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! :)

Sierra's 1st Haircut

I sorta had been telling myself that after Sierra turned 2 years old I would be "okay" with her getting her haircut. Well when her two year birthday rolled around, I had a new baby to look after, Brian returned to work, and the weather started to get hot; I decided that my intuition about that "2 year mark" was for a good reason!

Thankfully my dear friend Jaime is a stylist (otherwise I probably wouldn't have done it). Jaime has 2 little girls herself and works out of her home salon. This was another perk for me because I honestly dreaded having to take Sierra to some one and some place we didn't know. I was able to speak candidly to Jaime about all my reservations of cutting her hair and knew she wouldn't think I was crazy wanting to hold on to the one last thing that physically kept her looking like "my baby."

Needless to say, Jaime did an amazing job and although I have looked back at pictures of just a few weeks ago when Chyler was born and Sierra's hair was long and have been a little sad; I still do love Sierra's new do! :) She really does look all grown up now; but she will still always be "my baby girl!"

Chyler Anne

Amanda from Kimberlin Gray Photography, the same friend who took my maternity pictures (that I posted HERE), offered to come over and take some newborn shots of Chyler. She was here when Chyler was just 6 days old and really captured some very sweet moments.

When I look at Chyler, I am in awe of just how beautiful she really is. I see such a peaceful, patient little soul in her eyes. I think her personality is going to be much different from Sierra. It is amazing how much you can love something so small. My heart is over flowing with love for this little girl and we only just met face to face. I am not sure if it is because I know and love Sierra; therefore, I know what they grow up to become in just 2 short years. I really can't put my finger on it. I just feel so connected with this bright eyed little wonder and I am beyond thankful that God has allowed me to be her mother.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Sierra Rein!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIERRA REIN!!!!

Sierra at TWO years old

Today our baby girl turns TWO years old! I really can't believe it has been two years ago that we were meeting our precious first born for the very first time. Wow! Time sure does fly. I am over come with joy in my heart when I think about what Sierra has meant to our family in these past two years. She is such a precious blessing from the Lord, we are thankful that He has allowed us to be her parents and we don't take a single day for granted.

Sierra on her birth day, meeting Daddy for the first time!

This past year has been so wonderful, with many changes in Sierra's life. She has learned to walk, talk, run, jump, eat with a fork and spoon, use a big girl cup, put her shoes on by herself, and sleep in a big girl bed, among many other things; also, she left Mama & Daddy for 4 months this past year and had to stay with a babysitter during the day, and just recently, she became a big sister! So many changes.

I have not done an "update" post on Sierra's development in a very long time, so I am going to use this post for that and to brag on her a little. She is growing up so much these days. She has become little "Miss Independent" and the phrase "I do it" is a common one in our house. She has learned how to sing her ABC's (and many, many other songs - she LOVES to sing) and she can count to at least 10; sometimes making it to 20 with a few repeated numbers thrown in. She is learning her shapes and we are still working on those colors; although most things are either blue or red in Sierra's world.

Sierra on her 1st birthday

Her language development is simply amazing to us. She can (and will) repeat any word you say around her. Lately we have heard her say "Oh, man!" "Holy Cow!" and "Oh my goodness!" Just the other day, Chyler was fussing and Sierra walked in the room and said "Oh my goodness, Chyler! Oh my goodness, Chyler!" I could probably write about 6 pages with everything she comes up with and all the words she says. She definitely keeps us laughing! She talks so much these days and can put together many 3-4 word sentences, like "Shut the door." or "What is that noise?" (She asks that one A LOT!!!). Most people we meet think she is at least 2.5 or 3 years old. She is the regular old chatter box...not sure where she gets that from!!

She loves her baby dolls and wants to share everything with them. When I am nursing Chyler, her babies have to eat too and when Chyler is getting changed, her babies need clean diapers too. She is such a big helper and definitely a little Mama. We love watching her pretend and interact with her baby dolls!

She still loves her books and loves to read. Often at night when we read bedtime stories it is "my turn" then "her turn" as she takes time to read to us now. She has many of her books memorized and her most favorite seems to be "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." Just the other day she was overheard in the backseat of the car reciting the book to her baby doll . Too cute!

She is still sleeping like a champ, taking a nap every day for about 2-2.5 hours and sleeping very good at night too. She loves her big girl bed and snuggles in under the covers every night. She knows not to get out of bed and is a very good listener. The week we brought Chyler home, she was getting out of bed after every nap time and every morning, but with discipline and consequences, she quickly learned that getting out of bed is disobedient and she stopped. I think it was just another reaction to the new baby in the house.

She has become quite the picky eater, which I guess is normal for her age. She LOVES cheese, yogurt, goldfish, bread, and any kind of pasta with red sauce (especially Mimi's homemade sauce). Honestly, I am not sure how she keeps any weight on because many nights she doesn't eat a thing for dinner. But at her 2 year check up she weighed in at 28.5 pounds and 35 inches tall - definitely growing so fast!

Honestly, words can not express how much we are in love with this precious little girl. She certainly has her "toddler moments" - don't get me wrong, but more often we have precious moments. When she looks at you with those big brown eyes and says "I love you Mama" your heart just melts. I feel like I see a glimpse of heaven every time. After loving and losing and then loving again, I really never thought my heart had any more room to love something else; boy was I wrong!

Sierra is so special and we praise God for her life each and every day. As much as we love her, we know that God loves her even more and we continue to pray that as she grows, she will come to know Him personally as well. We can't wait to see what this 3rd year of life will bring for our little girl. Hopefully more learning, more love, more faith building, potty training (!!!), and LOTS more fun!!! Thank you for helping us celebrate Sierra's Birthday and for always loving her and praying for her sweet, little, precious life!

Here's a cute video of our sweet little girl playing outside:

Chyler Anne's 1st Month

Chyler's 1st month flew by so fast! I couldn't even believe it. She is growing so quickly and changing every day. During her first month she has been very sleepy. I guess all newborns sleep this much and I just don't remember it from when Sierra was little. She pretty much just sleeps, eats, and poops. She is nursing great on a every 3 hour schedule and has a very vigorous suck. That has "sucked" for me (literally) because I have experienced 3 bouts of mastitis; finally resorting to taking an antibiotic to cure it. The last bout was extreme, fever, chills, body aches, breast tenderness, pain, etc. Because my symptoms were so severe, I broke down and took the meds. Thankfully the meds cleared every thing up, allowed me to heal completely, and Chyler did not show any adverse effects from the meds either. All is well with nursing now. Praise God!!!

Sierra continues to be a great big sister; but definitely needing redirecting and explanations about why we don't "sit on our sister" or "pull her hair" every once in a while. All normal toddler "Big Sister" reactions, I am sure.

At her 2 week check-up, Chyler was 22 inches long and 8 pounds, 15.5 ounces, which was 9 ounces more than her birth weight and 15 ounces more than what she was the Saturday after her birth day. The doctor was very impressed with her weight gain, so we don't have to go back to the doctor until her 2 month check-up in May. Praise God for good Mama's Milk! Chyler certainly likes to eat and is growing like a weed!

I am looking forward to Chyler sleeping better and having more "wake" time where we can start interacting with her and really enjoying her personality during her 2nd month of life. I must say though having a newborn in the house again to snuggle with and love on has been fun. It certainly isn't easy and there are times when I think Chyler just is never going to be happy (she cries a lot when she isn't sleeping or eating); but it is a huge blessing. We thank God every day for blessing us with this precious little baby girl.

Bath Time!

Kisses from big sis

Pierce admiring his newest cousin

All 5 of the Stank Grandchildren together

Sierra reading books to Chyler; obviously making Chyler very sleepy! :)

Nap time with Daddy

Me with my 2 precious girls

Chyler at 3 weeks old

Love from her big sister

Enjoying her swing

Hanging out at Mimi's house (2 weeks old)

Pumping Iron in her sleep (haha)!

Chyler's First Moments

Enjoy a little video montage of some of Chyler's first moments with us.

Chyler Anne Miller

Chyler Anne is here!!!
Chyler (pronounced Ki-ler) arrived at 3:40am on 3-4-10

8 pounds, 9 ounces & 21 inches long.
We are all doing well and enjoying our new family of 4!
God has truly blessed us!
We will update when we have time again soon.
Thank you for all the constant love and prayers!

Silly Sierra

Crazy, Silly Sierra! I promise, we don't let this kid drink juice or eat sugar - God just made her "active!" :)

PS - Yes! That is my big 41 week prego belly that gets in the way around 38 seconds into the video!