Well again, I need to play catch up. I've been too busy to blog these days, but the boys are both sleeping and although I'm sure I will get interrupted here again soon by one of them waking to eat, I'll do my best to update as much as I can.
Elijah's Highlights:
Elijah was sick nearly the entire time we lived in our apartment in Grand Rapids. After some testing and just peaking around the furnace area we believe it was due to mold. We moved in with Kyle's parents and had been living there up until two weeks ago. Elijah's health has improved significantly.
We were certain Elijah would be walking at 8 months. He had been pulling himself up since November, but it wasn't until the beginning of June that he began walking. We were in the living room with Kyle's mom and grandma. It was just 1-3 steps at first. Then a week later Kyle and I went to pick him up from the nursery. He was so excited to see us that he dropped his toys and walked 14 steps toward us! It was a very exciting moment. Now he still kind a walks like a drunken sailor at times, but we no longer count his steps because he is definitely considered a walker now. He still falls down a lot but it doesn't seem to bother him.
He has been doing really well considering all the changes he has been through - moving to Grandma's house, getting a new brother, and then now moving back into our own house. He has his fussy moments and we're trying to teach him "No" "Come here!" "Give me that!" etc. He likes to test us and so we've started swatting his hand and giving spanks when need be, but even those don't seem to faze him that much. He's doing well at the signs "Please,"More," "Milk,"Baby," and "All Done." He can say "Hi" now and says it all the time - especially when we first pick him up from some place, like the nursery.
Elijah loves being back home. We've baby-proofed the living room so that he can wander around without getting into trouble - though even still he finds ways to get into things he shouldn't - like the curtains. He's even learned to crawl up on the couch now, so our barriers are being compromised and we can no longer contain him in one place without keeping a good eye one him.
He is learning to eat whatever we're eating. He has 9 teeth at the moment and loves toast with butter and jelly, the good 'ol banana and avocado mixture, still his baby food, cheerios, yogurt with oatmeal, and he still enjoys his bottle of milk after his nap.
I'm able to pump about 16 extra ounces for Elijah each day and since he no longer requires as much milk, we don't have to go buy goats milk any more. I've enjoyed our cuddle time as I feed him my own milk again from a bottle.
His hair has turned blond and is presently hanging in his eyes because his aunt Heather is due to have her baby at any moment and so is therefore out of the business of cutting hair.
His new favorite place is the built-in book shelf in our living room - in which he fits just perfectly!
He still sleeps through the night 8pm-8am. It's a wonderful thing! Not to mention his 2 two-hour naps during the day. I'm blessed he's a good sleeper because it allows me to have some sanity between two little kids during the day.
Elijah is a joy and blessing and each day Kyle and I fall more and more in love with our little man!
James' Highlights
James Garrison, named after Kyle's grandpa and my grandpa's middle name, arrived on June 11th weighing 9 lbs 10 oz. He had a full head of dark hair and had brown eyes from the very beginning. He nursed so well and continues to eat well. He now weighs about 14 lbs!!
Labor was only 4 hours this time with 13 minutes of pushing - much quicker than Elijah's birthing process. Megan Deibel was my midwife again and she was there for the delivery! Christine was there as well. I went into the hospital around 2 am and he was born around 5 am. Kyle had to break a few traffic laws along the way to get me there as quick as he could since my contractions were right on top of each other.
James had to be in the hospital for a week after he was born due to low blood-sugar and pneumonia, due to inhaling some of the Meconium. He's doing much better now.
Our youngest little man has been very attentive from day one. He is able to look you in the eyes and often he'll just stair and study my face, as if to say "I'm trying to get to know you mommy." It's the sweetest things to see.
Even on his first day of life outside the womb James has been able to hold his head up. He already looks as though he may role over or crawl at any minute.
James is learning to smile, something he began during our week at RACE. He has the most adorable smile and is either really happy and content, or he is so mad this eyes scrunch up and his face turns red. I think he might have some stomach issues because I've never seen a baby cry so hard and this is pretty normal for him.
I'm allowing James to feed more on demand than I did with Elijah. I don't want to lose my milk supply like I did then. So because of this, James feeds anywhere from 1-4 times during the night. I am slowly moving him toward somewhat of a schedule, but I'm much more relaxed about it this time around. The longest he has gone without waking up to eat is 5 hours. Lately though it's been 2-4 hours that he wants to eat.
Both James and Elijah did so well when we went to RACE two weeks ago. Elijah watched Baby Einstein along the way and James slept most of the time. We had our own personal nanny while we were there named Linda who did a wonderful job with the kids. We really miss having Linda around.
Kyle and My Highlights:
Kyle has been working for Randstad in Grand Rapids and just recently got promoted from Design Engineer to Project Manager Engineer. We now have paid time off and vacation, as well as sick days. They seem to really like him at his job. The promotion couldn't have come at a better time. We planned to go this July to Pennsylvania to World Team and go through what they call RACE (Reciprocal, Assessment, Career, Evaluation). I had been through RACE as a single but because I'm married and have kids, much has changed so in order to consider World Team again, I had to re-RACE.
Kyle and I had been been praying about missions since we were married. Because of being newlyweds and having our first baby, we had put off the idea until God would direct us otherwise. Well, even though we just had our second baby, the timing seemed to be right now. With much prayer we decided to take a leap of faith and take this initial step in the direction toward being missionaries. God seemed to be in favor of this because right before we left, Kyle got his promotion allowing us to be paid during the time we were gone - something we had not budgeted for.
Our time at RACE was amazing. The kids were really good and it was actually a nice break from my day job. We sat through many meetings in the beginning and then did many projects the second half of the week while being assessed, interviewed, and challenged in many other ways. At the end we both felt known, yet loved, and like we had been a part of a new family. It was a wonderful experience that I already miss and wish I could relive. We went home and prayed/fasted/spoke with a pastor and decided to sign back on with World Team in pursuit of being missionaries. Our desire is to go to France, but we are open to change if the Lord should direct differently. I'll blog more specifically about RACE later as well as about the passion for discipleship that Lord has put on my heart.
Other highlights would be :
Having our second baby!
Moving back into our house!
Feeling like we are in a season of relief and answered prayers.
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