Twenty Three Months Old!!

Twenty Three Months Old - March 20, 2014

Caroline wanted to take the monthly picture...so I let her and this is what we go.  It made me laugh so I felt like we had to use it!

My precious little baby is only a month away from turning the big 2!  I still cannot believe that it's been two years since she was born.  She still seems like a little baby to me.  Caroline seemed so big at this age (AP was born when she was 23 months old) and AP seems so little.  I guess it's because I don't have a newborn to compare her to.  She is still a major mama's girl - and I love it.  She loves daddy, but most of the time she wants to be with me.  Most of all, she is Caroline's girl.  She sure does love her sister.

Her vocabulary is amazing.  She is incredibly clear and knows a ton of words.  She speaks in complete sentences and surprises us with what she knows all the time.  We have a little genius on our hands!  She still has her paci and wants it a lot.  I am dreading taking this away at the end of the month.  Our dentist says to take it away at age 2 or as close to that as possible and that is coming soon.  That will not be a fun week.  It's her comfort object and she asks for it several times throughout the day and often will not stop crying until she gets it.  Caroline never had a paci so this is new for me.  I must say, I am considering not giving baby 3 a paci at all so I don't have to do this again!!

She is a wonderful eater and has a great appetite.  Her favorites are still chicken fingers, macaroni, fruit, pretzels, chips and cheese (Mexican), rice, cheese, and broccoli.  She isn't that adventurous in trying new foods, but when she likes something she will eat it over and over.  We are so glad she likes so many fruits and veggies!  We think she is outgrowing her lactose intolerance.  She has had cow  milk lately and does fine with it so we have been giving it to her more and more and hopefully soon she won't need the soy milk.

Her sleeping is hit or miss these days.  School wears her out and she will nap those days but on non-school days she doesn't get tired until 4...which is horrible.  If I let her fall asleep, she will be up all night and if I keep her awake she is cranky until bed time.  Either way, it's not good.  Sometimes she will sleep through the night and other times she is up a two or three in the morning and will not go back to sleep until I go and get her.  I am hoping this stops before we are up all night with a newborn.

She is so funny!!  She has picked up a lot of "tricks" from Caroline and it's precious watching AP be an entertainer.  She likes to tell knock knock jokes but most of the time they end up like this:
Knock knock
who's there?
bunny
Bunny who?
Me!!

She has a wild imagination and will hide from imaginary witches and sharks and spiders.  Often, these creatures are in our hair and she gets them off and save us.  She loves dress up and all things girly.  She loves My Little Pony, Tinkerbell, Frozen, and most of the princesses.  She loves to wear jewelry and carry purses.  She is our little miss priss!

She is so kind and polite and it makes me so happy.  She always remembers to say please and thank you.  She gives wonderful hugs and kisses.  She loves her friends and she says her best friend is Kiki - my sister.  Good choice baby girl!

She is such a joy and we sure do love this little girl!  She never fails to make us smile.  I am still so amazed that I get to be her mommy.  What a wonderful blessing she is to us!

Happy 23 months baby girl.  As sad as I am to see these baby (ish) days go, I am so excited to see the fun that is ahead.  I know that each day I will continue to love you more and more.  I love you so much!!

iPhone picture catch up

We have been super busy around here! Last Saturday we officially listed our house for sale by owner.  We had to have a few things taken care of (like a broken window) and when they were finished on Wednesday we put the sign out in the yard.  On Thursday we got an offer and on Friday we accepted. Today (Monday) we signed the sales contract!  We close on April 30th and they would like us out by then...so we are searching like crazy for a new home and will be spending a lot of time packing.  We are so excited about this next chapter in our lives, although the next month will be hectic,

On Saturday night Adam went out with some friends and we had a girls night.  I popped popcorn and they snuggled up in bed and watched frozen...for the millionth time.

Since we have to pack and look at houses quickly, we spent the weekend driving around and getting a feel for different neighborhoods.  The girls didn't find it quite as interesting.

Caroline loves brushing AP's teeth lately.  She will say, "I am your mommy now and I have to take care of you." 

Mesmerized watching frozen...again.

Playing at Homewood Park

And being exhausted after playing at Homewood Park.

More to come!

Our First House

It has been long past time for us to get a new house...seriously.  Our precious first home that was so well suited to us when we bought it (as a childless couple) is just not cutting it for this family of four, soon to be five.  We knew that we would be looking after the beginning of the year, but when we found out we were expecting again, it really kicked things into high gear.

We spent January and February getting things ready in our house to show and we are going to try to sell in by owner for a bit.  We have already had people look at it and I think that I do a pretty good job showing houses, if I do say so myself :)  So soon we will start looking for our next house (not our forever house because let's be honest...this mama has some expensive taste and we just aren't in the mood a million dollar house...yet) but I wanted to make sure I had pictures of our first house.  This house has been wonderful these past five years and so much has happened here.  This is the first house we bought.  It was the house that we found out we were expected all three of our children in and the house we brought Caroline and Ann Parker home to (hopefully we will not be bringing baby 3 home to this house!!).  So many memories!

I am excited to get into a new house for sure - obviously for more space.  Also, it will be fun to decorate.  This house was a work with what we had house.  Now that I know what I like and can actually afford nice things it will be nice to make a new space for us.  But still, I am getting very sentimental about leaving this place.  This will probably be boring to most, but I know that I will love to look back at this one day and I am sure the girls will too.



Walking into our house.

View of the breakfast nook and part of the kitchen.  So many meals have been made and eaten in here.  I remember the first thing I ever cooked in this kitchen was Franklin Gourmet's Baby Blue salad for supper club at the Wise's in 2009!  Not sure why I remember that, but I do.

The living room.  This is where we spend a lot of our time.  This is where I have witnessed first crawls and first steps.  I remember sitting on the couch calling Adam's parents to tell them we were expecting Caroline.  I have fallen asleep on the couch watching tv more times than I can count and snuggled with my girls watching disney junior more times than necessary.  We put our Christmas tree in here each year and this is where Santa leaves gifts.  You can usually find Daisy sleeping in the chair in here and also it is common to find the girls dancing in here.  This is the spot of our impromptu dance parties.  Some sad things happened here as well.  I remember sitting in the chair in the corner (that you cannot see) when my mom called to tell me that my grandfather had died.  This room has seen a lot of laughter and some tears along the way.

The dining room.  Random story...this red color is called caliente.  I had chosen another color to go on top of the grey but that color was only made in the most expensive paint.  Since we have high ceilings it would take almost $300 worth of paint to finish the room and we didn't want to spend that much money on the dining room.  We chose this red color and for the past five years I have complained that we have an Alabama themed dining room.  Oh well...roll tide.  We have eaten in here for Christmas Eve and Easter every year since 2010.  I fed Caroline hear first rice cereal in this room.

Master bedroom.

Master bath.  This is the room that sold the house for me.  After seeing about 30 houses all over Homewood, Vestavia, and Mountain Brook we saw this large bathroom with the jetted tub and separate shower and I felt that it was exactly what I needed.  This is where I took pregnancy tests to discover I was pregnant with all of my kids.

Laundry room.  I love seeing their cute artwork and school pictures on the wall each day.

Second bath.

Bedroom 2:  This room has been a guest room and then Ann Parker's room.

Bedroom 3: This has been Caroline's nursery and then her big girl room.

More of my bedroom...not sure why I took so many.

Backyard.  This is where we held both of the girls first birthday parties.  We have played in the sprinkler, blown up the bounce house, splashed in baby pools, kicked the soccer ball, driven in the cozy coupe, gone for wagon rides, played on the slide, played in the sand box and water box, and so much more.  The girls LOVE being outside and it was nice to be able to get out and play.

Well, it's been a good five years and this house has been good to us.  It's sad to say goodbye, but happy too.  I am excited to see where we will end up and eager for all the new memories will make in a new house.  I am hoping that this one sells soon so say a little prayer that this process is quick and easy on us and the girls.

3K Derby Day!

On Friday the 3K classes at TCDC had a Derby Day.  Each child made a car out of a box and then raced with their class in the gym.  The kids were so adorable and proud of their creations - and there were some awesome cars!  Caroline wanted to decorate hers with flowers and butterflies.  Caroline, Adam, and I painted and "built" her car one evening and had such a fun time.

After the races, the parents stuck around for a playground picnic with the kids.  It was a wonderful Friday with my sweet girls!

Party of 5!

Adam and I are so excited to be adding a new member to our family this fall.  Our third baby is due September 11 (my birthday) but will more than likely come early like his/her sisters did.  Coincidently, Adam's birthday is a few weeks before mine so baby 3 will come sometime between his birthday and mine- what a fun birthday gift!

I am currently 14 weeks, finally in the second trimester.  So far this pregnancy is very different than the last two...but they were different so I don't think that this means it's a boy.  In fact, I feel like it's another girl!  We will be finding out the gender, but not until the anatomy scan.  No sneak peeks for us! 

I haven't really felt sick at all, just a couple of times and it wasn't bad.  I think there have maybe been three afternoons where I have been really tired, but that's all.  I haven't had any cravings or aversions.  This has been an almost symptom free pregnancy and I am very thankful.  We have had a few ultrasounds and so far baby looks good.  The heartbeat is always in the normal range and the size is always good.  He/she is growing right on track!

We are going to be busy, busy, busy these next six months! We are hoping to sell our house, buy another, get somewhat settled in (riiiiiight....I am actually not counting on that), and have a healthy baby! Wish us luck!

Stay tuned for more updates on our new addition!

This US is from about week 7.  The belly picture is from week SIX! I started looking pregnant really fast (I guess that is what happens with a third baby) and it was hard to hide the growing bump.  When I finally told some friends, several people had said they thought so because I already was showing!  

Twenty Two Months Old!!

Twenty two months old - February 20, 2014

Ann Parker turned 22 months old last Thursday.  I spent the day without her, flying to NYC for a quick get away, so this post is a little late.  I cannot believe that we are two months away from TWO and it's time to plan her party...but here we are!  

She is such a sweet, smart little girl and we just adore her.  She constantly amazes us with the things she has learned - saying the ABC's by herself, counting well past 10 and backwards from 10 to "blastoff", speaking in sentences, identifying her feelings (letting us know when she is scared, startled, hungry, sad, etc.), singing songs clearly (jingle bells, twinkle twinkle, let it go, swing low sweet chariot are a few of her favs), and oh so much more.  We get reports from church and school about how clear and large her vocabulary is.  I guess that is one of the perks to learning alongside a big sibling!

She is so kind and polite.  She uses the words please, thank you, and your welcome all the time.  She asks us if we are okay if we sneeze, trip, really anything.  The first thing she wants to do most mornings is to hug Caroline and tell her that she loves her.  

Her favorite foods are strawberries, chicken, macaroni, cheese, and grapes.  Her favorite shows are Jojo Circus, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Bubble Guppies.  She loves almost anything outside, anything art related, anything music or dance related, and bubbles.  She's a pretty easy to please girl.  

She still isn't sleeping well, but it is getting better.  Good thing because she is going to be a big sister this fall and we don't want to be up with two kiddos!  

She is still mostly a mama's girl, but we have had a small daddy's girls streak.  She loves to be held and gives the best hugs and kisses.  She is just so sweet!  Well, most of the time she is sweet.  She has been known to throw a nice little tantrum.  She gets in a mood and then it's best to stay clear.  Other than these tantrums (which really aren't that often), she is a pretty easy child.  She listens well, eats well, is easy to calm down, and loves to please.  

Happy 22 sweet girl! We love you to the moon and back times infinity!  I am so blessed to be your mommy! 

Valentine's Day 2014

We had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday.  Caroline declared it to be the "best Valentine's Day EVER!"    It fell on a Friday this year, so it was class party day.  Ann Parker doesn't normally go to school on Friday's but they get to go on party days even if it is not their day.  I got them dressed in their sweet Valentine's outfits and dropped them off at school.  Caroline's class was not having a party where parents attend - just a special snack and a cookie decorating activity.  I decided not to go to AP's class party so I could catch up on errands since they haven't had a normal week of school due to snow in the past three weeks.

One of my errands was picking up Dreamcakes cupcakes.  They got a little smashed, courtesy of Ann Parker, but they still tasted pretty darn good!!

After school, the girls got to go through their bags of Valentine's from their classmates and they also got a little happy from Mimi and Papa!  Every time Caroline pulled something out of her bag, she would say, "It's so beautiful! I love it!"  She is so gracious and sweet and I am just so proud of her!  Ann Parker gave her class little bags of teddy grahams and hershey's hugs and the tag said, "Bear Hugs! Love Ann Parker"  Caroline must really love her class.  She originally picked out these HUGE boxes of chocolates that were about $30 each...and when we need 11 that wasn't going to work out.  She settled for making cards herself, bubbles, bouncy balls, goldfish, and mini M&M's...seriously all of that.  Her bags were stuffed full!!

We met Adam for dinner at the Club and then came home for cupcakes and surprises for the girls!  They loved their new cups and plates, coloring books, fans, and Disney movies.  They got to watch both movies this morning and they loved them both.  Adam and I gave each other gifts and we ended up both giving each other something that wasn't in yet so we exchanged print outs of what is coming.

It was a wonderful day and I loved spending time with my three favorite people in the whole world!!  I couldn't have better Valentine's!