Pretty Princess Nails!

Now that Livy has moved from baby-hood to toddler-ness, she has become quite the independent! One example would be the time she decided to PAINT HER OWN NAILS! 

I am in no way-shape-or-form a morning person, however, I am so very lucky that Zach is the opposite of me! He gets up with Livy in the AM while I grab a few extra hours of sleep! Anyways, a few mornings ago Livy and Zach were playing together in the living room. She told him that she'd "Be right back", and then scurried along to her bedroom. A few moments later she bounded back out shouting, "Wook! Daddy, wook!! Wook what I did!!". That's when Zach discovered that she had found some nail polish and set right to work on her own nails!

Zach quickly went into her bedroom to survey the damage, and the craziest part was that there was no damage?! She had painted her nails on top her little pink Mini Cooper and there was a tiny little smudge of paint, but nothing else. Praise the Lord! 

We are so proud of how our little munchkin is growing, but sometimes we sure wish she'd slow down!

We might have a little beautician in our future!

Little Livy-isms!

Our little pumpkin has been talking like crazy for the past year, but now that she's 2, her vocabulary has just exploded! Lately she has been saying the funniest things! My sister brilliantly advised me to keep track of the hilarious phrases she says so that we'll always have them to remember! 

Here are a few snippets from the last month! 

1. My mom came over during her lunch hour to spend time with Livy and I. We were hanging out in the living room and Zach was working in our bedroom. 

   My mom: "Where's Daddy?"

   Livy: (without hesitation and with lots of shrugging!) "I dunno, bafroom...poopin'...peein'...I dunno.""

2. I was cooking dinner a few nights ago and was trying to set the table, but Livy had dumped her crayons all over the dining room floor. 

   Me: "Alivia, you need to come pick up your crayons and put them in the bucket."

   Livy: "NOT TODAY, MAMA!"

**That little gem of a comment got her swiftly sent to time-out, but it sure was hard to keep a straight face!**

3. Livy and I were hanging out in the living room today and I stepped out for a minute to put something back into her room. 

   Livy: (yelling) "Mommy, come mere!!!"

   Me: (ran back into the living room as fast as possible"

   Livy: "Wook! I'm swimmin'!"

...eighteen months old...

Oh me, oh my! Our little Alivia Rain is growing up wayyyyy too fast! She's going to be 19 months in a couple of days, but I thought I should share a few facts about our one & a half year old (yikes!), sooner rather than later!

This is the sweet face that Livy has most of the time! She's extremely sweet, and loving! However, she also has her sassy streak! :) She can throw down with the best of them, but typically she's happy as a clam! 

If you haven't spent any time withour little Liv, you have not heard what a gabber she is! Our girl can talk!! She loves to go on and on about anything and everything! Some words in her vocabulary are: puppy, kitty, no, mine, Mimi, bye, hi, go, what is that?, ummm...no, car, book, duck, sock, shooooooooes, choo choo, & many others! 

Alivia loves: animals, singing, coloring, playing with friends, bath-time, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, going on walks, playing at the park, running up and down hallways!

Alivia does not love: eating, napping, people leaving her, the vacuum cleaner!

Our prayer for this beautiful blessing we've been given is that she continues to grow happy & healthy! She is still in feeding therapy & our hope is that one day she won't need it anymore! We ask that anyone who has a moment, lifts her up in prayer for her weight to continue to increase, and that her body gets the nutrients it needs for her to be ok!

We love you, Alivia!

Confessions of a New Mama!

I recently had to fill out a questionnaire which asked me if I was a "first-time, or experienced mother"...huh? I never thought about it too much, but I guess I am very inexperienced in the journey of mamahood! Alivia is 17-months-old now; each day we are faced with new experiences and challenges! Zach nor I have previously been around a baby for an extended period of time so we have no idea what is going to come flying at us!

Lately, I have struggled with trying to be that "perfect, experienced" mommy. Zach likes to call it my 'Pinterest-Mother' syndrome. The Pinterest-Mother wakes up, styles her hair in a new do, dresses in an adorable outfit, works on memorable crafts with her baby who is clothed in a hand-sewn bubble dress....and it top it all of, she has a delicious homemade meal waiting for her husband. 

OH MY WORD, HOW DOES SHE DO IT?!

Therefore, instead of driving myself crazy trying to do it all, I've come to the conclusion that I must...drumroll...be ok with the mommy that I am! So, in an effort to follow this new promise I have made to myself, here are some of my new mama confessions. No, I am not a perfect mother, but our daughter is taken care of, and loved beyond measure. 

Deep breathe....

Here they are....

1. In the adorable picture of Livy above, she is in her pajamas. IT WAS 4:00 PM. Will she ever get out of them? Probably. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.

2. If I can get my teeth brushed before one o'clock in the afternoon...it's a really lucky day! 

3. Alivia was sleeping through the night up until about a month ago. She got very sick & subsequently started getting up at least once. Our pediatrician told us to just let her cry it out. Probably the best idea. I do highly respect the woman. Do I do that though? Nope. Our beautiful little pumpkin comes into our bed & snuggles with us almost every night around 2:00 am. 

4. I truly don't see the point in getting ready for a day of staying home with the Livinator. I would say that 80% of my pants are sweats. Sadly, yes, that is the truth. 

5. My house gets vacuumed maybe every two weeks. And that's being generous. I know, it's frightful, but Livy is scared to death of the vaccum cleaner & by the time Zach gets home to console her while I use the "death machine", I'm way too lazy. 

So, to myself and all the other mamas out there: CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK! Because as a wise woman once told me, "all those mothers that say their kids eat and sleep great are just lying"! Remember you're not alone, and you are doing a great job!