The Last 10 Years

As I embrace a new decade of life, I want to look back at the past 10 years.  Here is a list of 10 significant events from my twenties: one for each year.

20- Performing at the 2002 Sugar Bowl (okay that's not really significant but it's the only exciting thing that happened to me when I was 20)
21- Graduated from U of I.
22- Got my job teaching for Rantoul City Schools
23- Went on a trip to Las Vegas with my best friend, Carissa (another just really awesome thing in an otherwise dull year)
24- Was "saved" by my good friend Emily.
25- Purchased my first home.
26- Married the love of my life, Walker.
27- Completed my Master's Degree.
28- Gave birth to our first daughter, Taylor.
29- Gave birth to our second daughter, Lucy.

Sure there were other important events during that time (9/11, my mom passing away) but I wanted to focus on the good things that happened.  Looking at this short list reminds me just how blessed my life is.  I'm definitely looking forward to the next ten years!

The Big 3-0

Everyone knows what your "golden birthday" is right?  When I was a kid (back when golden birthdays were actually cool) I used to think that my golden birthday was soooooooo far off (because you know turning 30 makes you old!) so its hard to believe that I finally got to celebrate it.  I must say I had a really good birthday.  We went shopping at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some curtains and hardware to replace the awful vertical blinds in our family room.  We now have beautiful curtains framing our sliding glass door! 

 

The next project I had Walker work on was installing my necklace organizer.  I got this idea from Emily so I cannot take credit at all!  I did find some great double shower curtain rings so I had more "hooks" to hang my necklaces on.  And the rod is just a $5 curtain rod.  Nice huh?

After a yummy lunch of pizza, we had some birthday cake.  It has been tradition ever since I was a kid for me to have ice cream birthday cake.  This year my cake came from Cold Stone Creamery; "Cookie Dough Delight" and yes it is definitely delightful!  Walker insisted on putting 30 candles on the cake:

I did manage to blow them all out with one breath, thank you very much!  And Taylor was the one who decorated the cake with all the fun cake gel.  She did a good job! 

Then for dinner, Walker and I got to go out (sans kids!) to El Toro where I definitely was ambitious when I ordered the pitcher of margaritas.  What in the world was I thinking?  I left the restaurant feeling way too full and just a little light headed.   Oh well, birthdays are definitely an excuse to indulge a little bit!

All and all, definitely a great day!  Next up, a look back at the past 10 years!

New Decade, New Blog!

I decided yesterday (as I entered my thirties ) that my blog needed a makeover.   Considering I'm the only one who posts on it and everything about our family on here is from my point of view, I no longer felt the need to call it the Willis Family Blog.  It's allll mine.  Besides, Walker has his own blog.  Hmmm maybe I should start following it.....
I managed to fix a few things about this template that annoyed me but there is still a problem I'm having.  See how the post title is indented?  That's because there was an image there, but I removed it because I didn't like it.  I cannot figure out how to get the text moved back over to the left.  I guess it's not a huge thing, but it irks me that nothing I have tried has worked.  I also can't get my favicon to work.  I know right now it looks like a piece of abstract art.  It's supposed to be a cute little owl.   Wait no, I changed it.  I made my own using a picture of Lucy's feet, but for whatever reason, the messed up image of the owl is still there.  I'm blaming Blogger on this one.   So enjoy the "modern art" that is my favicon. 
Post about my birthday will be coming soon. 

Lucy's 4 Month Pictures

Finally got these done!  Of course you know I had to wait for her skin to clear up which it did pretty quickly.  Although sadly some red spots came back up yesterday.  Thank goodness for photo editing!  I wish I had gotten some of her smiling- maybe I need to rethink taking her pictures first thing in the morning.  She's much more smiley after her morning nap.

I love the stink eye she's giving in this picture

We almost have a smile

Lucy is 4 Months!

It's time once again to check in on my little baby.
Weight: 12 lbs 3 oz
Height: 23.50 inches

I think she's going to be a tiny one just like Taylor.  Although, she has maintained higher percentiles than Taylor so far, the fact that her growth has slowed down tells me she will not be a chunker.  So much for having a fat baby....::sigh::

What's she doing now?  Lucy's latest trick is rolling from her back to her tummy.  She did this for the first time when we were in North Carolina.  Several times while we were there, I would find her sleeping on her tummy.  Any mommy understands the cringe I did the first few times this happened but I guess if she's strong enough to roll over that way then she's strong enough to turn her head so she can breathe.  Lucy really seems to enjoy being on her tummy.  Whenever I lay her on her mat on her back, within 2 minutes she's flipped onto her stomach.  She can roll back onto her back but sometimes she forgets and fusses at us to roll her back over.
And all that time in the bumbo must be paying off because she doesn't seem very far from sitting up on her own.  Maybe I'm saying that optimistically but I bet she'll be able to do it by 6 months.  Lucy is kind of discovering her hands.  She definitely seems to want to move them and try and get stuff but she's not very good at it yet. 

We're getting lots of cooing from Lucy.  She loves to make noise.  She also laughs more and more.  The full out belly laughs aren't a frequent occurrence but they are increasing.  Lucy definitely likes interacting with people and prefers to be sitting up looking at everyone rather than laying back.

Lucy is still a booby baby in a sense.  She has been on 100% breastmilk for the past 2 months.  Wow, I can't believe I just typed that.  It's a good thing too because as you'll see in a second, she definitely lost her taste for formula.  I did try giving her oatmeal a few days ago.  It went as well as any first feeding goes.  She's very good about opening her mouth for the spoon, but not so good about keeping the oatmeal in her mouth.  She definitely likes oatmeal mixed with breastmilk.  The one morning I made it with formula (I wasn't producing as much for a few days because of my wisdom tooth surgery) she made the most horrendous faces while I tried to feed it to her.   So I guess I better keep up the pumping!

mmm that oatmeal is pretty good mom!

Sad to say Lucy's skin has gotten worse, not better.  She has a wicked case of baby eczema that was getting better and she broke out in fresh patches the other day.  Now, it's not just on her arms but on her legs, tummy, back, face, and head.  I asked the pediatrician and he said to use hydro cortisone 3 times a day and lotion multiple times a day.  I have to admit, it's a pain getting her all the way undressed to do this but if it will clear it up, then we'll do it.  So I won't be doing her 4 month pictures until her skin clears up a bit more.  I did take a few just to show how bad it is right now:

Poor baby, right?  Hopefully we'll have new pictures in a few days with beautiful (or at least more clear) skin!

31 Gifts!

Yes I'm shamelessly using my blog to promote my 31 gifts party.  Okay what is 31 Gifts?  Think Mary Kay except with bags.  Bags that come in really cute patterns and prints and you can personalize them.  Like this super cute toddler backpack:

Does Taylor need a backpack?  Not really b/c she's not in preschool but I can't resist this!  So please check out the catalog found here; you will find plenty of great items.  If you have any questions about ordering, let me know.  Happy Shopping!!