Before I Forget

Now that Sage is in her big girl bed she is able to get in and out as she pleases. She has done so well adjusting from a crib to a toddler bed. She almost always go down for nap without a fuss and usually goes to bed without any problems, but she sometimes come out of bed and says she needs to go potty, or more milk... the other day she came out and said "prayer". When I reminded her that we had already said a prayer she responded with "more prayer. pease. knees. more prayer." She is so sweet.

Twenty-six

Taylor's twenty-six birthday celebration started on Friday when his dad took us to breakfast which was delicious. Saturday the four of us went to Jason's Deli for lunch and then relaxed a bit until our good friends Jeff & Ashley took us to dinner to our favorite restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings for both our birthdays. Afterwards we had our friends Jeff & Amanda and Andrew & Julie come over to play games and have dessert. It was a lot of fun. We really have such good friends. Sunday Sage and I made Taylor cake batter pancakes while he slept in and cuddled with Harper and also fixed his favorite dinner of mashed potatoes, Ritz Cracker Chicken, carrots and Caesar Salad. We had also got him his favorite ice-cream from Cold Stone the day before and had it hid in the freezer to surprise him. After putting Sage to bed we watched the movie, "Won't Back Down". We sure do love him and are so grateful he was born and that he is ours. We sang and he blew out candles three times over the weekend and we hope all his wishes come true!

Our Girls

These two girls have our hearts! We are all adjusting and almost 6 weeks later I can finally say it is getting easier each day. We all have our moments, but do I dare and say it's fun? We are so in love with these girls. 

Easter Party

I threw a last minute little Easter party for Sage and a few of her little friends. It was really simple and all the moms helped pull it off and the kids had. I didn't get many pictures, but we played Easter Bingo which they enjoyed eating the jelly beans more than the game, decorated bags with sparkly spring flower stickers, went on a little hunt to find eggs which had lunch in them, ate and decorated cupcakes with jelly beans. They had a good time running around together and playing. Love these girls. 

Twenty-Seven

Twenty- Seven! Kinda crazy! Taylor and our girls took me out to breakfast on Saturday and Lorrie was so sweet to offer to watch them while he and I went to a movie. We saw Safe Haven, which we both really enjoyed. On Sunday grandma and papa came down from Paradise and brought dinner/cake for us. For the record I was in a really bad mood. I guess I am becoming a grump in my "old age." I kind of spoiled my own birthday by being really upset that I hadn't planned anything special for St. Patricks Day for Sage and being grumpy just because I could be. I really have so much to be grateful for and am  pretty lucky. At 27 years old I have served a mission that has shaped my life in so many ways, graduated with a 4 year college degree, married my best friend and have 2 beautiful girls! Life really is good! I was teasing Taylor and may actually believed it in the moment, but have you ever heard that your year is as good as your birthday? Well, in my own self pity I told him that my birthday was horrible and so my year would be too... As you can tell I was a little irrational! Despite my bad attitude that made my birthday so "horrible" I know it's going to be a good year!

Pee pee on the potty!

At her 2 year appointment Dr. Carter told us two things we already knew... we need to get her off the bottle, which is a work in progress and not a battle we want to tackle quite yet... but it's coming soon... and that we need to start potty training since she has shown every sign of being ready. We were going to put it off until summer, but he said the longer we wait the more stubborn she would get. We learned that the hard way with the bottle. We were told we should take her off it at a year and here we are a year later even more obsessed with it. I know she won't have it forever and we are not too worried about it, but with it would have been easier if we would have taken the advice given at her 1 year appointment. So, we decided we better heed the advice given about not waiting to potty train. We went on Saturday and picked her up some big girl panties. She chose Minnie Mouse. On Monday we wet every pair and had about a dozen accidents, by the end of the day she finally went "pee pee on the potty, pee pee on the potty"... we have a little tune that we sing that to and dance around. You could tell she was so proud of herself as she should have been. Tuesday and Wednesday we were outside a lot since it has been so nice outside and haven't wanted to take her out without a diaper, but when we were home she did great. Today we stayed home all morning and all afternoon. She went 3 times today. No accidents. She says, "pee pee" and goes running. After getting ready for bed this evening I decided she needed a treat so we went for a walk to the Sweet Tooth Fairy and she picked out a red velvet cupcake.  Afterwards, we went to the park where she has played for the fourth afternoon in a row, not to mention we have gone every morning but today. The girl loves the park and this warmer weather. We all do. It does our souls good to feel the sunshine. We are so proud of her. 

Our girls

We told ourselves we would avoid comparing our kids against each other and against other kids, but for the record and just for the fun of it here are both our girls, both at almost 5 weeks. So for those who ask if Harper looks like Sage and for those that think she does... they look nothing alike. Both are beautiful and we couldn't be any more in love with either of them, but they are very different. 

The past month

Just uploaded a bunch of pictures from my phone. It is the easiest way to take picture these days as I always have my phone on me and it is the easiest way to share them with family/friends online. We spend our days at home cuddling and snuggling, watching shows, playing with baby dolls, blocks, little people, the kitchen and doing crafts. The weather has warmed up a little and we have been able to take a few walks as well. We are still adjusting. Lucky for us Harper has been an easy baby because the adjustment has thrown Sage through a loop, just as we knew it would. She has been challenging to say the least. She has transitioned to a toddler bed beautifully, but has been waking up between 5- 5:45 am every morning. Taylor is usually the one to get up with her since I am usually feeding Harper at that time. She is still tired but does not go back to bed so it makes for a long morning. Her naps are also way too short so it makes for a long afternoon too. She is doing much better at entertaining herself except for  when we are busy with sister and then she needs/wants something and throws huge tantrums. She is also loving crafts, which is right up my alley! We have fun together. Taylor's work schedule is not ideal. The mornings go by way too fast and the clock slows down in the afternoon and some days bedtime cannot come fast enough. Usually without fail Harper needs to be fed the same time Sage is having a meltdown. We still get some cuddles and stories, but usually as I am feeding Harper. I must admit I mourn the time of cuddling just me and Sage and holding and signing to her before bed. As much as I try for it not to be, her bedtime routine is a little rushed some nights. Once she is down and I get Harper fed and ready for bed I have to stop myself from being like the mom in the book "Love You Forever"  and going in and picking up Sage and rocking her back and forth back and forth. We love our girls. Taylor gets some special time with her in the early morning and gets some cuddle time with Harper when he gets home from work while I get ready for bed. We are all adjusting and it has not been easy, but at the end of the day we know we are so blessed. 

1 month

Can you really be one month already? I think it has been the fastest month in history. We are so blessed to have you in our family. You are perfect for us.  It has been an adjustment for us all, but not because you are difficult in any way. You are such a good baby and so easy going. We had a few hiccups the first couple weeks with your umbilical cord not drying out and with nursing, but we have things figured out now and you have the cutest belly button and are gaining weight like a champ! You gained 6 oz in just 2 days. At your 2 week appointment you surpassed your birth weight by almost a pound weighing in at 8 lbs 1 oz. You look more and more like your daddy. You like to be swaddled and love to be snuggled. You love to burry your face in mommy's neck. You love to nurse and only tolerate the bottle which we give you a couple times a day. You are still super sleepy, but when you are awake you are very alert and make the best facial expressions. I am convinced you could sleep through a rock concert with how loud your sister is. Speaking of her, Sage bit your toe. She was looking at it and saying "tiny.cute." and next thing I knew your toe was in her mouth and you were crying. You also mysteriously got a little scratch under your eye. Your sister cannot keep her hands off you, but she sure does love you. She always wants to "see Harper" and "me hold her Harper". We love you Harper Lee and don't know what we did without you! 

Best Buddies

I hope these two become life long friends. 

Sage

Sage turns 2!

Our Sage bug is 2 years old! It is so cliche, but seriously where did the time go? We are so in love with this girl. We took our Valentine's wreath down the week before her big day and replaced it with our birthday wreath. All week she would point to the wreath and say, "Happy. Me. Yeah!!" We started the day by getting donuts. She picked out a white one with colorful sprinkles. We put 2 pink candles in it and sang her happy birthday. She did a good job blowing out the candles. After eating several bites she wanted to sing and blow out candles again. We lit the candles, sang and blew them out 3 times before breakfast was over. We celebrated with family and friends with a farm theme party. All of her cousins, Aunts, Uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, Michael Karren,  the Averyts and the Petersons (Her boyfriend Cole and his parents) were there. We visited and ate pigs in a blanket (hotdogs), potato salad, haystacks (pretzels), chicken feed (chips) and farm fresh veggies. Sage was so cute while we sang to her happy birthday. She had the biggest smile and was just so happy. We thought for sure she would want the sheep cupcake with the marshmallows, but she chose a piggy. Sage was spoiled with so many fun gifts and was so sweet saying thank you and blowing kisses after she opened each one. After her afternoon nap we took her to Target to pick out a toy from her Grandpa Davey. She picked out a princess sit and ride toy and a big purple ball. We went and got pizza for dinner and picked up a Cold Stone ice-cream to share. We facetimed with Grandpa Davey and showed him what Sage picked out and also put a candle in the ice-cream and sang happy birthday once again. It was a fun filled day and we are grateful for everyone that helped make it a special day. She is  so very loved!