~~ Moments In Time ~~

I've finally captured a smile for all to see.

"I may be chunky, but I'm still cute."

I was able to snap this picture in the morning which is definitely her favorite time of day. I even got a couple of other cute ones.

Now this one I thought was just so cute, it's a little blurry but you get the jist of it.

PS This little angel hasn't had a tantrum in 2 whole days!! I know it sounds silly, but I'll take it.

Training Is On!!

As of this morning, we're up and running again. Glad to be feeling better.

>> Two Peas In A Pot <<

Both of our children have now been forced to spend some wonderful minutes in a spaghetti pot thanks to our over indulgent love of pictures. We took the picture to the right when Van was 1 month, 15 days old. The time was of no significance but this became one of the most beloved pictures of his first year. So we decided to do the same for Ava, at the same age benchmark to have a good comparison. Surprisingly, the one who arrived 3 weeks early into this world has caught up quickly to her brother in size and stature and was barely able to squeeze all of her rolls into the pot. Yep, its the same pot. Van was actually pretty comfy there and although he looks miserable, I don't remember him minding so much. Ava, on the other hand, had to be squished and mushed just to fit all of her limbs in the pot and still have room for the junk in her trunk. She was not too thrilled about it. However, now we have 2 great moments in time for our kids to look back on.

As for our Billingsley household, we are all surviving these crazy days. I had to put some of my marathon training on hold due to an infection from nursing, much to my dismay. But, I hope to be up and running, literally, in a day or so. The kids are doing well. Ava is smiling so much more these days but we have yet to capture a really good one on camera. I will post one for all to see as soon as I do. Van is still adjusting to his "coming of age", as we all are, but at the end of the day, when he is whispering his prayers with us and telling us he loves us, we are still the most proud parents there could be for the amazing blessing he is. Please continue to keep us in your prayers for just daily survival and contentment with all of our blessings.

Becky

PS Thought for the week...remember that what we think we really need or want may not be what God really wants for us. Be patient, faithful, and hopeful in all things God does provide.

Starting Is Half The Battle

Day 1 of marathon training is COMPLETE!! Only 23 more to go...

B

>> Perfect No Longer <<

Up until now we have been blessed with an almost perfect little boy in Van. He is a good sleeper, quick learner, well behaved, and an overall joy to be around. However, over the last week, we have made the dreaded dive into the terrible twos. We have been seeing signs since about 18 months, but the line has now been crossed and it seemed to happen over night. His favorite word is NO and he has started throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He tends to keep this side away from most friends and family and makes it a real treat for mom and dad. Over the last few days I have even found myself saying the things I never thought I'd say, like "if you don't stop crying I'll give you something to really cry about", and the good 'ole "you better wait until your father gets home"...neither of which has worked yet by the way. My favorite story so far would be when he took his PB&J sandwich, separated it, threw it face down on the white carpet, then proceeded to step on it for some good smashing. Oh how I'm excited about what's next. He is so smart that I feel like he does things we are so unprepared for. Please pray for our patience and survival for the coming months and years. This little guy will be keeping us on our toes.

B

A Good Baby or a Bad Mommy??

So last night we may have had a landmark night. I put Ava into bed early because she seems to be staying awake earlier but really wanting to crash by 9ish. So I bathed her and had her in bed by 930. She woke up at 12, ate, and went back into bed asleep by about 1am. When I woke up at 7am I realized I hadn't heard from her all night and was so excited that she made it all night. I went in and peeked on her and she was sound asleep in the exact position I left her earlier in the morning. Then I went back into bed for a bit and a little later I was looking at Van's monitor and I saw Ava's lighting up all red meaning there was noise in her room, only thing was there was no noise coming from our monitor. So I reach over, turn the volume up, and hear the baby fussing. Sooo, basically the monitor was on all night, but I must have turned the volume down when I went in to feed her at 12 and never turned it back up. Therefore, our little girl could've had her first all night sleep fest, or I could be a horrible mom and never heard her cry because I didn't have the sound on her monitor up. I like to think its the first scenario...1 because she was in the same position as I left her and was sound asleep and was even happy when she did wake up...and 2 because I don't want to feel so horrible about the thought of her crying for us and just leaving her there when she's so young. I'll let you make the call.

So I got some bummer news last week. My "wonderful" job that I was so excited about may not actually work out. After some emailing back and forth between me and the company it looked like I was about to start. And then out of the blue, on Friday, I got an email from the lawyer telling me that she basically needed to reevaluate her needs and if I had other opportunities she didn't want me waiting on them. She said she would be in touch in a few weeks after she gets things settled down a bit. Honestly I'm not sure how to take this. Part of her note sounded like they were still going to hire me, part of it made it sound like she just didn't want to say she didn't need me anymore so if I could just go somewhere else it would be easier. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed about this. I was really hoping this was going to be a good opportunity for me and my family. We're keeping our heads up and figuring if this is God's will for us, it will work out and if not, God will give us other opportunities and continue to provide for us. So if anybody knows of any work available that I can do from home, I'm open to everything. Otherwise, back to Craigslist I go.

So I went to the doctors last week for my 4 week check up and I wasn't as excited about my weight loss this time around. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm fat, I just enjoy being thin. So after looking at Self and Shape magazines the whole time I was in the office, I left feeling even more deflated. Therefore, I have decided to take on a task of a mini marathon. Okay not really marathon, I want to take on the 5K (about 3 miles) of the Long Beach marathon in October. Mike said he'd do it with me and so did my good friend Megan. Of course I'm motivated right now, even though I'm not even exercising yet, but hopefully it will hold up until October. Wish us luck.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll be back again in a bit with some new pics. Hmmm, maybe Mike and I will become photographers....

Becky

Happy One Month Birthday Ava!!

Just one month ago our little girl was brought into our lives. I can't say she's brought a lot of excitement since she's so mellow and like her mommy, loves to sleep. But she has brought endless moments of us thanking God for all of our blessings, sweet moments of love between brother and sister for mom and dad to witness, and a feeling of completeness for our little family (Mike would say we're not complete, but those who know me, know I say different). She is still a good sleeper, starting to really enjoy awake time looking around and following anything colorful I put in front of her, and giving us beautiful little smiles so inconsistently that they catch me off guard and I have to hold back little giggles. She holds her head up pretty well and loves to scoot across the floor or my tummy if I let her lay there. Here's some pics of her that I still don't believe do her justice, but we'll keep trying. Enjoy!!

(Okay so he's so cute I had to include this one of him, forgive me, he's my weakness)

I'll be in touch again soon.

xoxo

Becky