Signs of Spring

Even though today is technically the first day of spring, yesterday sure felt more spring-like. Everyone enjoyed a day outside in the warm sun and temperatures. Here are some signs that show spring has arrived here.

Playing outside



Hanging out in the stroller



Trey pushing Charlotte in the stroller. Well, attempting to push because the brake was on, which caused lots of frustration on his part!


Getting the garden ready



Did you want the soil to stay inside the box?



Wearing short sleeves



We also had delicious steaks on the grill for dinner. The cook was supposed to take a picture of them grilling, but we had a dirty diaper explosion during the cooking process, so all thoughts of a camera flew away! We devoured them too quickly and had only bones left on our plate when we remembered about the picture. And who really wants to see a picture of steak bones? Maybe the dog.

I know I am cute!

A few weekends ago Jay winked at Trey. Trey thought it was hilarious and decided to wink back. Since then, Trey winks at everyone. He winks at his friends at church, at family members, at grocery store clerks, and his personal favorite- the older men and women at church. They get such a kick out of his winking and he loves their response so much that now he will just start winking at people when they smile or wave at him out in public. Trust me, when you are a toddler who enjoys staring at people you get a lot of waves and smiles in return.

Yeah, this smile and wink means I know I am cute!

15 Minutes

This morning I woke up refreshed and ready for the day. Why, you may ask? Especially considering last night at 11:00 pm I thought I would never get any sleep and I was beyond my usual evening crankiness and ready to never have children again. Charlotte slept through the night last night from 11:00 pm-6:10 am. Yes it was exactly 6:10 on the clock when I squinted my eyes and got close enough to my clock to read it. I was ecstatic! It totally made the 2 hours I spent last night trying to get her to fall asleep and ending in total frustration as she would *I think* finally be asleep only to wake up fussing 5 minutes later erased from my mind. Well, mostly erased.

She went back to sleep after she ate at 6:10 so I got up around 7 by myself. Friends, let me tell you that is a rarity! After complaining last night to my wonderful husband that I never have any time to myself and I didn't see it happening anytime in the near future, I got 15 whole minutes to myself. I made my coffee, emptied the dishwasher and prayed for my children before they woke up. This may not sound very fun to you, but for someone who has a toddler trying to help empty the dishwasher and has lost many sippy cup lids through this process the ability to empty the clean dishes, put them where the belong and not loose any pieces was lovely.

I have decided to make today about the kids. I got my 15 minutes to start my morning and so today I will not try to clean the house, fold laundry, or run up and down the stairs to the dismay of my toddler because when he finally makes it upstairs and I am running back down to do another chore. I will sit on the floor and play with them. I will take them outside for a walk and to play. The dust bunnies will sit until tomorrow, we have clothes to wear in our closets, and the dishes are already put away :)

On being 2 months old

Last Tuesday (yes, I know I am a little behind!) Miss Charlotte Rose turned 2 months old! She was a champ at the doctor's office where she weighed in at 11 lbs 15 ozs and was 23 inches inches long. She made the 75% for both weight and height. Her head is only in the 25%! That's okay, we like her petite head and that no hat stays above her eyes!

At her appointment we learned she had excema ( I have tried to spell it 4 different ways and it doesn't look right, so just read it phonetically :) That explains why she was so fussy in the evenings and her skin was all red and irritated. This poor mama thought she was just allergic to the body wash or lotion I was using so I just kept trying different lotions to see if it would get better. She now has to be bathed twice daily with a special cleanser, lathered up in a special moisturizer and then we put a prescription cream on top of that. She has been a trooper and doesn't mind all the baths and it is such a relief to have a happy, sleeping baby again!

We had always given her baths after Trey went to bed so Trey had a hard time understanding why she couldn't go in the bathtub with his bubble machine for a bath. He kept trying to pull me into the bathroom when I said we were giving Charlotte a bath one morning! And, of course, he now wants to take a bath every morning too!

Charlotte loves to play on the floor under the baby gym. She also enjoys tummy time and lifting her head up to watch her brother. She is a not a big fan of the bouncy seat, but does love her swing. She likes to bat at toys and stare at any moving mobiles about her. She is so smiley and expressive. This past week we put Charlotte in her crib and now she sleeps in the crib at night and for most of her naps. Her routine is starting to fall into place and she can usually put herself to sleep when we lay her in the crib. She has even been known to sleep for a 6 1/2 hour stretch at night!

Here are some shots of Charlotte on the day she was 2 months old. As you can see, she is out of her 0-3 month clothes and into 3-6 months clothes now. On this day I was trying to get one more wear out of an outfit before we had to pack it away!

Sibling Love

Many people have asked how Trey has adjusted to having a little sister. He has done so well with the new change. Our pediatrician said in her opinion this was the best age spacing with siblings because the oldest one is so little he won't remember a time without the younger one so it weeds outs some of the jealous. Trey loves to hug his sister and rub her belly. If she is fussy he will come and get me and pull my hand until I go pick her up. He also loves to lay on the floor with her. This week she has started laughing and smiling at him. She is very patient with the lack of personal space he believes in and can calmly play during any major temper tantrums he may have (He IS almost 2!).

Anytime he goes upstairs for a nap or bedtime he has to find her and give her a hug and wave bye to her. We are still working on not yelling BYE!! BYE!! to her when she is asleep and he is going up for a nap. I am not sure the whole whisper voice concept is completely understood, but we are getting there.

Whenever he plays with Charlotte, Trey wants me to get the camera and take some pictures. Here are some from the other day up in their room.









When you stick out your tongue, Charlotte will stick hers out also. Trey is trying do this with her.





There are times Trey would like for me to stop feeding her and play with him, but usually he takes it all in stride. He will bring me books to read to him while I feed her or play on his own during this time. I think having two kids has taught them both that sometimes they have to wait. Their needs might not be met immediately, but they will get met soon. Now if only I could get them to sleep at the same time.....

Sugar and Spice

One of the fun things about having a little girl is getting to dress her up. Charlotte has received lots of pretty dresses and she wore her first dress to church yesterday. Jay was not aware of the amount of time it takes a girl to get tights, bloomers, and a dress on, but I am sure he will become quite adept at those items soon :) I hate wearing tights so I felt a tad bit guilty putting them on her. Oh well, a girl has to learn sometimes you have to suffer a little to look good.

Just to note, Charlotte had a matching bonnet for the dress, but that was left out in the car and seeing how it was pouring rain and I was home along with 2 kids I made an executive decision that she looked just as cute without the hat. Thus, not pictures with her bonnet.








Trey can't be left out. Here is the new shirt he wore to church yesterday.



After church we went out to dinner with two families from our Sunday School class and 2 couples in their 80s who go to our church. We had a wonderful time getting to know the older couples. The kids did really good at the restaurant and were a hit with the couples. Trey sat next to his friend Madison and enjoyed perfecting his wink on her. Jay taught him how to wink earlier this week and it is his new favorite thing to do. I will try to capture it on camera soon!

Wordless Wednesday

I know this is supposed to be a wordless post, but in case you are worried the white stuff on her tongue is just milk :)