Parenting is like riding a roller coaster

Parenting is like riding a roller coaster: Sometimes it's thrilling and other times terrifying. Often times it's both. There are highs and lows. Sometimes you want to scream and sometimes you want to laugh. And the ride is most certainly affected by the mood I am in (which is also directly affected by the amount of sleep I have gotten - or lately, lack thereof).

I realized long ago I'm happiest when things go as planned. I'm a planner. I'm highly organized. I also realized more recently (after I had children) that things will not go as planned. Often. And I need to be prepared for that, meaning I need to adjust my mindset and expectations accordingly. Life happens. My three year old will decide to put my eyelash curler in her cosmetic travel bag and I will not be able to find it, causing me to be late to work. My newborn will decide to sleep all day and be up all night. My husband will fall asleep with my our daughter during bedtime stories because he's exhausted too.






My house will be messy and I will have the unavoidable urge to clean it even though everything says I need I sleep when the baby sleeps.








I can spend an entire day with a sleeping baby on my chest and not feel guilty because I did not shower.



My daughter will get sick in the middle of her dance recital. And life will go on. And we will laugh about most of these things later.

And of course all the high points are worth reliving again and again. These moments that make me realize how much love is in our home, how blessed we are as I look at the family we've created and I know these moments won't last forever either, so I must soak up every single one while I can. Seeing my daughter as a big sister and knowing how special the bond between siblings is.











Watching my husband bond with his little man.






Experiencing all these moments with our son all over again- the peace of watching him sleep and his facial expressions, noting similarities in personality and physical appearance to other family members and appreciating differences too.














I'm loving this ride we're on...

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Our little guy

On October 17th we finally had our little guy! I'm still adjusting to the fact that we have two kids!!
After carrying this baby for almost 41 weeks, you'd think I'd be adjusted to the idea. It's still surreal. It's amazing, but surreal.
Although we chose not to find out the gender of our baby, my little girl and I thought for sure it was a girl. I already bookmarked the matching Christmas dresses I was going to order for my two daughters:) Gotta rethink that plan. Our little man won't be rocking a dress... When he was born and the doctor said it was a boy, I did ask "are you sure?" He is indeed a boy and I can't believe how much I love him.
My little girl and I are both guilty of referring to him as a 'her' on occasion. Oops.


I can't believe how much our little guy looks like his sister. They both arrived into the world 5 days past their due date and were the exact same size (weighing 7 lbs 13.2 oz and 20.5 inches long). He was born at 8:48 am and her at 8:49 pm. It's hard to believe our daughter was ever that small, but she was- exactly.
Our little girl, shortly after birth:



Our little guy, shortly after birth:




Seeing daddy with his son makes my heart happy:












And watching my little girl as a big sister makes my heart swell. She already learned how to write and spell his name.




















A friend of mine said it perfectly: "you wonder through your whole pregnancy how you will love another child like your first. Then they enter the world and you wonder why you ever wondered."





We named him after his grandpa (my husband's father) and uncle (my brother). Two people who are a very important part of our family life.




Our little guy in the family cradle:




My mom is here to help for a few more days and we are adjusting to life at home as a family of four. And big sister, who wasn't sure what to think of this brother (since she was expecting a sister) is such an affectionate little helper and it makes my heart burst to watch her with him and hear her prayers: "Dear Jesus, thank you for our meal and my brother and our family all together." Bless her heart. We've been blessed with two little miracles.

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Fall family day

Our little girl has been begging to go for a nature walk and collect leaves, but we had to wait out some rain. We were blessed with a beautiful day last Sunday so after church we headed out with our nature bucket, ready to fill it with leaves.

I helped with the low ones and daddy helped reach the tall ones:












We collected a bucketful!




We also took a drive on country roads to enjoy the fall colors. We also enjoyed the singing coming from the backseat-a sound that never gets old.
















Then we came home and painted some projects including a picture about the trees.

And put our leaves on display.






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Anticipation

It’s a strange feeling, waiting for an unknown date to arrive.

We are planners. Our vacations, adventures and visits from family and friends are often planned months in advance. It means there is sometimes less room for spontaneity, but we always have something to look forward to. I’m a week away from my due date and each day for the last two weeks, I’ve woken up thinking, today could be the day we meet our little one. And every day my little girl asks if she gets to be a big sister. My response is that I don’t know for sure. Which is followed by a “when, Mom?” It’s hard to count down to an unknown and explain that to a curious three year old who is SO excited to be a sister!




Our bags are packed, our house is cleaner than it has ever been, more organized that ever, projects have been completed, our freezer is stocked, the nursery is ready. All this thanks largely in part to my obsessive and extreme nesting and a lot of help from my husband. I’ve never felt more caught up than I am right now with everything. Knowing full well, this is just in time to fall behind again as we spend our time admiring, holding and caring for our little one. And I’m completely ok with that.

We are truly enjoying each day as a family of three before we embrace this next little bundle and grow our love to a family of four. We’ve squeezed in fun trips to the pumpkin patch, waterpark and family dates. We keep making memories, just the three of us, never knowing exactly when the last day will be before we meet our baby.








My husband and I went on a date to play bingo tonight (perhaps our last) and are enjoying catching up on movies together, having down time together at home, another rare event for us.






All the while, we are enjoying the NOW and waiting with excited anticipation for what is yet to come…


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