Changes!

Ok, I can finally talk about the changes that we have going on with our family and I'm seriously bubbling with excitement as I type this! :)

1) Some of you already know this but Rob and I are in the process of getting certified to become foster parents with the hopes of adopting. Adoption has always been in my mind but over this past year so many things have happened to move us in that direction and God has really put it on our hearts to do this. We are working with a local agency to first become foster parents and then hopefully adopt as well. We know that this will not be an easy road and can be very scary, but we know it is what God wants us to do. These children are in foster care due to some kind of trauma, abuse, neglect, etc and it breaks my heart. We hope to be certified sometime around August and then we just wait for a phone call! The process is very intensive and we have a lot to do to get our house ready and answer an insane amount of very personal questions about our entire life up to this point. Please pray for us as we go through this process and that God would hand pick a child (or children) to entrust in our care. :)

2) This is something we have been praying about for YEARS and I seriously can't believe it is happening! We've decided that I will be quitting my job and staying home with Benjamin. This has been on my heart for SO long and I am so blessed to be able to do this. We have been praying for years that our business would flourish enough for us to support our family so that I could quit my job and that time is finally here. In a tumultuous economy of ups and downs and watching other businesses in our industry go out of business or downsize, it is so very obvious to us that God is blessing us right now. I've also been revamping our family budget for awhile now to help. We've cut cable a long time ago, I'll be canceling our landline and I've been saving hundreds of dollars by couponing and getting stuff for free at drugstores. (You can see more details on this by clicking on "blogs" at the top of my page). This is going to be a huge adjustment for me, as I've been working for the same company for 8 years, but it will be a very welcome change. I've already started looking for activities that I can take Benjamin to, like toddler storytime at the library, the zoo, museums, etc and I can't wait. I've also been thinking about ways that I can be a better helper for Rob, like making him coffee and helping him get going in the mornings, which he's going to LOVE. This is a huge test of faith for us, since we've never really had to rely on God for all of our needs before but He has confirmed for us over and over that He will provide for us. My last day of work is June 16th and then I will officially be a full time domestic engineer!

So there you have it! Big and exciting changes for our family. :)

Life

Wow, it's been awhile since I've post...oops! Life has been crazy and is just flying by. Benjamin is growing up so fast into a little boy and he's just adorable. I can't believe he's already 16 1/2 months. He's talking up a storm and says new words every day. Right now he can say Bailey (our dog), airplane, car, truck, up, outside, please, thank you, more, cracker, water and he makes some animal noises. :) He talks in long sentences all the time but we have no idea what he's saying and lately you can tell he gets frustrated that we don't understand! He also loves to play with anything that makes a ton of noise and if it doesn't make noise,  he crashes it into something so that it does. He loves to line up his toys too so I'm hoping he'll be an organized little guy. I can dream! He loves to get dirty and to be outside and he cries when I make him come inside. He has turned into an amazing sleeper as well and I'm loving it! He sleeps 12 hours every night and sometimes wakes up once (around 6am) and I still nurse him and then he goes back down. This last week though he has been sleeping 12 hours straight with no waking and it's amazing. On top of that, he takes a 2-3 hour nap each afternoon. I guess he's catching up after 12 months of not great sleep. :)

We just got back from a crazy, whirlwind trip to Italy. It was amazing and exhausting and I will now say that I would not recommend international travel with a toddler to anyone. It was a long trip in the making  that my sister had been planning for years to celebrate graduating with her PhD. It was a fun time with family and awesome to see the sights but I'm glad we're home!

Easter was also a fun weekend hanging out with family and celebrating our risen Savior and reflecting on what He did for us. We didn't go an easter egg hunt, but my mom got Benjamin some plastic eggs and a basket and he played with them for hours!

We have a lot of changes going on in our family right now, and I can't talk about all of them yet, but I'm really excited about them all (and no, I'm not pregnant!) Not to leave everyone hanging or anything, but I'm sure I can say more in my next post. I'll try not to go three months before posting again!

He walks!

And just a few days after this, he started running...and then flying headfirst into the ground. :)

A look back at Benjamin's 1st year...

Best viewed in full screen with the volume on. :)

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Milestones:

-He takes 1 step :)

-He says cracker and thank you

-He can ride a quad (see video)

-He has 6 teeth!

Happy birthday Benjamin! I can't believe it's finally here. One year since my life was turned upside down...in a good way. He's growing up SO fast and he definitely looks like a little boy now and not a baby. :( He is very adventurous, very stubborn and is in to absolutely everything. He has a ton of expressive faces and talks a lot. He repeats things back to us very well and I swear he has said full sentences and probably clearly repeated at least 10 different words to us. Of course he doesn't know what he's saying, but he sure is articulate. He's also a sensitive little guy. If we tell him no, he pauses, looks at us like his world just crumbled, sticks out his lower lip and gives a very hilarious fake little cry. 

I'm happy to say that we are all finally getting some sleep in this house. It only took a year! I was desperate and hate to admit it, but I did resort to "sleep training".  At a year old, I knew he did not need to be waking up multiple times to eat still. Instead of a total cry it out method, I would just lay him down in the crib and then sit on the floor next to it with my back to him. So he knew I was still there but I wasn't going to pick him up. When he woke up at 2am, I did the same thing. It only took a few nights and was way easier than I thought and now I just lay him down at night and he puts himself to sleep and he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night AT ALL. He now sleeps a minimum of 8-9 hours straight and then I feed him and he goes back down for another 3 hours. I missed sleep so much and it feels wonderful to be able to sleep again. And this is how we all feel after a good nights sleep... :)

Thanksgiving was really fun and we had a house full. We got to meet Benjamin's newest cousin and he got to play with a ton of them. He just loves being around kids and had a great time with them!

On the 15th, Benjamin had his first cupcake ever and we sang him happy birthday. We had a cupcake for Makenna too that Rob and I shared.

The party was awesome and we had quite a few people, even though it was the weekend before Christmas. The theme was sports and it all turned out really cute. Benjamin got SO spoiled and ended up with a ton of loot. It was a great day celebrating our little miracle!

Finally, I will leave you with the cutest video. My mom got Benjamin a quad for his birthday and he has just figured out how to ride by himself. Enjoy!