just say no?

Since little man has started the very early stages of teething, we've been introducing different things to try to soothe his poor little gums. Thankfully, we've had only a few really hard days, but i'm still working on finding toys/products that will help our little guy because I know that more is coming! This little guy is his current fave...
I've come across quite a few necklaces and bracelets for mama that are safe for baby to use to suck/bite on while they're teething (something like this). At first I thought that it was brilliant...babies love to grab on anything that comes within arms reach for them and then everything goes in the mouth so why not buy something that looks cute AND is functional?! But the more I think about it, I wonder if that's a brilliant idea or if it will just make things harder down the road...is it better to know that your baby is going to try to eat your jewelery so you buy a specific piece that they are allowed to teethe on, or to teach them not to grab onto mom's necklace and take it away from them when they do? hmm....food for thought...

so happy!

around this house, we watch a lot of TV and are so happy that the summer hiatus of new shows is over! i'm generally a homebody and when you add in a job that brings alex home close to 6:30/7pm each night and a baby with a bedtime into the mix, we're pretty much home by 8 every night and that's prime time to catch up on shows in our DVR. Alex and I watch a lot of the same shows, but I definitely have a few reality shows that he's not super excited to watch :) Here's the tops on our list this fall ::


and there are a few i enjoy on my own....Brothers and Sisters, Law and Order: SVU, Sister Wives, Raising Sextuplets...what can I say, I watch a lot of television :)

my friend Etsy

I figured after my last post about my sweet etsy finds that i would share some of my current favorites.

Etsy angelinarene Three things you can tell from this... 1. i am looking for an awesome tie for micah 2. i'm obsessed with baby boy accessories....who says girl mamas get to have all the fun?! 3. i am very into headbands right now. with micah pulling my hair all.the.time. i am trying to find some cute ways to accesorize a ponytail/bun!

favorite

Micah's favorite toy is his crinkle square...he plays with it constantly. I was determined to find one and there were so many on etsy to choose from that I just had to get two! I am SO glad that I did because this is the first one I bought...
While I love the fabric, the actual "crinkly" sound is pretty weak. and it's a little small for my little guy to actual hold on to for any amount of time. He actually flings it up by his face and then either forgets that it's covering half of his face or doesn't remember how to hold it to get it down so he does what anyone would do and plays it off like he doesn't care that it's just hanging on his head. :)

The second one I bought is my favorite (and his)...it's larger, has quite the crinkle sound, and has minky fabric on the back side!

Love it.

four months.

I'm a little late on his four month post...partially because of my internet fast, and partially because I haven't been feeling 100% this week. bummer.

so on to the good stuff....

micah,
once again, I can't believe that another month has passed! this month you started rolling over which was a very big deal for us! you actually started rolling over from tummy to back on the 7th which was just before you reached four months, and today you mastered back to tummy! we love your laugh which you are doing more and more often. you also started being ticklish this month with the sweet spots being under your right arm, and right under your neck. you are crazy strong (and you should be since you weigh in at a whopping 17 lbs!) and along with rolling over, you scoot yourself off the blanket multiple times a day! You prefer "standing" and pull yourself to a standing position whenever someone holds your hands. I have a feeling that you'll be crawling early.

you are becoming more and more interested in toys. right now your favorite is your crinkle square (a big thanks to gina and ryder for recommending that one!), and your teething ring that you so often wear as a bracelet :) you also went in your jumper for the first time and loved standing up but get tired of it pretty quickly. you also got a new jumperoo that you are learning to love.

you continually bring us more joy and while it makes your mama a little sad that you're growing up SO fast, I am loving each new stage with you. I love the way you light up when we smile at you, and I actually love the way you are a little shy with new people (or people you don't see all that often)because it reminds me of...well...me! Sometimes it makes us laugh at how quickly you change from laughing to crying. That's why we call you "light switch." You love when we sing to you, even though neither mommy nor daddy has a good singing voice. I am trying to bust out all of my little kid songs for you and your favorite is Skidamarink...we sing it often, and usually a little bit of singing will calm you down when you're fussy.

you are adjusting well now to being with daddy and gongi while mama is at work. you'll take naps with them and even gave daddy a nice long 2 hour nap today! that's a big improvement from the past few weeks. you are such a big boy, and i am thrilled that you are not having as hard of a time when mama is gone. my favorite days are the ones i get to spend entirely with you...from the time you wake up until you go to bed. Thankfully, there's more of those than the days I'm away from you...i might be a basket case if those were reversed! i love you and am excited for what the next month holds!

love,
mama

family resemblance

When Micah was first born, it was hard to tell who he looked like. I think this is true for most babies. One thing we knew from the first moments he was in the outside world was that his mouth looks just like Alex's. When he smiles, he turns into his daddy! The older he gets, we are seeing a pretty significant resemblance to my dad. It's pretty cool to see the similarities. My parents have this set of four pictures of my dad from when he was a baby. He looks older than Micah in the pictures (we're guessing he's just around 1 year because he had already started to lose some baby chub), but baby Rene and baby Micah definitely look alike!

seek week.

Last week as a church body, we devoted the week to seeking God through fasting, prayer, and worship. We did this to, "pursue God together to declare to Him that He alone leads our community and that His presence sustains us in ways that power, clarity, and position never could."

Food was not an option for me to fast as what I eat directly relates to micah's food supply :) As I was thinking about the options, TV and internet were the two things that came to mind for me. TV would have been a great one for me, but that would also force alex to fast OR force us to be in separate rooms which I didn't want. For those reasons, I chose internet. Even with choosing internet, I was pretty specific...blogs, etsy, and facebook. I couldn't do the whole internet because I need various sites just to do my job. Even though it was less than a full week, I had a pretty great experience. My eyes were opened to some things that helped me to see myself through some different lenses...some good, and some not so good, but all helpful.

it is however nice to be back online :) i love me some blogs, etsy and facebook :)

stars.

This picture has nothing to do with this song...it's just crazy cute :)

this is a song that has always hit something deep for me. It really doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing when this song comes on my iPod or computer, (like right now as I'm prepping for the weekend) I can't help but stop and take in the lyrics. i get emotional every single time. every.single.time. Here are the lyrics for you.

Stars
David Crowder Band

you should see the stars tonight
how they shimmer shine so bright
against the black they look so white
comin down from such a height
to reach me now, reach me now

you should see the moon in the flight
cuttin cross the misty night
softly dancin in sunshine
reflections of this light
reach me now, you reach me now

and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful again

and you should feel the sun in the spring
comin out after a rain
suddenly all is green
sunshine on everything
i can feel it now, i feel you now

and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful

and you should hear the angels sing
all gathered round their king
more beautiful than you could dream
i've been quietly listening
you can hear 'em now, i hear em now

and how could such a king
shine His light on me
and make everything beautiful
and i wanna shine
i wanna be light
i wanna tell you it'll be alright
and i wanna shine and i wanna fly
just to tell you now
it'll be alright, it'll be alright
it'll be alright.

cus i got nothing of my own to give to you
but this light that shines on me shines on you
and makes everything beautiful, again.
it'll be alright, it'll be alright.

mini vacay

Last week we were able to get away to La Quinta for a couple of days with our friends Matt and Stacy. Matt's dad has an amazing house that we are always happy to go to! We left on Wednesday night and came back in time for church on Sunday. Even in such a short time, we were able to unwind and enjoy the time together. Micah was a champ! He didn't love the pool, but he didn't hate it either. And my very picky baby loved the a/c that Matt had pumping the whole time :)

family time in the pool::

hanging with matt::

stacy, micah and i...the paci was a MUST to keep him happy in the pool!

first time in the pool!

Rogue and Stacy hanging in the pool ::

"i'm ready for the pool mom"

Hope you enjoyed the last bit of summer....today it was jeans, boots and a sweater for me...fall is our favorite season and we weren't sad to say goodbye to summer!

geting his roll on.

Micah just started rolling over!! So far he can go from tummy to back, and he's almost going from back to tummy, he's just not quite there yet. i can't believe how quickly my baby is growing!

bffs

3 months.

my baby boy is three months old and i can hardly believe it. he is such a joy and i can't believe how quickly he's growing! He's a big boy...at his 10 week appointment, he weighed in at 14lbs. 2 oz, and was 24 inches long...so I imagine he's right around 15 pounds now....the same as his buddies who are a month ahead of him!! his hair is getting longer and longer, and his cheeks are getting rounder and rounder :) we love our little man and this was a big month for him!

micah,
this month you have been entertaining us with your constant talking and you kill us with your big gummy grin! You have gotten a lot more control of your neck this month, and just started enjoying your Bumbo chair! mommy is thankful that you still like the Moby wrap because she loves to have you so close to her! we had a big transition this month as i went back to work, and you've been spending two days a week with Gongi, and one day with daddy. It has only been two weeks and you are still adjusting. you are very opinionated and won't let gongi put you on your mat or in your swing...we think it's because that's where mommy puts you! you also don't sleep well when mommy is away, but we're hoping that you will get used to the new routine soon and will sleep better for Gongi and daddy! You were however a champ at church last weekend and did GREAT through all three services....you happened to sleep through the entire 11am service! We love the sweet boy that you are and have so much fun being your mommy and daddy!

me and my boy

love.

i made it...

i made it through my first week back to work. to be completely honest, it wasn't as bad as i expected it to be. i didn't cry at all at work, but some of the nights were tough just knowing i was going to have to leave him again the next day. the hardest part was seeing how much micah was affected by the change. he didn't nap well on the days my mom was here, which was a major bummer for him. he was super tired when i got home and pretty much wanted to be in my arms the whole evening...which i didn't mind, i just felt bad that he was thrown off his routine so much. his day with alex was pretty smooth, and then it was over...no more leaving him for four days!

my days off didn't exactly go as i had hoped...all i wanted was to spend the day at home with micah and instead, i ended up at the dmv (thanks so much dmv for not sending me any sort of paperwork so that i had to spend 3 hours waiting to renew my license!), at the dentist, and then at a baseball game. not exactly the relaxing day i was dreaming of!! friday ended up not being great either as i had a major headache all day and nothing helped! thankfully it was as if micah knew i wasn't feeling well and was extra sweet all day!

micah was a champ for weekend services and i don't think we're going to have a hard time having him at church on the weekends. i'm so thankful that he can be with me! eventually he'll go into a classroom for one service to break things up a little, but i'm not quite ready for that yet :)

i've gotta say...i am truly blessed to have a job i love, where i get to work with people i love and to spend my time away from micah working towards something i totally believe in...all the while having an amazingly supportive family at home!

update :: micah was able to sleep better while he was with my mom today...so thankful he was able to rest and is hopefully adjusting to our new schedule!

this kid kills me....

stolen

I'm stealing this from Alex's photography blog because it's just too cute. This kid makes me smile all day long. I'm totally in love.

mixed emotions

Saying that I have mixed emotions about returning to work is a complete understatement.

I have loved EVERY second that I am home. I have been thankful that even when he's been fussy all day long (Thank you Jesus that there have only been a few of those days!), I have the privilege of being his mama and being the one who GETS to comfort him. My favorite time of day is after his first morning feeding when I literally just set the bottle down, lie down and snuggle my little man while we fall back to sleep just gazing in each others eyes. I cannot begin to describe the emotions that flood my heart during those moments. It's heavenly. We have fun just hanging around the house, or going out for walks or errands. He is such a little trooper and is happy pretty much anywhere (although he is a little like his mommy and gets a bit overwhelmed when too many arms want to hold him!). We have had an amazing 10 weeks together (can you believe he'll be 10 weeks on Wednesday?!) and we still have another week and a half. I am trying hard to savor every.single.second. I don't want to take one moment for granted. I don't want to leave him...not even for a day...but I know it's coming.

I love my job. love. it.
I have missed my staff team, my volunteer team, and my kids. I miss planning each week, and I definitely missed having a bigger role in vbs. Being pulled out from the middle of everything has definitely shown me some areas that need working on, and I have faced insecurities that I never knew I had. There is a part of me (a big part) that is excited to go back and get right back in the middle of ministry. I want to know what's going on, and I want to see how the kids have grown and what God is doing in their lives. I want to spend August with the kinders who will be moving up in the fall and I want to be with the people who are not just coworkers, they're family. I just wish I could do all of that with Micah.

I can't imagine another full time job that would let me be with my baby as much as I will be able to. I'm thankful that it's not a typical 9-5. On the weekends, Alex and Micah will be there with me. As long as Micah can nap anywhere, he and his daddy will spend lots of time at church :) I will still be with him all of thursday and friday, as well as most of Saturday and Sunday. I cannot imagine having better people to be with him while I'm away (daddy and Gongi), and I know first hand that it's possible to be an amazing mom while working full time (my mom has always worked full time and there's not a better mama out there!). I am trying to remind myself of all these things on a daily basis so that my heart doesn't just break at the thought of being away from my squishy little guy.

I know that I will probably ride this roller coaster of emotions for the next few weeks, and probably even longer. I am just trusting that God knows all that I'm feeling and will meet me in the middle of it. He has put me where I am at for a reason, and I am thankful for that!

two months.

Our little guy is two months old. I can barely believe it! I totally resonate with the saying, "the days are long, but the years are short." I love, love, LOVE every minute that I get to spend with my guy. Micah is such a sweet baby. He is smiling all the time, and even his cry and sad face are super cute! The pouty lip is just too much! He is packing on the pounds, and I am dying to know how much he weighs when we go in for his check-up next week. This month he has really started to look just like my dad's baby pictures. I need to scan my dad's pic and do a side by side of the two of them!

This month he started smiling, started "talking," began drinking another half ounce each bottle, went through a growth spurt (or two!), and moved up a clothes size...what a big month for such a little baby!!

Before he hits the three month mark, I will be going back to work...I definitely have some mixed emotions about going back, but I am trying to focus on the time I have with him, not the time I will be away from him...easier said than done though ;)

they're almost here!!

The long awaited arrival (okay, so maybe it's just our staff that has been anxiously awaiting these to be released...) of the first TruWorship albums is quickly approaching (does that sentence even make sense?!). On July 13th (a very special day around this house :) ), Songs From the Playhouse, and Radio the World will be released! You can get these two albums on Amazon or iTunes...I definitely think you should preview and BUY them! (These albums accompany the curriculum we've been working on developing, but are great for kids to have at home as well!!)

"On Songs from the Playhouse (the first TruWorship release aimed at preschoolers), kids join characters Chloe, Jack and Olivia as they enter the world of The Playhouse where the foundations of God's Truth are explored. Songs from the Playhouse is designed to help create environments for preschoolers to respond to the basic Truths of who God is both in the home (or car!) and in the church."

"What happens when ROCKHARBOR church, David C. Cook Publishing and Kingsway Music come together to re-imagine the kid's worship experience? The result is TruWorship's first release aimed at elementary students entitled Radio the World. Radio the World is a collection of eleven songs created specifically to help parents and churches create environments for kids to experience and respond to God. A mixture of current and original worship songs, Radio the World features production by Grammy and Dove award nominated producer/engineer, Paul Dexter and guest appearances by Tim Hughes, Crystal Lewis and Jody McBrayer (formerly of Avalon). With an energetic and current sound, Radio the World stands ready to revolutionize the elementary-aged worship experience"

yum!

Here's a super simple summery (is that a word?) recipe that is a big hit at our house. It comes from Woman's Day magazine, but there were no pics on the site, and I forgot to take one last time I made it!

Crispy tilapia with avocado pico de gallo

ingredients ::

• 1 firm avocado,chopped
• 1 cup purchased pico de gallo
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp ea. chili powder,ground cumin and salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 lbs. tilapia fillets
• 3 Tbs oil
• corn on the cob
  

Stir avocado into pico de gallo and cilantro; set aside. Mix cornmeal and chili powder, cumin and salt on sheet of waxed paper. place milk in shallow bowl or pie plate. Dip tilapia fillets into milk,then cornmeal mixture to coat. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over med. heat. Cook tilapia 2 to 3 mins. a side. Top with avocado mixture;serve with corn on the cob.

Honestly, I've skipped all the spices, and it was still great. I've even made it with bread crumbs instead of cornmeal which was equally as delish!