Lucy and Annie

The girls had appointments with their pediatrician today. Remind me not to make any appointment so close to nap time ever again. Thanks. Lucy was wild because she was trying to stay awake and it was just a little crazy trying to talk with Dr. Kimmel while she was going nuts. Thankfully, Annie was a little angel. I wouldn't have wanted to add a screaming baby to the mix.

The girls look great! Lucy is right around 50th percentile in both height and weight. She is super advanced in speech and fine motor skills. She does these at 3-4 yr. old level.  She's still at a normal 2 yr. old level for things like running, climbing and jumping though. Kinda clumsy this one. :) She had to get an MMR shot today. Poor baby. Yes, we are on a delayed vaccine schedule. I'm pretty picky about the whole process. She was not a fan of the shot but does like her blue Scooby band-aid. Lucy is also potty training! She's doing a great job at home. I am very proud of her. Gotta work up the courage to start taking her out in just panties! =O

Annie is a little peanut. 12.7 lbs. So tiny! It's no wonder she still wakes up every few hours to eat at night. I've started giving her a full bottle of formula before bed and it seems to be helping. Hopefully she'll start getting better about sleep!! She's 86th percentile in height though. And she's advanced in other areas. She's great at tracking and rolling. She loves to be standing up and jumping. She is such a little mover! Her legs just kick constantly. Not so cuddly these days. Life is too exciting! She is a very happy baby during the days.....as long as she's getting attention. Haha! She is getting better about playing on her own though. She loves to be sung to and played with. She will sing and giggle during "Pat-a-Cake" and other rhyme songs. She is such a smiley baby. I love it!

Side note-- Favorite Parenting Item.
We got out some of Lucy's baby toys for Annie to play with recently. My all time favorite baby "toy" are these flash cards. Lucy LOVED them as a baby. I liked flash cards because Lucy would roll/crawl around and pick one up at a time. I could tell her which animal (or thing) was on it and make the animal noise. They are touch and feel and super colorful. Lucy was doing animal noises at 8 months old because of these! We were looking through them with Annie today. It's fun to watch Lucy "teach" Annie this time around.  HIGHLY recommend. You can get them at Barnes and Noble. DK brand. I use an educator's discount (early homeschooling!) and they are pretty affordable. Here's a video of Lucy doing the tiger noise at 9 months. Ahh! So cute! She has grown up too fast!

Conspiracy Theory

Some days I'm pretty sure I'll never sleep again. Just sayin'. 

I love my Annie girl to pieces--- but I think she's plotting against me. I read this blog post from some fellow mommy out there in blogger land this week. Oh my, Annie definitely got the memo! (Or maybe she authored it?) Thanks to a mommy friend for posting this on FB! Totally hilarious. 

*DEAR FELLOW BABIES*

Happy Spring!

We were playing with all of the FUN spring stuff at Pottery Barn Kids yesterday. I got some great inspiration for the girls' new room too! But the best part of the outing was this picture of Annie. 

Which happens to resemble this picture of Lucy taken at PB kids 2 years ago. =)

Happy Spring!!

This and That

Hi. My computer has been having issues this week. I finally got it to work today. In honor that, I am writing a little post about what's been going on around here.

Tuesday was my birthday! I'm 26. It's kinda crazy how fast life goes by these days. I'm in my late twenties. I'm going to blink and be 30 and my babies will be all grown up and I might just cry. Ok, anyway.

The weather has been absolutely glorious this week! Record temps almost everyday. I am in heaven! I even had to turn on the a/c. Trust me, it went against everything I believe in about saving money. But, since Annie must be wrapped up like a baby burrito to sleep and she was getting sweaty and I was afraid of her dying from over-heating, we turned on the air. Speaking of my baby burrito....I just bought her a new light-weight swaddle blanket. SO CUTE!

So back to my birthday. It was 80 degrees. The flowers were out on the trees and I wore shorts and flip-flops. It was perfect! My mom came over in the morning and we went out to grab an Orange Julius. Carey took the afternoon off work and we had a picnic at the park. Then we walked to Starbucks. We ended the day with dinner at Red Robin. The girls were extra sweet that day too. When Lucy woke up I told her it was my birthday and she got all excited and said, "OH! Happy Birthday!!" She even sang to me when we had cake. She's at a really fun stage. :)

I look a little tired in that pic.....We've been fighting colds AGAIN this week. We've had really bad coughs and runny noses. I even got it this time! Poor little Annie has been congested most of her life. Maybe this warm weather means the end of colds! I hope so!

Here's a sweet picture of sister love. Lucy was reading princess books to Annie. This was the Ariel book and Lucy was saying, "See Annie! See Ursula?" Haha! Love my little princesses. :)

Not to self: Never leave children unattended. It may result in this--

Thankfully, no babies were harmed during this incident.

Tomorrow we're having a little family day. We're celebrating Carey's 1 year anniversary at Rockhurst! Woo hoo!! This job has been the most wonderful blessing. So we're planning on eating out and maybe spending a little birthday money. Should be fun!

By the way, I LOVE daylight savings. Extra hours of daylight make me happy. Totally enjoying our early spring!!

The view from our place. But not for long! We found the townhome we'll be moving into next month! I am SO EXCITED! Lots more space and a playroom for the girls!

A Birthday and the Zoo

Tuesday was Carey's birthday. Rockhurst gives you a paid day off for your birthday. Isn't that nice of them? We think so. :) My birthday happens to be a week after Carey's. The best part about this? FREE birthday meals. And we can use them at the same time. Bonus. So we went to IHOP for breakfast--basically for free. We did get Lucy a kid's meal and we had a couple of coffees. It's great paying less than $10 to go out to breakfast!! This week we plan to do the same thing at First Watch (yum!) and Red Robin.

We had planned on taking the girls to the zoo since Carey had the day off. We almost didn't go because the weather decided not to cooperate. It was almost 70 degrees.....but 40 mph winds. We decided to brave the elements and go anyway. It was very windy. But still fun!

Lucy is at a great age for the zoo. She had tons of fun. I was so proud of her for walking almost the entire zoo! The Kansas City Zoo is a big place. She probably walked 2 miles. Annie liked being carried around the zoo--only happy in her stroller sometimes. Probably because she couldn't see any animals from in there. :)

Lucy really wanted to see the giraffes and zebras. Both were not out!! Are you kidding me? Maybe the giraffes are too tall for wind advisories? Would they blow over? Doesn't it get windy in the Savannah sometimes? Come on. Oh well, the polar bear never disappoints.

Lucy got to ride the carousel. She LOVES carousels. She was excited about riding the gorilla.

Lucy has a big personality (in case you didn't know). Here are a few pictures to give you a little glimpse. She's one crazy lady!

We had a fun day!

3 Months

Annie is 3 months old!

 I just can't imagine life without her. Yes, my nights have been sleepless and my house less than perfect. But this smile keeps me goin! :)

Annie is:

Growing-- Her cheeks are getting chubbier. And her thighs and arms are getting some extra rolls. I love baby chubbiness!!! Keep it coming. Not sure on her exact weight. She was 10.2 lbs. at 2 months. I'm guessing she's about 12 lbs. now.

Eating-- Every 3 hours. Day and night. Yep.

Sleeping-- Much better these days thanks to what I call "The Straitjacket." It's really just one of those swaddle blankets that you can Velcro shut so there's no possible way for tiny arms to escape. It's my LIFE SAVER. It only took me about 2 months to figure out that Annie will sleep blissfully as long as she is wrapped up tight like a little baby burrito. And not just any blanket will do. It must be the special swaddle blanket--with Velcro. She now naps wonderfully during the day which makes us all much happier people. She is still waking up every 3-4 hours at night. I am trying to be thankful for those times. She won't be this tiny long!

Playing-- Annie loves attention. Full attention. She loves to smile and talk and giggle! She is so expressive and CUTE as can be! Her favorite activities are watching her crib mobile, looking at colorful pictures, grabbing things and trying to fit her entire fist in her mouth.

I am so thankful for Annie! A friend sent me this article and it was much needed. Being a mommy isn't always glamorous but it is a wonderful blessing! Hope this encourages your day!

Little Miss Annie

There is a little poem. It goes like this....

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

 When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

 -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

And this poem, my friends, describes my little Annie Joy.  

Read on... 

8 weeks old! Yes, these past 8 weeks have been somewhat of a blur. I have been in serious survival mode. 

Lucy Noelle--you spoiled me kid. Never cried. When I say never, I mean never. Slept all of the time. All of the time. Easiest child ever. 

Lucy

Annie Joy--good thing I didn't have you first. I might not have any more children. =) Ok, maybe it's not that bad. Maybe. You cry. A lot. For no apparent reason sometimes. You don't sleep well. I am tired. 

The end.

Annie

Annie Belle, as I so lovingly call her. 

What has she been up to? 

When she was good, she was very good indeed...
  
*Being CUTE AS CAN BE! This kiddo is adorable! She can give the biggest smiles and sweetest coos. I just love her! She is way more expressive than Lucy was. And since Lucy is quite the little ham.... you do the math.

*Baby Acne. Poor thing! She has good and bad days. I think we're nearing the end of it....hope so!

Still cute though. :)

 *Playing. Annie loves "playing" with her big sis. She will laugh and smile at Lucy. Lucy loves to bring Annie lots of toys, read her books, and color next to (or occasionally ON) her. Annie also LOVES her crib mobile. She reserves her biggest smiles for it. I just can't compete with a twirling blue giraffe. 

*Rolling over. Yes, rolling. She got so mad during tummy time last night that she rolled herself right over! She's pretty strong--always loves to stand up. So rolling wasn't a surprise to me. She can roll on to her side from her back too. Lucy didn't roll until she was 4 1/2 months. Annie, please don't walk early too. Thanks. 

*Snuggling. Annie loves to snuggle! Sometimes I think she's sound asleep on my shoulder because she's still and quiet as can be. THEN I'll pass by a mirror and see that she's wide awake. She likes to trick me into holding her. Snuggle bug. 

*Growing. Annie lost a little weight when she was sick with RSV. But she's been eating like crazy and getting multiple chins. We go to the pediatrician Monday, but my guess is that she weighs a little over 10 lbs. She is wearing 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.

Another great shot of that baby acne. And thrush on her tongue. But she doesn't seem to mind. :)

And when she was bad, she was horrid...


 *Eating, eating, eating, eating. Every 2 hours! I am not a fan of this. BUT, go a minute over 2 hours and she thinks she's starving to death. Also, go over 2 hours and she will spiral into a fit of rage that may last for the next 2 hours, in which she refuses to eat and just gets madder and madder and madder and madder.... But wasn't eating the problem in the first place? Child of mine. Actually, the last day or so we've had a few 3 hour chunks between feedings. I am beginning to see the light. I hope it's the light. Haha! :)

Little Miss Fussy

*Not sleeping. Ok, she sleeps a little. For the first few weeks she wouldn't nap at all. Just little catnaps. Ridiculous! Babies are supposed to sleep all of the time. She didn't get the memo. She has been napping a little better the past few weeks and we are all much happier people. Nighttime is a challenge. She still has yet to go over 4 hours between feedings. Yes, I am a tired mommy.

 

 *Being sick. :( Poor, poor baby! I think this has been detrimental to her eating and sleeping habits. I really do. At just 5 weeks we were in the hospital with RSV. Praise the Lord she did so well! We only had to stay 1 night. Big sisters are great for getting you sick. Annie is on round 2 of runny nose/cough junk now. I think she's almost better. Fingers crossed! Maybe she will eat and sleep better when she can breathe. 

That's what we're up to! Even though being a mommy of 2 has it's ups and downs, I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so blessed to have my girls! 

 

Play date with Lucy

Lucy loves her baby sister.

But she is a little starved for my attention these days. 

Today I decided Mommy and Lucy needed to go on a date.

You gotta love 60 degree days in January!

Had fun playing at the park with this sweet girlie today.

 Annie tagged along. But she just snoozed while we played. :)

Thanks, Annie for cooperating!

Come on, Mom. Play!

So fun! 

We even went to Starbucks after the park. 

Lucy loves having "coffee" (a.k.a.- an entire short cup of whipped cream) with Mommy. :)