all things Finn.

his irresistible button nose.

his mysterious dimples.

his beaming, round eyes.

that smile that makes me melt.

his fuzzy hair.

his teeny, tiny toes.

those kissable lips.

We're a little obsessed.

 

Brothers, Week 7

Finn kinda loves his big brother.. especially when he reads a book upside down.. :)

and just to remember the massive size of Leyton's feet.. oh boy.

 

parenthood.

parenting is hard.  holy cow.  I know plenty of people warned me, but there's nothing like being in the middle of it.  Or, at the very start of it!  Newborns are all tough, in their own sweet little, helpless way.  They cry, they don't sleep, all the normal things that are difficult.

And then there's the two year olds.  Leyton's reaching the 2 year mark and has definitely launched us into full blown parenting.  In a way, it's exciting and thrilling.. having the opportunity to shape and mold our kids lives.  But that's also a scary, daunting task where I often feel completely inadequate.  Our church is in a series about parenting right now and it couldn't be more fitting.  Last week, the pastor impressed on us not only the importance of raising our kids with strong Christian values but he also elaborated on engaging constantly during these "training" years of your child's life.  I think I'll need to be reminded this on a daily basis coming up here.  this is not a test, there's no training anymore, this is the real thing!  Especially with a newborn, there's the tendency to check out.  To say, he's fine, he can do that.. who cares.  But, Leyton is a sponge right now.  He is soaking up every move we make and every word we say. (and repeating them!)  Which makes this such an important time to teach and train the way we want and the way that God has directed us!

Leyton is a real gem lately (and no, that's not always a positive thing)  He does push us and makes us work.  It's the little stuff (no kicking, no laying on your brother, no throwing, no shoes on the couch, oh.. and no kicking), and the more "important" things (apologize when you are naughty, say please, be nice, you must eat all your food).. whew, it's a lot of work!   

But, like I said, he's a sponge!  Side note about his smartness.. we pulled up to a bus yesterday, he read the stop sign, points at it with his cute finger and says "S. T. O. P."   what?!?  I'm not going to lie, I started crying!  It was a mini-lesson to me that he is listening, soaking everything in right now and all this we are doing will pay off.

All this to say, pray for us.  For our boys and for our direction with this parenting thing.  I do know that we have been equipped with exactly what these boys need and no one else.  So, we can do this!  I'm up for the challenge.  I know the reward will be immense.  

Brothers, Week 6

 The brothers edition, week 6 is the hilarious Valentines picture.. but I thought I'd show you what Leyton and Finn look like at the same age!

There's definitely different features, but they sure look like brothers!

Finn, 2 months!

Our sweet Finn, 

You have really grown up these past few weeks into a real baby boy!  You have filled out in your cute little body, in your face and have a little more weight to ya!  You are so interactive lately and make adorable noises when we stare at you.  You are such a happy baby...  (thank you thank you!  I needed a break).  You are very adaptable and don't say much even when I have to stretch your feedings or naps a bit.   You will nap anywhere, but you prefer your swing, car seat and our bed.  But, we gotta kick you out soon.. says your dad. :)

You are quite a relief for me from the busyness of your brother these days.  I love to steal away those moments and just look at you, and get that big beaming smile from you.  ahhh you love your mommy!  I'll take it..

We love you more than you can imagine sweet boy! 

"Children are a gift from the Lordl they are a reward from him.." Ps. 127:3

Happy..

Valentines Day!

with much love from our little family to yours!

catch up..

I totally forget to post these pictures of our awesome trip to the zoo with the boys!  Watson (who's about to bring boy #4 into our lives..), myself, Leyton, Zakary and Finn journeyed to the Minnesota Zoo with free tickets that Hilary won!  thank you thank you Hil!

We had so much fun wearing ourselves out my chasing around these boys.  Someday maybe we'll have some girls to bring, and they'll enjoy actually watching the birds and looking at flowers.  But these boys loved the shark, the penguins and the jaguars!

 

typical Leyton fashion.

 

adorable.

Brothers, Week 5

He's playing the Finn guitar.. as he should.

what's in a name.

Finny.  Finny boy.  Finnster.  Finnski.  Finnegan.  Finny finn.  Finn.

We love you.

Valentines love.

My crafty side came out with these Valentines Day mailboxes!  I saw the mailboxes in the $1 section at target and thought it'd be fun to do for my boys!  The stands are from Ikea, I printed out some silver letters and added a couple heart stickers on the sides.   I'm still thinking of spray painting the stands silver.. but, another day.

Starting 5 days before V day, I'm going to leave a little present in the mailbox for the boys everyday to open when they wake up.   It was fun picking out the presents too.. don't worry Luke, you're included :)   I know, Finn really won't get anything (besides milk and sleep and love) but I couldn't leave him out.. he'll have to jump on board next year.

 

 

Leyton, 23 months!

Dear Mr. Leyton,


You are one month away from being 2 years old!   I can't believe it... I can't believe that you're almost 2 but sometimes I can't believe you're not older.  You act SO old these days and if we're judging by your size.. I feel like your seven!  You talk so much, you can say tons of words so clearly and you'll try everything else.  You love to repeat what I say and can string together small sentences!  You love to say things like "come on daddy!".. "big truck".. "it's all gone.." and lots more little phrases.  You have the cutest little memory and will remember things like the balloon episode.  Where you're balloon went up in the sky and that whole night and next day, all we heard was a rambling of "uh oh.. all gone.. boon.. up.. moon. buh bye boon."  It was adorable :)

You love to read books and can spend quite a while looking at all the pictures and saying the words.  You love to color, draw on your chalk wall and are pretty good at identifying your colors (you're moving beyond everything being yellow!).  You love to play hockey and anything with a ball.  You're crazy about animals (wild animal theme party coming up!) and can make tons of animal noises and say their names.  Your favorite movie is Madagascar.. you'll yell "marty!" when you want to watch it and can dance along with the crazy animals (roll it!).  You're getting pretty good at saying the names of your family members.. although Stephanie is a tough one :)

You can identify some letters and numbers and try to sing along the alphabet song!  You still have crazy concentration when it comes to lining up your toys.. it's just hilarious.  You are a wild man and love to run and jump all the time!  You still sleep like a champ but get super wound up before you crash.  You love to pray before we eat and before you sleep and have recently volunteered to pray.. your rambling is adorable.

We love you like crazy little man, you are going to be an awesome older brother and oldest child in this family.  We love being around you and you bring such a light to our days!

 

 

Brothers, Week 4

I think somebody is warming up to this idea!...

he wanted to keep holding the baby.. I promise I'm not a bad mother :)

on my mind.

My heart is heavy today.. with joy and with sorrow.  It's been one of those days, of reflecting and praying.  There is so much to be grateful for in life.. so many blessings that the Lord has so generously given us.  But there's also a lot of.. heartache.  and just complications.  that make life what it is.

First it's the babies.  I love getting on facebook and seeing all the pregnancy/baby news among my friends!  It's so exciting to get the news of a new life quickly approaching.  This is the basic run down of my friends (and this isn't a complete list, just the most recent and upcoming.. there's been so many!) 

First, my friend Watson is anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Levi.  He seems to want to make his appearance early.. but just stay in there little buddy!  (maybe until March?) :)  This is my sweet friend with her man Zakary.  I can't wait for them to be a family of 4 and experience this new whirlwind!  (sure, whirlwind is the nice word for it!)

Then, there's Johnna who is due in June and is hosting an adorable "gender reveal" party this Saturday to let us know what this baby is!  ahh!  And my friend Mary, who is due in May (hurry up May!! surprise baby coming!).    There's quite a few baby's due this summer.. it's going to be a wonderful summer!

and the baby's that just happened.. my friend Lindsay had sweet little Jada, with some complications.. but God has been SO good to that family and has answered incredible prayers!  And my friend Lizzy had baby girl #2.  miss Penelope.  (she makes adooorable babies.. so keep em comin!)  But maybe we'll learn to not have them so close right?   And Allison recently had little Ruby!  

Like I said, those are just the recent, and only a few.  There's tons of tons!   Oh how I love this stage in life.  See what I mean.. joy!  my heart is exploding with gratitude and joy for what God has done.

But then there's the other side of life.  The hard stuff.  The stuff that you don't think we should have to deal with, but there's no escaping it.  And God knows that!  He is completely faithful through it all. 

The short story is.. a fellow teacher or mine at Liberty has battled cancer for 7 years now.  Chris is a young guy.. so full of life and wisdom I can't help but envy.  He has so much light that points directly to Christ and I am lucky to know him for the brief time I did.  He is leaving this world.. possibly today.  He, his wife Emily and their 2 year old daughter Erika are facing challenges that are beyond understanding.  But they are also rising above it, crossing this river and glorifying the Lord in incredible ways.  See, that's why we're here!  That's why God brings us through this..  life is not fair, life doesn't make sense.  That's one lesson that I hope I can bring to my children.. but that through it all God is faithful to deliver us.  There will be sorrow, but joy triumphs.

The verse that has been laid on my heart today as I think about Chris. "I have completed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge will award it to me in that day - and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on His appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8

That's what life is about.. to complete well and finish the race!   Apologies if this is random, but such is my heart today.  Until next time :)