jack marshall ebright.

well, it happened.

another baby got out!

started timing contractions at midnight...

up all night tracking...

at 6 am woke micah up, took him to a friend's house, and went to the hospital!

wasn't dilated/contracting enough to be admitted, so we started walking the hospital.

by 9 am it was go time, and jack marshall was born at 12:37 p.m.,

7 lb 12 oz, 20 inches long

so here he is!

oh, and that last pic? micah when he was supposed to smile while giving baby jack his present. possibly my favorite picture of all kind. literally no reaction.

sweet words of the day.

for a toddler who has quite a range of emotions, seeing the sweet side of him melted my heart today. 

when in the car on the way to my OB appointment, micah said, "micah love God." random, but melted my heart.

then, at the OB, he told everyone, "hear baby heart! micah love baby. baby loves micah!" (of course, he said the baby's name, too, so a lot of strangers now know more than our friends. whatever.)

i mean really. it's like it was on purpose for his super pregnant (and apparently 3 cm dilated?!) mom!

second birthday party!

here are some quick shots of micah's second birthday party... zoo theme!

we had the party a month before his actual birthday of october 18, since baby brother is due october 14.

one last birthday of not sharing the spotlight!

 zoo animal cupcakes... they're walking on grass

kangaroo kabobs.

shark teeth.

lion veggies.

and then we had "animal feed"... aka tacos and toppings and the "watering hole" for drinks!

the party getting started...

the petting zoo of animal crackers for party favors.

 the readers... and the dodgeball players. haa

2nd birthday cake... with the animals walking on grass and on his special birthday plate

cupcake. i don't have pictures of him actually blowing out the candle on the real cake because we took a video... but he didn't want to eat the cake anyway. cupcakes are WAY better, mom.

the crazy process of trying to open presents with kids all around to help.

so much joy!

happy (early) 2nd birthday, micah!

turns out, he's quite the party animal.

i thought he may get shy, since we crammed 25 people in our house.

but he loooooved every second being the center of attention, seeing all the animals everywhere, and playing with all the family!

now, baby can come aaaaany day!

finally. decorated a room.

two months from right now, i'll either be four days overdue (thus a literal terror to all around me), or something will have happened: hopefully, prayerfully, we'll have a brand new healthy little boy added to our family!

so, a lot of prep. august is my "actually-finish-both-boy-rooms-so-I-don't-lose-it-completely" month. (in case you were wondering, september is my "stop-denying-labor-is-coming-and-start-kegeling-all-day-every-day month). one room is finally finished. only took me since the end of may...

 

open closet... mostly so i don't have to think about him smashing his fingers!

 reading nook

 yes, that's a CRACKER BARREL rocking chair. 

it even has the stamp on it to prove it. 

possibly the best garage sale find anyone has ever found?!

oh, and a naked fireman running around, holding his diaper that should be on him. all in a day's work.

learning my kid.

so, i recently had an epiphany.
i'm not going back to teaching right now. which was kind of killing me. this is normally my most favorite time: decorating the classroom, buying school supplies, not sleeping because i'm so excited about fun lesson plans and meeting and loving new students.

but not right now... right now, i just have one child (and one growing baby!) to think about...

and my child is no longer a baby.
i am no longer just providing for his physical needs.
and it's so exciting.

now, i get to do the part i've really been waiting for... learn who he is!
try to help/guide him to become a man of God.
try to figure out how to discipline him in a way that helps him learn and understand.
all while raising a toddler. who threw himself on the ground in meijer today. because he only got to ride the horse twice.

man alive. it's terrifying.
you could mess up in a lot of ways.

but SO exciting! so, here's what i've been learning/inwardly laughing at about micah, and if you don't care about micah, skip it... you'll fall asleep while i get gushy for a minute:

1. he is always listening. to my phone calls, to what i say to matt. he will repeat things i say about him back to me... already. like today, i told my mom on the phone about how he had a plastic bat and started saying, "hit mommy. hit baby." and then hit my belly (obviously, disciplined...). when i got off the phone, he started telling me how "micah mommy sad. micah hit mommy. micah hit baby."

2. he LOVES learning. truly a geek. knows all uppercase and lowercase letters, all colors, counts to 20, recognizes to 12, knows the written words from one-ten, knows his shapes, animals and animal sounds, and is always shocking me with all the names he knows, songs he knows, places he knows. one of his favorite activities is flashcards. really.

3. he is very attentive to feelings. when he has a fit, he'll say, "micah crying!" or "micah whining." when we're at somewhere fun, he'll say, "micah happy!" "micah SO excited!" emotions are so interesting, learning sad and mad and happy.

4. he thinks he understands about God. it's adorable. he has a Noah's ark set, and calls the people, "Noah and Abraham," when they're really Noah and his wife.  He wants to pray to Jesus and then to God before meals and bed.  today, he did his first prayer totally on his own, saying, "thank you Jesus food, mommy, micah, bailey, daddy. thank you God. amen."

5. he comprehends way more than i give him credit for. without discussing, he'll explain an entire book or episode of daniel tiger... and he'll continue to rehash situations or random events for weeks after them.  case and point, he's repeatedly talked about going to the park with daddy (two weeks ago), "rocks in the water. eeew duck. goose. ducks. baby duck. eat bagel. bagel gone!"

6. he has to be clean. he'll clean his hands and the table about 20 times during a meal. he won't climb on the couch if he sees crumbs. he'll pick trash up everywhere and find trashcans. he'll freak out if his hands get dirty.

7. he's very loving... when he wants to be. he kisses a mole on my arm every day, thinking it's a booboo. when the barney song, "i love you" comes on, he runs over to kiss and hug and cuddle.

meanwhile, we're constantly on the edge of a meltdown in one way or another, always trying to learn how to handle meltdowns and tantrums and feeling like i should start reading parenting books. so, so stubborn. 

i may not be teaching in school this year, but i'm pretty excited to get to teach him new things every day... and selfishly love that he loves the ridiculous things i come up with.

like this! inspired by pinterest, but using the supplies i had and adding a bit to it... super simple, but entertaining and easy for a pregnant mom :)

basically, the muffin tin has a different uppercase letter written in each cupcake liner. the eggs have matching lowercase letters written on the inside of them. i put the egg together, throw it... he runs to get it, opens it, tells me what letter it is, then finds the matching cupcake liner and puts it in the spot. 

works on gross motor (running), fine motor (opening the egg), and uppercase and lowercase letters. and he loved it!

andddd end micah-obsessed post.

parking lots.

now that i have a walking toddler, parking lots have changed dramatically.

first, there's the fact that i'm constantly trying to hold his hand so he doesn't get run down by a car.

but then there are the distractions that i never knew existed:
-license plates. those are letters and numbers just ASKING to be read aloud.
-car colors. they must all be shared.
-any signs of any kind. every letter must be said aloud.
-any people around? well "hi, people!" has to be yelled. over and over until acknowledged.
-any median of any kind filled with anything must be explored. if said median is filled with rocks, plan to stand there for 10 minutes as rocks are picked up and thrown.
-every piece of gum on the ground will be touched. no matter how many times mom says, "ew, please no."
-every crack must be stepped on and the words, "BIG BUMP!" will be yelled.
-anything to climb, walk through, or presenting any interesting texture will be explored.
-if there are trees, we will stop to look for squirrels. if a squirrel is seen, you will be late to wherever you're going next.
-every bird/butterfly/bug will be chased.

basically, the parent ends up looking a bit crazy. and the trip just takes so long. sure, i could herd him along faster... but he's supposed to explore and i'm not technically in a hurry, though generally i have to pee. 

parking lots mean something very different to me these days!

food, celebrating, and crafts!

this past week or two has been filled with so much fun!

4th of july = my parents were here.

and then this happened...

the week after = my friend katie was here.

so this happened...

and i made this art for micah's room!

 then, july 13 was my birthday = my friend susan was here. and then katie was back. 

and this happened:

and then last week, we filled our time with lots of play dates and time loving on micah in between intense bouts of bad mood due to teething, 

so this happened:

 picnic in the front yard after time at the library and explored toledo zoo!

matt put these up, making progress on the slowest room transformation in the history of the world, due completely to laziness.

so, so fun though!

 then, july 18 = our five year anniversary. and we still love each other!

some friends watched micah and matt surprised me with reservations to our classic celebration spot, melting pot. aka, pregnant woman's dream--lots of food and lots of kinds of food.  we went there to celebrate one year of dating and then one year of marriage a few years later!

 holy meat.

 the gift for five years is wood...

so i made jenga (made of wood, duh) into memory jenga from the last five years of marriage... thinking that it would be fun for our kids in a few years as a family game night game! 

matt got us (me) a long wooden votive candle holder, engraved with our initials and wedding date, to be a table centerpiece... it's just on order from etsy :) 

since then, we've just been loving summer. ice cream, pool, soaking up these last months of having an only child!

oh, and i've made a few new things lately! i had my free birthday loaf of zingerman's bread, so...

made homemade garlic bread, which everyone does, but somehow i never knew it was so easy?! and good?! why did i not know.

 just mix garlic, basil, garlic powder, parmesan cheese into the butter, slather it on, cook and add cheese after a few minutes. literally rocked my world.

and a sweet family gave me delicious treats from great harvest bread company for my birthday, including cheese bread, so i made pesto chicken breast sandwiches, grilled with mozz and dipped in marinara. literally all about that bread. i'm salivating thinking about them. and it's not due to pregnancy.

then i tried a new chicken recipe (ignore the pile of cucumber... i hate salad right now, but i'm trying to still eat vegetables...)

it's called chicken francese, and i got the recipe here

so great for summer!

that's it.

we have to keep soaking it up before things get crazy again!