Pumpkin Carving fun!

Molly Caroline loves to get messy, so carving a pumpkin was a lot of fun! She wanted a Minnie pumpkin, so we tried! :) 

Halloween and Thanksgiving!

I don't think I ever posted about these two holidays! Better late than never!

Halloween was so much fun! My parents, my brother and SIL, and Matt's dad and Ellen all came to trick or treat with us! That was a treat in itself. We made chili and hot dogs and had fun walking around the neighborhood. Our tradition is to pull MC and her buddy Gary around in the wagon. I guess next year we will have two sweet girls in the wagon though. 

We have such a great neighborhood and know so many neighbors that it makes it lots of fun! Even if I was very, very pregnant this year.

Thanksgiving is a blur. Not gonna lie. The night before was our first night home from the hospital and it was the worst night ever. Def the hardest yet. AC was hungry, MC was sick, we had a house full of family that we didn't want to wake, but ended up needing too. My hormones were crazy. I was freezing and got a headache from the wet tap. It was just awful. So we were very tired on Thansgiving. However there were some highlights!

MC's face lighting up when she saw that her and AC matched! It was the sweetest moment. She was one proud big sis. 

My mom and SIL also cooked a wonderful meal! 

And of course we got to snuggle a brand new healthy baby girl! 

2 1/2 favorites

Molly Caroline loves to color, play with play doh, get messy, read books, and dress up! These are a few other "coys" that she loves. Some I've listed before...she just keeps loving them.

Her house! She loves this little cottage! I want to add a little table and chair in it in the spring.

Her pink swing. Looks like Anna Claire will need her own. 

She loves to drive on her golf cart. She's not the greatest at steering though.

She sits and climbs in "her chair" every day. Probably the best purchase we ever made.

I'd say the toy that she has played with the most consistently. For a while she never left the house without wearing her stethoscope.

2 1/2

Our little 2 1/2 year old Molly Caroline is just too precious these days! 

She has done so well into the transition of being a big sister! She hugs and kisses and makes sure baby sister has everything she needs at all times! She loves to have everything the same as Anna Claire. Paci, car seat, blanket. But not in a babyish way. In the sweetest, best friend way!

She tells us that "I'm proud of you" often! I guess we tell her that a lot.

She says "I love you much"

She loves watching movies piled up in our bed!

She loves dresses and tells Matt that she loves them because "Mama bought it for me!" Im sure that will change soon! She can already be opinionated about her shoes and long bubbles (my favorite).

She jumps, gallops, and runs everywhere! 

She is so smart! She can count to 20, knows all of her shapes and colors too. She is recognizing several letters and numerals. I need to work with her on that. She is inquisitive and observant! 

She asks us "what are you doing?" Over and over!

She loves to be included in everything. If you tell her that baby sister is getting a shot, she will ask, me too? Or I am too?

She loves to sing and can recognize songs when Matt whistles the tune. They play name that tune all the time. She loves to sing any Christy Nockels song and any Taylor Swift song. She also loves jingle bells, the ABCs, and "twinkle." She said that Welcome to New York is "her song" recently. Haha

She loves to read books. Madeline is her current fave! She recites a Halloween book that kind of sounds like Brown Bear all the time.

She says she's having a Mickey party for her birthday with a Donald cake. And Minnie and Mickey shoes. We'll see if she changes her mind in the next five months!

She says things are great and beautiful and so fun!

She refers to night as dark or nighttime and day as pretty out. She opens all of our lower shutters in the morning.

She could live outside! She requests to be pushed on her swing and to play in her house daily. 

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus, Santa Claus, ornaments, nutcrackers, Christmas trees, lights and "breads" gingerbread men are a few of her favorite things to talk about right now. She likes the movie Santa Paws! "Look at the lights" in an excited voice came from our back seat often this Christmas season.

She loves shoes and jewelry and her hair bows!

She is so independent. Yet wants to be held all the time. "I want to hold you, mama!"

She loves to wash her hands and wash everything in the sink. 

She hates to get her teeth brushed and her hair washed.

She loves to take baths, "take a bath with you, mama?"

She loves to have her nails painted. And to paint ours.

She eats well most of the time. Her favorite foods are pizza, eggs, grilled chicken, cheese, beans, fruit, fries, yogurt, cereal, and donuts. She loves milk (which we will forever call mook), water, juice, and "drink" which is whatever coke product we are drinking. 

She loves pointing things out around town, like her school, our church, CFA. It's pretty cute!

She asks to play with our next door neighbor, Gary, often. As well as Karlynn. It's precious.

She grabs my face and says you're pretty, mama!

She asks about her cousins, grandparents, aunts, and their dogs daily. I so wish we all lived in the same town. Makes me sad.

She sleeps in her crib still and when she wakes up from the night or nap she kind of sings through the monitor, "Oh mama, come get me. I need you. It's pretty outside. Oh mama, I missed you, I love you much! And I love daddy and boo and baby sister!" I mean, it's the cutest thing!

She says I missed you whenever we've been apart, even for a few minutes! She also tells us to be careful!

She loves to dress up like Princess Sophia, Doc McStuffins, and Sherriff Callie. She's also obsessed with Minnie, Mickey, Daisy, Tinkerbell, and Cinderella. 

Blakely is her sidekick. She loves her so much and sits with her, hugs her neck, climbs on her, feeds her, and chases her. Blakely puts up with so much, but really loves it and doesn't even try to get away.

Oh and she has tantrums every now and then. We tell her that her twos are showing. She does not like being got onto. And spankings pretty much ruin her life. For the most part if you give her some space she's gets herself together and will come apologize.

She is hard to take out to dinner sometimes because she wants to get down! And she's loud! And wild! She does pretty well with shopping these days though. She doesn't want to be left out of anything and will say she wants to stay home, but when you tell her you're leaving she chases after you saying, "I'm coming!"

She requests to hold my hand all time. Watching tv, riding in the car...it's the sweetest, most heart melting thing. 

She loves to sing the blessing.

She loves to play with her "coys" toys.

She also loves to be "checked" (like a dr checkup) all the time.

This is just the best age. She is so loving and kind most of the time. She is learning so many things and her vocabulary just blossoms daily. She is both a mama and a daddy's girl. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of things about our sweet Molly Caroline, but I wanted to document some highlights for us to remember.

1 month favorites!

I looked back and many of these favorites were also my go to essentials when MC was a newborn. I have found a few new must haves though!

Pima Cotton! Kissy Kissy brand is my favorite! It is so soft and these gowns stay in place and are easy for lots and lots of diaper changes! I also love zippered footed pjs! 

I am a basket case when it comes to sleeping at night. This has eased my mind a good bit. If I can't hire a night nurse, this is the next best thing. We've only had one false alarm in a month when it was caught on her onesie that was too big. Owelet Care is another option, but Matt wouldn't go for the price!

We believe in swaddling at night! Matt is an expert swaddler with these blankets. We also love these blankets for everything else too! We have a ton! Molly Caroline sleeps with one every night and she's 21/2! You better believe MC knows which ones are hers and which patterns baby sis has. :)

My Brest friend pillow. I just got this for a steal on zulily and I am so glad! My LC encouraged using one for nursing with Molly Caroline, but I already had my boppy. Turns out I just don't like the boppy for nursing. Several other friends swear by this pillow too. I'm now an advocate! It's amazing!

Both of my girls love this! Molly Caroline slept in it for 4 months, until we transitioned to her crib. Anna Claire sleeps in it so well! It's light and easy for travel! I love the incline!

They are just our favorite! We have had only one or two light blowouts using these....with both girls!

I really like the boppy lounger. It's new this go around for us. It's just easy to throw wherever we are for AC to have awake time on. The handle makes it easy to carry! It's kind of like the nap nanny, which we also have.

I guess my girls just like Nuks. I am all for a paci. Both girls kept these in really well at an early age. 

We love this blanket for swaddling! Especially since AC tries to get her hands out of a regular blanket swaddle and she's good at it! She can't get them out of this blanket!

I love the shape and size of these! Anna Claire spits up a lot, so we lay these under her head when she is swinging or on her activity mat. 

We use white noise at night and for naps for both girls!

I borrowed a Mamaroo from a friend and AC definitely likes it! I feel like it's perfect for a little newborn! I love how easy it is to move around! She loves the swing too, but it's huge and not easily portable!

A good pump is a must! 

I tried a Tommee Tippee bottle first, but the flow was too fast! Dr. Browns for the win again! MC took this kind of bottle, so we have plenty! 

Anna Claire is 1 month old!

AC turned 1 month old on December 23!

She is the sweetest baby! So content. A lot like MC was.

She weighs 8.7! We will know more stats at her 1 month appointment next week.

She is on a pretty good schedule! We do a flexible Moms on Call routine. 

She is a good eater! I call her my little hungry hippo! She mostly nurses, but already does fine with a Dr. Browns bottle too. Thanks wet tap.

She sleeps well! She gives us a 6 hour stretch at night from 9-3 and then usually wakes up between 6-7, so we get a 4 hour stretch. 

She loves to be snuggled, held, and rocked.

She's been alert since birth. The first night after she was born she stayed awake almost the whole night. Not fussing, just wide eyed. I kept saying, aren't newborns supposed to sleep? 

She loves to be swaddled! Matt's an expert with Aden and Anais, but we also use the miracle blanket some.

She can lift her head so high! She doesn't like tummy time yet. 

She started cooing at 3 weeks exactly! Such a sweet sound!

She has some lungs! If she's ever hungry, you will know it immediately! She's loud!

She likes a paci sometimes! They gave us a Nuk in the hospital and just like big sis, she keeps it in the best! She really wants to suck her thumb. 

She is a good car rider, but doesn't like getting buckled in her seat!

She is wiggly and makes loud baby noises! 

She gets lots of hugs, kisses, and squishes from Molly Caroline! And licks from Blakely! 

She celebrated her first holiday, Thanksgiving, at just 3 days new! :) 

She sat on Santa's lap twice!

She loves looking at Christmas lights and I think Christmas music will be her favorite!

Anna Claire or baby sister as MC calls you often (we do too and we hope it sticks), we love you so much! Nothing brings me greater joy than my two girls! I love your eyes and how they look all around and peek at people sometimes. I think you're going to be calm, prissy, and  have a great sense of humor! Maybe even shy! Unlike your sister! Yes, your eyes tell me all of that! Haha 

You are our holiday baby! Our nutcracker girl! And pine cones remind us of your birth. You're so precious to us! We are so thankful for you and love how it feels like you've always been with us. 

Maternity Leave

I never got a true maternity leave with Molly Caroline (It was summertime and all teachers get summer break) so I am definitely making the most of my leave this time! And it's during the best time of the year! It's a cozy, beautiful, magical time of year to get to snuggle with a precious baby! And I've gotten to slow down and enjoy the little things during this season that are sometimes hard to cherish or fit in with all the hustle and bustle. I've had Molly Caroline home with us about half the time. And January will look different because we will have more of a set routine.

For now my days are spent snuggling Anna Claire right by our Christmas tree!

Her feeding times just happen to usually match up with some of my favorite shows. I'm definitely up to date on lots of hot topics. The Meredith Viera show might be my favorite. I remember watching her on the View when I was in high school.

I've probably taken two naps since AC has been born. It's just not easy for me to do. I've been cleaning and organizing. Matt gets so frustrated with me! Maybe I'll nap in January!

I've been trying to build up my freezer stash of milk for when I go back to work. It's not easy! 

I've also been reviewing my favorite, Moms on Call. 

It's crazy that 4 weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye!