Why JT Will Never Be a Stay-At-Home-Dad...

There are lots of reasons why JT won't be a Stay-At-Home-Dad, but today ensured that his sanity couldn't handle it. For one of the few times in Nashville history, the city was mostly shut down. The roads were so bad, that it was recommended that no one get out on them because of the ice. Guess who wasn't closed...Publix! I will admit that my boss was kind of enough to let me work at the store closest to my house, so I didn't have to travel far. Hope obviously couldn't get to us by 9:00, so JT decided to stay home with the kids until the roads cleared and then he would go to work. The roads never really cleared, and his business ended up closing for the day, so he got an entire 13 hour day with Will, Evie, and Maggie. Oh boy! (He does keep the kids every other weekend when I work with NeeNee and Gram's help, but I had not worked any weekends in January and February, so this was a first for him.)

By 9:15 A.M., Hope and I both received this picture...

Signed by "Will, EB, and Maggie's paw print"

I checked in on them a few times throughout the day, and of course everyone was doing fine. Then around 5:00 P.M., I got this. Here is what I noticed...

1. They have changed clothes (just to more pj's).
2. Will is wearing JT's visor.
3. Evie is wearing JT's hat and looks like a rapper/gangsta.
4. Evie is wearing Will's "Planes" t-shirt. I'm surprised he didn't knock her out of that bumbo when he noticed!
5. Will is having one of his favorite snacks.

I think they had a great day together! It is tough trying to keep up with these two, especially when you are trapped in the house all day! At least I try to go somewhere with them for a little change of scenery. Speaking of scenery, there was NO snow on the ground. Ice only. Will and JT didn't get to even enjoy their "snow day" outside playing.

The next morning when Hope pulled up, JT announced very excitedly, "The angel has arrived!" He couldn't wait to go back to work to his easy job! I'm not going to lie, I feel the same way most days. There is no job harder than being a Stay-At-Home-Parent!'

Good job JT!

Stitches for Will

First official ER visit for Will ended with 4 stitches above his left eye.

Will was going through his normal bedtime routine of reading 2 books when he started running around his room in circles (normal for him). He fell and hit his forehead above his left eye on the end of his bed. I was cleaning up the playroom and heard the panic in JT's voice. Will was bleeding a lot and I was trying to get him cleaned up so I could see how deep it was. It was really hard to tell though, and Will didn't want us to touch it any more than we had too. He calmed down pretty quickly and JT tested his eye movements, so we weren't really concerned about a concussion. JT called Dr. Scott and he said he would go to the ER since it might not heal well on its own.

Evie was asleep, but we decided to take her with us. We both wanted to be with Will so we loaded up the car for a Saturday night adventure at the ER. I talked to Will the entire car ride to keep him awake and make sure he wasn't acting different. He was being funny and smart as usual.

We got there and got in right away. Will didn't like getting his temperature taken, but he did like the scale. Will (plus 2 airplane toys) weighed 35 pounds. Next we went back to a room where a few nurses took turns talking to Will and keeping him happy. Besides a bleeding head, you'd never have known there was anything wrong. They put some numbing gel on his head. We had to wait 30 minutes for it to be effective, so Will and I laid in the bed and played with the airplanes, counted numbers on the clock, and played with the bandage tape.

"Lil' Maggie" was injured too. 

Once he was numb, JT helped hold him down so they could clean it out and get a good look at it. 4 stitches were put in and covered with an Elmo band-aid. They offered him a popsicle (which he refused) and gave him a teddy bear.

Will tells everyone that he got "4 stitches", and he usually holds up the correct number of fingers. 

Later in the week, we were able to remove the stitches. Will's pediatrician said that I could do it at home (he apparently has a lot of faith my surgical ability), but Will wouldn't let me (he doesn't trust me). I loaded up Will and Evie and back to the ER we went. They remove the stitches for free, so I decided it would probably be best to leave it to the professionals. He was a complete angel for them! He just laid there and let them take them out like it was no big deal. I think really he was just impressed with the magnifying glasses that the nurse was wearing. This time when they offered him the popsicle, I gladly accepted it for myself!

He climbed right up on the bed like he knew what he was doing. 

So we have had our first trip to the ER. I highly doubt it will be the last.

"Da Works, Mom Shops"

Maternity leave is over. I had 13 wonderful weeks off, but I had to go back. My main motivation was to get Will to quit saying "Da works, Mom shops"! Will, you are hilarious! By shopping, he clearly meant grocery shopping. I can't believe my 2 year old is already trying to get me in trouble!

I noticed that JT has left after me this first week. He says it is to help, but I assume he was making sure that I didn't need to be pushed out of the house! JT has been a great help taking care of Will in the morning so I can get ready. I always hope that Evie will wake up before I leave, but that doesn't always happen. Hope has done great with managing both kiddos! JT is doing great a night with them, although I know Evie is giving him a tough time.

NeeNee and JT took care of Will and Evie together for my first Saturday and Sunday. They learned together how to get through a day with Evie - loud noise! She can be silenced with the noise of a vacuum cleaner or hum of the dryer which they finally learned.I came home to a clean house and JT was cooking dinner. He better stop showing off how great he is at this or I will make him a stay-at-home Dad!

It was nice for me to be back at work. I'm very lucky to have a job that I love! I have missed my customers. I spend a lot of my day telling them all about Evie and how Will has adjusted to big brotherhood. Talking about them and getting pictures from Hope always gets me through the day.

Evie - 3 Months

Happy 3 Months Old Evie!

Evie is starting to show a little personality, but it is coming on slowly. She smiles a lot now when we talk to her. She likes to see lights and shiny things. A few times she has focused on TV cartoons that Will is watching. She is starting to coo a little and has a little sound that sounds like a sweet "hi".

She got her first wubbanub. It is a sweet pink elephant. She likes it better than a regular pacifier, but her interest is still low. Not that I really want her to be attached too it, but it would be nice if I could use it as a calming tool every once in a while. I'm starting to give it to her at bedtime, so maybe she'll associate it with her sleep times.

She is finally wearing 0-3 month clothes. We didn't have a doctor's appointment is month, so I am not exactly sure of her weight. She is probably around 12 pounds. Her cheeks get bigger by the day! She is losing more of her hair, especially around the back where her head lays when she sleeps. She is going to have a mullet. I put the headband bows on her every once in a while for some added cuteness.

She is sleeping 10-11 hours at night. I have tried putting her to bed around 7:30-8:00 so that we can get Will to bed with her already asleep, but the times aren't always consistent yet. She is sleeping until at least 7:00 AM (if not later), so I can not complain!

She is becoming more content alone but still loves to cuddle. I can finally get her to sit in chair, swing, or propped up on boppy pillow for a little while. Sometimes she wants to be picked back up right away and other times she'll hang out for 45 minutes. She sometimes looks at the stuffed animals on play mat. She prefers to grab the elephant and have a staring contest with it.

JT and I went to Gatlidnburg and Evie had her first sleepover at Gram and Gramps house. She did great and they enjoyed getting to spend time with her.

 A few more pics from the month:

Hanging out with Will

Is picture time over yet?!?!

Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving from our littlest turkey! Will isn't still long enough to be in pictures.

This was a busy holiday for us this year! We managed to see 3 out of 4 families in 1 day. We ate a lot and traveled some.

On Wednesday we went to Gram and Gramps house because some family would be there that had not yet met Evie. We had dinner with Gram, Gramps, Mama, Poppa, Aunt Cricket, Uncle Jimmy, Brandon, Monica, Kyle, and Leslie. Aunt Cricket had Evie almost laughing. Evie loved being held by Monica and Leslie. Will decided Poppa was his new playmate and we heard Will yelling "Watch Poppa!" for about 2 hours straight.

Thursday morning we started the day early with NeeNee and Jon at our house for breakfast. NeeNee then went to Aunt Julia's, so Jon tagged along with us for the big lunch at Gram's.

Gram's house had a crowd as usual.

Evie was passed around and loved on by so many people. Her favorite was sweet Hannah. Will was extremely social! I don't think there was anyone there that avoided interaction with him. He played football, ran around outside, and showed off his counting skills. I enjoyed my time in the kitchen teaching my "sisters" how to make Mama's rolls.

Leslie, Monica, and I make a great team!

After a big lunch and yummy desserts, it was time to head to Chattanooga. Evie and Will both slept the entire ride to Pop's house. Jon met us there and we got to see the whole crew. Evie met her aunts and uncles for the first time. This was our first meeting with Savannah. Big announcement - Traci Jo and Jimmy are having a baby! Yay for another cousin! This family has grown a lot just this past year and we are so excited that it is continuing to grow.

We stayed at Pop's for the weekend. Kristen brought Tripp and Savannah over on Friday. Will and Tripp played together a little bit. They liked chasing each other. Nonna had a cute idea for the kiddos for Christmas, so we made Santa ornaments from all of their hand prints. Evie was the easiest because she was asleep and didn't have any idea what we were doing. Will took longer and lots of convincing to create 5 hand prints. We had to tell him silly things like "this is for Dixie" and "show Woof Woof how to make a hand print". We got it done though and they turned out so cute! Will spent a lot of Friday hanging out with Pops, Jon, and JT. They were out in the yard cutting bushes and trees, and Will wanted to "help". He stayed out with them for a while and had a blast!

After all of that work, Uncle Jon and Pops had some quality time with Evie.

A rare pic of Jon because he is usually the one taking the pictures.

Pops and Evie

We are so thankful for all of our family and all of our many blessings!

Sleeping Beauty

What can I say...my babies are good sleepers! They may not look like me, but they take after me when it comes to sleeping!

Evie slept through the night the day after she was 2 months old. She had seemed capable of it for a while, but her startle reflex would wake her up more than it should have. I tried the SwaddleMe wraps (looks like a straight jacket), but she would scream like she was in pain. She wanted her hands free. I put her in a sleep sack thinking that might help keep her warm, but her hands were free so she would wake up a few times. Finally I decided that we were going to use the SwaddleMe wrap again. She wasn't happy about it at first, but she slept through the night. She has been put in it at night ever since. Sleeping baby = happy household!

I play music and dance/rock her to sleep at night. Her pediatrician told me that by 4 months she should be able to fall asleep on her own. So we are going to work on putting her down drowsy but not sleeping. I am enjoying our little night time routine right now, so maybe I'll start working on this a little to closer to when I have to go back to work.

Evie - 2 months

Happy 2 Months Old Evie!

Stats:
Height - 23 inches
Weight - 11 pounds  **I bet at least 1 pound of this is in those cheeks!**

Evie has become more alert this past month, but still sleeps a lot. When she is awake, she looks around and seems to take in every detail of the world. She isn't very content alone for very long and still wants to be held all of the time. Don't get me wrong, I am loving the cuddle time, but it would be nice to be able to put her down so I can get some stuff done around the house.

She loves noise! My best ways to calm her down are to turn on my hair dryer or vacuum cleaner. I've even walked past the washing machine when it was on and she instantly fell asleep. Maggie's barking and Will's running around don't seem to phase her at all. A car ride is another way to calm her down. The car must be moving though - red lights and traffic are not on my side!

We still haven't gotten on a true schedule, but we are working on it. She gets up once or twice at night and usually is really sleepy until around noon. I take advantage of this and run errands in the morning so she sleeps through it all. She sleeps 5-6 hour stretches at night. She really is a good sleeper, but it is hard to get her in her crib at night. She usually falls asleep with me holding her or after she eats. As soon as she feels me put her down in the crib, her eyes pop wide open and we have to start the process all over again.

She is losing her hair. It is dark in the back and on sides but lighter on the top. Hope and I think we see some strawberry blonde in there.

This has been a big month for her. She went on vacation to the beach. She also got to do some fun fall activities - Lucky Ladd Farms, Fall Festival at Mother's Day Out, and Halloween.

This is my favorite picture from this month. I kept trying to get her to smile for me, but she wouldn't. Will walked up to her chair and her face just lit up. It looks like they have been having a fun conversation.

We love you so much sweet girl!