Catching up...

It's been a little while since I've posted on here. Honestly, it's been a combination of business, laziness and just not feeling like I have anything important to say! I am going to try to be better about updating the blog and I am praying about what the Lord would have me say!

So, to catch yall up... we have done a lot in the last few months...

Maddie celebrated her first birthday! She had a hungry caterpillar themed party and it was so fun! We were so blessed by all of our friends and family that were able to celebrate with us.

Lots of food for our hungry caterpillar! 

Us with our sweet birthday girl, post-cake!

She wasn't a fan of the icing, as you can tell! 

Mike and I celebrated 3 years, and went to Austin to celebrate. We had the best time just relaxing and soaking up our alone time. I never realized how much having a child affects our couple time until we were childless for a night! It was such a strange feeling, missing Maddie so much but also loving my uninterrupted Mike-Katy time! We had fun reflecting on our 3 years as man and wife and planning for the year ahead.

Maddie is blossoming into a toddler before our eyes every day! She has been walking since eleven months, but now she is climbing and exploring like crazy. She is learning new words every day. As of today, she knows: mama, dada, book, cup, poo-poo, up, done, more, night night, dog, hi, bye and please... and I'm sure a ton others that I just can't decipher yet! She knows that dogs say "woof woof", cows say "moo" and snakes say "hiss." She understands and follows simple commands and really likes "helping" mommy clean and put away the dishes! She is just precious, and we fall more in love with her every day!

Like I said earlier, I am vowing to be much better at updating the blog! I've already got a Halloween/Pumpkin patch post in the works and an update on our cloth diapering adventures!

Happy Halloween!
Love,
The Vogs

We've got fuzzibunz!

In an effort to save our family thousands of dollars (literally!), we've decided to start cloth diapering! I wish we would have done this sooner, but it's never too late! MK will be in diapers for at least another year,maybe even two... and these diapers will be used for our future Vogelaar babies. So, out with the disposables and in with the cloth.

I have so many wonderful mommy friends who cloth diaper and they have given me a wealth of information to sort through. I researched which diaper I wanted and how I was going to buy them literally for weeks! We decided on the Fuzzibunz One Size pocket diaper. It fits babies from 8 to 35lb with adjustable elastic waist and leg holes (like adjustable maternity pants!). They are lined with super soft fleece that wicks away the moisture and come with two inserts that you stuff into the diaper to soak up the wet mess. We got a roll of thin paper liners (like a dryer sheet) to put in the diaper to catch number twos (you just flush both the liner and the waste in the toilet!) and even though we've only had one number two, it's been awesome... no touching poop!

Look at these pretty colors! They are so adorable... so much cuter than disposables!

Excited about this new normal in our house!

Happy August!

I can't believe it's already August 1st! August is a big month for us. We celebrate two very monumental milestones in our little family.

On August 16th, three years ago, Mike and I did this...

8-16-08... the start of the Vogelaar family!

and one year ago we did this...

8-16-10... the second generation of the Vogelaar family arrives!

So, we are doing a LOT of celebrating this month! Mike and I are going on an anniversary trip to Austin the last weekend in August. We celebrated our 1 year in Austin and it was so much fun! We're staying at the same hotel, and going to the same restaurant for dinner... but we're adding a trip to the San Marcos outlet mall (hello Pottery Barn outlet!) and a couples massage! I can't wait to spend the weekend with Mike alone... we are in desperate need of some "mommy-daddy" time! MK will be in very capable hands, but I will miss her terribly!

We're celebrating MK's birthday on the 20th with a party for our close friends, family and a few of MK's too! I've been working on her party for a couple months now, and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thinking about having a one year old is so bittersweet. I am excited that she's growing strong, reaching all of her milestones and getting more precious by the day! But, I wish I could go back to those first few months. Everyone told me "treasure these times, cause they fly by" and I wish I would have heeded their warning! The first 6 month of MK's life I was trying to get to the next milestone... sleeping through the night, taking consistent naps, turing over, starting solids... I don't think I really savored those precious newborn times. I am kicking myself now! But, I can't go back, and can't dwell on it! I've got to take my new found revelation and apply it to now. I've got to remind myself not to get excited about getting rid of the bottles, turning her car seat around, first words, big girl beds and siblings... I need to REST in this stage and savor EVERY minute of it! She's only going to be a wobbly walking giggly one year old once!

While we were in Florida...

We had a wonderful, magical time visiting my family in Florida. Maddie loved being with her Gigi and Poppy and especially aunt Vicky and uncle Matt!

She loved the ocean and the pool... I think she is quite the Florida girl, see, she loves Florida oranges! :)

Maddie learned how to fly!

She lover her daddy!

and Poppy's beak tastes good!

I love her in a bathing suit! check out those rolls! :)

We are sad to be home and back to reality! Can't wait to visit you again Gigi and Poppy! We love you!

I am just a stay at home mom, and I love it!

Our little family at the wedding

This weekend we went to a wedding in Houston for Mike’s best friend. It was quite the adventure traveling 4 hours in a car with a 10.5 month old! But, she was a trooper and the wedding a beautiful! I came home from the trip still pondering some of the conversations I had with several well meaning party guests: “You don’t work?” “You are just a stay at home mom?” “Can’t you work like 3 days as a nurse?” While I welcome those questions, it was so shocking to me that it seemed like I was not the norm.

I loved being a nurse. I made a tangible difference in someone’s life every day I was at work…I helped them recover from open heart surgery, I took away their pain, I comforted their fears, I helped them get used to the new heart or lungs so lovingly gifted to them so they could start a new life, sometimes I helped hold them on this earth as they teetered between life and death, and sometimes I helped them pass into eternity gracefully. Who wouldn’t love that? Nursing was also my mission field. I had so many awesome spiritual conversations with patients, I prayed with them when they asked, I was at times the hands and feet of Christ.

I was very fickle in my decision to stay at home… those who know me well, know that I changed my mind every second! Eventually, I chose the more difficult of the two options for me. It was painful leaving my job, my significance, my calling since I was a child, a source of income that added some “security.” Don’t get me wrong, I think working moms are amazing, they hold two jobs, they are superheroes! But, if I am honest, sometimes I would love to escape to work. It would be easier to let someone else raise my child for 8 hours during the day! There are days when I would rather take bratty doctors, adult blowouts, and 12 hours on my feet than be at home. That’s just my fleshly honesty.

I LOVE staying at home with MK, but it has been a journey to get here. I had to start telling myself that what I did was important. I had to realize that being called to be a mom is just (maybe even more) as important as being a nurse or any other job I could have. Motherhood is my mission field and I am embracing it with all that I have! It was so empowering for me to come to that realization. I now see every day as a opportunity to love on MK and Mike, not of my own power, because in my core I am selfish and prideful, but with Christ’s power in me! Isaiah 40:10 “He tends his flock like a shepherd, he carries them in his arms and gathers them close to his heart. He gently leads those with young.”

If you are a stay at home mom, you’re not just a “stay at home mom,” you are a: cook, maid, chauffeur, party and event planner, secretary, nurse, teacher, youth pastor, personal shopper, trash man, accountant, sales man (trying to get kids to eat green veggies is a sales pitch!), and most importantly a wife and mom. You don’t get a pay check, a bonus, raise or PTO. But, you do get the satisfaction of feeding, clothing, cleaning up for and loving on your family every day and hopefully one day, leading your little ones to know the Lord. There is no greater accomplishment then that!

If you know any moms whether they go to work or stay at home, go give them a high five, a hug, an encouraging word, or a helping hand! They don’t get told enough what an important job they do for the next generation.

Maddie's word lessons for today...

Today, we are learning words for our trip to Flordia... and by learning words, I mean that I have an excuse to draw a silly picture and label it, hoping that it is benefiting my daughter in some way! (I know a 10 month old can't learn how to spell!!)

Her favorite was "Poppy on a surfboard"... she laughed when I drew and said this one, probably because she thinks the way I say "Poppy" is really funny, or just because she thinks her Poppy is silly!

We can't wait to see you all in 9 days!

What we've been up to...

Maddie and I have had some fun Mommy & Maddie time lately...

We've been swimming up a storm at our friend's neighborhood pool. Maddie is a fish, she LOVES to swim! Can't wait to spend a week in Florida with her in a few weeks. We are going to be brown little pool babes by the end of the summer... don't worry, we don't plan on burning, just a healthy glow!

There is a running joke with the girls in our playgroup that we end up unitentionally dressing our girls in similar clothes in the morning to us just because that's what we picked out to wear... Maddie and I matched one day, and I loved it! Don't worry though, I am not going to be one of those moms!

Maddie and I celebrated her wonderful daddy and my amazing hubs last sunday on Fathers day. She loves her daddy and he is so sweet with her. I knew Mike would be a fabulous dad to MK before she was born, but he has gone way beyond my expectations. MK is such a lucky girl!

Lastly, and the most time consuming thing, I've been busy planning for MK's 1 year birthday party... yes peeps, she will be a year old in less than 8 weeks!!! We are gone for almost half of July, so I needed to get a head start on all of the birthday stuff. Can you guess the theme from her invites?

Why a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" birthday theme? 1. She loves books 2. She loves Eric Carle Books and 3. This girl loves to eat!

It has been so emotional planning for her birthday. It is so hard to believe that she is only 8 weeks away from being one, it seems like last week I was 8 weeks pregnant, two days ago that I was 8 weeks away from my due date, and yesterday that she was 8 weeks old! Does time ever slow down? I wish I could freeze time just for 1 day... but I can't so I've got to make the most out of every day! I can't get enough kisses, cuddles, giggles and tickles with my gooby girl! Gosh I adore her!

The last big thing in our lives is our new bible study. We are doing Beth Moore's study on the Tabernacle called "A Womans Heart" and it is awesome! We are two weeks in and the Lord is revealing so much of himself to me already. He is breaking me open and showing me where I am a self-relient control freak... it's not fun, but I know that He is working in me and I am SO thankful that He never stops pursuing and refining me!

Until next time!
KT and MK