Thursday, June 25, 2009

We've got a walker!

Well, here at 13 months we appear to have a walker! On Monday I just stood behind her and held both hands and she so surprised me as she just started going! It seems like just recently I had done the same and she'd always fall to the floor and want to start crawling but I guess Monday she was just ready to go! So we pulled out the push toys and she is having a blast around the house with them. I doubt the steps on her own will be far behind now. Our baby is getting so big! Oh, and as you watch the video the slide show at the bottom of page has a mute button with the music you may want to mute or otherwise both sounds will play at the same time.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

13 months and 1 month to go!

I can't say we've been so busy around here that I haven't been able to post. Sure it's busy with a 2 1/2 year old and a now 1 year old (I can't believe I can call her that now!!!) But also being
8 1/2 months pregnant now, I'm just plain tired and not very comfortable these days, as one would expect. And to top it off I have all those "things" I'm racing to do before the baby gets here....and not feeling like I'm making much progress in them either. Which some days I don't really care, and some days I just feel frustrated and overwhelmed that I'm not getting them accomplished! And they probably are my petty things I want done, so then I feel crazy for even caring so much! Besides all that we've been swamped with rain and lots of overcast days around here. But hopefully have a break, finally, in it all! So we're also trying to enjoy the outside while we can, since once baby is here I don't know how much I'll really be "doing." So today Emery-Claire turns 13 months old, and unnamed baby girl #3--(yes, we still have no idea what her name will be) is less than 1 month away now, yikes!


Here's our big 13 month old girl today! Looking so big and happy to eat her lunch at the picnic table out back after a break from swimming in the pool. Just like the bath she LOVES the pool, and will just sit and play in there forever! I didn't get a picture today because when I finally grabbed the camera it was lunch and then I took her in, as her arms seem to look a little pink!

Requesting "more"......not the greatest of eaters we have here, but the few select things she is liking she will eat and eat and eat them! It's so cute as she requests "more" with her hands folded like she is praying and says "mu". She is trying to imitate a handful of words these days--mostly using just some sort of approximation, but that is so much more than I remember Reed even attempting to do at 12/13 months old.

Ahhh, having a big brother means you play with cars, trains, trucks......Of course this little musical car is a shape sorter, so not really that boyish. But she loves pushing all of Reed's other cars, trucks and trains she can get her hands on! And the other day (should have got a picture of it) found her with a blue mouth! Apparently, Reed had left a crayon on the floor (I thought I had picked them all up, but obviously missed one) and she had been eating it! Nice blue wax crayon smushed down in the teeth--nice and fun to clean definitely!

One of the favorite foods being fed by daddy.....cheetos!


Yummy picnic lunch!

Reed's fun in the pool....he's such a big boy these days. Continuing to quote books that he is memorizing, which is so cute! And doing really well with the potty training! We're trying to step it up a notch (he was going on his own all the time without anything on) but now I want to work with wearing the underwear and keeping them dry....so maybe, just maybe we'll be really close to not having 3 in diaper next month!!
Ok, so here is our "red-neck garden"....yes, laugh if you want too! It is in a baby pool...I know! Since we are in a rental and really didn't even think about it till May, we just thought it'd be easier to put the starter plants in something contained....so baby pool it is! But they are growing well and we have a strawberry in full bloom below! So hopefully we'll get some good things out of it!

Monday, June 8, 2009

What we've been up to....

It's been a long two weeks here at the Willis household! Casey left 2 weeks ago tommorrow to go up to the CO summer project, and we 3 stayed behind, since he was only going for 10 days. Thank goodness our wonderful Gigi (my mom) and Nana (Casey's mom) were able to come and stay with us to be an extra set of hands. I'm getting so tired these days, which I know is not just 2 young children but the added pregnancy fatigue all combined! We did have some fun times, so below are some of our pictures.

First trip to the Y-pool! Yeah, it is summer!! Reed had a blast playing in the water--with the exception of his 2 injuries while we were there. When we first got there he got his finger stuck in the door--ouch! And then fell on the concrete later and scraped up his elbow. Ahhh, such as it is having a boy!
We got to meet up with the Carters, and Reed always loves seeing his bud, Deacon! Not that at
2 1/2 and 3 (they are about 5 months apart) they really engage and play tons together, but enjoying seeing one another and just being there together.
Our first trip to the strawberry patch, so much fun! As you see below despite my little strawberry bandit (once I let him take one bite it was over!) we did go home with some very yummy strawberries that we all enjoyed!! All he would do was eat them! He would pick them and then run to the end of the aisle to eat them away from us, too funny!

We met up there with two of my friends who had brought another one of our friend's girls (their mom just had baby #4--and it was a boy after 3 girls, yeah!!!) Here is Reed with Caroline and Eleanor.


My little sneaky bandit caught! How guilty does he look here!
We also got to go to the Children's Museum downtown while Gigi was here, they both seemed to have a blast!
And there was a reptile display that day---and boy was I shocked the little man wanted to touch some of these creatures! He is usually so timid and shy, but surprised me with his eagerness to touch them!




Fun at snack time enjoying the new picnic table! How big does EC look sitting there?!!

Posing with Nana. They both seemed to enjoy their visit with her. Reed had a book reader 24/7 and loved it!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Senseless Tragedy

Today started off as a normal, regular day. Breakfast, clean up, dressed for a nice walk with the kids, baby morning nap, Reed in room time, shower.......then checking email, facebook, etc. So I kept seeing all these status updates on fb from fellow high school mates about another girl we graduated with. What in the world was going on I wondered?? So as I continued to look at people's profiles that were more close with this girl, I finally found this.....from the local newspaper at home (you can click on the link if you're interested in more details). But basically a girl I graduated with, Sarah, was murdered by her husband last night, who then left the scene and went to kill himself!

All day I've continued to think of these people and this situation, how can one not?! I knew her, was definitely a casual friend with her and the people close to her. But of course have not really been in any contact or interaction with any of them in years, except for the reconnection on the world of facebook. What has resonated with me most of the day, of course, was did/do any of them know Jesus?? I know in high school my association with them was the typical party scene, which I dabbled in some, but for most of those of you who know me well, know I wasn't one of those radical conversions due to my wild and crazy life. Yes, I was/am a sinner and needed a Savior, but definitely was the other spectrum of living morally and thinking I was saved because of that. So from back then, no none of them probably were believers, but now-16 years later (wow how has it been 16 years since I graduated high school????) I have no idea where any of them are spiritually. So my heart has weighed heavy with this burden for them all-Sarah most of all, as constantly wondering if she knew Jesus, and then all those close to her, do any of them know our Sovereign Lord either?? Because for anyone this is hard to process and truly grasp the truths and promises of God in walking through a tragedy like this, but for one who doesn't know Him--how can you at all have any hope whatsoever?!

So why I'm writing this post I'm not really sure, just my heart and mind have just been so heavy and burdened with thoughts of this all day. And most of all it has humbled me that God is such a gracious and merciful God. Why He chose to save a wretch like me I'll never understand, but how much in that truth and fact that I have to be thankful for! Thankful that He has changed my heart of stone and given me a heart of flesh, that no matter what I do He sees the righteousness of His Son covering all my tainted deeds! Thankful that He continues to be at work and sanctify me, that He is faithful when I'm am so not! And humbled so much that any of us are only one step away from the awful things of this world, like my friend fell a victim to. But only our hope in the One who redeems us and saves us is ultimately all we have to trust in--and to look forward with great joy to the day He returns to us and we get to live forever with Him!