Monday's Movie - May 31, 2010

In honor of all our Heroes on this Memorial Day, my awesome former US Marine husband included. May we always remember, not just today, but EVERY day those that have lost their lives fighting for our freedom and those that continue to fight.

Memorial Day Tribute, May 31, 2010

Freedom is NOT Free!

Monday's Movie - May 24, 2010

I got a new Flip Video Camera for my birthday and I have a ton of videos to share. So here is "Monday's Movie" for your viewing pleasure! :)

Sierra Dancing at the Easter Egg-Stravaganza, April 3, 2010

Sierra - Almost 2 years old :)

PS - Today is my wonderful parent's Wedding Anniversary. So...Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad (Mimi & Papa)! We love you! Thank you for teaching us what having a long, happy, loving, and stable marriage is all about. :) I am a better wife and parent because of what you have taught me!

Look Alikes

I posted this on Facebook a couple days ago and I asked people what they thought about our two girls. Do they look alike, not look alike, who do they resemble? etc. Well, to say the least, the comments were varying.

Personally, as their mother, I do not think they look anything alike. From the day Sierra was born she has had Brian's eyes, nose, chin, etc. Often times now, when I look at her, I see my mother-in-law Judy (whom Brian looks like a great deal); and at Thanksgiving, when we were home visiting, I saw Brian's Uncle (Judy's brother Dan) and Sierra seriously could be his daughter. So much resemblance!

Chyler on the other hand, looks identical to my baby pictures. She has my elongated face, my eyes, and definitely my nose - can't mistake the "Stank nose." In this picture she looks so much like my Papa Stank (my Dad's father). It is really crazy to me how two children can look so different and even more interesting to me that LOTS of people think they look the same.

It was definitely something that consumed my thoughts often when Chyler was in my womb...who would she look like, will she look like Sierra, etc. I LOVE seeing pictures of the two of them at similar ages and I am even more excited to watch them grow into beautiful, unique INDIVIDUALS! :)

Sierra at 10 weeks old - June 2008 and Chyler at 10 weeks old - May 2010

Here is a picture of me at a few months old. Do you see Chyler? I certainly do! She even has the same exact weird shape to her ear that I have on my right ear. And guess what!?! It is also her right ear that is shaped like that! Too funny!

Wrestle-Mania

Sierra LOVES to wrestle. Definitely something that daddy instilled in her. They wrestle all the time and I have even fallen victim to it as well. When I was 39-41 weeks pregnant with Chyler and in a fair amount of back pain, any time I would sit on the floor, do pelvic lifts, yoga moves, or whatever; Sierra always took that as a sign that I was saying "Mama wants to wrestle." However, that was certainly not the case.

So, I give you warning...if you are ever around Sierra and you sit on the floor, she might take that as a sign that you want to be "body checked." I try to tell her it isn't very lady-like. Hopefully she will grow out of this stage soon; until then, poor Chyler has a lot to learn! LOL!

How I feel...

This is how I have been feeling these days....

I am thankful that the Lord has given me this perspective.

Thank you Lord for showing me, especially when I am tired and irritable, that the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices!

Monday's Movie - May 17, 2010

I am going to try something new. I got a new Flip Video Camera for my birthday and I have been taking lots of cute videos of the girls. Also, I have LOTS of older videos that I have taken and have never posted. So, I am going to try and start doing "Monday's Movie" and post a movie every Monday for your viewing pleasure! :)

Here is my first one:

Our Active Girls, May 13, 2010

Sierra - 2 years old, Chyler - 10 weeks old

10 weeks old

Our littlest munchkin is 10 weeks old. My goodness, time sure does fly when you are having fun. Chyler is probably one of the sweetest babies I have ever encountered and I am not just saying that because she is my kid. She willingly gives smiles any time of the day (and night) and is just so content to be any where. She is patient with her big sister tugging at her and strong-willed when she wants to eat and thinks it should happen right NOW!!! :) Oh how we love this precious child. Never knew my heart was big enough for this much love; but indeed it is! :) Thank you Lord for this blessing. I love our sweet second born baby girl!

And for some fun stats, this "little" girl is growing fast. At her 2 month check up, she weighed in at 13 pounds, 1 ounce and 24 inches long. That is 3 more inches since birth and about 4 pounds more than she was at 2 weeks old. Mama's milk is good stuff and this kid loves to eat! She is one growing girl, certainly won't complain about that!!!

Elephant Ears

This might just be my new favorite baby product! My sister Kirsten found these online and told me about them. Chyler's little head is constantly slumping forward when riding in her carrier, so I knew I had to check these out. My other sister Katie ordered them and I got them in the mail today. Needless to say, I love them! The design is so cute and Chyler seems to be very comfortable. We ran some errands today and she fell asleep in her carrier and her head never once slumped forward. I think these are going to be especially great for long car rides, like when we travel to NY or even the 2 hours it takes to get to my parent's house. Not only that, but Chyler is super cute when using this product! Just see for yourself....

Here is the web site if you want to get a pair of "ears" for yourself or a friend! :)

http://babyelephantears.com/index.php

PS - Chyler is 10 weeks old today! Time is just flying so fast!!! I love watching her grow, but at the same time, I wish for her to stay little forever! :)