Finn is 7 months

This sweet little 7 month old is ready for Christmas! He is such a happy boy with smiles all day long. I just can't get enough of him. It's funny how much more time I spend soaking up the "baby moments" this time around. I enjoyed them the first time, but was basically in survival mode the first year of the twins' lives that I didn't really think much about anything else.

At 7 months, Finn is:
- Size 9mo clothes
- Size 3 diapers
- Nurses every 3 or 3.5 hours for about 10 minutes per side
- Sleeps through the night for the most part, but has been going through a phase for a few weeks where he wakes up in the middle of the night for a "snack"
- Crawls around everywhere and pulls up on anything he can get his hands on. He has also started standing for a second or two without holding onto anything.
- Follows me around the room with his eyes and cries when I leave the room…he follows me too if he can get to where I am.
- Loves Loves Loves his older siblings and laughs at pretty much everything they do.
- Is getting his "voice" and does this cute thing where he takes a deep breath and lets out a loooooong consistent yell/song that has to last 10-15 seconds. He wants to be heard!
- Just started saying "MA-MA-MA-MA!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I love this one.  :)

What a cute, sweet, lively, joyful boy he is and I love him oh so much.

Finn is 6 months old!

I can't believe my little guy is half of a year old already! Doesn't seem real.

And do babies really crawl and sit up on their own at 6 months old?! That can't be normal.  ;) haha (Kidding, I just can't accept it).

At 6 months, Finn is:
- Growing out of 6 month clothes (length wise)
- Size 3 diapers
- Sleeps through the night
- Crawling
- Started some rice cereal, veggies and fruits and does pretty good with them
- So happy and content all the time…but is kinda "over" sitting and watching…now he wants to be in the midst of the action at all times

I love you so much Finn. You bring so much joy, love and life to our little (bigger now) family. Can't imagine life without you.

Hi Mom!

Some recent kiddo "isms" for the record…

"Hi Mom!"
Marlee sooo doesn't have a poker face.  If she does something she knows she isn't allowed to do, but I don't notice…she will come to me and say "Hi Mom!" out of the blue in a really sweet voice.  It's like she is testing me to see if I respond without catching her for what she just did.  Dead giveaway.

The need to cry.
Sometimes Parks will be in a mood.  When he is whining and cries for no real reason, I will ask him if he needs to cry.  He will say yes so I say "OK, well we don't want to listen to it, so please go in the other room and do your crying in there."  He will walk (silently) to the other room and cry…and then stop and come back to us.  Awesome.
*I feel like I might have already blogged about this but can't remember and am too lazy to look back and find out.

Hippopomanus
Yes, that is spelled correctly per Marlee's annunciation.  Also, large pigs qualify as hippopomanuses.

More to come...

Fall Weekend

I had one whole weekend with my family and it was fabulous.

On Saturday morning, we went to Uncle Bob's Pumpkin Patch in Newnan.  It was OK, but $18 per adult and when compared to "Denver Downs" ($12) that we attended a few weeks ago with our friends, The Thompsons, it was a little puny.

The hay ride was nice, and we got to feed some horses and see a bunch of corn stalks.

They had a small petting zoo area, and the kids loved this part!

Anyway, the kids had a good time, and we got to hang with Erin, Taylor and Jack.  I don't know when Jack turned into a TODDLER, but babyjack is G.O.N.E.

After Uncle Bob's, we went to Mikey's fav lunch spot, Grazing Here, and had a burger and some sweeties.  Good stuff!

That evening, everyone in the fan took shifts so we all got a nap.

Sunday we relaxed, rearranged furniture in our living room (one of my favorite pastimes) and enjoyed each other.  I love my family.  :)

Finn is 5 months old!

My brand new little baby boy is 5 months old already.  Insanity.

He is the sweetest, most content little guy ever.  Of course he has his moments, but he really is such a good baby with a great temperament.

At 5 months, Finn is:
- 15 pounds, 13 ounces (37%)
- 27.25 inches (94%)
- 43 cm (66%)
- Size 6-9 months clothes
- Size 2 diapers
- Sleeps from about 9:30pm - 7:30am
- GETS UP ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES AND ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Loves his activity center and jumper that we hang in the door frame
- Laughs at Marlee constantly (she gets nose to nose with him and talks to him and he loves it)
- Sleeps on his back half the time and tummy the other half
- Hasn't had rice cereal yet, but will probably try some in the next couple of weeks

He is such a sweetheart and I love him so so much.

Labor talk

So, I said I was going to blog this conversation...it's a funny memory for me so I don't want to forget.  As I was going into labor (but still in denial) I started texting Kim for her vast knowledge on...well...EVERYTHING.

Me:  What's the "rule of thumb" on how far apart contractions should be before you call the doc?

Kim:  Lol are yours getting closer?  I called at 8-10 and she said call again if they got closer or more intense.  So around 5 I called and they said to come in.

Me:  I had 5 in a row (pretty intense) that were all 6 mins apart...but then they stopped for 20 mins.  Now I've had a couple more.  Who knows...I'm waiting to have some consistency before I call.

Kim:  Well mine became inconsistent on the way to the hospital but once I got there are they checked me I was dilated enough to stay.  Any other signs?

Me:  Just cramps and contractions.  Now it's been 15 mins with nothing again.  Ugh, I just hate now knowing.

Kim:  Where's Mikey?  I say if you have another round of close contractions, call and they'll probably ask you to come in.

Me:  Ok, good idea.  I am at my parents house right now and Mikey just went home to shower and then he is coming over here.  We were planning to grill out tonight...not sure that's gonna happen now. :)

Kim:  Shower yet?  :)

Me:  No...I was thinking about it...and shaving my legs.  ha

Kim:  I say eat something before you go.  Especially after what Claire said.

Me:  Agreed!

Kim:  Eat, shower, and try to relax.  How bad are the cramps? Like a normal cramp x 10?

Me:  Hmmm, yeah, atleast x10.  I have to stop doing anything else and just focus on breathing for the 10-15 seconds, then the pain fades away.

Kim:  How long are your contractions lasting?  10-15 sec?

Me:  The bad part lasts about 10-15 seconds and the whole thing is over after about 30-45 seconds

Kim:  Hmm...ok if they all last 30+ and get closer to 5-7 mins then I'd say it's serious.  Even if they become inconsistent like disappearing for 10-20 mins at a time I say to be safe call and go in.  Especially if they want you hooked up to an IV.  You could go really fast and if you're already at 4cm it's not out of the question that you could get to 10 in a couple of hours or less.  Also to help move him down, when you're contracting try to sit kind of Indian style and rock side to side and back and forth.

Me:  Ok, I just called the office and they are paging the on-call doc.  He should call me back soon.  Just had 3 in a row that were 4 mins apart.  I'm afraid to get in the shower now.  Haha.  I'm gonna sit on a yoga ball and rock like you said now.

Kim:  NO!  Get in the shower, seriously!  Even if you just wash your hair and pull back you can blow dry your bangs and still feel clean/decent.

Me:  Ok, going now.

Kim:  Then rock!

Me:  Actually, waiting for doc to call then I will go.  :)

Kim:  Ok or get your mom to answer while you jump in and jump out.  Keep me updated tonight!  I'll be your text messaging doula.  ;)

Me (actually, Mikey):  It's Mikey we are going to hospital in a minute.

Kim:  Good!

Me (actually, Mikey):  Heading to hospital

Kim:  I guess they admitted her?

Me (actually, Mike):  baby here


*I love how Mikey's texts are so detailed and informative.   ;)

Seaside

Mikey's sister, Erin, and her husband, Taylor, invited us to go down to Seaside, FL last week.  Taylor's parents (Tony & Lynn) and his brother and sister-in-law, Gahrett and Winn, all came...along with our sweet nephew, Jack and his cousin, Lyla.  Everyone was so much fun and got along wonderfully...they welcomed our whole crazy crew in like part of the family.

To be honest, I was TERRIFIED about making the 5+ hour trip down with two toddlers and a 2-month old...but it truly went WAY better than expected.  The kids were so good considering the time they spent in the car seat...and Mikey was pretty well behaved too.  ;)

Seaside is GORGEOUS.  Every nook and cranny of that town is beautifully constructed and laid out so cool.  It's a fabulous place for families...everything is walking distance, most people bike or walk to dinner, shop, beach, etc.  Not much car traffic, and it feels very safe.

The water was crystal clear and the sand was soft and white and oh so nice between my toes.

As silly as this sounds, one of the best parts for me (probably because of the relaxation it provided) was the fact that everybody had little kids...so trips up and down from the beach for naps and snacks and shade was no big deal.  Everyone kinda did whatever they needed to for the kiddos, and we enjoyed the time together without any pressure to spend too many hours in the sun.  Parks and Marlee had a blast and Finn was a little angel, being so adaptable to whatever we were doing.

Huge THANK YOU to the Wards for allowing us to join your trip...we had a blast!!

Finn is 2 months

My sweet little guy is 2 months old already.  What?!?!

He is such a joy and I am shocked every.single.day at how perfectly his personality fits into our family.  He is so good and so flexible and so easy going.  Having two toddlers would be MUCH more difficult if he were high maintenance, but he is so content in almost every situation.  He will nap in his bed, in a swing, in the car, on the beach, in a stroller, in my arms.  When he is awake, he is totally content watching Parks and Marlee play.

For the past couple of weeks he has been SMILING!!!  It just warms my heart seeing that sweet face light up and his coos are the greatest sound ever!

At 2 months, here's some FFFs:
- 12 pounds exactly at his 2 month checkup
- size 1 diapers
- size 3 month clothes
- eyes are turning blue and hair still looks strawberry blonde
- is getting so strong...he holds his head up for a long time and look around.  he also pushes off with his feet when he is on his tummy and can push himself across the floor.  i also figured out that if i prop him up on the arm of the sofa, he can stand!  :)
- is nursing really well and also takes a bottle well (I try to give him a bottle once every few days)
- slept 7.5 hours straight to celebrate his 2 month birthday and has been doing about 6.5-7 hours consistently
- is the sweetest most huggable kissable little guy ever  :)

I LOVE YOU, Finn-Man!

Finn is 1 month old!

Finn is such a sweet, easy baby.  He loves to snuggle and would sleep all day if I let him stay on my chest.  His older brother and sister LOVE him to pieces and constantly want to kiss his head and hold his hands.  Most of his "wake-time" is spent with me or another adult sitting close to protect him from this sweet but intense sibling love.  ;)


At one month, here's some FFFs (Fun Finn Facts):
- wearing size 1 diapers (we had to switch over around 3.5 weeks old)
- wearing 3 month clothes.  i feel like he grew out of the newborn stuff immediately!
- has dark eyes...they were dark brown for a long time but are starting to show some blue now...so I don't know what they will end up as.
- has some light colored hair, similar to Parks' that has almost a slight hint of red in it
- holds his head up really well when he is  on his tummy at an angle (ie. laying on my chest)
- sleeps with his arms completely out and loose.  this actually blew my mind since parks and marlee needed to be swaddled TIGHT every time they went to sleep.
- he is nursing very good.  i gave him his first bottle at 4 weeks old and he took that very well too, so hopefully he will just be a really good eater all around.  we can usually go on a 3 hour schedule in the morning (8, 11, 2) and then he gets hungrier in the evening so it's closer to 2 hours.
- wakes up at night to eat twice...but has now made it 3 nights with only 1 feeding...progress!!!
- he doesn't really love a paci, but has taken one a few times when we were out of the house and he needed settling.
- seems very content and is happy to lay in a seat on the porch or in front of the window and look at the trees and lights

I love this kiddo so much and he just fits in our family so perfectly.  What a blessing!!

Finn's Birth Story

Finn Michael Richardson was born on May 16, 2013 at 11:12pm.  He weighed 8 pounds, .4 ounces and was 21.5 inches long.  He was and is perfect!!

My entire pregnancy went pretty smooth.  I had some bad heartburn, and couldn't sleep towards the end, but that's all par for the course.  Because I had a previous c-section and wanted to attempt a VBAC this time, I had an ultrasound at 39 weeks to make sure everything looked OK and it was safe for me to continue the pregnancy.  All was well, and I made it within 48 minutes of my due date.

I had my 40 week appointment with Dr. Carter the morning of the 16th at 11am (a Thursday) and everything looked good.  She predicted I wouldn't make it through the weekend.  She was right!

My mom had come to that appointment with me, and we headed to CMO to pick up the twins and grab some lunch after that.  We ended up going back to her house and hanging there with my dad while Mikey was working...and made plans to cook out that night when Mikey got there.  

We put the twins down for a nap around 2:45.  I laid down with Marlee to try to nap and felt TERRIBLE.  Just really uncomfortable and crampy.  Around 3:30 I had my first full-blown contraction and decided I wasn't going to fall asleep so I went downstairs and sat on the porch with my parents.  We started timing my contractions around 4:00 and they were coming every 5-6 minutes.  Of course I was in denial for a while, but after an hour I called the doc and he said to come in.  I hopped in the shower (after encouraging advice from Kim to do so...I will blog our conversation later) and headed in.

We got to the hospital a little after 6:00pm (Mikey took detailed notes for me as I asked, great hubby!).  I had to stop and put my hands on my knees once as we walked through the parking lot because the contractions were so intense.  

We went upstairs and they put us in a room right away to start filling out paperwork.  I was Strep B positive so they wanted to get 2 doses of antibiotics in me before the baby was born.  However, I checked in and nobody even came into the room for the first 30 minutes...which delayed getting the meds in me!  That was a bit frustrating.  We got there right as the nurses were having their shift change, so it delayed us getting started and ended up making me not have time for the second dose.  Everything was OK and Finn didn't get exposed, but I would've been a bit more upset if something went wrong.  

The nurse tried to get my IV in and blew 2 veins, so then they had someone else come in and try.  The second nurse got it the first time.  (I've never had anyone blow a vein on me...and I always get comments about how great and big my veins are, so I was shocked she blew 2!)

Dr. Cook came in for the first time at 7pm and I was at 5 cm.  He also said "You have a great pelvis" which Mikey thought was HILARIOUS.  I wasn't in a laughing mood at that point.  My contractions were about every 3 minutes, lasting about 30 seconds and very strong.  Not fun!

I got an epidural a little after 8pm (they had to get a bag of fluid and a dose of antibiotics in me before they could start the epidural).  Last painful contraction was at 8:17pm!!! Woo-hoo!  It did make me get a little nauseous and very tired so I rested and Mikey found the NBA playoffs on the TV to watch.  He noted that it was ironic that the first uninterrupted basketball game he has watched in 2 years is on a 17" tube TV.  Poor Mikey...this was really tough on him.  ;)

I got checked at 8:45 and was at 7cm.

Checked again at 9:15 and was at 9cm.

9:45ish I started feeling pressure, was at 10cm and the nurse called for the doc.

Doctor Cook was there within a couple minutes and said it was "Go-Time."  He broke my water and said he would be back shortly to check again.

At 10:30 it was time to start pushing!!  Lots of people came in the room, but it was very calm and actually a nice experience.  It still hurt even with the epidural, but it was manageable and I was able to recover in between contractions.  I pushed for about 45 minutes and Finn made his appearance at 11:12pm.

They put him on my chest right away (so thankful for this...I didn't get to hold Parks and Marlee until they were over a day old).  After I held him for a few minutes, the nurses took him to weight him and do the Apgar stuff.  He got a 10!!  Then they gave him back and I nursed him...he latched right away and did great.

I had a full term baby!  The experience of having Finn was completely, 100% new and different from having the twins.  While I remember overwhelming fear and worry the first time, this was happy and celebratory.  I am glad we got to have the "normal" experience this time.

Finn

So, we finally decided on a name.  Drum Roll.....our incoming little guy will henceforth be known as:

Finn Michael Richardson

I've received some mixed reviews, but Mikey and I like it, and Marlee and Parks say it really cute, so that's all that matters, right?  ;)

My favorite reaction so far:

Grandpa:  So have you named that kid yet?

Me:  Actually, we just decided today on "Finn Michael."

Grandpa:  Huh?

Me:  Finn Michael

Grandpa:  What?

Me:  FINN MICHAEL RICHARDSON (loud)

Grandpa:  Say it again...

Me:  FINN MICHAEL!#!%!$!  As in the "fin" on a fish.

Grandpa:  Oh.  Hmmmm.  Well....I guess I will call him "fish.

NO MOMMY, NO MOMMY, NO MOMMY

Parks' favorite word for the past few weeks:  No.
My least favorite word for the past few weeks:  No.

I am going to lose my mind if he goes on one more rant of "No Mommy, No Mommy, No Mommy..."

It's hard not to laugh sometimes, because it is just his go-to phrase, and even if he wants something, he starts with "No, Mommy" and then processes for a few seconds before frantically correcting to "yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Parks, do you want a cookie?"
"No Mommy, No Mommy, No Mommy"...[pause]...."yeah, yeah, yeah!!!!"

I hope this passes....quickly!!


Marlee has recently developed an extreme fear of BUGS!  She loves her little sandbox in the back yard, and will play with such focus for hours...but if anything that even remotely resembles a bug enters her area, SHE.FLIPS.OUT.  She freezes...she can't run away, she can't take her eyes off it, she just screams for me to come get her.  It's really sad, but so sweet too...because as soon as I pick her up, she turns at it with disgust, points her finger and authoritatively says "GET OUT BUG!"  I love it!!

Is it bad that I have considered buying some fake bugs to put in all the "danger areas" in the house, like my desk drawers and near the cleaning supplies?


Oh...and one more thing for today...I am down to 16 days til my due date.  Yikes!  I've been feeling light years better as far as the debilitating heartburn, but my hips are starting to move (I think) and it makes it difficult to get around...especially to chase kiddos.  Not much longer, I can do it!  He is also getting super strong and he kicks me so much from about 8pm - 3am.  Starting to get some strong (but irregular) contractions, too!  Tick, Tock....

4 weeks left

I had my 36 week checkup today and everything is looking good.  Kim came over and watched the twins while I went to my appointment...and I had to wait the longest I've EVER waited.  I waited for the doctor for over an hour and the actual time with her was under 5 minutes.  Lovely.  

I am measuring right on schedule, and actually feeling tons better than I did a couple of weeks ago.  During the week leading up to my 34th week (AKA...the time I delivered the twins), I think my nerves and anxiety of going into preterm labor again took a major toll on my body and I was feeling terrible.  We had some sickness rampage through our house too, which didn't help.

Now I am feeling more positive about hanging in there for a few more weeks.  

I really can't believe how quickly it is approaching!!

Big Sister:

Marlee is getting so independent, and loves to help whenever she can.  She is going to be such a great big sister.  She arranges her stuffed animals on chairs and tells them to "SIT!!" 

Today she walked in looking like this...

Is she the cutest girl you've ever seen or what?

Big Brother:

Parks' favorite word these days is BIG.  He loves it.  He also enjoys putting trash in the trashcan and cups/forks/etc. in the sink...which is AWESOME for me.  Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling too hot today.  Actually, he was literally feeling HOT so I gave him some tylenol and he perked right up.  I don't know if allergies can cause a fever, but I think that might a big part of it.  I hate when my kiddos aren't feeling good.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a fresh day for him.

I've got to figure out how to post pics to my blog without having to put them on instagram first.  I am so lame.  Sorry, Kim.

Two 2-year olds

Parks and Marlee turned 2 today.  I can't look at them without seeing babies, and at the same time I see them and can't believe how big they are.  They are actual KIDS.  I can talk to them and they understand.  They follow directions and LOVE to follow the leader/play simon-says and show off all the things they know.

Marlee is talking so much these days.  She will repeat anything and everything, and it is the cutest thing in the world...especially when she tries big words like spaghetti and refrigerator.  She identifies everything she sees and will point it out and repeat it until you acknowledge that you see it too.  I think I mentioned it in the past, but she loves greeting strangers too.  It's hilarious how she does it, because she waits until it is past the normal point of greeting someone, and just as they begin to walk past and ignore her, she says (extremely loud and clear) "HI!!!!"  They have no choice but to respond.  I love it when it is a tough guy or a coooool teenager.  She counts to ten in English, Spanish and is pretty good in German, and can get into the alphabet through about "K" on a good day.  Her favorite songs are "Bayou (Bayou Bayou Baby)," ""Bitsy-Bitsy (Itsy Bitsy Spider)" and "Pay Cake (Patty Cake, Patty Cake)."

Parks is such a boy.  He would rather jump back and forth from the ottoman and sofa for an hour than talk or count or sing.  He really enjoys follow the leader, but isn't really very into practicing his speech. He loves milk, running, outside, hammering things and his mommy and daddy.  Every single time I go into his room to get him up from sleep, he looks at me with huge eyes and says "HI!" in a really high pitched and excited sound.  I stinkin' love it.  It's the sweetest sound in the world and makes me excited to go get him each time.  His teachers at Children's Morning Out say he is a good leader and loves to do all the hand motions to the songs they sing.  My favorite Parks-ism is how he loves to be held and will come up to me unprovoked and grab my head to give me a kiss.  Melts.My.Heart.

I'm no good with words, but I love these two kiddos with all my heart and am so thankful for them daily.  They mean the world to me!

Happy Birthday, Parks and Marlee!!

Shayla in Elmo Shoes

Babymoon Pictures

I posted about the trip Mikey and I took to Orlando for our Babymoon, but I couldn't remember how to pull the pictures off instagram to post here until I asked Kim...AGAIN.

So, as promised...

At Rainforest Cafe...had to get this pic for Parks

Mikey at Universal Boardwalk, carrying my purse

Elephant Twins

This was just the APPETIZER at Bubba Gump's

Sprinkles

This morning I got the kids up for breakfast and took them downstairs.  Then I BRIEFLY walked back up the stairs to get their clothes and came back to find this...

Yes, they are sitting on the end table.

At least they are sharing, right?

Babymoon

Mikey and I had the opportunity (thanks to our wonderful parents) to take a weekend trip...just the two of us!  My mom offered to watch the kids for a couple of nights so we could get away and relax for a bit.  Um...YES PLEASE!!

We've been wanting to go to Charleston for-ev-er to visit some friends, Jessica and Ed.  We had it all worked out...down to the departure time and all the restaurants and hot spots we wanted to hit.  However, and very Unfortunately, the weather looked TERRIBLE for the weekend we had scheduled, AND Jessica and Ed had a pretty full schedule that weekend with work and a race they had already registered for.  So...we decided the stars were not aligning and we'd save our trip to Charleston for better weather and more available time with our buddies.

Of course canceling the trip to Charleston was a bummer...but we still had to use the time without kids to our full advantage.  We scoped the weather in the Southeast (and even checked some flights to a few spots) and it turned out that the rain was pretty much South Georgia and above, so we ended up setting our sites on Orlando.  We did priceline on Wednesday night - left Thursday night - spent the night in Lake City - arrived in Orlando Friday morning and had a blast.

We honestly did nothing but lay by the pool and go out to eat, but it was fabulous.  The weather was in the high 80s the entire time, and felt so good.  We thought about the kids a ton (how can you not in Orlando, FL with Disney at every corner...not to mention our hotel was super-duper kid-friendly with an awesome toddler pool area).  It was great and relaxing to only have to care for ourselves for the weekend.

My mom and Mikey's mom had been wanting to take the twins to the GA aquarium for a while now, and the timing worked out for them to go on the Friday we were gone.  They took turns watching the kiddos during the day and had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

GOOD STUFF.

Peeing and Sleeping

Update from last week's post...

Parks continues to pee on the potty every day...and Marlee finally did for the first time on Wednesday night.  I am thinking about ordering another potty so we can have one upstairs and one downstairs because there is zero chance that I will go up and down the stairs with both kids 20 times per day to use one potty.

Marlee is sleeping so great in the big girl bed.  She is really impressing me.  For the first couple of days I sang her to sleep...then I just sang to her until she was sleepy (which was really fast).  The first couple times she chased me to the door, but I would watch her on the monitor and she would go right back to her bed and lay down.  Now she just wimpers a little when I lean over to kiss her because she knows I am leaving...but she stays in her bed and is usually asleep in less than 2 minutes.

I'm at 27 weeks today.  Baby boy is about 2 pounds...that's half of a newborn baby Marlee!!  :)

Big Milestone Day

Yesterday was a big day for Parks and Marlee:

Parks peed in the potty for the first time!!

I haven't been trying to potty train yet since we will have a newborn in about 3 months to keep us busy...and I don't want to put the work in now and then have the twins regress and have to re-train them later.  However, I did buy a potty and let them sit on it to get used to it (usually at bath time).  Parks peed right away and was so proud of himself, but not as proud as I was.  :-)  He did it again tonight at bath time.  Woo-hoo.



Marlee escaped her crib...twice!!

Not so great.  I went in to get them up from their nap yesterday, and she was walking around the room and throwing a bunch of stuffed animals in Parks' crib.  I was so shocked.  Then, I put them to bed last night and a few minutes later saw her walking around the room on the baby monitor.  Needless to say, we did some rearranging and have moved Parks into his own room (still in a crib) and put a mattress on the floor for Marlee's "big girl bed."  She actually took a really good nap on it today with no hiccups and I put her to bed a little while ago...we will see how tonight goes.  I did have to sing her to sleep for her nap and bed time, but that should only last during this transition phase.



I am 26 weeks preggo today!!

I feel like I am 36 weeks, which doesn't bode well, but things have been going pretty well.  This little guy gets very active in the evenings when I FINALLY sit down to relax.  My feet ache when I am standing a lot during the day and the heartburn is awful at night (I usually wake up every hour at night with unbearable burning).  I am starting a rx heartburn med today, so hopefully I can make it through the night tonight.  Other than that, I can't complain much and have been so thankful to have all positive doctor reports so far.  I do my glucose test in 2 weeks and after that I have to start my checkups every 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks.  I feel like I am so busy that I haven't been spending as much time mentally preparing for our new addition, but once in a while it hits me and I am just so excited and grateful for this miracle of life.  I love him already.  Now...does anyone have a perfect name suggestion???

Quickly approaching TWO 2 years

Parks and Marlee will be 2 on March 12th.  Insanity.

I have done a terrible job of documenting since they turned one.  Luckily, I have a clever friend who posted each month on her daughter and I copied her idea during the first year.

Just wanted to put down a few favorite things to look back on:

MARLEE:  22 months
- straight, thin hair
- naps once per day around 1:30 - 3:30 or 4:30
- great night sleeper (8:30 pm - 8am)
- wears size 18-24 months clothes and has the best shoe selection of anyone I've ever known thanks to the jackpot garage sale we hit a while back (she has finally grown into a lot of it)
- talks and talks and talks and talks.  she loves to identify every person and item in the room.  everyone's names, shoes, coffee, turtle, golf cart, elmo...there is no way i could list every word she knows.  she can flip through a book and point out every animal and item on the pages
- loves all 4 of her grandparents to peices
- loves feeding the dogs during meals (mommy does NOT love this)
- runs with her arms flailing out and stomps her feet really hard on each step
- plays a game with daddy where she closes her eyes and cracks up while daddy says "open your eyes, marlee"
- loves her big brother so much and constantly watches out for him.  every time she gets a snack or a drink she says "parks? parks? parks?..." until you give her two and then she takes him one
- tells me every time she goes potty or "toots"...and is very proud each time
- enjoys school (Children's Morning Out) and Waumba and church
- likes to read, obsesses over "babies," says hi to every person we pass when we are out shopping or doing anything where we see strangers
- loves to count to five in english and spanish
- dang, so many more things, i will have to start writing these more often

PARKS:  22 months
- curly, gorgeous hair, and lots of it
- sleeps same as marlee
- 2T clothes
- actually...surprisingly...a much cleaner eater than marlee
- jumps off every peice of furniture in the house, and is really good at landing
- loves elmo, and any animated tv show/movie.  will watch an entire disney movie without moving...or closing his mouth.  favorites right now:  Rio, Ratatouille, Ice Age and Lion King
- obsesses over daddy when he comes home from work
- loves books, going "bye-bye," giving high fives and daps, bath time and brushing his teeth
- when he says "please" it sounds like "meeeeese"
- sweetest boy


I love these kids.  So Much. LOVE THEM.

Christmas 2012

Ahhhh, Christmas. How I love thee.

What a wonderful time of year.  We had a great time this year, made lots of wonderful memories and...as usual...it went by way too fast.  There is something about having family visitors come in from out of town that really ramps up the "specialness" of the holiday.  Erin, Taylor and Cousin Jack came down for Christmas Eve, and Aunt Libby's two sons, Jeremiah (Indiana) and Nathan (California), came to town along with Nate's family...Dawn, Juniper and Zeraphin.

Here's some highlights:

ORNAMENT EXCHANGE:  Every year, a group of girls I went to high school with get together and we have dinner and do a little ornament exchange.  It's so fun to see everybody and reminisce on our high school days.  They are all such fun, and we had a great night at Lindsay's house eating and laughing.

SICK:  I guess this should really be listed as a "lowlight," but whatevs.  My mom got sick the week before Christmas, and Marlee and I picked it up on Christmas Eve-Eve and by Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we were both lucky to be awake for more than 2 hours at a time.  We planned to go to Christmas Eve service at Catalyst Church, but we were so miserable we just couldn't get out...and didn't want to spread our germs.  

CHRISTMAS EVE:  We spent the evening with Mikey's family...Mike, Debbie, Erin, Taylor, Jack, Mamaw, Papaw, Mikey, Kacy, Parks & Marlee...plus lots of doggies of course.  We had fun eating our traditional meal of barbecue sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and baked beans.  Yummy!  Then gave out our gifts for each other and watched the kids run around.  When I started feeling my heart beat in my eyeballs we left to go to bed...but it really was a fun evening.  Loved hanging out with the fam!

CHRISTMAS DAY:  Santa Claus came to our house!!!!  We woke up around 8 and came downstairs to find some presents left from Santa for Parks and Marlee.  They were kinda in to it...and mostly confused.  It was fun watching them though.  Patrick spent the night at my parents house so we all shared the experience.  Breakfast, stocking and lots of gift un-wrapping...followed by relaxing and eating all day.  Libby's family came over around 1 and we played cards, ate a huge meal and hung out.  Great Christmas Day!



CALLAWAY:  Libby got us all a great day on the Callaway Gardens "Fantasy of Lights" show, so we all went one evening.  It just so happened to be the COLDEST night of the year and we rode the trolley.  Once we got on the trolley with our blankets it was fine, but standing in line was the coldest I have been in a few years (last year's ski trip included).  Parks, Juniper and Zeraphin absolutely LOVED the lights.  Marlee was really mellow and I kept thinking she was asleep, but she was watching with us.  I really enjoyed it too...I hope we can go back next year!

ATLANTA:  Nate, Dawn and Jeremiah really wanted to see Atlanta, so Patrick scheduled a night for us to go to the Sweetwater Brewery and then to dinner.  We ended up at Tijuana Garage in Five Points and had a LOT of laughs.  After dinner, drinks (for the non-preggos) and B-I-N-G-O, we headed home...or so I thought.  Nate convinced me to stop at Hangar 74 in Peachtree City for a "night cap."  This turned into karaoke, line dancing, and MORE than just a night cap.  I was tired, but the laughs would've been worth it if the place hadn't allowed smoking.  It smelled like a giant ashtray and I HATE the smell of smoke.  Other than that, it was a fun and exhausting evening.

NYE:  We went to a dinner at Crossfit Newnan at 6....then the kids were in bed by 8...Mikey and I by 9:15.   My kind of New Year's!!

Some pics of the holidays:
Hmm...can't figure out how to link them.  These will be added asap.