365 days of Lucy

We celebrated Lucy's birthday this weekend, and it was awesome! Yesterday we had an I Love Lucy themed birthday party, and today we had a relaxing day at home. Some days it feels like Lucy was just born, and other days it feels like she's been part of our family forever!

I'm always very honest about how this past year has been somewhat of a challenge; adding Lucy to the mix that is. Avery was an extremely easy baby and basically every stage/aspect was a breeze! She slept great, nursed like a dream, took a bottle without a fight, and transitioned to new things with ease. Lucy, well...she's another story. She took about 10 months to start sleeping well, I got mastitis three times this year while nursing her, and she didn't take a bottle with consistency until just recently. I was kind of on house arrest for a few months since I was the only one who could feed her. It's been 365 days of ups and downs, and to be truthful; a lot of guessing :( It was hard to tell what she wanted, when she wanted it, and how she wanted it. For someone who thrives on structure, the inconsistencies were stressful and made parenting her a struggle.

But not one day did I not love that child and thank God for her! I always put things in perspective and would remind myself that one day (believe it or not!), I would actually miss the infant days.

Lucy Adele Dorr, you are so very loved! Thanks for keeping me on my toes this last year. 365 days full of loving you; 365 days of Lucy.

A few of my favorites

I recenty started a new(ish) hobby; photography! I love it, for so many reasons! It's been pretty hectic with Christmas so close and everyone trying to get their holiday cards made. Here is a sampling of my favorite pictures from each session over the last few months. They range from kids, to maternity, to engagement, to couples, to family pictures!
(They're not all for Christmas cards.)

 Brady

Jonah and Bella

 Allison

 Joanna and Joel

 The Middel Family

 Dan and Danielle

 John and Rebecca

 Tammy and Jeff

 Griffon, Peter and Tobin

Keli and Brian

Athena

 Hannah

It sure is quiet around here lately...

I haven't written a blog post in over a month, and I guess it's just because life has been pretty busy lately! It's weird...it feels like there's a lot going on, but nothing new at the same time.

Here is a quick update on what's been going on with us:

~ Avery is LOVING preschool, and so am I :)

~ Lucy is growing and changing everyday. I am blessed to be able to stay at home with both my girls.

~ John is leading a small group at church and although we're only a few weeks in, our group has a great chemistry!

~ Avery just turned 3 and had a 'bright colors' themed party.

~ I am going on a women's retreat through church next weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

~ I'm super grateful for the friend's God has blessed us with down here (old and new).

~ The girls will be getting 5 wears out of their Halloween costumes, which I think is awesome!

~ We are participating in 'host a college student' through church, and are meeting our two girls (they're sophomores at CNU) this weekend...can't wait!

 The birthday girl with a birthday balloon

 Posing with Lucy

 Birthday field trip to Lions Bridge to feed the ducks

 Us with our big 3 year old

 Lucy looking mighty cute

 Avery just can't get enough of Lucy. Can you blame her?

 Girls' dinner out last week

 Us with the Tollers around a fire

 All the kiddos at our chili night a few weeks ago

Is something wrong with me?

She ate breakfast, she played, I got her ready, I took her pictures, and I dropped her off in the drop off lane, we said goodbye. That was how her first morning of pre-school went yesterday! There were no tears (from either of us!), no sad emotions, and no feelings of 'My baby has gone off to school...I miss her so much already!". Is there something wrong with me? I mean I'm pretty sure the answer is 'no', but when I compare myself to my friends and the Facebook world (which I do all time!), my response was extremely different to other people. I read status update after update about how the moms were crying, the kids were crying, they stayed in the parking lot to make sure they got in ok, the hours went by slowly....

Um...I didn't experience any of those emotions! Avery and I were both ready, and excited for her first day! John and I have prepared Avery for her first day of school for months...literally months! We've talked to her about how she was going to go to school and make friends, play with new toys, have a teacher to hug, and so on. I've prepared myself by setting goals/having realistic expectations for what I planned to do with the time she is gone (9:30-12:30). When I got home from dropping her off (and school is literally 3 minutes from our house so it's nice and close!), I fed Lucy, put her down for a nap, showered, and did my Bible study. It was really nice to have some time to myself, and only be concerned with one child!

John took a 1/2 day and we both picked her up from school. She was so excited and surprised to see us! The teachers said she did GREAT, and that was she the only child who didn't cry- LOL :) She was ready!

My social butterfly needed this; she needed time out of the house, without me. And I love that she's independent (most of the time), and ready to experience new things with new people! As usual, I need to work on not comparing myself, my kids, and our lives with other people. It always turns out ugly and I hate that! God has created each of us differently; wired each of us differently!

Here are some pictures from yesterday morning!

Trying out soccer

We signed Avery up for soccer over the summer, and she just had her third practice tonight. Her first game is next Saturday, and well...we are definitely beginners! For this being her very first experience with soccer, she's doing pretty well! She hasn't totally grasped the concept that she can't touch the ball with her hands, but she's getting there! Practice lasts 30 minutes, and the coach calls it an 'epic success' if all the kids stay on the field at the same time :) It's funny to see kids 2.5-4 yrs 'play soccer'. Oh boy...there's a lot of chaos, but man is it cute!

What I've learned

I feel as though I've learned a lot since becoming a mother of two. I know that there are moms out there with WAY more than two kids, but for me, it was an adjustment, and I knew it would be! I am someone who likes structure and order. The unknown can be scary for me, especially when I don't have control over it. I was very anxious about 2013! I knew adding another child to the family would mean lots of change, but I didn't fully understand it until it really happened. Although there are lots of days when I feel frazzled and scattered, I absolutely L.O.V.E. being a mother to my two little ladies!

Over the last (almost) 6 months, I have learned a lot since becoming a mother of two. These are the ones that stick out the most:

* It's ok to say no. I have found this to be incredibly important! It's ok to put your kids and family before other people's schedules and plans. Sometimes a mom just has to say, 'No, that won't work for us. We will try for another time.'

* Multiple times a day, someone is being neglected. And that's ok! They're not going to die if their need(s) are not met that very second. Unless it's going on the potty or a safety matter, most things Avery wants/needs can wait a few minutes or even hours. Same with Lucy!

* Moms do things differently, and that's fine. Judging others is ugly. I hate when I get the feeling people are judging me, and I hate the feeling even more I have when I know I've judged others.

* Treasure moments with your kids, Leah. Soak up the good and the bad...even the ugly! One day I'm going to wish my biggest problem was getting Lucy to nap!!

* Things DO get better! Those beginning few months with a toddler and a baby can be rough. Temper tantrums, newborn feeding/sleeping schedules are a mess, hormones are raging, and then add to the mix that at some point you need to shower and brush your teeth. I can say that things have gotten a lot better, and hygiene is where it should be :)

* You will mess up, and they will be ok. Don't be so hard on yourself. Kids are much more resilient then we give them credit for! Of course we need to listen to them, chat with them, love on them, and meet their emotional/physical needs BUT they bounce back pretty quick from injuries and hurt feelings.

I just keep learning. And I have a feeling the learning will go on, and on, and on!

 Lucy and Avery within the first month

Lucy and Avery at month 5

Perspective

The definition of perspective is how you see things. Having perspective is so important, whether it's in marriage, parenting, your job, or relationships! In my current stage of life in parenting, it is so easy to lose perspective on things, and just think this is how things will always be (sleepless nights, temper tantrums, etc.), but I know that isn't the case. I know that this is a stage of life, and it will end one day. In fact, I have a feeling I will really miss this stage one day. I will miss cuddling Lucy at 2am. I will miss the tearful I'm sorry's from Avery after she's been naughty. And one day, when they are yelling at me from their room after just being grounded, I'm going to wish my biggest problem was whether they took a good nap that day!

Perspective.


You're not able to get a Starbucks this week on your way to work because you're running late, and you're upset about it. There's a woman a few offices down who can't buy groceries this week. Perspective.

Your child has been on a good schedule for weeks, and all of a sudden has decided to stop taking an afternoon nap. There's a mom who just visited her sick child in the hospital.
Perspective.

You and your husband haven't had date night in a while because of a busy calendar. There's a couple down the street who are in the midst of  messy divorce and the kids are the ones paying for it.
Perspective.

 Sometimes I get in the rut of feeling sorry for myself when things aren't going well, or aren't going the way I want them to and then I always have to remind myself that this is a season, and all seasons end...even the good ones! Praise God that this life is not all we have! It's just a snap of a finger in the grand scheme of things.

A sweet reminder

Our friends Jen and Jack (and their two boys Evan and Liam) came to visit for 5 days and it was such a great visit! It was a sweet reminder of our past life in NY and the awesome friends we were blessed to grow up with, go through college with, the dating experience with and so on. We've lived down here for 8 years (actually John's been down here 9 years) and we have made awesome friends; people with whom we've gone through a lot with- the newlywed stage, the not so newlywed stage, our miscarriages, moving back and forth, job changes, and kids BUT spending a few days with old friends...was just really special! At one point when we were sitting in the living rook after all the kids were sleeping (finally!), I looked at everyone and said, "Guys...we're all grown up. We're like...adults!" We laughed a lot, enjoyed watching our kids play (and fight) together, and ate some good food over their visit. Until next time!

8 years with you

8 years with you, John and never a dull moment. Here are my top 8 memories/experiences with you since being married! (in no order of importance...)

1. Moving into our Newport News house and living with you for the first time. Since we never lived together before getting married, this was a HUGE experience for us! You carried me through the front door like such a gentleman!

2. Celebrating every holiday with you as a married couple! We are a team, and holidays are always better with your best buddy by your side.

3.  Going to Goodwill to buy furniture and decor for our house when we were newlyweds. We didn't have much money, but we did the best we could do with our finances at the time. (The furniture was hideous, but we didn't know it at the time.)

4. All the trips we took to Lowe's. It seems as though there is always a home improvement project going on at our house. In our first few months of marriage we did everything together, including running errands. I remember holding your hand as newlyweds walking up and down the isles of Lowe's...so in love!

5. Going to Europe with you. It was a business trip on paper, but we had more fun than most have on business trips! We ate lots of good food, drank good beer (you more than me), and saw tons of beautiful cities!

6. Sushi. We enjoy it more than any other meal. It's our celebration food!

7. Watching you become a dad for the first time. You were a natural. You made it look easy!

8. Watching you become a dad for the second time. You love our two girls in a protective, fun, adventurous, and generous way!