March Update

                I am not even sure where to begin with our March update.  It has been such a whirlwind and a blur of life that I am not even sure I remember everything that happened, lol.  We enjoyed lots of fun trips to the playground as well as fun walks enjoying beautiful weather.  We even made it to the beach one Saturday for Alethea’s 2 year photo shoot.  I am so thankful for the spring-like weather that we were teased with throughout March.

Favorite family pic from the shoot

Favorite Alethea pic!

                We also celebrated the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ this month.  It was a bit of a busy day for us, but it was still great to remember the sacrifice He made for us and why we truly celebrate Easter.  We want this to be the focus for our family on Easter, but we also had a little fun this year with an Easter basket and egg hunt for the day too.  Alethea really enjoyed those additions to the day.

Mommy and Alethea...attempt at a post church photo

In her Easter dress

opening all her egg hunt eggs

her candy free Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy 

                This month also marked the beginning of a fun tradition with our good friends the Smiths.  We have started a date swap with them so each couple gets a chance to go out on a date once a month.  It was so much fun for us to head downtown and spend some quality time, just Ben and I, and we enjoyed some fabulous dinner at Slightly North of Broad (SNOB).  Then of course we had to finish off the night with ice cream from Wholly Cow, delish!

Our romantic table :-)

                Ben’s month was overtaken by an audit at work, the final month of grad school, and two trips for interviews for his dream job.  As a result, this meant that we saw him even less than we had been already.  With the audit, the first few weeks of the month meant long hours at work to prep and then go through the process of the audit.  Grad school meant evenings and entire weekends were spent working on projects and trying to keep his head above water.  Then he flew to Texas at the beginning of the month for an interview conference and then was called back for a second interview in Louisville, KY for a job he is super excited about.  Alethea and I were supposed to go with him for the KY trip, but unfortunately a change in schedule and lots of doctor appointments prevented that.  So, all in all, this month really made us cherish the time we do get to spend with Ben and has us praying as well as anxiously awaiting a budget approval so the company can offer Ben a job!

Kissy face pic to send to Daddy while he was gone

Movie night while Daddy was gone

                My month was full of a ton of time spent with a sweet little blonde girl.  Thankfully she was awesome for me most of the month. So even though I was exhausted by the end of most every day, I was happy to wake up a start all over again each day.  I also occupied myself with menu-planning, cooking, and involvement at church.  I am so thankful for the energy that God provided so that I was able to make it through this month.

                Alethea, as usual, is growing like a weed and continuing to develop quite the loveable, sweet personality that has Ben and I constantly turning to each other in acknowledgment of the blessing she is in our lives.  I would like to think our parenting has something to do with her personality development, but I truly think so much of it is a God-given blessing.  We are loving each stage of development as she grows more and more into a little girl and definitely not a baby anymore.  I took her stats again this month which I guess would be 25 months, and she is up to  28lbs 12.8oz and 36.75inches.  It was actually hilarious the other day because the cashier at the commissary just couldn’t get over the fact she had just turned 2 and kept saying, if it weren’t for the hair, she would look like a 3 or 4 year old, lol.  Due to this height she is also graduated to the forward facing settings on her carseat too.

In her forward facing carseat :-)

She loves to play at the playground

                This month has been so exciting in language development as well.  I cannot believe just how much her language continues to grow exponentially.  She is spouting full sentences out (obviously not always proper structure) most of the time now involving anywhere from 3 to sometimes 7 words.  It has been amazing to see her understanding and generalizing of concepts blossom over the month.  Car trips have also become quite the event because she often talks non-stop.  Her new favorite thing is to narrate life as it happens and we have quickly learned that, if we don’t acknowledge what she is saying, many things will get repeated until we do, lol.  She is our little chatterbox (and often songbird) and, though there are times I wish I had earplugs, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

"stwawwww"

"two leebs"

                She has also started to take after her Mommy not only with singing, but she is quite the little monkey.  In the last month, she as truly has begun to climb on pretty much any and everything.  Nothing is off-limits at the park anymore.  She wants to climb everything!  So fun, but at the same time it can be nerve-wracking when she is halfway up the climbing wall without a spotter.  I didn’t even know a 2 year old could use hand and foot holds with such ease, lol!

                Her little mommy instincts have also continued to develop.  She is like a baby magnet and is drawn to them, real or pretend, whenever they are around.  I love her sweet spirit and attention to making sure she cares for them well.  I don’t know that she really understands what it’s going to mean for her to be a big sister in a few months, but I am pretty sure she is going to love it.  We have started to tell her that the baby in Mommy’s belly will come out to play in a few months.  I am thinking this is actually making a bit more sense to her because she has started asking if “baby Mommy’s belly play?”.  Who really knows, but the whole process is fun to see her get excited, even if she doesn’t totally get it yet.

taking care of all her "babies"

Making sure baby sits at the table to eat

                One last thing to mention is my favorite part about her new developing personality.  She is such a compassionate, empathetic, and encouraging little girl.  I love how she gets so concerned when others seem upset.  If she knows she hurt one of us or one of her friends she is quick to go make sure they are okay.  She will say “okay….?” (fill in the blank with whoever it is) and then she loves to give hugs, kisses, or pats to make it better.  It is even common for her to try to share whatever she is playing with to try to make things better.  So sweet!  We see this evident even when we are reading books because she can see the hurt emotions in the faces of the characters.  It is not uncommon for us to have to reassure her that the characters in the book are okay when she asks “….okay?”.  She also loves to clap and say “good job” when anyone around her does something well, especially if it enjoys going potty.  I just love seeing this sweet spirit develop in her!

Her first attempt to pose like Mommy does for "bump" photos

Foamy soap head!

                I think that’s all I really know for now.  I am sure there are updates I am forgetting, but the details have long left this pregnant brain, lol!  It’s been a crazy month, but God has still been good to us.