Growing with the Gunters: January 2012

Monday, January 16, 2012

Multitude Monday: 477-492

Since life can be a blur at times with two children under the age of two, I'm going to continue to list what I'm thankful for informally (not day by day- but rather composing my list into a weekly view). I think I'll be able to manage to complete my MM doing it this way for now :). I don't want this to become a monotonous task...but rather one of reflecting and remembrance of what I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for...

477. Meme watching SG Monday and Friday

478. Trey leaving Monday after he helped me get the girls in bed so I wouldn’t have to do it alone

479. My mom’s help Wednesday night while Trey was gone

480. Trey’s safe return from Nashville

481. Trey having the time to look at a few houses on my list while in Nashville for work

482. getting to spend time with friends while grilling out and playing Speed Scrabble- with Sarah and

Taylor

483. getting to have an opportunity to catch up with my friend Melisa via phone! It’s hard for us to find the time since we both have small children.

484. getting to watch Miss America with the Hubs in order to cheer on Courtney Porter, Miss AL!

485. being blessed by watching other contestants save her from being eliminated so she could move on to the next round of competition- I think they knew how important it was with everything that she has

gone through.

486. Listening to Caroline’s sweet voice while she talked to us lots this week- it’s so sweet and so soft

(compared to SG’s)

487. SG’s little cute quirks- this week she’s been kissing characters in her books-it comes out of no where and is hilarious!

488. Watching SG try to mimic the dance on “Yo Gabba Gabba”

489. Trey’s help cooking meals- it makes everything run smoothly and he loves it- so why not?

490. Caroline sleeping through the night 9:30-5ish several days this week!

491. Trey’s 30^th birthday- I also thankful he was home for it. He has been out of town on his birthday the last couple of years.
492. finding out that several of my Auburn sorority sisters live in Nashville- it's nice to know I'll have company where I live!

Here are a few pictures from our week:

Birthday boy with the Johnny Ray's pie I bought him!

Blowing out his candles! Make a wish!

Caroline- holding her keys

just reading

Tummy time!

We got to get out and take a wagon ride!

SG painting a masterpiece!

feeding Sissy

Sweet girl- just waking up from a nap :)

reading with Daddy

CG thought Mommy was funny!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

2-3 Months

I've noticed I've created a habit. For some reason, with both children, I just don't quite get to updating my blog when they're two months old. I guess I'm just a little too exhausted and busy during that time :).

2 months stats:

Wt: 12 lbs 6 oz (75%)

Ht: 23 inches (75%)

Hd: 15 3/4 inches

3 Months Stats:

Wt: 14 lbs 9 oz (85%)

Ht: 25 inches (90%)

Hd: 16 inches

Eating:

~5.5-6 oz every 3-3 1/2 hours (She mainly goes 3 hours between feedings with an extension in the late afternoon)

~Her typical schedule: 8:00 or 8:30, 11:30, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 or 9:30 + middle of the night feeding

***In between 2-3 months she went through a growth spurt and wanted 6-7 oz! She was acting crazy hungry!

Sleeping:

~at 2 months we had just started letting her cry it out a little bit to go to sleep for naps so she still didn't have a solid routine.

~Now, she gets tired after about an hour and a half. So, after she has been up for about an hour and fifteen minutes I put her in the swing so that she gets a little drowsy. Then, at an hour and a half I pick her up, swaddle her tight, turn on her lamb sound machine, give her her paci, and walk out the door. It usually doesn't take her long to go to sleep.

~She is pretty much like clock work during the day!

~However, night time is a different story! She has not been very consistent. She has slept through the night a couple of times (9 pm-6 am and 10 pm-5 am) but still has random spurts when she wakes up. It's usually only once to eat. We're trying to work on that. Sometimes, she wakes up at 1:00 or 2:00 and other times she goes until 3:00 or 4:00 am. It's very frustrating. I think the main culprit is that I did hold her at night for a period of time because she was sick. I've had to break that habit. It's not been fun.

Development:

~She started smiling around 6 or 7 weeks here and there. It really picked up at about 8 weeks!

~At 3 months she has been smiling LOTS and LOVES to talk (cue/gurgle) to you!

~She is very strong and can lift her head and chest off of the ground

~The child tries to sit up all the time by herself! I have to buckle her into the swing because she would

fall right out of it if she wasn't fastened in!

I never in a million years thought I could love another child as much as I love Susannah Grace, but I do. It's crazy how much love God gives you to share with your children. I love Caroline so much! She is absolutely precious. It brings joy to my heart to see her grow and develop. I think I cherish it much more with her than I did SG because I know how fast it all passes by. I just can't believe she is already 3 months old. It's just amazing how unique and different she is from SG. She is much more quiet. I think she is going to be much more like my mom's side of the family, which is more even tempered, easy going, and gentle. While her personality is easy going, she sure is a squirmy little thing. She constantly moves her arms. I remember feeling her move ALL the TIME in my womb and wondering if she would be that active when she was born. The answer is...Yes! We have to swaddle her (arms and all) because her squirmy arms wake her up. It is so funny. I love every little part of her, squirmy arms and all! Trey and I are so very thankful for her little life. We praise God and owe Him so much gratitude for letting us be her parents.

2 Months

Sweet Love

learning to play under the jungle gym

hanging out with Daddy

Christmas

3 Months

Sweet smile

Can't you just see the love in her eyes?

This is her silly face

Serious

She's got lots to say!

Here she is sitting tall in her Bumbo!

Just chillin in the bouncy seat :)

Tummy time- her little cross-eyed face cracks me up!

winding down in the swing before a nap

It looks like she's waving "Hey" in this one :)

Sleeping beauty :)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Multitude Monday: 446-476

So, I've gotten a little off course with counting my blessings on Monday. I honestly feel terrible about it. Of course, there are a ton of excuses I could think of...I have a 22 month old and a 3 month old, Caroline still is not sleeping through the night consistently so I have been a tired mommy, the holidays were busy, we've ALL been sick, etc. Nevertheless, I'm most thankful for a forgiving Savior who knows that I'm not perfect and chooses to love me despite of it. In leu of the several weeks that I've missed counting my blessings I have chosen to count my blessings a little informally this Monday. I'm listing all the blessings I've been thankful for these past several weeks, during the holidays. I've also included a few pictures for you to view. Say tuned...I'll be posting a 2-3 month update for Caroline soon!

I am thankful for...

446. The greatest gift of the season...Jesus Christ my savior!
447. Trey getting to spend several days with our family while he was off of work for the holidays.
448. staying within the budget Trey gave me for Christmas.
449. getting to spend time with family during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!
450. Seeing Susannah Grace's sweet excitement as she walked into the living room Christmas morning to see all of her toys.
451. Caroline's sweet and content spirit Christmas Eve when she barely got a good nap in because of all of our family's festivities.
452. Caroline sleeping from 9 pm-6 am- Merry Christmas to me!
453. SG mimicking me after we said our prayers by putting her hands together, speaking some gibberish, and saying "Amen" while smiling at me.
454. The Lord allowing me the ability to breastfeed Caroline for 3 months, thus far...It's not always an easy task and I didn't make it very long with SG.
455. Caroline's sweet personality. She's been cuing and gurgling a lot lately.
456. watching SG pretend to be a "Mommy" to her luvies- she pushes them around in her new stroller all around the house, puts them in Sissy's swing, kisses them, holds them and sings them lullabies, and sometimes chooses to discipline them by telling them "No, no, no."
457. Listening to SG sing with her sweet voice in the back seat of the car.
458. Caroline's daily routine becoming more consistent.
460. being able to spend time with SG all by herself while doing "school" at home with her
461. finding this awesome website: www.abcmouse.com to help teach SG basic learning fundamentals
462. finding time to have more of a consistent quiet time rereading the book The Purpose Driven Life
463. the girls taking their afternoon naps around the same time.
464. getting an opportunity to go on a date night with the hubby even though he wasn't feeling well
465. SURPRISING TREY for his 30th birthday- His mother and I planned a surprise party with just a few of his closest friends really early to surprise him...and it WORKED! WE GOT HIM! This is probably the last time we'll ever be able to surprise him. He is way to observant.
466. Caroline sleeping 10 pm-5 am two nights in a row!
467. The Lord reminding me how VERY BLESSED I am to have two healthy babies through the sorrow of another families loss.
468. finding out we are moving to Nashville instead of Atlanta this upcoming year
469. having time to clean out and de-clutter most of our house so that I can start deep cleaning. We're going to put our house up on the market this month.
470. medicine for yucky illnesses. During this holiday season, Trey has had a staph infection and walking pneumonia. SG has had a sinus infection, and I think she caught what Trey had. Caroline has had a cold that has made her nose run and eyes water. I caught what Trey had. So, we're all thankful for good medicine (except for Caroline- she can't take anything just yet but she is getting better).
471. how this website: http://www.aholyexperience.com/ ministers to me often
472. getting a new grill for Christmas so that Trey and I could enjoy more delicious meals at home.
473. a husband who enjoys cooking
474. Trey's thoughtfulness in getting me an iphone for Christmas so that I could take more pictures and videos of my girls
475. Nana watching the girls while I had some alone time just to myself- I got to go shopping and drive around in the car solo!!!
476. a new year filled with the hope of growth and many blessings to come

SG got to decorate her very own Christmas tree (awesome pinterest find). My friend, Melisa, made one for her children. I could tell they loved it! So, naturally, I made one for SG too because it looked like so much fun!