Christmas 2012

We spent the weekend before Christmas at Jarrett's Nanny and Mom's house.  It was a ton of fun and the cousins had a blast hanging out together.  Lauralyn is all over the place and thinks she's twelve, so I was able to actually take pictures of all the fun. 

 Christmas Eve we spent with my family.  The cousins were wild and everyone had a great time.  This was one of the quiet moments with the boys hanging out on the couch.

Lauralyn and her four wheeler!  She also got a pink play gun from her Barbar, so she is set to be a country girl!

Lawson got tons of train stuff from both sides of the family, and he was loving it!  

I'll be happy when family pictures get easier.  I'm always sweating by the end of it.  Even if its just for one picture!  Right now Lauralyn loves to smile, but Lawson is a little toot!

The only group shot we got.  

Jeje, Papaw and their grandbabies that they love to spoil!

Merry Christmas from the Englishes

Thanksgiving and the Deer Lease

We spent the night before Thanksgiving at my mom's house stuffing ourselves with yummy food.  It is always a good time and my mom always makes way to much food.

Here is Lauralyn in her fall dress from her Barbar.

The next day, Jarrett and I loaded up the kids and headed to the deer lease in Graford.

The trip was one of those experiences that wasn't a ton of fun until it was over ;)  Let's just say, a two year old and a one year old plus a small camper, cactus, a daddy gone for hours hunting, dirt and very little running water are quite an exhausting mix.  In the middle of the trip I had the thought "what were we thinking".  Some of the highlights of the trip were not showering for 2 days.  Pulling cactus out of Lawson's legs.  Cleaning dirt out from under fingernails. Wiping snotty noses.  Having Lauralyn scream because she couldn't run around everywhere outside.

Some of the other highlights were sleeping between my two babies and snuggling all night.  Seeing my children light up as the ran around and had the time of their lives.

Having their cousins and Aaron and Ashley come up the second night.  All 8 of us sleeping in one camper (I wanted so badly to head home because I didn't think Lauralyn would sleep well.  However, she fell asleep easily at about 8:30 and slept until the next morning).

It was all worth it.  And was an experience I know I will never forget.  Since we've been back home Lawson will randomly ask to go to the deer lease and likes to tell everyone that "daddy not see a deer".

Lauralyn is One!

Weight:  A little over 19 lbs.
Height:  29 inches
Shoes: 3
Diaper: 3
Clothes:  12 month

What a wonderful year it has been with Lauralyn.  She amazes us everyday with her little personality.  Her birthday was November 4th, so I'm just 10 days behind on this post :)

She's walking, climbing, driving Lawson's cozy coupe, and into everything!  One of her favorite things to do is try to put lids on things. It will keep her entertained for a while!  She is one tough little girl.  She takes spills all the time, mostly when she is climbing or playing with Lawson, and usually just gets up like nothing happened.

Her nightly routine changed this month.  She started hating the bottle at night and would cry the instant I took her to her room to give her a bottle and put her to bed.  So we tried milk in a sippy cup and let her play and drink it until it was time for bed.  She loved it and usually doesn't cry when we put her to bed.  Either her daddy or I take her to her room, sit in her chair and sing her a couple of songs while she drinks her milk, and then put her in her crib at a little after 8:00.  It has been wonderful!

She loves her milk in the morning and at night and is still eating everything she can get her hands on.

She is constantly trying to talk, but says mama, dada, bubba or byebye (not sure which) very well.  She is also signing "more"  which makes meals a little easier than before.  Before she would just scream when she wanted something.  Lawson likes to try to get her to sign "more"  and it is absolutely precious.  She and Lawson are playing better and better together as she gets older.

It hurts my heart when I think about my baby growing up, but it truly is so much fun to see her grow and change and become a little toddler.

Lauralyn 11 Months Old

Weight: 19 lbs
Clothes:  Still mostly 6-9 and 9 month, some 12 month but they are big
Shoes: 3
Diaper:  3

Can it really be possible that my baby will be 1 in a month?!?  She is standing and taking steps and gets from one piece of furniture to the other very quickly.  She has mastered multiple steps at a time, but does a lot of nose plants still!

She is fearless.  She climbs on everything....the ottomon, on top of her toys, on top of her brother...and has no fear of falling.  Her poor head has already had quite a few bumps and bruises.

She officially is over having a bow on her head.  It is a constant fight to keep it on.  Usually I just take it off and don't worry about it.

She loves to eat and still eats anything we give her.  We have cut one bottle out, so she now has a morning, night and mid-day bottle.  The only one she really wants his her night time bottle, so I think we will be phasing the others out soon.

Still sleeping like a champ.  We are so thankful for that because her brother is getting up during the night every night!

In a month I'll be typing her one year post.  I can't believe it!

Unpotty Trained

There are so many things I want to blog about so that I don't forget them.  We had so many adventures this summer and I just never found the time to get them typed up.  Hopefully I can get caught up in the next couple of weeks.

One of the big adventures....that is still ongoing .....is potty training.

About a month ago when I thought about typing this post and documenting this milestone, I had a 100% tee-tee potty trained little boy.  It took about 3 days to get there and we were shocked!!  He was a few months over 2.   We were very excited and he was in underwear all the time.  He was still having poop accidents, but that was once a day, so we were just dealing with it and knew it would come in time.

Well, that started three weeks before I went back to work.  I thought this is great, we will work on the poop and then he will be potty trained, piece of cake!  Now keep in mind I had been dreading potty training, so the fact that it happened somewhat easily floored me.

Fast forward three weeks to Lawson starting school again.  Since he wasn't fully poop trained, we had to put him in pull ups for school. The policy is they have to be accident free for 2 weeks before they can come in underwear.  And that's when the unpotty training happened.  The first weekend after his first week of school I put him in underwear like I had been doing 100 percent of the time and it became accident city.  I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.  He had more accidents in that weekend than he had the entire time when I was "training" him.  In his seat at the dining table, in his carseat which trickled down to the actual seat of the car, in the floor, you name it.

So right now we are at a stand still.  For Lawson it seems that as long as he has to wear pull-ups at school, he is going to continue to have accidents.  We are still trying, but until I get to be with him around the clock and have him in underwear 100% of the time, we aren't putting tons of pressure on the topic.  So for now, we try, we don't get frustrated and we just remember that he won't be wearing diapers when he goes to high school.

And hopefully in a few months I will be typing a post of a fully potty trained little boy!

Lauralyn 10 Months Old

Weight:  Probably around 17 lbs.
Clothes:  6-9 months
Diaper: 3

I have been terrible about keeping up with monthly posts.  I have been good about taking pictures though!  At least I've done one thing I wanted to do!

At 10 months Lauralyn is pulling up, cruising, and letting go to stand without holding on.  When she stands up without holding on she gets soooo proud of herself and grins from ear to ear.

She eats pretty much any and everything that she is able to chew.  She loves to eat and if someone is eating something, she always thinks she needs a bite.

She is still a feisty little girl.  If she doesn't get her way she squeals!!

She is now exclusively drinking bottles.  She fully weaned at the end of summer when I had to go back to work.  She did great with it.  I did okay with it.    I still get sad sometimes thinking about how big she has gotten and that those sweet moments of her nursing are gone forever.  I'm NOT sad about saying good bye to the pump!  Good riddance :)

Lauralyn sleeps great at night, but takes very sporadic naps.  That is partly because we were on the go a lot this summer and also partly because she doesn't want to miss anything.  And her brother can be loud sometimes.  Speaking of her brother, he still loves his sissy and she adores him.  He tries to pick her up, he likes to play with her and will even drag her into the tent with him.  They really play well together and it is too sweet.  He likes to tell her "no, no sissy" if she is doing something she shouldn't be doing.  Life with two is busy, but there are so many sweet, special moments that make it worth it!

I guess in 2 months, I'll be writing her year old post!  Can't believe it!  

Lauralyn 9 Months Old

Weight:  Probably around 17 lbs.
Clothes:  6-9 months
Diaper: 3

Lauralyn is already 9 months old.  Time is flying does not adequately say how fast it is going.  She changes and grows more and more every day.  And our love for her changes and grows with every day.  She is the light of our life and of her brother's life.  The more she grows, the more he loves to play with his "sissy".

She is finally crawling on all fours.  I'm glad just because she was wearing her shirts out by scooting on the floor.  She started scooting really early, so it was funny that it took her so long to get off her belly and crawl!!

She is currently nursing and taking bottles.  The plan is to have her weaned before I go back to work for the year.

Lauralyn is completely off of baby food.  She pretty much eats whatever we are eating.  She is a natural at using a sippy cup.  Pretty much any cup we give her she can use.  The same was with finger foods.  She always feeds herself and is really good at picking her food up.  She also is drinking through a straw with no problem, except she gets to big of gulps and spits it out.  Jarrett and I like to joke that are kids are advanced eaters!!

Happy 4th

Location:

Lawson and Lauralyn's Nurseries

For me, one of the most fun things about having a new baby was decorating their nursery.  With both kids, I  went into the decorating process with an open mind.  Each of their nursery ideas developed in different ways.  While Lauralyn's room hasn't changed yet since she is only 7 1/2 months, Lawson's has changed after a move to a new house and changing his bed into a toddler bed.  I want to remember each of their nurseries and have pictures to show them when they are older. 

The only thing I knew when I found out that Lauralyn was a girl is that her nursery was going to be pink and girly!  Really my thought was the pinker and girlier the better.  The bedding is the first thing I picked out and then decorating went from there.  Most everything is from either Canton, antique shops, Hobby Lobby, online, or was something I had growing up. 

Here is her crib and bedding.  I knew I wanted a Jenny Lind crib.  I have a full set of furniture from college, which are her other pieces in her room, and the bed that matches is what she will use once she outgrows a toddler bed.  My plan is to keep this crib to use for grandchildren one day.  

The chair and changing table were found by my sister in law at a consignment shop for cheap!  And they are perfect.  I have spent many hours in that chair nursing Lauralyn.  It is the most comfortable chair in our house. 

The sign above her changing table was made by her Aunt Sugar.  It is what all her visitors signed in the hospital and when they came to our house to meet her.  I still need to put a picture in it. 

Her bow holder is the newest thing in her room.  I saw this at a baby shower and just loved it.  It has hooks all over the bodice and holds all of her bows and her headbands.  It's from Hobby Lobby.

This is the sign on the door into her room.  It's from Canton of course!

Now to Lawson's room. 

I had no idea how I wanted to decorate his room.  The inspiration for his room came from the little picture of the cowboy that is hanging above his bed.  Jarrett and I were with my parents in Oklahoma while I was pregnant and we bought this picture in an antique shop along with a lot of other decorations in his room.

The little rocking chair was mine when I was little.  And the bedding we bought from a friend.

 I am NOT crafty, but I decided to make the letters sitting on his shelf and they turned out ok. 

 The rocking chair is one that my parents have had for as long as I can remember.  I actually didn't sit in much when Lawson was a baby.  It is hard to see, but the hat holder is actually mounted deer antlers. 

One of my favorite things on his shelves (which look completely different now) are the Louis Lamour books.  Jarrett read those like crazy while I was pregnant and then would even read them to Lawson when he was an infant.  I'm sure Lawson will enjoy reading them one day.

 Jarrett painted this rocking horse for his room.  He still likes to play on it.

 This is Lawson's sign that his Aunt Sugar made for people to sign in the hospital when they came to visit.

And this is the sign on Lawson's door as you are entering.  Again, it's from Canton.

Lauralyn 7 Months Old



Am I really already writing her 7 month post??  I have so many mixed emotions with Lauralyn growing up.  It is so funny with Lawson I wanted him to reach his milestones fast and couldn't wait for him to do more and more.  With Lauralyn, I want her to stay my baby forever.  Too bad she has different plans!!

She is on the go!  She is up on all fours and is scooting everywhere. 

She will stand at the ottoman and at her toy table and play.  Her little legs are really strong.  She is smiling and talking and laughing and just melting our hearts all the time.  She loves to play with toys and likes to lay on the floor and just play for a long time.  She seems to like this more than anything else, especially her exersaucer. 

She is still sleeping through the night, yay!!  She goes to be about 7:45 or 8 and doesn't get up until I get her up.  She has started sleeping on her tummy with her booty in the air and it is so cute.

She really got into eating between the 6 month and 7 month mark.  She gets excited and wants more and wants if fast!  She has also started eating mum mums and seems to like them, but doesn't go crazy over them like Lawson did.  She gets mad if I try to feed her something she doesn't like, such as she decided she does not like green beans ands she throws a fit when I try to feed them to her.  She is a messy eater because she wants to hold the spoon and actually does a pretty good job with it! 

And she got two teeth this month!  Her two bottom teeth broke through without us even really realizing the first one.  They came in right after she turned 6 months. 

She cracks us up because most of the time she is such a happy baby, but when she gets upset she is VERY dramatic.  I guess because she is a girl!

Lauralyn and Mikah 

Brotherly and Sisterly Love

Okay mom, take our picture already!!

Think she'll stop if we give her a big smile?

We really are the best of friends!

 And we will always love and protect each other!

Lawson's 2 Year Well Check

I was a little nervous about taking Lawson to his two year well check because the last time I took him to the doctor when he was sick, he wanted to get out of there as fast as he could!  This time, he did great!  He stood on the scale and got weighed and measured and headed straight to the exam room.  He jumped up on the table and laid his head right on the pillow.  He sat while he got his blood pressure checked and just did so great!  It was so easy.  He was entertained with a quarter while we waited on his doctor and then he proceeded to want to play catch with the doctor, but all in all it was a great visit.  He did get one shot, but that is all he has to have until he is 4!  He just talked and talked and picked out his little toy at the end....a ball of course!

He weighed 29 lbs and I can't remember his height :(, I'll have to ask next time!  And he is healthy as can be!  It is so easy to take health for granted, but I'm trying to remember to thank God each day for his health and really the good health of all of our family.

Our two year old loves.....

To play with Daddy

 To wear his boots....with any outfit.

 To play with his sissy

 To swim

 To mow the yard with daddy....every Thursday