Yesterday

Yesterday was pretty sweet. First of all, it rained, which is a rare occurance at our house. Margaret Mary was so happy to play in it. Here she is singing her raindrops song, where she imitates raindrops falling to the ground. She is actually starting to sing the words of the songs with me, instead of just her own version of the song. It maks me realize how big she is getting. (Speaking of singing, today is the first day she danced at storytime. It was pretty awesome seeing her come out of her shell. Durring one of the stories, the librarian said "hooray!" and MM, who knows that word from storytime with her papa, threw both hands up in the air and yelled "Hooray!" It was too cute.)


Second, Jason had to work late and so I was by myself with the kids at the hardest time of the day. Margaret Mary was being really cuddly and sweet and was asking to be held. Henry, on the other hand, was melting down and was needing to be held and nursed. What is hard about having two under two is that the first child is asked to grow up a lot faster than normal. She is still a baby and many times has to have her requests to be held denied. Last night she was asking so sweetly that I couldn't deny her. I put Henry in my mya wrap on the front, and her in the ergo on my back. It actually wasn't that hard and both the kids were happy. I took the following pic to show Jason and can't believe how awesome Henry looks in it. He is such a goofball.


Third, when Jason got home Margaret Mary wanted to cuddle with him all night. They sat outside on the front porch watching the rain and talking. Margaret Mary told Jason about her day "park fun friends excited" and just sat on his lap playing with his earlobes (a weird thing she does). Once we had put the kids down for the night Jason told me with tears in his eyes, "I hope I can remember this night forever." I love how these two love eachother.

Dancing in The Minefields

So Jason and I found our song. It fits us perfectly: the age we got engaged, buying the rings from a pawn shop, etc. With everything going on, life has been pretty stressful around here, and it is songs like this that make us stop, smile at eachother and say "this is good."

"Well I was 19, you were 21, the year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young, but we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
(That’s what the promise is for)

Well “I do” are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin
‘Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found

So when I lose my way, find me
When I lose loves chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands till the shadows disappear
‘Cause He promised not to leave us and His promises are true
So in the face of this chaos, baby I can dance with you

So let’s go dancing in the minefields, let’s go sailing in the storms
Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields, and kicking down the doors
Oh, let’s go dancing in the minefields, and sailing in the storms
Oh, this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
That’s what the promise is for"

http://vodpod.com/watch/4027813-andrew-peterson-dancing-in-the-minefields-official-video

Getting Better...

I think these pics showcase our house MUCH better. The lighting is a little off, but I like them.

Some better news...

Henry is up on his hands and knees and rocking!!!



His eyes are so expressive! Jason keeps saying he feels sorry for the kid of ours that ends up with his squinty eyes. :)

The First Of Many Hiccups

When the realtor told us our house was online, I ran to the computer to look at our listing. When I saw it, my heart dropped. Our house photographs horrible. Esp the outside. Our driveway makes it look like our house is right off of a sidewalk, and you cant see any of the flowers we planted. The realtor is going to post the rest of the house pictures today and I am praying that that makes the house look more attractive. Jason and I tried to take more pictures from better angles to send the the realtor, but out pics came out horrible as well. Jason is going to call her today to talk about posting a picture of the patio first or something. Our house does not jump off the page when looking at all the listings. In fact, it looks like it doesn't even belong in the price category we are asking. Very sad and very stressfull. I am hoping our realtor has a good idea. It is also very sad to see the home that we LOVE, look so poor on the internet.

It is Done

We cleaned, we scrubbed, we planted, we power washed, we took down all personal items; we worked HARD to get our house ready for the market. Its not that we had a ton of work to do, we just didn't have any free hands to do it with! Sometimes Jason and I would just stare at eachother, the weight of needing to work weighing on our shoulders, with fussy, clingy (but incredibly cute) children crawling all over us. It was very stressful. But it is done. We met with the realtor today and signed the contract, she took pictures and the house will be officially on the market tomorrow! I dont like uncertainty of putting our house on the market. There is no guarantee it will sell and you have no clue when people will want to see the house. I am very anxious about the whole process. Thankfully, this verse was the Gospel Reading at Mass on Sunday.

Matthew 6:25-34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

God is Good.

Here are some pics of Jason and the kids while he was trying to work in the yard.
Margaret Mary was trying to pick the flower heads off of the Marigolds that Jason was planting to spruce up the yard. We finally gave her one and she stuck the stem on her finger. That didnt seem to stop her from going after more...

She's almost two

Margaret Mary is growing up so fast. Just the past couple of days she has started to imitate every word that we say. It is really cute and amazing how much she is able to comprehend. She is also starting to tell us things. For example, today she looked at our wall and said "no pope!" We had taken down our picture of Papa Benedict (the Pope) to put our house on the market, and MM noticed and was voicing her concern. Amazing. She has also been getting scared of everything! We have been talking to her about Jesus, and how she can ask him to help her be brave. She says "Jesus, helpie. brave" it is so cute. She will also point to her heart and say "Jesus, you, (which means Jesus is in me). It is so sweet to see how Jesus is already romancing her little heart, and how much she is able to understand about him.

On another note...

MM loves to sling everything, here she is slinging her stuffed animal dog.
Her sling is just a old shawl that I tie in different ways to keep her baby/animal in place. It is a workout for me because as soon as I sling the baby to her front, she takes the baby out and asks me to sling it to her back. Once I do that, she asks me to sling her baby to her front again. It is cute for the first five minutes.


We have been going to storytime at the library the past couple of weeks. They sing songs, dance a little and read some books. I thought MM would love all the singing and dancing and jump right in but she is a bit shy. She tends to just stand and watch all the action. I think she is just taking it all in; she has never been in a room with so many kids before. The library is PACKED out for storytime!


Ahhhh, nothing is sweeter than a sleeping baby.

BIG News!

We are moving to Denver! Jason is being transfered to Denver to head up Fraternus on the west coast and also to get his masters at The Augustian Institute. I am so proud of Jason and excited to see what God has in store for our family there. We are moving late April, so please please keep us in your prayers as there are soo many things to get done before then. This weekend we are having a yard sale to get rid of a lot of our stuff and then the house is going on the market Monday! It is hard not to feel overwhelmed, as having two under the age of two is already a handful, not to mention packing and the stress of having the house always ready to show. But we are up for the challenge and are so thankful for this opportunity for Jason to go back to school! Please pray that the house sells fast and for peace in a hectic time. St. Joseph, pray for us!



MM, ready to "go!" The girl loves going. She even gets upset when we are stopped at a stop light for too long!



Henry still isn't a fan of the carseat, but we have found that giving him a plastic water bottle to play with GREATLY boosts his mood. Silly Henry.

Maggie

Margaret Mary has lots of little friends who she adores, but she LOVES this little girl named Maggie. She talks about Maggie ALL THE TIME. When she goes outside, she asks if Maggie is out there. When we say a friend is coming to play, she lights up and guesses "Maggie?" Just now, at nap time prayer, MM asked to pray for Maggie. What makes this so funny is that everytime Maggie comes over, Margaret Mary goes into greedy mode and yells and screams if Maggie touches any of her toys. She wont let Maggie get close to her and grabs all the toys that Maggie tries to play with. I don't understand her facination with Maggie because she rarely seems to have fun with her! Last play visit, it wasn't until the last twenty minutes that they started playing together, aka, chasing eachother around the house. I don't know if it is her size, that her name is fun to say, or if MM just has a really hard time sharing her toys, but MM loves her some "Maggie." (Note: she does play with Maggie MUCH better at Maggie's house. Maybe it is because she doesn't have to share any of HER toys. We are thankful that Maggie is such a trouper.)

On a different note, Maggie's family is very close to our family, and we just found out that they are moving too! We are so thankful that we are both on our way to exciting new things, instead of one being left behind.

Some of Henry's favorite things...

The Ergo. Yes, this is my official endorsement. Henry lives in this thing! Here it is with the hood up to protect him from the sun.



Sleeping on Mommy.



Being Goofy! Smiling and laughing at EVERYBODY! He already has some self-proclaimed girlfriends, which I am totally opposed to. :)

Some of Margaret Mary's Favorite Things...

And I am so happy my parents got to experience them with her!

Running. She twists her little hips when she runs; it is really adorable.



The Beach: chasing Birds, being chased by the waves, playing in the sand.





Helping in the Garden.

Me, When Jason is out of town...

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Henry's First Food...Apples?

So, Henry reaches for EVERYTHING. I must add that he reaches for everything much more fiercely than his sister did. Henry is very strong and has no concept of the word gentle. The scratches all over my body prove that! The other day he was eyeing his sister's apple. He was being very fussy, and in an attempt to calm him for just a min, I got him his own apple to hold. His eyes went wide as he tasted the apple's juice and he just smiled and smiled. We haven't started solids yet, but I can tell this boy is gonna be an eater.

P.S- Henry is on the move!

Polka dots and Tutus

A friend of ours turned one last week and Margaret Mary was thrilled and excited ("exci-ed") to go to her birthday party. The theme was polka dots and tutus which was super cute.

MM loved wearing her tutu, and for the next couple of days after the party, insisted that she wear hers everywhere (see last pic). Jason was out of town, so a friend came to pick us up. We put all the kids in the back seat, which was really special to see because both of us moms have gone through infertility. We rejoiced with having her back seat full of blessings!



When we got to the party, MM had a great time playing with her friend Ava. Ava is so sweet to her. SHe holds her hand, plays with her, shares her dolls, etc. MM is starting to really love all of her friends and is constantly begging for playdates by saying "friend, fun, play!" Even when the playdates consist of screaming and hogging toys, she still throws a fit when her "fiend" has to leave.




Here is MM the next day pushing her lawnmower, "momo" down the street in her tutu.

Papa Love

MM's favorite place to fall asleep is on Jason's chest. She can go to sleep by herself, but Jason and MM both treasure their cuddle time so much that when Jason is home, this is how she wants to sleep. Yesterday when Jason was at work, she wanted to go to sleep with her baby doll. When I gave it to her she pulled it right on top of her chest and went to sleep. Too cute. She also always asks to sleep with papa's blanket (the one I made him out of his old t-shirts) during her naps. MM loves her some papa.



As for Henry, this is how he sleeps:



Henry loves him some mama!

Some sweet pics...

MM and papa are making their mad face! Henry is staring at the ceiling fan. :)

"hi!"

MM gives a big energetic "HI!" to everyone she sees. I want to punch all the people who dont say hi back. She is VERY outgoing.

Falling in Love with Eachother...

The past few weeks, Margaret Mary and Henry have become infatuated with eachother. Henry coos, smiles and waves his arms each time he sees her, and she imitates his coos and smiles every time she sees him. There are times when Henry is fussy, and as soon as he sees her he stops crying and cracks up. It is really sweet to watch their relationship grow. Each time we leave the house, she always asks if Henry is coming too. :)

All she wants to do is dance...

she must have my dancing genes...the girl LOVES to sing and dance. You can see that Henry might have it in him as well. He laughs the hardest when i sing and dance for him. i dont know if that is a good thing or a bad thing...



sorry no caps...typing while nursing...

All about Henry

Henry had his four month check up last month. This weekend he will be five months! it goes too fast. Last month He weighed in at 16 pounds 5 ounces (75%), was 25 3/4 long (80%), and has a head cir. of 44 1/2 cm (92%)! He is a very alert baby (which makes it super hard to put him to sleep), can roll all over the place and is almost crawling! He reaches for everything and has started teething, which makes him pretty cranky sometimes. He is still our goofball and he loves loves loves his big sister. He still loves to talk!