Young Party of Four

Kenzie is now a few months into her 3-year-old stage. That means that we have officially switched from only answering "why" questions to answering "why", "who", "what" and more often than not, "how. This also means that our conversations have changed drastically in nature. When Kenzie was 1-year-old, she asked questions just getting the basics down. She wanted to know who people were, where we were, where other people were when they weren't with her... you get the idea. Around 2 1/2, she started with the "why" stage. It was tiring. Now, she is very much into knowing how things work or actually wanting to understand the "why" instead of just wanting to ask, to ask. Lately, we have been having quite a few thought provoking conversations with her. Randomly, she will pull information out of left field that make Steven and I look at each other and question, "Did YOU teach her/tell her THAT?" To which the answ

In honor of being just over 2 weeks (stop it!) from Will's 1st birthday, I have been reading his birth story as well as a post I wrote just one day before my water broke and little William Bryant arrived. I realized that this time was so much different than with Kenzie. Allow me to explain... I knew going into Kenzie's birth , that I wanted to TRY an NUCB. (natural unmedicated childbirth for anyone out there  that has never frequented a birth board or forum) but my hopes were dashed almost immediately when we learned that despite being favorable for an induction (my BP shot way up and so it was determined that delivering her was safer than waiting it out), she was frank breech. Yes, turning her was an option... but it isn't always effective or safe. Due to my lack of a medical degree, we elected to rely on my doctor's instincts and do a c-section. I spent a long time mourning my loss at a possible unmedicated birth. Should we have tried the version (turning her)? Sh

About 2 years ago I wrote a post documenting my breastfeeding relationship with Kenzie. To this day, that post remains as one of the most popular on the blog. I always chalk it up to a combination of curiosity on the part of anyone that hasn't been directly involved with a nursing baby or people that also nursed babies and might be like me... Curious to hear about others' experiences to see if you can gain any insight or tips.  Now, 2 years later, I might be jumping the gun on this related post just a bit... But I don't think I am. See, while Will is still getting breastmilk, the nature of our breastfeeding relationship has changed drastically (and suddenly) in the last week. In all honesty, it has been a heartbreaking time for me. Just as I did when I had so many issues nursing Kenzie at the beginning of her little life, I have shed many a tear over the end of this relationship.  Let me explain.  One would think that I have been a mommy long enough to learn that things can

We are now about one month into our life as a family with a true preschooler. Let me tell you, Kenzie LOVES every minute of school. She was born to do this. (Definitely my kid... haha!) Every Tuesday or Thursday when she gets up and I tell her that she has school that day, she gets so excited. She runs into her classroom barely stopping to give me a hug or kiss on the way. When I pick her up, she tells me all about her day in only the way that a 3-year-old could. I hear all about playing outside, drawing, centers, etc... but very little about actual learning despite the fact that if I ask her what she read or learned, she can usually tell me. As any normal preschooler would though, she learns through play so I am okay with her telling me all about the fun play activities she does. She has done show and tell, gone to chapel, and done gym buddies. All of which she loves. While all that is going on though, my "schedule" has altered quite a lot. The first week of school I

Dear William, It's officially time to start the countdown to ONE! Happy 11 months, Little Man! So crazy that in just one (single) month, you are going to go from celebrating monthly birthdays to a full year. You are no longer going to be an infant, but rather a toddler. Holy cow! This can't be happening. You are so full of happiness. You are often found smiling or laughing. That is such a strange turn of events from just a few months ago when you were dealing with serious separation anxiety and were not happy 75% of your awake hours unless I was holding you. You have started to become more and more independent (but you still love your Mommy snuggles). You can play by yourself or with your sister for long periods of time with minimal interaction necessary from me. That doesn't mean we don't interact, you just don't require it like you did just a couple of months ago. You are still in the "stranger danger" period. If people look at your wrong, you

This has been a super awesome Labor Day weekend. We started our weekend early on Friday with a trip to Disney that was, by far, one of our best yet. Then, on Saturday we met up with my parents and spent the weekend at their timeshare. We met them at Froggers in Mount Dora for lunch and then all drove down together. They have a timeshare not far from Disney that actually lets you book a house. An actual house. It is a 3 bedroom house with a pool outside in the back. You get your own (albeit small but perfect for us with two small children) pool and everything. Can't beat that. Kenzie was super excited to see the pool and wanted to get in right away. There are child proof locks on the doors, but we had a nice, long discussion about pool safety anyway. After getting settled, we put on suits and headed out for a dip. We were afraid we were going to get rained on because a storm appeared to be moving in, but it held off long enough for us to get an hour or