Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Glinda, Dorothy and the Scarecrow!

A Mother's Prayer

On the heels of Saylor's second birthday, between the shopping for gifts and decorations, the paper cutting, the ribbon twirling and the pom fluffing, I heard this song and it stopped me right in my tracks. In 11 days, my girl will be 2. These past two years can't be put into a box of memories because the box would explode. Much like my heart feels, when I think about the joy one little person can bring to another's life. The past two years have been tremendous. Full of love, laughter and abiding joy. They have taught me what is really means to love. Unconditionally. Without a thought for one's self. This song melted me. It is pure truth. Absolutely, a mother's prayer.

"A Mother's Prayer"

As I lay you down to sleep 

I pray the lord your soul to keep

Cause I don't need that much for me

This is a mother's prayer

I pray for angels by your side

And ask they watch you day and night

Walk with you all through your life

This is a mother's prayer

I pray that all the dreams you dream come true

And every star you wish upon grants every wish times two

I hope one day you get the chance to truly see...

 What real love is, like you showed me

As I watch you fast asleep, I close my eyes and pray for peace

Cause now it means much more to me 

This is a mother's prayer

And as you grow and seasons pass

I hope that time won't move too fast

Though it is too much to ask

This is a mother's prayer

I pray that when you give your heart, it's true

And all the love you give away, comes back to you times two

I hope one day you get the chance to truly see...

 What real love is and what you mean to me

In this great big world you can't stay small forever

Cause before I know it you'll be grown and standing on your own

But I hope these words are something that you treasure

And you'll get the chance to whisper them to children of your own

I pray that all the dreams you dream come true

And every star you wish upon grants every wish times two

I hope one day you get the chance to truly see...

 what real love is, like you showed me

This is a mother's prayer.

-Carnie Wilson

Dada!

A happy Friday.

He sleeps! Hallelujah. Just as soon as I blogged about how terrible of a sleeper Baker is, he proved me wrong. Every night this week he has gone to bed between 7:30 and 8 and not gotten up until 7 or 7:30. It appears tubes were the answer for my sweet little guy and I am so thankful his ears are not hurting him anymore! And I also feel like a new woman! The power of sleep is really amazing :).

Saylor had spirit day at preschool yesterday and she looked like such a big girl in her jeans and t-shirt. I cannot believe my baby girl is almost 2!

Speaking of Say, that girl really is a trip. She keeps me laughing! One morning this week she looked at me and said "bye bye mommy, going shopping!" Bless.

Hope your weekend is fantastic. We are gearing up for Halloween festivities, Elmo parties and (long awaited) cooler weather! Happy Friday!

7 months!

Happy 7 months, sweet Baker!

You are such a happy, happy boy and we love you so much! You light up our family and melt my heart every singe day.

You are still such a big boy. You had tubes put in last week and had a rough time with it, but thankfully, we are on the mend. I pray this will help your sweet little ears and help us all get much better night's sleep :). You weighed almost 23lbs when weighed at the surgery center. You are wearing size 9 month or 12 month clothes and size 4 diaper. You are a sweet little tater :)!

You are eating much better lately! You are back to nursing every 4 hours, or taking a bottle if we are out and about. Your schedule looks a little something like this:

wake around 7:30 - nurse

breakfast (9:30ish)- oatmeal and a fruit 

11:30am - nurse

1pm - vegi

4pm - nurse

5:30pm - rice cereal and a fruit/vegi

8pm - nurse and bed

We have also introduced a few small solids... puffs and baby mums. You are not so sure about the taste but you love putting them in your mouth and playing with them!

Sleep... Oh, sleep. You are not such an awesome sleeper (however, after a long road, last night you slept through the night! Here's hoping you are trying to prove me wrong!) Ever since the ear infections started, you have regressed. You are getting up once a night to eat, and when the ears are hurting, you are getting up 2 or 3 times. Now that the ears are fixed, let's pray sleep is on the horizon! You go to bed between 7:30 - 8 and usually wake sometime during the night to eat. You get up each morning around 7. You nap each day at 9 and at 2, for 2 hours. You sometimes sneak a cat nap in during dinner time. The basket and swaddle are officially gone now!  

You are so darn happy. You smile and laugh all day long! You love to play! I keep telling your daddy you are going to be ALL boy! You love to bounce. Love your sisters and think they are hilarious. You jibber jabber constantly and are happy just to be hanging out. You love to sit and play with toys. 

You still don't love being on your tummy, so crawling may not be anytime soon. You are trying to sit up by yourself when laying on your back and move your feet to walk when we stand you up. You are definitely in the "everything goes in your mouth" stage! 

I got to go on a little road trip with just you a few weeks back and it was such a joy! We visited your ShuShu and Gbake at the lake, as well as Chad, Jess and some friends. We enjoyed boat rides and fun. It was so nice to get to hang with just my boy for the day!

We love you to pieces and think you are so handsome!

You are a doll, sweet Baker. You have completed my heart with your precious smile, your all boy playfulness and your gentle, calm way. My son, your mommy loves you forever.

Happy 7 months, love!

iPhone photo dump Friday.

Tubes.

We headed to the surgery center at 630 this morning for both babies to have tubes put in. This momma was sad watching them roll my babies away but remained thankful that our ear issues would hopefully be fixed.

Baker came out of surgery first and did not have the easiest time coming out of the anesthesia. He has had a tough morning and seems to be in a bit of pain. He's sleeping now and I'm praying after a good nap he will be feeling better.

Saylor did really well! She was quite bewildered when we got her up super early and put her in the car in her pajamas. The doctor said she seemed nervous when he was taking her vitals. She came out of the anesthesia groggy and a little fussy, but slept in the car and has been back to her self all morning.

The doctor said Baker's ears were terrible and Saylor's were worse than his. I'm grateful for sweet doctors and nurses who made it their priority to take good care of my littles. And I'm even more grateful that hopefully our ear issues are a thing of the past :)!

iPhone photo dump Friday.

Day of Silence

Today, I am participating in the social media day of silence for Julee Turner. I do not know her or her late husband, but have read her blog over the years, as well as many of her dear friend's blogs, and this tragedy has weighed so heavily on my heart.

Along with many, many others, I will spend today in constant prayer for these families.

May we hold each other a little bit tighter today.

Tuesday.

It's freezing. And I love it. I made chili last night and drank pumpkin beer. I bumbled my littles up last night to head to the soccer field and spent an hour walking the trails with a new friend. It was just what I needed after the Monday I had.

Yesterday was one of those really long, hard days. It even started that way. I woke knowing I was going to have to bring my A game (and I failed miserably!). I knew I was extremely over-tired, considering I haven't had a night's sleep in about 5 days. All kids were out of school. The house was a wreck. My patience was long gone. And we are battling another awful ear infection with Baker, and boy, any doubt I had about putting tubes in his ears so young has been wiped clean away! Both S and B are set to get tubes put in next Thursday, the 18th. I'm praying this will be the answer for SaySay's ear woes and Baker's continual ear infections. After 48 hours of antibiotic, he finally slept last night. Praise Jesus. We all needed it!

This morning I woke feeling better. I love how freezing it is in my house (although I'm quite sure I won't love it in another month when my sweet hubs STILL won't let me turn the heat on, ha!). Sean headed to work early (530am, anyone?), and I headed into the kitchen for coffee and quiet time. Sometimes the complete quiet of 6am is really nice. Today was one of those mornings.

I'm thankful for these times of quiet after what seemed like a string of really loud, long days. I'm thankful for hot coffee and silent prayers. I'm thankful for a husband who came in last night, knowing just how fried I was, and sent me for a hot bath with a glass of wine.

It's the in between, the precious minutes in seemingly long hours. My husband's arms wrapping around me tight after a very long day (or days). It's a friendship sparked in usual places. It's a sweet baby girl climbing in my lap and saying her prayers as the lights go off. It's the little things that pull us through. Praise God for that.

"A woman who finds herself surrendered at the feet of her Savior is a woman who knows that whether she successfully conquered her day and gets a gold star, or whether she botched it and cries herself to sleep at night, in her heart of hearts she desires to be a woman of integrity and character. And, by God's grace she will continue to steadily pursue Him and His plan for her life." -Brenda Michael

May we be surrendered at Jesus's feet, pursuing Him and His plan for our life. Not letting the good, the bad and the ugly get in our way.

ENT

We're off to the ENT this morning with both babies in tow. Any extra prayers y'all have lying around would be greatly appreciated! Prayers specifically for a pleasant appointment (for both babies and parents!) as well as some answers. Specifically answers for sweet Saylor's ears... She has kept an ear infection since the first week of August, in spite of 5 or 6 antibiotics.

Baker has already had 2 bad ear infections before the ripe old age of 6 months and they are continuing to find pressure behind his ears.

Happy Wednesday! And since it's October, it calls for pumpkins!