If I don't blog it - I won't remember

Guess who is 6 months and a half months old today and FINALLY slept through the night????

And I would feel like a new woman and maybe the bags under my eyes would not be so bad today but her sister got up 4 times last night including wetting the bed twice (she sleeps in diapers but she drank too much before bed and it just overflowed) and got up at 5:30 a.m. for the day? ha! I just have to laugh. 

I used to tell God I didn't care if I had to be up all night long - I just wanted a baby.  And I'm so thankful He answered my prayers - and I like to think he gets a little laugh when He REALLY answers our prayers! 

Speaking of Harper and laughing......I had to laugh again when I picked her up from MDO today and her teacher told me "She WEARS me out".  She said it in a nice way but I just wanted to say "Welcome to my life!" ha! Harper is a bundle of energy and she NEVER stops talking all day long.
BUT I think the closer we get to 3 - the easier she is getting.  We have had some wonderful days lately and it has been such a blessing.  For the last year - when I ask her to do something she usually says "NO!" or does exactly the opposite of what I ask but lately she will say "Okay, Mommy, Okay" and then proceed to do what I've asked.  It's the little things - that just thrills me!  She really is becoming so independent and is such a little helper.

Sometimes I underestimate what she is capable of.  In our parenting class - we learned something that I thought was wonderful but would NEVER work with Harper. At least not at this age.  It's called the "interrupt rule" and it is taught to teach children not to interrupt adults but also that what they have to say is important to you.  When I'm talking to another adult or to her dad - we teach her instead of interrupting - to come up and put her hand on my arm and then I put my hand back on her hand so she knows I know she has something to say and then at a good breaking point I can say "Harper - did you have something to say?"  We didn't even try this at first because I knew she wouldn't get it.
Well - we finally did it one night this week and just forgot it.  Yesterday I was talking to Scott and realized a little hand was resting on my arm. I couldn't believe she remembered! So we played it out and she was THRILLED when I gave the the floor to speak.  So thrilled that she wanted to "play the interrupt rule game" all night long.

Seriously - I'm leaving you with cuteness overload for the night.  I have no idea how something this cute came from us.  

That dimple.

Is she for real? :-)

Show Us Your Life - Where do you shop for kids???

I get asked all the time in emails and comments where I get my girl's clothes.  I blogged about it about a year ago so I'm just kind of re-vamping that post and I'm excited to hear where you shop - maybe we will get good ideas?

I'll admit I LOVE dressing Harper & Hollis up. I feel like I've become that mother who doesn't care what she looks like but her child is always dressed to the nines. I just always dreamed of having a little girl and I LOVE picking out their outfits every day. I know it's silly but I also know it's a short window. At some point they are going to want to pick out their own outfits. There will come a time when they are 10 or 15 and will wear things I don't think are so "precious" anymore. I mean what could my mother have been thinking when I wanted to wear my hair like this and wear this ever so flattering outfit in high school? (Yes - that is me)

And of course having two girls makes it fun knowing each outfit will get worn at least two years!

Also - I like little girls to look like little girls. I'm old fashioned I guess but they can dress like teenagers when they ARE teenagers.  That's my style - I know it's not everyone's.  

(and I want to add I would LOVE to dress up a boy - I have visions of jon jons and longalls in my head.  You can find most of those things in the same places. I also love little polo shirts and khakis for boys as they get to be 2 and up. There ARE cute things for boys.....you just have to look!!!)

There are SOOOOO many places to get kid's clothes. But here are some of secrets-

1. I've been lucky to find some well dressed girls whose mom's have let me buy their hand me downs. Every season I buy from a few moms and that has been a huge blessing!  I'm a big fan of buying used clothes for kids.

2. That's why I get the MAJORITY of Harper's clothes on ebay. I have a list of brands I love and I just search from time to time to find those brands in Harper's size. I look at lowest price first. You can get wonderful deals and I've had nothing but wonderful experiences.
This is a list of brands I look for-
Peaches N Cream
Potato Saks
Chatti Patti
Matilda Jane
Ragsland
Kelly's Kids
Castles and Crowns
Petite Ami
Bailey Boys

3. I also use Ebay to look for monogrammed clothes. I search for "monogrammed H" in toddler clothes and I have found so many cute things for cheap, cheap!

4. I like to buy off etsy but I don't have favorite sellers - I know a lot of you have asked. I search for personalized or monogrammed outfits or bloomers or bibs.

5. Something I have discovered recently is Zulily.com. They have great deals daily - but you have to be fast - they sell out quickly. They start the sales at 8 a.m. so if you see something is coming the next day you like - get on there early!!!

6. I get asked about shoes also. I started out buying cheap shoes from Target or Wal-Mart and quickly realized they need good shoes for support. And then I kind of became a little obsessed with shoes. Here are a few sites that have CUTE shoes for toddlers or kids:
www.puddlejumpershoes.com
www.bellanovasqueakyshoes.com
www.itzybitzy.com
I also have gotten a lot of shoes off Zulily.  They have GREAT buys if you just watch for them.  You can get the nice squeaky shoes for around $10!!! (normally $30)

7. I also love to hit up consignment shops but I'm very picky. I know some of you in bigger towns have consignment sales that are nothing but smocked clothes and higher end brands for MUCH LESS!!! Take advantage of these kind of sales!!




8.  There are all kinds of facebook pages that sell Kids clothes.  Lolly Wooly Doodle, Smockadot kids, the Smocked Auction, Sweet Chic-a-Dee, .......there are TONS! There are also lots of monogram swaps and consignment sales on facebook. 

These are just a few ideas for you!  What are yours????

This and That

The princess welcomes you to our blog today! ha! 

I just have some random things I wanted to put out there today.

First of all - I know so many of you believe differently than me or don't believe anything at all as far as faith and I get so many emails and comments asking me "What does it mean to "get saved"" or "what does it mean to be a Christian".  Sometimes I worry that I don't know how to put it correctly into words. I want so desperately for you to know this amazing love of God that I have but words sometime fail me. 

BUT my friend Shaun wrote a post yesterday that explained EXACTLY what I would want you to know about what it really means to be a Christian:

http://shaungroves.com/2011/09/label-me-this/

If you have questions or are curious - I'd love for you to read that post.  It's what I want to share with you if I only I was better at writing my heart.

I have a blog friend who just delivered a little girl, Hadlee, on August 31st. Hadlee was discovered to have issues with her heart when she was first born but those seem to be okay now. But she has had high Direct Bilirubin levels ever since she was born.  The doctors are baffled and have run test after test after test.  Her mom Christy is wondering if anyone who reads this blog has ever experienced this with their baby or knows of anyone who has or is a nurse or doctor who knows anything about this? If you do - would you email me and let me know what you know? She would be SO grateful. 

(Thank you - I have heard so many of you through email and in comments. I've passed it all on to christy and I hope it's going to help.  It amazes me that something can happen that you never have heard and you come to the "internets" and things almost seem common - you can hear from so many in the same boat.  I love blogging!)

Learning and a Giveaway!

Whew!

I honestly don't know how you homeschool moms do it.
I'm being completely honest. I want to work on helping Harper learn but most days between just getting up, eating breakfast, getting all of us ready, feeding Hollis, putting Hollis down for a nap, getting Harper to wear her hearing aids, helping Harper go potty 300 times, letting Harper play, trying to get a few chores done, eating lunch, getting Harper down for a nap, fixing dinner, eating dinner, bath time and bed time and the fact that Hollis won't let me put her down for more than 10 minutes without screaming..........I have a hard time working in much learning time. We read books a lot and I try to count with her and say her ABC's a lot and I've recently bought her some flash cards and my mom bought her some too.
She does go to MDO twice a week and they work on colors and letters but I wanted to work on things at home.

Anyway, yesterday we went to Wal-Mart (which I'm ashamed to say is a frequent event for us because I seem to constantly get home and then realize we are out of something else we need). I decided to make it into a game and try to get Harper to name the color of everything we saw. She thought it was really fun and it kept her busy and it made me happy to see her start to recognize her colors.
I'm going to try and be more intentional of doing color sheets or some kind of learning activity every day. She's only 2 - I don't feel like I need to go full on kindergarten on her but I also know she's at an age where she is soaking in new things constantly! It's really fun hearing her say new things every day. She is getting so independent and so much easier as she gets closer to three. Two has been a tough age for us but I'm enjoying her more and more every day!

On a totally different subject - my friend Stephanie has a website with the cutest personalized stuff. She has cute fall shirts and they are only $12. She is letting me give away three shirts! So if you leave a comment today - I will enter you and I will draw 3 winners on Friday afternoon. And if you go and "like" her facebook page - come back and leave a second comment and let me know and you will get a second chance! These would be great for fall pictures or just to wear to the pumpkin patch or to school!

See all the cute designs????

Kelly

Her website is
www.ifyousaysewgifts.com if you want to check it out!

Kelly

Bible Verses Printables and Prayer Requests

One of my blog/twitter friends put the neatest thing on her blog yesterday - Bible Verse Printables.  They look like this and I think there are 12 of them.  Neat idea to print and put on your mirror or at your desk or to give to friends or put in notes, etc.

Check out this blog to get them: www.kappaprep.com

I thought I would share with you a few requests I have gotten lately:

Please pray for my grandma - she is sick in the hospital and I'm worried about her.

Amelia gave birth at 25 weeks and 4 days to a little girl.  Amelia has Cysinosis and is only the 7th person with this disease to ever give birth. Pray for her and her child. 


Pray for Bob Lee who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor - a GBM.


Pray for the community in Springfield, GA.  In the past month - 3 teenagers at the high school have tragically died. And that makes 6 who have died in the last 13 months. 

Pray for Wren Horn.  She is a 33 year old pastor's wife who was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She has 3 children under the age of 3. The youngest was just born weeks ago.  This is breaking my heart.  Please lift them up.   http://www.harriscreek.org/horn-updates

Pray for baby Levi. He was born with  a diaphragmatic (sp?) hernia and has been on ECMO since birth. http://werebringingupboys.blogspot.com/

Pray for Kerrigan. She was born 14 weeks early and has Cystic Fybrosis. She's been in the hospital a lot lately and needs prayer . http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cameron2008

Thank you as always for praying and being so faithful to support one another! I'm thankful for a community who wants to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down! :-)  Life is too short to not encourage one another!

What's been Going on.............

I wanted to share about our weekend but I really have to back up a few days to Thursday.  Thursday night I had a girls night over at my friend Amber's house.  All the girls from our Sunday School class get together around once a month and we have a potluck and visit and it is always SO much fun and probably the thing I look most forward to each month.  Only we had so much fun talking and laughing that I forgot to take pictures.

Also on Thursday - we were playing in Hollis' room after bath time and Hollis sat by herself for the first time.  She sat for a few minutes at a time several times!!! She's getting so big!

I was so excited Friday because one of my blog friends Susie who lives in south LA happened to be in town for a funeral (sad for her) but we got to meet up that morning before she and her family left town.  She is so sweet. I had so much fun visiting with her. Her daughter Maddy who is 11 was with her and she entertained Hollis (Harper was at school) and her husband was also there and is so nice. He has a LOT in common with Scott - I was wishing they could have met.  I kept telling him they would be best friends.  Susie is so creative and makes the CUTEST signs!

We had a ROUGH night Friday night.  Both girls were up almost all night.  Hollis had some gas issues and I don't know what Harper was up to.  I didn't get to sleep until almost 4:30 and then was back up at 7.  So we took it slow Saturday and were pretty lazy.  Luckily Hollis took two really good naps and Harper took one and I should have but the Lord just seems to give me energy. :-)
I love this picture.  They are starting to interact so much these days and it is SO fun!
(I'm so proud of Harper's dress in this picture. I absolutely love it and I love it especially because my friend Kacy saw it in a consignment shop and it's basically new and was $10 and she emailed a few of us with girls that age to tell us about it so I raced to get it!) (and Hollis' dress was Harper's that she wore for two years - once as a dress and once as a top.  So we should get four good years out of that sweet dress!)

We went to a birthday party for our friend Lena Saturday afternoon.  My friend Tracy throws the most amazing parties. She makes the rest of us look bad.  I honestly don't think the girl ever sleeps.  This is Tracy's sister Dia - she is Harper's MDO teacher. Harper was SO excited to see her there.  She was acting so good like she needed to behave because her teacher was there.

It was a cute cowgirl themed party and Tracy had pony rides for the kids.  Harper LOVED this. She rode the pony twice and had the best time.  The last thing she said before going to bed Saturday night was "I rode a horsey!"  She talked about it all day.

My friend Amanda and Hollis' BFF Lela.  We decided going to birthday parties with two kids is very fun but stressful. It's a lot to keep up with two when there are so many fun things going on.

Here is the birthday girl with her cake.  That's my friend Tracy and her other daughter Sarah Grace. You need to go visit her blog to see all the details from this party and the one she threw Sarah Grace a week ago for her fifth birthday.

She had a cute little photo booth area set up.  Of course - we were never all 3 going to look at the camera.

Harper and her sweet friend Neely.

My girls before church today. I got their little frog dresses off Zulily a while back. I SO love them. I'm hoping to get family pictures made this fall and I think we will wear those dresses.

Today was a crazy Sunday.  We went to church.  We had a big Sunday School class today - 17 9th grade girls - it just keeps growing! We came home and ate lunch and I ran to a baby shower for my friend Julee. I had to leave that a little early and come back in time for our parenting class at church.
This is Hollis and I before we left for the shower.  I took Hollis with me and she was so sweet.  She just "talked" and squealed and smiled the whole time.  Harper stayed home with Daddy and took a nap.

The shower was absolutely precious.  How sweet does this look?

And the cute cake.

They had pink cotton candy for favors. What a sweet idea!

Julee is one of my favorite people.  She is so pretty and she's one of the SWEETEST people I know.  I prayed so hard for her to have this baby and I'm so thankful that we are close to meeting her.  Baby Preslee will be here in December and she will be one loved and blessed little girl!

I didn't get a ton of pictures at the shower because I was holding Hollis but here are Jill, Melissa, and Jennifer. I love these blond girls!

Julee's mother-in-law, SIL Rachel and Leslie. It was at Leslie's house and it was so nice!

It's been a full but wonderful weekend! 

Whoooooooooooo Pig Sooie!

We are ready for those Hogs to play Bama!

You know us Southern girls -

We like to dress up for football games!

That way if our team doesn't look good - at least we do! :-)

GO HOGS!

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Places to Shop

I like clothes.
I really like clothes a lot.
I want to be trendy.  But I'm also pushing 40 and I've had two babies.  So even though I teach 9th graders now in Sunday School - I know I don't really need to dress like one.
It's a fine line.

I'm NO fashion expert. I like to follow trends but I also know I need to wear what fits my body (big hips and chubby thighs and all).

I've never been one to be tied to "brands".  I don't own designer purses or shoes or jeans.  I have bought a lot of clothes at Wal-Mart and sometimes those are the things I get the most compliments on.  I got the cutest chevron striped vest at Wal-Mart this summer for like $7 and I wore it more than anything. I also like Target (sometimes - their clothes aren't always my favorite).

My VERY favorite place to shop is T J Maxx. I love the hunt and I love the prices.  I probably get more clothes there than anywhere.

I also like Gap, Old Navy and Ann Taylor Loft.

And my very favorite store right now is Francesca's.  They have the cutest clothes and jewelry and it's not overly expensive.  Most of their dresses are WAY too short but they make great tunics.

For fall - I love boots (I'm a HUGE boots fan), skinny jeans I can tuck in boots, tunics or short dresses I can wear as tunics, open knit cardigans, ruffles - lots of ruffles, and fun jewelry.  I have never been able to pull off scarfs or hats.

I love stores like J Crew and Anthropologie but hate how expensive they are.  So I try to re-create their looks with T J Maxx and Forever 21, etc. I also love Talbots.  They have really come a long way!

My favorite trick is to layer. I wear a lot of long sleeve shirts under dresses that I would wear in the summer and with tights or leggings to extend my wardrobe. Or I put sweaters over things. I take summer thin ruffled shirts and put cardigans over them and add skinny jeans and boots.

A shop I found on-line through facebook that I'm in LOVE with is www.thebluedoorboutique.com
They have the CUTEST clothes! Like the dress above.



Where do you like to shop?

Laundry can wait

I have so much happiness and pride and fulfillment as I see this empty laundry basket.

  I AM the Proverbs 31 woman.

 And then I remember what it looks like in my bedroom.  Sigh.  Am I the only one who feels like I just can not ever get caught up? My to do list is always long.
But that won't stop me from taking the girls to the park to play on an early fall day or going through Sonic for an after "school" treat. 
That laundry pile will always be here - my babies won't.

 This little sugar had her 6 month appointment today.  If I don't write it here - I won't have a record so :
She weighed 17 lbs (69%) and was 26 inches long (57%).  She's a little bit bigger than her sister was at this age! And she is healthy and right at or ahead of all developmental milestones!

and cute as can be!

Stamps girls stuff

This is a plethora of just random things about my girls.  Really more for my memories and for the grandparents than anyone but you can peek in:

 Hollis started yesterday making this really deep growl noise. It's HILARIOUS.  I'm trying so hard to catch it on video.  Of course the minute I try to video - she quits.  I think she just found this new voice and likes using it.  She sounds like she needs an exorcist. ha!

 I put Harper's hair up in a ponytail with a headband for church the other night.  I thought she looked SO grown up!!!  Of course - right before we left she decided she didn't want to wear it and picked out a HUGE flower headband to wear instead.  I'm lucky that she doesn't have an opinion YET on what I dress her in.  I'm milking it until she does.

 She has been doing really good with potty training.  I'm so proud that she can completely do it all herself - pulling down and up her pants all alone.  She's not completely ready but we are probably close.  Her workers at church told me they got tickled because she takes a book into the bathroom with her.  I swore we don't do that at home! ha!

Harper loves to pray before bed every night and she names off all her extended family members.  She likes to thank God over and over for Hollis.  She says "thank you for Sissy and Hollis and Sissy and Hollis" about 70 times.  Sometimes she throws in random people like last night she prayed for "Brody and Judd" - two brothers from church.  It's so sweet.  She also usually thanks God for "snacks".



Harper is starting to play with Hollis more and more.  She asks for "sister" first thing every morning and after naps.  She adores her and it's so fun watching them interact. Hollis thinks Harper is SO funny.  They were playing with Hollis' new jumperoo yesterday and I loved how hard Hollis would laugh looking at Harper.

I adore my children but I'm not one of these mothers who thinks their children are geniuses. I know all children have different things they excel at early.  Harper is SO into drawing faces right now and honestly - it does kind of blow me away.  She drew this of her Papa.  Scott and I just can't believe how she draws eyes, a nose, mouth, ears and hair at 2.5.  She did not get her artistic ability from us. She may not dance or be athletic or be the smartest kid in her class (or maybe she will) - but she is so musical and artistic and I love that about her. (Because I am so NOT those things).

Harper is now obsessed with "Bambi".  It was "Beauty and the Beast" and "Tangled" and now she can't get enough of that little deer.  And it is the saddest movie in the world. I can't figure out why Disney made such a sad movie for children.  And if you think about it - in almost all the disney movies - the mom either gets killed or is already dead. What is the deal with that? Not my favorite message. ha!

And speaking of movies - I had so many of you asking about what music videos Harper loved to watch (the answer was Praise Baby and Cedarmont Kids).  She LOVES watching videos of kids singing praise music and there is nothing sweeter to me than her singing along. There is a new series called Baby Worship.  It's more up to date worship songs and I let Harper watch it in the car the other day and I seriously had tears in my eyes because she was singing so sweetly to "Mighty to Save" and it has scripture they say out loud.  If you want to expose your children to something precious - I would highly recommend these! If you use this link to buy the DVD - you can save 15%! (DVD is normally $12.99) http://kellyskornerblog.babyworship.com  I love it so much - I just had to share!(I'm not getting anything for sharing this with you - but I know so many of you are looking for something like this!)
(I also want to add that for every DVD/CD sold - they donate a portion to charities like World Vision - who help with hunger or water or medical supplies for third world countries.) (LOVE THAT!)

Six Months

Hollis - it's your half birthday!

You are SIX months old! (and a few days)

This has been the fastest year of my life!

We will get your stats at the doctor this week but you wear a size 2 diaper and size 6 month clothes.

You take two pretty good naps a day and you are not a great sleeper but we are slowly working on that.  I'm tired but I'm not worried about it too much because even if it takes 2.5 years like your sister - I do have hope that we will both sleep one day! (Honestly - I kind of like the middle of the night feedings.  I'll miss them so much when they are over soon).

You are just so sweet and happy.  We went through a stage where you screamed and cried a lot but that seems to be gone.  You DO pretty much want to be held all the time but we can put you down to play some and in the jumperoo and exersaucer and you are pretty happy.

You are doing better in the church nursery and that makes me happy.  The workers have figured you out and know when you need a nap and how to play with you to keep you happy.  So thankful for that!

You REALLY like eating.  You have had cereal, peas, carrots and sweet potatoes and we are starting squash today.  You have a BIG appetite.  When I am eating something - you always open your mouth and try to reach for my food.  It cracks me up.

You think your sister is the best thing ever and now that you are getting bigger - Harper is starting to play with you and it makes me SO happy to see you interact. She likes to sit in the car and talk to you and you just smile and laugh.  I can tell you think she is the greatest thing in the world. I hope you always love each other.

You are a MOVER! You roll everywhere and can drag yourself all over the floor. If I put you in the floor to play and walk off for even 2 minutes I will come back to you being somewhere totally different.  Changing your diaper lately is like wrestling an alligator.  You do NOT like to be still!

I think you are happy being on the go.  You LOVE riding in the stroller - you never fuss if we go for walks.  You also are always so good and content to be in your car seat in the car or in your car seat in a shopping cart.  I'm thankful I can take you places easily.

I am just CRAZY CRAZY in love with you! You have made our family complete and I can't imagine life without your sweet little face and dimple. You and Harper are my joy!

Hollis - you are growing so quickly.  I feel like in this picture you look like a tall little skinny thing! How has half a year gone by so fast?

Maybe it's the pink tutu - but I think you and your sister look more alike this month.  You have the same nose, mouth and sweet cheeks.  Your coloring and eyes are a little different. You are both the sweetest, cutest little girls I have EVERY laid my eyes on and I thank God every day for giving me the privilege to spend my life being your mom!