family time in april

the past two weeks have been so fun as we have gotten to spend time with family here.  my cousin, lauren, and her boyfriend, casey, stayed with us for a couple of days at the end of march.  jude loved casey's teeth - and casey was smart enough to bring along an extra pair for jude :)

We had a wonderful Easter today at our church here in Boston, CityLife Presbyterian.  And then we drove to New Hampshire to have Easter lunch, Easter egg hunts, and Aunt Liz's birthday celebration with my wonderful family that lives there.  I am SO utterly grateful for these sweet moments with family as I know they are coming to an end all too soon as we move to Asia next month.  Can't wait for our next family vacation in 2014!

This is the only picture we managed to get with most the kids in it - and this is a pretty accurate depiction of what it was like TRYING to get all the kids in the picture.

an early spring

It has been unbelievably warm here - we've been having july weather this week - highs in the 70s and today even up to 80!  We never get days like this in march!  Unfortunately, it's not here to stay, so we've been trying to get outside as much as possible while it lasts.  I thought I'd share some shots of the boys playing at the park (cemetary) a couple of days ago.

jude's favorites

here are some of jude's favorite things right now:

wrestle time with daddy before bedtime.



dancing.  he daily requests the "na-na" song about 30 times a day at least. as you might can guess - the "na-na" song is "hey jude."  he gets a REALLY big grin on his face in the part of the song where it goes "na, na, na, na na na na, na na na na, hey jude...."  for the first time, i think he realizes the song has his name and he thinks they are singing to him. :)  he loves to dance (he gets this from his mama)





and learning new words.... he thinks it's hilarious.

happy 2, jude wicker!

after bringing jude home from hospital

my precious little 7lb baby i brought home from the hospital on valentine's day 2 years ago, is now running around my house weighing in at 30 lbs.  the time really does fly.  last year, i could not believe how fast his first birthday seemed to come - knowing i would never have the baby days with him again.

jude's first birthday

he loves all things choo-choo trains, airplanes, trucks (any mode of transportation really), jumping on our bed, doing the laundry, holding his baby brother, laughing, eating hot dogs, wrestling with his daddy, playing outside, wearing his rain boots and tie (often together), dancing, and much more.  He is an amazing bundle of life and it really is hard to remember what life was like without him.

jude in said tie and rainboots

jude unloading the dishwasher in his hat and texas football jersey

my prayers for jude:
- that God will save jude at a very early age and that he won't remember a day when he didn't know the Lord.
- that God will use his laughter and joy to encourage and bless others
- that God will use Jude's strong will to make him steadfast, and unmoving in the Gospel rather than to rebel and pave his own way
- that God will use Jude's observant, serious and sensitive sides to include "the least of these" and be mindful of the needs of others around him.
- that God will use Jude's affectionate nature to love Christ with his entire life and to love others as himself.
- that God will use Jude in Crosby's life to strengthen and encourage him in the faith.

i love this little boy more than i ever thought possible.  i am so grateful to be his mother and i love sharing my days with him.  he truly is a gift from God.  happy birthday, sweet baby jude!  you are no longer a baby, but a precious little toddler full of life and exuberance!

cloth diapers begin

the day has finally come that i have run out of the free diapers i stocked up on for jude from before i was even pregnant :) until now.  i had to go to the store today and PAY (albeit half price) for diapers for jude.   i have a couple of months worth of crosby's size, and then i will be paying for diapers for 2 (as well as filling up landfills for 2).  i think it's time to start potty training.  i know that jude just turned 2 last week and admittedly, it is a little difficult to discern what jude means when he says pee-pee....it means a miscellany of things from pee, to pizza, to pirate, to please, etc. etc.  this can be confusing.  Poo-poo is a little more clear as it is only used for its intended meaning, but it's less of a warning call than it is a declaration of an existing diaper condition.  if i were really chinese, i would be potty training crosby as we speak with a nice little whistle in the ear - but who am i kidding; i can only pretend to be chinese for so long.

So, the timing of this great blessing could not have been better.

back in october, I applied for a cloth diaper grant from a company called cotton babies.  they have a grant program for families who are serving overseas.  I just heard back in january that we were awarded the grant, and i could not be more thankful and excited (greg is a little less excited about the idea).

so two weeks ago, we received a very exciting package in the mail - cotton babies sent us an entire bundle of bumGenius cloth diapers and everything we need to do cloth diapering.

 these diapers are incredible as they are adjustable and grow with the baby from 7-35+ lbs!  this was a wonderful gift and we are so thankful for this company and their generosity!  jude had a lot of fun helping me open the box and pulling everything out.  my living room now regularly looks like a laundromat with a clothesline and little diapers hanging on it.

we are currently on day 3 of cloth diapers.  advice from any moms on this topic would be greatly appreciated!  why does the bedroom smell like crosby's poop when I keep them zipped up in a wetbag?  and why didn't the poop stains come out when i washed first in cold, then hot and double rinse?

crosby's baptism

crosby was baptized into the covenant community at our church, CityLife Presbyterian, on january 29th.  it was a really sweet morning with our church family here in boston and we are so thankful for our friends who essentially help us raise these precious children in the instruction of the Lord.  dr. lints, a professor and dear friend of mine and greg's, administered the sacrament and another dear friend, Kwang Chin Kim prayed for crosby and our family.  dr. lints' explanation of infant baptism is so clear and encouraging.  The video is below as well as a photo from the day.

some fun moments in january

jude loves holding crosby

new year's eve with our close friends in boston - jude's first time to sit at the big kids' table ... next to and across from the two loves in his life - nora and liana.

crosby is the sweetest, best baby.  he is so easy that it is often easy to forget that he's in the room when jude is around.  i am trying to snuggle with him as often as possible even though our schedule is so busy because i know these newborn days are fleeting.

i love these moments.  jude loves to crawl up on my legs on the glider as i'm feeding crosby, lean his head back on the boppy, prop up his leg and read with us.  

crosby at one month old