8 months (a little late)

My precious Heidi,

Here's a little about you at 8 months and one week old...
-Not sure of your weight, but you still seem to be average and your clothing size is right on target with your age.
-You still have just the two bottom teeth.
-Sleep is not your favorite thing to do. In fact, I think you hate it. On a good night you wake twice to nurse, at 1 and 4. We're down to two naps a day, at 9 and 1.
-You are nursing every 3-4 hours and consistently eat breakfast and dinner. We're now working lunch into the daily meals. For breakfast you usually have cereal with a little fruit or yogurt with cereal. For dinner you eat a jar of meat/some sort of sweet veggie or fruit and half a jar of fruit.
-You crawl so fast and love to be chased. You will turn to practically beg me to chase you and then take off, laughing and squealing until I catch you.
-Your favorite place to play in the house is Ansley's room.
-You have started letting go of the furniture you're holding while standing. You can't stand on your own yet, but it won't be long. You seem to be very daring.
-You love for me to carry you all over the place and fuss when I walk away from you. I think you may be a momma's girl and that's okay with me.
-And the most exciting news of the month is that you were dedicated at church.

You've made it through your first holiday season. Each of them was so much fun with our two little girls, especially Christmas. I'm so looking forward to many more years of sweet memories with you and Ansley. Love you, Heidi!

Merry Christmas!

Digital scrapbooking design created with Smilebox

Photo update for the fam

Ansley pulled every toy out of her toy box during naptime and just played too hard. She fell asleep right where she was playing.


She also has a new hairstyle. She asked this morning if I would put her "hair" in a ponytail. She loved it and I was afraid she would insist on wearing it out in public. I'm afraid the day is coming...


And what a cutie Heidi is! Doesn't she look mischievous?

Happy 7 months!

My sweet Heidi,

For seven months now you have been our precious second daughter and Ansley's little sister. You are such a joy and your personality is becoming more evident. What you're up to these days:
-You have your first two teeth (which explains the lack of sleep a couple of weeks ago)
-You crawl crazy fast and love to explore the house all by yourself. I find you playing in Ansley's room often.
-You started pulling up to standing about two weeks ago and have had a few crashes since your balance is not great. But, you're getting stronger each day and more coordinated.
-You eat cereal and a fruit for breakfast and a meat and veggie for dinner. We will begin lunch this week.
-Your sleep is still unpredictable. You usually wake twice in the night to eat, but have started waking up a third time in the last few nights and I've had to let you cry yourself to sleep. I hate doing that, but I want you to learn to soothe yourself back to sleep and that it's not okay to get up to play in the middle of the night.
-You absolutely will not take a bottle or be fed by anyone but mommy. We found out the hard way when Daddy and I tried to go to a football game a couple weeks ago. You refused to eat even the baby food you're used to. You definitely know what you want and refuse to give in.
-Car rides are much easier now. You like to watch Ansley sing and talk to you from her seat next to yours and you even sleep sometimes.
-Your personality so far seems to be that you like to be in the middle of everything. You love to explore, learn, try new things early, and be independent. i think that you and Ansley will be great friends because you both have this in common.

My favorite things about you:
-Your smile absolutely melts my heart. Your eyes twinkle, your dimple is the sweetest thing ever, and your two new little teeth peak out when you smile. I love walking into your room in the mornings and after naps because that's when you flash a big one. Or when you're nursing and you pause to look up and grin at me. Or when I catch your attention from across the room and you smile at me like I'm the best thing in the world.
-I love the way you play with your sister and that you absolutely adore her. You still think she's the funniest person ever.
-I love the way you like to hold onto my fingers when I reach back to your carseat to put the paci in your mouth.
-And I love the way you chase me around the house and pull up on my legs when I'm standing in the kitchen cooking. Even though it's difficult not to trip over you, it's so precious to have you in there with me.

We sure do love you, sweet little girl. I especially love having two daughters and a wonderful husband to share these holidays with.

I Want to Remember This

Someday, when my girls are older and in school or are grown and living on their own, I want to remember this. I want to remember being so tired from waking up with Heidi six times in one night, five times the next, and so on. I want to remember the tiny call from Ansley in the middle of the night, saying, "Paci, Mommy. Paci, Mommy. Paci, Mommy. Paci, Mommy. Paci, Mommy...." until I finally get up to find it for her. I want to remember Heidi crawling after me everywhere I go in the house. Remember hearing Ansley tell me she needs to go potty in the middle of our shopping trip with a basket full of groceries. Remember the trip to the doctor's office today when I was convinced Heidi has been crying and not sleeping because of some terrible ear infection and hearing the doctor tell me that her ears and everything else look perfect. And then walking to the front door of the doctor's office to leave and seeing that it's pouring rain. Having a complete stranger (who worked at the clinic) walk up to me and ask if I would like for her to take my children around to the covered area while I got my truck and taking her up on it, but wondering if this decision made me a terrible mom. Feeling like I have nothing under control and that I'm sinking. Feeling like I'm going to burst into tears if I hear Ansley yell at Heidi one more time, or hear Heidi wake up way too early from a nap, or if Ansley has another accident. Feeling like I never want to leave my house again. Wondering when I'm going to have time to take a shower.

Yep, it's been one of those days. Or few days.

But, I know that this time is flying by and that soon my girls won't need me for these things. Instead, they'll need advice on boys, clothes, makeup, homework, and college. And who knows where I will be. Maybe I'll be working, or maybe not. Right now I just can't imagine doing anything other than what I'm doing and it's such a wonderful feeling to know that the Lord is right here with me and is giving me the strength I need to be the mommy these girls need. How encouraging it is to remember that He chose me for them. He knows I can do it, even when I don't. And, when I wonder if I'm doing anything right and am discouraged because my tireless work isn't as apparently fruitful as I think it should be, Ansley walks up, wraps her arms around me, and says, "I love you, Mommy. You're my sweet girl."

By the way, I'm crying as I write this. I'm a wreck. And, I love it.

Cameron Park Zoo

Some photos of our trip with our friends to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco:

6 months

Heidi, you're 6 months! While I can't believe I already have daughters that are 2 1/2 and 6 months, it seems like I've known you all my life and you've just always been here. I don't even remember what life was like before children. This is without a doubt the happiest time of my life so far. Your daddy, sister, and you are all such wonderful blessings in my life and there's not one single thing I would change. God has taught me so much about being His child, a wife, daughter, sister, friend, and mother through my sweet girls.

About you, sweet Heidi, at 6 months:
-ACTIVE!!! That's an understatement. You began crawling about 2 weeks ago, sitting up unsupported 1 week ago, and just yesterday started pulling up to standing. Daddy is going to have to lower your crib mattress today. If you are awake, you're moving. And if you're asleep, you're not that way for long.
-Speaking of sleep, you have transitioned to two naps this week. But, you're still waking several times at night and I've started letting you cry it out, but that can last for a really long time and you get hysterical. I think you're pretty dramatic, which must come naturally as the second daughter. ( Ha, Aunt Mandy!) Mommy is very tired and is looking forward to the first night of uninterrupted sleep.
-At your six month appointment you were 15 lbs, 10 oz and are still in the 50 percentile for height and weight.
-You are still nursing every 3 hours, but are also eating cereal for dinner. I have mixed in applesauce, sweet potatoes, and bananas so far. We're going to add more food into your diet next week, but I have to figure out what I'm doing all over again. How could I have already forgotten and I just did this two years ago?
-You are true to your age in terms of clothing size and we are running into problems since it's turned a little cooler because Ansley was quite a bit bigger than you at this age, so the cold weather clothes of hers are all too big.

I'm looking forward to celebrating your very first holidays soon! We're planning a fun night of trick-or-treating with your sister, family Thanksgiving here at our house, and traveling for Christmas. Sure to be lots of fun!

Love you sweet Heidi Reese.

More of my pumpkins

I had to add this one in because it's proof that she does belong to me. I think she looks a little like me in this photo.

I took the girls to the pumpkin patch (well, field of pumpkins on pallets) this morning in hopes of some great pics of the two of them together. Got a few... I keep thinking this is the year to get Ansley to sit still and smile for the camera, but I think it's actually getting more difficult. She kept saying, "I want to play with the kids, Mommy." Kinda sad.

But, aren't they the cutest sisters? I'm so blessed and thankful for these two daughters.

Look how much our group of friends has grown! And there are even more on the way.

Heidi's First Annual Pumpkin Pictures

More to come Thursday when we take both girls for their first pumpkin pics together. This has become a fun tradition with friends and I can't wait to compare this year's pictures with those in previous years.

Let the races begin!

Well, two days ago it happened. Heidi took her first lurches of freedom. Nothing of Ansley's is safe anymore and the fighting has begun. I have to baby-proof the house all over since I now have a crawler on my hands again. Since taking this video, Heidi has been working on perfecting coordination between her arms and legs and is getting faster. A whole new world has opened up to her; she's venturing into Ansley's room and the tile in the kitchen and it doesn't take long for her to be fifteen feet away from where I last saw her. I let Ansley eat a "picnic" lunch on the living room floor today and came back into the room just as she was yelling at Heidi and pushing her out of her plate of chips and strawberries.

These precious girls keep me busy, entertained, worn out, and totally happy. I love to see the way Heidi watches her big sister with such amazement and curiosity. She still thinks Ansley is the funniest person in the world. I can't wait for my daughters to be best friends like my sister and are. What a special relationship sisters have and I'm so blessed to get to cultivate that between my two girls. So excited for many memories to come!

Milestones

Heidi's trying to sit up on her own a little. She can balance with her hands down, but tips to the side when she moves them.


We started cereal with mixed fruit two nights ago. She seemed to like it and was pretty good at getting the food in her mouth, but spit it all up when we were finished.


Since Ansley's hair has been growing I have been curious about what pigtails would look like. I know they looked totally ridiculous, but it was fun playing nonetheless. Maybe she can wear pigtails out of the house in a few years when she actually has enough hair to look reasonable. Ha! I do love her precious head of short, crazy straight, white-blonde hair. I have had so many people stop me in the store to tell me they love her haircut. But really, I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring myself to cut it.

My 5 Month Old

Heidi,

It's time for the 5 month post! I remember that this was one of my favorite months when Ansley was a baby because it was when so many fun new changes began happening. It's already started with you and I've really enjoyed watching your sweet personality develop. Your personality so far seems to be:
-you're very active, always wiggling and squirming. You are rather difficult to hold, don't care much for cuddling or rocking, and have recently started rocking on your hands and knees. I believe that in the next month or so you will be crawling all over the place. You have that in common with your sister...she was never content to be still either. But, that's okay. You will need to be pretty active to keep up with your daddy, mommy, and sister.
-you give the sweetest little smiles all the time. My favorites are when I'm feeding you and you look up and grin at me and the happy smile you give when I pick you up from your crib after naps and in the morning. Your little blue eyes sparkle and you have a precious dimple on your right cheek.
-you still adore your sister and she's such a big help to me. She's constantly saying that she loves her sister and helps put your pacifier in your mouth when you're fussy or clean you when you make a mess.

More about my sweet little five month old:
-You still wear size 2 diapers and are wearing 3-6 month clothes. Your precious rolls reassure me that you're well nourished.
-You haven't cut any teeth yet, but are drooling and chewing on everything in sight.
-You have not shown any interest in eating solids yet, so we haven't attempted cereal. That will come soon, though.
-You're taking 3 naps a day. If they are too short you take a fourth. At night, you wake around 12:30 and 4:30. You're not much of a fan of sleeping. But, that's okay because neither are mommy or Ansley. There's just way too much to do and see!

What a sweet girl you are, Heidi Reese. Can't wait to see what the next 5 months brings!

Love,

Mommy

Matchy matchy

The girls got new matching jammies today. Aren't these two precious? I'm so in love.

Third week of gymnastics

An
Ansley's the one in the red shirt.

So this was the third week of gymnastics and Ansley is absolutely loving it! I love watching her from the second floor window and seeing how she interacts without me around. She is very obedient and listens well to her teacher's instructions. And she looks so darn cute skipping around the floor to her little carpet square. Today's three rotations included rolling down the wedge, walking on the balance beam, and jumping on the trampoline. At the very end, the kids all came together and got to play with the parachute (I that's what it is). I think that was by far the favorite.

Ansley always makes me laugh because when we get there, we go upstairs to the room where the parents watch and when her teacher comes to get her, Ansley doesn't even say bye or look back at me. She just runs right to the door, where they enter a slide to get down to the floor. She totally forgets about me even being there. And every week she cries when it's time to leave "nastics" and she calls it. It's such a joy watching her have so much fun.

PS: Try to ignore the talking in the background and the reflection in the glass. That was me trying to keep Heidi quiet in her carseat.

Aggie gameday

Sunday was A&M's first football game of the season, so we packed up the girls and headed to campus to let them experience the Corps and band. Ansley has been every year, but I was so excited for her to go now because she is finally old enough to get excited about it all. And Heidi looked so cute just hanging out in her stroller in her first Texas A&M shirt. We headed home after watching the cannon fire and the band step off to watch the game at our house, but apparently a bad fire burned some of the cables of our internet and cable provider and I was told that it would be late that night or the next morning before it was repaired. That meant no Aggie football for me and I was so bummed since I love watching football and I had been excited for such a long time about getting the girls in bed and curling up with a blanket on my couch to watch. We turned it on the radio instead and finally during halftime the TV clicked on and we got to watch the Aggies win!

I couldn't believe how many people were on campus since it was the first game and was against SMU. There is always such an exciting energy on game days in this town, but I think it was even better because of the excitement surrounding our possible joining of the SEC and the ranking of our football team. It's funny, but I sometimes get so caught up in the day to day of raising babies that I forget we live in the same town as our beloved university. Football weekends are a big deal around here and I can't wait until the next!

4 Months

Heidi,

You're 4 months! Here are some of the things I love most about you these days:
-You absolutely adore your sister. Your sweet little eyes light up when you see her and you get a huge grin to show off your little dimple. She's also the only one you find funny enough to laugh.
-You have settled into a very predictable routine and that is making nighttime a lot easier. You usually go to bed around 8:00 and wake around 1:30 and 4:30 to eat. Then, you'll go back to sleep until around 7:30 or 8:00.
-I love your sweet little rolls and soft skin.
-I think you're taking after me in terms of your size. At your 4 month appointment you were 13 lbs, 12 oz and 50th percentile for height and weight. You wear anything from 0-3 months to 3-6 months.
-You have decided your swing is not so bad and will nap in it when you get fussy.
-Your big blue eyes that are the exact same color as Ansley's.

I love you, sweet Heidi Reese. What a precious gift you are to our family.

1st day of gymnastics & Heidi's laugh

And one more of Heidi...

Photo catch up

Potty Time, Day 1

Today we started potty training Ansley. Thank goodness my sister was here with me to help with Heidi since Ansley got every little bit of attention and energy I had. I have laughed harder at her today than ever and she has almost brought me to tears, too.

This morning I woke Ansley and brought her to the living room with her potty, sat her down in front of the cartoons with a cup of milk, and told her to stay there until she went. It only took a few minutes and then Mandy and I practically jumped up and down and praised her to the extreme. We emptied her potty into the big one, let her flush it, and she picked out a prize. I started with setting the timer for every 30 minutes for her to sit on the potty, but we pumped her so full of juice that she had a couple of accidents and I decided to do it every 15 minutes. A couple more accidents later I decided to go with 10 minutes and then got really discouraged. I did the math and realized that if she kept that up, we would sit on the potty 72 times a day. So, we slowed way down on the juice. For her nap, I put these plastic panty type things over her panties thinking those would keep her bed dry, but they didn't work. I woke her and she was soaking wet, so we're going with pull-ups during naps and diapers at night I think. We'll work on the naps and night time when she gets the day time training down. She did not have any accidents after her nap and was happy to sit on her potty as long as she got candy as a reward. I had Jeff stop and get Skittles on his way home so I could give her one little piece each time.

Like I said above, we have laughed so hard at her today. Here are some of the funny things she's said:
-"Here it comes!"
-"No! Don't say that!" - to Mandy when she asked if Ansley wanted to sit on her potty
-"No, I just want to hang out." - to me when I asked if she wanted to sit on her potty

I'm sure there will be many more funny phrases to come.

So, for day one, she went about 15 times on the potty and only had 5 accidents. I'm pretty proud of her!

Learning new things!

3 months

Heidi,

You are now three months old! Here's what you're doing now:
-you smile a lot in response to my smiles
-you have started lying on the floor awake for longer periods of time. After you eat, I put you on the floor on your back for a while and you watch your sister play.
-you also spend time on your tummy and can hold your head up very well.
-you've been rolling from your tummy to your back for several weeks now.
-you still HATE the carseat and scream when your buckled in it. Road trips are no fun.
-While we were on vacation, you slept so well. You only woke once to eat (4:30ish) and then went back to sleep until 8:30 or so. Since we've been home you've decided to give that up and are now waking around 1:30 and 4 to eat, but then wake again at 7.
-I'm trying so hard to get you on some sort of sleep schedule, but you're still unpredictable. By Ansley's naptime I'm so worn out and I try to get you to both sleep at the same time, but sometimes it doesn't work that way.
-I try to guess at your personality, and here is what I think so far: you are very sweet and have an infectious smile. You're happiest when someone is holding you and you're getting attention. You know what you want and how to get it. Like your sister and mommy, you seem to be very active. Your arms and legs are always moving and you seem like you want to get up and crawl. I definitely think you'll crawl and walk early.

I love you, sweet Heidi Reese!

And just so I can look back years from now on what life was like with two little ones at home, here is what our day looks like:
-At 7:00 am Ansley comes in the room to wake us by coming to my side of the bed and saying, "Good morning, Mommy!" I change diapers, turn on the news, and feed Heidi. Then I get Ansley's breakfast and eat myself.
-Then I lay Heidi on the floor to play for as long as she'll tolerate and Ansley will play with her toys while I clean the kitchen and the rest of the house. Ansley will find Heidi's paci and put it in her mouth when she starts crying.
-Heidi will nap around 8:30 or 9 in her crib for about an hour and then wake to eat again. After that, we will run errands or play with our friends. Heidi will take another little nap around 11.
-Lunch is around 12 and then Ansley watches Sesame Street. I feed Heidi at 1 and start trying to get her to sleep so I can put Ansley to bed and have a break for myself. Usually by 1:30 or 2 I have both asleep.
-Ansley will wake around 3:30 or 4 and come say to me, "Good morning, Mommy!" again. She gets a snack and then plays with her toys some more. Heidi will wake soon after to eat again.
-Then I start dinner and Jeff gets home around 5 or 5:30. We eat and then play together and talk in the living room. Ansley gets so excited when daddy gets home and as soon as she hears the garage door open, she runs around the corner in the kitchen to greet him. He always picks her up and gives her a kiss and then comes to tell me hi and kisses Heidi and me too.
-Heidi eats again at 7 and then I get both girls bathed and ready for bed. By 8 or 8:30 I have both girls in bed and if Jeff's not working at the station the next day, we will sit up and watch TV or talk until we go to bed. I'll feed Heidi once more and then go to sleep.

These days are just so precious. There is nothing in this world I would give up any of this time for. The Lord has been so faithful to provide everything we need and I'm thankful to be able to stay home with my babies.

Fun on the 4th

We had a fun weekend full of festivities for the 4th of July including the 10th annual skeet shoot, fireworks in Scurry, wonderful food, a great time with friends, a redneck slip n slide, and the Rosser parade. I wish I had gotten more pictures with my camera. Especially of our friend Will's interpretive dance during our game of Quelf. Can't wait to do it all again next year!

We give thanks to God for allowing us to live in a country where all of this was possible. And we give thanks to all the men and women who have fought, died, and continue to fight for our freedoms.

Differences the Second Time Around

Ansley and Grammy around the 4th of July. I know. She was huge!!!


Heidi and Grandpa. There was about a one month difference in age between the girls in these photos.


Ansley on the beach.


Heidi on the beach.

The other day I was reading what I wrote about Ansley on the blog when she was two months old. I could.not.believe the difference in size of my girls. Ansley was 14.5 lbs at her two month appointment! Heidi was 9.5 lbs. What in the world!?! I knew Ansley was big, but whoa. I remember now that I was so afraid to let her go past three hours between feedings, even at night. I would wake her up. Crazy! I'm a lot more laid back with Heidi. I even sometimes let her go over three hours during the day if she's sleeping.

Other differences in my mommy style the second time around:
-I don't jump every second Heidi cries. I at least wait a couple of seconds.
-I don't instantly scoop up fallen pacifiers off the floor and put them in a pot to boil. Now I just quickly wipe them on my shirt and pop back in Heidi's mouth.
-I'm not using special baby detergent to wash her clothes.
-I let Heidi nap on her tummy and have even let her sleep on her tummy some at night in the pack n play next to my bed. I wouldn't let Ansley until she started rolling over and I couldn't control it.
-While I still check to make sure Heidi's breathing if she's been quiet for too long, I don't do it nearly as often as I did with Ansley.

I'm glad I eventually relaxed a little with Ansley. This explains a lot about her personality, huh?