Recent Playtime Fun!

   Hardy is at the age where he actually interacts with AnnElise some. Mostly he laughs and coos with her and every once in a while he screams at her when she's being too rough. Its really fun to watch them even though their interaction is limited. AnnElise enjoys cooing with him and trying to tickle him. She also requests for him to ride in her doll stroller, asking him "wanna ride Harwee?" and then asking "havin' fun?, yeah?"

     I'm convinced that one of life's greatest joys is watching your kids learn new things. We are a very grateful household! I must add that we're even more grateful of the last few nights. Hardy has been much easier and not as taxing to care for. He's finding his happy place. I've also put him down the last three nights fully awake and not heard another peep from him until he's ready to eat again. I'm still getting up with him 2 times a night, only 1 time if we're lucky.
     Over the last month, Hardy has learned to roll over, and he's a pro by now. If I walk away from him after I put him on the floor, he's never in the same spot usually a few feet away from where I left him. Most recently he's found his little feet. I love watching him try to mouth on his feet. By the end of day, he's soaked his socks!

    AnnElise has really taken to coloring with markers. It started with permanent markers, then Daniel bought some washable ones after she colored a mural on our wall, which I can't get off. Its definitely her favorite activity now. We're constantly amazed by her vocabulary and what she picks up from us and others around her. She's been good all year long, so I think Santa has something special for her this Christmas. Christmas is always so much more fun with kids.

AnnElise is 2

   Time has flown by the last two years, but its gone even quicker just the last year. Seems like only a month ago we were celebrating AnnElise's 1st year and now her 2nd year has come and gone. AnnElise has been an incredible blessing to us. If we dressed her up like a boy, everyone would think she was the stereotypical rambunctious boy. While she has a sweet nurturing side with her dolls and her little brother, she is also just as wild as any boy out there, possibly wilder than average. She is such a tom boy already:) I love it too. She can run, jump, climb, flip, and throw a ball better than any 2 year old I've met. AnnElise has such a sweet, but wild spirit about her.
     I made her the Very Hungry Caterpillar cake this year since it seems to be her go-to book. I've found her several times "reading" it to herself. She loves the part where he eats a piece of chocolate cake, ice cream cone, pickle, salami, etc. I saw some great ideas on line where others had made it out of a bundt cake, cut and decorated it into sections. I'm not great at cooking and baking and it was my 1st attempt of an actual birthday cake. Next time I will buy the cake mix instead of homemade. It was too much trouble and even with the spraying and flouring of the pan it didn't come out clean at all. It was a mess and Hardy was especially more difficult that day. Overall I was happy how it turned out, but it was a chore to get that thing done. 
    I'm happy to say that she has not hit the terrible 2s yet. I've heard most recently that it isn't the 2s that are so bad, but the 3s. Maybe she's holding out on us but hopefully she's just that cool of a kid. We rang in AnnElise's 2nd birthday with our families as we celebrated Thanksgiving also. She got some really fun challenging toys and now she can watch Elmo whenever she wants, really whenever we want.  Thanksgiving was a blast with our families. We just can't be around our families enough which is why I love this time of year getting to see them and having meals together celebrating God and his many blessings.

I even made her a birthday shirt and turned the 2 into a Turkey since it was Thanksgiving. If you look closely you can see the blood on her shirt where she busted her lip on a book that her cousin, Miles, was playing with!

 
 

DIY Drawers

    Daniel bought a dresser for our room that I just finished repainting, so I decided our old drawers needed to be moved to Hardy's room for more storage. All the furniture makeovers I've done have been subtle cream colors, so I was really excited/nervous to repaint a fun color to match Hardy's decor. I was nervous b/c its so dramatic looking, but it turned out really good.
   Because it was a cheaper wood chest, I skipped right over the sanding and went straight to an oil based primer that could be painted over in Latex. I hate messing with oil and trying to clean up the mess. So I painted 1 coat of primer, 2 coats of Latex, and 2 coats of polycrylic finish. I've been using polycrylic so it doesn't change the color of my paint job. Just about every polyurethane finish out there leaves a slightly yellow tint and polycrylic dries clear, no tint to it. Its perfect if you're wanting a stark white color. AND, it can be washed out with soap and water, easy cleanup:) Just give it a quick, fine sanding in between coats. I also really hate brush strokes, so I used a foam roller brush where I could and touched up with a matching spray paint from the Valspar line:) Let me know what you think! I really like how AnnElise's dresser turned out, but I really like Hardy's b/c its such a fun pop of extra color to his room. I used the same original hardware. I felt like it was aged perfectly and looked great with the blue.
   Overall it really didn't take much time, I don't have much time to put into things with two kiddos so I managed to do it over 3 days, but no more than 2 hours each day. I had to wait for paint to dry overnight before recoating and such.

2 mont check up stats

  Hardy had his 2 month check last week, here are his stats.

Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz, 40%
Height: 24 inches, 90%

   He's already wearing some 6 month clothes b/c of his length. I have to say that I'm surprised he's not a fatty as much as he eats. He's loosing his hair on top and a little on the sides which makes him look like a little old man, a cute one at that:) His hair looks to have some red in it when its in natural sunlight. Its interesting to see how much he changes just from birth already. He's really smiling and coo-ing a ton. He mostly gives AnnElise angry looks and seems to remember that she's a little too much for his liking. It may be a while before he enjoys her as much as she enjoys him.

What we've been up to the last month!

AnnElise went Trick or Treating for the 1st time! We took this picture afterward at my brother's place. She was pretty tired, but wound up on sweets:) 

This is her with her cousins! We went around their neighborhood in Brentwood. I think we enjoyed just as much as she did.

This picture cracks me up. The very next pic that was taken had her finger in her mouth... ew! AnnElise had a lot of fun at the Pumpkin Patch in Smyrna.

AnnElise and Baylor bonding over mud at a Lake House in Alabama. She had a lot of fun with Baylor who is only 10 days younger than she is. Actually Baylor was due before AnnElise, but Christy went nearly two weeks overdue and I had AnnElise at 38 weeks.

This is our reunion crew at a Lake House in Alabama. We didn't get nearly enough time, but it was much needed. Everyone had moved away doing different things and such. I'm thinking we'll do this every year the Harrisons are back from Africa.

One of my new adventures... as if I needed something else to occupy my time.  Daniel picked this up for me off of Craigslist. We've needed a dresser for our bedroom so I'm making it over. I forgot to get a before picture. 

Milestone of surviving his sister dropping him on his head. She was trying to pick him up off the floor when she heard him crying then dropped him when she realized it was not something she should be doing. 

The very next day after being dropped, I tickled him and he had his 1st laugh. 

A bit behind...

  Yes, I know, I'm behind on my blogging. Mostly b/c I haven't had much time to download pics and such. The pictures will have to come another time. We've been busy, busy! Daniel has been working a ton lately which leaves me exhausted having two or three days in a row with 2 kids by myself. Its still overwhelming, but its getting better and easier as time goes by.
  We've been to Paris for a few days visiting family while Daniel went to Florida for a race, enjoyed a long weekend with some great friends at a lake house in Alabama, took the kids to a pumpkin patch, been to the doctor more times than anyone should ever go, and recently I've found my creative side again thanks to pinterest.com.
   AnnElise and Hardy are growing so fast! I've got to find time to go shopping for them. They're growing out of everything they have. In exactly 1 month I'll have a 2 year old and a 3 month old! I'm trying to plan something small with both of our families to celebrate AnnElise's birthday, but I haven't had much motivation to do anything more than a cake:)
  Thanks to pinterest for helping me find my creative/DIY love of upcycling. We bought an old dresser off of Craigslist last night and I plan on starting the makeover on it this week. I've also done more to Hardy's room to make it more boyish instead of just neutral, but its still a work in progress.
   I'm hoping Hardy will start sleeping more on a schedule so that I can have my hands free more. He started off being easier than AE, but not so much anymore. At night, he's great, but during the day he only wants to nap in my arms. I've tried putting him down when he's in a deep sleep, but it never last more than 30 minutes. He's much more demanding at this stage than AE. I'll give him another month before I try other sleep methods.
   Since Hardy is awake from his ultra short nap, I'll save the pictures from the last few weeks for another post.

Happy Saturday, Ya'll

  I'm slacking with my blog posts lately... I wonder why!? Here's some updates for all those who are dying to know whats been going on.
  Yesterday, my beautiful younger cousin, JoEllen, got married. One of the prettiest weddings I've been to and I got to see a lot of my family which is always a plus. My mother stayed with us last night and helped out this morning with the kids.
   Mornings are always harder on us. Both kids get hungry at the same time, usually I feed Hardy 1st, since AnnElise isn't as demanding about it. I've learned that at least 1 kid will be crying or demanding attention throughout the day, while I've learned that, I've learned at the same time that crying babies do survive:) Sometimes they just have to cry, but its not fun hearing it.
   Today marks 22 months for AnnElise, and 1 month for Hardy. It has flown by, people. I'm not complaining one bit though. I've not had the easiest time these last 4 weeks. It seems like everyday brings another new health problem our way, but nothing major and always something God will take care of. I am at least sleeping. Its one of my top priorities. Hardy wakes me up once or twice still and he's getting better about eating faster. I look forward to the nights when I can count on him sleeping longer and being a little less demanding.
   Hardy has his 1 month check up Wednesday so I'm not sure how much he's gained, but I can bet that its at least 2 or 3 lbs (seems like a little bit, but he feels so much heavier and has filled out a lot). He's almost outgrown all of his newborn clothes that used to swallow him. It lets me know that I'm doing something right when he's growing and gaining.
   Its really hard having two little ones, but I love it. I know that all my challenges now will seem so easy when the new challenges come. Makes me wonder what I did with the extra time before he came along.

Two Hands Full

    Our house is a bit noisier now, but right now its very quiet. I'm getting the hang of caring for two demanding kiddos, but its going to take some practice taking care of them along with the other things around the house. Today, I decided I could be brave and took both of them out by myself for the 1st time. We went to Target to gather some baby things. We don't have much in the way of clothes for boys so I'm always on the hunt for some more along with more items to make breast feeding a little easier. Who knew that something thats supposed to be so natural, could feel so unnatural at times. Since I had to pump for AE, this is a new experience for me. I'm not sure that we've got the correct latch going on. I was sure of it at 1st, but there's a few little difficulties that I'm facing. Its only been 2.5 weeks so its still very new. Hopefully these things will work themselves out VERY soon.
   While its only been 2.5 weeks, I feel really well so far. I'm only waking up once every 4 hours at night to feed so I'm getting my much needed sleep so early on. Praise God for that. I thought AE was easy, but Hardy is easier so far (mostly b/c I'm not having to pump, feed, clean supplies every hour of the day like I had with AE). I just feed, then move on:) So much better. He does cluster feed from 7-10pm... by cluster feed, I mean, he's on me for 3 hours straight, but whatever helps him sleep, right? One thing I learned from the 1st kiddo, was just to give my worries to God and keep praying about them. Everything else is just temporary and will be much better after 3 months when they really start sleeping longer, and routine is easier.
    AnnElise is finding it more normal for me to be dividing my attention between the two of them. Now she's ok that Hardy is occupying my lap and she'll sit beside me so that I can still read her a book. There's still the difficult jealous times. When we were at Target this morning, Hardy began to cry, so I picked him up and kept on strolling along, then AE decided that she needed to be picked up too. I was trying to decide if I could carry them both and push the cart, then realized that I couldn't. AE is usually persistent, but she just ended up sitting back down like a big girl after some whining. I was proud of her. There are many other times when the end result is her throwing everything within reach then crying for half an hour until she's forgotten or distracted.
   I don't want to wish this precious newborn stage away so fast, but I really look forward to the two of them laughing, playing, fighting, and learning together. I love that our house is already filled with so much love and laughter and sometimes crying, but I can't wait to hear 1 more laugh added to it.

Our Son

   We have been incredibly blessed to have spent the last week getting to know our son, Hardy. Many people have asked about his name. The name Hardy comes from my maternal grandmother's side of the family that dates back to "Hardy Mizell" 1785. The name Neal is from my late father's middle name which is also my fraternal grandmother's maiden name. It means "Strong Champion". We've learned a lot about Hardy so far, we've learned that he wants to eat when he's not sleeping, he really enjoys sleeping, peeing on the wall during diaper changes, does not like pacifiers, but really enjoys AnnElise poking at him and petting his head. AnnElise had a really hard time in the beginning with jealousy and wanting to play with him. The day that Hardy was born, AE came to the hospital with a rash and fever so she wasn't allowed to be very close to him. Since we've let her touch him she's been much better and every day gets easier for her. She still gets tons of attention, but its hard for her to see us cuddling him especially if its her daddy. I have really enjoyed watching her reaction to him. She gets so excited to see him and always says "Hey Babies" then proceeds to point out every body part he has.
   Since we have been out of the hospital we have had a doctor's appointment EVERY day (except for Sunday) for either him or me. Hardy has jaundice so we have to keep a bili light on him all of the time, and I have high blood pressure that is a little out of control. I had preeclampsia during pregnancy with AE, delivered this baby a week early before my blood pressure got too high to avoid preeclampsia and the magnesium treatment during delivery. Technically, I don't have post-partum preeclampsia so far, but my doctors are keeping a close eye on it. Despite the high blood pressure, I actually feel really good. I'm getting at least 7 hours of sleep, maybe more, have energy and am getting the hang of having a newborn again. I feel like its been a really easy transition. It helps that Daniel is off of work for two weeks and takes on AnnElise while I take care of Hardy. We are looking forward to this next week with less appointments and more relaxation before Daniel goes back to work.

Surprised that we have a son! He was so proud.

AE checking out her little brother!

Welcome to the World

... ITS A BOY, Hardy Neal George!  Born on 8-24-2011 at 7 lbs 5 oz, 20 inches long. AnnElise doesn't care much for him yet. The most she wanted to do with him was put him into her stroller so she could push him around like her baby dolls.

False Alarm...

  Last night, Daniel and I went to the hospital not sure whether I was really truly in labor... yes, it can be tricky. I was told by a nurse that they look for contractions to be regular but not necessarily painful. I timed my contractions and decided that maybe I should go in. At the hospital they were every 2-3 minutes, but within an hour of being observed, I hadn't progressed anymore, so I asked to go home since they weren't hurting. The labor and delivery nurse said that they looked for them to be more painful and become more intense, then I'll know I'm really in labor. Apparently, I can walk around for weeks having contractions every 3 minutes, but not really be in labor! If I do not go into labor on my own before Wednesday morning, then we are scheduled to be induced, hopefully to avoid me getting pre-eclampsia again and having the magnesium during labor. I don't really care how the baby gets here, I have no birthing plan, just going with the flow, as long as the end result is a healthy baby and I'm still healthy. BTW, if you plan to come to the hospital, its at the new MTMC on Medical Center Pkwy. The labor and delivery rooms are huge, but we never checked out the postpartum rooms. Apparently more and more women are inviting their mothers, mil, sisters, ministers, best friends, and everyone else in to the labor rooms to witness the births. Sorry, everyone, but you're not invited. Daniel really isn't even invited, but I'm sure he'll be in there anyway!
As for the guesses, only 3 people guessed girl, and over 20 people have guessed boy.

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun

 The last few days, we've had some of our best friends staying with us, Brett and Christie Harrison along with their daughter, Baylor, who is also our daughter's age. AnnElise has really enjoyed having a playmate around thats her age. She's been chasing her around calling her name, hugging on her, and giving her sweet kisses. They've also been climbing in and out of cribs together, refusing food together, and throwing fits together, but its all in the name of toddlerhood! We wish we could keep them around for longer, but they have family and friends that I'm sure are dying to see them as well.

A hot day at the Park before Chuck E Cheese

Here's Brett keeping the girls' occupied so we could play at Chuck E Cheese!  I think the adults had way more fun than the kids.

More hands to keep off of computers!

I'm not sure if you can tell how nasty that water is, but it was bad.  They had been playing outside!

AnnElise got excited to see that Baylor likes to play in the sink as well!

Two picky eaters eating a snack together!

Progression

    Just a note to everyone to get those guesses in, gender and birth date! Doc says I'm progressing really fast this time. (I could probably walk the baby out, but it could also be another 3 or 4 weeks.) Blood pressure has been good the last couple of visits so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. You have to tell me your guesses by Saturday. So far, not one single person has guessed girl!!!

Just around the corner...

36-ish weeks and huge feeling! 

20 months and feeling cool. These sun glasses go everywhere
with us now!

  

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

     If you are a mother, check out this link and even if you're not! I'm finding myself more and more aware of the people (pessimistic type) this article mentions as our time comes to have 2 children under 2. I really look forward to it, and can't wait to see how AnnElise falls into her big sister role! God has blessed us with way more than we ever thought was possible.

Gender Predictions...

   So here we are at the beginning of my 9th month! Only one more month left until we meet our sweet peanut. The most popular question is the gender... I've compiled a list of old wives' tales that you can go off of. Along with the gender, you can guess when I'll actually deliver. So here's the wives tales and other details.

The Chinese birth calendar predicts that we are having a FEMALE. The Mayan tale (add age at conception with age at birth. if its odd then boy, even then girl) predicts a MALE. The ring on the string says FEMALE (although I've come across two different predictions so this one is going with the ring swaying back and forth NOT circles is girl). Carrying high or low... I've been told I'm carrying low, so it predicts a MALE. The heartbeat stays around 145 at every checkup which means FEMALE. I mostly crave sweet things, points to a FEMALE. I did take a quiz of sorts, which predicted 60% MALE. There's also a hairline tale that I've never heard of until recently where you look at your last child's hairline if it comes to a point then its the opposite sex of that child and if it goes straight across then its the same sex... AE's comes to a point, so a MALE. I've not had a single bit of morning sickness in this pregnancy, I've had a lot of energy so far (for the most part), my hair and skin haven't changed, and I've gained about 30 lbs so far as opposed to the last pregnancy and only gained 25lbs. This pregnancy doesn't feel any different than with AE. So that's what you have to go off of with the gender. Looks like its either going to be a boy or girl:) Here's my prediction, which is totally opposite of what I felt like in the beginning, FEMALE!
    When you guess the gender, you can also guess when the birth date will be. I'm due August 30th. I've measured right on target every time. I did have preeclampsia with AnnElise and ended up being induced at 38 weeks after only 1 week of bedrest. Its pretty good odds that I'll get it again and have to be induced early, but I'm really holding out hope. At my last visit, the doc said my blood pressure is going up again, but not preeclampsia so far. I'm dilated to 1cm and the head was "engaged"!
   So lets hear your guesses on gender and birthdate. There will be a prize for the winner! You can either respond in my comments, email or tell me your guess if I see you regularly and I'll write them down. The gender will be announced on here before Facebook. Happy guessing:)

Sickness took over...

 I suddenly recall the time that I had the worst cold in history... pregnancy with AnnElise! I can't remember when exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was in my 2nd trimester. Pregnancy magnifies every sickness.
  AnnElise started getting sick over a week ago, then BAM!, (her first sickness) I started getting a little tickle in my throat a couple of days after she started showing signs of a cold. At the same time, Daniel said he was feeling a little sick. Daniel had a sniffle or two and a few days of sneezing, then voila! he's better. AE and I are still getting over our colds and its been two weeks with her, almost two for me. I took her to the doc last Saturday since she woke up with a rash, but the doc seemed to think it was a virus that would pass eventually. I went this past Thursday and got some antibiotics to clear up a sinus and ear infection. I'm starting to feel a lot better. My face doesn't feel quite as much like a punching bag as it did at the beginning of the week. I'm really counting my blessings though. We're rarely sick, so I'll take this long lasting cold and sinus infection over being sick several times during the year. AnnElise seems to be handling it really well, definitely better than me so far. She's also getting in four molars, so she's a little more needy.
    I'm rounding the corner to 35 weeks pregnant.... and trying to get bags packed and the last little things needed to welcome home a newborn. Speaking of, we're about to start a contest of "guess the gender". I'll give some details soon that go along with wives tales and such. You can be on Daniel's team, routing for a boy, or mine, routing for a girl! I'm really excited about waiting to find out gender! I'm so glad that Daniel talked me into it, even though it makes it harder to prepare. I feel like it makes the whole experience more worth it.

My Husbands Got Skills

     We closed on our house about a year ago. Since then, Daniel has been hard at work. There's rarely a day that goes by when he's off of work that he's not doing some kind of improvement to our house or land. Daniel is easily THE hardest worker that I know. Really, he is. He's like a work horse, he can't just sit and relax for 1 day. Here's a few of our biggest improvements so far with our house. I'm not sure how anyone could live here in the condition that we bought it in. I think our very good friend and realtor, Susie Lowrance, thought we were crazy for buying it. We would be crazy to not buy it considering the deal we got on it.

This kitchen was completely gutted, walls and floor. It was a moldy mess under the sink and
the sub floor was rotten.

Love this kitchen! The only way it could be better is if we had concrete countertops, which
was our original plan, but too hard to DIY and too expensive to hire someone to do it.
I'm very proud of Daniel's work. This was a lot of time and trouble. 

I didn't have a before picture of the vanity, but it was a double shell style sink. We painted the old
vanity cabinet and bought a single sink top for it. Made a huge difference. 

Daniel added a wall to tile the shower in,  and used the leftover tile from the Lowrances'
kitchen to tile the bathroom floor. 

For some reason this is the only picture that I got of AE's old room before renovation!
All of the paneling was ripped out. Daniel did all new sheetrock on the walls AND ceiling!

With new walls, paint, trim/molding, and carpet!

As a bonus, here is the same room as the picture above, finished... this is the nursery for the new baby, but first for Baylor when she comes to visit:)

Farming

  Our chicken is laying eggs, our kitten is catching mice, the dog is guarding (sort of, his guard duties are to the house now that he's killed a couple of chickens), the gardens are giving us yummy vegetables, the goats are clearing out some brush in the field, and we're producing as well. The chickens are free range, and we're getting 1 a day for the last few days, so I'm guessing there's only 1 laying right now and the gardens just happen to be organic since we haven't had a pest problem yet! Yay for production!

Our 1st, very tiny egg!

   To follow up on the last post, AnnElise hasn't climbed out of her crib again since last Saturday. I am very thankful that she quit doing that. I also haven't caught her taking her diaper off again so maybe we just very quickly by-passed that stage. She's not defiant by nature at all (unless she's really tired) which makes it really easy to correct her. She's getting to the fun age of pretend play. She rocked her baby doll and sang "Jesus Loves Me"to her, said "night, night", gave her a kiss, and then went down for her nap. One of the greatest things about being a parent at this stage, especially, is watching their personality develop. She's just so much fun right now, and it keeps getting better the more she learns. I've been trying to find a good book (christian) about raising a daughter, or just a child, so if anyone has any suggestions message me.
  I had mentioned something about my grandma falling several weeks back. I'm very happy to report that she is doing much better and about to enter into an assisted living home, willingly. She's been in rehab almost ever since the fall. At almost 92, she just can't take care of herself anymore. If she hates it, she can always return home and get round the clock sitters. I just hope its the best decision and that she enjoys having other people her age around with lots of activities to participate in and the best possible care she can get.
  

Winning...

   This is the stage that I would like to call "Winning!" This morning I walked in to get AE up after been outside letting chickens out and feeding our dog and new barn cat. I hadn't heard her crying just talking a bit, maybe some singing and this is what I found...

... I caught her just in time to see her try to escape for the 1st time (at least that I'm aware of). Really, I'm surprised its taken her this long to try, but the girl does like her sleep and usually reaches for her crib when its time. She's beginning to be a bit defiant lately and testing us out. I've probably let things slip by without much thought about discipline so now I got to get my game face back on and get her back in line.
   I put her down for nap time and before I got out of the room I turned around and said "night, night" and she was swinging her leg up on the rail. I didn't realize she was tall enough, but she made it look so easy. It worried me some. I don't want her falling and getting hurt, but I'm not ready for the toddler bed struggle either. I bought a rail and turned her crib into a toddler bed to try it out. She loved the fact that she could crawl in and out. FAIL. We by-passed nap and she was a beast this afternoon and getting her to go down for bed wasn't easy. I started early, and ended up putting her crib back together. I caught her climbing out 2 more times, maybe 3. She cried every time she got to the top so I went in there and played tough love on her bottom so she knew I meant business. Its been a few minutes, but I'm pretty sure she's asleep now and hopefully she'll stay asleep or at least won't try to climb out anymore. I did put some cushions on the floor just in case she made it out. So far, she's gotten to the top and I think has been too afraid or not known what to do next to get all of the way down.
  She listens really well to me most of the time, but lack of sleep makes her really defiant. Even when I put her back in the crib, I could say "sit down, please" and she actually would every time.
 

abc's and counting to 3

   AnnElise has really spoiled us with being such a great sleeper since we did the "sleep training" thing early on. She's gone down to 1 nap a day which really helps me out with doing errands and being able to work out without rushing back to get her down for a nap. Its all about keeping with the schedule, which I've let her create on her own. Its so nice staying at home with her. She naturally sleeps about 12 or 13 hours at night and a 2-3 hour nap mid day. Some days are really busy visiting with family and friends, which gets her off schedule. For her, sleep begets sleep. When we get off schedule like last night visiting with my brother and his gf and having a family reunion today during her nap, it makes it harder on her. I put AnnElise down for bed tonight right at 7, she was so tired, but also a little giddy/wild. When she gets off schedule, she takes longer to go to sleep and usually wakes up earlier than normal. She's still going strong. Talking and singing is her favorite at bed time. She counts to 3 and then does something fun when she gets to 3. I think she's been jumping around in her crib, from what it sounds like. She can also say ABC's thru D, and currently singing "Jesus Loves Me" which really makes me proud. I can't make out the words very well that she's singing, but its the right tune!!! My kid really knows how to entertain the angels. I'm sure she has many watching her every night to see what fun things she's doing. Its pretty amazing watching her learn, talk, play and grow everyday. Its hard for me to imagine loving another kid as much as I love her. I guess every parent may think that way when preparing for another one to arrive. I'm really hoping and praying that Daniel and I are doing everything right so that our next one is just as fun and amazing and free spirited as AE. I really look forward to having another baby. Mostly b/c I feel more prepared about what to expect with newborns.
   I was so scared to bring AE home. I'd never changed a newborn or given one a bath, or even read about how to do it. I never made it to that part of the book. I thought I had more time to look over all of it before she arrived. I don't care what anyone says, it doesn't come naturally to all parents, especially the nursing part. I had to learn a lot and quickly with her. I'm more excited to know that this will be a little easier even though it'll be different, but as my friend, Markia, would say I'm going to be a legit parent with raising 2 kiddos! Maybe I'll get a black belt in parenting:)
   So far, my pregnancy has been super easy. The hardest part is carrying around that extra weight again. I'm also bumping my belly into everything as I try to squeeze  through tight spaces or bend over to pick up the mess of toys and books left out every day. Definitely chasing her is harder. I think AE is ready for a sibling to play with, but she's probably not ready to give up the attention we give her. While we're super excited to meet our new bundle, I'm enjoying the extra time I have to sleep a lot more, and run errands with only 1 kid to entertain. This pregnancy seems to be going by much faster and I know the end will be here before I know it whether I'm ready or not.
  

30 weeks belly pic update!

For the Daddies!

 We would like to say "Happy Daddy Day" to our favorite guy! Luckily we have 2 extra days to get a gift ready for him since he's working today and tomorrow! Maybe it'll be extra special. We are very grateful for everything he does for us. Daniel is a great daddy to AE and sugar daddy to me. We couldn't have asked for a better man and thank God everyday that he gives us with him.

Daniel holding up AnnElise so she could see the RC Cola/ Moonpie Festival parade! We had a fun day yesterday with the best weather a pregnant girl could ask for. 

     I would also like to say Happy Father's Day to my mother since she has filled both mother and father roles for us since I was very young. Hug the fathers in your life every chance you get because you don't know when the next chance will be.

Ephesians 6:4

The last several days in pictures...

We found out these sweet tasting berries were mulberries, and there are tons of them right in our backyard. 

AnnElise goes straight to the tree to eat her weight in them, stem and all.

Duke is getting much bigger, and loves to play with the soccer ball.

Buttermilk begging to die, she wasn't going to last much longer in this 96 degree heat.

John holding her down, and Daniel coming in with an ax to the neck. 

The messy, hard part of killing your own food.

These are the new additions to the farm. We got Margaret Ann,  the white one, on Saturday. Daniel just caught the brown billy goat, unnamed right now, less than an hour ago. 

     So far, all of the animals (8 chickens, 1 dog, and 2 goats) seem to get along and are all fenced in together. I wonder how long it'll take the goats to escape. Daniel has put in a lot of time, blood, and sweat (no tears, though) to make the fences goat proof.

Buttermilk

    We had some good friends over from down the road to kill and eat our chicken, Buttermilk. Daniel did the killing while John held her down. She was quite tasty, but a little tough. Perhaps we let her age too long. The Jones' were a little anxious about eating a chicken that they raised, but everyone at least tasted her juicy fried goodness. Of course, she was battered in Buttermilk. The kids thought she looked too tasty to pass up, plus the other option was my poppy seed chicken, which somehow didn't turn out as good as it usually does. I believe everyone should know where their meat came from and how it was killed. I was the only other one that watched the killing and even took pictures. The poor chicken was ready to die, it looked miserable with its fat self panting in the heat.
   Since the George Farm lost an animal, we thought it only appropriate to get something else. So now, we also have a goat, a very fast, agile goat. Everyone we've asked about goats has told us that if they can get their head through then they can get their body through. So far, our goat only gets its head stuck with the horns. I spent 10 minutes one morning before church trying to get that stupid head unstuck without getting my fingers squished off from it fighting me. It has officially escaped once just a few minutes ago, but we quickly got it back in. Daniel's trying to get a billy goat to accompany her. It looks like we may need to get a cat as well with all of the mice sightings around here.
    Daniel dropped off the Groens at the airport yesterday, we were sad to see them go, but I'm sure their family is very excited to have some time with them. I think their time here has been packed full of visiting with everyone. Next up, Harrisons come in for furlough in less than 2 months!!! We really miss our Tanzanian teammates. Groens, if you're reading this, be safe, and know that we are praying for you and your efforts toward Neema House. Enjoy your family time, and cooler weather up there.

DIY all day, everyday!

    I'm officially in my 3rd trimester. I'm almost ready to move AnnElise into her new room, ALMOST. There are several reasons why I don't care to move her yet, mostly convenience on my part, but also I worry it may be harder on her. I've slowly started moving her stuff over and changing her in there hoping it'll be an easy transition. Its a louder part of the house, further away from our room, and there's no closet in the room so we'll have to keep her sweaters and dressers in her old room. I am excited about finishing up nurseries to ease my mind since AE was early and I was on bed rest a full month before I was due. I just hope I can get it all done.
   While I've been working on the nursery stuff  Daniel has been working on the tile backsplash in our kitchen. Its taken longer than expected with finding just the right tile, but its well worth it. Our kitchen is almost finished!!!! My husband is amazing. Its DIY day everyday at our house! I love it!!!
   For all of my prayer warriors out there, I want to request you add my 91 grandmother, Mama Dot, to your prayer list. She fell last week and was stuck in the same position all night long which resulted in enzymes building up in her kidneys. She's been in the hospital getting flushed out, then rehab to hopefully get her walking again. I would specifically like to pray that she gets good quality care while she's there and she can return home where she's comfortable. Thanks in advance for the prayers.
 
 

Project Dresser Makeover

   I've been wanting to try a dresser makeover for a while now, and finally did it! I am sooo happy it is finished! Not that it wasn't fun or easy, it was, but also time consuming. We had a dresser that wasn't in terrible condition, but it was ideal for my project: some knicks, worn out varnish, and cup rings on the top. Its very sturdy, solid wood, and perfect size for AnnElise's new room, plus I can make a changing table out of the top of it too. I got Daniel to sand down the finish for me with his palm sander, and I started with the painting... it took several coats. After painting, I added a water based minwax polycrylic, and distressed it a bit. I decided to keep the old hardware and paint it as well except for the top drawers and got some pretty cheap knobs from Hobby Lobby to add some character. VOILA! Here's the finished product along with the crib I put together by myself in 30 minutes yesterday! I would like to add that if you're painting furniture, use the foam rollers, no streaks, and leaves a great naturally looking texture!

The sanding process! Thank you Daniel.

I was worried about distressing it, and had decided against it when I finished all the painting, then just went for it anyway! I'm glad that I did now. 

Crib Mobile

   This is the latest project finished. There are many more underway right now, not quite finished though.  I'm trying to get most everything done by middle of June before I get too tired to do it. The crib mobile is the easiest project I've done lately. I got the inspiration from a blog that I follow, sewshesews.wordpress.com. You can search "crib mobile" on the site and it will come up.  Mine is made differently, but same idea, I suppose. Total cost of the material was 12.08, much cheaper than any crib mobile you can buy. We never got a crib mobile for AE, but I saw the idea and felt like I needed it for the next baby.

  

  If you wanted to do this yourself and want directions, you'll probably find better directions on the blog I mentioned. I'm terrible with directions and kind of did my own thing with what I could easily find around the house or at the local Michael's craft store. Since we don't know gender we went with the colors based on what we already have: brown, cream, and green. We just ordered a new crib for AE, and her old one along with changing table, bumper and bed skirt are going to be handed down since they are all neutral. 

Silhouettes

  I've been crafty! Here are some pictures of the silhouettes I completed in a couple of hours. I underestimated the time it would take, but it was well worth it and very easy.  Daniel especially likes the one with AE grabbing the rooster while the dog is chasing her. I also got the frames 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby.

The far right one is what I look like so far for pregnancy #2. I believe its what I looked like at the end of my pregnancy with AE.

Next up, I'll post the finishing pictures of our furniture makeover and the crib mobile for the new little one.

Happy Mamma Day....

   AnnElise has a message to her Nana (a day late but my camera batteries died yesterday in Lewisburg)...  Mom you are awesome! Enjoy this video from your favorite Grandchild:)

The Growing Groen Kids

      I've been really blessed to see the Groens the last three nights. I couldn't believe how much they have grown in two years. I don't know what I had expected, but we think Hailey has changed the most. They are all still very pretty girls who are very well behaved. I got to keep them one night so Calvin and Alicia could go to Five Senses with Becky, the elderly lady they stay with when on furlough. They were treating her to a nice meal without the kids. While the kids were eating McDonalds for the 1st time in a while, Kate said that she was ready for rice and beans again. Kate kept asking if there were any chores they could do, insisting that they liked doing chores. Hailey wanted me to tell her where to sit at the table when I told her to pick a chair to eat her dinner and Sadie, she was afraid of eating too much again. The night before she stood over the garbage can b/c she ate too much. Sadie said that she really liked my cooking saying "its probably b/c it mostly comes from a box."(referring to why she likes it) Ha! I love missionary kids!!! These girls are the most polite girls ever. They also really like AnnElise! I'm not sure what Sadie was doing with her before dinner but all I could hear was AE laughing really hard with her in our living room. When the girls were watching a movie, AE kept getting in their face trying to get some attention from them and they were all glued to the TV despite her attempts. She can already say Kate and Sadie, which we taught her last night to say. She is talking up a storm lately, and learning new words everyday. When Daniel comes home, I have to catch him up on what she can say. We have successfully taught her poop, but she says it after the fact as she pulls at her diaper. She also has for the very first time gone down 2 steps without holding on to anything or crawling. She mastered my mom's flight of steps without crawling, holding onto the rails by herself last weekend. Just this morning she climbed up in her high chair on her own. I've never really seen her attempt it, but she sat down in it ready for breakfast. One less thing I have to pick her up for.

   I thought this was the typical Duke biting AE's bottom photo.

    They were very zoned in on the movie. Not even AE getting in their face would change anything.

      

 The Groen girls have been talking non stop about a toddler (our friend's daughter, Baylor) on the team thats just a bit younger than AE. It makes me really excited to have them come home later this summer. It sounds like she's a climber too and can really run already. Maybe they can run each others' energy out when we get them together. Baylor sounds like a lot of fun and it sounds like she's on the same level as AE with climbing, running, talking, and adventurousness.