Long Time, No See!

Long time, no see! I haven't written in about 2 years I guess, so there's no time like the present, right? A lot has happened since the last time I wrote! We were attempting to adopt from Russia, which was exciting, but that all fell through, just the way it was meant to. We also looked into adopting domestically, but that didn't work out either. So, we just gave up on trying. I tried the Paleo diet to lose a few pounds......

and, then we got pregnant with this sweetie!
Ezekiel James, born Sunday, January 20th at 5:15 PM, at home.

So, then fast forward about 6 and a half more months, and we are here:

Yep, that is 6 month old baby Zeke, taking a bath in the sink! Isn't he a sweetheart? I definitely think so, but I am a little biased. ;) Oh, and Caylen started pre-k this year-- here she is:

She is definitely loving school! I sure do miss her though. She is beginning to read already, which is wonderful, of course. I did a lot of work with her on letters and their sounds, beginning at age 2. She knows quite a few sight words, but we are currently working on sounding out words. She hasn't quite grasped it yet, but she is doing great. I am so proud of her, and I know she will do a great job this year! Going to the CEC last year definitely helped-- we plan to start Zeke there when he turns 2.

Speaking of Zekey.....

Zeke has 2 teeth already, the bottom 2, and he is currently working on his top 2 teeth. This is all new to me, nursing a baby with teeth, since Caylen got her first 2 teeth just a couple of weeks before she turned 1. I weaned her about a month after her first birthday, so nursing her with teeth was a very brief period. He is sitting up like a champ, eating like nobody's business, and trying to become mobile, which he can wait just a little longer for that! :)
He still sleeps in the Rock n' Play, which is not something I am proud of, but apparently, (trust me we have tried) he won't sleep anywhere else for longer than a 2 hour stretch at a time. Even if he's with us in the bed. Oh well! If there is one thing I have learned in this journey of parenting, it is to ditch the guilt for the things you can't change! We tried to get him to sleep in the crib for quite a while, from the very beginning in fact, but 2 sleep deprived, irritable, annoyed, did I mention tired, parents decided that sleeping in the rock n' play wasn't so bad after all...... Choose your battles!

I am still a happy stay at home mom, which I love and I value, despite the loneliness and monotony.  It definitely helps to have a parent staying at home, taking care of the kiddos while the other spouse works. a lot. at not only one job that takes more than 40 hours a week, but also being a part-time EMT. It's alright though! I get a gym membership out of it! I really do love staying at home though-- I find it has been the best fit for our family and it is a very hard job, but it's also a very important one.

That's about all for now, hopefully I will write again sooner than 2 years from now!