Baby Registries

Having these babies 20 months apart, and especially that they are both boys is a huge blessing. But, there are still a few things that we still need. I wasn't planning on registering somewhere, since I didn't think we needed very much. But, we've been asked a million times if we are registered so I went ahead and made one up. And boy, are there a bunch of things that I 'need' that I didn't even realize!

We are registered at: www.babiesrus.com And, we've also created one at Walmart, which is the ONLY store close to us. So, gift cards to there would be very helpful too. You can search under 'Amy Eckert' or 'Andy Eckert' in either registry and you'll find us.

Trying to Stay Warm

It's been quite cold here. Poor Samuel has a rash on his ever so sensitive face due to the cold weather! Now all we need is some snow!!! Since our apartment is heated by a wood stove we need to stay on top of it to ensure we are warm enough. It's tough sometimes, but Andy is doing a great job keeping on top of it and making sure we stay warm. And, that's not easy with a wife who's body temperature seems to change with the minute hand. We have never been so thankful for a warm home before now. It's amazing what we have taken for granted up until recently.

Andy got a head lamp from his parents for his birthday and it actually can adjust to fit Samuel. He loves this thing. It's so funny to see him running around with it on.

My mom's brother and one of her sisters were taking each of their boys to see Cedarville University in Ohio this weekend and to visit one of my cousins. Since they were going to be so close, we decided to meet up for lunch. We had a great time. It's always way too long between visits with my family since they all live in New York. But, when we do get together it's always a wonderful visit. Wish you were there mom! Uncle Steve and Samuel were the best of buddies. Uncle Steve let him sit on one of the horses in Applebee's. And, if you know anything about Samuel, he is obsessed with horses. I mean obsessed. It made his week!


And just a cute picture of Samuel with his adorable vest on from REI playing with one of Daddy's fighting sticks!

Andy is enjoying his day off by hiking with his buddy, Patrick, and I'm at home nursing a hurt ankle. Yup, that's right, a hurt ankle. I fell down the stairs on Saturday. Smooth huh? I'm totally fine, and so are Samuel and Joseph. (I was carrying Samuel). We were all so blessed to be kept so safe. It didn't even phase Samuel. He started vroom vrooming the second he saw the farm equipment downstairs. I didn't hurt anything but my leg and ankle and both are healing very quickly. Continued healing prayers are requested :)

From One to Two...HELP!

I have heard that the transition from one kid to two is harder than from none to one or even from two to three and beyond.

I believe it.

The Lord says he will never give us more than we can handle. I have a feeling I'm probably going to be reminding him of that promise more than once over the next few years. There are times I wonder how in the world I'm going to survive two boys, 20 months apart. But, then reality hits. A trillion women have done this before me, I can do it too. But, it's not going to make it any easier if I don't know their secrets. So, I'm asking those of you who have at least two children to dish out your life saving tips. I want it all, the good and the bad.

From Baby to Boy

To our precious Samuel,

You are no longer a baby, but a boy. Growing bigger and bigger each day. You are 18 months old today. Where has the time gone? Just yesterday it seems as though we felt like we would break you if we held you too tight. Now, you run up to us and hug our necks and kiss us with those wet lips of yours makings an 'aww' sound with each kiss.

We have enjoyed every single day we've been blessed to be your parents. Each one brings us closer and closer. Your vocabulary is growing rapidly. We are starting to understand your speech and our communication is getting easier. Your humor and wit amaze us. You have so much personality. You have not only melted our hearts, but the heart of everyone who you meet.

We love you so much, son. Words cannot truly express the love we have for you. Thank you for teaching us how to be more like Christ. We pray daily that the Lord would continue to teach us how to raise you to love him. It is not easy raising you, and we will fail many times, but know that we love you more than words could express and we want nothing more but what the Lord has planned for your life.

Happy 18 months, Samuel!

Love Always,
Mommy and Daddy

2nd Time's A Charm

I finally nailed the ice cream. It was wonderful. Who would have thought that following the directions would actually work. Mint cookies and cream! YUM!

We finally enjoyed a wonderful birthday dinner last night, dessert first! Even though it was a day late, it was well worth the wait.

We are what you call 'in love' with ice cream. It's definitely one of our weak points. So, of course I asked for an ice cream attachment to my mixer for Christmas. And of course my mom got it for me :) You would think I would have made dozen of batches of ice cream by now. But, it took me awhile to actually make some, since I now know how bad ice cream truly is for you after looking through some recipes. I just couldn't bring myself to making any for awhile, seeing as how I have another human being growing inside of me that needs all of the nutrients he can get. And let me tell you, there is NO nutrients in ice cream! I finally broke though, since it was Andy's birthday and that's all he was asking for. I did find some good alternatives to making it a little less fattening. There was a small compromise on taste, but that's life I suppose. You can't have 'it all.' I will continue to experiment, since we love ice cream oh so much! My next attempt will be strawberry yogurt. I'll let you know how it goes.

Andy Turns 27

It sure wasn't as glamorous as 16, 18, 21 or even 26! Let's face it people, he's getting old! We spent the night at a meeting about husbands during a homebirth. Not an ideal birthday celebration, that's for sure. We got home only to realize that the home made ice cream I made, DID NOT go as planned. So instead of some wonderfully yummy birthday ice cream, he had to have a 2 day old oatmeal cookie instead.

Samuel sure had a great day, though, despite the lack of celebrations. Andy's birthday streamers and balloons put Samuel into orbit! He was so excited he could hardly stand it. That was enough to make Andy's day, he said! Good thing they are both so easy to please :)

And here's a picture of Samuel wearing Andy's new hat. They are both in love with it!

New Blog

There's a GREAT new Christian blogger out there that I wanted to share with you all. Stop by and be blessed! (And I'm not just saying that because he's my husband).

www.spiritofpower.blogspot.com I have a link to it on our sidebar as well, under Andy's Blog.

On The Trail Again

Saturday we needed to head into town for a few things, and since it was such gorgeous weather outside, we thought that adding a hike to the trip would make for a great treat for all of us. We went to a nearby state park that we use to hike in a lot when we lived in town. But, now since living on the farm, we rarely go hiking anywhere but through our backyard. It was a nice change of scenery. We had a really great time!

Up to No Good!

While unpacking from our trip to MD last week, Samuel decided to 'sit' in the way of me making any progress. He brought his pretzels in the suitcase and made himself at home.

Then right after I got him out of there and got his mind on something else, he found my snow boots and decided to walk around in those! It was only a matter of seconds before he was down on the ground!

One evening this past week we ended up waking him up from his nap since it was getting quite late. Daddy brought him out on the couch to cuddle with him as he was trying to slowly wake him up. That apparently didn't work and he went right back to sleep in his arms. That almost never happens these days. But, when it does, we cherish every second of it.

December Photos

The December photos of Samuel are now up. www.samuelandrew.shutterfly.com Enjoy!

Brownie Points!

In an attempt at gaining a few brownie points with the Grandparents I have set aside an entire section in our sidebar solely to video clips of Samuel. We are in the process of getting our video camera all set up to download footage online as well, so the best is yet to come! There are 6 new ones I just uploaded. I spoil you all rotten, just admit it! :)

More Holiday Celebrations

We had a very nice trip to MD to visit Gigi, GranRan, Aunt Julie and Mimi. Samuel got to go on his first merry go round, see lots of Christmas lights, open lots of new toys and have a special New Year's celebration. I don't have much to show for our trip because I didn't take many pictures. But here are a few to enjoy.




And here are a couple of Joseph and me in front of our Christmas tree. We couldn't leave him out of all the celebrations!