As Summer Slips Away...

Wow. Over two months have passed since I began this season with intentions to blog about all of the fun things we were going to do and yet I'm just finding the time {and energy!} to update! We did almost all of the things we had on our bucket list {and hope to cross the final few off in the next week or two!} so I have A LOT to post, but I thought I'd better get this posted in case there is anyone who is still reading here who doesn't follow me on Instagram {where I am active daily}.


In mid-July,  Londyn Grace started teaching her little brother a thing or two about being an older sibling...

So that's the biggest reason I haven't had much energy to do much of anything, but we were praying that this might be a part of our summer excitement so we were thrilled to find out that our third blessing is on the way!

I am ten weeks, 4 days today! We had our first peek at him/her at 8 weeks 3 days. The heart rate was 169 beats per minute then, and yesterday, at the midwife's office, it was 172 beats per minute.

Londyn Grace is so excited. Being almost four years old this time versus just over one when we found out we were expecting Liam, she is so into it.  Liam loves to copy Sissy and kiss Mama's belly, too. He says "Goodnight, Baby" each night before he goes to sleep!

My due date is March 24, 2017! 

We are looking forward to a new little chick in early Spring! 

Ice Cold Lemonade

Since we planned to have a yard sale to make a few dollars for our upcoming vacation,  I thought it would be fun for Londyn Grace to make a little cash for the trip, too.

She loves being in the kitchen so she was super excited to make lemonade for her stand.

Daddy helped her squeeze the lemons on Friday evening while I rocked Bubby to sleep. When they finished, she brought a cup upstairs for me to try! It was so yummy, but her excitement over it was even sweeter! As she drifted off to sleep, she told me again how she couldn't wait until morning!

When she woke up bright and early on Saturday, she was raring to go! Daniel decided to take Liam with him on visitation so we could focus on the yard sale and lemonade selling, things a busy almost two year old boy wouldn't find super exciting, so it was just me and my firstborn for the day.

She provided entertainment free of charge while we waited for customers. Such a silly girl!

We started the day with her table up in the driveway, but it was hard to be seen by people driving by. I suggested we should go down to the sidewalk to advertise!

I never want to forget how precious she was waving her lemons and yelling "Ice Cold Lemonade!" or how she replied "No! You're my Mama! You don't have to pay for it!" when I asked her if I could buy a cup! 

I'm pretty sure she drank her weight in the sugary liquid so much so that she wasn't hungry for lunch!

She was such a hard worker though and stayed at her table all day! Between stirring the lemonade and counting her profits, she stayed busy!

She learned about George Washington and Abe Lincoln, too!

She had so many sweet customers! Some of our church friends stopped by, and she loved serving them! One man who made a u-turn when he heard her advertising gave her a $5 bill and told her to keep the change for all her hard work! Another bought a second cup since his first was so tasty! And her personal favorite was an older gentleman who shared a name with the mouse at Disney World!

I love this picture of her pretending to be sad when we had a lull in business for awhile and several cars passed without stopping! 

It took a lot of convincing to get her to close up shop for the day, but when all was said and done, she had made $21 dollars! Lot of people gave her way more than the 50 cent asking price!

She had so much fun, and we made the best memories!

She sure missed her Brother though! I think it was the longest they have ever been apart! 

She was so excited to see him coming up the street!

Daddy delighted her with his juggling skills!

So we can now cross "Have a Lemonade Stand" off of our Summer Bucket List, but if a certain pigtailed little girl has her way, I'm almost sure we'll be having another before the season ends!

Sweet Summertime

I can hardly believe it's June already! This year is flying by and since we don't have any one in school yet here and don't have to wait for the last day of classes, our Summer officially begins on Memorial Day!

We are looking forward to an exciting Summer ahead! This is the first Summer that we have two walkers who are old enough to enjoy all of the activities and a mama who isn't expecting so she can ride rides at amusement parks and for the most part have the energy to keep up with them while they do so!

This past Monday, we crossed off an item on our Summertime Bucket List. Mondays are always our favorite because Daddy is home with us, but they are extra special when we plan a fun activity to do together. Late last week, I saw an advertisement for strawberry picking at the farm where we go in the Fall for pumpkin picking. When I mentioned it to Daniel, he agreed that it would be fun to go!

We live about 35-40 minutes from the farm so we got up early, grabbed breakfast on the go, and headed out to Chester.

Londyn Grace was excited to pick strawberries, and Liam couldn't wait to see the tractor!

It's wasn't too busy when we arrived except for a few school groups so we were able to get right on the hayride to take us out to the fields!

But the cows caught their attention first so Daddy purchased some feed, and they enjoyed letting the animals eat from their hands.

The berry patch is pretty far from the main entrance so we had a good bit of time to feel the breeze and look around the farm at the other produce they are growing while we rode the hayride.

Bubby just kept ooing and ahhing over the tractor! 

When we got to the field, Daddy showed him how to pick the berries. Watching him lift the leaves and look for them while saying "berries" over and over again was so precious! 

Londyn Grace didn't need lessons, she just got right to work! 

I just love this capture of my sweet girl! She was so proud of her pickings!

Liam enjoyed it, too, but had a hard time with not eating them until we paid!

Daddy and Goosey worked hard filling our baskets.

I think she would've picked for hours if we let her. She absolutely loved it!

I'm so glad Daddy snapped this picture of me with my girl! Brother wasn't wanting his picture taken at this point so we just did one with Londyn Grace! I don't have the chance to be in front of the camera often so I love getting to be in the shot with my babies!

Once we filled our baskets, it was time to head back to the barn to pay for our bounty.

Londyn Grace loved the baby ones! 

After the ride back from the fields, Daddy paid for our strawberries while we looked at more animals and climbed on the hay mountain! 

On our way home, Daddy suggested lunch at Cracker Barrel which made our pancake lovers super happy! 

After a few phone calls to my Mom Mom back in Maryland, Londyn Grace and I canned six successful jars of jelly on Tuesday. Before it even cooled, we enjoyed it's sweet flavor straight off of the spoon! 

She has loved sharing it with family and friends and has already asked to make more.

It was the perfect beginning to what is sure to be a sweet sweet summertime of memory making with our little family! 

Londyn Grace is Three and a Half!

Half way to four?!

You are getting so so big! I'm pretty sure every inch of babyhood and now even toddlerhood is behind us. I mentioned on Instagram that some of age three has been a challenge for us as you've grown more independent and opinionated over the last few months, but none of that outweighs the wonderful things about the amazing little girl you are becoming.

At three and half years old, you weigh thirty one pounds and stand      38 inches tall. You are wearing mostly 4T. You can still wear 3T smocked dresses comfortably since they run larger. You have almost outgrown your size 8 shoes so your new Easter shoes are size 9.

Since your third birthday, you have moved to a big girl bed. You were quickly outgrowing your toddler bed that you had been in since you were just over a year and half so we made the switch to the antique twin bed that Mom Mom had gifted us a few months ago. You've done really well in it and love to line all of your dolls and stuffed animals up along the headboard each morning before we head downstairs for breakfast.

Speaking of eating, this is probably our biggest struggle with you as of late. You have a hard time finishing what we put on your plate, even if it's things you've requested. In the last few weeks, we have implemented a sticker chart, with the promise of a doll carseat you have your eye on at Target, in hopes that you will start to eat a little better. It has definitely helped!

During the day, your favorite things to do include playing with play doh, doing puzzles, painting and pretending with your baby dolls. You got the game Candy Land for Christmas and also like playing Hi! Ho! Cherry Oh! with mama. Playing outside tops your list though, especially going to the park and playgrounds.

You are very interested in flowers and birds! With Spring's arrival, you are excited to watch as the flowers bloom and birds are a more frequent sight in the yard. You love hydrangea (from watching our bush grow last year) and are anxious to see them bloom again. A few days ago, you were so excited to see two bluebirds in the backyard. You always question why they don't talk! You helped Daddy plant new flowers in the front bed, and we are getting ready to plant a garden for the first time! You've watched in wonder as the tomato seeds we started inside have sprouted. I love this side of you and often wish your great grandmothers (Granny and Mamal) were here to see how much you enjoy it! When we took your half birthday pictures, you cried when we had to leave because you loved the beautiful pink trees!

You love your Brother so much. Always thinking of him and looking out for him. Watching you two together makes my heart so happy!

Going to church to see your friends and learn in Sunday School and Primary Church are other highlights of your weeks. You loved Upward Basketball this year and looked forward it each week. You had pretty much every player's name memorized and loved to cheer for them as they played.

You enjoy being read to and reading to yourself as you recount the stories you've memorized! Your favorite books are any of your Bearenstain Bears books or a silly story called Mrs. Toggle's Zipper.

You like to watch The Bearenstain Bears, Dora, and Goldie and Bear on tv in the mornings.

You are sweet and silly. You are such an incredible joy to our family! 

Yellow and pink are your favorite colors. You still love to sing! 

You have started to get yourself dressed if I lay out your clothes for you and can even refill your juice cup and pour yourself a bowl of cereal if the jug of juice or milk isn't too full! 

You were so into Easter this year. From dying eggs to seeing the Easter Bunny, you loved it all. Holidays with you are such a blast!

I'm so looking forward to all that the next few months will bring like going on vacation and doing so many fun summertime activities with you! You are already asking to go back to the beach! 

Recently, you've had to go to the dentist a few times for some work on one of your front teeth and you do such an amazing job letting the dentist work in your mouth. She said you sit better than some of her teenage patients! 

You blow me away daily with how grown up you are! 

Mama loves you, Goosey! Way more than you know! 

Liam is a Year and a Half!

Sweet Bubby Boy! You are halfway to two!! That is so hard to wrap my mind around! My baby boy is quickly becoming a toddler!

At 18 months old, you weigh in at 20 pounds 9 ounces and 30 and a half inches tall. You are tiny, but healthy and growing. We just saw a new doctor for your 18 month appointment today, and you were such a good boy while she gave you your check up. Mama was nervous since this was our first experience outside of our beloved Dr. Schlachter who moved to Florida a few months back, but Dr. Coy eased every fear I had about a new pediatrician! I am so thankful to have found someone who is on board with our natural approach to health care.

You are finally wearing clothes that correspond with your age! I'm buying all 18 month outfits now! I'm still dressing you in sweet longalls and jon jons and you still wear newsboy hats and classic white shoes. I intend on keeping you dressed as a sweet baby boy for as long as Daddy will allow it!

Your vocabulary is growing every day. You say around 35 words.

Mama
Dada
Sissy
Londyn
Bubba
Pop pop
Mimi 
Mom Mom
Baby

Hi
Bye bye
Stuck

Ball

Cracker
Cookie     (clearly you have a thing for foods beginning with the letter C)
Chicken
Candy

Please
Gotcha
Thank you

Papa    (Papa bear on Berenstain Bears)
Doctor  (from Doc McStuffins)

PeePee  (total boy words! lol)
PooPoo

Quack
Moo
Neigh
Duck
Tweet tweet

Snow

Cheese

Uh oh

Amen   (after praying)
Bible    (when you see a Bible or we sing The B-I-B-L-E)

Purple
Green
Blue

You recognize our family members and call us by name. You say both Sissy and Londyn. You say Londyn just like she did when she learned to say her name and it sounds like "Nunnyn!" You love to call for her if she's upstairs or napping longer than you. When you look in the mirror and see your reflection or are asked what your name is you answer, "Bubba!" You love to Facetime with everyone back in Maryland and Pennsylvania. You absolutely adore your Pop Pop and often pick up the phone wanting to facetime him! You've stolen a huge piece of Mom Mom's heart and it just thrills mine! Since she's the only great grandparent that hasn't gone to Heaven on Mama's side and we've always been extra close, I love the love she has for "her baby!"

You are a pretty good eater. Your only aversion is meat, but every once in awhile you will eat chicken. You love yogurt, pancakes, cereal or scrambled eggs for breakfast. You usually eat whatever we are eating for lunch and dinner. Whenever I'm eating a salad, you like to steal my croutons! You certainly have a sweet tooth and get really excited about cookies and sweets.

Out of a closet full of toys, you are happiest with a "ball ball!" The basketball hoop we got you for Christmas is still your favorite toy! You love going to Upward every Thursday and Saturday, but have a hard time staying off of the court! You now think that you need to go the gym every time we go to church!

Sleeping is going pretty well. You usually sleep from 9:30-10:00 at night until around 2:00 in the morning in your crib. When you wake up, Mama brings you into bed and you nurse back to sleep until around 8:30 in the morning. Most days you can go until after lunch and then take a 1.5 to 2 hour nap in your crib in the afternoon, but some days you still take a short morning nap.

Mama still loves nursing you and cherishes the times you want "BB" which you've affectionately named it. You nurse to sleep at nap and bedtime and lately are pretty attached to it through the day as well.

You are very adamant about things being in their places. If I leave the cap off of my bottle of water, you have to put it back on immediately. You have a favorite book which of course is about balls and you love to sit on Sissy's bed and "read" it. While I make dinner, you enjoy emptying the cabinets and playing with whatever suits your fancy that day!

You are not super into Mama's picture taking, and I have a hard time keeping you in one place for photographs, but when I don't have my camera you tease me by posing and saying "Cheese!" You are such a stinker!

In the mornings, we snuggle and you nurse for a few minutes before you think you are big enough to get down off of our bed by yourself. It's pretty high off of the ground so you still need a little help! Then you make your way into the nursery to find Sissy. If she's not awake yet, you make sure that happens pretty quickly and you sweetly give her hugs and kisses before we head downstairs for breakfast. You enjoy watching The Berenstain Bears. Papa Bear is your favorite bear!

You love to go to church and are so friendly with every one. You enjoy saying hello, shaking hands and blowing kisses. Mama started teaching Sunday School again which means you spend that time in the nursery, but you love Ms. Marilyn, Ms. Kathlyn, Ms. Kathy, Ms. Katie, Ms. Venus, and Ms. Leni. Ms. Marilyn has a special song she sings just for you and you get the biggest smile on your face and clap your hands when she does. The last few times Daddy has preached at the nursing home, you have loved entertaining the residents.

I am so grateful for you, my son!

I'll close with the words to Ms. Marilyn's song and one of my favorite images from your 18 month portraits (I'm definitely framing this one!),

Liam, Liam, we've been thinking,

what a great world this would be if they boys were all like Liam!!

 Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah!

But they aren't! You are one of a kind! And you are ours! Our precious gift from God! We can't wait to see what you learn and how much you grow as we approach your second birthday. We love you, Bubba, WAY MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!

Londyn Grace at 3 years old ...

{I typed this post months ago and it has been sitting in notepad in my phone! We are creeping up on three and half so I needed to get this posted! All information and the pictures are from October when she turned three!}

Three. You turned three on October third, your golden birthday!

I am delayed partly because of the fact that I broke my ankle the day you turned three and partly because I do not feel like I have the right words when it comes to describing you, my sweet girl!

You are simply amazing. So grown up for someone so young. Sometimes I feel like maybe you had to grow up quickly when Liam was born, but really I think it is just who you are.

At three years old, you weigh in at thirty pounds and measure 37 inches tall. You are now wearing size 3T clothes and a size 7 shoe. Mama still dresses you in smocked dresses and big bows. I'm hoping you'll allow that for at least a few more years!

Your hair is still as curly as ever and getting so long. It looks so cute in a ponytail! You had your first trim back in August. A small section of hair had grown longer than the rest so we just had it evened up.

This year wasn't a year of big milestones since you were already potty trained and had already moved to a big girl bed last year, but each day you learned new things and grew into more of a girl than a toddler.

You've known and recognized the alphabet since before you were two, but now you know nearly all of the letter sounds. You constantly ask what letter words start with.  I simply give you the first sound and then you tell me which letter it begins with. Your vocabulary is amazing and you hold full conversations like a little adult!

You are very interested in telling time and always ask what time it is.

Your heart is so tender toward the things of God. You love to pray and will stop what you're doing to pray for someone who is sick. We saw someone in a wheelchair while visiting the Statue of Liberty and you started praying for them on the spot! I never want to forget how you begin each prayer with "Thank You, Dear Father..." You challenge me daily to have a closer walk with the Lord. Sunday School and Primary Church are your favorite. You especially love Miss Rosie's teaching and being in class with Duke and Kian. I love talking with you about what you learned each week. Your memory and grasp of the lessons always amazes me.

Speaking of church, you love your friends, both young and old, there. You look forward to Sundays and Wednesdays. Leilani, Kimberly and Samaya are several years older than you, but they love to play with you. On Sunday evenings, we chat with Mr. and Mrs. Burns, Ms. Ruth and Ms. Marilyn. The Guans babysit for us occasionally and you love being with Brother Mel, Ms. Barbara, Faith and Ethan.  Brother Wayne is your favorite and you give him the biggest hugs!

You have a constant song in your heart. You sing pretty much nonstop.
From Bible songs to songs you make up about anything and everything, you are ALWAYS singing! I pray you never lose that.

Your baby brother is your biggest fan and you adore him as well. You are SO good with him and have been an especially great helper since mama fell. From bringing me his diaper when he needs changed to sharing your food and toys with him, you are the best big sister, ever! He looks for you as soon as he wakes each morning and loves to give you kisses, and you happily receive them!

You are my right hand. You still sit on the counter and help me cook each night asking, "What do we need next?" and happily helping with dinner preparations! You now set the table for our evening meal as well. You love to help me wash dishes and vacuum.

You don't watch much tv, but when we do your favorites are The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune (the letter game as you call it), The Berenstain Bears and Doc McStuffins. You still like to watch old Barney episodes on YouTube.

This year, you learned how to ride your tricycle, visited Daddy's home state of Michigan and became a big cousin again when Bayleigh was born. You love to hold her!

I wish I could bottle up who you are at three and keep you my sweet girl forever! You love to hold my hand and to "snuggle buggle" as we read books in mama's bed each night.

You are a great sleeper and still take a two hour nap in the afternoon.

You love to paint, do puzzles and play with your kitchen. I just recently introduced you to the game Hi Ho Cherry O and you love to play it with me! Your favorite colors are yellow and pink. 

You soaked up every second of your birthday this year. You had a family party in Maryland which was Lyle the Crocodile themed since you love that book series and had a friend party in New Jersey which was art themed! On your actual birthday, we had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, went shopping at Toys R Us with your birthday money, went to Jumpnasium (where mama broke her ankle) and then to Cracker Barrel (your favorite restaurant) for dinner! It was a wonderful week celebrating you, Goosey!

We are blessed beyond measure you call you our girl! We can't wait to see what the next year holds! 

Bubby's 1st Trip to the Barber Shop

We've been debating it for months. Both of us would go back and forth between "I think it's time for a haircut" and "his curls look so good today!" moments! The day I'd be ready to take him for a trim, Daddy would want to wait a little bit longer and when Daddy was ready to clip the curls, Mama would want to hold onto his babyhood for as long as possible! But it was getting harder to manage and his curls weren't the tight ringlets that Sissy's were by this age so we decided it was finally time. 

a before shot ... super unsure of what was about to happen

The barber shop that Daniel uses offers babies first haircut for free and his barber has been asking him when he was going to bring Liam in so that's where we went. 

Angelo's has been in business in our town for ages and Angelo, the owner, hence the name, has been cutting hair for even longer. He suggested that Liam sit on Daddy's lap for the trim so he would be less apt to wiggle. And it worked because I have never seen him sit so still. 

He sat with a solemn look on his little face and just took in everything the barber did. He never cried, but he didn't even crack a smile until he was nearly finished. 

Meanwhile, I busied myself with picture taking so I wouldn't be the one in tears!

When he finished, and Daddy handed him to me, I most certainly got teary eyed! My baby boy looked so big!

This picture of my guys just makes me so happy! I know many more father and son barber shop trips are in their future!

I absolutely loved the cut and it just suits his little personality so well. 

The barber was kind enough to tuck some of the clippings into an empty envelope for safe keeping and even mentioned wanting to submit some of the pictures I took to the local paper.

After Bubby was finished, it was Daddy's turn so we walked over to say hello to the birds Angelo keeps in a cage in the corner. He loved looking at them and saying, "tweet! tweet!"

I snapped a few more after shots of my big boy while Daddy finished up.

We had such a sweet afternoon making memories of our baby boy's big milestone so we celebrated with pizza before heading home. Bubby thoroughly enjoyed the lollipop Angelo rewarded him with while we waited on our food.

Every time I look at him, I just fall in love all over again! He is just the sweetest and I'm so blessed to call him my son!