Oh the things she says.

Teagan is becoming so animated and coming into her own these days.  It is so hard not to giggle at her. Especially when she is serious. 
For example this morning...

Daddy- Can you go get the wipes out of Kyra's room? We left yours downstairs.
T-Otay Daddy.
T-I borrow Kyra's wipes Mommy.
Mommy- Okay sweet girl.
*Teagan toddles off*
Mommy-Bye Bye love you!
T- (turning around and giving me a sassy look) I not go bye bye love you mommy, I just gettin' dressed (drey-uhsed).


It took everything I had not to giggle at her because she was so serious.  Oh have we got our hands full...

Dearest Teagan

Dearest Teagan,

Sweet girl. Little Bear. Mommy's helper. Daddy's shadow. Big sister.  Every day with you is something new. Like brand spakin' fresh outta the box new.
Your latest thing is playing with my shoes.  Little lady, you can wear my heels better than I can!
The imagination you are developing is unlike anything we could have wished for.  From mothering your babies to fixing lots and LOTS of noodle soup in your kitchen.  From "doing it like Daddy do" to "feeding Baby Sally like Mommy".  I can't wait to see where your imagination takes you. 
We will continue to let you explore your world with boundaries and freedom all at the same time.  We will let you make mistakes but I promise we will catch you when you fall.  If we happen to miss I promise we will pick you up, hold you and find a bigger mit to catch you with the next time.

Forever and Always,

Mommy

Dearest Kyra Mae.

Dearest Kyra Mae,

Oh my baby bear, how fast you are growing. You are no longer an infant but a full blown baby.  You are developing a personality all your own.  You have the sweet nature of your sister but you are showing us just how different you are. 
You have been laughing a lot lately and the sound is infectious.  The light in your eyes is the same light I catch in your Daddy's eyes.  You match his glimmer of determination, with his look of determination comes an old soul full of protection and wisdom.  I can't wait to see what accompanies yours.  I know you are going to do amazing things and I can't wait to see where that look of determination takes you.  What adventures you will lead us into.  We can't wait to see how you will continue to add to our lives.  We love you so much it feels like our hearts might burst sometimes.

Forever and Always,

Mommy

Mom of girls.

You know you're a mom of girls when....

You walk around your neighborhood pushing a stroller full of toddler and her baby Sally, carrying a carrier full of baby and paci.  While you wear a bright. orange. tutu.

Dearest sweet girls.

My sweet girls,

I just sat back and watched you together this morning.  I was overcome with so many emotions at once that I could barely stand it.  I had to turn my head so you, Teagan, wouldn't see the tears flooding up in my eyes and think something was wrong.  When in fact, it was quite the opposite. 
For a brief moment I saw flashes of you, this summer and the summers to come.  I envisioned you running around with each other strolling your babies, with you, Teagan, holding Kyra Mae's hand leading her around the yard telling her to be careful with the care of the little mommy you've become. 
I can see the two of you splashing in Grandpa and Grandma's pool, squealing as daddy throws you in the air and you plead for one more time (Kyra) or no daddy no (Teagan)!  I see you feeding the birds at Papaw & Mamaw's, arguing who is going to pull who in the wagon, and laughing when Papaw ends up pulling you both.  

I imagine walking in to check on you when you when you get a little older, in the room you will eventually share, only to find the two of you curled up in one bed.  Kyra's arm over Teagan's face and Teagan's leg hanging completely over the bed.
I know it would be presumptuous to think things are always going to be that sweet.  I know there will be moments full of tears and heartache but I know with certainty there will be sweet moments of reconciliation, hugs and kisses that will soon follow.
I envy the bond I pray the two of you will have. I envy that if you chose, you will have a best friend for life.  I imagine the love of a sister is not too far from the love of a mother.  Just as sweet, just as nuturing, just as fierce. 
This next year is going to be different and strange and kind of difficult.  Even as young as the both of you are I know you will be able to tell something is out of the ordinary.  Just know things will go back to normal quickly.  Just know we are taking this adventure on together. As a family of four.  We are taking this thing the Lord has given us and running with it, faith leading the way.  And boy, when we get to the top of this mountain what a sight it will be. 

Forever and Always,

Mommy

Update.

I'm doing a Sunday night brain dump. 

These last few weeks have been full of nothing but sickness in our house.  Josh was sick, Kyra had a cough and then Teagan ran a fever of 105 and we found out she had the flu.  None of that was fun. 

I found out that I can function on 6 hours of sleep over a span of 3 days with little caffeine.

The Lord wrapped me in a "Super Mom" cape over the last few weeks and he truly was my strength through the exhaustion and frustration.

Kyra is officially her Daddy made over.  She is in the 75th percentile height wise and 25th height wise.  We've decided we each have a child.

Teagan is saying 7-8 word sentences and we are continuing to try and challenge her daily.  It is a blessing and sometimes a frustration all at once because sometimes we forget that she is still just 2.  

Kyra is officially a bottle fed-formula fed baby.  I am trying to adjust to this the best I can.  More on that later.

I sold my pump, not the parts because I know you're not supposed to do that.  It was  pretty emotional and I cried about it.  It made it all so final.

Some big and kinda scary things are happening for our family of four right now but we are trusting in the Lord's provision and we're all kind of excited to see where this road leads us. 

Hopefully there will be a real blog post soon. You know, the kind where I tell you stuff and show you pictures? 

In the mean time there is still a giveaway going on.  The Woodcarver movie. 

It literally fell from a tree.

I've talked about this craft project before but I thought it deserved it's own blog post.  I didn't do a step by step tutorial because it's pretty self-explanitory. 

The perfect tree limb/branch fell into our yard off our birch tree and I knew I HAD to do something with it in the house.  I was originally going to spray paint it white but I'm glad I didn't now. 

I let the tree branch dry out in the garage for a day or two and made sure I didn't bring in any critters with it.  I trimmed it up with a hand saw and then went to work.  I'm still a novice with the sewing machine (basically I can barely sew in a straight line or at a steady speed) so I used my handy-dandy hot glue gun. 
I picked up some pretty fabric at the local fabric store and got a yard of each.  That was beyond plenty.  You can make the pennants as wide or as narrow as you like.  Mine are about 10-11inches across.  I hot glued two sides together to make them a little sturdier and then hot glued them onto the branch.  Wah-La! Instant craft project.  I figured out just where I wanted it while it was drying in the garage and Josh hung it up for me.  Right above our laundry "room".  It looks super cute!

Sweet baby babbles.

Last week I shared Teagan doing her version of the diaper dance.  This week it's all about swee Kyra Mae!

Date night. The free kind!

Free dinner + free movie + both girls in bed + couch = Daddy & Mommy date night

As parents of two littles it is really hard to find time or money to do a date night.  You know the one.  Where Mama wears her tall & sexy heels and Daddy opens the car door looking devilishly handsome.  We've had to become a little more creative when it comes to spending quality time together.  It use to be at the dinner table but now Teagan is so verbal she pretty much owns the conversation at dinner, telling us about her day.  We love hearing her wild toddler stories so we listen to her intently. 

I was contacted a little while back to see if I would like to review a new Christian-family friendly video and I jumped on it! You might have seen the advertisement for the "Woodcarver" movie. It was released on March 6th. 

I don't want to say too much about the actual movie becuase I don't want to give it away but Josh and I really liked it.  In fact, we've already lent it out to a friend!  It was definitely a family-friendly movie.  I felt like the story line was pretty in line with a lot of what families in our country are dealing with.  Separation, divorce, the affect on children, etc.  Josh and I really enjoyed it.  I know a lot of people think of Christian based family-friendly movies are going to shove Jesus in your face and they don't like that.  This movie incorporated subtle ways that we can share Jesus and increase his presence in our lives and others. 

Also, on top of the movie they sent me they offered one to one of my readers!!!  All you have to do is leave a comment about what your favorite cheap date is OR your favorite family friendly movie! This giveaway will be open until Sunday, March 18th!
I can't wait to hear everybody's ideas!!

Teagan and the chickens.

I'm sure I've mentioned on here before that Josh's parents live on a farm.  A chicken farm to be exact.  They raise chickens, like A LOT of chickens, but they have cows and cats and a dog and a rabbit and then Grandma has Grandpa....so, there are a lot of crazy animals at their house! 

A few months ago Teagan got to visit with the chickens for the first time.  It was over the top cute.  She was scared at first but thanks to a little help from Daddy she got up the courage to pet and feed them.  

Of course there were pictures taken....(and side note, how handsome does my husband look with a little scruff? I am such a lucky lady!)

 

Feature of a Favorite Friday: Tara Heavner, Stone of Destiny

This is my friend, Tara, pronounced TAR-Uh.  She and I met through her husband when we were in college.  The first time I met her was at the Starbucks inside a Barnes-N-Noble.  We became friends and have been since! She and her hubs moved away and had a sweet little boy, Brennan!  She is talented like WHOA and is pretty artsy-fartsy.  Her recent endeavor is an Etsy shop featuring her handmade jewelry.  Read a little about her here on the blog and see some of her stuff on her Etsy page! You won't be disappointed!

Hi, I'm Tara, owner of the Etsy shop, Stone of Destiny.  My dear friend, Rici, asked me to share about my store!

First, a little about me.  I'm a wife and mother of a babbling, toddler boy.  I work a full time job during the week, and the rest of my time is spent chasing (literally!) my little one around unless he's sleeping!  Needless to say, I needed something to help relieve my stress from work.  Something just for me.

I had tried my hand at jewelry making before, but never really put that much effort into it until now.  I finally decided to get serious about it.  So, a few trips to Michaels later, I had a whole slew of supplies.  I make all of the jewelry you'll see on my site.  When I shop for supplies (beads, etc.), I don't go in with an idea in mind.  I prefer to walk around, up and down the aisles, over and over again and let inspiration find me.  With some pieces, I know pretty quickly exactly what I want them to look like.  With others, I have to lay them out, then rearrange, then rearrange again before I'm satisfied.  All of my jewelry is made with great care and thought, so even if you don't see a lot of items in my store at one time, you can be sure that each one was made with lots of love.

Now, on to the name of my store, Stone of Destiny.  I wanted a name that would a) reflect me and b) stand out and be a little different.  I researched the meaning behind my name, and found that it is "of Gaelic and Sanskrit origin" and the meaning is "hill; star."  Beyond that, I found that "ancient Tara was the site of the 'stone of destiny,' on which Irish kings resided."  So there you have it!  Stone of Destiny was born!  Please check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/theavner.

A big thank you to Rici for sharing my site!

Diaper Dance

You're welcome!

4 months.

I think we have seen the biggest change in Kyra over the last few weeks.  Her personality is really starting to evolve.  Her face lights up when Teagan, Daddy or Mommy come into the room and especially when we talk directly to her.  When Teagan is sitting or laying down next to her she roles over on her side just to see her better.  It is adorable and of course Teagan just eats it up!

We went to the doctor for her well check and 4 month shots and she did excellent.  She didn't cry except for the minute or two after she got her shots and then she was just fine!  So fine she fell asleep.  She was 24 inches long but only 12lbs 2oz...that means she has only gained a pound a month since she was born.  She was in the 20th percentile weight wise but the 46th percentile height wise.  Dr. B and I decided Kyra would come back in March for a weight check.  We're still keeping the appointment but we had to go back to the doctor with Kyra the Friday of her well check and she'd gained 6 oz in a week (more on that later). 

Kyra is in a size 2 diaper and I have a feeling she will be in size 2 for a while.  We have started using cloth diapers at night now.  They look hilarious on her though because she is so little!

Kyra recently started sleeping unswaddled.  I thought it was going to be a rough transition but she has rocked it.  She started breaking out, getting frustrated and getting upset about a week ago so we decided to start the sleep sack. She has actually slept a little longer unswaddled.  We also have been putting her in her crib awake since she was a month and a half (she didn't like to be cuddled) and she would put herself to sleep.  I thought that was partly because of the swaddle.  We've done the same thing with her in the sleep sack we just lay a hand on her stomach for a few minutes and she's good to go!  She has been sleeping from 7:15ish-5-6ish in the morning.

Kyra is still in 3 month clothes but can wear some 3-6 month onesies.  I think she is going down the same path Teagan did size wise so I hope that will play in our favor in regards to not having to buy a lot of new clothes. 

She is doing really well at "school".  She, like Teagan is one of the few favorites.  She is really easy going and laid back.  I think that is part her personality and part she has to put up with her big sister and has just learned to go with the flow through her temper tantrums.  So, a crying baby isn't going to bother her too much. 

Kyra doesn't "talk" quite as much as Teagan did at this age.  She talks a lot when she and I or she and Josh have her one on one but if Teagan is in the room she just usually lays back and watches her instead of trying to compete.  I have a feeling that will change as she gets older. Kyra Mae might just give Teagan a run for her money. 

Kyra is now bottle fed for every feeing except the first feeding of the morning.  Sadly, I think that might be replaced with a bottle soon too.  Feedings just weren't going well for the two of us and that effected my supply to the point she wasn't getting enough.  I continue to pump at work about every hour and a half but I am starting to get less and less.  She has taken to the formula well and we will continue to do half and half as long as we can.  I do have to admit the feedings at night have been so much better now that I'm giving her a bottle.  She snuggles in and gets sleey vs. when we were nursing and I was rocking and bobbing and squatting and...well, everything but standing on my head.  It is now a bonding experience instead of a frustrating one.  I am sad and sometimes get angry at my body for "failing" me but for the most part I have had to accept it an move on.  We did the very best we could.  Like, you have no idea what we did to try and keep breastfeeding...whew.

We will probably start solids around the 5 month mark because that is when we started Teagan on them.  She hasn't started looking longingly at our food just yet at the table so we'll wait and see when that happens! 

We are all ready for the next chapter in this adventure of a family of four!! We are really looking forward to the weather getting consistenly warm so we can throw down a blanket in the front yard and have dinner or take a walk sans blanket before time for bed.  Warm weather, hurry please!

I hate being in pictures.

Seriously, I hate it. But, for the sake of memories and the girls, I try to suck it up every now and then.  This was one of those moments where I would have normally hid from the camera. Hardly any makeup, "third day" hair (as my friend Beth Anne says) and frumpy clothes.  But, I had both girls and we were dancing and having a great time. 



Struggling.

Squatting.  Rocking.  Bouncing. Swinging. Bobbing. Trotting.

Sounds like fun right? Sounds like a description of goofing off with either Teagan or Kyra right? WRONG.  That is what a nursing session with Kyra is like.  It has been hard. It has been a struggle.  It has been frustrating.  It has been exhausting.  It has not been a satisfying experience for Kyra or I.  It has not been a bonding experience for Kyra and I.  The only "good" sessions we ever have are the ones first thing in the morning.  It goes down hill from there.  We haven't given up completely yet but I am officially a willing slave to the pump.  I nurse her in the mornings and the rest of the day she gets a bottle of half "Mommy Milk (as T calls it)" and half formula.  We had to do this with Teagan but not until she was about 10 months old.  Sadly, we've had to start supplementing now. 
It wasn't just the struggle that has us starting to supplement.  We went for her well check on Monday and she is in the 20th percentile weight wise and when they drop below 25 they start to get a little anxious.  They didn't say we had to supplement with but it's been so hard on us both that we decided to go ahead and start bottle feeding her just to make sure she was getting enough to help her gain weight. 

I can't say that this was an easy decision for us.  We've been fighting this decision for 4 months because of the struggle and frustration but I was determined to exclusively breastfeed as long as we possibly could.  Our decision to supplement vs. exclusively bottle feed with breast milk didn't come easy either.  But, both Josh and I want Kyra to have breastmilk as long as possible and just in case my milk supply starts to decrease we don't want to worry about not having any more. 

There is one of the positive of bottle feeding....

The lengths girls go to get new shoes....

starts at the age of 2 in our family. 

Teagan is currently potty training.  We are grateful she goes to a school that is amazing when it comes to working with parents.  The other day she was trying to go potty and well, she pee'd in her shoes.  Honestly, I think it was just a ploy to get a new pair of shoes.  So, new shoes she got. Ruby. Red. Sparkly. Slippers....we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.