Jillian's First Haircut

On April 10th, Jillian got her first haircut! We went to the salon my mom goes to near their house. I've not only met the stylist before, but she has a daughter about 2 weeks younger than Jillian! I knew she'd be a good person to see for this special occasion. Since Jillian has never met a stranger, she went right up to Miss Sam, and did excellent! And of course, she got a sucker which made everything better :)

We decided to just trim her hair in the back, and then give her bangs. Sometimes Jillian pulls her hair ties out, so hopefully this cut will help her stop this habit.

I got a short little video of her, but its mostly me talking while she sits eating her sucker. I figured I wouldn't subject y'all to that!

{Sitting in the chair like a big girl}

{It's not so scary when you have a nice lady, and a sucker!}

{The happy girl telling Miss Sam "Thank You!"}

{The finished product!}

{And my silly mom ;)}

Jillian did so good, and Sam was just so sweet and accommodating. I hope her next hair cut goes as smoothly!

Meeting A Blog Friend

In this post, I listed my to-dos for the year. One of those items involved meeting a fellow blogger. If I'm being honest, I had a particular person in mind :) {I hope that doesn't sound as creepy as I fear!} With my parents living in Minnesota, I had a feeling I could get in touch with Lesa at Growing and Sewing Lesa pretty easily. Lucky for me, she was willing to take a chance on me, and agreed to meet up! We met at a local park, and had a good time!

She has a precious boy named Parker, and he is about 12 days older than Jillian. He is sweet, and as cute as can be!

{Jillian and David at the park}

{We got there a little early, so Jillian ran around a bit while David and I watched}

Once they got to the park, the kids had a good time playing! It was also great to talk to Lesa. We were able to have a good conversation amidst chasing down our wandering toddlers ;)

{It was cute watching them play}

{Who knew stairs would be the best part of the playground equipment?!}

{Jillian thought Parker was fun, and talked about him for the days following}

{The three kids together!}

{This was the best way to get a picture of the active toddlers ;)}

{And the lovely Lesa and I!}

It was so fun to meet her, and she is truly just as nice and sweet as she seems on her blog! I sure hope we get to meet up again soon. And now she knows I'm not some crazy stalker ;)

Minnesota Trip

Once we were in Minnesota, we had quite a bit we wanted to do! Though our first full day started as most days do - with breakfast!

{Jemma and Jillian eating some oatmeal}

My dad and Phil were going to the home opener for the Minnesota Twins in the afternoon, so my mom and I took Jillian to the mall. We bought some Easter/Baptism outfits, and rode the carousel :)

{Jillian checking out David's new hat}

Tuesday morning, we woke up early so Phil could fly home. It was hard to see him go, but I was glad we got to spend a little time with him before he had to go back to work! After that, we had a relatively quiet day. 

{Jemma and David having some quality time}

We stopped by my dad's new office, then had lunch at Chili's. We decided to just hang out around the house the rest of the day.

{David was very tired that night}

{Jillian all washed up and ready for bed!}

The next day, we spent a little time with Jemma before she headed to work. We actually got to meet a dear friend of mine, but that'll be a post all by itself :) Otherwise, this was evidence that a toddler had taken over my parents' house.

{We can't take credit for the rubber chicken. That was already around ;)}

{I thought I'd explain what you're looking at via colored arrows. Blue: empty DVD case Red: diaper wipes Yellow: Toy that makes noise Black: various pieces to a magnetic Hello Kitty set Green: Cinnamon Teddy Grahams Purple: a book about kittens that was mine as a child Orange: Infant to Toddler rocking chair with a blanket}

Thursday, Jillian got her first haircut! I'll post about that later as well. Then, we went with my mom to her office in Wisconsin. We ended up eating at the new Culver's in town. We love eating at Culver's, and we can always tell when we cross the Mason-Dixon Line when we see Culver's ;) {I kid I kid}

{Had to :)}

{Jillian and Jemma enjoying their lunch}

{Jillian eating her ice cream, and mama enjoying the flavor of the day: Chocolate Eclair!}

After my dad got off work, we went to the mall so the kids could get a picture with the Easter Bunny! Jillian LOVED it, and hardly waited her turn ;) Once we took the picture, we let Jillian ride on the carousel again with Gee-Chaz, then we got some coffee at Caribou.

{Jillian's blue horse stamp for riding the carousel. She talked about it all the time!}

Friday, we got all packed up, and started heading back to Oklahoma. We had to stop several times, and the trip down was a little noisier/stressful than the trip up. Luckily, my parents are pretty understanding, so we survived. We ended up stopping at a little Amish store. Jillian was able to run around a bit, and we had a good time. We even saw a man driving his horse and buggy, and he waved to Jillian!

{Gee-Chaz and Jillian checking out the "cows"}

{Mama and David enjoying the sunshine}

We spent the night at my relatives' house on the Kansas side of Kansas City. It was good to see them, and their new home was very lovely! The next morning, we ate a delicious breakfast, then headed home! 

{Gee-Chaz and David taking a morning snooze before breakfast}

Overall, we had a wonderful trip! Even though it's quite the drive, it is always worth it. 

Getting to Minnesota

Part of my absence at the beginning of this month was due to a trip up to Minnesota to see my folks! I don't like to mention I'll be gone on any social media outlets for safety reasons. I did talk about being in Minnesota after Phil headed home, (he had to go back to work). It was quite the little trek now that we have two cuties in our backseat. This is a picture post about our trip up :)

Friday morning, David had a doctor's appointment. He got his 4 month shots, so we spent most of the day cuddling. After Phil got off of work, we headed to Tulsa to stay with his folks. The idea was that we'd hopefully make it from Tulsa to St Paul on Saturday. However, we were prepared to stop for the night if necessary. {And yes, it was necessary}

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast before we headed up the highway. We stopped for gas and some needed deserved ice cream in Missouri.

{Left: Jillian asked for a banana, but mostly ate her ice cream}

{Right: Phil and David enjoying some time outside of the car}

We got through Kansas City without much trouble, so we stopped at a rest area outside of town for a picnic lunch! It was a little chillier than we expected, and there was a cow herd nearby that gave us some interesting things to smell :-/ However, it was nice and leisurely, and Jillian got to run in the grass as much as she wanted!

{Left: Phil and Jillian getting their lunch together}

{Top Right: David enjoying the sunshine}

{Bottom Right: My Lunchable and Coke} 

Right around the Missouri/Iowa State line, Jillian was starting to have a breakdown. We were already contemplating a stop for the night because we were set to arrive at my parents' house around 9 pm. That was just a little too late for the kids. After a fun period of crying and screaming, (from Jillian, not Phil), we ended up booking a hotel room online. We got a pretty nice deal because they are currently remodeling. We checked in, got settled, then went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

{Left: Jillian running around outside while we waited for a table at Outback}

{Middle: David settled in his Pack n Play at the hotel}

{Right: Jillian watching Yo Gabba Gabba on the iPad and arranging the water bottles for me ;)}

Sunday morning, we ate at the hotel breakfast bar, then jumped on the highway. We ended up needing to stop for a potty break near the Iowa/Minnesota line, and the Welcome Center was this big red barn!

{We got a kick out of it. All jokes aside, it was a very nice facility!} 

I was pretty excited to be so close to my parents' house, so I took a quick family selfie :)

{<3} 

As we got into the Twin Cities, I looked behind me and Jillian was singing the ABCs while plugging her ears. I believe David was fussing a little at the time, but she looked so funny!

{It took a few tries to get the picture because she kept putting her hands down when my phone was in sight. Little stinker ;)} 

We got to the house around 1pm, and Jillian was just so excited to see her Jemma and Gee-Chaz! We decided to have dinner at Perkins, which is only a few miles from their house. This is what happened...

{Left: Jillian fast asleep in the car}

{Right: She was so out of it that we laid her on the table to take off her jacket and she stayed asleep for a few moments! She only woke up when I started taking the jacket off}

I tried to have low expectations for our trip so I wouldn't be too disappointed if things were rough. Luckily for me, the trip was relatively painless, and we were happy to be up north with my folks!

Coming up next, what we did in town!

Where Were We?

I have just made it to the other side of one of the hardest weeks of my life. Lots going on all at once.

No worries, I'll be doing lots of posts over the next fews days to get y'all all caught up on the nitty gritty :)

Hope y'all are doing well!

I'm Still Around

I don't know about y'all, but I've had at least one thing to do every single day for about 2 weeks now. It can range from fun things, normal appointments, to a few necessary extras. So here's my brain dump so I can free up some space ;)

• I had a good birthday overall! I got some lovely gifts, had a nice lunch with friends, saw some family members (BIL & SIL stayed at our house that night), and even got to celebrate the next day because we forgot to eat the cake on my birthday. The only downside was a little accident at church that night. My friends' daughter ended up breaking her leg during choir practice. She's doing better now, but I know that's a hard thing to deal with, especially when you're an active little girl! 

• We had to buy a new car around my birthday. You see, Phil's car started making a knocking sound in the engine about 5 days before my birthday. Phil purchased the car on Saturday 3/22, but they had to clean it up for us because someone had traded it in that day for a new car. It took an extra 5 days, but we finally got it! It's a 2010 Hyundai Sonata. It runs well, and we're really happy with it :)

{Home in the garage at last}

• David got to try out the jump-a-roo recently! He seems to like it ok, and I know he'll really love it once he figures out how to bounce on his own. For now, he likes being entertained by us while he chills in it.

{Cuteness overload!}

• I went to see a dermatologist yesterday. I had a spot on my left hand that just appeared the other day, 3/18. It doesn't burn or itch, it wasn't getting lighter or darker, and I hadn't used any new cleaning products. It was really the strangest thing. I even tried not wearing my wedding rings to see if something got on it and irritated my hand. Well, we found a dermatologist, and she was really great! {It was awkward in the waiting room though. I was in between the side where the teenaged boys with their moms sat, and where the old people with melanoma sat.} Luckily, it is just hyperpigmentation. It sounds like, because I work with fresh limes and lemons with my cooking lately, when the juice on my hand gets exposed to sunlight it causes the pigmentation in my hand to go into hyperdrive. It's not permanent, but she recommended some over-the-counter cream to get it back to normal. Apparently, it's common for bartenders to have this issue. I also mentioned my eczema, so hopefully her recommendation will get it taken care of, or at least in check :) I'm just glad my hand wasn't harboring an infection or anything like that. Though, Phil did promise me a bedazzled hook if they had to amputate. I guess that'll have to wait for now ;)

{The hand of many colors}

• And as always, Jillian is keeping me on my toes as well as laughing with her antics. She's climbing on anything she can, which is giving me little heart attacks every day. Her vocabulary is just exploding, which makes for some hilarious comments on her part. She still teeters with how she feels about David. Most of the time she doesn't mind him, but every so often she'll act a bit jealous. They are now officially sharing their bedroom, and so far it's been good! Jillian is also slowly getting better with potty training :) She's not a rock star yet, but she's doing wonderful and we are proud of her progress!

{In her Foofa jacket :)}

• I finally moved files off my laptop so I can have space to upload pictures again! My phone was getting full because I couldn't take stuff off. I'm so glad to have a husband who can help me with stuff like that. Otherwise, I'd be out of luck!

How is everything with y'all? Hanging in there?

David: {Four Months}

David –

You are four months old today! How can we be 1/3 of the way through your first year?

According to our measurements at home, you are 13 lbs, 6 oz and 24-1/4 inches long. When we go to the doctor in 3 days, I'll update your official stats :) Update: You are 12 lbs, 14 oz and 25 inches long! The weight loss may be due to your tummy troubles the last two days :(

You are in 0-3 Month, and 3 Month outfits. You have a few 3-6 Month clothes, but they’re still way too big for you. We just switched you to size 2 diapers last week.

You eat an average of 30 ounces a day, and feed every 3-4 hours. Sometimes you eat the whole bottle, and other times you just snack on it. Even when you don't feel well, you eat over half of what you normally get which tells us you're doing ok. You are exclusively on Target brand formula. We may end up starting solids with you this month, but we'll see.

You sleep for 30-90 minutes throughout the day. You do not like to be kept up in order to have 2-3 big naps a day. We're ok with that for now my boy :) You only tolerate pacifiers* when you're sleeping. The only issue with that is you wake up mad if you lose it. Luckily for us, that is happening less and less. You sleep anywhere between 8 and 9 hours a night. We just moved you to your crib which is in the room you share with your big sister. So far no major issues have come up, but we're prepared either way!

*If we try to give you a pacifier and you don't want it? You scream. I mean, red-in-the-face how-dare-you kind of screaming. 

Unless you're just overtired, you enjoy bath time. You don't always splash around like your sister did, but it does have a calming effect on you :) You like to straighten your legs in the tub. That can make it a little more difficult to bathe you, but we can get the job done anyways.

You are better with diaper changes, unless you're already in a bad mood. Otherwise, we can get some big smiles out of you :)

Personality traits are slowly emerging. You are a serious, yet calm baby 90% of the time. If you're upset about something, you want it fixed immediately! Even if you don't feel well, you still give us sweet grins. You are starting to laugh sans hiccups, and it's so cute! You like instrumental and classical music much more than any other type. You also like to hear mama sing. Bouncing on our legs seems to be a favorite of yours too. 

You rolled from back to belly on Pi Day {3/14}, and have done it a handful of times since. You aren't really close to rolling from belly to back though. Anytime we do tummy time, you'll lift your head for awhile, then just lie there. I don't think you care enough to roll that direction just yet. All in good time son :)

We are taking a trip up to Minnesota to visit your Jemma and Gee-Chaz this month! We've got a plan in place, but we're pretty sure you'll do great in the car. Most likely you'll do better than your sister. You're  good in the car unless you're getting too hot. We'll do our best to keep you comfy!

On a personal note, this month your mama was diagnosed with postpartum depression. I want you to know that this is not in any way, shape, or form your fault. This all has to do with mama and her body. If anything, you're the reason I get up in the morning. And that smile of yours? It reminds me that it's all ok. As long as I can show you every day how much you're loved by me, that's all I can hope for. Once mama gets a little help, things will get better. I promise you're worth it!

I am so blessed to have you in my life baby boy! You’re a big piece of my heart, and we are so glad you are part of our family. Love you little tomato :)

Now some outtakes:

{Such a sweet smile :)}

{I'm ready for action!} 

{OK mom, I'm done now} 

{Jillian decided she needed the sticker too ;)}

And some comparisons!

{Months 1-4}

{Left: Jillian 4/2012 Right: David 4/2014}

{Read Jillian's 4 Month Update Here}