spring break

 We had a great spring break. It was not relaxing for me. I did not clean my house at all. I did not get one project done off my list. I really like to do that over break. I wanted to get things done for me.

Instead I was reminded how much my life is not my own. Christ, who lives in me, has given me two girls to pour into. He has entrusted them into my care (& Cameron's) and that often means I don't get to do the things I had planned.

Instead of my list, we played on the floor.

 We dug in the backyard. We actually found bricks under the surface. Emily was pretty sure the leprechaun had something to do with them being there.

  

We watched big sister dig.

We made messes that only got half way cleaned up. The curtain is still pretty shabby... oh well.

We went to the movie at the park and saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

 We rode bikes and hung out with the cousins.
(Biking and cousins not pictured)
Cameron continued to grow his mustache out for "Mustache March." oh joy.

 We went to the park to try out Emily's new lunchbox. We packed a picnic and then went to play on the playground.

 We did school work at home. Mommy played teacher.

We took Lucy for her 6 month check up. Emily was very concerned about her getting poked so much and was worried about her baby sister. 

 We cheesed it up in our new kitty dress. (thanks, Aunt Susan!) She tries to wear this dress every day. Every single day. I intentionally don't wash it but every couple days.

And Lucy Jane ate food for the first time. She loves it and she sleeps better. All around, a good decision. 

We had a busy spring break. We tried to have pretty "normal" days full of togetherness and not over-the-top things. We are just settling into our new life. It's awesome because it feels like we have gotten into a family rhythm these days. I'm thanking God for that constantly, because it was a little rough before we had it. Hope you had a wonderful week last week.

We go to court to finalize Lucy adoption next week!! I am so excited to have that done and have her officially be a Howell. Then we'll be waiting for Em's.... the fun never ends around here. Wonder when we'll add baby #3 to the mix... maybe we'll wait a while.

baby dinosaur

We have a baby dinosaur in our house. She is pretty adorable and knows that it's funny. She enjoys making people laugh. Emily and I are giggling in the background. We spent lots of time this day making videos and laughing at them while we watched them again. It was a fun day. Enjoy our little, baby dinosaur. 

 

side by side comparison

Lucy at two days. Lucy at two months. Notice how big she has gotten. I can't believe how big she is getting. She doesn't eat a ton at each feeding and I've had several people comment on that fact. Well, people, there is no doubt that she is, indeed, growing. No need to worry about this girl!

sick day

My sweet little girl is sick. It's her first time in life being sick and it's my first time being a mama to a sick baby. It's fun how we go through these firsts together. I love that she is my first and the one I get to share all these with.

She has a runny nose and is very congested. She is not eating as much, due to her lack of being able to properly breathe out of her nose. She has been fussy somewhat. It's been really hard because I just have to watch her suffer. I can't really help. I can alleviate her discomfort at times and hold her when she wants to be. I cannot fix it though. It's a pretty helpless feeling.

I have resisted the urge to rush to the doctor's office. I wanted to. I just know deep in my gut that she's ok and just needs some TLC at home. We are watching her to make sure there's no fever or anything else alarming.

We had lots of fun things on the agenda this week and I have cancelled a bunch of them to be at home so she can rest and get well. It's crazy to say, "Sorry, my daughter is sick so we can't make it today." It makes me want to just squeal. Not the sick part, just the part where I'm a mom to the best little girl ever.

She's definitely growing and changing. Many of her newborn onesies no longer fit. She's too long! She's moving up in the world and guess what... she has some awesome clothes that are 0-3 months. Check out my favorite outfit. There are no words to describe how much we are all loving kitty dress and jeggings around here.

Precious. Seriously precious.

enjoying each moment

Cameron and I have loved this new adventure of parenthood. We waited a long time for it to officially begin. It has not been a seamless adjustment. There have been tears and frustration while we are trying to get into the swing of things. I'm sure it's only the beginning.

One thing we are trying to be intentional about is loving Lucy for exactly who she is. At times I find myself longing for the days where she will smile at us (She just started that and we can get her to do it 75% of the time. It's not gas, people. These are legitimate smiles.), when she'll learn to talk to us, when we'll get to see her personality in the full, when we'll know exactly what kind of hair she'll have (fro, please!), and anything that makes her bigger than she is and older. Well, we don't want to live like that. We want to relish in the little person she is right now. We want to enjoy her babyhood and not wish it away.

There are millions of little things I love about her. Here are some of the things I'm hanging on to as moments to treasure and store in my heart:

• She loves snuggling. Her favorite place to nap is on my chest. She even holds onto my shirt, arm skin, and neck to get a tighter squeeze. 
• She makes the cutest noises. We must get them on video. She cracks us up with her martian noises and her little coos. 
• She'd rather be in our arms than anywhere else. I know there will be a day when she won't want to snuggle as much or be held. It's a long way off, but I never want to forget her longing to be held. She also loves to be touched. She loves her hair to be played with and her forehead rubbed. 
• She needs me. I (we) am the one who can help her when she is in need of something. It's my job to read her cues and give her what she needs, when she needs it. What a special job (and tricky at times). 
• Her hair is awesome. I love that she has a full head of hair. How do moms of bald-headed babies do it? I just look at her hair and my heart melts. I dream of brown curls and maybe even some wild hair going on when she's older. 
• I love her little birthmark. She has a little light-colored birthmark on her right shoulder. I don't know if it will last, but it's there now. 
• She has hairy ears. It's cute, I promise. I know it won't last, but it's adorable for now. 

She is the sweetest girl. She's happy. She's curious. She's smart. She's mine. What more could I ask for?

the view from here

Yes, this is my sweet daughter with her head hanging out of the Moby wrap just so mama has to hold her more. She hasn't let me put her down all morning. I don't mind.

Yes, her tongue is hanging out as she sleeps. It's precious.

Yes, those stripes you see are my jammies. It's 1:15 pm and I'm still in my jams.

Yes, that is a huge pile of clean laundry waiting to be put away. Hey, at least it's clean.

I'm not getting anything done, but I don't care. Today is a lazy, snuggle day with my favorite little girl. Loving that God has blessed us with this sweet baby and chose us to be her parents.

I hope you get a pajama kind of day soon. They are lovely.

up all night

Isn't that the name of a new TV show? I bet I would identify with it now more than ever and would find it quite amusing. I should watch it.

When I wrote that title it's because we are. Miss Lucy naps and sleeps like a champ all day long and decides to have her crying sessions during the night.

Hungry? Couldn't be.
Hot? Nope.
Cold? No way.
Want to be swaddled? Sometimes.
Want to be walked around and around and around? Usually but not always.
Want to snuggle? Sometimes.
Just crying? Ok.

It's painful to listen to her scream. Hurts the ears, but emotionally it's hard on me. I want to help her, fix her, make her all better like mamas do. I want to be patient and loving and gentle because she deserves that. I find that my great soothing skills can go out the window when I'm over tired. I enjoy sleeping at night. I do not enjoy naps. So if we could get this night thing down, I'd be a happy camper. I don't mind getting up to feed her. I really love holding her and seeing her always. I just do not enjoy the crying sessions she has had after her feedings.

We are working on it. Sorry, Lucy, you're parents are brand new at this. We'll get it eventually. Hoping you got lots of sleep last night. :)

firsts for little lucy

We have had many firsts in the past few weeks. Life has been changing. Things have been amazing, hard, challenging, fun, and exciting. Lucy was one week on Wednesday. Crazy.

She had some firsts that made Cam and I crack up the other day. Within 12 hours of each other, Lucy had her first blow-out diaper, she peed all over my sheets (not her sheets, mine), and she spit up big time on the couch. Way to go, Lucy. You are breaking us in.

Life has been some kind of wonderful these days. Loving every minute of it.

crib sheets

I went to help my sister in law paint her living room a while back. As we were setting up to paint she got out old sheets to put down as drop cloths. I looked over and she was opening up this gorgeous Pottery Barn flat sheet that they used to have on their bed that I had always loved. I'm pretty sure I gasped and grabbed it from her hands. I then told her I would be taking that home.

I decided that I would make a crib sheet out of this queen size flat sheet. I used these directions and got to work. The one queen sheet made 2 crib sheets so I was even happier. Having lots of sheets will be nice when they need to be changed often, but we also have a toddler bed in our nursery for our little friend, Bailey, who comes over during the school year while her mom is at work. This way we can put the sheets on if we want it to match or we can mix it up with the white sheet with orange stripes that we have. Which is more likely for me to do: match the sheets or mix it up? Always go with random in my house- mix it up is much more likely and way more fun!

Here it is with some little friends in the crib. The owl was something I made as well (Thank for the idea, Pottery Barn Kids). The frog is one my Grandma Pat made many years ago. I know it looks a little loved and that's because it was. I think it's wonderful. The pig is an awesome JellyCat from Melissa to our little baby. More nursery project pictures to come!

bassinet

We have a great family. That is no mystery. It's big and messy and wonderful.


We have a very generous family. It been awesome to be second or third to have babies. We get awesome hand-me-downs and things to borrow from our siblings that have children. Check out our amazing bassinet that we are borrowing from my sister. 

It is adorable and I cannot wait to put our little pumpkin in here. I also love that I'm borrowing this big piece of furniture and then it can live at their house again when our baby is in the crib. This is just one of the many things they've lent to us. Love them!! 


Yay for borrowing! Yay for family that buys awesome stuff!