My Purpose on My Lap

I've been looking through pictures lately, and this one has caught my attention more than once. This wasn't the first time Natalie and Max met, but it was the first time that I held both of my babies on my lap at the same time. It doesn't seem odd now because holding both kids is a daily thing for me these days (Natalie likes to say "two babies" when I'm holding one on one hip and one on the other), but it was such a strange and scary experience for me when this picture was taken.

So many thoughts were running through my head. I was so happy to get to hold Natalie again especially without a big tummy in the way. I was excited for her to learn about her new brother, but I was also sort of a mama bear protecting my new little guy. I felt a little in over my head as it was my first experience at mothering two at once.

Now when I look back at this picture I see what I was too preoccupied to see that day. I see my purpose on my lap.

Humboldt House Girls

Lori, Kay, Janell, and I moved in to an old house on Humboldt Street in Manhattan five years ago. We lived one block away from City Park, so we would walk around the park in the evenings talking about how we needed to have annual Humboldt Girls getaways once we were "old" and separated. This summer we decided that we're probably "old" now, so yesterday we had our first reunion. We started the day at our house because Lori and Kay hadn't met Max yet. They, like most people, were impressed by his size and his sweet smiles. We spent the rest of the day in Wichita and had a great time, but my favorite part of the day was when Natalie ran into my arms when I came back home. 

3 Year Anniversary

Chris and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary this evening with a wonderful dinner at Jillian's Italian Grill in Hutchinson. Max came along and enjoyed pretending to be the only child while Natalie was at Grandma Beth's. As I bounced Max on my knee in the middle of our dinner, we agreed that three years ago neither of us imagined that this would be our life on our third anniversary, but we also agreed that we wouldn't trade it for the world.

The past three years have been three years of immense blessings and absolutely the best three years of our lives. Where do we sign up for more?

Family Vacation

We wanted to take somewhat of a vacation this summer even though we knew we couldn't go far with both babes. We decided that a weekend trip to Kansas City and Manhattan would probably be doable. Our main stops were the Sea Life aquarium, LegoLand, the Manhattan zoo, and the Manhattan park and splash park. We had the most fun at the park and splash park as is evidenced by Natalie's smiles in those pictures! A jam-packed weekend on the road with two babies under two was not without its challenges, but the fun we had and the memories we made were definitely worth the challenges.  

Three Months

Max is a quarter of a year old today! It is so strange to think that three months and one day ago I didn't know Max. Sure I knew how his kicks felt, but I didn't know his smile or his cry or his smell. Now it feels like I've known him for my whole life. I don't know what we ever did without him.

At three months old Max:

• absolutely adores Natalie.
• laughs! Natalie wanted to sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" to him yesterday (as a way of putting off nap time), and during her performance Max let out a giggle amid all of his smiles. It was so sweet. He sure loves his sister.
• has discovered that the baby in the mirror is pretty cute and smiley.
• is a big, healthy boy. He weighs 19 pounds and is 26 inches long by my measurements. 
• tells the best stories with all of his coos and squeals.

And for your viewing pleasure, I've included some outtakes from our photo shoot today. Natalie is always such a great helper.

Pony Tails and Parks

What Summer is made of.

 

LegoLand Practice

Natalie doesn't know it yet, but we're planning a short trip to Kansas City this weekend that will hopefully include a stop at LegoLand. All of her recent tower building should be good practice.

Our towers are much less elaborate than the towers she builds with Chris. Like a good engineer, Chris always properly supports his towers. Ours, on the other hand, always require one of us to hold them up.

O'Halloran Family Reunion

We spent the last two days with Chris' extended family for the O'Halloran family reunion. We spent Saturday at the farm outside of Pretty Prairie, and today the festivities moved to a park in Hutchinson with a small zoo nearby. We all had a fun time catching up with everyone.

The Fourth

I've always really liked the 4th of July, and this year's 4th didn't disappoint. We celebrated with good food and good company at my Aunt Janie's. We didn't last long enough to watch the big fireworks show because bedtime can only be pushed back so far, but we all had a great time any way!

Zoo Trip

We took a spontaneous trip to the Wichita zoo with Leigh Ann, Owen, Aedan, and Emmet today.

Natalie hadn't been to the zoo since her first birthday. She knows a lot more about animals now, so I was really excited to take her. She didn't really know what to expect when I told her we were going to the zoo, but I told her we'd get to see flamingos and she was hooked. Her favorite pajamas have flamingos ("fla-hing-hing-hing-gos") on them, so she loved seeing them in real life.

Max did what he does best - smiled and slept. I found myself missing him by the end of the afternoon though. I'm not sure I've ever gone that long without holding him! We made up for it with lots of cuddles this evening.

We all had a great time!