Thriving

This blog is 99% a way to show updates of our kiddos to family far away, but every once in a while I feel like I need an outlet. Today is one of those days.

In my work, I have the privilege of helping people establish healthy lifestyles. Some of the best interactions I have come from the question, "What are your top 3 goals in this earthly life?"  I encourage my clients to describe their best selves and we work backwards to establish action steps to get there. This is usually an exciting process (and sometimes overwhelming) process.

As I write, there is a message in my inbox waiting a response. This person's life goal?  To survive.

My hope and prayer for each person that I encounter (as well as for myself) is that we will have some idea of thriving. That in both the happiest and the hardest of times, we have a visual of what it means to thrive. That we set the bar higher than "survive" when it comes to our lives. We aren't guaranteed comfort, wealth, peacefulness or uninterrupted happiness. But we can always build character, find courage, nurture relationships and aim to grow.

So please don't settle for surviving. How can you thrive? 

Cayden at 2 Months

Our little boy is growing!  The last 4 weeks have been a blast.  We've seen lots of smiles, hear happy coos, and have gotten 4 hours of sleep. in a row. a-mazing.

Cayden is a great eater. We've had no issues with  nursing and he takes the bottle really well. I'm stockpiling the freezer as well, which feels good. Our little muncher only spent a week or 2 in his 0-3 month clothes.  I swear he gained 3 lbs in the span of 7 days.  He is still squeezing into 3 month sized clothing, but I don't imagine they will fit well for long.

Holding sister's hand

Not only is our little man growing like a weed on the outside, we can see his brain developing each and every day.  He loves watching his sister, laying on his play mat, and being carried facing out so that he can take it all in. He seems to be batting his arms at things and his grip is at least twice as strong as mine. No joke.

Though Cade isn't sleeping through the night, he goes to bed really well.  He eats a ton in the evening but once that little tummy if full to the brim, a food coma settles in.  A certain glaze takes over his little blue eyes and I know it is time. We swaddle him up and lay him in the crib. A couple of coos later and he is out for the count.  On a good night, he will sleep from 10 to 2, then wake up for a snack and go back down for a few more hours.

To keep it real, it isn't all smiles and coos.  Our poor guy has some tummy issues, keeping him uncomfortable in the evenings.  You can expect some inconsolable wailing anytime between 6 and 10.  Sometimes it comes and goes for 4 hours, sometimes it is a brief episode.  I've tried changing my diet to no avail, so we are just doing our best to keep him comfortable and hoping that it soon passes.

He is smiling at his sister. Does it get sweeter than this?

We love seeing him grow and change, but it is a little bittersweet.  He will never go back. He will never go back to that sweet 7lb baby.  I already miss it. But at the same time I can't wait to see him roll over, crawl, and pick on his sister.

That is all we have for now, but we will be back soon with another update!

And for every one decent picture, there are 10 like the one above. Mommy's little helper.

To Grasp Eternity

This past week I started back up at work. The adjustment has put me into a sentimental state. I find myself watching pictures of my dear family shuffle across my computer desktop and my heart feels full.  But at the same time, things begin to feel a bit overwhelming.

As I adjust to balancing work life and home life, I'm not worried about meeting the physical needs of my home or children, but this job as a parent goes so much deeper than that. I find myself reading a quick devotion on my phone while feeding Cayden and I am in awe in my responsibilities.  I've been entrusted with the eternity of my little loves.  Eternity. 

Now don't get me wrong, I know that I accomplish nothing for the Kingdom apart from the work of Jesus. I am completely incapable of giving my children the gift of eternal life. But. I'm at the frontlines.  I am fighting for their salvation by teaching them, setting an example for them, and bringing the joy of Christ into our home always. 

As an imperfect being I don't have it all figured out. In fact, I know I'm falling short in many areas as a mother and a Christian. But with God's grace, a footprint is still being left.  And each morning I intend to let it all sink in again.  Each day I can start by remembering my complete dependence on my Savior. And each day this body will breathe prayers for these little souls entrusted to me.

Photo Credits to Gina at http://ginazeidler.com/

Cayden at 1 month (3 weeks ago)

I love being a mother of two, though it seems that the hours in my days have decreased significantly.  Hence updating you on Cayden three weeks late.  The good news is that we've spent the last few weeks doing lots of cuddling, so the time has not been wasted!

At 4 weeks, our little man was just starting to wear 0-3 month clothes. He has had no troubles with eating and gaining weight, which makes his mom very happy.  There weren't a ton of milestones to make note of (besides record-setting burp noises set by a child whose been outside the womb for 21 days) but each day brings a little more alertness to Cade's eyes and a little more roll to his legs.

I just want to pinch those little legs!

Isn't he the cutest little thing?

I could look at this face all day.

 Since the beginning of time, my friend Laura and I dreamed about "someday" when we grow up and have kiddos.  The day has come. Here is Cayden's buddy Eli - isn't he adorable?  A few other dear friends have had boys this spring and summer, so fun!

More pictures to come in the next couple of days. A dear friend captured our little family on the back deck a while back and I can't wait to share them!

A Moment-Capturing Video

Last week, some dear friends came over to capture our growing family on film. We couldn't be more excited about the end result!  I love the way the video captures Addie's love for her little brother, I can replay it over and over, only to be just as excited the 100th view.

But don't let me convince you, see for yourselves:
http://vimeo.com/71735240

Thank you to littletreefilms for your work, it is breathtaking. 
https://www.facebook.com/littletreefilms

Introducing Cayden

Hey everyone!  There has been a lot going on in the Pearson household with the arrival of our sweet baby boy. Its hard to believe that our little man is 11 days old already. My due date was this past Thursday and I couldn't help but celebrate that he was already here.

It all began early Tuesday morning, I woke up just after 3 feeling contractions. I did what the books said and started to time them out. And as any rational person would do, I googled, "How to tell if I'm really in labor".  You would think this was our first baby, right?  The contractions weren't bad but they were consistent and getting closer together. By 7AM I had convinced myself that I was one of those people in the baby discussion forums that recall labor cramps as "bad menstrual cramps".  I wasn't screaming like people in the movies and I was able to walk around and talk through them...but this had to be it, right?  Wrong. After a quick trip into the hospital we found that I had made very little progress since my last OB appointment.  We were sent back home.

Feeling defeated and dumb, once home I set out on a mission. Lets go to the dog park!  Want to take another walk?  Do we have any spicy foods here?  Time would tell if we were in false labor or early labor, but I was determined to keep things moving along. After a long day of being outside and on the move, the contractions started to become more intense. Around 4 I made a quick trip to Target where I had to stop mid-aisle to breathe through these contractions which were about 7 minutes apart.

Grandma Bock arrived and hung out with us through the evening until around 10 when I thought it was time to go back in. The contractions were getting more difficult to manage and were consistently 5 to 7 minutes apart.  This HAD to be it, right?  Wrong.  Another quick check showed hardly any progress since that morning.  Dilating 1/2 cm after another 12 hours of contractions?  I could've cried.  And I did.  At this time I hadn't slept or eaten much since Monday night, I was physically spent and emotionally out of sorts.  The nurse sent me home with an Ambien (sp?) to help me sleep but the contractions were too severe and it was no help. So instead I laid in bed next to my snoring husband, moaning through the pain every 5 to 7 minutes. This night goes down as the longest night of my life. Complete with unpleasant dashes to the restroom and not a wink of sleep.

Finally by Wednesday morning, we knew this was it. Things only continued to get more painful and they seemed to be getting closer together. So for the 3rd time we headed back across the street to the hospital. Finally some good news, we've made progress!  In fact, if I wanted an epidural we needed to get moving. Desperate for some rest, I took them up on the offer and was feeling much  relief by 11.  A couple of doctor checks later and 10 minutes of pushing, and our little guy finally made his appearance.

Cayden David was born  July 24th at 2:38PM. He was a solid 7lb 12oz in weight and 20 inches long. Worth every minute of labor and contraction pain :)

 We weren't quite sure how Addie would adjust to having a brother, but she has done better than we could of imagined. From the first time seeing him at the hospital she was elated. At home now she's always looking for "baby" and asking to hold him.  She's had her moments of needing attention but all-in-all she has done great.





Time for me to go snuggle my little loves, but I'll be back with more soon!

Big Sister Addie

With baby boy soon making his arrival (Lord-willing), we are doing our best to prepare Addie for her upcoming role as a sister.  We treat her doll and all her stuffed animals like royalty and I try to communicate about the baby in mommy's tummy every chance I get. Some days it seems like Addie is beginning to grasp the idea of a baby but just when I get excited/hopeful, she does something like throw her baby down the stairs or chews on baby's arm.  We can't help but laugh.  This is going to be interesting.  

In preparation for baby brother, we moved Addie's crib into the nursery a few months ago. The first week in the twin bed was rough but I'm so glad that we stuck with it. Addie looks so little in her big bed but she is finally staying in it consistently and relishing in being a big girl. This past week has been a little entertaining. I'll go check on her an hour after I lay her down and find her looking out the window or just sitting in bed smiling. 

Each day brings something new with our little toddler. She loves playing in water, being outside, and chasing Mia. We do a stroller walk on most days and try to get out of the house for some kind of adventure when we are able. Addie waves at strangers, gives kisses to anyone without facial hair, and has a smile that will melt your heart. She will talk your ear off, but we have yet to recognize most of what she is saying.

In the past couple of months, Addie has filled out her gums with little teeth. She has at least 8 teeth on the top and I think 10-12 on the bottom. The child doesn't sit still long enough for mom to count her teeth..and I fear losing a finger if I stick it in there! Addie can chew anything we throw her way and she is working on mastering her fork & spoon.  The finale to every meal is Addie putting her plate/bowl on her head.  Needless to say, we are still working on our table manners.

Addie is pretty sweet all around, but as mom & dad, our favorite part of the day is coming home. She is at the stage now that she hears the basement door close and us come up the stairs.  As we round the corner up the stairs, we are greeted with a running, squealing Addie.  Some days she jumps right in our arms, other times she comes sprinting our way, rounds out just before reaching our arms, and continues to run and squeal.  Equally fun.

The above picture is from Father's Day. Addie loves her "dada". 

So there she is. Our little sweetheart. Obviously a quick blog post doesn't do her justice but we wanted to pass along pictures and updates to those of you who don't get to see this gem on a regular basis.  Hope to be back soon!