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!