Happy 6 months Jayda!

This week Jayda turned 6 months old! On this very day she started sitting up REALLY well. She and Kallie are totally interacting with one another; Kallie just makes her laugh and laugh.

At 6 months old Jayda is:

26.25 inches (64%)

17.15 lbs  (82%)

 Her favorite sleeping position is on her tummy with her head turned to the left so she can suck her thumb:

I must include a picture of her smiling:

We love you Jayda!

It Started With a Chair.

This week baby Jayda had a fever and although we had to stay home, indoors, longer than Kallie or I would have liked, she was extra cuddly and sweet (and slept even better than usual). A couple months ago I realized I hadn't been cuddling with Jayda as much as I would have liked and I began to worry she didn't feel loved enough. I figured out why I was felt this way:

1) She's not my only child and I'm always chasing after her toddler sister.

2) It took me until Jayda was 5 months old to realize I hadn't moved the rocking chair from Kallie's room into her room. *slap myself on the forehead*

Since Jayda has been sleeping through the night for awhile now, I've started rocking her to sleep sometimes (Up until my babies are sleeping through the night I don't rock them to sleep because I don't want them to need me to fall asleep. I think rocking is wonderful as long as they're still awake when I physically lay them down in the crib so they learn how to fall asleep on their own. However I do want them to be familiar with falling asleep on me). Plus there's an obvious fact that rocking a baby to sleep is pure bliss! Last night Brad was at the church for Scouts during the kids' bedtime so I put Kallie down and then had some one-on-one HEAVENLY cuddle time with Jayda in the rocking chair. I would have loved to stay there all night. Even though our old, hand-me-down rocking chair could use a little WD-40, it makes a rhythm that is quite hypnotizing and Jayda was lulled to sleep pretty quickly.

As we rocked back and forth I looked around her dark room, lit by the hallway light seeping through the door frame. My biggest fear when I was younger, was that I wouldn't be able to experience having my own children. Now I've grown two babies inside me. Cuddling my baby in a rocking chair is seriously a slice of heaven on earth. I can't believe I'm blessed to provide for this precious little angel that can't do anything for herself. She feels completely secure sleeping in my arms while feeling clean, dry, full and loved. I couldn't help but cry. Because I'm so blessed. I can't rock my babies without crying. If we're at home during the day and I decide to turn on some music and dance with my kids, I cry because they're so stinking adorable. Their smiles make my heart flutter. It's crazy.

My mom always told me that she knew I was going to be her last child so, as she nursed me in her rocking chair she paid special attention to the feel, sight, sounds and smell because she wanted to remember them forever. I've actually caught myself thinking, "We'll have three or four more kids so I have plenty of time to enjoy babyhood," as I rush my child-tending because there are other things to get done. I have to remind myself that I don't know what our future holds and I can never really know which child will be our last so savor every. precious. moment. with every. single. child. I'm gonna be one of those total basket case moms when my last child passes every milestone. Ah, I love being a mama. It is awesome.

Monthly Marinade

I'm sick of coming up with a different title for every blog post so I decided to name them all the same from now on. Except that I might start blogging more frequently so I can remember the smaller details of life...so it might change again anyway.

 I'm pretty sure I went to the dentist every week this whole month and my friend Molly has been kind enough to watch Kallie and Jayda every time (bless her heart). She and Sam entertain one another the whole time but that's not to say they don't need parental guidance. They get pretty riled up and they get into EVERYTHING. The hard work is not having to entertain but rather keeping them alive.

 

Valentine's Day already seems like it's way in the past. For breakfast I made pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast all in the shapes of hearts. Brad surprised me by coming home for lunch with roses and chocolates. It was a big box of chocolates and we finished it off way faster than anyone should ever eat that much chocolate. That night Brad had a basketball game and it happened to be one of the few that start early enough for the kids to go to. We have fun cheering on Daddy.

I hit a point in my training for the 5k where I started to feel super yucky and junky and couldn't finish my runs. I thought it would last a week at the most but it has continued for weeks. I finally called my doctor and she thinks my body is telling me to take it easy because I'm still nursing full time. My plan is to run no more until the day of the race and then hope and pray I'll feel well enough to just do it that one day without having to walk at all. I'm gonna start exercising low-key at the gym with elliptical, weight training, yoga and pilates.

 

 We bought a dresser on Craigslist and I intended to paint it white. I'm still learning how to refinish furniture so here's how this project went: I couldn't find white primer but they did have gray so I assumed all primer is gray and bought it. After priming the dresser I put on a couple coats of white spray paint which bubbled up in a few spots but I needed more so I bought a better/more expensive brand for the remaining coats. I bought what I thought was a different brand of white spray paint but turned out to be a laminate something-or-other that bubbled AND cracked. Then the dresser got rained on for two days while sitting on the porch, warped, and the drawers no longer fit. We threw it out and bought another dresser (on Craigslist) and I decided to paint it green instead. We'll see how it goes. I can't wait to finish this dresser and start using it because Jayda's clothes are sprawled all over her bedroom floor and I hate going in there. 

 We determined this month that Jayda was fast outgrowing her bassinet which means she needs Kallie's crib. We decided to actually start looking for a bunk bed right away because we know we'll eventually need one anyway. However, at just the right time we were given a super cute toddler bed which made us really happy because now we can wait awhile before we spring for a bunk. We brought it inside and set it up right before Kallie's nap. I didn't think we were gonna spring it on her so fast but after I put down Jayda I came out to the hallway and discovered Brad had already put down Kallie in her new bed and left! I sort of freaked out because we didn't prep Kallie at ALL for this big change. I didn't think it was gonna work out. Turns out Kallie was fine with it from the get-go! She took a whole nap in her new toddler bed and then slept in it that night and has ever since.

Jayda wanted to try out Kallie's new bed too

The bed happens to match Kallie's quilt perfectly (the one Grandma McGary made)

This month I've done some reflecting on my life and it originated with me finding this blog made by triplet sisters that went to Byu-Idaho at the same time as me but I never really knew them. Brad and I both had friends that hung out with these triplets but neither of us actually did. Anyway, they've become my own personal form of entertainment and inspiration (via their blogs). They're really cute identical triplets that have great hair, clothes, hobbies, talents and they all love to travel around the world. Then they blog about their vacations. At first it just made me feel boring, ugly and jealous but after a little pondering I recognized the life of a triplet sister is bound to be much different than my own and when the lives of three different people are compiled into one blog it seems three times as adventurous. 

And THEN what happened?!

I also recognize that these girls are at different places in their lives because, while they're all married they don't have kids, they're still in school, etc...There is a season for everything and right now my season is having fun with my kids and being a mama. And I'm in LOVE with that. However I have caught myself getting just a little too lost in that role. I know it's my best and most important role but I've forgotten what my talents are, what I like, and how to be trendy and confident. I haven't shopped for clothes in forever. After leaving the kids with Brad to grocery shop and run every other errand I don't feel like going out AGAIN to shop for clothes. Anyway I've been trying lately to find my identity again (cliche, I know. Haven't you heard this from every mom at some point?). I'm trying to organize my home, I've found lots of crafts I want to learn and I discovered I DO still like shopping for clothes because it makes me feel good about myself to have at least few new things that I love and feel comfortable in. No matter how low-maintenance a girl is (and I am obviously not a high-maintenance girl) sometimes buying a new shirt or hot pair of heels just makes me feel like a million bucks.

 

Someone else felt like primping up and got into my mascara! I was surprised how good of a job she did!

 Tried a new hair color:

 Before

After + Brad

  I learned how to make a wreath with felt flowers! It's super easy and I'm excited to make more for the seasons/holidays:

Fell asleep on our walk

Destroying her very first ant hill

 

Love sack with Donny

Kallie Words:

Dunight  (Good night)

Ow done (all done)

Jay-ya kiss

Hefy fawer (Heavenly Father)

Dake you (thank you)

Coo me (excuse me)

Gasees (glasses)

Owsigh (Outside)

Pees (Please)

 Cwime (climb)

Zeebo! (gazebo)

I wanna hold you!

Ok Mommy, I comin!

Yes. I do!

The other day I asked Kallie to put her empty sippy cup on the table and as she turned to go I playfully patted her bum. She turned around with furrowed eyebrows and said, "Hey! No fighting!"