Some days seem longer than others...

It's easy to make this stay-at-home mom job look effortless on the blog.  And I don't mean to purposely paint a picture that isn't true because I feel like I do post the good and the bad (or at least small bits of the bad).  But man...everything has felt like a lot more work lately.  Adding a baby into the mix at the same time the terrible twos hit has turned out to be...interesting.  There has been a lot of timeouts in our house lately, and unfortunately, I've been losing my patience far too quickly.  I'm sure some of it is because I'm so damn tired, but I'm also just not used to having a 2 year old following me around and chatting me up 24/7.  It gets to be a little much at times, like tonight on my way home from walmart when Millie wouldn't quit saying "I need ice cream" over and over again.  I don't even know where that request came from?!  Thankfully, it doesn't take long for her to have me laughing again...we're all on a roller coaster ride of emotions these days. ;)

This past weekend, we decided to take advantage of the cooler temps and head up to Crystal Bridges to walk the outdoor trails.  It was so fun to be out doing something different than our usual neighborhood walk.  We even brought sandwiches along for an outdoor picnic lunch.  I hope we get to do more of this in the fall.

Turns out this little lagoon behind us is actually pretty in person but looks sort of gross in pics :)

Have I mentioned how Syd is the best baby in the world?  Because she's still holding that record.  We're so lucky to have this laid back gal...and Millie is still in love with her too.  Syd likes to play for a while after eating, and it is so adorable to see her crack the biggest smile when she sees the tiger light up above her.  In fact, she'll crack the biggest smiles for just about anything, even if it is just one of us bending down to put her paci back in.

This pic is so telling: Millie started jumping around and Syd was clearly getting worried about her own safety.  As she should be...

Birthday Pics...Finally!

I really enjoyed not having to worry about taking pics during Millie's 2nd birthday party, but I really did not enjoy having to wait almost 4 weeks to get those pics.  However, that is beside the point because the pics turned out great!  What a fun day...here are a few of my favorites:

meow

bubba & kitty syd

sawyer winding up for the pitch

cayden

courtni

grey

birthday girl enjoying her cupcake

family <3

Currently

This morning at Little Gym, Millie was imitating how I was sitting.  She kept looking down to make sure her legs were crossed exactly like mine. ;)   Video: Bouncy Millie

Mills has been so sweet to Syddles...for example, this morning she gave Syd her Owl and Blankie to cuddle with; this is sort of a big deal.

Our activity mat from Millie's time as a baby didn't quite hold up in the attic...the electronic parts no longer work.  Thus, I got Syd a new activity mat this week, and she adores it!  It has tons of black and white stripes and dots, and she really likes the tiger that lights up and plays music right above her.

Syd's also been enjoying our ceiling fans

Going in for the kill...poor Sydney has endured some very rough nose-picking lately

afternoon playtime

Syddles 2 mos old...this pic reminded me of a certain Millie pic (see below)

Millie 3 mos old

From that sweet face to this fierce one in 2 short years ;)  Millie is feeding both of her babies at the same time; maybe they're twins?

Syd loves the Ergo carrier

Last weekend, we went to Cayden's birthday party.  I didn't get good pics, but Amanda did here on her blog.  She's a much better photographer, thank goodness.  The kiddos had such a good time and that cake was uber-yummy.

Sydney and Beckham will be best buds, I'm sure...just like Mills & Cayden

Finally, Sydney's nursery is finished.  I got her birth stats framed and hung on the wall.  It has a special glossy coating on it to preserve it, so it is hard to get a pic without glare.  I like how it turned out though. :)

2 Years Old

Just a quick 2 Year Old post for Millie to jot down a few of her favorite things at the moment.  I'm a couple of weeks behind, but that's okay since I now get to include her stats from her 2 year pediatrician appt yesterday.

Stats: weight 29lbs (75th %), length 36.25 inches (95th %), head 19 inches (Dr forgot to give % but she always has a pretty average head size).  I've said this before, but I'm not a fan of how they measure the length...by laying down on the exam table and marking by her head and feet with a pen, then measuring that distance.  It sounds like it would work, but it is always off.  So her real length is right around 34.75 inches.  I realize that is only 1.5 inches off, but that makes a big difference on those percentage charts.

Anyhoo, I asked the doctor about Millie's weight because she usually has a below average % on the weight; at her 18 month checkup, her weight was in the 30th percentile and before that at her 1 year checkup, her weight was in the 25th percentile.  Dr. Averitt wasn't concerned, and when plotting her BMI, she's still way below average.  Guess it's all those corn dogs I've been feeding her. ;)

Millie's current favorite things:
Swinging on the bars or rings at the gym...or in her closet...or on the treadmill...pretty much wherever she sees a swingable bar, she takes advantage; snacks and/or treats: fruit snacks, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, popcorn, yogurt raisins, goldfish crackers, juice boxes; jumping...she jumps everywhere, all the time; playing outside in the pool or water hose; playing with her baby dolls...putting them in Syd's swing or infant chair, pretending to feed them or change their diaper; walks (in the stroller) to the park; holding Sydney; cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, whole wheat pasta, Kashi crackers, cheese sticks, yogurt; Curious George TV show; reading books, current favs: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, The Nose Book, Ten in the Bed, Eric Carle's From Head to Toe; playing chase; feeding the ducks in our pond; pretending to drive daddy's car in the driveway; singing, current favs: ABC song, Baby Beluga, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ring Around the Rosie.

Her speech and vocabulary has developed very quickly and seems to multiply exponentially each week!  It's so easy to understand why parents think they have little geniuses when they surprise you with what they know on a daily basis. ;)  Millie is now talking in phrases and 3-word sentences, and she uses pronouns and adjectives.  Most of the time, whatever she says is in question form.  For example:

• Where Daddy/Mommy go?
• Go park? Go outside?
• I need juice. I need snack.
• Daddy go work?
• Why Syd cry?
• Syd sad?
• Is baby hungry?
• Where Millie go? (peekaboo game)

She knows most of her colors and shapes, and she also counts to 6 and will surprise you with how much of the alphabet she knows.  These last two skills are just memorization; I know she doesn't know what more than 2 objects means and she only knows the alphabet song, not the individual letters...but it is still cute as hell to hear her sing that song.  And watching her pretend to do things has really been cracking us up...like playing with her kitchen set or with her baby dolls.  When she gets in her pink car, she always says she's going to the store, usually for bananas. ;)

feeding her baby the way mommy feeds Syd...I did not teach her this :)

She's pretty much right on track where a 2 year old should be...even with the temper tantrums.  I've started implementing the 1-2-3 Magic principles, and the counting and subsequent timeouts have been working so far.  She can go from such a challenge to the sweetest little girl in the world and back again within a minute.  She's the silliest kid I know, and I love her quirkiness.  And even on our hardest days, she just has to say "Thank you, Mah-ee" and my heart melts.  I love her little voice and her little face so much it hurts...in a good way.  Love you, Millie Bear...we're still so so glad you're ours!  

2 Months Old

Syddles is 2 months old...and growing gangbusters!

one week old:

one month old:

two months old:  look how strong her neck is!

I took these 2 month pics while Millie wasn't napping...she was a tad jealous of the attention I was giving Syd.  Notice Mills has on Syd's 1 month sticker. ;)  You can tell how filled out Sydney is here...getting some nice rolls!

our pretty girl might just keep these blue eyes

EAT:
Syd is still eating about every 3 hours during the day, and she eats for somewhere between 15-25 minutes.  At night, she usually gives me about a 6 hour stretch.  She's even gone 7-8 hours a few nights but that didn't become a habit.  I'm getting some long stretches though, so that's all that matters. :)  I've been pumping some, and she's had several bottles by now.  Her first bottle was given to her by JKK on 6/26/13 at almost 6 weeks old; of course, she took it like a pro.

The spit-up has started...break out the bibs.  It isn't bad, not like reflux bad...just the normal overflow after feedings.  Things have been a little messier though.  And at 5 weeks old, we moved her up to size 1 diapers and size 0-3 months clothes.

SLEEP:

During the day, Sydney mostly naps in the moses basket on her belly, and sometimes, she'll nap in the swing.  We no longer swaddle her during the day.  At night, she gets swaddled up tight and sleeps in our room in the rock-n-play sleeper with her sleep sheep sound machine going.  I think doing things differently during the day has helped her differentiate between night and day...it's just a guess, but somehow she knows to give me those longer stretches at night.  She doesn't wake up crying at night, it is more like an uncomfortable grunting.  She starts squirming to get out of the swaddle, but if I just get up and feed her quickly, she goes right back to sleep until morning.  Later this week, I plan to move her upstairs to her crib at night.

Saturday night, Syd had her first night away from home...and it wasn't even planned.  She & I went to a family shower in Tulsa, and we ended up staying the night at my grandparents.  She did fantastic!  We made a little pallet for her on the floor next to my bed, and she only woke up once to feed at 3:30am.  The entire house was even up before her the next morning.  She's just so laid back and goes with the flow; love her peacefulness.  And on the way home, she hit another milestone...her first blowout in the carseat.  Ewww.

PLAY:

Still not a ton of playing going on at this point.  I have brought out a few toys for her to gaze at, and she gets pretty excited about those for a few minutes a day.  Also during the day, I have been trying to keep her awake after feedings for awhile to start the first steps of the EASY plan, which will eventually allow us to get into a good schedule of feedings and naps.  She loves to see our faces and smiles every time we get down on her level...she's even starting cooing to let us know how happy she is.

Today was her 2 month checkup with the pediatrician, which also meant 3 shots. :(  Syd didn't do all that great with the shots; I've never heard that kind of cry from her before.  Heartbreaking.  The rest of the appointment went well though, and she didn't seem to mind being checked out by the doctor.  She received a clean bill of health and no signs of the heart defect that was detected with Millie at this age.  Stats: weight 11lbs,1oz (50th %), length 22 inches (30th %), head 15.25 inches (50th %).

Dear Sydney,

You are still the most perfect and sweet baby.  This month has been so fun seeing you come alive with your smiles and your beautiful blue eyes.  I love trying to make you smile any chance I get and you never disappoint.  You are so content and happy, calm and relaxed, precious and peaceful.  I'm so thankful for this time at home with you; getting to watch you grow and change on a daily basis is such a gift.  You are the absolute sweetest thing.  Baby of mine, you are loved more than you'll ever know.

A Visit from Nana and Rachel's Shower

Sydney turned 8 weeks old on Thursday!  She is sooo smiley.

Thursday afternoon, Nana came to visit...Mills was thrilled!  Nana brought Mills some more kitchen stuff, which has been a big hit.  Millie pretends to pour juice and put butter on her waffles...the pretend stuff is starting to kick in.

Friday, Nana watched Syddles while I took Mills to her last day of swim lessons.  Here are Mills & Grey saying "see ya next year, Swim Ranch!".

It was a great last day in the pool...she even got to ride on a gigantic blow-up sea turtle!

When we got back, we all had lunch outside on the patio.  Lovely :)

Syd loves Nana too <3

Saturday, I took Syd with me to Tulsa for my cousin Rachel's wedding shower.  JKK kept Mills here, since the shower was taking place during naptime.  Syddles all dressed up...

A few of my favorite snapshots from the shower:  Rachel is going to be the most beautiful bride!

Dina Sue & Abby

my momma

Rach & Vic

Syddles had a little cat nap on Nana's lap during the shower

funny Lauren

Mimi & Kelly

Wells beauties

Syd & Vic

Afterwards, we went to Mimi & Papa's to hang out.  It was soooo much fun seeing everyone!

There are too many pics to post here, but if anyone wants to see all of them, I can send the Shutterfly link out in email.  Just let me know if you want it. ;)  Congratulations, Rachel...love you and so so happy for you!