Zoo lights

This year we also went to see the Zoo Lights early on with our neighbors.  We parked right up front and had not lines or anything to get in.  It was a perfect night, just a little cold.  The train was my favorite part...we missed that last year because of the line.  Josiah loved the lights and seeing the "animals" at the zoo.

Santa

Last year we didn't get to see Santa because the lines were too long by the time we went.  So this year, we went before December even rolled around!  I mean, really, who knows the difference?  The kids did surprisingly well, no tears or fusses or anything.  And we got some pretty cute pictures.

Retirement

My dad retired in November and we had a little surprise dinner celebration for him.  My brother and his family flew up from California as a surprise and we all met at Riverview for dinner.  It was a fun weekend to be together and can't actually believe that my dad won't be going to work anymore!!  A whole new way of life is ahead for them!

Birthday Boy

Somehow two years have passed since our sweet little baby boy was born!  What an amazing two years of learning, growing, laughing, changing, and having fun with this amazing kid! 

He got a drum set for his birthday.  Yes, somehow we agreed to letting my parents get him this set.  He has a crazy obsession for drums and so we went ahead with it.  I won't brag about my kid or anything, but he kinda knows what he's doing with it too!  He loves drumming along and then, "ting", the little cymbal.  Sometimes it's not so little of a sound, but he does really well.  He's learning that there are times when the baby is sleeping that he doesn't get to play and so he'll just tap his sticks on the floor instead! 

We celebrated his 2nd birthday with family and a few friends.  My grandma made him a tractor cake which he loved with his whole heart.  As soon as we finished singing "Happy Birthday" he pulled off the tractor, licked it clean, and started playing!  Happy Birthday, sweet boy!!

Growing!

I loved my baby dolls when I was little and am so excited to have a real, live baby doll that is my daughter!!  I kind of LOVE dressing her up, thinking about her outfit, coordinating her hair bows...it's fun having a little girl!

This top picture never fails to make me laugh.  All was well with Josiah holding Arianna...until the BEAR hug!  Just check out her eyes!  And her smile always comes easily and fills my little heart!  The bottom picture was of her amazing outfit after we went shopping one day.  I forgot to throw in an extra outfit, she had a poo accident, and all she could wear home was Josiah's sweater.  Oh well, it was almost my sweater so at least it fit a bit better!

Dedication

We had the privilege of dedicating our kids at church. Since we don't do baby baptism (believing that baptism is a personal choice to make when older) we, as parents, are dedicating our little ones to God.  That means a lot in my book.  It means that I'm trusing that God has gifted us these two treasures for whatever amount of time that is. It means I can rest easy, knowing that God holds and loves my babies even more that I do (is that possible??!!).  It means that we are promising to raise our kids in God's path, praying over them all the time, bringing them up to be God-fearing, God-loving, God-following children.  So it was great to do that with our church family, hoping they will hold us accountable to all those things and help us love on our little ones too.

Little Helpers

 

We have our fair share of little helpers around the house!  Josiah LOVES tagging along to any activity, especially if it's outside or using grown up tools!  He really wanted to be outside with Ariel the other day, but Ariel had to get the lawn mowed...so I tossed them the backpack!  Josiah thought it was the best thing ever and I'm afraid I may have started a new habit for the Springtime.

 

I love that Arianna can be in the Bumbo chair now.  I put her near me when I'm cooking (but not TOO near) and tell her all about what we're making.  I can't wait to continue watching her grow by my side, talking and cooking.  I might just be daydreaming about it, but I look forward to what a momma-daughter realtionship will be for us. 

October recap

Somehow it became October.  Arianna was growing so fast...and I couldn't find the pause button!

We made it to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin.  Of course, the little wheelbarrows and animals and tractors were WAY more exctiting to Josiah though.

He has a huge obsession with tractors.  He was thrilled to be able to get on some tractors and pretend to drive around. 

We were headed to the Dominican Republic over Halloween so we made sure to get some pictures of the kids in their costumes.  Josiah was less than loving his tiger costume on and Arianna didn't know what was happening cause she slept through it.  Besides all that, we got a few pictures.

Remember me saying how hard it was to get both kids to be happy and posed for a picture together??  Here is proof of yet one more failed photo shoot!

And so we finished out October as we woked out our daily patterns of life.  How great it was to feel like I was on top of things and new what I was finally doing rather than trial and error!

September recap

The most impossible photo shoot is to get a 2 year old and 2 week old to cooperate at the same time!  We did the best we could and occasionally got one to work out!

Josiah continued to do well with Arianna.  We tried doing things that were special for him.  He had so much fun painting all over a paper left over from our photo shoot for Arianna's newborn pics.  He loved painting himself more than the paper, but it was a fun activity and he continued playing with it for the next few days!

Arianna continued being the dream baby.  Once the pain of breastfeeding subsided, we got into a great rhythm of sleeping/eating/playing.  Breastfeeding is again one of my favorite things times with Arianna.  It's something that only the two of us get to share and no matter who else has her, if she's hungry...she always gets to come to me!  It was super painful the first few weeks but thanks to some gel pads and biding my time, we got things all worked out. 

Much to my denial, my little man needed his first haircut.  His sweet curls had to go as it was getting a little out of control. Ariel tried with the clippers but his baby fine hair wouldn't cut well, so we moved onto the scissors.  He didn't even seem to notice we were cutting it!  He watched some Baby Einstein and ate cereal while we said goodbye to his baby locks.  Well, kind of goodbye because it might be in a ziplock in his baby book now!

Josiah started really getting into his little sister.  He loved helping her do things like bathe and diaper changes and important things like teaching her how to call grandma.

We continued to see Josiah fall in love with drums to a crazy extent.  He goes to a music class weekly where there are songs and dancing and an instrument time.  He has loved it and grown so much through it all.  It'll be interesting to see what his musical side turns into as he grows.

We took advantage of a nice afternoon to show Arianna Multnomah Falls for the first time.  She was truly thrilled.  She slept most of the time!  We enjoyed going out as a family of four and learning how it all works!

There is almost nothing sweeter than watching a sleeping baby.  They get such an amazing glow while they're sleeping that a camera just can't quite capture.  I could watch this little princess sleep anytime!!

August recap

Arianna's first days home were filled with lots of sleeping, eating, and adjusting to a new way of life.  She was such a perfect little baby, waking just a few times at night to eat, only occasionally wanting to play at 5 a.m.

She had her first check up and came through with shining colors. Josiah loved seeing the doctor check her and use all the "tools" he has in his play set.

Josiah has been an amazing big brother.   I anticipated the change to be much harder and was prepared for the worst.  He had a few moments, don't get me wrong, but it went well overall.  We tried to keep life as normal as possible for him.  The hardest part for me was not being able to pick him up or run around with him because of the c/section. 

We did eventually fall into a routine of new life.  It was harder than I thought it would be going from 1 to 2 kiddos.  Blessed beyond words, yes, but difficult for me to figure out how to do it right!  I always felt like I was neglecting either child when I spent time with one of them.  Eventually I came to realize that it was ok to spend time with one while the other slept or played alone.  I got over my guilt and realized things are going to roll a whole new way with 2 kids.  Josiah learned how to read books with me while I nurse Arianna.  Arianna loved her swing so I could focus my attention on Josiah.  I learned to balance both and we fell into step.