Summer 2015

We have had such a fun, jampacked summer thus far with lots of trips, weddings, beach days & barbecues. Now to top it off, Trenton started summer school at the church preschool. We weren't sure if he was ready and went back and forth with the decision to send him, but the first day we walked in answered any questions or doubts we had. He immediately lit up with all the fun activities and got to work painting and meeting freinds. When I picked him up a mere 3.5 hours later (which was an uh-mazingly productive and quiet 3.5 hours for me!) he was sweating, had red cheeks, so happy and exhausted.. Just what I had wished for! Success! The teachers all said he is such a good boy and he had a great day. They said it was as if he had been there for years, he just fit right in. It was so comforting to hear and made my momma heart explode with pride. Most importantly Shaun and I were so excited for him to have this time with fun and friends. It was the best decision and we feel so blessed to be able to give him this special time that will help shape our little boy. Tuesday's and Thursday's are now errand days with my baby girl. I love it, I get things done so I'm not stressed out when I'm with Trenton, I get to have one on one time with Tayt like I did with T-man & he is having a blast and learning a lot. Win win! It's the cutest thing to hear him singing bible songs alone in his room that he learned from school. 

Then there is miss Tayt...

She is 9 months now and is getting to be so interactive and fun! She is crawling and is pulling up on everything. She is a busy girl, talking, yelling, dancing, mimicking our noises and giggling. She tries to keep up with her busy brother, so once she can walk we are in for it! Hopefully they stay together instead of going separate directions! They are so cute together.. Trenton tells her he "wuvs her" daily and douses her with kisses. She just giggles at anything he does and he loves it. She says mamama and dada.. She does 'soo big' raising her arms up to the sky and she claps on command. So darn cute. It is unbelievable that in a couple short months we will have a 1 and 3 year old!! Life is busy but so fun and blessed. 

In other news, we are still house hunting but not on a rushed time frame anymore.. Just keeping and eye out. In the meantime we are creating a room for Tayt, cleaning and fixing things up that bother us in case we don't move for a year or two. Shaun's job is going well but there are a lot of changes going on so he is pursuing other opportunities at the moment… We will see what happens in the near future so much change all the time now it's so exciting. Talk soon!!

Xo, momma t 

7 mo & 2.7 years

Wow, it has been awhile...

Tayt is 7 months today.. already. Every time i turn around she has grown, started to sit, started to talk, started to eat, cut her first two teeth or has some new sickness. Since I am not watching for each milestone like we did with Trenton, she sure seems to reach them so much more quickly! This poor gal has had every sickness under the sun, thank God nothing serious, in the 7 short months she has been alive. As of last week she is no longer taking any medication (knock on wood). Just for memory sake she has had Acid Reflux, RSV, ear infections, pink eye, cough & cold, thrush, yeast infection, diaper rashes, drool rash and eating/supply issues.. to top it all off the chick STILL won't take a darn bottle. She took one briefly when she was a couple months old but now will scream and refuse.. So, i quit my little part time job and am at her beckon call. All she wants is Momma. I shouldn't complain.. she is so darn cute but has been so much work! She is eating solids now which has relieved me slightly. She is loving sweet potatoes with cinnamon, banana/avocado and her baby oatmeal. She babbles and cruises around the house in her walker just like her brother did. Thank goodness for the walkers.. i know they are 'outlawed' in some states but I don't know what I would do without it. They love the freedom and i love my hands, well my freedom :) She so enjoys to watch her big brother. He can pull her out of crying fits and make her belly laugh. It is the cutest darn thing to see the two of them love on one another. They lay together in my bed and hold hands.. I mean really!? Trenton is so good with her and tells me everyday that he loves his sister and that she is HIS baby. Every morning when he wakes up he looks around and says where is my baby!? with a frown on his face like we hid her from him. She keeps her eyes on him all day, watches him and giggles at almost anything he does. 

Trenton has such a sweet soul like his dad and grandfathers.  He is turning into such a little person before our eyes. He is SO rough and tough with other kids but with his little sister and his momma he is such a little angel. He is so polite, uses his please and thank yous, says he is sorry, cuddles someone when they are hurt, apologizes when he does things wrong and is very patient for a two year old. He befriends everyone who crosses his path (even homeless people) and makes everyone laugh everywhere he goes. His face is so animated, it is hilarious. His vocabulary is very impressive, especially for a two year old boy and it grows each day. He is learning to be a little more gentle with his 'buddys' and how to deal with his emotions but 2 is just a really hard age.. to parent and watch them go through. He is learning, growing and observing so much its amazing to watch but it is also difficult to slow the train down and break bad habits. He goes to Sunday school and Mops 'church class' and is loving it now. He had a hard time separating from mom at first and quite frankly I was scared for the other children if i left him in there, but he is doing great and the woman who watch him say that he is really well behaved. That is the best thing to hear in the world.. makes me so proud. Shaun and I really feel so blessed that the Lord gave us this perfect little soul.. he is just right for us. He is a TON of energy, a HUGE personality but the most thoughtful and intelligent little person. We cannot wait to see who his sister turns out to be when she is 2.5. Trenton never loved being thrown in the air as a baby but Tayt giggles and LOVES it. She loves to be held upside down and thrown around. We think she will be our risk taker. Trenton is still very cautious, doesn't like slides or climbing to high.. yet will be the first to throw a punch. So silly. 

These kids bring us so much happiness and amaze us everyday. We just want to give them the best life possible. We are currently selling our house in hopes of getting our offer accepted on a house in Dana Point. It needs a lot of work but it really is an amazing opportunity for us to live a mile from the beach and live the lifestyle we have wanted. We love our life but  have just always felt a little far from home here.  We have heavy hearts as we accept an offer on our beautiful home that we are so comfortable in and have had both of our babies in. This house will forever be a special part of our story, but there are too many signs for us to ignore that we needed to take this leap of faith. We were not ready for this and it didn't make much sense, yet at the same time it makes all the sense in the world if everything falls into place. So, here we are again, almost exactly 2.5 years later (we moved in when Trenton was about a month old) trying to move into a house that is barely livable with two babies.. yikkees! life is crazy but we are excited about the opportunity and what that will mean for our children in years to come. We are anxiously awaiting an answer on our offer and are looking forward to what life has for us ahead. The years just keep getting more and more exciting!! 

Having Two Littles & A Tayt Update

Having two (almost) under two was quite a juggle at first (did I already mention that?) I was overwhelmed with the constant needing of my attention, energy and breast. But, as most things go, it got easier with time. We all fell into a routine and things are much more enjoyable now. Trenton has been so precious to watch as he worries and takes care of 'his baby'. He is very loving, attentive and gentle with her.. for the most part. When he is rough it is because he doesn't know his own strength. He now understands and is fine with it when I say, "In a minute, I have to take care of your sister" his usual response is "ohh okkkayyyy momma". For a two year old, patience is tough but he is doing a great job adjusting. At first our nap schedules were way out of whack (did i already mention that too? did you know that mommy brain is a real thing?), but now they both will nap for about 2-3 hours in the afternoons which is MY TIME. I need to get one of those mugs (or tattoos.. kidding) that say I LOVE NAP TIME. I am usually cleaning, ironing, gardening or prepping for dinner but I can sometimes sneak in 30 minutes of crafting, decorating, nails or sitting and watching the cooking channel. In order to get that glorious time, we try to get out and run around in the mornings everyday to wear-out Trenton enough to sleep and when they get up there's only a short time for play then we are into the night time routine (baths, making dinner etc.) before Dada gets home. I try to have something scheduled for the mornings each day whether its a play-date, going to pretend city, park, beach or errands. We have to do something to get out, run Trenton and get fresh air. I am pretty much doing exactly what I thought I would be doing with two littles...strapping her on and going. We still do the same activities centered around Trenton just with one more mouth to remember to feed, one more diaper to change, one more baby to buckle in and one more blanket(ni-night)/bikini(BB as Trenton calls it) to remember. There's obviously a lot more 'one more' things to do and remember but you get the idea. Also, it is tough for me to get myself ready, Trenton and Tayt ready, the van packed and out the door before 10 am now. The minivan has made my life a lot easier and organized. I always have everything I need because I can fit it ALL. I LOVE IT, should have never fought it. Anyways, the days are very busy and go quickly but I wouldn't have it any other way. When people ask me what I do everyday since I stay home, it's hard to respond. I have talked to many other friends who stay home and they all feel the same way. I have started just saying that it is like being on a hamster wheel... constantly cleaning up after one, changing one, feeding one, entertaining one or attending to one. It never stops... even when Shaun gets home, he just jumps on the wheel with me and its like that all day and night, everyday.  It makes sense to me but people without kids cannot fully comprehend what it feels like to be on a hamster wheel of that sort, nor would they probably want to. It actually sounds more like torture, until you have children of your own and know that kind of love that will make you jump on a hamster wheel and do anything and everything for them 24/7. Oh well, they will know one day. 

Quick bit on Trenton (2yrs3mos).. He is a very busy boy, but that's old news for anyone who knows him. His vocabulary impresses me daily and his voice melts my heart. He has a HUGE heart like his Shaun, and Shaun's Dad. He is the sweetest cuddle bug and the most rambunctious boy all in one. He is a handful and a pleasure all at the same time. I need time away to breathe but I can't breathe when i'm away from him. He says "miss you mamma" when i come home or just when i get out of the shower. Everything  becomes a gun, sword or something to be saved by 'Super Trenton'. He gets sad when his Dad leaves each morning for work and says, "Bye momma, work now" as he tries to get in Shaun's car with him. He doesn't understand why he can't go to this thing called work with him and why Shaun has to everyday. He has a HUGE personality and hilarious facial features. He is so TWO... emotionally, socially, mentally and physically. It is a tough age to watch and parent because he understands so much and can communicate but also gets very frustrated and struggles to control his emotions when he doesn't understand something. He is my best friend. 

Tayt update...finally. Sorry for the lag on this one. She is almost three months already. Poor lil gal has had colds, thrush and has now been diagnosed with acid reflux She was tough at first because she was so uncomfortable after every feeding.. arching her back, crying, gassy and hard to soothe. It was almost every couple of hours. There was a time I called Shaun and told him to come home because I was so overwhelmed with not being able to help her and take care of Trenton's needs at the same time. Since being on medicine for her acid reflux things are much better which is great news. However, she has not gained weight and the doc is worried about my milk/her feeding etc. I know she is not starving and is happy and content most of the day. She also has a little bit of the 'witching hour' thing where she is more fussy in the evenings but not too bad. She really just loves to be held, in a football hold preferably. She also loves to suck on her binki or her hand. She has been more work, or should I say has had more 'issues' than Trenton did in her first few months of life which has made it a little more challenging but overall not a hard baby by any means. She is a great sleeper thus far, most nights only wakes to feed once or twice. I can put her in her bassinet wide awake and she will fall asleep on her own without me rocking her for hours. She also loves the baby carriers, AMEN. She falls asleep instantly when I get her strapped on me, just like her brother did but it is even more helpful this time around to have my hands. She smiles so big that it makes everyone that sees her smile. She stares in my eyes as though she knows me. I am loving having a baby again...I love her tiny hands that she can't control but thinks are so interesting, her little toes that spread when she gets excited, her squishy legs that she pushes and jumps with as though she wants to get up and run, her soft skin and that smell... oh my gosh that baby smell. Makes my mom hormones go wild. Oxitocin is one hell of a drug :) I love her immensely but still don't feel like I know her. Its an incredible bond to have with someone you don't know. I remind myself to enjoy these special 'baby moments' in case she is our last (still on the fence) but part of me wants a glimpse into the future to see her little toddler personality and see who she is. Now that I know how amazing it is to have a little person that has 'its' own personality, can talk to me and walk with me etc. I almost want to jump there but I also know how quickly we will 'jump' there so I try to not think that way. Even though I don't know her yet I know that she will be my best friend for life and I am over the moon about that :) The perks of having a girl! 

I think that's all the update for now... that is life in a nutshell at this moment. Thanks as always for reading and going on this journey with us as we learn and grow our family. I don't know what I would do without my family and friends.. the saying is SO true, "It takes a village". So, thank you for being apart of that village for our family. 

God Bless, 

Momma T

PS. I've been a bad second time mom and really haven't taken many pictures of Tayt. I will post some asap, i'm making it a priority.