Good Weather

Wow, how much do we love the warm weather? A TON!! It's been beautiful here for February lately (mid to high 60s) and we've been loving it. Before Mady was born I was desperate for snow. To me, snow = winter, and I like to experience all 4 seasons, so I'm not ashamed to admit I was wildly jealous when reading all of your blogs and seeing the snow you had. Then Mady was born. Apparently I associated winter (and therefore snow) with the end of my pregnancy. As soon as it was over, I've been craving sun. Probably so I can escape the confines of my self induced quarantine of anyone who might possibly infect my infant with a disease, but still, we want out! Because of this, if the sun is shining (as it does nearly always here), we try to get outside. It's healthy for me and Sydney loves it. Also, if Mady's in the front carrier, she's usually sleeping. Yay. When the warm weather hit this week, I started dressing Sydney in sundresses. I know, I'm crazy, but they're so darn cute! We also painted our toes together this weekend (she was fascinated and will totally show them off to you if you ask) and pulled out her brand new flip flops, which she really likes. This has got to be why God gave me girls.

I just love those pudgy little cheeks, arms, and legs showing. And look, pigtails! Last Friday I convinced her to hold still and I got some teeny hair bands in. Happiest day ever. My daughter won't get called a boy anymore. Plus they're stinkin' cute. Also this morning I will admit that I bribed Syd with gummy bears to sit still while I painstakingly tied teeny tiny bows around those little piggy tails. Then we finished getting ready to leave the house, and as we were walking out the door she ripped them out. I was uber irked. Little stinker.

Mady is filling out and getting cuter. We took her to the doctor on Monday and discovered she might be taking after her large cousins. This 1 month old weighs 11 lbs 7 oz. No wonder those newbie diapers aren't fitting so well anymore...

Check out these next 2 pics. I find them interesting. The lighting isn't the best in this first one, but what do you think? This first one is Mady at 1 month.
This was Sydney at 2 weeks old
Who knows where the time goes. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think they look somewhat similar. Here's to another beautiful day tomorrow and the play group we're going to. Hooray for leaving the house and interacting with other adults. It's not remotely over rated.

Randomness

I've had a request for more pics of Mady, so here are a few for you guys. I have been trying hard to keep this blog more updated than it previously was (I need the adult time and let's face it, if I kept going the way I was, this blog would be extinct in 6 months). First, just a fantastic shot of Mady and her crazy hair. I love it. This was actually taken yesterday morning, so it's very up to date.

We went on a walk last week. Hallelujah. Remember how leaving my house makes me feel semi-sane? Yeah, it's important. Also it's Sydney's favorite thing in the world. Mady is in the front carrier bundled up in clothes & blankies. It may have been 55 degrees, but she's still only 4 weeks old and it's February for crying out loud! Sydney on said walk. She gets cuter every time I see her I think. Am I biased? Yeah probably, but I think I'm also right. ;)
A decent pic of Mady if you blow it up
Look who I caught smiling! Usually my camera is nowhere in sight when she starts doing this, but I somehow caught it this time. How is she a month old already?

I have lots more pictures, so we'll try to keep posting frequently!

Nothing to do with my kids...

Remember how great this show is? I'm watching it now and I love it. Totally takes me back to college history classes and high school sleepovers. Ah, good times. Alli, I noticed Specs for you hon. ;)

Toddlerhood

Ever since Sydney joined our family we've tried hard to just enjoy the phase that she's in and not hurry her. We never pushed her to crawl or walk and we simply enjoyed her babyness, but honestly, as troublesome as they can be, I have a new love for toddlers!

Babies are sweet and fun to snuggle, but I'm discovering there's nothing like a toddler! Sydney is pretty stingy with her hugs and kisses, but just one of those things melts my heart the way a whole day of snuggling with a baby never could. Probably because she is so stingy with them, when I do get one, it's a big occasion!
Sydney is just starting to grasp the concept of pretend. I brought out some toy food and a little baking set I bought for her and she is absolutely in love with it. Tonight she brought me her little apron to put on her after dinner.
Because she is getting bigger and able to do more things, I've started letting her help in the kitchen. It's so fun to cook with her, although our options are somewhat limited since I'll only do stuff that requires about 3 ingredients and doesn't raw meat.

We've made rice krispy treats once and brownies twice now. She thinks it is so much fun to help out and you can tell she feels so big! It's adorable.

Aaron is more than a little concerned about getting salmonella from cookie dough and brownie mix, so Sydney gets her own bowl and spatula with pudding in it to play with. I stir my bowl and she stirs hers. And then plays in it and eats it.

She did get a few licks in on the real stuff and was thrilled with the outcome. No salmonella yet.

I love my sweet girls and always looked forward to the baby stages most. As much as I love them, I now can't wait for Mady to be at this fun phase where we can interact so much! We'll try to be patient and just enjoy it with Sydney for now! Hooray for these cute toddlers!

Life With Two

There's no way around it, life with 2 kids is more challenging than life with 1. I'm sure it gets a ton easier, but at least at first, it's interesting. There's 2 bums to change (since our girls are both babies still!), 2 mouths to feed, 2 kids to bathe, dress, scream, etc. Of course there's also 2 girls to cuddle and a built in playmate (in a few months when Mady's not quite so fragile). I'm still figuring out how to leave the house with 2 kids in tow, but you're all welcome to come visit us as long as no one is sick!

I've found that the biggest hurdle to overcome is psychological. I'm officially outnumbered during the day and the girls totally gang up on me (Sydney handed me a lighter the other day while I was feeding Mady leaving me to wonder how she found it!). It's sort of scary being 100% responsible for 2 tiny girls all the time, and although I am very happy to have them both here, I will admit I get rather stressed at times!

To combat the overwhelming feelings of potential panic, I have instituted a new practice that I think I might keep forever. I've always been a list girl. I have lists of things to do, things to buy, names I like, etc. My new list is the best one of all. It's called "Things I Accomplished" and it gets made every day. I get to write down everything that I get done each day (from the smallest accomplishments to the very large (one day those will happen, right?) so that when I feel frustrated that my house is a disaster and dinner has not even been thought about, I can look at it and remember that I actually have gotten a couple of things done. Happy Happy Day.

One thing I've discovered recently is about motherhood in general. When we first decided to adopt, I felt sort of like I would be missing out on the whole birth experience. I came to accept it, and by the time Sydney was born I was completely happy with the way things were. When I got pregnant with Mady I wondered what would be different. Everyone had told me that there was nothing that could compare to giving birth. Having now experienced both, I can honestly say that although childbirth and adoption are different, they are also equally special. Mady's introduction to our family was physically much more exhausting, but Sydney's was much more emotionally exhausting. I know for a fact now that I never missed anything with Sydney just because I didn't give birth to her. She is as much "our own" daughter as Mady is and we love them both very much. There are many ways to make a family and all of them are wonderful. We love our little family and are happy to have everyone healthy and well.

Thanks everyone for your love and support over the past few weeks!

Sisters

Here are a few pictures of both girls together. This doesn't happen very often, so enjoy them. Abby 2, don't you think that Sydney looks somewhat like Laura did as a baby in this one?

Sydney really likes to rub Mady's head. Maybe it's good luck. I think she just likes that it's fuzzy. She's started doing it to other babies and small children though too.
I think they're telling secrets here! Actually this is what Sydney did when we asked her to give Mady loves. It was very sweet. Hopefully we'll see lots more of this soon as the girls get closer!

Look for the next post - cooking adventures starring Sydney and Mommy coming soon!

My Mushy Gushy Valentine

I've never done a Valentine's Day post, but I thought I'd give a shout out to the love of my life. Here's to you babe!

Some particular things I love about Aaron include:

• He's funny as heck - Those of you who know him know what I mean. He loves to goof off and joke and is quite witty. As you know, laughter is the best medicine, so I think I'll keep him around. ;)
• He listens - when I talk I mean. Once in college we were talking with some friends about how wasteful it seemed to be constantly sending flowers and other things that die quickly just to show your wife you love her. I mentioned that it was the thought that counted and that it wouldn't matter if it were a can of cherry pie filling that you sent (it was the first thing that entered my mind!). The next day at work I had a can of cherry pie filling and a card delivered to me. It was the best can of cherry pie filling ever!
• He's thoughtful - When he moved to Colorado I stayed behind in Idaho for 2 months by myself to work and get things ready to go. It was kind of a crappy time being alone that whole time and he knew I would get sad, so he wrapped a number of small presents and hid them around our apartment. Whenever I got sad he sent me on a treasure hunt to find one. It wasn't even the presents that made me happy (although they didn't hurt!), but the fact that he had thought about it in advance and figured out a way to help.
• He's Daddy of the Year - Sydney is absolutely in love with him and he's so good with both her and Mady. He doesn't just come home and veg after work (although I know he'd like to a lot!). He plays with the girls, bathes and dresses them, and gives me a break, which makes everyone a little happier!

Aaron we love you! You're the best! Happy V-day bud!

Mady Cakes

First, here are some more pictures of the newest midget in our household. She's the smallest of the small ones (you Skippyjon Jones fans will understand that) but she still makes her presence known. Also she wears a shocking amount of pink. This is one of my favorite pics for some reason. Gotta love the adorable outfit (thanks Erica!) and the darling boots (Andrea!) She's seriously stylin'.

I had to show that one of my children was able to wear a barrett before her first birthday. Sorry Syd.

Just a sweet pic of my mom and the little girls the day she left. We still miss you. Also the shoes Sydney is wearing were mine when I was a kid. Aw.

More pink and bows.
Look who else is in pink. It's like there's a house full of girls or something!

We've had a lots of changes around here lately, including a lot of firsts. Here is Mady's first real bath. She screamed an awful lot. I think Sydney thought we were torturing her.

Another delightful first we experienced recently was our first blow out. It was from Sydney, the biggest of the small ones. Apparently stress+toddler=poop in massive quantities. It wasn't pretty and she broke an awesome streak of 506 blowout free days. Mady's record has been lightly less impressive at 6 days. One positive side effect of formula!

Mady is fairly alert for a not quite 3 week old. In this pic she was only 1.5 weeks old but still real bright eyed. This scares her mommy somewhat.

We went to the doctor for he 2 week check up yesterday (my first time leaving the house with 2 kids by myself) and Mady has regained her birth weight and is at 9 lbs 11 oz. Yay.

Sydney loved to be swaddled (until she was like 7 or 8 months old!) but I think Mady will be totally different. She likes to have her hands accessible, which I think looks cute and funny. It's been interesting seeing the subtle differences between the girls, even at such a young age.Ok Mady just finally went to bed, so I'm off to the same place now. Hope you all enjoyed the pics. We're finally getting close to being caught up with our pictures!

Sydney

In the midst of all things Mady, I thought I'd do a post for Sydney too. She's still here, we haven't forgotten her or anything, and she's still as sweet as ever. She's 17 months old today (what?!) and I can't believe how big she is. She seems like a giant compared to Mady, but she's also so grown up. She's a true little toddler now.

She's everywhere we do and don't want her to be. She has a mind of her own and loves to play and have fun. She's been getting pretty independent, although Mady's arrival has made her pretty clingy to mom and dad lately. She is saying some new words though and understands a ton more that we say to her. We love her through and through!
She does not love to dress up, but she has obliged my mom and I on a few occasions over the past week and a half. Such as on Sunday when she got all dressed up for 1 hour of church.

Curlers and all! Ok, these were really just for kicks (as you can see above they did nothing for her stick straight on top hair.)

I bought these golf clubs before she was even born and she's just discovered them. She mostly loves the golf balls and can be heard shouting "ball ball ball!" 40 gazillion times each day. It's adorable. Sometimes she even takes a whack at one.

A day or so before Mady was born Sydney discovered her old car seat.

And we discovered how much she had grown! Still looks comfy though.

While my mom was here (did I mention I cried when she left this morning? Like a lot? sigh.) she and Sydney went on walks almost every day. They got to know a lot of the neighborhood dogs and Sydney made her first ever snowman.

And then she quite deliberately smashed his head in on the sidewalk. My sweet little girl.

Last but not least, Sydney decided to share some of her own personal beauty tips with Mady. As you can see here, you should always wash your hair (especially if a toddler like to rub your head with her grubby little hands 10 times a day), use lots of lotion, and get lots of beauty rest! It's a proven formula for success that I'm going to adopt. As soon as I get both of my kiddos to sleep at the same time... Miss you mom.

Family Time

Wow. I haven't posted since we left the hospital. Something about having a host of nurses dedicated to keeping us all cozy and comfy 24-7 left me lots more time to blog than I currently have. I've promised a few people pictures though, so here I am trying to carve out some time to post them! (I really can't complain though since at the moment my sweet hubby is working on making me belgian waffles with strawberries & whipped cream for breakfast - yum!)
First things first - we were discharged from the hospital on Sunday January 25. Aaron got Mady and I home and our friends brought sweet Sydney back (after bravely taking her to church with them - thanks!) Sydney went down for a nap and when she woke up, she took one look at Mady and burst into tears. It was the saddest thing ever! I know she'll love her eventually, but I've never felt so guilty for ruining my little girl's life! As you can see here though, she wasn't violent or anything towards Mady, and even consented to pose for some pictures with the rest of us.

This kid is noisy!
Checking out Mommy's fancy bracelets
and Mady's spiky hair

Aaron even got Sydney to hold Mady after a few days so we could snap this adorable shot of our pretty in pink girls.

My mom nd dad came out a few days later to get some snuggle time in with Mady and to help ease the transition to 2 kiddos.

Mady is a total snuggler by the way. After my dad went back to work my mom stayed in Grandma land for a while to help out. She leaves tomorrow. Gulp.Sydney getting some extra daddy time while they are here.

Sydney has needed lots of extra love and snuggles from mom and dad lately, and we're only too happy to oblige! She gets in lots of walks with Grandma on the good weather days and comes home to tell us about the doggies she saw. She's a sweet girl and has come a long way from that first day. She now gives Mady presents, loves, and kisses and is very sweet to her. She likes to rub Mady's head and tries to help me change her diaper (maybe a sign she's almost ready to be potty trained?). We love our sweet girls!