Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Diamonds and Candles and Nasal Congestion

I feel like I absolutely have to blog this very minute because Ellie is at school and Jack is sleeping and the house is quiet and I have a very rare opportunity at this moment to post something here. Also, the last few weeks/months I've really been slacking on posting here so this is way overdue!

I've got some things to say:

1. My mom told me about this cool candle called the Diamond Candle. I think it's such a fun gift idea... you burn a candle and as the wax gets lower you find a little ziploc bag with a ring inside! See?

Is this a giant diamond ring from my husband or a cheap fake from a Snickerdoodle candle? I'll let you decide. 

2. This is a pic of my kids at roughly the same age. I find them to be identical sometimes. Munchkin loves. The little noses.



3. Speaking of little noses.... my little Jackers has had a rough several days of nasal congestion. We've elevated mattresses, suctioned (the nose frida is a disgusting and magical tool) and run the humidifier every night. Any other suggestions? It's just the saddest thing.

This is what he's doing right this very minute:


Little known fact about Jack: He REALLY likes to sleep with blankets or lovies next to his face. I first noticed it when he was a newborn. He'd take the burp cloth from my shoulder and cover his face with it. Then the stroller blanket. Anytime he's near a couch pillow or someone's sweater, he immediately falls asleep as soon as it is near his cheek. I realize this is frowned upon by the American Board of Pediatrics so I don't need you to remind me of that ( I monitor it closely!) but I think it's pretty sweet. It might even be hereditary as I do like to sleep with my entire body and head under the covers. I think if I allowed it he would do the very same thing! 

He was in the bouncy seat and was kinda squirmy and cranky but I could tell he was tired. I put the fox next to his cheek and I guarantee you he was asleep within 15 seconds. 

4. I'm super addicted to a new show on TLC. A few weeks ago my friend Laura (hey Lulu!) texted me to ask if I'm watching Long Lost Family on TLC. The show follows people who gave up children for adoption and are looking for them and also children that were given up for adoption and are looking for their birth parents. I think only 4 episodes have aired so far and I AM OBSESSED. It's amazing and I get a good cry in during each episode.  For all my other ancestry nerd friends, set your DVR's for Sunday nights. Thank for the tip, Laura dear!

Any other new shows I should be watching?

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

There's Some New Stuff Going on Over Here

Well, Spring Break is over and I just dropped this little sunshine girl off at school. 


She was SO HAPPY to go back. We had a fun, eventful week but my love bug thrives on routine and structure so she was so glad to get back into the swing of things. 

She had a little incident almost two weeks ago. She was jumping on the couch (which she knows she shouldn't be doing) and then she slipped and face planted into the coffee table. I'll spare you the gory pics, but let's just say I ran into Grant's office while he was on the phone with my hands covered in blood and said YOU NEED TO GET OFF THE PHONE NOW. Blood was everywhere, Ellie was screaming, Jack was crying because I dared to put him down to deal with his sister, and I was fairly certain she might have knocked out a tooth. I wasn't sure on that because she refused to let me see into her mouth. It was a lovely scene. 

But Daddy makes everything better. 


Aside from a giant, fat lip with a pretty gnarly gash, all was well. We went to her pediatric dentist who took a few x-rays and confirmed that her front tooth was pushed back a little bit but it is not loose and there shouldn't be any long term damage, especially since it's a baby tooth. We're all just glad it's over. It sounded and looked a lot scarier than it actually was!

Last weekend Ellie finally got her first haircut. Y'all, she is three and a half years old and has never had a proper haircut. I have no excuses other than to say I'm emotionally attached to her hair. 


She did so great! I was nervous that she would freak out but she did okay. We just trimmed it and most people can't even really tell the difference... but it looks so much healthier. 

I recently discovered Snap Chat because I am late to most parties but the filters on that thing are endlessly entertaining to 3 year olds. 


We belly laughed for 30 minutes straight. 

If you're on Snapchat, you can follow me there - my name is jennydawntx. It's mostly "day in the life" stuff over there. I'm having fun with it! 

We got a new stroller for the kids - a sit and stand kind so Ellie can hop on and off. She loves it. I went to the rodeo with my mom, sister, niece and nephew last week and we got to try it out. Jack sat up in the front for the first time and it was so dang cute. 


I am obsessed with him. 

Sister had a good time too!



Another new development is that the kids are bathing together now! Jack has his own personal tub within the tub. 


We were bathing him in the sink but he is a very intense splasher in the bath and the whole countertop would get soaked every time we bathed him. And I would get soaked too. It was all kinds of fun. But Ellie loves having him in the bath. He still kicks very aggressively but at least all the splashes are contained. 

And another new thing? THIS!


THIS BOY LOVES TO EAT. 

Oatmeal is totally his jam. 

Y'all - when this kid even has a bottle he drinks it very violently. Yes, violently. He kicks and grabs my hair and pulls me in and squeezes the burp cloth and makes loud noises. He loves food and I know he gets that from his mama. It's super funny to watch. 

He's screaming at me now like he has never had a meal before in his whole life so I gotta go. 
Have a great week, my friends!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Something New

I'm writing a different kind of story today.


Click on over to Shama Women. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

What's Been Going On Around Here

I realized the other day that it's been awhile since I've done a regular ol' life update here on the blog -

Nothing all that exciting has been going on - life has gotten back to a regular routine - as much as possible with 2 littles in the house - and we are trying to get Jack on a daily schedule. Grant started a new job on February 1 (same role, different company) so he's been busy fully immersing himself into that. Otherwise we've been playing with our babies, spending time with our family, our church family, our friends, and trying to catch up on sleep. 

Another new development is the YMCA - we've joined as a family and I've been so thrilled with it. The childcare is great and I have really liked taking some group exercise classes. However, I took my first cycle class last night and I may never recover. I was almost in tears during the class - not because my legs hurt but because the seat was KILLING ME. I also took a Body Pump class the other day - and for whatever reason in my mind I thought it was going to be like a Tae Bo type of class but instead it was basically an hour of weightlifting set to music. So, yeah, that was a shock.... Zumba was fun though!

Here'a  few pics of life lately!

This Bubba is getting BIG! I grow a little more obsessed with him every single day. He's a chubbster - much bigger than his sister was at this stage. Tomorrow he will be 4 months old and he is in 6 month clothing. 


I found an old Ellie picture the other day the caption said that she was about to be 8 months old and was still in 3-6 month clothing. Jack is probably twice the size she was when she was 4 months! I love how different they are from each other already. 

Speaking of the girl, she is getting so big too, but in a totally different way. She's still tiny, but she's growing up so much. 


She's really into making little art and pictures lately. She calls them all "my masterpiece!" and she is finally drawing things that I can actually tell what they are. A sunshine, a rainbow, a jellyfish... it's crazy to see her take pen to paper (or marker to paper, to be more specific) and see her decide to draw a jelly fish in the water and I look at it and don't have to just smile and nod at her. I can see it! 

She's such a good big sister. She still calls him "My Little Gooski Man" and we have no idea where that came from. Gooski. 


However, it has resulted in a new little nickname we've started calling him: Goose. So we've always called her Bug, and I'm wondering if "Goose" is going to stick. Bug and Goose. How we got Bug and Goose from Ellie and Jack I'll never really know :)

Here's that goose. 


The fuzzy little hairs. The chubby wrists. 


He has a new habit - I lay him on his back and he IMMEDIATELY flips over to his tummy. But then, he can't go back to his back for some reason and he gets really mad. So we're just having a ton of tummy time which really limits how long I can lay him down and get chores done because he only tolerates the tummy for so long. However, before I know it he is going to be mobile (gulp!) and so I'm thankful for tummy time for a little while longer.

He is finally sleeping well, consistently. I give him his last bottle around 7pm, he falls right to sleep, and then he wakes up for another bottle around 5am. Usually he will go back to sleep after that for about another hour or two but not always. Regardless, I'll take it! I've gotten my evenings back and I'm really thankful for that. 

Yesterday I was so overwhelmed by how much he really does look like his sister. I went back and found an old pic to do a side by side comparison and THE GENES ARE STRONG WITH THESE ONES. Oh, my babies...


Lastly, today is Rodeo Day at Ellie's school so everyone got all fancy in their Western Wear. She was so excited this morning to have pigtails and a "Big Danna" and a cowboy hat. She was quite disappointed that I did not provide her with a lasso. 


I asked her why she wants a lasso.
"I gonna CATCH people and PUT 'EM IN DA JAIL! TIE 'EM UP!"

We're having fun around here, that's for sure.