1 Week! ...round 2!

I can't believe we have been with our lil' peanut now for a week. The time has passed so quickly, and Ethan is changing before our eyes.

For the past few days, I have been wanting to blog about how it feels to be a mommy of an infant. I've been asked, "So, how does it feel to have a baby?" and "What's easier, a toddler or an infant?" At first, I didn't know quite how to respond, so I gave it some thought...

Infancy vs. toddlers...both have their challenges and their unique joys. I equate the difference to when I switched teaching 2nd to 4th grades a few years back. The job is the same, but the challenges and rewards are different. I'm still a mom, which was ultimately my dream for so long, which includes giving and receiving love to my boys, meeting basic needs, establishing good routines, etc. But, the challenges are a little different- Ethan doesn't throw a tantrum or "fake cry" when we do something he doesn't like- okay, he would probably just scream :), but we do have to wake up two times in the middle of the night to feed him, which can be tiring in a different way. The positives- OH, the joys! Both ages have such wonderful rewards- the kisses I get from Landon are probably my favorite...no, when he says "love you much..." no, when he gives me a tight squeeze...oh, how could I ever pick a favorite! Landon keeps us laughing all day, from the way he says "yes" ('ESS'  - in a short monotone fashion) to the way he parrots everything we say! (Just picture Greg watching the Phillies, and yelling at every pitch, and hearing the last word echoed from Landon...'pitch!' 'hit it!', 'outta!' and so on, I should video that sometime soon when we get home! Oh, and Ethan! The joys of having an infant are so many! The way he cuddles up in the nook of my elbow, the way his little back or hiney fits into my one hand, the way he randomly makes funny faces, the smell...mmmmm, the way he doesn't move one place if I need to escape to the bathroom or take a shower.  Bottom line, I love both ages! (and grades) :-)

Okay, so...the emotions of having an infant were a lot more than I thought they would be. See, for 5 years I had wanted a baby with all my heart. And, when we knew adoption was the way God was calling us to grow our family, and knowing how many children there were out there that needed a home who were already past that baby stage, I gave that "baby" desire over to God. And, I was and still am, so fulfilled being Landon's mommy. I didn't ever honestly feel like I missed out. I just wanted to do the best I could from where we started. But, the moment Ethan was placed in my arms, I cried. I didn't realize at all how fast those emotions would come back. Something I thought I'd never experience, something I had let go of, was being returned to me. And, I am crying again now just thinking of how amazing God is to give me this (2nd) dream come true. I absolutely love having a baby! God is so good!

One last note to end on...last Sunday in church, a few special things happened. I would call them coincidences, but I don't believe anything is a coincidence. Last Sunday when we were in church, little did we know it, but Ethan was just a few hours old. Special music was the song "Blessings" by Laura Story. I am putting that as the background music to our blog now...I can't hear that song without thinking of Landon and Ethan. Our pastor closed out his sermon with Jeremiah 29:11...God certainly has always had a plan for our boys, and it is a plan to prosper them, to give them future and a hope! Pastor Rick also closed with the benediction found in Ephesians 3:20-21 which was the verse I blogged about upon finding out about Ethan in May... "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think...to Him be the glory!"  A special song and two very special verses on Ethan's birth day.

Here are a few pictures of our past week together!

Greg took Landon to the zoo last Friday- they ate lunch with the apes!

My 3 boys!

1 week old

My choir face!!