This last post of July is just a random compilation of the rest of our July!
Friday, July 31, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Gemma's walking videos!
She finally did it! She put two and two together and really started making this walking thing a reality. She's been working on it since last Thursday, but it's now happening and it's awesome. I love watching her, with her mouth open and hands out. What a sweetheart. Love my baby girl!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
First Steps!!!
It's official, Gemma's off to the races. Now, let's be honest, she's not going to win any awards for her speed, but baby girl took her first steps last Thursday (July 23rd) and has been working on it in increasing increments every day since. The most steps she's taken is about 6-7, but that's pretty good considering she took her first steps 3 days ago. In addition to her walking a little bit here and there, the pride that she gets on her face when she takes her steps and makes her way to me is just precious. She's so happy and so proud of herself, and it's just an amazing momma moment to witness :)
Go, Gemma, go!!
Go, Gemma, go!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
Kari and her babes visit!
As most of you know, my sister Kari had twins in the beginning of April. We were there for their birth, and then visited again 6 weeks later for the weekend, but haven't seen them since mid-May. So when Kari asked about coming down to run a 10 mile race (hello, superstar!!) and bringing the babies with them, of course we were ecstatic!! Josh was off to a bachelor party for the weekend, so Kari drove through the night leaving at 11pm and arriving around 4:30am, to ensure her babies sleep as much as possible in the car. They are not happy campers right now in the car - a flashback for me for sure! - so driving at night seemed like the best time. Being the older sister, I was a bit cautious and nervous, but she made it safely and the babies did indeed sleep most of the trip.
It was a short turnaround for the crew, but we were so happy to spend time with them while they were here. Kari and I headed out Saturday morning to run the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 miler and, if I may brag for a moment, both of us did a great job. Kari is 3 months postpartum with twins no less, and completed the 10 miles in her goal time without walking!! I'm so so proud of her! I ran the fastest time in my 3 years of running the race (a 7:42min/mile pace according to my watch) and was the 24th women out of 816, and also ended up getting 2nd in my age group and a $10 gift card! I was super excited about my time, as I have run this race every other year for the past 4 years (when Micah was 1, Reid was 1 and now Gemma is 1), to be able to see improvements in my speed is encouraging!
In addition to the race we just hung out and enjoyed the chaos that is 5 kids 5 and under in our house :) And Kari will be arriving back with the babies in just 2 short weeks before they head back to Africa August 4th.
We love you Kari and Nolan and Quin. Thanks for visiting and we will see you soon!
It was a short turnaround for the crew, but we were so happy to spend time with them while they were here. Kari and I headed out Saturday morning to run the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10 miler and, if I may brag for a moment, both of us did a great job. Kari is 3 months postpartum with twins no less, and completed the 10 miles in her goal time without walking!! I'm so so proud of her! I ran the fastest time in my 3 years of running the race (a 7:42min/mile pace according to my watch) and was the 24th women out of 816, and also ended up getting 2nd in my age group and a $10 gift card! I was super excited about my time, as I have run this race every other year for the past 4 years (when Micah was 1, Reid was 1 and now Gemma is 1), to be able to see improvements in my speed is encouraging!
In addition to the race we just hung out and enjoyed the chaos that is 5 kids 5 and under in our house :) And Kari will be arriving back with the babies in just 2 short weeks before they head back to Africa August 4th.
We love you Kari and Nolan and Quin. Thanks for visiting and we will see you soon!
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Lost in the Crowd
Have you ever lost your child? Not known where to find them? Maybe they ran away from you at a store, or wandered in to a different area at a park. I can't imagine a feeling much worse than being unable to find your child who was just in your line of sight. This happened to me with Reid at Calvary's festival on Sunday night.
Imagine being up on a hill and looking down to masses of people, adults and children alike. There's a stage and a concert going on. It's a grassy field, a grassy hill, and there's a lake on either side. There's yellow tape surrounding the lake, letting you know there's danger on the other side. But then what does yellow tape mean to a 3 year old? How are they to know that means "caution"?
Now imagine you running down after said 3 year old, who is playing tag with some boys, but has ended up on the other side of that tape. You tell him to stop running, to come back across the barricade, to run to your arms. He thinks it's a joke, and while you're trying to stay calm, your heart is beating just a little bit faster until he's safe in your arms on the "right" side of the tape. You caution him strongly, tell him the dangers that are on the other side, then bring him up to your spot safe atop the hill.
Ten minutes later Reid finds himself back at the bottom of the hill. I watched him walk there, keenly aware of the ever-growing crowd, willing my self to not take my eyes off Reid. Don't let him out of your sight, I kept thinking over and over. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Gemma topple over in a chair, and I run to help her out. I bring her back to my blanket, set her down, and stand back up to find Reid, but he's no where to be found. He's not where I last saw him. Not worried yet, my eyes start furiously scanning the hundreds of people at the concert. Where is Reid? How easy is it to spot a tiny little 3 year old amongst adults and children? It's starting to get darker and my eyes are not finding my son. After about 5 minutes of scanning hard, I turn to Christian and let him know I can't find Reid. He starts looking with me, and after not finding him quickly, runs down the hill to start searching at closer proximity. I stay high, thinking I might be able to find him easier, and as my heart starts beating out of my chest I decide to go down and search the side Christian is not on. It also happens to be the lake side that I, not 20 minutes earlier, had grabbed Reid from the wrong side of the tape. Where was Reid? Why couldn't I find him??? I begin pacing but cannot bring myself to leave the lake. My heart was racing, my mind was running wild, and I truly believed I had lost Reid. I had this sinking feeling that he had fallen in to the lake, no one had noticed, and he was gone. I run back up to my friends and ask if he'd been found and how deep the lake was. Was Reid there? Had he drowned?
Writing it now gives me chills all over again. I've never experienced this feeling before and pray with all my might, I never have to experience it again. I ran back down to the lake, my mind continuing to race, scanning the lake with everything I had, all the while looking around me and wondering where could he have gone?? About 20 minutes had passed - longest 20 minutes of my life - when I saw my friend Carrington running over to me. "He's been found, Kelly. He's safe. He's in the first aid tent." Oh. My. Goodness. My body collapsed, my shoulders started shaking and I started sobbing. While Carrington held me, assuring me Reid had been found, I just cried and thanked her. After a couple of minutes I pull it together and head up to find my Reid. Sure enough, there he is in the first aid tent, with a piece of chocolate for me as a peace offering. I start scolding him while crying with Reid saying "but I couldn't find you..." Oh my heart. Praise Jesus, he's safe. Apparently a lady had found him wandering amongst the crowd of people and asked him where his mommy or daddy was. When Reid couldn't point us out, she figured the best place to take him was essentially "child lost and found".
The rest of the night was basically uneventful, thank the Lord, and we ended up enjoying a concert and fireworks. Though my guard was never let down, and heightened even more as the night got dark and my eyes were glued to my 3 year old with everything I had. Tucking Reid in to bed after we got home, I hugged him a little bit tighter and gave him a little bit more intense kiss. We thanked Jesus, again, for keeping Reid safe and reuniting us a a family. And we talked about the importance of listening and obeying and staying with Mommy or Daddy. Never a dull moment when you're parenting little ones!
Imagine being up on a hill and looking down to masses of people, adults and children alike. There's a stage and a concert going on. It's a grassy field, a grassy hill, and there's a lake on either side. There's yellow tape surrounding the lake, letting you know there's danger on the other side. But then what does yellow tape mean to a 3 year old? How are they to know that means "caution"?
Now imagine you running down after said 3 year old, who is playing tag with some boys, but has ended up on the other side of that tape. You tell him to stop running, to come back across the barricade, to run to your arms. He thinks it's a joke, and while you're trying to stay calm, your heart is beating just a little bit faster until he's safe in your arms on the "right" side of the tape. You caution him strongly, tell him the dangers that are on the other side, then bring him up to your spot safe atop the hill.
Ten minutes later Reid finds himself back at the bottom of the hill. I watched him walk there, keenly aware of the ever-growing crowd, willing my self to not take my eyes off Reid. Don't let him out of your sight, I kept thinking over and over. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Gemma topple over in a chair, and I run to help her out. I bring her back to my blanket, set her down, and stand back up to find Reid, but he's no where to be found. He's not where I last saw him. Not worried yet, my eyes start furiously scanning the hundreds of people at the concert. Where is Reid? How easy is it to spot a tiny little 3 year old amongst adults and children? It's starting to get darker and my eyes are not finding my son. After about 5 minutes of scanning hard, I turn to Christian and let him know I can't find Reid. He starts looking with me, and after not finding him quickly, runs down the hill to start searching at closer proximity. I stay high, thinking I might be able to find him easier, and as my heart starts beating out of my chest I decide to go down and search the side Christian is not on. It also happens to be the lake side that I, not 20 minutes earlier, had grabbed Reid from the wrong side of the tape. Where was Reid? Why couldn't I find him??? I begin pacing but cannot bring myself to leave the lake. My heart was racing, my mind was running wild, and I truly believed I had lost Reid. I had this sinking feeling that he had fallen in to the lake, no one had noticed, and he was gone. I run back up to my friends and ask if he'd been found and how deep the lake was. Was Reid there? Had he drowned?
Writing it now gives me chills all over again. I've never experienced this feeling before and pray with all my might, I never have to experience it again. I ran back down to the lake, my mind continuing to race, scanning the lake with everything I had, all the while looking around me and wondering where could he have gone?? About 20 minutes had passed - longest 20 minutes of my life - when I saw my friend Carrington running over to me. "He's been found, Kelly. He's safe. He's in the first aid tent." Oh. My. Goodness. My body collapsed, my shoulders started shaking and I started sobbing. While Carrington held me, assuring me Reid had been found, I just cried and thanked her. After a couple of minutes I pull it together and head up to find my Reid. Sure enough, there he is in the first aid tent, with a piece of chocolate for me as a peace offering. I start scolding him while crying with Reid saying "but I couldn't find you..." Oh my heart. Praise Jesus, he's safe. Apparently a lady had found him wandering amongst the crowd of people and asked him where his mommy or daddy was. When Reid couldn't point us out, she figured the best place to take him was essentially "child lost and found".
The rest of the night was basically uneventful, thank the Lord, and we ended up enjoying a concert and fireworks. Though my guard was never let down, and heightened even more as the night got dark and my eyes were glued to my 3 year old with everything I had. Tucking Reid in to bed after we got home, I hugged him a little bit tighter and gave him a little bit more intense kiss. We thanked Jesus, again, for keeping Reid safe and reuniting us a a family. And we talked about the importance of listening and obeying and staying with Mommy or Daddy. Never a dull moment when you're parenting little ones!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Fireworks (partIV)
We decided to head out to our old church to attend their annual July 4th festival. Gemma and Christian headed home before the fireworks began and I stayed back with the boys. It was a really fun time with friends and the kids had a blast, aside from my most terrifying moment I've had as a parent, but I'll save that for a separate post. Reid and Micah never get to stay out late, Christian and I are both pretty sticklers for bedtimes, so I know they were loving it. It was interesting to watch the overtiredness show itself in the two boys. Micah got quiet and just sat down waiting for the fireworks to begin while Reid was jumping and dancing around and could not sit still, fireworks or not! Oh the differences in my boys!!
Love my crazy Reidees.
My silly, silly Reidees.
Micah showing his attempt at being silly too :)
Love, love, love this big boy right here!!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Sparklers (partIII)
Thank you Josh and Kari for the fireworks 2 years ago :) We finally used up the leftovers and the boys were loving it!
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