For my Aunt Leslie

Several years ago we found out that we that my Aunt Leslie had cancer. I started the LONG process of growing out my hair. I didn't know that it would be such a long process to get your hair to grow out long enough to cut off all of the dyed and processed hair. November of 2010, I started growing it out--all natural hair.

In August of 2011, my sweet Aunt Leslie passed away. She was the most amazing, sweetest, God-fearing woman! She was not afraid of dying like most, but instead was content with her fate--she was going to get to walk the streets of gold with Jesus someday and she embraced that fact.

A few days ago I finally did it-- I cut my hair all off and in my aunts name, I am donating it to Pantene's Beautiful Hair. Which is a great organization that makes wigs for cancer patients for no cost.

I miss you Aunt Leslie, but I know that I will someday see you again!

Parenting while sick...

SUCKS!

It's a vicious cycle-- take enough medicine to where I don't feel sick, but then I'm loopy. I have to keep my children alive right?! I can't just call in sick to parenting. The last week I have slept- if you can even call it that- sitting up on the couch and I am EXHAUSTED. No dramatics here. I am literally so fatigued that I can't function properly half of the time. I found my tooth brush in the fridge yesterday and put my blinker on to turn in to my driveway (which is on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere). I'm losing it folks.

So since I have been sick, Claire's second birthday has come and gone and I have had zero energy to do anything about it. So, in comes Aaron to the rescue. My amazing husband called family and planned a little get together after church on Sunday. It turned out perfect! It was relaxed and low stress and best of all Claire had a blast.

P.s. I went to the doctor yesterday because I was up the night before coughing so hard that I kept having asthma attacks (I dont have asthma) it scared me pretty bad so I sucked it up and went in. I was given an inhaler and cough medicine with codeine. I'm sure I would have had the best night sleep in a while had Claire not decided to not sleep last night.... The joys of motherhood.

P.p.s. Claire got a training toilet for her birthday... So it begins....

Princess'

Oh girls....

What was my fear before having Emily? Girly things: glitter, pink, dress up, etc. It scared me to death. Fast forward 6 years later and I'm virtually immune to the color pink. (true story: boy things scare me. Trucks? Tractors? Blue? Wieners... I wouldn't know how to change a boy diaper if my life depended on it)

Emily got invited to a birthday party for my bosses daughter Addie. Addie just turned 5 and she was having a "Barbie rockstar" party. I felt a little bit of that old panic sink in. Pink. Girls. Glitter. Panic. I went and bought Emily the most sparkly, pink dress I could find and took a deep breath. Emily ended up having a BLAST. She blended in with all the other swirls of pink that I assumed were hyper 5 year olds. Here is a picture of her with the birthday girl. They honestly could be sisters.

Bribery

Speaking of bribery...

I also learned at Claire's doctors appointment that she is behind in her speech. We already suspected this since her sister could say "what's that?" at 9 months but we were always told not to compare our kids. Now don't misunderstand me... Claire is a mini-genius! (maybe even smarter than her sister, but we aren't comparing remember) She took her first steps at a few days shy of 8 months old and was running by 11 months. She can climb ANY obstacle you put in front of her and , honestly could probably ride a bike without training wheels. Her motor skills are off the charts! Also, her receptive skills are amazing also. You can give her multiple step directions (such as "put your plate in the trash, your spoon in the sink and give your fork to Emily" and she does it no problem) However, she just isn't there when it comes to expressing herself. She has a very limited word bank for her age. On the same note though, she gets her point across for what she wants with pointing and "uh huh" or "nuh uh" (yes and no).

So what is a mom to do?! BRIBERY. This actually came to me by professional advice so I may be on to something here. Every time Claire says a word to express something that she wants, she gets an m&m. So far, it's worked beautifully. She learned how to say "candy" in about 10 seconds. :)

A ball of sushine

That's what the sticker on Claire's shirt says from her doctors appointment today. Claire is 35 inches and 30.5 pounds (the same weight as her sister at 4 1/2 -- no joke) She's my chunk-butt!

She got one shot. This was the first appointment where she knew it was coming, but she didn't put up much of a fight. Why? You ask. What AMAZING parenting leads me to have well behaved children in the doctors office? What's that? You want to know my secret?

Lean close and listen...

BRIBERY! I'm not above it. I'm not even above giving my children ice cream as breakfast because they were perfect angels in the doctors office. So all of you behavioralist nazis can just shush because while you're sweating bullets because I have to step over your melting down 2 year old in the hallway, I'm basking in the glory of bribed children.

The rest of my day however is sure to be a nightmare since I got zero sleep last night from this cold and Claire's going to be moody and site. Maybe I will take Emily to school and then take a nap.

HA! Fat chance.

Ferocious!

This is my ferocious beast--Roger. I love this cat to pieces. We inherited him when we moved (Along with a few other cats that the previous owner didn't want). They randomly came to visit Roger not too long ago and said that he looked healthy and happy. (Thanks...?) They also let me know that he was fixed and his previous name was "Rex". (Thanks again but there are several kittens around here that bear a remarkable resemblance to him and he comes to Roger) annoyed face). {insert annoyed face} He also does a pretty good job or keeping all of the mice away. Our new house is a run down mobile home from the 1970's that was placed in the middle of a field in the country. Mice are enviable, but guys what?! We haven't seen evidence of a single one in the year we've been here. He also keeps the squirrel population down...note his handsome fat face.

Speaking of ferocious... The flu is taking its toll on this family! I'm sick of being sick! Last night Aaron and I woke up Claire with our coughing at about 4:30 and for whatever reason she stayed awake. So now, guess who naps while mom runs errands on zero sleep.

Sometimes I wish I could throw a fit like a two year old and nap whenever I want.

Back at it?

Maybe. The beauty of technology and smart phones is that some genius computer nerd out there has formulated this thing called the app store. While my parents were visiting this weekend, I got the "blog lecture" which pretty much translate to the fact that I suck at documenting my children. So I had this bright idea (that I was hoping would make me a millionaire). WHAT IF there was an app that allowed me to upload from my phone while I was on the go... And GUESS WHAT?! someone already invited it. Flush my hopes and dreams of being a millionaire right down the drain.

However... the beauty of my discovery is that with any luck (I type this as my 2 year old has a meltdown on the floor at my feet) is that I will begin to make a habit out of blogging again. Don't everyone applaud at once.

Over the course of time I hope to update everyone on the amazing things that have happened in the last few year and a half-- new job, school, moving, children's milestones, and dreams for our future.

For now, I leave you will an updated picture of my girls:

Call it reality sinking in.

Where to begin?

First off, Emily is going to start going to PRESCHOOL!! so I will regain my mornings to blog. YAY! My internet works. YAY! and I have a fully functioning computer. YAY!

Excuses aside, I want to do this for my girls someday. I want to be able to go back and read about the crazy things Emily and Claire did and how I felt about them so that I can cry over how cute and sweet they used to be when they are 16 and 13 and making me NUTS.

I was on good ol' Facebook today and I stumbled across my status from a year ago today. Something like "OFFICIALLY felt Baby VP#2 squirming around today" I stopped and thought about the craziness of this for a second. A year ago today I didn't know that the Claire that I know today was growing inside of me. I didn't know if she was a boy or a girl. I didn't know her personality or her adorable smile or her cute chunky thighs. Oh, how much my heart has grown since that day a year ago! I didn't know if it was possible to love another baby as much as I was in love with my Emily. Everyone assured me it would be fine. I knew in my heart it would be. But to look at her now across the room in her bouncer smiling her big toothless smile with two dimples on each side and drool on her chin.... it actually tears me up a little to think of my life without her.

I LOVE my girls. Both of them! They both melt my heart in unexplainable ways. This is also proof to me that God knows be better than I know myself. I KNEW that I wanted all boys. I didn't want to have to deal with the girl hormones and the frills and the PINK. I HATED pink. Now when I do laundry there is so much pink that the lint in the trap turns pink. I LOVE IT. It makes me laugh every time.

Once a year

Once a year...around the fourth of July, I do this. I take a picture of Emily on the front lawn right before we watch fireworks. So, if you want, you can go back to when Emily was a little older than Claire and see her picture...or don't. It is sure to bring tears to your eyes!! I know I sobbed about it for a while. Here is this years picture. I also did one of just Emily and one of just Claire, but I love this one the most.

Test #1

Must document...

A few nights ago Claire rolled over, Is thought it was a fluke. Last night she rolled over again. It was inn the bed so I disregarded it. But today.... She is over every time I set her down. Although Im excited...I'm also not. This is not my first rodeo. I know well enough that this the first milestone to mobility and THAT scares...almost as much as the thought of "prom"

3 and 3/4

Today is a special day. (special enough for me to sneak next door and steal my in-laws internet so that I can make this post) Today BOTH of my girls are 3 and 3/4. Now...before you think I'm crazy because that is IMPOSSIBLE, let me explain. Emily, my munchy bug is 3 3/4 YEARS old. Claire, my sweet love bug, is 3 3/4 MONTHS old. Cool day, huh? I had to document it.

Someday when AT&T decides that they want to come fix my internet line I have a MILLION pictures to post. But I can only do one for now.

Wedding Pictures

First wedding back of the season and it's an associate wedding for A.Blake Photography. Talk about pressure. Glad I got the "first wedding" jitters out of the way. I needed to get my brain back in gear so that I can power out the rest of the season to the best of my abilities. What better place than The Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach? It is beautiful there! Although The Cliffs and I have our history (not the people, but the actual place) and there has been some discussion as to whether I carry a Cliffs curse, I was excited to face my "fears" head on and get this first wedding out of the way. The best way to deal with fear is to face it head on right? I did just that and although The Cliffs tried to stir me up and take me down again, I (and my wonderful level headed assistant) prevailed and made it through the night with only a hiccup or two.

This all sounds so melodramatic but I'm not up for going in to details just yet. I also got to see the joys of being a working, exclusively breast feeding mom. Boy was that fun. Again, I will spare the gory details for you all.

This wedding was my milestone for the year. If I made it through this one, I would be confident I could make it through the rest. Wedding season 2011 here I come!

Click here to see more.

Easter

(yep...my babies end up bald :( 

Someday I will learn to keep on top of things!

We had an awesome Easter this year. Very relaxed. I can't always say that about the holidays in this family. I married in to a larger than life family on top of my side living 8 hours away...sometimes it can get a little hectic. This year we opted to say home (thanks to a gas prices and lack of money) and enjoy Easter at home.

Cute picture right... LOOK AT THE FINGERS! We ditched the wire 

dipper thing about 1 1/2 egg in to dying

She was over pictures

It was cold, and windy, Claire's dress wouldn't stop blowing up, she lost a 

sock and would cry if I took the binky out. sigh....

I think I'm going to restage them this weekend so that I get some good ones to remember...or is having bad ones whats fun about remembering?

Best I've got

Emily's Easter basket full of goodies

Straight to the candy...

Claire got a big stuffed bunny and some pretty purple and pink binkies. I don't have any pictures of her with them because...well...she wasn't having it and wanted to get out of the wind. Poor baby... Can you believe she will be over a year old and walking the next time she does this? I can't...

Big Girl!

Oh my little Claire...

I decided to get on here and document the fact that Claire is attempting to roll over! I don't know how much longer it will be before she actually gets it down. When I put her on her back and dangle something above her head she will arch her back, turn on her side, and kick her leg over so that her tummy is on the floor. All she needs to do is figure out how to get her arm around and she will have it.

This is rediculous! For those of you who don't know (I was one of them and I've had a child of my own already!)  4-5 months is the "average" development age for babies to be able to go from back to side or from belly to back. Claire kicked herself over from belly to back at about 3 weeks (and does it regularly now during "tummy time") On the other hand SIX MONTHS is when it is the norm to see a baby go from back to belly. SIX MONTHS?!?! Claire is 11 weeks and 2 days...only a few days shy of 3 months.

I can't deal with this. I'm going to go drown myself in birth pictures of Claire and wonder where the time went!

No comparison

My original plan here was to post a picture of Emily when she was about Claires age and see how much they look alike. The fact of the matter is that they don't! At least not at 3 months. Poor little Emily was tiny!! She stayed in newborn clothes well past Halloween (and she was born in August) Claire on the other hand is pushing being put in 6 months clothes at almost 3 months old!

So instead I dug up a picture of Emily at about 8 months old when she finally chunked up to about what Claire is now. I see a resemblance BUT they aren't going to be identical.

Some Claire Therapy

I feel like I'm neglecting my littlest bug so here's some updates on her.

Claire is still amazing. At her 2 month appointment she was 12lb 4oz and 23 inches long. That is 95th percentile for weight and "off the charts" for height. Her head circumference was only in the 75h percentile. That is much smaller than her watermelon headed sister that is still 'off the charts' in head size.

Claire is a G.E.R.D. baby. Click on 'G.E.R.D.' for an explanation, but basically it's chronic heart burn/ acid reflux. After some great advice from my friend, who also had a gerdy baby, I decided to tell the doctor about all the symptoms she was having. He agreed that it sounded like that was the problem and told me to give Claire some Mylanta before each feeding. It worked! I called in and he prescribed her some medicine specifically for babies with gerd. Claire, who I thought was easy going and perfect before, is now the most happy and content baby known to man. No joke. The only time she cries now is when I try to give her the medicine, but I've quickly learned that if I sneak it in to a bottle of pumped milk she is none the wiser.

Interesting fact: There is a known link between polyhydramnios (my excess water during pregnancy) and babies with gerd! Because the babies muscle between the stomach and the esophagus will relax and allow the swallowed amniotic fluid to come back up, it can create a build up of amniotic fluid in my uterus. That is comforting to know...NOW.

Lastly...Claire has a cold. {sigh} I took her in last week (where she weighed in at a whopping 12lb 12 oz.) The doctor pretty much told me that they want the babies, especially the newborns, to fight the cold themselves. Then, if they start to get a fever or are sick for a rediculously long time, they will prescribe some antibiotics. So for now we just ride it out. Again, Claire is such an easy going baby that it hasn't seemed to change her disposition in the slightest bit...except for when I'm forced to pull out the blue booger sucking squishy thing of death. THEN she gets mad.

Oh! and developmentally: When I put her on her stomach for "tummy time" she can roll from belly to back AND can push her chest and head up off the ground by putting weight on her elbows. Amazing! I know.

Here are a few pictures:

 I'm not sure what this look is...and she doesn't do it often but it makes me giggle so I'm including it!

and.....shes over it.

Outdoor Girl

As I stated in one of my previous posts today, Emily LOVES to be outside. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post naked pictures of my daughter on here. When is the cut off age for cute naked baby butt and small child nudity? I'm not sure so we will keep this post as clean as possible so I don't have people knocking on my door.

I think the picture pretty much explains it's self: