WEEKEND WRAP UP | EASTER 2016

Isn't Easter great?  I mean, it is by far the greatest holiday to celebrate.  In one weekend we go from understanding the depth of God's love by giving up His own son for each of us to conquering death showing us that we really do serve a living God.  With two sons of my own now, I admit that I would never.never.never give them up for any human. I just can't. So when I think of what God did by giving up His son for us - mind blowing. heart transforming. humbling.  Easter is great.

 

I had such high hopes to take Conner to an Easter egg hunt, but in one day, we went from having zero snow to about eight inches. ugh. It's times like these that make it difficult not to wish we lived back in central Illinois.

 

So Friday we played around the house as the absurd amount of snow slowly melted away.  No agenda. No plans.  Just family time and some amazing steak fajitas from dinner.

Saturday morning we loaded the boys up bright and early and went out for breakfast.  Pancakes, sausage, eggs and a very tall coffee got me fueled up for our next stop which was grocery shopping.  Trust me, I need all the coffee I can get to chase Conner all over the store.  It's pure chaos anytime we walk into a store.

The afternoon was spent working on more projects and we rounded out the evening with a fire.  By the way, it's so funny watching Conner nowadays.  If Joe is building a fire, he is right there helping.

And of course the best day of the week.. Easter Sunday!  Joe and I set out the Easter baskets and eggs Saturday night after the boys were asleep, so Conner got to search for the eggs first thing in the morning.  I admit, his excitement towards the eggs wore off fast which was a little disappointing for me.  I think if we were able to put the eggs outside, it would've been a whole different story.

I try to avoid sugar in this house like the plague since Conner has plenty of energy without it.  So this year we stuffed the eggs with stickers, quarters and grapes.  He loved the quarters.  By far his favorite.

For the Easter baskets, Conner got a new Stormy Kromer hat, jeans, tape measure, bubbles, bath toy, water bottle and a piece of candy.  Since we have every boy related toy on the face of this planet, there wasn't a whole lot to get Linden, so we opted mainly for clothes.  He got a pack of onesies, a summer outfit and this shirt.  We also threw a new teething toy in there for when those days come.

We got to spend the morning at church and celebrate the risen Saviour, and from there we went straight to Joe's grandparents for Easter lunch.  A full plate and two desserts later, I was stuffed! Three dinner rolls and three marshmallows later, Conner was stuffed.  Three plates full and one dessert later, Joe was stuffed.  Two feedings later, Linden was stuffed.  Moral of this story, we all went home stuffed. :)

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and was able to celebrate its meaning with family and friends!

LINDEN | FOUR MONTHS

F O U R

 

Four months. How are we here already??? How has four months slipped by this fast?  Linden boy has caused life to fly by at a super sonic speed.

 

Every month with this little man is better than the last.  The exciting thing is that just when I think life with Linden in the mix can't get any better, I know from experience now that it does.  It just keeps getting better.

 

LAST MONTH: 

 

THIS MONTH:

EAT

For the most part, he's still sticking to his feeding schedule from last month which I am entirely okay with.  We started big brother on solids when he turned four months old, but I decided that we are going to try baby led weaning this time around with Linden.  I plan to wait until he's six months old, but since I've learned that each month flies by faster and faster, I've started reading up on the topic to be prepared when the time comes.  I am really looking forward to giving this BLW thing a whirl, and I will be sure to update everyone on how that goes when the time comes.
 

 SLEEP

This month has been less than dreamy and a little rocky on the sleep front.  Linden's been waking up multiple times throughout the night.  Not necessarily to eat either.  This past week has been especially trying with his cold causing him a lot of congestion.  It causes for one grouchy mama in the morning all day.

Linden's developed a bedtime bond with his blanket, bear lovey and paci.  And believe me, he wants all three there with him when it's time for bed.  He definitely takes after Conner in that he wants his face covered by his lovey.

 



 

PLAY

If anything is within reach, it's fair game.  He grabs at anything and everything.  He loves holding tight to his rattles and going to town with them.  Bath time is probably his most favorite time to play.  As soon as he's in the water, he's kicking the water and splashing as much water out of the tub and on me.

Linden loves to be held up over my head and lowered down close to my face before being lifted back up again.  It completely cracks him up.

And we are starting to mimic! I stick my tongue out repetitively making funny noises and he doesn't hesitate to follow my lead doing it just like me.  He also loves it when I tap my finger over his mouth as he makes long, drawn out noises.  That's something that Papa taught Conner at four months so why not teach the same to the little brother.
 

 

 

3 TO 4 MONTH PHOTO DUMP

 

Weekend Wrap Up | Happy Spring!

Happy Spring, everyone! We made it through another winter and now it's time to look forward to warm weather and outdoor fun!

 

Times have been a little rough on our household as we got through this weekend.  We've been sharing and re-sharing nasty cold viruses the past week, but this weekend has been the mother of them all.

 

Friday night landed us in the local urgent care with Linden running a fever, puking, cold symptoms, and a rash.  All the things nobody wants to see a little baby go through.  We were fortunate enough to never deal with a bad illness when Conner was a baby, so we decided it would be best to get Linden checked out by a doctor just in case it was something that needed a little more attention.

 

It was not a fun trip to the doctor, and I quickly learned that Linden is like a beast when it comes to physical strength.  It took three adults to hold him down to look at his ears because he was strong enough to push people away. Three adults...

 

I left there feeling more confused on how to handle his illness because of conflicting information, but at least we left knowing he likely didn't have RSV or strep.

 

We're still fighting his fever and sore throat and his congestion is causing him a lot of grief, but I just keep telling myself that this time next week should be better for everyone.

 

Saturday was more or less one of those days that we were just trying to get through with two sick little boys.  And since it was uneventful for us, it gave me an opportunity to take some close ups of Linden to look back on someday.  I know in just two years, I'm going to forget little details of his hands, feet, and face, so I like to capture these growing moments.

 

 

Conner gave us a big surprise Saturday morning.  Out of the blue he randomly counted his numbers to ten.  All this time Joe and I thought that he could only count to three, but that little boy clearly knew way more than we were giving him credit for.  Our minds were blown, and this mama is proud.

 

 

Sunday was of course another homebound day.  There was no chance of leaving the house for church or lunch or anything really.  Instead, Linden spent the majority of the day resting while Conner and I decided it was our top priority to make cookies. And then eat them.

 

Cookies are a very serious thing in this family.  Conner and I love cookies.  We broke out the mixer and he helped dumped the ingredients one by one into the mixing bowl. He even mastered helping me with cracking the eggs and eating the cookie dough.

 

As for Joe, he got his deer mount back from the taxidermy so he stayed busy figuring the best way to mount it to the stone fireplace.  Now let's just pray it holds tight when he finishes!