Thunder and Precious: The Sequel

For Gabby's birthday party, we went to Brooks to her grandparents house to ride their ponies. Lucy LOVED it and seriously would not stop talking about it. Well the precious Huggins fam invited us back, along with another couple from our small group, and we had so much fun! Lucy loved all the animals....especially the ponies.

I think this one is Thunder....Lucy's fave.

Gabby being a TRUE country girl and riding in her bathing suit

This face shows it all. Sweat and Joy.

Martin got a good work out running the girls around in the horse cart

Me and sweet Annie. I swear I'm not really this pale. But Annie really is this fat.

Mamas and babies on the porch

Parks being a flirt :)

Lucy feeding the pig! Those are Katie's amazing legs in this pic by the way. Wish they were mine :)

She seriously loved this guy. She sat there forever petting him and watching him eat.

Meanwhile, Annie borrowed Parks' place in the double stroller and decided to take a nap with Marlee. Its hard to see her eyes past all the chin/cheek fat.

We always have a blast when we hang with this crowd. The Lord definitely brought this group together for a purpose! So thankful for these people in our lives....

Bumbo!

First time sitting in the bumbo!




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My first CSA

Eating fresh food is very important to me. I love to cook, and I try and avoid buying processed foods as much as possible, especially since not only am I putting that food into my body, but also into the little bodies of my kids! (Mark doesn't really care....he'll eat anything. HA!)

We have discussed joining a CSA in the past, but decided against it. We ALMOST did the CSA this year with Whitley Farms, but last minute decided it just wasn't in the budget. I was so upset because I really want to support local farms and I want to buy fresh, local produce. A few days after we decided we couldn't afford it, I got a facebook message from Whitley Farms saying we had been chosen to receive a half share CSA for 24 weeks from them, for FREE! I started crying. Seriously. We have had to sacrifice a lot in order for me to stay home with the girls and for Mark to only have one job. This gift of fresh food meant SO much to me. The Lord is using the Whitley's to provide for us and we are so grateful. So far we've enjoyed two weeks of fresh produce from their farm. This past Friday, Mrs. Whitley was kind enough to walk us around and show Lucy all the plants.

Standing next to the corn....its not quite ready to eat yet, but I'm looking forward to when it is!

Checking out a blueberry bush....

...and popping a blueberry in her mouth :)

Lucy spotted a baby watermelon!

My favorite part of this week's share....raspberries! Poor Mark never even laid eyes on these. Lucy and I gobbled them up the second we got home.

Yummy pasta with lots of fresh veggies :)

My first time ever making collard greens! Everything on this plate except the meatballs was provided by Whitley Farms.


God is so good for using the Whitley's to give us fresh food, and the Whitley's are amazing to share this farm that they have been blessed with!

2 months!

2 month picture!

My sweet Annie girl was 2 months on Saturday! I loved taking her 2 month picture because she is wearing the same outfit Lucy wore for her 2 month picture. Maybe I'll put up a comparison photo...but not for Annie's 2 month post. Let's give her a minute before being compared to her big sister. I really try not to compare them because I know they are different babies and different people but its hard. As soon as Annie does something new, I'll say, remember Lucy doing that at this age? Poor thing.

Annie continues to be a great baby. She was diagnosed with reflux at her one month appt so she's been on Zantac ever since and has responded beautifully. I noticed a huge difference in her eating almost immediately (although she was already a great eater and pretty happy for a reflux baby). I don't like medicine, especially for babies (I'm one of those freaky, natural, no meds kind of nurse....haha) but I could tell she was in pain while she was eating. Lucy unofficially had reflux too, but she was what we medical people call a "happy spitter" so we never did meds with her. I suspected reflux with Annie pretty early on so I'm glad she's improving and feeling better.

At 2 months, Annie:

- still has blue eyes, although they are looking more gray-blue lately
- has much fairer skin than Lucy did (there I go comparing again....)
- is still very laid back and happy pretty much all the time, unless she's hungry, then she gets mad pretty quick
- is on a great 3 hour schedule, but is also very flexible when she needs to be
- is sleeping uninterrupted about 7 - 7 1/2 hours consistently at night (woo hoo!)
- is wearing size 1 diapers, and size 0-3 month or 3 month clothes (I got sad packing up all the newborn outfits)
- is smiling and cooing A LOT, and I'm pretty sure we got a giggle out of her the other day
- loves her mommy and prefers to be held or within sight of me :)
- also loves her big sister and gives huge smiles whenever she sees or hears Lucy
- is taking bottles great on Saturdays when I work, and then goes right back to nursing like a champ as soon as I get home.
- still hates tummy time
- is a great nurser, but I've noticed she doesn't nurse well when a lot is going on around her. I think she's going to be very social.
- finally loves her swing! She usually takes a cat nap in her swing in the evenings.

- weighs 12lbs 1 oz and is 22 1/2 inches long (updated 6/9/11)

She is such a sweet baby and I love her more and more everyday!

It's one of those days...

Let's just be real for a minute.....

Being a mom is HARD. Like, seriously hard. Some days, I want to pull my hair out. And yes, today is one of those days.

We can post pretty pictures and talk about all the fun stuff our kids are doing right now and brag about how amazing being a stay at home mom is. OR.....we can talk about how my 2 1/2 year old told me she was sick of me today, how my 8 week old has been screaming straight for the past hour, and how my house looks like 12 teenage boys took up camp in my living room. Not to mention the dog hair....OH the dog hair.

I love my girls. I do. And I am SO thankful to be able to stay home with them except for one day a week (and man am I looking forward to that day this week....haha) but sometimes I think moms, in an effort to not sound ungrateful, decide to make it look like life is perfect all the time. Being a mom is the most rewarding thing I've ever done, and it certainly brings me joy. But it is also the hardest thing I have ever done, and the Lord has challenged me and tested me through my children pretty much on a daily basis.

I think it's good to show the bad and the ugly sometimes. Hey, my toddler pitches fits! My baby screams for no reason! There, I said it. So you can stop judging me if you see me at Target and both of these things are happening at the same time :)

On another note, I am constantly reminded of how truly well behaved and amazing my girls are. But just because I have worked my butt off to create good sleepers, good eaters, and a (mostly) well mannered toddler, doesn't mean we don't have our bad days. Because we definitely do. Again, if I haven't said it before, TODAY IS ONE OF THOSE DAYS.

So here's a shout out to all you moms having a bad day. You're not alone. Someone did not abduct your child and leave a screaming alien in its place. Its just one of those days. Praise the Lord for the good ones, and praise Him for the bad ones, because before we know it, we will blink and our children will have children of their own, and we might just miss these bad days.