Five months old!

Cadence, you are now officially five months old. I can't believe how quickly you are changing and growing. Where did my little bitty baby go? Not much has changed since your four month post. We have started you on some solids and you are doing pretty good with them, so much better than what your sister did.

You aren't big into sleeping. You do all right at night still getting up every three to four hours, sometimes two when you're trying to do me in. Naps during the day...yeah, well you could do without them. It's a struggle to get you to take a good nap. If you could stop getting up at night I will allow the no naps during the day...it's all about compromise baby girl, COMPROMISE!!

You are all over the place. We finally got your crib set up and your bedding ordered and put in this past month or so. I will put you in one spot in your crib and seconds later walk back into the room to check on you and you are in a completely different spot. You move quick! Lord help me when I have two of you walking around this place.

You love me!!! I walk out of the room and you cry, I put you down...you cry. It does a Mommy's heart good to know that you love me so much.

You also love your sister and the feeling is mutual. She loves helping me take care of you and she is always wanting to hold you and be up in your face. I am so blessed that even at such a young age there is no jealousy involved in her relationship with you. I can't wait until you are older and able to actual interact with her. I am going to enjoy watching the two of you play together. I AM NOT going to enjoy watching you both gang up on me...lol.

Not sure what your latest weight and height are. I still haven't made your four month appointment. If I actually made these appointments on time Daddy and Grandma might think there was something seriously wrong with me. Procrastination...it's how Mommy rolls!!!

Anyway, there you have it. Five months old and counting and each day I shake my head because I just can't believe it. How quickly you little babies grow. In about eight months you will no longer be the baby of the family. Aunt Nikki is giving you and Addie another cousin and she is due towards the end of February, possibly the early part of March. Papaw made it known that we should pick another month to have babies in. He isn't thrilled with another winter baby. I think the blizzard that your sister arrived in did him in. We're so excited for the newest member of the family but it amazes us that Dylan will be two and a half when his new brother or sister arrives, Addie will be two, and you will be one. How does that happen? I can handle these small numbers, but seriously, when you all start driving it may just do me in.

One word...CRAP

Goodness gracious we have had a rough couple of weeks. I've posted before about our delicate financial situation and I thought we had finally gotten things figured out when crap hit the fan last week. I don't want to go into details because it was a low blow for us but we can finally rest assured that things with our situation can't get any worse. I truly don't see how it could get any worse. We have officially lost everything we owned of any importance. I thank god everyday that we have the Mom's that we do because without them I have no idea where we would be. My Mom is providing us with a roof over our head and now she is providing us with a vehicle to drive.

I honestly just wanted to give up last week. I don't know how much more a couple can take before they break. I know that if Daniel and I can make it through this struggle then there will be nothing than can tear us apart...NOTHING! I know that God doesn't hand you anything that you can't handle...I'm flattered he has such confidence in me, but in all seriousness...I need a break, I need for things to go right for us. My sanity needs it, my marriage needs it, my daughters need it, and my family needs it. When we suffer they suffer...well most of them anyway. Apparently some of them think we need to overcome our failure like big kids and that nothing is deserved in life. I agree with this one hundred percent but I really wish certain people would just keep their opinions to their selves. Especially those that have not earned the right to comment.

I told Daniel last week that we've hit rock bottom, it's all up from here...it has to be, and it will be as long as we hold it together and stand side by side. I'll tell you remaining positive during this dark cloud that we're under is hard at times but then I am reminded of something that can't be taken away from us because of our financial situation...our amazing little girls. I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through this time without them. They are the reasons why I get up every morning and the reasons why Daniel and I keep on trucking without looking behind.

Addison Grace and Cadence Leah, you mean more to us that any silly house or vehicle and as long as we have both of you we are the richest people in the world.

Further proof that we're incredibly blessed...

Cadence with Aunt Nikki...my babies are so loved!

Four months old and going strong!!

Today my little baby turned four months old. My Mom and I were just discussing it last night and even she said she can't believe that this little girl has only been in our lives for a short sixteen weeks. I feel like she has been a part of our family since Addison became a part of our lives.

I never got around to doing a post for her three month birthday so since both girls are currently napping...praise the Lord, I figured I better post about her four month birthday before I forgot.

What are you up to now little one?

* You are the happiest little girl ever. All we have to do is look at you and you flash your big grin and giggle. You crack us up because as soon as Addison starts crying or getting mad about something you start smiling like it's no ones business. I think you take pleasure in her pain and I can already see how bad that's going to be when the two of you get older.

* When we had you weighed a month ago you were a little over 13 pounds and you were knocking on 24 inches long. I wouldn't be surprised if you are up to 15 pounds now and I am not even going to guess your length because I can already tell you are going to be taller than your sister. At four months old you are already wearing some of the clothing your big sister wore when she was six and seven months old because nothing else is long enough.

* You look nothing like me or my side of the family. You look so much like your Daddy and his side of the family it's unreal. I swear had I have not been awake when you were born I would question whether or not you came from my body. This also means you do not look like your sister at all since she resembles me and my family. It's hard to believe you two came from the same set of parents sometimes.

*A few weeks ago you started rolling from your front to your back which we got the biggest kick out of. Now you have started rolling from your back to your front...of course that doesn't happen quite as often.

* You love to talk to us which just melts my heart. I could listen to both you and your sister all day long, which as a stay at home Mom, I guess I do. What is just as amazing is how you recognize your sister. She hangs all over you when you are in your swing and you just smile the entire time. You even smiled the time she ended up climbing on the swing with you even though you were underneath her!

* You drink about four to five ounces every three hours or so and we are slowly trying to get you to start eating cereal before bed. Daddy and I feel terrible because every night at dinner we plop you in your bumbo chair and sit you in the middle of the table. You just stare at us while we eat our dinner and every so often I catch you licking your lips. I promise baby girl, we all did our time with formula as are you...one day you will be eating grilled chicken and corn on the cob with the rest of us.

* You love being held or sat up right. Just today I sat you up right next to me on the couch while I uploaded your four month photos. You just sat there playing with the strap on my camera bag and since you had been crying beforehand you must have enjoyed it because you immediately stopped crying.

* We have also started putting you in the excersaucer to help build your leg muscles and you actually enjoy it. If I remember correctly it took awhile before your sissy started to enjoy it.

I continue to count my blessings every single day. A year ago at this time I was just finding out I was pregnant with you. It took years to have your sister so you can imagine my surprise when it took only about six weeks to get pregnant with you. I was so scared that if I tried to prevent a pregnancy so soon after having your sister that I may never have another child so we decided to let whatever happens happen. We were prepared for it to take a year or so, at least that's what we were hoping since we didn't want you and Addison so close together in age. I am so glad that God thought otherwise because I was thrilled when I found out I was pregnant and I continue to be thrilled everyday that I wake up to you and your sister. I love watching you two interact with each other and I know that the thrills will only get better as you both get older. I love you Cadence Leah more than you will ever know!

Hello ninety degree weather!

In case you aren't currently located in the state of Ohio I thought I would let you know...IT'S HOTT OUTSIDE. Yes I am aware that hot does not include two t's...it's just so hot outside that I thought it deserved two for this post.

One minute we're complaining that it's freezing cold outside, and then we're complaining about all of the rain we received over the last two months, and now here I am complaining about how hot it is outside. I'm all about spring and fall around here and it seems like we skipped both this past year.

Anyway, since some days are so unbearably hot Addison has spent some time swimming around. She swam most of our Memorial Day weekend when we were taking turns at all of the grandparents houses and I figured it's time we bought a pool for her here at the house. We made sure it was plenty big so that the hubby and I could at least soak in it.

Here she is in our pool. The bathing suit was cold and damp from swimming after nap time so she just free birded it after dinner.

Here are some shots from our Memorial Day weekend. She was thrilled when we bought our pool because she had the hose all to herself and there was no risk of being sprayed by someone. Dylan, my nephew, took over the hose at my Dad's house and Addison was made aware of it on several different occasions.

Here is another shot from Memorial Day. We celebrated my brother Matt's college graduation on Memorial Day this year so my step-dad and his girlfriend Kathy made sure there were plenty of pools for the kids to enjoy. My brother Steve is shown in the picture. It's funny because last year at this time we were celebrating his graduation and Addison swam then...more like sat...but she was in the water. I can't believe how much she has grown over this past year. I wish I had those pictures saved to the lap top but their on our desk top and I just don't have it in me to go downstairs and add them to this post.

She enjoys being in the water but I'm not sure if it's something she's really going to enjoy. She's in and out all of the time but I wonder how much of it's because she has nobody to play with in ours. Her Sissy needs to hurry and grow up so that they can be splash buddies!!

Mommy's little helper and her baby sister!

I've been cooking a lot more lately which is a good thing for my blog and the new cooking page I have created on facebook. It feels so good to get out in the kitchen and make new things and more often than not I have a little helper along for the ride. She doesn't really help me, but she is out there. Pulling all of the can goods out of the lazy susan, taking the pots and pans out of their cabinet, and pulling the cereal boxes out of their home. That list could go on but I'm tired and don't feel like writing it all down. Let's just say that after we clean the dinner mess we have to go around the house and pick up every single item Addison dragged out. It makes me tired just typing that...lol.

Here's Mommy's little helper making an italian love cake which was a big flop in our house. Don't you hate getting all excited for a recipe, spending precious money to buy the ingredients, and then you end up throwing most of it away because the family just wasn't feeling it? I hate that! Money around here is a precious thing since I'm no longer working and five dollars here and there really does add up. Especially when you have two kids in diapers and one on formula.


Here she is from Monday night, or maybe it was Tuesday, lord who knows. Anyway, we were making lasagna buns which I stumbled across over at Cassie Craves. I'll post the recipe on the food blog eventually...I hope. Did I mention I am really tired tonight? LMAO

If stacking cups keeps her entertained, then by all means, stack away. She actually pulled these all out the package and made one stack with them. I thought it was really cute, notice the tongue sticking out? She's concentrating so hard!


Below you will find her in one of her two favorite spots lately. For awhile she was taking over the bouncy seat and now she's taking over the swing. Even though she is about 97% at being really good with her baby sister, she still has her moments. Like the other night when I was on the floor with Cadence and Addison came up and kicked her in the head. She got in trouble for that and then she stopped crying long enough to come over and dangle her foot over the top of Cadence's head as if she was going to stomp on it at any second. The girl is only fifteen months old and I know already I am going to have my hands full with her growing up. She LOVES to try our patience and I know that she knows the meaning of the word no even though when we say it she looks at us like she's dumber than a box of rocks, gives us a good glare, and then keeps on doing what she was just being told what not to do. God help us when the terrible twos start!


Here's my other precious child. I know I have mentioned it before but seriously, the first month and a half of her life, I honestly thought I was going to have to kill myself. She cried ALL.OF.THE.TIME! There was no consoling this child and I can't tell you how many times I got so frustrated I just cried right along with her.

Now she is a completely different child. She's so happy and she is always smiling and talking to us. It just melts my heart at how precious and wonderful she is. I am reminded every single day how blessed I am to have these two little girls in my life. My only complaint with her is how noisy she is. She wakes us up every single morning talking to herself. It's so loud that my Mom asked me yesterday to start shutting our bedroom door because she can hear her talking in her room...lol.
This is her chatting in the morning! It's cute and I love hearing it, but we are not morning people around her. It's take Mommy and her big Sissy a little while to wake up, we don't wake up all bright and sunshiny like she apparently does. I'm hoping one day she can turn it down a notch or two!

And then because this is one of the best pictures I have ever taken, my little Miss Sunshine!

If that picture doesn't melt your heart, then there's just no help for you!

A funeral...

This week was a pretty crummy one for us. Daniel's Dad passed away this past Saturday. There is no preparing for that phone call, even when you expect to receive it at any moment. I think the hardest part about getting older is that the older you get, the older your parents get. I know the day will come when I have to say good-bye to them, but I pray that it is a long ways off. I can't imagine living life without my parents or even my siblings but that's life for you. Daniel is thirty three years old and he just said good-bye to his Dad. My heart aches for him, as well as for my daughters since they will never know how great their Poppy was. I know that there are others who have had to say good-bye to parents at an even younger age, how blessed they are to have guardian angels, but how sad that they have to go through life without the people who would support and guide them most.

Daniel with his oldest brother Chuck along with his baby brother, by ten and a half months, Dustin. Just look at those smiles will ya!

Death has a funny way of bringing you together with loved ones that are still living. It reminds you of the value of family and what being together as one does for your spirit. Daniel's oldest brother lives in Kentucky along with his two youngest children and their families. We made a vow on Tuesday before we sent them off that we would try harder to be more of a family. No more of this only getting together for weddings or a funeral.

Here is another picture of the boys along with their Mom, Sue, a few of the grandkids, and three of the great-grand kids. The two baby boys are great-grandkids, while Addison and Cadence are grand-kids.

I think we are all holding up pretty well given the fact we just lost the patriarch of the Blankenship family. I think it helped a little that Charlie had been in a nursing home for the past year or so. We had gotten used to visiting Mamaw without Poppy being there at home with her so it won't feel all that unusual to us when we continue to visit without him being there. We would love to still have him there but we all know that he is better off. Charlie fought a hell of a battle these past few years, especially this last one, and it's reassuring for us to know he's finally at peace and in complete comfort.

Rest in peace Poppy! Please watch over my babies and help me to keep them safe from harm.

Charles E. Blankenship Sr.

June 15, 1934 to May 14, 2011.

This and that thrown all together...

Somebody has been a horrible, horrible blogger but what can I say other than you all should be used to it by now. I have been updating the food blog more so take what you can get from me...lol.

We have had a very busy month since I last posted, Cadence turned two months old, we celebrated Easter, Mothers Day, and a few nice days outside when it wasn't raining...which seemed to happen this entire month. We live right along a river which means when it rains like this we flood, and we flood bad. There are only three or four ways to our house on a normal non flooded day, but the flooding this month has been so bad we've been forced down to one and that was pushing it on one day in particular when Daniel thought he might have to turn around and stay at his Mom's. Seriously, I had to go to another town to do my shopping and it was no fun.

On a more fun note here are a few pictures that I have taken during the past month or so. They are backwards from earliest to latest in the month but folks, it's eleven o'clock at night, Addison has kept me up the past several nights, and I'm working on the lap top which makes things more challenging when it comes to rearranging everything. I'm sure you'll forgive me once you see all of the adorableness of my daughters. Is adorableness a word??


First up from tonight's dinner, sister was loving her fajitas and cottage cheese. Do all children get this messy when they eat? We're about to the point that we just strip her down to her diaper because without fail, she gets food everywhere. I actually found chunks of dinner in her diaper when I changed her.
And from before dinner...my precious little baby sporting her very first pony tail. I can't believe how grown up she looks when her hairs pulled back. I sent a picture of her to my sister via cell phones tonight and she didn't even realize it was Addison at first. Yeah Nikki, I'm sending you a picture of some random child I picked up and titled it...her first pony tail...lmao!

Next up, Mother's day. Mother's day was so special for me this year. Last year money was extremely tight for us and Daniel wasn't able to buy anything in advance, he did buy me a gorgeous ring while I waited in the food court at the mall, but I guess I had my first Mother's day all hyped up in my head and what happened wasn't what I imagined. He was able to do so much better this year. He bought me a family bible. There's something about having a bible meant just for your little family with the date of when you became man and wife, births, and deaths that really makes this whole family thing real. I will cherish it for the rest of my life. We spent Sunday evening with my Mom and my siblings and we can't get together without playing a couple rounds of cards. Addison crashed half way through dinner so she didn't join us, but Cadence stuck around to make sure nobody was cheating.

Earlier on Mother's day we spent some time with Daniel's Mom. Instead of going out and fighting off the crowds at some restaurant we picked up some broasted chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and mac and cheese. We had a nice lunch just being together and not dealing with other people. It was during this lunch that Addison was introduced to her very first chicken leg. The child cracks me up.

Next up, the weekend after Easter. We spent that Saturday evening at my Aunt Robin's and Uncle Dan's for my cousin Heathers birthday. We decided to go over early because they live right across the street from a school with a really nice playground. What kills me is that this school is my old school, and this playground is the very same one that I grew up playing on. Who knew all those years ago when we were playing pretend during recess, that so and so was married to this guy, and a couple of us were their kids, that I would actually be standing there watching my own real children play on it. It tends to remind you that you're getting older.

Heather took this family shot of us which I LOVE. Part of the reason why we went over early, besides to play on the playground, was so that I could take pictures of her boyfriends children. I am so glad she was able to get a good one of us...I took lots of good ones of them.

Here's Addison going down the big kid slide...check out her hair.

Prior to us leaving, Cadence thought she would try her hand at the Wii. Don't you just love that little smirk? If you look closely there is a little hand at the bottom right of the picture. What you don't see is that Addison had just snatched Cadence's bottle and was talking to her as if she was reassuring her it was all right. I can imagine Cadence was smirking because she knew she had just back washed in it prior to Addison taking it...lol.

Next up to bat....Easter. I am so upset about Easter I can hardly talk about it. I had been sick with another Crohns flare the previous few weeks and of course Easter was no exception. I barely ate and was in no mood to do anything but wish the day would hurry up so that I could get home. Can you believe that I took no pictures of the girls and their Easter baskets? I feel like such a horrible Mother. I did manage to take this one only because it was to funny not to. This was after my daughter, who has you can see from the beginning of the post, has no table manners, had stuffed an entire deviled egg into her mouth. Once again, the child cracks me up!

Next, Cadence's two month birthday. I can't believe how different she looks from birth and her one month photo. Her eyes are getting bluer and her cheeks are starting to fill out. She has calmed down so much these past few weeks that we are actually able to really enjoy her. She's smiling at us big time and about two weeks ago she started to giggle. She loves her big sister and as you can see below the feeling is mutual. Addison is so loving towards her...well most of the time anyway. Addison tries to feed her her bottle, give her her gas drops, and likes to help pat her on the back to burp. Addison loves to say Sissy and first thing every morning when I put her down from her crib she waddles over to the pack and play and on tip toes peers in on her "Sissy". She also likes to snatch Cadence's blankets off of her when she's in the swing and then tries covering her back up. Of course we have to make adjustments because the blanket usually winds up over her sisters face. Addison has also started trying to share her toys with her Sissy. We look over and there lays a stuffed animal or something on Cadence in the swing. I pray that these two continue to love one other and that they grow up being best friends.

The official two month shot. Just look at that hair, and those eyes, oh those eyes just melt me into a million pieces.

Another loving moment between sisters.

And last but not least, family time. Daniel's Dad is in very bad shape. We expect the call letting us know he's went to be with our Lord any day now. Daniel's Dad was in his forties when Daniel was hatched so he's in his mid-seventies now. Between strokes and a few heart attacks he's been dealt a pretty crappy hand. My heart aches not only for my husband who is so proud of his daughters and wishes his Dad could be around to watch them grow up, but it aches for my daughters and future children as well. I am saddened that they will never truly remember him or that he won't be able to watch them grow. The relationship that I had with my Grandma Murphy is so precious to me, but I had her for twenty four years, even though I feel anger towards the fact her other grandchildren had her for much longer but appreciated and loved her much less. Addison and Cadence and their future brothers or sisters won't have any time with him and Daniel will no longer have his father. I can't imagine a time when I won't have one of my parents. To be honest I can't even think about it without giving myself a panic attack. The thought of death, especially my own, is something that's been bothering me a lot lately.

Anyway, since Charlie won't be around to watch them grow, I wanted to make sure they had something to remember him by and to remind them that they did have him for a little while. During our latest trip to the nursing home I made sure to cart my camera with us so that I could snatch a family shot. Here it is...I hope not only Daniel, but the girls as well, will treasure it.

Well, that's been our month in a nut shell. I promise I will try to do a little better with updates. I feel like the girls are growing by leaps and bounds so I really need to keep caught up with their everyday shenanigans.