Being a Mommy comes first.

Just a quick update on ME :)  I am loving life as a mommy of two and staying so busy.  Schools is going amazing and I couldnt be happier!!  I decided to just focus on Chemistry this semester since Harper was only 2 weeks when the semester started and I knew my life was going to be quite an adjustment.  Well I am getting an A in the class so far and we are more than half way done :)  My professor is probably one of the best I have ever had and I know he is there to help me succeed.  If anyone has to take Chem at Weber State I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Spencer Seager!! 
I have a set schedule down for both girls and I now have about an hour when their naps overlap to do what I want (usually clean or do homework.. LAME i know lol)  Kinsey is adjusting to life with her sister so well and I rarely have to deal with jealousy issues which is awesome!  The only time she show signs of jealousy is when I sit down to nurse Harper.. but usually I can talk her into getting a few book and she will sit next to me and we read together.  MAJOR multi-tasking :) haha
Now for my running habit... This makes me so sad to admit but it is whats best for my Miss Harps. I have had to dramatically decrease my running because I was training so much and burning so many calories that I started to not "produce" enough milk for Harper.  Running is so good for you and burns so many calories but unfortunately between running, chasing a toddler, and nursing, I was burning TOO many calories.  I lost 4 lbs in 10 days!!! Nursing alone burns around 300 calories a day, plus I am very active with Kinsey so all that put together was just too much.  I was/am eating constantly to keep my energy up so I know I did my best in that department.  I started to notice Harper wasnt getting quite enough because she would still want more and was crying to be fed about every 1.5-2 hours.  At her age she should be able to go 3-4 hours in between feedings.  So I took a full week off from the gym and just ate and drank water until it was coming out my nose!! Now everything is perfect and Harper is much happier :)  I am still going to run and keep up those habits, but I have set a goal to run 7 miles a week.  I chose 7 because that means I can do 3 miles twice a week (3 miles is fun, 4 is just too many, and 2 isnt enough) and a mile for fun another day in the week... and also because 7 is my lucky number haha.  This also means that I wont be doing the Salt Lake Half marathon in April like I wanted to.. and this is the SADDEST part for me :'(  I was so looking forward to it and couldnt wait!!! But being a mommy comes first and has top priority to me so I will be running the Salt Lake Half April 2013!

Thank you just isnt enough..

This post is going to be totally different from what i normal blog about: me, the girls, and celebrations.  It is going to be all about my hubby!!! I have gotten so busy with "life" and feel so guilty that I have neglected to brag about how wonderful he is!  This April will mark the 6th year we have been together.. crazy to think I was only 16 when we started dating.. We have def had our rough and tough times but we have also had very great times together :) We havent done things the easy way, EVER, but I think thats what has made us grow so close together and become such a strong couple.  Going through tough times with the one you love is bound to make you love them even more!

I dont tell him nearly enough how much I appreciate all he does for me and the family.  There is just not enough time in the day even if i was to tell him every min or every second how much i am thankful and how much i love him.  He goes to school full time, works well over 40 hours each week and still comes home to help me with the girls and housework.  I am just amazed at how well he has done in his job and know its because he is such a great man and hard worker.  He is only 24 years old and has his own corporate T-Mobile store, and is supporting me and the two girls. Plus he owns his own home and pays 2 car payments each month.  How freaking amazing is that?! I dont know what I would do without him.. At times I know he is stressed to the max because he has a lot of pressure being the only income and when I offer to go back to work his response is always the same.. he wants me to stay home and raise our girls and focus on school. he knows school does not come easy for me and that my major is very time consuming and supports me in any way that he can. 

I love you so much Brandon and words cant even describe how thankful I am for you and all you do for us :) The past 6 years have been amazing and I cant wait to see how far we come and achieve in the next 6 years!

Look who's TWO!

Its official... I have a 2 year old!! WOWZA! It seems like Kinsey should still be crawling around and eating baby food :( Her birthday this year was so much fun to plan because I knew she would love it!  We went the the Sesame Street theme and focused more on Elmo since he is her favorite. 
The morning of her party she woke up to balloons EVERYWHERE!! Brandon and I stayed up late the night before filling tons with helium and blowing them up as well.  Her face was priceless and made it all worth it :).  I also cooked her favorite breakfast, eggs, bacon, and pancakes! YUM YUM!
We kept her party simple this year with just close family, but geez louise my house was still packed full! Kinsey has so many family members that love and spoil her.  At her party we served some of her favorite afternoon snacks, they were all kinda random but I didnt have any left overs so they all must have been good ;).  We had little smokies, 7 layer dip, fruit with the marshmallow and cream cheese dip, popcorn, and some of her favorite candies. Her cake this year was AMAZING!! I am so glad I paid someone to make her cake haha If you ever need someone to make a great themed cake that also tastes yummy I highly recommend this girl.  You can check out some of her work here and here.  Kinsey was a spoiled little girl and had tons of fun at her party! Thanks to all of you who came out to celebrate with us :)

Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan got her this dress and if I could I would have her wear it every day!! She loves wearing it and I love seeing her in it!

So happy she FINALLY got the Elmo from mom and dad.. she had wanted it since Christmas!

So this was one of those $1 toys at Target and I thought it was a good idea when I saw it... but I am kinda regretting my decision lol she LOVES to play it all day!!!!!

4 generations :)

I am THE luckiest wife and mommy in the world!! I love my family :)

On the actual day of Kinseys birthday we decided to take her to the Living Planet Aquarium since she loves water and fish!  She had such a great time and didnt want to ever leave lol.  When we first got there I whipped out my camera to start taking pics and guess what... my freaking batteries were DEAD!!! Just my luck.. so we went to the little gift shop they have to get some batteries and they only sold AAA and my camera takes AA.  Brandon, being the amazing husband he is, decided to run to a near gas station to get some and the first one he went to was completely out of batteries so he had to walk further to another one and finally got some LOL! What a man! Her favorite station, by far, was the sting ray pool.  I dont think she liked the sting rays as much as she loved playing in the water ha! After dinner we took her to Texas Road House.  I wanted someplace fun and somewhere I knew they would make a deal out of her birthday :) They of course put her on the saddle and gave her a big "yeeehaww!!" :)

playing with the sting rays..

what a life :)

I LOVE her so dang much!!

So she got an otter pop when we left the aquarium and of course dad picked the bright red one that would have stained her shirt pretty good.. so he made a nice bib out of a napkin LOL It actually worked quite well and she only got a little bit on her sleeve!

She did NOT want to leave the aquarium..

YEEE HAW!!

2 months, and 2 years!

Wow my girls are growing up so fast right before my eyes!  I love them to pieces and I KNOW I just have to be the luckiest mom ever to have these 2 munchkins in my life.  They are healthy, happy, smart, and just perfect.
I scheduled their appointments back to back since their dr is CLEAR out in Pleasant View and they needed to be seen around the same time anyways...

Harper is doing so well! Here are her stats:

Height: 22 inches (25%)
Weight: 10.3 lbs (25%)
Head circumference: 36 cm (3%)
She is a well rounded girl with a tiny small head :) The MA was laughing because her 36 cm head is barley touching the line so technically she is not on the charts but since it was touching she said she is in the 3rd percentile haha
*She is now awake longer during the day and I am loving it! She is such a chill baby and doesnt require a lot of attention.  She just likes to lay and watch her sister play or watch the family be goof balls that we are lol
*Her middle of the night feeding is more of a chit chat session so I have a feeling we will be getting rid of that feeding here in the next few weeks.  She will nurse for about 5 min on one side then just sit and talk and smile at me and wont eat any more!
*Harper is wearing size 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.
*Her toothless smile is THE cutest thing ever and it melts my heart every time she does it!  Her whole face just lights up :)
*Kinsey has a way with calming her down and it makes me so happy! She can get to be one onry girl and as soon as her big sis comes to see her she smiles and it happy again lol

Kinsey is growing into a WOMAN! She is 2 going on 15 lol

Height: 33.25 inches (40%)
Weight: 22.9 lbs (5%)
Head circumference: 46.5 cm (25%)
Kinsey is tall (well kinda lol) and skinny! She will be the model of the family for sure! :)
*She likes to be independent and is getting quite good at doing things on her own.  We are working on not getting so angry when she cant get something the first time.. but its rough when you cant accomplish something you want!
*DIVA is this girls middle name. Holy Cow! She is a champ at throwing "drama" tantrums to try to get her way.
*She imitates just about every word you ask her to say or say to her.  Brandon and I have really learned to watch what we say around her now lol
*Kinsey loves to eat! Im surprised with as much as this girl eats that she isnt higher in the percentile for her weight.  Its very rare for her to not have something in her hand to eat.
*Bedtime is between 8-830pm and she will sleep until about 730 or 8am.
*When tucking her in at night I HAVE to tuck in Elmo, Grover, and her bebe as well or else she will NOT lay down ha! Its a good thing she is sleeping in a twin bed now so she has room for all those "extras" :)

I LOVE being a mommy to these two little girls!!!!