The Baskins Family

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Summer. Kate's 21 months old. Life. God's goodness.

Well, since my last post (in March) so much has gone on! I have lots to update on so I'm going to do it in list form and expand as needed.

Kate
Kate had an ear infection that resulted in having surgery to have tubes put in. A few ENT visits and one hospital visit, she's been ear infection free since the surgery! Praise the Lord! Her speech has improved tremendously, as well as her balance and appetite.
Kate's had a few more teeth come in... hang on let me count... OUCH! (just kidding, she's napping) 16! So the last 2 that came in are still working their way in (it's a slow process), but she's handling it well. After this it will be time for 2 year molars!
Kate's skin issues have been so great! We've found a diaper that works miracles for her severe eczema and that's Seventh Generation brand. I can't sing enough praises about this brand! Other than them being sold in limited stores, I can't make one complaint! They are amazing!

Hank
Hank's job is going well.
Hank's been approved for a scholarship for school which pays 100% of tuition!
Hank's waiting on his acceptance letter to start his Masters in just a few weeks!
Hank will be 30 on September 4th!
Hank's also excited to be in a wedding for a life long friend in October.
Hank's also excited about college football starting back up! Please be in prayer for him as he has not been in school with a child yet and that will obviously present new challenges! He will be working full time, in school full time and a husband/father full time! Not an easy thing to do!

Allison
I actually got news shortly after my last post that there was no longer a position for me at the preschool that I was hoping to teach at this coming school year. So I cried (a lot), but knew God had a plan. So I just waited and prayed that the Lord would work it out somehow. Well, He did and I just got news a couple weeks ago that Kate and I both can start in September! Kate will be a Butterfly and I will be a Penguin (right across the hall from Kate)! 3 days a week, with 3 year olds as an assistant to a great friend of mine. He couldn't have worked it out any better! I'm so amazed!
I'm busy planning Hank and Kate's birthday's!
Other than that, and the fact that I'll be 28 this month, things are great!

Thank's so much for the support, prayers, encouragement, etc. We are a super blessed family! I will leave you with pictures, as always.

Grammy and Kate

Playing in the pool at Uncle Boola's house

Granddaddy Moody

meeting new baby cousin Landon for the first time

July 4th parade in Wake Forest

July 4th parade

"picnic" while watching the Olympics

Kate and her "bay-by"

She didn't quite grasp the concept of fort :)

Still her favorite spot <3

pig tails

what it is?

have to have a cute sleeping picture

cheese!

so precious <3

cheese!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

16 months. A little girl. A toddler.

OH my, I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote on the blog! I'm sooooo sorry! Kate is now 16 months old. She's no longer a baby. She's walking, trying to talk, testing her boundaries (and my patience), playing, loving, and is THE. BEST. BABY. GIRL. EVER! Without a doubt! Have I said she's no longer a baby? I can't believe how fast she's growing. It's really incredible and such a gift from the Lord to be able to watch her grow and teach her new things. She is definitely a sponge and soaking everything up. I have a pack and play set up in our room so when I shower and get dressed she can play (contained) and she loves to just stand there and watch me. One time I looked over while I was drying my hair and using my hand to run my fingers through my hair and she was running her fingers through her hair. My heart melted. I proceeded to pick up my brush and use it and I looked over at her and she was brushing her hair with the brush she keeps in her pack and play. PRECIOUS! She LOVES to give kisses to anybody that will take them (we are working on this! ha). She will obey (most of the time) and continues to exceed our expectations. She's been trying to shake an ear infection for a few weeks now and is hopefully on the mend, but you wouldn't know it. She's such a great girl! She's just recently taken an interest in tickling. She'll even say her version of "tickle, tickle, tickle" while she does it. I'm really trying to soak up the little moments. I thank the Lord for blessing me with this beautiful baby girl. I'm learning so much about myself and my relationship with the Lord. Being a mom is not easy. In fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever loved. For sure. It's stressful and challenging every single day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The Lord continues to reveal Himself to me through Kate and through the daily challenges of staying home. It's not easy, but so rewarding. I'm so proud of Kate, but her being as good as she is has nothing to do with me. She'd be crazy if it was me! The Lord gives me patience, wisdom, and strength to care for her the way that He has called me to. I've really enjoyed staying home with Kate for these past 16 months. For those of you that don't know, before I had Kate I taught 3 year olds at the preschool at our church. I was a teacher one year and assistant for 2. Aside from being a Mom, it's my favorite job in the world. I love my 3 year olds and co-workers and have missed being there so much. Since being pregnant with Kate our intentions were for me to go back and take Kate with me. So after a long wait, it's finally time to begin preparations for going back! I'm so excited about it and I can't wait for Kate to learn to love this place and women like I do. It's going to be so great for her to be able to be there and learn to interact with other kids and anything else that her magnificent teachers will teach her. I absolutely cannot wait to be back! I've missed it so much. Have I mentioned I love it there and I've missed it? AGH! So in September Kate will be a Butterfly and I will be some other animal. :) I don't care what, but I just know it's going to be GREAT!
Well, I've talked enough. I'll post some pics from the past few months.

14 months

16 months

First hair cut (15 months old)

Ear infection

First balloon

Favorite spot

First pig tails

Kate's "lovie"

Springtime!

matching toes :)

Easter basket from Joy

building with Mama and Dada

Monday, December 12, 2011

Happy Birthday "Tutu" Kate and family update

I've found that this time of year is very difficult for me to remember to write in this blog. I absolutely love sharing our life with all of you, but time just slips away from me and I'm always on the go with this busy girl I'm chasing. :)

Since my last post, Kate has turned a year old, we had her first birthday party, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Georgia with family and had another first birthday party for Kate with family, and we are now preparing for Christmas in Georgia! It's definitely my most favorite part of the year! This year is especially exciting because I just love seeing Kate's reactions to seeing family we haven't seen in a while. She may not remember exactly who they are, but she does know she likes them and the fact that they give her so much love and attention. One day she'll remember all the faces AND NAMES and it'll be precious! :) Until then, I'll just soak this time up.

Kate is doing so much these days. She signs "more" and "all done." She shakes her head "no." She waves "bye-bye" and "hi." She blows kisses. She does this little bounce when she hears music and is standing (we call it her dance). When we say "arms up" she immediately puts her arms straight up and then back down again when we say "arms down." She makes this adorable noise by putting the back of her hand over her mouth and twists her fist forward and backward (like an indian call that most people do by just putting the front of the hand over the mouth). She has a walker that she pushes EVERYWHERE and has attempted a few wobbly steps on her own. The most she has done is 6 steps towards her daddy! She needs to gain a little more confidence and then she'll be RUNNING everywhere! She can point to her mouth when I ask "Where's your mouth?" She's just recently held her plastic phone up to her ear. I have to keep reminding myself that she is a sponge and is soaking up and learning sooo much so fast! It's really important for us to always have a Godly attitude towards her and towards each other so that she will learn that honoring Christ with our words and actions is crucial.

We had 2 birthday parties for Kate. One was here in our home with some of our close friends and the other was in Georgia with our family and a few close friends. They were both a lot of fun! I made her tutu and her hairbow. A friend helped me (with her machine and sewing skills) make her shirt too. She looked precious and got to wear the outfit for both birthday parties! I also made her cake and cupcakes (with the help of a friend). I will have more pictures from the birthday party in Georgia after Christmas.

I am back at MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) at our church every other week. I'm with the age group 12-18 months and I love them! It's always busy. There's always laughing, tears, or poopy diapers, but I love it! I look forward to one day (hopefully, next year) going back to the preschool (The Creator's Kids) and taking Kate with me! I'm still planning on keeping our friends baby Eden starting next month a few days a week! That will be challenging for sure, but I'm really looking forward to it!

Now, hopefully, ya'll have been praying for a way for Hank to go back to school and start his Master's and for something to work out with his job situation. I'm grateful to say that the Lord has worked that all out! In September (shortly after my last post), Hank had an interview with and accepted a full time job offer for the State Employee's Credit Union Operations Department being a Loan Servicing Tech. He worked a short 2-3 week's notice with UPS. When I say short, I really mean long because he worked both jobs SECU 7:30AM-5:30 and then UPS 6-10:30pm for that amount of time. It was difficult, but we are so grateful to have this change and to have Hank home FINALLY at night! I absolutely LOVE cooking dinner and having it ready when he gets home and all of us having dinner together, AND doing Kate's bedtime routine with him rather than by myself. I will NEVER take this evening time for granted. It is such a precious time for our family! As far as Hank going back to school, we are still working out the details for that, but hopefully in the next year he will be starting back at Southeastern. Thank you so much for your prayers for our family. Please continue to pray and PRAISE the Lord with us for the wonderful things he has and will continue to do in our lives!