The Shipman's...

Happy 1st Birthday my SWEET SWEET Pierce!

2015-03-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am tearful and filled with joy all at the same time as I sit down to write this final blog post of the first year of your precious little life sweet Pierce.

You son, continue to steal my heart. You are first and foremost the happiest most contented little baby I have ever met. Your joy fills up a room and even when you are getting in to every thing under the sun and I come down on you with a firm "Pierce!" you turn and smile at me with that knowing smile and toddle back over as you hug my leg and "give me love" as we like to say here in the Shipman house. You genuinely just love people. I can see even as a baby how the Lord has knit that deeply inside of you. I had been waiting to get this post up until I had your 1 year well check with all your stats. At the appointment you walked right over to the doctor, held your arms up and said "mamma" (which is now what you call everyone). Our favorite doctor quickly melted as she lifted you into her arms. You immediately went limp as she snuggled you, you seriously almost went to sleep on her as she rubbed your sweet little head and for about 10 awkward minutes she did absolutely nothing medical and simply soaked in your love. My heart melted.

Weight: 23lbs 1.5 oz (81%) ....no surprise there!
Height: 29.75 in (46%)
Head: 46.3 cm (57%)

Sleep: You continue to sleep 12+ hours at night and unless you are sick we don’t hear a peep out of you. You seem to be on the cusp of transitioning from two naps to one long afternoon nap, but for now still take an hour nap in the morning from 10-11 and then a long afternoon nap from 1:30-4pm.

Eating: You really love it all (with the exception of birthday cake, but more on that later!)I call you our little disposal because you eat your food and then whatever Will doesn’t eat! You are fully adjusted to whole milk and we will begin to work on cutting out the bottles to just sippy cups. But for now you still take 3-4 bottles a day. You hate the milk cold so until you adjust I will continue to heat it up for your sweet self.

Milestones: You are running, running, running and babbling up a storm with new words added each day. You currently say, "Mamma, Dada, Ball, Dog, Ma (more) and Bye Bye". You wave to absolutely everyone. You love books and will sit through any/all the long books we read to Will. Your latest cute thing is that you toddle over to me or Zak bringing a book and immediately turn around and plop down, as if to say “Will you please read me this book!” It seriously happens 100 times a day and I absolutely love it. You continue to be our little dancing king as you love to hear music . You have your top four middle teeth, bottom middle two and our currently cutting another on the bottom. You and Will are complete buddies and you imitate everything he does. You also seem to have a mischievous streak (just like your mamma) as you go for the one thing you know Will will care that you take and you take off running with it squealing with delight and it just makes me laugh.

You love to try to brush your own hair and attempt to brush mine.

You point at absolutely everything and talk and talk and talk!

I love this hilarious face you make all the time with your little lips.

Pierce, I've said it once and I'll say it again, if they were all like you I could have 10 kids! We love you to the moon and back and you have completed our family this past year in ways we never knew we had been missing. I can't wait to watch you grow into the little man the Lord has designed you to be.

Happy 11 Months sweet Pierce!

2015-02-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pierce... these past 11 months of your life have absolutely flown by! How has this happened!?!? When I think about it, I know the answer. You son have been easy. Plain and simple. You are the sweet, laid back, fun loving, loveable second child that I always hoped for.

Right at 10 1/2 weeks you took your first steps and now you are literally running around the living room. One of your favorite things to do is have one of us chase you and you look back and squeal with delight! I absolutely love this stage. You are becoming increasingly more verbal with each day as you walk around the living room babbling away and pointing. I always try to conversationally respond as though I know what you are trying to tell me.

Your first word was "Mamma!" and you have since added Dada (only a few times), Ma (More), and ByeBye (as you wave). You also have started giving all your stuffed animals Love (Hugs) on command and us as well. It truly is the sweetest thing.

Your schedule hasn't changed much, you still go down at 7:30pm and wake up at 8am. You nap one hour in the morning (10-11am) and then go down again at 1:30-4:00 pm for your afternoon nap. You still take 4 bottles and absolutely love your sippy cup of water. I am hopeful that our transition from the bottle to the sippy cup is a smooth one. I also just bought the last container of formula Praise God Hallelujah as we are just a few short weeks out from transitioning to whole milk !

Sweet baby Pierce, we are so incredibly in love with you and are so excited to see you grow into a little man! Your laugh is infectious and everyone who meets you loves you as you seal the deal by reaching out for them to hold you. I can't wait to celebrate your first birthday next month. We love you more than words could adequately express!

Happy 10 months baby Pierce!

2015-01-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well... if you asked me how I would characterize this past month of life with you sweet Pierce, I would have to say challenging. You have been sick, sick, sick. You got sick Christmas Eve with a 104.6 fever followed by a cold and now sick again. You have had an awful cold for the last 2 weeks that spiked into a fever last Sunday of 104 again. All to say posting your 10 months update has been low priority right now because snotty noses, coughing and crying aren't really the memories I was going for when documenting the first year of your life. But it certainly would have been a truer picture. You are still growing great and have been ear infection free for several months now but man are you busy. You are on the cusp of walking and with that you seem frustrated. You absolutely do not want to be contained or held and absolutely have a gift for finding the thing in the room that could cause immediate pain to your little body. You love cords, computers, remotes, eating paper that you have just found and of course whatever your big brother is playing with. I daily barricade you into the living room to maintain some sanity and you fly across the room to the gate and just lean over crying because I am in the kitchen and you WANT IN! All to say, I am exhausted and ready to move on to a new stage of your sweet life.

Eating: Because of the bad cold you currently have you have been hit or miss with the solids. You still take about 5-6 oz in your bottles every 4 hours. You absolutely LOVE feeding yourself and try to knock the spoon away if we try to feed you. I basically give you whatever we are eating and you are super laid back about it. You have however started slinging food off your high chair and smashing it with your hand which is certainly a joy and opportunity for some early disciplining. Will's job in the afternoon is to take the hand held vacuum and clean up all your mess! He loves it and I appreciate it. Your favorite food currently is Tomatoes. You absolutely love them!

Sleeping: Honestly, you have always been a great sleeper with the exception of when you are sick. Your cough has been waking you up throughout the night, but in a well season you sleep like a champ so I cant complain. When I asked the pediatrician earlier this week why you kept getting sick she said preschool (all the germs Will is bringing home) combined with being mobile in the winter months. I am hopeful you are just building that immune system with each virus and will be a healthy little toddler here in a few months. Naps have been cut back to 1 hour in the morning and 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon because when I would let you take a long morning nap you seemed to want no part of the afternoon nap and that was just not going to work. I imagine you will be ready to drop that nap all together by 1 year.

Personality: You are the happiest little guy and continue to love everyone and everyone we meet LOVES you! You even reach for strangers to hold you! My sweet friendly baby boy. You are persistent and determined. All traits that I love in you. You wave to everyone but still no recognizable word just lots of baby talk and mimicking. Largely my fault as I always have you plugged up with your paci because otherwise you try to eat/chew everything (Like Will's shoes!). I am going to work on trying to leave it out this month so we can encourage talking more as you are not a loud little guy at all, but then again neither was your big brother. Oh, and I almost forgot you LOVE to dance. Anytime music comes on you just start dancing it absolutely melts my heart. I simply must get a video. You also calm right down anytime I sing to you. Such sweet memories.

You have 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth and seem to be in the never ending teething stage. It will be two more months before I know all your stats but I do know that as of Monday you weighed 21 lbs 10 oz which is honestly not much more than last month.

I love you beyond words and even though you are in what I call a challenging stage you are still the perfect baby brother and we ALL love you more than you could possibly ever know!

Happy 9 months baby Pierce!

2014-12-30T12:29:00.002-08:00

Sweet baby Pierce, with all the sickness we have had in the last month in this house it's no wonder your mamma is FINALLY getting your post up! Happy Happy 9 months sweet boy! You are changing developmentally at such a rapid pace that I simply don't know where the time has gone!

We had your 9 month appointment last week and finally an update on your stats! ( I have currently misplaced your charts so I'll have to go back and write in the exact numbers, but I remembered the percentiles.)

Weight: 76% (No shocker there my little chunk!)
Height: 34% (You majorly dipped in your height this month and the doctor even rechecked but thinks you are on the verge of a growth spurt and said your 1 year apt. would be a better indicator...but it would shock NO ONE in this family if you are short!)
Head: 70%

Eating: Well little man, you are completely over baby food! You only want the real stuff now and seem to be enjoying it all. You have tried eggs, avocados, black beans, chicken, french fries, sweet potatoes, bananas (are your favorite), fresh mozarella cheese, cooked carrots, apples, peas and many more things! It is an absolutely MESS! You truly need to go straight to the bathtub after every meal but because you are the second child it only happens every other day! You take in about 25 oz of formula a day which is surprisingly on the low end... You eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and the occasional snack of your favorite "lil crunchies".

Sleeping: You still sleep 12 hours at night and take an 1.5 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon because right now that what works best for everyone. You would prefer a longer morning nap but you roll with it. On Sundays, it has become no morning nap and you do quite well. I think we all will be ready though to drop this morning nap so we have all morning to get out of the house and do some fun things so I imagine by one I will start to transition you to one nap!

Milestones: This is probably where there is the most to report. You are my active little tank! You bulldoze any where you want to go. You are finally more efficiently crawling on all fours instead of your super fast army crawl and you are scaling the furniture. Your favorite thing to do is climb from thing to thing in the living room and we often find you standing in your crib when you are suppose to be sleeping. It honestly makes me laugh. Zak and I think you will be walking before 11 months just like your big brother. I for one am looking forward to that because you are getting far too heavy for me to lug around anymore.

You are babbling more and more each day, but no words yet. You belly laugh all the time! You also have started waving to everyone which I love! I can't wait til you can say "hey!" as we walk by people at the store.

Likes: You love being down on the floor and honestly get upset if we try to contain you. You also love to crawl up our leg and hold one arm up as if to say "will you hold me?", but just as soon as we pick you up you want back down. You love music and particularly love when I sing to you. It makes you stop crying immediately! You continue to adore your big brother and try to keep up with him. You also love climbing through the coffee table and out the other side. You constantly have this look of pride in your current accomplishment on your face. I think you are going to be my social boy because you love all people and seem to study their faces as they pick you up. You rarely ever cry out of discontent and every comments on how handsome you are, but also how happy you are. I am so so thankful for your easy disposition. It makes having two seem like a dream.

Dislikes: Mamma or Daddy leaving the room. When your brother intentionally knocks your down and any sort of containment. Other than that you are easy breezy.

...And you now have FOUR teeth! I miss that toothless smile but your current grin makes us all laugh so keep those chompers coming! We love you to the moon and back baby boy and it brings a tear to my eye to think that the next time I document your stats you will be one... you have been a slice of heaven in every single way!

Happy 8 Months Pierce!

2014-11-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby Pierce! You are 3/4 of a year old. The time with you my handsome little monkey is flying by. You are changing so much each and every day. You are crawling fast as lightning. You are babbling up a storm (finally!) with lots of "baabaabaa" and "dadada" and I just love it! You are on the cusp of pulling up all by yourself and your big brother tries to "wrestle" you every chance he gets and you squeal with delight.

While you definitely have your own look I can still see the baby resemblence between you and Will. Your hair and eye color is constantly changing. Sometimes it looks like its leaning blonde and other times it has a red tint, but I am guessing it will be a light brown like your big brother. As for eyes, I think they will been greenish brown.

You are coming into your own for sure and the one thing I would say right now is that you won't be stopped. You are a bulldozer. You climb straight through the coffee table and over anything in your path. You hate when I leave the room and get so upset when left alone. That lip goes down and you just lose it!

You have finally gotten two teeth (your bottom middle) so you seem less fussy. But I know there will be more coming soon. Your naps and eating are still great. We have started table food and you are doing great, You love whole bananas, avocados, peaches and pizza crust :).

I am guessing you are about 21 pounds which means it's time to ditch your car seat for a bigger one very soon! You have also started wanting to be held any chance you get, but once we pick you up you immediately want to get back down. It makes me laugh. You continue to love everyone you meet. You definitely aren't scared of men like your brother has always been and you have started majorly reaching for everyone. When anyone holds you, you look up in amazement and grab a hold of their faces as if to study it. I predict you will be quite the extrovert which of course delights me!

Capturing pictures of each stage is getting more and more challenging as you can see below... Each month I wind up sweating by the end of the whole shindig.

Here's to another month of loving on my sweet baby Pierce. We love you to pieces and you, big boy have been the greatest addition to our family!

Will's 3rd Birthday Party

2014-11-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

My sweet sweet Will. I have to start with a smile on my face and say this will NOT go down in the books as my favorite birthday party memory with you. But you are only 3 and I am still learning you each and every day. The back story is that you have for as long as I can remember been very interested in fire trucks/stations etc. so when I called and found out that our local fire station would let us come for your birthday and tour the station and climb all over the trucks and run around I knew that would be a hit. You told EVERYONE that you were having your birthday party at the fire station and could. not. wait! We invited a good number of your little buddies and your mamma and daddy worked like dogs getting ready for this party. Primarily because no food or cake could be served at the station so everyone was coming back to our house for the party. Minor dilemma was that your daddy FINALLY began building our new deck one month from your birthday and it came as no suprise that every night two weeks leading up to the actual day he was out there finishing that deck. Two days out and it was finally finished (I'll post pictures of that soon!)

The morning of we scrambled around to pick up and prepare last minute food while attempting to finalize decorations. But wouldn't you know it after all that, in mid October it was still 900degrees outside....

Here you are at the fire station clinging to daddy as you were feeling a bit shy...

Apparently our bud Jack was feeling the same way :)

Sweet Zeke was ready to roll with his super cute fire truck t-shirt!

...and best friend Gerry was hamming it up with his cute face!

The fire man gave a rather serious tour probably for the adults benefit (though he never turned any of the lights on) but the kids were more interested in the cool fish tank in the living room/kitchen area of the station.

My sweet nieces Ellie and Lucy!

...and FINALLY what he was waiting for... a chance to drive the massive fire truck.

...and I love it, the seats were Pierce brand! How fitting!

All was fun and games until we broke it to Will that there were about 10 other kids who would also like a chance behind the steering wheel. That is when the party took a turn. At least for Will.

Look at this handsome handsome Jack! or Jackaroo as I call him!

Cee Cee with Fire Chief Pierce!

It really and truly is not worth capturing any of this "printable party" that I had the grand idea of doing the week of because all the decorations were outside and it was so dang hot we moved the whole thing inside in a rush when everyone arrived. Not to mention I didn't even have time to finish putting everything out. Next year, we are ordering pizza :).

...right before his nap that afternoon I asked Will if he had fun at his fire station birthday party and he said, "No mamma, I did not!" "I did not want my friends to come I wanted it to be just me"... and there ya have it- Mr. Congeniality. The reality is he didn't want to share. Not time on the fire truck, not his new toys or old toys for that matter and he was VERY stressed over the whole thing. Lord help me, this is new territory for me as a mom. I was the kid who wanted everyone at my birthday party and LOVED people but Will apparently is just like his daddy was at this age, a little bashful! 3 is welcoming in some very new challenges so hopefully it will pass quickly... But even if you are always a little bit shy I will still love every single thing about you, because the truth is you are more than that! You are funny, kind, smart, thoughtful, a GREAT big brother and a very blessed child of God and I love you as I tell you every night "to the moon and back!" Happy 3rd Birthday!

Will's Preschool Birthday Party

2014-11-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

Will started preschool this year at Colonial Baptist which is where I grew up going to church as a kid. They have such a great two day two's class and Will LOVES it. Most of all he loves Mrs. Amanda! A few weeks ago I asked if it would be alright to bring in cupcakes for Will's birthday and Mrs. Amanda said of course. (I'm new at this gig, so honestly I wasn't sure) So on Thursday morning I brought Will with the cupcakes and dropped him off to run a few errands before the birthday party.

When I came back the "Other Mrs. Amanda" as Will calls her was there leading there music time and I was soo excited I got to witness how much fun they were having. This picture is when Will realized I was there and he was over the moon to have his mamma in school with him!

He's obviously suppose to be particiapted but he just kept smiling and checking back to make sure I was still there!

Mrs. Amanda called him upfront so they could sing and bless our cupcakes!

He was so proud that he got to wear this special #3 around his neck to celebrate!

Miss Brooklyn is on the left and Quinn is on the right and I have to stop and say that Quinn LOVES Will. Quinn's mamma works at the preschool so she is there every day, and each morning she asks her mamma "is Will going to be at school today?" and gets so upset on the off days when he's not there. Melts my heart...

And the best part for Will was when I told him he could come home early with me! I honestly thought he would want to stay for outside time but nope, he wanted to leave early which I was totally fine with as it was already 11. Happy 3rd birthday my big preschooler Will! We are soo proud of you!

Happy 7 Months baby Pierce!

2014-10-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Sweet baby Pierce I can hardly believe you are already 7 months old. The time is truly flying by. You, sweet boy are busy, busy, busy! You just started to army crawl and you get better and better each day. I have a feeling are lives are about to get a little more exciting at the Shipman household.

While you continue to be a happy baby, lately you have been much more discontent and seem frustrated. I assume that is because you have places to go and people to see. On top of all that, we are still waiting to see your first pearly white so EVERYTHING is going into your mouth. I try to keep your paci in as much as possible for fear of what you might try to eat. You also will not poop since we started solids which is enough to make any of us grumpy!

Not much has changed this month with your schedule (sleeping/eating) except you eat lunch and dinner pretty well and have started to decrease your fluid intake to 5oz at each feed which is to be expected. You are still a fantastic sleeper.

Even though you don't seem to be very loud or verbal you are the best belly laugher I have ever seen and you laugh ALL. DAY. LONG. Primarily at your big brother who you continue to delight in. The doctor says you are our little observer!

The major happy thing I have to report is that you have stayed well this past month, Praise the Lord! No ear infections to report so for now, no tubes! Yay!

I continue to watch in amazement as your relationship with your big brother gets more and more. Will LOVES you to pieces and when you nap, he always asks "Where's Piercey Pants" which is what he fondly calls you! He hates when we hold you and is always asking us to put you down so you two can "play". Warms my heart to think of how you will have a best friend and protector for life! We love you so much baby Pierce!

A Letter from Mamma to Will on your 3rd Birthday!

2014-10-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

My sweet precious Will,

This past weekend we celebrated your third birthday and over the course of the weekend several tears were shed (by me of course!). When did you get so big?!? These past three years have flown by. Your daddy and I are so very proud of the little man you are becoming. You are funny, smart, kind, handsome, bashful, stubborn, talkative (in your comfort zone), wild and yet still such a snuggler. I always call you my little rascal because you are just that a rascal!

You have changed so much in the last 6 months. We said goodbye to all your paci's 6 months ago, Potty trained before your baby brother arrived...then regressed and are now back to being fully potty trained. You are no longer my awesome sleeper... you have such a hard time slowing down your mind and finally falling asleep (just like your mamma) and naps continue to be hit or miss, though your 2 hours of quiet time in your room is not optional. You LOVE your Thomas trains and play in your room for hours as you pretend to be Thomas or Percy. You love to help me cook dinner and for the most part are relatively obedient. You are a GREAT little soccer player and love kicking your new soccer ball. Your favorite shows are Daniel Tiger's neighborhood and Thomas and friends. You absolutely love going to preschool at Colonial on Tuesdays and Thursdays and love your Jesus songs (Psalty Kids Praise) that we check out from the library.

The greatest change I have seen in you though is your new love for your baby brother Pierce. You love to climb into his bed and snuggle and tickle him and if we would let you, you love bouncing him around in the crib as you act like it is a trampoline. If Pierce is not with us or you simply can't see him you are very concerned. And HE lights up when you walk into the room. He is your biggest fan and you have begun to delight in that. You have made a major transition from loving me the most to preferring your Daddy strongly! At first I was hurt, but now it makes my heart glad as I see your desire to be just like Daddy. This past month you have spent every waking hour outside helping your daddy build our new deck with your tool box in hand ready to "help.". Your sweet spirit was completely devastated when you woke up last Thursday morning to find that it was all finished. Precious hours of father/son time me and your daddy will always remember.

Humorous to your Daddy but not so humorous to me is that since preschool began a month ago you have started to stutter ALL.THE. TIME. I cringe each time you struggle to get out your question to me but the doctor laughed when I asked about it at your appointment and said that it's called the 3 year stutter. She explained that it is caused by the rapid brain development. Basically your brain is processing faster than your mouth can spit it out. She assured me by 4 it would be gone!

Your favorite little buddies continue to be little Gerry, your cousin Lucy and sweet little Jack Barnhill. I can't wait to watch those friendships grow. Your daddy and I pray each day that you would grow to be a man who Loves Jesus more than anything, a man who has the gospel written on his heart and a man who would fiercely love people, considering others more important than yourself.

Will, I could not possibly love you any more and I can't wait to reflect back a year from now to see how much more you have grown! Happy Birthday my sweet first born!

Happy 6 months baby Pierce!

2014-10-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

My sweet second child. We could not possibly love you any more. Between waiting for your 6 month well check and being sick we are a bit delayed on getting your stats up!

You have honestly had a tough last month. First, you got a terrible stomach virus that lasted for 10 days and consequently caused you to get another ear infection. You recovered well but then 3 weeks later you came down with a cold that you picked up at church which also turned into another nasty double ear infection. You've got your mamma worried because according to the pediatrician if you get more than one more ear infection they are going to want to discuss tubes...That dear friends is something daddy and I desperately would like to avoid. The thought of putting our infant under anesthesia for surgery is more than I can bear. But unfortunately the doctor said because of your anatomy, every time you get sick you will inevitably get an ear infection until your ears are more developed. What does that mean around here...lots of hand washing, paci washing, hand sanitizer and NO CHURCH NURSERY for at least 2-3 months. Certainly not ideal, but it will be short lived and well worth the sacrifice in the short term.

On to your stats...

Weight: 19 lbs (77%)

Height: 26.75 in (55%)

Head: 44 cm (70%)

You are one big boy, but not as big as I thought you were going to be when we arrived. You continue to be super contented and easy going. You truly are a joy to be around. True confession...sometimes I forget you are in the house and I panic as I quickly come see that you are contentedly playing in your excersaucer, johner jumper or just playing with your toys on the floor.

Eating:
We derailed from solids shortly after you turned 5 months because of the stomach bug. The last thing you needed at that point was more roughage. But in the past week we have started again and on our best day, you get lunch and dinner consisting of either a fruit and veggie or fruit/veggie and oatmeal. You have yet to turn your nose up to anything. You love it all! You still take a bottle at 7:45, 11:30, 3:30, 7:15 and yes we are still ridiculously dreamfeeding you at 10:00pm. Its completely your mamma. I just love more than anything that quiet feed at night before I go to bed where I kiss your head the whole time and get to solely focus on YOU. Yes you are asleep and nutritionally don't even need it but soon we will take that away. (Full disclosure, we have never tried a single night to not feed you before going to bed so time will tell how that transition goes.)

Sleeping:
You continue to be my high sleep baby. You go down at 7:30 and wake up at 7:45am with not a peep through the night. You take two 2-2.5 hour naps. Usually from 9-11 and 1-3:30. Your brother at this age was still not consistently sleeping through the night and only took two 1.5 hour naps. We are also in a weird stage where I have cut out your catnap in the evening because you are on the fence of needing it and not needing it. I imagine very soon you'll be just fine to go til 7:30 without rubbing your eyes at 6pm.

Milestones:
You are sitting like a champ. We still try to put pillows around you so that when you inevitably do fall over you don't hurt your sweet head but even when you do you don't cry. You are desperately wanting to crawl as you flail your arms and legs trying to figure out how to make yourself move, Usually you just pull yourself around to get where you want to go or just roll to the toy you want. Still no true baby talk. Just lots and lots of belly laughs and "ahhhhs" no "gagaga" or "dadada" yet. The doctor said you appear to be an observer but not delayed in the least. I have found that you talk the most when all is quiet otherwise you just want to take in all the action.

Likes:
WILL...Will is your favorite person in the whole wide world with me as a close second. You crane your head to see where he is and what he is doing. It makes my heart burst with joy to see the bond forming, Will's favorite thing to do now is to get into the crib with you and "play". You both laugh and squeal at the top of your lungs as he squeezes your belly with a big hug or lays next to you as you try to grab his face, You continue to just love people. You delight in others delighting in you. You also love eating, sleeping and being able to move around on the floor.

Dislikes:
Really nothing to note here... The only time you cry is when you watch me walk out of the room and that is half hearted crying at best.

Sweet Pierce, may you continue to be my favorite 2nd born little boy! We love you so so much!

"Mamma...could we please be done?"

Will's first day of Preschool...

2014-09-03T10:19:00.001-07:00

How is it possible that this day has already come...Will's 1st day of preschool. All summer I looked forward to the beginning of school, but as I drove to Colonial Baptist yesterday morning I felt a pit in my stomach. Uncertainty for myself but great anticipation for Will. Being that Will is an October birthday he will always be the oldest of his class. Something I think that will serve him well, particularly as a little boy. That extra year makes all the difference.

Yesterday morning, Will woke up bright and early and said he was ready to go to school! Nana came over to keep Pierce for me in the event that I needed to stay longer if he was having a hard time saying goodbye (something that I now know to be laughable). We took a few quick pictures and headed out. The whole ride there Will was talking up a storm about his teacher Mrs. Amanda and how he was going to share with his new friends interspersed with the constant hollers of wahooo!!! Squeals of complete delight and excited anticipation of this new chapter of his life.

I walked him in and he RAN into his classroom and never looked back. The pit in my stomach grew... it was at that moment that I realized that this is the beginning of our gradual separation. Recognizing my responsibility to teach my sweet baby boy to take risks and shoot him out into the world like an arrow. It is so easy for us as mom's to want to hold them so close and keep them with us forever but biblical parenthood requires of us to shoot them out like arrows to take on the world for the gospel...especially our boys. In the next 20 years I will have to constantly remind myself of this.

I was so nervous to hear how he did his first day. When I walked in I saw him helping his teacher clean up all the toys and it brought a smile to my face. As soon as he saw me his face lit up and he said "Hey Mamma!" as he ran to the door. His teacher, Mrs Amanda is so very kind. I watched as she hugged each child leaving and told them she loved them. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. I asked how Will did and she smiled big and said, "I think he's ready for college." "He also helped us clean up all the toys and was very kind and helpful. He is definitely ready to be here."

We grabbed his first craft and headed for home. The first the out of Will's mouth was, "Hey Mamma, that was really fun! Can I go back tomorrow?" No son you may not go back tomorrow, two days a week is all that I can handle! Here's to a great first year of preschool! We love you so much my sweet Will and can already see the great and mighty things the Lord has in store for your life!

Happy 5 Months Baby Pierce!

2014-08-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

Pierce you continue to light up my life in every way! You are the happiest, most contented baby I have ever met (ok, I know I'm a biased Mamma but for real!)

You are growing like a weed! (out more than up it seems...but I think your fatness dear son is what keeps you easy breezy). I won't know your stats until your 6 month appointment but I feel confident you will be jumping percentiles yet again. This month we set out to get some pictures of you and your brother outdoors hence why going through 400+ pictures delayed getting your post up. What a fun time we had!

Eating:
Same schedule: you eat at 7:30/7:45, 11:30, 3:30, 7:30 and we continue to give you a dreamfeed at 10:30 to ensure a good night for all. The one night I skipped it you woke up at 5am hungry. We just started solids the week you turned 5 months and you LOVE the oatmeal as we skipped the rice cereal all together. You are one hungry boy. You never spit it out and you open your mouth wide like a little bird ready to be fed. The only real food we have tried is green beans that I made very thick for you and you loved them as well. You have clearly been ready for the main event for some time. I will probably keep you on only veggies for a while to hopefully establish a love for them. Right now we just give it to you twice a day but you don't freak out if we can't get to it.

Sleeping:

Same. 9:15-11:30 (morning nap), 1:15-3:30 (afternoon nap) and then a 45 min catnap in the evening. You go to bed right after we feed you at 7:30 pm and we don't hear a peep out of you until we come wake you up in the morning.

Milestones:
You are a little rolling machine! You grab your feet and roll right on over to your back, though oddly enough you no longer roll the other way. You hold that head up FOREVER and kick your arms and legs like you want to crawl. You are almost sitting but not quite yet. Your favorite thing in the whole wide world though is your johnny jumper. You LOVE to jump! You literally could jump all day as you squeal in delight. Will loved it too but not nearly as much as you. You also started holding your bottle, but I'm not ready for that just yet so I assist to feel needed.

I sound like a broken record, but all in all you are a joy and your Daddy and I are so thankful that Jesus gave us such an easy 2nd child. You fit like a glove!

Just a few more for good measure!

Love my chunk!

2014-08-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

Breaking in the door jams! He is seriously the happiest baby!

Happy 4 Months Pierce!

2014-08-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Baby Pierce continues to be a joy! He seems to hit spurts of growing out and then up. He is teething like a mad man but aside from waking early from a nap he NEVER fusses. He is a dream baby. He had an ear infection, big brother swallowed a quarter to the tune of $12,000, we've been on vacation, and we just lost my sweet grandma and celebrated her life today.

Sweet boy, you were not forgotten just somewhere in the mix, life happened.... but here it goes

Weight: 16 lbs, 2.5 oz (66%)

Height: 25 inches (42%)

Head: 42.9 cm (85%)

Sleeping: Still sleeping like a champ, 7:45pm- 7:45am then a morning nap from 9:30-11:30 an afternoon nap from 1:30-3:30 and a short catnap around 5:30.

Eating: At 4 months we moved you to a 4 hour schedule so you eat 7:45am, 11:30am, 3:30am, 7:30am and then we still do a 10:30pm dreamfeed because we are too chicken to give it up. I am holding off on solids because your weight is great and frankly the thought of doing bottles and solids right now with an almost 3 year old is not super appealing for mealtimes. I imagine we will jump on that between 5 and 6 months!

Milestones: Pierce continues to roll tummy to back but has yet to roll back to tummy which for now, I am fine with! He sits in the bumbo for long periods of time and LOVES the exersaucer. My favorite favorite thing though is his super happy belly laugh that he lets out when he sees momma. Pierce loves watching his big brother and generally just loves kids. My guess is by 5 months he may be sitting on his own but definitely by 6 months. He pulls up to stand and continue to babble up a storm. Pierce is so contented that I often say, if all my babies were like this I could have 10 kids! (But no worries, we will NOT be having 10 kids). The only pitiful thing lately has been how badly he has been teething. Three fingers are in his mouth at all times!

Happy 3 months baby Pierce!

2014-06-19T12:26:00.002-07:00

This has been the fastest 3 months of my life. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would feel this way about infancy, but Pierce makes me feel ready for more kiddos. I feel like we are in such a great groove that he seems like a dream baby! He is the chunk I always wanted!

Weight: I estimate a little over 14 pounds (Will was just over 13 at 3mths)

We don't go back to pediatrician until 4 months so we will know more then!

Eating: My sweet little chubby baby is still eating every 3 hours and taking 5 oz each feed. (7:30, 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and then a dreamfeed at 10:30) No more middle of the night!!!

Sleeping: Praise Jesus God almighty I actually have a baby who is sleeping from 8:00pm-7:45am. It is unbelievable! I am over the moon. I will say though, it didn't happen by chance. He had consistently been going til 5am for a while, but couldn't seem to get past that. Two weeks ago I started going in once to check on him, then setting an alarm on my phone for 30 minutes and turning off monitor. My heart can't handle him screaming for 30 minutes in the middle of the night (even though I know that teaching him to soothe is the most loving thing I can do for him.) It took a couple tough love nights of Crying for 30-45 minutes total and now he wakes up babbling, happy in the mornings... completely content.

Swaddle: We did have a bit of a challenge two weeks ago when he started busting out of his straight jacket (velcro swaddle) because he wanted his hands in his mouth. Problem was, he could not put himself back to sleep. I am pretty sure he is going to be a thumb sucker, but for now he is a full fist sucker. He still can't handle the full freedom of being out of the swaddle so I just swaddle one arm and let him get to the other hand. It took a few additional night/naps of crying but now he does great!

Likes: He LOVES to interact with people. He smiles constantly. He talks (babbles) all day long. If I am in the room he has to look at me which my Daddy says he loves. He loves Will and Will has come to love Pierce very much! We has also started to belly laugh which makes the rest of us laugh as well. We recently started the Bumbo and he loves it. His favorite position though is laying on his back where he can kick his arms and legs.

Dislikes: He really is not a fussy baby so at this point dislikes are hard. The only thing he doesn't love is being on his tummy. For a while he had gotton too fat to roll but as of yesterday he has started rolling himself back to his back again to avoid being on his tummy (little rascal.) I have tried to be more conscious of switching his positions because he was starting to get a flat spot on the back of his head. Hopefully that will resolve.

One sweet tid bit: As most of our friends and family know, Will wasn't exactly over the moon about getting a baby brother. In fact, when we would talk about it, my non-aggressive 2 year old would say " Not, Pierce! I will kick him in the face!" which I of course was horrified by. Well... we've come a long way. Several weeks ago I went to drop Pierce off at the YMCA nursery so I could take Will swimming at the pool and Will flipped out hysterically crying, "No, Momma! Don't let that lady take Pierce! Momma, don't leave him, don't leave him." It nearly broke my heart! He is already protective of his baby brother and gets very upset whenever we drop him off. He told me he wanted him to come swimming and the minute I told him we had to leave the pool to go get Pierce he came running and was so excited! He said, "Momma, that lady gave me Pierce back! I am so happy." Best buddies in the making!

Can't wait to see what the next month holds! Baby Pierce, you have made our family complete!

Sleeping...

2014-05-27T12:29:00.002-07:00

Well...this is a post I have eagerly anticipated...and prayed for! It is no surprise to anyone that Will was NOT the world's best sleeper! He didn't sleep through the night consistently til 6 months and that was after a very long CIO (cry it out) weekend at 4 months.

Pierce out of the gate seemed to be a better sleeper than Will, but still seems to have a fast metabolism and wanted to eat every four hours at night. After talking with my good friend Ashlee whose baby starting sleeping through the night at 6wks I immediately began picking her brain. Miss Charlotte (baby #3) was born two days after Pierce and Ashlee assured me she had no idea how/why her girls slept through so early but the more she talked the more I realize that she actually did have a method. Ashlee had been telling me that when Charlotte would wake she would first put the paci in and try to hold her off. Miraculously, Charlotte would sleep several more hours. It made perfect sense to me as you truly do have to train their tummies that nighttime is NOT the time to eat. I also had joined a facebook group called "I love babywise" which is a support group for Mom's who subscribe to Parent Directed Feeding. They had a document with tips for sleeping through the night and the suggestions seemed to loosely coincide with my conversation with Ashlee. Here is an excerpt of their suggestions:

2) In the early morning (5-6ish), feed until your baby goes back to sleep and then put him down. The MON ; and early morning feeds are the times you don't have to worry about feeding baby to sleep. Now I'm not saying that if baby is fast asleep as soon as he latches on, you put him down...you know what I mean. With mine, I'd work a little harder at the first MON feed (anywhere from 1-3am usually), but at the early morning feed, I just go 5-10 min on one side. This way a) you are back in bed sooner and b) baby will take a full feeding at the first official feeding of the day.

3) Some time between 8-12 weeks, use controlled crying to push the MON feeding back. In my experience, my babies would go from two night wakings to one at about 8 weeks. It would just suddenly happen. From there, I'd begin to work on that last MON feeding. I'll try to describe the;process....If, for example, my baby had demonstrated that he could routinely make it from 10:30 (DreamFeed)- 3:00, I would set 3:00 as the minimum time. So if he woke at 2:00, I'd allow 15 minutes of crying. To my surprise, what often happened was that he'd cry 10 min and then fall back asleep until 3:30 or whatever. When he woke again, I'd get him. After a few nights, I'd reset the "minimum" time to 3:30. This would go on for about 2 weeks, at which point I'd have the MON feeding pushed back to 5- something. At that point, I dropped it. With my babies, it required two nights of off & on crying. It was not as bad as I feared, and they never looked back after that.

4) Limit the amount of milk offered at the MON feedings. This is the method utilized by the author of the BW blog (babywisemom.blogpsot.com). It is used in place of the CIO method outlined above. I've never tried it, but here's how it works...You offer progressively less milk at each MON feeding over the course of a few weeks. If you are breastfeeding, you'd start by limiting the time at the 2nd breast. Then work your way down to just doing one side. After that, limit time on the first side. This gets baby used to taking in less at night and more in the daytime.

I should say that I have yet to do the crying it out, not because I am oppose to it, but because I would fully wake up if I listened to him scream for 15 minutes. What I have done is hold him off at the 30 minute intervals with the paci (because there is no paci in the world that would put Pierce back to sleep for several hours). This past weekend was rough holding him off from 4 am to 5am but yay! It has worked. Pierce did his first night of sleeping til 5:30am (7 hours straight) without a peep. I am hopeful that by the end of the week he will be fully sleeping til 7:30am! Yay!!! I simply cannot even believe it. What I love about this advice is that it doesn't presume that baby will automatically know how to sttn but needs to learn. I wish so badly I had known this for Will! But that's the story of first time parents! Hope this is helpful for those in the trenches right now! I am definitely a Momma who needs 8 hours of sleep!

Pierce: 2 Months Old!

2014-05-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

It amazes me at this point how much changes in 4 short weeks! Pierce has plumped up, is sleeping so much better and his reflux is finally under control!

We had his 2 month check up yesterday and he is doing great!

Weight: 11 lbs, 13.5 oz (37th percentile)

Height: 23 in. (48th percentile....up from 16% at his last appointment which must have been a fluke because it didn't fit with his other numbers!)

Head: 39.5 (61st percentile)

Eating: Pierce still eats 4 oz every 3 hours during the day and we continue to follow the Eat, Wake, Sleep pattern of Parent Directed Feeding (PDF). I have truly found that for my boys, it has made them less fussy and more predictable! I feed him at 7:30am, 10:30am, 1:15 pm, 4:30, 7:30 then down for bed. Just as we did for Will, I do a Dreamfeed at 10:30pm while he is sleeping to tied him over longer at night. He has continued to stretch at night and has been doing a 6 hour stretch in the middle of the night, so we are down to one middle of the night feed around 4:30am.

Sleeping: We have made major strides here. For a good part of this past month we struggled and struggled with the 45 minute naps where Pierce was unable to resettle and go back to sleep. Lots and lots of crying and generally overtired during the day as a result. Finally, I decided that I needed to give him a chance to resettle on his own before intervening with a paci or moving him to the swing. I set the timer for 10 minutes for both going down for a nap as well as if he wakes early before I go in.... and what do you know, the child goes back to sleep! YAY!!! This has made all the difference in the world to my day. He now is awake for about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes and then naps the remainder of the 3 hour cycle (so 1hr and 45 min-2 hours of a nap each time.) At night he goes to bed at 8pm and I usually don't hear anything out of him until 4:30 with the 10:30 dreamfeed in the middle. I am super hopeful that in the next few weeks he will be sleeping a full night til 7am or 7:30am. Our ped said they really need to be 12 pounds to sustain their tummies a full night... so we shall see!

Milestones: As I mentioned in an earlier post, Pierce has been rolling over since 7 weeks and rarely allows himself to spend much time on his belly before making his way to his back. He is tracking faces and toys like a champ (even though I was a bit worried about not tracking toys...more on that in a latter post). He has started "talking" baby talk and cooing and laughing. He LOVES to watch Will and I must say, his favorite face to see at the moment is Mama. He is constantly looking for me which melts my heart. I call Pierce my squishy baby because he is much fatter than Will ever was. I always said that I wanted to have "chunks" and he is turning out to be just that...and I LOVE it! Pierce truly is the happiest baby! We love you so much baby boy!

We are all doing GREAT and I absolutely LOVE being the Momma of boys! Sure the clothes aren't as cute but there is just something about a Momma and her sons that can't fully be described in words. I do hope we have the chance to parent a daughter as well one day, but for now I'll take my house of 5 boys (counting Charlie and Hank of course! :) )

I could just eat him up! This face gets kisses ALL DAY LONG!

2014-05-11T19:28:00.001-07:00

So thankful these sweet little boys made me a mama...feeling very blessed!

We have a roller!

2014-05-07T14:07:00.001-07:00

I told Zak last night that because Pierce is becoming a bit more of a chunker than Will (who rolled at 8wks), I assumed Pierce would likely be a good bit later. I believe he was offended so he decided to go ahead and roll today...@ 7wks! Yay Pierce!

Posted the first video to facebook, so for a little variety here take two!

Baby Smiles

2014-05-07T06:35:00.003-07:00

Love these sweet baby smiles! I could just eat him up! Hard to believe he was 7 weeks yesterday! #lovemyboys

Pierce: One Month Old...

2014-04-23T19:16:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that baby Pierce has been here for a whole month! Seems like just yesterday I was miserably pregnant and waiting to meet him! I was waiting to post Pierce's one month pictures until his well check which we had yesterday so I would know his stats!

Sweet Pierce is growing well and definitely catching up even though he was slow out of the gate. He is smiling at us and loosely tracking. He seems more laid back than Will and tends to go with the flow. He is strong as an ox just like his brother was. He even rolled over from his tummy to his back at his two week check up. The doctor said likely as his tummy expanded he wouldn't be able to continue to roll over and that has held true. At his 2 week check up he was only 13th percentile so I was hopeful he would make up for lost time (in the womb!) The first 3 weeks were rough with silent reflux (where he spit up but it would just go up his throat and back down and burn like battery acid.) Last week we saw the doctor and began on Prilosec and praise Jesus it began working immediately. Pierce has been such a different baby now that we have that issue under control! Prior to beginning medicine he seemed uncomfortable most of the day and screamed during feeds and often woke an hour early crying in discomfort. I spent much of the day wearing him in the k-tan just to make it to the next feeding time.

Eating: Pierce eats 4 oz every 3 hours during the day and we begin the day between 8:00 and 8:30. He eats great but is quite difficult to burp. His schedule flexibly is 8:30, 11, 2, 5, 7:30 and 10:30 (dreamfeed). He typically goes until 2:30 and then just started extending til 6:00 ish.

Sleeping: After eating, Pierce is awake for 45min-1hr and then he goes down for the remainder of the 2.5-3 hour stretch. He usually fusses on and off for 10 minutes and then goes to sleep. Unlike Will, he doesn't seem to want his paci to go to sleep and only takes it when he wakes early or is fussy during the day. We purchased a Rock N Play sleeper for Pierce and he exclusively sleeps in it as it helps being upright with his reflux. We moved Pierce to his room the 3rd week and he does great.

Weight: Pierce is 9 pounds 8oz (29th percentile)
Height: 21 inches (16th percentile)
Head: 37.4 cm (45th percentile)

My poor baby boy got his first shot (Hep B) at the pediatrician and he did not appreciate it, but as usual he was easily consolable as soon as I picked him up.

....and of course the photo shoot ended about here, "Please let this be over Momma!"

Welcome to the World Baby Pierce! (Finally your birth story...)

2014-04-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

To say that my pregnancy with Pierce was a challenge would be the understatement of the year. Bottom line- this body doesn't handle pregnancy very well. Cliff notes: First trimester I wanted to die I was soo sick. Literally, I wanted to DIE! Those first 12 weeks were filled with 24/7 hugging a toilet bowl and just trying to make it through each day with a toddler. Second trimester, not too bad. Still hated being pregnant but otherwise uneventful. At 24 weeks though I found out that I had placenta previa (which is where the placenta is covering the cervix and unless it moves out of the way, its an automatic c-section and early delivery). The doctor immediately put me on pelvic rest (no lifting, no more exercise etc.) and unfortunately I was scheduled for a 37 week c-section delivery. As we got closer, I hadn't had any complications so I pushed for one more week to deliver. The doctor agreed and the new date was set for March 18th. I should also note that my final trimester was filled with heartburn and severe sciatic nerve pain the shot straight down my right leg morning noon and night. I was not a happy camper.

Fast forward to Monday night, March 17th. We dropped Will off with Nana and Bampa and headed home to try to get some sleep as we had to be at the hospital by 5:30 am. Thanks to the help of ambien I actually slept great that night and we both got up at 4:30 to take showers and head for the hospital. The whole thing felt surreal driving up, parking the car and knowing that in a few short hours we would be meeting our second baby boy. We checked in and they immediately began to prep me for surgery. Dad showed up unexpectedly and I could tell he just wanted to be there to make sure everything went smoothly. Soon after the nerves began to kick in. I was scared. They wheeled me back about 7:45 because the doctor was running late and the anesthesiologist began with the spinal which I have to say was AWFUL! Shockingly I found it very painful but boy did it work. I had an epidural with Will and felt like I couldn't breath because they had numbed my chest but with the spinal I could breath just fine. The surgery felt like it went on forever and I was soo eager to meet my sweet baby. I lost a significant amount of blood in surgery as a result of the previa so it took a bit longer to get Pierce out. At 8:30am Hudson Pierce Shipman was born, 7 pounds 2 oz and 20.25 inches long. I cried when I heard his screams coming out because I knew then that he had safely arrived. Zak cut the cord and was able to go ahead and hold him, but it was a good bit later before I got to hold him because they were closing me up.

When I got to recovery I was so tired because of the blood loss and honestly only held Pierce briefly because I was concerned I might drop him if I passed out. Pierce was making a lot of grunting noises and they were concerned enough that they sent him to the special care nursery for the next hour and placed him under the warmers. Soon after, they brought him back and his body temp was still lower than they wanted so they had me do skin to skin for the next few hours to try to get his body temp up. Thankfully it worked but instead of our families being able to come back at 9:30am as planned it was just after 12:00pm when they finally were able to come back and Pierce was still having to lay on me so no one was able to hold him.

Will was NOT a fan of me being in the hospital and certainly is very attached to his momma. I had really hoped that when Will came to meet Pierce I would be able to have someone else hold the new baby so I could be fully available to greet Will and assure him that everything was fine. But because it was so late when everyone came back they were only in the room for 15 minutes before they had to take Will to the cafeteria to get some lunch. By the time they came back it was past Will's naptime so they needed to head back home and Will just lost it. He was reaching for me and screaming "Momma, I want to stay with Momma!" It literally ripped my heart out and I started crying too. He was scared and not sure what was going on and I felt completely responsible.

The next 3 days were challenging to say the least. Pierce struggled to nurse and I saw lactation so many times. He was lethargic, which is common for boys who come early and had trouble latching. It was so so stressful that he continued to drop weight and have little interest in eating. The nurses and lactation all shared their concerns that he was tongue tied, but the pediatrician disagreed. By the time we left, Pierce had lost 11% of his body weight and we had to begin supplementing formula at every feed. My milk had yet to come in and we were definitely getting concerned. While in the hospital I definitely felt a major hormonal shift and began to have the same panic attacks throughout the day and to be honest it scared me. We were discharged Friday morning and at the point had made the decision to take Pierce to the ENT to have his tongue tie evaluated. The ENT said he definitely had a tongue tie and he immediately clipped it. They also discussed with us that due to his chin being recessed as a result of being born early he would likely continue to have a difficult time nursing and it would likely always be painful for me. That night we made the decision to wean. It was very emotional and very hard but I knew in my heart it was the right decision for our family. Each day since weaning I have felt better and better and now feel no anxiety at all. It took Pierce two full weeks to get back up to birth weight but within a short period of time he began eating like a champ!

I was so worried when I was pregnant with Pierce that I couldn't possibly love another child as much as I loved Will. But as many friends assured me, your heart grows in ways you never thought possible and I couldn't possibly love that sweet baby boy any more. We are so blessed to have him in our family. I love being a momma of boys and cant wait to see what sweet little personality emerges!

Christmas Day (Shipman Family Christmas)

2014-02-24T12:32:00.001-08:00

I didn't get many pictures of us Christmas morning because we only had a few presents for Will to open as Zak and I exchanged gifts the night before. Note to self: It's a lot to accomplish to open family presents, get everyone showered, dressed and ready and get over to do Christmas morning at the Grandparents by 9:30am!!! But pat on the back, we successfully did it! As for the picture, we had just given Will this leaf blower, bulldozer, clothes and a few books. He was so excited that Santa had brought him this blower! ....unfortunately the blower only lasted about 3 weeks when Will whacked it on the fire place and the whole thing fell apart. He is still devastated over the whole thing and would like to know when Santa can bring him another one! :)

Just a few quick family photos! No one quite knows how to make Will laugh like Bampa!

Will with Aunt Miranda!

Needless to say, Will was beside himself over all the presents he could barely contain himself. One of the perks I guess of being the first grandchild!

Thanking Aunt Miranda for her present! Soo sweet!

Of course every gift Will opened had to be taken out of these boxes that I swear they hope you never get in to! Will did NOT understand why it would take so long to get each toy out of the box...a good lesson in patience son!

Nana and Bampa got Will this snazzy new hat and matching mittens. Will had never worn mittens before and he absolutely loves them. He ran around saying he was a monster and we going to get us with his mittens. So cute. The weather this year was beautiful so the boys headed out to shoot this air gun that shoots out these balls in the front yard.

Well it only took me two months to document Christmas. With delivery only 3 weeks away I realized I better get my act together or it will be as though this past 6 months never happened! Here's to trying to do better capturing life here at the Shipman's! Merry Christmas! (2 months late!)

Christmas Eve (Pierce Family Christmas)

2014-02-24T12:12:00.003-08:00

In the past we have alternated between my family and Zak's family with Christmas and Christmas Eve. This year we spent Christmas Eve Day as though it was Christmas Day with my family. Will was beside himself with excitement to see what Santa Clause was going to bring! We got up, had breakfast and headed over to Mom and Dad's about 10:00 to start the Christmas festivities! As soon as we got there, I insisted on getting some family shots or else I knew it would never happen. I was pleased, but the kids not so much! :)

Pop holding all the kiddos...you can see how much they love being photographed!

A few family shots with me 6 1/2 months preggo and still feeling pretty good!

Look at these two photogenic little monkeys! At this point they were completely DONE with all the pictures and I believe this face from Lucy is as if to say, Aunt Caroline can you please just let us play!

Uncle Drew and Mamma (CiCi)

Sisters!

CiCi hanging with the kiddos before opening presents! They were sooo ready to start!

Let the fun begin!

The kids big gifts from my parents were this lovely black truck that Dad ordered that came with the tool box and hard hat...Will was convinced from this point on that he was Bob the Builder! I wish I had taken a picture of Miss Lucy's new kitchen, but she got this awesome kitchen that took Dad 6 hours to put together! She absolutely loved it and for that matter, so did Will!

After not taking a single picture Thanksgiving day I was committed to getting lots of pictures of Christmas this year before we go from a family of 3 to a family of 4. Truly such a fun stage to see how much these toddlers get in to Christmas and Santa! Two months ago we were still working on the concept of Jesus's birthday being the real meaning of Christmas. But every time I would say, "Christmas is Jesus' birthday!" Will would respond by saying "No Jesus! Those are my presents!" Lord help me! We have a lot of teaching to do!

Shipman Family Christmas

2014-02-23T07:35:00.001-08:00

This year we got together the weekend before Christmas with my father in laws extended family to share a nice meal and celebrate Christmas together as a family. The Shipman family has been through a lot this past year as we have all prayed and prayed for healing for Zak's cousin Lauren who has battled cancer for this last year. She unfortunately was rushed to the hospital the night before the get together and was unable to make it due to complications. We missed her dearly and continue to pray for a miracle!

These sweet girls are Zak's cousin Carl's little girls, Reese and Eve. They were so good with Will and he absolutely adored them!

He just looks like a little rascal doesn't he!?!

The whole gang! What a nice day we had!