S is Two Months Old!

Can you believe it? My little baby is already two months old! Makes me sad :( I'm not sure if she will be my last or not but the more I think of it the more sad I get! I just love having these little ones around. There is so much love to go around... Except I want to hog it all to myself! 

Age: Two Months

Stats: 10.4lbs and 22.5" long! She's gained 4lbs and grew over 3" in just two months! They really do grow too fast! 

Clothes: 3 months clothing seems to be fitting good. She does fit into some 3-6 months but mostly just 3 months. She is in size one diapers still! 

Favorite Activities: Eating, sleeping, play on kick n play, being worn, watching her big sister, going on walks, snuggling mommy!

Least Favorite Activities: Being away from mommy, changing her clothes, tummy time. 

Mommy's Proud Moment: She officially sleeps through the night! She sleeps from 7pm until 5am! 

Easter 2014!

Holiday's are so much more fun now that I'm a mom. Even double the fun, since I'm a mom of two precious baby girls! 

The most fun was definitely watching E get into the spirit! This is the first real holiday that she could really interact and enjoy it. She did 2 public Easter egg hunts hosted my the recreation centers and two put on by her grandparents. She was such a pro. To see a video, follow me on Instagram @cswainson924 

E LOVED visiting the bunny! She saw him three times. Twice at the egg hunts and once at the mall. She kept saying "Bunny, Bunny, Hi, Hi". She even cried when it was time to say bye. 

They each got baskets from the bunny! E got freshly picked moccs, Oshkosh coral short overalls, candy, a bunny, puzzle, purse, necklace/bracelet set, chalk and a tricycle! S got an Oshkosh coral short overall outfit, longs of rattle toys, puzzle and my first Easter bunny. 

I had to take a photo of S in her basket! I took one of E last year just like it! 

Here is a throwback to E last Easter! 

Of course I'm kicking myself for not taking better pics this year... Sigh! 

Here are a few more from our holiday! 

E is 18 months old!

It's been a whole year and a half since my life was changed for the best! I became a mommy to this beautiful girl! 

Age: 18 months 

Stats: Still the same as last month as far as I know! 

Clothes: Still 18 months size and 6 in shoes 

Favorite Foods: Sour cream, ranch, chicken, steak, Mac & cheese, animal crackers, pretzels, cheese, beans, cereal, corn, green beans, broccoli

Favorite words: "Ok", "No", "Momma", "thank you", "I you", "owwie". I also think it's the sweetest thing when I sneeze and she says "bless you". 

Favorite activities: going to the park, reading, climbing on furniture, playing with Elmo, doing her make-up when momma is doing hers, coloring. Helping burp sissy, playing on her iPad, dancing! Being outside! 

Least favorite activities: She doesn't complain about much these days. We are lucky. But she we realized she would rather be at home playing or running around outside than anything else. 

Momma's Proud Moment: That she has been sleeping in her bed part of the nights every night! This is a big accomplishment for us. I don't believe in crying it out so we put her in her bed after she falls asleep cuddling one of us and we bring her to our bed when she wakes up crying. I'm also do proud because she is becoming the best big sister. She loves to kiss, pat and help burp her sissy. 

Fun things we've done over the month: Visited the Denver Zoo, painted pottery at the mall, and saw the Easter Bunny. We haven't got a picture taken with the bunny yet, but we plan to this weekend. Last weekend when we were painting pottery she saw him and she kept saying "Bunny, Bunny, Hi Bunny!"  She kept waving then she have him a big ol hug. She got so upset when we had to leave. We are also going to go to an Easter egg hunt this weekend! 

If your the praying type...

Please, if your the praying type, can you please say one for our family! I'm not going to go into detail, but we could use it. 

15 Things Parents Should Always Remember

1. They're only little once. Rock them a little longer, soak up every cuddle, and kiss them all you can. Someday they won't want their mommy to hold them anymore. 

2. Laugh at the hard times. You know, when your toddler throws her plate of spaghetti across the room... Laugh! 

3. Make an effort to spend your time with them unplugged. Put down that iPhone, turn off that movie and just play. 

4. Have patiences. Our toddlers test them, because they are making sure we will be able to handle their teenage years. 

5. Don't compare your child to others. Every child is very different and you will have to treat them that way. 

6. Don't compare yourself to other parents; simply be the best that you can be. Just like every child is different, every parent is different. What's important to me, may not be important to another mom or dad. 

7. Having the latest toy or the newest clothes does not measure how much you love your babies 

8. Tell your children how much you love them, every chance you get. 

9. Let your children teach you a thing or two. You'd be surprised the things you could learn from an 18 month old. 

10. Take way too many pictures. 

11. Yelling gets you no where. Speak to your children the way you'd want them to speak to you. One day those cute little munchkins will be big bad teenagers. Respect them to expect to be respected.

12. Make building self-esteem a priority in your parenting. 

13. Teach them how to lose. Now-a-days kids don't know what it's like to lose. Losing helps build coping skills. 

14. Let them make mistakes... And learn from the consequences. 

15. Simply love them. Being loved is a powerful thing. 

To My Daughters

The younger generations have an infamous reputation of being disrespectful and unpleasant. It is our duty as new parents to turn that around. I have a lot I want to teach my girls but here are 30 things I want to be sure not to forget...

1. "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." - Dr. Seuss 

Be yourself, because at the end of the day all you have is yourself. So make yourself into someone you love, enjoy and admire. 

2. Life is not a race. There is always going to be someone better than you and someone worse off than you. Embrace it, don't let yourself be overcome by comparison. 

3. Don't stress. But if you do... Keep in mind that if something is bothering you that much you need to decide if you can change it or not. If you can, then fix it so there isn't a reason to stress. If not, accept it because no matter how much you stress what will be, will be. 

4. Don't blame god for your troubles. He doesn't give more to one person or another, he simply guides you. If you disobey, consequences will arise. 

5. Always do what's right, even if everyone else is doing what's wrong. More often than not, the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. In the end, doing what's right will be the easy way out. You may not understand now, but you will, with time. 

6. Set goals. And accomplish them. Make then measurable and achievable. Even the small goal met feels like the biggest victory. 

7. Things will happen, and you'll wonder why. Just know that, it will all make sense someday. It's just waiting for it to make sense that's the hard part. 

8. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Can make me stop loving you! 

9. Be loyal. To yourself, your family and you friends. Loyalty is the most sacred thing you could have in a relationship, yet is easy to forget. Don't forget, always treat people the way you want to be treated. 

10.  Honesty, really is, the best policy. If your not honest, karma will bite you in the butt. 

11.  If you can't tell me about it, you probably shouldn't be doing it. If you have to hide anything from anyone, then that's your sign to not do it. 

12.  There's no such thing as a little white lie. That little white lie gets followed up by other lies... Making it a huge lie. 

13. Care about your credit. Unfortunately, you will need credit at some point in your life. Whether it's to buy a house or car, or to prove your worth at a company. 

14.  Always find time and money to do good for others. Someday you may need someone to help you. 

15. Don't judge others. As hard as it is in society, don't do it. You will never really know the full story until you lived in their shoes. 

16. Do what makes you happy not what makes others happy. 

17. Beauty is more than perfect make-up and flawless hair. It's about attitude, presence and body image. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't beautiful. You are, you absolutely are.

18. Always dream. Without dreams, you will stay right where you are in life. 

19.  Find confidence in yourself. You won't always be happy with your body image or feel unbelievably joyful but it's important to believe in yourself and who you are. 

20. Love and be loved. In that exact order. You must love yourself before you can love anyone else. Once you've done that, don't hold it all in. Find someone to love that loves you just as much. 

21. Do things for yourself. You'll feel pride, and accomplishment. Those are things no one else cando for you. 

22. You'll make mistakes, but they are only considered mistakes if you don't learn from them. If you do, they're life lessons. 

23. Work hard. That's how you go far in life. 

24. Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Money isn't everything. Though debt will rot your soul. Make good choices but remember that no matter how big your house is, how new your car is, or how big your bank account is. Our graves will always be the same size. Having more or less money makes you no better or worse than the person next to you. 

25. Know your worth. Don't ever settle for less than you deserve. 

26. Forgive. 

27.  Don't ever count on someone else to make you happy. 

28. Don't wait for things to happen. Make them happen. They'll never get done if your waiting on someone else. 

29. Go on vacation, unplugged. There aren't many times in life where we aren't wrapped up in work, school, social media and everyday life. Take advantage of the times you can spend in paradise, on the ski slope, backpacking through Europe... Without any distractions but you, your peers and the journey you've set upon. 

30.  You are a product of unconditional love. Find a love like ours and don't ever let it go. 

I fell...

So... I fell off the 30 day blog challenge bandwagon. Whoops! I would pick back up, but I don't really want to. 

Things are going pretty great for us. I've enjoyed being with my girls the last six weeks more than anyone could know. My time is coming to an end though. I return to work Monday. I was supposed to go back at 10 weeks but something happened at the office that made me going back sooner a better idea for everyone. I just hope I don't regret it. I hope that in doing so we won't fall behind financially, that I won't miss out on the time I am rightfully given to bond with my girls and that someday I can show my girls that they can do anything they set their minds to, all by doing it myself. I love being a mother more than anything, but I also love working. Being a working mom, seems to be a better fit for not only myself but my family. I know a lot of people don't understand why I do it, and honestly they don't need to. Truth is, being a working mom gives me balance. I am a better mom because I work. I hope someday my children see me as their role model!