the past few days she's been waking up a little earlier than normal with a rumbling tummy, so I had to admit it was, *sigh*, probably time for cereal.

Even after a full breast feeding she--literally--dove into the cereal. She kept leaning forward into the spoon despite me trying to recline her back. Of course, more came out than went in, but she seemed to really enjoy it.




Owen's big 3-year-old party is Sunday. I'll probably have a bunch of pictures to share next week.

My first day

Hooray! Spring is here! It's sunny AND warm outside (for a change). Owen has been outside the majority of the day--even got a bit red.
Eden is even more smiley today (if that's possible, and if "smiley" is actually a word).

What a great way to start my "first day" as stay-at-home mom!

I chose to "take it easy" for the first few days, to adjust to my new role. I can't believe though, how much I've gotten done, and how much energy I have. It's time to make dinner, and for a change--it doesn't sound like a daunting, "I just don't have the time/energy/desire" task.

I've cleaned, ran around outside with Owen, even done a bit of freelancing work I took on. I actually still have energy. Just hope it lasts until Matt gets home--maybe we can actually finish a conversation without falling asleep! That would be so awesome!

He's cracking me up though--the last two days he keeps forgetting that I'm home now. He doesn't have to think about cleaning house or cooking dinner (something we shared while I was working). I've got it taken care of--he just needs to work, and enjoy being with his family. I just smile at him when he gets that "Oh, yeah" look on his face. It looks more like relief. I think we're both a lot more relaxed now--which is really exciting.

Sure, we have NO idea where the money is going to come from to compensate for the 3/4 of our income that we just gave up. We don't know how exactly the bills will get paid in the coming months, but for once--neither of us feels panicked or worried. Weird?

More money=more stress
Less money=less stress
Never thought of it that way.

I'm transcribing interviews with pastors for an editor that I know. The current one is talking a lot about sacrifice--giving up the comforts you could have, so that others benefit. Wow--that's speaking volumes to me right now.

Predictable vs. Flexible

Eden's back in her room, and doing fantastic! While Owen was/is predictable when it comes to eating & sleeping--Eden is FLEXIBLE.
The last few days have been very busy, and Eden just took it in stride (for the most part). She napped when she could, and ate on time. You can definitely tell when she's had enough though. She doesn't scream--her lower lip starts to stick out, she says "maa maa" quietly, and BIG fat tears start rolling down her face. Any waiting for her momma past that, and it becomes quite dramatic (more tears, red face, louder sobs).
I'm eating it up though--Owen rarely clung to me, and I'm enjoying being "needed" while it lasts.

Owen, *sigh*, on the other hand--loves...NEEDS his schedule. After 3 late nights in a row, last night we put him to bed about 9:30, but we have no idea when he fell asleep. Around 2 a.m. he was up talking, requesting his dad, wanting to go sit on the couch. When we'd tell him to go to sleep he just looked at us like a zombie. He continued this until probably close to 4 a.m.

He's been great all morning, though we're taking it slow today. A nice peaceful day of rest to re-coop.

Which means, I'm going to the shower now, while I have the chance!