A little of brother, a little of sister

I think I see a few similarities... 

do you?

A little of brother...

Noah

Molly

A little of sister...

Emily

Molly

A Future in Fashion?

I think Emily Kate may have a future in the fashion industry!


Two of her favorite past times are:
1)  looking through clothing catalogs, and 
2) dressing herself "up"!


The other night, as Emily looked through one of the bazillion kids clothing catalogs I get in the mail (how do those people get my name?!?!), she started pointing to items in the catalog saying...


"Mommy!  Emmie likes that!  Have it!"


She did this over and over and over and over...


What, you may be wondering, were the items that caught the eye of a (barely) two year old...


Swimsuits, Hats and Shoes, of course!


She seems to have an affinity for these items and is on the verge of setting some new trends in the 2 year old fashion industry.

Here are a few of her trendsetting looks...

And I promise...  she did 100% of these on her own!  I just laughed and took the picture!

Note the affinity for swimsuits, swim shirts, hats, and shoes!

I don't know about you, but I think she is definitely on to something with her trendsetting style!

The Amnesia Hormone

As I was going through a difficult (and scary!) labor with Miss Molly, I commented to the nurse that I didn't remember having those horrific shakes with either of my previous labors.  Vance quickly (attempted to) comfort me by assuring me that I did, indeed, have just as many out-of-control shaking episodes in the past.  To which I, of course, objected again insisting that it didn't happen!

The sweet nurse stepped into our disagreement discussion and sweetly said...

"Honey, that's why God gives us women a special hormone that gives us amnesia about all things related to our pregnancies and giving birth.  If He didn't give us that hormone, we would all only have one child!"

I had to smile and acquiesce that I probably did, in fact, have uncontrollable, maddening shakes in my previous labors... 

the amnesia hormone just aided in allowing me to forget about them!

As I have attempted to adjust to life with a newborn, a 2 year old, and a 5 year old, I've been thinking a lot about that amesia hormone.  And I've concluded that it does, without a doubt, exist!   Why else would I have seemingly forgotten about...

• the delirium that comes from sleeping only 3-4 hours at night, in broken up segments...
• the craziness that is caused by sitting up in bed in the wee hours of night, nursing my newborn while listening to my husband (and dog) snore to the rhythm of the heartbeat CD playing on repeat...
• how many feminine products are involved in "recovering" from giving birth...
• the horrific "colic cry"' and how helpless (and overwhelmed) it makes a parent feel...
• bodily fluids that come from too many places at all the wrong times...
• Too.Much.Milk...
• the hormonal roller coaster that leads to crying bouts over everything and anything...
• The frustration of having nothing.that.fits!...

So those are some of the, shall we call them... "challenging" things that the amesia hormone tackles. 

BUT...

I've also decided that the same hormone makes you forget about a few other things as well.  Things like...

• how amazingly tiny a baby's fingers and toes are...
• the way a new baby curls into a tiny ball, just as she did inside the womb...
• the way it feels when a new baby gazes right into your eyes...
• the way if feels when a new baby squeezes your finger tight...
• how cuddly and warm new babies are...
• the sweetness that exudes from a soundly sleeping newborn...
• the sweet smell of a newborn...

Those are the wonderful things that the hormone suppresses... until you get the privilege of experiencing them again!

So I suppose the amnesia hormone is good for allowing you to forget those "challenging" things, but I'm trying so very hard NOT to allow myself to forget the precious moments and amazing wonder that comes from having a little piece of a miracle cradled in my arms!

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of new life! 

And for giving us the amnesia hormone... allowing us to forget what we need to forget in order to do it all over again! 

I'm so glad I "forgot"!

A Little Bit of Sweetness

I was simply giddy over how incredibly precious (in my totally biased parental opinion, of course!) the kids looked on Easter Sunday!  They were pressed, matched, and looked simply darling dressed in their Easter best! 

Emily even received her first mani/pedi combo in anticipation of the special day...

Because the days have been a bit rough as they adjust to having a new sibling, I relish the times when they exhibit just a little bit of sweetness with eachother!

Rare though they are, when I see them happening...

It makes my heart smile!

And that's exactly what I told them!