- Wild and THREE! #whoa -

**********

And whennnnn again did this happen?  I remember being all prego and whale-ish like 2015 was juuust the other day, and now there's a THREE-year-old in 'da house?!  Here are the "older girl's" current favorites: 

Book: "Marfa Don't Say Saw-rryyyy" [Martha Doesn't Say Sorry]
Food: "Chicken!"
Store: "Wal-Mart! But Daddy don't yike Wal-Mart. No, he don't yike it, do he Mommy?!"
Treat: "Donuts from Grammy Penny!"
Game: "My barn and princess puzzles!"
Song: "Head, Show-ders, Knees, and TOES!"
Snack: "Woh-gurt and no-wa!" [Greek yogurt + granola]
Toy:  "Ummmm, all dose babies!"
Drink: "Milk!"
Animal: "Doggies!"
Candy: "M-m's" [M&Ms]
Color: "Bwue yike Elsa's dress!" [blue like Elsa's dress]

A couple days before her "real birthday," we celebrated in Doc McStuffins style and fun was had by all!

The morning after the party, Scarlett and I soaked in some snuggles with our "older girl"...

...and were then spoiled with a morning manicure and makeover!  Harp loved all her birthday gifts, but the [pretend] makeup set definitely took the cake; we haven't left the house without it since!

A few hours passed and we were on to the "birthday vacation!" [Video here!]

Thanks for joining, Fiona and Elly!!!

Livin' large...!!!

...And because two full days of celebrating weren't enough, Harper's REAL birthday finally rolled around! We left Scarlett behind with Grammy and scooted off to Ergadoozy for the afternoon!

Happy birthday, Harper!!! As we were watching her birthday video this morning, she said, "I wan a-nudder birfday 'marrow, okayyyy Mommy?" 

...It's fun to be three!!! :)))

- St. Pat's ...#ftw ...again! -

I'm only actually 25% Irish [or maybe more like 29%, because #meltingpot], but everyone who knows me knows St. Patrick's Day is easily one of my favorite days of the year as evidenced by: 

- 2013!
- 2014! 
- 2015!  [Haha...]
- 2016!
- annnnd 2017!

Phew! 

I've been having mild anxiety about St. Pat's twenty-eighteen since the day [long ago, btw] that Brian added "St. Louis Supercross: all-day" to March 17th on our shared iCalendar ...because anyone who knows my husband knows NOTHING stands in the way of him and Supercross/motorcycles/all things racing. So pardon my French Irish attitude, but WHAT THE FAK? Marriage may be all about compromise, but I was 99.9% sure I wasn't about to win this one. Humph. 

However! Long story made short and to my very happy surprise, the Dogtown parade was bumped up to 10am this year and so! Party emoji! Party emoji! Party emoji! Brian didn't go down without a small fight but eventually agreed to join Harp and me at the parade [.....IF he could be dropped off at the Dome by 12:30pm sharp], so we packed up the car and didn't look back! 

Hello, Dogtown!

The weather was a cloudy and windy 48-degrees, so we left Scarlett home to snuggle Grammy for a couple hours.

It was pretty chilly, but Harper absolutely loved watching the floats ...and clapping to the Irish music ...and catching bead necklaces ...and staring/pointing at all the green-haired old men and drunk leprechauns side-kicking through the streets. This girl is her momma's daughter!

At 12:20pm [with ten bonus minutes gained!], we dropped Daddy off to salivate over Supercross practice and headed home to check on Grammy and Scarlett. They seemed to be getting along just fine... ;)

Papa met up with us after he finished the St. Patrick's Day run downtown ...just in time for Mass followed by Mexican! [Who cares if we're Irish, we still love a good margarita!]

It turns out that I mayyyybe fretted over Supercross for no reason, because St. Pat's 2018 definitely did not disappoint!!!

Slainte! 

- Two months young! -

Dear Sissy,

[Maybe it's because I'm constantly chasing your 3-year-old sister around and therefore don't have every minute of every day to sit around and eat you upppp, but] I just canNOT seem to get enough of your sweet lovin' and I .wish.wish.wish. time would stand still so we could just rock in the recliner and snuggle snuggle SNUGGLE all day every day!!! [We do snuggle a lot, but I'm just sayin' 24/7 would be even better!] This is my second stab at raising a newborn, so I'm sadly aware of the way the days dissolve away like a sugar cube in a pot of boiling water; the newborn stage is my favorite stage and I'm trying so so hard not to blink...

...but...two months already! Wowzers!

You're the most adorable little addition to our family, and we honestly don't even remember life without you! You are 12 pounds, 5 ounces and 23.5 inches long this month, and that equates to a soft squish of pudgy perfection that we could not possibly love any more than we already do! :-* :-*

At two months young, there are lots of things you love: 

...a handful of things you're unsure of:

...and one thing you've mastered:

We absolutely ADORE your sweet smile and cute coos [and you seem pretty thrilled with finding your voice, too!]!  *heart eye emojis for days* :)

Mommy, Daddy, and Harper love you soooo very much!  Please stay small and sweet forever!

xoxo

- The Doc is in... -

...it's time for a check-up annnnnd a BIRTHDAY PARTY!  La-tee-dahhhh, I'm gonna check your ears, check your eyes, find out how much you've grownnnnn... [I'll cut it off there, but rest assured: I could sing this song backwards while standing upside down in my sleep!]

But by the way, how is it that my little baby Harp-dog is turning THREE next week?!  I thought for sure she'd want another Minne Mouse birthday party this year, but she shocked me a few months ago when she said, "I wan a Doc McStussins birfday!" and she's stuck to her word ever since! I guess I shouldn't be surprised; she's been a little caregiver ever since she was old enough to play. My mom always thought Harper was going to grow up and work in a morgue, because when she was younger she put all her babies/animals face down on the floor and covered them with a blanket from head to toe. Now she says she wants to be "a mommy and a nurse" when she grows up [be still my heart! Although there goes all our holidays and weekends with our kids/grandkids when we're old fogies...dang nursing hours!]; but this is not at all surprising to me, either, because Harper's days literally revolve around her babies/animals and their feeding/sleeping/pooping schedules. She is constantly rocking, feeding, cuddling, and changing diapers. She has the most gentle and loving spirit mixed with her Dad's OCD, and it's truly amazing to watch her pretend play while she cares so deeply and takes care of inanimate objects so intricately...  She will be a great mommy and nurse, no doubt!

...But in the mean time, she's definitely rocking it as a mini-Doc McStuffins! :)

In summary of the clinic hours today, nothing was wrong with the snail: "Her is hell-fee!"

The dog was "hell-fee" too, but still needed a shot for some reason...

...and speaking of that, shots all around! [Not in the college context, hah.] Doc Harper loves giving shots and thinks it's the cure-all for any/all ailments!

"'Dis mermaid, her got water in her ears cuz, ummm, cuz her went under-neef 'da poooooool"...

...but no worries, Doc Harper got her ears all cleaned out while "her was in the howse-petal."

Then this elephant had a broken leg...but of course, not for long. "Him all better, Mommy! Put he over dere, cuz he all better." ;)

All the toys were good as new after their doctor visits!

Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy love you, Doc Harper!!! May you always always have a huge heart for others! :-*

[Party pics to come!]

- Night terrors who? ...the #mompost of all #momposts... -

...and a fugly feather-tossled pigeon with some seriously discolored/baggy eyes, at that. Humph. We've been having some serious night terrors in 'dis house...

...and I'm not talking about the sleep disorder that causes one to wake up in a cold sweat.

I'm talking about this:

noun: night terrors:  TWO weasels who want to bed-share and WON'T SLEEP A WINK. 

Though they be cute, they be TERRIBLY DIFFICULT at bedtime!!! We take full credit for Harper's issues; we ruined her at a young age by letting her stay up stupidly late hoping, in turn, she would sleep in later in the morning... I was on night shift back then and didn't want to rise and shine at 6:00 in the A to the M like most normal moms do. Our plan worked, but she has since remained a night owl [never interested in settling down in her bed before 9:30pm, sometimes 10-10:30pm!] and it's spiraled out of control during this maternity leave. There's a clear problem when the adults are yawning and ready for bed and the toddler is still running around full speed ahead ...NOT to mention that Brian and I never ever have alone/adult time in the evenings because Harper stays up so late and we immediately collapse into our bed and pass out as soon as we finally get her to sleep.  And Scarlett can't help it, but she's entering the fussy stage and the witching hour is ...put nicely, just, "very witchy!" The pediatrician told me that most babies get gassy between 1-2 months and will usually get fussy at the same time every day [which for her seems to be 6pm until bedtime, ugh!].  Add these issues to the fact that Brian travels overnight for work, and ...#zomg.  Momma can't hang.  He was gone for three consecutive nights last week, and after the first night I lost my sh*t and packed our entire house up for a three-day staycation/sleepover at Grammy and Papa's:

^^ ...which of course, the girls loved!  Scarlett was initially unsure of her sleeping arrangements, but she made due.  But even at Grammy and Papa's, night time was a sheer disaster and my mom and I ended up 1:1 with the kids because #oh #em #geeeeeeeee. Started the "bedtime process" at 9:00 and at 11:39pm both rats were still awake and melting down.  How/why does this happen???

THAT WAS IT!  The late bedtime was all fun and games with one kiddo, but I/we cannot function like this with the twin terrors! Brian will be traveling again [more frequently than I'd like] and I'll be back to work next month; I can't pack us up and move into Grammy and Papa's for three days every time I'm stuck as the solo parent... 

Something must change!!!  And very very soon, at that.

I spewed out all these issues in dramatic detail and hashed out our noobish non-routine with my friend, Shannon, who is a unicorn of a parent and has her kids both tucked into bed and sleeping no later than 7:30pm every night [whoa! I literally can't even imagine that bliss...]. She gave me some great tips, and Brian and I easily agreed that we needed to initiate "BEDTIME BOOTCAMP" immediately. Long story short, we've held our ground for one full week and, overall, it seems to be working pretty well...

...so well that Scarlett's been knocked out in her Pack 'n Play by 8pm every night and Harper snoring in her bed by 9pm.  We've tweaked nap time and added in a rewards system for the next day if the new rules are followed. Scarlett's been cake and Harper's a work in progress!  Brian and I watched a TV show together in total peace and quiet the other night, and I said, "Wow, the house is eerily quiet!" to which Brian responded, "I know... It's almost like they're gone...!" 

Word. 

Annnnnd omg, HOLY MOM POST!  I just read back through that and even I'm depressed that I stooped low enough to barf a post about the bedtime routine.......
 
...so let's cut this off before I stoop even lower.

Subject change to redeem myself:  56 degrees today! Time for a family stroll through the neighborhood! Vitamin D for you and you and you!  Springtime sunshine, please stay!

Bye now! 


 

- One month young! -

I pretty much said everything there was to say re: Scarlett at one month in another post a few weeks ago, and it all still remains true... --> Great sleeper.  Perfect temperament.  Sweet like her big sister. And cute as a freakin' button!!! But we couldn't signal the "official" one month whistle blow without taking/posting the month-by-month chalkboard photo. So...

...hey there, sweet pea! Or as Harper says every morning, an inch from Scarlett's face, "Hewwo! Good morning, tweet-heart!" before planting an obnoxious kiss on her forehead.

Getting these chalkboard photos is much harder than it should be; luckily with baby #2, I had some cheerleaders in the background to keep our subject looking forward and alert! Brian might actually be off the hook this time around! ;)

At thirty-one days old, Scarlett's favorite hobbies include eating, pooping, and sleeping! She is a great nurser [once we got her bad latch corrected and my bleeding nipples healed, yowwww! That's another story for another day!] and ...maybe I'm eating some bad foods or maybe it's just the way God crafted her little gut... but girl has some POWER behind those intestines! Her Great Uncle Steve said she's going to have a hard time getting a boyfriend if she doesn't get her bowels in check! ;) :) She smiles in her sleep which totally melts this momma's heart, and she sleeps like a champ at that! At night, she's starting to give me a 4-5 hour stretch ...which of course makes me feel like a human again. #backamongtheliving ...finally! She hates tummy time but loves to lay on her changing table sans diaper and kick! kick! kick those skinny legs all around.  Bath time seems to be a hit, too, but she doesn't typically get the long, luxurious soak that she deserves when her big sis is chomping at the bit to jump in next.  And! Best of all, she has outgrown the dreadful cross-eyed days and can follow our faces/voices with those beautiful baby blues!  Scarlett had her one-month visit with the [new! improved!] pediatrician [also another story for another day] and weighed in at 10 pounds, 3 ounces and sprawled out at 21.75 inches! She's following both of her growth chart curves perfectly. Her head is really strong and also ginormous [87th percentile], which we of course attribute to her well-developed brain.  The pediatrician said she's absolutely perfect, but of course we already knew that! :) 

Watch out, world! This wee one is gonna move mountains!

BASICALLY and pretty obviously, we are enamored by this little blessing; and IF I was a bettin' girl, I'd guess that she kinda likes us, too. :) 

Stay tuned for the next month-by-month post, considering Little Miss will be TWO months in just a few days! #rahhhh #zomg #timecanslowdownnow !!!