One more thing...

Oh... and because of that little toddler mentioned below and a little newborn taking up all my time, blogging has been put on the back-burner lately. I am slowly starting to feel like I can do other things besides feed a baby and squeeze in a shower. I plan on putting some updated pictures on here soon!

I'm glad you're still reading my blog.... :)

Opposition

op·po·si·tion

[op-uh-zish-uhn]

–noun

the action of opposing, resisting, or combating.

Well, I thought I missed it. I thought my child was going to turn 3 years old this summer and fly right by the 'terrible two' stage.

I don't know if it's because Isaac is here now and Michael is no longer the center of attention or if it really is his age and he's hitting this 'terrible two' stage coincidentally at the same time his brother arrived. However, Michael has become quite the oppositional little man!

Exhibit A:

Yesterday when Michael was eating dinner. He asked me what to eat first. His choices were rice or roast beef. I said "How about eat a bite of your roast beef?". He looked at me and then proceeded to take a bite of rice instead. ha!

Exhibit B:

When taking of his shoes at night, I asked him to put them by his closet door. I took one and showed him how to do it. He then took the other one and threw it across the room. Not in a fit of rage. He did it just for the heck of it. Thanks, son!

It just seems like every day is opposite day with him! Sometimes it's comical and sometimes it's downright frustrating!

Don't get me wrong, Michael is just as sweet as ever. He loves his little brother so much! He's always wanting to give Isaac kisses and hugs. He loves to help hold his bottle when I feed him or tell me when he is crying. We still love playing together or meeting our friends for playdates. He will randomly say "I love you, Mommy" or "Mommy, you're pretty" and it just melts my heart...

But sometimes Mr. Bad Attitude takes over. There's some stomping feet and some shouting of "No!". Some whining and crying when things don't go his way. When I ask him why he made a bad choice, his reply is "...because Michael wanted to." (Yes, my child talks in the third person and I think it's just adorable!)

I can't complain that this is what I'm dealing with right now. It could be WAY worse. It's hard to not have such high expectations of a child when he is YOUR child. You know, I want him to be perfect! I want others to look at him and just praise his behavior! I basically want him to act like he's 28. I have to keep reminding myself that he is just two and a half! I have to give him room to breathe and not correct his every mistake! I have to let him be a BOY!

It's Raining...It's Pouring...

That's about how our April has been....lots of rain, several tornado watches, thunder, lightning...

Michael has been dying to wear his rain boots outside, so we finally took advantage of the warm rain before the thunderstorm hit. He had so much fun!

Sidewalk chalk in the rain... kind of pointless, but so much fun! Why not?!

Say Cheese!!

My mom is quite the photographer. She's recently taken several classes to learn more about her craft and has acquired a lot of props and equipment. She usually uses her family - especially Michael - to practice her skills. Now that Isaac is here, she was able to venture into the world of newborn photography as well.

Here's some of my favorites from our photoshoot this past weekend....

Thanks Mom for the great pictures! Now I just need to print some out to put in frames!

Easter

I love Easter time - I love just meditating on what Christ did for me on the cross. We sang "Amazing Love" on Sunday at church and I found myself teary-eyed trying to get through a song that I've heard so many times before. I love the lyrics - "Amazing Love, how can it be? That you my King would die for me?" - So simple, yet powerful!

We took Isaac to church for the first time on Easter. He did great! He slept in my arms through the entire service. It was our first time at church as a family in a LONG time - because of my bed rest we probably hadn't been in over 10 weeks!

We also had some sweet time with our families this past weekend. My dad came to visit us, we had an egg hunt at my in-law's house, Michael spent time with his cousin Maylin, and we had Easter lunch at our house on Sunday with my mom and brother's family.

This is the only picture I have of Michael and Maylin - I didn't have my camera during the egg hunt. They are so close in age, so they love playing with each other! I love watching them grow into little people that have little conversations - melts my heart!

Michael and his Easter basket - he got his very own watering can (that he can actually carry), some popsicle molds, and some sport eggs filled with his favorite....chocolate! He could hardly focus on anything that day because he was surrounded by so much candy! It was definitely a challenge to keep him from eating it all. Every time I turned around he had something else in his hand. I tried to hide it, but he's a sneaky little fella!

Michael and his cousin Kennedy had an egg hunt in our front yard. It was the first time that Michael really understood what to do. He's become quite the competitor, so he enjoyed every minute of running after the eggs and putting them in his basket. Look at all those eggs!

This picture cracks me up! This is Michael counting his findings. I love how he organizes them! :)

Hope you had a happy Easter and enjoyed celebrating our Savior!

Grandparent love...

Isaac and Michael have the best grandparents! These pictures were taken when Isaac was still in the NICU, but I never published them!

Grandma and Grandpa visiting with Isaac

Isaac and G-Daddy... Never got a picture with Mimi

Grandmama and Papa John loving on our little man.

Isaac and Michael are so fortunate to have Grandparents that love them so much!

We're Home!

I've been a little preoccupied lately with a new little one in the house! That's right...Isaac is home!! We actually brought him home last Friday, so we've had a good 6 days at home.

Michael has adjusted really well. He loves on his little brother every chance he gets. Sometimes we have to tell him that Isaac needs a break because he just wants to touch him and hold his hands all the time. We took these pictures soon after we got home... I love this moment! I'm so thankful for cameras to capture a moment like this - the first time these brothers embraced each other!

Speaking of Michael... We got his big boy room set up the DAY BEFORE Isaac was born (I thought we had another 3 weeks at least). He only had the opportunity to sleep in his big boy bed one night before he was spending the night at his grandparents houses.

I was nervous that he would regress or be defiant once we got home as a family, but he made the transition so smoothly! His old room immediately became Isaac's room and Michael had no problem at all sharing it. I think we talked it up so much before the "baby" got here that he was well prepared. Sometimes I just sit back and watch Michael take things in. I'm so impressed with his attitude and flexibility in situations! He's been a trooper...I'm so proud of him!