8 Months!

little miss thang is 8 months old. life is flashing before our eyes. i'm still trying to figure out how we can slow it down a bit...but to no avail.

i fully intended on only putting, like, one or two photos up but i absolutely could not decide. she was especially photogenic this day or something. although she would never give me a real toothy grin until someone special entered the scene...

yep. this girl loves her brother. its crazy. and beautiful. and so so fun to watch. he adores her and she wants to be doing whatever he is doing, every second of the day.

nothing especially new in month eight. seems there are a few teeth up top wanting to poke through but are taking their grand 'ol time doing so. she does really really really want to crawl but can not figure out how to get those chubby legs going.

did i mention she melts my heart.

she is such a joy. so laid back. so easy going. everything i'm not. which is probably why we are such kindred spirits.

and i love the look on her face in this one.

it was fitting that she wore yellow because she is my sunshine.

How long has it been?

Just like I can't believe I have a son that is three, it's even harder for me to believe that Mike and I have been married for five years. Even crazier is that we've been together for 7 1/2!

I remember our wedding day so clearly. Getting ready in the morning, I filled up the jacuzzi tub in the hotel room just so I could shave my legs with the best lighting, not to miss any. I went and had my nails done and had fake eyelashes put on. I went to get my hair done and it was so fun chatting with all the women in the salon about my big day. Showing up to the church with butterflies all up in my stomach. Slipping into my dress that I had spent hours and hours looking for with my mom. Putting in the veil and looking at myself in the mirror. I just remember thinking, "this is seriously the best day ever." Even though it was raining and it was probably the most humid Indiana day I had ever remembered, none of that mattered. I was about to walk down the aisle and meet the man I had fallen in love with, grown to absolutely adore and dreamed about spending the rest of my life with. It was really going to happen. My wedding day.

Fast forward five years, two kids, a move to the Dominican Republic and we've got today. Although my wedding day was the most beautiful day of my life, our everyday life is just as beautiful. Even with Handy Manny dominoes strewn across the living room floor, 18 juice cups hidden beneath the couch, a gazillion rattles that i trip on and nearly break my ankle every time, and maybe more than one conversation between the hubs and I that could have been said with a little less, um, snippy-ness...even with all of that, it is beautiful.

Our life together has turned out nothing like I thought it would. I figured we'd have a house with property, maybe even horses. I'd run my photo studio out of our home. Mike would be working with some Parks and Recreation department running and scheduling all of their activities. And even though sometimes I daydream of that life that I had planned out so long ago, what God has done is much bigger. We've made our home in the Dominican, and it feels like home. So much so that when we are in the States it feels a little foreign. God had blessed us beyond measure and beyond what we could have ever imagined. We are grateful for this season of life, with all of its sippy cup disasters and beautiful Sunday morning family time on our bed. I couldn't count the number of times that I've felt this unexplainable surrounding of God's peace as I sit and think about where our family is. And to think...it all began because two people fell in love.

* * *

Because our anniversary is in the middle of our busy season here in the Dominican we can't do anything extravagant until after summer is over. But we always make sure and do a nice dinner. This year, they opened a Chili's about five minutes from our house. All I have to say is YUM-O!

He's three....

i'm going to try and pretend that three years haven't passed by so quickly. that i soaked up every memory, every ounce of our son's life and stored it, only to pull the mental album out on a rainy day. that i was the most loving, most god-fearing, most perfect mother to our little boy. but none of that is true. sure, i remember when he got his first teeth and when he began walking and the first time we cut his hair. i definitely had some awful parenting moments and, unfortunately, being the first born i didn't have previous experience to keep me from making mistakes.

but...

we have laughed, a lot. we have danced, a lot. we have marveled, a lot.

i look at little landon, although not-so-little these days, and think, "mike and i made him. he is made from our very cells." sometimes its so much that i am just overwhelmed by the amazingness of it all.

landon, you have grown into an amazing little man. you are so incredibly caring and sensitive. you test all your boundaries. sometimes to your demise. but i love that about you. you don't just stop, you do what you think you can do. i know it has caused some strife between you and i because i am trying to teach you discipline and obedience. but i have to sit back sometimes and applaud you for your persistence and independence.

you adore your sister and care for her so gently. its like you knew, before you really even knew what babies were, that you had to be careful with her. that you cared for her. that she was yours. the bond you have with her is so beautiful to be a part of, i can only pray that as you get older you feel the same way as you do now. loving your differences and appreciating your uniqueness.

you know you need alone time. i remember the first time that i was working in the living room and all of a sudden realized you weren't around. as i searched the house looking for a mess or something broken, i found you; playing in your room with a circle of toys scattered around you.

there are times when you throw tantrums and scream at me and have a temper beyond what a three-year-old should be capable of, and in the moment i get so frustrated. but as i think of it now, it just reminds me of your passion. your determination. your desire to do things your own way.

god has designed you so intricately. through being your mama you have taught me to be patient and consistent and intentional. and through watching your little mind process things and some of the phrases that come out of your mouth, i know that our creator has a sense of humor.

over the past three years, i have loved you more than i ever knew was possible to love someone. you have solidified my faith in god, my faith in family, my faith in motherhood. you were created to be my baby, my first born. god designed us: you for me and me for you. i love you, bubba. i'm so happy you were born.

7 Months

It happened. Another month flew by. I just can't believe it. Emi is now 7 months old and somehow in a month she looks different, acts different...is different.

She has totally mastered feeding herself her bottle, sitting up and rolling over both ways. Lightyears ahead of her brother. Landon didn't roll over until he was eight months old and she's been rolling over since 4 months. She is eating every kind of baby food you can imagine but LOVES sweet potatoes and mangos.

This little girl brings us so much joy. You can just see in her pictures the sweetness that oozes out of her. My favorite part of the day is first thing in the morning when I go in to get her. She flashes me this huge grin as if saying, "Mommy, I haven't seen you in twelve whole hours and I'm so happy to see your face." I don't have a care in the world when I hold her.

One thing that puzzles us still. Her eyes. We can not for the life of us tell what color her eyes are. They literally change from day to day. They are not like mine where they are more blue if I wear something blue or more green if I wear something green. They are a shade of their own. Sometimes blue, sometimes gray, sometimes hazel, sometimes green. It's the craziest thing. Sometimes I look at her and I'm like, "Whoa, hello blue eyes!" and then the next day there isn't an ounce of blue in them. I like to think she has a little bit of all of us in her eyes. Brown like her Daddy and Gaga. Gray like her A-ma. And blue like my entire family. She's an awfully special little girl.

6 months!

this little beauty is six months old. i'm a little late in posting a picture, but life has been a little hectic. and considering i had to go two weeks without seeing her beautiful little face in person.

she is a rolling-over-fool. she sits up pretty well on her own but hasn't totally mastered the art of catching herself before falling over. then, of course, she kinda looks at me like, "mom, i'm still a little rolly polly, you think you could help a girl out here?"

she got her first two teeth last month and i didn't even blog about it. the breaks of being second-born, i guess. mom doesn't have time to document your firsts. oh yeah, and she eats everything. you thought she was chubby before...we are going to have to watch this girl. it is almost as if she didn't come with the chemical in her brain that tells her when she's full.

emi ruth is an absolute joy. there isn't a single time that i see her that i am not immediately filled with happiness. that's her gift, i think. we should have named her happy. she's happy and she always makes everyone around her happy. but there is one person that can make her the happiest...her big brother. she giggles and laughs and smiles whenever he is around. no matter what he's doing or not doing, if he's paying attention to her or not. she follows him around the room. you can just see the love in her little eyes. i hope that never goes away. i hope she always adores her big brother and he always adores her.

[photo heavy]

it was one of those times when everything was perfect. the weather was perfect. the company was perfect. the timing was perfect. everything was perfect.

easter is that time of year that brings me back to childhood. new dresses with matching hats and sometimes even gloves. white, shiny, pleather shoes. my mom ready with her camera to photograph three of the cutest girls ever. my older sister had grown out of the new dress phase. baskets of candy. hearing "he is risen" over and over all day. he is risen indeed.

well, this easter was one of the most perfect easter's ever. no new dresses. no pleather shoes. no picture-crazy mother anywhere in sight...wait, i was the picture-crazy mother. weird. but there was a sister, an aunt, that made her way to the dominican republic to see us. that beats easter hats any day.

it was seriously a magical visit.

ashley and tommy's first stop was to feed kids in a place called "the hole." literally, a hole in the center of santiago. it is an inactive trash dump where more than 600 families have made their homes. poverty. abuse. addiction. prostitution. doesn't sound like easter festivities, does it? or maybe it does...i seem to remember a certain man who surrounded himself with people like that some 2,000 years ago. the hole is very easter.

then, for the second time in four years, ashley celebrated her birthday with us on our incredible island. the last time was in 2007, minus a couple kids. well, a little boy was cookin' anyway. so we made a grand night of it. grand meaning: relaxing with drinks in hand, watching final four and eating nachos grande...taco bell doesn't even get close to how good they were.

for some reason people seem to glow in the dominican.

we even had an impromptu "happy birthday chorus" with mom, dad and abbers via skype. what would we do without skype.

and just like those mornings of being a kid with the anticipation of putting on the easter dress that has been hanging in my closet for weeks just WAITING to be put on...easter morning came.

we spent the morning at our house with the jimenez family. the kids played in the pool. mike, ash and tom lounged drinking coffee and eating mangos from our tree. and yajaira and i made a dominican lunch. it was a delicious morning.

and easter morning turned into easter afternoon and that means an easter egg hunt in the back yard. landon makes it look easy. he had a blast with little or no help from any of the adults who were beaming just as much as landon. there's just something about watching a kid find that little egg that makes us happy. especially since he discovered the new found gift of pesos. 7 to be exact.

after the easter egg hunt we relaxed for a bit and i had the chance opportunity to catch mike in his favorite place, the hammock. at different times throughout the early afternoon, i caught him with both the kids, swinging away. totally easter.

and then the festivities began. the easter egg coloring. it was glorious.

landon concentrated so hard. he was so excited. but would barely show it because he wanted those eggs to be brilliant. he watched as aunt ashley mixed colors and he totally loved purple. he used the white crayon and etched his careful designs and mostly used his fingers to dip them in colors. landon was so proud of his eggs. and his mama was so proud of him.

we tried to "marbleize" our eggs too, but someone put a little too much oil in. still kinda worked.

aunt ashy and bubba were bff's all week.

and we miss aunt ashy and uncle "bommy" (not to be confused with Obama).

and it wouldn't be a goodwin easter egg coloring without the cross-egg.

and look who loves me....

...and look who loves tom.

and did i mention that i LOVE this man. and i think this may be my favorite picture of him, ever.

and i LOVE this boy.

and it was such a lovely day, even the puppies felt the same way we did by late afternoon as most of us snuggled in for an easter nap.

and that my friends, is what i call "photo heavy." but totally worth it.

There's just somethin' about a daddy and his girl...

there are times when i can forget about bills and stress and concerns.

this picture is one of them.

mike is such an incredible father. he always has been with landon, but with the addition of our new little one, it seems as though his capacity for being an extraordinary father has doubled.

i love catching special moments with the two of them. its like being a part of something totally beautiful without having to orchestrate anything. she smiles at him like she's known him forever. like she knows the loving, tender care he will always provide for her. like she knows she's his special girl. like she knows he will never love another little girl like he loves her.

he smiles at her with eyes that usually glisten with a tear (although never wants to admit it). like she's some exceptional miracle he doesn't deserve. like he's not sure how he's gonna do it, but he's going to try and make her as happy as she can possibly be.

our lives are pretty chaotic at times. as i'm sure most people's lives are with two kids. sometimes, i'm just ready to throw in the towel, climb into bed, cry a little and sleep until all the tough things have been taken care of. but sometimes...sometimes....i get to witness this extraordinary bond between a little one and her father. it gives me a lot of hope for tomorrow. it changes my mood. it softens my heart.

there's just somethin' about a daddy and his girl...

a sunday morning

When I was a little kid, Sundays were my favorite. We would all sleep in and then one by one, us four girls would wake and run into my parents bedroom, jump on their bed and have a tickle-fest. My dad would always win because his stinkin' morning scruff was just about the most ticklish thing there was. Sometimes my mom would make bacon or pancakes or on special occasions this amazing breakfast egg casserole. There was just something totally special about Sundays. I almost always think of those fun Sunday mornings every Sunday when I wake up. It is imprinted in my mind. How awesome those times were.

Today, was the first Sunday that our family woke up and knew we were all going to be around each other all day. Mike has been working tireless hours at the airport for the last seven weeks on Haiti Relief and yesterday was the last airplane run. He and Landon had a "camp-out" on a mattress in the living room last night and we all woke up with incredible enthusiasm just knowing our daddy would be home all day. I got that Sunday morning feeling that had been missing for quite awhile.

So as Landon and Daddy were working in the backyard, building Landon a new sandbox, I thought about some great photos I had from the last few days. And since most of our photos these days have revolved around a growing little girl, this post is mostly about Lando.

Landon has these friends. Siblings, more like. My best friend Yajaira's kids. Yesika, Nehemias and Hanani. It's amazing the friendship these four kids have. Language barrier and all. The other day it was hot. We had just gotten a sprinkler and invited the kids over for some spring-time fun. It was captivating. Watching their imaginations run. Watching them care for Landon. Watching them play. I got goosebumps just standing there soaking in the fun you can have with a little water.





Yajaira is always teaching me Dominican things. Things a Dominican wife does. Things a Dominican mother makes. Something very Dominican is this chocolate drink that is coffee-based. Landon and I decided to make a project of it and turned our kitchen into Starbucks. We made the coffe/chocolate drink, added a little ice, blended it in a blender, topped it off with whipped cream and sprinkled nutmeg...and vooahlah...Frappuccino Dominicano. Eat your heart our Starbucks. Our drink was WAY better than anything you have to offer.





And without leaving a cute little girl out of our fun the last few days, I took this picture of her first halter-top dress. It just amazes me how different she looks from photo to photo. Sometimes I feel like I have four daughters all with the name Nohemi.



So with the post completed, I'm going to go start some lunch. Maybe something a little more special than usual. Or maybe something easy so I can have more time with my family. It doesn't matter either way. It's Sunday morning, and the possibilities are endless.

4 months old!

I can't imagine that another month has flown by, but it has. Our little Emi girl is 4 months old! And look at me...I'm only 1 day late in posting pictures!

She's 24 inches long (up 5 inches from birth) and about 14 pounds (up 6 pounds from birth). We weighed her on a scale at the airport so who knows if its dead on or not.

Sister wants to sit up ALL the time. (Sister is what Landon calls her) She can't do it on her own yet, but she wants to be propped up whenever possible so she can look around at the world. Emi is still super quiet. She doesn't talk much but she coos at you like she's having a conversation. Always flashing her adorable little smile when your face does something funny. Oh, but she's a thinker. Always pondering, and crinkling her little forehead as if she is concentrating to take in the world around her. She absolutely LOVES cartoons. I know, I know, people say, "Don't let the TV raise your children..." I'm not...but...its so fun to see her face light up when she sees all the colors in Dora and her little legs and arms go crazy in her bouncy seat. Love it.

She has totally expanded my heart's capability to love.

3 months old!

Nohemi is unbelievably 3 months old already!!! I know I said that time flew when Landon was little but this is ridiculous. I just blink and another month has passed. Crazy.

Emi is such a sweet little girl. Her personality seems to be a lot like her Daddy. Calm demeanor, always smiley. And did I mention she sleeps an average of 12 hours a night!?! I mean seriously, I love this baby! She is doing so many new things. We've discovered lately that she loves being on the floor and she just scoots herself around on her back. She's even attempted to roll over a couple times. Her brother didn't roll over until he was 8 months old...we may have a baby genius on our hands :)

She has these super dark, blue eyes. They just stare into your soul. I don't know how this littler girl does it but she just instantly makes you happy when you're around her. You just drop the cares of the world off at the door and melt into her little grin. I love her for that. I love that I feel better when I'm with my little girl. I love that she makes me feel, already, like I'm the best mommy ever (even though I'm clearly not).

I often feel totally guilty, though. I feel like she is WAY more neglected than her big brother was. She spends way too much time in her bouncy seat as I'm attending to her demanding brother, or editing photos or staring blankly at my messy house wondering when it's going to start cleaning itself. But when I feel the guilt sink in, I look over at her and almost immediately she flashes me a little smile. Almost telling me that she totally understands and that she's content right where she is. What an incredible little baby. I can't wait to be apart of her journey. I'm so blessed for the three months we've already had.