Lainey's Birthday Letter ~ Age 2

She's Two, She's Two - Our little Lainey Bug is TWO! Popping in today to honor our little tradition of birthday letters to my littles.

Previous Letters to Lainey:

• Lainey's letter to the world - She's arrived
• Lainey's First Birthday Letter

Lainey Lou,

Lou Bugg, Nainey Girl, Lou, Elaine Louise, my sweet whittle baby girl ... I LOVE YOU! I love you, I love you, I LOVE you. You are the biggest spunk of bright energy I could have ever imagined and you sweetheart, you are truly the apple of our eyes.

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around you being two years old. Not because of the obvious "time has flown by, how are you so big, where did the time go, etc <all of those are true too>", but more because I honestly cannot remember nor can I imagine life without you.  You beam with love and happiness always and it is such a bright spot in our lives. You have never met a stranger and make everyone who meets you smile. You are a total goof and keep up laughing constantly. You have complete disregard for authority and do anything and everything your way. It is no secret you run the show.

Little lady you entered our lives when things were quiet (relatively speaking). And from the moment you started to actually wake up life got a lot less quiet. We began questioning everything and life was spiraling quickly - and yet through it all - there you were. The bright spot. The littlest spunk that ever was and the one that made every single part of it worth walking through.

I could have told you when I began having children with 100% certainty that I would be a boy mom. I would have a little football team and it would be all I ever needed. But then here you came. With a full head of brown hair that the nurse quickly adorned with a pink bow and I knew right then and there my younger self had never been more wrong. I needed you sweet thing. I needed you more than I ever knew and I am so thankful God gave you to me. Being your mommy is SO. MUCH. FUN.

All of your sass, all of your spunk, all of your drama ... every single piece of your personality is my favorite. You are the perfect mix of silly and sweet ... you'll fake an injury one moment to get everyeone's attention and then laugh scream and run the very next.

You love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and simply cannot get enough of Mickey on TV or your iPad. You literally eat EVERYTHING - the pantry is your favorite room in the entire house and if you had it your way you'd have noodles, hot dogs, cheetos and cookies for every meal -- probably mixed together. Your favorite outfit is a pretty dress paired with tennis shoes and a high ponytail - because duh, a little girly and a little tomboy is the perfect combonation - and it couldn't make me prouder.

You are absolutely SMITTEN with your big brother, Bubby. And he prefers you call him Bubby over Bennett -- and corrects you when you say his real name. The two of you play hide and go seek almost daily and you make sure if you get a snack you always grab one for him too.

You have your daddy completely wrapped around your finger, and you're probably his biggest fan. Him coming home at the end of the work day if you favorite part of the evening - a close second to shaking your booty in the bathtub and running naked baby through the house until we catch you.

You still sleep with your paci and request to pick out which one you'd like before bed everr night. You're very paticular about your blankets when we put you to bed and always have a different opinion on if you will sleep with a stuffed animal and which one it will be.

You've had a big year sweet girl! Soon after your first birthday we packed your bags and vacationed in New York City for the first time in November. After Christmas we packed everything once again and moved to a new city in December. January was a bit of a blur. It was a rough month of everyone (except you). You seemed completely unphased by the move and as long as you had your family with you - you were per usual, happy as a lark. You started regularly rocking ponytails and went to the circus. Aside from not sleeping (which continued for the better part of 5 months due to the sleeping arrangements of the new living conditions) you were settling into your second year of life just fine. 

Come April, we packed our bags once again and celebrated LIFE and HAPPINESS at the happiest place on earth. You made it all the way to Florida to see The One and Only Mickey Mouse at Disney World. My favorite memory of you from the trip was watching you dance and wave during the parade as Mickey walked by. It really is magical. As the months turned warmer and summer snuck in - you packed your little backpack and headed to summer camp with your brother.  No tears from you at drop off - you couldn't wait to explore a new place with new friends. My social little butterfly :)

In the midst of summer and truly the hottest week of the year, we all cheered as we'd survived a 6 month renovation project and FINALLY unpacked our bags inside our new home. Once again, you seemed unphased. You loved the new space, when right back to sleeping like a champ in your big girl room (and is it ever a big girl room!) and settled right in with your best people around you as though nothing had changed. As one final hoorah of summer, and a farewell trip to your uncle Max we packed your bags AGAIN in early August and took you along for a fun getaway to Chicago. 

Once we returned home we dusted off that little backpack at the end of the month and packed it up once again as you officially started Preschool two days a week. And, as no surpise you LOVE it. You walked in the first day like you owned the place and love to come home and tell us all about your "fwiends". We rounded out fall with some apple picking, pumpkin picking, and halloween festivities ... but quickly turned the calendar to celebrate our little gal turning TWO!

So, on your second birthday I'm praying for you little bug. Praying for your spirit - that is always shines bright. Praying for your future - that it is filled with happiness and goals that you work hard to achieve. Praying that the bond between you and your brother always remains strong. Praying for your future friends - that they lift you up and not tear you down. Praying for your family - both the one we share and the one you may one day have, that you know happiness health and wholeness all of your days.

You're the apple little Lou. The apple of our eye and the best daughter and sister we could have dreamed of.

So keep leading the way little lady ... because you my sweet have some big awesome things ahead of you!

And yes, shake that booty when it's time to celebrate - because life's no fun when you take it too seriously!

Signing off as your biggest fan with the most love for you in the entire world,
The Proudest Mommy, The Luckiest Mommy, Your Mommy

The Preschool Pair

"Back to school, back to school to prove to dad I'm not a fool!" Any Adam Sandler fans out there? I'm equal parts nervous, excited, sad, and hopeful as I sit down to write this post today, so the only way I can think to open is with that terribly annoying tune from Billy Madison.

Somehow, enough time has gone by to where both of my little teeny tiny little babies are old enough for preschool. Ugh. To be honest, I love it. I'm totally the mom that appreciates small increments of time away from my littles and quiet time to focus on myself and tending to my own creative brain. But, in the very same breath I struggle with it too. The mom guilt is so real. 

Nevertheless, I love seeing them flourish and letting them experience some independence away from our home. And here we are today with another year of back to school updates! For a little recap, here's what we have under our belts so far:

• 2015/2016 - Two Day Two's: Bennett's First Day || Bennett's Last Day
• 2016/2017 - Two/Three Day Three's: Bennett's First Day || Bennett's Last Day

And here we are at the start of the 2017/2018 school year with Bennett's first day in Four Day Fours and little Miss Lainey's big first day in the Older Toddler's room ~ Two Day Two's. Their first day was yesterday and we were all pretty excited about it.

Their little preschool does things a bit differently than our old preschool in Nash and it's actually kind of fun and cute. Before the first day of school the teachers host a shortened mock-schedule day where they let the kiddos come and explore their classroom with parents in tote. It's a way to get the kids oriented with their class and also let the parents see a bit into their normal day.

Lainey's orientation was last Wednesday and both Hubs and I took our little bit to meet her "new friends" (which Lainey loves to exclaim when we talk about school). We headed out for a little Starbucks to snag breakfast sandwich and this smart little tot picked a cake pop instead and we obliged ... because #letthembelittle 

And then we headed to her classroom to meet her teachers: Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Beth. She's a bumblebee in the PDO program - Older Toddlers "2 Day 2's" ... my favorite part of the class was their little feet where they line up to head to the playground.

And even though, they're in separate classes for part of the day ... she's going to school with her future husband, Charlie, and that makes my heart happy.

After they explored their classrooms and met their new friends ... they were off to rule the halls and explore the playground! I'd say they "oriented" just fine.

Then Friday, it was Mister Bennett's turn to have his mock day. I goofed on the time and we had to skip out on his Starbucks cake pop before school. Whoopsie. But, similar to Lainey, we headed in to meet his teachers: Mrs. Boylan and Mrs. Klapheke, check out his classroom and meet some pals - and once we were all wrapped up they headed to playground as well.

And then, just like that, orientation and mock days were over and we were ready for the real thing!
My babies first day of preschool, and my big guy's last first day of preschool. Whew! That's a lot on a momma's heart in one day!

Like every year, the kiddos and I baked chocolate chip cookies and packed a treat for their sweet teachers that love and care for the them throughout the day.

Truth be told, I totally had it all together. Veteran mom over here, walking my littles in fully expecting to drop them at the door and head out to take on the day. But, sigh, I ran into Laura on my way in (it's Charlie's first year and his first ever drop off) and just like I was, my first day ever dropping off Bennett, she was a mess of emotions and I walked in to see her crying with tear stains on the tshirt of her cute pregnant belly and this veteran mom was NOT so veteran anymore. Que crying in the drop off line and and waving goodbye to my friend through teary eyes. Good grief!!! One of these years I won't cry. Maybe?!

~ Lainey Lou ~

~ Bennett Bernard ~ 

~ The Preschool Pair ~

 He promised to watch out for her and show her the ropes. And then proceeded to tell me the reason he kissed her on the cheek and not the lips is because "she's always so slobbery" ha!

 I hope they always stay close. And silly. Silly most of all :)

Lainey ~ Months 11 and 12

Guys it's been a week and a half around here. A really long, tiring, troubling, week. I've got a lot to recap and I'm working on exactly how to share all of the details. From friends that are hurting, to a weekend of scans and results, that in the end were good for the most part, but still slightly unsettling, to an election that whew has the nation all over the place. It has been a week (and it's only Tuesday) ayyiiiyyiiii. But once again, the light that brings it all together and let's me know God is good and it will all be okay ... our little Lainey gal. So I'm gonna take a breath from all of the heaviness that has been the last several days, and gather my collective thoughts; as I work to find an eloquent way to share all of our details without bringing you too far into the weeds.  While I take a short mental break, hug my littles tight, hug their daddy even tighter, and say thank you to the Big Man upstairs for all he has given us.

And in doing so, I want to share some scripture that brought me peace this morning while I was doing my daily devotions:

Psalm 100: 1-5 {The Message} "On your feet now - applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.  Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever." 

And with that, today I'm going to focus on our light ... Lainey.

And just like that, our baby girl turned ONE. All the craziness of life aside ... It's been a big two months around here as we're in the home stretch of her first birthday. Her one year well visit is next week, her big party is next weekend; and so much has changed in such a short time and our little baby moon isn't so little anymore. She's becoming a full on grill as Bennett says (aka girl). And it's crazy to see how very much has changed.

To take a look back here's our story to Lainey:

• We announced to everyone we were pregnant
• We explained "baby moon" + our decision to not find out the sex
• We shared emotional thoughts on our growing family
• We started gathering all of the final touches
• We blogged about our cravings and the amazingness that is my cousin MaKenzie
• And we wrapped up our last month before you officially arriaved
• You joined the clan Lainey Lou ~ A Birth Story
• Lainey Lou ~ A Birth Story
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 1
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 2
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 3
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 4
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 5
• Lainey Lou ~ Months 6 and 7
• Lainey Lou ~ Month 8
• Lainey Lou ~ Months 9 and 10

And just like that, you are officially a toddler Lainey Lou (11.1.16)! You are a spunky little miss and we are slowly leaving behind the "baby" phase. You are most crawling - EVERYWHERE and taking 4-5 steps at a time. But you try your dangdest to keep up with your big brother and crawling you've learned is a way faster route.

You want what you want, and will scream until you get it. But, once you have it you're back to smiling.

You're into EVERYTHING and the squirmiest of all. You absolutely must be right in the middle of all the action. Watch and see baby you are not. As long as you are included, you are the happiest little. And your smile is SO bright.

You're clapping, waving, kissing, "talking" and making noises to communicate.

And look at them chompers! You have four teeth (two on bottom, top middle and top right and you're working on SEVERAL more) ... teething is fun (side eye).

Here's what else is happening in your world lady ...

How Big Are You?
Your one year check up is 11.15.16 and your stats are:

Weight: TBD
Height: TBD
Head: TBD

What's Your Temperament?
You are the happiest nugget. You want to be talked to and paid attention to, and fed. As long as those requirements are met you are 100% satisfied. You still, have yet to meet a stranger and smile at just about everyone. You will let just about anyone hold you too. You love being the center of attention and make sure to include yourself in conversations :)

What Are You Eating?
You're eating 2 bottles a day (a morning and nighttime bottle) and 3 meals a day plus snacks. You LOVE to eat. Love love it. You've only met a few foods you don't like (and one worth mentioning: avocado ~ how are you our child?!)

Food schedule is currently:

• You eat a 6oz bottle when you wake up in the morning (we've started cutting it back)
• breakfast - usually a scrambled egg or banana/peanut butter
• lunch - whatever we've got (Chick-fil-A, fruit, cheese, peas, etc)
• a midday bottle or snack (soft snack bar, puffs, whatever Bennett chooses, etc)
• whatever mama made for dinner - you're such a great eater!
• and then you have a nighttime bottle before bed and sometimes only eat a couple of ounces before snoozing off to dreamland
  

What Are you Sporting?

You'r rocking #4 Pamper's cruisers. And baby dry diapers at nighttime.

You're in 12 and 12-18 month items, and mostly 18 month sleepers . You still rarely wear shoes, but have started sporting some baby mocs.

How Are You Sleeping?

Sleep is something we've had some regression with. For the most part, you're a great sleeper and beyond ready for bed at night. Our only frustration with you is you are an EARLY riser. Occasionally you'll let us snooze until 7 am, but for the most part you're up before 6 o'clock. Happy as can be and eager to start the day! And for the last couple of months you've been waking up at least once a night and have to be soothed to go back to bed.

You're wearing a sleep slack at night and you are a belly sleeper through and through. We lay you down on your back in hopes you'll stay that way but within minutes you roll over and you're knocked on your belly. Your routine goes a little something like this (it can vary plus or minus an hour depending on the day ... but this is pretty close):

• 6:00am wake up - so happy and smiley - 8 oz bottle
• 8:00am - nap in crib 1 hours
• 9:30am - breakfast (yogurt, scrambled egg, banana, etc)
• 11:00am - nap in crib or car 30 min-1.5 hours (varies)
• 12:00pm - lunch (banana and peanut butter, small cut up berries/veggies, etc)
• 2:00-3:00pm - nap in crib or car 30 min-1.5 hours (varies) ~ Bennett dropped his nap so it's just you napping now
• 4:00pm - snack
• 5:30-6pm - dinner 
• 7:30pm - bath time, pj's, sleep sack
• 8:00pm - bedtime - 8 oz bottle - sleep in your crib
  

Lainey Likes + Dislikes:

Dislikes:

• When the food is all gone :(
• Not being part of the action
• When Bennett has something and you don't
• Avocados (it's just about the only food you don't love) 

Likes:

• Crawling and getting where you want to go! You're a brand new kid now that you can meander around!
• Food! Oh my does this girl like her food. 
• Bath time/the pool
• Being talked to and played with
• Your big brother, you think he is so funny
• Maggie, you've started taking a big interest in the dog
• Your daddy, you're in love with him

Fun Moments, Favorite Notes, Lainey Quirks + Milestones:

• Crawling + pulling up, you're a mover and shaker!
• You've got 4 teeth!
• You're waving and clapping. 
• Dancing! YOU LOVE music
• You're saying all kinds of things (Dada, Mama, Bubba, Maggie, Doggy, Luh You, More, Cheese<when your picture is taken>)
• We celebrated your real birthday as a family (party to come)
• You trick or treated for the first time
• You've taken about 7 steps at once (and we've got it on video) - but you're not really into walking because you can get everywhere faster by crawling

And that's a little update of the end of your first year Lainey Gal! Being your mommy is the greatest! Love ya monkey.