One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This lovely mess occurred while I was making dinner. I think it is past time for the child locks on the cabinet with carpet cleaner and dish washing detergent. This little girl cannot be trusted :)

William Randal

I thought it was about time to "officially" (since anything posted to the blog makes it official) announce our baby boy's name. As with all of our children, we are using family names. Baby boy's full name will be...

William Randal Kuper

William - After J's grandfather on his mom's side, William Samuel Thompson. According to anyone who knew "Sam" he was a kind-hearted man, loving father, dedicated husband, and brilliant engineer. Grandaddy passed away this year and we miss him. We couldn't be more proud to name a son after him.

 (J golfing with his Grandaddy)

Randal - We have always known that if we were to have another boy, his middle name would be Randal after my dad, Randal Paul Gross, who passed away when I was 9. My dad loved his wife, loved his kids, and most importantly he loved Jesus. Our prayer is that our little William Randal will love the Lord as passionately as his grandpa did. 

(Dancing with my Dad)

Thanks Pop Pop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J's dad, "Pop Pop" stopped by the other night with dinner and a fun new summer toy for the kids. He's such a great grandpa, he even ran through the sprinklers fully clothed with Trip! This was the highlight of the week. Thanks Pop Pop!

Only the Beginning

 

 

Anna Kate has always been fascinated by shoes. She loves trying to put them on her feet, and our little shoe "drop zone" is one of her favorite place to play. I'm sure this love of shoes is only the beginning!

Gak!

 

 

 

 

After a recommendation from a friend, and after Trip saw something similar on "Sid the Science Kid", we decided to make our own Gak. It was a lot of fun to make with Trip while Anna Kate napped, and she enjoyed playing with it when she woke up.

Brought back memories of slime from "Double Dare" and "You Can't Do That on Television"! Good ole Nickalodeon :)

I Highly Recommend ...

Give them Grace

Although I am only half way through, I highly recommend Give them Grace by mother/daughter team Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. It was on our "recommended summer reading" list from Bible Study Fellowship, and I have simultaneously been challenged and comforted by it. I think whether you have children or not, you can learn something from this book. It truly is a gospel-centered book on parenting.


(From the book)
"Grace is stronger than all our work and all our weaknesses and it is made perfect when we humble ourselves before God's desire to glorify his Son and not our great parenting."


"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (II Cor. 12:9)

Getting Ready for the Beach

Trip decided to put his goggles on Anna Kate when we were packing our beach bag. The entire process looked very uncomfortable to me, but she just sat their and let him stretch the goggles over her head.

This honestly makes me a little nervous for the future and all of the things he will easily convince her to do! He already cheers her on as she climbs on top of things they both know she shouldn't. Then, he'll proudly call to me, "Look Mama, look at what Sissy's doing! Good job Sissy!"

 

 

 

Success!
 

Trip, flexing his muscles with pride after accomplishing the task!

 

Bat Girl!

 

 

 

Trip dressed Anna Kate up in his Batman costume. They were both so proud! I guess when you have an older brother, you wear super hero costumes instead of princess crowns and tutus.

Often, Anna Kate wears one of Trip's big t-shirts to sleep in. The other day I was in a rush to get to the grocery store after naps and threw some flower leggings on her with her blue sleep t-shirt (not the best fashion choice, I'll admit) and we all ran out the door.

After a dozen, "Look how cute your two boys are!" comments, I decided to always carry a bow in my purse to stick in her hair!

25 weeks

Trip is giving his baby brother a kiss in this belly shot.

I asked him if we should go buy his baby brother a blanket like his, and he said, "I will give him my blanket!"

He is very curious about how his little brother will get out of my tummy and says he will hold him first at the hospital.

This baby boy is so loved already!

Rosemary Beach Family Vacation

We just returned from a wonderful week of family vacation in Rosemary Beach, FL. This was the maiden voyage for our suburban, and a test of how well our 1 and 3 year old's would do with 4 days of driving. We were invited by family friends and Cupcake to stay for a full week. The 6 bedroom house was just a few minutes walk to the beach, and we practically had our own suite in the basement of the house where the kiddos could run around and be loud without bothering everyone who wanted to sleep past 6 a.m.!

Here is Trip at one of our stops on the way down. I was thoroughly impressed by this kid's ability to hold his liquids. I thought for sure we would be taking potty breaks every hour. Turns out, it was his pregnant mom who needed the most stops. He was perfectly content (actually, I think he was in heaven) watching back to back movies the entire way to Florida. One of his eyes even became blood shot after staring at the tiny screen for 12 hours!

Not surprisingly, it rained on us the entire drive there and part of the drive back. The forecast called for rain every day, and there were "no swimming" and "dangerous sea life" flags up on the beach the first 2 days. Who was the first one stung by a jelly fish? That would be me! Day one, hour one. On day two, Trip joined the club with his own jelly fish sting. We both toughed it out, but I think that scared him from the water for at least another full day. Thankfully, after the first two days, the weather was close to perfect.

It is an understatement to say that this little angel was not made for the beach! We lathered her with sunscreen and protective gear to protect her pale skin, which I'm sure only made the experience more miserable. For the first two days, we weren't really sure what to do with her on the beach. She had sunscreen and sand in every crevice and she was not a happy camper. We finally figured out that she loved playing in the water, just not in the dangerous waves. So, we would set her up on Trip's boogie board with buckets of water and toys, and from then on she was a champ.

 

Isn't this picture cute!? Trip is actually taking his first potty break in the ocean, but from behind it just looks like a cute father/son moment. J said that Trip peed all over him :)

The house we stayed at had this really awesome golf cart that we took to dinners and around town. Trip called the golf cart "my car". The town of Rosemary Beach is a little family paradise. Everyone rides bicycles or golf carts around and there are families everywhere.

One of the few family pictures captured. I left the memory card to my camera at home, so all of these pictures are from J's camera. Side note: J and I decided that Anna Kate throws of the camera's white balance. You almost can't see the sweet girl, only a flash of light!

 

 

 

 

One of the best parts of the trip was having J's cousin and her family just minutes away in Seaside. We always want our kiddos to get to spend more time with theirs. They are so sweet and fun and really loving to our little ones. Trip looked like he fit right in with the boys, and Anna Kate and Kathryn look like they could be sisters. We met up with them for dinner and had a day on the beach together. 

Anna Kate enjoying some milk after THREE donuts at Charlie's Donut Shack. We rented bikes and rode them there early one morning thinking that our early risers would make us the first ones there. Apparently lots of people had the same idea and they were almost sold out by the time we got there.

Right next to the house was the neighborhood swimming pool. With no ocean swimming on the first few days, this proved to be a life saver! Trip loved the pool and it did a great job wearing both kids out.

Check out that boy's eye lashes!

 

After all of the gear we made AK wear to the beach, she was happy to swim in her diaper only at the pool!

 

 

Here is Trip roasting marshmallows with one of his favorite people, Mr. Trey. Trey and Trip were kindred spirits because they are both the third. Trey and J also share the same birthday.

Every ounce of this daddy's girl was satisfied with a full week of non-stop attention from him. 

Here is the whole group. From left to right: Jordan and Trey (Janalyn's daughter and son in law), Janalyn, Trip, J, Anna Kate, Kay Lynn, and me :)

Janalyn and Kay Lynn are childhood friends, and Kay Lynn is Jordan's godmother. It was such a blessing to get to spend time with Janalyn and part of her family. They were all so good and patient with the kids. Trip called Janalyn "Ms. Jaywen" and I think besides Trey, she was his other favorite person. He is still talking about how she swam with him in the swimming pool. And Anna Kate, who gives everyone the evil eye and serious stare these days, decided that Jordan was the only one she would be sweet to.

I think we learned on this "vacation" that there truly is no relaxing with little ones, but we're okay with that. We know it is only a season, and they will be running off to find their own adventures soon enough. We filled every minute with time spent together and lots of wonderful memories. We are so thankful for the blessing that this trip provided before our slightly crazy family of four becomes a seriously chaotic family of five!

Thank you Guerkinks, thank you Cupcake, and praise be to God for family vacations!