Thirty

I turned 30 this month.  It was not a birthday I was looking forward to.  I liked my 20's.  I met my husband, got married, had two babies.  Seriously, I didn't want to leave them.  I remember my mom turning 30.  She'll actually always be 30 in my head.  30 is officially...adult.  I still feel 17 inside.  I felt like I'd just figured out how to enjoy life; and now three decades had passed without me doing so.  I didn't want it to end just yet. 
Anyway, I enjoyed a delicious pizza with REAL cheese (I paid for that the next day with Charlotte being extra fussy but it was soooooooo delicious) and baked myself a dairy/egg/corn/soy free cake.  It was good.  We were getting together with family on the weekend, but it was a nice, quiet transition.





Or so I thought.





Jeremy took me out for a date on Friday.  We walked in to drop off the girls at my friend's house.  I was very excited to go to Kohls and buy some "transition" clothes.  I was tired of maternity clothes and feeling very...old.  But my plans had to change very quickly when everyone jumped out and yelled, "SURPRISE!"*

Yep.  A surprise birthday party.  I love parties, just not one's for me.  I don't like the attention.  But I was floored and unbelievably humbled that Jeremy put that much time and effort into making sure I had a good memory of the start of my 30's. It was a wonderful evening with 20+ kids running around.  I didn't get my clothes until the next day, and Samantha had to adjust to not getting to eat the macaroni and cheese she had brought, but by the end of the night we both agreed that the party was a great change of plans. 


*Yes I was surprised.  I literally had no clue.  Looking back, I'm sure I would have picked up on a few things had I been paying attention.  But during the school year after having a baby that doesn't sleep?  I was in survival mode, yo.  I'm lucky if I know what day of the week it is.  So, yes, I was 100% completely surprised. 

Her Memory

I asked Sam if she remembered what life was like before Charlotte. 

She looked confused and said,

"Nope."

  I'm glad.  Life before Charlotte was lacking lots of smiles.

 

One of Those Moms

I bought Sam a dress for the summer.  Then I went to Charlotte's summer stash  and realized I had (subconsciously) done.


Cute faces



Weird faces

I never understood the idea of matching outfits.  Now they will be wearing these whenever they are clean because of oh my gosh the cuteness!!!!

Sharing Clothes

Although she didn't fit into newborn clothes anymore when she left the hospital and Samantha was in premies and then newborns for the first 3 months of her life, Charlotte is now able to wear Samantha's old clothes.  Since Sam was always a size behind her age and Charlotte is a size ahead, the seasons and sizes are perfect!

 

Charlotte 5 months                                                    Samantha 8 months

Charlotte fills out the clothes much more than Sam ever did...look at the tummy region!

Charlotte 5 months                                                     Samantha 8 months

Charlotte's got Sam beat on the sitting-up, though.  She's a master already!

Following Through

 Jeremy and I have tried very hard to make sure when we warn Samantha with a consequence we are prepared to follow through with it.  This stinks, sometimes, as it means canceling plans with friends issuing a consequence that I really didn't want to do.  For example, the other night Samantha snapped at me for the millionth time while I was combing out her hair because of a tangle.  She's been obsessed with Rapunzel and Elsa and Ohna's looooooong hair.  Considering it took four years for her to finally have a ponytail, I was right there with her, encouraging her to grow it out. 

 

Back to following through, I sternly told Samantha, "If you snap at me again, we are going to have to cut your hair."

"Fine.  I want to cut my hair."

 

Crap.  That's not the response I was expecting.

 

"You won't be able to have long braids anymore."

 

"That's fine, my tangles will be gone.  I want it this short (pointing to her ears)."

 

"Um, no, not that short."

 

Such went the conversation for a few days.  I finally realized that it was something she really wanted and that she was, in fact, tired of the long hair (I've been there before, so I totally understand).

 

So, with a heavy heart, I took her to the salon.

What it looked like most of the time.  That baby hair was really hard to comb out.

This is still the face I expect to see when she comes walking around the corner or wakes up in the morning.

But then I'm greeted with this.

She loves the tangle-free-ness. 

 I'll admit, I choked up a bit when she got down from the chair and pranced around the salon.  It's nice, though, not to fight over the hair and she does look adorable.

Stubborn

It's been an adjustment having H as part of our family.  Not just for us, but for him too.  Luckily, he's just as stubborn and determined to be perfect like the other three first-borns in the household.

Something that has been difficult for him is learning how to interact with a baby- he's tried waving (for a few months now) and we've been telling him for months to talk, make faces, but it's really out of his comfort zone. 

Anyway, it came to a head the other week when Sam had a migraine and Jeremy and I were trying to get her out the door to the ER (pre-emptive this time, before it got too bad) and Charlotte was SCREAMing while Sam was puking hard core right as Jeremy was walking out the door with her.  I hollered at H to please talk to Charlotte, she was just upset that she was alone and the lights were out.  It was quite the scene with Sam heaving, Charlotte screaming, H hollering "I don't know what to say!...this isn't working!!!" and me yelling back, "H I can't help you right now, please just talk to her!  It doesn't matter what, just TALK!"

Afterwards he sat with me and Charlotte and watched me talking and making her laugh.  "You make it look so easy" he said.  I showed him that it doesn't matter what you say, it's just a matter of talking.  It's not about you, it's about them.  Just look at them and smile. 

Fast forward to a few weeks.  The other day I heard him talking Colleges to Charlotte (pretty much his world right now) and turned to find him opening his mail:

So. Sweet.

Cousins

Both sitting pretty now, but one is very mobile and the other has a temper that sets off when her cousin won't fit into her mouth...

More previews

This just doesn't get old for me.  She even picked out a headband on one...

Beyond Words

Please please please pray for this family.  They are friends from college of both Jeremy and me.  I've watched their family grow on facebook since graduating and then this tragedy happened yesterday.  My stomach is in knots and heart is in my throat.  Please pray for them as they have a long road ahead, especially Vivian who lost her two best friends.  If you are able, please consider donating to help ease the financial pain after the dust clears.

Cousins

Becca and I haven't been able to get together for a while due to a rotation of illnesses (last week it was a migraine for Sam).  Anyway, I was home sick for this picture but luckily everyone gathers at my folks' place quite often so it was just a matter of time before the babies were in the same place at the same time.
Like her siblings,  Olivia is quite conservative with her smiles. You definitely have to earn them.   Charlotte on the other hand will grin at the wall.

7 and 5 months old.

Clothing preview

Lately Sam has been picking out her clothes for the next day. But she doesn't  just pick them out,  she dresses the floor to make sure she knows what it's going to look like...

5 Months

H said, "7 more months until she's a year!"
He almost lost his teeth.

Charlotte has discovered the hilarity that is Samantha.  Sam never sits still for very long, so all Charlotte has to do it stare at her for a few seconds and wait.  Whenever Sam moves, Charlotte breaks out into her grin.

I've told several people that I don't know how we survived taking care of Sam without an older sibling.  When I say Sam is a helper, I mean it.  She is amazing at keeping Charlotte distracted when needed.

It pained me to see Charlotte constantly trying to sit herself up by doing a big sit-up. I was tired of always finding a spot to lay her down on. So this weekend we worked a lot on sitting up. By Monday morning I could plop her down and do a quick task (like use the bathroom) and she'd stay upright the whole time! That is, if her sister wasn't near by and try to sneak in a tackle snuggle.

Can I just ask, WHAT is the deal with kids and babies' faces/hands?  I mean, seriously, people, it's cold and flu season!  And Samantha- if she doesn't have her face puuuuuuuuuuushed up against Charlotte's (and knocking her over) she's throwing clothes or a blanket on Charlotte's face, or tickling her face with the (dirty) feather-duster, or danglin her hair in Charlotte's face so that she's "gasping" for breath.  I just need to record myself and have it on constant replay, "GET OUT OF HER FACE!"  It's all we can do to keep a clean air-flow to the poor child.

I'm still off several foods (diary/soy/nuts/beef/corn/eggs/fish), but am eating well due to my amazing husband.  Seriously, he cooks and we all eat- and everything he cooks I can eat.  Unless the topic of "going out to eat" gets brought up, I really don't miss anything.

Charlotte still gets up a lot a night.  I remember being able to sleep more with Sam while we co-slept, but I have to remind myself that Sam didn't move in her sleep and would also spit me out when she was full.  Charlotte is a binky baby, so she's totally fine being latched on aaaaaaallllll night.  To survive Jeremy and I take turns on the couch. 

I've learned to live with a cat-napper.  I still don't like it, but I'll take what I can get.  Unlike her sister, she will not only go to sleep alone (thanks to her amazing babysitter, Jen) she will go back to sleep if she wakes up cranky.

Anyway, I'm babbling a lot, I just want to remember the details.  I'm reminded every time I cuddle with her how much my other baby has grown.  It's the first time it's happened, but today I looked at Sam and saw my baby.  I'd heard people say this before I but didn't get it until it hit me today.  I wanted to shove her back in my womb right then and there.

Oh, yeah, we also tried avocado.  Just because.

Mixed it with some breastmilk.

Apparently it was sour.

Sam insisted on a picture of her eating too.

She was much happier once we gave her her lid to play with.



5 month pictures...She would not look at me for anything.

"Is that my sister coming?"

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!  I haven't seen you for a least 2 minutes!"

See what I mean?  That smile is all for Sam.

She almost made Charlotte fall down trying to get a "pose" with her...good thing Charlotte doesn't ever mind!