count down to a meltdown.

 sometimes baby meltdowns are the cutest things ever....or maybe just funny.

it's kinda crazy to think that there is so much emotion wrapped up in this little body.

haha, and sometimes i feel this way too.

4 months.

someone is 4 months (as of yesterday!)

and it feels like just yesterday

she was just born and being set in my arms.

but now she eats her hands

and smiles & laughs all the time.

she loves to make faces at momma,

and well i can't get enough of them.

in fact i am always eating those cheeks of hers.

Zeze lately.

at her fourth month check up yesterday she is now 13.5 pounds! and looking super healthy according to her pediatrician! 

Loves: to laugh & giggle, babble and squeal. playing on her mat and watching things hanging over her head, grabbing for any toys (or anything) within her reach, kicking and rolling from side to side, eating her hands or anything that is near her mouth region (including sophie the giraffe and mommy's hand/arm/shoulder), taking naps in her stroller on morning walks, standing up (with support of course), sitting in her exersaucer and spinning & batting at all of the toys, listening to music & dancing with mommy or daddy, staring at her self in the mirror, and toys that squeak. 

Dislikes: getting strapped in her blasted car seat, hanging out too long on her tummy (although she is much better, hangs out way longer, and is stronger at it now!), getting put down for naps (or taking long naps).

Nicknames: goober, goob, goobie goob (or any variation of this word imaginable), baby girl, PJ funny bunny, milk face, Zeze girl, cuddle bum, love, or lovey, sweet pea, sweetums. 

nom nom nom...sophie is yummy.

i feel so incredibly blessed as a mom. God has been so good to our little family and although it is still relatively all new, it is an amazing journey. 

closing time.

celebrating at the end of year banquet.

another school year is drawing to a close for us.

it is crazy for me to think that debo and i have been living on a college campus for nearly five years now, as long as we will have been married (come june).

since we have started this life together we have spent time with five different staffs of resident assistants. every year our staff is unique from the last. along with supporting these students, we have also gotten to know so many different others from so many different places, with different backgrounds, and different hopes and dreams and directions.

it is such a beautiful thing to be involved in these students lives. to see them learn, and grow, and take on this thing we call real life.

in truth it is a honor.

our life has been one full of many interruptions. hospital visits at 3am. late night conversations about the human condition and God. tears over the loss of loved ones, broken engagements and relationships, roommate conflicts, and frustrations. visits filled with happy news of jobs found, marriage proposals, exciting new internships, and joy over things being learned.

as much as we listen, as much as we "advise,", and as much as we get to know our students, i always find that it is really them who have blessed me with such growth. i have learned so much from how they live, love, cry, speak, hope, and dream. their lives impact me and as we watch some graduate at the end of each year my heart feels heavy at their leaving. after all, since we live among students it is them who have been with us as we embarked on married life, parenthood, and the simple daily grind. they see us when we are at our best and sometimes, yes, at our worst.

our 2012-2013 staff of RA's

what a blessing it has been to be able to do life with these people, even if it sometimes is only for a short while. every year is a new start, and each year has a beautiful (albeit chaotic) ending. 

"it's the circle of life..."

so, this is our life in a nutshell.