Family Photo Shoot!

A couple weeks ago our family had some professional pictures taken by our friend Lori Jackson. I've updated the pictures in our sidebar, and you can also see more of these in the slideshow at the bottom of our blog.

First harvest from our garden!

Isaac and I picked these this morning:


Anyone have any good recipes for cooking fresh green beans?

Isaac is 19 months old!

This past Sunday, Isaac turned 19 months old!

This past month he has added several more words to his vocabulary and seems to even be trying to put more than one word together. For example, he'll say "ma ma ma mommy", which we think means "my mommy". Or he'll say "Mommy's" and "Daddy's" when he's referring to what Steven or I are eating. (I think this is his way of telling himself that he can't eat it because it's mommy's or daddy's!)

Also, Isaac is becoming even more mobile. He can walk up and down our stairs own his own. He does like to hold one of our hands, but when that's not possible (or he wants to go up or down before we're ready to come) he can certainly walk himself. By walking, I mean he stands up fully and holds onto the side of the stairwell to stay steady. He steps from one step to the next. No more crawling for this boy!

This past month Isaac has enjoyed taking trips to our neighborhood pool, which he calls "A-ter" (meaning water). He wears a swimsuit with floatation devices around the torso, so I don't have to worry too much about him toppling over. He loves to walk around in the baby pool section.

Another thing we've noticed this past month is that Isaac's ability to throw has become more advanced. He swings his whole body around when he's ready to pitch something. He loves throwing balls, and as I've shared earlier, he also loves throwing just about anything else!

His sleep habits remain the same as last month. He goes to bed around 8 PM and wakes around 8 AM. He takes a two hour nap most every afternoon between 12-2 or 1-3 PM. A couple times each week our commitments require us to keep him up later than his bedtime. He does very well when we do this!! He is quite the flexible little man! In fact, he even does very well when he occasionally misses his nap. This past weekend he didn't have a nap on Friday or Saturday due to Kati's wedding festivities. He did SO well during both days, at the wedding rehearsal, and during the wedding itself. We were so proud of him!

We love this little boy more and more each day!

Thank you Lord for each day that we have to spend with this precious gift from you!

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day for Steven by taking a trip to downtown Charlotte and having lunch at the Rock Bottom Cafe. It was a delightful time together, and afterwards we walked around the atrium area near the cafe where there is a lovely fountain. Isaac loves any kind of fountain, so he had a blast! He even tried to crawl into the fountain!




We are so thankful for the dads in our life! Happy Father's Day to you!

And, Steven, you are such a wonderful dad to Isaac! I love watching you father him with love, strength, patience, tenderness, and lots of fun! And I can't wait to see you fall in love with our little girl!

Kati is married!

Today was my little sister's wedding!

Kati is now married to her sweetheart, Ray! We are so excited for them both as they begin this new journey together. They're on their way to a honeymoon in Williamsburg right now.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful! Kati was a gorgeous bride, and Ray a handsome groom. I was the matron of honor, and Steven played the piano and sang a couple of songs during the ceremony. What fun!

Here are some of the pictures we managed to snap during the festivities (They're somewhat limited because Steven and I both were in the wedding.)

Kati's bouquet with a background of the harp and pipe organ:


The piano Steven played. The wedding took place at the Great Aunt Stella Center in Charlotte.


Ray and Isaac checking out the harp after the ceremony:


Kati and me. I love my little sis!


Toasting...


Cutting the cake... (I think this is the only food they ate at the reception! I hope they're stopping for dinner on the way to Williamsburg!)


The sweet and happy couple!



Congratulations Kati and Ray! We pray God's abundant blessings on your marriage!

"No, Isaac, the cup is not a ball!"

I must say this fifteen times a day! Right now, Isaac has a fascination with throwing his sippy cup from the table and then proudly saying "ball!" He knows what a real ball is, but it seems that lately anything he can throw suddenly becomes a "ball" in his perspective. Be it cereal, books, his little tool chest, whatever! One day I know he'll be able to quickly distinguish between these things and his toy balls, but for now, this is our challenge!

Two peas in a pod...

I love my boys!!!

They're here!

Last night, I noticed that our tomato plants have produced the very first fruits of the season. I can't wait until they turn bright red and are ready for eating! (These are cherry tomatoes - perfect for salads and cutting in half for Isaac to devour!)

Also, our lettuce is growing quite well (thanks to my Dad for giving us some of his baby lettuce plants!) and is ready for harvesting. We'll be having lots of yummy salads over the next few weeks!


I love growing our own food! Yummy!!!

Isaac's first recorder!

Another first...

Today Isaac ate a piece of cat food for the first time. We put our cats' food on top of the refrigerator, and occasionally a piece or two falls to the kitchen floor. This morning I thought I'd cleaned up the fallen pieces, but I must have left one. Well, after breakfast, Isaac found it and tried it out while I was cleaning up. The next thing I knew was that he was making a gagging noise and trying to make the cat food come back up after he'd swallowed it. He wasn't successful, so he just started crying and said "ewww-ie". I tried to clean out the remaining morsels in his mouth, but the majority of the bite had been swallowed. I then asked him if he wanted some water, and he started crying out "ater, ater" with a loud whine. I gave him the water and cuddled him. After a few minutes, he was back to normal!

Some important firsts...

1. Yesterday, Isaac sat in a restaurant booster seat for the first time! Steven decided to try it out during our lunch at Moe's. Isaac fit perfectly and stayed in place during the entire meal! He seemed to know he was a "big boy" and took his role seriously. He ate his entire mini burrito, some chips, and most of Steven's guacamole. We were so proud of him!

2. On Tuesday, our little baby girl started kicking hard enough for me to see the movement on the outside. Last night, I had a feeling that she was about to start moving, so I had Steven place his hand on my stomach. He felt his daughter move in the womb for the first time!

3. I am starting to "nest" for the first time in this pregnancy. I have had sudden energy, and yesterday I actually made some progress in preparing the new nursery. I am hoping to take a few minutes each day and work through the piles of stuff we've accumulated in there over the past four years...and hopefully it'll be clear by July... we'll see!

4. We joined Netflix for the first time. We're actually just trying it for a month free and didn't plan to renew, but I'm getting hooked already. I've been very impressed with the variety of movies they have. We like to watch independent Christian and inspiring films, and it's often hard to find these in Blockbuster or at the Redbox. We watched our first movie through Netflix last night, and I highly recommend it - Faith Like Potatoes. It's a true story of a scottish man and his wife who decided to raise their family and run a farm in South Africa. It's incredibly inspiring, and I'd say it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. So, add it to your Netflix queue or check it out here. If you've seen it, or see it in the future, please let us know what you thought!

This pregnant momma is lovin'....

Homemade pimento cheese
Cheddar cheese melted in a flour tortilla
Cheddar goldfish crackers

Obviously there's a cheddar cheese theme... YUM!

(at least it's a little healthier than the chocolate chip cookie dough I craved with Isaac.)

Wonderful memories...

What a wonderful vacation! We enjoyed our time together so much and are looking forward to next year's trip, when we'll be heading to the beach as a family of four!