Oh, Lummi...

I LOVE Lummi Island!  Jake loves Lummi because it holds his boyhood memories of running through the woods, and spending the majority of daylight hours turning over rocks looking for crabs on the beach.  For me, Lummi is only a part of my recent past, but it still holds a special place in my heart.  It is like a magical retreat.  It feels like you're on vacation, even though you are only minutes from town.  I love hunting for sea glass...I could spend all day beach combing.  It is where Jake and I got engaged, so it will always remain the most romantic place in the world!  :) 

If it didn't cost an arm and a leg to get over (seriously, $21 for us to drive over on the tiny ferry...sheesh!) I would spend most sunny afternoons over there.  Fortunately, Jake's grandparents own a home right on the beach, and a few times each summer, Jake's dad pulls out the boat and ferry's us across to the magical land.  Yesterday, we went out to celebrate grandma and grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary!  It as Calvin's first boat trip and first time on the island, and he really enjoyed it...I think he thinks it's as magical as I do :)  It was such a fabulous summer day!

Bad Mom Day

So I was reading a blog yesterday about how mom's are afraid to admit to having bad days.  We always want to say we adore being a mom, and everything that comes along with it.  We never yell at our children, we never let a load of laundry go unfolded, and we always have dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.  There is so much pressure (most of it put on by ourselves) and we are just afraid to admit sometimes it isn't always perfect. 

Well, it came at the perfect time for me, and I admit that today was a BAD MOM DAY!!  I brought it on myself, staying up too late last night.  But Calvin woke up early and was crabby, which made me crabby.  I found myself getting super irritable and yelling at him for things I wouldn't normally.  And he was being in super discovery/destruction mode.  He was able to somehow unscrew the bolt that held together a stool I have had since I was little.  And where did I find the screw?  In his mouth!!  BAD MOM!!  I try (and am usually able) to be really patient with him, remembering that he is learning and discovering, and not always intentionally trying to push my buttons...yet :)  Anyway, I almost decided not to go walking with some of my gal friends, but last minute changed my mind, and determined to change my attitude. 

I came home feeling much better and Calvin took a great nap!  After his nap though, I changed his diaper and found the first of what I can safely assume will be many, many "discoveries" in his poo.  A rubber band!!  That couldn't have felt good being digested...hmmm...maybe why he was so fussy yesterday and slept poorly??  BAD MOM!!  (Sorry if that's too much information for anyone). 

I know I am still new to this mom thing, and there are many of you out there with oodles of kids who always seem to have it all together.  I am still learning so much but even as I learn and grow, I am still going to have rough days.  I praise God for blessing us with sweet Calvin and I love him more than imaginable.  I really, really love being a mom...even on the bad days!! 

I know, seriously, who could be crabby with this sweet face to smile at!!

The Gang's All Here!!

Today was our first accountability group meeting with all four babies!!  It is amazing that we started meeting together when I was still pregnant, and since then, all three of the other girls have had their babies!!  These girls (and their babies) hold such a special place in my heart.  They are such an encouragement to me and we just have a blast together.  It has been so amazing to have a great group of other first time mommies to walk and pray through this experience together.  I love them!!

The Gang

Calvin (9 months), Katelynn (7 months), Analynne (6 months), William (1 month)

Typically, Calvin is the one making the girls cry, either by yelling too loud or flailing his arms in the general direction of their face :)  But today he was on his best behavior.  We can't wait to watch these kiddos grow up, and hopefully, become good friends!!



And I couldn't resist throwing in some photos of Calvin in his new jammies.  Good grief he's adorable!!  And doesn't he look like a little boy??  Where'd my baby go?? 

Long Overdue!!

Life has been so busy lately!!  But it is still so fabulous! 

A few weeks ago, we moved to a new apartment across town.  I absolutely HATE packing boxes.  I am the worst at it.  But it has definitely been worth it.  We LOVE our new apartment.  Bigger, newer, cleaner, and just laid out better.  Calvin is a crawling machine these days and is just loving having space to roam.  It has been so much fun watching him explore every nook and cranny of the new house.  We also have a pool in the clubhouse, and a fun pond with ducks! 

The Crawler!!

It has been so much fun watching Calvin grow and change.  It is amazing how quickly he is developing.  A little bittersweet, as I already miss the "baby" days of a snuggly little bundle.  But I just love my wiggly little energetic boy more than I have words to describe.  He is pretty much smiling all of the time.  Except when he is tired, or sees his bottle being shaken, and he gets desperate, thinking we'll forget that he is the one we made it for!  He cracks us up constantly! 

This is my recent favorite...what a sweetie!

Calvin will be nine months in just a few days.  Nine months!!!???? I still can hardly believe it.  That means in three months, we will have a one year old on our hands!  How did this happen?  I can still vividly remember the day he was born, and when we brought him home from the hospital.  But the last nine months have flown!  I am convinced he will be walking at ten months...which is a combination of exciting and utterly terrifying!  Life never slows down, but we are enjoying every day. 

Lovely Day!!

It was so beautiful out today!!  It is so much fun to have more and more nice days to go outside and play. Calvin and I have really enjoyed taking walks on the trails around our house.  Although I am a true Northwesterner, and I think it's "nice" as long as it's not raining.  And flip flop season starts somewhere around April 1, when the temperatures pop up over 50 degrees, and typically lasts until October, as long as it isn't raining :)  Friends from warmer climates think I'm crazy!  

Today, after daddy got home from work, we took Calvin for his first trip to the park.  He'd spent a little time on the grass outside our apartment, so he was ready to go!!

He loves everything about grass...especially how it tastes!

Daddy was NOT a very good influence!

We are looking forward to many more sunny days as summer approaches!  I saw on the weather forecast that it's supposed to get up to 70 in the next few weeks!  Woohoo!! 

And in other news...

Calvin is such a scooter!! He is crawling around like crazy, and getting so fast.  He also is now pulling himself up to standing at tables, chairs, or anything that holds his weight.  He is growing so fast and it is amazing to watch.  He is a gigantic ball of goof and we crack up watching him every single day.  Oh, and the "crying it out" has had great success!  We've had two nights this week that neither of us have had to get up with Calvin!  I will get up if he is absolutely screaming, but otherwise, he is figuring it out himself.  What a big boy! 

Such a goof!!

Catch me if you can!!

Crying it out...

For all of you mom's who have successfully let your baby cry it out, I commend you.  It is hard!!  I've had people telling me for weeks that I needed to let Calvin cry it out, learn to soothe himself, and hopefully start sleeping better through the night.  I honestly didn't mind getting up with him and rocking him in the night.  In fact, rocking him to sleep is pretty much my favorite thing to do.  But I knew it couldn't last forever.  And it didn't.  After a particularly difficult night of getting Calvin to sleep, I decided it was time, and we've been working on it all week.  It started out pretty well, but we're on day five and it's gone down hill a little.  We've had some really easy times and a few great nights, which is encouraging.  But it is SOOOO hard to listen to my baby screaming!! 

I know, I know, it will be worth it, but it's still hard! 

So when you think of it, pray for us!! 

My Boys...

I just love saying that!!  One of the many blessings of having a little boy is getting to describe my family as "my boys"...it's so sweet! 

BBQ Buddies :) 

This is what happens when dad is in charge of getting Calvin dressed...I love the look on Calvin's face!

I just love watching my hubby fall more and more in love with Calvin, and imagining them becoming pals. I can totally picture Calvin trotting all over the house following dad everywhere he goes.  There is already a great joy that comes over Calvin the second he sees daddy, or when daddy walks in the door from work.  I forget how blessed I am to be with him all day long, seeing his smiles, hearing his giggles, and watching him learn.  As frustrating as some days can get, I feel so blessed to get to be the one who stays home with this little dude.  He is growing so fast!!