Luda Bean - Here we go again!

That's right folks, our little family will soon be a family of FOUR and we couldn't be more excited! Finding out that we were expecting our second child brought a whole new load of emotions, but overwhelmingly those emotions were of excitement, joy and wonder! We have no idea what life is going to look like for us come September, but what we do know is that our hearts are going to be that much more full as we open them to our new little Miss or Mister.

The news that we were expecting again did not come to as a shock. We knew that we wanted to expand our family and that the time was nearing for our "planned" second baby. After our big trip to Disney last September, we decided that, "whatever happens, happens," and we started the journey to becoming a family of four. On December 28th, right after I had dropped Shawn off at the airport for a business trip, I decided that I was enough days late to take a test. I had done similar things in previous months, but I did feel different this time. Sure enough I got to the + sign and when Shawn sent me a text that he would be taking off soon, I quickly responded with, "We'll miss you, all 3 of us!" It took him a few minutes, but he quickly caught on and was overjoyed to know that he was going to be a Dad, again.

After the initial shock set in I tried to take time to sit and process. I was going to be a Mom of not just Em, but another sweet blessing. I was and still am excited, nervous and anxious for the unknown. We are loving life as a family of three and just like before Em came, we are going to cherish the time we have, just the three of us, because it will never be like this again. This new little Miss or Mister is going to rock our world and I have no doubt that Em will be shocked by all the changes that she is about to go through, but with a little bit of patience, coffee and a whole lot of Jesus, I know we are going to survive the difficult times and soak up the good times. I am so eager to meet this little bundle of joy and know that once he or she makes the big debut my heart is going to expand and  the love I have for my children will grow and grow.

Baby Luda Bean, we love you so much already!

Sorry for the bare belly picture, it's the only one I took the Day we found out. And Em was so excited she went straight to her favorite spot, the shower!

14 months

You know those commercials with the sour patch kids? Where they do something completely crazy and ridiculous and then turn all sweet giving hugs and kisses. Yea, we have one. A real life, functioning sour patch kid who I couldn't imagine my life without. In the 2 months that we have been adventuring into toddler hood Shawn and I have had to face a lot of "challenges" as parents. The fact that we have rambunctious little girl should really be no shocker, look who her parents are, but with that being said, I still find myself saying, "Who took my baby and gave me this toddler?" She is crazy, but in all the good ways. She makes me laugh and gets me praying more than anyone or anything ever has and for that I am so thankful.

The most recent lesson learned from Em involved the toilet. On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church and I heard her splashing in the toilet...again. Earlier in the week we caught her putting her pacifiers in the toilet, luckily they did not make it into her mouth. As I ran into the bathroom I looked at her and said, "I've told you 15 times not to be your hands in the toilet!" And then it hit me. This is what God feels like. He's told me 15 times to get my hands out of my own "toilet" because he knows what's best for me, but still I think it's a good idea. Slowly, but surely I am coming to grasps with the fact that my daughter, although the perfect daughter for me, is not and will not be perfect. She has imperfect parents, so who can blame her. It's my job as her Mom and Shawn and her Dad to guide her in the right way. To teach her about love and kindness and most importantly the love of our Savior. Every day I want to be the best me that I can be for her. I want her to be proud that I'm her Mommy, but most importantly I want to the do the job that God has trusted me with justice. It's no easy task and sometimes I find myself asking for a do-over before the has really even gotten to a start, but at the end of every day as long as she knows that she is fiercely and passionately loved, then I feel I have done my job. And let me tell you, she is fiercely loved, not only by me, but by her Dad, her family and her FRamily.

Now that I've babbled, lets get to the important stuff, Em's favorites!
She loves swim lessons, playing at the park (I've been so thankful for the teases of spring) and running all over the place. Music, dancing and "reading" books take up a majority of our mornings and snuggles and the occasional Disney channel viewing session take up our afternoons along with trips to the store/shopping. Her favorite food is definitely still mac and cheese, but she had sloppy joe's and pasta with tomatoes and pesto recently and went crazy for them! Blueberries, strawberries and bananas are still her favorite fruits and she loves KIX. I usually have to give her a cup of them in the morning while I'm making breakfast since she wakes up, as I like to say, "hangry." Angry, hungry. She is a ball of energy and I am so excited for all the adventures we have ahead of us!

Lots of Love,
Ash