Grandpa's visit brought smiles

Grandpa's visit did bring lots of smiles, and I was able to capture the best one yet this morning!

He left yesterday, and we had a go-go-go few days with perfect weather (very common for my family!). We did lots of things outside including a Razorback baseball game, a trip to the park to go kite flying, a few walks and a visit to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

It's funny how you learn about your parents even at 30 years old. Dad is quite the kite flyer!! I love the face captured in the photo of Sydney. Can you say WOW?! The kite was a prize for Sydney, who has been doing awesome with her potty training. I think this prize was a 5-days-with-no-accidents gift :)

One month

Our precious baby boy is one month old!

At one month, Collin:

• eats about every two hours during the day (that's a lot!) and recently switched to a sensitive formula to help with gas.
• sleeps well at night, but it's sporadic. Some nights he'll have 5-7 hour stretches and other nights he wakes up to eat every 2.5-3 hours or so.
• is a fussy little guy in the evenings.
• must love his sister, because she is on him constantly!
• loves to be held and also does well with tummy time, something Laura helped us discover during her visit.
• doesn't love to be in "gear" (i.e. bouncer, swing, etc.). If he wants to just chill out, we put him on his boppy pillow or flat on the floor so he can look around.
• suffers from male pattern baldness, as my dad kindly pointed out :-)
• is the sweetest little guy, and has become a professional on-the-go errand runner with his mommy during maternity leave!

I thought this true-to-life photo of the two kids was great, especially since it was accompanied by Sydney exclaiming "Collin pull hair, mommy!"  Ah, the sibling love begins, and I may not get a good photo of the two of them together for quite a long time. ;-)

Valentine love

Our Valentine's Day weekend started with a visit from Laura from DC! It was a  perfect few days spending quality time together, and Laura was a huge help. We even got away for a movie and shopping one day, thanks to super-dad Randall. Visits like that always make me wish Tennessee would cease to exist between Virginia and Arkansas so we could all be closer together :-) Sydney took to her right away, and Collin of course didn't mind being spoiled either.

Yesterday, we celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a family of four. I had a Junior League meeting, but in true Randall style, he had a fabulous dinner waiting for me when I got home - filet, shrimp, baked potato, grilled asparagus --- YUM. My diet is starting soon, promise. And here is our little valentine on his first v-day - thanks to Grandma for the onesie!

And of course the side-by-side of our two little cupids on their respective first v-days!

This was also the first year I had a child who needed to bring valentines for friends at school. Here's my first attempt at a v-day box. After seeing the other kids' boxes, I decided Sydney's wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best. I'll try harder next year. :) I have to say a few parents went way overboard, and some even had special valentines printed with their kid's photo. Like wedding invitation quality. My goodness...

I thought I'd add in this pic I took this morning before taking Sydney to school. Our friends are always finding the best gifts, and this shirt was a birthday gift from Aaron & Erin. Her teachers just loved it. It's so fun that more and more clothing lines (Under Armour in this case) are making pint-sized items. They are just that much cuter!

I hope you all felt the love this Valentine's Day!

Comparisons

It's impossible not to compare your children. Not in a he's better, she's better way, but in a "wow, look how different or similar they are!" way. I love pointing out the similarities because it amazes me that two people can create little ones who really follow in the same footsteps, at least initially.

Do you think they look alike as infants? I wasn't sure until I saw them side-by-side like this, and I think there is no question they are siblings. These are their "going home" photos from the hospital!

Here are a couple of major similarities we've noticed already:
- They both love to eat and are good sleepers as infants. Collin is generally waking up once per night to eat, and we are not complaining.
- They both react well to being swaddled. This wasn't true the first few days with Collin, but fortunately Randall suggested trying again and it took!
- Collin is most fussy in the evenings, and Sydney was the same way.

The list of differences is also taking shape:
- Sydney loved to be in her bouncy chair, and Collin is happiest just hanging out on the couch or lying flat on his back in the middle of the floor.
- Sydney was completely content not being held for long periods of time, and Collin loves to be held. I think I'm to blame for this, but I can't help it - he's my last,and I can't get enough of this newborn stage which will be over oh-so-soon.

Here's Collin completely content lying next to me on the floor as I type. :) It's amazing how much he has changed since the photo above just three weeks ago.

It's exciting to watch their little personalities take shape, and it will be fun to see if Collin is at all similar to Sydney as he grows.

Spoiled by Grandma

I'm not sure who was more spoiled with my mom's visit --- the kids or the parents. She insisted on keeping Collin in the nursery with her, so we got some much-needed rest and stored up for when she left. We even had our first post-baby date night and went out for a fancy shmancy dinner! She was here 10 days, and the time flew by as it always does. Here are some picture highlights from her time here. Sydney reminds us every morning that Grandma left on an airplane to go see Pop. That may sound sweet, but it just makes me sad!

 

(Yes, there is a rubber snake on Sydney's highchair. After visiting the safari with Grandma and showing how much she LOVES snakes - the only animal she would pet - it was decided that she must have one, and a real one is clearly not an option!)  ;-)

We also gave Collin his first washcloth bath and he didn't totally hate it. I love the photo of him with Randall all wrapped up - his little face just melts my heart!

As sad as we are that our first visitor is already gone, we are looking forward to several more! Laura (my step-sister and good friend) arrives this weekend for a few days, and my dad will be here at the end of the month. Then in March, we have a visit from Randall's eldest niece and then Randall's mom arrives just before I return to work. When Sydney was small, Randall's mom was able to keep her the first few weeks I returned to work which helped with my transition and also kept her out of daycare until she was close to the 3-month mark. We're hoping to accomplish the same with Collin. I know all these visits and weeks will be over in the blink of an eye, and we are trying to cherish all this precious time!!

Welcome Collin Randall Strickland!

Collin Randall joined our family January 18, 2012 at 12:12 p.m.! He came one day earlier than our scheduled repeat c-section, but everything went perfectly smooth and the entire process went as well as we could have ever hoped. We came home today, and our family feels complete and happy :-) My recovery has even been much easier, so I have zero complaints.

I took a photo in the same outfit as the day Sydney was born so we could see a comparison of both pregnancies on the final day. I did gain about 7 more pounds with Sydney than with Collin, and he weighed 5 ounces less than her.

The surgery went quickly, and we were so happy to finally see our precious baby boy!

 

We each got a photo with our little boy - it's amazing how quickly you can fall in love with a 7 lb. 7 oz. person!

 

 Lots of friends came to visit us during our stay, and my friend Rachel snapped a few great photos while she was there. Here's a favorite:

 After two nights in the hospital, Sydney came to meet her baby brother. She spent those two nights with Kenny & Amanda - a gigantic help to us. (We are constantly reminded how lucky we are to have such a fabulous support system here!!) Sydney is quite a fan of Collin and hasn't shown any signs of jealousy yet. She thinks he's pretty entertaining, and she is overly concerned if he cries. Here's our first picture as a family of four.

 

We were able to Skype with family from the hospital, which was great, and finally, we were ready to go home. We took our time at the hospital and took the full three nights they offer to c-section patients. Collin's original going home outfit was way too big, so we opted for something more casual but still adorable (we think). I think the original outfit will be used for pictures down the road.

  

This is what our backseat looks like now --- love it! 

  

Here are two videos. The first is from my first visit with Collin after I got out of the recovery room. The second is from Sydney's first meeting of Collin. She wasn't ready to interact too much on the first day, but she was very sweet and seemed to be just fine with the idea of a new addition - a relief to any parent with worries! 

Bringing Collin into the world was such a special experience for our whole family. We can't wait to watch Sydney and Collin grow and learn ... and we will grow and learn right along with them. I feel like the luckiest wife and mother in the world. Now, to find out what our first night at home will be like... :-)

American Idol

We love to watch American Idol (it starts up again this week!), but sadly I don't think we'll be seeing our sweet daughter on that stage. Nevertheless, we love her voice and she does too. And maybe she'll end up a huge superstar and I'll have to eat my words ;-)

This first video is a bathtub rendition of "Rain, Rain, Go Away"

And video #2 is a playroom take on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, complete with her goofy deep voice she brings out from time to time.

Sydney and Mommy enjoyed a day off today for MLK. We played at home, had a ladies lunch with a couple of friends and did a little shopping. She was an angel, and it was very special to have one more full day with her before Collin arrives Thursday. I thought she looked so cute so I took a quick pic with my phone when we got home. The boots are slippers that were a Christmas gift from her Meme so she had just changed into those after our outing, and the outfit was a Daddy's pick on Black Friday. I could eat her up!

Looks like a great big sister to me!! xoxo

Sydney Drew Turned TWO!

Was it really two years ago when we said hello to this little angel?

Apparently it was, and it's just mind-boggling! We celebrated Sydney's 2nd birthday Dec. 30, and the celebration pretty much started Christmas Eve and I'm not sure it has ended yet. Just this week, she came home asking for presents --- hmmm, need to work on that.
Sydney's big gift from us was an outdoor cottage/playhouse and it has been a hit! The un-winter-like weather we've had has also made it possible for her to use it a lot - both on the deck and out in the yard.

 

(She begged me to get in, and that was challenging enough. Getting out was quite the picture, I'm sure!)

We decided against having a traditional party since Sydney is overwhelmed by a lot of our friends coming over at once, and we didn't feel like she was old enough (or we were brave enough) to start having her school friends over, but we still had several visitors over a few days' time, and it worked out great. Sydney had a blast. Several of our out-of-town family/friends sent gifts too, so she was just as spoiled as you can imagine.

 

Loving the new ponytail!

Sticker books were a big hit!

Fortunately, our friends were smart and asked if we wanted a family picture, so we got this one right before she went to bed on her actual birthday.

The only other birthday touch was a bit of Dora the Explorer - Sydney's current obsession. She won't touch sweets, but we got cupcakes/cake for anyone who stopped by. They were so good; that girl's missin' out! We also got balloons, and the Mylar ones are still thriving. I think I may say farewell to them tonight. ;-) We see more than enough Dora on a regular basis; I need her not hanging out in my kitchen day in and day out. Ha!

 

Our sweet little baby is now such a little girl. She has moments where I think she seems five and other times she has a total toddler meltdown and I'm reminded she's still just little. I think she will seem soooo big when we welcome Collin into our lives in less than two weeks! I'll leave you with this video of her playing in her cottage for the first time.