Merci's 3rd Birthday

Can I just say........... I did things right this year:) I gotta say I love parties, but i don't always love all the stress of putting a party together for a 3 year old. so I decided I would have a family members only party at our house this last Saturday, and a Friends get-together at a local indoor-play-area on Merci's actual birthday last Thursday. I loved it and more importantly Merci loved it, I think she loved it mainly because it felt like for the past week we have been doing something special in honor of her birthday. here are a few pictures of Merci's special day(s)

Merci playing with friends Abi and Craig

Playing with best friend Jordy and cousin Aubri

Showing off her new kicks.......Sweet! I love them, thanks aunt HannahCool hat.....Right? Thanks Mimi and Papa Combs

my next project

here is my inspiration: I'm sad because they are both knit :( the top one is actually listed as a beginner knit scarf, so I think I may try it even though I'm not very good at knitting. its just so elegant, i really want to make one.

Here is the crocheted version: from looking at the pattern it seems pretty simple. I hope it turns out

Bennett's Arrival

Well we have been home for almost a week now, I have to admit the recovery from this birth has been a longer process than with Merci, but i cant complain much because i had my Mom, Dad and Husband looking after me for almost an entire week. we were scheduled for an induction last Thursday, we had to be at the hospital by 6:30 am. I kept praying (basically pleading with the Lord) that i would go into natural labor......I did not want to have to be induced, but Bennett was way too comfortable in there. At 8:00am I was administered Pitocin, my Dr. then broke my water at 12:30 and by 1:46 pm Bennett was Born. It was a whirlwind of events, I didn't even get the Epidural I was intending on getting, but all in all it was an amazing Birth, and just like Merci we now have another amazing birth story. I can officially say that both of my children were delivered by nurses (my kids just dont have the patience to wait long enough for the Dr. to get there). We are so happy to all be home safe and Healthy. The Lord has truly blessed us, and we are so thankful for our new little addition. Its amazing to me how much is different this time, I just feel so much more calm, confident and sure of myself this time around, the Lord has taught me so much since Merci was a newborn.

Merci's new room

This has been a much dreaded day.......this officially means that Merci is no longer my baby, but a BIG girl now. she had to move out of the nursery into her big girl room :( I am excited for the new changes we are making to Bennett's room, but i feel as though a piece of me will be getting painted over, when we paint that first wall. its so hard to sit back and just watch her get older......where did my baby go? I am excited to see the little girl the Lord is molding her into, but my heart aches for that little toddler who was so dependent on me. Tonight I came home to her sleeping in her new room, on her new bed that her PaPa Combs made for her. I think its hard for me because i didnt really think that she would be sleeping up there already, i thought we were going to start by only taking naps up there....for her sake and mine, but apparently I'm the only one who is not taking this transition well. She helped Daddy get it all ready by putting the sheets on it and decided that she was sleeping up there at night too.

A New Name

So we thought we were set on a name for our little boy, but as it turns out Caden is more popular than we would prefer. So we just kept on searching, and though i feel that we have come to a name I am not going to promise anything in case we meet our little guy and feel that it is not the appropriate name for him. Mike and I have certain expectations for the name:
1. we wanted it to be either biblical or have some sort of biblical reference
2. we wanted it to be as unique or as uncommon as Merci (which has been the biggest challenge)
3. and we wanted to be able to use Michael as the middle name.

So we have decided that his name is going to be

Bennett Michael Combs

according to one of our baby books it is the formal version of Benjamin, which means son of my right hand.
But, on the internet it said it was a variation of Benedict, which means Blessed.
So....either way i figure our little guys name has a pretty cool meaning30 weeks: sorry facial expression is a little funny, but these were taken with Mike's phone so they aren't the best. We are hoping to get a few maternity shots done this weekend so hopefully i will be posting those soon!

Our little Man FINALLY has a Name!!!

So Mike and I, after much deliberation, have finally come up with a boys name!!!! We are going to call him Caden Michael Combs!!! It was quite a process to find a name that both of us loved. I wanted to love it the same way I did with Merci, her name was so easy it was picked out before we even know she was a girl, and was loved by most. It has really been stressing me out. I am also really excited about Caden's room, even though I will cry when I have to paint over the paint job my best friend Kacy and I did for Merci, it is just so beautiful in there it breaks my heart that we have to paint over it. But I am learning that the Lord wants me to work on the struggles I have with change, so I am taking the attitude that this Change is for the best and we will have the perfect little room for Caden when he comes. So what I am thinking is...... on the wall the crib rests against, will be big Argyle Diamonds, in shades of blue or maybe green depending on what bedding we find, it is so hard to find plain bedding (Surprising, I know!) I think that the bedding should be plain since the wall is going to be the focal point. Mike is totally on board with this as long as Kacy and do all the tapping for the diamonds, which I have already got directions on how to do, so hopefully it all works out according to the vision I have in my head!

Girls Trip!

My best friend Kacy and I flew down to Arizona Friday Night for one of our friends birthday. It was so much fun, we had an absolute blast. We hung out by the pool, went shopping, ate out, danced around, sang songs as loud as possible and were just plain silly. it was a trip I will never forget. here are some pictures from our fun weekend.

A new Heart in the Family

This adorable little heart shaped baby is the newest addition to our family. Mike and I went to the Dr. this morning for an early ultrasound I am only about 8.5 weeks along but my Dr. wanted to get a more accurate due date, which is now Sept. 25. Aside from being nauseous and Tired I would say it has been a pretty average pregnancy, I was blessed with an easy pregnancy with Merci aside from some nausea so we are praying this one turns out the same. There is so much to think about with the 2nd one on the way like:

• is Merci really ready to move upstairs all by herself

• We now need to transition her into a big girl bed (which has been on my mind but i thought we would tackle potty training first)

• How is Merci going to react to a new little one

• How am i going to function with 2 kiddos for the first 6 weeks with no sleep (and that's saying that the 2nd one sleeps through the night at 6 weeks like Merci.......Yeah right!

If anyone has any baby name ideas I would love to hear them we are willing to consider anything.

Potty Time!!!!

Merci is starting to potty train, we have had four consecutive days in a row with no accidents.......and that includes #2 Yay!!!!! I cant believe how big she is. at first we started with her just hangin around the house with no pants or panties on, because she was peeing right through them........but oddly enough as soon as she was naked she was running to the potty yelling "PEE-PEE" so we just left her naked. She has now got it down enough to where she is wearing underwear, but no pants, maybe next week we will have it down enough to where she can wear pants too. I really cant tell you how awesome she has done I guess my expectations weren't high enough because she certainly superseded them.

Happy New Year!

This New Years we went out to Applegate for Jon Coursons prophecy update, which I so look forward to. Then we headed outside to the amphithetheater where there were these huge bonfires, and we all sang worship songs, and they also left up all of Christmas lights from the Christmas eve service......it was breathtaking! We then got to spend time with friends celebrating the new year. God Bless this new Year, may we find comfort in him.