Craziness

It's just been crazy (normal) busy around our house.

My car broke down a few weeks ago - my NEW car - so that was a fun week getting around in a rental car with 2 car seats, going to dealerships, etc. Then, in the middle of that madness I FINALLY got my wisdom teeth out. I can't tell you how many times I've "planned" to have them out in the past 2 years and then something coming up and ruining that plan. Meanwhile, we're just trying to soak up our baby girl who is bubbly, smiley, and sweet, and our 2 year old who is comedic entertainment at it's finest. The kid is a riot.

Here he is looking oh-so-serious as the tow truck driver takes away my car:


This weekend was the annual Rodeo Parade and we went for our third year in a row. Every year since Truett was born we've been taking him (and I usually run the 10K but skipped this yr - next yr I'll be back!). Anyway, Ted took some great pictures with his camera, but all I have is this (taken from my Blackberry):

I call this "my goof and me"

Here are a few more phone shots of Mila, can't forget her:



In other news, it's time for me to get serious about running again. I went out for a short 3 miler yesterday. It was close to 80 degrees and disgustingly humid out but I came home feeling drenched and refreshed. I know, who feels that way in humidity? I love that feeling though... I need to focus on being smart and staying injury free so I can sign up for some distance stuff in the fall. Wish me luck!

CCC: Cute Clancy Cousins

We finally got to meet the newest cousin on the Clancy side, little Paxton Michael Ables. He made his first trip to Houston at 6 weeks old, although since he was a preemie his "adjusted" age is only 1 week! I have affectionately nicknamed him Skeletor because he is SO tiny and fragile and boney compared to my 'lil chunky monkey at 14.5 weeks old. Here are the cuties together: (Truett said he didn't want to be in the photo, stinker!)

Smiles

Don'tcha just want to smile???

Truett, 2 years old


Mila, 12 weeks old

Worst Blogger Ever! Or maybe, Busiest Mom Ever! Or just, Busy Livin' Life...

Man, life with 2 has just been crazy, awesome, chaotic. December was Truett's second birthday, his birthday party, and Christmas. We had a wonderful time! Truett adored his presents. His favorites were his microwave and his tools/drill….ya, those are definitely the top two at this point. Mila also got a few things…a few cute outfits, dolls, bows, toys. She mostly slept through it all though;) Cant' wait till next year. For Tru there was a slew of other stuff including cars, puzzles, blocks, books, play dough, markers, 4 wheeler, plasma car (also known as "the wiggle", 3 wheeler, etc. I know the bigger ride-on toys will be a blast come the spring. We haven't been able to enjoy them because we have been cooped up in the house the WHOLE month of January…I kid you not.

I returned back to work after the new year so it's been a new juggling act getting Mila nursed in the morning, the kids dressed, bottles made, etc, etc. We're still adjusting. The kids are doing GREAT with Ms. Kari though, we're so lucky to have her. After work I keep the kids in the house because Mila of course wants to nurse, and I also have to keep my eye on my very busy two year old. Plus, I don't feel very comfortable taking Mila out in the cold. Truett can definitely handle the cold for the park and walks and play trips, etc, but I don't want to expose the baby. Especially since the month of January resulted in both kids having back-to-back colds. Poor Mila was hit hard with it! She was only 10 weeks old at the time and was so miserable, my poor girl. Thank goodness she is over it and she is just a sweet, smiley angel. Really, we all are just in love with her. She is going to have the boys around here wrapped around her finger!

See what I mean? Oh ya, we're in trouble...

I moved her to her crib around 6 weeks and have since then moved in her room too, lol. We have our extra bed in there and it's so easy to just roll right out and get her when she is hungry in the middle of the night. In the next few weeks I'll move back downstairs. I am doing a lot of the same things with her as I did when Truett was her age because, like say, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" or something like that. She even has the same sound machine in her room, although she probably doesn't even *need* it. She isn't really on a napping schedule yet - that will come soon enough - I just try to get her down every 2 hours or so for a nap. She still eats pretty often during the day (about every 2-2.5 hours), but she is going longer stretches at night, so whatever works I fine by me! I'm really having a ball with her and can't believe she is over 12 weeks now! To be honest, I'm also a bit relieved…I just remember those first 3 months being the hardest when Tru was tiny and I was anxious again about the lack of sleep and the "getting-to-know" your baby weeks…it's nice to feel like we all survived it again. :)
This was a sweet little photo when she was about 8 weeks or so.

Speaking of Truett, oh boy!!! He is somethin' else I tell ya. He talks so much now and just makes us laugh, laugh, laugh. Who knew 2 years were so witty? Some of my favorite current phrases are:

"I'll be right back"

"I a beeg boy!" - when he wants to do things all by himself or is super proud of something…you know, such as taking out the trash all by himself as it dump all over the place...

"I uv you Mee-ah" (or insert any other name here)…awww...

"Mee-ah's miling, mommy!" (or insert other verb such a cwyin', seepin', wake-up, etc)

"Come 'ere daddy, come 'ere" - in his most sweetest voice. I really need to record this one so we don't forget it.

It's so cute having him talk about his day now. It's amazing the things he remembers, too. We've beeing working with him on time-outs for bad behavior, and I'm trying to remember to resort to positive reinforcement first, and using the time-outs as a last resort. He totally gets it. For now I'm using stickers as rewards, and of course praise and hugs and kisses, etc, but he gets those no matter what. We reached a big toddler milestone the other day. I was vacuuming the playroom and Tru was pushing Mila's swing (while she was in it). After repeated times of telling him to stop and trying to re-direct him, I finally stuck him in his crib so he could be contained and calm down. Well, next thing I know the little dude is standing behind me! Stinker. We went back to his room and I asked him to show me how he climbed out…so he did. LOL. We're still not moving to a big bed though, he seems just fine for naps and nighttime - just won't be using it for anything besides that…
Who me? I'm innocent I tell ya...

OK, this is probably the world's longest blog post now…better end it. I need to keep up more often so I don't forget all the cute (and not-so-cute) things my kids do ;)

Merry Christmas! Happy birthday! Happy new year! What else am I missing?

Hi! We are alive and doing well. It has been a very busy few weeks around here, and I'm trying to stay off the computer to enjoy my babies before I return to work (which is in a few days!) Truett had a wonderful Christmas. Santa brought him lots of cool new toys. We also celebrated his second birthday - all of these deserve their own posts!! And sweet Mila is now 8 weeks old! My baby girl is getting so big. Again, another separate post. I mostly just wanted to blog to keep this alive. So this is a list of blog entries I need to do someday...

Tru's birthday party
Christmas
Mila's first 2 months

:)

My baby sister

DSC_0026.JPG, originally uploaded by cathysphotos.

The first week with a new baby sister was a little rough for Truett. I think it was hard for him to share the spotlight, and very hard for him to see mommy feeding this little person around the clock. We saw a few tantrums we' d never seen before. We are all very happy to be over that! Tru has really come around now and likes to say, "my baby sister!". He also loves to give her kisses, hold her, and show off for her. Mila is such a sweet love. She has the most beautiful little face, and loves watching her big brother. We are so lucky to have this sweet addition to our family!

She's here!

Our sweet baby girl arrived on Tuesday November 2,2010. She is already 16 days old! It's about time I write up a birth story and this one is actually pretty good.

It all started at my 37 week appointment when I found out I was 4 cm dilated. From that point on I became obsessed with "listening" to my body and trying to figure out when I was in active labor. This was just a few days before Halloween. On October 30th, after a day of contractions, Ted and I headed to the hospital....but no change so they sent me home the next morning. We got to enjoy an awesome Halloween with Truett (I will have to post about that, too). At this point though it wasn't really safe for me to be in the office so I was working from home. On Tuesday, I spent an entire 2 hour meeting sitting on an exercise ball - I read somewhere that would help the baby descend so I thought, why not? Anyway. After working I picked up Truett and we headed to HEB for some much needed groceries. This is where the real action begins!

We complete our full shopping spree, pay for our groceries, and T gets his beloved buddy buck. Of course, once he gets that he wants out of the cart so here I was pushing the car cart, holding Truett, and waddling away from the cashier when - pop! - my water broke. I was wearing black pants and a black sweater around my waist so by instinct I grabbed the sweater and shoved it between my legs. My water was gushing! As fate would have it, I was about 5 steps in front of the Redi clinic inside HEB so I got there as fast as I could and found 2 nurses. I informed them my "water broke and it's everywhere," and they helped me out. I called Ted and told him to meet me at the hospital asap, I just knew this girl would come fast. He reminded me to call my friend Nichole to see if she could help me...again, my water ws still gushing everywhere at this point! Who knew there was so much? Must have been my lucky day because when she answered her phone and I told her where I was....she just happened to be walking into HEB too! Crazy. Next thing I know she has T and the groceries and we are walking out to her car, mind you I am still losing water this whole time! We make a mad dash to her house to drop off groceries and her son and then she takes T and me to the hospital. I called my doc on the way over so the hospital was already prepared for my arrival. Ted's mom was there waiting for us so Truett was taken care of, too.

Once I was settled and checked the nurses told me I was already 7 cm. I was not feeling painful contractions, just some cramping, but I ordered an epi STAT! Ah, sweet relief! The nurses then told me they would check me again at 8 pm but I told them they should probably go ahead do another check....sure enough I am now a 10 and ready to push. As luck would have it my dr was already at the hospital finishing up another delivery so he was in the room asap. A few pushes, about 5-10 minutes tops, and the little princess was here! My water broke around 5 pm and she was born at 7:46 pm. We still had not committed on a name but as soon as we saw her I knew she was a Mila (Mee-la), and Ted really liked Kaye, so Mila Kaye it was.

She was a perfect 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19.5 inches long. She immediately started nursing, which was such a relief since her brother had not. I don't think she has stopped since, lol.

I will have to save more posts to talk about Truett meeting her for the first time and how our first few weeks have been going...I just need some time....photos to follow.