Daddy's Birthday!

As you know, we LOVE birthdays in the Barksdale household and today is Mac's special day! He is 32 years young and is the most wonderful husband, father and best friend I could ever ask for. We have grown together (he was 22 when we started dating) and we have found ourselves more deeply in love and stronger as the years go by. One marriage, 2 dogs, 2 houses, 9 Christmases, 2 children and countless vacations later, he is still my best friend and love of my life. Happy Happy Birthday Mac, we love you!!!!

xoxo

Random Cuteness

I am having one of those tired days where I seem to lack creativity but wanted to post some cute pics from the past week :)

Betsy Grace LOVES having her picture taken and now that sister is on the scene, she loves it even more. She always wants to hold her but doesn't really get that you actually need to "hold her", so we place her safely beside :)

We had the Cowdens and the Utseys over for dinner this past weekend and the kiddos had a blast playing together. Van was a sport to hang with the girls!

Eating dinner

Playing the piano

and just for kicks, one more with sissy :)

This is the random cuteness... Here is BG with her new Elmo pj's courtesy of Beece and SanSan (Walmart Sunday Special). She is fresh out of bed and immediately grabs her purse and bunny ears, then says "Daddy, picture" What a ham!

xoxo

Keys to Survival

We are starting to get the hang of this life with 2 kiddos but it isn't without help from a few items and people :) Multi-tasking has taken on a new meaning and while I am so thankful for 2 sweet little girls, mommy needs little help sometimes!

1. The Paci- Sutton LOVES her paci and Betsy Grace has a new title as "Paci Patrol". When Sutton starts to cry, not a second passes before BG tells me to get the paci. If we are in the car and she starts screaming, my first born yells so loud for the paci that we have to pull over and give it to her. And if the paci just doesn't seem to do the trick, Betsy Grace will say, "No paci mommy, Baa-wool (bottle)" Can you tell who is ruling the roost around here?!?!

2. The Swing- Love this thing!!! Sutton could sit in here for days and would, except for the fact that big sis thinks she needs to give her an extra push and it just makes me nervous. So we use the swing when BG is away or asleep and it allows me to get a lot of things done!

See what I mean...she can hear the back and forth motion from a mile away and b-lines to assist!

3. Movies- I am not talking about Toy Story 3, I am talking about video recordings of you know who :) She LOVES to watch herself on camera and I am sure that you think this is vain but it buys me a lot of time. Mac and I have done a couple of videos (pics put to music) for Betsy Grace over the past couple of years and she will sit here and watch and dance...a couple of times played through is a perfect amount so that I can feed Sutton....works like a charm :)

4. Presents- We are still receiving presents from sweet friends and Betsy Grace is obsessed. She loves the wrapping as much as the gift and this sure can turn a frown upside down!

5. The stroller- Before Sutton was born, BG went on a stroller strike. She would not even let me put her in the darn thing but I found that if we travel with snacks, juice and our beloved purse, she does just fine. This is key for my sanity these days because I get exercise and it is the one time during the day where everyone is under control.

Sutton loves the stroller too!

6. The Purse- You saw it in the pics above and when I tell you that she is obsessed and attached, it is for real! She can't leave home without it and it never leaves her arm in the house. I don't let her sleep with it but catch me on a bad day and I might :)

These are just a few things, others are very obvious like my amazing husband who jumps right in the minute he walks in the door at night (he has no choice because BG has been just waiting to boss him around). My mom and my mother in law, who are so generous and selfless with their time. Coffee and prayer time in the morning is so key. But really what keeps me going is the two little lives that make my world. Yes it's crazy and chaotic but it's also sweet and wonderful and I wouldn't trade my blessings for anything!

xoxo

CheckUp Time!

I was very brave this past Monday and took both girls in for their checkups...Betsy Grace for her 2 year and Sutton for her 1 month. We took Beece (formerly B, my mom, but now BG has renamed her) and it would have been a nightmare without an extra pair of hands. Both girls were great but it was just a lot going on and a little chaotic. Needless to say, we have 2 very healthy girls! Betsy Grace is right in the middle (50th percentile) in her achon charts and her head measurement has stayed the same, yay! We watch her head closely to make sure that compression is not occuring at the base of her neck, which could cause water in her brain. She was so full of herself, running around in just her diaper...the doc could easily see that she is such a rockstar, no problems or issues, praise God! And little Sutton bear has gained 2.5 pounds since birth!!! I was a very proud mommy of both girls and even though it was a time saver, I think I will take them one at a time from here on out :)

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks...

We had dinner at Beece and SanSan's last Sunday night and we all had a blast, especially BG who got most of the attention :) Sutton is going to have to learn some tricks fast if she wants any part of the show!

Sutton with her Great Grandmommy

Betsy Grace being a ham...trying to put on her cute face so that someone will take her outside.

Problem was that it was raining and she was not happy

Cousins Braden and Carl with Aunt LouLou

Betsy Grace is such a helpful big sis, she is obsessed with making sure that Sutton has her pacis. Funny because she never liked them herself :)

Giving her little sis a kiss on the mouth...you can tell by Sutton's red face that Betsy Grace is enjoying the moment way more than she is!

Mommy and Daddy don't get much quiet time with our little muffin but we have been enjoying the couple of hours in the evening, after BG goes down.

Sweet little girl resting on her daddy's chest

xoxo