School Room of Life: This. that, and the other

I have been so busy since my last blog post. So much has happened since then that I haven't blogged about yet! We went to Houston, my baby brother got married, Father's Day, VBS, Leah turned 4 months old, Natalie got baptized, family came in town... So without further ado...

Friday (June 18) we left for Houston. Saturday we ate lunch with Eric's family. His brother Adam and brother-in-law Jovanne both deployed this past week, so it was a farewell lunch for them. Sunday was my brother Craig's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and got to dance down the aisle with my other brother Dave. The whole wedding was so much fun. I haven't seen the professional pics or the video yet. I've only seen a handful of snapshots from people's facebooks (and none of me lol). I'm really looking forward to watching the video and seeing how much of a fool I made of myself LOL.

Even though the wedding was the main focus on Sunday, I definitely didn't forget that it was Father's Day. I am so very blessed to have 2 men in my life that mean the world to me. First is my Dad.

While yes, technically he is my grandfather, he helped raise me and was the sole adult male figure in my life throughout my childhood. I always think of him when I hear the song "Daddy's Hands" because it really sums him up to a T - "Daddy's hands, were soft and kind when I was crying. Daddy's hands, were hard as steel when I done wrong. Daddy's hands weren't always gentle, but I've come to understand, there was always love in Daddy's hands." I was not an easy child, but there was NEVER a moment that I didn't know with every ounce of my being that my Daddy loved me. I know there is not anything in the world he would not do for me. And now I get to see that same love poured out to my own kids through him. I love that my kids adore him as much as I do! I know it was because of the love he showed me that I was able to find the wonderful man I did to become my husband. And that brings me to Eric.

I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. The day I found out I was pregnant with Natalie, I began to see Eric in a new light. He was going to be a father! And oh what a father he is! I melt when I see the way he looks at our kids. He beams with pride when they do something new. He laughs (real belly laughs!) when they do something funny. He tears up (even if only on the inside) when they tell them they love him. I loved him so much before we ever had any kids, but with each one, I've just grown to love him even more. Happy Belated Father's Day to all my favorite dads out there!

So Sunday night after all the festivities were over, we headed straight back to San Antonio. VBS started first thing Monday morning. I was helping in a Kindergarten class and all my kids had their own assigned rooms. Even Leah! It was the first time I'd ever left her in the church nursery and she did really well. I went in to feed her when my class went to recreation and it all worked out well. The week prior to VBS, Natalie made the decision to pray and ask Jesus into her heart! I still get goosebumps when I talk about it! So on Friday afternoon, after VBS, she attended the "Steps of Faith" class our church offers. Then on Friday night, there was a VBS Family Night where the kids sang and ate hot dogs and smores. The theme for the VBS was Saddle Ridge Ranch so they had the baptisms in cattle troughs in the church parking lot! Natalie was one of 29 kids to get baptized that night. What a story she will have to tell for the rest of her life - getting baptized in a cattle trough! My mom and Eric's mom and sister came into town for the baptism. And of course Meme and Pawpaw were there too. We are so blessed that they were able to come and be a part of that!

And Leah turned 4 mos old on the 22nd. Oh Leah, you are just growing so fast!

At 4 months old, Leah:
is wearing 3-6 mos size clothes
wears a size 2 diaper
is exclusively breastfeeding and hasn't had a bottle in about 2 months
sleeps swaddled (twice), and in the swing
still only tolerates being worn
does better on car rides that don't exceed about 30 minutes
is constantly chewing on her fists
found her feet and loves to look at them and play with them
likes her exersaucer
likes to lay on her back and watch the fan
loves it when her brother and sisters give her attention
smiles really big and makes all sorts of cute noises
can roll over both ways, but I've yet to see her actually do it - I just find her rolled lol
sleeps ok at night, she's still waking up regularly, but just eats and goes back to sleep
takes 2-3 naps during the day; one really long one in the afternoon and 1-2 shorter ones
is a relatively easy baby and pretty happy most of the time

Doesn't she look so much like her biggest sister?

I don't think I posted about Natalie getting a new bike. We let her pick it out and can I just say how happy I am that she picked something cute and simple over some character bike? ha! Here are some random pics from the other day when we took them to ride at the school again.

total pro