The shortened less emotional version of this month

From exclusively & happily breastfeeding to...

(in the form of screams & exhausted desperate cries:)

"Excuse me Mom, I'm not liking this whole nursing thing anymore. There is not enough for me & it's getting more stressful the more we're both frustrated. Dr. says I'm starting to lose weight & that having you take vitamins, extra water & pumping should help...you tried it all, except formula. I need food--give up your dreams for nursing me until pre-school & feed me!!"

Some babies take time to transition from breast to bottle, this girl sucked it right down & asked for more.

And now we're both fat & happy.

Who wore it better?

Audrey & Ellie

3 months old

Audrey wins for chubbiest cheeks. Tie for cutest.

Welcome to Motherhood...

I just finished a texting conversation with my Momma about my morning, thus far. She told me I should relay it to all you who love a good poop story. If poop ain't your thang, quit reading now & blame my Mom for even suggesting I talk about the "P" word..... But here is the reality of my stage of life right now....

Intro: Ellie has been waking up earlier lately, my routine lately is I scoop her up quickly & close the door, as to not wake up Audrey-pie, feed her in the living room, change her, then put her back to sleep either in a makeshift bed in the living room or at the foot of our bedroom floor (depending on where it's warmer). Then if it's super early I go back to sleep until Audrey wakes me up or until Ellie is hungry again..whichever comes first... Today was early, 5:45am...so I crawled back into bed.

Around 7:45am I woke up to Audrey in her room "Can you hold it? Can you hold it Mommy? Mommy, can you hold it?" this was on repeat as I was dozing in & out of sleep. Finally the two dreaded words that followed, the words: "I pooped" made me literally shoot out of bed & run to her room. Yup...you guessed it. She had reached into her own diaper and pulled out a big handful of mushy poops. Since she was waiting by the door for me to "hold it" (SICK) when I flung the door open it mashed into the door. SICK. I wiped what I could. Because she had shifted her diaper some had fallen down & dried on her leg. SICK. We took a poopy, soapy, soak down scrub...Then we took a nice long warm clean bath while I tried to keep my composure from the shock of waking up to all of that... Aaron was getting ready to leave for training and when I peeked into the living room he was lighting candles to limit the smells. Haha.. He said he hopes this doesn't happen while I'm gone on our church retreat in a few weeks!


I desperately wanted to escape & asked if I could PLEASE join Aaron for his s.w.a.t training day today............... But alas, my work is here in the home. As I kissed him goodbye I spotted our mail that came yesterday. I grabbed the Fred Meyer Valentine's Day diamonds ads. I turned Sesame Street on and sat down beside her not paying any attention to the letter of the day. (Was it "P" for poop like it was in this home????) I mentally escaped from the madness for a good 10 minutes & dreamed about beautiful diamonds while chugging a very large cup of coffee with probably too much creamer!!!!! It was enough of an escape to finish the job.


Since Audrey was happily clean & enjoying Sesame Street I was able to sanitize the door, the tub, and collect all sheets/blankies/animals for the laundry which is currently going on repeat cycle... I took all the stinky poop trash outside & even found our dog Lucy had pooped near the fireplace.............. Wanted to scream, but decided to pour even more coffee. With my daily prayer for PATIENCE--COFFEE & DIAMONDS SHOULD ALSO FIX THIS!!!! :)


I am SO glad I am able to be home to raise our children and this morning was another reminder of how stressful that would have been to have happen & then have to rush off to work somewhere. We Stay-at-Home Mommas need some recovery time for experiences like this! But wow. I hate to say it but this was not the first time this has happened...... Just messier this time as she's never pulled it out, just tried to take her diaper off.

Think she's ready to be out of diapers? YES!

Am I ready to wake up to that again because she is in panties & has even more access...?? NO!!!

Current Status: Pretty sure Ellie just pooped here next to me in the Bumbo seat which we have aptly named the "poop chair". I cannot get away from this poop!! How much have you enjoyed reading the word "poop"?? Come on, say it with me! Poop, poop, poop! Oh and Lucy is happily being fed dog food by the generous hand of Audrey... Time to get away from this computer and get back to the reality of Motherhood!!! Please Lord continue to give me patience for the unexpected & keep me laughing.

Oh Lord, keep me laughing.... :)

Aye yi yi. What a crappy morning---LITERALLY!

And our happy day starts................ NOW :)

tome-a-toe / tome-ah-toe

Audrey was helping me clean out my closet the other day....we were also working on our colors. Her job was to hand me certain color hangers when I'd ask for them. She felt very proud of herself when she would go through the stack and hand me the black one when asked, the white one when asked...etc... Then came her adorable verbal skills....

Play Pull Momma?

No that one is a purple hanger.

Play pull?

That's close! It's "pur-ple" Can you try it?

Play pull.

Try it again sweetheart, "pur-ple....purrrr-ple"

No, play pull Mommy! Play pull, please?

Oooohhhh!!!!! You want to "Play Pull"!

(Duh, Mommy..she was saying it the entire time!)

Yeah!!! Play Pull! :)

Play pull in Audrey's world is the silly game we play when we tug at something and each take turns saying "pullllllllll!!!" We then began playing tug-a-war with the purple hanger....giggles galore. I'm realizing sometimes as a Momma I need to put aside my teaching moments and truly listen to what my children are saying...

Purple -- Play Pull! :)

He is my Comforter

I just received this email forward from a good friend... It really touched me, so I wanted to share it. We all know how easy it can be to forget all of the daily comforts we have all around us. We are abundantly blessed in our comfortable lives and what is going on in Haiti right now is a good reminder. Praise God for all the many people over there continuing to spread God's love, and for all the many hurting people who are choosing to seek God in the midst of chaos....


Dear Father in Heaven, I just want to say THANK YOU, because this
morning I woke up and knew where my children were. Because this morning
my home was still standing, because this morning I am not crying
because my husband, my child, my brother or sister needs to be dug out
from underneath a pile of concrete, because this morning I was able to
drink a glass of water, because this morning I was able to turn on the
light, because this morning I was able to take a shower, because this
morning I was not planning a funeral, but most of all I thank you this
morning because I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people
of Haiti. Lord I cry out to you, the one that makes the impossible,
possible, the one that turns darkness in to light, I cry out that you
give those mothers strength, that you give them peace that surpasses
all understanding, that you may open the streets so that help can come,
that you may provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and all that they
need in a blink of an eye. For all those that have lost family members,
give them peace, give them hope, give them courage to continue to go on!
Protect the children and shield them with your power. I pray all this in
the name of Jesus!!! Amen.


To all my friends, please continue to forward this so that we can pray
together for the people in Haiti. We, here, are truly blessed!!!!!

Look How Big I am!

At certain angles I seem to have inherited my Grandma Julie's red hair color! :)

4 months old!



Big eyes! ...the question is, will the blue stay? or fade into hazel/brown like my big sissy's??

Hmmmmmm......

My very adorable Christmas dress :)




Ta-Da!

Kisses for my ever-growing baby girl....

Words..

"Mommy! My bottom doesn't work!"

--Audrey Lynn, age 2.

Believe it or not, the above statement had nothing to do with her potty skills. She was actually situating herself on top of a full laundry basket and when she couldn't manuever her own little self the way she wanted to fit inside, she came to THAT conclusion... I thought the adorableness should be noted. :)

Cherished Gifts

From the time Audrey was a fresh tiny little newborn placed into my arms, I have prayed in thanks for "this most precious gift". There are so many "things" given as gifts that hold importance in some people's lives. Aaron is beyond what I had hoped for in a husband & he will forever have my heart, but to me, the most precious gift I have ever received is the gift of life in our daughter,

Audrey Lynn.

I decided to celebrate that this year and buy Audrey her own beautiful flower, she got to pick out the color--she loved it. :) I also decided to buy some wine for the parents & a small bouquet for myself as a celebration & reminder of the gift I have received in Audrey & also having been a mother for two entire years. I whole heartily believe life begins at conception, therefore I became a mother 8 1/2 months earlier...however, on December 8th it became tangible & real & my heart expanded to allow an out pour of love.

I may do this every year on Audrey's birthday since December 8th is such a significant date to me. It was the day I truly became a mother receiving my most precious gift & the start of gifts to come....

One of my all-time favorite verses in the Bible:

"Every good & perfect Gift comes from above"

--James 1:17

Audrey Lynn turns TWO!

Our baby girl is Two years old!!!

Patiently waiting for her first guests to arrive..

Me Love Cookies.


Putting the finishing touches on the cake.

A very happy Birthday Girl!

Go Team Go!

Ducks vs. Beavers.

Big game.

Although a very close one, our beavers ended up losing... 33-37

And by "our" I mean 3 out of 4 of us that dressed up in Beaver attire. There was a little confusion on Audrey's part, as she had orange sleeves (beaver color) and a duck shirt. She is such a lover, not a fighter. Go everyone!

Daddy/Daughter rivalry