Party at The Little Gym

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Friends, Gifts, Gymnastics, One Month- Taylor, Parties, This Rocks, Three Years Old | 1 Comment

Bailey had her 3rd birthday party at The Little Gym, where she takes classes. They did a fabulous job and really took care of everything, including cutting and serving the cake. The kids all had fun. She went crazy opening her presents this year and couldn’t do it fast enough. It was fun to watch- she was just so full of joy the entire party. Constant smiles! Tons of pictures so I am uploading them small. You can click on them to enlarge.

Zooin’

Filed Under Friends, One Month- Taylor, Outings, St. Louis, Two and a half years old, Zoo | Leave a Comment

When we go to the zoo, Bailey likes to say that we’re going “Zooin’!” I love her little phrases. (And I love that she calls going up and down hills in the car “rollercoastering” and that she calls the backyard the “vackyard” but she calls vegetables “betchtables”). Anyway. We have gone to the zoo twice in the last two weeks. One day we were supposed to meet up with a bunch of people but never connected with about half of them. We spent that day with Emily and her two girls, and Casey and her daughter Addison. It was Taylor’s first visit to the zoo so I actually remembered to bring the camera!

And both of my cuties in front of the elephant fountain… this is like a landmark for Bailey now. She loves seeing it as we walk into the zoo.

We love the Zoomagination Station. It’s an indoor free exploration/classroom/play area. You can pick up free tickets to visit for an hour during the day. They don’t let more than like 20 people in at one time, so it’s never crowded. I’ve also discovered it is the perfect break in the day to feed the baby and cool off a bit. Bailey was having fun with the sea creatures at the water table.

We rode the train all the way around the zoo, and I think Ella is now obsessed with the train like Bailey is. We really can’t visit without going on the train. And I have to admit, I like it too!

And this last picture- Bailey’s new “thing” is getting a map at the zoo and consulting it after each exhibit that we visit. Only she looks at it for a LONG time, turns it different directions, etc. It’s really cute and kind of funny!

Birthday Dinner at Red Robin

Filed Under Birthdays, Firsts, Milestones, One Month- Taylor, Restaurants, Three Years Old | 2 Comments

Bailey chose Red Robin for her birthday dinner. We let her choose from three different places (Mexican, Chic Fil A, or Red Robin) and I was so happy with her choice because I really wanted some campfire sauce and fries! The dinner was great and she really enjoyed them singing to her. I know I am way late with this but just wanted to document and share some pictures!

She LOVES wearing her crocs on the wrong feet. It kind of makes me crazy, but crocs in general make me crazy. And of course they are her FAVORITE shoes right now…

“Foofing” her fries to cool them off

And I haven’t forgotten about my sweet little man. He slept all the way through dinner, until we were waiting for our check. I’m pretty sure it was a miracle, because he just doesn’t do that. This picture was taken after we got home. He gave us his first beginnings of a real smile. A day I will always remember, for both of them. Her third birthday and his first smile.

Pre-birthday

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Clothes, Hair, One Month- Taylor, Sleep | 1 Comment

The day before Bailey’s birthday… also known as tax day… she rocked these red boots.

And this bow is from my friend Beth. Isn’t it cute? It coordinates with a shirt that Taylor is working on growing into

Her brother didn’t want to be left out. Actually, Mommy didn’t want him to be left out.

And here is my last picture of her as a two year old, taken at about 11:30 p.m. I had to kiss her one last time before she turned three! Silly, I know, but it’s crazy to see my baby growing up so fast. When I can pull my thoughts together about that, there will be a long third birthday post.

My sweet angel girl is three.

Wordless Wednesday- Sibling Love

Filed Under One Month- Taylor, Siblings, Two and a half years old, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments

(Notice most of these pictures involve Bailey looking really excited, and Taylor looking a little… skeptical…)

First Smile

Filed Under Milestones, One Month- Taylor, This Rocks | 1 Comment

4/11/2010 Taylor smiled for the first time this morning! 7 1/2 weeks old. I have been waiting for this moment. It was not a full on cheesy grin, but definitely a happy little smirky smile. And the best part? Jonathon was holding him, and we were both talking to him, and he was looking at BOTH of us when he did it! I can’t wait for more of those little smiles. We’ll have to get a picture soon.

Easter 2010

Filed Under Church, Easter, Family, Holidays, One Month- Taylor, Sick, Two and a half years old | Leave a Comment

I will admit that going into Easter this year, it was hard for me to stay focused on the real reason we celebrate Easter. It’s so easy to get excited about the egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, kids dressing up for church, opening their baskets, etc. I didn’t have this problem before I had children. But sometimes, I get more excited about my kids than about God. I admitted it. I was hoping for a touching, joyful Easter service at church to help me keep my heart in the right place. But we arrived about ten minutes late, and then got paged to pick Bailey up from the nursery after about 20 minutes.

She felt warm and just kept asking me to hold her. She looked miserable, and fell asleep in the car on the way home. We carried her to bed and she slept for about an hour, My parents insisted that they still wanted to come over so once she woke up, the whole family came over. Which was especially awesome when she ended up puking after lunch. They made a quick exit. We got a few pictures before church though:

Here are a few after the family came over…

And here you can tell she’s really starting to not feel good-

My parents let me bring Taylor over to their house and hang out the rest of the day/evening so that hopefully he wouldn’t get sick. It worked! Plus the coolest thing- my parents have a big jacuzzi tub and my mom was like “bring your bath stuff and I’ll watch Taylor while you relax” so I got to read for an hour in the bath. I haven’t relaxed like that since before he was born. Just a few shots of my mom with him

Gabe’s birthday party

Filed Under Friends, One Month- Taylor, Parties, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

Last weekend, we went to a birthday party for Bailey’s friend Gabe. Such a cute party idea- it was a pirates and princesses pajama party! There was a Peter Pan theme to it, and Bailey wore her new Tinkerbell jammies. We gave Gabe a cute pair of Gymboree pirate gymmies (pajamas) for his gift.

It was also Taylor’s first party. He did really well- he always seems happier when there is a lot of commotion and stuff to watch. I have lots of cute pictures, so I am just going to upload them as a gallery and you can click on individual pics if you want to see them bigger.

Breastfeeding Child #2

Filed Under Being a Mom, Breastfeeding, One Month- Taylor, Tuesday Toot | 2 Comments

Breastfeeding is so different this time around. I think I mentioned before that Taylor just took to it right away. It just seems so natural with him. Maybe because I’ve done it before, maybe because I am more relaxed, maybe because he doesn’t have sensory issues (we hope), maybe just because. Whatever it is, this child loves his mommy and he loves to nurse. It’s his comfort, his food, our bonding time. I don’t resent the time I am “stuck” in a chair feeding him. I have nothing better to do than love my children at this exact stage in our lives. When he wants to nurse, we do. (When I want to nurse him, we do). He sleeps next to me at night, but last night he went six hours between feedings.

Something about breastfeeding makes me feel capable as a mother. I am completely providing for my child. I am his sole source of nourishment and comfort at this point in his life. Maybe that’s not fair to my husband, maybe it doesn’t matter. It will be such a short time that I can do this for him, in the grand scheme of things. He is six weeks old. Several months from now, he will be eating baby food and I might not be the center of his universe anymore.

With Bailey, I always had supply issues. She was a “lazy” eater and she tired easily, and we got into a pattern of supplementing with formula. We were never able to break that pattern. With Taylor, he had a few formula bottles in the NICU overnight when I couldn’t be there with him. Since he’s been home, he has had nothing but breastmilk. He takes bottles like a champ, so I still have the flexibility to leave him. I do better with pumping this time too. I have actually found a manual pump that works better for me than my expensive double electric one! We have a freezer full of milk, and I have to say I am proud of both of us.

Big Boy Tub

Filed Under Big Sister, One Month- Taylor, Two and a half years old | Leave a Comment

Once Taylor no longer needed sponge baths, we started bathing him in his little tub over the kitchen sink, just like we did with Bailey. Only this time, she likes to help. We pull up a chair and she scrubs his legs and feet while I do everything else. She thinks it’s the greatest thing ever!

Happy 6 Week Birthday, Little Buddy

Filed Under Doctor Stuff, Milestones, One Month- Taylor, Weight | 1 Comment

Today Taylor is six weeks old! Time is absolutely flying by. Even faster than it did when Bailey was this age. He is doing a little better with letting me put him down (although still just for a minute or two at a time!) and he has also slept in his bed for about an hour or two the past few nights. Baby steps, right? I had my six week postpartum check today. Got the “green light” for all activities. Yikes. But that means I can get my gym membership in the next few weeks, which I am really looking forward to. Now I have to lose the weight from two babies since I never lost after Bailey! The nurses all passed Taylor around today and commented on how cute he is. My OB’s nurse also said, “Wow, he looks JUST like Bailey!” Anyone who really knows her can see the similarity between them. I love it.

This picture was taken yesterday after Taylor rolled from front to back FOUR TIMES on his own. The day before he was six weeks old. Looks like we might have another early mover…

Taylor’s First Church Service

Filed Under Big Sister, Church, Firsts, One Month- Taylor, Posing for Pictures, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

We decided to brave it and take both kids to church on Sunday, March 21st. We had some fun family snuggle time before we had to get ready. Taylor LOVES sleeping on this beanbag chair- too funny, considering all the money people spend on swings, bouncy seats etc. And he likes this beanbag chair better than anything else.

They both cooperated with getting ready. Usually Bailey has a fit about putting on tights but she did well. The problem came when we tried to take a family picture. Got a good one of Daddy and Taylor…

But check out what happened when we asked Bailey to join them!

She managed to pull it together (but still refused to take a picture). When we got to church she was so proud to push the stroller around and show off her baby brother. She went to her class and we took Taylor to the service with us. He made it, oh, about fifteen minutes before he decided he was hungry. I went to the nursing room where they have the sermon on a speaker to listen to. Unfortunately this woman came in to nurse her child and could.not.stop.talking to me. I thought I was going to lose my mind, and I didn’t hear a word of the sermon. I think next time if that happens I will actually say something. Or else get up and turn the speaker up to a deafening volume!

Anyway, we survived. We didn’t make it today (because Taylor decided not to sleep AT ALL last night) but now we know we can do it!

Confession Time

Filed Under Being a Mom, One Month- Taylor, Sleep | 2 Comments

I have to tell you why I haven’t had time to update lately. This baby? He’s SO needy. Not just normal newborn needy (or at least not like Bailey was as a newborn). He cannot cope with being put down. He doesn’t like to be held by anyone but me. Or my mom if he’s in a good mood. He will not sleep anywhere but in bed with me. He was sleeping in the swing but that’s a thing of the past. If I put him down when he’s not completely content or sound asleep he screams until he starts shaking. People ask “Is he a good baby?” Of course he’s good. Babies cannot be BAD- they don’t know how to misbehave. But I would definitely describe him as needy. I love him so much, though.

The distraught look on his face is because I put him down to take a picture… oh the injustice…

My two lovies

Filed Under One Month- Taylor, Siblings, Two and a half years old | Leave a Comment

Lone Elk Park and Bird Sanctuary

Filed Under Grandparents, One Month- Taylor, Outings, St. Louis, Two and a half years old | 3 Comments

Today the weather is so beautiful. And I was so tired of being at home in our pajamas. I called my dad and told him I was going to come pick him up and we were going to Lone Elk Park. It’s a drive-through park where you can view wildlife and stuff. It’s a pretty drive. But best of all, it’s something easy to do and you don’t even have to get out of the car, but it at least gets you out of the house!

Sometimes, we see a lot of animals there. Mostly elk (duh), deer, bison, and ducks/geese. Today we only saw a few geese and then a herd of buffalo that were really close to the road. One was about five feet from our car. Bailey thought it was pretty cool and wanted me to open her window so she could wave. Taylor slept through the whole thing.

At one point we stopped at a “viewing area” (there are certain places where you are allowed to get out of the car- NOT in the bison area though). There was a wooden feed bin type thing so I decided to make it a learning opportunity. I talked to Bailey about how it was a manger like what Jesus slept in as a baby. I showed her how the animals food was in there, but Mary put her baby in one just like that because he didn’t have his own crib. I love trying to help things “click” for her.

After we were done at Lone Elk, we decided to stop by the Wild Bird Sanctuary. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was right next door and it was free! It was actually kind of cool. Local moms- we will have to do a playdate there one day. I wouldn’t say it’s exciting for adults unless you are really into birds. But cool for kids to see, lots of room to run around, an “animal hospital” you can go inside, and another building with a gift shop and other animals that we didn’t get a chance to check out. And it’s something different. Bailey enjoyed seeing all the owls, hawks, eagles, and other large birds. They are in outdoor cages just a few feet past a fence.

Once again, Taylor was really impressed…

The whole thing is a big long path that you walk down and there are cages and perches on each side. I would say it’s a half mile walk maybe. There are spots where you could bring a picnic or snack and sit to eat as well. The path was gravel, which was annoying for me because Bailey LOVES to play with rocks and throw them. It took us about twenty minutes to walk ten feet because she kept sitting down to play in the rocks.