Catching up

Holy WOW!!

Being home alone with a newborn and a two year old gives one ZERO time to do anything and once the day is over you are so completely emotionally and mentally drained you can't get anything done then either.

So I am way behind on updates for Madison and Deacon.

Ok.  Madison is capable of full conversations with us now.  It's so cool.  Even her thought processes make so much sense.  It's pretty impressive.  Her terrible twos are still here but getting better for the most part.  Can't wait til we are over these.

Some funny things lately:
Copying mommy and daddy by doing everything we do with Deacon to her babies.  New diapers, bouncing, patting, burping, singing, shhhhing.  It's so cute.

When you say "Madison you are so smart and so pretty."  She in turn says "and sooooo funny."  I love it!

She had us all speechless from laughter the day she told us "hold on I'm pumping" while holding up a stacking cup to her chest.  HILARIOUS!!!

Playing in her car one day she kept repeatedly getting out saying to her baby "Hold on, I forgot it." Yeah mommy does this at least once if not 3-4 times trying to get out the door once everyone is loaded in the car.

She said to me "Mommy be patient and you'll get it."  I thought I was gonna pee my pants from laughing so hard.

We have been doing gymnastics, dance and fun outings.  Her first dance recital is dec 15.  Excited!!!

Deacon is super chill and super go with the flow.  I guess we haven't given him much choice though.

I describe Madison as hungry as a baby and toddler.  She is hungry for learning, for knowing, she asks lots of questions and wants to know everything about everything.  Deacon is my "life is good" baby.  He is just relaxed and happy.  This kid smiles with his whole head and has the cutest "aw shucks" giggle and shyness about him.

Im just super blessed to have two of the best kids around.  Madison has the best laugh, she's so smart, so sweet and funny and full of life. I love learning through her.  Deacon is simply adorable, cuddly and heartwarming.

Madison is 27 months now and about 32lbs
Deacon is 3.5 months and about 17ish lbs.

Love my babies.

Calendar for caring and a pocket full of change

I have committed myself to doing some random acts of kindness as well as some direct giving next year.  I have started already, very small but it's what I can do.  I do not have extra money, I am not caught up on bills or debts, I am not flowing in funds but I do have an overflowing heart.  One that wants to give more than I could ever do on my own.

My random acts of kindness are simple, small, smile bringers.  And I am trying to share this with as many people as I can.  This is not my mission but one of a community of friends that are pushing each other to be givers randomly all year.

Giving:
time
money
love
Or all the above.

Here are a few small random acts to share:
Buying the car behind you's order at any given place (mine seems to be Starbucks)
One day I bought cookies and asked the guy at the window to hand them out to each car with their order until he ran out
Buying a newspaper from a homeless person for $20
Giving gift cards or $$ to school crossing guards that keep your kids safe
Extra tips to waiters
If you can do more then some people pay off layaways or use $100's vs $10's or $20's
We also, with our church life group, adopted a teenager in need.

I hope my small random acts make other people do the same or maybe even more.  I started now vs next year because caring has no calendar, being in need has no date, hunger doesn't have a clock.  I do not wonder when I will eat even though my budget states I'm broke, I do not question where I will sleep or how I will get from point A to B.  I do have change laying around in my car, in a drawer, in my pocket.  So I'll take my pocket of change and make other people smile while I can

Blanket of warmth and comfort

There are certain sounds that we love, hate or are simply accustomed to.

I love the sound of the ocean it brings me peace.

I love the sound of hearing a bear run through the woods it brings me youthful curiosity.

I love the sound of crickets and frogs chirping and croaking at night in the south it brings me comfort of being home.

I hate the sound of people chomping and smacking food or gum it makes me want to crawl out of my own skin.

I hate the sound of people eating their own silverware or stabbing their salad as if it needs killing it makes me squirm.

The words love and hate are strong emotional words.

There are two sounds that surpass the word love they make your soul light up and wrap you in a blanket of warmth making you more comfortable than you have ever been.

The sound of hearing your babies heartbeat in utero is one of those sounds.

The other sound is hearing your babies first cry at birth.  I remember with Madison it was that cry that reached into my soul and made my heart immediately double in size. It filled me with an emotion I never understood, because words can not describe.  My mommy friends just used to say you'll see when you have kids and they were so very right. With Deacon the sound was as powerful as it was with Madison that I immediately cried tears of joy while giggling.  I honestly don't know how my heart still fits inside my chest but I do know that my soul will always remember the blanket of comfort and warmth that my babies, only seconds old, wrapped me in.

Happy 2nd Birthday Madison

Wow!! We made it to 2!! It has been the most memorable, laughable, entertaining, lesson learning, patience building 2 years I've ever lived and I can not wait for more. At 2 years Madison keeps us rolling in laughter with her constant singing, dancing, impeccable communication, and silliness. We find that we have new favorites from her almost daily as she learns so quickly that new comes very often in our house. Madison sings the cutest songs including Hokey Pokey, Twinkle Star, Rock a bye baby, Ring around the Rosie, The alphabet song, head shoulders knees and toes, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider, 1-2 Buckle my shoe, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse intro song, Happy Birthday and I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll remember a few more. She picks up the songs so quickly and clearly it's absolutely adorable!!! In addition to being a music magnet Madison is also enrolled in Ballet/Tap and gymnastics. She loves them both! Madison repeats things with precision and has also started changing her tenses, example..."Madison woke up and Daddy wake up." She knows here vs there. She says things like "Mommy come over here or Zeus go over there." Big vs Small. Cold vs Hot vs Warm. Empty vs Full. Old vs New (with some things). Madison still attends Town and Country Farm School and loves it. This summer they did swim time twice a week and Madison got to plant things in the garden. We actually have tomatoes from her school that she was busy gardening all summer long. She has lots of friends at school and tells us all about them all the time. As a family we have done a ton of outdoor time, park time, swimming time and "busy bee" time this summer. Madison absolutely LOVES being outside and gets cabin fever very quickly. It was a terribly hot summer but we did it with a smile just to see her exploring and doing. Popsicles are the name of the game here, she loves them loves them and has only turned one down one time and that was for more broccoli. Haha!! As for "real" food, M doesn't eat a whole lot but she eats good her favorites are broccoli, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, olives, eggs, peaches, yogurt and pasta. She likes Pirates booty and I only mention this because to hear her say "Mommy can I have some booty?" is just hilarious! We have our bouts with the terrible two's but know it will pass and know its going to continue for a little while. It is what it is but our patience will reign victor in the end and we will all survive. At 2 Madison is now a big sister to her baby brother Deacon and she loves him so very much. She ran over from the kitchen on her way to school one morning, kissed his sweet head and said I love You! A sweet moment I love to replay in my head. Madison also bows her head for prayer, says Amen and I love you Jesus! The past 2 years have flown by, each day piling memory after memory into our hearts and minds, I just hope god knew what he was doing and we don't reach capacity cause it's all just too sweet and too wonderful not to hold on to forever. Happy 2nd Birthday sweetie!! Love you all the grains of sand in the world!

Deacon Joseph

We are approaching that magical moment when we get to meet our lil baby boy. The past months have been very different from the ones in which I carried Madison but a healthy baby as the end result is all anyone could ever hope for. In carrying this lil boy I have had heartburn, heart smiles, leg cramps, charlie horses by the dozens, nearly nightly leg rubs, massages, aches n pains, the disappearing belly button, stress, happiness, the thrill and pain of a good kick in the ribs or punch in the bladder, my left hip has moved out of place and is grinding ever so unpleasantly, swollen feet and ankles, extra rest with my feet up, bedrest, nausea, no carb dieting, gaining weight and losing weight, overheating/passing out, rushed home from church twice from overheating, did I say heartburn, smiles from Madison kissing my belly, saying Hi brother, making sure her brother gets a sticker at pick up from school, weakness and shortness of breath doing everything, no sleep, naps, a new found love for a pet peeve of mine...chewing ice as it's the only thing that will keep me cool enough, financial stress, the joy of a countdown to my last day of work, hitting my belly with doors all over the place cause I no longer fit, doing a very unique exit strategy to get out of our 1/2 bathroom, forgetting everything, losing things, nesting like crazy, project to do list longer than any Christmas list I've ever created, sweet tears imagining holding him and nursing him, photo madness, no sleep, heartburn, no sleep, heartburn, a new great love for tums and Tylenol, nausea, laughs about being so big, racing hubby to the car after hospital tour and not being the rotten egg AGAIN!, working from home with iPad on bed while sitting on a big yoga/workout ball cause chairs hurt, cartwheels for fun, and last but not least I've officially crowned myself the largest pregnant belly in the Santa Clarita Valley!!!