On the Downlow

Sorry for the delay in blogging lately. I've been under the weather the past week. Yesterday I was able to start taking anti-nausea medicine, but it only sometimes help relieve my symptoms. Hopefully the next month will fly by and the nausea will go away.

Landon has been expressing his loud voice lately. He is so loud, he always wakes Taylor from her nap. And Taylor has learned two words that no parent wants to hear: "No, mine!". She's been a bit sassy lately so she has also been practicing the word "sorry". It is quite cute to hear her apologize. Like today when she hit Landon in the head with a bag of wipes, or when she thought she was funny by sticking her feet in his face and made Landon cry, she was able to practice the word "sorry".

Here is a video clip of puzzle time tonight. Taylor definitely knows most of the animals. Daddy is such a good teacher....

The Surprise Gift

Before I talk about the surprise gift I received this year, I want to mention three things about God that I have been reminded of lately.

1. God has a sense of humor.
2. God knows the desires of our hearts.
3. God won't give us more than we can handle.

OK, so on to the great gift that I received news of recently but won't be receiving until late summer due to manufacturing conditions. The gift is precious, sweet and small. The gift smells good and is silky to the touch. The gift is priceless yet will cost a lot in the long run. The gift is God-given.

Yep, you guessed it. We are pregnant with baby #3! We are in 100% total SHOCK. I've known for over a week, and I'm still coping with the news. It's not that I didn't want another child, it's just NOW was not my time. Or so I thought. Hank and I have peace knowing that this child is part of God's plan. This baby beat the odds (including birth control) and has been given to us to raise. I debated whether to share this news so early because I'm only 7 weeks into it, but I've had severe nausea since Monday so I would say that means the baby is alive and well. (Hey Michael, is this enough Schepemaker drama for you? haha)

So although we had a wonderful Christmas with family, I am still exhausted from the news, what's happening to my body, and keeping up with two little ones. You know, I've been really lackadaisical about reading my Bible lately, so maybe this is God's way of getting me back to the basics so that I am encouraged and ready to be the Mommy He intended me to be.

She Did It!

She did it! Taylor can ride the scooter all by herself. In fact, she loves the scooter so much that it's hard for her to go to bed at night knowing she has to take a break from playing. The other night, Hank caught Taylor waking up in the middle of the night and walking down the stairs in an attempt for some middle-of-the-night action. She cracks us up with her love for that thing. Oh to be a kid again.

Another funny story from last night...Taylor was wired for some reason and she had a very hard time going to sleep. So I laid down with her hoping to get her to fall asleep sooner than later. For two minutes straight, she laid on top of me giving me eskimo kisses. I tried to pretend like I was sleeping, and I really tried hard not to smile or laugh. In the end, she got me. I just had to give her a kiss for being so sweet.

Arts & Crafts

I'm so excited because so far, Taylor is showing signs of loving arts and crafts. Today while Landon was taking his morning nap and Hank was off feeding the homeless with neighbors from church, I let Taylor experiement with my stamps. She did great except for when she kept on trying to stamp her skin or her shirt. Gymboree taught her that stamps on her body were ok, so I think I was confusing her when I told her not to do that.

Scooter Surprise

Friday night we headed over to Hank's parents house for a chili dinner and to celebrate Christmas before they headed off to Memphis, TN to visit Hank's sister and her husband for the holidays. Anyday now, Kendrie and Josh should have their baby girl.

Grammie and Papa gave Taylor a princess scooter for Christmas. I knew she was going to love it because she's like a magnet to those things. Anytime we see one, she's trying to get on it and ride it. She's still too young and too small but very soon she'll get the hang of it.

So last night was a great reminder of what not to do when opening Christmas gifts or participating in anything fun and memorable for that matter. Because Taylor was so exhausted and we opened the gifts right around her bed time, she had a fit when she kept falling off the scooter. Taylor is very strong-willed and wants/needs to do everything on her own. Hank and I kept on trying to show her how to ride the scooter, but she couldn't quite do it. Possibly because her legs were still a little short.

We haven't pulled out the scooter again yet. I know we will need to do it after naptime or something. She loves it though so much! It was fun to see her get excited when she was opening the present. Can't wait to see more big smiles from her and Landon this coming week.