Hello

Hello Blog. It is now Spring. There are many, many things that have taken place over the past three months that I have neglected to tell you about. I do apologize. But, keeping you in mind, I have jotted down the last month in a little notebook that I will type up and post. This should help to catch us up. My friend Lindsay is very upset with me and this blog. She lives in California. She is a trauma nurse at a really busy ER. (she's a big deal) She is upset that I have stopped posting funny tidbits about my babies and my life. She loves my kids. Literally would steal them from me and not return them! (if she were out of her mind. she's not, though. thankfully!) In honor of my dear friend Lindsay, I am recommitting myself to this blog once more. (I hope.) Not to fill your head with empty promises, BUUUUTTTT, I may not exactly follow through on this, dear readers. Fear not. I am committed to typing the little incidents that I recorded into my notebook into this blog. We will go from there. One step at time, right???? For now, enjoy spring!

"Pacie All Gone"

We are ending the second day without a pacie!!! Jack threw his pacie away Monday night and hasn't looked back. He must really understand the concept of bye-bye and all gone! He has asked for the pacie maybe twice but no major melt downs or fits or anything of that nature! It is such a relief to know that wasn't a struggle! Also, Jack isn't drinking any milk in the middle of the night! The next step is to get him to sleep a full night in his bed! (We will implement this after we make the move to the new house, which will be this WEEKEND!!!)

The Big Move

We are moving next weekend. Finally, we will be out of our apartment and into a house that we will soon be able to call home. I can't tell you what a good feeling it will be to actually have a yard for Jack to run around and play in, a front porch where I can sit Lily in her swing on a spring afternoon, and a laundry room where all of our clothes will become clean. It is going to be wonderful and this weekend can't get here fast enough. We did a lot of moving this past weekend. We moved a ton of boxes, pictures, couch, television armour, crib, changing table, rocking chair, blankets, pots and pans....you get the idea! So the house is situated on 10 acres of land right outside Huntsville, in Lacy Springs. It is just enough "country" for Brian to be happy and close enough to the city to make me feel like I'm not too far away from civilization! We also have a pond. The boys are going to fish a lot this summer!
For now, I must get my limerick lesson plan ready for my eighth grade students! My honors class is going to read the Bell Witch story today and then write a persuasive essay. I'm not a big fan of reading about a "haunting," but it will fulfill the requirement for our mystery unit! Pictures of the house are soon to come!!!

Confession

I have a terrible confession to make. I think if I start talking about my "problem" things will start to change. I have to make a change. Alright, here goes: Jackson has been sleeping in the bed with us since Lily was born. AHHHHH! There, I said it. Yes, it's so very true too. I always promised myself that I would not co-sleep with my kids. I want Jack to be an independent boy. I don't think sleeping in our bed will hinder this all too much, but I do believe it will help. It has to stop.
Okay, here is the other part of the confession, yes it is twofold: We have been given Jack milk in the middle of the night. EEEK. Whenever he asks for it, we go and get it. Our excuse has been because we don't want to wake Lily. Well, if he weren't in our bed, then he probably wouldn't wake her up! We are taking steps to slowly get him back to where he needs to be! Hopefully, when we move into our new house in February, he will be sleeping in his "big boy bed." (The house is the next post!)
We are cutting out the milk thing now. He can have a sippee cup with diluted milk right before bed and then again in the morning. I am hoping this will only take this week. Then, the following week, he will return to his crib.
It is totally my fault too. I let him fall asleep with me, I go get him "mulk" when he wants it, and I don't force him to sleep in his room. It's bad. Don't get me wrong, I looovvvveeee sleeping with my little booger, but it's time to take my bed back. It's WAY overdue.
See the 'king' of the bed with his sippee cup right next to him?? ahhh

We are Back!!

Yes, it is true, I am back in the blog-o-sphere!!! I have had a couple of months to adjust to the new routines and schedules of having two small children and I believe now I can incorporate simple blogs into my weekly "to-get-done."
I will start with Lily, who should be the star of this post and every other post from here on out because she is just so magnetically cute that I could gush and gush about her for hours!
At night, Lily will go to bed between 10 and 10:30 and will sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning! If we have played with her and have kept her alert from 8 until bedtime, she will sometimes sleep until 5 in the morning. It is rather amamzing. I will say that this did not come easily though. She is almost three months now, and in the last couple of weeks, she hasn't been as demanding during the night as she was the first two months.
Lily is a very peculiar and particular baby. She likes to be held certain ways, she doesn’t like to be moved around too much, she does not enjoy when her diaper is dirty, and she gets upset with loud, sudden noises. She can always tell when I am around and will instantly be soothed by my voice. She is in awe of her daddy and loves to watch Jack. Lily smiles and coos like she was born with the talent. I love to watch her stretch her arms over her head and straighten out her little chunky legs! She is a chunk too. The girl has been drinking three ounces of formula since she was two weeks old. We did try to nurse for two weeks; enjoyable for some babies and mothers, not really enjoyable for Lily and I. It was a terrible struggle every time. So, to the bottle we went! And then, she would get so fussy during bottles and directly after them. Or maybe she would take her bottle and an hour later she would burst into tears and continue to cry for three hours. I thought she was a colic baby at first. It was so stressful, especially when I would be alone with Jack and Lily and couldn’t divide my time properly. We all cried. First Lily, then Jack would start, and then I would join in! It was awesome.
Lately things have been running extremely smooth. She seems to have out grown her wailing spats and Jack is adjusting well to my hands always being full with the baby and bottle!
Jackson will tell me to sit sissy down when he is ready for me to play with him. He’ll say, “Sissy down, mama. Sissy down.” It is pretty cute and I fall for it instantly.
I have decided not to try and catch this blog up with posts from November and December. Instead, I am going to just start with this post and go from here!
Until the next time, here are my angels!

Little Jack as a Cow!

On Halloweem, we loaded up the car and headed to Duckie and Bull's for trick-or-treating fun. As you can see, my little boy went as a little cow. He did a great job walking from house to house. He had to ring each door bell even if the home owner was already standing at the door! He did a great job at collecting candy and he really enjoyed his goodies afterward! I'm very proud of him. He is adjusting to Lily so well.







Jackson loves to "hold baby" and every time he holds baby, he kisses her every 30 seconds. My heart melts with every single kiss!

Lily's First Bath

More pictures and posts to come!

Lily's Birthday

Lily's birthday in pictures!

Walking into the hospital...
Daddy and Jack meeting us in the lobby.
Just waiting...
Tah - Dah! Lily arrives 10/28/2010 at 11:47; 6ibs 4oz
Proud parents!
Jack looking at sissy!
Our family of four!

Lily's Birthday Eve

Alright, tomorrow is the big day. FINALLY we have arrived at the end of this pregnancy. Tomorrow we will be at the hospital at 10 and then have the surgery at 12:00. She'll make her big debut twenty minutes or so after that. Excited? We are.
Today - I am cleaning like a mad woman. Jackson has croup so he is stuck cleaning with me instead of playing with his friends at Mrs. Angie's house today. (not the greatest time to get sick, son.) Nonetheless, Brian's bag is packed, Lily's bag is ready, and mine will be ready this evening. It is such a bizarre feeling to know that we will soon be a family of four!
In Jack's little way, he is excited. Every balloon that comes into this house he has to hold on to, in the way a child holds on to a blankie. So my big boy has been walking around with his pacie, monkey, and a pink balloon, which he will promptly tell you it's "sissy boon." I'm proud of him and really can't wait to see how he will adjusts to Lily being here.
Keep us in your prayers! The next post will be all about Lily!!!

9 More Days

Yes, that's right, only 9 MORE Days!!!

Check out little Jack and his big boy hair cut!

He had just got up from a nap! still cute, right?

Hello October

I am happy this month is finally upon us. We have been going and going and going. It is time for a rest. Which is what I got last week in the form of Fall Break. Loved every moment. The start of the break brought Lily's baby shower. What a wonderful time with family. We celebrated the fact that this little angel would soon be with us. As Jack ate cake from everyones plate, and I literally mean everyones plate, I thought about how soon Lily would be held in everyone's arms. And just as happy as eating bites of cake from anyone who would give him some, Lily would soon feel that same happiness in the warmth of everyones loving arms. I was so overwhelmed with Joy that day.
The middle of the break brought Brian and I to a dealership in Huntsville where we made our first real big purchase. We bought a new vehicle for the kids. Yes. For the kids. (I do get the pleasure of driving it, but it's for the kids.) They needed a safe vehicle to ride in and somehow, we are going to make the payments. somehow. Brian is really talented at what he does. The owner of the dealership is now a client of Brians. She wanted to help us out. She gave us the. best. deal. in. the. world. We are very blessed. Very Blessed.
I became antsy at the end of the break and didn't want to be alone. Brian works all of the time and I just wanted him home with Jack and I. Finally the weekend. Football. IHOP. and Family.
In the midst of it all, Jackson managed to get a real big boy haircut. Seriously. He is officially a little boy who puts his cell phone and pasie in his "pockies." I love discovering what he has tucked away in his pocket at the end of the day. No matter how short or long that boys hair is - he will always be my baby. Always.

Happy Fall.

A little Closer

Just 22 more days until Lily's big arrival!!! Oh what a celebration it will be!!!

Under Construction

I have really messed up the appearance of my blog. I can't get it back to the way it was before. I don't even have an option to insert gadgets. So, please ignore the blahness for a while. I will return soon with an update on my sweet Lily and Jack. In the meantime...Happy Fall!!!

Hiccups

My sweet Lily is practicing her breathing techniques. Every evening we sit through 20minutes of hiccups. It's cute and makes me very excited to think that she will be here soon.

A Little More Jack Talk

Up - hop

Gum - gung

Monkey - onkey

Milk - Mulk

Footbal - ball ball

The pig says - wink wink

The frog goes - rrrooocckk rrroocck

Drink - gink

Big truck - honk honk

Poot - nnn boot

Sock - frock

Every day is a new word and of course, Jack knows a lot more animal sounds, those two are the hard ones to figure out!!!
There is always a little babble befor he says his word. For example: "uh huu mmmm nnn mulk."

Family

Things are running smoothly in the Smalley household. Jack has adjusted well to his new daily routine and I am enjoying being back in my classroom. Brian, of course, is busy, busy, busy with football coaching duties, and our dog Dale is living large. I like waking up in the morning to see Brian and Jack's little sleeping faces next to me. There is something so calming to see your little baby sleeping so peacefully. (Jack usually wakes up around 5 am and we have made a habit of laying him down with us until we are ready to get up. Jack loves it.) He is a snuggler too. I usually receive feet in my face while Brian gets Jack's cheeks pressed right up against his. Jack loves his daddy so much. If we by chance, we wake up and Brian has left for the day - Jack is devastated that he isn't next to him. It takes coaxing to get him up and over the emotional distress - usually Mickey Mouse Club or Elmo's World does the trick every time. He is a little lucky boy to have such a loving daddy. Lily is going to melt Brian's heart into pieces. I can only imagine what it will be like when the both of them are missing their daddy.
I get such a warm feeling thinking about lazy mornings with all four of us in the bed together. Laughing. Snuggling. Tickling. I am such a blessed momma. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Job Update

Well, I will be teaching again this year. A month into the school year and finally have a position. I am back at Ed White and thrilled to be back at that school. (challenges and all) It is only a part time position so I am extra excited that I will teach in the morning and then come home to be with my beautiful babies in the afternoon. It works out perfectly! I am teaching 2 classes of regular 8th grade English and 1 course of 8th grade honors English. It will be the FIRST time in my teaching career that I will be able to use lesson plans and pacing guides from the previous year! I know what to expect, I know what units to teach and when, and I am even in the SAME classroom that I was in last year. Now all I have to do is grab all teaching materials (around 10 boxes) from storage, carry it to the school, and set up the most welcoming classroom in the world before Monday. A tough task for someone two months from delivering a little baby! I'm not too worried about it nor am I stressing myself to get "setup." I have plenty of time and plenty of hands to help me!!!

Jack and Lily

I am really excited to share these photos with everyone! Jack and I had a photo shoot with my friend Brandie this past Thursday and I am so impressed with how they turned out! She did a wonderful job.
Jack is a natural at this and looks sooo handsome!




I can't wait for Lily to arrive so that I can get some great pictures of both of my beautiful babies!!!!

I was very reluctant to do maternity shots of myself aside from the usual black and white belly shot, but I figured I should just throw caution to the wind.


I didn't realize how much goes into taking pictures! It's a tough job moving from one place to the next, changing clothes, and making sure little one stays happy. Of course, being pregnant in August makes everything difficult!! We had a great time and I am really thankful she did this for us!!!

My Sweet Lily

Seriously. I am getting soooo excited about my sweet baby girl. I am crushing on these A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E little bloomers and Rufflebutts. She will be 6 months in June so a little swing back top with a cute pair of bloomers will be absolutely perfect!!!

And what about this? Not to mention there are some for infants... And for holidays!!
I could just eat them up!!!
October 28th can't get here soon enough!

Too Hot

We are doing well for August. Not that August is a bad month for us, it is just so stinking hot that it is impossible for Jack and I to travel anywhere without us both getting irritable and needing a three hour nap afterward. So, for this month, we are doing well.
Brian is a defensive back coach with Grissom High School this year. We are totally pumped about the new job. He is now a high school coach and a trainer/coach at D1. I am pretty sure he is really happy about this upcoming season. I'm not going to lie, I am pretty excited about eating the hot dogs on Friday nights!!
Speaking of food - it is ALL that I think about. I wanted to keep my wait gain to a minimal this pregnancy and I have not been doing so well. Just the other day someone made a comment on how the doctor should check again to make sure there isn't two babies in my belly and how the due date might be wrong. Nice. Even the most well intentioned person, meaning no harm by the comments, can cross the line. But hey, what would pregnancy be without a few comments form the peanut factory?
I am going to substitute this year. It isn't exactly what I had planned for the 2010-2011 school year, but I have come to terms with it and will continue to pray about the situation. I will just use my pregnancy as a weapon. I'll make sure the kids know, understand, and believe that you DON'T test a pregnant woman!!! (just thinking about it makes me giggle a little!!)
Jackson has a pretty consistent bedtime routine. Lately, every time we set out for our night night routine, I am taken back by how big my little boy is. He is growing so fast. I am so thankful for the past two months that I have had at home with him. Although I'm not in a classroom this year, I am still so blessed to be able to stay with my baby at home.
I have a few projects I am going to start working on and I am excited about sharing them with you!!!