Happy Go Texan Day, Ya'll!

You Know......

you're a mom to wee ones when:

* Spit-up becomes a regular accessory.
* Days are planned around naptime.
* You look forward to doctors' appointments for yourself because it means quiet, downtime with good magazines, and you hope the doctor is running behind schedule so you can spend LOTS of time browsing said magazines.
* T-shirts and comfy shorts/pants are your daily uniform.
* You don't park at the front of stores; you park as close to the cart return area as you can get.
* You know a thing or two about poo, and it's a hot topic of discussion among your friends and you.
* Your purse or bag is filled, not with makeup and such, but with diapers and snacks and other things to occupy your kids.
* Your daily workout is getting out the door on time with everyone and everything you need.
* Your heart is full and so are your hands.
* You pray for patience often.
* You wonder if you will ever feel rested again.
* You laugh alot.
* And cry alot.
* Your understanding of GRACE and the FATHER'S LOVE is deeper.
* Some days you watch the seconds pass, praying for the day to be over.
* Other days you wish you could stop the clock.
* You dry tears, wipe noses, search constantly for a desired lost toy or sippy cup.
* You fix snacks, clean up messes, wash clothes and dishes.
* Your days are filled with routine, tantrums, silent prayers, giggles, and cartoons....... regular, every day things, but you know in your heart (even though sometimes you may have to convince yourself more than others) that it all matters, and it's all worth it.

All it takes is to glance at the wee ones. Their sweet cherub faces. Their pudgy hands and feet. Their sweet breath on your neck when you hold them tight. The tears that stop rolling down their faces when you come to them with mother's touch and love.

It all makes it worth it.

Have ya'll heard this song?

It's great perspective for this mama during the rough days, but also sad because so much of me doesn't want these days with my babies to end.

Called to Communion

is a project that Sean has been working on with some fellow friends and converts. The site is launching today, Ash Wednesday. Check it out and visit often!

{6 months}

This sweet girl is 6 months old already. I took her to the doctor this week, and she is a whopping 17.7 pounds, which puts her in the 80th percentile. She's still teethless, so I think she'll follow in her big sister's footsteps and get a whole bunch of teeth at one time right before her first birthday - that'll be an awesome two to three weeks for Mama, I'm sure!

Mary Ellen was SO CUTE at the doctor's office. She could not get over her reflection. She was just so sure she had met a new friend - talking and cooing to herself. It was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen, and I wish I had had my video camera or atleast my camera, but I had neither in tow.

Some highlights from the last two months:
1.) Chickadee is sitting up well. She still falls over often, but can sit up indefinitely if she's really into a toy that's in front of her.
2.) She can roll from back to tummy easily now. Can I get an AMEN!?! I thought she would never master this skill, but as soon as she realized I was not going to roll her back over constantly and she was on her own, she figured it out. This leads to.......
3.) She is sleeping through the night FINALLY. Blessed, blessed sleep! She still gets up sometimes around 5:30 or 6 for a bottle but then returns to sleep for another hour or two. This I can handle.
4.) Mary Ellen has learned to blow raspberries like a champ. She does this especially when she is around her sister. I think she's trying to show off ;).
5.) She loves to grab my face. This isn't really a new skill, but I love it. Every time I'm holding her, she takes her chubby little hands and grabs my face while looking into my eyes, and I fall in love all over again.
6.) She gets solids twice a day. A fruit in the morning and a veggie in the evening - both mixed with oatmeal cereal. She loves her solids and has not turned down anything yet.

So here we are at the half year mark. Now it's countdown to a year, which is absolutely crazy to think about. This was absolutely one of my favoritest stages with Hattie, and it's proving to be just as sweet with Miss Mary Ellen.

Apples & Oranges

That's about as alike as my daughters look and act.

Hattie: just at 6 months old:

Mary Ellen: almost 6 months old:


I don't even think they look like sisters. Maybe that'll change as M.E. gets older, but with her blue eyes and Mama's prediction of blonder hair, I think they'll always look so different.

And their personalities are just as opposite. Mary Ellen is my laid-back, loves to eat and explore her world baby. She doesn't need my attention unless she's hungry or tired. Hattie has always been more needy, cautious, and rule following. She has always just needed my attention, probably because she's my first born, but I also think it's in her DNA, the "needy" gene. Mama has it, too :).

I have already predicted to Sean that Mary Ellen will be the one to crawl out of her crib at 18 months. I just have a feeling she's a daredevil. Hattie has been in a big girl bed for several months now, and she still has never climbed out of it unless we're in the room! She'll just call for us and wait in bed until we go and get her. NICE.

Mary Ellen seems more outgoing than Hattie was at this point, always smiling. Hattie always had a preference for Mama and was skeptical of anybody else. She still has a tendency to be that way.

And lately I've just been thinking about how I will parent these two completely different girls equally. I have sisters, and I know there will be competition, though I PRAY my daughters will be the exception! But I just hope, as a mother, I will give to them equally, and love them equally in the ways that they need to be loved. And I'm not sure how that looks yet, but I pray that God will grow me into the caring, nurturing mother that I need to be for these precious little sisters.

Rolling with the Punches

Hattie's been cracking me up lately with the things she's been saying. The other day she came into the living room with a stuffed cat and said, "Mom (she calls me 'Mom' now {sniff}), this is my emotional kitty-cat. Her name is Sophie." Me, giggling, "She's your emotional kitty-cat?" Hattie: "Yes, she is, Mom. She just cries and cries all day long. She can't help it." Where she gets this stuff, I don't know.

She has also started referring to her sister as a "little giant" ......... I guess she's noticed Mary Ellen's rolls, too. :)


In Mary Ellen news, the little angel has decided to repeatedly roll from her tummy to her back and then cry for "Mom" to come and roll her back over between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. before she has had enough of the game and goes back to sleep. I rolled her back over for 3 nights and now have decided that she needs to figure it out herself. We've been practicing the skill of rolling from back to tummy, and she has successfully done it on her own 4 times, which is proof enough for this mama that she can in fact do it herself.

So we are turning off the baby monitor tonight and turning up our box fan........

And I am praying and planning for sweet, uninterrupted dreams tonight.............

I forfeit on this game, Mary Ellen, and I hope you get the memo before it's too late ;)!

We never had this problem with Hattie because she was swaddled until she was WAY too old to be. She loved it, and Mary Ellen hated it, just one of their many differences.

Anyway, Happy Monday!