The Big Bath

Charles graduated to taking big baths with his sister. Who knows who is happier that this happened, Charles or Hannah that she gets to help bathe him now.

The Morning Rush

This morning I thought of how I need to remember to be more "child like" You are probably wondering what I am talking about. But this morning I was rushing and got Hannah's breakfast ready, Charles was screaming to eat and I told Hannah to just get to the table and get started. I started feeding Charles and he was quite fussy as he was not feeling well. I looked over to make sure Hannah was getting to the table. She climbed up the chair and sat down in it and shut her eyes. Out of her little mouth came these words "Thank-you for my food, Charles' milk, good day, Amen." Even though I was rushing, Hannah still remembered to stop and Thank God for her breakfast, Charles' milk he was drinking and prayed we would have a good day. I could not help but think of this verse.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Mathew 18: 1-4.
As I was holding Charles, I couldn't help but think of Jesus words when he said in Luke 18, “Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them.” As I was playing around with Charles later, I noticed his utter dependence on me. During the day, I feed him, cloth him, clean him, and put him to bed. When Charles cries, he cries knowing his mommy or daddy is coming to help him. When Charles laughs, he knows he is laughing because his mommy or daddy is with him. He is utterly dependent on other people to keep him alive. Without his dad or me, Charles would be incapable of living. And I think, for the most part, Charles is okay with that, I think. As all of these thoughts were racing around my brain, I thought a child is a perfect example of how we are to be with God. God wants us to be like children. What is a baby like? A baby is dependent and trusting. A baby has faith that it will be fed, clothed, and provided for each and every day. A baby puts its hope and confidence in someone else other than itself. Every single moment of his day, a baby is wholly leaning on someone else to provide the life-giving elements he needs to keep breathing. In a word, a baby is humble because he looks to something outside of himself for what he needs to survive. Jesus calls us to turn from our proud ways and become like children. Jesus uses children as the example and goal for us to strive for in our Christian journey. But the truth is that sometimes I forget that everyone struggles with the fact that we need to not be prideful and humbly submit to God so that we can grow in faith and dependence upon Christ. Today My daughter sitting at the table taught me that we are never to busy to stop and Thank God and my son reminded me to be baby like and humbly submit to God so I can continue to grow in faith and teach my children what they have taught me today!

Charles Rolled Over On Friday

Ya!!! I am so proud of my baby boy. He continues to push himself. He is growing up and everyone is very pleased with his progress!

Daddy Daughter Hike

On Saturday Charlie and Hannah went hiking with some friends to a place called Twin Falls, it is about 20 minutes away from our house. She loved it and hiked a lot by herself. Her quick little feet were always keeping up with Dad. Some parts of the hike she rode in the pack but she had a great time with Dad. I foresee more of these Daddy Daughter hikes as she is like her daddy who loves the out doors and hiking. The Trail was a four mile trail with elevation gain of 1000ft. By the end Hannah was one tired little girl who took a catnap the last 20 minutes of the hike.

Brother Sister Love

The Kid's New Jogging Stroller

This past weekend we decided to take a trip to REI and buy a Double jogging stroller. We spent 2 hours in the store and finally found the right one for us. The BOB Revolution Duallie stroller. We love it and will get a lot of use out of it. We walk a lot and there are plenty of trails all around our house.

Bouncing My Baby

So the trick to feeding and calming Charles is to sit on a big exercise ball and to bounce while holding him upright and feeding him all at the same time. The same for calming him using a pacifier.
Now knowing that, Hannah went running upstairs the other day and got one of her baby dolls and a "passy" she had hidden. (one of Charles' of course) Came back down rolled a ball against the mantle and began to bounce her baby with the pacifier copying Charlie. It was so cute how she just loves to imitate everyone.

I'm A Big Girl

Hannah has become quite the "BIG Girl" as she would say. She loves to do everything we do. This past weekend she had taken off her diaper and sat on the potty with out us knowing. The pictures speak for themselves. She was very proud of herself as she had made the decision with out any suggestion from us.