There is a long story behind it, but the end result was that Bella got to have pink hair (pink streaked hair to be exact) for the weekend, compliments of Grandma Dean! :)
Now I know some of you will be shocked that we let our 5 year old have pink hair, if only for the weekend, but all I can say is "get used to it" because in case you didn't already know, we are just "those" kind of parents. ;)
Our pink haired 5 year old is doing very well in school. She is officially reading and continues to amaze us every day by reading things that we honestly didn't think she could. She reads to her sister and reads every night before going to bed. Her teacher stopped me last week to tell me how impressed she was with Bella's learning. She said that she even called her up to read to the class one day and was shocked when Bella stood up and read then entire story that she had to the class. I have to admit that hearing that story made my mommy heart very proud! :)
Little Chloe is giving us a run for our money to say the least. She has been on the move for almost 2 months now...officially crawling since December and for about a month now, cruising the couch, walls, and anything else she can hold on to. She can even climb the stairs! It's so much fun to see her little (or should I say big) personality develop. We can already tell that she is so much different than Bella...the amazing part is that we love her just same! :)
We have a new name for her as well...she has officially been deemed, "Werebaby" (as in Werewolf). She is one of the happiest babies you will meet during the day, but as soon as bed time rolls around it's like she transforms into a completely different creature. She goes to sleep in her crib with little protest and sleeps for about 2 hours...that's when the fun begins! ;) After 2 or so hours of sleep she wakes up screaming (and when I say "screaming", I mean SCREAMING). On occasion she can be coaxed back to sleep with the fetching of the pacifier which she has thrown half way across her room (not over exaggerating), but usually it takes a few minutes of nursing for her to calm down. Once she gets what she wants she falls back into a peaceful sleep for oh...2 or so hours. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Somehow despite 8 months without a full nights rest I am still alive. Before Chloe joined our family, I honestly thought that a baby that didn't sleep would equal death for me, but as I know many other parents can attest to, somehow, you just manage. I also have to give Andy and I kudos because besides the occasional melt down, we are maintaining quite the sense of humor about the whole thing. We may not be doing much other than surviving at this point, but we still manage to laugh about it. ;)
I can't leave this topic without saying that as desperate as I am to sleep through the night, sitting in a rocking chair, nursing my precious baby girl that I prayed so hard for and waited so long for, being so silent and still that I can hear each breath she takes and feel her heart beating against my chest, have become some of my most treasured moments as a mom.
Here are a few pictures of our little mover and shaker...
Work has been extremely busy for me, but really good at the same time. I have taken on a new role (in addition to my current ones) recently and am now producing Sunday services along with my coworker Nicki. At first I was a bit hesitant, feeling like I wasn't qualified to do something like that, but the more I do it, the more comfortable I am, and I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit. The down side to it is that I have to be at the church at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings. It has actually worked out pretty good since Andy has been playing guitar on the worship team, because he has to be there at seven as well. We are completely exhausted by the time we get home, but honestly, it's so worth it and we are feeling so blessed to be a part of something we love so much!
Our life really fills so full right now and I would be lying if I said we didn't feel overwhelmed sometimes, but for the most part we feel so blessed by each and every part of our life. Our girls bring us so much joy and we have been spending more time with them and as a family in the last few months than ever before. I know that it has come at the sacrifice of time spent with friends and extended family, but it's something I wouldn't trade for the world right now.
Andy and I have both recently realized just how quickly Bella is growing up and we want to do everything we can to make sure she knows just how much we love her, how special she is to us and how much we believe in her. We are facing a whole new set of issues as she gets older, and while it's a bit scary at times, we continue to trust our instincts, talk things out and do our best to parent in the way we feel God is leading us to. We also want to make sure that we make the best of the time we have with our kiddos as we know that all too soon they will have a million other things they would rather be doing than hanging out with their mom and dad! ;)
Before I wrap this up I just have to comment on what an incredible big sister Bella is! She recently said to me, "I just love my sister SO much. I never knew I could love her as much as I do." It absolutely melted my heart to hear her say those words. I know it won't always be this good, but even as Chloe rips to shreds a picture she has just colored, empties the books off her bookshelf, or eats half of her art project from school, she still wraps her arms around her and says, "Sissy, I love you so much!" Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of the girls cuddling on the couch...
I know this was a long post, but like I said before, hopefully this will be the start of my blogging comeback! ;)
Even though we may not be the best at keeping in touch as much as we would like to, please know that we love our friends and family so much and that we think of you all often.
All our love!! :)
The crazy McMinn's!
1 comment:
Donielle ~ it's so good to read an update from you.
I think I recognize that onesie that Chloe has on! ;)
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