sleeping in a box...

Libbi is still in her crib. yes, i know. she is 2.5, but y'all don't understand. She is wild. i mean wiiiild. And honestly, she can climb out of her crib. easily, in fact. but for some reason, by the grace of God, she just chooses not to. (*knock on wood*) :)

i'm convinced that once she moves to a big girl bed we will: 

A) never sleep again 

B) end up in the ER with some kind of broken bone

C) have to remove all furniture from her room and pad the walls

D) wake up to her sliding down the stairs on her mattress

E) all of the above. 

i'm not kidding. she sleeps like a rock in her crib, but that's after she does her jumping-singing-talking-trick performing-routine. seriously, there are some nights that she goes to bed at 8:15 and at 10:00 she is still in her bed jumping and talking to herself. it's insane! 

And unless she's suuuuper tired, we pretty much go through the exact same routine at naptime. she goes down for a nap around 1:45 and some days it's close to 3 before she finally settles down and goes to sleep. 

I'm downstairs during her afternoon routines and it literally sounds like our ceiling is going to cave in. I usually don't intervene unless it starts to sound dangerous. There are many days that I will go upstairs and find her without her clothes, (only once has she been diaperless, thank God!) the sheets will be off her bed, books everywhere, etc. She takes pride in how far she can throw her blankets. It's not unusual to find her lovey's on top of the lamp or across the room in her closet. 

One day last week, I heard the usual jumping, song and dance routine. I even heard a few loud bangs, but nothing too out of the ordinary. About 30 minutes in, she starts yelling my name, "momma! momma! mooooom-maaaaaa!" It's always a little unnerving when I'm summoned upstairs. especially because i have no idea what i'm going to find when i open the door. 

that day, i peeked into her room and immediately went downstairs to get my camera. the scene in her bedroom was definitely worthy of documentation. 

believe it or not, this was all done without ever leaving the comfort(?) of her crib. 

and what was sweet little libbi doing, you ask? 

hmmm....can you see her? 

yep, she was IN A BOX, in her bed. 

and pretty proud of herself, i might add.

and just like that i decided right there on the spot that she just might sleep in a crib until she's five.

i rest my case.

project 365: week 8...

project 365: week 8

As you can see, we had a few things on the calendar for this week:

Sunday, February 19th - Saturday, February 25th:

Laney has had a few rough mornings in the church nursery, but thank goodness for faithful volunteers that love babies! She spent some quality time with her buddy out in the foyer during the service. She's been having some major "stranger danger" lately and will cling to me like a scared little monkey as soon as we start approaching her classroom. I usually have Jeffrey go back and check on her to make sure she's calmed down (or I say I'm going to the bathroom-even though we both know what I'm really going to do- and swing by to check on her myself.) She's usually pretty content and crawling around everywhere. Cheerios always help :)

Jeffrey and I went on a date Sunday night. We enjoyed dinner out and some grocery shopping - woohoo! :) We are so thankful that our parents live close by and we have the luxury of weekly date nights without having to pay a babysitter. 

Monday was a busy, busy day for Laney. She spent the majority of the day climbing on and off everything. And pulling up and down on everything else. She finally figured out that Libbi is the messiest eater on the face of the earth, so she constantly follows her around like a little puppy just waiting for the crumbs to fall. Jeffrey took Libbi out to play at the park since it was such a nice day. He also took her by Sonic for her first tater tot experience. It was a big day for her :)

Tuesday was a fairly regular day for us. Libbi went to school and Laney and I ran a few errands and then spent the rest of the morning at home. I made a quick supper of spaghetti and Libbi decided she didn't like noodles....and asked for mac&cheese instead. hmmmm.....go figure. :)

My mom and dad came over to watch the girls while Jeffrey and I went to small group.  We LOVE our small group and look forward to it every week!

We met Uncle JJ, Auntie Mannie, and cousin Blakeley at the Game Ranch on Wednesday morning. (for those of you that aren't local it's basically like a large outdoor trail with lots of domesticated animals roaming around and a few in cages, too. You can feed them and interact with them....should you desire to do so). Libbi was basically on high alert the entire time. I'm sure if she could have taken a xanax she probably would have. She was NOT a fan of the wandering animals. The picture above is her reaction to the bunny petting zoo. When one of those sweet, little, fluffy things brushed up against her foot, she basically jumped into Uncle JJ's arms. Poor thing. 

Thursday morning while Libbi was at school, we went for Laney's 9 month well visit. She is officially 21lbs and 28 1/2 inches of pure sugar! We love every bit of her!! No shots for lay-lay girl this day, but she did have her toe pricked to draw a little bit of blood. Not surprisingly, she screamed through almost the entire appointment. Again, the stranger danger is in full effect right now. But for some reason, when they pricked her toe, she didn't make a peep. She watched intently and then (As pictured above) spent the remainder of the appointment trying to gnaw that bandaid off her toe.

Thursday night, Laney and I went to a consignment sale while Libbi stayed home with Jeffrey. They went to chick-fil-a and then out for ice cream. Poor Laney just had to hang out with me and a bunch of other crazy momma's searching for some smocked dresses at a good price.

Friday morning we played with Kinley and Baby Annabelle at Kinley's house. Poor Libbi had a little scare when she was surprised by Kinley's cat. It took her a while to recover from that one. Of course, she stuck to me like glue because she was so traumatized and did not want that cat to "get her" (Even though I never even saw the cat...I think it hid under the bed the entire time) but then when we left, she cried in the car because she didn't get to "tell that cat bye!" Oh, Libbi! :)

Friday night was a relaxing night at home. The girls played on the iPad together and we all went to bed early. 

Saturday morning, Jeffrey was sweet enough to suggest Libbi and I go out to breakfast since we don't get to spend that much one on one time together. He stayed home with Laney and Libs and I ventured out to our favorite breakfast spot-chickfila! When we got home, Laney went down for a long nap and Jeffrey and Libbi went out to run some errands. 

(and i know it's not part of my "365 pictures" but I just had to share this one. Jeffrey and Libbi were supposed to be going to drop off the dry cleaning and to lowe's to pick up some lightbulbs. they had been gone for quite a while, so i called jeffrey. he didn't answer. the next thing i know, i get this picture sent to me. I was very curious to know if it is the dry cleaner's or lowe's that now serves queso???)

Saturday night Jeffrey and I went out for date night and we were all home and in bed by 9:00. That's our kind of Saturday night! :)

To see more of my Project 365 posts, click HERE

Hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

the perfect date...

Poor Jeffrey, he's been busy dating two girls at once. Bless his heart, I know I'm a handful all on my own, but to add another girl - whew! that's a lot of listening, complimenting, door-opening, and chivalry to keep up with - but so far he's done a pretty stand up job. :)

And I hope he's prepared, because I have a feeling it's only going to get more complicated. I hear there will probably be a third girl added to the mix before too long.

Honestly, I'm not the least bit jealous that he's dating someone else. In fact, I encourage it. :)

I even go so far as to help her get ready for their dates. It's the least I could do.

It took an entire glam squad to get her to recover from this visit from the hair fairy.

But, I worked my magic and soon she was ready to go to the aquarium with her prince charming.

She's incredibly comfortable around him. So comfortable, that she sometimes forgets to use her best manners and ladylike behaviors. He still loves her, though.

Believe it or not, they've been dating for over a year now! To celebrate their one year anniversary, they went back to the same place they had their first date.  Like I said before, I'm not the jealous type, but seeing him take her to chick-fil-a did sting just a little.

I don't mind that he brings her flowers...

takes her for pizza...

and i don't mind too terribly much that he takes her for ice cream...

It doesn't even bother me that she kisses him goodnight. I guess you could say I'm pretty understanding.

Truth be told, I pray that they'll continue to date. I pray that she'll know how much she's loved and how special she is because of their relationship. And I pray that when the day comes (many, many, MANY years from now) for her to "date" someone else, she'll know that she deserves nothing but the best. Even though (in my opinion) there really is no better date than a date with her Daddy.

***don't forget to read my "shop with me" post (HERE) if you're interested in any baby girl clothes 0-12mnths.***

shop with me...

i've had the "shop with me" tab on my blog for a little while now. in case you've never seen it, it's right above the date in this post! or you can click here...

it features some of my favorite online shops/boutiques/sale sites. i've made a few updates and thought i would share them with y'all.

so many people ask about where i buy the girls' bows. after searching high and low, i finally found the perfect place:

POLKADOT POSIES

Polkadot posies has THE BEST bows and THE BEST prices. you must check them out. even if you don't have any bow wearing little girls in your life, you can always buy these as gifts. with bows starting as low as $1 (that's right ONE DOLLAR!) you can't go wrong! click HERE to go to their site. 

ebates

If you are not shopping with ebates, then you are missing out! It's an easy way to make extra money while shopping. Really! There is NO catch. :)

You simply register for an ebates account, (click HERE to register) then every time you are ready to make an online purchase, you just log in through ebates first. When you make your purchase, you automatically get "cash back" in your ebates account - so easy!

For instance, when I ordered something off zulily the other day...

First, I logged into my ebates account. Then I searched for "zulily" on ebates. I clicked on the zulily link THROUGH EBATES and made my purchase as usual. I received a percentage of cash back into my ebates account based off of my purchase. Every few months, you get a "big fat check" (as they call it - ha!). You can choose if you want them to mail you a check, deposit it in your paypal account, or have it in the form of a giftcard. It is great! There are tons of companies that work with ebates....walmart, shutterfly, zulily, jcpenny, kohls, nordstrom, etc. It is totally worth the extra step of logging into ebates first just to get a little bit of cash back! Feel free to email me if you have any questions about it! :)

I've also added a few new favorite etsy sites onto my "shop with me" tab. These are shops that I've recently worked with and had great experiences with! :)

Finally, if you or anyone you know is interested in some baby girl smocked dresses/bubbles, i am selling a few things sizes 0-12months. you can click HERE to see the album. the prices/condition/descriptions of the items are listed under the picture. email me if you are interested or if you have any questions/offers.

mrsamytippins (at) gmail (dot) com

or if you know of anyone that has a "laney" that is looking for monogrammed/appliqued items feel free to email me and i can send you pictures of what i have. :) 

happy shopping!

project 365... week 7

project 365: week 7

Sunday, February 12th - Saturday, February 18th:

(btw, no one noticed that i listed last weeks dates as sun, JANUARY 5th - saturday February 12th?! It was a long week, but not THAT long. And Dad, I'm disappointed. I thought for sure you would have caught that!) ;-)

Libbi loves to play doctor with Laney. Unfortunately, she gets a little frustrated when Laney doesn't take her turn as the doctor and let Libbi be the patient. 

Valentine's Day was so much fun. Libbi loved telling everyone, "Happy Balentimes Day!" She knew they were having a party at school and she kept telling me that there was probably going to be cake and presents there, too. Hope she wasn't too disappointed. ;) When I picked Libbi up from school, I brought her a heart shaped donut. I may/may not have gotten one for myself, too. The girls made Jeffrey the CUTEST shutterfly calendar for his office.  Jeffrey and I went out to dinner and filed our taxes - true love! :)

Laney is into everything these days. She is pulling up on everything and can crawl so fast! She is SO proud of herself when she stands up. 

Thursday was pajama and pancake day at Libbi's preschool. She was pumped to wear her jammies to school. She really wanted to wear her "cupcake jammies" but after seeing her unzip them and yell, "I'm Nekkie!!!!' I vetoed anything with zippers. We compromised on this Hello Kitty ensemble even though I am not a fan of "character" apparel. Of course, it's probably not entirely appropriate that she pronounces her "k's" as "t's" so when she tells you she's wearing "hello Kitty"....well, you get the idea ;)

Laney had to go to the doctor while Libbi was at school (and Libbi was just green with envy - seriously! she loves going to the doctor!). After a diagnosis of croup and double ear infections, we went back to pick up Libs from school. 

I'm not really sure why, but I decided to take both girls with me to get the oil changed in my car on Friday. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined....not exactly fun, but not torturous either. :)

Libbi has just recently learned how to "pedal" pretty consistently, so I took her to the park after naps so she could have lots of room to ride her little bike. We're planning on getting her a "real" bike for her birthday (but don't tell her!) ;)

She and I were looking at pictures of some bikes on the internet the other day and I said, "maybe we'll get you a bike for your birthday when you turn three years old." She matter-of-factly replied, "maybe you can get it for me when I poo-poo on the potty!" My little  negotiator. :)

Saturday morning I took Libbi to get her hair trimmed. She actually really likes getting haircuts (she takes after me!) and did very well. We were supposed to go on Friday, but after the whole oil change experience, I was just too exhausted to brave another outing. Of course, I made the mistake of telling her beforehand that we were getting her haircut that afternoon and when we didn't she whined the rest of the day that "momma didn't get my haircut! I need a haircut!" pitiful, huh? ;)

Saturday afternoon we went to Snow Mountain with Buddy and Mimzy. It was so much fun! It's basically a little exhibit with snow brought in and some slides/activities for the kids. Libbi went down the kid's slide and loved it! I was shocked that she actually braved it and even more shocked that she liked it! We pushed our luck a little by taking her on the "family slide." It was a little too fast for my taste. But then again, driving on the interstate makes me nervous, so I'm not exactly what you would call "a risk taker." :)

After the family slide, Libbi claimed she liked it, but adamantly protested about ever doing it again - bless her. :)

All in all, we had a busy, but fun week! This week has lots in store for us, too. Between play dates, school, and date nights we're bound to have some stories to tell! :)

Hope y'all had a great weekend!!

To see more of my 365 posts, click HERE.

9 months...

Precious Lay-Lay...you are NINE MONTHS OLD!!! How did THAT happen?! Wasn't it just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital?! You actually turned 9 months old on Saturday, February 11th, but I'm a little behind with your update (you poor second child) ;-)

This month has been a month full of new milestones for you! It's crazy how it seems like you spend weeks working up to a new skill, yet at the same time you seem to accomplish it and change so much overnight! This month has found you sitting yourself up, pulling up, standing and trying to "cruise", and crawling! 

You weigh a little over 22 lbs and wear mostly size 12mo clothing. you can wear a few 6-12 month onesies, but very few of them still fit. There are a few 18month outfits that fit! You wear a size 4 diaper. I have no idea what size shoe you wear, because you never wear them! We are lucky just to get socks to stay on you. 

(obviously, this month's "monthly picture" was a little more difficult to take...)

You have cut FOUR more teeth. You now have your two bottom teeth (that you LOVE to show off), four new ones on top, and two more cutting through on the bottom. You'd think with all those teeth you'd be ready for some real food, but no....you're still a champion nurser and a wimpy table food eater. oh well. it will come. and in the meantime, i'm not too worried about you gaining weight. ;)

You are such a happy baby and you are SO expressive. There is never any doubt as to how you're feeling...you definitely take after me when it comes to the "emotional" department. (it's a blessing and curse, sorry!) ;-) 

You've started having a little bit of separation anxiety. Nothing too major, just a death grip on my shirt and a few screams when you get dropped off in the nursery at church. good times. There is a sweet man that volunteers in the nursery and you have really taken to him. It's not unusual for us to find you hanging out with him in the foyer when we come to pick you up after the service. I like to tell myself that he just thinks you're so cute and wants to hold you, not that you've probably been screaming and disturbing the other babies and he's a last resort before they page us to come get you. tom-A-toe, tom-O-toe.

I had forgotten how busy new movers can be! You are into everything. Every nook, cranny, corner, and closet. You no longer care for your toys...you are more interested in any little microscopic curiosity you can find on the floor. It does not matter how often I vacuum, you will still find something to pick up and eat. It doesn't help that Libbi leaves a "hansel and gretel trail" everywhere she goes. Just today I had to stop you from eating a sticker, a thread, a piece of fuzz, a leaf, and an m&m that Libbi dropped. And unfortunately, these are just the things that I (luckily) caught. I'm sure there are more that  will show up later (if you know what I mean...) 

You love watching everything your sister does and she loves watching everything you do, too. However, I think your motives are a little different....you love to watch her just because you're so interested in everything she's doing. She loves to watch you just to make sure you're not into her "stuff." This month has been hard for her. It's not easy having a sister that's newly mobile and into EVERYTHING! 

(you are happily chewing on "Strawberry Shortcake" and Libbi is totally losing it....)

While Libbi is prone to minor freakouts, she really does adore you. No one is prouder of your accomplishments than she is. I hear, "WATCH HER!!!" and "Momma...Lay-Lay can STAND UP!" no less than 100 times a day. You've been crawling for a few weeks now and Libbi still gets excited every day like it's the first time. She is DYING for you to chase her. DYING. I think it will make her life complete as soon as you can crawl after her (and then I'm pretty sure she'll tattle on you for doing it) :)

Laney James, you fill our hearts with love and our days with new adventures. We love hearing your laugh, seeing your smile, and watching you grow! I can't believe that you will be 10 months old in just a few short weeks! You are just as sweet as can be and we canNOT imagine our lives without you. What a blessing you are precious girl!

Happy Nine Months Lay Lay girl!!

valentine...

i've loved you through...*first dates*prom dates*wedding dates*due dates

i've loved you through...*high school days*college days*newlywed days*parenthood days

i've loved you through...* "curfew-ed" nights*summer nights*snowy nights*sleepless nights*

i've loved you through...*life changes*name changes*career changes*family changes

i've loved you through...*laughter*joy*sorrow*tears

i've loved you through...*sickness*health*good times*and bad

and through it all, i'm always amazed that you still love me, too. 

happy valentine's day to the one i love. 

there's no one else i'd rather go through life with than you. 

"And over all of those good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were one."

Colossians 3:24