Typing with one hand.

I have obviously fallen short of my blogging intentions, but typing with one hand is hard.

Now, don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of opportunities to type without a baby in tow, but I use those moments to SLEEP!

Lola Harper was born on October 19, healthy and beautiful. She is the most amazing little thing. So content, a great sleeper (this is me knocking on wood), and very patient (I can tell this already because she puts up with her incredibly silly, very active two year old brother!). I have been able to stay home for the last two months and I couldn't be happier. I love being a mommy so much and cherish the time that I get to spend with my littles. Jude has done so well welcoming his little sister. I can honestly say that there has not been one moment where he has shown jealousy or frustration with her. I did not know exactly what to expect, but I definitely did not expect him to be so mature. From the instant that he met her, he has been in love.

This is Jude running to meet his sister!


Loving on Lola.


My big one month old!


Over the past 7 weeks, we have been blessed by sooo many people. We are grateful for all of the wonderful meals, the precious gifts, and the acts of service we have received. Thank you to all that have blessed us in these ways. It has made our time sweeter and much less stressful!

A quick update of Lola's first few weeks:

-Born Wednesday, October 19 at 12:57 am.
-Came home on Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30 am
-First outing for doctor checkup on October 20
-10 day check up and Halloween on October 31
-First road trip to Waco/Austin for cousin Kinley's first birthday party.
-First smile on November 15
-Slept for 5 straight hours at night on November 19
-One month check up November 22 (23 inches-96%, 10lbs 12oz-87%)
-Second road trip to Temple/Waco for Thanksgiving November 23
-Sleeping in consistent 4.5-5 hour stretches every night starting December 3


We have loved being a family of four and couldn't imagine a life without our sweet Lola.

This morning, Justin got Jude out of bed, brought him downstairs to our room, and turned on cartoons. I had just finished feeding Lola so the four of us got to cuddle in bed. Justin then got up and made donuts and brought them to us. As Jude scarfed down one too many, I sat back and thanked God for my family. No amount of money or 'thing' could ever compare to the memories we are making. God has blessed me, indeed.

Thanksgiving 2011

One year ago, Justin and I were going through quite the financial crisis. With a business that did not succeed, lots of debt, and news that my new job was not stable, I worried…a lot. God does not call us to live in fear, to worry or doubt, but He calls us to live in faith and to trust in Him. To worry is to reject the very essence of God’s provision over us. When we worry, we negate our faith/trust in Him.

I recently mulled over the definitions of faith versus trust. It is so easy for me to say that I have faith. I fully believe in our God, the one who is unseen, the one that gave His own son for ME. I have faith that my God is my protector, my shield, my deliverer. But…do I TRUST him? Do I fully trust that my God will not harm me nor forsake me? Worry is a selfish act that separates us from our Father. When we worry, we deny our need for God and our trust in Him and believe that we can fix things on our own.

Because of the fall, things will never be perfect on earth. There will always be stresses in our life that could lead us to worry. God never promised us a perfect earthly existence. He only promised us a perfect eternity.

So, back to last year…
I definitely struggled with trusting God. In my heart, I knew that God would never leave me nor forsake me, but in my mind, I was constantly trying to figure out ways that I could fix our situation. I was distraught over our financial situation. Jude was almost one and it just did not seem practical to think about extending our family until we could get our finances under control. Justin and I had a plan. I would find another job and we would work hard to pay off debt, then we would think about having another baby.

It really is funny that we think we know what we need! Despite our plans, on February 15, 2011, I found out baby number two was on the way. I will be honest and say that I was in a complete state of shock. On one hand, I could not have been more thrilled. On the other, I could not have been more scared. How were we going to take care of and provide for two babies? How could we possibly afford this? I wanted to thank God for giving me the rich blessing of a child, but wanted to also question His judgment!

As I sit here this Thanksgiving, my heart is full. I have tears of joy as I think about God’s abundant grace and faithfulness. I am thankful for His provision and HIS plan for my family. I am thankful that God works in me, despite me. And, I am thankful that God gives me forgiveness as I work on giving up control and trusting completely in Him.

“He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” Deuteronomy 32:4

40 Weeks!

Well, October 17th came and went with no LOLA!

On Friday, I started having somewhat consistent contractions, so I thought for sure that she was on her way. By the time that I was able to leave the office and get to my midwife, my contractions had completely stopped. So typical, haha. Though the midwife said that I had not progressed much since my last appointment, she still advised me to come in on Monday (yesterday) to start a natural induction process. They think that sweet Lola is getting pretty big and they know her big brother was 9 pounds and was born in 6 short hours!

Our families headed up to Dallas for the anticipated arrival on Sunday. We had everything planned out for how Monday would go. At 7:00 on Monday morning, Justin and I woke up, loaded the car, and headed to the birth center for our 8:45 appointment. I kind of had a weird feeling, like a "this is not going to happen" feeling, but we brushed it off as nerves and proceeded anyway.

Once my midwife (a different one from Friday, but the one that I usually see) saw me, she seemed quite hesitant about any kind of induction. She said that my body just did not seem ready yet and that we should probably go back home! Not exactly what I was expecting to hear, but it actually kind of relieved my gut "I-don't-feel-ready-yet" feeling. So, I dropped Justin off at work and headed back to tell the news to my family. Thank goodness they all live relatively close and they were none too bitter about the 'wasted' trip!!

So, on Monday, instead of having a baby, I walked, napped, took Jude to the park, and mowed the grass. I figured if mowing the grass did not start labor, nothing I can do will! Today, I am back at work, bouncing on an exercise ball, and praying she makes her arrival soon. Adjusting patients with a large 40 week pregnant belly is becoming quite difficult!

Below I have posted the most recent belly pics. The 40 week one was taken early yesterday morning, hence the 'sleepy eyes'.

38 Weeks



39 Weeks



40 Weeks

Waiting for Lola...

Lola's nursery is officially done. All we need now is the sweet girl who's going to occupy it!

I am very thankful for a creative husband who thinks outside the box and is also able to bring my ideas to fruition. He did a great job with her room. I am also thankful for sweet friends and family who contributed to the nursery by way of furniture and decorations. I absolutely love how everything came together!

Quick Pregnancy Update:

I have been really bad about blogging. I actually love to write, and love updating the blog, but I am just.plain.tired. Between working insane hours, commuting all across the metroplex, spending time with my sweet family, and being exhaustingly pregnant, I just haven't found the time to 'journal' as much as I would like.

Though I know I have complained a lot about the heat, getting huge, etc., I have actually really enjoyed this pregnancy. With Jude, I had pre-term labor and spent the better half of my last trimester lying in bed. So, it has been such a relief to be able to "fully function" up to this point. I say "fully function" in quotes, because I don't know if waddling around constitutes true functionality.

Miss Lola is growin' and a growin'. She is still a mover and shaker, a night owl, and sweets lover. It is fun to try to guess her personality by her in-utero tendencies. Justin is confident she will be quite the rebellious one. I will give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she is just strong-willed. Anyhow, I can't wait to see and kiss her sweet face. And, I can't wait to see what my two boys will think of her. I just know that Justin will be the best daddy to a little girl, and Jude clearly already loves her (see video below)!

We will finally finish her room this weekend and I am so excited to see the finished product. It is a modge podge of several styles and ideas. And I think it will be perfect. I will post pics as soon as it is completed! Here are some more belly pics. Please excuse the excess of pony tails, t-shirts, and shorts. Like I said before, it is hot, and stretchy, comfy clothes are all I can handle, ha.



31 Weeks:


32 Weeks:


34 Weeks:


35 Weeks:


36 Weeks:


37 Weeks:

My pregnancy so far

My pregnancy so far:

This week marks 30 weeks; only 10 more to go (hopefully less) until we get to meet our sweet girl. I am so eager to see her, hold her, introduce her to her big brother. I can’t help but wonder what she will look like. We she look like Jude, blue eyes and blonde hair? Have red hair like her aunts? Be dark complected like her uncles? So many combinations of traits!

One thing that I do know about Lola is SHE LIKES TO MOVE. Jude always moved a lot in utero, but this girl has a CRAZY amount of energy (I think we may be in trouble here!). I seriously do not think that there is a single 30-minute period in the day or night that I do not feel some sort of movement. She likes to abruptly push, steadily lean, and vigorously kick.

Overall, this pregnancy has been pretty easy. I actually like being pregnant, although Justin may think otherwise with all of my complaints (most of which boil down to the fact that I’m hot, no pun intended, or super tired chasing Jude-bug around!).

Although I think that I have grown at an absurd pace, I guess I just forgot how big you actually get when pregnant (especially when you grow nine pound babies!). Looking back at pregnancy pics of Jude assures me that Lola isn’t some giant, I just feel big.

We still have quite a bit to do before Lola arrives. Her room has not been painted and we still have some furniture that needs to be re-finished. Poor Justin will have his hands full over the next 10 weeks; luckily, he is super talented and will be able to pull off all of my crazy ideas with perfection.

I will keep you updated as the room and pregnancy progress, but for now, here are some belly pics from the past few weeks.

19 Weeks:


21 Weeks:


23 Weeks:


25 Weeks:


27 Weeks:


29 Weeks:

Jude at 18 months

Jude,

What you have been up to (and in to)…EVERYTHING!

Wow. You change everyday and it constantly amazes me the things that you learn. Language development is such a fascinating thing to witness. You learn new words every day, and I am shocked by your understanding and implementation of them.

Words that you can sign:
Ball, football, cat, dog, momma, dada, brush, teeth, cracker, juice, drink, water, apple, fruit, banana, cheese, more, please, thank you, sorry, yes, no, game, shoe, stars, bear, outside, tree, leaf, bye-bye, clean, shirt, diaper, all done, milk, I love you, bat, sad, sleepy, baby, gentle, pray, eat, play, up, down, help, hot, cold, hat, hair, nose, ear, listen, mouth, book, signing, time, flower, rain, wind, snow, stop, dirty, chicken, balloon, hurt, fish, peach, pear, share, nice, cry, play, friend, nice, pray…

Words that you can say:
Momma, dada, ball, bath, bat, eat, cracker, juice, treat, outside, dog, Oscar, Gigi, Deeda, Pops, Zane, Leif, bubbles, play, Lola, cheese, banana, grape, peach, uh oh, whoa, done, up, down, bye-bye, baby, hot, cold, more, hat, moon, God, amen, book, dirty, yum, chicken, balloon, wash, fish, Gabba, share, game, yes, no, turtle, frog, pool, walk, nice, sad, friend, bed, water, diaper, silly, belly, bite, teeth, brush, push, nose, phone, shoes, shirt, stuck, tickle, star, help, fork, snack, me, mine, I want…and probably a lot more that I am not thinking of. It is crazy how fast you pick up on words and use them. You practically learn a new word every day! You are one smart little guy.

You have such a joyous personality; full of life and full of your Daddy’s sense of humor. I so pray that you keep your silly spirit! I just love watching you and listening to your contagious laugh. You do have a serious side, though. Like your Momma, you like to be in charge and point to exactly where you want to go and where you want other people to be. It is cute now, but I am sure down the road, we will have to talk! You love to dance, love to ‘go crazy’, play outside, play any kind of sport, jump, laugh, and EAT. You also absolutely love the movie UP. You don’t get to watch much television, but for some reason, this movie has you hooked. You can literally sit and watch the whole thing, which is crazy because you NEVER sit still!

You are a TURKEY. I know that you are beginning to learn the difference between right and wrong, and you choose to what is the most fun! I can see a stubborn streak running through you already. It is definitely going to be harder to discipline you than I thought that it would be. I just can’t stand to see those big blue eyes cry. But, I know that it is for your best interest, and luckily, your sad eyes don’t have the same affect on your daddy! We know that testing our limits is part of your learning process and you are learning well! In all honesty, you have been soooo easy and actually mind pretty well.

You have recently become very interested in praying. We have to say multiple prayers at each meal and at bedtime, which Melts.My.Heart. A few weeks ago, you were persistent about saying your own prayer. You would not let me put you down for the night until you could say your very own prayer. With your fingers tightly clasped together, you so sweetly prayed (after repeating me) “God, (signed thank you), for Momma, Dada, Lola. (Signed I love you). Amen.” It seriously brought tears to my eyes. As your mommy, my main goal (along with your daddy) is to teach you to love our God; to honor Him with prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and action. I cannot wait for the day that you make your own personal decision to follow Jesus.

We love you, Jude Prehn. And can’t remember what our lives were like before we had you to chase around, worry about, laugh at, and love on.