Overwhelmed.

Simply, overwhelmed. That's how I feel these days, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Though the days are hectic, I am loving my life.

As a friend of mine recently said, "no one ever told me that being a mom of two kids was gonna kick my tail". I feel the same sentiment. Emma is fully embracing being two years old. She is an energetic child who loves to do her own thing & can get quite aggressive. She wears us out every day. Even in the midst of her bundle of energy, she still is so stinkin' cute. She says and does the cutest things. I am really trying to cherish these moments, because I know they will pass quickly.

Eli continues to be a breath of fresh air to me. He still sleeps a lot, which is nice. Poor guy even gets forgotten about sometimes because he's so good.

Besides the kids keeping us busy, Matt & I worked a 49 hour week at Earth Search last week. I love being a nanny there and love the kids to death, but sometimes it's exhausting. When we have 4 babies screaming to be held or fed (with only 2 nannies) and 3 toddlers running around destroying things, it can get quite crazy. I am glad when each day ends, but I am so blessed to be able to go to work and get paid to spend time with my own children.

Then, comes the Friendship House. We come home & get to spend our evenings with 6 college girls (summer missionaries), the regular staff, and a sweet family we have. It is a blast and every evening and weekend, we never know what we are going to encounter, but it is still exhausting.

This stage of my life has been exhausting and overwhelming, but I am learning more and more about who I am and who I want to be. And it is all good.

Three Months

Dear Eli,

I am so sorry that I have not written you a letter before now. I am going to do my best from now on to write your monthly letters. I definitely don't want you to feel left out, being the second-born. :)

You are such a blessing to our family. You bring a breath of fresh air and peace to our lives. You are such a laid-back baby. You still sleep most of the day. If you are awake, you only stay awake for about 45 minutes and are pretty content during your awake time. I have honestly left you in your carseat a few times and gone off with your sister to play, and forgotten about you. That's how much of a good baby you are.

You continue to grow and explore this new world. You are over 10 lbs now and have the cutest little chunky cheeks. You have found your hands and like to suck on them sometimes. You also will reach out to your toys if you are in the bouncy seat or carseat.

You have had some struggles in your short little life. You have reflux (just like your sister), that seems to give you a lot of trouble. I have also figured out that you have a milk protein intolerance and that was giving you tummy troubles. I have cut out all dairy products from my diet, and you seem to be getting better.

You are a great sleeping at night as well as during the day. You usually wake up once or twice during the night and go right back to sleep after you eat. I enjoy those tender moments with you in the quiet of the night.

You father and I are so glad to have you in our lives. You bless us and bring us so much joy. We love every bit of your precious little self!

Love,
Mom

Two Years

Dear Emma,

I can hardly believe that you are two years old now. You are a full-fledged two year old now. You have recently discovered your independence. You love to do things by yourself and always say "Emma do it" or "my do it". This includes climbing into the car by yourself, opening any food wrapper by yourself, and reading by yourself.

Recently, the "paci fairy" came to visit you. You got to put your pacis in a special box and the next morning, the paci fairy left you a special present in trade for your pacis, a train set. You have done quite well going to sleep without your paci. You now talk and sing yourself to sleep.

You love to sing. Your favorite songs include Row, Row, Row Your Boat, 5 Little Monkeys (Swinging in the Tree), 5 Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed), and If You're Happy and You Know It. You sing all the time now, and it is so cute!

Another thing you love to do now is count. You can count from 1-12. Once you hit 12, you always say "mango" (instead of 13). Your father and I have no clue where you got this from, and it cracks us up every time you say it. A few days ago, you were counting even higher, and this is how it went, "fiveteen, eleventeen, mangoteen". Hilarious!

You are quite the climber, though you always have been. You will climb onto or into anything you can. You love to go to Chick-fil-a and climb in the playground and slide down the slide. We actually go to Chick-fil-a so often that you think chicken comes from cows, seriously!

Your favorite toys are your Fisher Price dollhouse, your train set, puzzles, blocks, and books. You love to read. You would read 50 books every night before bed, if we would let you. You don't like to sit on the potty unless you have a book to read. So glad you love to read!

You are such a great big sister. You love Eli very much and are very concerned when he is crying. We are working on you not being so rough, and giving gentle touches. You like to hold Eli in your lap and like to give him his paci. Your father and I can't wait to see how your relationship with your brother continues to grow.

Your father and I are so proud to be your parents. We are constantly amazed at how smart you are and the cute things you say and do. You always bring a smile to our face. We love you and look forward to the many memories we have to come!

Love,
Mom

Wordless Wednesday

(picture courtesy of Toots and Smooches--i will share more later)

Spring

What's been going on with us lately?

We have been enjoying the lovely Spring weather here in New Orleans. We enjoyed a visit from my parents and brother. We celebrated Easter with our friends. Emma got tubes put in her ears and her adenoids taken out. I started back to work part-time. We have been busy chasing around our wild toddler and loving on our newborn. :)

Now, get ready for a picture overload!

Emma's first time in a bounce house...she wasn't quite sure what to do.

Eli snuggling with his Grammy

The fabulous cupcake cake that a friend made for Eli's baby shower

Emma's first time dying eggs...she had a blast!

Eli didn't enjoy it quite as much

Emma loved re-arranging all the eggs in the carton

And then spent some time riding her new tricycle

Emma finding her goodies in her Easter basket
*sidenote: I sewed Emma's Easter dress and am quite proud of it...my first big sewing project!

Emma & a friend at church, ready to be the first ones to find the eggs!

She definitely had the whole egg thing figured out

And then spent some time swinging

Big sister & little brother enjoying the sunny Easter weather

My sweet family

St. Patty's Day

Last weekend, while Mrs. Parks was in town, we headed out to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had!

Grandmommy & Emma waiting for the parade

This is where Eli spent most of the day, shielded in the stroller because it was windy!

Beads and candy...make Emma quite happy!

Peeking in at Eli

Emma and her crown of flowers

Eli made a short appearance towards the end of the parade

More pictures

Just wanted to share some more pictures. :)

See, I do open my eyes!

And I like my hands.

One of my favorite pictures...just melts my heart.

Our little monkey.

Sweet dreams.

Reading and Cuddles

This is what our afternoon looked like.

Reading

and cuddles

Family of Four

Eli James Parks was born yesterday (at 36 weeks) at 12:45 pm, weighing 6 lbs even and measuring 18 inches long.

Welcome to the family Eli! We love you!

35 1/2 weeks

I know I have been really bad about blogging lately. All I can say is that my life is quite busy these days. Here's the run down...

*I am now 35 1/2 weeks pregnant. If all goes as planned, Eli will be born by cesarean section on March 26th. That is in 23 days. I feel like there is so much to do and so little time!

*Physically, I have been feeling pretty well. Having a little bit of trouble sleeping and some discomfort every now and then, but that's it really. I have been blessed with another fairly easy pregnancy.

*This week, I returned to work as a nanny at Earth Search (where I was employed until last October). The nursery/daycare opened back up and it has been nice to be back. I will work as long as I can until Eli comes and then take some time off after he comes.

*We are still living at/serving with the Baptist Friendship House. It has been lots of fun and we can't wait to see how God continues to lead us to serve here.

*Emma has been struggling with ear infections since December and no amount or kind of antibiotics have helped. We have an appointment with the ENT specialist on the 12th. I am so ready for this appointment and hoping that if she needs tubes (most likely she will) that we can get that taken care of before Eli comes. We'll see.

*Our dear friends, Kelly and Paul, came to visit us during Mardi Gras. We had lots of fun with them and wore ourselves out going to parades!

That's all I can think of at the moment, but, of course, I have a few pictures to share.

Emma & I waiting for the Saint's victory parade!

Our friend, Kim, & Emma at the zoo.

This is what our trees look like during Mardi Gras.

Emma & Matt trying to get some good throws at a parade.

Emma liked this parade because they threw out candy!

We loved spending Mardi Gras with Kelly & Paul!

Today, at 35 1/2 weeks.

Our family of three (for a few more weeks).