Mommy pride

The quiet

One of the many miracles of having two small children is having any type of alone time. Hence, the lack of blogging. Not that I was/am the most devoted blogger anyway. Currently, I am experiencing this miracle of quiet... How wonderful it is to have both kiddos asleep at the same time, the kitchen closed for the evening and all the laundry already folded. (sigh) I am actually sitting down to do something completely unnecessary and it is not even 10 pm!
Yes, slowly but surely we are settling into a more predictable life once again. Praise God! For those that know me well, I am not a spontaneous person. I do not enjoy "going with the flow." I like predictability and I thrive on schedules. Such is not the ideal personality for life with a newborn, but with God's grace we have made it through those harrowing first few months. Believe it or not, the little guy is already 4 months old.

We have already enjoyed the milestones of increased focus, muscle coordination, laughing, smiling and today we started baby cereal. Woohoo! Currently, we are working on the "sleep through the night" milestone! Come on, Ezra! Mommy is SO ready for 8 hours! God willing, sleep training will go quicker and more smoothly this time around since we have a little bit of an idea of how to get the ball rolling.

Having two

Just as I was told by those mommies of two before me, having two really just takes time. There is no magic formula or perfect parenting tips. There has been a new little personality added to the mix and it just takes time to figure out how it all works. I have discovered that there is no one point during which having two is "easy," but there is a time frame in which life becomes more predictable. This predictability or daily pattern is what makes life feel as if it has become a bit easier. Who doesn't like being able to know what's coming next (more or less anyway)!
That second month was a killer! (whew) I do believe I cried on a daily basis during that month! Once Ezra turned 3 months, we started to turn that predictability corner. Just in time.... !!
I can now safely say that the three of us enjoy most of our days :) We still have some rough patches, but overall God is helping me figure it out a little bit more. Plus, I have a little girl who has been quite taken with her little brother...

Big sister

I can honestly say that I am SO in love with this face..

We had our rough times during her infancy but her toddler years have been my absolute favorite! I love watching her imitate life, have a "conversation" with me, dance, pray and most recently, "take care" of her little brother. She is the sweetest big sister and loves to help with Ezra. The moment she sees spit up or drool or really anything come out of his mouth, she runs to grab a burp cloth and wipes his little face. He is one of the first things she asks for in the morning and one of the last kisses she needs to give at night. The second she hears him stir from his morning nap, she wants to jump up and run into his room ( of course I have to discourage this since a lot of times he is not really awake yet, just dreaming). God has blessed me with a little girl who has a heart the size of this entire planet! We have been saying bedtime prayers since she was ity bitty, but she has just recently started to pray herself at bedtime. She blesses her friends from playgroup (and their playdough); asks for healings for those she has heard mommy and daddy talking about; and always remembers to bless her family. Elisa is my favorite toddler in the whole world and I couldn't have imagined when she was born how much I was going to love being her mommy today.

Finale

Well, I think that about wraps up this longer update.
In adult updates, Maher and I will be celebrating our third anniversary this month. Yes, that's right! Three years of marriage and 2 kiddos. We can officially check off the Biblical commandment of being fruitful and multiplying. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy new year everyone!

Next update

There are those who blog well and those who don't. I apparently fall into the latter category. I so admire those who not only blog well but are such clever writers! To those of you who continue to read my updates regardless of the lack of frequent updates and entertainment, here's your newest post to enjoy...


UNDERSTATEMENT
I was warned by several moms that having two close together is hard. In particular, the first few months are REALLY hard. Yes, well, "hard" is an understatement! Elisa is such a bright, high energy little girl who is already hard to keep up. Add the challenges of a newborn and ta da, you have one extremely exhausted momma! Ezra, himself, is honestly not that challenging of a baby. Overall, he's rather mellow and just wants to snuggle all the time. What makes it so tough is that he becomes overtired because it's impossible for me to allow him a peaceful environment to sleep every two hours. Bless his heart! Plus, I constantly feel guilty about neither of my kiddos getting my full attention. Granted, I know this is impossible since I continue to be one normal, mortal person, BUT they each deserve the best of me and it pains me to feel like neither is getting it! Bottomline, yes, two close together is hard. Understatement.
To those of you moms who make this look seemless, big kudos! I strive to follow in your smooth footsteps one day!

Here's the best news... as always God provides! I have been surrounded by family who are both eager and willing to help me especially these first few months. I can't imagine being without my loved ones! It has once again given me a whole new respect for the single mom. I hope to one day be that major help for a new, overwhelmed and lonely mom whenever God gives me the opportunity!

MY FAVORITE SEASON
Fall has finally graced us with its presence! Not necessarily with the cooler temperatures and colors of the north, but at least with a high of 90 instead of 100! As always, my heart grows excited with the first official day of fall because a slew of celebrations are about to start. Three birthdays are just around the corner with Elisa's 2nd birthday rounding out the fall birthdays. Then, of course, there's the deliciousness of Thanksgiving and the excitement of Christmas! Last but not least, my wedding anniversary will mark the end of the calendar year and the end of 3 lovely years of marriage to my best friend. Bravo Fall! I am so glad you are here!

He's here!

As most of you already know, Ezra arrived on Aug. 6! He was a big baby (over 9 lbs) and hard to get out of mommy's tummy! All I could hear on the other side of the curtain was how they had to continue cutting me open further to try to remove him. I felt as if they were going to completely slice me open from one hip to the other! The recovery has been a bit longer this time around probably because of that reason, but praise God I am still doing well :)

Sleep deprivation with a newborn is already hard but quite a bit harder when you have to be up to take care of your almost 2 year old the whole next day. I knew this phase was going to be hard but it's a bit more than I expected. Than again, being a mom is way harder than anyone can ever prepare for!
God has blessed me in so many ways--allowing Maher to be home for a month, having my family close by, having neighbors and friends who were so thoughtful to help out with dinners and blessing us with a little one who sleeps 3 hours at a time (usually) during the night.

I am definitely nervous about how I am ever going to handle everything by myself when Maher isn't here anymore, but I guess I'll keep reminding myself to take it one day at a time. To those of you keeping me in your prayers these first few months.... THANK YOU and please don't stop praying! :)

Final post before Ezra?!

Yes, quite possibly this may be the last post in our pre-Ezra life!
We are down to 3 weeks! If he doesn't come out before, his C-section is scheduled for Aug. 11 or 12. It feels surreal that it is this close! As with Elisa, Maher will be updating facebook so be watching his status for the arrival announcement!


I had another check-up this week and was informed that I've only gained 18 lbs this pregnancy! Praise God! I definitely have been praying that He would help me manage my weight better this time around! It was such a great number to hear :)


The only unfortunate news with this pregnancy has been my lower back and hips. It was discovered that my abdominal muscles never fully healed/strengthed from Elisa's surgery so they have been doing a whole lot of nothing to help support my big belly. I have been carrying all this baby weight around with my lower back. No wonder I have had nights where I have been in so much pain that I could not move.

I did get to go to a prenatal massage during which I was informed that my lower back is in such bad shape that if I don't do some massage therapy after Ezra's birth, I may develop chronic back problems. Well then, I suppose I will just have to get a massage on a regular basis. What a sacrifice that will be! ;)


Recently, I was very blessed with two baby showers! Since this is my second kiddo, I wasn't sure if I would have one at all, but it was such a wonderful surprise to have two!
The first was a neighborhood baby shower with my lovely neighbors who blessed Ezra with quite a bit of stuff!
The second was hosted by my mom, sister and mother-in-law and filled with lots of love from family friends and college girl friends. :)
My little guy was incredibly blessed with a massive wardrobe! Between the two showers I don't think we'll need to buy any clothes until after his 6th month! What a blessing!


The nerves are really starting to kick in now... The realization that I'll have two kiddos to take care of is definitely a daunting one. I suppose this is really the time to take it one day at a time and focus on God's strength, not my own!
It will be exciting to finally have him here and to start our brand new life as a family of four!

Of course, prayers for a successful c-section, recovery and recuperation are always appreciated!

Summer update

Well it is officially summer in TX! The last several days, today and the next 10 day forecast all have one thing in common--high of 100! Oh goody....
Praise God, I honestly have not been too badly swollen thus far. This is a miracle, especially considering that when I was pregnant with Elisa I was so swollen by 5 months that I couldn't wear my wedding ring anymore. I am right at 7.5 and I'm still wearing it! :)
What I am dealing with more this time around are a series of Braxton Hicks contractions. I can't remember how this many, this strong, this early with Elisa, but maybe I did. All I know is that I definitely felt like he was trying to force his way out the other night and all I could was pray that he settled down a bit!

Slowly, but surely, we are collecting things for Ezra. He has a handful of little outfits and his first box of diapers. We REALLY need to get started on setting up Elisa's new big girl room. Plus buy some more appropriate boyish bedding for Ezra. Maybe he doesn't care too much about sleeping in pink and yellow sheets, but I'm thinking his daddy would!

Unless God says otherwise, this will be our last kiddo. I think a girl and a boy will be just fine :) I am definitely ready to have my body back and start trying to get it back into shape. I was just starting to work hard on that when I got pregnant again :P I definitely don't look anything like I did in college, and not that that is my ultimate goal, but it would be nice to look similar to that at least for the next few years :)

That about does it for this update. We are all just getting ready for Ezra's arrival!

Rainy night

Two posts close together! No way!

It's a rainy night with both of my loved ones sleeping so I figured why not...

After reading Cherry's recent article in the Examiner about the memories of the awkward high school years, I started thinking about the past in general. I do not believe there is any amount of money someone could pay me to go back to those teenage years. I have paid my dues and lived those experiences once. And believe me, once was more than enough! I would however, go back and relive my ACU years. Overall they are mostly wonderful memories with a fair share of mistakes as well. It would be interesting if I could go back in time and relive years with the knowledge I have now. I actually told Maher the exact situations I would change and the decisions I would not make. Of course, then there is the inevitable, what if I drastically mess up my current future with the relived decisions. I guess we'll never know.... I do know one situation that would be impossible to be patient with--Maher as my husband! We had such great years at ACU as friends and having the knowledge I have now, I don't know that I could wait to be in a real relationship with him. He's such a fantastic man and I know I'd want to find him on campus immediately (and then probably scare him to death with a kiss).

All the reminiscing and what if's did make me start to wonder about the future. I wonder what will I know in 5 years that I wish I would have known right now--right this very instant. Maybe how to have been a better mom...wife, etc? Maybe better health decisions...friend decisions...ministry decisions? The list could go on. How I wish I could have that knowledge now. But then again, what if I knew something that could make me impatient and rush a future that I'm not ready for? I supposed that's why God, in His infinite wisdom, does not allow us to see the whole future. In discussing these thoughts with Maher, he simply answered,"Ask God for that future wisdom." And that is probably the best thought there is.

Happy Resurrection Sunday! Happy rainy night :)

Boy oh boy!

Most of you who read my blog will already know this from facebook, but just in case... We are having a boy! Ezra Maher will be joining us on August 11 via C-section, God willing. Apparently, the risks of trying to have a natural delivery after a C-section are too great so my doctor is not even giving me an option. I'm glad I was told way ahead of time so I wasn't thinking about which one I wanted. I am feeling so much better this second trimester! I can eat almost everything I used to (still no steaks for me) and have not been nauseated in a while! Thank God :) I am hoping that the rest of the pregnancy will be a smooth one and that this little guy will love sleep as much as I do! (Unlike his sister) In other news... Maher and I were blessed to take our very first vacation since our honeymoon this past month. We went to the AT&T Summit conference in southern California! The resort could not have been nicer and the time off as parents was much appreciated. I can not even begin to explain how wonderful it was not to have to cook, clean or do any of the other everyday chores for a little while. What a great way to refresh ourselves before taking on baby number 2! Also, this coming Thursday we are getting some special visitors from Cali :) My older sister, Angie and her family are coming down for a visit! We are very excited to be spending some time with them and especially for Elisa to meet her cousins. Look forward to fun pictures of the girls via facebook. Lastly, on the pregnancy front again... it has finally happened. I, for the first time, am craving pickles. Just all of a sudden, pickles sounded really good to me. So I am now the pregnant woman with the jar of pickles in the frig. So stereotypical, I know, but ... they're good! Happy April everyone!