4 Months Young...

Today is little Miss Ileigh's 4 month birthday!

Hooray for mommy doing her post on the day-of!

Yesterday was Eli's last day of MDO, so Ileigh and I decided to take a few pictures.

She even gave me a few big smiles, even with her daddy not at home! 

I can't believe how big she is getting! She is starting to look more and more like Eli to me... 

Gosh, she is just so cute! (Sigh!) 

Little Miss had her 4 month check-up two days ago.

She is right at 13lbs and 25 inches.

Her fussy time at night is so much better.

I think she is going through a growth spurt because she is constantly wanting to eat!

She loves to coo and make sure that we know she is in the room!

 

Just so you can see if you think they look alike, here is one of my favorite pictures of Eli at 4 months!

So proud...:)

I am sure this is completely normal, but when I came around the corner a few weeks ago and saw this I ran to get the camera and yell at daddy....

:) I was just floored that Eli did that...I have never seen him do anything like it.

Usually the cars are side-by-side or in a straight line.

And to be color-coded- I am just astounded!

Hooray!

We are pretty much convinced that he isn't color blind like we were thinking.

I am a bit worried that his first color to nail every time is orange though. I hope that doesn't mean that we will have a UT or OSU grad in our future...

I committed...

Or maybe I should be committed. Either way, I finally broke down and bought a sewing machine. After years of getting projects ready and then finding an excuse to use my mom's machine, I cracked into my saved birthday money and bought this little beauty.

I am excited to say the least and I just get excited thinking about everything that I want to make for the kiddos...

So, we still haven't decorated Ileigh's room. Chris' bonus this month is going towards it, so I have been thinking more about what I am going to do...

Wouldn't this be cute if it said "sweet pea"? :)

 I hope Aunt Lynz can recreate something like this for us....:)

I want my sweet little girl to be unafraid to be herself. My heart is heavy with thoughts of what she may have to go through when she gets older, so I want to make sure that she knows early that we are proud of who she is; who God designed her to be. I spent too many years trying to figure out what everyone else wanted from me...I just want her to know that no matter what, her daddy and I love her. I pray that she looks to find contentment in her faith and not from the people around her.

Anyway, I am still on the hunt for fabric and other decor, but I thought these things were very fitting for little Miss Ileigh, who by the way had her 4 month check-up today. The nurse walked in and called her a princess and I almost corrected her...a small victory for a woman who is constantly trying to bite her tongue. I just am not into the whole "princess" idea...it scares me, actually! Ha!

Eli's Conversations...

Eli is just so cool. He is walking around making up songs and letting his imagination run wild. Coolest thing ever.

Eli while driving his tractor, two inches from the wall:
"Um, I want, um, chicken nuggets and um, MILK! Um, that's all. Thanks, bye-bye". Two seconds later:
"I want, um, grilled cheese...and pickles...and um, apricots. That's all. Bye-bye."

Eli while chasing Callie:
Come 'ere Cal. Put you in my trailer...it going to be F-U-N....Ugh, you a big one (while trying to pick her up)"!

Me and Eli:
Eli: I want milk.
Me: We don't have any milk, you drank it all, sweetie.
Eli: YES WE DO HAVE MILK!
Me: Okay, you go look and see if we have milk
(Refrigerator opens...shuts...little feet running back in the living room)
Eli: We have NO MILK!
Me: I know.
Eli: Go to Walmart and get some.
Me: Well, okay, we can go to Walmart and get some in a little bit.
Eli: I can't go get it.
Me: Why not?
Eli: I don't got no monies!
Me: Thanks okay, sweetie, mommy has money and I will share.
Eli: O-KAY!

-Just as I am writing this post!

Eli running inside:
I sprayed mommy, I SPRAYED!
Me: What do you mean, you sprayed?
Eli runs outside and I follow only to discover that he figured out how to turn on the water and use the water sprayer on the hose.

Dang. Better go.

Updated:
*I turned off the water.
Eli: I want to spray!
Me: I'm sorry, Eli. We can't spray anymore.
Eli: Uh, uh, uh, that makes me s-ad...

We have TWO kiddos!

So, I counted it up and we have taken pictures of over 75 families with kiddos. Since last year...Some of those more than once. CRAZY!

You might think with our photography "know-how" (using that term very loosely) we would have all kinds of pictures of our two precious children.

We don't.

We have stopped taking snap shots...it is one of the saddest things ever.

I have no idea how I am going to make Ileigh a one-year book like Eli's...we have no pictures of her!

We had a photo shoot cancel for Saturday morning, so I made Chris promise me that we would take our own kids out for pictures in their Easter outfits. I still want family pictures, but this will do for the moment (hint, hint, HINT) :).

Let me just say that I hate everything about a photo shoot (where me or my kids are the subjects). I hate all the stress of getting ready. The wondering if my kids will be cooperative. The wind/weather. The list goes on and on. Maybe that is why we try so hard to keep our "client's" photo shoots so relaxed. I know it is a stressful process.

It was pretty awful. Eli was tired and cranky. It was cold.

It took us longer to drive downtown than to take pictures. Maybe 5 mins of photo taking and Eli was totally done.

I want to say this to encourage others to get out there and try. If you get a handful of pictures it will be worth your time. I am not going to lie; taking pictures of your own kid is hard. I think it is so much easier to do someone else's kids, but maybe in a few years it will get easier for us!

We loaded the kids back in the car and I was upset- certain we didn't get anything. Much to my surprise, we did get a handful of pictures that I will have printed. Very much to my surprise...

No, Ileigh, no matter how hard you try, your brother is still longer than you.

Ileigh is just lookin' at Eli like "Why must you be so loud?"

I have to say, they are pretty cute...

Don't you love her little headband? :)

Please take a few helpful hints from us:

1. Keep a reasonable distance between your subject and your fancy, high-dollar camera.

2. Don't use brightly colored food items as bribery to comply with commands.

It makes editing very difficult later.

3. If the big brother isn't interested in the least to hold his baby sister, lay her in his lap the quickly go start dancing to distract him from knowing she is actually there. This gives you a 3 second window.

:) I am one happy momma that I have pictures of my two kiddos together. Probably won't happen for at least another 6 months!