Mother's Day Reflections

On my second Mother’s Day, we spent the day driving home from Louisville after my future sister-in-law’s graduation from law school.  I did get a lunch at Red Lobster and dinner from my favorite Mexican place, so it was a good day.  For gifts, I got cutting mats for fabric, a rotary cutter and a “Nick” charm for the necklace that Joey got me last year.  It was a great day and I’m glad that I got to spend it with my family. 

Now that I’m a mother myself, I have developed a much, much great appreciation for my mother and the other mother figures in my life.  I would like to pay tribute to a couple of them.

My mom – Where do I even begin?  I’m one of those lucky ones that has a mom that is also my best friend.  Yes, we have had our differences, but at the end of the day we have the kind of relationship that I hope to have with Aubrey one day.  She has worked so hard to provide me with everything I have needed, but has also instilled in me a strong work ethic and a very twisted sense of humor.  I love her so much and I know Aubs is absolutely in love with her Nana too.

My grandmother – Granny has been my rock.  She’s such an inspiration in her faith and her love for her family.  I love our weekly outings together and I’m so grateful that she is healthy and able to enjoy time with us grandkids and gets to play with her great-grandchildren.  She makes being 82 look easy!

My mother in law – I have also been lucky and very blessed in this department.  Since I have been with Joey since middle school, Helen has been a second mom to me.  She’s always there when I need her, even in the middle of the night and she’s been a huge help in Fridays when she watches the kiddos when I go into work.  She’s the best mother-in-law that a girl could ask for.

My “mom” friends – You know who you are.  Your love and support get me through the hard days – either with something that will make me laugh and forget my troubles or just being that shoulder that I need to cry on.  These ladies come from so many backgrounds and experiences and I’m so grateful that they can share that experience with me.  There are some that I see frequently and others that I have only chatted with online, but they are all so, so important to me.  I love you all and thank you for everything!

These ladies have influenced my life in so many ways and I thank God every day that they are in my life.  They have been with me through hard times and joyous times and I couldn’t imagine going through this journey without them.  Happy (belated) Mother’s Day to all you lovely ladies and to all you mommas out there!

Aubs is Two!

I just can’t believe it has been two years since I became a mom.  There has been so much joy and also some tears, but it has all been worth it to see what a beautiful person that Aubrey is becoming, inside and out.  While there are some days where you can definitely tell that we have reached the terrible twos, the majority of the time Aubs is very sweet and loving and very helpful around the house.  She loves books, puzzles, fruit and her little brother.  There has been a language explosion in the past couple of weeks, and we now have sentences and she is able to let us know when she wants something or what she’s doing.  Several times during the day, I am greeted with “Hey! What doin’?”

Playing with Sam at the park

Since Aubrey loves Minnie Mouse, we threw her a Minnie birthday party.  Since family alone constitutes a large party, we stuck with family and a couple of friends with babies.  Although the weather was terrible, we all had a great time.  Joey was awesome enough to grill out in the pouring rain, and the kids played great together.  Aubs got several wonderful gifts and she also got a kitchen from Daddy, Mommy and Nick.  She loves it!

Cakes made by Grandma!

Our attempt at a group photo with 13 kiddos, 9 of them under 2!

There was black frosting everywhere!

Aubrey had her well visit this week and she’s growing like a weed.  She’s 23 lbs (10^th% - finally), 34 in tall (67^th%) and Head circumference is 49cm(95^th%).  She HATED the doctor’s office and I am so glad I decided to bring my grandmother with me to hold Nick.  Hopefully the next appointment will go a lot better.  

Sometimes I wonder what's going on in that noggin...

Bathtime with Bubs

 She was not amused with a screaming Nick

Six Months Old!

It’s so hard to believe that we are at the 6 month mark.  Nick has changed so much this month, and his little personality is really starting to come out.  He’s just the happiest baby and he always has a smile for me or anyone else in his path.  He loves giving us all slobber kisses and hugs, and has started to realize when Mommy has left the room.  He loves playing with Aubrey, and Aubrey is working really hard on sharing.  It doesn’t always happen, but I really haven’t had to get on her too much about it, she continues to be a loving and helpful big sister.

Nick has started sitting up regularly this month and that’s usually where he likes to be.  He scoots all over the floor and has no problem nose-diving to get to a toy that he wants.  We don’t want to wish time away, but it will be nice when he can crawl and get around to what he wants.  Aubrey and I are constantly handing him toys that are just out of his reach.  You can tell he just can’t wait to get going so he can play with Sis and Sam.

It has continued to be a little difficult on the sleep front, but things seem to be getting a little better, with fingers crossed, he’s only woken up once for the past couple nights.  There is just so much going on with growing and development at this point in time, and I know sleep is affected by both.  We are starting to get longer stretches out of him though, which really helps.  Nick goes down for naps in his bed now and goes right to sleep when we lay him down at night (we did have to do a little CIO, but he responded to it well thank goodness).   The transition to bottle feeding has also gone well.  I thought I would have a hard time with it, but it really has been a smooth transition.

We had a pretty good doc visit this week.  Nick is 16 lbs, 6oz (25^th%) and 26.5 inches long (40^th%), his head circumference is 46 cm (90^th%).  He is meeting all of his milestones and doing just great.  I'm so thankful to have such a healthy and happy baby boy.