mornings

my favorite time with the girls. libby sleeps so good at night and wakes up all smiles. we all gather in our bed and cuddle and talk.

 

 

2 months

had libby's 2-month checkup yesterday. she's grown to 12 pounds 2.5 ounces, 23 inches and her head is 40 centimeters - all of that is mostly in the 75th percentile. the doctor said she's looking great and she's hitting all of her milestones, like moving her eyes to follow an object and holding her head and shoulders up while on her belly.

 

national champs!

i'm not a football fan, but even i think it's exciting that auburn didn't lose a game all season, and won the championship game at the last possible second. i had to take hannah to toomer's corner today to check out all the toilet paper. she really got a kick out of it. you can click the collage to see it bigger.

top 10 moments of 2010

thanks to my friend, brenna, for this idea. last year was one of the most eventful we've ever had. it's hard to believe i got pregnant AND had a baby all in one year. we spent a lot of time preparing for libby, and soaking up all of the alone time with hannah that we could. so here are our top 10 moments of 2010 in no particular order (except for the obvious number one!), and a slideshow of pictures.

tim's birthday
we went to montgomery for dinner and a biscuits baseball game. the rainbow before the game and the fireworks after the game were added bonuses. 

hannah's birthday
went to the movies to see despicable me and then to dinner for pancakes. i think a movie and pancakes will have to be our annual birthday tradition.

trip to savannah, ga. over 4th of july weekend
our second trip as a family. it was a lot of fun to explore somewhere none of us had been before. we took a sight-seeing tour, did a lot of walking, visited the beach, saw some dolphins, went to a few candy stores (hannah's favorite), ate a lot of good food, and saw the fireworks. overall, a great trip.

white christmas
we had a pretty perfect christmas last month. tim had been talking about how he'd never had a white christmas but had always wanted one. he got his wish! we were all surprised to look out the window and see the white stuff.

potty training
no more diapers! we did it slowly but surely. and once hannah started school and saw all the other kids going to the potty, there were no more accidents.

first day of school
we made a last-minute decision at the end of summer to see if we could find a preschool for hannah. finding one that we liked and that still had openings was a challenge, but from the first moment we visited this school, hannah loved it. it was time for her to be around kids her own age, and it helped her mature and grow up a lot. on the morning of her first day, she looked so grown up. i was mostly excited for her, but also a little sad she was getting so big.

finding out we were pregnant
i had been feeling a bit off so one sunday in late march i took a pregnancy test. only because tim made me. what a shock to see that plus sign! quite an exciting one.

it's a girl!
it felt like we had to wait forever to find out if we were going to have a boy or a girl. i was so anxious to find out. on july 30th, at 19 weeks, we finally learned we would be having another girl. we took hannah to the ultrasound, and she didn't stop talking about it all day. although for the longest time, she insisted she was having a brother.

easter
we got our families together and told our parents we were expecting another baby. after church, we put hannah in a shirt that said "this little chick is gonna be a big sister." tim's dad noticed it first.

libby's birth
i was so nervous about having another c-section, but once libby was (finally) pulled out of my belly, a wave of love rushed over me like i honestly wasn't expecting. i was overwhelmed by how my heart grew. i will forever be grateful for her.


2010 from julie cottrell on Vimeo.

...and happy new year's eve!

as i type this one-handed while holding libby, i just heard her laughing in her sleep for the first time. what a sweet sound! makes me so much more excited for the new year and her first full year of life. there are SO many challenges in the first year but also so many fun and rewarding and amazing moments. i can't wait to see her and hannah grow together. i hope i can encourage them to have a great relationship, and to become best friends.

merry christmas!

well christmas has come and gone, and i've been meaning to write about it and post a few pictures for a week now. we had a great one. christmas is my favorite time of year. i love how cozy it feels in the house with the christmas tree, the christmas music and the christmas smells.

hannah, for some reason, decided she wanted a sleeping bag and candy. santa brought her both of those things. one of her favorite things was unloading her stocking. everything she pulled out she said, "oh, this is just what i needed." it was a pretty perfect day. it even snowed!

we made cupcakes for santa AND jesus' birthday... multitasking ;)

after santa's visit. hannah got a little mermaid chair with a sleeping bag zipped inside, a suitcase, art supplies, a tea party set, and a lot of little things in her stocking. libby got a crib soother and a baby gym.

one month

wow, this last month feels like both a second and an eternity. we've certainly been busy around here. libby is a great baby. it's funny how different her personality is so far from hannah's. i could tell a lot about the girls' personalities from the time they were in my belly. hannah kicked SO hard, and certain things (like the sound of the blow dryer) would really set her off. of course, i know now that that was her temper emerging! she was born with that little temper. libby was much calmer, and didn't really kick as much as she did just move and stretch. and for the most part, she is a very calm baby. she rarely ever cries, she's a great eater, and a good sleeper. sometimes she'll sleep for an hour and wake up to eat, but she can also go for as long as 4 or 5 hours. she mostly sleeps through the night, waking up just a few times to eat, but then goes back to sleep. she has three periods of being really awake - one the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night. in the past few days she's become much more alert, so we've been able to lay her on the floor and interact with her a little. friday was the day where it seemed like she really woke up from her slumber and just stared at me and babbled a little. yesterday, on her one month birthday, she rolled over! from her stomach to her back. quite advanced, if i do say so myself. ;) we took her for her one-month checkup today. she weighs 10 pounds, and is 22 inches. here are some of my favorite pictures from this month.

right after we brought libby home from the hospital. hannah is a proud big sister.

most favorite picture - what a sweet face! she has such a peaceful expression most all of the time.

she smiles a lot but i've only managed to capture this small one.

one month picture