July in pictures

To pee or not to pee...

So, I have been very overwhelmed lately with the idea of "catching up" on my blogs so I have decided that if I cannot get to a weekly, well turns out it's a monthly, update then I will just do the best that I can. Basically the problem is that I have recently started the Twilight Saga and let me tell you, and I'm not ashamed to admit, I am completely addicted. Thus my blog has suffered. I will try to get back control ;-)

We have had a fun filled summer so far of play dates and such. Lillian is coming up with more things to say every second. She told Michael the other day when he was asking her about her day "No Daddy, that is not the things we did today!!" I couldn't believe that came out of her mouth...a pretty complex sentence for a two year old! Anyway, I am going to venture to say that she is completely potty trained, with the exception of overnight. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. I do have to say that I don't think Olivia is much of a fan because every time Lillian says "Mommy, I have to tinkle" I have to set Olivia down no matter what. It's inevitable that it is when I am trying to feed her or something. And anyone that has ever tried to take a bottle from Olivia's mouth while she is eating knows that you will hear a blood curdling scream. She definitely likes to eat. I used my high tech weighing skills last week (by weighing myself first, then adding baby) and she was a whopping 15 and a half pounds!!! I could not believe it. We go for her four month check up at the beginning of August so it will be interesting to see how much she weighs then. We are getting Lillian ready to go back to school and have her parent teacher meeting next week to meet her new teacher. I know that she is going to be excited about it...she loves her friends!

Random statement: Lillian has been biting her nails uncontrollably! I bought her some of that stuff you put on nails that tastes bad...but I'd love if someone has another solution. I knew that I had to do something quickly when she told me to quit rocking her the other night before bed and then said "I just want to get in my bed and bite my nails" Awesome!!

We have Olivia's 3 month pictures this weekend and I am so looking forward to it. Our photographer is so good at capturing our kids and I can't wait for her to see how much Olivia's grown. She hasn't seen her since she was about 6 weeks.

I have also started my own freelance business. A local consignment sale offers goodie bags to it's first 300 shoppers and for $35 you can put business cards, coupons, etc. in the bags...so Michael and I have decided that if I were ever going to start the time is now. Because I was so uncertain about how to get my name out, this will be the perfect opportunity. Ideally, I'd love to focus on custom nurseries but can do basically anything. The name is Lilli O Designs (named after the girls) and I am pretty excited. Hopefully I'll get some business out of this. I have also started a custom art project for our bonus room. It's still a work in progress but I am really excited about it too and hope to offer this as just another aspect of my business. If you or anyone you know needs anything like this, let me know...I am offering discounted consultation fees.

Michael is getting ready to go to Wisconsin for two weeks the beginning of August for Graduate School of Banking. I know he is excited to see the folks that he made friends with last year but I also know that it is going to be hard for him to leave his girls for that long. We will definitely miss him too...but only one more year and he will be done. I just hope that I still have all my hair when he gets home :-) With a sassy two-year-old and a teething infant...only time will tell.

We're back...

So my commitment to write in this blog weekly is obviously not working out so well. More then being busy with two kids, I am actually just kind of lazy about it. Loading the pictures has become a major pain to me but I will try to do better :-)

Well, since I last posted Michael and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. We had a nice night out the week before for my birthday and our anniversary. Since we decided to pretty much knock out all of the special occasions in a two month span (Olivia's birthday, Lillian's birthday, my birthday, Mother's Day and our anniversary), we usually end up combining a little. We had a wonderful dinner @ home with the girls courtesy of Omaha Steaks. It also included a nice bottle of wine and I decided that we needed to eat on our china since we have never done that before. It was a great way for us to celebrate...with our two baby girls.We took the girls to the zoo on Labor Day. We went with one of Michael's best friends, his wife and their little girl who is almost a year older then Lillian...they also have a bun in the oven. We had a blast and the girls really enjoyed each other's company. It was a really hot day but we went right when they opened so that we could beat the heat. Good thing we did because basically as soon as we got in our car the bottom fell out of the sky...which turns out to be PERFECT napping weather, because the heat took so much out of us.

We took Olivia to her 2 month check-up on June 1st. Our two month old weighed 12 lbs 2 oz. This is what Lillian weighed at 3 months...let me tell you how much I am loving the pudgy cheeks and the rolly polly legs. Too cute. She is eating like a champ. Since about 3 weeks until just 2 days ago she was eating 4 oz. every 2 hours on the dot. Just today she has made the transiton to 5 oz. every 3 hours. She sleeps through the night and has done so almost entirely since 6.5 weeks. Right now she goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until about 6 every morning...can't beat that! She is smiling all the time and talks like crazy. She has mastered the neck control and can now raise herself up on her forearms when she is laying on her belly, although I have to admit that I am not working with her at all on doing tummy time. Unlike with Lillian, who I was so excited about moving to the next step, I am in no hurry to have her crawling or walking like I was with Lillian ;-)

Lillian went to Nana's Second Annual Summer Camp all last week with her cousins. I know that she had a blast and came home exhausted every night. I was in turn able to get a couple things done around the house. It's amazing how much I can get done these days just having one child. I cleaned and painted and organized. It was nice but I missed my little girl. She has become such a little girl too. She says the funniest things. The other day we were driving in the car and Lillian was talking to herself in the backseat, when I answered a question she asked she promptly yelled at me "No mommy, I talkin' to Gaga!!" I got yelled at because I interrupted her and her imaginary friend. She talks to Gaga a lot. The other day I asked her if she was talking to Gaga (she was talking to herself again) she told me no she was talking to Casey, Gaga was at work...where does Gaga work you might ask. Well, he works at the bank with her Daddy! Pretty cute! She has also just started calling us Mom and Dad...like she's a teenager already. Although we haven't really followed through with potty training like I had planned at this point she is definitely ready. She ofter requests to use the bathroom so we let her run around with her diaper off. She is very good at using the potty (reward: 2 jelly beans) and wiping. She even went #2 in there yesterday. All I am doing is waiting for a weekend that is not so busy so that we can hunker down and hammer it out. So far Lillian's summer has been filled with play dates with all of her buddies and I really think she is enjoying herself, plus it gives mom a little break so I can socialize with the mommies too.

Lillian is an excellent big sister...sometimes a little too excellent. She is ALL OVER Olivia. Olivia has been bitten on the hand, bitten on the foot, hit on the head with a book, head butted numerous times and endured a lot of "love pats". Most of my friends have a boy first and then a girl so I have no one to compare the "mothering" stories with. She is super sweet and means well but has a little trouble differing between Olivia and her baby dolls. She also gets really jealous so finding time in the day to spend with just Olivia has proven to be a little difficult. I was so fearful that when Olivia came along I would have so much trouble finding the time to spend with Lillian because infants are so consuming but I have found just the opposite. Maybe it's because Olivia has been so easy and Lillian is so much more fun to interact with at this point. I don't know. But I do find myself feeling really bad because when Lillian was Olivia's age I held her ALL the time. Please don't hate me Olivia...it's just really hard.

Lillian got a hand me down bike from the neighbor. She loves to get on it but hasn't quiet mastered the riding part yet. But don't you dare attempt to help her...it's always, "No, I do myself!!!" Totally two!

So here is a sweet picture of my baby on her 2 month birthday...sweet smile. This is something that I didn't do with Lillian but plan on doing with Olivia. I love to see the rolls that she has accumulated in one month. Too much!! Love the pudge!

So, I promise that I will get better with this...until next time!

It's been a while...

So, I didn't get around to posting a blog last week. That's because last week was pretty crazy around our house. We took Lillian on a date night last Wednesday. While Olivia stayed the night with Nana and Poppie, we took Lillian to Chuck E Cheese. We didn't tell her where we were going because we wanted it to be a surprise. We just kept telling her we were going on a date (which she pronounced "gate"-too cute). When we pulled in the parking lot she screamed "Chuck E Cheese!!!" We had a blast! The sweetest thing was when we dropped Olivia off with Nana, Lillian cried because she didn't want Olivia to leave. She really loves her!!
The next day was my birthday. Michael's mom kept both the girls all day while I played. It's amazing how my priorities have changed. I got a pedicure that morning but then I bought planters for the back patio with my birthday money :-) and painted the front door red. I had a fabulous day just doing whatever I wanted. That night Michael's parents and my parents came to dinner...Papa Murphy's pizza and birthday cake and of course cupcakes because they are Lillian's favorite.Friday Michael and I had a much needed date night for my birthday and for our anniversary. It was so nice. We went to a creole raw oyster bar in downtown Franklin. It was so nice to just sit with no babies to worry about feeding and talk to each other. We came home and were able to enjoy sitting on the patio in the new patio furniture I got for Mother's Day before the sun went down (something we haven't been able to do since last summer)...so much fun!

Saturday we went to my best friend's graduate school graduation party which was a crawfish boil. Lillian had a blast playing with a friend's little boys and "fishing" for crawfish with a stick. She was even brave enough to hold one. Who am I kidding?...saying brave enough is an understatement. Our oldest daughter is an absolute daredevil! She couldn't get enough of them.
Olivia is definitely filling out...even more. Too sweet! She is sleeping like a champ still, so we think that we are definitely on the other side of this! Yea!! She is more awake now, she turned 6 weeks on Monday, and just started really smiling on Monday as well. I managed to catch one on camera so far.
Today Michael and I are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary! It's crazy that it has been 4 years already. What's even more crazy is that I didn't know it was possible to love someone anymore then I loved Michael on the day that we got married but I do. Our love has grown and strengthened in these last four years...can't wait to see what all the future holds for us. Other then that there's not much else going on. Oh...we think Lillian has an imaginary friend named Gaga. So far I have been able to find out that Gaga is a boy and he likes jellybeans. Lillian talks to him all the time which is adorable! Having imaginary friends is supposed to be a sign of genius, which I am certain of...she is so smart!

Oh and another big thing...Lillian went pee pee in the big girl potty! She told me that she was going "poo poo" which really means she is going #1, so I asked her if she wanted to go in her big girl potty. She said yes, so I brought her little potty into the bonus room. Lillian was sitting on it craning her neck to see the TV, so I turned it around so that she could see it easier. And since I knew it would be a long process, I thought it would help distract her. It did and she went pee pee in the potty. I was so proud of her, and since this is her last week in school we are actually going to start potty training this weekend! I bought her big girl panties with Dora on them. She loves them and wants to take them everywhere. So, we'll let you know how it goes...
Next week Michael and I are going on an overnight get away to Tunica, MS for a little gambling fix...more Michael's vice then mine but we are really looking forward to it.

One crazy week...

Well, we are still trying to get a handle on the nights with Olivia...but now the days have become somewhat problematic. We (and by we, I mean Olivia) spent the last couple of days CRYING for the better part of the day! I think that she is just having some stomach issues. It has been extremely trying on my patience but I have figured out that she LOVES being in the car, so we drove around a lot, and she likes the sound of the hair dryer, so I run that whenever she starts to get fussy. Basically I will increase my gas and electricity consumption, only a small price to pay to retain my sanity. Yesterday was a major improvement and so far we have had a good day today...but it is only 8:45 AM :-)

But the major news in our lives right now is the flood of 2010. It is incredible the destruction that has been caused by this. It's funny (if you can say that) that when the rain started on Saturday, I don't think that anyone had ANY idea that this is what would happen. So many have lost so much, Michael and I are very thankful that we and our families were spared by the floods but we both know several of people who were affected and some who lost everything! I took these pictures in our back yard. I was amazed at how there was a river running through our backyard where there is typically just a drainage trench built into our landscaping...that was until I saw the pictures on the news and the pictures on facebook of other peoples' yards! Our little river was nothing in comparison to the lakes that were now our friends' front yards. Needless to say I did not share these pictures on facebook...it seemed so trivial at that point! We are all recovering and the state of Tennessee has really proven that we are The Volunteer State. Everyone has banded together for the massive clean-up and in helping through donations to rebuild these peoples lives. It's crazy that we are part of something that will be remembered as the biggest flood in history! Olivia is now one month old! It has gone by so quickly!! I have really been trying to slow down and saver (sp?) the moments, as Michael and I are almost 100% positive that our family of four will remain just that :-). She is gaining weight steadily, although I am not certain how much since our next dr. appt. isn't until June 1st for her 2 Month check-up.

Lillian is doing great as well. Michael and I are looking forward to our date night with just Lillian next week. We were supposed to go see Nick Jr's Storytime Live at TPAC but just received an email last night that it had been cancelled so I think that we are going to take her to Chuck E. Cheese instead. She just recently starting saying "I love you too" in respose to our constant "I love you's" we tell her everyday. So sweet!! She also has really started to like saying "Now!". Oh boy...are we in for it! She says "I need__insert word__NOW!" She also does this quirky little thing when she eats. She chews up her food and then takes a little piece and using her tongue, deposits it on the little "v" in her top lip and then retrieves it a few seconds later. I have been trying to get a picture of it...this was the best I could do.

Literally every time Lillian sees a camera or I mention taking a picture of her, she runs away or hides her face...see examples below. Lol!

Well, Mother's Day and my birthday are in store for the next week. I am looking forward to spending time with family and for a much needed date night with my hubby next Friday!