Sports Camp

I sent my little boy off to camp. Well, not really...last week he attended sports camp. It was every day from 8:30-12:30. This was the 1st time he had been somewhere that I dropped him off with people he didn't really know. Two of the coaches he had were the same from the sports class he had been doing once a week. Game Time Sports has been one of our favorite weekly activities. It is great for Jake to be able to learn about several different sports before we put him in a team sport. Getting started with a team sport early a lot of times leads to kids being burnt out at a young age. When Jake finds a sport he really wants to do I am hoping he will continue through college. By doing Game Time sports he will have an advantage when he does pick a team sport...having already learned the basics of that sport.

 Monday was a little sad for me. Of course my little boy was totally ready. When I was getting ready to leave I had to look for him to say bye. He was already out on the field kicking the soccer ball around. Come Tuesday he asked if he could just tell me bye in the parking lot and give me a hug & a kiss there. Really??? He is only 4(well, if you ask him he is 4 1/2). I had no idea it would start so early. The rest of the week went great. He did let me walk him in and kiss him & was excited to see me...even in front of his new friends. The sports camp was held in a big in door sports arena and they learned basic skills for soccer, golf, hockey, basketball, baseball, & tennis. Then it was filled in with other fun sports activities like running, tug of war, and tons more.

Helping a Friend

Everyone goes through difficult times in life. I have had several friends go through unimaginable things, but I don't know if I was there for them the way I could have been. However, I also think it is hard to know what a friend in a major life crisis would want. Unless of course you have been through a hard time in your life yourself. Hopefully this list will give you some ideas to help your friend. Not all of these will apply so take what you can from this list. I would love to know how you help your friends when things seem impossible.








Just show up at her house(well, I guess call to see if she is there first). She probably isn't going to ask you to come over. And if you ask her if she wants you to come over she probably won't come right out and say yes then either. She doesn't want to seem like she is bothering you and she knows you are busy with your own family too.

Call her. It is ok to ask about the situation as much as you want to hear about it. She doesn't want to feel like she is always talking about it. But if you ask and really want to know she will probably share with you.

Meals are good. Especially child friendly lunches and dinners. There are probably days even thinking about making a meal seems impossible for her.

Talk to her about other things too. She still wants to know what you are up to or what is going on in your life. Even if you feel like what you are dealing with at the time is so small compared to what is going on in her life. She still wants to be your friend and wants to talk to you.

When your friend opens up and shares what is going on in her life be sure you don't share with other people. She definitely doesn't want to seem like the latest gossip topic. And has probably chosen to confide in you because she trust you.

Call her! But also call and pray for her out loud over the phone. Hearing your prayers lifted up by you for her family and situation can be a big encouragement. Text or email her encouraging scripture or quotes. And  funny ones are good too.

Don't ever feel like you are bothering her with calls & text. The moment God puts her on your mind call or text. She is probably having a melt down right at that moment. And chances are time doesn't matter either. During major life struggles sleep seems to be something you don't get much of.

She knows  you don't have all the answers, but she might really want your opinion too.

And never underestimate the power of a sweet card in the mail or a quick text or email just to say you are thinking about them. Because it is possible she feels all alone in her situation.

What do you do for your friends during a difficult time?  What has helped you when life was hard?

4 Months

Oh Little Lily...you are 4 months old. I am sure I start all of your monthly notes with this, but where oh where does the time go?

You are the sweetest, happiest baby. And super active. You are rolling all over the place. And when you can't roll there you kick your feet and some how always end up moving all over the floor. You are also the drooliest baby & love blowing raspberries. If you don't have your paci you are always sucking on your hands, fingers, or any other skin you can get into your mouth. And sometimes you will even take your paci out to suck on your hand. You have become very attached to a little, pink, silky blankie. You love having it with you and when you are tired almost always put the blankie up to your face.

We had your 4 month check up today. You are 12 pounds 2 ounces in the 18th percentile for weight and 23 1/2 inches long 23rd percentile for height. You are our teeny, tiny baby girl.

 You love Jake and always look as soon as he starts talking. Usually you look right at him and give him the biggest smile. Of course this makes his day and he is all about you too. Every month he insist on getting in with you for your monthly picture.

4 1/2 Interview

For Jake's half birthday we did a birthday interview. He made sure to tell me we had to do it again at 5 to see if he said the same stuff. I simply asked the questions and wrote down the answers that he said.

Your Favorite Food: Panda Express(fried rice & orange chicken)
Favorite Sport: Baseball
My favorite tv show is: Doc McStuffins
The coolest person I know is: my Daddy
The thing I do most awesome: throwing frisbees
My favorite color is: red
When I grow up I want to be: just like Daddy & work at Dominos going to all the stores
My favorite song is: veggie tales
Favorite book: Curious George:Curious You, by Mawmaw & Papa Jack(a book they recorded for him)
3 words that describe me: happy, cool, & scared
When I was little I: slept all the time
Favorite season: winter-that's when it is cold right?
Favorite snack: pears
Food I dislike: nothing
My best friend: Caleb
Best Memory: touch-a-truck & date at chick-fil-a(both of which were over the weekend)

4 1/2

My Dear 4 1/2 year old Boy!!
I can't believe you are half way to 5. You will soon be a whole hand old. You are beyond excited to be 4 1/2...just like Caleb now. It is always about being like your cousin & you were so excited when you woke up today and could finally add the 1/2 to your age. I suppose at 4 it is a big deal to be that extra half. All day today you would talk in a sing-song voice that it was your 4 1/2 birthday. Today was all about you sweet boy. We met daddy for lunch at your favorite place Panda Express. You love their orange chicken & fried rice and would eat there every day if we let you.

You have started to come out of your shell the older you are, but you still hold onto some shyness. You like to make sure someone you know is always in eye sight when we are out. You still won't talk to people freely, but that is fine with me.
 You have the biggest imagination and I love to listen to you play. You make up the funnest conversations with your toys. You have a big love for stuffed animals(despite mommy not being a big stuffed animal fan). You have a couple that you are very attached to right now...Po, a panda & Pudding a smaller Panda Po's baby sister.
You love just about every sport and will play just about any of them. You have a weekly sports class that is perfect for you and covers baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, tennis, & basketball. During your class you get to learn a little about each sport. Of course your favorites are baseball and golf. But you have also started to be into hockey. Daddy is a big nascar fan & you have decided that number 11 Denny Hamlin is your favorite race car driver(even though Daddy has always been a Ryan Newman fan). We aren't sure how you picked Denny Hamlin, but you have stuck with him since last year.  Every race you are sure he is going to win.

You are such a fun & happy little boy. And I am so excited you are 4 1/2(even if that means you are growing up way too fast).

Our precious boy we love you so much. And love watching you grow.

3 Months

Our Little Lily,
We can't believe you are 3 months old already!!! If only we could freeze time...I would bottle this time up. Your little personality is truly starting to shine. It looks like you will be our little chatter box & I love it. It doesn't matter who is talking, but if you can hear them you think they are talking to you. As soon as you hear a voice you start talking and smiling. It is so fun to hear your little sounds and your smile lights up any room.

Your brother is still head over heels for you & I can only pray that you two grow up being the best of friends. He loves that you are starting to interact and as soon as he hears you talking he is right there talking to you too.

Ready for the big news...your 2 bottom teeth came in last week. Yes, you are only 3 months old and you already have 2 teeth. The truth is when you were born your gums were really swollen at your bottom 2 teeth. The pediatrician we used in the hospital said you would have teeth within a week. He told us the teeth might not be healthy and probably would need to be pulled as soon as they came in. Our pediatrician didn't think that was the case and said even if you did get teeth there was no way to say if they would be a problem. Your swollen gums went down a lot over the last couple months. Then the week before last we noticed your gums were looking a little swollen again and we could see the tiny teeth. It was only a few days before your teeth were poking through the gums. So now my tiny little 3 month old you have your 2 bottom teeth. You were a teething champ & never acted like they bothered you. You definitely are more drooly now and are constantly sticking your tongue out.

You are sleeping longer stretches at night kind of. You usually go to sleep between 8 & 9 and then don't wake up again until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Then you are back to your 3 hour eating after that.

Little Lily we couldn't love you more.

Newborn Pictures

Yes, you read that right...and yes, Lily will be 3 months old in just a couple weeks. But I realized I hadn't shared her adorable, perfect newborn pictures here. I was waiting until the birth announcements went out to everyone & then I just forgot. (I am hoping to get back to more regular blog posting in the next week & not just Lily updates...can we just call this a 12 week maternity leave?)Until I am back to regular posting enjoy this pictures of Lily.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14