Jillian lost a tooth

While Georgia has been sprouting teeth left and right, our Jillian has been losing them!  Well okay, she has only lost one, but once you lose one, they all start to follow. When she first told me it was loose, it was a day filled of excitement.  In some funny way, I related it a bit to the end of pregnancy. There was a lot of anticipation of when this tiny tooth would decide to jump ship.  I kept saying any day, and Jillian agreed. It was pretty loose.  We were so eager for it to fall out, but then it kind of hung around and then we sort of forgot about it until it decided it was time! 


We had just eaten lunch, and I see Jillian run from the table to the bathroom.  I though to myself how odd, so I followed her to the bathroom to see her holding a tooth and mending to some blood on her lip.  I was hit with so many emotions, but the first thing I could do was just scream with excitement.  We got a towel to clean up the blood and then we placed the tooth in a safe spot and inspected it. Wow, it was so small.  When I asked her how it all went down, she said it was right after she bit into an apple.  She though it was a seed, but then upon further inspection and the slight distaste of blood, she knew it was her tooth.  I told her she was lucky she didn't swallow it and she was so enamored with her tooth that when it was time to place it under the pillow she wanted to write to the tooth fairy and ask kindly if she would let her keep her tooth.  What a sweet idea, so we wrote a letter (Jillian's words, my writing) and left it next to the bed.  To her dismay when she woke, the tooth was gone, but a $1 and some fairy dust was left behind, so I'd have to say it was a pretty exciting morning.  We used the pillow I used as a little girl and my mom had used when she was little to hold the tooth.  And the funniest part about the whole thing???  The next day her other bottom tooth started to wiggle, so let's just say we've better make sure we have tooth fairy money laying around.

So many changes and rambling thoughts

Blogging has taken a backseat in the past year, wow my last post was in March (so sad!!).  I didn't stop blogging on purpose, but our life and family have had a lot of big changes and after Wes turned 2 1/2 most of my journaling for him was complete.  Long gone are the days of the monthly updates, and while I still want to continue to journal their growth, big accomplishments and milestones, there was just too many other things happening.  The most exciting thing happened when I peed on a stick in January.  A positive test result.  One night (pre-pregnancy test) Tim and I were on the couch, and I felt some cramping.  I turned to him and said, if I am pregnant the egg just implanted itself into the uterus. Tim rolled his eyes.  But I knew that feeling was very special.  We  had only done the deed one time, so if I was pregnant, it would be a miracle, but I had hope.  We had been on the fence about having baby #3 for so long, we both just didn't know how to make the decision.  It was like we were overthinking it, and all the negatives and the positives were always so convincing and confusing.  It was by far the hardest thing to talk about emotionally.  One day we would feel one way, and other days it would be all I could think about. We fought over it, we cried over it. It was this never ending roller coaster.  In January, on a whim we both just decided to go for it one night without worrying about protection, and literarly from that point on the decision was made for us.  It FELT right. It FELT like it was meant to be.  I felt happiness.  I felt peaceful, and I felt complete.

And then another big change hit our family.  Tim got a new JOB.  After 12 years at his current company, he took a leap of faith and landed an amazing job an hour away.  This meant, MOVING.  So lets recap here: new baby, new job and now a new town??!!!

I think we handled it very well considering ALL these big changes were the BIGGEST life changes that could almost be thrown at anyone.  It's easy to look back on now and say we made it, but there were a lot of tears that came with everything.  We had to sell our house, deal with relocating, finding a new home to buy, all while trying to host open houses (potential buyers), first trimester exhausation, two little cutie pie hellions and Tim starting a new position at a new company.

As I sit and type this, it's almost as if all of it was a blur.  I know it happened, because I am sitting in our new home right now, but it is not without deep relflection that 2015 has definitely been our most challenging year. I am happy to report we have settled into our new life with much ease (and $$ spent lol), but it's all been worth it.

I also can't forget to mention we are also a mini van family now so yes, you can add new car to that mix.  Never say never!

January 2015 - Quick Update

Life is really busy. I haven't had an update on the kiddos in while so lets get to this.

Jillian -

- We had a tea party themed 4th birthday. I let her invite 4 friends: Ellora, Ava, Riley and Haley. We had a face painter, balloon twister, crafts and some fancy tea time.
- You started school in September and also were invited to be on the company dance team called Rubber Duckies!
- You LOVE dress up.  All day every day.  And Frozen.  That pretty much sums it up!
- You can write your own name, you know your birthday, your street, your city, and best of all is you think you know EVERYTHING because "you are 4." Everything is "Because mom, I am 4."
- You sleep in our bed every night. Daddy got the boot to the couch (more on that later).
- When you are mad at Weston you say "Mom, can we throw him away?"
- When you are mad at me you say "Mom, I don't love you anymore"
- When you are needy you say "Mom, I just want to be with you" This means hold me or just snuggle me.
- You are such a great listener - truly. I never have to discipline you.  We reason and talk things out.  It works.
- You pick out your clothes every day. Mostly dresses and always long sleeves.  You are SO picky about what itches your skin and you STILL don't understand how to dress appropriately for the right weather.  Rain and cold does not mean sandals and tank top dresses.
- You rarely let me do your hair and brushing tangles out, forget about it. It's like torture.
- Amazing eater - you try it all, and eat SO healthy.  Like when we go out to dinner you will order a salad! Who are you??!!
- You love to dance, you bust moves all the time and your new favorite color is now pink. So long purple.
- Milo is still your favorite pet
- You are the BEST big sister - you play really well with Weston and you love to include him.

Weston
- You really like the word NO now.
- When you hear music (and are in the mood) you start to dance by moving your head.
- You even have a dance move called Sumo Legs....yep, Sumo Legs.
- You run, like full on run.  It's amazing to see how determined you always are.
- You are also picky when it comes to clothes. If you could, you'd be naked.  You resist the diaper, you can't stand pants, and you will only put on a shirt if it's Thomas the train or Disney's Cars.
- You talk ALL the time and repeat everything we say.
- When you get riled up and want to play with Jillian you go over to hear and start giving her little hits. Nothing agressive, just your way of physically telling her, come on lets wrestle or something!
- You haven't exactly gotten the hang of hide and seek yet (although you try)
- Singing and dancing, those things are your jam!
- Still a huge momma's boy and that thing called sleep is getting better.
- Nursing: yep, we call it "nee-nee" and you ask for it now.  Sometimes I can say no, but you are still heavily dependent on it.
- You aren't so much of a good listener....yet.  You throw tantrums, but we divert your attention when it happens.
- You call grandpa Bill "Bopa"


Life in General:
- We spent Christmas in Arizona with family and had an amazing time.
- You guys rocked the road trips to Arizona and to AG to to see Grandma and Bopa!
- Jillian went ice-skating with Grandma Marcia (first time and did awesome). As a special treat, Queen Elsa was there too!
- Went to disneyland with Lisa and Ava for a girls day.
- Got some family pictures done



And now for some pictures!

Weston's First Birthday Celebration

The theme was incredibly easy to pick out.  Airplanes!  Since buying our home last year, we have moved underneath the flight path to John Wayne Airport.  It's actually really quite cool. The area we live in, is central Orange County, and we see a ton of airplanes throughout the day making their decent.  Needless to say, every since we moved in, Weston has been obsessed. One of the things he started doing after he noticed the patterns of planes was point. So anytime we would be anywhere, we would ask him "Weston, where are the airplanes?" and we would have him pointing his finger to the sky.  It was incredibly cute.  His fascination with airplanes is still dominant over most other things. Sure, he loves cars, balls, all those boy like things, but if he hears the roar of a jet engine or a hoovering helicopter above, he's straining his neck to locate it with his eyes, and then there goes his little hand pointing in awe.

This winter in Orange County has been non-existent this year.  It's been officially declared a drought.  Anyone that knows Tim and I, knows we LOVE rain.  However, I was thrilled to be able to plan an outdoor party at our new home for Weston, in perfect viewing site of the airplanes. We ordered a jump house, tables and chairs and invited over 30 of our closest family and friends.  Well, the weather of course decided to send a HUGE storm our way that week, and of course it called for 90% chance of rain on his birthday party day. I was soooo bummed.

So you know what we did, we moved the jump house into the garage for all the kiddos, and made do with our indoor space.  We HAD THE BEST time ever.  Because the weather was so nasty out, all the kids wanted to jump. Three days of pent up energy, and parents were glad to see a controlled space like a bounce house to use for hours!  And we did. We got our money out of that thing. 

You know what Weston did?  He slept. He greeted our guests, posed for some photos, and then was exhausted and excused himself to his room where he slept for over an hour with his door wide open, and people make a ton of noise. Ummmmm....since when did he adopt the term sleep like a baby? Because our son, doesn't ever do that.  So I had to wake him up to do cake before everyone had left.  He was groggy and tired, but after the birthday song, he really started to dig the idea that he was the center of attention and this person who is the center of attention gets a cake to eat all by himself.  And this kid of mine....he DUG IN.  He was eating it, got it all over his little cheeks, and continued to play with it for a good 15 minutes. I was in shock. Both my kiddos and their first cake experience were the complete opposite of what I thought they would do.

The day ended with the opening of presents and LOTS of leftover food.  I am pretty sure we still have a whole bag of Costco Tortilla chips.

Jillian Update - 2 Years, 9 Months

Jillian is at a REALLY fun age.  She's exploring her imagination all the time, and wants to play with mommy and daddy.  "Let's play little people" she says, and wants us to re-create a pretend world with her dollhouses.  She loves her babies and is putting her kitchen to use when she cooks for them. She can play alone in this imaginary play, but she really wants someone to play with her.  It's usually me (mom) but in recent weeks she's really starting to play with friends and interact together.

Jillian was potty trained at 2 1/2 years old and it took 3 days.  Day 1, she ran around the house with her big girl underwear and had 3 accidents. Day 2, she had 2 accidents, and by day 3, she had it. By day 5/6 she was wearing underwear at night and since then has only had about 5 accidents wetting the bed.  I owe a large part of her training to my mom, her grandma Marcia.  Grandma Marcia was the one who got her the princess panties and got her excited about the idea of using the big girl toilet to go potty.  Each time she went, she got gummy treats.  One thing about Jillian is she's so darn bright it doesn't take her long to figure something out.  She's sharp, like really sharp, but this girl is kind and so sweet.

When we are out and about playing, if she hears anyone crying or sees a child hurt, she will go up to them and ask if they are alright.  My favorite thing she says to Weston when he is crying is "You okay, you okay" and she will rub his head. This girl has no idea how much of my heart she has.  The love I have for her just contiues to grow as she does.  I am seeing a beautiful toddler turn into a little girl.

She's got her own opinions these days from what to wear, to what color plate to eat on.  She's a jabber mouth, always taking and exploring her vocabulary.   She still a champ at sleeping, she just is hard to get her into the bed. We still read books right before each nap and each sleep. She's an insanely courageous eater, and loves everything! Seriously she is the opposite of all those toddlers that are picky eaters.


Other fun things to note:
She started pre-school and goes Tuesday/Thursday mornings from 830-Noon.
She still loves purple and pink
She still goes everywhere with her blanket!

A Typical Day

I want to make sure I remember what my typical day was like with two little ones, so here it goes:

7:30 am - Weston starts to coo & talk, so I hop in the shower
8:00 am - Jillian wakes up.  After a diaper change for both Jillian and Weston, I get them dressed for the day.  Weston goes on the activity mat and Jillian watches cartoons.
8:30 am - I get ready (quick make up routine and throw my hair in a bun). I get coffee, clean up the house, kitchen, let the dog out, and get Jillian water and breakfast. I find time to play one on one with Jillian.
9:30/10 am - We head out.  We leave the house almost every single day. The usual places: play date with Barby at the kiddie pool/splash pad, Pretend City, park play date with the Mom group, play date at Lisa's house, story time at the library, shopping/play gym at the Mission Viejo Mall are just a few.
1:00 pm - We are home.  If we haven't eaten lunch out, we make lunch, and then we get ready for nap time.
1:30 pm - nap for Jillian after we read for a little bit.
2:00 pm - if Weston is still up, I am able to give him some one on one time and play with him. Usually Weston and I will take this time to nap together on the couch. Sometimes we both fall asleep and other times I just watch TV or play on my iPAD until both kiddos are up.
4:30 pm - Everyone is awake from their nap time. Jillian eats her snack while watching cartoons and I use this time to clean up, do laundry, check email, get dinner ready, etc.
6:00 pm - Dad comes home!  We tag team dinner while the other one plays with kids.  Usually we are outside playing with the water table, helping water the garden. Or Jillian is playing alone with toys, coloring, doing play-doh or dollhouse.
6:30/7:00 pm - dinner and kitchen clean up
7:30 pm - bath time for both kids (Weston is every other night)
8:00 pm - Books and bedtime for Jillian, Weston is in the swing or activity mat playing a bit more
9:00 pm - Weston gets ready for bed: sleep sack, get our room ready for him (lights off, blinds shut).  I usually get into PJ's, brush my teeth, wash my face and get ready for bed too, so I won't disturb him later.
9:30 pm - last nursing session for Weston, I let him fall asleep in my arms and then take him back to the co-sleeper.  Tim and I will finish a TV show or cleaning up.  Sometimes I prep for the next days outting (i.e. packing snacks, stocking the diaper bag, etc)
10:00 pm - Bedtime for me

First Haircut

Jillian, you finally got your first haircut.  It only took you 2 1/2 years to grow it out.  As I have said before you were sporting a bonefied mullet for months.  Somehow that style grew out some, but a long "rat-tail" emerged in place of it. 

Even though you still have a ton of hair growing in (you have soft fuzz on the rim of your forehead and underneath the longer pieces on top), it was time to give you a "style" to your hair.

You were of course the bravest girl ever!  You couldn't stop talking about getting your hair cut for a few days before.  When we arrived you were all smiles and couldn't wait to get into the chair.  We went to my hair stylist, Arunee, and she did such a great job cutting, trimming, washing, drying and styling.  And you let her do it all. Not once did you cry or want to be done before she was finished.  Truth is, you had all the salon coming by to say hi to you and admiring your new hair do! 

Post haircut, it's all you can talk about.  You are so proud to be a big girl getting her haircut and going to the salon.  You keep asking me when are we going back to the salon.  Such a girlie girl in the making.....