Maddie's First (that she'll really remember) and Sarah's (actual) First CHRISTMAS!!!!

Monday, December 29, 2014

Well, the end of the year is upon us and we have so much to be grateful for.  It is a little overwhelming to sum up the entire year, and i would be a little redundant in doing so since I have been keeping this blog, so I will refrain.  But, this past month has had its fair share of excitement with a lot of it being in the past week and even more being in the past 24 hours.  

We visited Santa and Mrs. Claus early in the month. Maddie wasn't so sure about Santa.  Sarah didn't have a care in the world. 

We celebrated Christmas with both sides of the family over the course of the past two weeks and had a wonderful time! We exchanged gifts and were overwhelmed by our family’s generosity towards us and our two girls.  They have way too many toys. And all I can really say is that I don't know what's more fun: being a kid on Christmas or being a parent.  We LOVED watching Maddie open her gifts this year since it was the first year that she really understood what was happening.  Plus! It was Sarah'a first Christmas, so that made it extra exciting, too! 

Maddie barely cracked a smile on Christmas morning because she was so focussed on opening all the gifts.  She was so excited and loved it so much! 

LOVE!!!

Phil had given me a book with instructions on how to sew hats earlier in the year and I was so excited about it that I took on the task of making hats for our family members for Christmas.  It took me months to finish them, but I made quite a few. I wish I could have gotten a few more done for some people I missed, but the truth of the matter is I ran out of time and patience.  One hat, in particular, was so frustratingly difficult and painful (physically and emotionally) that, upon breaking 3 needles and drawing blood from pin pricks, I finally called it quits.  I think I did pretty good in the grand scheme of things, though.  You can see pictures of the hats by clicking here.

We saw Phil’s side of the family at a few different events, ate tons of delicious food (I could live off of Nathan’s sweet potato fries, his mock barnaby’s pizza and Phil’s dad’s mac n cheese) and ended one of the days with a bang! Literally, Nathan’s bedroom door “Banged” open after the locksmith worked his magic to free poor little 3-year-old Charlotte from inside. She had accidentally locked herself in the room and, after trying to instruct her on how to turn the key and unlock the door herself, we had to call in the professionals.  Our brave niece was finally out after about 2 hours and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  

Phil sporting his new "Old Man Jacket and his cashmere-lined leather gloves.  

I love my new gold earrings! 

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent’s house and a little time with Phil’s mom. Christmas Day was celebrated at Danielle’s for the second year in a row.  Boy, can she throw a party! Between the two days, I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten better in my life (my dad makes the best lasagna EVER and Danielle can cook a turkey like its nobody’s business). 

Sarah and my Dad on Christmas Eve

Maddie loves her Auntie!

Christmas Eve with Grandma Jones. 

All in all, the holidays were wonderful.  

The girls are doing great.  Little Sarah is growing up so fast! I feel like she is growing even faster than Maddie did.  Every time I look at her she is doing something new and her face is changing from the newborn look into a more developed baby face: adorable! She is smiling ALL THE TIME and seems to respond to her name.  She gets excited when we say “Sarah” and loves making eye contact.  We even got to hear her giggle this past week, which was a truly special treat.  

Someone is happy about her Christmas presents

Within the past 2 days it seems like she is on the verge of rolling over.  It’s funny that I was concerned only 3 weeks ago that Sarah seemed to favor looking to her right side because now she is trying and trying and trying to roll from her back to front by turning to the left.  What an answer to prayer that we won’t have to do any early intervention for tight muscles in her neck!  

I am also pleased to announce that Sarah has successfully taken a bottle for the past 2 days in a row!!! We have been trying for months with no success, but I was finally able to get her to suck a pacifier yesterday, which led us to try the bottle again and it worked! She then took it again today! So, we are hoping that this sticks and we can get her to continue to feed this way so that Phil and I can maybe go out on a date and leave the girls with a babysitter.  Any volunteers????

Another crazy highlight from this month was out flat tire.  :( Thank God it happened about a block away from home and everyone was safe. 

Maddie seems smarter all the time.  She is talking in long sentences now and recounts to me events from the day.  We were able to spend some time with my friend, Erica, and Maddie’s friend, Rory, a few days ago and when we went home, Maddie couldn’t stop taking about Rory, saying her name and telling me about the “burger sandwich” (i.e. cheeseburger) and the choo choo train that we saw at 2Toots.  She kept saying it was, “so so fun.” 

Mads and Rors at 2 Toots

The biggest development that has occurred is our attempt today at potty training.  Wowza. What a day! but, I am going to leave these details for the next blog post lest this one get way way too long.  So, for those of you wondering about the excitement that I mentioned in the "past 24 hours," you will need to wait.  Mwuhahahaha!!!! 

A Month Full of Fun and Hearts Full of Joy

December 5, 2014

I feel like I am getting so bad at keeping up with this blog, but I guess that’s the way it goes when you start adding to the family more and more.  I have less and less time for other things aside from playing with Maddie and her favorite toy/stuffed animal, minnie mouse, having tea parties (we actually pretend it’s coffee), reading books, and nursing little Sarah. Still, although I often feel like the pace is too much and I don’t know how I can keep up with it, I am loving every second of it.  

Maddie and Minnie.  They are inseparable

This past month, we decided that we should start teaching Maddie more about praying.  We always pray before dinner as a family and she started showing some interest in it by wanting to hold our hands and saying, “Amen.” So, we decided to show her how to pray at bedtime, too.  Every night, after putting on her jammies, we all bow down in front of her bed and Daddy prays to God, thanking him for the day and asking for protection while we sleep.  After a few nights of this, we peaked out of our closed eyes to see Maddie trying to pray along with Dad.  It was all nonsense words — toddler talk— but she was trying! 

Daddy turned 31 this year!!!

So, just to summarize the rest of the bedtime routine, since Maddie LOVES routine, we then say “night night, I love you”, Mommy gets a kiss and a hug and Maddie and Daddy turn off the light together, sit in the rocking chair, listen to music and drink milk.  When they are done with the one bedtime song, Maddie gets into bed, she gets two blankets (and she asks for this every night), Minnie Mouse goes in her bed with her and her extra pacifiers and then Daddy says “Night Night” and “Bye Bye,” while leaving the room.  If anything is askew, the whining shall commence! 

She is starting to do some role playing with this now. I love watching it.  She will, over and over, put her doll into her bed, put two blankets on her and then walk out of the room saying, “Night night. I love you” and closes the door.  So adorable.  

Thanksgiving with the Jones Family was fabulous!  

We were all impressed when Phil won the poker hand, but more impressed with Steve's amazing card trick skills!

Another thing I find adorable is how Maddie has found a way of tattling on herself.  When she is doing something wrong and I tell her to stop, if she actually stops and corrects her behavior, I tell her “thank you for listening and obeying.”  So, I now know when she has been doing something she’s not supposed to because she will turn to me with a guilty look in her eye and say, “Thank you.  Thank you.”  I “caught her” one time playing with the humidifier in her room, not by actually witnessing her playing with it, but because I came into her room after her nap one day and she immediately started walking towards me and saying, “Thank you.”  I then noticed the mist from the humidifier was on full blast.  Oh, Maddie.  Haha! This works to my advantage! 

Playing doctor and listening to little Sarah's heart...with a silly face, of course. 

Speaking of nap times, they have been working out pretty nicely with both girls overlapping their naps for at least an hour almost every day.  It’s been fantastic! Sarah is a wonderful sleeper and I really just hope she keeps it up.  Since the doctor gave me the go ahead at her 1 month check-up to let her sleep through the night, she has consistently slept for 5-8 hour stretches every.single.night.  It has been amazing.  She then will wake up to nurse and, for the most part, falls right back to sleep.  

This cutie took her first bottle from Daddy at about 1 month old, then another one a week later, but is boycotting the process now.  It's her way of making sure Mom never leaves the house. 

So, with her being such a calm, sweet, adorable (hey, she does kinda resemble me, so……) and sleepy little baby, I feel like we have adjusted to this two-kid thing pretty well.  I just love me girls so much! 

We took Mads and Sarah to their first movie this month: the Berenstein Bears.  It was so boring I thought I might die.  Sarah was less than amused. Maddie was enthralled, though. 

Sarah has started interacting more with us this past month, too! She gives us HUGE social smiles when we make eye contact and talk to her.  She also grabbed her first toy a couple of weeks ago and has continued to swat at things on her play mat.  She coos and has just the sweetest little voice.  I love watching her develop.  And she loves watching Maddie! Phil thinks that she’s scared of Maddie (who isn’t scared of a 2-year-old, right?), but I have caught those precious moments when I find Sarah just fascinated by Maddie’s movements.  Today, Sarah was crying while I was making lunch, and Maddie sat down in front of her to, again, play with Minnie Mouse, and Sarah calmed down and just observed her big sister.  

Grabbing a ring for the first time! 

Absolutely stunning

I just know that Sarah is going to learn so much from her! And Maddie is going to be such a good big sister, showing her the ropes.  She loves trying to take care of Sarah, wants to help when she is crying, pats her back and tells her, “I know. It’s ok,” imitating her Mama’s words.  

Maddie wanted to hold Sarah to comfort her when she was crying

So, onward to Christmas we go! I am so looking forward to seeing Santa tonight with Maddie and getting our hearts prepared for celebrating our Savior's birth! we taught Maddie the story of Jesus coming to earth and she kept requesting, "more Jesus. More Jesus." My heart is full of joy! 

Putting up the Christmas tree was insane this year! We finally did get it lit and decorated, but we were pulling our hair out in the process.  It turned out beautiful, though. 

Maddie learning from her Daddy about Jesus.

It might get a little crazy in our house (and noisy!), but we are filled with joy and blessed beyond measure!