Happy 2nd birthday, Sydney!

I can't believe my little girl is two-years old already!  Time really does fly.  We had a little party for her and Chet at the house last weekend.  It was, what I like to call, a "happy 30th Elmo" birthday.  We didn't really get into a theme, but there was "30" and "Elmo" paraphernalia present.  My family drove into town for the event, and we had a few neighbors over.  There were 13 adults (including us), and three children, which was totally manageable...my kind of party!  I'll let the pictures tell the story...

My dad, in the kitchen, preparing some of the food.  (You can see balloons in the left-hand corner.  There were two awesome balloon bouquets at the party, but I didn't get a good picture of either of them.  Besides that, we didn't really decorate.)

Some more food.  The table wasn't completely set at this point though...

Fixing Syd's hair, RIGHT before people started ringing the doorbell.  The party was at 2:00, and that's exactly what time I got her up from her nap.  She was a little bewildered at the changes that had taken place downstairs while she napped.

The "little sis", waiting for the party to start.

The three kiddos.  They were having fun going crazy with the balloons, but Syd insisted on observing from the chair, holding her "2" balloon.

Syd, Didi, and Lorelei.  Syd saw this pacifier up on the counter (it belongs to us, but Syd doesn't use this kind), and insisted on having it.  Grr.

Sydney and Maddy.

The joint birthday cake.  It was delicious!

Syd looking suspicious (just like last year) as we sang "Happy Birthday".

Then she hid her face in Chet's shoulder.

She was a lot messier this year eating her cake.  Probably because she now knows what cake is, and tried to shove it in her mouth and ask for more as quickly as possible, since she hardly ever gets to eat it.

It is SO hard to get good pictures of children opening presents.  This was probably one of her favorite gifts.  It is a purse with a little dog in it.  She loves it!  She calls it "white puppy".

(Notice we lost the bow).

These pictures were taken a little later.  We only opened the gifts that non-family members brought during the party.  After the party we opened family gifts (although she still hasn't opened her gifts from Chet and me).  By the way, it is painstaking to watch her open presents.  She tears off one piece of paper at a time, and then goes to the kitchen to throw it away before tearing off another. 

New Gap hoodie from Didi.

Gap hoodie, dern pacifier, and white puppy.

Gap hoodie, dern pacifier, and new baby doll.

Cards and gifts from Grammy and Papa Greg (who couldn't make it :-( ).

A sweet puppy that looks like Chet's favorite dog growing up, Libby.  Sydney calls it "Wibby".

Grammy and Papa Greg sent an adorable sweatsuit, and Syd insisted on putting the jacket on the doll.

My dad (Papa John) got Sydney a tricycle for her birthday.  Chet put it together while Syd and Papa John went on a walk outside.  The tricycle was in the garage, and we surprised Sydney by opening the garage door and letting her discover it.  It was priceless.  And my camera battery decided to die at that precise moment. 

Didi and Lorelei, waiting for Syd to return from the walk.

Here they come!

She loves it!

Short, Random Post

Chet built us a new table.  Our "old" table (it wasn't very old) was a square-shaped bar-height table.  It was very pretty, but it wasn't working for us anymore.  So, instead of spending hundreds of dollars and hours searching for a new table, Chet built one for us.  It was so great, because it allowed us to "design" and create a table that meets our current needs, and because it gave Chet the opportunity to make some sawdust in the garage...something he's been missing!  I don't have a finished shot of the table in the dining area with the chairs (which we bought used at a furniture store and that I am planning on refinishing while Chet is on deployment), but here it is.

Mrs. Jay, Sydney's amazing home daycare provider from Jacksonville, visited us the weekend before last.  She and her family are relocating from Jacksonville to Gulfport this summer...we can't wait!

Here's my little Bump.  She found her hands a couple of weeks ago, and loves chewing on them.  She's also drooling a lot lately; perhaps she will cut teeth early like Sydney did.

3 Months Old!

I can't believe Lorelei is already three months old!  She is such a sweet baby; she is rarely fussy, unless she's extremely hungry or extremely tired (or unless she just wants her mama...she's a mama's girl!).  She loves her big sister, and loves to watch Sydney play.  I wouldn't say she sleeps through the night, but she will wake up once a night to eat, and always (knock on wood!) goes back to sleep after a nighttime feeding.  Which I can handle!  She's my little buddy, and I can't wait to watch her continue to grow!

2 Months

3 Months

Quick Post and Some Pictures

As you can see here I still need to post about Lorelei's birth story and the crazy time we had in the couple of weeks after she was born.  But...we've been quite busy lately, so for now I will just post a couple of pictures, and promise that posts are forthcoming. 

Sydney, wearing her sling (a mini version of the one I carry Lorelei in!) and pushing her baby...with that dern pacifier!  (The pacifier is about to go...I'm so tired of it...and she's ready to be done with it...she just doesn't know it yet, ha!)

Syd's adorable outfit.

The lighting is terrible in this picture, but here is my sweet little drool monster, wearing a sweater (baby sweaters crack me up).

Adventures in Babyland (Part II)

You can read about Adventures in Babyland (Part I) here. 

...Syd arrived at the CDC on time (remember, that's the Child Development Center, not the Center for Disease Control, ha!).  It always seems to take forever to get her checked in at the front desk and settled in the room.  I wish the ladies who worked in the room would help speed things along, because after a few minutes Syd gets this really sad look on her face that says, "What did I do to deserve to be left here with all of these babies, Mommy?"  At least, that's what my Mommy Guilt tells me that's what she's thinking.  (And all of the other kids really do seem like babies compared to Sydney.  She calls all of them "Baby" and says "Bye, Baby!" or "The babies are crying!" when I pick her up later.)

Speaking of Mommy Guilt, I do not like it.  I think it's good for Syd and I to have a little break from each another every once in a while, but I always forget that when it's time to drop her off at the CDC.  I have to force myself to remember that it would be more unfair to strap her in the car seat, drive all the way to the Air Force Hospital, make her be still and quiet during the appointment, and inevitably get frustrated with her more than once.  Not to mention mess with nap time.  And we do not mess with nap time in our house.  Period.  Otherwise we would ALL go crazy.

Anyway, the crazy day I'm writing about occurred just over a month ago by this point.  But I still want to record a couple of memories before they are gone forever.  The doctor appointment was for Lorelei (her 2-month well-baby appointment).  She weighed in at 10 lbs, 12 oz, although I'm sure she's at least 12 lbs by now.  I don't recall her length or head circumference, but here is where she falls out, percentage-wise:

Weight: 47th percentile
Length: 43rd percentile
Head Circumference: 55th percentile

So, all in all, a pretty average-sized little bumpkin!  (That's what we call her, by the way: Bumpkin.  Bump, for short.)

She also received her first round of vaccinations that day.  She cried, of course, but she settled down pretty quickly.

One more thing.  I went back to the pediatric waiting room to feed Lorelei after she received her shots and before we went home.  There was another woman there with two little boys, who looked to be the same ages as Sydney and Lorelei.  Actually, I'm pretty convinced that her baby boy was born the same day as Lorelei, because there were four other babies born that day in the same hospital, and she was also at the doctor with him the same day Lorelei had her 2-week well-baby appointment.  Anyway, her older little boy looked about Sydney's age, but may have been a little older.  I observed them as Lorelei ate, and was happy to see that I'm not the only one who feels like she has her hands too full sometimes.  She was also feeding the baby, and simultaneously trying to keep her older little boy out of trouble.  Sometimes he listened to her, sometimes he ignored her, and the rest of the time he flat out disobeyed.  My heart went out to the woman, but also lifted my spirits.  Hopefully that doesn't sound too much like "misery loves company", but it really did make me feel better to see with my own eyes another stay-at-home mom who obviously loves her children, but sometimes gets frustrated when she only has two hands and cannot seem to always get through to her hard-headed toddler.  I wish I could have talked to her, but we were across the room, and her son's name was called for his appointment before I Lorelei and I left.  Perhaps at the next well-baby appointment, ha!

Chet is 30!

Yesterday was Chet's 30th birthday...happy birthday to a wonderful husband and father! 

Yesterday morning I was all set to get out of the house with the girls and go card shopping.  I was also going to get Chet a giant balloon...more for the surprise effect and Syd's entertainment than anything.  However, my plans were thwarted, even though we were all dressed and ready to leave the house by 8:00 a.m. (which is a miracle in and of itself!).  Lorelei has been congested lately (Chet, Syd, and I have been battling colds the last couple of weeks, so she caught it from us).  I took her to the doctor Tuesday, and everything was fine, but yesterday she was wheezing a little, so I was concerned.  But not concerned enough to haul them both to the hospital for an appointment (on Tuesday, her doctor said she may start wheezing, and that wheezing isn't necessarily a sign that her lungs are congested...does that make sense?).  Anyway, there is a doctor assigned to Chet's command, and I asked Chet to see if he could squeeze Lorelei in to just listen to her lungs.  But both Chet and the doctor were super busy yesterday morning, so I just stood by the phone, expecting Chet to call and say, "He can see her now!".  But that never happened.  And as time passed, I grew less and less concerned about the wheezing.  By this time is was the middle of the day, and time for Syd's 2-hour nap.  So, as you can see, my morning plans were thwarted.  And Syd didn't wake up until 3:00 p.m., which didn't leave us enough time to get out and back home before Chet got home in order to surprise him.  Sigh.  Perhaps we will get out this morning...after Lorelei wakes up from the nap she is currently taking...

Chet's combination Christmas/birthday gift from the girls and me was a drill press, but I wanted to do SOMETHING nice for his birthday, on his actual birthday.  So I ordered dinner for us (just he and I) from a restaurant we've been wanting to try, and that I know we will not have the opportunity to try before deployment.  It was so delicious, and we waited to eat until after Syd was in bed (7:00 p.m.), so it was also quiet!  Lorelei just sat in her bouncy seat on the table, watching us eat and chat.  It was as close to a birthday date as we were going to get!

Happy birthday again to my great husband (and his twin sister)!  We love you, and know that the 30's will bring much happiness!

Money Saving Mom

About a year ago I signed up to receive e-mails from "Money Saving Mom".  At first it was just to receive a comprehensive list of the weekly sales, but now I absolutely love and look forward to her personal and guest posts about saving money.  She is so practical and uplifting; she's great!  Anyway, she wrote a book called "The Money Saving Mom's Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year".  You can buy it here from Amazon.