Letter to my baby girl

When my oldest brother graduated high school my Mom gave him a letter.  This letter was one that she wrote to all of us when we were little.  She then sealed the envelopes, put them in lock box, and waited for a special time to give them to us.  So since Austin is three years older than me I knew mine would be coming when I graduated high school or went off to college.  I got this letter a couple weeks before I went off to IU and it was very special to me then and is still special to me.  It is part of a scrap book that I made as a project I had to do my senior year.  I love doing special things for people that really mean something and when I started Lanie's blog it was more for family just to keep updated with our little bug, but it has turned into something special that I can't wait to give to Lanie one day.  So for her last post I am copying my Mom and writing her a letter only in electronic form.  Her blog will be turned into a book and given to her during a special time in her life.  Not really sure when that will be yet, but I think the moment will present it's self and I will know.  Of course I won't forget about Zoe she will get something special too! 

Lanie Bug,
    
      You are such an amazing little girl and from the second you came into this world bright eyed and alert I knew you had my heart.  I never knew I could love something so much and so quick.  You are two years old going on fourteen! You are so strong willed, independent, adventurous, silly, and sweet.  I love it when we read books before bed and you wrap your little arms around my neck and tell me you love me.  It really does make anything that happened that day go away because in that moment everything is perfect.  You love your Daddy so much! When he comes home from work your face lights up and you always run to him with open arms.  I am pretty sure you have had him wrapped around your finger since the moment he laid eyes on you. I love how he will wrestle with you, play horsey, and have a tea party all in one afternoon.  You recently became a big sister and even though you are learning how to share everything from your toys to Mommy and Daddy's attention you are doing a great job and I can see how much you love baby Zoe.  You always want to give her kisses and you have to know where she is at all times just to make sure she is alright. I love watching you grow each day and love each new phase that we get the privilege as your parents to be a part of. You love playing with your cousins and you have plenty to play with! Your Mimi is one of your favorite people and you melted your Papa's heart the first time he held you.  Your Grandma Sandy lights up with joy every time we visit and your Papa Dick loved to cuddle you when you were little.  All your Aunts and Uncles love you very much! You are fearlessly independent and even though sometimes now that drives me crazy I know it will be one of your strong traits as you get older. You are our first born and everything we do is trial and error! Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs ever, but also the most rewarding!  I love your smile, your little laugh, and your never ending questions.  I have prayed for you since the moment I knew we were expecting you.  I pray that God protects you, guards your heart, and just like the veggie tales song we sing in the car I pray that Jesus lives in your heart.  I pray for the woman you will become and that you will always make choices that would make not only us proud, but your heavenly father proud.  I pray for the man that will one day ask your Dad for your hand in marriage and that he loves God just as much you do. I pray for so many things, but above all I pray that you are happy.  I have a favorite poem that I always share with my students by a poet named Sarah Kay. The poem is titled if I should have a daughter and I bought you the book and read it to you about once a week because the poem really wraps up what I want for you in life, but there is one section that I love more than anything. 

"I'll tell her that this world is made out of sugar.
it can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out & taste it.
“baby,” i’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier
but your papa is a warrior & you are the girl with small hands
& big eyes who never stops asking for more.”
remember that good things come in threes
& so do bad things & always apologize when you've done something wrong
but don’t ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.
your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing." 

I can't wait to continue this journey with you because if the first two years are any clue to what the rest will be we are in for a wild ride.  We won't always agree on things and I am sure there will be times you hate me and times I want to lock myself in the bathroom and scream or sit with a glass a of wine trying to tune out you and your sister fighting over a pair of shoes, but I wouldn't change a thing and I thank God every day for bringing you into my life my little Lanie Bug :) 

Love, 

Mommy

Sweet Sisters :)

I will be the first one to say when we went to our ultrasounds to find out the sex I was nervous!  I always want a healthy baby above anything, but I also was having really mixed feelings about the thought of having another girl.  I see so many different types of sister relationships the good, the bad, and the down right ugly.  I grew up with two older brothers and my Mom grew up with three older brothers so I would tell people I don't know how to do this sister thing, the drama, the fights over stealing someones shirt or shoes, the I am mad at you one second and now we are best friends saga that seems to go on between sisters.  I also am very close to my Mom and I love the idea that Lanie and I will get to share that, but I wasn't sure how that would work if I had to do that with both my girls, so when we had our reveal party and the icing on the inside was pink I had a small freak out inside.  As their mother I still have no idea how to deal with all the things that will be coming my way in the coming years, but as I see my GIRLS it warms my heart to know that no matter what they will have a best friend for life.  I am not a super emotional person, but a couple mornings ago after I had laid Zoe back down after her early morning bottle and Lanie was getting up for the morning my big girl came running to me with arms open ready for a big morning hug and almost immediately she asked "where my baby sister" she is so excited to be a big sister :) With them only being 2 years and 3 months apart it is going to be super fun to see all the adventures they are going to have along the way and the best part is they will get to share them with their sister (and hopefully a couple with their Mom!)

Water baby

Last week update: Lanie loves to swim, but does not like sprinklers! Lanie's Mimi bought a little pool for the grand kids and who would have thought a little $10 blow up pool would bring so much joy to a two year old.  Of course half of that excitement is the pool the other half is her cousin Lala that comes to play with her.  Last week Lanie, Zoe , and I went to Mimi's and meet Aunt Chandra and Lala there for an afternoon of fun, Mark was paint balling like a crazy man all afternoon so we thought we would have some fun too :). Later that night grandma sandy and papa dick came to visit and Lanie got everyone to push her in the swing which is still one of her favorite things to do.

Today: Mark is doing last minute things to the rental house because we hand off the keys to our new tenants on Friday.  So the girls decided to go to Burdette and walk on the trail for a little bit and play on the playground.  Lanie has not been wanting to stay in a stroller so I didn't even think to bring hers about half way through the walk the combo of walking, being hot, and doing some major exploring Lanie had a melt down and wanted to be in a stroller! So the walk ended with me strolling Zoe and carrying Lanie, let's just say I was exhausted and seeking out a double stroller! My sister in law has a sit and stand one so I am going to try it it to see if it works for Lanie and Zoe.  Oh the adventures of being a mom to two little ones :)

Lanie has two more weeks of her own special blog and then we will become Wade Weekly. I looked back and started this one when Lanie was 4 weeks old so I thought that would be the perfect time to switch it over.

Lanie is a big sister!

She is here she finally arrived!!!! Lanie is a big sister now and oh what fun she is having.  She really is getting better each day that our sweet Zoe is around.  I think she has finally figured out that she isn't going anywhere and that our home is now Zoe's home too :) It has been a great week with Mark home and adjusting to being a family of 5 ( I have to count Mike the dog).

Zoe came into this world in all her glory at 5:34 weighing in at 9lbs 6oz and 21.5 inches long! I knew she was a big girl in there I just didn't realize that she was that big.  Eventually I am going to close out Lanie weekly and make it into a book for our sweet first born and the blog will then become Wade Weekly, catchy I know. But I with demands of a newborn and well just watching Lanie become a big sister I wanted to carry out her first several weeks as a big sister on her very own blog.  She is learning to literally share everything so I thought I would let her still have her blog for awhile longer. Also I have to figure out exactly how I am going to get this printed in book format :) I will post some pictures soon of our sweet new girl, but the best part is that she is here and healthy!

Busy, Busy, now waiting

I wrapped up another school year, but really today is the first day that has been laid back.  We own a rental property (aka: our house that would not sell) we had great tenants, but they informed us in April that they would need to be leaving in June due to needing more space, so the search began.  We asked around to see if anyone we knew would like to rent it and after a brief panic attack of thinking no one was going to and Mark and I would have to carry two mortgages I decided to put it on a site for rental homes here in Evansville.  Wow was I shocked when within the first 15 min of being on the site we already had 5 apts set up to meet people and show them the house.  Obviously I didn't want to take it down until we had a lease and security deposit for new tenants, so for the next 5 days I was averaging 7-10 phone calls a day about the property! Mark has a good sense on meeting people and gut feelings and I took care of all the applications and paper work.  So last Thursday and Friday we meet with six different people all who were interested and all were seriously great people.  Mark got a good feeling from the first couple and I really liked them too so after doing some responsible landlord phone calls we decided on them.  They signed their lease and gave their security deposit last week and will move in at the end of June, one more thing to cross off the list. Our deck finally got finished after rain delays and some old ladies railing that needed squeezed in before they started ours and it looks awesome! We love to spend time out there and I finally feel like its not an accident waiting to happen, check. Then we had other things like a friends wedding, a birthday party, finishing some stuff in the babies room, work stuff, etc. The problem is I told this new little miss to stay put until all that stuff was done and now that it's done well.......she is still staying put! I go to the doctor on wednesday and we will talk about an induction so it looks like she will be here one way or another real soon! As our little family is patienty waiting we are just having as much fun as this over tired mommy can handle.  We have been hitting up the library, spending time with cousins, hanging out with Mimi and papa, overall just trying to give Lanie as much special attention as possible because pretty soon she is going to have to share her mommy and daddy!!



Lanie on her 'birth' day , hopefully soon we can post one of her sister :)

Lanie on her 'birth' day, hopefully soon we will post one like this of her sister,

She loves her La La

Lanie loves ALL her cousins on both sides of our family, but she seems to have a special love for her cousin Isabel.  Isabel has always been very sweet and kind to her from the second she entered our wild family.  Mark and I have never had Lanie call people by names she just comes up with them and if they stick around then we go with it.  For several months she even called her Daddy by his first name!  She recently has gone back to calling him Daddy.  She calls my mom her Mimi and even though she calls Isabel by her name all of the sudden she has started calling her La La.  She talks about her La La all the time.  Almost every morning on the way to daycare she either wants to go see her Mimi or her La La.  This morning it was all about La La and how she wanted to play with her and see her.  Lanie is only two and Isabel is six, but it is awesome how sweet she is to her little cousin.  She tends to stay back with her when all the older cousins are playing and running around.  She always gives her hugs and kisses, and tries to make sure she is included. I love the little bond these two have and hope that it just keeps getting stronger.  Isabel is such a sweet soul and Lanie is lucky to have such a great big cousin to look up too.  She sure does love her La La :)

La La is the one in the green long sleeves with the fun funky socks!

Get in the box!

36 weeks pregnant with our second little miss (yes, still no name),  a very active 2 year old, working full time, and other activities that fill up our family calender, I am TIRED!  My students finished their big state testing last week so we are just riding out the last 3 1/2 weeks together and I am pretty sure Lanie thinks the only way I can play now is laying down.  She gets really excited when Daddy gets home because he is full of energy to play with her.  My to do list before the baby comes grows every day, my kitchen floors need cleaned, and we are currently looking for new tenants for our rental house, and most days when I get home from work I have just enough energy to get to the couch! I know that my God is a good though and everything falls into place when I trust in him. 

The thing that I am most thankful for these days is the amazing Daddy that Lanie has.  I know he works hard and very long days too, but when he gets home he is ready to go again and wrestle with our ball of energy. Last week I was in Atlanta from Wed- very late on Friday so it was just Mark with Lanie.    When I got home I had a package which was the new baby's bedding.  After opening the box I knew Lanie would want to play in it because what two year old can resit a big empty box.  If you have meet our little bug you will know she is a very determined and strong willed child.  As she was playing in the box she wanted her Daddy to get in with her.  Mark tried to explain to her several times that he was too big and that he wouldn't fit, of course she was not having it so she began to say over and over again "get in the box daddy", so being the good daddy he is he made he wish come true and when Mark got in the box she thought it was the best thing ever.  These two make me laugh everyday :)

I just wanna play!

Lanie is a ball of energy! She seriously is go go go from the second she gets up to the moment she goes down for the night.  She does take a nice nap in between, but with being 33 weeks pregnant there are times that this mom takes a nap too!  I haven't figured out how to take the naps Mon-Fri while I am at work, but with teaching highschoolers they would either not care at all or tell everyone that the crazy pregnant teacher is sleeping during class.

Saturday was a busy day as usual for the Wades.  I put some stuff in a garage sale that our friends were having so after a rough night with Lanie, she was having some bad dreams or at least that's all we can think of.  I was up bright and early to help with set up and garage sale doings.  I left the sale midway through to go to a meeting with Mark and Lanie for our church called Vision Day.  At the meeting we got to meet neighbors and other organizations that are throwing into Jacobsville and looking at the long term plan to make it a great neighborhood again.  Little miss came with us and for a two hour meeting she was really good.  It was in a gym so for the most part Mark and I separated and set up a perimeter and just let her run and play with the other kids there. While she was running around having a blast she got way to excited and stopped paying attention to where she was going and ran straight into a table.  Since she was running and I move a little slower these days I was right behind her and could see what was going to happen, but couldn't do much about it.  As soon as she fell down of course there was a cry and a look around for Mommy.  I was right there to scoop her up and reassure her that everything was alright.  It took a total of 60 seconds for her to request to keep playing.  So I kissed her ouchy and put her down and she happily continued to run expect with a little more awareness this time around.

I couldn't help, but relate this to our relationship with our heavenly father.  When we get braver we tend to run just a little to far ahead of him and even though he can see that we might run straight into some trouble, he is right there to pick us up, kiss our bumps and bruises, help us learn from our mistakes, and let us run again, hopefully with more awareness.

Lanie is reassured time and time again that Mark and I are there for her when she needs us, just like we are reassured that God is there for us ALL the time.

Pretty soon he will have two little girls to read too :)

 

Easter

Easter is always exciting for me.  I love that it is centered on Christ and his love for us. I recently read a blog from a gal and I thought it was such an amazing post.  The gist of the post was that she was at a Panera and watching a very busy father with his young daughter.  From the outside it looks like the father is annoyed, frustrated, and too busy for his sweet three year old daughter, but being a full time working parent with a two  year old I know you can't always judge the book by it's cover! So even though that part of her post bothered me the bottom she compares it to Gods love for us.

"What follows for me is realization. I’ve never felt the extreme depravity that this little girl lives with every day – and so it takes an encounter with that depravity to realize what I do have. I have a God who delights in me. He sees hope, grace and beauty in me. He sees my potential. I’m not an inconvenience to Him. When we share a table, He takes no calls."

This ladies post was a double reminder for me to forget about other things in life and sit and listen to my daughter even though I can only understand about 60% of the things coming out of her mouth and that our God loves us more than I will ever be able to humanly comprehend!

Sorry the lame picture, this gal does not sit still for pictures anymore so I take what I can get!



Our Easter relay game my Mom made up. It included a variety of group activities, a couple being the whole team running around the house, hopping like a bunny around the tree, and ABC's as fast as you can! We are a competitive family :)

Spring Break 2013

So I took a little break from posting it has been busy with a capital B around the Wade house hold.  My job always has me moving in ten different directions, but there seems to be three times a year it becomes even busier.  The start of the year, October when I hold my annual IEP meetings, and the end of the year with testing, banquets, dances, graduation, etc.
So this year when my Mom and Dad told us they were going to Destin for SB and invited Mark and I to go with them my only thought was "heck yes", I immediately asked Mark if he could get off, but the truth was Lanie and I were going with or without him!  He did get the week off and it made the trip even more fun with crazy Daddy to continually entertain our two year old :)
I haven't gone on a spring break since college and with being a teacher I feel like I should have done something with 7 years of getting a spring break.  The first year I had no money, the second year I was buying a house, the third I was gearing up for our wedding, the fourth I can't remember, the fifth we had a newborn, the sixth we thought we would have sold our house, and would be working on moving, but instead just did fun stuff around Evansville, and then this year finally got to get away :)
We had such a great time and Lanie once again rocked the 12 hour drive she just watched 12 hours of movies (hey it kept her happy so we were happy).  Once we got down to FL it was a little chiller than we had hoped, but we got three good days in at the beach, 2 good days in the pool, and lots and lots of sunshine filled days which is what I was looking forward too.  The whole crew filled their tummies with seafood every night, Mark and I got to have a special night kid free for our anniversary dinner, and Lanie got all the attention her little heart could take from Mimi and Papa. All in all it was an extremely laid back, relaxing, fun trip.  Let's be sure it doesn't take another 7 years for the Wade family to go on a spring break trip :)

Celebrating 4 years of awesome!

Found her shadow and was amazed

No fear, unless it's the shower and then she is terrified

Serious obsession with her Mimi

Being two is tough, but super cute!

Lanie has entered the wonderful 2's.  I am playing mind games with myself that if I call it wonderful then maybe she won't be terrible.  The scary thing is I have heard 3 is a lot harder ekkk!  The other day I was reading a blog by a very funny guy and he had a post called 46 reasons my child may be freaking out.  I was cracking up while reading it because Lanie does about 35 of them. Things like, I picked out the wrong pants, we can't understand what she is saying to us, she wants to do it by herself (ever though she can't), a balloon she got 6 weeks ago is suddenly gone (this seriously just happened), food is to hot even though it's yogurt, our dog looked at her wrong, she told me she has to potty but wants to go by herself but wants me to stand by the door all speaking in a language I don't I understand!

One of my good friends just told me she is going to be a Mommy for the first time.  I was so excited for her and was jumping for joy at her news.  Then I continued to tell her babies are easy, toddlers are insane!  Lanie might look just like her Daddy, but she is stubborn and bullheaded like her Momma and her and I even at two go round and round.  Mark thinks the whole thing is hilarious and just laughs at us.  That night Mark stayed home with Lanie and my girlfriend and I went out for dinner at a real restaurant that was exciting!  She asked me if I had any parenting advice and I said that I cross my fingers and pray really hard that I get something right and some days if she is safe and asleep in her bed at night then that is a win in my book!!!!!

Lanie is a fun, spunky, strong willed, full of energy, and seriously cute.  I know I am her Mom so I am biased, but really she is cute just look at some of her two year photos :)

 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!!!

Holy cow Lanie is two years old!  This cute ball of sunshine is the light of Mark and I's life.  It's crazy how such a small human can bring so many emotions all at one time.  In any given day I can go from frustrated to laughing at something she has done in 20 seconds.  So many big changes have occurred in the past couple months for this big girl.  She is 98% potty trained (pure torture ), moved to a big girl bed, is eating at the big kids table at daycare, and moving from the pac n play room during nap time to the cot room this week.  Along with all her big girl rewards and new adventures she is getting to go experience there is also challenges that we are learning how to navigate as parents. Most of the time I feel like we are complete failures and then other days I feel like we did a pretty good job, but I guess that is what being first time parents to a toddler is all about.  Who knew sitting during a meal was going to become a luxury, I now understand why my friends with toddlers very rarely go out to eat.  I feel like we are moving away from baby into full blown toddler and we better buckle up because I think Mark and I are in for a ride.  Pretty soon we will have to take on the challenge of newborn and toddler.  Even though everyday gets a tad more uncomfortable I think I am needing the few more months to mentally prepare for this adventure!!!  On to Lanie's birthday party pictures.  We had a small family party this year and it was fantastic.  Everyone had a hot diggity dog time and Lanie is one lucky girl to have so many people love her so much : )

Build a Bear on her birthday

Her new horse, Joey 

Birthday Party Time

Game time- classic Bozo game

Pin the bow on Minnie

She loves her doc mcstuffins set she is always making sure we are healthy