Christmas 2012

I love Christmas time, I love family upon family upon family moments together. I love twinkling lights, my Christmas tree, and a fire in the fireplace. I will say this year was a little tough because we were all fighting colds and therefore fighting to keep my mind focused on the joy and all the good around me. We are so lucky that our families live within 20 min of us and within 10 min of each other but I also have this dream that next year we will have a home where we can entertain and we won't have to leave and pack up our kids at all :) A girl can hope... but for now here is our time in pictures.

playing in her new tent

our handsome boy sitting up in his new chair

she likes to sing him songs

she loves her new scooter

my heart

he melts me

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

4 Months

Garrett,

You are 4 months and entering some of my favorite baby stages. You are talking and making noise all the time, you even laughed once after hitting yourself in the head with a toy, apparantly it didn't hurt. I can't wait for more of those sweet giggles.

You love your giraffe snuggly and we named him Joe. You also love your scrunchy Elephant with teether feet, we don't have a name for him yet. You roll over easily from front to back and from back to your side, you will be rolling all the way over oh so soon. You have tried out your Einstein jumper for about 10-15 minutes at a time and it's fun to watch you play and get excited.

You have tried rice cereal now and get it once a day, you are doing really well with it and I'm oh so proud of you. You still aren't sleeping through the night but you've skipped your 12-2 a.m. wake up and now wake up somewhere around 4 a.m.

You are wearing some 6-9 month clothes now and are out of your one piece 3-6 month clothes. I can't believe we are already getting there. You are growing and developing every single day and it takes my breath away. I never want to wish time away but the more you notice your sister the more I'm excited for you to get to know her and become playmates.

6 lbs. 6 oz

25 inches long

We are about to celebrate your first Christmas and so far the Christmas lights make you so happy, you love to watch them. We can't wait to celebrate with you here in our arms especially since I announced to our family that we were pregnant with you last Christmas. What a blessing you are to us!!

I love you sweet boy and your heart melting smile!

Love,
Mommy

Family Pictures as 4

Just a little peek at our fun session with Alicia who has been our photographer since our engagement photos almost 6 years ago! We love that she has been able to watch our family grow.  I love our growing family and the blessing each of them are in my life, my husband for doing this crazy life with me and our sweet children for giving me the best gift of being a mother.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!

Haiti with Visiting Orphans

So I just signed up for a mission trip, my first mission trip since the summer after I graduated high school. To say I'm excited is an understatement. Going and doing is something that God has been whispering to me and if I'm honest sometimes yelling at me but I kept saying not this year, maybe next year when the kids are a little older, oops I'm pregnant can't go this year or too early next year because he will be so little still. Oh my the excuses just kept coming.

I decided to start looking at 2013 dates with Visiting Orphans. I really wanted to go to Africa, since Matt and I have been looking into adoption from there but the trips there were just too long for my mamma heart to be away from my babies. So we kept looking and found a trip to Haiti right before the holidays next year.

So my sister and I (yes my best friend is coming with  me!!) will be packing up and heading to Haiti a year from now, next November 1.

my beautiful sister

I am excited to head to Haiti, my cousin went this past summer and my sister in law has been a couple times. Our World Vision child lives in Haiti, my heart is there too and I just needed to open up my mind to that possiblity and there it was the perfect time for us to go!

You will hear more as we start planning and fundraising next year but for now I am already praying for those we will be in touch with in our time there and for our team that I do not even know yet. I am nervous and excited and ready to GO and LOVE these people.

#IndyBoom

I'm not sure how far this story spread nationally but my little side of town in Indianapolis experienced quite the tragic incident this weekend. At about 11 p.m. my husband called me to see if felt that huge boom, a boom that felt like an explosion and shook our house. I was out downtown on my way to celebrate a friends bachelorette party and didn't feel what he was talking about.

We soon started hearing through instagram, facebook and twitter about an explosion in a neighborhood only a few miles from my house. TV's were on in the bars but no sound obviously so we could only watch the devistation and try and check on our friends and family through text and facebook (where would we be without social media)

This explosion was massive, completely destroying two homes (think blown to pieces and off of their foundations) and damaging many more to the point that they cannot be lived in, many will have to be torn down and rebuilt. This neighborhood has a lot of recovery ahead.

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We know of many families that live in this neighborhood and in a way I feel guilty that I was gone from my family, guilty that if it had been closer to home I would not have been with them. Guilty that I was not with my husband and children when the news started coming in about what happened. It's hard to grasp just how quickly everything can change in this life. Our next breath is not guaranteed, so hug your kids a little tighter tell your husband or wife how much you love them.

The hope and comfort in all this is watching our community rally to volunteer and help in any way possible to care for these families. Praying for those mourning the loss of two lives today and for those displaced and waiting for the next steps. God does not forget us or those who are suffering.

November

November is National Adoption Month, something that was brand new to me only 2 Novembers ago, now it's something I hold close to my heart. Just for fun, here is a video I wanted to share in honor of this special month and all the special kids out there waiting for their forever family.



Could you be the answer to a prayer??

3 Months

Garrett,

You are 3 months old and oh so handsome. I love that God chose you for our family. You are growing and discovering things everyday.

We set you in your bumbo for the first time while we ate dinner the other night and you cried at first, it was weird I know, mommy took her hands away but you were still sitting up, how did that work? But then you got the hang of it for a little bit, we can't leave you in there very long because your head is kind of big and still droops after too long.

You are trying so hard to role from your tummy to your back but that dang other arm just gets in the way, it will happen soon and I hope I get to witness it because it will be so funny to see your face when your world flips over on you.

You talk talk talk to us all the time and I love it, you notice your sister so much lately, she just said the other day "mommy he laughing at me" you weren't laughing "at" her you just couldn't take your eyes off her with this huge smile on your face. I don't blame you she's pretty entertaining.

You love eating your hands now and we find them in your mouth all the time, I keep trying to introduce you to new toys but your hands are your favorite. 

You are in 3-6 month clothes and 2 diapers. You still aren't sleeping through the night which is making it kind of hard to hang in there for a full day at work but I'm still hoping you will get that figured out soon.

I love you sweet boy and can't wait to watch your personality blossom, right now you are a pretty happy little boy with a smile that can melt anyone's heart.

Love you sooooo much,
Mommy

With Time...

With time this two kids thing has gotten a million times better than when we started out. It was a rough transition, there were moments that I thought for sure I was going to go crazy and my head might spin off my body at any moment or that I might just run out the front door and keep running for a few days until I could come back to it all.

I prayed A LOT, my prayer book is full of the word patience from the last 12 weeks. Now that I head back to work a week from tomorrow I am not ready, not ready one bit to leave my sweet amazing kiddos.

Lydia has come so far while I've been home with her. She actually spoke to my mom's coworkers when they spoke to her first. She is potty trained and loves that she is not in diapers anymore like her baby brother. She hugs me at random moments and says "mom you make me so happy", she wants me to read to her sometimes at night again and we are just buddies. I am loving every hard, messy, fun-filled, hilarious minute of being her mom.

Garrett is at that stage where he's blossoming everyday. He discovers something new all the time, I can make him smile and laugh with just my voice and a little tickle on his belly. He's finally starting to nap in his crib and sometimes at the same time as big sister. I could have used that a month ago.

We have gone to the zoo, we have made crafts, we have gone to the park, we play in forts and have movie marathon days; my life as a mom could not be more fulfilling right now. Just in time to leave behind our routine and our fun to go back to work.

My heart aches every night when I lay in bed and think that it is one day closer to rushed morning drop offs and later dinner times.

These last 12 weeks have been some of the most trying, exhausting and rewarding weeks of my life. I love being a mom and thank God for this miraculous gift. That he would trust me with these two is something I don't know if I'll ever fully comprehend. 

Potty Trained

I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago that we were starting the potty training adventure in hopes of having Lydia potty trained before I have to go back work (gasp, chokes back tears, not ready at all) anyway, this potty training adventure = SUCCESS

How we did it:

Week 1-2: Did not push her to use the potty but reintroduced it and got her excited about it since having no interest after Garrett was born. Everytime she went she got to put a sticker on her Elmo sticker chart and an M&M, she wore pull ups while we were at home and diapers while we were out (I still did not ask her if she needed to go while we were out in public during these 2 weeks) Each Saturday morning we would go buy new stickers and a blue icee at Target.

Week 3: Big Girl Panties time, she got to pick them out and then she ran around all day in her shirt and her undies. We did not do the naked thing, totally not how we roll. We made sure to stay home so we could put her on the potty every 20 min or so for the first day and then slowly started making that time longer and then switched to asking her if she needed to go. Towards the end of this week we ventured out with pull ups on but would go potty when we got places and she had NO accidents while out of the house so we quickly moved to undies all the time.

She had one day of set backs but jumped right back in the swing of things and has been perfect ever since. We are wearing a pull up at nap time and bedtime because she is still in her crib. She wakes up dry 90% of the time though.

We are so proud of our girl. She is a new girl since she became potty trained, she has a confidence about her and she listens better now, she really feels like a Big girl like the Big Sister and we turned a corner in this whole adjusting to two kiddos when she conquered potty training!

Goodbye to buying 2 cases of diapers.

2 Months

Sweet Garrett,

You are 2 months old and getting more handsome by the day, you take my breath away with your little smirks and coo's and baby talk. You have truly stolen my heart. You respond to my voice and when I tickle your cheek you light up and the dimples oh my those dimples :) The red tint to your hair is starting to go away but you still have plenty of dark hair right now.

You are doing much better with your sleeping, you are in your crib 100% of the time now during the night which makes me so happy because #1 you are a loud sleeper and #2 this hopefully means you will love your crib and be comfortable and feel safe there. However we still go back and forth on whether you will give us a good 5-6 hours between your bottles or whether or not we are going to have an every 3 hour kind of night.

You are enjoying your play mat more these days but still only last about 10-15 minutes before you want to move to your swing or into someones arms so you can see what's going on around you. You still aren't a huge fan of tummy time but mommy still makes you do it. This will happen often throughout your life but I only do it because it will help you to grow strong!

You like being on the move, if we stop while you are in your stroller for too long, while you are in someones arms at times or while we are in the car forget it, you are making your voice heard. You go from silent to crazed hungry baby when it is time for your bottle, we have learned to have them ready to go. You eat 5 oz every 3-4 hours and you spit up wayyyy more than your sister, I'm still trying to get used to it and guard my clothes and our furniture more carefully.

Places you have been:

- Indianapolis Zoo
- Monkey Joe's
- Moe's, Scotty's, McQ's, Mexico City Grill
- Cousin Kylie's soccer game
- Lowell, your first big road trip, to meet Great Grandma and Grandpa Kersey
- Church (you were baptized last sunday!)
- Target, Sam's Club, the mall

You went to your 2 month appointment and braved those darn shots like a champ! You weigh 12lbs. 14 oz. (60%) and measure 23 1/4 inches (70%) we just love watching you grow and get all chunky on us.

I cannot explain the joy you bring me, I love being a mom to a baby boy so far, there is less pressure when it comes to dressing you to leave the house, I'm starting to get excited about plaid, stripes, thermals and baby size boat shoes.

I will continue to pray for your health and your heart that you know how loved you are by not only us but by your heavenly Father who knows your present and your future.

love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

Things I'm Loving This Time Around

I thought I would share a little bit about the things I am loving the second time around with this baby thing.

1. My Moby. I love this, we have the Baby Bjorn that I used with Lydia when we would go to football games, tailgating and other times that required walking and not a good environment for a stroller. However Lydia was over 3 months old when I started using it and she fit in it really well at that point. This time around I needed both hands to deal with a toddler and a baby who didn't want mamma to put him down but unfortunately the baby bjorn did not hold him as close and snuggly as he needed so thank goodness my cousin got me the Moby. I LOVE IT he is snug and right up next to mamma and he loves it too.

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2. This is silly but I love this wipes dispenser!! We just used the huggies one with Lydia and I saw this awesome dispenser at Buy Buy Baby and wanted to give it a try since we were already buying big refill packs. This thing rocks, if you have ever used the other dispenser you know that sometimes you are left fighting a strand of wipes as long as your arm because you can't get them broken apart, this thing has a weight in it so you get one wipe every time! YAY, no more holding squirmy baby feet trying to keep them from kicking their poo all over the place and using your teeth to separate the wipes.

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3. Our big rocker/recliner/glider, last time we just got a simple white wooden glider I had no idea what I was missing so it was fine, this time I wanted something that could handle two kids in my lap for story time so my parents got us our new chair as a gift for the nursery and I am in LOVE, now I know what I was missing.


4. Double stroller, we didn't buy this right away but after my first trip to the mall (with the help of my sister) and pushing the baby in his stroller with baby seat and letting Lydia walk, I realized I needed something that worked for both of them. So glad we did and this one has the place for her to stand and/or sit and she loves it, she thinks it's really cool.

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5. Aden + Anais swaddle blankets, having a summer baby with temps in the 90's and 100's I wanted a blanket that was light but still offered him some protection and these are awesome! I love how big they are and I love that I have learned to swaddle my sweet boy for bedtime and he loves it.

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Little Man's Nursery

my favorite part of the nursery 

A little break down:

ABC's purchased at Hobby Lobby and modge podged with scrapbook paper by me
Jenny Lind style crib - Overstock.com
Garrett Burlap Bunting - Land of Nod
Yellow Dresser - Craigslist and refinished by my husband
Big Comfy Chair - A gift from my parents from Buy Buy Baby
Floor lamp already in that room when it was the office
GMH hooks - Hobby Lobby
Curtains- Shower curtain from Target
Book case already in that room when it was the office
Elephant print - a gift from a good friend after Garrett was born
Cute baby - made by a beautiful combination of Jesus, me and my husband :)

I'm sure it will continue to evolve because Lydia's is still changing and she is 2 but it's oh so fun and I am happy with how it turned out for our little mystery baby turned baby boy :)

The Truth About Our Life With 2

So the past month has been...interesting, we will go with interesting. Don't get me wrong I am head over heels in love with my little guy, he is the sweetest, squishiest, loveliest little boy in the world. Like I said I never worried that I wouldn't be able to love him as much as Lydia but I was not prepared for how to handle a 2 year old and a newborn and all that comes with it.

I want to remember this time so that if/when we decide to add to our family I will not be looking through rose colored glasses at the "seamless" "effortless" transition of growing our family because neither of those words fits the last month.

2 year olds are hard, newborns are hard (but not as hard as said 2 year old) put them together in the same house after only days of knowing the others existence in this world and you have a complete breakdown of the family dynamic, routine, and system you once knew. Lydia likes her brother, I wouldn't say loves or adores but she likes him, she thinks he's pretty cool sometimes but she didn't think mom was real cool for bringing him into this world. There was a complete break in communication between me and Lydia, she did not listen to me, she actually did the opposite of anything I asked, she ran in the other direction of me because she knew mommy's boo boo made me slow and less likely to hunt her down to change her 2lb saggy diaper butt or wipe that booger crusted toddler face.

Lydia also decided she no longer wanted to sleep in her big girl bed, we had a dream baby sleeping 4 hours for some stretches straight off the bat and here I am up for 2 hours chasing the big sister back into her bed, re-tucking, re-reading the bedtime story, crying, screaming....you get the point. So her crib slat went back up. Crisis averted for now except my ego as a mother is totally crushed, FAILURE much?? but at least we sleep when Garrett sleeps.

We now look like a three ringed circus anytime we leave the house, diaper bag packed for toddler and newborn check, massive double stroller check, wipes in said diaper bag... CRAP! yup I've gone to the park had both kids poop their pants and had 1 wipe left in the wipe case :) Not to mention anytime we go anywhere now we have to be prepared for the massive- omg- the world is ending tantrum from Lydia because she doesn't want to leave. Forget sweet hugs and kisses goodbye when it's time to go we have to already have Garrett strapped in and ready to go then put the girl over our shoulders and high tail it out of there before her scene causes stares and concern for bodily harm.

Now don't get me wrong, there are fantastic moments, the first time Lydia asked to hold Garrett I thought my heart would explode at the love I had for those two little humans that I help to create, the first time she actually introduced him to a visitor as her brother and "her Garrett" , when she asks me to go check on her Garrett or "bring my Garrett with us", those moments are priceless and make me so hopeful of what is to come. I want to enjoy my sweet boy in these newborn squishy moments because I am already all to aware of how fast he is growing but time can only help make this transition easier and maybe one day it will take reading back at this post to remember just how hard this was.

Oh and just to add to our madness I decided to try our hand at potty training :) Yes I am CRAZY but two in diapers is expensive and I would love for her to be potty trained before I go back to work, might not happen but a mom has to dream.

More on those and other adventures to come, for now I am going to try my best at loving and hoping my kids show me a little grace as I figure this whole juggling two kids thing. They sure are a blessing to my life though even in the chaos and tears.

1 Month

Here it goes my monthly letters to our little man and my attempt at documenting him through his first year. I hope I can keep up :)

Garrett,

Cliche way to start but so true, I cannot believe it has already been 1 month since we held you in our arms for the first time and I finally knew what that little bean was that had been giving me heart burn, attempting to break all my bones and keeping me up at night was. We were thrilled to hear the words "It's a Boy" and learn that Garrett Matthew would join our family.

Since that time you have been a DREAM baby! You barely fuss and when you do it's usually easy to figure out why, you are either hungry (happens often, you eat every 2-3 hours) you might have a gas bubble stuck somewhere (you are hard to burp), or you are wet but I swear that is rarely the reason you cry because you HATE having your diaper changed.

You have put up with a lot of tantrums that have been thrown by the big sister as she adjusts to this whole big sister thing, you sleep through dogs barking and vacuums running. You are starting to have longer awake periods which is fun because you are starting to take in your surroundings, noticing the fans, moving your head towards my voice (i like that one a lot) and not to mention you look like a brand new person with those beauitful eyes wide open.

You are now sleeping in your crib at night after a couple weeks of sleeping in the vibrating lamb seat by my side of the bed. I now get to rock you before bedtime in your own nursery and the other night I was thinking of all that I love about you, I couldn't finish my list before you were sound asleep and it was time for me to put you down but here are a few from that list:

- I love that I know the most about what you need and what makes you happy
- I love that you grab my necklace or the collar of my shirt when I'm rocking you or feeding you
- I love the noises you have started making when you are awake, you remind me of a little baby bird
- I love that when you are asleep you look just like your sister did when she was a baby
- I love that you follow your mama's voice if you are awake and someone else is holding you
- I love how relaxed and go with the flow you are, unless it's food time then it's all business

You weigh 10 lbs. 5 oz and are 22 in. long, do you hear that big boy, that is 2 lbs and 2 in from the time we left the hospital to now. You are a growing boy!!

I love you mister and cannot wait to see you continue to develop and grow everyday, I am so excited to watch a new little one learn something new everyday. Never forget I am your biggest cheerleader so I get really excited at all the little things.

Love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

Big sis wanted in on the action so just for fun, here is your silly big sister

Garrett's Birth Story

I didn't really think I would have much to blog about as far as how Garrett entered this world, scheduled csection, be there at 6 a.m., surgery scheduled for 8 a.m., back in recovery by 9 a.m. and family can come once we are in our post partum room. That's what we thought would happen but what actually happened looked a little different.

We called the hospital as we were instructed to at 5 a.m. to make sure they weren't backed up, I was the only scheduled csection on the books and they said we were all good to come on in at 6 a.m. so I showered, blow dryed my hair and put on make up. I was determined that this time I would look decent when my child was born.

Taken right before leaving for the hospital

We get in and registered, I make small talk with the nurse who went to my high school and challenged her to get my IV in before the 5th try (that's what it took last time) she gets it in the first time then it blows and I start breaking into a sweat, ready to pass out and she looks for another place to put my iv in (nice hair and make up didn't last). I HATE those things, I have awful veins for them, it was not easy for her to get me hooked up and going. Once we were hooked up met our new nurses I was thinking we would get to meet our baby in just a little over an hour. WRONG

There were twins that needed the room before us, I was ok with this because I found out the poor mother had been in the hospital for almost a month on bedrest. Ok please take her and get those babies out of her asap. Then we found out there was another mom who had gone all night and stopped progressing she would go before me too (weird story, my moms know the grandma of this girl, small world)

Going a little stir crazy waiting

Our 8 a.m. delivery time turned into 1:30. In that time we watched the olympics, I started having contractions and actually went into labor while waiting and became very iratable and uncomfortable plus my anxiety already through the roof kept sky rocketing the longer I waited.

I finally walked back on my own at 1:30, as soon I stepped out of my labor/delivery room towards the operating room the water works began, I was a mess. The anxiety and nerves, the fear of the spinal (which I hated by the way) and the lack of my rock (the husband) were just too much.

The surgery was much like I remember including the terrible shakes after the baby was born, probably a little easier and the joy of hearing my baby scream and seeing him for the first time was out of this world. I don't think that could ever get old.

The surgery took a bit longer as they cleaned up some of the mess from my last csection that ended horribly. In the end my mom and sister got to see me after the surgery and we stayed in my room for 2 hours until we made the way up to my much larger than last time post partum room. This was awesome because I actually enjoyed every first moment with my baby because I was not totally exhausted. I actually got to have skin on skin time with Garrett which I never did with Lydia.

We stayed in the hospital for 3 nights, Matt stayed with me and Lydia came to visit every day starting the 2nd day in the hospital. I did not want her to see me hooked up to an iv unable to really move as I regained feeling. I'm glad I did that as I was totally unhooked by the time she came. She loved the "alligators" which were the elevators and riding on my moving bed.

helping feed "my Garrett"

Baby Garrett was 8 lbs. 9 oz, 20 in. and born at 2:04 p.m. I had a feeling it was a boy, Matt thought it was a girl so for him his first words after hearing it's a big healthy baby boy was "Damnit I was wrong" :) Then he was obviously over the moon to finally put a boy in his corner at home.

happy daddy waiting to leave for home

We love you sweet baby Garrett.