It’s 4:30 am.  Why am I awake?  I woke around 3:30a craving ice and a lot on my mind.  I tossed and tried to ignore everything, but Psalm 23 came to my mind.  I have had it memorized since I was a kid, but as I was laying there thinking of it, I wasn’t sure that I was remembering every part correctly.  I think this was an encouragement for my anxious soul tonight (eh, this morning).  I decided to get out of bed and read Psalm 23.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,  for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,   they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
(Psalm 23 ESV)

This is such a beautiful poem of God’s provision in our lives.

Strawberry Picking

Strawberry season came early this year!  Good thing for me, because though I am very pregnant, I am not as pregnant as I could have been.  Picking berries that are on the ground is not easy as one would think when you have a huge pregnant belly.  I’m glad we had small buckets!

We actually went a couple weeks ago with some friends.

Haven stuck close to me,

…and Guillaume enjoyed being a big boy, getting to pick berries with his friends (away from the adults).

Haven had a tough time getting the berries off the plants without squashing the berries (which was unacceptable to her), so she resorted to holding the bucket…

…and eating the berries out of it, while I tried to pick faster than she was eating. 

At the end of our time, I’m sure Haven had eaten as many has we took home!

These are the faces of two kids that have enjoyed the sweet joys of spring!

Welch Family Weekend Vacation – Part 3

Saturday after the beach we went home for lunch and naps, but we made the fatal (to the nap) mistake of not sitting in the backseat with Haven to keep her awake on the ride home.  She was asleep for 30 minutes or so by the time we got her back to the hotel.  We showered off, ate lunch, and then all tried to get some rest.  BUT Haven wouldn’t have it.  That 30 minute nap was enough to ruin any good nap that we all needed.  After an hour of trying, Clayton got her up and took her out and I got ready for the afternoon adventure – The Aquarium.

Here are some photos from that adventure:

After the Aquarium we grabbed a quick dinner at a local pizza shop and then headed back to the hotel.  The hotel was and adventure in and of itself for Haven.  She loved getting to play in the drapes, do acrobatics on the bed, and open and close the doors.  She loved that she could carry her Owletta around the whole hotel suite (b/c typically Owletta lives in Haven’s bed… sometimes she makes morning visits to Mama and Papa’s bed with Haven).

By Sunday morning we were wiped out and ready to get home so we packed up, had one more yummy breakfast at the hotel, and headed home.  And Little One slept almost the whole way home!    What a great family vacation!

Welch Family Weekend Vacation – Part 2

Friday was a perfect night, but we were anticipating a morning at the beach on Saturday.  Haven hadn’t been to the beach since she was 9 or 10 months old, and we had been talking about it a lot to her so she was excited (though I’m not sure if she knew what the ‘beach’ was).  Saturday morning we woke and it was about 70 degrees but overcast.  When we arrived at the beach it was quite windy, so we decided not to put on bathing suits but to just enjoy the sand and water in what we were wearing.  Haven had a blast from start to finish!

 

We played in the water, and Haven didn’t want to stop!  Clayton and I took turns with her at the edge (since even the smallest wave could topple her over.)

 

Then we played in the sand a bit…

 

Then back to the water before we had to leave.

By the end of the morning, we were all tired and headed back to the hotel for lunch and naps (which didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped, but that’s another story.)  

Welch Family Weekend Vacation – Part 1

It has been a while since we took time away as a family.  With Clayton working full-time and preparing for his Durham Fire Department test, and me working as much as possible before this new little Welch Boy arrives, things had gotten hectic.  We realized we needed some time away as a family, So last weekend we were able to get away to Wilmington, NC and Wrightsville Beach.  It was so much fun, and Haven just LOVED being with Mama AND Papa for all of those days!

Here are some photos of our weekend adventures…

Friday afternoon/evening after settling into our hotel, we went to downtown Wilmington to explore and get dinner.

First we walked on the docks…

Then we explored some shops…

Then we got dinner and ice cream…

It was Haven’s first CHOCOLATE ice cream…

We are pretty sure she loved it!

Drink Your Veggies

How many of you mom’s of toddlers (or big kids) have ever caught yourself saying, “Eat your Veggies!”  Seriously, what is it about vegetables that repel so many kids.  I mean, I know they aren’t sweet like fruit, and they sure aren’t a candy bar (not that my toddler knows what that is thankfully!), but there are so many different kinds and flavors!  How can a kid not like at least SOME of them! 

Haven used to like veggies, certain ones.  She loved broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots…  But slowly she has decided they are not for her.  We can still hide spinach (if we cut it up very small) in her eggs and macaroni and cheese, but if she THINKS there is a vegetable in her dish, she says she’s all done.  I had to come up with a solution.  My first idea, which worked, was the pouches of food.  I always got the ones that had fruit and veggies mixed together, like this one.

We called them smoothies, and she loved them!  I loved that she could hold it and eat it on her own, and I loved that she was at least getting SOME veggies in her diet.  The problem was they were quite expensive, so I needed to come up with something that was a more affordable for us (since we would have to buy a lot to get her to eat a good amount of veggies.)  I really wanted to find a ‘pouch’ that I could fill back up with my own baby food.   I haven’t found out, and if there isn’t one out there, someone should invent it.

 My solution was acrylic tumblers for kids that I found at Old Navy.  I love that it has a wide straw so that it’s easier for a thicker substance to pass through.  I love that the straw has a ridge on the inside so that my baby girl can’t take it in and out (it comes out when you unscrew the cup.)  I love that it has a rubber seal around the lid so that it doesn’t leak.  The cups are similar to the ones below (but smaller for kids).

Now with these cups on hand, I typically buy baby food (fruits and veggies), mix them together, add a little water, and Haven thinks it’s the best treat ever!    If/when I have more time, I will make my own puree and do the same.

 So, Drink Your Veggies!  Cheers!

Fun at One

I think ONE is my favorite age.  Haven understands so much, and though she can’t say a lot of words, she can definitely communicate well.  I’m always looking for new ideas that would be fun for her and enrich her learning.  Here are some of our recent faves.

Haven loves letters.  We were given a set of second-hand wooden letter blocks that have become one of Haven’s faves.  She also loves the set of pots and pans she got for Christmas.  She takes the spoons and stirs up her imaginary soup, and then holds it out for me to taste.  Recently we decided to make alphabet soup. 

 

She loves to put things in her pots, so we filled them with our blocks.  We stirred them up and then took them out with a spoon one by one, naming the letter and talking about the sound.  Haven loves when I pretend to sip the soup. 

 

 Another one of our new favorite activities is taking the same small wooden letter blocks and putting them in an empty wipes container.  This seems like it would be a simple, slightly boring activity, but Haven (and the one year old I care for three days a week) LOVE it.  I usually have to get a second wipes container so they can each have their own to work with. 

 

 

I love that the simplest thing can be so exciting for Haven.  This last activity I’ll mention has been a life saver on mornings when I need to keep Haven occupied while I get ready for the day (especially drying and straightening my hair).  She is fascinated with soap, so I put her in the tub, and she will sit and lather her hands with her soap for 15-20 mins… the perfect amount of time for me to get ready.  Here’s a photo of Haven in lathering action.

And just for fun, here’s a cute photo of Haven after her bath.    LOVE.

 

Baby Welch #2 is a….

Last night while everyone was asleep
I looked out my window, up through the trees
The sky was so big and covered in stars
I knew a baby brother or sister soon would be ours
-Frances England

Watch our video to find out if we are having a BOY or GIRL!!!! 
Please don’t give the baby gender away with your comment! 

 

A Little Bird Told Me…

 Ok, Not Yet… …the Big Reveal will be sometime next week! 

 

 

How We Told…

When I found out I was pregnant it was a week before Halloween.  I took a pregnancy test without telling Clayton b/c I had taken several months before and they had been negative.  Plus I wanted to surprise him.   I thought this one would be negative, but I HAD to know for sure.  

Clayton had gone to bed, I took the test and couldn’t watch…  I left the room and tried to distract myself with Facebook.  When I went to read the test I was prepared for it to be negative, but there was a faint pink line. 

It didn’t sink in right away.  It felt surreal.  Of course, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep NOW!  I wanted to think of a creative way to tell Clayton, but honestly, I couldn’t wait.  The video below is how I told him.  I think he was a little confused when I gave him a gift right when we got up.  He started thinking (anniversary? no. birthday? no…)

We decided not to announce anything quite yet.  Honestly, I just didn’t feel pregnant and I wanted to make sure.  A week later I took another test… 

There was no mistaking this one.  That line was definite!  So we started to think about how we were going to tell our family.  I made a double-sided photo card with these photos….