7 Quick Takes (5)

Head over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes...

1
We received copies of the Envoy featuring my hubby in the mail today.  If you subscribe to Envoy, check it out.  It's a great article and, as always, a great magazine--packed with interesting, informative, inspiring, and fun articles about the Faith.

2
As my belly begins to show a teeny bit, the reality that we will have another wee one in the house in less than six months is becoming more real.  Since we aren't finding out the baby's gender until the birth this time around, I feel like there is little I can {have to} do to prepare.  We have all of the essentials...except girl clothes.  So if the baby is a girl she may have to sleep in blue pjs for a few nights until we can assemble a proper wardrobe for her!

3
Speaking of pregnancy, for those of you who have experienced it, what is your best trick for helping with morning sickness?  With Augustine, I was naseous for the first 20 weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised if it lingers for a few more weeks this time too.  I don't have any tricks though--aside from indulging in my cravings, which only helps very temporarily {and is getting quite expensive!}.  My old go-to was Jolly Ranchers, but I got sick of them about 10 weeks ago...

4
I just joined a book club with some of the ladies from my mom's group at St. Benedict's.  Though I completely lost my passion for it during high school and college when I was reading text books non-stop, I love to read!  My first meeting is next week, and we will be discussing The Missing by Tim Gautreaux.  If you choose to read it, be warned that the very first pages are a little slow, but it picks up quickly and then you won't be able to put it down!

5
Today is my sister, and best girl-friend in the world's, birthday!  Happy Birthday, Cait!!  I love you!

6
Ironically, I have never very big into music...but my little dude, on the other hand, loves.loves.loves music!  Of course he likes the toddler jiggles about silly things and body parts and animal noises.  But he can also bust a move to anything with a good beat.  And he can get all sentimental with me when we listen to slower, more thoughtful songs.  During such songs, I pick him up and we dance together with his precious head on my shoulder.  He sweetly looks up once in awhile to see if I am crying {about half the time I am--I will blame the pregnancy hormones for the next six months and then just admit to being totally sentimental when it comes to holding my baby that close and singing about romantic/sad/relatable things together}.

7
It's 8:42 pm, and I am ready to go crawl into bed.  Being pregnant with a nursing toddler is tough work...work that I wouldn't trade for the world.  Good night everyone, and have a great weekend!


Just chillin with his dog :)

    

Augustine's {long-overdue} Wee-View

Geez, I need to get on here more often . . . otherwise so many things change in the life of my wee one that I get too overwhelmed to sit down and share them all!  But this month has been extraordinary in terms of changes and milestones in Augustine's life, so here we go...  

About a month ago, Augustine stopped nursing before bed, which I wrote briefly about last month.  This was a big step, maybe even more so for me than for Augustine!

And then, like magic, he started sleeping through the night almost immediately.  Woo-hoo!

I didn't want to press my luck, but a few weeks after that I stopped nursing him to sleep for his nap.  I thought it was going to be a big fail with him just getting upset, but he has been doing great! 

About two weeks ago, Augustine said, "poo poo."  "Oh, do you have to go poo-poo?" Luke hypothetically asked him.  And Augustine not-so-hypothetically answered about five minutes later...when the room began to smell...  So a few hours later when Augustine said, "pee pee," Luke suggested putting him on his potty, and not 30 seconds later he had peed in the potty!  Since then Augustine has been using the potty several times a day, though at this point, it has much more to do with me putting him on the potty than him telling us he has to go.  I will write a separate post on our potty training adventures later.  But for now I am just excited at the prospect of only having one baby in diapers at a time, as I had originally thought it would be impossible to potty train Augustine by the time the new baby was born. 


Yes, that is a real dog.  Augustine loves dogs.

Another big move for the little man has been from sitting in his high chair to sitting in a booster seat during meals.  I think he really likes being up at the table with me and Luke, and I know Luke and I are enjoying it. :)  He is very proficient with silverware and prefers a spoon and fork to his fingers.  He will try to stab peas and diced carrots with his fork before he will pick them up with his hands.  Breakfast is super easy on me these days--I can pour him a bowl of cereal {multi-grain Cheerios are the current fav} or give him a container of yogurt and he will spoon feed himself...he even drinks the milk out of the bowl. :) 

Our big boy sitting at the table with Mom and Dad. 
{So happy not to have to clean a high chair tray for the next year!}

Finally, Augustine is making great strides in communicating.  He says lots of words, including mama, dada, music, milk, dog, noodles, more, all done, please, ouch, and help.  He also does a few signs, including more, all done, please, thank-you, and potty.  Even when he doesn't know a word for something, he is pretty good at communicating what he needs or wants.     

So clean!!

And on the more mischievious side, Augustine can now climb up and walk around on the couches and crawl down the stairs--both scare the daylights out of me.

So that is the latest on the little guy.  I will try to resume some sort of Wee-View soon!!

A Goal-Driven Life

So, in case you didn't know, my husband is a stud--in every sense of the word.  Truly, he is a one-of-a-kind guy!  I don't know how I was so fortunate to snag him for life...but I am sure glad I did!  {Thank you, Jesus!!} 

Anyway, among his charming qualities, my husband is a faithful man of God.  In fact, it is his most charming quality.  I have seen him consistently demonstrate virtue and charity is circumstances where I would have been selfish, thrown a fit, been selfish, acted proud, and/or been selfish. 

But I digress. 

In short, the point of this post is to let you know that Luke {is awesome and} has been featured on the cover of the latest Envoy magazine {for you Conversion Diary fans out there, Envoy also featured Jennifer Fulwiler in January}. 

I do not believe the magazine's articles can be accessed for free online, but I have been told one can purchase a copy by calling 800-55-ENVOY.

Can This Really be MY Baby Inside?

Um, I just picked around the chocolate pieces in the trail mix I was eating. 

Coming from a girl who usually requires a chocolate quota in every handful of trail mix that is toss into her mouth, this is very strange.  I ate several servings of peanuts, raisins, craisins, and cashews but not a single piece of chocolate.

Typically, just a day without chocolate is an anomaly for me.  In fact, when I was pregnant with Augustine I had to temper my chocolate intake because I didn't want to consume much caffeine from it.  But this baby is a different story!  I haven't touched anything chocolate in weeks...  

I don't know what is causing this fierce aversion to chocolate--aside from my raging hormones, as I grow a wee babe--but I am going to try to embrace it for now.  Because I am pretty sure it's not going to last forever.  In fact, it may only last for the next few weeks until my first trimester is over.  And then--oh boy.  Then I have a 56 oz bag of M&Ms in the pantry to get after!

M&Ms, we shall love one another again someday...maybe.
Right now you just make me want to throw up.

     

Look Who's Back on the Mantle

In our home, we love Willow Tree figurines.  Though simple and expressionless, these statues tell such a beautiful story.  {They also make the perfect gift for close friends and family members}.  We enjoy adding to our collection as our family grows and changes. 

Our mantle showcases our small--yet growing--Willow Tree family. 

Of course, we have a husband and wife:

"Together"
For those who have found their true partner in love and life

And a Mommy and baby:

"Child of my Heart"
Child of the world, into my heart you came.
Bringing sun into my life, making family our name.

And, making her return after a 16-month hiatus, a pregnant Mommy:

"Cherish"
Awaiting a Miracle

That's right, I am pregnant!  Luke and I are very excited!  Augustine has no clue what is going on.  I have told him on a couple of occassions that there is a baby in my tummy, but he just looks at me with a "Huh?" face.  I am almost 13 weeks along, and the baby is due on January 26th.  We appreciate any and all prayers you offer up for us in the coming months. 

Now that the news is "blog official," I will be back-publishing a couple posts I have written on the issue over the past few months.  And be warned that this baby may be the subject matter of many a blog to come...

I can't wait to add this to our collection!:

"Quietly"
Quietly encircled by love

Light at the End of a Very Long Tunnel



My motto for the past 18 months.

 Well, I think we have reached are encroaching upon the Promised Land of sleep.  I knew it would come--I just didn't know when.  But after nearly 18 months of middle of the night wakings and feedings, I think Augustine is starting to figure out this whole "sleep through the night" thing.  Since we did away with nursing before bed, he has slept through the night on most nights.  {Is this a bad time to say that's it's only been five nights...?}  Ok, so we are not exactly reveling in the land of milk and honey {no pun intended}, but we are getting a little taste of it, and I like it!  It's so nice--and strange--to put Augustine to bed at 7 pm and not hear from him again until morning {i.e. 5 or 5:30 am on most days--as you can see, we have a little work to do on defining "morning."}  

Aside from the early wake-up call, the only frustrating thing is that even though Little A is sleeping through the night, I am not!  I still wake up between 2 am and 4 am and sometimes can't get back to sleep for an hour or more!  Hopefully, I will be sleeping better soon.  

Keep it up, Augustine!!  Daddy and I are so proud of you!!

Lucky

Having been out of town without Luke for the past week, this has been my theme song for the last couple of days:

While it's always so good to visit my family in Colorado, I am always excited to get back home--most especially when Luke is unable to make the trip with us. 

It doesn't help that we are right in the middle of soccer season, and Luke has been traveling here and there for the past couple months...and for the next couple months.

Speaking of our trip to Colorado, it was really great.  There are always a handful of stressful family moments, but overall we had a wonderful time.  I love seeing Augustine play with his cousins.  He and his cousin, Tavian, are only 9 weeks apart--they were a riot to watch, playing and dancing together...and fighting over toys!  We also spent a lot of time at my sister, Sarah's, house, and Augustine made himself totally at home among several other children running around.  We spent three afternoons at the pool and had big, family dinners on most nights with all three of my sisters and their families and my Dad.  Watching my niece twirl her baton in a 4th of July Parade was also a highlight. 

I am excited to one day live there and to be able to join in on family festivities all year-round.  {FYI, we hope to make the move to Colorado in about a year and a half...of course, it's not set in stone, but it's our "plan"}.

But for now, Virginia is "Home Sweet Home," and we are happy to be back.