Birthday Fun!

I cant believe I celebrated my 29th birthday this week. I'm getting old! My birthday happened to be on Stephen's off day from work so we decided to spend the morning at the water park in Birmingham. We had never been before. I love the water and the sun! And with all the sickness lately and just not being out as much with a newborn, it was nice to have a day like this and I enjoyed having some special time of being active and playful with my firstborn as well (since most days I'm playing with him with a baby in my arms). I don't know that Jude even knew we left home and snoozed under the big umbrellas in one of our arms most of the day. I am thankful for 29 years of life and all the ways that God has blessed me! I pray He would allow me many more birthday celebrations with these three!

Laughing because a few days earlier I  told Stephen I was thinking of using my birthday money to get a Keurig and we had looked online together for a good deal...

but he had already gotten me one several weeks earlier!

Stephen made Kentucky Derby Pie (James took this!)

So much to be thankful for!

Jude's First Zoo Trip

James has been begging to go to the zoo or the McWane Center since Jude was born. We have memberships to both and went often before Jude was born. We decided to take Jude on his first ever trip to the zoo yesterday morning (at 6.5 weeks old!) because Stephen was off and it was an overcast and cool day. It turned out to be a perfect day for the zoo, and we didn't even break a sweat (that's impressive for July in Alabama!). We also had free tickets for the train and carousel this month, so Jude had lots of "firsts" yesterday. We learned while riding the train that two red pandas were born six weeks ago as well. They told us we'd have to keep up with them since Jude was born just a few days after them. :)

Waiting in the rain for the pelican feeding...

The peacock was also trying to stay dry. :)

And a few of James' first zoo trip at five months old (because I couldn't resist looking back at them!) :

Sickness and Sweetness

This house has been full of lots of sickness lately but lots of sweetness too. For about the last three weeks, we have seemed to be plagued by sickness: Stephen with a stomach bug, James with a cold that has just hung on forever, I got mastitis (which seems to be a reoccurring problem for me while nursing), and then Jude was not eating well and had what appeared to be thrush from my antibiotic resulting in more medicine for both him and I (which thankfully turned out to be harmless cysts that will resolve on their own). After a few weeks of sickness while Stephen had to continue to work 60+ hours, I was feeling completely stretched. And then when the doctor called in two more prescriptions for the possible thrush (we were already taking what felt like 47 different things!), I felt like I was in emotional breakdown mode. But the Lord always gives us the strength to press on and thankfully the sickness looks like it is almost behind us. With all of the said, we haven't been out and about too much the last few weeks. We've utilized lots of water color, books, board games, and disney movies (when Mama just could not get out of bed!). But in the midst of all the sickness, I've captured lots of sweet pictures, just around the house, of my two precious boys. I thought I'd share a few:

Promise I wont do comparison pictures forever, but this is James in the same outfit at 6 weeks old.

Look closely and you'll see that Jude is smiling at James.

Same but Different...

Jude was five weeks old yesterday (which I can not even believe is possible!), and it hasn't taken me long to notice both the similarities and differences between the two boys. They are alike in some ways, but in many ways they are very different: their voices are different, their sleeping and eating patterns are different, and their looks, while there are certainly similarities, are different too. I'm sure as they both continue to grow, the differences will only become more obvious. They are both unique creations of their Maker and I pray that I will always delight in the person that God created them each to be.

Even with all of the differences, it definitely takes me back to life with James as a newborn when I dress Jude in an outfit that James wore or when I bathe him in the tub that James took his first baths in. I like to look back on the pictures of James at the same age that Jude is now and think about how much he's grown and the little boy that he has become, and it makes me wonder what Jude will be like in a few years. Will he like transportation like his big brother or will his interests be all together different? Will he be a picky eater or eat anything we put in front of him? Will he be shy or will he never know a stranger? I like to think about the ways that they are an will be the same but different...

Here are a few pictures of Jude at 5 weeks old and some pictures of James around the same age. They look the same in many ways but different too. :)

2010

2013

2010

2013

Dress Like a Cow for Free Chicken!

We participated in Cow Appreciation Day for the 3rd year in a row. James loved it and wanted to wear his costume long after the rest of us had ditched our spots. It was also Jude's first ever Chickfila trip at exactly five weeks old! :)

And you can see the past two years here and here.

Wordless Wednesday: Jude's First Train Ride

The Fourth! And Picture Perfect? (Parenting Confession!)

We had a great independence day celebration at Nana and Grandpa's! They really did a lot of preparing and planning to make our time together special and had lots of great themed food, decorations, and crafts for the boys. The men also did a little firework show right in the backyard - James was a little uneasy with the fireworks as close as they'd ever been to him and said he "liked it a little loud but not very loud"but still seemed to really enjoy it and Jude slept straight through it all. Aunt Leah and Uncle JP were in town, and the three big boys had the best time playing together! I thought I'd share a few pictures of the festivities.

Nana made an Angry Birds watermelon. 

We found a recipe for red and blue deviled eggs!

Fourth of July crafts :)

Stephen and I played some outdoor games. I said we needed a picture to document that,  six years and two kids later, "we still do things together!" ha!

Meeting Aunt Leah!

And Uncle JP!

Side Note: I wasn't able to get a picture of James and Jude together (I tried quite a few times!) or of all of the five cousins together. James is going through a time lately of not wanting his picture taken (and he's had them taken a lot lately between maternity pictures, newborn pictures, life with a new baby brother pictures, etc.) and when we got him alone, after a little meltdown (that was probably a long time coming after the last few months of photo taking), he was able to express to us very clearly that he had taken enough pictures that day and did not want to have any more taken of him. I felt very convicted that I've tried at times to capture the "perfect" picture or moment and after our talk decided that it is something I'm not going to push anymore, and that I really want and need to respect him in that area. There are lots of nonnegotiables in parenting, but this is surely not one of them and I hope moving forward from this that he will feel like his voice has been heard. Of course, as parents we can't say "yes" to every request and there will be certain things that he may not enjoy but as parents we know what's best for him. But I hope that as we strive to keep the lines of communication open, that we will consider his requests and his voice and say "yes" when we can and should. So, from here on out on this blog (and not that there's been many pictures that he was against taking!), there will only be pictures shared of James that he's excited about taking. They may not be the cutest pictures (because we just go with the first one!) or there may not be any pictures of him at all for long stretches of time, but it will definitely be a true picture of reality. And that's what I've always hoped to portray here on this blog anyway - an imperfect pair that is seeking daily the Perfect One in parenting and in whatever else He calls us to. (Some of these lessons in parenting sure sting a bit, but I hope we're learning and growing as we go!)