I am pretty sure Lily gave up sleeping for Lent. But Tripp on the other hand, must be sleeping really hard cause this is exactly how his hair was when he woke up this morning:

a side view:

I am not exactly sure what he was doing in his bed to make his hair do that!!

It sure is a good thing Lily's cuteness makes up for her lack of sleeping cause she would really be in trouble otherwise!!

In other news, I tried potty training Tripp a few weeks ago when he asked me if he could start wearing underwear. Being the good mom that I am, I tried really hard to convince him that that was a terrible idea and that diapers were really cool (yes, I really did say that to him) but he would not buy it so I caved and put in him underwear. After 4 accidents and him getting nowhere near the potty, I managed to convince him that diapers were the way to go, and he thankfully put them back on. He did not really say much about it to me but as soon as Nelson go home, the first thing out of his mouth was "Daddy, maybe you can help me go peepee on the potty better than Mommy." I can not tell you how excited I was to hear those words and how much I encouraged that. Yes, Tripp, Daddy would LOVE to help you go peepee on the potty. He will be REALLY good at helping you do that. That is such a GREAT idea. So this morning, when Tripp asked me again if he could wear underwear, I immediately said "Oh sure, how about this weekend when Daddy is home?!" So guess what Nelson (I mean, "we") are doing this weekend? I will be sure to keep you updated (and Nelson, do not worry- I promise I will help you, just maybe only a little bit. Cause I already tried- so doesn't that mean it's your turn?!?).

Early Morning Photo Shoot

Since most of us have been up since about 5 this morning, I am already at a bit of a loss for things to do today (or maybe it is that my sleepy brain doesn't work that well still). We already went to go get donuts (I decided that if I got a blueberry donut, it would not count as a sweet which I gave up for Lent) and now we are on to photo shoot time. In case you need anymore convincing that Honey Bee Tees are the cutest shirts ever, here is Tripp in his newest one- the dump truck.

And for honesty's sake- here is a pic of the two of us- me in all my "ijustwokeupandamstillhalfasleepeventhoughihavehadmymorningcaffeine" glory.

When Lily wakes up from her morning nap (that she went down for at 7:15 cause she was up so early), we will head to the zoo so maybe I will have some more pics from there!

Mid Week Confessions

I have read on a few blogs where they do mid-week confessions. I thought that would be kinda fun to do. I probably will not do it every week, but it is definitely fun to do sometimes. So here I go-

1. I really want a tattoo but will never get one cause Nelson is adamantly opposed to them. And it is probably not a good idea to do something your husband really is opposed to (like watch the Bachelor- but I do that one anyway).

2. I always swallow my gum. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have spit it out. And I only did that because someone made me (like my mom).

3. I am not the biggest reader because it is too much work.

4. I am deathly afraid of tornadoes.

5. I gave up sweets/candy for Lent.

Stay tuned for more next week (or, if we are realistic, it might be the next week)!

Buddies

Winter Day at the Park

Even when it is cold, sometimes you just have to get out!

An Indoor Picnic

I had already packed Tripp's lunch for mom's day out when I decided not to send either Lily or him due to runny noses and coughs. So when it came to lunch time, we decided to have an indoor picnic. It was lots of fun to mix things up!

Turning Points

Somewhere between 3 and 3 and a half months, Lily has made many turns for the better. She will easily take a bottle from a select few people (I made the mistake of having someone watch her who hadn't before and Lily refused it from her, but she will take it from Nelson, my mom, and the ladies at mom's day out). She also is content now without being held all the time and with other people besides me (the same people from which she will take a bottle). This is huge for me and for us as a family. Our days are no longer marked by what seems like endless crying but instead with Tripp making Lily smile and laugh. Of course the days are still crazy, especially when they both have rough days at the same time (which is usually how it goes) but at least we are making progress. In all honesty, I think one of the best things for our schedule was me going back to work. It was kinda terrible in other ways, but now that Lily is doing better, we are all in a much better routine.

I would say that probably from months 2 till now have been some of the hardest of my life. It was not the going from one to two kids that was the hardest per se (like the physical ability to care for them both) but more the fact that Lily has been pretty demanding and Tripp really started to struggle then with adjusting to her being here permanently. Everyday is still hard- I am trying to be patient, loving, etc all while not getting much sleep (we are still working on getting Lily back on a normal schedule after getting all messed up from the days of not taking a bottle). I really have felt God's presence in my life- he gives me strength for each day and grace to not completely lose my patience on a daily basis!

Being back at work has also given me the breath of fresh air that I need on some days. I sometimes think that maybe I would not like to work and to stay home all the time. But then I go to work and I remember why I like being there and why I like working. It gives me a much needed break and allows me to use my brain in a different way.

I am looking forward to what is in store for the next couple of months!!

A Good Day

 In the words of Kevin Henkes, "what a good day!" I have felt incredibly encouraged over the past few days and today was just an all around good day. Tripp and I got to have some quality time together thanks to a friend watching Lily, Lily took her bottle (or at least most of it) from someone who hasn't given it to her before, and we were able to work through a few "heated" situations with Tripp using some tactics/advice that another wise friend shared with me. I got to take nap while both kiddies napped, and Tripp and I got to run another errand together while Nelson stayed with Lily. (I am not trying to pawn Lily off on people or not do things together all three or four of us. But Tripp and I needed some time together where we were just talking and having fun, the two of us.) I have been so encouraged by people faithfully praying for and sharing kind words and wisdom with us. I am so thankful for our community of believers, both in St. Louis and beyond, who God has placed in our lives to tangibly show us His love. What an awesome God we serve!

Three Months Old

Today Lily turned 3 months old! I of course can not believe she is that old already! I tried to get some pics of her but did not really get much. Oh well, I guess that is life of the second born. But in other great, great news and answer to many prayers, Lily took the bottle today!! I have been consulting with a pediatric OT to try to get this figured out and she gave us lots of things to try. The thing that seemed to be the trick was a bottle with the same nipple as the pacifier that she will take (as opposed to all the ones that say they are the closest to breastfeeding). Although we had tried it over the weekend to no avail, for some reason, today seemed to be her day. I guess she was just thinking of it as a birthday present. At one point when I was feeding her, she even looked up at me and smiled! I melted! Tomorrow will be the true test as I go to work and she goes to Mom's Day Out and my mom's. But hopefully, prayerfully, she will do well tomorrow too. Then maybe Nelson and I can think about going out again (I already have a babysitter lined up for Saturday night- I am just hoping we don't have to cancel again this time)!

In other three month news, Lily can roll over from her stomach (she does this really well when she is mad) and has started smiling a lot! She makes a lot of noise which is so fun to hear. I especially love it when Tripp says "Let's talk to Lily Mommy!" which he then follows with many noises directed at Lily in his effort to talk to her. Lily loves to just stare at Tripp and is often distracted by him when she is supposed to be doing (like nursing).

This picture is pretty terrible as far as quality but I love how it captures Tripp's excitement to be with Lily. Right before, he asked me if he could put his arm around her. Of course I said yes! This makes me happy on so many levels, mostly because it has not been an easy road with him since Lily has been born. She was/is still somewhat a demanding baby and he has gone from almost all our attention to almost none on certain days. I know that he needs to learn that life is not all about him and I know that it is good for him to share our attention and learn what it means to be a part of a family, but for the past three months, he has had to learn it to a pretty high degree, especially as it relates to me and my time with him. And that has been a struggle. When Lily would not be settled by anyone but me and then would not take a bottle, days seemed to go by that our only interactions were negative- him acting out, and me subsequently discipling him. But now that we have made progress in Lily's sorts, we have been able to do fun things as the three of us (and four when Nelson is home). So it makes me really glad that even though it has been a hard transition, he still sees her as a positive thing in his life!

Happy 3 month birthday Lily!!!

My Sous Chef

This morning Tripp asked me if we could make a cake. I said sure mostly because I thought he would forget about it a few seconds later. But instead of forgetting about it, I came into the kitchen to find all these things on the counter:

He specifically got out the ingredients to make Beatty's Chocolate Cake (the chocolate is for the icing). The only things missing are the wet ingredients.

Of course I could not resist this face and we baked our cake!