It's been 2 months already!?!

So it's been a little over 2 months since Sweet T was born.  It does not seem possible!  The time is just flying by!  Having 2 kids hasn't been nearly as scary as I thought it would be.  Don't get me wrong...we definitely have our difficult days but for the most part, it's been great!

Doodlebug continues to be great with her sister...this may change once Sweet T can get her toys! LOL  Sweet T is doing well.  We think she may have a little colic though so that's made for some difficult evenings & nursing sessions but from the horror stories I've heard from some parents...I'm not going to complain!

She's definitely all smiles here lately which is my absolute favorite!  She has the most beautiful and precious smile!  Doodlebug was 3 months when she had her first belly laugh...so hopefully were just a month shy of hearing Sweet T's laugh!  I cannot wait!!

Doodlebug is talking up a storm!  It's so much fun!  I love being able to have little conversations with her and know what's on her mind.  She's also loving her My Little Ponies and she'll organize them in rows and take them on shopping trips!  She's also started bringing a purse with her on our errands and she'll pack it with items similar to mine!  She is so much fun!

In addition to being busy with the girls, I'm also trying to start a photography business.  I used to second shoot weddings but quit when I got pregnant with Doodlebug.  (18 weeks of severe nausea drains you a little)  I LOVE second shooting and hope to start doing that again on a regular basis.  I'm also hoping to offer bridal and engagement sessions.  With the girls and the extreme heat...it's moving a little slower than I'd like but I'll get there  :o)

On top of photography, I'm still smocking and have 3 dresses I'm working on right now.  I'm also trying to learn to crochet and from the little bit I've worked on so far, I LOVE it!  And of course I'm always working on home improvement projects...slowly trying to turn our house into a home!

So all that to say...life in the Southern home is very busy!!  Here's a couple of recent pictures

She's here!!!

Our youngest daughter, Sweet T, was born June 9th at 7:14am!  She is an absolute doll!!!  So far Doodlebug LOVES her little sister and has been amazing with the transition.  She loves to help, give hugs and kisses.  She also loves to hold her sister...it's so cute, she'll hold her arms out and say, "Holt" which is how she says hold.

We are so grateful to God for this precious blessing!!


Here are a couple of pictures of Sweet T. Copyright of the AMAZING Stephanie Fisher

We're meeting our daughter today!!!

On October 5, 2009 I woke up and decided to take a pregnancy test.  I knew I was testing a couple days early but thanks to the wonderfulness that is the dollar store pregnancy tests, I tried it anyway.  Nothing showed up at first so I went to get Kenley.  We came back a couple minutes later and there was the faintest little *pregnant* line.

Jonathan was still sleeping and I remember I threw open the door and hollered "Oh my gosh I think we're pregnant!"  We both stared at the test and knew we saw a line but it wasn't very dark so we weren't 100% convinced...so naturally I took another one.  There was that line again.  We couldn't believe it!  I was 3 wks and 5 days.

Fast forward to today.  It's been a long road since October 5th.  I can't believe that in a few short hours (section is scheduled for 7:00am) we will finally meet our newest family member.  It's so surreal.  It's so exciting and scary and overwhelming.  I think I got 2 hours of sleep last night b/c I'm just so excited to hold her and kiss her sweet face!!

Backyard pictures!!!!!

Updated backyard pictures!!!  We've already enjoyed several meals and our daughter's birthday party in our newly renovated backyard!  We absolutely love it!  There are still things that need to be done, like put up the swing set, replace lights, add decorative touches and such but the big thing is we can have people over again and enjoy our yard!!!!  Our next big project is to get the grill working again.  I cannot wait for that b/c yall, my man can cook a GOOD burger and it's been a long time since we've been able to grill!

Last night we all ate dinner out there and when we were done, our daughter had the best time playing in the grass and a little puddle she found from us watering the grass.  It brings so much joy to my heart to see her having fun in the backyard.  And it's so nice to know she can run around barefoot (or with shoes) and not step in dog poop!

I'm so very grateful to my husband and father-in-law for ALL their hard work!  They have been busting it for a while now to give our daughter(s) a place to play and they just did an amazing job!!!

Here are some pictures I took yesterday evening to show off our new space. I have so many plans for decorating our patio...I can't wait to get started!  The hard work is over, now the fun part begins!!!

Our new yard!!!!  I can't believe there used to be a deck there!

Our little divider fence.  One day we'd like to put solar lights on the posts.

We have GRASS!!!!

The patio.  I should have fixed the chairs and moved the hose but I was too excited to get some pictures  :o) 

Big baby alert!!!

Our first daughter was over 10lbs at birth so we knew that another big baby was likely.  Today at my appointment she is measuring 40 weeks.  (I'm a day shy of 36)  So yeah...she's measuring 4 weeks ahead...just like her big sister did.

My husband and I were normal size babies...he was mid 7lbs and I was low 8lbs.  We are tall but not big people...it just still shocks me how big my babies are!

I'm not complaining at all though.  We love our big babies and we're so very grateful to God for giving us healthy babies and pregnancies...just still shocking sometimes how big they are!  LOL

Our backyard transformation...still in progress

My amazing husband, skilled father-in-law and generous friend have all been working very hard turning our hole formerly known as a backyard into a beautiful play area and entertaining area.  We're not quite done yet but when we are, I'll post pictures.

Y'all, I'm not kidding when I say our yard was awful.  At one point in time, we had 4 LARGE dogs back there.  There was barely any grass left, our deck looked like it had been through a natural disaster and it smelled like pee and poop.  It was so overwhelming we literally had given up on it.  When we bought our house, it was a beautiful yard, perfect for entertaining and enjoying nice dinners on the patio. 

We've tried MANY solutions to make our yard work for us and the dogs, but each one failed.  With our daughter nearing 2 and LOVING playing outside, we knew we had to do something finally.  Our yard is a pretty decent size and is a rectangle shape.  So we put up a 4' picket fence, dividing the yard almost in half.  The front half is the 'people' side and the back half is the 'doggy' side.  The best part of this design is the dogs are let in/out through the side door to the garage...meaning they never enter our half!!!  With the fence being a picket fence, they can still see us so they don't feel ignored.

We have some very gracious neighbors who gave us their old wooden swing-set...for FREE!!!  Oh my gosh those suckers are pricey and we knew that was what we wanted to get but it just wasn't in the budget.  This one needs a little fixing up.  We have to replace some of the wood, I had to spray paint some pieces and we bleached the swings...and it's looking GREAT so far!!!  It's a smaller set so it'll be perfect for the girls for the amount of time we'll be in this house.

Here are a few pictures of the yard:  

This is what it looked like when we bought.  So cute and quaint.  We loved it.

Here it is after 4 years and 4 dogs.  Pretty awful, huh?

Bye-bye sad and scary looking deck and hello new french drain!  Progress!!!

We've come a long way since this picture...there is GRASS in my backyard (that the dogs can't touch!) and the fence posts have been trimmed down and capped.  Once things settle down a little here, this is where the swing-set will go.  I cannot wait to see my daughter's face when her swing-set it up.  She's going to be so excited!!

How to talk to a pregnant woman

Apparently when a lot of people see a pregnant woman, the part of their brain that filters out dumb and rude comments malfunctions.  I'm not sure why this is, but after going through 2 pregnancies and getting the same comments, I thought I'd put a public service announcement out there in case you or someone you know suffers from this brain filter malfunction.

What NOT to say to a pregnant woman:

• "Wow you're huge!"  (It's never ever polite to say this to anyone, but especially a pregnant woman.  Trust me, we feel huge enough, there's no need to have it pointed out to us repeatedly) 
• "You look like you could go any day now!"  (This is BIG TIME brain filter malfunction.  Please don't ever say that to a pregnant woman.  There's nothing worse than getting this comment everyday when you're no where near your due date.  If you think that's how a pregnant woman looks, please keep it to yourself)
• "You aren't going to make it to your due date."  (Really?  Are you my OB?  Have you been examining me?  Do you know what my uterus/body are capable of?  No?  Ok then kindly keep your opinion to yourself.  I personally carried a 10lb 2oz baby to 39wks and 5days and let me tell you, had they not done a scheduled c-section, that baby would have probably stayed until 42 weeks.  Besides, preterm labor and preemie births are not something a mother wants for her child.  We like them to bake as long as possible.)
• "Are you having twins?" or "Is there just one in there?"  (Ugh, this is my 'favorite' brain filter malfunction.  Seriously, why on Earth would you ever ask this?????  If a woman is having multiples, she will more than likely offer up that information.  You do not need to EVER ask this.
• "You're really carrying your weight in your *insert specific body part*"  (I don't care if I look like Shamu, please don't tell me I look swollen or where I'm carrying my weight.  Pregnant women are well aware of how their body has changed and where they've gained...you don't need to point it out.  You wouldn't say this to a regular person, why say it to a pregnant woman???)

Things that are appropriate to say to a pregnant woman:

• "You look beautiful!"  (I honestly don't care if you're lying through your teeth, hearing that can make the worst days amazing.)
• "Look how cute your tummy is!!"  (This is a subtle way of commenting on the size of someone's tummy but remaining tactful and kind.  This is always a safe comment to say to a pregnant woman.)
• "Not too much longer!!"  (Even if a woman has 6 months to go, this is just a sweet way of being encouraging.)

To sum things up: Please think before you speak.  Please think about what you're asking/saying.  To constantly have people tell you you're big and fat is very annoying and hurtful.  You really shouldn't ever comment on someone's size...same rules apply to a pregnant woman.  Think about what you would like said to you if you were pregnant. And if you're a guy, just stick with the simple "Congratulations" and "You look great" and you're golden.  If you think a pregnant woman looks just awful and you think she's huge...that's fine.  You're entitled to your opinion...just keep it to yourself and don't tell her. 

In honor of this post, here is a little picture of something I'm VERY tempted to order...because I know I'm going to continue to run into the brain filter malfunction people and continue to get the same questions.  Just to save everyone time: