1 Month Old!

Well little lady, you were 1 month old on May 6th!

I can't believe you've been here for that long already. You are such a sweet joy to us and my heart is so thankful to call you mine. Here's what you've been up to! 

You look so much like your big sister Evie, but we're beginning to see your own little look mixed in there as well. I can't wait to see what you'll look like as you grow. You've been pretty strong since the day you were born- never had that super floppy newborn body. You're holding your head up really well. Mommy has gotten you to smile quite a lot and disagrees with the idea that you don't know you are smiling. How would they know? :) 

Due to lots of tummy trouble you prefer to be held facing away from us, with your belly on our arm, or any kind of motion that involves bouncing or rocking. Mommy is still trying to figure out how to best help your belly. You are very gassy and spent the first few weeks crying most of the night. Thankfully, you aren't crying as much in the middle of the night now, just getting up to eat, but the evenings are still rough for you. At first, your days were just fine, but now those are having some troubles too. Poor baby girl, I wish I could fix it in a snap! We saw the chiropractor today and you have some issues in your neck and pelvis, probably from birth, both of which can affect the digestive system, so we will be hoping to work on that with several more visits. 

We've found that you love to go at rocket speed in your swing/glider. Daddy came in one evening and saw you just flyin' away in the swing and said, "What on earth!" because it looks pretty funny to see it rocking so much. I said, "hey, is she crying?" We laughed and laughed because it just looks so funny. We said you probably aren't crying because you're trying to figure out what on earth is happening to you. But this little swing has been a life-saver, although we're careful how much you nap in it so you will still sleep in your bassinet.The other thing I've found you like is me holding you while I bounce on the exercise ball. 

You are not typical in your hatred for your car seat. Most babies get in the car and quiet right down. You get very mad as soon as you get in your car seat and don't always settle down after that. 

Your big brother Mekonen and big sister Evie cannot get enough of you! They are obsessed with seeing you with your eyes open and get very excited when this happens. Every morning they rush in to see you and are always wanting to give you kisses. You are so incredibly loved my sweet darling and we are so thankful you are here! 

We Serve a Risen Savior

Happy Easter! 

This year, we had a much "simpler" Easter celebration than last year in terms of family activities and devotions with Penelope's birth being just two week prior. We did however, get to do our Easter advent/Easter tree readings and ornaments. We do an Easter version of the Christmas Jesse Tree and I linked up readings from the Jesus Storybook Bible and The Big Picture Story Bible to go along with the resurrection eggs. You can see the exact plans here if you're interested!

Easter has become my favorite, most meaningful holiday. I normally spend reflective time journaling at Easter, but in my newborn fog these days and running on very little time and sleep, I was not able to write out my thoughts in succinct format for a blog post. However, in these crazy days, I've been thankful to have those quiet reflective moments between me and the Lord to think on what He has done for me. Here are my personal, reflective thoughts on Easter last year.

Between the Cross and the Empty Tomb

Easter Sunday Joy

Here's a snapshot of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus! 

My bigs...

 And my little...

 Penelope's 1st Easter

Daddy and the babes

 Mommy and the babes

 Easter basket fun! 

 Easter egg hunt at Grandma Magz and Boppy's! 

 Checkin' out the goods. 

Living He loved me.

Dying he saved me. 

Buried he carried, my sins far away. 

Rising He justified, freely forever. 

One day He's coming. 

Oh glorious day! 

Because Grandparents Are the Best!

Penelope was born on Sunday, April 6th and that coming Friday could not come fast enough! Grandma and Grandpa were coming!!!!! Not only was I excited for my kids who were BEYOND thrilled, but I couldn't wait to see them. I just hate living so far away. And to top it off, I was dying for some real Mom help. As Jon kept saying, "Just hang in there. Your Mom will be here before you know it!" We survived that first week and then they arrived! Unfortunately, my Dad could only stay for the weekend due to work, but my Mom stayed a whole week. Here's just a snapshot of our time! 

I have so many precious memories of my Dad reading us bedtime stories and teaching us the Bible. I especially loved how he did all the character voices too. My Dad is one of the most humble, patient, and God-fearing men I have ever known and words fail to describe my thankfulness in being part of his great legacy... I am beyond blessed to watch my children, nieces, and nephews, share in this legacy. To date, he and my Mom have 10 grandchildren. What a blessing to witness how God has impacted future generations by the faithfulness of my parents. 

Penelope Mae is grandbaby #10! She's named after my Dad's Mom. 

Yep, this guy is the greatest. At 31, being right next to him is still the best place to be. 

And for fun.... see, not much as changed in 26 years. 

Macy only gets attention when my Dad comes to visit. She always climbs right onto the blow up bed with them. Ha!!! 

Love how intently she's listening to Grandma's voice. So sweet. 

(And in the background, no, we don't have a bird, as people keep asking when they see that. It's our seed starters for the garden). 

I loved being able to just sit with my Mom at night on the couch and relax. Of course, little Miss Penelope joined the party. Grandma got her to smile for the first time. Cute little smirky smile. 

My mom let the kids have a sleep-over with her in her bed. She's a brave woman. They loved it. Here they are snuggled up together. 

Seriously, my Mom is amazing. The sacrifices she has made for our family are innumerable! She has ten grandchildren and I cannot even begin to give you example after example of her selfless, enthusiastic love for her family, her desire to serve, and give, and then serve some more. She's wonderful. I don't even know how she does it. She is hands down, the most efficient person that I know. She came in on Friday, and within minutes took over. I could've cried being able to just sit down since I still felt incredibly sore and in pain, and not have to worry about the kids getting some love, meals getting situated, etc etc. Not only did she keep up the normal cleaning of the house (like dishes, laundry and such), but she did a million other things like cleaning the floors, the ceiling fans, and even cleaned out the window sills from the winter so we could open the windows). And she did all of this while playing with the kids, taking them outside, playing games, doing crafts, and lots of hugs and snuggles. I tell you, she's amazing, and you won't find a better Mom anywhere. I often find myself, already at 31, thinking ahead to when I'm a grandma, and I hope I'm just like her....special dates and outings with the grandkids, sleep-overs, playtime, teaching them things, loving them, spoiling them, taking them on special outings, babysitting, and just letting them be kids. And now to find a way to keep all my grown up kids in the same town as us so I can do that! My sister who lives just miles from her is the luckiest person in the world. 

Her First Days

I will always look back on those first several days after Penelope's birth with such fondness, joy, and contentment.

The kids are absolutely adorable and sweet with their new baby sister. We waited until they arrived back at the house with Jon's parents to tell them that the baby was a girl! They walked into the room and we told them, "It's a girl!" Evie was excited and Mekonen said, "Ohh, I wanted a boy baby." Poor buddy. He thought he was going to have an immediate playmate upon baby's arrival. He then added, "But even Macy is a girl!" Haha. But, he laid eyes on that new baby sister and he was smitten. He is so, so incredibly good with her. Very tender and sweet. Always wanting to see her, hold her, and talks so calmly to her when she's crying. He is simply precious.

The kids meeting Penelope for the first time. 

 Grandma Magz and Boppy meeting Penelope Mae. 

I think my absolute favorite time was the late evening on the day she was born and the following day where Jon and I got to spend all that time alone together, at home, with just Penelope. It was truly one of the most special times of my life. We simply laid in bed most of the time, marveling at this new addition to our family. It was perfection. I wish there was a way to bottle it up and revisit it whenever we want. 

Those wonderful skin to skin newborn moments. 

Penelope's first bath. She was not a fan! 

 Ah, much better. 

Late afternoon that first day after she was born, we had our first visitor! One of my dearest friends Megan. 

The three of us spent some time trying to figure out Jon's cousin's camera and get some non-fuzzy pics of our girl. We weren't very successful, but we did have fun pretending we were photographers. Haha.

I've been asked so many questions about the ins and outs of homebirth, what I liked, what was difficult, etc. I would say that in its entirety it was a really great experience and it was really, really nice to enjoy those first 24 hours at home with Jon, by ourselves. However, the most difficult part of homebirth was not having the kind of help you get in the hospital. I had just had a baby, was incredibly sore, and incredibly exhausted, but the reality is, that as soon as my kids were dropped back home it was Mommy go time whether I could handle it or not. Jon was only able to take Monday off and so we were very, very thankful that I went into labor and had her on the weekend (which we had really been praying for)! The most difficult thing was not having all day help or care, whereas at the hospital, you could literally sit in your bed and rest for a couple of days, which really is what is needed. So if you have a super helpful Mom who lives close to spend those days with you and your family, helping out not only with the kids, but household stuff that Moms do like laundry, feeding your kids, cleaning, dishes, etc., it can make for a rough few days since even standing up made me quite dizzy. I simply could not wait for my Mom to get here all the way from PA. Every day that first week Jon sweetly said, "Just hang in there. Your Mom will be here really soon." And praise the Lord, she arrived that Friday and took over for me. Oh bless her heart. She's the most servant hearted person that I know. (Their visit post to come soon)! We were also incredibly blessed by many people in our church who brought meals over for us! What a relief to not have to worry about cooking! We were so blessed by them! So that's what I would say is the downfall to the homebirth, unless you have someone to care for you during the first few days so you don't have to be getting up and down. If that's a blessing you are privileged to have, then homebirth is amazing all around. 

Monday evening, Jon's mom brought the kids back home and we got to have a little birthday party for Penelope. The kids could not wait for this and had been talking about it for weeks before the baby was even here. I think they just wanted an excuse to eat cake and Evie kept saying how she would help the baby open his/her gifts. Haha. It looks like we've started a new fun tradition for our family in having a birthday party when baby is born. Grandma Magz made the cake and we bought a number zero candle, which the kids thought was hilarious. We bought Penelope her first stuffed animal and the sweetest book called "On the Night You Were Born."

He is just so precious with her. 

in awe.

 Happy birthday Penelope! 

And our first family of five photo. 

(Please ignore my hair. Apparently, I didn't brush it. haha).

Reading Penelope her first story. "On the Night You Were Born." 

(And note Evie stuffing the pacifier in her mouth). 

 Evie insisted on getting her bed ready that night and proceeded to fill it with books, stuffed animals, and blankies, just like her bed. (Don't worry, we didn't let her sleep like this. Just put her in there for Evie's sake). 

Some of my favorite new baby memories- had this with all three of them. First storytime reading about Jesus with Daddy.

And life as a family of five begins...

Her Name

We have had numerous questions about our little lady's name, so here's the post with all the details! We are very particular about our names in the sense that we want them to have meaning, heritage, and significance. Throughout Biblical history, and history itself, most people named their children a specific name based on its meaning or its attachment to something significant. No, we don't believe there's some mystical, spiritual thing behind it, we just wanted our children's names to be chosen with meaning behind it thats more than, "We just like it." 

Our little lady's full name is:

Penelope Mae Oren

We tossed around name after name if Baby O. was a girl, and Penelope stayed at the top of the list pretty much the entire time. The only other name we seriously considered was Mercy and you can read about that here in her birth story.

Where did her name come from? 

Penelope is named after my super sweet and endearing Grandma Penny, my Dad's mom. I was so immensely giddy to name a daughter after her that I was hoping and praying Baby O. was a girl. You hear all the time that people "grow into their name" and "live up to their name sake." We are hoping Miss Penelope grows up into the sweet, kind disposition of her Great Grandma Penny. Oh how happy I am to have a daughter named Penelope. 

Here's a picture of my Grandma Penny and me last summer. How adorable is she?!?! She is one rockin' Grandma who in her 80's, still works out at Curves 3 times a week. And, she has the sweetest, most adorable Boston accent ever! 

Mae was not chosen for its rhyming with Rae, which is Evie's middle name. That was one of my hesitations...are we going to have to come with similar middle names for every subsequent girl we have now that our first two are Rae and Mae? Or, are we going to have to endure that same question for the rest of our lives...."Oh did you want them all to rhyme?" But it is kind of cute, especially if we only ever have two girls. But we chose Mae because it is the middle name of Jon's Grandma Nellie, also his Dad's mom. Jon has never met his Grandma Nellie, as she and his Grandfather died in a plane crash before he was born. We have had the privilege over the last couple of years to hear more and more about his Grandparents. We have such a love for the Oren extended family and were very excited to honor the legacy of his Grandparents by naming our daughter after her Great-Grandma Nellie. 

What about a nickname? 

This is the question we get asked the most! We are not officially calling Penelope by a nickname, but using her full name "Penelope." We just really like the whole name. Yes, I know, it's soooooo long, as many of you have said, but, we know you can do it! Besides, it's easier for a girl to rock a long syllable name than it is a boy, and the name Mekonen has stuck solid. 

I'm sure you've heard us refer to her personally as Pip or Pippi, but we're going to have to tell you that that's just a family pet nickname given to her by her Daddy, so please don't be offended if we correct you. :) haha. The other name you might hear is Poppy which is what my sister has called her. But sorry again, it's an endearing family nickname, not a public one. :) 

Yes, we realize that it's a long name, and somewhere down the line it may get shortened, so we wanted to make sure we were the ones to choose the public nickname. If that ever were to happen, the nickname we have chosen is Nell. 

We are also fully aware that the entirety of these last three paragraphs can change at any point and she gets called something completely different than we planned. 

But for now, she is simply....Penelope