I was wrong . . .

So, I was wrong. Joey does read the blog. I guess it is bookmarked as a favorite at work. Another instance where I underestimated my husband.

So, there goes the surprise for Father's Day. Oh well. ..

I was so proud of Bailey for keeping "our secret." It was mommy who screwed up.

Cammy

P.S. - He still doesn't have a Facebook account so I'm safe there:)

Molly is 8 months!

Sweet Molly - you are 8 months old today. We love you so much! You are full of smiles and love to be around your mommy, daddy, and sister (and brother Holmes too!) You took your first trip to the zoo yesterday and stayed awake over 3 1/2 hours - a record! You loved watching all of the animals. You like to sit and play with your toys . . . as long as someone else is in the room, you will play for almost an hour! You love walks in the stroller and swinging at the park. You like to be on your belly much more than your sister did and you've started getting up on all fours. But . . . I think we still have a month or so before you start crawling. Mommy's OK with that - she's not ready yet!

In the past few days, you've started to perfect your pincer grasp - you can get the puffs to your mouth all by yourself now! And you have one tooth and are working hard on the second. Your favorite baby foods are oatmeal, peas with brown rice, and pears and mangoes.

You sleep about 11 hours at night and 4 or 5 hours during the day...you like your sleep just like your daddy and big sister.

You are growing up so fast. Mommy and Daddy can't wait to see what God has in store for you. We love you so much!

Mommy

(P.S. Mommy made good on her promise to get your pictures taken this week, but don't tell daddy - it's a surprise! Good thing he never reads facebook or this blog). Here's a preview for your friends.)

Sweet Molly Sue . . .

Look who finally made the top of the blog!

I've been feeling a lot of mommy guilt these past few weeks about Molly. Here's why . . .

1. I haven't added her name to the answering machine at home.
2. I hadn't changed the picture at the top of our blog to include her.
3. I haven't had her pictures professionally taken yet.
4. I didn't have a huge party after her dedication at church like I did with Bailey.

The list could go on and on. I need to do better. At least I have #2 taken care of now.

It's not due to a lack of caring or love. I think it's just part of having more than one child. Molly is one of the sweetest babies you will ever meet (OK, maybe I'm a little biased). She is incredibly laid back, an excellent sleeper, and is rarely cranky unless she is really hungry or really tired. Her smile melts my heart. While I was pregnant with her, I was pretty sure I was done having kids. But, she makes me want to have another one . . . another one just like her.

Right now, she is 7 months old. She loves me the most and lights up whenever I come into the room. I love how she claps her feet together when she is excited. She LOVES to blow raspberries - while eating, to get your attention . . . pretty much all of the time. She also LOVES to be outside. She would sit on a blanket playing with her toys and watching the cars go by for hours if I let her. And this weekend, we discovered that she LOVES swings. Here are a few pictures from the park on Saturday.


We love you so much, sweet Molly Sue. And, I'm going to schedule pictures this week. . . I promise!

Cammy

Papa Joe

As many of you know by now, we had to unexpectedly say goodbye to Joey's dad last week. He died in his sleep early in the morning Tuesday, March 16th.

With Molly's RSV and planning for the funeral, I haven't had much time to process and reflect on Joe's death. I thought blogging might provide me the opportunity to do so.

I loved Joe from the moment I met him. My first encounter with him was in the Sluggers parking lot. Joey and I had just started dating and I had brought some dinner up to Joey while he was working there. In the short 3 minutes that I was in the facility, someone broke into my car in the parking lot and stole my purse. Not ten minutes later Joe was there with a vacuum and supplies to help me clean up my car. The next day, he helped take me to the glass shop to get a new window. This was just the kind of guy Joe was - always putting other's needs before his own. I can honestly say that I never met someone that didn't like Joe in the past seven years.

Papa Joe was absolutely in love with my girls. He taught Bailey how to throw a ball and "what a rooster says." He laughed at her and with her. Every time we went over to their house, he commanded me to take Molly out of her carrier immediately so he could hold her. He held her for six hours straight on Christmas Eve. He was a wonderful grandpa.

Joey got so many of his wonderful qualities from his dad.. . his servant's heart, overwhelming generosity, and overall likability. Please pray for Joey in the upcoming weeks and months. His dad meant the world to him.

I love you Joe. I'm so glad Joey had you for a father and my girls got to know their Papa Joe, even if for a short time. You will be missed so much!

Cammy

Loving the Sun . . .

Isn't the sun absolutely wonderful? I forgot how much I need the sun.

The sun has allowed me to play outside with Bailey while Molly takes her late afternoon nap after I get home for work. This, in turn, makes Bailey very happy. It also wears Bailey out and helps her sleep better and longer at night. This, in turn, makes our morning routine a little easier. You get the picture. I love the sun!

It also does wonders for my mood. I've been really tired lately. Exhausted is more the word. After I get both kids to bed and finish a few things around the house by 8:30, all I want to do is go to sleep. I've been pretty grumpy with Joey. Poor guy. But, the sun has changed that this week. I instantly have more energy. I even stayed up and watched "a show" from the DVR with Joey after the girls went to bed last night. And, I feel just fine today.

I love the sun! Here's to many more sunny days this spring!

Cammy

5 Things I HATE about Pumping . . . And How I Make it Through

I don't consider myself to be a complainer. I really do try to look for the good in things. I do this for my own sanity. Perspective is a powerful thing.

But, I HATE pumping!

You may be thinking, "HATE" is a strong word. There are very few people or things that I would use that word for. Pumping is definitely one of them. But, to put things in perspective, there are thoughts, people, and products that help me make it through.

So . . . here is my list of the 5 things I hate about pumping and how I make it through.

1. The noise the dumb machine makes – enough said. There’s nothing quite like it. It's annoying and grating and so many other things. My friend MaryBeth has an awesome impression of a pump – she has the noise down perfect. So, when that awful noise starts getting to me, I just imagine MaryBeth making her pumping noise and it just cracks me up.

2. The time it takes. I have to do it at least 4 times a day on the days that I work. Once in the morning before I leave and three times while I’m there. That’s at least 45 minutes to an hour I spend hooked up to a machine. My lunch is always short because I have to pump. I have to step out of meetings because I have to pump. The good news, I can catch up on Facebook and practice my Sudoku! I've mastered the easy and medium and moved up to the hard:)

3. All the sterilization – I spend at least 20 minutes every day I work cleaning and sterilizing pump parts. The tubes, the containers, the horns. How do I manage? Those Medela bags that you put in the microwave are awesome!!!

4. It requires privacy, which I don’t have. My desk is in a cubicle. I’m out at schools a lot. I constantly have to ask my boss or the department next door or someone at a school if I can use an office with a door. I have to put chairs in front of the door so no one comes in! The good thing . . . I’ve realized there are a LOT of people out there who are incredibly supportive of breastfeeding – more than I could ever imagine. The secretary at the data center even brought a small table and rolling chair into the bathroom so I would be more comfortable:)

5. It hurts! I know they say it’s not supposed to, but the truth is it sometimes does. I’ve experienced it all, from cracks to blood. I know – gross! How do I survive? I use a lot of Lanolin and think of my beautiful baby Molly smiling up at me and the joy that she already brings all of us!

So, I'll keep on keeping on. My goal is to make it at least one more month without introducing formula. Then, I may do what I did with Bailey after 7 months - nurse morning and evening and offer 1/2 formula and 1/2 breastmilk bottles during the day. This means I only have to pump once in the morning and once at work to keep up. I just want to do the best thing for this beautiful face!

Better run . . . time to pump!

Cammy

Funny

Bailey is at a funny age. She says the craziest things.

Everything in the past is "last night," as in "I put on my Cinderella dress and we went trick-or-treating last night. Sorry kid, that was over 3 months ago. Everything in the future is tomorrow, as in "We're going to play ski ball at the pizza place when I wake up from my nap tomorrow." Sorry kid, not going back to Chuck E Cheese for a while.

We were over at Joey's parents house on Friday night. Bailey was playing with her Papa Joe with one of those cars that you pull back and let go. Papa didn't pull back far enough so the car didn't make it all of the way to Bailey. She says, "Come on Papa, you can do better than that." We all cracked up.

At Dillons picking out candy to make valentines for Kids Day Inn - I asked Bailey if she thought her friends would like Kit-Kats. She replies, "Of course mom, they'll like it, it's chocolate."

Tuesday night I get home from work and Bailey asks what we're going to have for dinner. I tell her "baked spaghetti." She says "OK - I'll eat all my spaghetti and then we'll get in the car and go to Target and then stop and get some ice cream. Does that sound like a good plan mom?"

Where does she come up with this stuff? I don't know, but it makes me laugh.

Speaking of laughing . . . Molly has started . . . belly laughing that is. It's pretty darn cute. Here are a couple pictures of my beautiful, funny, smiling girls.