What's new with the Lantz girls!

I really don't consider myself at being creative and discipline with writing everything down. Although, it's my intentions because I want to remember everything but I must admit I do know other dear friends who have such an amazing gift in doing so but here it goes....
Lately, this is what I seem to do often when blogging: Keeping you up with the Lantz girls! Indeed they are both growing fast and Sophia is still my chunky monkey and Lena seems to have super powers on being so full of energy at all times.

What's new with Lena Lantz?

She got her first bike and loves it! It can be challenging at times. I think more for me. She seems to always have a fall but does recover after about 15-20 mins of sobbing her eyes out. She can be a little drama about it and when this does tend to happen, she tells me she wants to ride her other "little bike", the tricycle. So we are working with her but she is a very happy girl with her new bike.

Lena's first ride!

Another day out and riding around. We didn't last long after her fall but she enjoyed it while it lasted.

Lena's bonding time with Daddy!

Daddy hanging with Lena under the umbrellas. Lena's idea as she got creative, they sat on the bed and had such a sweet conversation. She is definitely a daddy's girl!

Lena is also learning how to get her own self dress and everyday she has put on her own little outfits together.

I think she's getting the hang of it! We still have some work to do but we will get it together!

Lena and Aubey! I am prepare to show this pic because I absolutely love this pic of her. Lena breastfeeding Aubey. Children no doubt watch and learn from their parents. During my time breastfeeding Sophia, Lena caught on quickly and took it upon herself and would sit with me on the couch and do the same.

In which, still till this day, she will join me as I feed Sophia and hang out with me. I love watching her tend to her Aubey.

She really does enjoy taking time with her Aubey!

What's new with Sophia?

Well, she has now started with baby cereal and does really well. First time pics of Sophia eating baby cereal. She is making the transition quite easy for me and that makes for a happy mommy!

Sophia sucking on her fingers with cereal all over them! She's enjoying it! We also want to share that she has officially started rolling over. She did that soon after she turned 4 months. She can be a little drama about it but she's doing good. We are seeing some fun and great changes in our sweet Sophia!Last but not least, Lena loves being a big sister. We get asked alot how Lena is with Sophia and we share how she is a great big sister and does well with Sophia. I know she will be an amazing big sister and look forward to watching them grow together.

My sweet Sophia really doesn't have a choice, she is loved!

In Him,

Rose

Fun Facts about the girls!

4 month comparison!

Took Sophia to her 4 month check up and found out that our Sweet Sophia a.k.a Chunky Monkey weighs in at 14 lbs. 12 oz. and is 25 inches long. She is doing well and is growing quickly! Dr. Perez had to measure her head twice to make sure it was right. LOL. That's because the nurse had to measure her head twice as well. I had to explain, it was the Ricketts head, Micah's side of the family but then again, we have some pretty big heads too. Nothing to worry about just that my sweet Sophia has a big head. :)

When we got back home, I found out as I searched and came across Lena's baby journal that at 4 months, Lena weighed in at 3 lbs and 3oz. and was 24 inches long. I find this quite interesting and so fun to see how different they are.

Sophia is definitely our little Chunky Monkey! Please don't mind me, I tend to get excited over this stuff and want to share!

In Him,

Rose

New Friends!

Lena made new friends today, she seems to always make new friends when we go outside to play. I get a kick out of her, each time we are outside she immediately tells me, "Mom, look it's my friends, let me go ask if they want to play?". Then she will scream from the top of her lungs and say, "Hey friends, do you want to play?" You should see these kids faces as they see Lena screaming out like she's crazy. Some will play with her and many times others will run from her. LOL. Today, she saw two little boys riding their bikes and ran right up to them and said, "Boys, do you want to play with me?" What she really was doing was wanting to make friends so that she could ride the bikes the boys were on. What drew the boys to us though was the chalk we had to write on the cement. So it worked out for them both. She got to ride the bike and they three all wrote on the cement with chalk.

Well, it didn't quite end there. As the two little boys had to leave she saw a group of boys standing around talking and without hesitation went right up to them and asked them, "Excuse me boys, would you like to play hopscotch with me?" These poor boys, this is not the first time that Lena had bothered them but today was a different day. They all agreed to play with her. They even took time to draw out the hopscotch on the cement and took time to play with her. She was so happy!

Sometimes, I am reminded how brave she is. No doubt, Micah and I have spoken to her about stranger danger and we will continue to do so. But as I watch Lena make friends, she always seems to bless me by being so bold and by talking with people all around her. She is indeed very friendly and loves to make friends.

Oh and by the way, one of the little boys was Xavier. I don't know if any remember my encounter with Xavier last year but it was great getting to talk with him again. He seemed not so shy today, I was very surprised by that and yet very thankful to have had a chance to talk with him.

In Him,

Rose

My sweet thumbsucker!

My sweet Sophia is no doubt a thumbsucker. Quite different from my other daughter who would have rather taken the pacifer when she was a precious baby. I have to remind myself daily that I might be in for a surprise with Sophia. I am learning quickly that she is quite opposite of Lena. Lena was truly a laid back baby. She could sleep and not be bothered. It took her a long time to do things. (It might have been due to so many arms around!) As far as Sophia goes, she loves for mommy and daddy to hold her and yet is not so very happy if she is put down. She definitely can chill for a minute but she will demand attention quickly.

So just this week we've been having a full battle with her thumb and pacifer. I constantly fight to give her the pacifier a.k.a (pappy) but she will not have it. She'll put it in her mouth and spit it right out and then search for her little precious thumb and pop it right in her mouth. After that little war takes place and she has her thumb in her mouth, she is a content baby. I also notice that she is standing on her legs and is very strong when doing that. She is using her leg muscles well. Once again, nothing Lena did! I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I am definitely looking forward to watching Sophia grow and always be in the mind frame that as God formed her in my womb, he knew exactly what he was doing. And it's totally okay, that Sophia and Lena will possibly be total opposites. This makes our lives so much more fun as we watch and see. Which is fine by me. :)

In Him,

Rose

Lena and Sophia's first night sharing a room!

Last night was Sophia's first night sharing a room with Lena. Micah and I were both excited to transition Sophia into Lena's room due to getting in a video monitor we ordered weeks ago. We feel more at ease now that we'll be able to watch what's going on with Sophia sharing a room with big sis. Actually, it's more for Lena than for Sophia. We never felt the need to get one for Lena when she was Sophia's age or even after she turned a year old. We felt it was especially necessary to get one now so that we could monitor Lena's every move toward her little sis.

So we laid the girls in bed last night, turned the video monitor on as Micah and I sat in bed for like thirty minutes watching them sleep peacefully. Since Sophia is teething, I heard her wake up at 1:30am, fussy and wanting mommy. Did what needed to be done, changed diaper, fed her, put baby orjel and rocked her back to sleep and placed her back in the room with Lena. She was out and so was I after that. At 6:30 a.m. I hear Sophia awake and talking to herself. Of course I am up and grab the monitor and watch to see what would take place. It was a priceless moment for me as a mommy!

No doubt with Sophia being loud, she wakes up her big sis. Rather than Lena coming knocking on our door to wake us up, usually her normal thing to do. She realizes that her baby sister is laying next to her in the crib awake. Lena gets off her bed, kneels next to Sophia's crib and begins to comfort her. It was so sweet to be able to watch. I could hear Lena tell Sophia, "Good Morning, Sophia!", "It's okay, I'm here!" and then she tells Sophia, "I'll be right back". I watch Lena go and grab a book from her bookshelf and bring it back to Sophia and she begins to read to her. Talk about a sweet and precious moment!

Finally after watching Lena in action for like thirty to four-five minutes, I could hear Lena scream with a loud voice, "Mommy, Sophia is hungry!" Ha! That sounds like my girl, Lena.

So I was definitely surprised by Lena and how she tended to her baby sister. I think this might be fun as I'll be able to watch what's taking place in the early mornings when Lena is awake tending to Sophia. Hopefully it will remain sweet and precious but then again something tells me I might be writing another story, totally opposite of this. :) It'll probably be titled, "Lena climbing in the crib with Sophia!" We will pray that doesn't happen.

In Him,

Rose

Sisterly Love!

A sister is a friend forever.~Author Unknown

How do people make it through life without a sister?~Sara Corpening

My dear friend/sister in Christ, Denise!

What's the good news if you haven't a sister to share it?~Jenny Devries

An older sister is a friend and defender, a listner, a counselor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too.~Pam Brown

I woke up this morning with a text from a dear sister in Christ sharing with me her daughter finally made her arrival. As I laid in bed, I was overjoyed as I thought to myself "a girl". My friend had decided to wait along with her husband to find out the sex of the baby. I will say brave parents! So much anticipation for the both of them! I couldn't help but think about how sweet it is to have a girl much less to have a sister. This precious baby girl name, Katherine Daisy has an older sister and I look forward to watch Nicole be a big sister to baby Katherine. I just couldn't help but praise God for giving me four older sisters including a half sister plus so many other dear sisters in the Lord.

When Micah and I found out we were pregnant with our second, immediately everyone began to ask us, (What we wanted?) It didn't take me long at all to answer that one. I wanted another little girl. I wanted Lena to have a baby sister and God so graciously did just that. Of course, my husband wanted a boy but when we were told a girl, he was totally okay with it. (Of course he was, he had no choice! LOL) I was just sharing with my husband yesterday how amazing it is that God saw fit to give us a girl. It's just so perfect! I know this had a lot to do with being raised up by lots of sisters. Having sisters can be so fun!

I think it must have really hit me and I began to appreciate having sisters at the age of 21 and I met a dear friend name, Denise Gonzales now Denise Krummel. She was the oldest of three sisters. I am not surprised at all that we clicked so well, she was the oldest and I knew all about being a baby sister. Baby sisters tend to cling tightly to the oldest. Actually, I am like that with all my sisters but the oldest I remember always wanting to be with her. Being that I was away from my very own sisters and parents Iwas always hanging out with her and her family. I enjoyed sitting at the table after Sunday Service and watching the dad get so loved on by all his girls. It was real sweet. The conversations were so much fun and full of laughter! Slowly but surely I began to appreciate what a sister was. Now, I'm not taking anything away from my very own sisters! As I got to hang out with my friend and her sisters, of course there were lots of fights, lots of arguements. How I remember this oh so well! I remember fighting a lot with my sisters and I know that they would say I was spoiled and I know that to be true. I remember disappointing my sisters or betraying their trust. I remember saying hateful things to their faces and behind their backs. Thankfully they have been gracious to love me still and remain a friend and always a sister to me.

But I honestly think it goes much deeper as well. As I have grown, and still growing, I'm learning another whole new meaning of sisterhood. In my very own walk with God and as I'm deepening my relationship with God, I have gain so many other precious sisters along with continuing my relationship with my very own sisters. I have an amazing group of ladies that I know they are for me and will always be there. I've grown with these ladies and many have seen me at my worst and many have seen me at my best. I've shared laughs, dining out, dancing, singing, crying together, fun fellowship, playdates, time of prayer, serious conversations and I've cherished every moment of it. I love my dear sisters in Christ!

There is nothing like having sisters you can lean on! I am beyond blessed! I'm so thankful also for over the course of my 31 years of living, I have met some amazing ladies that I gladly call sisters. Even though some of us are miles apart, I am very fond of the precious moments we had and the season we got to spend together.

I look forward to watching Lena and Sophia share a sweet bond together as sisters and look forward to watching them meet girlfriends along the way in whom they will call also "a sister".

In Him,

Rose

A gentle tug, push or simply a good reminder!

My heart was stirred up this past week as I had the wonderful privilege of reading a dear friends blog. There was no doubt a gentle tug on my heart as I had a good reminder to never stop writing. Now that I have two precious and beautiful girls, I definitely want them to know how much their mother loved to write. I was challenged to write often, daily if I can about things that are taking place in my life. My dear friend, Lizzy Grant, who is precious and absolutely has a huge heart for God, shared something so sweet about her grandfather in whom she calls 'Opah'. Her Opah told her that she had a gift and the Lord wants to use it to minister to others and that when we write things out even if it's just about daily life stuff, it's storing up a legacy for future generations. Amen and Amen! I believe this to be true!

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to write. I remember when my oldest sister went off to college I used to write her stories and send them to her. She always praised me for writing those stories. I also remember when I was six years old, I learned how to write letters and got to send my first letter to another little girl. I loved it! I had gained a pen pal. So writing has always been something I've enjoyed to do, it has been very therapeutic for me. Even though it may not always makes sense to others, it tends to make sense to me.

If you have a passion for writing, I encourage you to write. Please don't stop! As for me, I totally needed a gentle tug by the Lord, a push and no doubt a simple reminder. Sometimes we need to be pushed a little! I had my little push a couple of days after reading this particular blog. If anyone knows my husband, he is a huge fan of roasting coffee and on this certain day he needed me to step in and help him roast since he was at work. I was so hesitant that I just told him, "No babe, you know that I don't function well like this!" I told him, "You have to show me, I just can't learn by you telling me over the phone." Thankfully, Micah was so gracious with me, he gently said to me,"Babe, I will walk you through it!" And of course I changed my mind. I totally roasted my first batch of home roasted coffee and it was a success. He was so proud of me and totally believed in me and having him push me along allowed me to accomplish the roast.

Being able to read my friends blog got me so deep in my heart as tears fell from my face, I felt as though the Lord had asked me "Why haven't you written lately daughter?" Sometimes we don't feel motivated or encouraged to do so. But the Lord is faithful to see you through! Just as my dear friend encouraged me to write, I will encourage you to do the same. (Whoever you are!) I will send out a gentle tug and a push your way!

I want to write and continue this as long as the Lord allows! I want to be able to share with those around me what the Lord has done and continues to do for me. I want to leave a legacy for future generations, starting with my very own children, Lena and Sophia.

In Him,
Rose