New baby, old dress

On Sunday I was looking in the closet to get a dress for June and I found this adorable pink one. I know it's not for everyone, but I'm a sucker for smocking - especially on adorable little girls! I looked inside the dress for a tag to see what size it was and there was no tag. I took a closer look and could see the hand stitching on the hem. A little more research confirmed that my Grandma Knoles had made it. Don't you love it when extremely adorable and meaningful come to a perfect match? June looked like a little doll, seriously, like a real. live. doll. and it was all the better that the dress has some history and meaning to me.

Enlarge the first photo to catch a glimpse of her still very blue eyes. The photos don't really do her or the dress justice. When she would smile, you would just want to hug and kiss her to pieces. Seriously, she got more than her fair share of compliments at church, but what else would you expect from the cutest baby in the world?

On another fun note, I have choir practice while Ryan is in meetings on Sunday. The choir director's husband is the most baby-loving grandpa you will ever meet. It is his special job to hold June while I play the piano for the choir and he is just so excited to do it. I love our ward. Anyone and everyone is itching and fighting to hold the babies and I have seen several "old high priests" volunteer to sub in nursery when it's needed.

San Antonio

Back when  my parents were in town, we wanted to take a little trip, so we decided to go to San Antonio and see the Alamo. It is a long enough drive that we thought it would be fun to stay the night with my friend Shalece so that the kiddos wouldn't have to do the 3-4 hours twice in one day.

The drive there was really smooth. We went straight to the Alamo. It was a cool place, but I'll be honest - it's hard to get a lot out of things when you have one toddler who didn't nap because she was so hyper in the car and one six week-old baby in a baby bjorn. It was cool to learn a little Tejas history and see a new city. San Antonio was really pretty and I loved the rolling hills. Definitely a more pleasant landscape than Houston.

After the Alamo we took a boat tour of the river walk, which was really, really pretty. But, nursing in public, on a boat, in the heat, with a blanket covering was really not ideal.

We went to Shalece's house and had a great evening. It was almost the perfect trip until about midnight. It was a warm night and I had put Willa's pack n play in the pantry for her to sleep. She is very good with routine and she went right to bed without crying or a battle (the new environment was a little scary for her) because she had a pack n play with her usual toys and animals. Well, around midnight I was worried that she might be too hot. I wasn't sure how well-ventilated the pantry was. I decided to go check on her and duh duh duh.... she woke up when I opened the door. She was so disoriented from being woken up and also from being in a new place that I knew I couldn't leave her in there. She would have screamed and screamed and been terrified. I brought her to bed with me and since she is such a good CRIB sleeper and has NEVER slept in our bed even if I have wanted her to, she did not sleep for the rest of the night. You read correctly, my two-year old pulled an all-nighter and wanted me to chase her all night. It was miserable. I didn't want her to wake anyone else, I couldn't get her to fall asleep on the bed, and I had June who was just six weeks old. Finally, around 5:30 am she got hungry (who wouldn't after being up all night?). We went downstairs to get her some cheerios. After she ate she started to run around and I pulled her tight on my lap and very sternly told her that it was still night time. Well, after about 30 seconds on my lap she fell asleep (this was now 6 am). My mom walked in the room right then. We decided to just pack everything up right then and head back home to beat traffic. We hadn't planned on any sight-seeing that day, but it was sad to have to leave so quickly - but definitely for the best. We were out the door around 6:30 am and both girls slept the entire car ride home. Though it didn't end perfectly, it was fun and I was glad we went and were adventurous. It's so funny how much more chill you are with the second child. We just carted June along with us. I cannot imagine myself ever doing that with Willa at six weeks. Just a car ride was a major event with me because... she might cry in her carseat or worse - fall asleep and get off her nap schedule, the horror!

June's Blessing

My mom finished her last chemo the day that June was born (double celebration!) so she and my dad thought that they could fly out to visit when June was about six weeks old. It worked out perfectly for us to have June's blessing while they were here. Ryan's parents were also able to come out for the blessing. I was so so so happy to have both grandparents here. We really have had a hard time making friends on our same wavelength here (if you know what I mean) and I had humorous visions of Ryan being the entire blessing circle.

Here is a picture before church while Ryan was in meetings. We got a whole family shot after church, but it is beyond horrible so I will never post it publicly. Willa was overtired since she missed her nap and I just look like a huge cow in it. Sundays are so hard to dress for these days! I'm still sporting more than my fair share of muffin top (somehow the second child seemed to give me a permanent womb). It's hard to find a shirt that looks decent on, is fancy enough to wear to church, and that is easy to nurse from. The necessity of nursing in a somewhat public place, that's the wardrobe killer right there.

June looked adorable, as you can see. She was also a nice, quiet baby for the entire blessing. I was pretty worried since she often has two modes: sleeping or crying. But, I must have timed her last meal perfectly because she didn't get as gassy as usual and was just a doll. She fell asleep soon after in Ryan's arms and they had a little moment. Melinda wrote down everything from the blessing, which is on a piece of paper in a very important place (important place is yet to be discovered/remembered), but I do remember that Ryan blessed June to be a good sister. I loved that and Ryan said later that it is really important to him that Willa and June are close and good sisters. I hope that this is the case too, there is nothing like siblings and sisters in particular. Even though I anticipate having to tune out many teenage arguments over clothes sharing, they are lucky to have each other. It was a great blessing day and especially nice to spend it with family.

What kind of mom are you?

I read a blog a while ago about different kinds of moms. It has made me think about this question and realize that I am most definitely a park mom. I like to get out and go go go. I'm not so great at sitting and playing with toys, but boy do I love the park. There is hardly any whining, the toddler gets tons of exercise, and the house stays clean since we aren't home. The best park days are when we can go with friends. Often we go with my friend Kim. When her husband is off shore and Ryan is working late we will stay for hours, and then often go to one of our houses to eat dinner together.

Sometimes I wish I was more of a stay at home mom, but I get stir crazy. If I am honest, I usually fit in an outing both before and after nap time every day. The park, the store, a friend's house, a walk, the library, the zoo, a splashpad. Today we met a friend at the park in the morning, then more friends at a bouncy castle place for the afternoon (where the kids bounced for 2 1/2 hours straight!). I love coming home and going straight to dinner and bath time. I don't think any particular kind of mom is better than another, I just know that I function best as a park mom. So, what kind of mom are you?

Here are a couple of park videos from when my parents were here.

Unrelated photo of newborn June in the outfit I wore home from the hospital. It has the look of a vintage track suit and the feel of a terrycloth bathrobe.

Couldn't resist adding these two photos. I love how Willa is trying hard not to smile in the first one. June was way little, so Willa must have been going through some growing pains.

The second one is from this past Sunday. June is just so cute, I can't stand it!

June-bug at 2 months

June was two months old on Sunday. She is still the sweetest thing, I could just cuddle her and kiss her all day long! I love when Willa is napping or in bed for the night so that I can have some uninterrupted June time. Full disclosure, I also love when both girls are napping simultaneously so I can have some uninterrupted me time, which usually results in a nap.

At her doctor's appointment, June was 23 inches (72%) and 10 lb, 15 oz (50%).  She still is in a lot of discomfort after she eats. About three weeks ago it changed from just being lots of burps to being lots and lots of spit-ups. Spit-ups that would not even touch my shoulder, but would fly over top and leave a big puddle on the floor. She also wasn't usually relieved after a burp or spit-up, usually they made her fuss harder. So, I decided to ask the doctor about reflux. He thinks it's probably a possibility and prescribed some zantac for her. We just started it yesterday and yesterday was really good, but today seems not as good. He said it would take about a week to know if it is helping. She'll grow out of it soon enough, I just feel so badly for her.
 
She really has the sweetest personality when she isn't in pain. She will lay on the floor and just smile and smile. She's so calm that I've already been able to put her down for naps or just resettle her in the middle of a nap by putting the pacifier in her mouth while she lays in her bed. I love rocking babies to sleep, but I also want her to be able to put herself to sleep as soon as possible if it's something she can calmly do. It's definitely not a 100% success rate yet, but I think I'm further than I was with Willa at this point. When I can catch the wave of drowsiness right, I can lay her down with her eyes open, put the pacifier in, and keep my hand on her tummy for a few minutes and she will drift off to sleep. I usually wait in there to replace the pacifier if it falls out, but overall she will do it without a protest. It has also really helped her naps, when she wakes up in the middle of a nap, instead of picking her up and jostling her, she goes back to sleep much more quickly if I just put the pacifier back in her mouth. Three cheers for the pacifier! She is still mainly waking up just once a night and can do 5 and 6 hour stints, which are sooo nice. I feel like night-sleep should be coming very soon.

June especially loves her bath time right now. Even if she is fussy, she will calm down as soon as we go into the bathroom and she will lay on her towel smiling while she listens to the tub fill with water. She LOVES the warm bath and it was a charm in calming her down when her shots were hurting her after the doctor. Poor thing, I forgot to give her more Tylenol and she woke up screaming and couldn't even calm down to nurse. It had been over three hours so I knew she was hungry. It was very sad and we actually resorted to a bottle of formula. Ryan was able to get about half an ounce in, then I got about half an ounce in her using a little dropper. That took the edge off the hunger enough so that she was able to nurse. Willa's lily white skin never touched formula, but poor June has now had it twice :). I just don't think it's worth pumping when I'm only feeding her a bottle about once a month.

Finally, it looks like June may indeed have blue eyes. Very shocking! Willa's eyes were not this blue this late in the game. In the light they look crystal blue and have absolutely no other color there. Both grandmas are leaning towards calling the eyes blue, but we are still waiting. If her eyes are blue, then she will be Ryan's baby and Willa will be my baby. They were each born in our respective birthday months and each resembled one of us more than the other at birth (discounting the hair, June really did have more of a "Daniels" look right in the beginning). If June's eyes stay blue, it will just seal the deal.

This is a actually a photo of Willa at 2 months. They look pretty different to me, but are definitely sisters.

Miss June, I love her chubby cheeks! I think her hair is a little longer than Willa's, but I've a faulty memory.

I can't resist these bed head shots. Actually, I went to wake her up from her nap. I undid the swaddle and her arms went up, but she still stayed asleep. Then, I cut her fingernails and she still slept, finally I decided just to let her sleep on, and she woke up about 20 minutes later. She is the sweetest thing. Shannon sent this little sleeper, the fabric is so stretchy and thin that you can feel all the baby rolls when you hold her (Shannon's description, not mine). It is the most delicious feeling!

"No, Mommy, No!" Doctor says Willa is right on track at her 2 1/2 year check-up

Willa isn't difficult, but she is two years old. There are so many little personality quirks at this stage. I have to constantly remind myself that she is developmentally right on target and that defiance/disobedience/tantrums/opinions are all part of this whole tamale. Of course, there are also hugs and kisses and laughter and lots and lots of fun right now too.

I had to put the "No, Mommy, no!" in the title of this blog post because it is our inside joke these days. Willa was sleeping one afternoon and I could hear her talking in her sleep saying, "No, no, no!" Then few days ago, Ryan heard her talking in her sleep in the middle of the night, but this time she was saying, "No, Mommy, no!" It makes me laugh because it so illustrates a toddler's world right now. Willa is up for anything and she is going to argue until she gets it. She must view me as the total wet blanket always trying to disrupt her fun. Sometimes while I'm driving she will start arguing and I will ignore her and so she just argues with herself. "Juice, uh-uh, juice, uh-uh, juice, uh-uh, juice!" It is pretty hilarious when I am in the right mindset, which I constantly have to remind myself to be in. When I'm not in the right mindset, it's best if I just turn on the tv for her and go simmer down somewhere before I explode.

She is saying and doing so many funny things these days. She likes to sit at the lever harp and play the strings. She wants me to sit in the chair next to her like I do with my students and she asks, "Like this, mommy?" while she plucks the strings. Today, I was counting and clapping out loud with a student and afterwards, Willa sat at the harp and clapped her hands while counting to ten. I poured some Lucky Charms for her the other day (aren't I a great mom!) and she told me, "Careful with that!" when I carried the bowl to the table. She still loves helping. She was underfoot one evening while I was trying to clean up dinner, so I pulled a chair up so she could play in the sink while I loaded the dishwasher. She LOVED to "wash dishes" and kept saying it over and over. She even had to get Ryan's attention (he was with June) and said, "Look daddy, I washing dishes!"

She knows her colors, shapes, the alphabet, and can recognize and say her numbers up to ten. I am super proud of her. She stepped on an ant hill two weeks ago, we gave her Benadryl immediately and slathered her foot in Hydro cortisone cream, but within an hour her face started breaking out on hives even though the ant bites were on her foot. They were spreading fast so I gave her another dose of Benadryl and that finally stopped it. I talked to the doctor about it and he thinks we should go see an allergist. The ants are everywhere here and it's going to be hard to avoid them. This climate!!

Here she is swimming at Dan and Melinda's hotel pool. The water, air, and wind were FREEZING but she loved it. She cried when we took her out and was able to make out the words, "MORE!!!" with her chattering teeth and blue lips. Sadly, she asks every day if we can go to the swimming pool, but we don't have our apartment pool to go to anymore and the community pool doesn't open until Memorial Day.

Helping Ryan wash the car. She was extremely excited and proud of herself.  I also just want to remark that I know her hair looks like a crazy mess in most pictures. It usually gets done each day, but it is usually a fight. Then, it always looks crazy after her nap, so sometimes if we are staying home in the morning, I won't do it at all until after her nap. So, yes it looks crazy but it occasionally gets done. I think the trick with curly hair is that you can't really mess with it or the curls will frizz out. There are so many ways for a toddler to mess with her hair so I think it's going to look bad for the next several years.