Naomi: 13 Months

A few words about this little girl:

Adventurous.
(Note that you don't see her brother anywhere around. :)

Independent.
(Since about two days after she started walking, she has no use for holding anyone's hand. It just slows her down.)

Determined.
(In everything)

Swirl.
(I just love the way her hair swirls around her little head :)

Smiley.

Goofy.

Toothy.

I have been listening to some parenting podcasts lately and the pastor said, "You can argue with me... but I won't change my mind... a child is born with a temperament and they leave the world with that temperament." I saw it in Ben, but now having two and seeing the contrast between them has been amazing. This little girls is sweet, kind, nurturing, loves dirt, INDEPENDENT, knows-what-she-wants (my mother-in-law said she hasn't seen a child so young know exactly what they wanted. Should I be scared?? :) Also in the same parenting session he said that a strong will can be a Gift from God, if it is directed toward the right things... and I pray every day that this little girl will use her passion for Jesus!!

I think we have reached the max frustration point... I remember hitting it with Ben too... when the child can walk, climb, run, jump, know exactly what they want, and NOT BE ABLE TO TELL YOU! :) One of these days all the grunts and sqeaks and squeals are just going to turn into words and sentences and they probably won't stop. We have few words... all done, daddy, doggy but that is about it so far...

She is now up to THREE teeth. She is in 18mo-2T clothes, although she is thinning out A LOT... she has only gained 6 lbs in 9 months... she is up to 26lbs. :) She loves fruit, some veges, eggs and meat but it not a huge fan of bread/carbs in general (when you cut out wheat and rice there isn't much left :). And she doesn't like the same thing twice. And going back to the knows-what-she-wants if she wants a drink she will NOT take even one more bite.

She loves shoes (taking them off and putting them on again) and to hug and kiss on her stuffed animals (but has no use for baby dolls), stack blocks and LOVES water... showers, Splasheville, kiddy pool, the sink, a puddle... you name it. She is adventurous, and always up for something new!

We love you Naomi Grace and are so thankful God gave you to us!!!

Dirty Little Kids

This past weekend we went camping for the 2nd time since purchasing camping equipment. I do think that sometimes "vacation" is just another way of saying "parenting without a crib, high chair, and toys." But we still managed to have fun. :) We went to Davidson River which is just about 40 minutes from door to door...er... campsite. Andrew's brother Jonathon and wife Becki came and we had a great time with them... staying up late talking, making smores and playing Uno by lantern-light until midnight. :) We also took the kids to play in the river, and Naomi had a BLAST yelling at all the dogs that walked by (but freaked out if they got too close).

This chair proved to be IMMENSELY helpful. Until the last day Naomi couldn't quite figure out how to get out, and she would sit for an hour or more with some crackers and her sippy cup just walking and watching and enjoying being outside. It was like a little play pen only better. :)

Ben enjoying his sandwich in Daddy's "gorilla" chair. :)

Kidlets by the fire.

Who needs toys when you have empty water jugs and gravel? I can't tell you how many fights I broke up when Naomi decided she wanted BOTH jugs. :)

We Are Family!

I love being from a big family, and I love that Andrew comes from a big family too. We both have 4 siblings and have added 2 through marriage now too! I can't imagine life without my brothers and I love keeping up with them, and living life vicariously through their experiences. I love the chaos (although I was morbidly embarrassed about it as a kid, I felt like an army any time we went some where, and always trying to keep them orderly and in-line. :). I think having a big family has made me a better, more self-less (although I have a LONG way to go, but I don't want to imagine what I would be like if I was an only child) person. And I am reminded of this every time I see pictures of my family. I am so thankful for them!

I love this picture. It is Ben with his Great Grandfather (Gwampa Bill). He came to visit with my parents at the end of April for Naomi's birthday.

Grandpa with me and his two great-grandkids!

4 Generations.

And more family! Andrew's brother Jonathon graduated from Culinary School last week, and we were able to celebrate with him... despite some crabby children. :)

The three older Z children. Andrew wasn't thrilled about the picture, but I wanted to prove that he was there. (He spent the majority of the graduation pacing the halls with a cranky 12-month-old. :-P)

Plans

We all have plans - some small (I plan to do laundry today) and some big (I plan to get married). It is hard to live life without them. And yet at the same time, as Christians, we know that we are not in control of our days and it is God who controls it all.

In the last 3 years we have had many many plans, many of which didn't happen. We planned to sell our house and build a smaller one, we planned for Andrew to find a great job during grad school... we DID follow through with a few... such as finishing grad school and finding a job that used his degree (even if it did take 2 years longer than expected).

At first when things didn't go according to plan I panicked and cried a lot (granted, I was pregnant a lot of the time), but over the past few years I have found a greater rest in our Creator and knowing that His plans are good. Not saying I feel that way instantly, but there is a shorter time between panic and rest. :)

In early March we found out that we were expecting Baby #3, only to find out a week later that it was something called a molar pregnancy. In a week we went from excitement and talking Baby to words like Cancer and Blood Tests and Hormone Levels. To make a long story short we lost the baby and due to the type of miscarriage getting pregnant is not an option for at least a year. We are so thankful that my hormone levels have plummeted from 88K in the middle of March to 4.3 last week, (...meaning that it looks like we are hopefully in the clear for the possibility of cancer) but such a huge change of plan was quite a shock.

We are not sure what the next few years hold when it comes to having children. Adoption has always been something we have felt called to, and planned to do... we were just planning to wait until we had another child or two. Perhaps God is moving up the time line. For right now we are just greatly enjoying the two amazing-crazy-healthy Blessings God has given us and resting in a God who knows the plan for our family, even when we can't see it.

Bumpersticker of the Day

TREES ARE THE ANSWER

Cake Yummy Cake

Who are you? What are you going to do when you grow up?

You can tell it all at one-year-old by how they eat their cake.

Okay, perhaps not that much, but it was so much fun to watch Naomi eat her cake and compare her to her brother on his first birthday. Ben didn't (and still doesn't) like to get dirty. Naomi is all about dirt and getting messy. Here is some proof. :)

Naomi's dairy and wheat free Spelt Carrot Cake!

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"This purple stuff looks interesting..."

"It is more than interesting, it tastes awesome!"

"Now what do I do?"

"Stick my fingers in and wiggle them around? Okay!!"

"Oh man, this stuff is good!!"

"Mom, can I lick the plate?"

A job well done.

A sweet sweet mess.

"Just in case I didn't get in EVERY crevice." Clean up. :)

Naomi: ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!

My baby is One year old today. I can't believe that a year ago we had never met her. This blonde, spunky ball of energy. We had a little birthday party with family and had a great time celebrating this little girl. :)

ONE!

Should I like her?

Kisses.

Happy Birthday Dear Naomi!!

Some of our party guests...

Some of our more normal party guests...

Naomi with her new toy from Uncle Ryan & Auntie Mers. It is blurry because of her speed.

I pray this is the first of many many many cakes I can make her. This year has gone so fast... despite that fact that I have missed a lot of sleep! :) This little girl has gone from 8lb 14oz to over 24lbs. From 0-3mo clothes to 18-24mo. From zero to two teeth... with another about to pop. From lying down to running, crys to laughter and "gaga" to "daddy." She is precious and we are so thankful for the ray of Sunshine she is in our lives! We love you baby girl!

Easter!!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Here are a few pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes... not one good picture but a number of mediocre ones. :) At least we documented the day, right??

Our Trip to VA/MD/DC :)

We took a bit of a whirlwind trip up to DC a couple weeks ago, as I mentioned before. We had a great time seeing friends and family and helping my brother settle into a new apartment, since he is now stationed at Walter Reed (YAY for him being driving distance away). Although my pictures are by no means complete here are a few from our visit:

How do you keep an almost-1-year-old from screaming on the Metro??

Metroing was not the highlight of the trip...

Cherry Blossoms! We got engaged 9 years ago this weekend... now look at us. :-P

Ben & Naomi LOVED the attention. Here Ben is with our friend Julia!

Naomi was SO proud of herself for climbing up on the rock bench... as you can see. :)

Water!

Uncle Micah was a HUGE hit despite this facial expression by Naomi. :-P

Muscles with Auntie Sarah!

Hide and Seek with Sarah at the FDR memorial. :)

Hiding with Julia!


We wish Sarah lived closer!

Ben checking out FDR.

Uncle Micah all dressed up from a day at work! What a drag to have to dress like this to be a nurse in the army! No Scrubs! (Which I think would be the BEST part about being a nurse. :)

A few highlights not pictured:

• Finding Micah a perfect apartment the first day
• Buying him a queen mattress and strapping it to the top of my honda accord
• Catching up with LOTS of college friends at a baby shower and alumni event
• Introducing Ben & Naomi to Mike & Sarah's dog Maggie
• Playing Angry Birds while waiting for the movers to show up (4 hours late)