NC Zoo and Connor is 6 months!

What an awesome day Landon and I had with Caroline and Allison on Monday! We went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. The day was beautiful, the company was spectacular and the kids were on their very best behavior. It was a perfect day. Allison is my best friend from college. We have been through many many ups and downs together in this life. Her little girl, Caroline, is just a doll. It is so special to me to see the almost instant connection that Caroline and Landon have had since the beginning. It is almost like they just know...how special their mommies are to each other. Just as Allison and I are much like kindred spirits, so are these two.

Some moments at the zoo were quite interesting, I must say. We were introduced to chimpanzees and their crazy antics. Caroline and Landon were standing at the double Plexiglas window that separates the chimps from us. All of a sudden, without provoking I might add, a chimp thrust his entire body at the glass where they were standing! I picked my little buddy right up and held him. He was ok and said, "Mommy, that was a little bit scary." Followed by, "Mommy, that monkey was a little bit nuts!" Too funny. I must say, I was startled myself. I had no idea chimps were so aggressive!

Also, while visiting the Lions and talking about "Alex" from the movie Madagascar, we overhead a woman saying to her son, "Don't swing on the rail. You will fall in the cage and the lion will eat you. Lions eat little boys who don't listen to their mommies!" One word for that comment. Nice. Needless to say, we found another place to view the lion away from the lovely mother teaching her child all about the dangers of predators while Landon and I were happily waving to our "friend" Alex. You all know what followed. Landon asked, "Mommy will that lion eat me?" Aughhhhh- that woman!

In other news, my Connor turned 6 months old on Friday. I have always heard that time flies with the second and boy is that true! Connor weighed in at 19.3 pounds, 27 3/4 inches long. He is our 85th-90th percentile kid in all areas! It is just so crazy! He is sitting up really well, he is cooing like crazy, has dropped a nap and is sleeping through the night most nights! He has found that he loves to roll over on his stomach at night and sleep snuggled up with his little hippo (his raffie). I am so glad to have my video monitor as the belly sleeping is a little nerve racking... :)

Connor is a very happy baby who is also very content the majority of the time. He has a wonderful smile and is very good at giving hugs. He loves his babysitters, Kim and Candace. He loves to watch Landon and frequently laughs at him. He loves to dance with me, sit on my hip and simply be with me. It is awesome being his mother. I never imagined being able to love another child as much as I love my Landon. It was so hard to fathom. But, much to my delight, the love I have for my sweet Connor is just what it is for Landon. A mother's love is so unique. When I look at these two boys, it is so hard to believe that they lived inside me for 9 months and have always been a part of me. It is just amazing. I feel very blessed and grateful.

Connor with the little girls in our playgroup that are close to his age. We all turned around and saw the "next generation" of our kids playing- look how big Connor looks!

Connor snuggled up with his sweet sweet babysitter, Kim. I am going to have to watch this ladies' man! :)

Top 10 Reasons we love Lyckebo!

First of all...in case you are wondering, Lyckebo is the name of my parents' cabin in Old Fort, NC. It means, "Happy Home" in Swedish. We took our very first overnight road trip with both boys this weekend. Here are the top 10 reasons it was a fabulous weekend.

10) Raffi learned to fly a Rocket ship (a plastic cooking spoon), complete with a song, "Rocket ship, Rocket ship" sung over and over and over and over.

9) Mom-mom got a chance for some real bonding with little Connor. So sweet how they rocked and how he smiles at just a glance of his Mom-mom now. :)

8) Landon had lots of one-one playtime with mommy, daddy, Pop and mom-mom. He even was caught peeing off the deck, he felt so free and one with the beautiful nature of the mountain! Pop and Daddy were so proud...I guess the re-training begins!

7) Pop's ribs. No need to say more except for YUM!

6) Landon got to see his very first waterfall. He was so thrilled with it and when asked about his favorite part of our trip, he said without hesitation, "Getting to see a waterfall!"

5) Lewis stories on the deck with Pop. Landon will literally sit in my dad's lap for an hour and listen to him tell stories about the squirrel named Lewis. It is just plain precious to watch.

4) Getting to see Pa Cole on the way down. He is an amazing great-grandfather to our boys and just plain proud. He is definitely one of the most genuine people I know and is always happy to see family. He is happy to share his wisdom and the many happy memories he and Ma Cole made throughout their lives. They were married for 65 years- what a legacy. We really miss Ma Cole and wish she could have had a chance to meet our Connor.

3) Connor got to bond with his namesake, my dad, Doug. What a gift to watch my parents as grandparents. What wonderful memories it brings back for me from growing up.

2) Raffi got to see the waterfall. Heehee.

1) Two wonderful little boys who travelled great! They rode in the car, slept and ate great. They made Stan and I SO proud!

Beautifully Inadequate Me

New daisies planted this weekend.

Stan and I pre-kids at the beach 7 years ago! Hard to believe!

I read the greatest BLOG post a friend sent me this week. See this. I started thinking about it and it really resonated with how I have been feeling lately. My life has changed so much over the past 3 years. All for the better. All for two other human beings. What a huge gift it is that Stan and I have been given. How truly inadequate I feel so often. But, where do I find my strength and my "adequacy"?

I was challenged by the quote "Humility, selflessness, and freedom await us when we embrace our inadequacies and rest in the shadow of the Perfect One." How do I do that when my day starts at 5:00am and doesn't end? I stay in the presence of the Lord. I cry to HIM for mercy and to HIM for help. I ask HIM for patience. I keep my "gaze on the beauty of the Lord" (Psalm 27:4).

I believe it is totally awesome that God gives us these insights just when we need them most. Sometimes I feel alone in my feelings and I put a little (or big) wall up. I shut down. It is in those times when I realize that I am not allowing God to pick me up. How easy! Just let him do it, let him pick me up, let him guide me. I wave my surrender flag and lift my life as a mom up to the Lord. How better a way to raise his children, his beautiful gifts, Landon and Connor.

How beautiful my women friends are. How beautiful my flowers. How beautiful my husband and I's relationship. How beautiful our children. Today, I celebrate my beautiful inadequacies. I celebrate them because they are what makes me rely on my Heavenly Father.


Connor playing (and loving) the piano.

Stan calls him the smallest "fratboy" ever. :)

Landon fingerpainting.

Landon and his Easter "popsicle"- as he calls it. :)

Landon is SO glad it is spring!

Easter, Connor's Milestones and Mickey Mouse!

We had a lovely Easter together yesterday and even got a few family shots and a couple of the boys (major effort there- esp. since Connor missed a nap!) We went to church after opening our Easter Bunny Baskets and talking about the Resurrection Story. A highlight of that conversation was when I asked Landon what happened to Jesus after he rose to heaven to which he replied, "That's when Buzz Lightyear and Zurg came." Not quite, but I can see the imagination trying to put all this together! :)

We got the boys together and Landon's incentive to smile was getting to watch the new movie he got for Easter, Toy Story 2, hence the reference to Buzz and Zurg. :)

Here is my happy boy! He loves loves loves to laugh at his mommy. He has also grown quite attached to my hip...

Connor is learning to sit up. I cannot believe it!

For Kay and Landon's birthdays I got them tickets to go see the Mickey Mouse Roadshow. It was a blast and particularly because Buzz and Woody were there! Landon was thrilled and Nanny bought him a lighted ball as a souvenir- he loves it and lights it up all the time! Those things are quite the rip off though. 20.00!

Here are the two birthday Mouseketeers! Landon was born on Kay's birthday which has always been really special. These two have quite a bond.

I even managed to get a squeeze in with my little man. He sure is growing up fast!

I hope you all had as nice an Easter as we did!