Stay at home mom?

I never imagined myself as a stay at home mom. I always figured this day and age you HAVE to have dual income to do anything. But by faith Joel and I have decided that I quit my job at the Portland Art Museum. I have actually enjoyed the past 12 weeks of maternity leave. I can't believe how fast time flies by. The hours at the museum were crazy and not sustainable with two kids and Joel working. Some days I would not get home until 4am. The team was more than understandable when I turned in my two week notice.

I am thankful that when Kaden was a baby Joel was still finishing school so he was able to stay home with Kaden. We sent Kaden to daycare for a few weeks but it wasn't the right fit for us. Kaden was such a chill kid that Joel was able to take Kaden to meetings and he would just sit there and play or sleep.

So now with Addysen here it doesn't make sense to pay for child care for both kids. I would be just working to pay for child care. If we had grandparents around that could watch them would be one thing, but all our family down here have kids of their own to watch and take to sports events and stuff to add two more kids is silly. I am excited and scared all at the same time. Parenting is a huge responsibility.. And to have to be on my toes 24/7 is quite draining. I don't want to just plop them in front of a tv and call it good. (we don't have a tv to plop them in front of even if I wanted to... Lol). I will probably be working very minimally from home. But for now Joel is the primary bread winner. He is raising support to work at Missio and we now need to raise a bit more to cover our insurance for the family since that was a main reason why I was working. If you want to know more about how to support us financially especially so we can get our insurance covered you can email Joel.

For now I am trusting finances will pour in and am constantly reminded that God clothes the flowers in the fields and feed the birds so not to worry about our daily needs. I am looking forward to this next season of life and spending time shepherding these two little hearts toward their creator.

Cloth Diapers!

When Kaden was born we only knew a handful of people using cloth diapers. Joel and I were studying about creation care and how God calls us to take care of his world. We wanted to be more responsible with the earth God created for us to live in. So we dove into cloth diapers. We got a handful of Gdiapers and began our journey. But kaden was too skinny to wear them right away. We went about three months straight wearing exclusively cloth. But the thing with gdiapers is that they had inserts that were flush able... And just started to come out with bamboo cloth inserts. So, cost was the inserts were quite spendy. we ended up traveling to Seattle and buying a bag of disposables and when we returned from our trip we never went back to cloth.

Now with Addysen we decided we wanted to try again. This time with a lot more friends using cloth and lots more research on how to sustain using them long term. We decided to go with bumgenius diapers. They are pocket diapers vs gdiapers have more pieces to assemble. So far we are using them exclusively and have a really good routine for washing, hang drying, stuffing the pockets and changing. These seem like a better fit for Addysen. We love the fact that we are saving money (diapers are just getting more and more expensive... These cloth diapers are one size that will grow with the baby). They are super cute too! And good for the environment. Right now with Addysen being exclusively breast fed the diaper can go right into the wash without rinsing the poo off. We will see what the cloth diapering will look like when she starts eating solids. A few people have been asking about the cloth diapers... I would love to pass on any research or answer any questions. I'm no expert but I have a few resources that could help. Since now I'm on permanent maternity leave I will make this investment in cloth diapers work as long as I can-all the way up to potty training.

One, TWO... Buckle my shoe...

Two months! Addysen is two months old. She is a whopping 10.11 lbs, 22 inches long and 15 inches around her head. She's finally on the charts. Haha! She is sleeping longer stretches and staying awake for longer stretches too. She's a fast eater and usually ends her feedings choking on the milk cause she's trying to pound down her food. Haha! At first I didn't know if she was eating enough but she's doubled her birth weight so I think she's fine. Her smiles are adorable, her giggles are so sweet and her big eyes communicates "everything is going to be ok". She can hold a pretty long conversation...She went swimming for the first time and absolutely loved every minute of it. She was stinkin cute in her little bathing suit. 

We spent her first week of being two months in Seattle celebrating auntie TD's grad and spending time with momma's family while dadda was on a retreat and working. It was a very fun week being very spoiled by everyone. Addysen is officially in cloth diapers full time and we love them! Big brother Kaden is still in love with his little sister. He does get impatient when he wants food and we are busy with Addysen. Kaden graduated from preschool and ended the school year with a field day with the daddies. The summer just begun and I have a feeling it's going to fly by super fast.

Maternity Leave....

Thought it was funny the things I have taken for granted... showering is a major one, eating is another. Things that I am learning to master is eating quick, typing with one hand, showering under five minutes, and talking Kaden into doing things for himself without my help if I am tied up nursing or something.

Maternity leave has been an interesting adventure. When I had Kaden I only took four weeks off... we had a change in bosses and needed to get back for the transition, I was the only income so my maternity pay was out and needed to pay the bills and Joel was at home so we knew Kaden would be in good hands. With Addysen Joel has a job...actually two jobs. Kaden has preschool to make it to and my paycheck wouldn't put that huge of a dent on us.... it really is the insurance I am there for. I had all these grand schemes of what to do on maternity leave... projects of cleaning, organizing, packing and teaching Kaden. But reality is all I do is feed and nurse, change diapers, put the kiddo to sleep and do laundry.... and try to make sure I am eating. (That's usually an afterthought. LOL!) At first I was going to only take 6-8 weeks off... it's hitting 6 weeks this week and I am no where ready emotionally, physically or intellectually ready to get into the grind of work again. I do miss being "productive" in the worldly sense, but I have enjoyed being at home and caring for Kaden and Addysen. Motherhood isn't glorious by no means... and I am not even doing the really "domestic" duties such as cooking and cleaning. But I will be taking the 12 weeks off and figuring it out from there....

I love how God prepares the soul for such a time as this. I think God has prepared me to be at home at this time in many ways... as some of you know, I had an ectopic pregnancy that put me out for three weeks...three weeks of dealing with my shadow self of having the need to be needed. Three weeks of letting others take care of me. Three weeks of looking at what my true identity is. Then a few months later getting a job that took me to only 30 hours of work with more time at home during the day. I learned that I  can be a mom... a mom that isn't the sole breadwinner. (That's all I know, my mom was a workaholic and wasn't at home much). I learned that God is in control of my "to-do lists" and that people are more important than my tasks. I can care and nurture 24-7 and not have my identity wrapped up in a job title or even the title of being a mom. There are definite rough days and I have a special bond with Kaden even though I was a working mom. But I am thoroughly enjoying trying to balance life right now with two kids... I am very thankful for a super supportive husband that is always helpful and caring and nurturing and playful and a hard worker! We are praying through next steps of our jobs and careers... and would love some extra prayers our way.  

Right now the daily schedule is still forming and getting more and more into a routine. I am very thankful for Kaden and his helpful heart. I am also very thankful for Addysen and her calm spirit. My only wish is a nanny from the hours of six am until about nine am so I can sleep in a bit longer! hahha! We are very thankful for an amazing community of friends and family who have fed us these last two months and loved on our family in many ways!

One Month... Already????

Addysen is one month old already! She is about 7.8lbs and a super chill child. Her cheeks have grown exponentially! Her neck is strong and I think she prefers to sleep on her tummy. I think she also likes to sleep when there's a lot of noise. She's not sure about the swing. Addysen has had some reflux so she looks like she's choking on her milk. She's on meds that has helped a lot. Kaden loves Addysen! He constantly wants to hold her and sings to her... It's a sweet bond... she will stop crying whenever she hears his voice and looks at him with her big brown eyes. 

In Addysen's first month of life she has attended four church services where I don't see her for 75 minutes cause all her "aunties and uncles" are passing her around. She has attended one wedding and one funeral. She's also gone to two birthday parties and one going away party. She has spent many hours at Starbucks and Target already. She has visited Mommy's work at the museum. Addysen will be making her first trip to Seattle this weekend. (Hopefully we can fit everything we need for the weekend in our Honda Fit... it's pretty tight with our day to day stuff.) Joel said "mini van" the other day... yikes! It's been a whirl wind of a month... 

It's so crazy how quick they change their look these first few weeks. It's been a joy to be a family of four.

The Name

The name:  Addysen Thanh Thuy To

Addysen=Kind, Joyful, Created by God

Thanh Thuy=Pure, Clear Water

Thanh=Lisa's dad's middle name

Thuy=Joel's aunt's name, Lisa's aunt's name, and Grandpa's best friend's name

We had a really hard time with a name for our baby girl. It's funny cause when we were pregnant with Kaden we had a bunch of girl names and when we found out our second was a girl we didn't think any of those we originally liked fit baby number 2. So, we a lot of searching and praying we narrowed it down to Emery and Addysen. 

We aren't ones to change up the spelling of names just for the sake of being different, but the original spelling Addison means son of Adam. We wanted it to be a little more feminine so we spelled it with "sen" and you have to change the "i" to a "y" cause if we left it with an "i" the "e" in "sen" would make the "i" say it's name. (Make sense? No, well... Joel's elementary education degree said that we had to change the "i" to a "y". 

It's a family thing: My cousin April texted us a bunch of names and Addysen was one of them. It's only right that since I had a hand in naming April she would have a hand in naming our baby girl. We also got a call from my other cousin, Sophie, the day after we posted our list of names on Facebook and she said she had a dream before we posted them saying we called the baby Addysen and since that was one of the choices she said it was meant to be. Kaden's middle name is Anh Bao. Anh is Joel's dad's name, so... I thought it only fitting to incorporate my dad's name for Addysen. We told Joel's parents we wanted Thanh to be part of her middle name and they came up with a few options. We liked Thanh Thuy the best for the meaning and since it's the names of important people in our lives. 

I am not sure she looks like an Addy to me, I don't mind if other people call her Addy... Kaden still calls her sissy or CiCi. (the name of a girl race car he wanted to originally name her after). Her name is quite fitting since she's very kind and peaceful.

Kaden is FOUR!

Kaden is FOUR! I can't believe it's been four years since our lives have changed forever. He thinks his birthday is EVERY DAY in April. Hhaha! It doesn't help that we have spread out all the celebration! On March 31 we had a birthday party in Seattle at The Nest. (Where April works). It was the perfect venue for a toddler party. There's all these rooms with different themed activities, like a Cars Room, a Ball Room, Kitchen Room, etc.

We also squeezed in a Portland party on April 7th at our house. Of course Kaden wanted a Cars 2 themed party...so we had it all decked out with Cars fruit snacks, juice boxes, balloons, and props. It was a beautiful day in Portland... so, we got to open the back door to allow the kids to run around the backyard and have an Easter Egg hunt.

We also took Kaden to celebrate with birthday ice cream at Baskin Robins and Ben and Jerry's and also lunch at Red Robin. (All separate days). He got gifts from all over on different days so I would think my birthday lasted all month too if I was him. On his actual birthday he had preschool, it was also the day after we got home from the hospital with Addysen. He wanted to show off his little sister at school and bring cup cakes. He had a fabulous day! He thought the birthday cake we got for Joel was for him... hahhaha!

At Kaden's four year check up he's in the 25% for height and weight. He's 33 lbs... and I forgot his height. His favorite things right now is still his Cars, Chuggington Trains, his scooter and his baby sister. He's a great helper who loves to dust and clean the house. He loves books and is the first to suggest prayer when someone is hurt or sad. He is always asking questions and loves to dance. His memory is astounding. He's enjoying preschool and is a child of routine, which we do not give him enough of. We love his heart and how much he's growing to be a little boy and not a baby at all anymore. He still loves his froggy. He loves to make us laugh and dance and sing. Kaden has been such a blessing!

Happy fourth birthday Kaden Anh Bao To!