the power of the cross.

i'm my own worst enemy sometimes and forgiving myself has got to be one of the most difficult things i struggle with.

some days i feel like a total failure as a mom. i know i'm not perfect, none of us are. but i'm reminded as i sit here today, on this day, Good Friday, that there was only one perfect man and His name is Jesus Christ.

and do you know what He did for me? for you? for all of us? He left His father-the one whom He is One with-in heaven, came to earth, and took all the sins of the whole world and nailed them to the cross with Him when He died. but wait, it doesn't end there! HE ROSE AGAIN! now that's some power!

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us."

"...because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. from now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them...we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

"there is no past, present, or future sin of yours that has more power than the cross of Christ."

the blood of Christ washes away all our sins and the power of the Christ sets us free to LIVE! now if the one and only perfect God man can forgive me-why shouldn't i forgive myself?

-sitting here blessed and changed by the power of the cross.

amen!

hope you had a happy Easter!

27 months.

so, potty training.

will it be the death of me?

i can see it now,

dearly beloved mother

1985-2014

death by potty training

this has been by far the hardest part of parenting you. we've tried potty training with you two other times and this time we decided to dive right in head first. mickey undies. that's right. we heard from the "experts", whoever they may be, that it's best to just move straight to underwear and that the accidents are the best way to learn. who are they kidding?! the first day you peed every mickey undie in the house! we've been at it for over a month now and you have good days and bad, but we're sticking it out.

oh and #2's! you like to refer to them as "snake". oh. my. gosh. typing that out just kills me! your wife is going to have some good stuff on you one day :).

some things that seem to work for us: telling you not to pee pee on mickey, "look daddy wears undies too", "if you have to go potty-STOP-and go right away"-thanks for that daniel tiger ;), and skittles-kid definitely has an opinion about these kinds of things and chocolate chips are not an acceptable alternative. that and staying calm. daddy has done a great job at this and i think he's been the key here.

oh and get this, you earned your big boy bed by stripping down to your diaper, removing it and peeing in your crib! so congratulations to you!

some favorite sayings:

"pwweeease."

"oops, my bad."

"oh ma'am." (instead of oh man)

"no way!"

"get snake out."

"yes, i did."

"oh. my. gosh."

"hi friends."

"hi _____. what yn doin'?"

"sowwy momma. yunidntyudonthavetosay sowwy." aka you didn't do anything, you don't have to say sorry.

p.s. where are all the people who say they potty trained their kids in 3 days??? let me at em'!! or better yet come on over-he's all yours! good luck! ;)

even during these "trying twos" you are still one of my favorite people.

i love you so much and can't wait to see you on the "other side" -dry mickey undies and all :)

love you forever,

momma

Amber Pieces Giveaway Winner!

congratulations samantha lee! you are the winner of our Amber Pieces Giveaway!

shoot me and email in the "contact" section so we can get your goodies to you!

thanks friends!

6 months.

we are so proud that you actually fit your clothes at the right age! rylan always tends to be on the smaller end of things so this is new to us! way to go (as if you really have anything to do with this, but whatever)!

getting you to smile is some hard work. you are not impressed by my funny faces. why so serious lady?

we've been feeding you at the table with us more recently and just moved you on to green veggies. i know you're excited to try some greens! that cereal was just not your thing.

you are still our little drama queen. shots are the worst. and wiping your nose is a knock-down, drag-out. i avoid it like the plague.

you've been sleeping from 9 pm to 7 am and we are quite impressed. keep up the good work and we'll be promoting you to your very own room sweet girl!

you are just growing and growing and really starting to grow on me. you know, i kind of like you :). i'm loving getting to know you these days.

some of your favorite things: being outside, being worn in the baby carrier and watching your brother. oh and your new teething elephant, ellie.

we love seeing you and rylan interact more and can't wait to watch you two become the best of friends.

love you forever,

momma

Amber Pieces: Baby Teething Amber Necklace and Bracelet Review and Giveaway!

i was contacted by Amber Pieces about a year ago to review some of their baby products, but i'm fairly certain morning sickness got the best of me around that time and as my email piled sky high i lost contact with them along the way.

a couple of weeks ago i was doing some spring cleaning in the email department and happened to stumble upon them again and wouldn't you know it-perfect timing. we have "teething tenley" over here!

we picked up right where we left off and i received a baby teething amber necklace and matching bracelet (and one of each for a giveaway!). they are so teeny tiny and cute and tenley looks like a little doll wearing them! oh! and amber! did you know that amber is often used in folk medicine for its professed healing properties? news to me! you can read all about it here, but it discusses the European tradition for babies and small children suffering from teething problems to wear amber jewelry close to the skin to help relieve pain.

tenley hasn't been having a difficult time with teething, but it's definitely something to look into if your little one is!

**note: it is recommended that parents take precautions -the jewelry is not intended for chewing, but strictly for wearing. it is suggested that the jewelry should not be slept in. also, i would suggest making sure that the bracelet fits well  because our tenley was able to get it off her wrist and, of course, all things in her hands go straight to the mouth these days.

Giveaway!

to enter you must be a follower of Baby Baker Love. visit Amber Pieces and let us know in the comments for one entry. for extra entries follow Baby Baker Love on twitter, bloglovin, pinterest or instagram. for every media you follow you will receive an entry. leave a comment for each one followed. this giveaway will be open for one week and the winner will receive one amber pieces baby teething necklace and bracelet.

good luck!