For Mother's Day...

Dear Lord, It's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since you called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, finding shoes
And other things that children lose

Fitting lids on bottled bugs

Wiping tears and giving hugs

A stack of last weeks mail to read,

Where's the quiet time that I need?

Yet, when I steal a minute Lord

At the sink or ironing board

To ask the blessings of your Grace

I see then, in my small one's face

That you have blessed me all the while

And I stop to kiss that precious smile...

Happy Mother's Day!

Less-wordy-than-usual Wednesday!

I recently let Lincoln have his own ice cream cone for the first time. It was so cute!! He LOVED it!

Going in for the kill...

Heck Yeah!

Havin a fudgesicle with Dramaw

Big Pete...

I just love this "cheese" face!

Our first bath!

Dramaw and Pap Vincent

Going for a wagon ride! Finally, a day without rain!

One week old today!

Loves him some Pap.

(that's fudgesicle, not lipstick)

Nana and Papa Jonas

My new John Deere yard tractor!!

Lincoln - 18 months

Look how BIG I am!!!

Lincoln has had a VERY interesting 18 month "birthday." Since baby brother decided to make his appearance the day before, I hate to admit it, but we were a day late in taking our monthly picture... Surely he didn't change too much in one day!

Either way, Lincoln is not TOO sure about this little guy... We are "adjusting" shall we say...

But this post is all about Lincoln, so here goes! (And I know, he's gonna hate me for that picture!)

Lincoln now weighs *just* shy of 28 pounds, and is 34'' long. That puts him at 76% for weight, and 92% for height. He is wearing 24 months, and can wear 2t shirts (pants are still a tad big). We're still in a size 4 diaper, and we are up to a 6 extrawide shoe.

He is literally running everywhere, and trying his best to "hop." His favorite game of the moment: chase!

His vocabulary has really made a leap since the last entry! He'll attempt to repeat pretty much anything you ask him too, now. But his favorite words are: "tractor" "beep-beep" "ouch" and "naw" ( his version of no). We are pretty sure he is fluent in some foreign language; we just can't figure out which one it is!

And if you want to make this kiddo happy, all you have to do is find a tractor or a bulldozer! I bet we have 300 tractors/cars/pieces of equipment in our living room floor at any given moment. And you better not even think you're gonna mow without inviting Lincoln! Ashley is scared to death that someone is gonna call CPS on us for letting him ride on the mower... But it's his favorite thing!

Actually, as long as we're outside, we're generally happy. Here he's helping dad fill in some dead spots in the grass with fresh dirt and seed.

He's such a happy baby. Or Toddler. Or whatever.

His favorite foods: fruit twists, chicken nuggets, cheerios, madarin oranges, cheese, grapes, and juice. He's a good eater, and he wants to do it all by himself! Mr. Independent.

We are blessed to have lots of friends with kids Lincoln's age, so there's always someone to cause trouble with. I say we're blessed now... When they're teenagers, remind me that I said we were blessed.... ;)

We love you so very much, you little Stinker. There's nothing that makes my day more than one of Lincoln's big hugs and sloppy kisses...

Welcome Liam Owen Morris!

Presenting: Our Family of FOUR!! In posting pictures for this entry, it hit me... OMG... I have MY OWN family of FOUR!! I can't believe God has entrusted me to take care of these two precious babies - but ever so grateful that He has! Anyways, onto the story!

I was planning on an induction on Monday, April 25th - but after my appointment (where Dr. Foster "stripped my membranes") I guess that big ole belly just didn't want to wait 4 more days! After questioning for five hours whether I should go in or not (due to 5 minute apart contractions!), I happened to think: I'm already dilated 4... If I wait and dilate much more, there is a chance I won't get my epidural... And off I went to triage!! ;) We had to spend the night in triage (boo) and they admitted me at 7 am on Good Friday morning. I was dilated to 6 by this point, so she broke my water and started the show! Oh, and incase you wondered: I DID NOT miss the epidural... I got it around 8 am!After 6 minutes of active labor (I'm allowed to brag about it on my own blog...) we welcomed Liam Owen Morris at 1:36 pm April 22, 2011.He weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz and was 20 inches long. VERY close to Lincoln's measurements which were 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 21.5 inches!We wanted to make sure that Lincoln was one of the first to meet him, so mom and dad (who were watching him for us) brought him over to meet his new little brother! Needless to say, at 18 months, he was much more interested in all the gadgets in the room. Not to mention the water fountain!I must say, there was a little stress involved as every time I had a contraction, Liam's heartrate dropped. My nurse (Candy) was *trying* to appear like it wasn't a big deal - but something about her calling the doctor and putting oxygen on me made me feel like it was! Turns out, Liam's cord was conveniently located around his neck at birth! He was okay, it was just enough to slow his heart rate at times. Scary!When Lincoln was born, only two people were allowed in the room at a time (due to swine flu), and this time, there were no "rules" so it was MUCH less stressful!Dramaw and Pap VincentUncle Nate and Aunt KristenNana and Papa JonasUncle Brad and Aunt JaimeLincoln helping Liam take one of his first bottles!Since no one was watching, Lincoln decided to steal a little snack!What IS THIS that everyone is making a fuss over??This picture just captures the full effect of Lincolns thoughts. See how sweet and innocent he looks? Then see that raised hand? I guess he thought Liam needed a birthday whippin...I had to take these sweet bunny ears - since Liam was born on Easter weekend! Ashley REALLY loved these bunny ears... (sarcasm - obviously)Going home on Easter Sunday! He looks so tiny compared to our BIG BOY at home!Mom and dad (okay, mom) had fixed us an Easter dinner when we got home from the hospital. She is the absolute best... We even got to give Lincoln lots of Easter stuff! This picture is SO sweet... Dramaw gets to stay this week to help me out with TWO babies! She is helping me with nighttime feedings, cleaning the house, cooking meals, etc. Am I spoiled or what?

Lincoln loves her so!

Take a look at these two pictures. Is this amazing or what?? They look like little clones! If Liam had more hair, I swear I'd have a hard time keeping the pictures straight!

I'm so looking forward to watching these two grow up together (and hopefully grow to LOVE each other!!). I am so very grateful for all I've been given...

Dramaw is so fun!! She's using Lincoln as a mop!