There is No Better Friend Than a Sister...

It's been a long while since I have posted on my blog.  Not much has changed, but our family has grown.  From 3 to 4, and those 2 silly dogs are still around.

We had little Madeline Grace on June 1, 2012. 

Madeline at one month

She is an angel from heaven.  Sweet as can be.  Loves her big sister Elizabeth and I can tell already she is going to be a mover and a shaker.  Watching her Big Sis dance and sing, she laughs and is in awe of her.  I hope they continue to love each other and learn from each other, lean on each other and help one another.  Instill in each other good values and morals that they learn from us. 

Elizabeth and her lil sis in background

When we brought Madeline home the dynamic changed.  I was certainly more tired, but I wasn't tired from the baby.  The 3 year old is wearing me out.  I struggled with getting her to mind and help me at the same time.  But now she is a good helper.  I have to tell myself all day long, "she's just 3 Mom...she's just 3 Mom"
because she is a little troublemaker like all 3 year olds are.  But she is a the sweetest 3 year old I know.

We have had our moments.  I have yelled at her, I have cried for yelling at her, I have put her in time out and I have cried for putting her in time out.  You can ready yourself for a baby physically.  We had all the right things for Madeline, didn't even have to buy clothes.  As long as we had diapers, wipes and baby soap, I was good.  But you can't ready your brain to handle the older child along with your baby.  It's rough, but all evens out eventually. 

And Then they do this and it melts your heart

People keep asking me if I will have another baby.  I keep saying "I'm pretty sure this is it..."  But when I say that and think about it I feel so sad.  I want to soak up every moment with Madeline, look at her all day long, hold and rock her to sleep forever.  I don't want her to grow up. 
I said the same things about Elizabeth, but I also knew at the time we would want another so I knew I would get those baby moments back again.  But now it feels so definite.  These are my last moments as the mother of a newborn, mother of an infant, mother of a baby, mother of a toddler...I love all those moments.  I feel myself as a Mom, I feel confident when I hold my baby and care for her.  I cherish each phase of babyhood.  This is the job I know, this is the job I am good at, this is what makes me happy. 

I have several, make that 5 girlfriends, all having new babies come the end of fall.  I am so super jealous I could scream.  I see their baby registries and remember all the fun I had picking out what I wanted.  I remember choosing the bedding, fixing her room, crying as I looked at the empty crib knowing soon my sweet girl would be sleeping there and I couldn't wait to hold her and how much I loved her even though I had never met her.  Wish we could go back and feel those moments again.  I will never forget it.  Some of the best moments in my life.  It ranks right at the top along with kissing my hubby for the first time and dancing our first dance.  What a nervous rush of emotions and love it all was. 

Someday I will share those feelings with my girls.  I hope they get to feel those same emotions some day too.  It is what makes being a woman so special.

That said, yes, I think Madeline is the last little Orr.  She is our special angel, snuggly baby, perfect girl.  

New Holiday Tethers!

I posted some new Halo Tethers today.

I have two Halloween tethers and one Christmas Tartan tether. I just love tartan for Christmas.

Will look great on that holiday baby who is ready for a party!

Check these out.

www.charmingcarriage.com

My Lizzy at Two Years Old

Her favorite food is banana and peanut butter.

She likes for me to put her blanket on her back and say “nite nite” and then she pops back up and laughs.

She can’t go to bed without her Bear, Nite Nite Bunny and Pig.

When she can’t find Daisy she says, “where Daisy go?” and puts her hands up in the air.

She loves fruit snacks! Can’t get enough of them.

When she is doing a trick, like jumping off a step or running back and forth she starts by first saying, “7 7 2”. At least I think that’s what she says, it’s still under review.

She likes to make silly faces, wink her eye and make an angry face for the camera.

She tickles the backs of my legs when she is standing behind me at the sink.

She is going to be a computer pro by age 5.

She says “Hi”, “hmmm, and Bye” into the phone.

Grandpa is “pawpaw”, Grandma is “ma”, G-Dad” is “Dad” and Grammy is “Gabby”

Her hair smells like outside after school.

She smiles when I wake her up in the morning and always says “Mommmmeee” when she sees my face.

Her favorite words are “Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy”.

But my heart melts when she says, “Momma”.

She is a sucker for the swings and slides and can do the slide all by herself.

She laughs the hardest when her Daddy is being silly.

And she cries for no reason except I think she just loves me so much she can’t stand it. :-P

It got away from me...

The last year has flown by, so much so that I forgot about my blog. Not that it surprises me. I am the Queen of Procrastination. I also live with the King too, so that should tell you a lot. Not only did I not get around to my blog, I also did not get around to all things involving babies like, baby book, photo albums, saving her old clothes and little items in a tight waterproof safe so one day she can look back fondly on her childhood and thank me for not letting her things burn to ash or float to sea.

I'm sure that is exactly what she is thinking right this minute.

A lot has happened since the last post.

I lost 20 lbs, Elizabeth started daycare, she walked and talked (and hasn't stopped since), and she turned 2 this past week. Oh, did I mention I gained about 5lbs back. But enough about me.

Me and the hubs also started a little business of our own called Charming Carriage.
www.charmingcarriage.com

It has been quite a learning experience starting a small business. We have so many ideas and little time to work on them. Our full-time jobs, baby and family take up a lot of our time. But with a little hard work, and some To-Do lists, I know we can make it happen eventually.

In the meantime I'll let you go to our website...it's an Etsy site for the moment, but we have plans to have our own site soon and more posts of new handmade baby gear.

Until I post again...which could be minutes from now.

A week to a Year Old!