The day she turned 2

Reese's birthday was on Saturday the 21st, and I got to sleep in. I woke up to my girls telling me they had a surprise and I followed them downstairs to find this:

A box of donuts and a sweet card that said happy 2 year birth anniversary :) My husband is so thoughtful, it was so sweet I nearly couldn't eat the donuts...but I did ;)

We had a small party for Reese, just family. That way it wasn't stressful and I could be more focused on making her day fun. I did go to the dollar store for balloons to help party up the place :)

 Both girls were in Minnie Mouse attire since that was kind of the theme of the party.

Watching a little movie before the guests arrive

 We had Reese open her present from us before everyone got there, it was a huge success!

She was in love

Full body cuddles for Minnie

 We got some pizzas, beer, wine, and I made a banana pudding cake for dessert.

Minnie pizza :)

 We attempted to get a picture with Yaya, the girls and Minnie, but Reese did NOT want anyone else to  hold her Minnie.

 We got a good laugh :)

My Bria and her Yaya, blue eyed, blond haired girls :)

So cute!

 We all socialized and had a good time, then got to the good stuff...presents :) She got so many fun new toys, all of which she has played with every hour since her party.

Auntie Heather spoils her girls :)

Aunt Cassidy

Jax trying out the trampoline :)

 So Brian is a picky eater, I might have mentioned that before, once or twice. Anyway, the ONLY dessert he likes is chocolate so that's all we have for birthdays or any celebration really. Well, I decided to break out of that, I am dying to make new things and since Reese loves bananas and so do I, we had a little fun.

 She loved it, so did I and everyone else...except Brian who wouldn't even try it :( I didn't ever pressure him though, because that usually makes him more mad. But I was really hoping he would try it.

 At least the birthday girl enjoyed it!

Tackling Tracy :)

 I think Bria has been enjoying all of Reese's presents just as much as Reese has. The Little People princess castle has been a HUGE hit!! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Armstrong!

Kisses from Yaya

Jax being an adorable flirt

Minnie and her Daddy

Costume from Yaya 

Family!

"Come on Jax, let's take a picture!"

"Smile so everyone knows I am your favorite!"

Yep, he loves me :)

Sweet sisters

It was a very fun day and I think it's crazy that my baby is 2. Pretty fun!

2 years ago

This happened...

 ...and it happened FAST! You can read the story here to remember just how fast she came :)

It's hard to believe that just 2 years ago she was this tiny newborn.

 She was a sweet baby, but not content. It was rare to have her sleep soundly on me, she would fight sleep and wake often when I was rocking her. She also rarely got the whole milk drunk thing, in fact it was hard to tell when she was done nursing because she would squirm. Fortunately she was a great burper and rarely spit up.

 She preferred to be held 24/7 and would instantly wake up when you laid her down.

 But she could give the biggest smiles and laugh so sweetly. She adored watching Bria and was pretty tough from the get go about letting her big sister hold her and squeeze her.

 She was even more bald than her big sister as a baby, and had bright blue eyes.

I love baby bums in the air!

 Although she was a mama's girl, nobody could console her like her Daddy. He would rock her in the brown chair and she would curl up on his chest, she still does this.

 As she outgrew the newborn fussiness and we sleep trained her, she became such a happy baby!

 She easily smiled and played contently with anything and everything.

 Right away we could tell she had her Daddy's sense of humor, she had a sneaky look on her face when she was getting into something.

 But man can this girl put on the pouty look, she plays me like a fiddle!

 From sweet to sassy in .2 seconds!

 Have I mentioned her eyes? I love her eyes.

 She absolutely loves making people laugh and will do whatever it takes to do so.

 If I start to scold her for doing something this is the look I get:

 I'm in serious trouble with this one.
Especially because I can't stay strict when she gives me this look:

 Her playful personality and goofy antics definitely come from her Dad, and we adore her for them. She is always up to have fun and be crazy, her good nature her will help her in life.

 She has always been a cuddler. Still, even two years later this girl needs a good 30 minutes after nap time of cuddling before she wakes up. She still does the froggy position when you pick her up and I just LOVE it. She grips around your neck and holds on tight, it feels heavenly.

 She also got attached to blankies and stuffed animals at an early age and cuddles them to death in bed.

 Her independence started early, I think that might have to do with having an older sister but it could just be her. She is always saying, "I twy! I twy!" Which means: I try. I can no long help her in the car, she wants to climb in by herself. It's nice and all but when we are in a hurry I have a hard time with it.

 This girls love of food knows no bounds. Well, she has gotten a little pickier than she use to be, but still, this girl can eat! She is always asking for food and devours it.

 She loves water, but only if she's immersed in it, no shooting water for this girl.

 For the first 13 months of her life she cried every time I put her down for naps or bed. Not long, but a few minutes just to let me know she wasn't happy about it. However, since then she has been a CHAMPION! Knock on wood.
She is so easy to put down and cuddles up instantly in her crib. Grammy likes to say she goes down too easy, she would prefer more cuddle time :)

It's hard to believe my baby is 2 years old, she's a toddler. We still call her Baby Reese, not sure when she will outgrow that, if ever :)

So grateful for this sassy girl, she completes our family!

The facebook facade

Facebook, blogger, instagram...all these things are great. I love keeping in touch with people that I normally wouldn't and it is so much fun to see pictures. I check instagram often just to see what the world is doing. Sometimes it's comforting for some odd reason.

That being said, it can be bad. Very bad.

Almost immediately after birthing my children the Mommy guilt set in and I felt like I was are already failing even though I was trying my damnedest to be the best in the whole world. 

Along with the dreaded, never ending guilt, you start comparing. And that my friends is dangerous. You start looking at other kids, other Moms, other lives and try to keep up. The guilt gets worse and pretty soon you are feeling awful about yourself. 

I have gotten a lot better about not comparing, however I still feel judged so I'm working through that.

If you don't know what I'm talking about then good for you (also, you probably don't have facebook or instagram). So let me paint a little picture.

Let me narrate these pictures with the facebook facade (FF) first, then the actual.

FF: Today was a rainy day so we stayed inside the house looking super cute in our name brand lounge clothes that fit perfectly. Despite my lack of makeup I looked stunningly beautiful and my hair was flawless even though it was just in a ponytail. Brian was tired from his hike so I lovingly put him down for a nap then the girls and I made muffins together, 6 chocolate chip and 6 mixed berry, perfect.

Actual: My lounge clothes don't fit perfectly, that's why they are comfortable. I looked scary with no makeup and crazy ugly hair. Brian had been gone for 3 days and I was exhausted, but he was grumpy and wanted a nap. I annoyingly took the girls downstairs. We made muffins and they loved stirring them, we put them in the oven to wait and they eventually started fighting so much I put them in their rooms for 5 minutes to cool down. 

Super delicious and scrumptious

FF: While we waited for the perfect muffins to cool down so we didn't burn our adorable little tongues, we smelled the delicious scent of our candle and were mesmerized by the gorgeous glow. 

Actual: I googled some rainy day activities, not once did we admire the candle warmer (although I did appreciate the smell)

FF:Once our muffins were cool enough to eat, we sat at the princess table together and had a perfect little tea party. We clinked our glasses to cheers our fun rainy day tea party and devoured our flawless muffins.

Actual: Reese spilled her water, I stood at the counter and ate my muffin

FF: After that I set up a fun game for my kids that also taught fine motor skills, increased their creativity, and secured the bond in our relationship. I'm sure you have all done this game because every Mother has, at least all the good ones, hahahaha. Marshmallows and toothpicks!

Actual: I've never done this game before

 FF: My girls were little geniuses as they sculpted the leaning tower of pisa, pyramids, hexagons, and other incredibly intricate architecture.  

Actual: I did all the building

FF: They didn't even eat the gross sugary marshmallows because they were so focused on their amazing building skills and creating master pieces.

Actual: They ate all the marshmallows

FF:So that was our lazy rainy day, what did you do to teach your kids and spend quality time with them and be a good wife?

Actual: That was a lot of work and when Brian woke up I took a nap.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to hear about all the negative in peoples lives, which is why my blogs are normally somewhat happy and positive. But I want to make sure there is some real in here because I am not perfect. I love my kids, we play, I teach them stuff, I clean, I love my husband, but we also have lazy days where there is more tv going on than normal. That's okay, our girls get cuddles and hugs every single day without fail and are told at least 53 times that they are loved. Which is a victory and I'll take it.
So Moms, let's support each other and not judge. I'm sending my love out to those Moms who are having a rough day, I've been there, don't feel bad or guilty about extra tv...or extra wine (for you, preferably not the kids!) :)