The Turtle Races

I haven't made a post in several days because we've been so busy.  L has settled on a theme for her birthday so planning and crafting is in full effect and we've been busy going all over the place taking advantage of summer fun.

I love summertime.  Aside from the heat, it really is the best time of year.  There are so many adventures to go on.  Today we went to a Corn Festival.  I love festivals.  The weirder, the better and a festival to celebrate corn is just quirky enough to conjure up some amazing family fun.

I'm not organized.  Not.  At.  All.  Luckily, I married Mr. Organized and he somehow always finds these cool things going on around town for our family to do.  He mentioned the Corn Festival awhile back, but I'd forgotten all about it until yesterday when he emailed me the schedule of events and asked what I might be interested in.  Immediately, "Turtle Races" jumped out at me.  The actual race was at 9am, but registration was at 8:30.  We didn't know if we needed our own turtle or if they were provided, so we went early.

When we got to there, I spotted a man with a box of turtles and asked him where to go for the big race.  He pointed me to the registration desk and said, "That's where you sign up your turtle."  Drats!  We have no turtle.  Then, he said, "I have an extra turtle if you need one."  Score!

I walked around holding our turtle for awhile.  They said they couldn't give me their feistiest turtle, which I was fine with, but this little dude all of a sudden sprung to life.  I think he was trying to bite me and every little bit I screamed.  My husband was totally embarrassed by me, I'm sure.

Our turtle was in the 6th heat.  He finished 3rd, but didn't make it into the finals.  Still, a win-win for the memory bank!

Quirky little family adventures are seriously the best.  Not every trip has to be to a 5 star resort to be remembered for a lifetime.  Check your local events and go out and make some goofy memories with your kids!

Mr. Turtle

L and Daddy with Mr. Turtle

Me with L and G during the parade

I'm the Lucky One

Baby G is easy to say Yes to.  His needs are basic.  He cries to tell me what he needs and that's about it.  Right now, he's easy peasy.

I find myself not mentioning him much in the blog and that's simply because he's not as challenging as our darling toddler can be.  But he deserves to be mentioned.  I could shout my love for him from atop a mountain, so....

Welcome to my mountain! 

I LOVE MY BABY G!!! 

We had been trying to conceive our second child last summer.  I probably took 25 pregnancy tests last summer and then sent them to my friends asking them to "tweak" the picture to see if they could make out a faint line.

After 3 months of trying, we got our positive test.  (I realize what a blessing it is to conceive this quickly and my heart aches for those who are not so fortunate.)

My pregnancy with L was riddled with complications.  The complication that stuck with me the most, however, was Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

I threw up nearly every 30 minutes in the beginning of my pregnancy and even with medication, I still continued to be sick throughout the entire pregnancy.

Because of the HG, we decided we needed to let our families know right away that we were pregnant so that could arrange for any help with L, should we need it.  (I was hospitalized due to severe dehydration while pregnant with her)

Our families do not live in the same town as we do.  Many don't even live in the same state.  Shortly after we found out, however, everyone was coming into town for L's 2nd birthday.

We wavered on whether to tell them or not.  We definitely didn't want to steal our daughter's thunder, but an opportunity to have everyone together like this wasn't going to happen again anytime soon.

At the last minute, when the party had wound down and everyone was about to leave, we decided to go for it.

Here's our big announcement!

My pregnancy with Baby G was polar opposite of my first.  I threw up 6 times total and had zero complications.  It was a joy! 

Baby G is the size of a poppyseed (4 weeks)

Baby G's first ultrasound!

Size of a lime (11 weeks)

Boy or Girl? (12 weeks)

It's a BOY!

 L loved the "bloons"

Size of bell pepper (18 weeks)

November 2011

December 2011

December 2011

February 2012

Love, indeed! 

Last pregnancy picture! April 1st, 2012

April 2nd, 2012. Preparing to meet our son!

I love this picture. Sorry if you have a weak stomach. 

Love at first sight. 

Proud Daddy!

 Proud Bis Sis!

One week old

Tandem-babywearing both my babies!

One month!

2 months!

Baby G is now 12 weeks (and one day!) old. He sleeps through the night (and has for the last month!), but only if he's swaddled. He doesn't take a binky like his sister did, despite my best efforts. He had colic and reflux, but is all better now. It's easy to get him to smile. He loves to be talked to. He doesn't like to have his clothes changed. He can soak you from head to toe in spit up, so watch out! He has blonde hair like me. He gets called a girl sometimes because he's so pretty! He loves to talk and sing to us. He's blessed with a big sister who adores him! 

He's my son. I love him and can't imagine life without him. 

Hello, Hello Kitty

L loves cats.  She always has.  We have 2 cats who are absolutely wonderful with her so I'm sure that's why.

L with our cat, Sassi

She went through a stage at around a year to a year and a half where if a shirt didn't have a cat on it, she wouldn't wear it.  Cat shirts aren't all that easy to find, as it turns out.  Before this obsession, I was thoroughly against character shirts.  I thought they were tacky.  But, on the hunt for cat shirts, I found that the easiest cat to find was none other than Hello Kitty.  Her obsession with cats (or "Meows" as she used to call them) morphed into an obsession with Hello Kitty.

I never cared for Hello Kitty.  Growing up, I went to San Rio Surprise in the mall just like every other little girl growing up in the early '90s, but I liked Keroppi.  Cute little Keroppi was a precious green frog with big cartoon eyes.  I just loved that guy.  I remember being a child and thinking he was so under appreciated and that wench Hello Kitty was stealing his thunder.

Keroppi

Somewhere along the road, Hello Kitty plotted the ultimate take over and Keroppi and the rest of the gang are hardly visibile singing backup to the rockstar she has become.

Hello Kitty has taken over the world and has pounced on my own sweet child and hypnotized her with that bow on her left ear and her non-existent mouth.  We have Hello Kitty Build-a-Bears, Hello Kitty beanie babies, a Hello Kitty alarm clock and soon, we may even have a Hello Kitty birthday party.  L is wavering between a "Dorfy" party (Dorothy/Wizard of Oz) or Hello Kitty.  I'd love for Dorfy to win, but it's not my party so I'll say Yes to whichever she chooses.

I'm really looking forward to all the ways I can involve her in the process of planning and preparing for her big day.  I can't wait to see her beaming with pride at all she's prepared "all by herself."  Recently, I've been having her "sign" her name to cards.  She loves it!

The world we live in has a cruel way of knocking us down.  I want to make sure I build my children up so that when the world pushes, they come back swinging.

I went to a meeting at church before we had a Dedication ceremony for the kids and something was said that really struck a chord with me and it was this, don't be a spirit crusher.  Lift your children up!

Yesterday at the mall, I saw a young girl walking with her mom and dad.  She was maybe 4 years old.  Like children have a tendency to do, she kept getting in front of her mother's feet.  L does this to me a lot.  I can't even tell you how many times she got in my "blind spot" when I had a big pregnant belly.  This mom, however, was clearly at her breaking point and yelled at her sweet daughter, "Quit getting in front of me! Get away!"  My heart broke for that girl.  Her spirit was clearly crushed.

We have a board in our kitchen that I write memos on and in big, bold letters I wrote my husband and I a reminder about spirit crushing and each day it is on my mind.  If L wants to have a Hello Kitty party for the next 10 birthdays, I'm up for the challenge.

Hello, Hello Kitty!  Come on in!

 Glow egg hunting in an HK shirt

Look who got sucked into the Dark Side

When Saying No Means Yes

We normally attend church on Saturday nights, but my parents came in for a visit yesterday, so we went today instead.  L hates going to church. Notice, I said going.  She doesn't hate being there.  She has a great time while she's there.  Actually driving there and the drop off in her experience room is awful, however.  Tears and clinging to me and begging for one more kiss and one more hug from both my husband and I.  (Which I always say Yes to, by the way)  It makes me feel terrible.

She begs not to go, but each week we go anyway, because sometimes saying No to your child means saying Yes to yourself.

I adore our church.  My husband and I feel at home there.  Going there feeds our souls and refuels us so that we can go out and live a Christian life in a toxic world.

L doesn't know Christ. We talk about God and we pray with her and out loud over her daily, but the concept of our believing in something she can't see is difficult for her.  She's just about to turn 3, so this is of course, understandable.

I want my children to know Christ and my husband and I are doing our part at home by teaching her to pray and reading her children's Bible with her, but we can't do it alone.  Learning about Christ and His love for us is something I need a community to help me with.

I feel like saying no to L when she asks not to go to church is saying Yes to her eventual Salvation.  She may grow up and choose not to go to our church and that's okay, but I want her to grow up knowing that she has strength in the Lord and can turn to Him in good times and bad.

I want her and baby G to know what we know and that is this: Whoever finds God, finds Life.

To Sink or Swim

Today L had her weekly swim lessons.  Having just had a baby, I happily toss my husband into the role of "mommy" in most of our Mommy and Me classes.  Today however, my husband said, "I can take care of G while you swim with L if you want."  No, I don't want that.  I just had a baby!  (How long is that excuse valid?)  Getting into a swimsuit in front of people sounds like an awful idea.  Here's where he really threw me into the pool (literally)...he said it in front of L.

I said, "You want Daddy to swim with you?  Or Mommy?"  She, of course, screams MOMMY!  Big sigh...and I got up to go shave my legs.

In my head I knew all the reasons I had to say Yes.  My self-consciousness in a swimsuit is not as important as building memories with her.  She doesn't see my body as anything other than a body and having a healthy body image starts at home.  Logically it was a no-brainer, but actually doing it was a lot more difficult.

I put on my brave face and didn't let her know I felt awkward and I'm really glad I did it.  We had a great time splashing around and goofing off in the water.

Sometime being a parent means fighting our own demons to do what's best for our kids.  It's putting aside our reservations about how we look or feel doing certain activities and just getting in there and letting loose.  Perhaps the best way to say Yes is to put the grown up in us away and let the little kid hiding in there out for some fun.

 Worth it

So cute! 

After swim, we headed to a sports store to find some Keen shoes for a summer camp we are attending this summer.  L spotted a tent and saying Yes was the easiest thing we did all day.  Who doesn't like crawling in a tent? 

She told me, "Bear coming!"

Daddy says Yes, too! 

From 1 to 2

Today I took the kiddos to L's gymnastics class.  Another mother asked me a question that is definitely the most frequently asked question I've gotten since having G, "How'd L do with the transition?"  The women who ask this are always moms of one and I, myself, remember asking this very question to other women.  The answer is something I can't truly explain.  It's just something you learn as you experience it.

Before I had baby G, I stressed out about how on earth I'd go anywhere with 2 kids by myself.  It seemed utterly impossible.  I stressed about which car seat should go in which chair.  Baby behind me or behind the passenger chair?  I told myself, I'll get L out last because I don't want her running out into a busy parking lot.  I'll buckle her in first for the same reason.  How will I carry both?  She hates holding hands in a parking lot and I don't want to drag her.  It was something I thought about daily.  Not surprisingly, everything worked itself out quite nicely and it wasn't worth all the worry.

But, what I fretted over most was how L would adjust to not being my only.  Would she harbor resentment towards me?  Towards the baby?  I felt guilty for doing this to her.  She didn't ask for a sibling.  Were we being selfish for wanting to add to our already perfect little family?

The answer to all of this shocked me.  It seems to shock every person who asks about it, too.  How did L do with the transition, the changes, the upheaval?  Just fine.  She's done absolutely fine!

What I think most moms, myself included, imagine when we think of having another baby is having our time cut in half.  But, that's not how it works at all.  Here's the thing about newborns I seem to have forgotten...they sleep A LOT.

I worried I would be so busy with the baby 24/7 that I would have no time for special moments with L.  Luckily, that's not how our Maker designed it to be.

Today on the way home from gymnastics we parked by the pond and ate our lunch while watching the ducks.  Lola crawled into the front seat and we just talked and enjoyed our time.  Baby G enjoyed his nap.  We were there for maybe 20 minutes before coming home, but those 20 minutes were a great way to slow down and reconnect with my daughter in the hustle and bustle of a busy day.

Baby G is starting to spend more and more time awake and alert, but it's gradual and we all get to adjust to it slowly.  He's a happy, go lucky little boy and loves to spend time in a wrap snuggled up close with me or my husband while we go on about our day chasing our busy little girl.

Saying Yes is not something I had to give up when we added to our family.  It's not as easy, but it's still possible.  The thing about saying Yes is that it's not something you can always do immediately.  Sometimes, the baby needs to be changed or be fed before I can say Yes to L.  That doesn't make it not as special of a moment, but it gives L a moment to learn patience and learning patience builds character.

Being a mom of two is such a blessing.  Being a sibling, is a blessing just as big.  My time is not cut in half, but my fun is definitely multiplied.

 The lazy ducks begging for a meal.

Oh wait, not everyone travels with a tiny potty in their van? 

The Shoes

Crazy day going on little sleep here.  It would have been so easy to be a grouch and say No No No all day long, but then what kind of blog would this be?

Last night, baby G woke up at 2 am.  He's 11 1/2 weeks and has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now so this was odd. I picked him up and noticed immediately that he was burning up.  Panic sets in and I ask my husband to grab the thermometer.  101.8.  My mommy thermometer is fierce.  My husband is a doctor so he examines him and we start weighing our options.  Going in to the ER would get poor G a full work-up since he is under 90 days old. Fantastic.  We text our pediatrician and decide to be seen this morning.

We gave him Tylenol and I laid G in our bed and snuggled him.  I stayed awake all night monitoring him.  His fever went down and never returned.  L and I had both had viral illnesses with a fever within the last week, so we're certain it's that.  By the time we took our smiling, giggling, fever-free boy to the pediatrician today, he was completely well.  I credit the liquid gold.

L woke up at 7am.  Having had zero sleep, I decided there's one of two ways today could go.  Really badly with me saying no and fighting her all day or I could put on my happy-mom hat and make the best of it.  I sleepily chose the latter.

After breakfast, baby G was totally happy and obviously feeling much better so we decided to seize the 70 degree day and get out in the fresh air.  My husband and L threw on their swimsuits and we walked down to our neighborhood pond, said good morning to the ducks and then walked to the pool.  They swam while G and I sat in the shade and enjoyed the breeze.  L said her very first prayer at the pool randomly.  It was, "Help me, God. Oh God. Amen."  I can't help but think she may have heard that before.  Ha!

 Good Morning, ducks!

 To the pool!

 Baby G napping in the baby carriage 

More napping in the shade at the pool.

Back home we got all ready to head to the pediatrician, who later agreed that G must have caught our virus, but is happily on the mend.  Here's where I first said "Yes" when I really didn't want to.  I laid out a fantastically adorable outfit for L right down to matching sandals.  The sandals were a no-go for her, however, and she insisted on Nike's that didn't match at all.  The OCD in me tried to rear it's ugly head.  I admit, I even tried to negotiate with her over it.  "Don't you want to wear the sandals so your pretty polished toes will show?"  Her answer, "These match my toes!"  Can't argue there.  Technically, they did.  Purple soled Nikes; purple toe nails.  Darn it.  Well, if she's not going to match, we're going big.  I marched my defeated butt into her bathroom and grabbed her multi-colored Mardi Gras necklaces and handed them to her and then took her in to pick out whichever hair bow she wanted.  She was perfectly mis-matched.

The culprits

Off to Target to pick up a birthday present.  I had it in my head I'd get the birthday girl a bouncy ball and some other things.  Sadly, I got hypnotized by the Target target and spent $75 on random stuff and forgot all, but the ball.  Looks like we'll be heading back again tomorrow.

Then, L and my husband had haircuts.  G sat in my lap and talked and laughed at me the whole time.  Sick, he most certainly was not.

Saying yes is not always easy.  It doesn't always fit into the plan we have drafted in our minds.  Today, however, I was able to give L a little independence and pride by allowing her to choose her own shoes and when her hairdresser complimented her on those shoes and L beamed with pride, it was crystal clear that I had made the right choice, albeit reluctantly.