It's Never too Late to Start Again!

Hey, Guys!! Are you ready for a brain dump? Ok, here we go!

I haven't written in more than two years. Why did I decide to dust this blog off and start writing again? Because I miss it! I miss having this reference to look back at. I am so happy I was diligent enough to write monthly updates when Luke was a baby and I am so so sad I didn't do that for Harper. So, here we go again.

Luke is in preschool. Yup, he's in school. He will be 5 at the end of December and I just can't wrap my mind around it. I see my sisters with their new babies (yeah, it's been so long since I've written that I have a new niece and nephew) and I am taken back to the long slow days of having one new baby and part of me misses it so damn much it hurts. But then I look at my life now and it is crazy, chaos and full of laughs and temper tantrums and battles of will and kids who walk over for a hug or snuggle on their own and I realize that I love where we are at. It's so good. And Harper, holy cow, this girl. She is so independent. Almost 3 years old, time has gone so fast. It is so weird to me that I don't have babies anymore.

We are really embracing this season, because we know that our lives are about to get really crazy. This really is the last year that we will have both of our kids home with us for most of the day. It makes me really sad and kind of, ALMOST makes me want to homeschool. Almost. We will see!

We are really looking forward to Christmas, we will get to see lots of family that we don't get to see very often and then when 2020 hits, that's when the party starts! What are your best plans for 2020?

Welcome To The World, Harper Quinn!

Our sweet Harper was born at 37 weeks + 5 days on March 24th 2017 at 4:46 AM. She was 5 pounds 4 ounces and 18 inches long and the absolute definition of perfection.  

For about two months before Harper joined us, I fought tooth and nail with my assigned OB, about lots of things, but mostly about the date to schedule my C-section.  My regular Dr. is absolutely wonderful but is unfortunately not an OB, so she is not able to preform a C-section. Pickings are slim in my town as far as OBs go, so I went with the one that I have not had a previous bad experience with.

I had a scheduled C-section with Luke at 39 weeks exactly and it was too early for him.  He had the hardest time mastering breastfeeding and if I could do at again, I would have pushed for a later date to give him as much time as possible in there.

Fast forward to the end of my pregnancy with Harper and I was pushing hard for a scheduled date of April 6th, her actual due date was April 9th.  I met with the OB and we agreed that the 6th was going to work with both of our schedules (LOL).  A couple weeks later, the office called me and said they were changing my date to the 4th, and I responded with a very irritated, "um.. no you're not," that very obviously caught the office girl off guard. After a TON of back and forth and me insisting that because of previous troubles, I did not want to deliver before the 6th, so we landed on the 11th. We called the hospital, booked the date, and a week later I went into labor.

On March 22nd I started having contractions in the afternoon. As the night wore on they got more painful but eventually went away and I was able to go to sleep.  All day the next day, the 23rd, I had contractions. The annoying kind, not Braxton hicks, but not the real thing either. I went about my day as normal, I vacuumed, did some laundry, sat at Charley's house by the fire and played with Luke. I even made a cheesy post on Instagram talking about wishing Luke would stay little forever and vacuuming the floor while I was having Braxton hicks because I refused to come home to a dirty house if I went into actual labor that night.

Insert cheesy caption here. Something about just finishing up vacuuming the floor while having contractions only to find Luke tearing his bagel apart all over the floor, but he's still cute and sweet and growing way too fast.

Zack, Luke, and I headed up to bed at around 9:30, I had been having contractions all day but at around 9 they started to get stronger and I hoped laying down and relaxing would slow them down so I could get some sleep. Zack and Luke fell asleep and I was laying in bed trying to get comfortable but nothing was working. I got up, walked around, paced the hallway, took a shower, and when none of that worked I finished packing my hospital bag and called the OB department. At that point my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart and about a minute long but I was still concerned that I wasn't in labor, even though I had been having strong contractions for almost 5 hours.  After talking to the nurse I decided I better wake Zack up and head into the hospital. We called Haley to run over and hop in bed with Luke, and we were off. The whole way to the hospital Zack was convinced that it was a false alarm and we would be back home before Luke woke up.

I figured if this was the real thing, I better take one last belly picture!

We got to the hospital at about 1:50AM and got checked in and hooked up to the monitors that told us Harper was doing good and I was, in fact, in active labor. The nurses started my IV and then we decided it was probably a good time to FaceTime my parents, who had just left on vacation a few days ago, to tell them that I was in labor. They were more than a little bummed that they were going to miss it.

Yay! It wasn't a false alarm, we get to meet our baby girl today!

My Dr. got there a while later, followed by my OB, who was maybe a tad irritated with me that I insisted on a scheduled C-section date that was three weeks away, and here I was, in labor. Everyone got ready and we walked back to the OR at about 4:20 AM. I got my spinal, they got me all prepped, and got Zack sat in his chair next to me. The mood was super light and I actually chatted with my Dr and OB while they were getting started about Charley and her plane, kind of funny. And then, all of a sudden, they were holding our perfect baby girl up for us to see. She was pink, healthy, and screaming. We were so excited to finally meet her! Zack went over to be with her and take pictures while she got checked out. The nurse was so great, she talked to me the whole time they were checking Harper out, keeping me updated. I was a little worried that she would have breathing problems since she was early, but she was perfectly fine. A few minutes later Zack was able to bring her over to me while the Drs were putting me back together. It was so amazing getting to hold her for the first time. She was so sweet and calm and just kept sucking on her fingers and looking around. It has to be so overwhelming for new babies!

Happy birthday, Sweet girl!

The sweetest little thing!

We got back to the recovery room at about 6:00am and I was able to nurse Harper, she was a pro. We made some calls and sent texts to let our family know that Harper was here and we were both doing good. Then we all settled in and got a couple hours of sleep before our family started to show up to meet Harper. Luke was not at all sure what to think of his little sister, he was just happy to be able to snuggle with Zack and I. I swear, the moment I saw him walk into the room, it was like he was a year older. There's something about looking at your toddler and realizing how big he is compared to a new baby, I was not ready for that! We had a full day of friends and family visiting and a FaceTime call with my mom and dad. It was a perfect, relaxing day.

Our first picture as a family of FOUR!

Poor Luke is not so sure yet

Walking the hospital halls with my babies

Sweetest little snuggles!

Harper's Birth was perfect. I am not one that has strong feeling towards natural births or c-sections, as long as my babies get here healthy, its fine with me. With that being said, I always hoped to experience labor, and I was lucky enough to get that experience, even though it was relatively short. I do feel like it helped my body prepare for breastfeeding and the fact that I went into labor naturally made me feel better about Harper coming early.

I am so thankful to finally have Harper join our little family!

Life Lately/Luke Update

Holy cow! It has been forever since I have written, I miss it!  

We have been really busy lately with so many things.  Luke is loving summer, he loves being outside so much and absolutely has a meltdown when it is time to go in for pesky things like bathing and sleeping.  We have been spending lots of time at the park, in the yard, and going on bike rides and going through a TON of sunscreen.  

Zack is working hard but tries to get off work early when he can so we can take Luke to do something fun.  Luke loves to hang in the shop with Zack and "help," go for bike rides, and stay up late for music in the park.  I have been busy with Rodan + Fields, working in my parents office, and finding new things to do with Luke.

Luke is 18 months old! Yes. You read that right, 18 months. OMG! WHY!?  

So what is up with Luke?  He hates eating, loves Rowdy, hates diaper changes, loves rides on anything motorized.  He is a typical boy, dirt, dogs, trucks, and outside and he is a happy kid.
He is an absolute tornado!  He runs everywhere he goes, has split his lip open more times than I can count, and always has scrapes and bruises on his legs, but he sleeps like a rock when bedtime rolls around.  Speaking of bedtime, he's still in bed with Zack and I most of the time, because...whatever,  we all like to sleep, so theres that... We did have him sleep trained, but then he got really sick so I started bringing him into bed so I could keep a closer eye on him, aaaaand now were screwed.

As far as milestones go, Luke hasn't hit many lately, except for talking.  It took him forever to start talking, but once he said his first word, (which was "bubbles" by the way, how freaking cute is that?!) he took off.  Words he says regularly are:

Bubbles

Mama

Dada

Papa (My dad)

Nana (My mom)

RaRa (Rowdy)

Mil (Milk)

BaBa (Bottle)

No

Papa is his favorite person for sure, every time Papa walks into the room, drives in the driveway, or he hears a big truck drive by, he drops whatever he is doing and runs around saying "Papa? Papa? Papa?"  I may be just the slightest bit jealous...

This has been such a fun summer! The weather has been amazing and Luke is at such a fun age to take him and do fun stuff.  He just loves to go go go!

A Day In Our Life

When you become a stay at home mom, you inevitably start to get the questions and comments that suggest we just lay around and watch tv all day. "What do you do all day?" "It must be nice to be able to take a nap during the day." "I wish I could lay on the floor and play with a baby all day."  To these questions and comments, I say, HA!  Okay... so for the first few months, when all your baby wants to do is sleep, yes, you do kind of lay around and do lots of snuggling, but it's because the baby thinks night is day and day is night, and it's necessary.  But after the baby starts becoming more aware, it's game on!

A week or so ago Zack asked what we do during the day, so I figured I would write down our typical day right now, with a one year old.

5:30-6:30 - Luke is a pretty early riser, I will usually bring him into bed with us and give him a bottle of water and have a family snuggle for a half hour or so.

7:00-8:00 - We come downstairs and eat breakfast, have a little dance party before Zack heads to work then send him off, and clean up the kitchen.

8:00-10:00 - Upstairs we go to get ready for the day, Luke usually ransacks my closet while I get dressed, do my makeup, and do a little but of Rodan + Fields work (Best job ever, BTW).  I also work in my parents office, so I go put in a couple hours in the morning a few days a week, it is (obviously) pretty flexible.

10:00-12:00 - Luke starts to get tired around 10:00 - 10:30 so we will go lay on the couch and he sleeps and I catch up on e-mails/Facebook messages and pick up the house a little bit.

12:00-1:00 - Lunch time! I hate lunch time, It is the hardest meal of the day.  Luke is usually starving as soon as he wakes up from his nap and wants something to eat right the eff now so he usually has a pouch while I get something more substantial for him to eat, which right now is either bread, noodles, or bread...

1:00-5:30 - It is finally starting to warm up here, so after lunch we usually try to get outside to play and get some fresh air, play inside with some toys, go see an auntie or two, dance it off, and tread water until Zack gets home from work.  This is also the chunk of time where I try to get some house work done, laundry, dishes, vacuuming, picking up toys as Luke walks behind me and throws new ones on the floor, etc.

5:30-7:30 - When Zack gets home he will usually play with Luke while I get dinner ready, we eat, then we play and have some family time before Luke goes to bed.

7:30-8:00 - We all head upstairs to give Luke a bath, read a few stories, say a little prayer, tell Luke we love him 100 times and give him 50 kisses then off to bed he goes!

8:00-10:00 - Zack and I head back downstairs to watch a couple of shows, talk, and unwind then head up to bed.

Still rocking the Christmas jammies...

Luke's 14 Month Update

After Luke turned one I wasn't planning on doing monthly updates, but I recently went back and read through some of the old updates I did when Luke was tiny and I loved them!  There are already so many things that I have forgotten from those early months and I am so happy that I have them documented.  

It seems like Luke has changed a ton since he turned one, he just acts so much older.  He still just says "mama" and "dada" for the most part but I have noticed that he says what sounds like "no" and pushes the spoon away when he wants to be done eating.  We have also been working on learning body parts, so far he can point to his belly, his lips, and we are working on his nose.

Over the past month, Luke has turned into a really picky eater, I'm not sure why, and I am having a really hard time coming up with things to feed him.  It's weird because he started refusing things that he used to love.  We really rely on our old standbys; bananas, oatmeal, fruit and veggie pouches, yogurt, any carbs, graham crackers, and goldfish.  He loves to eat and will sit on the kitchen floor when I tell him it's snack time, pretty cute!

 Some of Luke's favorite things to do:

 -Give Rowdy hugs, and he can climb on the couch by himself now, so the dog is totally screwed.

 -Bath time, so much splashing!

-Tractor rides with Papa.

 -Dancing, kid can bust a serious move to Backstreet Boys radio.

-Being tickled, especially his feet, tummy, and armpits.

-Sharing his food with us and Rowdy, sometimes we get soggy bites, sometimes they are new, you never know!

-The vacuum, I don't know why, he always has.  Now that he is walking I will give him the sweeper attachment and he will push it around while I vacuum and he thinks it's the greatest thing in the world.

-Play outside and watch Rowdy run around.  When we ask him where Rowdy is, he will look around then point toward him, so smart!

One has been such a fun age, there are wonderful things about every age, but I think one is my favorite at the moment.  We have been blessed with such a funny, energetic, happy boy. We just love watching his little personality develop!

My Kid Is The Class Clown

Oh, this little boy.  Seriously, Luke is the most hilarious kid ever, I know every parent in the world thinks their kid is the funniest, and I am now understanding where those parents are coming from.  I remember sitting and listening to people tell "hilarious" stories about their kids and in my mind I'm thinking, "greeeeeaaaat, that's sooo funny."  Well... Now I am that parent, and I realize it, yet I can't stop myself.  I have come full circle, and I have accepted it.

Moving on.  The reason I say all of this is because Luke flat entertains me all day like he is performing for an audience. He does the same when we are around other people.  We go to story time for 0-2 year olds at our library every week, and while all of the other kids are sitting sweetly and quietly in their mom's laps, my kid is running around like a banshee getting everyone all riled up.  To clarify, I don't just let him run wild while all of the other moms are giving me the side eye and shooting me the "control your child" looks,  at this story time it is very laid back, in a closed conference room and they encourage the kids to play, it just seems that most of the time, Luke is the only one that does so.. and I kind of love it.

My amazing wine barrel has turned into a really fancy jungle gym.

 Bustin' a move.  He loves our family dance parties.

Luke's 12 Month Update

What a crazy wonderful year!  Our Lucas Eli has brought us so much happiness.  It amazes me every day how much he has changed over the year.  Luke had his one year well child check-up on the 7th, he weighs 19 pounds 15 ounces and is 29 inches long, he has gained 13 pounds 10 ounces and grown 9.5 inches since he was born! He has 6 teeth and freaking runs everywhere.

Luke still isn't saying much, he's still sticking with mama and dada along with pretty much constant babbling.  Over the past month Luke has started dancing to music, all by himself, super cute!  He also randomly started hugging me and it is the best, he says "awe" and wraps his little arms around my neck.  So far I am the only one he will hug consistently but everyone is working on him.

One thing that I haven't really mentioned for a while is Luke's torticollis.  We honestly have not done much for it, a while back we quit trying to do the stretches because they completely stressed Luke out, he did not tolerate them well at all and I was just too worried about hurting him because he tensed up so much.  Instead of the stretches we take him to the chiropractor and the rolfer periodically and he does really well with both.  We also have my sister Haley, who is a massage therapist, do little mini massages on his neck every once in a while.  At his one year appointment our Dr. said his neck is looking pretty good and will continue to improve especially since he is such an active little boy.

Some of Luke's favorite things:
Going for tractor rides with his Papa
Story time at the library
Rowdy
Being outside
His little ride-on motorcycle
Bananas