Wife and Mom

Dave and I really enjoy a show on TLC called John and Kate Plus 8. It is a documentary type show following the lives of a family with twins and sextuplets. We call John and Kate our heroes because when we think we have it hard with 2 kids, we just watch the show and realize how easy we have it. Last night we were watching a re-run of the show. I have seen this particular episode a couple of times and it never ceases to convict me as a homemaker. I complain a lot about making a weekly grocery list and trying to keep our needs (and sometimes wants) within a certain budget. I plan each meal out for the week and of course there is the usual necessities like milk, formula, and diapers. The bill usually totals around $150 a week and that is not counting eating out. Kate is able to shop for her family of 10, including organic foods, for $150 a week! What an inspiring women. I am not sure what I am putting in the grocery cart that is causing me to have such a high bill but whenever I see the episode with Kate shopping for $150, I sit down and re-evaluate what I buy. Maybe Emily is sneaking food into the cart when I am not looking. ;)
I am learning a lot right now on being content with were God has placed me as a wife and as a mother. I am 24 years old and I am married and have 2 kids. I do not know any other 24 year olds like me. Most people with kids that are Emily and Allison's ages are in there upper 20's or early 30's. When Dave and I got married, we were not exactly following the crowd. Our college friends have only recently started to get married and most of them are no where close to having kids. Dave and I were married for 4 months before we found out we were having a baby. Once Emily was born, we basically lost our social life. We couldn't just go and hang out with our friends anymore. When we moved to Georgia we finally made some friends who had kids that were Emily's age. I couldn't believe how awesome it was to be able to have people who could answer all of the questions I had about Emily. Was it normal for her to be doing things, when would she start doing this, or who is a good doctor around here? My friends were not exactly close to my age though. The youngest was 28. I love my friends in Georgia and I miss having them to talk to. Now we are back in Texas and I do not know a single mom in this city. Fortunately we have found a church that has a class for new parents. Hopefully I will be able to meet some moms my age. This brings me to being content with were I am right now. I am a full time wife and mom. I do not have vacation days or days off during the week. When Emily or Allison is hungry, I have to feed them. When the laundry pile is high, I have to clean them. When we run out of food, I have to go to the grocery store. But every time I think about how hard my job is, I think about all of the moms who do not have the luxury of staying home with their kids. The moms who don't have husbands to support them. The moms who cannot be there for every smile and every tear their growing child has. I am so blessed to be able to stay at home with Emily and Allison.
(P.S. The picture is of Emily, carebear and the Christmas lights we hung up around her door. She was so proud!)

Talking Babies

Ally May has started talking! I know that probably sounds impossible considering she is only 3 months old, but she is talking baby talk. Over the last week or two she has started cooing for long periods of time. Sometimes she will be sitting in her swing by herself talking to the mobile above her head, other times I will be sitting beside her and she will babble to me for a long time. Ally really perks up when Emily walks by and Ally always has a smile for her. It is fun to see them interact at this age because it rarely happens. Emily will occasionally talk to Allison or try and "dance" with her. She has even fallen on top of Ally a couple of times. But usually Emily will play as if she is the only kid in the house. As for Emily and talking, we cannot get her to stop! I remember wanting Emily to learn to talk for so long. We thought it would never come. Two nights ago, we were driving home after it had become dark outside. We have been teaching Emily the difference between the sun and the moon. Well, she spotted the moon and it kept going behind the trees as we were driving. Emily must have asked a hundred times where the moon was, what it was doing, why it was hiding, where the sun was, and so on. It was about a ten minute car ride and she asked those questions the whole way home! Dave and I were going crazy! Everyday when Emily wakes up, she ask where daddy is. I tell her the same thing everyday, that he is at work, and she still asks. Whenever I let Emily talk on the phone with my mom or my sisters, they ask her what everyone is doing. She tells them exactly what we are doing. She says Ally is sleeping or playing on the floor, mommy is sitting or talking on the phone, and daddy is at work. It amazes me how much she really understands what is going on around her. Some embarrassing things Emily says include calling every child a "boy". You might not think that sounds embarrassing but when the mother of a little girl looks at you like you can't teach you kid anything right, it makes you feel a little small. Also, if I am out with Dave or my mom or sisters and I say I am going to the restroom, Emily automatically says poopy. She will yell across the store at me that I am going poopy. Thanks Emily! But it is fun to see Emily learning and to hear the results of everything we have taught her. I love it when I have been running around not really paying attention to Emily I find her sitting by herself reading a book. She is looking at the pictures and remembering what we say when we read to her. I can sit and watch her do that forever. Emily loves to do whatever I am doing. She is such a big helper, she will even throw away dirty diapers for me. If I am feeding Ally, she will go get her blanket for her. If I need wipes or diapers, she knows were they are and will get them for me. She loves to put clothes into the washer and dryer. I sometimes try and sneak away to do laundry because it goes much faster, but she usually finds me and insists on helping. I cannot wait to see what kind of relationship her and Ally have.

That time of year

It is that time of year again! Christmas music playing on the radio, everywhere you go there is some sort of decorative display, cold weather, warm coats, hot chocolate at night. What is not to like about this time of the year? Plus the anticipation of seeing family and friends and sharing gifts and lots of good food. Dave and I have decided not to get a Christmas tree this year. It would be too hard with the little girls and our small apartment. So we have opted to go all out and decorate with lights and garland. Emily will probably enjoy the lights more than a tree because I would most likely be yelling at her every time she goes near the tree. Last night we went over to Target to get our decorations. We also decided it was time to upgrade Emily's blanket situation. She has been using her crib blanket and it is just too small for her now. Also, her room is the coldest in the house because she has 2 of the biggest windows. Dave wanted to go for a neutral color so she could use it forever but I convinced him that Emily would have a much easier time turning in her Winnie the Pooh blanket for a Dora blanket. Plus, she is only a kid once. How often will she have the chance to have a huge portrait of Dora on her blanket without being made fun of?! I was able to successfully switch out the blankets without a fuss. Emily loves her new Dora blanket and she didn't have ice toes this morning.
So last night I made a very yummy recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. In keeping with trying to get Emily to eat what we eat, I made her a bowl and we sat down to eat. Emily did not want to try it at first but after realizing that is was not totally gross (her words), she began to eat. Since she still does not have all of her teeth, Emily has trouble chewing meats. She got stuck on a piece of the chicken but she tried to eat another bite. Well that was a bad idea. She then proceeded to throw up all over herself and her chair. I don't think I can ever eat Pot Pie again. Poor girl, at least she was trying.
Also, Dave was very disappointed that he did not get any pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. There was a big mix-up with the desserts this year. My mom thought I was making the pumpkin pie but Grace told me she was doing it and I was told Christy was bringing one as well. Grace ended up making a gingerbread trifle, which was really good, and Christy took her pie to her in-laws house before anyone had a chance to have a piece. So yesterday I decided to bake a pumpkin pie. I have never made one before so I got a recipe off the food network website. It turned out to be the best pumpkin pie I have ever had! I am not saying that because I made it. Usually when I eat pumpkin pie, I cover it in whipped cream to kind of dilute the taste. I am not a huge fan on pumpkin. The recipe that I made had cream cheese and it was a very nice compliment to the pumpkin. Dave enjoyed it very much as well. I think it made up for not having any on Thanksgiving.

Another week

It is Monday and life has started back to normal here in the Weir house, as normal as it can get i guess. Dave's alarm went off at 3:45 am and as usual, he gets up, turns it off and goes back to sleep. We have tried moving the alarm to several different locations so that Dave cannot just hit it and go back to sleep. The alarm currently sits on our sink in the bathroom. But does this help Dave not to get back in bed and oversleep? Nope. He goes and turns it off and hops right back into bed. I have to keep waking him up over the course of the next half hour to sometimes an hour. I often get the nickname of the nagger, but what would he do if I just let him sleep? Well, usually when Dave gets up, Allison thinks it is time to eat. I normally feed her and go back to sleep. I can usually here Emily talking on her baby monitor at around 7:30 so I get up and have breakfast with her. The rest of the day is a blur of baby feedings, diaper changes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and whatever else needs to get done. Dave has started making an effort to come home earlier. He now comes home between 3:30 and 5 pm. I have really enjoyed that because he was working from 4:45 am until 6 or 6:30 pm. He closes once a week and will get home at 8 or 9 pm, but that is not too bad. At least it is only once a week.
We tried a new church yesterday and Dave and I really enjoyed it. We heard about it from a couple of friends of ours and supposedly one of our friends and his wife go there. It is a huge church so we didn't see them yesterday. There were tons and tons of kids there. They have so many that they have the toddlers divided into about 4 different age groups. Usually in all of the churches I have ever been to, there are about 2 different toddler groups. We actually put Allison in the nursery for the first time and they said she did really well. Dave and I are a little intimidated by the size of the church, but the teaching was great. We enjoyed listening to the pastor and he gave a great message on being thankful. I have been extremely frustrated with not having found a church already here in Austin/Round Rock. We have been here for over 4 months and we still don't know anyone. Dave and I agreed to take our time to try and find a great church. We wanted to try each church at least twice and not rush into anything. But we were so thankful to have finally found this church that we both liked immediately, that we think we might just stay there. It is going to take some time to get to know people there because of the size, but we think it will be worth it. We are going back next week, so hopefully we will take it from there.

Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and I still cannot believe it is over. So much planning goes into the Guelich's Thanksgiving tradition and in less than an hour, it is over. Dave and I decided when we got married to spend Thanksgiving with the Guelich family and Christmas with the Weir family. My mom has always made a big deal out of Thanksgiving and Dave said his family always made a big deal of Christmas. So it was decided. It has worked out great the last 3 years. Since we have gotten older, my sisters and I have helped out my mom a lot more in the kitchen. This year, Emily was able to participate as well. She had a blast stirring ingredients together for pies and bread. I took on the job as potato peeler and dish washer. I had a job once as a dish washer for a professional chef who gave cooking lessons out of her home. I think that was the best job I have ever had. I got to sit in on the classes (which I learned a ton from), watch everyone practice making what they were taught, and then eat free food, plus I got paid really well and I usually got to take home the leftovers. Unfortunately that was right after Emily was born and it was hard to find a free babysitter every week. I became undependable to the Chef and she needed to find someone else. It was most definitely my loss. Back to Thanksgiving though, we spent the whole morning preparing food. It is always fun to hang out with my sisters and my mom and make good food. Almost everyone was able to come for dinner with the exception of Jennifer's husband Wes and my oldest brother and his wife. We had a full house and it was great to devour all of our hard work in about 15 minutes. My Dad sort of put a damper on the day by trying to clean out the furnace right after we ate. A huge cold front came in the day before Thanksgiving. Since there were babies in the house, my Dad lit the furnace so we could have heat. It wasn't acting right so after we all ate, he went to see what was wrong. Turns out there was a crack in one of the heater parts which could have burnt the house down the night before, very comforting. He turned off the heater and tried to vacuum out the furnace. Little did he know that something was wrong with the vacuum which was blowing out everything he was sucking up. There was black soot everywhere! Way to go Dad! We spent the rest of the time there blowing black snot out of our noses and shaking soot off of everything we own. The evening was not a total loss. We played Catch Phrase which turned out to be a ton of fun. Dave had to drive back to Round Rock to be at work the next day, but overall, the day was a blast. Dave came back to San Antonio Friday night and we hung out with family all day Saturday and then came back home. Everyone is exhausted and glad to be back in their own beds. We decided to come back on Saturday so that we had an extra day to rest before the week started. We are headed back to San Antonio on Friday because Andrew is graduating from the Police Academy. I am so proud of him. Out of thousands of applicants, he is one of 34 people who made it. He was in the top of all of his classes and now he is about to be part of the SAPD. It is so weird that my brother is a cop! I am nervous for his safety, but he is a smart guy and I know he will make us very proud.

Another milestone

Last night, Allison passed yet another milestone. So far she has rolled over from her stomach to her back, started cooing and awing, graduated to size 2 diapers and size 3-6 months in clothes. Last night, she did not need the net in her baby bathtub. Her tub converts into 3 different stages. Stage 1 is a net-like sling that barely sits in the water. Stage 2 is a seat that is skid-proof and is close to the wall of the tub so that babies can lounge in the water while moms and dads wash them. Stage 3 is for babies who are good at sitting up by themselves but are not yet ready for the regular tub. Each milestone has been very emotional for me. I am not quiet sure why. Dave and I have discussed having more kids, and we are both in agreement that we want more, just not for a while. I think it is because with Emily, I was so anxious for her to move on to the next stage that I did not take the time to enjoy each stage she was in. I told myself that with Allison, I was going to enjoy each stage as much as I could. I guess I have been enjoying them more than I thought. Getting the stage 2 diapers was the hardest. It meant that Allison was no longer a newborn :(
Emily has been passing a couple of milestones as well. She has completed her first puzzle all by herself. She is learning colors really well. She completed her first coloring book. We made a special trip to Wallmart yesterday to buy her a new coloring book. It was very exciting. Emily is also getting about 4 new teeth right now. It is a Guelich trait to get teeth very slowly, but all of a sudden she is getting the rest in at the same time. We figured it out because last night when Dave was tucking Emily into bed, she said she had a boo boo in her mouth. Dave and I thought she might have been saying that because I have been having problems with my mouth. For some reason at night I have been clenching my jaw shut. When I wake up in the morning, my mouth hurts really bad and I feel really tense. We thought maybe Emily was pretending to have a boo boo like me. But this morning I checked her mouth to make sure and she had about 4 teeth popping up. Poor kid! That has got to hurt.

Spaghetti

Dave and I have been going through a battle with Emily and her eating habits. I have come to the realization that I have stuck her in a food rut and it is completely my fault. She eats a select few foods including cheerios, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac & cheese, and chicken nuggets. If you notice, none of those are particularly healthy for her. I am trying to get her to eat fruits and veggies more as well as feeding her what Dave and I are eating for dinner. This has been and incredibly hard task. We have now spent many nights trying to persuade her to eat in any way possible. Emily has come up with a list of reasons why she cannot eat the food: "ants, poopy, sticky, mess". Sometimes it is just one thing, other times, her food is all of those things. I am not sure were she came up with that, but she thought of it all on her own. Tonight I had prepared myself for the battle I was sure would come. I had made spaghetti and I was sure there would be "ants" or something wrong with it. But to Dave's and my delight, she ate the whole thing and even had seconds. Emily refused to eat salmon with brown sugar on it, tomatoes, chicken that has not been fried or frozen, broccoli, soup, and mostly everything else I make but she loves spaghetti. Last night, she sat for about 10 minutes with a piece of salmon in her mouth. She kept gagging on it. But tonight, she has these incredible long spaghetti noodles hanging out of her mouth (which makes me want to gag) and she loves it. I am not going to pretend to understand the mind of a two year old. I can only hope that I start Allison eating right from the beginning. I cannot believe that Allison is already 3 months old. Most books say you can start feeding 4 month olds solid food. That is only a month away! With Emily, I started feeding her solids at about 5-6 months old. Then we were preparing for our move to Georgia and so I went back to completely bottle feeding her. When we were in Georgia, I tried to start feeding her solids again and it was a tough battle. I have always had trouble feeding her good and healthy foods. I am hoping that if I start good with Allison and try and be consistent, she might have better eating habits. One can always hope!

Nap Time

Well it is becoming a familiar scene in the Weir house, everyone sleeping but mom. I have to stay awake in case any of the babies wake up. Allison has been on the verge of waking up for the last hour. Every time I think it is safe to start dozing off, she starts fussing. I go and turn on the sounds on her swing and she falls back to sleep. So once again I am unable to get any rest in. It is probably for the best because whenever I do take a nap, I have trouble going to sleep at night.
Dave and I went out for his birthday last night. We went to the Cheesecake Factory were we waited about half an hour to be seated only to realize why we don't like the food there. They have amazing cheesecake, but not so great food. We enjoyed our alcoholic beverages, but that was about it. After that we went and walked around Barns and Nobles for a while. We had been looking for a nice map of the world to hang on our wall, but we have had a hard time finding laminated ones that don't cost a ton of money. We found a great set that included a US map and then a map of the rest of the world. My parents always had a world map up and they would put pictures of people we new in different countries and states, including the missionaries from our church. I am glad to be able to share that tradition with Dave. We also got Emily a Dora book. You have to search for different things in each page. It is perfect for the age she is at right now. We also got my mom a gift for coming to watch the girls for us. We gave her the Paula Deen Christmas cookbook. She seemed to really enjoy it. It is always so much fun to go to a bookstore and get books and such for everyone.
Today we were supposed to try a new church but since my mom was still here and we didn't get to go out to breakfast for Dave's b-day, we decided to just make it a lazy day and go to breakfast with my mom. My mom, Emily and I also braved the grocery store this morning. I try not to ever go on Saturday or Sunday during the day. It is just way too busy. We went around 11 so I thought it might not be too bad since churches still hadn't let out, but it was crazy. I guess everyone is trying to get ready for Thanksgiving. I hope I don't have to go back before Thursday. Emily always has fun at HEB because it is very kid oriented. They hand out balloons and lollipops at the front. She definitely looks forward to that and has come to expect it.
Well, hopefully someone will get up from their nap soon to keep me company.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Today is Dave's 23rd birthday. Unfortunately he had to get up at 5 am to be at work at 6. This weekend was inventory so it was not something he could miss. I got up with him to make him coffee and breakfast (and by make breakfast I mean pour him a bowl of cereal). I got him a balloon and set up his gifts so he would be surprised when he came out of his shower. Last weekend Dave decided to snoop out his gifts from me and he found them. I had gotten him a San Diego Chargers sweatshirt and t-shirt along with a pair of Adidas athletic pants and a Dallas Mavs t-shirt. So today Dave only had the gift from his parents left to open because I was successful in keeping that hid. They got him a fog-free shower mirror and a nice disposable razor and some aftershave lotion. Dave is always looking for an excuse to sleep in and now he can shave in the shower without destroying his face or missing huge patches of hair. Thanks Dorcas and Jeff! Dave only had to work until about noon which is really good considering I thought he would not be home until 5 or 6pm. Our friends Jon, James, and Kara came into town and we went out to a really long lunch with them. It was really good to catch up and visit with them. We have not seen friends from school in a long time. Emily had a blast drawing with Jon. For some reason she really attaches herself with males rather than any females that are around. I think it is because she has so much fun with Dave and she feels comfortable with them. Anyways, back to Dave's b-day. Now we are home and Dave has chosen to take a nap. Poor boy has been over worked since we moved to Texas. Tonight my mom is coming up from San Antonio to watch the girl so we can have a night on the town. I am not sure what we are going to do yet. There are not any good movies out, at least that we can agree on. It will just be fun to have some alone time. I am not sure if we will get to church tomorrow, yet again, since my mom will be in town. We will see though. Anyways, Dave, I love you so much and I am so thankful for you and for the 23 years you have been alive (even though I have only known you for about 4 or 5 of them. I hope there are many, many more year to come. Happy Birthday!

Long time, so see.

Well, Allison has been here for 12 weeks now and life is starting to finally feel a bit more predictable. Allison has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now. She randomly will wake up around 4 or 5 am to eat, but for the most part, I put her down for the night at around 9:30 or 10 and she will sleep until 8 or 9 in the morning. Allison has been different from Emily in almost every way.
Allison May Weir was born on August 20, 2007 at 8:45 am weighing 8lbs 7oz and 20 inches long. I went in for my scheduled induction at 5 am. They started the Pitocin at around 6 am and at 7 my doctor came in and broke my water. She told me to have a couple of good contractions before I asked for an Epidural so I tried to suck it up and wait as long as I could. About half an hour later I was begging my nurse for an epidural. She said I needed to get more fluids in my body and she pumped up the IV and then disappeared for half an hour. My doctor came in to check on me and I was almost in tears because of the pain. She checked me and told me I was 7 cm dilated and she got the anesthesiologist in there promptly. He gave me the epidural and told me it would take a minute to start working. My doctor came and checked me and I was 9 cm. I had gone from 7 to 9 in the time it took to put in the epidural. I was not feeling any relief of pain and I was starting to feel pressure so my doctor checked me and I was fully dilated. She told me that my body was working too fast and the epidural could not catch up. It was time to start pushing. I was in so much pain I did not want to push because I knew it was going to hurt a ton! After 2 wimpy pushes I realized that the baby was coming out no matter how bad it hurt, so I gave a big strong push. Allison was out in about 4 pushes! With Emily I was in labor for 12 hours and I pushed for an hour. Allison came out and she was not crying. Dave and I were a little nervous but the nurse said it was normal. Allison gave a couple of little cries, but Dave said it was just when the nurses were sticking her or messing with her. I held her as soon as she came out and it was so awesome. I thought she was going to look exactly like Emily but she looked so different. My sisters, who were supposed to be there when the baby was born but did not make it in time, came into the room and everyone was crying. I was so disappointed my sister Jennifer could not make it. She has not been able to have kids yet and I really wanted her to be able to experience what it was like.
The rest of the time at the hospital was kind of a blur. I was so nervous the entire time that they were going to come and tell me Allison had jaundice. But she never got it! Praise God! She was able to stay in the room with me the entire time except for when they had to do tests. Allison also picked up breastfeeding like a pro. I saw a consultant to make sure I was doing everything correctly and she gave me a few tips that helped a lot. Dave, Allison and I only had to stay in the hospital for one day. We went home on Wednesday. Most of my family was in town and it was so good to be able to go home and see all of them. We had also missed Emily a ton.
Now Allison is almost 3 months old. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. She weighs 11 lbs and she looks totally different from when she was born. At first, being a mom of 2 was incredibly hard. I felt like I was neglecting Emily of the attention she deserved. I am so lucky to have such a great family who came up at least once a week for about the first 2 months to hang out with Emily. They were able to give her the attention and love I could not. I think I have gotten much better at balancing my time and attention. I love having two precious girls. I am looking forward to them growing up together and hopefully being very close.