Reflections on Year Two
Disclaimer: I’ve been working on this post for a week. Literally. Every time I sat down to write it I seemed to get interrupted (imagine that) :-). So, I apologize for the delay and I will warn you it is a long post.
Exactly two years ago I was sitting in a hospital bed cuddling a very sweet baby girl named Brenna Noelle. She was so little. So dependent. So perfect. I remember that feeling of awe that she was OURS. A beautiful gift from God. Two years ago we had no idea what awaited us on this journey of parenthood, and honestly, to a big degree we still have no idea. We do know this, though, we’ve been blessed! We cannot imagine life without our sweet, spunky Brenna.
2 days old…
2 years old…looks like the same little girl to me. 🙂
The biggest milestone that just occurred is that Brenna is officially POTTY TRAINED! It went smoother than I ever dreamed it could. She was SO ready and did great! She is still in pull-ups at night, although, she has been waking up dry so I’m not sure how much longer that will be necessary. Let me tell you, it is GREAT only having to buy diapers for one child. 🙂
This was Brenna’s throne for three days straight. 🙂
Brenna’s picky eating habits seemed to have improved over the last six months. We can usually get her to at least try whatever I make for us and to our delight sometimes we find out she actually likes it! The saying around here goes, if she can dip it, she will usually eat it. 🙂 She’s a condiment girl! Some of her favorite foods are chicken nuggets, shrimp, pepperoni, peas, broccoli, black beans, corn, yogurt, apples, strawberries, shredded cheese (yes, it does have to be shredded), and pretty much anything that classifies as a snack!
Brenna is a busy body and never seems to slow down. She loves to walk, run, jump, dance, and wrestle with her daddy. She is definitely a wild child. 🙂 Those rare moments when she does slow down, you will usually find her “reading” a book (which is more like pointing out every detail of every single picture on every single page), working puzzles, watching Curious George (her cartoon of choice right now), or helping me with chores. She absolutely LOVES to help with cleaning, cooking, and laundry (oh, how I wish that would last)! Whatever I am doing she wants to be involved somehow, someway.
The sisterly bond continues to grow and continues to be the sweetest thing in the world! I think in Brenna’s mind Felicia has always been apart of this family. I don’t think she remembers being an only child. She is such a loving, protective, concerned big sister. She always must know where Felicia is and if for some reason she does not know, you will hear her very concerned voice saying, “Weesha?” “Weesha?”. I’m thankful I have Brenna to help me keep track of Felicia. 🙂 Brenna also LOVES to make Felicia laugh and Felicia thinks her big sister is the funniest person in the world. Here is a little taste of the sisterly affection that goes on daily in our house. 🙂
While most of the time, Brenna has a very sweet personality, she also has a very strong will, that at times, brings out a not-so-pleasant version of herself. Drew and I are continuing to learn how to consistently and lovingly discipline her through those times. It is no easy task, but we are confident this is what we have biblically been called to do as her parents. It required a lot of patience and a lot of dependence on God and I’m realizing I’m learning right along side of her.
Brenna, I’m SO thankful to be your mommy! You are very precious to me. I thank God that He has given me two whole years with you and I pray for many more! I love you with all my heart, but that does not compare to the love God has for you. And I fervently pray that one day you will know God’s love.
Happy 2nd Birthday!
2 Year Stats:
Weight: 26 lbs (50%)
Height: 34 in. (56%)
Thoughts and A Half Birthday
I feel like I was just writing this milestone post for Brenna, and now, in the blink of an eye, I am doing it for Felicia and preparing to celebrate Brenna’s 2nd birthday in just a short month! There are times when I wish I could command time to slow down. I cannot. What I can do, though, is enjoy each day (however quickly they pass) to the fullest with my two precious daughters (and their amazing daddy!). I wish I could say I score an A+ on doing that every single day, but the truth is, more times than I care to admit, my to-do-list gets priority. Some days I just need a kick in the pants. Those crumbs all over the floor will still be able to be swept up tomorrow, we can sleep on dirty sheets for another night, that blog post that everyone is dying to read (haha) can wait another day. However, that little toddler who is responsible for those crumbs all over the floor, might not want to dance with her momma tomorrow. That sweet, sweet baby, who got spit up all over those sheets, might not want to snuggle into her momma’s arms tomorrow night. Those two beautiful girls, who are big part of the reason there is even a blog, might not want to giggle and act silly with their momma the next day. These are the precious daily moments God has called me to treasure. I need to treasure them. I want to treasure them. I must treasure them. All that non-eternal stuff can wait.
Felicia is officially 6 months old today! Since I failed to write a five month post (I hope she will forgive me) I’ll get everyone up to speed. She is rolling over like it is going out of style. I will lay her down on one end of the room and within seconds she is on the opposite end. I think she is enjoying the freedom. 🙂 No sign of crawling yet, but she is getting closer to sitting up on her own.
She still takes a bottle every three hours during the day (a total of 5 times), although I hope to decrease that as soon as I add in real food. Speaking of real food, Felicia is not a big fan. I finally gave up on cereal and decided to go straight to the “good stuff”. I bought some apple, yogurt oatmeal and she tolerates that a little better. By tolerate I mean she will swallow it IF I can pry her lips open long enough to quickly get the bite in her mouth. Ha. I’m sure it will grow on her.
She is still sleeping a solid 12 hours at night and still seems to need three naps during the day. She will sleep about an hour in the morning, 2-3 hours in the afternoon, and usually 45 minutes in the evening. No complaining here. 🙂
Felicia’s personality seems to be blossoming and I’m loving it! She has never been much of a cuddle bug, but just recently she has started to get into a cuddly mood if she is really tired. We have also noticed some attachment issues starting in just the last week or so. I think she is starting to figure out who her momma is (and daddy), and she does not like it very much when we leave the room or leave her with a strange person. I have to admit, I like it just a little bit. 🙂 Felicia is also a loud mouth. She loves to express her opinions (she cannot be outdone by Brenna you know) and usually does so quite boisterously. Also, have I mentioned how much Felicia ADORES her big sister? Brenna somehow just knows how to get the biggest smiles and happiest squeals out of her little sister. Felicia just lights up when Brenna takes the time to notice her and play with her. They are quickly becoming best friends and it makes my heart happy!
I am so thankful to the Lord for entrusting to me these two undeserving, priceless gifts that I call my daughters. So thankful for all the joys and struggles of motherhood. So thankful for a loving, patient, godly, supportive husband (I cannot begin to imagine doing this parent thing without him).
Our Happy 6-month-old!
And our beautiful Brenna Noelle!
A Marvelous Mom
Happy Mothers Day to a woman who understands that caring for kids is truly a gospel-advancing task! Elizabeth is an awesome mommy, and she sacrificially and patiently loves her daughters day in and day out. But as much as she loves her family, what makes her such a great mom is that she loves Jesus even more. I’m blessed to be able to make kids and raise kids with this incredible woman!
Simple Moments of Motherhood
Drew is gone tonight. Which means I got to do Brenna’s bed time routine by myself. She has been doing GREAT at sleeping for the past week! Probably the best she has done in several months, however, I think daddy not being home tonight threw her off a bit. Typically once we put her in bed we do not get her back out. If she cries we will go in there and rub her back and tell her we love her, but we don’t get her out of her bed.
Well, tonight I broke the rule and I couldn’t be happier that I did. After 30 minutes of fussing I decided I was going to try to rock her. So I went into her room, picked her up, kissed her tear-stained face, and went and sat down in the glider. As I sat down in the dark room I could see her eyes staring into mine. Then it happened. That simple, but ever so fulfilling moment. Brenna reached her hand up to my cheek pulled my head down and kissed me. And then she did it again. After about five times of doing this, I decided I was just going to stay down by her sweet little face and keep pecking those precious cheeks. So I did, over and over and over again. Guess what? She fell asleep. She fell asleep to her mama’s kisses and this mama didn’t want to stop. 🙂
Sometimes (ok, many times), I wonder if I’m making the right decision when it comes to mothering. Tonight I never wondered. Getting her out of bed was the BEST decision ever! Sitting in that glider, staring into that peaceful, sleeping face, I was overwhelmed with God’s goodness to me, in first, blessing me with a beautiful daughter to love and hold and mother, and second, in blessing me with moments like tonight that I will cherish forever. I’ll be honest, Brenna’s tears stopped, but mine started. Happy tears. Thankful tears.
Our sweet girl...
33 Weeks
As promised, I am posting my belly shot at 33 weeks (and actually on time!). I’m really getting to that point where it’s getting hard to breathe at times because there’s no room left in there. I’m really hoping she decides to come a little early, not too early, but a little would be a nice gift for this mama. 🙂 I’m thinking 5 more weeks of this is PLENTY. Once again, though, it’s not up to me so I will patiently try to wait.
33 Weeks and counting...
31 Weeks
I’ll be 31 weeks tomorrow and failed again at posting my 30 week belly shot. It’s been a busy couple of weeks with getting Brenna’s new room ready, moving Brenna in to her new room and getting the nursery ready for Felicia’s arrival! I still have plenty more on my “to-do” list, but it feels good to have that accomplished. Brenna seems to be adjusting to her new room fairly well. She’s had several bad nights of sleep recently, but since that started before we switched her, I don’t think her new room is to blame.
As far as the pregnancy goes, I think I’m in a love-hate relationship with pregnancy right now. I do LOVE the miracle of pregnancy and the feeling of life inside of me, but I’m not so much loving not being able to do everything I want to do without the aches and pains associated with a growing belly. I’m not complaining, though, I realize soon enough we will meet our precious second daughter and everything will be SO worth it!
I think the last week or so, things have really started to click in Brenna’s mind. People always ask if she realizes there is going to be another baby in our house, and up to this point I’m not sure she has. However, we have really been working on trying to get her to understand she’s going to have a sister as much as is possible for a 15-month-old. A few days ago we gave her one of Felicia’s ultrasound pictures to carry around and look at and now she will point to it and say, “Bee-sha” or “Wee-sha”. 🙂 Also, when we ask her where Felicia is she will point to my belly (or once in a while to Drew’s belly…haha!). She LOVES “kissing” Felicia and can even say “sister” if we ask her to. It’s absolutely precious to me and I cannot wait to see the two of them actually interact with each other.
I have another doctor’s appointment on Monday and they are going to do another ultrasound. I’m measuring a little small (not due to lack of weight gain…trust me.) and my doctor just wants to make sure my fluid level is ok and Felicia is measuring on track. He’s not too concerned and thinks it’s just my long torso and the fact that I have more room to spread out. 🙂 We are, of course, excited to get another peek at Felicia!
Here’s a belly shot we took a few days ago and if I ever remember I will take pictures of the new rooms and post them sometime.
30 weeks and 4 days. I don't know how I could be measuring small...I feel huge!
28 Weeks
Hello third trimester! I’m so glad you’re here! I crossed the 28 week mark yesterday and am on the home stretch now. I’m feeling the crunch as my to-do-list before Felicia arrives is growing by the day. However, getting things done works out a little differently the second time around as now I have a one-year old who needs my attention almost constantly. I’m not complaining about that as there is nothing I would rather be doing than spending time with my sweet Brenna (ok, maybe spending time with my amazing husband!). However, I am trying to learn how to balance being a faithful mommy and getting a few things done around the house. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but God is lovingly and patiently teaching me.
As far as the pregnancy goes, I continue to have a lot more aches and pains this time around (hmmm…maybe from lugging around a 22-pound little girl?). Actually, my doctor said it is quite normal for a second pregnancy and so I’ve just succumbed to the fact that it is going to be like that for the next 10-12 weeks. And probably continually getting worse as Ms. Felicia continues to grow and my belly continues to get bigger and bigger. 🙂 I have no doubt, though, that it will be COMPLETELY worth it in the end!
Felicia is picking up the movement in there and I’m now at the point where I can just sit and watch in wonder as my belly moves. I so wish I could get a sneak peek!
It’s been a month since I’ve posted a belly shot (I’ll blame that on the holidays) and my how I have grown (perhaps, that is from the holidays as well). Here is our precious Felicia Laurelle at 28 weeks (here was my belly at 29 weeks with Brenna) . 🙂
28 weeks and 1 day
24 Weeks and a Dr. Appointment
24 weeks yesterday! It’s crazy to think that in about three months our little girl will be here! It seemed like just yesterday March was forever away. She has definitely picked up her movement in the last week or so! There have been a couple of nights recently when I have layed down to go to bed and I cannot go to sleep because she is squirming all over the place. I’m not complaining though, it’s good preparation!
I had a Dr. appointment today with an ultrasound and I’m SO thankful to say my placenta has MOVED! No more placenta previa. God is good! Of course, the best part was I got another peek at our daughter and let me tell you I LOVE her! She is measuring 1 lb. 6 oz with a heart rate of 129. Growing, growing, growing!
After the ultrasound, my doctor comes in and asks me if our first daughter had a big head when she was born. I laughed and said she did and he said, “Oh good, because this one does too!” Haha. Lucky me! I told him they get that from their daddy! 🙂
Here's her profile picture. That's her hand up by her face, not a huge nose. 🙂 Can you tell she has a big head?
Her perfect, beautiful face!
And here she is hiding away in my belly! 🙂
18 Weeks
18 weeks and a day away from finding out if we are having a little girl or a little boy! I SO hope this little one cooperates for us. I don’t know if I can wait another 4 weeks! I keep having this feeling that they won’t be able to tell tomorrow and we will have to wait, but I’m praying that I’m wrong.
It looks like our poll is evening out somewhat, but as of now the girl vote is still 6 counts ahead. Drew is feeling girl. I keep going back and forth, but probably would lean toward boy. And Brenna apparently is feeling girl. When we asked her today if she was going to have a brother she shook her head “no”. Then we asked her if she was going to have a sister and I swear she said “sister”. 🙂 Whatever we find out, we will be THRILLED! We would love to have another daughter and we would love to have our first son! We’ll see…
I’m feeling (and looking) more pregnant everyday. I’m still not feeling a ton of movement, but every once in a while I’ll feel a little wiggle or kick. I’ve seemed to be a lot more tired as of late, which I tend to think is the opposite of what I should be feeling. Hopefully it is just a passing symptom. Drew is probably getting sick of me falling asleep on the couch every night. 🙂 He’s actually been very gracious.
Here’s what I looked like at 18 weeks with Brenna, and here’s me now at 18 weeks.
18 weeks
Stay tuned tomorrow for the announcement…
16 Weeks
With the business of this last week, I never posted my 16 week belly shot. I’m now almost 17 weeks and had a doctor’s appointment this morning. We heard the heartbeat, which sounds great, and scheduled our ultrasound to find out the gender for October 27! That’s only TEN days away! Yeah! Hopefully this little one cooperates!
I for sure felt the baby move for the first time yesterday! He or she was being quite active. 🙂 I’m loving it! I’ve also thought for the last week and a half or so I have felt some Braxton Hicks contractions and asked the doctor about it today. They didn’t seem too concerned and said it can happen this early and as long as they don’t become regular to not worry about it. So that was good news.
Anyways, here’s my growing baby bump (here I am at 16 weeks with Brenna)…
16 Weeks
Drew
Elizabeth
Mercies Unending 