Happy 30th John!

I really cannot believe that my husband is 30 years old. I think I was more saddened by this last night than John was. We had driven up to Scottsdale to go for dinner and celebrate my Dad's 50th and Aunt's birthday (happy Birthday guys!) and were driving home around 10 with no Tula and Mav passed out in the backseat. Talking about being 30, about John not being in his twenties anymore. I must not have been making him feel any better cause I just saying "I can't believe you are really this old....aren't you sad...your twenties are over..." and a bunch of other really annoying things that I am pretty sure if John says to me in my last two hours of being twenty-something I will flip a lid. really, I was thinking about me too. That I couldn't believe this was MY last night crawling into bed with a "twenty-something" husband, or MY last couple hours married to someone who wasn't thirty. Selfish, maybe. But don't we all use other people's circumstances as an indicator of our own situation. To but it bluntly, having my husband turning thirty made ME feel old.

But this morning, we woke up, and everything was the same. Sometimes, for me, things feel so much bigger before they happen than when they really do. And sometimes, the anticipation of the next big event can be so much that it can take away from the precious moments leading up to it. Today, my husband is 30, and I love him one day more than I did yesterday, and that really is the only difference. We celebrated this weekend by having a bunch of friends over Saturday night for lots of laughs and good times, campfire and Captain, finger dancing and spitz. And all that fun stuff. It was fun to celebrate John with friends! Tonight, my Mom came down, brought Tula home from her last sleepover at GG's for the winter, and watched the kids while John and I hit up Kona Grill for Happy Hour and hung out on the patio with a bunch of other adults and act all adult-"ish", talking about whatever our hearts desired and not worried about reloading the Cheerios for Mav or buckling Tula down in the highchair. Sure, we love them to death, but the break was nice and we are learning it's something we need to do more often. That will be my 30th Bday gift to John, and to me. Happy hour, once a month at least. Just putting it out there... It's time!!! We had so much fun tonight, and even though we were there for a couple hours (not even) it was just an awesome, well needed break.

Mom, thanks again for coming down and watching the kids tonight so we could go and do our thing. Both Mom and Dad, thanks for ALL the sleepovers and GG and Papa love you have shown the kids this winter. They love they have for you both warms our hearts (almost!) as much as it does yours. I love, love, love watching my kids enjoy you both so much and we all thank God for you everyday. We will miss having you so close and can't wait to come visit the lake lots this summer.

John, Happy 30th Birthday! I love your young heart. You are one of the most joyful men I have ever met, and when we laugh and celebrate like we did this weekend, and I get to see you laugh and smile so much, I remember that that really was one of the reasons I fell in love with you. You are so cheerful and it keeps you so young. Today you are 30, but when I picture you in my head like I am right now, you are still that 26 year old fun loving guy that I fell in love with. Nothing, nothing but the number has changed. I love you (and thank you) so much for that! Happy Birthday Babe!

Love,

Christa

Our Yard

Our yard has been finished for awhile now and I have been wanting to write about it forever. It has been so awesome to have the area finished, and to be able to use it and take full advantage during the beautiful Arizona spring season. It is truly the backyard of my dreams. John and I spent so much time and put so much thought into every aspect of it. How we wanted it to look and needed it to function. We had a guy come over one time and gave us some ideas and then a quote that was out of this world. We said no and never called him back. I asked John if he thought he could do it on his own and he said he would try, that it would be a weekend job and it would take a while and I would have to be patient with him. He knew that the biggest hurdle we would probably have was me rushing, I don't like big jobs like that hanging over our head and I was quite honestly in a hurry to have a functional yard. But I swore that I would have patience, and the process began.

John amazed with his ability to take on every task we needed to do to complete the yard. Of course, because he was my husband I was doubly amazed. I am the type of person that gets very overwhelmed by large projects like that. I want them done, and fast. I don't like the waiting, and I have a hard time "chipping away" at something without seeing results. I was so amazed how John could just go out there and stand in the big brown blank yard and start putting our plans and dreams to action. One day, one rock, one barrel at a time. He had help along the way, absolutely, put he was out there every weekend without fail, sometimes long, long days. We were fortunate enough to have my Dad around for a lot of the weekends. They did the wall and the garden together, they installed the sprinkler system and dug for the pipe, they mixed cement for under the wall, installed the fake grass, and built a fence. We had awesome neighbors and friends who came over to lift and haul barrels of rock and dirt and help make forms and mix cement and pour curbing. They ONLY think John contracted out was he had guys come in and pour our big cement patio. Everything else, every, every, everything else, he did. And I am so incredibly proud of him.

My most favorite part of our yard is my garden. I begged and begged John for a garden and he didn't want to do it, I really don't think he believed me when I said I would take care of it and it wouldn't be his job. But all my convincing paid off and he built a great big raised flowerbed for me, 4 feet deep with enough room for me to have a huge garden and plant basically two forty foot long rows or whatever I wanted. He did a beautiful stone wall finish on the front, fancied it up with some lighting and stone wall caps, and added drip system so I don't even have to go and water it myself. It is perfect! A few weeks ago went ant bought some tomato and pepper potted plants and transplanted them into our garden, and then planted cucumber, eggplant, peas, fennel, arugula, basil and cilantro. It has been nothing short of healing for me to watch these seeds grow, Turn into little sprouts and then just reach for the sky. The first week was so exciting, every time I went out to look another had broken ground, and I really wished I could just sit there for hours and watch them pop through. I was so, so proud of my self for accomplishing something even I didn't know if I was capable of. Now, I love to go out there and just mess around. Pull a couple weeks or inspect my pepper plants for new fruit. Watch my arugula and brainstorm how I can get the bugs to stop eating it. Run my hand over the green and allow myself to feel proud that it wouldn't be there if it wasn't for me, that I planted and nurtured and cared for it well enough. That the best is yet to come. John loves it out there too, he loves to come and check on the tomatoes and snip the leaves and tie them up. When we garden together, I am reminded of what a good team we are. Sometimes the parenting thing feels like it pulls us in a million directions, but when we are out there in the yard focusing on the same thing I realize that we both just want what's best. I hope our parenting job is as pleasing to Him as our gardening job is to me. I hope we can be as diligent and nurturing and authentic of Mommies and Daddies as we are green thumbs. And I pray that the fruits of our labor will be as evident in our children as they are in our garden. If there is one thing I can say I love the most about gardening, I have to say it is truly therapeutic. It may sound cliche, but there are so many life lessons that can be learned or reinforced through the earth. Getting back to the roots, literally. It is a quiet time, usually the kids are off doing their thing and I have time to think. I am truly understanding what it means to have a hobby. I like to pull weeds, and think about how that parallells to life, and what weeds I need to get rid of in my own. I love planting, as I mentioned before, and watching new life arrive every single day. I really actually might be sad when this season is over. I could go on and on, but let's just say I love my garden. It' s sort of my new passion. Just sort of.

Our yard has brought countless hours of joy to our family already. John can come home from work and run around with Tula in the yard while I am making dinner, watching them play in the grass just like we envisioned. We have had many awesome dinners on our great big patio area that some people told us would be too big but seemed to be just right when we had 20 guests over, just like we had envisioned. We have been able to entertain large groups and not feel cramped or crowded, just like we had hoped for. We even got to have a couple nights of sitting by the fire, sometimes just the two of us, and other times having laughs and fun times with friends, just like we had hoped for. Lots of grilling and eating outside with my Mom and Dad and as a family. I have spend a few afternoons while both kids are napping out there on the phone or with a book, sipping sun tea and lemonade. Our yard has been complete for maybe 6 weeks, and it has already provided so many memories and fun times as a family and with friends. It has been more than we had hoped for, which is still, exactly as we had envisioned.

I learned so much through the process. First of all, my husband is amazing. He is so talented, such a hard worker, and so thorough. He truly will do anything and everything for his family, and he wants the world for us. Secondly, I love to garden and I love my new hobby. Thirdly, we truly are an awesome team. Marriage is tough work and when you feel like you have an active, willing participant to go through life with, you feel like you can tackle any project, no matter how big and daunting it may be. Lastly, I love hosting! We have had the opportunity to have friends over on a few different occasions and I feel honored that people enjoy the yard that we have created enough to want to keep coming back, we love having the company. I look forward to many memories back there, and, let's face it, many quiet hours in my house once I can put both the kids out there to play together by themselves throughout the day. For now, it is a wonderful place to be a family, to be a friend, to be a gardener, to be a fun Mommy, to be quiet, and to just "be". For now, my favorite place in the whole wide world. Right in my own back yard. Just as we had envisioned.

Here's a couple pics of our little piece of paradise and there are many more under the Mac gallery link under the album titled Yard (obviously). Hope you enjoy and get to come see it soon if you haven't already!

Weight update

Tula: 21 mo, 32.75 inches, 21 lbs 8 oz, 18 inch head circ
Mav: 7 mo, 28.75 inches, 19 lbs 12 oz, 17.5 head circ

21 months old!

What has Miss Belle been up to as of late? What hasn't she? Into everything, saying everything, playing everything. This month has been monkey see, monkey do with her. She is repeating words and watching everything I do and imitating it and incorporating it into her playtime.

- Tula has become quite the Mommy this month. A few weeks ago, it started when we finally took out the cradle Grandma C had gotten her for her first Christmas. She loved to put her baby in there and decided to tell me, while rocking the baby, that the baby was "cold". I could hardly believe that when she told me, that that had come to mind when she realized that the baby was naked that it would be cold. I was, of course, thoroughly impressed by this and convinced that my child is operating at nothing less than a genius level. We went and dug through Tula's old clothes and found a little bitty sleeper and put that on Dolly, that seemed to make her better. Then, she needed a blanket. She found another dolls bottle and put that together, baby needs "milk". Sometimes she brings her baby to me and wants me to give it "mama milk". I will fake nurse the doll and give it to back her and I have actually found her, on more than one occasion with her shirt lifted, "nursing" her baby, which I think is totally adorable. She SINGS to the doll, and pats its back and hugs it. After she became obsessed with her baby, we let her open up the highchair as well (I am so glad I waited to let her use this stuff- she enjoys it so much more not that she knows what to do with it. Great gifts Grandma- can't tell you how much they have been used this month!) The highchair was up and of course, baby is hungry, she tells me this by rubbing the belly and saying "numma-numma-nums" so I went down and got an old bowl and spoon of hers and of course, feeding baby is a new favorite. And it's not just any one of these things that I amazed by, but the combination of watching her just sort of attach herself to this baby doll and totally care for it like its a baby. How could a child be maternal? It is really something that we are just born with? What a miracle! At any rate, she has become an amazing "mommy" to her babies and I just love watching with her, 98 % of the time. The other 2 % I need some help with. A few times, rarely but more than once, she has been downright ABUSIVE to these poor precious babies. She will smack them in the face and say "no, no, no". Like, not just slap them but hit them with other toys. Once, she even threw it. And it's as if she is reacting to something really "naughty" that this baby just did. So strange. What I would give to know what goes through her head sometimes.

- On the "Mommy" note, Tula's big sister skills impress us more and more every month. She LOVES to help with Maverick right now. She insists on holding his bottle whenever he gets on. She likes to get up on a chair while he is in the highchair and if she can't help feed him she wants to stand on the other side of his tray and talk to him the entire time. She has to get me the wipes for diaper change and pull them out. She loves to wipe him and knows when he is poopy not to touch anything but just makes a bunch of dramatic noises she has probably just heard from me one time or another. She loves to clean up, she sings her "clean up, clean up" song while she is cleaning and loves to throw things in the garbage for me and put all the shoes away in the shoebox whenever there are any out on the floor. If Mav is on the floor fussing, she will go and get him a toy and give it to him. (I guess I should mention that if Mav is playing perfectly happy with a toy she will go snatch it from him and make him cry...what's up with that?). But for the most part, she shares with him and is a great big sister.

- This month, with introducing milk to Mav, we have found one thing in our house that Tula is upset about every time she has to share and that is her sippy cup. It's pretty much not an option, and I always have to have one for each of them at mealtime, even if he's only going to have a sip. I have learned that I have to draw lines right now over who's cups are who's so that there is no confusion. They will each have their own colors of cups to avoid future arguments. Tula will say "mine, mine, mine" but I fixed when I informed her the yellow cup actually wasn't hers, it was Mav's, and she wasn't allowed to touch it. She didn't know what to do about that one.

- I think for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I was Tula's "favorite" again. When we were out, she would want to hold my hand. When we are doing a family Costco trip, I had to push the cart, not Daddy. A few times she even wanted me to put her to bed. She is her Daddy girl for sure, but this month I got lots of extra love!

- We are done nursing, officially. I can't believe it but it's true. It's been almost all month, a good three weeks since the last time and she doesn't even ask anymore really. The only time she was nursing was in the morning and I just kept her busy when we woke up and it distracted her enough that it is just no longer part of the routine. I am so thankful that it just ended the way it did, I was really ready to be done and Tula is doing so well without it. I wouldn't have had the energy to fight with her about it so I am beyond thankful that it happened the way it did. No tears and no hurt feelings, for either of us. I will miss that special time together, but we had MORE than enough of it and I was ready for that phase to be done. I will treasure some of those moments forever though. It really, really was a time that was so special to me. One of my favorite parts of the day for the last 21 months.

- Potty training, if you could call it that, is going well. We aren't anywhere near enforcing it outside of the home. But when we are here, I can have her diaper off and keep the door open to the bathroom and she will just go in there when she has to pee without even telling me. She has pooped twice on the potty and twice on the floor. That was annoying. Just crapped on the floor and then started saying "yuck" and pointing and yelling till I come over and clean it up. Please, let that stage pass quickly. That's just sick.

- Lots and lots of new words daily, Tula tries to copy everything she hears and will try and say any words we ask her too, which can sometimes be a really fun/cute game. But the ones she uses lots now are cool, brother, mommy, outside, park, cold, ham, eggs, MINE, baby...okay, this list is getting too long and impossible to do. Needless to say, I am not worried in the vocabulary department. She is talking up a storm and amuses us with not only new words, but her timing, expression and wit.

- Tula has decided she likes meat!!!!! What? Took her long enough. This month, she has become obsessed with ham and has to have it in her eggs every morning just like Mommy. She tried out steak one night and loved it. And finally, we have gotten the girl to eat chicken a few times. Pasta is still a mealtime staple, but we are branching out a little and there have been a few nights where I actually didn't have to cook her her own meal and she could just eat whatever we were eating. What a treat for me! She love rice, and even lets me put veggies in there and she will eat them together. Loves chicken noodle soup from the can with any variation of noodles. Still usually has a yogurt for lunch. Likes apples and loves it when I give her a hole one to just bite into like a big girl. Loves grapes, I am still a wimp and cut them into quarters for her. I might do that till she is 16. Loves Doritos, Tostitos, and chips...lol. I ALWAYS find her sneaking into the pantry and stealing them. I usually pretend like I don't notice because she thinks she is so sneaky she goes in quietly and takes one out of the bag and then runs and hides. If I just close the pantry door, she would never dare come ask me for one cause she knows she's not allowed, and if I bust her and she sees I saw her I will say no so she doesn't make to much of a habit, but the occasional times she gets in there and gets away with it, I like not saying anything and just giving her a moment of privacy and a feeling of success, if you could call it that.

- This month, Tula got asked to be a flower girl for our friends Kyle and Kauren's wedding here next March! This is so exciting, as it will be her first trip down the aisle and she gets to do it with her good friend Beau. They already love to hold hands while they walk, so this should be a piece of cake. I cannot wait to see it and I am honored that we have been asked to be such a fun part in such a special day! Thanks guys!


Every month I go to write this and I think "How much could possibly be new this month?" and all I need is an hour at the computer writing this blog to realize that the list goes on and on and on. It's never-ending. Having two under two is busy, no doubt, but with Tula being almost 2 and Mav at 7 months crawling, sitting, eating cheerios, etc we are really feeling into a rhythm that makes it not near as difficult as one would think. Tula, you and your brother have been total treats to raise since day one. I couldn't have asked for easier kids. And though there are days that at your age and stage you can drive me bonkers, you are a great kids with an incredibly kind and gentle spirit. You are the best big sister and watching you with Mav makes me feel like I have done something right. I always say that "I don't know where you get it" to this or that. But I know that the fact that I have spent almost every hour with you since your birth has something to do with your personality and the way you are. When I see you being an amazing caregiver, it makes me feel like I am doing a good job. When I watch you clean up, I am reminded that my hard work will pay off. When you nurse your baby, I know that you are capable of showing love to others in every way it has been shown to you, and that you know what love is and that is has many shapes. When I watch you love up Daddy, I remember why I love him so much. In your face I see everything that is good in me, and everything I have done right, and that is one of the most precious gifts of motherhood. You remind me of everything I have done right in this world. Every single day. Happy 21 months, Tula Roo. You are my joy.

Miss Helpful...

Tula decided she wanted to help feed Maverick. What a mess! By so fun to see her be such a good big sister. It's a whole minute of the same thing, this one for probably for the Grandma's more than anything. I really love the "numanumanum" at the end. What a crack up!

Maverick is 7 months old!

And I can't wait another day to write about it! I keep putting it off and putting it off and this little guy is growing and changing so fast right now it can't be put off any longer! The was a HUGE month for Maverick. So many changes, so many firsts, so much excitement. And so much love. Though Maverick seems to be turning into a little boy a lot faster than Tula (I really think that's more because of his size than anything) he is still the most lovable, happiest little baby in the world. And he just lights up when I smile at him too, so of course he pretty much holds my heart in his hands. I swoon over this boy. I love every little bit of him. I say it at least once a day, I could eat him up. He smells delish...he doesn't stop smiling....and he is one of the easiest babes ever born. I thank God every day that he is mine.

What's new in Maverick's world? Well, at 7 months old:

- You started crawling! Yay! You have been officially and totally "on the move" for about a week now. Pretty much all month, since you were able to sit up nice and strong, you started felling forward and ending up on all fours. I will say, there were about two weeks at the beginning of the month that were probably the crankiest of your whole life, and I think that was you just trying to figure out crawling. You would be fine sitting there and then roll into the crawling position and start crying, I think, cause you just didn't know what to do from there. At nighttime, when you would wake to feed, I would find you in your bed when you cried for me on all fours just rocking back and forth, maybe even dreaming about crawling? When you finally figured it out, the actual one hand then one foot motion, the first person you crawled to was me! Grandma had you outside on the trampoline, we were all sitting on there, and she put you down and you crawled right over to me into my lap. Maverick, that made my week. Okay, it made my month. So anyways, you aren't very fast yet, and haven't figured out that you can follow me from room to room, but the crawling thing has made playtime on the floor alone and with Tula much more exciting for you and for me to watch.

- I am pretty sure last month I wrote that I was going to try and give you some more regular meals, that you seemed hungry. I assumed that, like your sister, you would love sweet potatoes and they would be a mealtime staple. Boy, was I wrong. From the first time you tried the stuff, you gagged to the point of making yourself sick. You hate them. And, for that matter, you hate pureed food, period. Which is very strange for me because I was still pureeing Tula's food till she was about 15 months old and I think we will bypass that stage completely with you. This month, after trying and trying pureed things, we ended up letting you just pick and finger food and you LOVE all of it. You, like every other baby, love Cheerios. For every meal. And Mum Mum's, of course. Mommy and Daddy love that you like finger food too, it make mealtime so much easier for us to just put a handful of whatever on your tray and let you eat while we do the same. This month you also tried....chicken, steamed carrots, rice, pears, apple (you seemed to like it best when I would chew it up and spit it out for you. Gross, I know, but you are the one that likes it not me.) Oh yeah, and you even tried salmon one night, that didn't go over very well. We let you have some of Sis's mac-n-cheese one night and you gobbled that up. Yes, my son, all my food rules I had with Tula are out the window with you. You have tried almost everything in your first two weeks of really eating solids that she had to wait over a year to eat! I can't believe it! I even let you have cow's milk this month. Sometimes you just seemed extra hungry or thirsty so I have given you a bottle and let you have some in a sippy with meals and you love it. Normally switching to cows milk can be a huge adjustment but you never seemed to notice at all. In fact, you love it. It's also nice because I am not a fan of pumping so now I know if you start to fuss while I am out Daddy or Grandma or whoever can give you a bottle and you will take it. What a relief. I love it around dinnertime when i am busy in the kitchen and you start to get hungry I have given you a bottle a few times and you will just lay on the floor, holding your own little bottle and watching me run around the kitchen. I never, ever had the bottle "luxury" with Tula, so it's sort of a fun change for me. Though I still love the quiet times I have with you when you do nurse, and the chance it gives us to be alone, and quiet and focused mostly on each other. You love to scratch at my chest and play with my necklace. Those are some of the time I get the biggest, bestest smiles from you!

- No more teeth yet. You have had those bottom two by themselves for quite some time, but that's it. I am in no hurry, I know when Tula's face started filling up with teeth that's when she stared to look so much older and I am still in love with the "baby-you". I have felt around and no other teeth seem to be on their way. And of course all your smiles would never let on that you were teething at all so maybe it'll be awhile till we see any more action in there.

- This month you started sitting up in the bathtub like a bug boy and you think you are so cool like that. You love to splash. Loud and hard and make a big scene. Bathtime has become much more fun for you now that you are sitting up in there. We also had to lower you crib, now that you are sitting so much we know the next step is pulling yourself up and we wanted to be one step ahead of you so we lowered it and you didn't seem to notice.

- Sleep with you is okay. You sleep great, but I am ready to be sleeping through the night and you don't seem to be. You usually still wake twice a night. Once at about 11 or 12 and I am still up so I just go in and feed you and put you back in your crib. And then you wake again around 3 or 4ish and Daddy goes and brings you to me and I think you just nurse a bit and then we sleep together usually till Daddy goes to work in the morning and at that time he brings you back to your cribs, You usually wake around 7:30 or 8, shortly after Tula goes running up and down the halls letting us all know she is up. She loves to go get you in the morning, and every morning when I pick you out of your crib and show you to her, both of your faces light up. You adore her, you watch everything she does right now, but mostly you just laugh and smile at her and all her antics. She totally cracks you up all day long and watching you smile and giggle for her makes my world turn.

- You have become very expressive this month. Clapping hands together in excitement, not to make the sounds, but I guess you just love the feeling of your arms smacking into each other or something. Oh, and very, very recently, in the last week or so, you have really found your voice and love to tell big, funny, loud stories. You think they are the funniest, but just so ya know, Tula thinks they are pretty good too. Oh yes, you guys seem to have quite the conversations, especially in the carseats. I love listening to you guys back there. Tula will say "hand, hand, hand" and insist you hold hers while we drive. You guys usually do hold hands at least once per trip, and sometimes for an entire trip. My favorite is when you guys fall asleep holding hands. I can rest so much easier now knowing you guys have each other. You really do seem to have an incredible little bond.

- We had the privilege and joy of dedicating you to the Lord this month at our church in front of a few family members (Auntie Jen, GG and Papa, and Aunt Gayle) and our small group friends from church. We prayed that you would grow into the man of God that you were designed to be. We prayed that you would chose friends wisely. We thanked God for your precious smile. We prayed for your future wife (crazy...I know...maybe she is even born already? Oh Maverick, I have so many dreams for you....) that God would prepare you for each other. We prayed that you will be protected and safe, and we asked God to guide us as parents and help us to raise you up in Him. We stood before our church and were accountable to the congregation and our family and friends that we would be involved in the church, and that our children would be also. It is my prayer that you are able to find friendships at church with young boys and girls that you can grow up with, that they will be deep and meaningful and lifelong. And that your best friend, Jesus, will be a constant presence in your life. Though there will be times growing up that you will think you are totally alone and Mom and Dad seem a million miles (or years!) away, that He will be all the answers you need and all the friendship you require. That you will be a servant but leader, humble but proud of who you are, and as joyful and happy as you are right now. Okay, that last one might be a stretch, but if you could be HALF as happy, you will be a happy, happy man. I love you Maverick, and I am so, so committed to raising you the right way and not just telling you what you need to do, but walking the walk with you and living as "Christ-like" as possible alongside you. This does not mean that you ever have to alienate yourself, in fact the opposite. May you always, always be the light that shines, no matter who you are surrounded by. And I hope and pray you do go to the ends of the earth where they may be no light, that your may shine all the brighter there. Most of all, I pray that you always know, no matter what you do, you make me so proud. That you are loved more than you can know. And that nothing you could do would ever, ever change that. Your dedication day was a special day for our family, and I am excited to see all the great things God is going to do in your life and through you Mav John. You are a special boy!

Happy seven months Maverick! Mommy loves you so much!