Lucy's 2nd Birthday

I don't know how I have a 2 year old already. That saying pops back into my head about how the days are long, but the years are short. I feel like we just brought Lucy home from the hospital!

At 2 years old, she weighs 25 1/2 lbs and is 32 1/2 inches tall.

Favorite foods: Girlfriend loves spaghetti, smoothies (which is how I sneak in the good stuff), grapes, PB & J's...duh, pancakes "cakes", and a girl after my own heart...cookies "cooeys".

Favorite activities: She would pretty much be happy doing anything outside. She has golf, soccer, tee ball, and a tricycle outside and she loves to go on walks. She continues to love to color, as well as play with play-doh.

She definitely lives up to the meaning of her name. She can light up a room! She has recently gone from being pretty shy around people she even knows fairly well, to saying hi to everyone. She says new words every.single.day. It is so amazing how smart kids are!

This age certainly has its challenges, but it really is so fun!!

We kept things pretty simple for her birthday this year. We didn't end up doing a big party like we did last year, but we made sure to do some of her favorite things on her special day! 

We started off with some birthday pancakes, round one of singing happy birthday, and a few small gifts for her. I was pretty excited to see how she would respond this year to all the singing and candles, and turns out, she was pretty into it! :) And she did awesome blowing out the candles!

After naps, we headed up to the trampoline park! Lucy has only been there one previous time, but she LOVED it! So she jumped her little heart out for a couple hours before it was time to head home to open presents and eat cupcakes!

We came home and had spaghetti for dinner, one of her faves! After that, we did cupcakes and sang round two of Happy Birthday! We had vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles that she picked out at the store. Then we opened the big presents. Her "Nenny" got her a doll house which she loved and Ben and I got her a tee ball set for the back yard then used money that our family sent for her to get her a soccer goal and ball for the backyard. She loved everything she got, and I'd say she was one happy camper for her big day! :)

Of course, Daisy got in on some of the fun too ;)

The birthday fun continued into the weekend when we visited one of the local pumpkin festivals. They had rides and games for the kids and a huge pumpkin patch to choose our pumpkins from. Lucy had a really good time, but we couldn't stay too long because it ended up being pretty hot out that day. But we had fun, and picked out a couple pumpkins for the porch.

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet Lucy girl! 

Lindsey

Running on Empty...

How often do we hear as moms that we need to take care of ourselves? I feel like I hear this all the time, and I am aware of the power in the statement, but actually putting it into practice is a whole other thing.

I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have loved being a homemaker since quitting my job. I mean, I love taking care of my family and caring for our home! I actually enjoy making Ben's lunch for work, meal planning, and keeping our home clean. I have become slightly obsessed with making, and of course, checking things off my to do list.

The reality though, is that I am human, and a funny thing happens...I get worn out doing all these things! If I don't remember to stop and rest, or do something for myself, then I quickly become ummm, not such a fun person we'll say.

As moms, we are constantly pouring into those around us. We are figuratively, and literally, wiping bums all day right!? I don't know about you but I hit the ground running first thing in the morning. I try (really I do) to get up before every one so that I can have that time to refuel for the day, but it is so hard not to sleep in until the very last possible moment. If anyone has tips on helping me actually get up in the morning...please share! I have found that if I don't take time to care for myself, then it takes no time at all for me to be running on empty.

So I have made a list of things for myself to do to help me take better care of me...so in turn I can be my best for my family.

1. Already mentioned above...get up 20-30 minutes earlier than every one in the morning to have some quiet time. For me, this means reading my Bible and spending some time in prayer before the day gets rolling. Key here...actually getting up when the alarm goes off!

2. Rest when you can! This is a tough one for me. Afternoon naps are about 50/50 as far as both kids sleeping at the same time, but if they are both asleep then I should try to rest during that time too. The problem is that I try to tackle everything on my to do list at that time, and the truth is that there will always be laundry and dishes waiting for me so why not take the time to rejuvenate physically and mentally.

3. Staying active. I'm pretty excited about this one. I recently signed up for a 3 month "new mom" membership at a local barre studio and started taking classes last week. The classes have been kicking my butt so I can't wait to see the results at the end of the 3 months, AND it gets me out of the house for about an hour and a half which is awesome! After Lucy was born, I did all at home workouts with different DVD's which worked well for me then but now getting out of the house to exercise is a better option for me. I am committing to doing at least 4-5 classes per week.

4. Allowing myself a little ME time. This one could vary person to person. For me, I want to try and get out of the house by myself for one hour per week to do anything (this does not include my barre classes or errands). Just some time to drive in the car and turn the radio up really loud and sing along and go do a little window shopping maybe, or go for a run at the park, or something! Another thing Ben and I both do is take turns with "sleeping in" days on the weekends. His day to sleep in is Saturday and mine is Sunday. I don't technically get to sleep in since I'm breastfeeding BUT it means that when Lucy wakes up, Ben gets up with her and Ben either brings me coffee in bed before I go nurse Michael or I go make my coffee and get back in bed for a few minutes before feeding him. I just happen to really love drinking my coffee in bed before I really get going for the day. I used to always do this before we had kids and I could technically still do it but as I mentioned above, I have a serious problem getting out of bed early right now. This way, I have a day that Ben is home to help me with the kids and he can hold me accountable with this "ME" time.

So that's my list, at least so far, of steps I'm going to take to try and make time for me and take better care of myself. I want to make sure that my "pitcher" is full so I can continue to pour into my family and take the best possible care of them.

So, what about you? What do you do to take time for yourself?

Lindsey

Day in the Life with my 23 month old & 3 month old

My how things have changed since my last "day in the life" post! For the most part, we have a pretty good schedule down by this point, but to be totally honest some days the "schedule" goes out the window. I feel like most days when we try to stick with a schedule though things work really well for us.

So here goes, a typical day...

I was sleeping in until the very last possible moment (around 7:30ish) but I started barre classes last week, which I can't wait to share about later, at 6am so now I get up at 5am so I can get to my class then get home around 7:30 to really get going.

7:30am- I get home. Lucy may or may not be awake at this time. She has actually been sleeping later than usual lately, win!! If she is awake, I'll go grab her and we'll come out and have breakfast together. If she is still asleep, then I try to at least drink my cup of coffee before anyone gets up :)

8:00am- Michael is up, I bring him out to the living room to feed him while we watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

9:00am- Michael goes down for a nap. Usually around this time, I will get Lucy and I both ready for the day. She likes to hang out in the bathroom with me while I get ready. Most days, we stay in our pajamas and play. Lately we have been playing with play-doh or coloring with markers and construction paper. She loves to have me make our family out of play-doh!

10:00am- I'm still working on longer naps with Michael. He is usually up around 9:45 or 10. Forty five minute naps seem to be his jam right now! I try to do tummy time for Michael around this time, or group tummy time as I like to call it. 

Lucy usually takes whatever toy I give to Michael almost immediately, so I'm trying to teach her to show him the toys and play "with" him. 

11:00am- I feed Michael again while Lucy runs around, then start making lunch for Lucy and I.

11:30am- Lucy and I eat while Michael hangs out in his chair. 

12:00pm- I put Michael down for his second nap and I start the wind down process with Lucy. Her and I will do puzzles or read books before she goes down for her nap at 12:30. 

The next two hours can go one of two ways. It either ends up being a glorious hour and a half of free time...OR Michael wakes up around 12:45 and I spend the next hour working on self soothe and praying he goes back to sleep. We've gotta figure out this napping thing...poor little fella gets so over tired.

2:00pm- Lucy wakes up from her nap and it's time to feed Michael again. I usually turn on an episode of Mickey or Doc McStuffins and give Lucy a snack while I feed him. 

After both of them eat, we'll play for a bit before Michael's next nap. He loves his big sis! :)

3:00pm- Michael goes down for his third nap and Lucy and I get outside and play!

4:30pm- I feed Michael again and start getting things together for dinner. While I cook, Lucy does room time and Michael hangs out in the kitchen.

5:45pm- Ben is home and we sit down to eat dinner together before the craziness of bath and bedtime routine begins. After dinner, Ben usually rough houses with Lucy a little while I give Michael a bath. After I bathe Michael, Ben will give Lucy her bath and get her ready for bed. 

7:30pm- Lucy goes to bed and I feed Michael then put him to bed. 

Once the kids are asleep, Ben and I clean up a little bit then hang out together and relax.

10:00pm- I dream feed Michael and then try to get in bed by 10:30 or 11, and I am usually asleep before my head hits the pillow ;) 

Some days are more wild than others, but I wouldn't trade it for the world, and I feel incredibly blessed to be at home with my babies every day!

Lindsey

Our Weekend

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend! We had a pretty low key weekend which was quite nice. The weather was pretty chilly and overcast so we spent lots of time in our pajamas watching movies and snuggling :)

Saturday morning I got lots of snuggles in with both kiddos while Daddy slept in :)

Once Daddy was up, we did some cleaning and organizing around the house. Little Michael was not into the whole napping thing on Saturday so I took him with me to get my first pumpkin spice latte for the season (I'm way late, I know). My hope was that the care ride would put him to sleep, but no such luck. You win some, you lose some.

I tell ya, I like to treat myself to Starbucks every now and again but these lattes are so good I think I could go get one everyday!

The rest of the afternoon was spent running around with this little lady! She actually isn't so little anymore. I can't believe how much she looks like a big girl here. I might tear up a little with her turning two this week.

We ended Saturday night with breakfast for dinner, which is one of my favorites! Lucy loves her pancakes "cakes"! 

Sunday Ben winterized some things around the house. You never know in Colorado when you'll see that first snow! Then we did a few things to get ready for my MIL to come in town for the week, and that was pretty much a wrap on the weekend. They go by way too fast! 

We have some pretty fun stuff planned for this week while Ben's mom is in town so it should be a good time!

I'll leave you with this amazing picture of Michael at church with his "infant ear protection" on at church during worship! I can't get enough!

Lindsey

It's Friday!!!

Happy Friday friends! We have had a bit of a rough week in toddler town here so we are more than happy to see the weekend, as well as this BEAUTIFUL fall weather we are having! 

We packed up and headed to story time at the library this morning then spent the entire afternoon outside soaking up the sunshine and cool, crisp weather! I just LOVE FALL! The weather is awesome, October is Ben and I's wedding anniversary month & Lucy's birth month, and (notice the coffee mug above) it's PLAY OFF SEASON! Whoop whoop! 

Michael was snoozing for the majority of the time we were outside so Lucy played a little golf hit the patio repeatedly with the golf club :)

Once little man woke up I got some serious hammock snuggles.

We are excited for the weekend around here! Now for some Memphis Tigers football & some new to me seasonal beers to try out ;)

Cheers to the weekend!

Lindsey