2 1/2 year old Andrew Asa and 8 month Leah Kathryn

Summer is almost here!  Just one more week until summer!  Wow!  I have been so blessed to work at Dartmouth.  I am sad to leave because I love teaching there, but so excited to get to be with my babies for the short amount of time before they go to school! 

Leah:

She is such a spunky girl!  Not sure where she gets that from.  ;) She loves to grab everything in sight and analyze it.  If she cant reach it, she will try and try again.  Then, she will cry and Andrew will come to her rescue...so sweet!  She knows what she wants and isnt afraid to let us know (dont know where she got that from either)  She is scooting backwards and rolls to get where she wants to go.  I anticipate her crawling in the next month.  She absolutely is a joy to Aaron, Andrew, and I.  Andrew LOVES her and will tell us what she needs anytime she is crying.  For the most part, he is right!  She has also started babbling more consonants.  She will say dada and gaga, along with the aaa and ooo.  If you have been around her for any amount of time, you know she has the uuu sound perfect.  Our sweet girl grunts all the time.  In fact, she grunts instead of cries most of the time.  We laugh because it is not so girly.  :)  I know all of her determination will pay off, but Lord please give us patience in her teen years. :)

Me and my Girl!

 Daddy and his Girl!

Miss Blue Eyes...

 Andrew is the most thoughtful, encouraging, and aware boy!  His wife is going to be so lucky!  A little story for you Ags (only my Aggie friends will understand the saying):  A few weeks ago, we were hanging out with the Bowen clan and Andrew asked Dana (39 weeks pregnant), is there a baby in there?  She reply yes and Andrew told her, it is so beautiful.  We laughed and smiled because what more could a mommy who is about to give birth ask for.  Andrew is definitely cuddly and every time he is in a shopping cart, he must hug you at least every time we go down another aisle.  We love that about him!  He also tells us that he loves us sooo much.  I can not wait to soak all of this sweet love from my boy when I am home full time! 

He is beginning to be interested in learning the letters and sounds (which I havent pushed), but am so happy to teach him now.  He loves to learn and when he does, he likes to learn it to depth.  His understanding of people and relationships really amazes us sometimes.  We love the toddler stage when it comes to exploring and learning...maybe not the discipline part.  :)

As a segue into disobedience:  this is Andrew, who ran to get to the bathroom and climbed right in...I told him sissy was getting a bath, not him, but he obviously had other plans.  At the time, it wasnt funny, but now I can laugh about it.

Me and my Boy!

Aaron and our babies!

 He will read us stories (that we have read to him over and over) and he will get entire phrases on every page correct!  He loves us to read to him. :)



Graduation and Dedication

We dedicated Leah to the Lord on May 13th.  She looked absolutely precious in her dress that Lovey and Pop Pops bought for her to wear.  Her verse is:  Psalm 73:28:

"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  I pray this for her, that she take refuge in the Lord and praise him all the days of her life!  We are so thankful for our healthy little girl.  She makes us laugh and smile every day!  We can not wait to watch her grow and become a wonderful young lady!

Precious Leah!    Family of four! :)

During the dedication...                                                Our babies...:)

   

 Leah with her Great Paw and Mawmaw.

Graduation, May 12th, 2012!

Aaron graduated from SMU on Saturday!  He worked so hard to finish!  He even did it with having two kids during it!  Talk about tough...but we couldnt have done it with all the support of our friends and family!  God protected and provided us through it all!

A special thanks to: 

-our parents!  They came and helped with the kids whenever we asked...all four of you are selfless and we love yall very much!

-the Bowen's!  They listened, encouraged,and entertained us throughout!  They have also come to our rescue in watching our kids!

-Our Community Group:  They have prayed for us and given us encouragement throughout.  They also provided meals when we had Leah.  And a special thanks to Kim and Jessica for watching our kiddos when we were in a bind. 

-Our Friends...there are too many to name all of them (we are super duper blessed), but they have all loved, encouraged, listened, helped, hugged, laughed, cried. and celebrated with us through all the ups and downs!

I know all of you will continue to support us as we move forward with Aaron working and me staying home.  And for that, we are extremely thankful!  We thank our God for every single one of you!

Here are a few pics from the graduation!

Aaron in his academia outfit!  Gotta love the hat!  :)   

 Family :)

 Proud of my hubby!  He worked hard!

Behind the scenes wrangling of the kids! :)

7 month Leah Bear and Drewber Smooch

Oh my goodness! What a busy time in our lives! We have been going here, and there, and everywhere! We would not change it for a second and thank God for everything He has given us. I hate that I grumble about my life sometimes because it could always be worse. I need to once again list everything the Lord has given me and remind myself how BLESSED I truly am.
 So, here goes:
-my handsome hubby
-my 2 healthy, happy (most of the time) babies
-my job
-Aaron's new job
-the opportunity to stay home next year! (This is I sooo excited about!)
-the blue whale (aka-my mother in laws van, that they have let us borrow for the year because they are in England)
-our house
-my wonderful parents, who will drop anything to help us and spend time with their grandbabies!
-my awesome in-laws, who love us and our children unconditionally and support us in anything we do (we have paid for a sitter once, this is how great my parents and Aaron's parents are)
-our community group, who has come together to support and pray for us in the past couple years and no matter what will help out one another
 -Dana and Trey Bowen, who are always there for us, in any and every circumstance
-Kim Probst and Jessica Wickersham-who have watched our children last minute because Aaron nor I could stay home
-my friends,who are there to always talk me through a situation or just listening ear
-manicures and pedicures
-date night with my hubby :)
-modern medicine
-food to eat
-a church that we love
I know there are more people and things that I havent listed..but this is a great reminder. :)

What is happening with our family...
-Any day, Baby Bowen is arriving (we want to know who this baby is!)
-Aaron graduates May 12th!
-Aaron starts new job on May 21st
-My last day of work is on June 1st
-June 2nd is my first day as a stay at home mom! (well, if you know me, I will be getting out often:)
-We welcome a new Lovelace baby(not ours, Jackson Paul, our nephew) early July
-Aaron takes the bar at the end of July
We have a lot going on!!!
We are so thankful for all of these changes and slightly nervous, but know everything will work out just fine! :)




What is happening with our babies... Drewber Smooch (this is a nickname that Aaron has given Andrew...he even calls himself that)
Things he is doing lately:
-having a conversation with us
-self entertaining
-being demanding and then asking nicely right after we correct him (2? I think so!)
-understanding that when people leave, they will come back
-singing, singing, singing! The amount of songs he knows is crazy and he sings in tune. Makes me proud. :D
-putting on his shoes, he gets really mad when he cant get them on correctly (2? I think so!)
-telling secrets: I tell him, "You're my favorite boy and I love you soooo much", he says, "can I tell you a secret?" and then whispers, "I love you soooo much"- we always have a moment of sweetness where we are both smiling really big, which I love
-he loves wrestling with daddy and knows this is a daddy only tradition

Leah Bear (this is her nickname for now :)
Things she is doing lately:
-eating veggies, fruit, and oatmeal cereal like a champ, you cant feed her fast enough!
-rolling from her back to stomach to grab a toy
-sitting completely by herself and reaching really far for toys
-babbling
-grunting, grunting, grunting-she doesn't cry for the most part, just grunts (very lady like :)
-grabs anything and everything
-notices people, noises, and anything that changes in her environment
 -sleeping in her crib
-sleeping through the night for the past week- 7:30-6:30 or 7! :)
-wanting to be held, or played with, or entertained (i don't know who she gets this from) ;)

Aaron and I absolutely love being parents and are so thankful God has allowed us to have them! They enrich our lives, make us crazy (at times), and are answers to our prayers! I do pray they come to know Christ because I know that He gives me purpose, direction, comfort, peace, and forgiveness. I want this for them!

Here are some pics of our lives lately... :)

Fun with hats! :)
                                                

My hubby is a goober. :)

Fun day with friends at the Arboretum! :)

                                                                      Kisses for Sissy!

Reading before bed...the Bible is his favorite, as well as, Ten Apples Up on Top. :)

DJ Drew

 Hangin with my babies :)

 My son really loves his toys, even at nap time! :)

 Andrew and Buddy eating lunch and watching The Lion King. :)

 Sweetie Pie. :)

Lots of pictures!  I am so glad we get to chronicle our lives with pictures and blogs. :)

Happy Easter!!!

We had a wonderful time with family this weekend! Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Ari, and Cousin Sami came for a visit. We hunted easter eggs, had a birthday party for our niece Sami, and went to church. It was great hanging out with them! We also had fun visiting my parents to eat and play. We are beyond blessed to be in Dallas and I am so excited we will be staying here after graduation!!! Aaron starts his new job at the end of May! The Lord has heard our prayers and answered! We have also made the decision that I will stay home next year with the babies! We are both anxious and excited to begin this new chapter! Thank you to all of our family and friends who have prayed with us throughout law school. We could not have done it without yall!!!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...
Our family...Drew was so thrilled to take a picture. Typical 2 year old...

Andrew Asa- Easter 2012

Leah Kathryn- First Easter 2012

Checking out his Easter basket goodies! :)


Cousins! Another baby, Jackson Paul will be added in June or July! (not us, Aaron's brother :)



Jeremy, Ari, and Sami :)

Aunt Mel and Sami Gail

Easter Egg Hunt! Andrew was done after he figured out that there was stuff inside. He caught on really fast though. :)



Fun at Grams and Pawpaws! Drew recognized their house when we pulled up! He always says, "My Grams and Pawpaw" :)



Before...:)

After...:) Love Him! My best friend! :)

Leah absolutely adores her daddy! So sweet!

Thanks for letting me use your sink for a bath Lovie and Pop Pops! :)