Week in Photos: 6.30.12

Two Years!

Family photo at the splash pad

Merit is TWO! I can't believe it. I never felt sad about how big he's been getting until Lee was born. I was suddenly flooded with memories of this miniature Merit. I was always happy to help Merit learn independence. I cherished every stage that he went through, but never tried to keep him a baby. He is an independent two year old now, and I am glad. So glad that he likes to try new things and always attempts tasks on his own before asking for help. I always thought "I'll have more babies." It's true. Lee is here and sweet as can be. Maybe it was HOW small he was, or just remembering how sweet Merit had been and how far he had come.


Time has been flying too. I think Lee is a little bigger every time I look at him. He was also born smaller and has felt much more fragile to me. I think that is partially because of our hospital scare and partly because I have to be extra protective with Merit's enthusiastic love.

Regardless, our firstborn is two. He can tell you, if you ask him. His vocabulary literally grows daily. For awhile I knew all his words, and now I am frantically scanning for context clues to see what he is talking about. If he doesn't know the words to use, he is great at using sounds and gestures to communicate. In the last few weeks he started pronouncing some words better and stringing them together into phrases. 

He loves to help. I imagine we both feel like we are running around the house cleaning up after each other! If I am interrupted or switch tasks quickly, merit comes along and closes drawers, brings me things from around the house, etc. at the same time, he is dumping out all his toys and dragging them all over the place. He helps unload the dishwasher: putting the silverware away. He tries to help with any task we are working on.

Enjoying the Splash Pad on his actually birthday

His favorite things to do are: play with trucks, play outside, play with water, give Lee kisses, do puzzles on the iPad, be the center of attention around friends.... he is a pretty happy guy and there isn't much he doesn't love.

He eats anything. His favorite is ice cream [can't blame him], but he seriously does eat just about everything we put in front of him. Especially fruit. We were recently at a wedding shower where chocolate covered strawberries were at each setting and Merit peeled all the chocolate off - literally every spec of chocolate - and ate several helpings of strawberries and fruit salad. He asks for yogurt as soon as I go in his room and always asks for strawberries or blueberries in it as well. I don't give him such a hard time about eating or treats because he eats so well. I hope he keeps it up and am thrilled that our other children will have his great example to learn from.

Merit weighed in at 27lbs (35%) and is almost 34 inches tall (42%) at his 2 year checkup. He is right on track and perfectly healthy!

I am Blessed

The past three weeks (THREE WEEKS!) have been crazy, which is totally normal. What made them crazy was NOT necessarily normal. Some bad, some good.

Week 1 with a newborn should be expected to be pretty much upside down. If you're as blessed as we are, you will have lots of people in your house: cleaning, cooking, bringing meals (and treats and flowers), taking photos and visiting. I think it is so good to allow others to help in this way. There is really no schedule yet with the baby, you're body is recovering, and it is really nice to step back and let go of some of the responsibilities. Merit loves to have people around too, so it was extra special for him. I definitely have a hard time letting go of the way I like things. I like to have the dishwasher loaded a certain way and the toys put back in a certain place. It is so good for me though to just let go of those things, look past that and relish the blessing of the ones who love us.

Week 2 for us was scary. We spent 3 days in the hospital with Lee. Merit was passed around between some incredible friends and family. Ultimately, Lee choked and was having trouble breathing. I called 911. In the end, it was considered a random, one-time incident. He is healthy and normal except for a little bit of a cold. We stayed for observation and additional testing to rule out anything else that may have caused this event. After a little over 24 hours at home from the hospital, I packed up with the kids and headed out of town to celebrate Merit's birthday with a big family party. Again, we were so blessed by everyone who came, helped out, brought food, hosted us, and just loved on Merit. That boy is well loved. I am so proud of him, of who he is, of all he's learned. Seeing others enjoy him fills my heart with joy too.

Here we are, in week 3. Finally getting a taste of the new normal. So far, that includes a baby who sleeps wonderfully at night. He is giving me 4-6 hours in his first stretch of sleep, then 2-4 hours at a time afterwards depending on how much I can get him to eat before he is completely asleep again. That same baby barely sleeps during the day. He might have a few brief naps, or maybe just one or two decent naps. I have never really seen or heard of a newborn who doesn't sleep all the time! I used to wake Merit up to make sure he was eating during the day, so that he would sleep longer during the night. Our new normal includes a nearly 2-year-old who is loving his birthday gifts, loving being outside, loving his baby. He sometimes pays no attention at all to Lee. He is a very busy boy, always has something to do. Normally if he sees Lee, he runs over to cover him in hugs and kisses. He likes to lay next to him and cuddle. He randomly thinks of him and asks where he is, or goes to find him. I think it's safe to say he is pleased with him.

Week 3 finds us with absolutely no predictable baby schedule. I am missing my naps a lot, but I know it will get easier. I am so thankful that Lee is here, healthy (seriously-he's gained almost 2lbs!), and home with us.

Josh is busier than ever. Some of the changes I had mentioned a few months ago mostly include Josh. He continues to work full time, has taken on coaching a high school soccer team, and leads worship at our church. He is still involved in his own soccer league (but taking a break for an injury). He has been picking up my slack around the house for awhile (remember 3rd tri-Laura is useless). Most importantly, he is an incredible friend, father, husband and partner. Having Lee, we have been seeing what a great team we are. I couldn't do this without him, and I'm not sure how he does all he does.

I am sure of this:

I am blessed.