Happy Birthday, Judah!!!!

So, our little boy is officially two!  Wow, that seemed to go by really fast.  I remember his first days and weeks home from the hospital feeling as if everything was going in slow motion.  I remember feeling as if those sleepless nights would never end.  I also remember thinking that I would probably look back on those early weeks and think that I was silly for thinking that they dragged on!  Well, it's true.  My sweet little guy is two and those days seems like a distant memory.  I always have mixed emotions about birthdays because they are such a celebration of life and another year of God's blessing, but they are also symbolic of the fact that time moves on.  Things change.  My son is one year closer to going to school, or becoming more independent, or....graduating from college.  Okay, okay, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but I guess my point is that every year Judah turns a year older is a reminder that, although he is our son, he is not ours forever.  He will grow up and become a man, independent of us.  He is ours for a season, and it is a gift from God to cherish these moments that we have with him as a young boy under our care.  So, birthdays are a sobering reminder to me of this reality.  They are also a reminder of God's wonderful goodness to us.  We are so undeserving of the gift that Judah is to us, but God has given him to us anyway.  Through challenging parenting and toddler moments, I am often reminded of the extreme privilege that parenting is.  How could God entrust me with this?  Yet He, in His goodness, has.  Thank you, God, for entrusting me with such a gift.  Help me to never think that I can do this without You.   

On a lighter note, here are some birthday photos of the birthday boy.  I really do love to celebrate birthdays.  This year was more low key since I am due with Judah's little sister, but we still had fun.  We celebrated his birthday early with my family since we weren't sure when little sister would arrive.  Here he is having fun at Grandad and Grammie's house.

Perhaps we could have gotten away with just getting him a baloon for his birthday.  He loved this thing.

 Let's party!

 My dad partaking in the birthday fun.

 For me?

 Trying to blow out the candles.  We still need a little work on this.

 Yummy!

 Opening presents with daddy.

 Even Uncle Abe was able to come and celebrate!

   
For his actual birthday, my mom and I took him to a pet store to "play" with some of the animals, since he really seems to like animals at this stage.  Then, we went out for a birthday lunch.  And, of course, we had cake and ice cream after dinner to celebrate! 

Judah's birthday door.

 His reaction to me barging into his room in the morning singing Happy Birthday.

 The birthday boy!

 Yay, I'm two!

 Enjoying a birthday lunch...

 and a birthday cookie.

 Excited about the Easter book he received from Grandma Rowe!

 Opening up his birthday present from mommy and daddy

 Just what he wanted.

 Testing the merchandise...he's a natural.

 Judah's friend, Cora, even joined him for a little birthday ice cream and cake!

and 39

I'm a couple days late on this post, but here I am at 39 weeks.  I don't have much to add except to say that we are so excited to be meeting our little girl any day now.  I know I always say this, but it is truly so crazy to think that I have only five days left until my due date.  I was telling Eric that I still feel like the idea of adding another child to our family doesn't feel real yet.  I mean, I know it's happening, but I have no idea what it will be like or what to expect really.  Will she be a good sleeper?  How will Judah adjust?  How will we do with taking care of her and toddler?  Will I be able to manage everything?  How will I handle sleep deprivation? 

Well, I'll be finding out soon enough. 

Days Like These

Today is just one of those days. ..not the worst day ever, but not a great day either.  Judah just came down with a cold and is whiny/crabby conveniently only when I tell him “no”.  And when he is sick, somehow his listening skills go out the window, too.  And then there is me.  I feel like I could sleep for a week!  I’m going to go ahead and blame it on being less than two weeks from my due date, but I am really dragging.  A crabby/sick child and a tired/impatient mama are never a good combination.  I need reinforcements!  Okay, I don’t NEED reinforcements, I want reinforcements.  What I NEED is a good healthy dose of God’s perspective, patience, and love, which I am currently running low on.  Days like this are actually kind of good I guess, because they help to remind me of why I need a Savior.  They remind me that I actually can’t do everything right on my own, and that I need to rely on Him for the proper responses.  I need to rely on Him to love selflessly and show true patience.  My strength can’t come from me; it has to come from Him.  I am ashamed to admit that so many days go by where I don’t remember that.  So, I guess now that I think about it, I should be grateful for days like these.  After all, bad days remind me that I am desperately in need of a good God. 

My little helper

In recent months, Judah has become quite the little helper.  I have noticed that he sometimes puts his toys or books away without being prompted.  He also sometimes finds “garbage” lying around the house (tissues, wrappers, etc.), and will throw them away in the garbage can for me.  I'm always surprised that he somehow always knows what needs to be thrown away and what does not.  Just the other day, he saw me loading laundry in the washer, and decided to come over and “help” me by handing me the articles of clothing until the basket was empty...totally unprompted.  I couldn’t believe it!  Then, after that, he saw me unloading the dishwasher and proceeded to help by handing me all the dishes individually (top and bottom rack) until I put all the dishes away.  He even pushed the racks back in and closed the dishwasher when we were done.  He cracks me up.  As moms know, it takes twice the time to get something done when your toddler is helping, but I didn’t mind at all.  I’m just hoping that this is a good sign of things to come.      

38 weeks

Here is my 38 week picture.  I am so blessed that I still feel pretty good for the most part.  I have been getting more tired lately and it has become a little more difficult to bend down/get up and down and do things like that, but I think I was a little more uncomfortable with Judah, so I really can't complain.  Don't get me wrong, I would be more than happy to go into labor at any point now, but I am grateful knowing that I could feel worse.  I can't believe that in two short weeks I will be holding my precious little girl! 

Top Six

As I think about how my life will change in just 3 short weeks, I can’t help but think about all the things I am looking forward to with having a little girl.  So, I thought I would share my “top six” list!  Here it is in no particular order:

1.       The big brother-little sister dynamic:  I think it is so neat to see older brothers with their younger sisters.  There is something about that relationship that seems so endearing, and I look forward to seeing how Judah looks after his little sister and how she looks up to him.  I hope to teach Judah that God has given him the privilege of being a big brother to his little sister, and part of being a big brother is taking care of her and protecting her.  I hope to teach our little girl that God has given her an extra measure of love and protection through her big brother and that he, not only watches out for her, but is also someone that she can talk to when she needs a listening ear.  I know this won’t be reality at all times, but I hope to teach them to genuinely love one another as they grow in their relationship.   

2.       Playing with girl stuff:  Now, I’m not complaining one bit about playing with balls, cars, and trucks, but let’s face it-I’m a girl!  I have fond memories of playing with dolls, dress-up clothes, play jewelry, beads, etc., and I look forward to playing all these things with my little girl!

3.       Pink, pink, pink:  Really, is there anything else I can say about this?

4.       Bows and dresses:  Yet another advantage to having a girl would be the dress-up aspect.  I have had lots of fun dressing up Judah, but there are many more options with a girl.  You have your dresses, bows, headbands, tights, and leggings, not to mention the plethora of shoes….but I digress.  

5.       The mother-daughter relationship:  I think every daughter knows how unique and special her relationship is with her mother.  I have been blessed to have a wonderful mother, and I have been on the receiving end of that relationship for 32 years!  Now, I will have the privilege of developing this special relationship with a daughter of my own.  I consider this a huge blessing, and I look forward to lots of shopping sprees (within budget, of course), painting nails, late night heart-to-heart talks, and relating to another girl in the house.   

  

6.       Being a role model:  I think this is more daunting for me at this point, but it is a responsibility that I know I have, especially as a mother to a daughter.  I will be the one she looks to when shaping her view of what a mother is, how a Christian woman lives, and how a wife should relate to her husband.  This is an area that I need to trust God with daily, since I know that I cannot be a perfect role model, and I will have many (and I repeat many) moments where I fail.  That being said, I consider this an honor, and I look forward to how God shapes her and me during the process.      

37 weeks

Woa baby!  Here I am at 37 weeks.  I'm still feeling pretty good with the exception of some Braxton Hicks contractions here and there.  It's so hard to believe that baby girl could be here any day (or week) soon.  I also included a super sweet picture of Judah kissing my tummy.  We'll see if he still feels that affectionate after she's here. 

Ramblings of a Mother

I have proud mommy moments from time to time, when I just feel so grateful to have Judah for my son.  It has nothing to do with my parenting or really anything specific that he is doing at a particular moment; it’s just a general feeling that I experience at seemingly random moments.  So, I thought I would take a moment to write down some of the things that make him so endearing to me (I might need to come back and read this when he is a teenager!).  I first need to say that I think God has blessed me with one of the cutest little boys I have ever seen.  Now, before I sound like I am bragging, I will a) acknowledge that I am his mother, so I think he is adorable no matter what, and b) make a disclaimer that I am not implying in any way that I have anything to do with his cuteness-he is a true masterpiece of God’s.  I realize that this may sound superficial, but his big blue eyes, long eyelashes, the way he smiles, laughs, and crinkles his nose, are all part of the more obvious things that brighten my day and bring a smile to my face.  I think I can thank God for that, don’t you? 

Cuteness aside, I am also grateful for Judah’s personality.  I am grateful for who God made him.  I love his go-with-the flow mentality, and his laid back demeanor.  This is another blessing to me from God.  I love his energy, curiosity, and all his boy-ness.  I love the small every day things about him that are so silly-like how he waves hi to strangers in the store even when they aren’t looking, or how he looks at himself in the mirror and laughs and laughs, or how he gets so excited to say “mama” or “daddy” repeatedly.  I love how he is careful to pick up his books and put them away after we have read a few, how he thinks it is hilarious to walk around with his blankets over his head, or how his huge smile is so contagious even when I am in a bad mood.  I could go on and on, but I digress.  All of these small things add to the special moments that make me feel so blessed to be his “mama”.  I feel like I am on a wonderful adventure discovering all of the aspects of his personality and who God made him to be.   

Okay, I think that is enough rambling…..for now.