Crawford at 3.5

 

Crawford at 3.5 years old

Craw you are quite the character. You love to play make believe and pretend. You still love trains!! You love Paw Patrol and Dinosaur Train on tv. You love playing matching games and letter and reading games on the ipad. You love to ride you scooter and your Thomas bike. You love driving your truck around (and you can do a 3 point turn better than mommy). You want to be the leader and you want to WIN. You get quite the attitude if someone beats you at something. You often want to play with toys that your cousins are playing with. Oh you just love your cousins but you drive Hope crazy! You love experiences. You loved the beach and you still talk about it daily. You had a ball at the aquarium and you still talk about it all the time. You love doing your state puzzle and are getting better each day with remember their names. You are so sweet. You constantly tell daddy and me that we are your Bessst friend. Your eating choices are terrible. You like ramen noodles(you call them blue noodles), macncheese, French toast sticks, pizza, turkey sandwiches. If we tell you to be good or have fun you say "I willlll" in the sweetest southern accent. You say things like "party fail" when you drop something on the ground. If daddy yells at you you always say "but daddy I want you to be happy." If we have to get on to you about something you will say "mommy stop talking madly to me"

You always say you can do something "all by my own." You loooove your nana and papa. You get wayyyy too much coke from nana and it is your very favorite. You stopped taking naps at the end of July (3.5 yo) and sometimes you will still fall asleep in the car if we are on our way home. Dropping your nap has changed your bedtime and you are in bed by 9  now. You still love bath time. You love to go swimming and will jump in off the side to daddy by yourself. You sleep from 9ish until 8-9 am. You have us laughing every day but by night fall you are a sweet cuddly boy. You will often say family cuddle time.

biking with daddy at the beach

Craw and Brad played in the ocean all day. Jumping waves and building sand castles

the cousins had a ball playing in the sand and ocean together

 Meghan and Ava came to visit us and Craw loved baby Ava (as he calls her). They happen to suck the same two fingers which is just adorable.

We went to visit Aunt Cat and made a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Craw loved it all. The whales, the sharks, the Dolphin Tales show and all the fish in between.

Of course the most exciting moment of his summer came when he got to meet his sister. He stayed with Nana and Papa while we were at the hospital and he soaked up all the attention from them and then was ready to meet his new little sister.

He even got a Thomas bike for being such a sweet big brother.

Craw was not phased by the addition of his sister. He had daddy with him all summer so he played in his playroom, went  to the park, the children's museum, the bounce house, and camp at the church. He never seemed to need more attention (most likely because Brad was home with us most days). Therefore, he had a great summer and spent many evenings either at the pool or riding his truck or scooter in the driveway.

Even though he gave up naps many days we would find him asleep in the back of the car or just asleep on the couch after playing so hard!

Anytime we cook he is our little helper. He wants to sit right by the stove. He wants to turn on the over and check the timer and turn the oven light on. We love having him help us in the kitchen. I love baking with him and watching him help me measure everything. Since Brad has gone back to work he has been my little sidekick. He wants me to feed him, bathe him, read to him and I am just looooving my sweet little buddy. I know he will have many days ahead playing and watching sports with daddy so I love any second he wants to spend with me! He is about to start 3k next week and already got to see some of his friends at a back to school sundae party. He was so excited and I think he will enjoy all the fun activities they have ahead. He will have PE, chapel, art, music, and science. I can't wait to hear about all that he learns this year!

Sutton 12 weeks

 

 

 

I can't believe 12 weeks have already passed. 12 weeks of me trying to figure out feeding and sleeping all the while you have it all figured out because you are healthy and growing and I am so very grateful for that. I feel so fortunate that I was able to take 12 weeks off from work to take care of you. I spent pretty much every waking moment of your life right there by your side. It is so bittersweet that I have to go back to work. This is the longest stretch of time that I will probably have with you for a long time and that makes me sooooo sad. However, I am going to help provide for our family and you have the two next greatest people stepping up to take care of you. Nana has just retired and will be joining Papa in taking care of you. Grateful doesn't begin to describe how fortunate and blessed I feel for them to be both willing and able to take on this role. They will seriously love you just as we do and I know you will be in the most wonderful of hands. I will miss your sweet smell and your coos and smiles most as I depart for work tomorrow. I know you will continue to grow and change right before my eyes and I truly hate that I will even have to miss a second of that. You are my answered prayer from above. Losing my mom so early in life was just so sad and all I will ever do is put in as much love and support towards your life as my mom did for mine. However, I pray and hope that I will be around muuuuch longer in your life. I hope to be by your side and to create memories that I just never got to make with my own mom. It really is a dream come true to have a daughter of my own. As hard as the last 12 weeks have been I would trade a single day I have spent with you. Even as you regressed with your sleep over this past week I know in the back of my head you WILL sleep through the night and I am just soaking up every last ounce of my last day with you. My love for you is so huge and I just can't wait to give you a kiss tomorrow morning as I hand you off to Nana and Papa and know that you will be loved and cared for all day long. I will be dying to get home to see you and I know you will be just as happy tomorrow afternoon as you were when I left you in the morning.

I will miss watching you stuff your entire fist in your mouth during the day.

I am sure you will be seeing more of your cousin Hope as you venture over to Nana and Papa's house

Your sweet smile when I say your name in that high pitched voice and you just coo and coo and flash that adorable smile at me.

Your brother couldn't be sweeter to you. When he is not busy playing with his toys he will sit on the bed with me and entertain you. He will call you his "boopsy boopsy girl," "baby Sutton," and "Sutina"

 You have been right there with us while we play pretend zoo and pretend that the roof is on fire while the pretend fire department comes to put the fire out.

You arms are always clenched so tight and flailing all about

You just started sleeping in your crib this week (and while you haven't really made it through the night yet you are always so happy in the morning)

You love to streeetch your arms after being in that swaddle all night long

 

I have been trying to get you on the 'perfect' schedule before I had back to work but I know with my schedule and all the different people caring for you each day we may stray here and there. As long as you continue to be healthy and grow that is the most important. You still do wonderfully during the day. You nurse then play for an hour then take your paci and either nap in your mama roo or your crib for 2 hours. I usually have to wake you up from your nap and then we repeat. At night you were sleeping from 9-6ish but over the past week as you have started moving and breaking free of your swaddle you have been waking up at all different times in the middle of the night. We are hoping you will sleep through the night for us soon!

I am just soo happy that I could spend this time with you are you turned into this precious little girl. I can't wait to watch you grow and change each day and to kiss your sweet face before and after work! We love you soo much Sutton!!

Sutton 9-11 weeks

We are getting Sutton on somewhat of a schedule these last few weeks. I don't think we ever had Crawford on any sort of schedule so this feels nice. We started following the Moms on Call schedule. It's so crazy because it requires you to feed at certain hours and to wake a sleeping baby. (wake a sleeping baby--say what?!) but I have been doing it with great success. When I let her sleep on her own time frame her eating and sleeping gets all wacky. She has been prettttty good about sleeping 9-6. Every time I think we have nailed it little S decides to surprise me with a middle of the night feeding so we aren't in the clear quite yet! She is certainly smiling and cooing more and overall just a happier child ! We still have fussy bouts and girl does not like to be put down for any amount of time. This past week Brad started a new job teaching business at a high school. It has been all sorts of new changes. We are sooo proud and happy for Brad. This is a dream for Brad and he is taking it seriously and spending all of his free time planning. Brad's parents left for a trip the same week Brad started work so we went from all hands on board to me with the kids all day. It has actually been nice. I spend her naps playing puzzles and games with Craw and I have even left the house every day with both kids. It was a nice way to finish out maternity leave for sure.

 

We ventured to the bounce house this day and Sutton did good just sleeping in her carrier while Craw ran wild and had a ball!

This girl loooves her fist. I am guessing as soon as she can coordinate sucking on a finger(s) she will so that she be interesting to see which ones she chooses!

 

We visited Aunt Cat while she was house sitting and decided to venture to the Georgia Aquarium. Craw just loooved it and Sutton did too. She just looked around and took it all in. She didn't sleep a wink because she just didn't want to miss anything.

 

 Leaving the Aquarium she finally decided to conk out!

 The next day we hit up the Marietta Square Farmer's market. It was so cute. They had a huge band playing and samples galore and a cute fountain that they had put bubbles in. It was a fun morning.

Look at Sut with her fist again she loves it

 

We always have her swaddle soo tightly so when we get her up she loves to stretch like this!

 

 

 She loves sitting up,...If she is laying down she constantly tries to lift her head.

We ventured out to Jazz on Main last Friday. We have gone in the past but it was too hot and S was too little. This time she did great! She looked around and slept and let us hold her and we were thankful for some fresh air. Craw had unlimited bouncing in the bounce house and ran around until he was dripping sweat!

asleep in my arms

The next morning it was Greenville farmer's market time. Sis was here and came with us and we loved strolling the streets and getting some fresh produce.

We have hardly seen daddy this week and we miss all of our time with him. He is enjoying the start of the school year and comes home with the funniest stories !

 Craw has been so sweet and understanding when I have to feed S or walk around entertaining her. He loves to have "cuddle time" as he calls it with her.

oh hey there fist!

She was loving to smile and has even tried to laugh a few times this week. You will hear her go to laugh and then she almost cackles trying to do it...it's soo cute!

Of course we have spent some of our day watching Paw Patrol and Dinosaur Train.

 

Love my mornings with S..she is so awake and alert.

 

I have exactly one week left at home. It is a mix of emotions. I am sad to leave her but since it IS inevitable that I am going back to work part of me is ready to start figuring out our new system. I am sooo thankful for this summer I have had with both munchkins. Time I never have gotten with Craw since he was a "big boy" It has been a blessing to responsible for this tiny baby girl. To watch her grow and change and to be this sweet girl I always dreamed of having. I have enjoyed figuring out the new dynamic as a family of 4 and am just in awe of how much I love these two. They are my whole world and our whole lives right now revolve around keeping them fed and happy and I wouldn't have it any other way!