Why I love my mother

Some stuff I love about my mom- in the order in which I think of them:

-She'll drop anything to help me

-She was the first to share Jesus with me (and every teacher I ever had!)

-She was willing to argue the age of the earth (as based off Genesis account) with the workers at the zoo

-She is devoted to her family

-She perseveres through anything and rarely needs a nap (unless she was up with my baby all night)

-She'll hold my baby all night

-She salts and peppers anything that goes in her mouth

-She can down 2 Route 44 Diet Cokes with cherry and lime on a daily basis (she doesn't, but can!)

-She planted the seed for my love of reading

-She gets 3 layers of butter on movie popcorn and brings her own salt shaker

-Even if she disagrees with me, it doesn't get in the way of her loving me

-She always wants my best, even if it doesn't mean her best

-She wears a smaller size than I do!

-She's a feisty redhead

-She loves my children almost as much as she loves me- and that's a lot!

-She loved and loves being our mom

-She spoils me (and my husband and my children)

-She gets off any phone call when she sees my name on the caller id

-She loves sappy movies as much as I do

-She likes all the same foods I do

-She is as honest as the day is long

-When I sold jewelry, she went to as many of the shows as she could just to spend time with me

-She brought me lunch to school when I was a child and when I taught school

-She loves the Lord

Mom- I love you. You're the best.

Snuggli & Playing with her buddies

I think this one looks like my dad, Bill!


Last night, we went for a family walk- Luke loved the Snuggli and we bypassed the fussy time- yea! Anyway, I felt like super-mom last night b/c I kept sleeping Luke in the Snuggli while I put R down for bed (yes, Josh was more than willing to do either, but I guess I wanted a challenge!)- she kept asking me to "take Baby Luke off!" but I persevered and she successfully went to bed. So, Josh does morning duty with her while Luke and I sleep in- I awoke to see some pretty funny pics! Apparently she saw the Snuggli and asked to put on "Mommy's coat." She wanted to carry Lamby around...how adorable!

I am still amazed how well Rebekah speaks- she even is starting to use "I" correctly- such as "I dropped it" etc. Her vocabulary is amazing, as is her memory for words. I think even more, tho, I love her sense of humor as she plays peekaboo and hides and narrates it all with "Bekah hiding!" She even made the keys hide the other day- she took them and put them in the keyhole in the kitchen door and made me find them, telling me the keys were hiding. I was very amused. Right now she is hugging me from behind while I sit on the couch and saying "I love you, Mommy"- so with that, I am going to love on my daughter!








Rebekah and I have spent some quality time with pals recently! With the nicer weather, it has been nice to play outside! Here are some pics of Rebekah with her play pals...

Playing with Grace at her house...


putting Lamby down the slide...

With Carter and the twins at church...

With Grace and Carter...

Funny Rebekah

As I am catching up on emails, thank you notes, etc., Rebekah is meticulously peeling all her Crayons- at first, I wasn't a fan, but then i thought- well, they're her Crayons, she can peel 'em if she wants to. She is really proud of herself- and she only broke one! I also just came in finishing chewing some M&M's- her nose is so good- she immediately said- want some M&M's!

Yesterday, R thought when I put Luke's carrier down that I was forgetting to bring him with us- she furrowed her brow and said "Bring Baby Luke with us?!" Very sweet- as if I would forget my own son...ha ha- I say that because more often than not right now, I am getting my children in the car, but forgetting essential items, such as diapers, milk, snacks, etc...

This week, I was trying to get Luke down for a nap- i.e. nursing him to sleep at the same time R would be going down- don't judge me, we're in survival mode right now! Anyway, Rebekah was reminding herself to be quiet- she was walking away from me and telling herself, "Quiiiieeet" very quietly- unfortunately, she was looking at me instead fo where she was going and thus tripped over her baby doll, making her faceplant on the wood floor while simultaneously dropping her Halloween basket of plastic toys as loud as humanly possible- I dubbed this episode- "Ironic"

Update on Luke- I am taking back my description of him as mellow. :) He's a little fussy when awake and the past week or so the evenings have been interesting...by interesting, I mean lots of crying for 1-3 hours. Tuesday was the worst- I held him the whole time and tried to feed him and he just cried until he nursed to sleep at 9:30 and slept until 3am. Weds night looked to be the same, so we put him in his crib for a break he cried less in his crib and then slept for a little while, then nursed to sleep. Last night, we did get him to eat when he was fussing, then we put him down awake, but swaddled, expecting the same...he crashed with hardly a peep! I had to wake him for a feeding- granted each evening that is progressively better, the night is shorter, but it's way better than sobbing baby! This morning, when he started fussing again, I swaddled him, put him down, and he fussed for less than a minute, then slept great...so ironic, once again- I was planning on holding my baby and rocking him to sleep and not putting him down for naps, but he seems (right now anyway) to do a lot better in his bed asleep...

Crisco Head

So, Rebekah was suspiciously quiet while I was nursing Luke this afternoon. Always dangerous...I racked my brain to remember what i had left within her reach on the kitchen counter- I knew she had been on her stool when I left her. We had been making cookies, so worst-case scenario, she was loading up on chocolate chips...right? I put Luke down for a nap and to my horror, Rebekah was happily digging into a package of CRISCO!!! It was all over the counter and, yes, her head! She is a lover of butter and butter products, so she was all over it, then insisted I clean it! So, I sneaked in and took pictures of her crisco-head while she napped- she was pretty grubby! So much so that my friends at playgroup asked if shye had just gone swimming or taken a shower. :)

The others were just while we were reading...

Scotland

Well, I decided it was time to update everyone on our future plans. We are for sure going to Scotland- to the University of Aberdeen! Josh will be pursuing his PhD in systematic theology- it should take 3-4 years and then who knows where we'll be! The program starts at the end of September and our visas only allow us to go 2 weeks early. So, the next update is that we sold our house! I love our house and our life here, but since we feel like going to Scotland is the next step, it's really cool to see all the pieces fall into place. We close at then end of this month, but will "lease" back for the month of June. We will move to TX for the summer and get some much-needed time with both our families. My brother and Becky are gracious enough to keep our furniture in their lovely home and store some boxes in their attic. So, we'll ship it down there via ABF. My mom is coming the last week of June to help us wrap things up and she'll fly back with Rebekah so as to save her from a 13-hour car trip. We'll sell Josh's car here to a friend and then drive back with Luke who will be nursing, so that should be interesting! We'll then unload in the Dallas-area and head off to Victoria, Josh's hometown for 3 or so weeks, where we'll live with his parents and Josh will be helping out at his dad's church. The, back to Dallas with my family.

So, that's the plan- bittersweet :)

Trying to post...

I have been trying to post for several days now- hopefully it will work now!

My parents went home Friday morning- dad was here for a few days but Mom had been with us for a month! We loved all the help and visiting time, but I think even she was ready for her own bed and routine. It was a sad departure, but the kids and I made it! :) We packed up, went to the mall, had lunch with Dada, and then went over to Carrie's. Rebekah had a great time at Carrie's! She napped there, then played outside with Isaac and Aaron. They threw rocks into a partially filled canoe- all was great until Rebekah tried to balance on the side of the canoe and fell in! I ran her inside in search of a clean diaper- all out- found one in the car- and then tried Aaron's door to find some shorts and a t-shirt. Carrie was running the older kids to piano lessons...anyway, apparently Aaron had locked the door from the inside- Carrie is good at unlocking it, but I am not. So, I found a pair of shorts in the laundry room (clean) and R wore those. It was at this point that Aaron came in soaked and we found ourselves in the same position! He was not excited that R got his shorts while I couldn't find him any- then I thought of the laundry room and got him a clean outfit, too. Then, Luke was up and as I changed him, he peed on me! A lot of liquids for one afternoon!

It's definitely harder juggling 2 and I haven't even really done it solo yet! I have had Josh around a lot and he is wonderful! He helps a lot, especially in the morning so I can sleep more. Praise him. Tuesday will be my first real day and I plan on running errands and hanging with friends! :)

Rebekah is still cracking me up! She is speaking in full sentences she has heard, such as "I can't see it...look at her running!...I don't like it...etc." I really wish I had a better memory- with these 2 on my mind, I haven't been as good at remembering her funny phrases- something made me laugh out loud this morning and I can't even vaguely recall it! At least she remembers me- I was curious if she would after a month of other people, namely my mom, taking care of her! We have had a good time reconnecting- she is still super-lovey and kissy, which I love! All the more reason to nap Luke in his crib- for safety! Anyway, Rebekah asked for all of her grandparents this morning, but then nodded as she told me they were in either "Texas" or "Dallas." She really does seem to do so much better if she knows where people are and why they're not here.

This morning, while josh went to class and worked on some homework, Rebekah, Luke, and I visited Amanda, Grace, and Sam. Luke was kind enough to sleep the whole time and Rebekah and Grace had a blast playing together, especially outside. I think going outside is what will keep R and me sane this summer as I try to balance mothering 2! Then, Jamie and the twins texted Amanda to meet at the church playground for a picnic and we invited ourselves and had another great time! Rebekah and Josiah had a lot of fun getting dirty together!

Before Mom and Dad left...

R in Aaron's shorts...
Picking dandelions at the park...

Luke (left) napping with his buddy Sam (almost 5 weeks older).

Driving with Grandi...
Mom holding Luke while Amanda holds Sam...


Dad holding Luke- I haven't mentioned that Luke is mini-Dad- seriously, Luke's mouth, round cheeks, and eyelids (strangely enough) resemble my dad...

The Children's Museum

My parents treated us to a trip to the Children's Museum and lunch at the food court this morning and afternoon. It was fun to do something for Rebekah in the midst of all this Luke stuff. Rebekah had a blast in the motion room again- maybe even almost as much fun as Grandi! :) Then, she, Dad, and Josh played with all the mechanical cars...we paid for one, then Josh and Dad rocked the helicopter to make it feel like it was moving- she obviously loved it all! Luke was a trooper and slept thru it all. However, he has had some really sweet awake time today- I don't know who said babies don't socially smile yet, b/c Josh and I got some precious gummy grins today- he really seemed to respond to my face and sounds I was making at him. He really is quite adorable.







Sweet pic- too bad it's not Josh and me!

Family Pics

Here are some various pics of my sweet family! As you can see, they don't both smile at the same time! ;)

Random and disjointed updates:

Rebekah LOVES to kiss on her baby brother...and run up to him and yell in his ear, and sit on him, and play with his toys, and fuss about him being held, and then kiss him some more.

My sweet dad got up at 3 this morning and drove up, so Rebekah got some quality time with Grandi before she went to bed- now Grandi is holding my little snuggle bug, who hasn't moved in 2 hours! ;)

Last night Luke slept swaddled in his crib! I was so excited to not use the carseat! He was fussing in his carseat and I thought to myself, "Self, if he's not happy in carseat, then he can be not happy in his actual bed..." So, I swaddled him as tight as I could, and he just dropped off! Granted it was his worst night in that he was up every 3 hours, which was a first for him, but I still felt accomplished! He also took his long nap swaddled...we seem to have a basic routine- he does whatever he does at night, goes back to sleep in the early morning for 1-3 hours, is up for a longer while, then takes a longer nap over lunch and R's nap (while I sleep :)), then either goes back to sleep or is up again...may not seem like a pattern, but kinda predictable...I'm trying to encourage more awake time during the day so as to encourage more asleep time after 10pm. We'll see. As exciting as it is to see him bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, 11pm is not when I want it :)

Oh- Luke had his "2-week" appt today- he's really 1 1/2 weeks old- he was 9lb 2oz (75th %), 22 in (95%), and his head was 50%. It was strange having a baby over 50% in weight (RG was 9 lb 1oz at a month)...he is still a little jaundiced and is breaking out- not his best look, but still super-cute, of course! He got a prescription for his goopy eyes and some vitamins for his color. He'll get an ultrasound in June to check out his kidneys to make sure they aren't dilated as they were in-utero.

(You can even see our genius boy suck his thumb!)

Luke Duke

My brother has officially nicknamed our sweet baby "Luke Duke"- I am delighted because I was deathly afraid of him being dubbed "L.T." since Billy calls Josh "J.D." (apparently his East Texas name). Anyway, those of you who know me know that I am not the hugest fan of initial names, so Luke Duke was a big upgrade. Evidently, Billy didn't know Luke's middle name, so L.T. wasn't even in the running. Go figure.

So, Luke Duke is doing great! A visiting nurse came by yesterday and Luke was 8 lbs 15 oz, so a mere 2 ounces away from his original weight! He is a little bit jaundiced, but not too bad. The nurse thought he was super-cute and such a big boy- still makes my heart swell that we produced such a big one... :) Luke is sleeping well, especially in his carseat- we put him in it in his crib for night- he slept from 10:30-5 last night! I didn't, of course- kept waking up, checking on him, and waiting...he has slept most of today, but I guess that 's what 8-day-olds do. :)

Rebekah is doing well, too. Fortunately, she is well-taken care of with grandmothers. Nana had to leave today and there were some tears sadly. Poor thing- she's going to fall apart when it's just me. Rebe is so precious- we are still marveling over her mastery of the English language and her memory. She is still a little song bird and repeats almost anything, including endearments for herself, such as "sweetie" and "sugar bear." She loves to kiss Baby Luke, but we are trying to train her not to be too rough with the baby or mess with him too much. It's torture trying to teach her not to sit in his seats.

The following are all with Nana (Josh's mom).

The apple may not fall far from the tree...

...but two apples can fall on opposite sides of the tree! In the womb, it seemed as if Rebekah and Luke were similar due to the excessive amount of kicking I received. I have since revised that sentiment...Rebekah and Luke are very different! While she was never still, he is very mellow and chill. The doctor said he was the only kid who preferred to sleep thru his circumcision rather than take the sugar pacifier! Anyway, as long as he's being held, Luke will sleep all day and night- did I mention he has to be held? Also, very different from his big sister- once she was sleep, you could lay her on a sidewalk and she'd have been fine...not this little guy! Much like his sweet cousin, Riley Jane, he seems to have a radar for when he's away from human contact! This has proven especially challenging at night since we don't share a bed with him. The first night home, Mom and I split the night holding him and last night Mom held him all night! I fed him at 11 and we had to wake him at 5! That would be great if he had been in bed! ;) We did discover today that he seems to crash pretty hard in his car seat, so that's the plan for tonight...baby steps, right? Sleep aside, Luke is so precious!!!!! We are smitten for sure. He has sweet little dimples and such a sweet face!

As for Rebekah, she is doing really well. She was not so into me nursing Luke- but once she got to see how it all worked (and asked " Bekah eat it?" twice- no!!), she did substantially better. She loves to kiss Luke, particularly if he is crying. Very sweet. She even remarks when "Luke eyes open!" Very observant. Mamama has been reading "Madeline" to her- a fave of mine when I was little- after a few days, she has already memorized various parts of the book- she seems to recognize pictures, as well as hear the rhyme and therefore knows what's coming.

We are doing well- it was high 70's today, so half the town was out and about, including us! We went to the mall and took 2 walks- wonderful!! Samson was delighted to get to go out with us, too!

Okay- check out our precious children!!!!







Look at that dimple!

First bath- hated it!