Transition to Two

So we are almost two months into being parents of two kids, and I'd say I think I have a rhythm. Maybe...

Thank goodness Avery has a good routine, and hasn't wavered from it much since Lucy entered the picture. She wakes up around 7:30am, take a 2-3 hr afternoon nap, and goes to sleep around 8:30pm. She has adjusted pretty well to all the changes that bringing a baby home include. She's not acting out, but her regular personality traits (strong willed, active, mischievous...) are just heightened!

Lucy has a good schedule, too! She eats every 3 hrs, and sleeps between 8-9 hrs at night (aaammmaaazzziiinnnggggg!). I am SO thankful to have another good eater/sleeper on my hands! She definitely has a 'fussy time' of day, which is between 6-9pm. Unfortunately that's during dinner, bath time, and bedtime :( It usually gets pretty hectic and tense around here during those three hours, but we're working through it.

From the beginning, I told myself to stick to two important commitments: going to church every week, and going to small group every week. I don't want to miss either of those things. We go to church Saturday night, so it makes Sunday much more relaxed. I'm thankful both girls do well in the nursery/toddler room at church! It allows us to focus much more on why we're there!

I've been getting out more lately, too! Nothing too wild and crazy. Errands, a friend's house, the gym (not with Lucy yet, she's still too little), and the library.

I am SO thankful that I get to stay at home with the girls, and enjoy sweet moments with them. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days I wish to be in an office somewhere filing paperwork, but I realize that my position as a stay at home Mom is a blessing and a luxury.

We just had our last meal brought to us last Friday. Yup! That's right...7 weeks of meals! We are so blessed! I cooked meals in between the meals brought, but now that we have no more meals being brought, I'm on my own again :)

Overall, I'd say we're doing well! When I have bad days (and boy, do I ever!), I just remind myself that this is a short season of life, and that it will pass. I try to remind myself that one day, I'll actually miss this craziness :)

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Easter through the years

I love looking at pictures, especially ones from the past. I'm an extremely nostalgic person, and bringing 'old' memories back to mind is fun for me!

We had a great Easter this year as a family of 4 + my sister. It was very relaxed, which was perfect for me. I still don't feel like I have a rhythm down pat, although I'm working on it! We went to church in the morning, chilled in the afternoon, had a nice dinner, and then had friends over for dessert. I loved it! Not too lazy, and not too hectic. Just right!

I had the itch to look through past Easters. It's so neat to see how life (and our family) has changed over the years! Take a stroll down memory lane with me, won't you?

 Easter 2009. We did Beach Games in Va Beach with friends

 Easter 2010. My whole family came down for NY. Sam and Stella are so young here!

 Easter 2011. Our first Easter as parents!

 Easter 2012. Avery's first egg hunt.

Easter 2013. Lucy 5 wks old, and Avery 2.5

H*E*L*P

What does the word help mean to you? I looked up the definition online and found this:

1: to give assistance or support to 

2a : to make more pleasant or bearable 

3a : to be of use to : benefit

b : to further the advancement of : promote

4a : to change for the better

b : to refrain from

c : to keep from occurring

d : to restrain (oneself) from doing something

5: to serve with food or drink especially at a meal

6: to appropriate something for (oneself) 

I would say that these all describe my mom the last 5 weeks! (Except for maybe #4b, 4c, 4d, and 6). She has been a.m.a.z.i.n.g. and I don't want to even think about what the last few weeks would have been like without her help. She has basically been on 'Avery duty', which has really allowed me to a) take care of Lucy and b) rest. She has taken care of every load of laundry since we came home from the hospital, and made meals in between the meals friends brought us. She loves me, John, and our girls so much and there's probably nothing we can say or do to communicate how thankful we are for her time spent here. 

Here are some Nona pictures doing her thing...helping!

Baby Model

Barbara Spencer took Lucy's newborn photos when she was 5 days old, and they came out so beautiful! There'e not much else to say. The pictures say it all...

Lucy has friends

Lucy is super loved, and already has lots of friends! We had some visitors at the hospital (not a lot though, because we were only there 1 day and wanted to keep our time chill and low key), and have had some since coming home! People have been so generous bringing us meals, treats, and presents! Here are pictures of Lucy's friends. She's pretty popular :)

 One of our babysitters, Hannah

 My dad at Lucy's dedication

 Tony and Michele at her dedication

 Mom and dad at her dedication

 One of our babysitters, Alli

 Shannon was in town from MD and came for a visit

 David and Angela stopped by

 Daniel brought John breakfast the morning before she was born and visited us after she was born

Claire came to the hospital and brought birthday cake pops

Jess brought us a yummy meal and got to snuggle with Lucy

Lucy's here!

                            Lucy Adele Dorr 

was born on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 2:38am weighing in at 8 lb 5 oz and 20.5 in long! 

Phew! Am I glad birth is over! It was a very long process, (30 hours to be exact with only 5 minutes of pushing), but we got sweet Lucy out of it, and that is what I'm celebrating! I started to write the whole story out, but I realized the details aren't important. What's important is that Lucy is here and healthy, and we are both doing well! Avery has been doing well, too! I'm thankful that John took this week off work and that my mom is here for a month to help. They have both made the transition much easier, which otherwise I'm sure would have been chaotic! Here are some pictures of our beginning days!

My Crowded Mind

There are all sorts of things floating around in my mind. Here are a few...

* I'm scheduled to have a baby on Thursday. Say what?!

* My mom is flying in Tuesday night and staying for a few weeks to help. I cannot wait! She will be a huge help with both girls!

* Avery has been doing great with potty training and I hope she keeps it up! Only using a diaper at naps/bedtime is cutting down on diaper money, which is nice because we will shortly be spending tons on diapers again!

* I've been doing really well with cooking meals during the week, but my baking has slowed down. I knew it would. I knew it was just a phase (probably brought on my pregnancy or something crazy) and that's ok. I'm not a huge baker, but I do like to cook.

* I started to get sick a few days ago, which is a bummer for SO many reasons: I'm having a baby in a few days, and I haven't been sick in over a year. I guess I was due to get what everyone else has been sick with for months.

* We've been in a small group since September and I love it! The people are great, and I feel like we are learning a lot about God through the study and people in the group.

* I've been trying to simplify my life the last few weeks and although it's uncomfortable, I have to say I think it's been better for me and my family. Having more family time has been nice, and saying no to certain people and things has value!

* Although I hate missing out on social gatherings, I've found that the ones I say yes to I enjoy more because I'm not spread so thin.

* We are hosting Easter at our house with some friends and I'm looking forward to it! Easter is just a week after my mom leaves to go back home, so it'll be during a time of transition, but I think having it at my house will be easier than going to someone elses house who doesn't have all the baby 'stuff'.

* I don't watch Downtown Abbey, but I hear about it all the time. In fact, we don't watch a lot of shows that everyone is talking about. The only shows I really make an effort to watch is New Girl and Glee. Sometimes we'll catch Modern Family, but we have group Wed nights so we usually don't catch it.

* John is taking a full week off when the baby comes, and a week of 1/2 days which will be awesome! When we had Avery he was only home for 3 days, and 2 1/2 days. This will be much better!

* We went to Great Wolf Lodge (a massive indoor water park) with some friends last weekend for free and had a blast! We were only there for 3 hrs because we had a party with our small group that night, but it was just the right amount of time!