Nap time

Rya has been a rock star when it comes to nap time. She prefers going to sleep on her own, except on the rare occasion. She falls asleep on her back and then shortly after I flip her to her stomach to prolong her naps. On her back she sleeps 30-45 minutes but on her stomach (gasp!) she sleeps 1.5-3 hours.

It's been so hot this past week we pretty much lived downstairs where fans kept it nice and cool.

This week Rya figured out how to roll over. Yay! My little girl is growing up. :) However that causes problems with nap time. Instead of snuggling in for a nap she keeps rolling over. This wouldn't be a problem except that if Rya is on her stomach and awake for any length of time she ends up spitting up- which makes her mad. Needless to say there's been an adjustment and we're still figuring it out. Last night I pulled out her favorite blanket and she settled right down. It's been so hot I haven't had it out, but if it helps her fall asleep who cares how hot it is! 

This morning she wanted to sleep on her back. Every time I would flip her over she would wake up and get mad, but go right back to sleep after I put her back on her back.

Her foot is on the blanket, which is apparently all the contact she needed. Usually she has it snuggled in her arms.

(I love that shirt she's wearing! It has an underwear-like bottom piece but that's too small for her legs. :o)  )

She actually just woke up- the typical 30 minute nap. However I'm going to leave her for a little while and see if she goes back to sleep. Here's hoping!!!

Updates

1. I am so grateful for my salvation through Jesus. I know that the heat we have going on right now is no where close to what Hell is going to be like but it's a great reminder to be thankful!

2. In a matter of 12ish hours Rya went from accidentally rolling over to purposefully and constantly rolling over in both directions! She's growing so fast! I love watching her grow and figure things out.

3. Titus is learning so much it's kind of scary. I have a bag full of puzzles and he is pretty much able to do his favorites all. by. himself. He's a little boy and loving to learn and figure things out.

4. Titus turns 2 in under two weeks. Where did the time go? (Oh that's right, to moving 2 times and having another baby.)

5. Bryan is amazing and works hard for us every day. He enjoys his new job for the most part and loves that he's finally using his college degree.

6. I am forever grateful for fans. I have a massive wind machine blowing on me right now. It helps me forget that my house is 85 degrees. :)

7. I'm psyched for Camp Cherith of Western New York. God is going to do some amazing things there this summer and I'm excited to be able to pray for the staff and campers. I'm also excited for CILT grad and being able to connect with friends again. (shout out to CILT grad class of '03).

Follow through

I laugh at my ability to follow through!!! One of my goals that I blogged about last time was to post on a regular basis! Haha! It's been almost two months!!! I must also admit that I've done a lousy job at the other goals on my list. I laugh at myself to hide my disgust and shame. God has been working on my heart and convicting me of my selfish laziness. I'm so grateful for His faithfulness!!! I don't know if I tried to change too much at once or if I just was too lazy. It could be a combination of both as well. So for this week I'm narrowing things down. I have 3 things that I want to work on improving. 1. Spending time with Jesus EVERYDAY! Even if it's only 5 minutes. I need that time everyday. It makes such a huge difference in my mental and emotional health for the day. 2. Staying on top of dishes. My original goal was to go to bed with all the dishes done. This is still my ultimate goal but I want to do dishes after every meal so I don't have a huge pile at the end of the night when I'm exhausted. 3. Get my house back to normal and establish a cleaning routine. We have had a really busy season and my house is the proof!!! This week I want to tame the chaos and figure out a way to stay on top of it in the future. After this week I have more that I want to work on but I'm trying. Of to think about all that right now. Feel free to check in on me and call me out on my laziness if you see it!!!

Photo Bomb

Challenge of 2

I always expected challenges with having two kids. I figured Rya would be a super cranky baby that never slept or she would be perfect and Titus would turn into a monster. BUT when we first brought Rya home she was awesome and Titus was even better! He didn't care that Rya nursed a lot therefore making my lap unavailable. He just played with his toys or watched Barney. Rya seemed to be pretty easy going. She slept A LOT! And when she was awake she was happy. Now things have changed!! Rya started having a lot of trouble with gas and going down for naps. And of course at the same time Titus decided he needs my attention whenever Rya does. And when he doesn't get it? Oh man! He turns into a crabby, crying, tantrum throwing boy. God is amazing though and by His grace we are surviving. I'm going to try getting a special box of toys for Titus to play with when I need to do something with Rya. Not sure what else to try. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Family update

Hello! It's been a long time since I've written anything. Sorry for slacking! One of my personal goals is to start blogging regularly. Whether that's once a week or daily I don't care. A lot has changed since I posted last. We moved out of my parents' house in December and live on our own in Lockport. And we had another baby! Rya Grace was born 2/17/2012 via C-section. Delivery was great! Recovery was a lot different this time and there were a couple rough patches where I swore I will never have another baby. Ever. Once the pain meds really kicked in that resolve softened. Now I'm open to whatever God has for us. Needless to say, life is very busy with a very active almost 2 year old and a newborn. Titus loves his sister! He's starting to show a little bit of jealousy but overall he adjusted really well. He's growing up so fast! Hos vocabulary increases daily, and he always amazes me with what he says. Ti has started to get into more imaginary play, which is a blast to watch. He also has developed an interest in toilet training so we are slowly getting into that. Who knows, maybe I will only have 1 in diapers soon! :). Bryan is still workin at Walmart. He just got transferred to a different department (lawn and garden), which he is super excited about. That will take place in about 2 weeks. He will be getting more hours each week and he will enjoy the manual labor. Bryan has also been doing his best to get into shape. I'm so proud of him and what he's been doing! He no longer drinks pop- a HUGE thing for him and he doesn't eat sweets anymore. He has been running a few times a week and he ran 3.5 miles yesterday!! I'm so excited for him! He's my hero :). As I mentioned at the beginning of this massive post I set some personal goals for myself. I set goals in every area of my life- myself, my marriage, my kids, the house, and our family as a whole. God has really been impressing on my heart to be more intentional about the roles He has given me. The main goal I have set for myself is to get in a habit of daily devotions. I'm not there yet but it happens more than it used to. I can't do this woman/wife/mom thing on my own, no matter how much I try. I was able to cross something off my list though. I finished the book Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. It's an amazing book and I highly reccamend it. Next book I'm going to work through is the Resolution book for women. I also have a pile of parenting books that I need to read. :) Other things I am working on is creating a routine for the family that blesses us without being restricting. I'm also trying new recipes when I get the chance. Lots of good stuff going on here! Hopefully next time I post I won't chat your ear off :)

Moving on up!

We are moving!!!

We are moving into our own apartment!!

We are moving into our own apartment in TWO WEEKS!!

God has majorly blessed us and opened doors for us to be able to move. We are very excited for this new season in our journey and have celebrated by packing/purging our stuff. :o)

Titus will have his own room for the first time ever. I'm really excited about this- come on, sharing your room with your kid is only fun for so long. I am nervous about how that transition will go, but thankfully with the move happening so soon I'm hoping the transition will be over by the time the baby comes.

There are so many things about living on our own that are exciting but it is just a great reminder of how God is good. God has our good in mind. He has a plan and His plans are good. God is our provider and will always meet our needs.