A lot can happen in just 2 months for a wee little lad I know and his big sister. Sorry for being so lazy with this blog recently. I just haven't thought about it. So here's the latest with Hardy, he is 6 months now. Time surely seems to have gone by faster with the 2nd than with the 1st. Hardy is just so great and everyone lets me know that they think the same thing. He has a sweet, happy personality. In the last month he has begun to crawl, pull up to standing, cruising furniture, and he can also stand up all on his own for just a bit without pulling himself up. I'm constantly amazed by his will to achieve these physical milestones. I guess he's just trying to keep up with AnnElise. He's happy, healthy, cuddly, and loving. I get the sweetest wet kisses every day by him. We are so blessed by our kids.
With AnnElise not much new is going on with her. She is potty trained although I put her in a diaper when we go to church. One Sunday, she pooped in her panties and as she ran around the room, it was falling out onto the floor. Makes me laugh thinking about it, but I don't want them to have to clean up that mess again from her stubbornness. There's nothing baby about her anymore it seems. She no longer takes a pacifier, she sleeps in a big girl bed, talks like a big girl, sits in a normal size chair at dinner, and no more diapers except for naps and bedtime. AnnElise is very independent. Recently she tells us when we try to help her, "no, AnnElise do it" or "no, AnnElise hold it". We're having issues child proofing. Lately its the light in her bedroom that she can turn on in the middle of the night, or getting into the fridge to pour a cup of milk, and unlocking the dead bolt and door knob to go outside. The fridge lock she's figured out already and we've had to take out the light bulbs in her room so she can't turn the lights on whenever she feels like it. So far, the door knobs are AnnElise proof, but I don't think it will take much time for her to figure out that she can easily take them apart. She will be starting Sonshine School in the Fall so I can have a break and she can get some much needed interaction with other kids her age a couple of days a week.
The George Farm is growing. We have 4 new baby chicks to hopefully give us some more eggs starting in late summer. Our nanny goat had a baby a couple of weeks ago. He's really cute and spunky. AnnElise likes him and even rode him one day. I think our cat might be pregnant, but I'm hopeful that she isn't. I guess I waited too long to get her fixed. I wouldn't doubt it if Duke were a daddy and we just didn't know it yet. He roams the neighborhood claiming a two mile radius as his, but every one likes him. He keeps the coyotes, snakes, and skunks away. Several people have said that he's the best mannered Great Pyrenees they've ever seen. Most others are scared of him b/c of his size, but not Ms. "Fearless" AnnElise.
I'll try to add a collection of pictures that I've been late on downloading to our computer.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Potty Training!
AnnElise has been using her little potty for about a month now. She's been doing really, really well with it. So well, that Daniel decided to put her in panties for the first time as we ventured out to our small group meeting. She used the bathroom 3 times with no accidents. She also went to church the next day without any diapers and used the bathroom 1 time. She was clearly ready for it to be so easy. I will credit Daniel with her potty training. We are now using a lot less diapers which should save quite a bit of money. We still put her in a diaper at nap and bedtime. I just don't expect her wake up when she needs to go, plus that would mean I would have to wake up too to help. So happy to say that she is potty trained at just over 2 years old.
Hardy has slept for 12 hours the last 3 nights without any feedings. I'm also really excited to say that I have the best of both worlds with him. I can put him down fully awake for naps and bedtime and he'll go to sleep on his own, but I can also rock him to sleep when we're away from home and he needs to nap. AnnElise would not be rocked to sleep after we did the "cry it out" method. Which I highly recommend if you have a troubled sleeper. It has worked on both of ours with just a few tears in the beginning but far less in the long run. If you look it up, its not a torturous cry it out like many people think. But as a parent, you have to follow your intuitions and do what you feel is best for your little one. Just don't complain until you try all the sleep training techniques!
Hardy is also trying to go mobile. He's up and rocking on his hands and knees just before 5 months and can sit for a short period of time, but I still wouldn't call him a sitter just yet. Maybe when I can walk off and leave him sitting up then it'll be official.
Daniel and I are taking on some more responsibilities with work and church. Daniel accepted a position at church as a Deacon and he's working a full time job at the FD where his scheduled has changed from 24/48 to a 48/96 and he's selling fundraisers for school sports teams all over Middle Tennessee. I'm starting back at Clinique as a Promotional Consultant in Murfreesboro and Nashville areas during special events.
I'm pretty stoked about my new part time job. I can work as much or as little as I want and we still won't have to worry about someone else taking care of our kids since I'm working around Daniel's schedules. And I get paid to do something fun. Our 1st event is coming up and its a special event that only Middle TN (and Jacksonville, FL) is doing. Its a new Clinique GWP only at Belk locations. I can't give details yet, but its going to rock a Clinique lover's socks off compared to the usual GWP. If you love Clinique you'll want to check it out. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!
We also have some sad news to report. Daniel's favorite great Aunt, Ruth Daniels, is in the ICU. She just turned 90 and we've been meaning to get over to her for a visit, but now, I'm afraid we waited too long. She fell a few days ago and is now unresponsive. They've tried giving her fluids, but they're seeping out of her skin so she hasn't had anything to eat or drink in about 11 days now. If Hardy had been born a girl, we had Ruth picked out as a name after her. She is Jack Daniels' great-great niece, which makes Daniel's dad, Jack Daniels'.... well, I'm not sure how that works. Too much for my brain right now. So prayers are appreciated for her and her family as they prepare funeral arrangements and have to watch her suffer silently.
We're anxiously awaiting for our friends in Dar es Salaam Tanzania to have their 2nd baby, another girl. Christie had a really hard time with the 1st baby. She went two weeks overdue, delivered with pitocin though not necessary and no epidural (not an option). She also had a tough time healing and such. She's scheduled to have the baby in a different hospital this time around. The latest on her and her baby is that they think her amniotic fluid level is dropping and may induce depending on what an ultrasound reveals. Their family also welcomes prayer for a safe, healthy delivery and quick healing.
Hardy has slept for 12 hours the last 3 nights without any feedings. I'm also really excited to say that I have the best of both worlds with him. I can put him down fully awake for naps and bedtime and he'll go to sleep on his own, but I can also rock him to sleep when we're away from home and he needs to nap. AnnElise would not be rocked to sleep after we did the "cry it out" method. Which I highly recommend if you have a troubled sleeper. It has worked on both of ours with just a few tears in the beginning but far less in the long run. If you look it up, its not a torturous cry it out like many people think. But as a parent, you have to follow your intuitions and do what you feel is best for your little one. Just don't complain until you try all the sleep training techniques!
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| 4 month pic of Hardy! He looks so much like AnnElise. |
Hardy is also trying to go mobile. He's up and rocking on his hands and knees just before 5 months and can sit for a short period of time, but I still wouldn't call him a sitter just yet. Maybe when I can walk off and leave him sitting up then it'll be official.
Daniel and I are taking on some more responsibilities with work and church. Daniel accepted a position at church as a Deacon and he's working a full time job at the FD where his scheduled has changed from 24/48 to a 48/96 and he's selling fundraisers for school sports teams all over Middle Tennessee. I'm starting back at Clinique as a Promotional Consultant in Murfreesboro and Nashville areas during special events.
I'm pretty stoked about my new part time job. I can work as much or as little as I want and we still won't have to worry about someone else taking care of our kids since I'm working around Daniel's schedules. And I get paid to do something fun. Our 1st event is coming up and its a special event that only Middle TN (and Jacksonville, FL) is doing. Its a new Clinique GWP only at Belk locations. I can't give details yet, but its going to rock a Clinique lover's socks off compared to the usual GWP. If you love Clinique you'll want to check it out. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!
We also have some sad news to report. Daniel's favorite great Aunt, Ruth Daniels, is in the ICU. She just turned 90 and we've been meaning to get over to her for a visit, but now, I'm afraid we waited too long. She fell a few days ago and is now unresponsive. They've tried giving her fluids, but they're seeping out of her skin so she hasn't had anything to eat or drink in about 11 days now. If Hardy had been born a girl, we had Ruth picked out as a name after her. She is Jack Daniels' great-great niece, which makes Daniel's dad, Jack Daniels'.... well, I'm not sure how that works. Too much for my brain right now. So prayers are appreciated for her and her family as they prepare funeral arrangements and have to watch her suffer silently.
We're anxiously awaiting for our friends in Dar es Salaam Tanzania to have their 2nd baby, another girl. Christie had a really hard time with the 1st baby. She went two weeks overdue, delivered with pitocin though not necessary and no epidural (not an option). She also had a tough time healing and such. She's scheduled to have the baby in a different hospital this time around. The latest on her and her baby is that they think her amniotic fluid level is dropping and may induce depending on what an ultrasound reveals. Their family also welcomes prayer for a safe, healthy delivery and quick healing.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Does your spouse come 1st?
So here's a question that I've been pondering since I've had kids. Does (or should) your spouse come 1st? I have a hard time wanting to put him first, and I'm sure he has a hard time putting me first. For me, my kids have come 1st. I recently read an article on Baby Center about putting your spouse 1st. One of the things that makes it hard is going out on a date (just the two of us). 1st we would have to schedule it, then find a sitter, who we trust, and then we have to pay for the night out and for the sitter. Doesn't sound hard, right? Well, it is. I have a really hard time trusting someone else to keep my kids and worry that something bad will happen while I'm away. So I think, is it worth it to go on a date and risk something bad happening just so we can enjoy our dinners without interruption or sharing food with a messy toddler? And Daniel has a hard time fronting the money for a sitter and dinner. Both of our kids go to bed around 7, why can't we talk and put each other 1st during that time? So far, we usually just zone out in front of the TV or surf the internet, and I usually finish cleaning the dishes from dinner during that time. The last thing I want to do is put someone else at the top of my priorities after I've been putting my kids 1st all day long.
So, I'm not proud of this by any means, but here's the deal, Daniel and I have spent 2 nights out by ourselves in the last 2 or 3 years. Both of the times on our anniversary. We've passed up opportunities to go out b/c we don't have family that lives close by, and we don't use a sitter. One of those dates, we left AnnElise with Daniel's mom right after she was born. The second we left AE and Hardy with a couple from small group that lives pretty close to us. We came back and both said, we should do it more often, but I have a feeling that we won't.
We hadn't planned either of our kids, SURPRISE, so we didn't have the fun travel stuff before. I'm OK with that. But, now I'm really starting to get to the point where I'd love to travel and leave them some with family. Most of the time, thinking about leaving them stresses me out. Will family stick to their schedules, do they know that AnnElise has absolutely no fear and will do dangerous things if left alone for even a minute, will Hardy be easy enough to leave behind? Hardy is difficult to figure out even for me. Any time that I manage to get away, I leave them with Daniel b/c he's the next best thing. And let's face it, when I want to get away, I want to focus on me for once. So, it seems that I've been putting Daniel dead last b/c its the easiest thing to do, and its what we've become comfortable with. I mean, he's old enough to take care of himself, the kids need things. They can't make their own bottles or read themselves a book. With that being said, how do we start putting each other 1st without abandoning our kids' needs and our own? (I never realized how much I appreciate being alone until I started considering a trip to the grocery store my "me" time. Seriously, I even use the bathroom with the kids (AE plays in the sink), and I put Hardy in the bouncy seat when I take showers.)
Are there actually parents out there who truly put their relationship above their kids, especially young kids?
So, I'm not proud of this by any means, but here's the deal, Daniel and I have spent 2 nights out by ourselves in the last 2 or 3 years. Both of the times on our anniversary. We've passed up opportunities to go out b/c we don't have family that lives close by, and we don't use a sitter. One of those dates, we left AnnElise with Daniel's mom right after she was born. The second we left AE and Hardy with a couple from small group that lives pretty close to us. We came back and both said, we should do it more often, but I have a feeling that we won't.
We hadn't planned either of our kids, SURPRISE, so we didn't have the fun travel stuff before. I'm OK with that. But, now I'm really starting to get to the point where I'd love to travel and leave them some with family. Most of the time, thinking about leaving them stresses me out. Will family stick to their schedules, do they know that AnnElise has absolutely no fear and will do dangerous things if left alone for even a minute, will Hardy be easy enough to leave behind? Hardy is difficult to figure out even for me. Any time that I manage to get away, I leave them with Daniel b/c he's the next best thing. And let's face it, when I want to get away, I want to focus on me for once. So, it seems that I've been putting Daniel dead last b/c its the easiest thing to do, and its what we've become comfortable with. I mean, he's old enough to take care of himself, the kids need things. They can't make their own bottles or read themselves a book. With that being said, how do we start putting each other 1st without abandoning our kids' needs and our own? (I never realized how much I appreciate being alone until I started considering a trip to the grocery store my "me" time. Seriously, I even use the bathroom with the kids (AE plays in the sink), and I put Hardy in the bouncy seat when I take showers.)
Are there actually parents out there who truly put their relationship above their kids, especially young kids?
Friday, December 23, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
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 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! |
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, November 4, 2011
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.
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.
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