the one where they're the same

People always tell me that Lily and Chloe Belle look just alike. Normally I don't agree.

This weekend Lily had rice cereal for the first time. yay! When we uploaded the pictures we went and found the pics from the first time CB had rice cereal.

Lily's in orange, Chloe Belle's in green.

What do you think? Just alike, or totally different?

the ones about Lily #4

I'm so glad that Lily has joined our family. When we were a family of three, it was hard to imagine loving anything like I loved Chloe Belle. We knew we wanted more kids, it was just that I couldn't imagine having enough room in my heart for all that love.

(she's so little she looks like a baby doll!)

But now that she's here, I just can't imagine life without Lily. I'm the kind of person who has favorites. I have a favorite everything. A favorite movie, book, way to sleep, smell, cookie, pizza toppings, whatever. You name it, I have a favorite (it's the sanguine in me). I was joking with my sister the other day and telling her that when I'm alone with Lily I whisper in her ear and tell her how she's my favorite, and I couldn't possibly love anything more than her, and that she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Of course, I turn around and whisper the same thing to Chloe Belle!

My favorite part (bahahaha-I wasn't even trying to be ironic with that one!) of having Lily in the family is watching Chloe Belle be an awesome big sister. She loves her sissy so very much. First thing in the morning she goes to the swing to say hello to sissy. She brushes her hair, attempts to get her to drink from her sippy cup, she wipes her mouth with the burp cloth, and in very special moments she even gives Mr. Bear to sissy. I love watching them together. My heart bursts at the thought of the years that stretch out ahead of them where they'll get to live life together.

So glad Lily is here and a part of our family. We weren't complete without her.

the ones about Lily #3

This past Sunday, October 9, was Lily's baby dedication at our church. Last Thursday our Preschool Ministry hosted a dinner for the parents of the babies. We had dinner and the guest speakers were one of my favorite couples at our church: Mark and Lynn Garnett. Other than making us laugh, Mark gave one piece of advice that I just loved. Speaking to the fathers, he said: "There are three questions you can ask your grown child to see if you created the right home environment. Did you feel loved? Do you feel like I love and treat your mother the way that I should? Is this the kind of home you want to provide for your children?"

I loved these three questions. It immediately made me think about my amazing husband. He is an incredible father. My girls are so lucky to have him leading them and loving them. I know that they will leave our home knowing and feeling that they were loved and with a beautiful example of how a husband is to love a wife.

So grateful to dedicate Lily to the Lord. She is all His, and I pray that I will be a faithful steward of her little life until it is time for her to follow Him on her own. I know He will use her to bring Himself great glory.

the ones about Lily #2

Even before we got to her 2 week appointment, we knew Lily had reflux. I had several friends whose babies struggled with reflux, so I knew what to look for. At two weeks old Lily was put on medication. Things didn't get much better-I think little Lily screamed for the first 8 weeks of her life.

When Lily was 10 weeks old we took her to Children's ER because she had what looked like seizures. The ER doctors saw it, but didn't know what was wrong. She was admitted to the Special Care Unit for 48 hrs. No diagnosis was made. Thanks to a YouTube video,* we self-diagnosed her with Sandifer's Syndrome. Two weeks later (two very hard weeks where she was having "seizures" multiple times a day) we saw a Pediatric GI specialist and Lily was put on some new medication. She started in improve! Eventually we saw a Pediatric Neurologist for an EEG to see if Lily was having infantile seizures. He diagnosed her with Sandifer's Syndrome (YouTube knew all along). Her EEG was great-normal baby brain!

Lily's reflux is very atypical. She rarely spits up, rather her spit up comes to her throat where she chokes on it (we did have this confirmed with a barium swallow xray). Because the reflux just sits in her esophagus all day long, she is in severe pain, which is why she started having the Sandifer's episodes.

Today Lily still struggles with her reflux, general fussiness due to discomfort, and sleeping through the night. She also had a rough first 8 weeks on her medicine; one side effect of her medicine is diarrhea-we even had a totally unnecessary and unproductive trip to the ER because of bloody diapers! However, she has greatly improved and we are thankful. We still go through rough times - this past week she projectile vomited out of her mouth and nose 5-6 times a day and has had several more Sandifer's episodes. But on the whole little Lily is doing well. Her sweet sanguine personality is now shining through her pain. Instead of crying 24 hours a day, she smiles most of the time.

*If you watch this video, it may seem like it's not such a big deal. The seizures were HORRIBLE for little Lily. She would scream afterwards in intense pain and distress.

the ones about Lily #1

I haven't done a great job of keeping up with this blog. It's something I want to do, but I simply just don't have the time. I realize I haven't told you much about Lily, much at all. I've mentioned that things are hard and things are stressful, but I haven't told you why. So, I'm going to donate a series of blog posts to little Lily.

Lily is 5 months old. She is little bitty and beautiful. Lily's actually even smaller than Chloe Belle was, she's hanging in around the 5th percentile for height and weight. I think she has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. She is definitely more like me in her temperament-she's an extrovert just like her mommy. She loves all the attention she can get and she flourishes in the presence of others. She likes to play on her play mat and swing, but is simply the happiest when being held and played with.

Lily has slept through the night a few times, but it's certainly not a habit for her. She takes naps pretty well and is active during her awake time. Lily's a great nurser, which makes mommy happy. On the other hand, she still hasn't gotten comfortable with a bottle-it's hard on her every time. She likes to sing songs to herself, chew on her toes, and she roots 24 hours a day, which always makes us laugh.

She's lovely little Lily, and we love her tons!

the one with changes

just thinking the other day about how life is different after giving birth to two baby girls:

1. my feet are definitely a half-size bigger. the result: all my shoes hurt but who has the money to replace a closet full of shoes??

2. i have baby bangs. this is when the beautiful hair that you grow during pregnancy falls out and then little hair regrows. i have inch-long bangs now. the result: ponytails aren't really an option for me these days.

3. my right eye is permanently paralyzed. ok, that one sounds extreme. i had bells palsy with both babies, and my right eye is just never going to fully recover. the result: i'm super self conscious about my pirate eye.

4. i am permanently late. i was late before chloe belle, then she made me really late. now with two babies i am LATE. the result: i have left the house for work several times in the last two weeks after 8:00. (i'm supposed to be at work at 8. it takes 45 min to go from home, to dayschool, and then to work. late.)

5. i find myself being a disaster all the time. case in point: last thursday they call me from dayschool because lily is out of control, i go get her, she throws up all over bethany's work clothes, and then i forget her carseat. the result: i am a crazy person (but very thankful for good friends like bethany).

6. my life is absolutely busting at the seams with joy. i simply never could have imagined that my little life could contain so much joy, so much laughter, so many smiles, so much happiness, so many cuddles, hugs, and kisses.
the result: bliss.

happy moments with two babies:

two babies deciding they love each other.

chloe belle correcting answering the question, "where is sissy's nose?"
poor sissy.

chloe belle making sure that sissy gives Mr. Bear his night-night kiss.

the one when I'm sitting on the couch

I have had a stressful day. A stressful week. A stressful six weeks. Maybe the most stressful ever. I wrote a lot of stressful posts [in my head] on the car ride home today, listening to two babies scream their heads off for an hour straight.

But as I'm sitting here on the couch in my quiet house, I'm grateful.

Grateful for a husband that I'm crazy in love with.
Grateful for two baby girls who make my life so rich.
Grateful for a mom who has been so helpful.
Grateful for the best big sister ever.
Grateful for good friends.
Grateful for a beautiful ministry to college girls.
Grateful for all this provision.
Grateful for chocolate when I'm feeling stressed.
And Grateful for a God who rejoices over me with singing and who quiets me with His love.