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Adding Baby #2 to the Family

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With a 2 year old and one on the way, I have so many thoughts going through my head. Since Oakley’s been born and I’ve followed mom blogs and other moms on Instagram, it seems a lot of them have one common fear, how will I be able to love my next child as much as my first? Of course, that fear quickly dissipates the moment they lay eyes on their second child and realize that theirs plenty of room in their hearts. But for me, that isn’t a fear of mine.

My heart already feels like it’s overflowing between being Oakley’s mom and watching Andrew step into his role as dad. I know that I will love this baby just as much as Oakley and that hasn’t been a fear of mine this pregnancy. My fear (more like worries) is how Oakley will adjust. I know she will adjust just like every other sibling and the fact that she LOVES her baby dolls will help, but I still worry. The past two years it’s been just the three of us and I know it will be an adjustment for her regardless of the wonderful big sister she’s going to make. I think part of my fear stems from worry that the baby will get all of the attention and while newborns require a lot, I still want to make sure she’s getting plenty of attention too.

A couple of ways I dream about doing that is by including her in helping take care of him. She’s very independent and loves the phrase, “I do all by myself.” She also loves her baby dolls and pretends to feed them, change them, and lay them down for a nap so I hope she enjoys her real life baby doll in a week or so 😂 I picture her wanting to help get him a blanket, feed him a bottle, or give him a bath. She is a little helper whether you’re doing the laundry, making dinner, or cleaning up. She wants to be involved and in on the action. I hope that never changes as she gets older, especially when it comes to cleaning lol.

Eventually, I’d like to make sure that Andrew and I spend quality time with both of them alone. I’d love to take Oakley on a mommy daughter date once the baby is a little older and I’m sure Andrew will enjoy that too. As much as I think it’s important to spend time together as a family, I think it’s also important to spend some quality time together individually.

Oakley just recently started playing by herself. What good timing, right? However, she still wants me to play horses, dolls, or in her kitchen with her. I figure even if I’m holding him, I can still play with her and use phrases like, “your baby brother and I are going to come play with you.”

Lastly, I think she’ll really enjoy showing him around the farm and introducing him to her different animals. When people come over, she either wants to show them her animals or her room and I look forward to the day we come home from the hospital and she wants to show him around.

This is my first time becoming a mom of two (obviously) so there’s no telling how all of this will pan out but these are my plans as of now. I’ll check back in a couple of weeks and share how Oakley’s adjusting and what I’ve found to help her adjust. If you have experience as a mom of two or more, I’d love to hear how your kids adjusted and what you did to help?

Witt Party of 4!

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I actually wrote this post months ago when we found out we were expecting. At this point we didn’t even know we were having a boy!

I’m laying in bed as I type this and Andrew and Oakley are fast asleep. It’s pouring rain and there’s nothing I love more than the sound of rain on our tin roof. Even though I won’t share this post for a couple of weeks, I thought I should write down my feelings while they’re still fresh in my mind. I thought nothing could ever top 2017 because we brought Oakley into this world but we received the biggest blessing on New Year’s Eve! Our family is growing by ten fingers and ten toes! I couldn’t believe it. What better way to end the year and begin a new one! 

Andrew and I are beside ourselves with joy and love. Whenever I ask Oakley if she’s excited to be a big sister, she says yes and says sister! I know Oakley will be ecstatic to be a big sister. She loves her baby dolls and gets so excited to see babies. She always says baby when she sees a baby out and about or on the tv. She loves to pat her baby dolls, hold them, feed them, and take them for rides in her car. Oakley is so independent and helpful that I’m afraid this poor little baby will have two moms lol. In all seriousness though, Oakley will make the best big sister and I almost cry thinking about her in that role. 

I love when Andrew and Oakley fall asleep because I feel like I get some alone time with the new baby. I think about if it will be a boy or a girl, what we will name it, what it will be like, what it will look like, and the relationship it will have with all of us. I am over the moon to become a mom for a second time! I can’t wait for newborn snuggles, noises, smells, and sounds. I love the first little half smiles, their tiny fingers, and how they fit perfectly in your arms. 

The other day I had someone ask me if my favorite stage is the age Oakley is at now. My response was, “I don’t know. When they’re newborns you’re just kind of mesmerized but at this age, I’m surprised every day. They really are like little sponges that absorb way more than we think and she constantly surprises me with how much she knows.” The truth is, I tell myself every stage is my favorite. I loved 4 months because she started sitting up and developing a little personality. 6 months was great because she started baby food and they become a little mobile. 9 months was fun because they get so excited over everything and become even more expressive. 1 Year is a huge milestone and it’s unbelievable how smart they are. Now we’re at 16 months and I am in awe of Oakley every day. I absolutely love spending every day with her. We laugh and play and I watch the wheels in her head spin as she learns new things. I’m not sure I’ll ever have a favorite stage, every stage has something wonderful to offer and I can’t even express how excited I am to experience all of the stages again with a new little one. 

Our family dynamic will never be the same and we cannot wait to meet the newest little Witt that God created for our family. In the meantime, I’m going to soak up as much time as a family of 3 as we can because it will never just be us three again. I look forward to seeing Andrew in his new role as a dad of two, Oakley in her new role as a big sister, and myself as a mom of 2! I can’t believe how much my heart has already grown

Red, Witt, and Blue

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I’m a little late but better late than never, right? 4th of July was our 4 year wedding anniversary! It was a great day to get married and it’s a great day to celebrate our country and our marriage with our family and friends. Who doesn’t want to end their anniversary night watching fireworks with your closest family and friends? This year was really fun because every time Oakley saw a firework, she put her hand over her mouth and said wow! Plus our friends (who have become family) made the move from California to Arkansas, so we got to celebrate the fourth with them.

It’s crazy to think that 4 years ago we said I do and moved to Arkansas less than a month later. Now we are living out our dream of starting a farm and raising little farm kids. This time next year, we’ll have another little farm hand tagging along around the farm.

Every day is an adventure with Andrew. We still laugh at stupid things and there’s nothing that makes my day more than when we both crack up over something dumb. Just like when we were dating. We’ve settled into our dynamic as a family of 3 and it’s been rewarding learning how to parent together. 8 weeks and that’s all going to change but we couldn’t be more excited to meet our little guy! Oakley can’t wait either! The other day she gave me some of her Mac and cheese and said, “for baby brother.” She loves to kiss my belly and say, “I love you brother!” I hope that they become best friends, playmates, and a shoulder to lean on.

Four years down and so many more to come! I love that you love the little things in life just like I do, Andrew. You’re so thoughtful and always want to make sure your girls (and soon to be boy) are okay. Every day gets better and better! I love doing life with you and the family we’ve created ❤️🌻💙

Will Crawl (almost) for Kittens!

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I thought I would jump on here and give you a quick update on our kittens (mostly pictures)!  They’re only little for a short time.  The kittens are almost two weeks old and they are cute as ever!  Oakley LOVES them, so yesterday I decided to bring them inside for a little bit.  They’re so tiny, I was able to carry Oakley and grab all four kittens out of the milk can. The whole time she was kicking her legs, making noises, and waving her arms everywhere.  It was actually a little scary since I was also carrying four kittens, but that’s typical Oakley fashion.  She was so excited and didn’t know what to think about their tiny meows.

 

I laid them down on our bed and then sat Oakley next to them.  She immediately wanted to grab them. I kept moving her hand and saying, “gentle.”  She was a little rough with them haha.  She kept grabbing their tails.  Poor kittens, but she has to learn somehow.  Since she loved them but didn’t realize how fragile they were, I thought I would move her farther away (to buy them some time) and to also see if I could get her to crawl.  What little girl can’t be bribed with kittens, right?  She was the closest she’s ever been to crawling!  I seriously thought yesterday was going to be the day, but then she went back to scooting on her belly.  I think it’s a sign I need to sneak them into the house and let Oakley have a play date with the kittens again.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Oakley and the kittens!

Going for their tails!

How precious and perfect are they?

Kitten pile.

Getting closer! Lol.

Can you see her excitement? They bring her pure joy.

I think it fits her personality to be raised on a farm.  Don’t you agree?

Not Your Average Porch Swing

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Let me give you a little background to this story.  When Andrew and I first moved to Arkansas, we went to this barbeque restaurant in town for dinner one night.  The owner came up to introduce herself and we must have talked for thirty minutes about anything and everything.  There was an instant connection.  I really can’t explain it, to be honest. You seriously could not meet a nicer lady.  When Andrew’s mom came to visit, we took her to this restaurant to eat and she fell in love with the owner too.

Okay, now that I’ve told that part I’ll explain what that has to do with my new porch swing.  Since we’ve moved into our house I’ve wanted a porch swing, but I could never find the perfect one.  Every swing I saw was a plain rectangle and just didn’t do it for me.  I’m the type of person that would rather wait until I find the PERFECT item than buy one just to have one.  I kept holding out and putting it off because I wanted one with character.  I couldn’t even tell you what kind of porch swing I had in mind, I just knew it wasn’t any of the ones I saw in the store or online.  A porch swing is where you drink coffee or swing with your babies.  Andrew and I know this couple that swings on their porch swing EVERY morning and drinks their coffee.  So many memories are made on a porch swing!  I almost caved a few times because I was looking forward to swinging on the front porch with Oakley, but I’m so glad I didn’t.

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew and I went to an auction.  We pulled up to the cutest cul-de-sac.  All of the houses surrounded this pond, which was really more like a lake and they were all beautiful.  They were traditional style homes with different colored shutters and large porches.  We parked Andrew’s truck and went walking up to the auction when I saw my friend, the owner of the restaurant that we met when we first moved here.  We both smiled and hugged!  I was so happy to see her and catch up until all of the pieces of the puzzle started coming together.  It wasn’t long after talking to her that I realized that auction was for her dad that recently passed away.  All of the houses that surrounded the “lake” were her family members houses. I met her mom, her sister, and her sister’s grandkids.  I was excited to meet all of them but not under those circumstances.  It was a tool sale as they were auctioning off everything in his shop, but as I was looking around I noticed an old porch swing. It was perfect! It had detail on the back and almost made a heart shape.  The paint was a purplish color and really chipped.  It looked like it was going to go unnoticed because everyone was there for tools and it was in the back laid on top of something.  I told Andrew that I really wanted that porch swing, so we agreed on a price.  The auction went on but they weren’t getting close to the porch swing and Oakley was ready to take a nap.  I was so bummed that I wasn’t going to get a chance to bid on that porch swing. I told my friend that I really wanted the porch swing but I wasn’t going to be able to stay.  She didn’t even know they were selling a porch swing until I showed her where it was at and she said she remembered it.  Before I left, I asked another friend to bid on it for me.

Later that evening, I got a message saying that I won the porch swing!  My friend that I asked to bid on it for me said her aunt won it with some other items as a package deal, but she was going to sell it to me.  The next day we met up with our realtor who was the auctioneer and he had my new porch swing loaded up in the back of his truck.  I had my check ready to go and I asked him how I needed to make it out for.  He said that it was paid for.  My friend paid for it.  She paid for it because she wanted me to have her dad’s old porch swing.  Now this porch swing really meant more than just a picture-perfect swing to go with my farmhouse.  I texted my friend and told her I was so thankful and excited.  She explained to me that she knew we would create many more memories with Oakley on that swing and she wanted us to have it.  This is why our porch swing isn’t your average porch swing.  This is why I’m a believer in finding the perfect item, rather than settling for something just to have it.  This porch swing was passed down from a wonderful family that created many memories on it and we hope to do the same!

 

Andrew sanded it and painted it white.  I really don’t think it could be any more perfect!  The cat in the pictures is our cat Garth that was born on Easter in the back of Andrew’s truck!

Catch Pen

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Well, we had a busy and productive weekend!  Oakley got her first tooth last week!  You can barely see it but you can feel it!  Saturday, we went to a birthday party for a little girl at Oakley’s daycare and then we went to our friends’ housewarming party.  Before we went to the parties on Saturday, Andrew finished something he had been working on for a week or two, our catch pen!  When we get more cows, he can put all of them in the catch pen and it will be easier for him to work them.  The catch pen opens up into the barn and the pasture. He plans on putting his working chute inside the barn, and then if it rains or it’s really hot outside he’ll be covered.  Since we don’t have a tractor yet, Andrew dug every hole with a shovel and they were about three feet deep by one foot wide.  He cut down cedar trees around our property, which we have plenty of, and used them for the posts.  Then, he cemented them in.  I think he had between 13-16 posts.  It was a lot of work, but he’s finally done!

Maggie was staying in the barn because it was easy to bottle feed her in there and she was covered from the rain and weather, but she’s getting bigger and definitely needs more room.  She’s done being bottle fed, so the barn wasn’t really cutting it anymore. Our fencing is almost done but not quite, so in the meantime, we’re keeping her in the catch pen and she’s loving life!  She runs around and it’s not unusual to find the cats and chickens in there with her.  She’s warmed up a lot and lets Andrew pet her. Maybe I need to start feeding her so she’ll let me get that close…  Anyway, Andrew is super relieved to have his catch pen done and it feels like we’re getting one step closer to being able to get more cows.  Exciting things have been happening around the farm!

Fruit and Vegetable Boxes

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When we first moved into our house there were so many important things that needed to get done that a lot of the “fun” things had to be put on the back burner, but every once and a while you have to take a break from the big projects like fencing and do something that makes you excited.  A week or two before Oakley was born, Andrew and I went and bought some wood from Lowes to make a vegetable box for our garden.  We had everything measured out and then, of course, changed our plan ten times while we were in there.  We finally decided what we were going to do, bought the wood, and pushed it out to his truck.  It wasn’t long until we realized that the wood was way longer than his truck bed.  We did not have any bright, orange flags to hang off of the bed or a trailer to load it on, but we just purchased all of this wood and we were so excited to finally build something that was exciting!  Needless to say, we hauled that wood with half of it hanging off the back of Andrew’s truck bed 30 miles home.  Yes, you read that right.  We live 30 miles away from Lowes.

The whole way home we were both completely silent because we were so nervous we were going to get pulled over.  We literally sat in silence the whole way home and I’m pretty sure the radio wasn’t even on.  Andrew drove about 50 MPH in the slow lane the entire way back.  About two miles from our exit, a state trooper got behind us and we were both waiting for him to flash his blue lights and turn on his sirens. So, Andrew drove as fast as he could and we tried to outrun him! I’m just kidding!  Did I scare you?  That state trooper stayed behind us until we got off on our exit.  We made it all the way home with our 16-foot boards hanging off the back of Andrew’s truck!

I tried to help Andrew build the vegetable box as much as I could but my feet were so swollen and it was pretty hot.  It was hard being pregnant, moving into a new house, and not being able to do much, especially while being off of work all summer.  I’m sure it was hard on Andrew too since he had to do a lot of stuff on his own. That day, we built our first vegetable box even though we knew we wouldn’t be able to plant anything in it until Spring.  We didn’t care though because it felt like we were making progress and it was something to look forward to.

Fast forward five months and Andrew spent Sunday building more fruit and vegetable boxes.  Now we have one large box, a medium one, and four small boxes.  We plan on planting a lot of vegetables and fruit like carrots, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.  We think we’ll use one of the small beds for berries and another small bed for herbs!  We don’t know much about gardening so I’m going to consider any fruit or vegetables that we can eat a success.  I also want to plat a cut flower garden because I think it will be nice to have fresh flowers in my house and I think I’ll enjoy putting together different bouquets.  What I’m most excited for is to make Oakley baby food from the fruits and vegetables that we grow!

By the way, this is exciting! To start off our garden, I won seeds from the blog, A Life in the Buff!  They have their own seeds that they save every year and sent me a bunch of different types of tomatoes and peppers I’ve never even heard of.  They also threw in a bunch of extra seeds like beans and herbs too!  This week we’re working on getting our vegetable and fruit boxes filled with soil and doing some research on where we want to buy our other seeds.  I can’t wait to share more pictures as things start growing in our garden!

 

5 Months Old!

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5 months ago today I was enjoying my epidural and proclaiming my love to the anesthesiologist.  Not even kidding.  My contractions hurt so bad (which I vaguely remember now) that I didn’t even feel the epidural go in.  Anyway, I can’t believe Oakley is five months old!  I feel like time is going so fast that I already miss her being a baby even though she still is one.  Does that even make sense?

Sometimes, I wish I could freeze time and just stare at her a little longer so I don’t forget certain things like an expression on her face or a cute sound she makes.  Oakley, you are the best gift we could have ever received.  I couldn’t have hand-picked a more perfect baby.   You are so smiley and your tiny smile can light up an entire room.  You can turn a bad day into a good day just by being you!  You love to stick out your tongue and you have gotten pretty good at giggling.  People always think you’re younger than you are because you’re so tiny.  You’re in the 15th percentile for height and weight and you’re just now starting to outgrow your 0-3 month clothes.  You are tiny but mighty, that’s for sure! You got an ear infection and RSV this past month and on top of all of that, you were teething.  But you know what? Even though you were pretty sick, you were such a trooper! Still smiley and happy, just a little more cuddly than usual.  You had to take antibiotics and use an inhaler.  You didn’t seem to mind either and would actually smile the whole time you had the mask over your face for the inhaler.  You actually would hold your breath as long as you could.   Sometimes, I think you’re smarter than we give babies credit for and I think you thought it was funny to hold your breath haha.  You also got some shots this past month and you were such a champ!  You didn’t cry until 5 seconds afterward and you stopped crying the second I picked you up.

Your aunts and uncle came out to visit you!  We all had so much fun and I was pretty sure you were going to get so bored after they left because they played with you all day long!  You fall more in love with your daddy every day and you think he’s pretty funny.  Sometimes you like to act shy and if someone smiles at you, you’ll smile back and then bury your head in my shoulder.  You act like you’re anxious to start running and playing and crawling even though I know we still have a few months.  You love to go outside but it’s been so cold we haven’t, so we usually look out the window.  It also snowed for the first time since you’ve been born!

You love to rock in your chair and it’s one of my favorite things, too!  You are on a pretty strict schedule and if you don’t go to bed at 8 or shortly after, you get a little fussy.  You love to be moving, so I like to push you around the house in your stroller.  When I take you to the indoor track to walk, you always fall asleep by the fifth lap, never fails!  The indoor track is filled with older people and they love to smile and say how cute you are as they walk by!  You like to play peek a boo, sing the ABC’s, and read books.  Your favorite book right now is, “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?”  You love this little piano that plays music and your grandpa tells you over the phone what a great pianist you are lol.  You like to Facetime your grandparents and I’m not sure either of us will ever understand just how much that means to them!

We cuddle all night long and even though everyone says not to co-sleep, I absolutely love snuggling you all night.  You are so cuddly and love to put one of your legs over me.  If I try to scoot over, you instantly scoot closer so you’re right up next to me again.  The mirror is so entertaining to you!  You make more baby sounds and noises every day and you love to blow bubbles!  You and the dogs are interacting more and more. I know you and Abigail will be partners in crime when you’re older.  Instead of petting them, you usually grab a handful of their fur or accidentally touch their eyes, but they don’t mind.  I knew it was inevitable but I kept holding out hope Charlie wouldn’t steal your blankets.  The other day, I caught her sniffing one and she almost grabbed it.  Luckily, I caught her just in time.  You recently started grabbing my face with both hands and I swear you’re learning how to give kisses because we kiss you so much!  Usually, your mouth is open and you put it on my cheek haha.

You know what you like and you make your Jen Jen try two different bottles before you decide which one you want to drink out of that day.  You love Jen Jen and smile so big every morning when you see her, which makes it a lot easier for me to go to work.    All of your friends at daycare get so excited to see you every day too! If you’re not wearing a headband that day, they’ll ask where it’s at.  One of them loves to take your blanket off every morning so you can get out of your car seat.  The others like to take turns pushing you in the stroller or holding you.  They also like to help get your bag ready to go in the afternoon!   You are so loved by so many people!   Oakley, you are one of a kind and a such a bright light in this world!  I can’t wait to see all of the lives you impact!  I know you will do great things one day and I love watching your personality develop more and more every day!  We love you more than words can ever express.  You’ll always be our little girl and we’ll love you forever and ever and ever!

What are Seasons? I Grew up in Southern California

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This is what Fall looks like in Arkansas!

I never really understood seasons because I grew up in Southern California where it seems like the weather is 70 degrees year-round.  There were plenty of Christmases where I wore shorts and a tank top or a summer dress. The first day that the weather drops to seventy degrees, Californians go nuts and declare it “sweater weather.”   My social media feeds become plastered with pictures of Pumpkin Spice lattes, even if it will warm up to 85 degrees by the middle of the day.  The one good thing about the weather being stable year-round is you can buy clearance items and not have to wait a year to wear them. Target anyone? I loved buying cute tank tops on sale and wearing them with a sweater or a jean jacket. I will forever miss living close to a Target and occasionally the nice, 70 degree weather.

Here’s Winter in Arkansas

Arkansas has all four seasons which has been a little bit of a learning curve for me.  I’ve had to learn how to keep my feet warm in the snow or learn not to pour water on my windshield when it’s freezing because it will just add to the ice, not get rid of it. Can I still blame this on pregnancy brain?  Everyone back home always asks how I like the weather.  “Can you deal with the freezing cold?”  “How about the humidity?” The truth is yes, I am loving getting to experience all of the seasons and here’s why.  Living somewhere that gets four different seasons gives you something to look forward to.  By the end of every season, you’re ready for the next.  For instance, “I’m over the cold, I can’t wait for Spring.” Or, “I’m over the heat, bring on Fall!”  What’s great about this is, there’s always something that helps hold you over until the next change.  Snow is one of them!  Once Christmas is over, I get bored with Winter.  It’s usually too cold to do anything outside and all of the trees are bare, but then it snows and all of a sudden, I find myself wishing Winter would stay around a little longer.

Summer in Arkansas!

Summer’s always been my favorite time of year. I love the sun and swimming and all that comes along with Summer. Time off from work or school, being barefoot, swimming, and the list goes on.  It’s still my favorite even living in Arkansas because everything is so green, but I am learning to enjoy all of the seasons because each one of them has something great to offer.  Right now, I can’t wait for Spring so we can plant our garden, get baby chicks, and who knows what else.  Spring seems like a new start, just like the first of the year.  Maybe Spring is the farmer’s New Year?  We’re looking forward to our first Spring on our farm!

Spring in Arkansas!

A Snowy Day on the Farm

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We woke up on Sunday morning to a nice surprise!  It snowed for the first time since we bought our house!  Unfortunately, Oakley’s been sick so we didn’t bring her outside, but it was so fun to see everything covered in snow.  Snow always seems to come just at the right time.  When you’re over Winter and ready for Spring, it snows and maybe you can stand Winter a little longer.  It was fun to see how all the animals acted in the snow. The dogs went crazy! They really didn’t know what to think.  Even Charlie was excited, which was surprising because she does not like her paws to get wet.  Abigail and Colt obviously went nuts and Abigail did her excited hop all around the backyard.  The chickens didn’t seem to mind and were out doing their thing as usual.  The cats even came out of their house and walked around.  Our friends on Facebook posted pictures of their kids playing in the snow, and it made me so excited for Oakley to play in the snow one day!

Here’s our orange and white cat, Garth! He was born on Easter last year.  It cracks me up that the cats are friends with the chickens.

Can you spot our big, fluffy cat that thinks he’s a dog?

This is one of my favorite pictures. They look like they’re taking a walk together in the snow.

Here’s our shop that we plan to paint pretty soon! (stay tuned)

This is our barn!