Tuesday, January 29, 2013

My Babies

Almost as quick as Tripp's wheezing began...it's gone. Yesterday was the first day we didn't do a breezing treatment and I haven't heard a single wheeze so I'm hoping he'll be healthy for at least the next week or 2...is it Spring yet??

In the last month it's amazing how much Tripp has changed. He's vocabulary has taken off from 1-2 word sentences to 5-6 word sentence full of adjectives and verbs, correct tenses (for the most part) and possessive nouns. Ruth Ann was a talker very early on but I never expected Tripp to have the same vocabulary skills...boys aren't usually early talkers...he has proved me wrong. As fun as it is to chat with my sweet little boy...it has me feeling like my babies aren't babies anymore...and that makes me sad.

 When I look at this sweet face...

 Since having children I have always feared one of them would attempt cutting their own hair...I just assumed the child to do this would be Ruth Ann...I was wrong... of

of course I still see my baby boy...but he's dropping his baby chubbiness and lots of his baby ways by what seems like the minute...

Thank goodness there are no peanut allergies in this house...this little peanut with never survive without his peanut butter jelly samich!

 He doesn't use his high chair anymore and loves sitting up at the bar with his big sister to eat his favorite meal...peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

And this is the chair I rocked him in during those nights when he was still tiny and not sleeping through the night...now he looks at books in this chair...by himself...without his momma...

This big green incredibly comfy chair has been in both my kids room's while they were in cribs. As Tripp's crib days are coming to an end, I've wondered what we would do with it next...looks like it's going to be the new reading hot spot!

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 By the time Ruth Ann was this age I was days away from having Tripp...so I think her metamorphosis from baby to toddler was less noticeable...she also has NEVER wanted to be the baby..she's always had an independent streak running through her...I'm not sure where that came from...

Tripp is perfectly happy to tell anyone "I'm not a baby, I'm mommy's baby."...more truer words were never spoken...he's going to be my baby for the rest of my days!

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

It was too much to ask

When I was pregnant with Ruth Ann I was convinced I would be a mother who would breast feed...I wanted the weight loss benefits but I was also convinced it would make my baby more healthy and add a few extra IQ points...and can't we all use a few extra IQ points. Anyway, Ruth Ann arrived and the images I had of how easy breast feeding would be went right out the window with a lazy little eater. Even when she would take a bottle it would take her FOREVER to eat.

Needless to say, breast feeding didn't work and I was really upset & disappointed in myself. I called a friend who I consider to be one of the best moms ever and as it turned out, she couldn't breast feed her babies either. She listened to me cry about my fears of making my baby stupid and possibly chronically sick and then said once I made my decision to either keep at it or give it up then I would feel much better...so at 5 weeks, I gave up and Ruth Ann was officially a formula fed baby. And she's been very healthy...she didn't need an antibiotic until she was 2 years old and I think she's a pretty smart little girl so far.

So when Tripp was born I knew I wasn't going to give myself a hard time about breast feeding...I tried it again, he was a much better than Ruth Ann...had he been my first I could have gone a lot longer, but having a newborn and a 2 year old was time consuming to say the least, so once more I gave up at 8 weeks. I'd gone longer than I had with Ruth Ann so surely he was going to be just as healthy as Ruth Ann....

I was wrong...this is how we have spent our winter months so far...

I'm ready for Spring & warmer temps for more than one reason...but using this thing less is reason #1

We've been the proud owners of a nebulizer since the Fall...and every time he's gotten a cough since then it turns into wheezing quickly. It was clearly too much to ask to have 2 healthy children...I'm praying Spring comes quickly because this momma is tired of cough & cold season!

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Just call her "Bubble Girl"

So I've recently decided I'm going to begin construction on a bubble for Ruth Ann to live in during her years spent in middle and high school. I want her to always be protected and stay as sweet and innocent as she is...or was since it was taken year ago...

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I know this is a super random thought...but here's why it's been consuming my thoughts recently... Before I ever had 2 biological children of my very own...I claimed these two as the first children I participated in raising...

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The oldest in now a freshman in high school and the youngest (KB)has just entered the wild, wild world of middle school...KB was a little photo bomber before photo bombing was made popular...

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I don't get to see these sweet faces as much as I once did during my childless and single days...but thanks to social media, I still get to keep up with the younger of the two. The older has always been wise beyond her years and she has very wisely decided to stay off of Facebook. I've had my feelings hurt on Facebook and it was somewhat responsible for the end of a friendship...although as it turned out that friendship was super shallow anyway, so I can't completely blame social media. But because of that experience, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.

I've discovered Instagram in the last year...and since looking at people's pictures are what I really love most about Facebook, it's been a lot of fun...but I can see how it too can turn ugly very quickly. KB is my friend on Instagram and for several months my heart has broken when I read & see her pictures.

She talks about wanting a boyfriend...but she's at the age where girls are interested in boys, but boys aren't interested in girls...yet.

She posts the prettiest pictures of herself and then requests people to "like" her picture if they think she's pretty...I've told her before I think she's so much more than just pretty...and she most definitely is!  But I remember these days of wanting to look good for others more than wanting to look good for myself.

This past week she posted about a "she said, you said" drama she's going through with girls she thought were her good friends and as I read her comments I'm pulled back to the dark, dark days of middle school. I read them and I'm equal parts wanting to hug her silly but also wanting to beat up the mean girls who are making her life so hard right now. Oh, and I also want to start fashioning that bubble for Ruth Ann to live in to avoid these same awful years.

 Last week she wrote "We're in 6th grade, there shouldn't be this much drama...". I seriously wanted to laugh out loud...not because I don't believe what she says, but I know just how true that statement is when you grow up in this town.

I love having a little girl...but I hate the thought of any other girl being mean to her...and because I'm a girl, I know it's coming...why do girls gotta be so mean?? Last year my cousin's daughter was a junior in high school and she was going through mean girl drama. I told her then...life is so much better after high school...for me, my college years were the best of my life...it's clearly the reward for surviving high school!  Had I thought of it earlier, I would have had this bubble ready for KB when she started middle school too!

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Sunday, January 6, 2013

He's a 2 Year Old

Well, it happened...my baby boy turned 2...

Tonight I held a very sweet 1 day old baby boy...and I just can't believe that 2 very short years ago my baby boy was the very same size...I'm going to sit in my crying corner now...

No matter how many times I've begged for time to "SLOW DOWN ALREADY!!"...it simply hasn't...

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Thankfully, those cheeks are just as chubby and those lips are just as plumb as they've always been...

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But those sweet little rings that lined his arms and legs...they just about disappeared now...

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He's just as happy and sweet as he's always been...

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And even though it took him a few months to appreciate his pacie...he still loves it more than any other thing in his possession...

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He still wears smocking because his momma is in control of his attire...but I fear this may be my last summer to dress him in a jon-jon...I'm sure to shed a tear or two at the end of the summer when the jon-jon era comes to an end...



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(I love the picture above...even though Tripp isn't smiling & looks like he wants to punch someone...he looks so much like a "Becker" in this picture and my Papaw use to always say he was going to give us a "knuckle sandwich"...this was Tripp's first knuckle sandwich)

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It hurts my heart to look back at these pictures and realize how much time has gone by and how much I've already forgotten...like how tiny newborn feet are...now they're extra wide feet that I can't seem to wedge into his red Keds no matter how hard I try.

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And only 2 years have gone by...I'm telling you I will be a complete basket case when or if my babies ever leave the nest...and I'll probably be the WORST mother-in-law in history to the sweet girl who marries this boy...because when I look at him I'm taken back to this moment...

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And I'm not sure I'll ever believe someone will be good enough for my baby boy! Who still makes this face...

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Oh sweet Tripp-man, I know time is going to continue to fly by right before my eyes...it's my goal to treasure and enjoy each moment because I know you have great things ahead of you.  I love you more than you will ever know and I'm so thankful that you were given to us to make our family complete.  Happy 2nd Birthday buddy!


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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Smocked Sale

Every time I clean out Ruth Ann's closet I find myself feeling super sad for several different reasons...first, because it's a reminder of how quickly time is passing & since it's socially unacceptable for my 2 year old son to wear his sister's dresses I won't get to see these sweet dresses worn by one of my babies again...second, I'm disgusted by how many of Ruth Ann's dresses still have tags or that I didn't dress her in some of these sweet things often enough...clearly I need to move farther south than South Carolina to fully enjoy Spring & Summer smocking!

The silver lining to a closet clean-out...SELLING! I'm linking up today with Kelly's Korner to try to sell a few...or all...of Ruth Ann's 3T smocked clothing...everything is a 3T (well, almost everything...there is one 2T dress that's perfect for beach pictures & could be worn by a small 3 year old, some are new with tags, or gently used, all is stain free. We do have a cat in our home for those who want to know...but we don't let her wear our clothes :)

Prices:  Everything is $20 each. Shipping is $3, but if you purchase more than one the max shipping cost is $5.


$20 each...



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(#23-pending payment)
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Comment below to let me know which items you would like and include your PayPal address. Once I receive your payment I'll mail your picks using USPS.

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