Some Updates

It turns out that Cora and Carys are just about exactly 2 1/2 years apart.  I realized the auspiciousness of this on Monday when I called the pediatrician to make a newborn appointment for Carys and a 2 1/2 year appointment for Cora.  This is going to be fantastically convenient since it is just now dawning on me the challenge of getting two girls ready and out the door.  (Not to mention myself!  I'm beginning to see the appeal of pajama jeans!!)  Thankfully, Mema was here to help me manage it all.  Next week, I get to attempt it by myself. . .Something tells me I'm going to develop a new appreciation for all the episodes of Dino Dan and Dora the Explorer that John has dvr'd for us!

So, for those of you keeping track, here are the important stats:
Cora
Weight: 27 lbs, 50th percentile
Height: 35 inches, 50th percentile
Since birth, she has doubled her height and multiplied her weight times 5!

Carys
Weight: 6 lbs, 12 oz (back to birth weight, yay!), 25th percentile
Height: 19 inches, 50th percentile
Dr. Mitchell was slightly concerned about one of Carys' hips.  She noticed a bit of wiggling as she rotated Carys's legs.  So, we are waiting for our 2 week appointment to see if we may need to look into some therapy.  But, other than that, we have 2 happy, healthy girls!

I love this picture of the sisters.  I hope that their relationship remains as sweet as this picture.  The prayers of our friends and family have definitely been answered.  The adjustment to having a newborn and a preschooler has been much easier than I had feared.  Carys has pretty much put herself on a nice schedule.  She has awake time during the morning, and she feeds about every 3 hours (or whenever mommy tries to sit down to eat!!).  Cora is adjusting as well as can be expected.  She's been a bit clingy and whiny, but she loves her baby sister.  She always wants to see her and to give her kisses.  Fortunately, Mema and P-pa have been here this week to spoil her a little while I take care of Carys.  I can't believe we've been a family of four for a week now.  We're looking forward to ringing in 2011 together!  

So, Apparently the Answer is Yes

Nesting does include random acts of barbering!

So, we got a little surprise on Christmas Eve eve.  We had planned to spend Christmas week with John's family in San Antonio.  Cora's aunt and uncle and two cousins flew down from Virginia, and since we hadn't seen them in over a year, we were really excited to see them and to spend time with Yiayia and Dado.  (I'm pretty certain that Yiayia and Dado were pretty excited to get all of their grandkids together for the first time in a while.)  When they volunteered to babysit the kids one night, Josh, Amy, John and I were happy to let them.  We thought we were going to have a nice relaxing dinner on the Riverwalk and take in a movie.  In fact, John and I were really excited about seeing our first movie in the theater in a while.  Well, we did have a nice relaxing dinner.  We did get our tickets to see a 3d movie at the IMAX.  We did get in line at the really crowded Starbucks.  We even ordered our coffee and paid for it.  Then, my water broke.  Yup, right there in the middle of Rivercenter Mall.  Panic is not exactly the right word for it.  I think I may have had a tiny little fit of hysteria.  (I think I was entitled to it, though!)

Our original plan was to drive back to our hospital almost 2 hours away.  That idea quickly derailed when the line to get out of the parking garage was taking 30 minutes!  However, it became clear that God does not ignore the details in His plans.  He put attendants in the parking garage who cared for me while John went to retrieve the car.  They even opened a cash only lane so that they could move the cars through faster.  We were also very well cared for at the hospital in San Antonio.  Our story was a bit of a novelty at the facility, and it seemed that everyone who came in my room knew that my little one wanted to be born on the Riverwalk rather than at our hospital 100 miles away.  After only 45 minutes of pushing and a total of 8 1/2 hours of labor, Carys was born.

Much like her sister, Carys was proclaimed to be very stubborn throughout the labor.  She did not let us down in bringing drama to the delivery.   Though my doctor chided me to push harder, it turned out that sweet baby had her cord wrapped not once, but twice around her neck!  We had some very intense moments after the delivery since Carys was quite blue in the face and took what seemed to be an eternity to start crying.  Again, God took care of the details because my hospital does not have a NICU, but fortunately, this hospital does.  After a good angry cry, her APGAR went from 2 to 8, but because of the stress of the delivery, she was whisked away to the transitional nursery.  She ended up spending most of the day there until she was able to keep her temperature up.  But, I got to go down to see her throughout the day.

Carys and I were released from the hospital on Christmas Eve.  We spent the next few days recuperating at Yiayia and Dado's before returning to our house.  What a lovely Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

With love,

John, Melissa, Cora and Carys

Finally!

Okay, I'm finally going to reveal the girls' room.  I love it!  John worked really hard to get it just the way I want it.  He meticulously painted the stripes which were a bit of a challenge based on the fact that our walls are textured.  But, they turned out awesome!  Here is the view from the door.

The stripes are on a cloud white background.  The green stripe is the same green as was in Cora's nursery.  The pink stripe is one shade darker than the pink on the other 3 walls.  I love how it turned out.  I really wanted stripes, but was afraid that it would be too circus-y to cover all 4 walls with them.  I think this turned out just perfectly.

Here is the side wall.

Carys will be sleeping in the same crib/bedding as her big sis.

Here is Cora's bed. . .now with sheets and a comforter!

I want to get a couple more of those bins to put under her bed.  I plan on adding some decor to the boxes, but I'm just not sure when that's going to happen!

The kitchen/reading area.  We like to think of it as an efficiency style apartment!!

Since we were needing to combine two sleeping areas, some things had to go.  Cora lost her bookshelf due to lack of space.  However, I found a tutorial for these cute rain gutter bookshelves on this blog.

I love how they turned out (even if it was a bit of a comedy of errors to get them made and hung).  And, I especially love that she has access to her books from her bed.  My little legal eagle will tell you, "Remember the rule, Mama!  You stay on the bed!"  

Here is the wall next to Cora's bed.

And, the final wall where the door is located.

Of course, what princess pink room is complete without a windowsill full of dinosaurs.

Be warned.  Should you dare to try to identify them, Cora will correct you if you are wrong!  I speak from experience!

And, lest you think that Cora is lonely in that big 'ol bed, may I present the menagerie of animals that keep her company.

So far she's had a really easy adjustment to her new room and her new bed.  Hopefully, she won't mind sharing with Carys once tiny baby is ready to be in the crib.  I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Sewing Binge, Holiday Edition

When we put out our Christmas tree, I had to put away my sewing machine.  I thought I was saying goodbye to sewing time for a while.  But, one ill-fated trip to my beloved Target, and the machine was suddenly singing its siren song to me.  Y'all know I'm slightly obsessed with pillow case dresses and holiday themed clothes.  So, when I found little towels with Santa and a snowman on them, I couldn't resist.  You know the drill.  Trim to size; sew up the sides to the arm holes; make a casing for the ribbon; voila, quick and easy dress.  This time I decided to add a ruffle to the bottom.  Each dress took me about an hour to make.  (Perfect for those naptimes when I'm putting off doing something that needs to get done in order to get my sewing fix when I'm completely caught up with all my other responsibilities.)

Then, while surfing the web, I stumbled across a cute little Christmas tree shirt from Gymboree.  As cute as it is, I figured I could make one just as cute with some ribbon and notions I already have.  I'm totally biased, but I think mine turned out even cuter than the one from Gymboree.

And, finally, my sweet friend April just had her second baby boy a couple of weeks ago.  (Hopefully, she doesn't see this before the package gets to her!!)  So, I had fun picking out some cute boy fabric to make some goodies for him.  Love the madras print!

I'd like to say that I'm putting the sewing machine up for a while, but I'm pretty sure that after Christmas, I'm going to get the urge to sew some things for Carys. . .is THAT nesting?!  We shall see!

Does Nesting Include Random Acts of Barbering?

It's that time of the pregnancy, y'all! I'm nesting.  I guess.  I don't feel the same urgency I did when I was pregnant with Cora.  So, maybe I'm not nesting.  I don't know.  I just know that when I feel this powerful undeniable urge to clean the master bathroom that Carys will be on her way soon!  Hmmm. . .  I did however, get the powerful undeniable urge to cut my hair.  So I did.  I cut my hair.  Don't panic.  It's kind of hard to mess up a trim on curly hair.  But, the split ends were driving me crazy, and I'm just too lazy to bother to try to find a new hairstylist.  So, I busted out the scissors and trimmed about an inch.  I haven't been getting horrified stares, so I'm assuming that it looks fine.

Next, it was Cora's turn to be, uh, nested?  I was fixing her hair the other day and became suddenly and acutely aware that she had a bit of a mullet.  Oy!    I did not want to take her to the kiddie salon seeing as how it did not go well the first time.  So, I decided that I would stealthily cut her hair.  And, after all this

She has a cute little curly bob.  No more mullet!

And, she was none the wiser to it.  I doubt I will be able to pull that off again!

Then it was John's turn.  I've been cutting his hair for a few months now. He's all trimmed up and military looking now - love it!  We're all spiffy and ready for Christmas.  Well, all except Penny.  She's safe for now - especially since she's a short haired doxie.  If I get the powerful, undeniable urge to trim her hair, we'll know I've totally lost it!

Some Random Thoughts and Scientific 'Facts' Courtesy of the Internet

For the past two weeks, I was a single parent.  Believe me, I don't take that responsibility lightly.  God bless you if you are a full-time single parent.  It is a hard job!  John had to be out of town for some training with his job.  It seems that when he's away I find myself spending a bit more time on the old internet than I normally would.  I guess it's because I don't feel any pressure to necessarily keep up with the dishes and laundry if no one is there to check up on me.  (Not that John checks up on the condition of the house, anyway. . .And, he fully admits to living a bachelor lifestyle for the entire two weeks he was away. . . the bachelor lifestyle minus the dating part, of course!!)  For most of the two weeks (minus the two days I spent getting the house back in order), I had a bit of extra time on my hands to explore all the random things I could find on msn.  Let me tell you, I found solid gold, people!

First of all, I learned that attractive people have more girls.  As the mother of two girls and the wife of a hottie, I must say that I totally agree with this study.  Clearly, the scientific world is on point with this cutting edge and important research, lol!  Then, I learned that people who eat donuts and drink coffee are smarter.  I don't drink coffee, but I simply substituted Dr. Pepper for the coffee since it is the caffeine that gives the brain boost.  I definitely can put away some donuts.  So with that logic, not only am I ridiculously attractive, I am also practically a genius! And, by the way, Cora can dispatch donuts very well herself.  I'm filling out her Mensa application as we speak.  I informed John of my genius status, and he told me that it was just the caffeine and sugar high that was giving the participants in the study the edge.  He feels pretty certain that once the effects wear off, we geniuses would just be regular schmoes again.  I think he's just jealous that I'm so smart and attractive!  So in conclusion, I am attractive (hee hee hee), and we should all eat more donuts and drink Dr. Pepper.  You're welcome!

Pajamas, Playdates, and Princesses

My creative hostess friend Susy hit another one out of the park.  She hosted us on Monday for a Christmas themed pajama party.  (Believe me, I'm taking notes each time she hosts one of these in case I ever get brave enough to try to host one myself!)

Our party agenda included

a group picture!  This one looks really good. . .although, not nearly as comical as the Halloween picture!

cookies and other treats!

A dancing frog. . .of course!

Christmas carols!

Craft time (picture by Cora)!

The Christmas story (sorry, no picture).

Presents! (also no picture)

And, the obligatory meltdown picture.  Little girl was so tired at the end of the play date!  Thank you, Susy for another great party!

All Kinds of New Things Are Happening

So for those of you keeping track, yes, Cora is happily moved into her new room.  And, yes, I am a bad mommy blogger.  I've been woefully negligent in documenting the change.  I feel a significant twinge of guilt about  this because John worked really, really hard to make her new room precious.  I also feel a significant twinge of guilt calling her room that John crafted 'precious.'  I'm sure that John's teenage self never imagined meticulously painting powder pink and pastel green stripes for two little girls who will turn out to be the loves of his life.  But, he's a good, good man!  I'm pretty darn excited about the look of the room.  I always get really nervous at the beginning of the process because I'm scared that the vision in my head will not match the outcome.  Fortunately, I'm in no way a design revolutionary.  My ideas are pretty safe, and this room turned out really cute.  In fact, for a few days after the room was finished, Cora would tell us "Let's go see my room!"  And then, when we all got there, she would say "How beautiful!"  (Oh, how I love that girl!!) Anywho. . .

Cora has been living in her new room for about a month.  Our original plan was for John to build her a bed from some plans that I found on the internet.  In the meantime, she has remained in her crib.  This is so odd for me because Cora is such a dare devil.  Lately she has taken to jumping off our couch and throwing her hands in the air as she lands while yelling "big finish!"  (It's definitely gymnastics for my little monkey come next summer.)  However, despite all that bravery, she has not once climbed out of that crib.  She is an enigma, that one!  There was really not a huge hurry to get Cora into a bed until my due date began creeping up on us.  Suddenly, there was a bit of an urgency to get some things done before tiny baby gets here.  Seems that the calendar worked against us a bit.  With the Thanksgiving holidays and John having to be in Oklahoma for two weeks for work training, we decided that it would be best just to buy Cora a bed.  (Hee hee hee. . .any excuse to shop!!)  Yesterday we went to IKEA and picked up Cora's new big girl bed.  This morning, we put it all together.  (Yes, I helped although I'm sure my contribution was hardly significant!)  As soon as we got the mattress on, little missy was all over her new sleeping quarters.   Cora was over the top excited about it.  In fact, when I got on the bed to see how comfortable it was, she got so upset at me that she cried.  It was already HER bed in her mind.  (Don't know why I worried about it being a tough transition for her!)  The big test came a short while later.  Nap time!

When nap time rolled around, we sat Cora on her bed and explained to her the rules.  She could have her toys with her, but she had to stay on the bed.  Then, we nervously exited her room.  I'm so relieved to say that she did marvelously.  She did get off the bed a couple of times, but it was only to retrieve some of her trinkets that had fallen on the floor.  She stayed on the bed until Daddy went to get her after nap time.

Look at that sleeping beauty!!  I have put sheets and her comforter on the bed, but it doesn't really matter to her.  She had no interest in getting under the covers.  But, she was so excited to be in her bed.  I thought this would be the perfect time to perhaps weed out some of the toys that she had insisted on sleeping with.  But, even when I tried to subtly put some away, she found them and insisted that they be on her new bed, too.  Oh well!  It doesn't really matter to me as long as she is happy and sleeps well in her bed.  So, we have a couple of successful transitions down.  Hopefully, this trend will continue when Carys gets here?!

It Just Keeps Getting Better!

After naptime the other day, I opened the front door to discover my Christmas cards from Shutterfly had arrived!  So, like a small child on Christmas morning, I tore into the box.  May I please tell you that I love them so much.  I'm so excited to send them out this year.  I may have actually already started addressing them. . .you may get them before Christmas after all!!  (But, just to be safe, don't hold your breath!)

Well, it turns out that Shutterfly is offering another amazing promotion for sharing one of your fabulous projects.  (No, I will not be sharing my Christmas cards today on the blog.  You will just have to wait and see!)  But, I would like to show you a book that I made for my grandparents.  I love making books.  Since I'm not a scrapbooker, making a 'published' picture book feels very crafty and professional to me.

Click here to view this photo book larger

It was super easy to make the book, and it shipped very quickly.  I give the process 2 thumbs up!

Share one of your wonderful Shutterfly projects and get $25 gift certificate to use to make a photo book or any other fun photo project.  Here are the details:
1. Login to Shutterfly
2. Click on “My Shutterfly” in the top menu
3. Click on “View all projects” under “My Projects”
4. Select a project by clicking on the circle above the project title that you want to share (don’t click on the project itself)
5. Click on “Share Project” in the righthand menu
6. Type in “Title” and “Description” for your project (does not get included if you just embed the widget code)
7. Go to the “Next” step
8. Now you’ll see all the details of this promo, including the email address to send your blog post link to in order to get your $25 gift certificate (shareproject@Shutterfly.com)
9. Pick your embed method: Blogger or Widget Code (I got the widget code to use on my WordPress blog)
10. Don’t forget to email Shutterfly after you post your project!
This offer ends on January 31 and your $25 gift certificate will expire on February 15.


Have fun!  And, make sure to share your project for us to see!

If Your Child. . .

receives a Fisher Price Nativity set and plastic dinosaurs for an early Christmas present, you will find yourself saying "I don't think T-Rex will fit in the manger."

Thanksgiving 2010

(Disclaimer:  I am a bad blogger. . .I took my lovely camera with me, but neglected to take a single picture. . .oopsy!)

We spent Thanksgiving with my family.  We actually did our combined Thanksgiving and Christmas since we will be with John's family during Christmas time.  It was a lot of fun to have the entire family (Mema, P-pa, Uncle Scott, Aunt Celeste, Hannah, Miriam and our family) together.  There was good food, good fun, and good football!  (Uncle Scott may disagree with that last statement, but the majority of us were really pleased with the A & M football score!  Even P-pa donned a brand new aTm shirt - THAT may be one of the signs of the apocalypse!)  And, Cora, who is notoriously shy around men older than 7 even warmed up to P-pa - at least a little bit.

On Friday, we went to see my grandparents.  Cora had much fun being coy around my Pa, too!  My grandparents live on a farm, and I hope that one day, my girls will get to ride the tractor just like I did as a kid.

We had a lovely time with our family, and we hope that you did, too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

God has blessed us in so many ways!  We are so thankful for our family, friends

and our little turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Cora's Jet-Setting Friend

Cora's first friend is her buddy Tyler.  About a year ago, Tyler moved with his family to Ireland.  Awesome, huh?  And, now, Cora's most widely traveled friend lives in Singapore.  Thankfully, we had the chance to catch up a little with Tyler and his beautiful momma, Katherine, when they were stateside for Thanksgiving.  I think Katherine and I were both anxious to see the kids together.  You see, Tyler and Cora are a mere two days apart.  And, Katherine and I spent a lot of time together in those first few months as we adjusted to motherhood.  It is so amazing to see how much the kids have grown!

 Look at that handsome guy!

Here is Tyler the first time he rode that giraffe.  I think it's safe to say he's grown up a little bit!

Cora and Tyler discuss the virtues of corn.

Cora and Ms. Katherine.  Little does Cora know that Ms. Katherine used to cuddle her when she was so uncomfortable with reflux!  How the times have changed!

The cute couple! hah!

And, the picture that makes Cora's daddy uncomfortable. . .an innocent kiss!

We're so glad we got to visit with you guys!  Can't wait until you are stateside again!