Baby & Toddler

So, turns out keeping up with two kids is harder than it looks! Not that I ever believed it would be easy, but I must admit that the areas I have the most difficulty with are things I didn't see coming, while some things that I thought would be so difficult have ended up being a cakewalk. Such is life, I suppose, there is really no way to prepare yourself for children, whether they are your first, second, or 19th child, you just never know what will happen next, and you have to take it one day at a time. So that's what we do around here! We survive one day at a time, looking to the next!



It's funny, John and I were talking the other day about people's questions and expectations. As soon as you're engaged, they want to know what date you've picked. As soon as you're married, they want to know when you're having a baby, as soon as you have a baby, they want to know when you're having another. And, I've now found, as soon as you have your second, they want to know how many you plan to have. It's kind of funny, really, I would have thought I'd get asked when we'll have another. But I guess after two, most people stop assuming you will have more and just want to know whether or not you are, and how many! And that question still stumps me every time. We're taking baby steps with baby making, not daring to plan our end game too early on! I can say one thing though, as far as it depends on me, if there is a third, there will be more than a two year, three month gap this time! Whew!



So...an update on Jenna, youngest first for a change! She has passed the two month mark, and by the looks of her, seems even older! It's incredibly sad for a mommy, having her second grow up even faster than the first, literally! She turned 2 months old on the 16th of February and had her doctor's appointment the same day. She weighed 13 lbs, 10 oz, and was 24 inches long! That's a gain of 5 1/2 pounds in about 9 weeks! More than 1/2 pound a week! She is amazing, though. It is a change for me, having a chunker, because Julia is so long and lean. I absolutely love it though. I can't get enough of those chipmunk cheeks and her thighs crack me up at every diaper change with rolls upon rolls upon rolls. Adorable. And while I hesitate to speak too soon, she has still managed to keep all that dark hair! I love having one with hair so blonde and one so dark! She is all smiles and coos now. I love hearing her sweet little voice. She even sings along with me. She is such a good baby, and I am immeasurably grateful for that. She sleeps through the night, and really only cries when she is hungry, tired and fighting sleep, or bored and wanting a change of scenery. But as far as babies go, she is still pretty low maintenence. It is so wonderful to have a baby again that is at the age where all she has to do is catch sight of me and I get a big smile. She doesn"t see my flaws or failures. She doesn't expect the impossible from me. All she wants are a few basic needs to be met. And she knows I meet those needs, and she loves me for it. Smiles at me for it. There is great joy in such simplicity. Thank you, sweet baby girl! You are more of a blessing to me than I can ever describe!

Julia, Julia, Julia. Where shall I begin? That girl can both amaze and appall me in the same day! My goodness, can she wear me out! Having a newborn again has made me see how incredibly easy a baby is compared to a toddler. It is so very difficult to accurately describe this "toddler" stage. Toddler is wonderful. Toddler is awful. Toddler is stressful. Toddler makes me laugh. Toddler makes me cry. Toddler, in all things, continually drives me to my knees! Toddler is cute. Toddler is so not cute. Toddler is outrageously intelligent. Toddler is cuddly. Toddler is mean. Toddler is loving. Toddler is mischeivous! Toddler is beautiful. Toddler is whiney. Toddler is whiney some more. Toddler is still whiney! Toddler is independent. Toddler is clingy. Toddler is curious. Toddler is stubborn! Toddler is sick. Toddler is well. Toddler is all these things. Toddler can be all these things in one day! Toddler stage is extremely exhausting. So much more work than baby stage, but not without it's rewards. Toddler can do more than send a smile my way. Toddler gives me hugs. Toddler tells me she loves me. Toddler gives me kisses. Toddler tells me she is sorry. (More than I get from Husband!) Toddler says thank you, with sincerity. Yes, toddler is more work. But she is worth it. She makes me so crazy at times that I wonder if we will both make it through this stage alive. But then, quick as a flash, the tides change and she reminds me all over again how wonderful she is and why she worth all the stress. So I cling to those happy times. The times when I truly enjoy my child, and I make sure I will be able to remember them. Because just like living through "toddler" has made me see how easy "baby" was, I know that someday, when we are struggling through "teenager", I will long to relive "toddler"! Julia Faith, I love you dearly! You know you make your Mommy crazy, but you know I couldn't be more proud of you, either! However spunky and stubborn you may be, you are also brilliant, loving, and a real character! You keep me on my toes! You challenge me, girl, and as much as I may hate to admit it, that is probably a good thing for me! However young you may be, and however much I may be trying to teach you, you will always be teaching me more! Thank you for that, Sunshine! Thank you for being you!

Mommy & Me

Sometimes, when you want a picture of yourself, you have to take it yourself! I still have some work to do before I'm as good at this as my sister is, but Jenna was so happy that I couldn't miss the opportunity!

Chuck E Cheese

On January 28, we had a girls night at Chuck E Cheese with my mom, my sister, myself, Julia and Jenna. Jules had a blast of course!

Since she's still a little young for the games, her favorite things were the ones you ride.

Shooting like a pro, Daddy would be proud!

Tay Tay helped her get a lot of tickets!

Count 'em up!

Julia isn't the best climber, so Tay Tay helped her get up there!

Wheeee...

This is the stash of prizes. A princess crown (that she wants to wear all the time!), a curly straw, two bracelets, two mini tootsie pops, and a mini gun that lights up and makes laser noises.

Cheese! Don't you love the shirt? Nana got that for her a while back.

Jenna was wide awake for about half the time we were there so we took turns taking pics with her.

So serious.

Nana and Jenna

Tay Tay and Jenna

Mommy and Jenna Hope

Double Diaper Duty

Why not take care of them both at once?

Two kids in diapers, heaven help me!

Don't get me wrong, little miss Jenna was totally a planned baby, and I wouldn't change a thing, even if I could. But two kids in diapers?! I feel like I change 100 a day!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for...

Ice Cream!

Only at Grandma and Grandpa's!

These pics don't need captions, they speak for themselves!

Made with Love

These were taken on January 26. Jenna was six weeks old here. Marlene came by that afternoon after her crocheting group met to bring the girls these beautiful, blue, matching dresses she made. Julia has always looked best in blue because of her eyes, and I'm excited to say that it looks Jenna's eyes are changing from the dark, grayish-blue, newborn color to a much clearer, true blue. So it looks like they will end up with the same eyes, even if Jenna's hair stays this dark (which I hope it does!). They look so cute in these dresses that I told Marlene I think they will be perfect Easter outfits. Jenna still has room to grow in hers. Julia feels like a princess in it and she dances and twirls all over the place when she wears it.

Gaga, Jenna & Julia

Doesn't Jenna look like a doll here?
(I suppose it's fitting that she does, some days I get the feeling that I'm just playing house, that I'll wake up and this will all have been a dream, and I'm really still a teenager. But then reality sets in... This is my life. These gorgeous girls are no dream, they are actually mine, I am responsible for them, and I am so very blessed!)


I know Julia's diaper is showing, and she's almost scowling, but I like this one. Cheesy smiles are cute and all, but I think this serious face is beautiful. And Jenna, with her newfound alertness, cracks me up with all her expressions. She slept so much in her newborn days that it's almost like I'm just seeing her for the first time now that she's awake more. Her little face makes me laugh, she's so stinkin' chubby and adorable!

Couldn't miss an opportunity to photograph those bare feet!

A New Kind of Love

John and I had a heart to heart the other day. (Scary, I know!) I was whining, being my usual self, complaining about what a wreck my body is after carrying two babies. After every complaint about which part of me would never be the same, my dear husband would patiently reply with a reason why that didn't matter, anyway. But, I was deep in my own depressing thoughts, hearing him, but not really listening. It was that depressing train of thought that somehow carried me from my body, and how it would never be the same, to our relationship, and how much it had changed. I talked about how much I missed the way it used to be between us. When we were teenagers, college students, newlyweds. My thought train travelled through a lot of happy times and awesome memories. To times and places that we will never be again, people that we will never be again. And it made me sad. Sadder than I already was. Because truthfully, the cliche is true. Those were some of the best days of our lives. That kind of new, passionate love that young people have for each other is something that you only experience once. The way we treated each other, the things we did for each other, and the way we felt about each other... it's all so different now. I kept getting sadder, but the thought train kept pressing on. Now it seems that we're always in a rush. Too much to do in too little time. All of our energy, especially mine, is directed at the kids. It seems that we have so little left for each other. On and on, I went, perpetuating my saddness. And then I stopped. I asked him if he saw it, too. I asked him if he missed the way I used to be, he used to be, we used to be. We were so much in love then, shouldn't he miss that, too? And ya know what... he disagreed with me. Shocking, right? Oh, he saw what I meant about how so much has changed. And he even agreed about how wonderful those days of young love were. But what he said next makes me cry even now. He said (in that simple way he has of explaining things that should be difficult) that we still have that love, it's just different now. It's a new kind of love, he said. Not a man of many words, my husband is often so right, simplifying all that I have overanalyzed. So right. Our love is no less passionate now, no less genuine. Our love is stronger, if anything, with each day that it matures. We have over a decade of shared experiences, some pleasant and some painful, but all of them drawing us closer together. And while I sometimes feel that those experiences have worn me out, made me something less than what I used to be... I realize now that the opposite is true. Those experiences made me, and us, what we are. We are husband and wife, we are parents. No, we will never be the same. Our relationship will never be what it was. It will be better. It is better. We are better. A little older, a little wiser, a little more mature. And the older, wiser, more mature love that we share is something I am learning to cherish. All thanks to my husband and his few, simple words.

Girls in Green

The other day Julia saw that Jenna was wearing green and insisted that she wear her green jammies, too. She is obsessed with making sure that they are the same, or that they match at all times. If Jenna is getting a bath, Julia wants one. If Jenna is eating, Julia needs her cup. If you mention Jenna's eyes, Julia is quick to point out that hers are blue, too. Sometimes it's a jealousy thing, but mostly I think she just loves her baby sister to death and wants her to be just like her.

Daddy & Daughter

Up Close and Personal

I took these pictures on January 7, Jenna was three weeks old. She was sleeping so soundly that I wanted to get some close ups of her newborn features.

Those cheeks! I'll never get over them!

John made a loud noise in the kitchen that made her jump and throw her arms up like babies do. But she was in such a deep sleep that her hands just hung there in mid air!

Piano player?

This little piggy...

I saw a professional photo done like this with wedding rings. We'll always have a reference for how tiny thise toes once were!

Gulley nose!

John said I was weird for taking a picture of her ear. I say, "whatever". I'm her mother. I gave birth to her. I'll take whatever pictures I want to! :)

Itty Bitty Baptist

I plopped the girls on the couch to take some pictures of them in their dresses on Jenna's first Sunday at church (January 3). Jenna kept turning her face into Julia. So Julia kissed her little forhead. Precious!

Brian and Tiffany got Jenna this onesie. Doesn't she look like a baby doll? She's about 3 weeks old here.