Freestyle Friday

Freestyle as in... no style at all.

Josie has been sick, and now she's recovering. She's also rocking the whole 'sleeping in her bed like a big girl' thing. We're proud (and so ready for it).

Every week lately we've been going to the library on Friday mornings with a friend to get out of the house and load up with fresh reads (and educational movies) for the next week. Although the area isn't enclosed like the library that is downtown (with the fancy closed in children's section with tons of educational games and play areas) we do enjoy the place! Josie is getting a little too comfortable there, though, because she walks around like she owns the place and has no problem making herself comfortable.

Audrey is getting so very strong. She lifts her head up way more than she was able to last week and is getting much better in the bumbo chair. It cracks me up seeing her teeny tiny body trying to act all grown up.

Unimpressed with the sisterly affection

It's March. I'm itching to go outside in spring-like weather. Where is the spring-like weather?? Must not get ahead of myself, must not...must not...

Our fridge went out this week. Picture me running around stuffing semi-frozen food in a grocery bag while trying to console three kids under 2 and a crazy dog. Up and down the stairs I went getting it all in our deep freeze downstairs. Thankfully we only lost a little bit of food, and it wasn't something I was particularly excited to eat. Now we get to go fridge shopping and pick out something we want instead of inherited. It's our first purchase for our kitchen that is quite outdated and full of cheap appliances that look...well...cheap. I'm not saying we need a whole new kitchen, but I do like the idea of this one new thing!

Also, because of the above situation, our entire kitchen is a mess that is overflowing into the living room which is then overflowing into the rest of the house. Lovely.

We have a surprisingly busy weekend followed by an even busier week. Here's hoping we get through it without any breakdowns!

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Audrey - Three months

Audrey Joy turned three months old on February 18th. There haven't been a lot of changes this month, just growing and smiling.

Audrey is a huge smiler. She craves face to face time and really lights up when you look at her. In this way she's so different than her sister. Josie would be more interested in everything else and had no time for silly things like face to face time.

This month, we visited a chiropractor because she started to scream out every time I laid her down on her back. The difference was noticeable immediately and now she can lay and play for quite a while before getting bored or tired. 

Breast feeding has gone great. We are in a good rhythm and routine, even though we don't stick to a strict schedule. I remember so clearly with Josie that sticking to a strict routine benefited her a lot. I have not noticed a need for this at all with Audrey, and its working for us now since I'm home with her all day. 

The challenge with this is when she is at her grandma's. I try to get her fed and changed right before we head over, but her nap times are often random so it's hit or miss if she gets one there. Thankfully, she will fall asleep right after and get a great nap in that doesn't affect bed time.

Sleeping is also going great. I couldn't ask for it to be better. She is very particular in regards to this however. While she's laid back about almost everything else in her life, she has serious preferences when it comes to how she sleeps. We use SwaddleMe blankets during naps and at bedtime and also wrap another blanket around her tight so she doesn't get cold. Since she can't move her arms, I'm not as worried about her getting the blanket around her face. Even with all of her squirming, she has never managed to get free. You'd think she wouldn't like the restriction, but she loves it. She also has to have her pacifier in her mouth until she's in a deeper sleep. I've started putting her down in the bassinet (afternoon nap and after she eats in the early morning because I'm a bit lazy and don't want to bring her back to their room or risk waking up her sister) or crib (for the morning nap and at night) and giving her time to fall asleep on her own. She falls asleep so well when we are holding her, but if she is warm and wrapped up tight, she falls asleep pretty well on her own too.

Thankfully, she also sleeps well in public or in different environments. I so hope this continues. Josie outgrew this pretty quick and it was so hard to go places that were around nap time or bed time. The flexibility is great when the baby sleeps through anything!

This month, Josie has taken a particular interest in her baby sister. She loves to be silly and does what she can to get her to smile. Audrey is often a bit wary of her, which is completely understandable. I don't know what I would think either if a bigger person was in my face, kicking me, pushing me, and trampling me every couple of minutes. I am constantly explaining to Josie how to be gentle and just aware of where her sister is. She's still a little too young to understand personal space but she'll figure it out soon. In the meantime, she's making Audrey one tough cookie.

Audrey's been sitting up in the bumbo seat and that has really helped with her neck and stomach strength. She's getting more interested in her surroundings (finally noticing them, it seems) so that helps distract her enough to keep her sitting long enough to get those muscles working.

The biggest thing that has happened is rolling over! I took these pictures a week late (it's what always happens so I just go with it instead of stressing out) and after I got done, the little squirrelly girl rolled over! To really impress me, she even managed to roll back again so she went from back-to-front and then from front-to-back. She did it all.day.long. She was a little later doing this than her ambitious sister, so she must have figured she'd one-up her by doing both at the same time. Well played, little sister, well played.

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Just keep Swimming

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we went to a pool party that was celebrating Josie's friend's birthday. His mama is a good friend of mine, so we were not missing this party for anything! Hubby was sick, so I hired invited my sister to come with so that Josie would be able to go swimming and Audrey wouldn't be left unattended. I didn't actually get to swim with her, but she had a ton of fun with her auntie! I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Testing the waters (literally).

Can you handle her little smile? She loved it so much.

  

Birthday boy (did pretty well considering he's never swam before) and Josie, just being friends.

The birthday boy didn't get his usual naps. He did pretty well despite how tired he was!

Birthday boy and his mama

Audrey was content in her car seat for most of the swimming time. She is like a different baby since the chiropractor appointment.

She EVEN let auntie tip her on her back. She was such a rock star in the water.

I have a feeling that we're going to be doing a lot of swimming this summer! I'm fine with that.

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Josie says

Josie was standing at the top of the stairs wanting to go down because "horsies" and "hat" were down there. I told her I didn't want her going down there and that we'd just play upstairs, and she put her little pointer finger up and said (very sternly) "right back!" before turning around and crawling down the first couple of steps. I guess she showed me!

We were at a birthday party this weekend, and Josie had a lot of sugar. A LOT. She was talking a mile a minute and was cracking us up over and over again. One of the things she kept saying is "you hear it? you hear it?"  She was hearing a "car" (not sure where it was since nobody else could hear it) and she said it with such concern!

She also said with a squeal "We're swimmin'!" when her auntie was in the pool with her, every time she got my attention (and her auntie's and probably anyone else that would listen).




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10 for the weekend

1. I've been feeling a bit more on my game lately. Just a little bit. I have a little more motivation, a little more pep in my step, a little more energy. It's been working in my favor. I have no idea where it came from, but it feels as though my pregnancy-haze-exhaustion has lifted and I feel myself again. It couldn't come at a better time, as the long winter months seem to be lasting forever and my mood had been going down hill.

2. I've finally seen some progress with our time outs that I've been doing when Josie misbehaves. It's so hard as a first time parent to figure out how to discipline a child. I've heard all these different approaches, opinions (some very strong), and methods. It seems that you have to be either on one side or the other, and my question is why can't there be a middle ground? Why do we as parents have to be against each other? Different ways work for different kids. Knowing this, I have had to experiment to see what is most effective for Josie. After months of doing time outs, I think this is the one. Today, while she was screaming and throwing a full on tantrum in her time out spot, I let go to see if she'd stay (something she hasn't had the chance to do before because she usually bolts). She did! She scooted over a foot or so to get away from me, and then just sat there crying. After a while, I asked her why she was in time out. She usually doesn't answer me so I end up explaining what she did, why it is wrong, and how to do the right thing. This time, she said right away "chair" meaning that she stood on the chair when she wasn't supposed to. She knew! She got it! So we talked a little more about it, and when I said "I love you" she immediately  jumped in my arms for a hug and kiss. I was so proud of her. I always try to end time outs with an affirmation that I still love her just not that behavior, and she understood. I'm so thankful that it's paid off because holding a screaming toddler in one spot for five minutes is no fun task. I've been trying to teach her what "obey" and "disobey" means because I know that understanding that concept will help so much with God's plan and understanding what sin is. She does seem to be getting it more and more.

3. We don't have much planned for this weekend other than a fun birthday party that was rescheduled due to the weather. The birthday boy just turned one and has never been in a pool (oh, did I mention it's a pool party?) and Josie hasn't been in one since last summer, so it should be interesting to see the reactions. I'm not too worried about her though, she's up for anything most of the time. 

4. I went to Walmart yesterday because Katie @ For Lauren and Lauren had mentioned that there were skinny jeggings for $10 each in a multitude of colors. I figured it was worth at least looking at. I'm not usually a fan of jeggings, but I like the off colored ones, like black, gray, green, etc. I just really don't like the denim colored imitators. Anyway, we got there, found them, and I found not one, not two, but three pairs that fit decent. Miracle, I tell you. As we were leaving the clothing department (that I have never ever given a second glance at in the past), we found the actual jeggings that she had been talking about. I guess I had bought real jeans (extra stretchy) and they were $11 instead of $10. I was willing to pay the extra dollar for them. What a win for me! I don't feel like I can wear regular shirts with jeggings, but I can with skinny jeans so my closet feels like it has tripled in size and options now that I have a few more skinny  jeans to wear with my boots. I love surprise shopping trips like this!

5. I brought AJ to the chiropractor on Wednesday. She has not been herself lately, although I'm not sure what I'm basing that on since she was a happy smiley (sleepy) baby for one month, and now has been a fussy, always-needs-to-be-held, not-so-smiley baby her second month of life. In particular, I noticed that when I laid her down on her back, no matter where it was, she screamed ridiculously loud and instantly. It didn't seem right to me and I know a few people that have brought their babies in to the chiropractor, so we tried it. There was an immediate difference. She was like a different baby and has been ever since. She smiles, laughs, "plays" independently while laying on the floor (which she's never done without fussing the whole time), sleeps even better (never been an issue but I love that it's even easier). I cannot even believe it. I am so thankful that we were able to get in right away and that the results were so obvious. 

6. AJ stands for Audrey Joy, in case you are wondering. I'm too lazy to type out Audrey every time and I kind of like that both my girls have a  tomboy nickname to go with their girly personalities. 

7. I haven't been to the gym since Monday which means I'm going to have to go come rain or shine (or night or day) both days this weekend. And then again on this coming Monday. Ugh. I do like to work out, it's just hard to find time and I haven't been able to pull myself out of bed in the early mornings. Well actually, AJ has been up ready to eat right when I would be leaving. No, no, don't think that's my excuse. I'm fully aware that I could just feed her twenty minutes earlier than I was planning on getting up and could still get out the door and back before hubby has to go to work, but that idea is quite daunting at 5:30 AM. Maybe someday I'll have that kind of will power. In the meantime, 8:30 PM is much more manageable. I get to leave the house after being cooped up all day with two energetic littles and can sleep in to the normal time in the morning. Thank you God that hubby does bed time. It makes it a lot easier to slip out the door and not feel like I am missing something because all I do when not going to the gym is catch up on emails, blogs, and tv. Not exactly productive. 

8. I made a large breakfast of waffles and deer sausage this morning since my parents were here. Then my sister came over with Caribou Coffee (my absolute favorite, today she got me a skinny turtle mocha). It was a fabulous breakfast, but now I'm thinking I'm done eating for the day... ask me again at noon how I'm feeling!

9. For Valentine's Day, hubby had his parents watch the girls and we headed to Texas Roadhouse for some steaks. He was feeling them something fierce and I wasn't about to object. The wait time was 75-90 minutes, which we fully expected, so we sat down and enjoyed the time with just the two of us to talk, laugh, and just enjoy each other without the kids for a few hours. I was completely shocked by how negative everyone was around us about the wait time. It was Valentine's Day, what did they expect? We ended up being quite entertained by our neighbors in the waiting area. People watching is so fascinating. We also ended up eating way too much food and bringing home enough for two full meals later. I'm still feeling full now, come to think of it. (So seriously, need to be done with large meals - that's two in three days.)

10. I have so many books I want to read and have no time to read them. I'm reading Anna Karenina right now and while I know I'll be glad I read it once I've finished, I am having a hard time getting through it. I love Russian culture and am fascinated with their customs and traditions, but it is still a hard read. I need to just do it though, because my list of books to read has grown exponentially since I started it and they won't read themselves! This entire paragraph screams nerd alert, doesn't it? I'm fine with that.




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V day

Happy Valentines Day!

1. My bun from lunch. How very appropriate.

2. AJ with her heart shirt.

3. Jo giving some love on this lovely day.

Hope yours is full of love too!

Josie says

Her famous interjections (the utterance of a word or phrase expressive of emotion; the uttering of an exclamation):


"Oh my goodness!" (She says it slow but with great excitement every.single.time.)

"Oh Gosh..." (Plenty of emphasis on the shhhhh)

"All right." (She only says this when she really wants to do something and doesn't want to wait for my permission. So, in a sense, she is giving herself permission. It's so funny but I can never laugh when she says it...)

"Ok!!"

"Wooooow" (She says this every time she sees something new. It doesn't actually have to be impressive, but you'd never guess that it isn't by the way she says it. There always seems to be a bit of wonder to her voice too. I should try to get it on video.)






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Firsts, pancakes, and blizzards: A Weekend Update

This weekend, we continued the annual tradition of going to the Kiwanis Pancake Feed with my hubby's family. The highlight was definitely the play area. Josie was big enough (just barely) to play inside one of the inflatables so we threw helped her in and took a step back. Would she know what to do? Would we ever be able to get her out of it again? How could we get to her if she needed us? I'll admit, we were a bit nervous, but she was a champ. At first she just sat there....

But then some kid tried to tackle her. She didn't like that so much. So she came to the edge, hubby picked her up, and we moved to the slide area. After a few attempts, she figured out how to get up the ladder and go down the slide, but it was way more fun for hubby to just lift her up to the top over and over. 

I managed to get it on video. The place was chaos, but you get the idea.

Afterwards, we walked around a while more to see if there was anything else for her to try out. We got to the huge slide and noticed another tiny little girl climbing up the ladder. After finding out that she was the same age as Josie, we sent her up. It took a solid five minutes before she made it to the top (and a few times where I thought I was going to have to climb in there after her), but she eventually did get up there. We got a picture of her at the top. She looks absolutely tiny. She loved it though!

We only did that slide once since the line was long (some tiny kid took FIVE MINUTES to go up so it was a little backed up... oops...). We went back to the table where Audrey was hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. Josie immediately had to tell A all about it.

Audrey was captivated, obviously

Last year when we went, Josie was only seven months old. 

Next year when we go, Audrey will be just over one and Josie will be 2 1/2. They will both be able to play in there. I can't even wait.

Later that afternoon, we went outside to play before the blizzard came. I shoveled a path in our yard for Josie to walk around. It seems to be her mission to "walk" whenever we play outside. She can't really do much else, so I tried to at least give her that option. Mostly, I just wanted to keep her out of the street. Audrey chilled in her car seat, watching us with mild amusement. She was probably the warmest one since she had the garage wall to shelter her from the wind. 

We tried "sledding" but the snow was too deep for me to pull her and actually progress without falling over myself. The shoveled path was a lot more fun (for both of us).

Then she discovered the chairs. She just had to sit in one. She also invited me to sit in the other one, but I respectfully declined. 

We'll be going back out this afternoon since we've been stuck inside ever since this little outing on Saturday. We watched movies and had some quality family time inside yesterday, but we are all feeling cooped up in here today so outside we will go after naps. 

Enjoy this beautiful winter day!

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