The Stocking Were Hung by the Chimney with Care... Day 4

Day 3- New Christmas Pajamas

Day 2... Watching Christmas Movies

Look closely... its a rare moment of quiet, inactivity that I had with both my girls and Otis

Vada at 4 months

Have you seen this child... seriously, she is more than I can take most days with all chubby she has going on. Almost anytime I look at her and smile, I get a smile back so big her eyes close. Vada is a big talker. When she gets started on something, she just oohs, aahs, and hi-s on and on and on. She will not, however, give us her first real belly laugh! Jameson and I have both tried and despite all of our best efforts she is keeping it locked up for now. Maybe that's what she is giving us for Christmas. She is recognizing her name, reaching out to grab things, rolling onto her side, blowing bubbles and generally just becoming more and more adorable by the day. I know its not polite to talk about a ladies weight but just for future reference she is now at 16 pounds and a full 2 feet tall! In one piece outfits, she now wears a size nine months because she is so tall.

   She has really started watching Lucy and hopefully is only picking up the good habits. She likes to sit herself forward and is still just as wiggly as ever. She is quite good at rolling from her back to her side and has rolled from her belly to her back about 3 times now. She really likes sucking on her fingers and has started putting her hands over her face whenever she is falling asleep. She still wakes up every 3 hours to nurse, all through the night, and eventually ends up in her swing at some point of the early morning to give Mama a couple more hours of sleep. Her hair is starting to get thicker and fill in but her eyes are wonderfully the same beautiful color.

    I am not sure if its because she is a second baby and she does it out of necessity, but this child has got a grip. She can cling on to me and nurse through the most challenging of tasks and if grabs my hair or Jameson's beard its like the jaws of life getting those chubby little fingers to open.
   Jameson and I were talking the other day about how happy she is almost all the time, and yet she is not an easy baby. She is high maintenance, but not difficult. She prefers to cat nap and sometimes is impossible to get to sleep, and other times falls asleep all by herself laying on her playmat. She is all smiles 90% of the time and pure $@#^% the other 10%. Personally, I love it. I am seeing how these little personality traits are just Vada showing us who she is. I love that maybe only Jameson and I will know exactly what she needs at any given time. It is almost a reassurance of trusting our instincts with her some of the time that makes it so rewarding when we get it right.

  One of the things I am happy to say I trusted my instincts on were to take her off her reflux medication. I was really hating having her on daily medication anyway and as I continued researching and finding other alternatives, I became more and more convinced it was not necessary. She has been off medication for over a week now and although she continues to spit up after every feeding it really does not seem to bother her. One of the options we are trying is a chiropractor whom she has visited once so far. The chiropractor found that Vada's left side is tight from her neck all the way down her spine and into her hip. She adjusted her at that visit and plans to see her once or twice more.
   I am so happy to be Vada's mama and know that she recognizes me as her mama. As frustrating as it can be for Jameson when I am working or out of the house, knowing that sometimes she just wants her mama makes the sleepless nights and hectic days totally worth it. I am so excited to see what new things she will learn each day and how much she already loves learning from her big sister. We love you so much Vada Belle!

*The 25 Days of Christmas*

It's finally DECEMBER! The Christmas obsession at our house feels slightly less ridiculous now that December has finally arrived. I have decided to start a 25 Days of Christmas photo challenge for myself. Each day for the next 25 days I hope to capture our family doing something Christmasy.

Today was the first day of the photos as well as the first day of the chocolate advent calendar we got from my Mom. Lucky Lucy gets all the chocolate to herself this year but next year its a whole new ball game... Vada's concentration is hilarious!

 

 

"mmmmmmmmm"

 

 "WHAT!?!?! None for me???"

Lucille at 20 months

• New favorite word is "Thank You" It took us months to get her to say it now she repeats it constantly
• Refuses to wear socks except when she asks for them before nap and bedtime
• Has suddenly become a biter
• Asks for beans everyday for lunch
• Wants to wear jeans anytime I do
• Smacks the floor next to her toy box when she wants you to play with her
• Lays face down on her belly in the tub for her entire bath
• Has started showering us with kisses
• Pulls out the chair for us at dinner
• Packs her purse like a mom; keys, pacifier, lipstick and sunglasses
• Did three tinkles in the potty this weekend
• After a tantrum one day, I asked her what she needed to feel better. Her response was "Beer."
• Finally understands "Sorry"
• Thinks the salad spinner is the perfect place to store toy bugs
• Has been dubbed the sour patch kid by Jameson... First she's salty then she's sweet

Daddy, Mama, and Vada love you infinity Lucille!

Ain't Nothing But a Chicken Wing

I told myself I was going to get better at this blogging thing, and then I didn't. Oh well, no time like the present. And honestly, this story needs to be recorded somewhere.

Sunday evening we went to Jameson's parents house for dinner. His mom made oven-fried chicken and before we left she packed some up for Lucy's lunch the next day. It being 8:30pm on daylight savings day, when she demanded to hold the plastic bag of "chi-en" we let her to avoid a meltdown. I didn't think anything of it as I packed her in the car and she put her little chicken bag in her cup holder. I bundled her up and off we went. A couple of miles down the road Jameson said something about smelling chicken. I turned on the light and found this...

Finger licking good! She thought nothing funny about her late night snack, sitting in the dark, and just seemed glad I turned around as she handed me the bones. Kids, I tell ya...