Be Happy

That's something we've had to practice in our house recently. Being happy. The last two weeks of parenting have been hard. Friends have been telling me for a while now that three is much harder than two, and sometimes four is even worse. Eli has seemed to do a lot of things on the early side, and it looks like we're experiencing the 'horrible 3's' a few months before making it to three. He walked early, he talked early, and now he's become the ultimate sass talking and authority on everything three year old that we'd been warned about. It's exhausting! I rejoice every time I see a glimpse of his sweet old self, and praise Jesus that he's still in there! Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it does seem that way some days. Thankfully, there are more good days than bad. I've spent a lot of time in prayer asking for extra strength and patience. Asking for the ability to show grace and understanding. Asking for the right words to share with him, and that maybe, just maybe some of them will register! I know it's a God thing when Eli comes up to me 20 times a day and says "I love you SO much mommy." And then immediately finds his sister and tells her the same thing. This parenting thing is not easy, and it only gets harder as they grow. I'm so thankful that we're not on our own in this! And since I started writing this a few days ago and never finished, I'd like to report that my happy boy seems to be back :). HE never gives us more than we can handle...thankfully!
We started using a little sticker behavior chart this week. I think it's definitely helped. Just a little visual representation of his good choices throughout the week. He gets a sticker for things like using nice words, saying please & thank you, not arguing with mommy & daddy, and listening the first time. The last one being his biggest challenge most days.
I'm very thankful that he's still so smitten with Layla, and hasn't shown a bit of jealousy yet. He is so proud every time he makes her smile, and very loudly announces that, 'Layla likes me!!' I pray that she always does! :)

Aunt Katie took some more extra sweet pictures while they were in town. So fun to look at the differences between her newborn and 6 week photos.
Can't get enough of her squinty eyed side-mouthed smiles!
She loves her daddy!
Couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to spend each and every day with my two little blessings. The hard times, silly times, sick times, tired times you name it! There's simply no other job in this world that I'd rather be doing.

2 Months

Precious girl…

You are two months old today! You are the happiest, most smiley baby, and we couldn’t be more absolutely crazy over you! Here’s a little bit of what you’re like at two months old…
*We think you weigh around 11 pounds, but we’ll find out for sure on Monday!
*You had a huge growth spurt right around 6 weeks. You wanted to eat constantly, and had a few rough nights of sleep.
*You love your crib at night, but would much rather nap in the swing or bassinet during the day. We’re working hard to break that. Mommy is much more relaxed this time around though!
*You would still spend 24 hours a day in your swing if we let you.
*You are sleeping really well at night. You have been waking once to eat, around 3 or 4, and then going back to sleep until at least 7. Last night you slept through the night! You slept from 10:30-5:45, and then went back to sleep until 9!
*Your schedule isn’t quite the same everyday yet, but you’re getting closer to being in a great routine.
*We found that you LOVE being snuggled up to mommy in the backpack. This has made trips to Target and the grocery store much more manageable. I love that it keeps you from being in your car seat all of the time too. (Thanks Aunt Katie for the backpack :) )
*You are nursing every 3 hours during the day. You are a great eater, and have the chins to show it :).
*If you’re awake and have a full belly, then you’re smiling.
*Your second favorite spot to hang out is on our bed. Every night after your bath you spend at least 30 minutes there smiling and talking to the fan.
*You love to ‘play’ on your activity mat, and your big brother loves it when you do! He thinks you’re such a big girl when you swat at one of your toys ;).
*You are starting to have a little more awake time during the day now. We love hearing your happy noises when you’re nice and awake!
*Eli still loves having you ride in the car with him. He tells mommy when your ‘eyes are awake,’ and when you look sleepy.
*You’re starting to lose some of your hair on the top, just like your brother did at this age! Your new hair coming in looks much lighter.
*You know when its bath time every night, and you get so excited about it! You get your arms and legs going a mile a minute with excitement.
*You have a love/hate relationship with the car seat. Sometimes you scream until we get out of the neighborhood, and then you’re fast asleep. Just in the last week you’ve started staying awake and happy in your seat a little bit more.
*You are finally smiling at more than just the wall! As soon as you find our face you just light up. You’re also trying to copy sounds that we make. I just love our little talks!

You are such a blessing, sweet girl. Your little personality is starting to blossom, and we’re loving it! I’ve learned to let things like laundry and dishes pile up more than usual, just so I can spend those extra quiet moments with you. Those moments where you smile and coo for an hour straight. Please, please don’t grow up too fast!

Cousins

This past weekend, Layla got to meet three of her cousins! Katie, Charles and the boys came down for the weekend, and we got a lot of sweet time together. Eli loved every second of his time playing with the boys at Nana and Pop Pop's house, and I think the boys were over the moon about their newest cousin. I always want to remember Chase's reaction to meeting Layla. This 5 year old boy LOVES babies. It's so sweet. He probably asked to hold her 500 times over the weekend, and I felt so bad that I couldn't say yes every time. If he wasn't holding her, then he was close by most of the time asking me about her and just loving on her.

Jacob couldn't wait to hold her too. They've both had lots of practice with their little brother, so they new just what to do.
Layla even passed a few smiles his way :)
We spent most of the weekend over there, which really gave everyone a chance to finally see her during awake times! Poor Nana and Pop Pop hadn't seen much of this girls eyes. Nana had lots of sweet chats with her, and we were all working like crazy to bring out her sweet smiles!

Aunt Katie got lots of snuggles and smiles too!





Jacob and Eli have become the best of buds, and it's just the sweetest thing to see! They play so well together, and are into the same things. I love that they're becoming stuck at the hip everytime we're together now!
Jacob even showed Eli how to play some new games...like Go Fish! Nana has some serious patience, and played lots of games with the boys.

Nana started the tradition of bathing each of her grandbabies in her kitchen sick many years ago. She couldn't wait to get Layla in there, and Layla couldn't have loved it anymore!

This girl still loves a bath!

Always thankful for the time we get to spend with each other. So fun to see our children making memories together. Counting down the days until we're ALL together this summer!! 10 grandbabies all under the same roof!

My Valentine's

We had such a special Valentine's Day this year! Eli was really into it, and enjoyed counting down the days to 'Valentimes Days.' We had a little Vday party at our house with our lunch bunch group that was extra sweet! We made special cupcakes for our friends, and had lots of heart shaped goodies. Eli was quite the help in the kitchen in preparation for our party. I love that time with him!
I think the best part of our week has been seeing this little love bug start to smile! I can't think of a better Valentine's day gift to her mama :)
So proud of his work in the kitchen!
He took his job extra serious.

My two littlest Valentine's before our party.

Nana and Pop Pop even came over to spend some time with us on Valentine's Day! After being gone on vacation for over a week, they were anxious to come see how much Layla had changed since they last saw her. She may have slept the whole time, but they sure did get a lot of sweet snuggles!
The only smiles she gave were in her sleep, but we like those too :).
And I can't forget about the special man in my life...my all time favorite Valentine! I'm so thankful that he makes everyday feel like Valentine's Day. He always goes out of his way to show his love for me on a daily basis. Thank you Lord, for each and every day with my three loves!

Last Visit

I had my final check up with my favorite Dr. in the world today. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing relationship with my OB and his staff. I met Dr. Royal back when I was working for Dr. Weniger, and when I soon became pregnant with Eli, I knew that I wanted him to deliver my babies. He's the kind of Dr. that randomly calls just to check on you, and freely gives out his cell phone number so that you can text him anytime with questions. He's the Dr. that sits and chats for a while at every appointment. He helped make both of my pregnancies that much more special, and went out of his way to make sure that we were all well taken care of. It was a little bit bitter sweet yesterday, to think that I won't be seeing so much of them anymore. I was there for over an hour, and they all loved on our baby for the entire time. He made sure that I knew that 6 week check ups were for the sole purpose of seeing the babies, not the mommies ;). Layla's been to his office about 3 times since she was born. Each and every time he quickly gets her out of her car seat and walks her around the office, and spends time just loving on her. I finally remembered to take my camera today and get a picture of them together. I hated myself for missing that opportunity at the hospital.

He's already started working on us about baby #3. I laughed and told him that I'll just stop by the office to say hi occasionally, instead :).

5 Weeks

Baby girl is 5 weeks old today. Hard to believe! I woke up this morning feeling tired, yet extra blessed. It's the best kind of tired in the world. Soon she'll be sleeping through the night, and I'll be wishing she were this little again. I really love our time together in the middle of the night. The other night Layla had her very first bottle. Daddy and Eli were so excited to share that time with her. She never hesitated and finished the entire bottle. However, she was NOT happy when she realized the bottle was empty. My girl likes to eat!
This is her favorite sleep spot during the day. And this position is what her daddy refers to as, 'broke neck.' :)


We made it to church this past Sunday for the first time as a family of 4. I had the whole morning all planned out and started extra early, but it was still CRAZY trying to get out of the house on time. So crazy that I forgot to take any pictures, which I absolutely hate. Layla slept from the time we pulled out of the driveway until the time we arrived back home. She went to church for the first time...but doesn't know it yet :).

Eli's spending some time at 'school' today playing with friends, while I get some things done around the house. I have mounds of medical paperwork and bills to go through and send off, and some quiet snuggle time with my girl on the agenda for today.

A new week

This week has been an unbelievable turnaround from last week! It's been all about settling into our new routine, and finally feeling well enough to function again. I still find myself in shock that we have a new baby, even now, at 4 weeks later. I turn on my computer and see pictures of a baby girl, and am overcome with emotion that she's ours. I wake to her sweet noises in the middle of the night and just lay watching her sleep. I feel overwhelmed at what the Lord has blessed our family with. Two healthy babies. Two precious gifts. And an unbelievable husband and partner for me to raise them with.

She took her first nap in her crib!
Eli is still SO interested in his 'new baby sister' as he calls her. He still wants to be a part of every diaper change, and acknowledges every little noise she makes. He tells us often that he loves her.
Mimi sent a package to us filled with some 'post sick-week' goodies. Eli especially loved his marshmallow cupcake sucker...and who wouldn't?!

This little gal couldn't enjoy her cupcake treat...so she wore hers instead :).

Layla FINALLY got to enjoy her first real bath! Poor thing was in desperate need of a good scrub down when her umbilical stump finally fell off. I'm thankful for another baby who absolutely loves bathtime. She gets so relaxed and loves every second of it. This face just says it all! She closes her eyes and puts her little nose up in the air. Cutest thing ever!
My mom has made a tradition of buying little girls their first baby dolls. Carter's makes the sweetest little dolls, and she had been looking all over for this for Layla. I know she's going to love it! She continues to love her swing. Whether she's awake or asleep, she's happy to be swingin'!

This week Layla has started napping more in her crib upstairs. I usually put her down around lunchtime. Eli takes it upon himself to set the video monitor up right next to him at the table so he can 'watch her' while he eats. I love this!
Last night we had dinner at Nana & Pop Pop's house. This was Layla's first trip to their house. I didn't take many pictures, but Nana had her under the bright lights in the kitchen, and she was loving it!
Bright eyed girl had a nice long chat with her Nana.
I'm so thankful for the quiet and 'normal' week that we had. I love a good routine, so it's been nice to see what our new routine looks like. My toughest job has been trying to come up with new things to keep Eli occupied around the house. We've been blessed with some beautiful January weather, which helps, but I know he'll be glad when we can get out of the house a little more. We're ready to get back into our weekly playdates and lunch outings, and we still have so many people to introduce Layla to!