Bittersweet

Yesterday we said goodbye to our kitty Leilah. We have had her since we rescued her almost 5 years ago as a kitten. We thought our other cat Tiger was lonely and would want a playmate. They got along fine but Tiger seemed annoyed by her most of the time! Once we had our real human babies, Leilah was just driving me crazy and always RIGHT THERE!! It was sad, really, because she just wanted attention and us to play with her. But she wasn't my priority any more. She never really acted out terribly, but would get into food we left out, try to sleep in the crib, get cat hair everywhere, etc. So, we decided to try and find a new home for her. We wanted it to be a friend or someone we knew so that we could keep in contact and make sure the new owners were treating her well and that she was happy. SO, a friend of mine had a co-worker that was looking for a new kitty sibling for her cat. She came to meet her and loved her (everyone does, she is such a loving cat). Yesterday Leilah's new owner came to pick her up.  It is really sad to see her go, and we will miss her (sometimes.) But it is also a relief to not worry about her anymore. I can leave Leah's snacks on her little table and not worry about the cat snagging them, or her meowing loudly while the baby is sleeping, or scattering her cat food all around the kitchen! It seems somewhat quieter here today. I can't help but feel a little guilty.......but I feel more relieved. And it seems like Tiger is loving it too! I think he is meant to be an only cat.

We had a little photo shoot and spent some time saying goodbye in the morning. I thought Leah might get upset but she was fine when the lady came to pick her up, and even told the lady how Leilah always knocks over her toys! ha!

Here are a few funny pics of the kids playing -

As you can see, Leah always wants to be where "her baby" is :-)

Zooming around on her new scooter from Grammy!!

 Poor Carter was so fussy on Tuesday after his doctor's appt which included 3 shots :-( It is the worst thing ever to see your baby cry out in pain!!!!

Passed out in his bouncy chair. He usually never just falls asleep without being nursed or rocked...

Also, I am probably the last person in the world, but I just joined Instagram!
Follow me @kristinnr81

Happy Friday!

Carter - 6 Months!

We had Carter's 6 month appointment today! He is a big 16lbs 13oz! 

He still has only had breast milk! I made it to my goal of 6 months exclusive breastfeeding!!! I am so excited about how successful and positive my nursing experience has been with him. Now that I have reached my goal of 6 months, well, I am just going to keep on going!

He is getting better at sitting up!

He looks so big in these pics!

He loves the new toy I got him for his 6 month birthday :)

The last few weeks Carter has been sleeping pretty well, usually at least a 6 hour stretch at night!

This weekend we decided to give Carter his first real food!  We decided to try apples since that was Leah's first food and she loved it. Well.....it didn't go as well with Carter....

He grabbed the spoon and put it in his mouth himself.

"Mommy this tastes funny......"

"I don't think I want another bite Daddy......."

"GAG" Followed by tears.....

Look at that pitiful face!! He did not have a good time. So different than Leah. She loved food from the first time she tried it! Well, maybe he just didn't like the applesauce, or maybe he just wasn't ready. We will try something else in a few weeks.

I cannot believe he is a half a year already! Where is the time going!??  He is getting cuter and more fun by the day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few nights ago Leah and I had a fun time decorating Carter with kisses :-)  I have seen this idea all over the place and couldn't resist!

It was Carter's first Valentine's Day!

My gift for the kids (well, mostly Leah :)

Our playgroup party got canceled which was a bummer but rescheduled for next week! We still had a fun day though, my friend Kim and her daughter Gracie came over to play!

My cute Valentines -

When Dustin got home we did our tradition of getting a heart shaped Papa Murphy's pizza! And we had that we some chocolates and sparkling wine :-)

And after dinner Leah had fun decorating Daddy with her stickers :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Randoms

This is going to be a really random post!  I have a few pictures that I have been wanting to share so this will be a picture hodgepodge post!

Here are a couple of cute pictures of Leah. She made pink chocolate dipped marshmallows for her birthday party!

The morning of her birthday with her curlers in! She was SO excited for her party.

This is a typical night after dinner - family playtime!  Usually we have music and sing and dance and play together. Some of my favorite moments!!

Carter tried out the jumper for the first time. He likes it but not as much as Leah did at that age. He still hasn't figured out how to jump, but likes playing with the toys.

At dance class on Monday  I dressed Leah in a Valentine's ballet outfit. She had cute heart shaped clips in her hair which you can't really see but she looked cute :)

She was a really good listener at dance class so we went to Starbucks after and I got her a vanilla steamer.

Also, another big milestone for Leah happened last week. Her last remaining "baby" thing.....we said goodbye to the binky. Yep, she had still been using it to fall asleep. Her history with the binky is interesting. She refused to take one for the first year of her life. Then she found one in her toy box and stuck it in her mouth and got hooked then and there. She never was allowed to just play with it in her mouth. It was just for sleep and also as a last resort when she got fussy in stores or was not feeling well. And it was great for long car trips and the few times we flew to Texas.  We wanted to get rid of it when she turned 2. But then we kept putting it off because of other things that were happening, like moving into our new house, switching to a toddler bed, getting a new baby brother, potty training, etc. But when she turned 3 I said, ok that's it, you are a big 3 year old who doesn't need a binky! So we had her decorate a box and she put her binkies in it to send to a new baby that needed them. And we told her when she woke up, the baby would deliver a gift to her in return. The first night was HELL. She was crying for it and so upset, it broke my heart. It took a long time to get her calmed down, but she also woke up a few times that night looking for it and crying. BUT, when she woke up in the morning, she was SO proud of herself and excitedly went to see her present from the baby. And she has been fine without it ever since!! Phew!

Binky box :)

This week Dustin has been in San Diego for work. He is so lucky, in a fancy hotel along the water with the sun shining. Sigh......I want to go on a trip SO bad!!!!
We had plans for this week, including a playgroup Valentine's party, but everything got canceled due to nearly all of our friends being sick!!! Boooo! So, it has been rainy and we have been stuck at home all week so I had to think of some things to keep us busy. 
Leah had fun making Valentines for her friends.

And then we had fun with pipe cleaners. 

Do you like my hat? :)

So hopefully next week we will have more exiting things going on once all our friends get over their colds!
One last cute picture of my little sweeties cuddling in their Valentine blanket :-)

:-)

Leah is 3!!

On February 2nd, Leah turned 3 years old! We had a very fun and busy day. We had her Minnie's Bowtique birthday party which she has been talking about since summertime, haha! We celebrated with her friends Ashlyn, Emma, Ethan, Emmy, Dallas and Gracie, along with her grandparents, Aunt & Uncle. 

Love their Grammy!

Couldn't be any cuter!

Some of the kiddos eating lunch. Mickey shaped chicken nuggets, bowtie pasta salad, fruit kabobs, chips and cake!

That evening the four of us went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner, yum! I can't believe my baby girl is 3!!!!   She is the most amazing little girl in the world!!!