Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kellan James Turns 2 Months Old

Good Morning! My sweet little man turned two months old yesterday (on our seven year wedding anniversary). These past couple have been months have flown by mostly because when you're chasing two its so different. But I think its just because life with him is wonderful and constant. He has been such a different child that its all seemed new again. Everyone told me that each child is unique but I had no idea what that would mean. So dont be deceived by the fact they look so much alike, trust me, if Eva did it, Kellan does the opposite. Different size, different food, different temperament even different sleep.

As of 2 months our little peanut has grown to 10 pounds 2 ounces and is 21" long. He took his shots like a big boy (he barely cried) and has already had his first ear infection. He hates to be swaddled but loves snuggling. When he smiles he melts my heart and we have a morning person on our hands. He wakes up smiling, cooing and thrilled to be alive. Nighttime is tough but he is already sleeping 6-8 hours at a time (ok, so only 8 hours twice but that counts). His gas has been pretty bad so he tests our eardrums but in the past 24 hours we changed his formula and so far we have seen a very content and agreeable child so keep your fingers crossed that does it. So all that to say, he's healthy and getting happier everyday. Eva loves him, we cant imagine our lives without him and thats really all I can ask for.


Merry Christmas from The Whittakers

I cant believe Christmas has come and gone. Last year we were anticipating Eva's first "real" Christmas and low and behold she had a brother to share in this year's joy.

The official Christmas card. Sorry for the bad image but I didnt have a jpg of the whole card so I had to make the best of it. The picture is the important part anyway! :-)




This year marked so many firsts for the kids but the biggest surprise was that Santa brought us the first White Christmas in I dont know how long. It began coming down Christmas Eve night and woke up to about 2". Not as much as forecasted but enough to be beautiful.



The real fun though is with our family. Christmas Eve was on the day before so that we could all be together. Unfortunately though Jon caught the stomach bug and so I had both kids in tow, thus no pictures from that night. Here is when we all were able to get together at Jon's parents house. How fun now that all the kids can actually play together.



Even Gabby (who rarely makes a blog appearance) enjoyed getting her new toy!



We got back home Christmas Eve night in time to get in our pjs and read the "Night Before Christmas." What a special tradition we can start before they go off to bed!

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Good morning Santa! He did arrive and brought presents for Eva and Kellan since they'd been good! It was so fun watching Eva dig out the goodies in her stocking and rip off the bows. My favorite memory of the morning is that of all the wonderful gifts this girl got, what was her favorite? A big pink ball and a Nemo Pez dispenser! Its the little things in life with this kid! But to me that's what Christmas is all about- the simple joys in life that we can smile about! Man, Christmas with kids is awesome already and they dont even know what's going on. I cant wait until I can actually share the Christmas story with them in hopes they truly understand its meaning... and of course, get excited about Santa's arrival.





Eva loved her snow boots. How exciting she actually needed them Christmas Day and sounds like will use them in the coming days and weeks.

Playing with her new blocks. Her favorite thing to do is build "towers" and then knock them over. I think we did that 100 times that day.

What a wonderful time we had. Even through sickness and cold, we were together as a family and that was the best gift of all.

So until next year,
Merry Christmas to all... and to all a good night!

Christmas Party Improv

As a Mom I actually got pretty excited about the school "program" that Little Sunshine was putting on for the kiddos. Since the infants and toddlers couldnt really "perform" then they set up a little crafting party for the parents to come do with kids. I loved that with me on leave and Jon at home we'd both be able to join Miss Eva for her first party!

Then I got the call. The Thursday before she came home with a serious stomach bug. And as the rules go she had to be fever free and have not thrown up for a full 24 hours before coming back so I was crushed. This means she would miss the party that Friday.

The teachers were great and sent us home with a goodie bag and the craft in case she got to feeling better. Here is the lovely Santa Eva did! She become quite the little artist...notice the awesome coloring (we love crayons!)


So while she wasnt at school with her friends, by the afternoon Eva was back to her normal self, fever free and ready for fun at home. Thanks Hillary for making sure her day with us was special even if it was improvised a bit. And thanks for the awesome glasses that she quickly found in the goodie bag! We love them!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Santa's 'Not so Helpful' Helper

Tis the season... to scream bloody murder when Mom steps away! We stood in line for yes, an hour to see Santa. She was excited to see him when I was holding her and even tried to say "ho, ho, ho" when I asked "What does Santa say?"

However, when I handed her to Santa for a picture I love the reaction. Not quite the cheesy smile I am used to when a camera is in her face but the memory is priceless! (All the while Kellan just laid there like "whats the big deal?")

$30 well spent!!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Girl after my own heart

Two big events have happened lately that prove once again that Eva may look like Jon but she definitely has my personality.

Without prompting she was reaching for my sunglasses on our way down to Ft Smith Sunday. So I gave them to her where she proceeded to not put them on her face but rather on her head! If any of you know me, this is where mine live 99% of the time! I couldnt help but smile and be very proud!

Then Carol and Frank came up last night and brought their famous (and my very favorite) lasagna up for dinner. We figured this was as good time to see if Eva liked it and are you kidding me?! She couldnt get it in her mouth fast enough! She ate it all and was clearly happy about it.

Sunglasses and Carbs... that's my girl!

Christmastime travels have begun!

This picture warms my heart. Never in a million years would I have thought that me, my sister and my cousin Heidi would all be pregnant at the same time. It was such a neat experience to go through with both but even better is knowing these boys (yes we all had boys) would grow up together like we three did. Thank you Lord for three such sweet blessings - Kellan, Sawyer and Luke.


So tis the season...for lots of travel with two babies! We had Christmas with the Orr's in Fort Smith this past Sunday and so here is our first family photo of the holiday season. Many, many more to come I am sure!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

2009 Christmas Card Teaser

In an effort to save a little cash this year, we got adventuerous and decided to take the picture for our Christmas Card and order them ourselves.

A few things you should know about Whittaker Christmas cards.
1) I have never ordered mine online before. This was a first and until they come in will remain a bit nervous about the final product.
2) Over the past seven years the cards have gone from two adults, two adults + one dog, two adults + two dogs, two adults + one kid and now the dog and adults are gone. 2009 is the year we became the parents who are sending a kid only picture. If I thought for a moment we could have all 5 of us in it then I would have. Maybe in few years...
3) The actual picture is never revealed until it shows up in mailboxes.

So knowing all of that, I still couldnt stand to not post the picture-taking experience. The final shot is not here... it'll be revealed later this week but until then, enjoy the cheeseball that is my wonderful daughter and my sweet sleeping son.







.... to be continued. :-)

Fayetteville Square... My Favorite

Its not the Christmas season to me until we go see the lights on the Fayetteville square. Last year was Eva's first time but it was FREEZING and we had to rush it because someone doesnt like to be cold (me or E). But this year was a whole different story. The weather was perfect, cool but not too cold, and we went earlier before it got too busy. The kids did great! Eva loved all of it, in fact I have about 75 pictures to prove it, and Kellan was happy as a lark. We walked around twice, looked at lights, the ponies and even got some nice people to get picture of us all together. Afterwards we enjoyed Tim's pizza and headed home for bed. What a great night we all had! Thank you City of Fayetteville for providing such a great experience. High five to you all!









Gobble, Gobble, Gobble Day

For the third year in a row, Jon and I had Thanksgiving at our house and enjoyed the company of Josh, Lauren and of course Sawyer. They came up Wednesday to spend time together and then Thursday we were joined by my Mom, Kim and grandmother. It was so nice this year since we decided to cater the majority of it. With three kids under 13 months this was one of the smartest decisions yet. The food was great, the company was awesome and being with the kids was the best. I loved holidays before but each one now gets more and more fun!

We have so much to be thankful for this year! Here is a snipit of why...

Eva loved Thanksgiving lunch... why wouldnt she? Its all her favorite foods!


The two newest additions to be thankful for... My awesome nephew Sawyer and his best bud, Kellan!

A very funny attempt at a picture of the three cousins:
Eva, Kellan and Sawyer
(yes, they are in Kellan's crib, how else do you contain them?)

My grandparents came to join us. Mamaw was there for lunch and Papaw came over later. This was the first time Papaw met mister Kellan. Such a special moment for them both.


And I am not sure why we thought this was a great idea, but here it is... the picture of 4 generations:
My grandmother, Me with Eva and Kellan, Lauren with Sawyer and our Mom. If only you could see the pictures of the preparation for this picture. I couldnt stop laughing!!

Here's to a great tradition that I look forward to every year!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Beautiful Chaos

As one of my favorite country singers, Gary Allan would say "Life aint always beautiful, but its a beautiful ride."

Ha!! Two babies are definitely twice the love, twice the diapers, twice the snuggles and now twice the screams!


I thought I'd take a minute and make sure everyone in blog land wasnt mislead in thinking this new adventure was all roses. I am coining it the "beautiful chaos" phase of our life. Everyone warned us the first year of having two kids one year apart would be the hardest and so far I can understand why. We love both our kids immensely but there are days like the past 72 hours when you want to walk outside and not come back! Yes, I said it. But clearly I don't. Managing two different schedules, one kid that is adjusting to life with competition, one kid on a feeding frenzy that I can only chalk up to a growth spurt, one kid in the midst of teething all while the other cant seem to be happy unless you're walking around holding him. Its all worth it but really?! Lately, I find myself in the middle of days where I smell like milk, cheese, and spit up, still in my pajamas without a shower or lunch. Then other days are absolutely great. Eva will sleep all night and wake up smiling like an angel ready to give kisses and take on the toddler world. Kellan will eat in normal 3 hr increments and sleep 4 hour stints at night which means I get to get ready and be a normal human.

So here's to more of those days to come. I don't wish all these memories away for anything but I pray, "Lord can you please add a little sanity and caffeine to my already overflowing cup."

Playdate at the Park

With only a few nice days left this year, we decided to take advantage of the 60 degree weather and head to the park. Daddy is definitely Eva's favorite playdate and you can see here why!






Kellan's Last Few Weeks

Lots going on at the Whittakers these days. I'd love to say its all been wonderful and beautiful and I guess in some way or another it has been what I'll affectionately call Beautiful Chaos. However, life with two definitely has its ups and downs. One being not a whole lot of "extra" time for blogging so I apologize for being somewhat behind on my posts. I happen to find a few minutes today when Kellan is sleeping and Eva is occupied so here are a few snapshots of our little man over the last few weeks. He's growing so fast and I still find it hard to believe that I am a mother of two little angels.

Snug as a bug in a... nini!!


Chillin out and looking mighty handsome!


Laurie and Isabella came by to visit the little man. How fun to think that Isabella was a baby when I met her and now 8 years later, she's holding mine.

Pretty typical action when I try and snap a picture of the kids together. I guess Kellan needs to get used to his sister!

What a silly face!


All the excitement wore him out!