Cuteness & OT

We haven't done much this week, but I got a few cute pictures I wanted to share.

I have declared Thursdays "no hair or make-up day" for me.  The last two Thursdays I have devoted to not leaving the house.  I still wanted to dress up my girls, though.  Aren't they cute in their matching outfits?  (Except Adeline wouldn't smile or get her fingers out of her nose/mouth.)

Adeline got some new books while she was at Nana's and they came with some tattoos.  I told her she had to wait until Daddy got home to put it on.  She wanted it on her stomach.  She's still a little confused as to why she can't pick it off and why it's still there today.  :)

Every time I put Annabel under her play gym, Adeline wants to join her.  It makes me a nervous wreck, but she's done well so far.  She has started telling her baby sister "no" when she kicks her.  She's not mean about it, but she does try to correct her..haha.

And, because you can take the OT out of her job, but you can't take the OT out of her, I have a couple "therapy" pictures to share.

Adeline and I did this fun fine motor/counting activity yesterday.  I just wrote numbers 1-5 on flash-cards and drew the corresponding number of dots under the number.  She then placed cheerios on the dots.  She loved it!

We've started tummy time with Annabel.  Look how well she's holding up her head!  She was doing even better than this, but I waited too long to snap a picture.

I'll try not to go into too much detail, but all babies are born with primitive reflexes that help them in the first year of life.  After that first year, these reflexes should be gone.  We treat a lot of kids whose reflexes are still intact, which makes life difficult for them.  Anyway, I snapped this picture of Annabel the other night to send to a co-worker because it is the perfect example of the ATNR.  It's perfectly normal for her to still have this.  I'll only worry if she still has it at age 2.  :)  When I texted this to my co-worker she responded with, "You're such a nerd."  Maybe I am...

(When her head turns to the left, her arms automatically do this.  The arms switch when the head turns to the right.)

I also want to record a few cute things Adeline has done lately that I don't want to forget.  

Like all kids these days, she's very technologically savvy.  She has a CD player in her playroom which she almost always can work completely on her own.  However, she hasn't quite grasped the difference between a CD and a DVD.  I find DVDs in the CD player and CDs in the DVD player all the time.  

Today when we got home from the grocery store she asked to watch "Mouse."  I told her to wait until I unloaded all the groceries.  She proceeded to get the remote and fine "Mouse" herself.

As we were leaving Wal-Mart today we walked past the bathrooms.  I have only taken her in there with me once about 4 months ago.  As we walked past today, she pointed and said, "potty, shoo-wee Momma."  

Every time Westin comes to visit he always goes straight to Rody.  It's his favorite toy here.  Today I told Adeline we were about to go visit Westin.  She ran to her playroom, grabbed Rody, started walking toward the door and said, "go!"  It made my heart happy that she's already so thoughtful and kind.  Of course, we took Rody with us.  :)

Her new favorite "toy" is an old syringe (a medicine doser, not needle) and empty medicine bottle.  She loves giving all her babies & Tulip "meh-mehs."  

She watches and remembers everything we do.  After sending my dad a picture of Adeline giving her babies "meh-mehs" he replied with, "Your daughter is so smart and wants to be just like you.  Isn't that the best feeling in the world?"  Yes it is, but my prayer is that we always teach her and show her good, positive, Godly things.  

My Heart...

..is finally whole again!  Jon and Adeline went to East Texas for 5 days and I felt like 2/3rds of my heart was missing.  I cried nearly all day on Friday when they left.  Jon went camping/hunting with his family at Squirrel Camp while Adeline spent time with the grands.

 She got to color and go to a fall festival with Pappy & Nana.

Then she went to visit Daddy at Squirrel Camp with Tiny, Aunt Kiersten, and Uncle Emil.

On Saturday, Annabel and I met Aunt Juliet for lunch and some shopping.  Aunt Juliet put Annabel right to sleep during lunch and she slept nearly all afternoon.

That evening we went shopping and out to dinner with Shannon.  It was nice to get out of the house and my mind off being lonely.

On Sunday, Adeline wouldn't let Aunt Kiersten drop her off in the church nursery, so she spent Sunday School in my mom's class with the 3rd graders.

Annabel and I ventured out to my Sunday School class as well.  It was Annabel's first trip to church.  She did great.  She stayed awake through it all and got a little fussy, but we made it for the whole class.

We lounged around the house that afternoon.  I love sweet little baby hands..

Adeline being silly...

Monday, Annabel and I went to get my hair dyed and trimmed!  She stayed awake and fussed through it all, but I was still glad to get some pampering.

Monday night, Adeline went out to Squirrel Camp again with Tiny.  She got to see a snake!

Annabel didn't nap well all day and that evening was really sweaty.  I think I just had her too bundled up.  She's a much sweatier baby than Adeline.  I still don't think I've ever seen Adeline sweat.

I sent this picture to Jon because I was a little worried.  See the sweat beaded up on her face?  He said she's just a Richey.  :)

That night Annabel slept 7 hours straight!  I felt great on Tuesday and cleaned the whole house!  I think it was just a fluke, though, because last night was not so good.  

Tuesday, Jon and Adeline headed back home!

They stopped in Y City for a little exercise.

My mom had sent us all a Halloween package on Monday.  I saved it for Jon and Adeline to get home before we opened it.  Adeline was most excited about all the stickers.

She did this to herself.

Last night Adeline was exhausted, so we bathed her early.  Annabel hung out in the activity gym while Adeline was getting ready for bed.  Adeline got in a bit of playtime with her baby sis before going to bed.

I was so glad to have both my sweet girls all to myself this morning.  Aren't they cute in their matching Halloween jammies?

Adeline is saying "cheese" while trying to see around me to Mickey Mouse.

I snapped this pic for Aunt Amanda.  Isn't this outfit adorable?  Thanks, Amanda!

I'm so looking forward to this weekend.  We've got lots of fun Halloween activities planned.  Let's pray we all stay well so we can enjoy them all!

Another Comparison

Because I think it's fun to look at their pictures, I thought you might too.  :)

Adeline at 1 Month Old

Annabel at 1 Month

Adeline

Annabel

2 Under 2

**I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining with anything I say in this post, I just want to document my thoughts during this season of my life.  I am completely and utterly grateful for my two wonderful blessings.

That being said, having two kids under the age of two is a whole lot harder than I thought it was going to be.  I always said with Adeline that being a mom was the hardest thing I've ever done.  Being a mom of two is even harder.  I feel like my life is absolutely chaotic and out of control, but at the same time I love every minute.

First of all, I think being a mom of an almost two-year-old is difficult in itself.  For example....

(This is on every wall of the playroom.)

Then when you add in a newborn it makes life even that more difficult.  I do twice as much laundry, we do twice the baths, go through twice the diapers, and worry twice as much.  

Leaving the house with two kids takes an act of congress.  I have to begin preparing to leave about 20 minutes before we actually walk out the door.  I don't mean that I start getting myself ready and dressed, and the girls ready and dressed 20 minutes before, that's a whole 2 hours before "leaving the house" begins.  I mean that I start loading the car, locking doors, putting on shoes, filling up cups, strapping in car seats about 20 minutes before.  Before kids all it took was putting on my shoes and grabbing my purse as I walked out the door.  I've never had to factor in time for "leaving the house" before now.  

Showering and getting myself ready is a whole new ball game too.  If I'm here without Jon, that now has to be done before anyone wakes up.  I do not yet trust Adeline around Annabel if I can't watch her every move.  So mommy's "getting ready" process has turned into what I compare to a "pit change" in a Nascar event.  Meaning, how fast can I shower, get dressed, apply make-up, and fix hair so that I can sleep as late as possible but still be fully ready before the girls wake up?  I have dreams of being one of those really cute, put-together moms that dresses so fashionably and always looks amazing, but those dreams are just not reality right now.  I do as little as possible to look presentable right now, because my sleep is important to me, and we all know kids are unpredictable.  Sometimes I'm half-way through my 30-minute routine and someone is awake and needing some attention, so there's no time for attention to detail when it comes to Mommy's appearance.

I went grocery shopping with both girls the other day.  That was fun.  My girls actually did really well, but it wore me out.  Adeline had to sit in the cart part of the buggy since Annabel was in her car seat.  Therefore, I ran out of room for groceries rather quickly and poor little Adeline was quite cramped.  I imagine this would be a lot easier if your oldest was about 4 or 5 and could walk nicely beside you.  Maybe next time I should wear the ergo baby carrier and Adeline can sit in her normal spot.  

Planning your life around one child's schedule was hard enough, but doing that around two makes it almost impossible to leave the house.  Annabel is just having to be more flexible than Adeline was at this age.  She naps on the go a lot in her carrier or car seat since Adeline still goes to several activities throughout the week.  Bedtime routines start around 7 and don't end until around 9.  I don't want to wish away Annabel's life, but I'm ready for them to be able to take a bath together.  

I used to keep my house a lot cleaner than it is right now.  You've all seen my cleaning schedule.  I dust, clean bathrooms, vacuum and mop weekly.  Well, I used to.  Now I just try to stay on top of laundry and keep toys picked up.  The hardcore cleaning comes when I can squeeze it in.  I feel like I've accomplished something if we're all clean and wearing clean clothes.  The house can wait.  

So all of that is extremely hard, but the hardest thing for me is dividing my attention.  I probably think & worry about it way too much, but this one really stresses me out.  I don't have siblings.  I was always the center of attention and never once knew what it was like to share my parents' love or time with anyone else.  I really struggle with this because I want my girls to know that same kind of love and devotion, but I feel like it's impossible with more than one child.  I whole-heartedly love both my girls equally.  It's amazing how you can be capable of that, but it is absolutely a reality.  I just struggle with how I'm going to make sure my girls always know this.  I know it's difficult right now because Adeline isn't old enough to understand.  It just breaks my heart when she wants me to "sit, sit, color, Mommy, play, Mommy" and I have to tell her no because I need to feed/change/rock Annabel.  It also breaks my heart when Annabel has to be rocked to sleep in the swing rather than me doing it because Adeline needs some mommy time.  I know it will get easier and I'll figure it out as I go, but this is the hardest thing for me right now.  

These three fill my life with sheer joy.  I am so thankful to have them all.  My heart overflows with love and happiness.  Being a parent is so hard, but it is absolutely amazing.  

Thank you, God, for this gift!  And thank you for loving my family even more than I do.

1 Month

Annabel is 1 month old today!  Jon said it has been a long month.  I think it feels that way when your nights are just as long as your days.  :)  It has been quite an adjustment going from one child to two, but that's a whole other post.  Anyway, we are so thankful to have our precious Annabel in our lives!

When she was first born I thought she looked so much like Adeline, but now I don't really feel that way at all.  I do, however, think she is absolutely beautiful, just like her big sister, but a beautiful all her own. She's not doing much other than eating, sleeping, and pooping right now.  She doesn't really like to be awake much.  If she is awake, it's not long before she gets fussy.  I feel like we've gotten on a schedule a whole lot faster than I did with Adeline.  I think that's partly because we already have a schedule with Adeline so Annabel just kind of had to adjust to that.  Also, because Annabel has to take medicine every 8 hours so that in itself put us on a certain routine.  

This is what our day looks like now (& these are all approximations):

• 1-2am: Awake for the first feeding of the night.
• usually only nurses from one side & is impossible to wake enough to eat more
• 4-5am: Awake for the 2nd feeding
• takes her medicine at this time as well
• 7:30-8:30:  Awake, nurses, gets dressed for the day
• 9:00am:  We are usually leaving the house around this time to go to one of big sister's activities
• she'll usually nap in the car or in her carrier
• 11ish: Nurse again
• This is where it gets difficult.  She gets tired, but refuses to go to sleep so she usually fusses until her next feeding.
• 1-2pm:  Nurse again
• take medication
• usually falls asleep right after eating from being so worn out from fussing since 11
• 4-5pm: Nurse again
• usually has to be woken up to eat & is impossible to keep awake afterwards
• 7pm: Nurse again
• try our best to keep her up while we get Adeline ready for bed & she usually gets pretty fussy
• 8:30: bath time & more medicine
• 9:00pm: Nurse again & sleep hopefully by 10pm

She is still sleeping in our room in her "Rock & Play Sleeper."  I'm going to work on tweaking this nightly routine & getting her into her bed in the next few days.  I'm thinking she's still going to have to nap in our room since she and Adeline will be sharing a room.  I'm really nervous about that transition.  It's not going as smoothly as I'd like right now, but I'm going to see what I can do.  

The first month is such a blur from sleep deprivation, but I've enjoyed it.  I've tried to cherish every moment because I know how fast they grow up.  

We love you so much, Annabel.  You are the perfect addition to our family.  We look forward to many many many more months together!

Catch-Up

I feel like I'm way behind, but I guess I just better get used to that feeling.  It's hard enough to find time to shower, much less blog.  But it's the weekend, so that means Jon is home to help, so now I have time to catch-up a bit on here.

Wednesday we were all ready to get out of the house, so we invited ourselves over for a play date with Westin.  :)

Adeline really enjoys going to Westin's house and dragging out every single one of his toys.

Gran got some baby-holding time in.

My cute pig-tailed girl.

Thursday, Kalee came over to keep Adeline while Jon, Annabel, and I went to Little Rock.  Adeline really enjoys pretending to be a mommy.  I snapped this picture of her carrying her baby and strolling Ace down the hall when we got home.

Little Rock wore Annabel out...

Happy Daddy with two of his girls before bed...

Saturday we had two birthday parties to attend!  Adeline's social calendar is busier than mine.  I put my girls in their first matching outfits.  So cute!

Then we went to celebrate Noah turning 2!

Adeline had a fantastic time with all her friends and playing outside all morning.  She was filthy by the time we left!

That evening we attended another 2 year old birthday party for sweet Hannah at the park.  It was Halloween-themed and we were supposed to wear a costume or Halloween colors.  More matchy-matchy for my girls.  :)

Getting a good picture of both of them is going to be difficult.

Adeline and the birthday girl...

Today Annabel and I stayed home while Adeline and Jon went to church.

When they got home I told Jon to look at Annabel's shirt.  He read out loud, "Daddy's Little Pumpkin" then he said, "Aww, you sure are Daddy's little pumpkin" and kissed Annabel.  Adeline watched this whole exchange, looked down at her shirt, looked at me and said, "pumpkin" while trying to take off her shirt.  It was so sweet and sad all at the same time.  We couldn't find a shirt with a pumpkin on it, but we put on another Halloween shirt and Daddy fussed over it and Adeline too, so she was happy.  I just love my little family so much!