A Little Girl in a Boys World

When we got pregnant with Neal, and found out we were having a boy, I knew my whole world would be changing.  Not only would it be changing simply by the fact that Tyler and I would soon be parents but also changing because we were having a boy.  Since I come from a family of all girls (except for my dad), having a boy was going to be a whole new world for me.

The last few months I have started to see how different life will be for Gwendolyn too.  I never grew up around boys so my house and memories are filled with lots of girly things.  I remember playing with barbies, Rainbow Bright,  My Little Ponies, having dance parties and reading Little House on the Prairie.   I never remember even hearing much about any Superhero, Ninja Turtles, pirates, or having battles.   I'm sure there will be lots more girly things coming to this house now that Gwendolyn has arrived.  However the environment Gwendolyn is growing up in is so much different then mine was.   I can already tell she loves all her brothers toys (she even picks them over her dolls/books sometimes).

I love watching Neal's imagination and how he is always pretending to be a different superhero.  You wouldn't know that we owned any toys in our home, because if you come here you will most likely only see superhero costumes and any random object being used as a sword or gun.  

I love the toys that fill our home, and the new adventures I have with Neal every day and I especially like watching as Gwendolyn takes it all in from her little seat in the middle of the room.  She can't take her eyes off Neal when he is running around playing a superhero or "saving the world".   Gwendolyn is going to have a lot of different memories then I did.  She is going to be well versed in superhero lingo, and will surpass my knowledge of these things before I know it.  Just look here...she looks pretty excited about all these action figures.

When we play trains here we don't drive the trains around the nicely constructed train tracks (as I would have growing up).  The trains here are on a collision course for each other and usually some dinosaur, superhero, or Godzilla is destroying the trains and the little town within seconds.   I know Gwendolyn will have tons of fun with her brother and I'm sure she'll take on the roll of the princess who needs saving sometimes, but I also think she'll be pretty good at battling and "saving the world" right alongside her big brother.

March 10 on 10

We remembered to do a "10 on 10" photo day this month!  I meant to take a picture each hour but the day got away from me.  This shows our day yesterday, March 10th, not necessarily spread out by each hour but close enough...

7:30 am - Still sleeping

With the time change this week our little Gwendolyn has been sleeping later 

8:00 am - Breakfast for Everyone 

Gwendolyn is now eating rice cereal and Neal is enjoying his "talking cereal" (rice krispies)

9:30am - Headed our for run 

A beautiful sunny day for a run with good friends - the best thing was Tyler was home so I didn't have to take the kids in the stroller :) 

12:00 pm - Getting dinner cooking

Slow cooked drip beef sandwiches for dinner...the house spelled so good all day

1:30pm - Cleaning Project

Trying to get some things done while the kids nap

2:30 - Trampoline Time

The perfect day for a jump

3:30 pm - Hanging outside with Mommy 

Watching brother jump and enjoying the warmth and sunshine 

4:30pm - Ahoy Mate!

Neal sailing his pirate ship and looking though his "telescope" 

5:30pm - Playtime

She is learning to put in her own binki - such a great skill to have :)

7:00 pm - Playing with the neighbor

Nothing like a fun evening pulling the neighbor boy behind the tractor 

One Extra photo to end the day:

7:30 pm - Sunset 

The very end of a beautiful sunset, this is when I wish I had a different camera then just my phone.  It was so gorgeous in person. 

A great day, with great sunny and warm weather!  Sure hope this spring weather decides to stay around.

Gwendolyn: 5 Months

Time seems to be passing even quicker these days then I though possible.  I am sitting here thinking, where have the last 5 months gone?   Neal summed it up great the other day when he said "What!?! Are you kidding me?  Gwendolyn is 5 years old?"  I had to correct him that she was only 5 months old but really I'm sure she'll be 5 years old in just a blink of an eye.

Here is a quick summary of our sweet girl at 5 months -- 

Smiling

Laughing

Eating her toes (every time the shoes/socks come off her toes go into her mouth)

Just starting to sit on her own (for short periods of time) 

Rolling over (however she mostly chooses to just stay in one place) 

Loves tubby time 

Loves to sleep (which makes us all very, very happy) 

What I am really these days is watching her and Neal interact together.  Neal can always make her smile/laugh and is always quick to come to her rescue if she starts to cry.  You will often here him say "Gwendolyn, what's the problem?" or "do you have a smile just for me?"  Gwendolyn can always be found watching her brother if he is in the same room.  She loves watching him "fight" battles and run around.

There is already so much that I have seen that will be different for Gwendolyn growing up with a brother compared to what I was use to, growing up with all sisters.  But I'm saving some of those observations and details for another post...

Quiet Nights & Busy Days

Let me start by saying this:  Not every day looks as perfect and well put together as these pictures may seem but each day holds a few snapshots of these great moments, which make the rough days and teaching moments of each day easier to face.  With that said...

The happening in our home lately...

My little kitchen helper.  She joins me in the kitchen almost every night and just hangs out with me while I make dinner.  You can never start learning to early right? 

We enjoy having lots of playdates with friends throughout the week.  This playdate Gwendolyn was the entertainment during snack time. 

Tyler has been traveling again for TWR so while daddy is away we like to play.  Here was a dinner at McDonald's.  Gwendolyn couldn't take her eyes off Neal while he played.  I think she will be ready to join him as soon as she can crawl. 

Neal's new favorite activity is playing games.  We have gotten a few new ones recently and so we play at least one or two games each day. 

Creating fun cards to send people is also one of Neal's favorite things to do, as long as he can use stickers, lots and lots of stickers. 

Playtime never really ends for little Gwendolyn.  For now she even gets to play at the dinner table. 

Finally, you will always find some type of superhero appearance throughout the day at our home.  This week it we saw batman and then all joined in on the Ninja Turtle fun (thanks Grandma for the fun masks) 

After a day filled with games, smiles, laughter, learning and superhero fighting it's time bed.   The kids are together in the same room and so far so good.  Neal LOVES having Gwendolyn sleep with him.  Just a few weeks ago we started putting them to bed at the same time which gives Tyler and I a quiet evening (most of the time) which is always a good way to end the day. 

A Birthday Celebration!

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago we welcomed Neal into our family.  He has been such a blessing to us and I have learned so much from being his mom.  It's amazing how fast times goes, especially as you watch your little kids grow and change each day.

This year Neal wanted to have a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" (TMNT) birthday.  I have had to become a TMNT  expert over the last several months and can now tell you each turtles name, his weapon and I can even sing the theme song (from 1980's cartoons).

I think I might get as excited as Neal about his birthday parties each year 'cause my favorite thing about birthday parties is making the cake.  I had a ton of funning making "Michael Angelo" for Neal and decorating the house with Ninja Turtle balloons.

I worked on the cake while Neal was napping and it was so fun to see his face when he saw the cake for the fist time.  He was so excited he immediately starting reenacting ninja turtles and "saving" Gwendolyn and I from the bad guys.

We had a great time at his party and enjoyed visiting with everyone so much that we didn't really get any pictures of the actual party...but we did record the highlight of the party, the birthday song.

Over the last four years Neal has changed and grown so much and each new stage of his life brings about things that I hope to never forget.   So, here are a few saying and things about Neal at age four: 

Favorite Things: 

1) Any superhero (especially The Flash, Bateman, or a Ninja Turtle) 

2) Reading books

3) Being silly, or trying to get people to laugh

Silly Phrases/Saying: 

1) He calls M&M's "m & m & mies"

2) "Can we Skype on daddy (or Grandma or Gigi)"

3) "Mommy when I grow up big i'm gonna have fur on my legs, just like daddy" 

4) "Are you kidding me?" 

Neal has such a sweet and gentle spirit, he often comes up and just wants to give us hugs, kisses or snuggles and will quite often, out of the blue, just say "mommy (or daddy) I love you".  He has been a wonderful, caring and very helpful big brother.  He always looks for ways to help with Gwendolyn and always wants to make her smile or laugh.  We continue to pray each night that Neal would know, serve and love God, and pray that Christ would soften his heart and bring him to salvation.  We are beyond blessed with this precious and undeserved gift from the Lord.

Happy 4th Birthday to our favorite little boy!!

A Good Book

There is nothing quit like reading a good book.  I love it when I find a book that captures my attention and I find hard to put down.  I love sitting down in a quiet corner of the house with a cup of coffee and getting lost in the pages of a good story.  Though a quiet corner of the house is hard to find these days with the kids we still manager to find good books to read they just happen to be kids books.   Gwendolyn has already showed an interest in reading as well.  She loves to sit in her bumbo seat and look at books.

Neal loves to read and has always has loved sitting down and reading, or being read to.  We introduced Neal to his first chapter book this winter called "My Father's Dragon" and he has loved reading it with us.  It's fun to see his excitement over the story and hear his anticipation for the next chapter as he asks "just one more chapter, real quick mom, one more, just one more."  I love that while I feed Gwendolyn he comes up to the couch with a stack of books (at least 4 or 5) and sits next to me and asks me to read to him.

We read the books he gets from the library several times a day.  Neal loves to share his love of reading with others as well and I have found him"reading" to the dog and to Gwendolyn.

It's amazing how he can remember every word in a book and then "read" it to himself or others later that day.  Though my book library here at the house right now consists of lots of kids book with colorful illustrations I hope to dive into a good book of my own soon.  This winter weather here makes for a perfect setting for a good book, a fire and a cup of coffee.

Snow!

We got our first real snowfall this week since we moved here.  It was lots of fun to wake up to a blanket of white outside on Wednesday morning.  Tyler got the day off work, everything closes down for snow, and we got to spend the whole day as a family.  So what did we do...played out int he snow of course!

We didn't have any real snow gear for Neal but we managed to get enough stuff to keep him warm and somewhat dry.  Neal had a great time.  Gwendolyn got all bundled up for pictures but didn't stay out to long.  We all got to play while she napped.

The whole city has almost been shut down due to the snow.  I drove into town wednesday night to have coffee with a friend and found that I was not only almost the only person on the road but that Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin Doughnuts, and many other places were closed early due to the weather.   We have mostly stayed home all week enjoying the snow, drinking hot coco and keeping warm by the fire.

I love that the snow has stuck around this whole week.  Makes me feel a little like I'm back home in AK when I look out my window :)