8 Months and Almost 4 Years!

Oh Leah, I feel like you are growing faster than Bennett did.  I'm here with you every day, but it is still going by way too fast!  How is it possible that you are now 8 months old?  I'm not sure, but here we are.  And let me just tell you, you are a mess!!

You are still nursing exclusively and eating every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day.  If our schedule allows, you get to try some baby food.  Life gets busy sometimes with your big brother and I know right now you still just needs mommy's milk as your main course.  So far you've liked everything I have given you (hope that continues)!!  You haven't had a huge variety yet but we are working on that slowly.  Some of the things you have had are: sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, apples, and pears.  You are becoming quite the pro at the sippy cup, being able to hold it up and drink.  You get so excited when I fix you one.  You also like the little puff things.  It's so funny to watch you eat them because everytime I put one in your mouth you still act like you aren't sure about it.

You are so close to crawling with your belly off the ground.  Just haven't quite mastered the coordination yet but it won't be long!  You are trying so so hard to pull up on things.  Just recently, if I am sitting close to you, you have started to wiggle your way around and try to pull up on my lap, like you want me to hold you.  So sweet!  You can now sit yourself up when you are laying on your belly.  You are one strong little girl.  It's so fun watching you grow and learn.  I'm so blessed to be able to spend each day with you.  It's like you learn something new every day.

Most of the time you are all smiles!!  When you are ready for a nap or bedtime, you get fussy. You hate getting your diaper changed and hate to get dressed. You cry every single time. Your favorite thing to do is go upstairs with Bennett and play with his toys.  Forget the baby toys, you want the big stuff!! You love his matchbox cars and trains right now.  And you want everything that Bennett has.  I know you are learning so many things just from watching Bennett.  You still adore him dearly and I can tell he feels the same about you (even though he'd never admit that!)  :) Today I had you in your high chair and you were just not happy.  Bennett's chair is right there next to yours and after you had fussed a little he reached over and grabbed your little hand.  It was the sweetest thing!  I pray that y'all grow up close and are best buds!  Bennett loves to go see you after you wake from a nap.  When he hears you wake on the monitor he always asks me, "Mom, can I go see her?"  And when he walks in you get the biggest smile on your face.  I'm loving watching the relationship between you two grow.  I'm sure once you are completely mobile, Bennett will not enjoy the fact that you can get to his things and destroy them.  :)  But hopefully that will only teach him patience and forgiveness. 

Not only can I not believe you have reached 8 months, I can't believe my first born will be 4 next month!  His delivery is still so fresh in my mind that it feels like just last year!  Instead, 4 years have passed and you have grown so much.  You still love school and we have already registered you for next year.  Next year you will go every day, which will be very strange.  But I guess it's better to go ahead and face the fact that you will be starting public school soon and will be gone every day.  I'm still in denial about that.  :)

We have started you in soccer at Northside Baptist Church's UpWard Soccer.  Daddy is the assistant coach to your team, The Sparks!  And you are #5!!  Not quite sure you grasp the concept about the game just yet, but I hope you are having fun!  Your buddy Parker is on your team and it seems that y'all are having fun together.  We are halfway through with the season now and each week you do better and better.  We had to set some rules into place, like staying on the field and listening to the coaches.  Life is just a big learning experience!  :)

Bennett, you are very smart to the point where you are too smart for your own good.  We are working on your sassiness and bossiness right now.  You're a tough little cookie!  But I know one day those characteristics will enable you to be a strong leader, hopefully in a career and in your family life.  Even though you are very determined, bossy, and like to tell others what to do, you are so kind hearted.  I can see that in the way you act towards your sister.  You are still all boy but you show so much love towards her and it grows and grows with each passing day.  Saying that I'm proud of you isn't enough. There's no other little boy I would rather have as my son.  I am so glad you are mine!!

Your 4th birthday is approaching fast.  I'm working as much as I can to get your party together and I'm getting so excited about it!  You told me you wanted a train birthday party this year.  I've booked your party at Saluda Shoals again and rented the train for you and all your buddies to ride on.  I know you will love that so much and I can't wait to see everyone enjoying it.  What wonderful memories we will have!!

Oh I love my kids!  They are a mess but they are my mess.

For those mommies on the fence

This post is for those mommies who are on the fence about quitting their job to stay home.  And remember, this is coming from a mommy who has experienced both sides- the working mom and stay at home mom, so it's not one sided.  The best piece of advice I can give to you is this: DO IT!!  And I am by no means bashing or putting down those moms who decide to work, I worked for 3 years after Bennett was born, I understand.  And believe me, I never in a million years thought I would be a stay at home mom.  I thought you had to marry a billionaire to be able to do it.  But in all honesty, you don't.  All you need is the will and determination to make it work.  You can do it!!!

Now, it has taken me a complete year to finally feel like I made the right decision.  Don't get me wrong, when I quit a year ago I was so excited and I really did enjoy the time I spent with Bennett.  I'm so thankful I had a few months with just him.  But I didn't quite understand that it was the best thing I could have done.  I didn't know the impact I would have on my two children.  And then Leah was born, and my hormones were all wacky and I was extremely sleep deprived and I went through a period asking myself why I chose to do this, it was so tough and I felt like I didn't have a grasp on things.  I felt like I was, in some way, letting my kids down because I didn't feel like a good enough stay at home mom.  But 7 months have passed, things have settled in, and I can honestly say I feel like a completely different person than I did a year ago.  I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds as a  mother.  I'm happy with my growth and look forward to even more changes and more growth.

Being at home has changed my perspective on a lot of things.  I now see the importance of sacrificing my life to give my kids a better life.  And I'm completely, 100% ok with that.  I'm ok with spending countless hours with an almost 4 year old and a 7 month old.  I'm ok with not getting that much adult time.  I'm ok with being home more than being away.  Because I know this is not permanent.  This is only temporary because one day my children will be grown and doing their own thing.  I will get those things back.  Jason and I will get more and more time together.  It's ok now- they need me here!  And honestly, I don't miss the money.  Looking back I'm not even sure what we did with that extra paycheck.  Sure we probably bought more things or ate out more, but those things aren't missed.

I like to think I am making a difference in my kids' lives.  Creating memories with them they will treasure.  Instilling life lessons they will want to pass down to their children.  Teaching them about my faith in Jesus Christ and how I make it on a day to day basis so they will learn to lean on Him during their hard times.  Without Him I would not be where I am today and that is a fact!  I think society is so fast paced now and a lot is missed or pushed to the side.  I'm so fortunate to be able to just slow down a little and enjoy my children every single day- from building Legos with Bennett, watching him build a train track over and over, seeing which car won the race down his slide, seeing Leah's face light up when I walk in the room after she wakes from a nap, having her reach over for me to pick her up, seeing Bennett smile when I make him Mickey Mouse pancakes or a smiley face out of his food, hide and seek outside, racing to the stop sign and back, chasing our shadows on a beautiful sunny day.  The list goes on and on.  It truly is a blessing and I wish more mothers would give it a try.

Now, it will be the single, most exhausting thing you could ever do.  And remember, I was at one time a working mother.  I worked a job that required me to be on my feet for most of the day, it was fast paced and I stayed busy.  But staying at home with 2 children, will be emotionally and mentally draining, and to me, that is way more exhausting than physically being tired.  There will be some days where you want to pull all of your hair out.  There will be some days your kids are cranky all.day.long.  There will be some days you just can't get it together.  There will be some days where your son wants daddy instead of you.  There will be some days your baby doesn't want to nap and it takes everything to get her to sleep and stay asleep.  There will be some days where you feel like you haven't divided your time equally among your children.  There will be some days where you think your son has too much TV time.  But that's ok.  Because in those days, you are growing and changing.  You may not see it while you are at your wit's end, but I promise you, those are the days that really matter.  I have learned that making silly faces can change your child's mood around really fast.  Or tickling their little tummy will help them feel better.  I'm not perfect by any means.  I screw up, a lot.  I lose my patience easily some days.  When that happens, I have to pick myself up, recognize that I screwed up and just move forward- learning from it and telling myself how I should handle it next time.

But, there are a few things that you need to know and understand beforehand.  1) You do not leave work.  There are no weekends or nights.  You are at work 24/7.  Date nights and girl's night out can be a life saver.  2) You do not get vacation or sick days.  Period.  3) You will not get affirmation that you are doing a good job, i.e. raises, staff luncheons, staff appreciation days, etc.  Over time you will learn to recognize in yourself that you are awesome at what you do at home.  4) There will be monotony to your days.  Holidays or vacation days your husband gets will help with this.  Getting your children involved in something also helps.  For me, putting Bennett in preschool was a wonderful thing.  It breaks up the days and keeps him interacting with some friends.  5) You will do more praying than you have ever done before!  But that's a good thing!  :)

Now, I'm not saying a working mom has it easy either.  Being a mother is hard work, all the time, no matter what your circumstances are.  But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing.  Usually the hard things in life lead to a wonderful, priceless treasure!

So, for those moms who just can't make up your mind...don't wait another moth, 6 months, a year- that is time you will never get back.  Bite the bullet and enjoy your children now before they are grown and off to school!!  Quitting my job is the best thing I have ever done!  So, if you ever see me on a bad day- please remind me to read this post!!!  :)

On the Move....It Won't Be Long!!

Leah turned 6 months old last week and I still can't believe my baby girl is half a year old!!  I had written a 4 month post but it didn't get saved and I lost it and I just haven't found the time to post an update again.  I figured I better go ahead and do one now before she's a year old and I still haven't done one.  :)  Leah is growing big and strong and wants so bad to keep up with her brother.  She is the cutest, happiest little thing and even though she isn't sleeping well, it's hard not to smile when you're around her.  She lights up and makes you want to do the same thing.  :)

So, her stats: 19 pounds 5 ounces and 26.75 inches long- both are above average percentages.  While she weighs a lot for her age, her length keeps her from looking too chunky.  She's just perfect!!  Her check up went well, she took her shots like a champ- cried a little but then gave the nurse a big smile once I picked her up.  :)  We are still battling a blocked tear duct in her left eye, so the doctor is treating that again with some eye drops.  Hopefully she will outgrow that soon because her eyes are just too beautiful for that!

Leah is sitting up pretty well.  She still looses her balance every so often so I have to catch her, but she's doing really good!!  She's rolling over and scooting around and it won't be long before she's crawling and keeping me on my toes!!  She loves everything her brother has and would rather play with his toys than the baby toys we have for her. :)

We started her on some oatmeal cereal a week ago.  She's not too sure about it just yet.  I gave her some bites of banana and she's not too sure about that either.  Hopefully after lots of practice she'll love to eat!  :)  I'm only feeding her solids once a day and I plan to ease into it slowly so she can get the hang of it!  She's nursing every 3 to 4 hours during the day and lately has been getting up twice at night to nurse.  Yes, I said twice.  It's been a bit exhausting and I can only think maybe it's a growth spurt or sleep regression.  Not really sure but I'm just kinda going with it.  I try to soothe her back down with the paci but she won't have it and only wants to nurse.  She's still not a fan of the paci and only takes it when she sleeps.  Which is fine with me because maybe it will make it easier to take away later when she's older.  My goal is to have it gone when she turns 1 year, like Bennett, but we'll see how it goes.

Overall, she's doing wonderful and is just a little sweet pea!  Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Bennett is growing like a weed too!  Just a few more months til he turns 4!!!  My neighbor asked me just yesterday if it felt like 4 years have passed and I said no, it honestly does not feel like it has been 4 years, 4 years that we've been enjoying with Bennett.  When they say time flies, it true!  It flies and you can't go back.  I'm trying to remember that so that I can savor every day with him.  He's turning into such a wonderful little boy.

Year 3 has given us some trying times (terrible twos and terrible threes!!), but we've worked through them and he's learning and really wants to make everyone happy.  He's still head strong but I've learned that if you give him 2 choices (2 that I can live with) he's happy as a clam to make his choice and feel like he's getting what he wants.  :)  Staying at home with my children has been the best thing I have ever done.  While it's tough, I know this is the way it's supposed to be- my kids need me at home taking care of them.  I can't say that I'm perfect, but each day I strive to be the best mom to them and with the Lord's help I'm making it!!  :)  And I'm learning just as much as Bennett- I'm learning that just talking to your children makes a world of difference, talking them through a tantrum helps turn the mood around and keep it from escalating.  Just watching your kids play (with no TV or phone) makes a world of difference too.  I'm learning to put my phone down more and just be in the moment.  Staying at home lets me do that- it lets me be in the moment.  Pretty soon Bennett will be going to school all day, I've got to cherish these days.  My baby boy is growing up!!!!

Here are some pics from our recent snow day, which Bennett loved!

My kids are my life and I couldn't be more proud of them.  They are beautiful inside and out!!!  I've got to remember the hard days are days of learning and growing, to be the best mother I can!