Spring is on the Horizon!

It's a beautiful February day in Sacramento and we're currently taking full advantage of it. The last two months have been nothing but a succession of heavy rainstorms equating to cooped up kiddos and an antsy mama praying for a sun break. Today the sun is shining, the weather is pleasantly warm, and there's nothing but blue sky for miles around. June's busy stomping through our muddy backyard in her galoshes, picking up giant leaves and throwing them at Jo. Jo is watching her sister's every move, no doubt wishing she were able to tromp alongside her, but content to sit in her exer-saucer, bouncing and laughing at June's silly antics.

The past two weeks have been difficult. My chest has been tight with anxiety during every waking moment and nothing has seemed to alleviate that. My insomnia has kicked in full gear and I'm averaging 2-4 hours of sleep every night which makes for a tired, stick-in-the-mud mama the following day and only continues to trigger this cycle of anxiety.

But today the air is fresh. My girls are happy. And for the first time in a long time, the tightness in my chest has started to relax. My breathing is a little more slow, my mind has stopped racing, and I'm feeling so much contented peace watching my girls' faces light up from the uncomplicated joy found in sunshine and leaves.

I'm grateful for days like these.

If You Give a June a Birthday

Our darling girl is two years old. 

Her favorite books are the "If You Give..." series by Laura Numeroff, so I made the day themed around each book, beginning with breakfast.

Our early bird helped with the birthday decor before June woke up.

 

June was pleased with our efforts.

 

She dug right in.

Next, we had a little morning play date with all her friends. I forgot to snap pics, but we ended the party with some homemade cookies and milk.

She opened a few presents from friends before dinner. 

I think it's safe to say she was excited about her gifts.

And ran around the house non-stop with her "bird-day ba-oooons!"

We had a spaghetti dinner with meatballs - her very favorite.

Which only left cake and presents! 

Our good friends joined us for cupcakes and their little girls and June played with June's new kitchen, baby doll crib, and toy vacuum. She was a happy camper.

Continuing the theme with "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" 

Vacuuming while eating a hamburger. Girl after my own heart.

(I debated whether or not to include the following picture, but I just couldn't help myself. June had a cold on her birthday and lost her appetite. She didn't eat much of anything that day, but she most definitely did not pass up cupcakes. She inhaled her cupcake with mile-high frosting after eating hardly anything that day. The aftermath of this can be summed up in the following picture. 

It was a fun day of friends, food, presents, balloons, aaaaaand sugar. Bedtime rolled around and June was bouncing off the walls...she was c.r.a.z.y. Tim and I were in tears from laughing so much while watching her run around. She reminded us a bit of Chris Farley...

Happy birthday, bug. Can't wait to spend another year with you.

Jo - 6 Months

Jo is almost 7 months old. I forget what life was like before this little bug came along.  She's our playful, sweet, rambunctious baby girl and life is so much fun with her around. I love watching her personality develop as she continues to grow, but sometimes I want so much for time to stand still. She's growing too fast for this mama and I can't get enough of her 6-month-old, suction cup slobbers on the chin, baby kisses or her sleepy cuddles before she goes to bed--things I know she'll soon outgrow.

Tim and I sat down tonight and made a list of all our favorite Jo-isms. Here are a few:

- Jo is an avid thumb sucker. She pops that bad boy in her mouth on all occasions. Tired? Hungry? Excited? Sleepy? Teething? Her thumb is always there for her.

- The Jo smile. She scrunches her entire face - nose wrinkled, eyes squinted, and she breaths fast through her nose as she flashes a gummy (and as of yesterday, one tooth) smile. It's maybe the cutest thing in my life.

- She never holds still. If I'm holding her, she's grabbing my face while trying to somersault in my arms, or climbing onto my shoulders and trying to jump overboard. The girl is very very active. She often wakes up from naps, tufts of hair sticking out all over her head because she was rolling around in her sleep, however, the picture below is post-church hair. I'm not sure what happened.

- She loves tickles from her daddy and playing with daddy's beard. When mommy walks in the room she starts laughing and scooting her way to mommy's arms (melts my heart every time).

- When we go for walks, she's super chill: she sits in her stroller with one leg kicked up, resting on the front tray, pops her thumb in her mouth, and is good to go for the next hour while we walk and she checks out the world around her. She's very content to be outside.

- She's healthy and happy with a crazy appetite. She started solids a few weeks ago and loves her meal times. When she wants more food or we're not feeding her fast enough, she lets us know by slapping her fist down on her tray. She can be a tad bit demanding.

- She has stayed a steady 50% for height and weight and a whopping 90% head circumference (I feel now is a good time to remind you that I pushed that sizable noggin out without any drugs. Ahem.)

- She has the cutest little ears that stick out just a bit, the most beautiful blue eyes, and a head full of light brown hair.

- She's easy to make laugh, but especially laughs at anybody who takes a tumble of any kind (America's Funniest Home Videos fan in the making).

- She started scooting last week and within a few days began rocking on all fours, and she's just about got the crawling thing down. Consequently, she's always busy exploring and getting into everything!

June's obviously in shock.

- And June's learning what it truly means to have a little sister:

- Jo wakes up to nurse each morning around 6, a few hours before June wakes up. One of my favorite moments of the day is when Jo and I walk into June's room to get her up for the day. Jo starts jumping in my arms and gets SO excited to see her big sister. And June always smiles and responds with, "hi Joooo!" June is a very good big sister to Jo, and Jo is inevitably smiling if June is with her in the same room.

We sure love our Jo bug.

June's "Bae dol"

Since Jo came along, June has been particularly attentive to her baby doll that she got for her first birthday from "Mam-ma" Miller. Every day, her "Bae dol" is carried from room to room throughout our little home. In the playroom, she's often placed in the exer-saucer and given a few rice puffs. In the family room, June settles in on the couch, lifts her shirt and presses baby doll's face against her belly for some lunch. I often go to put Jo down for a nap and find June standing at Jo's door and peaking in on her baby. When June notices me, she usually puts her finger to her mouth and whisper-shouts, "Bae-dol sleeping! Shhhhhhhh!" After convincing her that Jo needs to use her room for a nap, I go in to find the noise maker cranked to the high heavens, and baby doll laying in Jo's crib.

Almost everyday we go for a walk, Jo in her stroller, and June walking alongside me with baby doll in her little pink toy stroller. When looking for baby doll, June often finds her in a toy bin, rushes to her, cradles her and asks in a concerned voice, "Bae-dol bonk head?" And in the last week, our little Jo has started scoot-crawling everywhere. Yesterday, June came in the room with baby doll in tow, placed her tummy down on the floor, backed up, and with eyes wide and a big smile, started clapping her hands saying, "Bae-dol crawling!!!!" "Good job, Bae-dol!" "Yay Bae-dol!!"

Jo recently started solid foods, so naturally, so did "Bae-dol"