It's getting close to "that time..."

...to have the conversation with Allie as to who that "lady" is in all the pictures around the house.  Any by that "lady," I mean my mom. 

I have numerous wedding, shower and just everyday pictures around the house of mom.  And I honestly never thought anything of it.  Until last week, when Allie started asking "who is that, mom?"

This picture of mom and me is in Allie's room.  My dear friend Autumn had it framed for my birthday when Allie turned 1 and I couldn't think of a better place to display it than her room.  Last week, out of the middle of nowhere, Allie said "who's that girl holding that baby, mom?"  When I said it was "MY mommy, Grandma Kim" she looked absolutely stunned.  She knows "Grandma Kim" does not exist, she KNOWS it...her little mind wandered for what felt like hours, it was only seconds, then she came back with, "oh mommy, where is Grandma Kim?"  And that's when my voice dropped, became squeaky, and my eyes welled up with tears...at 8 o'clock in the morning.  In a brief 5 second synopsis, again, that felt like it took hours, I told her that Grandma Kim is in heaven with Jesus, and out of the middle of nowhere, with her sweet, joyful and "larger than life" personality she made me die out laughing by saying "she would have liked me mommy!"

 

Allie Parker, one day you will in fact read this and I want you to know that the lady above would have absolutely, 100%, adored and worshiped the ground you walk on.  It is such a shame that she cannot see first-hand how smart, intelligent, witty and all-around beautiful of a little girl you truly are.  As you grow older, we will talk about the amazing woman Grandma Kim was. 

 

It is late, and I'm exhausted, but I will most more pictures tomorrow, along with her comments. 

I feel refreshed!

So I don't want to jinx myself but...Reagan Charlotte slept from 10 pm to 4 am, woke up and we moved her rock n' play to our room, and went right back to sleep until 8:15 am. At 8:30 am she devoured a 6 ounce bottle but she slept, and went without a middle of the night feeding.

Ah, it's amazing how wonderful I feel today!

You Are My Sunshine

As my return to work date draws closer, I've been keeping Allie home longer in the mornings so we can hang out. Some mornings I am ready to pull my hair out (only on her extremely difficult and demanding days) but others, like today, make me so proud to be her mother.

I've blogged many times about how rough Allie is with Reagan; if she is ever in trouble at home, or has a privilege taken away, 9 times out of 10 it's because she was too rough with her sister.

But times like these make me completely forget all those rough times and remind me how much Allie truly loves her little sister.

Singing to Reagan

Maternity Leave 2013 vs 2010

I am always so tired. Always. I never can "catch up" on sleep and I didn't quite understand why until this week.

According to my blog posts from Allie at this time, she and Reagan sleep basically the same. Go to bed around 10 pm, wake up a time or two during the middle of the night, may take a bottle around 3 am (depending on growth spurt), etc. All in all, both girls are relatively the same when it comes to their sleep and eating patterns.

So how and why am I always so tired?

WELL...it's called having TWO kids this go around!

When on maternity leave with Allie, we could sleep all morning. That whole "sleep when she does" theory actually works when you only have one kid. Having two? This theory and thought is thrown out the window.

Take this morning as an example. Reagan had some gas last night and got in bed with us around 3 am (after a bottle). I don't sleep well with her in our bed BUT it's better than walking across the hall 7,000 times to console her, put her pacifier back in, etc. At 6 am she wanted to eat again, so Ben got up and fed her, then put her back in bed with me while he got ready. I put her in the rock n' play and she finally went sound asleep around 7. I wasn't far behind her...then, my sweet Allie Parker bebop's in at 8:10, crushing any and all hopes I had of sleeping in. Allie's demands and requests begin the moment her eyes open so I was up and at 'em at 8:10 am - making breakfast, changing diapers, picking out clothes, arguing, refereeing...to do all this you must have coffee, so there is no going back to sleep.

When on leave with Allie, if she had a bad night, or if I just wanted to be lazy, we could sleep until noon. We did whatever we wanted to.

And this my friends, explains why I am always.so.tired. :/

Reagan's 2-month Well Visit

Well, just like her older sister, my Reagan Charlotte is growing like a weed.  Her stats at her 2-month well visit:

Weight:  12 lbs. 1 ounce (50th percentile)
Height:  23.5 inches (90th percentile)
Head:  15 inches

At this appointment almost 3 years ago (YIKES!), Allie was:

Weight:  12 lbs. 10.5 ounces
Height:  23.25 inches
Head:  15.75 inches

It is amazing how similar these two girls are, not only in their growth patterns, but in looks as well. 

Reagan continues to be an easy, happy-go-lucky baby.  Over the last 3 weeks she has really started laughing, "coo-ing" and making eye contact when she hears you speak which makes going back to work (in just 4 short weeks), so sad.  I love when babies hit this stage.  Allie, Ben and I could not be more in love with this little girl.

Last Thursday night, Reagan shocked us and slept from 10 pm to 5 am, which she has continued to do (even during our trip to Marshall for Easter).  Love this kid.

On another note, might I mention how much I adore our pediatrician.  She really keeps me sane, and answers any questions or concerns I have when it comes to sleeping at night, where to sleep, napping, etc.  Dr. Franz always gives her "pediatrician" opinion, then follows with her "mommy" advice which I love. 

It is amazing what you forget from your second child, but I thank God every day that I blogged the entire time!  Should she be sleeping through the night now?  Should we have a feeding and nap schedule down to a "T?"  Should we let her "cry it out" right now?  These are all questions I asked her yesterday (again, she keeps me sane) and as I expected, her answer was "absolutely not."  A 2-month-old baby does not learn so "crying it out" for naps or to go to bed does not work.  Now at 6-months, absolutely, you do, but not now.  She reminded me that at this point in Reagan's life, we need to get as many snuggles and naps together as we can because they grow up fast.  I just love Dr. Franz, I need a "reality check" sometimes.

- Carmen

Two little girls means...

DOUBLE the bows
DOUBLE the drama
DOUBLE the pink
DOUBLE the clothes
QUADRUPLE the money needed!

....ok not really, but you get my drift.

Reagan is 8 weeks today and I am still in shock that I have two beautiful daughters. Growing up I always thought I would have three mean, rambunctious little boys; I would be the mom driving the minivan to 17 different practices each week, always un-showered, constantly putting out fights, yelling at them to stay out of the mud puddle, shopping for navy, green and yellow clothes with matchbox trucks on them, adding a pair of jeans to their wardrobe each season would suffice their clothing needs...

Again, not really but you get my drift!

Instead, I have the complete opposite - two little girls. Allie alone takes care of the amount of drama we want and need around this house, so I can only imagine what Reagan will bring to the table. One aspect of having two daughters that is a blast, yet expensive, is dressing them.

I bought Allie and Reagan matching hot pink and lime green monogrammed clover shirts for St. Patrick's Day and you would have thought I gave Allie $1 million - she was SO excited to match her sister.

I've always been a smocked outfit fan for Allie but I've never felt like she could play and be "herself" in dresses so I always opted for bubbles before she could walk, and now the short sets. But my goodness, this little habit, of wanting to dress them alike, adds up! A typical smocked outfit runs between $40 and $70 a piece...at least $80 per day if not more. Not.in.my.budget. I have several outfits from Allie that are adorable for Reagan to wear now but finding a match for Allie is easier said than done.

SO, I've explored the world of Etsy to assist.

I found these outfits last week and placed my order for the Easter Bunny. The first and third pictures are pinafore sets that are precious and can be used to create two outfits. I had each girl a monogrammed white Montag shirt made with their initials to match the bloomers / shorts. The second picture is a fabric swatch of a third set of bloomers / shorts I am having made for them. I found a seller on Etsy who made all three Montag shirts (for a total of 6) for $72 shipped. They are basic white shirts (thick material) with corresponding thread (red, baby blue and light pink) to match each set of bloomers / shorts. The actual pinafore sets and the extra set of bloomers cost a total of $100 for everything so I basically purchased six outfits (really more if you figure they can wear the matching monogrammed shirts with other leggings, jeans, shorts, etc for $172 which is less than $30 per outfit.

I love dressing the girls alike BUT I had to find a way to make it affordable while not sacrificing the quality or cuteness of the outfit. You have to love maternity leave!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

A couple weeks ago (when we still had a 2-year-old bed partner!) Allie told me she wanted to sing for Reagan so I asked her to practice. This is the sweetest video (it's dark because we were going to sleep). As a parent of two it really makes you realize the love they have for one another.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star