2 months

Love Bug is 2 months old. I can't believe it. One part of me feels like she should be so much older because I feel like she has been a part of our lives forever. The other part of me can not believe she is already 2 months old...that time is going by too quickly. Either way I look at it, my sweet girl is growing and changing so much.

This morning we took her for her 2 month well check-up. She is now 23 inches long and 14 pounds 2 ounces. She is healthy and doing great. Sadly, it was also shot day. Sweet Love Bug had 3 vaccinations: 1 orally and 2 injections. Those injections have worn her out. She has either slept or cried all day. Some Tylenol and extra cuddling seem to have done the trick because she is now sound asleep for the night.

Love Bug loves to smile and she is so responsive to us. She especially loves her older brother. The Mayor loves to kiss on her and get in her face and make her laugh. I love seeing them interact with each other. Such a sweet and innocent love. We are so blessed.

hanging out...waiting for the doctor

passing the time

mom

I have been called a lot of things and had many job titles over the course of my 33 years of life, but none have been more important or rewarding as my current title: mom. It comes with no monetary compensation and it is a lifetime commitment but it is definitely worth it.

As fun as it would have been to have spent my afternoon at a spa, today is no different from any other day we have, Love Bug is in the midst of her "witching hour", The Mayor still wants to play with his trains, but it is a reminder to me on how important my job is. And although today is just a normal day for my children, it is an extra special Mother's Day because it was my first Mother's Day with my baby girl, my first Mother's Day with 2 children and we had Love Bug dedicated at church.

Twenty years ago on this holiday, I spent my last Mother's Day with my own mother. Had I known that would have been my last with her, I would have done more. I would have kissed her one more time, told her I loved her one more time, told her how much I appreciated her one more time. But I didn't; I don't even remember that day with her. Of course at that age I had no idea what the concept of "don't take life for granted" meant. But at my current age, I absolutely get it. So on today, and I pray every other day of my life, I hope to not take life for granted and take the time to celebrate my children, my husband, my family. To treat everyday like it is Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day....

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, soon-to-be mothers and those women who want to be mothers one day. You are going to love this job.

me and my girl

on stage at Love Bug's dedication

gearing up for the weekend

I woke up this morning ready for what lie ahead. I had 2 babies to entertain and a house to clean before MeMe and Big Daddy arrived for the weekend. About an hour into my morning, I got a fantastic phone call. D was coming home! He decided to take a much needed day off work and spend a day with us (he didn't make it to work and then turn around, he was still near the house getting his emissions test done on his car). After feeding The Mayor and Love Bug, we went to an indoor playground to play (it was too hot outside for me) and then to lunch. During naps, I cleaned the inside while D did yard work. I am happy to report, our house is looking good!

This weekend is going to be so special. Not only do we have family coming into town, but Love Bug is being dedicated at our church on Sunday. What a wonderful Mother's Day gift! MeMe and Big Daddy are coming in for the event. I am so happy they are able to make it; it means so much to me to have family here for this important occasion. Our promise to ourselves, our daughter, our family and our church that we will raise Love Bug in a Christian home and steer her towards a life where she has a relationship with Christ. The Mayor was dedicated last year on Mother's Day as well. There is just nothing more important than having a personal relationship with Christ; to know Him, to love Him and to accept Him as our own personal Savior. As much as I pray for a long, happy and healthy life for all 4 of us while on Earth, I would much rather know we will be together in Heaven for all eternity.

MeMe and Big Daddy are set to arrive late tonight. So while we wait for their arrival, we are are going to enjoy the quiet of the clean house and catch up on our DVR!

kisses from daddy

being a ham...covering one eye up with the lens cap while saying "cheese" for the picture

back together again

I woke up this morning in the best mood. We had absolutely nothing on our calendar and D was returning from his 3 day business trip. I was so happy.

Meega and Bennett came over this morning to hang out and we decided to load up the kiddos and go for a walk. We walked for over an hour and almost died. Seriously. It was so hot. It is only early May...I am scared to death of what August is going to be like. We both silently cursed under our breath with every hill we climbed while pushing some heavy jogging strollers. We felt so good afterwards but quickly decided we either need to walk a lot earlier in the morning or somewhere flatter. I think a regular combination of those 2 requirements will more than likely be what we do.

After naps, The Mayor and I hung out with Love Bug and then we heard the best sound of the day. The garage door opening. YAY! Daddy was home! We celebrated by spending the next 2 hours outside. And The Mayor rode his tricycle all by himself tonight for the first time! He was able to work the pedals and steer the handle bars...all by himself. He looked like such a big boy. He really wore himself out and had the privilege of staying up an hour past his bedtime. Now D is cuddling with his Love Bug and I am enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet. We have a busy weekend ahead of us so I will enjoy these few moments to myself while I can.

I am going to sleep so well tonight...all of us are under one roof and back together again. As it should be...

sweet Bennett

daddy showing The Mayor how it is done...

...all by himself! Such a big boy!

sweet Love Bug. She loves being outside. Immediately calms her down during her nightly "cranky" hour

roller coaster

Today has been one big roller coaster. We got out of the house and were on time for The Mayor's sports class this morning. I was even ahead of the game enough to pack his picnic lunch for our playground play date for the afternoon. He was so cute during his class; we got there, I opened the gym doors and he ran right in and hugged his coach. Such a turn around from the first day of class where I had to stay in there with him because he wouldn't stop crying. After his class, we headed over to the playground. This playground was amazing. It was the biggest playground I have ever seen and easy as heck to lose your child. I spent the first 30 minutes just trying to keep up with him and follow him through this playground. I can't tell you how many times I yelled out his name because I couldn't find him. I should have taken pictures of this playground...it was insane.

After 30 minutes of playing and playing hard, the wheels just started falling off. He was hot, tired and moody. A few tantrums later, we were saying good-bye, loading up in the car and eating our picnic lunch at home. I thought for sure he would take the best nap...instead he stayed in his room for 3 hours just talking to himself. I went up there about every 30 minutes telling him he needed to go "night night", he would say yes, I would cover him up and several minutes later he would be talking again. He even climbed out of his crib! Yikes...first time ever (well, he did it once before but he used his LARGE stuffed dog as his step stool). This time he did it solely on his own. I am praying it was a one time thing. I am not ready for the big boy bed. I wanted to wait until Love Bug was sleeping at least 12 hours at night and in her own room. We are up to 10 1/2 hours at night but she is still in her bassinet in our room. I guess we will see how he does tonight...

After his "nap time" and I fed Love Bug, I decided we were having date night at Chick-fil-a and ice cream for him afterwards. Why not? But on the way, The Mayor kept asking for his Mamie and PopPop and when I got into the turn lane that was going away from their house, the request for them became louder. So we ventured over to their house for a quick hello. Which turned into dinner. And God Bless them...they even gave The Mayor a bath for me. Got to love grandparents. They step in and help out when a mommy is just tired.

The kids are in bed for the night and it is time for me to unwind. There is nothing on our calendar for tomorrow and I could not be happier. We can be lazy in the morning instead of trying to get out the door, and we are going to meet up with Meega and Bennett and go for a walk. My kind of Thursday.

the ice cream sandwich he was eating became too cold for him to hold so he put it down in front of him and ate it without using his hands

PopPop and Love Bug

love

playing golf in his diaper and crocs

if it's not one it's the other

I think my kids are staging a coup. I don't think it is possible for both of my kids to be happy at the exact same moment. Unless they are both sleeping, but if they are awake, one of them is crying.

This isn't really how it is everyday...but that is how it has been today. And because I am flying solo, it is one...long...day. D can not get home fast enough. We miss him terribly.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a better day. The Mayor has his sports class then we are off to a playground to play and have a picnic.

happy

not happy

weekend fun

We had such a wonderful, long, tiring, exciting weekend. Here is the recap...it is a lengthy recap, but hopefully entertaining...

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast, celebrated D's birthday by giving him his gifts (since we would be in Chattanooga on his actual birthday), quickly showered, packed bags, loaded up the car and headed out to Chattanooga. In my genius mind, I was certain The Mayor would sleep on the way to Chattanooga. Ha ha ha ha ha...oh, seriously, I have found the more I plan and expect things to happen, almost certainly the opposite will occur. The Mayor slept exactly zero in the car. Ok, that's fine...once arriving in Chattanooga, we checked into the hotel, unloaded the car and I fed Love Bug. 30 minutes later we were back in the car on the way to the aquarium.

The aquarium in Chattanooga is amazing. I was so excited to take The Mayor there. But during our 2 hour trek through the aquarium we saw every possible emotion that I think one 2 1/2 year old could possibly emit. Oh, how I was wishing he had slept in the car. About 30 minutes in, we freed The Mayor from his stroller and let him pull us through the aquarium at lightning speed literally bouncing from one tank to the next (when he is overly tired he somehow gets a superhuman dose of energy...almost as if he were to stop, he would fall asleep while standing up so he goes ninety to nothing to ensure that doesn't happen). We finally made it to the gift shop (the end!) only to find out that there was a whole other building to go through. WHAT? Oh yes, since we had been there last, they had built an entire new building...this new building was all about the ocean. The one we just went through was about the river. I almost shed a tear. But we aren't quitters! So we went through the next aquarium. It really was beautiful...I highly recommend you take your kids...just make sure everyone has napped before you go.

Afterwards, we went to the first restaurant that had no wait. We ended up at a delicious Mexican restaurant by our hotel for dinner. The Mayor was a PERFECT angel. Seriously...he sat there so quietly and ate his dinner. Every once in a while leaning over on his daddy's arm and giving out kisses. I was actually looking forward to the night ahead. The Mayor was so tired and would go down easily. Remember what I said earlier? The more you plan and expect something...the opposite occurs?? Remember? Yeah, The Mayor went down easily...only to wake up 30 minutes later screaming and crying. He was afraid. He was sleeping in his pack-n-play in the living room of our hotel and he didn't know where he was and it was dark (he is used to a nightlight in his room). D went in to cuddle with him and he immediately went back to sleep. But only for 30 minutes, when he woke up screaming again. After I cuddled with him, he went back to sleep. This cycle continued for 2 hours. So we put him into bed with us. Surely, considering how tired he was, he would go to sleep. Nope, he tossed and turned and turned and tossed and said "hi momma" and "hi dadda" for the next 2 hours. So I pulled his pack-n-play into our bedroom and put him back in it. After 5 minutes, he started crying again. D got up and cuddled with him again and told him he had to go "night night". Finally, at 1 AM, The Mayor went to sleep. I laughed that the only person who was actually sleeping through the night was the 7 week old newborn. Irony.

Saturday morning we ventured out to see Thomas the Train, the whole reason for the trip to Chattanooga. I just went ahead and lowered my expectations and expected the worst. I am really considering becoming a Negative Nelly because of course the opposite occurred and he was perfect. So well behaved and excited when we saw Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. He actually stood still in a line to meet Sir Topham Hatt and waited patiently in line to board Annie and Clarabel (the passenger cars Thomas pulls). Where was this kid the day before??

The Mayor was so cute when he first saw the real Thomas train. He literally stood there in awe. He wouldn't budge nor take his eyes off of Thomas. He was so excited. It made the entire weekend all worth that one moment. We boarded the train and found our seats and off we went for our 25 minute ride. He loved looking out the window and talking about Thomas. But the part that melted my heart the most, was when his sister woke up from her nap. D took her out of the Baby Bjorn and all The Mayor wanted to do was hug and kiss her. He no longer cared about the train, he just wanted to love on her. And she just smiled and squealed with every kiss he put on her. Made me so proud to be their mommy.

After Thomas and lunch, we headed back to Atlanta. And wouldn't you know it...The Mayor slept the entire car ride home.

touching the fish in the touch pool

giving the turtle a high-five

30 seconds before this picture, we had a tantrum, tried to sleep on D's shoulder and smiled for the camera. Seriously, all in 30 seconds...

meeting Sir Topham Hatt

the real Thomas!

standing in awe while waiting to board Thomas

so happy!

someone finally decided to wake up and join the party

love