Snagged this little Oilily dress on eBay last year. It is by far, one of my very favorites!!

Saturday afternoon our good friends the Rylander’s came over for a visit. Charlie has started calling Olivia “Ya-Ya”, which we think is too cute for words.

Speaking of words, Charlie has been full of them lately. She’s been putting together sentences (“Mommy, what you doing?” and “Mommy, what happened…Mommy?” are just two of the many) and is increasingly verbal. Which, as you all know, is a wonderful thing but also a not-so-wonderful thing, especially when she repeats herself about 15 million times.

Yesterday’s appointment with the lactation consultant couldn’t have gone better. She was wonderful, and it was great having someone to “advocate” for me (as Vann would say). I’m so pleased to report that Ella is a whopping 8 pounds!!
Turns out I’m actually doing something right. And that feels pretty darn good. If I don’t get anything else done today, at least I know I accomplished SOMETHING… (Thanks, Ms. Jill, for the darling outfit!!)

My sweet niece Dali started a tradition last year of buying a birthday cake for Jesus. We decided to observe that tradition again this year…

So, it goes without saying that Santa was VERY good to me this year.

I got a brand new bag and the eggplant Uggs I’ve been wanting. Santa said that he appreciates me and all that I do for our family. He also gave me a kiss. I hope that Mrs. Claus doesn’t find out.

Christmas morning was crazy! I’m not gonna lie, there was a TON under the tree for Charlie to open. I thought I scaled it down this year (which I did), but it still felt like a lot. Maybe it’s just her age…she got overwhelmed about halfway through her stocking, and that wasn’t even the beginning. We ended up “misplacing” some of the gifts that we had bought her, and I’m glad we did because the gifts from family stood out, as they should.

The biggest hits were a life-sized penguin (from Santa), a Little People “Racin’ Ramps Garage” (from Auntie Janet), and her very own Camelbak water bottle (because she’s always stealing mine).Vann and I had all these grand plans for our first solo Christmas morning, but alas, not many of them panned out. By the time we even got to stockings/presents it was 11 am and past breakfastime. Vann kept his part of the deal and whipped up a delicious savory eggs benedict, but I’m afraid my monkey bread recipe is still sitting out on the kitchen counter, as we speak. I just couldn’t tackle it that day.It was very strange being “alone” on Christmas. I am used to “doing Christmas big”…I still get a Santa and I’m 31! This year, as I’ve said before, we were and are in survival mode, and it sort of felt rushed and unorganized (NOT for any lack of planning/effort on my sweet hubby’s part). I know that Vann and I will look back on this messy Christmas and laugh at all of the chaos and piled-up laundry. But, who can argue the magnitude of God’s blessings on our family. I know that when I look at my two beautiful girls, and I am eternally grateful!!

You might wonder how I’m finding the time to blog these days. When we started this blog, it was originally intended to be a way for the grandparents to see pictures of Charlie. Over the past 2 1/2 years, it’s become my little corner of the world.

Those who know me know that I majored in Theatre in college and had dreams of moving to New York (or any other major city) to pursue my career. I even made it into the final round of auditions for a prestigious conservatory in Denver…I wanted to get my Masters there. When I didn’t make it into the school of my dreams, I moved to Chicago with 6 suitcases, no job, and some cash from graduation. I showed up on my friend Courtney’s doorstep intending to crash for a bit and stayed for 10 months until we found a 2 bedroom apartment. Ten years later, I’m still in Chicago, married and the mother of two little girls. Life certainly surprises you, doesn’t it??!!

Back to blogging – I’ve always been a writer (a hack of sorts), journaling like a madwoman and writing epic emails to my friends in the middle of the night…I’m infamous for those, actually. So, even though I have no idea how to turn this unrealized dream of writing into an actual career, I have turned my little corner of the world into my “journal.” And lucky you, it’s all out there for you to read. That being said, blogging is so essential to my daily routine now, that I miss it terribly when I can’t make it happen. This is why you so often see 5 or 6 posts at once because when I do finally get a chance to sit down, I want to make it worthwhile.
Before I get into all of the fun Christmas pics and stories, we wanted to share a recent shot of Ella. Her big sister truly is the star of the show, and gets most of the stagetime, but little E deserves her time in the spotlight as well.I am happy to report that Ella went from 11 pm to 4:30 am this morning, not quite “sleeping through the night” but awfully close. If I were to sum up our lives in one or two words right now, they would be:Troubleshooting – we’ve discovered that Ella is a fussier baby than Charlie was. It’s so hard to compare the two because C was formula fed and E is breastfed, but Charlie was SUCH an easy baby that she spoiled us until she hit 18 months and became the curmudgeon that she is today. Maybe Ella will be a fussy newborn and an angel toddler. Who knows. What we do know is that she grumbles a lot and has a “witching hour” fussy time starting at 6 pm that lasts for most of the evening. How do you get a baby to drop a feeding when she won’t even GO TO SLEEP for any feeding in the evening?? If you know that secret, I may just kiss you.Survival – I am constantly encouraged by the amazing moms-of-two that I know. Future moms-of-two, take heart, I’ve heard it does in fact get easier…but right now we are in what we call “survival mode.” We decided that if the dishes are done and the laundry is fairly caught up, we are doing a pretty good job. That’s about all I can ask of myself right now. I can’t believe how fast the days go…it’s like we are on a constant loop of diapers, feedings, bathtime, and Curious George (God love him). It would make sense then, that I’ve had a bit of the blues this holiday season. How, you might ask, can I be sad when I have this brand new bundle of joy in my home?? Probably the weather, most likely being far from family this Christmas, and definitely being sleep-deprived…these are all contributors. Today I have a lactation consultant coming to the house. I’ve put it off (I’m a “lingerer” – meaning I’ve tried to muscle through any issues we’ve had) and am finally accepting the fact that I need help to determine what’s wrong and why it’s not second nature at this point. We’ve had some challenges that aren’t going away, and I don’t want to quit breastfeeding so I’m nipping this in the bud (no pun intended, honestly). I’ve heard it’s the best $200 you’ll ever spend. Hopefully, the next time I blog I will be singing a different tune. Until then, here’s my little grumbler. What a face!!