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 :)

Bring in the Bulldozers!

Many people are surprised when they find out where we live. Not just because it is in the country, but it is so far from "town." We love it out here and I seriously cannot imagine living in a neighborhood now. When we drive through neighborhoods I cannot get over how close together the houses are. I grew up in a neighborhood so this is definitely a new shift of my thinking. And if you told me 6 years ago I would be living out here and enjoying it I would have never believed you.

One of our main reasons for moving here (besides our jobs) was because we wanted to build a house. After 4 long years of wanting to build our own home, the dream is finally coming true. For almost a year Jay and his parents have been working hard to cut down the trees on the house site. During that time we have interviewed contractors, settled on a designer/contractor, drew up a house plan, finalized the house plan and waited for people to call us back :) Last Thursday we closed on our construction loan, Friday we finalized the plans and schedule with the contractor and tomorrow the project is finally getting started! The bulldozer is coming tomorrow to start the excavating part of the project and we are scheduled for this



to turn into this



in 6-8 months.

Randomness

In the last 24 hours....

I carried an infant car seat with said infant inside it, a diaper bag, a bag of groceries, a gift bag and held onto a toddler's hand with a death grip from the second floor of the church, down the hall, into and down the elevator, down the hall again, through two double doors, out into the parking lot and loaded everything into the car. I think I breathed heavily the whole way home!

I got 5 1/2 hours of sleep last night in a row. It was glorious!

Charlotte put herself to sleep in the bassinet twice last night. I laid her down at 10 and at 4 this morning wide awake and she went to sleep on her own without fussing.

I gave up fighting the whole "do not pull on the tablecloth while you eat" during breakfast today. Our dining room table is now only covered by a table pad. It is very appealing to the eye.

Trey likes to have his own napkins during meal times. He has learned to put it in his lap. He also thinks it is hilarious to pretend to cough into it. Unfortunately I think it is hilarious too, so he continues to do this :)

Trey can now take off his diaper under his pajamas. He likes to do this after he poops. This resulted in an impromptu bath this morning.

Trey ran around for 45 minutes upstairs after the impromptu bath in his diaper and white onesie. Every time he ran past me he had on a different pair of his dad's shoes. I regret not having my camera upstairs.

I think Trey is destined for management. Whenever I need to do something (like hang up the phone or put up the newspaper) he runs ahead of me, points to where the object is supposed to go and says "right there!"

I got to take a shower without someone (littler than 3 feet) holding back the shower curtain to soak the bathroom floor.

I have the best job ever :)

Bedtimes

Right now our kids have very different bedtimes. Trey's is at 7:00 pm. He is usually up for the day around 7 am, but we find he is up at 7 am whether he goes to bed at 7 pm or 10 pm. Charlotte isn't really on a schedule yet (despite all my attempts!) so she goes to sleep whenever we do. Or that is supposed to be the plan. Last night, that meant 1:00 am, even though I tried to get her to go to bed at 10:30.Trey was the same way as a newborn and by 3 months he had a consistent bedtime of 9 pm. I have to keep reminding myself of this at midnight every night when she is still not asleep!

The plus side of the crazy schedule, if there is one, is that Charlotte gets some quality time with mommy and daddy in the evenings. Here are some pictures from yesterday evening.

Charlotte holds up her head so well!


Charlotte loves her daddy!



I don't think Charlotte loves her daddy's beard. Don't worry Charlotte, it will be gone as soon as the Easter Pageant is over!



These next photos are taken after Charlotte has been changed into her nightgown and gotten ready for bed. She is still wide awake!

Visit from the Hipes

Jay's dad has three siblings and they all came to visit yesterday to see Trey and Charlotte. Let's be honest- no one comes to visit me anymore :) Trey was shy at first but opened up quickly and enjoyed playing with his great aunts and uncle. Charlotte was wide awake during the visit and loved looking at everyone's faces, staring at the lights, and listening to everyone's conversation. During their visit they mentioned that Charlotte is the first Hipes girl born in 70 some years!

Charlotte was fascinated by Aunt Geraldine and Aunt Rose.


Grandpa and Uncle Jack taking care of the kids.


Trey showed Uncle Jack how to work his puzzles.


Aunt Geraldine plays with Trey while Aunt Rose loves on Charlotte.


Charlotte has Grandpa and Uncle Jack wrapped around her finger.




Grandpa left his hat, so Trey wore it for him :)