Fall Family fun

Before I get to our Fall Fun, I'll give you a quick update :)

Lakyn is now up to 15lbs and 26 inches long.  She can sit by herself (unless she gets distracted, then she falls over).  She can stand up holding onto tables, but she gets tired or starts jumping and falls down.  She LOVES her big sister, and laughs at her ALL the time.  She is going through some separation anxiety at times when mommy leaves..it's hard on me, but I know she'll get over it soon enough!  She has learned the sign for milk and can sign it when she wants milk.  She will eat anything you put in front of her, especially puffs (or 'pups' as Sydney calls them).  We are going to get her ears pierced very soon!

Sydney is going through a mommy separation phase as well, which I think is worse than Lakyn's!  She cries when I have to leave her, but as soon as I get back she says, "you told me you'd come back"...so she understands, but she just doesn't want me to leave.  She is quickly outgrowing her 2T clothes...her 2T pants are about an inch and a half too short haha.  She loves to go to art class, storytime, and Chuck E Cheese. 

Recently, we took a trip to Tate Farms with Marsha, Katie, & Austin and ALL of the kids had fun!  They enjoyed the animals, the corn cribs, the hayride...everything!  They were all VERY tired when we left, but I think they would all agree it was worth it!

And I just have to include a picture from Sydney's first trip to Tate Farms-she was 8 1/2 months old!

Family Update

Lakyn's Update:
I have been slacking on updating my blog lately!  Lakyn was up to 7lb 15oz at her 2 week check up!  We knew she was a good eater, but who knew she would gain that much?  She has grown even more since then!  She has outgrown the preemie clothes and even some of the smaller newborn clothes!  She loves her sleep.  She is sleeping 5-6 hours at night already, which is hard to believe, but I'm not complaining - I love my sleep!  She still has a head full of fuzzy black hair, and is cute as a button!  Sydney absolutely loves her.  She doesn't like for her to cry...especally if no one is holding her.  She likes to help bring me Lakyn's blankets and pacifiers, and anything else I might need.  She has adjusted well to sharing the attention.  If she feels left out she will come and say "I need to pet her (Lakyn)."  She has been a very good big sister!

Sydney's Update:
Sydney weighs 26 pounds now!  She is going through her picky-eater stage now.  Some days she will eat anything, and some days she doesn't want anything.  It drives me crazy, but I've learned to let her decide.  Her hair has definitely been going through a growth spurt lately!  It is getting very thick and long, but I still have to *make* her wear bows most of the time.  Awhile back, Sydney kept crying in her bed because there was a monkey in there that scared her (imaginary of course).  He comes back every now and then.  She told us his name is Dragontales.  If we tell him to get out of her room she is ok with that.  Yesterday, she told me she didn't like the monkey.  I asked her why and she said, "he wants to talk a-me and it scares me."  We try to not talk about the monkey, but she still brings him up occasionally.  One day last week I was carrying clothes to her room to put away and she started saying, "Mommy! Don't step on my dragon!"  Apparently now she has an imaginary dragon in her room - and it lets her brush its hair.  Who would have thought dragons were nice and monkeys were scary?  Her imagination is definitely running wild some days!  She is also learning to sing songs which is absolutely adorable!

Sydney loves:  Pizza, Spaghetti, The Land Before Time movies, Shaun the Sheep, dragons, her diapers (I know, it weird, but she likes to pick out her favorite diaper to wear). 

Favorite things to say:
I miss you
That's my favorite
Where's Hippo and Thena (Hypnos and Athena)
I need hold you
I need to pet her

What she's learning:
She can sing her ABCs (and get most of them right)
She recognizes all of the letters
She recognizes numbers 0-10
She can count to 13
She can work Kyle's phone and mom's Ipod better than I can

She still doesn't want to use the potty because she likes her poop - seriously, she tells us she needs to see her poop and then says she likes it!
I hope you all enjoy this update, and I will try to update more often!

Lakyn's Big Day

Since Lakyn's arrival was so...different for me, I wanted to write a little about it so that I could remember it.  Don't worry, I won't include any graphic details :)

At my 36 week check up, the doctor said I could be induced at 37 1/2 weeks if I had made any progress.  I was excited!  That was the same number of weeks that I had Sydney (and I was ready to not be pregnant).  So I get to my check up and had only progressed slightly, so the doctor asked if I wanted to wait or go ahead.  He was worried that if we went ahead with induction and labor didn't progress I may have to have a c-section.  So I decided to wait (which was what my mom had already told me to do haha).  So we plan to induce at 38 1/2 weeks.  Well...3 days before I was supposed to be induced I got the flu.  Tamiflu isn't recommended for nursing moms, so I talked to the doctor about it and we decided it best to not induce until I finished my medicine...BUT my doctor wasn't on call again until the next Friday (39 weeks, 5 days).  I was really just hoping to make it until then (it was my grandfather's birthday). 

Funny thing is my grandfather had told me months before that I'd have her on his birthday and I told him I had no intentions of being pregnant that long!  Thursday night Kyle's parents arrived at our house to keep Sydney and we headed to the hospital.  They started the medicine to help the progress late that night, but decided to stop it to make sure I didn't go into labor in the middle of the night.  So then they gave me ambien and told me to sleep and the nurse would wake me up around 5:30 am so that I could brush my teeth, hair, etc. before the doctor came in.  Funny side story - awhile after taking the ambien, I told Kyle that the black crochet squares were rocking me...he just told me to go to sleep haha. 

Early the next morning the nurse comes in to wake me and Kyle and I get ready, and Dr. McCain came in to start the pitocin around 6:30 a.m.  I called mom to see when she & Megan would be at the hospital and they were almost there (with breakfast for Kyle).  While we were waiting, another nurse came in and asked if I was ok with having 2 students in the room with me during delivery.  They would be the ones taking care of Lakyn's vitals after birth.  I told her as long as she was there to monitor her as well, then it was fine.  She came back in and asked if it was ok if one of the students was a male, and I said that was fine.  After she left my mom said if she were me she wouldn't want a male nurse in there.  I laughed and said they had to learn too!  The same nurse came back in AGAIN and asked if it could be 2 male students (apparently no one else wanted them in their rooms).  I told her I didn't mind.  Again, they need the experience the same as the girls. 

Around 8:30 am my nurse came back in to check my progress and I had made quite a bit (up to 7 cm), and an hour later I was up to 10 and ready for Dr. McCain.  Things went so quickly that mom had forgot to call and let my sister (Marsha) know how things were going!  Mom called Marsha and had to let her go because I was starting the delivery part! I had 6 contractions and pushed 2 times with the nurse before the doctor got there, and 6 contractions and 2 pushes when the doctor got there and Lakyn was here!  I remember looking at the male nurses at one point and they looked somewhere between nervous, terrified, and amazed!  

Lakyn was born just after 10 am and was 6lb 15oz and 18in long.  Kyle let Megan cut the umbilical cord (which I don't think she will ever forget). Dr. McCain cleaned her up quickly and let me hold her before the nurses had to take her and check her vitals. She had a head full of black hair and her APGAR score was 9.9.  She arrived healthy and starving!  The RN with the students asked Dr. McCain if they could have the placenta to look at, and he looked at her like she was crazy and said it wasn't his placenta to give.  After a conversation about strange things parents do with placentas, I told her I didn't have any plans for it LOL  My mom said that the RN had way to many requests that day!  But all of the nurses said that I was the best patient, and I'm glad that they were able to say that about me.  Dr. McCain said if all of his deliveries were that smooth he'd have a lot less gray hair.  I have to say it was definitely an easy delivery for me, and I even got to eat lunch (which I had been telling everyone was my goal).

Some of Lakyn's hospital visitors were:  Mom, Megan, Mike & Julie, Sydney, Laura Beth, Marsha, Mark, Katie & Austin, Megan P., Marie, Anne, and Madelyn, and Ricky.  I was glad when visitors arrived!  I was so bored sitting at the hospital!  I didn't even take much pain medicine while I was in the hospital, which amazed me.  With Sydney I asked for it as soon as I could!  All of the nurses were wonderful.  I guess being sick all during my pregnancy helped make for an easy delivery.  I am so glad that it all went so smoothly, and I thank God every day for my 2 beautiful girls!

Here are some pictures taken by Marsha Barton Photography:

From the mouths of babes...

It's been awhile since I've posted on here, so I'm starting my post with pictures taken by Marsha Barton Photography to make you all smile!  I know they always make me smile!

We recently celebrated Sydney's 2nd birthday, and let me say that turning 2 has brought out her sassy-mouth...which is mostly hilarious, but sometimes frustrating.  She is still my sweet little Sydney most of the time.  She still lets me rock her a little before naptime and bedtime.  She still takes great naps and sleeps well at night (in her toddler bed).  Actually, she won't get out of her bed until someone goes in and turns on her light which is funny to me.  Most kids take advantage of the fact that they can get out of bed anytime. 

She loves going to her nursery class at church, and I'm pretty sure she is better at learning names than I am!  She can tell me the kids names' in her class, and I'm still trying to learn their parents names haha  She is almost big enough to ride her tricycle by herself.  I'm pretty sure by summer, she will be able to!

Sydney's Favorites

(and a few other things)

Shows/movies:  Go Diego, Dora, Blues Clues, Word World, SuperWhy, ANY Land Before Time movies, Happy Feet, Cars...I'm sure there are others, but these are the main ones

Toys - Baby dolls, my Little Pony, her "gilla" (glowworm), trucks, and blocks

Food - Pizza, spaghetti, and any fruit!

Learning:  She recognizes pretty much all of her ABC's, numbers 1-10, and several shapes and colors

Size:  Weight - about 28lbs, Height - about 2 feet 9 inches

Potty Training - One day...haha.  She will usually go on her potty before bathtime, and some days she wants to try to potty.  We aren't pressuring her to do it, but we are letting her sit on her potty anytime she wants!

From the Mouths of Babes

Here are some funny sayings from Sydney lately.  I'm sure I will miss several, but I'll write as many as I can remember!

- (While Daddy changes her diaper) - "Daddy, I told you-be careful!"
- (While Mommy changes her diaper) - "Mommy, I wipe my booty"
- (While feeding a baby doll a bottle) - "Ow! No man! No bite."
- (While building with blocks) - "I built a towel" (tower)
- (After taking her hat off at storytime) - "Austie, my hair look crazy"
- (While chasing Austin at Mimi's house) - "Austie, go time-out...go time-out!"
- (After getting in trouble at home) - "Mommy, I in trouble, I go time-out"
- "Bye! See you later! Lub you!"
- "I missed you!"
- "I love Baby Lakyn!"
- (After getting hurt) - "I kiss it"
- (While playing with Mr. Greg at church Wednesday night) - "I had fun!! I had fun Mommy!"
-"I wanna want it" - which actually means I don't want it!
- (After someone sneezes) - "Bless you"
- "Mommy, I rub your back" 
- "What's wrong?"
- "Oh, that's cute"

- We got in our car one day to go to storytime, and she saw blackbirds outside...She said, "Mommy, I saw a bird!" "Hi bird, I'm Synney. That's Mommy."  Then a little while later she told her Mimi, "Mimi, I saw a bird...I eat a bird."  My mom looked at me and said, "Did she just say 'I eat a bird'??"  I have to say it definitely made me laugh!

- We have started letting her sit with us during the first part of church service (the singing), and then we take her to nursery when they send Children's church kids out.  Well, this past Sunday, Kyle took her out a few minutes before that (so it was still quiet in church)...and Sydney turns around and yells, "Bye! Bye Mommy!"  Most of the people on our side of the church started laughing.  I guess it's better to hear a happy kid leaving church than an upset one!


I am absolutely loving this age!  She can tell me what she wants/needs...and she is constantly amazing me by how much she is learning!  I'm hoping by this fall she will have enough patience so that we can schedule "school time" in short intervals while Lakyn naps.  Her school time will be simple ABC/123 things along with fun crafts....but we have to wait until she is more willing to sit still!

Lakyn's Update

Not much to update on...but I am now 33 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  I am very ready for her to be here!  I've started getting nauseous at night and having headaches during the day.  This pregnancy has definitely been different than my pregnancy with Sydney.  Sydney was a very easy pregnancy, and Lakyn has been a little tougher for me (maybe because I have a 2 year old).  Lakyn feels a lot smaller than Sydney did at this point in pregnancy.  Kyle didn't get to feel Lakyn as early on or as frequently as he did with Sydney...and Lakyn has only had the hiccups twice so far (both this past week) and they are very small hiccups.  I'm hoping that she isn't much bigger than Sydney was at birth!  My due date is April 17th, but I can schedule to be induced after April 1st.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet!  We go for another ultrasound at 36 weeks (which will be close to my moms birthday, so she gets to see Lakyn for her birthday present)! 

That's pretty much it for now!  I hope you all enjoyed this update!

Pink or Blue?

Pink or Blue?  Yesterday (at 20 weeks 6 days), we found out the gender of our precious baby (due April 17th).  What did we determine? Well, before I get to that I want to go through some Old Wives' Tales and their results...you know, just for fun!  My results will be in parenthesis at the end of each test.

(1) The Mayans determined the sex of the baby by taking the mother's age at conception, and the year of conception. If both are even or both are odd...it's a girl. If one is even and one odd it's a boy.  ((BOY))

(2) If you crave salty foods, it's a boy.  Sweet foods, it's a girl.  ((BOTH))

(3)  You have worse morning sickness if it's a girl.  ((GIRL))

(4)  If you carry low, it's a boy.  ((BOY))

(5)  If you have worse acne, it's a girl.  ((GIRL))

(6) Heartrate over 140, it's a girl.  Under 140, it's a boy.  ((GIRL))

(7) If the mother prefers to lay on the left side, it's a boy, if right then it's a girl.  ((GIRL))

(8) Leg hairs grow faster, it's a boy.  ((UNSURE))

(9) Chest growing a lot, it's a girl.  ((GIRL))

(10) Chinese Calendar - Based on my info and THIS chart  ((GIRL))

So based on all of these, it is most likely that I will have a girl.  And we found out that I am having another beautiful girl!  She wanted to keep her daddy hopeful at first..she had had her hand between her legs, but she is definitely a girl...now we just have to decide on a name!

Here are a few more pictures of our sweet baby girl.  The ultrasound technician surprised us and switched to let us see her in 4D which was amazing!

I am...

Forgetful - I forget what happened 5 minutes ago, and I've even forgotten (only once) to give my child breakfast until she asked for it!

Crazy - Ok, emotional may be a better word, but sometimes the weirdest things make me frustrated or sad!

Tired - I take a nap with my daughter almost every day...if I miss that nap, I feel physically drained.

Unorganized - No matter how I try to re-arrange our home to make room, it never seems to work...Somehow, Sydney's toys find their way back into every room of the house!

Useless - Maybe not completely, but I have been seriously slacking on housework (and blogging) lately!

But most of all... I am 17 1/2 weeks pregnant - which my husband says is a good excuse!

A much needed update!

In case you haven’t heard already…I’m pregnant! And very excited…and very impatient…and tired…and nauseous most days…and the list goes on and on! But we are definitely excited to add a new member to our family! The due date is April 17th (or earlier)!

I had my 12 week check up today, and everything was fine. I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat along with several kicks! Apparently, this baby is going to be a mover like Sydney was! I have 2 months left until we find out if this baby is a boy or a girl, and I get more impatient EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. If it’s a girl, we’re all set with pretty much everything we need, but if it’s a boy….we’re going to have to start hitting some sales! 

Sydney has been a wonderful child, especially considering she has to play alone most morning because of my nausea! She has been content to do so, and has even cuddled with me on the couch! She is growing like a weed lately! Her hair has gotten longer, and her vocabulary is growing every day! We are working on ABCs right now, and she can recognize A’s, O’s, and J’s very well, but tries on the others. She is also learning shapes, and right now hearts are her favorites. She likes the color blue and can recognize it, along with red. Purple and green are harder for her, but she can get them most of the time. I can’t believe she will be 2 years old in 4 months! Time really does fly when you have kids!

We are looking forward to going to Tate Farms with Marsha, Katie, and Austin very soon, and I will be sure to share pictures from that trip with everyone! I don’t have many cute pictures to leave you with, but I will leave you with a funny story from today’s trip to the doctor.

I was turning onto a street on the way to the doctor today, and I hit a pothole (I’m bad about that…) and it bounced the car a little, and Sydney yelled, “I’m back here!” I just died laughing and told her that I hadn’t forgotten she was there and that we just hit bump. Oh, the way kids can make you laugh.