Tonight's Parenting Moment Brought to you by The Nudist

This weekend is the one weekend a year our neighborhood allows a garage sale. I've had 2 babies in 2 years. Both of the aforementioned babies are old enough to actually think about getting rid of the baby stuff that's had my home consumed for the last two years. We have so much stuff that literally I figure if we ever do have another baby, I will just buy the bare minimum again. I would much rather do that then keep this stuff for the next however many years. Anyway, I digress. Every night this week, I've been starting around 8:30 and working into the night cleaning out and getting ready for an epic garage sale. Kimber has also chosen every night this week to literally play for an hour or so in her crib before going to sleep. We end up going in her room anywhere from 2-6 times each evening telling her to go to sleep, re-covering her with her blanket, threatening, swatting, taking away stuffed animals, picking pillow and blanket off the floor, etc. It's quite ridiculous. Even more so now that I see it written down. So tonight I was in and out of the garage and had Kimber's monitor on the kitchen counter. During one trip in, I hear her saying "I need a new diaper".  I thought to myself "wow, okay that's good. She's recognizing she needs one". I went over and glanced at the monitor screen only to see Kimber, butt naked standing in her crib. Being the responsible mother I am, I rushed the monitor upstairs to show Clayton so we could be mortified (read; giggle because we are mature) together. When I went in Kimber's room and turned on the light, she grinned and stuck one naked leg up on the side of her crib like she was going to crawl out. She has never climbed out of her crib. Being in the moment, I said "well if you're gonna climb out, go ahead". "Okay" she said. And she did. Climbed that little naked butt out of her crib and onto the ground. This girl. I could hardly keep myself composed from laughing, much less try to figure out how to even begin to scold her.  Hope everyone is having a good week!!

2 in a row? Whaaaaat?

I feel like my last post mainly talked about Tealle, so I thought I would write some about Kimber. 2 kids...equal love, equal time dedication on blog. Kimber, Kimber Kimber. Wow. First, she has the sweetest heart. She wants to make sure everyone is included. She pretty freely gives hugs and kisses. And, she wants everyone else to kiss too. This is slightly awkward when it's Clayton and my mom she's specifying. haha. But, I say that to express that she's an extremely loving little girl. This fact makes my heart happy. It means that we've loved on her enough to teach her how to love others. She says "I Love You" randomly, which makes me think it is sincere and heartfelt. A few weeks ago, while I was changing her diaper she said "Mama, you're my best friend". Be still my heart. So sweet and genuine. She's at her best when Clayon AND I AND Tealle are all with her. I would term her an "includer". I use that term because I took a strengths test in college and that was one of my top 5 "strengths". And, I see that in her. Compassion, love. These are good qualities. This gives me hope for the future. Notice how I prefaced what I'm about to type with that sentence. lol. I have heard people say that "threes" are harder than "terrible twos". Well, that may be true, but I could care less at the moment. Because frequently I am pretty sure someone has stolen my compassionate sweet little angel and replaced her with the most bratty, difficult two year old I've ever seen. Therefore, I would say, I'm experiencing "terrible twos". TERRIBLE. When Kimber was a baby, there was a pretty long span of time that we didn't really take her many places for fear that she would scream and cry. She wasn't the most patient or chill baby, so we didn't take too many chances with public appearances, especially church, weddings, etc. I still see people with their sweet infant in a wedding and I think "that never could have been me". Anyway, we are somewhat in that stage. You never know what will set Kimber off into a fit. One day, redirecting her away from something is a breeze. The next, she's thrown herself on the floor and uttered such screams that Tealle is literally scared to death. I don't blame her. Because I'm slightly afraid too. But only to the point that my strong-willed nature kicks in and I remind myself that this. child. will. not. beat. me. It's like there is such extreme anger over something as "small" as one of us buckling her in the high chair when she wanted to do it. It seems small to us, but toddlers crave independence so I can understand why she's upset. I try to think about why she's responding the way she is but I'll be honest, a lot of the time, I am pretty sure she's gone insane. She screams pretty much every night in the bathtub. Why? She doesn't want to take a bath. Um, too bad sweetie. You have corn in your hair and you still smell like the syrup you apparently had at breakfast this morning. These are battles I have to choose. There are other things I can let go. As any parent knows, it's a delicate balance between letting them grow and learn but not letting them get away with things that are not going to be good qualities or lessons in the future. Okay, enough negativity. I should also quantify all of my comments with the fact that I have a theory on why Kimber is so "difficult". She's smart as a whip. I'm not saying easier kids are not smart. Each child is different. This is just her personality and a lot of it is her nature. How do I know? She's just like me. Over-achiever? Yep. Frustrated when she can't do something perfectly? Yep. Wants to be able to do anything? Yep. Wants to communicate effectively with anyone she encounters? Yep. The jury is still out on whether we will clash more often, or if we will just understand each other since we're similiar. I'm betting it's a little of both. Age 2 update: There are so many things to share. Kimber speaks so well it's amazing to me. She's been using complete sentences for quite sometime, and they onlly get more advanced. At her 2 year checkup, the doctor was telling me how the main milestone for this age is speaking. He asked if she could say at least 50 words. I said yes and asked her to talk to him. Of course, she wouldn't. (shocker) She just sucked on her pacifier and stared at him. This was okay with me because she usually cries. I had promised her a sticker if she could be a sweet girl during her checkup. I assured him she was speaking fine and he started to leave the room. When he was almost out the door, she took out her pacifier and said "Mommy, can I have a sticker now?" hahaha. He poked his head back in, completely shocked. It was a highlight. Very funny. Kimber is still true to size with clothing. She wears a 24 month or 2T, but 2T is still pretty big for her in bottoms. She's tall but narrow. We are already having issues with finding jeans that are long enough but fit in the waist as well. I see dollar signs. Gonna have to look hard for the right jeans. She still wears a size 4 diaper. She uses the potty occasionally, but not regularly, and definitely NOT for #2. I'm thinking she's going to be one that eventually makes up her mind to do it and until then, she can't be bothered. So, we just mention it and let her decide. Stats: 36 inches tall (93rd percentile), 26.5 pounds (this was around 74th percentile) Foods: dislikes - cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes (except french fries & tater tots) favorites - chicken nuggets (especially from Old McDonald's), macaroni & cheese, steak, spaghetti, any kind of fruit, yogurt

Gorda

I am so terrible about blogging. No excuses, although there are plenty, I'm just not good at keeping up here. So, I am even thinking I should just skip the whole run down of the last however long and the OMG my life has changed so much. I will just try to do better....again..... So, let's talk about Tealle, who is affectionately known as Gorda. :) How did she get that name? Well, the girl loves her groceries. Becky, Tealle's wonderful nanny and the reason for my sanity, has a son named Emilio that she sometimes refers to as "Gordo". I did take three years of high school spanish, so I mentioned to her that perhaps Tealle was a "Gorda". It's an affectionate nickname in both cases. It's just the spanish version of "the girl who sure does like her groceries" haha. Tealle's birth weight was 7 lbs 12 oz - similiar to Kimber, who was 7 lbs 1 oz. Tealle has always seemed bigger, more plump. :) At 4 month checkup, they were still right in line with each other, with Tealle retaining her 11 oz "lead" over Kimber. 6 month checkup wasn't much different either. I will have to get all of their papers in front of me, just to do a comparison at some point. BUT, let me get to the point. Tealle's 9 month checkup. I did actually blog about Kimber's 12 month checkup and noted that she was 21 pounds, 3 oz and 30 inches tall, wearing size 3 diapers and was true to size in clothes, wearing a 12 month at the time. (If I knew how to link the post I would, but I don't know how and it's sad). This morning, I took my 9 month old, wearing a 12 month shirt that showed her round belly and some 18 month jeggings to the doctor for her 9 MONTH checkup. :) She is 22 pounds, 1 ounce and 29.75 inches long/tall. In other words, she's part baby, part offensive lineman. I mean, the girl is huge and so dang cute you just want to pinch that little round belly. She's such a sweet little girl. She's pulling up on EVERYTHING and has been, pretty much even before she could crawl. But, she's crawling good too. She has great balance and babbles up a storm. She likes to be held (who doesnt'), loves to clap, and she's a great sleeper. Not sure how I managed to have a 2 year old who still wakes up once during the night most nights and then a little one who's been sleeping all night like a rock since she was 5 months old. She made her own schedule. We tried and tried to get Kimber on a schedule for months and Tealle just did it herself. She turns into a pumpkin at 8:00 sharp, sometimes earlier. And, Heaven help you if you are somewhere at that time. The dam breaks, and she's no longer easy going. I think that's fair. Also, we aren't fools. Someone is home with Tealle by 7:30. We don't push her limits. It isn't pretty. She's serious about her sleep and about her meals. Everything else is just details and she's very laid back. Last week, Tealle was sick, and I mean SICK, with some nasty diarrhea stomach bug. Somehow, until now, I had managed to shield my kids from any type of stomach sickness, but Tealle got it. She was a total trooper though. Drank her "smoothie" several times a day and never complained. "smoothie" = equal parts water and Pedialyte, mixed with rice cereal and sometiimes strawberry flavored acetaminophen for fever. I was pretty proud of the concoction. BUT, I am very glad we are past that now. It's scary having a little one so sick looking and feeling bad. If you had told me four years ago that I would drive 90 miles per hour home from work to pick up a sick child's diarrhea sample and rush it back to the hospital lab to be tested within an hour, I would have been mortified. Now, it's just part of the job. There's nothing I wouldn't do for those babies. Sometimes, well, actually most of the time, it's completely exhausting. This morning, I tried to start my car with my granola bar. But, it's also funny. I just tell people I have 2 kids 2 and under, and they expect the worst so if I do actually remember something or appear to be decently pulled together, people are pleasantly surprised. With that said, let's not forget that looks are deceiving. I think I sweated through my work clothes at least once, usually more, every day last week. Dang Gulf Coast humidity, and a consequence of a sick baby, a 2 year old, a full time job, oh and of course football season :) I've worn out more pairs of black peep toe heels than I care to count. I've carried a sick 22 month old into the doctor, hospital, up the stairs in those heels. I've carried a crying 2 year old a city block to school and back in those heels. Wouldn't trade it. It just helps to justify the Macy's bill that comes in the mail. Since I started this post October 1 and I am just now finishing it (15 days later) I think I will sign off for now. My internet explorer at work is not jiving with blogger lately, so this post will be ugly I'm thinking, but I will post pics when I can.

We're just zookeepers - Part 1 - the birth of Tealle

It's been basically six months since I last posted.  That's crazy.  Crazy.  But, I've been BUSY!  Of course, I'm not really sure where to start, but I'll do my best at recounting the last half year of our lives.  Maybe I should break this into a few posts.  This can be part 1.

Don't judge me.  Yes I've been out of college for almost 8 years (wow, really) and have pretty much that many years of public accounting experience, but I have never made myself buckle down and pass the CPA exam.  There were always too many other fun things going on that I wanted to do.  Of course, now that's laughable because I would PAY money to sit on my couch ALONE and drink WINE while watching some reality show, but that's beside the point.  Anyway, last August (at 4.5 months pregnant), I decided I needed to get serious.  I didn't want to give up any time with my precious Kimber, so I decided I could literally study while she was asleep.  That sounds crazy, but I mapped it all out and decided I could give it a few hours a night after she went to bed, and then a few hours each day of the weekend while she was napping, and again possibly after she went to bed.  I knew this was the time I needed to pass since we had yet another little Stewart on the way and my time would continue to be limited.  Plus, I think motherhood majorly helped me in terms of discipline and determination.  Let's not forget August means football season.  So, this meant I was embarking on a journey to pass the CPA exam (all 4 parts because I lost credit for 2 after I had Kimber and didn't take it on time) while I was pregnant, with a one year old, and a husband who was NEVER home.  NEVER.  Like 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week, NEVER home.  Sounds fun right?  Well all mothers will agree, you never quite know how strong you are until you are in fact a mother.  Then, you learn that beyond the point that you might have given up before and well past the point you think you've had all you can take, there's still more.  It's pretty amazing actually.  So, I took FAR on October 17, AUD on November 9, and BEC on November 29.  Passed all three.  I knew I needed to get three done before baby arrived, so that I only had to commit one more time for the last test and also my nemesis, REG.  More about that later. 

Christmast was fairly uneventful.  By that time, I was pretty much a ticking time bomb.  Of course there were all kinds of jokes about a new years baby, etc.  Funny how that almost worked out.  On Saturday, December 29, I had taken Kimber over to our friends' house to visit for a minute while Clayton was at his mom's house helping take down her tree.  The back of their house is all windows and faces their pool and the lake in our neighborhood.  I was talking to my friend Lindsey and facing the windows, so I was having a hard time focusing on her face with the sun glaring in the windows, etc.  Or so I thought.  Once I turned around and wasn't facing her anymore, I realized that pretty much my entire left eye was blurry and my vision was just spinning.  I, of course, immediately decided to leave and get on home, which is right around the corner.  By the time I picked up Kimber's diaper bag, I realized it was too dangerous to drive with her in the car and me feeling so progressively bad by the second.  Thank God, Clayton had seen my car at their house on his way home and stopped in to visit.  Little did he know what he was getting into.  I went home and chugged two bottles of water (thinking maybe dehydration) and took my blood pressure.  It was 147/95.  Too high for sure.  I had been JUST fine until that point.  My blood pressure went up with Kimber right around 37 weeks.  At this point, I was exactly 38, so I wasn't that surprised.  I think my body just thinks 38 weeks is long enough.  haha.  After taking some tylenol and sitting for a while, I felt better and more normal.  I knew my dr. was working Monday (new year's eve) so I decided to wait until then to call.  It sounds risky, but as many of you know, it's super annoying to have to call the answering service and try to decide whether or not to go to the hospital, etc.  Of course, they immediately sent me to testing & observation at the hospital on Monday the 31st.  The nurse hooked me up to the monitor, and my bp was perfect.  They wanted to run a few tests, and monitor the baby for a few hours, and I think there was a really sick woman in the testing & observation area, so she just kind of left me.  Clayton ran to the cafeteria to get some lunch and I was just going to watch TV while they monitored me and the baby for a few hours.  I started to feel pretty uncomfortable, and had been having some really bad gas pains over the weekend, and I figured with me laying there having nothing to do, I was just paying more attention to my body.  When the nurse finally came back about an hour later, she informed me that I was actually having contractions.  I informed her that I was reasonably uncomfortable, and I realized that the gas pains were actually small contractions.  I just assumed gas since it's a big problem with a woman who's that pregnant.  By the time the nurse came back what felt like ANOTHER hour later, I was getting antsy.  Clayton finally came back (he missed all the action) and I filled him in.  At this point, the nurse informed me I probably wasn't going anywhere.  The nurse checked and I was around 3 cm dilated and the could detect some "thinning" of my cervix. She called my doctor, who's pretty conservative, and to my shock, they sent me HOME.  HOME!?!?!  I'll admit, Clayton and I were both scared to leave the hospital.  I was induced with Kimber, so I had no idea how long to wait before coming back to labor & delivery.  But, home we went.  On New Year's Eve.  ugh. 

We walked in the door about 5:30 and literally as I stepped in, I felt a rush of fluid (if you're squeamish, stop reading).  So, we debated back and forth about going back to the hospital, etc.  I wasn't like soaked or anything, but it was weird.  We decided not to go back to the hospital with it being new year's eve and people on the roads, etc (we live like 45 min away).  Clayton forbid us to attend the New Year's Eve party we had planned to.  We ended up staying in.  I asked around about the "rush of fluid" episode and got mixed reactions, but mostly everyone thought I should head back to the hospital.   Finally, New Year's morning, I decided I would go ahead and call the answering service back.  I just didn't feel right and we were both just on edge.  I had woken up a few times during the night with contractions, but I'd been having them a while, so I just wasn't sure what to do. I know you're thinking I was moving pretty slow, but I can't really explain the feeling.  I kind of felt stupid from being sent home the day before and thought maybe I was just overthinking it.  Plus, it's a big ordeal to get someone to watch Kimber and get her all squared away, etc.  And, I didn't really have an experience of actual labor to base anything on.  When I called the answering service, the consensus between me and the nurse was that I at least needed to go to labor & delivery and make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid.  When I got to the hospital, I was given the litmus test or whatever, and they determined my water wasn't broken.  I also endured a nice lecture from the on call doctor about the implications if it HAD been my water, blah blah.  At this point, I was not in the mood for his dang talk.  I made sure to inform him that I HAD been there less than 24 hours ago and THEY sent me home.  I let him know the details and told him that the nurse had checked me and I was about 3 cm dilated, etc.  He decided to leave me in L&D for a few hours just to monitor what was going on, and as an afterthought, decided to just check me again.  Imagine my shock when he informed me that I was 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced - basically halfway through labor.  Turns out there's a reason I didn't feel right.  We arrived at the hospital around 11:30 that morning and by 3:16 that afternoon, Tealle Kay Stewart was here.  :)  (Tealle is pronounced like the color Teal.)  I got to hold her immediately (with Kimber they cleaned and weighed her first) and she was perfect.  She just snuggled in and went to sleep on my chest.  Interestingly, I was worried something was wrong because she was so quiet and snuggly.  Kimber screamed and screamed.  Right away, I knew this little one had a much more mellow personality than her sister.  She was fair skinned, and plump, with full red lips.  Beautiful and perfect just like Kimber.

Snuggly and sleeping.  This is literally less than 5 minutes after she was born.  So sweet. 

Isn't she beautiful?  :))  Look at those lips!!

Here's the video of Kimber seeing Tealle for the first time.  (T was in the nursery)