♡ Mother's Day ♡

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! On Saturday, Scott took care of the kids so I could leave the house by myself! I love my children and enjoy taking them places, but it's a lot of work! It was a treat to just walk out the door, get in the car, and go!

On Sunday, while the kids and I took at nap in the afternoon, Scott planted some flowers for me in our front flower bed. Then we finished out the day with ice cream. It was perfect!

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a mother. It is an incredible honor, and I pray for the strength, wisdom, and sense of humor to handle each day. My children push me to be better. They make me dig deep for patience and grace that only God can give. Loving them gives me a small glimpse of His love for me.

I am so thankful for my mom. She is such a great example of love, selflessness, and devotion. Since becoming a mother myself, I better understand, and more fully appreciate, all the sacrifices she has made throughout my life. I'm so grateful for all the ways she supports and encourages me in my role as a mother and for the relationship she has with my children. I could never thank her enough for all she's done and continues to do!

Aside from Mother's Day, the other big event of the week was Lydia starting solid foods! So far she's had bananas and a section of my grocery list...

She seems to like eating and really loves her spoon. She ended up holding it all evening after her first "meal" and even took it in her bath!

Jacob was excited about the whole ordeal and pretended to take pictures and videos with his phone. After Lydia was done, he decided it was time for Monkey to start solids, as well!

And finally, a few other pictures from our week...

Jacob started requesting to watch "Handy Manny" again and has found a renewed love for his tools. In case you're wondering, those are "work gloves," not snow mittens!

We had some chilly weather last week, but still made it outside. Believe it or not, Jacob is actually smiling for the picture!

We started cleaning up for Jacob's birthday party pretty far in advance. It's so nice to have little helpers, but chores take a little while longer to finish!

Happy Birthday, Kason!!!

It is definitely birthday season! This weekend we got to celebrate Kason's 3rd birthday! He had a Curious George themed party, and the kids had a blast playing outside. Its been so fun to watch this little guy grow! Kason was very excited about his cake!

Jacob was excited about Kason's cake, too!

I laugh every time I look at this picture! It doesn't get more real than nose picking and birthday scowling!

Jacob had fun playing with Kason's balance bike. We only had one crash...

This past week was absolutely beautiful, and we took full advantage of being outside. Most mornings we headed out around 9:30 and stayed out until nap time. I even managed to start planting some flowers and herbs!

I'm sure the neighbors appreciate my cymbal playing fireman!

Planting takes so much longer these days, but I'd say the cute helpers make it worth it! ♡

Lydia is 5 Months Old!

From rolling over to her first tooth, this was a big month for Lydia! She is growing so much and seems to discover something new every day. She continues to be super smiley and makes friends everywhere she goes! We love our sweet girl!

At 5 Months, Lydia...

• Weighs about 14 pounds and 6 ounces
• Measures about 26 ish inches long
• Wears size 2 diapers, 6 month clothing, and 9 month jammies.
• Eyes are starting to turn hazel instead of blue.
• Started rolling from her back to her tummy. She did this for the first time on March 14th. 
• Has two teeth (bottom central incisors)! Her first tooth (bottom, left central incisor) broke through on March 18th, and the right one followed on March 28th. Poor Lydia was miserable while cutting these two teeth. Our typically happy girl was fussy, restless, and rarely smiled. We had some awful week of sleepless nights. Whew! Two down, eighteen to go!
• Loves watching Jacob and constantly laughs at him!
• Has started crying when Mommy goes out of sight and has started to realize when she's handed off to someone she doesn't know.
• Loves her poppy! (What a lifesaver for Mommy!)
• Swings/waves her toys around and often hits herself in the face.
• Loves being outside and going for stroller rides.
• Loves her soft bunny, crinkly book, and teething toys.
• Tends to take two short morning naps (about 30 - 45 minutes) and a longer afternoon nap. Some like to say the second kid can sleep through anything, specifically the first kid, and that babies adapt to noise, but that is definitely NOT the case with Lydia. Her naps are constantly cut short by Jacob's noise!
• FINALLY drinks from a bottle! I had pretty much given up hope that this would ever happen...until she started biting me with her sharp little teeth! She bit me so hard a few times that she drew blood. Ouch! So on a whim, I gave her formula in a bottle, and she drank it like she has been doing it from day one! This is such a relief and answered prayer! Not only does it free me up a bit and keep me from being chomped on, but it also makes my day 100× easier. Aside from the biting, it was becoming increasingly difficult to nurse Lydia with Jacob around. He's very distracting and suddenly demanding all my attention the minute I sit down to feed her. Plus, she never nurses well unless we are at home - inside, so it is very limiting. I still nurse her during the night and at nap time, but give her bottles of either formula or expressed milk during the day. 
• Has started making the "ma-ma-ma" sound!

Jacob decided to get in on the picture action! He loves his "Baby Girl"!

I love this picture! Lydia watches every move Jacob makes. She wants to play with him so badly!