Lately...

Our computer is broken but here are a few pics from my phone of us the past week or so....


My gorgeous girl




Enjoying our new swing set from Big Daddy and Grandma




Spending time with sweet friends



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Annie is 4 months!

Annie turned 4 months old last week! I am really loving this age. Her schedule is VERY predictable now....although she has always been on a good schedule, it was more of a "routine" than a schedule, but now times are very consistent and I can plan my day around her nap times and feeding times. It's so nice! She is also much more interactive, smiling, talking, and laughing when I play with her. She had a really rough time with her reflux right after she turned 3 months, so we changed her medicine to Prilosec and it has been a dream! She has not had one single reflux/crying/pain episode since then! She gets easier and sweeter every day.

4 month picture!

You would think she's never seen a camera before...

At 4 months Annie:

- is wearing size 2 diapers, size 3-6 month clothes (although in her 4 month picture she's wearing a 6-12 month outfit); All of her 3 month stuff is too small!

- is going to bed at 8 pm, feeds again at 10:30pm, then sleeps until 7:30 or 7:45 am, although there are some mornings I have to wake her at 8!

- still has blue eyes, but they are looking more gray-blue lately

- is smiling and laughing A LOT! Lucy makes her laugh the hardest :)

- is rolling from tummy to back, and is SO close to rolling from back to tummy

- is still swaddled with one arm out when she sleeps

- is officially a thumb sucker! She wasn't sure for a while, but now she has decided to commit to the thumb :) We have taken the paci away since she prefers her thumb.

- is getting a TOOTH. That's right. A tooth. Lucy didn't get her first tooth until she was 8 months old. I have been suspecting teething in Annie for a week or two now (since she bit me a few times while nursing....) and I thought I felt something hard on her bottom gum a week ago. Well, yesterday there was a visible tooth! I can't believe it.

- is SWEET to the core. That word just describes her perfectly.

- is stretching her day time schedule to about 3.5 hours between feedings.

- still prefers mommy over anyone else :)

- loves to snuggle and be held. She is such a cuddly roly poly baby :)

- had her first solid food: avocado!

Trying some avocado! I don't plan on starting solids yet, but the other night I was making guacamole and I've been reading about how avocado is the perfect first food for babies because it's loaded with nutrients, so I set a little aside for her and thought I would give it a shot. She ate all of it! I just don't think she really needs the solids consistently yet....we'll see.

She loves her new playmat! (these things are expensive...but I found this one on ebay for $9!!)

It's very interesting to see the differences in personalities already between her and Lucy. I am loving getting to know her more and more everyday. Annie is such a sweet miracle from Heaven and we are so thankful for her!

Snow White turns 3!

I seriously cannot believe I have a 3 year old. Or really, that the 3 year old is LUCY. She was just a baby. I think she will forever be about 18 months in my mind....for now atleast :) I wish I could freeze time. I know everyone says it goes by too fast, but that's because it does. I was talking to someone the other day who has 3 teenagers and he said, "I would give anything to have a 3 year old in the house again!" My first thought was, "Seriously? Because you can borrow mine whenever you want...." But I am learning to soak up these moments of messes, tantrums, tears, laughter, princesses, scrapes, and stories. But that's for another post :) One I have been trying to write for a long time. Anyway.....BACK to the birthday girl!!

Sweet Lucy Laine had a fabulous birthday. We celebrated all week long with friends and family. We kept it very simple this year, but it was perfection. We had a few special lunch dates and play dates this week, along with a trip to Jump To It with her closest buddies. Then Sunday night, her actual birthday, family came over for a simple cake and ice cream celebration. Mark's mom got her a Snow White outfit for her birthday that she insisted on wearing for her party :)

Grandma and the girls. Annie missed most of the party since she was sleeping :)

I wish words could explain the nature and personality of Lucy. She is beyond compare. I mean that with all my heart. But I will try to capture in this post what she is to me and so many others.


She is SPIRITED.


She gets excited about the simplicities in life and goes at it with all her heart. Everything is full of energy and excitement. Baking cookies with mommy, throwing the ball to Heidi, going on a family walk, a surprise lunch trip to Chick Fil A. She fills these moments with laughter and life.


She is CLEVER.




She overwhelms me on a daily basis with her intellect and wit. I can recount many times Mark and I looking at each other with eyebrows raised in amazement at something Lucy picked up on or said.

She is inventive. She likes to learn by trial and error. To find the best way of doing something.


She is BOLD.


She is daring in what she says and does. She challenges. She surprises.


She tests boundaries and limits. Good ones and bad ones :) She doesn't accept one word answers. She pushes to find out more and do more.



She is INFECTIOUS.


She is loved by everyone that meets her. She can change the mood in a room in seconds. She senses what people need and when. A touch or a hug can transform your day. She is affectionate and loving with her baby sister.




She is beautiful and charming. She is gracious and forgiving. She is everything I could have ever hoped for. She has changed our family and our lives forever.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Lucy! You are truly one of a kind.