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.