we’re enjoying the building process, living with Grammy Jai, transitioning to me being a full time momma & watching Bowman grow, grow, grow! perhaps with a bit more time at home, this whole blog thing will receive some more attention.

peace.

The house is coming along quite nicely. We are just about to begin week 3 and have already poured a foundation and framed about 90% of the house. It’s cool to see the house take shape after looking at it on paper for so long. This next week we should have our metal roof on (we chose a gray color), windows in, and the porch and roof completed. We are waiting on some cedar beams to come in. The process has been a breeze so far with very few complications and great crews working on the house. We feel overwhelmed that we are able to do this and can’t wait to use the house to build community and love people. Click the picture above for more pics.

You’ve been our home since 2001.
We are sad to see you go.
Great memories you hold
From countless gatherings when we stretched your capacity to the place where our family began.
We are grateful for the life memories made within these old bones.

oh, sweet sugarbear. this month, your first nicknames began to emerge. beezer, the beeze, the beezie, sugarbear, love. we are so blessed to be your mom & dad. what fun you are! so, what happened this month?

mom returned to work 4 days a week. what a blessing to be able to return when you were 15 weeks old! and to have daddy, grammie & grandma who get to care for you. wow! although it’s hard for momma to leave every morning, i’m glad that you get to spend quality time with family in your home environment. because of that, momma leaving doesn’t seem to phase you (yet!).

the side roll…you love to roll to your left side.

babbling…we eat up all your coos & even the other evening a “trill”. you’ll be saying “tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal” in no time. momma works to intro all the sounds you need for el español.

joyful disposition…

bathtime…it’s official, you’ve decided that you like it! yeah! and your cradle cap seems to have only lasted 2 or 3 weeks. dial soap & gran gran’s facial brush have been a good solution. the other night, you kicked in the sink so much, that we had to dry grammie’s floor.

schedule king…i’m not holding my breath, but this month you were all about your 3 hour schedule, eat, play, sleep. you even would time it to sleep in on the weekends & on sundays, i would walk into church, swaddle you & you’d sleep through the service. we’ll see what next month holds!

the nightly trek…not every kid grows up with their grandparents so close. perhaps we are already starting to say goodbye to our house as it seems like our nightly routine involves taking food over to grammie’s for dinner, giving you your bath & last nap while mom and dad catch up on the olympics, lost or modern family. then you eat your last meal, are swaddled & we head home for bed. it’s a cold trek & one we’re looking forward to not doing for much longer. it seems we may start to build our new house before long!

above ALL, we pray fervently that our family would bring glory to our Heavenly Father. we praise Him for revealing more of His love for us as we experience our deep love for you, Bowman Cruz. how wonderful that your name reminds us of His sacrifice to know us intimately.

note: doctor’s visit wed. march 3rd, you are weighing in at 14 lbs 14 oz & are 26 inches long (90th percentile!). we’re a bit late posting this update & hope to post pics soon; our excuse…we’re in the process of moving out of our house. the salvaging begins in full this monday—2 days away!

This video shows what we was happening in our lives this time last year. It’s mostly in Spanish, but we’ll see who can successfully translate the main points. Two cupcakes to the winner.

You took a trip to meet Dr. Jackson for your 2 month shots…you were brave, crying just for a few brief seconds. It was harder on mom & dad! Dr. Jackson prayed for you to know Christ & for us, your parents to show you who Christ is through our love for you. You were quite chill in his arms.

On Christmas Eve, the Archers & Millers went to church. Your dad led worship & you were content through the service in the carrier. We then shared our tradition of chili & sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. On Christmas morning, we crunched through the snow (yes, your first Christmas was white!) over to the Archers & you slept through all the presents. Later that day, we exchanged gifts with the Millers & found out that you are going to have a new cousin in July!!

The first full week of January was bitter cold & our pipes froze in the farmhouse. So, we spent our first nights away from home at Grammie’s (across the yard!). It didn’t seem to phase you! And a whole week of snow days means that mom gets another week of maternity leave…what a blessing!

Not only are you growing physically, but we’ve also taken note of your skills this month. You’re starting to think you might like bath time. While you frequently coo/giggle, you graced mom & dad with a big laugh one day…we can’t wait to hear it again. Your neck muscles are quite strong as you’ve had lots of tummy time…nearly ready for Bumbo fun! You also do the Bowman dance a lot. This involves crazy happy flailing of your arms & thumping of your legs. And talk…wow, you are quite social. Once you’re warmed up, you’re ready to tell us all your thoughts–usually when you’re on the changing table. And you’ve become so observant that naps in the swing are long gone and we’re starting to think it may be time for you to go to the Greenhouse (where kids grow) at church.

We love you dearly, Bowman. Part of our bedtime routine is praying together as a family. Now that you have a voice, you join in. We always pray for your heart to be calm & for you to know Christ’s love by how we love you.

Hey Little Baby

After thinking about what Jesus really came to earth to do I wrote and recored this song. It’s far from perfect, but I hope it reminds us all of what Jesus came to do, take away the sins of the world and give us hope. Jesus, save us tonight.

• Being dedicated at church.  We chose Isaiah 26: 3-4 for his dedication, “He will keep your mind in perfect peace as you trust in Him.  Trust in the Lord, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock Eternal.”  We pray this for Bowman every day & are so grateful to dedicate him in a community that will raise him to know the fullness of life in Christ.
  
• āyí Esther visits for Thanksgiving.  That’s Aunt Esther in Chinese.  While we didn’t like that she had a hurt ankle, it did slow her down to get lots of love time with baby B.
• Growing boy!  I’ll post the stats after his 2 month check-up next week, but he’s sporting a cute belly, rubberband wrists & his legs just keep getting longer!  We think he’s at least 24 inches & on his way to 12 lbs by our home measurements.  I never understood parents’ excitement with their kids’ growth, but it makes total sense now as I am his food source & like to see that it’s working!  :)  
• Sleeping in his crib.  We made the move from the bassinet beside our bed to his crib around week 5.  It’s probably only 10 more steps away, but it’s still an accomplishment!  Now his room really feels like his room.  He absolutely loves his gazing at his 2 mobiles (yes, we’re crazy & hung 2), mirror & bedding.  He frequently tries out his whale-like language with the giraffes on his bumper.
• Laughing, smiles, gazes & vowel sounds.  It may change some day, but Bowman loves to talk with us as he gets his diaper changed.  He is fascinated with anyone who wants to talk with him.  So sugary sweet.
• Mom & Dad learning lots.  We bought a Miracle Blanket, sound machine & are working to perfect the perfect soothing hold.  We now know to put Bowman down to sleep while he’s just drowsy.  We even discovered socks that will stay on his feet.  And of course, our days are pretty much eat, play, nap, repeat.  We love taking care of our little man.
  
• Two more trips to Terra Tots, Bowman’s favorite store, and we’ve loved our bimonthly baby play dates with moms who had babies in september & october.
  
• And of course, meeting more of you!  Here he is meeting his cousins Dalton & Madison.  Thank you for loving our family.