Milestones

I am constantly struck, these days, by how continually life changes.  For example, I am a total night owl.  I would rather stay up until 1 or 2, then sleep in the next morning.  But tonight, I am forcing myself to stay up until 10 pm so I can feed Emma one more time.  FORCING!!  It doesn't seem all that long ago that I was pulling all nighters with my girlfriends, or Jake and I were talking on the phone through the night.  And now...well, let's just say night time is the hardest time to love being a mom :)  I am trying to do my best to cherish every moment I have with my kids.  But does it really have to come at 12:30...and 2:30...and 4:45...and again at 6:30??  (These are all AMs, by the way).

But the days just keep on ticking by, and my kids keep getting older and older!  Calvin is becoming more of a little boy every day and it is amazing to watch him develop and learn things.  Today he was tracing letters I wrote out for him.  And he is saying new words all the time.  Things like "absolutely" and "perhaps".  Words that when said in a sweet little two year old voice make your heart absolutely melt.  And today was a BIG milestone!  We had a poop in the potty!!  We've had poops in the potty before, but this was the first time Calvin told me he needed to go.  It was a BIG day in the Eschbach household.  And yes, I am cracking myself up over the fact that I am SO excited over a poop in the potty. 

Calvin showing off his treat for the big poop :)

How crazy cute is this kid?

 

 

And in Emma news...she is four months old already!  She is so, so close to rolling over...if only that darn arm would get out of the way!  We call her the squack box because she is constantly chatting, and making sure her opinion is heard.  She's still pretty unpredictable and we've had a hard time getting on a good schedule.  Sometimes her naps only last about 45 minutes and sometimes she sleeps 2 1/2 hours.  She went through a good couple weeks of sleeping through most of the night, but she's back to waking up every couple hours.  She's still sleeping in our room, so it makes for some pretty long nights.  We love her to bits though, and we love what she has added to our family. 

 



How sweet is this angel face?

She'll be rolling in no time!

Reunion

Throughout our married life, we have been blessed with some amazing friendships.  It is always fun to have friends who are in the same stage of life as you are.  Newlywed friends who want to stay up late playing games because we all have nothing to do the next morning but catch up on sleep.  And in this stage of life, it is such a blessing to have other young families to provide encouragement, and who don't mind getting together for dinner at 4:30 so we can all be home and have the kiddos in bed by 7.  My how things have changed! 
I have shared before about the wonderful gals I shared a small group with, beginning when I was pregnant with Calvin.  My dear friend Julie was part of that group until she and her family moved back down to Houston, Texas, where they were originally from.  This last week, they were able to come back up here for a visit and it was SO MUCH FUN to get all of our kids together. 

Here's a little progression of how our group has changed over the years...

We were missing Jen's baby girl, Kyrie, who was still napping

 

 

Eight kids later and it is still such a blessing to be connected with these girls.  Of course, our time together has changed drastically.  We aren't able to get together nearly as often as we used to.  And when we do, you can imagine it is a little bit chaotic.  But the memories we will forever share of this incredible time in our lives are such treasures.  

Bad Blogger

So it's official...I'm a bad blogger!!  I often think about things I want to blog, but never get around to it.  I love reading other people's blogs, and staying up to date on their lives.  And I think there are at least a few people who read this, and I love keeping friends and family updated on our lives.  So I will continue to try, but I apologize for the long stretches of silence that can be found here. 

Nothing monumental is currently happening in the Eschbach household, we are just enjoying the days as they come.  Sometimes I am really thankful during seasons like this, where there doesn't seem to be much change.  Even though there are things in our lives that could improve, or make life easier, I am thankful for peace and predictability.  I also am learning that those seasons should be cherished, because they often don't last long!  Every day is a journey as I am trying to seek after the Lord's will in every aspect of my life.  In my role as a wife and homemaker, a fun mom and a mom who disciplines her children with love and grace, a friend, a daughter, and so many other roles God has blessed me to be in.  It has been my prayer lately to find joy in even the most mundane of days and cherish every moment. 

We have had some pretty fun times lately.  We were able to get away for a week with Jake's folks, and travel as a family down to Palm Springs, CA.  On the way down, I was telling Jake that I would never want to live somewhere that's hot and sunny all the time.  And by the end of our first day, I was asking when we could move!  The weather was perfection.  Not too hot, but warm enough to be outside and enjoy the pool, wear flip flops, and drink iced americanos.  The resort was filled with grapefruit and lemon trees and we were free to pick as many as we could eat. We had fresh squeezed lemonade every day! 

Calvin and Emma could not have been more perfect travelers!  When we landed, the folks sitting in front of us on the plane stood up and were surprised to see two children sitting behind them.  And traveling with kids, although it comes with added stress, also comes with blessings.  People are much more gracious when you have a smiling three month old in your arms.  And traveling with grandma and grandpa is awesome!  I swear it is my mother-in-laws dream vacation to get to watch babies all day, and I was more than happy to fulfill her dream :)  We had a great, restful time as a family! 


How fabulous to spend January days in the sunshine! 

 
Isn't he handsome?  Hard to believe this summer we'll be celebrating our 5 year anniversary! 


How great of a life is this? 

A few cute Calvin stories from our trip...
*I joined Jake and Calvin in the pool and was informed that Cal had pointed to the rather large, older man at the other end of the pool and called him a bear.  As we were swimming around, he kept pointing at him, asking to "touch the bear".  Luckily, the man was far enough away I don't think we offended him. 
*Since it was warm and clear, we would go outside each night and look at the stars and moon.  After finding it, Cal would ask "hold the moon?"  So cute.  I love the two year old mind. 

If you ever need a little dose of craziness, you are welcome to spend a little time at our house.  I try to be organized and with it, but most days don't end up that way.  I love that I am able to spend my days at home with my kiddos and just go with the flow.  If the day goes according to plan, great.  If not, who are we trying to impress, anyway?  Are my kids on a consistent schedule?  No, but they seem okay with it. 

Enjoy the days!