4 months...

Well, I'm a few days late on this post - what's new, right? Our little Jakers turned 4 months on Thursday! I know every parent can relate - it is absolutely flying. There are moments I wish I could just freeze time. He's getting into such a fun phase. (Don't get me wrong though, there are still some moments that I don't mind passing. Still working through a lot of things.) But here are the sweet things I want to remember about this phase - (skip to pics at the bottom if you don't want to read all the little details.) 

• At his 4-month checkup on Monday, he weighed 15 lbs 6 oz, which puts him in the 75th percentile. Still big, but not as big as he was at 2 months (90th percentile!) His height (25in) was still in the 50th percentile...I'm sure that will change as he gets older. Poor kid doesn't have height in his favor. He's wearing mostly 6 month clothes, but every brand is so completely different.
• I asked the pediatrician if he was teething b/c he still gnaws everything and drools like a mad man. She said it was probably just developmental and not teeth, but it's not unheard of to get teeth this early. I'm sure he'd be more fussy if he was teething.
• He is super responsive, rolling over like crazy and is obsessed with his feet (see picture below). :) I know that's a normal milestone at this point, but it sure makes a momma proud. Amazing how you really do think the smallest things are so wonderful when they are your own. I just can't get over how cute he is when he rolls and sticks his feet in his mouth. 
• His hair has thinned out a good bit and it's changing color. It's definitely getting blonder. And any new little baby hairs are really blonde - I love it!
• Sleep is still a battle. He's still a terrible little napper - I feel like I could pull my hair out on this one. I feel like I've really tried everything. I'm not giving up though - trying to count every small victory. Nights are still not bad, but not great. Nothing has really changed since he was 2 months old. He still feeds somewhere around 4 or 5ish, but he is genuinely hungry at that point, so I feel okay with not dropping it yet. I still have hope that we'll get to 12 hours soon enough. 8-9 hours isn't bad though.
• He's definitely a morning baby. Most days he's super smiley and extra cuddly in the morning. 
• He's also really snuggly after feedings. He will just sit there all chill in my lap, and I can't get enough of it. He often uses this comfortable position to work up a good poop, but I don't mind. :)
• The kid LOVES to be naked. Cracks us up. Apparently Josh was the same way as a baby/kid, so we'll just say it's a guy thing.
  
  And some recent pics...

Did I mention he likes his feet? The big toe apparently tastes good.


Good thing babies don't have dirty feet.

Gotta love that deer in the headlights look. Included this pic so I could prove he does know how to sit up in his bumbo. He just prefers "the lean"...


Aka, the lean. :)


Can't get enough of that little face.


Watching some Baby Einstein with Daddy. The iPad was well worth the purchase.


A new favorite. :)

House Update...

I think I said I would post this yesterday. That didn't happen. Shocker, right? Better late than never. Anyways, here's the update as promised. We are buying a house! Yep, our 3rd one is almost 6 years of marriage. Ridiculous, I know. We hope and plan to stay in this one for a long time. (Just hope the Lord has the same plan as us.) ;)

Long story attempted to be short...back around Christmas when we found out we'd have to be out of this rent house by the beginning of March, the pressure was on. That really only gave us a month to find a house since closing usually takes around a month. Even though we didn't want to rush, we REALLY didn't want to have to make another temporary move. Enough moving already! But we weren't rushing. Josh has been researching houses in Springdale even before we left Branson. I swear he could tell you every house that was listed on 3 or 4 different realty websites. But I'm thankful for that - because it made me feel like we had really done our part in researching the market, knowing what we were looking for, what schools we preferred to be in, etc. (But I'm also he can stop looking now!) :)

Just before we went home for Christmas, we actually put an offer in on a foreclosure. It was a great house listed at a GREAT price, but let's just say it got really complicated and REALLY frustrating - I'll spare you all the details. 22 days passed and we still never heard anything from the bank that owned the property. There were a couple other shady things that happened with it, so we didn't feel peace about it at all. We pulled our offer. And now I'm SO glad we did. We ended up making an offer on a brand new home that dropped in price. No, it's not as good of a purchase as far as "price per square foot," but I like the house better itself, it puts us in ALL the schools we preferred, and the foreclosure would have needed some money put into it up front while this one is move-in ready. I am in love with it - it's definitely the nicest of the 3 homes we've owned. We feel super blessed!

I will definitely put up some pictures soon, but just want to play it safe and make sure everything goes through. The plan right now is to close on February 1st - so really soon. Less than 2 weeks away at this point! Thanks for any prayers you threw up for us in this process...it's always a little overwhelming, no matter how many times you've done it.

Nursery Part 1...

So yes, Jake is almost 4 months old and we are finally starting to piece together a nursery. And I emphasize "start" because we still aren't very far along in the process. With trying to sell our house in Branson back in the summer and all the temporary moves, we didn't see the point in going all out on a nursery. At least not yet.

Naturally, we started with the crib. He was in it for a while before we got the bedding. But man, did we need the bedding. I know the new safety thing now is not to use a bumper pad. Well, for once, I'm not going to be a rule-follower. Before we got the bumper pad on there, Jake was getting his hands, feet, legs, you name it, stuck in between the rails all the time. He rolls and scoots like crazy - such a fun new phase. Anyways, rabbit trailing. We finally got the bedding made and put on the crib a couple weeks ago.

Even though we could have gotten baby bedding specifically made for a boy since we got it so late, I still wanted to stick with gender neutral so we could use it again. I did a lot of searching online at different nurseries and different fabrics, and we finally decided to go with bright yellow and white on the crib. I am SO pleased with how it turned out. My mom made the bedding - didn't she do AMAZING?!? (She's a pretty busy lady, but she might be for hire.) ;)

The bedding will look even better when it's in the actual nursery and the walls are painted the color I want them to be. I plan to paint the walls with Benjamin Moore Robin's Nest. I included the picture I found on Pinterest that gave me the original idea for the color scheme. So hopefully I'll be able to finish the nursery in the next couple months (before he grows out of it!) And yes, that means there has been progress on the house hunt...more on that tomorrow.

I have to include this one last detail. This bedding only cost us $42. That's what we spent on the fabric. My mom picked up the white ribbon and cording, so realistically it probably cost $50. And we have fabric leftover for pillows or whatever else we want to use it for. Not bad, huh?!?

Here are a few pics...

Yellow & white chevron on the outside; yellow elephants on the inside.

Up close of the outside.

Up close of the inside. (And of course the video monitor. Side note on that, my husband is super innovative. We were trying to figure out where to put the monitor without having to drill something into the wall. He broke off the clamp part of one of those old reading lamps and attached a piece of white wood to it. He then put a screw in the piece of wood that the monitor rests on. It works perfectly and we can even take it on the road and attach it to the pack and play. So smart!)

Here's the inspiration. Bright yellow and white bedding and robin's nest on the walls. Love how clean and bright it looks! Someday...

Sweet Susie...

I thought I'd take today to really introduce you to Susie. If you caught the blog yesterday, you saw a couple pictures of her from Christmas. We like to think of her as our 3rd grandma. She truly is like family. And she's so special - I have to tell you more about her.

Susie might - being generous - reach 5 feet tall. But this little lady has more energy, more spunk, and more joy than 10 people half her age. Susie came into our life when she joined my mom's Sunday school class at church, gosh I don't know, about 7 or 8 years ago. Maybe longer. Anyways, she joined my mom's group because she didn't want to be in Sunday school with people her age. She said old people complained too much. She is certainly young at heart. She doesn't have any family nearby, so we get to have her as part of our family for the holidays (well, and all the time for that matter.) And we love it.

Susie has a story and a past (who doesn't?) - one that she isn't proud of, but isn't afraid to share with others because it gives her the chance to share of Christ's redeeming power in her life. And let me tell you, she shares it every chance she gets. There's no doubt (and no wondering) where Susie's joy comes from - she will tell you! She loves the Lord SO much and isn't embarrassed or ashamed to incorporate Him into every conversation. Because He truly is in EVERY part of her life.

I wish everyone could have a Susie in their life. Her joy is contagious. Susie not only inspires me to have joy and energy like her when I'm "old" - she challenges me now. Challenges me not to be ashamed of the Gospel and to see God in all the little things. What an amazing woman of faith! I wish you could all meet her. She would bless your soul. :)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16

Christmas Recap (in pictures)...

I realize I'm, oh 2 weeks late on this, but better late than never. My entire immediate family got to be together both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was such a blessing - sure wish that happened more often. I love my family. Here's a recap in pics...
 

 First pic of the break. Ryan and Libby at the "bar" - where we spend most of our time. Eating.

Mom doing what she does. This is what you find her doing the whole time we are there. No exaggeration. Hence all the eating at the "bar."

Luke and Uncle Josh enjoying some Veggie Tales on the iPad. Such a great purchase for multiple reasons.

 Luke helping Nana sweep the kitchen...

 Well, sort of.

 Such a sweet picture of Luke. He is SO cute.

Helping Mom in the kitchen. 

Eating. That's what we do. And this was just part of the appetizer spread that came before the huge meal on Christmas Eve.

Football with Pops. Luke knows exactly what to do. Even the celebration at the end.

 Pretty sure we can blame this on Uncle Josh, seeing as he is always throwing a ball at Luke's head.

 Me and my little man.

 Luke providing entertainment as usual. (That's our "adopted" grandma, Susie. She's amazing!)

 Unfortunately, this is the best family picture we got. Jake didn't feel like cooperating.

 He decided to smile for his individual shots instead.

 Perfect.

 Aunt Libby and Jake.

 Luke is kind of obsessed with the pantry. Sneaks in there every chance he gets.

 Nana with her boys.

Sisters. :)

Mom and her girls.

Grandma Susie with all the "kids." Yep, we are still kids.

Luke was more fascinated with our frosty mugs than he was with his own gifts. Isn't that how it always goes? Who needs toys?

 Pops and Luke dancing on Christmas morning.

The guys all got jackets of some sort for Christmas. (And Luke just wanted to be in the picture.) :)

Our perfect little Christmas present. :)

Repost..."Something has to Change"

So, clearly I'm not a very consistent blogger. I'm also not the best at keeping up with others' blogs. I try, but with the little guy it's difficult. But I have a few of my favorites - friends and family and a few others that I try to read on a regular basis. Such a great way to keep up. Such a great way to be inspired by diy projects, photos, etc. And then every once in a while, a great way to be challenged.

That's what happened when I read Jami's post the other day. I don't REALLY know Jami. She's a friend of a friend. Josh and I did play spades with her and her husband one night and ended up spilling some of the deepest parts of our hearts with them. Pretty cool. But we lost to them. Bad. I digress...

Jami's blog is pretty popular. It's worth adding to your favorites. She is a solid believer. She is raw and real. She is crafty and talented. And did I mention hilarious? Her and her husband Mark have an amazing story and they share their testimony openly. Such a great story of Christ's redeeming power. And if nothing else, you can listen to some pretty cool, eclectic music when you go to her blog. Who needs iTunes or iHeartRadio? :)

So, all that to say - she wrote this post shortly after Christmas. It's thought-provoking and unashamedly convicting. Thanks for sharing Jami.

Something has to Change

It's funny how materialism and money are a battle, no matter which side of the "tracks" you are on. Interesting how Josh and I are more in the place where Jami and Mark used to be. I mean we can buy milk no problem, but we do have to watch every penny, wondering if we'll be able to save at all this month. But yet it's still a struggle. Am I grateful? Do I worry so much about money that it robs the joy and gratefulness out of all that we've been blessed with? There is definitely a reason Christ talks more about money than anything else.

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

Lord, be our Master.

Lucky Girl...

I am one lucky girl. Warning: this post contains some boasting (no worries, not about myself) and may even be considered a little cheesy. I go on...

So Friday when I posted my update about Jake and how well he has been doing, well...he made me eat my words. Not the first time or the last, I'm sure, that I'll be doing that. But pretty much since then, he has had 3 really rough days. Maybe he's sick or something. We can't figure it out. The inconsolable screaming has ensued and nights have even been rough. No, this isn't why I consider myself lucky. (Although I am still trying to "embrace" these days and not wish them away...sometimes I feel like we are still in survivor mode. Lord, teach me to be grateful for even these tough days.) Anyways, why I'm lucky...

So Friday night, Jake decided to wake up at 12:00, 12:30, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00. (Not to feed...he wasn't hungry...just fussy and not sleeping well.) So after going in there again at 3:00 to shush him and calm him down, I gave up. I brought a pillow in from the guest room, grabbed a blanket, and laid down on the floor next to his crib. The going back and forth from my bed was making it harder. I fell asleep at some point while laying on the hard floor and then woke up around 3:30 to my husband putting another blanket over me.

Josh, having noticed that I didn't come back to bed, decided to check on us. He came in to find me asleep on the floor. The next thing I know, my husband is curled up next to me with his own pillow and was covering the two of us with a quilt. Simple, I know, but there was something so special about that moment. I felt so incredibly lucky. So blessed. How did I end up with this man? He has always gone above and beyond to serve me, but has taken that to a whole new level with Jake on the scene. And that moment on the hard floor, laying next to our son, was the perfect moment for me - I want to treasure it forever. I don't know that I've ever been more grateful for Josh.

I don't post this to paint some fairytale picture of our life. Our relationship isn't perfect and clearly (based on the night we were having), it's no fairytale. But it's real. And he's real. Over the next few days that passed, I thought multiple times of my small group girls and all the girls I've had the privilege of discipling at kamp and the TONS of conversations we had about dating and guys and relationships. My prayer is that each one of them knows that there really are guys out there who will pursue the Lord harder than they will pursue you, and this is the result. I pray that each of them are blessed enough to have a "Josh" in their life someday.

I understand how much the Lord loves me so much more clearly because of the way Josh loves and serves me. Thank you Lord for my simple, but perfect reminder.