Lately...

We have been pretty busy lately..right now I can't really pin point exactly what has kept us so busy...but nevertheless.. we've been enjoying life.

In the past few months we have been basking in the light that was once at the "end of the tunnel". The light of your baby sleeping all the way through the night. Like..went to bed at 6:45 last night and got up at 7:20. :) We did not reach this milestone by the standard some would call early, but here we are and I've already forgotten what it is like to get up every single night. Also, as we lay down to go to bed last night Ryan and I were reflecting on how we "got him" to sleep through the night and we have no idea. We let him cry it out sometimes to go to bed or to take a nap. Other times we were sure there was something wrong with him so we rocked him and gave him bottles until he went into a milk coma. He got croup and ear infections and slept on the couch with me and in our bed once. And then he just started sleeping for 12 hours. If you want my book on how to get your baby to sleep..it will be coming out- never. 

Brody has taken unassisted steps. Six is the most he has done at one time. The first time he took 4 I cried with excitement and my heart swelled with pride. He is at a super busy and fun stage..I absolutely love it. 

Spring is great! We wait outside everyday for Daddy to come home and then we do something fun like go on a walk, a bike ride, or let Brody swing and play in the grass while we hit golf balls into the net or have chipping contests in the backyard. If you give Brody a golf club to hold he will sit in the grass very happily. 

The mornings. Brody hates to stay at home in the morning. He gets up, eats his breakfast, and then I put him on the floor to play and he has a meltdown. When we finally all get ready and get in the car..he turns back into the happiest baby on the block. 

I sometimes forget that God has blessed me with so much that I can't even utter enough thank yous. The other day it was a beautiful day outside and I couldn't believe that I woke up to find out that a friend of mine's dad had a stroke the night before. We forget that when we sit in our home that we love and is pretty small by American standards that there are plenty of people who don't have a home at all. We don't know what it feels like to come home to a marriage that is crumbling. We are so blessed and I pray that our family can enjoy these moments and hang onto them for dear life. These moments need to matter and the need to glorify God in all we do.We need to let the joy we have overflow to others. Mainly, we need to remember that even if we lose all the things we have now..we still have Jesus. 

Lately, I am feeling unworthy of the blessings I have been given. Lately, I am looking for ways that God can use me. Lately, I am trying to make sure everything I do is for the Lord..even if its just empty the dishwasher..again. :)

A Biking Kind of Saturday

This past Saturday was one of my favorite days since Brody was born. It started around 7:00 in the morning (whoa, I'm a mom, I just said my favorite day began on a Saturday at 7:00am). We had a little breakfast as a family and played in the floor for a while and we talked about what we were going to do that day. Our conversation led us to the car and we headed to REI. It wasn't opened yet. So we went to TJ Maxx and bought 2 sippy cups and a book about tractors. BACK in the car and to REI!

We had been talking about getting me a bike for a long time. You see, back when our love was new we used to ride bikes a lot in Chattanooga. Ryan would bring his bike in the truck when he came to visit me on the weekends and I would ride my sister's bike. We loved it and talked about how we would get me a bike and do this all the time when we were married and then we'd see those people with the bike trailer and they're sleeping children in them and I would dream of my family just biking along on a beautiful day. So... almost 3 years later..we got me a bike! And now we have this kid, so we had to get a bike rack for the SUV and a baby seat and the sweetest itty bitty helmet for our baby.

We got home and Brody took a great nap while we put the seat together, I tested out my bike, and we packed a bag for the bike ride. Thankfully Brody woke up just after we finished getting everything ready because we were about to burst with excitement. Off to the park we went..it was a perfect day...overcast and warm, no rain predicted.

We learned these things very quickly:

• A kickstand doesn't hold up a bike with an empty baby seat on it, much less with a 20lb baby in it.
• A 10 month old in a bike helmet is almost too cute to handle
• We both needed to raise out bike seats up
• Brody does better when he can't see mommy

We rode approximately 8 miles and Brody was pretty great! We stopped and gave him a sippy cup and a snack cup and boy do I love whoever made puffs! It was great, I loved watching Brody's little head look around at things and hearing Ryan point stuff out to him. Ryan said that Brody kept going "pat pat" on his back and I thought that was really sweet. I think he was saying "giddy up daddy!" 

Here are some fun pictures from our ride..

Brody is all strapped in and ready!

Stopping for a little bike adjustment

Okay, so he wasn't perfect..but he calmed down and was great!

 I'm not even looking for mommy now..

Oh, There she is, Hey Mom!

Brody is telling me all about his first bike ride and how great his daddy was at making it fun for him!