half of a year

I can hardly even wrap my head around the fact that my second baby is six months old already. Before I had babies I used to think it was so funny and a little odd when other moms would say, "oh, cherish those early moments" or "time passes by so fast" or "don't blink, they will be off to college." I used to think, really people...I mean time passes at the same rate whether you have kids or not, you're losin' it.

Oh, how the times have changed. I am so that mom that is tearing up as I tell a brand new mom to just soak in that newborn stage, because before you know it, you are longing for those middle of the night snugly feedings. Even with the sleep deprivation, the dark circles, the four+ outfit changes, and that empty can of dry shampoo.....it's oh so worth it.

Month 1. This is what I call the 'honeymoon phase.' We are so in awe that we have created this tiny human and can not remember life without her.

Month 2. Still honeymooning here. Little lady is getting a personality and seems to be figuring out how to get just what she wants. Shows signs of reflux maybe, but maybe not. We are on a predictable schedule and she is a great night sleeper too!

Month 3. Honeymoon is over. There were a lot of tears this month. We discovered a dairy protein allergy {dairy free at week 9} and had a few weeks where a little someone wouldn't sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. It is so hard when you're baby is uncomfortable and you just don't know why. July was the month of exhaustion for me.

Month 4. She decided she hated the car and she still hates dairy. Mom gave up all dairy...every last bit, even the hidden stuff. {Did you know it can take about 6 weeks for dairy to get out of your system?} We also began wearing ear plugs in the car. Kidding. Her smile is so big and her laugh is contagious, so that makes up for everything else.

Month 5. She decided this world isn't all that bad as long as Mommy is holding her. Thank the lord for my Baby K'Tan, the place where she took the best naps for a while. Still hates dairy, but has come to terms with car rides. Her giggles make our hearts grow and she has a little twinkle in her baby blues.

Month 6. We can all breath easier now. Stella is such a happier baby than a few months ago. We think she is growing out of the dairy thing, she takes great naps, sleeps all night, giggles like crazy, and as long as Momma is within her line of sight, she is one happy camper. She truly is the prefect little addition for our family. 

Three Years

Earlier this month, we celebrated the birth of the little gal that made us parents. I decided for her third birthday I wanted to do something small, simple, easy, affordable. Despite the pressure from Simply to Impress to order the most perfect invitations and invite the entire neighborhood, I opted for an electronic invitation and just immediate family. I had a tiny bit of guilt on the day of that I was not doing "enough" for her big day. However, that quickly faded when I realized she was having the time of her life and wouldn't have realized that I spent 8 hours making a coordinating banner anyways.

I did go all out on the cake though. When I asked her what kind of a cake she wanted for her birthday she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes, wrinkled up her nose as she thought for a minute and said, "A SPRINKLE Cake." I came across this from scratch cake recipe and looked no further. It was, by far, the most delicious cake I have ever made. {others agreed} Moist, dense, and such a good vanilla flavor. I don't think I will ever use a box again. It was that easy. Also, she suggested freezing the cakes before frosting, which was a great tip. I frosted and decorated this cake without getting frustrated with the cake crumbs.

The Sprinkle Cake

Thinking

Wishing

Wishing Miss P a happy, healthy third year!

a different kind of first day

Monday was so strange! All the 'back to school' pictures that came across my social media feeds brought waves of mixed emotions for me this year. I stared at my babies who were still in their jamas at 8:30am thinking that if I was back at teaching I would be 30 minutes into the school day already. The first day was always my favorite day of the year. I would have welcomed those twenty sweet smiles with a big hug or a handshake at my door and introduced myself again and again. I would have settled their nerves and made them feel at home, because that's what I always loved about my classroom...it was like a second home. I would have showed them pictures of my family and held back my tears thinking about my girls and wondering how they were doing. Is anyone holding Stella, is she crying, is she fighting her naps, is Presley making new friends, is she happy, does her teacher adore her as much as Ms. Ashley did last year? All day those kind of thoughts would be running through my head in between Writer's Workshop and read alouds and Guided Reading groups, all I would think {worry} about would be my girls.

It isn't that I don't love teaching or everything just about everything that came along with each school year, but I couldn't get past the fact that our babies are only babies for a short time. So, here I am taking a break from being a third grade teacher. Taking a break to spend every second with these two girls. There is no better job and I am finding out pretty quickly that there is no tougher job either.

I am going to try my hardest to get back to blogging about our adventures together. I should have more time right? HA!

P is almost 3 years old, so I am going do some structured "Mommy School" with her each day. A good friend of mine is also a SAHM and we have planned out some themes for each month, along with letters and numbers that we will focus on each month. I am heading to the teacher store today to gather the supplies I need to make my mobile classroom board.  And I thought I was taking a break from teaching. Never! The planning has begun.........

The rest of our time will be spent playing together, making messes, singing songs, reading books, dancing, going to the park, and making memories! Like the time P invited her sister to a tea party and I had to put S in the bumbo on the dress up chest because it was safer than putting her in the doll highchair like P suggested. 

The Nursery

Wow. This is really past due, but we won't dwell on that. Life gets busy!

When we found out we were having our first girl, I decided one thing right away-her room would be pink. When we found out we were having our second girl, I decided one thing--her room would not be pink. I wanted it to be different that P's room, still girly and sweet, but different.

I fell in love with this color combo from Caden Lane and decided that our main color would be gray and I was pretty sold on the coral as well. I found this set at Pottery Barn and impulsively bought it, but glad I did! Gray, white, and coral accents was the final decision.

Monogram is from Wooden Letters etsy shop and was so pleased. It is comparable to the one they sell at PBK, but about half the price and comes unfinished. So you can easily paint any color.

Wall color is Sherwinn Williams-Online and the Coral is also SW-Ardent Coral.

I hunted down old frames by going through my mom and mother in laws collection and then primed and painted them different colors. Most of these frames once held precious family pictures, some decades ago. I love that.

We just love hand me down furniture. Refinished this dresser, which was in Spencer's parents apartment many moons ago.

Oh Hobby Lobby, you always come through when needed. And those perfect coral curtains are ordered from JC Penney, of all places. I don't think I have ever bought anything there until now. Good find!

Prints are from Gathered Nest Designs on Etsy. I found the perfect mats and frames at Aarons Brothers.

I feel like my pictures don't really do it justice. Her nursery came out even better than I had planned.

A little hospital stay

I have always considered us pretty fortunate in the health department. We always seems to avoid those nasty stomach bugs and viruses that loom around little ones. Up until this past November, we had probably only had 2 or 3 sick visits to the pediatrician. Well, since then we have had FOUR double ear infections and several comments on how unusually large our child's tonsils are and how loud her breathing is. We were referred to an ENT, had an appointment a week later where we discovered we had another ear infection and boom.....we were scheduling surgery for tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and tubes.

This is the way things like this have to happen for me, otherwise there is too much time for me to read, talk to other parents, and go into panic mode....because don't you know I am wiser than the doctor?

I mean, combine your 2 year old having surgery and 35 week pregnancy hormones...that could be a potential train wreck. Luckily, our daughter is nothing short of amazing and has really made this a lot easier than expected. She did so well before, during, and after surgery. One night in the hospital and we are home and just trying to keep her comfortable. Which is proving to be easier said than done.

Pre-Op. She was very cooperative to all the nurses requests.

Post-op. After the longest hour of my life.

In our 'hotel' room. She has been told she can eat a popsicle any time of day.

At home. This is that it took to get her to eat something cold and take her tylenol this morning. DoDo needed some to and we have to eat on the floor.

 

I am being really laid back this week....about everything. Just wait until you see our food line up. All that matters is that she is happy and not in pain.

Happy Spring Break!!

Bump Watch

Do you know how many times per day I think about updating my blog? Several, on most days. When I shared our pregnancy news back in October {my last post}, I was so excited to document and keep up with posts throughout my pregnancy.  Well, here I sit 17 weeks later updating for the first time. Epic fail, mama. I am several weeks into the third trimester and only 8 weeks away from meeting our brand new baby girl. Life is busy, to say the least.

I am going to breeze right through this first "pregnancy update" post and then get to some gender reveal party details and on to the nursery---which is very close to complete.

Disclaimer: I really wanted to do those super cute progress pictures you see on pinterest. You know, with the chalkboards and the same outfit every time, in front of the same wall. Well, I soon found that I did not quite have time for that. I'm lucky if I even remember how many weeks I'm turning. What did people do before they had an App to keep track of that? So, once again, my bump pictures are random and sporadic--but I am okay with it!

A little bump watch.....

The rumor is true, your bump appears much sooner the second time around.

{16 Weeks.} Gender reveal day!

Halfway!

{27 Weeks.} First day of the third trimester.

{29 Weeks.} Trying to stay as active as possible.

{30 weeks.} Please.slow.down............

I love looking back to see how much we have grown since the beginning. The scale and the snug clothes can be daunting toward the end, but I think it's pretty amazing what your body can do. 

Finishing up week 32 tomorrow. {Making a note to take a pic because she has totally gone through a growth spurt the past 2 weeks.}

Back soon with nursery pics! {eeeek}