Happy Friday

Just a fun video to kick off the Easter weekend ;)

 

BlogLovin Test

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Just a quick video today to wish Mimi a very happy birthday! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

More Hadleyisms

Hadley is at such a funny age right now.  I think God made 2 year olds extra hilarious so that you have some comic relief after they’re done throwing an epic tantrum because you handed them the orange crayon instead of the yellow. 

I’ve been writing down things Hadley says recently in my phone and wanted to get them on the blog for our memories… along with some pictures from our fun little photo shoot the other day where I asked her to show me happy, silly, surprised, sad, mad, etc… faces.

While my mom was here recently to help out with the girls, I was putting Hadley down for her nap and she told me “Oooh, in two days, I wake up af-fer nap and go down-tares to pay wit nana.”  Ok kiddo – I wish you would nap for two days!

While I was rocking Hadley before bed she suddenly sat up and patted her chest and said “hawrt.”  I repeated “heart?” to her and she said “yeah. hawrt. Boo-ti-ful hawrt.  Hah-yee co-man boo-ti-ful hawrt.” 

I’m guessing one of her teachers told her that?  Either way – it melted my heart!

An example of her boo-ti-ful hawrt…. When getting her up from her nap the other day she said “No momma; momma get in bib wit hah-yee.”  So, I climbed in her crib and laid down next to her.  She turned toward me, patted me on the shoulder and touched her forehead to mine and said “I wurve you mommy.”  Such a sweetheart! She’s been saying “wuv you” back to us when we say it first for a long time now, but this was one of the first times she’d done it completely unprompted!"

Hadley has started to tell me when she thinks I have a good idea (I guess I tell her that a lot).  I hear it most often when I suggest we go play in the playroom.  “Ooooh yah!!  Go up-tares an have tea paw-ty!! Dats good idea mommy!!”

This one is not quite so sweet… Hadley heard my stomach growl the other day and said “oooh!! Momma’s tummy is poopin!”  We can thank her daddy for her awareness of those sounds ;)

We were playing with Hadley’s ocean puzzle the other day and I asked her what a certain piece (the jellyfish) was.  She replied with “oh! Dats da pea-butter fish!”  Guess we eat a few too many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches when we start confusing jelly with peanut butter.

Overheard on the monitor from her crib… “nooooo…. I’m not mad!  Nope.  I happy!!”  If only she would always wake up like that!

When Hadley throws a tantrum lately, it’s always accompanied by “I be mad” or “I be sad” and sometimes, to get some extra sympathy, she throws in “I need a hug” in the most pitiful voice ever.  Most of the time I’m obliging to the hug part, although she is a smart little cookie and I know she likes to use it particularly when she doesn’t feel like waiting for me to finish whatever I’m doing to get attention.  It’s tough to go from being the only child to having to share the spotlight!

It’s Harder; and It’s Easier

When we got married and started talking about the possibility of a family down the road, my mind jumped to pictures of elementary aged kids opening Christmas presents or playing in the backyard while we sit comfortably on the couch or patio chair sipping a drink while watching the kids.  As we got closer to beginning our family, and debated how many kids would best complete our family, again my mind pictured these kids as just that… kids.  What I didn’t picture was the logistics of more than one kid at home.  Or what it would look like to have a 2 year old with a dirty diaper throwing a tantrum while a newborn screams for no apparent reason.

Now that we’re a month into life as a family of four, I get asked on a regular basis how I’m handling things.  And my answer is usually the same: it’s hard… but it’s also easier. 

Having a sensitive, thoughtful, emotional and sweet little two year old girl along with a newborn is tough.  There are so many moments in a day when I find myself wishing I had a clone because one lap is just not enough for two girls.  For some reason, Hadley only needs her momma when momma’s hands are occupied by Harper.  And the second I sit down to nurse Harper?  That tends to be the same moment Hadley wants to go upstairs to her playroom (which requires my help up the stairs and obviously my supervision).  By the time I’ve survived bath & bedtime (for Hadley – because “bedtime” does not exist yet for Harper) I am so exhausted that I can hardly keep my eyes open, and yet I have a husband and a newborn who still need my attention.  Not to mention a house, and dishes, and laundry, and – oh yeah – a growling stomach that hasn’t eaten anything other than a granola bar since noon. 

I can remember sitting in my room when Hadley was just a couple months old and having an overwhelming feeling of “what did I get myself into? What am I doing?” because I just could not get her to stop crying.  I hadn’t showered in days and there was laundry all over our room.  I felt so out of my league as I was struggling to figure out how to balance (just one) child on top of the rest of my responsibilities.  This time around, I’m used to wearing the same yoga pants 5 days in a row and have perfected the dry shampoo pony-tail look for my unwashed hair.  I know the laundry will get done eventually and even though my house won’t clean itself, it won’t kill us if there are a couple dust bunnies under the bed.  We’ll have good days and we’ll have bad days; moments in our day will be harder, but overall the days pass easier.

Because this time, I know that “this too shall pass” and it will pass far too quickly.  The sweet baby snores and snuggles will turn into tantrums and “I do it myself”s in the blink of an eye, so I can handle the middle of the night feedings and a baby who just needs to be held to stay asleep.  Hadley and I are figuring out our new normal, but that’s what we always do.  She’s the one who made me a momma, so every stage of life is a new experience with her – and we just do our best.  And when we haven’t had our best day, I’m thankful that tomorrow is always a new day and God’s mercies are new each morning. 

Harper Newborn Pictures

When Harper was about 4 days old, my friend Sarah came over to take some newborn pictures of her.  Sarah actually took our wedding pictures, then put her photography business on hold to teach and has just started doing family pictures again.  I was so excited when she agreed to take some newborn pictures of Harper for us! 

Harper decided after awhile that she was done sleeping, so we were done taking pictures, but here are some of my favorites that we got from that morning!

And thanks again to The Hairbow Company for most of the adorable little headbands we used!

Harper’s One Month Pictures

Taking pictures this time around is proving to be MUCH more difficult than it was with Hadley.  Not only do I not have as much time, but I also have a little “helper” photo-bombing half of my pictures. 

However, I am excited to take Harper’s pictures each month because The Hairbow Company sent me some AMAZING goodies for her pictures!  They just started carrying these adorable glitter number onesies (which also have the cutest little tulle ruffles on the bum – can’t wait til Harper is a little bigger so I can get some good shots of that, too!), and they have every accessory under the sun – from bows, headbands, flowers to leg warmers and tutus.  On top of all of the fun stuff they carry, they have great prices and some of the best customer service.  They have been one of my favorite places to shop since I discovered them when Hadley was little!

So, challenges aside, here are our best attempts at a one month picture for Harper!

And photo-bombed by big sister…

This is what I was looking at between every picture I took of Harper…

And, I know this is probably overdone, but I thought I’d make an attempt to do the laundry basket pictures every month to see how she grows.

{I also got a couple newborn pictures of Harper a couple weeks ago and used a couple different goodies from The Hairbow Company, so I’ll share those soon!}

Harper: One Month

Dear Harper Kate,
Well, I had every intention of getting this up yesterday, but yesterday was a doozy for the three of us (I can only guess you’re hitting your one month growth spurt).  At least I’m only a day late, right?
Happy one month birthday sweet-pea!  I can’t tell you what a joy it is to celebrate you – you have been the sweetest addition to our family and we are forever thankful that the Lord entrusted your life to us!  My prayer for you since before you were born is that you would come to love the Lord and trust in the great plan He has for your life.  You are SO so loved little one!

This month was both easier and harder than your sister’s first month.  {And let me just go ahead and apologize now for comparing things in your life to things in your big sister’s life… it’s really all I’ve got to go by as a parent…and it certainly doesn’t mean that I care more or less about either of y’all because of the similarities and differences!}  One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed so far is that you have so many different cries than Hadley did.  You have a sweet little pouty, delicate cry, a typical newborn cry, a squeaky cry/grunt and if none of those cries are attended to quickly enough, a super sonic cry where you almost sound like you are hissing violently at us.  You seriously lose all tone and go into the maddest little cry I’ve ever seen – turning beat red, with beads of sweat all over your little head.  We have to do our best to make sure we get to you before you hit this point – it breaks my heart!  Now that we know this about you, though, it’s really rare for you to hit that point anymore as usually it just takes one of us holding you to calm you down.

You are still a great eater – you nurse usually 7-9 times a day.  Every 2-3 hours during the day and then at night you usually do a 5 hour stretch and then a 3-4 hour stretch between feedings.  Of course, this doesn’t mean you’re sleeping that whole time between feedings at night, but we’re working on it. ;) You have done a couple longer stretches (6 and 7 hours) once or twice, so I know you’ve got it in you, we just need to figure out the best schedule for you.

You love to be held, but you are particular about how you are held, and it’s not always the same way.  Sometimes you want to lie belly to belly and snuggle in to sleep, sometimes you want to be held upright and you crane your neck back and stare at the ceiling and whatever else you can see, sometimes you just want to be flat on your back, and other times you like to be held in the crook of my arm.  You seem to like the k’tan baby carrier that I have, although it can take a little while for you to fully get comfortable in there, but once you do you usually fall asleep and stay asleep until I get you out.  This is a huge life saver on days when you scream if you’re not held, but your sister is wanting to play.  The hardest parts of our days are when your big sister needs me to hold her before nap or bedtime and you are wanting to be held, too.  I wish I could clone myself when daddy is working late!


You are definitely locking in on faces and some toys already.  You’ll turn to look towards daddy or Hadley if you hear them talking and can follow daddy’s fingers if he’s wiggling them above your face.  You tolerate tummy time for a few minutes at a time, and far prefer sleeping on your tummy to any other position.  We swaddle and put you in the rock-n-play for nighttime sleep, but I let you sleep on your tummy in your crib for naps during the day. (I use the word “nap” loosely, as sometimes you’ll stay in there for an hour or so, and other times it’s only 15 minutes before you decide you’d rather be held.)

Your eyes are still blue/gray, but my prediction is still that they will turn hazel/brown.  Only time will tell!
Here are your stats for the month: 

• Height: 22 inches (75th%)
• Weight: 10lbs 5oz (75th%)
• Diapers: Size 1
• Clothes: 0-3 month

Harper, this month has been such a blessing in so many ways.  I can’t imagine our family without you in it and can’t wait to see what God has in store for you!  I love you so so much little one!
Love,
Mommy

Harper’s First Playdate

I’ve been working on Harper’s one month (what?!) post, but wanted to post about her first play date first.  Yesterday, we had our sweet friends Morgan, Brynn and their newest addition, Elliott over to play and have lunch.  I feel so so blessed to have a friend in the exact same stage of life as us right now.  Her oldest, Brynn, is 5 months older than Hadley, and her youngest is just 6 days younger that Harper.  Hadley and Brynn are such sweet friends, so Ellie and Harper have no choice but to be bffs, too. ;)

Here’s a picture from one of Hadley and Brynn’s first “playdates”…

And here they were yesterday!

While our sweet big girls decorated Easter cookies (and ate tons of sprinkles and frosting), the little girls “napped” in Harper’s room.

Our poor husbands… I think they’re definitely feeling outnumbered these days!