it's not you, it's me....

we've been dealing with a break-up of epic proportions here at the Tippins House.

there have been tears shed, hearts broken, and bedtimes postponed...

but I *think* we've weathered the storm....

It was around this time last year that things were going so well for y'all. You were so happy together.

There was nothing that the two of you (and a "love-love") couldn't get through together.

You truly went through sickness and health, good times and bad...you were in it for better or for worse.

We began to worry when you started spending a little too much time together so we decided to intervene and set limits.  You seemed to accept them with ease, until your little world was rocked.

we gave you some time to realize that a break-up was the best choice, but it became pretty obvious that you weren't going to come to that conclusion on your own.

so we made the decision for you.

Because we love you.

and because we don't want to pay out the wazhoo for orthodontia down the road.

we are SO proud (and pleasantly surprised) of the way you have handled it. the first few days were rough, but you seem to have turned a corner.

Break-ups are hard. Especially when it's a relationship you've had since birth.

Believe me, it was hard for us, too. We felt like we were losing a member of our family. It was like watching our baby turn into a little girl overnight!

Since the breakup, we make sure never to mention your "Ex" by name.

You've started carrying around a lot more stuff (I guess it's only natural that a breakup comes with baggage though, right?!) ;-)

Tonight, you are sleeping with: 4 Monsters, Inc. books, 2 Strawberry Shortcake books, 2 loveys, a toy dog, a set of plastic keys, a baby doll, 2 blankets, and a seahorse that plays music. But, you're asleep and that's what counts. :)

Thankfully, we know that bigger and better things are in your future. You'll look back on this as a stepping stone. And I'm sure you'll be able to smile about it....hopefully with a mouth full of straight teeth. ;-)

oh, libbi....

I feel like we say, "Oh, Libbi!" quite a bit these days. She is so funny and says and does things all the time that make us laugh. Most of the time I don't even know where she comes up with half of it (which is kind of scary) but she is a mess, that's for sure!

Here are a few of my favorite Libbi stories/sayings as of late:

She made a firefighter hat a school. She wore it the entire way home (upside down) and insisted that she needed her "eyes" to go with it. Who am I to argue when she wants to accessorize???

She has recently become obsessed with the movie, "Monsters, Inc."   It just so happened to be on the Disney Channel one morning and J recorded it. We have watched it no less than 500 times since then. I found a set of old board books that someone had given us that feature the main characters from the movie.  She loves to go through the books and name each character, "Mike....Sully....Randall...and Peek-a-Boo!" (that's what Libbi calls "Boo")

Every day she requests to watch the "Monster Moo-bee" and she must know where her "monster books" are at all times.

My parents had a life-sized, stuffed Sully in my sister's old closet at their house. (I have no idea why?!?!)  I asked my dad to bring it over for Libbi. We weren't sure if she would like it or if it would scare her.  My dad put it out on the front porch and then rang the doorbell.  When she saw it, she immediately clammed up. She said she didn't want Sully in our house, she wanted him to go see Mike - ha! She kept saying, "Go see Mike!"

The other day I put her down for a nap and I told her I was going to take a shower while she was napping. She then proceeded to say, "take a shower. you stink, Momma!" niiiice.

When we went to the hospital for Laney's surgery, they let Libbi pick out a toy for Laney. I guess they usually let the patients choose toys, but since Laney was so little, they let Libbi do it for her. She chose a set of plastic keys and proudly presented them to Laney. She then promptly reclaimed them as her own. I have no idea why, but she is so attached to those keys. Y'all, they are a teething toy! She carries them everywhere with her. She sleeps with them, she takes them in the car, she cried when I wouldn't let her take them into school. Bless her heart, she tried her hardest to use them to crank up the "Car" buggy at the store the other day. She goes around the house saying she's "locking up" and pretends to lock all the doors. Laney has yet to play with those keys.

Another item she's been attached to lately is a baby doll that her great granny sent her in the mail. I don't know if it's because she got to open the box and found the baby in there or if it's because it was a surprise present from Granny B, but that baby has been her siamese twin for weeks now! She has to have her baby and her keys with her no matter where she is going or what she is doing. The baby says a little prayer when you press on it's stomach.  The first few nights she slept with it, I think they were having church in her crib, because we kept hearing the baby "praying" over the monitor.

If that baby is out of her line of sight, she yells, "mah Baaaay-beeee" in the most southern drawl you've ever heard.  She is a sight carrying around a baby doll, a set of keys, and four monster books. When it's time to go somewhere, she'll say "I got allllll my stuff! my stuff heavy! i got alllllll my stuff!" and she is SO proud of her "stuff." :)

She's very concerned with "Lay-Lay's boo-boo" and wants to check it constantly. It was so sweet, because the morning after Laney's headwrap came off (early, since she ripped it off in her sleep!) Libbi saw her and said, "Jesus made Lay-Lay's boo-boo ALLLL BETTER!!!" and she was so excited! Bless her. 


She's a mess, but she has the sweetest heart.

We just love our sweet, funny, crazy little girl!

thankful...

Today was a hard day.  If I'm being honest, I can (gratefully) say that we really don't have that many "hard" days.  Yes, there are plenty of days where Libbi is a total mess and all over the place, but she's two; I kind of expect that. :)

Laney had her shots yesterday and it just threw her for a total loop.  She was all out of sorts today.  She was pretty much inconsolable and definitely impossible to please.  She didn't want to be held, but she didn't want to be put down.  She didn't want to nurse, but she cried like she was hungry. She fought sleep, but she was so tired....and on, and on, and on. She basically cried from the moment she woke up until the moment she (finally!) fell asleep this evening.

Bless Libbi's heart, she just took it all in stride.  I was so proud of her today!  I'll admit that she can be "high maintenance" at times (you're shocked, I know) but today she was all "Miss Independent, Miss Self Sufficient" - Kelly Clarkson style, y'all. ;-)

Granted, she watched a lot of TV and stayed in her jammies all.day.long, but still. (her bedtime prayers tonight included "little einstein's rocket ship" if that's any indication of our day).

We even missed Bible Study this morning, because I couldn't find five minutes to get dressed.  I was really sad about it, but I'm pretty positive Laney wouldn't have lasted in the nursery anyway.

There was one point during the day (okay, several points) when I was extremely glad that there were no hidden cameras in my house.  Not only because I hadn't showered and was still in my jammies at 1:00, but because my two year old basically had free reign of our living room while I tried every trick in the book to calm a screaming baby. There was a time when Libbi was lounging on the couch in just a diaper and her pj top eating straight out of a bag of chips. And that was probably a more redeeming moment of our day.

When Jeffrey came home from work, Libbi greeted him in a diaper and a pair of "sparkle" shoes, but she did have a big ole smile on her face, and that has to count for something, right? :)

Now that it's bedtime and everyone is sleeping (thank you, Jesus!) I'm sitting here just feeling so thankful for this day.  Yes, it was technically a "bad day", but at the same time it was also such a "good day" for my soul.   Even though I am SO tired and completely ready for this day to be o-v-e-r, my heart is full and I am reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful that Libbi basically entertained herself all day. And I am incredibly thankful that even though I have serious guilt about that, she won't remember it come tomorrow. I am so thankful that I am able to be at home with my babies, and even more so that I get to be home with them when they're not feeling well.  I'm thankful that Laney isn't really "sick" she's just recovering from her shots.  I'm thankful that my babies are healthy.  I'm thankful that Jeffrey came home and offered to take Libbi upstairs with him and hold Laney while I finished up supper.  I'm thankful that, even though I wouldn't recommend it, I know that a day of TV, jammies, and crazy meals won't permanently damage a two-year-old, a four-month-old, or even a 29 year old. :)

Mostly, I'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning and that tomorrow is a new day!  Thank you Jesus for "do-overs" ;-)

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

kitchen

It's her kitchen....

I just cook in it.

Seriously y'all.  Libbi thinks she owns the place and takes every opportunity to assert said ownership while I am in the kitchen slaving away over supper.  I might as well just be her personal assistant.  It's not enough that I am preparing a meal that will help sustain her life, I must also be at her every beck and call. "Look, Momma!" "I need juice, Momma!" "No, juice...chocolate milk, Momma!" and on and on and on. :)

Poor little Laney is just along for the ride.

While I'm cooking, Libbi makes little bitty play-dough snakes...

{she takes her play-doughing very seriously}

until it gets in her fingernails -

and then she's ready to clean up.

Laney just takes it all in.

While I'm cooking, Libbi spins quarters (thank you, Daddy for showing her this "trick") ;)

{and attempts a few magic tricks}

(unfortunately, it's a tough crowd)

While I'm cooking, Libbi shows off her ambidextrous drawing skills...

Attempts to leave Daddy a note....

And puts stickers in Laney's bathtub

Laney is not amused.

....Did I mention all of this takes place before the oven even heats up?!?

Now, is it any wonder why my crock pot {and chick-fil-a} are my BFFs???

tuesday tidbits....

Just some bulleted "tidbits" on this Tuesday....

* I was really tired today, we had a long night last night.  I swear the girls were playing some kind of tag team game.  As soon as I would get one to sleep, the other would wake up.  It was like they were saying, "okay, I'm tired....so - tag, you're it!" and then the other sister would take over.  Lord help, if they're already ganging up on me, what in the world are the next 16+ years going to look like?!? Unfortunately, I was not privy to their "game" last night and was super tired of the back and forth.  Hopefully tonight will be better. :)

*I just joined twitter.  It's kind of addicting, but I'm still figuring it all out.  

*I've had lots of people email me asking about different outfits of the girls or where I bought certain things, so I decided to add a "Shop With Me" tab in my menu bar that features a lot of my favorite shops and online sites.  If you have any questions, let me know!  I love talking "shop" ;-)

*We got a jogging stroller and I decided to go for a run today.  I told Libbi about it yesterday and she was SO excited.  she kept saying, "Momma...RUN!" and then sprinting around the house.  She told everyone about it.  I finally figured out that she was probably so excited, because she's never seen me run before - ha! When we went to the park this morning, I was all equipped with my C25K app and ready to get my run on, but Laney didn't get the memo.  She screamed the entire time. seriously, the entire time.  That mixed with Libbi yelling, "Go, Momma, Go!" (not to be confused with Go, Dog, Go) meant that I was quickly reminded why I haven't taken up running before now.  

*We're going to the beach in a few weeks....do y'all have any suggestions for items that are "must haves" for a 2 year old and/or 4 month old? 

*I guess mostly everyone has heard about the earthquake on the east coast by now.  I think even a few people in ATL felt it.  My mom asked if I had felt the earthquake, and I told her that I honestly wouldn't even know it if I had.  I feel like I'm constantly rocking/shaking/swaying/bouncing someone or something 24 hours a day, so I'm not really sure I would notice a few extra trembles.

*The other night we had tacos for supper.  Libbi had finished eating and then decided she wanted to take one more bite of chips and salsa.  She picked up a pepper from the salsa and popped it in her mouth.  (I'm not sure what she thought it was, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't thinking, "pepper") She immediately started coughing and gagging and saying, "yucky!" Since she had already finished her meal, we decided to go ahead and let her have a little dessert (so she could get that yucky taste out of her mouth.)  She ate a mini ice cream sandwich and was in hog heaven.  Today we were having chips and salsa again (what can I say, we love us some Mexican food!) and she picked up a pepper.  I reminded her that she didn't like them, but before I could even complete my sentence, she had already eaten it.  She immediately looked at me and said, "yucky!  I need ice cream!" haha...nice try, little stinker!

*Finally, and most importantly....Laney laughed for the first time today!  She has given us lots of little chuckles and giggles over the past couple of weeks, but today she gave her first big belly laugh.  There is nothing sweeter!  I actually caught it on video, but I'll spare you (today at least) since it involves me fake sneezing (hey, whatever works - right?!) and camera work that will make you feel like you have vertigo as it very closely resembles the blair witch project.....

Hope y'all had a great Tuesday! :-)

a list....

1.  Libbi has "camp" this week at her preschool.  She LOVES it!  It's been nice for her to be able to play with some of her school friends, make crafts, and see her teacher that she adores.  When it's all said and done though, her favorite thing by far has been eating lunch at school - ha!  When she went to MDO, it ended at 12 so she would eat lunch at home.  Since she is a little older now, camp lasts until 1:30 so she has to bring her lunch.  Every morning she makes sure to tell me that she is going to eat at school (it's sometimes a fight to get her to even eat breakfast at home). And when I pick her up and ask her what she did at school, she lists everything that was in her lunch. :)  For all I know, she begs her teacher to eat as soon as she walks in the door.....

2.  We have ants.  I guess it was bound to happen.  Libbi basically leaves a "hansel and gretel trail" everywhere she goes.  I guess the blessing in disguise was that I found them during naptime Tuesday afternoon, so at least I was able to (attempt to) take care of them without any "assistance." I know it's not the worst thing in the world, but it just really grosses me out.  The exterminator came this morning.  Libbi has been intent on finding ants and yells out, "a ant!" every time she sees the tiniest speck. I've been itching ever since I found them and I keep having "phantom ant bites" where I swear I've been bitten or that they're on me, but they're not. (sorry if you are now feeling the same way) :)

3.  Laney has been more content the past few days.  Our pediatrician said that colic typically "peaks" at two months, so maybe we're turning a corner.  Either way, she's still the sweetest thing.  Since Libbi has been at camp, Laney and I have been able to spend our mornings together and she has just been smiling and cooing up a storm.  I forgot how much I love baby noises....well, the cute baby "noises" :)

4.  Libbi has started waking up in the night again.  I'm not really sure what to do.  She's always been a pretty good sleeper (unless she was teething or had an ear infection), but for the past two weeks (or more) she's been waking up like clockwork around 12 - 12:30 every single night (or is it morning?) We're not opposed to the whole cry-it-out thing, and we would let her, but she just doesn't calm down.  It gets so bad that I'm afraid that she will either a) throw-up OR b) climb out of her crib.  She is ADAMANT that she wants to be in "momma's bed."  I don't know if it's because she knows that Laney sleeps in our room (not in our bed) or if she's had a bad dream or what..... Of course, I know it's not helping that I give in, but it gets to the point that she is just so upset and we're so tired that we just let her get in our bed.  She falls right back asleep and about an hour or so later, I transfer her back to her bed.  I thought that maybe if I told her she couldn't have her paci and her lovey if she came into our room that it might deter her.  I also told her I would take her for ice cream if she "stayed in Libbi's bed."  We talked about it over and over and over and I thought that it just might work.  Last night, when she woke up and I eventually went into her room, the first thing she said was, "bye-bye pa-pa (paci), bye-bye love love (lovey)" and then she said, "C'mon Momma!" and started off for our room.  So I guess the old no paci, no lovey threat didn't work....

She goes to bed just fine, her nighttime routine is the same, and when I move her back to her bed she is fine.  It's just that small window in the middle of the night.  I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do or why it's happening.  Any suggestions????

4.   While we're talking suggestions, does anyone have one for a good stain remover?  I feel like we lose so many good outfits and onesies due to stains.  I try to treat them as soon as they happen, but apparently what I'm using just isn't working.  Jeffrey's suggestion was to quit buying cute clothes, but I'm not really leaning towards that at this point. :)

5.  I think I'm addicted to Pinterest.  I can't stop pinning! :)  I always sign off feeling more crafty and domestically inclined than I actually am.  I have a whole catalog of ideas that I will probably never do anything with; except look at and dream.  But, it's still fun :)

6.  I have a confession:  I love Toddlers and Tiaras.  Does anyone else watch it?  It's so bad that it's good.  Some of my all-time favorite lines are, "We'll worry about her education and schoolin' later, right now our focus is on pageants." Niiiiice!  And, last night when the three-year-old beauty queen was screaming at her mother, her mom proceeded to say that she "wasn't really embarrassed by the yelling, because she's still little and it's still kind of cutesy." Seriously?!?!  I just can't look away :)

7.  I told Jeffrey that Libbi and I were having "boot camp" next week.  His first reaction was to laugh because he missed where I said "Libbi" and he thought that I said I was going to boot camp (you know, like the kind where you exercise).  After he stopped laughing (I'm not really sure why it was so funny), I explained that we were going to start potty training and say good-bye to the paci next week.  We're going to attempt the 3-day potty training.  Has anyone else tried this?  Any luck?  I'm not sure if it's a good idea or bad to start potty-training and cut out the paci all in the same week, but I guess we'll find out!  So, if you don't hear from me come Monday, you'll know why! :)

Sorry for all of the random points today- there's not much going on at the Tippins House (unless you count ants, colic, camp, potty-training, no sleep, and the like).  Hope y'all are having a great day!  Happy Friday Eve!! :)

if at first you don't succeed....

when we found out that libbi would have a sister, i immediately began dreaming of coordinating outfits and matching sister ensembles (as i'm sure jeffrey did, too....only it might have been more of a nightmare for him - ha!) ;-)

the only thing i didn't plan on was how incredibly difficult it would be to get a picture of my girls in said outfits.  someone please tell me the secret to getting a picture of two girls together.  seriously.  i think i try at least 5000 times a day (maybe more when they're wearing coordinating outfits) and i have yet to get a halfway decent picture. 


 i know i'm not the best photographer, but i'm starting to think it's not just me.....i really think they may be ganging up on me already.  it has to be some sort of conspiracy theory, because it just can't be humanly possible to get this many bad shots of two really cute girls! to prove my point, here are some of our (sadly) better attempts at a sister picture:

ATTEMPT #1:

Libbi is too concerned with Laney's toes to look at the camera

so she decides to pretend to paint her toenails

ATTEMPT #2:

they look like they're both in trouble (or mad at me) - ha!

I have no idea why, but every time we try to take a picture, Libbi wants to hold Laney's hand.  It's sweet, but the only time she wants to do this is when they're having their picture made....

ATTEMPT #3:

again with the hand holding....

I'm just happy she's learned to support her own weight when she stands over Laney like this.  She thinks she needs to be right in her face whenever she talks to her.

She decided laney was hot, so she went to get her minnie mouse fan to cool her off....

I don't think Laney was hot.

ATTEMPT #4:

don't ask....

ATTEMPT #5:

Libbi kept wanting to show me the stamp on her hand that she got from the library (even though I was standing right next to her when she got it).

"Lay-Lay...you sit here." :)

All I wanted was a picture of them side by side, but Libbi wanted to sit like Laney.

ATTEMPT #6:

"SHHHHHH!"

trying to hold her hand - ha!

things just went downhill fast.  laney is throwing up gang signs and libbi is convulsing....

all i can do is laugh at this picture. :)

and we're done.

ATTEMPT #7:

again with the hand holding....at least laney is starting to be a little more cooperative. :)

close your mouths girls :)

ATTEMPT #8:

it looks like she's giving laney a kiss, but really she is in the process of licking her forehead.  

ATTEMPT #9:

at least laney cooperates....for now :)

somehow she got the idea that laney needed slippers....

ATTEMPT #10:

looks like laney has figured out that her hand will be requested at any moment....

Libbi constantly wants to "pose" just like Laney...

I've yet to get a decent picture, but it's not for lack of trying. Oh well, you know what they say, "If at first you don't succeed; try, try again...."