Alara @ 9 months

Alara @ 9 month 

• Alara loves spending time outside. She enjoys playing in our empty kiddy pool, cruising around in the X-wing ( a walker) and crawling in the grass. When Alara wants to go outside she will crawl over to the backdoor, stand and press her chubby hands hands against the glass  and will say "go." Its adorable. 
• She is a foodie! Alara loves to eat and is willing to try anything I give her. This is a new experience for me. Older brother isn't interested in eating and or trying new foods. Alara wants to try everything I eat. 
• She is trying to stand up on her own. Throughout the day I'll watch her let go of the couch and stand for a few seconds before plopping back down in a sitting position. 
• She grew out of the infant bathtub. 
• She is sleeping better and wakes up about once per night...and sometimes even will sleep through the night. 

baby E's quilt

I've been wanting to try my hand at quilting for a while now and with two family members expecting babies, the timing couldn't have been better. After doing my research, (ahem..spending too much time on pinterest) I loaded the kiddos in the car for a quick long and exhausting trip to Joann's. 

Parents-to-be chose a sheep theme for baby E's nursery. The colors for the nursery are light blue, navy blue, grey and cream. I love the idea of a sheep themed nursery! Its unique and fits the fun and playful personalities of baby E's parents. 

I spent an entire Sunday with a friend cutting out the squares and piecing this quilt together. I knew that I wanted to use as much of the sheep fabric as possible. I made the pattern with the sheep fabric first, then added the rest of the squares. As long as the same fabric wasn't close to too much of one color/pattern I was happy. 

Quilting is hard work. And I have a new found respect for quilters. I learned a lot from this project...mostly what not to do...and I'm looking forward to making another quilt.  

I'm really happy with the outcome of baby E's quilt. I hope his parents will enjoy it too. 

13 random things I love about my husband

It's Valentine's Day. My valentine...my husband...is the most amazing person in the world. This will be our 13th Valentine's Day together. On our first Valentine's Day, my husband gave me a black teddy bear puppy. And..I didn't give him anything in return. This sad tale is one that he enjoys retelling over and over again..

Since then I've given my fair share of gifts...including a second teddy bear puppy and heart boxers. :)

To celebrate our 13th Valentine's Day together I wanted to share 13 random reasons why I love my husband:

1. He works hard so I can stay home with our kiddos. 
2. He is a great dad. I love watching him play with our kids. It makes my heart smile. 
3. He can still surprise me. Example...the roses in the picture above! 
4. He know so many random facts. He's my go-to guy for information. 
5. He is fun to play table top games with! Yes, he is competitive..but he makes it fun. 
6. He can fix anything. And if he doesn't know how to fix something he knows where to look for information on how to fix it. 
7. He doesn't like dark chocolate. I do. More for me. :)
8. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. 
9. I love how we can talk about so many different thing. After all these years we still have things to talk about. 
10. He gives the best back massages. 
11. He graciously puts up with all my crazy DIY ideas for our home. Yes, there is a lot of eye rolling and signing..but he usually comes around.  
12. He plays the guitar.  
13. He gives the warmest and best hugs. 

Happy Valentine's Day my love. 

Alara @ eight months

Alara @ Eight Months 

• Alara has been officially evicted from our room! On Monday, my husband strongly suggested that it was time for Alara to move permanently into her own room. I was hesitant. She has been waking up several times during the night and honestly I didn't want to keep going from my bed to her room all night long.  But, he was insistent that she would sleep better in her own room and so far my husband had been right. Alara has been sleeping so much better and wakes up once or twice during the night. 
• In addition to moving out of our bedroom, Alara's two bottom teeth finally came in. She has been rolling her tongue over her teeth all week. I don't think she knows what to do with her new teeth yet. 
• She has mastered crawling. Alara can quickly crawl from one end of the house to the other. I've been keeping her busy by scattering her favorite toys all over the living room. Lucas and I enjoy watching her crawl from toy to toy. We both shout out encouragements and cheer when she finds a new toy.  
• While holding tightly onto stationary objects (the sofa, chairs, the bed etc.), Alara will take small uncertain steps. It's only a matter of time before she is officially walking. 
• She loves to eat! Alara has tried many different fruits and vegetables. So far she hasn't shown a preference for a particular food - everything is yummy!  
• She loves soft things - teddy bears, cotton balls, batting fabric, blankets..etc. 
• When Alara get excited she  will scrunch up her nose, squint her eyes tightly and kick her little legs back and forth as fast as possible. It is adorable.

wild animal park recap

We love having annual passes for the Safari Park! It is a wonderful way to get outside, see animals in their "natural" habitat and to spend time together as a family. This was Alara's first visit to the park and Lucas's first visit without using the stroller. Both kids did well. Lucas enjoyed walking around and Alara preferred riding on daddy's shoulders.  

plagued

This week was brutal. 

I almost didn't write this post because I was to tired to get up and walk over to my laptop. 

(My laptop was less than three feet away). 

Since Christmas we have been plagued with a winter cold followed by a stomach bug. The kids have been sick, my husband and I have been sick and everyone's sleep schedule is off! I'm worn out. I've been reduced to an unhappy Mommy just going through the motions. My emotions are raw and all I want to do is run away and hide under the covers in my bed. 

Last night I hit my lowest point. After a long day dealing with a sick toddler and a fussy baby, it was bedtime and both kids were asleep. My husband and I were about to start the next episode of whatever we were watching on Netflixs when Alara woke up crying. I spent the next twenty minutes rocking her to asleep again, praying that maybe this time she will sleep soundly. She woke up less than ten minutes later screaming. I'm ashamed to admit this - but I was angry and the first thing to pop out of my mouth was "f**k, this. Why can't she just go to sleep." 

Not my best parenting moment. 

The minute that four letter word came flying out of my mouth I felt ashamed. My husband wasn't to happy with me either. And as I rocked Alara back to sleep all I could think of was how I had failed as a Mother. 

Not a good feeling. 

That night Alara actual slept. My prayers were answers. It is amazing what a good nights rest will do for the soul. I felt like a whole new person. 

This morning a friend sent me timely and much needed text that said "You can do it! I believe in you." 

I can do this. 

I am a good mom.   

seven months

Alara @ seven months 

• She is crawling and pulling herself up into a standing position. Alara works hard to keep up with Lucas and her Mama. She follows us around the house. If she falls too far behind she starts fussing. I haven't pulled out the baby gates, but I foresee that happening soon. 
• She's still not sleeping through the night. On a good night she will wake up twice, however on a bad night she will wake up three to four times. 
• She is napping in her crib, but still sleeps in our room during the night. 
• She enjoys trying new foods. Alara's favorite foods are peaches, apple sauce and tasty samples of Mama's smoothies. 
• She loves spending time outside. Alara is happiest outside on a warm day playing in her saucer or crawling around on Lucas's Paw-Patrol mat.