snow day

Over the Christmas weekend we had a good amount of snow on the ground. It was time to get all bundled up and have Blake really play in the snow for the first time and to have Alexander out there as well! This winter Blake understands more of what snow is and I was excited to see how much (or even if) he would like playing in it.


I can't move, ma!

My little snow bear

He plopped right down in the snow and was as happy as a (clam? - doesn't really fit) polar bear. :)

Baby's first time "out" in the snow. He looks happy.

First time touching snow! (Yes, I had to do it. But it was quick and he suffered no ill effects besides a bit of frowny face. He went right inside afterwards to get all toasty warm.)

Tramping through the snow is hard work

Wiping snow off the tree stump

Blake just LOVED playing out there. He didn't mind the snow at all and got right into everything.

He even tried to eat some. Yum.

Aunt Dani and Uncle Sam were having fun playing with Blake

making a mound of some sort

Baby Alexander

I know I haven't even shared the story of how this little guy came into the world, and I will get to that at some point, but I figure you'll enjoy some pictures in the meantime.


My baby burrito.





This kid makes the most interesting expressions. Here are a few of them.

Baby's first bath. He doesn't look too happy in the water.

Its hard to take pictures one handed

The ordeal is over and he survivied.

All cleaned and dressed (and ofcourse just shortly afterward he spit up all over himself. Oy!)

Aww, such a little guy

Most people say he looks more like me than his dad.

Blake is a great big brother. He really is very affectionate with Alexander.

Someone to watch over me.



While all of our family was in town, we took the opportunity to go ahead and have Alexander baptized. Our family sure was a sight up there! Blake must've thought he was on stage and needed to entertain his audience because while we were up there he pointed out people he knew and made faces at the congregation. I had a couple of people tell me that they had to look away from Blake or they would start laughing. I tried my best to stop him but its seems as though he couldn't resist. ;) Also Alexander started fussing almost immediately once we got up front. Our poor pastor had to raise his voice to be overheard by the unhappy whimpers. But despite these things, it was a wonderful event and we are humbled once again that God has given us another child to be parents of. What a blessing it is to have the godly responsibility of raising children to know and love the Lord!

Poor James had to try and calm the fussing baby. We probably would've switched kids but Blake has been very clingy lately and we knew if James held him that he would instantly be asking for "mama!". So to avoid that embarrassment, we had me holding Blake and James with the baby.

The pastor baptizing Alexander.

one month

When my sister Sunny asked what I would like as a baby gift for Alexander these adorable monthly onesies that I have seen all over other blogs popped into my head. And luckily for me, she was thinking the same thing! I love how they keep a visual log of the monthly age of a baby's first life and how you can clearly see the vast growth difference from month to month. So I was thrilled when I received them in the mail and saw 1 month-12 months all neatly packaged and ready to be used.

I am a couple weeks behind on posting this as he is now 7 weeks old but with the holidays and then getting sick there was just no time to post this. I plan on using the same chair and pillow for each month's shot so I have something to judge his growth against. So here goes!

Month One:

You were born at 7 lbs 5 oz and by your two week appointment had jumped to 8 1/2 pounds. So you are chunking up just fine. Nice little thigh rolls have already started to develop and your face has filled out with little plump cheeks. Methinks I will never have skinny babies.

You have been very alert. Hours in the day are spent wide awake and taking in your surroundings. You seems as though you don't want to miss any of the fun!






You make the most varied expressions I have ever seen on a baby. The facial exercises you contort your face into make me laugh. My mom said that my youngest sister used to do that a lot. So maybe you got it from her!

You eat very quickly and then end up spitting up a alot. Sometimes I sing "there's a fountain flowing deep and wide" when I burp you because that's pretty much what happens. But that's okay. You're still new and trying to work out all the kinks in your new little body. I am patient and have bought stock in laundry soap. ;)

That newborn smell! Ahh, I don't think I ever remember much of that with your brother but I totally get what every one talks about now. You smell wonderful- with or without baths. haha







You are not quiet or still for very long. You like to move! The doctor commented on how strong you were and how you were ready to crawl off the exam table. I am wondering if when you get bigger, you will keep me constantly on my toes? I know I certainly did for my parents.

We're still working on getting into a schedule. Since its been basically family and holidays this whole month and not being home a lot, its been difficult to get into a predictable schedule. But that will come once things settle down I am sure.

You had a good amount of hair at birth but I can tell you are losing a bunch on the top. Hopefully you won't be as bald as long as your brother was.







I think you are adorable and pretty much everyone else around me tends to agree. You have great clear blue eyes that just soak up everything. Your little ears are perfectly formed, you have a little full mouth, and a cute little nose. Most comments have been on how much you do NOT look like your brother. I think most of us were expecting you to look a little more similar to Blake since he is a carbon copy of your dad but you seem to be more of me. You look like your brother when you are fast asleep and all your features are relaxed but when you are awake you look totally different from him. Maybe those Finnish genes of mine are more prominent in you.




Your big brother just adores you. He loves to share his toys with you and go up and say "hi baby Alexander!" with a big smile on his face. he is always ready to give you kisses and hugs and he tries to comfort you when you are crying by asking "what's wrong?" I am so excited to see the two of you grow and play together. And I know you will be the best of buds.



There have a been a few challenges this first month with adjusting to life with two little guys in the house and how I can divide my time between the two and still keep my sanity and every one else's but adding a new member to our family has been the best thing that has happened to us this year. We are so thankful and overjoyed (albeit a little bit more sleep deprived now) to have this little baby here. We already can't imagine ife without him!

*And thanks to Aunt Sunny for sending us the onesies that make these monthly posts so much more fun to do! I love love love them!

Christmas Time

We had a busy month in December what with adjusting to life as a foursome with the arrival of little Alexander and having far away family come into town to visit during the holidays. Both of James' brothers and their families who all live out of the state were able to join the family living here. It was the first time in four years that we were all able to be together and as a whole, we have added 4 new kids to the mix since then! We had a great time relaxing and catching up with everyone. We were able to see our newest (and only nephew) on the Gregga side, baby Cameron, who is 5 months old; and we introduced Alexander to the rest of the family. Blake had a great time with his cousins and was sad to see them all go. He loved having all his Aunts and Uncles around and getting to know them in person instead of just through pictures.

I haven't done any editing to these photos so please excuse me if they aren't the best shots. ;)

My boys in coordinating outfits the Sunday all the Greggas were together.



Our new family of four!




All the Gregga cousins (in unplanned matching outfits!)
Isabelle, Alexander, Sophia, Blake, and Cameron




Christmas Eve at James' Aunt and Uncle's house.

I tried to get a shot with Blake and his cute reindeer sweater-this was the best one. Ha!

He was fascinated with the fireplace "fire, hot!"

Christmas morning under the hung and filled stockings

Our tree with presents underneath!

Blake was actually very excited about Christmas this year. He was fascinated with our Christmas tree and the twinkling lights. He also had plenty of days leading up to Christmas to open presents and he loved getting new toys.

Ooh, new hot wheels cars

One of his favorite things to get- plastic cups! (James and I have plastic drinking cups in our bathroom and Blake always asks for them so he can stack them together or drink small amounts of water out of. I spotted these in the $1 bin at Target and knew he would love them. Great stocking stuffers!!)

Baby's first Christmas!

The boys together on Christmas morning. (I love the look on Alexander. He makes faces like this all the time!)

All my boys

Out of the mouths of babes

Its fun to hear what is going on in my little boy's mind. He is picking phrases and words up as fast as he can and is starting to show off his imaginative side. Here are a few cute things he has said or done in the past few weeks.

James and I were watching some tv and a guy got knocked out and/or fell down and Blake looked up and said "he go night-night".

Blake's favorite thing to do right now is to snuggle with me. So he will say "snuggle with mama?" and can sometimes get pretty descriptive of where and how he wants it to happen... "snuggle with mama, upstairs, bed, blanket?" So we'll go snuggle under the covers for a little bit. Usually its no more than a minute and he is done but its still cute.

I heard him playing in his room and he said "wah, wah, I cry" and continued to do various fake cries and would say "I cry" right after. ;)

He can be pretty opinionated at times and says "I don't want it" in reference to an object. So it could be "i don't want it milk", or "i don't want it book", etc. Last week while we were in church, James was holding him while I held up the hymnal and Blake reached over for me and said "mama, mama! Don't want it Daddy!" and started to fake cry. James and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at this scene before he took Blake out.

He likes to put two cars back to back and imagine that its a train. He will also put one car on top of another and say its a "car transporter".

He kind of knows the first two questions of the Children's catechism and one day I asked "who made you?" and he replied "God". Then I said "and God loves you very much", then he replied "all things". haha I explained that yes God did make all things but that wasn't what I said. I thought it was pretty cute though.

He sneezed and then said "bless you!"

He had a blanket wrapped around one of his stuffed animals and called it a "baby".

During worship at church he gets a very serious look on his face and will put his fingers to his lips and say "hush" and fold his hands in his lap. Usually after church he likes to find a hymnal and will open it up and start singing.

Before every meal he will fold his hands and say "let's cray (pray)". Sometimes he will do his own prayer that sounds a lot like some gibberish with different people's names thrown in and a lot of "daddy work" before saying "amen!"

We are trying to teach him to ask for forgiveness after he has disobeyed so we tell him what he has done wrong and say he needs to say "sorry". Once he does then we will say we forgive him. Well, the person who was in nursery at church yesterday said that one of the other little kids kept acting up and she would ask them to say sorry and each time Blake would chime in and say "sorry". She kept trying to explain that Blake didn't do anything wrong so he didn't need to say "sorry" but he didn't quite grasp that. :)

Sometimes if I ask him to say "thank you", he will say "thank youwelcome".

He can be very charming and if I tell him not to do something he will try to distract me by smiling real big or acting goofy. It can be hard to keep a straight face with him sometimes!

Sometimes if he passes gas he will smile real big and say "I fart!" What is it with kids and gas? ;)

A little while ago I had to buy Blake some new shoes as his others were getting small. He didn't like his newer shoes since they were a bit tough to get on. I told him we had to break them in because they were his new shoes and the other ones were too small. So he now will say "socks and new shoes?" in reference to the newer pair even though they aren't quite new anymore.


Blake certainly makes me laugh everyday and the things he comes up with keep me entertained. What a joy it is to see this little guy develop into a person with his own thoughts and imagination as he tries to figure out the world around him. I'm so glad I have the privilege of being his mom and witnessing his development on a day-to-day basis!

training for worship

Worship is very important to our family and we love going to the house of our Lord every Sunday to sit under the preaching of the Word and to fellowship with our fellow saints. Our church has a small nursery that is intended for the little ones under 3 years old. Blake has been in there regularly since 5 months old, when he started to get very vocal and later on, active. He has never had a problem with being in the nursery and always enjoys playing with his best friend Graham but in recent months he would cry about going back into the nursery for morning worship after had had just been in there for Sunday School.

Blake was becoming older and could understand how to be quiet so I thought he might be ready to start joining us for part of the worship service. Plus I would always explain to him on Saturday night that we would be going to church in the morning to worship God but then he never ended up actually "worshipping" God as he stayed in the nursery the whole time and I felt that was a bit odd. To tell your kid you will go as a family to the Lord's house and yet exclude him from the actual worship part. I had no problem with leaving him in nursery when he was younger and couldn't really understand because he just wasn't ready but I felt as though he was showing signs of being ready to join us. So I discussed it with James and we decided to bring him in with us for the first half of the service (songs and prayers) and then bring him back to the nursery for the last half (sermon, final song, offering, close) as a way to build him up to eventually stay throughout the whole service. Other families in our church have done the same thing and tend to start around 2-2 1/2 years old with the goal of being completely out of nursery by age 3. I think its a good system and felt as though Blake could start a little bit earlier just because of his personality and the fact that he was showing signs of being ready.

Also once the new baby is here, he will be with me in worship for a while and I didn't want Blake to feel excluded that he had to stay behind in nursery while his baby brother joined Mommy and Daddy in the service. We have brought Blake in for both morning and evening service for the month of October and so far he has been doing great! He is able to sit quietly for the first 15-20 minutes before we bring him back to the nursery to play for the remainder of the service. I love that now, when I explain to him how we are going to worship God, that he actually gets to be a part of that!

Training up your children to love the Lord and to worship Him wholeheartedly is such an important task as parents. Every church, family, and child is different in how they approach this matter, especially when it comes to children in the worship service, but it is a very important issue. I'm glad that Blake is able to join us at this age and look forward to continuing to train him in this matter. I'm sure we will have frustrations and some not-so-perfect Sundays in the weeks and months ahead but its so important for us to do this! If any of you experienced parents have any advice on this (good or bad experiences), I'd love to hear them! We are in the early stages of this training and have a long way to go. But really, how privileged are we to be able to even do this, to freely and wholeheartedly worship our Lord and Savior because of HIS love and mercy for us. He enables us to do this and INVITES us to worship with Him. Its a wonderful thing indeed!

*Note: I was given "Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship" by Robbie Castleman by my mother-in-law and its been a very helpful book to read in regards to this issue. Check it out if you don't have it and if you have any other resources that you found helpful then let me know!

Final Fall Fashion Days

I goofed on the previous post in that it was NOT Wednesday when I posted those pictures. It was in fact Thursday which meant that Wednesday had no picture because I was staying at home doing laundry all day and didn't think the outfit I had on was worth anything. And Thursday's outfit did not have me wearing the scarf, hat, and jacket all day but I did wear them as I was out running errands. To have all that stuff piled on while in the house does not work for this preggo lady!
Yesterday as I was getting ready, Blake decided to accessorize his own outfit with an orange baseball cap and my red plaid shoes. He had lots of fun clacking around in Mommy's too-big-for-him shoes. He would sometimes get frustrated when they slid off and would say "do it! doooo it!" as he handed me the shoes to put back on. He didn't understand that the reason they kept coming off was because, they were indeed too big, but it didn't stop him from using them. haha

Using the peephole to see so he could walk.

I adjusted the hat so he didn't have to have it half way down his face. Those shoes look good on you kid!

Friday:

Ok, so I forgot to take a full shot picture and I was wearing a grey cardigan over this plus my red pointy flats from a previous day. But you get the idea. Nothing exciting. Blake and I were going to Jane's office to do some trick or treating and I wanted to wear something that was a bit more "slimming" for a pregnant lady, therefore the plain black tee. :) Vain? Yes.

Saturday:

Purple earrings: From so many years ago...

Purple scarf: Old Navy- $10

pink striped tee: Old Navy Maternity- $6

maternity jeans

green flats: Payless- $10-15? I think it was a birthday present from Danielle a few years ago. She bought them for me while we were in the store.

This pregnancy I was fortunate enough to recieve some spending money to specifically buy myself some maternity clothes from a dear family member and was able to get a bunch of stuff with what I had. I shopped at Old Navy and Burlington Coat Factory and got some pretty good steals. Sales and clearance items on all of my stuff which was awesome. For Blake's pregnancy I had only about 4 or 5 maternity tops and a few pants and made do with my regular shirts. But this time around I was inbetween seasons and really needed a few items to get me by. Plus I was bigger much quicker and couldn't really fit in my "normal" clothes or even in some of my original maternity clothes. So it was really a blessing to be able to go out and get a few new things because I really was dreading wearing what I had. And no one wants a depressed fashionista around! :)