Two months...

One little girl is already 2 months old...(a few days ago anyway!)

I totally gave up on Chris and I getting around to taking her 2 month pictures together, so with the "big boy" camera in hand and with big brother at MDO, Ileigh and I put together our own little photo shoot today.

Meet our little Ileigh...

She is a fantastic sleeper.

Gives us lots of happy smiles... 

Is totally awed by her big brother... 

And is pretty stinkn' sweet... 

Happy two month birthday, Sweet Pea!

You are a champ at holding your head up and have rolled over once! Hooray for you!

(*I forgot to add that I totally missed this milestone by the way...so much for catching all of those stay-at-home moments! Ha! She was on her tummy on our bed and I had run out of the room to text Chris that she weighed 10lbs. When I came back she had rolled over on her back...little stinker!)

You weighed 10.3lbs at your 2 month check-up.

Your favorite thing at the moment is the ceiling fan in your room.

Mommy also made her a little felt flower headband for the special occasion!

The mirror...

A few weeks ago I went out of town for two nights with the kiddos- I learned just how much I depend on Chris to keep me sane! Mostly it was fine, but I was ready to be home to have some help during the night with the 2 year old and (almost) 2 month old.

When I got home there were blue sticky notes telling Eli, Ileigh and I how much we were missed.

This was the one that he left on my side of our bathroom mirror.

I loved how my husband knew exactly what I needed that day... and every other day.

It is still there.

Some days I wish I could see myself the way my husband sees me.

Most days I don't get the shower I want; my hair isn't curled. I constantly feel like I have some sort of baby spit-up somewhere on my clothes.

Some days I need to see myself the way he sees me. Glad he is here to remind me.



Glad I didn't know...

I was not at all concerned when an exhausted Eli and Daddy walked inside the house from a rowdy wrestling match outside Sunday night. That is, until I saw the "nice" camera in daddy's hand.

Silly me. I just figured that wrestling, two year-olds, and fancy cameras didn't really mix well.

I am glad I didn't know, or I might have stopped Chris from getting a few of my new favorite pictures of Eli.

Eli is just getting too big. He is just pulling things out of that little brain of his left and right. Honestly, not a day goes by where I am not amazed of something he did or said. His imagination is incredible and his memory undeniable; he always keeps me in check!

One, big, happy family...

Yes one, big, happy family are we...

(Sena! Do you remember that song from music class in elementary school?)

Man, these kids love their daddy...

Their daddy is a tad fond of them as well...

Sometimes I can't believe I have two kiddos.

Let alone two amazingly cute little kiddos plus an awesome husband.

:) I know I totally don't deserve this...God sure does bless beyond measure.



Tagged!

The momma of our favorite family to photograph, Amanda, tagged me with this survey. (Seriously, they are our favorite little family to take pictures of- so happy, fun and just flat out beautiful)


1. Four places I go
-Walmart
-Church
-Kindermusik class
-Photo shoots

2. Four favorite smells
-Rain
-Pampers diapers
-Red River, NM
-hubby's cologne

3. Four favorite movies/tv shows
(We stopped watching TV almost a year ago, but when we did these were my favorite shows)
-Grey's Anatomy
-Private Practice
-WipeOut
-Brothers and Sisters

4. Four recommendations
-Get on Pandora and listen to Missy Higgins
-Try out a new recipe every month
-Never settle on the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with
-Read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

I tag Amanda, Alison, Sena and Monica.

Regarding the purging...

I know everyone is just dying to know how my "bag a day" is going...

Honestly, it is easier than I was anticipating being that a) I have a ton of junk b) I don't love to clean and c) I have a newborn and a two year old to help me... all day long.

The first obstacle that I decided to tackle was my purse. It was bad, and I knew it.
What are in those huge purses you see women carrying around?

Well in mine I found Eli's sunglasses, infant gas medicine, 3 hair ties, 3 diapers (clean), baby announcements, 2 pairs of socks and too many pens to count...along with everything else shown below.

Oh, there is my little helper! Gosh, he is cute.

That night I broke a thermometer in our bathroom. Maybe I wasn't paying attention in my 8th grade science class, but I really didn't know that breaking a mercury thermometer was that big of a deal. Chris wasn't feeling well and had already taken all kinds of allergy medicine and was practically comatose when all of this happened. I just happen to mention that I was cleaning up everything when he told me to make sure not to touch it.

Ooops. I didn't know.

I finished cleaning everything and got to thinking about what he said. Then I searched on-line. Shouldn't have done that. I was almost in a panic when I woke Chris up at midnight with all of the horrible things that I had done by breaking that thermometer.

I called my mom- moms are suppose to know everything, right?

Here was our conversation:
Me: Mom, I broke a thermometer and there is mercury everywhere!
Mom: AND???
Me: What do you mean AND? Mercury evaporates at room tempature and is toxic. It is linked to autism in newborns. I breathed in the fumes....what if it gets to Ileigh through breast milk?.....

On and on I went spilling out my new found knowledge via the internet. It didn't make me feel any better when right before we hung up my mom said happily, "Don't worry; when I was in school they would hand mercury to us to play with, it was fun". (It was fun to play with by the way)

Then I called poison control and apparently visited with a lady who was more concerned about getting my zip code than my pending emergency. By this time I was just flat out mad and it was around 1 in the morning.

Needless to say, we are all still here, alive. I am still afraid to vacuum the house though because it is said to vaporize mercury.

Anyway, the next morning I dropped Eli off at MDO and I cleaned our bathroom for 4 straight hours. I was on my hand and knees looking for those little balls of mercury boogers...

I don't think that I will ever buy a mercury thermometer again. Ever.

I also took the opportunity to clean out everything that we don't use and more efficiant use of our cabinet space.

Since that time I have been working on my drawers and closet. I filled so many bags on Sunday that I got to take Monday off! Woot!

Oh, I love my shoe rack...:)

There is carpet in my closet!

So, there you have it, friends! I am really proud of the cleaning that has happened thus far; so is the husband. I might not vacuum again for a year though...still worried about the mercury just a tad.



Lent

Happy Fat Tuesday! I celebrated by doing what everyone should do on Fat Tuesday- eating chocolate cake for lunch! Hooray!

I have decided that I am giving up “junk food” and cokes again this year. It is really part of my healthier eating goal for my (which started at the beginning of this month) New Year. If I can throw Jesus in there with it, it will give me the guilt extra shove I need to get it done! (I am just being funny, people)

Actually, I am doing a 40 day purge- a bag a day for 40 days. I am making a list of areas in my home that need to be “purged” and filling a trash bag a day with things to toss, sell or donate.
I think we accumulate a lot of things we really don’t need, so this is my way of getting rid of the “junk” around me that weighs me down. My husband is loving this idea- he would :).

Here is my list:
Purse
Car
Chris’ Car
Freezer
Fridge
Eli’s toys
Eli’s closet
Ileigh’s closet
Kid’s bath
Our bath
Our desk
My dresser
My closet
Coat closet
Kitchen drawers
Kitchen cabinets
Craft stuff
Pantry
Laundry room cabinets
Linen cabinets

So, about 20 areas to cover...I am certain I can find 40 bags worth of stuff to get rid of! (Added bonus- we will have a garage sale afterward and do something fun!) Has everyone else decided what they are doing?

Big Boy Eli...

I cannot believe how big Eli is getting. It is so fun to listen to him talk and to try to figure out where he comes up with things.

A few nights ago we were eating with my parents and I grabbed a roll out of the basket at the middle of the table. Eli said, "I need that! I need bread!" ("I need that" is his new favorite thing to say...we need to work on the difference between need and want. :) But, don't we all need to work on that a little?)

Of course, I passed a roll to him to which he sang "Hot Cross Buns" in its entirety to the restaurant. Awww, it was sweet. Then he pointed to a rather large man and yelled out "Santa Claus! Ho-Ho-Ho Merry Christmas!" I almost fell out of my chair.

Here are a few random pictures of our day...

After cooking with every baking item I would let him touch  that he could find, he decided to take the baking sheets on a tractor ride.

Totally intentional too...he didn't just want them in the trailer, he came and told me that he wanted to take them on a tractor ride. I am sure that is the most fun those baking sheets have had in a while...

Don't judge- yes, we are still in our pj's.

(Also, how in the world do they learn so young to fake smile?!?)

He is also starting this phase where he really doesn't like clothes all that much. I don't care really, but it is still really cold! Crazy kid.

Ileigh had something really important to tell him...

Well, I caved. I thought I could do it, but for the betterment of everyone Eli will be going to Mother's Day Out every Thursday. I know it will be so good for him and I am really excited for him to have this opportunity. I think it was just hard for me to think about giving up that money. Born from the need of my husband for ironed shirts and photo editing time with us starting up taking pictures again, we decided to go ahead and send him to school.

Here he is last week on his first day of school.

He wasn't interested in pictures,

but he did take a minute to show me the cool robot on his backpack (thanks, Aunt Jacey!).

The teachers said that he did really well, except for nap time, which was surprising to me because he is such a good napper here at home. I hope for their sakes he will be fine in a few weeks. Thankfully, one of his teachers is a friend, so I know she will give me the scoop! :)

Oh, and I am really trying to do better about taking pictures of the little one. I noticed today that she is pretty much too long for all of her newborn sleepers. How is that possible? It seems like she has only wore them a few times...this is already going by too fast.

Big yawns...

I know she is thinking, "Yes, mommy, I know I am cute. Cheese!"