a day with chickee and j!

We are so thankful to have sweet J-man in our lives still! His mom has been ever so gracious to share him with us. 

This past weekend we had the opportunity to have him for the day. Plan A was to take him to the park and enjoy a picnic lunch. Unfortunately a cold front came through and it was just too chilly to be outside. *cough* 50's *cough cough*. So Plan B- find something to do indoors for a very, very (did I mention VERY?) active 17 mo old. We finally settled on the Austin Children's Museum: the perfect place for a little guy to run wild! 

And run wild he did! The boy was into everything not settling down for a second. We spent most of the time following after him making sure he was safe :) J was so busy I had a hard time taking pictures of him since he was constantly on the move! 

Chickadee enjoyed the fun too safely tucked away in her moby-wrap. I thought she would catch a few zzz's all tucked in since she didn't have a very long morning nap, but she didn't want to miss out on a moment of the fun either!

After a short nap on the car ride home, both kids were ready to continue the fun once we got back to our place. I think Chickee liked have an "older brother" for the day. He is definitely a great source of entertainment! 

Bart and J even got to enjoy a quick story together. 

We know that Mom doesn't have to share him with us, but we are so, so thankful that she chooses to do so. Heck, we're a free babysitter! J really seems to be doing well. He is healthy and happy: what a blessing. We look forward to our next afternoon together!

I will say after chasing J around and taking care of Chickee, I am grateful that I just have one right now! Even with Bart's help, it's exhausting! We will be so happy to add to our little family in the future, but for today I'm enjoying 2-on-1 :) All you moms out there with multiple children, I will need to learn your secrets one day...

jewel is a jewel

Poor Chickadee has had a rough time these last, well, 3 months. First she battled a tough round of thrush and now we've moved on to fighting reflux. Thank goodness the girl is growing well! Mealtimes can be challenging though- lots of back-arching and screaming. Not what mom or baby want! We've come up with and have learned lots of little tricks along to the way to help her cope. My favorite and most effective? Jewel serenading her. Thank you, Jewel, for recording your fantastic lullaby album! Chickadee almost instantly goes from being borderline inconsolable to relaxed and content, ready to eat. I must say, it relaxes me too and helps me be a better mommy. My favorite song on the album is "Over the Rainbow". I've decided that this will be one of "our songs" since The Wizard of Oz was one of my childhood obsessions. Proof? I carried my toy puppy, appropriately name Toto, around in a little basket and informed everyone that my name was Dorothy. Even teachers at the YMCA, who were a little confused as to why there was no "Dorothy" listed on their roster? The song is fitting though because it reminds me that there is hope past hard times. Even though the song doesn't mention it, I think that Jesus brings that hope. In the meantime we will trust that He will bring comfort to her soon and I will just enjoy cuddling with Chickadee while Jewel serenades us.