The One With Februaury's Friday Photo Dump

We sure were busy this month!  Even though there are fewer days in February, there's not a shortage of pictures & updates for you today.

We started out the month with Lindsey's blessing,

We also took Lindsey to the little piggy doctor because her pediatrician was a little bit worried that she had clubbed feet.  The little piggy doctor gave us the thumbs up & said she should be okay.  He gave us some stretches to do for her to help, though.

We took some cute pictures to add to our Valentine's Day card,

 (thank you pinterest)

Paige made her first snowman,

(I loved their tiny little snowman!  He made me smile every time I looked out the window)

I discovered that I have the best little helper in the kitchen,

She helps me make dinner almost every day now, which is good because I have been trying to be more organized & trying new recipes.  I can use all the help I can get.  :)

Paige graduated from DDI (speech therapy) & will be starting preschool soon,

It was such a bitter sweet day when we had our final visit with them.  

bitter: she's growing up so fast!

sweet: she's come such a long way & made so much progress because of DDI!

bitter: she had some amazing girls helping her, and we are so grateful for them, but we will miss them so much!  

Paige was a fabulous big sister this month (each day she gets more and more interactive with Lindsey & is always so willing to help!).  She even made sure Lindsey had company one day. :)

She also invited Lindsey to a party in her bedroom.

On Valentine's Day, we decided to hand deliver the valentines to some of Paige's grandparents.  So we prepared them...

Took one to Great Grandma Tippets, then Grandma Tippets (at school)...

We took a lunch & reading break at grandma's house...

Then we took one to Great Grandma Smith & Grandpa Brunson.  It was such a busy, but fun day.  Everyone was so surprised & excited.  It was so cute to see everyone's reaction.  I meant to get pictures of every visit, but of course I forgot.  Doh!

Later that night we went bowling as a family.  It was Paige's first time bowling & she beat me!!!  We had a lot of fun.

Then the next night, I got all purtied up because Rick & I went on a date.  A real, live date.  You know, the kind where you don't have to take the kids along with you???  (our first date since baby Z was born).  We had fun.  Oh, and we got a shake.  Our fave.

Paige also had her 3rd birthday this month.  Last minute, my sister invited us to Jump Around Utah since her kids were out of school, so we went to play.  Paige had a blast & I'm sure she wishes she could live there.  

We had a special dinner that night & made a special cake.  Paige picked out red velvet with sprinkles (I didn't even offer her the sprinkles, but she got so excited when she saw them at the store, I couldn't resist).  She even helped me make it.  It was pretty tasty (thanks to this frosting recipe), if I do say so myself...

She also got spoiled by her extended family & got some really fun toys.  Including a snow white dress up outfit, complete with the headband, crown, bracelet, necklace, earrings, rings & mirror).  She loves the mirror.  My favorite part is the headband.  I could die every time she puts it on.  She is so cute.

(ps- don't you think it's cute how she's watching the movie through her mirror?)

A few days later Paige got sick, it's always so sad to see her not active (since she's always so busy).  I loved how she had to have her 'friends' lay down with her since she was bedridden.  

She also had a rash this month.  The doc said it was a viral, contagious rash.  Yuck.  Including the rash, Paige has been sick 3 times since Lindsey was born.  Super sad for Paige, but I've been so relieved that Lindsey didn't get any of them.

We also, um... maybe tortured Baby Z a little bit...

Speaking of Lindsey.  She's been a really good baby!  I was expecting the worst since Paige was a good baby, but Lindsey surprised us.  Phew.  She's starting to get on a routine, which I am loving.  She sleeps through the night more than half of the time (do you hear those angels singing, too, or is that just me?).  She's been rolling over for like a month now, and of course holding her head up almost perfectly (both of my girls were trying to hold their heads up in the hospital).  She's really close to sitting already, too. 

She does THE cutest little coo's and she's been smiling and kind of laughing - it's so close to a laugh, I probably could get away with calling it a laugh, she's trying so hard!  I feel so lucky to have 2 of the cutest & sweetest girls around.  My life is so good right now (I wasn't trying to brag... I promise!).  I am just loving every second of it.  I hope I always love life this much.

The baby weight hasn't been as easy to lose this time around.  So, I've been trying to be so good - eating right & exercising (you know, cuz I have so much free time on my hands...), and it's finally starting to make a difference.  A little difference, but I'll take what I can get!

Oh yeah, and I learned how blind I am this month.  So we went and bought me some spectacles.  Just call me four eyes.  Or nerd.  Or smarty pants will work too.  8)

And lastly, Paige started PRESCHOOL!!!  Oh my goodness.  She is loving it!  It's a really weird adjustment, but I am so excited for her.  They will be helping her with her speech there, so that's a bonus, too.

Paige has been doing great, too.  She's getting so helpful, silly & so fun.  She already has a dry sense of humor (I didn't know kids could have that!), and she can count to 7 (she usually skips #4, though).  My favorite is when she says, 'oh yeah', after we tell her things.  We finally got all of her hair (minus the bang-ish things) into a pony tail, instead of a pebbles-styled pony tail.

Sheesh.  She's growing up.  I wish both of the girls would just stop growing & stay at the stages they are at forever.  I love Paige's silly & fun stage, and I love having a baby around.  My soul feels complete when I have one of my babies in my arms.  I don't want to lose that feeling.  Oh well, I guess we'll just have to keep having babies (eventually....).

My camera battery died (won't charge) this month & I am so bummed since I just got it.  At least it happened after the Valentine's Day pictures.  :)

All in all, we had a really busy and fun month.  

Next month we are looking forward to better & warmer weather!  I can't wait to be able to take the girls on walks again.

The One Where It's Valentine's Day

 

We hope you all have a great Valentine's day with your family and friends! We are so lucky to have you in our lives! 

The One About Baby Z's Big Day

We blessed Lindsey on Sunday.  It was a really nice day spent with lots of family.  It was also nice to finally have a home big enough to fit both of our large families. 

As the blessing got closer, I was of course excited, but I think I didn't give baby blessings enough credit... I must have forgotten how special it is to have your baby blessed.  It was so neat & I felt the spirit very strong during the blessing.  I know that God will help Lindsey a lot through her life. 

Paige was excited for Lindsey's big day.  We painted our nails & wore pretty dresses. 

Lindsey was so good for her blessing.  I thought for sure that she would cry during it & her binkie would go flying out of her mouth in the middle of it, but she didn't.  Rick held her & kept her asleep until right before the blessing.  She was awake for the whole thing & didn't make a peep.  When Rick brought her back to me, she fell right back asleep & stayed asleep for hours after.  Good girl Lindsey!

Oh yeah, and I eh... made her dress (with a lot of help!).  I saw this dress on Pinterest & decided I would never find one like it in the store, so I only had one other option... 

I haven't gotten the best picture of the dress, but I really like the way it turned out.  We had so many hiccups along the way (including her puking on it while trying it on, she grew too big for it, and the back of my scissors... you know where your hands go... cut a hole in the sleeve.  Just to name a few of the hiccups!).

I think I am taking a sewing vacation for a while :) 

January's Friday Photo Dump

It's the first Monthly Friday Photo Dump of the year!  Oh boy, I am sure we didn't leave the house much this month between adjusting to 2 kids & the snow, but it seems like we were super busy!

In January we had a lot of fun...

cuddling, 

My girls ♥

(Paige likes to be by my side & be a mommy too)


making messes,

(I told Paige to go get a shirt & I game back to this... I guess she couldn't decide what to wear.  Hummm, this seems too familiar...)

helping,

(Paige has been a great big sister & loves to help.  She especially loves to give Lindsey her binkie when she fusses.)

shoveling,  

 (Rick of course did it all for us... who wears shorts while shoveling the snow!?)

flipping mommy off,

getting lots of good deals like on gas,

(I don't remember the last time I filled up when my light was on for under $20!)

playing with babies & her new favorite toy, her kitchen

 (baby wrapping lessons)

(thank you Santa... you scored this year!)

sewing,

(pictures of the finished product to come soon!)

adoring these huge, yummy cheeks, 

enjoying some of the best new baby smiles out there, 

and cuddling some more, like it's nobody's business.

I'm not going to lie, going from one kid to two kids is not easy, but the older I get, the more I realize that the harder things are, the better they can be if you let it.  Does that even make any sense???