We've Been Living Outside Lately

You can't beat the weather in Arizona this time of year. It's so nice to be able to spend our days outside after being stuck indoors for so much of the summer.

Ruby is in love with painting & she takes her artwork very seriously. Clearly.

 

 

 

And this is basically the progression of what Noah looks like outside. He starts our strong but then he just falls asleep. Being cute is exhausting.

 



I was working on shapes with Ruby & had her jump on whatever shape I called out. That girl loves jumping & she knows her shapes really well. Win. Win. I love teaching my children & I love this time where Ruby is such a sponge & soaking it all up.

 

While Ruby worked on shapes Noah was once again asleep. We can't wait until he can join in on the fun. Ruby stops whatever she's doing every so often to run over & make sure he's had enough hugs & kisses. Believe me, he has.

 

 

Have I mentioned how much I love seeing these two together?! I do. And Noah's been really easy going about playing with a lot of Ruby's pink baby stuff. Hey, real men play with pink, right?

Things That Make Me Happy

Seeing this girl learning so much in the kitchen. She can be upstairs in the middle of something & if she so much as hears the kitchenaid, she bolts down the stairs saying, "Oh, help! Help!" She pulls a chair over & then asks for her apron. 

This boy in the morning. He's a happy boy but mornings he kills me with his nonstop smiles. By far my favorite part of the day with him & that's saying something because I'm not a morning person. 

I found these silly certificates that we put a sticker on each day when Ruby was obedient. I seriously can't even believe how much she loved this. She talked about being obedient all week & jumped up & down every time I gave her a new sticker. We celebrated at the end of the week with ice cream & she was over the moon. 

My boys.

Playing outside in perfect weather.

My babies together. 

Big Sister

I worried about how Ruby would do when we brought Noah home from the hospital. She's been the center of our universe for 2 years now & I thought surely she'd struggle with the change. We brought Noah home on a Sunday night & Ruby immediately showered him with hugs & kisses. I kind of expected this but I figured once she realized he wasn't leaving she might not feel the same. The next morning I was sitting in Noah's room feeding him & Ruby woke up & walked right on in & kissed Noah on the cheek just like he'd always been there & said, "Love you, Noah" & walked right back out of the room to go play. And it's kind of been that way every since. She's really taken it in stride & can't seem to give him enough hugs & kisses. Anytime she hears him crying she drops whatever she's doing & runs as fast as she can to go make him happy. I'll find books & stuffed animals in his crib that she's "sharing" with him. And maybe the thing that's surprised me most about having 2 kids now is how much joy it brings seeing these 2 together. I love seeing her love him so much & I can so relate to the feeling of just not being able to give him enough kisses. She's been a great little assistant mama & we feel so lucky that girl is ours.  



On Having My Moment

"Joy is not just something granted by the heavens to a lucky few. It is something that we can create. This is our day-to-day work as parents: to insist upon joy in our lives, to find it even in the least likely moments. Because if we don't do this for ourselves and for our children, no one else will." -Koyuki

 

So far life with 2 kids has been pretty smooth sailing and I kept feeling like I needed to knock on wood or something because this was just a little too easy. But then yesterday happened. I ventured out with 2 kids & was in a really small, non-stroller friendly store. Ruby was wearing her bunny ears for her Halloween costume that she refused to take off & "feeding" her sucker to inanimate objects throughout the store. As I was wiping off sticky sucker juice Noah was crying & decided that he needed to be fed at the 2 hour mark instead of his usually 3. I just had one thing that I was determined to buy before I left that store & as the sales woman asked me for the second time, "Are you sure you don't want to try this on first?" I thought woman, you must be crazy. And everything took literally twice as long as it usually does. I made an exit out of that store as quickly as possible & finally loaded the children/stroller/diaper bag & what felt like a million other things into the car. We were serenaded to Noah screaming the entire way home with Ruby saying, "Mommy, Noah sad! Make him happy!" over & over again. Once we got home Ruby wanted to blow bubbles at the exact moment that I was feeding Noah at which time both of them decided, "Let's get poopy diapers for the 3rd time today at the exact same time & both demand to be changed at the same time." My phone was ringing off the hook & as I sat down to change those poopy diapers I took a minute to cry. Nothing really terrible had happened. Just normal things, really. But I felt flustered & like my time was so divided with none of it being enough, & there was still a huge list of things I needed to get done. And I guess the day just left me feeling defeated. The moment Tyler got home I literally tagged out & went to make dinner. I will readily admit that bedtime could not have come a moment too soon last night. And as grateful as I am that days like that are the exception & not the rule, I'm also really grateful for those days. I want to remember them along with all the good because it's a reminder that motherhood is hard. And I want to someday look back & remember not just all the happy moments but the moments of struggle. The moments where I had to dig deeper & fight to be the best mother I can be for these children of mine. Because it's easy to be a good mom when all is right in my world, but those moments where things are really, really hard reveal what I'm truly made of. I want to prove to myself & especially to these children of mine that when things are hard we still can be the best version of ourselves. We still can be kind & patient & full of love. Becoming a mother has made me so acutely aware of my imperfections & I'm determined to chip away at them one by one & just try each day to be a little better. I believe whole-heartedly in the joy & beauty of motherhood.

 

 

Noah at 1 Month

 

 

 

 

 

A month with Noah has come & gone & he has been just exactly what I needed. Never would I have dared to ask for a baby like Noah. It would have felt awfully greedy when really I just felt so blessed to be getting him. But then he came & this precious little boy has done something new to my heart. He's overflowed it with love & gratitude & made me feel like the luckiest girl around that I get to be his mama. I adore his little features & all the little sounds he makes but more than anything I feel so deeply that he was meant for me & for our family. He brings a peace & calm to me in a way that's hard to describe & is a daily reminder that God has been awfully good to us.

 



Just the Boys

 

 



 I didn't realize just how happy it would make me seeing these 2 together. These boys needed each other. Tyler will finally have someone to camp with & play sports with & do all those boy things that he loves. That Noah is one lucky boy.