Christmas 2012

We had a sickly Christmas this year.  Mallory has been sick since late Friday afternoon. My girls are hardly ever sick, but when they do get sick it is always on a Friday afternoon.  I've just recently switched pediatricians and their new one has been closed now for the fifth day in a row.  Nice.  We aren't off to a good start...let's hope things improve. Despite Mallory being sick along with my mom, aunt and grandaddy, we still managed to have a good Christmas.  I mostly took pictures with my big camera (which will probably never make it to the blog), but here are the few I took with my phone. 

After Santa made his drop-off

It was a dog and horse Christmas for Mallory.  Who cares about princesses and baby dolls??  Not this girl.  This is her Chihuahua puppy with its REAL collar and leash from a REAL pet store.  Girlfriend is obsessed.

Sweet Hadley just took it all in and was a good girl the whole day.

By noon, both of my girls were asleep. 

 One of my favorite gifts was this pot.  It is a very rainy day today so I can't wait to go home and cook soup or a stew in it tonight to break it in.

I am back at work today and things are pretty dead.  I can't wait to get home to my girls and play with them.  We hope everyone else had a great Christmas too! 

A day in my life. (Part I)

I think I've done this once before, but not since having two kids.  It will be interesting to look back on one day to see exactly what my day was like at this point in my life. 

Here is a typical Monday for our family:

1:00 am - Hadley wakes up and is hungry.  She's been asleep since before 8 pm and about 5 hours is her max.  I get up and feed her and entertain myself on my phone with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter while she is eating.  She eats until about 1:15 or 1:20, I put her back in her crib and she goes right back to sleep.  Such a good baby!

3:30 am - Hadley is awake again.  We repeat the feeding and phone entertaining and she goes right back to sleep. 

6:30 am - I wake up for the day.  I really need to get up at 6, but I was sleeping good and just could not make myself.  I get in the shower and brush my teeth and by that time Hadley is stirring.  Patrick and Mallory are also stirring as well.  I lay on the bed for a few minutes and talk to Patrick and Mallory.  Mallory is daddy's shadow in the mornings so as soon as he gets up, she is right behind him.  I go get Hadley out of her crib.  Each morning when we walk in her room, she just grins and grins.  She wakes up such a happy baby.  I change her diaper and feed her again. 

7:00 am - I am in a whirlwind trying to dry my hair, get dressed and put my makeup on in thirty minutes.  Hadley plays in her exersaucer and Mallory is still clinging to Patrick like it's her job.  Patrick leaves for work, Mallory watches one of her shows. 

7:30 am - Mom arrives to take care of the girls for the day.  I fill her in on anything she needs to know and vice versa.  I grab my pumping stuff, my lunch (it is VERY rare that I bring my lunch to work, but did today), my iced coffee and my phone and head out the door at 7:40.  I am ten minutes late leaving the house and that is pretty much the every day norm, sadly.  I am surprised I still have a job. 

8:10 am - Arrive at work and begin my usual Monday workload.  I'm swamped at work and the morning flies by.

10:00 am - Take a break to pump for Hadley and countdown the months until I can stop pumping. 

12:15 pm - Take my lunch break in the kitchen at work.  Mom made homemade creamy potato soup and it was delish!  I sit in the kitchen with a few other co-workers and we watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire.  So fun.  Not.  Mom sends me a picture of Mallory playing at Chick-Fil-A and I wish I was with them instead of sitting in our stuffy office kitchen, but it makes me happy that she is having a good time.  I also remember while eating my lunch that I forgot to turn in the order form and money for Mallory's preschool shirt and today was the deadline.  UGH. 

1:15 pm - Back to work for the afternoon and hoping the afternoon passes as quickly as the morning did. 

The rest of the day will be continued tomorrow or Wednesday...

Thirty-two.

Today is my birthday so I thought I would do a post on me.  Exciting, right?! 

-I am 32 today...and I find that a little hard to swallow.  I remember when my mom was 32 and I also remember thinking that was pretty old.  I am thankful for being here another year and for my health and all that, but at the same time it is just another day.  I am not one who likes to make a big deal out of my birthday ever since becoming a mom.  What I do like to do is make a big deal out of my kids birthdays now.  Their birthdays are much more exciting and fun than my own.

-I had a CAbi party a few weeks ago.  It was a great group of girls who attended and we had a fun afternoon.  I LOVE clothes and so I was in my element and enjoyed every minute of it.  As a hostess I qualified for eight items at half price, so that was my birthday present from Patrick and they arrived yesterday just in time for my birthday. 

-Last fall a few of my friends, along with my mom and I signed up to do a 5K for the first time.  I was pregnant with Hadley, so mom and I walked it while everyone else ran.  I set a goal for myself that I would run it the next year.  It is next month, but we ended up entering another one that was last Saturday.  I started running around the end of June/beginning of July, just trying to push myself and go a little farther each time.  I do not have a lot of time to run and usually only end up going once or twice a week.  Three times a week is what I shoot for, but it is rare that I do it that often.  The most I had ran continously without walking prior to the 5K last Saturday was 28 minutes so I didn't really know if I would be able to complete the race without walking or not.  I just decided to give it my best.  I finished in 36:40, which isn't great but I was proud of myself for running the entire time except for maybe a brief 2-3 minute walk during the last mile.   

Julie, Ashley & myself before the race

Julie and Ashley both had great results with under a ten minute mile.  My average mile was 11:48 so I definitely need to work on my speed. 

After the race

I ran on my lunch hour yesterday and went three miles with no walking.  I upped my pace and had my fastest mile yet.  I can't tell you how good this makes me feel!

-I am one pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight.  A friend of mine who runs regularly had told me that if I could get myself into running and get where I would enjoy it, then I would want to change my eating habits and I have just got to that point now.  I am setting a goal of 33 minutes for the 5K next month. 

And, just because I can't leave my girls out...

See that little hiney in the air?  I could eat it up.  Along with the little girl who is crazy about Snoopy now.

-I just ordered the girl's Halloween costumes yesterday.  I'm going to have a pig and a puppy - Mallory being the puppy and Hadley the pig.  I can't think of more perfect costumes for them ;)

Strong willed child

There is no doubt that my first born has always been what I refer to as 'high maintenance'.  Lately though, she has taken high maintenance to a new level - strong willed.  My mom actually bought the book, The Strong Willed Child, and Mallory fits the description pretty darn good. 

I do not know if it is her age...everyone says three is much worse than two and then it gets better at four.  Everything is a battle.  Getting dressed in the morning, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, getting in the car, everything.  Although high maintenance, she has always been a generally sweet child until lately.  The attitude has come out.  There is lots and lots of whining.  I think a lot of it has to do with lack of sleep.  She goes to bed between 9 and 10 and is usually up before 7 with no nap.  It is not because we do not try to get her to sleep more, it is because she refuses. 

One theory is this might be a delayed reaction to Hadley being born.  There was no change in Mallory immediately after Hadley's birth, so possibly she is acting out now.  I am hoping that this is a phase that shall pass very soon.  If this does have to do with Hadley's arrival, I feel like there is a fine line between disciplining and showing her that she is still just as important and loved as she ever was. 

No one said parenting was easy.  I do not know how many times I've heard the phrase, 'being a parent is the hardest and most rewarding job you will ever do'.  No truer words have ever been spoken. 

Four months.

Last week on the 22nd, Hadley turned four months.  I've waited to do this post because her four month checkup was Tuesday afternoon and I wanted to know her stats.  She passed her 4 month questionnaire with flying colors...perfect score on everything.  I think the doctor kind of gave me the side eye when he noticed that, but whatever...I was honest about it.  Now if there were questions about sleeping through the night...that would be a big fat fail.  She wakes up every three hours to eat for the most part, although the past two nights she has gone for about a five hour stretch.  However, developmentally we are doing A-OKAY.  The only thing to really report from the four month checkup is that Hadley weighs 16 pounds, 1 ounce and is 24 inches long.  She is 89% for weight and 35% for height.  As my mom put it...she is compact and full of sugar :)  I looked back at Mallory's four month stats and she was 16 pounds, 5 ounces and 25.5 inches.  My girls like to eat (at this age anyway).  Mallory does not like to eat now. 
Hadley takes a good nap in the morning and one in the afternoon and then usually a short late afternoon nap around 6.  Her bedtime is about 8:30 and she goes to sleep on her own.  Unlike Mallory, she is not a cuddler and prefers to be in her bed to go to sleep by herself.  This makes me happy for the most part, but a little sad too.  Who doesn't love to rock a baby to sleep?!  She transitioned from the rock 'n play to her crib at exactly four months old and we have just stopped swaddling as well.  Moving to the crib and not swaddling anymore have both gone much easier than expected and has not changed her sleeping at all. 
She has had nothing but breast milk so far and obviously it is treating her well.  We are planning to wait until she is six months old to introduce solids.  98% of the time, Hadley is a happy baby who is all smiles (although I can never catch a smile in a picture)!

Hmmm...is there food in this dragon?  Chomp chomp.

Enjoying the baby bjorn.  This is the only way I can get anything done in the evenings.

Hadley loves her baths.

This was taken on her actual 'month day'

August 22

Ahhh...those cheeks.  I die.

At the doctor for her checkup on Tuesday.

All the nurses wanted to take her home!  Everyone loves a squishy baby!

This was last week when we went to get Mallory's dance shoes and clothes.  She was a tad excited and has not wanted to take off this leotard since.

Doing a little tap.

This girl does not sleep enough.  Period.  So this happens sometimes...

I noticed I had two very similar pics of the girls at the same age so here is a fun comparison.  Hadley is on the top and Mallory on the bottom.  I think they favor less as they get older.

 

Staying home.

We haven't done much lately.  It seems silly for me to write that because it makes it sound like I just sit around and do nothing, which is NOT the case!  With two small kids though, we stay home a lot right now.  We pretty much never go out to eat (one of my favorite things to do) or go anywhere else much because A) Hadley basically want to do nothing but nurse from 6:00 pm until bedtime and B) Mallory doesn't take naps anymore so she is a grouch by 6 pm.  I know this is just a phase in our lives right now so I try to soak it up and make the best of it.  No doubt that one day I will look back and miss this time when my girls are so little.  It doesn't give me much blogging material though....

A few things we have going on are-

• Mallory starts dance next week!!  I am super excited about this.  We are going shopping one day this week for all her dance stuff and I can't wait.  I hope she loves it as much as I love the idea of her being in dance.  Her two best friends are taking with her so hopefully that will help her to like it.  

• She is in a stage where she wants me to braid her hair all the time because her bestie Carter wears her hair french-braided.  Umm, this mama does not know how to french braid but thanks to You Tube, I am practicing and SLOWWWWLY improving. 

 

• Three year old little girls can really bring the drama.  Mallory got bit by a few fireants Saturday morning while helping me pull weeds in the landscaping around our house.  They do hurt when they bite and she really let me know just how much it hurt her.  I would have given anything for it to be me that got bit and not her but it didn't happen that way.  Anytime anything bites her, she really swells up and itches.  Poor thing inherited that from me.  I had to force Benadryl in her because she was freaking so bad but it worked like a charm.  The bites went down immediately and she took a three hour nap. 

• My baby, Hadley, will be four months old Wednesday.  She still wakes up every three hours to eat at night.  Thoughts, suggestions, anything??  Mama is tired.  But she sure is cute and sweet.

• Last but not least, I am wearing my favorite pair of jeans today.  Pre-Hadley Citizens and they are fitting nicely.  Holla!!!  Now, if I can just get into my pre-Mallory jeans.  One day, one day.  

Hadley gets baptized.

Our little Buggy got baptized today, finally.  She is almost four months old but it just didn't work out where we could do it any earlier.  Mallory was exactly two months old when she was baptized and the only problem with us waiting longer is that we were afraid that the gown would not fit.  The christening gown that Mallory and Hadley wore is the same one that my brothers and I were baptized in so it is over 34 years old and has a lot of sentimental value.  It was important to me that Hadley wear it also and it just did button with a little room to spare around her neck.

She was such a good girl during the whole thing.

 Flashback to three years ago when Mallory was baptized-

After it was all over.  Such a happy girl all the time!

Our family worked very hard and prepared a meal for everyone at church immediately after the service was over.  Everything was delicious and it was a special day for all of us.  And thanks to my inlaws and my parents - stress free for Patrick and I!  I am feeling overwhelmingly blessed today.  What a lucky girl I am.