real

*getting a picture of them both looking happy at the camera at the same time is basically impossible*

with the olympics in full swing and the US women's gymnastics team doing so well .. i have been surprised by how much focus has been put on the fact that simone biles' parents are biologically her grandparents

i dont at all see why this matters or what it could possibly have to do with her gymnastics ability but none the less people seem stunted by the fact that her mom and dad are not her birth parents

as a mom of an adopted daughter i know we will face similar comments and questions for the rest of our lives and that makes me sad

it has already started in full force due to the fact that i am so pregnant 

people want an explanation .. how can all of these children possibly be yours?!?

while i am so thankful for adoption and how it is building my family .. i do not want it to separate LG from the rest of us in any way 

yes she was adopted but i am her real mom

RT is her real dad

the littlest is her real sister

she has been in our arms .. in our family .. in our home since the second she took her first breath

she has been in our hearts since we first learned of her last december 

she is just as much a part of our family as any of the rest of us

she is just lucky enough to also have a tummy mommy who loves her so desperately that she made the impossible choice to place her daughter with us

i never want LG to feel ashamed of the fact that she was adopted
as a family .. we will always celebrate the way she came to be one of us
and we will celebrate her tummy mommy every single day

but i also dont want to have to qualify the make up of my family by explaining that LG was adopted
so i pray for the ability to do both
and for the ability to raise her to be confident in where she comes from .. who she is .. and who she becomes

happy friday!!

bees .. the magic word

the littlest is starting to learn lots of words

she talks all the time about everything

and because we are around her all day everyday we really understand a lot of it

as her language is erupting we are trying to teach her to say certain things

expression of feelings and manners being our main objectives

the word please has been high on our priority list

she was whining when she was wanting something so we have been encouraging her to say please instead of whining

thats a good thing right??

of course it is!!

except now she feels like please is the magic word to get her whatever she wants whenever she wants it

last week it was just the littlest and i for dinner so i made us a yummy bean cheese and egg sandwich to share

normally this is a dinner she would love which is the whole reason i made it 

but on this particular night she was absolutely not having it

she kept throwing her bites on the floor and swatting them out of my hand

so i put her down out of her high chair at which point she went straight to the pantry doors and starting banging on them say bees! bees!

she wanted cheerios for dinner .. not what i made

but i didn’t want her to have snack food for dinner so i said no

naturally she didnt like my answer so she started throwing a fit

she was crying and slumping her shoulders and banging on the pantry doors

bees! bees! bees! 

i let her have her fit .. finished our my dinner and then got up and left the table

she is too little to really understand you have to eat what i make if you want to have dinner so i was not willing to just let her go hungry until her bed time bottle but i also didn’t want her she get rewarded for throwing a fit

once she calmed down and moved on i made her a pb&j and she ate it and the rest of the night continued without issue

i gained an awesome video that i have shared with anyone who will watch because even though she was upset she is adorable and so funny!!

and i think technically we both won .. she didn’t eat the cheerios for dinner but she also didnt have to have the original sandwich that i made

and as a little side note .. i do make things other than sandwiches

happy tuesday!!

light

three years ago i was sitting in church on mothers day when it hit me like a ton of bricks

i want a baby

RT said no at first but within a few months we were trying to start our family

and then the darkness fell

the next two mothers days were basically unbearable

but yesterday i sat in church on mothers day with my light in my lap

she crawled around between the whole family .. smiled at everyone .. and basically just acted like the precious little angel that she is

as i sat there i was so overcome with emotion i couldn't help it cry

being the littlest's mommy is one of my greatest joys in life and i am so very thankful

happy monday!!

just me and my girl

i have just run in the door from another day of work

things are extra busy because it is the end of the year

i don't know why that equals crazy land but it definitely does 

fun land but crazy land none the less

anyway i get home and i scoop up the littlest 

she gets so excited to see me and that is a fabulous feeling

i sit and talk with her for a few minutes befor i change her diaper and take her into her room

i zip her into her sleep sack

turn on her ocean waves

sit down in the rocking chair 

and take a deep satisfied breath

as i look down at my precious perfect daughter i can't help but thank God for her over and over

i do this every time i nurse her

it strikes me what a true joy nursing my baby is for me

i know that nursing isn't for everyone and i have absolutely no judgement at all if you couldn't or you made a different choice

but for me .. it is one of my most favorite things in the world

the littlest is a busy girl so this is the only time when she is calm and snugly

it's a time that is just for me and her

we sit and look at each other and i pray over her and it is when i feel the closest with her

it is very special to me

happy monday

mommy wars

top: patterson j kincaid
sweater: velvet
leggings: spanx
shoes: dolce vita

let me start by saying that this post is not directed at anyone
it is not a result of any bad personal experience
i have been really lucky .. i have lots of great moms around me and i have been able to amicably bounce ideas and get advice from them all without feeling like they are judging me

but something i have learned since becoming a mom .. every single mom has a different style and some will go to war with you to prove her way is the right way

breast feeding vs formula feeding

and if you choose to breast feed .. how long?? 

six weeks

six months

a year

two years

cloth diapers vs disposable

tummy sleepers vs back sleepers

working moms vs stay at home

co.sleepers vs crib only

vaccinations vs not

swaddle blanket vs no blankets at all

store bought baby food vs homemade

day care vs at home care

there are infinite more but let me tell you what i know for sure .. we all love our kids more than anything

we all want the best for them

and we are all doing the best we can and what we feel is right

i don't love my child more because i chose to/have been able to breast feed her and you didn't/were not able to make that same choice

you don't love your child more because you are choosing not to vaccinate but i am

lets make a deal .. i won't try to convince you to do it my way if you don't try to convince me to do it your way

let's be supportive of each other instead of at war

because in the end all these kids are going to grow up to be just fine

happy tuesday!!