February #haney365

I'm still planning on trying to do these weekly once I catch up, but for now, here's our February in pictures!

February 1

My mom makes the best lasagna in the world. I'm serious. I've never had a better lasagna in a restaurant or homemade. I desperately need to blog the recipe! She was kind enough to make it while we waited for Bubbles to make her arrival.

February 2

Tyler introduced Griffin to his shadow. It was a huge hit! I love this picture so much!

February 3

Griffin is always the head smoothie maker in our house! He whipped up a few before we left for the hospital to have the baby.

February 4

After getting to know our girl for a night, we announced that our sweet Annabeth had joined our family! It was such a joyous first full day with our baby girl!

February 5

Headed home from the hospital! We couldn't wait for AB to meet her big brother!

February 6

She really is her daddy's mini-- she'd much rather sleep than eat!

February 7

Tyler got some great snuggles at Annabeth's weight check. She was gaining like a champ!

February 8

Griffin had a great morning-- breakfast with Daddy & Papa and then a trip to the library with Mimi & Mama. I love that he loves going to the library as much as I do!

February 9

Handy Manny gave Griffin lots to think about.

February 10

Tyler worked from home and kept AB while I went to the store. When I got home, I offered to take her, but he wanted to keep her with him while he was on a call. So, so sweet!

February 11

Our first girls baking day!

February 12

This baby girl is proving to be quite a problem! ;)

February 13

My parents took Griffin to get his hair cut by my dad's barber, Mr. Joe, who has cut his hair for over 20 years. Mr. Joe gave my brother his first hair cut and his wife used to cut my hair when I was a little girl. Griffin loved Mr. Joe! It made me so very happy when my mom texted me this picture.

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day from a hungry Haney baby and another very concerned one!

February 15

Tyler and I took Griffy to coney island for lunch. We had a really sweet time together! We ordered him his first Jello, but he ended up not liking it. Oh well… sorry, Bill Cosby.

February 16

Heading home from Michigan as a family of four! We had to listen to Griffin's favorite song over and over and over and over. 

February 17

It was my first day alone with both kids, so naturally we ordered pizza and had a picnic on the family room floor! Three cheers for Pizza Hut delivery!

February 18

Griffin loves this drill and just wanted to share it with AB. I believe his exact words were, "I'm just showing Sissy my drill! We're a construction team!" Sweet boy.

February 19

Two kids? Piece. Of. Cake.

February 20

A year ago on this day, I was being wheeled into an OR for what we didn't know would be life-altering surgery. A year later, I'm holding a tangible reminder of the fact that God ALWAYS has the final word. I'm still so grateful for all He taught me this past year. He is good and He is sovereign. GREAT is Thy faithfulness!!!!

February 21

We were getting ready to leave and Annabeth started to fuss. Griffin grabbed his guitar and started to play her a song and sing to her. She quieted down almost immediately. It was such a precious moment for me as their mama.

February 22

Our first family walk! It was a gorgeous day and left us longing for spring.

February 23

I'm convinced that there's nothing better than your newborn burying her face in your neck and falling asleep. Best feeling ever.

February 24

I was so thankful that sis slept through Griffin's doctor appointment so I could focus on him. He just had a fever virus, but he was pretty miserable. After his appointment, we snuggled on the couch and I introduced him to one of my old favorites, The Land Before Time. 

February 25

Griffin's hair is dark, coarse, and curly. Annabeth's is blondish red, silky, and straight. I love that they have such different heads of hair!

February 26

Super Griffin (wearing his gloves, no less) thought Sissy's cradle was broken. He was determined to fix it!

February 27

My sweet boy couldn't love his sister more, but he's having a hard time sharing his mama. I love looking at his precious face while he sleeps. I know the transition will get easier as time goes on!

February 28

I can't get enough of seeing these two together! Love them so, so much!

Annabeth :: 1 Month

Annabeth, you are one month old!

March 3, 2014

What were you up to this month?

You fit in newborn clothing for the first few weeks and you still do fit in certain things. However, things have always been too short on you! Three month clothing fits length wise and in the arms, but it's still quite baggy. You are long and lean! You have the longest fingers and toes, just like your big brother when he was born. 

Your hair hasn't fallen out at all and continues to look either light brown, blonde, or red depending on the lighting. People comment on your hair constantly; it's incredibly soft and silky. You have the biggest eyes and they're a beautiful cornflower blue. I really hope your eyes stay blue like your daddy's!  You are such a beautiful baby!

You are SUCH a snooze-face! You still sleep most of the day, but as the month went on, you were more alert for longer periods of time. Sometimes it's still hard to get you to eat because you're in such a deep sleep and you rarely wake up to eat. Usually I have to wake you up and then you realize you're hungry and you get mad, so I have to be ready! 

You sleep from about 10:30 to anywhere between 4 and 5:30. You wake up, eat, and go back to sleep until anywhere between 8 and 9:00. Your pediatrician told me to let you sleep as long as you will since you've gained weight well. This was just fine with me! We swaddle you just like we swaddled your brother and you seem to like it. We switched you to a Summer SwaddleMe from your A&A swaddle blanket when you were about 3 weeks old. You're just too strong to not use velcro! You're sleeping in a cradle in our room, which has been wonderful for those middle of the night feeds. You're a very quiet sleeper, so you don't keep us awake at all! You don't nap on a schedule yet, so you nap all over the house. You've taken several naps in your crib and you seem to like it in there! 

You are nursing exclusively, which has been a new ballgame for Mommy. We were (and still are!) prepared with lots of formula samples and coupons, but we haven't needed them. You're eating around 8 times a day and you nurse anywhere between 30-45 minutes at a time. You still fall asleep a lot while eating. Daddy gave you a bottle on your one month birthday. It took some coaxing, but you drank about two ounces before you were too tired to eat anything else. I pump off about 14-16 ounces a day in addition to feeding you, so we're hoping to give you at least one bottle a week so that I can still have a little freedom. We used a Playtex Nurser bottle;  we'll see if we stick to those or switch in the coming months.

You don't care for your swing, but you love your bouncy seat. You almost always start to cry when we put you in your carseat, but as soon as the car starts moving and we put on some music, you pass right out. You also like your Wubbanub pacifier, just like Griffin! Daddy picked out an owl for you and you really love it. You typically don't keep it in your mouth long; you use it just long enough to soothe yourself and then you don't care anymore. You don't need the Wubbie to sleep at night (yet), so that 's been helpful. You started sucking your thumb shortly after you were born and as cute as it is, a paci is a lot easier to take away than a thumb, so I'm happy about the Wubbie!

You love baths, but hate being cold. As soon as we run the warm water over you and wash your hair, you're a happy camper. You hated having your diaper changed your first week of life, but after that, it's like you just resigned yourself to the fact that it's just part of life. However, you really get upset when your diaper is wet or dirty. If you're fussy, it's the first thing we check! 

You made your first trip to Michigan to pick up your big brother and have your newborn pictures made. You slept the entire way there and back, with one stop each way to eat. You're already a super traveler! 

Your big brother couldn't love you more! When I go and get him in the morning or after his nap, he always asks me, "Where is my baby? Where is Anna-bef?" He wants to hold you and kiss you all day long. He'll be in the middle of playing and all of a sudden run over to kiss on you. I really think he's your biggest fan! 

Annabeth Noel, we are absolutely crazy about you. I dreamed and dreamed of having a second baby and I'm so glad that God's timing was not mine, because you are the perfect fit for our family! You have the most precious personality already and the joy of being your mother is almost too much for me to handle sometimes. I can't believe you're already a month old! You are a content, sweet baby angel and I love you so very, very much! 

1 Month Stats

Weight: 9lbs, 12.5 oz (70th percentile)

Height: 22.5 inches (90th percentile)

Head circumference: 15 inches

Diaper size: Newborn

Nicknames: Nugget, Sweet Pea, Sissy, Sis, Sissy Bear, AB

Happy one month birthday, baby girl! We love you!

January #haney365

One of my favorite bloggers (Shay at Mix and Match Mama) took a picture every day in 2013. I admired this mostly because I've tried to do it in the past and I've failed miserably every year.

However, she shared her pictures on Instagram with a hashtag. That seemed much more doable to me considering the fact that Instagram is my favorite form of social media. I don't have Facebook and I'm not as big on Twitter anymore, but Instagram feels like a good middle ground. If you're on Instagram, I'm rnoelhaney and I've been using the hashtag #haney365. 

I was hoping to blog these every week, but it just didn't happen, so you're getting a mass picture update for January 2014! Lucky you! And thanks to Shay's tips, I was finally able to complete at least one month of this which has never happened before. Miracles do happen! Here we go… and again, better late than never! 

January 1

Griffin partied too hard on NYE and passed out cold. Bless him. 

January 2

Poor Griffin just couldn't get comfortable. ;) It was a relaxing pajama day at our house.

January 3

It was a morning that included a full term baby bump, a snack trap breakfast, a dirty mirror, and a toddler who kept yelling at me to "COME ON! COME ON! COME ON, PREGNANT!" Such a precious nickname.

January 4

Mimi came for a visit and gave Griffin a drum set from her and Papa! Griffin is big into music right now, so he gave us all an instrument and put us to work.

January 5

My sweet mom came to help me clean and get the house ready for Bubbles. She worked so hard and was so helpful, so we took a little break to go see Saving Mr. Banks. Great movie!

January 6

Since my mom was in town, we snuck out for dinner one night. However, it was during the first Polar Vortex, so the temperature was literally zero degrees. We were planning to do something after dinner, but we were SO cold that we just headed home. Party animals!

January 7

It hit me on this night that Griffin's final days of being our only child were coming to a close. I laid down with him in bed after he was crying and ended up crying myself. I have been feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS.

January 8

We had (what we thought was) Bubbles's last ultrasound. She looked great!

January 9

Griffin is very particular about how he eats hard boiled eggs. He eats the white, then the yolk. He loves these and calls them "Mimi's eggs" since she loves them, too.

January 10

Someone found a rogue pacifier while I was cleaning out the nursery. He came and asked to be held and rocked while telling me that he was still a baby. Don't tell him, but he'll always be my baby.

January 11

We went to breakfast at our favorite local diner and then to Target for a few "essentials" and some big boy underwear. Apparently we like to do big life events like potty training and having another baby right on top of one another. 

January 12

I spent the evening watching the Golden Globes, eating strawberry cake that I'd been craving, and updating our birth plan.

January 13

This boy loves playing Memory and I love celebrating every time he makes a match. It's so fun that we're getting into the "game playing" stage!

January 14

We had a fun playdate at the library with our friends! Griffin and the twins are exactly 7 days apart, so it's always a good time when these "triplets" play together.

January 15

I pack Tyler's lunches in these sectioned boxes and Griffin often begs to have a lunch like Daddy's! It's never complete without an Air-Ee-Oh (Oreo).

January 16

Poor Griffy was coming down with a cold, so I let him sit in the kitchen and watch Veggie Tales on my computer. I love that precious little face resting on his hands.

January 17

I took the covers off our throw pillows to wash them and feathers went absolutely everywhere! Griffin collected them for me in a bowl and I paid him with some mini marshmallows. He was happy for the treat and I was happy not to have to crawl around and collect them myself!

January 18

There's nothing like cuddling with your dad on a Saturday while watching Bubble Guppies!

January 19

Griffin often says, "I will lay verrrrrrrryyyyy still in Sissy's bed!" He loves lying there and watching the mobile.

January 20

I was making my grocery list, but this boy just wanted to cuddle. I'll never pass up an opportunity for snuggles with my boy!

January 21

What else is there to do in the middle of a polar vortex than make banana nut muffins? I love that Griffy loves to bake!

January 22

Bubbles's due date! Come out and play, little one! 

January 23

This sweet thing was waiting for his daddy to warm up the car. I love that Tyler takes him to school everyday; it's good quality time for the two of them.

January 24

Here I am, still eleven thousand weeks pregnant! Yikes. We went walking at the mall and of course the big brother needed a cake pop!

January 25

We had a wild Saturday night at home, complete with root beer floats!

January 26

Yep. Still pregnant.

January 27

Griffin has been my Monday morning grocery shopping buddy for three years. We've had some of our sweetest times together on those trips. I'm so thankful for my tiny companion and so lucky to be his mama.

January 28

Griffin fashioned a keyboard out of his clementines and said he was typing on his computer like Daddy. Then he got on his "phone" and said, "Uh, hello? I'm working!" Monkey see, monkey do!

January 29

Bubbles is officially 7 days late-- yikes! We had an ultrasound and a NST and she was doing fine in there! 

January 30

It's a horrible picture of me, but I happened to snap this impromptu kiss from my sweet boy. I couldn't love him one ounce more!

January 31

Papa and Mimi came to town to help us pass the time, so we made a trip to the bookstore. This boy has his Mimi (and Papa) wrapped around his little finger… but can you blame them?