Happy Birthday Jack!

So, the last post was about his big sis, but this one is all about him.

Such a cutie!

When you are preparing to have your second child, your head tells you that you'll love this next baby just the same, but your heart has a hard time grasping that. Well...it just happens. It is so amazing to fall so in love all over again with another child. Your heart grows and suddenly, you have more love for your family than you thought possible.
This little boy has really done a number on his mama. He is the sweetest, cuddliest, most precious little boy ever. Ok, I know I'm biased, but he truly is the sweetest! We call him a 'kind soul' around our house. :) As you can imagine, it can't be easy to enter a family where Bella is your big sister. She is a great big sister, don't get me wrong, but Jack has had to learn to hold his own. He is extremely sensitive, doesn't like to see anyone upset or hurt, and is very compassionate. He has always been a mama's boy, which I definitely can't complain about. What mother doesn't want to hold onto her little boy all day?

Lately, however, he has been ALL about daddy. It took a little getting used to, but again, what mother doesn't love that her son is so in love with his daddy? He only wants Daddy to put him to bed, only wants Daddy if he wakes up crying, Daddy is the only one that can get him out of bed, if Daddy leaves the room, Jack has to immediately find him. Where Daddy goes, Jack goes. It's crazy. And really sweet. The word hero comes to mind.

This pretty much says it all!

We realized early on that Jack is musically inclined. Before he could really talk, he was humming the tune of songs from beginning to end. He has always loved going to bed with music, and now, we have to make sure we have music on hand if we go out of town, so he can go to sleep. Music makes him happy. Right now I hear him saying to Mark, "I play gu-tar?" He loves to sing along with the songs and dance to any music. When we are in the car, I always have kid cds on hand because they can pull him out of any funk. We hear him at night through the monitor singing along to each song as it plays. He knows them all! He learned his ABCs from the song box that plays on our refrigerator. Ask him to say them, he won't. Ask him to sing them, no problem. As a previous teacher, you can imagine how insightful this is to me. He obviously has a great memory when it comes to songs, so I will definitely be tapping into that resource when he is in school.

Jack's great love right now is horses. Actually, it is more like an obsession. He constantly talks about riding "Hot Rod", he flips through page after page of horse books, and he will spot any horse we pass in the car. This is his very favorite thing to do...

Jack on Hot Rod

For his birthday, I made him this cake...

He loved it! He kept saying, "I see horsey cake, I see horsey cake!" And boy did he score on the horsey loot! Remember those riding horses with the springs? He got the new and improved one where someone was smart enough to cover the springs with padding. How many times did we pinch our legs on those springs?! He also got cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, cowboy pop guns, little toy horses, paddocks, a stable... whew. If anyone ever needs horse anything, we have it. He has been in cowboy heaven every morning since his birthday.

We had family there to celebrate with us, which is always a great time!

Happy 2nd Birthday sweet Jack!

To end this post, I leave with this picture and thought...

I have two wonderfully different and unique children, that I wonder... what is baby van wart #3 going to be like? Hmmm... I can't wait to find out! I think we are all already stretching our hearts for the love we are going to feel as a family of 5. :)

She turns 4!

What?! This baby is four years old...

Warning~ this is a "proud mama" post that's going to be a touch sappy. I know my sister-in-law will be proud that I tapped into my sentimental side. :)

As I was looking through all these pictures, it really was hard to believe that four years have already gone by since we brought her home. What an amazing experience it has been! And I know we have only skimmed the surface of her life. :) Before I talk about her birthday, I want to write a little bit about Bella herself.
If God had said to me before Bella was born, "Bethany, I am going to bless you with a daughter that you are not prepared for, that will be complex and unique, who will cause you to marvel at my greatness, who will make you laugh till you cry, who will bring you to your knees more times than you care to admit, and who will cause you to realize that you are actually the one being blessed the most from this union"... then He would have been describing Bella Kathryn to me.
It is difficult to describe what it's like having your first child. Everything is new and completely amazing, and pretty much your whole world starts spinning around this human being. It is the most wonderful and frightening experience ever! Bella was pretty much on target with all the milestones of growing into your first year. It was when she was around 14 or 15 months, that people started saying things about her. It was mainly about her language development. The girl could talk, what more can I say. The funny thing is... she hasn't stopped talking since. :) When I think about Bella, her verbal acquisition is one of the characteristics that stands out the most to me. Sometimes when I talk to Bella, I feel like I am talking to an "old soul". She told me the other day, referring to Jack throwing a fit, "Apparently Mom, he's having a tragic day and just needs some space." And she was probably right. :)I told her highly articulate uncle the other day, that Bella has been reminding me of him lately. She loves words. She loves using new words, sometimes and sometimes not in the correct context. She throws words like 'engaging, supposedly, apparently, disturbing, odd, distinctively, therefore, obviously, intriguing, disasterous' into her everyday conversation...without missing a beat. It really is the most hysterical thing to listen to. She is also obsessed with 'figures of speech'. She is actually really good at these- she makes her own up and entertains her ma and pa in the evenings. :) What I truly love about Bella is she is her own person and doesn't take herself too seriously. She is precocious, daring, strong-willed, observant, a leader, compassionate, stubborn, and really funny. I think there are a lot of unspoken expectations for this little girl, and with that, we have to be really careful. I pray that Mark and I will have the wisdom to know how to guide her to reach her full potential, while allowing her to be her. She has so much to offer in her own way, and I don't want to stifle that. Remember when I said I am on my knees a lot when it comes to Bella... I was telling the truth. She stretches me, challenges me, and grows me in ways I didn't know a child could. And I love her for it. And I love Jesus for entrusting us with His child and allowing our hearts to beat stronger next to hers. Here is my four year old...

Silly

Strong

Sweet

Joy

Eccentric

Too big

Isn't she beautiful?

She had a very memorable birthday this years. It started with her little friends at a princess tea party! Unfortunately, all the pictures are on my parents' camera that I still haven't retrieved. So you will just have to imagine seven giggly girls with make-up, princess dresses, crowns, and wands sitting a big table sipping punch and eating cake! It was so funny and outrageous. She loved it!
We also had our families over to celebrate, which was awesome.

Gotta have the Rapunzel hair!

Happy Birthday Bella-bee-walla-bee! You are pretty amazing.