The children and I survived our second big outing alone in St. Louis...or the surrounding area.  Monday afternoon, we loaded up for Smith's checkup.  We don't get out much, so when we do...we like to dress cute.  Ha!  That's what I told all the nurses who were obsessing over their clothes.  Let me just say that smocking is not something you find much if ever in Missouri!  Our pediatrician appreciates it, and she smocks her own clothes for her son.  She told me that I would just have to shop when I go home to Mississippi.  Ha!

Smith was nervous about his shots, and his big sister was quite the comforter.  Until she, too, joined him crying when I was trying to take a picture.  Drama!

Millie Janalee watched every move the doctor made.  She would get right up next to the doctor or nurse and just stare at whatever they were doing.  She wanted to be picked up when Smith got checked out and got his shots.  She didn't want to miss a thing.  This was the first doctor trip where she wasn't a patient.  Later that afternoon when Smith was crying, Millie Janalee asked "Shot hurt???"

Yes, baby.  Those mean old shots hurt.

Contrary to this picture I'm leaving you with, Smith handled his shots like a champ.  He never required Tylenol at all.  And when I tried to give him a dose before bed to prevent a sleepless night, he just spit it back up.  So he actually had no Tylenol at all and slept better than he had been the previous nights.

Such a sweet big boy!

Two Months

December 13th marked two months of sweet life for Smith!  Such a bundle of joy around here.  I mean just look at that grin.  How adorable is he!?  We had our two month checkup yesterday, and I was actually a little surprised by his stats.  I have been thinking this whole time that he was getting so big!  When actually, he's quite the squirt.  Our new, sweet pediatrician said Smith was perfectly perfect!  Of course, I already knew this.  Oh, and she also gave us a few free cans of formula.  Yay for us!  None of her other patients are using Prosobee, so that looks good for our future as her patients.  Ha!

"Did you hear, Mr. Bear?  I'm two months old!"

Two month stats:

• 23" long (45%)
• 11.1 pounds (18%)
• 38.7 cm head circumference (33%)

What he's up to:

• can hold his head up and starting to push up on his arms when lying on his belly...only when he's on my chest
• smiling more and more...getting to a giggle soon I think
• starting to push with his feet holding his weight for bits of time
• making more sounds and responding to us 
• loves to spend time in his swing - actually prefers to nap there instead of being held {insert sad face}
• going all night without a bottle...although he does wake up a few times.  But with a little help with his paci and comforting, he can go back to sleep.
• taking 5 ounces of formula every 4 hours during the day; 6 ounces when prune juice is added (2 oz a day)
• wearing 3 month clothes
• prefers to be swaddled to sleep - even his naps in the swing, we loosely wrap him in a blanket
• follows moving objects (or Mama) with his eyes
• enjoying his bath time much more than he used to
• starting to spit up more (We have LOTS of practice handling this from Millie Janalee's baby days!)
• Cute as a button!

It's tiring being two months old!

I cannot believe how fast these two months have flown by.  It's true what they say.  It is difficult to remember life without Smith in it.  He is a beautiful part of our sweet family, and I look forward to the days ahead watching him change and grow.  I love each part of his personality that is coming out. He basically thinks Millie Janalee is a wild woman right now - and rightly so - but I know it won't be long until they are playing and interacting together.  How sweet that will be!

But for now, I am soaking in these baby moments as they pass by too fast!

Smith,

My heart overflows with love for you sweet boy!  You are a precious joy, and I am so glad you are mine!  I thank God everyday for your life.  I don't know that I will ever let you move out of my room where I can look over in the middle of the night and see your sweet sleeping face...and listen to you breathe.  My youngest angel baby right there.  It's real life.  This is not a dream.  Your life has a perfect plan, and I pray God allows me to see it unfold!  I love you so!

Happy two months!

Love,
Mama

Christmas Lights and Family Nights

Tis the season!  Everyone everywhere is busy, busy, busy as Christmas approaches.  It has been nice having a newborn at home...kinda forcing us to stay low key for a bit.  I did most of my Christmas shopping online and had it delivered to my front door.  Ahhh!  And you know how much I really do LOVE to Christmas shop and choose the perfect gifts for my loved ones.  I found bits of time here and there to wrap everything, and I have about two more to wrap.  Then I'm finished!  I'm still busy...just not with normal holiday events.

Millie Janalee was born in July, and I was out and about without a second thought.  But with the cold weather and flu season upon us, I've been been a little more careful getting Smith out.  At times it can leave this mama with cabin fever.  Russ and I had plans to ride around and look at Christmas lights last Saturday.  It turned out that Tilles Park (our original plan) only does carriage rides on Saturdays.  Ummm...Smith isn't up for that yet.  So Russ found us another option.  There is one block in St. Louis that is well known.  And there were cars lined up to drive down "Candy Cane Lane!"  Some of the streets near it also had their own festive thing going on.  It was certainly worth the drive, and Millie Janalee loved it!  Plus there was a big screen at one home showing Frozen - so there was that.  Ha!

Monday night, after Russ got off work, we drove over to Tilles Park and enjoyed the "Winter Wonderland."  It is one of the most popular Christmas displays in the area filled with more than a million lights and all kinds of Christmas scenes.  Millie Janalee was in heaven!  And she cried when our drive through was over.  She definitely shares my love of all things Christmas!  Especially riding around to look at Christmas lights.

Smith was a trooper.  Until he decided to work on a dirty diaper right as we started driving through the park.  Bless his bones!  Eventually, he fell asleep.  And thankfully Millie Janalee is never phased by his crying.  The normal person may think it stressful, but for Russ and I...it's just our new normal.  Make a choice to enjoy it and tune out what you need to.  Ha!

But isn't he the sweetest little thing you've ever seen?!

Lots of family time.  That's what we have been doing lately.  By the time Russ gets home, we eat, bathe, read, and go to bed.  Then repeat.  So a family outing to look at Christmas lights feels like an amusement park!

Thankful for the cozy nights at home snuggling and soaking in this phase that, I'm sure, will be way too short!

Eight Weeks

Smith rounded out his eight weeks on Monday!  Can you even believe that?!  Some days it seems like he should be older, but I really can't believe it's been eight weeks!  Our life has turned completely upside down and sideways in a matter of 3 months.  God is so good!

This week we have spent lots of time in our pajamas.  I think I managed to get showered most days.  It has just been nice to snuggle and play, enjoying the lights of the Christmas tree and watching some Christmas movies together.  It turns out, Smith was a huge fan of Happy Feet.  I looked down at him and he was grinning the biggest smile looking completely amused as he watched the penguins dance across the ice.  It was hilarious!

He is beginning to grasp the dramatics that come from his big sister, and this picture pretty much sums up how he feels about it all...

Smith's stocking arrived this week!  I've had it since October, but it took a while to get it monogrammed and shipped back to me.  It's perfect!  And I am just so giddy about his first little Christmas!

Baby's First Christmas!

Excuse the apartment fireplace.  Not much longer!

This week, I received a letter from Smith's birthmother.  I just love open adoptions for so many reasons.  She is continuing to heal the best she can.  Please continue to pray for her.  She is also looking forward to meeting Millie Janalee's birthmother at the annual Bethany Christmas party for birthmothers.  Our family has grown in more ways than you may think.  My heart is bursting at the thought of them meeting...and sharing a difficult experience with each other.  Something I can never imagine or pretend to understand.  They have a piece of my heart for sure.  Adoption is such a beautiful thing.  And I can't wait to see how God continues to work as he weaves His story together!

He is starting to have his own little quirks. His favorite sleeping position.

It has been a full eight weeks and getting fuller!  As Christmas approaches, we will get in full swing around here.  Smith has his two month checkup and shots on Monday.  Prayers that he handles it well...and that I can too.  Then, it's time to pack our bags and get this Christmas thing started!

Here's to the weeks ahead, sweet Smith!  I love you more than you know.

Sisterly Love and an Eye Appointment

Last week, we followed up with Millie Janalee's pediatric ophthalmologist.  This was my first big outing alone with both babies.  Last time it was an all day appointment, so I planned as such.  We managed to get up, dressed, fed, and loaded in time for the commute to the hospital.  Unfortunately, it was during rush hour traffic.  And rush hour in St. Louis is no joke.  We made it in time for a quick parking job...except there were no spots until we got to the fifth level of the garage.  Then I had to put the double stroller (aka "the bus") together so we could all glide through the hospital uneventfully.  It was also freezing cold.  And I was cringing at the fact that Smith had to traipse through a children's hospital before his shots.

I have a thing about doctor's offices and hospitals with children.  I can almost see the germs jumping all over them.  Ha!

I checked us in only 4 minutes late just in time to feed Smith.  It turns out, you don't wait as long for checkups.  So here I go holding Smith's bottle with my chin, running after Millie Janalee across the waiting area where she was playing with the other children, and trying to drive "the bus" through the doorway to the exam rooms.  Thankfully, there was a male doctor who pretty much took over "bus duty" for me while I wrangled my babies down the hallway into the exam room.  Smith is a slow eater, so I fed him with one hand on one leg while holding Millie Janalee on the other leg so she could complete her exam before seeing the doctor.  It's moments like that that make me feel like a real mom.  Ha!

Once that exam was complete, the male doctor drove "the bus" back out into the waiting room until our doctor was ready to see us.  We made it all the way down the hallway and parked "the bus" before Millie Janalee went racing back to the exam rooms hallway.  Mama holding baby bottle with her teeth at this point is running after her...and just left the male doctor with "the bus."  One of the receptionists asked Millie Janalee, "Don't you want to wait on Mom and Dad?"  To which I answered, "It's just mom.  And the doctor pushing our stroller."  Lol!

Just minutes later, our doctor was ready to see us.  She took a quick look and said Millie Janalee was doing wonderfully!  No surgery.  Yay!  We are good to go for another nine months.  Looking back at how tragic this whole thing seemed in the moment...we have been blessed.  And Millie Janalee is just as cute as a bug in her little specs.  Every color!

When I first told Millie Janalee's birthmother about her needing glasses, she said exactly what I had been thinking.  Well, first she asked and was worried there was something she could have done differently.  The answer to that is an absolute NO!  From what I've read, there is no cause or reason.  Then, she told me that Millie Janalee has the perfect personality to pull these glasses off.  And she was exactly right!  I love the spunky, joyful disposition radiating from my girl.  What a blessing she is to me!  What a joy!

She loves her "baby bruver" some kind of fierce.  Sometimes a little too fierce.  Ha!  And I pray they are always close and loving toward each other.  I love the bond they will share as they grow to understand their stories more and more.  I love that they are mine!  Well...actually they are on loan from God.  And I am honored and humbled that I was chosen to care for and raise them.

Smith may feel a little differently at times.  Like, he probably wonders "What in the world have I gotten myself into!?"  Usually when his face is stuck between his sister and another object or she is sitting on him or she is kissing all over his head or when she puts all her dolls around him or when she leans in to hug him constricting his ability to breathe.  She loves hard.  But she loves well.

And Smith is watching her every move.  May they continue to learn from each other and love each other all the days of their lives.

See how small this newborn gown looks!?  He's growing!

Life with two?  Full of noise.  Full of fun.  Full of limited sleep.  And full of LOVE!

Christmas Books

We added another tradition last year that I love.  I got the idea from my sister-in-law I think.  She does the same with her children...so I'm thinking that's where I got the idea.  Anyway, I wrapped 20+ Christmas themed books and placed them in a basket.  The basket sits by the Christmas tree.  Each night before bed, Millie Janalee chooses one gift to open and read.

She takes it very seriously insisting that she sit on her special Santa stool for something so important as this.  Ha!  She strategically chooses a gift and opens it herself.  Upon opening the book, we are pretty much guaranteed to hear a gasp as she inspects her "new" book.  I basically just rewrap the same books...although I did add 4 new ones this year.

We all sit next to the Christmas tree as Russ reads the book to Millie Janalee and Smith.  The last few nights we let her open the book by the tree, and she and Russ take the book upstairs to read for her bedtime story.  Smith is usually hungry by then anyway, so we divide and conquer bedtime.

This is one tradition that will stay!  It is precious time spent with our little family.  Making memories and reading old and new stories of Christmas.  Sharing the joy of a good book and the special moments as a family.

Our book list includes board books, Golden books, books about Christ's birth, and more.  Do you have any favorite Christmas children's books?  Please let me know!  I'm always open to growing our Christmas library.  After all, Smith will need his own books to open too soon.

Counting Down to Christmas

I grew up in a family full of traditions.  And we all feel pretty strongly about traditions still.  So you can imagine that when our family began to grow, Russ and I talked about our own little family traditions we wanted to start.  Traditions that our children will look back on fondly and smile.  Traditions that will always make them want to come home from college.  Traditions that just feel like home.  Cozy and comfortable.

Growing up, my siblings and I had this countdown calendar hanging on our bedroom door.  It was a quilted hanging calendar that a family friend had given us.  I told my mom that I wanted something like it for my own family.  She went above and beyond and found the exact one we had growing up!  Apparently all the kids from the 80's were also looking for one for their families, because she said they were quite valuable on eBay.  Ha!  She was able to find the fabric, and I quilted it myself.  Russ even helped stuff the little bear.

We hung it on a dowel rod with some cute bows and it hangs in our home by our bedrooms.  Each night, Millie Janalee helps the bear count down to Christmas.  The bear is looking for Christmas and each day he looks in a new spot.

We do this right before bed, so Russ can be a part of it too.  Smith watches on too.  Millie Janalee finds the number for the day, and I read the directions.  She follows the directions and finds his next spot.  She gets pretty dramatic with the whole thing.  You can imagine.  For example, when I say " Where's the front door?" there's really no need to look through every room in the house and say "hmmm" for the front door.  But it makes it more fun and obviously drags out her bedtime routine a little bit.  She's clever like that.

I have really loved doing this countdown with her this year.  Last year, we pretty much put the bear in her hand and stuck her hand where it goes.  This year, she is doing it all on her own!   It is so amazing watching your child grow and learn.  And she's so proud too!

Precious moments.  Traditions that she can look back on with a smile and a longing for home.  Where her heart is.