Somebody loves Sweet Potatoes!

I thought since Gracelyn has been eating Rice & Apples (baby applesauce) the past week or so I would try some sweet potatoes. She loved them and devoured the entire jar! This girl can eat...she kept grabbing my hand and putting the spoon in her mouth as if I wasn't feeding her fast enough, haha...silly peanut.

She loves to talk. She has always been a talker since the day we brought her home but man she is so loud talking sometimes Jeremy and I just can't believe it. In fact, she was just in her exersaucer having a grand ole' time talking away and woke her brother up from his nap. That's ok, it was about time for him to wake up anyways.

Here's a few pics of Gracelyn eating her sweet potatoes....I can't believe she's mine, she's SO beautiful!!

My babies:)

I am just so in love with these kids of mine! Ethan is growing up so much and always copying everything Jeremy and I do, it's so adorable. Gracelyn is just a sweet thing and always has the biggest smiles for me in the mornings when I go to get her. I love them to pieces and love being a mom!

Here are some adorable pictures I took of them yesterday. The last one is my favorite. Ethan's face is so precious in it. He really loves his sister, it's so cute to watch.

Ethan kissing Gracelyn

The kids sitting on the couch in their jammies watching Imagination Movers

Ethan being his sweet self and lovin' on his little sister


They are starting to get better but are still sick. Ethan's nose has finally stopped running but he still has a cough. Gracelyn's nose is still running a little and she's still stuffed up at night. I can't believe how long this cold/cough has dragged on, almost a month! They are both in good spirits and I'm having lots of fun with them.

Ethan and I sing and dance to "Oh Happy Day" at least once a day...we've been putting worship music on everyday, he just loves music! After we chose his name when I was pregnant with him we read Psalm 89 (A psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite) and I loved the first two verses and got them painted on his Noah's Ark painting. They say, "I will sing of the Lord's unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens." I always wondered before he was even born if he would be musical or like music (both his parents love it!) and so it's kinda neat that he does. It's too early to say if he will be musical at all but he definitely loves listening to music and dancing.

Gracelyn tried baby food (apples) for the first time this past week. She wasn't so sure what to think of it at first but she got used to the sweetness a little more and seemed to eat some of it. She is the most beautiful little girl and I just love cuddling with her. She is still very attached to me and doesn't like it when I'm out of sight for more than 10 minutes, ha! Makes life a little hard for daddy at times but I usually take her with me wherever I go. Anyhow, she's so sweet and I thank God for giving me the little girl I always dreamed about. Here's some pics of her tasting her first apples :)





On a mommy note, I lost another 2 lbs:) I have now lost 12.5 lbs and I have just 5.5 lbs left to go to hit my goal! I am hoping to get there by Christmas. With Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up it may take a little longer:) Once I hit my goal that will be the weight I was before I was pregnant with Ethan so that will be really exciting for me. I'm quite proud of myself:)

Well, Ethan is ready for his nap so I gotta get going. Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our two blessings.

Momma Keri

Psalm 34

God pays attention to those who call on him. Whether God offers escape from trouble or help in times of trouble, we can be certain that he always hears and acts on behalf of those who love him.

David (in the Bible) pretended to be insane in order to escape from King Achish. I think this Psalm is so wonderful because God loves us so much and protects us from harm all the time and we don't even know it. He provides for us, he rescues us in times of trouble and he hears our prayers. It is so wonderful to know Him. He's definitely rescued me in times of trouble. Knowing Jesus brings so much joy and happiness and freedom....freedom from fear, freedom from the devil's lies, the list goes on and on. What a privilege it is to know Him.

Psalm 34 is what I read in my devotions this morning (I know, what gave it away right?:)) and I thought I would share it with you because it's so good!

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness; let us exalt his name together.
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth.
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous not one of them is broken!
Calamity will surely overtake the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

I know it's long but man it's good stuff! I hear my little man talking so he's awake and my day is about to begin. It's always good to get in the Word before your day begins!

Keri

3 weeks and counting...

Seriously the kids have been sick for 3 weeks and don't seem to be getting any better. The cold has now moved into Ethan's chest so he's been coughing the last few days. Both of them have still been congested, and both of their noses are still running like a faucet. Gracelyn has not been able to sleep in her crib for weeks now because she is so congested and can't sleep on her belly (yes I know, they aren't supposed to sleep on their bellies but it's the only way she sleeps good) so she's been sleeping with me in the extra bed in our room.

It's now 3:30 am and Ethan is up...he was crying and crying so I went and got him....poor baby is just miserable with this cough and cold. On the couch he goes, watching Imagination Movers and letting the Motrin kick in. This is pretty much our routine when he is up in the night not feeling well. Usually once the show is over he is ready to go back to bed and the Motrin seems to have kicked in which helps. He most likely has a molar coming in too so I think that's why he is up crying. Poor baby.

We just had them both at the doctor and he said it's viral and just has to run it's course. Ugh. The course has been almost a month, just crazy. So, please pray my babies start feeling better...I know their are people who have really sick kids so the common cold is nothing to complain about...and I am not trying to complain...just wanting them to feel better.

Gracelyn had her follow up appointment with the skin doctor yesterday. Her little spot hasn't changed and in fact he said that it looks like it's already on it's way to going away because it's starting to develop some whiteness around the spot. He set me up another appointment in 6 months (she will be almost 1 at that point, how crazy!) but he said if it still looks the same I can just cancel the appointment. He doesn't think I will need it and that the spot will go away quicker than it does with most kids so that is good news and I'm very thankful it's nothing serious.

Speaking of our sweet girl, she is now a roly poly:) She's been rolling from back to stomach for weeks but hadn't figured out stomach to back until yesterday. Now that she has it down she is rolling all over the place...across the room and everything...can she seriously be that old already?? Before we know it she'll be crawling....and then it will be time for another baby ;) (Yes, that is a wink!)

Anyhow, just thought I would blog since I am up at 3:30 and have already seen this episode of Imagination Movers about 100 times:)

Much love to all,
Momma Keri

Gracelyn's 4 Month Stats

Gracelyn had her 4 month check up today. She is doing well and hitting all the milestones she should be so that was good to hear. Here are her stats:

Weight: 13#13oz - 50% tile
Length: 25.5" - 90% tile

She is definitely a petite little girl, very different from her big bro:)

We gave Gracelyn some rice cereal for the first time tonight...she mainly spit it out...wasn't a big fan...but that's always how it seems to go the first time they try it. I will try here and there a couple times this week and I'm sure she'll start to like it a little more.

The kids both still have nasty colds...going on almost 3 weeks now! The last few days they both have had constant runny noses and both are congested and Ethan seems to be getting a cough or croup as of this morning. Poor babies...it's that wonderful time of year. The doc checked them both out, no medicine for either of them...it's viral and just has to run it's course. I've been feeling under the weather the last couple days also...so we are all just laying low and chilling out at home.

We went to my parents over the weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday which was nice. My mom made us all filet mignons, mashed potatoes, salad and her yummy torte for dessert...it was all SO good! I love my mom's cooking:) Thanks mom!

Tomorrow is the last music class session but due to the kids being sick we are not going. We only made it to 2 out of the 4 classes...such a bummer...and a waste of money :( Oh well, that's how life goes sometimes.

Nothing else going on with us...just praying my babies start feeling better soon. They both have still been in pretty good spirits for being sick but the nights with Gracelyn have been hard as she has trouble sleeping with being so congested.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life:)
Momma Keri

My Beautiful Little Princess

Our sweet baby girl is 4 months old today! Can you believe it? I cannot believe she has been here that long already, wow, time is going by too fast for me lately. I have mixed feelings about my babies growing up but am blessed that they are growing up healthy and happy!

Gracelyn is doing great. She's still getting over her cold so she wasn't sleeping real great the past week but last night was better and she only woke up once to nurse so that's good. I can handle one nursing in the night, she goes right back to bed afterwards. So much different than her big brother was at this age, he was an eating machine!

She is a pretty happy and smiley baby...she does seem to be really attached to me so that makes it hard for daddy at times when mommy has to go grocery shopping, etc. I went last night and Jer said she cried the whole time. The minute I got home and took her from him she immediately stopped crying. Crazy. I am a stay at home mom and she's mainly only nursing so I am her security and food source so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

She goes next week for her 4 month check up and also has a follow up appt. with the skin doctor for that spot on the back of her head. I will be sure and post her stats after the appt.

Until then, let's go down memory lane:)

Ethan's going to be a big brother!

It's a GIRL!!!

40 weeks and ready to pop! (She came 5 days later)

Just born! June 9, 2009

One Week New

6 weeks

Today ~ 4 months old



She is such a joy and blessing to our family. She loves watching her big brother and really loves all the kisses he freely gives her daily.

I am BLESSED.

Love,
Momma Keri

My Beautiful Baby Boy

2 years ago today Jeremy and I found out we were going to have a son. I will never forget that day. I can still see the ultrasound monitor in my mind and the tech saying, "It looks like a boy" and I said, "It looks like a boy or it is a boy?" HaHa. Jeremy was really excited about having a son and so was I. I will admit I was kinda wanting a girl at the time but I am now so glad we had our boy first. Let's take a stroll down memory lane...

After 6 months of trying, we are going to be parents!


It's a BOY!

38 weeks pregnant and ready to pop! He came a little over a week later.

Just 33 hours old ~ His Birth Announcement Picture

6 months old, eating sweet potatoes for the first time :)

13 months, eating his first chicken dinner

16 months, a week after little sissy was born.


And you can see his current picture on the blog. He is so much fun and I just love him so much. He really is getting older to us, we see it all the time in the little things he does. He is so precious with his little sissy...almost every morning when he wakes up or when he wakes up from his nap he says, "Dah...Dah....Dah" which means Gracelyn in Ethan language and he always wants to see her and know where she is. He gives her kisses all the time, just walks up to her and kisses her. It is so sweet and reminds me a lot of the way my brother and I were when we were little. I hope Gracelyn grows up to adore her brother as much as I adore mine...hence why we named Ethan after my brother, Ethan 'Craig'.

I love having a son and enjoy watching him grow up. It does make me sad at times to see just how big my 'baby boy' has gotten but I am so blessed to have a healthy son. He brings so much joy into our lives and I thank God for him all the time.

We will go down memory lane for Gracelyn tomorrow....even though her "lane" isn't so long :)

Love to all,
Momma Keri

Oh Happy Day!!

Class, Colds and Creative Memories

Ethan and Gracelyn both have icky colds right now so we didn't go to music class yesterday. I'm glad we didn't as this weather can't be good for them right now (It feels like winter, what happened to fall?) and I wouldn't want them to pass germs to any other kids. We have 2 more weeks of music class so hopefully he will be better by next week so we can go and he can mess with the CD player again, ha!

On a exciting note, I won a Creative Memories kit (scrapbooking materials) from someone else in blogger land who was doing a giveaway to raise money for the adoption of their daughter. It's worth $87 and totally something I will use as I am a huge Creative Memories scrapbooker. The album is lavender so it will be perfect for Gracelyn's 1 year album, I was pretty excited to win :)

I can't believe it's already October...summer definitely flew by with having a new baby in the house, I feel like I didn't get much sun this summer...guess there's always next year....or a vacation to Florida :) Speaking of October, I will be looking for the kids costumes in the next couple weeks...I went to Walmart but wasn't too impressed with the selection or prices...I got spoiled last year with finding Ethan's skunk costume for just $5 and it was so so cute. See?



Other than the kids and their colds we are doing good. We have so much to be thankful for and I feel so blessed to have 2 precious and healthy kids and a husband who I am in love with.

Until next time...
Keri

Ps. I lost another 2 lbs. this week (so excited!) so now I only have 7.5 left to go to reach my goal :)