On the Move

Micah is officially on the move!

He started the scoot/army crawl about two weeks before Thanksgiving and is now a master crawler.

Those eyes.

He enjoys his time in the walker. Especially when the tray if filled with puffs.

Oh, and he stands/pulls himself up now too.

Yay me!

It will never cease to amaze me how quickly a child grows and develops. I love to watch the little wheels turn in their heads as they figure out how to move themselves forward or pick something up for the first time. It is such a blessing to be a mom.

My Big Helper

 Today, D and I vacuumed (or swept as we always said growing up) the floors and the couch. I am such a firm believer in teaching them young! When ever I vacuum I usually let him help me hold the handle while we push "forward and backward." Today I let him do some of  it on his own! He was thrilled! This is definitely the time to start teaching your kids how to care for their home- when they still want to be just like mommy and daddy and are excited about it! He was actually sad when it was time to put the vacuum away.

Am I the only one who does this?

Then I pulled out the bucket and taught him how to wash the floors.

dip. squeeze. scrub.

He especially like the squeezing part. He didn't quite get that your supposed to squeeze the excess water in the bucket but that made for more fun when it was time to scrub!

A Delicate Balance

Investing in my relationship with Christ while keeping up with the demands of life, that so easily take over every minute of my day is, well, difficult. Once upon a time I would get up early before work and spend 30 minutes in scripture and in prayer. I took time to really invest in a relationship with the One who holds my life in His hands. And if not in the morning, then at night before bed. 

That was before kids. 

It's different now. Yes, I should make time for God before family, work, etc... It's not so easy though, when your 2 year old demands every ounce of energy you have left after work and your infant demands all of your night leaving...zero energy. When all is said and done I often have nothing left for God. Or at least that's how I feel. I will try to get in a few minutes of scripture reading here and there but it seems like I am just going through the motions. It's easy for me to get frustrated with myself because "it's not enough" and end up spending no time at all because "God deserves more." How do I give 100% to everything? 

It is a delicate balance. One that seems too difficult to achieve sometimes.

 In this season of life my children need a lot from me. I have this vision in my head from childhood of my mother closing her door during the day or retreating to her car and spending hours alone with God studying scripture and journaling pages in prayer. I need to remember that though it may be the ideal, it is not exactly possible for me at this time. Any time I can spend with God is valuable in building our relationship. For me this means talking to God any chance I get and even staying up "late" (we go to bed around 8-9 around here) after everyone has gone to bed and pushing through my exhaustion to spend time with my Lord. He is worth that effort.

Recently I began reading through the Psalms and Psalm 3 has really resonated with me. Psalm 3:3-5 says  "But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me."

The Lord is my sustainer. I may be tired and worn from the day but I only wake up each morning because of Him. He is the key to the delicate balance. He will get me through this season and through the trials of the next. I need only to lean on Him. 

Life.

In  2 days I go back to work for the first time since Easter. After such a long "break" you'd think I would be ready to go back. But, I'm not. It is going to be a struggle for me emotionally. I have had nearly 5 months at home with Daniel and 4 months with Micah. Those who know me, know that my "dream job" is to be at home with my children.  This little taste of stay-at-home life has been such a blessing and I don't want to give it up.

This year, however, will be different in many ways. Previously, Daniel stayed home with Davey or my mom. Since Davey is now working full time (Praise the Lord) I have a rare but blessed opportunity to bring my children to school with me. They will be just down the hall in the staff nursery where I can visit them any time I want....well, when I'm on break. What a special thing that is. I know so many other moms who would love to be home with their kids but have to work and can't have their kids near them.

With that in mind I know I need to stop this complaining I've been doing. Besides, as far as jobs go, I have a pretty great one. I may not have the opportunity to pour every ounce of my energy in to my own children during the day or be involved in other ministry opportunities that at-home moms can be part of but I do have a wonderful ministry where I am. I have the opportunity to share the Gospel with children every day. And through them I have a unique opportunity to minister to their parents. What is more the people I work with minister to me on a daily basis. I could not ask for better women (and men) to work with. They are not just my coworkers but my friends and my sisters/brothers in Christ.

I only ask that Christ would shine in me this year, give me strength when I need it most, words of love and compassion when speaking to my students and to their parents and plenty of energy left over for my family at the end of the day.

The Mikester!

I like mommy.

rolls!

Yes. I know I'm cute.

Don't mind my brother.

A day in the life

I got some bananas thIs past week that were a bit ripe so today we made bread!

Notice the tomato?

concentrating

Don't forget the measuring spoons...

Now for the bananas!

It took everything I had to keep him from eating them especially once they were added to the raw egg.

I let him help me chop the nuts and snapped a quick picture. :)

Time to mix

SO FUN!

The result! 

And for our other little Ermold boy...

Yesterday Micah finally decided to roll over. Of course, he did it while my back was turned. But today I got video!

Dancing

Grandma got sick of kids shows and put on Pride and Prejudice or "Lizzy" as Charlie calls it.

So the kids danced! 

Caught Red Handed

This boy really...

 really...

REALLY...

likes tomatoes!

Beach Bums

A week(ish) ago we went to the nearby beach and did a little photo shoot with Micah and his cousin Josiah who is 8 days older than him. I, being the forgetful Pearson person that I am, forgot my camera...thankfully my sister-in-law did not forget hers and graciously shared her pictures with me. Here are a few of my favorites!

Yes, as a matter of fact they are in their bouncy seats.

Doesn't it look like they are sitting in little beach chairs?

"Larry"

D really likes Veggie Tales or "Larry" as he calls it. His favorite episode is God Is Bigger than the "Ooo Man." This might be evidence that he (and I) watches it a little too much.

Disclaimer: my singing isn't quite as cute as Jr. Asparagus.

D laying next to his brother trying to be the "baby."
I'm also pretty sure he's watching Veggie Tales...

Grandma's Visit

This past week my grandmother and a few aunts and uncles (my mom's family) came to visit DC. Grandma spent most of her time at my parents while my aunts and uncles got in as much sight seeing as possible. Of course the one day I went in to DC with them I forgot my camera! I was not very happy about that. I had even changed the battery in it just before we left but alas it never made it in the diaper bag. On Tuesday everyone went over to by brother's house for a "picnic" which ended up inside because it was gross out!

Daniel loved his great Uncle Kenny and his great Uncle Barry. They kept him entertained pretty much the entire day we were in DC with them.

Here are some pictures that I did get of the visit!

The picture of D on the far right is him about to eat his first taste of Heggy's! (A Bernier family favorite!)

NEMO PARTY!

So we had a Finding Nemo party for D. It was fun and exhausting. Here are some pictures!

This was the evite I sent the family. And yes I put April 23 instead of June 23.

The Food! Everything except the veggies had a theme name. I saw the shark water mellon basket on pinterest and asked my mom to make it. She did a great job!

The Games

The Crew

Growing up!

Today is my baby boy's birthday. I can not believe it was 2 years ago today that I went in for my 2nd failed induction which turned c-section. (Yes you read that correctly.) That day I got to meet a little (10lb 5oz) baby boy who changed my whole life.

Now he is a big brother. A fantastic big brother at that. He is so loving and caring, always wanting to hold, kiss and hug his baby brother. 

He is growing up so fast.

 Aside from potty training, this week we moved him from his crib to a "big boy" bed!

(A transition harder on me than him I think)

He is not a baby any more!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Potty Talk

(This post will be updated. Tune in to see how it's going...you know, if you like to hear potty talk.)

So I decided a few days ago that I want to begin potty training D. He will be 2 in less than 2 weeks! Yes, he is a little young as boys go to potty train but he seems like he is interested enough in the potty and finds his diaper uncomfortable when wet etc. He also ALWAYS wants to "go potty" any time someone else is going (especially if it's one of his older cousins) so he can wash his hands. He thinks that's the best thing ever. So we'll see how this goes!

Potty Training Day #1 (June 11)

This morning I decided to let D run around naked so I could just throw him on the toilet any time he started to go. I am amazed how often he pees. Seriously. He goes like every 10mins. And when I put him on the potty he won't go but as soon as he is off to wash his hands he starts to go. This is going to be fun!

He loves to flush the toilet and wash his hands so right now that is his "reward" for using the bathroom. He gets to wash his hands any time he sits on the potty (because he won't stop putting his hands in the toilet while he's sitting there!) but of course he only gets to flush when he actually goes. (What kid doesn't like to watch the water swirl down the toilet!?)

Potty Training Day #2 (June 12)

He's not as excited to use the potty today. HA! He even got upset when I made him wash his hands...remember when i said he LOVES to wash his hands? It doesn't help that his cousins are over and there is no way he is going to stop playing to pee in the toilet! Unless of course they have to go.

Potty Training Day 11? (June21)
Today his D's birthday! He is doing really well with the potty training thing.  We really only work hard on potty training in the morning then go about the rest of our day as normal. I do think he is learning to tell when he has to go and tries to get to the potty before the incident. Unless of course he is too busy playing! One day with the combination of my prompting and him asking we kept his diaper practically dry for 2 hours!

Potty Training Day # whatever

We gave up. Sort of. For now. He's such a 2 year old boy.

Play Ball!

This weekend we visited Davey's family. 

The trip up was a Looooooooooooong one since about the time we got to Annapolis (30mins from home) Micah decided he wanted to eat already even though I tried feeding him before we left and he wanted nothing to do with it.  From that point on (for the next 3 hours) D let us know repeatedly that he was DONE with the car ride. When we got about 10 minutes away I decided to get him re energized so we turned on some Steve Green Hide'em in Your Heart songs and danced!

Davey says he only started complaining about the car in front of us because I was video taping...

Micah Got to meet Great Mom-mom and Pop-pop Ermold on Sunday

The David Ermolds and their Sons

On Sunday evening we took Daniel (and Micah who could care less at this point) to see "Papa" play part of his soft ball game. During his time off the field he played a little ball with D.

RAIN!!!

We came home from the store this morning and D saw the rain flowing off the roof (obviously the gutters need cleaned) and thought it was SO cool! So I send Micah inside with grandma and we decided to play in the rain! D had a blast! It definitely brought back memories of my childhood since the sidewalk floods today just like it did when I was a kid. Not so fun for adults who want to get as little wet as possible but PERFECT for a kid (or kid at heart) who wants to play in the rain!

Watkins Park!

We decided to take a trip to Watkins Park on Wednesday (before the county schools let out so it wouldn't be quite so crowded). My niece Emma was so excited that we did something fun because, as she told her mom, "we usually just do boring stuff."

Walking through "Old Maryland Farm"

Riding on the old Carousel. At first I had D and Charlie sit in the sleigh but D would not have it. He wanted to ride a horse! Thankfully there were two spots right next to each other that I could stand between and spot both of them. They had a BLAST! We were hoping to ride the train too but unfortunately it was not working that day.

We had a picnic lunch and then spent the rest of the time playing on the playground. 

Brotherly Love

I can't believe Micah is a month old!

This is the day Daniel came home from Papa and Grandma Ermold's Micah is 1 week old. 

 Daniel absolutely loves his little brother whom he calls "Bebe" or "Mike." Any time he hears Micah crying he stops what ever he is doing says "Uh oh Mommy! Bebes cry-why" (that's how he says crying) and runs a quickly as he can to his rescue! I wish I had it on video it's so cute.

He loves to hold the Mikester

And give him kisses. And bounce the bouncy seat.

He is one good big brother!

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Pearson came to visit! Grandma is holding Micah and Grandpa is holding his cousin Josiah who is 8 days older.