Parenthood Adventures: January 2017

I remember Ruby's birth like it happened yesterday. I wonder if I will remember it like that in 30 years. I remember the pregnancy, what I craved, what made me sick, what smells bothered me, etc. I remember it all. I remember going into the doctor the day before my due date with no indication of a baby coming soon, only to find out that afternoon I would have my first contraction. I remember texting a good friend of mine if what I was experiencing sounded like contractions. I remember laboring at home for the next 2.5 days. I remember having contractions 4 minutes apart while my husband slept peacefully. Before this makes him sound like a bad guy, I told him that it was fine if he slept and that I would wake him up if I needed him. I remember driving to his school at 3:00 in the morning so that he could rush and put sub plans out before heading to the hospital. I remember getting the epidural and feeling wonderful. After I had some relief I remember calling my parents and telling them that I was in the hospital and would be having the baby soon. I remember the look on my mom and Dads face. The proud look on my dads face will be one I never forget. He was always smitten by his grandkids. I remember being SO tired, but having so much adoration for Ruby that I did not want to sleep.

Fast forward 2 years and another baby. Life has never been sweeter and it has never been more challenging. Ruby is full of spunk, full of love, and full of energy. I sometimes wish I could put a fit bit on her because she would have 100,000 steps. A go pro would make anyone who watched quite nauseous. She loves her sister, Stella! It is fun that Stella is now able to interact with her as well. I can't wait for Stella to get old enough to take her toys back when Ruby takes them from her. Ruby loves her people so much. She gets so excited to talk to her grandparents on the phone, but would much rather see them in person. She loves having friends over to play and she loves her Auntie Sarah. This past weekend I was liked chopped liver while Sarah was here. First thing in the morning Ruby went and cuddled up with Sarah. Here are 10 facts about Ruby. (That's easier)

1. She loves Curious George and often refers to him as "ah ah" I think because that is what a monkey says. Anyway, we had a Curious George themed party over the weekend and it was a blast. Ruby was in heaven with all her cousins and relatives at our house.

2. She loves treats. I think she could eat treats all day long and be completely fine. Maybe it is because we never have them in the house and she goes nuts when anyone else is willing to share them with her. I think this will come in handy when we potty train her this summer. By the way, we tried potty training her over Christmas break and homegirl was not ready. Quite honestly, i'm not sure her parents were either.

3. She loves to dance. Whenever Ben gets home that is usually the first thing she wants to do. She wants to turn on the radio and dance. This usually just entails her running in circles and screaming at a decibel that would kill your dogs.

4. She is so so good with Stella. Most of the time. Of course she has her moments where she rips toys away from Stella, but everything else is usually positive. She gives her kisses and likes to play mom saying things like, "no no sissy." "Sissy, you hungry?" She has even been known to life up her shirt and try to nurse Stella on occasion.

5. She does great in the nursery during church and MOPS. She used to cry and 9/10 times we would get called out of church because she had been crying for so long. Now she practically runs in and doesn't look back.

6. She is picky as all get out. She loves turkey hot dogs, any kind of fruit, yogurt, applesauce, and the Auntie Annie's mac n cheese. She sometimes will eat peas by the handful, which is crazy because I think peas are gross. Sometimes she surprises us and will eat things we wouldn't normally think of.

7. She is talking up a storm. I just can't believe the things that she says and the things she repeats. It makes me watch my mouth a little more closely. She will remind us that we need to pray if we forget and say Amen kind of like a Southern Baptist would when we are finished.

8. She has become a pianist. She can pound some keys I tell you. She will often move two chairs to the piano so that I can bring Stella over and play with her.

9. Speaking of chairs. She moves our kitchen chairs EVERYWHERE. She moves them over to the pantry, to the sink to wash her hands, to the stove, to the coffee maker, everywhere! Thankfully we have this house pretty Ruby proofed.

10. She has the most beautiful brown eyes and curls. She looks at me with those big brown eyes and I melt. Every. Single. Time.

Ruby is the girl who made my dreams come true. She made me a mom and I couldn't be happier having her in our life. Our lives changed forever on January 29, 2015. She makes me want to pull my hair out on some days, but on most days she makes me so happy and just content. We love you SO much Ruby and our prayer is that you grow up with the same energy and drive that you have right now to love and serve the Lord with all that you are. You were fearfully and wonderfully made-set apart and unique!

She used to not want to cuddle. Now she will snuggle right up to you if the timing is just right.

#contentment

While mommy was away, mommy Ruby stepped in to help Daddy out.

Yep, she was pushing Stella around.

Those brown eyes!

Eating breakfast with her cousin, Liam.

After church naps are the best.

Loves giving sissy kisses!

Hey Everyone,

Ok, I might be acting a little dramatic on the sleep part. Stella is 9 months old, Ruby is days away from 2, and I'm well, I'm here and we are all doing really well. For about the last month, Stella has been waking up 4-5 times a night. Now, at this point, I would typically just let her cry and have her self soothe. However, Ruby is right next door to Stella and will wake up if I let Stella cry too long. So, I usually give it 5-10 minutes and then I just go in and nurse her back to sleep. This very same thing happened with Ruby, although with Ruby it was because I had dried up. Probably due to being pregnant again. I'm not ready to say I'm drying up just yet. Although I have done a few experiments. I have fed her and then given her a full bottle of breastmilk and she only woke up 2 times. It still seems a little different with Stella, but we may be heading in that direction. Rest assured that I'm am NOT pregnant again. There will not be 3 under 3 in the Harvey household. I guess if God has other plans then so be it, but if that were to happen it would not be planned. I think Stella might just be a baby that doesn't require a whole lot of sleep. She takes two naps during the day, but they aren't very long. She is however such a happy baby and such a content baby. I will give you 10 fun facts about Stella and then I will blog again after Ruby's 2nd Birthday to tell you about Ruby.

1. She is crawling all over the place and climbing and pulling herself up onto anything and everything.

2. Ruby is still her favorite person. One of my favorite moments each day is when Stella and Ruby see each other for the first time in the morning. The smiles from both of them are so genuine and so beautifully big!

3. People keep asking if I have given her a haircut. I haven't. I wonder if her head is just growing into the insane amount of hair that she had. I do think it is getting lighter though.

4. She says, "mamamamamama" and "dadadadadada. I'm not sure she knows that it is us though.

5. She loves splashing around in the bathtub. I can't wait to take her swimming this summer.

6. She doesn't have stranger danger like Ruby did. Stella goes to the nursery doing church and does just fine. She does still give strangers a complete straight face though. It is pretty funny.

7. One of our favorite things to do is turn on the radio and dance. I think Stella has dance in her future. Although, I caught her twerking and told her that it was unacceptable.

8. She crawls over to her daddy every time he comes home. It's the sweetest. It is also so sweet how much Ben loves his girls!

9. She is eating solids now. I think her favorite right now is butternut squash and blueberry puffs.

10. She is just so so content. She goes with the flow, she plays by herself, but always has a watchful eye on what Ruby is doing.

Stella is honestly such a joy. We all are smitten by her! Ben and I are doing really well. We have been watching Grey's Anatomy and are currently on season 10 I think. We got sucked in big time. The girls go to bed and then we play a few rounds of ping pong and then watch a couple episodes of Grey's. It is SO nice having my husband back now that the basement is pretty much complete. He and his family worked SO hard on getting it done and I'm so so thankful for them. I'm most thankful though that instead of having to work after the girls go to bed that he can relax. He is a hardworking man! I've been doing my 21 day fix. I absolutely love doing this program. It is so simple. Eat right and exercise, that is all it is. I feel so good and I know without a doubt this is a lifelong commitment vs. crash diet. Hit me up if you guys are wondering more about what it entails! Anyway, I'm busy getting ready for Ruby's 2nd Birthday party. (Enter weeping mommy here) It will be a fun weekend with lots of family! Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for Ruby's 2nd Bday post!