Extolling the Virtues of Bribery

Guess where we went today!  Usually Thursday is our library day.  They have a fun little story time for the toddlers with books and songs and puppets.  We try to go every week, but when Cora woke up early and was pretty whiny and upset, I decided not to chance it.  I think the other moms will appreciate me not (potentially) exposing their children to some sort of virus or bacteria!  Nevertheless, we needed to get out of the house.  And, what is the next best thing to story time at the library?  Uh, Target, of course!

So, as I wandered aimlessly around Target (♥Target♥), I was thinking how lovely this little time was.  I had two kids with me and neither was crying or whining.  I knew Carys would be fine.  She is content to be snuggled up in the sling.  And, with the help of my dirty little mom secret, Cora was content, too. What's my little secret? {glances furtively around} It's bribery!  Shhhh!  In fact, Cora is so accustomed to this uber helpful parenting strategy that she can tell you exactly what she's getting depending on the store that we are in.  You see, the way to Cora's heart is through her cute little flat belly.  (I'm only a little jealous of said belly. . .okay a lot jealous!)  Here's the rundown of snacks by store:

Target:  chickadees

HEB: cheese crackers 

WalMart:  goldfish (rainbow colored, natch!) or teddy (grahams) bears

Do I feel bad?  Absolutely not!  I love how much less stressful it makes shopping.  (I do get a twinge of guilt when I realize that so far today she's had a waffle, a nutrigrain bar, a pear, and a bag of chickadees.  Not exactly the well rounded diet we would all strive for.  Thank goodness for the pear!! hah!)  So, what's your dirty little mom secret?

Sisters

Last week, my photographer friend Jenny graciously offered to take some photos for us.  She had some ideas she wanted to try out, so I thought I would give my girls the chance to model for her.  It was a case of famous last words, though.  She wanted to do some of those cute little scrunched up newborn pictures.  And, I told her it would be absolutely no problem because Carys sleeps most of the morning.  Turns out, Carys sleeps most of the morning as long as she is not getting her picture taken!  She was wide awake and pretty vocal about being naked as a jaybird.  But, Jenny still managed to get some great pictures.  

Look at that chunky monkey!  (And, yes, I kiss those chubby cheeks about 100 times a day!)

And, a big dose of sleepy sweetness!

Cora (famously) hates getting professional pictures taken.  Fortunately, Jenny is well aware of this.  I dressed Cora up just in case she decided to cooperate.  She did (sort of) cooperate with the help of some chocolate coins. 

I love this pic even though you can tell she's been fussing.

But, hands down those two pics are the best!  Did your heart not melt!  I only wish I had brought an actual outfit for Carys.  The sisters shots were very spur of the moment.  

May they always love each other like this!

And, Speaking of Carys

You would think there would be a lot more information about the wee babe in ye olde blog!  But, let's be realistic.  Newborns don't do too much.  It's pretty much eat, sleep, poop and repeat.  I can tell you that Carys appears to have mastered the stunning digestive pyrotechnics that Cora made famous.  We are on our third set of pajamas today.  One incident warranted an immediate bath. (P-pa, you came to mind although I don't think Carys has quite achieved the same prowess as Miriam!)  Clearly, our weekends are full of madcap fun and excitement!

I am excited to say that Carys has started smiling purposefully.  She has one teeny dimple on her right side, and it is so sweet when it makes its appearance.  It takes me a few minutes, but I can usually get her to smile at me.  You can be certain that mommy likes that!  She has also started sleeping a little longer through the night.  For the past several nights, we have gone to bed around 10 and only gotten up at 2, 5:30, and 7:45.  This is much better than the night of 9 feedings!!  As of yet, the only unexpected difficulty has been discovering that sweet baby girl is likely allergic to pineapple.  Her sweet little face is covered in hives that get bright red after eating.  It's been about 24 hours since I've had some, so hopefully, everything will start clearing up soon.  Pity!  I still have half a pineapple in the fridge beckoning to me.  Goodbye my citrus friend!  We will meet again in about a year!

So that's all the excitement for now. . .my goal for the next post will be pictures!!

Cora's Kidisms

I thought I'd share a couple of things my little chatterbox has said lately.  One of her favorite phrases lately is 'are you sure?' So, here is an example of a conversation that seems to take place about 10 times a day.

C:  Can I have a nutrigrain bar?
M:  No, baby, we're about to eat dinner.
C:  How 'bout some fruit snacks?
M:  No, baby.
C:  Are you sure?! (said in her sing-songy mischievous voice)

She continues to love all things involving Penny.  And, being that she is very verbally astute, she picked up on the fact that I say 'Oy, Penny!' when Penny is underfoot or does something naughty.  So, naturally, my little copycat would walk around the house and randomly exclaim 'Oy, Penny!' to my poor unsuspecting pooch.  I didn't think she really understood what it meant and why I said it until the other evening.  John walked through the kitchen and happened to knock the iron off of the counter.  Cora looked up at him with a critical expression and exclaimed 'Oy, Daddy!'

And, maybe my all time favorite thing I've heard Cora say. . .drum roll please!  As she was gazing down at baby Carys, she smiled and softly said, "That's my sister!"  My heart almost couldn't take it!  I think she's a keeper!

500th Post!

Holy cannoli!  It's my 500th post!  It's hard to believe I've posted so much insanely fascinating information about our little lives.  It's even harder to believe that you all have stuck around to read it!! So, let's see; what has changed?

• We have gone from a family of 3 to a family of 4.
• Little Miss Carys showed up just in time for Christmas!
• Cora has celebrated 2 birthdays. 
• Cora is now a walking, talking, dancing, singing, running, jumping, climbing, laughing, 'reading,' pretending, imagining, playing, dino loving big sister.  (My word, how fast the time has gone!)
• We took 2 major trips - one road trip to Virginia to visit John's family, and one plane ride to Alaska to visit my family.
• Cora moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed.  She moved into the larger bedroom that she and Carys will eventually share.
• Cora and Carys have gained two more cousins (both girls) - one on each side of the family.  (And, they are getting another cousin later this year!)

I'm sure there are  lots of other things I can list, but sleep deprivation affects my functioning.  ; )  Here's to 500 more!

Our Delicate Flower

Y'all, I am a girly-girl.  I am not particularly athletic, and furthermore, I am usually not interested in sports - save one particularly spectacular victory in selecting college bowl game winners, hee hee hee!  I like pink and princesses; I like ruffles and flowers; I like cooking and sewing.  Naturally, when I found out 3 years ago that Cora was Cora and not Jackson, I assumed that she would be my frilly little princess. Boy was I wrong!  As Auntie Linda says, she may be all girl on the outside, but she's definitely got some boy on the inside!

On Monday, John was in charge of Cora so I could try to get some more sleep.  Imagine my surprise when I finally emerged from my slumber, I found John and Cora equally engrossed in American Ninja Warrior.  Not only did Cora watch the show, but she then found ways to turn our living room into her very own obstacle course.  So funny!  At least I can dress her girly. . .at least for now!

Wordless Wednesday

Today is the First Day. . .

by myself with two kiddos.  I hate to even type this next sentence as the day is only about half-way over.  But. . . So far, so good!  I have had help non-stop since Carys was born.  Between my parents, my in-laws, and John, I have not had to manage the house on my own until today.  I was a little worried about how it would go because Carys acted like she was going through another growth spurt Sunday and Monday.  However, last night, she let me sleep for a couple of hours at a time.  We only got up thrice in the night.  I even managed to take the girls grocery shopping (on what is apparently the coldest day in about a year!!) with the help of my brand new, handy dandy sling (tutorial here and here).

John took this picture for me, and blessedly, he cut off my head.  I can't vouch for my hair and makeup for these past few weeks!!  Let's just say my hamper is 90% pajama bottoms and t-shirts right now.  No need to accessorize that fancy wardrobe with mousse or mascara!  It's a miracle that I was able to break that rut before heading out to the store today - you're welcome, general public!  

Both girls are starting to stir from their afternoon siestas.  It's too bad it is so wickedly cold outside (don't laugh those of you from up north!).  It's bright and sunny outside.  Under normal circumstances, I would attempt to take the girlies on a walk.  But, my wimpy southern patootie can't handle the low temps.  I'm thinking we'll have popcorn and watch a movie instead.  Checkmark for day 1!

It's Not Going Well

Potty training, that is! (Yes, she's wearing panties on her head.)

Cora is not interested at all in using 'the big girl potty.'  She'll sit on it, but we haven't had any luck getting her to use it.  Pretty soon, we're going to try the more drastic route of putting her in panties during the day.  I just have to get myself all psyched up for all the clean-up that's inevitable with this particular strategy.  It should be pretty exciting juggling this with a newborn at the house!

She is, however, very interested in her dolls' and dinosaurs' potty habits.  She has a doll that came with a little potty, and lately, she has been helping dolly use the potty.  And then, just this afternoon, she had T Rex change Pachycephalosaurus' diaper.  I guess T Rex is the mommy of the dinosaur herd, hah!  I just hope that this is a sign of interest in potty training and not just some random pretend game she is playing.

After this, it's paci boot camp!  Pray for us!!

Happy Due Date!

Today is Carys' due date.  I kind of had a suspicion that she would come a little early, but I never imagined she would be here before Christmas!  Cora came on the day that I predicted she would come, so I feel like I've been in uncharted territory when it comes to these past two weeks.  But, the more I think about it, I am so thankful for God's plan for Carys' birth.  I was so anxious about the birth experience since we had such a difficult time with Cora.  But, being in San Antonio rather than at home, I just had to trust that everything was going to be okay.  With the exception of preferring to have my doctor (though the doctor that I had was perfectly fine), I would actually rate this hospital experience higher than my last experience.  What's really strange is adjusting to the idea that we are a family of 4 now.  I feel kind of like we are the American dream/cliche now - 2 kids and a dog.  There's no way that I can be old enough or mature enough to be the mom of 2!  John and I both remember wondering why they ever let us leave the hospital with Cora after she was born.  Someone must be crazy to let us parent 2 kids, hah!  So, happy due date to you, Carys.  As your big sis always says, "I'm so glad you're here!"

I'm A Little Tired

So, turns out that newborns like to wake up at all hours of the night.  Carys does not disappoint in that aspect.  On Tuesday night, we were up at 9, 10, and 11 pm then at 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 am.  I was hoping this meant growth spurt and not that she just likes to be up all night!  The jury is still out on whether or not she's a night owl, but she is definitely in a growth spurt.  At our 2 week appointment today, Carys was up to 7 pounds, 9 ounces.  That means she's up 13 ounces since her last appointment a week and a half ago.  Go Carys!  Dr. Mitchell also rechecked her little hips for any possible dislocation and found no issues there either.  Yay!  So, we are in the clear until our next appointment at 2 months.

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!