Sisters, Sisters

Lucy and Annie definitely look like sisters! There are slight differences between them--Annie has bigger eyes. Lucy was bald and is now blonde--which I still have a hard time believing I had a child with blonde hair. But anyway... Annie has dark hair that will likely stay in and remain dark. Annie has a little tip on her nose and Lucy doesn't. They have different fingers and toes. And completely opposite personalities. But despite their differences, there's no doubt these girlies are sisters!

See for yourself!

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

Lucy

Annie

 

 

 

So in love with these girls!

Zumba Fitness

I want to write little things about health and fitness on here once and a while. Cause it's important to me. :) So here's the first installment!

Found these old pics. She loves "working out" too. This is why I go to the gym. I get nothing accomplished if I try to exercise at home! I have a little girl who wants to exercise with (or on) Mommy. :)

I really enjoy staying fit and being healthy. I don't especially LOVE working out. But I like the results---so I do it. Ha! I would love to go to the gym and hop on an elliptical for 30 min. and call it a day. BUT, there's this little secret about weight loss and being toned. Ready? *Whispers* Doing 30 min. of cardio a few times a week is not gonna do much for ya. *Gasp!* You have to do things that are hard and not so fun. Like lifting weights. And squats (sticks tongue out in disgust). This builds muscle which burns fat well after your workout is done. It gets results. Cardio is important....don't get me wrong. If you strength train the right way you'll keep your heart rate up. It's really hard for me to motivate myself when I'm doing a series of exercises that aren't fun for me. So I try to get in my cardio and build muscle in other ways. My favorite??

ZUMBA! Love it.

It's a super fun hour of dance. I never thought I would EVER be into dancing. Me= a pretty bad dancer. :) But I was surprised at how easy and fun it is! Ok, yes. For the first few weeks you will look ridiculous.
Like this:

Found this on Pinterest. It made me smile.

I still might look like this some of the time. Haha!
An hour of Zumba will wear you out (burns up to 800 calories/hour!) and tone your muscles. The peer pressure keeps you going and the hour files by. You occasionally have to do squats (yuck). But they don't seem as bad when everyone else is doing them too. I highly recommend taking a class!

BUT....I can't always do Zumba. And I still have a few baby pounds left. So I am on a quest to find other exciting workouts. I'm going to try a spinning class next week. Yes, spinning. Like when you get on a super fast spin bike for an hour and do crazy things. I'm terrified. But anything is better than trying to motivate myself. SO, wish me luck! I will write a little segment on spinning (the good, the bad, the ugly) in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Lucy Lu at 2

26 months! What is Lucy up to?

*Loving her new role as BIG SISTER.
-She's teaching Annie the ropes around here. Lucy can't wait for Annie to be big enough to play! Lucy improvises though....coloring on her, giving her make-overs, etc. She tries to soothe Annie when she cries. Lucy gives her her binky and says, "It's ok Annie. You can stop crying." I am thankful for her sweetness! Not much jealousy. Sometimes Lucy gets sad that I can't spend as much time with her. But she LOVES Annie!

*Growing!
-Lucy weighs 28 lbs. and wears 2T-3T clothes. (Ahem, we're still working on potty training. She's not very interested in it. We're going to have a show down here in a week or two. Mommy will win!)

*Eating.
-Lucy is kind of a picky eater. She loves her milk and junk food. Ha! Chocolate, fruit snacks, cookies, chips, etc. She doesn't get these fun things as often as she might like. :) She does like mac n' cheese, lunch meat, cheese, eggs, green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, yogurt, applesauce, oranges, apples, grapes, blackberries, chicken nuggets--especially Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets! Basically "kid" food. Except she loves coffee. Totally her mama's girl! We are working on getting her to eat more like we do. It's a daily challenge!!


*Talking, talking, talking, talking, talking....
-...well beyond her years. Her vocabulary is basically unlimited. She says everything with great enthusiasm and much drama. Huge personality! She is always able to say what she wants and enjoys using big words. She speaks in full sentences. She is great at comparing things. She has a huge imagination! She loves to tell you how she is feeling. "Mommy, I'm just grumpy (or sad or happy)." She's great at making demands. Haha. :) "Mommy, I want apple juice. No, I don't want the blue cup. I want a red one." Etc.... =) It's fun to converse with Lucy! You never know what she'll say.

*Music.
-Lucy loves to sing and be sung to! She is a pro at most princess and Disney songs. She also loves her Sunday school songs and the classics---like "Ring Around the Rosy." She often breaks out in song. She was singing the B-I-B-L-E at the top of her lungs while we were grocery shopping last week. She would yell, "The Bible!" at the end. We were getting looks. :)


*Reading.
-Storytime is the best part of the day! Especially if it's with Daddy.

*Movies.
-I try to limit them....but she LOVES watching movies. Princess and Tinkerbell movies are her favorite.

*Playing.
-Lucy has lots of energy! She loves to play at the park and the gym. She is super social. Playtime is always better with friends!

*Learning.
-Lucy knows all of her colors and basic shapes. She can count to 12. She can recognize her name and spell it. She can sing the alphabet, but can only correctly identify a few letters. Like "A" and "B" and "O". We're working on them.

Lucy keeps me on my toes. Everyday is a new adventure. I am so thankful for my sweet 2 year old!
 

Finger Painting

I knew the day Lucy discovered finger painting would be the best (and quite possibly the messiest) day of her life. It's because of the messy part that I have put it off until now. Ha! Well, I wanted to do some Valentine's Day projects that required painting. We took a little trip to Target and got our supplies. Lucy was so excited! I'm sure she is now wondering why I have kept her from this fabulous activity her whole life. Yes, it was the best day ever.

She'll probably ask me to finger paint multiple times per day--like she does with Play-Doh. Another activity we discovered just recently because it's messy. Love my little artist!

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. :)

Welcome Anna Joy!

Warning: This is a birth story. So if you're not into that sort of thing ...

We have a new little princess around here. This is the story of her arrival into the world!

Let's start out by saying, around week 37 I was officially as big as I was with Lucy. So I kinda had my hopes up that Annie might come a little early. Not too early. But a week or so would have been nice. :) Well my due date came and went. Since I was induced a week late with Lucy, I figured I would probably just be pregnant forever. I stopped wondering "maybe today is the day" and just went on with life as usual.

The night before Annie was born we went to the gym. I walked as fast as I could on the treadmill for 45 min. After that we went to Target and Lucy was being fussy. This stressed me out a little and I started having pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn't think anything of it since I had BH my whole pregnancy. Plus I was going to be pregnant forever....remember? I went to bed and the contractions went away. Around 4:30am I woke up stiff and sore. I rolled over and--whoa!--a warm gush of liquid. I gasped and jumped out of bed (I had just washed the sheets! Saved them, by the way.) Immediately I began to get shaky and had serious cramping. "This is it! I don't know if I'm ready for this!" Then I realized it was Tuesday. No, not Tuesday! I've been praying for 2 things: a natural delivery and not on a Tuesday! Tuesday is my midwife's DAY OFF. I knew a natural delivery would be much harder without her. Well, she was on call till 8am so I figured a little bit of her was better than nothing. I called Jeane (my midwife) and she told me to head straight to the hospital. Once we got Lucy taken care of and to the hospital it was about 5:30. (Side note: we walked outside and it was snowing!! The first snow of the year. Lucy was born on the first snow of the year too! Dec. 7th--2 years earlier. I think it's God's way of welcoming my babies into the world.) =) Anyway, at the hospital they took me into triage and did the usual--checked vitals and asked me questions I had already answered in pre-registration (what's the point of that!). By now my contractions we pretty close together and I needed to be on my hands and knees to tolerate them. Finally the nurse decided to check my progress since she could tell I was in pain. "Oh wow, you're at a 6. Let's move you to a delivery room." Yeah, thanks. :) 6:30am--My contractions were beginning to seem unbearable. Then Jeane arrived! Praise the Lord! She immediately took over. She was so calm and was just amazing. She rubbed my back and suggested alternate positions. Not gonna lie, "I don't think I can do this without an epidural" crossed my mind a few times. Ha! I had wanted to try the tub so around 7:30 Jeane checked me and I was at 8-9cm! Hello. I got in the tub (which felt great) but within 5 min.  had to start pushing. I couldn't stop it! I said, "Jeane, tell me the truth. How much worse it this going to get?" She told me I was past the worst part. Pushing would be a relief. What? Ok. Since we didn't want a water birth we headed back to the bed. It all happened so fast! Jeane immediately told me to push. (Thankfully, pushing was a relief!) And it was amazing to be able to feel how to push since I was un-medicated. 3 pushes and Annie was born at 7:48. She cried immediately and handed her to me. Beautiful! 12 min. before Jeane was off call. Praise the Lord for answering prayer!!

Anna Joy 

December 6, 2011

7 lbs., 11 oz., 19 inches

This delivery was so different from Lucy's. With Lucy I was induced, Pitocin, had an epidural, the works. She was born happy and healthy but I was unsatisfied with the whole experience. For one, it took me a long time to recover. I knew the whole experience could be better. So this time around I decided to do things differently. I found an amazing midwife and made it a priority to exercise regularly. I tried to eat better....but ice cream always gets the best of me. :) I read some great childbirth books and talked with friends who had given birth naturally. By week 30 I was actually excited about natural childbirth! I knew that God created my body to have children. It was a natural experience and I wasn't going to die from the pain. :)

Let me say, having done it both ways....I will definitely have the rest of my children naturally! Yes, I realize a 3 hour labor is pretty much every woman's dream. But I am prepared to do this again even if labor lasts much longer. :) It was a wonderful experience. Believe it or not, it didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would. Immediately after Annie was born I felt fine and was able to walk around. I didn't have to have an IV! It was great. Recovery was a million times better. The list goes on! Even my at first skeptical hubby says we will never have another baby without Jeane! :)

We love our little Annie Joy! I plan on giving you all an update on her cute little self within the next few days. For now, here are some pics from her first few days!

 

Proud big sister!

Annie has lots of dark hair!

Scheming against me already.

Baby love.

Add caption

Back to Blogging

*Pardon My Dust* --Ha. I'm giving the ol' blog a little makeover and it's not quite finished yet!

Hello. It's been awhile. I've truly missed blogging and am resolved to keep this thing updated! I guess between having a baby, the holidays, traveling, getting no sleep, trying to keep up on housework, trying to get a shower or even lunch, trying to get back into shape, two ER visits (one for each girlie), one hospital stay, and what seems like the never ending cycle of sickness......I just haven't had a chance to blog. Hmm. Yeah, it's been a little crazy around here. :)

What's in the works? 

*I'm writing some update posts on Lucy and Annie. I haven't even written about Annie's birth! And Lucy turned 2!! I have so much to catch up on. 

*My favorite recipes

*Health and exercise stuff 

*Sermons and songs that have encouraged and challenged me

*Pinterest crafts---if I ever get the time to do anything I see on there!

 *Basically just the happenings of life. 

You have lots to look forward to!

Taken on Christmas. My little Princesses.

For now I just want to say how thankful I am for my church and church family. Pastor Mike just started a new series on heart issues--and wow--I can't wait to go back Sunday to hear the next sermon! They have been so convicting and encouraging. And we're just getting started! The last couple of messages on the wounded heart have been exactly what I've needed. I think every Christian needs to hear these! So if you're needing something to listen to.... :)  Here's a link to the blog (a must read!) and it's easy to find sermons from there. Countryside Heartbeat.  You'll be blessed! 

Our family of 4!  And before you start wondering why my baby is out in the snow in only a sleeper...it was 60 degrees. :)