Babies, Babies, Babies

   This week was the beginning of a new routine for Lucy and I. Two days a week, we will be having Hunter at our house for visits. I am so happy that these two will grow up together and that I get the chance to spend some time with my nephew. I am also thinking this may be a good introduction for Lucy to not having 100% of momma's attention all the time. She did better than expected these first two days and I can already see she is going to be a big help with him and with her own sisters or brothers one day. She is very sensitive to his crying and likes to help pat his back after he eats and when he is upset.

    I was also excited to see how I would handle having two kids under my watch all day, and I must say, it only makes me all the more anxious to have more babies! Yes, I know, I am not normal. I love babies, especially my own :) The nurses at the hospital were shocked when I told them "We will be back!" as I walked out with a smile two days after Lucy was born. Jameson and I are both ready for another baby. We talk about it 6 days out of 7 and can't help but wonder who will join our family next. We both see pink in our future, lots of pink! Every time I pack up clothes Lucy has outgrown I have this strong feeling I will be unpacking them for another baby girl soon. Obviously Jameson would love to have a boy but I have told him multiple times, God gives you what you can handle. He has the laid back personality that just may be what a dad of girls needs. The anticipation of having more babies fills me with a constant hope and excitement.

   As we approach Thanksgiving, I am overwhelmed with all that I have been given. A husband who loves me and is the most dedicated father I could hope for for my baby. A beautiful, healthy baby girl who shows me everyday that I am the luckiest momma in the world to have been given her to love and raise. Brothers and sisters that offer endless hours of entertainment and a distraction from the stress of everyday life. Parents who have showed us that parenting doesn't end when we move out of the house and that there are endless ways to show support to your kids and their families. I am blessed, everyday.

 

 

           

                                                      

  Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Lucy's 8 Months!

Busy Busy Busy! Those are the three words I would pick to describe Lucy the past month. Our little girl is constantly rolling and talking and pulling herself up on the table and wanting to eat and twisting out of our arms and the list goes on. By this point, I am fairly convinced that Lucy won't be a crawler. She gets herself up on her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, then lays down and rolls to where she needs to be. She rolls into other rooms, under the couch, over to Otis, anywhere she wants to go. Just this week she pulled herself from seated to standing on the coffee table so I think she will go straight to walking, or running that is.

At the end of my last monthly update I mentioned Lucy was close to a tooth. Now she has two! And the first top tooth is days away from breaking through. I have definitely seen a change in her temperament this month but I know it's only because her mouth is hurting her. I found a homeopathic gel that she reaches for when I bring it out so I am hoping these help make her feel a little more like her bubbly self.

Lucy also celebrated her first Halloween in the past month! Given a choice of three outfits, Lucy decided to be Snow White. Mommy decided she would also be a pumpkin for some pictures...

We were able to do some fun family things too. We had a German day with our extended family and went to the Oyster Fest in St. Michaels with Brian, Allison, Jonah and Henry. Lucy now rides around in a stroller on some of our outings despite me still wanting to carry her in the Moby.

Lucy is an extremely light sleeper and most days wakes after 15 minutes from naps. At night, she is falling asleep earlier but waking every 15 minutes in her crib until I am in bed beside the crib. She wakes up 3-5 times every night but is only eating once, being rocked back to sleep the other times. I truly cherish every time I get to rock and sing to her as she falls asleep. I always sing her "You Are My Sunshine" and am brought to tears whenever I think of her not wanting to do this routine anymore.  

     Lucy has become my little companion and I couldn't imagine doing anything without her. We shop, visit, play, run errands, clean the house, cook dinner, take Otis for walks always by each others side. Looking in the rear view mirror and seeing her face still brings a smile to my face every time. I am still as amazed and intrigued by her as the day she was born. She wakes every morning and from every nap with a smile and the times she is acting herself more than make up for the cranky spots from teething. She loves to make people laugh, give kisses, and spend time with her cousins, grandparents and aunts and uncles. She is a joy to our family and continues to challenge and change me every day to be the best mom I can possibly be. I love you Lucy, you are my sunshine.

Happy Halloween

    Today was Lucy's first halloween! Given a choice of three outfits, Lucy decided to be Snow White. She loves dressing up and got the biggest smile when I showed her the final look in the mirror. She was able to get some pictures with her cousins and hand out candy to some neighborhood kids.

   The day before, we made the most of her size and got some adorable pictures...

Oh! Wait! I said adorable right???? Here we go...

On to Thanksgiving!

German Day!

   I absolutely love that both of our immediate families are so close to us. Both sets of parents and all but one sibling are within 15 minutes of our home.
  Last weekend, my side of the family got together for a German day! Of course, food and drink were the main focuses. I got to do desserts, vanille kipferls and schwetche kuchen and gummi bears, and make pretzels with Jonah and Henry. Allison made schnitzel, sauerkraut, and german potato salad and hosted. Jameson made bratwursts. Ms. Cindy made potato leek soup. To drink? Cider and Oktoberfest. Lots of Oktoberfest :)

    Lucy loved playing with her cousins. All of her boy cousins are very protective and like to make sure she is happy and entertained.

Never a dull moment...

AUF WIEDERSEHEN!

Lucy's 7 Months!

     Well, its that time again. The 15th of the month and October means Lucy is now 7 months old! Our little girl is quite the busy body and so talkative. I love watching learn something new everyday and figure out all the things she is now capable of doing on her own.
    The biggest accomplishment this month has been the introduction of food. Being the daughter of two food lovers, Lucy was understandably very interested in food. We started with bananas and have tried sweet potatoes, avocado, summer squash, butternut squash, applesauce, yogurt, and, her favorite yet, pumpkin! She is also feeding herself water out of a sippy cup.

    Not long after "Ma Ma" came "Ba Ba" and "V v v v" and finally "Da Da." It has become her favorite word so far and it seems the others have completely left her vocabulary. I started saying Da Da whenever Jameson came in the door from work and I honestly think she is associating him with the name. At least she says Mummmmm when she cries!

     Lucy had her first trip to the pumpkin patch in early October. She helped us pick out our pumpkins, rode in the wagon, and even had her picture taken as a goat!

    
    Lucy now sits in the bath tub by herself and still LOVES taking a bath. Her bath toys may have become her new favorite things to play with since they are a soft rubber and they go straight in the mouth.

    
   Also new this month, Lucy has started waving and mouthing "Bye Bye." Her most famous wave so far was during her baptism as we stood up front and she waved to the congregation :) She also leans in for kisses, but watch out for that tongue!
   Lucy's sleep habits have been all over the place this month. For almost a week she was up 4-5 times a night nursing and for a few nights even stayed awake for a couple of hours. Within the past week, however, she has gotten back to normal and only gets up once, maybe twice, and spends most of the night in her bassinet. I'm guessing that period of unrest was due to.....
   A BUDDING TOOTH! It hasn't peeked through yet but there is a definite white bubble on her lower gum line, right up front, her right of center. I check it everyday because I know it won't be long and now can even feel the ridges on top.
   Lucy is a pro at sitting up on her own and has started kicking one leg under and pushing herself forward to try and get to us. I am certain that crawling is right around the corner. Better get my running legs warmed up!
    Everyday I am thankful to be her mom and be home with her to catch every moment. She is growing and changing so much but continues to be the same happy, loving baby she has been since the beginning. She loves to laugh and make other people laugh and is truly a pleasure to be around. She smiles at everyone we meet, even the nurses who give her shots. My heart is so full...

Making it Work

    Let me preface by saying I know how extremely lucky our family is that I get to stay home with Lucy. Taking the leap of faith to move to one income when your family is expanding is SCARY! Somehow when we had two incomes we still managed to have very tight months. Looking back now I wonder where in the world did that other half of our money go? Now almost all months are very tight but it's funny how things seem to just work out when you are convinced you are doing the right thing for your family.
    Hopefully one day we won't have this obstacle but for now it's our life and we are figuring out how to make it work. Sometimes it's funny to see how we have been able to stretch our money. To look back and see that we have now made it 4 months on just Jameson's paycheck feels like a huge accomplishment. Sometimes, though, it feels more like a struggle. I am a huge worrier. I like to think I have gotten better being with Jameson but sometimes it likes to rear its ugly head and I'm left in tears wondering how in the world are we going to pay all of our bills. These are the times I look at Lucy and know everything is going to be ok. Nothing can take away the past 7 months I have been home with her. No amount of money would make me want to leave her with someone else everyday.
    Since I was a little girl it has been my dream to be a mama. So now I can honestly say, I AM LIVING MY DREAM. As with any dream, there are sacrifices and a shifting of priorities. Jameson and I have lost time together. He is being such a strong leader for this family by working overtime every week and picking up odd jobs from family and friends. He cuts lawns, builds cornhole boards, paints, shovels snow at business parks in the winter, and is pretty much willing to do anything and everything to keep me home. So, although I am not contributing financially, I have figured out ways to MAKE IT WORK!

We cloth diaper! I have written about it in the past here but this saves us soooo much money.

And I love the puffy little hiney it gives Lucy ;)

We breastfeed! We have started introducing fruits and vegetables but I
 make them all out of the food Jameson and I eat anyway. I can only imagine
 how much we have saved over using formula.

Lucy is a consignment shop baby. I would say 90% of her clothes are either hand me downs

or consignment shop finds. Babies in Bloom is right up the street so we stop in frequently.

Yesterday, we went to Return to Oz, Honeysuckle, and Bellies, Babies and Beyond and ended up with seven dresses, two pair of pants, two sweaters, three tops, and two sleepers. How much did we spend? $82! Yes, $82 is alot of money but her fall wardrobe is now complete. Four of the things

had original tags, two are our favorite Janie and Jack brand, and one was something

 I almost bought at full price at the outlets last week but got for $4, with the tags still attached.

  We stock up during sales and freeze. It is really important both to Jameson and I

 that we eat organically grown meat. Yes, it's more expensive but neither of us has

 been to the doctor with a sickness in the 2 years since we have started. It's a priority

we are willing to shift things around to accomplish. 

We shop at the Amish Market. Have you ever been? Not only is it CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP,

its fun to go too. Cheese is at least 30% cheaper than at the store and the spices are even more than

that. Dry goods are a huge bargain and the candy shop has more variety than any store I

have every visited around here. Mini Reeses Pieces Cookies anyone?

Obviously there are many other steps we take to save money. Jameson cuts his hair at home. We have basic cable, no Tivo or DVR for us! We only go out to eat, or drink, for special occasions (happy hour half price appetizers, thank you). We only have one new car. One night's dinner is the next day's packed lunch.

   I so often hear, "I wish I could stay home with my kids." We are lucky. We are also making sacrifices. We are learning, every day, and making it work.

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

 
   2 years ago today, Jameson and I started our own family. 10/10/09. After three and a half years of dating, including a year of planning, we finally made the walk that would establish ourselves as husband and wife. Everyone always says that the planning process goes so fast. Not to me. The day could not come soon enough and I constantly found myself wanting to fast forward. The anticipation of being his wife, of finally living in the house we had been throwing ourselves into renovating, of making a public vow to stand by his side for the rest of my life, of waking up to my best friend every morning was some of the most real emotion I have ever felt.
    I had no problem sleeping the night before our wedding. What was there to worry about? The planning was done, the friends and family were here, and I was marrying my best friend. I had no reservations giving him my full heart knowing it would be in safe keeping. We had seen each other at our best and worst and loved each other fully, recognizing our own and acknowledging each others' shortcomings. We wanted to be together regardless. We never wanted a "break" from each other. Never wanted to keep things from the other. We looked to each other for entertainment, affection, advice, and a sense of home.
    Luckily, Jameson liked helping me plan the wedding since he had worked at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club for several years. He arranged the DJ, the photographer, and helped me pick the cake, the florist, the decorations, the music. Just as everything leading up to the wedding and everything since the wedding, we did it together.
    The day finally came and all I cared about was that at the end of the day, I wanted to be married to Jameson. All the other details could blow up in my face but as long as I was his wife, it would be the best day of my life up to then. I had cried almost daily the entire year leading up to 10/10 because I was so happy. Music was the death of me. I would show up at work with mascara running down my face because of something I heard on the radio. Daydreams were a disaster too. I would picture the doors of the church opening and him standing at the altar and suddenly be drenched in tears. Funny that when the time came, I hardly cried. It felt so RIGHT.

 The reception was something we have wished to relive multiple times since. Both of our families like to party, and party we did! The food was delicious of course, the toasts made us both cry, and the night went too fast. Luckily we had an amazing photographer who helps us go back to the night every time we look at pictures.

   People told us if we could make it through our first year we would be set. People said if we could make it through renovating a house we could make it through anything. Well we did and here we are. Neither one of us could have imagined being at this place only two years in. Three tropical trips, two years, one house, one dog, one income, and one beautiful baby girl. We certainly have made the first two years full of memories. When things get hard, when we forget we are living our dream, I look at these pictures. On that day we had no idea what was in store for us, in two years, twenty years, or 50 years. All I know is there is no one else I want to wake up to every morning and go to sleep with every night. No one else I want my children to call "Daddy." No one else I want to spend the rest of my life showing how much they are loved. He is "that voice I want to hear, some day when I am 90. That wooden rocking chair I want rocking right beside me." Thank you for the two most fulfilling and exciting years of my life Jameson. I can't wait to see what else is in store for us and to keep living our story everyday. I love you.