Selfish Parenting

Isaiah is 20 weeks old today or close to 5 months... He still has bright blue eyes and has such a sweet personality. He's funny, loves to laugh and smile and loves getting his mama's attention! These days when we put him on his back he starts playing with his feet. It's pretty cute. He's getting better at sitting.... he isn't nearly ready to do it on his own, but he wants to and his muscles are developing. =)

He still hasn't rolled from back to front, but I think it's because he doesn't like being on his stomach. He's very good at rolling from front to back and does lots of baby crunches. Isaiah is very vocal. He likes to compete with Zeke for noise levels and attention. I think both boys have been dealing with jealousy issues...

I've realized during the past week and a half why I haven't potty trained Zeke yet. The reason is that I can no longer change his diaper when it's convenient for me. I can't make him last just a little longer at the grocery store or take a little longer on our walks in the stroller or go for a long run. I also hate cleaning up that kind of mess so why would I want to initiate that kind of mess happening in my house for a week plus???

Well, I finally broke down and tried it. A week ago last Monday we started potty training Ezekiel and he is doing amazing! The first 3 days were a mental hell for me trying to read the signs and figure out what Zeke's own personal pee dance looked like, but now we're a pretty good team. Zeke isn't fully trained yet, but he's pretty great at going potty on the toilet. I feel sane again and now I don't have to change a 2 year old's diapers. I think that is pretty awesome. Way to go ZEKE!!
In other news, Nathan and I are participating in a 30 day diet that is supposed to help your body heal from processed foods and so much more. The reason I wanted to do the diet was because I felt like we were too focused on the carbs or grains in our diet and not focused enough on veggies and foods that were good for us. Now we have seven days left. I've lost 15 lbs and I'm pretty sure that my mental function has improved. Nathan and I actually have the energy to have a conversation after the boys are in bed. My cravings for sugary foods have decreased and I've realized that it isn't impossible to make meals every day. I think this diet has shown me that I'm more capable than I thought I was and I've made some pretty awesome foods. Now I'm nervous for Thanksgiving which is the first day off the diet. I don't want those 15 lbs to reappear in the first day! Zeke has been on the diet with us, but not so strictly... We haven't had any bread in the house for the past 23 days so yesterday Zeke came up to me with his shoes and said "We better get going to the restaurant so we can buy some bread. We better get going!!" It was so cute! So I broke down and bought a loaf of bread for Zeke. He's pretty happy. Thankfully though, on this diet, Zeke has discovered that he absolutely loves broccoli, fresh bell peppers and cucumbers. =)

Nathan and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful partner in my life. God has blessed us in our marriage and with 2 amazing little boys and we couldn't be happier.

Our 3rd Anniversary!

On our Anniversary, Nate got off work early so we went to Edaleen dairy for ice cream cones!  Then we went to On Rice for take-out and then went home and watched a movie.  We all had a great time!  These pictures were taken in the grass by On Rice at Barkley. 

A Family Portrait

Such a cute picture!  Zeke is getting ready for a kiss from Nate!

No Pictures, just stuff

So as you know, we were having camera issues a while back... Well, they are still issues.  We don't know if it's our batteries or if it's the charger, but we're having a hard time getting the batteries to charge and I broke the thing that holds the batteries in the camera...  It's hard trying to carry tons of stuff all at once so yes, I dropped it.   It was fine for a while... just kind of broken, but now it's out right broken.  You will still see pictures, but much less until we get this figured out. 

Zeke is getting more and more aware of himself.  He is starting to pay more attention to textures that he can feel.  He watches me much more intently than he used to and he's starting to try to laugh.  I love his laugh!  He is still unsure about being tickled, playing peek-a-boo and blowing on his tummy, but every once in a while I get a smile from him while doing one of those things.  He's tall and starting to get a bit more chubby He's almost grown out of his 6 month sleepers and filling out his 6-9 month onesies! and he's only 3 months old! Since Zeke was born he's been interested in walking.  He just takes steps when we stand him up!  It's so cute!  You can check out a video of him walking here.   He is continuing to do this, but getting better and better at holding his own weight.  I love watching him wobble when I stand him up.  He's doing great at teaching his muscles to balance.   He is also starting to want his mom more.  I love it!  Well, it's great because I love the kid so much, but it also is beginning to make things challenging.  For instance, I made brownies the other day and Zeke insisted on being held the entire time.  So yes, if you were wondering, it is possible to make brownies one handed.  I proceeded to make stew with one hand only putting him down and letting him complain while using the cutting board.   It also makes it more of a challenge to force myself  to keep a clean house.  This is a constant battle and unfortunately, I'm losing most of the time.

  Nate and I are doing great!  We're learning how to have a marriage relationship while being extremely distracted by our little guy.  It's pretty amazing how God prepares you for such a change.  I think our relationship is better now than it has ever been.  I'm totally looking forward to celebrating our 3rd anniversary next month!  What an amazing 3 years it has been! 

 We also have been church shopping I guess you could say.  I can't say that I enjoy the process of finding a home church, but it feels good when you think you've found it.  We went to Hillcrest Chapel last Sunday and felt so at home that it was a little strange.  We were so impressed by the family atmosphere and the worship!  We will see how it goes when we go back tomorrow. 

  Today Nathan and Tino are working on the shed again.  They took a couple weekends off to do other things, but I guess today they are trying to finish putting the door on the shed and maybe finish the portion of the fence that was started.  I think that means finishing the gates and putting up two more sections of fence on the side by the shed.   

  That's all for now.  I'll try to get some pictures up soon!  Love you all!