Update on Us

Oh the life I live, I really wish I was in an all white padded room sometimes with a "hug-me" jacket on. I have contemplated checking my self in to a crazy house just for like a year ok maybe not a year but a few days would be perfect. I need to get caught up on sleep, I need to build my energy back up, I just need a vacation from life. haha. Couldn't we all use one of those at times?

Can it really be true? Will Little Man be 3 months old in just one short week? That is 1/4 of a year ... Time you really do go by entirely too fast. We had his 2 month well baby check up today, even though he is well over 2 months old lol. He weighed in at 11lbs 11oz (30th percentile), is 23.5in long (51st percentile) & has a head circumference of 42.5cm (90th percentile). He we so awesome at the doctors too, didn't let out a peep, was all smile and giggles :) He is really an AWESOME baby. He has his moments, mainly the things he hates is tummy time, being in a non-moving car, his feet being touched, and waiting for food. He is still quite the little flirt, loves to coo back and forth with momma, cracks up when I "white girl beat boxes at him, loves watching his sister go crazy around the house, is extremely ticklish, has found his hands and loves watching them ... so there is a lot more good then bad with him :) I feel really blessed to have such an amazing little man in my life. Now if only we could get to the sleeping though the night stage then Momma would be 110% happy!!!

Little Mis has defiantly reached the "defiant" stage of her age. Oh man does she know how to push my buttons. We cannot correct her with out her YELLING (I am talking at the top of her lungs) "DON'T BE MAAAAAAAAD" I swear I hate that saying with a passion. She is trying to get out of her daily naptime now too, and let me tell you, that's is so not happening! I look forward to her naptime. But other then testing my patience she is really a sweet girl. She has SUCH an imagination and can remember things so well. I have a feeling she's going to be one of those movie buffs that can remember every little thing about every movie she has seen. She has watched Toy Story 3 at least twice a day for the past two weeks now and can act out scenes from it. It is quite hilarious!! She has me crying from laughing so hard so many times. So as bratty as she is (about 85% of the time) she is really a sweet heart and can make any bad day better.

LOCK & KEY

So I may be bias when I say that I really think that I make the cutest babies ever! I think Hunk and I's combination is really perfect! Little Miss has those big brown eyes, long golden brown hair, beautiful little smile & great personality! Little Man is going to be Mr Tall Dark and Handsome with his dark hair and big blue eyes. And trust me I tell them every day just how beautiful and handsome they are ...

With that being said, I think I have created monsters!

It started when Little Miss was about three months old ... What is "it" you might ask ... Oh FLIRTING! You see, she would see a boy anywhere in a room that she wanted attention from and she would figure out a way to get it. It started out with coy little yells across a room, and when the boy would finally look to see who the screaming child was, she would give him the BIGGES smile and BOOM he was wrapped and instantly was her's. The she learned how to say "Boy" and would call from across the room "BOY!!!...BOY!!!...BOY!!!..." and do this until she once again got the attention she wanted and then batted her big beautiful eyes and gave them that beautiful smile and once again BAM! Now that she is older, she has MASTED this flirting. Let's use one of my husbands friend's as a good example ... We shall call him J.Arbo (for those of you that know us personally you know who I am referring to). You see when Little Miss first set her sights on this boy she had to have him. I will never forget the day he walked in and she proceeded to do a little walk around him, check him out from head...to toe, and then say in the CUTEST voice ever "Heeeeey" and I swear to you I am not lying. And now every time he is over her, she tries to keep his attention on her almost the entire time, she has even asked him to take a bath with her! LOL.

And now Little Man, you see I thought things would be different with him ... But no! Thursday I had surgery to remove my gallbladder and him and the Mr stayed with me. It was a quick one, in at 7am and then home by 10am. And after I was done with the surgery, in the recovery room they came back to sit with me. Well let me tell you... My little 7 WEEK OLD decided to flirt with EVERY nurse that came up and talked to him!! He would give them his cute little smile and then just let out the sweetest little coo!! My baby boy was flirting with women ...

What have I done?!? I just know that these two are going to give us a world of trouble when they are older!! And that is why I have decided to lock them up and trow away the keys :)

Life with Two Kids

Oh man ... Life went from zero to breaking the sound barrier so fast I didn't have time to blink ... I cannot believe that it has been six weeks since we brought little man into this crazy world. I am not going to lie, I thought that it wouldn't be much different going from one kid to two. Boy was I wrong. I feel like I haven't seen the world outside this house in forever! Now do not get me wrong, Little Man is a WONDERFUL baby, I really feel blessed. He hasn't really had a ton of "bad" days ... a lot less then his sister had. I am just missing sleep and my adult friends a lot right now. I feel like my house is ALWAYS a mess and I can never keep up, I look at it and think "Oh my, if someone just stopped by right now I would be SO embarrassed of this place." I know that things will get better, he will get older and won't mind not being held and I will be able to get things done. But right now... My world is upside down.

Little Miss ... oh Little Miss. She was doing SO good when Little Man first came home, now ... jealously has set in and she is lashing out SO bad. I feel bad b.c I know she is used to getting ALL my attention. At the drop of a hat she could get what she wanted. And now, I feel like I have hardly any time for her. I feel like I took away her childhood almost at times. But I know she is just in a transitional stage and she will get better :) She really is a BIG help for me (89% of the time), if I need something for Little Man and I know she can get to it I know that I can ask and she will get it (again 89% of the time) I call her my mini momma. She really does love her baby brother. She loves to kiss on him and talk to him. He loves her too, when she talks to him he always get the BIGGEST toothless grin on his face and will "coo" at her. It's the kind of thing that melts your heart. She is really into her pretend stage and will sit and make up stories and songs all day long. I crack up at some of the things she comes up with. (I wish I could think of one off the top of my head right now, but lack of sleep has my brain feeling like mush right now) I am so thankful for Hunk. He has been SUCH a HUGE help with her. Every day when he comes him, he takes over with her without me even asking. He has been taking her outside every evening this week since it has been SO nice out! Right now he is trying to teach her hop-scotch and it's SO cute the way she "hops" (I really need to get a video of it) She loves her Daddy and looks forward to when he comes home. The second he walks out the door she turns to me and says "I miss Daddy" lol. She has been testing the waters a lot lately but then she will do something out of the blue (like make a silly face) and it will just make my day.

Little Man is growing like a weed. He is starting to fill out and get little rolls all over his body. He is such a little cutie :) Every morning when he wakes up I will look down in his bassinet and he gives me the BIGGEST smile and sweet baby talk like he is happy to see me. He knows who his Momma is that is for sure. I can already see him being a BIG Momma's boy (aren't they all) which doesn't upset me in the least bit. When he gives me those sweet smiles and coos it makes me feel like I am doing something right in the world :) He is becoming a lot more alert now too! He interacts with me so much. I make faces and he watches what I am doing, sometimes trying to mimic other times smiling and will be on the verge of laughing. He loves when I puff my cheeks out and when I move my eyebrows up and down. He loves to watch the ceiling fan spin. I will put it on the lowest setting and he will just stair at it for the longest time, then he realizes he is laying on the floor and freaks out lol. During the day the ONLY place he sleeps is in his swing. I try to lay him down in his play pen and he wants NOTHING to do with it. If he is asleep he wakes RIGHT up and screams bloody murder till I pick him up. He is still eating every two hours, and let me tell you I am looking forward to when we break that routine! He is such a handsome little boy too... He has some of the same features as Little Miss, but I honestly think they look nothing alike. He has blue eyes, light hair and lighter skin then Little Miss did when she was his age. I am so intrigued to know what he is going to look like when he is her age. I can remember with Little Miss doing the "I can't wait for her to ..." game and with him, I am in no rush for him to grow up. I wish he could stay little forever. It makes me emotional to even think that he is already six weeks old. Time flys by entirely too fast and sometimes I wish I could just pause it and take in that moment with him. He is my last baby I plan on having (for now I say that) so I want to savor it and I really hate that time is going this fast. I know I am going to miss having a baby in the house again at some point but I really feel as though two is enough lol.

As for me (and sorry there are no pictures of me lol) I am doing as well as I can be with little to no sleep :) I go for my 6 week check up this coming Thurs. and I am getting on an IUD that lasts 10 years!! It's going to be kind of crazy to think that I don't have to worry about BC for TEN years, but nice that I don't have to worry about it at the same time lol. I get my gallbladder out next Thurs. (THANK GOODNESS). I am so ready to be back to all healed up and back to "normal" so that I can officially start Operation: Get Pre-Babies Body Back :) I am sick of looking the way I do ... I have NEVER been this heavy and I really really really hate myself right now. I want to be back to 130 (140 at the most) and I know I can do it, I just have to put my mind to it :) This weekend I am going to the local fair that is in town and I am planning on looking at it as my last weekend to eat whatever I want so I plan on enjoying myself, b.c once this gallbladder is out I am changing my diet COMPLETELY and cutting a lot out of what I normally eat. It is time for a change and the time is now! I will be doing a weekly weigh in on myself and keeping track of how much I am losing. I think if I see it coming off that it will keep my motivation up to keep at it :)

So that's the FULL update on us :) Sorry it's so lenghtly, I feel like I have been so bad at blogging, but trust me it's a lol harder to find time to sit in front of a computer right now ... And as I type that Jayce is waking up and wanting to be fed ... So it's off I go, back to reality :)

School Time ... Already?!?

My little girl is growing up WAY too fast! For the last few months she has been showing a very strong interest in going to school. It seems like every day she tells me "Mom I want to go to school." And as much as I love that she is so excited to start school, I have almost been putting it off, b.c well ... I am so not ready for her to be grown up enough to start school.

She is a VERY bright little girl, so I know that she is ready, it's just I look at her and see my sweet baby girl wrapped in my arms looking up at me with those big beautiful brown eyes ... I feel like I am holding her back though. I feel almost like a bad mother for not going up to the CDC and finding out about getting her enrolled. So I am starting the process ... It is so scary to think about her being old enough to go off to school. But it will be good for her. She is VERY social and I know that this will help her learn to make friends, not that she needs help with it lol.

She is so very excited. When I told her I was going to go up and talk to someone about getting her in school she yelled "YAAAAAAAAAAY! I go get dressed" and then I told her that we weren't going to go up today and she got all pouty, crossed her arms, sat on the floor and just pouted for a good half an hour, then she forgot and started to play again. I love that she is so excited about going to school. But for me, when I think about it my eyes start to tear up. I am so proud of her and want her to be happy. This is a HUGE step ... I just hope I can get her in school soon.

Hummmm, Interesting

One of the websites I view almost on a daily basis is Baby Center. Not only does it help me keep up with the development of Little Man and Little Miss but they have great info about parenting and a great forum.

Well yesterday I was on and on the home page one of their top stories was Family Horoscopes. Now, before you judge, I am not one of those people that check my horoscope on a daily basis. Hell, I couldn't even tell you the last time I even did check it. But this caught my eye b.c it was talking about how each sign relates with each other. So I decided to check it out ...

First I did Little Miss and I ... I am a Virgo and she is a Leo and this is what it had to say about her and I's relationship:

Bottomless Affection:

Your Leo child is as warm and expressive as you are cautious and reserved. While you tend to hold back, especially with strangers, little Leo is front and center, commanding the crowd's adoration. Prepare to attend more birthday parties and play dates than you might prefer -- your popular child is bound to receive lots of invitations!

Still, remember that your child's bright, courageous exterior belies a sensitive side. She wants you to adore everything about her, and she doesn't take criticism well. Even well-intended advice can feel like sharp barbs of disapproval. And you know you can be a little too exacting at times. Try to remember little Leo's easily dented pride, and when you're doling out discipline, make it clear that your love is still unconditional. That's all she really wants: your bottomless affection. And you're nothing if not utterly devoted to your loved ones.

Now if you really know us in real life you know JUST how accurate this is. She is SUCH a performer. She loves being the center of attention and people are just drawn to her. It's so crazy how much this reminds me of her and I. It will be interesting to see what she is like once she is in school. I love how she can make a friend where ever we go.

I am so very blessed to have a little Leo in my life. She makes me laugh ALL THE TIME and is never ever not being UBER creative. If you have a Leo child in your life I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about :)

Convo with Little Miss

My daughter has just recently turned three and man is she at a fun age :) She can play by herself for hours and never get bored. It's crazy to see how much she understands. My husband and I will ask her questions from time to time just to see what she comes up with off the top of her head.

Here lately we have been asking her about Little Man. The other day she and I were cuddling on the couch, she was resting her head on my stomach when she popped up and yelled:

"Momma, momma, momma ... Baby *J* is coming."

The next day I started having contractions like crazy, and while they have tampered off, it kinda freaked me out.

Well tonight we (Hunk, Little Miss and I) were all in the living room watching TV getting her calmed down for bedtime when we had this convo:

Little Miss: Momma!! We need to go to the store!!
Me: Why baby? It's late at night.
Little Miss: We need to get baby *J* food, he's coming!
Hunk: *A* when is baby *J* coming?
Little Miss: Two days.
Hunk: Ok, so Thurs. when I am flying. What time?
Little Miss: 2:52
Hunk: Okay, how much is he going to weigh?
Little Miss: A car.

Now as much as I do not want him to weigh as much as a car, just hearing how opinionated she is about when he is coming just melts my heart. I love how excited she is about the arrival of her baby brother.

It will be interesting to see when he comes, and I would be super freaked out if he comes Thurs. at 2:52 lol.

Smile Smile Smile, Be Happy

Well I am officially 38 weeks! I had my appt. today and sadly I have not changed any since last week :( Boo! I am so over being pregnant. I am sore, swollen, moody, sleep deprived, HOT ... I could keep going. I am just ready for Little Man to be here already.

I talked to my doctor today and she told me that if I haven't had him by the time I am 39 weeks she will schedule me to be induced on my due date :) So that makes me a tiny bit happier. I went a week and a day over with Little Miss and I SO do not want to do that with him. He's running out of room and it's really starting to hurt every time he moves. I keep telling him that there is TONS of room out here in the world and if he would just come out he would have plenty of room to stretch out and wiggle around ;) ... But I don't think he listens.

Here is my 38 weeks bump picture ... PS I am going though my "I kinda like my hair curly/wavy" stage ... It is SO much easier to just let it do it's own thing then stand there for 20-30 mins trying to straighten it ... lol.



And then here is my baby ... I mean big girl ... givin' baby *J* some lovins. She really does love her baby brother already. I hope it continues once he is actually here. She had been EXTREMELY clingy to me these last couple weeks!! All she wants to do is sit in my EXTREMELY small lap and it's SO uncomfortable. I think she knows that something big is about to happen. It's cute, but can be a tiny bit annoying at times.



I am happy to announce that my two girls friends that I sent the care packages too got them today ... I still am baffled that they both got them at the same time seeing as Florida is only 5hrs away and New Mexico is 26hrs away, but I digress. They both LOVED them and it made their day which makes me feel SO good that I could just make them happy!

Here is a picture that one of them took of everything in the box ... I didn't get a chance to before I sent it so I am happy one of them did :). The only different between the two was this one has a penguin and the other had a pink stuffed bear.



Well that is all I got for ya on this lovely Tuesday evening. I hope you all have a GREAT week and remember to Smile, Smile, Smile, Be happy even though the rough moments in life :)

A Good Whoops :)

So this morning Little Miss comes into our room around 7:15am like she does every morning to wake me up and tell me she's hungry. I (still have asleep) pick her up and lay her next to me and we cuddle so I have time to wake up before heading downstairs to make her breakfast. We lay together for a good 15mins before she will pop up and tell me that she wants to go downstairs. I then crawl out of bed and head to empty my bladder.

Well today she follows me in there and tells me "Momma I have to pee too. I'll go after you." Well this confuses me because she gets a diaper put on at night since we have been too chicken to potty train her though the night. (She is in panties all day, even during nap time, but before bed Dan puts a diaper on her.) So I look at her pajama shorts and it doesn't look bulky like there is a diaper under them... "*A* do you have a diaper on?" I ask her. "No, I have panties." She lifts the bottom of her short and yep sure enough ... She slept in panties!!!!

At this moment I am kinda freaking out worried she might have had an accident ... I go and check the bed ... Dry as a bone :) ... So I go back into the bathroom, sit her on the big potty (she normally uses a little potty) and she pees :) Talk about a proud Momma moment!!!

So because Hunk forgot to put a diaper on her he night before she slept though the whole night in panties and had ZERO accidents!! She trained us -- haha. Will this happen again? Probably not, but the fact that she did it makes me so so so proud!!! We may try it again tonight, but my sister is still her and her and Little Miss sleep together at night so I don't want Little Miss to have an accident with *G* in bed with her. We were planning on waiting till *G* goes back to Ohio to finish fully potty training. But I am so very happy that the first time she sleeps in panties the whole night she didn't have one single accident!! YAY for Little Miss<3

Happy 3rd Birthday to My Little Miss

Three years ... Oh my goodness where has the time gone? You aren't supposed to be growing up this fast. You were supposed to stay a little baby forever. You use to just lay there in my arms, look up at me and smile. You used to need me to do everything for you ... And now you are a 3 year old, very independent and you hardly ever let me cuddle you in my arms.

I want to take you on a walk though these past 3 years that I have had Little in my life...

Little Miss was a blessing to Dan and I. Was she planned? Not at all. But the second I found out I was pregnant I knew my life would NEVER be the same...

Very first time I saw her ... I was 14weeks along and feel in love instantly with the little person growing in my belly.



Flash forward 41 weeks 1 day later, Aug. 4th, 2007 ... LABOR ... Oh my goodness labor ... You can just look at this picture and it will tell you what I think of labor.



But labor led to you ... Born at 7:18am weighing 7lbs 2.5oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches long ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MISS



Our very first family picture :)



That first year FLEW by! Seems like every day you were doing something new. During that time we went though our first deployment. You helped me get though it and showed me that how strong I really am. That first year changed my life, and it was all because of you!

Aug. 4, 2008 ... Happy First Birthday Big Girl! What's nice about you being born at 7:18am is Momma can wake you up at that time to wish you Happy Birthday :)



Your very first time EVER getting cake was at your birthday party ... Pretty priceless if you ask me!




So much personality in this picture!



You got SO messy from the cake that Grandma just decided to strip you down and run through the splash pad with you to wash off the cake!



That night had THE BEST sunset ...



The next year you defiantly started getting your little personality. You started walking, saying "no", and testing the waters more and more. But you always kept me laughing! The "Terrible Twos" had nothing on you ... You drove Momma NUTS all the time but could make any horrible day amazing with your sweet smile and laugh.

Aug. 4th, 2009 ... HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY BIG GIRL!



You were REALLY into Dora that year!! So both parties we threw you had a Dora theme ... The first one (we called it Ainsley's Party 1.0) was for family since Grumpa and Kiki were going to be out of town the weekend of your big party.

You were REALLY excited about the cake and smashed your hand into it even before you blew out the candle!



You got your first Power Wheel and mastered it within minutes! You drove up and down the sidewalk with your baby doll until Momma made you come inside ... You were not happy with me :(



Little Miss' Party 2.0 happened that following weekend ... We themed it A"DORA"ble since once again it was a Dora party ... You really were into Dora ... Oh and this party was happening as we were in the middle of a Tropical Storm warning :)

Here is your amazing cake that Uncle *S*'s boyfriend's Mom made for you ... It was SOOOOOOOOO good!



My fav picture of you from the party. Such a beautiful little girl<3



Tonight ... the eve of your 3rd birthday, I put you to bed. It is the final time you will go to bed as a 2 year old. A lot has changed in the past year. We now live in GA and you love it. You have THE BEST personality and laugh. You do some of the funniest things I have ever seen you do... Like right now you LOVE singing Justin Bieber's song Baby and it cracks me up even though I have heard it a million and one times!! You are about to become a big sister any day now and you are SO excited to have baby *J* here! I cannot believe you are 3 years old. The time is going by WAY too fast!

Aug. 4th, 2010 ... HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY BIG GIRL!



This picture is you to a T! So much personality in it and it makes me laugh so hard every time I look at it ...



You eat your cake with utensils now but still are quite the character while doing so ... Here you are with cheeks FULL of cake ...



Taking time out from your cake to give baby Jayce some lovin'



Our (expanding) family picture :) Such a big girl.



NO matter how big you get you will always be my baby girl and I will love you no matter what you do. I cannot wait to see you with baby *J* and see you grow even more in the next year. If I could pause time I would. I love you more then you could ever know. Happy Birthday Little Miss. I love you!!

Potty Training

We have recently started hardcore potty training Little Miss & I am actually surprised at how easy it is going. We tried when she turned two and it just went bad ... Very very very bad. The first time she peed in the potty it traumatized her and she would not go near her potty for three months!

But since we are about to have a new baby I REFUSE to have two kids in diapers, so one day that we knew we were going to be home all day, we just decided to let her go in her panties all day. We told her that for every time she pee peed in the potty she would get one kiss (the candy) and for every time she poo pooed she got TWO kisses!!

Well something must have clicked in that child's head b.c it has been two weeks now and she is using the potty like a champ! She will do it and then come and find me and tell me what she did and how she gets chocolate now ... LOL. I guess I should have bribed her with candy from the start!

We keep her in panties while we are at home, she gets a diaper when she goes down for a nap and at night time & when we leave to go out of the house. I am TERRIFIED to let her sleep in her panties or attempt to leave the house with panties on. I just don't even know how to do it or where to start!!! Do you just jump in and do it or is there ways to ease her into it?!?! I am so worried she will have an accident and end up going backwards and not want to use the potty again!! I am just so proud of how good she is doing at home, I know one day I will have to bite the bullet and just do it, but I don't want her to get discouraged for having an accident. That's just the over protective momma in me I guess.

But I am so very proud of my lil Boo and I just hope that she keeps this up :o)

Sleepy Baby

Last night Little Miss passed out on Hunk's lap. She doesn't do these things very often so when they happen we can't help but get excited. I snapped a few pictures :o) She is just so pretty when she is sleeping!! I love how she looks like a lil doll :o) I love her so so much!!





xoxoBrooke

Atlanta Zoo Trip

This past weekend my Dad & Step Mom came up to visit us for Easter weekend. While they were here we decided that it was time to finally make a trip up to the Atlanta Zoo!! I LOVE this Zoo so so so much! There is TONS of shade from all the trees!! If you are ever able to make a trip there I HIGHLY suggest it!!

Here are some of the images I snapped while we were there:

This was the very first picture I took at the Zoo of Little Miss! She was VERY excited to see the animals! I love the smile she gave me, I don't think it could have been any bigger!



Many of you know that flamingos are my FAV animal ... I was a lil disappointed that these weren't as pink as I had hoped, but here they are any way :o)



We went into the parakeet cage and this sign was right when you walked in ... Couldn't help but laugh and take a pic!



And here are the petty parakeets ... We had quite a few of these birds as pets growing up ... Sadly each of them either flew way or died!!



This warthog decided he would be nice and rub his butt on the wall for Little Miss. She was yelling "Ewwwwwwwwwwww ... poopie!!!" LOL.



Watching the elephants ...



This elephant is getting out of a mud hole ... Thought it would be neat to show it as a collage.



Having fun with Kiki & Grumpa at the Zoo :o)



Checking out the meerkats with Kiki ... She thought there were Kittys and wanted to stay and watch them alllllllllll day lol.



A meerkat and one of the giraffes.



Hanging out with Daddy :o)



This gorilla came and sat right in front of the window so I could take a picture of him :o)



Grumpa showing Little Miss the gorilla and taking a picture. I totally took this picture with the camera above my head ... LOL, people must have thought I was crazy!



Another gorilla outside. The zoo had an Easter egg hunt for them, we just missed it, and this gorilla is sitting on one of the eggs hiding it from the others lol.



Okay so growing up my brother had a stuffed monkey that was his BEST friend. He named him Gramps, well when I saw this monkey my brother's monkey popped into my head. If Gramps was a real monkey this would be him!



Finally a couple pictures of me and my baby girl :o)



Our final stop at the Zoo was the petting zoo. My daughter does NOT like being dirty at all ... So this really wasn't that fun for her. In the first image she is saying "stinky" and holding her nose and in the second image Kiki is trying to get her to pet a pig. This defiantly was not one of Little Miss' fav moments of the zoo lol.



Once again I hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!!
xoxoBrooke