Fall...

I love fall...the ability to cook and bake without making your house to hot, the smells, and the changing weather. I do enjoy the change into the holiday season. As I sit here I realize that this holiday season is going to be oh so fun and go oh so fast! To be blessed with a two-year-old around the holidays is going to be a blast! Blake is not going to know what hit him during the two weeks of opening presents for both his birthday and Christmas-and I am anxiously awaiting that time as he is getting bored with his toys but I don't want to buy him any know the onslaught of stuff that is coming! Luckily he LOVES books and enjoys reading all of them, he has a pretty amazing memory for a little one that makes some people ask me if he can already read, because he can pick up a book and tell you a title or "read" a part of a page. It has been so fun watching his vocabulary increase, and to get to have little conversations with him because he now can speak in short sentences. He is wonderful and I am fully blessed I can't believe that he is almost two-where has the time gone. In the midst I hope and pray that I am soaking it up enough, not taking a moment for granted and at the same time I find myself exited for his future and the pleasure of meeting the amazing man that God has created him to be.

As well as loving my little guy I am starting to feel this little one more and more each day-she is making herself known-not as much as Blake did-but known. Blake loves to "find sis" which equals him lifting my shirt up and poking my belly button and today he gave my belly a hug and said "hug sis." So precious. But at the same time he has his moments with this whole idea...like the day I was hanging up some clothes I had gotten and some things my mom had brought me that I wore when I was little girl-he came in the room and pointed at the pile and said "baby sis?" and I said "Yes these are for baby sister." He then promptly walked up the pile and threw them all on the floor! Ha! How blessed I feel to have them both and I can hardly wait to meet her in 16 weeks!

Its Been a While

Hey to all the people out there-probably 3, but I do this for myself as much as for others so hope you enjoy it. Sorry it has been so long-we have had a busy 3 months. In August we started a kitchen remodel and it is slowly reaching its stages of completion-takes longer when you do it yourself-but costs a whole lot less! In September I started my new position at Renton School Districts Re-Education TOSA (teacher on special assignment). Re-ED is a philosophy developed in the 1960's on how to best work with troubled and troubling youth, if interested check out http://www.warea.org/ Anyway it is my job to support other teachers working with kids with Emotional Behavioral Disabilities in the classroom. It is, so far, a lot of work but a lot of fun and I am really thankful for this opportunity. And I am currently 1/2 way to being a mom of 2! We found out this week that we are having a little girl this February and are are really excited for Blake to be an older brother. Now let the preparation begin....last week we got to go see a couple of friends who just had a little boy and when I was holding him Blake stood by dad and cried "No No No" while shaking his head....we have some work! Needless to say life is really good right now and I am truly thankful. Here are some pics of things you have missed...

Us in the photo booth, this year, at the Fair.Blake seeing the ocean for the first time in Lincoln City OR:)

Running around in his "towa."

A Small Step...Dangling Earrings... :)

For those of you who know me I am a creature of habit and a rule follower. This has lead to many things in life that I realize in my adulthood that I haven't done or seen because I couldn't when I was younger (ie haven't seen "Pretty Woman"). Last night at KOHLs I was shopping with my 30% off of coupon in tow and I was finding some good deals for stuff for Justin (lets be honest that is the only way the guy gets new clothes for himself-I buy them take them home he tries them on-if he likes them we keep them if not I take them back :). I was not enjoying finding clothes for me-I wasn't in the mood-and I still think I am in a state of limbo with this "new" body -although it has been a year and a half it really has only been 7 months-as I nursed buddy for 11 months and my body was NOT one that just lost all the weight from nursing-in fact it held onto about 10 pounds the whole time! And even though I am within 2-3 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight-which I think is great-it is not exactly the same...so I am still figuring that all out. Needless to say I wandered into the jewelry aisle...there was a bunch on sale and I in that moment realized that I should get myself some fun earrings...Yes at 28 I only have about 2 pair of fun dangling earrings. So I did-I had a ball. On the way home I was thinking about why did I not have them as part of my life...I have always like them on others. It was then I realized that my mom never wore them-she doesn't like them on herself, so not that it was a rule that she made-I just never really was around them in my childhood and therefore carried that into my adulthood. Funny. Random story I know but it made me think about other things that I have carried over from my childhood into my adulthood-I am sure some just as small and others larger-and I would like to spend some time moving on and having fun with the process of still "growing up."

Summer Fun!

We have had quite the summer so far-I can't believe that July is almost over! I got to go to our church's summer conference in the mid-west this year-which was a blast and made me oh so thankful that I don't live there! Yikes that humidity and heat is a nightmare. Then my best friend from college and her husband and baby girl came to visit over the fourth of July. It was so fun to see our two kiddos together! We joke that they should get married-hey moms can dream right?!?! Here are some pictures from the visit:)

Soo much fun!

This summer has also found myself waiting....I still have yet to hear about weather or not I am working next fall. It is up in the air and will probably be for a long time. As I know about myself, in times of change, it is not the change itself that I struggle but rather waiting for the change to happen. It is why I didn't love being engaged and couldn't wait to have my pregnancy be over-I just want to get on with the next step-waiting for the inevitable change has always been difficult. I find myself knowing that I will be sad if the answer is no-and yet so thankful that my identity ultimately is not found in what I do-but rather who loves me. I will keep you posted!

Winding Down...

In only 4 short days I am no longer a classroom teacher...the feeling is that of relief and confusion at the same time. I have spent the past 9 years of my life dedicated to this-through working in schools, getting my Masters, and teaching for 4 years...it is weird to know that it is over for a time-but good to know that it is on my terms. I don't want to go back full time while Blake and is someday siblings (not yet) are young and I also don't want to work part time with just anyone-this year has been a blessing-but it had to come to an end. I thought I would feel more sadness-but right now I am just excited for what is to come, knowing that I am always a teacher...just taking a break for a moment-maybe a long moment. We will see what the future holds-but if I know going into this new chapter that if I continue to trust God for the plan it is going to be a great one!

Morning Run on a Hot Day

It is days like today that I am thankful for 3 things; #1 that I am a morning person, #2 that Justin is not and #3 that I only work part-time. Why you might wonder? Well the combination allows me to go running, before Justin gets up for work, on my two mornings off. If he were a morning person too he would probably be up and getting ready to leave-which would mean no run (someone has to stay with Blake :)) Today was a perfect day for such an activity. I love a morning run on a day that is going to be hot. Today is beautiful, it is the reason I LOVE Seattle-the rain in the winter months allow for spring and summer days to be sunny and green at the same time. I don't know what it is about a morning run, but I have always preferred them. Maybe it is the sweet, crisp smell of the morning. Or maybe it is the sheer fact that I am a morning person. But I really think it has something to do with the fact that I have ALWAYS loved the feeling of being hot and cold at the same time-when I was a kid I would love to wrap up in a blanket in the car when the AC was on full blast or windows were wide open. As I was running this morning that same sensation occurs, my legs that exposed are cold from breeze of the morning air but my face and body are sweating from the heat that is rising. All that said is is a great start to the weekend and a wonderful reminder that God loves to give his children good good things-no matter how simple.

Update!

Pictures and a brief update-sorry for the delay!

Mother's Day 2009!


Kick Kick on Daddy's new toy!

Yummy toast and jam!

Easter 2009

Family after Blake's haircut at a group party!

Hey all! I recently went to a wedding of one of Justin's friends from high school, Congrats Andrea and Tyler!, and a couple people told me that I hadn't updated my blog since the flue! YIKES! So here is my attempt to do a large up date! Well....lets see what haven't we been up to would be a better question:) Blake got his first haircut in March and while it was sad it was good to see the mullet go! He is growing up so fast and now has sooo many words, animal sounds, and a couple of sentences (car go and up pease) and signs (more). Justin got to go to Vegas with some buddies for a bachelor party and we both recently go to go to San Diego (sans Blake) to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary (that is hard to believe!!!). As summer approaches rapidly (I only have 7 more full days and 6 half days!) I am really looking forward to my time off with Blake and time to relax and do some projects around the house-possibly the kitchen this summer. I continue to be in awe of the job of being a mom and while some days I want to pull my hair out, others I just die laughing because of how amazing he is-truly the best job ever! Thanks for being interested in our lives and I hope to be better at this during my time off:)

Flu-eww!

So we got the stomach flu this week. Blake first and then me...currently hoping that Justin escapes its wrath. It (other than the blood draw with Blake at 9 months) was one of the worst experiences as a mom-he was so sick and hurt so bad and all I wanted to do was fix it for him and tell him it would be over soon. A 13th month has some understanding of language and the ability to be comforted but I could just tell he was so confused and just kept wanting it to stop, it was as if he was asking "Why?" This then made me think of the process of growing up and letting your kids go, as he grows up bad things are going to happen to him, this world, and our sinful nature, doesn't let anyone escape it, and some things I won't have answers for, nor will I be able to stop them. I just pray that when we are in those moments I will have the wisdom to look to Jesus and faith to believe that he will help me comfort and love my son the way he needs me to. Who knew that lesson would come in the form of a stomach bug...God is funny!

One year photos

Here are some photos from our one-year photo shoot with Blake. It was exhausting but fun to capture moments in our own home. I can hardly believe that a year has gone by-time has never gone so fast-I everyday am amazed by him and his sweet nature. I am also amazed at how much he is a combination of Justin and I-and everyday fall in love with who he is which makes me more and more excited daily see the man that God will create him to be-I am blessed to be a part of the process.

Snow!

Here are a couple pictures of Blake in our backyard during our Winter Wonderland in the Northwest! Such a cutie all bundled up! He kepts trying to crawl and walk in the snow, then he would face plant-thought that was sooo funny!

It has been a while...

As I sit here and realize that it has been almost three months since I updated this I can hardly believe it! We have had a GREAT holiday season-been quite busy through it all but enjoyed every minute. We celebrated Blake's first birthday, had an amazing snowstorm (about 18 inches in Renton!), got to celebrate Christmas with both sides of our family-so fun! Blake is growing up so fast, I can't believe it, he is walking and talking. His favorite work is "ight" (light) and he says it every time he sees a light, lamp or a switch! He also enjoys a game of peek-a-boo and will hold his blanket over his head and go "ooo ooo" as you say "where is Blake" and then he pulls the blanket down and laughs and laughs! So much fun a 1 year old is! He also LOVES music and will "tell" me that he wants the music on by walking over to our radio and dancing by it...so funny!'

Blake "helping" Mommy wash dishes:)Family photo Thanksgiving weekend.

Picking out the Christmas tree:)Yummy Birthday Cake! I am one!