Back to blogging!

Funny things this week:

-lily has a pair of pants that don't stay around her tiny little waist so I'm constantly asking her to pull them up. We were walking through a parking lot yesterday and all of a sudden she turned to the side, looked at me and said, "look at my cute little butt!"

-Kennedy loves looking around and throwing her arms out and exclaiming, "HUG!"

Oh.....time.....where does it go?

Holy cow.

I don't work 5 days a week anymore....only 3.

I don't have a child requiring all of my attention anymore.....she has a playmate.

I don't have an old camera anymore......I have a much fancier one.

I don't update my blog anymore.......ummmmm......

What's my excuse?

Pure laziness.

I must confess.

I have a friend with THREE children who manages a perfect blog with frequent updates (you know who you are)....why can't I do it too?

However, now that I don't worry about Kennedy killing herself by falling down the stairs as much and I consider Lily to be fully grown at this point, I should take the time to come downstairs and update my pictures and the adorable lives of my sweet, sweet girls.

If uploading pictures is just too much to handle, then perhaps I should turn this into a collection of love letters for Lily and Kennedy. I've experienced so many wonderful, out-of-body, tears-to-the-eyes moments lately which are promptly followed by a period of chastizing myself for not being a better record keeper of these two precious lives.

So here it goes.....my first one:

Dear Lily Bug,

You are a pistol and I love it!

I love and hate how you can say octupus correctly now. No more "opatuses" around.

I love how I am able to sit down with you, get you to look in my eyes, and reason with you. Yes, I know you're only three, but if I'm able to calmly discuss the rationale for not grabbing things from other people or hitting your parents or taking a Sharpie marker to the inside of mommy's car....you are actually able to listen and comprehend.

Perhaps you're fooling me which is highly possible, but I'm a sucker and I believe.

I love listening to you sing songs. Every. Single. Song. Of. Every. Single. Movie. You've. Ever. Seen. Your memory amazes me. You don't even need to be watching the movie to bust out a tune. One of your faves from a cd is "Paw Paw Patch" which I had to completely ruin one day to get you to sit on the freaking toilet by singing "Poo Poo Patch."

Hey, it worked. You did what you needed to do.

I'll continue to contribute to your potty humor if I have to.

I'm not ashamed.

I love how everyone is your "friend."

"Hey, friend!"

"HEY!"

"FRIEND!"

"Come play with me!"

You can be a bit bossy but, of all people, I get it.

More than anything, I absolutely adore the constant, unsolicited "I love yous" you give out to me, to Kennedy, to Bear and especially to your sweet Daddy. Out of the blue you will proclaim your love to all of us which is so incredibly sweet and sometimes your timing is impecable. Such as when you've "accidentally" spilled something or when you "didn't mean to" push your sister down or when you've had an accident in your pants.

I'll take the sweet-nothings all the same.

You have my heart.

You ARE my heart.

And I love every single bit of your being.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Kennedy,

You are my child.

You are DEFINITELY my child.

I love your goofiness. You will be doing something you're not supposed to be doing and look at me with the most heart-melting smile and end it with a bit of a giggle. This is probably why you've been allowed to crawl all over the coffee table but Lily never was.

I love how snuggly you are. You can't just sit next to us.

You have to sit ON us.

And when we hold you, you bury your sweet face into the nape of our necks.

There's just nothing better.

I also love to listen to you sing....."Doo Dah, Doo Dah, Doo Dah."

AKA "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King.

However, when I try to join in you look at me, hold your hand up and say, "BOP!" (Stop.)

I love how you love your big sister. You look for her in the mornings. You follow her around throughout the day and you love to play chase. Oh and how she loves you, my sweet girl. Lily gives you kisses and will ask for hugs. Of course you run to her with open arms and you two embrace each other. It's such a quick action that I have yet to capture it on tape.

(Sometimes I feel like a photographer/videographer for the Discovery Channel.)

I love that you're so independent. You like playing with and following around after Lily but you have always been able to entertain yourself. You know what you like and you'll go after it.

If Lily were to take it from you, you let her know she should have thought twice.

And I don't stop you.

You are the absolutely perfect completion to this family and we never even question what if.....because you were meant for us.

Life just would not be the same.

I love you with all that I am.

Love,

Mommy

Sorry

Okay....so things have been busy.
What about during nap time?
Well.....I have to do laundry.
What about after you put them to sleep?
So....I've picked up this new hobby.....knitting!
WE NEED TO SEE PICTURES OF THE KIDS!!!!

Done.
They're in reverse chronological order (for the most part) so start at the very bottom and work your way up.

I've tried to hit the highlights......Houston for Halloween (yes, I flew alone.....with a 20 month old and an 8 weeker.....I don't recommend it).........pumpkin patch........Christmas at home.........Lily turns 2..........Kennedy sits up and smiles (all the time!)...........Wendy and Morgan visit for Easter.

I'll try my best to stay on top of things this time around.
Enjoy!

Oh....Where to Begin....

I'm still in the midst of trying to figure out how to make my pictures smaller before uploading them onto the blog. My new camera is totally awesome but that awesomeness comes with some hefty byte sizes. I might have to resort to actually reading the instruction manual. Anyhow....back to business:

Where shall I begin?
Should I start with how much Lily absolutely loves and adores her little sister?
Or how about how much fun I'm having with my two perfect angels (wink, wink) and how hard it's going to be to go back to work?

These past two months have flown by thanks to a lot of visitors and a lot of help. Nana was here for the first two weeks followed by Aunt Wendy then Aunt Betsy and ended with Auntie Sa. I don't think I would have been able to do it without everyone pitching in to entertain the Lilster, so thank you!

Now it's finally fall and the weather has cooled off! I've been getting out of the house with the Thompson Twosome quite frequently and probably earlier than I should have with Kennedy. However, have you tried to stay cooped up in the house with a 21 month old who has ants in her pants? Sure I got looks when Kennedy showed up at the park. And I'm sure I was judged at the pumpkin patch carrying a newborn around. Whatevs. Mommy needs to get out too and winter will be here before we know it when we really can't get out as much. (DREADFUL to think about.) Even though it's fall, it's still summer of sorts around here: The days are long and fun, nights are short and things definitely get heated throughout the day.

Kennedy had her one month check up and we are most pleased to be able to call her Normal Head Thompson (instead of Big Head like the three of us). 50th percentile for head size and 95th for height and weight. She's sleeping anywhere from four to six hours at night and we're able to lay her down awake which she does pretty well with. She's a good eater, has started smiling (mostly for her father) and doesn't pull of her bows.

Lily.....What can I say about Lily. She's a mess. She's a perfectly hilarious, stubbornly defiant three year old stuck in a 21 month old body. I know I've said it before, but it's true. She still has her father COMPLETELY wrapped around her fingers and toes. It doesn't help the situation when she looks up him as he's putting her to bed, grabs his face with her hands, kisses him and says, "Night night, Daddy. I love you." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! Yet all day the only thing that seems to come out of her mouth is, "No." "NOOOOOOO." And she proceeds to throw herself on the ground and kick. (Probably doesn't help the situation that I laugh and turn the other way.) It's a phase. It's a phase. It's a phase. It's a phase.
Her vocabulary is CRAZY!!! Thanks to Nana, cars are "car comings." She'll say bus and truck but "car coming" applies to everything else, stationary or not, in a picture or on the road. Thanks, Mom. :-) She also has an insane memory (not sure where she would have gotten that from) that continues to baffle us. She's able to count to eleven and will repeat you up to twenty. We're working on the ABC's right now. Again, perfect example.......all letters are "D! For Daddy!" Seriously?

Some things I've learned over these last eight weeks:
1. Since you wet your toothbrush with water in the sink, it makes complete sense to dip it in the toilet.

2. Poop can really travel up to someone's shoulder....on one side.....multiple times.

3. The above can happen to two kids in one day.

4. Toddlers can memorize movie lines when they watch the same movie 579 times.

5. Stressing over flying alone with the two girls makes the date of travel come sooner. (We leave for Houston on Tuesday!!!)

Once I get the camera/picture thing figured out, I'll put some up.

Work in Progress

So sorry for the delay.....
Trying to figure out how to make my pictures smaller so they don't take up so much space. AF, do you have any tips? (We have the same camera, I think.)
More to follow....

She's Here!!!

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
6:40am: leave for Piedmont Hospital
7:20am: check into L&D room 15....same as Lily's delivery!
8:30am: Pitocin drip started
11am: epidural started (and what a wonderful thing that is!)
2pm: 9cm
3:15pm: 10 cm but have to wait on the doctor to finish a consent with another patient
3:45pm: start pushing
4pm: Kennedy's arrival!!!

All in all, it was a fantastic day! Things were much smoother and more controlled this time around than with Lily. John, the father who can't stand the sight of blood or needles or roller coasters, actually cut the cord. (I was honestly impressed that he didn't pass out.)

She weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 2.4 oz and 21.75 inches long! BIG GIRL! We kept hearing from nurses that they haven't seen a girl that size in months! Once we were discharged, her weight was 8 lbs 13 oz but she's on the rise......One week later at the doctor's visit she was back up to 9 lbs and 22 inches. She's a good eater AND a good sleeper! I'm very thankful to be getting some sleep this past week.

One of our last pictures as a family of three

Leaving for the hospital to meet Kennedy

The newest addition!

Meeting Tornado Thompson, I mean Lily, for the first time.

I think this was taken BEFORE the elbow to the head incident.

Not sure she wants to go home with us perhaps?

Big sister Lily eating lunch and checking out the baby

When I said there would be bows.....

Now I feel like our little family is complete and all I can say is...

Over the past week, Kennedy has proven herself to truly be the most perfect newborn anyone could ask for. She seems to only cry when she's hungry (she'll snort, too), needs her diaper changed or if she needs help passing a gas bubble. She's insanely easy to soothe and she's just about the most gorgeous baby I think I've ever seen. (All bias aside, of course.)

Lily is adjusting very well and has only had a couple of "moments." It really helps to have my mom here who is keeping Lily very occupied and letting me have my time with Kennedy. However, she's only here for one more week and I'm starting to get worried! The Lilster kisses her sister and is always asking about her and tries to "make things better" for her by stuffing the pacifier in her mouth or throwing a blanket over her. She can even say her name! "Kenne-knees" Very cute!

Taking her sweet time...

Pay no attention to the ticker above for Kennedy. I must have entered the dates wrong because today was supposed to be THE DAY.

No luck despite trying to do it all....

Eating pineapple.
Eating spicy sausage.
Walking (only a little because it hurts a bit.....you've seen the picture).
Eggplant parmesan.
Full moon.
And, yes, even that other thing that involves John. We don't get into THAT.

Therefore, I'm scheduled to be induced on Tuesday morning.
August 31st, 2010.
I can do it!!!
I can make it!!!
I'm really trying to convince myself!!!

Summer Fun

As you can tell from the first picture (not meant to focus on my double chin), Kennedy should be making an appearance any day now. She's definitely knocking but the door's not opening. I'm predicting the next post won't be for awhile and will include our newest, sweet addition. Wish us luck!

Having fun with Daddy and the sprinkler

Getting to visit with Nelson and Bradley again!

We got to celebrate a belated first birthday with our buddy Bryson.

Isn't he soooo cute?!?!?!

Bryson didn't really "dig in" to his cake so Lily had to show him how it's done

Lately she's been sporting the Justin Bieber "do," but fortunately the babysitter is able to do something about it every now and then. Lily actually kept in the pigtails all afternoon!