Thankful

I had some pictures taken of the kids a few weeks ago.  I'll forever be thankful for these memories and my precious gifts.

 Jack was fascinated with the geese.

 

 

 

 My favorite picture of Lily Anne

 

 She loves to 'fly'

 

 2nd favorite of Jack

 

 He really needs a haircut but he hates them so we're letting it grow...until he looks like a girl.

 

 Kisses from mama

 

 One of the two pictures of them actually together

 Isn't she gorgeous?!

 

 Melt my heart - this is my absolute favorite picture of Jack!

 

My lil' dare devil crawling along the wall of the lake 

 Such a doll face :)

 



 The other picture of the both of them...although they were too busy playing with leaves to smile for the camera

 

You can never give too many kisses...

 

I love my sweet gifts from God.

Happy Halloween 2012

Mickey & Minnie Mouse

And because I don't want to forget - Lily Anne starting sitting up by herself on Tuesday, Oct. 30 :) Right around the same time as Jack 6.5-7 months old. Such a big girl!

 



October 1st!

Happy Fall Y'all!  I just love this time of the year :) I can't believe that my Lil' Lily Bean is going to be 6 months old in 2 days.  I'm sure I'll post again soon with her monthly photos.  But here are a few from last week.  Jack was soooo good all week, therefore on Friday after school, we stopped and got ice cream.  When we got home, I put Lily in her bumbo chair so she could watch him eat.  It was hilarious, she was so excited at first because she just knew he'd give her some...then as the minutes dragged on she stared 'requesting/aka screaming' for a bite.  Jack just laughed at her.  I'm sure this is the first of many sibling 'teasings'.  It was really funny...does that make me a mean mom? :)

Give me some now!

 

Hello Fall!

I'm a bit behind on posting these! Although most of everyone who reads this also sees the pictures on facebook first.  August was a crazy month with my mom leaving and the kids going back to 'school'.  But I think we have a good routine down now and they are both doing great.  Jack loves his class because his two best friends, Aubree & Jenna, are both there to play with him.  In every picture the teachers post at school, he's always sitting in the middle of the girls.  Such a ladies man :) Jack still has zero interest in using the big boy potty...any suggestions?

Lily Bean is doing really well too.  Her teachers call her 'smiley' because this girl always has a grin on her face.  Even when she's crying, you can hold her above your head (like an airplane) and she will give you the biggest grin...She's now rolling over both ways. She figured out how to get from her stomach to her back on Friday, August 24th and now will just roll across the room until a wall or piece of furniture stops her.  Jack thinks his job is to grab her feet when she gets stuck somewhere and pull her to the center of the room.  Lily Anne is not usually as appreciative as he would hope :)  She also started laughing in August which I got on camera and it's mostly at her brother.  He makes these weird noises to her and she thinks he's hilarious. 

On a side note, I'm so glad fall is on the way - cooler weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and Halloween.  This year Jack is going to be Mickey Mouse and Lily Anne is going to be Minnie Mouse.  My friend gave me a really nice costume for Jack and I'm going to attempt at making Lily's.  I found some inspiration on pinterest that I think I can handle ;)

4 months & 2 1/2 years stats

I've been neglecting this blog a bit this summer therefore I decided to do a stats update. 

Ladies first - Miss Lily Anne turned 4 months old on August 3rd which also happened to be my parents' 21st wedding anniversary (happy anniversary Mom & Dad!).  She rolled over from her back to stomach (right side) on Thursday night.  See entire story in post below complete with video :) I'm so proud! 

Tuesday, August 7th, I took her to the pediatrician for her check up and shots.  I was still worried about her neck (she was diagnosed with a minor case of torticollis at her 2 month check up).  She still wasn't lifting her head up when on her tummy.  However she is 'sudo crawling' using her head as a 3rd foot (no joke!).  The other day my mom left on her basement floor to get something out the of the bedroom, came back and she was gone - around the corner seriously picking up speed.  It's hysterical to watch a baby crawl with two feet and a head but no arms ;) Based on that, our ped thinks she is perfect and she's just lazing and doesn't want to lift her head.  Then the very next day, she was on her tummy while I was getting ready for work and she was lifting her chest and head off the blanket - she showed me!  Then my mom said she did it all day and has continued to do it since then.  From now on, I'm going to tattle on her to our ped if she's not doing something in hopes she'll 'prove' us wrong.  Besides that Miss Lily Anne, is just the sweetest baby...she coos, yells (very loudly), smiles constantly, still nurses and is my rock star sleeper.  I know I'll never have another baby who sleeps through the night starting at 3 weeks (yes you read that correctly) therefore I need to enjoy it while I can.  If only I could get Jack to sleep in his bed through the night...

Speaking of Jack, my favorite boy in the whole world, will be two and a half on August 21st.  He got to spend the entire summer with his Mimi (and his sister) and boy did he have fun.  He had her wrapped around his little finger.  Mimi and Papa bought Jack a pool and sandbox earlier in the season and I would say he spent 99% of his summer enjoying one of the other.  Jack is a chatterbox.  We had our Parents As Teacher instructor come by the house last week and she was amazed once again at Jack's vocabulary.  We were told back in February, at his two year appointment, that he speaks easily like a 3-4 year old.  He's on a mermaid kick right now.  My mom introduced him to the Little Mermaid and told him that it was my favorite movie when I was a little girl.  We had to limit his viewing to only twice a day otherwise it would be on repeat all day long.  He'll ask me to sing the songs constantly and not always at home, for example he nearly had a conniption fit the other day in Target until I sang "Part of this World".  So I was the lunatic walking around Target singing "Look at the stuff, isn't it neat, wouldn't you think my collection complete..." and in case you don't know it's not a short song.  Another example was we were draining the bath water and Jack asked me where it was going.  I gave the logical explanation of "to the ocean" and his response was "with the mermaids!! can I go?"  Melt my heart I almost busted a gut right there :)  He's still my love bug and a huge mama's boy which I wouldn't trade for the world.

Because the summer has come to an end and my mom is leaving 'cue the tears!', I have to mention [yet there really is no way to describe it] Jack's love for my mom - it is so sweet and unconditional that I'm thankful he got this opportunity with her.  My mom (dad & brothers) did something for us this summer that I can never repay yet will forever be grateful.  Thank you.  We love you!

Lily Anne Rolls Over!!

Last night Lily Anne rolled over for the first time just one day shy of turning 4 months old.  Jack and I were goofy around and all of the sudden I look down and she was on her stomach - I missed it :( and I was actually home when it happened (my fear is I'll miss everything at work).  So of course I get upset and my mom says, just put her back on her back I'm sure she'll do it again.  And sure enough she did!!  Then mom said "aren't you going to film it" duh!! So I ran and got my phone therefore this is a video of the third official time she rolled over.  I am so proud :) Disclaimer: Please ignore my annoying high pitch voice!  Don't you just hate how you sound on camera especially when talking to babies and pets?

Crazy FUN weekend!

We had such an amazing weekend!  Saturday we visited Grant's Farm with our friends and had a wonderful time sitting in the beer garden listening to music.  Saturday night we met up with some more friends because New Town was hosting a Melenoma Walk/Race and enjoyed lots of kids' activities.  Sunday we drove out to Purina Farms and Jack got to pet pigs, bunnies, sheep, cows and horses.  Plus we got to see an awesome dog show which he adored.  Then we topped off the weekend with a short visit out to Union to see Terry's extended family at their annual summer bbq.  Let's just say Jack slept awesome last night! 

These pictures are totally random...

 Spent Mother's Day with my two greatest blessings

 Enjoying his sprinker

 My gorgeous girl

Jack LOVES his Lily Bean!

Daddy and Lily Anne

Pictures from the last 8 weeks

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old

Jack and his best friend Aubree.   His other good friend is Jenna therefore we've taught him to tell everyone that he's a 'Ladies Man' :)

 Fun times with bubbles!

Lily Anne enjoying time with Great-Grandma Mary Anne at the Gordon Family Easter.  It was a bit delayed this year due to her birth so we had a 'mock' celebration with eggs and all!

Lily and Great-Aunt Cynthia

Lily with Great-Grandpa...she was so content in his arms

My babies

Meet Our Lily Bean!

Lily Anne Lorna Tonsing was born at 2:04am on April 3rd. She was 6 pounds 4.7 ounces and 19 inches long. Her hair is black and very long - it can even hold a clip bow :) Lily Anne was named after both my grandmas therefore we did a combo of Lillian and Mary Anne. Her middle name Lorna is after Terry's grandmother, who passed away when Terry's father was very young.

Lily made her big entrance 5 days early. I went in for my 39 week appointment on Monday, April 2nd at 3:30 and my doctor told me I had 2-3 more days. I left the office at 4:30 and by the time I picked up Jack from daycare at 5pm I was having consistent contractions about 4-5 minutes apart. I met Terry at home and we decided to wait and see if they'd go away...to be honest I had made a new crock pot recipe and I really wanted to enjoy it. It was delicious :) Terry took Jack on a walk and my friend (and neighbor) Shannon came over to bring me her 'What to expect while expecting' book. I couldn't find mine because I hadn't looked at it during this pregnancy. It said once you were having contractions and they were 4 minutes apart for at least an hour you should go to the hospital. Well by this time, it was already quarter til 7pm and I had been having them since 5pm...oops! I called Terry and told him he better come home with Jack. I then called my Mom and we decided she'd wait to hear from me at the hospital before she left so she didn't drive 3 hours for a false alarm. I then called Nancy who said she'd be at our house within an hour (we live 45 minutes away). I was pretty sure this was the real deal because the pain was becoming more intense. When Terry and Jack got back I gave Jack a bath (that was fun), got him dressed for bed and sang him songs...our normal routine and he fell asleep before we left which was great. Nancy arrived and we left the house about 8:30pm. We got to the hospital a little before 9pm. Before I was officially admitted I was seen in a triage room. I was dilated to a 4.5 up from a 3 at my appointment just a few hours earlier. The nurse asked us to walk around the floor for an hour and then come back to see if I would progress any further. I barely made it down to hall without having to stop every 30 seconds. I was determined to see the babies in the nursery but once we made it there I didn't think I could walk back. We were probably gone 10 minutes but it felt like an eternity. When we got back to triage I was admitted into a Labor and Delivery room. I soon got an epidural and a couple hours later Lily arrived. Same as Jack, she was a relatively easy delivery.

It's been 7 weeks and 4 days and I'm officially back in the office today (hence the blog update). I finally have internet access verse just using my phone therefore be prepared for regular updates again. Lily is actually with me today which has made the transition easier. To be honest I'm excited about working again. We're swamped right now preparing for the largest Race for the Cure (in the world :)) therefore I have plenty to keep me busy.

Lily is doing wonderful. She's a champ at nursing (yeah!!) and she's an awesome night sleeper. She started really smiling about a week ago but most of the smiles are still given in the morning, during diaper changes and while nursing. Her hair is out of control...it just keeps growing and growing. I can literally put it in a tiny ponytail on top of her head! Jack has been such a champ. He LOVES his sister and if you ask him her name he will say 'LILY BEAN' but imagine his 'L's' sounding like 'Y's'. It's adorable. Every time he holds her he says 'cheese!' and expects to have his picture taken. He actually now tells me to get my camera at the same time he asks to 'Have it' which are his words for wanting to hold her. I forgot to bring my camera cord but I'll update with new pictures next week.

 

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