7 months in...

Well, we have now been parents for a whole 7 months! Many things have changed in the past 7 months...well actually, many things have changed in the past 19 months. We got married, moved to Kansas City, Joel started a new job, I survived morning sickness and 41 weeks of carrying a beautiful bundle of joy, and now Joel and I are both students...again. Life sure is great-and very full. The Lord has truly blessed us with many amazing and challenging things in our first year of marriage. We are adjusting pretty well considering our journey thus far.

Joel has started his Master's degree in Counseling at Mid-America Nazarene University in August. He is still working full time and taking classes two nights a week. He is doing awesome and learning so much. He loves playing with Lilyana and kissing her all the time. He can't wait until she can throw a ball to him! He has recently been teaching her how to roll a ball back and forth on the ground, since she can sit up all by herself now. He is definitely the best at making Lily laugh out loud. It is so precious to watch them play together. When he walks through the door after work she goes nuts waving her arms and smiling and bouncing up and down on my hip. Joel is an amazing dad and husband, I am so blessed by our little family.

I started my BSN degree at Saint Luke's in August. I love my classes and my teachers and things are going pretty smoothly as we speak. I am very excited that I only have one class next semester and I will only be away from Lily on Thursdays for an hour and a half! I love spending as much time as I can with her watching her grow and develop. It truly is an awesome experience being a mom. I am awestruck everyday by how miraculous the Lord's creation is. Next fall I will start my clinicals and actually get to see patients. I am only going part time so I can spend more time with my baby girl, so it will take me three years to finish. Lily and I have so much fun together. We go everywhere together! Some of her favorite places are the park, Target, and the mall. She loves shopping with me and she also "sings" with me in the car. We are pretty much like peas and carrots.

Lilyana Grace is 7 months old and I can't believe it! She is growing and learning and developing way too fast. She makes us laugh all the time and she has such a quick smile and adorable little laugh. She is now rolling all over the floor, sitting up by herself and grabbing everything in site and sticking it straight in her mouth. She is such a curious little ball of energy. She loves her exersaucer and she also loves music, singing, and books. She is now "talking" all the time and she has this precious little sqeaky laugh that she does. I am amazed at what simple things delight her. She is also eating rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato, and bananas. I have been making all her food with fresh fruits and veggies and she seems to really like it. She gets so excited when I put her in her high chair because she knows it is time to eat! She opens her mouth wide for every bite and smacks her lips.

Well, life for us is extrememly full, and we try to laugh and love through it all. It gets a little crazy sometimes with a very active baby and lots of studying that goes on at night, but the Lord has given us much grace. We love where we are and where we're headed. The Lord has given us such a precious gift, and there is definitely never a dull moment in our home!