Spaghetti Face!

A baby girl who loves to feed herself

+

a bowl of spaghetti

=

cuteness overload

and

a bath!

Mother's Day!!

"Happy Mother's Day!"  I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing that. :)  

  

Landrie LOVES birthdays, and I guess when you're two, birthdays and Mother's Day are kind of similar, right?  Mark and Landrie made me a chocolate cake with mini chocolate chips and homemade cream cheese frosting.  YUM!

Landrie said it had to have a candle, and we had to blow it out.  She talked about it ALL DAY, so we knew we had to humor her. :)  They even sang "Happy Mother's Day" before we blew out the candle, which was to a very familiar tune. :)

We had cake for lunch, which was fine by us!  I didn't have to cook or clean and everyone was happy. :)  After Tatem's nap, (and Landrie's non-nap) we did a little shopping and went to an early dinner.  It's worked great for us before!

Wellllll, it didn't work so well this time.  I don't have any pictures because we were struggling to keep our sanity, so I'll give you a few outtakes.  While shopping, Landrie decided to run away and try to run around the store, and Tatem decided she was STARVING way before it should have been time to eat...EEK!  

I fed Tatem in the car, then we went to Chuy's for dinner.  Landrie started inhaling chips and queso.  I guess that cake-only lunch was catching up with her. :)  Then, she got one stuck in her throat and threw up on our table.  Ewww.  We got that cleaned up and got new chips for us and tortillas for her, but it was like someone had given her a crazy pill before dinner!  She seemed to do the opposite of everything we asked, and we just knew she was on the verge of a meltdown.  All the while, Mark and I were enjoying our DELICIOUS food, but of course eating quickly. :)  Have you had a night like that??  Whew!  We parked several blocks from the restaurant, and as we were leaving, Landrie was running down the sidewalk.  I held her hand and ran with her!  She needed it.  As we flew past a nice couple, who was old enough to have kids who don't sit in high chairs, she smiled at Landrie and me nostalgically and called out,

"Happy Mother's Day!!" with a laugh.  Yup, she remembers. :)

I'm happy to report that she conked out the minute we got home and was back to her happy, sweet self the next morning.  :)

Now for a walk down memory lane.  Michelle, you and I had the same idea!

Mother's Day 2009

We were at my parents' taking pictures for our adoption scrapbook.  This was the first year that Mother's Day was a day full of hope!  We had no idea that Brianna was already pregnant with Landrie!

Mother's Day 2010

Landrie was 8 months old (just like Tatem this year) and it was SO amazing to celebrate Mother's Day as a mother myself!

Mother's Day 2011

I had 20 month old Landrie on my hip and 20-something week old Tatem in my belly!

Mother's Day 2012

My arms and my heart are SO FULL!!  I am SO thankful for these precious baby girls, and so overwhelmed by God's faithfulness.  He knew.  As I cried back in 2008, He knew that His plans for my future were amazing.  I'm so thankful to be Tatem and Landrie's mother, no matter how they are acting. :)

Happy Mother's Day to our AMAZING moms too!!  We LOVE YOU!!

Oh, and for all of you observant ones out there, yes, I took the plunge.  For the first time in my entire life, I dyed my hair dark!   It's only been a few days, but I love it!  If you live near Keller, you have to visit the amazing Shelly Evans.  I mean, if you are one of the few who doesn't already go to her. :)  Oh, and she does make up too.  I think I want her to move in next door so she can do my hair and make up everyday.  Then I might look like this girl...

Little girls and puppies

When you have a puppy, you know how sometimes you take her for a walk/run just to get all her energy out?  Well, it turns out you do the same thing with little girls!  After spending the day at home, I got a call from Mark and found out he was working late.  I knew we couldn't survive until bedtime without getting some serious energy out!!

It was gorgeous outside this afternoon, so we took a LONG walk through the trails by our house.  I bet we walked 3 miles!  

We ended up at the park, and my cuties got to swing together for the first time.  Tatem has always hated it before.

Not anymore!

Of course, my little monkey can't be pushed high enough!  She always wants to go higher!

I put them in back to back to swing for a bit.  hilarious!  They got a big kick out of it too. :)

Landrie is such a trooper!  She got a big scrape on her knee, wiped away her tears and kept going.  She did tell me she would need a Dora band aid when we got home.  It took 2 to cover it!

I hope you are having fun with your rambunctious students, doggies or kiddos this week! 

8 months!

Oh my goodness, I guess it's time to quit calling you "my newborn!"  Tatem Rose, you are 8 months old, and you are a pure delight!

I just can't get enough of your sweet smile!

Let's see...I FINALLY started you on food.  You were doing so well just breastfeeding that I wasn't ready to throw something new in the mix!  At 7 months you started sleeping through the night.  I waited 2 weeks to make sure you were really going to stick with it this time. :)

Then at 7.5 weeks I moved you from a 3 hour eating schedule to a 4 hour schedule and dropped your dream feed (that last late night feed).  At the same time I started feeding you solids after each feeding.  You were so ready for all the changes, and took to everything like a champ!  

Here's a typical day now:

7-7:15 You wake up, come to bed with us and eat/snuggle.  Your big sister always joins us and is SO excited to see you!

7:30 We all eat breakfast.  You have about 4 oz. of baby food.  Landrie says, "TayTay eats baby oatmeal.  I no eat that!  I BIG girl!"  

8:00 I get you dressed for the day, then you crawl all over the house!  You still wear your harness for your hip dysplaysia.  This week we got more xrays, and you're doing great!  Now you only wear it 20 hours a day, and every 2 weeks you'll get a little less time in it.

8-8:30 When you start to get fussy, I put you down for a morning nap.

9:30-10:30 Either you wake up, or I get you up so we can go to physical therapy, the doctor, run errands or play with friends!  You are a HAPPY girl when I let you ride next to Landrie at Aldi!

11:00 milk first, then lunch with Landrie.  You girls adore each other!  Well, most of the time. :)

12:30-1:00 depending on the day and how long you got to sleep in the morning, you go down for your long afternoon nap.

3:00 You wake up to eat!  Then Landrie has a snack while you eat more baby food.  I can't believe how much you eat!

3:30- You play and play!  You've just really gotten the hang of crawling all around the house.  This week you and Landrie even played in the playroom alone for 10-15 minutes at a time!

5:30-6 It's time for your 3rd and tiniest nap.  You sleep for exactly 45 minutes every time.

7:00 It's time to eat!  A lot of nights we do this feeding backwards and you have baby food first about 6:30 if you're up while we are eating dinner as a family.  You are already eating lots of table food cut into tiny pieces!

7:30-8 Bedtime!  You sleep ALL NIGHT!  I'm SO proud of you!

Here are a few more things I want to remember!

-You wear size 3 diapers and 6-12 month clothes.

-You still do physical therapy every other week.  Morgan works on strengthening and stretching your neck and getting your hips to work correctly after being in that brace.  Your legs are CRAZY flexible! (Check out that picture above of her sleeping!)

-You sometimes try to pull up on furniture, and your legs are just starting to hold you again.  Since the harness kept your knees at a 90 degree angle, you haven't been able to put any weight on them for a long time!

-You fake cough every time one of us coughs.  We pretty much think you're a comedian, and the whole family suddenly coughs a lot more than we used to!

-Landrie is working REALLY hard to teach you sign language.  Right now you just laugh at her, but I think you'll pick it up soon!

-You still just have your 2 adorable bottom teeth that came in right after you turned 6 months.  

-No talking, but plenty of giggles!

-When people see you in person, we get LOTS of comments about your beautiful RED hair!  

We love you, sweet little 8 month old cutie!

Happy GOTCHA DAY Anniversary!

It was just 2 short years ago that we went to court, early one Tuesday morning to finalize what we had known in our hearts from the instant we knew of Landrie...she is ours FOREVER!!!  Read about that beautiful day here. :)

We don't ever want to forget what a precious gift and amazing sacrifice Brianna made when she created an adoption plan for her baby.  Want to hear Brianna talk about it?  Our adoption agency made some videos, and Brianna and I are in one!  Click here, then look at the very bottom of the page.  If it's not a picture of Brianna and me, click the words "See more videos."  

To celebrate this April 27th, Mark took the day off, and we had a family day at the zoo!  

Sisters in the "bus" and ready to go!!

Landrie didn't ride much.  She liked climbing up on the rails and checking things out!

Tatem was happy as a clam checking things out from her cushy spot in the stroller.  :)

Landrie was in awe at one of the first exhibits.

Yes, Landrie, that is the real Baby Jaguar from Diego!

"I lub my daddy!"

This year she was a little skittish when the animals were really close and she wanted to be held.  You don't have to ask me twice!  

BIG!

Landrie thought this bear was hilarious!  Well, half hilarious half terrifying!  :)  He was eating a zoo brochure and she is still saying, "That silly bear eat paper- just like TayTay!"  It appears we have a little goat-baby.  If it's paper, Tatem will find a way to get her hands on it and eat it!

ROAR!!!  

We stopped for a picnic lunch and Landrie shared my chips.  She LOVES them and kept saying Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, so I joined in too.  I love her!

So funny!

Tatem didn't get any chips, but she happily chowed down on some peas.  I only started solids about 2 weeks ago, when she was 7.5 months!  She was out like a light as soon as I wrapped her up.

What??  I get to ride THAT?!  

Last year's Gotcha Day celebration and this year's!

 So happy!

Watch out for those teeth!

Family of four!  

(with one out like a light!)

We love you!!

The Long girls waiting for the train!  This was one of Landrie's favorite parts!

Kisses for Tay-um!

This guy was just on the other side of the glass!

 And my guys were enamored with him!

Tatem had a ball at her first trip to the zoo!

Last year she was a lot quieter, but she did do a lot more flips!

Oh, and this year, on our way out, she discovered that she can conveniently reach her sister and torture her from the backseat!  Do you see her squishy little cheeks just grinning?  

One more attempt at a family self-portrait...I love that there are too many of us to fit in the frame!!

Once again, 

Thank you, God, for turning our LONGING into LOVING!!!