Who doesn't love an update

Time for a little update.

Running: Slow and steady. I am running an average of two miles at a time. The other day while staying at the lake, I was able to slip away for a run all by myself and managed to get a PR post baby. I was so excited. I started out walking, not sure how much running I was in the mood for, but soon enough the beautiful weather, scenery, and hills called my name and I picked up my speed. Before I knew it, I had run a mile in under 11 minutes (with that walking in the beginning). I was pumped and even did a little fist pump all by my lonesome in the middle of nowhere. The second mile also included some walking and was completed in just over 11 minutes. Still good considering those hills that my sweet home town doesn't have. My body is not so used to those.

Even with that exciting run, I still am frustrated more often than not. Earlier this week, I ran/walked two miles but really I walked most of it while my calves screamed out in pain. Note to self: this feeling is why it is important to maintain and not slack when it comes to running. Once I get past this hump, I love running so so much and can really push myself. In the meantime, I need to endure the sorest calves known to man. This may be a slight exaggeration, but it is very slight.

I got a massage on Monday (thank you, sister, for the surprise gift) and the masseuse told me that I needed some serious work in my calves and feet because they were so tight. Really? I had no idea. I feel almost bruised today, but it felt oh so good to get them rubbed out yesterday. Today is a rest day but I'll be back at it tomorrow. 

I really need to start lifting weights steadily. I actually do enjoy lifting, I just never fit it in to the schedule with the girls. Maybe soon that will happen?



Audrey: Mostly happy, she's now 7 months old and I will have that update soon. I need to get my act together first, though. Easier said than done.



Josie: Almost two ohmygoodness where is my baby?? Her potty training journey has been interesting... She still has that one accident a day of the messier variety but usually can make it the rest of the day as long as I remind her. Any other accidents throughout the day are direct results of my forgetfulness. If we go regularly, she does great.

Her attitude, on the other hand, is ridiculous. Girl knows how to throw a full-blown tantrum but then can also turn on the charm 30 seconds later. Some days seem so long while others are clearly the days I will remember in years to come. I do love this age, but no ups are as good without the downs to show contrast. We have a lot of downs around here these days.

Hubby: So busy with work. Have I mentioned that I'm proud of him? He has a full-time employee now, which is new to us, so managing his business takes up a lot more of his time than before. I'm pretty sure he's still doing just as much physical work as before so that just means he's working even harder if that is possible. Thankfully, he still makes time for us when he can and the girls just adore him. He's a hit, all around.

Life: What a whirlwind. As you read in this post, we're in the calm before the storm between getting our house sold and moving. Our closing date is August 12th, so we have about two months to finish packing up this house while still enjoying summer. It's going to be a delicate balance. Already I can tell that I need to be creative with quite random things now that so much is packed away and kind of out of reach. (Our packed stuff is being stored at my in-laws. They graciously gave us their garage for the next couple of months but it's boxed up and not easy to access). For example, we only have two chairs for sitting outside so I'm moving them all over the place so that I can avoid the dirty ground and be somewhat comfortable while the kids play. Also? A lot of their toys are packed up and somehow I need to entertain them inside and outside. I feel like I'm packing for a week just to play in the garage. It's fun.

We're spending a lot of time at the lake (there are actually more toys and things for the girls to play with out there than at our house currently) and we'll be going to Mike's aunt's farm at least once as well. Weekends are mostly filled up and I will hopefully be able to keep things fun during the week.

And as promised, there will be another update regarding our new house soon. We're so excited over here. 

Here are some photos from our Father's day weekend. It was so much fun and relaxing. I loved having help with the girls (and took full advantage of it, thank you mom!) and the weather was perfect. LOOVE weekends like this.

I was just a little nervous when teeny tiny Josie was running on this huge (to me) bridge. Of course, she did fine. :)

Tea party with auntie

The gift from us... a white birch tree. He was sufficiently excited.

Father's day, we love him!

Father's Day, girls lover their daddy

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The difference two weeks can make

High quality, just the way we like it.

A story for you.

Friday, May 31st - My MIL told me about a house near hers that was for sale. She'd been to a garage sale there and thought it was worth mentioning to me (so glad she did!). I looked it up online since it hadn't shown up on my auto-sent emails due to the garage stalls not being the same number (2 instead of 3). Well look at that! A 5 bedroom house in our city that isn't a bilevel. And it's in our price range. And it's on the river. Interesting. I called hubby and had him look at the information. I then called the Realtor to see if we could see it. She told us that there would be an open house on Sunday and we hung up. Later in the evening, my impatience took over and I decided to email her to see it sooner than that.

Saturday, June 1st - At 8:00 AM, we loaded up the girls and went to meet the Realtor at the house. We looked around and were smitten. There were a lot of things to change and update, but it was move-in-ready and had a lot of potential. Neither of us acted too excited, though. We knew that it was a long shot. The house seemed over priced and had some funky things about it.

Sunday through Tuesday - We thought about it and talked about it with family and friends

Wednesday, June 5th - I called our old Realtor from when we had bought our current home and he said we should come in right away if we wanted to make an offer because it's a seller's market. We went in that evening (with the girls, what were we thinking??) and made a super low offer with no negotiations allowed and tried to keep our expectations low. We were expecting a big fat NO.

Friday, June 7th - Our Realtor told us that we did in fact get the big fat NO, but good news! They had lowered the price by 10,000. Interesting. Was this their way of countering our low offer? We decided to make another offer that was above what we had originally thought was our "lowest" and met them more in the middle. They countered, and we accepted! 

The deal was that there were two contingencies. One, our house had to sell before we can close so we can have the new house financed. Two, the house had to pass an inspection. With that information in hand, we knew we needed to get to work on our current house as it was not even close to ready to sell.

We spent the whole weekend and early part of the next week moving half of our stuff out to make the home seem more spacious and comfortable, and hubby worked extra hard on getting the little things done (like trim, yard work, paint touch ups, etc). Hubby's parents helped with all of it (what a huge help they were ohmygoodness) and my sister came down to help babysit the girls so I could focus on the task at hand. Seriously, family can be so great. 

Tuesday, June 11th - our Realtor came over to fill out the disclosure and take pictures. Our house has never looked so good. 

Wednesday, June 12th - We started getting calls from other Realtors looking to set up times to show our house to their clients. A total of 8 showings in the first day - not bad! The girls and I high tailed it out of there to the lake. Do you know how hard it is to keep a house perfectly staged with two kids under two? The answer: impossible. Off we went. 

Wednesday, June 12th at 11:00 PM - Hubby calls to tell me that our house is sold. Excuse me? It hasn't even been listed for 24 hours.



God is so good.
And by the way, this story is true. More details to come!




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Josie says

We asked what her baby's name is. She said "Ida." Wherever did she hear that name??

Her morning routine often involves holding her baby while looking out the patio door at the school across the street. This morning, I heard her say repeatedly, like over 50 times, "You're such a big girl, you're such a big girl!" Apparently I say that often to baby Audrey. Also, she just put her baby in time out, all the time shaking her head with a stern expression on her face. Josie is only in time out like twice a month! Thankfully she isn't putting her baby in time out all the time. That would make a mama have to rethink things.

To her Pappa, while standing near the fire pit: "Pappa make the dirt hot?"

While Pappa was in the hospital after surgery, we had a few meals with him to keep him company and get out of the house. The next day, after Grammy had left go see him (which Josie knew she was doing), she asked, "Eat lunch in the little room?" I'm thankful her impressions of the hospital are one of "going back while enjoying a good meal" instead of being afraid.

Pappa: "Josie? Did you go on the tractor today?
Josie: "I did."
Pappa: "What did you see?"
Josie: "La-la-la loons!"
Pappa: "What else did you see?"
Josie: "......... I see cows!!" (her favorite. ever.)





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Lately

Wondering where we've been? Don't worry, all is well. There have been more days spent outside and doing other fun things and less days spent inside with nothing to do. Computer time is limited and I haven't felt the urge to write. It's not uncommon in the summer for bloggers to scale back a bit, and I guess I'm following suit, at least this week. 

I have been posting on instagram lately, though, so go ahead and follow me @msdeyle if you'd like to see the little updates along with the pictures of course!

We finally have some nice weather and I don't intend to waste it. 

We also will (hopefully) have some fun news soon. Don't you love when I leave you in suspense?


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Potty on the brain

Warning. A lot of potty talk ahead. No fun pictures, but lots of detail and humor.

I feel like I'm up to my ears in potty talk and diapers these days. I had it in my head for a while that once I was done giving piano lessons for the summer, I would start potty training Josie. Before this time, I had been having her sit on her potty off and on and she was genuinely interested in it. Of course, I have been looking for signs that she was ready since she was around 14 months old and she was showing every single sign that I have heard of.

So the time comes to throw down (the diaper so to speak). I sent Audrey to Grandma's so that we could hang out all day having fun and figuring it out. She had an okay day going both potty and poop before nap and bedtime, but the rest of the day was filled with misses. She woke up dry after her nap and really rocked at the idea of pooping, but honestly, I could tell that the entire concept had not yet clicked.

The next day, we carried on with one addition - Audrey did not go to Grandma's. My attention was no longer focused solely on her, but she didn't seem to be discouraged by this. Because Josie seemed to be okay for 2-3 hour stretches, we ventured out right away in the morning to do a few errands. We made it, but she still had numerous accidents later in the day. Surprisingly, she continued to wake up dry for naps and night time and had no problem pooping. That night, we went to the lake. She didn't make it there without having an accident. I expected it, so we just washed the car seat cover and got her ready for bed.

Saturday morning, she woke up dry and managed to get to her little toilet in time. The rest of the morning seemed to be spent trying to get her to go before we left for town for a couple of hours. She didn't go, and she screamed in my face for over half of it. I did what I could to keep her distracted but if anything, my attempts only made it worse. We ended up just leaving with the plan of changing her clothes at some point when she had an accident. Imagine our surprise when she managed to go from when she first woke up to after we got back (over four hours) without having an accident. Again, she did great for naps and bed time, but just had trouble throughout the day after we returned.

Sunday was when things took a turn for the worst. It was day 4 and she seemed to just give up. She was having accidents every 30 minutes to an hour and I was ready to pull my hair out. Every time I asked her if she wanted to go potty, she would scream and run away. She seemed to always go in the same place in a corner behind a chair, so we moved the potty over there and just decided to let her lead the way. (That didn't work by the way.) I struggled to get the girls down for their nap and realized that I hadn't prayed about this. Meltdowns will do that - remind you what you are forgetting. Sure enough, God blessed me with a huge gift. After Josie woke up, she was like a different kid.

The girl has basically been potty trained since then. Crazy, right? After she woke up, I put her on the actual toilet. She screamed at me like I was hurting her in the worst way, but eventually I got her settled down enough for her to go, and the light bulb just must have clicked. Ever since, she has no problem going and even gets excited about it briefly while she's sitting there. She still could care less about it when I excitedly tell those around us, but hey that's fine with me as long as she's going.

So here is what I learned and what worked for us.

1. The first day, I had her running around with just a shirt on and every time she would go, I'd run back and forth between the accident spot and the toilet saying "No no no not over here, that's icky, let's go on the potty!" She seemed to kind of understand and would laugh at me with my theatrics. I tried using a sticker as a reward and while she was excited about getting one, she did not do anything different to get it. I did have her sit on it occasionally, but I didn't want to force it with the fear of making her feel like it was punishment.

2. After the first day, I tried to entice her by showing her the panties I had for her. Again, she liked them but wasn't willing to do anything different to get them. What really worked for us was using M&Ms. She would get one if she sat on the potty and two if she went. Seriously, it was crazy how motivating that was. When we just offered one if she went, she got discouraged quickly so offering it to her to just sit on the potty in general helped her to relax. She must have felt too tense right away with all of that pressure from me. Totally understandable. Getting her excited and more relaxed got the ball rolling in the right direction.

3. It takes time. She isn't even two yet, so expecting it to only take one or two days is very unrealistic. I was expecting it to take longer than it did, so when things turned around and she showed that she got it, I was surprised and excited. I was pretty relaxed about it most of the time (except right before my meltdown moment) so she didn't have to deal with my stress. Also, I never made it a huge deal when she had accidents. I knew it was going to happen and was prepared to clean it up and deal with each situation.

4. In the morning, it is crucial that I get up and get her on the potty as soon as I hear her. She doesn't always ask to go when she feels like she needs to, so she will go in her bed if I am not paying attention. Again, understandable and I consider those accidents my fault, not hers.

5. Always important to have extra panties and pants along wherever we go. For obvious reasons.

6. We started out using her little potty because she was terrified to sit on the actual toilet. It was nice since I could move it to each room that she was in, but I was worried about what we would do in public since it would be weird to just carry around a child toilet in public. Yes she did sit on it, but no it didn't necessarily help her go. Strangely enough, she does a lot better on the "big" toilet and we just had to get over that fear of being up off the ground. Like I mentioned earlier, distractions can be helpful. I'll give her water or sing silly songs if she's screaming and she seems to forget why she was mad.

7. If using an actual toilet, there are some nice tricks to use to help the kiddo not be scared. You could have a stool or bench for their little fit to rest on, the kid can sit backwards while straddling the tank. Josie prefers to sit on the back of the seat with her legs straight out. Sometimes, she'll have a leg on each side, spread more to help her keep her balance. That's not her favorite, but she doesn't freak out. *Edit: now that its been over a week, she sits close to the front and leans over just enough to keep her balance. She needed some time to figure out how to balance so the previous suggestions worked well until she figured this out*

8. I stress to her every single time to use her hands on the seat to help her stay put. I also have her "dab dab" herself with toilet paper to get her used to that. She loves to help and always says "bye bye" as she flushes. Afterwards, she gets a high five and a hug if she's in the right mood. All of these things together have helped her think of it as fun instead of miserable. She still screams when I make her sit on it if she's doing something that she thinks is more fun, but she has quickly figured out that if she just gets it over with, she gets to go back and play sooner.

9. Don't over-educated about how to do it. I read numerous blogs and articles about it and talked to a lot of different moms that had experienced it first hand. I knew what I was doing in my head, but wasn't sure how to apply it to my child since each child is so different. When I was frustrated, I Googled it and realized that you can find whatever answer you are leaning towards - some say that you should stop and try again in a few months if the child doesn't get it right away while others say that you should never go back to diapers if you go at least a day without them. Some say that you stop diapers cold turkey while others say that you should ease into it by wearing them at night and during naps. Basically, do what sounds and feels right to you and trust your mama instinct. When Josie regressed a little, I started doubting myself. I literally gave myself a pep talk by saying "You know your daughter, you know how changes have gone in the past." I'm so thankful that I stuck with my gut. Even more so, I am so thankful that I prayed about it. It was a big deal to me at the time and I sometimes forget how much God cares about every little thing that happens on a daily basis.

That's all I've got for now. If you have questions about it or would like more details, let me know. I mostly wanted to write it down so that I could remember it when it's time for Audrey even though I am sure it will be very different. Every kid is so different, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

It's been over a week, and most days are pretty good. She consistently has accidents in the morning and I am guessing that I'll just have to have her try every half hour until she gets it all out of her system. She hasn't figured out that she should tell me when she has to go which doesn't help when she has to poop. Even though she figured that out first while we were actively potty training, she isn't consistently doing this on the toilet. I know she'll figure it out and am not surprised by the few accidents she does have. She has had a few accidents at night and I haven't figured out if there is something we can do different to avoid this other than avoid water right before bed. Overall, though, I am pleased with how she is doing and don't feel like we did it when she was too young.

Want a few laughs? At my expense?

This day. Oh this day.

Rudely awakened at 5:00 AM, Audrey and I had a little talk about sleeping in. I gave her some milk and went back to bed. Only a mere 30 minutes later, I was back in her room trying to get her to sleep again before she woke up Josie. As I peered at Josie, I noticed that her bed was wet and that her tossing and turning was a result of her unconscious sleeping self trying to avoid said wet spot. What's a mom to do? Do I wake her up to change her sheets when we are oh so close to regular wake up time but not close enough to call it a morning? Not a chance. I tip toed back out, looking forward to the bed change I'd have to take care of when the real morning started.

6:00 AM came all too soon with me in the kitchen preparing lunch for the hubby, tiptoeing around hoping that the girls wouldn't wake up. I hopped in the shower as fast as I could and prayed for just a little tiny bit of quiet time before the day really began. I got about...three minutes. That's it. I knew the girls were awake but had hoped they'd just stay quiet for a little while. Josie isn't one to stay quiet, so the yelling, laughing, and throwing of random objects began shortly after her waking up which of course lined up perfectly with the start of my quiet time.

I wasn't ready for what was coming. I walked in to find Josie soaking wet with a full pair of pants if you will. I just stood there in shock for a minute before I realized that I have to be the one to clean it up. I'm the adult. You know its bad when she gags while we clean it up. Seriously, though. It was bad. As soon as I got her in a fresh pair of underwear, I ran back to her room to get smelly soaking wet sheets out of there. Audrey was very upset at this point that I could have abandoned and left her to die in there like that, so she was up next.

Once in a while, Audrey wakes up with the start of a diaper rash from being partially soaked all night long. Her diapers hold most of it in, so it's not that she's laying in a soaking wet bed. But her skin gets a little irritated now and then from it. No big deal, since most of the time I will just let her lay in her crib on a towel in her birthday suit for 15 minutes or so while she plays. It's gone in half a day and she loves loves loves being free like that (the girl gets giddy). Today, I ran to make them some oatmeal for breakfast and by the time I got back, round two had ensued.

It was everywhere. I was expecting the towel to be a bit wet. I was not expecting the entire bed, baby, pacifier, and baby toy to be covered in it. You can imagine what I am referring to, right? It was awful. I didn't even know where to start. I pulled it together enough to get Audrey in the bath and the sheet rinsed out and out of the room (the smell in that poor room at this point was not something I want to relive) and determined in my mind that the day.would.get.better. 

I figured that once we were done eating breakfast, the best thing I could do to clear my head was to go for a run before Audrey's nap. She gifted me with some serious screaming that only died down long enough for a quick two miles before she made it clear how she felt about all of her injustices once again. Even getting her to bed was crazy. She screamed for at least 20 minutes, and that was with me in there shushing her, inserting the pacifier, and getting her repositioned for at least half of it. 

I'm already ready for this week to be over. Can it please get better? Pretty please?



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Fitness Friday

My workouts were few and far between this week, but the few I got really counted for something.

Tuesday, I went for a run before nap time around 1:00. I ran a total of two miles and walked half a mile. I ran a straight 1.25 miles before walking and then mixed it up from that point on. What was impressive for me was that I started back up running as often as I did. Back in the day when I was a awesome mediocre runner, I couldn't stop to walk because I would never start running again so instead I would crawl along at a slow jog the whole time. I'd stop, catch my breath, and take off again if I couldn't run anymore. It worked well for me, but then again I wasn't pushing a stroller with two kids that inevitably had needs needing to be met. Nowadays, I have to stop at least 4-10 times every time I am out. I also can walk for a while and then pick it up and jog without feeling like I'm dying. That's big, I'm telling you.

Today, I loaded the (crabby, so crabby) girls up and took off. I ran the first mile straight, only stopping to put the pacifier back in Audrey's mouth two times. I had to turn around then because I knew it'd be too far for the girls so that was really the halfway point. After that mile, both girls got whiny and I had to stop more often, but when I did start up, it was jogging not walking. I ran the whole two miles! Huge for me! I wish I had more info, like how fast I was going, but alas, the app on my phone started me out way before I was out the door so my average was all messed up. I'm sure it was around 5.2 mph like it always is which is fine by me.

I also fell of the wagon the last couple of days with my food intake. Sort of humiliating, but it is what it is. I weighed myself this morning and found that I was half a lb lighter than I was last week, which seems great and I'm happy I'm not more, but it got me thinking that I had probably lost more than that before the little break I took. Motivation works in weird ways sometimes and comes when you least expect it. And sometimes, it's freakishly predictable:

Nothing like a little shopping to motivate me! 

I went to Old Navy and loaded up on a few new things. Let me just preface this to tell you that my current running ensemble consists of running capris from like 2006 that used to be black but are now more of a brown gray with a hole that has been patched up on my leg and an old ratty t-shirt that is stained and discolored. Nice, huh? The alternative is the same kind of shirt (in red this time, not lime green) with some yoga pants (so.hot.) that shimmy their way down until they are obscenely low causing me to stop and yank them back, up every 10 feet or so (I kid, I kid, more like every 30 feet).

I knew pants weren't an option because covered ankles=crazy hot mess but shorts wouldn't work either because of the inevitable chub rub. I present you the official (maybe? probably not) running capris that Old Navy had on sale.

Don't mind the tank top. That's not new (ha, like I'd they'd still sell that old thing) but will be worn to run in since it's loose and sleeveless. (Isn't the location of my full-length mirror charming? Why hello, overfilled pantry and dark, seemingly dingy hallway.)

I got two pairs of capris and two racer top tank tops. One is more of a mesh material (not shown in pictures) and is pretty tight while the other is cotton and has more stretch. I like them both but the cotton one is my favorite (see below).

Isn't it fun to fool everyone with a well taken selfie? I look pretty good here if I do say so myself, but properly fitting running gear can hide certain body parts quite well.

Things are looking up! Running doesn't seem so overwhelming and I'm still wanting to do it, so I'll keep riding this train while I can. I would love to get my speed up to a 10 minute mile (or even faster?) or just get the distance higher, which isn't all that unreasonable. Maybe a 5k is in my future. A 10k would be fabulous. We'll see how it goes. Right now, the last thing I need is a lofty goal to disappoint me down the road. One day at a time for the time being...

On that note, I'm off to do some sitting until the girls wake up from nap numero dos. I do love to just sit around sometimes. Keep your eyes out for a post on potty training (exciting, I know). I am almost done with it and it's kind of interesting if I do say so myself. Happy weekend! 

Audrey Joy, Six months old

Audrey Joy turned six months old on May 18th. This month was a good month. No, a great month.

Not much has changed for eating. We're using the sensitive formula from Sam's Club and haven't had any hick ups. I have made attempts at feeding her solids and this girl just isn't interested. She will eat one or two bites of the oatmeal cereal, but even that seems less than appealing to her. I hope and pray this doesn't mean that she will be a picky eater forever. Bah. It's not the worst thing I guess, but if I can help it I would love to introduce her to as much as I can sooner than later.

We've done a little more sleep training and have settled with her waking up ever second or third night to have a bottle around 4-5 AM. Other than those nights, she mostly sleeps until 6 or 7 in the morning and it's great! She's going to bed between 7 and 8 PM with Josie. The pacifier is her most favorite thing. We do have to go in numerous times to get her all situated with the pacifier in her mouth, but I can't complain about that. It could be so much worse.

She's been sitting up since 5 1/2 weeks and has really gotten stronger. She still needs help staying up, but every single day shows her strength and it's fun to see her attention span getting longer. Her arms seem to be longer too. She is suddenly grabbing at our plates full of food (but she doesn't want to eat any of it), toys that seem out of reach, diapers, wipes, anything she can get her hands on. It's fun to see her get excited for her toys and of course when she is excited, so is everyone else in the room. She's contagious.

Josie is her biggest source of entertainment. She loves to watch her and giggles with her constantly. All they need is a glance between them to get them both laughing hysterically. They build off of each other which makes me laugh as well. I have it on video but they were taking a bath so it's not so much blog appropriate. Trust me though, it's adorable. Josie head bumps her constantly and I caught her sitting on her once too. Audrey hardly ever cries and usually she wants to keep watching Jo so if she does cry, it's only for a minute before she's distracted again.

We still think she's more of a mommy's girl than Josie was, and she still loves to be held. She doesn't stare at my face and interact quite as much as before since she's becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. She still gives a huge smile at the smallest amount of eye contact, and loves to reach her little hands up to cup my face. Just wins me over everysingletime. 

And of course the stats! She is still just under the 50% mark for both height and weight. I have no idea what her head circumference is. Her weight is 15 lbs 8 oz and her height is 27 inches. She's the same height that Josie was but is almost 2 1/2 lbs lighter. Crazy! She's still wearing mostly 3-6 clothing with the newer things being too big. I am kind of sick of some of her onesies that Josie wore a lot, but that's not a good enough reason to buy more, especially since she'll be switching sizes soon. Plus... summer will come soon I hope!

She's much more content in the car seat now that she can entertain herself for longer periods of time. It has also helped a lot that we don't have the cover over her now that it is nice out.

I adore her. We adore her. I still don't understand how I can love both girls so much but so differently. They really are just so different. I kind of really love that too.

Audrey and Josie both at six months old

**Sorry for the shadows in the pictures. I didn't feel like redoing them since she was so smiley and happy the first time around**

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The good outweighs the bad. always.

What a mood I've been in. I can't really explain it away like I often can. I just don't feel up to much. Partly, its been the rainy weather. I can't blame it on that though, I am just feeling dull, a little tired, and mostly lazy. 

Regardless of my bad 'tude, the girls continue to entertain us on the daily.

I've been slowly introducing new foods to Audrey (wait, what? She's already 6 months old! An update is soon to come) and I've decided to try a little Baby Led Weaning to give her a chance to experience the kinds of different textures both with her hands and in her mouth. She's not super eager when I feed her and doesn't seem to care much either way, but I know that will change with time. She's pretty cute, though, sitting there with those big cheeks, bare chest, and drooly lips.

I laid Audrey in Josie's bed the other day, much to Josie's dismay. Stories were read and love-filled sister glances were passed. It was a fun moment.

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Just another weekend at the farm

Quick picture dump from this past weekend. Apparently, I only think that the kids are worth it when it comes to taking pictures. Oh well, they're cute!

My  nephew, Dean (or Dean-dog, Dean-bob, Dean-o)

These two are quite the pals

Josie enjoyed some serious tractor riding. I mean, really, what did we expect? She loves pointing out cars, "hick ups", and trains so why wouldn't she love a good tractor?

Not so great picture of myself with my baby girl.

Playing outside while the weather was amazing (later, we got a rain shower that outlasted us as we picked up and headed home so we were thankful for one good day).

 

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It's hot out there.

After yesterday's post, I'm definitely feeling remotivated and back in the game. What a relief! I freaked myself out thinking that I had reached the plateau point (I know, ridiculously, right?) and that I wouldn't be able to wrap my mind around getting passed it. Thankfully, a bad weekend is just that, a bad weekend. It doesn't mean that I've failed or that I can't just continue on from this point. 

In other news, I keep making the dumb mistake of going out for my walk/runs at the hottest time of day. What is wrong with me?? Yesterday, it was 88 degrees at 5:00 PM.  Today, I went around 11:30 and it was already 86 degrees. I had to stop a bunch of times because Audrey was freaking out so I eventually ended up carrying her on me with the moby wrap for at least .75 miles. Not cool. Literally. I was sweating profusely although she seemed as happy as can be. It took me a solid hour just to recoup from that.

Now the girls are napping and I have to get back to a normal body temp by jumping in the shower.

Happy Tuesday!

**Not complaining about the weather, just point out my stupidity*



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