4th of July

We had a great 4th of July...I really don't think we've had that much fun in a while.  Earlier in the day, we went downtown for a little while to see if anything interesting was going on, but most of the fun stuff wasn't scheduled to start until the early evening.  So we came back home and the girls took their naps, and Billy and I just sat and talked.  Sometimes it's hard for us to just sit and connect like that...I think we get distracted so easily by technology (like our phones and the laptop) when the girls are asleep because we need some quiet time to ourselves...but it was so nice to just talk with no distractions.

We invited some friends to come over for dinner, like a bring-your-own-meat cookout.  We bought drinks, chips, and corn on the cob, so the BYOM was just an easy way to save a little money and then people could eat whatever they wanted.  And really, everyone just ended up sharing whatever they brought anyway.  It actually turned out a little larger than I expected...we ended up having 8 adults (including me and Billy).  It was SO fun to hang out with other adults.  I really don't think I do that enough these days =).  Of course, Ellie was loving all the attention and immediately made some new friends, the Hinkles, and then cried when they left haha.

I really want to do this more often...I think my natural tendency is to remain shut in and not really hang out with people.  I definitely don't like that aspect of my personality, but I think it's easily overcome.  I really just need to be intentional about making the effort to spend time with friends instead of waiting for someone else to come up with the idea.  I'm so glad we had people over yesterday...it really gave my spirit a lift to talk and laugh and just be relaxed.

I'm still plugging away at my weight loss...slowly but surely.  Sometimes I get kinda discouraged about it, because it is so SLOW compared to last time I did Weight Watchers.  I'm trying to remind myself that I'm nursing, so it's going to be a slower process since Piper relies on me for food.  Before, I lost the weight pretty quickly because I didn't need to consume as many calories as I do now.  I just keep telling myself that even if I only lose one pound a week, that's still one pound gone.  I'm hoping to meet my first weight loss goal this week...8 pounds, which is 5% of my body weight.  And then I'll set a new goal!

And as a quick side note...I have been driving myself crazy trying to think of what to do with Ellie's hair.  I'm not ready to cut it, because it's so pretty and I'm just afraid that cutting it will ruin the perfect curly-ness of her hair.  Plus, I don't think she's emotionally ready for the whole sit-in-a-chair-while-someone-touches-my-head thing.  So now we're doing pigtails.  I'm not very good at styling hair (I can barely do my own hair to make it look decent) but since she's little, I think we can get away with the messy pigtails.  Here's a picture:

What a stinking cute kid.  This picture really shows how much she's grown up...definitely not a baby anymore!  Which makes me kinda sad =(

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

Reflections on Motherhood

It's the middle of the night, but I've had all these thoughts going through my mind and needed to put them into words.  I just can't sleep until I've processed all of these emotions.  I actually wrote all of this on paper tonight in bed because I couldn't sleep, and then decided to go ahead and type it in a post.

I am feeling so sentimental tonight.  I have felt on the verge of tears all evening and I'm not really sure why.  I've been thinking a lot about my life...my husband, my children, my relationship with God.  Just trying to process where I am right now and how I'm living my life, if I'm really allowing myself to live freely, love deeply, and let myself truly feel everything.

I've been reflecting a lot on these small moments of my day...holding Ellie, reading stories, nursing Piper, watching her kick her chubby legs in excitement.  Just really trying to feel these moments.  They are so small, so ordinary...but truly the best moments of my life.

Not long ago, I wrote about motherhood being a thankless job.  Today I've realized how beautifully raw motherhood is...it is so hard at times, but so overwhelmingly wonderful, too.  Today while I was nursing Piper before bed I just kept thinking that this is such a gift.  Motherhood.  My life.  Being able to breastfeed.  Staying home with my daughters.  I've really been taking it for granted.  Or rather, not taking the time to be in the moment.  So often I rush through my day...skimming through a story real quick with Ellie, trying to rush Piper through a feeding so I can start dinner, whatever.  Looking at Piper tonight, she was so content, sleeping peacefully through her whole feeding.  She was so beautiful, with her chubby cheeks and dark hair...I just never want to forget that moment.  I never want to forget what that looks like...her complete relaxation and peace with me.

My heart just aches with love for my children.  I just don't want to forget what this is like.  It's like I need to tattoo these images on my brain...Ellie reading a book in her car seat like she's a little adult.  Piper smiling and cooing when I talk to her.  These are such wonderful, small moments that are so ordinary, but really are the substance that give my life joy and meaning.

It is so wonderful that it hurts.  I have felt kinda sad all day today, just thinking that my life won't be like this forever.  I know there will be other wonderful things in the future, but I am so scared that I'll forget all these little things that are so meaningful.  I wish I could videotape every moment, because sometimes I just fear that it will all slip away, and then my babies will be grown up and I won't remember what it was like to hold them, or the smell of their hair after a bath, or how tiny and perfect their little hands and feet were.

I don't ever want to look back and regret that I didn't cherish this time with my girls, or that I saw it as a burden instead of a gift.  It doesn't change the fact that it's hard and overwhelming and crazy at times, but this time I have with Ellie and Piper is so priceless.  It is a time for me to invest in them.  To show them how much I love them, that they mean everything to me.  To teach them and show them how to live.

Dear Ellie and Piper, my sweet and beautiful girls.  You both are just the joy of my life.  I can't believe God chose me to be your mom.  I am so lucky.  Both of you have changed me for the better.  Ellie, your surprise arrival into our lives was one of the most difficult, humbling, and amazing things that has ever happened to me.  I am so glad that we survived it, because my world is so much better with you in it.  You are so intelligent and hilarious...you surprise and delight us every day with the things you say and do.  Whenever I look at you, I think you look just like a little angel.  Sounds silly, but it's true.  You have the most beautiful golden curly hair, fair skin and blue eyes, and the most perfect dimples when you smile.  You melt my heart with your kindness toward your sister, and how you try to comfort her when she cries.  You are a wonderful big sister and I'm so proud of you.  Piper, you have given me such an appreciation for my life as a mom.  We have a special bond that makes me feel needed and loved by you.  I love how you smile as soon as I look into your eyes, and you instantly calm down when I hold you.  You are so beautiful with your dark hair and olive skin.  I'm eternally grateful for the physical bond we have through nursing...it is a true gift to me that I'm able to feed you and experience that aspect of motherhood.  I love you both more than I can ever describe.  I hope someday you both will be able to read this and know, without a shadow of a doubt, how cherished and loved you are by your mom.

Our Tree

After the crazy storm this weekend, we found out a tree came down in our backyard in Lynchburg.  Praise God, it didn't hit someone's house and only caused superficial damage that can be fixed (the shed and fences).  And another huge blessing is that our neighbors were amazingly kind and helpful, and seemed to just be grateful for Billy and I coming to take care of it.

Billy and I drove down to Lynchburg on Saturday evening.  After we found out about it, we asked Billy's mom to come watch the girls, for which we are so thankful!  I'm glad I've been freezing extra milk for Piper, and so glad she takes a bottle when we need her to...I was able to leave her without really worrying too much.  We just kinda assessed the damage on Saturday night, talked to some of the neighbors, and made our game plan.  Then we went to the movie theater to kill some time in the air conditioning (we saw Prometheus...it kinda freaked me out, as I'm not really into alien movies that much, but Billy wanted to see it!), since most of Lynchburg is still without power and we didn't really feel like sitting in a hot house all evening.  I am forever grateful for our friends, the Moizes, for letting us sleep at their house while we were in town, as there were no hotel vacancies and it would've been so hard to drive early in the morning on Sunday, then work all day, and then make the 2-hour trip home that night.

So we got up really early Sunday morning and worked on the tree, and I'm amazed at how quickly we were able to get it done.  My Poppaw lent us his chainsaw and it got the job done!  I used a pair of clippers while we worked on the top of the tree.  After I clipped as many branches as I could, I focused on dragging brush and logs into piles.  I felt bad because once we cleared most of the top of the tree, the logs were so big and I couldn't move some of them by myself.  I also had to wait while Billy cut a few pieces at a time before I could move anything, as I didn't want to get too close to him and have him cut me in half with the chainsaw, hehe =).  Actually, I am so impressed with Billy and his chainsaw skills.  Considering how large the tree was, and that we were using a smaller chainsaw, he did an amazing job.  He was also very "safety-conscious" and took his time.  I'm so glad I'm married to a man who is wise and patient with things like this, and doesn't just rush into doing something and get reckless.

It was definitely a job...we worked for about 6 hours straight in the 95-degree heat, but we got what we wanted to done.  We'll have to go back again this weekend, probably, because we've still got to repair the fences and clear out the brush/logs, but we've got to find out from our insurance company what they want to do as far as looking at it and giving us an estimate on the damage.

Poor Lynchburg looks like it got hit way harder than what we got in Harrisonburg.  It's like a disaster zone there, and our neighborhood still doesn't have power there and they're estimating it won't be until Friday or this weekend before it comes back.  Our poor tenants have a 6-week-old baby...I can't imagine enduring this heat without power (especially with a little baby!).

It could've been so much worse, so I'm thankful that it was just a tree, shed, and a couple fences that got damaged and that we were able to take care of it ourselves.  Still not sure how we're going to get the rest of the stump out of the ground...the tree uprooted but it's still partially in the ground, so we'll probably tackle that this weekend.

Here are some pictures of the tree:

Our poor shed...Billy was pretty bummed about that, since he and Tommy just built that last year

Through one yard...

And into another (this was after we had cut most of the top of the tree)

And, of course, no post is complete without this little cutie:

Ellie and her cheesy fake smile =)

Wearing Daddy's hat

Trying out the safety goggles

A Thankless Job

Lately I've been struggling with a sense of inadequacy when it comes to what I'm doing with my life.  I'm a stay-at-home-mom, which I wouldn't give up for anything, but I've just started to feel kinda down on myself about it.  Sometimes I feel like anyone could do this job....that I'm easily replaceable.  Anyone could feed and clothe my kids, wipe their noses, change their diapers, etc.  Being a mom really is a thankless job.

When my days are exactly the same, and blur together so that I really don't remember what I've actually accomplished in the past month, I start to feel like I'm not accomplishing anything in this season of my life.  Sure, I've expanded my recipe repertoire, done a few DIY experiments, become a bit more frugal...but are those things really worth anything?

I know what my problem is...I measure my self-worth by the things that I accomplish.  Like getting a degree.  Or having a job.  It's not that I even want those things, but in my mind I think, "Oh, I'm working on becoming a teacher, so that makes me worth something to the rest of the world."  As a mom, I'm not really worth anything to anyone except Ellie and Piper, and they're not old enough to even say, "I love you," so some days I just feel like what I'm currently doing isn't important.

In the grand scheme of things, I do know that my job as their mother is important.  I have taken care of these girls from birth; feeding, clothing, changing, snuggling, loving, and comforting them from the moment I met them.  I have gotten up with both of them in the middle of the night countless times, whether it be to feed them, give them comfort, or clean up their middle-of-the-night messes.  I have watched my little Ellie grow from a 4 pound preemie into a walking, talking, interactive, and curious little girl.  Who taught her her first word?  I did.  Who taught her sign language?  I did.  Who taught her to clean up her messes, put away her clothes, and eat with a fork and spoon?  I did.  Could someone else have taught her those things?  Yes.  But they didn't...I did.

I like staying home with my children.  I don't have the desire to join the workforce at this point in my life. When my children are older, yes, I will get a job and probably enjoy that as a new challenge.  But for right now, I want to stay home with the girls.  I just have these moments of self-doubt where I believe that I'm not doing anything significant by staying home with my children.  Some days I wish someone would just tell me, "You're doing a great job with those girls.  Keep it up!"

I know that this is my calling for this season of my life.  God has purposely burdened my heart to stay home with my children, and He's made it financially possible for us to do that when both Billy and I thought that would never happen.  Are there times where we question what God has called us to do, and wondered if we're qualified or capable?  Absolutely.  The point is that I'm not qualified or capable to raise these girls, but that I'm willing to lean on God through it all.  I have to believe that one day I will see the fruits of my labor, even though it may be a very, very long time before that happens.  I have to trust that there is a purpose to me staying home and raising my children, no matter how dull, repetitive, overwhelming, or thankless it becomes.  I have to persevere on the days where I feel like giving up, when nothing goes right and all I've accomplished is getting out of bed.  This is a season...and I can't let my personal insecurities, jealousy, or fears dictate what I do.

If anyone ever says that being a stay-at-home mom is an easy job, I will seriously poke them in the eye.  =)

Weight Watchers...Again!

I joined Weight Watchers a little over a week ago.  This is my second time being on the program; I went on it for the first time about a year ago when I was finally ready to buckle down and lose the rest of my baby weight from my pregnancy with Ellie.  My goal (last time) was to lose 10 pounds (which would put me at my pre-pregnancy weight).  I stayed on the program for 3 months and ended up losing 21 pounds, bringing me back down to what I weighed when Billy and I got married (which was my goal when I realized that the program actually works!).  And just a couple of weeks after I met my final goal weight, I found out I was pregnant again =).  So I took a hiatus from Weight Watchers while I was pregnant with Piper, and now I'm back on it!

I'm pretty excited.  Today was my first weigh-in since starting again, and I've lost 3 pounds.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but I can really feel a difference already.  I have more energy during the day, and I'm learning to have more self control again.  Being pregnant really messes with my ability to make wise food choices...even though I didn't gain as much weight with Piper as I did with Ellie, I still ate *a lot* and probably over-did it with chocolate...and banana bread...and cookies...and chocolate. =)

Anyway, I'm so excited because Billy is doing it with me this time!  He's been wanting to lose weight for a while now, and they're doing a "biggest loser" contest at work this summer, so he's pretty motivated to go for it haha.  It really helps hold me accountable when we're tracking our points together.  Also, I'm buying the healthy stuff for both of us instead of just me, so there's less temptation to eat the usual snacky stuff that I would get for Billy.  I was curious to see how going on Weight Watchers would affect our grocery budget, since we would be buying a lot more produce than usual.  Billy looked at my list for this week and said, "There's no way we're going to stay under $50!"  But I worked my magic (haha) and spent $48, and bought a ton of fruit, veggies, some low-point healthy snacks, and all of the ingredients needed for meals.  It also helps that I'm trying to cook from the pantry, meaning that I'm really trying to make meals based on what we already have here at home instead of buying more stuff from the store.  Fortunately I've stockpiled quite a bit and already had some meat in the freezer to use for meals this week.  Yes, we are having pancakes for dinner one night this week, but hey, I'm saving money, using ingredients we already have, and who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?!

I definitely have WAY more points in my daily allotment this time around since I'm nursing.  Last time, I had 29 points to use each day, and this time they're giving me 40.  Which may mean that my weight loss will be a little slower this time, but as long as I'm losing I'm happy!  I remember last time I lost 10 pounds in the first two weeks on the program because it was such a shock to my system...I was eating really, really bad before I started haha.  Then it slowed down to 1-2 pounds per week, which is my goal this time.  I'm setting short-term goals along the way...right now, my goal is to lose 5% of my body weight.  My starting weight is 158, and so my first goal is to get to 150.  My long-term goal is to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 138...so I need to lose 20 pounds total.  Three down, only 17 more to go!

I find that I'm slightly embarrassed to post my actual weight on here, but I know that it holds me accountable when other people know where I am with my weight.  Even if they don't care, just knowing that someone else knows about my weight makes me more motivated to work hard.  Which reminds me....I really need to get on the ball about working out.  I feel like I'm pretty good at watching what I eat and tracking my points, but I have very little motivation to actually exercise.  Last time I did Weight Watchers, I ended up walking a lot since I'm not real big on cardio exercise.  I really hate getting all sweaty and out of breath lol.  Anyway, I walked a lot with my friend Laura at the park, and we put our babies in strollers and it worked great.  Now that I have two kiddos, I feel a bit more intimidated about it.  I have a double stroller, but my excuse in my head is that Piper cries a lot when she's tired and doesn't seem to fall asleep easily when we're out...but honestly, it's not an excuse.  If it came down to it, I could put her in the sling and wear her against me when walking, because she does sleep when in the sling.  In a perfect world, I would have a gym membership and go to some kind of exercise class 3 days a week...that would be my ideal workout scenario.  I'm such a student at heart...if I'm in a class working out, I work SO much harder because I want to be the best, and I don't care about being sweaty or out of breath because I'm so extrinsically motivated to do better than everyone else.  When I spell it out like that it sounds terrible and self-centered, but I'm just a perfectionist at heart haha.  Great example: last summer while I was on Weight Watchers, I tried out a Bikram yoga class.  You know, the "hot" yoga...where you sit in a room at 105 degrees and 40% humidity and do all these crazy contortionist poses.  One of the most challenging things I've ever done physically...but I enjoyed it because I was with a bunch of other people. They even told me the first time I went there to not bother trying to do the poses, but to just breathe and stay in the room (since the heat is really overwhelming and your natural instinct is to run out of that room haha).  I attempted every pose, even at my first class, because I'm motivated by being around other people.

Anyway, so I need to figure out a workout routine that would work for me.  If anyone has any ideas, I'd love the hear them!  Also, my other goal right now is to increase how much water I'm drinking.  I'm really bad about drinking enough fluids anyway, and on top of that I'm nursing so I *really* need to guzzle water as much as possible.  My goal right now is to drink three full Camelbak bottles each day, which is about 75 ounces of water.  Gotta stay motivated! =)

Exhaustion

Today was seriously one of those days.  You know, the ones where you feel like so many things go wrong and you just can't catch a break.  I've definitely experienced that today.

Last night was just plain terrible.  Piper didn't sleep well at all...I felt like she cried all night, but realistically it was probably less than that.  I had to feed her three times in the middle of the night, which was really hard to do after she'd been sleeping through the night earlier this week.  It just kinda came out of nowhere...not sure if it's a growth spurt, or something I ate, or she's not getting enough calories throughout the day...who knows.  Needless to say, I didn't get any sleep last night.

Today we went to Chick-fil-A, which was great.  It was so nice to get out of the house and hang out with a friend.  Everything was fine until it was time to leave, and then Ellie just threw a huge temper tantrum because she didn't want to leave the indoor playground.  Totally understandable considering she's not even two years old and doesn't really comprehend that I needed to leave and get home to feed Piper, but it was still embarrassing.  Picture her screaming in the most shrill voice possible.  I comforted myself by saying that I'm not the only mom who has gone through this in the middle of a restaurant.  Haha.

So we get home and it's nap time.  I put both girls down for naps, and Piper just isn't having it.  She cries on and off for her entire nap.  She would get quiet for 20 minutes or so, then cry, then get quiet.  Back and forth like that the whole time.  And Ellie was quiet for maybe 45 minutes, and then she was awake and ready to get up.  And she's been taking 3 hours naps pretty much every day this week, so I know she really needs more sleep.  I was hoping to take a nap while the girls slept, but it just didn't work out.

I guess I'm just really worn out.  I love being a mom to my two girls, but there are days when I feel like I just have nothing left to give.  I take care of Ellie and Piper all day and night, and sometimes I don't feel like I'm Kristen anymore.  Which is fine to a certain extent, because part of who I am is "Mom" now, but I also need to just be me sometimes.  Most days, I'm able to do this.  During nap time I'll read a book and relax....no cleaning, cooking, or taking care of kids.  But on days when nap time doesn't work out the way I would like, I don't really get that relaxation time, and by the end of the day my nerves are completely frazzled and I feel like I'm on the verge of crying or screaming or ripping my hair out.  I know I'm not the only person who feels like this...I think most moms go through all these different emotions at one point or another.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm just flat out exhausted.  I don't want to wish Piper's baby days away, because she really will be grown up in the blink of an eye.  But I am desperate for some kind of predictability...especially at night.  I don't know how long I can do the "up all night" thing.

I love my girls and I love being a stay at home mom...but there are days when it takes everything within me just to put one foot in front of the other.

Adjusting to Our New "Normal"

It's been a few weeks since my last post and I have a few minutes of quiet, so I thought I'd do a quick update.  Piper turned 5 weeks old yesterday...I can't believe how quickly time has gone already!  I think we've finally gotten things figured out around here and are comfortable in our new "normal."  It has certainly been challenging with many crying episodes among Ellie, Piper, and me, but we're surviving =).

Piper has been an interesting baby so far.  When we came home from the hospital, we started having issues with her sleeping.  Most newborn babies sleep all the time (or it seems that way) but Piper was fighting sleep and got into the habit of skipping naps between feedings, so she would be awake for several hours at a time, which equaled A LOT of crying.  This went on for the first couple of weeks and I was going crazy.  It seemed like no matter what I did I could not get her to sleep.  Holding, swaddling, pacifier, feeding...none of it worked.  I'm a very emotional person when my hormones are fluctuating, so obviously I was a total wreck.  I'm also one of those people who needs sleep...I don't do well at all when I'm sleep deprived, and to be at my best I need 9 hours of sleep.  I know that seems like a lot, but that's just my personal sleep number.  So needless to say the first few weeks of Piper's life were pretty overwhelming.  

I think I have *finally* figured out the "tricks" to get Piper to sleep.  With Ellie, she was pretty easy.  All she needed was a super tight swaddle and maybe some white noise to go to sleep (and of course, she needed to be at an angle due to the whole spit up problem).  Piper also needs to be swaddled, although she does not like it.  Ellie would instantly calm down after being swaddled, and Piper usually throws a fit. However, if I leave her unswaddled she flails her arms constantly and won't sleep.  If she actually falls asleep, she wakes herself up by squirming or scratching her face.  So I swaddle her in those handy-dandy velcro wraps that are *amazing* and then wrap her in a fluffy blanket to keep her warm.  Ellie was definitely a hot-natured baby and would overheat really easily...and Piper is the opposite.  I think part of the problem was that I would get her asleep and then set her down somewhere and she would wake up because the surface was cool.  So I wrap her in a warm blanket and hold her for a few minutes to make sure she's nice and warm, and then I can set her down.  We're still using the pacifier on and off during the day for naps, simply because it's a quick fix and it can help her chill out enough to fall asleep amidst all the noise of a dog and toddler running around.  However, someone has to be close by to pop it back in her mouth when it falls out (which drives me nuts, by the way).  We definitely don't use it at night because as soon as it falls out she starts crying and it just makes the whole falling-asleep process longer.  

She's still sleeping in our room, although she's in my walk-in closet because I was going crazy with all the little baby noises she makes in her sleep.  I was also getting her out of the bassinet to feed her before she was truly awake because of all the noises.  I would hear grunting and think she was ready to eat, when really she was just in an active stage of sleep.  She's doing great sleeping at night now...she only cries for about 15 minutes and then falls asleep.  And for the past 6 days or so she's been sleeping at least 6 hours in a stretch, with the past few nights at 7-8 hours.  I know I shouldn't expect her to continue doing this every night since she's only 5 weeks old, but I'm enjoying it while we have it.  Ellie was 10 weeks when she started consistently sleeping through the night, and Piper appears to be on her way to doing the same (maybe earlier than Ellie?!).

We're doing Babywise with Piper, just as we did with Ellie and so far things are going well.  I know that there's a lot of controversy over Babywise, but it really truly works for our family.  I don't think it works for everyone because, obviously, all babies are different and all parents are different.  Everyone has a different philosophy on how to raise children and there is no universal right or wrong answer, but rather what works well for you and your baby.  With that being said, Babywise fits with my personality and parenting style, and it has worked well for our children.  I'm not hardcore Babywise...we don't follow a specific, timed schedule where every feeding is at the exact same time every day.  I know people who do this and love it because that fits their personality, but I would go crazy trying to follow that type of schedule because I'm just not a schedule person.  I did the flexible routine with Ellie when she was a baby (and honestly, we still do that) and it worked so well that I figured we'd do the same with Piper.  Basically, I let Piper wake up when she wants to in the morning and then plan all of her subsequent feedings off of that time.  So if her first feeding is at 6:30 am, then the next one will be around 9:30, then 12:30, and so on.  If she wakes up at 7:30 the next day, then her feedings will be at 10:30, 1:30, etc.  This just works well for us since I don't really keep to a schedule anyway.  I just make sure to wake her up for each feeding on the 3 hour schedule...occasionally I'll let her sleep a little longer, maybe 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours depending on how the day is going.  And if she seems hungry before the 3 hours I'll feed her.  Honestly, Piper has set her own schedule at this point.  I really just follow her lead now since she's accustomed to the 3-ish hour routine.

So now that we've kind of figured things out, I feel like I'm starting to become myself again.  For a while, I was having a lot of meltdowns and experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety.  I get stressed out easily anyway, so the early stages with a new baby are difficult for me.  I had the same feelings when Ellie was a baby, so this definitely isn't new to me.  I guess I just get overwhelmed easily when my babies cry and I feel like it's hard to cope with everything all at once.  I called my mom very frequently (often crying) because I was just too overwhelmed to handle things and needed another adult to calm me down.  I'm thankful that I've been getting more sleep this week, as I think it's really helped with my ability to handle stress in a more reasonable way.  I don't feel quite as emotional as I did before, so hopefully my hormones are starting to stabilize a little and I will start to get back to my normal self.

Now that Piper is a month old, she's really starting to show her personality.  This week she started smiling, cooing, and focusing on objects/faces.  She definitely loves attention right now and doesn't like to be put down very much...she seems happiest when she's able to look at someone's face and listen to them talk.  I know I'm biased, but I think she's the cutest baby ever =)

My precious munchkins!

Silly face

Such a ham!

Sweet little sister =)