Firsthand in Andlerland

11 months and the SUN!

2012-01-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

Sweet Jovie turned 11 months yesterday. This was a big month for her. She is now crawling, standing up at toys/furniture, and walking along furniture. We can also tell that she has learned a lot of words and routines. The last two nights, I asked her is she was ready for night night and she looked at her daddy and waved at him. It was so sweet. She has said these words: dada, mama, nana (maybe nurse or mama), hata (haven), yay, mo (more), baw (ball), bye bye, ya-yu (thank you). She loves to watch me sign more, eat, cereal, milk, and thank you, but she will only really sign more sometimes. We are working on it.

Yesterday, we had some friends/family come over to play in the afternoon. I think the mothers were more excited to see the sun than the kids!

Girls are so much fun

2012-01-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

Our girls are having so much fun playing together.

I love little girl toys.

One little girl is crawling around on all fours, pulling up, walking along side of furniture, and loving this new world of exploration.

can't wait!

2012-01-10T08:49:00.001-08:00

we are getting excited about our bonus room. it should be getting paint, trim, and doors in the next week and then carpet. we have plenty of room at the moment for playing and such, but i have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time in this new room. it is mainly for jeremy's drums, but i'm sure the girls are going to enjoy it too. they each have a little nook in the corners to play and we have little doors in each knee-wall for extra storage.

Oh Snowflake Tree, Oh Snowflake Tree

2012-01-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

We are having our bonus room finished in, which means our long-term storage is unavailable right now. Well, our short-term, long-term storage isn't big enough for everything. When the room is done we are going to purge a lot of stuff before we move it back into to the long-term storage area.

We left the Christmas tree out and decorated it with snowflakes. I like to leave some snowflake decorations out throughout the winter just hoping and praying for some snow. Last year, we had a lot of snow. We are hoping to have enough to sled this year too. We are really enjoying our snowflake tree. I guess we will put it away whenever this room gets done.

More Christmas

2011-12-31T09:53:00.000-08:00

We went to Zootastic with the Bradley Family to see the lights and animals. We had a lot of fun. They had lots of lights and some that were blinking with music.

Jeremy, Haven, and Lyndsey

Jovie was having a blast.

The Bradleys covered in dust in the petting zoo area.

Haven and Stella having fun, holding hands.

Aunt Lyndsey and Jovie

Wednesday, we went to Atlanta to see Jeremy's side of the family. Haven and Jovie loved meeting/seeing their cousins. We had a great time.

Jovie and Maya

Aunt Patty with her namesake, Jovie Patricia

My crew in the hotel. Haven loved the hotel life. She wanted to push the buttons on the elevator, get ice, and explore around. I think she thought we were at Great Wolf Lodge and that we would be doing something fun there other than sleeping.

The girl cousins. Rayna, Haven, Maya, Jovie, and Levie

Plus Corrin

I finally got a snuggie.

My sister took this great picture of the Bradham kids on Christmas Eve.

Boyd, Jonah, Jovie, Kylie, Job, Bethany, Jake, Isabella, and Haven

Christmas Celebrations

2011-12-30T16:18:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas week. Jeremy was off all week, so we just enjoyed relaxing and playing and celebrating. We started the week off with our birthdays. The girls and I went to my sister's house to exchange gifts with the Bradleys and have a party for Jesus. Saturday, we exchanged gifts with my family after lunch and then celebrated with the rest of the Bradham family that night. Sunday morning, we ate breakfast, opened presents and then went to church. It was so nice to go to church and celebrate Jesus birth with a large group of people. After church we headed to Mint Hill to visit and celebrate with Jeremy's family. I didn't get pictures of everything and everybody, but we did have a wonderful time.

We got way to many presents, but are thankful for God's blessings. Having happy and healthy family members to celebrate with is such a blessing. We are thankful that Jesus came to live and die for us. The joy and peace he brings makes life so sweet.

Christmas Eve at my parents

Sweet blue eyes

Santa Haven

Christmas Eve family picture

Christmas Morning

Jeremy's Ron Swanson shirt

Pop and Grammy came by Christmas morning to see the girls' gifts.

The girls were wiped out after church and slept in the car on the way to Mint Hill to have Christmas with the Andlers. We turned Jovie's new carseat around to see how she would do because she has been so fussy in the car lately.

The only picture of me Christmas Day with my girls. Can you find Haven?

Opening gifts.

One of the best gifts of all. She was so funny. We couldn't believe she fit in this box.

One of the best Christmas gifts

2011-12-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

Having a husband that loves to play with his children is one of the best gifts I could ask for. My girls have the best daddy, playmate, fun-machine ever. Jovie and I were inside the other day and I looked out the window to find this pictured below. Jeremy sitting criss-cross-applesauce in the "forest" playing games with Haven. It just about made me cry. I am so thankful for the all of the imaginative play we have going on at our house.

Fastest Family Pictures Ever

2011-12-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Taylor came over last Thursday night and took pictures of us for about 15 minutes and then I had 4 pictures in my inbox that night. I wanted to send out Christmas cards, but didn't think I would have time, but I did. I went to wally world the next day and had some prints made. In just a few minutes, she caught some wonderful shots of us. There was a lot of 3 year old drama and toothy baby cuteness going on.

Haven's grumpy face

No more pictures!

Playing with Daddy.

Grumpy face again.

Jovie's tongue!

Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

Haven was in her first Christmas program at preschool last Thursday. We were so proud of her for smiling, singing, and participating the entire program. She was right in the center of the stage and looked so cute. They had a great program with a couple of poems, Away in the Manger, Reindeer Hokey Pokey, Jingle Bells, Happy Birthday Jesus, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

7th Anniversary

2011-12-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Jeremy and I celebrated 7 years of marriage! Saturday night we went to eat at Sake and then to see the lights at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. We had a great time just talking and freezing in the cold. It is amazing how much we have to say to each other when we don't have kids with us. Sunday, we ran some errands and ate lunch. It was a nice, leisurely day. We feel so blessed to have each other to share life with and now that we have made these two, precious girls life is even sweeter.

They had trees set up indoors that local school children decorated with recycled items. This was my favorite part, especially the sweet gum balls painted as decorations!

Uptown Bears

2011-12-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, we went Uptown Charlotte to watch a performance by the bears. We had a Chick-fil-a lunch with Jeremy and then played in Founder's Hall for a while. This has become a fun yearly tradition. I can't wait to take these pictures every year and see how our family changes.

It was so fun to see Jovie enjoy the bears this year and to see her standing at the fence, just like Haven did a few years ago.

Haven is 3!

2011-12-11T17:05:00.000-08:00

I know one little girl that had an awesome 3rd birthday weekend! We started celebrating Friday morning on her actual birthday with the gifting of a Minnie Mouse bike and Mickie helmet. Meems came over to keep Jovie and brought lots of birthday balloons that both girls enjoyed. Jeremy and I got to take Haven on a morning out without the baby and we had so much fun.

The 3 year old and her bike.

Her first breakfast at Hardee's. She didn't enjoy it, but we did.

We played Discovery Place Kids for the morning and she enjoyed all of the areas. We spent the most time at the car track area, craft area, and driving the airplane.

Her party was at Shining Hope Farms on Saturday at 3pm. Here's the setup.

She had so many friends and family come play with her at the farm. They all got pony rides, jumped on the trampoline, played some games, and pet the rabbit.

We invited our neighbors, best friends, cousins, and preschool friends.

Haven and Lexi ready for their pony rides.

I got to sidewalk my little buddy and realized how much I miss doing that at work. It's not the same working in the office. I love being out there with the kids.

We came home and opened a few presents. You can tell by her face that she really wanted a double stroller! She has loved it so far.

Us four.

Haven and her loot. She is so blessed! We put most of this stuff up in the closet to pull out over the next year. I just recently got out the last few toys from her last birthday and Christmas.

Haven is so much fun. She loves preschool, playing with daddy, being outside, loving on Jovie, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Tiny the dog. She has an amazing vocabulary and can throw a fit pretty fast. She is growing so much and seems like such a big girl. We love her so much and pray that she continues to grow strong and happy. We pray that the Lord draws her close to him and continues to shape her character to bring him praise.

Happy Christmas Girls

2011-12-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

We love December and Christmas around our house. Just a reminder that we have 3 of our birthdays and our anniversary in December. Two cousins also have December birthdays and Stella's is the 1st. So even though it is really busy, we really enjoy all of the festivities. This weekend we had Stella's party (i didn't get a picture of the birthday girl), a parade, and we got out the winter pajamas and took some pictures by the tree. I don't have a fancy camera nor would I get the aperture correct anyway, but they are still cute. We also went to Christmas in Downtown Davidson last Friday night. We got to do a couple crafts in different stores. We ate some ice cream and saw some friends. It was fun to see all of the people out celebrating the holidays.

We made a paper chain to count down to Christmas and we have been reading our book.

Haven became a butterfly at Stella's birthday party.

Photobooth

Our sweet girls. They love each other so much. I hope they will always be buddies.

Parades

2011-12-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, we went to the Mt. Holly Parade. This was Jovie's first parade and she enjoyed watching everything. Haven loved getting candy. We got a special drum section concert from my alma mater, the West Mecklenburg band. They stopped right at us and put on their show. It was really funny and loud! Jeremy thought the Shriner go-carts were funny; he had never seen them in a parade before. Haven was excited to see a little girl from church on one of the floats. It's always fun to see people you know in a parade.

On Saturday, we went to the Denver parade. I didn't take my camera, so no pictures. It was a great parade. The floats were cute. We saw 2 of neighbor kids in the parade and a few other people we know riding floats or walking. Jovie clapped and waved most of the time. The weather was perfect and we got lots of candy canes. I love this tradition and the 3rd year was a blast!

9 months

2011-12-04T04:13:00.000-08:00

I love this picture. Pop is doing what he does best.

Jovie turned 9 months old on Thanksgiving day! She was 16 lbs and 27 3/4 inches at her well visit. She is getting so busy and will try to get things by sliding out of my arms, scooting around on her bottom, rocking herself, rolling on the floor, or army crawling. She likes to stand up at her little music table, but needs someone close by because she can't stand there for very long unassisted. She has been copying noises that people make and it so funny because she can match Haven's tone perfectly. I bet they will have similar voices like my sister and I. You can't tell us apart, except that we've been told that my sister has a little more of a country accent than me.

Jovie is enjoying the sights and sounds of Christmas so far. She is sleeping much better at night! She is still nursing like a champ and eating all kinds of baby food and some table food. She has 2 bottom teeth and loves to clap and wave, especially at the parade participants. She's already been to 2 Christmas parades!

Jovie's Dedication

2011-12-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Jovie in the dress my sister and I wore when we were dedicated.

I am behind on posting for November because I haven't been taking many pictures. My sister has been the one behind the camera and I am so thankful that she has caught a lot of sweet memories for us.

On November 6th, Jovie was dedicated at our church. We stood in front of the church with our little family and vowed to teach her about Jesus and do our best to raise her with christian principles. The church also vows to do their best to support our family. All of our family members were there, but we didn't get a picture with everyone.

After church, we went to lunch with our families. Jovie wore the beautiful sweater that Amber knitted. It is so pretty and so special.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! Holidays are getting more and more fun, now that we have little ones to share them with. We started Thanksgiving day at my parent's house and then had dinner with the Andlers. It was so good to see Lyndsey, Uncle John, and Gracie too. We have so many things to be thankful for and feel so blessed.

Cousin love watching the parade!

Bradham Family 2011

My sister and our little blue eyed girl!

The Annual Tree Lighting at the Andlers.

Gracie, Jackie, and Lyndsey

Uncle John and Jovie

They loved the lights and the deer with moving head.

Andler family picture with a red tint for some reason.

The picture-takers in red.

Better lighting, but Jovie isn't looking.

Haven's 3rd Birthday Party Planning

2011-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

My sister, Wendy, designed the invitation and now I am planning the menu and games. I love paisleys! I hope we have pretty weather and lots of fun.

Two Teeth

2011-11-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

Jovie has two teeth so far. They are so cute and make her look more like a big girl. I think one of the top teeth will be poking through soon. I can see a little white dot which I saw with the other teeth as well. Teeth change a baby's look so much. She even got her own toothbrush this past week.

Haven and her hair

2011-11-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Haven has beautiful, blond hair. She only has a few slight curls at the end of her hair if it is dirty and really humid. I have cut her hair three times before totaling about 4 inches off the back. The front is still her baby hair growing. It is just growing a lot faster around the sides and back. She will rarely let me put it up or put bows in it. These hairstyles definitely do not last more than a few hours. So, I decided it was time to get her a cute style that will work without bows and ponytails.

This past Tuesday she got her 4th hair cut from my hairdresser, Samantha. Haven seemed to really enjoy the experience. She sat very still and made funny faces at Daddy and Jovie in the mirror.

Unfortunately, I was at Haven's feet, keeping her looking down so Samantha could cut her hair in the back, and I let the haircut get too far before I realized she hadn't cut it short enough. She cut about 2 inches off the back and then layered it up a little to blend in with the front. It was cute, just not what I wanted.

So, Wednesday morning I gave her the 5th haircut and took about another 1.5 inches off the back and stacked up it a little. She is so cute with a little bob haircut.

I'm not sure why she wouldn't smile for the camera. Here are two shots of the back of her head and the mural in the nursery. haha

Jolly Old St. Nick at the Christmas Show

2011-11-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

My sister Wendy, Jovie, and I went to the Southern Women's Christmas Show last Thursday afternoon. We went at the perfect time. All of the morning visitors had gone home and the after-work crowd hadn't gotten there yet, so we just walked around leisurely and enjoyed ourselves. Jovie got a little fussy toward the end, but she really had a lot to look at. She even got to meet Santa Claus for the first time. She didn't mind sitting with him for a few minutes. We had Haven and Bethany's picture taken with Santa at the Christmas show 2 years ago.

If you make this picture bigger you can see one of Jovie's two teeth shining.

Pumpkin Smash

2011-11-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Our neighbors, with 3 boys, have come up with an awesome way to get rid of jack-o-lanterns after Halloween. They invited us over for the Pumpkin Smash 2011. The dad, Chad, gets on the roof and throws the pumpkins on the driveway. The person with the biggest smash wins and then everyone helps clean up. We had a smashing time!

This was Jovie's first time riding in the wagon too!

Taking our pumpkins down to our neighbor's house!

The progression of a craft

2011-11-11T04:20:00.001-08:00

Haven and I made some turkeys that I found on pinterest the other day. She loved having craft time while Jovie was napping. I loved watching her trying to figure out how to cut and glue things on. It's a little hard crafting with an almost 3 year old because I want her to be creative, but I also wanted the turkey to be recognizable. So here's what we did. On the first turkey i had her pick out the pieces for me and she helped glue everything down.

She was able to tell me where to put the pieces on the second turkey.

The third turkey is her own interpretation. I love it!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our first stop this Halloween season was at New Covenant UMC for their fall festival. Haven had so much fun with all of her cousins.

The Bradham cousins minus Boyd.

Jovie on her first pony; her first of many rides to come.

Haven riding a pony.

Minnie Mouse

Haven had a fall festival at school. They got to wear their pajamas, play games, eat pizza, and trunk-or-treat. She is so cute with her little class.

Halloween night we went around our neighborhood to trick-or-treat. Haven had fun walking with Ella and her family. It was pretty quiet around here and only the few neighbor kids were walking around.

Minnie, Caspar the ghost, and Ron Swanson (Parks and Rec Show)

Ella and Haven

Her first time to go up and knock on the door.

Jovie and Haven

Shriners Circus 2011

2011-11-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to the Shriner's Circus at the Cabarrus Arena. Haven really enjoyed even more this year than last. However, she was very distracted by all of the things they were selling "with limited availability." Yeah, right. Snocones, cotton candy, light up wands, glow in the dark necklaces were a little more amazing than the circus. A snocone got her mind off of it for a while so she could enjoy the gymnasts, hoola-hoop girl, and jugglers. She rode a pony and enjoyed looking at the elephant.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

A few Fridays ago, we went to Patterson Farm for our now annual pumpkin picking. We had a great times with friends and family and were especially thankful that Jeremy got to go with us. My sister took some great photos. I can't keep up with the baby and take pictures anymore.

Family Picture Outtakes. haha

Haven coming out of the huge pipe slide.

Jovie in the corn.

Haven and Addie dancing in the corn.

Picking the perfect pumpkin. Well, not so perfect. It was falling over from being rotten the next day. haha

On the hay ride. I like laughing pictures because it shows us in our natural state. We love to laugh!

Stella, Emma, Haven, Addie, Bethany, Jake, Bonnie w/ Sawyer, and Jovie

Pop and Jovie

8 months old

2011-10-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Jovie turned 8 months old yesterday. These days are flying by and I feel like she will be a big kid like Haven soon. Jovie became a lot more verbal over the last month. She babbles and yells. I think she may have a deep voice like Haven. She is really sweet baby, but I think she may be spoiled rotten. She loves mommy time, but she has done well with bottles and staying with grandparents. Daddy taught her to clap on Saturday and she is still practicing waving. She is so cute and we feel so blessed to have her. She and Haven love each other and that makes me so happy.

swingin'

2011-10-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Both girls have been enjoying swinging on these nice, cool, fall days. Jovie even fell asleep for the first time in the swing the other day. Over the past few weeks, Haven has learned to swing by herself. She isn't pumping her legs very hard, but she learned to use her upper body to get her going. I think she got some extra cheering and clapping at preschool and that really encouraged her. She still likes to be pushed, but it is so awesome to watch her swing on her own.

our nephew jake

2011-10-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

Jake was the first baby I fell in love with. I felt like he was my own for a while and it was my time with him that made me sure I wanted my own children. I can't believe he will be five in a few months and start school next year. Last Friday, we went to the pumpkin patch and on the drive up I noticed how much he and Haven favor even more now as they are getting older. The dark dots on their faces are from my camera, not bruises.

He was holding Jovie the other day and was being so sweet to her. I love seeing little boys be compassionate and caring. Jovie loves seeing Jake and Bethany. She gets so excited.

Preschool Pressure

2011-10-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Haven started preschool a month ago and I have been feeling the heat. It's not her, she is adjusting well. She doesn't cry anymore and she shares all of the fun stuff she did at school on the way home. She enjoys her new friends. However, I had heard other mothers with kids talk about all of the money and stuff that comes with school. I totally didn't think we would already be dealing with that in a 2 day a week, 2 year old class. For instance, we already got information about 2 fundraisers, 2 events that we need to volunteer for, picture day, and a book sale. We already pay a sign up fee and a monthly fee, now we need to pay for a pizza party, books, send candy, volunteer during the time I am paying them to have Haven, and pick out an outfit for picture day. Luckily, I didn't cave and buy a new bookbag and lunchbox. We just used what she already had, but I noticed a kid look at her lunchbox that we got for free and make a comment about it.

I am enjoying the 8 hours with Jovie a week and having a little time to get a few errands done. Haven is enjoying herself and I am thankful that she is doing well with being away from me. I just wanted to document this because I know it will probably just get worse and we have to decide how much we will do and how much money we will spend.

P.S. I am such a sucker for new books and pattern blocks. I bought 3 things from the book sale, but wanted it all. I am hoping the pictures won't be really good, because I am a sucker for those too.

Haven definitely doesn't feel the pressure. She fell on my fingernail somehow and scraped her nose. She said she needed a bandaid.

This picture is a major stress reliever. I have such funny girls.Note from dad: Thank you Jovie for censoring Haven's buck cratt so I didn't have to use photoshop.

Love Daddy.

Apples

2011-10-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, my sis and her kids, Bonnie and her kids, Bonnie's mom, and me and the girls went to Apple Hill Orchard to get the fall season started off right. We enjoyed a story about bees, watched the cider making process, tasted a few treats, picked our apples, took a tractor ride, and had a picnic. It was a cool day in Morganton, but it was great compared to the scorcher last year when we picked apples. Plus, last year I was pregnant with Jovie and feeling pretty rough. We had a great time with our friends again this year. I took one picture the whole day, but my sister took some great ones.

pictures from my sister below:

Great Wolf Lodge Staycation

2011-09-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, we drove to Concord to stay a night at GWL. Here are my wolves howling at dinner. They had delicious soup and sandwiches in the restaurant.

Haven and Jeremy are at the top of the treehouse on the right. Jeremy and I definitely want to go back so we can do all of the big rides together.

We went for the show and bedtime story. Haven loved it. She was so cute sitting there in her pjs.

Then Jovie woke up with a fever after being asleep a few hours. So Haven was the only one sleeping at 2am when the fire alarm went off. We had to go outside and wait for the all clear. They said it went off in the kitchen, but that there wasn't a fire. When we got back in our room around 3am, Haven was ready for a snack, but she was too tired to sit up.

We spent the next morning at the doctor (jovie and mom) and swimming at the waterpark. It was fun even with a few hiccups.

7 months old!

2011-09-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Jovie is ringing in her 7 month bday with a fever. She has a virus that is causing a fever and fussiness. She weighs 14.5 lbs. She wears some 3-6, 6, 6-9 clothes and size 2 diapers. She has started saying things like, "nana" "dada" and mumble jumble that sounds like she is talking. She is still working hard on sitting up. She has eaten dinner in a highchair at a restaurant. She can play independently a lot longer now, but still needs a lot of mommy attention to go down for naps and bedtime. She can scoot around on the floor on her belly. She slithers around or rolls around. She hasn't been able to hold her head up enough yet to actually crawl, but she is getting close.

Big Sister wanted to wear a headband too.

Girls

2011-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

The girls have really started giving each other a lot of attention. Jovie wants everything Haven has and Haven wants to play with Jovie all of the time. I love it! Here they are playing in the tub one day. The little duck is perfect for Jovie, but Haven wanted to play too.

Haven has really started to enjoy drawing more. She has started drawing things and telling me what they are. We have also been practicing connecting dots. This is a picture of a person. Can you see the long arms, legs, and feet. I thought it was pretty good for an almost 3 year old. She also drew planets with Lexi on the driveway the other day.

First Day of Preschool 2011

2011-09-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Haven went for her first day of preschool last Thursday. She was only there for 2 hours that day, but did really good. She even told us goodbye, but she cried when I picked her up. Then this past Tuesday was her second day and she screamed and cried for an hour even as I tore away from her and left her in her class. I called back an hour later and they said she calmed down in 5 minutes and then she had a great day. They said she was happy the whole time and a big helper to the other kids in her class.

Her sign said, "i am a preschooler. 2011."

I think we are both going to really enjoy preschool this year. Hopefully, Jovie and I can have some nice time together while we get errands done and Haven will have fun with her new friends.

40 years

2011-09-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

My parents celebrated their 40 wedding anniversary this past Sunday at the beach. Haven and I made a 40 cake for them. She was very proud of it. It was so nice to play with them at the beach. The girls love having them around. We are so thankful for their marriage and love.

Grammy and Haven making breakfast.

Pop and Jovie watching tv.

More Beach Fun

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

We took Haven to the beach one evening and she had a blast just running around and exploring everything that people left on the beach that day.

See how excited?!

Our family of four.

Our girls

Daddy long legs!

Me and my honey!

Gymnastics

2011-09-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Haven started a new gymnastics class with Bethany on Wednesdays. Jake came the first week and gave me this funny, no teeth smile.

Back to School Shirts

2011-09-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make the kiddos shirts since it had been a while. I saw a clorox process a few weeks ago and wanted to try it out. I thought having their names on the shirts might help out their preschool teachers.

I started with a freezer paper stencil for the names.

Then I sprayed clorox with a spray bottle on the shirts. You can see that it ate up the girls' shirts fast. I guess a few seconds would have worked better. Jake's shirt must have been made of a little different material.

Since their names faded so fast, I went back and stitched some parts of the name and an extra little special something for each of them.

I think they turned out really cute. I hope they like them.

Beach Babes

2011-09-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day from OKI! We are so glad to have some family time with an extra dose of sand and sea. Not even a trip to the urgent care (Jovie had a nasty cough Thursday) or sleepless nights can put a damper on a little getaway. Kids definitely take the rest out of vacation, but they add many smiles and lots of special memories.

Compare/Contrast

2011-08-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

What do you think?

Haven at 6 months (really 4 months since she was 2 months early)

Jovie at 6 months (really 5 months since she was 4.5 weeks early)

6 months old!

2011-08-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Back to School Art

2011-08-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

I saw this on two blogs yesterday, so Haven and I made one today while she was NOT taking a nap. It was fun and really easy. I love it. We just used one pack of 24 crayons and took out black, grey, brown, and white.

Haven starts school in 2 weeks for 2 days a week. I think it will be fun for both of us. I thought this art project was a good back to school tradition to start.

Molars

2011-08-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, at 2.5 years old, Haven's 2 year molars are cutting through. It looks like just the bottom two for now. I just am thankful that this may be the cause for some of this fussy and tiring behavior!

Thank goodness we were playing doctor today and I got her to say AAAGGHH! There those little boogers were popping through.

wits' end

2011-08-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

This momma is there. Yes, at my wits' end. Even though I had one hour of complete bliss during my massage today.

Idioms:

at (one's) wits' end

At the limit of one's mental resources; utterly at a loss

The last week has been my hardest days yet as a mom of two. On top of a few time management/work issues, a friend's kid is sick and we played with them yesterday, a knife melted on the stovetop, Haven has two freshly scraped knees and she hasn't napped for me in over a week. I can't do a whole lot to help her get to sleep when Jovie is up. She won't close her eyes and says she's not tired. Yet, she gets pretty fussy in the afternoon. So I have just made her stay in her bed as long as she will and then she is playing her in room quietly until I am ready to deal with her again. It makes me pretty angry and I hate feeling that way.

The main thing is she has started peeing in her pants the past few days. Sometimes it is just a few drips and then she tells us she has to go and she does the rest on the potty. But quite a few times in the past few days it has been a complete mess. It is so aggravating because she didn't have accidents for like 3 weeks.

Despite all of that, we have had a lot of fun in between the accidents. These tough times are such a love/hate situation. I love these blessings more than anything, but get so frustrated at the same time. Lord help me. Jovie is just precious and she has started sitting up by herself some. She did it totally by herself on Tuesday night for about 5 seconds.

Haven thought Jovie might want to hold her.

Jovie's first night in regular pjs with a blanket early last week.

Campmeeting

2011-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

I went to Rock Springs Campmeeting with friends from church when I was in late elementary through high school. It is a historic, social, religious event of the year in our area. People come for 2 weeks a year to stay in their family tents (wooden shacks that share walls and encircle the arbor). You get food and ice cream from the shack. You walk around the circle and stop to talk to people and swing a while. This year we went to one of the kid's services for Haven and our friend Lahna to dance a while. We then got some ice cream and hung out with friends. We will go back this week to get a good hamburger and hear some bluegrass music. This week (big week) they have church twice a day with local choirs singing from the Methodist churches in the area.

Jeremy and Haven outside at the arbor.

Jovie watching the kids dance and sing. They say if you put a baby's feet in the straw they will always come back to campmeeting.

Haven and Lahna dancing. They also enjoyed their cool treats and playing in the dirt with some other kids.

The winds of change are blowing

2011-08-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Haven climbed out of the crib yesterday at naptime and never took a nap. So last night was her first night without the crib. She was very excited about the freedom and she wouldn't lay in her toddler bed. So we put this twin mattress on the floor and she slept there. She only woke up a few times and went back to sleep fast. She woke up this morning and yelled for me to come get her. She was proud of herself for sleeping in the big bed.

Jovie loves playing with toys. She loves her new doll that makes sweet noises.

Lots of pottying has been going on. She is doing so great and it was so easy. Thank the Lord!

Jovie is having rice cereal once a day. This face means give me more!

Sweet girl!

Potty Update

2011-07-31T17:53:00.001-07:00

Haven is potty trained for #1 and #2! She is dry at naps and has been dry at night a few times. She is doing awesome with hardly no accidents. She tells us when she needs to go. She is using it as an excuse at night to get out of bed and she is having a hard time settling down to go to sleep. Now to teach her to take care of all of the potty process by herself. That may take a while.

5 months of sweetness

2011-07-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Our little Jovie was 5 months old Sunday. She rolled from back to belly tonight for the first time. She had her first taste of rice cereal last night. She tries to grab our food and drinks. She smiles so sweet and we are trying really hard to make her giggle. She hasn't yet, but neither did her sister. Her legs get moving fast when she gets excited and she has just about jumped out of my arms a few times. Everyday is just getting sweeter with her. Pure Sweetness!

Notice anything different?

2011-07-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Haven's wearing panties! Over the past few months, she has used the potty, but she has never been bothered by a dirty diaper or told us she wanted to go. Last week, she took off her diaper and went to the potty. Later that day, she did #2 in the potty. So, we got up the courage and have put her in panties since last Wednesday. She has only had 3 accidents. She is wearing a diaper at nap and nighttime. She was a little shocked by her initial #2 in the potty and has refused to do that again. She has just gone in her diaper at naptime. Any suggestions?

She is telling us when she needs to go and sometimes I just take her if it has been a while. YAY! I haven't even been phased by changing double diapers the past few months, but it will be nice not to buy two sizes of diapers!

Around the house

2011-07-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

I put up these new shelves in Jovie's room to store some of our favorite books. They are actually spice racks from IKEA, but I have seem them used this way on a few diy blogs. I also put one in Haven's room to store her Little People toys. I think they look really cute and I decided that I am going to change out the shelves in Jovie's room with our seasonal books.

Her owl painting is from a local store Freshly and by the artist Candy Pegram.

I finally got a picture of the girls in their matching shirts. Jovie is popping out of her shirt, so this may have been her last time to wear it.

Here is Haven throwing Jovie off of her because she smelled like spit up. Sisterly love.

Just Haven

2011-07-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I took Haven to Chickfila and Tony's Ice Cream last Friday. We hadn't been with Haven without the baby, so we thought it was time to give her our undivided attention. She seemed to enjoy it, but I think she really enjoy sliding and her chocolate ice cream most of all. She is growing so fast. She finishes our sentences for us, tells us exactly where things are located (for example, "it's in my lipstick bucket", aka purse), and likes to get in the shower by herself. She is getting taller and has enjoyed getting new shoes because her feet have finally grown some.

She wanted to wear a costume today because we watched the MickeyMouseClubhouse episode about a costume party at Pete's house. She has grown a lot since October. She loved the pockets.

Yesterday morning she had an award winning tease. It was business in the front with a party in the back for sure.

This is for Layla. We miss you already friend. We can't wait until we can skype and see you. We are going to come up with silly pictures to "play" virtually with Layla while she lives across the ocean.

Growing Girls

2011-07-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Jovie is growing up so fast. She is playing with her toes, rolling over, sliding around in circles on her belly, and making us smile constantly.

She is starting to spend some time in her exersaucer, but she gets tired pretty quick.

Big sister Haven is getting more and more creative. She decided that she should wear Mrs. Potatohead's earrings. She has been napping and sleeping better! She has strong opinions and likes things to go her way. We have noticed that she is repeating rules back to us, so we feel like she is learning so much about life. She went to VBS for the first time this week for 3/5 nights. It was good for her and us. I think I might really enjoy her going to preschool in the fall. It will give us both a little time to ourselves.

For the girls

2011-07-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

I bought these cute, cheap rugs at our big blue store yesterday that I thought would be perfect for the bathroom upstairs. This is a horrible picture at 10pm, but one is pink with red squares and one red with orange squares.

Haven has started using the potty up there some so I thought it was time to do something to it. We have lived here 5.5 years and I haven't done a thing to that bathroom. I found a canvas and empty frame in our attic and decided to paint a quick picture for the girls. Haven loves balloons so I thought that would be the perfect subject for the painting.

The painting job isn't perfect but it was fun, fast, and easy for me. I think Haven will like it.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T08:38:00.001-07:00

Red, white, and blue cuties.

The kids helped me decorate the flag cake at Grammy and Pop's house. They did a pretty good job. We saw our family this weekend and then just relaxed at home for the holiday. It's always nice to have a long weekend. We are thankful for our freedom!

4 months old

2011-06-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's true. Everything really does go faster with your second child. We are enjoying getting to know Jovie. She is enjoying sitting on our laps and watching her sister. Her legs are getting stronger and she likes to stand for a few minutes on our laps. She is still sleeping about 10 hours a night and then she will wake up around 7:15am to eat and then she will play for an hour and then go back to sleep for 2 more hours. Then she naps, plays, and eats the rest of the day. I'm getting pretty comfortable doing stuff with two children by myself, but we would always rather have daddy joining us.

Haven can make Jovie smile so easy. They love each other.

We go for her 4 month appointment Monday. I think she has gotten really long. I noticed today that the girls torsos are about the same length. Haven's head, arms, and legs are just a lot bigger.

A few things I forgot to post.

2011-06-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

Haven and Layla got to play at Jeremy's parents pool last week. They are both good little swimmers. Amber took this picture of the girls playing a game with their shoes and toys. They were talking to each other and smiling so sweet. I love to hear 2 years old converse. Too cute!

Baby Jovie was happy to see Amber's camera!

Jovie had her first trip downtown to eat lunch with daddy. I forgot to take a picture until we were back at the car and Haven was escaping the stroller.

I am pretty sure Jovie had her first little virus. She had little bumps on her back and chest and was pretty fussy for a couple of days. The doctor thought it was eczema, but I think it was a virus being Haven and Bethany had a belly ache and diaper rash the next day.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

From my sister's camera

2011-06-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from the last month or so from my sister's perspective. She came over and took a few of Jovie at 2 months old in her cute owl stuff from Ally Surratt. I need to get one of these framed.

The girls enjoyed a popsicle during Jovie's photoshoot.

Our little cousins, Jonah and Jobe, turned 1. To celebrate the big kids had a blast in the hot tub. Haven talked about it for weeks. She loved being with her big cousins in "Izzy's little pool."

We had a family reunion for my dad's mom's side of the family. Most of these people live in the Charlotte area.

We went to pick strawberries at Patterson Farm and had a blast. We watched a puppet show, fed animals, had a tractor ride, planted a bean, picked strawberries, played on the playground, and had a picnic. It was so fun.

Sawyer and Jovie

Haven, Stella, and Bethany

Picking strawberries. They were delicious.

Haven was ready for nap and didn't want to be a sheep. Oh well.

Girls

2011-06-07T05:16:00.000-07:00

Haven hasn't asked to hold Jovie very much, so when she does I definitely let her. Jovie will be bigger than her before too long I believe. They looked so cute yesterday in their stripes, dots, and white pants.

Jovie seems to be such a calm and sweet baby. I know we will run into some glitches at times, but right now she is easy. She is sleeping from 9:30-7:00 or 7:30. She only fusses if she is hungry or sleepy.

The girls matched for the first time Saturday and they were so cute. This is going to be fun.

Haven Sleep Update: We have just been praying about how to help Haven go to sleep easier these days. Right now, Jeremy is laying in her room for a while just to keep her from getting so upset because it is pitiful. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. She is just wanting us a lot and it is hard to deal with especially when she is sweet as pie during the day.

Advice Please!!

2011-06-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

Haven has slept in her own bed since day 1 and has only slept with us if she is sick or most recently through that first horrible storm we had. She has gone through a few times of crying over the past 2.5 years, but we would just let her cry it out for a few nights and then things were back to normal. She has taken pretty good naps as well. She would always wake up happy from the night and sometimes cry when she woke up from naps, but overall I would say she was a good sleeper.

Jovie was born at the end of February and Jeremy had 12 weeks off. We tried to keep Haven's schedule as normal as possible. We prepared her for the baby and tried to make it special, but we didn't force potty training or a big girl bed since she was not really interested or seemed ready for either. The first 10 weeks or so went great. She threw a few fits and wanted some attention, but we seemed to get past that fairly quickly. Then we had those bad storms and she got worried about noises that sound like thunder. So we have been talking about that and made her a noise book with pictures of things she hears and she likes that.

The week before Jeremy went back to work Haven started screaming and crying before bed and nap. She finally would cry herself to sleep after we sat by her bed or door for a while to reassure her that everything was okay. Funny thing, she wakes up from bed and nap just as upset when she sees that we are gone. Even if she slept 11 hours she still has woke up screaming and crying. During these last 3 weeks she still naps and sleeps the whole night they are just prefaced with crying. Sometimes the crying has lasted 1.5 hours at night.

She even cried her eyes when Jeremy's mom came to pick her up to go to their house. She usually jumps in their car without wanting to tell us goodbye. She said she wanted to stay with me.

She can't tell us why she is crying. She just screams NO and I want Daddy or Momma. She has said she hears noises too, so we reassure her that we are close and that she is safe.

She has been in her new room since January and has no problems with being upstairs in her new crib.

We thought that just being consistent with our normal night routine (bath, milk, stories, prayer) would work, but now we are on week 3 and last night was the worse.

We decided to give the toddler bed a try. She napped in it yesterday after tears and me sitting at her door for 1 hour on and off. Last night she laid in it fine as long as one of us was by the door and then she screamed, cried, and was at the gate ready to come sleep with us. At 10:45ish we finally put her back in the crib and she went to sleep in about 5 minutes. However, she woke up at 5am screaming. Jeremy tried to get her back to sleep, but now it is 7am and she just crashed on the couch.

We tried giving her new music to listen to at night, a new book, our physical presence and nothing is working.

We were hoping not to add any new habits to our night time routine because it has worked for 2.5 years, but obviously its changed.

She loves the baby and hadn't seemed extremely affected by it all until now.

Any suggestions? Please!

Pics of the last few days

2011-06-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Haven and Lexi (our next door neighbor) splashing in our new pool on Memorial Day. We also went to see Lexi play in her play-off softball game. Haven thought it was so cool to see her hit and score! Those little girls are tough.

Jovie is already a daddy's girl. She coos when she hears his voice come into a room.

The kids enjoying their food before we ate our delicious food from the grill.

Me and the girls! Missing Daddy while he is at work. : (

They both finished their naps on the couch!

Smiley Princess!

First time in her activity seat!

Big Sister had to try it out too!

3 months

2011-05-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Jovie is 3 months old and these months went fast. She has started kicking a lot, reaching for a few toys, smiling a lot, cooing, and controlling her head well. She is so sweet and doesn't fuss very much. She isn't spitting up as much and seems to be getting on a pretty good schedule. She has slept from 9:30-6:45, but most nights it is about 9-4:30 or 9-6:00. She seems to switch back and forth. It is a blessing that she is already sleeping this well.

She has a lot of nicknames so far. Jovie Patty, Jovie Sue, Jovie Lou, Joves, Jovester, Jovalina, Jovita, Sis, Sissy, Sister and yesterday Haven called her Sister Tricia.

She is a sweetie and loves to be held. She follows me and Jeremy around the room with our eyes. She loves her daddy and gives him big smiles.

The past few weeks

2011-05-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Aunt Lyndsey came to visit a few Saturdays ago. Haven loved having her here.

Jovie sat with us for dinner for the first time in the highchair. She enjoyed herself.

Libby came to visit Jovie. Layla came to visit Haven. Amber came to visit me. Perfect!

This past Saturday we went to our 3rd NICU picnic. It was so nice to see some of Haven's nurses from the hospital and also to see some of the kids we know growing up so big and strong. Haven loved the bouncy house.

Haven and Daddy riding the train around Independence Park.

Haven's imagination has gone wild. I love hearing her play with her toys. She set this tea party up for her toys all by herself yesterday. Jeremy and I were impressed.

I gave Haven her 3rd haircut two Saturdays ago. Here are the before and after pictures. It was really long when combed out and wet. However, the sides are still short and it was getting a little ratty.

Here is the only after pictures I have been able to snap of her. She runs around so fast and I can't catch a good shot.

One Happy Momma

2011-05-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

Dear BofA Benefits Department,

The past 12 weeks my husband has been on paternity leave and I have been a happy woman. We had our baby 4.5 weeks early via an emergency c-section, which meant that we had to suddenly adjust to having two children and I had to recover from surgery. Knowing that Jeremy would be with me for the next few months, gave me such peace in those first few days. I knew that I would have a partner to help me with this transition and during my recovery.

First of all, I am thankful to God that he has blessed me with a husband that desires to be with his family. He's a natural with kids, but he also knows and values the importance of a father's role in the everyday life of his children and their friends. Our partnership brings both of us so much joy and we feel like our children will benefit from seeing us work as a team.

Secondly, I am thankful that he works for an organization that values the family. We don't have any other friends that have paternity benefits like this and we don't take it for granted. It is wonderful that your employees have the freedom to leave the office without guilt or regret. By having 12 weeks to build our new family unit, Jeremy is able to go back to work knowing that the kids and I are well adjusted and in our new routine. Our children may not remember the details of their dad being at home during their first few months of life, but I have no doubt that they will always have a sense of security and love due to Jeremy being with us during this time.

Jeremy is a hard worker and brings his creativity, humor, and knowledge to your company daily. You're lucky to have him and he has been blessed to have a job that he enjoys. The benefits you offer encourage your employees to work hard and enable them to come to work refreshed and relaxed. I wish all families could have the unique experience of having both parents home full-time for the first few months of a new baby's life. It is a joy to celebrate the firsts for this new baby and support one another during a fairly difficult, but happy time.

Thank you for allowing us to be a family and enjoy our new life with less stress and more valuable time.

Sincerely,

Holly

OKI

2011-05-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Oak Island again this past week and had a blast. Haven went boogie boarding for the first time. We rode the ferry over to Fort Fisher and visited the aquarium. Jovie was just along for the ride. It is so nice to get away and enjoy God's creation.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed to have such sweet daughters and wonderful mothers to celebrate!

Sister Love

2011-05-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Jovie and Haven have started interacting with each other and it melts my heart. Jovie turns her head to Haven's voice, kicks her feet, moves her arms, and coos. Haven whispers sweet nothings to Jovie and gives her sweet kisses. I know there will be hard days with two girls in our house, but I also know that they will love each other. I know Wendy and I fought and fussed, but now at 30 and 32 we are the best of friends. I can only pray that Haven and Jovie will be a sweet pair as they grow.

Zootastic

2011-04-29T13:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we visited Zootastic in Troutman. We had a great time learning so much about all of their animals, playing, and having a picnic. They have lots of farms animals, a camel, emus, ostriches, llamas, alpacas, tigers, monkeys, leimers, kangaroos, birds, a baby bear, chinchillas, and many more. Haven got to pet a lot of them and feed them. We really enjoyed the tour and then we got to run around and see our favorite things again. It was the perfect time to go because lots of babies had just been born. They lost a lot of their roofs in the tornadoes recently, but luckily no animals were injured.

Haven enjoyed petting the chicks.

This baby had just been born Thursday. The ostriches had a lasting impact on Haven because of how fast they could peck her bowl of food.Dally, the lamb, was our tour guide's "baby." She is raising it because the mom rejected her.The baby bear was our favorite. It was cute.

Haven loved spending time with her daddy.

Jovie and I enjoyed ourselves too. She slept and ate. I was the photographer.

2 months old and Easter 2011

2011-04-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

Jovie is 2 months old today. She is smiling at us and rolled over from her back to belly once yesterday. She has started to coo a little and she is sleeping a good 4-5 block at night. She is super cute and we love that she is growing so much.

We started our Easter celebrations with a party and egg hunt at our house last week. Haven had so much fun with her friends.

Today we we went to church and visited with Jeremy's family. Our girls looked so pretty in their dresses and we had fun playing outside.

Haven enjoyed growing through her basket.

Sweet girls!

Our first Easter as a family of four!

Let the egg hunting begin!

Meems and Jovie trying to stay cool.

Jackie and Haven blowing bubbles.

our easter bunnies

2011-04-19T11:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe we have two, sweet Easter bunnies this year!

Sister bunnies!

Jovie's eyes smile for real!

Here is Haven in April 2009 at 4 months old.

Switched ears!

Firsts

2011-04-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

This past week was a week of firsts. Momma got her first haircut since giving birth to a baby! Praise the Lord! Jovie got to ride in the wrap for the first time. Jovie also slept a few nights in a row and only got up once between 2 and 3 am.

We also went on our first trip as a family of four and it went incredibly smooth! We had so much fun at Oak Island. Haven was in heaven with a new house, new toys, and the ocean. It was really cold, but she and Jeremy played in the water.

Pop and Haven

Both girls slept on the way home!

We stopped in Mint Hill on the way home and finally got a picture of both girls with Jeremy's parents.

World Record

2011-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to church, grocery shopping, and lunch all before 12:30! I am pretty proud of the 4 of us. Jovie is growing fast and sleeping from about 10-2 and then waking up every 3 hours, so I am getting a little more sleep. We had a great week with appointments, playing, and getting a few things marked off the to-do list. Jeremy is half way done with paternity leave, so we are going to soak up every minute of these next 6 weeks. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but we are enjoying our time together!

Jovie has been smiling at us for 2 weeks and is getting better head control.

Sweet girl all swaddled.

Haven, Jovie, and the baby doll that was bigger than Jovie.

Jovie and Sawyer chillin on the big dog.

Haven and Jovie relaxing. Haven seems like a giant these days.

We like to set up little scenes and Haven wanted a picture of this one.

Due date

2011-03-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

One month old!

Yesterday was the day Jovie was due. We went to the doctor Monday and she was 6lbs. 8oz and 20.5 inches long. The doctor was happy with her growth and progress. Just over the past few days Jovie is staying awake longer and crying much louder and longer. She definitely woke up near her due date. She is super sweet and snuggly.

Amber and I and our baby girls. Our big girls are playing together in the picture below.

Friday we got to visit with the Norkett/McGinnis Family. It was so good to see Amber's parents while they were in town. I love that Amber and I will get to experience life with two girls together!

Haven showing how big she is beside her sister.

Jovie in the outfit she was supposed to come home from the hospital in. It just now fits.

Haven showing off her new skill of "picking" and her booboo on her nose while holding her crying sister.

Newborn Pictures

2011-03-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Taylor with Lucy Parker Photography took these shots when Jovie was 2 weeks old. I love having her petiteness captured. She is so sweet.

35 years Serving the Lord

2011-03-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

My parents were recently honored for 35 years of service at their church which began before my sister and I were born. They have given time weekly to teach kids about God, country, and nature through Missionettes and Royal Rangers. My sister and I have always loved getting to enjoy the activities with them. I am thankful to have parents that serve and have taught us about what really matters in life.

Wendy, Mom, and me(in the stroller) in this picture at one of the Powwows for Camp-a-ramas.

My mom and dad are probably around my age in these pictures.

My dad hanging out with young boys. Just being there for kids is what really matters so much.

Spring is Here!

2011-03-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

We have loved getting out of the house a little, since it has gotten warmer. Jeremy is on paternity leave and we have enjoyed everyday feeling like a Saturday. Last Thursday, we went to the park for some playtime and lunch.

Precious Libby Norkett was born last Tuesday and is as sweet as can be. We can't wait to spend more time with them over the next few months.

The trees and bushes are blooming. I love all of the new life God is creating.

Here's Jovie in a newborn outfit from Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Jim. So cute!

Just for kicks. Here are pictures of me and Jeremy as babies. Jovie is definitely a mix. She has my hairline but with darker hair and a version of my nose. She has Jeremy's lip area.

The Last Week

2011-03-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

Daddy and his girls hanging out.

Haven playing with friends.

Jovie's first bath.

Tea Parties with Daddy.

Tea parties while laying on Daddy.

Sunbathing.

Jovie's first Doctor visit with big sister's help.

Our New Life

2011-03-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Leaving the hospital in the huge carseat.

We've been home 1.5 days and life is good! Our stay at the hospital was wonderful (compared to our time with Haven in the NICU). It was so nice to have Jovie in the room with us and to have friends and family come visit her freely. We feel so blessed and are so thankful for all of the support during this pregnacy and delivery.

Haven holding Jovie for the first time. She was so proud.

Haven is doing wonderful, thanks to being given great care by her aunts and grandmothers. She seems to really love Jovie and has only cried a few times and those have involved candy and the potty. She also did #1 and #2 in the potty over the weekend without us around. Hopefully, that means she is going to potty train herself or maybe cousin Bethany will potty train her.

1st night with bedtime stories.

We had a first great night at home. I got up (with Jeremy's arms pulling me out of the bed) every 3 hours to feed the baby and then she went right back to sleep and so did I. I am feeling good other than not being able to laugh or cough too hard and my legs are still puffy and feel weird.

Our sweet girls

Jovie had a frenulectomy(tongue-tied) today, but she has taken it like a champ and just drank a bottle like a pro and is now resting on my chest.

perfection

2011-02-25T12:13:00.000-08:00

Jovie Patricia Andler

She's Here!

2011-02-25T05:31:00.001-08:00

Jovie was born last night at 11:09pm. She weighs 4 lbs. 13 oz. and is 18.5 inches long. She is the cutest thing we have ever seen and all is going well. She is in the regular nursery and we are so excited! I will post pictures when I can.

35 weeks and trip to Triage

2011-02-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

I had Jeremy take my 35 week picture in the hospital room, because I forgot to take one at home earlier and I was afraid this might be the last belly shot.

After a fun day of playing with Haven and friends, Jeremy and I ended up at Presbyterian last night. I started having contractions around 5pm and they were 8-10 minutes apart. The doctor told me the day before that they would try to stop contractions this week, so off we went to get a shot and prescription and get these things stopped. I had some pretty strong contractions at the hospital, but the medicine seemed to lessen those, but the medicine makes my pulse go up and makes me feel jittery. I had not dilated anymore, so they sent me home to rest. I have had some contractions all day today, but they haven't gotten more painful or too close together. So we are going to ride it out as long as we can. Hopefully, Jovie will stay put a few more days so she can continue to develop well. We are so thankful for doctors and medicine, but most of all for God's peace through all of this.

2 more baby showers, yes really!

2011-02-22T11:19:00.001-08:00

Jovie has been so blessed already. We had two more showers in two days last week. Both were lots of fun and full of blessings for our little bundle of joy that will be in 4 weeks or less!

Us at Jeremy's Work Shower!

A fun game of trying to figure out which baby picture matched the coworkers.

Jeremy's coworkers, minus a few.

The view from the shower of Tryon and 5th!

Aunt Margie, my Mawmaw Bradham's sister, worked at Montaldo's in the 1930's and it was a sweet surprise to see the logo outside Jeremy's office window.
Delicious strawberry cupcakes made by Rachel. The food was also delicious!

The pretty table at the shower given by Jackie and Jeremy's mom.
All the diapers we received! WOW!
A precious diaper cake!

The BIG SISTER and Aunt Lyndsey!

Sickies

2011-02-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

We have all three been sick for the last few weeks with the runny nose, stuffy head, and cough stuff. Haven and I had it and then got better. Jeremy got it and got on an antibiotic. Haven and I got it again with a nasty cough and now both of us are on medicine. We really want to get better before Jovie arrives, but also so that we can see our friends over the next few weeks. Haven begs to go visit her friends and she misses them so much. I miss seeing people too, although I have seen a lot of doctors and walmart pharmicists.

Haven didn't like the mask that came with the nebulizer, but she loves the pacifier. She never liked them, but she loves this one. She just chews on it. She also loves to pat and talk to her panda bear. She tells him, "Good job, boy!"

I have had a few NSTs (non-stress tests) lately to check Jovie's movement and heartrate. She has been a ham when they hook me up to the monitors, but then she barely moves for me at all at home. We are so thankful that at 34 weeks and a few days she is still growing inside and we hope to keep it this way for a few more weeks. However, I must admit that I am a pretty, grumpy pregnant lady. It is hard!

Haven wanted me to take a picture of her and her cracker. She is so funny.

Maternity/Family Pictures

2011-02-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Our wonderfully talented friend, Taylor Helms, took some pictures for us a few weeks ago. I am pregnant, Haven is now 2, and Jeremy has a beard, so all three were good reasons for pictures. Well, maybe not the beard part, but I do love how he looks in these pictures. We took some in our house, some at a local park, and the rest at a cool store near our house, Freshly.

32 weeks and a new friend!

2011-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

We made it to 32 weeks! Jovie and I are doing well and made it to the dreaded 32 weeks 2 days, when Haven was born! We are so thankful that so many people are praying for us and that Haven has been such a sweet girl and let's me rest throughout the day. We are excited to see Jovie, but we are so thankful that she is going to cook a little longer.

Haven is warming up Jovie's carseat for her. She looks huge!

Sawyer Bridge Bradley was born Saturday night and we are so happy that he is a healthy, sweet baby boy. Haven already loves him and we are so glad that Jovie will have an instant buddy.

This is Bonnie's picture of him getting ready to leave the hospital. I've been too caught up in his preciousness to take any.

Jovie's 3rd Shower

2011-02-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful small group gave us a sweet shower for Jovie. She got some much needed gifts and even Haven got a special doll, that she loves. We are so blessed to have such a fun group of people in our lives. The boys played a funny game to see who could drink out of a bottle the best. Jeremy didn't win. :(

What a day!

2011-01-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any pictures, because we were too busy enjoying the beautiful weather today. We got lots done around the house and ran a few errands. We played basketball and soccer, with the sand table, and on the playset with 4 little neighbors. It doesn't get much better than a n0-jacket, sun shiny, day in January. Haven was in heaven running around outside with Lex and the boys.

Wintry Week and Weekend

2011-01-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a week filled with snow, ice, and family time. We loved that we were "snowed in" for a few days and had a great time trying to keep a 2 year old busy. We went sledding with our neighbors on the first day of the big snow and had a good time. We also got paint out and let Haven do her new favorite thing over and over, painting her hands.

I nested all week and got the house rearranged and a little closer to being ready for Jovie and all her baby stuff. Haven has really been caring for her teddy bears, babies, and Jovie's teddy bear. It is so sweet to watch her whisper to them and feed them. I think she is going to be such a good big sister. Jeremy took some cute pictures with her favorites this morning.

Jeremy played yesterday at The Great Wolf Lodge for a youth weekend and had a good time. We went to visit him. Haven loved the "wolfies." She didn't want to leave them. Here is a picture of our first babies. Yes, they are extremely precious and shiny.

Here I am at almost 30 weeks. We can't wait to meet Jovie!

The Nursery

2011-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

With Jovie coming soon, I have been trying to work on the nursery to get it ready for baby girl #2. Her clothes are in the closet, diapers are in the dresser and her name is on the wall. I just need to make her family tree and it will be ready for her. I only changed out a few things like the chair, borrowed bookshelf with lots of books, stuff on walls, bedding, and I painted 4 new flowers on the walls. The bedding looks pretty much the same, but it is new. I enjoyed this nursery and the color-combos so much with Haven. I will be spending many more long hours in there and I know I will enjoy it just as much with Jovie.

Haven's New Room

2011-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Haven moved upstairs last weekend into her new room. She loves her room and we are so glad. We have a cute white toddler bed that will move in there as soon as she(we) is ready. We noticed that lots of her existing stuff had polka dots, so we decided that should be the theme for now. I free handed 5 different colors of polka dots around the room and they turned out pretty cute. The original plan was to paint the whole room the lightest green color, but once I put the colors on the wall the existing beige didn't look so bad. Our inspiration pieces were her growth chart that we brought up from the nursery and the Eric Carle quilt my mom made for Haven. We added white blinds, book shelves, painted the drawers and toy box we already had, and added some accents. The chalkboard was in my room when I was little. The drawers(cabinet thingy) is actually from my great grandparent's house. Here is a picture of my great-grandpaw McCall sitting beside the piece in the 50s. I had it in my room growing up for a while.

The frame with hairbows came from my grandparent's house and my mom had it for years. I took a few years ago and I think it finally found the perfect spot in Haven's room for her bows and pins from our travel. We have bought the pins(buttons) or have been given them as we have traveled with her over the past 2 years. She has one from the Cabot cheese factory and even Yellowstone. I can't wait to see how her collection of 10 or so now will grow over the years.

Jovie's shower

2011-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

My sister and friend Bonnie showered Jovie and I with love this past Saturday. It was a cute winter-themed shower with lots of sweet friends and family. We got so many nice gifts including bedding, diapers, wipes, some clothes, swaddles, and more. Her room is now ready, but she needs to bake a little while longer.

Big Girl Room

2011-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Haven started sleeping in her new room Friday night. Here is a sneak peak of the room and her pitiful face when she woke up. I will post more pictures of her room later. We decided to borrow our neighbors crib for a while because I just wasn't ready to put her upstairs in the toddler bed. She does great in a crib and we weren't interested in messing that up. Yay for Haven!

Layla

2011-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

To have Amber within arm's reach to hug is such a huge blessing, but to see our little girls hugging is beyond words. I hope they will be friends and penpals (or whatever techy thing they use) for life. Layla can teach Haven about the world and Haven can always go on an adventure to take Layla american products that she needs like chocolate chips. I wish they would never go farther than a good car ride, but we will go along for the journey virtually with them to see where the Lord takes them.

Amber took these cute pictures of them yesterday.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

2011 is going to be an exciting year. Baby Jovie will be here before we know it, along with lots of our friend's babies. We really have no plans for this year except to learn how to be a family of four. However, I am already excited about getting back into shape and signing up for some 5k races, who knows maybe even another 10k.

The house is free of Christmas clutter, although I do love the decorations, and the sun is shining today. It makes me excited for the days to come!

Fireman Jake is 4!

2010-12-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

Jake is in the cute fireman shirt and hat!

Our nephew, Jake, turned 4 on the 27th. His party was our local firestation. It was a great place for a birthday party. They gave us a tour of the firestation and then we had the party in a big training room. This station is brand new and extremely nice. The kids all had fun and Haven acted amazed to see all of the cool stuff. We are so proud of our favorite 4 year old Jake!

Bethany, Stella and Haven

Haven's turn to walk through the truck.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning 2010

We had a wonderful holiday season. We feel so blessed that we had a happy and healthy year. We were blessed with quality time with our family and friends. We unwrapped way too many presents over the past few weeks. We have hope in Jesus' birth, life, and death, plus God gave us a beautiful snow to top it all off. This was the best Christmas so far even though we kept things simple and didn't do all of the holiday things that we had planned. Next year will be even sweeter when we get to see Jovie's eyes light up at all of the holiday festivities.

Christmas Eve lunch with Holly's family.

Bradham Christmas with all the kids.

My mom always put our gifts out on the couch and took pictures of them. I loved seeing all my new treasures on display. So now Jeremy and I do that too. This year it only lasted long enough for a picture, but we have been known to leave them out for days to admire. It is ridiculous how many presents we got, but we love them all.

Holly's Gifts from bday, anniversary, and Christmas.

Jeremy's Gifts
Jovie's Gifts Haven's Gifts

We enjoyed celebrating Christmas with Jeremy's family. Uncle John and Lyndsey were there and Haven enjoyed playing with Tiny the dog as always.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

It was a white Christmas! Amazing!

Haven loving the snow.

Our house.

Us in the snow.

The Last Week or So

2010-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Today is Jeremy's 30th birthday and mine was Sunday. We had a fun party with our family and friends. Here is the group with tacky, Christmas sweaters. It was pretty funny.

(Seated beside me is my best bud that will be in America for 6 months! So happy!)

Instead of presents, we had people bring preemie clothes to our party. We will take them to the NICU at Presbyterian Hospital on Christmas Day to donate. Haven came home from the hospital 2 years ago on Christmas Day, so we thought it would be nice to do something for them. Five of the kids at our party all started out smaller than these tiny clothes. We are so thankful that they are all growing and thriving.

We have already had 3 or 4 snows this year. It has been very pretty and Haven has enjoyed seeing it. She tasted some snow this day and said it was pretty.

Haven looks like such a big girl in her Sunday, Christmas dresses. It's hard to believe she is already a little girl and not a baby.

We didn't put up all of our decorations this year. We knew that Haven would love to play with some that could be broken and I personally didn't feel like putting it all up, just to have to take it all down. But our tree turned out pretty anyway. This year we also have new stocking holders and we hung a special ornament on the fourth one for baby Jovie. She already has a stocking to match for next year, but it just needs to be monogrammed.

Haven's Party

2010-12-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

We had Haven's 2nd birthday party Saturday at The Little Gym. We invited her friends that are close to 2 years old to 4 years old. We had so much fun. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Way too many gifts for a 2 year old. We are so blessed and decided to put half of them up until after Christmas. The Little Gym was the perfect place for a 2 year old party. The staff does everything, from bringing stuff from the car to writing the gift list. It was perfect!

Haven's 2nd Birthday!

2010-12-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

Haven surprised us all two years ago as a 3 lb 9 oz, little Christmas miracle. Every day since has been a blessing and we are so thankful for her growth and development. She is a delight and still gets the sweetest comments from strangers about how friendly and happy she is. She talks constantly using big words and long sentences. She loves to sing and play with her friends. She enjoys animals and playing outside. She jumps and runs everywhere and squeals with delight.

We started her day off with a #2 and pink, chocolate chip pancakes. She wouldn't eat the 2, but she ate the others.

She then opened her new crayon/activity book from us. She liked it and wanted her Elmo to draw something too.

Haven then got caught trying to get into the advent calendar.

She let me put her hair in cute pigtails for a little while and she cheesed for the camera.

We finished the evening dining at the great Everest Grill with my family. Bethany and Jake helped her open a few gifts.

And cake of course!