6 months

Lets be honest, it is more like 6 1/2 months, but we have had a rough couple of months with someone in this house always being sick. Tuolumne's was probably the most miserable for the household though. Apparently she doesn't do a quiet sickness. She wants everyone to know about it. Poor girl had a rough few weeks, but we are finally breaking out of it. I think we are down to a lingering cough.

Here are a few things this girl was up to in our month of tears:

- you can sit up by yourself
- we gave you food a week before you turned 6 months...I was convinced you were starving! I can't say you "eat" though. Most of the time you look very disgusted!
- at 5 1/2 months you got your first 2 teeth. I told Nonna that morning I thought you might be trying to get a tooth but it was hard to tell and it seems too early. By the end of the day, the first bottom one popped out. The other one came the next day. So far, our kids are super teethers!!! They don't skip a beat!
- you have had rice cereal, avocado, and banana by 6 months, but again, did it even get in your belly at all is the question???
- you NEED your sleep and you don't let us forget it.
- you are in the size large with our prefolds. Cap was never made it to that size!
- sometimes you just want us to hold your hand. Our physical touch cures many things with you.
- you know what you want and you are specific about it. I like that about you.
- you blow some serious bubbles when you are in the mood.
- any clothes you get are size 18-24 months. I am convinced they make girl clothes tiny!

This month has been an exhausting blur. Big things happened like teeth, sitting up, and food, but it will be hard to forget the lack of sleep and all the crying from being sick this month. You are awesome and we love you.

her belly does not speak of being starved!

what a pose!

then we got serious and photo awkward for the next fifty photos!

I personally love the drool hanging off her chin

Enjoy!

The Captain

Cap informed me one day he needed his helmet and climbing shoes on because he was going rock climbing. I LOVE his creativity and his need for adventure. I also love those chubby little toddler hands of his. 

We have felt a non-stop under the weather feeling in our house for some time now. As soon as we think we are all better, we go out, and someone is down by the next day! It is getting old. We are a couple of tired parents.

Cap is on his first round of antibiotics ever. I am so thankful he hasn't needed them until now. He told Bryce in the middle of the night last week that his ear was bleeding in the inside. Turns out it was the start of a minor ear infection. He hasn't really talked about his ear since and just was a normal congested/ cough sick for the past week. 

Now Tuolumne has fever and major congestion and drainage. Nothing hurts worse than your kiddos feeling sick. I don't care how minor it is, it makes my insides hurt. 

I have had a sleeping girl on me for over 2 hours. She was too snotty to fall asleep on her own laying down. So she is snoring away on me! This will be all for now. Pretty hard to type anymore!

Enjoy

to my daughter

Miss Tuolumne,

You came out much quicker than Cap and I thank you for that. Your dad says someone did the "It's a girl!" announcement. I don't remember it. But when they put you in my arms, I already knew. My heart and insides knew you were Tuolumne Song...my daughter.

I remember being so peaceful. The day you were born your dad and I danced, sang, spoke and read God's word, cried, and rejoiced. We even watched 50 first dates in the labor delivery room. We had Rend Collective Experiment, Campfire album, playing a good part of the day. The doctor immediately commented on the music and how cheerful and fun it was. I had picked out this music specifically for this special day. We were celebrating.

After they gave you to me, everyone started guessing weight because you seemed so big. They were going high too, 8's and 9's. I told them no way. You didn't seem big to me like Cap did when he arrived. They were right, 9.5 lbs. I was in shock. All that worrying about clothes going to be too big for you was for nothing! Still makes me smile months later.

People always comment on your chubby cheeks. You do have the cutest cheeks! I like your smile the best. You whole face lights up and your eyes can't stay open when you smile. It reminds me of your dad. Your little dimple on the right side just pops out too. It is contagious.

Tuoly I don't remember much after you were born until about the time you hit 2 months old or so. We had a crazy summer as you know. I do know that we waited for you. I didn't realize how much we waited until you finally got here. It is though you always belonged with us.

One of the things I am most grateful for is your love for me and my love for you. Love seems like a given I know, but I spent most of my life scared of having a daughter. Tuolumne, the world tells us a lot of lies, and there are many that accompany the "mother daughter relationship".  In Jesus' name those curses have no place in our family and with me and you. When you snuggled up with me for the first time my heart felt like it was going to burst! We do not have to settle for what the world has to offer. God's design is much better.

Thank you for wanting to snuggle and be close.


I am so proud of you.
I love you,
mom

the day

I know it is easy to say this now, but I just knew I would deliver by my due date. In my readings of God's word, what He was teaching me, and what my heart felt I just believed it would be around the due date and not a day later. It was so incredibly fitting that Kid 2 come right on the due date. June 21st is my favorite day of the year. Summer solstice. Longest day of the year. I personally consider it a holiday and now it will forever be in my family! 

These first 2 pictures were taken right before we left to go to the hospital. My mother in law had stayed the night as we weren't sure if labor would begin in the middle of the night or hold off until morning. We knew it was coming though. I even talked to my parents the day before and encouraged them to leave the next morning which was June 21st. 

This was the last picture of us as a family of 3. Cap left the house first with Grammi before we took off and I cried watching him leave. I was so protective of him during this transition time. I also knew our family would never be the same. We were growing. Our time would be divided differently. I was very sensitive to this change and towards my little guy. 

the clock said 8:05am, off we went to the hospital 

We both went into this labor and delivery with a very different mindset than with Cap. With Cap we expected misery, pain, long labor, etc and that is exactly what we got. We took the appropriate steps to deal with the misery of birthing a child thinking that was our only option.

The second time around we equipped ourselves differently. Praying is a great thing. But I do think there  can be a better way to pray. We spent the winter and spring learning more about God's promises to us, His children, and mediating on specific scriptures. This really is a whole post in itself so I won't go into great detail. But we believed, spoke, and declared many specific things over this labor and baby.

Very briefly, the main difference I think was what came out of us, and what came into us. The things we spoke and believed and the things we let feed into our lives. okay, again...a whole post in itself!!!

So after spending a GREAT day at the hospital with just Bryce we had our baby girl Tuolumne Song at 8:43 pm. I will talk more about that and her name later on too! I know...all this waiting!!! It was such a different experience than with Cap. Everything about it. We were tired, but not exhausted. We were thrilled to have her with us.

first time nursing, quickly after delivery

they washed her in a different room, bryce went with her

cap never left either one of us at the hospital so i didn't care for this:(

my kiddos come out with a little meat on their sides!

this little guy stayed happy with his papa and grammi all day long!

what a blessing it was to have them close. it made me feel so much better

all day long knowing he was with family!

My parents arrived at the hospital within the hour of Tuolumne being born! It was awesome timing. Bryce's parents met her the next day since it was late and Cap was already in bed. We had to stay 2 nights in the hospital since she was born so late. That was a bummer, but nothing could be done about it. Cap had a blast with both sets of grandparents being here!

Then we began a different kind of journey! We were stoked to be a family of 4!

5 Months

- can sleep 12 hours at night
- on a way better sleep schedule most days!
- can be a little less serious
- sometimes you just talk and talk, especially to me, but you are quiet like your dad if enough is already being said
- somehow we haven't had any cereal bowls and plates in our laps from you yet, though you love to reach out and grab things
- you try really hard to get your bullet in by yourself, sometimes it works
- graduated to footed pj's
- had a bad cold type thing going on the second half of the month along with the rest of us
- you want our food SO SO bad!
- dark beautiful eyes
- you are never dry in the morning but are dry after most naps
- you are not as scheduled as Cap was at this age except for sleep, we learned a lot after him!
- you had an EKG and an ultrasound of your heart, it was great to see your healthy heart on the screen
- you are not in a rush to do things
- you seem to take life all in without getting completely into it
- when i put you in your bed, you always turn your head to the side and bend your head back to your toes...sometimes you even like your hands over your face while asleep
- you have the cutest pouty lip lately
- you take baths with Cap sometimes
- you like to be upside down
- we call you "little miss", sister, Tuolumne, and Tuoly

You are a sweet girl! Oh the adventures you will have as you get older and older. As time continues to move right along, we will enjoy watching you grow and explore the world around you. Thank for what you bring to our family. I love you Tuolumne.

Enjoy!

Post Script: At lunch I was saying how I thought Tuolumne was looking thinner, like may be she grew long or something....then I took her clothes off and realized I might have been wrong!  :) She is beauty.

I think this one below is my favorite

He insisted on a picture of both of them together!!!

This guy!

the day before

I am missing fun and big events from this summer on here, because of the Great Nap. Oh Great Nap, darn you... I decided it doesn't matter how many months have gone by I am going to do some catch up with pics. This will be round 1!!! 

These were taken the day before Tuolumne joined us on the outside. We enjoyed making our own popsicles while it was hot and eating them after rest time on the back porch. Cap would probably do it year around despite the cold:) His popsicle was dripping all over my ginormous belly!

This was the awesome Y pool we went to as often as we could! What a beautiful setting for this place to be. It was such a great pool with fun things for even the littlest swimmers to do. It was 2 miles from the house which was a HUGE added bonus! You definitely have to be a little picky about your days around here. This isn't Texas where you can swim for months without looking at the weather. I always looked at the weather and planned around it that way. What fun!

Enjoy!