The Dentist

It's funny how exciting the first trip to the dentist is when you are three years old.  At some point that changes.  The first cavity.  Braces.  Or for me, broken front teeth!  I have spent many a hours in a dentist chair and can say that the routine bi-annually check-up isn't so bad.  I think Whitney would agree.

This post is a little late, but in January Whitney had her first visit to the dentist.  It was a good year in the making.  She came to one of my appointments last year and sat on my mom's lap watching all that went on.  Following along in the Berenstain Bears Visit's the Dentist book my mom found. We have read this book a good dozen times.  So, I think Whitney was pretty prepared and she did great!

The hygientist, Jennifer, was fantastic! She tested out the cleaning tool on Whitney's hand so she knew what to expect.

Patiently waiting

 Whitney didn't want the chair too far back so poor Jennifer had to stand to clean her teeth.  Oh, and they supplied the stylish glasses!

Dr Groy, (my dentist since I was 12), showing her how he was going to count her teeth.

Checking out the "goody" bag.

Everyday Happenings

Colin is just about 11 months and Whitney just about 3 years and 9 months.  They both have been growing so much lately I thought I should write about it.

As I watch Whitney walking around talking, singing and playing make believe, I can't believe my first baby is so old!  She continues to make us laugh everyday with her silly ways.  Ever since she was a baby she has loved to put things on her head.  Buckets, boxes, napkins, blankets.  And to this day she loves to put random objects on her head and thinks it is the funniest thing ever.  Lately, she has been singing a ton and we have gotten some really good recordings of it. Anything from Call Me Maybe, to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Doe A Deer.  It is so fun to watch her grow and see how her mind works. We love seeing that she is such a blend of the two of us.  She can be quiet at times like her Mama, but loves to be a jokester like her Papa.  She loves to sing and dance like  you know who!  She loves maps, and lists and puzzles and just loves to figure out how things work.  Definitely a Papa trait.  Whitney has always been such a loving little girl but lately it has matured in a way.  Really asking me how I am feeling about something or asking me how my day went.  The other day she asked after a baby shower, "How was the baby party, Mama"?  I am so proud to see the loving and considerate little girl we are so blessed to call ours.


Now Colin is my snuggle bug.  This boy just continues to melt my heart with his snuggles and kisses.  However, he gets very excited and those kisses sometimes turn into bites.  Bites that really hurt!  So, we are working on that!  He has been cruising the furniture for quite awhile and is getting much better with his walker.  He has even had brief moments of standing with no hands.  My prediction is he is walking by 13 months.  He seems to be about a month ahead of Whitney with that stuff.  He is an eating machine.  He loves just about everything we put on his plate.  Some recent additions to his menu are tilapia, soy beans and he LOVES pears.  His favorite thing to do is to play with Whitney's kitchen.  Yes, Whitney's big play kitchen she got for Christmas gets more play time from this guy.  We have blocked off our unfurnished living room so he can't escape and put the kitchen in there.  He will spend hours in here.  He likes it because he can look in and see me cooking dinner but is happy in there playing by himself.  He has also started dancing.  If music comes on he stops what he is doing and does a very subtle nodding of his head.  Very cute!

Whitney is so good with her little brother.  If he is crying, she says, "It's ok Colin, I am right here".  And of course he wants to do whatever she is doing.  Which of course has caused for some difficulties with grabbing toys and such but that just comes with the territory of having siblings.  I love to watch their bond grow every day and I feel so lucky I am home to witness it all.

Here are some fun photos over that last month.

I mean, who doesn't watch TV with a hat over their face.

Shopping cart a Wegmans

Morning talks

Helping out while we had a weekend away.

Library time

Under a tent, a favorite activity around here.

So big!

 After nap snuggles

Kitchen time!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was really fun this year.  Whitney was especially into it since they were talking about it so much at school and doing many projects.  We did a few project here at home too, thanks to Grandma for sending some fun supplies!

My favorite thing about this Valentine's Day was our Love Jar.  I took an idea from a blog I follow and came up with a plan of my own.  I really hope to make this a yearly tradition.  Whitney helped me decorate the Love Jar.  For the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day we all wrote reasons why we love each person on a piece of paper and put it in our jar. Obviously, we had fun writing them for Colin but it was really fun seeing what Whitney wanted to say about everyone!  Then at our Valentine's Day dinner we read them to each other.  It was so much fun!

Loved his card but had to quickly take it since he started eating it.  

Loved her Jake and The Neverland card from Papa.  Had fun putting the coins in the treasure chest!

Colin's Baptism

This past weekend was Colin's baptism.  It was an amazing weekend spent with family.  He was baptized at Leesburg Presbyterian Church where I grew up going.  Whitney was also baptized here.  He did an amazing job the entire service.  He loved watching the choir and dancing along with their singing.  He got passed down the pew sitting with different people.  And most importantly he did not cry when the minister took him and put the water on his head!  We then hosted 35 people at our house for lunch and had a blast visiting with everyone!

What was extra special about the weekend was the visit from Brady, Niki, Cole and Haley.  They live in Charlotte and we only get to see them about 2-3 times a year.  We were thrilled to have them come and stay at our new home and create many fun memories together.  Cole and Haley kept Whitney and Colin busy with hide 'n' seek, Ipad games and crafts.  And the best part was Brady and Niki became Colin's god parents!  Thank you guys for making the trip up!

I definitely did not get enough pictures from the weekend but here are a few highlights.

Sneak Peak

I plan on doing one mega blog about our house renovation.  However, that could take me weeks...ok if not months!  Mainly because we have pictures all over the place.  Old phones, old computers and collecting them all is going to be a task.  But I wanted to give everyone a sneak peak at a little bit of the transformation that happened.  All the details will come later.  But here are few pictures.

A look at the old exterior and how we built over the garage for the master bedroom.

Shutters and old porch came down.  See new master over the garage.

We added a three story addition to the back.

Our finished exterior

Check back in for the details, inside pictures and all the hard work that went into our new home. 

Not So Ordinary Day

Imagine the Sara Bareilles song,  "Just a day, just an ordinary day, just trying to get by."

Today was an ordinary day. The joys of being a stay at home mom and getting to love on my two babies.  The trials of dealing with a nuisance of a cold and having to tend to poor Colin as he battles a 102 fever.  Lucky, that Tim got to stay home today and help out. That we just ordered pizza in and my house is a mess!  Today was an ordinary day.

Two years ago today was not so ordinary. Two years ago tonight we were holding our baby girl, Christine, and wishing things were different.  Wishing that this devastating day wasn't happening to us.  Wishing that something could be done to save our little girl.  But that wasn't our story.  It is a sad one and all of you know it.  So, today I want to talk of the good that came out of it.

I think the first and most obvious one is that we have been blessed with a healthy baby boy.  I feel so lucky that having Colin was part of our healing process. I squeeze him extra tight everyday and think of Christine and how losing her was part of the journey in him joining our family.

 Second, is that we have had Whitney right here beside us reminding us of how fortunate we were to have her as we went through that heartbreak.  She was our light and the reason I got out of bed and how I found strength to look forward.

And third, is my relationship with Tim.  I have always been proud of our marriage but never more so than when we lost Christine.  Tim was my rock, even though he was hurting too, and I am forever grateful for that.  I like to think of that pain we shared as an extra layer that makes us even stronger.

So, I will take these ordinary days.  I will never wish one moment away.  I will cherish the hugs and the I love you's I get from Whitney, and I will enjoy the extra snuggles with a feverish little boy.  I am lucky to be married to my best friend who I know is always right by my side.

We love you Christine and even though you are not here with us, you will always have a place in our family.

9 Months

I will continue to say this every milestone post, but I can't believe Colin is 9 months!

Our little guy continues to steal our hearts.  He is such a happy guy and everyone who meets him says so!  He loves to laugh, especially with his big sis.    His babbling has started to take some shape and some mamama's, papapapa's, dadadada's and babababa's are coming out.  I keep drilling him on the first one.

He is all over the place.  He is very content doing the army crawl and is one speedy guy.  Though he doesn't knee crawl yet he somehow climbs over and into everything.  He also loves to pull himself up to standing.  He has loads of energy and is very loud but he continues to be a very calm baby.  Very content to play by himself for long periods of time and enjoys stroller time or shopping.   And he LOVES to sleep.  He snuggles for a few seconds but is literally diving out of my arms to snuggle up in his bed.  Making for a very well rested Mama!

This guy loves to eat!  His favorite foods seem to be avocado and cheese.  He is one big guy and soon will be ready for 18month clothing but to my surprise he isn't very high on the percentile chart.  22 lbs (75th),   28 1/2 inches (50th) and 18 1/2 (90th)--Ashbaugh head :)

Lots of fun pictures from this past month!