Coming soon...

A tribute to one of my favorite t-shirts. I know you're dying to read it! lol

God bless!

Adventures With Children

Boy...do I have a story to tell!!! It will have to wait a little while though. I think everyone around the blogosphere - well, anyone that reads my blog - knows that I have two young children. Julia just turned two, and Justin is 8 1/2 months. Needless to say, I have my hands FULL. Justin started crawling when he was about 6 1/2 months old, so I've been chasing two kids around all day every day. It's EXHAUSTING. Add in random sleepless nights and you get me. The walking zombie. Well...not really. I don't feel THAT tired... ha ha

One thing that has really been weighing on me is me breastfeeding the little man. We're going on 8 1/2 months now, and adding that into the every day stresses has just become too much. I decided to pump exclusively a little over a month ago. Well...I'm not keeping up with the little mans demand anymore, so I'm hanging it up. I've been either pregnant or breastfeeding for a little more than 2 1/2 years - consecutively!!! I'm ready to have my body back, I'm ready to have my freedoms back, and I'm ready to have my sanity back. I'm surprisingly OK with this decision given the fact that I was bent on making it to 1 year. Maybe I'm just not cut out for it. Or, maybe having babies that are only 16 months apart played a bigger role than I expected. Either way, we've broken out the formula, and are in the process of transitioning Justin from breast milk to formula.

We started the transition slow. On Saturday, we mixed one ounce of formula in with Justin's afternoon bottle. It went pretty well! We also mixed one ounce in with his evening bottle. Sunday, we mixed 1 oz in each of his bottles. Monday and Tuesday we added 2 oz to each of his bottles. Since my "stash" of frozen milk was rapidly dwindling, I had to be a little more pro-active. This morning, I mixed 3 oz of formula and the rest was breast milk. His afternoon bottle, however, was 100% formula! Now, I will have to continue pumping for a short period of time just to avoid the pain and discomfort aspect, but so far it's going pretty well!

Anyways...I will be heading outside to hang up our diapers on the drying rack very soon, and can't wait to enjoy the sunshine!

God bless!

Really...is this not the most ADORABLE little dress ever??!!

Source: knits4kids.com via Stacy on Pinterest

I think Julia might end up with a couple of these...with different colored boleros!!!

New signature...

And that's the sole purpose of this post! It's late...and I should be in bed. haha

Good night, and God bless!

Hello Spring!!!

It is so incredibly BEAUTIFUL outside right now. I just want to run around in the back yard with the kids some more. I see some outside crocheting in my very near future!

I'm getting so excited to get the garden started this year as well. I'm going to be planting some bell peppers which I didn't do last year. I am looking forward to some fresh veggies again this year. Hopefully everything will take a little better than it did last year! OH! And my lilacs have buds!!!

Here are a couple of cute pics I snapped the other day in our back yard...just Justin though, Julia was taking a nap at the time. :-)

God bless!

Wow.

Ever had one of those days that all you can think is "wow"? I've been having them a lot lately. I look at my little girl and think to myself "wow...just 2 years ago she was a little 5lb 2oz brand new squishy little peanut in my arms." Or, I'll look at Justin and think "wow...he's getting so big so fast!" Then there are days that I'm perusing Facebook or BabyCenter and I think "wow...what are these people SMOKING???" LOL

Anyways...get out and enjoy the beautiful weather!!! If it's beautiful where you are, that is.

God bless!

Involuntary Insomnia

Yep. That's what I'm suffering from today. I put the kids down to bed last night just like normal, but a little bit later than usual. When I say a little bit later, I mean 15 minutes tops. I decided to go to bed shortly after 10. Justin woke up at 10:20 ready to eat. Then again around 12:30, and 2:40 (when he ate again), and he proceeded to stay awake until well after 4 am. In the process, he woke Julia up around 2:45. She, too, was awake until well after 4 am. I decided to play "shuffle the babies" thinking the larger pack n play would be better for Justin. So, I put Julia in bed with me and tried to lay Justin down in the full size pack n play. He screamed. By the time I tried that, it was about 3:30. So I thought 'well, what's the harm in having both of them in bed with me. Especially if everyone actually sleeps. I brought Justin to bed with me. He whined and cried for a few minutes before I decided to nurse him. Again. For the second time in Just over an hour. He ate like he had never eaten before. Then, I turned the radio back on to a super fuzzy station and turned it up. Laid Justin down and just laid in bed waiting for him to fall asleep. Thankfully he only fussed for a couple of minutes before passing out again. And Julia managed to sleep for a few more hours in bed with me. I usually get up around 6:30 in order to get some quiet "me" time in the morning since I don't get in any other time. Ever. Well...my alarm went off, and I thought 'no way'. We all slept until about 7:15 this morning.

Having babies = involuntary insomnia...

God bless...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I am a snow lover at heart...but... I LOVE the weather out right now! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it's warm enough to go outside and play!!! Michael took Julia out for a little while, and I was in the house making some more baby food for Justin. After about 30 minutes, I decided to take a break from baby food making and take Justin out to get some much needed vitamin D. He had a grand old time pulling grass out of the ground and wiggling his toes in it!

*sigh* ...hello spring!!!

God bless...

She's TWO!!!

Someone please tell me where the time went!!! My little girl...my baby, turned two today. Where did my itty bitty 5lb 2oz squishy baby girl go? She is the light of my life...and I can't wait to see her grow up!

Julia shortly after birth:

And at two years old:

God Bless!

March 6, 2012

Yesterday was quite a day in the B. household. It started pretty normally, but changed quickly.

Usually Justin goes down for his first nap around 10. Well...he thought yesterday would be a great day to change that up. I got a little excited thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was starting the transition to one nap a day. He went down for his nap at 11:20, and I was expecting his usual two hour nap. Boy, was I wrong! He was up and raring to go at 11:55, five minutes before Julia was supposed to go down. He then refused his afternoon nap. So he was up from 11:55 am until bed time. At 6:30. Julia's nap went just as expected. Just a little bit shorter than normal.

Fast forward to a little later in the evening. Michael got home from work, we ate dinner, and had Julia sit on the potty for a few minutes. She went #2 (yay!!!), so we gave her a little bit of a granola bar as a treat. It was one of those chocolate peanut butter chewy granola bars. A few minutes after we gave it to her, we noticed that Justin had something in his mouth. I went in the living room and saw this glob of food...guess what it was! A HUGE chunk of the granola bar we gave Julia! PEANUT BUTTER...in my 8 month old's mouth! Eek! We kept an eye on him for a bit to make sure he didn't start reacting to it - which he didn't.

This is when it starts getting good. We're in the middle of trying to get ready for Julia's birthday party this weekend, and I was clearing some of the stuff off of the table. Michael was in the living room with the kids - holding Justin, and Julia was on the couch. All of a sudden, I hear this "SMACK" and Michael said "oh no!" I ran to the living room and Julia was frantically trying to turn herself over after rolling off of the couch and onto the Little People play house she has. I ran to her, looked at her and all I could see was blood in her mouth. I picked her up as fast as I could and all I could think was one of her teeth got knocked out. I freaked and yelled "It's her teeth!!! We have to take her to the doc!". Michael had a diaper bag packed in about two minutes flat, and we were about to run out the door. I picked Julia up, grabbed a wash cloth, ran it under cold water and started wiping away the blood. I *gently* touched each of her front teeth to make sure they weren't loose. Then I looked at her poor little lip. No loose teeth, no missing teeth...just a good sized 'bruise' (maybe a blood blister?) on the underside of her lip where it meets the gums. I told Michael "I don't think we have to take her in..." However, since we had already gotten her all ready to go for a 'ride', he took her with him to put gas in my car. Everything seemed to be going fine when he got home, and Julia was back to playing, running, and acting like a little maniac so we decided to just keep an eye on her.

I think Michael and I checked on her 6 times before we went to bed. I checked on Justin a few times too, just because of the peanut butter issue.

*sigh* ...and so it begins...

God bless!

I hope you're ready!!!

Here goes. The photo overload! I'm just going to start in January this year. Otherwise, this post would be 5 miles long (rather than 4), and I don't want to bore anyone with that many pictures! They're not perfect - some are blurry, some are dark...you get the idea...

First up, the absolutely most adorable little girl on the planet!

 ~~Cute little smile~~

~~Her model pose~~

~~Coloring with daddy~~

~~Silly face~~

~~Beautiful baby~~

 ~~Cheese face!~~

~~In her big girl bed~~

 ~~Playing in the snow~~

~~Being silly again~~

~~Cutie patootie~~

~~Wearing a shirt she got for her first birthday~~

And now on to the cutest little boy to ever crawl on the planet!

~~Did you say something?~~

~~Cutie pie~~

~~What IS that???~~

~~Heheh~~

~~Check me out mom, I can roll AND touch my toes~~

~~Waking up happy from a nap!~~

~~Let's see if I can figure out this whole crawling thing...~~

~~Smile!~~

~~More pictures?~~

~~Really, mom? Please...~~

~~ :-) ~~

~~More smiles!~~

God bless!

Well...I haven't gotten to the photo overload yet...

But I have to share these. They are so sweet, and so incredibly true!!!


Loving Two
I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?
Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you've never shared me before.
I hear you telling me in your own way, please love only me. And I hear myself telling you in mine, I can't, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.
You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.
But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying her as though I am betraying you.
But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.
More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.
But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.
I watch how she adores you as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you. I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you only differently.
And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you'll never share my love. There is enough of that for both of you. You each have your own supply.
I love you-both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

Author Unknown


This one is written by a dear friend of mine. A fellow March Mama, who also now has a second little bundle of pure adorableness...

I always knew I would love my own child, but I didn't realize how much I would love that child until he was born. It amazed me how much love my heart could hold for such a small little person. I have heard many people say that they have no idea how it would be possible to love a second child just as much as they love their first. How can you possibly add more love to your life? I have never said that. I always knew I would love my second baby just as much, and that my heart would grow to hold more love. Instead, I was worried that I would somehow lose the some of the bond I have with my first baby. Jameson has been the light of my life for the past 1 1/2 years, and bringing another child into the picture meant less quality time with him. Less playing together, less cuddling, less love and kisses. I was afraid he would resent me for being constantly tied to a baby who is not himself.
I could not have been more wrong. I have made a conscious effort to spend time a lot of time with Jameson to make sure he knows that I love him just as much as before. And he shows me he loves me, too. He gives me a lot of kisses throughout the day (usually after he gives Evie a kiss) and is constantly trying to sit next to me or on my lap, or asking me to hold him, or just following me around. He's my little shadow, and I adore him for it.
Last night, after I fed Everly around midnight, Jay woke up crying. Instead of asking Sam to go comfort him, I felt compelled to go in there myself. I needed my baby. My first baby. I walked in and he immediately held his arms out for me. I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder and put his arms around me, and we cuddled. I stayed in there with him for probably a little longer than needed, because my heart was overflowing with love. As I sat there with Jameson draped over me, I hugged him as tight as I could, and I cried and thanked God for giving me these two amazing blessings who have changed my life forever. I could never ask for more.



I don't think I could say it any better than either of these have said it. Both of these writings get me choked up just thinking about my babies...I never knew I could love two little beings as much as I love them. I just hope I can help them see that as they grow older...

God bless...

Be Prepared...

For a photo OVERLOAD coming soon! It's been way too long since I've shown off my babies, and it's about time I do it again! It may not be today, but will be in the next few days!

A few days back, while Justin was sleeping, I decided that Julia and I should paint our toe nails. Now, picture a  2 year old...and picture me trying to paint those piggies! She actually did GREAT. She didn't get too wiggly right off the bat. I was rather impressed. I've trained her well already! Ha!

Anyways. There have been many books read in the last couple of weeks. Ok, so the same books have been read over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. But that's fine by me! She sits still through them very well also. Her absolute favorite book right now is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We've had it for about a month, maybe 2 and I already have it memorized! We've watched BINGO on Youtube a number of times, as well as a version of the Alphabet Song, and Apple Apple a a a. She even started to sing Apple Apple randomly in the store the other day. Only she started with "B". Out of nowhere I hear "baby baby buh buh buh". It was quite possibly the most adorable thing I have heard in a LONG time! That little girl is just so stinking cute.

Justin is getting as big as Julia was by the time she hit a year old. He's already filling out 9 month clothes, and wearing quite a few 12 month outfits already...but he's not even 8 months old!!! Only a couple more days! He's getting 3 'solid' meals and 3 bottles during the day, but he still wakes up once or twice each night to nurse. I'm hoping that the trend he started the last few nights will continue. It's been WONDERFUL to get more than 2 1/2 hour stretches of sleep at night! His smile, his giggles, and hearing him say 'ba ba ba ba' and the occasional 'da da' or 'ma ma' make it all worth while! He loves playing with his sisters toys, and gets a huge smile on his face when sees her in the morning. So cute!

Anyways, got to run. Stay tuned for a complete photo overload!

God Bless!