Mr. Independent

Cale is so independent.  It's exciting and sad all in the same sense.  My oldest baby is growing up.  He can give himself a bath, get out of the tub, dry off, and put his own pjs on.  He puts his toothpaste on and brushes his teeth.  He puts his clothes, socks and shoes on in the morning.  It's pretty cool.  Love you Cale-but don't grow up too fast on us my big little man! 

Aiden's words

Aiden has an amazing vocabulary.  That boy amazes me!  He really knows how to say no-man when that kid doesn't want to do anything, he doesn't want to do anything that is for sure and he will let you know about it.  And he is not a quiet kid when he wakes up in the morning (usually between 5:30 and 6:15).  He immediately starts yelling momma or dadda.  And let me just say that when it's that early in the morning, this momma is not excited.  But thinking about it now as I type this it makes me laugh out loud cause it's pretty funny.  He also says squirrel bye-bye all the time when he is at our sliding glass doors in the kitchen.  Many times there are squirrels in our backyard and in the neighbor's backyard.  He loves to watch them and when they go away into a different yard, this is what he always says.  He loves the apps on the I-pad.  His word for I-pad is "I-pai".  He thinks that animal tails are poop so he anytime he sees an animal tail he points and says poop.  We try to tell him it's a tail, but he insists on calling it poop.  The kid sings his own version of ABC.  About the only coherent thing you can hear is LMNOP and the rest is just to the rhythm of the song.  In general he is just a pretty stinking cute kid with his sweet dimples and curly strawberry blonde hair in the back.

Watch out though when he doesn't get his way.  This kid can have a fit and a temper tantrum to top them all!  Whew-heart's my eardrums sometimes.  He doesn't like to be told no, nor does he like to be disciplined.  And he has already had a few time outs and spankings in his day.  Strong willed he is that is for sure.  Will be interesting to see how that plays out as he continues to get older!

Overall he is just a joy.  We adore that little boy beyond belief and are so thankful to God for him.  He is loved that is for sure.  I can't get enough of his chunky cheeks!  Love you sweet boy!

Part time

I officially started part time this week.  I will now have Thursdays and Friday off to be with the kiddos.   I am excited to spend more time with them, especially while they are young!  I am so blessed that work is allowing me to do this.  My job will change a little.  I will no longer see patients in clinic which is bittersweet.  I love my patients and the interaction I have with them.  So not having that side of my job is going to be sad, but
I look forward to seeing where my job goes as part time and also to experiencing everyday life with my kiddos more.  I will be honest, I am also a little nervous about being home with the kiddos more.  I hope and pray that I have the patience to love them well on the days where there is lots of crying, tears, or fights.  I know that being a mom is the toughest job in the world, one of the best, most honorable jobs in the world.  So much our kids learn is through parents and I want to be there to show them the world and teach them about God's love and grace for them.  I worry about not measuring up-feel like with this going part time that I have to be a supermom, a mom that's always taking her kids on adventures, always joyful in my time with them, always creative and thinking of new things to do with them.  Man, with this expectation for myself do I set myself up for failure.  In all reality, I am sure there will be some great days that I have with them and some not so great days.  We may have days where we go on an adventure, or some days where we stay in our PJs all day.  I don't have to create a new craft everyday, we don't have to go somewhere fun everyday, in fact some days a tickle fight during the day may be the most exciting thing we do.  I will fail as a mom probably many times, I will mess up, lose my patience too quickly sometimes.  But I know that everyday I will love my kiddos, no matter if it's a good or bad day. We will have adventures together, we will be silly and creative and play together.  I will treasure this time, for it will be a short time in life.  Before we know it they will be in school, so I will pray to God that I love my children well during this phase of our life and that I allow myself to be human, to ask for forgiveness and grace when I mess up and to not worry about being perfect, instead just focusing on trying to love our kiddos well!