November 2011

Well November seemed busy but not too crazy-  Mikayla was already anticipating Christmas so most of the month was a countdown to the Christmas count-down. We managed to get our annual outfits and family pictures taken and that was a huge success! (I'll include pictures in December)

I love how the girls love holding hands and taking cute pictures!

Mikayla picked out this red dress and wanted to wear it the minute we got it!

My girls in their cute warm jumper dresses.

The first real snow and Mikayla played out there for a couple of hours.

Marissa finally fits in the the cute little skirt I made her and Mikayla-  she is getting to be so fun and  is finally rolling over front to back and back to front.  

Marissa loves sitting in the Bumbo chair to watch Baby Signing Time!

THis is really how our living room looks-  Mariss chilling out, the dogs sniffing EVERYthing and Mikayla playing with every baby toy that she thinks I won't get bugged at her playing with!

Teething her first two bottom Teeth!

Mikayla wanted to make a Turkey.  She was so proud of it and set it out as a new decoration.

 Thanksgiving was spent with Jonathan's family-  We went to Bennihanas with his mom a few days before Thanksgiving with entire family.  Then we went to the annual Aunt Margaret's Feast, and then the day after we went to his dads house for another buffet type dinner.  I was missing my family a ton but it was nice that we had some family here to spend  the holiday with.  

She also decided to get her own orange juice while I was getting ready in the morning.  I made her take a pictures with it since the ENTIRE container was on the floor.  I try really hard not to get so upset at things like this so my way of dealing with is is laughing and photographing the event. I think she was more embarrassed to take a picture than about the actual mess!

Yes Mikayla likes playing on this toy more than the baby does.

 After Thanksgiving our tradition has always been to put up Christmas decorations.  This year we waited until Black Friday to get out the decorations.  Mikayla had so much fun getting out all the decorations and remembering things from previous years.  So on to the Christmas season-

Mikayla had her dress rehearsal for her first dance appearance for  the Festival of Trees. This is also her first time of wearing "real" makeup (as required by her dance company)- eye liner, lipstick, eye shadow, mascara.  The entire time I was putting this on her I kept reminding her that this is ONLY for dance and we don't wear real make up until we are a lot older.    

So cute!  She invited Jonathan's mom, Granny, Aunts and cousins  to the Dance and she did awesome.  She smiled the whole time and actually danced!  We were so proud of her!

Happy Halloween 2011-  Grandma Barby and Papa T. purchased the girls their cute costumes this year.

Mikayla loved her Cheerleader outfit.   

Mikayla wore this outfit to her yearly preschool party and afterwards they come outside and sing a few songs for the parents  and then they trick or treat down the line of mommies.  Well Mikayla realized I was giving the puppy tattoos (I had purchased the previous year for this event) away- and she cried the entire time and wouldn't sing a single song and then told me how mad she was for me giving those things away to the kids!  I felt like she was a little spoiled but the other moms kept telling me it was a normal 4 year old reaction.  Either way I am not letting her get those again!

I bought this cute little sleeper for Marissa last year on sale for like 2 bucks so it was a perfect fit!  And of course Mikayla loved her little pumpkin Sparkly shirt.

Ward Party-  Mikayla came out of her room insisting she was a cowgirl so I decided to let her be for the night.  

Mikayla made out like a bandit with tons of candy (most is still sitting in our pantry!)

Yes Mikayla loves dressing up the dogs... unfortunately they  hate it! so half the time whatever she puts on them they bite off!  so she has already ruined about 3 build-a-bear leashes to try and "play" with her pups.

My sweet girl finally wearing 6 month clothing!

Our first attempt at Oatmeal cereal!  she didn't like it at first but once she realized how yummy it was with breast-milk she loved it!  She is a great eater!

One of her last times taking a bath in my sink.  I was one of those moms who said "I will NEVER bath my kid in a sink" but here is to putting my foot in my mouth again!  She loved it and it was much easier than trying to keep her contained in her bath tub.

My little lady bug!  So cute!

I had planned on making orange tutus but never got around to doing it that the day they wore  these.  Oh well they still look cute!

This was my big fun project for Halloween this year.  I made all of the hats but one-  guess which one it is?  Either way it was fun and I plan on adding to it again next year so I can eventually put them up around the ceiling ledges.  All in all it was a fun month, very busy and the girls seemed to have fun doing all the crafty projects, the fun parties and the finish off of candy night! 

July/ August, and September 2011-  hopefully I'm getting back to blogging- here's to the rest of 2011

Mikayla Loves helping "sti-ster" with her binky

My Cute little Twinners!

My happy girl!

Marissa looked so cute in this little sleeper.

Mikayla didn't want this picture but her little dress  and lace leggings were sooo cute on her.

My little lady buggy-  she has this cute little hair clip from my buddy that has a lady bug on it too!

Mikayla's first day of Preschool-  she chose to bring her "fur-real friends puppy" from last Christmas to show the kids.

Our first Apple Harvest!  The apples were so yummy-  over half the apples were enjoyed  by wasps.  So next year we are going to have wasp traps galore to keep them from ruining our yummy gala's.

Our First Peach!  the BEST Peach I've had in years-  Georgia peaches are still the best but this was a very close second.

Yes the swing is still my baby holder/sleeper!  This was one of the only ways Marissa would let me put her down when she wasn't feeling so well!

Marissa had her first toenail painting in the summer.  and Yes I continued to paint them up until it was too cold.  Because she has the tiniest feet. None of the cute little shoes I had of Mikayla's will fit her still so I thought this was the best way to show them off :-)

Mikayla begged me to go get strawberry short cakes so I finally gave in and got some.  She re payed me by putting whipping cream all over her face and her arms and eating NONE OF IT!  but I did seem to make her day so I was okay with that.

I came in to find them both with binkies in their mouths- ahh the binkies are still sneaking into Mikayla's mouth!





Marissa's first smiles...and many more to come!







chilling on her belly



Mikayla loves holding sister..for about two minutes!

This was about the time I stopped taking pictures for a little bit.  Marissa got VERY fussy and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.  after a few sleepless nights and her screaming I decided to take her to the DR.  The Doctor told me she as acid reflux as well as some possible food sensitivities.  So the bland diet of mommy began...
no Dairy, chocolate, nuts, broccoli, tomatoes.... and yes that's about half of my diet right there!  So it took a good 4 weeks and we seem to be on track again.  Every once in a while she has an episode of screaming but its much better than every day.  So hopefully she will out grow this issue and we will move on. 
I seem to remember Mikayla always being fussy and I am almost positive she had the same thing I just never kept bugging the doctor about it.  So now we know and life goes on!  Mikayla has out grown the issues  and I am hoping this little one will do the same. 

June Fun and Family

Well the first few weeks of Marissa being here was soooo much harder that I expected! I had a wonderfully pleasant experience at the hospital and I was actually sad to leave! My experience compared to 4 years ago was 5 star! The hospital food was great, the nurses were great and my Dr was awesome. When I got home we all had meltdowns and ended up needing "Grandma back-up" that night. We are so thankful again for all the family and friend help -especially since my mom wasn't able to come out right when the baby was born. I have learned how much more I need to ask for help than ever before!

The best part of all this- I have had to learn to let a lot of things go and not get so stressed like I was as a new mom before! I must have seemed so crazy to my Canadian friends with all my silly little quirks of parenting- I would never have let my baby lay on the ground near my dogs, or even be held by someone with out them washing their hands and sanitizing! I am not saying I have become more dirty....just less paranoid and less stressed! So in turn life is a little easier and parenting is less of a "no no no" and more of a "just be careful" approach! I think part of that solved itself when Mikayla picked up a lollipop from a parking lot....and hid it from me, then when she was asked what it was, her response was "Mom don't get mad- I just wanted a candy." So all the germ sheltering doesn't really help when your kid will pick up a strangers used lollipop!

Marissa did end up with a little jaundice and was able to get over it with in a few days! Part of it is that my milk supply seems to be more than plentiful for this one so much that she gags! So she gained about 2 pounds in 2 days! But she still was in preemie clothes for about 3 weeks and they were so cute!

Mikayla has been an amazing help and a sweet big sister. She was so cute when she first got to see sister. She was the happiest little girl I have ever seen! I had never noticed all the sweet little baby talk I say until I hear Mikayla repeat things like "its okay you little bean" or "you sweet pea its okay I'll get you a binkie, no cries". I love it! I almost can't explain in words how much I can see her love for her little sister! It is heavenly! And yes Mikayla has had quite a few meltdowns but she never went through a real "terrible twos" so I think she is going through the "terrible fours!" Even then she will stop crying and quiet her sister down or smile for her and help out the second she is asked.

My parents came out the middle of June for the Baby Blessing and to help out a bit. I thought I might feel like an intrusion but it ended up being the best break ever! I was so sad when they left because they helped out so much!

Marrisa is Here

Marissa is here!

After being put on bed rest @ 28 weeks pregnant because I was having contractions we had a long last few months of me being pregnant and VERY grumpy. There were a few bedtime prayers where Mikayla asked for Marissa to be born so Mommy would stop being grumpy! I had two wonderful baby showers! and a visit from my Mommy and my older brother. Also had tons of friends and family help with babysitting and meals which we were so blessed and thankful for! So after the first scare I had to go in three other times thinking I was about to have this baby- first was from sitting up too long one day and the next was from dehydration from being sick. The third time I went in and was told (on Mikayla's real Birthday - and also Mothers Day) that I was going to have the baby that day because my water was leaking- just to find out the test they did was a false positive test and that I needed to go home and take a bath, drink lots of water and rest. The last visit I swear almost sent me over the edge because we thought we were so close to having our little one here! Anyways I finally decided that I may not have her early and to just enjoy the bits of time I had left with just one child so I did! I was scheduled to go into the Dr to be induced around noon the day we had Marissa. I woke up with my water leaking and so we packed up and went to the hospital. We got all set up in the room and had Mikayla go visit Grandma's house. I had my epidural put in and was told my whole bag of water hadn't broken but only a part- so the Dr. came in broke my water and told me he would be back in a few hours to see how far i had progressed. In ten minutes I went from a 6 to a 10 and with about 5 pushes Marissa was here! Weighing 6.2 pounds and 17 inches long.

and yes we had the most amazing hospital photographer ever!