Oh! What a week!

Team Park doesn't have many weeks like this one. I sat down this evening and mapped it out on my cute Erin Condren weekly calendar. I love Erin Condren organizational things these days. Here's a pic of my project, done by the light of March Madness on the tv. Appropriate.

One paper due.
Comprehensive exam due. You know, so I can graduate.
Three birthday events, one of those being for one of my best buds. I'm looking at you, Taylor.
Three short-term trip team meetings/gatherings.
One fundraiser.
Three meetings with three different folks, all whom I love.
It's Easter! 
AND, we close on a house. That we just bought.

Somewhere in here, I have two craft projects ready and waiting for Levi and Mama to do. Because it's Easter!

You can go ahead and pray for us. Please? I've got the joy, as the song goes… I'd just like to have it come Sunday. Here we go!

Good word

Aunt Leigh comes to town

What a treat! Because my sister lives on the other side of the country, I rarely get to see her for multiple days at a time. And, even more rarely is she able to visit at a time that's not during the holidays. So when she announced that she was coming this spring, her arrival date just couldn't get here fast enough!

I love my sister. I still have a dream that someday we will be neighbors, but until then, I'll take any time with her that I can get.

We did a whole lot of hanging out. We got pedis with mom, went shoe shopping, visited our childhood babysitter, went to a Thunder game and played with kiddos. Both of her nephews adore her, but her eldest nephew thinks she and Uncle J.J. hung the moon.

Here are a few fun snapshots of our sister time/family time. Go ahead and come on back, sisterbird! And bring that strapping lad you're married to with you next time.

Couch cuddles

Didi with one cool cat

Aunt Leigh gave him these sunglasses, and when he saw her put hers on top of her head, guess what he did!

Beautiful blues

Aunt Leigh carried her nephew the length of Bricktown. What a sweet aunt, and what a pretty pic!

Be impressed, folks. That's my seester. 

Teaching Little Dude how to hit the birdie.

Mimi showed Levi how to make whipped cream. He loves to help her cook.

The two of us with the kiddos and our childhood babysitter, who influenced our lives more than she'll ever know.

Three months!

My little joy baby,

This week snuck up on your mama. It held not only the first day of spring, but also your three-month birthday!

As I thought about this post, I began smiling at all of the things I love about you. To list them all here just isn't possible because, well, that list is endless. But here are some of the things specific to this stage in life that I can't get enough of.

I love that you are the happiest baby. You smile all of the time. Sometimes, you will even stop nursing just to look up at me and smile.

I love that you have begun laughing. Sometimes it's a simple laugh. But just last night, as your daddy was kissing on your cheeks, you gave the widest smile I'd seen from you yet (and boy does it look just like your brother's grin) and you belly-laughed. Beyond adorable.

I love your rolls. You have rolls everywhere, just as it should be. Rolls on your ankles and wrists, roll after roll on your legs, and rolls on your neck. It makes washing all of those rolls quite a process at bath time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love your fire power. You can blow out a diaper with the best of them, and I laugh every time.

I love that you cuddle. I'm still not sure how, but even when I lay you down with space between us, I'll wake up to a little baby nestled right into my chest. If you are having some painful gas because your mother forgot, once again, that marinara doesn't sit well with you and she ate it for dinner, the instant I pull you next to me, you relax and fall asleep.

I love your eyes. Bright blue, inquisitive and observant. And even though you are still a wee thing, I think that you have kind eyes.

I love your strength. When I hold you, your neck is on a constant swivel, looking around, bobbing back and forth.  I love to watch you stretch out those legs when you stand on my lap. Even though you outgrew three month clothes a few weeks ago, sometimes I put you in a three-month sleeper, and I'm waiting for your legs to split the seams when you start moving all over the place. Sweet boy, you are strong!

Baby Dude, you are growing too fast for this mama. But it reminds me to cherish every moment with you.

We love you!
Love,
Mama

Melt me.

On the way home from our first Thunder game in years, and Levi's first one ever, in an effort to re-focus a tired toddler up way past his bedtime, Gib asked a simple question:

"Levi, what are you?"

There was a pause, so Gib continued, "You are mighty."

And from the backseat, the sweetest little voice continued, "and compassionate and strong and gentle."

There are so many days when I am well aware of the mistakes I make as a parent and wonder if any of the things that I want to be impressed upon his heart are in any way being communicated effectively. But tonight? Tonight, my heart melted with reassurance and I nearly cried from the preciousness of the moment. What a sweet surprise.

Yes, Levi Blaze, you are all of those things. And so much more.

Two months

Baby Dude! You are two months old!

You are one happy baby. You eat like a champ, sleep like a champ, and you are the most flexible and adaptable baby!

You look just like your brother did at your age. The similarity is uncanny, and when your dad flashed a photo across our computer screen, I had to stop and study it to determine which of my boys I was looking at. I think your eyes are a little brighter shade of blue than your brother's, and your temperament is already different. I'm eager to see how your personalities compare!

You are loving the seahorse musical nightlight and the sleep sheep, just like your brother did. We bought you your own seahorse so now you both have one!

You are strong, like an oak tree. You began standing on our knees at just a few weeks old, and with our support to steady you, you can support your own weight on your legs. You've been holding your neck up for many weeks now, and every move you make just has such strength behind it. Tummy time doesn't bother you in the least, and you can move your head from side to side. You are getting so long that you've about outgrown your three-month sleepers.

I think God knew you'd need to be strong to hold your own with your older brother. He's still learning what "sweet" touch feels like, and you are his learning tool. He hasn't been too sure what to think about you during the first few weeks of life, but in the past few days, one of the first things he wants to do each day is "hold Nate." He loves holding his little brother and just studying you.

You love to look around, coo and talk, and you are a smiler. That smile is so, so sweet no matter if it's a purposeful reaction to one of us, or done while sleeping. You still aren't quite sure what to make of batht ime, but you sure are cute as you wiggle around.

This past weekend when your dad was changing your diaper, I heard a yell and then, "it's on my lip!" Sure enough, you'd nailed him with baby poop. We laughed and laughed, and even though you didn't mean to do it, I'm secretly proud of your ability to do such a thing!

We love you so much, Nathanael Oak! Happy two months, sweet baby!

Love,
Mama

So good

"Mama, Dada, so good."

What parent wouldn't want to hear that phrase come out of their toddler's mouth? It sounds like two-year-old-speak for, "Mother, Father, what wonderful parents you are! The way you love me and train me up are things for which I will always be eternally grateful!"

Buuuuuuut. While he may in fact feel such sentinment, the term "so good" is actually a request to sing a particular song. It's THE song around the Park household these days: "So Good" by Cory Asbury.

"Dada, whoa oh oh oh." Cue dad to transition: I've got love, joy, peace…

"Mama, clap."

We are a regular traveling musical act as we drive from place to place! And I love it. I love every clap from the backseat, every occasional "c'mon" sung along with dad, every request for either mama or dada to take over singing at a particular place in the song.

This boy has a heart for worship. We've started taking him into the church service for worship, and words really can't describe how my heart just soars watching him. He jumps, he sways, he lifts his hands sometimes - he really experiences the music he's hearing. He loves the drums, the guitars, Jesus and "sing sing sing"-ing. Here's a pic my friend Michelle captured a few Sundays ago:

I love that our little Blazer loves his dad and loves to imitate what he sees his dad doing. I'm thankful that the two of them love to sing worship music together, and I'm so thankful our little dude sees it as perfectly normal to take it beyond the church walls.