It's official, he's mobile!...and other random news...

So, for the past couple months, the little guy has been scooting around on his behind, arms, legs, you name it, but hadn't quite mastered the traditional crawl... In the past couple of days, though, he has it and today, he's movin' around like he means it.  It's super cute. 

He also thinks he's a super power lifter and loves to tote around my 2 lb. Pilates weights. 

He also loves, loves, loves the big ball we store in his room.  Here we are playing peek a boo before bedtime.  And yes, we play before bed.  We're fearless like that!

He still really enjoy smiling at people and puppies make him squeal and giggle like crazy. Peek a boo and us being crazy are his most entertaining moments of the day.  He also, unfortunately for him, may have inherited my body's way of dealing with heat.  Or not dealing with it.  Being too warm makes him fussy.  But fussy for him still isn't so bad.  But I do feel for him, I know how he feels. 

He chatters and makes all sorts of fun noises, my favorite being something that sounds like he's saying, "ah disssth".  I don't know what it means, but he says it a lot to the baby in the mirror in the car, usually surrounded by gruntings that sound like he's warning that boy in the mirror that he's super tough and he better watch out!

He's eating lots of healthy food that would make many adults gag, but he doesn't know any better, so that's good!  His favorite seems to be a mix of rice cereal, spinach, green beans, carrots, and prunes.  Aren't you glad I'm not your mom??? ;)

He also apparently thinks bed is for playing, not sleeping, though he does eventually sleep, which is nice for us :)  We find him many times playing and chattering and sitting up or in some very awkward position, where he eventually cries because his kickstand of an arm won't cooperate and he gets STUCK. Really, really stuck.

We think last week he had a cold and was cutting top teeth, they're not out yet, but we can see them.  Pesky teeth, not nice!

He adores destroying block towers, like seriously adores it. 

And these two are each other's biggest fans, I do believe.  I love their bond!

Another sweet milestone today is that I've been with Global Disciples now for FIVE YEARS!  Isn't that pretty crazy? Only to me? Okay.  After months of discernment, a flight across the country, an eight hour interview, and a drive with a sweet friend across the country with my Subaru (rest her soul) packed to the gills, I arrived here.  In this place I've come to know as home, the place I fell in love and got married and had a baby and turned 30 :-/  But really, when I meditate on God's amazing faithfulness throughout this time, I'm astounded!  Thanks all for praying for us and supporting us.  It's been such a blessed journey and I look forward to what God is up to in these days!

In other exciting news... we had a Women's Conference at our church a couple weekends ago. I became a dancing, flag waving, celebrating Jesus kind of gal.  It's true.  For those of you who know my "test everything" personality, this is big.  But even bigger than that, is that it's a signal of the healing and freedom God did in my life.  That's certainly something to smile about.  I went to help serve on the ministry team, and, as we all know, we are often times the one blessed and stretched and changed and challenged in those times.

We love you!

Jenny for Nate and Benson, too

Eight months old!

It's pretty crazy to think that eight months ago, we had this little peanut at 6lbs. 14oz.

And now we have this adorable, not so little peanut who smiles and moves around and is just pure JOY

Playing the Africa drum at my office with Jim :)

He is mobile (kinda) and scoots around backwards :)

We love him, his cute little face and his awesome, positive personality!  He makes people smile and that's really contagious!

Um, sorry about my intense dilinquency... Here's a picture post :)

We are so blessed with incredible family and friends.  The weather has been gorgeous here in PA and we've been enjoying getting out into the sun and seeing nature :)  So sorry for the long lapse in pictures of Benson.

He's scooting and almost crawling, we think.  He now knows when he sees a camera to SMILE as big as he can.  It's pretty funny.

With "uncle Harry" from Ind-nesia

He has a fierce left hook - with Janton from Ind-nesia... Thankfully, all was forgiven...

Uncle Harry again

With "Uncle Harry" and Amani from Kenya

Hangin' out with the Hess kiddos - Elliana is SO not interested, her heart is with another ;) and Josiah, seriously, buddy... So cute.

Little Hudson really wanted to drum with Nate

First Wagon Ride

Hiking Tucquan Glen with daddy :)

Another hiking day - he loves shoulders

With Grandpa Hoover - this may be one of my all-time favorite pictures

Easter with the three youngest Hoovers

Hello 30!

I am not one of those gals who dreaded turning thirty, for some reason. It doesn't bother me at all.  You see, my life gets better and better the older I get, so I'm actually looking forward to getting older :)  I think of how many people I know who are better at 30 than at 20, at 40 than at 30, at 80 than at 50 and so on.  It actually excites me. I have so much to learn and have so many ways to grow and for that I say, WELCOME THIRTY!!!  How weird am I?

I woke up the morning of my birthday to two of the best gifts God has ever given to me - my hubby and my little Hooverlet.  I still can't believe how fortunate I am to have this privilege!

I must admit, I was a bit on the suspicious of every little thing side for the week leading up to my birthday, but I had no idea just HOW SNEAKY my hubby and friends are!  I was trying very hard though not to ruin the surprise, because it's so sad when you work so hard to surprise someone and they figure it out.  Which I almost always do.  Until Allison Hess entered my life.  She's a schemer to the max. ;)

Friday afternoon, our sister in law Mindi invited us over for dinner and I thought, "aha, this is it!". But it wasn't a party, just a really nice night hanging out with the family.  Thanks Mindi and Sheldon and kiddos for a great night!

After asking a few people to have breakfast with me for my birthday and no one being able to (Nate was at our Church's Men's Group) I decided to go with just my little buddy.  I got up Saturday morning, looked outside, noticed there were big, beautiful snow flakes falling from the sky. When I checked the weather, it didn't show we were supposed to get any, so I just assumed it was God's way of saying "Good morning and Happy Birthday" to me :)  Benson and I headed down with our new Ergo from Auntie Gretchen to Prince Street Cafe, where they make a mean cappuccino and then we wandered around Central Market looking at the pretty produce and meats, cheeses, etc.  Benson decided all people were there for his enjoyment and smiled a ridiculous amount.

Nate came home and I was incredibly suspicious of our dinner plans for that night :)  You see, I am married to a very romantic guy.  And while some could assume that their hubby's wouldn't plan a surprise 30th birthday, I just knew he would. He's like that. And he teaches me so much about romance and love.  He's so good for me.

We got ready to go, my sweet friend Vanessa came over to watch Benson for us (he loves her!).  On the way to dinner, Nate even used his GPS on his phone to find the place we were going, because he was really working to throw me off and my friend Allison called to wish me a happy birthday and to say she had a journal for me (we're all working on journals to hand out to women who come to a conference at our church, so this wasn't so weird) and at this point, I was pretty sure something was up.  When I walked in, our church's cafe was full of people I love and decorated oh, so adorably!  Nate and I watched Julie and Julia on our trip and he planned a French themed party for me, along with my dear friends Allison, Brynne, and Kim.  I am so spoiled. 

They asked each person to bring a French dish to share, and the food was DELICIOUS!  Seriously, no restaurant could have topped what people brought to share. It was incredible!  Allison and Kim even found vintage hats for us to wear from the time period of Julie Childs in France.

Our dear friends Luke and Janine had to leave, but left us with a bag FILLED with delicious bread, cheeses, and a bottle of sparkling grape juice - so delicously extravagant.  My sweet friend Jen's mom (who I've never even met!) even sent a gift to me!  And it was a perfect gift!  I had asked her to make coupon holders I saw on her blog for grocery carts for my couponing friends and one for me - I wanted to give them to them as a gift and she sent all three along and told me they were my gift!  Such generosity!  I couldn't believe it. You see, I like getting gifts as much as the next girl, but I LOVE to give them.  So this gift was really special as I received something and got to give something away.  It was awesome!!!

My hubby drove three hours roundtrip to the Le Creuset outlet to buy me a pan.  This isn't any old pan, though.  It's wonderful in every way and I've wanted one for a very long time, because they are amazing. And amazingly expensive, so I never thought I'd get one.  But Nate saved a HEAP of money on the one he got and I love it already. I've made multiple recipes in it already and just love it's versatility!  It can go from stove to oven in a flash ;) and it's easy to clean, etc.  Oh, so fun!  He also got me the "Art of French Cooking" two volume cookbooks by Julia Child.  He knows me so well! 

The crew had a time of prayer for me and I just feel so blessed and loved by those God has surrounded me with.  I am one blessed gal!  I wouldn't be who I am today without the wealth of relationships I have around me.  As I listened to people praying and prophesying over me, I couldn't believe some of what they were saying.  So much of it was so kind it was overwhelming, and some of the prophesies were confirmations of what I believe God has been laying on my heart.  God is just so good to us!

Oh, and for my scheming friend Allison, she even got church members and friends to scheme with her. I'm pretty convinced her love of throwing parties is almost like giving a present to her.  The journal making day for the conference was even a scheme - that means she included 6 or so other people not involved in the party in the plan!  Thanks for working so hard to bless me!

I made a yummy meal Sunday night :) with enough butter and 1/2 and 1/2 in it to kill us deader than dead... It called for heavy cream, but I didn't have it and really, the 1/2 and 1/2 made me feel better about myself. Like I was taking good care of my body.  Julia Childs lived to be OLDER THAN you'd imagine with her love of wine and butter in mass.  Crazy.

My first almost full week of being thirty has been so awesome and I can't wait to see what God has planned for this year!

And... no post would be complete without this little guy making his rounds :)  He is now the proud owner of two teeth on the bottom and they are so stinkin' cute I want to pinch them.... well, maybe not... but what do you do with cute teeth?  They're not quite like chubby legs or cheeks, now are they?  Hmmm...

He had a visit with his friend Ilyana (sorry if I botched that name, Monica!) and decided to HOLD HANDS with her - check this series of pictures out.  Disturbing.  She's only a week older, but about one inch taller and five pounds lighter!  Ha ha.  It's been fun to be pregnant with Monica, then to discuss our babes together.  And by discuss, I don't mean that annoying, unhealthy "my kid's better than yours" thing but just saying how they are progressing and being HAPPY when either one is doing well.  It's the healthy kind of "comparing". Or just checking in on our kiddos.

Benson continues to be super happy, strong, and very much a joy to us - we are so incredibly blessed by his little life!  

Nate has been working on this awesome saying for our wall.  He cut the letters out with his scroll saw, sanded, and painted them.  Now they hang in our living room.  Very cool!

Six Month Checkup Stats

This sweet little babe of ours had his six month visit today.  The doctor said he's advanced, doing so well, doing some things he wouldn't expect to see until 6-9 months, not at 6 months, etc, etc.  We report that, not to tell you how incredible our kid is, but how incredible our God is.  Benson's doing so great and we praise God for how far he has come since the days of pregnancy when they weren't sure how he'd do (with his 2 vessel cord) and look at him now...

Look, ma, I can do crunches, I'm tough!  He held a similar position for a very long time, just to show the doc his stamina and strength.  I think at first the doc was impressed, then slightly annoyed that he had to wait so long to do the exam, which wasn't so easy with crunching baby. Hee hee.  Did you look??? Here's one more chance...

He is also sporting a new birthmark, which you can see just above his arm on his ribcage.

Yeah, baby, that's 27 inches (70th percentile), 18lbs. 6oz. (65th percentile) and a 30something percentile head circumfrence of cute loviness.  I think 10 pounds might be lingering between his hips and kneecaps, but that's just a guess. ;)  And like the "camera" adding 10 pounds, so does the diaper (in the picture at least, not in the actual weigh-in).

Call if you want to come over and be smiled at like you never thought possible.  He'll also talk your ear off.  And... He might slobber kiss you to smitherines. Be warned :D

Six month update

Okay, so the babe has a cold - got it on his six month birthday - what's up with that?

I'll tell you what he's teaching me - AGAIN - is to praise God and be joyful in ALL circumstances. This kid won't stop smiling with a fever, runny/stuffy nose, cough, sneeze, cough, cough, sneeze. I love him. And I love my hubby who woke up at 3 in the morning and hung out with Benson the rest of the night so I could sleep. Benson's a blessed little boy to have Nate for a daddy and well, I know I'm beyond blessed to have Nate for a husband. He's just a really solid, loving kind of guy.

Oh, and... I found a cool website that has inspired me to start writing a cookbook. Because, well, I've always had a dream to have a cooking show. I'm not sure I'd actually enjoy being videotaped, because I make faces at cameras... See what I mean? I fear the nightmares that I would create for people. But I think I'd love to write a cookbook, even if all I do is hand it down to my kiddos and share recipes with my friends. So there. But... that's going to require me to actually measure occasionally. Ugh. You can pray for me. :)

Six WHOLE months

So, I have to admit something to you... Perhaps Sheepishly... Last night when I was feeding Benson, getting him ready to bed, singing prayers over him, I was thinking about that night six months ago we went in to have him, to be induced, not having a clue what that day or what the coming days would bring. I teared up as I thought of the grace of God on us. The way He has protected and provided for Benson from conception all the way through his first six months. So Happy SIX Months our precious blessing straight from God. We love you even more today than yesterday and I'm sure we'll feel the same tomorrow.


At six months, Benson can sit up all by himself, help eat all sorts of food (like sweet potatoes, spinach, green beans, peas, rice cereal), sometimes sleeps for six or seven hour stretches (sometimes), SMILES like nobody's business, laughs, chatters, squeals, loves his Johnny Jump Up, wears 6 month and 9 month clothing (depending on the diaper ;)), loves meeting new people, is very calm, but very fun - a perfect combination, has a tooth on the bottom, grew a birthmark!, still has blue eyes and a light colored hair that will most likely be like his mama's, adores his daddy, really likes to make people smile, loves to wake up to a "good morning!" and smiles away most days, likes to sleep at 6:30pm if given the chance, still hates tummy time, but loves to stand up on his legs only be held onto for balance, not support, grunts and sounds like a little man, and generally just makes us very grateful and a bit in awe that God would choose us to raise this little blessing for Him. How blessed we are!


To celebrate, I finally picked up this beautiful canvas print - photo taken by Kimberly Sanderson of Sanderson Images - canvas printed, stretched, wrapped and lovingly completed by John Sanderson. I love it and can't wait to hang it in Benson's room. :) I couldn't wait to show you what it looks like, so you can't see it hanging, just posing nicely on the couch with Benson, the big 6 month old...

Please pardon my super photography skills. It's why I don't work for Sanderson Images or any other photographer for that matter. I'm just not full of mad skillllzzzz. But seriously, look at this really, super cute baby I birthed :)

Love you and Happy Weekend!