Dear sweet boy,

You are growing into the sweetest momma’s boy and I absolutely love it! You definitely love your big brother and your daddy too, but I’m crazy about that special bond we have. You give me the most precious smiles that I love so much, and watching you search the room for me when you are upset, is the sweetest thing to see.

I’m rocking you to sleep right now in your room which seems to be taking a lot longer than normal thanks to that scary Wonder Week #4. I remember this one being a doozy with your brother but I don’t mind the extra cuddles. You have gotten so big in the past month and feeling the weight of your body rest against my chest will never get old.

I’m still figuring out all the many ways you are you and so different than Solomon. Even from the beginning, in almost every single way, you have been his opposite. I don’t say this as a bad thing at all, but you have definitely kept me guessing. It is super sweet how we have settled into our rhythm now and we understand each other. You have your quirks and I look forward to them everyday. 

You wake up so happy and are almost always smiling, unless you aren't getting enough attention. You definitely love your eye contact and will demand to be seen if you want it. I can see bits and pieces of a very stubborn boy in your personality, which makes me a little nervous. Thankfully, your happy moments definitely outweigh the stubborn ones! Your hair is growing so quickly and getting thicker and darker, and your big brown eyes make me think of your daddy all day long. I love how much you look like him and I pray that you have his gentleness and learn his patience, too. 

You are my happy boy and I love watching you grow so quickly! You can slow down anytime now....

Love you so much!

-Momma

& a special naked baby shot, cause I can't resist blowing raspberries on that belly!

stats //  20.5 lbs & 26.5 in.

eating // during the days he is normally 3-4 hours apart but after his late nap he usually eats every 2 hours till bedtime.

sleeping // he is still such a great sleeper!! We had a little bit of a rough patch at the beginning of the 4th leap, but I'm hopeful that we are over that now. The past two nights he has slept for 7 hours straight, and two nights in a row makes me really hopeful!

His typical day includes a 9:30-11:30 nap, then a 1:30-3:30 nap and one last nap around 5:30 that will last for an hour at most. He usually wakes up just in time for me to go get him before I can eat dinner... ;)  then he will go to sleep for the night between 9-10.

wearing // definitely out of all 6 month clothes and mostly wearing 12 month and some 9 month. The 6-12 month clothes from Gap or Old Navy really fit him well though! 

firsts // we celebrated Easter with two bunnies this year, battled the dreaded thrush for a while, had his first vacation in Cancun, had his first bottle & actually liked it so mommy and daddy could go on a date, and stayed in the church nursery for the first time!
favorite things // talking and even growling and squealing at times, hitting things with his hands, watching Solomon and anything he's doing, sucking on his fingers and his upper lip (which is so cute, just like his brother did!), and he's getting better at tummy time & trying his best to roll over. 

weekly three.

Some weeks are a crazy roller coaster in this life as a mother, and this one has been one of the craziest for me, thus far. I have lost my temper, cried from frustration, asked my toddler for forgiveness and then cried happy tears when things turned around for the better. Each week is such a blur and I don’t even understand how our baby boy is seventeen weeks old today. I have also felt such a heaviness on my heart this week with it being Infertility Awareness Week. I know so many close friends who have struggled with a long journey in becoming a mother & I never want to take for granted the miracle I have experienced twice now with my two boys. I try my best to work endlessly to create little disciples for God and His kingdom. I also want to take time out of my crazy busy days to truly sit in thankfulness and pray for those who want to become a mother. It is such a huge responsibility and a blessing that I will forever be thankful for. 

HUGE flowers from our yard that have made me smile all week long in the kitchen

Spring is so beautiful and I love noticing the green trees and changing colors all around

Friday mornings at Swamp Rabbit and enjoying lunch before it's time to leave!

& by leave, I mean drag my screaming toddler to the car because he doesn't want to listen to mommy. Fun times! Happy Friday!! 

thursday nights.

A couple Thursdays ago, we had such a fun family date night at Quest with one of the best food trucks I've ever tried, Keepin It Fresh! Beer, great food, and live music... I was so excited! Thursday nights are usually pretty chill for us and I told Peter we should go every week. HA. He said maybe once a month. I love to find new things to do outside as a family and I really love how breweries are the perfect family friendly activity now. There are always so many kids and dogs hanging out, which is so fun! 

I had the brussel sprout salad with chicken  and it was seriously amazing!!!

Peter had the tuna nachos and they were pretty good too, but Solomon's super fancy grilled cheese was so good! It made me think of that food truck movie, Chef. 

Mmmmm!!!!

Asher was so chill and loved looking around at all the kids playing and listening to the live music!

And if the perfect weather didn't make me have all the summer feels, then this little caterpillar sure did! It was so cute to watch Solomon's face as he watched it crawl on Peter's hand. Unfortunately, it will be raining tonight, but next week I hope we can make it back out to Quest for a little family date night! 

our trip to Cancun.

I've been trying so hard to get this post finished but it kept being pushed aside. We got home on Saturday night and I shared a late weekly three post on Sunday that gave a glimpse of our trip. And of course I shared bits and pieces of our days and nights on Instagram while we were away, but I really love to share all the special moments here. It's so nice to have all the fun things that filled our trip and all the little things that I probably would forget if I didn't have the chance to record it on my blog. One of my favorite things to do is look back at our past travels on my little Cloud Nine, after all. 

Since this was Asher's first big trip, and his very bad history with car rides, I was understandably nervous. The sweet boy is so happy and lovable, but he isn't quite as chill as his brother, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well he did! We had two flights to Cancun and then two home, both times he barely cried. He nursed, slept and then woke up with smiles and then slept some more. Solomon did very well also, and enjoyed having his own seat most of the time. So thankful for these happy little travelers!!

We went to find some amazing food and margaritas as soon as we arrived to our resort since our all inclusive didn't start till the next day. We ended up coming back to this same restaurant for our last meal before heading home since the all inclusive ended at 4PM on our last day. It was very good, and the atmosphere was so fun.

Solomon was so excited to spend time with his cousin from NJ since we don't get to see them as much as his other cousins. I love that they got to make so many fun memories together! Asher also had a lot of fun watching them play in the water while we spent most of the time in the shade. 

The views from our patio were to die for. Waking up and having coffee or midday snacks out on the porch was so nice. 

Daddy definitely got to enjoy most of the playtime with Solomon since I was taking care of Asher. We were both exhausted each day and took naps with the boys most of the time. I love the picture below of Peter, it really shows how tired he was after a day in the hot sun and making sure Solomon didn't drown in the pool. HA! And of course it shows how stinkin cute Asher is, also!!!

The gorgeous views for dinner each night were also a favorite part of the trip. I loved seeing the sunset while we had dinner and tried our best to get a family shot of us four. This one above is probably the best one and I love it. 

All of these pictures of our balloon hats are so grainy and blurry but I couldn't resist sharing them. They are so funny and happy (besides poor Asher) and captured the moment so well. I was so surprised they made a hat for Asher, and so was he, as you can tell. Don't worry, we took it off once the photo was taken. I also love how Solomon is stuffing his face in the pictures. He definitely enjoyed having dessert every night after dinner. 

Solomon flying his first kite! So cute!!

yet another beautiful night with a perfect view... & those arm rolls on Asher make me almost die. I can't handle how yummy he is!!!

I was so thankful for some sweet moments with Solomon during the trip too. He is definitely a daddy's boy lately, and I love watching them together, but I really love it when he wants his mommy close by. I'll take all the cuddles and kisses I can get!

Our last night all together at another beach so the boys could play in the water. The beach at our resort wasn't the safest for them to play, so it was nice to take the ride on the big shuttle bus to this calmer beach. It was a really sweet way to end the trip!