November and December were great months of celebration! Our little family welcomed home our first son, Milo, and my have we fallen quite in love. As I write this, he is already lounging around in his 3-6 month sweater onesie and is fast asleep in the swing. Such a solid little guy already! His birth story and challenges of life with two will come later this month.
And in December, we celebrated another birth, another son. "Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth." "Born the King of Angels." So profound. Have you ever thought about that? Born the King of Angels! Born to reconcile all of humanity back to God. Jesus, God incarnate, came to be with us in the body of a little baby - not the fully grown king he could have been. He came weak and poor and in the end beat death. I love how God does that! He chooses the most unlikely ways to win, and in the process wins our hearts. Thank you, Jesus, for giving up your glory to win me to you. What a beautiful love story.
These last few months have been full of Milo, Alice, family, and Christmas - and all that Christmas brings us. Hope you enjoyed yours as much as we did.
Alice meets Milo
Milo meets Milo
Papa Bruce meets Milo
Fun, too-fast trip to Ogallala for Thanksgiving.
Thanks for all the food and presents, Grandma Linda! We love visiting.
Milo bein' cute.
flowers from the esposo and some of our basil sprigs for seed collecting
our magical Christmas tree!
Notice those stockings? FOUR. :) Lyn made all but mine for our growing family. Mine was specially embroidered by my Gramma Bev when I was a little girl and I'll keep it forever.
Last year after Christmas, I went to our local florist shop - Country Gardens - and saw this beautiful red Scandinavian print ribbon on a tree they had done up and inquired if they had any more for sale. They didn't, so they took all of it off the tree and gave it to me for .25 cents a yard! Love how it brightens up the tree. Every year I find half a dozen or so ornaments on sale for the next year. Slowly filling out.
Side note: I miss the warm ambiance our tree gave. We took it down New Year's Day and our house feels a little less magical without it.
Gingerbread house fun at Gramma Jo's
It is said that Alice licked her fingers an awful lot and made more than one attempt to consume the roof ornaments.
First haircut
She doesn't have much hair, but the mullet in the back and wings around her ears finally had to go. My hairdresser, Rebecca Forsyth at Bungalow 8, told me this was the only haircut I was allowed to give her myself :) Yep, I am definitely not qualified for this stuff.
My assistant, Papa Bear, helped catch the flyaways and we appeased the Peanut with yogurt covered raisins.
Sleepin' in the car on the way home from Ogallala. That tender face and untied bootlaces - so sweet.
I get a big kick out of dressing this girl. Her boots are her signature now :)
my posse
Milo smiles!
Be still my beating heart. Such a little charmer.
Notice Alice getting into shenanigans in the background? She and that blanket...such a pair! Her "Marty" blanket is her most prized possession. Wears it daily. Thanks again, Aunt Sarah. I wouldn't be surprised if she pretended to be a zebra-sporting superhero sometime soon.
Daddy time.
Milo is still, Alice is a blur - pretty much sums things up.
baby-pile
Alice taking Milo for a "sleigh ride"
our little Picasso hard at work making some new art for the prayroom with my "soft crayons"
my studio apprentice
and then there's this guy...
those cheeks! those chins!
he's already so much bigger than Alice was at this point
matching hat for her adorable scarf made with love from Aunt Tarah
cozy cuddles with Milo's Godmommy, Libby
oh, the many faces of Alice
see more here
Milo & Daddy
Alice, air planes, and the Marty Blanket
a few new books for Christmas!
highly recommend BOTH!
new play gym for Milo
Thank you, Aunt Lynnie! That sloth is my favorite.
we got some more track and trains!
Thank you, Stacie and Gramma Alice - huge hit here.
And now I give you...the most beloved of all Christmas presents...
...the Umbrella.
Alice had been talking about having an umbrella "like mommy" for ages, and while I don't care for commercial toys, I saw this little one at Walmart for all of $6 and new she'd love it. So into the cart it went and when she opened it first thing on Christmas day, you'd know she would've been happy if that was the only present she got. She insisted on holding it while she opened all other presents and now makes tents with it, serves me food out of it, carries her other toys inside of it, and "proteks" us from all of the imaginary rainstorms that spontaneously occur in our house. Score :D
p.s. recognize the framed artwork behind her? Looking forward to making that a monthly rotation.
Another great gift...The Canopy...
Oh. My. Goodness.
This beloved thing was fashioned by the hands of my sister and it is magical. We hung it up Christmas Eve and when Alice came into her room that night, she was in total awe and wonder. All lit up with dancing paper butterflies, a plush blanket and little pillows my sister had sewn - it beckons anyone as the perfect spot for laying and reading.
And then there's this guy again.
Those eyes. Those cheeks. Those lips! Are you in love? I'm totally smitten.
And so is Alice :)
Speaking of Alice, I think she will grow to climb boulders like her Aunt Tarah and Uncle Chris.
Other fun posts you might have missed...
We have our rough days (one day Alice threw four epic tantrums and Milo refused to sleep and I honestly asked myself why I chose this occupation of being a stay at home mom) but most are good. We're figuring out our routines, our new needs (project time for me, attention for Alice, milk/burps for Milo), and how to adapt to taking care of two. At once. Definitely an adjustment. While I get a lot of sleep at night (still 8 hours! just broken up by two or three feedings) I find myself pining for uninterrupted time to get a project done during the day. But that is a luxury and I know I can't complain. More on life with two later...
Suffice it to say, it has been a life changing couple of months and so so full. Life-filling kind of full.