Life Since Last November

Hey everyone!! I decided to actually blog! :) I know it's been a while and I admit, it's hard to find a balance between spending time with my girls, getting things done around the house, finding quiet time with God, and still finding time to spend on the internet and blogging. Anyway, I'm a work in progress, as always, and I'm just taking it a day at a time and doing the best I can. Everyday is a new day and I'm so thankful for God's love and grace each and every day!!

So here's a short synopsis of what has been happening since my last post!:

• We celebrated Thanksgiving. The girls were both healthy so we actually got to see all of our local family this year so that was nice. 
• The first week in December, Brandon and I got a huge surprise and found out that we are expecting BABY #3!!! We weren't exactly planning on this happening, but we feel blessed beyond words and we are so excited to add to our family. I'm due August 15th, two weeks before June's 2nd birthday. :) 
• Upon learning of our new blessing, we realized we needed a bigger vehicle. We had been casually looking at suv's for a few months, but it became very real after I got pregnant. The week before Christmas we bought a 2010 Chevy Tahoe. I LOVE it!! I really loved my Camry and I miss that car and the wonderful gas mileage, but the Tahoe is wonderful. By the way, if you ever need a new vehicle, I will say that buying the week before Christmas has wonderful advantages as the dealerships are highly motivated to sell. :) 
• Christmas didn't go as planned because two days before Christmas, I got very, very sick with morning/all day sickness. Thankfully, Brandon was off work and was able to help with the girls. This baby has been very rough on my body and my sickness has been so much worse than it was with the girls. It has eased up quite a bit by now, but I was very, very sick for about a month and it wasn't fun at all. 
• In January, Brandon turned 30. We didn't do much per Brandon's request. We went out on a date and spent time with our sweet girls. He's very anticlimatic about birthdays. Ha! It will be my turn in September. Eeepp!! 
• January also brought us the amazing joy of hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time!! :) It is the most joyous feeling and there really aren't words to describe it. Brandon was also out of town for half of the month for work stuff, so that was challenging for me but we all survived!
• In February, our sweet pea, Scarlett turned 3. (We seem to have a 3 theme happening this year. Ha!) We chose not to do a big party this year and instead took her on a mommy/daddy date with just the 3 of us and then did a small family party. We took her shopping, out to eat, and to Build a Bear. She had the best time. :) I still can't believe how big she is and how much time has flown by?!

That pretty much sums it up. I do hope to continue blogging and updating more frequently. It's hard to make myself sit down and blog these days but I love looking back on the things that I have blogged in the past. Anyway, I hope everyone out there is doing well too!! Until next time......

Some Random Facts

• So, I haven't blogged in forever and I don't even feel bad about it. I probably will in years to come when I get the urge to look back at something and I can't find it or I don't remember it, but in the present, I am just not worried about it. I am busy being a wife and a mom and that is my primary focus. 
• We attended a family conference at our church last month and a local police officer spoke to us about internet predators and protecting our families and it scared me to death to be quite honest. I nearly shut down the blog that same day, but I haven't obviously. There are just some scary people out there in our world and well, I still haven't decided if I will really continue on with our little blog.
• June is a walking fool now. It's adorable and exhausting all at the same time. But nothing fills my heart more than watching my girls run around and play together. I seriously love them!!! 
• Brandon and I have been married for 5 years next week!! We have had ups and downs and happy times and sad times over that time, but it has all been worth it! There aren't words to describe how much I love him. 
• We have embarked on some new eating habits lately and it's been fun and challenging at the same time. Scarlett is beyond picky so that has been a struggle, but we are doing this no matter what! We are basically cutting out all processed foods and eating mainly organic and all natural food as much as our budget will allow. It is scary if you sit down and actually do some research on what is being put into our foods. I'm just not willing to continue to put that junk in our bodies, I don't care if it is cheap and tastes great, the health ramifications just aren't worth it. Maybe I'll share some recipes soon!! :) 
• I already have most of our Christmas shopping done and that makes me happy. I'm usually a procrastinator in that area but I haven't been this year. Of course, we keep things pretty simple, but it still feels nice to have most of it done. We only purchase the girls 3 gifts each and we don't do Santa. If that's your thing and you do it, that's great, but it's not ours. We have our reasons and beliefs about it, but that could be a whole other post on its own. 
• I've been working on a women's bible study at my church that is written by Beth Moore. That woman is so gifted that it's not even funny. I have enjoyed her study sooo much and I have learned a lot. 
• Brandon bought me a camera class for my birthday and I just finished it up. We've owned a digital slr camera for almost three years now and it was about time I learned how to use it. I enjoyed the class immensely and it has completely changed how I take pictures and look at things. I'm still not great at it, but I'm continuing to learn. 
• I would write more, but my sweet baby girl is up from her nap, so that means it's time to go play!! :)

Just Some Randomness :)

• It's August, in Arkansas, which means it's hot. We are currently having the hottest summer ever recorded for our area. I believe it was 114 degrees yesterday. Um yeah, it's not real fun. I saw a picture on facebook that said "satan called and he wants his weather back". That's pretty accurate.
• I have a new addiction. It's called Pinterest. If you know what it is, then you understand why I am addicted to it and its awesomeness. If you don't know what it is and want to know more, just let me know. 
• I want another tattoo. I actually want two more tattoos. :) Yes, if you didn't know, I do have multiple tattoos, but they are all in modest places that I can cover up for the most part. Some people are disgusted by tattoos, but I am not. I think that they are wonderful representations of different stages of my life and they all mean something to me. I am wanting to get more to represent our kiddos, however, they recommend not getting one while you are nursing, so I will be waiting a while. 
• I am OBSESSED with frozen yogurt. It's sad really, but it's so good all at the same time. Ha!!
• We've been potty training Scarlett. You already know that if you follow me on twitter or facebook. It's been wonderful and frustrating all in the same. She does great for several days in a row and then she will have an off day and have several accidents. It's a process and I know that, but it gets tiresome. However, I am very, very proud of her! She looks so grown up in her little panties. :) 
• Brandon and I test drove an SUV a few weeks ago. We are trying to decide what we actually want and what will work best for our family. We told the salesman that we weren't going to be buying that day, but he was still trying to give us the "hard sell". Anyway, if you ever want to know how to shut up a salesman, just mention that you need to leave to breastfeed your daughter. Ha!!! I didn't want to go there, but I seriously did need to get home to feed June and well, it shut him up real fast. I think I embarrassed Brandon, but I was just telling the truth!
• June has slept through the night a few days this week. I don't expect it to last, but I'm thankful for it!!
• I'm am so looking forward to the weekend!!!

Happy 11 Months June!!

Yeah, um, it's a little hard for me to type out 11 months! My baby is growing up soooo fast and I just can't believe it. Our lives have been so blessed by June and this past 11 months has really just flown by. This time last year, I was constantly thinking about what our family would be like with two little girls and now we can barely remember what life was like before our sweet June came along. Such a blessing to be her parents. Anyway, here is what is happening right now:

• Not sure how much you weigh, but you continue to grow. I doubt you have gained much though because you are sooooo active and are moving non stop!
• You crawl everywhere and you are really fast!! You are still just "army crawling" though. It's hilarious!! 
• Pulling up is a normal thing that is done all day long. You are starting to just hold on to things with one hand and you are getting a lot braver. You can cruise all along the furniture and you follow your big sister around all day long. 
• One of your favorite things is your "Praise Baby" dvd. You are still a big "Baby Einstein" fan, but you are completely entranced when we turn on praise baby. 
• Your eyes are starting to turn hazel, just like Scarlett's, except yours are still more on the greenish side, which makes me laugh because I was convinced my kids would have brown eyes and neither actually do. 
• You "talk" all the time. You can say "mama, dadda, and bye". You repeat all kinds of sounds and you also have developed some sort of sister language that only you and Scarlett can understand and it seriously makes me smile. 
• Dancing has begun! Oh my word. It is so cute! 
• You still aren't a big fan of sleeping and that still makes me sad, but you are worth the sleepless nights. Hopefully you will like to sleep some day. 
• Still only have two bottom teeth, but we are getting closer to the top two coming through.
• You are still a nursing queen, but you have really started becoming more distracted when you are nursing. I'm thinking that once we introduce whole milk into your diet that you may not want to nurse as much. I both love and hate that. Nursing has really been a wonderful experience this time around and I cherish that time with my girl! Who knows what will happen!
• You LOVE table food. You are barely eating baby food these days. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries are your current favorites. You also love green beans and sweet potatoes. I hope you are always a good eater!
• You are enjoying reading more and more. Scarlett "reads" to you all the time and you just sit and listen and touch the pictures. However, I still catch you chewing on books all the time. :) 
• I'm still your favorite, but you are really starting to love on your daddy more and that makes my heart smile. You get so excited when he comes home and it is so sweet.
• You love to play with all the toys now. Especially Scarlett's toys. Ha! 

June Rose, you make me smile every single day and  I love being your mommy! The past 11 months have been amazing and I can't wait to celebrate your birthday next month!! :o)

Argh!!!!!!

So Brandon and I decided to cancel our cable for a few reasons. One being that we rarely even watch television anymore and another that we just didn't want to spend the money. We are Dave Ramsey followers and we are currently trying to save up to buy me a new SUV. Anyway, we decided to keep Netflix though because it still had a lot of shows on it the girls could watch and a few things for us too. :) Enter...........................

Scarlett's new favorite thing!! And thanks to the very first episode of this series.............

She is quite convinced she is a pirate. Ha!!! She calls people "matey" and "scurvy pirates" and Brandon and I are "captain daddy" and "captain mommy." The imagination on this girl is hilarious. :o)

Happy 10 months June!!

June, you are so much closer to being a year old! Where has the time gone? It's just crazy to think about how fast this time with you has flown by. You grow and change nearly every day and it is so wonderful to watch. :) Here's what is happening at 10 months:

Side note: I forgot to take her monthly pictures until it was close to bedtime and she was NOT having it. :/

•  You are are a growing girl, but you are still pretty petite. I love it though!
• You are still in a size 3 diaper, but you won't be wearing disposables much longer since we are potty training your sister this month. So you will have a cute cloth diaper tushy very soon. :) 
• The 2nd bottom tooth popped through and you are loving your teeth. You have become obsessed with table food and you love to eat and the sweet little teeth help you chew things up. 
• You are still nursing very well and you eat a mixture of baby food and table food. Your favorites are still apples and sweet potatoes. You have really started enjoying yogurt and cheerios this month!
• You have learned some new tricks this month. You have started picking things up with your feet and you think it is hilarious. You also started clapping as well and it is so sweet to watch you get excited and then start clapping!!
• Chewing on books has always been your favorite thing to do, but you are really starting to enjoy books and reading. You will sit and look at the pictures now when we read to you instead of just trying to put them in your mouth. 
• You have grown enough that you are big enough to take baths in the big tub! We tried do bath time with you and Scarlett and it does not work. It was quite comical though. Maybe when you are bit bigger, it will work. Bath time is still one of your favorite times of day. No matter what mood you are in, you just smile and laugh in the water!
• We had you dedicated at church this past month and it filled our hearts with joy! You have also started staying in the nursery during service and you are doing so well. You still cry when I first leave you, but you calm down after you get distracted and start playing. 
• Scarlett loves to play with you and you love to watch and play with her!! You girls make me laugh and smile all day long. You love to crawl all over the place and follow Scarlett around. You even try to crawl into her room when she is taking her nap. Ha!!
• You are still pulling up on everything that you can. You want to take off and walk so bad, but your balance isn't quite there yet!
• You are starting to get more hair, but it is still fuzzy. It makes me smile though. It's still red too! :)
• You are amazing. Period! No other way to describe you.

 

We love you "all the way to the moon and back", to quote one of your favorite books. :) 

Happy 9 Months June!!!

(I am aware that this is a super late post, but I still want to document it for myself.)

You continue to grow up at an alarming rate and I just am in awe of you. We love you more each day sweet girl!!

Here is what is happening at 9 months!!

• You weigh right at 16 lbs and you are 26 inches long. It cracks me up to think that you were so big when you were a newborn and now you are so petite. Our pediatrician said this was fairly normal though and that you would probably just be petite just like your big sister.
• You are wearing a size 3 diaper and a range of 6-12 month stuff. You still won't leave shoes on, so I have no idea what size you are wearing. 
• Sleep is still a wild card issue. You aren't much of a napper and you still wake up at least once most nights. 
• I think that I am still your favorite person right now and I love it. You started reaching for me and I just enjoy it so much. It does make it harder to leave you though. You also started waving bye at people. 
• You got your first tooth this past month. The bottom right came in on 5/7 and the bottom left one will be in soon. You have actually been a pretty mild teether compared to your sister. 
• You spoke your first word on 5/15 and it was "dada". Brandon wins again. You know, because it's a contest. :) However, four days later, you said "mama" and it made my heart smile!
• You have really started "talking" a lot and babbling. I love to hear all the sweet noises that you make. 
• You still aren't fully crawling, but you are scooting around everywhere. It's like an army crawl actually and well, it's pretty cute. It's not tradition crawling, so to speak, but it gets you where you need to go. Ha!
• Pulling up is a new favorite thing.We had to take the bumpers off your crib because you were playing with them a little too much and trying to use them to pull up on and it just made us nervous!
• You love to eat, both nursing and eating baby food. We also have sneaked in some table food here and there and you are a fan!!
• You have gotten really good at using your sippy cup. 
• You still adore Scarlett and watch her all the time. You two have really started "playing" together and it fills me with joy to see. I can't wait to watch you girls grow up together and enjoy being so close in age. 
• Seriously, you are the cutest 9 month old I know!!! :o)