Family Beach Vacation

We just got back from a week long vacation at the beach with wonderful family. The girls and I went down on Monday and Jonathan joined us Wednesday night. It was such a nice getaway and I could have definitely stood staying another week. I have to say that taking a vacation (at the beach with heat indices of 105) with a 7 week old was a little different than your normal beach trip, but thankfully we had lots of help. If you were to look at my pale skin, you would never imagine that's where I spent a week. We took it relatively easy and enjoyed lots of swimming, eating, and playing with babies.

Harper's smile really came out this past week. She had smiled at us a few times starting at 6 weeks, but now she's doing it all the time.

Payton has been doing very well with her swimming lately. I guess the daily practice this week allowed her to really take off. She is swimming short distances completely by herself and is quite the little fish.
Harper loved hanging out at the pool in her swing in the mornings while it was still cool and the condo was still shading the pool. We bought some portable fans to put by her, but in the middle of the day it was still too hot even in the shade with fans. She was such a good girl all week. She just goes with the flow!

Thursday night we took the kids to the track and let them ride the kiddy rides. They had a blast! I think the swings were a favorite for Payton.





Payton had a blast having Ella and Chase around throughout the week.






Ella's 3rd birthday is next weekend, so we went to her party at Kangaroo's. It is very similar to Frog Legs, just much bigger! To say that Payton had a blast would be an understatement. When I put her to bed Saturday night, she asked if we could go to Ella's birthday party again the next day.










Saturday afternoon we took Payton out to the beach in an attempt to get some pictures. We had to wake her up from her nap, and she wasn't really into it. All I could do was laugh when I saw some of the picture we tried to take of all four of us. The wind was crazy and Harper was not a happy camper. There's always another time!











We had such a wonderful time enjoying each other's company, and I think Jonathan was just thrilled to have some time off of work to relax. Thank you so much to everyone who made this trip happen. Also thanks to everyone who helped with the girls. Without the extra hands around to help when needed, it wouldn't have been near as successful!

2.5

If I'm being honest, this whole blog thing is purely selfish. I am sure that many of our posts don't interest many of you, and I apologize. I do it so that I can look back and remember what was going on in our lives and remember each stage of our sweet girls' lives. With that being said, I am going to try to do my best to sum up Payton at two and a half.

loves to play outside. wants to be as independent as a 20 year old. gets easily frustrated when she can't have that independence. flexible. a MONKEY. has started a shyness around strangers that mommy can't stand. loves to go to school or church and play with friends. wants to give hugs and kisses. no longer has anxiety when being left at church or school. talks non stop when it's just us around. not the greatest listener. whines. can put on a pout quicker than anyone I know. loves to nap. has started putting her fingers in her mouth. has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.


sassy. lover of baby dolls. especially loves baby kaitlyn. wild. loves to help. even if it means throwing diapers away. loves to do laundry. has no patience. loves mickey mouse clubhouse. goes to bed with 4 loveys and several stuffed animals every night. she can take attendance of everyone who is supposed to be in her bed much faster than we can. has recently gotten into little mermaid. reminds us that she can only watch tv on LONG trips. likes to say that everything is "bootiful." even if it's an old tshirt and shorts that I wore to bed, it's still "bootiful."


is a stubborn eater. would eat sweets every meal of the day if she was allowed. loves yogurt mountain with blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, sprinkles, and m&m's. still loves broccoli and fruit. not a fan of meat. milk guzzler. asks for a piece of cheese at least 5 times a day. a daddy's girl. loves orange juice. can sing several songs including her abc's. knows most simple shapes. can identify all upper case letters. working on some letter sounds.


loves her baby sister. wants to feed. burp. change. hold. rock. if it has to do with Harper, she wants to help. thrives off of a schedule and predictability. finally starting to do decent with potty training. a LONG 5 ish months of potty battles. has had very few accidents that past month. even stays dry some nights and naps. wild imagination. clever. silly. knows just when and how to make us laugh to get her out of trouble.


loves anything to do with water. bubble baths. going to the lake. riding the wave runner with daddy. reading books with mommy and daddy. reading books to Harper. terrorizes Mollie. loves animals. steals our heart each and every day.

I'm sure I'm leaving out so much, but I hope that this post will help me look back and remember her at 2.5.

Blessings

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
* It's not our home *

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?

And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?


It's so hard to understand circumstances sometimes, but that's the glorious thing...we're not always meant to understand. I just know that this woman is such a blessing to my life as well as many other's. Please keep her in your prayers as she begins treatment this week.

Sweetness

One Month

Miss Harper was one month old yesterday! I just asked Jonathan last night if he ever imagined he could love another child so much. Of course, we both agreed that it's crazy how your love truly just grows and we now are blessed with two precious girls -three including Mollie:). We have really settled into a family of four and are finally getting a feel for our new "normal" and routine. Of course I know that will all be rocked in about 5 weeks when I return to school. Harper continues to be a great baby. In the past few days she has really started to focus on things and give you that look like she is understanding every single word that you say to her. She is eating about every 4 hours and is taking anywhere from 3-4 ounces at a time. She's still a great sleeper at night, usually going 4 hour stretches and only waking once during the night. She is still wearing newborn diapers but we will probably be switching to size 1 in the next week or so. One of her newborn outfits is getting a little snug, and I'm reminded of just how fast she is growing. We went to see Dr. Williams this morning for her one month check up. She was up to 8lbs. 9oz. (30th%), 21.4 in. long (50th%) and her head was 15 cm (75th%). We have been a little concerned that she has a touch of reflux because she is spitting up through her nose, coughing, and often seems to be in pain. Dr. W prescribed us Zantac that we can try. I really hate to put her on medicine since she is so tiny, but Jonathan and I agreed that if he keeps her comfortable it is worth it.

The verdict is still out as to who she looks like. Her hair still seems to have a lighter reddish tint to me especially after it is washed and in the light. I'm also anxious to see if it is curly because the texture is definitely different than Payton's.


Harper went to the lake for the first time last weekend. She was a pretty good girl just hanging out on the porch and inside. Daddy didn't put her on the wave runner just yet. :)


Thankfully, Payton has continued to be such a fabulous big sister to Harper. She loves to help in any way possible, even if it means throwing away a diaper. HA! I have seen very small glimpses of jealousy, but nothing that I wouldn't consider completely normal. For example she sometimes asks to sit in our laps while we are feeding her, or asks us to do something with her when she knows that it really isn't possible at that given moment. I've come to the conclusion that we may actually get Payton to take more pictures for us now that Harper is here. Every time I get out the camera she wants me to take a picture of her now. While I was trying to take Harper's picture with the 1 month sign, Payton kept telling me that she wanted to take a picture with that paper. So far, we haven't seen any resentful behavior and I only pray that continues. We made it to church for the second time this past Sunday and Payton and Harper got to sport their matching outfits for the first time. Jonathan had taken Payton's dress off while she ate, and after getting up from her nap, she looked at Harper and asked where her pretty dress was that matched hers.

Beach Babes

Two weekends ago we went down to Foley to visit Ella and Jennifer. Jonathan made a promise to Payton before we left that he would take her to the beach to build a sandcastle. The two girls had a blast and Harper just soaked in the rays (under the umbrella of course!)





Here is Payton at her first beach trip when she was 5 weeks old. Harper was 3 weeks.

Thank you Jennifer and Ella for letting us come visit!