the little things

Holy Cannoli!

6 days.

Just 6, short days to go until sweet Baby Boy #2 arrives.

Let me take a breath. ;)

I simply cannot believe where the Lord has led us these last couple of years and what He has done for us.

I am so very blessed (overwhelmed, but blessed! ;)).

To think that it was just 2 short years ago that I wrote about my longing to be a mama and how I didn't know if I could take one more internal or blood draw or pill or procedure. I longed to be a mom so much and my heart would ache at the thought of Nate never getting to experience fatherhood.

But, with a LOT of faith and prayers...look where we are today!

Nate and I are growing in our marriage every day(we still drive each other insane at times-that's healthy in my opinion! Haha) and have a sweet and handsome precious one year old running (yes, he RUNS everywhere nowadays!) around who is just going to be SUCH a great big brother, I just know it! And another (surprise!)baby boy about to make his debut in less than a week!

Praise the Lord!

Eeep! God is so, so good.

It's funny how He works too. Because in Nate and I's "plans" we were just thrilled to be blessed with one child. I remember saying even if Grayson was our only one what a HUGE blessing he is and I would be okay with just him. Afterall, it did take us nearly 3.5 years to get pregnant the first time, how in the world could it possibly take no effort the second time around, right? ;) Ha!

But, we would also say that we'd love to have another "2 or 3 years down the road." Sheesh. Just goes to show that we are NOT in control here!

If someone would have told me years ago that we would have 2 kiddos 13.5 months apart I would have laughed in their face.  2 kids? And THAT close? Not us! No way! I would have said it would be too much. Too much chaos, too much work, too much money.

But, here we are. We're about to embark on this crazy new adventure in another new chapter of our crazy Duenke family life! :)

And while I am completely nervous and anxious and yes, already overwhelmed at just the thought of being a mama to two under two and how I'm ever going to love TWO as much as I love the ONE, and raising them to be the best possible little men they can be, my heart is so full.

This is all I've ever truly wanted in life. 

To be a mama.

Even though most days are already chaotic and stressful, I simply wouldn't trade it for the world. The Lord has blessed me with WAY more than I deserve. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Even on the hard days when I just wanna pull my hair out and run away! ;) Ha.

6 days. and in less than 3 hours from now, it will be 5 days.

Hold on to your hats, it's about to get even crazier, but much more awesome! ;)

Getting There

I'm pretty disappointed that I will now be 2 weeks behind on Project Life, but I'm out of ink and to be honest, just do not have the energy to plan it all out right now. :(

We have been so busy these past few days. I just can't seem to catch my breath (literally-thank you, Liam! haha).

I wanted to share some things we've bene up to lately.

First, after several requests to do it, I decided to start a wee, little "business" for mom-to-be's/baby gifts. I'm having a blast and am feeling awfully blessed with each order!

The name is BabyCakes and you can find us here on Facebook if you'd like! :)

Grayson is proving to be quite the little helper these days. He decided to help daddy mow the lawn the other day. It was precious!

Grayson got to attend his first-ever Easter egg hunt this past Saturday!  He did awesome and had so much fun!

After the egg hunt Saturday, we spent the whole rest of the day as a family (afterall, we only have a handful of them left to spend as "3!") and went shopping for some necessities and then grabbed a sweet treat on our way home.

We couldn't head home before venturing to the park for some fun on the swings and slides! Oh, and dirt/sand! Gotta enjoy that, too!

We had a terrific Easter, too! Grayson had lots of fun pulling each little thing from his basket. This ball for his pool this summer had him puzzled, though! haha

After church we spent some time with family, enjoying the special day and a very good meal. After lunch, we all ventured outside for some fun! Grayson loved running with Craemer!

Mom and Phil had an egg hunt for Grayson and Roman. They did awesome!

The boys took turns riding in the "new" car mamaw and papaw found at a flea market over the weekend!

I realize more and more every day just how blessed I am. Amazing, funny, smart, supportive, helpful hubby...handsome, smart, sweet, friendly, silly little boy...and strong, healthy baby on the way. 

After a busy, but amazing weekend, I barely made it back home before realizing I could barely walk because my feet and ankles were so swollen! I had a headache all afternoon (plus, I'm SUPER emotional lately) and just didn't feel well.

A text to my mom later, she was concerned that maybe my blood pressure was a bit high. And issue I've been thankful to NEVER have dealt with before.

She came over and took my blood pressure as I laid on the couch with my feet propped up. Thankfully, it was just fine. Turns out, I've just been overdoing it a bit. Okay, a lot.

I don't really stop these days. And I've been feeling it! My body is SO ready for this baby to come! 4 more weeks. I can do it! I need every single minute I can get.

Still have SO much to do. I'll get there. :)

what matters.

Gramcracker invited us over for a homemade lunch today. Gram and gramp's house has always been one of my favorite places to be.     My grandparents just kind of rock. 

And I can tell Grayson enjoys being there too. He just makes himself right at home and loves seeing what gram is up to in the kitchen!

After we enjoyed this awesome lunch-

(Carolina BBQ, gram's awesome potato salad and some sweet tea!)

we spent lots of time playing with Grayson and catching up. It was wonderful.

A bit later, I heard Grayson in the kitchen with gram, so I wandered in and saw this-

Just the two of them. Dancing in the kitchen and having a blast! Grayson LOVES the radio in there and knows how to put the charm on to get gram to turn it on just for him every, single time. ;)

A little later, after a diaper change, we decided to let him roam pant-less for a bit...he loves doing that! And we even found an old My Buddy doll that he LOVES...AND my grandpa's hat from when he was a little boy!

Precious, I think!

It was such a fun day and one I am so grateful for. I am blessed. Today, I saw what matters most in this beautiful life of mine: family. memories. love.

It was a piceless time with them and I love that Grayson had SO much fun!

9.10.11

Today sure has a fun ring to it, doesn't it? What a great day to be born or get married! I love dates like that.

Today was the start of our county fair. To say it's awesome is an understatement!  The best fair anywhere, we think. I mean, where we live is pretty much all country. The least we should be able to do is put on a good fair, no? ;)

It was only around 11:30 when this photo was taken, but man was I hot! So, I had to just throw the hair up quick and keep walking! Haha.

The first barn we took Grayson to? The swine barn. We lasted about 60 seconds before he started screaming like crazy (thanks to that squealing pig up the row!) I caught him chomping on his links and that pig's behind just seconds before he freaked out!

We quickly strolled out of the barn and decided to stop for a "snack" break for the babe. He filled up on half a bottle and some puffs, then was ready to go again!

After snack we ventured to the sheep barn. Turns out sheep are much more calm and way less noisey! ;) Grayson was quite the little fan. He'd stick his little neck wayyyy out to watch the sheep move about in their pin. So curious. 

After lots of walking around, people watching, chatting with friends we'd run into, and exhibit viewing, we stopped at one of our favorite places: Lerch's Donuts! Nate and I each just got one donut.

Mine plain. Nate's powdered sugar (cuz I know you're curious, right? Baha.) Annnyways, as we were walking across to find a bench and I was holding Grayson, the baby bird that he is kept opening his mouth and reaching for my donut!

I would say, "no!" and he'd smile so big. Welp, just as I sat down on the bench and was trying to balance everything, that little booger got ahold of my donut and pulled it right to his mouth! Sucha stinker!  He loved chewing on that piece and even got a little bite. He was LOVING it and Nate and I were cracking up!

After that bite of donut and a quick finish of his bottle, he was OUT! the fair just wore him out!

I love how he puts his foot up on the bar like that. He does it often!

Evidence he's a donut snatcher by the crumbs on his shirt! ;)

It was such a fun morning, afternoon. I'm pooped!  We're looking forward to going back one more time Monday to have more of a leisurely time into the evening. Today was a bit more rushed because Nate had to work.

Thankful for these times we get to spend as a family. :)

all sorts.

Whoa. What a busy last few days this has been! Thank you for the birthday wishes-so sweet!  The first day of 27 was a good time! It started with going to church as a family, then Grayson went home with my mom and Phil so Nate and I could grab lunch (I chose Panera-I was dying for some mac and cheese!) and then Nate took me to see Crazy, Stupid Love. What a true hubby he is-taking me to see that movie because he knows my absolute love for Ryan Gosling! Nate even said, and I quote, "what better gift could I give you than seeing Ryan Gosling shirtless?!" LOL! He knows me so well! ;)

After the movie and before picking up Grayson, we went to our favorite icecream shop, Hartzler's where I got my hands on this goodness:

a big ol' homemade icecream sandwich made with homemade chocolate chip cookies! gah! it was delish! I could only eat half of it though. I had the other half the next night! And please forgive the hair. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for roling the windows down, opening the sunroof and cruising! ;)

After we picked Grayson up from my mom's, we went home and just chilled as a family.

It was perfect!

Monday, Grayson had his 4 month appointment, finally!

We had to wait an hour before he saw the doctor (our usual pedicatrican is on vacation this week, so we saw someone different)...blah, but he did so awesome! He just played the whole time while Nate or I held him...and smiled at the little girls in the waiting room! ;)

He weighed in at 13lbs. 12 oz. (25th percentile) and is 24 1/4 in. long (20th percentile)!

The doctor said he looks fantastic and was very impressed with his strength. She said his head control is excellent and was also impressed that he can sit almost by himself now and that he's bene rolling over both ways since he was 3 months old. That made us, as new parents pretty darn happy and thankful! :)

Grayson got 2 more shots and some medication orally. He was a champ!  He cried for a few seconds, but once he got a bottle he was good to go and fell asleep in the car on the way home!

Lately, he's super fascinated with us and drinking. He for sure knows what a cup is used for. Prime example below!

He stole my Wendy's cup on the way to Findlay Saturday! ;) He seriously LOVES cups and also loves when I give him water drops from the bottom of my straw! He's getting so big!

Grayson's also a big fan of a puppet that his grandma Sandy bought him that we thought he'd for sure not like:

We were wrong! He loves that thing!  It's a cowboy and I named him Clarence! He loves when I talk to him with it using a southern accent! Haha.

This week has also brought along firsts with solids. He's tried bananas (not a fan), sweet potatoes (super, big fan of those!) and pears (which he's still not too sure about just yet). I can't believe my baby is eating food! Unreal! He took to the spoon RIGHT away and even tries to feed himself (okay, I'm sure he's just trying to chew on it like he does everything else, but it's still so cute!).

He sat in his new highchair for the first time this morning while trying out the pears I made in the Baby Bullet (love that thing, by the way! Separate post coming soon!). He did SO well in it! After he ate, he just sat there, hanging out, listening to Nate and I talk...probably looking for Clarence? ;) Ha.

The days are going much, much too fast. Please, Lord, slow them down!

Yesterday morning as I was rushing around the house getting some stuff done before my inlaws arrived, I kept hearing some chatting going on, followed by some giggles.

I had to stop what I was doing to walk around the corner of the living room. That's when I saw this:

My boys, hanging out on the floor. Talking about all kinds of boy stuff, I'm sure!

Grayson is so fascinated with his daddy! He notices Nate from a mile away. He loves him like crazy and I love it! Nate really is such a great dad. Grayson is very blessed!

It's been a crazy, busy few days around here, but nothing but good times! Life is grand! :)

so long 26!

dear 26,

you've been a good year for me. full of LOTS of wonderful, happy memories that i am so thankful for!

at 26 i...

went to key west for the first time!

flew on an airplane for the first time!

enjoyed serving at the pregnancy care center.

enjoyed the exciting journey of pregnancy!

enjoyed SO many great times with my amazing hubby!

found out i was gonna be a mama to a baby boy!

found out the true meaning of nesting.

tried LOTS of new recipes.

enjoyed being pregnant with my sister and closest cousin!

tried my hand at handstitching for the first time!

became an aunt for the very first time!

had an amazing baby shower thanks to the best family ever!

put together a very special room.

received THE most amazing gift!

have enjoyed learning about being a mom and 98% of it has been a blast! ;)

have tried to continue documenting this good life as much as possible. :)

relived my youth by going to an nkotbsb concert with girlfriends!

have enjoyed my role as a wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. i have been so blessed!

i'm looking forward to 27 beginning tomorrow! hoping to make it another wonderful year!

month four.

Dear Grayson,

Today you are FOUR months old! I'm not really sure where that time has gone! Daddy and I have loved watching you grow and learn new things this month.

Like rolling back to front!

And hanging out in your jumperoo like a champ!

This month you...

Enjoyed your first fireworks at Orrville Park! You were such a good boy, only fussing once. Right as the fireworks were starting, you fell asleep in grandma's arms!

Went for your first swim in your new little pool and LOVED it!

Noticed yourself in the mirror. Actually, make that EVERY mirror you see! You think it's so neat to see "another" baby!

Discovered your feet. You LOVE grabbing on to them when you're on the floor, in a chair, in your swing, in your crib or when someone's holding you. It simply doesn't matter. You love this new "trick!"

Went to Amish Country for the first time and really enjoyed seeing the horses lined up at Kidron Town and Country.

Absolutely love spending time with daddy. Everytime I say, "daddy or dadda" you LIGHT up! You especially love when daddy shows you new baby apps on his iPhone! (daddy loves this a lot too!)

You are in a size 2 diaper. And are officially in 3-6 month clothes, but are closer to 6 month size now. (this breaks mama's heart just a bit). You love rolling over, but after about a minute or two of being on your belly you start to fuss. Not a fan of being on your belly!

 

Want to sit or stand most of the time. You love to take steps when we hold your hands and always laugh and coo when you do!

Are on the move! You still are not a fan of your carseat, but love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, mama's camera and cell phone, toys that light up, sitting on the couch with us and your pigeon cup for in the bath!

You are also an official supported sitter (I'm betting it's only a matter of time before you're sitting on your own!) and hold your bottle on your own about 60% of the time. You also recognize exactly what your bottle or any cup is for. When you see a bottle or mama's water bottle you instantly open your mouth like a baby bird and raise your head up and out, ready for a sip! It's precious!

You also love the song, "I've got the Joy Joy Joy down in my heart!"-we just started singing it to you a few days ago and already you recognize it and smile nearly the whole time we sing it. You love Jesus! :)

You are mostly sleeping pretty well. Always in bed between 7:45 and 8 p.m. and aside from 3 nights last week where you randomly got up at 3 a.m. wanting to eat and go in your swing, you sleep straight through the night, usually until 6 or 7 each morning!

Each night, as you're having your last bottle, we say our prayers. We think it's important to thank God for all He does and pray for those in need and want you to know all about God!

You love your mobile and you have figured out how to waddle out of your swaddle by morning and love kicking around and turning all over in your crib!  To wake me up, you shriek and laugh and kick your crib, which hits our bedroom wall! I can only laugh when you do that!  

Every morning I sing the "good morning song", which is something super simple that I made up right after you came home from the hospital. You seem to be a fan! 

You still love baths and nap a couple times throughout the day for an hour to 3 hours at a time. Your naps are getting fewer as the days go on though.

You love to play! Right now your favorite toys are this ugly ladybug, your links, the Little Einsteins ball, your star stacker and Sophie.

We have been reading about 4-5 books per day and you are really starting to take an interest into mama talking...and the photos. You also LOVE to reach out for the book, which I let you touch, feel and hold...just no chewing! ;)

We don't know quite what you weigh or how tall you are just yet, as your appointment isn't until next week. But, we can't wait to see how much you've grown since the beginning of June! I say 14lbs, daddy says 15lbs! :)

It amazes me that another month has come and gone. So thankful for all the wonderful memories we make each day. We love you so much and are already so proud of you! You make us SO happy and we thank the Lord for you numerous times throughout the day!

We love you, Budder.

Love,

Mama and Daddy

a morning with the amish

It all started last night when I texted Nate with, "I really want a big bowl of soup!" It may sound a bit odd, but I really did (I am on a HUGE soup kick lately. It's like I can't get enough!) He wrote back, "does Cindy's have soup?"

In case you might be wondering, Cindy's is a yummy diner in Berlin, Ohio which is in the heart of amish country. We love it there. They have the best homemade potato chips and dip in the world. 

Later on, Nate called me while he was on break with a big plan. Haha. He asked if I would be up for venturing to Berlin (today) and going to the Flea Market they have there and then maybe going to Cindy's. Of course I was not going to turn down the chance to go to Amish Country! It's one of my favorite places to be!  Plus, it would be Grayson's first visit (of many, I promise!)

So, this morning we woke up, got ready, put our happy wide-awake baby in the car and drove the 25 minutes to one of our favorite places.

Our first stop was to the flea market so Nate could look for Hot Wheels (shocked? Haha!) Grayson and I just drove around in the stroller. He loved it!

 

Then, we cruised around the market for a bit. Grayson decided he liked the bulk foods and even made funny faces at the Sesame Sticks! ;)

 

After the market, we ventured to an antique store and I just carried Grayson. He LOVED it!  He cooed just about the whole time we were there.  Unfortunately, we didn't come back with any finds. Bummer, man.

Once done at the antique store, we decided to walk around Berlin a bit. We stopped by the bulk food store so I could stock up on baking soda and taco seasoning. You know, the essentials of life! Ha! Grayson was loving the fresh air and riding all around in his stroller. 

In one of the shops he even figured out that his sweet little feet could reach the tray on his stroller! He kept them there for the longest time! He's growing so fast!

 

He never fussed or anything the whole time we were out and about. He just slobbered and smiled wherever we went! Nate ran into Heini's to pick up some cheese while I stayed in the car while Grayson took a snooze.

On our way home, we stopped in Kidron, which is just a couple miles from home and has lots of amish. We love it there! I remember going to Kidron ALL the time when I was little. They have the best little grocery store, produce stands and flea market around.

I picked up some fresh produce and homemade amish bread at one of our favorite produce stands before we stopped to walk the flea market (where Grayson was ooh'd and ahhh'd over at every stop! hehe) and to pick up some meat at the store.

Finally, we stopped to get lunch at Gerber's. They have THE best BBQ chicken dinners around!  The line was quite long, but it moves fast and is always worth it. I love buying local and being so close to such awesomeness! :)

There is something so calming about Amish Country. the rolling hills, the pastures, the pretty, white homes, the many buggies on the side of the road, the simple way they live. I could go on and on and on.

While in Kidron, we were hanging out in the car while I fed Grayson. We were parked near lots of horse posts and it was so fun watching the amish come and go, running errands just like many do on  Saturday, I suppose. Men by themselves, children, families, etc. Lots of amish children walking around bare foot. Gotta love the Summer!

If I could do without my reality tv, internet, car, and central air-I might just consider going amish!! ;) Haha. In all seriousness, I love the amish. I love their way of life and I love all the good food they produce, both in their fields AND in their kitchens! ;)

It was such a beautiful day and one I am very thankful for! I love days like today and look forward to lots more in the future!

PS-I never did get my soup though! ;) Hahahaha!

In the meantime, if you could please pray for this sweet little boy, Aiden.  He is 10 months old and was just diagnosed with cancer. He will begin chemotherapy on Monday and my heart is just breaking for him and his family. But, I trust in the Lord to work miracles in little Aiden and I know he could really use our prayers! Thank you!