It Won't Be Like This for Long

One of my most favorite songs is Daris Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This for Long." That song is so true. I've always heard that when you get older time just flies and I never realized it as much as I do now that I have kids. Time just goes by so fast. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing Olivia home from the hospital and now she's toddling around and has a little brother. Who would of thought it? ha.

Olivia is 18 months and Owen is months old!!

Like I said, time flies!

What have they been up to these days??

Olivia:

Weight: 22 lbs. 2 oz. Height: 29 1/4" Head Circumference: 18 1/2"

(Yes, she'll be one of the shortest in her class... I wonder where she gets that from?) LOL!

She is little Ms. Thang! I honestly think she is the funniest person that I know. She always has us laughing. She's really into watching Dora, Olivia & The Veggie Tales. She LOVES music. When she hears music either on the radio, tv or at church she just starts dancing. It's so funny because she'll spin around in circles, clapp her hands and stomp one of her feet. We just laugh and laugh. She's very vocal, that's for sure. She's really talking. She'll pretty much repeat anything you ask her to, but the words she says the most are Momma, Dada or daddy, Oween (Owen) or Bubba, Mimi, Poppa (Poppy), Dorda (Dora) and Peease (please). She always says Meemean (Amen) after we pray or she hears someone praying at church. She usually yells it out. It's quite funny.

She LOVES her bubba. I have a feeling that they'll be inseperable. She kisses him 1000 times a day. If he cries she starts saying Oween or Bubba. She pats him on the back like she's trying to burp him. They're pretty cute together.

Owen:

Weight: 16 lbs. 3 oz. Height: 23 1/4" Head Cirumference: 16 1/2"

He's a chunky monkey! He's in the 75th percentile for weight and only the 3rd percentile in height. Pretty much he's short and fat. (I'm hoping that he'll grow out of that).

He hates his bed. I think he's slept in it through the night once. Most nights he sleeps in his swing. However, he's still NOT sleeping through the night. =( I hate it because Olivia has slept through the night ever since she was a month old, but Owen just absolutely refuses to sleep through the night. I usually have to get up with him a couple times during the night & then Ben usually gets up with him once. He wears me out.

(Not sure why this picture is sideways)

Other than not sleeping, he is a great baby. Sometimes he's a little bit clingy, but for the most part he is very laid back. I can definitely tell that him & Olivia have totally different personalities. She's such a people person. She never meets a stranger. When we go to Wal-Mart she has to say hi and bye to everyone that she sees and then she has to blow them all kisses, so needless to say I usually try to go to Wal-Mart by myself. LOL! Owen on the other hand is a happy baby, but he's just not Mr. Personality.

He's on Good Start Protect Plus Formula and we're starting to introduce rice cereal to him. For the most part he's taking it pretty good. He loves 1/2 strength apple juice. I'd say his juice is probably his favorite thing.

I'm so glad that they have each other to grow up with. I was so scared that Olivia would try to kill him or be extremely jealous, but she's right the opposite. She absolutely loves and adores Owen and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about her. They are so sweet! I can't imagine our lives without them. They definitely keep us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Tomb Is Empty!

Easter is such a wonderful time to celebrate our Risen Saviour! I know that we need to celebrate Him everyday, but to have a particular day set aside and celebrate what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross and rose again is just amazing! As I've gotten older, Easter seems to have a more special meaning to me. I remember when I was little I would wake up on Easter morning and go running to our bathroom (that's where my Easter basket always was... random, I know) and tear into my Easter basket. I could not wait to see what the "Easter bunny" had brought me. After I would get my Easter basket we would go to church (in my pjs) for our sunrise service, then eat breakfast, then come home and change into my "Easter dress" and then go back to church. Fun fun. Now, Easter means something TOTALLY different! Easter, to me, is giving God the glory for EVERYTHING that He has done for us and just taking extra time out of our busy schedule and acknowledging that we serve an awesome and amazing God who sent His only son to die on the cross and on the third day rose again to save us! He is truly amazing!!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

This Easter was such an exciting time for our family. Unfortunately, Owen was sick and I had to keep him in so he didn't get to come to our church Easter egg hunt. However, sister and I went and she was just hilarious.

When she started hunting the easter eggs, after she got a few eggs in her basket, she just wanted to dump them all out and then she would just laugh. It was so funny. 

She looked real thrilled in this picture. LOL!

Here she is playing with one of her eggs that she found.

Still playing with the eggs... needless to say, the eggs weren't in the basket for very long.

Here she is on the move... again.

I wish that Owen could have been there with us, but I have to say just taking Olivia by herself was a trip. Last year she wasn't walking at Easter and it was a lot of fun watching her run around and dump all of her eggs out.

Giving Back

A few weeks ago we had Owen's dedication at church. As most of you know, my dad is the pastor of our church and when it comes to things like weddings, dedications, etc. Those are the days that I just want him to be dad. So for Owen and Olivia's dedications, Bro. Jerry & Sis. Merlene (they're from Branson and are just like grandparents to me) came down to do the dedication.

It was a great day. We were so glad that we could share it with so many members of our family and some of our friends.

Our sweet little man =)

Bro. Jerry & Owen

Praying for Owen

My sweet family... life is just perfect.

Ben's family

My family... aunts, uncles, cousins & all =)

Thinking About Things

When you become a parent, there are many things that you don't want to think about, but you know that they are necessary to have in place. Just to name a few: saving for college, making a will, life insurance, etc. For some reason, I have really been thinking about getting our will made. We're just not guarenteed a tomorrow and I'd like to know that if something happened to Ben and I that our kids would be well taken care of.

As most of you know, I'm an only child. (This creates sort of a problem when you're trying to figure out who your kids would go to in the case of some crazy accident). Ben comes from a family of four. He has an older brother and two younger sisters. His brother and one of his sisters lives in Frankfort, KY. His other sister happens to be our next door neighboor.

 Even though his sister is our neighbor, we still usually only see them at family gatherings and since his brother and other sister live in Frankfort, we don't see them very often. If you've ever been in this kind of situation, you know it's not one that you want to face, but I believe it is necessary to have all these things figured out just for that just in case moment.

Ben and I have talked and talked and talked about who we would want our kids to go to if something happened to us and we've only been able to come up with one suitable solution. We have two friends, Austin & Allie.

(Yes, I stole this picture from her blog, I'm sure she won't mind. LOL!)

They aren't just our friends, they are like family to us. Olivia and Owen will grow up thinking that they're really their Aunt & Uncle because we always call them Aunt Allie & Uncle Austin. They are so close to our kids that usually if they don't see them at church on Sunday, then they will usually come over to the house during the week so they can see them.

Here's a prime example. On St. Patrick's Day, Allie came over and went to the park & out to eat with us. You can read more about that here.

Nevertheless, even though Ben & I had it all figured out there was still one very important thing missing. Asking them. Ben & I decided that after church we would talk to them and just see what they would say. I was hoping they would say yes, but if something happened to us, two kids, 14 months apart and they don't even have their own kids yet, you just never know. Well, they said YES!!! I cannot tell you how happy that I am. Of course, I hope that nothing ever happens to me or Ben, but in the crazy case that it does, I know that I won't have to worry about our kids. Austin and Allie treat them just as good as we do. Owen and Olivia both love them dearly and I have to say that we do too.

17 & 3

It's hard to believe that my babies are now 17 months & 3 months old! It just seems like yesterday we found out we were pregnant with Olivia and then, (literally), not too long after she was born we found out we were pregnant (again) with Owen. Life has definitely thrown us a few curve balls, but I honestly can say I wouldn't change a thing. I was terrified when we found out we were pregnant with number 2. I mean 14 months apart. Really? Who does that? And then to add my crazy delivery with Olivia, let's just say, I really DID NOT want to go through that whole ordeal again. You can read about it here. Nevertheless, what can you really do? As my second pregnancy went on, I was still nervous, anxious, scared, etc, but the moment we found out that we were having a little boy, I was EXTATIC!! Our lives would be full and complete. One girl, one boy. Perfect. 

(I'm really not sure why this picture is upside down, I've tried to rotate it, but it just ain't happening).

Now a few months later and it has been wonderful. Yes, it's crazy (most of the time), but Olivia absolutely adores her little brother and I'm sure he feels the same way about her. I'm excited that they're going to grow up together and have one another to talk to, play with, beat up (j/k, but seriously, LOL!) and just love. It's a pretty amazing thing I have to say. A few months ago I wanted to cry my eyes out and at times, I did just that, but today, I'm happy that they're as close in age as they are. It's a little bit of a struggle and taking some time to get used to when I take them places by myself, but I know in just a few years they'll be going to school and having friends and all doing all the stuff that you do when you grow up, so for now, I'm trying to enjoy every little moment.

Olivia at 17 months:
You are in to just about everything! You definitely keep me on my toes! I think that you're hitting the terrible two's just a little bit early. You sure know how to throw them temper tantrums, so we're trying to work on that. Unfortunately, time out has become almost an everyday occurance around here. Other than the crazy fits that we're trying to work on, you're a GREAT toddler. You've been such a big help since Owen has been born. You bring me his bottle, paci, burp cloth, blanket, etc. You adore your little brother. You have to kiss him SEVERAL times throughout the day. Your favorite tv show is Olivia. I swear, you're obsessed with that show. It's kind of funny because I always tell your daddy that the show Olivia is our family on tv. You act just like her and I keep saying that's how you'll be when you grow up. You'll eat just about anything. Your favorite food by far is chicken nuggets, but you tried cheese pizza this weekend and you really enjoyed it. You are still sleeping thru the night (Hallelujah!) and you're still taking a good 1&1/2 to 2 hour nap during the day. You LOVE LOVE LOVE your blankie. You carry it around with you everywhere! You're really a talker these days and you're very loud. (I don't think you've found your inside voice yet.) Your new words are: "Chloe" (I guess she's your best friend because I hear you say her name 1,000 times a day), "bye Chloe, Owen & peese (please)." You'll also repeat just about anything we ask you to say. You definitely have a pretty large vocabulary.

Owen at 3 months:

We have tried several formulas with you, but you are now on Good Start Protect Plus. This one, by far, has seemed to be the best. You have started sleeping more throughout the night, you usually wake up around 2 or 2:30 am and we'll give you a bottle, but then you will go back to sleep and sleep until 6 or 7 (sometimes later). You are in a size 2 diaper! (I just switched you to them this weekend). You are also in 0-3 month and some 3-6 month clothes. You are quite the chunk! You're starting to develop a little bit of a personality. You're learning how to laugh and smile and coo and it's the cutest thing! You're usually very good when we're out in public and at church you're usually quiet as a mouse. (I'm very thankful for that!) Other than that, you're just growing like a little weed.

(I'm not sure why this picture is sideways. Something crazy is going on with my pics. LOL!)

We love you and your sister more than ANYTHING in this world!! You two have made our lives complete! I can't imagine life before you and believe me, I don't want to.

We love you!

Mommy & Daddy

Picture Day

I finally took the kids to get their picture made. I've been wanting to take them ever since Owen was born, but I hadn't got around to it until now. For one, every photographer that I looked up and liked, they're prices were WAY too high. I love having professional pictures made, but I definitely don't want to break the bank. My friend, Megan introduced me to Britney Deshea Photography. She takes AMAZING pictures and her prices are VERY reasonable. We had a couple of melt-downs, but all in all, our session went really good... Here's a few of the results...

These are just our "sneak peek" pics, I can't wait to see the rest of them. If you live in the surrounding area and you're wanting to get some pictures made, you should definitely go see Britney. We will definitely be going back again! =)