6 months old

My sweet Savannah is getting so big!

She can sit up, roll all over, scoot backwards around the house, and get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. she is so anxious to crawl! I started her on solids about a month ago, just introducing lightly. She's not a fan of anything so far, though (Bananas, oatmeal, sweet potatoes). she does love to chew on slices of apple!

She loves to play with Big Sister. She just grins wide whenever she's around! She loves when Landon comes over, and wants his attention so badly! He's a typical boy of course, and gets "bored" with her quickly :-) And then Daddy walks in the room and she just LOSES it. I've never seen a bigger Daddy's girl <3

She's pretty people shy. If she doesn't see you regularly, chances are she'll cry if you even try to pick her up, or get too close to her face. She warms up after a little while though!

She still ends up in our bed most nights, but she ditched the swaddle about a month ago and seems to sleep even better without it. Still up 3-4 times to nurse, and every 3 or so hours during the day. Hungry growing girl! No wonder she has such chubby thighs ;-)

Don't worry Savannah, I won't post the picture of your behind. but let me tell you...girl has got a BOOTY! Definitely a Nesler descendent!

Such a sweetheart. I love snuggling her close! She is like a soft marshmallow. My heart just aches with love for this sweet, sweet child <3

Happy Half Year baby girl!!

But we keep the Hope alive

Today, I am hugging my babies. Heaping love onto their little hearts and praying it's enough to carry them in this world. Hoping they grow up seeing the good above the bad, not letting the tragedies they will undoubtedly be faced with cloud their view of beauty.

I know they will likely see more hatred than I saw as a child. More terrorism, on large and small scales. Bullying and disrespect. I pray that they will have the respect to grieve with those who grieve, to help those who need it, to be kind without expecting kindness in return. Most of all, I pray they keep their spirits, and keep hope alive. To know that amidst all that pain and suffering and evil...there is good. There is love, and happiness, and beauty, and we cannot allow it to be overshadowed by those who wish us harm.

My sweet babies. I love you. I pray for you daily. I will do my very best to show you all there is to love in this world, and pray that you can learn to love the ugly, as well.

Slowing Down

Sometimes I forget that I'm only 23. I think I've always been the type to want to hurry up and do all the things I want/love. I met my soulmate at 18, so that was a good start to starting the next chapter of my life. Fast forward 5 years later and we now have 3 beautiful children. Our family is (most likely) complete, and I haven't even reached a quarter century yet. Watching my sweet babies, I am reminded just how fast life goes. Faster than I'd like in some areas. Like the fact that my newest daughter is almost 11 weeks old. Didn't I just grasp her slippery new body to my chest? And what about Nevaeh? Wasn't she just crawling around the living room last week? Landon is starting school in the Fall!

With the completion of my family, the next step in my mind is buying a house. I have been gung-ho about being a homeowner for the past two years, and it is frustrating to concede to waiting another year. I want a home to build our memories in year after year. Not pack up boxes every year and start all over. But God has reminded me, with the help of a poor credit score, to slow down and enjoy being right where I am. Not literally...because this two bedroom townhouse is entirely too small for a family of 5...but with my life and the people in it. Memories don't have to occur in one place. They happen everywhere, and the beautiful thing about it is that you don't need a box to store them in. They go wherever you go, in your heart and in your mind.

There's no way I want to rush through all of this cuteness!

Complete

Life caught me for a while. I had my sweet baby girl, I soaked her up (and still am) and took my time adjusting to the bigger size of my family. I'm still not ready to jump back into blogging (I see a lot of blogging laziness in my future) but that's ok. I've got a pretty awesome reality surrounding me ;-)