Capturing Childhood

God is being so so sweet to me this Friday afternoon by having both of my kiddos napping at the exact. same. time.  Cole has been sleeping for two hours- seriously it's a miracle!  I have been trying SO hard to get him to stretch out his naps, and I think since he found his thumb, it's working lol  I know he will probably have issues later on related to teeth, emotional issues, (insert any story you've heard about thumb sucking kids here) but right now I think he looks so cute when he does it and it gets him to actually sleep by himself instead of screaming in his crib, so it's a win for the moment :)

I thought for sure this winter would be really rough on me.  For some reason the last couple winters emotionally have been hard.  I don't know if it's being inside all day, the dreary days, etc., but the last couple years right around now I have been thrilled to see any sign of spring breaking through.  And thankfully we actually have had some spring like days which is such a shocker for February in Chicago.  I've realized that God has us go through many seasons, and although life with a newborn has its moments, right now we feel lots of joy for where He has us.  Jake is at such a fun age, and although I get sad thinking that he will be FOUR soon and I have visions of him going off to college, I love watching him grow.  I can't wait for him to try out tee ball and I love his little imagination and personality that is emerging.  And I think because it's been so long since we've had a little baby in our house, everything with Cole is new and exciting too.  He's sitting in his bumbo now and giving us tons of smiles (when he's not tired or hungry lol).  I really feel incredibly blessed for this season.  And I'm trying to take as many pictures of it as I can to remember it all :)

Oh my word Jake looks SO big here. Insert crying emoji's here

Another Lakehouse trip!

A couple weeks ago our friends invited us back to their lack house for another get together with the kids!  Obviously it was cold outside so we didn't do anything "lake" related like we did last time, however we still had a blast hanging out with all the kids and their parents.  With all the kids it's easy to be concerned about someone getting hurt, however every single dad there is a doctor so we don't even have to worry about that :)  Dan does a great job bringing his business perspective to the group :)  It's so fun being able to keep in touch with all these families even though they all live in Indiana and Michigan.

And it's in these settings that it's really interesting to see how Jake's little personality is coming out.  He's most definitely an introvert (at least for now!).  At times we couldn't find him amongst the mass of kids in the basement and we would go upstairs and he would be playing by himself.  He wasn't upset or anything- he just wanted to be by himself for a bit.  So unlike his mom who loves to be around people :) 

We can't wait to hang out with everyone again hopefully in the near future! 

Some much needed updates!

I have to apologize for the lack of updates.  Between Cole, lots of sickness, and photography sessions, the kids naps are taken up with either my naps or editing!  Thankfully, my body is adjusting to getting less than 5 hours of broken sleep so I'm not as exhausted as I was at the beginning!

This January has been so fun for many reasons, but mainly because I was able to do 5 photography sessions for our adoption!  It has been SO fun to do these sessions - I love learning new things each time, and I love knowing that we are getting closer to raising the support we need to bring our little kiddo home :)  I am so thankful for all the families who have let me take their family photos!  The hardest part is trying to fit in website updates and little side projects with a newborn- I forgot how sporadic their naps are!  It's just a season though, and thankfully I know that now more than I did with Jake.  So, we are just enjoying snuggling with baby Cole when those unexpected wake ups happen!  

And speaking of Cole, he is finally getting over his cold and ear infection!  It seriously has been a rough couple months for him.  His cough was actually pretty scary, and we had to take him to the doctor a couple times to figure out what was up with him.  Thankfully, his cough didn't turn into RSV or anything more severe than just a cough!  And, he didn't get Jake's sickness of the flu and diarrhea.  I swear he didn't eat anything for almost a week and he had me worried!  However he is definitely making up for it this week which I am so thankful to see!  I knew something was up when Jake didn't eat his fries at Outback a couple weeks ago. 

We also just recently signed Jake up for preschool in the Fall!  Oh my goodness I have NO idea how we got here!  My little guy going to preschool!  While I know it is going to be so good for him and I know he will enjoy it, I think the transition will be hard on both of us.  But we did some research and took the tours and we think we found one that will be a good fit for him :) So we will keep you updated as that approaches!

We also have officially found a church here and we are looking forward to getting involved :)  I'm also doing another Shepherding a Child's Heart Bible study and it has been SO good to be back in community and fellowship.  And even though I've read the book and done the study before, I am totally being convicted all over again of what it looks like to be a godly parent and how to best Shepherd the kiddos that God has entrusted to me.  I could write a novel about what God's teaching me- and I hope that I get the opportunity to share more of that in another blog post!

Also, we haven't done too many updates with our house since Cole came, but I hope to put up a post soon showing pictures of our before (and almost finished) after!  Even though it's easy for us to focus on all the things that still need / we want to do, it is good for us to stop and look back on how far we have come!  And I really do love our home.  I love how open it is, and I actually am loving the raised ranch feel and that all of our bedrooms are on the same level... and I never thought I would say that!  What a blessing it is.  We are so thankful :)

Here are some pictures literally from the beginning of January.  I'll get to posting some newer ones soon :)  Thanks for keeping updated on whats going on with our life!