easter 2011.

easter was amazing. God was glorified and i experienced the presence of the Spirit in unbelievable ways. easter started for me months ago, but really started taking shape on thursday at our staff meeting. i wish i was an eloquent writer so that i could explain the awesomeness of our staff meeting. we reflecting on stories of transformation from past easters which was inspiring, but then the Spirit fell on us in an incredibly prophetic way. there was not a dry eye, and to be honest, i just don't have the right words...you'll just have to trust me :)

the bulk of the set up was on thursday night. it was a great night and most everything got done.

friday, we had 3 services with children's ministry, and then packed up every.single.toy from the entire building to take over to the tents at the fairgrounds.

saturday was unloading the truck with the toys, and then fine tuning all of the tents. we finished in record time and then we had the stirring saturday night which was a night for the Church around orange and LA counties to get together to worship and pray for the sunday morning gatherings, and the families in the county. francis chan brought a pretty powerful message and we were mobilized to action by contributing to an amazing organization called Safe Families.


and then....easter morning! incredible. incredible. incredible! francis joined us yet again and it was not a service that will be forgotten anytime soon. since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some captured by alex ::

we. are. STILL. insane.

do you remember last year when we moved? well, we thought that it was the craziest time to move.

nope.

now is the craziest time to move, and, you guessed it...we're moving! again.

this will be our 4th place right before our 3 year wedding anniversary.

let me map this out for you....

alex just moved to full time which means he isn't here to use wednesdays to pack.
i am in the process of helping to make Easter 2011 happen.
may 8th RH is launching a new campus in huntington.
may 12th is micah's first birthday.
may 12th also starts a three day family ministry gathering (aka conference with a TON of people).
may 15th is micah's birthday party.
oh, and did i mention that we have one of our dear friends staying with us from the 9th-15th.

yup...sounds crazy, right? yeah. we get the keys to our new place on may 10th. and we need to be completely out of our current place by the 20th. so why are we doing this? well, let me tell you ::
the new place is free standing. that's right, no shared walls!
washer and dryer hook ups.
new windows.
new carpet.
new dishwasher.
new stove.
new countertops.
a side yard!! this one is huge for us...with a little person and summer right around the corner, we SO desired a place for him to play outside without having to drive anywhere.
laminate floors in the living room.
new tub and bathroom vanity.
all of the above for a (very) small increase in rent.
not having to live next to crazy mccrazy.
no smoker right outside our window.
no stairs!
a landlord who actually wants to upgrade the property for you.

we just couldn't pass this place up. seeing it again last night totally confirmed our decision. it's everything we have talked about wanting. we LOVE it. the funny thing is that alex just happened to drive by it on the way home on Sunday...right after we had just released our hopes of finding anything better within our price range. literally, just minutes after we said that we just need to keep our eyes open but not be expectant and to trust that God would make it clear when it was time. well, He made it clear.

so yes, we might be insane, but i think we'd be more insane to pass it up!

and because no post is finished until it has some micahness in it, here's a winner ::

eleven months.

we're a little late on micah's update this month. mostly because mama has been (and still is) crazy busy!

micah,
every day i think you just can't possibly get any more fun, and then you wake up the next day and prove me wrong! you are still a ball of energy and i don't think that's ever going to change ;) this month you've gotten more steady on your feet and are braving up to 5 steps at a time now! Most of the time it's still only 2 or 3 though. you are a happy baby who never stops moving. if you're still, it's because you are asleep! you've started playing ball now and we LOVE it. you're also loving the outdoors more and more. i think you're going to turn mama into an outside girl :) we take walks nearly every afternoon and you love crawling around on the grass outside.
you are still a very good eater...the only thing we've found that you don't like is eggs. you have tried so many new things, and mama can't even keep track of them anymore! i think that means you're a big kid now.

the closer we get to your birthday, the more i get sentimental about you growing up. you are such a gift to your dad and i. we love you more than we ever thought possible and we love you more every single day!

birthdays.

We celebrated with two very special one year olds last weekend. both boys were born on the same day in the same hospital and they both mean the world to us! first up was Ryder who had a super cute fishy theme and the best cake eating i have ever seen!




sunday was brody's turn...he had an adorable baseball theme which was perfect for his family!





we had a GREAT weekend celebrating two of our favorite little boys! next up is another one of Micah's buddies...we'll be celebrating Landon today...and after that....micah's turn!

check it out.

the OC Easter site is incredible this year. i have gone to the site multiple times since it launched, and i can't get enough. seriously, the communications team did an amazing job translating what it is we're celebrating on Easter.

check it out.

spread the word.

www.oceaster.com

mommy fail.

so last night, micah was extra fussy at bedtime which isn't normal. if he's full, he usually goes down without a fight. last night he wouldn't stop crying. i tried a few more ounces which ended up calming him down. he started crying again when he finished, but fell asleep after a few minutes.

normally i have a pretty good read on micah. i usually know what it is that's keeping him from sleep, so imagine how terrible i felt when after all of that crying, i found his little blankie (that he has slept with every.single.night.) in the living room! of course i felt awful...the good news is that tonight i remembered the blankie and micah went down without a peep :)

manly man

mama and baby.

love.

CPC 2011

(the RH & DCC crew)

CPC this year was awesome. I only attended one breakout and spent most of my time in the David C. Cook booth in the resource center. Being able to talk with other practitioners who are using Tru was great...as was talking with potential customers. The thing that I kept hearing over and over again was a sense of relief. People are tired. They are weary of the same old, and I feel so privileged to be on the team that gets to work on the Tru project. I also loved talking through the Spiritual Parenting philosophy with people. All in all it was an encouraging week and quite honestly was a great time to prepare for the next season of ministry....Easter and RH HB...

a day at the park.

okay so maybe it wasn't a day at the park, but it was at least 20 minutes ;) we took micah to the part to swing and slide, and he loved it of course. the only thing he was unsure of was the sand. that's my boy!

micah's favorites.

anytime we go anywhere (short outings included), i'm always thinking about snacks for my little guy. something that can tide him over until his next feeding of milk or solids and is portable is always good! He doesn't have many things that he doesn't like, but here are some of his favorites ::


Baby Mum-Mums are probably his #1 feed himself snack. They come individually wrapped with two rice rusks in each wrapper. micah loves to chomp on these and i love them because unlike the teething biscuits (that he also loves), they don't make a giant mess :) they are perfect for the shopping cart! these are fun little snacks that micah adores. he likes to pick them up himself (he's still mastering the pincer grasp) and can't get enough of them. we have to cut him off ;)

i think all babies love puffs. there's just something about them and i love the happy baby organic puffs because they are a little bigger and easier to grab for my guy, but his absolute favorite are these ::



the last thing actually surprised me. ella's kitchen makes these really cool pouches of fruit and veggie purees. they come with a twist off top that we actually squeeze right into micah's mouth if we're out and about! he doesn't really dig jarred baby food, but he loves the idea of squeezing it into his mouth and will finish a whole one in just a couple of minutes.


well, that's it for tonight...hope you found some new yummy snacks for your little one, or someone else's little one!

ten months.

micah,

today you are in the double digits! you are growing up quickly and we are loving every minute! i feel like compiling a list of all the changes is just so hard because everyday you are doing new things! you are constantly moving and are still very busy. you don't have time for things like sitting still! you've been carrying around mama's 2lb. weights and get really mad when you can't find them in their normal place! you walk pushing one of your toys with wheels, and you get really angry when you get stopped by something. we think it's cute and funny, but you definitely do not. you have also started standing unassisted for short periods of time (like just a couple of seconds). one of your top middle teeth popped in this week (the right one), and it looks like the left one will be coming in soon! we haven't changed over to your big boy carseat like i thought, but it's coming!

during the past month, mama and daddy each took short trips away and you did not like that very much! when mama came home from being away overnight, you stuck to her like glue for the entire next day! you would NOT let her out of your sights. when daddy got home from his trip, you had the biggest smile on your face. the funny thing was that he was with you on Saturday and Sunday, but when he got home from work on Monday, you wouldn't go to sleep so daddy had to let you keep his hat in your crib. As much as you are a busy guy and are pretty tough, you show us that you are very sweet and you love your mama and daddy VERY much!

you are eating lots of different foods...your recent favs were grilled tilapia and miso soup (not together).we haven't found anything that you don't like to eat, but you're still not eating large quantities of anything. as far as sleeping goes, we are in a much better place this month. we're still doing a dream feed because we're afraid of you waking up in the middle of the night, but right now you're sleeping 7-7 again with a dream feed thrown in. we'll take it! uninterrupted sleep is so good for all of us!

well little man, i can't wait to see what the next month holds...every day life just keeps getting better!

i love you,
mama

just the two of us.

alex is away. he went to spring training in arizona with his family and we are missing him like crazy. we are excited for him to get home tomorrow. we've been having a great time together, and had even more fun when gongi was with us! here's what micah has been up to ::

having a snack.
out to dinner with mama and gongi.riding around sam's club acting too cool for school.

dinner time. decided he was SO over being fed by mama...had to do it himself.

as you can see, i can mainly snap pictures when he's strapped in to something...any other time, i'm making sure he doesn't seriously injure himself. this kid is fast, strong and smart. a deadly trio ;)

tomorrow we will welcome alex home and we just can't wait!!

big bear.

we spent the weekend in big bear with my parents and my sister and her family. it was a relaxing time (as relaxing as can be while chasing a very active baby), and we had tons of fun. it dumped snow all day Saturday and was beyond beautiful. as you will see in the pictures below, micah didn't exactly love the snow :) there were multiple times that my parents sent me back to bed and stayed up with micah...i'm a lucky girl!

alex got crafty.

i came home to this awesome banner last week. i love it, and it's still up.

done.

i did it.
my first night away from micah is now behind me, and i am proud of myself.
it was a fun and relaxing couple of days, but i did miss my little guy like crazy...and i only cried a little once i was actually there....getting there was the hard part!
i will have another night away in march, and hopefully it will be easier next time!

i am loooooving being home with my little man. not having a babysitter actually worked in my favor this time because i came home early from the trip and as much as i love everyone i was with and i hate missing out on the fun today, i really needed to be home with my guy.

time.

today i'll leave my little guy and head out to la quinta for a couple of days with the family ministry staff. it will be fun and relaxing for sure, but i'm going to totally miss my men. it's the first night that I'll be away from micah which means that Wednesday is the first morning that he'll wake up without me. i'm guessing the anticipation is going to be worse than reality but right now that really doesn't make a difference. i know micah is in great hands with alex and my parents, i just know i'm going to miss his sweet little face.

sigh.

cuteness.

i'm working on choosing pictures to replace the ones we've had up for 2 years in a big collage frame. we literally have one printed picture of micah up in our house and after our re-do, his face will be plastered everywhere :) as i was narrowing down the pictures, i came across this perfect scrunchy little face. 9 months has flown by. but seriously, are you dying of the cuteness?? i am.

nine months.

this post is almost a week late..which i hate because he changes every.single.day. I'll try to keep it true to last week!

micah,
the past nine months have flown by. when you were born, i thought about the point at which you would be nine months and how big you would be...and big you are! at your nine month check-up, dr.brown let us know that at 30.25 inches long, you are officially off the chart! your weight is slowing down, but you're definitely still beefy!! you weighed in at 21 lbs. 12 oz. you are mama's big guy!! you still only have two bottom teeth, but we're hoping that the two top ones that have been hurting you will come through SOON!
if i had to use one word to describe this stage, it would be FUN!! we laugh together and just have so much fun playing, crawling around (you love to chase us around the house!), dancing, and being silly. we just love spending time together and watching you explore your world. you are very curious and still very busy :)
right now you are an adventurous eater and have begun eating just about everything. your newest favorite was a clementine. you loved it. you are still not eating bigger quantities of anything, but we're just thankful that you're eating solids again.
when you were sick last month, you started waking again every night to eat. even after you got well, you kept it up. last night was the first night in 6 weeks that we didn't feed you. you cried for 15 minutes, then fell back asleep and we didn't hear from you until 7am! we're hoping that after a few more nights of crying will be all it takes to get you sleeping solid again! you are much happier when you have slept well...so are mama and daddy!
speaking of daddy....you say da-da all the time. it's the only thing you can say, but still. you have started to call out to your daddy when he walks out the door and cry for him and call his name (da-da) when he leaves every day for work. it's very sweet. you LOVE your da-da and get so excited to see him.
my little man, you are in the final stretch towards your first birthday....that your mama is already planning :) you will be moving to your big boy carseat this weekend because in another inch and a half you will have outgrown your infant seat! we are looking towards the future with excitement. we love you more than words could express.

love,
mama

love.

(micah thinks valentine's day is VERY funny)

independent woman?

today i am going to see a very good friend in a play...a musical, i think. she set aside a ticket for me, and only had a limited amount, so i'm going alone.
solo.
by. my. self.

i don't normally go places by myself. i don't dine alone, i don't see movies alone...who are we kidding, i rarely get to even go to the bathroom alone anymore! tmi? me? never!

so i had a mini panic attack when i realized that i have to find the place all by myself. that i will have to figure out where to park and figure out where the will call window is.... i have never been independent...just ask my parents ;) as i type this, i want to laugh because i know it's silly.

but, i am a strong girl. i run a ministry. i oversee dozens of volunteers. i am a mama. i communicate with hundreds of families. at any given time i play the part of carpenter, doctor, interior decorator, party planner, spiritual advisor, psychologist, painter, and many more....but finding that theater?? no way. super anxious. what the heck is that about??

so what did i do? i text my friend at 10:30pm to find out the specific address one more time. poor girl was probably already asleep since she has a show to put on in the morning!! sometimes it's so funny the things that paralyze us. for me? finding the theater and parking. here's hoping i can do it ;)

first haircut.

i can't believe my baby boy had his first hair cut today. it was much more emotional than i had anticipated...especially when they turned him around so i could see him. there may or may not have been tears welling up.

alex and i have known this day was coming since micah started crawling. he is such a mover and his hair is in his eyes all. the. time. if only there were hair barrettes for boys ;)

knowing i wouldn't be trusting of just anyone with my boy's beautiful hair (spoken like a true mother, right?), we enlisted the skills of our friend Jason. he works at Salon Gregories across from fashion island, and it felt a little funny taking our baby there for a cut at just under 9 months :)

jason did a fantastic job, and didn't change the overall look of micah's hair but trimmed an inch off the longest sections to keep it from going into micah's eyes, and trimmed around his ears. micah looks SO big now and all of a sudden seems that much older...i'm not ready for him to grow up so quickly...but he sure is cute :)

pink.

i've been making some paper heart garland and i wanted to share it. i used different paper in different shades of pink and patterns with pinks and reds. alex thinks it's pretty girly, but hey, valentine's day is a totally girly holiday...plus i'm outnumbered by boys in this house and need my girlyness in there somewhere! it was such a quick project with my sewing maching! no gluing necessary :)

micah's new ride.

micah spends a lot of time in the hallway at church. usually that means he's strapped in to the becco, the stroller, or in someone's arms. micah does really well on sunday mornings, however, he likes to be on the move so being strapped into something for 5 hours doesn't typically make him the happiest baby by the end. this week, we sent alex to target during the first service to go get a walker. we never bought one because we have carpet, and because of the risk of injury, but since he's only going to be in it once a week and we will always be with him so i am not worried at all. and, well, he loves it!

preparing.

very soon i will be leaving micah overnight for the first time.

everyone tells me that it will be so nice to get away. they say that i will love it once i'm gone. they also say that the time will pass quickly. they obviously don't know me very well.

i am dreading leaving him. dreading might be an understatement.

i know that there will be some fun, relaxing times, but i also know that every time i pump, and when i lay my head down at night, all i will be able to think of is my little man having to go to bed without his mama. i just keep telling myself...it's just one night...it's just one night...

i am coming home from the retreat early because thursday is my day with micah so i'll need to be back before alex has to leave for work on thursday. i've never been so thankful to have to be home early. would you want to leave this face??

sweetness.

yesterday i came home to this.

after teaching a room of preschoolers while having a splitting headache, this was exactly what i needed. some sweetness.

homemade chai.

(photo from the orignal post)

i saw a recipe for a yummy looking chai concentrate on the Tasty Kitchen blog. i knew i had to try it, so i went to Henry's to grab the spices (did you know you can measure out spices there so that you don't have to buy a whole jar?! it's my new favorite thing!), and then in true angelina style waited 2 weeks before actually making it :) i'm a working mama, i don't have a lot of time (that will be my excuse for everything). I followed the instructions exactly, except that i let it steep for a lot longer than it says to. it's darker than any concentrate i have ever seen, but still delicious! i actually really love the way it came out. i don't have any pictures of the batch i made because my photographer is slacking :) if you're a chai fan, i would highly recommend this recipe!

...i am enjoying an iced chai right now while little man sleeps and the snickerdoodles bake :)

a moment.

i love the way alex captures moments in our lives that i might otherwise forget. this is a new favorite.

giggles.

we took this video of micah yesterday. it was his first time in a big boy swing, and he loved it :)
i must say, his laugh is music to this mama's ears...especially when he's teething especially bad today.

first project.

i don't know if i posted it, but i got a sewing machine from alex's parents for christmas. for my first "real" project (one that i had to buy the fabric for and figure out all by myself), i spruced up some plain cloth diapers to be cute burp cloths for a mama-to-be. I think they turned out pretty cute for my first time. I made three, and the last one was definitely less wonky than the first one :)

i will be making a few more tonight for another new baby. Here is what I learned from last time ::

there is more ironing than actual sewing.
i definitely need to ease up on the perfectionism or i will never finish anything.
i need to pay attention to which way the pattern runs on the fabric.
there are not enough hours in the day for me to learn a new hobby, but i'm sure going to try!

the best way to start the day...

...is with this little man snuggled up next to you.


we loved the week break we got. what break you ask? oh the one week that we had our very sweet, very happy baby who wasn't sick or teething. the teething came back in full force today and it was rough for little man. it's so hard when we've tried everything and he still is in pain. it breaks my heart.

in other news...i just realized that i will be leaving my little guy overnight (2 nights even!) for the first time next month. sad, sad, sad. totally not ready, but it's a work thing and i have to go. hmmmpf.

guess this is a pretty nothing post. i guess i just really wanted to post that picture because it makes me happy. there we go...we'll end on a happy note :)

this guy...

...melts my heart.

eight months.

micah,

eight months feels old to your mama. like too old. like i feel like you were born, and then i blinked, and all of a sudden you're big! but to be honest, you are more fun every single day and i would go backwards for anything.

you have a scratch on your eye in this picture that i asked your daddy not to photoshop out because it tells a lot about this stage you're in. you crawl over to something, pull yourself up, play there for a bit, and then fall down. over and over again, this happens. it's fun to watch and at the same time, it's incredibly hard to not coddle you. mama doesn't like to let you fall, but she knows that sometimes you just have to. on the day you turned eight months, you had a fall that caused your bottom teeth to puncture your upper lip :( mama got the call at work and rushed right home to be with you and daddy. we eventually took you to the doctor because you just wouldn't stop bleeding. Dr. said you were fine and to expect lots more falls.

despite what it might sound like you are incredibly strong and balanced. we love watching you figure out how to get from the ottoman to the couch, and back again. sometimes i think you forget that you can't walk because you turn away from whatever it is you're holding onto and act like you want to go forward. you just fall forward. it's pretty funny for us to watch.

you had your first cold over the new year, and also went on your first eating strike. both caused you to eat less and sleep less. poor little buddy. your cold lingered for a solid 2 weeks, but you're back to your normal joyful self.

speaking of joy...that is the way everyone describes you...happy and joyful, and it's SO true. you are smiley and friendly with everyone you meet. you have your favorites, and you do get grumpy, but in general you are a very happy baby and even at the youngest of ages, you are full of joy. you are truly a people person and you especially love other babies and kids. i love watching you crawl right up to other babies and touch them...we have to remind you to be gentle and that other kiddos might not like you to grab onto them :)

our days consist of a lot of time on the floor and we can't take our eyes off of you for a second. your favorite toy right now is this car steering wheel that you got for Christmas. you also love your keys and anything you can bite on. more than anything, you like the things you aren't supposed to have...like a lip gloss container and an empty wipes case.

we so love being your mama and daddy. you light up when you see us and our hearts are full. we love to be with you and still can't quite remember what life was like without you...it must have been pretty boring without a little boy to chase around ;)

xoxo.

our little crawler

micah started real crawling on Christmas and really hasn't looked back! just this weekend, he started following us when we go ahead of him and call him towards us...here's a look at him coming around the corner being SO cute :)

Micah Crawling down the Hall from Alexander T. Pavone on Vimeo.

(i love my new flip cam!)

awake is the new sleep.

yep. this has been my motto for the past 12 days. twelve days of interrupted sleep. i am not used to interrupted sleep anymore, and i could not be more thankful that micah FINALLY slept through the night again last night. i couldn't help but start singing our family ministry anthem (aka the doxology)...."praise God from whom all blessing flow...."

let me tell you. this mama has had 5 months of uninterrupted sleep and i was about to go bonkers after twelve days....how did i survive 3 months?! oh wait, that's right, i slept everytime he slept for 3 months :) this whole get up and go to work thing got in the way a bit!

micah's first cold is the reason he hasn't been sleeping. being sick/teething again made him not want to eat which in turn left him starving around 4am!

my solution? dream feeding him twice after he goes to sleep. while he's asleep he doesn't have the same resolve to not eat. thank you dream feed, thank you.