Iron Man Tony Stark

Jackson received an awesome gift in the mail today. It all started a couple of days ago when my mom discovered this year's supply of Halloween costumes at Costco. They had an Iron Man costume, and she snapped it up immediately. 

The very next day, Jackson and Terry took a trip to Costco, and lo and behold, the Iron Man costume was at our location as well! Oh, how he wanted us to buy him the costume. I suggested that he call Grandma and tell her that he would like the costume for Christmas. 

When the mail came today and he saw that he'd received a package from Grandma, he asked, "Is it my Iron Man costume?!!" So without further ado, here are some photos. 

Oh, and the Arc Reactor?? It glows in the dark. You know how we know this? Because he's currently wearing the costume (minus gloves and helmet) in bed. 

Thanks, Grandma. You sure know your grandboy. 

P.S. Jackson has also asked that Grandma supply Daddy with his own Iron Man Costume so that they can match. 

The 4th of July, Spaulding Style!

We had a pretty mellow 4th of July celebration here. My parents were in town for Lilly's 1st birthday (how in the world is my baby one year old already?!?), so we had them over for sloppy Joe's, deviled eggs, potato salad, and various sweet treats that may or may not have included real whipped cream. We sang some patriotic songs and waved glow sticks around, compliments of my parents. And then Jackson chewed open one of the glow sticks, sucked out the glowy goodness, and puked all over the floor. Apart from the vomit incident, a good time was had by all. God bless America! 

Time is Speeding By

Just two minutes ago, this happened:

How is it possible that THIS is happening now???

How is my baby almost a year old already? It truly doesn't seem possible. I'm trying to savor every little moment to make it last just that much longer. I'm trying to burn each second into my sleep-deprived brain so that I can recall exactly what my kiddos little voices sound like or how their hair smells when they wake up from their naps.

I'm so thankful for these little ones. I thank God for the opportunity to be their mama every single day. These moments speed by, and I am so grateful that I get to be present during these sweet, sweet days of early childhood. 

Thursday Goings On

I love this serious picture of my girl. Very rarely is she not smiling. But her big brown eyes are just so beautiful! 

A pre-nap story with my boy.

Darth Vader Needs Sleep, Too

You can't tell that Jackson is dressed up as Darth Vader here since he's almost entirely covered up by Frankie the Real Love Blankie (yep, the blanket has a name. And yep again--the boy came up with it all on his own). Literally one minute before this picture was taken, Darth was telling me that since he is a grown up, he no longer needed naps. But even grown up super villains need to rest every now and then. 

So it's been a while...

I think the last time I wrote, Jackson was only a year old. Our big boy is now three years old and has added a new title to his resume: big brother.

Lilly's first moments. Photo by Rachel Neumann

Lilly Jo was born on June 25th, 2013 and was full-term (praise God!!). She LOUDLY announced her entrance into the world. As I was wheeled down to the recovery room, I asked the nurses if the blood-curdling screams coming from the next room were from my child. They just laughed at me.

Siblings and a superhero cape.

Jackson and Lilly adore each other. He is a sweet, thoughtful, loving big brother. He calls her "My baby."

My heart pretty much explodes when I see pictures of the two of them being adorable together.

Where has the time gone? He's so big!

My handsome guy.

The tongue. Yep. It's out most of the time these days.

"Hey Mama! Want to see my silly face?"

"Look at that, Mama! Isn't that so silly?"

Muscles!

Pure Joy

More pure joy

My beautiful girl

This girl loves her mama.

I'll write more later. Life is very different since I last wrote, but it's wonderful and chaotic and miraculous every day. I'm so grateful to God that these two amazing kids call me Mama.

All photos, unless otherwise indicated, are by Kate Noah