Two Tuesdays- Life With 2 Under 2

Hey Friends!  

I'm happy to report we have survived the first week of life with two babies!  I confess we probably couldn't have done it without the help of both our moms - they are such gifts!  I'm sure most of you have either read or calculated the age difference between Lily and Stone, but just in case you haven't, our mini's are exactly fourteen months apart.  I know what you're thinking---these crazy OCD accountants and their planning, but let me assure you, this was all God's timing and not ours :)  

Because of the age difference (or lack there of), we didn't really know what to expect once Stone arrived.  All the unknown that comes with a newborn is elevated when you have a sibling to consider too.  Because this is new territory for us, I thought it'd be fun to track how each week goes with two under two!  While it isn't all fun and games, the first week went surprisingly better than I expected...I think I was preparing for the worst, so I wouldn't be disappointed :)

Stone:  Little man is doing awesome!  He has proven to be laid-back and easy so far.  He is eating like a champ--every 2-3 hours.  And I'm happy to report breastfeeding is going much better this time :)  No tears from this mama....woohoo!  Like most week olds, he spends a lot of time sleeping and eating.  He loves the sun and outside.  We went on a short walk and to the park this week and he didn't make a peep...he is very content and happy!

Lily:  Priss pot has taken to her new little brother much better than I expected.  I was a little nervous after her less than excited reaction in the hospital, but once we got home she has done great!  She is sweet and interested in her baby :)  She looks for him, kisses him (melts my heart), wants to hold him and has just overall been really gentle with him...praise God!  We were a little afraid she would be jealous of the time we'd need to give Stone, but Lily has really seemed unphased.  

Mommy:  Overall, I can't complain.  Postpartum is much easier the second time around.  I'm not nearly as stressed or emotional as I was with Lily.  I think going into to this change with no expectations has really helped.  I'm getting between five and six hours of sleep a night...albeit interrupted, but sleep nonetheless.  I also try to lay down during Lily's afternoon nap everyday.  The biggest challenge so far has been figuring out how to juggle both minis while trying to find time to eat, clean and do laundry, but I think another week or two and I'll have it down pat!

Daddy: Who are we kidding??  He's always awesome!  Love that guy!

So in short, the first week of two under two has been WAY better than expected :)  Now lets see how this next week by myself goes...

Stone's Birthday!

For starters, this pregnancy was as great as my first.  Albeit, I was a little bigger in the belly department by the end which resulted in a little bit more uncomfortableness, but overall, really an easy, fun pregnancy.  I figured since everything was so similar, delivery would be too.  True and not so true.

On Friday, February 14th (happy day of love!) I went in for my 39 week appointment.  I was supposed to have this appointment on Wednesday, but due to some bizarre weather this month, ice/snow caused us to reschedule.  Anyway, at the appointment I was 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced and his head was fully engaged.  The doctor said she'd be surprised if she didn't see us back by the end of the weekend.  I tried not to let this comment get the best of me, but once she said it I was ready...ready to meet our little man! :)  I'd been dilated since 36 weeks, so I tried to play it cool and not set any expectations.  One thing is for sure, the second time around you treasure every last night you get to sleep!

I woke Saturday morning with some contractions but nothing regular or worth timing.  Slade, Lily and I headed for a walk that morning hoping to bring on something more consistent, however, by early afternoon nothing had really changed.  My brother and his girlfriend were visiting for the day (or so they thought!) so we joined them and the Lichters for lunch and then headed to the park to let the kids play.  At this point the contractions were still really random and not too painful...more or less just annoying.  Mom headed over from Birmingham and met us all for some Italian dinner with hopes little man would come sooner than later.  During dinner the contractions picked up a good bit and were considerably stronger.  They were very similar to what I experienced with Lily, so Slade and I decided to head to the hospital after dinner.  If you remember, I had to walk the hospital halls with Lily to make sure I was in active labor, well the same thing happened once we got to triage-- turns out I had not progressed since my appointment the day before.  After an hour of walking with Slade by my side, the nurses checked me and no progress....enter some almost tears, disappointment and a little embarrassment because I mean this is my second pregnancy, I should know what I'm doing by now!  We headed home sad.  Maybe I was pushing it, too eager.  Either way, I told Slade that he'd probably have to deliver this baby at home because I was not "crying wolf" again and we wouldn't be coming back to the hospital until I was dying.  Once we got home, I took a look on the bright side-- at least we would get one more night of solid sleep, so I took a Tylenol PM and went to bed.

Sunday morning came.  I woke up feeling rested and good.  Surprised I had not woken with contractions during the night.  We took it easy in the morning.  Mom and I decided to get some recipes together and do some cooking, so we'd have plenty of food once the little man decided to show up.  Once we got home with groceries galore to prep and cook, I started having some consistent contractions but nothing too strong.  I brushed them off and started cooking with Mom and Neeley.  A couple hours passed and I could tell something was different than the day before...I had a feeling it was happening, but once again, didn't want to "cry wolf," so I was cautious to say anything to anyone.  Along the way, Mom and Neeley could tell I was starting to really hurt.  They fired me from the kitchen and sent me to shower...you know, just in case!  Following the shower, I decided it was time to lay down and time my contractions.  I had planned to time them for one hour, but after 20 minutes I knew it was time to head to the hospital.  I was in so much pain!  Slade was at the office, so once he was in route home, I started putting my make-up on and curling my hair in between contractions.  Call me crazy, but I was not going to the hospital looking scary :)  By the time Slade arrived to the house, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and so strong I had to breathe and close my eyes with each one....it was go time!

We arrived to the hospital around 6:45 PM and were immediately rushed into a triage room.  The nurses checked me and I was at 6 cm!!!  Woohoo!  No "crying wolf" this time :)  

We were escorted back to our delivery room, filled out some paper work (well, Slade filled it out - I could barely see straight!) and got ready to have a baby.  I requested my epidural as soon as we got to our room... modern day medicine at its best :)  Once the epidural took, I was able to relax and visit with family.  The doctor came in and broke my water around 8 PM and told us I was at 8 cm and we should expect a baby in the next hour... crazy!  Things were moving SO much faster this time around.

We took the next hour to visit with all our family that was able to come to the hospital to be with us and celebrate Stone's birthday.  We even had a few surprise visitors show up - Cody, Allie, Riki, Bryce and the 3 G's all drove several hours to surprise us... it meant so much to have them make a trip to be with us during this special time.

Around 9 PM the doctor came back in and told us it was time to have a baby!  Slade, my mom, and my sister were in the room again this go around, and all assumed the same positions as last time... professionals maybe?!?!  It took several minutes to get everything set up to go, but once everyone was ready, I started pushing.  After THREE pushes (all of about 5 minutes), Stone Osborne Sellers made his way into the world at 9:12 PM weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 18 1/2 inches long.

It was love at first sight!  It was also music to our ears to hear he was a healthy little man with ten fingers and ten toes :)  Perfection!

We could not have asked for a more smooth, relaxed, safe and quick delivery.  We are truly blessed with this sweet guy and excited to start life as a family of four.  

Thanks to all of our family and friends for the prayers, texts and love... your support means the world to us.

     

Lillian Pace- 14 Months

So with the craziness of life, I've been a slacker on monthly posts for our sassy lady.  She turned 14 months this past Sunday and to celebrate she welcomed a brother!  While I'll update y'all on how the new baby is rocking fitting into her world in a different post, I want this post to be all about Lily and her fun, sweet, loving, prissy personality! :)

Milestones:  Big girl has definitely reached some serious milestones since her last update.  She started walking waddling with a few steps here and there in mid-January and in the past two weeks has decided walking is her new full time mode of movement.  While she will drop to all fours when she really wants to move, she is preferring to high step her way around the house...it is too cute.  We have only had two significant busts along the way too.  Winning!  

Lily's vocabulary is growing daily and it still blows mine and Slade's minds.  She says mama, dada, Tyty, yes, no, thanks, more, duck, bye, hey, ball.  I'm sure there are many more I can't think of right now too.  

Sleep and Eat:  Nothing much is new in this department.  We are so blessed with a great eater and sleeper :)  Girlfriend loves peanut butter, strawberries, and carbs of any kind, but she will eat most anything given to her too.  We said goodbye to bottles several months ago, and after some practice with sippy cups and straws, it seems the straws won!  She loves the Lollacup and Camelbacks.  Yes, you read that right...she has her own Camelback and loves it! 
Lily sleeps 12-14 hours at night and has two naps- the morning nap is usually around two hours and afternoon around one.  I have a feeling we are rounding the corner to moving to one nap a day, but this mama is trying to hold on to two for as long as possible!  Blankets and a paci are required for nap time...she is a little hoarder when it comes to these two things :) (probably because she only gets them when in her crib and in the car)!

Fun, fun, fun:  We have one active girl on our hands!  She loves playing with puzzles, interactive toys, balls, swinging, being outside, reading, stacking blocks, sliding, and recently has fallen in love with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  The iPhone and iPad are constantly cried asked for, but we try to limit technology time to a minimal amount a day.  Bathtime is also a highlight of her day!  I often find her in her bathroom with a leg hiked over the side of the tub...she is obsessed :)

 

Time keeps ticking away, but I have to say, each day is more fun than the last!  

Lily- you continue to fill our life with so much joy, laughter and fun.  
We love you sweet girl :)

Introducing....

Mr. Stone Osborne Sellers

Born February 16, 2014

9:12 pm

6 pounds, 11 ounces

18 1/2 inches long

We are now a family of four and could not be more in love!  He has already blessed us in more ways than we imagined.

Stay tuned for his birth story and how big sister is handling her new BFF :)

Renovation DONE!

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted about our renovation...life has been crazy!

The end of December & January were totally focused on all things renovation...it is seriously insane how this turned into a full time job.  Lily and I frequented Home Depot more than anywhere else during this time-just call me Nicole Curtis from DIY channel :)  

In all seriousness, this remodel was super stressful and took a lot out of me.  I don't think I've been so anxious and ready for something to be complete in my life!  Luckily, my support system (aka Slade) kept me from totally going nuts, and now we are finished with all things renovation for now :)

I thought it'd be fun to take you through the changes we made to the kitchen with a little before and after.  I apologize in advance for the dark pictures...I'm trying to shoot in manual mode these days and I haven't reached professional status yet :)

Just to recap---the original dining room and kitchen areas were way too small for our liking, so we decided to make the formal living room (because who needs those now a days?!?!) the new dining room and expand the kitchen into the original dining room...make sense?!  With this change, we also opened up a good portion of the existing wall between the two rooms and laid all new hardwoods throughout the main level.  

Double ovens are heaven in the kitchen!

The island wasn't in our original plans, but so glad we added it with a work sink!  It has made cooking a breeze.

Our designers talked me into a built-in, floor to ceiling pantry instead of building out a separate room.  So far I love it!  Tons of space and really easy to keep everything organized.

 

So as you can see, the original dining room was completely transformed into half of the kitchen.  

Now moving on to the original kitchen layout...a galley kitchen...yikes!  I knew this would not be functional for us.  We kept the sink and dishwasher where they were, but moved everything else around.  I opted for no upper cabinets on the right wall to open the space up a bit, and also to accommodate our coffee pot...caffeine is extremely important in this house :)  We added all new recess lighting, opened up the wall to the family room and expanded the laundry area.

 (Excuse all the mess...this picture was before the family room was complete)

A view from the family room side of the kitchen...

 Photo bomb by Tyde :)

We are SO happy with how it all turned out!  I love the openness we were able to accomplish and the functional layout.  They say a kitchen is the most important room in the home and I couldn't agree more.

Stay tuned for more house updates soon :)