Anna baby is 2 months old!

Oh my sweet Anna baby! You are 2 months old now.  8 weeks.  I have held onto every single moment of every single day because your life is moving fast! 

 

 

 

I am going to guess that you are around 12-13 pounds.  You wear a size 1 diaper and 3 month clothing.  Your eyes are still a beautiful blue and your hair is up for debate.  Sometimes it looks blonde, other times it can look blonde with red undertones.  The top is dark, but I don't know that the dark hair is permanent.  Your eyebrows are barely noticeable but your lashes are a light blonde/reddish color.  Your skin is so pretty.  Dada says you are white as a ghost!  I think your complexion is soft and pretty. 

You are now drinking 5 ounce bottles every 4-4.5 hours.  I have noticed that you drink more frequently in the evenings and we tend to stack the feedings about 3 hours apart.  The last bottle of the night is usually around 8 or 9pm.  Some nights you are ready to eat again around 3am and 6:30am while other nights you wake up at 4am and 7am.  It's hit or miss, but I'd say that you are pretty amazing in the Barron baby sleep department.  I don't think your brother and sister slept this well at 8 weeks old.

2 months has brought great joy to your development.  First off, YOU SMILE!  And you smile all the time!  Whenever you hear my voice or see me, you just light up.  It fills my heart with pure delight and amazes me every time.  Your big blue eyes lock on my face and if I make little noises, you kick your feet, wave your hands, smile a big ol' grin and talk to me!  You are most interested in conversation during the late evening hours before you fall asleep.  These precious moments are what having a baby is all about.  There's just no way to explain to you how incredible it is that you know who I am.  You know me and you look at me as if we've known each other my whole life.  I stare back at you just baffled.  Never in my wildest dreams could I have begged or prayed for a more perfect gift. When your eyes look at me, my heart bleeds with thanks to God.  He gave me YOU.  And my life was not complete until you entered our family. 



Anna, you are the delight of my heart! 

At 2 months, you love to lift your head up like a baby bird and survey the world around you.  You are a go with the flow kind of baby....but I guess you kinda have to be that way when my days consist of chasing your brother and sister around!  You are getting better at the car seat and will more often than not fall asleep in a moving car.  I am really careful about leaving you in the car seat for long periods of time.  I'll admit it would be really easy to do and very convenient, but I hate it.  So I take you out of the car seat whenever possible.  I want to hold you as much as I can because I know how fast the time goes!

Anna, you are such a joy.  William and Adeline can't get enough of you either.  You are the first person they find in the morning.  Adeline rushes into your room yelling, "EEEEENNNNNNAAAA!"  and she gives you a pat and says, "morning baby!"  Sometimes she pats a little too hard and your lower lip quivers.  In time, you will learn to recognize Adeline's voice and adore your sister to pieces.  Adeline also likes to hold the bottle now when I feed you.  She says, "Adeline help! Adeline help" and together we give you your bottle.  It's a proud moment for your big sister!

William still thinks you are tops.  His love for you rivals his airplane collection.  He's your protector and asks to hold you every night.  He pats your belly and gives you a kiss on the cheek.  He is so eager to teach you and your sister about life.  And every day he asks me how much longer it will be before you and Adeline can go to Holland Hall and ride to school with him and Dada.  Bless his heart.  Your William loves you in a way only a big brother can love his best pal.

Here's to 2 months old baby girl!  It's been a glorious ride so far.  We love you Anna baby!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2012!

We went to OKC for Thanksgiving this year and it was such an easy commute!  We always spend Thanksgiving with Dan's parents.  It's "our holiday" since Bubba and Gram head for Florida every year around December 1st.  This year, Dan's brother and sister were able to join us. 

Gram secured our Thankgiving day reservations at the Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City.  It's a lovely historic hotel and we've had our family feast there the last few years.  So on Thursday, we gathered at 1:00 pm and enjoyed each other's company. 

William had the best time ever.  He LOVES his cousins and spent most of the weekend with them.  During lunch, William sat by Claire (his favorite!) and his cousin, Sophie.  They played and explored the hotel together. 

Thanksgiving afternoon, we all went over to Bubba and Gram's house to hang out.  It was fun catching up with Joy and watching William run all over the house with his cousins.  The  weather was wonderful, so the kids could be outdoors too.

Thank you Bubba and Gram for making Thanksgiving such a treasured holiday with you all!  We have so much to be thankful for and we are so very grateful to have you in our life!

Anna is 7 weeks old!

Miss Anna,

You are 7 weeks old and look at your neck control!  You are working very hard to pull your head up when you practice tummy time.  When I carry you over my shoulder, you always have your head up off my shoulder, and your big blue eyes are looking all over the place. 

 

 

 AND THE BIG NEWS OF 7 WEEKS IS THAT YOU SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Just this week you have started to take 5 ounces of milk during a couple of feedings.  I can tell you are growing up fast because your sweet face is starting to fill out with cute, pudgy cheeks and you are moving into some 3-6 month clothes.....you have long legs!  You want to talk to us so badly and find your words through fits of squeals and screams.  You love moving your hands in the air and kicking your feet. 

You are still not a fan of the car seat, but after we've been driving awhile, you will calm down and fall asleep. 

At 7 weeks, here's to looking up!

Pops is 66! Happy Birthday!

November 9th marked Pops' 66th birthday.  Since his big day fell on a weekend, my family was able to head to OKC to celebrate with him.  Dada took us to Stroud on Thursday evening and we met my parents at McDonalds which is the halfway point.  We loaded into Bebe's car and headed to OKC while Dada went on back to Tulsa.  He needed to work on Friday and met us in OKC on Friday night.

Pops was lookin' young and like a totally awesome dude on his 66th birthday.  He opted for a simple bash at home with the family.  We feasted on hotdogs and chicken fingers -simple food for a simply old soul like Pops.  Perfect in every way.

William and Elin were in charge of the birthday "cake" - a tall tower of Hostess cupcakes, Pops' favorite treat for as long as I can remember. 

We had a wonderful time together as one big, happy family and Pops had a blast with his grandkids.  After the fanfare died down, Pops retreated to the bedroom to "read the paper" - aka, go to bed!  But hey, when it's your birthday, you can do whatever you want. 

So glad we could be in OKC to celebrate with you Pops.  Birthdays are one special event that I missed out on for so many years while we lived in D.C.  It's truely a blessing to be able to share in the fun now that we are back home. 

LOVE YOU YOUNG OLD MAN!

Anna meets her great grandparents, Mac and Meme

I consider it a tremendous gift to have my grandparents, "Mac and Meme," in my life at the age of 93 and 91.  There are simply no words to even being to describe how incredible these two people are.  For 35 years, they have been to every single event in my life.  As with my own parents, I have never known life without them. 

Mac and Meme have 8 great grandchildren, they are breath taking dancers, call each other "Mommy and Barn (for Barney)" and they are endearing best friends.

I am so thankful that my Mac and Meme have each held my own children in their arms.  The moments that they spend with my kids are emblazoned in my heart and forever in my memory bank. Every second is a gift that I treasure. Every conversation is a lesson from their past and a dream for my future.

 But very time we are together, I want so badly to bottle up those moments and hold onto them in real time.  I know I am very lucky to have my Mac and Meme and I just want these moments to last....they are more than just my grandparents. 

Sometimes I stand back and watch them as if I am on the outside looking in.  I see two people are just plain awesome.  And I left speechless in my love for them.

Anna is 6 weeks old

Miss Anna is 6 weeks old and very alert!  You love to cuddle, sleep all the time and you know the sound of your milk bottles when I shake them up.  Your cry is still a really high pitched scream.  You wear a size 1 diaper and you are awake only once in the night.  I usually feed you around 10pm,
3:30 am and again at 6:45 am.  Your eyes are still blue and your hair has a slight reddish tint to it. 

Anna, you are a beauty and we are all VERY much in love with you!  6 weeks never felt so good!

Adeline is 19 months

Miss Adeline,

You are 19 months old.  You wear a size 7 diaper and 24/2T clothes.  You can still wear some 18 month clothes (mostly dresses), but I don't think they'll last much longer.  You are in the 95%tile for height.  You wear a size 6.5 medium shoe and you LOVE your white and pink Keds.  You call them your "tennies" and when you wear them, you love to run and march around the house.  They must feel pretty good on your feet!


Your hair is getting longer and you finally sit still long enough for me to style it.  My favorite thing is putting your hair up in pigtails with hair bows.  You really like it and when I am done, you look in the mirror and say, "Adeline CUUUTTTEEE!"  Then you smile a huge ol' grin and flash me your crooked front teeth that are coming in at different lengths....a little hillbilly, but terribly cute if you ask me. 

At 19 months, you are a little tornado.  You leave NOTHING alone.  Every room you walk into, you destroy.  You don't break things, but you are SO SO SO curious and busy.  You want to see, touch and observe everything in your path.  I use to follow you around and pick up behind you, but I finally gave up.  It's easier to let you explore and destroy all day long and then pick it all up when you go to bed!

  I cannot take my eyes off you for a second because you are very smart and you could figure out how to escape from a straight jacket if I let you.  Your dexterity amazes me.  You know how to open and close doors, rifle through the pantry for the exact snack you want to eat and then open the box and the packaging, you can buckle and unbuckle your car seat straps, put your shoes on and take them off, and twist open a loose bottle cap.  Imagine all those things happening in a matter of 1 minute and you will understand why life with my little tornado keeps me on my toes.

Your vocabulary is wild.  You now have 2 and 3 word phrases.  Just the other day, you started saying "Mama watch!" "Adeline hungry" "I like it!" "Mama look big building" "my turn" "hold you Mama" "Adeline do it" "Adeline play toy" and a few other things.


You still don't say "yes."  Instead, your "yes" is the word, "Okay."  You say "okay" like a cheerleader and with great enthusiasm.  It makes me smile every time and I get a kick out of it.  Your eyes light up and you smile really big.

Your new favorite toy is a set of real keys that Dada made for you.  He got tired of you always taking his keys and leaving them somewhere in the house for him to find.  So, he made you a set at the Home Depot and you love them.  In fact, you never let them out of your sight!  When you are not willing to sit in your car seat and kick and scream, we can give you those keys and then all is right with the world. 

 

 

You have discovered books and love to "read" any book you get your hands on.  Most of the time, we look at the pictures and you point to objects when I say, "where is......."  We talk about the pictures and don't always make it to the end of the book, but that is just fine with me.  Reading books with William was one of my favorite things and we'd sit for hours going through stacks of books from the library.  I am thrilled that you are finally figuring out the fun in looking at picture books. 

Adeline, you are always SO SO happy.  Your teachers always tell me what a ham you are and how much you crack them up.  They tell me it's not even like you are doing anything hilarious at the time......you just randomly start laughing this huge ol' belly laugh and next thing you know, you have everyone happy!  You LOVE to laugh and you chuckle and belly laugh ALL the time.  We won't even be doing anything in particular and you will just bust out laughing.  It is contagious and makes my day perfect.   I want to bottle up your laughter and keep it with me all the time.  I pray I will NEVER forget the sound of your laugh and the way you look when you are beaming ear to ear with a chuckle coming deep from your gut.  It is music to my ears.

Speaking of music, you know lots of tunes!  You can sing your ABCs clearly, you can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with hand motions, you ask me to sing Jesus Loves Me a lot, you can sing Old McDonald with animal noises, you love to do the hand motions to If You're Happy and You Know It or as you call it, "Happy know it," and you like to sing Mr. Golden Sun while twisting and turning in circles.  There have been many times we've been in the car and you randomly bust into song.  They can keep you entertained for awhile!

You say things like "hold you mama" and "love Adeline" (Mama loves Adeline), and you spend time playing with your babies.  You love to push them in your stroller.  You put your chew bead necklace around your wrist like a bracelet, wear my purse on your shoulder and push your grocery cart around the house.  You often say "Bye! See ya!" when you play this game.

You have a love/hate relationship with your car seat.  Some days it can be a fight to get you to sit down and other times, you hop on up in your chair.  Go figure.  You buckle yourself up and then spend the car ride telling me "Adeline stuck!" and showing me that you cannot get your buckle undone.  Ha!  I have awhile before you figure that one out.

Your teachers at school tell me how much you love to play, laugh and sing.  You enjoy the sandbox and music class the most.  Each day when I pick you up, you are happy and full of smiles.

You have never met a food you didn't like - except bananas.  You gag every time you try one. 

It goes without saying my Adeline......this Mama thinks you are tops!  I thank my lucky stars every single day that God gave me YOU!  I am amazed by the baby you were, the toddler you have become and I simply savor the seconds I have you in my arms.  You are a dream come true and every bit a bundle of joy!

xoxo

HALLOWEEN 2012

Believe it or not, this is the ONLY picture I took all night. 

Happy Halloween 2012

During my "nesting" phase, I made Adeline a sparkle tutu and dreamed about how cute she'd look as a ladybug for Halloween.  I found adorable wings at JoAnns and I spent several days showing her the costume and telling her how cute it would look on her. 

Then Halloween came along.

Adeline was NOT going to wear her costume even if I bribed her with 10 lollipops.  She refused.  I wrestled her into the costume for 1.5 seconds in the hopes of getting a family picture to remember Halloween 2012.  As you can see, mom lost.

Let's just say my Adeline was more of a bug than a lady..........hahaha.

I didn't waste anytime getting upset about it.  3 kids later, I have learned not to sweat the small stuff.  After all, our little tornado is Miss Independent and beats to her own drum.  I had high hopes that she'd wear a costume and I really thought once she saw William in a costume and me wearing a big witch hat, she just MIGHT jump on the band wagon.

But she didn't.  She tore that tutu off as fast as she could.  Our bug lady ended up in a costume consisting of red hair bows, red shoes, black tights and a black t-shirt. 

William was a fighter pilot (see Halloween 2010) and his costume choice made my life super easy.  All we had to do was dig it out of the closet!

Around 5pm we headed to the Carters house for a Halloween party before the kids went trick-o-treating.  We feasted on chili, pb&j sandwiches, the cutest candy corn shaped rice krispy treats, fruit, and some other festive orange and black fanfare.  The kids ran around the yard and posed for a group picture.  I am waiting to get a copy from the Carters and I will add the group picture to this post soon.

When the sun went down, we took to the streets.  I wore Anna in the carrier, Dada carried Adeline and William led the way.  He was SO excited to ring every single doorbell and ask for candy.  This year was the first year that William was brave enough to walk up to doors that were decorated with scary ghosts, lights, sounds, etc.  He thought it was SO COOL and told me a few times how we need to get some better decorations at our house for next year. 

Dada carried Adeline to all the houses and at first, she was kinda confused about the routine.  She would take the candy and then want to give it back.  William quickly showed her that the candy went inside her pumpkin bag.  With about 4 houses under her belt, she had the game figured out.  Adeline would march right up to doors with William and fight her way to the front of the line.  Then she'd say "trick treat," select a candy and put it in her bag without missing a beat.  Then she'd give a big ol' "thank you!" to the host at the door. 

After a few blocks, we headed home.  William wanted to walk around our neighborhood too, so I took him to a few houses nearby.  When we got home, he sat on the porch and handed out candy to all the kids that passed by.  He took his job very serious.  In a way, I think he was playing store.  When kids would come by, William would say "Hi!  Thanks for stopping by.  Please take 4 candies."

By 9pm, we were all done.

 Happy Halloween to my pilot, lady "maybe next year I will dress up" bug, and my little baby pumpkin.