Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2015 resolutions

1. Take better pictures. I have tons of pictures of Miles and Hazel, but I don't have professional ones taken regularly. So I would like to learn to take higher quality pictures of them. I have been taking some online lessons the last few days, and I think I'm improving. They are in order of the last three days, with the oldest being the top picture.






2. Start and finish an afgan. I plan to do the Crochet-a-long (CAL) on a blog that I read.
3. Stick to all 21 days of the elimination diet my doctor suggested. (Starting Jan.5) 
4. Brush Miles and Hazel's teeth morning and night.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Christmas 2014

How in the world is it the end of December?  This year has flown by. Maybe it was the move to Tulsa, the fact I had a baby, or that Miles turned 1. I can't believe we are closing in on 2015.  2015 holds lots of exciting things: Trevor's pharmacy school graduation, I turn 30, and no more pregnancies for me!  I'm sure there will be other things, but those are at the top of my list currently. Before I get ahead of myself, here is a glimpse of Christmas 2014.

 Hazel is sitting up by herself! She enjoyed seeing all her grandparents and they all agreed that she is much more pleasant to be around these days!

 We went and say the Rhema lights here in Tulsa. Everyone laughed as they passed us. It could have been the fussy pink puff I had strapped to my front. 

 We also visited Silver Dollar City, in Branson.  Miles loved all the lights. We watched the parade and rode the carousal.
 On Christmas Eve we celebrated at Pops and Gramma's house.  

 Hazel (0), Miles (1), Kaia (3), and David (5) all showing off their Christmas pajamas that Gramma made.



Miles' older cousins are so patient with him.  It is so fun to see him trying to be just like them!


Pops and Miles work on his new tool box.


Hazel checks out her new toys.

Christmas morning we went to Grammy and Papa's to open more presents! (Miles has a red lip because he tripped and fell at SDC. Good thing Papa had a hanky ready to stop the bleeding!)

Grammy and Miles check out the stockings

Papa and Hazel watch from the couch.

Miles with his new piano. He's a natural!

Miles trying out his new beanbag chair!

We also celebrated Christmas with my Granny Nina in Conway and have plans to celebrate with Meme and Poppy in Kansas City this next weekend. By the end of the month we will be all Christmased out. We are so thankful for the family and friends we have who love our kids to pieces. 


Thursday, December 11, 2014

Knee-Walking and Snot bubbles

Well hello months 5 and 19.

 I am sitting here at 4pm while the two of you nap, trying to put my thoughts together to sum up the last month.

Miles:  You are ridiculous. The last 2 months have been a ongoing battle to get you to walk on your feet.  Yes, my friend, knees are not made for walking. I think, crossing my fingers, that we are finally there. You see, it is important for you to walk because you weigh 25 pounds. That is a lot to carry around.  We joked that you must be afraid of heights. The doctor kept reassuring us that there was no medical reason you weren't walking... (that sounds like the same tune I heard when you wouldn't crawl). I think you just understand consequences and knew it would hurt if you fell. You are cautious and methodical.  I think these traits will serve you well.  Besides the whole walking thing, you are right on track with your age development. You can stack 5 blocks on top of each other. You say lots of words: { no, thank-you, water, Mama, Dada, Nana, (Grammy- sounds like mammy), more, here ya go, love you, cookie, ball, book, uh oh, duck, quack, doggy, nose, mouth, moo, drink, baby, sister, hello, hi, bye, Pops, open, eye, yes, milk, Miles, two, three, wee, donut, ho ho ho} There are probably more. Lately you've been stringing them together in two word sentences.  You know how to put your clothes in your hamper. You even follow directions! I hope you are this helpful and easy going at age 12!


Hazel: You are ridiculous. You talk cons-tant-ly!  The doctor even commented that you were advanced in your babbling.  You can roll, sit up for short periods of time, hold your neck like a pro. You love to chew on your hands. You hate binkies and bottles. You would rather be sitting up than cradled. Every time you cough or sneeze, you fart.  You love to watch your brother. You are 16lbs and 26 inches long. I am happy to say you and dad both survived your 3 days together while I did a practicum for my Master's degree. This is mostly kuddos to him because you weren't the most pleasant person to be around. You have also been battling a cold this month.  You have the most epic snot bubbles ever. You win grossness and boogies.



You both still adore each other. Here Miles is 'reading' Hazel their first Christmas card.  Miles is always 'sharing' whatever toy he has with Hazel. Hazel will roll herself whichever way she needs to so she can see where Miles is at all times. I am so excited to see how their relationship grows as they get older.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Hazel: 4 months

Hazel spends most of her day watching Miles.  She loves to see what he's doing and be as close to the action as possible. She rarely cries these days, but when she does it's most likely because she has lost sight of her brother. She reserves her best smiles for him. 
 

 
Here is a little size comparison.  She is catching up! Her head is just as huge as his was as a baby, and I'm confident it's not finished growing. On a side note, I hate my Samsung Galaxy 5.  I would give anything to get my iPhone camera back.  Live and learn.
 

 I don't want you to think Hazel's affection for Miles is one-sided. He loves her too. Here he is cradling her chin, smiling at her. She is one lucky gal to have such a sweet big brother.

 
Here they are first thing in the morning. Miles is always super excited to see that Hazel is still around when he gets up  It's safe to say, she puts up with him 'loving' her, very well.
 


Our girl recently had to get some new clothes because she is SO long. She can wear 3-6 month clothes as long as they don't have feet. Her pj's are 9 months in order to not crunch her toes. This is why she is frequently photographed in her brother's old pajamas.

 

 I am pretty excited to see what her official stats are when we go in for our 4 month check up next week. This girl is on the move. Watch out world!


 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Fall Break Catch-up

Since it's been 24 days since my last blog post, here is a short recap of what's been going on. 

Fall break:
We went home home (Southwest Missouri) for Fall Break.  Oh the leaves. The cool breeze. Our people. Every time I make this trip I do not want to return to Oklahoma. Not one tiny bit. Trevor and I grumble the whole way home, 'is it May yet?'.  It's just so good for us and the kiddos to be home.  Seeing Miles with his grandparents seals the deal for me.  Miles adores his Papa Ward.  *This could be because Papa Ward gives him EVERYTHING he wants*  That's what Papas are supposed to do. Miles is devastated for days after we return home. Grandparent detox is real, I promise.
 

We also spent some time with Miles and Hazel's cousins.  This is probably a very close second to why we are excited to be home.  I love the idea of my kids growing up with their cousins.  David is SO good with Miles.  He makes him laugh harder than anyone else.  Kaia loves to 'mother' Miles and Hazel.  I can't wait until they can call run around together. My brother and sister-in-law are raising some great kids.
 
 
Miles turned 18 months a few days ago. A year and a half! Wow! He has an increasing vocabulary.
His favorite words are: Papa, Baby, Uh oh, here ya go, and thank you. He can mimic and repeat most of the things I ask him to, but he only uses 10-15 words for his own benefit.  He also can put shapes in the right holes on his shape sorter and stack blocks on top of each other. He loves to paint and draw and if he does something that makes you laugh, he keeps doing it to get the same reaction. He also loves his sister, sometimes too much.
 
 
Hazel is nearly 4 months old.  She is one strong girl. She holds her head up like a pro, rolls both directions, can tri-pod sit for a few seconds and needs to be part of the action all the time. We recently switched her to a convertible car seat, instead of the newborn ones you carry.  She loves it. She likes that she can sit up straighter and higher. She no longer screams every time we are in the car. She also started riding in the stroller with Miles without the car seat insert. She basically thinks she can do anything Miles can do. She drools and chews on her hands a lot more than I remember Miles doing.

 


Saturday, October 4, 2014

3 Months in the books

Hazel, 

Technically your 3 month birthday isn't until Tuesday, but let's all pause a moment and give me credit for 1. posting about your 3rd month milestone and 2. doing it early.

Okay. Girl, you are incredible.  Yes, we had a bit of a rocky start with you crying all the time, but you have since redeemed yourself.  You can roll, hold your neck up, sit up in your bumbo, sleep in your own crib, nap regularly, eat like a champ, sleep through the night, deal with your brother 'loving' you, and you're usually happy.  You decided that instead of shrieking for dinner you should just smack your lips until I feed you.  I appreciate this cue you give me.  You also are so over chilling in your rock and play. You need to be on the floor where the action is. You also hate being cradled, you want to sit straight up and see what's going on. You seriously have such a little attitude about what you want and when you want it. Heaven help us.
 
You do pretty well when we go places.  You ride in the baby carrier most of the time when we grocery shop, eat out, or go fun places like the zoo, fair, or pumpkin patch. This is why there aren't a lot of pictures of you at those places. Here is a picture of you at the pumpkin patch. This is the top of your head by the sign for Hazel the horse.



 
In the next month it would really be nice if you decided you like your carseat and bottles again. Thanks.
 
Mama

 


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Hazel's 10th week/Miles first illness

Hazel::
It has been ten days since Hazel's two month appointment.  So she's been on the probiotic the doctor recommended for a little over a week. She is a new woman!  Now, I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that she is getting older, that the side effects of her shots have worn off, or that probiotic. I really don't care. No complaints here! Her fussiness has pretty much disappeared. No more 2-3 hours in the evening fighting a crying baby! Yippee! She even gave us some more smiles this week. I think she is excited too!


 
Miles:
 
Poor Miles woke up Wednesday with a fever, snot everywhere, a red face, and a sour attitude. Now if you've ever been around Miles you would know he usually isn't Mr. Grumpy. So I took his temperature, started the humidifier, and found my Nose Frida. I also put a call into our doctor because there's this nasty respiratory virus in the news.

 
He didn't have much of an appetite all day, but he did down a couple cups of pumped breast milk. Good thing I have 400 extra ounces in my freezer.  We did see the doctor at 5 pm after I described to the nurse what his symptoms. (He weighed 24.5lbs) It was more of a proactive visit than a treatment visit.  His ears/sinuses/throat/chest all checked out just fine! He is feeling better this today and his fever has broke.  I've given up on trying to keep him away from Hazel. It was a huge battle yesterday, so today he wants to be near her all the time.  Just building her immune system early.
 
 
I also have been keeping myself busy during nap times crocheting. Laugh it up. Here are Miles and Hazel's winter hats.



Friday, September 12, 2014

Yesterday

 
I fed two babies.
 
 
 
 
I cleaned two babies.
 
 


 
I played with two babies.
 
 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend was Labor Day.  Trevor was lucky enough to have the whole weekend off work! So we did what was usually do when presented with time off: Drove to Missouri.  This weekend we drove in our new (to us) van! I have to say, sitting in a nice comfy bucket seat with plenty of room for our 2 carseats and luggage was a welcome change. I love our Ford Focus, but it is
squish-tastic when it come so to traveling. Here is a photo of me with my new ride. It is a 2003 Dodge Caravan for those who care about that sort of thing.
 
 
Here is the inside of the van. This picture was my first solo outing with the kids in the van.  It turned out well. We got groceries without any major fits. How I've missed going to the grocery store during the day. I hate that it's so packed in the evenings.
 
Back to Labor Day- We crammed a lot into the three days we were at home. We took Hazel and Miles to see my grandparents in KC.  M & H are the 22nd and 23rd great-grandchildren. I love my grandparents and don't get to see them often, so it was a nice day.


 
We also spent time with our parents, went to church, and swam at the Hefleys!
 

 
We left full of gratitude for the people in our lives! We can't wait to move back this summer!