Santa Claus

Until I married Andrew, I didn't give much thought to how other families do their Christmas, and whether or not Santa visits their house and what he usually does when he gets there.
Once Andrew and I were getting ready to start a family, we discussed these things.
For us, Santa was a big deal. I remember on Christmas Eve all 4 of us girls would be in our room (and even when we split up 2 and 2, a lot of times we'd end up in one room). We'd push our beds together and try to stay up. We'd giggle and talk and I vividly remember the one time I swore I heard Santa up on the roof. We'd eventually fall asleep, but we'd wake up around 3 or 4 and wake up each other. We'd sneak into the living room and our tree would be bursting with gifts. We were never allowed to wake mom and dad up any earlier than 5:00, I think (it may even have been earlier!). We would go through each gift and make piles and anxiously wait until it was time. We'd rush upstairs and wake up my parents and we'd spend all morning opening gifts. Santa was awesome. And the Easter Bunny was pretty cool too - he always hid our baskets so we'd have to go searching for them. He also always got into stuff, like flour or sugar, and would leave a trail all around the kitchen.
So, once Andrew and I were starting our family, I figured we could talk about how we would do it - I imagined the same way, but I wanted to know his family traditions.
"Oh," he said, "we didn't really believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny." And he didn't - like ever! I didn't realize that other families may do it differently. I talked to friends and Santa would get them like 1 or 2 big gifts. Some Santas didn't wrap the presents from them.
Since Andrew had nothing to compare it to, we're going my family's way. :)
On Christmas Eve night we exchange our gifts to each other and Avery (and now Hadley) get a few presents - an ornament to put on the tree, new pjs to wear that night and maybe a small toy (books this year). Christmas morning is totally all about Santa. He is bringing quite a bit this year. I'm SO excited to see Avery's face. We're going to put together a few of the bigger gifts and just cover them up, because last year she was very impatient while Andrew had to put them together. This way, she can play with them right away. I figured, maybe that could be a little tradition - 1 big toy for each kid already put together and ready to be played with - at least, until they get to the age where I remember getting up hours early to check out presents. The one year we got hamsters was pretty exciting because they weren't wrapped and we already started playing with them and had names picked out before my parents even got up.

Black Friday Shopping... what a scam.

Before I post regarding my title, I'll actually do a small update on the girls... since this blog is about them, and only partially about their wonderful mom. ;)
Staying at home has been absolutely the best thing I could be doing right now. I don't think that sentence is grammatically correct, but that's exactly how I was thinking it, so... anyway. Best thing ever. Monday I get to go help Avery's class for their Christmas party. And Tuesday I get to go listen to their short Christmas sing-a-long program, which is during the school day, so that's definitely not something I would easily have been able to attend if I were still working full time.
Hadley has been pushing herself up to a sitting position. If she has any sort of leverage or if she's laying at an incline, she will struggle on her elbows until she gets herself pushed up. She's very nosy. She likes seeing what's going on all around her. And every time she sits up, she has a huge smile on her face. She's been pushing up a lot on her arms too, so I don't think it will be too long before she's crawling and sitting up on her own.

On to the Black Friday scam of shopping:
So, we went to Walmart at about 8pm on Thanksgiving Day. I always get a thrill about going in huge crowds, even though I absolutely hate big crowds and I end up agitated by the end of the night. I went with my family, and they had tons of stuff to get, but there were only a few things I saw in the ad I wanted to get. The most important was the Ariel Magical Talking Salon. It's the "biggest" (read: most expensive) present on Avery's list and listed at $80, it was only $50 on Black Friday! I also picked her up a table and chairs set that was on sale for $20 (usually $30). I was super excited since we got both. Until I went to Walmart Wednesday night. They had tons of the table and chairs sets, still marked at $20. But then.... then I noticed the Ariel Salon..... marked down to $35.00. !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I checked with the front desk and they will only give you the difference on your receipt if you made the purchase within the last week. (Dumb.) Well, so what did I do? I went home and got my receipt and my Ariel Salon, went right back to Walmart, returned the salon, got my money back, went out to Lawn & Garden and grabbed the $35.00 Salon (same thing) and checked out with two extra gifts from the extra money.

Then I told Andrew that next year when I say we HAVE to go shopping Black Friday to remind me of this so I will realize it's much more fun to go shopping the week before Christmas when there are NO lines and the sales are better.

Seriously. I'm so over Black Friday. I'm even labeling this post so that next year when I say, "Black Friday is so worth it!" I can search my blog for Black Friday and find this post, which totally proves Black Friday is NOT worth it. Random Wednesday was a much better experience. :)

Horton the Elf

Our elf Horton has been super busy this year! As I posted earlier, he showed up with a full breakfast for everyone, straight from the North Pole! And he brought a little stuffed toy for both girls.

He's also been hiding in some silly spots this year! Unfortunately, I am bad and haven't taken pictures of every single day, and I uploaded some on my phone or Andrew's phone (like his ride in the car with Cinderella one day), but here are a few pictures from Horton's Adventures:







Horton left a pile of presents one night- our book tradition. He also likes to play in Mommy's flour and steal my dry erase marker to draw on our family pictures!
I didn't get a picture of his marshmallow and cookie bath or when he hid in the bathroom and turned the toilet water green. This elf is so silly, but Avery is loving it! I told her as long as Horton cleans up his messes every night, then Mommy wouldn't get mad. And so far, he's been very good at that. Loving this year's Christmas with both girls: Avery is really getting into Santa and the elf, but she also has been asking a million questions about Baby Jesus. And Hadley is getting so alert and is now rolling over and scootching herself around, so I know Christmas morning is going to be so fun! Just a few more weeks!

A Christmas Full of Traditions

Christmas is such an awesome time! I just love decorating and buying presents and giving presents... and, of course, Christmas traditions!

When we had Avery, I wanted to make sure we started some Christmas traditions, and each year we've added something else that we'll do the next year too.

I've already bought the girls' pajamas, which they will open Christmas Eve night and wear that night and Christmas morning. They also will open an ornament for this year and put it on the tree. I want my kids to have a good collection of Christmas ornaments to take with them to their own houses when they move out and start a family of their own.

We also had Horton, our Elf on the Shelf, show up and start a new tradition of our Elf on the Shelf breakfast. We started the Elf on the Shelf tradition last year and added the breakfast for this year. Avery loves Horton and it's a really easy way to make her remember to be a good girl for Santa so he will bring her toys.

Last year, I also added a book tradition. I collected tons (20) of Christmas-related books and wrapped them, putting them under the tree. For the 20 nights leading up to Christmas, Avery chose one wrapped book and we opened it and read it together around the Christmas tree. This year I was good and bought 5 more throughout the year, so now we can start it the night before December 1st. The book idea is great because Avery loves to read and also because a lot of the books talk about the real meaning of Christmas, which is Christ, of course, and it gives us a good chance to discuss that. We end the book tradition with reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve night before going to bed.

And this weekend we added another fun thing to do. We always go drive around and see the lights. Last year we visited Our Lady of the Snows Way of Lights, Rock Springs Parks' Christmas Wonderland, and also just looking at fun houses that have been decked out. On a whim, I decided we'd go to Rock Springs Parks Saturday night - a completely lazy day for us, as we had NOTHING to do. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't, but all 4 of us got into our pajamas (for those that hadn't gotten out of them all day, anyway) and put on our slippers and loaded in to the van. We ran through and got some food and ate our food and drove through the lights. It was a rainy, chilly night, and Avery just loved putting on our pjs to get in to the car - we've never done that before!

This Christmas is going to be so fun with her, as she is really getting it even more than last year. That also means lots of asking for presents, which we are trying to contain. Her grandparents and aunts and uncles don't help - she gets everything on her list and more! ;) That's why we always try to give back to our friends and neighbors, and this year I think Avery understands that even more. This Christmas season has already been amazing - I'm excited there's still about a month left! :)

Horton Has Arrived!

Horton, our Elf on the Shelf, showed up Thanksgiving morning with a breakfast and surprise for the girls. Each girl got a letter from Horton and a scented stuffed animal. Horton brought snow covered donuts and hot cocoa with snow, Christmas cereal and reindeer kisses, and grape juice with bubbles in it for a really cool light-up cup. I'm excited to start this new tradition for our family. And Horton likes to hide in the funniest spots! He's a clever little elf... :)

I have to admit, this breakfast did not go as planned. In fact, it hurt my feelings a little bit because I put so much effort in to it and was so excited to see her face and she was just so mad (until she got her stuffed animal). I'm hoping next year is better. :)

But she had a reason for acting the way she did - Avery was running a low grade temp the night before and had a cough and scratchy throat the next morning. She was not in the mood for Horton. Luckily, some Advil put her in a good mood for putting up the Christmas decorations, which ended up being a lot of fun! While getting her little tree for her room ready, she said, "Let's do this; let's do this Christmas tree!!"

Here are some pictures:










This "North Pole Breakfast" idea came straight from Pinterest. Check out my pin by clicking HERE.

Hadley's 4 Month Update

Hadley had her 4 month appointment on Monday. I prefer only Monday and Tuesday appointments, so that I can take her, so we were a little late going, but just by a few weeks.

Hadley weights 14lb14oz. She is in the 25-50th percentile for weight for her age.

She is 25 3/4 inches long. She is in the 75-90th (closer to 90th) percentile for her height.

I can't remember her head circumference, but I do remember that it's in the 25th percentile. Wait... what?! Say that again.... she has a HUGE head. Well, according to the doctor, she does not. She has a little head for her body. Bahahaha I can't help but laugh at this - girl has a big head. :) Maybe it's just because she's bald, but it sure looks big to me.

We started rice cereal a few weeks back and Hadley will be enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner of apples this year, made fresh about a month back.

I am also attempting my first Thanksgiving dinner for our family of 4. Really excited about this.

Also, tomorrow morning a little Elf named Horton gave me a heads up that he will popping in and hanging around until Christmas day. I'll have my camera handy to snap some pictures of Horton and the girls. We'll also be putting up our Christmas decorations, so I'm just really excited about the day with my family tomorrow.

And shopping commences at about 8:30pm tomorrow night - can't wait! Love going with my family! :)

They're On To Me

Operation Ruin-Mommy's-Night-Away-From-Us has commenced... and it is currently The Girls = 1 and Mommy = 0.

Tonight, for those of you that could care less or live under a rock, is the midnight premiere for Breaking Dawn: Part 1. Yes, I'm a Twi-hard, or whatever it is they call it. After the first movie, Twilight, came out, I was sucked into reading the books - literally, sucked in to them. New Moon was read in one day, about 8 hours to be exact, because it was a car ride to Oklahoma City. After that fascination, I went to the New Moon midnight movie and I chose to skip Eclipse's midnight movie (I really can't remember why - except maybe I remembered how crazy it was the time before and I couldn't handle it again. Too much time has passed now and I've forgotten. Apparently, it's like childbirth and pregnancy. You just forget how absolutely stupid and painful it is to stand in line, or wait in a movie theater for hours before your movie even starts. All you remember is how awesomely awesome it was seeing the dang movie.). May I add that I've been to midnight movie's before; back before they were all wait in line for 5 hours before being seated, then wait in your seat for 3 more hours for your movie to start. I remember seeing Spiderman 2 at the midnight movie at Eastgate and I'm pretty sure we showed up around 11:00 to be seated. (We also were the dorks then that had Spiderman shirts on, pajama pants.... masks and gloves, ha.) I've also seen movies that aren't that exciting at midnight just because I could: Devil, Halloween II. I like seeing a movie that I want to see as soon as it comes out, I just dislike the crazy masses of people on opening night. And tonight is like the worst of the worst. The only other movies I know of that cause this much ruckus are the Harry Potter movies. Thank God I never got sucked in to those too.

Back to Operation Ruin-Mommy's-Night-Away-From-Us:
Last night, I was in my bed for about 8 hours. Of that 8 hours, I'm lucky if I got 3 hours of sleep total, not consecutive. The girls took turns being up. Seriously. I had to rummage for a pillow for the big girl. Get her in to her pallet on the floor next to us. Explain to her how to work her blankets (a long story, for a different post). Settle her down. Settle myself down. Get up to put the pacifier into the little girl's mouth... about 10 times. Rewrap the little one. Shush the little one. Pray for my head to stop pounding. Leave Andrew with the whiny, not-so-tired little one. Go to the bathroom. Feed the little one. Put my pillow over my ears. Shush the big girl. Put the little one back to bed. Rewrap the little one. And then lay in bed for the next hour and a half before my mind finally shuts itself off enough to fall back to sleep. The night before the craziest midnight movie I've been to in a while. Yeah. The Girls have definitely got an edge on me. I'm ready to pawn my ticket off to someone else that has no kids and the energy to sustain themselves properly for a midnight movie.

Which means that Operation Accost-Daddy-At-The-Door-With-Two-Girls-So-I-Can-Squeeze-In-A-Nap is currently in effect.

Life Story Binders

For those of you that know me, my newest online addiction is Pinterest. I am actually using the site too, not just to look at stuff - I've been using cleaning tips, organizing tips, recipes galore (especially for my slow cooker), ideas for activities for the kids, and now Life Story Binders.

Check out my pin on Pinterest here and link to the blog I got the idea from.

Avery's baby book is awesome. I'm pretty sure my sister Deanette picked it up for me when I was newly pregnant at Walmart. Alas, this time with Hadley they no longer sell that exact baby book and I've never been able to find it again. Someone gave me an extra baby book when I was pregnant with Hadley, so I decided to use it, but it is SO different from Avery's, it kind of made me sad. So I picked up the Walmart baby book (not the same as the old one) and started using it... but it leaves out so much that Avery's includes (I'm kind of obsessed with Avery's baby book). Anyway, it doesn't include half the milestones and year-to-year info that Avery's does, and I must admit I'm a little disappointed.

Step in Pinterest and Life Story Binders.

Life Story Binders are binders with sheet protectors that you can insert all sorts of information into. You could make your own baby book. For me, I started the Life Story Binders because we have birth certificates and social security cards just floating all around our house, never finding a permanent place for them.

The first few pages of our brand-new Life Story Binders include birth certificate, social security card, the footprint/"birth certificates" they make and give you at the hospital, savings bonds, birth announcements, Christmas cards and other misc. semi-important pictures or documents (like the baby dedication certificates from church). However, I also decided to make a milestones page, with all the milestones and dates they hit them, along with the weight and height for every well being visit , and starting when they are three another idea from Pinterest: the 20 questions about themselves. (I also plan to include our previous questions that I asked and posted to here, starting when they're 3.)

Here are Avery's 20 Questions:

Avery - 3 years old - 20 questions (2011)

1. What is your favorite color? Black
2. What is your favorite toy? Toy Story toys
3. What is your favorite fruit? Bananas
4. What is your favorite tv show? Dora the Explorer
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Mac & cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? Dresses
7. What is your favorite game? Twister
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? Zebras
10. What is your favorite song? He Loves Us
11. What is your favorite book? The Cat in the Hat
12. Who is your best friend? Aubrey
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios that has colors on them (Fruit Loops)
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? I love to play.
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Daisy stuffed animal
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Panny cakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Red Lobster’s legs (crab legs)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor like Dr. Hill.

Christmas Decorations!

Although I already have a few of our traditional Christmas Eve gifts for the girls, I start officially Christmas shopping next Saturday with some wonderful ladies! I'm so excited and can't wait to get started!
Also, due to the way family dinners for Thanksgiving falls this year with the Carlton and Naylor sides, it looks as if we will be home together on Thanksgiving, just the four of us. And I'm going to attempt to make my first turkey and traditional Thanksgiving dinner! Last year, my attempt went pretty well, but we did ham, and I must say it was delicious. So I'm looking forward to seeing how my turkey dinner will go this year.

....being home Thanksgiving day also means: Christmas decorations! I was tempted to put them up early this year, but since we'll actually be home together - we're making a day of it! I also believe that morning will be our North Pole Breakfast and our elf, Horton, will make his first appearance of the year. I'm super excited to plan this and get it ready for the girls. Pictures to follow! :) :)

Avery's Christmas Wish List 2011

We've been getting catalogs to Walmart, Kmart, Toys R Us, Target, etc. for Christmas stuff - and Avery loves the toy catalogs! We have been trying to stress to her that she should only pick a few things because Santa has to take toys to lots of boys and girls, not just her. There have been times she'll open a catalog and say, "I want everything on this page!" Besides the fact that we can't afford it all, she doesn't need it all. So I've been making her create a list about once a week so I can figure out what it is she REALLY wants, not just sees that day or something. I also thought it would be funny to post her list so we can look back in a few years and remember what she wants. Plus, since I'm typing/writing this list up, she always gives a long explanation for stuff she really likes. So, it's funny. :)

A new DV player in my room. New CD player (she calls it a DVD player) in her room because her old one needs to go in her playroom so that when Aubrey comes over and they play down there they can still listen to music and have a dance party.

Light up Ariel vanity. Ariel Magical Talking Salon - a light up vanity for her playroom so she can do people's hair.

The Birds movie. No, she doesn't frequently watch scary movies. She means Rio DVD.

The Princess & the Frog movie.

Cars 2 movie.

A little Woody doll.

A Barbie doll with a big pink dress. Barbie Charm School doll.

Baby that eats. Baby Alive Baby All Gone doll.

A little girl doll with a purple hat like Aubrey has. This was a McDonald's toy. Tell Santa how he can pull that one off...

Belle tea set.

Princess dolls. Lots of princess dolls and toys. This is pretty vague, so should be easy to find something. ;)

Rapunzel dress.

Olivia chair.

Princess dress. I think this was a Disney Princess ballet tutu. I hope so anyway.

Pop game. Pop the Pig game she saw on TV.

A really special Minnie and Mickey purple house.

Although there are more, those are the main concentration of what she's picked out. I'm sure thanks to grandparents, Santa won't have to get her all of the stuff on that list. :)

(Still deciding on when decorations come out and Horton our Elf on the Shelf makes his grand entrance!!)

2nd Child Syndrome

Everyone told me that once you have your 2nd child, you never do all the pictures and stuff like you did with your first. This is so true, but not because I want it to be! I am trying to take pictures, but with 2 kids there is just TOO much going on!
Would you believe this is the ONLY picture I have of Hadley at a pumpkin patch - and we visited one twice?!

At least I got one.
And thank goodness for iPhones - practically the only way we get up to date pictures!
We start solids this week! I was actually going to do a different approach this time and wait until she was six months old (we gave Avery only rice cereal for the first month at 4 months), but she has been extremely interested in whatever I'm eating, so I figured we'd see how it goes. She's gonna be my good eater. ;) Our pediatrician told us that most 2nd babies don't get any solids until 6 months or so because parents forget about it or don't have time - at least we aren't the only ones with "2nd Child Syndrome"!
Pictures to come of her first solids soon (promise!).

Halloween 2011

This year for Halloween, we did all sorts of fun stuff! We went to the pumpkin patch with the Falks, we went to the pumpkin patch in OKC for Zoey's first birthday, we went to the pumpkin patch for Avery's very first field trip (which was so much fun!), we went to the Magic House's Not-So-Haunted House (super cute), and we went to the East Alton, Wood River and Hartford parades (of which Avery got to ride in the Hartford parade with Tiffany and Aubrey). We also handed out candy to trick-or-treaters on Sunday night and Monday night, while also doing a little bit of trick-or-treating ourselves!
This year, we had a little ladybug and a princess Belle. Two of the cutest trick-or-treaters I've ever seen. :) This is probably the first Halloween that Avery may really remember, so I'm glad we got to do a lot of fun stuff together this year.
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, when we get a good fall, which I think we have gotten so far! I love crisp, cool fall days and doing stuff outside (I love summer, but I hate being outside for long periods of time). BUT I am so excited to put up Christmas decorations this year! It was always tradition in our house growing up to put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and so that's what I've always done, but I think we'll be putting them up a lot earlier this year in our house - it's just so exciting! Christmas shopping starts soon too, so why not?
Back to Halloween, this year we started a new tradition: we gave Avery the option of picking out a few special pieces of candy from her Halloween loot and giving the rest to the "candy fairy" - a fairy that takes the candy far far away from our house and leaves a toy instead. Avery really wanted a pillow pet, so I let her know the candy fairy deal and she decided to give it all away and get a unicorn pillow pet (which we got tonight!). She was sooo so happy and it was so cute to see her that way. She's sleeping with it right now. I think I like this tradition - there's still Halloween candy from last year that was floating around and thrown out when I found it.
Once the Christmas decorations are up, we'll determine when Horton, our Elf on the Shelf, will show up. We may be doing an Elf breakfast this year (thanks Pinterest) to ring in the "elf festivities." Once he's here, I'm going to start posting more frequently about all of Horton's escapades in our house (thanks again Pinterest!).

21 Questions - Daddy Edition

I really wanted to try this out with Daddy after doing yesterday's questions.... she's a little more partial to me, so I'm interested to see if Mommy says mean things what exactly Daddy says to her. (And I knew this would end up being her answer!)


1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
Avery: I love you.

2. What makes Daddy happy?
Avery: Like I listen.

3. What makes Daddy sad?
Avery: That I don't listen.

4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
Avery: Like he says um silly things.

5. What was Daddy like as a child?
Avery: As a child he loves to read.

6. How old is Daddy?
Avery: 22

7. How tall is Daddy?
Avery: He's this big. {With her hands about 2 inches apart}

8. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: He loves to put his clothes on. He decorates the Christmases.

9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
Avery: He's sad.

10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: For Cat in the Hat.

11. What is Daddy really good at?
Avery: He's good at putting up pictures.

12. What is Daddy not very good at?
Avery: He's not good at putting the lights up. (True, if she's talking about Christmas lights...)

13. What does Daddy do for his job?
Avery: He's favorite thing is to go to work and work.

14. What is Daddy's favorite food?
Avery: Um his his string cheese.

15. What makes you proud of Daddy?
Avery: Nothing.

16. If Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?
Avery: He would be the Cat in the Hat. Who's going to be Nick?

17. What do you and Daddy do together?
Avery: Daddy doesn't play with me. He's working.

18. How are you and Daddy the same?
Avery: I do the same stuff as Dad.

19. How are you and Daddy different?
Avery: Like our clothes?

20. How do you know Daddy loves you?
Avery: Like he shakes hands.

21. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Work.

Avery - 21 Questions

I keep seeing these things on Pinterest. 21 Questions to ask your kids, and other stuff, every year. So I chose one and asked Avery. The first question/answer is the best.


1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Avery: Mean things

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Avery: When I listen to you.

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Avery: When I don't listen.

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Avery: Like making funny faces.

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Avery: She likes to play with toys like me.

6. How old is Mommy?
Avery: 1

7. How tall is Mommy?
Avery: This big. {With her hands about 6 inches apart}

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Avery: Put her clothes on and go somewhere, she likes that.

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Avery: She sat. And cries.

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Avery: Writing papers.

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Avery: She's good at putting her clothes on and going to bed and putting the blankets on.

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Avery: She's not good at putting the pictures up. (So true!)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Avery: Her clothes.

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Avery: Lots of food she eats.

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Avery: Watching movies with me.

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Avery: Uhhh.... I dunno. I wanna be Belle.

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Avery: Putting my stuff up.

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Avery: I have bluish-green eyes and Mommy has bluish-green eyes.

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Avery: I have red hair.

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Avery: Nothin. Hugs.

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Avery: Home!

Oh Hadley

I have nonstop told people how awesome of a baby Hadley is... how great she is, easy she is, etc.

Today has been a different story. I'm not sure what is going on. I realize some people deal with this all of the time, every day, with their babies. But I don't. I never did with Avery either. Although I think she was a little more difficult of a baby, it was just trying to find that "trick" to make her happy.

Well. Today Hadley decided that absolutely NOTHING was going to make her happy. This morning started out fine, and while I was making lunch and trying to get Avery ready for school at 11:30, I laid Hadley down in her bassinet in our room. She was a little fussy, but she fell almost immediately to sleep. Unfortunately, I had to wake her up to take Avery to school, and then we had to go by the unemployment office to sign a few papers. She was fine during this time, although mad she was woken from her nap.

Once we got home though, she was livid. She was shrieking and arching her back and soooo mad. I changed her, I fed her, I burped her, I played with her, I rocked her.... nothing worked. So I put her in her bassinet for a few minutes and left her there. After a few bouts of shrieking, and me trying everything again, she fell asleep. But woke up just a few minutes later, screaming again. So I took her out and tried everything again. NOTHING. She is screaming. Well, not technically right now because I finally put her on her play mat again, but for some reason it worked like a charm this time. She's calmed down quite a bit and she's just checking out her little buddies on the mat now. But seriously girl. This was 45 minutes straight - she's never cried like this! And typically when she does, it's because she's very tired. She rarely cries for any other reason.

Maybe she's going through a growth spurt - just eat and sleep all day. I'm thinking that might be it, because we were on a good routine until today. She's slept a lot also.

Anyway, I had to post about little miss perfect. ;) Love her to death, but sheesh today has been interesting. As hard as it is, believe me, this stay at home mom stuff is absolutely awesome. Even with the yelling I'll take it!

Parenting Fails

I was playing with Avery today and I picked her up and held her upside down over my shoulder. Laughing, she says, "Put me down you idiot!" I put her down as I was busting up laughing. I said, "Where did you hear that?" She just shrugged, so I said, "It's not a very nice word to call people." All while laughing of course.

Avery and I were in her room, putting up clothes and she said something and then said "shut up." I said, "What?" She said, "What does shut up mean?" So I told her it means to close your mouth and not to talk, but it wasn't a very nice way to say that. She thought about it and then said, "Oh. I better tell Dad it's a bad word because he told you that yesterday." (By the way, he did not, at least not in that way.)

After our dryer fire (after I broke down crying because I had been so scared), Avery and I were playing with her dolls. She told me Jessie was scared of the fire. So I said, "Oh, Jessie, there's nothing to be scared of it, it's okay." Thinking perhaps Avery herself was actually scared, I said, "Avery, there's nothing to be scared of you know." She said, "Yeah, I know, I was pretending Jessie was you. The firemen took care of the fire."

That girl just has so much knowledge, plus she's so funny.
And here is NOT a parenting fail:

AVERY
FGGYFTF RTTYUUFTFDFJJKKVVVVFFUUGGDDYDDTDTYY 1234567890


That was Avery typing her own name and then adding her own little special message to this post. :)

**Disclaimer, I really don't feel like a parenting failure. I just assume there's probably a better way to do things and sometimes I don't exactly get it the first time. But seriously when she calls me an idiot, I have a hard time NOT laughing... she has no clue what that means.

Attitude Chart

Check out our awesome attitude chart we've been using in our house. When I started it out, I felt like we were in the bad more than the good - which is when I decided to "start fresh" each week, not day... now that she understands it, we are back to starting it each morning. At first, I felt like we were in the "bad zone" every single day. :( It was sort of depressing. But now that she understands what happens (bad attitudes get things taken away, like television, while good attitudes get special treats like a movie/tv show or an ice cream), she is really getting the hang of it. As soon as it dips into the "bad zone" she will do something very good and change her attitude, and we're back up in the "good zone!"


Do you see this?! This is where it is today and where she ended yesterday AND the day before! So proud of her!!

Hadley's Baby Dedication

2 Sundays ago was our baby dedication day at church, so obviously we took the opportunity to have Hadley dedicated along with other babies in our church family. My mom had previously bought the girls fancy matching dresses, and since Hadley is almost out of 0-3 month clothes (everything except pants!) I needed a chance for her to wear it fast! So my darling girls wore matching outfits that day (which Avery loves - she threw a fit the next day when they weren't matching).
I cried during the prayers for the babies and parents. There was a short time in our lives when we thought Avery would be an only child, and we were trying to accept the fact that we wouldn't have any more biological children, so that part was very emotional for me. Hadley is such a miracle, and so very precious to us.
How cute are they?!

Big News for the Naylors!!!

Due to some circumstances at work and the fact that somebody had to stay home to watch our children (daycare was just too much for us!) I am for the short time being a STAY AT HOME MOM!!! I've been a stay at home mom for the past 13 weeks, but now I will be until I find a new job. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it!

Bad Attitudes

This week, we've been trying to work on Avery's bad attitude and tantrums she's been throwing when she doesn't get her way. It's been extremely difficult - so if any parents have any advice, I'll gladly take it. We're working on correcting it, but I'm not sure if there's a better way we haven't thought of.

Bad attitude/tantrum example #1:
Avery got up in the middle of the night. Neither Andrew or I sleep well with her in the bed, so we have a pallet (still) on the floor next to our bed, which she is always welcome to sleep on. But lately she has been getting in bed with us. Sometimes we don't notice, other times we do. So this particular night I noticed and told her to lay in her pallet or go back to her bed. She shrieked, stamped her feet and cried, and woke the baby. Reasoning with her didn't work, finally she was yelled at and put back into bed. The next morning I asked her if she remembered what happened last night, she did, and so television privileges were taken away for the day.

Attitude chart:
We also started an attitude chart. It's basically some construction paper glued together. There is a starting point, in the middle (was going to do daily, but decided to do weekly), and 3 colors going down on the not so good side (uh-oh, warning, trouble) and 3 colors going up on the good side (keep it up, good work, awesome work!!). I added some magnetics to the back, so it's hanging on our fridge right now. There is also a clothes pin with Avery's name on it and we slide it up and down depending on how she is. When she's bad, the pin gets moved to uh-oh. It can either go down from there, or up to keep it up. If she's good it automatically goes into the good areas (she doesn't have to "work" it up from the not so good area). This has been helping a lot because she can actually SEE how she's being warned or rewarded. Unfortunately, we have more warnings and troubles than rewards at this point, but I'm hoping this goes UP!

Bad attitude/tantrum example #2:
My parents took Avery shopping for her Top Banana snack for preschool. Apparently, she saw some donuts she also wanted, so my dad handed her the bag. Something happened and she got mad and threw the bag of donuts in the store (Oh my word, if she had done this with me - I would have been seeing red and Mommy would have needed a time out). My dad (thankfully) took the donuts away from her (although after apologizing, she did get them back). I'm not upset with the way they handled it by any means (they are grandparents, I'm glad they did anything!), but I'm upset as to where she is seeing this behavior and thinking this is okay for her behavior. It so is not!

So, we're just going to keep taking TV away (she constantly wants to watch a movie and her movie of the day is a big treat to her). I'm hoping this will help her understand that she cannot keep throwing these types of tantrums. This 3 year old phase is rough! I'm so over it. So, like I said, any advice is welcome here. This is my first time dealing with this. Maybe I'll be an expert by the time Hadley goes through this - or perhaps, my sweet little itty bitty (really not so itty bitty) baby girl will make life easy for Mama and stick with her happy personality - it's so easy to please her! :)

Yay!

Got an unexpected call on Friday. Due to our sitter situation, I was offered an extended maternity leave - an extra week to stay at home with the girls. I happily accepted it (even if it is unpaid and I haven't received a paycheck in over a month). I'm just so happy I got this unexpected extra week at home with the girls. Now I won't be going back until Hadley is almost 13 weeks old. I'm excited to be here for this 12 week mark - not sure why, but it seems rather important to me. :)
Last week, I had a cold the whole week! I said before that my sore throat had gone away, but it ended up turning into a laryngitis/runny nose/cough thing. And the cough has been unpleasant and rather annoying. Andrew won't even sleep in the same room with me because I cough all.night.long. It's been exhausting. And I told him it figures that I'd end up sick my last week at home. My cough is still lingering, but it's not near as bad as it has been and I've been sleeping better at night, so this week should be great!

Onto the girls:
Avery has been doing great at school. She's been writing her name well, and the teachers said she doesn't even have to look at her name to write it. That was something we've been working on for a while - spelling and writing her name. She's very good at it. She could spell it out loud for over a year now, but now she's writing it no problems. I still feel like she has a hard time recognizing all of her letters, but little by little I've noticed she's gotten better. In school, they have been working on colors and shapes. Shapes have always been Avery's "thing." She notices shapes and will point them out, all the time. She's been doing that for about a year and a half now. So I'm hoping she does well when they move over to the alphabet. I also noticed she's picking up her numbers too - she can see a number and point it out (1 through 9 - she hasn't quite gotten the hang of two numbers together).
We still have challenges throughout the day with tantrums, random crying/stomping her feet (when she doesn't get her way) and getting dressed - ALWAYS getting dressed. It doesn't matter if she picks it out or I pick it out, the results are the same. Typically I let her dress herself within reason (she has to wear tennis shoes to school, for example, and weather-appropriate clothes), but sometimes I will make her wear a specific outfit (today for church, we matched the girls for Hadley's baby dedication). Regardless of how the outfit is chosen, she does not want to physically get dressed. She also doesn't like getting her hair brushed (though once we start, she's fine and will sit through whatever I do to her hair) and she hates brushing her teeth (which is frustrating, she already needs to see the dentist for a cleaning). The age of 3 is absolutely way harder than I ever expected it to be. I was dreading two. But three so far has been much worse.

Hadley is starting to laugh, and she loves to smile and coo. she's still an easy going baby for the most part. It's 9:21pm and we're winding her down and getting her ready for bed. Once she goes down, she'll most likely be out until about 6:00am or so. She is becoming more interested in her play toys, so we do a lot of time under her play mat (until she gets mad and we stop). Tummy time is still a fail. She is a bit lazy and doesn't like to lift her head still. But I still make her do it every day. She'll thank me for it later in her life (when her head isn't flat in the back).

Still love seeing them together. Avery is by far the sweetest girl to her. She just told her Daddy, "She's so adorable!" And she pats her belly/rubs her head when she's tired to help her go to sleep. One night I came in, and Andrew was unloading/loading the dishwasher and the girls were on the couch. Andrew said Avery was "babysitting" Hadley. I check on them and Avery is putting her pacifier in her mouth and reading her a story. She's going to be an awesome babysitter some day! I can't wait to see their relationship grow stronger as they both get older.

Andrew wants to have one more, and I'm inclined to do so in a few years. I know he wants a boy, and of course, I would LOVE a boy, but I'd also love a girl so that all 3 sisters could be super close like I am with my sisters. I think it would be awesome. :)

So It Begins...

This is my last official week of maternity leave. I go back to work a week from tomorrow. I cried a little about it today. The past 12 weeks have by far been the best 12 weeks of my life up to this point (with 2 girls, I'm sure eventually I'll have some other wonderful weeks ahead of me). But seriously - best 12 weeks of my life. And cuddling for an afternoon nap with Hadley made me cry. I'll still get those times with her. I'm still keeping my Fridays off and I'll have Saturdays and Sundays with the girls. Plus the occasional vacation day with them. But I couldn't help crying. My days have been so wonderful. I get to spend time with both girls, then I get alone time with Hadley in the afternoons while Avery is at school. The times with that baby are sweet because it only seems fair that she gets me alone sometimes since Avery has had me alone for a whole 3 years and a few days. We mainly just cuddle and nap during those times. Sometimes we shop (she loves to ride in the car and be pushed around, so she gets a good nap in during those times). And lately we've also been playing a bit, which is fun. It's really fun to see her developing. They develop so fast at this age. It's amazing.
But alas I'm back to work in one week. Really savoring this week. And really trying to remember that although I'd rather be at home, work isn't that bad and the money is always a plus, right?? It means more outings with the girls, like our upcoming Toy Story 3 on Ice event Friday night (excluding Hadley on that one, she isn't quite ready for that yet). But it will be fun to do more things like that with the girls. Santa probably has some pretty good ideas about fun tickets he can buy us for such events.
I caught Avery's sore throat Friday night which I was pretty upset about, thinking it would lead over into my last week at home. But the good news is that it only lasted a few days and Hadley has yet to catch it (hoping it stays that way).
I have a major feeling this week is going to fly by. And next Sunday's post may be a lot less upbeat - by then, I may be sobbing and refusing to go back. :) We'll see how this last wonderful week goes.

Hadley gets better, Avery gets sick

Hadley is feeling much better from her shots on Thursday. Praise the Lord we didn't have any more shriek-fests from her. She's her normal and happy little self. However, Avery started out with a hoarse voice on Friday. It turned into a cough yesterday. And this morning, we woke up to her running a slight fever with a sore throat. We knew going to Oklahoma last weekend ran the risk of Avery or Hadley (or, God forbid, both girls) could catch whatever it was that Addy had. We were hoping since Addy had been fever-free for over 24 hours that wouldn't happen. And truthfully Avery gets pretty knocked out from allergies and sinuses, so there's no telling if this did in fact follow us home from Oklahoma.
So, today, Sunday, we are skipping church (I feel like I have to do that a lot, but Andrew has previous obligations at church this morning) and staying home. Avery is confined to my room (to watch movies) and her own bedroom to keep her away from Hadley. And we're hoping that nursing Hadley has given her lots of immunity to these pesky little viruses.
Avery is really acting okay - her normal self - which makes me think it is just allergy/sinus related. This is pretty much what happens when she has a sinus infection. She's sad she can't be around the baby. She just loves her so much, it breaks her heart. Hopefully, the fever and cough cease by tomorrow so Avery can still go to school - she's missed at least one class each week for the past 2 weeks and I'd hate to start off another school week the same way. Praying it's gone quickly!

Hadley is 2 Months!

On Monday, the 5th, Hadley turned 2 months old. I can't believe how fast time is flying by.
We took her to the doctor today for her 2 month check up and first round of shots from the office. Ugh. Have I mentioned I hate shots?
Hadley weighs 12 lbs now and is 23 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for both weight and height. Her head is in the 50-75th percentile (even though I think she has a pretty big looking head, she's well rounded I guess!).
Poor baby got some oral medicine (which she first didn't like, then she started sucking hard on it) and she got 3 shots in her thighs. Avery wanted to hold Hadley's hand while she got her shots, so she grabbed a hand and I kinda held the rest of her body. Well, once that first shot was in and Hadley shrieked, Avery was gone and when I looked at her, her lip was quivering and her eyes were full of tears - poor girl couldn't take Hadley getting the shots!
Hadley's face turned bright red and she was barely gasping for air in between her screams. I laughed, but only because I couldn't really do anything else! I fed her to make her feel better and fed her some more when we got home. She was a little fussy, but the nurse let us give her some Triamincin before they started the shots. By the time we got home, I think it had kicked in a little. She was pretty happy for the most part the rest of the night, quiet.
Well, she typically eats between 8 and 9 and then goes down for usually an 8 to 9 hour stretch of sleep (love her). She's a fairly easy baby at night. So I woke her up to feed her about 9 and she did good for most of it. But then she just started screaming and shrieking, very unlike Hadley at all. 45 minutes of this later, I had called the doctor and gave her some more Triminicin, and the Graco SweetPeace swing was my last resort - and it worked! Whew.... so that's why I'm up still, supervising Hadley while she tries to sleep a bit in her swing. The doctor said some babies just react that way, and could cry that hard for 3 hours or so. If it goes longer, we should take her in, but I think she just may have been uncomfortable from those silly shots. :( Here's to hoping tomorrow is a pain-free day for Hadley!

Weekend Update with the Naylor Girls

Oh how I miss the old weekend updates... they used to be so funny. :)

Anyway. This past weekend, Labor Day weekend, Andrew and I had plans to take the girls to Oklahoma City to visit his brother and wife and our two beautiful nieces. Addy, our oldest niece, turned 3 on September 5th! So, pretty much Labor Day weekend is Addy's birthday weekend, and we've went the past 3 years. We almost didn't get to go as Addy was sick last weekend. But her doctor said it was a viral infection and instead of leaving Friday afternoon, we left Saturday morning, after she had been fever free for about 24 hours. Our drive there, which typically takes about 8 hours, took about 9 1/2. We had to stop a few times for Avery to go to the bathroom and I think we stopped twice to feed Hadley. Hadley did amazing on the drive. We rarely heard from her except for when she needed to eat. Avery did not like the long drive and kept asking for Addy.
My favorite line from Avery: "I just can't stay in here much longer!" Talk about a drama queen! (She gets it from her father, haha.)
Our weekend there was pretty good, but the temps (which had been well over 100 for the past several weeks) dropped to the 70s/80s, which was disappointing for Addy's party as the second half was a pool party! But the chilly weather didn't stop Avery or Addy, who enjoyed an hour or so of swimming with their dads. Unfortunately, I had only packed us tank tops and shorts, since it had been so hot! We had to borrow some jackets from the girls. I won't make that mistake again!
We decided to stay through Monday and drive home Tuesday, so we did some BBQing and enjoyed our last day there. Addy still wasn't feeling so great on Monday, which was a bummer, but she did enjoy her fancy Thomas the Train toy! (And so did Avery.)
Tuesday, our 8 hour drive home took about 10 hours - not too bad between stopping for bathrooms, feeding the baby and a late lunch break at Lambert's Cafe!
All in all, Hadley's first road trip was an overall success! She even slept late a few morning, sleeping for 10 hours one night! Yes, my baby rocks!! :)

Interesting Day

Today, I juggled one sick 3-year-old with one very happy almost-2-month-old. It wasn't the most fun, but it worked! I made it work! Woohoo!
Avery was up literally all night long. I think I got a few hours of sleep here and there. It's sad when your 3-year-old keeps you up more than your almost-2-month-old. Anyway, after that awful night, I got up this morning, fed both girls and started to get ready. When I got out of the shower, Avery was whining, saying her body hurt and she couldn't fall asleep. I finally got her to fall asleep (thinking she just needed some rest), but 40 minutes later she was back up, whining and crying again. At that point she wasn't running a fever, but I went ahead and gave her some Advil. I also called the school and let them know I was keeping her home for precautionary measures (I'd hate her to actually have something and give it to someone at school). I'm glad I kept her home because she just had a whiny/crying day today. Not sure if it's the beginning of some allergies/sinuses (running nose, slight cough, and just feeling yucky) or if it was from lack of sleep. She's feeling much better now, so she'll be back to school tomorrow (I hope - and hope we have an easy night of SLEEP tonight!). I kept her in her room or my room the whole day, entertaining herself with toys, books and a few movies. If she had a virus, I wanted to keep her clear from Hadley.
As for Hadley, she is just the happiest little baby on the block! That girl was all smiles today, with barely any tears (not that we have many anyway).
She is also sleeping 7-9 hour stretches at night (I know, right?) and she is just starting to stretch out her feedings from 3 hours during the day to about 4 - 4 1/2. Still eating fast, still growing like a weed (just starting filling out her 3-6 month sleepers!), and still my just happy as a lark little girl.
Andrew had youth tonight, so he was only home from work for about 10 minutes before leaving again. So I really was practically all alone with both girls today.
I think I handled it pretty well. :) Now, when both girls are home sick and I'm dealing with that all day.... well, we'll see how I handle it then. :)

First Day of Preschool

Today was Avery's first official day of preschool! A few weeks ago, we went and did her screening, where they determined if she would go full days or half days. She goes to Miss McGill's class every day, Monday through Friday, from 11:30 am - 2:00 pm. Last Friday was orientation. She got to go through the milk line, eat breakfast, check out her classroom and take a short bus ride (with Mommy right by her the whole time). So today was our official day, where Andrew and I dropped her off for the first time. She's never been to daycare. The only thing close to this is dropping her of at Sunday School, and we're just right downstairs the whole hour and fifteen minutes that church lasts. So, this was a pretty big deal for us. There were absolutely no tears (on Avery's part anyway) and she went right in, sat down and started on a puzzle. Andrew and I gave her kisses and left her there. I swear, once I got home I just sat and watched the clock until it was time to go pick her up. Hadley and I were waiting outside and once the bell rang, we went right in to get her! And she was super happy to see us - she had her backpack and a big smile on her red face. She said she had just played outside and it was so fun. And she missed me, but would be able to come back to school tomorrow. Once we got home, she told me that if she didn't go back her friends would miss her... so that's why she has to leave me and Hadley and go back to school tomorrow.
I'm so glad she loved it. I know this will be good for her. She needs to be around other kids and used to following directions and playing nicely. I think this will really prepare her for kindergarten (which is only 2 short years away!). I can't believe how big she is... and I'm sure I'll have lots of future stories about preschool!

My Awesome Girls

Here's an update on my absolutely fabulous girls....

Hadley:
Hadley is a rockin' awesome baby! She eats fast - like super fast. I checked the phone last night when she got up at 4:32 and she was done eating, including a change, by 4:45. Love it. And at night, she pretty much goes right back to sleep. I swaddle her up, rock her for a few minutes, lay her down and turn off the light. Sometimes I'll have to get up to put her pacifier back in her mouth, but most of the time she just goes back to sleep. I love her! She's also awake more during the day and she is pretty happy - she's focusing more on faces and people and loves being talked to. She smiles and coos. So cute.
The only challenge we're working on is tummy time. She doesn't like to work on holding her head up. She'd rather just put her head down and take a little nap. I'm hoping to get her to lift her head up more this week and strengthen those neck muscles!
Other than that, like I said, my baby is awesome! :)

Avery:
Avery is just about the most awesome 3-year-old I know! She is so smart and funny - but along with that comes her attitude (she gets it from me). Avery was screened for the pre-k program our school district has. We want Avery to experience a classroom setting, with a teacher and other kids, following directions, etc. without paying an arm and a leg for it. Unfortunately, the majority of this program is for kids at risk and Avery doesn't really fit into that category. From what I've gathered, the preschool is either a full school day, or a half day (2 1/2 hours) either in the morning or the afternoon. The really at risk kids do the full day. We're hoping Avery can get a spot in the half day program. Especially because she had an awesome time at her screening last Friday. She got to play, do a vision and hearing test, draw a picture, cut some paper (scissoring, as she called it), and play with some other kids. She absolutely loved it. She burst into tears when she had to leave. That's why I want her to get in to it so bad. She wants to play with other kids and go to school. We should hear back from this week, so I'm hoping we get some good news! I know she's excited. Other than that, she's been adjusting well to Hadley being part of our lives. She absolutely adores her and is very attentive to anything Hadley related. Her new funny saying: "Holy guacamole." Andrew and I love it. :)
Challenges with Avery include the aforementioned attitude (typical 3-year-old behavior) and some jealousy issues regarding Hadley (typical sibling rivalry I suppose).

So, like I said, and like you can see from reading, I have some pretty awesome daughters. They just make my days so much better than I could ever imagine. I seriously cannot imagine my life without either of them. I'm so excited when I think of all the fun things we're going to get to do as they both get older. We have some awesome times ahead of us!!

Hadley's Birth Announcement

I just finished up Hadley's birth announcement, thanks to McPeek-Smith Photography for the amazing pictures! Shutterfly helped me create it. :)

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

The Magic House

Avery has been begging us to take her back to The Magic House. We went a few months ago when her cousins were in town, and any time she sees the picture of her and Daddy with their hair sticking up from the static ball she would practically cry while asking us to take her back.
So, we had planned to take her during our week home with Daddy. Imagine my surprise when last week Andrew told me he purchased a membership to The Magic House from Groupon. Normally $150, this $75 deal includes free entrance for our entire family for a year, 10 free guest passes, a $5 gift card, 10% off food and gift shop purchases, and a members only entrance (I could give or take that last one, ha!).
At $8.75 a person, 6 visits will more than pay for this Groupon deal. Plus, Andrew thinks it will be something fun we can do more in the winter/spring months when we need to get out. And with the way Avery has been asking to go, we may visit a few times each month!
So, we took Hadley to her first big outing for several hours. And she did great! I used my Moby wrap to keep her nice and cozy and close, which was easier than waiting for the elevator.
It was by far the most crowded experience we've ever had there, but we don't typically go during the summer hours. But Avery had a blast, and that's all that mattered. She cried when we left (not a big fit, just a few tears) and then begged to go back immediately. Typical Avery! :)
Needless to say, we'll be going back soon. I don't know if I could handle both girls by myself, but maybe we can kick out another visit or two during my maternity leave.
Here are me and both girls at The Magic House:

Milestones!

Well, I can't remember if smiling is technically a milestone, but it's time we start hitting those with Hadley. She smiled for the first time this week! The doctor told us to expect smiles between 4-6 weeks (which was strange, because with Avery being a preemie it was 6-8 weeks, and she smiled at 7 weeks). Hadley has been smiling in her sleep (and laughing) quite a bit lately, but the other day I was looking at her hands and feet and when I looked at her face she was looking straight at me, smiling. I'm pretty sure I almost burst into tears and my heart melted. She's so pretty when she smiles. :)
So, since that day, Daddy has been trying to catch a smile. He was working pretty hard the other day and he got some good smiles and a little bit of cooing.
And today she smiled and cooed at my mom earlier this morning and Andrew's mom this afternoon - happy Grandmas for sure!

She's holding her head up a lot more lately also. And she's staying awake a lot more.

She's still doing great at night, which is awesome for me.

As for Avery, we are struggling with a little bit of night terrors/afraid of the dark. She keeps saying she's scared of the dark, even during the day she doesn't want to go into a room if the light isn't on. She said to me the other night she was afraid of scary monsters and mean unicorns (who has ever seen a mean unicorn by the way??). We can't tell if she's honestly scared or if it's a sort of acting out type of thing because of the little sister and adjustment she's dealing with. I don't think she's totally acting out or anything, because she is an awesome kid. But when she complains about it, she gets a lot of attention, which I believe is what she wants. So I'm trying to figure out how to help her not be scared, if she is in fact really scared, and also give her some attention. Avery and I are going to go get pedicures together this week, and now that things are settling and Hadley is going longer between feedings, I'm going to try to do some date nights with Avery to give her that attention.

Overall, both girls are doing great. And I am obsessed with the both of them - and completely head over heels!! :)

Back to normal

I think we are getting back to normal between Andrew's work convention (not mine this year, hahaha!) and my illness/issues a few weeks ago. I'm feeling better, although I'm still sore, still having pain, and I am so tired for some reason... well, I have my suspicions on that. Besides getting up for a few hours each night, I don't think I'm consuming as many calories as I'm burning each day. Which would cause me to feel tired, and would also explain why I've already lost more weight than I gained while being pregnant (I'll take that side effect). But I'm working on the eating thing. Trying to include lots of healthy snacks throughout the day and drink lots of water.

So, this week, we've been painting. Since school supplies are on sale and prevalent in the stores, I bought Avery some washable water colors and she has loved abstract painting. She's so good, these could go in a museum one day. Just sayin'.

When I ask her if she wants to do a project, she typically wants to just paint for a while. She did not like the footprint picture we made Daddy. We made a bee. She hated getting paint on her foot. She literally screamed when I did it, but since it was on, I made her finish it, hah. (I'm such an awesome mom.)

We've also taken time to do tummy time with Hadley and "we" (I) will read Hadley (both girls) some books before afternoon nap.

In the morning, we take our time getting up though and typically she will watch a movie and eat breakfast while I feed Hadley and watch a few episodes of one my shows.

Then I either nap or watch some more episodes of something I'm trying to catch up on during afternoon nap, which is usually about 2 hours, but has stretched to 3 - 3 1/2 hours (love those days, because then I can nap AND watch a few shows).

I also took both girls to church last night for the first time by myself. Not too bad... I'm getting a little braver about venturing out with both of them alone. One big concern with that is the nursing with Hadley, but she loves driving in the car and being in her car seat so much, if I feed her right before I leave she will stay asleep the whole 3 hours we are gone.

Hadley turns one month old tomorrow. I go back to work about 2 weeks before she turns 3 months. This is going by way too fast. :(

In my dreams...

Hadley turns one month old at the end of this week, Friday to be exact. We'll be celebrating the day by going to the doctor, where she'll probably have to have a shot or two. :( I hate that. Avery hasn't had to have a shot in a while, and I'm nervous about the day that she'll have to again. Which will probably be next summer.

Anyway. One whole month has passed since my sweet baby girl was born. A month that has simply rushed by. Last week, in the doctor's office, I kept telling people she was 2 weeks old. Really she was closer to 3 1/2. I totally skipped quite a few days there, apparently.

The weirdest part is that I've only "known" her for one month. It's only been one month since I saw her light red hair for the first time. One month since I noticed her nose was very similar to her big sister's. Since I counted and awed over her long fingers and toes. Since I found out she makes lots of baby noises in her sleep, as well as laughing. Since I found out that when you open her diaper up for a diaper change, 1 out of 2 times she will poop and pee again.
One month since I saw her gorgeous face and fell head over heels in love with her.

The funniest part though is that I feel like I've known her my whole life. Perhaps she was the baby girl I dreamt about since our first miscarriage after having Avery, which was about 2 years and a few months before giving birth to Hadley. I've seen her in my dreams, yet she's more gorgeous in person than she ever was in my head. Whether it's true or not, I just have a familiar feeling in my chest when I look at her.
I know you... I always have.

I tried to explain this feeling to Andrew, this feeling that I just know her. Her face is not unfamiliar to me. I didn't really feel this way until we got home from the hospital. Maybe I'm the only mom that thinks the "switched at birth thing" could happen to me, so I kept trying to memorize what she looked like before they'd take her to the nursery. It wasn't until her features changed from the newborn chubby baby face into more of an infant's face that I started feeling that way. She just looks so familiar to me.
Maybe it's just a mother thing, but to me, it's because I've met her before. In my dreams. She had been there all along. It was a long road to travel to get to her, but she was always there, I just didn't know it.

Overthinking

I am notorious for over thinking things. Researching something until my head is spinning. When we got pregnant, I only did about a thousand hours worth of research on baby items. And getting it all back out with Hadley, I'm still pleased with what I chose and why I chose it (except for a pump - I should have bought the more expensive pump!). I also only read a ton of books on births (all natural, no c-sections, quite the shock when we were told she was breech and only coming via c-section - I had to make my sister bring me my birth book so I could read that part...). And of course I did a bunch of reading about taking care of a newborn, so I felt fairly prepared for taking care of Avery.
So, anyway, back to my post: Hadley will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and it was time to introduce a bottle to her. As much as I would love to exclusively breastfeed her, I do plan on going back to work when she's about 12 weeks old, and from what I've read 3-4 weeks old is a good time to introduce a bottle if you have a good breastfeeder. And yeah, that's all from tons of articles I've been reading about introducing a bottle in the past week. I was stressing about it and over thinking it.
What if she takes a bottle, then gets confused and doesn't want to nurse again??
What if she will never take a bottle and I'll have no other way to feed her when I'm not here?

Well, we went ahead and gave her about an ounce that I pumped earlier in the day when she was ready to eat, but not too hungry (that's what the articles say to do). They also say to switch the baby halfway through the feeding, from one side to the other. Oh, and don't shove the nipple in her mouth, make her take it like when she's nursing. Make sure she's sitting up and not laying back. Is she taking it? Is she? What's wrong with that nipple? Is the milk supposed to be in it like that?

That was me, to Andrew, the entire feeding. I hovered around him while he was trying to feed her, like a nervous bird or something.

Turns out, Hadley drank just about all of the ounce. She wasn't too fond of it. I think she expected a pacifier and was surprised when milk came out. She got this really confused look on her face and scrunched up her nose like, "You guys are completely nuts."
I nursed her the rest of the way right after she was done burping, and she was just fine. No confusion that I saw. So, it looks like we'll be introducing a little bit of milk to her in a bottle everyday until she gets the hang of it. She's going to be left with my mom and dad on Sunday while I go to church, so just in case she gets hungry during that time, I need her to at least take most of a bottle for a feeding. (Andrew is leading this weekend and I am teaching 2nd service Sunday School and would rather not leave her with the nursery just yet, and I think she'd be a distraction in class, so I need someone to watch her for a few hours.)

So, anyway, the whole giving her a bottle thing was not as hard as I expected. We never dealt with it with Avery because she was given a bottle right away in the NICU since the main goal there is to lose as little weight as possible. Full term babies can lose up to 7% or so of their birth weight without it being an issue, meaning that when moms are only producing colostrum, they can still breastfeed until their milk fully comes in within a day or two. With preemies that are already at low birth weights, you DON'T want them losing all of that weight. So, even though I was pumping and they were able to give her breast milk for about half of her feedings, she still needed high calorie food in her belly. And if she lost too much weight, they'd have to put in a feeding tube. Avery did have nipple confusion and latch issues, but she gained weight appropriately, which is all that matters.
Hadley does not have latch issues and no nipple confusion, which is the way I want to keep it. But she also needs to take a bottle at some point.

Here's to hoping that the next week of introducing the bottle goes smoothly and she catches on quickly. And that I will STOP over thinking the bottle issue and just go with the flow. And quit bugging my husband so much when he gets the chance to feed his baby. :)

Overwhelmingly Blessed

When Andrew and I first were married, we wanted a big family! Like four kids... or so... :)

Of course, things like that always change once you realize how expensive having children are and how much time it takes to take care of them. But, for us, those things changed once we started having miscarriages. There was a point where we (Andrew especially) had resolved ourselves to having just one baby. That was definitely not at all what I wanted. I just begged God, please just one more baby, please...

When we got pregnant the first time, there was this bad feeling in the back of my mind, but I just kept saying we were so blessed and would be continued to be blessed. Then we lost that baby. And we lost the next one. But boy was I right about how blessed we were!

Because then... Avery came along. A little miracle, but at the time we never thought about how much of a miracle she really was.

Three miscarriages later, we found out I had a septate uterus - a uterus with a septum (band of tissue) dividing it down the center (partially, not completely). The septum has no blood flow, so when a fertilized egg attaches to it (the area that most fetuses are attached is the back, which is where the septum was located), it can't thrive, causing multiple miscarriages.

We also found out that our doctor, a reproductive endocrinologist in St. Louis at Wash U, had never seen a patient that had a septum and had delivered a baby in the third trimester. It explained why Avery was breech and early. But it didn't explain the complete miracle she was. See, the doctor said that technically Avery attached to the "wrong" part of the uterus - but for us, that was the RIGHT part. THAT is a complete miracle. And that's probably why a septum was never caught earlier. With an almost term baby, it was probably not a thought in anyone's mind.

And then we had the surgery to get the septum removed. Even though our doctor was certain we would carry to term, I still had my reservations. And I was petrified. But here Hadley is, a perfectly healthy 8 pound baby that was born the day before her due date. Another little miracle and blessing.

My heart is so full of love for these two, and we are so so blessed. I can't imagine my life being much better than it is now. I wish I could get a snapshot of what Hadley will look like in a year or two, and how she and Avery will act together. I don't want that time to sneak up on me so quickly - hence, just a quick snapshot into the future. :) I would like things to slow down for the most part. I know it will be no time and Hadley will be talking back to me. ;)

Sometimes, when I look at both of the girls, I get this overwhelming urge to cry. Just burst into tears of joy for how much I love them. I will honestly get goosebumps when I stare at them, thinking of all of the ways we are blessed. God truly does awesome things if you let him.

First Outing Alone

Yay! I'm still alive!
I took both girls out, alone, and we made it back home safe and sound!

Thursday I have an appointment at Barnes at 11:20 am, and because this week is our work Convention, Andrew will be in STL and I will have to do the appointment alone (my parents are out of town too, as my dad is usually in charge of taking me places). I've been off my pain meds for about a week so it was finally time for me to drive myself.

It took us a while to get ready and get out the door, since Andrew usually is in charge of taking care of Avery while I feed Hadley, or changing Hadley while I take care of getting Avery dressed. But it was just me this morning, so it took quite a while. I'll have to remember that for days when it's just us and we have to get somewhere.

Today, we just were going to Walmart to pick up a few things we need and also to pick up some more craft stuff for Avery, so we can get back into the routine of our once-a-day-projects.

Getting both girls out of the car and onto the stroller was the hardest part and took a lot of time (well, to someone that doesn't like to waste time on things such as that). Annoying. But I got them both loaded onto the stroller and we went into Walmart. The only issue we encountered was how much stuff we could buy, because I couldn't very well push a stroller along with a cart, and I couldn't put both girls in the cart because that would give me even less room really (and I'll admit it here, I've mistakenly not paid for items that got lost under a car seat while in a cart).

Avery was my "helper" but she could only hold so much. So we got our stuff and got back out to the car, and I got everybody loaded fairly quickly in the hot hot heat, so I think it was an overall success.

We even had lunch with Daddy, picking him up and running home to pick up some things he needed to fax in for insurance purposes.

Overall, it was a pretty good day, so I think I'm ready for Thursday. I hope we can get a decent parking space in the parking garage; that place gets sweltering in this heat.

2nd Week Home Alone

....did not go so well. I'm sure a majority of that reason was my high fever, chills, bleeding incision and massive pain. I had to send Avery to my Dad's on Tuesday because of how sick I was and yesterday I sent her to my grandparents for a few hours during the day and then to my sister's for the night to burn off that 3-year-old energy that I can't keep up with. I'm feeling a lot better now that I have a few days' worth of antibiotics under my belt, so I'm hoping we'll be back to our normal routine next week. I'm off to finally pick up some finger paints so we can get back to our daily projects that were non-existent this week.
We have lots of hand/foot print posters to make for everyone we know this coming up week! Andrew will be in St. Louis from Tuesday night until Saturday night for our work Convention, and I'm trying to figure out how that's going to work for us and seeing him, and I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday that I guess I'll be taking both girls to by myself because this is also the week Deanette and my parents (two huge helps for us) are out of town. So, Thursday afternoon should be interesting. Perhaps we'll just hang out in St. Louis to see Daddy anyway. I'd love to say I could take the girls to the zoo or science center or something, but there's
just no way an exclusively breastfeeding mother with an incision about to burst can walk around and handle that much alone. Plus, with the way these temperatures have been the past month, it will be WAY too hot to hang out anywhere close to outside. The parking garage at Barnes is going to be hot enough.
This c-section complication has been one pain in the rear, that's for sure. I will be REALLY happy when it's gone and I'm feeling better and Convention is over so that Andrew can stay home a week with me in just a few weeks!! :)

Funny Sayings by Avery

Avery has just been doing and saying some funny things lately, so I thought I'd share...

Usually said when I'm feeding the baby and telling her to do something and she's being really slow at doing it:
"Okay, okay, stop being crabby mom." The facial expressions used during this one are my favorite.

This is in response to her Aunt Nettie asking to take Avery:
"I can't, Hadley cries when I leave."

Avery found my nursing pads and asked the following:
"Mom, are these the things for your bras that leak??"

Along the same lines, her Aunt Nettie was tickling her:
"Ouch! You're hurting my bras!" - I guess you can figure out what she thinks "bras" are.

I asked Avery if I could hold her one day (before having the c-section):
"No, because I'm dangerous."

When Dez and I went to Walgreens, she was looking at nail polish, but kept calling it "sand polish." Not sure where she got that, but when Dez said, "You mean nail polish??" she burst into laughter and kept saying the whole rest of the day, "I called it sand polish! But it's really called nail polish! I'm so silly!"

To my sister's friend Kayla when they went swimming:
"Kayla, I really like your earring in your belly button."


The list could go on and on, but sometimes I forget some things she says. She usually has me laughing several times a day. The crabby one gets me every time, when I should probably be telling her not to speak to me that way. It's just so hard not to laugh at her when she says it.

C-sections are major abdominal surgery.

I hated hearing this because I had one my first pregnancy and recovery was a breeze. I certainly didn't feel like I had just had major abdominal surgery. So as serious as the surgery is, this time I wasn't quite as scared.
But I'm having surgery side effects now. :(
Last night, I woke up about 2:00 am to feed Hadley. She ate for 20 mins on one side, but only like 5 mins on the other. My left breast loves to be engorged, so it was extremely painful that she didn't empty that one. I went ahead and pumped to help out, but it was still really hurting. By the time I made it to bed, I had started getting chills and I was freezing. I got into bed, and cuddled up next to Andrew hoping his body heat would help warm me up. I was laying on my left side. I all of a sudden started getting severe chills. My whole body was shaking and I started getting body aches. I asked Andrew to check me and he said I didn't feel warm at all, so no fever. He ended up having to get me a thick fleece blanket that did absolutely nothing to warm me up. Eventually, I realized it could be the start of a breast infection or a clogged duct or something. So I flipped from my side to my back, hoping getting off my left breast would help. The body shakes went away, but I still felt feverish with body aches. I eventually fell asleep.
About an hour later, I woke up, still chilly, still feverish, and I noticed my pajama bottoms felt wet around the elastic waistband. I woke up Andrew to check me out and sure enough, my incision had started bleeding. There were several fairly large blood spots on my pj pants. So, with his help I changed and put some dressing on it and then we took my temp: 102.
I called my on call doctor (about 4:30 - 5:00 am at this point) and when she called back, she said it could be a breast infection, an incision infection or both.
Since I already had an appointment that day, they just moved it up a few hours to see me sooner.
The doctor said it looked like a clogged duct, which could be the beginning of a breast infection, but more importantly I had a hematoma behind my incision, which had started to drain. It could drain a lot more. She started to try to drain it herself, but it hurt soo bad that she stopped and told me it would take care of itself - either drain or my body would absorb it. But this has me susceptible to infections. So for either possibility of an infection, I'm to take antibiotics and see the doctor again next week.
So, remember, that c-sections really are abdominal surgery, which means they come with their fair share of complications and side effects. Not quite sure if I'll be having major abdominal surgery in the future by choice...
HOWEVER, this does explain why it's been so painful this entire time. And it just got more painful when I had to start slowing down on my pain medication. So, I feel much better knowing that I'm not just a big baby this time around - there was really something else going on causing more pain.
Honestly, I was expecting this easy breezy (beautiful Cover Girl - couldn't help myself) - easy breezy c-section like I had last time. Kind of a drag I didn't quite get that experience. But today I was thinking, It's really hard to complain too much - we are so blessed with two beautiful girls. How'd we get so lucky?? :)

First Week Down

Hadley and Avery are making being a mother of two pretty easy. Hadley wakes 1 to 2 times a night, sleeping in 4 hr intervals throughout the night. And Avery has been fairly content with movies and playing alone, though we find our own time together throughout the day while Hadley naps. They are even letting me sleep in past 8:00 am - a huge feat for Avery!

Our first week consisted of lots of things!

For Avery, we did a few projects, learned to spell CAT, worked on our other letters and had a few outings with family (she went to breakfast with my dad and swimming one afternoon with Aunt Donea).
For Hadley, we had several visitors, she had her 1 week check up with her doctor (last Monday, and she was 2 oz shy of being back to her birth weight - yea!), we had our first outing to Target, and we went to church and my parents house for the first time.

This week, we'll be heading over to St. Louis for my doctor appointment and to pick up both girls' birth certificates (the annoying part of being born in Missouri), and probably do some more projects and welcome some more visitors.

All in all, the week went way smoother than I imagined it would. Although Hadley eats ever 2-3 hours during the day, she doesn't quite have a schedule and I thought that would end up being an issue with Avery and lunch and nap time, but it really hasn't. We're adapting well to what Hadley's needs are - even Big Sis, who has been absolutely great with her little sister (except when I was starting this blog entry, I looked over and she had her finger in Hadley's mouth - we're still working on what's acceptable vs. what's not).

I hope this week turns out similarly. I'm loving staying home with the girls and spending time with them, but the first two weeks of maternity leave just flew by. I hope the next 10 weeks do NOT!

Big Sister/Little Sister

I'm so excited to see what kind of relationship Avery and Hadley will have as Hadley grows older. Avery is completely infatuated with her little sister. We have seen only a few instances of jealousy, which are to be expected (I think).
Her Aunt Donea came over and was holding Hadley and Avery wanted Donea to play with her. When she didn't, she said, "I don't want a little sister anymore, I don't want to be a big sister!!"
And one other time she was told to eat her food and because she was just mad, she said, "I don't want to be a big sister anymore!"
She can be quite the stinker.

On to the adorable things she says:
Hadley's sleeper said "Daddy's girl" on it and Avery asked me what it said. I told her and she said, "That's not right! It should say Avery's girl!"
She told me Hadley is the cutest baby she's ever seen.
She told me she loved Hadley more than a million red m&ms (this is a big deal for Avery - she loves her m&ms).
She told me Hadley is so small and so cute and so little and she would take care of her. (Cuteness.)

So, as often as she may say she doesn't want a little sister and she doesn't want to be a big sister, she says 5 other adorable cute things about how she loves Hadley. She also really likes to be involved, like with burping or changing her. She's very interested at all times in what Hadley is doing and I will hear her talk to her and say sweet things about how she loves her and she's her big sister.

Coming from a big sister to 3 little sisters, I know Avery is going to be an excellent one. She is so caring and nurturing already, she's going to be a great big sister! Maybe one day she'll have to stick up for her sister on the playground and threaten a boy that was making her little sister cry (yes, I did this to a boy that was picking on Desiree in grade school). Because that's what big sisters do.