One year with LB

I'm at month late, but we have had a wonderful year with our sweet girl. She's feisty, yet sweet and snuggly. Well, mostly she's feisty about being snuggly.  Girl LOVES to be held... And eat. 😋

We celebrated her first birthday at Nana's house with a small party but lots of fun. Here are her stats: 

She didn't like her hands dirty. 

LB cracks us up and brings us so much joy. She's a great sleeper and will play independently as long as someone's close so she can get a hug in every little bit. She yells a lot at daycare because they don't comply with her demands (quiet and dark for sleeping, feeding her every single time anyone else in the room eats, holding her every time she needs a hug). When she yells/screams at home I typically put her to bed because I know it means she's tired, but it's not that simple at school. 

She loves her purse or any bag on her arm. 

Getting sprayed by the hose!!

I love that she still loves to be held. N was way too wiggly to snuggle at this age. 

Christmas 2013

I am so behind in posting, but we had such a wonderful Christmas that I do not want to forget it! We put our tree up the week before Thanksgiving because I was in major need of some Christmas cheer. I enjoyed every minute the tree was up, but have since taken everything down to the dismay of my 2-year-old. I am glad to have the space back, but look forward to next year already!

 We had great friends come and visit. Aaron reading N 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear'.

 Alabama weather is CRAZY! I saw an e-card today that said "A place where you can get sunburned one day and frostbit the next." This picture above was a few days before Christmas and we were making sure our 'tornado helmets' fit as we prepared for the bad weather. Thankfully it was just a loud windy storm for us.

 Getting ready to go to Christmas Eve Service.

 After Santa came! 

 We did DIY stockings this year. Maybe one day we'll have the cute matching monogrammed ones :), but in the meantime these were great. LB LOVED this bell. It was huge so it wasn't a choking hazard.

 

Some Christmas decorations that Ben's mom gave to us this year so we could decorate for the 2 Christmas celebrations I signed us up to host. Lol! Ben thought I was crazy, but it is easier to host it so I can put LB to bed instead of trying to visit with people with an 8-month old WAAAY past her bedtime.  I loved this DIY printable next the the angel. Just search Christmas Printable on Pinterest. There are a ton!

 

But this one is my FAVORITE!!! I think Elf is my favorite movie year round. 

 Not a great pic, but this is our tree and presents (after Ben's mom came and delivered her items under our tree too).

 LB found herself a present Christmas morning! (I have no idea what that spot is on her head.)

 Going after the presents! I don't do Christmas chaos... we take turns open presents and make it last. It took us over an hour to open presents and I loved every second.

 This one cracks me up because LB grabbed those puffs and flipped it upside down before I could even realize it, but it was caught on camera which made it all okay... plus entertained her and our dog the rest of the present opening. 

 LB and Ben's mom's fiance. Papa Raymond

 N still thinks both Scout and Violet are his. 

 We traveled to Florida to visit family the day after Christmas and had a WONDERFUL visit.

 LB and her pop-pop (my dad)

It was an amazing Christmas season! We were able to celebrate Jesus' birthday, N sang Happy Birthday to Jesus at least 200 times. I loved every minute of it. I am so thankful to be able to spend it with so much family and have 2 weeks off to be able to travel to see everyone.

In a valley

It's been over a month since my last post. I love reading your blogs and miss it when some of you go MIA. I wish I kept up more.  I am in a valley this week and strangely thought it a good time to post. We have been fighting illness for months. I have officially taken on too much at work (with ever looming more standards and requirements to meet) and honestly I work with a few pretty mean adults that truly suck the joy out of me. Every few weeks they get to me and I struggle to continue to overcome them. I have prayed about that situation for 4 years now... It's rough. I work with LOTS of amazing people, but 3 bad apples really have do me in sometimes.

LB is almost 8 months old. It's unreal. I feel like I have baby fever all the time because she's growing up so fast, I want her to stay little! But she's amazing! She's been crawling for awhile now, pulls up on a lot, nearly ready to walk if she could get her little legs to cooperate. She still nurses throughout the day, but LOVES her food. Howevever she has had the most stubborn cold for a month. It may just be a daycare/winter cold, but I surely hope it doesn't last until springtime. She graciously shared it with Ben and I so we've both been trying to fight it off for 2 weeks. What kind of cold is this?

N is 2.5 years old. He talks every moment of his day, lol! Seriously the kid can talk. A LOT. I try to remind myself how much of a blessing this is, but some days when I drop him off at daycare I drive to work in silence and let my ears recover :). When I have enough energy to keep up with his conversations he cracks me up. He notices everything and asks about everything he sees, but mostly repeats EVERYTHING he hears... everything!

Most of our conversations go like this:

N, "what dis mama?"
Me: "what do you think it is n?"
N: "yeah!.......mama.... What dis?"
Me: "a candy cane n."
N: "oohhhhh, a candy cane? Mama, is dis a candy cane?"
Me: "............"
N: "mama, dis a candy cane? Mama..... Mama.....?"
Me: "yes... A candy cane"
N: "candy cane.... Wook mama! A candy cane!!!!"

Lol! This goes on and on. I hope this means he will still talk to me this much when he gets older. I try really hard to continue to talk and tell him things even when I've had a really long day at work and just want peace and quiet. One day I'll miss his sweet innocent questions and curiosity.

N has been coughing for over 4 months. I ignored it for a couple months but when he got a virus I called and mentioned it as a side not, but the doctor was more concerned about the coughing than anything else. We'll it kept getting worse and worse. So mucus so that I couldn't remember the last time either of us slept though the night. His coughing fits would last for over 45 minutes, until we could get Benadryl in his system (the ONLY thing that made a difference) A few doctor visit is and meds later our doctor said N has a reactive airway.... Even google couldn't quiet clear it up for me, but he started breathing treatments yesterday that he'll continue for 6 months to hopefully clear this up. And guess what, he finally slept through the night last night with only 1 dose of Benadryl! Woooo!

I'm also struggling with coming to grips with finances. I get so overwhelmed some time with how expensive things are and trying to make all the ends meet. I've never had much of a hard time with "wants" but lately it's eating me up. I want everything I don't have...fancy clothes, all those perfect kids clothes, nice furniture, new shoes.... Worldly STUFF!! God has ALWAYS provided everything we need, EVERYTHING. I don't know why I am letting myself struggle with it. Valleys are where growth happens and I am asking and calling out His name that he help me overcome this.

A few pictures to add to my dreary post! :)

Sick LB

 N made a choo-choo... LB tagging along.

N better get ready... LB is after his train table!

That next stage

So I think I'm there... At that next stage where I can't really pretend I'm not a real adult anymore. I am 30, with 2 kids, attend a moms bible study and want to be in bed by 8. Lol! When did this happen?!

The past three weeks have intensely done me in, it started with trying to get back into Zumba so I could hopefully get back into my jeans, but then I volunteered to help start an after school program, attend a moms bible study, go to 3 or 4 fall festivals, visit my family, have a child get sick, chaperone the beauty walk and then I get to travel to Dothan for the peanut festival.... Omg.... I need a margarita, but then it would interrupt my nursing and pumping which makes things more stressful... Maybe I just need a personal day and a house cleaner! :) :)

LB is officially crawling as of today! She's been scooting/rocking on all 4s for about a month, but today she had her little hands moving forward one by one. I feel like I already (or still?) have baby fever though because she's growing up so fast. I just want to scoop her out of her crib and hold her all night. I don't know if we'll have more, so I just want to soak her in. Even if that means she's rotten at school from time to time. We DID get a positive report today though. They said she is learning she is not queen bee in there. Whew! At home she's usually pretty good. In bed by 5:45 or 6, 12 hours of sleep, up to nurse at 6 then hangs out in the kitchen until it's time to wake N up. And by hang out it mean yell occasionally or squeal to get anyone and everyone looking at her... Queen bee. She's ready to run and keep up with N that is for sure. She's in LOVE with him and he still loves her right back. ❤️❤️❤️

N on the other hand gets to be free from his boot tomorrow! (It's officially been 2 months since he got his cast on a broken leg.) I am so ready for him to be free from it although it hasn't slowed him down ONE BIT! Dr. A said he couldn't believe how active he was with one leg... Lol, I said that's why he broke his leg to begin with... Busy busy boy.

Life is fun and great and I'm tired, but I'll sleep later. ;) I have a 2 year old and 6.5 month old. Precious sweet blessings. 

Trying to sit up!!!

Chick-Fil-a breakfast date today

Love

Flash dance?

My heart is so full. 

Cat napping

LB

4.75 months old

14.5lbs

25.5" long

Her hair grows straight up. 

Loves baby food, sleeping at home, & her brother.

Dislikes getting caught sleeping at school, which means she needs a cat nap before I can convince her it's time to nurse. Otherwise I end up having a hungry baby at 4am. No bueno. 

Happy 2nd Birthday N!

N turned 2 a couple weeks ago so I want to give him his own post that I can look back on and remember where he was at just 2-years-old.

He successfully blew out his candles at each one of his celebrations :)

 

We started celebrating his birthday in North Carolina, then had our own little birthday celebration on his actual day at home and finally had his 'party' this past weekend at our house with a few friends including his BEST friend (and cousin) Cara.

At N's 2-year-old check up he was 36" tall (90th percentile), weighed 27.5lbs (50th percentile) and had a 19" head (50th percentile). These are our typical percentiles and we suspect he will be tall like his dad (6'4"). He wears mostly 3T now. He was also cutting his 2-year-old molars, which I had no clue. He's done great with them minus a low-grade fever (typical) which then caused him to get heat rash ALL over his body after he played outside in the heat with the fever. (Didn't realize until after the heat rash that he had a fever :(

Pancakes, cool whip & sprinkles for birthday breakfast! Sierra wants some too :)

The doctor asked if N could say 20 words which made me laugh. I said um, more like 2000 words? N will repeat EVERYTHING you say, but also uses around 90% of what he says in the correct context. Even words like again, after, echo, no its not, i like it, i not reach it, help mama, bless you mama, thank you, no thank you, where are you, what are you doing, where are you going, etc... Talkative is an understatement. :)

 

BUBBLES!!!!!!

 

He is still taking a 2-3 hour nap during the day and sleeps generally 12 hours at night still, although his can be flexible if we are doing something fun and keep him up later. N is not the best eater though, but the doctor said it was completely normal. He has days where he eats a ton and then won't eat barely anything for a day or two. He is very picky too. He likes yogurt, cooked carrots, chicken salad, chicken enchiladas (home made), ALL snacks & sweets, watermelon and cheese. HA! That's about it.

  

Opening DD's present

 

He is officially pacifier-free too! I was not ready for this at all, but the doctor told us the sooner we do it the easier it will be on him. Ben made the decision on Sunday that would be the day and so today was 5 days without it! Whew. He had a few moments of sheer sadness when he couldn't have it, but really he's done great. AND now we can put footed pajamas back on him! For some strange reason he would put his paci inside his pajamas and when he had on footed pajamas he couldn't get it back out... which would mean at 2am he'd cry for us to come get it out for him... thus we stopped putting those pajamas on him so his paci couldn't get trapped. Silly boy.

 

LB even got in on the fun

 

The past 2 years have been so much fun with this precious boy. He has such a kind heart. LOVES his sister. His teacher told us he talks about her at school all the time. The teacher said she didn't know her name though since all N calls her is 'baby'. Today I took LB to school to pick N up and when I opened the door all the kids came running to see her. N got so worried telling them all NO! NO BABY!! and trying to keep them from grabbing her. It really was precious to see him be protective of her. He even reminds me to put the baby in/out of the car (not that I need reminding) - he will tell me as soon as I put him in or get him out, "get baby mama".

There are no words to explain the joy we have that God allowed us to raise N. He is fun, smart, kind, somewhat passive, can be wild and crazy, is so funny (he says all the time 'I funny mama"... "uh, no throwing your food at the dog is not so funny N..."). We just LOVE LOVE LOVE him to pieces. He loves to rock and sing songs before bed and this is one of my favorite moments as he lays his head on me, mumbles the words along with me and sings. Sweet child.

Happy Happy Birthday to you!

Weekend Adventure - North Carolina

I am in the car at this moment sitting in the back with an 11 week old and an almost 2-year-old (tomorrow is his birthday). We are on the way home from North Carolina where we visited Ben's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. It was a quick trip we planned at the last minute. This side of the family are not travelers so we knew for them to meet LB we needed to head up to see them. Since I only have about a week at Christmas, we decided summer would be our best option. I have to admit I was not looking forward to this trip too much. I was dreading the 11 hour drive that would only be separated by 2 days of visiting.

However, it was a great trip! Since it was so short we didn't do any type of vacationing, but rather just visiting with family. Both of the kids were EXCELLENT on the way to North Carolina. I am so thankful. And currently this trip back home as been just as good. No tears, screaming or tantrums. N had me cracking up before we stopped for lunch because we could tell how extremely bored he was as he started making various animal noises in between asking, 'I get out?' in the sweetest persuasive voice he has. He is such a great traveler. I just remembered I had downloaded an episode of Barney to my iPad during last year's tornado season in case we were stuck in the tornado shelter for a long period of time, so he is watching Barney as we speak happy as could be.

stringing beans with DD

We were able to visit with both Ben's grandparents, the kids' great-grandparents. We had N an early birthday party of sorts last night. As usual I was much more excited than him. :) ONE DAY his excitement will catch up.... one day! He wasn't really catching on until we sang 'Happy Birthday' and then he joined along very excitedly... still not realizing it was HIS birthday, ha! They have parties all the time at school for his classmates so he knows the song. Tuesday when he goes to school it will be his day :)

LB got to meet her cousin whom she is named after (middle name). A sweet sweet lady.

 

and almost turned over! She got to her actual tummy once but had her arm stuck under her. Here shes gone cross-eyed fascinated by her hand after making it to her side. Distractions..

We tried to get great-granddaddy to blow a birthday horn with N, but he would have nothing of it. Everyone sing with me, "Every party has a pooper that's why we invited you.... party pooper..... that's you!" ha! Noah loved making sure he had his cane though.

It was fun none-the-less :) Ben's mom came with us and she had a good time visiting her family as well even though she comes up here much more frequently than we do. We've been lucky just to get up there every other year.

 

LB did NOT like her birthday hat!