six months.

Half a year.

Almost 16 pounds {your sister and brother were both 19 pounds at one year.} and 27 1/2inches tall {the same height as your petite sis at one year...you're gonna catch her by two, I'm pretty sure!}

Good natured and smiley {at everyone}
Determined roller and army crawler ; thisclose to full on crawling, and a champ at sitting, you are the one-toothed wonder.

Beloved by brother and sister {and mama and daddy}

blue-eyed and drooly

and voracious eater of squash, sweet potatoes, plums, avocados, pumpkin, pears, bananas, carrots...

and milk. Lots and lots and lots of milk. You are my only baby to use up just about all of my milk supply...I've given away only 100 oz. this time. You're just one hungry kid.

With big feet.

and a big grin.

No one can figure out at first who you look like...Daddy and I, we say you look

like Blaise.

Adam Blaise, to be precise.

Or Adam Blaise McGillkinchowder, as you big sister calls you.

Blazers. Blaise-a-roo.

{Yes, we have a thing for nicknames in this family.}

You're a pretty good sleeper...better than your brother was, but not as good as your sister was.

We took your plug away a few weeks ago because you were waking up 84,000 times a night looking for it...that helped. It took you a full 2 weeks, but now you just wake up once a night. To eat. A lot. Like I said, you're one hungry kid.

 

 Your feet are as big as your brother's were at 10 months

and you're an inch shorter than your sister was at a year.

 Good natured and determined, you're our littlest dude...and you may be the baby, and this may be 2 weeks late, but you will have a 6-month post. And a completed baby album with just as many pictures in it as your brother and sister (who am I kidding? probably more.) I, your third-child-mama, promise.

Love you, my sweet Blaise-a-roo.

Diary of a {pre}Med Student{'s wife}

     Adam came home from work a couple of hours ago; nothing unusual there. Since he has class today, he gets off early. But,as I ran around trying to make lunch for the big kids, mash up a plum for the baby, and sweet up glass and flour off the flour (the flour from a fun "moon-scape" activity Pax was doing earlier; the glass from breaking my French press...boo. No coffee tomorrow!!) he walked in, kissed me, and told the kids to go sit on the couch. That he had something for them...and for me, too. So, once it was safe to walk across my kitchen floor, the three of us sat on the couch and waited.
"Close your eyes!" he says.
A minute or two goes by, as I cover my eyes with one hand and peek at the kids with the other, making sure their eyes are closed too.
"Keep 'em closed!" he says. Now I can hear him doing something with his phone...is it a late birthday gift for Pax from someone who wants to be on the phone while he opens it? I have no clue what's going on.
Adam walks over to the kids and hands them each something.
"Mama, keep yours closed," he instructs, walking away again.

Then he's back, placing a bouquet of roses in my hands as the sweetest sound I've heard in a long time reaches my ears....

"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Physician Assistant program at AT Stills University...."

the rest of the message got lost in my huge "YAY!!!!" as I threw up my hands, then jumped up and kissed him. "Yay, yay, YAY!!! Congratulations!!" He grinned at me as I looked down and saw an absolutely gorgeous bouquet of white roses in my hands.

      The next few moments kinda went on like that, as we explained to the kids that Daddy had gotten into the Arizona school, ("Good job, Daddy!") and that this meant we get to stay at our house. "YES!!" Pax crowed, after hearing that. Immediately after he ate his lunch (ice cream first...that's what Adam had brought for the kids), he ran outside, peed on a palm tree, ran around the back yard, stripped off his clothes, and jumped into the pool naked. I think that's his way of celebrating.

      I could not be more thankful for the way this whole thing has played out. Remember back in May of 2011, when we started the whole moving-to-Phoenix process? Our prayer was that we'd be able to settle into the place where we'd be for the next 4 or so years, make some friends, find a church, etc. so we could be a bit settled when the husband-man actually started PA school. And that's actually (this time!) exactly what has happened...not exactly in the way we though it would. But it IS happening! A direct, blessed answer to prayer, coming at the end of a challenging year. We didn't exactly see moving 5 times in one year in the picture. Or not hearing anything, one way or the other, from the schools he applied to last year. Or a new baby, for that matter, one who made me sicker than a dog my entire pregnancy and caused my mother to move in with us for 5 weeks at the end. {so incredibly thankful we won't be doing THAT while Adam is in PA school..pretty sure my mother would have had to just move in with us.} I know it's been incredibly stressful for my husband, thinking about moving everyone again; and not the easiest on the kids (especially Pax), dealing with all the moving and the mom-being-sick and the new-baby thing. Although once he was on the outside, Pax at least gave a big sigh of relief. And although it surprisingly wasn't too stressful for me to think of moving again, possibly across the country, I am beyond excited that we are staying here. Adam will still interview at Midwestern in Glendale in 3 weeks, but no matter the outcome of that one-we'll be here, in the hot, for the next 3 1/2 years. At least.
   Adam didn't need to be accepted to 4 schools; one would've been plenty. But God showered His favor on him. Why? I think just to bless him-to show Adam that he's on the right path-and just because God loves him lavishly.
     I don't think-actually, I know-that the answers to our prayers aren't always "yes." They don't always make sense; sometimes we don't even like the answers at all. If God did always answer "yes" in just exactly the way we wanted Him to, my sister would still be alive, for one thing. And I wouldn't be married to Adam. And if somehow we had ended up together, we wouldn't have the kiddos we have right now. So here's what I do know: God's ways are better than my ways; His thoughts see farther than my narrow scope of now does. In every situation, big or small. Even when the answers are "no", "not now", or "yes, but not like that," I've learned to praise Him and, yes, thank Him. For His ways are better than my ways; His thoughts are greater than my thoughts. He knows the end from the beginning, thank goodness, so worrying isn't something I need to-well-worry about. I also know that as humans, we make dumb decisions sometimes. And we have to live with the consequences. I know there's evil in the world...and we have to fight against it. But not alone-never, ever alone.

     Right now, today, as I sit on my couch with all three of my littles napping at the same time (!!); with my husband 200 ft. away in the air-conditioned shop-slash-office off our carport; with dozens of pictures to finish editing from a recent wedding and three more shoots coming up this weekend  I know that God is good. I knew this last night, too, at the end of a rough couple of stay-at-home-mama days; I will know it as we face the next few years of clinical rotations and crazy study schedules and, I'm sure, weeks of parenting without my husband during finals and who-knows-what-else. I'm thankful for the difficult times in my life when I learned this truth in the very core of my being; because now, when life hands us a bouquet of beautiful white roses, the goodness of God flows out of me with overwhelming joy. I'm so proud of my husband-and so thankful to our God. It's not over yet-really, it's just beginning! But after the years of working and studying and applying and waiting, it's so very good just to rejoice right now. {and to know that, for once, I can paint the walls any color I want}

Wordless Wednesday: Mama's (baby) Boy

He's a boy, all right!

     We're working with our stubborn, aggressive, physical boy on understanding when it's ok to be-you know-aggressive and physical, and when it's not. As I snuggled B in her bed last night, I couldn't help but overhear a snippet of the "boy's" conversation...
Pax: "I protect my sister. Like if people are hurting her I hit 'em,"
A:"Yes, it's part of your job (as the big brother) to protect her. But hitting isn't really a good idea,"
Pax: "First I'll pray to God, and then I  hit them,"

I couldn't help it. I totally lost it, therefore making our son think what he had said was the greatest thing in the world. ahem.

...we may have some more work to do here.

1, 2, 3 4....

                    5. (No, not the song...you know, Mambo # 5? Who remembers that song? Hands??)
but he is FIVE, my oldest son. Officially big, in my book. A whole hands-worth of age!

(one. On Baby Beach in Kauai, Hawaii...stealing Daddy's pizza)

(two. Redfeather Lakes, Colorado)

(three. By some beloved train tracks...)

( four. At the harvest festival in Prescott Valley, Az last fall)

 (five. In the giant tub with his brother and sister-the first "big" bath for baby. Does this kid have an fantastic smile, or what??)

       A little male bonding on the couch yesterday afternoon while Daddy "showed" the boys how to play Pax's new birthday present...

...and Pax waited impatiently for the Lobmeyers to come over for swimming (seriously, who would've ever  thought when he was born in D-town that someday he'd live in a place where it would be warm enough to have a mini pool-party for his October birthday? Not me! But it was 100 yesterday, so-pool party!!) 

and, of course, all the kids waited very impatiently to eat the cake. Pax takes the choosing of his cake theme very, very seriously. And then I try to recreate it.

Ready to see it?

.....you know my cakes are generally prettier in my head than in reality, right?

(but they taste good. Cake decorating...not my forte.)

ready?

I think this one turned out pretty well.

wait for it....

TA-DAH!!! 

I give you....the Angry Birds Space cake.

(that's who the purple bird is...from the Angry Birds Space game. Don't worry-I had to look it up, too.)

A closer look at the pigs. Pigs are easy though. The uglier, the better! He was thrilled, anyways. Beyond thrilled, actually-which made this Mama feel pretty good.

Pax-boy, I love you so much, my ornery, silly, crazy-dancing, book-loving, bull-dozer of a Firstborn. You are a challenge and a joy every day, and Daddy and I are so very thankful that we get to be your parents-God has used you to teach us so much in 5 years. I pray that wherever you go-whatever you do-

you would know that we are proud of you

that we like you, to say nothing of loving you

and that you would be rock-solid 

in who God made you and His purpose in your life. Pursue Him with all the passion and determination you have, Small Son.

Wordless Wednesday: Pizza Movie Night, brought to you by....

          This was on our pizza box the other night...see it?                        
                                             He did say He would always provide.