We are expecting with our second baby. We are so excited. I am due December 22nd and we find out the gender July 30th. It will be so good
for Mark to have a sibling to play with. He gets so bored so easy. I am so happy to have them
so close together so that they can be each other’s friend.
Here are the answers to many of your questions and questions that we had too.
Yes Mark and our second baby will be 13 months apart. Yes Bret could be gone
out on subs. Yes it will be hard. But what I do know with all my heart from
what I have learned from all of my past experiences is that the Lord will help
me and I know that I can do it with his help. I know that he will provide the help that I need. I pray and then receive answers
and then just do it and all things work out. I know that the Lord will give me
the strength that I need as I press forward with Faith.
Last Saturday Bret had off so we went to the beach with another couple. We had a lot of fun. It is nice being only 25 minutes away from a beach. Mark liked being on shore, but not in the water. The waves touching his feet scared him.
Last night they had a 4th July celebration early at a park
on base. It was free for all military families. Bret had work until 11pm so I
took Mark and my friend Jamie and we had a good time. It was really hot.
Yesterday happened to be our hottest day. It was 100 degrees plus humidity. It
was a very nice celebration that they did for us. They had so many different
fun activities for the whole family, a zip line, rock climbing, inflatable
bouncers and more. Then at the end they had fireworks. I didn't know how Mark
would like it, but he just sat there and stared at the fireworks.
My brother Matt is now home after serving over sees for 4 weeks shy of a year. He was able to come home a month early and that was very exciting news. I am so proud of Matt and Becky for all that they endured and now the return home has come. He left when his son Mason was 3 days old and now almost 1 years old. I cried when I saw this family picture and Matt holding Mason.
It looks like Dad and Son have matching ties on. I am so grateful for my husband Bret and for all he does to provide for our family. He is so tired all the time, but he is doing well. I know that the Lord gives him strength to endure his crazy hours right now (80 hours a week and then two days off). I am grateful that I am able to be a stay home mom and take care of our sweet son Mark. It is really nice that Bret got yesterday and today off so we can spend time as a family for the celebration of Father's Day!
Wow the time flies. Mark is now 7 months old. He is a big boy. He just keeps growing. He loves his milk and food. He really likes butternut squash and green beans. He is working on crawling, but he still doesn't enjoy being on his tummy. I just keep working with him and trying new ways. He loves when I take him outside and do tummy time outside. He does so much better outside. He likes when I put a pillow under his arms so he is not flat on his tummy. He is very strong willed when it comes to dressing him and doing tummy time. So I have to keep figuring out ways that works for him. Mark claps his hands and will give you kisses. He will put his lips together and makes a kiss. He watches what I do with my mouth and tries to do it. He says "ba ba ba" and loves to make his lion sound. He makes people laugh with his sounds and he enjoys it. He loves to be around people and he will let others hold him. He is a very happy boy.
He is still drooling a lot, but no teeth yet.
Yesterday Mark and I went to Boone Hall Plantation to pick blueberries. It is $2.50 a pound and they are really good. Mark loved it and you can see his excitement in this video. I try to take him places because he loves to be outside.
Last Sunday Bret had to work so Mark and I decided to match to church. Bret is now working 7 days straight for 12 hour days and then 2 days off. So last Thursday and Friday he had off and worked Saturday and Sunday. On Friday we went to temple 1.5 hours away. We do a trade off at the temple so that we can both do temple work and watch Mark at the temple. It works out great. There is a little waiting area that we wait with Mark while the other one does temple work. Mark was really good the whole time and all the temple workers were touched by his smiles and sounds. There was a really sweet lady probably in her 70's and she loved Mark. He was very calm with her and put his lips together and did a kiss at her. It was really sweet.
He now sitting up on his own.
It is a little dark, but this video is really cute of Mark making his sounds. I think he is making Lion sounds because his jumper has animal sounds. This is the sound he makes at church during Young Women's lesson and all my Young Women get a kick out of it.
Watch what he does with his feet while eating. He is always moving his feet.
We put him in this basket and pushed him around the room and he just loved it.
