Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

We stayed home for Thanksgiving this year, since we plan to travel a lot over Christmas. And Gramma & Grampa were able to come down and spend Thanksgiving with us. Well, with their grandkids :) It's been a great visit so far!

Gramma got read a new book to Nathan - one that lights up and plays music. He loves it!

And Grampa got to spend lots of time with Faith while Gramma cooked Thanksgiving dinner. He may just get revenge on me posting this picture... but it's too funny not to share :) Dare I add that this was shortly before Faith "christened" him with her first diaper blow-out!

Jacob carved the fried turkey from the youth fundraiser, while Nathan watched in awe.

Then we all sat down for a big dinner - fried turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, cranberry & apply stuff, rolls... you'd have thought there was an army to feed! Nathan loved all the food - and had 3 helpings!!! Notice Zoe, Grampa & Gramma's dog, under the table. She didn't even get one helping :)

After Thanksgiving (and Survivor) it was time for pumpkin pie with Gramma! Yummy! And there's Zoe again, still feeling left out!

Then, what's the best thing to do after that big meal?? Snuggle with Momma! Then head to bed after a busy, and fun day with Gramma & Grampa!

There's so much to be thankful for this year! Our great God who has provided for us, protected us, and blessed us in unimaginable ways. Our wonderful family - both those in town and away. My incredible husband who is patient, loving and sold out for Jesus. Our healthy toddler, Nathan, who keeps us laughing - and praying. Our perfect little newborn daughter, Faith, who amazes me and teaches me more about our God every day. Our house. Our health. Our friends. Our everything.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Blessings

My good friend Amy was in town a few weeks ago - she recently moved to MO and we miss her! She has a baby photography business called Blessings, in which she specializes in black & white. And while she was in town, she asked to stop by and take some photos of Faith. I was not about to resist that offer!! Her photo DVD came in the mail Monday. Here are some of my favs:
















Monday, November 23, 2009

One Month Old!


Faith is a month old today!! Wow, where'd the time go?? I figured I'd better start writing down things about her so I don't forget! It amazes me how much I already forgot about Nathan when he was this age. And she's already growing up too fast!

* Faith rarely cries - unless she's hungry. I feared we'd have a colicy baby since Nathan was so good. But Faith is such a content baby! We are blessed! I pray she always has a contented spirit as she grows older.

* She doesn't like to be swaddled. I should have been able to predict this... when she was in my belly, she'd fight against anything that pushed on her. For instance, when I laid on the bed, if I lay on my right side, she'd kick my right side as though to say "get that bed out of my space!" I'd turn, and then she'd kick on my left. She doesn't like her space to be limited. I have a feeling she'll never change and as she grows, only fight for more and more freedom.

* She won't sleep in her crib. Nathan slept in his crib starting on the 3rd day he was home. But Faith won't lay flat happily, unless she's being held. She likes the swing and car seat, since she's not laying flat. And so she sleeps in her car seat. We just put it in her crib :)

* She has never fallen into a typical every 2, 3 or 4 hour routine. But she has her own style. She's in an every 4-5 hour routine at night - sleeping for about 4 hours at a time, then waking to eat. And in the mornings and evenings, she's in an every 2 hour routine - wanting to eat every two hours. Then in the afternoon, she'll go for 4 hours once - and God has granted me the blessing of those 4 hours overlapping the same 3 hours her big brother naps! Well, at least a few times a week. I know that she'll soon change up her own schedule and make me figure it out again, but for now I know what to expect each day.

* She's a double sneezer, like big brother.

* She has more hair than Nathan did at birth, and it's dark brown - but I don't think she had a genetic chance at any other color.

* She has the same color eyes Nathan had at birth, too - dark blue/gray. I'm sure they'll turn brown, just as Nathan's did. Time will tell.

* Unlike Nathan, Faith has yet to develop any birthmarks or pimples on her face. Nathan had tons of tiny white bumps on his face, a "stork-bite" on the back of his head and then later developed 2 darker birthmarks on his shoulder and at his hairline, on his forehead. So far, I haven't found any birthmarks on Faith. The only odd thing about her skin is that it's constantly flaking off on her feet and hands. But as the new skin grows, that is going away.

* Faith has long fingers, long feet and long toes. But it doesn't look like she has flat feet like big brother and daddy. But she certainly has daddy's long toes!

* She's still so tiny. Friday she weighed 8lb, 3oz. She's gaining about 1/2 pound a week. So next week she should reach Nathan's birth weight. I look at 0-3 month clothes and can't fathom that she'll be big enough for them in just a matter of weeks. She is just so precious and tiny - it's impossible to resist letting her fall asleep on your chest.

God amazes me daily. That He knew Faith before she was born. He knew her name before we did. He knows what she'll be like as she grows. He knows the plans He has for her life already. And He created every little fuzzy hair, every little wrinkle in her skin, everything about her. He made my daughter and I just pray that I never cease to go to Him for help in raising her to know Him and to live up to her name - to be a light, pointing other's towards faith in Him alone.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Toddler Tuesday

During dinner Sunday night, he made his own hairstyle with his messy hands. And he was hysterical!

But then came dessert... chocolate pudding:

Needless to say, he keeps us in stitches!!
I love and adore my messy toddler!

On a slighty related topic, Nathan has started doing a "fake smile" for the camera. It cracks us up! When the camera's flash is charged (a red light comes on with a beep), he thinks he needs to squint his eyes and smile. It's too funny!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wanna-be

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary. It seems like so much more time has passed (in a good way). In 3 years, God has blessed our marriage and our family in mighty ways! How could it have all been crammed into just 3 years??? Makes me wonder - all the more - what God has in store for us in the many years to come!

Jacob, my sweet husband, got me roses for our anniversary. And this afternoon, while Nathan napped, I played with my camera, a sleepy baby and one of those roses.

Yes... I'm a wanna-be photographer, I guess. I admire the giftedness of friends like Amy, Jason & Stacy. I'm certainly not them! But I had fun for a little bit today; and oddly enough it was almost exactly a year ago today that I played with that same camera, and a not-so-sleepy little boy in the fall leaves and posted pics here. So I guess it's only fair that I post some of my favs of Faith today, too!











Happy 3rd anniversary, honey! You have a gorgeous baby girl! How thankful I am for her, Nathan & you!