Pookie 2.5

forgive me, that's the best title I could come up with instead of "Julia's 2 and a half year update". next, forgive me for writing this 11 days after her half birthday.

and yes, that's her nickname. it's short for punkin poodle pookie. she's also my honeyboo. josiah's my hunkaboo. julia tries to convince me that it's the other way around, but i won't have it!

anywho, there's been a lot of talk and updating about josiah lately but i mustn't forget my precious firstborn! so much has been going on lately in her world!

what's new:

~ her vocabulary has SOARED. we're not just talking complete sentences... she will go on and on about something and i can actually understand most of it. her grammar is fantastic (tenses, persons, etc...) and her complex thought processes simply amaze us. she is truly brilliant. it's like God took the genius of her father and yours truly, multiplied it and squeezed it into 25 lbs and 3 feet. no, not 3 feet as in 15 toes, but stature. indeed, she's almost half as tall as her daddy!

~ her intelligence is incredible. sometimes we just sit and watch her figure things out. she's even more curious than me (gasp!) which can be quite a bit of a challenge because she gets into EVERYTHING! tell her no, she moves on to something else. repeat. repeat. repeat. get frustrated. repeat. pull hair out. repeat, ad nauseam.

~ she absolutely ADORES her baby brother. gives him kisses without prompting, sings to him when he's crying (with prompting), tells me she loves him, has ceased to drag him off the boppy and the like. i can trust her to be alone in a room with him (whereas before i couldn't even go brush my teeth w/o taking one of them with me for fear he wouldn't be safe) which is great because they can now share a room.

~ so a couple weeks ago we started putting josiah in the crib at night, which is in her room. usually at least one of them wakes up in the middle of the night. but if it's just josiah, julia stays asleep because she's a heavy sleeper (once she finally surrenders her wakefulness).

~ we're still working on jumping. she tries but usually doesn't get both feet off the ground at the same time. it's fun to try though, we always end up just dancing and twirling!

~ julia LOVES to help. as in, so much that sometimes she takes over and won't even let ME help. it's so sweet though and we're trying to channel that quality in a productive way. it's a good thing to know when i need to distract her from destructive behavior, because she's so very fetching. ha! "julia sweetie, can you bring me such-and-such?"

~ sometimes when we're riding in the car or putting her to bed, she blesses people. if you're a relative or friend that she's ever met, it's likely she's said, "bless [insert your name here]" at least a hundred times! hey, your life is probably better now!

~ back to the subject of talking, she always gets compliments on how well she speaks. not because of her pronunciation though. there's still some consonants she has trouble with. like k and g. for example a dog is "dod" and a cake is "tate." it makes for quite a few humorous ones like when she's trying to say "kitty" or "kix". one of my favorites that i'm not sure how she concocted is "dibbyup" which means "giddyup." i often have to translate for her but it's fun to listen to her express what's going through her busy little mind!

~ on the subject of potty-training, we're still working on it. she can go potty, both #1 and #2. she very rarely poops in her panties which is a nice break from cleaning up so much pee. we usually keep her in panties all day even going places, and put a diaper on her at night. of course even then the bed gets wet because she's become quite the heavy wetter at night. i tried one of josiah's one size cloth diapers on her and it seemed to fix that problem so i'll probably get her a couple of pink ones and that'll be that. so, she still has accidents and it drives me crazy when she does because she knows when she's peeing and has the ability to control it, but for whatever reason doesn't tell us. we try to remind her often enough that she won't have accidents, and a lot of the time she just goes on her own! treats seem to be a good thing for her. i'm going to make a chart too, both for pottying and good behavior.

~ which brings me to: we've been having quite a few struggles, if i may understate, with julia's behavior. i won't go into the details though since i'd like this to be a mostly positive blog! it's been really exhausting, frustrating, depressing, etc. for us but we have sought counsel about it, got some really good ideas and prayer, and are working with her to improve things in that area.

~ i hate winter! it's hard enough to get outside with two kids (next to impossible really, what with julia's tendency to run off) but tack on the low temps and all-around it-takes-forever-just-to-get-out-the-door-ness, and all of a sudden you have a toddler who's bouncing off the walls just to get some natural light, fresh air and open spaces. but thankfully, i found out about a couple places that will really help out in that area. when it's not incredibly cold, i'll take her to this playground in colleyville that has a fence all the way around. one way in, one way out, and i can sit with josiah right there while she has the freedom to play in quite a large space full of climbing and such. then there's an inside "playscape" at a church in richland hills that has comfy seating for parents. cold day solution! i can bring snacks and nurse josiah while julia plays. these 2 just might be my saving grace for the next few months! i'd like to try storytime again (haven't taken her since josiah was born) because i'm sure she'll like it now that she's a little older and has a (slightly) longer attention span.

~ we're currently in a pretty good nap routine. doesn't usually happen till later in the afternoon, but i can usually count on getting her down as long as josiah is asleep or at least happy for 15-20 minutes. we sit in the rocking chair and i rock her to sleep. sometimes she wants me to sing to her, sometimes we bless people, sometimes she things we're just rocking HER baby to sleep (sneaky!) But the good thing is, she sleeps soundly for 2-3 hours and i get a break. yay! now if i could just get the two back to napping at the same time, that'd be great!

~ her hair is becoming quite adorable. she's got these sweet little curls that just capture my heart! for whatever reason, they're not always curly but oh well. i just can't believe how long is finally getting! now don't get me wrong, it's still shorter than most 2 year old girls' locks but at least i get to put it in ponytails now! granted, she usually takes them out in the car, but eventually she'll gain appreciation for my styling prowess (heh heh) and leave them alone!

~ she loves to dress herself. she loves to undress herself and run around nekkid. she loves to wear pajamas all day. she loves wearing anything princess. she loves trying to fit into josiah's clothes (and has been successful a number of times). what can i say, she's a girl!

~ she loves dancing and singing. she even makes up songs. mostly to tunes she already knows, just changing the lyrics. so cute. i love this!

~ it's hard to explain but when she "points" at something, it's not with her pointer finger. or any other single finger. it's with her whole hand, fingers pressed tightly together as in hail hitler. not that hitler's funny, but it's cute when she does it.

~ i've officially come to the conclusion that her eyes are hazel. i thought they were going to be kind of green like riley's but they're just not. it's funny though because people still think they're blue. i guess because mine are and she looks like me.

~ when she's really into telling you something her eyebrows stay raised the whole paragraph like it's so important and serious. which it is.

~ her newest obsession is betty boop. namely, a dvd with about an hour of short betty boop cartoons. she wants to watch it all.the.time. we're trying to cut back on her tv/movie watching but this is definitely one of her favorites. followed closely by horton hears a who, kung fu panda, stuart little, wall-e, strawberry shortcake, and finding nemo (my favorite). i asked her one time, "do you like betty boop?" to which she responded after i long pause, "i LOVE betty boop! i LOVE betty boop!"

~ she can draw circles! it usually starts out as a little straight line, and then she goes round and round and round. my little artist! ooh which reminds me, the other day she was given some playdoh and we were making different shapes with it together. then after playing with it by herself for a few minutes, she brings this to me and tells me it's an elephant. just so we're clear, she did this completely by herself. try and convince me that it was an accident and she's not a genius!



~ getting her art out of the furniture is still on my to-do list. =)

this pic is from a month ago (i'd put a newer one but we're having camera issues) but here you go!



ok i take that back here's a pic from yesterday (pardon the puffy eyes, she just woke up from a nap. yes, in a shopping cart. she fell asleep in the car and we weren't about to go home after driving all the way to a far away mall and having nothing to show for it. note to self: always bring the stroller!)

Why Santa doesn't come to our house

It's that time of year again. Santa Claus, presents, snow, red and green decorations, food, baby Jesus... I love Christmas, it's probably the only thing that I look forward to about the winter (besides my birthday)!

This time of year is when Julia gets asked, "What do you want Santa to bring you?" "Did you get to sit on Santa's lap?" etc. I try to be as gracious as possible and just respond, "We don't do Santa."

Some people understand why, but those of you who don't, read on.

First of all, let me begin by telling you why I didn't have Santa growing up: My dad tells the story of one Christmas Eve when my oldest brother, Shane, had a present under the tree for a friend of his. My dad told him they needed to take it over to this friend's house to give it to him. Shane responded, "It's ok, Dad, Santa will take it over there." It was then that he realized that Shane was believing a lie, really and truly trusting in Santa to take that little boy his gift. He didn't want it to be that way, so he decided from then on, he wasn't going to teach the rest of us to believe in Santa.

At my mom's house, I would pretend to believe in Santa because my stepsisters did, but I always knew who really put the presents under the tree. It was still fun, and I actually got to be thankful to people that really existed.

A couple of cool traditions that we had growing up were, we watched It's a Wonderful Life (my favorite Christmas movie to this day!) and each got to choose one present to open on Christmas Eve. We had others but those were probably the most memorable!

Not once have I ever wished that my dad had taught me about Santa. I don't feel like I was deprived, and I'm glad that he chose to be honest with me.

I want that kind of relationship with my children. I want them to trust me, and know that when I tell them something, it's the truth. If I tell them there's an Easter bunny, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy, only to tell them it was all a lie, who's to say they won't think one day, "Jesus probably isn't real either."

Yes, my kids will still get presents. Yes, we will decorate our home and celebrate with family and friends. Yes, we will play in the snow. Yes, we will remember the birth of our Savior. Yes, we will make new traditions and do fun things that the kids will remember for years to come. No, they won't be missing out. "All good things come from above!"

4 months!

Can I just say that I was NOT ready for Josiah to be this old yet? I mean, I know he is still a wee babe, but still. He is growing way too fast for my liking. He'll be a grown man before I know it...GAH!

Here's how he sized up at his 4 month checkup last week:

15lbs 4oz, just above 50th %ile

27.75", off the charts! that's like how long the average 7-8 mo old baby is. His daddy is 6'4" so why I was shocked is beyond me.

I later realized when looking at the side of his carseat that another inch and a half (3 weeks at this pace!) and he'll be too big for it. Great. He can't even roll over or sit up yet and we're gonna have to move him to a toddler seat.

So, no rolling over yet but he's doing really well in the bumbo and can even turn around to the other side when sitting in the exersaucer. And we just started putting him in that a few days ago!

Anytime i put him in the swing or his carseat he leans forward. I guess he's tired of taking these kinds of things laying down.

He had his first (and hopefully last!) illness, the weekend before last. Fever, diarrhea, fussiness and antibiotics for a few days. All better now!

Everybody always says how he's such a good baby. Not that I've ever heard a baby be referred to as bad... he just has a really peaceful temperament, and I love that. He doesn't laugh as much as Julia did at this age, but when he does we really enjoy it. Sometimes he giggles out of nowhere, other times when we tickle his ribs or give him raspberries ("boops" according to Julia because, well, that's what they sound like).

I love his smile. It's almost always completely wide-mouthed and kind of uneven. So cute!

He's still, yes still, in our room. I've been putting him down in the crib for morning naps. Eventually we'll get around to putting the monitor up in Julia's room and then we'll probably move him to the crib for beditme as well. He almost always sleeps through the night, so that's WAY awesome!

I never thought he'd go this long without a bottle. Seriously, he has yet to drink from anything other than my boobs. Not that he won't, we just haven't tried yet. The whopping 5 ounces of milk I pumped back in September are about to expire, so I guess we'll be giving it a whirl pretty soon. Hopefully he'll take the bottle well. We want to be able to leave him for more than 2 hours before he's weaned! I do get breaks from him to go run errands and such, and he usually takes a long nap in the afternoon along with his big sister, so i'm no longer the 24/7 snack bar i once was.

I really can't think of what to get him for Christmas, since we already have plenty of toys. But, the good thing is, the kids probably won't remember this Christmas as being the one where Julia totally got way more than Josiah. She's so easy to buy for. I'll probably just get Josiah a cute new fleece outfit or something, unless I think of something else too.

Ok, I need a nap. 3 hours last night just isn't cutting it.

Still trying to recover the photos that were on my camera so here's the most recent one that's made it safely to my computer: (8 days shy of 4 mos)

the things i talk about most...

...according to wordle.net:



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it's fun-- you just type in a bunch of text or thelink to your blog or whatever, and it creates a "wordle"!

Three months!

Oh, my little hunka-hunka-burnin-allthingssweet... you're 3 months old today! Ok, so it was Saturday, I'm a little behind! No, I don't mean I'm a little bum-bum.

Well here's the skinny: Josiah is NOT skinny. Not that he's a butterball, he's just SOLID. His waist is so thick. It's insane. He's not incredibly long, so by the time I find a pair of pants that won't squeeze the life out of his massive midsection, they're way too long. It's the complete opposite problem that we have with his sister. Therefore, I have just this instant come up with a solution: I will take the length off of his pants and add them to hers. As soon as I learn to sew, or he starts wearing pink and purple, whichever comes first (i.e, not anytime soon!)

~He almost rolled over the other day! Actually, it just looked like he was going to, because his chest was propped up on a little tummy-time-mat pillow and he was pushing way up just on one side. My jaw dropped and I went for the camera and by that time he was too worn out to go that high again. Oh well, no rush! He is doing really well in that department though. Have you seen him with his shirt off? Man alive, that boy has some muscles!

~The ever-wet-shoulder syndrome has returned to me since its departure sometime during Julia's second six months. Yes, he's a happy spitter. Which makes me continually thankful for the oh-so-cute burpies that Liz made me. w00t!

~I need to go get him weighed. He doesn't have a checkup between 2 and 4 months so I totally planned on heading up to the breastfeeding center down the street (ok, down 4 streets) Friday or Saturday to size him up. But, I forgot so maybe I'll do it today. When I weigh myself, then again holding him, it shows a difference of 16 lbs but our scale is kind of unreliable so I'm not sure that's accurate. If so, that's insane. Aren't most 3 month olds like 12-13 lbs?!
--UPDATE: went to get him weighed, and he's 14lbs11oz--

~If he is indeed 16 lbs, technically we need to figure out a new sleeping arrangement. See, he sleeps in the bassinet attachment to our pack-n-play, which states a 15 lb limit. I know it's probably not really dangerous for a few more pounds, because they want to err on the safe side, but still. We really need to figure out something soon. Riley doesn't want to bring the crib into our room, because of the message that would send to Julia, which I have to agree with. So, I've been trying to put him down for naps every once in a while in the crib (in her room) to kind of get used to it. We will eventually need to just step out on a limb and put him in there with her. I won't lie-- I'm afraid she'll climb up in there and hurt him. I'm also afraid they will wake each other up. But eventually it's gotta be done. Just like potty training. But that's another story.

~I'm trying really hard to settle the kids into some sort of a routine. Not a rigid schedule, but just some kind of structured day where they know what to expect and can be a little more at peace with life. As any mother (especially of more than one child) knows, THIS IS HARD. Somebody constantly needs something, and every once in a while, you need to visit the potty, take a shower, brush your teeth, eat. Don't even get me started about how long it takes just to get out the door and why.

~Where was I? Ah yes, updates on Josiah's 3-month-ness. Ok, so he laughed for the first time Saturday. Which officially makes him meet the milestones like clockwork. Smiled at 6 weeks, slept through the night at 2 months, laughed at 3. It was so cute. I had just taken off his clothes and just got this urge to give him some raspberries on his tummy and neck. Well, he liked it! Of course by the time daddycameraman came in the room, it was all over. He was not going to perform. But hey, this is only the beginning of my favorite sound in the world: baby giggles!

~Josiah likes, nay, loves and requires, being held. I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own, which he sometimes can, but, when his belly's full and he's tired, here's what does the trick: holding him chest to chest, bouncing him up and down while patting his back. The other night it took about 15 seconds. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes. I don't mind doing it, because at least I know what works besides the boob, but I don't want him to get so used to it that it HAS to be done that way every time.

~One month since starting cloth diapers and it's going great! He actually sleeps better when he's wearing cloth instead of Pampers. Tested and proved. I'm so glad I made the switch.

~He's so past the "i'll just sleep whenever and wherever i feel like it" stage. Which is why i'm trying to help him take regular naps. But anyway, yeah, he's alert a lot more during the day than even just a few weeks ago. Which means we get to talk and laugh and tickle and all that fun baby stuff. Julia likes to join in on the fun, which I love!

~We put him in the Bumbo for the first time on Saturday. It went well, but pretty unremarkable.

~I love his ears. I don't know what it is about them, I just want to nibble on them! mmm.

~I can't remember if this is news since the 2 month update, but he's officially a tummy sleeper. Yes, I know, now the drs say to put them on their backs to prevent sids, etc. but hey. This kid can turn his head around and push up a good distance from the bed so, it's safe. And a lot better than laying on his back uncomfortable. We of course started him out on his back but after a few times of discovering being on his tummy was the only way he'd sleep happy, we knew.

~We borrowed a swing from a friend of a friend and he really likes it! He just watches the lights & music mobile thingy above and sits there pretty content. Sometimes even falls asleep =)

~Yes, I realize that there are way too many hyphenated phrases throughout this entire post.

Ok I think munchkin #1 is awake so I better wrap this up. Here are the latest pics of my squeezy little chunky monkey:

So long Pampers, Hello Cloth!

Well, I did it. I became a cloth diapering mom. Thanks to my friend Angie whose status a few weeks ago read, "I love cloth diapering... so wonderful not to have to go spend $30+ on diapers for the month. Just need to pull em out of the dryer!! :)"

It piqued my curiosity and I got sucked in! Not that it took a big fight; I'm easily swayed towards anything that saves us money. It's just my way of pitching in! Ok, maybe it's a subconscious fear of my husband sending me back to work for my old boss. Just kidding, he loves me way too much to do such a tortuous thing!

Anyway, let me start by saying that when I was pregnant with Julia, we planned on doing cloth diapers because it seemed the way to go as far as saving money. I knew nothing about it besides what I remember my mom doing with my younger siblings. I envisioned having to handwash them myself, which was disgusting, and that got us looking into diaper services. Well, at least around these parts, they don't realy exist anymore, and if you do find one, it's not much cheaper than disposables. Some well-meaning family members ended up talking us out of it, and supplied us with several months worth of Pampers, which we felt was a huge blessing! So, we never looked back.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I read that post and started wanting to know more. I really didn't think I would change my mind that easily. But, the more I researched and got my questions answered, the more I realized that it's not at all what people think. Actually, it was a no-brainer.

Disposable diapers for one child, from birth to potty training, cost an average of $3000. Cloth diapering, on the other hand, can cost as little as $300, and the diapers can be reused for additional children.

Cloth diapers are nothing like what they used to be when our parents and grandparents used them. Just take a look at some pictures online and you'll see that they really have come a long way. In fact, they are SO much cuter that it's actually FUN. AND, some of them are adjustable/one-size so you don't have to keep buying all new ones as your baby grows. They are much more absorbent than they used to be, and way better for the environment. Now I'm no green freak, but it's pretty staggering to think about all the landfills that disposables are filling up because it takes then 500 years to break down.

"But what about washing poopy diapers?" I think that's what turns most people off. Well, so far I haven't had to touch any poop yet, and I'm no expert. In fact, it seems like I'm actually touching LESS poop because it stays in the diaper instead of on Josiah's bum. And because he's not eating solids yet, it can go straight in the wash without doing any harm to the diaper or the washing machine. When his poo starts getting harder, the only extra step is dumping it in the toilet first. Big deal, I'm already doing that with Julia's panties when she has an accident.

"What about all the extra laundry?" I already do 4 loads of laundry a week, so why not just make it one a day? I won't go into details, but diaper laundry is so much easier than any other load. If you do the math, that saves about $70/hr to do cloth instead of disposables. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty penny.

Just like any other time I find out about a great money-saving strategy, I always wish I'd known about it sooner. Well, that's definitely the case here. I wish I would've learned the truth about modern cloth diapering 3 years ago and done it with Julia. Would've saved us a chunk of change!

Don't get me wrong, I still have some Pampers to use on occasion. But for the most part, I've made the switch and am SO glad. It feels really good to know that I'm doing something positive for the environment, plus it probably feels a LOT softer on Josiah's skin!

I do realize that I have just become part of a minority group. I don't have a single friend around here that does cloth. But, I do have a couple in other states/cities, and there are plenty of online mommy communities that have been helpful. I had no idea how many options there were out there for doing cloth. It was pretty overwhelming until I decided to just jump in and try it out!

I'm not saying it's for everybody, but it's definitely worth looking into if you have a child that isn't potty trained yet!

Ok, so here's a couple pix of my little prince in his new duds:





Questions, comments, cheapshots? ;)

TWO months!

to say that the past 9 weeks have FLOWN by would be an understatement! i almost cried the other day when i saw a 5 month old bouncing baby boy and thought, wow, josiah's gonna be that big, like, tomorrow! it's so different this time around. i always wanted julia to get to the next age, and now i just wish josiah would stay little forever! not that i don't look forward to the next age with him (after all, he just keeps getting cuter every DAY!), but i savor each moment more.

ANYhow, on to the update:

* he's smiling now! sometimes i have to really work for it, but it's so worth it. his smile is so big-mouthed and cheesy! love love love it.

* i kept thinking he wouldn't sleep through the night until much later, because he wasn't really slowing down with the night feedings. but, last night he slept till 5am! yay! let's hope for more of that. =)

* from 2 to 6 weeks, he gained 4 lbs. seriously yall, that's double the norm. he's finally slowed down (a little) but he's still in the 75th percentile for his height and weight. who would've thought i'd have a skinny little girl and a hoss little boy?! (um, have you seen their parents?!) ok so at his 2mo checkup yesterday (which he passed with flying colors!) he was 12lbs11oz (one more pound and he'll be double his birth weight... crazy!) and 23.75 inches. yah, he's grown almost 5 inches since birth. no wonder he's outgrown everything!

*he still grunts. a lot. i try to just let him squeeze it out but sometimes he gets so fussy i have to help him out a little (holding him upright works well, sometimes i just have to nurse him again, which may be why he's gaining so quickly).

*still doesn't have much hair... i wonder if he'll be bald till he's 2, like julia. guess we'll see!

*his eyes are still blue... i wonder if they'll turn green/hazel like julia's (and riley's) or stay blue like mine. that would be cool, because every other part of him looks just like his daddy!

*he's holding his head up really well. doesn't really hold it straight but i can hold him on my lap like sitting up facing me, and he can look at me without his head flopping down or back.

*he's "talking"... usually when i'm cooing at him or trying to get him to smile, he'll coo back. it's really cute. i don't get enough of that!

*still haven't given him pumped milk in a bottle yet. trying to build up a stockpile of that so i can leave him longer than 2 hours!

*he almost always takes a good nap when julia does, so that's nice, and makes up for the fact that i don't get a full night's sleep.

*i just started cloth diapering him on wednesday, but i'll probably write another blog entirely about that instead of going into detail here! it's going great though.

*his eyelashes are getting prettier! when he was first born they were really short and blond, but they've been gradually getting darker and thicker. julia's did this too (maybe every baby does) and hers are gorgeous now so i'm sure his will be too!

*he looks like a boxer. like his waist is really thick and he's got these big punching hands. it's awfully cute.

well i can't think of anything else for now so i'll just leave you with a recent pic of my handsome little man and his adorable big sister!

My knight in shining armor!

Can I just say that I have THE most WONDERFUL husband in the WORLD?!

Thursday night was rough. Like, I don't think I really slept at all. I'm sure I laid my head back on the pillow as I nursed Josiah, but seriously... every time I put him down, he started crying again. He wanted to eat. all. night.

This was after having a headache all day Thursday so I really needed the sleep. But, no.

So of course Friday morning I was a zombie and absolutely nothing got done around the house, besides trying to keep Julia from cracking eggs on the floor, opening 10 cups of yogurt, pouring salt all over the stove, dropping Josiah on the floor, you know, everyday stuff.

Well after lunch we ventured out to Wal-Mart (which I rarely go to anymore) because Julia needed more diapers. I swear, every time I buy a box, I think, hopefully this will be the last box. Guess the potty training has taken a little detour lately.

Anyway, it was horrible as I expected, but necessary. We got home and as I was pulling Josiah out of the car, I noticed a white Malibu in the parking lot. Well, that's what Riley drives. I checked the license plate, and it was his. Did he not take his car to work today? Duh, of course he did. I checked my phone because I figured he would've called if he was coming home early. Sure enough, he had and I just didn't hear it.

YAY! I was so excited that he was home early. Especially because I'd had such a rotten night and morning.

When I came inside he was washing the dishes that had stacked up the day before and I just didn't feel like doing, and lo and behold was a wonderful surprise!

Beautiful sunflowers and a super sweet card. It was EXACTLY what I needed... he is always there to lift me up at just the right time! (I was reminded of the day I had a horrible wal-mart trip with a killer headache...hmmm, is there a theme here?... and when i got home, he was there! turned out i had meningitis!)

Anyway, I am so grateful and thank God for giving me such a loving, sweet, strong, gentle, smart, generous, fun, dorky, helpful hubby. I love you Riley...you are AWESOME!

Dollar movie adventure!

So, last night after dinner Riley suggested taking the kids to go see UP. I figured hey, it might be a special treat for Julia and we could at least see how she does at the theater. A little worried about how she would behave, but we'd eventually have to give it a try anyway!

It took forever to get Julia ready to go, I don't think she realized what we were doing or she might've been more excited and got those pants and shoes on in a jiffy!

Well, somehow we got there in time and $3.50 later we were in our seats ready for the show! I just held Josiah in my arms and they had cool booster seats with cupholders so we got one of those for Julia. She settled in pretty nicely after a trip to the potty (although she didn't actually pee and i didn't bring a clean diaper to the restroom so she was stuck in a really wet one).

Josiah was happy the whole time of course. Julia got a little antsy and went back and forth between Riley and me. I can't speak for the other people there, but I don't think she was too disruptive. Of course, it's a kid movie, and it's only $1.75 so I wouldn't feel THAT bad even if she had been a little terror. I'm glad we brought her sippy cup, snacks and blanket. I think that helped her enjoy it more!

Not sure if she actually paid much attention, half the time she was bouncing back and forth between Riley and me, half the time walking back and forth through our aisle (that we had all to ourselves), asking for more lemonade, etc.

Eventually she fell asleep in my lap, but was uncomfortable and started crying so Riley and I made the final switch for the rest of the movie and she slept on his chest. So sweet!

Well I'm not going to review the movie here but it was good!

After it was over, we realized we needed to figure out how to get Julia's diaper changed so we wouldn't have to do it at home and risk waking her up. It's been a real challenge getting her to sleep lately so we wanted to protect that at all cost!

We ended up laying her down across the blankets-covered-booster and Riley changed it there while I held Josiah. What a sight. Good thing the theater was empty by then! (except for the cleaning boy) I'm glad we're such a good team! If it had just been one of us, it would've been so frustrating and impossibly difficult!

Well the jeans she had on were really too small so I told Riley to look in Josiah's bag for some extra pants since i hadn't packed Julia an extra outfit. They were newborn sized and probably would've fit since she's so tiny, but Josiah had 3mo shorts on and i thought those would fit her better. so we took his shorts off, put them on Julia, and put the extra pants on Josiah. What an ordeal! She stayed asleep the whole time. Even getting in and out of the car, and into bed, all night! It was work but it was fun and a great adventure... just like Mr. Frederickson in the movie!

The whole experience was definitely positive. I think it's safe to say we can take Julia to the movies if it's a kid one, especially if it's the dollar theater!

5 weeks!

i failed to do regular updates with julia but i would really like to do one every month with josiah! so, since i didn't get to do it monday when he was one month, i'm doing it today. anyway...my little man is 5 weeks today!

he opens his eyes a lot more now, which is nice. although it seems like whenever he's awake, he's hungry. the boy can EAT! let me tell you. he gained 2 lbs in 2 weeks. most newborns do that in a month. he's probably close to 10 lbs by now. and those of you that have seen julia know that this is very foreign to me! of course i should have expected it, because i committed myself to beefing him up and nursing him as often as he wanted instead of trying to stick him to a schedule. looks like it's working!

i keep waiting for the first real smile, should be coming soon. you know, the one that healthcare professionals don't just chalk up to gas. if i remember correctly, this usually happens around 6 weeks. i think julia's was at 7.

he's still sleeping in the pack-n-play (bassinet attachment) next to my side of the bed. of course i'm using the word sleeping very loosely. sometimes i put him down after a feeding and it seems like 5 minutes later (although it's probably actually an hour or more) he's hungry again. the best night i've had so far (actually this happened twice) is only having to wake up to feed him twice. i can totally live with that. but yes i'm looking forward to more than 3 hours of continual sleep! someday.

getting out and about with both kids has been getting easier. i've started braving the grocery store, which is still challenging so i try to leave the kids with riley when possible. it's nice to get away for a little bit, even if it's just to buy food.

josiah finally got to meet his cousin simeon yesterday! they are only 3 days apart which i think is so cool. i hope they get to be good friends!



ok, so josiah spends most of his day lounging in the boppy. that is, when i'm not changing his diaper or feeding him, with the boppy. i quickly discovered that he is more comfortable there than in the bouncy seat. maybe it's because he knows that underneath the blue blanket, the seat is in reality, pink.

he's managed to survive many big sister attacks, which we're still working on putting an end to! alas, he's sure to be much more tolerant than she is. because, well, he has to. it's not that she doesn't like him, she just tries to pick him up and occasionally thinks it's funny to hit him. i watch the way she carries around her dolls and stuffed animals and just thank God that they're not josiah!

so, before josiah was born, i bought 3 boxes of newborn diapers with a gift card from riley's generous coworkers. that's 252 diapers, which i figured he was sure to go through before getting to the 10 pound limit. well, i guess he's just shaped differently because he outgrew those pretty quickly, before he was even 9 lbs. i ended up taking 2 boxes back and exchanging them for size 2s. Then i started buying size 1s at the hospital because they are stupid cheap. $2.95 for a pack of 20. YEAH!

let's see, so i've covered eating, sleeping, and pooping so i guess that's about it for now!

The kid's got talent!

Here are a few highlights of the recent acceleration of my baby girl's grown-up-ness:

1- ok, so this is bad news turned good: she broke the cd-rom in our computer. which of course is expensive and we were really bummed! when riley got time to see if he could fix it, turns out the piece that made it fixable was one of her little hairbands. i don't know the details of why that worked, but it did. crazy!

2- yesterday julia broke some chips up while sitting in her highchair and threw/dropped them on the floor. so after she got down and told her she needed to clean them up. well i didn't expect a great result, but still. she needs to know the principle. the broom and dustpan happened to be sitting on the floor close by and before i knew it, the chips were in the trashcan. yes, ladies and gentlemen, my 2-YEAR-OLD swept the floor! there were still a few crumbs but i think it's aMAzing that she was able to get the big pieces into the dustpan with the broom (not one of those little ones, a tall one that requires some height and balance) and make it to the trashcan w/o spilling them all over the floor again. i was so impressed i just glowed and told her how proud of her i was and gave her a treat! maybe i can get her to scrub the bathtub next!

3- i got a box of pizza rolls today for free (because i and the grocery game (plug) are awesome! anyway, so when i was helping julia into her highchair, not that she needs assistance, she's the best climber i know!...she started calling them pizza pillows. at first i didn't get it, but then i realized she is a genius! i had called them pizza rolls several times before that (although this is the first time i've bought them in years) but hey, they really do look like pillows! how smart is she?!

4- this morning, before we left to run errands, i told julia she needed to get dressed... diaper, pants, shirt, shoes. well i'm sitting there nursing josiah, expecting to have to help julia after i'm done. nope. a few minutes later, she comes out dressed in a matching outfit! yes, the shirt and shoes were on backwards but still. i was impressed!

she is growing up so fast! i knew it would feel like this once i had a newborn, but it's even moreso than i expected. julia is so smart and funny! i love watching her discover and learn new things. being a mom is the bestest!

Looking for a new place to live?

Come check out our new home!

Oak Creek Apartments are located just south of 183 off Forest Ridge. Our neighborhood is really quiet and we love living here!

The rent is GREAT, especially for Bedford! Current prices are:

$525 for 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 790 square feet.
$692 for 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 995 square feet.
$735 for 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1098 square feet.

They will also take $300 off your first month’s rent and half off the security deposit if you look and lease the same day.

All units have walk-in closets. One of our favorite things about our new apartment is all the storage space! Our bedroom closets are HUGE, plus there is a coat closet, linen closet, outside (private) patio storage, and tons of kitchen cabinet space. There are washer/dryer connections, but if you don't own those there is a laundry room on the property.

Most units have a fireplace and the second floor has vaulted ceilings. The crime rate is really low in this part of town, so that’s one less thing to worry about in your search! Each unit is assigned one covered parking space at no extra charge.

Oak Creek is pet-friendly and also has a playground for kids. There are four pools and a 24 hour fitness center.

THE BEST PART is if you put our names (Riley and Joanna Moore) on the application in the “who referred you” line and sign a lease, the following month our rent will be discounted, and at that time we will give you $150!

That is more than you can get from any apartment locator and you won’t have to wait three months for it!

Oak Creek Apartments
1800 Oak Creek Lane
Bedford, Texas 76022
817-283-5901

Oh Sleep, Oh Sleep, Where art thou?

Well, it's not as bad as it seemed with Julia, but REALLY... when am I supposed to get some rest already?

It was so nice to have my mom here, Riley off work, my niece here for a few days... and then something called reality happened. I'm all alone with the kids now, at least for 10 hours a day.

Not that I don't LOVE being a stay-at-home-mom, because I really do. I've looked forward to this "career" all my life.

But it's days like these that I just want to pull my hair out, crawl up in a hole and wake up to a clean house and happy children.

Here's what I mean: Julia hasn't been napping well since Josiah was born. I didn't realize at first that the two events coincided, but now it makes sense. This is a big change for everybody, including Big Sister. I'm not sure what it is about the new baby that makes her not want to take a nap, but she just outright will not go to sleep during the day. Which means I don't get a break, and Julia doesn't get the rest she needs. Many times she has fallen asleep in her high chair during a late afternoon snack. Which totally throws things off for a couple days. AGH!

I absolutely don't mind waking up to feed Josiah every couple hours at night, but it seems like most of the time, he eats (er, drinks) a full meal, is fast asleep, but then not five minutes after laying him down (in the pack-n-play next to our bed) he is fussing again for the boob. Which of course leads to bringing him into bed with me and nursing him there throughout most of the rest of the night. No biggie, I know how to co-sleep safely, and we all get our needs met, but I really do want him to sleep in his own bed. Hopefully it will happen in its own time. I know that he's still a newborn who's got his days and nights mixed up, so I'm not so discouraged about his patterns as I am my two-year-old darling.

She is so precious and funny and cute and sweet and smart. And defiant, and strong-willed, and fearless, and independent, and curious. So besides the challenges I had to deal with prior to birthing another child, now I have to go without sleep. Not because I have a newborn who eats ALL THE TIME. Because I can't "sleep when the baby sleeps." Seriously, I didn't know how important that was until those days were gone from possibility.

Oh, the joys of parenting.

Labor and Delivery, Josiah

It should go without saying that a labor and delivery blog will be graphic. So there, you're warned!

Let me start with the fact that I didn't think I'd make it to my due date (August 10) before Josiah was born. Julia was 16 days early, and my doctor said I was likely to follow the same trend. Although, it was hard for me to decide what I thought would happen, since I had previously convinced myself that the reason Julia was early was that my last doctor had stripped my cervix. When I found out that she in fact did NOT do that, I was sure Josiah would be early.

Most of the pregnancy everybody kept telling me how tiny I was, but then I dropped pretty early and everybody thought I was about to pop from like a month before I was due!

I guess I'll review here some highlights of this pregnancy:

-found out the same day Julia got her tongue clipped, she was barely 18 months old. I had planned a long time before that how I would tell Riley the next time I got pregnant. Well, I didn't do it exactly like I planned but came pretty close. Almost immediately after we got home from the surgery (just me and Julia, since Riley had to go to work) I took the test and of course it came back positive! I didn't even have to wait the three minutes. By the time I was all zipped up and flushed, the second line was there... I was so excited! So I took this picture and emailed it to Riley:


... Pretty clever, huh? Riley replied on im, "are you pregnant?...holy crap!"

-so the next couple months were a miserable concoction of fatigue and nausea, although I was spared the vomiting that most women have to suffer with.

-just when I thought things were going to get better, you know, since the 2nd trimester is supposed to be wonderful, I started experiencing 3rd trimester symptoms. no fair! my doctor said that was normal with subsequent pregnancies since your body already knows what's coming. so, i was NOT enjoying pregnancy like I thought I should be. my friend caelene loaned me a book called supernatural childbirth. i won't go into the whole thing, but what i learned was that pregnancy doesn't have to be miserable, children are a blessing and God doesn't give a curse with a blessing. I started to see things differently and although the next few months wouldn't be perfect, i began to have a little more faith that i could enjoy this pregnancy and not have to be miserable. well, wouldn't you know, i started to feel better. my back stopped hurting so much, i had more energy, and just an allover better feeling about things.

-finding out that it was a boy was SO great. i longed for a son since before julia was a year old. not that i wanted to get pregnant right then, but i really hoped the next baby would be a boy. and BOY, there was no doubt! here's the sono picture at 19 weeks:


-i never got to the super uncomfortable "get this baby out of me now!" point with julia, but with josiah it was different. we got all moved into our new apartment and i was starting to get uncomfortable, so i was pretty ready for him to come early, even though my due date was still 3 weeks away. i decided he should be born on july 31, since riley would have a week off of work, he would actually have 9 days off since it was a friday. plus it was my grandma julia's bday. that would be cool. and we had stuff going on the weekend before that.

-with the nesting instinct kicking in and contractions galore, it seemed like every night Riley was convinced that we'd be having a baby the next day! i just kept saying, no... not yet.

-ok, i'm finally getting to the day of...!

we went in on friday, july 24, for my 1:30 weekly checkup. hearbeat, great. blood pressure, great. urine, great. weight gain, great. but then she measured my tummy (from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone is supposed to be approximately as many centimeters as you are weeks pregnant). well i was over 37w4d and only measuring 33 cm so she decided to do a sonogram to make sure josiah was growing okay.

he was measuring fine (estimated 6lbs1oz, give or take a pound) but then she started looking for amniotic fluid. anthing below 10 (not sure what that number represents, i think 100cc) is low, and anything below 5 is really dangerous. well, she could only find one pocket that measured 3. yikes!

what does that mean? we asked. well, when there's not enough amniotic fluid, there's no cushion for the umbilical cord, he could smash it and it would cut off his oxygen supply. she said we had a couple options. one, induce labor and have the baby that day. or, get admitted to the hospital for iv hydration to beef up the amniotic fluid, then go home, be on bedrest, have to come back for more iv fluids because it wouldn't stay up, etc. she recommended getting induced, and since i was full term and didn't want to be on bedrest, we decided to go ahead with the induction. "we're having a baby tonight!"

so, josiah was coming early, as previously thought, just not the way we imagined. we went home, finished packing the hospital bag, called a friend to pick up julia (good thing we had JUST asked her the night before if she could do that whenever he was born!) and went back up there. the whole time calling and texting people with the news. good thing we upped the minutes on our cell plan, because we still went over!

we left the office around 230, got back up to the hospital around 330. i was supposed to have a maternity portrait session at our apartment at 300, so that was a bummer! we had 2 parties to go to that night, a party the next day, and i was supposed to teach the toddler class that sunday! hence the reason i wanted him to wait until the following friday! well libby ended up coming to the hospital to take final pix of my big belly, which are turning out quite well with a little photoshop-ing the hospital-ness out! (will post those another time, along with his newborn pix)

checking in, paperwork, changing into the gown, getting hooked up to the monitor, yada yada, they finally started the pitocin at 430. i was only dilated 1cm, so it was looking like it'd be after midnight. my doctor wasn't going to be on call after that, so i was really hoping for a miracle! my doctor with julia wasn't able to be there so i really wanted this time to be different! plus i really like this doctor. we were thinking 1-4am, since typically with an induction you dilate 1cm per hour.

so we're just sitting there, no contractions, texting, calling and facebooking everybody that i was in labor. fun! the adrenaline was definitely pumping! the nurse asked me if i was planning on an epidural, to which i replied, "if it starts hurting, yeah!" see, last time i wanted to do without, so i waited until i was absolutely miserable in excruciating pain, to give in and take the epidural. well, by the time it finally kicked in i was complete, so i swore to myself that next time, i would get it right away instead of suffering through more than i had to.

it took a couple hours for the contractions to start, so around 630 i asked for the epidural. i had just gotten my blood drawn so she said i had to wait about an hour for the results to come back. well, i figured i could deal with another hour since they weren't too bad. i found that sitting up when one came on helped a little bit.

the results came back and the nurse said she'd go ahead and get the anesthesiologist to come do the epidural. she said he was her favorite. yay! he was really funny and did a great job. i'm not sure why people are so afraid of getting that needle in their back (talking pain here, not possible side effects), after all, it's so much less painful than contractions! anyway, by the time i actually got it in, it was 830.

the nurse checked me again and i was a whopping 3cm dilated... geez! 2 whole centimeters in 4 hours. the chances of delivering before midnight were looking really slim! i actually started worrying that they'd end up having to do a c-section for failing to progress. but i tried to be hopeful!

i started to feel relief pretty quickly, in fact, my right leg was REALLY numb. i knew it was going to be a much better experience this time! riley decided to take a shower since it was obviously going to be a while. about an hour later the nurse came in to check on me and i was starting to feel pain again. i told her i could feel the contractions again, so was the epidural wearing off or were they just getting a lot stronger? she said she'd check to see if i'd dilated.

well, she puts her fingers in and says, "um, that's a head... you're complete!" it was 9:52. 4 hours to dilate 2cm and 1:16 to dilate 7. crazy! i couldn't believe it.

but of course my immediate thought was yay! my dr gets to deliver me! they called her up and she got there pretty quickly. i kept feeling a lot of pressure down there, and since i knew i was complete, i was afraid the head was like, right there and he was just going to slide out! he didn't.

my doctor got there, the nurses had everything ready, we waited for the next contraction, pushed and the head started to come out! i looked down and could see an inch of wrinkly mush. that's the head?! it was so weird. i even got to touch it! another push, and more head came out. one last push and he was here at 10:14pm! piece o' cake =)

seriously, it couldn't have gone better. we (along with lots of family and friends) were praying for a smooth delivery but i never imagined it would be that easy. don't get me wrong, the oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) was quite a scare and the pregnancy had it's share of less-than-fun times, but i really couldn't have asked for an easier experience when it came to labor and delivery.

riley cut the cord and they immediately put him in my arms. gooey and everything. my son! i was so excited. i just kept looking at him and a flood of emotions ran through me. i kept thinking, why am i not crying? and then i finally did. the minutes after that are kind of a blur, but basically they wiped him off and gave him back to me to breastfeed, which he did pretty well if i remember correctly. riley held him, then soon after my mom got there (had to drive from abilene). i was a happy camper!

let me tell you, i love harris heb. it is so mom-and-baby-friendly and the whole time there was wonderful. i had great nurses, and they never took josiah out of my room. they did EVERYTHING in there where i could see. they let both my mom and riley stay both nights, and they encourage a nap time from 1-4 where visitors are discouraged so mom can nap with baby. they don't even send any nurses or paperwork people in there during that time. it's fabulous!

i've recovered pretty quickly, aside from a little bit of pain here and there, but nothing major. josiah is a great eater, a great burper, and so peaceful. and don't just say it's because he's a newborn and sleeps all the time. he just seems a lot more laid back than julia was/is. which is what i was really hoping for!

he's already back up past his birth weight (6lbs 14oz) and is pooping and peeing more than enough. julia is a great big sister-- we have to remind her to be gentle, and remember to give her lots of attention, but she likes him!

this is my first day alone with both of them, and it's going good so far! riley was home the whole first week, and my mom was here till the 30th, and my niece was here this week until yesterday afternoon. so i've had lots of help! i've been trying to take naps when julia does, since i'm up throughout the night with josiah. it's hard though, because i'm used to using that time to get stuff done. guess i've gotta rearrange my life a bit! i love my hubby and babies and am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives as a family of four!

we've also had family and friends bringing us dinner almost every night, which has been SUCH a blessing! i kind of feel spoiled. but i'll enjoy it while it lasts! maybe after it ends i'll actually feel like cooking again. =)

i LOVE watching riley with josiah. i can see the desire there for relationship... he wants to hold him and talk to him and it's just so precious to see their bond! of course it doesn't hurt that josiah looks a lot like riley! he resembles julia's newborn pictures, but looks more like riley than she does. from the big hands and full lips to the prominent cheekbones and beautiful eyebrows, he's definitely his daddy's son!

here's my belly as josiah grew:

6 weeks

10 weeks

14 weeks

18 weeks

22 weeks

27 weeks

30 weeks

34 weeks

35 weeks

37.5 weeks, 7 hours before Josiah was born

after the epidural

2 days postpartum

and, if you've read this far, then here's one last one for you!

2 weeks postpartum: what breastfeeding (and good genes, thanks Mom!) have done for me!

ok, that's all for now... i'm sure i'll be writing more as he grows!

oh alright, ONE more of my little prince!

don't you just want to kiss him?!