Reece is 2!

Reece,

We cannot believe you are 2!  Since you are our last child, this birthday hit me that we will never again have a baby in our house.  We are excited to enter this new season of life and to see you continue growing up with your brothers.  You make a wonderful third child and fit right into our family.  You are so silly and fun to be around and you definitely have a stubborn streak. Being the 3rd child, you are used to being toted all over town and have spent lots of time in the stroller. 

You had an Elmo party to celebrate your birthday.  We had your Mimi, Mawmaw and Pawpaw, Aunt Jeralyn and Eden, Aunt Janna, Jada, Jaxon, and Jett, and of course your brothers and parents.  We had so much fun hanging out and celebrating you sweet boy.

You are a true toddler in every since of the word.  You are talking more and more words every day, love to be tickled and to giggle, have a stubborn streak, and love to play with your brothers.  A few of your favorite things are Elmo, Daniel Tiger, trains, cars, swinging outside, running around in the trampoline, and "riding" a bike.  You are getting more and more adventurous and want to be big and to keep up with your brothers.  It is so sweet to see them play with you and to teach you new things.  

You love all things water, whether its a bath, lake, ocean, or pool.  You also love playing in sand and throwing rocks.  You could sit for hours and throw rocks in water and get dirty in the mud. You also love to climb and slide.  

You have recently started showing an interest in potty training.  You have peed in the potty a couple of times and may train early.  We shall see!  One of your favorite activities is to flush the toilet, even if someone is still on it silly boy!

We found out you're allergic to all fish except for salmon, peanut butter, and eggs.  Since your brothers both have food allergies too, we are used to handling a food allergy kiddo.  You have eczema which is new to us, so we are trying to help you get relief and moisture on your skin as much as possible.  But, don't you worry...you LOVE to eat!

You go to be between 7-7:30 and take a 2 hour nap. You wake up most days betweeen 6:45-7 depending on if we need to get Brady to preschool or if we have and early morning appointment or errands to run. You are a great sleeper and we will be transitioning you to a bed soon!  One of your absolute favorite things is snuggling up and reading books before bed.  You LOVE to read.  

We love you so much and can't imagine our life without you.  We love watching your unique God given personality take shape and seeing you grow into an amazing little boy.  

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas 2016

We had so much fun during the holidays! For Halloween we dressed as The Avengers and had fun visiting the pumpkin patch, Thanksgiving we spent time at Mimi's house with Emily and Travis too. Then for Christmas, we had a day at Mimi's house, our family Christmas on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day at MawMaw's house with mommy's side of the family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Random thoughts

Lately, there have been some thoughts floating in my brain (well that's a good thing hopefully) that I want to write down. I am a thinker, analyzer, over thinker, and even more of an analyzer. So here it goes...

Lately I have felt SO blessed with the friendships God has brought into my life. I am amazed at my friends who are having babies and make it look like a walk in the park. Let me tell you something, I love sweet, precious, snuggly babies, but all three times I didn't feel like myself on not a whole lot of sleep. I am not wired that way. So I became a recluse and still talked to my family and a handful of people, and felt like God was letting me know that was ok. If all I could handle was taking care of myself and my family for a season, that is what God blessed me with, and I knew it would be ok and I would come out on the other side. So now, I am being blessed with restored friendships, new friendships that came at the right time,  friends that have kids my kids ages, and friends who never left my side. I feel like God knew who I would need in my life and when I would need them and kept speaking to me to trust Him. His timing is perfect. I am leading a moms Lifegroup now that I LOVE doing. I love connecting with other moms and no matter how many kids we have, our parenting style, or our individual unique personalities, we can connect with each other and just be us. No two moms are alike and although some handle the new born phase with grace and get a lot of help from friends and family, others feel like you do it alone at times and have nothing left to give to others at the end of the day. I am loving this new phase of life I'm in. I am exhausted at the end of most days, but I am enjoying my kids so much. I love being a boy mom and they bring me so much joy. There is really nothing more challenging yet rewarding at the same time than being a mom. 

Also...I am at the point where I am ready to start thinking about me again. Now that we know our family is complete, I am excited to probably start something part time or full time depending on what door opens next year. I have loved this stay at home mom gig, but I am excited for the next chapter. I know God knows the prefect fit for my family and I will be able to be the best mom I can be, but at the same time will still be pursuing my passions and will be using my degree again.