eat, sleep, and cars...

cars... it's what Asa's livelihood depends on these days.  a boy after his daddy's heart.

from the moment we step downstairs in the morning 'til his head hits that crib mattress at 8pm... cars.

getting him to pause for meals, naps, and diaper changes has become such a chore!

a huge part of me loves to see my boy growing and figuring out what makes him tick.

it's also been a giant help when it comes to nursing... his new friends lightening mcqueen and tow-mater are enough to distract him from wanting to crawl into my lap and on top of Bellamy.  and, an added bonus >> i don't have to resort to turning on the toons!

the downside >> tantrums have been thrown into the mix a little more lately :/

you know, when i've gotta snag the car for meals and naps.

as i'm typing, Bellamy's snoozing and Asa is taking tow-mater for a drive underneath our dining room table. up, around and through every chair.  sometimes Blue gets in on the fun... he fills in as a freeway for the cars when the rest of the house doesn't make the cut... "vroom vroom, beep beep" up his back, down his head and off his snout.  Blue just sits there.  it's precious.

{i've gotten some footage of it, but can't seem to figure how to upload it onto my blog}

some days i just sit and watch him.  i laugh to myself when he lines them all up and pushes them one by one through the candlesticks as if it's a tunnel... praying he doesn't hear me, cause then he knows mommy's watching and suddenly he's not so attentive... he jumps up and decides that he might like to terrorize Lady {our siamese cat} instead.

of course this obsession makes his daddy proud.  Justin, who eats, sleeps and breathes cars... all kinds, but Ford Classics, in particular.

Asa's even got a t-shirt from Lucky Brand with the "Geniune Ford Parts" emblem on it.  love it!

a lot of my days, lately, look like this.  i think i'm starting to find a balance between the two kiddos... a routine of sorts.  and if the highlight of it all is getting to watch my boy's imagination unfold while he "beep beep"s around with his little cars, that's alright with me!  in fact, it's perfect.

Bellamy and bottles...

today, i decided... i'm okay with this.

it's been pretty hard {emotionally} to not be nursing every time, but it's pretty amazing how much happier she is after a bottle as opposed to the breast, sadly.

i've also quite liked taking advantage of the 'break' that a bottle gives me.

while Justin or {insert friend or family member here} feeds her, and after i pump, i try to take in a little extra time focusing on my boy.

so, it's not as bad as i anticipated.  i can do this.

i have a baby milestone app on my iPhone that i like to check {for funsies} whenever Bellamy accomplishes something new... 

i feel like mommas have milestones too... i always get so anxious whenever we switch something up... i.e. giving her a bottle for the first time.

next, we'll be moving her out of our room and into the crib.. and this weekend, we're leaving BOTH babies with Justin's mom to go out on Friday night. panic!

it seems silly, i know... i just need to take a couple deep breaths.

here's to a new day!

one last thing.... if you don't have plans this Friday night, i'll see you here!

the dairy {allergy} fairy strikes again...

i'm talkin' allergies here.

Bellamy's taking after her big brother, Asa, in more ways than one. 

she has an infant allergy to dairy protein :(

a small part of me is happy to have found this out... i needed answers as to why she writhes in pain after feedings and when she's trying to poo.

i can't count the amount of times i've cried these last few weeks because i couldn't fix it.

when Justin would hold her as she cried, it didn't seem to phase him... apparently he has some happy place he goes to mentally that mothers or i just don't possess.  

i decided to cut all dairy out of my diet about a week ago, before we had any diagnosis.

it seemed to help a bit, but only really just take the edge off.

so, our pediatrician referred us to a  pediatric gastroenterologist.

her appointment was this morning and Justin took her so i could spend some QT with our boy {it hasn't been just me and Asa since Bellamy was born}.

they examined a stool sample and found traces of blood in it, indicative of a dairy allergy.

we found the same with Asa, but his was very obvious... changing a diaper with bloody poo can be a little scary for momma.

so, although i'm no stranger to the changes that have to be made to accommodate this pesky little allergy... it won't be any easier and a diet without cheese is just plain terrible!

since i've eliminated dairy and Bellamy's still struggling, we're gonna try a 50/50 approach.

i'll alternate every other feeding with breastmilk and alimentum formula.

breastfeeding is such a beautiful thing... an amazing bond that i've been blessed to have with both of my children and i'd really hate to give it up.  i'm not near ready and i don't think baby girl is either.  Asa weened himself around 10 months, b/c i was pregnant and my supply depleted significantly.  we don't plan on having another as close as our first two are, so Bellamy's in it for the long haul... hopefully. 
all things considered, we're beyond thankful to have two beautiful, healthy, growing babies.

thank you, Jesus! 

Justin just called and said he'd be working late... which kinda stinks, considering i count the minutes from the time he leaves every morning 'til he walks back through the door.

i guess i'm saving the delicious home cooked meal for tomorrow night... tonight, we'll have chicken nuggets.

casual summer style for a nursing momma..

i can't say this is the beginning of fashion posting for me... 

but, being a nursing momma can be hard sometimes when it comes down dressing yourself for the day.  i want to be able to nurse conveniently and somewhat discreetly without sacrificing my love of style.

so, i thought i'd throw together a few simple examples of what my day to day might look like.

{however, don't be fooled... some entire days are spent in my pajamas. and that's okay.}

take it away, polyvore...


1} a button-down for easy access, paired with minimal jewelry and an over-the-shoulder satchel
2} a flowy top can also serve as a cover!
3} maxi dresses are the way to go... no hassle!
side note : these days, if i wear a necklace, i keep it simple... if not, just amp it up where bracelets and earrings are concerned...

i've got some 'splainin to do...

it seems i've been violently shoved off of the blog train!

there are quite a few culprits... 

they are :

1} the mean little devil known as acid reflux that keeps stealing my baby girl's joy.

2} the fact that most days it's just me and the kiddos 'til whenever daddy gets home...

they're rarely sleeping at the same time (i'm working on this with miss Belle) and when Justin walks through the door, it's time for some QT.

3} when i do have free time, there's laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, floors to be swept/mopped, rugs to be vacuumed, meals to be cooked... the list goes on. (this is not me complaining)

4} i don't have a laptop... if i want to do anything significant on the web, i have to steal away to our desktop computer that sits downstairs in the corner of our dining room.  

i can pretty much do everything from my iPhone (i.e. emails, facebook, google, instagram, shopping, etc.), but have you ever tried blogging from one... not the best.  also, when i do finally get the chance to sit down at the computer, i've usually only got enough time to upload and edit some photos.

5} i'm hormonal.

i'm typing this with mini breaks every 2 minutes to soothe Bellamy, and Asa's at my feet playing with the printer.

i know, it's only 2 kids. it's been done before. my mom did it and her's before her. and i know i've got it easier than a lot of other mommas.

i just need a little bit longer to wrap my head around things and figure out what sort of dynamic works best for our new family of 4.

a little grace.

i can't count the amount of times i've thought over the past few weeks 'this needs to go on the blog' , let alone 'i need to be taking pictures of this' or 'i should call so-and-so to catch up for a bit' or 'i can't forget to write that down'

so, this is me sortin' out my priorities and saying... i'll do it when i can.  whether it's 4 times a week or once every 2.

hopefully, i can catch up on things before another little munchkin is on it's way into the mix ;)  ha!

i truly do love this little life i've been so blessed with.
really working on taking the bad with the good and making the very best of it all!