Molly 3 months!

Wow! Molly is 3 months old. Time is flying by!

Here are some things about our sweetheart this month:

I don't know her measurements this month because she doesn't have a doctor's appointment, but at the rate she is outgrowing clothes I'm guessing she weighs about 16 lbs. 

She is wearing 3-6 mo and 6 mo clothing (some 9 mo!) and size 2 diapers.

She is nursing 6 times a day and taking 5 naps, 1 1/2-2 hours each (but she doesn't always nap that well). 

She is sleeping 9 hours at night.

She is still sleeping in her carseat. 

She is smiling so much! If she's well rested she'll give a smile to pretty much anyone who will look at her and talk to her. 

She has giggled a couple of times!

She likes to look at her hands and put them in her mouth. 

She reaches out to touch and try to grab things that are close. 

She "talks" quite a bit and makes all kinds of sounds. 

She rolls from her tummy to back, but not all that often lately (?). 

She can do about 10 minutes of tummy time at a time and doesn't mind it much.

She likes to be sitting up when held. And she especially likes to be face to face.

She gets the hiccups at least 3 times a day. 

She went to the church nursery twice, didn't like it much.

She had her first bottle. HATED it.

Molly brings so much joy to everyone around her. I think all babies do, but we think ours is pretty special! I am so proud that she is ours.

Graham is such a good brother. He likes to hold her and asks to every once in a while. He calls her his "sissy" and says that he loves her. We are so richly blessed with two amazing kiddos.

Sensory Tub

I got this idea from my friend Erin. Actually I have done this activity many times when I used to teach Head Start and Pre-K, but somehow it never occurred to me to try it with my own child! The whole thing cost about $10. I spend $7 on the tub, because I wanted something I could permanently use for this activity, but you could certainly use any kind of shallow tub or baking dish that you already have. I also bought 4 bags of various dried beans and lentils (rice also works well). I had some pom poms in my craft drawers that I threw in, and also added disposable bowls and spoons and some measuring cups and spoons. 

I cannot tell you how much Graham has enjoyed this! He scoops, pours, measures, stacks, laughs, and does it all over again. 

*note: do not attempt unless your child is past the age of putting everything in their mouth. 

It's the little things...

I am absolutely in love with my new striped kimono maxi dress from Target!

This little baby had perfect timing, arriving unexpectedly at the end of a very hard day (in which I was repeatedly drenched in vomit and spit-up). After both kids were tucked in, I enjoyed a scalding hot shower and tried it on....a perfect fit! I may have to order it in an additional color. :) Spring, I'm ready! (and for only $24.99!)

Me and My Valentine

In honor of Valentine's Day I am posting some of my favorite pics of me and my valentine. We sure have had some fun times together! I'm looking forward to many more! 

*Note: these pictures are mostly 2007-the present. I was too lazy to look up some older pics. :) But we have been together since late 2003 and had our first Valentines together in 2004!

We used to take pics with our dog before we had kids.

Enjoying a cappucino in Italy, Christmas 2007!

San Giminiano:

St. Simons Island. So many happy memories:

Cinque Terre (we used to love traveling together, before we had kids. Well, we still do! We just don't have the time/money):

Hiking in Switzerland. We love hiking together. 

St. Simons Island:

Vacationing in New Zealand:

Ice hiking in NZ:

Snow! I was about 6 mo preggo with Graham in this pic. 

And then there were 3!

St. Simons Island is even more fun now with little ones!

Pumpkin patch fun! Graham still talks about it. I was about 8 mo pregnant with Molly:

And then there were 4:

60th Anniversary

Can you believe that my grandparents have been married 60 years??? They have been an incredible example of a godly marriage to hundreds of people, myself included. I'm so proud of their legacy.

This past weekend we traveled up to Arkansas for a little anniversary get-together. It was such a blessing. My mom's brothers and their families live in California; we don't get to see them very often so we were pretty excited that they came. We all stayed at the fabulous Red Apple Inn near Greers Ferry Lake. It was so much fun that we didn't even leave the hotel once we got there! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

It was supposed to take about 6 and 1/2 hours to get there. We knew that with a 2 year old and an infant that it would take us longer. We left at 1 pm on Friday. The kids did surprisingly well in the car. We bought Graham a portable DVD player (one thing I said I would never do, never say never people!). Molly hardly made a peep.

But then we hit a MAJOR accident that had I30 closed for about 4 hours. That put us back about 2 and 1/2 hours. All told it took us 10 hours. We were sure happy to arrive!

On Saturday we awoke to an absolutely delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant. In fact, it was so good that we ate lunch there, and dinner, and breakfast the next day! We spent the day visiting, reminiscing, playing with the kids, even though it was cold I enjoyed a walk. That is a really special hotel and we loved being there. My grandparents had a suite so we all had a place to hang out.

We were reluctant to leave the next morning but were excited about car-pooling with my mom and brother. Unfortunately, Graham got car-sick on the curvy roads and soaked the backseat with vomit. It was BAD. But we all had a good attitude and made it home in good time. And Graham actually fell asleep after his sick episode.

Engaged!

A BIG congratulations to my brother, Jon, and his fiancé Lauren Travis. They got engaged the same day we went to the Stock Show (later that night). We were all there: my parents, brother, her parents, sisters, brother-in-law, and of course us. We love her family, by the way! We enjoyed a delicious meal together and then Jon suggested some music. This was all planned ahead of time, but Jon did a good job of making it look spontaneous, and she had no clue! Different people sang some of Lauren's favorite songs while Jon played the guitar. Then Jon sang a song he had written about him and Lauren and proposed at the end!!! Many tears were shed, it was beautiful. We are thrilled because they are going to tie the knot before we leave for Africa in June! What a special night and we felt so blessed to be a part of it. 

The Stock Show

About a week and a half ago we took the kiddos to the Fort Worth Stock Show. We had heard there was a petting zoo and carnival and we are always up for a good family friendly activity on a Saturday! The weather was gorgeous. We waited in quite a long line for the petting zoo. When it was finally our turn to go in, Graham got really scared. Most of the animals were walking around loose, not in pens. I held Graham until he felt comfortable. I was really proud of him! Even though he was scared, he touched every kind of animal. 

After that we splurged for a carnival corn dog. Then we paid for Graham to ride a couple of rides - his first time! He went down a BIG slide with Daddy and then rode a tractor ride. He loved it! Molly slept through the entire thing. 

A Day In Our Life

I thought you might be curious to know what an average day is like at our house taking care of 2 kiddos under 3. 

7:00 - I wake up and nurse Molly, try to squeeze in a shower and a cup of coffee before Graham is up. I get the kids dressed and we all have breakfast (often on the couch these days). 

8:00 - Molly takes her first nap and I usually finish getting ready/start on a few chores/spend some time with Graham. 

9:00 - We are usually getting out of the house for something by this time, our day runs much smoother that way! I nurse Molly again while we're out and about. 

11:00 - We're usually getting home. Molly takes another nap and Graham plays, usually outside, while I make lunch. 

12:00 - Lunch. I let G watch some TV afterwards (me-chores). 

1:00 - Graham has his "rest time" (that's right - no more nap!) while I get Molly up to feed her again and have a little one on one time with her. 

2:00 - Graham gets up, Molly goes back down. Graham and I spend the afternoon playing, coloring, reading, watching movies, etc. 

4:00 - Molly's back up to eat again. 

5:00 - Molly goes back down for another nap, Graham has independent play time in his room while I *try* to make dinner. By this time our day is sometimes falling apart and I end up throwing a frozen pizza in the oven or something. Let's just be honest! The afternoons have become a lot more challenging since Graham stopped napping. He's usually pretty tired and cranky by now. We'll all get used to it though, I'm sure. 

6:00 - Chad walks in the door and I praise the Lord that he's home! We all eat together. 

7:00 - Molly gets up to eat, Chad gives Graham a bath and then he goes to bed. 

8:00 - Molly goes to bed and things get QUIET (NOTE: Molly's becoming a much better sleeper but she's not always sleeping during nap time like she should be).  I usually try to catch up on dishes and laundry or else collapse on the couch. 

10:00 - I nurse Molly one last time before she goes to bed for good in our room. I always go straight to bed afterwards. Molly now SLEEPS ALL NIGHT!!! That's right, from 10:00-7:00, and I usually have to wake her up at 7:00. A full night of sleep is such a blessing. 

I am loving taking care of my kiddos all day but we are all still definitely getting used to it!