Mother's Day/Parents' Night Out

Last weekend was Mother's Day. It was my third overall but my first as a mommy of 2! To add to the special-ness of the day, we also had Fisher dedicated at church. We decided to keep Jonah with us through the dedication and we had fingers crossed that he would behave himself in front of the entire church. Thankfully, he did really well, even though it was the largest dedication they had in a long time. 21 babies just in the second service, and we were number 20! Oh the joys of being a Yarbrough ;) After church it was back to the house for a cookout with the fam. We had a nice time sitting out on the porch chatting and just hanging out. I'm so grateful that I am the mommy to the most precious angel boys in the world!  

Of course it was Mother's Day for Nonny, too :)

Love them!

Here's some more fun stuff we have been doing lately...

Nonny and I decided to take the boys to the zoo one day. Fisher slept the whole time, and J ran around in little boy heaven, as usual. He loves the zoo and visiting all the animals. He always says the giraffes are his favorites. It was also cool, because mom hadn't been to the zoo in like 20 years! She's been missing out ;)

Seriously...little boy heaven...

My boys!

The lions were just pacing around. We saw more movement out of them than ever before. They are just such amazing creatures (from the outside looking in, of course).

Jonah the lion!!!

For some reason, he wanted to stay here and watch the river hogs for so long. We had to beg him to go see more animals.

Watching our favorites...the giraffes!

Of course, I keep trying to come up with fun projects. This was sidewalk paint. I need to try to make the real thing, but this was a shortcut way...just ground up sidewalk chalk and water. It was pretty much water with slight color. I added a little food coloring to help with the color. It was actually really cool when the water evaporated and just left the color behind.  We used stamps and made a pretty mosaic kinda thing.

It was super hot one day, so we broke out the water table and sprinkler! J loves the water table, but is still warming up to the sprinkler. He would run near it, put his little cups out just enough to get wet then run away squealing. 

Brubby played in his pod the whole time 

Jonah wanted to get in the bed with Brubby and read him a story...sweatness! 

Now on to this weekend...it was a doozy!!! I actually went back to work on Thursday and had a pretty decent day. Busy, but decent. It was nice to be back into civilization and earn a little money! Friday night we had such an amazing event at church. Kirk Cameron and Warren Barfield came to do a Love Worth Fighting For marriage event. It was so what I needed. Not that we are having problems, but every marriage needs to take time to hear what God wants for our relationship and evaluate if that is truly how we are living. We learned some things that we can both do better. Warren was such a good singer and was also hilarious! We were there a super long time, and we actually left a little early! We headed home at 10:00 to relieve poor Nonny! 

The next morning, Derek ran in the Zoo Run 5K. We decided to take both boys to give mom a break since she had them all day Thursday and then pretty late Friday night. Fisher ate right before we left, so we knew he shouldn't be a problem child, and he wasn't! The problem was that it was raining when we got there and when Derek first started running. It was also cold. This was May 17th and we had on jackets! Alabama...what are you gonna do? It stopped raining pretty quickly, so we went to the finish line to wait for Daddy! He did really well with a finish time of 27:55. Both babies did well, but Jonah didn't understand why we were at the zoo but not seeing any animals! Poor baby and his love of animals. 

After the 5K, we headed to Madison. For Mother's Day, my sweet hubby planned a mini getaway for us. We were going to stay a night at the Westin at Bridgestreet and go to dinner and a  movie and do a little shopping. It was perfection! I love my babies, but momma needs a break every now and then! We left around 2:30 and headed for freedom! We spend time away and what do we do? We shop for our kiddos. We decided to get them some presents to make up for us deserting them. Dinner at Conner's was amazing, of course. Following along with the theme of the night, we saw Mom's Night Out, and it did not disappoint. It was so true and so hilarious! I'm gonna need to see that one again. We headed back to the hotel and were asleep by 10...party people!!! The next morning we woke up and headed back to give out presents. J is so into Cars right now, so he got a few Cars toys and books. His big and little McQueens did not leave his grip for the rest of the day!

We had such a busy but great weekend. I feel so refreshed and recharged. One thing that I got from the movie was that God gave me these children to take care of and do the best I can. That might not always mean the house is clean, dishes are done, or laundry is put away. I'm not the first mom to get stressed out, and I won't be the last. My family will love me for being me. Not for being "perfect". It was exactly what I needed to hear :)

Fisher-man is 2 months old!

First up, some sweet 2 month pictures...

He has been giving us so many smiles lately!

The bluest and sweetest eyes. Oh, how in love am I?

Today was Fisher's 2 month checkup as well as Jonah's 2 year checkup. My boys did really well even though we were there for about 2 hours.

Fisher was thrilled ;)

Fisher-man was 14 pounds 1oz and 24 3/8 inches long. He was 90% for weight and length (just barely on the charts). I haven't really thought of him as a chunky baby, but once I found out he was over 14#, he all of a sudden looked so big! We had to show Dr. Bill a rash that he has ALL over. They are little red bumps all over his body. It's kinda rough feeling, too. Dr. Bill thought it was an eczema type rash. He said to use Cetaphil wash and lotion and to apply steroid cream a couple times a day until it looks better. Poor little guy is apparently going to have sensitive skin. He had to get 5 shots plus an oral immunization. I hated it so much! I cried with him. That is not any easier with the second baby. It breaks my heart to hear him crying because he's hurting. He got past it pretty quickly, so now we are just watching him to see if he gets fussy or comes down with a fever. Fingers crossed!!!

Jonah's checkup went well, too. He was 29 1/2# and 34 3/8 inches long. He was a little over average for height and right at average for weight. Dr. Bill said he is talking really well. They had a little convo in the room. "Doc Bill" asked if he had a good Easter. Jonah said "Easter Bunny brought you." I asked what the Easter Bunny brought him. He said "Tractor". He got a book about building a road that has all kinds of tractors in it. I was proud of him showing off for Doc Bill. He also said we can now switch Jonah to 2% milk. J had to get a HepA, but I brought some gummies that he tore into after his shot. He was done eating them before Fisher got done getting his shots! We hit the road and both boys fell asleep on the ride home. 

Now for some 2 month updates on Fisher Cole...

He LOVES his play mat, just like Jonah did. He gets so happy looking in the mirror and at this cute little blue elephant toy hanging above him. We try to do tummy time, but most of the time he just flips right over. We told Dr. Bill that and he said to just keep putting him on his tummy. If he flips over, he flips over.

He really loves his Minky, as we call it. He seems to be able to tell a difference in this and another paci. Definitely prefers Minky!

Still has blue blue eyes. I'm thinking they are going to stay blue :)

He has really loved being held a lot recently. He's not normally a great napper during the day, unless he's being held. He does get a pretty good nap in the afternoon in his swing. I think he prefers the swing to the bouncy seat. He sleeps in his bed at night. He goes to bed between 8-9 and wakes up somewhere between 2-6. It's pretty random and different every night. The past 3 nights, he has woken up at 5:30, 4:30, and 2:30. I dunno! He will eat and go right back to sleep, though.

He's enjoying bath time much more now. We like to put them both in the tub and bathe them together. Derek gets J and I get Fisher. This bath time was really fun. We had toddler radio going on Pandora. We were singing and dancing, and Fisher was just watching in amazement. That is until he pooped on the party...literally. Pooped in his tub! We handled it like pros, though!

Baby boy also loves his jumparoo! We just thought of it one day and put him in it. The first time he played in it, he was pretty tired and ready for bed, so it didn't really go over well. Since then, he has played and played...

And played until...

He passes out, right in the seat :) He has done this twice now. He doesn't fuss or cry. I just look at him and find him nodding off. Sweet thing just doesn't want to stop playing!

He is wearing anywhere from 0-3mo to 3-6mo clothes and size 1 diapers. He takes about 6-7oz every 3-4 hours. We did increase his Zantac dose at his appt today from 0.5ml TID to 0.8ml. We are going to try just twice a day to see how he handles it. He loves to look at our face and will give us the biggest grins and sweet baby sounds. He seems to enjoy being outside, which is good, because Jonah loves playing outside more than anything else! He has started to grab at the toys hanging on his play mat. His arm got stuck in a loop one day, and Jonah went over and very gently took it out. He's such a helper. He also said the funniest thing when we were working outside last weekend. Brubby was in his little pod and would cry out occasionally. Jonah was "helping" in the flower bed. He heard Fisher cry and said "one mim-et, Brubby, I get you". He got up and ran over to him to check on him. Oh, my dear, that sweetness!

My boys just make my heart so incredibly full. We are just a few days from Mother's Day and baby dedication at church. It will be such a special day. Dedicating my angel baby to our church and promising to raise him up in a Godly home and bring him to church to make Godly friends, as well as celebrating my first Mother's Day as a mommy of 2! I'm so very happy right now and I have my three boys to thank for that. Derek is an amazing Daddy, and I am so blessed to have him in my life. He loves our babies and loves to help, too. He will fight me over holding and feeding Fisher sometimes. Of course, him and Jonah run and play and wrestle all the time. He's so involved, and I know our boys will grow up to be incredibly men because of him.

Jonah and Fisher, Mommy has very high expectations for you two. You're off to a great start!

Love you as far as the stars :)

Disconnected

Today I decided to do the impossible. I decided to disconnect (slightly) and delete Facebook off of my phone. Sometimes I will be sitting around with my kiddos and realize that I am scrolling through Facebook instead of watching them learn something new, say something new, or do something so sweet then the moment is gone. Derek and I have talked about this before, too. How we are so addicted to social media and need to try to be better about putting down the phone for a while. Now, don't get me wrong, I spend a ton of time with my kids. I don't ignore them for texting and Facebook. However, I seem to have that phone by my side at all times. 

I watched a video on Facebook today about putting the phone down. Ironic, because I watched it on my phone. It said that you never know what you will miss out on if you don't look up from the phone. It showed people at the dinner table and in the same room together, all on their phones. Then it hit me...this is, in many ways, our lives. I am so guilty of snapping pictures of every little thing my kids do. Of course I think they are just the greatest things that ever took a breath, but don't all mommies think that about their babies? I not only snap pictures, but I am really quick to hit that share button and put it on Facebook. I realize that I post way too often, but believe me when I say, it is addicting! I want to show off those babies. But, not everyone wants to see, or NEEDS to see it. For how protective and (honestly) overbearing I am of those boys, I sure do blast them all over the internet! Not just that, but I realize that I spend so much time taking pictures of what they are doing that I actually miss what they are doing. Sometimes it's better to just sit back and watch and enjoy the moment. I don't want my kids growing up staring at the back of my phone. I do want to capture the memories and the special things that happen, but I really need to work on sharing those moments with just my kids and/or husband and not the entire Facebook world. I'm really not knocking on social media. I'm more knocking on myself for getting so wrapped up in having to know what everyone is up to and letting everyone know what I'm up to. It's silly, really, when you stop and think about it. 

So here's my bottom line. I can't drop my bad habit completely...yet. But, I can make a true effort to not let my kids always see a phone in mommy's hand, to watch instead of capture, to put the phone down and look up at the world around me, to not panic when I've been away from my phone for 10 minutes, and to just live in the moment. Why am I rambling about letting go of social media ON social media? To maybe spread the word to anyone else that feels somewhat similar to me. Try it. Today has been one of the greatest days I've had in a while, because I put my phone on the table and walked away. I could really see a difference in Jonah, too. It was a little less "terrible twos" and little more "tolerable twos". Maybe he was just having a good day, but I think it's a little more than that. And by the way...my kids are both sleeping, so I don't feel bad about whipping out the old laptop to make this post. Again, I'm not knocking Facebook, or anyone who is as obsessed about sharing things as I am. This is just something that I have decided is best for my family. So, if you don't see as much action on my page as usual, it's just because I am living in the moment and enjoying my babies while they are still babies!

Lately...

 We have been super busy lately just living life, honestly! Everyday can seem like I have a ton on my plate, but we might not even leave the house. Life with a 2 year old and a (nearly) 2 month old is hectic, crazy, loud, but oh so much fun and truly rewarding.

First up...Jonah had his 2 year pics done and we finally got them back. I was BEYOND thrilled with how they turned out. They truly capture his little attitude and personality. Posed pictures are cute, but sometimes the cutest pictures come from him "playing" and acting like himself.

He did this pose totally on his own!

This one is called "eating a goldfish because Mommy is not above bribery"

Showing us his biggest smile! He's such a ham!

This is my favorite, by far! He was playing "pee-pie" behind the tree!

Now on to my sweet Brubby-kins! I will be doing a 2 month update soon, so this is really just a hodge-podge of cuteness... 

STRETCH!

He eats dinner with us when he is awake :)

They can make the same face and it kills me!

He makes some cute little faces!

Tried to bathe him in the sink one night...Mr. Chunk is a little too big!

The first night sleeping in his bed came around 7wks old and it actually went great! I watched the monitor for about an hour before I could go to sleep, but we all slept better that night. Not that I don't love being closer to my baby, but it's nice to not feel like I can't roll over without waking him up. He slept better, too, so I feel good about moving him up to his big boy bed. 

We took Jonah on a special fun day! Derek took off and we went to the Zoo and Davenport's. Jonah was so excited about going to see the "amals"! It was nice for all of us to just devote all attention to J for some time. I feel like he gets bored sometimes and needs more attention than I'm able to give him. I loved spending special time with my Squish!

Hi sheep!

 

Fisher loves to listen to Daddy's work stories...go figure!

Tummy time! And watching Sheriff Callie ;)

The only picture from the Magnolia Festival. It was insanely hot and J was not a very happy camper. He did drive a boat, though!

And a tractor...

Baby boys leaving church! J did much better than on Easter Sunday. He's holding a cracker. I'm pretty sure he ate crackers the whole time ;)

He even sleeps like a big boy now! Handsome cutie!

We had severe weather coming with a chance of tornadoes, so Daddy picked J up a helmet! 

We ended up having the remnants of a tornado pass right through our neighborhood. Thankfully, the tornado itself was gone, but the winds were still super strong. We were in the basement and heard something that ended up being a tree falling in the front yard. We ended up losing a tree in the front and the back as well as quite a few shingles off the roof. Thankfully, no serious damage to us or our house. It was really scary, especially having 2 kids going through it, too. We got the trees cleaned up by lunchtime the next day thanks to some help from Dad and Tim, as well as a sweet neighbor with a chainsaw who came right over. 

 J is SO into lining things up. Doesn't matter what it is, he will line it up!

We took our first solo trip to the grocery store! It went fine, but was the quickest grocery trip of my life! Plus, there is just nowhere to put groceries, so we got the bare essentials!

 I am insanely in love with these angels!!!

  These pictures were just taken this morning. Fisher was playing and Jonah wanted to hold him, but I said he was playing. J then laid down next to Fisher and decided to play for a bit. It was so super cute!

Heaven's angels :)