Enjoying Our Boys AND Our Girls!! :)

This morning, we spent some time with my friend from high school, Shannon, and her children, Carter and Kelsey. Noah is about 7 months older than Carter, and Kelsey is about 7 weeks older than Sailer, so it's great to get them together. Shannon and I have SO MUCH in common...even throughout our pregnancies. It was good to talk, laugh, and watch the boys entertain each other.

We really are loving having our girls, and we both feel so blessed to have such great families!

Noah, Sailer, and I had so much fun...we hope to make this a regular playdate! :)

Smiley Face....

These pictures pretty much sum up Sailer these days....all smiles (except when she's tired, hungry, or gassy..hehe!) We are lovin' it!

The next 2 pics are from Memorial Day....had to get a picture of her in her cherry denim dress....with red shoes!! Such a fashionista!!! I'm loving dressing her!!!

Our Little Cherub :)

We decided to take our own pictures of Sailer in her dedication gown...her are some that I'd like to share. From head to toe, she was precious....we had her slip monogrammed, and I loved the little organza slippers..these will be such sweet keepsakes!

Mother's Day...recap....

These are the pictures taken right before our dedication on Mother's Day...we finally received them! Sailer took my breath away in her gown....and the next pic is our first official family photo. It's surreal....seeing 4 of us! I feel so blessed to be so young, and to have to family I've always dreamed of having! Thank you Lord!

Of course, I had to include a picture of the potted plant that Noah made for me during his last week at school....he is very proud of it. Also for Mother's Day, Jason, Noah, and Sailer got me this gorgeous arrangement....they know I LOVE pink! :) On the card, it says, "To Super Mom!" I very RARELY feel like a super mom, but my family always makes me feel that way! I love you all! :) You brighten my days so much!

Time....Precious Time....I need more of it!

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well! We are great....just BUSY! I have so many pics to post, and just not enough time. But, to give a recap of our time recently....first of all, Noah's class at school gave us moms the most amazing Mother's Day luncheon the Wednesday before Mother's Day. Noah made me a beautiful potted plant with a decorative clay pot....it was so wonderful to eat lunch with him, and he was so EXCITED to see me. I love that feeling...to walk into a room, and know that I am that important to my child. He couldn't hug me enough!

And, of course, Mother's Day was my most special yet....Jason and I dedicated both children to Jesus at a special dedication ceremony at our church. It was extra special b/c our families were able to attend and witness this awesome occasion. I cannot wait to post pics! We had a delicious breakfast EARLY Sunday morning, and then had our pictures taken before the ceremony. It will be a week or so before we receive those. We also get a DVD of the service, so maybe I can post a clip....No Other Mom in this world could have been more proud than I to walk in front of the church with my 2 kids...it was beautiful...PLUS! I had ordered Sailer the most precious gown, and it was gorgeous on her! :) When Noah's name was announced in the ceremony, he said as he was pointing to himself, "That's me!"..in typical Noah fashion! :) The congregation laughed! It was funny! :)
That evening, we had a wonderful gathering of family at Terry and Darlene's house. It was great, as always.

On another front, Sailer is doing great. We are not completely sure, but we think that she might have been blessed with colic in the evenings...haha. It started around week 4, and after reading about colic, that's what I think she has been suffering from, although it's not every evening, so it's hard to be sure. The good thing is that it is only in the late evenings, and NOT during the night or daytime hours. It's pitiful...really. But, Jason and I know how to deal with it now, and this week has been a much better week for her. Since she was 2 weeks old, she has only gotten up once a night...which I believe is awesome! We have also converted Sailer to her crib full time this week....she is loving it, and so are we! I couldn't wait to see her laying in her crib....she looks beautiful in it! I am working on establishing as much of a routine as I can for her age....most of my methods are the Babywise methods, which I HIGHLY recommend for any first time OR second time mother. I did this with Noah, and it simplified our lives so much! Sailer is doing great....self soothing and having a healthy cycle of sleeping/eating/awake time. It's hard work, but it really pays off! We are having such fun with her, and we LOVE seeing how much Noah adores and dotes over her all of the time. I truly believe that he is the BEST sibling EVER!

So....that's the best update I can give for now. I cannot believe that Sailer will be 2 months old next Wednesday! I feel like I just gave birth days ago....really! It's crazy!

Noah's School Buddies :)

Finally! We received Noah's class picture taken at school this year. Isn't it precious? These are his BESTEST buddies! He talks about them all of the time. I really love their parents too, and we are already planning a reunion for the kids this summer. Above is a pic of Noah and one of his friends named Jason. Noah hugs EVERYONE. A funny story...at the beginning of the year, the teachers asked all of the parents to bring a disposable camera so that they could take pics of our kids throughout the year. Last week, Noah's teachers handed me a handful of snapshots and every single one of them was of Noah hugging another classmate. They said, "That's all he does! He just loves everyone!"

It was so cute! :) The last picture to the right is Noah during his first month of school...he was so shy, he wouldn't even look at the camera, and LOOK how little he was! Oh goodness! At this point, he was 27 lbs. and exactly 3 feet tall. Now, according to his "me" book from school, he is 30 lbs. and 3 feet, 3 inches tall! It's crazy! :) I'm so glad his teachers documented this for us.

Ending The School Year On A High!!!

This past Wednesday was Noah's last day of school....luckily, it was also Jason's day off, so both of us, along with Sailer, were able to attend his class picnic and celebration. It was bittersweet. There was a moonwalk, which we all know...Noah LOVES! Above, Noah was trying out one of his dance moves in the moonwalk alongside his little girlfriend, Emma. She is a sweetie! In the bottom right, Noah was IN LOVE with Emma's baby sister, Taylor, and I loved holding her. She is 9 months. On the bottom left is Noah looking through his "me" book...all of the kids made these for their parents, and they are AMAZING! They are almost 30 pages of inserts, pictures, Bible verses, and special events from the year. It is kinda like a diary for their school year. I wish that I could scan some of the pictures to show you all, but they are laminated...:(

What can I say? Noah has had an amazing 1st school year, and I cannot wait for him to start back in August, but I will really enjoy having him home to help me during the summer with Sailer....I miss him when he's gone in the mornings.

Fun Pics Of The Kids :)

Over the weekend, Jason took some cute pictures of Noah and Sailer...Sailer was in her bouncer, and accidentally grabbed a hold of her toy that was dangling from the canopy over the seat while she was asleep....we thought it was so cute!

You'll notice in the second picture that we got her to give her "halfway smile" for the camera...we're still working on getting a good picture of her full mouth smile. I call it her "joker smile" because she grins from ear to ear and the corners of her little mouth arch up...:)

Then, of course, here's our little Noah...who doesn't seem so little anymore. He has become such a little ham for the camera...we have so much fun with him! He enjoys being our little subject!

Sailer's One Month Update :)

Here's our sweet girl at one month! She's filled out, and her little newborn clothes are finally starting to fit! :) I LOVE looking into her BIG bright eyes each and every day...and night :) Her vision is at its sharpest now, and she is greeting me (only me right now...hehe!) with smiles all of the time! It is such a joy!

At birth, Sailer weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz., and was 18 3/4 inches long! A few days later, at her first pediatric appt., she weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz., and was 20 inches long.

...............Are you ready for this????? At her one month checkup yesterday, she weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz, and was 21 1/2 inches long!!! WOW! That is huge to me! The doctor said that was a lot of weight to gain in 4 weeks, but she was HAPPY about it! For me, it was a big relief, b/c I never really know how much breastmilk she is getting since it can't really be measured, so now I know...she's getting plenty! :)

A Sneak Peak Into Our Days...

Hi Momma!

I've had enough Noah! Turn that fire truck OFF!

My...how life does change when you add to the family! It's been a month, and most of our days...or, at least our mornings are spent cuddling, reading, coloring (not Sailer just yet..hehe!), breakfast.....MAYBE a FEW errands...I've been out with both kids several times, but it's a little difficult schedule-wise right now, b/c Sailer is eating so often. Noah's school year is coming to a close in the next couple of weeks, so Sailer and I have been taking him in the mornings...which gives me some wonderful quality time with Sailer for a couple of hours every Monday & Wednesday. When Noah is home in the morning, he spends his entire morning following me and "sissy" around...trying to help in every way possible. I cannot turn my back for ONE second....or he will be taking her diaper off to change it...or wiping her nose after she sneezes (which he's not very gentle while doing this!), or trying to pick her up to go watch TV with him....it is so sweet, but CRAZY! It is such a joy to have both home with me, but it's such a drastic change of pace.....Sailer is 100% dependent...cuddly, sleepy, and hungry....while Noah goes 100 mph. all morning long, playing very LOUDLY with his trucks and dancing to LOUD music, and asking for snacks and juice JUST when I start nursing Sailer...whew...just talking about it makes me tired! However....one super super super wonderful thing is that....Noah and Sailer nap at the same time every single day..with the exception of 2 days since she's been born, so I am very LUCKY that I get a couple of hours each day to MYSELF from about 1:30 to 4 or 4:30! I know that this will not last forever, but God sure is watching out for me, and letting me get some down time so that I can be 100% for my kids! So far, it's a great balance! :)

Initially, when I found out that I was pregnant, I had all of the normal worries.....how can I possibly love another child as much as I love Noah? Will I ever be able to spend one on one time with Noah? So, for those of you who are thinking the same thoughts, here's what I've found to be true so far.....YES, you definately have plenty of love to go around, and it's a different kind of passionate love that you have for each child. And, YES again, it is possible to still spend alone time for your first child...at least, at first..:)

Over the past 4 1/2 weeks, we've had 3 Awesome weeks....nights included...and about 2 challenging weeks with Sailer. At 3 weeks, Sailer had her first growth spurt, and she wanted to eat ALL DAY LONG! So, I had a little trouble keeping up with her with nursing, so after talking to my doctor, we decided that we would introduce a little formula once or twice a day to help hold her over to the next feeding. Oh...lordy....here we go! It was NOT the best experience. Our little picky eater (as we've come to find out) does NOT like formula and it does not like her either! To date, we've tried introducing 3 different brands, and she has gotten sick on all 3!!! But! The good news is that, in the meantime, my milk supply has increased, so I am now able to go without supplementing! YAY! Now, my only challenge is finding a formula that will work for Sailer when I stop nursing....not sure when I'll stop yet...I just know that I probably will not nurse the whole first year. So, there ya go.

Yesterday, the doctor said that we had a "spoiled" little girl...who was extra smart for her small age...given the fact that she ONLY likes breastmilk, and if we bottle feed her at all, it MUST be warm! SO UNLIKE HER BIG BROTHER! What can I say?? I'm raising a diva!

By the way...just to comment briefly on Noah...he is STILL potty-trained, and is doing great with the "poop" in the potty thing...he's about 50/50 with it right now, and I am so happy! It really helps to have such an independent toddler when there is a baby around. His new phrase is "It's Delicious!" He is so funny, and is always coming up with new things to say...it's scary b/c half of the things he says..I don't know WHERE they come from! I just know that we have a VERY attentive and intuitive ALMOST 3 year old, and I love it! :) We are working on his 3rd birthday bash, and we are so excited to start the summer soon! :)

Take care everyone! :)