Let's try this again :)

Well, after over 2 months, I decided we should either create a new post or just do away with the Line and since the thought of giving up on maintaining our blog made me sad, I figured I'd better start typing and uploading! For those still checking in on us, I apologize for being out of the picture these past few months. We really have become Facebook addicts I suppose. :) I promise we'll try not to let 2 months go by again! We are doing extremely well and God is continuing to richly bless us far beyond what we deserve. Adam and Grace are growing and changing so fast. On March 22, Adam turned 2 years old! He is all boy and is most content playing outside on slides, swings or anything that moves. He is talking quite a bit more...repeating everything and saying little sentences. It's neat to see how he understands many of the things we say, which makes it a bit easier (or more challenging :) when trying to get him to follow commands. He is now in the 15th % for weight, which is a relief for me! At his previous doctor visit, he was only in the 4th %! He and Grace are interacting much more these days...they will sit and laugh at/with each other, which is so sweet. Grace is getting into EVERYTHING!!! She is a fantastic crawler and is pulling up, getting up onto steps and walks when she has something to hold onto. She will be 10 months old in just about 1 week and still doesn't have a single tooth! Over the Easter weekend, we were able to take a trip down to VA to visit Stephen's family. We had a wonderful time! His sister Kelly took some amazing photos of the kids:

Well...

So, I'm turning out to be a horrible blogger! Facebook has become my newest form of communication with friends and family, so I have been a bit more lax about posting on the Line...sorry about that! We are all doing just great! Grace is on the verge of crawling. She sits up really well and will pull herself around the room. She loves to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, but hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate moving forwards and backwards. However, if I leave her in a certain spot in the room and come back a minute later, she's usually on the other side of the room, so she's definitely getting around! She is sleeping 10-11 hours at night now which is wonderful, although naps have not been the best. Depending on the day, she probably averages one good 2 hour nap a day, which is rather frustrating. For example, this morning, I put her down for a nap and she cried for 45 minutes, so I finally just went and got her. She refuses to nap sometimes and I'm not sure what to do about it. Any suggestions are more than welcome! Adam has started doing a lot more talking and pretty much knows all the letters of the alphabet. He is still really small for his age, which is a concern of mine at times, especially since he's such a finicky eater. He does okay eating breakfast and lunch, but dinner is another story. I refuse to allow him to dictate what he will eat and when, meaning that if we are eating spaghetti and salad for dinner, that's what he has to eat, or he won't eat anything. I can't tell you how hard that is for me to do. Sometimes when he refuses to eat, I feel sooo horrible and want to go make him something I know he'll enjoy, but I will not go down that road, because it will just make things worse in the long run. Thankfully, Grace has been doing wonderfully with solids...we'll pray she stays like that! Okay, here are a few more recent photos:


I love it when her hair is wet and curly!

Adam reading to Grace. He actually does this several times a day...it's so sweet and cute!

More reading...

Poor baby...she was so tired, she fell asleep during lunchtime.

This was at Grace's baby dedication a few weeks ago.

We're back!

Well, after a long 1 1/2 months without internet access, we are finally back on! It sure is good to be back in the loop...we sure can take being online for granted sometimes. We pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Ours was truly blessed! A few days before Christmas, Stephen's sister, Kelly was able to come spend time with us. It was so nice having her here with us! She took some really great photos, but they are still in her possession, which offers a bit of an explanation as to why we don't have many pictures to post. For those who may not know, Kelly is a professional sports photographer and she's really, really good.

The babies are growing like crazy and are filling our lives with such joy! Grace is still dealing with a slight cold and cough, which has been waking her (and us!) up at night, so we're praying she will be over it soon.

Here are just a few recent photos...

Adam is just SO sweet with Grace. He loves hugging her and giving her kisses. :)

A little update...

For those of you who are wondering where we've been lately, we actually moved to a new place last weekend and have yet to get an internet connection set up on our home computer, so we've been a bit out of the loop. I am using my parents' computer now, but it's hard to say when we may actually have a chance to post again. I promise we will as soon as we can! For now, everyone is doing really well. Adam had pink eye a few weeks ago and both he and Grace have been dealing with coughs and the sniffles since. It seems that they just keep passing whatever germs they have back and forth...poor babies! We are adjusting really well to being in the new place and are getting settled in really quickly....we've had a lot of practice at this moving thing! :) Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is able to take the time to celebrate the amazing blessings that our great God has given to each one of us!

Sweet Grace...

Our precious little girl is growing so fast! This post is going to be pretty much all about our darling Grace. I think Adam will understand... :) But first, I feel like I am the most blessed woman in the world! I know that every mother probably feels that way, or in my opinion, should feel that way. Every baby is an amazing miracle from the Lord! I just know that in spite of those moments of chaos and disorder, I wake up each morning praising the Lord for my sweet children. I LOVE, and I truly do mean LOVE, being Adam and Grace's mommy and I look forward to each new day with them! As you can see, Grace is growing like a weed!! She will be 4 months in just a few days and is adding more and more joy to our lives all the time. She has been doing tons of babbling and laughing those adorable baby belly laughs and has a smile that lights up any room instantly. Unfortunatly, I can never get her to give me a good smile for the camera. She must be camera-shy like her mom. She rolled over from belly to back for the first time on Friday morning. It was just one time and she hasn't done it for me again since, but it was still an exciting moment. She will have her 4 month check-up on November 4, so we'll see where she is weight-wise, but I swear she is almost the same size as Adam! She is getting so big! Some of our friends recently had a baby girl who weighed only 6 lbs. 1 oz. and it's hard to believe that Grace is only 3 1/2 months older than baby Emma. My, how fast they change! Well, here are just a few cute shots for your enjoyment:

This was taken right after her bath. I love all of her curly hair!

Sorry about Grace's creepy eyes in this one. They actually looked even more creepy before I played with the red eye feature, so I decided to stick with this one. I just thought it was a cute shot. Adam loves his sister and always wants to be where she is, doing what she's doing.

It was a little chilly outside, so I put this adorable little hat on her.

I love the lips in this one. :)

Holding her head up so nicely. She was sooo tired in this pic...

Cedarville reunion and other random pics...

Well, this past weekend, we were able to head to Cedarville University for Stephen's 10 year class reunion. We had such an enjoyable time! It was great for Stephen to get to reunite with some of his good college friends and for me to be able to meet them.

While there, we were able to take a little hike around this Gorge. It was a beautiful day...Adam really enjoyed himself!

I thought I'd just throw in some cute shots of the babies...I couldn't resist! :)

Some shots of Adam reading...he's really beginning to LOVE books!

My parents gave Adam this little rocking chair, which he loves. We thought he looked so cute sitting in it in this little outfit.

Our friends the Woodards gave Grace this beautiful blanket with her name embroidered on it...we love it SO much!

Finally, an update!!

Ok, I know I'm LONG overdue for adding a new post. My time spent on the computer is usually only for 5 minutes at a time these days, which hasn't allowed for much time to post on the line. We are still all alive and well, however and have been rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord as our family grows and changes.

Grace continues to change every day. It's hard to believe that she is already 12 weeks old and will be turning 3 months in only a few days. She is smiling and cooing a ton and even laughs every now and then. She has been sleeping 9-10 hours consistently now for a few weeks (Praise the Lord!!), which has made ALL the difference in all of our demeanors. :) It's amazing how much difference a good night of sleep makes. Liz, I know that it will happen for you (if it hasn't already :) when Bree is ready...every baby is different. My babies just tend to be more laid back than most. If you met my husband and I, you would understand exactly how they've come to be that way. :)

Adam is turning into quite the little man. He is understanding sooo many things. He's not talking a whole lot, but we're working on getting him to say/sing the alphabet and so far, he's made it to E. :) Otherwise, he says a few words and loves to do impressions of various animal noises. :) He's really good at mimicking elephants, lions and whales! :) He such a boy, in that he is fascinated with balls and trucks. He also is happiest when he's outside. Boy, does he put up a fight when it's time to come in! It's hard to believe that he is now 18 months...time sure does fly!

Anyway, here are some fairly recent pics:

When I say 'Smile!', this is what he does...silly boy!

For my b-day, Stephen surprised me with these flowers...aren't they beautiful? He's so wonderful!
Another silly smile...
I can never get any photos of Grace with a full smile. Anytime I get one, it comes out blurry, but this is sort of half a smile.



Pretty relaxed in the bumbo...we love this thing!