The Many Adventures of Being a Renshaw

Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!

We hope you are happy, healthy and enjoyingthe end of another great year!

2011 has been a crazy year for us Renshaws – as apparentfrom my lack of a homemade Christmas card – but we’ve been enjoying every busymoment!

Here’s a short recap of what’s going on with everyone:

Dwight justcompleted his 3^rd semester of grad school . He’s working toward hisMasters Degree in Space Systems. He’s really enjoying all the things that he islearning and is excited about how he’ll be able to apply them throughout hiscareer with NASA. This year, the Space Shuttle has begun its retirement. It wasa bittersweet experience to be able to see the final launch, but Dwight isreally looking forward to being a part of what is coming next in the future of“Manned Space Flight”. Between helping to retire the Shuttle, working on thelogistics for the new programs and taking two courses each semester for school,Dwight stays pretty busy. But he takes every opportunity he can to play withthe kids and spend quality time with me. His hobbies and grass mowing have hadto take a bit of a backseat while he’s doing school, but family is still his #1priority.

I (Peggy) amstill enjoying every second of at staying home with the kids. It is such ablessing! I am also blessed with the opportunity to sing in two ensembles,Broadsteet, a soon-to-be-complete octet, and Soliloquy, a trio that’s about tobecome a women’s quartet. Dwight really encourages and supports me in being apart of those groups and strengthening my talents. I never feel burnt out fromspending the majority of my days with kids since I get to look forward torehearsals, performances, MOPS group meetings and playdates with some amazingfriends! If I have a few spare moments I try to get caught up on my craftprojects and reading.

Jonah, who willbe 3 in January, is quickly becoming the funnest, most intelligent and handsomelittle man there ever was! I don’t think our days can ever be dull when theybegin with his sweet little voice singing “Good Morning to You”! Some of hisother favorite songs are ABC’s, Hugga Bugga Boo, Families Can Be TogetherForever, and most recently Santa Claus is coming to town and Jingle Bells. Andalong with the singing comes plenty of dancing. He also loves anything to dowith rocket ships (including Buzz Lightyear who is his hero), trains, bubbles andMickey Mouse. He loves going to parks and has asked Santa for a swing set(which Santa will hopefully be able to get put together before Christmas). Hehas several little friends he gets to play with on a regular basis. We love ourplaydates! And he says the sweetest little prayers. In fact, he’ll let me knowif I have forgotten to say a “prayer Heavenly Father”. We are very luckyparents to have him in our family!

Becca, who justturned 1 on 11-11-11, raced through her first year of life! We can’t believehow fast it’s gone and how quickly she’s grown! She is such a beautiful littlegirl, and so smart! She started mimicking us very early and mastered her finemotor skills before she was even rolling over. She’s not very interested inwalking just yet, but she tries very hard to do most everything else that shesees her big brother doing, including singing (it’s so sweet to hear hermelodic coos) and playing with our dog, Sahara. She absolutely adores herDaddy, but doesn’t like to be held by anyone but Mommy if she’s in the sameroom as me. Occasionally I can get her to keep a headband on, but more oftenI’ll just opt for the pig tails because they are harder to pull out. One dayshe may tell us that she’s done with ribbons and flowers, but until then, Ilove playing dress-up with my beautiful baby girl. She has got quite apersonality, very strong and very fun. She’s definitely our little princess. Wecan’t imagine our family without her!

This has been a very happy year for us. We’ve loved everymoment of watching our two little ones grow and learn and develop their beautifulpersonalities. We’ve strengthened relationships with old friends, have madesome new ones and have spent time some quality time with our extended familieseven though they live far away. We’ve done a little bit of traveling includinga trip to AZ for Becca’s blessing at the beginning of the year and other onefor my brother Cody’s wedding last month. Dwight and I had an opportunity to goon a cruise in October without the kids. It was the shortest cruise we haveever been on (3 nights) but we couldn’t wait to get back to our sweet kids. We areso blessed to be able to have friends who allow us to go on dates and trips asa couple, but we always look forward to being back with Jonah and Becca whenthey’re over.

This next year we have a couple of exciting events to lookforward to. We’ll be doing the East Coast road trip that we’ve been talkingabout for years so that we can attend Dwight’s 10 year King’s Point reunion.We’re also toying with the idea of spending a week with some friends in a cabinsometime around next Christmas so that the kids might actually get to see whatreal snow is like. Other than that, next year will hopefully just be anotherwonderful year of growing closer as a family while our watching our childrengrow taller and smarter. We feel trulyblessed in our lives, relationships and testimonies of our Savior, Jesus Christand how His Gospel helps us find true joy!

Wehope that this next year brings you many blessings and that we are always ableto keep in touch. Remember, you always have a place to stay when you come downto Florida!

Lots of Love,

Dwight, Peggy, Jonah and Rebecca

What's going on!?

2011-11-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

And here we are - almost at the end of the year! Time for an update!

Becca turned a year old a little over a week ago. We decided to wait until she is 2 to have her big party with friends. So this year we spent the day at Disneyworld with her Grammy and Grandpa Hal. It was a perfect day!
She started crawling just after she turned 10 months. What a relief! We took her in to get evaluated to see if she needed physical therapy just as Jonah did. She qualified for the program but since she is moving so much more than Jonah was, I declined. I think she'll be just fine - maybe a little late in her gross motor skills - but just fine.
She is the cutest little girl. She loves playing games. Her favorite is "copy my sound". It's so easy to get a smile out of her - all you have to do is make whatever sound she is making and she lights up! She also has the sweetest little laugh I've ever heard! We love it when she's happy. And most of the time she is. But when she's not happy about something, she'll let you know! But her happy moments are worth the effort of finding what it is she's not happy about and fixing it. She is an especially loved little girl. What a year its been!
Jonah has decided that Becca is pretty cool after all. This is a good thing because Becca would love nothing more than to follow Jonah around all day and play with him. Once Jonah gets use to sharing, I'll think they'll be the best of friends!
As for Jonah - what an amazing little man we have! He talks so well and is so well mannered. Yes, we have finally hit the terrible twos - but those moments are few and far between, and fortunately don't last long. He just wants to be happy!
We recently got him an indoor slide for the playroom and he spends most of his day on it. I love to listen to him sing and slide. It's gotten him more active, that's for sure. Once in a while he'll still find a book and read for a while, which is great! But he doesn't spend as much time in front of the tv as he use to, which is even better! I think he was just bored of all the baby toys. Go figure!
Jonah's most favorite things right now, aside from his slide, are spaceships, Buzz Lightyear, and Mickey Mouse. It's so fun to watch him start making his own choices as to what he wants to do, what toys he wants to sleep with, what songs he wants to dance to, and all the other stuff that we use to choose for him. I can't believe how quickly he's growing!

Dwight is doing well in his 3rd semester of Grad School. He'll have a little bit of a break soon before he starts his capstone. I really don't know what that means, but apparently its important and he's looking forward to it being over with.
As for me, I'm loving spending as much time with my two special friends and my hubby as I can. I get my outlets: singing in choirs, the occasional massage, and spending time with a few of my amazing friends.
I feel really blessed.
Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the last few months (out of order of course, because this is blogspot after all :)

Peek-A-Boo!

Happy Birthday, beautiful Becca!

This is a picture at Disneyworld where we let Becca have her first piece of cake. It wasn't as messy as it could have been, but she sure loved it!
Jonah is not that crazy about Becca touching his things - but he gets over it very quickly. He gets better at sharing every day!

These kids are growing up way too fast!

2011-06-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

I can not believe how quickly my two little friends are growing up! So much has been happening lately.
Jonah is now completely potty-trained and climbs all over the playground like a big boy. Becca says "dada", has two teeth and can sit up for about 20 seconds on her own. It wont be long before Becca is helping Jonah catch grasshoppers and then we'll wake up one day and be dealing with graduations and weddings. I can barely handle it!
Fortunately, I received some very good advice before I became a mom - Enjoy Every Moment! And Dwight and I have lived by that advice these past 2 1/2 years.
Though time is moving so much faster than we would like it to, we are doing everything we can to make it so that we never will get to a point in our life where we say we wish we had spent more timing enjoying our children grow. We are loving every single minute we have with Jonah and Becca!
Here are some pictures of a few of the things we've done recently. Disclaimer - the blogger put all the pictures out of order but they're all still cute :)

Jonah LOVES the park. A 4 year old taught him how to climb up some of the scarier stairs but he took to it like a pro! All I have to do is hang out under the shade with Becca and watch Jonah run up and down the playground - always with a big smile on his face.

Jonah also LOVES the beach! Becca hasn't quite taken to it yet, but it took Jonah a while too. I'm glad we live so close to the ocean. They've got a lot of fun times ahead of them.

One of my new favorite pictures

This is Jonah's 'before' picture - before he got his first "professional" haircut.

This is Jonah's 'after' picture. Isn't he SO handsome!

Bubbles are still one of Jonah's most favorite thing. Now he knows how to blow them himself!

Becca is learning how to sit and jump in this toy. She loves it!

And here is our little Becca sitting up all by herself!

And here's the 'during' his haircut picture. He did so good!

Another catch-up January through April

2011-05-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I'm so not good at staying on top of my blog. But I'm good at catching up :) Here's some fun stuff that we've been up to the last few months.

Trip to Arizona in January
Jonah had so much fun playing with his cousins. We all love being able to spend time with family.

No fear!

Becca and her cousin, Quinton

Why talk when we can play Uno against each other on our iphones!

The world's best baby holder - Lexi!

My brother loves my kids. This picture makes my heart happy.

Jonah and Grandpa Hal

Yay cousins!

Becca had her baby blessing while we were in Arizona. The blanket is the traditional Lutz family blessing blanket that all of my brothers and sisters and almost everyone one of my neices and nephews have been blessed in. The dress is the one I was blessed in that my mom had made for me. Her cap is a special blessing cap that turns into a blessing hankie and her bracelet was made special for her by her Aunt Misti.

Jonah and cousin, Avery

Before coming home we spent some time in Tucson.

Yeah, these pictures aren't in order. Here's Becca with her blessing shawl on as well. Grammy made that one too.

January 14th my little man turned TWO!!!

This big guy use to fit in my tummy!!!

Jonah LOVES his sister

Tucson again...seriously - how did these get so badly out of order...

Everything's a hat!

Happy 6th Anniversary to us on January 21st!

Brevard County Zoo with Jonah's best bud, Isaac. Jonah really likes the animals so we hope to go as often as possible :)

Jonah needed his daddy :)

Becca started holding things in her hands

Met Daddy for a picnic at the park after work

Jonah loves helping Daddy with projects around the house. It's so cute

The zoo again...

Funny story - we wanted to watch "Extreme Home Makeover" because our friend's family was getting a new house. But the antennae wasn't working so I had to hold it at a very particular angle while sitting in the middle of the room. Good times :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Becca and I got to take a trip to visit Aunt Shannon and her family in Nashville, Tennessee for a long weekend trip.

Haha - more of Jonah helping Daddy

And back to the Tennessee trip

St Patrick's Day. He makes some of the cutest faces

Tennessee again - my cute little nephew who played a super awesome turtle in his school play!

Jonah's new favorite place...the beach!

Some of our friends joined us for a pancake party to celebrate Dwight's 31st birthday in March and taught me how to make a proper pancake!

This is cracks me up...and we're back at the beach...

And back to the pancake party again. lol. These are some of my most favoritist people :) It was a way fun party...and I actually learned out to make good pancakes!

I think I picked the wrong picture - but this one is so cute I'll keep it :)

Jonah got a visit from the Easter bunny!

Oh my goodness! Well...here's proof that my pancakes now rock...

And we're back to Easter again - lol. This is Becca and her good friend Owen. Owen's big brother is Jonah's best bud Isaac - it's all connected :)

Jonah and Isaac checking out their prizes from the easter egg hunt.

I think Jonah and Becca are gonna become great friends!

Happy Easter!

Alright, so that was a quick, very unorganized, update on the last few months. Life is great with our little family. Becca and Jonah keep growing and learning. They are so much fun and make out lives so full and happy. We are truely blessed!

Renshaw Family Christmas letter 2010

2010-12-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

What a wonderful year it’s been for us.

At the beginning of 2010 we celebrated two big milestones; Jonah’s 1^st birthday and our 5^th anniversary. What better way to celebrate such great occasions than a vacation! (Especially since Jonah had not yet started walking and still didn’t cost much to travel) So we took a trip to Spain in early February. We spent just under a week in Barcelona and then went on a 9 day Mediterranean cruise that took us to Morocco and the Canary Islands. It was quite an adventure and Jonah did wonderful! We’re looking forward to our next big vacation though it will probably be a while before we do anything as big as that one.

A few months later we found out that a very special person was going to be joining our family, and she has finally arrived! Rebecca Dawn Renshaw was born November 11^th! She was 7 lbs 4 ½ ozs and 19” long. We already feel like she has been a part of our family for much longer than a few months. She looks a lot like Jonah did except that she surprised us with a full head of hair which none of us had when we were born. We fell in love with her the moment we saw her and it wasn’t long before we couldn’t remember what life was like before her arrival.

Jonah was not so sure of Becca at first, but he tolerated her pretty well and quickly grew to love her. He doesn’t like it when she cries and will try to help her get her binkie back in her mouth. It’s not uncommon to find Becca with a teddy bear in her swing that Jonah had put there.

Jonah has grown and changed so much this year! He's a very smart and fun little guy. He started crawling right before the first of the year and he began walking around June. He didn’t really have any sort of transition – he went straight from crawling to running! He loves to play with puzzles and shape sorting toys. He now has a large vocabulary that he uses all day long as he runs around the house telling stories and singing songs, even if some of the words that he says are words that only he understands. He loves to read books whether with our help or by himself. He also loves to put things together and is a great problem solver. His new favorite thing to do is put together seatbelts so we almost always have to unbuckle Becca’s carseat before we can put her in it. He is the sweetest little man who knows no stranger and loves being around other people, especially other children. We feel so incredibly blessed by our two special children and feel even closer as a family because of them.

Dwight is enjoying working for NASA . He is currently helping to retire the Shuttle and feels honored to be a part of the next step in space flight and developing the new program. He began his first semester of grad school at Florida Institute of Technology in August. He is working toward a Masters of Science in Space Systems. His first two classes proved to be challenging, especially since he was getting use to be back in school again. He feels like he learned a lot of valuable information and in the end was able to pull off A’s in both classes. Next semester will be another crazy one with classes in things like Astro-dynamics and other things that go way over my head. Between school and work Dwight keeps pretty busy, but he’s very good at making sure he spends plenty of time with his favorite little boy and girl. I sure married a great guy!

I (Peggy) finally feel like Titusville is becoming home which is mostly thanks to my discovery of the local community theater programs. It’s nice to feel involved and to make friends in the area. I was able to participate in several stage productions including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which I preformed while 5 months pregnant. It was the best exercise I could have asked for during my pregnancy. During the Fall I was invited to sing with several groups and had the opportunity to carol at Disneyworld earning 2 free tickets! I’ve also been able to work with a few clients giving massages. I hope to be able to find a part time job at a spa or health center in a few years when the kids start school so I need to give massages every once in a while to keep my license. I still have a few piano students and hope to continue teaching this next year. All of that makes it sound like I’m really busy, but most of my time this year was spent playing with Jonah and most recently, staring at Rebecca which is really all I want to do these days. I’m so grateful that I’m able to stay at home with my sweet babies.

We are really beginning to love our little community and our ward family. We’re looking forward to another wonderful year here in Central Florida, and we feel very blessed to be able to keep in touch with friends and family who live far away.

We hope that your family is also looking forward to a great 2011 and we hope that it’s not too far in the future before we’re able to get together with you again.

As always, if you’re ever in the area, you always have a place to stay with us!

Much love,

Dwight, Peggy, Jonah and Rebecca Renshaw

peggyrenshaw@yahoo.com

dwightrenshaw@yahoo.com

Every birth is a Miracle...

2010-11-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Someone told me not too long ago that giving birth was one of the most amazing experiences of their life. I hadn't really thought much about it until she said that, but I realized right away that I felt the same way about Jonah's birth and now I can say that I feel that way about Rebecca's birth too.
We decided to induce a week earlier than planned because my measurements had stopped increasing for several weeks and since I was 'softening' and beginning to dilate a little bit, we (Dwight, my doctor and I) felt it was a good idea to get her out of there "just in case". That turned out to be a very good call since there was very little fluid left when they tried to break my water. But we'll get to that part later...
We got to the hospital just a little after 7:30 on November 11th, checked in and did all the fun prep stuff like blood work and iv's (woo...). The nurse mid-wife came in around 8:30 to check me - I was still only at 1 cm! But the baby was very low and I was pretty much effaced all the way. They use a pill that causes contractions to induce instead of pitocin which they only use if needed later in the delivery.
My contractions started right away! It was excited for a little while and then when I got that first painful one, I thought "what did I just do to myself!" But it was too late now!
At one point I actually considered not going with an epidural but that thought left me quickly after Dr.Tiaval came in to check me and break my water, which like I said was kind of hard because her head was so low and there wasn't much fluid left anyway. I was still only at 2-3 cm's which we were all very surprised about. Dr Taival had to do some crazy stuff to get my water broken which really started the contractions going and from that second on I was praying the anesthesiologist would get there before it was too late to get the meds. He showed up around 2-ish with his needle and he couldn't have gotten there any sooner. My contractions were 2 minutes apart and boy did they not feel good. You think you're good at handling pain, but then you get to a certain point and thank heavens for modern medicine!
Unfortunatly, the epidural didn't work all the way. They said sometimes the needle will shift just barely one way or another and create a "window" where you still feel the pain. My window was on my right pelvis and the contraction pains went from being a general pressure to a very sharp prick in that one area. I would have rather not had the epidural than deal with feeling like someone was stabbing a knife in me every few minutes. But they had me lay on my side and let gravity do its work moving the medicine into the window and eventually it all went away. Then it was time to get a little rest.
Dr Taival came in again around 4:30 to check me again. My contractions were huge at this point! I could tell by the pressure that I still felt even through the epi. This is when things got a little interesting.
My doctor is awesome. She doesn't say things to scare you or worry you which is why I'm guessing she didn't say anything before now about why I wasn't progressing much. Apparently a band of scar tissue had developed and was preventing me from dilating. I was still only a 4 at this point and that wasn't expected. We have no idea where this band of scar tissue came from because I had never had any procedures that would usually cause this sort of thing. The only thing we could think of was when I delivered Jonah something happened that either the doctor didn't know about or didn't say anything to us about. Didn't matter at this point anyway. The band was there and it was starting to cause problems. Dr. Taival tried breaking it manually but that wasn't working. She decided to start pitocin to see if that would help. She didn't come out and say it, but all knew what was coming. My water had been broken for several hours and there was very little fluid in there to begin with and it had been that way for who knows how long. I wasn't dilating and there was an obstruction keeping me from being able to. Dr. Taival didn't say the word "c-section" but she did say we'd have a baby before midnight and we knew what that meant.
Lots of people have to get c-sections. I know this and I knew that everything would be ok. But I was not prepared and the reality of it scared me to death, especially because her head was already so far down.
The only thing I could think to do was get a blessing and leave it in God's hands. I called my good friend Julianna who was getting ready to move but who's husband had not yet been released from being the Elder's Quarm President. He and another member of our ward showed up just after 6:00 and gave me an amazing and powerful blessing. I was expecting to be blessed with peace no matter the outcome, but instead I was blessed specifically that my baby was going to born naturally and without any complications. I guess you can look at what happened next in any way that you want to - but when Dr. Taival came in just a few minutes later to check me and the band had softened and I was at 6 cm, I knew that it was a direct result of Heavenly Father blessing me through their Priesthood. What a cool testament of the power He has entrusted to us and of His love.
Very soon after that I began feeling different pressures and I told the nurse. She said it was a good thing happening but it was shift changing time so she didn't check me or anything. Just after 7 I got to meet my new nurse who talked with us for a while and then left to check on the other girl who had just had her baby. She told us that she'd come back and check in a few minutes and probably need to go find the doctor. But right after she left, the doctor came in to check me because my contractions were doing some interesting things. We kind of joked about how one time, Dr Taival checked someone and the baby was right there already coming out on its own.
Well, she checked me and guess what - this baby was already coming out on her own! It was fun to see Dr Taival go from laid back and relaxed to "all business" as she called everyone in and got to work. She told me not to move and since I was so excited the nurse had to try and keep me from laughing because apparently nothing was stopping this baby from delivering herself. It was probably 3 minutes and two tiny pushes from the time Dr. Taival checked me to the time I got to meet my sweet little Rebecca Dawn. She was 7lbs 4 1/2 ozs, 19 inches long and just gorgeous!
This past week has been a beautiful one as I've fallen in love with this special little spirit. It's been an amazing experience, from the time we found out that Rebecca was on her way to the time that she was born. No matter the pain or discomfort, she has been worth it and to be able to be an instrument in God's hands in creating life is an incredible blessing.
Dwight and I have been given two very special children to take care of. I am so glad that Rebecca has made it here safely and I can't wait to see all that life has in store for her and Jonah.

I'll add more pictures on a later blog, but if you want to see some right now, you can go here. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2098778&id=1155601621&l=6e8b97657b

Big update before the baby comes...

2010-11-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

Lots has been going on these past few months and since Rebecca will be here tomorrow (WOO!!!) I thought I should do a quick update before this turns into a 'gush over the newborn' blog...because that's exactly what it's about turn into!

October 9th was Rebecca's baby shower. It was so nice to spend time celebrating the upcoming arrival of our sweet little girl with some friends. My friend, Deanna, did an amazing job putting it all together! It turned out to be a beautiful day.

35 weeks (I think) in the finished nursery

October 29th - even black can't hide my growing baby

Got to sing at the "Music of the Night" Concert

October 30th - Starting a new tradition of spending the afternoon before Halloween at the "pumpkin patch" with our friends

Jonah and his favorite friend, Isaac

On a hayride

Halloween - Jonah LOVED being a duck!

Who's bigger - the pumpkin or me?

Jonah heading to meet his friends in his new wagon. I don't think we could have survived Halloween without it

Jonah and his friends

Jonah was sure tired when it was all over...

...but very happy. I think he's defiantly a trick-or-treat fan

We decided to put up the Christmas tree at the beginning of November because we wont want to do it after Rebecca gets here. We got a tall tree last year since we have such a high ceiling. We just didn't realize how tall it is!

This last Monday we had a picnic on the beach with some friends. We wanted to do it before it got too cold...but we waited too long. Poor Jonah was smiling through his chattering teeth. He loved being there though. Defiantly a beach baby!

And now it's time to add another addition to the Renshaw family. We are so excited for Jonah to have a sister. We'll have pictures and stories up soon!

Happy Birthday to me! (9/25)

2010-09-28T04:59:00.000-07:00

This year, my birthday came at me kind of fast. I saw a purple envelope in the mail and I just automatically assumed it was for the baby shower, not a birthday card - haha.
But it still turned out to be a nice day, especially since it was also KSC Family Day. Every few years KSC employees are allowed to take family and friends onto the space center. This is the second time they've done it since we've lived here and we've tried to take take advantage of it because you get access to buildings that you'd never get to see unless you work there. I think it made for a great birthday gift!

Here's a picture of one of the firing rooms - countdown clock and all

Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
Each of those stars on the flag are 6 feet tall tip to tip!

Inside the VAB. It's hard to look up without getting vertigo

I think that was Jonah's favorite building to see.

Jonah helping Mommy sign the banner for the last shuttle launch ever!

Jonah gets to see where Daddy works

Not sure what this is called but it's the structure they use to mate/demate the shuttle from the plane if it has to land someone besides KSC

Some cool looking plane they put on display at the landing strip

Jonah and his "cool-cool"s That's what he calls them because whenever he puts them on we always say "Jonah, you're so cool!"

I guess I should also mention that Dwight surprised me with a cheesecake and a bag of mini 3 musketeers which I've been constantly craving most of this pregnancy :) Yeah, it was a good birthday.
Happy 27 years to me!

Jonah's First Haircut!!! (Finally)

2010-09-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have been holding off on Jonah's haircut for a lot of reason:

1. It's SO cute!
2. I don't want to have to pay a barber
3. I have no clue how to do it myself
4. I'm afraid of cutting him
5. I've just been lazy about it

But Dwight and I felt like it was time to "take a little off the top"
So tonight we did it!

BEFORE:

The first cut - yikes!

AFTER:

Jonah combing his hair:

Jonah combing Mommy's hair:
(he was also combing Daddy's whiskers - but we didn't have the camera ready...)

And just another sweet one of Daddy and Jonah -
Even when it's a dark picture, my boys are so darn cute :)

And in case you're wondering the outcome - I don't think I did such a bad job after all!

Rebecca's Room - almost done!

2010-08-16T06:59:00.001-07:00

Rebecca's room is all finished!!! Got it done on Saturday night. Well, it's almost finished at least. I've still got my butterfly border to paint and we still need a dresser and to get a few things out of the attic - oh and don't look in the closet - lol.
But other than that, the biggest project - making it into a nursery and not a storage room/guest room - is done! And boy was it a project! But we enjoyed every minute of it. And of course, Jonah enjoyed "helping" out too :)

Here's Dwight finishing up the crib

And here's the results! Just in time for my 26th week mark! Only 14 more to go :)

Rebecca's room is now Jonah's favorite room :)
He's found so many new things to get into

Our Amazing "Babymoon" to Key West

2010-08-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

Dwight and I (and Jonah) have been so blessed to have made some close friends in our neighborhood. They are the same age as us and have a son the same age as Jonah. Those boys have so much fun together. The mom is also pregnant her second baby - only a month behind me! Though we don't know yet if Rebecca will have a little girl-friend or guy-friend to grow up with. Hopefully they'll be able to find out soon : )
Well, our friends have been date-trading with us - which is just amazing! The boys do so well with their sleepovers, so Dwight and I get to go out every couple of weeks on real dates! And our friends get to go out on theirs while we hang out with the little buddies.
We decided, since the babies' due dates are getting closer, that we should do a couple of overnight trips while there are still just the two boys to watch. Dwight and I got to go first - and we did a full out vacation last weekend! It was the first time we had left Jonah for more than just a few hours and we knew the drive wouldn't be 100% comfortable for me - but we just needed to get away...and so we did!
We drove down to Key West on Friday and stayed 2 nights at a little B&B. It was really nice and relaxing. We've decided that Key West is one of our most favorite places to visit and we already know what we want to do when we go back. Here are a few pictures of what we did on this trip...

We went to Key West's smallest bar - only because when they saw their "favorite pregnant girl" walk by, they were adamant that we come and visit. Dwight and I decided
that the entertaining bar tender was more appealing than the yucky water they served :)

This is the amazing hippie guy who made Jonah a sailboat out of wire.
We love local artists - and what he did was so unique.

We visited the Butterfly Observatory. It was quite beautiful. Apparently one landed
on my head - but I didn't get to see it. But that still means good luck
for me! Dwight took some really good pictures of butterflies that we want to put up on
Rebecca's wall.

Then, we took a bike ride to the beach - stopping by the lowest point in America.

The beach was right by the old fort - which we visited until it was too hot to walk around - which wasn't too long at all.
As for the beach - beautiful! But warm - like bath water warm. We played in it for a little while, but found the cold shower afterward to be more refreshing and enjoyable :)

This is actually the first night we were there. Dwight got his clam dinner.

And here's Dwight eating is lobster at Lobster Fest. Boy does he like his seafood =p

We also took a ghost tour around the old town. That was a cool thing. Especially since all of Key West lost power in the middle of our tour! The guide says it wasn't planned - haha.
Here's a picture of our guide. We forgot to get pictures of the two of us.

This is the best "ghost picture" we got. This tree came from Zimbabwe or something like that. The roots fall from the tree and replant themselves in the ground- so it was a creepy tree anyway. But then when we took this picture...the guide says those are ghosts - so why not!

It was such a fun trip! We are so grateful we had that time with just to two of use before Dwight starts school and before we add an extra baby into the mix. But, we were sure happy to get back home to our little man.
Now, we're just looking forward to returning the favor to our friends when they get to take their weekend getaway - they sure deserve it!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

2010-08-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Dwight wasn't able to get the best pictures when he came to see the show - but there are a couple cute ones. One of my friend's from the cast had her husband take some amazing professional pictures so I'll be able to have those for posterity. But in the meantime - here are a few of the better ones.

My makeup done for the first act.
My new, good friend Meg. She played the prettiest boy ever :)
Being in Joseph was an amazing experience for me. I learned so much about myself. I was able to challenge myself vocally and physically. Even at 24 weeks (not 24 months - thanks mom for catching that) pregnant, which is what I was on the day of the last performance, I was able to keep up with every one of those dance numbers - and they weren't just step-touch stuff. I was really proud of myself that I had the energy and stamina for that. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with the desire and ability to be a part of something like this. I'm also especially grateful that over time He helped me overcome a lot of my insecurities - I don't think I got nervous one time during the performances! And also, I was able to discover some other things about myself that I think I'd like to improve on - which is always a good thing.
I also learned a lot about where I am at in life - as far as what's really important and who's opinions really matter. I don't need everyone's acceptance or friendship - though I've always been someone who welcomed it and felt as though I needed it. But now, I'm ok if I don't get it from every single person I come in contact with. I recognize more and more the people who are truly important in my life. I love that I can add more people to that special group - but I don't need everyone there. It's been so long that I've done something for myself, with people who I don't spend a lot of time with - that I've forgotten that it's something I've always struggled with - needing everyone to love and accept me. And life just doesn't happen that way. So that was an interesting experience - and I handled it well I think. When it was all said and done - I really enjoyed working with all the people I had the opportunity to work with. But I was able to walk away knowing that I'm in a different place in life and it's ok if everyone didn't think I was amazing and consider me a new best friend. Those who I was able to become close with are the ones that matter and I love that it's enough. I've come a long way I think.
But really - the best part was that it was an awesome show and I loved doing it! I worked with some amazing people who really helped me to strengthen my talents! I really hope I get to be more involved with the community theater in this area. I'll have to take a little break while Dwight is in school - but then I'll be back :)

Rebecca's Room!

2010-08-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

This first picture on top of this post has nothing to do with getting ready for Rebecca - but I thought it was so darn cute. Dwight sure loves that boy - and Jonah sure thinks the world of his daddy.

Yesterday we made the big purchase! We ordered the crib! It's hard for Dwight to make a big purchase without doing a lot of research and it always takes a long time to make a decision. So I am so happy that we finally came to an agreement and I just know we're going to love this one!
We've had the bedding for a while. Some friend's of ours are moving to Germany and needed to get rid of a bunch of stuff so that they wouldn't have to ship it over. They're having a little boy so they decided to sell their daughter's old bedroom set. And it just so happens that it was the exact color and theme we wanted for Rebecca's room! And it was in such awesome shape. So we were able to get an amazing deal on most of the pieces in this picture. Talk about good timing!
I've also been working a little bit on the wall painting. We wont need to paint the walls - the light yellow is the perfect color. But I'm doing some acrylic stamping of butterflies around the room. Quite the project. This is what I've gotten done so far - the words are vinyl, but I added the purple color to them so that they stand out a little more. The crib will go right under this. I love how it turned out!

And then, as I started going through all the many beautiful pieces of the bedroom set, and started putting up curtains and such, I began to feel bad that Jonah's room was never quite completed - and that we didn't have as many cute things to do in it. So I started coming up with stuff for his room too. Here's one thing I made with my cricut. That machine has got to be one of the best toys ever!

So now, once the crib arrives, we'll get all the furniture out of the room and start getting things set up. I remember how much fun it was when we were working on Jonah's room- so I'm really looking forward to this one!

Florida and Family

2010-08-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

One awesome thing about living is Florida is that it's a place where people actually want to come and visit! I've been blessed to have had so many of my family members come and stay with us, especially within this last year. My sister, Karissa, her husband Jeremy and two really fun kids, Quinton (turned 5 while he was here) and Avery (just turned 1), spent some time with us last week. It was so fun to have them here. Jonah had a blast! Here are some of the things we did.

Disneyworld!

Universal Studios!

New Smyrna Beach!

We also went to Kennedy Space Center - but most of the good pictures were taken with my sister's camera. I'll have to post them when she sends me copies.

Jonah and Avery just had the best time together! They really got along well. I dont' know if I've ever heard Jonah laugh so much! I wish they were closer. I think they'll be good friends as they grow up :)

Family and Jonah's 18 month pictures

2010-07-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

Jonah is 18 months old - as of the 14th!!! But we decided to have some friends do pictures for us instead of making the usual Sears run. They turned out good - and it was fun to do it at the house.
The only thing is, I have no clue how to edit photos - and we'll want to do some of that before we order any. Also, Jonah was SO tired during the pictures. I should have planned nap time a little better. So no smiles. But we are kind of ok with that because when we look back on this time in his life, we'll remember that, although he does smile a lot and is a happy happy boy, he often wears a very serious face - as if he's thinking very deeply. He probably is. But still - we have another photographer friend who wants to do some more pictures of just him - where he is happy. That will be perfect! So...enjoy the first round of Jonah's 18 month/family pictures.

It's A GIRL!!!

2010-07-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Today was our "20 week" ultrasound - though I wont be 20 weeks until Sunday and the ultrasound puts me at 19 weeks tomorrow. Some things you just never know - like when exactly these babies will decide to join us in the outside world. But one thing we don't have to wonder about - this baby is definitely a girl!!! And she's looking beautiful and healthy! And we couldn't be happier!

Here are some of the awesome pictures they took of our little Rebecca!

This is one of the 4-D images they took. She was cuddling up against the placenta so a lot of her face was hidden - but we almost got a full face view for this picture. I think she looks just like Jonah!

She's going to hate that I posted this if she ever runs across this blog in later years -
but I think it's great!

I had prepared myself for the news that we might be having another boy - to the point where I had convinced myself that I couldn't be the mother of a girl! I just couldn't wrap my head around that idea. I know how to take care of a little boy - that I could handle. But a girl! - haha
But I think I only tried to convince myself that I felt this way because I knew that I wanted a little girl and I didn't want to feel disappointed if we found out we were having another boy. Truth is, it just wouldn't have mattered - we already love this baby no matter what. But, even when I told that to Dwight - he wasn't afraid to admit that though he feels the same way, what he's really hoping for is a Daddy's Girl : ) I'm so glad that he got his wish! And Jonah gets a little sister! I think he'd like that too if he understood any of what is going on.

One of my most favorite parts of the ultrasound was when the tech left and we were waiting for the doctor and Dwight started asking me how we want to decorate her room. He had opinions on the colors and everything - mostly purple to go with the yellow walls! Dwight is not normally one to care about this sort of stuff - being a manly man and all - so it was it was so cute to see him excited to the point that he's already getting geared up for the baby girl prep!

Needless to say - we are on clouds today and are so excited to start getting things ready for Rebecca's arrival.
That's going to be her name, by the way. We're pretty set on it. Middle name - not so sure yet - but we love the name Rebecca and it just feels right.

So - now we're about half way there and thank heavens I'm feeling better these days because now that we know who we're going to be getting ready for - it's time to get to work!

2010-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

I wrote this to a friend who just had her baby and I realized that it summed up so much of how I feel about Jonah at this age. With a new baby on the way, I think back a lot to when Jonah was first born and I'm so grateful for every single day that has brought him to this point in his life. What a special little boy I have! Here's what I wrote:

"I always get sad as every different stage passes - but then I come to love the next one even better! Especially since he becomes more aware of things, sleeping patterns become easier, and then he begins to show how much he loves you! That's my favorite thing : ). Of course he loves you now, you're everything to him! But wait until he comes up to you and hugs you for no reason. I miss the baby stage - but boy do I love my toddler!"

I hope I can continue to remember and appreciate those memories as he grows up. I still get so sad at how fast time is passing - but I can't help but be so happy too. Jonah is so full of life and love and I can't wait to see the amazing person he's going to become. I just hope I can record everything well enough so that I never forget these precious times and all the ones we've yet to enjoy.

Update...

2010-06-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well - we lost our camera a few weeks ago so my update wont have any pictures on it...again. We have a video camera that takes still pictures, but I don't know how to upload yet - we'll have to figure all that stuff out one of these days.
Meanwhile - here are some updates

Jonah is walking! Two weeks ago Wednesday, we were playing in the living room and he stood up and walked! It was literally overnight. He had his final PT apt last week and Jeanette was so happy with the progress he made that she discharged him completely and said there's nothing that she would have us work on. He should just keep on from here. He still wants to hold our hand most of the time, but at least he can do it now and it's so fun to watch how proud he gets of himself.

During this time I was able to have my mom and my sister visit. My niece and nephew stayed with us for a few days and my mom was here for a week. We really enjoyed the company and Jonah had so much fun. He especially loved my step-dad, Hal's beard - which was cute.

We got Universal Studio year passes while the family was here and we were able to go two times so far. This last time we got to see the Harry Potter world. Very cool. I actually did the broomstick ride which I guess I shouldn't have as a general rule for pregnant ladies - but Dwight checked it out first and we decided it wasn't any worse than an airplane ride - : ). Loved it! I probably wont go on it again til the baby comes - but that's why we have the year passes! Can't wait to go again, especially when it's not so crazy busy.

Speaking of the baby- he's (or she's) doing great! 18 weeks now! We heard a very strong heartbeat at our last appt. I've felt him move a little bit lately - that's always so fun. And in two weeks on July 1st we'll get to see him in an ultrasound again! Hopefully we'll know then if we should say 'he' or she' : )

Also, I'm in a play right now. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm just in the chorus, but the plan is to do enough of these that people in the area know me well enough to eventually let me have a bigger part. In the meantime - it's way fun and I'm getting to meet a lot of great people. I'm so glad Dwight supports me being in these community musicals. I forgot how much I miss them!

Dwight's doing good - loves his job, loves Jonah and had a wonderful Father's Day! He got accepted into the program with NASA that will pay for his schooling so we wont have to use his GI Bill and dig into savings to make up the rest - Master's are expensive! He starts in August so our freetime will be limited for a few years, but it will be worth it in the end. His first finals are the week after the baby is due so we can already see how crazy life is going to be. Good times ahead!

So that's what's going on with this Renshaw clan - business as usual! Life is mostly full of watching Jonah grow and falling more in love with him all the time. He is the sweetest, funnest little guy. I'm so sad I lost all those pictures of him - but I don't think my memories will ever get lost...hopefully : )
Hopefully one of these days I'll blog regularly and wont have to condense months worth of fun into one posting. But really, why do I do this anyway - mostly for me to write memories down and if anyone happens to run across it - they can enjoy my reminiscing. My next goal - journaling! Sure wish I was better at that...

Almost walking!!! FINALLY!!!!

2010-05-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Jonah took his first steps today! Of course, I wasn't expecting it so I didn't have the camera out : (
But it was so exciting. Jeanette, his physical therapist, came for her usual every-other-week visit and I was kind of bummed because he really hadn't shown much progress of the last two weeks. He's been doing some one handed walking, but I couldn't get him to stand up from all fours the way she had done at her last visit.
But to my surprise, as soon as she started working with him, he was standing up like a pro - almost doing it on his own! And he stood for about 5 seconds a couple of different times, and YES! he took his first steps!!! He took 1 step a few times, and one time he took 3 steps! I got all teary eyed and had to stop myself before I started bawling in front of Jeanette.
I've been able to convince myself over the last few months that even though Jonah is late in a few things and has to get some extra help, there is nothing wrong with him and that it's nobody's fault - but I can't help but have this worry sitting in the back of my head. It's such a relief to see that he's finally showing signs of moving forward. I am very proud of my little man! I can't wait to get some pictures of him walking around by himself. And as soon as I do - I will blog it for the world to see!

Renshaw Baby #2

2010-05-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

Most everyone already knows the exciting news - that Baby Renshaw #2 is on his way! He (or she!) will be arriving around November 21st.
Jonah will be 22 months old. We think two years apart is a pretty good spread.
We feel extremely blessed that it all worked out this way. We didn't want to wait too long for #2 since it took 3 years, countless doctors, 1 specialist and 2 miscarriages before we were blessed with the news that Jonah was on his way. So, just in case it took a while again, we started early with this one. Obviously, we didn't have to wait too long!

As of this last Sunday, Mother's Day, I am 12 weeks and SO glad to be over the first-3-months hump. I started showing really early this time. I guess my body just knows what it's doing and felt like showing it off.

Jonah is much too young to really know what's going on - but he's so full of love that we don't feel worried about bringing a new friend home for him. We're teaching him to call my tummy "Bean" to help with the transition after the baby is born. He thinks it's funny to pat my tummy and say "bea! bea!"
He's going to be such a great big brother!

The magic of Jeanette!

2010-05-05T06:16:00.001-07:00

Jonah has the best physical therapist ever! He's been seeing her for about 6 months now since he was taking his time deciding that he wanted to crawl. She is going to stay with him until he walks. I'm sure that we could have just left it all alone and he would have figured it all out eventually - but I'm so glad that we decided to go ahead and do it. Here are some of the benefits I've discovered:

1. It's free
2. Reassurance for Mommy
3. It works (ie-day of pt - no steppy step, day after pt - steppy step all the time!)
4. It's free
5. Jonah gets to have his friend come over for "playtime" every other week. He loves it!
6. She comes to us - we don't have to go anywhere!
7. Doctor visits without the shots...so nice

And now, we are almost walking! At Jonah's PT yesterday, Jonah started to stand up almost unassisted and do one-handed steppy step. It will probably be another month or so before he's ready to walk on his own, but I feel better every time I hear her say"he's improved so much since I last saw him!"

So here's a big shout out to Jeanette, our favorite doctor ever!
We're sure gonna miss you when you go on Maternity leave...

Quick catch up - Jonah's birthday - Spain Vacation - Easter

2010-04-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Jonah turned one January 14th! I can't believe how fast it went!
We had a part for him with all of his friends. The theme was "have a ball"
and Jonah had such a fun time. Crowds don't bother him at all.
And I hear that a lot of one year olds are timid about eating their first cake,
but not Jonah. He dove right in!

In February we took a two week long vacation to the Mediterranean for our 5 year anniversary. We spent 4 days in Barcelona, then took a 9 day cruise to Morroco, Madiera, Grand Canaria, and Malaga. Jonah was so good. He just loves being able to see new things and meet new people.

This year wasn't Jonah's first Easter, but he was old enough to play a little bit. We had a Easter egg hunt at friend's birthday party.

Then Grandma and Grandpa Renshaw came over with Uncle Carl to play on Easter Sunday

One Year Molars and Two Year Houses

2010-03-01T05:10:00.001-08:00

It's CRAZY how quickly time is passing! Jonah is a year old! Of course I already know this. I threw him a birthday party and got his pictures taken and all that jazz. But I'm not sure it really hit me until yesterday when I checked the back of his mouth to find tooth #9 hidden several spaces behind his front cluster of teeth that he's had since 8 months. MOLARS!?! I did not expect them so soon...but then again when are one year molars suppose to come...around one year!? It's just so crazy that we're already at that point.
And it happened the day after a conversation with Dwight which made me realize how much faster time seems to be moving compared to several years ago. Our two years in Albuquerque were probably the longest of my life! I think it's because we knew that we didn't want to stay there and just didn't feel settled. We sold our house BARELY after the two year mark an important milestone in homeownership when we wouldn't have to play sales tax on any profit made - as if there was any profit to pay sales tax on!). Well, Feb 1st was the wont-have-to-pay-sales-tax-if-selling-the-house point for our home here in Mims. That's just crazy to us cause it feels like we've been here only a fraction of the time that we were in New Mexico! I guess contentment does that to you : )
So here we are...13 1/2 months after my little tooth-filled cutie pie was born and two years since we settled into our lives as Floridians and I have made only a couple of blog posts! Eeek I'm bad. But the desire is there! My reasons for wanting to blog are two fold: first to give myself an opportunity to remember specific events and moments in a way that friends and family can enjoy (aka not through my embarrassingly horrible handwriting found in my journal) and also so that I can take more time to realize my blessings, because there are many.
Ok, so what do we do now - we blog! Time is going by way to fast for me to keep saying "eventually I will". So...wish me luck!

4th of July and Jonah's first ice cream

2009-08-04T10:12:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun 4th of July weekend. Dwight got Friday off so we went to New Smyrna Beach and hiked the dunes to the inlet where the Indian River meets the ocean. We decided that it's our favorite beach that we've discovered so far here in Florida.

On the 4th we visited an ice cream shop that has over 50 flavors of soft serve! I got blackberry and Dwight got mango. Jonah was very interested in the orange stuff Daddy had, so of course we let him try it out - and of course he loved it! I imagine soft serve will become a beach trip tradition.

After ice cream went to the other side of the inlet where the Pont's Inlet Lighthouse is. It's one of the tallest lighthouses in the country and for sure in Florida. Dwight was such a trooper carrying Jonah all the way up to the top.

Jonah's 5 months old and I'm ready to take this blogging thing seriously...

2009-06-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Alright...here's what was missed...

Jonah Allen Renshaw was born January 14th, 2009, 8:04am, 8 lbs 9 ozs, 21 1/2 in long, and I must admit...the most beautiful baby I've ever seen!

Let's fast forward through the last 5 months...

Jonah now has 2 teeth, he can roll over both ways in both directions, he laughs, smiles and FINALLY takes good naps! Of course he chews on everything he can get into his mouth, but his most favorite thing to chew on is fabric. Give him a blanket and he will roll and chew happily forever! He's just a fun little guy. I'm the luckiest mom in the world getting to spend my whole day playing with him!

He shows all the signs that he's ready to start regular food, but we're waiting until he's 6 months in an attempt to avoid food allergies. Poor little guy has some severe eczema so whatever we can do to prevent any other allergic reactions will be worth it. But that 6 month mark is coming pretty fast...I'm sure we'll have some great feeding pictures to post really soon...

Welcome to the my first attempt at a blog page!

2008-10-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Although this Renshaw family was established almost 4 years ago, the fun is just beginning!

Dwight and I were married on January 21st, 2005. Here's one of my favorite pics from that day.

We had Hero, the cat, before we got married. Sahara joined our family just after our first anniversary and Ty was added a year later.

Hero, Sahara and Ty help to make up what is our current family, but we couldn't be more excited to be adding another member. Our first baby, a boy, will be arriving sometime around January 12th, 2009. He's sure been growing these past few months.

Here's a cute picture of Dwight, just so he doesn't feel left out.

The baby crib came in the same day that I became 28 weeks pregnant. We plan on putting it together this weekend. That means for fun pictures are on the way! Watch for updates.